Silver Infinity ((Kamukura X Komaeda))

Chapter Forty: Fleeing

The eyes of the mysterious woman were looking back to him, sparkling bright like a diamond.
Her words rung heavy in his head, "If things go as predicted, you'll see me again."
She had spoken of the end of pirates, with the death of Kamukura being the beginning of it.

But could she have been mistaken? Could it have been Matsuda's death that would be the beginning of it?
He shut his eyes as tight as he could, simply attempting to tear her heavy gaze out of his very soul.

When Nagito finally looked back, Ryoko had returned to her former self, still clinging to Matsuda, hiding her face in his bloodied shirt.
Had Komaeda been imagining it? Perhaps the stress of everything that happened had been getting to him; Ryoko had brilliant red eyes, not blue as the woman in his dreams did.
But... There was always a chance.

He swallowed back, turning to Ryoma once more.
"You... Why shouldn't I kill you for everyone you've executed?"
"They were pirates," His voice remained steady. "Pirates are a threat to France. You said you went to Spain, yes? Did you see how the people were living? What happens when the country runs dry of coin? How could I let that happen here? We're flourishing, I can't take those risks," The King met Izuru's gaze before snapping back to Nagito. "The Pirate King, you could ask him yourself. Has he told you how he killed in the millions? Il est une armée d'un seul homme. His hands are stained with the blood of men, women, even children."

"That's wrong," The fluffy pirate was quick to shoot back. "He only kills those threatening him! He's not a mindless killer, or he would have killed me too."
Ryoma returned a look to Kamukura, eyes more intent and focused. "Is that what you told him? Is that what happened when you murdered the King of England trying to make peace? Why don't you tell what happened that day?"

Izuru remained quiet when Nagito looked back to meet him.
He was as still as a statue, eyes unblinking.

The long black locks flowed ever so lightly, the only thing hinting he was still a living being.
Finally, he closed his eyes, hiding away his ruby stare.
"That isn't important right now. He's stalling for time. We need to leave."

The pirate could feel his hands shaking, his sweat causing the sword to become slippery in his grip.
Was it true? Could Izuru had been lying?

But... There was no reason to lie to Nagito, there was no reason not to trust him, not after all their time together.
With a deep exhale, he stepped back from Ryoma and dropped the sword, the clattering echoing around the room and nearly hurting his ears.

The dark man had been right; the King didn't need to die, a life that could be saved, is a life that he should try his best to protect, as much as he hated them.

He wasn't like the King, a life wasn't his to steal. He was a pirate, a sailor for adventure and riches, not to leave behind a trail of blood.
There was nothing more he needed to tell Ryoma, he would trust Kamukura, and ask about it later when they were safe.
Turning back to the others, Komaeda exhaled, allowing himself to release all the stress he had been carrying since arriving at the castle.
The Pirate King gently pulled Rantaro into his arms, and Fuyuhiko flanked their side.

Only Ryoko's sobs made a noise in the room, and he could feel the eyes of the noblewomen staring into his back, but Komaeda did his best to ignore it.
He leaned down, gently placing a hand upon the girl's shoulder, only for her to immediately shrug it off and look up.

"I know... I know..." Her red eyes stung with tears, which she tore from his eye contact to look down at Matsuda. "I have to... Leave him behind. But how can I? It's not fair!" The girl's grip tightened around him. "I knew maybe one day, we would die, we're pirates, I expected it! But why here, why now? It feels too soon, I never even got to hear if he loved me back!" She broke out into tears once more, not bothering with stopping the drops to fall upon the man's face. The fluffy pirate kept quiet until she swallowed, relaxing her hold on him. "I came with him to land. It was the city of love, it just felt like the perfect place to finally ask the question. But he was so focused on saving you both, the moment we reached the docks, he took off running after the Captain. I tried to keep up but I lost him in the crowd. When I finally realized he had followed the two of you to the castle... It was too late to save him."
A long moment of silence fell over the room, and Nagito allowed himself to reach out once more, this time, offering his hand.