Eight makes one crew

Orphans, run aways and banished children

"Train with us" Beomgyu popped up right in front of Mingi like a little meerkat, peeking out of its hole. Mingi tried not to seem startled at the suddenness of that demand. These children were quite strange, he couldn't help feeling a little out of place being with them. The sooner he could find Yunho and go home, the better it would be for everyone but especially him.

"Do I need to?" Mingi wondered.

"No. But we've never met a real pirate before" Beomgyu answered. 

"You are pirates, aren't you?" Mingi reminded him. Beomgyu had no answer to that. At least not for a while.

"Alright. So we've never met a pirate who was also a prince like us. You must have had a lot of training" Beomgyu huffed, revealing the real reason for his sudden request. Mingi smiled a little. He was beginning to like this kid. Beomgyu was nice, when he wasn't ignoring his supposed guest. 

"Not particularly. I was a Prince sure but I was never treated as better than a Lord's son. Being the nephew of the King doesn't get you much" Mingi shrugged.

"You were only the nephew?" Beomgyu seemed shocked as they walked up to the main deck and took their starting positions, swords drawn. Mingi made a mental note to go easy on the kid. He didn't want to hurt Beomgyu.

"Yes. I wouldn't have had any real power in the kingdom, that's why it wasn't a big deal that I ran away" Mingi nodded, raising his sword.

"I guess your right. None of us would have mattered much either. Yeonjun never wanted to be King and Soobin was always just resigned to the idea of it. He would have been able to handle it if the people hadn't taken the castle and tossed us aside" Beomgyu spoke bitterly. Mingi had heard a little bit of that happening in one of the far kingdoms. 

"Sharing all our secrets again Beomgyu?!" Yeonjun walked over, looking relaxed.

"Only the good ones, Yeonjun" Beomgyu responded mischievously. Yeonjun laughed, patting him on the shoulder and leaning down to Beomgyu's ear.

"Go easy on our guest. Make him feel strong" He whispered, loud enough that Mingi could hear.

"We'll see how well the little one does" Mingi challenged. Beomgyu's face reddened but he did not look insulted.

"Little one?" He repeated, drawing his sword and tapping it against Mingi's own weapon in the air. Mingi only smiled, changing his stance. Some of his old training came back in that moment and he could see that Beomgyu was aware of that. 

"You shouldn't underestimate any opponent" Beomgyu taunted. 

"Not underestimating. Just observing" Mingi responded, the two of them turning in a circle with each other. A small crowd of four had gathered now, all watching to see who would win. Of course, Mingi and Beomgyu both would be careful not to leave any real marks on each other. 

"Beat him Beomgyu!" Kai cheered. Mingi looked over at him, not at all bothered. Of course, Kai would be rooting for his own brother over his guest. Taehyun seemed to be feeling the same though he kept it quiet. Mingi could still see the hatred in the kid's eyes. 

"Show him how a real King fights!" Taehyun taunted, halfway through the fight. Mingi lost his concentration and Beomgyu hit his leg, regretting it a moment after.

"Taehyun!" Beomgyu turned to his younger brother, dropping his sword. Mingi rubbed the side of his leg, feeling the bruising and blood already. Taehyun looked just as shocked as Mingi. Even more so when Yeonjun grabbed the back of his neck and pulled Taehyun off the railing, keeping him from falling.

"What is the matter with you!?" Yeonjun forced Taehyun to look at him.

"It was only a comment!" Taehyun argued. Kai got up, going to Mingi's side and helping him up. Mingi stumbled a little, watching the blood drip off his leg and stain the wooden floor. 

"It was rude! All of us are orphans or banished or run aways, do not make comments about family that are no longer around!" Yeonjun scolded. Taehyun kept his head down, not saying anything. He didn't think his comment would make this big of an uproar. 

"It's alright Yeonjun. It was only an accident; I should not have let myself be distracted" Mingi rushed to defend Taehyun. Yeonjun turned to him, considering Mingi's request. Taehyun raised his eyes too, staring at Mingi with more surprise than hatred this time. Yeonjun gave a small nod to Mingi, turning back to his brother.

"Go downstairs and stay in your room. I do not want to see you the rest of the day, is that clear?" Yeonjun demanded. 

"What about dinner?" Taehyun looked up, pleadingly. Yeonjun smacked him on the back of the head, not enough to really hurt.

"You'll go without" He decided. Taehyun almost argued but decided not to and left with the shattered pieces of his pride, hanging his head. 

"You didn't have to do that" Mingi pointed out. Yeonjun came over to him, taking his hand and leading Mingi to one of the crates. He forced Mingi to sit down and started looking over his leg. 

"Taehyun and Kai do not talk without thinking. It's a bad habit that I have tried to rid them of" Yeonjun took the cloths that Soobin handed to him, getting down on his knee and wrapping Mingi's leg.  

"You don't have to do this" Mingi tried to get him to stand up, embarrassed at the attention. Beomgyu was looking rather guilty, his sword still in hand. Soobin went over and put an arm around him, pulling his brother close and whispering something in his ear that had Beomgyu looking a little bit happier. 

"You are our guest, and it was at my brother's mouth that you got hurt. This is the least I can do" Yeonjun insisted, pushing Mingi's hands away and tying off the cloths tightly. Mingi winced at that. Perhaps Yeonjun was right but Mingi was still not used to this treatment. It reminded him of when he was still a royal child and Mingi found that he did not miss it at all. In fact, he could do without it for the rest of his life. 

"I want to talk to Taehyun" Mingi decided, leaving no room for argument. 

"Not possible. Taehyun's on restriction. No one talks to him until tomorrow morning" Beomgy explained. Mingi turned to Yeonjun and Soobin, surprised. 

"Am I not your guest?" Mingi hated to pull that card but he needed to talk to Taehyun, needed to find out why the child hated him so much. Yeonjun considered it but then nodded and led Mingi to Taehyun's door.

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Yeonjun-18
Soobin-17
Beomgyu-16
Taehyun-15
Kai-15