Motley (#Wattys2016)

1: The Smart One

"HAH! I win again!"

Reiko stood victorious across the table from Ryota. "Come on, play me again!" Ryota growled. He took the cards back and started shuffling irritably.

"You're a sore loser," Reiko said, and stuck out her tongue at him. "Let's all face it; I'm the queen when it comes to Rummy." She tossed her raven-black cornrowed braids behind her back and sat down. Her fierce dark eyes glittered with a dare. "Bring it, Ryota."

"Give up, Ryota. She'll never stop," Satoru laughed. He was sitting between the two players, with Nori across from him at the square table. The only reason why he hadn't agreed to play was because he liked being a spectator. Every time Reiko made a brilliant play, his large eyes would widen from laughter. Well, that and the fact that he knew she could beat him at any card game.

Ryota dealt the cards after a quick drink and Reiko looked intently at her hand, spread out like a fan. While they played, Satoru addressed Nori. "You've been pretty quiet, captain."

Nori had her feet up on the table and her arms over the back of her chair, leaning back. She appeared to be staring at the ceiling, watching the red pipe smoke from the bar waft and swirl. Since the grimy windows made the light dim, the smoke was visible hanging in the air. Nori's drink had barely been touched. She slowly moved her head to look at Satoru's inquisitive brown eyes. "Oh, yeah?"

He nodded. "You're usually joining in Rummy by now. Something's wrong. Did we pick a bad tavern or something?" Although, they had seen worse than this run-down old place with scuffed wood floors and peeling wallpaper.

She shook her head, still slowly like she was underwater. "I was just thinking... Maybe we need to find another crew member. A band of four pirates isn't so productive. You know the dreaded Captain Ito commanded a whole fleet of ships in his day?"

"We're doing fine without a fifth member, Nori! What makes you say that?"

Nori took her feet off the table and let her chair fall forward onto the dirty floor. "We're broke, dumbass. Haven't you noticed?"

"Ooh, language! Watch your mouth, captain," Ryota taunted, smirking a bit and taking a card from Nori's side of the table.

"You too if you don't want to have a slit throat," Nori shot back.

Satoru folded his hands together. "Nori, we aren't that poor. We can afford drinks and everything."

"Barely," she said. "Our ship is falling into disrepair. We have no treasure, no money, and no fresh water. We're failing as pirates. That's why we're at this bloody tavern in the first place."

"This isn't too bad... I mean, it could be worse."

"We're living off liquor and stale flatbread," Nori said bluntly. "You know we need a fifth member." It wasn't the problem that they were ineffective in their pirating skills, but she felt like another member would certainly improve their efficiency. They hadn't had a successful raid in a month.

Satoru leaned forward too. "Listen. We've made it this far. I know you're stubborn, but you need to understand the danger of letting someone join."

"I let you join! You don't seem to have a problem!" Nori said.

"You've known me since we were twelve! Come on, Nori!"

"I like our crew just the way it is! You can't just let anybody in!" Reiko piped in unexpectedly. It was clear she was winning by a long shot, and she looked bored with the game already, folding the scuffed corners of the cards and rifling the deck. Her idleness seemed to be spurring Ryota onward. His eyes were screwed up in concentration.