Blackbeard; The Legend

Deck Dispute

For the first few days that the ship was sailing, most of the passengers weren't too eager to socialize or to even talk to one another. Aside from the raccoon boy, who was always kicking around his rubber ball and pretend playing, there wasn't too much commotion onboard. During dinner, they all sat next to one another in silence, the captain gazing at them, amused at the silence. The food wasn't that bad, as the ship had a surprisingly good amount of sustenance on board. The dishes mostly consisted of fish, bread, a lot of fruits and vegetables, and a mug of juice. Akahana heard the raccoon boy complain about eating the vegetables, but he ate them reluctantly. When asking Stormfeather about this, he laughed.

"'Cause o' scurvy beauty," He clucked. "And 'ere I thought ye were smart." He leaned back against the railing. "Ev'ry man who has ever sailed knows that without the stuff that those veggies give, yer death would be a painful one. Loss of teeth, sickly skin, and other things that would make a maiden like ya squeamish."

Among the passengers, the fox, Ryota, seemed to have the most spirit out of all of them. Every morning, he'd wake up early and strum his shamisen, creating an upbeat tune that would serve as an awakening, getting the rest of them up. He didn't seem to care about his unkempt and untidy appearance, or his unceremonious fur; rather, he took pride in it. Akahana once gave him a look of mild repugnance, and he smiled back at her.

"What?" He asked. "I'm simply being me. Which is already tough as it is." He joked, and Akahana couldn't help but crack a smile at Ryota's comical energy. Even when his fur was damp from the surprise downpour that occurred yesterday, he had laughed it off and strummed a tune that made everyone else a little more warmer that day.

"Hah!" A shout came from the other end of the ship. Gazing over, Akahana saw Ryota practising again. He wielded a chigiriki, and he trained himself by swinging it around, often for many hours. But, from all of the times she had seen him training, Akahana noticed that he was a bit unfocused as he swung the weapon, without precision or aim. And as he brandished it one last time, the spiked weight attached to the staff whipped backwards and smacked him directly in the face. Akahana rushed over as Ryota toppled and landed on the wooden floor, clutching his face while groaning in pain.

"Are you okay?" She kneeled beside him.

"Yeah...I'm..." He hissed in pain. "Owww..."

"Let me see." She gently pushed his hand aside to examine the bruise, which thankfully was just a minor welt.

"Is it bad?" He asked.

"No," She sighed with relief. "It's not that bad."

"Phew! That's a relief." Ryota said as he tentatively touched the bruise. "I was worried that it would ruin my absolutely perfect face."

Akahana smirked as she picked up his mace, and held it out to him. "You should be careful. These spikes could injure some very important parts."

"Yeah, well," Ryota grinned. "You never know until you try."

"Awww," Came a mocking voice from above, "Does the little whelp need a bandage?" The taunt came from the peacock, Takahiro, as he smirked down at Akahana and the fox. Out of all of the passengers that were on the ship, he was the most unbearable. Like Akahana, it seemed that he came from some wealthy family, but he ran away for some reason. However, even as he was far from home, he still strutted around the ship like he owned the place, his voice smug and regal.

"Just ignore him." Akahana murmured to Ryota. "He's just trying to annoy us."

"What's that?" Takahiro put his hand to his ear. "I thought I heard something." He shrugged. "I guess it's nobody noteworthy of any attention." He walked away, chuckling. "Oh and also, you call that training whelp? By the looks of it, you're just waving it blindly like a complete buffoon!" He laughed jeeringly.

Ryota growled furiously, and in a flash, he snatched his chigiriki from Akahana's hand and flung it at Takahiro, the bludgeon sailing towards the prince, striking him on the back of his head, causing him to stumble. The weapon clattered on the deck, and Akahana looked at Ryota, who was equally surprised that he actually threw his mace.

"Well, well." Takahiro turned around, rubbing the back of his head and gently checking his head feathers as he glared at Ryota. "Seems like our whelp can't help himself." From the sheaths of his coat, the glint of metal shone. In one quick motion, he drew two kunai, the daggers glistening in the midday sun.

"Oh yeah?" Ryota stood up, baring his fangs. "Come down here and I'll show you who's the whelp!"

Takahiro smirked, and in a flash, he threw the blades at Ryota, which sped fast through the air and straight at Ryota's head. Akahana quickly drew out her sword and deflected them, and they clanged harmlessly on the ground.

"Wha-!" Ryota looked at the kunai on the floor, and back to Takahiro. "What the hell is your problem?! That could've-"

"That's enough." Akahana silenced Ryota, sheathing her katana back into its case. She looked up at Takahiro, who looked disappointed that his kunai didn't hit their mark.

"Hmph." He scowled at her. "I wasn't even aiming for his head." He strode away, leaving Akahana and Ryota on deck.

"You didn't have to defend me." Ryota muttered. "I could've defeated him even without my mace."

"And you could've ended up injured or worse. if I didn't step in." She picked up one of the kunai and twirled it around her fingers, the steel cutting softly through the air. "That peacock does have skill, I give him that. But he's too prideful." She looked at the fox. "And if you really want to prove him wrong, then you need to get better."

"Well, I'm already pretty good, aren't I?" Ryota asked.

"Weeeeell," Akahana stopped twirling the kunai. "You do need to get better with your weapon. You can't just swing it around and expect that it's going to hit your enemies right where you want it to hit."

"Well, how do you suppose I'll train?" Ryota asked. "As you saw, I'm not the best when I do it by myself." He rubbed at the bruise on his head.

Akahana shrugged. "Yes, I wonder who else on this ship can teach poor little Ryota..." She smiled as Ryota realized what she was implying.

"You'll train me?" He asked with uncertainty.

"Yes." She smiled. "Just because I'm good with one weapon doesn't mean I don't recognize when a fellow warrior needs help." She tapped her scabbard. "Besides, you do want to put that peacock in his place, right?

"Heck yeah, I do." Ryota snickered. "So...are we going to do it now, or..?" He asked.

Akahana thought about it for a moment, before she answered. "Perhaps later in the evening, after dinner?"

Ryota nodded eagerly. "Yeah, that can work!" Akahana smiled at his enthusiasm.

"Well, I guess that settles it." She pocketed Takahiro's kunai blades, and began to walk off. "Oh, and also, you probably should get your mace from up there."