Blackbeard; The Legend

Humbling Position

Akahana awoke with a jolt, her heart racing. Her eyes looked frantically around the room, only for her to realize that she wasn't on the deck, fighting for her life. Rather, she was in a small room, where beside her bed was a table filled with various bottles, powders, and bandages. A bright light shone out from a window, illuminating the darkness a little bit. Akahana tried to get up, but a sudden ache made her lie back down. Looking to her shoulder, she saw bandages firmly wrapped around her body, especially around her stomach.

She gritted her teeth, and she sat up, groaning at the pain. "Where am I?" She whispered to herself. Slowly, she lifted herself off the cot, and when she touched the floor, she almost collapsed, and nearly knocked over the table, gripping it as she steadied herself. She limped towards the door, and reached out.

Suddenly, the door opened, causing her to topple over. "Oh, shoot! Sorry!" Akahana looked up and saw Ryota. "You okay?" He asked, gently helping Akahana up.

"Urgh." She groaned. "Yes, I'm-I'm fine. Where am I?"

"You're in the infirmary." He answered. "You were unconscious for almost two days." He grinned. "Come up. Everyone is waiting for you."

"For me?" Akahana asked.

"Yeah! Especially after what you did!" Ryota led Akahana out of the infirmary and up to the deck. Unlike the day of the attack, the sun shone brightly in the cerulean sky, small white clouds drifting in the blue. As well as that, there was a small chill in the air, a bit colder than before. Upon their entrance, the other passengers and some of the crew ran to her, praise and adoration in their voices and eyes. Stormfeather walked up to her, pride in his gaze.

"There she is!" He warmly said. "One of the best fighter's me ever seen!" He clapped Akahana hard on the back. "Me hearties, you should've seen the absolute capacity of 'tis woman! She singlehandedly defeated an Alpha!" He guffawed.

"Thanks captain," Akahana smiled. "But I do believe that there were others that also helped fight off the monsters."

Stormfeather chuckled. "Modest one, eh?" He put his hand around her shoulder and shouted lively. "Bless me fortune above for bringing a lovely and brave maiden on this ship!" The rest of the crowd cheered to that. Through the crowd, Akahana could see Takahiro standing apart from the crowd, and when he saw her looking, he looked away.

The captain noticed her gaze, and scoffed. "Don't mind high and mighty prince peacock. And besides, I bet you haven't eaten yet." He gestured to the passengers. "Come now. Breakfast is ready!" The captain led Akahana into the dining hall, the rest of the crowd following after. Akahana sat near the head of the table, and soon enough, a plate filled with an odd variety of chopped meat, onions, eggs and olives.

"What is this?" She asked, poking cautiously at the strange dish.

"This here is salmagundi." Stormfeather answered. "It ain't a dish we usually prepare, but after the spectacle that you pulled off," He grinned. "You deserve it." Akahana looked down on her plate, and scooped up a bit of it up. She put it in her mouth, and tasted it. "How does it taste, beauty?" Stormfeather asked.

Akahana smacked her lips. "It's...delicious." She began eating more of it, causing the captain to chuckle. "Can I have some more?" She asked, licking her lips.

Stormfeather chuckled. "Hungry, eh? Oi!" He called to one of the crew. "Get this lady some more grub!" Her plate was taken away, and Akahana looked around the dining hall. Everybody was in good spirits; Ryota was dramatically retelling the events of the battle on the deck to the racoon boy Koji while his mother smiled. Yet, amidst the crowd of smiling faces, Takahiro's stood out sorely, as he picked at his plate with sadness. When they locked eyes, he looked away, shame in his eyes.