[AU Log] It's (Not) a Pirate's Life for Me

It's been a month since the mershark came aboard the Eighth Wonder as prisoner. In that time span, Hotaru had gotten to know her a fair deal, seeing as he was often assigned for guard duty. Though really, it wasn't much of a position- she was as tough as they come, but she was waterlocked in a barrel. But hey, if they were gonna feed him for watching a mermaid, then so be it. He certainly wasn't going to complain; truth be told, he didn't really want to be a pirate in the first place. It just... kind of happened? It was hard to explain.

It was about noon when he was called up on deck with a, "All hands on deck!" Bright sunlight damn near blinded him as he surfaced, moving slowly as he adjusted. A group of individuals were lined up on the starboard side, with the Captain pacing back and forth in front of them. "Lads, meet th' new recruits of the Eighth Wonder!" he bellowed, spittle flying from his mouth and landing on his beard. Hotaru's gaze fixated on the one woman of the crew, tilting his head curiously. They let a woman on board? These pirates didn't seem to be a very.... accepting bunch, let's say. He quickly averted his gaze when she looked his way, only half listening to what else the captain had to say. Probably assigning them duties or starting up with the newbie harassment, he was sure.

--

She had taken too long. She knew she had. There was no way Shiba was still ok, there was no way she'd still be waiting. If she was lucky, she would have found her way out and to safety by now. And how was Ikazuchi to find Shiba in the open ocean? No, pay attention. Don't be suspicious. You'll know soon enough.

"Lads, meet th' new recruits of the Eighth Wonder!" No one dared to question the captain's judgement. No one dared mention that there was a woman among the new recruits. She tried to tune back in to what he was saying. Guard duty, that caught her attention. He assigned guard duty to....

Her eyes followed his gaze to rest upon what must have been the scrawniest pirate she had ever seen, only to see that he was already looking at her curiously. But what was new there, most of the crew seemed to be trying to keep questioning eyes off of her.

It hadn't been so long ago that Ikazuchi had found herself in port, looking for a place on the fabled ship. 

"There's nothing here for me any longer," she had said to the recruiting officer. "I lost my husband at sea. I no longer wish to live a widower, and if I die the same death as he did, I will die in peace," she lied through her teeth. The recruiting officer had seemed hesitant. "We don't bring women aboard the Eighth Wonder," he stated plainly, and Ika continued her charade, swearing she was strong as two, maybe even three men, only to be interrupted by a new man, one she would later learn was the quartermaster, the second in command. 

His eyes, blue with the faintest hint of purple seeping in at the edge of his irises, glinted when he laid them upon her, following the every curve of her body, a small smirk forming on his face. She may not have been dainty or beautiful, but she was desperate. Practically begging to be taken... onto the ship, that was. He brushed his long locks of blonde hair out of his face as he began to speak. "I'm sure that if all else fails, we'd find use for a woman," he stated plainly, and so they signed her on. She nearly gagged, a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she signed her life away- 'Elaine Merlo'

A voice jerked her out of the memory.

Swabbie. Thats all she was now. The lowest position possible, but what had she been expecting? Cleaning was something a woman knew how to do. She spent long hours working to swab the deck, overhearing stories of the ship's prisoner. New recruits peeked in on her as if going to see a freak show. Older crew members told stories about her capture, embellishing the story and making it sound grandiose, amazing, like they were heroes. But Ika knew there was a reason they had to sign on new recruits, and she was a big part of it.

For two long, unbearable weeks she listened, trying not to spend every waking moment thinking of her loved one. Trying to act jaded, like she couldn't care less, and for the most part she succeeded.

On day 17, the moment of truth arrived- was Shiba ok? Was she alive? How was she? Assigned to bring supper down to the guard and a minuscule amount of.... fish... mush? to the prisoner, she descended below the deck. Her eyes took a moment to adjust, but there she was. The anger, confusion and relief all crossed Ikazuchi's face in a matter of seconds before she began approaching the two, trying to put on a straight face- but the pain was still clear to read in her eyes.

--

Shiba wasn't sure how much time had passed before the Captain's muffled barking had subsided, but shortly after, Hotaru returned below deck, since his shift wasn't up yet. Great. More eyes to gawk at the 'mershark prisoner' while she was stuffed in this barrel. She was practically leaping with joy.

"Not looking forward to meeting those recruits, huh," he commented, seeing her expression. She scowled, sinking lower into the water. "What gave it away?" she muttered

He sighed. "I'll try to keep them at bay, don't worry." She looked to the side, muttering a quiet, "...thanks."

--

It was day three by the time Shiba realized a game changer. Though she'd seen no sight of her, the guards had loose lips. In passing, they and their buddies would make comments about one of the new recruits- some incredulous at how strong she was, others betting how long she'll last on a ship like this. She. Shiba tried not to get her hopes up- it'd been almost five weeks now. In all honesty, she should have busted out of here by now, but that was easier said than done when the water was so close yet so painfully far away. Her heart yearned for the ocean, missed the swell of the waves beating against her skin. Hell, even one of those 'aquariums' the pirates mentioned once would be a step up from this cramped barrel. The only time she was free of it was when they changed out the water- and that was only with Hotaru. The others have offered, but after Marlin tried to cop a feel- he lost a few fingers that day- she only saw open space on Hotaru's shifts. He seemed to be the only one who treated her like an actual person and not a trophy or beast.

Which is what she had been waiting patiently for. So when Hotaru finally descended those stairs, she was temporarily free of her barrel- until her skin started feeling dry, that is- and the barrel was refilled with fresh seawater, she dared to ask a question. Or at least, she was going to, but Hotaru beat her to it. "I think the new woman recruit is the only one of the lot with some form of common sense."

Shiba tilted her head, feigning nonchalance. "Why is that?" "She's the only one who isn't shitting themselves that you're here. I don't even think she's come down to see you." That's because she hasn't. 

"What's she like?" she asked, to which Hotaru shrugged. "She acts pretty tough... pretty typical of what you'd expect a pirate to be like, I guess." No information there. She risked one more question. "If she's the only one with sense, how'd she end up here?" Again, Hotaru shrugged. "Something about her husband being lost at sea as a pirate, and wanting to like.... I guess go out in the same way? I'uno, the Cap'n was talking about it before." 

Lost at sea. Change the word husband, and.... Shiba slumped against the wall, trying to hide the fact that her heart had skipped a beat. It couldn't be. It couldn't be. Hide it. "Oh."

Hotaru looked over at the mershark with curiosity. Why would that matter to her? Unless.... oh. Right. Everyone's heard the tale of the Tempest Vanguard: of the demon pirate captain with red eyes and the shark she commanded. They had been unstoppable, causing havoc on the seven seas for years, until... well, until the Eighth Wonder came along with a plan to take them down a peg. Now they had the shark, but... had Shiba been hoping this was that same captain?

He sighed. It couldn't be her; this woman's eyes were brown. He looked over at Shiba again. She seemed guarded now, curled in on herself- similar to how she was around him in the very beginning. A pang of pity in his throat, he helped Shiba back into her stuffy barrel.
---
Shiba couldn't believe her eyes when her meal was brought to her on the seventeenth day. Ikazuchi descended the wooden stairs with the midday sun wrapped around her in a veil of light. She looked like an angel, and Shiba had never been so happy to see her in her life. For the absolute briefest of moments, it was apparent on her face, but she recovered a heartbeat later, her expression carefully guarded as she was given her 'food.' She spared the briefest of glances at Hotaru, who was staring back at her. Fuck. He hoped she hadn't seen that.

She wanted to say something, anything to her, but she was afraid of blowing Ikazuchi's cover. So instead she said nothing, watching the girl silently- she attempted a menacing look, for appearance's sake, but Ika would likely see right through that.

It was Hotaru who broke the silence, turning to 'Elaine.' "I would hold out the food from you as far as you can. She can be, uh... a little wild sometimes," he said. Shiba might have tried to hide it, but he saw that look on her face, however brief it was. He might have believed it, if Elaine wasn't so.... so not what a demon captain should look like. Sure, she was tough, but there was no glint of fire and brimstone to her eyes, no real commanding presence to her. Had she not been the only woman on the crew, she likely would have blended right in. If this really was the mighty Ikazuchi, sea captain of the Tempest Vanguard, then there was no way Shiba was a threat to her; but Hotaru wasn't so sure of that.

--

It killed her to have to direct her eyes away from Shiba after she hadn't seen her in so long- every curve, every edge, every strand of hair and fleck of color in her iris had been missed and reinvented in Ikazuchi's brain time and time again. But her wildest imaginings couldn't hold a candle to how beautiful, stunning, amazing her love looked that sweet first moment she once again laid eyes on her.

And then she looked for a moment too long. She took in the pale skin, the cramped quarters, the thinning she could see in her cheeks, the-

Hotaru's remark forced her to finally avert her gaze, though she had to fight every muscle in her body to not turn to look at Shiba once again. It was clear she was shaken, you could see if deep in her eyes, below the brown, below the garnet speckles. There it was, a fire that wouldn't be smothered, something that couldn't be hidden- some demon love child of spitting anger and deep sorrows.

It made the next part even harder. She only shared one glance with Shiba, and even that was too much right now. She shoved the food at Hotaru. "I've been told she likes you. And I'm not losing an arm over some half-dead fish," she practically spat as she turned on one heel and walked away. Those were the hardest steps she had ever taken in her life, feeling as if something was pulling her back with every forward movement of her body, every ounce of force she put out being pushed back against her, weighing heavily on her chest and her conscience.

She brought them food every day that week, each day exchanging as few words as possible, shoving the food at Hotaru and then leaving. But it was those few, short moments that kept her going through the days. Those few looks they shared, trying to convey everything, every I love you, I miss you, every unspoken word and feeling with just the briefest glances.

Ikazuchi's dislike of their prisoner became blatant to the others on board. She did what she was told, but if she wasn't, she didn't spend time dallying around the mermaid like many of the men on the ship seemed to enjoy doing. If asked about it, she simply replied that she hadn't time for someone who meant so little to her. The captain would do with the prisoner what he pleased, and she didn't care either way. Well, that was a lie. Elaine didn't want to go through the trouble of dealing with Ikazuchi, much like the rest of the crew.

"You're changing her water from here on out," the cabin boy informed her one afternoon, catching her by surprise. "What?"

"The prisoner. Her guard was injured, he won't be able to refill her barrel any longer. The quartermaster says you're the only one that won't dally, and you're not afraid of her," Ikazuchi looked apathetic before shrugging. "When?" 

"Now."

She made her way downstairs, below deck, to a familiar sight- the two of them sitting, talking. Hotaru's wrist was wrapped and, now that she thought about it, she did hear something about a fight. It was no surprise he had been the one to sustain injuries. After all, just... look at him.

"How do you do it? Refill the barrel, I mean," she cleared up without further greeting.

--

The first words she's heard Ikazuchi speak in weeks, and they cut her like a lance. A half dead fish? It was a good insult, but Shiba reacted to it anyways, unable to stop herself as she hissed, "I'll show you half-dead!" She nearly launched herself out of the barrel, the weight of her tail and her grip on the edge of the wood being the only two things keeping her grounded as she snarled, baring her teeth menacingly.

Hotaru had leapt up in the same moment, arms out and ready to catch should the barrel start to tip, but not quite touching the mershark. Silver and amber eyes watched Ikazuchi walk off before Shiba begrudgingly snatched the pitiful meal out of Hotaru's hand and sunk as far into the barrel as she could go. Half-dead fish her ass- she devoured her food in a frenzy. It was bad enough she could feel her muscles atrophying- bad enough she felt her ribs against her arms when she moved. She sunk even lower into the barrel, her head disappearing into the water. If that's what 'Elaine' thought of her, then she'd damn well better start proving her wrong.
---
For each day afterwards, Shiba was the most alert she's been for weeks whenever Ikazuchi delivered a meal. Sometimes she hid in the water, watching, waiting, others she had her body out up to her torso, trying to act independently of Hotaru and confronting the other pirate herself. It never worked, due to still being stuck in a barrel, but not for lack of trying on her end. Her appearance didn't improve, but her fight returned with a vigor, refusing to let Ika believe she'd given up. They were getting out of here. They were.
--

"And then we-" It was Shiba who first heard footsteps approaching the stairs, and paused only for a moment before continuing her story. "....blew a hole through the side of their ship using their own cannon. The Dawn Crusader never stood a chance," She stopped as a figure appeared in her peripheral vision, quieting down immediately once she saw it was Ikazuchi. When Ikazuchi mentioned the barrel, Shiba's gaze dropped to Hotaru's injured hand for a moment, before her gaze refocused and settled on the woman in front of her.

The harsh lines that marred Ika's face more suited the legend that earned her her reputation than it did the Ikazuchi that Shiba knew. It looked wrong, and even as Ika drew a curtain around her emotions, it was plain for the mershark to see that this facade was taking its toll on her. The bags under her pirate's eyes wore at her conscience, and in that moment she wanted nothing more than to reach out and hold her face between her hands, to tell her that she loved her and that it was alright to rest now. She didn't have to worry anymore.

But that simply wasn't the case. The reality of the situation said otherwise, so even as Ikazuchi inquired about the barrel, Shiba remained tense, staring her down as if one wrong move would mean a vicious bite. She remained silent, so it was Hotaru who explained how it worked. "Pretty self explanatory. Shiba gets hauled out of the barrel- I usually put her over there by that wall- the water gets dumped overboard, and we usually use that smaller keg over there to transport more salt water into the barrel."

--

Ika looked hesitant to approach, but not for reasons someone else might think. "You try and pull anything, you drown in your own piss. I'm all you've got, no one else wants this job," she warned before approaching slowly, hands out in front of her as if approaching a wild dog, trying to make it as comfortable as possible.

--

"Shi?" Hotaru looked at the mermaid quizzically, but whether it was more in a 'why are you acting like this?' or a 'please don't bite her, it's cool' was uncertain. Shiba almost wanted to scoff at him-, there was no way in hell she was biting her pirate- but she couldn't exactly tell him that. Instead she relented, begrudgingly allowing the contact. Her fangs hid themselves behind her lips, her posture relaxed to a point where she no longer looked like she would strike. She could see a few heads of the crew peaking down from above ship, clearly waiting for Ikazuchi to get bit, but she had made it very clear- if no one else wanted this job, then the 'scary mershark' wasn't going to fuck herself over.

But because of them, she couldn't look like she was happy about it.

--

Approaching ever so slowly still, Ikazuchi positioned herself in a way that she could wrap one arm around Shiba and pull her upwards, looping the other arm under her tail and standing still momentarily, eyes on the mershark, her mershark.

Feeling skin on skin again, having her so close, Ikazuchi wanted to lean down and press her lips to those of her love, to whisper sweet nothings and tell her she loved her, it would be ok. But there was no way that was happening right now.

She moved to bring Shiba over to the far wall, with the comfort and confidence that said she had done this a thousand times, dropping her unceremoniously but not quite roughly to the floor.

She went about busying herself with the barrel, trying to make small talk, hoping she might pipe up; but she didn't dare speak to Shiba directly. "How long have you been aboard?" she asked Hotaru plainly, though her eyes shifted back to Shiba every now and again,

--

As Shiba was lifted out of the barrel, her arms instinctively wrapped themselves around Ika's neck to support herself. It was difficult to try and look stiff and uncomfortable when all she wanted to do was curl into the other woman, but she managed. Her gaze was carefully trained on the wall that Ikazuchi was bringing her towards, determined not to break eye contact with the wood. It was easier this way, at least while she couldn't afford the luxury of being with the one she loved. She would soon, though. That was the mantra she repeated in her mind as she fell with a wet slap to the floor.

Since she couldn't curl into Ikazuchi, she curled towards the wall instead, her hair hanging like a curtain in front of her face. Her webbed fingers lightly rested over the spot where Ika's hand had been on her torso, feeling the warmth seep into her skin as she listened to Ika and Hotaru's conversation. The men above, seeming bored at the lack of action, grumbled incredulously to themselves and left as Ika went about her business.

Hotaru looked up, as if surprised that Ikazuchi was talking to him. "Not much longer than you," he shrugged as he munched on a piece of bred. "Maybe three, four months? It all kind of blends together after a while, y'know?"

--

Taking her time with the chore as to give Shiba enough time to stretch and see outside, she kept up the conversation. "And how long have you been stuck with that," she nodded her head towards Shiba. It was practically physically painful to refer to her as a 'that' but she managed.

--

"With... her?" Hotaru clarified, but when Ikazuchi only grunted in response, he didn't comment and instead moved. "I think... two months?" 

"Two and a half." Shiba's voice corrected from her corner, face still hidden by her hair. He shrugged, sparing a glance at the mershark before returning his attention to the pirate woman. "Guess it's two and a half, then."

--

By the way Ikazuchi's eyes lit up, one might think god himself had extended to her a personal invitation to heaven, but this was much better than that. Two and a half, two and a half, two and a half, she tried to grasp the phrase, to keep it from slipping from between her fingers, to keep Shiba's voice ringing through her head. Never had she been thankful to have sharp words strung together and spit at her. But this time, she thanked any gods that may have been listening.

What would keep her talking? Oh. OH.

"Nobody was speaking to you," she spat back, hoping to be graced with the sound of her voice once again, even if it came with false, harsh words.

"Don't speak to me unless I speak to you first."

--

There was an ominous stillness to Shiba's form as Ika's words were flung at her: silence fell across the room like a heavy fog. Hotaru immediately felt uncomfortable to be in the room- like he was intruding somehow- but he dared not leave, lest the captain reprimand him. There was no way this could be the fabled Vanguard captain. He thought he might have been mistaken when her eyes lit up for a moment, but that harshness was too real- wasn't it? He looked at Shiba, hoping for some kind of tell.

Shiba didn't know why Ika was acting this way, why she was speaking so harshly- god, did those words claw at her heart- but she would not fall into complacency. When she finally spoke, there was a weight to her words despite being so quiet, a command to them that sent chills down the spines of any who listened. Her voice was strained when it came out, fighting back some kind of emotion as silver eyes peeked through the curtain of hair defiantly. "I will speak whenever I please. If you don't like it, you're going to have to throw me overboard or kill me."

--

"Throwing you overboard sounds like a good option," she replied quickly. "Guess I should consider myself lucky," she hoisted Shiba off the ground without asking this time, and definitely holding her just a little tighter than before. "I heard she's your lover, you know. I heard she's dead. That's what everyone says at least," she took slow steps as if it might slow the time, allowing her to hold the mershark longer, even if only a second more.

"I'll bet she'd do just about anything to hear your voice right now."

--

Despite the hostility in her eyes, Shiba didn't fight Elaine when she picked her up. She didn't bother asking who 'she' was- both her and Elaine knew very well who the pirate was talking about. A hint of blue tinged her cheeks, soft enough not to be noticed unless the spectator was beside her, but it was there, nevertheless. "I didn't realize pirates were so into gossip," she grumbled.

The last sentence made her voice catch in her throat and tug on her heartstrings. In that moment, she cursed the captain, the first mate, the quartermaster, every goddamn pirate that truly belonged to the Eighth Wonder. It it weren't for them, they wouldn't even be in this situation. 

"...I bet she would."

--

Bringing her back to the barrel and with her back towards Hotaru, she placed her gently in. As she did, she leaned just a little bit closer and quietly, more quietly than Ika had spoken in her entire life, she whispered, "Pirates only gossip about beautiful women, my love," and righted herself immediately, clearing her throat.

"Is there anything else you need me to do while I'm here?" she faced Hotaru once again.

--

Any viciousness in Shiba's expression melted at that- how can you hold any type of facade after hearing something like that? Even in these conditions, Ikazuchi was still an absolute sap. She sank wordlessly into the water, facing away from Hotaru and the stairs so as not to draw any suspicion. She didn't resurface as her head became submerged- she didn't think she could continue any sort of convincing show after that.

What Ikazuchi said was news to Hotaru- if that was what everyone said, it was the first he'd heard of it, although things made infinitely more sense to him now. That was why Shiba talked the way she did about that pirate captain. They were in love. Oh.

Elaine's words interrupted his train of thought, focusing on the world around him once more. "Oh, uhh-" he peeked over at Shiba, who was completely out of sight at the moment. "I guess not. Thanks for the help with the barrel. I know this is a pain for you," He replied, although there was a look in his eyes that suggested he wasn't so sure about that.

--

That became the routine. Day in and day out, Ikazuchi would come down in the afternoon to bring them lunch and clean out the barrel, then once again to bring them supper. It seemed that the captain had quickly realized that Elaine was the only one, besides Hotaru, who was safe from the shark's wrath.

Word spread that she must hate men- the prisoner, that was. Surely that must be it. While among her other shipmates, Ika threw on her best facade and told stories of how she had "tamed her." She gritted her teeth through each and every lie about how superior she was and Shiba had never stood a chance, but she said it all nevertheless.

Those lies are what permitted her to go back every day, and going back every day was, in turn, what kept pushing her through the long hours and constant socialization with men. The feeling of holding her lover in her arms, that closeness. It was like water on the lips of a man who had been wandering the desert for days- but just a drop, just enough to keep her going. Never enough to satiate her thirst, her desire to run away from here, to move on, to be with Shiba again.

But this would have to do for now.

--

It was the fourth day of this routine when it was obvious something was amiss with Shiba. She was quieter than normal, even when harsh rhetoric was thrown at her. She seemed to only present one side of her, a paleness and wooziness to her that never seemed present before. Still, when Elaine approached her to remove her from the barrel, she recoiled, hands clenched tight to her chest as she revealed two rows of sharp teeth.

She hadn't gotten it to stop bleeding in time. Her right hand was a bloody mess, but at this angle she could hide the sight from the others. The other guy- she didn't care enough to know his name- was even worse off. She'd prided herself on the damage done to him, honestly, but the consequence had been this. No amount of pressure she applied to the wound herself was getting it to stop any time soon, and now here was 'Elaine.' If she picked her up, she'd notice the hand- if she dumped the barrel, she'd see the unnatural shade of blue it held. The only option, then, was to act aggressive and hope no one would notice, but judging by Hotaru's look of concern, even this was turning up flat.

--

Ikazuchi furrowed her brows as Shiba did this. Since when was she so into acting? No matter, she wasn't just going to pull her out ,though. Well, normally she wouldn't have, but she had a show to put on. So she scooped Shiba up and started moving her per usual when- wait. Something was off. Something wasn't right with her. It only took a moment for her to see what was amiss here, but when she did, a fire burned in her eyes like most had never, and likely would ever see again. She tensed, looking to Hotaru first for answers but at a loss for words.

--

The inferno ablaze in Elaine's eyes caused Hotaru to wither slightly under stare. If looks could kill.... yeesh. He put his hands up in front of him defensively. "Whoa, what happened?" he asked, afraid to come over there and check Shiba for himself. Sunlight streamed in from up above and cast a red flame to Elaine's eyes, making her look positively menacing: much like... well, like a demon. It was only then that he saw the blue blood splatters on the floor, and he blanched.

Shit. Shiba knew the jig was up the moment Elaine hoisted her up anyways. Struggling at this point would just splatter blood everywhere, so she just waited for the realization to occur. It didn't take long. "M'fine," she muttered, barely a whisper so as not to draw attention. She didn't elaborate on the situation. "It just needs to clot."

--

Taking a deep, shaky breath Elaine lowered both herself and Shiba onto the ground, grabbing up her hand to apply pressure onto the wound with the bottom of her shirt. Her eyes returned to Hotaru. "Go get the surgeon. His name's Imanao," she hissed and as he left, she looked back down at Shiba.

"Who did it, Shiba? Who dared do this?" she needed to calm down, and quick if other people would be coming to see what was going on soon.

--

Hotaru didn't say a word as he left- in fact, he barely breathed until he was out into the open air. Imanao. Wasn't that the grumpy doctor who always stayed in his quarters? He made a beeline for it just in case, knocking three times on the door. "Imanao? You in here?"

Shiba sank down into Ikazuchi's lap, unable to go anywhere else- not that she minded. Under normal circumstances, she would have relaxed into her, rested her head on the pirate's shoulder, but instead she relinquished her grip on her wounded hand, "Doesn't matter. He won't be able to do it again," she muttered. Her gaze flickered up to the woman and tried to quell her rage. "Really, I'm alright," She just hoped Ika wouldn't take a closer look at the hand. With a few stitches, it should be fine, but it looked nastier than it felt. She winced as the pressure increased on the wound. Okay, maybe it felt pretty nasty, too, but she'd had worse.

--

The door opened and before Hotaru stood a man of 5'11'' looking down upon him. From within the room, you could hear a drunken groaning and upon closer inspection, you could see bloodstains on the 'surgeon's' clothes. "What? I'm busy. Somebody else got to the shark, getting really tired of this," he sounded frustrated but looked oddly patient, not moving and instead waiting for an explanation.

Ikazuchi, on the other hand, absolutely did not look patient. She didn't take a closer look at the hand, instead putting a little more pressure on it. "You don't have to lie to me." It seems that they were gathering a little audience now.

And then, the mumbling started. They looked awfully close now, and, wait, is that....? No way. No way the Vanguard captain had been aboard the ship this entire time.

Ikazuchi didn't hear what they were saying, but she didn't really need to. There was an air of unrest and confusion. "You're going to have to really hurt me," she whispered, quiet enough for only Shiba's ears. "Badly. It'll have to be realistic."

--

Hotaru couldn't help himself. He peered past Imanao's form- staring briefly at the bloodstains- and saw glimpses of a brute of a man curled over his hand, but he saw bloody bandages and- were those fingers on the floor? Hotaru blanched, forcing himself to look back at Imanao so he didn't feel nauseous. "Funny you should mention the shark- she's why I'm here." he replied, rubbing the back of his head with a hand. "We could use your expertise on a, uh, wound."

Shiba heard the footsteps and wanted to move away- but legs made that feat rather difficult, especially with the hold Elaine had on her. The whispers still came, mostly of confusion- but she still heard them. She gave one warning and one warning only. 

"Move." 

White fangs flashed forth as Shiba lunged forward, nearly colliding into the wall behind her as Ika just barely made it out of the way in time. She struggled to think of a reason she'd have stopped dead like that in the first place, and went with the first thing that came to mind. "You LIAR! SHE'S NOT DEAD!" an inhuman snarl ripped through the air as she lunged again, this time propelling herself forward with her tail. She swept Ika- quite literally- off of her feet, ignoring the blood and pain that seared through her bad hand. She lunged a third time, jaw set wide as she went to bite.

Hotaru heard a vicious screech coming from the brig, and his eyes went wide. "Now. Now now now please."

--

Ikazuchi wasn't surprised in the slightest by Shiba's quick movements, though the screaming did surprise her a little- that was Ika's specialty, the dramatics. Before she could dwell on it too long, she was on her back, gasping for air, eyes wide like a fish out of water. And then she saw it, the opportunity.

As Shiba lunged forward, Ikazuchi moved directly into her bite, trying her hardest to make it look like she was trying to get away. It mostly succeeded. What really made it convincing was the blood curdling scream she let out as two rows of pin-like teeth dug right into her shoulder, inches from some pretty vital veins and arteries in her neck. That was a little too close for comfort.

The pain made the next part almost a reflex, for which Ikazuchi was grateful. Teeth still lodged in her shoulder, Ika brought her knee up as hard as she could, right into Shiba's gut. With a gasp, the mermaid released her jaw and flew backwards, a mess of purple on the floor where their blood was now mixing and mingling.

It was at about that moment that Imanao descended the stairs, with Hotaru in tow. While everyone else seemed to be some mix of entertained and horrified, he held a straight, calm face as he took quick steps until he was standing between the two of them, a hand held out to each of them. "You can finish this later, when you're not bleeding out," it was a soothing voice, someone trying to calm the situation despite how out of hand it was getting.

Knowing that they didn't really want to be fighting gave him the courage to come between them, to be honest. He was pretty up to date now and, while Elaine had not admitted to being more than that..... there was something there.

"Who's first?"

--

As Ikazuchi tried to steer towards Shiba's fangs, Shiba attempted to move away, resulting in her teeth lodging into the woman's shoulder. But the scream- oh, god, that scream would haunt her. Her blood turned to ice in her veins at the sound. Gore spilled back out of Shiba's mouth as her jaw was forcibly cracked open thanks to a well placed blow to her gut, causing her to double over. Another kick, and she felt herself skidding into the wall, clutching her stomach painfully as blue blood seeped into the deck.

A man's voice interrupted the brawl, unfamiliar. Was that the surgeon? If so, Shiba had never been so grateful for a man to try and come between her and Ika in her life. Now that her face was covered by her hair and posture, she was free to silently express her horror at what she'd done. She'd felt sinew in between her teeth, and while she had tried to make as clean a break as possible, she knew those couldn't have been perfect puncture wounds. She curled in on herself further, clutching her stomach tightly. Daring a glance, she peeked out from behind her hair, tried to see the damage done... and went white. She'd bitten that close to her neck!? If she'd moved just a few inches to the right, she would've..... Ika would have....

The mighty mershark became nothing but a tight ball, closing herself off from the world. A little too close for comfort was one way to put it. A little closer, and her love would have been dead.

--

Hotaru glanced over at Shiba, brows furrowing as she curled in on herself. Even he didn't think he'd be able to get close to her right now without getting bit- the 'shark tamer' certainly couldn't. 

Another pang of doubt flashed through his mind- he had been so certain, in that moment of demon eyes and fiery anger, that Ikazuchi was who had stood before him, but would Shiba have really caused this much damage if that were true? He saw how close the mershark's fangs had gotten to Elaine's neck. He wasn't a doctor, or anything of the sort, but even he could tell it was a close call. 

He sighed, kneeling down beside the wounded pirate. "Elaine's hurt pretty badly," he replied, looking up at Nao. The repercussions of tending to the prisoner before their own would have been monumental, and besides, a bite wound was a more dire fix than a knee to the gut... even if the inclusion of blue blood in the gore was concerning.

--

Imanao nodded, of course of course, their own first. Besides, he still hadn't even gotten a look at what might be wrong with Shiba... but Ika was going to make sure someone knew. So with her good arm, the left one, she reached out and grabbed the front of Hotaru's shirt. "It's her hand. Wrap it," she choked out through gasps, trying to control her breathing without crying out.

No way in hell was she going to look like the wimp here, but fuck this hurt. "Can you help me get her settled in?" Nao asked Hotaru calmly- it was amazing, you'd think he wasn't looking at exposed muscle tissues, veins, arteries, and maybe even a little bone tucked beneath the deep gashes on her shoulder.

"No. I can do it," She blurted out and, amazingly, brought herself to her feet with a little bit of leaning on Nao for help. Once she stood, however, she did seem a little woozy, a little.... gone. He had some other men, stronger men than he himself was, follow just in case she fell, but she nearly walked herself all the way there.

Hotaru would return to Shiba with dressings to cover the wound for now, and a little rum to wash out any bacteria that might be sitting on it. Ikazuchi had insisted.

For the next few hours there was a tenseness around, people generally avoiding the brig. Above the ship's other noises, one could hear clearly the constant stream of curses that rang from across the ship, which eventually died into the occasional drunken slur.

Shiba. Shiba. ShibaShibaShibaShiba. She was the focus of Ika's thoughts as she ground her teeth, trying to cope with the pain. The feeling of their hands intertwined, the way she looked bathed in the starlight one could only experience over the open ocean. Their first kiss and every subsequent one, each being as important, as relevant as the first, their lips pressing softly to each other's. She could be ok, She had to be ok. She had to get them out of here.

--

Hotaru felt fingers curl around the fabric of his shirt, pulling him forward until he was face to face with Ikazuchi. He simply nodded at her demand, eyes wide. He offered to help move her at Imanao's request, but she seemed to have handled it herself, despite her clearly unsteady walk. If it wouldn't wound her image in front of the other pirates, he'd insist on helping anyways, but she'd get less shit this way.

Hotaru did just that. Once the commotion died down, Hotaru snuck back into the brig with supplies from Imanao. He'd seen the progress of Elaine's wounds, enough to give Shiba some assurance. As he descended the stairs, a horrifying realization came to mind as he saw her still curled up on the floor. They forgot to put her back in the barrel. Crap. Crap, she's still out of water. How long had they been above deck?

Moving quickly, he knelt down beside the dangerously still mershark. "Shiba? You okay?"

It was several moments before a dried voice croaked out, "Go away." 

Oh, thank god, she was still alive. Testing the waters, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "No can do." No response. He continued anyways, breaching the topic they both seemed hesitant to bring up. "Imanao stabilized the wound, you know. He's stitching it up now. She'll be okay."

The mershark shifted, peeking up at him from between golden strands of hair. He sighed. "Come on, let's get you in water again. That sea captain of yours wouldn't want you to rot in a place like this." Shiba tensed as Hotaru mentioned Ikazuchi, but whatever fight she'd had before was lost now as he picked her up, struggling a bit with his still bummed hand. Without the barrier of hair and distance in the way, there was a rattle to her breathing, almost as if she were gasping. Her skin felt bone dry, almost sandpapery to the touch- she must have been out too long. As carefully as he could, he deposited her back into the barrel.

He would have thought the relief would be instantaneous, but instead she lay listless in the water, only her head above the surface as she stared blankly ahead. 

"Shiba?" his voice broke through the fog once more, and with heavy eyes she glanced up at him. It looked wrong. She'd never looked so miserably placid. "Can I see your hand for a second?"

There was a pause, but slowly she lifted it out of the water, resting her elbow on the lip of the barrel. Wordlessly, he scrubbed off the dried blood surrounding it, in some cases re-opening the scab on accident, and then disinfecting it with the rum Elaine shoved in his direction before he was sent off. The entire time, Shiba barely moved, her face a pillar of stone as she continued to stare. It wasn't until he started wrapping the wound that her mask broke.

"...I could have killed her." was all she said- her voice a hoarse, horrified whisper. And that's when he knew.

--

it wasn't that much longer until a silence fell across the ship, Imanao making his way down to the brig with Ikazuchi asleep and someone else- the quartermaster, in this case (who had seemed to practically jump at the idea of keeping an eye on her) watching to make sure nothing went wrong. So on the Captain's orders he headed down to check on Shiba, unsure if the man from earlier would still be with her. 

--

When Imanao descended into the bowels of the ship, the mershark was alone. Her gaze drifted slowly over the source of footsteps, perking up only slightly when she saw just who it was. So the surgeon did come back to look at her. Curious. Hotaru had bandaged the wound and stopped the bleeding, so she wasn't sure why he was here- then again, she wasn't that well-versed in medicine.

A question burned in her throat, raw and persistent- begging to be asked- but she dared not set it free. Ikazuchi might trust him, but Shiba didn't know that- and she couldn't let word get around on the ship of Elaine's true identity. Any inquiry of the well-being of the pirate she just tried to rip a hole in- god, her pirate, no less- would be a death sentence. So, she simply stared at him, judging him coldly, but not baring her fangs like she normally did at strangers. Just enough hostility to make him think twice about doing anything, but not enough to book it and leave. The muscles along her body coiled and tensed, as if waiting for some sort of confrontation.

--

Imanao, calmly and without flinching, placed two empty hands in front of him. His voice was soft and gentle as he spoke up. "Your name is Shiba, isn't it? I'd like to take a look at your hand and your stomach, if that's okay with you." There was something different about the way he spoke to her compared to some of the other sailors aboard- he was talking to her, not at her.

--

Her gaze flickered from his hands to his face, head tilted ever so slightly in bemusement. Shiba had been prepared for many things, but a soft voice and open palms were not one of them. To be quite honest, she wasn't sure what to make of it, but he had helped Ika. Taking a deep breath, she slowly extended her now bandaged hand towards him, still watching for any signs of betrayal.

She couldn't hold it in any longer. She asked, passing it off as a matter of bragging rather than concern. "Bet the chunk I took outta that pirate's pretty bad, huh?" she asked. The mershark thought to flash her fangs in a triumphant grin, but the muscles wouldn't move. All she could think of was that scream and how easily her teeth had sunk into Ika's arm...

She felt sick.

---
With Shiba's hand bandaged, Hotaru had left the brig and brought the remainder of the rum and the bandages back up to the doctor's cabin. The door was closed, so after shifting some of the stuff around so that an arm was free, he knocked on the door. "Imanao, got the rest of your stuff."

--

"I'm going to unwrap the bandage now," he stated, pausing to see if she had any concerns or questions before moving forward and slowly unwrapping the dressings. He had found out some of the details of her hand from the patient he had been working on before Hotaru came, and he felt he should take a look for himself. And, truth be told, it didn't look that bad. This was what Ikazuchi had been panicking about?

Then he thought of his wife, Carmella injured and understood a little better. Her bragging, however, didn't seem to faze him. Without looking up to judge her expression, he responded, "Well she kept her arm, and shes all stitched up. I'm just unsure of why she was so worried about you," his voice lowered ever so slightly at the last statement. It was late, most of the crew were sleeping, and truth be told he never really thought about what he should or shouldn't say.

---

Ikazuchi had been sleeping lightly, more in a state of half blacked out from the pain and the booze, shoulder pains still managing to pierce through the haze of sedatives. There was a knock, and Ikazuchi perked up, a second, and she realized someone had a hand on her breast and one on her thigh, and after the third knock there was a fairly loud screech- but not from Ikazuchi. Had Hotaru come in in that moment, he would see Ikazuchi sitting up, confused, bewildered, and staring at Nagasaki angrily.

Nagasaki was laying on the ground gripping his wrist.

--

The pain of the wound had dulled considerably, lessening to a bearable, faint sting of annoyance rather than a bitter bite of pain. Then again, wounds tended to do that when they weren't aggravated. Perhaps that should have been expected.

Aside from a neutral-sounding sigh, Shiba thought she'd hidden her relief of Elaine's condition pretty well, but him questioning the female pirate's concern was what threw her off guard. She feigned ignorance. "Why would she be worried about me? I'm not one of you- just a prospective bounty waiting to be collected," she sneered, narrowing her eyes. "The Captain probably only sent you down here to make sure I don't die of infection."
---
A startled screech from behind the door caused Hotaru to practically leap out of his skin. Who the hell was that? It couldn't have been Ikazuchi- he'd heard her scream when Shiba took a bite out of her- but then...

Screw it. He opened the door, bearing witness to the aftermath of... something. He wasn't quite sure what, but judging by Elaine's expression and Nagasaki's writhing, it wasn't anything good. His gaze moved from Elaine, to Nagasaki. He saw the wrist he was clutching and- oh god, was the hand hanging limp from his wrist?!- and looked back at Elaine, passing her the rum quietly. "You're gonna need this." He whispered, before stepping away and asking what happened.

--

"I'm not one of them, either," he corrected. He didn't like to be grouped in with his captors for fairly obvious reasons, and as such was willing to correct her on the matter. "We're in the same boat. Literally, and figuratively," he shrugged as he made an assessment. It looked okay- Hotaru had done a good job- and began re-wrapping it.

"The captain didn't send me down. She did."

---

Ikazuchi looked overwhelmed, down to Nagasaki and then back at Hotaru. "He... he laid his grubby hands- !" she said indignantly as he tried to make his way to his feet.

"You're going to pay for that, you ungrateful strumpet. You should consider yourself lucky," Nagasaki practically spat at her.

--

The idea that someone else might be trapped on board hadn't really crossed her mind- no one else was stuck down here in a barrel, after all- but, looking at him, it made sense. Hell, even hearing him- no pirate would have asked to see her hand. It was why so many of them ended up with missing limbs around her. "You have a bounty on your head?" she sounded skeptical, almost disbelieving. Her sneer grew soft, however, once she was brought up again. "...she did, huh?" Of course she would have. Ikazuchi must trust this human if she'd risk something that blatantly obvious.
---
Hotaru just watched the interaction briefly, mouth hanging open slightly. What does someone even do in this situation? His gut told him to side with Elaine, but if he went against the quartermaster, he'd get his ass kicked. So he did the best he could. The idea of being nice to the /quartermaster/ made his skin crawl, but it was the quickest way to get him out of here. He dealt with it, trying to deflect the situation away from the anger and more towards Nagasaki getting the hell out. "Here, let me help you up." He said, offering a hand. "I think that's gonna need to see a doctor. Where'd Imanao go?"

--

He smiled gently. "May I see your stomach, please?" he asked, making no movements to forcefully move her to get a better look at it. He did, however, offer an arm for balance as she re-positioned herself. "No, but they needed a doctor. And there was no way they were taking my wife, even if she was the doctor of the two of us," he let out a light laugh, thinking about her smile, her eyes lighting up when she saw a new medical condition, her concentration, her-

Catching himself wandering, he shook it off and refocused on the issue at hand. "So, I guess in a way, a captain did send me down to check on you," this part came in a whisper. Ikazuchi, of course, hadn't told him, but he'd be a moron not to see it by now.

---

Nagasaki pushed away the offering of help, shaking his hand in the process and injuring it further. "No, I'm going to the captain straight away before anything else," he winced, clearly in a world of pain as he cradled his limp hand and ambled out of the room. Well, that couldn't have been good. "He went to go look at Shiba."

--

Shiba obliged, half hauling herself out of the water with just the strength of her arms. Even with a bandaged hand, it was hardly a sweat, although she did position it so most of her weight rested on her fingers, not the palm. She turned down Imanao's offer to help her balance- he might seem like a good man, but she'd be a fool if she trusted anyone on this ship that quickly, even him. An amused expression crossed her face as he spoke of his wife: one mention of her and the man was smitten. Under different circumstances, she might've laughed at the sight. "So you ended up here instead to spare her," she stated matter-of-factly. "We really are in the same boat, then. ...You must care for her quite a bit."
---
Hotaru stepped back to let Nagasaki through, not even trying to stop him. He spoke not a word until the door slammed shut and Naga's footsteps faded, and that's when he raised his eyebrows at Ikazuchi, letting out a low whistle. "Well, that's not gonna end well. You okay?"

He nodded when Ikazuchi told him where Imanao was, though he seemed perplexed. "Wait, by himself? Is he gonna be okay?"

--

He almost snorted at that. "She was spitting, so angry when they wouldn't believe she was the doctor. I think she'd have preferred to go, always loved adventures. I'm just a nurse," was all he said for a moment, eyeing the bruises. "I'm just going to run my fingers over your stomach, I can stop if it hurts," he waited another moment before running his fingers lightly over the marks, pressing down slightly every now and again to see if anything was off. But she seemed just fine to him. "I guess I can give you a clean bill of health, then," he stated plainly. "I do have one more thing for you. It's in my pocket," he announced so she would know why he was reaching into his pocket, that it was not a threat. It was a tiny, folded up piece of paper that he handed her. 'I love you, I'm sorry,' it would read. It certainly wasn't in Ika's handwriting, but the fancy script Nao himself used. "I helped her write it."

---

She shook her head, still looking confused, "No. I don't know. I think so." It was the first time she had seemed unsure in front of Hotaru, and she was honestly a little flustered by it. "But he should be fine."

--

Shiba quirked half a smile at that- this woman sounded like a spitfire. She could appreciate that. Humans were so weird about the women of a species being incompetent with everything. It could be infuriating at times, but if it wasn't for her treatment here, she'd have a hard time believing that the pirates were really stupid enough to pass up on a doctor over a nurse simply because of her sex. But yes, they really were that stupid.

Her stomach was tender, but she refused to even flinch as he prodded the bruise. Once he was finished, she eased back down into the barrel, nose scrunching slightly in distaste as the feeling of stagnant water caressed her skin. Her curiosity was piqued when he reached into his pocket, replacing itself with confusion as he pulled out a small piece of paper.

"What is that?" she asked, snatching it from him after a moment of hesitation. "I love you, I'm sorry," it wrote, the ink already starting to run from the water from her hands. Her heart ached, and for probably the first time in Nao's book, the mershark visibly softened, if only slightly. "It's not her fault," she sighed, before glancing up at him. "...I can't write anything back." she said, almost looking... upset?
---
Elaine's uncertainty was blatantly obvious to Hotaru. He shuffled awkwardly. "Uhh... well, unless you need something, I guess... I'll... go then?" he wasn't really sure what else to do in this situation- give her space? Try to help? What could he even help with now that the task of getting Naga out was done? "Are you okay on your own, or do you want me to wait until Imanao gets back, or..." he rubbed the back of his head with a hand, uncertainty in his tone.

--

"I don't suppose you'd trust me to take back a message?" he tried, though he wouldn't be surprised if she declined the help.
---
"Just go. Go go go go go," she shooed him, embarrassed and uncomfortable with the situation. She was relieved when she as alone again.

--

Shiba hesitated, scrutinizing the man for a moment before relenting. She wasn't going to pass on anything lovey dovey through word of mouth, but she didn't want her to think she was being ignored, either. "Just... the feeling's mutual," she replied quietly. When he turned to leave, she piped up one more time. "Imanao, was it? ...thanks."
---
"Going, going, going," he replied frantically, dropping the bandages on Imanao's desk before hurrying out the door.

--

The night dragged on, and as Imanao passed the word on, Ikazuchi kept Shiba's words close to her heart, something warm to comfort her and make her feel less lonely on this prison of a ship. She would just think about that tonight, nothing else, not tomorrow, just Shiba. She drifted off to sleep easily with those thoughts.