The Eighth Sea

[YamiKitsune]

"Ahhh, it feels good to have the wind blowing through my hair~" Yami smiles as he closes his eyes, a few of the crew members looking at each other, then one of them, a man with long black hair and glasses, speaks up. "Uh, Captain, there is no wind...that's why we've been stuck here for over three hours now." Yami opens his eyes and looks at the crew mate. "No wind? Whaddya mean no wind, William? Besides, how was I supposed to know we were stuck? All I see is a buncha blue. Hell, how is anyone supposed to know whether or not we're moving?" William sighs and shakes his head. "You've got your fathers determination, but not his sense of direction, or common sense for that matter..." The winds start to pick up and the ship begins to move. William snaps his fingers. "Now we are mobile, captain." Yami nods. "Good....ahh, it's good to have the wind-" A crewman interrupts him with a loud yelp. "Damn it, what now!?" "There! I see someone! They appear to be breathing!" The crewman points, and sure enough there seems to be someone hanging onto a piece of rubble.

 

[GatoTechno]

Daphne is struggling to keep herself awake after floating in the water for nearly three days. Her fingers claw at the rubble, trying her best to stay afloat. By now, her body is giving out. Legs swaying limply in the waves, body hunched over the rubble, head resting half on the floating piece of wood and the other half in the water. She struggles to breath, finding it painful to take in any breaths.


Even with a ship just a few ways ahead, Daphne can't even look up. All she can do is stare blankly to the side, replaying the horrid scene in her head of pirates ransacking the merchant ship, swords clanging against each other, the punches against her body, and her Captain, her adopted Father, making a last ditch effort to save her life my pushing her off the crumbling ship.


But, even with all that happening, Daphne still has a hopeful smile on her exhausted face.

 

[YamiKitsune]

Yami's eyes widen and he runs over to the side. "By god! Someone grab the float!" He says, but then he remembers, this ship has no floats..."Damn, this can't be worth the trouble! William, get in there!" William rolls his eyes. "I swear in all my years I've never heard of a pirate so afraid of the ocean..." He ties a rope around himself, then around the stern of the ship, jumping into the water, and swimming towards the woman wrapping his arms around her waist, then tugging on the rope. "Bring me back!" Once they had been pulled onto the ship, Yami examines the girl. "She's still breathing...hey, can you hear me?"

 

[GatoTechno]

Daphne hears a splash, the paddling of arms swimming towards her and feels an arm wrapping around her waist. Next thing she knows, she's being pulled through the water, then lifting into the air, and finally being placed on a wooden surface.


Her dreary eyes tries their best to look around, but her version is very blurry. She can recognize the silhouette of bodies , most of them so far looking like men. With a raspy cough, she tenderly lifts her soggy looking hand up and mouths a few words.


"Wa...wa...terrr," she tries her best to speak, but her mouth is so dry from dehydration. "Wa...terrr."


She breathes heavily, feeling herself begin to pass out.

 

[YamiKitsune]

Yami scowls as he takes his flask out quickly, removing the lid, and gently lifting Daphne's head up, putting the flask to her lips.


"Drink up, miss...you're safe now." He said. "Captain, how do we know she can be trusted? We know nothing about her, yet we're going to just let her onto our ship?" Said a suspicous crew mate. Eyeing Daphne. "The Captain knows what he's doing, he's James' son after all!" One of the femle crew members called out. "Enough. It's rude to speak like that in front of her, ya could at least wait until she's not around." Yami scolds his crew mates.

 

[GatoTechno]

Parting her lips, Daphne lets the water pour in her mouth and down her throat. After a few seconds, she wraps her fingers eagerly around the flask to drink faster in giant gulps. To her, this water is equivalent to liquid gold.


When the flask was empty, Daphne let her head rest against this person's hand. From what she heard, this person helping her is the Captain. He seems like a very caring man, already protecting Daphne in her time of need. The Captain and his crew must be good people. They must be one of the good ships that sail the open seas.


She grips his wrists, staring into his eyes.


"I...I don't mean no harm..." she says slowly. "My Captain...my ship..."


She points eastward to the open sea, her finger trembling.


"...somewhere out there..." she continues.

 

[YamiKitsune]

"I understand you're worried about your crew, lass. But you need to rest." Yami raises his fist signalling for William to turn the ship in the direction she had pointed in. And he does as such. "We'll head for your ship, but you need to rest." He picks her up, carrying her towards the captains chambers. "They're not exactly the most feminine pieces of cloth, but I've got some warm dry clothes you can wear until yours dry."

 

[GatoTechno]

Daphne closes her eyes, letting the Captain carry her to the chambers. She can feel the ship slowly start to turn towards the east, making her smile more. It's been days since she's last seen her ship, but she is still hopefully it's up and running. Though, it probably is most likely very damaged.


"I'll...I'll take anything. Even...even a potato sack," she says. Her clothes felt like slime on her freezing skin. "All I want to do...is...is rest..."


Feeling safe, Daphne let herself drift to sleep. In only a minute, she's in a deep sleep and slightly snoring through her nose. If it was possible, Daphne's body could probably sleep for two days straight.

 

[YamiKitsune]

"On the brink of death and she's being modest...what a treat." Once reaching the captains chambers he pulls out some extra clothing for her. "Denise, take these, and put them on the girl, please. Then hang her clothes out to try. I also want some fresh, warm blankets on her, before she catches something." The girl nods and salutes. "Yes Captain!"


Yami leaves the room and goes back to his steering wheel. "Well?" William says, questionably. "She'll live. She needs some time to rest, then we'll ask her what happened." William nods. "Your as caring as your father was, Cap'n." Yami smirks at this. "...Yeah, just like dad, huh?" They continued east, the sun slowly setting on the horizon.

 

[GatoTechno]

Once she's in a new set of clothes, Daphne is gently placed on the warm bed with a thick blanket to cover her up. Slowly, her body begins to warm to its normal body temperature. The color returns to her face, her cheeks and lips a healthy pink color. Even her hair that was frizzy from the sea water begins to relax and lay flat on her head. Daphne did still smell of salt and smoke, but that too is slowly starting to fade.


As Daphne sleeps, she dreams of her life on the ship before the attack. It was such a peaceful, happy life being part of a merchant's crew. They sailed constantly, delivering everyday common items. One time though, they were carrying an army of marble statues for a very wealthy family to the South. The look on people's faces when their ship arrived is what Daphne really appreciated.


Every hour, Daphne would wake up from a flash of horrid memories about the attack on the merchant ship. She's unable to cry though as she is still slightly dehydrated. But, as soon as she awoke, she falls back to sleep.

 

[YamiKitsune]

Around midnight, Yami returns to his quarters, placing his hand over Daphne's forehead. "Hmmm, temperature seems to be regulating now." He goes to the kitchen, fixing up some warm soup and a small cup of hot tea, bringing it back to her, softly nudging her awake. "Miss?"

 

[GatoTechno]

Daphne slowly opens her eyes, smelling the warm soup and hot cup of tea. It takes her eyes a few seconds for her eyes to adjust, but she leans forward and looks around.


"Oh...oh I'm here," she says before looking at Yami. "You, you're the kind man that saved me..."


First, she takes the hot tea and takes a long sip of it. Her cheeks instantly blush pink as a smile appears on her face.


"This is good tea. It's from a far away place I bet," she smiles and places the tea down at the nearest table. Next, she eyes the soup. "And what kind of soup is that?"


It's then her stomach grumbled. Placing a hand over her stomach, her blush deepens from a slight embarrassment. She hasn't eaten anything for a while. She carefully grabs for the soup and stares into it, letting the steam wash over her face.


"It smells like good soup..."

 

[YamiKitsune]

"It doesn't really have a name, it's just a random mixture of stuff I made just now, the Tea however is some stuff my dad kept around for parties. Of course, now is hardly the time for a party." He leans down to her. Now, miss, our ship is currently sailing towards the east as you asked. But do you mind if i ask what happened?

 

[GatoTechno]

"I'm a navigator and scribe on a merchant ship," Daphne begins. "We were sailing east with a full load of exotic and rare spices that were gifts from a wealthy family. I...I don't know where they came from. It was like they appeared out of no where..."


Daphne pauses briefly to taste the soup.


"...pirates. Pirates attacked our ship. They were experienced, veteran pirates too. Their ship collided with ours and somehow they were able to jump the gap and land on our ship. Umm...it was an awful, bloody fight...we we only had a few guns and swords...but they were stocked with weaponry I've never seen...while some were looting us or fighting the crew, others were starting to set the ship on fire. Next I knew, my Captain yelled this god-awful order to me to jump ship. Before I could even reply, he pushed me off just as a pirate rushed him. I...I don't remember too much after that..."


She went quiet, just staring blankly into the soup.


"I'm sure my ship is still sailing...badly damaged...but sailing somewhere to the most eastern port..."

 

[YamiKitsune]

He places a hand on her shoulder. "We're heading east now. So you just sit here and rest. There's no need to worry."


Immediately after, the ship rocks violently. "Well, shit.."

 

[GatoTechno]

A tiny bit of soup spilled out the bowl as the ship suddenly rocked suddenly. Daphne holds onto the bowl the best she can, trying to not let any fall on her.


"What...what was that?" she asks as she looks around.


Placing the bowl on the table, Daphne attempts to stand. Her legs wobble as the weight of her is placed on her. Holding onto the post of the bed, Daphne tries to balance herself. It's hard to stand from being the ocean for three days.

 

[YamiKitsune]

He gently pushes her down onto the bed again. Scowling. "You stay here..." He unsheathes his sword, running out on deck to find his crew fending off enemy pirates. "What the blazes!?" He exclaims. One of the crew members pushing an enemy crewman off of her. "Captain! We kept going east like ya said! And outta nowhere 'dis ship rammed us! Damn near scared to death I was!" Yami shakes his head and grumbles. "This must be the same ship that attacked the young lady's crew..."

 

[GatoTechno]

Daphne sits on the bed for only a few minutes before she's up again to investigate. The door of the Captain's quarters opens slowly, the noise from the fight on the deck now apparent. Being a brave women she is, Daphne creeps her way up to the opening to the deck to see the pirates that attacked her ship there.


Quickly covering her mouth to stop her from screaming, Daphne races back into the room and shuts the door.


"No no no no..." she repeats. "No no no no..."


Daphne looks around the room to find any kind of weapon just in case the pirates are able to break through Yami's crew and invade deeper inside the ship. She finds a long, club-like item against the wall and holds it tightly in her hand. These weren't ordinary pirates...but Daphne is sure that Yami's crew would be at least able to hold the pirates off.

 

[YamiKitsune]

Yami and his crew fought the pirates as hard as they could, the battle went on for a long time. Eventually Yami's crew started growing tired. "Captain! We're heavily out numbered! I can still see men from the other ship bording!" Yami scowls as he pulls his blade from the torso of one of the pirates. "The ship isn't even that big! Where are all these bloody men coming from!? There can't be enough cabins to hold them all!" William grunts as his back presses against Yami's, and he shoots one of the pirates in the chest. "Unless, they aren't being held in cabins!" Yami's eyes widen as he suddenly begins climbing up the stern of the ship. Yelling at the top of his lungs. "AYE!!!!" Everyone stops and stares at him. "You men! Why do you attack us!?" One of the pirates speak out. "We don't wanna sir, ya see we have to, or we'll never get our freedom, ya hear!?" Yami scowls. "I thought so...these men aren't pirates, they're prisoners...!"

 

[GatoTechno]

By now, Daphne is huddled into a corner, gripping the bat until her knuckles turned white. The noise from the violence grew much louder over a couple of short minutes. She flinches at the sounds of clanking swords and jumps at the gunshots. Every second, the noise from the pirates intensified, making Daphne assume more were boarding the ship.


But, Daphne didn't give up hope. She is sure Yami and his crew is able to back the pirates off. Maybe even scaring the pirates away. Suddenly, the violent noises stops in favor for screaming and shouting. She can't make out the words, but it seems like the pirates are arguing with Yami.


With courage, Daphne makes her way across the room. She cracks open the door just enough to listen.

 

[YamiKitsune]

The captain of the other ship reveals himself. "Why did the magnificent sounds of battle cease!? Are you disobeying your captain boys!?" Yami glares at the captain, jumping from the stern and onto the other ship, slashing at the captain, but he blocks Yami's blade with his steel gun. "Well well, we got ourselves a hero do we? Tell me boy, what's your name?" Yami, still pushing his blade against the captains gun. "Yami Elénor Kitsune! Captain of Hades' vessel! The first ever pirate that will find the eighth sea! And you're the glutton that attacked Miss Daphne's ship, aren't you!?" The captain laughs loudly. "Oh, did my lil' gem actually survive!? Where is the gal? I had my eye on her but that old oaf that pushed her off ship ruined my fun! So I gutted the fool!"

 

[GatoTechno]

Daphne bites her lip to hold back a shriek from listening to the rebel captain. How dare he talk about her Captain like that! How dare he planned to snatch her away! How dare he and his ship attack her ship!


But, she decides to listen on. There is always two sides to every story. Maybe, just maybe, the attack on her ship was somehow justified? There's no way someone can be this bad without some sort of motive.


At the same time, Daphne wishes Yami would shut the guy up. To make him respect her Captain and punish him for what he did to her ship. To, maybe, tell Yami where her own ship is. If Yami and his crew was able to run into these pirates this fast, they must be able to find her own ship even quicker.

 

[YamiKitsune]

Yami scowls as his eyes narrow, he knocks the gun from the Captain's hand, who then unsheathes his blade, Yami and the Captain clash blades, over and over, they seemed evenly matched, until the Captain tried to take a stab at Yami, who leaned back, then hopped onto his hands, kicking the blade from the Captain's grip, hopping back onto his feet, and grabbing the Captains blade, pointing both at the captains neck.


Yami's crew mates cheer and clap. "His father's blood is definetly in his veins!" William says confidently.


"What did you to do the men aboard Miss Daphne's ship?" Yami presses the blades against the Captain's neck, who is cowering and shivering. "L-L-Listen me lad, I'm just tryin' to make a livin' y'know? It's rough on the waters, especially for a pirate, you know the feeling don't ya??" Yami scowls. "Shut up and answer the question!" The captain trembles. "It's pointless y'know! They're all dead! I made sure there were no survivors, after gutting that oaf of a captain, I sunk the ship, along with the others on board! You're wasting your-" Yami growls a bit as he slashes an X shape onto the Captains torso, blood sprays from his body as he stumbles, falling backwards into the ocean. "Damn glutton..."

 

[GatoTechno]

By the time the ordeal is over, Daphne is right back on the bed with her hand grasping her mouth. Her entire body is trembling from the news of her whole crew and Captain dead. To make it even worse, her home was at the bottom of the ocean.


Strangely, Daphne can't figure out how to act emotionally. She's devastated by the news, but at the same time she can't help but smile from all the memories that she had on her home. Her body can't decide if she should cry or laugh from all the wacky times she had on her former home. Daphne closes her eyes, wandering around the room as she can't sit. Periodically, she'll bust out in a short laugh from a specific memory. Other times, streams of tears would fall down her cheeks.


In mix with all of that, Daphne is now completely homeless and without a purpose. All her life, she's been on the ship and became the best navigator and scribe. She never thought about the what ifs in her life. What if suddenly life took a sharp turn and left her in this position?


Anyone who would stand outside the door will hear Daphne sobbing, yet laughing madly with conflicting emotions.

 

[YamiKitsune]

The enemy captain, now dead. His prisoners were free, after thanking Yami they took off with the enemy captain's ship, and soon after, Yami returned to his quarters, instantly noticing the tears streaming down Daphne's face. "...Miss Daphne.."