Chapter Text
“What did you just say?”
There was ice in his voice and a deadly storm in those dark blue eyes as the captain glared down at Kagami, hands fisted at his sides.
“I-I am not the prince of Rakuzan, not even a prince at all. I guess I’m really a scapegoat for him now, but I grew up as Prince Akashi’s whipping boy after being kidnapped and taken from my tribe. I’m not even from Rakuzan, I’m from Seirin! I’m worthless, I swear to you, and if you try to use me as a bargaining chip they will laugh in your face before they blast you to pieces,” Kagami finished, voice hiccupping through the tears that were starting to fall despite his best efforts.
With his gaze still glued to the floor, Kagami was unable to tell what kind of expression the captain was making, or how close he was to hitting him out of anger, but he could definitely sense the menacing power of his aura grow as the man’s rage continued to swell.
“Tetsu, is he telling the truth?” was all the captain said, his tone even and his words clipped, and the quiet man stepped forward, making Kagami flinch since he hadn’t even known the guy was in the room.
“I do believe so. I have travelled to Seirin once before, and though it’s quite a ways away, their people have been attacked by Rakuzan in the past and do not speak fondly of the empire. Kagami was always… taller than what I’d expected, from my memories of spotting the prince as a boy, so his explanations makes a lot of sense to me.”
The captain growled angrily before turning back to the quietly sobbing redhead.
“You lied to me. You have been lying, to all of us, this entire time.” The laugh that the captain gave was the complete opposite of amused. “And here I was, thinking I finally had a shot at getting my treasure. You truly are absolutely worthless. Throw him back in his cell, let’s get out of here and back to port. I’m sick of this place.”
Rough hands grabbed Kagami and all but dragged him back to his prison cell, tossing him in roughly and adding a few good kicks to ensure that the man was well and truly suffering.
When sleep finally, mercifully claimed Kagami that night, the salty tears were only just drying on his cheeks, and he lay curled in a ball on the floor, not even having bothered to lift himself from where he’d been discarded like trash.
~~~
Kagami slowly let himself sink into a dark pit of despair and depression. He listed about in his room all day, barely eating or drinking, and hardly actually sleeping, spending most of his time in a dazed, exhausted trance.
After a couple of weeks of this, some of his regular guards who’d been growing fond of him, Kuroko included, were starting to get seriously worried about their prisoner, and when the quiet man brought it up with the first mate, she immediately feared their captive was at risk of killing himself, or more likely just letting himself die, due to his state of mind.
“Tetsu! We need to get him out of that room and moving again!” she whispered worriedly as the two peered in at Kagami’s motionless form.
“I’m not sure we’ll manage to convince Aomine to agree to that…” Kuroko sighed.
“Oh, Daiki is being just as stubborn and moody as Kagami!” she huffed. “He hasn’t left his room either, and probably won’t for a while, so he doesn’t even have to know.” She shared a smile with Kuroko, but it quickly faded. “I’m worried about the two of them, Tetsu… and they had been getting along so well for a while too.”
“As well as a captive and his kidnapper could, I supposed,” Kuroko teased, but he shared her worries. “Come on, let’s go get Kiyoshi, I’m sure he’ll find something to do with Kagami.”
~~~
“See? I told you with practice we’d train the fencin’ right outta ya!” laughed Kiyoshi with a giant smile. “Now this, this is real sword fightin’!”
Kagami returned his smile as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. In just a few weeks, the tall, kind-hearted man had managed to slowly draw Kagami from his secluded state, getting him back above deck and challenging his skills with a sword. Though the redhead was indeed talented, he only really knew the formal, regulated style unique to fencing, and it was of no real use to him out here on the sea, so a few members of the crew, led by Kiyoshi and his ever-present smile, had been sparring with him and giving him tips on how to properly fight with a sword.
It had taken a while at first to get Kagami to emerge from the cell, Kiyoshi spending many days sitting at his side, telling him stories from his own childhood growing up in Seirin. It was the day the man spoke of the terror of the Rakuzan raids that Kagami had finally stirred, Kiyoshi’s warm tears as he talked of the death of his parents prompting the other to sit up and offer a shoulder to cry on. They hadn’t talked of the exchange since, the moment a private one that had passed and had fulfilled its purpose, but Kagami felt grateful towards the man and the few in the crew that still treated him with kindness, or at least a decent measure of basic respect.
Today Kagami could proudly say he had gotten the hang of swordfighting, and was actually quite good at it, now that he’d broken all the old habits he’d had from fencing. He and Kiyoshi sparred for a couple more hours, their training only ending when Kagami finally dealt a winning hit, their accrued group of spectators cheering at his accomplishment, First Mate Momoi loudest of all.
There was a sudden bang as the door leading to the captain’s cabin burst open, a less-than-pleased Aomine standing in the doorway. Though he seemed put off by the noise and by the sight of Kagami, his gaze was rather dull and uncaring, as if the world outside was just as boring as he’d expected it to be.
“Dai—Captain Aomine!” exclaimed the first mate, happy to see her friend out and about again, but still immensely worried about his well-being. “We’ve been training Kagami to test his skill, and—”
“What, you think this worthless prisoner could be useful as a crew member or something? Don’t make me laugh…” the captain sneered before turning as if to go back into his cabin.
“I am good at swordfighting!” growled Kagami, sick of being treated like dirt now that he’d regained a small sense of purpose. “I bet someday I’ll even be better than you!”
A few crew members gasped at the clear challenge, and the captain paused at the threshold.
“Oh really?”
Quick as a cat, the captain turned on his heel and leapt down to the main deck, the crew who were milling about instantly scattering out of his way, leaving the captain and his challenger alone in the center of the space. Drawing his sword in one smooth motion, Aomine darted forward and quickly closed the gap between them, steel clashing as Kagami moved to parry the captain’s first attack.
The fight didn’t last long, Kagami being completely unused to the man’s speed and surprising strength—Kiyoshi had been strong, yes, but Kagami had expected it from a man of his extreme stature—and not having sufficient training to move in the natural, almost instinctual way Aomine did with a sword in his hand.
Soon Kagami was laying on the deck, sweat soaking his shirt and the tip of Aomine’s sword pointing at his throat. He closed his eyes, fearing that any of his deep, heavy breaths could be his last, but the finishing blow never came. He opened his eyes when he heard the distinctive sound of the captain’s boots walking away.
“Not absolute rubbish, but you’re nowhere near my level. As if you could delude yourself into thinking you could be my equal, let alone surpass me,” the man scoffed as he sheathed his sword.
“I’m gonna be the best, just you watch, you bastard,” Kagami managed to spit out between sucking in great gulps of air. The captain gave a quick bark of a laugh.
“The day you beat me with the sword is the day you’ll walk again as a free man. But mark my words, it will never happen.”
Despite the ache in his body and the fear and adrenaline slowly draining out of his system, Kagami grinned at that, knowing that the chance at freedom, revenge and the highest of achievements was now well within his grasp.