Chapter Text
Koichi wiped the sweat out of his forehead as he finished swabbing the deck. It was a tiresome job, taking nearly the entire afternoon, but it was finally done. He placed the mop in the bucket beside him, his spine begging for some rest.
He sat perched on the bulwark, overlooking the harbor with his feet dangling in the air. The docks were packed with fishermen and other workers, carrying their cargo away from the ships. Koichi had to stay behind to mop up the mess made by thousands of dead fish being tossed around from the nets to the cargo hold before they were ready to be sent to the market.
It had been a little over a year since he left his home village. He wasn't unfamiliar with fishing markets, since he hailed from a seaside town, but this harbor looked a hundred times bigger than the one he was used to. Maybe soon he would be going back home, once the fishing season was over. Now that he was thinking about it, Koichi was suddenly reminded of his old friends. They had left the village long before him. Now, still observing the activity down on the docks, he wondered what they could be doing right now.
It took a few minutes for Koichi to notice the docks gradually moving away from the ship, and the sudden swaying of the boat made him fall backwards on the deck. Did the fishermen come back already? He didn't see anyone climb on the ship. He propped himself up on his elbows, looking around at his surroundings. He heard the sound of something being knocked over in one of the cabins under the main deck. When he turned to the direction of the sound, he noticed a few oil stains smeared on the wooden boards. Weird. Koichi was pretty sure he hadn't missed a spot, or had he? The stains couldn't possibly have been caused by whatever had fallen down in the cabin.
He took his mop and bucket over to the spots, only to notice that they formed a trail leading straight to the companionway hatch. Koichi lifted his mop from the ground and approached the entrance, trying and failing to see anything in the darkness within. He slowly descended the steps, carefully as to not coax any noise from the old boards. He felt his throat tighten when he swallowed, squeezing his grip on the handle of the mop. The trail kept going, barelly visible in the low light offered by the oil lamps. He could just barely make out a figure standing in the shadows, and when he approached it, he felt the unmistakable stench of blood assault his nostrils. The large figure standing just a few feet ahead of him seemed to belong to a man. Blood dripped to the ground, forming a small puddle at his feet. Koichi looked up to the source of the blood and found one of his fellow crewmen, his neck squeezed between strong fingers.
"Help..." the fisherman said, barely audible in his struggle to breathe.
Koichi couldn't do much other than gasp in horror, catching the taller man's attention. He held a kabutowari dagger on one hand, its lengthy blade completely soaked in blood. Koichi recognized him as being a fisherman who had gotten hired a few days before their last trip. The man's strange name was hard to forget: Anjuro Katagiri.
He let out a laugh upon seeing Koichi. "Good thing you came down here," he said, raising his knife and walking towards the boy. "I was starting to feel a little bored."
This time Koichi let out a full blown scream before scrambling back up to the deck. He closed the companionway behind him, only to hear the hatch breaking apart from when Anjuro kicked it open.
Koichi's mind raced as he tried to think of an escape plan. When he looked out at the ocean, he noticed that the harbor was now just a mere line on the horizon. He needed to find a place to hide, and hopefully the other sailors have noticed the ship's absence by now and were on their way to retrieve it. As he ran towards the forecastle, he saw another ship sailing towards them from the right. It looked downright beautiful as its prow sliced the seawater apart with ease, with sunlight glistening off of the pearlescent ornaments decorating the hull. He took a few seconds to watch the magnificent ship in awe, before yelling at the top of his lungs in hopes to catch their attention. And surely, the ship did not falter, steadily approaching the vessel at an abnormally high speed. And it didn't look like it was going to stop. Koichi felt the tiny sliver of hope inside him shatter apart when he realized the newcomers weren't there to help him.
He had only a few seconds left to brace for the impact. The fishing vessel quaked with the shock as the bigger ship's heavy bow almost completely sliced it in half. A few bandits descended from the ship, equipped with long curved swords. Pirates, Koichi thought. Just his luck. Perhaps if he really tried he could explain that they really didn't have anything left to ransack, and maybe they would let him hitch a ride on their ship. The sound of Anjuro's grunt snapped him back into reality.
The man was caught in a bloody combat on the other side of the ship. His foes were two teenagers, no older than Koichi himself. One of them kicked Anjuro in the gut, making him stumble backward, before the other finished the job with a punch square on his face. The man yelled as he fell into the ocean, and the two boys cheered between themselves. Koichi almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Judging by that hairstyle, he knew exactly who it was that had just swooped in to save his life.
"Josuke!" he cried out, waving both of his arms above his head. "Okuyasu!"
The two turned to look at Koichi, both equally surprised.
"Holy shit, it's Koichi!" A grin spread across Josuke's face. He waved back. "Hey, Koichi!"
Koichi took a step forward towards his friends, but stopped when he felt something wet at his feet. Just in front of him, water gushed of out the crack on the deck as the fishing vessel sunk into the ocean.
"Well, time to get out of here." Josuke ran off back to his ship, with Okuyasu following him.
Koichi tried to follow them, but the water had raised enough to completely cover his feet. Despair took over him again. He looked up at the pirate ship in hopes of finding a way up, but couldn't see any. Until he saw a familiar silhouette emerge from behind the bulwark, tossing a rope down.
"Hurry! Climb this!" Josuke shouted, and Koichi did as he was told without hesitation.
He had the rope in his hands just in time to feel the floor sink under his feet. He held onto the rope with all the strength in his body, watching the remains of the fishing boat as it was swallowed by the ocean.
He felt himself being pulled up, and soon he was safe and out of the water. He gave himself a moment to catch his breath before letting out his longest sigh in the few past weeks.
Josuke helped him up, and he took the opportunity to examine his surroundings. There were some crewmen hanging about, seemingly paying no mind to the three boys. Some of them were Japanese, but many of them seemed to be foreigners. There was even a little dog, laying on the floor while lazily chewing on some jerky. One of them came walking towards them.
"That wasn't what you were supposed to bring, Higashikata," he said, making no effort to hide his disdain.
"Koichi is an old friend of mine." Josuke had an edge of irritation in his voice, as if the mere sight of that man was enough to piss him off. "I couldn't leave him there!"
The man turned to look at Koichi, narrowing his eyes as he silently analyzed him from head to toe. "Do you think you have what it takes to join our crew?" he asked. "I'm Rohan, by the way."
"Join your crew?" Koichi scratched his chin. "Uh... actually I was just hoping you guys could drop me off near the docks..."
"What? C'mon, Koichi!" Josuke said, flinging an arm around his shoulder. "Don't you at least wanna catch up with us?"
"Yeah, we've been up to all sorts of stuff!" Okuyasu added, his voice filled with enthusiasm.
"Well, in any case, you'll need to see what Mr. Kujo has to say about it," Rohan said, before dismissing the trio and promptly walking back to his duties.
Koichi felt his blood freeze in his veins at the mention of that name. He'd heard the stories. Anyone who had ever set foot in the deck of a sailing ship had heard them. The fearsome sea captain who left nothing but remains of those who dared cross his path. His ship hailed from Japanese waters, but its name made spines shiver on about every port in the across the seven seas: the Crusader.
Koichi swallowed. Did that mean he was aboard the very ship right now?
"Wait a minute, Jotaro Kujo?" His voice nearly dropped to a whisper when he turned to Josuke. " The Jotaro Kujo?" He felt the need to grab onto something when both Josuke and Okuyasu nodded in affirmation.
"Does that mean... do you... how??" Koichi asked, feeling the sweat trickle down his forehead.
"Uh... it's kind of complicated but..." Josuke scratched the back of his neck, while looking at his feet. "He's my nephew, actually."
Koichi waited for the moment Josuke would start laughing, boasting about the great prank he'd just played, but it never came. Instead, the boy just kept looking down, waiting for Koichi's response but not really wanting to keep going down this conversation path either.
"What do you mean...?"
"Like I said, it's complicated..."
The conversation was interrupted by the sound of tiny footsteps over the wooden boards, as a little girl ran over to stand next to Josuke. She stared at Koichi for a few seconds.
"Josuke! Did you bring a slave?" she asked, in plain English. Koichi couldn't understand what she'd just said, but apparently Josuke did:
"No, no slave. He is friend." Learning a whole new language from scratch wasn't an easy task, and the strange words from the English language were still bound by Josuke's accent. But he'd been handling himself pretty well, all things considered.
"Ohh..." the little girl said in response, unbothered by Josuke's lack of eloquence. Looking at her, Koichi guessed she was around nine or ten years old. She approached him and held a hand out. "Hi! I'm Jolyne! What's your name?"
Judging by the girl's cheerful tone, she was trying to be friendly. "Uh... hi..." That was about the only thing Koichi could say back in her native tongue. He extended his own hand out to meet hers, hoping that would be enough to return her greeting.
She shook his hand as firmly as her little hands would allow it. But Koichi was still a little disoriented by the conversation he'd had with Josuke earlier.
"Why don't we show you around?" Josuke asked him. He nodded in response. Maybe learning about the ship would help him get a better grasp on the bizarre day he was having.
He saw some more pirates climb back onto the ship, some of them holding a few small bags. The fishing vessel did still have some little trinkets in it, but perhaps not enough to warrant a raid. Maybe the pirates were just that desperate. The boat eventually started moving again, sailing towards its original destination. Koichi felt a little pang of melancholy as he felt himself move further away from the docks and into the waves of the unknown.
"So... how did you meet Mr. Kujo anyway?" he asked as he walked along with Josuke and Okuyasu. Jolyne kept running besides them, despite not understanding a word of their conversation.
"I've never told you about my dad did I? Well, turns out he's some old American guy." Josuke said. "So one day Jotaro just showed up to me 'on behalf of his grandfather'."
"We were both pretty broke back then, so we ended up joining Mr. Kujo's crew." Okuyasu said.
"It turned out pretty great for us, didn't it, bro?" Josuke flinged an arm across his friend's shoulders.
"How long ago was it?" Koichi asked.
"Maybe a year or so..." Josuke scratched his chin. "It was right after we left the village."
The sun was beginning to set on the horizon, and many of the crew had decided to retreat to their quarters. The ship was completely silent save for the boy's conversation and the occasional oof when Jolyne would try to climb up on the bulwark.
So engaged by their conversation they were, that they didn't even notice the shadow hanging on the side of the ship opposite them. The figure let out a silent laugh, watching them through the spaced out posts on the railing. Out there, in the dark, no one would notice him climb up if he were quiet enough.
Koichi was about to mention how he'd gotten his job at the fishery when he was interrupted by the shrill scream that cut through the air. His head snapped towards it, and so did Josuke and Okuyasu, both who let out their own shrieks of surprise.
Anjuro stood facing them, his face still bloodied from the previous fight. He had his kabutowari in one hand and with his other arm he held Jolyne, who desperately tried to squirm out of his grasp. He laughed a little louder, bringing his knife closer to the girl.
"What the fuck!" Josuke reached for his own sword, ready to attack again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Okuyasu do the same, while Koichi could do little more than watch the two.
While Anjuro was distracted by the two pirates, Jolyne bit down on his hand hard enough to draw blood. He yelled in pain, dropping her to the ground. Before she could get up, the man was already looming over her, raising his dagger up in the air. She shielded her face with her arms, bracing for the hit. The boys ran at her direction with their swords drawn, but being all the way at the other side of the ship they wouldn't be able to reach her in time.
Then, they all froze when they heard the metallic clang of two blades colliding. A few sparks flew off with the impact, and Anjuro barely had time to regard the coat-clad man glaring at him before the blow was redirected towards himself. He took a step back to avoid falling down, but the man swung his sword at him again, followed by a strike with the pummel. Anjuro would have fallen into the dark ocean below if it wasn't for the bulwark behind him. The other man took a few steps towards him, before stopping just a few inches away. His black coat swayed in the wind, and the dying sunlight behind him made his imposing figure look all the more intimidating.
"I don't want to see you in my ship ever again," he said, before kicking Anjuro in the chest, effectively sending him down to the ocean for the last time.
The man sheathed his sword as he turned to look at the agitated trio behind him. Koichi couldn't quite make out the expression on his seemingly impassive features. He saw Jolyne run up behind him.
"Jolyne, get back inside," he said, maintaining his gaze fixed on the boys.
"But Dad!" Jolyne protested.
"Jolyne..." He began with a stern tone, but was interrupted when the girl suddenly wrapped her arms around his leg.
He stood still for a moment before scooping her up in his arms, giving her a kiss on the forehead. He gently put her on the floor again, and she ran off into the doorway leading to the stairway below. They all watched her go, until the man turned his attention to the boys once again.
The stories people told about Jotaro Kujo couldn't do him justice. The man's height was impressive, probably nearing the two meter mark, Koichi thought. He was clad in a black coat, ornamented with little golden motifs that resembled the ones on the prow of the ship. The sword resting on his hip seemed to be a traditional japanese katana, although its hilt had been modified with a small hand guard, resembling a cutlass. The cap he wore cast a menacing shadow over his face, obscuring most of his features. His eyes were sharp and bold, but they seemed tired all the same.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Uh... M-me?" Koichi pointed a trembly finger at himself. "I'm just a fisherman!"
Jotaro didn't press Koichi for more. Instead, he looked at Josuke.
"Koichi is a friend of ours. From Morioh..." the boy said, scratching the back of his head. Jotaro stayed silent, but he still didn't seem to be satisfied with the answer.
"We had to rescue him when we destroyed that ship..." Okuyasu said.
"You two destroyed a fishing ship?"
"But it's alright! That creep was trying to kill me too when they showed up!" Koichi chimed in, like a schoolboy to get his friends out of trouble.
"That's not..." Jotaro sighed. "You two shouldn't raid small ships. They rarely have anything of worth."
"Well, I guess we learned that the hard way..." Josuke said.
"And concerning you, Koichi," Jotaro turned his attention to the short boy. "We're not gonna be able to get you on land without changing our destination. You'll have to stay here for a few weeks. I hope that's okay with you."
Koichi thought about it for a few moments. He didn't really have any choice, did he? It's not like he could swim back to the shore. Besides, he had his friends with him, and this Jotaro guy really didn't seem that bad. Now that he thought about it, he really wanted to learn more about the ship and its crew, especially after hearing so many stories about it.
"Sure..." he said. Josuke immediately clasped him on the shoulder.
"Great! Me and Okuyasu can show you around," he said, and the trio made their way to the main quarters after waving their goodbyes to the ship's captain.
Jotaro watched them for a while, still standing on the deck. He sighed, pulling the brim of his hat down. "Gimme a damn break."
The below-decks were surprisingly cozy. There were some tables illuminated by the dim lanterns in the mess hall, and Koichi heard a few laughs followed by a conversation in English. There was a group of older men gathered at one of the tables, playing a game of cards. They were all foreign except for one man. But he seemed to be part of the group as well, keeping up with the his comrades' talk and the game. Life in the sea did not allow itself to be limited by political borders, Koichi thought. There was an older gentleman with them too, who seemed to be American. Maybe that was the guy Josuke mentioned earlier. The little dog from earlier rested at the foot of the table, seemingly unbothered by the chatter above his head.
"The sleeping quarters are just over there," Josuke guided his friend through the wooden bulkheads of the ship.
Koichi had been so distracted by the atmosphere around him, that he almost didn't notice the girl he bumped into. He quickly apologized to her; and in return she just ran away from him, a light pink staining her cheeks. He watched her go, confused.
"Who was that?" he asked.
Josuke shivered. "That's Yukako." His voice had dropped to a whisper. "She's kinda scary..."
"I think she has a soft spot for you." Okuyasu poked Koichi's arm with his elbow, chuckling. "You never told me you were such a hit with the ladies, you dog..."
Koichi didn't really say anything, feeling his own face heat up a little. They eventually got into the sleeping quarters, the place almost completely dark save for one lantern lit close to one of the hammocks.
When they approached it, Koichi was surprised to see Rohan already there, lying stomach down on the hammock. He had a small wooden board in his hand, with a piece of paper nailed to it. His hands were coated in black, and he had a piece of coal held between his fingers. He lifted it from the paper once the trio approached him.
"You're already here to bother me?" he said, not bothering to look up from his work.
"I was just showing Koichi around," Josuke replied with the same venom in his voice.
Only then Rohan noticed Koichi standing next to the other two. He put his drawing board aside.
"So you did become a part of the crew."
"Well, not really, I'm just staying until the ship stops on the next destination," Koichi clarified.
"If you can handle yourself, Mr. Kujo will definitely let you stay, though," Josuke said while plopping himself down on one of the hammocks. He started to peel an orange he'd grabbed from the mess hall.
"Do you think so?" At first Koichi wasn't really fond of the idea of becoming a thief of the seas, but now that he was aboard the Crusader it really didn't seem so bad. He, Josuke and Okuyasu had gone on their fair share of adventures when they were younger, and Koichi realized that he was capable of pretty much anything the other two were. He looked at the man across him, who had gone back to his charcoal.
"How did you join the crew, Rohan?" he asked.
"Huh?" the man seemed taken aback by the question.
"I mean, you don't look like you fight much..." Koichi tried to phrase his question in a way that wouldn't offend the older man. He was still a pirate after all.
"Oh, Rohan doesn't fight, he just talks to his opponents until they throw themselves in the ocean," Josuke quipped.
"Very funny," Rohan said. "I fight when I have to, but I mostly just draw maps and such."
Koichi noticed all the pieces of paper nailed next to Rohan's hammock, depicting people and weird animals the man had seen on his voyages. The Crusader would travel all across the world, it seemed.
He retreated to one of the hammocks, already feeling his eyelids getting heavier. It had been a long day. Koichi would never have guessed he would accidentally embark on the most feared ship across the seven seas when he woke up this morning. But the prospect of living out at sea while getting to know the places hidden beyond the horizon filled him with excitement. He couldn't wait for what would be in stock for him in the next day...
Thunder rolled in the sky as the ship rocked back and forth in the black waves. The rainstorm had been ongoing for the past few days, but it had only intensified as time passed. Now, Jotaro stood at the core, on the deck of a foreign ship surrounded by wounded men.
His opponent still lived, hopefully not for long. The two circled each other by like tigers ready to jump at each other at any second with their exposed claws. He could see the hunger in the man's eyes, like he'd been starved for several years, longing for the taste of victory.
Lightning struck the foremast, sending pieces of burned wood flying towards them, but neither of them acknowledged it. The only sound Jotaro could hear was their footsteps, the sound of boots displacing the diluted blood on the deck, covering the floor with more stains that would soon be washed out by the rain.
They were waiting for an opening, a single second in which their opponent would have made themselves vulnerable. A great combat took patience. The man before him didn't dare underestimate Jotaro, and Jotaro himself knew not to do the same.
Then suddenly, a clash of swords. He was face to face with his enemy, looking him straight in the eye, the man's wicked smile replaced by a scowl.
It was a sight he would never forget.
He'd been staring at the ceiling for the past hour or so, hoping that the gentle sway of the boat would lull him to sleep. It was just one of those nights.
He eventually decided to get up, to distract himself. Instead of going to the little balcony he had at the edge of his cabin, he headed to the deck. He needed to wander around for a bit. When he climbed the companionway, he was surprised to find his grandfather already there.
"Having nightmares again?" Joseph asked when his grandson approached. He was leaning his back on the bulwark, overlooking the main deck.
"Sort of."
"You need to learn how to let go of this stuff, son."
Jotaro knew he did. That had happened several years ago, he'd put an end to it, it shouldn't be coming back to haunt him. But these kinds of things were easier in theory. So he stayed silent.
"Are you worried about the girl?"
"I guess."
"You don't need to be. She can handle herself pretty well already."
"If anything ever happens to her I'll..." Jotaro couldn't finish his sentence before a warm hand was placed on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. You got all of us by your side," Joseph said.
Jotaro didn't say anything in response. The old man was right; his crew were possibly some of the strongest people he'd met out there in the seven seas. And, even amid the angriest storms and surrounded by the darkest fog, he knew his friends were always beside him.
Everything would be alright in the end.