Chapter Text
Kazuha owed everything to the Crux Fleet and Beidou for helping him escape Inazuma. He never liked to share much about his personal life, the only person who ever truly knew him was Tomo.
The crates creaked under him as he shifted his weight, unpleasant memories of the Shogun surfacing in his mind. It was too soon to think about Tomo. There were a thousand racing thoughts begging to be released. To cry out in anger and frustration at his friend for even thinking such a foolish idea. But he couldn’t afford to lose himself to his emotions now.
Kazuha was pulled out of his thoughts by his stomach rumbling, causing him to clench his fist around Tomo’s electro vision.
“Kazuha!” A loud cheerful voice greets him. He turns and spots Furong, one of the many sailors on the ship. “We’ve been looking for you! It’s dinner time!”
“Ah,” Kazuha nodded, slowly rising from his spot on top of the crates. “I apologize for not appearing sooner. I simply got distracted by my thoughts.”
Furong chuckled softly, walking with him to the dining hall. “You sure speak strangely.” Her eyes widened as she realized the implications of her statement. “In a good way! I’ve never met someone who was so elegant.”
As they sat down at their table, Kazuha offered a polite smile. “I wouldn’t describe it as elegance, but I thank you for the compliment.”
Sitting with them was Huixing, Suling and Beidou, all of which were almost done with their meal of fish.
“Ah! Kazuha! We thought you wandered off!” Beidou chuckled and ruffled his hair, scooping a large portion of fish onto his empty plate. “Eat up, twig. All that fugitive business has made you too thin.”
Kazuha pressed his lips into a line as he surveyed his dinner. He hesitantly reached for his fork and cut a bite sized portion of the fish.
The conversation continued around him, but all he could focus on was eating. He was so focused that he didn’t notice Captain Beidou’s concerned stare.
He had finished about half of his plate before he knew he reached his limit. The steady rocking of the ship didn’t help the rising nausea. He stood up abruptly with his hand pressed against his mouth after one particularly sudden jolt of the ship.
“Kazuha?” Huixing asked, her eyebrows furrowed with worry. “Are you alright?”
Beidou eyed his unfinished plate with suspicion, theories already forming in her head as she took another drink.
Kazuha squeezed his eyes closed and took a deep breath before opening them. “I’m fine. I’m going to Yinxing to get some medicine, I’ll see you later.”
With that, the Inazuman left, his hand still pressed against his mouth.
Beidou frowned, her gaze turning to the others for their opinions. “What was that about?”
Suling shrugged. “Seasickness?”
Furong shook her head, her eyes narrowing in thought. “No, he’s been on the Crux for almost a week now. The symptoms would have already showed.”
“Unless he hid them.” Suling said, taking a large bite out of his fish. “You know the kid too, he’s as secretive as can be.”
“He is secretive, but he’s not an idiot.” Beidou pitched in, irritation evident in her tone. “I told him day one that if he has any health problems, he needs to report it immediately. I will not have hidden injuries on my ship. He knows that well.”
She stacked her clean plate under Kazuha’s and stood up. “I’m going to check on him.”
They ate in silence for a few minutes after the Captains statement. She never usually gets this riled up over a crewmate showing signs of an illness.
Huixing found it interesting, since she was avid for puzzles. It was obvious that the Captain had a soft spot for Kazhua. The poor kid had been through enough already, almost everyone had a soft spot for him. But it still didn’t explain why she would go rushing after him like that. All because he was nauseous? Sure, nausea was no walk in the park but it wasn’t life or death.
“What do you think that was about, Huixing?” Furong asked, anxiously twirling her knife around on the table. It was known that both the Captain and Furong were the closest to Kazuha, so it made sense that their sudden departure made her uneasy.
“I’m not sure.” Huixing replied, feeling excitement build in her chest at this new mystery. “Should we go see?”
Furong shook her head quickly. “No, if Kazuha truly isn’t feeling good, he won’t want to be surrounded by people. At least not right away. Let’s give them some time.”
~~~
Kazuha found his way back onto the pile of crates. Originally he was intending to make it to the med bay, but he knew that Beidou would follow him there. Besides, he didn’t like drawing attention to the fact that he didn’t feel well.
He reached into his pocket, withdrew a small white mint and popped it into his mouth. He let out a sigh of relief as the nausea died down.
For some reason, he had a harder time eating than most people. He was extremely picky, but on the run he couldn’t exactly afford to be. He lost quite a lot of weight due to the fact that he couldn’t always stomach whatever he found to eat that night. It was a good thing that he always liked fish, since the Crux Fleet had it every night.
However, he couldn’t eat a whole lot due to the fact that his intake of food had decreased ever since he became a fugitive. Captain Beidou had assumed that he might have food problems when he first boarded her ship, although he had no idea where she got that from.
Kazuha was very careful about his eating habits. He never liked to eat around others, but that in of itself aroused suspicion. To him, it was fine since the crew mostly blamed it on social awkwardness or nerves.
But when Beidou approached and demanded to be informed of why he never showed for meals, he knew his act was over. She wouldn’t take no for an answer and tonight was the first night he had actually dined with the crew.
“Kazuha?” A rough voice called, shaking him out of his thoughts.
Juza walked over to him with his arms crossed, a stern but concerned expression on his face. “What are you doing on the supply crates? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in the sleeping quarters?”
Kazuha gently hopped down, ignoring the sudden queasiness from the movement. “No need to worry. I was admiring the waves and how they gently mist the ships floor. It truly is a sight to see.”
Juza’s eyes sparkled at the mention of the waves but he only offered a slight smile. “Fine, I’d let you enjoy the sight more, but the Captain and Yinxing are looking for you.”
Kazuha sighed. “Of course. I’ll see you later, Juza. Thank you for telling me.”
Juza nodded in response, watching as the younger sailer walked past.
He turned toward the waves, remembering the little white pill that Kazuha had taken before Juza had said anything. He had assumed that the Inazuman would have already seen Yinxing, since she was the one who gave out the medicine, but if he didn’t then where did he get that from? More importantly, what was it?
Juza held onto the railings next to the crates, eyeing the ocean below them. What was the boy up to?