Chapter Text
"All aboard!" a really loud voice filled the crisp air around the seaside. Hastily, a bunch of young men jumped on the deck and sent down a ladder for their captain to climb.
The captain then wrapped an arm around a crewmate's neck (it wasn't of much significance to him who exactly he was wrapping it around, though).
"Word is these waters house a mermaid. These waters, not the deep sea!" The captain stretched out his arm over the horizon. "You believe it? A mermaid, finally in my possession, and such a rare one too! Hm… what will I do with it… display it on the bowsprit? Or keep it in my quarter…" The ambitious man drifted off in his fantasies out loud, his sound roughened by marine salt in the atmosphere or, perhaps, the cigars he's been enjoying every now and then.
"Captain Reo," the seaman interrupted him. His long hair, toyed with by the lukewarm breeze, glimmered in the setting sun that coloured the sky similarly to its own colour. Reminiscent of stars, crystals of sodium added on to that glitter and highlighted the sailor's natural beauty. "You're really going to risk it all for a rumour? That man's a drunkard, prolly saw a tuna and freaked out or something…" he rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. "You know they've gone extinct. No point in trying, is there?"
Most of the time, the crew wouldn't oppose Captain's words. That's because most of the time there'd be some reason, at least a tiny bit of it, behind his plans. This time around, however, Reo has chosen to play va banque . It was an all-or-nothing situation, a matter of life or death, his honour was on the line. His intuition, possibly tainted by desperation, was telling him that there's got to be something to it, to the rumour directly delivered to him by the eyewitness. Despite his newfound life in piracy, Reo was still (to some extent) respected among the local fishermen as the one and only son of the town's " hero ", who turned the tides in times of need and brought fish for every mouth to eat after days – if not weeks – of empty nets. They'd have small talk on days off, which would often reveal gossip, rumours or upcoming plans of the townspeople to the captain. Especially if the fisherman he spoke to had been intoxicated; they’d run their mouths like waterfalls no matter the subject.
As far as their dedication to their captain goes, all of the crewmen would agree that Reo was a certain level of peculiar, without a doubt. As a matter of fact, anyone living by the harbour would. The news of old Mikage’s son choosing to turn to delinquency have spread like wildfire across each and every inch of the small town – though gossip (or as some prefer to call it: exchange of vital information) was not a new or rare practise under the people, so who’s to be surprised, really? It was a major shock, though, to find out that the man who saved them from hunger has raised a potentially dangerous criminal. That’s what the people thought as word got out, which of course it did — Reo has taken it upon himself to spread it around, quite shamelessly, and recruit people who’d volunteer as hands on his ship out in broad daylight, knowing very well that nobody would dare raise a finger at him. Outrageous, of course, his new decision caused an uproar and gave his father tens if not hundreds of negative opinions regarding his reckless son, though that’s where it all ended. Nobody had it in them to think of forcing legal action against the young man – pirate or not, he was a Mikage, and to the townspeople that surname was like an emblem of honour or perhaps some kind of deity. That probably factored most to the people’s explosive reaction and not the idea of potential risk coming their way. After all, pirates are a common sight if you live by the sea.
All Reo’s father gave as a response was “ don’t worry, he’ll get bored of it in a week or two, ” which had unknowingly factored to the situation his son put himself in now.
Having his dedication doubted this blatantly and openly, Reo decided to finally get serious about piracy - something he’d started to break free from being a Mikage heir to begin with. Being respected and given the privilege of having a particular last name simply was not appealing anymore. The young man dreamed of going out there and doing something with himself instead of idly earning praise for something his father had achieved that one time. It could've easily been anyone, it was not his skill or anything like that that got him the fame, but instead just the fact that the goddess of luck had smiled at him. That’s exactly what Reo’s thought process behind this seemingly abrupt action was – to prove his greatness comes from who he is (or will become) and not the family name he was born with.
"Oh, you," Reo gave his comrade a somewhat mocking smile as he lit up a cigar he'd just smacked between his lips. "Nothing ventured, nothing gained, no?" He inhaled some smoke and did his best to suppress the cough that came with it. "Now listen: I need this. If it's not real, I'll make it real. I refuse to come back empty-handed, so you better give it your all or be damned forever," the captain then chuckled as if hinting at his words being lighthearted, to which the red-haired seaman could only grimace with discomfort. He knew it was at least half-serious. Reo then thrust his arm forward and advised the rest of the crew to set sail to where the mermaid was rumoured to be spotted.
Despite considering him to be somewhat rash from time to time, Reo’s sailors trusted him and his decision-making. They assumed he must’ve already developed some kind of plan they wouldn’t be able to comprehend or follow due to just how many steps and ideas he put in it. So for that reason, they agreed in spirit to keep quiet lest they wanted their captain to go on a verbal rampage about just how great and complex his mission would be. Even though he talked a lot and his train of thought might prove itself to be hard to understand by many, the crew felt drawn to Captain. Obviously they did — why else would they follow him in the first place? Well, there’s no explanation besides that. They’d discussed it not once and not twice and the only common thread was: “ something about him reeled me in ”. Reo’s aura was magnetic even for those who consider themselves level-headed and logical, and as for those who preferred to dive head-first into danger – it goes without saying. But indulging in young Mikage’s fantasy when it first broke out wasn’t exactly the most acceptable thing to do. From weird looks to being denied services, the consequences have struck Reo’s fresh crewsmen. However, people would eventually let it go and go back to treating them like they’d treat anybody else again (the judgemental stares stayed, though).
The crew as it was now consisted of five people all aged similarly to Reo himself — five young men with different aspirations and goals, yet one shared means. Some of them, like the red-headed sailor Chigiri and Kunigami, had been friends prior to being scouted, and it’s easy to assume one wouldn’t have joined without the other. The other three – Sendou, Niko and Zantetsu have seen each other here and there, which was to be expected from the citizens of a small, tightly knit town. As the anchor got weighed and the ship, which looked a bit too neat to be immediately recognised as a pirate’s vessel, floated into the open sea, the atmosphere on board shifted almost instantly: despite the awkwardness they felt at first, the men were now cheering and chatting to no end. They quickly established a tradition to have a small celebration each time they set sail from point A and anchored at point B. It helped them grow closer and gather fond memories from their “voyages”, as they called their cruises around the sea to probe their new environment and test their limits.
Soon after, the sun departed from the sky and welcomed the moon. Together with it came a cool wind that hurried the freshly-made pirates into their cabins.