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The idea had been itching in Noah’s skull ever since he saw them at the craft store in Honolulu, where his dad had taken him to get fresh art supplies while the Captain was off taking care of something or other with Masaru (some kind of party he wasn’t allowed to go to? He was still a bit sore about that, to be honest). The items in question: a set of big, self-adhesive googly eyes that jiggled around when you shook them. Of course, the giddy grin that was plastered on his face while the two checked out raised Jason’s suspicions somewhat, but he must have figured he wasn’t up to too much trouble as he bought them for him anyway. Now that the merry Goro Pirates were well out at sea again, however, all the boy had to do was bide his time until the right opportunity – and that opportunity came when Captain Majima let out a loud, exaggerated yawn, tagged out Jason to take his place at the wheel, and announced his intentions to “catch some Z’s” before sauntering into the captain’s cabin to, assumedly, do just that.
For about half an hour, Noah continued to wait. Then, with all the stealth that living on an island oft visited by ne’er-do-wells had given him during his short life, he cracked open the door to the captain’s cabin and stuck his head inside. He had to step in a little further to get a good look at the sofa, upon which the Captain was sprawled out, his remaining eye shut and his arms folded behind his head. When the old man let out a typical old man snore – Noah couldn’t help but wonder if all guys over a certain age snored, and if he, too, was doomed to do so one day – the boy knew the time was right. He grinned, creeping into the room, edging slowly and quietly towards the couch. Once more, he listened for the telltale snores signaling that his target hadn’t stirred; once he heard them, he pulled a single, quarter-sized googly eye out of his pocket, tore away the paper on the back, and steadily, steeeeeeeeadily, hovered it over the Captain’s eyepatch –
He dropped it with a yelp, however, when a leather-gloved hand suddenly grabbed him, hard, by the wrist. Noah’s heart jolted in his chest, and when he looked down, he saw a dark eye glaring daggers sharper than the one he’d found on the beach towards him. For a split second, the older man snarled – then, just as quickly, he stopped himself, his expression morphing into one of shock.
“...Noah?” He felt Majima’s grip on his wrist loosen slightly. “Th… The hell are ya tryin’ ta do, make me piss my pants!?”
“I – ” Noah gulped. “...Sorry! I’m sorry, Captain – I didn’t mean to scare you! Honest…!”
The tension in the Captain’s form eased a bit, and he fully released the boy’s arm, pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers. “Fuck,” he swore under his breath. “...Yeah, I know, I know. Sorry fer grabbin’ ya like that.” He grunted as he pulled himself up, supporting his weight on his forearms and giving Noah a look of exasperation. “Just – try not to pull somethin’ like that again, will ya? That’s my blind side, ya know.”
“R-Right,” stammered Noah. He rubbed his wrist slightly, then turned his gaze sadly towards the floor. “...Yeah. I… I really should’ve known better than to get so close. You probably didn’t lose that eye from anything good – I’m sorry if I brought back any bad memories.”
Majima’s expression softened slightly. Then, he sighed. “...Nah. Still can’t recall but bits and pieces.” He sat himself upright on the sofa. “But what the mind forgets, the body remembers pretty damn well. No surprise I’d get a little twitchy ‘bout it.” He flashed the boy a grin. “But, hey, lesson learned, right? No hard feelings on my end – just try and mind people’s personal space from here on out, eh?”
“Captain…” Noah nodded, his expression still somewhat sullen. “...Okay. I’ll be more careful from now on. I promise.”
“Hey now, don’t go back out there lookin’ so glum!” He gave Noah a soft, playful punch on the shoulder. “Yer old man’ll have it in fer me if he thought I upset ya.” He leaned back slightly in his seat. “Oh, and come wake me up if I sleep through the dinner bell, will ya? Don’t want Masaru bitchin’ at me fer not tryin’ his soup du jour again, after all.”
Noah gave him a small, unsteady smile in return. “Y… Yes, Captain! Will do…!” With that, he headed back out to the deck, leaving the old Captain alone once again in his cabin.
He blew some air through his lips. “Seriously,” he muttered to himself, “the hell was he even doin’, anyway?” He adjusted his foot slightly, and his sock-clad toe bumped into something small and light. With a small “hm?”, Majima glanced down towards the object; then, his old eye barely able to make out what it was, he leaned in to get a better look. When he realized what it was, he cocked an eyebrow.
“...Is that…?” He picked the craft eye off of the floor, looked at it for a second, then gave it a little jiggle, watching as the plastic pupil danced around with a quiet clackity-clack. The gears in his head turned, and when he finally made the connection, he let out a quiet, amused giggle.
“Hee hee! The lad has jokes!” He inspected the back of the eye, tapping its back to check its adhesion, then uttered, “Prolly would stick better with a bit of tape, though…”
Although Noah had tried to heed his Captain’s advice, he still couldn’t help but feel guilty about his failed prank. After all the man had done for him, for his family, he had to go and be so careless and insensitive about something so deeply personal and upsetting to him. Amidst his starry-eyed admiration for the Captain, his superhero-like strength and inspiring confidence, he realized he’d forgotten something that should have been obvious; that such strength and confidence only came from a life filled with hardship, with things even scarier than he could imagine… things that maybe he was happier not remembering. He sighed deeply, then half-heartedly resumed picking the sea litter out of the Goromaru’s fishing nets, readying them for another cast.
Nearby, Saejima, who had noticed the boy’s forlorn air and asked for his assistance with the nets in an attempt to distract him, frowned. “Sure are sighin’ a lot,” he said. “Ya sure you’re all right, Noah?”
The boy startled slightly out of his thoughts. “Oh – Y-Yeah, I’m fine! I already told you!” He quickened his pace, bagging up a few plastic bottles that had been swept up with the last catch. “I’m just fine. Really…!”
Saejima chuckled. “Yer a terrible liar, y’know.” He squatted down to be eye level with his younger crewmate. “Might as well spill the beans before everyone on this ship starts naggin’ ya about it. What’s eatin’ ya?”
Noah’s work slowed to a halt once again, and he bit his lip. “I…” He went quiet for a moment, thinking over his words carefully, then responded with a question of his own. “Saejima – you’ve known the Captain for a really long time, right?”
He nodded. “Practically grew up together, yeah.”
“Then,” continued Noah, his expression filled with earnest, “you must have done things to make him mad before, right? Or make him sad?”
Saejima tilted his head, amused. “We’ve had our spats, yeah. I mean… you were there fer the latest one, weren’t ya?”
“I-I mean, things that don’t involve fighting and stuff! Like – Like you tried to play a joke on him, but it didn’t go well, and then you’re worried you made him remember something really bad and – ”
The old man lifted his scarred eyebrow. “...That’s… awfully specific,” he said incredulously. “But I get the gist. I think.” He stood back up and crossed his arms. “What ya gotta know about that guy is that it takes a hell of a lot to faze him. He ain’t no snowflake – bustin’ his balls ain’t gonna hurt his feelings, so long as the stakes are low.” He stroked his chin with his thumb in thought. “...Bit of a different story if you were one of his family guys. But, bein’ honest, a lot of that was fer show. Yakuza bravado and all that.”
Noah simply looked at him, confused. Saejima waved the thought away with a flick of his hand.
“Eh – nevermind that last part.” He smiled slightly. “Point is – yer a good kid, Noah. And he knows ya don’t mean no harm. Hell, he’d likely be more upset that yer upset than at any dumb prank ya tried to pull.”
The boy’s eyes widened slightly, as though holding out for hope of relief. “Really? You think so?”
Saejima nodded. “Yeah. In fact, I bet he’d – ”
The two jolted at the sound of a loud slam coming from lower on deck, followed by a loud, familiar voice.
“All right, swabbies!! Status update!!”
Almost instinctively, every hand on deck, including Noah and Saejima, turned their attention towards their Captain. The two walked closer to the stairs, joining Jason, who was still manning the wheel, and Masaru, who had rushed over, still wearing an apron and wiping the sweat from the heat of the kitchen from his brow. Although the group could see Majima from behind, what caught their attention unexpectedly was the bewildered reaction of those who saw him from the front; most notably, Nishida and Minami, who had been working with the port and starboard side cannons, respectively.
“Nishida!” cried Majima, storming towards him in an authoritative manner, “Portside cannons repaired yet?”
“I – um – ah…” Flashes of both amusement and fear wildly alternated upon his face, as though he had no idea whether to laugh or not. He chose the latter, swallowing before answering shakily. “A-Almost, Captain! Should… should be ready to fire soon…!”
“Make it sooner than soon if ya don’t wanna get caught with yer pants down by the Black Flags!” Majima crossed the deck to the starboard side, approaching Minami. “Minami! How’s yer side lookin’?”
Minami, on the other hand, had a much harder time holding back his laughter. “C...Captain!” He tried, and failed, to hold back a snort, then pointed towards – something on the Captain’s person. “You’ve, uh… you’ve got a… got a little – Ow!”
He was interrupted by a smack upside the head. “This ain’t about me, idiot!! Are the damn cannons workin’ or not!?”
Minami rubbed his temple slightly, then straightened up. “Er – right! Sorry, Captain! Cannons are in good shape on this side, sir…!”
Jason’s face scrunched into his own, surly version of a confused expression as the group watched other members of the crew mutter and laugh amongst themselves. “The hell?” he asked. “What’s gotten into everyone?”
Masaru joined in on his friend’s puzzled pondering, scratching his hairline. “Beats me…”
Their question would be answered almost immediately, however, as Majima turned to ascend the stairs. All four crewmates then instantly understood the others’ bizarre reaction as they beheld their Captain, his expression stern and fierce, with a single, jiggling googly eye attached firmly to his eyepatch. As he approached, Saejima blinked, Jason and Masaru exchanged glances of disbelief, and Noah, as surprised as he was entertained, covered his mouth with his hands.
“C...Captain!” he laughed between his fingers. “I can’t believe you actually – ”
Majima paid him no mind, however, as he turned to Jason. “Jason,” he said sternly, “what’s our ETA?”
Jason grimaced, then shot a glare towards Noah, who was still trying very hard to suppress his giggles. “Captain,” he said, “look, if my boy’s causing any trouble for you – ”
“Eeeeee-Teeee-Aaaaaay, Rich!” Majima made an exaggerated watch-tapping gesture. “Now!”
The put-upon father let out a defeated sigh. “...A little under three hours, Captain.”
“There, now, was that so hard?” The Captain then hollered over to Masaru. “You’ll have dinner ready before then, won’tcha, Masaru?”
Masaru, who by now was extremely amused at the whole thing, laughed. “Haha… Of course, Captain! You can count on me…!”
“All right! Bet!” Majima shoved himself between the two, placing a hand on one of each of their shoulders. “Keep up the good work, yeah?” After a strong, affectionate pat, he spun around to face Noah and Saejima, the fake eye jiggling wildly as he did so. “I see yer keepin’ the nets in good shape, Noah! Oh, and you too, Saejima. Make sure ya separate the recyclables from the trash, ya hear?”
Saejima scoffed in a way that could have also been interpreted as a laugh. “’And you too’? Gee, thanks.”
Now nearly breathless from laughter, Noah forced himself to stop, lest he trigger an asthma attack. He took a deep breath, then finished his earlier thought. “Captain… I can’t believe you actually put it on!”
“Haw?” Majima tilted his head, the movement of the googly eye punctuating the gesture. “Put what on?”
Despite himself, Noah began to giggle again. “You know!” He pointed to the fake eye. “That!”
Majima frowned. “What, my eyepatch?” He pointed suspiciously accurately at the googly eye, yet continued to deny its presence. “I always wear this! Don’t tell me yer gettin’ amnesia too, kid…!”
Masaru continued to laugh from nearby. “Heheh… Captain sure knows how to commit to the bit, eh?” He turned towards Saejima. “Has he always been like this, Saejima?”
Saejima buried his face his his palm, his shoulders shaking in a chuckle of both amusement and embarrassment. “...Pretty much,” he confirmed. “In fact, he did this exact shtick once before, at an officer’s meeting…”
Noah’s eyes widened. “Eh? He did!?”
The Captain also turned his attention towards Saejima. “Hmm? ...Well, ain’t sure what sorta ‘schtick’ yer referrin’ to, but I get the feeling you got a story to tell.” He crossed his arms. “Care to share it, Saejima?”
Saejima lowered his hand. “It was around… 2010 or 2011, I think. ‘Fore I got sent up to Hokkaido. The Tojo Clan had an officer’s meeting, and me, you, and Daigo were all there.”
“Daigo…” Majima strained to recall something. “That’s the former chairman, right? Think some of the boys on Nele Island mentioned him.”
“That’s the one, yeah. You were always tryna get a rise outta him, ‘specially when he had to put on his serious hat and get things done. Made them boring meetings more fun, you always said.” He smirked a little at the memory. “That day, ya pulled the same prank, puttin’ a big, fat googly eye on yer eyepatch, waltzin’ in like nothin’ was wrong, and then procedin’ to go through the whole thing a hundred percent seriously.” He shook his head with another chuckle. “Pretty sure poor Daigo wanted to crawl into a hole and die that day… but I got a good laugh out of it, at least.”
Majima cackled. “Ha! Yeah, sounds like somethin’ I’d pull.” He put a hand on his hip. “Must’ve really liked the guy if I did all that just to get his goat…!”
Noah let out another, bright laugh. “Heheh! I guess it was funny enough that you thought of it all over again!” He grinned at his Captain. “Right?”
The old Captain scoffed. “Like I said – I ain’t got the foggiest clue what yer referrin’ to!” He smirked, jabbing a thumb towards his chest for emphasis, further jiggling the googly eye around. “I’m a pirate these days, after all – a real pirate would never do somethin’ so goofy…!”
Watching his son burst into a whole new episode of giggles, Jason couldn’t help but smile slightly, himself. “...Heh,” he muttered to himself, “you’re a good sport, Majima.” He glanced at Saejima. “Bet he was a pain in the ass to deal with back in the day, wasn’t he?”
Saejima shot him a knowing look. “You don’t know the half of it, Jason.”
The two watched as Masaru stepped forward, trying to get a good shot with his phone of the Captain and the little boy he’d made laugh until his sides hurt, making absolutely certain to get the googly eye in full view as he did so.