Chapter Text
Are you scared of pirates? You don’t really have to, unless you’re a merchant transporting tons of wealth. But pirates are usually stupid, driven by pure greed and the desire to have more and more at all cost, often not hesitating to break many norms and laws. But most of them don’t even know how to read or count. They don’t think. If you get two or three guards with you, a pirate ship shouldn’t be a problem.
Unless they have an orange flag with yellow stars. That’s when you sail away as far as possible or pray to be unnoticed. And if you are, never, absolutely never attack this ship. That’s not a problem, you think. A pirate ship with a crew of barely 4 people? Even less for most of the time? This must be an easy target.
Said every reckless captain, who’s now laying under the sea. Yes, it’s a crew of four people only. But they have a loud captain, a genius strategist who’s also a powerful sea mage, a siren and a rebellious princess. They usually don’t attack first. But if someone even tries, they are not holding back.
This is the tale of how this unique group of pirates got together.
When you’re a son of a wealthy merchant, there are certain expectations you have to live up to. Proper manners, high etiquette, and so on, and so on… Pretty tiring. Even for Tsukasa Tenma, who at the age of 19 decides to run away and become a pirate. When he and his sister were younger, he would often read her various stories. Pirates being a common motif. And with living by the seaside, he secretly became fascinated. There must be so much to discover! Beautiful and idyllic or deadly and mysterious isles, fantastic creatures hiding in the depths, ancient treasures waiting to be brought back to the surface, and more, and more.
Very early or very late hours are the most obvious ones for one to run away from anywhere. Which is why Tsukasa decides to leave at noon. Easier said than done. Just leaving his house is easy. What’s next? He packed a few things, some food, his sword – it’s in a good taste for boys from rich families to learn swordsmanship – and left, not sure what should be his next step. The harbour, obviously. And then? It’s March, early spring, the weather is nice, sunny and warm.
“Get back there, you thief! Grow your own fruits and leave mine alone!”
Tsukasa immediately turns to see the source of the voice. Then, a tall young man about his age passes him laughing and running, holding a material bag full of something. Behind him, an older man, probably the fruit seller, chasing him. Without thinking, the blonde decides to chase the mysterious one as well. Until the purple-haired thief jumps into the sea without hesitation. Tsukasa leans on the platform with worry, as the man has seemingly sunk down; the seller just sighs.
“He always does that. This guy is some kind of a crazy sea mage, he can spend hours underwater. So he uses it as an escape route. Meanwhile, I can write down another loss, as he stole my fruits and didn’t even bother to leave a coin!” he shouts, clearly getting angry.
Hearing the words “sea mage” makes Tsukasa’s heart beat faster. It’s just like from fairytales! Assuming that the mage won’t leave the water with the man around, he offers to pay for the stolen goods. The seller takes the money and leaves, while Tsukasa stays.
It was only much later when Tsukasa learnt that the fruit seller got his products in a not really ethical way, from his giant farm ran on exploiting slaves who get nothing for their work, while the man, his wife and two lovers sleep on money. He only shows up at his own stand to make himself look like a humble old man just wanting to earn a coin for his rent. The blonde fully forgave the mysterious thief who stole fruits just the same way they were stolen from the slaves.
After a long while of waiting when he’s just about to give up, a purple-haired head peeks out of the water.
“You really didn’t have to pay for that, you know? It’s not like he’s poor.” says the other, swimming to the platform where Tsukasa sits.
“Well, of course I had to! You still stole from him, and tried to run away! And- EHHHH?”
Tsukasa takes a step away when he sees the “mage” from a smaller distance. His hair, bright purple and cut completely uneven with the two aqua streaks and curious yellow eyes are nothing really unusual. His ears, however… instead of normal skin, they have some weird membrane around them, which makes them look like fish fins. Taking a closer look at the cold-yellow eyes, the pupils are slightly slit, and the eyeballs seem to have another layer on them. Tsukasa’s shock doesn’t end when the other gets out of the water and stands next to him. His clothes and hair are dry in an instant.
“Alright, what in the name of the sea gods are you?!” Tsukasa exclaims, a bit concerned.
The man giggles.
“What am I? Good question. My long-term observation suggests I’m a mermaid, or a merman if we want to consider my gender, simply born with legs. But of course, if you have any suggestions, I’m willing to listen. And hey, don’t call out the sea gods for no reason.”
A merman? A real merman? Tsukasa can’t believe his ears. Usually, he’d try to deny it, but he has no reason to think the man’s words are a lie. This all looks too natural. And even if he is lying, he stayed underwater for much longer than a normal human would be able to.
“Okay, but seriously now. Are you really, really a merman? And a sea mage? Do you have some cool powers? Like in fairytales? Oh, excuse me, I forgot my manners. My name is Tenma Tsukasa!” he stands proudly, striking one of his favourite poses. “Please, tell me everything you can!”
The taller one chuckles with amusement, but nods.
“Tenma, hmm? In that case, I should introduce myself as well. I’m Rui Kamishiro. And yes, I am a merman, and you can call me a sea mage. I have all the abilities of a normal mermaid, but I was simply born with my tail weirdly splitting into two. And before I was five, it fully transformed into legs, although I still have some scales left here and there. So I did what anyone would and went outside, to the surface, and I live a kind of a double life.”
Tsukasa soaks all the info like a sponge, forgetting about his previous annoyance with the one before him being a thief. This is all too interesting to think about broken laws! Not to mention, didn’t he run away with the purpose of becoming a pirate? Stealing is like a pirate’s main activity.
Wait… Rui might be the perfect person to join him. After all, even the scariest pirates always had at least a few people in their crew. One captain won’t do much.
“That’s a great story. And I believe together we could make many more, just as great or even greater ones!”
“That was smooth.”
“Hey, I’m not flirting with you! What I wanted to say, was-” Tsukasa draws out his sword and strikes another pose to make himself look more… heroic? It’s hard to tell what he really wants to achieve here, but it makes a rather positive impression on Rui. “Was that I want to invite you to make a pirate crew together! I decided to leave my family to go on a journey across the eighty eight seas. But to do that, I need a crew! And I believe you could be the perfect first member!”
“Oh?”
Rui seems surprised at first, but then tilts his head curiously.
“A pirate crew, you say? An interesting choice. Hmmm…” Rui puts his hand to his chin, thinking. Tsukasa can notice that the other even has some webbing between his fingers.
“Aren’t you the one who just scolded me for stealing fruits? You know being a pirate means you’ll be stealing much more expensive and valuable items. You have a great determination, I can see it, and that’s admirable. But are you sure you have what it takes to become a pirate?”
“W-well, yes, of course I do! I’m highly skilled with a sword and my technique gains nothing but praises from the trainers. And I know how to steer a ship, since my father is a wealthy sailing merchant, he would often take me with him and teach me”
“I see.” says Rui, coming closer and wrapping his hands around Tsukasa’s shoulders with a slight grin.
“You definitely have the outer qualities. Hmm, yes, you do have a good muscle. But my question was, do you have the mentality to become a criminal? Would you be able to raise your blade not against a training dummy, but another person, and are you ready to let the blood spill when needed? Can you see yourself standing up against unknown curses waiting for trespassers, or beasts lurking in the most unexpected places? The fairytales don’t lie, Tenma. They never did.”
Was this supposed to discourage Tsukasa? Because it did the opposite. He tries not to flinch when he feels Rui's slim fingers on his shoulders. With confidence, he replies:
"I can assure you I am not to be underestimated! I am aware of what it takes to be a pirate, and I'm ready to take it all! Just trust me, and I won't disappoint!"
Rui nods to himself with slight admiration visible in his eyes.
"You've impressed me, Tenma. That's not something humans often manage. Very well. I'll consider your offer. But, I hope you understand I have a bit of some trust issues for humans, I had a few unpleasant situations. So I would like to test you. More specifically, give you two trials."
Tsukasa smiles, clearly pleased with the merman agreeing so easily.
"I'll pass anything you throw at me with flying colours! You can count on me, Kamish- actually, would you mind if I called you by the first name already? I mean, sure, we've just met, but if we're going to make a team, it wouldn't hurt to already start breaking the ice, would it?"
Rui seems surprised for a moment, but then nods again.
"I don't mind it. Actually, I do prefer being called by it. It's what I'm used to from my mermaid society I grew up in. In that case, Tsukasa, let's go to the first place where you'll get your trial.”
Rui leads Tsukasa through the harbour. The blonde is pretty surprised that despite Rui’s unusual appearance, he walks completely unbothered and no one bats an eye. If anything, they look with polite curiosity. When asked, the merman just smiles and says this part of the harbour is used to it.
As they walk, they exchange some facts about themselves. Rui explains how supportive the mermaid community always was to him, no one minding his unusual condition and how much of a shock it was for him to learn that humans tend to discriminate even those with a slightly different skin colour.
“Meanwhile, not only no one was saying anything weird about my legs, but all my family wanted to support me in all the ways they could. It got a bit overwhelming after a while, true, but definitely helped a lot. When I first started coming out on land, people started looking weird at me. But there is something, I would say, magical in this harbour. You mentioned you’ve read a lot of pirate tales? Those ports are often described with a certain charm. And this one has it as well. I’m not the only non-human visitor, I’m sure there’s a vampire family somewhere here.”
When it’s Tsukasa’s turn, he proudly tells the merman his sailing experiences he has gained from travelling with his father.
“Even though I come from a wealthy family and had a decent number of servants around, I always liked to do things myself! I know how to steer a ship and I can manage it well. So, when we sail alone, worry not, because I’m confident I’ll make a great captain!”
“Hehe. I’m really curious to see your dedication in reality.”
After a while, they approach an elegant building with big glass windows with fancy dresses on display.
“We’re here. That’s where my friend works and lives. Mizuki Akiyama.”