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The last thing Hajime remembers is water, so much water, complete darkness, and feeling so, so cold. Now, he feels the gentle heat of the midday sun. His limbs are resting on sturdy wooden boards. He smells the salt of the sea air as a breeze flutters through his hair. Bright light breaks through his firmly closed eyelids. He groans. His stomach is rolling like he ate a bad fish, drank too much rum or swallowed mouthfuls of sea water. Most likely the latter, he thinks as he manages to roll over on his side just in time for said sea water to come heaving out of his mouth. Faintly in the distance he hears someone yell, “he’s awake!”, as he continues until it feels like there is nothing at all left in his stomach. With a groan and great effort, he manages to open his eyes and is immediately met with a broadly smiling face and pink hair.
“Hi there!”, the face says, “I’m glad you’re awake, I was really scared for you for a second there. I fished you out of the water but I don’t know how long you’d been in there and then I tried giving you mouth to mouth but I’m not sure it actually worked because you still weren’t breathing and-”
Hajime frowns as he takes in the bright eyes and yapping mouth of who is, undoubtedly, his saviour. He lifts his hand to gently, curiously, touch the pink locks.
“Are you a mermaid?” He says.
The face pauses in confusion, then barks out a laugh.
“I’m pretty enough for it, aren’t I?”
“Hanamaki,” another voice says, “quit yapping and help the man up. He just almost drowned. The last thing he needs is you rambling about it.”
“Yeah, sorry babe,” the man apparently named Hanamaki replies and then directs his attention to Hajime. “I’m Hanamaki.”
“Yeah, I gathered as much. Where am I-” Hajime interrupts himself by coughing up water.
“You’re on the Aoba Johsai! Finest pirate ship in the Eastern seas if I say so myself.” Hanamaki replies.
“W-wait, pirate ship?” Hajime’s eyes widen and he scrambles backwards in an attempt to put some distance between himself and what are, apparently, bloodthirsty pirates that just saved him from drowning. Which means he owes them a life debt, and everyone knows you don’t want to be indebted to a pirate.
“Don’t worry! We won’t kill you. Yet-” Hanamaki is interrupted by a smack on the head from his companion, “ouch, Matsukawa, rude. But really, we’re not as bad as we seem. We don’t hurt our own, and as I just decided we’ll keep you, that includes you. Congratulations! You’re a pirate now!”
Hajime faints.
-
To his credit, it had been a very long day. Hajime started the morning by disobeying his mother, disregarding her plea to stay away from the ocean. The fishermen had been short on men and Hajime, unaware of the gathering storm, had volunteered to help in return for a share of the catch. When they were just out to sea, the storm picked up and Hajime ended up drifting out on a piece of driftwood. Then, he finds out the ship that miraculously happened to pass by and fish him out was full of pirates.
When he opens his eyes again, he is in a bed in what looks like an infirmary and doesn’t feel like passing out anymore. Hanamaki is right beside him, instantly chattering away again. When Hajime feels like he can properly stand up again, Hanamaki gives him a tour around the ship.
“-And up there is Kyoutani, in the crow’s nest. You’d do well to stay away from him.” Hanamaki says, pointing upward. As Hajime looks up a man exits the door Hanamaki previously pointed out as the captain’s quarters.
“Ah, perfect timing!” Hanamaki exclaims as he marches up to the man, dragging Hajime along with him. “Captain, I have someone to introduce you to!”
The captain looks younger than Hajime would expect from a captain of a ship as big the Aoba Johsai is. Instead, the captain seems to be about his age, perfectly styled brown hair softly waving in the sea breeze and a long, black coat accentuated with trinkets hanging off his shoulders. As Hanamaki and Hajime approach the tired look the captain had been wearing on his sharp features is immediately replaced by a cheerful smile that Hajime instantly deduces as fake. The man’s sharp eyes zero in on Hajime and just as he's about to squirm under the intense scrutiny, the captain's calculating look gives way to a sneer.
“Ah, the stray you picked up.”
Hajime already can't stand the man.
"Welcome to my ship," the captain says with the fakest smile Hajime has ever seen.
“Thanks.” Hajime replies dryly.
"I hope you enjoy your stay!” The captain continues, “Seeing as you won't be getting off any time soon."
"Wait, what?” Hajime blurts.
“What, did you think we were gonna sail right by your house and drop you off?”
“Listen, bastard, I demand you take me back home.”
"It seems you don't know who I am," the captain says, mock surprised. "I am Oikawa Tooru, the grand king of the east, captain of Aoba Johsai. And you," Oikawa squints at Hajime and his smirk seems to grow even wider, "you are a boring nobody from a tiny town who would have drowned if it weren't for fate having us sail right past your miserable little wreck of a boat and my kindness keeping you alive. And I will not have you interfere with my travel plans."
Oikawa turns to walk back to his cabin.
“You can’t keep me here against my will!” Hajime shouts after him, shrugging off Hanamaki’s hand on his arm as he walks after the captain and almost bumps into him when he suddenly stops and turns.
“Oh? Can’t I?” Oikawa sneers, “A captain’s word is law on a pirate ship. And last time I checked, I was the captain of this ship, not you. So I can do whatever I damn well please. And if you don't agree,” the captain waves a hand in the direction of the railing, "there's the nearest exit."
The shock on the captain’s face when Hajime hits him square in the jaw is almost worth the pain in his hand and the dawning realisation that he is most certainly about to die. Almost. Now, everyone on the ship has their attention on them and multiple people seem ready to pounce on Hajime for hitting their captain.
Shock has turned to fury on Oikawa’s face. He puts a hand up to stop his crew from interfering and unsheaths the rapier that had been hanging from his side. He points it at Hajime, who instinctively takes a couple of steps back and is met with the unyielding wood of the main mast.
Hajime sends a quick prayer to the gods of the sea, hoping at least they will be merciful, as Oikawa approaches.
The captain's sharp gaze pins him in place and Oikawa slowly raises his weapon, the tip of his rapier barely touching the skin of Hajime's chin, forcing him to tilt his head upwards.
"You are," he says as the blade slowly pierces skin, "on very thin ice. I only allowed you to board my ship because Makki here vouched for you. You wouldn't want to betray his trust now, would you? Surely you learned a thing or two about loyalty in that shit town of yours?"
Hajime can do nothing but stare into the captain's eyes, words dead on his tongue. A long, heavy moment passes in which nobody speaks and Hajime feels nothing but the press of the blade and a sensation of crackling energy between him and Oikawa.
Then, Oikawa pulls back, turns around and storms off to his cabin.
Hajime sinks to the deck, adrenaline quickly giving way to exhaustion. He feels a gentle hand on his shoulder.
"C'mon," Hanamaki says, "let's get you something to eat and something useful to do."
-
After a bite and a moment of rest (Hajime did just almost drown, after all) Hanamaki shows him around the ship. When they pass one of the crewmembers, he quickly introduces them and their task. As they pass the quarterdeck they spot Oikawa, discussing something with Matsukawa. Hajime instantly feels his chest fill up with tension and glares at the captain. Maybe if he uses all of his anger and glares hard enough, Oikawa will catch fire. That would be good.
"Wow, you really have no survival instinct, do you?" Hanamaki smiles as he rubs a hand over Hajime's back. The movement is supposed to be consoling, but it only makes Hajime more on edge as he is starting to fully realise that he's stuck on a ship whose captain would rather see him dead and on which Hanamaki is his only ally.
“Why is the captain so…” Hajime pauses, searching for words.
“Fabulous? Extra? A joy to be around?”
Hajime frowns.
“He seemed really fake-nice at first. But it’s like when he gets angry he turns into a whole other person.”
Hanamaki laughs.
"I know right? Whiplash. But don't worry, he means well. He wouldn't hurt any of his crew unless it was for very good reason."
"Like decking him in the face?"
"Yeah like-" Hanamaki pauses and looks at Hajime before bursting out in laughter.
"I knew it was a good choice to keep you around."
-
Somehow, Hajime is constantly reminded of Oikawa’s presence. When Hanamaki tells him to go sweep the deck, the captain crosses by time after time. When Yahaba asks him to help out in the infirmary, Oikawa just happened to be there to get an old injury checked out.
It is infuriating.
When Hajime goes to the forecastle in the early morning to get a moment alone, feeling the pull of the sea, and finds the captain there, he snaps.
“Why are you here?”
Oikawa turns his head and has the gall to look entirely unsurprised to see Hajime standing there.
“I could ask you the same thing.”
“I was looking for a place I wouldn’t run into you.”
“Looks like you failed at that. Good thing we didn’t make you a lookout. Tell me, Iwaizumi, what are you good at?”
Hajime storms off.
-
“He’s just,” Hajime later complains to Hanamaki, “unbearable. Seriously. Every time I think we’re getting somewhere and he has finally decided to act pleasantly towards me it’s like a switch flicks and he turns into an asshole again. An immature bastard.”
They’re sitting tucked away in a corner with a bottle of rum, alcohol and the relief of being able to air his frustrations of the past days making Hajime loose lipped. Hanamaki has made himself comfortable on Matsukawa’s lap. The latter squints at Hajime as he rambles on.
-
“Iwaizumi,” Matsukawa says, cornering Iwaizumi in the cargo hold as he was fetching supplies for Yahaba, “I’ll be clear with you.”
Hajime nods, uncertain where Matsukawa is going with this.
“I don’t trust you,” Matsukawa says, “I don’t know what spell you put Hanamaki under that he suddenly took such a liking to you, but whatever you did won’t work on me.”
“I didn’t-” Hajime tries, but Matsukawa continues.
“I am currently only tolerating your presence on this ship because of him. But if you make one misstep to someone I care about, I won’t hesitate to throw you overboard myself. Is that clear?”
Hajime nods.
“Good. And just to be clear,” Matsukawa steps up to Hajime, who suddenly becomes aware of just how much the man towers over him, “that includes the captain. I don’t know what your problem is, but I won’t tolerate you disrespecting him much longer.”
Hajime stops himself from snapping back, opting to nod again instead.
Matsukawa takes a step back and smiles at Hajime. The smile doesn’t reach his eyes.
“That’s it. Good talk, Iwaizumi.” And he leaves.
Hajime swears. Back home he never would have let someone talk to him like that, but he is painfully aware of the precarious situation he’s in. Suddenly exhausted, he decides he’s better off finally taking a nap instead of running errands.
-
Apparently, Hajime can never catch a break. Just as he reaches his appointed hammock he hears a loud voice on deck.
“Enemy ship spotted! Ready yourselves for attack!”
In an instant, the entire ship is moving, people rushing to man the cannons and grab their weapons.
Hajime knows nothing about sea battles. He barely knows anything about fighting. He can hold his own in a one on one fist fight, his skills at arm wrestling unmatched. But that’s just some friendly tavern fun. Nothing like the sound of cannon fire, crashing wood and screams that fill his ears now. Despite the thunder in his ears he stumbles towards the main deck, desperate to get a grip on the situation and find Hanamaki.
Before he gets the chance, Hanamaki finds him. Despite the chaos surrounding them, he is grinning widely. “Welcome to your first ship battle, Hajime!”
Oikawa jogs up to them, quickly relaying something to Hanamaki, who runs off without an explanation. He then turns to Hajime, but at that moment a canonball hits the Aoba Johsai too close to them for comfort. That’s when he spots the captain of the enemy ship. His hair is pale, the points dipped black and his eyes have the same piercing gaze Hajime saw on Oikawa when he just met him. An eagle is embroidered on the shoulder of his coat. Now that Hajime looks closer, the enemy crew is all wearing matching coats. Their ship flies a purple flag, the same eagle blinking gold. These are not pirates.
Oikawa, who is standing next to him, grits his teeth and hisses. “Semi. So it is his doing.”
Before Hajime can ask who the captain means by ‘him’, Oikawa shoves him to the side out of the path of a bullet that was coming straight for him.
“Can you fight?” Oikawa shouts. Iwaizumi shakes his head. Oikawa nods. “Then get yourself to safety. Go help in the infirmary.” Hajime nods and scrambles off. He dodges people and swords as well as he can and somehow makes it to the infirmary, where Yahaba is hard at work treating the wounded. Hajime tries to focus on helping, tuning the grueling sounds of battle as well as he can.
After what seems like an eternity, the sounds die down. Yahaba nods at him and Hajime stumbles out to the main deck. The battle is clearly over, the enemy ship torn to shreds and weapons scattered left and right. Among it all, Hajime can only focus on Oikawa, standing still between the chaos with a look on his face that speaks more of pain and regret than victory. His hand is bleeding.
Slowly, as if not disturb the tense silence that haunts the main deck, Hajime walks up to him. Softly, he speaks. “Oik- captain. You’re bleeding.” Oikawa looks back at him and in an instant seems to snap out of whatever had him looking so lost. He looks down at his hand and softly lets out a laugh. “It seems I am.” He attempts to wipe the blood away with the sleeve of his coat. Hajime frowns. “Wait here.”
He turns and heads to the infirmary, who is clearly overflowing with people needing treatment. Hajime grabs some supplies and returns to find that Oikawa did, of course, not wait where he left him. Before his frustration grows, Matsukawa touches his arm and wordlessly points towards the forecastle, where Hajime eventually finds Oikawa staring out to the open sea.
“Didn’t I tell you to wait there?” Hajime sighs, approaching the captain and setting down his supplies.
“Didn’t I tell you I can do what I want?” Oikawa replies, stubbornly. He doesn’t struggle when Hajime gently takes his hand to examine the wound, choosing to not reply to his obvious taunts in favour of cleaning the wound as well as he can.
To fill the awkward silence, Hajime starts rambling. “The cut isn’t deep, but left unattended could have really festered. You shouldn’t disregard something like this. Take better care of yourself.”
Oikawa smiles at him. “Y’know, you’re surprisingly gentle for someone who looks like such a brute. You sound like you’re my mom.”
Hajime frowns. “Was that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?”
“Make of it what you will,” Oikawa shrugs.
They are silent for a bit as Hajime continues bandaging the wound.
When he’s done, he asks: “Who were they? What does the eagle mean?”
Oikawa sighs. “Ushijima’s men. They’ve been after me for ages. I thought I’d shaken them off my trail.”
“Who is Ushijima?” Hajime asks.
“Wow, you don’t know anything in that shitty little town of yours, do you?”
“Why do you keep doing that?”
“Do what?” Oikawa cocks his head.
“Saying shitty things about my hometown. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Oikawa stares out over the ocean, suddenly a lot more quiet.
“Maybe I do.”
Hajime looks at him.
“You’re from Seijou?”
Oikawa’s pensive silence is an answer.
“Why were you sailing near there? When you picked me up, I mean.”
“No particular reason. I was just…” Oikawa pauses. Hajime stays quiet, waiting for him to go on. “I hadn’t been that close to Seijou since I left. Suddenly I felt this strong pull. As if there was something I had to do. Something to find,” When Oikawa turns back to look at Hajime, his gaze is heavy. Hajime doesn’t know what that look means and mentally adds it to his suddenly growing list of sincere expressions he’s seen the captain make. Oikawa smiles. “And then we ran into you.”
“It must have been fate.” Hajime says, dryly. Oikawa laughs.
“Aren’t you lucky we were close? You owe me your life. Twice actually, after today.”
“I don’t think it stacks like that.”
“Fine. Once. I don’t really care anyways. If I had to take care of everyone who owed me a life debt I’d be commodore of my own fleet of debtors.”
“Every time I think you’re being a decent person, you say something that ruins it.”
“I never pretended to be a decent person.”
“No,” Hajime says, finally looking Oikawa in the eye, “I think you pretend that you are not.”
Oikawa frowns, visibly taken aback by Hajime’s answer. Then his fake smile returns and he stands. Whatever moment they were having is clearly over.
“If you are to stay on my ship, Iwaizumi, you’d better learn how to fight. You wouldn’t want to owe me a triple life debt. And I won’t always be there to rescue your fine ass.”
Hajime sputters as Oikawa walks away, laughing.
-
Somehow, Hajime is still constantly reminded of Oikawa’s presence. Wherever he is is where the captain seems to coincidentally be as well. They often find themselves bumping into each other in a door opening. At some point Oikawa decides to have dinner with the crew and, of course, out of all places, ends up sitting next to Hajime. More than once, they run into each other at night at the forecastle deck, silently staring out over the sea, sometimes indulging in idle conversation.
Even while Hanamaki is attempting to teach Hajime some moves to defend himself in battle, Hajime often feels Oikawa’s eyes on him. Unlike before, he grins at him when he notices the captain’s attention, catching him quickly turning his gaze away.
“Something changed, hasn’t it?” Hanamaki questions, “The captain doesn’t seem to be as hateful towards you anymore and you,” his eyes sparkle, as if he knows something that Hajime doesn’t, “you haven’t complained about wanting to go home for days. Could it be something has changed your mind? Or, someone?”
Perhaps, Hajime thinks, he’s right. Something does seem to have changed. Oikawa’s mere presence doesn’t annoy him anymore. They still bicker, but it’s less biting and more- friendly, in a way.
His thoughts are interrupted by a loud voice. “Nearing port! All hands on deck!”
-
As soon as Hajime sets foot on solid ground, he is filled with relief. He wasn’t aware how much he’d missed being able to walk without the steady movement of the sea. The air is filled with scents of food and spices, mixing with the salty sea breeze. Everywhere he looks are people and colours and trinkets. He sees Hanamaki pull Matsukawa along to the small marketplace filled with merchants and their wares, the rest of the crew similarly wandering about, getting supplies and running errands. The captain seems to have disappeared somewhere. Taking this as an opportunity to be away from the ship and the crew for a while, Hajime decides to wander and explore on his own for a while.
Though the town is rather small for a port city, it’s bigger than the small towns Hajime is used to. Before long, Hajime is unbearably lost. After he left the busy bustle of people he got stuck in narrow alleyways that all looked the same, giving no clue to whether he was going into the right direction or just walking in circles. Then, he feels the tugging feeling in his chest. Deciding to follow his guts, he goes where the feeling leads him, until he comes before a narrow, plant-covered house and runs into the person who just left the building.
“Ah- I’m sorry, I-”
“Iwaizumi?” a familiar voice says.
Hajime looks up and looks right into the confused eyes of Oikawa.
“Captain? What are you doing here? In a place like this-” Hajime vaguely gestures to the strange house.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Oikawa says.
“I got lost.”
“Ah.”
“Yeah.”
“Well,” Oikawa says, “as my business here is done, let’s return to the ship, shall we? Oh and,” he smiles conspiringly, “don’t tell anyone you saw me here, okay, Iwa-chan?”
“Yeah I- wait,” Hajime bristles, “Iwa-chan?”
Oikawa laughs as he walks off, Hajime trailing behind him.
-
As they make their way back to the ship, Hajime spots the eagle he saw on the ship that attacked them again. This time, it is on the shoulder of a familiar coat. In a flash, before he can alert Oikawa, it is gone.
By the time he boards their ship again, Hajime has put two and two together. When he enters the navigation room, Hanamaki and Matsukawa are there. Three pairs of eyes look at him, questioning. He has never been in here before. He honestly isn’t even sure if he is allowed. He belatedly knocks on the wood of the door frame to announce his presence.
“Captain, I have something to report.”
“What is it, Iwa-chan?” Oikawa says casually. At the nickname, Hanamaki gasps, Matsukawa narrows his eyes and Hajime winces.
“I, uhm, at the port. I saw one of Ushijima’s men. He was wearing the same coat as the people who attacked us earlier. Kyoutani said he saw a ship sail by the edge of the rocks surrounding the bay. If that’s him then I think they’re trying to ambush us.”
The tense silence that follows Hajime’s statement is broken by Oikawa’s manic laughter.
“He really is a bold one, isn’t he?”
“What do you plan to do, captain?” Matsukawa asks, carefully.
“This is our chance.” Oikawa says. Fury in his eyes. “We can meet them head-on, shoot their ship to bits and be forever rid of that fiend. If we-”
“That won’t work.” Hajime interrupts him.
“Why not.” Oikawa bites back.
“His ship is probably way bigger and better armed than yours is. You don’t stand a chance. Will you really risk your ship and your crew for a petty grudge?”
“Listen here, you don’t know what he’s done. To me. To others. We’ll be doing everyone that sails the Eastern seas a favour.”
“But throwing yourself right at him in a desperate attempt is not the way. He knows you’re coming. We should make a plan to [dwarsbomen] his.”
Oikawa considers him.
“Why should I listen to you? You’ve given me no reason to trust you.”
“I haven’t given you a reason not to trust me, either.”
Somewhere on the side, Hanamaki mutters, “Well, you did deck him in the face-” Matsukawa shushes him.
“Look, I may not have experience with naval battles, but I know how hunting works. You don’t go head to head with a prey that’s bigger than you. Is there another way out of this bay? Any way we could take him by surprise?”
“Well,” Matsukawa speaks up, “technically there is a way. There’s another passage through a breach in the rocks. But it’s dangerous.”
Hajime nods at him, grateful for this support, “But it’s possible.”
Matsukawa lays out a map of the area. “It’s over here. Most people don’t know about it, but as this is our territory...”
Hajime nods. “I have a plan.”
-
Sailing through the breach is not easy, but they manage. Luckily, Kunimi is a good steersman. Once they leave the cove, they are ready to fire. Surely, there is Ushijima’s ship, flying his purple colours, unassuming. On Oikawa’s signal, they fire all they have and quickly turn to make their escape. Ushijima’s ship is still in one piece, but certainly not in any state to give chase. Yet, the crew holds their breath until they are out of reach. Then, Hanamaki cheers and the rest of the crew joins in.
“Good job, everyone! That’ll keep them off our trail for a while.”
Oikawa smiles and walks up to Hajime.
“Looks like your plan worked. Good job, Iwa-chan, you’re starting to look like a pirate now.”
Hajime snorts. “Not sure that’s something I should be celebrating.”
“You technically saved my life,” Oikawa says, sincerely, “and more importantly, my crew. We’re even now.”
Hajime smiles. “Sure.”
Then, they’re both whisked away by crewmembers celebrating their victory.
-
Among the celebrations, it’s Matsukawa who speaks up first.
“Alright, now they can’t follow us, we should act unpredictably to properly lose them. Where to next?”
Hanamaki looks at Hajime. “Do you still want to return? Home, I mean?”
Hajime is silent for a while. He looks at Hanamaki, who managed to worm his way into his heart. The crew, who for the most part have been kinder to him than most people in his own town. He looks out over the sea, the ship, his eyes catching on Oikawa, hair gently waving in the wind.
“No,” he smiles, “I don’t think so.”
-
At night, Hajime once again finds Oikawa looking out over the sea.
The pull in his heart has not lessened. Quite the opposite, it is now accompanied by a fluttering lightness that Hajime tries not to think about as he sits down next to Oikawa, initiating an idle conversation about the day’s events.
Until Oikawa trails off and mumbles something.
“I’m sorry, what was that?”
“Ah, no, I was just thinking,” Oikawa suddenly looks nervous. Hajime gestures for him to go on. “In a previous conversation you said you had always felt a pull toward the sea, right? And that pull being extra strong when we were sailing near… And me feeling pulled towards Seijou in that same moment when I hadn’t been near there in ages? It all feels a little too coincidental.”
“Yes, but that was just my heart leading me to the sea.”
“And where is your heart leading you now?”
“To right here. What are you implying?”
Oikawa smiles in the way he does when he knows everything and Hajime doesn’t.
“Iwa-chan, do you know what soulmates are?”
Hajime barks out a laugh.
“Mean!” Oikawa squeals and slaps Hajime’s shoulder. “Don’t laugh at me. Soulmates are real, yknow? I even visited a witch about the whole thing.”
“Why a witch?”
“I thought you were a curse sent to torture me. Seems I was right.”
“Rude.”
Oikawa sticks out his tongue.
“So you think we might be soulmates.”
“Yeah!”
“Seems unlikely.”
“Iwa-chan!”
Now, Hajime sticks his tongue out. Two can play at that game.
“All I’m saying,” Oikawa says, “is I would like it if you stayed. With us. With me. Figure out what this is. Sail the seas together.”
Hajime hums and closes his eyes. He listens to the sea, rushing in his ears. The creaking of the wood as the ship works to keep them afloat. Smells the salty breeze. Feels Oikawa’s heat next to him. He opens his eyes and looks into the sincere pleading eyes of the most feared pirate captain of the Eastern seas.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”