Ethereal ◆ Shoto Todoroki x Reader

Plus Ultra

◆ Part 2: Chapter 15 ◆

Plus Ultra

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Akio Shizukana

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Shizukana shifts on his feet, still not sure why the queen asked him to do this. They're just pirates; how much harm could they be doing? Surely not enough not harm the trade route drastically, but well, he's about to find out how much harm they can do.

The sway of the decoy ship makes his stomach churn, and the sailors sing are quiet above. Honestly, he expected more shanties and laughter.

The creaking of the ship against the water makes him nervous. He's never been on a boat for this long, especially one he knows is going to be overcome by pirates. 

It's a decoy ship, thankfully with no more bombs on it, which means it sails for the sole purpose of distracting the pirates from the main traders. Shizukana can't imagine how the sailors up above must feel, knowing they might die. Well, he might die, too, but he tries not to think about it.

He's a guard. A royal  guard. He's seen worse; been through worse. Sitting below the deck of a ship is nothing compared to guard training.

Shizukana's clothes are itchy and ragged, torn to make it look like he's a prisoner. Pirates are known for taking in prisoners and orphans, and people with no place else to go. That's another thing that makes him think they can't be that bad.

A crash from above makes him clench his fists. Could that be them? The pirates?

Still, all is silent. It makes his shiver. No screaming. No booms. No shouts.

Just the creaking of the ship and the flittering of the sail.

Another crash, followed by a boom. Cannons?

Suddenly, a chorus of voices, singing words he can't understand. He recognizes the language, though, or rather the mix of languages.

Pirates.

The decoy worked, now he has to wait and play the victim. 

"Check below!"

Laughter and shouts, and the sounds of footsteps above. 

Shizukana ruffles his hair some more, hoping that he looks like a convincing prisoner. Suddenly, light floods the ship's dark hull, and the guard covers his eyes instinctively. 

"Blimey!" The silhouette shouts, "Aye, Cap, looks like we've got ourselves a landlubber 'ere!"

The crew clambers over to the entrance of the hull, and Shizukana stays quiet. It's what he's best at.

"Awe, well look at that," a female says, "he don't look no older than I."

The captain reaches out her hand, smiling. "Grab ahold, lad! No chains will hold you now!"

Shizukana obliges, thankful that his disguise worked. As he climbs into the light, he looks down at the hand of the captain.

She's . . . pink? 

Her skin is pink and her hair is too, but her face holds a smile as welcoming as a hug. He looks around at the crew, 

"You don't look too banged up," she says, patting him on the back, "tell me, what's your story?"

"Uh," Shizukana looks away from her, faking nervousness, "I-I wasn't good enough for them."

The look on the captain's face makes him feel a little bit guilty about lying, but this is for the king and queen.

". . . so they threw me below deck. Probably gonna sell me overseas, although I'm not much use anyhow."

She frowns. "Well, don't worry 'bout it. You're with us now. I'm Mina, captain of this lovely crew."

She waves her arms around, gesturing to the various men and women around her. "I'm no seadog like 'ol Milly, but I've come as far as anyone else, don't let 'em tell ya otherwise."

Shizukana blinks. He can barely understand what she's saying, but at least it's not a whole other language, like some pirates speak. Just some . . . strange words.

"Sero!" Captain Mina coos, waving her hand, "get this scallywag some new clothes!"

"Alrighty, Cap!" The person that found Shizukana says, saluting Mina.

"Come on!" Mina smiles. "I'll bring you to our ship!"

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"Her name," Captain Mina says, a smile in her eyes, "is Plus Ultra!"

"Plus Ultra," Shizukana mutters, trying the name on his lips. It's a big ship, complete with cannons and a bright pink sail. Men and women dance on the deck, singing shanties and laughing.

This is more accurate to what he imagined, but he still has a question.

"What happens . . . " Shizukana mutters, " . . . to the sailors?"

"Ah, those lads," she sighs, "they've got their choice, I suppose. They either join us, or we send 'em to the island . . . not marooned, of course. We ain't that cruel here."

"Okay," the guard says, acting like he understands what she said.

"Mina!" A guy with black hair says, holding clothes in his arms, "I've got some extras from below."

"Thanks, Sero," Mina says, giving them to Shizukana. He takes them. "Now, Sero here is going to take you below deck so you can change, then you can come and introduce yourself, savvy?"

"S-savvy?" He mutters.

"Ah, right, you're new 'round here," she giggles, her cheeks becoming pinker when she laughs, "the slang gets the best of all of us eventually. You'll get it soon, don't worry."

And she walks off, to the bow of the ship. Shizukana turns to the stranger who gave him the clothes—Sero—and clears his throat. "Uh, lead the way, I guess?"

Sero smiles. "Don't worry, bucko, I'll teach ya all the ropes." He gives Shizukana a thumbs up, a sparkle in his eye. "First off, down here's the cabin, were we sleep."

"Males and females?" Shizukana looks around, the mess of the cabin doing anything but drawing him in.

"Yup," Sero mutters, stepping over a sleeping pirate, "there ain't no privacy here, just the sweet sweet smell of comradery."

Shizukana thinks the smell is anything but sweet, but he doesn't voice his thoughts. 

"We usually just sleep wherever," Sero smiles, "it doesn't really matter as long as you're not giving anybody trouble."

"Okay."

Cheering floods the cabin from above deck, and Shizukana looks at Sero. He perks up, grinning. "Sounds like Taka's back!"

He follows Sero above. "Who's Taka?"

"He's our falcon," Sero smirks, "not literally, 'cause that's just what his name means, but he's our lookout. New guy, but really good with a sword. The newbies always send the sailors to the island."

Shizukana sighs. He's the newbie, so that's probably going to be his job soon. Although Taka must be such a guy to cause a commotion like this . . . 

"Aye, Taka!" Captain Mina shouts, "we've got ourselves a new recruit! Come and meet 'im!"

When Taka boards the ship, Shizukana is speechless. A sword clutched in his left hand and hair crazier than usual, he could never forget that face.

It's Takahashi.

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