Why Pirates Hate Water

12. Solution

The crew was awoken the next day to screaming and the smell of the sea. The screaming was normal, just the occasional yell from their hot-headed captain. Still, there was work to be done. So, the crew all reluctantly got out of bed and got dressed for a long day.

Surprise was evident on their faces when they went up to the deck to find their angry blonde captain, the green haired first mate, and the new recruit sitting around having a mini book club.

"No way! Rufus made a stupid choice!" Katsuki yelled, not knowing the crew was listening and watching.

"He was sad that Mateo died!" Izuku argued.

"I'm with him on this one." Shoto said, motioning towards Katsuki, "They only met like not even a whole day ago. How could they have been in love that fast?"

"Because it's true love! Mateo even sang for him!" Izuku said, starting to get frustrated.

"He also burned down his apartment and killed himself to make tea. He's stupid." Katsuki said mockingly.

"He is not! He's basically like a book version of me! Are you saying that I'm stupid?" Izuku asked accusingly.

"No, he's a dorky teenager. You are a dorky pirate. Big difference." Katsuki defended.

Denki suddenly sneezed from the sleeping chamber door, alerting the book club of the crews presence.

"How long have you been there?!" Katsuki grimaced with a scowl.

"Pft! Long enough to hear that you like love stories!" Denki laughed for a moment before silencing himself at the death glare he received.

"Get to work. Everyone." Katsuki replied, looking back at the other two who were still debating the very important matter at hand. "You two, Izuku, you're on the map. Shoto, direct Kirishima, and fix the bittacle."

Izuku sighed, grabbing the groups copy of They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera. He was tired of decoding the map. He had been at it for weeks now, and he couldn't stand just mindlessly sailing around. He had half of the map decoded, but a lot of the writing was smudged or worn from time.

Izuku begrudgingly trudged down to Katsuki's quarters, where the map lay sprawled out across his desk. Papers littered the desk and floor with random scrawlings of Izuku's translations. He felt like a struggling author trying to get a good idea. He looked at the map. Once. Twice. He looked up at the small circular window in the corner of the room. The light peered into the room, casting a glow onto the map.

"That's it!" Izuku yelled, grabbing the map and putting the front of it to the window. He searched the back before finding a small label, 'Yuuei Island'. On the back. It had been written backward and upside-down on the front and in an ancient merfolk language. The clue was meant for Izuku to find. Toshinori knew that Izuku would be the one to solve it.

Izuku ran upstairs, quickly searching around for Katsuki. He spotted the blonde way up in the Crow's Nest of the ship. He frowned slightly, climbing up the many ladders and netting. Izuku climbed up into the Crow's Nest.

"I got it!" Izuku panted, out of breath from his erratic climbing.

"What?" Katsuki looked at him, his brows furrowed.

"The map! We need to head to Yuuei!" Izuku cried out excitedly.

"You're kidding?! Yuuei?" Katsuki looked at Izuku for a moment more before pulling him into a suffocating but warm hug.

Izuku chuckled, wrapping his arms around Katsuki. "Alright, we need to tell them where to go now." Izuku sighed with a smile.

"Oh, yeah." Katsuki said, releasing him from the hug with an embarrassed blush. "Good job on the map."

"Thanks." Izuku smiled, climbing back down the rope ladders. He quickly rushed over to Kirishima, telling him which direction to turn the rudder to. Shoto approached Izuku after hearing him give Kirishima directions.

"You figured it out?" Shoto asked.

"Yeah, it was difficult, but I finally got it." Izuku chuckled.

"You did good." Shoto smiled slightly.

Izuku gleamed at him before deciding to put himself to use and help out around the ship. It was going to be a tough journey, but he had to know what kind of treasure Toshinori had that was hidden from even him.

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☆This chapter was a little short, but I didn't want to skip even the minor details, so I'm sorry if it seems rushed. Thank you guys for reading though, come back next week for more♡☆