↷ ·˚ ༘ᶜʰᵃᵖᵗᵉʳ ᵗʷᵒ ⁻ ᵗʳᵒᵘᵇˡᵉ ᵃᵗ ˢᵉᵃ:: ꒱
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It didn't take long for Mato to maneuver her way through the ship and make it out just in time to see both Leorio and Kurapika readying themselves for a fight. The girl briefly pondered if she should stop both boys from going head-on with each other but decided against it. Instead, she climbed up to the crow's nest and leaned against the wooden railings.
'Why should I stop such an interesting fight from happening?' Mato thought with a slightly mischievous grin.
She watched as both boys argued but since she was too far away, they just appeared as two drenched baby birds squawking at each other. Mato found this irresistibly entertaining and tried to contain her laughter from the scene that was unfolding before her.
Yet, as fate seemed to have it, the currents started picking up and the wind was becoming harsher. Mato deemed her spot in the crow's nest unsafe with the ruthless condition everyone was currently experiencing.
"Aw, how sad, that was the best place to view the fight from..." Mato said disappointed.
She immediately jumped down from her previous position, gracefully landing on the wooden floors of the ship...secretly hoping that both Kurapika and Leorio would notice her protagonistic landing and stop and gawk at her in awe.
'Yeah, tough luck that's not happening,' Mato laughed to herself.
The two young men paid no attention to Mato and continued with their little spat. Meanwhile, piles and piles of crew members were rushing out and grabbing onto the lines. Mato observed the men who were tightly grasping at each rope and decided to help out.
"Hello there, need some help?" The girl asked one of the burly crew members despite knowing that they did need help.
"If you can pull then you can help," the man answered quite gruffly.
Mato grinned and immediately took her place behind the man, took the end of the rope, and pulled.
With the winds roughly swirling around them, it proved difficult to pull the sails towards them. And even more difficult to keep your balance. The raging seas combined with the heavy winds became the recipe for disaster and would often cause their grips to loosen from the rope.
One by one, each man that was tightly clinging to the rope was flung away from the strength of the wind. But their motivation did not waver. They all knew that if they weren't able to reel in the sails then they'd face an outcome worse than death itself.
'Holy crap, this is hard,' Mato could feel the rope she was tightly pulling on slowly slide out of her grasp. It didn't help that her feet were skidding across the wooden flooring of the boat. The man in front of her was struggling as well but not as much as Mato who weighed lighter than him.
The girl could feel the rope burning through her skin. She gritted her teeth, trying to focus solely on pulling the rope in.
Breathe in. Pull. Breathe out. Pull.
That was the rhythm Mato had set for herself to follow. To hopefully ease the chaos that was surrounding her, letting her focus easier. By the grace of those above, they were able to make progress.
'Just a bit more,' she thought.
Mato took a step back, to steady herself and to distance herself from the man in front, who was getting a little too close for comfort. Unknowingly, there was a puddle of collected rainwater behind her, the moment her foot landed on the puddle, she slipped and hit her head on the wooden flooring.
"Agh!" Mato yelped. It was then she saw Katzo flying above her, his lanky hands gripping the rope for dear life. Her eyes widened as she saw his hands leaving the comfort of the rope and heading into the cold unforgiving sea.
She immediately sprung into action. "Mister, I'll be right back," she said as she sped off.
"Wha- Hey!" The man angrily called at her.
But she ignored it. She ran over to where both Kurapika and Leorio were fighting. Nearing them was Katzo, who was inching closer and closer to the sea and further away from her grasp. Meters away from her side was Gon, who was also sprinting towards the two arguing men. It was at that moment, that Mato knew what she had to do.
"HEY YOU IDIOTS," she shouted.
Confused, Leorio and Kurapika turned to where the voice originated.
"YOU BETTER PREPARE YOURSELF TO CATCH THEM BOTH!" Mato continued her voice ringing.
Still unsure of what was happening, both Leorio and Kurapika faced each other. To their surprise, Katzo flew in between them, and without even knowing, both had instinctively acted and reached out to save Katzo, only to miss by a few inches.
"Damn." They both grimaced, knowing what Katzo's end would be.
'Ohhh, shit,' Mato willed herself to go faster. Her right hand slipped into her pocket and tightly grasped at the object she came in contact with. She could see how everything would end and they would definitely be needing her help.
She continued running through the rain, though her vision blurred from the downpour, she could still see Gon fearlessly launching himself off the boat and clutching onto Katzo's wrist. But it wasn't enough, with both of his hands occupied he couldn't latch onto the boat. It was there that Leorio and Kurapika took hold of the boy's ankles, tightly gripping them to ensure that he wouldn't slip away.
Mato finally arrived at where they all were. At the exact moment she had arrived, a wave crashed onto the clinging men. She lost sight of the four of them for a short period of time. Both Leorio and Kurapika, who had supported themselves with the boat's ledge survive. But both Gon and Katzo were nowhere to be found.
Where are they? They all frantically looked around for the missing boy and crewmember.
"MATO!" A voice called out.
The girl immediately spun her head in the direction of the voice, climbing the ledge. Much to Leorio and Kurapika's concern. She could see Gon and Katzo who was safely in Gon's arms being swallowed by the sea.
"MATO!" The boy called out again, only to be submerged by another wave.
Mato fished the object she had been holding out of her pocket. In her right hand, dangled a whip that was made out of tightly threaded silver. Although, strangely enough, there were lines deeply etched into the whip, evenly spaced.
The whip looked ethereal in the moonlight. Even though the ship was raging back and forth and left to right, Mato was able to stand upright. She gracefully swung her whip once she caught sight of Gon.
"GRAB ON!" she shouted.
The silver whip wrapped around Gon's arm, and she heaved as she pulled the two drenched boys into safety. Setting them on the planks of the ship. Mato watched as Leorio quickly went to both Katzo and Gon's side, checking on their condition.
Mato sighed loudly. She was furious. Mad at herself for not foreseeing the situation. She had predicted that Gon would catch Katzo but had overlooked that even the sea was their enemy. She had put too much trust in her deductions again. She should've stopped Gon from jumping.
She should've known.
She stomped toward the three men. Her gaze was directed both at Gon and Katzo.
"Hey. Hi. Good Morning. Y'all good?" She spoke, "Because if so, I just saved y'all's asses from drowning. Please, please do not do that again, Gon. If you want to give me a heart attack there are other safer ways to do so." She looked at him concerned.
"Hehe," Gon chuckled nervously as he rubbed his nape, "shorry, guysh." He slurred over his words.
Mato groaned in frustration at Gon's nonchalance, "Ergsdfh." Kurapika approached the girl, his hand on her shoulder, "Mato, calm down. The good thing is that Gon's alright."
"I am calm." Mato looked over her shoulders. "And how are you sure he's fine? For all we know, they're probably suffering from hypothermia!" She pointed to Gon and Katzo.
Leorio placed his hand on Katzo's forehead and then on Gon's. Next, he examined their pulse. "Mato's right," Leorio replied, "Their temperatures are dropping and their pulses are weak. Gon's doing better than Katzo but we still need to get them somewhere warm."
Leorio didn't waste time as he quickly helped Katzo up, positioning himself under Katzo's left arm. "A little help here!" He called out. Mato was quick on her feet and placed herself under Katzo's right arm. Together they both supported the man.
"Kurapika!" Mato turned to face the blonde.
"Don't worry! Gon's with me!" He replied back. He was carrying Gon in his arms, who was thanking Kurapika but apologizing to him at the same time.
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"Thank you for allowing us to stay here," Kurapika bowed his head to the Captain in gratitude.
"Nonsense," The Captain shook his head, "You saved one of my own. It's only right I do this for you all. And I'd be damned by the heavens if I ignore a shivering lad like him." He looked at Gon. "I'd be damned by the lad's dad as well."
"You've met Gon's father?" Kurapika asked.
The Captain let out a burst of boisterous laughter, "Who else but me would be sailing these seas and be delivering boys like you to the Hunter Exam?"
"Oh, I see," Mato nodded at the Captain's words. "If you deliver the boys, who deliver the girls? The wind?" She cocked her to the side.
"And fine strong girls such as yourself." The Captain added with a smile.
Mato grinned at his statement. "Thought so but, really, thank you for letting us stay in your cabin. And for the hot drinks. It really helped with the cold."
The Captain repeated the same thing he had told Kurapika to the girl. He said it went against his morals and he wasn't such a horrible man that he'd ignore people in need. Mato, again, thanked the Captain before accompanying Kurapika to Leorio.
Leorio had busied himself by taking care of Gon and Katzo. He leaned back into his chair, sighing deeply as he closed his eyes.
"How are they?" Kurapika asked.
"It's just mild hypothermia. They're not in danger. They just need a lot of warmth." Leorio replied. He straightened his back as he stretched his arms. "I got scared when I saw them floating on the sea." He admitted.
"You're not the only one," Kurapika said with a light chuckle as he looked at Gon.
Mato hummed as she cupped her chin with her fingers, "You know Leorio, I've been thinking about this for a while. But you're like a whole different person when you're being a doctor."
"What?" Leorio quickly faced the girl, his brow raised. "I'm always like this. What do you mean?"
"Nuh-uh. I beg to differ." said the girl.
"Why, you!" Leorio immediately stood up and towered over the girl. Mato continued to smile at him, unbothered by the vast height difference they both shared.
"Explain?" Leorio asked.
"What's there to explain? Only idiots need explanations, idiot." Mato teased.
"Okay, that's it! You may have saved Gon and Katzo but there's no one to save you from me!" Leorio said, frustrated with the girl's antics.
Mato immediately ran away with Leorio chasing her in tow. She hadn't noticed it but it was insanely fun to tease Leorio. He was a gullible person who was easy to read. He was just the kind of person Mato loved to hang around with.
Leorio continued to chase the girl around the cabin. Mato cackled every time she escaped from Leorio's grasp time and time again. The man was frustrated, he stood still as he caught his breath. It was tiring to try and catch Mato.
Each time he was close to capturing her into a bear hug, she'd immediately duck under a table. Leorio, who was caught off guard, would barrel into the wooden table. Mato would taunt him afterward and the entire process would repeat once again.
"Tired?" Kurapika asked as he watched Leorio sink back down to his chair.
Kurapika had been watching the entire chase. Laughing to himself every now and then.
"She's a monster," Leorio exhaustedly remarked. He looked at the girl who was now chatting with the Captain, the pair laughing as Mato continued her talk.
Kurapika laughed at Leorio's comment. When Kurapika first met Mato in the navigation room, he had thought of her as nothing more but competition. He had assumed that she was weak, maybe stronger than the average human if she was able to stay conscious during the dizzying sway of the ship earlier but still weaker than him.
But he hadn't expected that Mato would be strong-willed and have an incredibly sharp tongue. Not only that, she had foreseen that Gon would have grabbed Katzo and had informed both him and Leorio. If she hadn't, they wouldn't have caught Gon and Katzo. And they'd both would be lost at sea. Drowning to death.
"It seems I still have much to learn," Kurapika muttered to himself.
"Whaddya saysh?" Leorio groggily asked. He had fallen asleep moments prior.
"Nothing," Kurapika shook his head.