Treasure 06
Jun. 17th, 2007 09:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrThis story is a lot more fun now that I'm brave enough to attempt Raiden's POV ^___^ He's funny.
Chapter Six
Raiden finally conceded that perhaps he had miscalculated the depths of Taka's anger at his purchasing of the royal secretary's contract.
The incredibly talented secretary, he noted, admiring his desk. In only an hour or so of work last night – despite the anxiety and tension brought on by the mermaids and other matters – Taka had set his desk and papers wholly to rights.
He could actually find stuff now. It was fascinating. He'd tried it himself before, when he'd been especially bored, but it had never worked. Looking at what Taka had managed, it seemed painfully easy – but Raiden knew he would never be able to recreate it.
It simply wasn't the way his mind worked. Organization had never been his strong point.
Restless, he flipped open the ledger set neatly off to the right side of the desk, brows going up as he realized that at some point Taka had not only organized his desk but updated all his filing. Everything sold, bought, and traded was neatly listed along with the amount charged or paid, or in the case of trade it's monetary worth so that the profits or losses made on the deal could be tallied with the rest.
Incredible.
Taka made it look so easy…but thinking of doing it himself gave him a headache. Much easier to keep it all in his head, though it was very nice to see it so neatly laid out.
Hmm…Taka had done him a massive favor with this, even if it had likely only been because the man obviously liked to work when he was upset. Favors demanded thank yous, which meant presents…which of course meant jewels.
Smiling, Raiden reached into his sash and pulled out the ring of keys tucked into it, separating one out of the bunch and then standing. Crossing the cabin he unlocked a cabinet and began to rifle through the multitude of drawers inside it. Every last one contained the various jewels he collected on his journeys. When they returned to San Hoshi, all would join his main collection and the cabinet would once more be in need of filling.
He finally settled on a bracelet made of esmeralda and diamond, the stone square-cut and flawless, rich and sparkling.
Just as he'd locked the cabinet and turned to go in search of his Taka, the man himself strode into the cabin, a familiar frown etched into his brow and mouth.
"Taka," Raiden greeted, smiling, excited now to bestow his gift. There was another he wanted even more badly to give…but he knew it would be some time before Taka would accept it. "You look upset."
"I am hard pressed to find one reason I should not be upset," Taka said with a scowl.
Crossing the cabin, Raiden presented the blue velvet box containing the bracelet with a flourish. "Here is one reason."
Taka glared at the box and did not take it. "I am not accepting anything from you," he said scathingly.
Raiden frowned. "I wanted to thank you for setting my desk to rights," he explained. "I have attempted to do it a thousand times and more, but never could manage the trick."
"It's not a trick," Taka said, rolling his eyes. He shrugged, face tightening. "Anyway, I'm your secretary now. It's my job to tend to such things."
"No," Raiden said. "It's not. Despite what Kin thinks, I do not require a secretary. I have managed all my years in this business without one, I will continue to manage. If I wanted a secretary, I would hire one properly."
Fury filled Taka's eyes. "So a secretary you would be willing to treat with respect, but not me? What am I then, that you thought me fit to trade in exchange for our passage?"
"I was not the only one who made that bargain," Raiden said quietly, "so why am I the only one who seems to be in trouble for it?"
"Because the prince and I worked matters out."
Raiden once more held out the box. "I am attempting to do the same, Taka, which is why I want to give you a gift in thanks, rather than act as though it is expected for you to do such things. Please, I mean it as nothing more than that."
Taka eyed him warily, but with a grimace accepted the box.
Watching eagerly as he opened it and folded back the silk in which the bracelet was wrapped – Raiden felt utterly crushed when Taka's frown only deepened. "No," he said sharply, and handed it back.
"But – why not? Is it the diamonds? I thought them a perfect complement in this case, they are small enough and cut properly so that they do not outshine the esmeralda and it is small enough to wear while working…"
Taka thrust the box back at him. "I am not accepting something so extravagant for doing filing," he snapped. "Whatever game you are playing, you can stop."
Raiden fought against his unhappiness, genuinely stung. "I may have purchased your contract," he said, "but that was perfectly legal and binding. Such things are done all the time. I am possessive, I wanted to make certain you were close so that I stood the best chance of winning your affections. Not once have I ever attempted to purchase them and I am not doing so now." He took Taka's hand and placed the box in it, closing those long fingers around it. "The bracelet is nothing more than a gift of thanks."
He let go and turned around, striding back to the pristine desk and wishing suddenly that it was still messy so he could shove everything onto the floor. Yes, that would suit his mood perfectly.
Courting was much more difficult now than the last time he'd tried it. Then, it had seemed so simple…
"It's just a bracelet," Taka said into the silence, confusion thick in his voice. "Why are you so storming upset over a bracelet?" He stalked to the desk and set the box down. "It's paperwork. I do it every single day. It's not worth something that must have cost at least one hundred thousand paaru, if not more."
Raiden grinned with pride. "Oh, it's worth nearly half that again, but I got it for only two thirds of the true value."
Taka rolled his eyes. "Yes, I could see from your accounting that you've rather a talent for fleecing and cheating. You're not a merchant so much as a thief."
"Many would say the line between the two is very fine," Raiden said unabashedly. "Though, I have every license and permit required to do it, which makes it very hard to accuse me of thieving."
A smile twitched at Taka's mouth. His very pretty mouth that Raiden wished he could steal another kiss from, but his lip was still sore from Taka's teeth and if he could not get Taka to accept a simple bracelet – best not to be stealing any more kisses, no matter how fine a thing that mouth was. "How did you manage to convince every necessary official in five countries to give you such hard to come by permits? They would take years to obtain; your family must have been in this business a long time, not to mention in extremely good standing to keep getting the permits renewed."
Raiden shrugged. "Business is not so hard a thing to do."
"Except for the pesky record keeping," Taka said dryly.
"Yes," Raiden agreed. "I'm not very good at sitting still or putting things in order." He spread his arms, showing off the deep red and blue sash he was wearing, the myriad jewels on his fingers and in his ears. "Kindan often says I am too wild for this business. I think it annoys him to no end I manage it anyway."
Taka nodded. "I tend to agree. How did you get into the merchant business? Is it that your family has always done it?"
"My family has always been fond of collecting things, it's true," Raiden said with a faint smile. "I guess turning a profit from the habit made the most sense. What of you, Taka? How did you get into being a secretary – and a royal secretary at that?"
"It was rather inevitable, really," Taka said with a shrug. "My mother works in the royal gardens; I grew up in the palace. His Highness and I would play together from time to time, when he managed to slip his lessons. My education was much better than it would have otherwise been, growing up there. I passed all the scholarly tests and was given a chance to become a royal secretary."
Raiden smiled faintly. "That does not sound 'inevitable' to me, unless you mean that of course you were too smart to be anything but."
"I mean my choices were either to follow my mother and spend my life toiling uselessly for brats who never appreciate it, or take up work that was at least less tiring and gave me some hope of obtaining money, standing, and eventually freedom." He glared at Raiden. "Not that the last is an option anymore."
"You are as free as you like," Raiden said with a sigh. "I take no joy in slavery." He picked up the box Taka had set down and removed the bracelet from it, drinking in the way the gems sparkled in the sunlight filtering in, the single lit lamp on his desk.
Pretty as they were, they would be more beautiful still around Taka's wrist. He held the bracelet out. "Take it."
Taka looked at the bracelet, and Raiden did not miss the appreciative, almost hungry look, that flickered briefly in his eyes as he looked at the sparkling jewels. "You may as well keep it," he said at last. "I've nowhere to secure such a fine bracelet and would fear it becoming lost."
Raiden chuckled and stood up, catching Taka's hand. The long sleeve of Takara's sea green robe, the very color of his hair, slid back to bare most of his forearm. Acting on impulse, ignoring that he should really know better, Raiden turned the hand he held and pressed a soft, fleeting kiss to the inside of Taka's wrist. "That's why you're supposed to wear it," he said, never taking his eyes from Taka's face, noting every little detail that let slip how the secretary felt.
He held tight when Taka attempted to snatch his hand back and slid the bracelet around it, barely closing the clasp before Taka finally broke free.
"I am not a woman to be dressed in jewels," Taka snapped. "I collect them, I do not wear them."
Raiden moved around the desk, utterly entranced at how much finer the jewels looked next to the lovely skin. He pouted as the sleeve of Taka's robe slid down to hide the bracelet and quickly crossed the cabin to snatch Taka close and take his arm again, pushing back the sleeve and pressing another kiss to his wrist, this time letting his lips linger. "A pity," he said after a moment, letting Taka escape again. "You were made to wear them."
Them and nothing else, but he sensed it would take him a very long time to convince Taka of that.
"You have been drinking sea water," Taka said scathingly. "I came in here to get some peace and quiet, I can see—"
"Peace," Raiden said, throwing up his hands in defeat. "I need to go speak with Kin anyway. I will leave you to your peace and quiet." So saying, he obediently turned and strode from the cabin.
Outside there was not a cloud in the sky, the world nothing but an endless expanse of blues and greens, filling his nostrils with the smell of sea and wind and sun.
Up on the poop deck, he found Kindan speaking with his first and second mates, all three men locked in some tense conversation.
"Is there a problem?" Raiden interrupted.
"No," Kindan replied, dismissing his crewmen. "We were discussing the weather, is all."
Raiden quirked a brow at that, and followed Kindan as he moved to the very aft of the ship after speaking briefly with the second mate, who took the helm.
"Have you noticed nothing strange about the weather?" Kindan asked, glowering out at the sea.
"It's been excellent," Raiden said idly, leaning against the ship and folding his arms across his chest. "I hardly think that a reason to complain." He grinned. "Perhaps our pretty prince is helping us out."
Kindan slammed his fist down on the railing. "I neither require nor desire his help. Despite all that he implied before, I am quite capable of tending my own ship." Snarling a few choice curses, he again turned to glare out at the sea.
"Yes," Raiden said dryly, vastly amused. "I am well aware of your skill, Kin. Everyone aboard is aware of your skill."
"Except a certain bratty prince who sees fit to insult me in every way possible," Kin snapped, glare fierce. Raiden wondered if the sea would start boiling from the heat of it. He rounded on Raiden. "You are entirely to blame for this, and I will see you suffer for it."
Laughing, Raiden stopped Kindan before he could storm off. "The weather? Is that why you are mad at him again?"
"So far as I am concerned," Kindan snapped, "his existence is enough."
"You're still upset about the mermaids," Raiden said before Kindan could rant further.
The thundercloud that filled his Captain's face was all the answer he needed.
"I'm sure his Highness had reasons for mentioning it to you," Raiden said.
Kindan grimaced and turned back to the sea, expression shuttered this time as he watched the unending expanse of shifting blues and greens and violets. "To insult me, why else does he ever speak to me?"
"I think it is less to insult than to provoke. You could always do to him what you do to me," Raiden said, laughing hard at the idea of Kindan pitching the prince over the side. "Though he could probably extract a revenge far more dire."
"Yes," Kindan said, not even so much as smirking at the idea.
Raiden tilted his head, studying his unhappy Captain. "Kin…if he is troubling you this much, I will beg out of the voyage once we reach Pozhar. I will not have you this upset." Begging out would cause him all sorts of problems, kidnapping certain unwilling parties the least of them…but he did not like seeing Kindan so miserable.
"No," Kindan said tightly. "I won't give him that much satisfaction. He can insult or provoke me all he wants, I will finish this voyage and then cheerfully be rid of him." His hand strayed to his sash, sliding around to the bulge in the back. "Then I am taking the Kumiko and consigning all of you to the dragons."
It almost made him laugh, to watch as Kindan's anger faded away, replaced by an expression Kindan never knew he made. It was part confusion, part worry, part uncertainty – but mostly longing.
He chuckled softly. "It's amusing how that 'may the dragons eat you' expression of yours fades every time you think of your precious Koori. Were I a foolish man, I would call it cute."
"Shut up," Kindan snapped, dropping his hand. "What did you want, anyway? I thought you would be off seducing your bought and paid for secretary."
Raiden rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure which of the two of you harangues me more for it." He smirked. "Should I feel jealous that you so quickly and frequently defend my secretary?"
"Oh, shut up," Kindan retorted, a faint smile finally twitching briefly at his mouth. "I take far more pleasure out of seeing him put you in your place."
"So far he is rather winning the battle," Raiden said with a sigh. "I left before he threw me out."
Kindan snorted in an effort to fight a laugh. "So you came to impede my work instead?"
It was Raiden's turn to snort. "If you were complaining about perfect weather with your first and second mates, Kin, obviously the ship is running smoothly enough you're bored out of your mind."
"The weather makes no sense," Kindan snapped. "I do not like him interfering with the running of my ship." He let out a frustrated sigh and again returned his gaze to the sea, as if hoping it would provide an answer. "Perhaps I am more ignorant in the ways of magic than I thought, Shima, but I always understood that the magic of Kundou was confined to Kundou. Foul weather is kept from the Land of Storms…but out here the weather has always been its own master. Good weather never holds this long, but how can he be doing it?" He sighed again.
Raiden shrugged. "Ask him," he said. "As you say, perhaps there is something we do not know. I care not. Good weather makes for good travel. The better our time, the better our profits."
Kindan raised his eyes to the sky and then turned away with a shake of his head. "Go back to bothering your secretary, Shima. Some of us have work to do."
"Including speaking with his Highness?" Raiden threw the taunt over his shoulder as he once more obediently left.
The snarled retort was snatched away by a sudden strong wind, but Raiden caught the gist of it. He paused as the wind continued to increase, brow going up as the temperature and feel in the air abruptly shifted. He turned back to Kindan. "Looks like you're getting your storm."
Kindan glowered, angrier than ever, and only the fact that Kindan would throw him overboard kept him from laughing. He'd never seen his Captain and oldest friend this affected by someone. It was vastly entertaining.
He bolted for the cabin just as the squall crashed down upon them, not completely escaping a soaking.
"Taunting the Captain again?" Taka asked unsympathetically. "The way the ship is tossing about, I thought he must be finally trying to kill you."
Raiden grinned. "No. Only a storm."
Takara frowned and hastily stood up. "A storm? What in the dragons' names are you talking about? There can't be a storm."
"Definitely a storm," Raiden said. He stripped out of his sodden robe – and lunged forward just in time to catch Taka before he could bolt from the cabin. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To Nankyo," Taka snapped. "Let me go, I have to go see him. Something's wrong."
Raiden held him tighter, dragging Taka up against him when the struggles did not cease. "How many storms have you been in, Taka?"
"What? Don't ask stupid questions. I—"
"It's not a stupid question," Raiden said. He started to say more when the ship was sharply tossed, not able to catch his balance, sending them both crashing down, Taka landing with a grunt of pain beneath him. "As I was saying," Raiden continued. "It's not a stupid question. You can't even stand up in here, and you want to go outside? With the wind and water, everything turning topsy-turvy? It's only a squall, his Highness will survive. I doubt it will last much longer."
Taka shook his head and pounded his fists futilely against Raiden's shoulders. "No," he said. "You don't understand. It shouldn't be happening. If there's a squall then Nankyo is the cause, and the storm will not abate until he is calmed."
"What?" Raiden asked, voice cracking out. "What is he—why is that?"
"Let me up," Taka said. "I have to go see him. Something is wrong."
Raiden shook his head. "Stay here," he said sharply, then levered himself up – part of his mind had, the entire time, duly and thoroughly noted how nice it was to have Taka pinned beneath him and regretted it had not been for better reasons – and opened the door. "Kin!" he bellowed.
A moment later Kin appeared, soaked to the skin but rather looking as though he were in a very good mood. "What?"
"This storm isn't right," Raiden said sharply. "Taka says that we shouldn't be having one, and that if it's appeared then something is wrong with his Highness."
Kindan's face clouded. "I see," he said tersely. "So it was him all along." Snarling, he turned away and vanished.
"There," Raiden said. "Problem solved – or it will be shortly." Taka was still splayed on the floor, obviously reluctant to be tossed about again. Raiden drank in the sight, more determined than ever to make certain this man would someday – soon – be his.
Taka snorted. "Solved? You just sent the Captain to tend Nankyo and you call the problem solved? I think you are drinking sea water."
Raiden threw his head back and laughed. "Life is more entertaining when the seas are being tossed about. No one likes the seas when they are becalmed." He stooped and tugged Taka to his feet, holding fast even when Taka glared.
"I will take your word for it," Taka retorted, glaring. "Unhand me."
"Must I?" Raiden asked with a sigh. "I like holding you."
Taka opened his mouth, then closed it – then scowled and tried again. "Let me go."
"As you wish," Raiden said, and with another sigh obeyed.
The ship gave another hard lurch, sending Taka tumbling forward into him with a startled yelp.
Raiden held him tight and started laughing, and not even the well-placed punch to his gut could make him stop. Despite the threats and continued abuse, he did not relinquish his secretary until the storm finally abated.
Chapter Six
Raiden finally conceded that perhaps he had miscalculated the depths of Taka's anger at his purchasing of the royal secretary's contract.
The incredibly talented secretary, he noted, admiring his desk. In only an hour or so of work last night – despite the anxiety and tension brought on by the mermaids and other matters – Taka had set his desk and papers wholly to rights.
He could actually find stuff now. It was fascinating. He'd tried it himself before, when he'd been especially bored, but it had never worked. Looking at what Taka had managed, it seemed painfully easy – but Raiden knew he would never be able to recreate it.
It simply wasn't the way his mind worked. Organization had never been his strong point.
Restless, he flipped open the ledger set neatly off to the right side of the desk, brows going up as he realized that at some point Taka had not only organized his desk but updated all his filing. Everything sold, bought, and traded was neatly listed along with the amount charged or paid, or in the case of trade it's monetary worth so that the profits or losses made on the deal could be tallied with the rest.
Incredible.
Taka made it look so easy…but thinking of doing it himself gave him a headache. Much easier to keep it all in his head, though it was very nice to see it so neatly laid out.
Hmm…Taka had done him a massive favor with this, even if it had likely only been because the man obviously liked to work when he was upset. Favors demanded thank yous, which meant presents…which of course meant jewels.
Smiling, Raiden reached into his sash and pulled out the ring of keys tucked into it, separating one out of the bunch and then standing. Crossing the cabin he unlocked a cabinet and began to rifle through the multitude of drawers inside it. Every last one contained the various jewels he collected on his journeys. When they returned to San Hoshi, all would join his main collection and the cabinet would once more be in need of filling.
He finally settled on a bracelet made of esmeralda and diamond, the stone square-cut and flawless, rich and sparkling.
Just as he'd locked the cabinet and turned to go in search of his Taka, the man himself strode into the cabin, a familiar frown etched into his brow and mouth.
"Taka," Raiden greeted, smiling, excited now to bestow his gift. There was another he wanted even more badly to give…but he knew it would be some time before Taka would accept it. "You look upset."
"I am hard pressed to find one reason I should not be upset," Taka said with a scowl.
Crossing the cabin, Raiden presented the blue velvet box containing the bracelet with a flourish. "Here is one reason."
Taka glared at the box and did not take it. "I am not accepting anything from you," he said scathingly.
Raiden frowned. "I wanted to thank you for setting my desk to rights," he explained. "I have attempted to do it a thousand times and more, but never could manage the trick."
"It's not a trick," Taka said, rolling his eyes. He shrugged, face tightening. "Anyway, I'm your secretary now. It's my job to tend to such things."
"No," Raiden said. "It's not. Despite what Kin thinks, I do not require a secretary. I have managed all my years in this business without one, I will continue to manage. If I wanted a secretary, I would hire one properly."
Fury filled Taka's eyes. "So a secretary you would be willing to treat with respect, but not me? What am I then, that you thought me fit to trade in exchange for our passage?"
"I was not the only one who made that bargain," Raiden said quietly, "so why am I the only one who seems to be in trouble for it?"
"Because the prince and I worked matters out."
Raiden once more held out the box. "I am attempting to do the same, Taka, which is why I want to give you a gift in thanks, rather than act as though it is expected for you to do such things. Please, I mean it as nothing more than that."
Taka eyed him warily, but with a grimace accepted the box.
Watching eagerly as he opened it and folded back the silk in which the bracelet was wrapped – Raiden felt utterly crushed when Taka's frown only deepened. "No," he said sharply, and handed it back.
"But – why not? Is it the diamonds? I thought them a perfect complement in this case, they are small enough and cut properly so that they do not outshine the esmeralda and it is small enough to wear while working…"
Taka thrust the box back at him. "I am not accepting something so extravagant for doing filing," he snapped. "Whatever game you are playing, you can stop."
Raiden fought against his unhappiness, genuinely stung. "I may have purchased your contract," he said, "but that was perfectly legal and binding. Such things are done all the time. I am possessive, I wanted to make certain you were close so that I stood the best chance of winning your affections. Not once have I ever attempted to purchase them and I am not doing so now." He took Taka's hand and placed the box in it, closing those long fingers around it. "The bracelet is nothing more than a gift of thanks."
He let go and turned around, striding back to the pristine desk and wishing suddenly that it was still messy so he could shove everything onto the floor. Yes, that would suit his mood perfectly.
Courting was much more difficult now than the last time he'd tried it. Then, it had seemed so simple…
"It's just a bracelet," Taka said into the silence, confusion thick in his voice. "Why are you so storming upset over a bracelet?" He stalked to the desk and set the box down. "It's paperwork. I do it every single day. It's not worth something that must have cost at least one hundred thousand paaru, if not more."
Raiden grinned with pride. "Oh, it's worth nearly half that again, but I got it for only two thirds of the true value."
Taka rolled his eyes. "Yes, I could see from your accounting that you've rather a talent for fleecing and cheating. You're not a merchant so much as a thief."
"Many would say the line between the two is very fine," Raiden said unabashedly. "Though, I have every license and permit required to do it, which makes it very hard to accuse me of thieving."
A smile twitched at Taka's mouth. His very pretty mouth that Raiden wished he could steal another kiss from, but his lip was still sore from Taka's teeth and if he could not get Taka to accept a simple bracelet – best not to be stealing any more kisses, no matter how fine a thing that mouth was. "How did you manage to convince every necessary official in five countries to give you such hard to come by permits? They would take years to obtain; your family must have been in this business a long time, not to mention in extremely good standing to keep getting the permits renewed."
Raiden shrugged. "Business is not so hard a thing to do."
"Except for the pesky record keeping," Taka said dryly.
"Yes," Raiden agreed. "I'm not very good at sitting still or putting things in order." He spread his arms, showing off the deep red and blue sash he was wearing, the myriad jewels on his fingers and in his ears. "Kindan often says I am too wild for this business. I think it annoys him to no end I manage it anyway."
Taka nodded. "I tend to agree. How did you get into the merchant business? Is it that your family has always done it?"
"My family has always been fond of collecting things, it's true," Raiden said with a faint smile. "I guess turning a profit from the habit made the most sense. What of you, Taka? How did you get into being a secretary – and a royal secretary at that?"
"It was rather inevitable, really," Taka said with a shrug. "My mother works in the royal gardens; I grew up in the palace. His Highness and I would play together from time to time, when he managed to slip his lessons. My education was much better than it would have otherwise been, growing up there. I passed all the scholarly tests and was given a chance to become a royal secretary."
Raiden smiled faintly. "That does not sound 'inevitable' to me, unless you mean that of course you were too smart to be anything but."
"I mean my choices were either to follow my mother and spend my life toiling uselessly for brats who never appreciate it, or take up work that was at least less tiring and gave me some hope of obtaining money, standing, and eventually freedom." He glared at Raiden. "Not that the last is an option anymore."
"You are as free as you like," Raiden said with a sigh. "I take no joy in slavery." He picked up the box Taka had set down and removed the bracelet from it, drinking in the way the gems sparkled in the sunlight filtering in, the single lit lamp on his desk.
Pretty as they were, they would be more beautiful still around Taka's wrist. He held the bracelet out. "Take it."
Taka looked at the bracelet, and Raiden did not miss the appreciative, almost hungry look, that flickered briefly in his eyes as he looked at the sparkling jewels. "You may as well keep it," he said at last. "I've nowhere to secure such a fine bracelet and would fear it becoming lost."
Raiden chuckled and stood up, catching Taka's hand. The long sleeve of Takara's sea green robe, the very color of his hair, slid back to bare most of his forearm. Acting on impulse, ignoring that he should really know better, Raiden turned the hand he held and pressed a soft, fleeting kiss to the inside of Taka's wrist. "That's why you're supposed to wear it," he said, never taking his eyes from Taka's face, noting every little detail that let slip how the secretary felt.
He held tight when Taka attempted to snatch his hand back and slid the bracelet around it, barely closing the clasp before Taka finally broke free.
"I am not a woman to be dressed in jewels," Taka snapped. "I collect them, I do not wear them."
Raiden moved around the desk, utterly entranced at how much finer the jewels looked next to the lovely skin. He pouted as the sleeve of Taka's robe slid down to hide the bracelet and quickly crossed the cabin to snatch Taka close and take his arm again, pushing back the sleeve and pressing another kiss to his wrist, this time letting his lips linger. "A pity," he said after a moment, letting Taka escape again. "You were made to wear them."
Them and nothing else, but he sensed it would take him a very long time to convince Taka of that.
"You have been drinking sea water," Taka said scathingly. "I came in here to get some peace and quiet, I can see—"
"Peace," Raiden said, throwing up his hands in defeat. "I need to go speak with Kin anyway. I will leave you to your peace and quiet." So saying, he obediently turned and strode from the cabin.
Outside there was not a cloud in the sky, the world nothing but an endless expanse of blues and greens, filling his nostrils with the smell of sea and wind and sun.
Up on the poop deck, he found Kindan speaking with his first and second mates, all three men locked in some tense conversation.
"Is there a problem?" Raiden interrupted.
"No," Kindan replied, dismissing his crewmen. "We were discussing the weather, is all."
Raiden quirked a brow at that, and followed Kindan as he moved to the very aft of the ship after speaking briefly with the second mate, who took the helm.
"Have you noticed nothing strange about the weather?" Kindan asked, glowering out at the sea.
"It's been excellent," Raiden said idly, leaning against the ship and folding his arms across his chest. "I hardly think that a reason to complain." He grinned. "Perhaps our pretty prince is helping us out."
Kindan slammed his fist down on the railing. "I neither require nor desire his help. Despite all that he implied before, I am quite capable of tending my own ship." Snarling a few choice curses, he again turned to glare out at the sea.
"Yes," Raiden said dryly, vastly amused. "I am well aware of your skill, Kin. Everyone aboard is aware of your skill."
"Except a certain bratty prince who sees fit to insult me in every way possible," Kin snapped, glare fierce. Raiden wondered if the sea would start boiling from the heat of it. He rounded on Raiden. "You are entirely to blame for this, and I will see you suffer for it."
Laughing, Raiden stopped Kindan before he could storm off. "The weather? Is that why you are mad at him again?"
"So far as I am concerned," Kindan snapped, "his existence is enough."
"You're still upset about the mermaids," Raiden said before Kindan could rant further.
The thundercloud that filled his Captain's face was all the answer he needed.
"I'm sure his Highness had reasons for mentioning it to you," Raiden said.
Kindan grimaced and turned back to the sea, expression shuttered this time as he watched the unending expanse of shifting blues and greens and violets. "To insult me, why else does he ever speak to me?"
"I think it is less to insult than to provoke. You could always do to him what you do to me," Raiden said, laughing hard at the idea of Kindan pitching the prince over the side. "Though he could probably extract a revenge far more dire."
"Yes," Kindan said, not even so much as smirking at the idea.
Raiden tilted his head, studying his unhappy Captain. "Kin…if he is troubling you this much, I will beg out of the voyage once we reach Pozhar. I will not have you this upset." Begging out would cause him all sorts of problems, kidnapping certain unwilling parties the least of them…but he did not like seeing Kindan so miserable.
"No," Kindan said tightly. "I won't give him that much satisfaction. He can insult or provoke me all he wants, I will finish this voyage and then cheerfully be rid of him." His hand strayed to his sash, sliding around to the bulge in the back. "Then I am taking the Kumiko and consigning all of you to the dragons."
It almost made him laugh, to watch as Kindan's anger faded away, replaced by an expression Kindan never knew he made. It was part confusion, part worry, part uncertainty – but mostly longing.
He chuckled softly. "It's amusing how that 'may the dragons eat you' expression of yours fades every time you think of your precious Koori. Were I a foolish man, I would call it cute."
"Shut up," Kindan snapped, dropping his hand. "What did you want, anyway? I thought you would be off seducing your bought and paid for secretary."
Raiden rolled his eyes. "I'm not sure which of the two of you harangues me more for it." He smirked. "Should I feel jealous that you so quickly and frequently defend my secretary?"
"Oh, shut up," Kindan retorted, a faint smile finally twitching briefly at his mouth. "I take far more pleasure out of seeing him put you in your place."
"So far he is rather winning the battle," Raiden said with a sigh. "I left before he threw me out."
Kindan snorted in an effort to fight a laugh. "So you came to impede my work instead?"
It was Raiden's turn to snort. "If you were complaining about perfect weather with your first and second mates, Kin, obviously the ship is running smoothly enough you're bored out of your mind."
"The weather makes no sense," Kindan snapped. "I do not like him interfering with the running of my ship." He let out a frustrated sigh and again returned his gaze to the sea, as if hoping it would provide an answer. "Perhaps I am more ignorant in the ways of magic than I thought, Shima, but I always understood that the magic of Kundou was confined to Kundou. Foul weather is kept from the Land of Storms…but out here the weather has always been its own master. Good weather never holds this long, but how can he be doing it?" He sighed again.
Raiden shrugged. "Ask him," he said. "As you say, perhaps there is something we do not know. I care not. Good weather makes for good travel. The better our time, the better our profits."
Kindan raised his eyes to the sky and then turned away with a shake of his head. "Go back to bothering your secretary, Shima. Some of us have work to do."
"Including speaking with his Highness?" Raiden threw the taunt over his shoulder as he once more obediently left.
The snarled retort was snatched away by a sudden strong wind, but Raiden caught the gist of it. He paused as the wind continued to increase, brow going up as the temperature and feel in the air abruptly shifted. He turned back to Kindan. "Looks like you're getting your storm."
Kindan glowered, angrier than ever, and only the fact that Kindan would throw him overboard kept him from laughing. He'd never seen his Captain and oldest friend this affected by someone. It was vastly entertaining.
He bolted for the cabin just as the squall crashed down upon them, not completely escaping a soaking.
"Taunting the Captain again?" Taka asked unsympathetically. "The way the ship is tossing about, I thought he must be finally trying to kill you."
Raiden grinned. "No. Only a storm."
Takara frowned and hastily stood up. "A storm? What in the dragons' names are you talking about? There can't be a storm."
"Definitely a storm," Raiden said. He stripped out of his sodden robe – and lunged forward just in time to catch Taka before he could bolt from the cabin. "Where do you think you're going?"
"To Nankyo," Taka snapped. "Let me go, I have to go see him. Something's wrong."
Raiden held him tighter, dragging Taka up against him when the struggles did not cease. "How many storms have you been in, Taka?"
"What? Don't ask stupid questions. I—"
"It's not a stupid question," Raiden said. He started to say more when the ship was sharply tossed, not able to catch his balance, sending them both crashing down, Taka landing with a grunt of pain beneath him. "As I was saying," Raiden continued. "It's not a stupid question. You can't even stand up in here, and you want to go outside? With the wind and water, everything turning topsy-turvy? It's only a squall, his Highness will survive. I doubt it will last much longer."
Taka shook his head and pounded his fists futilely against Raiden's shoulders. "No," he said. "You don't understand. It shouldn't be happening. If there's a squall then Nankyo is the cause, and the storm will not abate until he is calmed."
"What?" Raiden asked, voice cracking out. "What is he—why is that?"
"Let me up," Taka said. "I have to go see him. Something is wrong."
Raiden shook his head. "Stay here," he said sharply, then levered himself up – part of his mind had, the entire time, duly and thoroughly noted how nice it was to have Taka pinned beneath him and regretted it had not been for better reasons – and opened the door. "Kin!" he bellowed.
A moment later Kin appeared, soaked to the skin but rather looking as though he were in a very good mood. "What?"
"This storm isn't right," Raiden said sharply. "Taka says that we shouldn't be having one, and that if it's appeared then something is wrong with his Highness."
Kindan's face clouded. "I see," he said tersely. "So it was him all along." Snarling, he turned away and vanished.
"There," Raiden said. "Problem solved – or it will be shortly." Taka was still splayed on the floor, obviously reluctant to be tossed about again. Raiden drank in the sight, more determined than ever to make certain this man would someday – soon – be his.
Taka snorted. "Solved? You just sent the Captain to tend Nankyo and you call the problem solved? I think you are drinking sea water."
Raiden threw his head back and laughed. "Life is more entertaining when the seas are being tossed about. No one likes the seas when they are becalmed." He stooped and tugged Taka to his feet, holding fast even when Taka glared.
"I will take your word for it," Taka retorted, glaring. "Unhand me."
"Must I?" Raiden asked with a sigh. "I like holding you."
Taka opened his mouth, then closed it – then scowled and tried again. "Let me go."
"As you wish," Raiden said, and with another sigh obeyed.
The ship gave another hard lurch, sending Taka tumbling forward into him with a startled yelp.
Raiden held him tight and started laughing, and not even the well-placed punch to his gut could make him stop. Despite the threats and continued abuse, he did not relinquish his secretary until the storm finally abated.
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Date: 2007-06-18 12:29 pm (UTC)To Megan I say, EVIL WOMAN.