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[ Of the few rules of operating within Rin's fleet, one of them is very simple: take no prisoners.

Unless the captain feels like it. And in this rare instance, Sousuke does feel like it. Usually he's perfectly content to put the survivors of a defeated ship on bits of flotsam and send them on their way. Someone would pick them up before long and Sousuke's crew could pick apart the remains of their ship at their leisure.

But then he's finally, after months of begging, let Momotarou take command of the cannons during battle. The results had been... rather predictable. Rather than systematically take out more and more of the ship's mobility until it was dead in the water Momo had focused too much firepower on the ships center, and a solid ram from the Sano had been more than enough to break the military vessel clean in half. Sousuke ultimately blamed himself. Momo had already been worked up over the fact that the navy ship had attacked them, rather than the other way around; he should have known better than to let him have his way.

Sousuke's position on his own ship as it lazily saws through the remains of the enemy frigate puts him near the other ship's bow, which allows him to see several very important things. First, that the captain is dead. Second, that the second in command is not. And third, that the second in command is very rapidly sliding down the sharply tilted deck as his half of the ship floods with water. And with their prize rapidly sinking, Sousuke decides that the next best thing to plunder from this outing is information.

So in a flash he's swinging on a rope (how dramatic), kicking off from the side of his own ship, and plunging halfway into the water to seize the flailing, brown-haired captain by the back of his shirt. He's laughing as he hauls him up. ]

Easy there, 'captain'! Flail too much and I'll have to drop you again!

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[ Makoto can't help but be a little apprehensive, in the face of Sousuke's expression -- he hasn't quite forgotten that Sousuke is the captain of a pirate ship that killed a good portion of Makoto's crew; the last thing he wants to do is make him mad. But -- well -- he trusts Rin's judgement, for the most part, so he doesn't think Sousuke can be that bad. Probably.

Being a pirate is pretty bad. ]

Oh -- thank you! [ Even when he's not-exactly a prisoner and not-exactly a guest, Makoto is still unfailingly polite. he figures it's a little less likely to get him killed, in the grand scheme of things... though he's not sure how polite pirates generally are.

they don't seem to be nearly as bad, actually, as the navy would have him believe, but admittedly, that might be because Makoto wasn't dead, being tortured, or anything else nefarious. ]

I'm sorry. You must have been trying to get information... [ and now Makoto doesn't really have any incentive to give it.

though, actually, he'll probably give it to Rin, if he asks... things Makoto is bad at: keeping secrets. ]

Yeah, you're right. [ Sousuke doesn't go far before he stops, pausing just long enough to pull over his cabin door. The room inside is small and cluttered, but the furniture looks both sturdy and comfortable and the room as a whole looks well-used and lived in. A fluffy grey tabby lays stretched out on the bed, but Sousuke doesn't pay her any mind as he waves Makoto inside. ]

But if you're anything like Rin described, then I'm not the one that has to get it. [ He gives Makoto another smile, this one a little more knowing and a lot more confident. ] I'm sure he'll just have to ask nicely. [ Which probably isn't a nice thing to point out, but if Makoto's going to bring it up then he deserves whatever discomfort he gets.

Sousuke follows Makoto into the cabin and drops himself down into a chair. ] Make yourself comfortable.

[ Makoto takes a moment to look around the cabin. It's strikingly different from the compact cabins captains have on navy ships; he's used to things being considerably less personalized. This looks like a cabin that someone actually lives in, from the maps strewn in every corner to the gentle spray of personal possessions to the cat that appears to have been nesting on a map. He resists the urge to immediately go for the cat, but only because it wakes up, gives him a disdainful look, and then promptly leaves the room. Aren't pirates supposed to have birds? And -- peg legs, and scars, and while Makoto can't definitively say Sousuke doesn't have the latter, he definitely doesn't have the former... ]

This is your room? I don't need anything this nice, really! [ he'd be happy with a bunk just about anywhere, so long as it wasn't involving him being locked up, and he doesn't really want to be an imposition. ]

[ Sousuke reaches out to gently nudge the cat with his foot as she passes, prompting her to turn and swat briefly at his foot before she saunters away. Otherwise, however, Sousuke remains focused on Makoto. ]

There's no room for you anywhere else. [ After their past few run-ins with navy vessels, the Sano is full up on defectors looking for a better, freer life with Rin's fleet - who are just another reason to keep the possibly-still-loyal Makoto away from the rest of the crew. More important than that, however: ] And Rin will pitch a fit if I make you sleep somewhere uncomfortable.

Oh... [ Makoto realizes how much of an imposition he's being, and it strikes him as just a little odd, that he should feel bad about being an imposition when he's been taken prisoner... but all this ties back to Rin, and so he can't be too upset at what Sousuke has done.

At this rate, he won't be able to go back to the navy because he'll be too much of a pirate sympathizer. ]

I'll do my best to stay out of your way! [ If that's all he can do, that's all he can do.

Though, he's a little concerned -- is Sousuke staying in here, too? Makoto senses that for all that Sousuke is as stoic as Haru is, it would be a considerably more awkward night. ]

[ It turns out that yes, Sousuke is still intending to sleep in his own cabin. Makoto gets a spare hammock strung up between two support beams while Sousuke himself drops contentedly (and mostly naked) into his own bed later that night. The cat quickly decides that Makoto's hammock is her new favorite bed and that the only thing to do in that instance is to smother him into submission - and when that doesn't work, she graciously deigns to allow him to stay there in exchange for serving as her pillow.

The next morning, at least, Sousuke seems a little more affable. He doesn't hesitate to introduce Makoto to the rest of the crew as 'an old friend of Captain Matsuoka' (which immediately gains him their favor) and sets him to a series of easy but important tasks. The crew takes an almost immediate liking to Makoto, prying him for stories about Rin and sharing plenty of their own. Some of them tease too much and other tell them off for it, and overall Makoto is quickly treated like a welcome, if slightly untrustworthy, guest. Sousuke keeps himself busy and therefore scarce during the day, mingles with the crew at night, and never hesitates to drag Makoto into a round of cards or drinking. He gives Makoto access to a spare pair of pajamas, free use of his tiny (but private) bathroom, and is generally a pleasant, if often absent, host.

They're a week into their journey when the storm hits in the late afternoon, choppy waves rocking the boat gently at first, and then with more and more ferocity as it wears on. The winds pick up, rain begins to fall, and the ship explodes into action as crewmen scramble back and forth to secure everything and keep the chip steady and on course. It is, ultimately, a rather mild storm, which is why Sousuke is content to return to his cabin before it's quite over.

He's just a little surprised to find it empty, is all. He'd told Makoto to stay put, not wanting him to get in the crew's way, and isn't sure what to make of his seemingly empty room. ]

Tachibana?

[ Makoto doesn't reply at first. He'd been fine when the storm started, just a rocking of the ship and some thunder, but it had gotten worse and worse, and -- well, if you asked him, he would tell you that he was just keeping the cat company because she seemed so scared. In actuality, though, Sousuke's bed was fixed firmly enough to the ground and Makoto was big enough in the cramped space that he could almost ignore the rocking, in favor of the purring ball of cat in his arms.

She did wonders to convince him that the ship was not going to sink, Makoto was not going to drown, and everything was going to be fine. Except he's still more than a little unsettled, and embarrassed on top of it, so he peers out from under the bed, only to jump slightly when another crack of thunder predicts another bout of fierce rocking.

Instead of a greeting, he just sort of squeaks. The cat lets out a slightly irritated meow, abandoning Makoto's suddenly too-tight grip in favor of twining sulkily around Sousuke's legs. ]

[ The cat is a seasoned veteran, it seems. She's quite to say purring in her spot and give Makoto irritated little nips when he shifts about or squeezes too tight. Her purring is intense, though still not quite loud enough for Sousuke to hear over the din of the storm.

Fortunately the combination of squeaking, meowing, and disgruntled twining is enough to finally direct Sousuke's attention down. He kneels down (pausing long enough to stroke the queen herself) before he drops to his hands and knees and peers under the bed. He wears a skeptical and, quite frankly, somewhat judgemental expression as he takes in the sight before him.

He didn't even realize someone Makoto's size could fit under his bed. ]

Lose something down there?

[ Makoto's first attempt at speaking comes out as a broken squeaking noise. It's high pitched enough that he's not actually sure Sousuke can hear it. It might be something only dogs can hear, and there's not exactly a surplus of those on pirate ships.

His second attempt gets out a single croaked pronoun before the ship gives another violent rock, and Makoto automatically lunges out to grab onto Sousuke's shirt in complete terror. ]

-- I don't like storms! [ he finally manages it, and sure, it's not the mostly manly thing, he'd really rather have tried to make up an excuse, but it's hard to think of one when every loud peal of thunder makes him tense up.

he has so many regrets about his life. ]

You're a sailor.

[ He sounds pretty exasperated, honestly, though not exactly disgusted. It's kind of awkward to have Makoto grabbing onto his shirt like that but Sousuke doesn't try to shove him away. Instead he grabs hold of Makoto's arms, jsut above his elbows, and then starts to drag him out from underneath the bed. ]

Come on, you're just gonna bash your head against the slats if you try to stay down there.

[ Though, honestly, his cringing and hiding is kind of endearing, in a way... ]

[ Makoto makes a noise that can only be described as a whimper, allowing himself to be tugged out from underneath the bed. He even does a little to help, gently climbing to his feet once he's out, head still bowed slightly with the knowledge that at any second, there's going to be another crack of thunder to terrify him again. ]

They're too loud. [ The loudness reminds him that he could drown at ANY MOMENT. Well. Okay. Not this particular moment, because he's on the boat, but what if the boat capsizes? What if a huge wave comes up and destroys them and they all die and he'll never see Haru or Rin or his siblings ever again? ]

...and the boat rocks too much like this. [ WHICH IS WHY SITTING IS BETTER. ]

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