stand by each other's side
Title: Taken Care Of
Series: Sengoku BASARA
Characters: Teeniki (Motochika as he is 17 years old), Bekunosuke, and a major cast of supplementary characters.
Summary: This Demon's Island sure was full of conflict.
Notes: There's really, really no way to apologize for this one. Fic had a life of its own, I'm having mixed feelings about how it turned out in the end, aaaand. Yep. Gotta say that this was largely inspired by Pixiv, and refer to this (the bottom half, silly goose) for how I imagined Teeniki to be. Thanks for bearing with me and... ahaha. ♥
---
If Motochika were to be honest with himself, he didn’t rightly know what island he was approaching.
If Motochika were to be honest with his crew, as he so often was, he didn’t rightly care.
Some time ago, he had developed a “sense for the shoreline” if you would. A memory for the landscape, the smell, the wildlife, the flora - he was convinced that the only way for him to be unable to recognize an island was for it to be burned to the ground and flipped over.
That’s likely what made the trip so interesting as they laid anchor and took rowboats out to the island. Multiple exploration teams were sent out, Motochika at the head of the smallest group.
Without a doubt, his crew would be able to take care of themselves and if they ran into trouble? No doubt they’d take it by force-
Hence why, even though they had no real plans of conquest, the island that they found to be inhabited would be taken in a day.
Even then, at the ripe age of 17, people knew better than to get on the bad side of the Demon of the Western Sea.
---
A villager faced a monumental struggle on how to address the person who had recently invaded their island.
Would he answer to ‘Demon of the Western Seas’? Was that perhaps rather harsh? Would he take offense? However nothing else really made much sense. ‘Mister Demon’? ‘Sir Western Seas’? There was a loud guffaw when he inquired to the other pirates if ‘Sir Chōsokabe’ would be acceptable, too.
Pirates were decidedly not a very helpful lot.
“Sir Demon!” he finally called out to the white-haired captain who was inspecting one of the food storehouses.
Without even turning to face him, the ‘Demon’ spoke, “Aniki.”
“… ah?”
Certainly the wretched pirate who was still a boy - hardly even a man despite his accomplishments - was not telling him, Bekunosuke, the head of the village and seasoned farmer and certainly an adult, to refer to him as ‘big brother’?
“Ya heard me,” he said and dismissed the other pirates who were around with a wave of his hand. The brutes lumbered off and for the first time, Bekunosuke got a good look at this youth.
… and honestly, he was not impressed.
Hair gathered up in a ponytail, he still looked every bit like a lad - perhaps even a girlish lad - who was only playing around, right down to his oversized eye patch. Even the way he haughtily carried himself and that damned sneer reeked of confidence that Bekunosuke did not deem necessary.
How did this kid subdue their village in mere hours?
“I don’t think I can call you ‘Aniki’,” he would say stubbornly.
A frown set in and Bekunosuke’s fear spiked up again for just a second until the boy - he would not call him a man - before him sighed, “Fine.” Then a cocky grin replaced the frown as he tilted his chin upwards in a sneer. “I was just lookin’ to lend you a hand, bro. You’re the panicky coot who couldn’t figure out what to call me, right?”
Flushing, Bekunosuke huffed, “If I knew you were the demon, I wouldn’t have been nearly so concerned.”
The emphasis sparked something in the pirate and Motochika held his gaze evenly. His single eye seemed to flash at that, a dangerous glint that made Bekunosuke gulp against his better judgment.
The annoying thing about kids was that they were also more explosive with their emotions.
“Motochika, then,” he turned and his temper seemed to cool in the silence. Turning his back and beginning to exit the storehouse, he asked, “Hell do you want from me, coot?”
Squaring his shoulders, Bekunosuke tried to assert his authority as an elder and said, “I want you to leave the island. You’ve yet to ravage it and for that I am grateful, but we shall not bow our heads to you.”
The sea-faring teen only waved a hand, “Aye. Give us a week.”
“And I won’t take no for an ans-huh?” the villager was stopped in his tracks.
Hand coming up to mess with the tie in his hair, Motochika paused in the middle of the main road that ran through the village. Jutting his chin out to the scene before them - to his men who were laughing and mingling along with the villagers who were becoming accustomed to their presence, “I’ve been workin’ ‘em hard. Between you and me… got us a little lost, actually. Nearly had to dip into emergency rations. Normally we’d be restockin’ and off in three days, but with how much food we’re takin’ from ya, we’ll do a couple extra days of work to make up for it. S’tough on you and ‘m sorry to be puttin’ ya in this bind, but we’ll be back in ah… say a month or somethin’ to repay whatever we can’t in these days.”
Bekunosuke was stunned into silence. This pirate planned on… repaying them?
Taking the silence a bit awkwardly, Motochika raised both hands to tighten the tie holding up his hair and used it as an excuse to avert his gaze at a downward angle, obscuring what Bekunosuke dared to think might have been a smile.
“Nice town here. Nice folks… Dunno which lame-ass leader is in charge of this place, but I kinda wanna claim it for my own… y’know? I think I’d take better care of all of ya…” he admitted a bit sheepishly.
Bekunosuke tensed, though not as defensively as before and thought to address the youth’s sincerity with some answers, “We… are largely left alone by our lord. Our taxes are paid as go-betweens come by regularly, but they remain on the mainland so it is difficult for us to maintain much other contact.”
The pirate turned back to him then, the peace of his expression broken as he snapped back, “Aw like hell! Each village is important, distance be damned! If you’re part of their land, you’re part of what sustains ‘em. Where’s the gratitude?”
Was he being lectured by a pirate about gratitude?
And… again, Bekunosuke couldn’t consider Motochika anything more than a child. Those silly aspirations and then he would get angry when he heard something he didn’t like.
Not sure what he was arguing for anymore, he sneered. “Sure talk a big game, kid. But you ain’t in any position to be talking, are you? You got your crew in a mess and I don’t’ know what kind of gratitude that’s supposed to be. When you can hardly take care of them, don’t start taking off more than you can chew, alright?”
Completely blind to the look of indignation that crossed the Child Demon’s, Bekunosuke scoffed and began to walk off. But one last thing-
“Leave in three days. You’re no good for us, pirate.”
---
The three days that passed were interesting. Bekunosuke wanted to continue his daily schedule as much as possible, but that was hard when the streets were crowded with burly pirates doing work, the houses were crowded with loud pirates mingling with the villagers, and the fields were crowded with buff pirates doing even more work.
Aggravated, he searched for the captain on the third day - there was an issue with the fact that they seemed to have zero intention of going home and it was nearing sunset.
“Hey, it’s Bakanosuke!” the captain chided once he was found at the edge of one of the rice crop fields. Wide as he grinned, the slight signs of fatigue couldn’t be hidden. Shirtless and sweaty, much like the rest of the damn pirates on the lot, he was also downright filthy.
“Bekunosuke,” he clarified before continuing, “I thought I told you to get out of here, Motochika.”
“Aye, you did,” a shrug of lean shoulders, “you had way more important things to say than that, though.”
Irritated, the village head frowned. “Aye?” A bit of bite hid within the mockery of pirate language.
“Aye,” and if Motochika cared, he didn’t show it, “you were right about how I wasn’t takin’ care of these fellas.”
“Awww Aniki, you do too take care of us!”
“Where’s that coming from, Aniki? You always do right by us!”
Encouragement came from the men around him - men that were decidedly older than the teen who was charged with ‘taking care’ of them - and Bekunosuke felt more perplexed than he ever did before.
Was he missing something here?
“Stuff it, curs!” Motochika barked, effectively shutting them up. There was a heavy sigh before he turned back to the topic at hand, “They flap their gums like they know shit, but… heh. The bottom line here is that we’re stayin’ for a might longer.”
Clenching his hands into fists, Bekunosuke watched as his authority continued to be undermined. Gritting his teeth, he seethed quietly, “Fine. Have your week. That’s only four days left anyway.”
A laugh erupted from Motochika and it resounded through the air.
“Week? Aye. If your daimyo’s ships get here that fast, we’ll wipe ‘em out in an hour and be outta yer hair for a while,” he smirked.
A cold feeling ran through Bekunosuke. “What did you say?”
“Let me put it in that fancy talk you like so much,” he cleared his throat, maybe a bit mockingly, “I need to repay you guys before I leave. I need to take care of my crew. Your people need more food - seriously man, why didn’t you mention the shortage earlier? Thought that storehouse looked a little empty - and my men need a break from being on the ocean.
“I want this island but your daimyo stands in my way. So ‘m gonna cut off you paying your taxes so you have a little more spendin’ money too, they’ll get mad and come here to see what’s up, then me and my crew will beat their asses, claim this land, and ain’t no one gonna touch it no more. Get me?”
His eye glinted with confidence and his crew members around him grinned and nodded, too. Seems like they were on board with this crazy, stupid, and reckless plan.
“Who’re you to decide we stop paying our taxes? Or that we wanna be claimed by you?” Bekunosuke spit out without even thinking.
It was when Motochika stepped closer - this boy who matched the height of a man, matched the strength of a man, and matched the arrogance of a man - that Bekunosuke realized exactly what he had asked.
He had asked a pirate why he sought to take things he wanted.
He had asked the Chōsokabe heir - who was known for his dream of conquering Shikoku and more - why he sought to conquer land.
He had asked a demon why he sought to cause chaos.
“Because, old coot,” Motochika dangerously flashed his teeth in a grin, “you fuckin’ dared me.”
A terrible, mocking laugh found its way out of his throat and filled the air.
“Preachin’ and lecturin’ ‘bout gratitude when you were gonna let a bunch of pirates walk away with your food supply! You weren’t the one makin’ the food - your people were! You ain’t the one makin’ the food now either - we are!”
The chorus of yells from the pirates around the area, who began to listen in when their Aniki raised his voice, accentuated his point.
“So don’t fuckin’ talk about any of that shit, geezer. My men and I are runnin’ this town to help you get back what you’ve lost. Take it and swallow your damn pride - I’ll help ya and trample it so it’s easier for you to digest - ‘cause you know something? I ain’t fixing’ this place up for you-“
He stepped closer and glowered fiercely as he smirked in a wicked, cruel sort of amusement. It was a smile of a monster that could tear him apart at any second if he didn’t listen and listen carefully-
“I’m doing it for the folks who’re doin’ the work to keep my men fed. Got it?”
What he said began to sink in.
No matter how admirable, impressive, and frighteningly honest that spiel was-
Bekunosuke was terrified up until the moment that Motochika stepped away, threw his head back, and howled with laughter that was both scathing and cold all at once.
---
It would take hours to inform everyone in the village of the plan.
It would take only a little knowledge of the Demon of the Western Seas (or alternatively, Aniki) for everyone to give in to his demands-though some of them did prefer to call it a ‘request’ if they knew Motochika well enough.
It would take a month for an angry daimyo to send a force out to the village who refused to give up their dues.
It would take two days for the Demon of the Western Seas to obliterate them and issue the proclamation of “This island is mine now!”
It would take a terrifying lecture, a month, two days, and a thorough defense of the village that left no villager untaken care of, for Bekunosuke to realize that perhaps Chōsokabe Motochika… might not be a child after all.
An unruly teen, yes. A frightening demon, yes. A young man struggling to find an appropriate identity, yes.
A child?
Not quite.
(Not to mention it would take a month and a week for Motochika’s father to finally receive word of where his son had been. Admittedly he would have been more pleased to receive the news if it was not in the form of a rather passive-aggressive letter from the mainland, written by an angry daimyo who detailed how he did indeed relinquish territory to the Chōsokabe Clan.)
---
“Hey, hey! Come back here-I need that!”
“Aniki, it makes for a much better bracelet!”
“No, a jump rope!”
“A trap, a trap!”
“Fishing line!”
“Give me back my twine, brats!”
It was lively on the shore that day with children and elderly, men and women, pirates and villagers alike all sending things to the main ship a bit at a time via rowboat.
Their stay, which had ended up lasting five times longer than they had intended, was finally coming to an end.
Somewhere in the middle of all the packing and shipping, a group of children would tackle the demonic pirate captain to the ground.
“Fine! Take your twine, Aniki! It’s no good for a jump rope anyway!” a young boy climbed up onto the pirate’s chest and threw it down at him with a huff.
“What are you doing, Take?!” whined another girl as she stubbornly clung to Motochika’s arm, “If you give back what Aniki needs, he’ll leave us for sure!”
The topic of their conversation gruffly mumbled from beneath them, “Nah. I’d leave you brats anyway.”
A chorus of gasps was only a prelude to the sudden burst of angry yelling that crying that threatened to shatter his ear drums. Some of the parents and pirates looked over, saw the scene, and only laughed before returning to their work.
Aniki could handle it.
“Shut yer traps!” he yelled and sat up, causing both Take and the twine to come tumbling off his chest with the sudden movement. At least he managed to swing his free arm around and catch Take, settling the kid in his lap.
“But Aniki-“ Mayu would start before he turned and gave her a look. She was quiet, but it was beyond difficult to ignore the tears in her eyes.
“Listen up! All of ya,” he squirmed his arm free from Kiri and used it to lean back and steady his weight as his other arm made a sweeping gesture to pull all the children close, perhaps not so accidentally squishing Take in the process - it was justified in his opinion, since the kid made a comment about his hair a while back - and this caused a bit of squirming amidst all of them. “Quit that!”
When they did, he sighed and stared at them, all piled up in his lap as they looked up at him. Bunch of wide eyes just looking for an answer.
“Aniki’s gotta leave for a while, got it? I’m an heir and all, y’know! Your Aniki’s a big shot!” he attempted.
“More like Big Snot,” another boy named Takuya would laugh, causing the others to giggle too.
“Where’d you become so mouthy, Little Takutaku?” Motochika laughed along with them for a while before smirking, “How ‘bout this then? Think ya can do any better, squirt? I say by the time that I get back, you all better be even greater than your Aniki! It’ll give ya something to do while I’m gone.”
“But Aniki’s already the best!” Kiri complained and at that, Motochika reached around and tugged on one of her pigtails.
“No way! You’re only at your best if you ain’t gonna get any better. I’ve got a long life ahead of me, you mangy lot! You all do, too! So don’t be puttin’ any cap on my potential like that!” he sneered.
“So to be the best or better… Aniki has to go away?”
“Yep,” he nodded without remorse.
“But why can’t you be better here?”
… and they still didn’t get it.
A sigh and he suddenly stood up, caring not for the tumbling children that fell off his lap. It looked like they were running out of things to pack up…
“Because I’m bored of yer rinky-dink island!” he goaded them on, “I wanna go and find me a new one!” Then he made a mock thoughtful gesture and paused before continuing contemplatively, as if testing out the words on his tongue, “But… I do own this place now… So I gotta come back…”
The children looked up at him expectantly, snapping to attention as soon as the words ‘come back’ left his lips.
“So,” he nodded as he seemed to come to a decision, “it’s up to you little tykes to make it worth my while when I do get back here, alright?!” he laughed and placed his hands on his hips triumphantly-
Man, he really hoped this worked.
A unanimous cheer rang through the children and discussion was fired off. A positive sign? Definitely.
“Next time Aniki comes by, I’m gonna-“
“When he lands on shore, there’ll be-“
“Can’t let Aniki down, guys!”
They ran off that way, only when they got to the edge of the sand did they turn back and wave, one loud call in unison of “Bye Aniki! Thaaaaank you!”
Crossing his arms and only giving them a grin in return, Motochika couldn’t help but think…
This had to be his favorite island yet.
---
The sweet feel of the wood against his feet was something that was sorely missed.
“Alright you sons of bitches, we ready to set off?” he called out as he approached the wheel, toothy grin flashing as he oversaw all the hustle and bustle on board.
A hearty yell burst out from the masts, decks, and even the crow’s nest. There was a rumble under his feet from the cargo hold, too. Hah. Just as lively as ever.
He was making some rounds when a “Whooooaaaaa!” echoed from somewhere on the ship, followed by what sounded like multiple nasty tumbles in succession.
“Awww, what now, you salty curs?!” he called out, a little miffed that they were already having issues without even having set sail.
A steady beat of thumps against wood announced the messenger’s arrival as he assured that it “was just a tumble, Aniki! Twine slipped but they’re alright! Barrels are being stacked again but… s’alright!”
“Ahh, that’s good,” Motochika sighed under his breath before turning, “Well what’re you standin’ here blabbering at me for-“
He faltered and wasn’t quite sure what this meant.
“Bekunosuke?”
“Aye, Aniki?” the man grinned in response. Stripped of his village clothes, he was now wearin’ the Chōsokabe colors.
A single blue eye narrowed.
“What’d you just-“
“Well, I’m one of your men now, right Aniki?”
“Since whe-“
“Well, I hopped on one of the rowboats and didn’t-“
“Go home where you can’t keep interruptin’ me,” the captain snarled, “That village needs you to keep ‘em safe! Get off my ship! Swim back if ya hafta, I don’t give a damn!”
Turning his back staunchly, Motochika grit his teeth in anger. Stupid guy-abandoning his village! It’s because Motochika didn’t listen to stupid people that he didn’t budge even as Bekunosuke called to him. His “Aniki, come on” and “Aniki, please” fell on deaf ears until-
“This’ll be the best way to protect my village!”
Hook, line, sinker.
Whipping around angrily, Motochika gripped the older man by the collar and hauled him close.
“You can’t protect them if you’re too fucking far,” he snarled, alight with anger-something akin to knowledge, too. “Didn’t we just liberate your damn island for exactly that reason?!”
“I…” Bekunosuke gulped before he could finally find the words.
“I can’t protect them if I’m too far… but you can,” he laughed sheepishly and perhaps a bit bitterly. He understood now-he was just a single man. And he wanted to protect his village, so, so badly… but it wasn’t him who managed to pull them out of their last issue. It was this man - not a boy, he knew that now - that was holding him by the collar that managed it.
“You can, because you’re… you’re Aniki, so…. I’ll protect my village… by protecting their protector.”
A choked laugh and he had to add, “I’m not doing this just for you… I’m doing this for you… for them.”
It remained in silence for some time, Motochika’s fist still curled around the cloth around Bekunosuke’s neck, his head again angled down towards the ground.
Then he would push this stupid, stupid man away roughly.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets stiffly, he would bark out one more order while still not meeting the eyes of anyone, “Out of my sight, dog. Fix those barrels. We’re settin’ sail.”
Stuttering out an ‘A-Aye, Aniki!’, Bekunosuke ran off with a smile that stretched across his cheeks.
Soon as the words ‘set sail’ were freed into the air, Motochika’s men started rushing off to their respective stations, leaving him at the wheel by himself, back turned to the lot of them.
Raising his head only once everyone had left, he looked back at the island they had “conquered”.
Awww Aniki, you do too take care of us!
Where’s that coming from, Aniki? You always right by us!
But Aniki’s already the best!
Can’t let Aniki down, guys!
I can’t protect them if I’m too far-but you can.
I’m doing it for you… for them.
He swiped the salted trail that sprang from his eye that didn’t even make it to his cheek. Then Motochika, not a boy nor a man nor a demon at that moment, mumbled into the silence.
“Talk about a burden...”
Series: Sengoku BASARA
Characters: Teeniki (Motochika as he is 17 years old), Bekunosuke, and a major cast of supplementary characters.
Summary: This Demon's Island sure was full of conflict.
Notes: There's really, really no way to apologize for this one. Fic had a life of its own, I'm having mixed feelings about how it turned out in the end, aaaand. Yep. Gotta say that this was largely inspired by Pixiv, and refer to this (the bottom half, silly goose) for how I imagined Teeniki to be. Thanks for bearing with me and... ahaha. ♥
---
If Motochika were to be honest with himself, he didn’t rightly know what island he was approaching.
If Motochika were to be honest with his crew, as he so often was, he didn’t rightly care.
Some time ago, he had developed a “sense for the shoreline” if you would. A memory for the landscape, the smell, the wildlife, the flora - he was convinced that the only way for him to be unable to recognize an island was for it to be burned to the ground and flipped over.
That’s likely what made the trip so interesting as they laid anchor and took rowboats out to the island. Multiple exploration teams were sent out, Motochika at the head of the smallest group.
Without a doubt, his crew would be able to take care of themselves and if they ran into trouble? No doubt they’d take it by force-
Hence why, even though they had no real plans of conquest, the island that they found to be inhabited would be taken in a day.
Even then, at the ripe age of 17, people knew better than to get on the bad side of the Demon of the Western Sea.
---
A villager faced a monumental struggle on how to address the person who had recently invaded their island.
Would he answer to ‘Demon of the Western Seas’? Was that perhaps rather harsh? Would he take offense? However nothing else really made much sense. ‘Mister Demon’? ‘Sir Western Seas’? There was a loud guffaw when he inquired to the other pirates if ‘Sir Chōsokabe’ would be acceptable, too.
Pirates were decidedly not a very helpful lot.
“Sir Demon!” he finally called out to the white-haired captain who was inspecting one of the food storehouses.
Without even turning to face him, the ‘Demon’ spoke, “Aniki.”
“… ah?”
Certainly the wretched pirate who was still a boy - hardly even a man despite his accomplishments - was not telling him, Bekunosuke, the head of the village and seasoned farmer and certainly an adult, to refer to him as ‘big brother’?
“Ya heard me,” he said and dismissed the other pirates who were around with a wave of his hand. The brutes lumbered off and for the first time, Bekunosuke got a good look at this youth.
… and honestly, he was not impressed.
Hair gathered up in a ponytail, he still looked every bit like a lad - perhaps even a girlish lad - who was only playing around, right down to his oversized eye patch. Even the way he haughtily carried himself and that damned sneer reeked of confidence that Bekunosuke did not deem necessary.
How did this kid subdue their village in mere hours?
“I don’t think I can call you ‘Aniki’,” he would say stubbornly.
A frown set in and Bekunosuke’s fear spiked up again for just a second until the boy - he would not call him a man - before him sighed, “Fine.” Then a cocky grin replaced the frown as he tilted his chin upwards in a sneer. “I was just lookin’ to lend you a hand, bro. You’re the panicky coot who couldn’t figure out what to call me, right?”
Flushing, Bekunosuke huffed, “If I knew you were the demon, I wouldn’t have been nearly so concerned.”
The emphasis sparked something in the pirate and Motochika held his gaze evenly. His single eye seemed to flash at that, a dangerous glint that made Bekunosuke gulp against his better judgment.
The annoying thing about kids was that they were also more explosive with their emotions.
“Motochika, then,” he turned and his temper seemed to cool in the silence. Turning his back and beginning to exit the storehouse, he asked, “Hell do you want from me, coot?”
Squaring his shoulders, Bekunosuke tried to assert his authority as an elder and said, “I want you to leave the island. You’ve yet to ravage it and for that I am grateful, but we shall not bow our heads to you.”
The sea-faring teen only waved a hand, “Aye. Give us a week.”
“And I won’t take no for an ans-huh?” the villager was stopped in his tracks.
Hand coming up to mess with the tie in his hair, Motochika paused in the middle of the main road that ran through the village. Jutting his chin out to the scene before them - to his men who were laughing and mingling along with the villagers who were becoming accustomed to their presence, “I’ve been workin’ ‘em hard. Between you and me… got us a little lost, actually. Nearly had to dip into emergency rations. Normally we’d be restockin’ and off in three days, but with how much food we’re takin’ from ya, we’ll do a couple extra days of work to make up for it. S’tough on you and ‘m sorry to be puttin’ ya in this bind, but we’ll be back in ah… say a month or somethin’ to repay whatever we can’t in these days.”
Bekunosuke was stunned into silence. This pirate planned on… repaying them?
Taking the silence a bit awkwardly, Motochika raised both hands to tighten the tie holding up his hair and used it as an excuse to avert his gaze at a downward angle, obscuring what Bekunosuke dared to think might have been a smile.
“Nice town here. Nice folks… Dunno which lame-ass leader is in charge of this place, but I kinda wanna claim it for my own… y’know? I think I’d take better care of all of ya…” he admitted a bit sheepishly.
Bekunosuke tensed, though not as defensively as before and thought to address the youth’s sincerity with some answers, “We… are largely left alone by our lord. Our taxes are paid as go-betweens come by regularly, but they remain on the mainland so it is difficult for us to maintain much other contact.”
The pirate turned back to him then, the peace of his expression broken as he snapped back, “Aw like hell! Each village is important, distance be damned! If you’re part of their land, you’re part of what sustains ‘em. Where’s the gratitude?”
Was he being lectured by a pirate about gratitude?
And… again, Bekunosuke couldn’t consider Motochika anything more than a child. Those silly aspirations and then he would get angry when he heard something he didn’t like.
Not sure what he was arguing for anymore, he sneered. “Sure talk a big game, kid. But you ain’t in any position to be talking, are you? You got your crew in a mess and I don’t’ know what kind of gratitude that’s supposed to be. When you can hardly take care of them, don’t start taking off more than you can chew, alright?”
Completely blind to the look of indignation that crossed the Child Demon’s, Bekunosuke scoffed and began to walk off. But one last thing-
“Leave in three days. You’re no good for us, pirate.”
---
The three days that passed were interesting. Bekunosuke wanted to continue his daily schedule as much as possible, but that was hard when the streets were crowded with burly pirates doing work, the houses were crowded with loud pirates mingling with the villagers, and the fields were crowded with buff pirates doing even more work.
Aggravated, he searched for the captain on the third day - there was an issue with the fact that they seemed to have zero intention of going home and it was nearing sunset.
“Hey, it’s Bakanosuke!” the captain chided once he was found at the edge of one of the rice crop fields. Wide as he grinned, the slight signs of fatigue couldn’t be hidden. Shirtless and sweaty, much like the rest of the damn pirates on the lot, he was also downright filthy.
“Bekunosuke,” he clarified before continuing, “I thought I told you to get out of here, Motochika.”
“Aye, you did,” a shrug of lean shoulders, “you had way more important things to say than that, though.”
Irritated, the village head frowned. “Aye?” A bit of bite hid within the mockery of pirate language.
“Aye,” and if Motochika cared, he didn’t show it, “you were right about how I wasn’t takin’ care of these fellas.”
“Awww Aniki, you do too take care of us!”
“Where’s that coming from, Aniki? You always do right by us!”
Encouragement came from the men around him - men that were decidedly older than the teen who was charged with ‘taking care’ of them - and Bekunosuke felt more perplexed than he ever did before.
Was he missing something here?
“Stuff it, curs!” Motochika barked, effectively shutting them up. There was a heavy sigh before he turned back to the topic at hand, “They flap their gums like they know shit, but… heh. The bottom line here is that we’re stayin’ for a might longer.”
Clenching his hands into fists, Bekunosuke watched as his authority continued to be undermined. Gritting his teeth, he seethed quietly, “Fine. Have your week. That’s only four days left anyway.”
A laugh erupted from Motochika and it resounded through the air.
“Week? Aye. If your daimyo’s ships get here that fast, we’ll wipe ‘em out in an hour and be outta yer hair for a while,” he smirked.
A cold feeling ran through Bekunosuke. “What did you say?”
“Let me put it in that fancy talk you like so much,” he cleared his throat, maybe a bit mockingly, “I need to repay you guys before I leave. I need to take care of my crew. Your people need more food - seriously man, why didn’t you mention the shortage earlier? Thought that storehouse looked a little empty - and my men need a break from being on the ocean.
“I want this island but your daimyo stands in my way. So ‘m gonna cut off you paying your taxes so you have a little more spendin’ money too, they’ll get mad and come here to see what’s up, then me and my crew will beat their asses, claim this land, and ain’t no one gonna touch it no more. Get me?”
His eye glinted with confidence and his crew members around him grinned and nodded, too. Seems like they were on board with this crazy, stupid, and reckless plan.
“Who’re you to decide we stop paying our taxes? Or that we wanna be claimed by you?” Bekunosuke spit out without even thinking.
It was when Motochika stepped closer - this boy who matched the height of a man, matched the strength of a man, and matched the arrogance of a man - that Bekunosuke realized exactly what he had asked.
He had asked a pirate why he sought to take things he wanted.
He had asked the Chōsokabe heir - who was known for his dream of conquering Shikoku and more - why he sought to conquer land.
He had asked a demon why he sought to cause chaos.
“Because, old coot,” Motochika dangerously flashed his teeth in a grin, “you fuckin’ dared me.”
A terrible, mocking laugh found its way out of his throat and filled the air.
“Preachin’ and lecturin’ ‘bout gratitude when you were gonna let a bunch of pirates walk away with your food supply! You weren’t the one makin’ the food - your people were! You ain’t the one makin’ the food now either - we are!”
The chorus of yells from the pirates around the area, who began to listen in when their Aniki raised his voice, accentuated his point.
“So don’t fuckin’ talk about any of that shit, geezer. My men and I are runnin’ this town to help you get back what you’ve lost. Take it and swallow your damn pride - I’ll help ya and trample it so it’s easier for you to digest - ‘cause you know something? I ain’t fixing’ this place up for you-“
He stepped closer and glowered fiercely as he smirked in a wicked, cruel sort of amusement. It was a smile of a monster that could tear him apart at any second if he didn’t listen and listen carefully-
“I’m doing it for the folks who’re doin’ the work to keep my men fed. Got it?”
What he said began to sink in.
No matter how admirable, impressive, and frighteningly honest that spiel was-
Bekunosuke was terrified up until the moment that Motochika stepped away, threw his head back, and howled with laughter that was both scathing and cold all at once.
---
It would take hours to inform everyone in the village of the plan.
It would take only a little knowledge of the Demon of the Western Seas (or alternatively, Aniki) for everyone to give in to his demands-though some of them did prefer to call it a ‘request’ if they knew Motochika well enough.
It would take a month for an angry daimyo to send a force out to the village who refused to give up their dues.
It would take two days for the Demon of the Western Seas to obliterate them and issue the proclamation of “This island is mine now!”
It would take a terrifying lecture, a month, two days, and a thorough defense of the village that left no villager untaken care of, for Bekunosuke to realize that perhaps Chōsokabe Motochika… might not be a child after all.
An unruly teen, yes. A frightening demon, yes. A young man struggling to find an appropriate identity, yes.
A child?
Not quite.
(Not to mention it would take a month and a week for Motochika’s father to finally receive word of where his son had been. Admittedly he would have been more pleased to receive the news if it was not in the form of a rather passive-aggressive letter from the mainland, written by an angry daimyo who detailed how he did indeed relinquish territory to the Chōsokabe Clan.)
---
“Hey, hey! Come back here-I need that!”
“Aniki, it makes for a much better bracelet!”
“No, a jump rope!”
“A trap, a trap!”
“Fishing line!”
“Give me back my twine, brats!”
It was lively on the shore that day with children and elderly, men and women, pirates and villagers alike all sending things to the main ship a bit at a time via rowboat.
Their stay, which had ended up lasting five times longer than they had intended, was finally coming to an end.
Somewhere in the middle of all the packing and shipping, a group of children would tackle the demonic pirate captain to the ground.
“Fine! Take your twine, Aniki! It’s no good for a jump rope anyway!” a young boy climbed up onto the pirate’s chest and threw it down at him with a huff.
“What are you doing, Take?!” whined another girl as she stubbornly clung to Motochika’s arm, “If you give back what Aniki needs, he’ll leave us for sure!”
The topic of their conversation gruffly mumbled from beneath them, “Nah. I’d leave you brats anyway.”
A chorus of gasps was only a prelude to the sudden burst of angry yelling that crying that threatened to shatter his ear drums. Some of the parents and pirates looked over, saw the scene, and only laughed before returning to their work.
Aniki could handle it.
“Shut yer traps!” he yelled and sat up, causing both Take and the twine to come tumbling off his chest with the sudden movement. At least he managed to swing his free arm around and catch Take, settling the kid in his lap.
“But Aniki-“ Mayu would start before he turned and gave her a look. She was quiet, but it was beyond difficult to ignore the tears in her eyes.
“Listen up! All of ya,” he squirmed his arm free from Kiri and used it to lean back and steady his weight as his other arm made a sweeping gesture to pull all the children close, perhaps not so accidentally squishing Take in the process - it was justified in his opinion, since the kid made a comment about his hair a while back - and this caused a bit of squirming amidst all of them. “Quit that!”
When they did, he sighed and stared at them, all piled up in his lap as they looked up at him. Bunch of wide eyes just looking for an answer.
“Aniki’s gotta leave for a while, got it? I’m an heir and all, y’know! Your Aniki’s a big shot!” he attempted.
“More like Big Snot,” another boy named Takuya would laugh, causing the others to giggle too.
“Where’d you become so mouthy, Little Takutaku?” Motochika laughed along with them for a while before smirking, “How ‘bout this then? Think ya can do any better, squirt? I say by the time that I get back, you all better be even greater than your Aniki! It’ll give ya something to do while I’m gone.”
“But Aniki’s already the best!” Kiri complained and at that, Motochika reached around and tugged on one of her pigtails.
“No way! You’re only at your best if you ain’t gonna get any better. I’ve got a long life ahead of me, you mangy lot! You all do, too! So don’t be puttin’ any cap on my potential like that!” he sneered.
“So to be the best or better… Aniki has to go away?”
“Yep,” he nodded without remorse.
“But why can’t you be better here?”
… and they still didn’t get it.
A sigh and he suddenly stood up, caring not for the tumbling children that fell off his lap. It looked like they were running out of things to pack up…
“Because I’m bored of yer rinky-dink island!” he goaded them on, “I wanna go and find me a new one!” Then he made a mock thoughtful gesture and paused before continuing contemplatively, as if testing out the words on his tongue, “But… I do own this place now… So I gotta come back…”
The children looked up at him expectantly, snapping to attention as soon as the words ‘come back’ left his lips.
“So,” he nodded as he seemed to come to a decision, “it’s up to you little tykes to make it worth my while when I do get back here, alright?!” he laughed and placed his hands on his hips triumphantly-
Man, he really hoped this worked.
A unanimous cheer rang through the children and discussion was fired off. A positive sign? Definitely.
“Next time Aniki comes by, I’m gonna-“
“When he lands on shore, there’ll be-“
“Can’t let Aniki down, guys!”
They ran off that way, only when they got to the edge of the sand did they turn back and wave, one loud call in unison of “Bye Aniki! Thaaaaank you!”
Crossing his arms and only giving them a grin in return, Motochika couldn’t help but think…
This had to be his favorite island yet.
---
The sweet feel of the wood against his feet was something that was sorely missed.
“Alright you sons of bitches, we ready to set off?” he called out as he approached the wheel, toothy grin flashing as he oversaw all the hustle and bustle on board.
A hearty yell burst out from the masts, decks, and even the crow’s nest. There was a rumble under his feet from the cargo hold, too. Hah. Just as lively as ever.
He was making some rounds when a “Whooooaaaaa!” echoed from somewhere on the ship, followed by what sounded like multiple nasty tumbles in succession.
“Awww, what now, you salty curs?!” he called out, a little miffed that they were already having issues without even having set sail.
A steady beat of thumps against wood announced the messenger’s arrival as he assured that it “was just a tumble, Aniki! Twine slipped but they’re alright! Barrels are being stacked again but… s’alright!”
“Ahh, that’s good,” Motochika sighed under his breath before turning, “Well what’re you standin’ here blabbering at me for-“
He faltered and wasn’t quite sure what this meant.
“Bekunosuke?”
“Aye, Aniki?” the man grinned in response. Stripped of his village clothes, he was now wearin’ the Chōsokabe colors.
A single blue eye narrowed.
“What’d you just-“
“Well, I’m one of your men now, right Aniki?”
“Since whe-“
“Well, I hopped on one of the rowboats and didn’t-“
“Go home where you can’t keep interruptin’ me,” the captain snarled, “That village needs you to keep ‘em safe! Get off my ship! Swim back if ya hafta, I don’t give a damn!”
Turning his back staunchly, Motochika grit his teeth in anger. Stupid guy-abandoning his village! It’s because Motochika didn’t listen to stupid people that he didn’t budge even as Bekunosuke called to him. His “Aniki, come on” and “Aniki, please” fell on deaf ears until-
“This’ll be the best way to protect my village!”
Hook, line, sinker.
Whipping around angrily, Motochika gripped the older man by the collar and hauled him close.
“You can’t protect them if you’re too fucking far,” he snarled, alight with anger-something akin to knowledge, too. “Didn’t we just liberate your damn island for exactly that reason?!”
“I…” Bekunosuke gulped before he could finally find the words.
“I can’t protect them if I’m too far… but you can,” he laughed sheepishly and perhaps a bit bitterly. He understood now-he was just a single man. And he wanted to protect his village, so, so badly… but it wasn’t him who managed to pull them out of their last issue. It was this man - not a boy, he knew that now - that was holding him by the collar that managed it.
“You can, because you’re… you’re Aniki, so…. I’ll protect my village… by protecting their protector.”
A choked laugh and he had to add, “I’m not doing this just for you… I’m doing this for you… for them.”
It remained in silence for some time, Motochika’s fist still curled around the cloth around Bekunosuke’s neck, his head again angled down towards the ground.
Then he would push this stupid, stupid man away roughly.
Stuffing his hands in his pockets stiffly, he would bark out one more order while still not meeting the eyes of anyone, “Out of my sight, dog. Fix those barrels. We’re settin’ sail.”
Stuttering out an ‘A-Aye, Aniki!’, Bekunosuke ran off with a smile that stretched across his cheeks.
Soon as the words ‘set sail’ were freed into the air, Motochika’s men started rushing off to their respective stations, leaving him at the wheel by himself, back turned to the lot of them.
Raising his head only once everyone had left, he looked back at the island they had “conquered”.
Awww Aniki, you do too take care of us!
Where’s that coming from, Aniki? You always right by us!
But Aniki’s already the best!
Can’t let Aniki down, guys!
I can’t protect them if I’m too far-but you can.
I’m doing it for you… for them.
He swiped the salted trail that sprang from his eye that didn’t even make it to his cheek. Then Motochika, not a boy nor a man nor a demon at that moment, mumbled into the silence.
“Talk about a burden...”