They had barely reached the edge of the town when Naru was hit with a sudden thought. "Oh yeah," she said and stopped dead in her tracks, so abruptly Kurama almost walked right into her back. "Could you not call me sweetheart while we're here? Like I said earlier, I don't want people finding out I'm a girl, and that nickname is kinda obvious."
Kurama's smile widened to dangerous proportions, but his only response was to arch and eyebrow in expectation, the silent yet obvious demand making Naru heave a deep sigh. "I'll buy you your damn katana," she huffed, rolling her eyes when the swordsman emitted a cackling chuckle.
"Ya got yerself a deal, cap'n," he crooned and strolled past her, looking way too smug.
"Idiot." Naru pressed her lips together in irritation and shook her head as she picked up her speed again to walk next to Kurama. "Now would be a good time to erase that nickname altogether, don't you think?" she deadpanned, knowing very well what the answer would be. "After we get out of this place, just keep calling me captain."
"'T would take a helluva lot 'a swords ta get me ta agree ta that," Kurama snickered and waved a hand as if to swat away her suggestion. "I don't think ya would be able ta afford it, sweetheart."
Naru silenced his spiteful chortling with a none too gentle punch to the shoulder, and she clicked her tongue in irritation as she glared at the swordsman from the corner of her eyes. "Alright, fine," she snapped. "But whenever we're in public, don't call me that. If you do, I'll confiscate your katana."
"First ya gotta get me a katana."
"I know!" Naru barked, her patience running dangerously low. "Look, while we're on the ship, you can call me whatever you want, as long as—gah!" She'd been so busy glaring daggers at Kurama, she didn't notice she was walking directly at someone before she collided with him, hard enough to knock her off her feet. She landed painfully on her butt, gritting her teeth in frustration when she heard Kurama cackling like a hyena next to her. "Thanks for the warning, ass," she grouched and turned her head to look at who she'd walked into.
The man was sitting on the ground in front of her, cursing under his breath as he rubbed his quickly reddening chin. He couldn't have been much older than Naru, with long, raven hair and piercing black eyes. He was solidly built, with muscular arms and a broad chest, but still rather slender in spite of his physique.
"Sorry about that," Naru huffed and quickly rose to her feet so she could offer the man her hand to help him stand up. "I wasn't paying attention."
The man's brows furrowed into a deep scowl, and he clicked his tongue in clear irritation before swatting Naru's hand away. "Damn right you weren't," he growled and stood up, straightening his back as if to appear more intimidating. He was taller than Naru by several centimeters, and disdain swam in his eyes as he looked down at her. "The hell, can't you even keep your damn eyes on the road?"
Naru raised her brows in surprise at the man's fierce tone, and she slowly scanned over his body to determine how much of a fight he would be if the conversation turned sour. The man was dressed in a sleeveless jacket with a high collar, thick cargo pants with a dark camouflage pattern, and heavy combat boots,
"It was an accident," she said and frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I apologized. No need to get so worked up over it."
"I don't need you to tell me what to—"
"Sasuke!"
The man flinched as if he'd been electrified and spun around on the heel to direct his glare at the source of the voice instead. The door to a house halfway down the street had been thrown open, revealing an old lady with a very aggravated expression. "Get back in this house right now!" she shouted, her wrinkled face pulled into a sneer. "We're not done talking!"
"Screw that, old lady!" the man snapped back, suddenly completely oblivious to Naru, who was following the scene with rising dismay at his rude behavior. "I don't give a shit what you think, I'm gonna get it done, since no one else in this damn village can! So you just get back to your knittings and—"
"Oi." Naru had finally had enough, so she took a step forward and locked her fingers around the man's arm to pull his attention to her instead. "You shouldn't talk to an elder like that," she said sternly. "Matter of fact, you shouldn't talk to anyone like that."
The man stared at her like he'd never seen a human being before, his eyes wide in surprise. The shock lasted only a moment before his scowl returned, and he was quick to detach himself from Naru's grip. "Don't meddle in things you know nothing about, bastard," he hissed before roughly shoving past her and storming away towards the village's edge, leaving both Naru and Kurama to stare after him.
"Goodness me, what a handful that boy is!" The old lady had walked up next to them and glared after the man with an equally deep scowl he'd shown. "I apologize for my grandson's behavior," she said and turned to offer Naru a curt bow. "He meant no harm."
"That ain't really what it sounded like," Kurama remarked, chortling when Naru elbowed him in the side.
"No need to apologize," she said and smiled down at the old woman. "I was just surprised. And he was right, too, it wasn't any of my business."
"Even so," the lady scoffed and threw an irked glance in the direction the man had gone before shaking her head. "May I ask who you are?"
"That's Kurama," Naru said and gestured towards the swordsman. "And I'm Naru. We're pirates."
The old woman quirked a skeptical eyebrow. "Pirates, you say?" She scanned both of them from head to toe, and Naru squirmed uncomfortably as she felt like the lady was staring right into her soul. When the woman's eyes turned to Kurama, her gaze lingered at his bloodied clothes for half a second longer, and much to Naru's surprise, she smiled almost slyly. "Would you care to join me for a cup of tea?" she asked. "As a proper apology for what happened."
Although surprised by the offer, Naru nodded. "Sure, why not," she said and exchanged a quick glance with Kurama before following after the old lady to her house.
She led them through the hall and into the living room, where she ushered them to the small coffee table. "Please take a seat," she said before stalking off to what must've been the kitchen.
"This ain't really how I expected people ta treat pirates," Kurama commented and looked around in the petite room, his smile widening slightly as he spotted an old samurai-like outfit hung in the corner of the room. "Ya think she wants somethin' from us?"
"Most likely," Naru said, her eyes focused on the kitchen doorway. "No one in their right mind would invite someone dressed in bloody clothes in for a cup of tea."
"'S a mean thing ta say, cap'n."
"Well, it's true!"
"Aye, but still..."
Before Naru could do more than roll her eyes at the swordsman's whiny tone, the old lady returned to the room, carrying a tray with three steaming cups and a bowl of crackers. "There we go," she said and set the tray down on the table, giggling when she noticed Naru's suspicious expression. "No need to look like that, it's just tea."
"It's not really the tea I'm thinking about," Naru said, her lips curling up into a grin when the woman emitted an amused snort.
"Alright, alright," she said and sighed dramatically, raising her hands as if in surrender. "My name's Kiryuin Satsuki, and that foolish boy back there was my grandchild, Kiryuin Sasuke." She flashed a smile when Naru quirked an eyebrow in expectation. "Please don't think too badly of him," she said. "He inherited his father's temper, and he's come to take it out on everybody around him."
"And?" Naru was just about to reach for her tea when Kurama suddenly decided to raise his voice, his tone all too demanding for her tastes. "Why did ya invite us here?" the swordsman asked, and Naru would've scolded him for his tone if she hadn't been so curious to hear the answer herself. "It ain't normal ta ask pirates in fer tea, is it?"
Satsuki peered at him for several seconds before chuckling. "Aren't you impatient," she mused and straightened her back. "But yes, you are correct, it's not that normal." She looked from Kurama to Naru, her smile widening as she said, "I want you to help my grandson."
While Kurama emitted a snort clearly meant to say "I told you so", Naru narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Requesting help from pirates was one thing, but Satsuki even looked highly confident that her request would be granted. "You're asking pirates for a favor," Naru stated slowly. "What makes you think we'd want to help."
The old lady giggled and slid down from her chair. "I have something you might have use for," she crooned and walked over to a short dresser that stood next to the samurai outfit in the corner of the room. She carefully pulled a drawer open and withdrew something long and sleek, and Naru's eyes widened when Satsuki turned back to show a rather beautiful sheath of a katana.
She pressed her lips together to not grin at Kurama's expression. It hadn't changed much, but the lines of his face had become much more well-defined, his smile running from ear to ear and emitting a rather hungry feel. "You need this, don't you?" Satsuki snickered and set the katana down on the table in front of the swordsman. "I can tell from the way you move, not to mention the pattern of the bloodstains on your clothes. You're a swordsman."
Slowly, Kurama reached out to run his fingers over the katana's sheath. It was deep red with golden patterns, and circling all the way from the blunt end to the grip was an emerald snake. The hilt was made grip itself consisted of snakes as well, with ten serpents curling out to form a durable circle and sturdy grip. "'S one of the O Wazamono," Kurama said, and if possible, his smirk grew even wider, to inhumane proportions. "Kusanagi no Tsurugi."