Chapter Text
Chapter 23 | A Poetic Voyage
BEIDOU
“Kazuha?” Beidou’s loud voice boomed across the ship, immediately alerting the young white-haired boy who sat hunched over a notebook. Although Beidou’s call had certainly alerted him, he seemed determined to remain focussed. Kaedehara Kazuha was certainly an interesting case. Even with a crew full of misfits, Beidou hadn’t previously found herself in the position of hiring a minor. This one, however, had left her no choice. He was by no means an ideal asset to the crew; he was polite, awkwardly skinny and not the most sociable, despite still being well-spoken. In any other situation, he’d have no place on a pirate’s ship.
“One second,” he eventually responded as Beidou drew closer. She already knew what he was doing… writing poetry. He carried a unique mindset and creativity and poetry seemed to have been the most suitable form of self-expression for the boy. As long as he fulfilled his duties (which were awfully lenient, and mostly consisted of tasks such as cleaning), he was allowed to spend his free time however he pleased.
Beidou pulled a chair towards her, sitting down as she put her elbows down onto the table, causing the table to shift under her weight. Kazuha’s pen dragged along the paper, leaving a line across the page. He sighed.
“Sorry there! Didn’t mean to,’’ Beidou said, scooting her chair closer to Kazuha’s in order to get a better look at what he was writing. “Hey! That kinda looks like a wave… maybe you could use that as inspiration!’’ She winked and even her charismatic nature couldn’t save her from the awkward smile that crept onto her face.
“I suppose that could work, but it’s not an entirely conventional location… halfway through the stanza. And my rhyme scheme-’’ He put the pen down, gently.
“I’m sure ya can make it work! You’re called the master of words for a reason!’’
“No one calls me the master of words.’’
“I just did!’’
Beidou’s eyes shot towards the piece of paper.
Once, you carried it as glory
Until it concluded your story
Even at the loss of its ignite
It remains burning with fight
Traverse the seas towards everlast
The waves, carrying images of the past
Blade sheathed, life shed
Turning all the rivers red
A cruel fate of the divine
Torn from being mine
Adorn————
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“Wow… that’s…. um….” Beidou immediately stopped looking at the poem, as though removing her eyes from it would remove the poem from her memory altogether. It’s not as though she didn’t appreciate his talent – it just felt like an invasion of his privacy. At first, Beidou had never inquired much about Kazuha’s past, or even why exactly he came to Beidou one day, begging to live and work on her ship. But it didn’t take an expert to recognise that Kazuha had been struck with grief. She came to realise that he wasn’t running from a someone , he was running from a memory.
“I suppose I could just copy this down onto a new sheet of paper,” Kazuha said calmly, reaching into his satchel to tear another piece of paper out of his notebook. He began to diligently transfer the poem onto the new paper. The way his brush flowed across the paper was an art form in its own right, the cursive letters slowly weaving into words. Beidou could never replicate such delicate writing. Her own handwriting was… special. In other words, it could often only be deciphered by herself.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a surprise to see that she still had signal here, given that they’d already been at sea for several hours, the shores no longer visible on the horizon. Beidou reached out, and as soon as her screen lit up, she saw that it was a text from Ningguang. In the corner of her eye, she noticed that Kazuha’s eyes had shifted towards her phone as well.
“Have you got a new business partner? Or perhaps a friend?’’ Kazuha inquired. “I’ve noticed that you’ve been texting a lot more than usual as of lately.” That was a clever observation, by all means. But neither business partner nor friend could accurately describe the relationship between them.
“Nah, it’s more romantic than that,” Beidou admitted. “I know what you’re gonna say! Couple of weeks out at land and she’s already got it going again. But I promise, it’s different. She’s different.” Kazuha had seen a handful of potential romantic partners for Beidou, but none of them had lasted more than a few months at most. With her intense personality and unique occupation, she wasn’t the ideal fit for many women. Ningguang, however, despite their many differences, seemed like she could handle Beidou – even if it gave the poor woman a headache at times. Both of them were assertive and confident in their own right, qualities that could easily clash. Between them, however, there was mostly banter , no serious clashing.
“I’ve noticed, actually. I haven’t met her yet but you seem… happy when you’re texting with her. Genuinely happy. You should bring her out to the ship sometime.”
“Bring her out to the ship?’’ Beidou said with a chuckle. “Not sure if that would live up to her standards, ya see. She’s… boujee.” And not just a little bit.
“Boujee?”
“She's filthy rich, Kaz. I’m talking about gold decorations in her mansion and everything. Don’t even ask me how I got such a good catch. But trust, she’s not one of those selfish rich people.” Although she carried herself with the confidence of a rich person and she undoubtedly wasn’t ashamed to express her wealth through her materialistic possessions and appearance, she had never once given the impression that she viewed other people as though they were below her. From the very first time they met, Ningguang had known what kind of field Beidou was in. Yet it seemingly hadn’t influenced her opinion at all. There was so much more to discover behind those riches.
“You’ve always been quite adept at finding treasure.”
“Oh trust me. I don’t go for any less than gold.”
LATER THAT NIGHT
When a guttural scream pierced her ears, Beidou shot up, immediately sitting upright. She reached for the sword beneath her bed and dashed towards the source of the noise. Hearing some mysterious noises wasn’t wholly unusual at sea, but this couldn’t be mistaken for anything other than a human scream, a product of sheer terror. With a firm grip on the hilt of her sword, she snuck out of her room, carefully listening for any clues as to who screamed.
Then, at the very end of the small hallway, she heard the sound of quickened breathing. Perhaps it was even hyperventilation. Beidou put her ear against the door. The sound undoubtedly came from Kazuha’s room. It must have been yet another nightmare.
Beidou slowly opened the door, entering the room. Although she would’ve knocked beforehand with any other crewmate, it wasn’t the first time that she had come to comfort him at night.
“Kaz? Are you okay?’’ Beidou put the sword down onto the floor and rushed towards his bedside. “Try to take some deep breaths. Inhale, exhale. Try to slow down if you can.”
Kazuha’s panicked breathing slowly began to revert to normal as he took several deep, shaky breaths. It wasn’t the first time Beidou had instructed him to do so, but just her presence seemed to have calmed him.
“It’ll be okay. You’re safe here. No one is going to hurt you.”
“I saw him. I saw everything,” he muttered shakily, choking on his tears.