How Fortunate

Ming Yue + Yuii:

The gentle rocking of the boat made staying awake difficult for Ming Yue. She blinked her green sea eyes, crusted over form extended sleep and tensed her face muscles to get blood flowing again. Her head span and her mouth tasted like mint as it had the first time she had awaken in the gloomy cabin. She stretched her fingers and toes then slowly, carefully, moved her legs. There was pain; so much pain in places that she did not want to think about but it helped her to stay aware.

The captain was gone, sometime while she slept and slept again he had ventured away. She hoped that he was taking some rest for himself, she remembered swimming to the surface of consciousness to find him in silent vigil by her bed more than once. He was always ready with a cup of water that Ming was starting to guess was not just water. The feel and taste in her mouth tasted like precisely the antidote she would have needed for the paralysis poison as well as a gritty powder that would be needed to put her to sleep. There was no mix of that in her bag, the bag that had most likely been burned in the tent fire, so that meant the captain knew how to mix his herbs… or someone else on the ship did.

Cautiously Ming sat up and while it hurt there was also a happiness that came with managing even that. Happiness and frustration; she shouldn’t even have been in this mess to begin with. There was a certain level of fault that was her own and yet even now there was the wrenching pain of knowing that when in danger; there was no one that would come for her. No one would care, even now, about what had happened. If she kept silent about but then the entire matter would not even exist. Better she didn’t tell someone like Renzo, he wouldn’t care anyways and they would just hurt more.

Her door opened suddenly and Yuii burst in with the captain on her heels. The little brunette took one look at her and practically flew into Ming’s lap. Yuii’s little arms encircled her neck and her rounded cheek pressed against her neck which left Ming to cling to her little sister. In all those brief moments of wakefulness Yuii had not once been there and the lack of her had nagged at Ming’s mind. To hold her now and breath in her earthy, child’s scent made her maternal instincts relax at last.

Nii-chan, Nii-chan I’ve been learning to sail while you sleep! You sleeped a very long time! We are going to Water country!”

Ming smiled and nodded , her hands moving automatically to tighten a lopsided pigtail. The hear Yuii babble like nothing had happened, it made her feel so much better. Perhaps, if the world was kind in some small way, Yuii would not remember the past week, “I slept a very long time, yes. I’m sorry if you were worried. Are you excited to arrive soon?”

“Hmmhmm. Captain told me there is treasure! Can we go looking for treasure Nii-chan? I saw -dolpins- too, they were so pretty! The would jump out of the water like ‘whoosh’ and they talk!” Yuii sat back and waved her arms in the air in grand gestures to prove how exciting the encounter had been. Ming had grown around dolphins, it was funny to see how excited Yuii got over them/

“-Dolphins-, yes they’re very cute aren’t they? They must have been making sure the boat travelled safely,” she answer gently. Shifting slightly so that she could gesture the captain to sit. He needed no second invitation and settled in the chair he had so often occupied, “Have you enjoyed yourself?”

“Yess Nii-chan! Oh, I have a surprise!” The bundle of energy bounced off the bed and practically flew out the door. Moments later she returned dragging the most familiar of items.

“My bag…” Ming’s mouth went dry as she tried to wrap her mind around the idea that it was there. That bag represented the only constant in her world, the idea of losing it had begun to tear a whole in her heart and yet here it was. Ming sighed with such relieve that she had never matched in her life. Yuii dragged it across the floor to her and up onto the bed.

On the top was Renren, who Ming had assumed had been dropped in the forest and oddly enough Renzo’s music box. Further search brought to light that everything was there; right down to the last coin and tea leaf… excluding the paralysis drug and a bit of it’s antidote. It was so odd, like an extra miracle on top of the amazing situation of their escape.

“He found it all, he said it would be good for you to have it.” very good, the antidote would have hurried only what might have been a month of recovery. Such was the way of that drug; it was meant to hold long term captives after all.

“Who, Yuii?”

“That man, the one that carried Nii-chan to the boat. He didn’t like to talk but he seemed very mad about the bad men. They were very very bad men weren’t they Nii-chan?”

“Yes…. Yes very bad men” Yuii’s relief made her wonder over the fate of those men but after all that they and their cruel leader had done all that came to them must have been karma.

“Beg your pardon but we’ll be in port by evenin’ and if you’re wanting to leave right away I’d be best if ye dressed and ate somethin.” We thought you might be wanting something different to wear so some of the men pooled together and we found ye somethin’.” The captain pulled turned to one of the latched drawers and pulled a pile of clothing from inside. It looked like linen and leather and was nothing like the dresses Ming normally wore. She wondered if, perhaps, this wasn’t the crews first time dealing with a woman of her sort. Now that she saw those clothes she realized how unappealing it would be to wear the usual.

“Thank-you.. So much… I wouldn’t know how to repay you,” she answered in a soft voice. For a moment it seemed the older, rough man might say something but he settled for a pat to her head that set Ming’s stomach churning but she managed to endure.

“Just come up and eat,” he said, pushing himself to stand and leave abruptly.

--

With some struggle and no lack of hurting, Ming was able to wiggle her way into the soft leaver pants, white linen shirt and a good pair of boots that she assumed were water proof. She combed her hair and braided it then combed Yuii’s and fixed her tails. She finished by pulling an old jacket on, one of her own, more colourful ones, then set up to the deck.

Men she had grown fond of on her previous trip now eyes her like a fragile bauble but she understood why. Even without knowing the nature of her hurting, it would be an easy guess and so they had decided to give her space. It was exactly what she needed.

Water country loomed on the port side as the captain had said and Ming stopped to stare at the great island. These were familiar waters now, and soon they would pass by the strands. She was enrapt by it, the idea that she would be home soon, and so ignoring Yuii’s tugging towards a hot meal, Ming set to lean on a railing and watch as they neared. She didn’t notice Yuii leave or come back but some time later the captain himself cap on board with a bad and  two helpings of breaded fish wrapped in cloth.

“The lil’ one said ye were up here. Id say, at a guess, ye be excited to be getting there?” he handed off the fish and bag, it was heavy, the gestured towards water’s growing shore line.

Ming had the good grace to look embarrassed and she nodded. Despite the contempt Renzo might feel for her, Ming was fully prepared to fling herself fully into returning to water country. Her old life was gone but she would forge a new one for them,,, and hopefully that would include the Mizukage. She nibbled on her fish thoughtfully.

And so they landed on the island of water country and Ming and Yuii disembarked into port Iwashiro. There were fond goodbyes, as much as Ming could stand, and soon the pair set off towards the hidden village of Mist. It was a familiar path, one taken along the beach to avoid the forest and with so much sand they could not help but stop to search for treasure at night.