Great Lakes and Expectations Chapter 6

Osafune came into the room at a high clip, openly stressed.  

Regina lowered her pen from her notes and eyed him cautiously. This was new, and she did not like it.

He gestured for her to get up and follow him, not even bothering to speak. He went back the way that he had come.

It seemed important, so she moved quickly to follow him into the receiving room. Two women were waiting there. One looked absolutely pleasant and demure, in a dark yukata. 

She had a sweet face and unassuming posture. In other words, she was not the one who had Samurai Dad shook. So Regina turned her attention to the person on the other cushion, behind the tiny brunette.

Regina's heart missed a beat. The other woman had apparently bleached her hair blonde and gotten the best push-up bra the world had yet known. She was sprawled back indolently, but the stare she leveled on Osafune was seriously intense.  

'Oh, my god. Oh. God.'

It was 100% clear that this was the person who had ruffled the unruffleable Osafune. And no wonder. She looked like she had just gotten off her personal plane from a working business trip to someplace with a beach and was annoyed that she had to come here personally to fire them all. And Regina would be totally fine with that, she was honestly just flattered that this woman was looking at her.

“Oh no,” Regina said. “I'm really gay.”

Everyone turned to look at her. She froze. And then took a moment to be very, very grateful that no one here spoke any English.  

'Please god, don't let either of them know any English.'  

「こちらですか？」 The blonde woman fixed her stare on Regina.「自来也の娘？本当だ？」

Oh, god. She did not want to lie to anyone that intimidating. But she also really did not want to get kicked out of Osafune's house. So she nodded. 「はい。」 Her voice came out very small.

「恥ずかしい子供、ですね。何考えますか？ the woman drawled.

「きれい。」 Regina answered honestly. Then she corrected- 「かわいい。本当にかわいい。」

The dark-haired woman choked. The blonde's face went flat. Osafune looked relieved.

...It was not usually that inflammatory to tell a Japanese woman that she was pretty. Something else was going on.

She did not know what she had missed, but apparently that had not been the right thing to say. Regina felt her face turn red.

「自来也バカの娘です、」 the blonde woman snarled. She nearly put a fist to the floor, but stopped right before impact. 「クソ。あのバカがみったら、殺します。」

...Regina tried to be really, really still, because maybe that would make her invisible. She was 90% certain that the pretty woman had just said that she would kill Jiraiya if she found him. Jiraiya would take one look at her and allow it. He might even thank her. Or maybe Regina was projecting a little bit.

“Kiite,” the woman barked. She was already standing up. She fired something off to Samurai Dad that Regina could not parse. Regina was still trying to decide if she should obey the woman or go hide.  

Osafune stepped forward and obviously disagreed, saying something fast and conciliatory. Regina caught words, but most of them were fractured bits of grammar that didn't tell her much of anything -however, and so, many people, Jiraiya- the woman snarled- and… Regina blinked. Movie? Had he been talking about a movie?

The blonde woman clearly caught something that sparked interested. She repeated it back, low and… rather sexily evil, Regina thought. It reminded her of her childhood crush on Shego. And then that made her think of the green and black catsuit, and then she was thinking about this amazingly terrifying woman in a green and black-

Osafune agreed, but added a conditional that really sounded a lot like “only if (something something) movie.”

The dark-haired woman spoke up for the first time. 「つなでさま、」 she begged. 「。。。行きます。自来也差に連絡します。」

Regina mentally logged the name. Tsunade. Got it. It was Tsunade who she wanted to follow around and worship. She was bad at names but this one mattered.

「いいえ、しずね。」Tsunade cracked her hands. Impossibly, it seemed that a dark cloud was forming around her eyes.　「他草自来也バカのお金は私を待っています。」 

...Jiraiya knew this woman, and going to give her a lot of money, Regina guessed. Or else she was going to take it. And that was why she would stay?

She felt better about her crush. Murder-Punch-Dad had obviously planned for her to meet Tsunade. So he approved of her. That boded well, based off of how reasonable Samurai Dad had turned out to be. She was tentatively leaning towards deciding that Jiraiya was a better option than the man who had attacked her in the bathroom.

Tsunade and Shizune disappeared not long after, and Tsunade deigned to let Regina stay with a protectively hovering Osafune. 

Which was probably for the best, because she had three more interviews the next day. 

The problem, or not so much a problem as it was the most awkward thing that had ever happened in Regina’s life, was that she now had to travel most places with at least Shizune on top of her samurai escort. 

Where Tsunade went was everybody’s guess but hers- she hadn’t found anything more interesting than a traditional sweets shop on her monitored forays into the city.

The trip to the cells where the sailors were held went much the same, but now she had multiple shadows past the training grounds and offices. 

With Shizune calmly standing two feet behind Regina’s left shoulder as well as the samurai policeman by the door, she felt actually vaguely important. Was this what having an entourage was like? And would they consent to coordinated accessories?

A quick glance at the samurai’s purposefully blank expression and the accompanying outfit told her no. But Shizune, maybe. She seemed nice.

The grinding sound of metal on metal made her aware that the next sailor was being brought to the interrogation room, so she opened her notebook to a fresh page and prepared her pen. 

She was going to solve this puzzle, today. 

The next man was freckled with fiery red hair, thinning from stress or age. Maybe both. His shoulders were well-set, but somewhat stooped. 

He also wasn’t looking up at her at all. 

“Good morning.” Regina offered, and gestured to the seat across the table. “Please, be seated.” She was feeling fancy today. 

He went quickly to attention, and took his seat. Only then did he dare to look up. His eyes were sallow. He was obviously suffering from something more than grief, but it was likely malnutrition. 

“Good morning, ma’am” he said carefully. 

Regina smiled, willing it to reach her eyes. She needed to be read as authentically friendly if she wanted to get the answers she needed. 

“Could I please have your name and occupation?”

“William Smythe, ma’am, I am an Able Seaman.” His knee jiggled under the table. 

Regina couldn’t tell whether he was suspicious, traumatized, or just naturally anxious. Traumatized was a good bet, the first mate was the only one who hadn’t seemed somewhat manic so far. 

“Could you tell me what happened from the time you sailed from China?” She asked, putting the tip of her pen onto her notebook paper. 

Throughout the interview, Regina took notes. Though perhaps this didn’t entirely require that kind of thoroughness. His account matched up perfectly with Aldritch’s, down to the two days. 

His voice was cracking by the end. The stress and the trauma were visibly compounding. 

Regina steeled herself. The impulse to withdraw was strong, but she needed to finish this. Her situation was still incredibly precarious. She needed to be useful. 

Especially with Shizune watching. It wasn’t just Iron that knew about her, now. Even though it still wasn’t clear where the hell she, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were from.  

“Thank you, sir.” She leaned forward just a little. “I’m sure this has been a difficult ordeal for you. I’m only here to help.”

His sunken eyes were shiny, probably tears. She didn’t cringe. She was socialized to comfort someone like this- but that was inappropriate, by both Japanese and probably English social norms. Plus she was working. 

He cleared his throat, clearly also trying to be as appropriate as possible. “Thank you, ma’am. Any other questions you might have for me?”

She checked her notes, scanning them for anything that stuck out. Something about all of this was wrong. It wasn’t just that part of the crew had been lied to regarding Finessey’s death. 

“So Captain Bland died the day after the storm.” She said, mulling the words over in her mouth. “He must have been injured pretty severely earlier.”

He nodded. 

“Due to his injuries, was he able to do everything he normally would have?”

Smythe looked down at his rough, red hands. “Yes, ma’am. The day o’ the storm, he was mostly the same as usual. ‘e must have took ill during the storm, though. That cold and seawater in’t good for an injury. The next day, ‘e was gone.”

That was new. Or was it? It was hardly surprising, either. Regina didn’t doubt that the seawater and storm could have have further ill effects on an injured, nutritionally deficient man. 

In any case, those were details she hadn’t possessed before. 

“Not having much food couldn’t have helped,” she mused out loud. “The food that was not taken could not have been enough to keep all of you adequately nourished.”

He shook his head slowly, absorbed in his own thoughts. “No. Not much left after that. The biskets were mostly stolen, as was our salt pork and beef. But Cook had hidden some beer and some kind of pork away somewhere that the pirates didn’t steal.”

“That’s very lucky,” Regina observed. “You can’t drink seawater, correct?”

“Yes, ma’am. It’ll dry you up faster than the sun.” Smythe half-chuckled. “Too much salt.”

“But pork and beer probably isn’t enough to help a man with significant injuries, is it?” She asked, genuinely curious. She knew that their diets were limited, but absolutely no mention of vegetables sounded odd to someone who was raised on potato-based casseroles. 

He laughed, and in it she caught a glimpse of the person behind the trauma. It was nice. “We make do all the time, ma’am.”

“Where did you last see the Captain, then?- before his burial at sea.” She amended.

He considered it for a moment. “B’fore the storm really hit.” Smythe asserted. “‘e gave us orders to prepare for it. I din’t see him after that, ‘ed gone to ‘is cabin.”

“Thank you, Mr. Smythe.” Regina turned to the samurai by the door. ‘Please return him, and bring the next person.’

The samurai nodded, and Mr. Smythe went limply along with him back to the cells. 

The next two interviews went much the same way. Misters Langley and Sutton agreed with every point of both Mr. Smythe’s and Mr. Aldritch’s accounts of events. They had all thought that Finessey had died only two days from port, and none of them had seen Captain Bland alive during or after the storm.

But things weren’t really adding up. Regina couldn’t get the first mate out of her mind. It wasn’t just that he’d lied to his crew. But there was something there- and the cabin boy’s reaction confirmed it for her. 

A sick feeling rose in her stomach after she dismissed Mr. Sutton. But there was a major piece of this puzzle missing, and she aimed to find it. 

When the samurai returned, she asked to see the cook, Mr. Large.

The hospital in Iron was luckily not as cold as the rest of it, being insulated somewhat and definitely heated. 

Regina and Shizune followed Osafune-san to a nondescript hospital room in a mostly deserted ward. 

‘Probably to keep this quiet.’ 

Having a crew from a potentially unfriendly country within their borders could cause a panic. And would make it more difficult to do away with them if it was decided that they were more trouble than they were worth. 

Mr. Large was ill-suited to his name. His emaciated frame and ill color were actually startling under bright hospital lights. 

Shizune, who was the reason they were ever allowed to speak to him in the first place, rushed forward. 

Regina assumed that she was checking vitals up until a green glow emanated from Shizune’s hands. 

‘Why was I even surprised by that. This is obviously Bizarro World, and I’m just living in it.’

A few minutes later, Mr. Large started to shift. His eyes opened. When he tried to speak, his voice was very hoarse and dry. He coughed and hacked.

Regina watched as a hospital person (doctor? Nurse? Just some friendly dude from the hallway?) brought in a glass of water and Shizune continued to glow like a goddamn plastic star nightlight. 

Eventually, she could decipher that he was asking where he was.

“Hello, Mr. Large.” She walked forward, closer to the bed. “You are in a hospital. Your other six crewmembers are alive and well.”

“Alive and well,” he whispered, and looked like he was about to retch. 

“Ah, yes.” She felt a bit out of balance. He should have known about the four deaths beforehand, so that number wasn’t impolite, was it? “I am truly sorry for the traumatic events you have suffered, Mr. Large. We are doing our best to make sure that you are provided good medical treatment.”

He nodded, but he looked a little distant. 

“The reason that I am here, Mr. Large, is that I need to ask you some questions about what happened before your arrival here.”

He coughed, and nodded again. “Of course.”

“I merely want to clear up some inconsistencies. Mr. Hall has stated, for instance, that Mr. Finessey had died four days before your arrival to port, whereas the other crew members state that it was only two.”

“He would say that.” Mr. Large’s eyes were wide and mournful, staring at his bedsheets. 

“To your recollection, which would be more accurate?” Regina attempted.

“He actually died only two days before.” Mr. Large said, almost in a whisper. “Was awful.” 

A ping went off in the farthest reaches of Regina’s mind. It would fit.

“Mr. Large, the other men who arrived here were not hospitalized. It is true that they were undernourished, but they were not starving. However, you, the cook, were hospitalized for severe malnutrition.” 

He coughed again, and swallowed.

“Multiple sailors stated that you had had food hidden away that was not stolen.” She continued, keeping an eye on his reaction. “That was not entirely true, was it?”

Mr. Large shuddered. She took that as a yes.

“Mr. Large, I implore you to tell me the truth about what happened.” She took a deep breath. “There’s also the matter regarding your Captain.”

He actually made a keening cry at that point. Shizune hurriedly rushed her glowy hands over his body, ostensibly to check for further health problems. 

“To put it delicately, Mr. Hall’s testimony of events left me with questions I believe only you can answer.”

He looked up to meet her eyes then- and Regina had to keep herself from lurching back. They were bloodshot and wild, and somehow filled with sadness. He was desperate. 

“Mr. Large,” she swallowed the rising saliva and bile in her mouth, “was it only Mr. Finessey that was eaten?”