Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Pirates! ❯ Much Ado about Domino ( Chapter 1 )

Chapter 1: Much Ado about Domino

In the vast reaches of space, a large ship, with its black flag bearing the usual skull and cross bones and flowing due to the force of its speed, headed straight for the Prota Galaxy. The deck was open, revealing the beings milling around the boat. The creatures aboard varied in all shapes and sizes. One, carrying a large barrel adorned with metal bands wound around the top and bottom, had a large bulbous body. His shoulders were broad and bulky, and attached to them are unusual arms. They were long, suction-cupped tentacles that break off into five smaller tentacles at the end of the first, like fingers. His legs were large, muscled, and bare, as was his chest, revealing a blue, swirling dragon tattoo that went across his chest, traveled up to his neck, around the back of his bald head, and curved around his eye, which rested in the dragon's open mouth. His head was pear-shaped, with deep yellow eyes with a blood red pupil in the center. His skin was indigo, with a purple tinge. Thankfully, tattered pants covered his waist, and the rest of him, until his mid-thigh.

As he made his way across the ship's deck, another creature, which completely contrasted his large size, passed him. This creature was small and round, with two long arms that were at least three times her body height. She used these arms to walk, and the five, lanky fingers sprouting from her hands helped her keep a good grip on the ground. A pair of smaller arms with only four fingers branched out from her gumball-like body. One of the fingers was large and meaty, which was useful for grabbing things like the small metal box clamped in her small hands, which were clamped tightly around the box, as if she was afraid to drop it. Her hands were shaking because of this, making the contents of the box clang loudly inside. Her body was a dull pink, with orange, sinewy veins protruding from both pairs of her arms. Her eyes were a deep magenta, adding to the whole 'gumball' effect.

She passed by a group of birdlike creatures, all of which hissed at her as she went. She just glared at them before turning away from them in disdain. These creatures were small in stature, but obviously strong; you could tell by the muscles bulging out from their skin. All of them were male, so their chests were bare as well, showing off even more muscles. They had human heads, faces, and legs, but bright feathers were attached to their arms and their nails were replaced by knife-sharp talons. Tail feathers dragged on the deck as they walked away, squeaking angrily in their native language at the mistreatment by the woman that passed them. Near them was the captain's cabin, and placed in front of it was a large cauldron with a strange creature watching over it, whose occupation was obvious.

His body was that of a normal human, his large hands deftly cutting strange looking vegetables, which were obviously from other planets than Earth, into unusual shapes. What made him different from normal humans was his skin color, which was a bright red, as if recovering from a nasty burn. Other things that made him different were his hair and his eyes. His hair was nothing but a smoldering flame, blue on the inside and fading out into a pure white on the outer edge. His eyes were as empty as the surrounding space itself, except for the small coal-like iris in the very center. He cut open a vegetable that looked like a bright blue squash with darker blue wavy stripes covering it. Its skin swelled under his knife before bursting, sending the juice toward the fiery cook. Some of the juice landed on his hand and immediately turned to steam. A small 'hiss' was heard, both from the cook and from his skin. He glared at the knife before cutting the veggie up quickly and dropped the pieces into the boiling pot to his right.

He suddenly hunched forward, and straightened smartly soon after. His hair flared up and turned completely white; his irises dilated angrily and were brighter than ever. He whirled to a cowering boy behind. The boy was completely normal; not a single feather, scale, or tentacle adorned his body. That was because he was human.

"You little wretch!" the cook yelled, making the human flinch away from him. "If you don't watch where you're goin', I'll make ya tha main course fer the Cap'n's stew. He always did like meat better than vegetables….." A sadistic smirk crossed the cook's face. The human let out a small squeak and scampered away from the cook, going to a group of other humans. He pushed his way into the group, sneaking a fearful glance backwards. He said something to the other humans, and one patted him comfortingly on the back. This was all watched by the cook, who spat on the ground in disgust at the human. He turned back to the caldron and picked up his knife to continue where he left off. He grabbed a yellow, radish-like vegetable with green polka dots and cut it into pieces, revealing the green insides.

"Ah, Cooky, me boy, you done with that stew yet?" a voice – smooth, deep, and silky – asked from behind him. The cook turned towards the voice, leaning against the lip of the pot.

Behind him stood a man; he had long, silk, midnight-black hair tied back at the nape in a thick braid. His eyes were a deep gray and shone with mischief, which anyone could tell was ingrained into his very soul. A leather strap with beads hung off the ends, entwined so much into his hair that it seemed impossible to remove. His skin was lightly sun-kissed, from years on the open, planet-bound seas. A billowy, cream-colored shirt covered his well-built body beneath it, with a red jacket over-top. Brown pants covered his lower half and leather boots covered his feet.

"Almost done, sir. One more thing ta add." the cook paused to grab a pinch of what looked like ground up spices and dropped it in. "And then," he added, grabbing a ladle and pouring some into a large bowl to the brim. "It's done." Once finished, he handed over the bowl, with five smaller ones, to the other man.

"Why thanks. I'm sure the captain will like it.” He nodded and winked before walking off, towards the captain's cabin, which was near the left side of the ship, just under the wheel. He opened the door without knocking, knowing he was welcome there. Only high-ranking officers under his captain could do that without fearing for their lives.Inside the door was a dimly lit room with maps of every planet, in every galaxy, adorning the walls. In the middle of the room was a desk with four figures crowded around it.

"Alright, you scalawags, we can't look for treasure on an empty stomach!" the black-hared man exclaimed, which attracted the attention of the other pirates. The man on the left of the desk, an icy, blue-eyed brunette looked at him and glared, no emotion showing on his handsome face.

"Shut up, you idiot," The brunette growled.

"Ah, Seto!" the black-haired man answered enthusiastically, "You're just grumpy cause you're hungry! Here have some soup!" He held a bowl out to the other man. The man, now known as Seto, glared at his raven comrade, but took the offered bowl anyway.

"Che, you know Seto's always grumpy, Matsuo. He doesn't need a reason," A deep, smooth voice said from Matsuo's right.

"How right you are, Bakura." Matsuo answered, smirking at the silver-haired fiend. Bakura smirked when Seto looks at him, his mahogany eyes shining with mischief.

"Bakura, don't start," Another voice – just as deep and smooth as Bakura's, though much softer - interjected before Seto could retaliate. All eyes turned to the owner of the voice. His cool, crimson eyes met the others levelly, teaming with mirth.

"Yami, don't stop them! I love watching Seto and Baku fight!" the final figure – a blonde on Matsuo's left – whined loudly. The owner of the voice ducked suddenly, just narrowly missing the dagger that was stuck, still quivering, in the wall where his head had been.

"Don't call me 'Baku', Mariku," Bakura, the one who threw the dagger, growled menacingly, "And stop acting like a three-year old." He added as an afterthought. Mariku just smiled, his eyes holding an insane glint in them, as he patted his sandy-blonde spikes. Matsuo laid the largest bowl on the desk and divided its contents out between him and the rest of the beings in the room, mostly to give Bakura and Mariku something else to do than plot each other's demise. They ate quickly; the only sounds echoing in the room was the slurping of them eating the soup. Matsuo sighed, as if about to approach a subject he really didn’t want to, and laid his empty bowl on the desk.

"So, Captain, how has the planning gone?" he asked Yami. Yami ran a sun-kissed hand through his tri-color spikes. It was black with red tips and blonde, lightning-bolt bangs shooting up along with the spikes, and spiky, blonde bangs hanging down over his forehead.

"Pretty well. We've decided on Domino – what d'ya think?" Yami answered, looking over to Matsuo with a lop-sided smirk.

"Sounds good. It's a very prosperous city, with a lot of banks and stores. The Queen's Navy has a base there, though, not to mention the fact that she also lives there, too." Everyone in the room shuddered at the mention of the woman Matsuo alluded to.

"Yes, but the Navy has never been able to catch us in Domino before. And besides, we can avoid that woman like the plague," Bakura chimed in.

"True, True. So, Domino it is, then?" Matsuo asked, looking around the room.

"Domino it is." Yami said, smirking lightly and leaning back in his wooden chair. All of the men in the room smirked as well, anticipating the plunder that was about to come.