A Fine Naval Tradition

Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all ownership of these characters. I just like to play with them. No harm, no foul.

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Seaman Goku swung for\'ard through the rigging and stared out into the near darkness. The fog lay heavy on the whitecaps, and the echo of the three bells was muted and sickly-sounding. Half-hour until his shift was done. His belly grumbled at the thought of such a long wait, but Goku bravely ignored it and turned again to his watch. Below, the helm lantern glimmered like a star, a cold light coming from thousands of leagues away.

Something wasn\'t right, thought Goku. Something didn\'t smell right. Beneath the smells of wood and oil and hemp and sea, of salt meat, apples, men, powder and piss, there was something else. Something that smelt like burning. But if the captain wasn\'t smoking his pipe, and the ship wasn\'t on fire, that burning smell could only mean one thing.

A familiar and terrifying shape loomed suddenly just beyond the grey and proved his theory. Goku slid down the nearest guideline, scraping his knuckles (and a good chunk of bark) and nearly losing his sword in his hurry to go raise the alarm.



He landed heavily on the deck (scattering dandelion fluff) and raced toward the bridge, leaping over coils of rope (some under-minister who had dropped his reports) and ducked past the heavy canvas weight of a half-mended top\'sl (Goujun\'s expression as the heretic child flew past was not entirely disapproving). He burst into the captain\'s cabin waving his (stick) sword, the force of his entry knocking the portly bosun to the ground (the Travels of Marco Polo wobbled slightly, then fell, dislodging the collected critiques of the Siege of Lachish) as Goku barreled into the captain\'s desk.

\"Captain! Captain Ten-chan! The ship\'s gonna be attacked by pirates!\"

Tenpou, nonplussed, marked his place on the chart with one long finger and blinked at Goku over the rims of his glasses. \"Oh?\"

\"Arr.\" Kenren lounged in the doorway, a scrap of handkerchief obscuring one eye. \"I\'m Cap\'n Kenren the Bloody, scourge of the seas from Cochin to Xiamen.\" He rested one hand on the hilt of his stick-sword, and flashed a blinding grin at Tenpou. \"No man born can defeat me and my evil crew. Surrender your rum and wenches or I\'ll send you to Davy Jones.\" Tenpou arched one eyebrow, almost smiling.

\"He\'s gonna kill everyone and take all our food!\" moaned Goku. \"We hafta stop him!\"

\"Indeed we must,\" Tenpou agreed. \"Piracy is a grievous crime. What shall we do to him, Master Goku? Shall we make him walk the plank? Give him forty lashes? Make him peel potatoes in the hold?\"

Goku groaned slightly. \"Potatoes...\" He clutched his stomach as a rumble of pure starvation filled the room. \"I\'m so hungry!\" Tenpou smiled down at the boy.

\"Perhaps you ought to go eat, then. Will you see that Konzen eats something as well? He has a tendency to forget about meals.\"

Eyes wide in wonderment that someone could forget to eat, Goku nodded. \"Okay then! I\'ll go make Konzen eat something, and you take care of the pirate!\" In the blink of an eye he was out the door and gone.

Kenren turned from the doorway to find Tenpou watching him avidly. \"You gonna take care of me then, Captain Ten-chan?\" he smirked, stepping fully into the room and closing the door behind him.

\"As you were threatening the virtue of the ladies, not to mention the men\'s supply of grog, I suppose I must, Captain… Bloody, wasn\'t it?\" Tenpou let his gaze drift down the pirate\'s exposed chest and a bit further, before languidly tracing back up to his face. \"I can only assume that you earned your name through a long history of savagery,\" - the word was a caress - \"and villainous acts?\" He pulled a cigarette from his coat pocket and rolled it between his fingers. \"A man such as yourself would live how he pleases and take what he wants. Am I right, Captain?\" He slid the cigarette into the corner of his mouth, noting that Kenren\'s grip on the sword hilt had changed to something less combat-ready.

\"Savage and villainous, that\'s me,\" Kenren drawled, eyes fixed on Tenpou\'s mouth. \"I\'m a bad man.\"

\"So it would appear.\" He struck a light and held the wavering flame to the end of his cigarette, licking his lips with a flicker of pink tongue as he exhaled. \"You\'re too dangerous to be allowed to roam free.\" He pushed back his chair and rose with feline grace, striding across the room to stand toe-to-toe with Kenren. \"I can\'t keelhaul you,\" Tenpou mused, as he reached out and slid the sword from Kenren\'s belt, \"and I can\'t make you walk the plank,\" as he tugged the makeshift eyepatch free, \"and I have no intention of cutting off your - hold out your hands, please. Thank you,\" and he wrapped the bandana snugly about Kenren\'s wrists.

\"Cutting off my what?\"

\"Oh, various cultures have their preferred appendages, none of which would be an appropriate punishment for the scourge of the southern seas.\" Tenpou stepped back a pace and slid his belt from its loops. \"Now, turn around and place your hands on the wall behind you, just below shoulder height. Feet shoulder-width apart.\"

Captain Bloody stared dumbly at his captor. \"You\'re kidding.\"

Captain Ten-chan ran the belt\'s length across his palm. \"Perhaps you don\'t understand, Captain. You have violated the laws of the sea. You threatened the welfare of my crew and cargo. The resolution of this matter has been laid at my feet, and I have determined that you will stand for forty lashes. If you do not comply with my order, I will have you clapped in irons and thrown off the bow. You are ordered to turn about and place your hands on the wall. Now.\"

Dumbly, Captain Bloody complied.

Tenpou held the doubled belt against the small of Kenren\'s back, letting him feel the full length and weight of the leather. Pulling his arm back slowly, Tenpou slid the heavy leather along Kenren\'s ass, lightly scraping with the edge of the belt.

\"Count.\"

The first blow cracked solidly across his ass, and Kenren jumped, exhaling sharply.

\"One.\"

Tenpou wielded the belt like a paddle, swinging it underhand and out to smack firmly against the seat of Kenren\'s leather pants.

\"Two.\"

\"Three.\"

\"F-four.\"

His breath catching with every blow, Kenren dropped his head between his arms, arching his back slightly.

\"Nine.\"

\"Ten.\"

\"Ah! Eleven!\"

Kenren rolled his hips up and back into the incoming blow.

\"Fifteen.\"

\"Six, nngh, sixteen.\"

Between twenty and twenty-one, Tenpou paused. \"I said \'shoulder-width apart\'. Your shoulders are wider than that.\" He tapped the inside of Kenren\'s thighs with the edge of the belt. Kenren shuffled his right foot out another handspan, and Tenpou sighed.

\"Spread your legs, Captain.\" Captain Bloody\'s hips bucked ever so slightly at the order, but he widened his stance, arms shaking with the effort of supporting himself. Tenpou nodded.

\"Much better.\" He brought the belt down hard, and Kenren bit back a moan.

\"Twenty-one.\"

\"Twenty-two.\"

Tenpou laid the strokes down faster as Kenren gasped out the count.

\"Twenty-eight. Twenty-nine. Thirty. Thirty-one ah fuck thirty-two thirty-threethirtyfourthirtyfivethirtysixfuckfuckthirtyseventhirtyeightthirtyNINE...!\" and he came with clenched teeth, clawing at the wall.

Tenpou delivered the last lash, drawing another breathy \"...fuck\", then threaded the belt back through its loops and sat back down at his desk. Kenren wavered, all but purring, before pushing away from the wall and turning around.

\"Want to give me a hand with this?\" he asked, holding out his still bound hands. Tenpou blinked.

\"It looks good on you.\"

\"You\'d have to light all my cigarettes for me.\" The Marshall laughed.

\"An intolerable amount of effort. Here.\" He loosed the knot and handed the bandana back. Kenren shook his head.

\"Keep it. I\'ll be back for it later.\"

\"Oh?\"

\"Yeah. You got the lash, I\'ll go get the rum, and we\'ll finish the tradition this evening.\" Grinning fiercely, Kenren waved to Tenpou from over his shoulder and stomped out the door.

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\"Don\'t talk to me about naval tradition. It\'s nothing but rum, sodomy, and the lash.\" -Winston Churchill