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It started by accident when Killer picked up a fancy looking mahogany box while they were relieving a Marine ship of its cargo. Most of the passengers had already been finished off or tossed into the ocean and it was the perfect opportunity to collect whatever valuables they could find.
The box came from the Captain's quarters and although locked, it seemed the kind of thing you'd hide your treasures in. Killer could've broken it easily enough to make sure but it seemed like a waste to destroy such a pretty thing when they had more than one skilled lock pick within their ranks.
That night, he brought the box to dinner with him, setting it on the table.
"What's that?" Dive demanded before Killer had even picked up his fork.
"Dunno. Found it on the ship."
"Then open it!"
"It's locked, so…" Killer said, his eyes drifting towards Hop who was sitting across the table from him.
He'd never seen her face a lock she couldn't crack and while he didn't want to impose, he suspected she enjoyed showing off her skills. And true enough, she reached for the box without having to be asked.
Killer dug into his food, trying not to stare too intensely as she pulled out her tools and got to work. It took barely a minute before the lock clicked open and she was pushing the box back to his side of the table, not even attempting to check the contents.
He'd thought to finish his meal before anything else but Dive kept kicking him under the table, rushing him to show her what was inside.
"Don't get your hopes up, most Marines aren't rich," he said as he cracked the lid open.
"Ah, but you never know if they've stolen from someone rich," Quincy said with a wink as she passed their table.
"True."
Dive finally decided he was being too slow and climbed on the table, sticking her small hand into the box.
"There's no food in here," she said, disappointed.
Killer shook his head. "Didn't you just eat?"
She started pulling things out and tossing them on the table—a thin stack of letters, a few cheap pieces of jewelry, and a half-empty bottle of pills. Hardly worthy of being called treasure. The last item was a worn out book that looked like it’d been read by the whole crew. A few more reads and it was bound to fall apart entirely.
"Must be a good book to look that shit," Killer commented, eyeing the faded cover.
"What's it about?" Dive asked.
"Don't tell me you can't read?" Killer said, raising an eyebrow.
The title of the book didn’t explain much but the back cover had a short description of the plot, "After five years, the lovers reunite, this time determined to never let fate tear them apart again,” and so on.
"I can!" Dive insisted.
Killer cracked the book open and pointed at a line on the first page. "What's this say then?"
She stared at the page for a long time before replying, "No."
"And?" Killer prompted.
She’d recognized one word but the sentence went on for a good three lines.
Dive crossed her arms over her chest. "That's it."
Killer stared at her and it didn’t take long for her to break.
"Don't tell Kid!" She sounded distressed, which was no wonder. Kid’s opinion meant the world to her.
"He wouldn't care. I had to teach him how to read, you know."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Killer said.
Dive took a moment to digest the information. "Can you teach me too?"
"I'd be happy to."
Killer kept the book even though he had no concrete plans to read it. At least not until his eyes chanced upon it on one lazy day when everybody else seemed to be either napping or fishing.
Might as well give it a chance, he thought as he settled into a hammock and started the first chapter. Before he knew it, he’d reached the end and was craving more.
It wasn’t the thickest book, one of those paperbacks you could read in one or two sittings, and the prose was nothing that’d win you awards. Still, it had managed to hook Killer’s interest and what was worse, this book seemed to be neither the first nor the last in the series.
He would’ve called it a habit rather than an obsession but Killer started checking the bookshelves on every ship and building they raided from then on. Secretly, he was hoping to find another volume for his romance series, Destined Bonds, but whenever he discovered a book someone in the crew might enjoy, he made sure to bring it along.
Before long, he managed to recruit more people for his mission. After lending them his book, Killer instructed Quincy and Hop to look for anything by its author and they happily complied. Others, he kept in the dark and let them think his purpose was entirely altruistic.
And so they searched. In vain, when it came to Killer’s true goal, but finding many other treasures along the way. From another pirate ship, Killer managed to plunder a whole collection of engineering journals for Kid, and he found multiple alphabet books for Dive in an abandoned school.
One day, Killer saw a hurt look cross Heat’s face when he presented Bubblegum with his latest find—a thick, bound collection of horror comics. That prompted Killer to make a list of everyone on the ship and what kind of books they enjoyed reading. Or, at the very least, what topics interested them in general.
“These books are for babies,” Dive grumbled as she leafed through the ones Killer had found.
He couldn’t exactly disagree—the simple pictures and bright colors clearly hinted that the books were meant for children just starting school. If books like these existed for adults, they were impossible to find.
“Sorry. I’ll try to find something better soon,” Killer promised.
These should help Dive learn the basics but Killer doubted either of them could stand repeating, “A is for Apple, B is for banana”, too many times before they lost their minds.
“Can you think of any words that start with the letter D?” Killer asked, hoping to motivate her.
Dive frowned, thinking about it. “Me?”
Killer nodded. “Right. I’ll show you how to write it. And E is for enoki, you know, the mushroom? And F is for—”
“Fuck!” Dive interrupted before he could think of a different example.
He sighed. At least she was making progress.
Killer was just passing one of the cabins when he heard the unmistakable sound of giggling. Had someone on the ship managed to entirely miss their attack and subsequent taking over of the vessel?
He was already reaching for his blades when he heard Kid's unmistakable voice bark, "Watch it, fucker!"
With a sigh, he pushed the door open to the sight of Kid and Dive sitting on the floor next to a pile of books. They were pulling new ones out of the bookshelf and discarding the ones they deemed unworthy.
"There might still be enemies around, we haven't checked the whole ship," Killer warned them.
"Yeah, yeah, you think I'm afraid of them?" Kid said dismissively.
"I'm not either!" Dive added.
"Just don't get too distracted."
"If you're so worried you can stay and keep watch," Kid suggested, not even looking at Killer.
"We found a book for Wire." Dive held up a book on entomology—the cover had intricate pictures of various bugs painted by some gifted artist.
"Nice." Killer gave an approving nod. “See if you’ll find any poetry books for Heat.”
Whatever the illness was, Emma caught it first. She threw up in the ocean before having to be carried into the infirmary and Heat joined her shortly after, having fainted in the kitchen. With more patients every day, they soon ran out of space, and by the time Kid and Dive succumbed to the disease, they had to be confined in Kid’s quarters.
“I wanna die,” Kid moaned as Killer measured his temperature.
“I want ice cream!” Dive joined the whining choir.
She’d refused to be separated from Kid so they were sharing a bed, occasionally ending up in a fight over someone poking the other with an elbow. Luckily neither had enough energy to keep the argument going for long and they spent most of the day sleeping.
“You’ll feel better after you take a nap,” Killer promised.
“Fuck, no more naps. Entertain me.”
“I’m not your court jester,” Killer said, unimpressed.
“Then read us a book,” Dive begged.
“I don’t know if that’s—”
Before Killer managed to finish his objection, Kid and Dive were both chanting in tandem, “Book! Book!”
With a sigh, Killer relented. “Fine, I’ll go find one.”
Kid and Dive shared a look before Kid cleared his throat. “No need. I’ve got some right here.”
He rolled over and bent down to pull something from under his bed, almost falling on the ground in the process. When he was safely back to leaning on his pillows, he handed Killer a pile of at least ten books, tied together with twine.
“What’s this?” he asked as he accepted them.
“What do you think, dummy?” Dive interjected, not too sick to insult people. “It’s what you wanted, right? A l-o-v-e-r by n-i-g-h-t.”
She spelled the longer words out slowly before aiming a triumphant look at Killer. He nodded his approval, proud she’d made so much progress in such a short time.
Moreover, he was amazed that somehow, they’d managed to find the books he’d been searching for months. The whole damn series in near-perfect condition, no less.
“Was gonna save them for your b’day but I’m kinda curious what makes them so good now,” Kid explained.
“How’d you know?”
“I’m the captain. Means I know everything.”
“I guess it does,” Killer agreed, his irritation from before replaced with a warm feeling.
He cut the twine and picked up the first book in the series. The cover showcased who he recognized as the heroine of the book he’d read except younger looking, and more innocent.
Killer had had his doubts about his audience’s ability to stay quiet but they surprised him, only interrupting him a couple of times to ask questions about the book. Around chapter five, Dive lost the fight against sleep and Kid didn’t look far off either although he was valiantly struggling against the inevitable.
“We can continue once you’ve rested,” Killer suggested.
“Don’t want you reading ahead while I’m out,” Kid grumbled.
“I won’t,” Killer promised, keeping to himself that he’d been planning just that. “See? I’ll leave the book under your pillow.”
“Okay. Thanks,” Kid said, yawning.
“What for?”
Kid’s eyes were already closed but still he replied, “Dunno. For existing, I guess.”
“Just go to sleep,” Killer said fondly, ruffling Kid’s messy hair.