Though he was largely opposed to it at first, with the others here, things felt more relaxed, and the stress he’d felt at their lack of progress was largely dissipated, as they shared idle conversation, cooking food on a campfire.
Rin had insisted on exploring the ship. It was her first experience being on top of water, and rather than the ship itself, she was more interested in peering over the side, catching glimpses of the dark waves that lapped it.
She did not waste the opportunity, and was soon playing within the sea as it gently lapped the beach. She forced Akiko along with her – much to the older girl’s objection, who felt self-conscious, not wishing to appear childish – and squeals of delight filled their ears.
"They really do get along well."
Gengyo commented, as he saw them attacking the waves together, struggling to remain dry.
"Of course they do. They’ve been friends for a while now."
Morohira replied, looking at him as though he was stupid for not realizing that until now. He merely shrugged. He had not been paying much attention to things like that. But now they had the pleasure of seeing them together, he found their energy rather relaxing.
"Whatcha doing here anyway?"
Rin asked, as she scurried back from the shoreline to steal a rice ball for her and Akiko.
"We’re upgrading this ship of ours."
He announced without too much description, as was his custom. The men stared at him aggressively in response to that – he had promised to be more open with them.
"Ahem... It’s so that we can board sh.i.p.s without getting caught. At the moment it’s too slow to catch anything, but if we were to make it a full military ship, then we’d arouse suspicion and get caught easily."
Rin looked at Jikouji, wondering whether he had missed anything out.
"That’s how it is, little lass."
The old man said in response, with a small grin. Whilst he enjoyed the company of the other men, having the two young women – especially Rin – lightened the mood considerably.
"Heh... So, what’s the problem? You guys look like you’re stuck."
She said, pointing to Morojo and his boys, who were having trouble getting into the conversation.
"Well, your brother has given us quite the task, my lady. He wants a second mast that can come up and down whenever it pleasures – can you believe that?"
He said, waving his hands around, attempting to evoke some sympathy from her.
"Yup, I can. Nii-san expects the best after all."
He stared at her, following the lack of a reaction. It seemed his employer was a man who always asked for the impossible.
Seeing that he had no more to say, she wandered off, handing the rice ball to Akiko. This was something of a celebration for the two girls, as they had finally being accepted into Gengyo’s clique, and they got to learn about all that was going on.
Though the scene from earlier, in which they had been exposed to be as weak as they were – that had knocked their confidence slightly. But they did not dwell on it too much, for they knew if they trained with the men all the time, their progress would skyrocket, and they would be able to match him in no time.
"So we’re still stuck on the mast problem, eh? Have you not had any ideas of how you might make it work?"
Rokkaku asked, both to Gengyo and Morojo.
"We’ve tried all sorts. Steel hinges, braces all kinds of stuff. But it’s not strong enough to hold something of that weight. We keep coming up with new ways to fix the mast in place, but then we don’t know how to get it back down again."
Morojo replied.
"Why’s that? Surely it’s easy to connect to bits of wood?"
He asked, rather oblivious to how structural engineering was done. Hearing him put it so lightly made Morojo utter a huge sigh. If only that was the case.
"No. The reason trees stand up straight is because they’re connected on the inside – stuck together stronger than glue. It makes them strong, it does. That’s why we avoid cutting the logs in half. Makes em’ weaker."
Gengyo was listening intently to their back and forth, as it was very much a problem he was working on as well. But the way Morojo phrased his explanation set him down a certain avenue of thinking, and he felt excited despite himself – there was an idea brewing.
He began to smile, tuning out of the conversation, as he imagined the specifics of his design. He had, initially, left all the planning in regards to the mast down to the shipwrights, assuming they would know what they were doing. But due to the unusual nature of his request, he had begun to get more involved himself, and pay it more thought. And now, he felt, he had hit upon a gold mine.
"Morojo, connected from the inside, correct?"
He spoke, interrupting the conversation.
"..? Aye, I said that earlier. What of it?"
He picked up a stone, and began sketching in the sand beside the campfire. He drew a basic cylinder, meant to represent the mast, and then he drew an arrow, indicating what the completed product would look like. It was shaped on top like a cone, and sharpened like a spear point might be. Beside it, he drew a similar cylinder, and inside, he made a dock that could receive the cone.
"...What’s all this..?"
He was looking at the scribblings intently, trying to decipher what the lad was getting at. The rest noticed that the conversation had suddenly turned quieter, and turned their heads to observe what was going on.
Seeing Gengyo at work, drawing things on the floor, only served to heighten their curiosity, and they moved closer, hoping to get a better view. And now that a silence reigned, even Rin had Akiko had their attention captured, and after sharing a glance with one another they wandered over too.
"This here..."
He began to explain, not realizing that everyone had gathered around to listen to his explanation.
"Is the lower mast. We file down the top of it, making it into a point."
"When we lower the upper mast on top of it, that’ll receive it perfectly, and it’ll create both strength and stability, yet still allow us to remove it easily."
Morojo finished for him, a little excitedly.
"..."
"Now that," he began. "Is bloody genius!"
They’d been approaching their task all wrong. Their thoughts had been entirely on modifying the outer section of the mast, because they needed to be able to access it easily. And so, in their thinking, they had neglected to attempt modifying its internals.
Gengyo grinned at his reaction. He was excited himself. The only problem that remained was creating a system that could suspend the upper mast in place whilst they raised the lower mast to meet it. But in comparison to all this, that would be a walk in the park.
"Hehe. I don’t understand, but it seems Nii-san has done something clever again."
Rin said approvingly. The rest of the men agreed. It was the first time they had been privy to Gengyo’s plans in the process of their creation. Usually, they were simply presented with the finished product, with none of the reasoning behind it explained.
"Alright lads! Let’s get this built then!"
Morojo said excitedly, seeming to forget that darkness had long since fallen.
"Haha, glad you’re eager Morojo. But perhaps we’d better wait till morning. I know you and your boys haven’t been sleeping well recently, so you’d better do some catching up today."
The old shipwright paused, looking at him for a few seconds, before looking at the sky, having processed what he was saying.
"Ah. Right."
Morohira burst out laughing, seeing the disorientated look on his face, apparently not caring in the least about harming his dignity. But the old shipwright did not take offence, and soon, he was laughing too.
With a weight off their shoulders, and progress ensured, they were able to enjoy their meal to its fullest, and truly relax as they know they should have been. Gengyo, having eaten his fill, took a step away from the loud conversation that was being shared, and wandered down toward the shoreline, for a few moments quiet.
This was not because of displeasure, however, as there was a small smile lighting his face. He merely wanted time to reflect on what had occurred.
’It seems,’
He decided.
’That no matter how much you think you’ve learned in your life, no matter how much you correct your ways, there will always be something that you can improve on, to make you a better person, and a better leader.’
Perhaps most would feel a sense of futility when they burdened themselves with such a thought, but in it, he felt a degree of hope. It meant that he was not unfinished. He was not destined to stay who he was, and stagnate.
He was unhappy that they had gone against his orders, and brought his family here without his permission. But from that, he was also able to extract a degree of pleasure – some confirmation. It meant that he had not become what he feared. He had not crushed the souls from his subordinates, so that they were incapable of free will, and rendered entirely predictable. They were who they were, without damage, without fault, and they still chose to serve under him.
"Are you okay?"
Akiko asked tentatively from behind him.
"I am."
He replied back firmly, looking up at the crescent moon, as she came by his side.
"I worry for your safety, Akiko, but in the end, I am glad you are here."
He admitted.
She paused upon hearing that, unsure whether she had misheard or not. But soon a smile broke out, and she leaned her head upon his shoulder, reaching her arm around him, so that she might feel his warmth.
"I’m glad to be here too, Tadakata. And I promise, I’ll get really strong, so that you won’t have to worry about me anymore, okay?"
"Deal. I’ll hold you to that."
He said with a grin, returning her embrace. She was a good woman. Likely better than he deserved. Her understanding nature was a rare treasure, and one that he continually reminded himself to cherish.
"Mmm, your clothes smell of the sea."
She announced, after burying her nose with his shoulder for a good few seconds.
"Do they? I’d thought I might be smelling a little of sweat, due to all the activity. But I suppose the sea is a good smell."
"Yup, it’s definitely a good smell."
They stood in silence for a while, enjoying each other’s company.
"Tadakata."
"Mm?"
"Be kind to Rin, okay? She really cares about you."
He heaved a sigh at that. Not because he disliked hearing it, but because she was right, and the fact that it needed to be said was more than enough to point out his failings.
"Aye, I’ll spend more time with her, and with you. I’ve been too distant lately, sorry."
She ran her fingers through his hair, smiling as their eyes met. And then, she leaned in to kiss him, letting loose all the stress that she had pent up from their eventful day.
He had his problems, and it was unlikely that he was to recover from them. But, given all those that he had around him, supporting him in his endeavour, and chasing the same goal as he, there was a strength he could draw from in order to keep himself upright, and from succ.u.mbing to what lay inside of him. For the cracks already ran deep and his structure groaned from the weight it had to bear. But it was fine. He did not need to be the symbol of perfection. He merely needed to be effective.
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