Cerulean Sea

How Little One Truly Knows

The shadow of the boat loomed over them as they approached it. A worn old ladder had been thrown down from the deck for them to use.

Yoongi grasped ahold of it, pulling the boat closer to the ship until they were side by side. Namjoon climbed up the ladder first, waiting at the top, whilst Yoongi and Taehyung worked together to get Jungkook up onto the boat.

"Call Hoseok," Yoongi told Namjoon once they'd managed to place Jungkook down on the deck.

Namjoon nodded and hurried off. Yoongi could hear the sound of a door opening and closing behind him, signaling Namjoon's departure. He looked over at Taehyung, who was crouched over Jungkook.

"Can you see any marks on his body, something that might help us work out what's wrong with him?" He asked Taehyung. Without even waiting Taehyung set about examining Jungkooks' body.

"There isn't anyth-" Taehyung began, then froze. He frowned slightly and lent in to take a closer look at something on Jungkook's body. He knitted his eyebrows together in confusion, his lips tugging downwards into a small frown.

"What is it Tae?" Yoongi snapped impatiently, not liking being kept in the dark.

"There's a mark on his chest that I've never seen before," Taehyung said, seeming slightly perplexed. If it had been any other time Yoongi might have made a joke at their expense, instead he came closer to take a look at what Taehyung was talking about.

His gaze swept over Jungkook's chest, his eyes narrowing when he realised Taehyung was right. There was a small black mark that seemed to be in the shape of a skull, on his chest. Yoongi looked over at Taehyung, who was biting his lip nervously.

"Do you know what it means?" he asked as he examined the mark. Taehyung shook his head.

"No, but it can't be anything good" although he didn't say anything, Yoongi silently agreed. Even for pirates a skull never meant anything good, despite being the sign for most of their boats. Often it was considered to be the symbol of death, especially amongst the witches who habit of using it on pirates. They would often place it on their victims, marking them for death. If Jungkook has that mark on him it couldn't mean anything good.

"Shit" he muttered under his breath.

He couldn't help but feel responsible for this. He was the one who had decided on the mission. He knew he hadn't done enough research, being more focused on one-upping Shownu and his crew rather than focusing on the safety of his own. Instead, he had run headfirst into danger, ignoring all the risks and warnings, and now because of his recklessness, Jungkook might die.

"Wait, hang on a second" Taehyung frowned, drawing Yoongi's attention. "Is it just me or is there a number in the skull's mouth?" Yoongi's gaze slid over to the skull, he hadn't even realised he'd looked away he'd been so deep in thought, his eyes widening when he realised Taehyung was right.

"No, I can see it too"

"What do you think it means?" Taehyung asked looking at Yoongi desperately, hoping for some answers. Unfortunately, Yoongi was just as clueless as him.

"I don't know, but it can't be anything good" Taehyung moved to touch it, before changing his mind. His hands hovered over the mark but refused to touch it, afraid of what might happen.

"Do you think it might be some sort of clock like a countdown" Taehyung wondered fearfully. Yoongi bit his lip, a habit he often did when he was worried, that had been his first thought and the only solid conclusion his mind could come to.

"If it is we have no idea what the time frame is. It could be hours, days, possibly even weeks for all know. We have no idea if it's changed at all since he got the mark" he told Taehyung, feeling slightly agitated by his lack of knowledge on the subject. He didn't like the feeling of being helpless and situations where he didn't know the solution to the problem.