Twisted Dimensions -Series of One-shots- Chapter10

  "I can't believe this."
  "Can't believe what?"
  "I cannot believe this."
  "Cannot believe what?!"
  "... Never mind."
  
  Nayomi crossed her arms, rolling her eyes and suppressing a guffaw. Xiang..., thought she. So they were on a good-sized ship, standing amidst a crowd of pirates - trouble just waiting to happen - while some revenge-thirsty guy with a hook for a hand stood bragging about his success as he stood on the higher level of the deck. Honestly, what was wrong with a little excitement?
  "Who turned that old croc into a stuffed-up clock?" the man - Captain Jim Hook was his name - continued to boast.
  "Hook!" the crowd cried in response.
  "Who chased Peter Pan straight out of Neverland?"
  "Hook!"
  "Who went to the ends of the world and snatched his children from right under his nose?"
  "Hook!"
  His voice then lowered slightly, tone converting to anger. "And who didn't think I could do it?"
  "Hook!" called a lone, feminine voice.
  At this all eyes turned to Nayomi, who in response merely looked around nervously. "... Force of habit," she claimed in defense.
  Thankfully nobody paid much attention to the matter.
  "Anyway...," continued Hook. "Who doubted me?"
  There was a pause - everyone fell silent.
  "Who bet against me?... Was it you?" He pointed somewhere ahead of him; no one could quite tell exactly where. As he pointed he took a step forward, but stopped at the top of the staircase. "Where's the red carpet, Smee?" he inquired of his assistant in a much lower voice.
  Smee muttered something, then gave the floor a couple stomps. In turn, a bright-red carpet rolled from somewhere near the first step down to the last. Hook then descended, continuing his accusing as he did so.
  "That's right," he called, "you."
  Person by person the crowd moved aside so as to make way for him. He stopped in front of two men, one whose face was mostly concealed; the other had bushy, grayish-brown hair and a matching beard.
  "You," accused Hook, addressing the bearded man. "It was you, wasn't it?"
  The man shook his head in denial. In the meantime, Nayomi began making her way towards the scene, followed by a now-panicky Xiang.
  "Now, now," replied Hook, "tell your captain the truth."
  Rather unexpectedly Nayomi stepped in between the two, standing on her toes so as to come closer to meeting Hook's height. "That would be me, mon capitaine!" she stated eagerly, index finger pointed upward for emphasis. "I did it!" Exactly what it was she 'did', though, she wasn't entirely sure.
  From the sidelines, Xiang sweatdropped.
  For a moment Hook merely stared curiously at her. "I don't remember ever seeing you on board...," he replied at last.
  "Uh... I'm small; I blend in pretty well."
  Xiang facepalmed.
  "Hm...," hummed Hook. After an awkward moment he spun around, waving Nayomi off. "Well, you're just a little girl; you don't count."
  Nayomi felt both taken aback and insulted. "... Sexist!" she called after him.