Her Smile

By, Xiakoda

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"Who is this that appears like the dawn, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, majestic as the stars in procession?" – Song of Songs, 6:10

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Chapter 1

It was over. The end had finally come when the final blow was given. The Lord Admiral Galcian was no more and Ramirez had been defeated. Valuan forces had retreated and the victors rejoiced for days. Soon, the reign of the newly crowned King Enrique and Queen Moegi would begin and the skies would once again be safe to sail. Except, of course, the occasional attacks from monsters, bandits and Black Pirates were still around. But, if you would put that all aside, everything was getting back to the peaceful era it once was long ago. When before the ancient civilizations threw their most precious treasure away. The most simple and beautiful treasure of peace and friendship. At least, that's the way that a certain redhead thought.

She was joyous of the final outcome of the trials and hardship her comrades and she had faced. Together they had overcome the odds and unified the skies. After all that they had been through, they endured and were made stronger than they once were. The countless fears this certain young woman faced…suddenly vanished from her mind.

Well...all apart from one.

The Rogue was scared to death about admitting her true feelings towards her Captain. Even though she went as far as kissing him the night before that decisive battle, which she still blames those darn bottles of loqua for, she could not face him. Thoughts of him frequently in her mind made her nervous of even looking at him for too long. The fear of rejection and the fear of ruining friendship between them haunted her. Her heart had fallen deeply and hopelessly in love.

Aika sat down on the cool paved ground with her back against their mighty flagpole, which stood high and proud on Crescent Isle. The flapping sound of their flag blended in with the soft laughter and occasional cheer made by the crew down by the tavern. Normally she would be down with the rest of the crew joining in with all the fun, but she wanted some time right now to be alone with her thoughts. And, of course, those thoughts were of Vyse.

A slight smirk crossed her face along with a shade of light shade of cherry as her mind thought back to that "loqua caused kiss".

She was quickly brought out of that vision of love with the sound of a large splash and mild cursing that followed it. The cursing suggested that Hans had accidentally pushed Marco into the decorative fountain that was located right in front of the tavern. After a slight pause of silence even more laughter echoed throughout the island.

A warm wind came to the isle and danced through Aika's hair which she had let down for the day. It was usually always braided for her convenience when she was in battle. But now was a time to relax. Plus Vyse always gave her a certain look that she liked when her hair was that way. Her face reheated once more and held a faint hint of pink.

Trying to get her mind off certain things, she ran her fingers through her hair only to realize that it was a bit difficult to do so. Aika sighed. She would have to comb it yet again. Once again realizing that it was the main reason she didn't really like to let it down. All the knots and tangles she would get in her hair from the unceasing changing of the winds called for constant attention. With a withheld groan she got up and walked to her room.

The Pirate reached her door and gave a quick look over her left shoulder towards the Captain's room. She quickly shook her head of her earlier thoughts and went inside of her room and shut her door behind her. Taking in the aroma of her scented oils of jasmine she had left on her desk, she shut her eyes and let her mind relax. After a few seconds Aika slowly opened her eyes again and they settled on her very comfy bed.

"A nap would be nice." She thought, but very quickly decided that those tangles just needed to go.

Aika walked to her wooden dresser and handled her mother's small black stone comb. It was her favorite. The spine of it held swirled etchings and at the tip of each one of them, held a brightly contrasting red moonstone fragment. Once again she looked towards her bed and as if silently betraying her judgment earlier, she sat down on her bed and deemed it a good place to detangle her hair.

Gently, she worked the comb through her soft, shinny locks removing them of their faults. She only slightly winced when she arrived at those oh-so-stubborn knots.

She set her comb down beside her when she was finally pleased with the results. Her mind drifted again, taking her eyes towards her light blue pillow.

Aika's eyes traced the small flower pattern and she lifted her hand towards it. Removing it from its' place and setting it aside as she refocused on the glimmer of green that lay underneath it. A little green moonstone carved into the shape of a lopsided heart. It was a gift she received from Vyse three years ago for staying by his side while he was sick. Her face softened with the memory.

Recollection

Aika sat on a very uncomfortably stiff chair next to Vyse's bed at Pirate Isle. He had developed a high fever which grew worse every day. She spent the time usually singing to him or describing to him; one of her extremely exaggerated and amusing stories while cooling his head with a damp cloth. It went on for days as well as her welcomed company. During all that time she spent together with him, she never once left his side, not even to go home or on raids. It was then that she really fell in love with him. The small smiles she received from him kept her drawn to him. Those feelings she was experiencing from the glances he stole from her sparked her heart. She realized that she was growing up and so was he.

Vyse eventually became better and things went on again as they used to be. The random raids and practicing of their weapons as well as the occasional mischief they seemed to always find themselves in involving Captain Dyne's favorite looted goods.

During this time, Vyse decided that he wanted to give something to his best friend to thank her for being there for him while he was in need. The thinking process to just what he was going to get for her took a while but he finally thought of an idea and set off to work. When he was finished preparing his gift he immediately set off to find Aika.

"Aika?" Vyse hesitantly spoke up while hiding his hands behind his back.

"Yeah? What's up?" She slightly arched her eyebrow.

He became nervous when her bright, curious eyes met his."Umm, I wanted to...give you something. Err...here ya go."

He held out his and palm up with the green object lying on top of it. She gave a small but bright laugh of delight at the gift and immediately took it into her hands, all while Vyse gave the goofiest expression of satisfaction ever seen as far as the skies would go. He waited with a smug grin to see what she thought about the "BEST GIFT IN THE WORLD!"

"Oh, Vyse! I love it! It's such a cute little puppy!"

"..." "Aika...It's not a puppy."

"I...uh...well, of course it's not!" She immediately turned it upside down. "It's a monkey!"

"...No."

Turning it sideways she asked, "A bird?"

"No."

"Is it some type of exotic nut?" She asked with a confused look on her face.

"Tch, NO! It's a heart! I made it for you out of that green moonstone we found the other day, and I happen to think that it's a very good heart if I say so myself, thankyouverymuch!" He quickly spun around and turned his nose up in the air. Certainly his fine craftsmanship was not appreciated in his Lunar Era. Just like all the greatest artists were unacknowledged before him.

"Vyse?" Aika softy spoke.

"...Yeah?" He slightly turned his head towards her.

"Thank you so much!" She squealed. "I've never gotten anything like this before. And it means a whole lot more that you made it for me! Thank you...Vyse." her eyes misted over and she looked like she wanted a hug.

Vyse wasted no time and took her into his embrace. The short friendly hug that they shared lasted a little longer than it should have. But neither of them seemed to really care. Vyse liked the way she felt in his arms. And Aika didn't seem like she wanted to let go any time soon. They stayed that way for quite a while. He slowly ran his fingers through her hair which caused her loose braids to come undone while taking in the lovely scent it had. He soon then realized what he was doing with his "Best Friend" and froze immediately. Aika's eyes shot open at the exact same time and they both gasped. They quickly let go of each other and both had brilliant shades of scarlet stained across their faces. They became so shy towards the other at that moment and didn't know what to say. Both just smiled at each other and went about their own usual things for the day.

Recollection Ending

That memory always warmed Aika's heart. Although they never spoke of that moment again, the emerald colored heart-shaped moonstone always remained under her pillow.

The redhead came to her senses and realized that she had been drifting again. She seemed to be doing that a lot more as of late.

"What a silly girl I am", she thought. She ran her fingers though her hair and once again imagined that Vyse was running his fingers through it in that loving embrace. The warmth in her heart started to turn cold when she realized that all she had of him in that way were memories alone. And, she added, that that was all that she would have. Her heart tightened.

"Moons! What's wrong with me?" she exclaimed as she began to hit herself on the head with her hands.

"You've gone mad." Spoke a soft voice.

"…God?" She thought with a bit of fear with her hands frozen in the air while she slowly cracked one eye open only to land on the worried face of Fina. Letting out a sigh of relief that a higher being wasn't pouring its divine judgment on her, she noticed that the Silvite looked like she was about to begin summoning her power to cast the spell of Curia on her supposedly "crazy" friend.

"Well, maybe she isn't too mistaken at this point." The red-headed Pirate admitted to herself.

"Wait. I'm alright, Fina…just a little frustrated." She grinned.

"I still have much to learn about your ways. I did not know that one was to repeatedly hit themselves silly to drive frustration away." The Silvite said with a thoughtful look.

"Uh, yeah." Her smile widened more. "If you hit hard enough…all the memories just fade away." She joked and stuck her tongue out.

"Oh."

"Wait…never mind." Aika added when she realized that the poor girl thought she was serious.

Fina decided to put away the odd thoughts that she had and decided to think about them later. She already knew that her dearest friend was frustrated and that needed more attention now.

"What is troubling you, Aika?" She asked her with concern.

Aika gave a small smile. It was just like Fina to always want to help out when she could. The loving heart she carried was great. She always knew this is why just about every man on this Isle looked at her in such a way that would make every other woman jealous. That, and that she was more beautiful and ladylike than any of them could ever dream to be. Well, everyone except Urala and Moegi…but they already had Hans and Enrique as their husbands...so they didn't count. It's just that being like them wasn't very Pirate-like, which happened to be what Aika was; A Vice-Captain, a Blue Rogue Pirate.

"No wonder she even caught the eye of her Captain." Her subconscious hinted towards her.

Yes, who would not help but fall in love with Fina! Aika's heart tumbled. She had felt Vyse's eyes slowly stray away from her and towards her beloved friend through their journey together. It pained her but she still held onto that hope that he would once again give that attention back towards her. Perhaps, that kiss she gave him wasn't so influenced in that manner that she always stated it was at all.

Aika inwardly sighed and spoke to her friend, "Nothing, really. I just…well, I want something. Something that I don't think I can have. And I just don't know what to do about it. It's driving me a bit insane because I can't do anything but think about hi-...it." she fumbled a bit at the end but quickly recovered without raising any suspicion from her Silvite companion.

Fina gave Aika's situation bit of deep thought as she tried to figure out a solution to her problem. After a minute she looked like some familiarization came across her face and smiled. The Silvite looked towards her friend and said, "Well, you can't just dwell on these things. I think the only thing you can do to fix this is…to just take it."

"Wha?" was Aika's confused reply. "Since when did Fina give out such blunt advice?" She thought.

"Well, we are Pirates, right? We take what we want…is that not true?" She still was giving that same smile.

"Wha?" was the same confused reply that Aika gave. "Fina? When did you become so bold? I think you're the one that's gone mad now!"

The blonde girl blushed, "You told me, once, after we had given Ramirez his final release into the skies, that I was now a Blue Rogue…and that we would be Pirates from then on together. And I know from what I have learned from both you and Vyse that this is how Pirates are. So, why should you worry about trying to take something you think you cannot attain? That does not seem like the Aika I know." Fina finished with an authentic look on her face. She was being honest and Aika could tell.

Aika thought on this little statement that Fina had presented to her. She thought about the possibility that could be carried on with that view. Still, the constant nagging feeling that it wouldn't work kept itself apparent.

"He is my Captain, and I am his Second." Aika reasoned with herself. "Should I even dare to ruin what we have now on the chance that we...could be…" she trailed off in her head. The battle began inside of her. Not knowing what she would decide but inwardly knew the answer. Every moment she thought that Vyse was out of her reach…she died inside. The frown grew greater on her face all the more she thought of it. She then knew that her friend was right. Aika looked at her Fina who had watched her with apprehension as always when she got this way. There wasn't any need to make the poor girl worry.

Aika gave a genuine smile towards Fina. Everything did seem clearer in this sense. Moons, she WAS a Pirate! And why wouldn't the same rules apply now as they did all other times? Well, it wasn't like she was going to rope Vyse up and carry him off into the sunset all to herself. This would just mean that she would confess her love towards him and well, that's all she realized she could do.

"Confess myself…to him." She was a bit distressed about it. If it was a big, slimy and scary monster, she could handle it. But if it was a man dressed in blue with a glass eye patch named Vyse…well, then, THAT was a different story.

"I guess I can't have it any other way, then." She finally spoke.

Fina's eyes grew happy as she felt the weight on her friend's shoulders suddenly disappear. Soon after, she excused herself to let Aika back to what she was doing before she first heard the disturbance outside. Once she left the Rogue smiled to herself with her decision.

Right then, she decided that tonight was the night. She would go to him and tell him how she felt. Reveal it all to him. Tonight, she would tell him that she was in love.

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Author's Ending Note – Hn. I decided to re-write the whole thing again. It's my story and I can do what I want to. AH! Please don't hate me for it! I lav joo. I seriously am serious this time about continuing and finishing this fic. See. I am ahead of what I had before!

Once again…LOVE ME! The Loopers demand it!

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