[Welcome back me mateys! Heh.. pirate jokes

(Ok but why am i the embodiment of ryou bakura .)

ANYWAYS PLS ENJOY]

…

Cooking was a lot harder than either Malik or Ryou thought it would be. Ryou had found out that there were over two hundred, nearly three hundred men on the ship they were on. The ship was so large that it didn't even look like that many, but there definitely was.

And Malik and Ryou had to cook for all of them.

Apparently the other crew members that were cooks thought it would be hilarious to leave all the work to the two new members who were now being called 'cabin boys.' It bothered Ryou the most, because that was the lowest possible position one could have, but he refrained from sharing this information with Malik. He wouldn't be too happy to hear about that.

It took them nearly the rest of the day to make dinner, and Ryou and Malik weren't even allowed to eat anything on the job. The smell of it was divine, for there were ingredients on the ship that neither of them could ever had imagined to cook with, or even hold in their hand.

The night's menu consisted of a beef stew made with fresh meat the pirates had supposedly obtained earlier that day. The vegetables were crisp and fresh as well, and Ryou wondered how they kept it fresh like that. They must not have ventured far, and made plenty of supply stops.

That only meant one thing.

They were stocking up for a voyage. An adventure. Ryou held the idea in the back of his head for he didn't want to get his hopes too high. How lucky would they be to have come aboard just as the crew was headed for an adventure?

Once the food was done, Malik and Ryou were told to set the dining hall. Despite their desire to complain, they did as they were told, and took their tired, slightly malnourished bodies to set the tables.

The many tables. The many long tables.

"They're doing this to us on purpose, you know," Malik grumbled, setting the silverware down after Ryou set a tin bowl at each place. "This sucks."

Ryou frowned a bit. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but it was still only the first couple of hours. "Don't be like that, Malik. It's only the first day. Besides, I was waiting to tell you this, but I think they're preparing for an endeavor. Didn't you notice how their pantry was filled to the brim with supplies? They're preparing for something."

This seemed to have cheered Malik up in the slightest, and he shrugged. "I suppose so. I don't know, I'm just ready to eat."

Malik placed the last spoon at the last place on the last table. Him and Ryou slapped their hands together in an accomplished high-five.

Before they had time to relax, the doors burst open, and in came the other cooks with the huge pots of beef stew. One of them yelled at Ryou to get out of the way, so him and Malik left the dining hall. On the way out, they were met with what was probably the entire crew huddled together waiting to enter. "Ah.." Ryou didn't have a chance to say 'excuse me', for a strong hand was suddenly rested on his shoulder, causing him to go stiff and speechless.

"I see my two new cabin boys actually got the job done. I'm impressed." Ryou could feel Mariku's hot breath behind him. He glanced over at Malik who was clearly bristled and irritated by the hand that also rested on his shoulder. "That means you get to eat."

Mariku pulled the two back into the dining hall, motioning for a cook to come over. "Unfortunately, though, cabin boys don't eat here. It is tradition on my ship to have the lowest member, or in this very special case, members, to keep watch for enemies. I trust you both will do a fine job."

The cook handed a bowl of stew to Malik, and then to Ryou. Malik wasn't impressed. "Well that's a stupid tradition. Wouldn't you want someone you trust to keep watch? It doesn't make sense to have the lowest members do it."

Ryou shot Malik a look and nudged him. Was he crazy? Who did he think he was talking back to the captain like that?

Mariku chuckled in response, a deep, rumbling sound. A sound that made Ryou tense and Malik lean toward Ryou.

"I suppose that's a good point. However, I only think that would apply to someone who had real enemies." Mariku inspected the rings on his fingers, his teeth biting and gliding along his lower lip. "I don't have those. I don't have threats. I just have people who get in my way. You're starting to act like one of those, Malik. You're not going to get in my way are you?" Mariku leaned forward before Malik had a chance to answer, which was surprising to Ryou because Malik always had a comeback. "I don't need to explain myself to a cabin boy. A cabin boy does as he as told. And what was it that I told you?"

Malik's jaw visibly tensed, his teeth grinding together. He looked away and mumbled, "Keep watch outside."

Mariku grinned, showing his yellowed teeth and nodding in approval. "Alright then! Get to it, cabin boy."

Ryou was quick to lead the way outside, for he worried that Malik wouldn't be able to control his temper. Mariku was clearly trying to rile Malik, but why? Malik didn't do anything wrong.

"I hate that guy," Malik ground out once they were on the main deck, a cool breeze welcoming them to the night. "I've only spoken to him twice and I already hate him. Who does he think he is? He can't talk to me that way."

Ryou smiled a bit, placing a hand on Malik's shoulder and guiding him over to sit on some crates near the edge of the ship. "Well, not to be technical, but he kind of can. He's the captain, Malik. We have to do what he says."

Malik scoffed as he sat down, but after a moment of silence, he let out a long, tired sounding sigh. "I know. I guess I'm just tired of being pushed around. Our whole lives, Ryou, we've been pushed around. Forced to accept it and maneuver around it. When you told me this plan, I had the slightest hope that maybe it would be a fresh start for us."

Ryou stared at Malik's bowl of stew, his brow furrowing as he shook his head. He set his own bowl to the side and shifted his body to give Malik his full attention. "It is. I would take this over our stupid lives at home any day, and not just because I like pirates or anything. Malik, we didn't have to think about whether or not we would be eating tonight. We don't have to chase rats out of our living space. We don't even have to worry about money here. I think I would take some belittling over starvation any day." Ryou smiled then, leaning over to rest his head on Malik's shoulder. He felt Malik stiffen, a sign that he wanted to make sure Ryou's head didn't slip. "Besides, we're doing it together. We wouldn't be here if it weren't for you, and I certainly wouldn't be here at all without you. You being my friend makes everything a hundred times better."

Malik smiled then, a small curve on his lips. "Yeah. You're right. Now get up you sappy goof. We have a stew to eat." He nudged Ryou with his elbow so he would sit up, and Ryou did. Ryou picked up his bowl and set it in his lap, swirling the spoon around a few times.

"Malik?" He said, waiting for Malik to acknowledge that he heard. "I know this is silly and kind of stupid to say, but.. We're always going to be friends, right? I mean, you're sort of all I've got. I don't really know what I would do without you."

Malik was just about to shovel his spoon into his mouth, but he stopped still. He looked at Ryou and offered that same small, but reassuring smile. "Of course we will. I promise. Don't forget that you're all I've got, too. Now eat. We've had a long day and I don't expect tomorrow to be any easier." Before Malik started on his food, he ruffled Ryou's hair, which earned him a glare and a small shove. Then, as the two ate and looked out at the night sky, they found themselves chatting idly about the stars, sharing stories they probably have shared a million times before.

A few weeks went by, and Ryou and Malik were slowly but surely getting used to the pirate life. They often had different jobs: Malik mopped the deck while Ryou cleaned and tidied the canons. Ryou had gotten pretty dirty, and he joked with Malik one night about how he finally looked the part of a pirate. That was a tradition they had now. Since they were the lookouts, they met at the same spot at night and talked about the chores they did that day. It was odd not seeing each other every minute of every day, but at the same time it seemed to only fuel their friendship even more. They were excited to tell the other about the day they had, and they never had a night where they didn't chat until the fell asleep.

Well, the weeks came and went, and one day, while both Malik and Ryou were mopping different parts of the ship, they heard a cry.

"Land ho! Land ho!"

Everyone on the ship looked up at the man in the crow's nest, then out to where he was pointing. Malik raced over to where Ryou was mopping and pulled him to the edge of the ship. "Ryou, look! A beach! I see a beach!"

Ryou squinted and saw the beige on the horizon, with a mound of green in the background. "Is it an island? Are we getting more supplies or-"

Malik and Ryou looked at each other and grinned. "Treasure!" They said in unison.

Ryou heard a familiar thud coming from behind them, and he saw men scattering away and back to their positions out of his peripheral vision. That only meant one thing.

"Ah, look! It's my favorite couple of cabin boys," Mariku said, his cane tapping on the deck right before each step he took. Ryou and Malik turned around, and when they did Mariku was already pretty much on top of them. "Are you excited? I'm excited." Mariku took in a deep, shaky breath. "I can feel it in my bones. We're so very close. Do you know where we're going, cabin boys?"

Malik bit his tongue and answered for the both of them. "No. Care to fill us in? Even though it seems a little late by now."

Mariku chuckled and moved forward, putting each one of his heavy arms around the boys' shoulders, turning them around so they were facing the view of the island again. Ryou could advocate for Mariku's claim of being excited. He could feel the man's blood rushing and his fingers twitching.

"We're looking for something that belongs to me. Something I've been searching years for. Your little town on the shore gave me just the lead I needed. That's why I let you come, you know. You're my good luck charms." Mariku pulled the two in closer, and Malik was already wrinkling his nose and growing tense. "And I wasn't wrong," the captain continued, "Not once did we have bad weather, and now look! We're here so soon! Looks like I made the right call with you two, which is why I'm telling you this now."

Mariku dropped his arms and reached a hand into a pocket on the inside of his coat, pulling out a piece of paper. His hand shook with anticipation. "This.. This paper is very important." He handed it to Malik. "It contains directions to a box. It's a very special box. Since you're both so lucky, I'm sending you on an… excursion of sorts. You see, the directions are written in riddles, and I have no one on my crew who can figure them out. I have…" Mariku practically giggled, his tongue darting out of his mouth to lick over his lips. "I just have a good feeling that you'll be able to get it. You're going to find my box and bring it back to me."

Before either Ryou or Malik could reply Mariku turned around and began shouting and barking orders to his crew, walking away to make sure that every man was stationed and prepared to anchor. Ryou stared at the paper in Malik's hand, his mouth wide open.

"Malik, do you know what this means?"

Malik looked up at him and grinned. "Our captain told us to find an important treasure?"

Ryou nodded fervently and nearly began to jump up and down. "Not only are we finding a treasure, but it's our chance to prove ourselves, Malik! Maybe, if we do a good job, he'll give us an upgrade or something! He can make us his official treasure hunters." Ryou laughed, but he was still hopeful. So was Malik. The constant chores were really becoming tiresome for them.

"Let me see those riddles," Ryou said, standing close to Malik as he unfolded the paper and held it out for both of them to see. Ryou hummed as he read through the first few, then he laughed. "Heh, these are easy," He said, earning him a surprised expression from Malik.

"Easy? They're like, five sentences each! I read the first one and can't make any sense of it."

Ryou chuckled, leaning over to point at the words. "I only looked at the first two, but they're in a code. The words are all scrambled and when you put them in the right spots, the actual riddle is formed. I've seen something like this before. It just might take some time to get the words in the right place."

Malik laughed in disbelief, slowly shaking his head. "Boy am I glad I have a stupid nerd for a best friend. Who would have thought that you're obsession with games and shit would come in handy?"

Ryou laughed as well, shrugging. "I guess you just lucked out, huh."

As the ship approached the shore of the Island, Ryou spent the time studying and rewriting the riddles on a seperate sheet of paper. He figured it would be faster to do that part now, and that he could solve them when they needed the directions. It was fairly difficult, but by the time the ship had rocked forward and back, forward and back, Ryou had finished crossing the t's and dotting the final i's.

Malik and Ryou followed the crew out to the water and swam with them to the shore. Mariku had his men guard the perimeter of the island and had ordered others out into the forestry. Then, once Mariku seemed to feel secure (for which Ryou was unsure why he wouldn't feel safe on what looked to be a deserted island), he directed Malik and Ryou on their mission.

The two approached the leaves that would lead into the uncharted area, and they looked at eachother.

"Ready?" Malik asked.

Ryou nodded firmly, a determined smirk making an appearance on his otherwise soft looking face.

"Ready."

[Ahh ok I should have the next chapter up VERY soon! Sorry this was… a little sappy i just um love angstshipping and :) It's all a part of the Master Plan :))) Thank you for reading! Please review!]