I do not own Soul Eater or any other character (hahahah get the pun?)

Ox has a Scottish accent yay!

Please read my comments in Chapter One for other accents (:

Special Regards:
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sapphireangel09
Another Witty Angel
.Poisoned Scarlet.
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Lilie

"Speaking of which…" He removed the sword from her neck and swung it around a bit, facing his back to her. "Hate to break it to you, but I don't actually know where this bloody book of yours is."

She couldn't decide if her heart sank to the depths of the ocean or if the temperature in her head rose to the height of the skies. She could not believe a woman of such status as herself was imprudent enough to get herself to one: join into a faux agreement with a pirate, two: ignore her moral values and beliefs against pirates, three: somehow make her way to being kidnapped and trapped onto a pirate's ship, and four: did I mention a noble like her was kidnapped…by pirates?

But she couldn't help but feel like all the blame belonged to her.

…

Her eyes went from open wide in disbelief, down to thin slits where she thoroughly glared at him, pretending to cut his heart out with her eyes; if he had a heart, that is.

"Liar! You told me that you know where it is. You've even got the key." She pointed out to him.

"Oh did I say that? Silly me. Reckon I've heard of it, but I don't deal with crap." He flipped the sword and pointed the tip of it at her collar. "Nicked that little trinket from a passerby ship, completely worthless."

The key was real. She knew that the item that hung around her neck was absolutely authentic and was as old as the Gods themselves. She thought about it for a while, and decided if it was worthless to him, she'd just keep the bloody thing. Such a pirate, to steal such an important item and treat it as though it were vulgar filth. This boy in front of her, pointing the tip of the sword at her, was exactly the worst type of pirate, and nonetheless the kind she despised the most.

If she wasn't tied up and being held captive, she'd probably spit in his face.

What the hell, she'd rather die than stay on this ship.

"You dir'y whore!" Kilik shouted at her. "Spi'in' in our cap'n's face!"

Said man laughed. Laughed. And Maka saw exactly why. Despite the dark-skinned pirate's sudden outburst, it was a failed attempt. She had never spit like that before, it was very unladylike. The only memory she had to go off of was watching the commoners do so during her carriage rides through the streets. The attempted failure consistedof a small line of saliva dripping down the edge of her lips and a very small amount of spit on the tip of the sword.

He hacked up some saliva, turned his head to the side, and spit into a pot next to a desk. "That's how you spit." He mocked at her, to which she returned with another grimace. To clean his sword, he plunged the sword deep into the wood next to her head. She winced, closing her eyes for a second and moved her head as far away from the sword as possible. He left the sword there, and walked around her and began untying the rope around her wrists. While doing so he leaned over the side of the pole and whispered in her ear.

"I warned you to watch yourself, love."

She didn't have time to process what his words meant because as soon as her hands were freed he grabbed one of her hands into one of his own and walked back around the pole with a heavy grip on her wrist. She tried to run, but she was more logical than that. Where was there to run to? The sea? She'd have a better chance if she patiently waited on the boat.

"Take her onto deck." With a pull of his hand he shoved her into Kilik and Harvar, and each man kept a firm hold on each of her arms. "I want her cleaning it by dusk."

"What about her clothes?" Harvar asked his captain.

"What about them." Soul raised an eyebrow.

"If we're to run into another ship, suppose what they'll think seeing one of your crew dressed up in such a wealthy get-up. They might even think she's taken control over the ship."

The white haired man thought about it for a little, as Maka glared at all three men. One of the crew! Not even in hell. And she wished they'd quit talking about her as if she wasn't here. But she agreed, this dress was tiring her. All ripped and worn out, she wouldn't be caught dead in it. Although, since the possibility of that was rather high, she decided not to tease her choice of clothing just yet.

Rubbing his temples and groaning, he finally gave them an order, pushing the three out of his quarters. "Figure it out yourselves." He said rather harshly and then slammed the door closed in their faces, leaving them on the balcony of the second highest part of the ship.

"Charming captain you've got there." Maka told the other two extremely sarcastically. The two men began dragging her down the stairs onto deck to meet with a certain woman, whom they went to as first resort.

"Rather handsome though eh?" Harvar commented. Maka rolled her eyes as they lead her.

"He's got e'ery woman's eyes on this 'ere vessel." Kilik nodded in agreement.

Harvar sighed. "And I've just a sword and me trousers."

"No! That's quite a dashin' shirt you've got on there." Kilik pointed to him.

"You think so?" Harvar looked at him hopefully.

"From the bot'om of me boot."

"Thanks mate!"

"…"

"What? What you lookin' at me like that for?" Harvar asked his friend.

"You oaf!" He slapped his companion on the top of his head. "Yer s'pose ta comment me back."

"Well how the bloody hell am I supposed to know that?"

"It's common cour'esy."

"You want courtesy? Well here's your 'courtesy' ya git!" Harvar reached across Maka to punch Kilik.

Maka sighed as the two men began to one arm fight each other.

Of all places to be taken hostage.

.⌠∞⌡.

"Kid, surely you must know where she could have gone." The red head questioned.

Three men were gathered around a fourth man, who was sitting behind a rather large, organized, and cluttered desk. They were in the fourth man's office, complete with bookshelves and seating and a rather high ceiling. The youngest of the men, clothes in his daily black suit to match his black and oddly white streaked hair, sat in one of the chairs in front of the ornate desk, looking straight forward at the fourth red haired man. The other two stood around the young one, strolling around the office.

"I've already told you. The last time I saw her she was talking with the executioner." Kid responded with a straight face.

"You mean the warden?" Spirit asked, leaning his elbows on his desk. Kid nodded in reply. "Bloody hell."

"Why would she have an interest in talking with him?" Joe asked Stein rhetorically.

"JUSTIN LAW!" Spirit shouted.

They had already called the executioner to stand outside of the door after the first time Kid mentioned he was the last person he saw Maka talking to. At Spirit's call, the blonde haired and blue eyed man stepped into the office, clad in his black robe and cross necklace. "You called for me?"

"What is it you and Maka were conversing about earlier today?" He asked in a rather strict tone. "And don't beat around the bush."

Justin smiled. Well, if it can be called smiling because there was this hint of deviousness in his voice. The youngest warden ever, sentencing those who've done bad to death at such a ripe age, everyone knew to keep an eye out for his personality because certainly what he does would affect him negatively.

"If I may have a word before answering you, I believe the correct question for the situation would be, 'what did she want from me.' The way you phrased it… it made it sound like I was an accomplice to the young lady's disappearance." He spoke.

Everyone but Kid raised an eyebrow at his speech. Even Kid did not know why his childhood friend felt the need to speak to Justin Law, the executioner, she tended to stray away from the dangerous sort. However, the way the warden recently exposed a new and rather particular question, his worry grew larger and he wasn't completely innocent in her disappearance either because now, he had an idea what happened to her.

But should he tell the fleet admiral of his speculations? Or keep quiet and see if the grownups were witty enough to solve the case of his missing friend. Kid feared that if he told Spirit his theory of Maka Albarn's whereabouts, and they were not legitimate, his dear friend would be in even greater danger in the time that took or scared that Spirit would strangle him with words calling him a liar of not knowing anything about Maka's vanishing act.

Justin walked to the side of Spirit's desk and picked up a small, handheld telescope and began looking out the window with it. "It seems that your daughter has taken a liking to a particular item. Whether that be a tangible artifact or a boy I cannot say."

Kid gulped. Yep, his assumptions were correct.

"And why is it you cannot say?" Spirit pressed.

"Because I do not know." Justin put the telescope down, back on the desk. He walked closer to the floor to ceiling high window and put his hand on it, squinting to look farther outside. "Must be rather important though. Paid me seven hundred pounds to release a pirate who knew the location."

Seven hundred pounds! For a stupid novel! Kid thought in disbelief. He could not believe his friend would be so infatuated with ancient books she'd bribe an executioner to release a pirate.

Spirit stood up, screaming loudly in frustration as he did so. "Well there we have it! A pirate has kidnapped my daughter!" Kid felt relieved that him staying quiet worked out so well. "Joe, ready the fifteenth fleet. Tell them to search the seas for my daughter! I want every man who is doing nothing to get moving and find her!"

"Yes, sir." Joe said and exited the office.

"Well my work here is done, I think I'll retire for the rest of the evening. Good day." Justin bowed in fake gratitude and followed Joe out the door.

"Spirit, what do you think it is that Maka fancies so?" Stein asked his companion. "Perhaps she willingly went with the pirate to find it, and therefore was not forcibly taken."

"Either way, she is with a boy, whom I have no doubt about, that will cause her harm."

.⌠∞⌡.

"Ow!" Maka yelped for a split second and began to suck the side of her thumb.

"Is everything alright?" A tall, raven haired woman quickly ran to the blonde's side to aide her.

"Yes, just pinched myself with the button. I'm fine." Maka assured the woman. A few seconds while pushing the button through the hole as she intended, she stood up and showed herself to the other woman. "Well, how do I look?"

"Just like one of the crew!" The raven haired girl smiled. "I'll keep your dress in this box in case you need it. Sorry I couldn't find any other size, that's the smallest spares we've got." She apologized.

"No it's perfect! Thank you Tsubaki." She smiled.

Maka walked over to a mirror and studied herself more closely. She wore a dirty white long sleeved top that tightened around her torso and then flowed from the waist down, ending at just below her crotch and a brown leather vest on top of it. Her bottom attire consisted of pants and boots of medium height. She complimented herself on being able to pull off such a daring look. I look a lot like a pirate! She said in her head with disgust. She never imagined she'd end up dressing in the clothes of the people she most despised, much less be surrounded by all of them. Except this one, whom she was in the room with. She was sweet and the blonde had taken a quick liking to the girl.

"It might take some time for me to be accommodated to this." Maka commented.

"Oh don't worry, the clothes are really easy to get comfortable with. And I've got your dress in case you miss it!" Tsubaki said cheerfully.

"That's not what I meant." Maka said melancholically. "But thanks, anyways. You know, you are the most decent person I've met so far on this ship." She walked over and sat in a chair next to Tsubaki.

"You don't like being on the Nidhogg?" Tsubaki asked in disbelief.

"Not in the least." Maka quickly admitted. "I was kidnapped by your poor excuse for a Captain! I don't even know why he forced me onto this bloody boat! The dirty bastard lied to me! He stole a valuable piece of history from another ship and told me he knew where the book was! I even paid seven hundred pounds to free his ass from execution! Sorry, I don't mean any offense to you." She exclaimed, shortly venting her anger.

Tsubaki smiled at her, accepting the apology. However she had no idea what the devil she was talking about. "I'm sure he has a good reason for doing such things."

"What good would it do to bring a girl like me onto a pirate ship?" She asked Tsubaki. "I sincerely believe your boss is a loon."

"Please don't be so quick to judge Maka, he really is a good man." Tsubaki tried to persuade her. "Although I'll admit he's not the best at, executing his good intentions."

"He has good intentions?" She scoffed. "He's also only nineteen. You seem a great deal older than him, you should be the Captain!"

"To be completely honest, he really is the only person on the Nidhogg fit for being a Captain. And I'm only twenty." She said softly.

"Oh, sorry about that." Maka quickly apologized. "But, if I may ask, what is it that makes him so great to you?"

"He cares 'bout the lot o' us."

The two girls looked over at the door and saw a man with extremely short brown hair casually walking in with a sack over his shoulder. He had glasses on, and wearing a three quarter sleeved shirt with an open leather vest over it. He walked over to them, sat in another open chair and set the bag down.

"Maka, this is Ox. He's the one who keeps watch of the ship above deck. Got his own telescope too!" She said happily.

"Nice to meet you." He said and shook hands with Maka. "I heard about you. The noble that the Cap'n snatched. Don't worry 'bout it, he's a good man, Soul. Makes sure the seas are ready for sailin' before havin' us head out, he does. Always worryin' about the safety o' the crew, that guy."

"You're kidding." Maka said.

"I'm as serious as the tides o' the ocean, miss." He stood up from the chair and threw the bag to Tsubaki. "Anyways, just came in to give you the rations for our horde. We'll be needin' a hearty feast, that we will. I'll leave it to ya then. Maka." He saluted her with two fingers and walked back outta the room.

"Do you cook?" She asked her.

"I'm the chef of the ship." She smiled and threw the bag over her shoulder. "Well, I'd best be off feeding the crew."

"Wait! What am I supposed to do?" Maka asked her desperately.

"I'd pay a visit to the Captain if I were you. He's up there in his quarters." Tsubaki pointed. "Harvar told me he wanted you cleaning, but we've already done our share for the day so you'll have to talk to him."

"You're kidding." Maka said once again.

"Trust me, every one of us loves the guy, just give him a chance yeah?" She said as she left the room to go do her chefly duties.

Alone in the room now, she was left with her thoughts and given time to sort out her emotions. Maka Albarn, to say the least, was surprised to hear that the crew adored their captain. She kept her walls up, still very undetermined about the way she thought about him, and she decided she'd ask around and try to find the young man's weakness, that way she'd use it against him and be able to get off this bloody ship. She wasn't beaten yet.

She did as she was told, and walked across the large deck towards the stairs that lead to the balcony where the captain's quarters were behind. Every man and woman on deck stopped their activities and stole a glance of the privileged woman who now donned a pirate's attire. Intimidated at the fact she actually wore the clothes better than they themselves did, their interest and curiosity of the girl spiked to mountainous heights. Why their precious leader stole such a precious gem onto his vessel like borrowed cargo, still remained a mystery.

It was only after she invited herself inside the captain's quarters and invited herself in did they return to work.

"Soul, I need to speak with you." She said defiantly after throwing the door open.

She was met with the familiar red eyes, and one other pair of eyes that was a stranger to her. Above them was noticeably blue hair the spiked in all sorts of directions. The sleeves of his shirt looked like they were ripped off and turned it into either a sleeveless shirt or a severely shortly sleeved shirt, and she could see how incredibly ripped and muscular the man was. The two men were crowded around a table that had a large map laid across it. The facial expressions she saw were very undeterminable and she couldn't figure out whether they were irritated, angry, or satisfyingly surprised at her entry.

"Is that the girl?" The blue-haired one asked Soul.

"Yes, it is." Soul said slowly and questionably as he straightened himself. "What are you doing here?" He raised his voice.

"I need to speak with you." She repeated herself. Inside, she was frustrated that word had spread all around she had been taken on board. She'd rather the information not be available to so many strangers.

"We're in the middle of a meeting, love." He warned.

"Well fine then." She crossed her arms. "I'll just wait here until you have finished." She looked around as if pretending not to notice them, and her eyes caught the pole she was tied to earlier, and the sword still stuck to it with a smaller slit above it from the smaller knife the one called Kilik had stabbed into it.

He clearly did not want her here, but she was determined to annoy and frustrate him as much as possible. That way he would think of what a nuisance she was and would want her off the Nidhogg immediately. She could hear it in the tone of his voice, but she couldn't pinpoint it. He sounded less egotistical, less cocky, less rude, less teasing, etc. compared to when she had first woken up tied to the pole inside here. She didn't know what changed him, and she began to consider what the crew had said to her about him. Perhaps it was just to scare her? His tone, the way he talked to her, it seemed less…

…piratey.

If that was a word, anyways.

"We can finish another time." The blue haired boy said. "Try keepin' yourselves afloat while I'm gone!" He walked past Maka and left the room, closing the door behind him on his way out.

"Geez, what was that about." She said under her breath. "Who was that?" Maka asked him, walking deeper into his quarters, looking around at all the items on the wall.

"Black Star, right hand man, best mate, weapons expert." He answered shortly, and scanned her up and down and smirked. "The clothes fit you well, I see." After lack of any type of response, he asked, "Well, what are you doing here?"

"Yes Soul." She slammed her hand on the table, standing across from him and glared. "What am I doing here? I agreed to come along only if you took me to the Book of Eibon. Since I neither willingly boarded this bloody ship nor am being lead towards what I'm searching for, I demand to be let off immediately!"

"I'm afraid that's not possible." He looked at her from straight across the table.

"And why is that, if I may ask?" She said rudely and incredulously.

"We're not set to head into port for about a few days." He explained. "We'll be in another country by then and we won't return back to Death City for a few months."

She slammed her other hand onto the table. "Then why the bloody hell did you bring me onto the Nidhogg in the first place! Turn the ship around, let me off the next time you arrive into harbor, do something!"

"I can't promise you a safe trip home but feel free to leave at the next port." He offered to her. "Don't come crying to me when you're arrested and hung for being a pirate."

She scoffed. "Are you mad? I will just get my dress from Tsubaki, wear it, and give them my name."

He smirked. "You won't have your dress, lass. Your dress is on my ship, in the hands of one of my crew. Best of luck if you're aiming to try and take it back."

She wanted to hit him so hard. But he was physically stronger and the attack would have been in vain. Instead she groaned loudly and turned around, running her hands through her hair and on her hip, study pacing like crazy. Had he planned the whole thing? What were his intentions? She couldn't stand being stuck on the ship for another day let alone about a week! She calmed herself down, thinking no worries, papa probably has a whole fleet looking for me, and so her emotions were calmed down.

"So what, did you take me hostage? Do you want ransom?" She stopped with both hands on her hips and asked him.

"No."

"Well…?" She said rudely, expecting an answer from him.

He took a deep breath and ran a strong hand through his hair. He looked at her, to see her eyes very questioning, demanding, and innocent. The tension in the room was thick. Could he tell her why he had his men knock her out and bring her onto the ship? She would think of him as a monster. Well hey, he's a pirate for crying out loud! Fearless, reckless, brave, and charming! He took in another sigh before answering her long awaited question.

"I'll admit I lied so you would free me from execution." He started off, and he saw her shoulders loosen up as she was finally being given what she had been asking for.

"Go on." She ushered.

"It's hard to explain, but I couldn't risk dying. You know, you were being very loud when you confronted me after my release. You seemed so fired up I couldn't tell you I didn't know where it was because you'd go to your precious father and get me sentenced to hanging again and I couldn't afford that. If you talked about me knowing the book's location in front of my crew they'd have some sort of reaction to give away I didn't know it so we had to knock you out."

She paused before having any kind of response. He held his breathe in as he waited for her to react accordingly, but she took her sweet time about it. She was thinking how she should respond, how she should be feeling about this new piece of information. It was what she had asked for, but the whole idea was just preposterous! Although, he did tell the truth. She most likely would have gone to her father if he revealed his true lack of knowledge right then and there. However she also felt that knocking her unconscious was unnecessary!

"Well then why are you trying to keep me on this ship?"

"I'm not trying to keep you on! If anything I'm doing all I can to kick you off! None of us here need to be bothered by a woman of the privileged kind." He defended himself. "It just so happens I brought you here on a whim and I didn't think about the aftermath, so until I do you're stuck aboard the Nidhogg." He yelled at her.

"And what about you not giving me my dress?" She yelled back.

"I was just teasing." He smirked. "Lying, if you wish to call it that."

"Well expect me to be off as soon as possible!" She declared.

"Like I said, feel free to be condemned on your way across the border." He waved her off, the decision was made.

There was a silence between them, and Maka was trying to prepare to leave. However, she felt defeated, and noble woman or not she didn't accept that she didn't feel a closure in their conversation. How could she just leave the ship, she didn't feel like she was ready, even though she's only been on a day.

"Why were you so determined to not be hung?" She asked on a whim. When she saw his raised eyebrow as a reaction, she quickly added, "Just for curiosity's sake!"

He took in another breathe. He'd already told her most of the story, might as well tell her the rest. "I'm the only one on this ship fit to be Captain. If I die, my crew won't have any direction or leadership and they need someone to be watching over them. They highly deserve it."

She was surprised at his answer. She was expecting something more along the lines of him wanting to keep himself living for selfish reason like simply being he didn't want to die and he wanted to live the rest of his life. However, the opposite was true. It gave her a funny feeling inside, that what the others on the ship were saying about him was true. He was unselfish, he wanted to live on for the crew. It was funny, Tsubaki said the same thing about him as he was saying about himself. It nearly killed her to think that she might actually be changing her thoughts about him, and she mentally punched herself and made sure she stood her ground and kept herself strict when it came to judging the likes of a pirate.

"So you did not want to die because the crew needs you." She repeated her thoughts outside of her head. "Who knew the 'notorious Captain Soul' had such a soft side?" She teased.

"Oh lay off it you bloody broad!" He quickly snapped at her. He was not someone to be teased for having a soft side within his tough exterior.

She held in her pride. The nerve of this man to call her such a vile thing! "Why were you sentenced to death in the first place?" She asked. She figured, all of this trouble would not have happened if he hadn't been sentenced to hanging in the first place.

Her response surprised him. He had expected yelling, shouting, hitting, even a small amount of swearing would have done the job. "It's…complicated." He replied.

Maka sighed. She didn't really have to know why he was condemned, because what preoccupied her the most was why he didn't want to be hung. Now she saw why everyone loved their captain, he cared for his crew. He sucks ass at showing it, but he cares.

"Is that all? Because you can leave now." He said with a strict tone. "If you're going to be lodging on my ship until you get off at the next port, I'll be expecting payment before you-"

"Hold on a minute!"

He stopped his talking and looked over at her. She seemed to be struggling with herself. She was groaning and sighing and rubbing her temples. He waited a few seconds for her to say something, but all she was doing was study pacing and thinking rather hardly.

"What is it now?" He asked, extremely irritated.

She put up a finger, telling him to wait. He unwillingly obliged. He crossed his arms and took a seat in a nearby chair, raising an eyebrow. What was he thinking? Bringing someone like her onto his ship, infecting his crew with a girl like her. She finally finished her thoughts, and walked back over to the table. Maka slammed her fist into the table, put her other hand on her waist, and glared straight into his eyes across the table again.

"Look here, Soul." She emphasized how she didn't use the title 'Captain' with it. "Not that I have a choice or anything given the difficulty of the circumstances, but I have decided to tag along on this, ship or whatever you pirates call it, on one condition."

"Woah wait you just said you were leaving! I never agreed to keeping you on my-!" He tried to protest.

"I want to find the man who killed my mother."

She interrupted him. He should have known, he couldn't avoid listening to her prattle. He was stunned, shocked, and left speechless at her proposal. Did she not just hear him? He had no plans of keeping her on his ship, only long enough until he figured out a way to get off, no matter how long it took.

"Excuse me?"

"The man is a pirate, and if you are as great as you say you are, then you should have no problem finding him. He's one of your own, after all." She said defiantly and put both hands on her hips now.

"Sorry miss, but do I look like the Scotland Yard to you? I'm not gonna go looking for some missing child." He shot her down immediately.

"Come on! You're the only person I know who can-!"

"Why because I'm a pirate? Look I don't know what you think about us, but we don't get involved with each other's business unless it affects us or our crew."

She laughed. Laughed. He couldn't believe she was actually laughing at what he said.

"I don't think you quite understand the situation here, Captain." She smirked. "If you refuse me, I shall send a message to my father and make sure the hangmen take measure of your neck."

He twitched slightly. This woman in front of him really irritated Soul. She had the power to blackmail him, damn noble.

"What happened to you demanding to be let off the ship?" He questioned.

She paused for a moment, before speaking. "I thought about it. What you said is right, if I leave next port it'd be difficult for me to return home, especially if I'm on my own. It'd probably pain you if I left because I could always tell the guards you kidnapped me so if I'm willing to come to an agreement. So, if I am stuck on this vessel roaming around the seas until the next time you port to Death City, I want you to help me find him. It's the least you can do."

He was speechless again. And just like before, she had power over him. He completely regretted taking her onto his ship now, what a stupid impulsive decision.

"Like I said, I don't meddle with the affairs of other pirates. It's against the code."

"Pirates have a code?" Maka shouted in disbelief. He gave her a blank look, as if the answer to that question was absolutely obvious. She shook her head and her hands. "Nevermind, forget that." She turned her back to him and started walking away from him.

She was going to do this with or without him.

"Just to make things clear, you are not going to get involved. I won't allow that. This is between me and him, you'd just simply be helping me."

She had a point. He wouldn't admit it, but it seems he's lost the conversation. He was amazed and pleasantly surprised with her, how she managed to find a loophole in the code. He underestimated her. Going for other pirates wasn't his thing, he was just a free roaming pirate who would sometimes take little jobs to make some extra cash.

"I'll be expecting payment." He said strictly, crossing his legs in the manly way.

Excited he finally agreed to see things her way, she stopped a few feet from the door and turned around to smile at him. "We'll see about that."

"Is that sarcasm?"

"A mild amount."

She stuck her tongue out, and with that, she left the captain's quarters.

This is a very explanatory chapter, so I hope things aren't confusing!

Please Review!

It keeps the pirates alive (: