Dreams and Dread.

We were boarding the ship the following morning and we were ready to leave Albania on an English merchant ship. The captain informed us that we should be able to reach Italy by midnight. Siegfried settled their agreement and I was being stared at with lecherous eyes. I scoffed at the men, knowing that if they put a hand on me, I'm going to guarantee that they don't return home. The captain offered us the passenger room and we gladly took it. We went in and took a look at the passenger room and I noticed that it was a room with one bed in it. I quickly blushed after realizing that Siegfried and I would be sharing the same room. I looked at Siegfried and he just took a glance at me. He looked at the captain and nodded.

"We'll take it," he said.

"But of course. 'Tis all I can offer for the young couple," said the captain.

"Couple?" I asked softly and raised an eyebrow. Apparently the captain didn't hear and he left the cabin.

"I'm going back to the port to get the rest of our stuff." Siegfried looked back at me and I nodded approvingly. Clearly he didn't hear the captain mistaken us for a couple.

"Alright. I'll be in here."

"Don't you want to meet the crew?"

"Yes, and I'm going to give the crew exactly what they want when they gave me those perverted stares." I rolled my eyes and Siegfried chuckled. He left the room and went to get our stuff. I walked over to the bed and sat down, bouncing up on it a bit. "At least it's comfy. Oh, wait a minute. This bed is big enough for the both of us. I'm going to be sleeping in the same bed with Siegfried?" I said to myself. Thoughts quickly rushed to my mind and they kept getting more sexual as I kept thinking about them. I brushed them off as I shook my head vehemently and covered my face with my hands. "Why in the world am I thinking these things?"

I heard a horn blow after an hour had passed. I looked outside of the cabin and watched the crew working on the deck of the ship. The captain was barking orders to his men and they double-timed their duties. I saw Siegfried looking around at them doing what they were supposed to do with our luggage. I leaned against the door's frame and folded my arms. A smile formed across my face as I stared at the German. He was pretty handsome, and I wasn't really interested in things like these. All I was taught was to do what I'm told to do. Siegfried spotted me and he picked up our baggage. I went over to help him and grabbed the lighter ones. Once inside of the passenger room, he dropped the luggage on the ground and he quickly looked at me. I stared at his teal eyes and I opened my mouth. Siegfried bent down and I watched his hands go down to where mine were. I thought he was going to grab them but instead, he took the bags I was holding and placed them on the bed. I rubbed the back of my neck because I felt so flustered. Siegfried opened the window and allowed the gentle breeze to enter. His hair was flowing with the wind and I felt it press gently on my face. He sniffed the air and stretched his arms out. Then he leaned against the wall as he began to unbutton his shirt. I thought he was going to remove it but he only unbuttoned the first two buttons on his shirt. I walked up to Siegfried and watched as we slowly departed Albania. I sighed and Siegfried looked at me.

"Something wrong, Taki?"

"No, nothing. I feel a bit tired, that's all."

"I can leave the room if you want to rest. I'll be with the captain."

"Sounds like a good idea. I don't think I got enough sleep last night."

"Neither did I. Kept looking out the window."

"Something was on your mind? I know something was on mine."

"Not really. Birds kept pecking on the window. Interrupted my dream. Why, what was on your mind?"

"Oh, nothing too important. What were you dreaming about?"

"A land of chocolate, for some odd reason. I was munching on a chocolate lamp post. Anyway, if you need me, you know where to find me."

"Alright."

I watched Siegfried exit the cabin. When he left, I sat down on the bed and then I felt myself laying down. I stretched my body out and it still wasn't long enough for me to reach both ends. I put an arm under the pillow and stared at the ceiling. Those thoughts about Siegfried being in the same room and the same bed crawled back in again. I grabbed for the other pillow and I placed it on my face. I wanted to scream for an answer to why I was feeling like this. I was like on a high and Siegfried was the cause of it. I turned to face the window and I pouted. What the hell is going on with me? I'll figure this out when I get a good rest.

I slept for a good few hours and I sat up, scratching my eye. I woke up to the sound of joyous laughter and I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. I left the cabin and stretched my arms out, letting out a yawn. I was about to head down but I saw Siegfried staring towards the horizon. Night had already fallen and it was getting cold. I crossed my arms and felt my body shivering. I looked up and I saw one of the crew members steering the ship. He was engaging in a conversation who seems to be the navigator. I approached Siegfried and I tapped his shoulder. He was wearing his armour and he had a blue scarf around his neck. He turned around and he gave a faint smile. This was the first time he showed me that smile. I stood closer to him as we both looked in front of the silent path ahead of us. Every time we exhaled, a cloud of smoke left our mouths.

"A beautiful night," I started to break the silence.

"It is. A night of mystery and reminiscence."

"Reminiscence?"

"I killed my father during nightfall."

"I shouldn't be asking what happened exactly. And I haven't said it earlier, but I'm sorry for what happened."

"Why? What do you have to apologize for? It was my fault that he's no longer alive. I should take the blame."

"But it was an accident, no?"

"Accident or not, I had no right to kill that man. And I certainly had no right to take the lives of others."

"I still don't believe that's your fault."

"Why?"

"Everything happens for a reason. There's always a plan in every action we take and there's always a consequence. It's how we deal with what we did that really matters."

"I guess. But I would trade anything in the world just to take back what I have done."

"So would I."

"Why, what did you do?"

"Not really what I did, but I wouldn't mind going back in time to live the life of an ordinary person."

"Is it family?"

"It's always been about family. I never grew up in an ordinary household."

"Your parents were that strict?"

"I wouldn't know. They died when I was an infant."

"I apologize."

"Don't blame yourself for everything, Siegfried. You're not that special, you know." I smiled at him. His expression didn't change, however. He still had that guilty look on his face. "Besides, they were taken from some sort of sickness."

"So you were raised by others?"

"Evidently. I was raised by a number of shinobi and kunoichi."

"What?"

"A shinobi is a special type of an assassin. The common English word for a shinobi would be ninja."

"And a kunoichi?"

"Is a female version of a shinobi. Which is what I am."

"So you're an assassin."

"Yes. We were taught stealth, celerity, killing moves and a different version of perseverance. I was taught by my master and adoptive father. I always looked up to him when I was younger but everything changed when he became obsessed with Soul Edge. I abandoned my clan so I can get rid of that sword."

"You have a good head on your shoulders."

"I maintain the facade well."

"So I see." Siegfried and I shared a chuckle. I heard his stomach growl and he held on to his stomach. "I don't know about you, but I'm getting hungry. We should go to the mess hall and see what's there to eat."

"Sounds good. Lead the way."

"Ladies first."

"Hell if I'm leading the way. I don't want to get anymore disturbing stares from those slobs." I grunted and shuddered at the idea of those men thinking about me in a way men normally think of women. Siegfried laughed and went ahead to lead the way.

Walking down the mess hall, the laughter kept getting louder and louder. We didn't talk at all when we were heading down. I let myself enjoy the opportunity to be around Siegfried when I can. He was only being silent because he wanted to fill up his stomach. The only sounds that were being made were by his boots stomping on the wooden floor and my zori sandals lazily tapping it. When he opened the door, the crew took a moment to look at us before going back to whatever they were enjoying. I felt grossed out by them and felt uneasy. Siegfried didn't care and had a face of indifference on him. He went over to where a table of food was displayed and I followed. By the look and smell of the food, he was delighted. He grabbed me a plate and I bowed my head. I reached for some chicken and vegetables. Siegfried took everything he could and had a mountain of a plate. We walked to a table far enough from the men so that we can mind our own business and be out of ear-shot. While we gorged on our plates, we had a conversation about what to do with the swords. We came up with many suggestions but every time we thought about them, there was always a plan to backfire against our ideas.

"I can't simply toss it down the sea. People are bound to run into it. And there's Nightmare. The only possible way I can think of defeating him is if I use the holy sword."

"But don't you think relying on such power would have a terrible consequence?"

"I'm willing to risk another chance. At least this cause would be a whole lot better than what I did before."

"That may be true, but that's what you thought about Soul Edge."

"At least with both swords in my hand, I can have leverage against him."

"Whatever you say. I still believe natural strength is the true cause behind victories."

"It is. I'm just going to see what this power can do. And I'm not going to use it again once I accomplish this task."

"Good choice."

Siegfried turned to look at the crew. The ship's chef was telling them stories about sea gods and mermaids. The crew was obviously fascinated by the stories by the look on their faces and their applause. The chef was exaggerating greatly to emphasize the stories so they appeared to be believable and worth the story-telling. Siegfried and I watched them as we enjoyed each other's company and the story. I never heard much about leviathans since I grew up in mountains. I liked how similar some of the stories were to the ones told at home. We were approached by the captain and he grinned at his crew. He had two mugs in his hand and he handed us one each. I raised an eyebrow and looked down at the mug and smelled alcohol coming from it. Siegfried raised his and he looked at me. He took a large gulp and swallowed it as if it were nothing. I looked back at the captain to see him with his arms folded and giving me that grin he gave to his crew. I looked back to Siegfried and then back to him. Of course this was a drink but I was wondering why he would give me one.

"English lager, miss. Have a taste," the captain suggested with a thick accent.

"I know what it is."

"Then have a go at it! Makes you sleep faster and enjoy your husband's company the more you drink this." Siegfried's eyes widened and he spat out a large amount from what he drank. He wiped his mouth and looked at the captain with his eyebrows lowered. I put a hand on my mouth to prevent myself from laughing out of control and not to tell him about what he said earlier to me. Well, to us but Siegfried was too deaf to realize it. The captain laughed at Siegfried and pat his back a couple of times. "You look tense, lad. Drink up. There's more in tha' keg if you and yer lady need more 'motivation' to keep the both of ya' busy fer tha' night."

"Jesus Christ, are you trying to get us drunk?"

"In a sense, my boy. If ya' get drunk, ya' sleep faster. And by tha' time the both of ya' wake up, we would be in the wond'rous town of Rome."

"One night wouldn't hurt, right... darling?" I teased Siegfried.

"I guess not."

"Hear, hear!" shouted the captain. His crew responded and they all gave us that knowing smile as if we were going to do something. Siegfried rubbed his forehead and groaned a little. I just smiled at him at the ship's playful attitude.

"I can't believe him."

"Oh, come on, Siegfried. There's no harm in living a little. Relax."

"I am relaxed."

"Not with the way you sound, you're not."

"Fine, but I'm going to have a massive headache when we wake up."

I leaned closer to Siegfried and he pulled on his collar. I could tell he was feeling hot because of all of the armour he was wearing. Siegfried took a swig from his mug and drank down as if it were water. He went to get a refill from the keg and came back to the table within seconds. I took baby sips because the drink was very foreign to me. I was used to the sake back at home so I have to get adjusted to this. We went back to listening to the chef's tales about his adventures as we drank.

It had been an hour and the crew left us alone. Siegfried and I kept exchanging stories and the alcohol was helping us both loosen up. Siegfried told me about why he carries a massive sword. These "zweihanders" were used to fend off spears and other pole arms. After the misfortunate event he caused, he went to Ostrheinsburg to serve under Sir Stefan to obtain what he believed to be Soul Edge. He joined his Landsknecht and ascended the ranks, getting closer to Sir Stefan. He found the opportunity to kill the noble and ran away with the Grim Blade. Then I told him about my story. I told him about growing up to be a skilled assassin. I told him about why I left the clan and why I decided to pursue the sword alone. Every time I spoke, I would look into his eyes. His eyes focused on me and he would pay attention to everything I'd say. That's what I liked about him. Unlike some of the Fu-Ma ninja back home, no one would listen to me. It wasn't until I became that age where the men got interested in me. I would shove them away, of course. I didn't have that kind of a mind to fall into their devious trap. But whenever I'm with Siegfried, I feel like I've already fallen into that kind of a trap. I don't know how severe it's going to get, but something tells me it will be worth it.

"Getting hot in here," Siegfried said. He took off the top portion of his armour and placed it next to him on the ground.

"Yeah, no kidding."

I waved myself with my hand to fan myself. When that wasn't proven any use, I opened my shirt and allowed the breeze to enter. I felt my chest accentuate and I could tell my nipples were erect and protruding from my shirt. The look on Siegfried's face told me so, and where he was staring. I giggled at him and he snapped out of his focus. His cheeks turned a bright red and he looked away from me, shaking his head. I smiled some more and moved my chair closer to his. I felt his breath on me since we were that close.

"It's kind of getting hotter, don't you think?" I inquired suggestively.

"Uh... yeah... hot... getting hot... yeah..." Siegfried mumbled.

"Siegfried?"

"Y-yes?"

"Something on your mind?"

"No, not really. Why do you ask?"

"You seem tense."

"Just a little."

"Let me help you ease up that tension."

"How so?"

I didn't answer. I just snickered at him mischievously and reached for his hand. I grabbed his right hand and placed it on my chest. Siegfried gulped and I felt his nervousness on his hand since it was starting to shake. I pushed his hand closer to my breast so he can feel the soft flesh some more. Once I took my hand off, his hand remained there. Siegfried stared at his own hand and he pulled away. I pouted playfully at him and placed his hand back. I motioned his hand with mine clockwise and when I moved my hand away, he was doing it by himself. I felt myself enjoying this as he began to grope me. Then his other hand went for my other breast and he began fondling them as if he's never laid a hand on a woman in such a way. I leaned close to his neck and began kissing it. I lightly scratched his nape and felt him quiver. I felt both of his hands move away from my chest to his abdomen and I was sort of disappointed. I was surprised when one hand traveled inside of my shirt to go back to where his hand was and the other went down to my thigh. I gasped and I kept smiling naughtily at him. Siegfried started to play with my nipple and I moaned delightfully. I pushed my chest forward and arched my back as I let Siegfried closer to my chest. He leaned down to my neck and began to kiss it softly. I felt his tongue glide up and down the side of my neck and I felt myself feeling warmer. He took his hand out of my shirt and bent down to where my chest was. He lifted my shirt up so he can get a good view at my breasts. Both of them were sticking out and judging by the look on his face, he's never seen anything this big before. He leaned down and began to play with my left bosom whilst his other hand went into my skirt. He rubbed his fingers inside of my undergarments and I felt my spine tingle. I could tell my cheeks were redder than the devil's skin tone. He kept suckling on my breast like a hungry infant and I was enjoying it. I gave into the temptation and placed my hand on his pants where his crotch was located. I removed the buttons on his pants and I quickly pulled out his member. It felt long and it felt incredibly wide. I started to massage it and I can hear Siegfried mumble in pleasure. I bit my bottom lip and closed my eyes throughout the course of our actions. When his lips began to move upwards and kiss my cheeks, I looked down at what Siegfried was carrying. I was impressed at his size. For a short man, he was pretty long and thick. I gasped again when I felt Siegfried's fingers enter me. He didn't give me any time to adjust my position. He kept jamming in me like I'm used to something like this. I pressed my cheek against his shirt as I bit on his collar. After a few minutes, I felt something tingle in me and I released a wave of orgasm. Siegfried didn't stop, though, and I didn't want him to. He played inside of me and I pulled his hand out. He looked a little bit disappointed but I rubbed the stem of his member. I looked down at it and I thought of something. Without any hesitation, I gripped his shaft and I bent down and opened my mouth. He didn't expect me to do this, and he sure as hell didn't expect me to put all of him inside of my mouth. I bobbed my head up and down while one hand rested on the back of my head, caressing my hair a bit and the other fondling my chest. Siegfried's breathing was getting more rapid and I kept moving my head up and down, left to right. I slowly glided my mouth up and I reached the head. I suckled on it and planted kisses before I went back down to turn my head to the side, licking the bottom of his shaft. I put his member back inside of my mouth and I continued to motion myself seductively. The only sounds I could hear was my saliva smothering his shaft and his loud breathing. I suddenly felt him squeeze my bosom a little tighter and the hand on the back of my head gripped the back of my skull. I don't know why, so I kept on sucking down on him. All of a sudden, I felt a wave of thick liquid squirt into the roof of my mouth. I swallowed it and I didn't like the taste of it. I didn't care as I continued to keep moving my head up and down. I did that for a few minutes until I felt another wave shoot in my mouth. He shot his load further down into my throat and I gagged a bit. I pulled out from his mouth to look at his face. His eyes were closed and his mouth was open. I leaned close to him and kissed his mouth, letting my tongue enter and play with his own. He didn't like the taste of his cum since I felt him gag. I giggled while we were kissing and he continued to massage my chest. I turned to my right and I hit something hard. It felt like I hit a tree. I opened my eyes and I saw a wall in front of me. I sat up and I saw Siegfried sitting on a chair near the door with his armour on and his arms folded. His head was lowered and he was nodding up and down. He was asleep. If he was asleep, then so was I. What in the world did I just dream just then? I rubbed my face and I looked down to see that I hadn't changed my clothes. Nothing was altered. No buttons were removed and there were hardly any crumples on my clothes. I plumped back and went back to sleep. It's a good thing I didn't wet myself or anything.

"You cur!" a voice shouted. I was a little awake to hear the voice. I felt the ship rocking back and forth and the waves splashing. I also heard swords clashing and feet running around and random voices being yelled, but the one that was the most distinguishable was Siegfried's. I fought hard to fall asleep but I was disturbed by deep breathing. And it sounded near. I opened my eyes and with the help of the candle, I saw a shadow on the wall. The person was wearing the captain's hat and two objects stood out as if they were swords. I slowly turned around and I quickly rolled away as the person struck down with both swords. One of the swords looked like it was the female half of Soul Edge while the other was a curved sword with a pistol's body serving as the hilt. I looked up at the man's face and I saw ghastly eyes. He had no pupils. I held my breath as I realized who it was.

"Cervantes."

"Hahaha, yes, that's right. Why don't you give up already?" Cervantes goaded me.

"Unlikely." I turned around and grabbed my kodachi but as I turned around to face him, he kicked my side and sent me flying across the room, breaking down the door.

"You're not going anywhere!" Siegfried shouted. I looked up and saw Siegfried assaulting somebody with a slap from his zweihander. It chopped the unfortunate person in half. From the looks of it, Siegfried had been fending these assholes off while I was asleep. I turned around to see Cervantes slowly approaching me.

"Not so fast," he told me.

"I'm through with words." I pushed myself up and dodged one of his attacks.

"Try this!" Cervantes took a swing at me, but I dodged. I let out a shriek and I punched him in the gut.

"Stay down!" Siegfried shouted. I turned around to see the crew and the captain's bodies laid on the ground. They were dead.

"Surprised, little lady?" Cervantes laughed, mocking me. I smirked and wiped the blood from my mouth.

"Are you done now?" He tried to take two swings at me, but I somersaulted and appeared behind him. I grabbed his jacket and I threw him out into the open sea. I heard him yelling followed by a splash. I turned to Siegfried delivering a number of blows on the pirates that raided our ship.

"Time to fly!" Siegfried yelled as he launched one pirate into the air. He landed and crashed through the deck. I ran up to the top and I found a musket near a burning barrel. I loaded two rounds and I whistled. It got their attention and some of the pirates looked at me.

"Over here!" I shouted. Several of them approached me and I shot down two of them. I didn't have the chance to reload so I grabbed a barrel and threw one down the steps. They fell down and the barrel exploded. I suddenly realized there was gun powder within the ship and I jumped down, running to Siegfried.

"That's it!" Siegfried stomped furiously on the ground on the downed pirate. I grabbed him and we jumped off of the ship right when it exploded. We jumped in the air as we were thrown off by the explosion and we flailed our arms and legs. Siegfried was the last to dive so he felt the explosion before I did. When I resurfaced, I saw Siegfried unconsciously floating.

"Siegfried!" I swam to him and grabbed him. I placed him on a wooden raft made from the ship and I swam to where our stuff were. When I came back, I laid on the raft and I closed my eyes.

I don't know how long it was but I felt the sun basking on my skin. I groaned as I felt my body shifting back and forth like crazy. I kept hearing voices but I wanted them to stop. I wanted to sleep some more. I felt my face being tapped and when I opened my eyes, I saw a blurry Siegfried. I could tell it was him because of the long blond hair.

"Taki."

"Mmm."

"Taki!"

"Ugggh..."

"Taki, wake up!"

"Urgh... huh?" I sat up and looked around. We were on a pier.

"Good, you're awake."

"Where are we?"

"Italy."

"Italy?"

"Yeah. We drifted here."

"How do you know we're in Italy?"

"I saw some of the signs. Plus, the 'Welcome to Rome' kind of threw it off."

"We made it!" I got up but I felt myself fall down. Siegfried quickly caught me and my chest fell on both of his hands. He didn't squeeze them, but I didn't care. I was exhausted.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. You need to relax. We'll go to an inn."

"What about our stuff?" Siegfried pointed to an elderly man who waved at us.

"I gave him some money to watch our things. I'll be back for them."

"Suits me..."

"Alright, up we go!" Siegfried carried me on his back.

We reached the inn within a few minutes. It felt like forever while I was riding his back. I heard people talking very loudly around us. I could still feel water splashing in my ears. When we reached the inn, he didn't even check-in. I guess that he already paid the inn-keepers before I regained consciousness. He took me to a room where I spotted two beds. He gently placed me on one and he was about to walk out. Before he did, he turned around at me and I sat myself up.

"How long were we out?"

"Quite a while. It's only nine o' clock. You rest here while I go get our crap."

"Good idea. I'm so tired."

"I'll be back."

I laid against my bed and I fell asleep almost right away. I woke up the next morning with a bowl of soup on top of a table next to me. Siegfried entered the room the instant I woke up and saw that I came to. He silently greeted me while he blew on his bowl. I felt the scent drift to my nose and I liked what I was smelling. We ate in silence. I gorged on my food like I hadn't eaten in days. I looked at the corner of my eyes that he was watching me eat. I turned to him and gave him one of those 'What?' looks and he chuckled. Once we were done, we put both bowls aside and I leaned against the wall while I extended my legs outwards on the bed. I looked at Siegfried and he gave me a small wave. I looked out the window and saw the people walking around town.

"What time is it now?"

"Should be around ten or so," Siegfried informed me. I got up and stretched.

"We should go around Italy."

"For what?"

"I want to find out what's so romantic about this place."

"Don't we have a job to do?"

"Yes, well, we've already been doing over-time with that little encounter on the ship. I think we deserve a break."

"I guess. This is going to cost us precious time, though."

"Like what I said, Siegfried, you should loosen up and live a little!"

"If you say so. I guess we can tour the place."

"Great!" I beamed a smile at him. He sat on his bed and I continued to look at him. I tilted my head and flashed him a smile that would cause somebody to question what you were thinking about.

"What?"

"I'm going to change and if you plan on watching me, you go ahead. Otherwise, you can wait outside."

"Oh, sorry!" Siegfried left the room and started scolding himself in his native tongue. I giggled as I heard the door closed and began to take my clothes off. I was kind of hoping he was there to watch me change so I can see his reaction. Ah, well.

"Oh, Kami... what is wrong with me?" I thought to myself.

"What was that?" Siegfried called from the other side of the door.

"Nothing!"

"Right."

"Sure as hell wasn't nothing."

"Huh?"

"I'm still changing!"

"I'll be downstairs!"

"Okay!" I opened my bag and I picked out a pink kimono. "This looks good. I want to see Siegfried's face when I wear this. What a dork."