Reaching down, he hooked a hand around the back of her neck, he tugged her small, slender body up a little bit, ignoring the her flinch as he leaned down into her personal space and said rather matter of factly, "Sorry, can't. I found you, and saved you- and by the laws of the sea- that means that you and your life both belong to me."

It probably wasn't the greatest thing in the world for him to say to a traumatized woman, he would muse a bit later on, but it was as close to being brutally honest as he cared to get at that exact moment.

Since then- several hours had passed, and the woman was sleeping again. Not that he could really blame her there, the slight rocking of his little boat was starting to put him in a sleepy mood to. Why he'd already almost fallen over the side of the boat at least three times.

Luckily he had managed to situate himself a little bit better by the time the fourth rolled around, sometime after lunch.

So after lunch, and an hour- maybe an hour in a half doze- he was up and checking his surroundings before he pulled out the old map of the area that he was currently in and noted with some satisfaction that he was much closer to where his Pop's had weighed anchor several weeks ago.

Which was good since it meant that he'd be back with his adopted father and friends before dinner time. Plus he really needed the ship's doctor to check the woman's injuries out. He was beginning to worry that there may be more damage done than he could actually see.

And then he needed to talk with Pop's about keeping her, giving her a cabin close to his own, and perhaps procuring some of his personal funds so that he could better take care of her needs.

He knew that if she was going to stay with them, she would need at least some decent clothing and shoes- definitely some feminine items, like scented soaps, lotions, perfumes, and stuff for her... He shifted around in his seat a little bit in a nervous manner as he thought, her monthly cycles.

A time where only the bravest of men would dare to try and go around her since many of the men on Pop's ship tended to get more than a little gun shy around a female on her cycle. And for good reason since the last time one of his friends had done so- he had pissed the woman off and shot him.

Speaking of... Note to self- keep any kind of weapon far, far from the woman's reach. Ace thought as the woman made a whimpering sound in her sleep, drawing his dark eyes to her. A frown marring his handsome face as he wondered what she was dreaming about.

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"Haruka..." A voice crooned, the tone filled with hatred and malice. "Oh Haruka... Come out and play-" She heard just before fingers trailed down her battered torso. Dark hair veiled her vision so that she didn't have to see her kidnapper's face much less what he was doing to her. Which in itself was a small mercy.

She didn't want to see. She didn't want to even know.

Though she knew that her small reprieve was over when she felt something metal and cold press against her bared flesh, causing her to twitch almost violently as he began to sink the metal into her body. The pain was welcome since after a while it numbed her, though she couldn't help the small plea that slipped passed her lips.

"No stop-"

She knew that she should have said nothing when she heard a, "That's right, pet. Beg me." as he cut her deeper, the metal in his hand warming as her blood ran down her body.

(************************************************************************************************************************)

Watching the woman's expression as she slept. He knew that she was likely reliving what had put her in a bad way before he had found her adrift and saved her.

He was so focused on her that he nearly missed the fact that an hour in a half later, the ship that he was to meet up with came into sight and he could hear some of his friends shouting happily on deck.

"Ace is back! Ace is back!" Several people shouted all at once as a rope ladder was tossed over the side of the ship he maneuvered his boat until it was just underneath the rope ladder. And then he moved to quickly grab his bag and the woman, startling her awake as he hefted her over one of his shoulders and then stepped up to the ladder and slowly began to climb while shouting at someone on deck to go and get the Doc.

He gave only what information he knew and nothing else.

He knew that this was partially to protect the woman's privacy as well as his own, plus he was certain that he, Pops and Doc would be the only ones to well and truly know what had happened to the woman after she had been treated. Which worked out well since no one would be able to use any information to force her or blackmail her into anything in the long run.

After all, the less the more unscrupulous guys in Pop's crew knew about her- the absolute better for her.

The moment that he finally reached the deck of Pop's ship, the Doc was there to meet him with his satchel of medical supplies. Obviously thinking at first that Ace had been the one badly injured- had anyone thought to tell him what he had told them too? Ace wondered as he quickly put the Doc's mind to rest as far as being concerned about him, and instead turned the man's attention on the woman as he carefully knelt down and laid her down on her back on the deck so that Doc could look her over.