An update! c:

I apologize for the wait! This is not quite as soon as I would have liked to have this one up...ehehe ^^;

Anways, without further adieu, enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN SOUL EATER.


Four

Soul watched Maka work from a distance. It had been a week and a half since he'd let her out of the dark. After their discussion in his cabin he hadn't spoken to her but he'd been observing her from afar ever since. He wasn't sure if it was just because he worried she would cause trouble or if it was because something about her interested him.

"You should really put a belay pin on that," she told one of the crew as she passed. The rigger looked alarmed but did as she instructed.

She did that sort of thing often, corrected shoddy work, assisted when she saw someone struggling with something and all the while continued her duties she'd been assigned that day by his mates. He'd moved her off bilge duty after a short while, her skills and knowledge made her valuable elsewhere. He shouldn't be surprised he supposed, she wouldn't have been the youngest naval Captain to date for nothing. Soul absently wondered why she had made such a change in her behavior, perhaps she was just biding her time? Preparing to attack him when the opportunity presented itself?

He sighed heavily, now he was just being paranoid. She laughed at something one of her former crew members said and he absently admired the way her face lit up as she did. It was nice to see her not scowling for once, a rarity to be sure. She kept her distance from his crew but interacted with her own comfortably. However, many of the captured crew were getting along well with his. He was excited at the prospect of some wanting to stay on when they reached port. The crew had been short for awhile now and they could use some new hands. Of course, they wouldn't just be accepted, there was a test to pass, but they would come to that later.

He leaned on the railing awhile later, watching her from the corner of his eye. Some sort of argument began to brew as she shouted at one of the mates, it was the Master Riggers first mate and he looked unimpressed, bearing down on her and shouting back.

"You think you could do better?" he snarled. She folded her arms across her chest and stared him down.

"As a matter of fact, yes." The rigger looked exasperated.

"Well then miss fancy navy woman," -Soul groaned inwardly at the pathetic insult attempt- "off you go, lets see." She took the challenge without question, rushing forward she leapt onto the shroud, pulling herself up the ropes, she climbed.

She reached her destination quickly, a speck high above the deck. He watched her nimbly walk out along the beam, she adjusted some of the ropes and retied something, too small to see from this distance. Not caring who caught him spying he pulled out his scope and peered through the eyeglass at the blonde girl clambering around on his sails.


Maka finished firmly knotting the rigging and tightening the sail, it had been tied piss-poorly before and when she had called the rigger on it he had denied and said it was perfect. She could not let it pass and so she was now high above the deck balancing barefoot on the beam of the main topsail.

The past week had been surprisingly more than bearable, this had mainly come down to her pretending she wasn't on a pirate ship and trying to just focus on the pleasure of sailing. She'd decided the faster she got off this ship the better and by her assisting instead of hindering they could only move more quickly.

The wind whipped at her hair as it filled the newly tightened sail and it billowed out like a cloud. She grinned and clutched the ropes, gazing out at the horizon. Nothing but light blue sky and rolling deep blue waves. She hung forward on the ropes recklessly, grinning from ear to ear. It was almost pleasant, not being in charge for once. It didn't matter if she climbed the rigging and hung from the sails, nobody would be disappointed or lose faith in her as their Captain.

She sat down on the edge of the beam, her feet dangling in the air. She peered at the foremast's stay. The wind tugged a strand of her hair out of the bands she'd used to tie it up. Her mind wandered to thoughts of Sam and her heart twisted painfully inside her. She murmured his name softly to herself. He would be so worried about her if he saw her clambering around up here. What would he make of this situation? This ship, this crew?

On a whim she untied the bandanna she wore around her neck and eyed the stay, it was at a steady angle leading down to the deck below. Smiling; she stood again, what she planned to do was foolish, idiotic even, but she suddenly felt she needed to do it.

Nervous, she bit her lip, but she was resolved. Dashing across the beam she leapt out into the air, her stomach dropped as she started to fall, before she plunged towards the deck she whipped her bandanna around the rope, catching the other end. It slid across the rope smoothly and just like that she was zip-lining down towards the deck and laughing as she went.


Soul nearly dropped the eyeglass, the girl was insane. She soared down the line, her laughter drawing everyone's attention. Reaching the bottom she let go and curled into a ball, tumbling onto the deck safely and rolling up to the rigger who had challenged her's feet. She sat there and grinned at him like a fool.

The crew who had been watching her broke into applause and the Naval Doctor came rushing towards her looking a combination of terrified and angry. He could hear her berating the former Captain as fiercely as someone gentle as Tsubaki could. Maka appeared unfazed, she shrugged and stood gracefully. Soul moved closer to make out what they were saying.

"Maka why would you do such a thing?"

"I don't know, it seemed like a good idea."

"That was so incredibly dangerous! What if you'd fallen?"

"But I didn't did I?"

"Maka…you're a Captain, what's gotten into you? You've never been so reckless, I'm just shocked! Should I be worried about your mental health? What would Sam think-" Tsubaki froze mid sentence her eyes going wide as saucers for a moment; Maka stiffened. Apparently what Tsubaki had said had gone too far. Maka's eyes narrowed and Tsubaki backed down a bit. "I'm sorry…but that's what this is about isn't it?" The blonde's aura turned dark and she turned away, arms crossed.

"Don't be ridiculous why would it be?"

"Being reckless with your safety because he's gone is wrong-" Tsubaki said softly. "Sam wouldn't want that. You know he wouldn't."

"How would you know what he'd want?" Maka said sharply. And so she left, storming off. The Doctor looked a little lost and sad for a moment but Black Star came bounding up to her yammering about his arm. She had somehow miraculously managed to have him keep it in his sling. Distracted by the blue-haired carpenter they headed towards her infirmary.

Leaning against the rail he wondered who Sam was and where he was. Maka's lover perhaps? Judging from the two girls conversation most likely. A part of him thought someone had mentioned him before but he hadn't bothered to listen well enough to really remember.

"Something troubling you Captain?" Startled, Soul glanced over his shoulder at his Master Gunner. Kid moved in to stand beside him.

"No not really." Kid's dark eyebrows lifted.

"Somehow I don't think you're telling the truth." Soul shrugged and Kid watched him curiously. "Its that woman isn't it?" Soul shot him a look and the dark haired boy grinned. "What can I say I'm a mind reader? Not to mention you've been blatantly watching her for days now. So what is it? You've grown fond of her?"

Soul made a face. "Not even, the damn woman tried to kill me, and she'd do it again if she had the chance. I can't figure out why she's been so good though. I keep expecting her to pull something."

"Why not keep her in the dark then?"

"How can I woo her crew into joining us if they're angry with me for locking her up? Besides she hasn't given me any reason to. She's downright helpful."

Kid looked pensive for a moment as the two stood watching the horizon, the sky was growing darker as the sun went down. It melted into an indigo colour, streaked with purples and pinks. The Master Gunner weighed his words unsure if his suggestion was wise, he decided to voice his thoughts anyways.

"You know…you've been short a quartermaster for awhile now…" he trailed off suggestively. Soul looked horrified.

"What part of the fact that she tried to kill me don't you understand?"

"I know, but she hasn't since." He turned and gestured to her where she was assisting with swabbing the deck, she was showing a deckhand how to most effectively clean the deck without leaving a sopping mess for someone to slip overboard on. Kid looked back at his Captain with a slight smile. "She commands respect, you've seen that these past days as much as I have. And she isn't afraid to get her hands dirty, she's a damn hard worker. Not to mention her symmetry is perfection," he finished appreciatively. Soul scoffed and turned away from her hard working form, a silhouette against the burning horizon.

"You left out the fact that the woman despises pirates. Do you honestly think she would agree to become one?" He shook his head. "Not a chance." Kid chuckled.

"Hm, it was just a thought, you never know."


Night fell and the lanterns were lit around the deck. Maka stood at the edge of the quarter deck, slumped over the rail and looking out at still glowing horizon, the sun having not quite disappeared yet. There was the soft sound of paws on wood as a cat leapt up onto the railing beside her. 'Meow'. Maka glared at her for a moment. "Shoo!" she hissed. "As if I need you talking to me out in the open like this." A group of pirates were laughing raucously nearby, they didn't appear to be paying very much attention.

The cat laughed softly. "As if those oafs would notice, they're drunk already." Maka sighed heavily and gave the cat that truth at least. She hadn't spoken to Blair for the past week and half she'd been on the ship really, though Blair was often under foot. Doing figure eight around her legs, rubbing against her as she worked or even just sitting nearby and watching her with slitted eyes, purring loudly. The pirates found it amusing and often reminded her that it was unusual for Blair to take a shine to anyone; they often mentioned that she was the cat 'Mad Marty' liked to talk to. Mad Marty was an old man who Maka couldn't believe was still able to walk, he was practically blind, talked to himself constantly and never stopped trembling like he was freezing.

Maka rested her chin in her hand and stared back at the amber orbs glowing in her direction. "So, what have you come to tell me? That you're a not just a magical cat but a fairy princess from a spectacular kingdom in the sky?" Blair laughed a little, her small cat shoulders shaking.

"Oh my, how silly. Don't be ridiculous," the purple cat rose and moved closer. "You asked me a question last time we were together. I've come to answer it." The blonde's eyes rolled almost involuntarily.

"I asked you a lot of questions last time we were alone. I recall you answering very few of them."

"You asked why I don't reveal myself to the crew."

"Oh yes that." Maka didn't want to admit she was still curious about it.

"Well first of all there are the most obvious reasons." The cat sat back on her haunches and began to tick off reasons on her paws. It was a bizarre thing to watch. "I'm a beautiful woman, lonely men at sea…it'd just be asking for trouble."

"And what about the other girl's on the ship. The two sisters get along fine enough without being harassed. Myself and Tsubaki haven't been bothered once." Blair shook her little purple head.

"You're all tough. I'm more delicate…also prettier." Maka's eyebrows lifted and Blair smiled. "Nyah, just being honest," she winked. "Also, the Captain on this ship doesn't tolerate rape." Maka cocked her head. "Its true," Blair insisted. "The last time one of the crew tried something he ran the man through, though not before tying him to the deck for a week. The man was asking to die by the end of his punishment."

The Naval Captain had to admit this surprised her. Though she supposed not every pirate would be the same. Didn't everyone draw a line somewhere? Not that the line was that broad, after all the punishment issued was barbaric. Then again…the man deserved it if he'd raped someone didn't he? Maka gave her head a shake, her thoughts unclear on the matter.

"Anyways," Blair continued. "Besides those obvious reasons. My main reason for being here is I'm on a mission." Maka wanted to laugh but contained herself at the sight of the cat's serious expression.

"Mission?" she said instead. The cat nodded sagely.

"I was sent here by someone very important." The blonde was doubtful though she kept this to herself. "Its going to sound crazy-"

"I doubt this whole situation could be any crazier than it already is," she couldn't resist interrupting. Blair looked annoyed but went on.

"I was sent here to wait for you."

"For me?" Maka's brow furrowed. "How is that even possible?"

"There are bigger things at work than you know. You and Captain Soul being in the same waters was not a coincidence." More intrigued than she would have liked to admit Maka leaned in.

"Of course not, I was following him on orders from my superiors…"

"You were meant to die when you met Soul out here. The one's orchestrating what's happening expected you to be killed, they counted on your stubborn nature to make it happen."

"How do you know this? How could the person who sent you here know this?" She shrugged.

"Don't ask me, I'm just doing what I was told."

"And what were you told?"

"I was told to come on this ship and wait. Told at some point they would capture another ship's crew and you would be among them. My job is to make sure you stay alive long enough to reach Dark Port."

"Dark Port? The place I read on the map, where is Dark Port? I've never heard of it till now." Blair sighed heavily and licked her paw.

"It's a pirate's port. On an island as far away from the Navy as they can get."

Maka's eyes shone in the dark. "A pirates port." She breathed, half excited. "And they're going to show me where it is…" she whispered, not listening to Blair who was desperately trying to gain her attention again in the background. "This is too good!" she laughed. "I'll get a message back to the General and he'll send ships…we can take them all down…" she continued to murmur to herself excitedly.

"No! You can't, that's not what supposed to happen!" Blair insisted. Maka ignored her still.

"Maka is that you?" Blair immediately stopped talking and Maka whirled around to face Tsubaki appearing from out of the darkness of the ship.

"Yes," she answered.

"Who were you talking to?" her friend asked. Maka looked sheepish for a moment.

"Oh um-" she chuckled a little. "The cat actually, though more to myself than anything. Just…feeling lonely you know." She didn't completely feel terrible for lying as it wasn't entirely a lie. She was lonely.

The dark-haired Doctor looked sad as she moved closer to lean on the rail beside her. "I'm sorry." She said quietly. A breeze drifted by the pleasant salt smell of the sea drowning out the stench of the crew. "I haven't been around like I should have…I-just…"

"Its fine." Maka interrupted, a little colder than she'd intended. Tsubaki looked at her with wide eyes.

"I know you're angry that I've been helping the pirates but Maka I'm a Doctor…I can't turn people away who need my help." Maka closed her eyes. "I know you hate them…but they're…this crew…its not as bad." She didn't say anything, couldn't bring herself to say anything. They'd had this conversation a few times over the past week and half. Anytime she thought she might agree with Tsubaki she remembered what made her hate the pirates in the first place.


"Hide. Don't come out no matter what happens." Her mothers voice was urgent as she shoved her only daughter into the crawl space beneath the stairs in their house.

She crouched in the dark, wide little girl eyes staring up at her mother fearfully. "Where's Papa?" She asked in a small voice. Kami Albarn didn't answer her, she didn't have to, despite her youth Maka knew where he father was. Out with some less than reputable lady as usual. She was too afraid to spare time thinking on how she angry she was at him for not being there in that moment.

The shouting and screaming outside was loud and rising even louder; it was moving closer she was sure, that was why her mother was hiding her in the crawl space. She watched as Kami removed her skirts, a pair of men's trousers underneath. Her mother's glittering sword hung nearby and Kami retrieved it, shoving it in her belt.

Spotting her daughter watching she grabbed a handful of linens and shoved them on top of her. Maka heard rather than saw the crawl space door close. "Remember my heart," her mother whispered through the door. "Do not come out for anything."

For awhile the house was silent. Only the sounds of gunfire and swords echoed nearby. It grew louder until someone was hammering on their door. Unable to go without seeing Maka threw the linen's off of herself and moved to the door, she peered through the keyhole.

Her mother was sitting vigil in a chair in front of the door. She held a loaded rifle in one hand and a sword in another. Maka had never seen her mother fight, she knew she was amazing from the stories people told but she'd only ever seen her mother in skirts acting like, quite simply, her mother.

The door crashed inward and a man with no teeth hurried in, wailing. The rifle in her mother's hands fired and the man fell over. Maka couldn't contain her gasp, she'd never seen a man die before. With no time to reload her mother tossed it aside and lifted her sword as another pirate came barrelling through the now open doorway.

The fight seemed to last a lifetime, the combatants unaware of the small green eye peering through the key hole at them. Every time her mother was injured Maka thought her little heart might explode; it thundered in her chest like a little bird desperately trying to escape its cage.

Her mother cut down another pirate, though as she did she was struck in the back of her legs. She dropped to her knees, bloodied and beaten. She swayed slightly on the spot. Maka felt the tears sliding down her cheeks but ignored them, unable to take her eyes away from the scene.

An explosion occurred outside, smoke billowing outwards. From the smoke emerged a dark figure. The figured strode into the room, hands on his hips he stood before her mother.

"Kami Albarn," he said softly. Her mother spat at his feet and he backhanded her roughly. "Take her." He told his crew. They gripped her mother around her arms and dragged her from the house.

Maka never saw her mother again.


That was why Maka hated pirates. A pirate had stolen her mother and quite effectively ruined her life.

Leaving her only with her good for nothing father, Maka was forced to move to the habour city permanently. The one good thing that came of it though was that by being in the city she learned she loved to sail and was damn good at it. So she vowed she would become Captain of her own ship and one day hunt down the man who had stolen her mother.

When she came of age and was making her own money with her career in the navy she had returned to the village and bought a house. She made it her home and went back to re-establish her roots.

Never in all her life had she imagined she would end up on a pirate ship, cooperating with pirates. Having to shove down and lock up the feeling that maybe…just maybe…they weren't all the same. Perhaps it was as Tsubaki said and they weren't that bad.

She wanted to retch at the thought.


A/N: Piratical terms for this chapter.

Belay pin: Basically a fancy term for a clip that holds the rigging (ropes) in place.
Shroud: Shrouds are pieces of standing rigging which hold the mast up from side to side. Generally they are on each side of the boat. A shroud generally connects to the top of the mast and are either connected to chain plates which are tied into the hull or held outboard (the outer sides of the ship) by channels which is a ledge that keeps them out of the way essentially.
Stay: Ropes holding sails in place that reach all the way down to the bow of the ship

I believe that should be good for now! If there was anything I missed or anything you might just be curious about for explanation let me know! Also, for any sailing experts out there I am aware there are likely many inaccuracies and the bit with Maka zip lining may seem far fetched but keep in mind, despite my attempts at some fact it is always in the end, a piece of fiction ehehe… c:

That's all for now!

-Song :3