"Stupid Pirate," Amu muttered, examining her gloomy reflection in the mirror shard. Her hair was a veritable haystack, her skin dirty.

"Don't bother, honey. Staring won't make it better," Utau hissed as she leapt up into her own bunk.

Amu shook her head so that her mane fell in front of her face; she didn't want Utau to see any tears. Truth be told, Amu was not content with her new life. She had thought freedom to be easy, but it was dreary. Day after day on the open sea, nothing to do except clean the cannonballs. On top of that, she looked terrible. Not that Amu was vain; she'd always taken cleanliness for granted. It's just that, well, the bed bugs were getting to her.

"Ne, ne, Amu-chan!" Yaya grinned.

"What is it?" Amu surreptitiously wiped her eyes.

"We're going swimming! Do you want to come?"

Amu frowned. "Swimming?"

"Yeah. The water is warmer and…" Yaya's eyes wandered off. They snapped back to Amu. "I want a snack."

"Excuse me, but I believe Yaya wanted to say that we've reached the equator. Therefore, the water is warm here. You must've studied geography, Princess. Perhaps you understand the concept of hemispheres?" smiled Hikaru. He was barely eight, and yet still managed to be more of a gentleman then most of the crew. He was also the most beautiful little boy Amu had ever seen.

"Oh, I did study it a little. But I wasn't very good, my tutor was so very boring," Amu giggled.

"So? Do you want to or not?" Yaya cried impatiently.

"Of course! But what do we wear?" Amu had yet to see any suitable clothing for swimming.

"What you're wearing now."

Amu turned pink; her white shirt was relatively see-through and a liability. She stuttered, "And you… And you see each other?"

Yaya appeared to take joy in watching Amu stumble. "Nah, they take one side, we take the other. But the rules aren't really paid attention to, Kukai likes to chase Utau all the time." She trailed off. "Let's go!"

Amu was pulled above. Upon reaching the rim of the deck, a mighty blow to her gut knocked her back. She scrambled away, shocked at how strong her reaction had been. The adrenaline from her newfound fear of heights coursed through her, something she had never experienced until that moment.

Yaya, having not noticed, cried, "Watch this!" and leapt into the empty air. She flipped gracefully, all for show. Amu heard a great splash, and a squeal. "Belly flop!" Yaya wailed.

"You going?" Utau said. She didn't wait for an answer, took a running start, and dived in. Amu had never seen anything so graceful, and she resented it.

By now, Yaya had returned. She dripped all over, but her smile was as warm as the sun. "Amu, come on," she whined, but Amu wouldn't move.

Suddenly, a sharp, male voice interrupted the scene. "Yaya! Leave her alone."

Yaya looked up, and backed away. "Yes, Captain." She dived back into the water.

Amu heard the laughter below, and wished she could be there, and not here.

Ikuto gently took her wrist and pulled the princess to her feet. They approached the edge together.

"It's so high," Amu shivered and edged back.

"No, that's just your sense speaking. Ignore it," the pirate retorted.

"Says the insane pirate."

"Too true," he agreed. "But, still, you must learn to disregard all instinct."

"Won't that get me killed?"

Ikuto snorted haughtily. "You were raised to be careful, but that's no fun, that's why you ran away, right?"

"You didn't answer my question!"

Feigning not to hear, Ikuto grabbed her arms and shoved her body into a rough diving position. He gave her a good push towards the water. "Go on."

Amu peered over once again. The water seemed to be moving away from her, farther and farther. On top of that, the lump in her throat was obstinately staying put. She croaked around it, "I can't." She wondered if her burning cheeks were visible as he leaned over her. Two worn hands pressed against her tense shoulders. A heavy weight thumped against her back, rather comforting in its solidity. "I believe you can," Ikuto whispered to her waiting ear.

His hands and the object at her back were removed, yet she could still feel their presence on her skin. Her toes curled around the rough edge of the deck, her form straightened, her heart froze.

She left the rough wood and the rough boy behind, sailing – no – flying through billows of cool, clear air. There was a moment of absolute heat, she was burning, on fire, and she was flying with wings of air and water and fire. Then her fall began, and her heart spluttered back into existence. She kept herself straight as her fingers met the water. Her splash rose in an arc, closing over her toes. She came back up for air, pink from exhilaration and relief. And also from cold.

She checked herself, surprised at how good she felt. This action, the pounding in her ears, the cool water between her toes and in her hair, the warm locket against her heart, was this what freedom was like?

Above, people were calling, laughing. Someone's splash hit her in the face. Ikuto's splash.

"Not bad, Sparrow," he smiled.

"Sparrow-?" she began, but he was pulling her to the rope ladder for another round.

They swam for hours, Amu and the crew, until Amu could nail her dive every time.

She retired to her bunk that evening happy and spent. Curled up with Yoru, she couldn't help but have a more positive outlook on the pirate's life. Her eyes fluttered, and softly closed.

That was the night the dreams started.

Ooooooh! Cliff-hanger! DRAMA DRAMA DRAMA GALORE!

Okay, I realise that the minute I upload this, there will be so many things I'll suddenly want to change. Like the awkward bit with Hikaru. Or the awkward, OOC Ikuto. Or the awkward "Sparrow" thing. But I need to update this fic, I've kept you waiting long enough. I've already got the next chappie ready, perhaps a week till its up and ready. It's much better than this one, so please don't give up on me yet.

There're a lot of other things I want to say, but let's keep it short and sweet.

REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!

~Star-chan