A/N: Miss me?

Chapter 8: Spelunking

"Cactus Island, eh?" Addams asked aloud, tapping the end of the blood quill to his chin as his other hand flipped rapidly through his notebook. "It seems like those marines were either dropping by to shop around Whiskey Peak, or they have an eternal pose to Yappa after all, since Cactus Island is between there and Reverse Mountain."

"If it's the latter, how does that change the length of our head start? Do we even have a lead at all?" Harry asked.

"Pff, that's easy mental math," Addams responded, looking a little irritated that he wouldn't have an excuse to use his quill. "Plus, even if we no longer can count on those three days needed to set the log pose on Bird, there's still my superior navigation route. Simply put, if we leave tomorrow, our five day lead cuts down to one, possibly two, depending on the weather patterns."

"You know," Shanks mused, "that's actually kind of awesome. If we only get there a day ahead, there's bound to be some kind of dramatic showdown!"

"Gonna kick some marine arses, eh?" Harry asked in a butchered trash-talk accent, crossing his eyes and glaring maliciously as he hunched over in an exaggerated slouch.

"Dahahaha!" Shanks laughed. "What the hell are you saying, huh?"

Harry jutted out his bottom lip in a pout before lifting his nose into the air and walking towards the door with a scoff. "Hmph, well, if you insist, I'll use nothing but the finest of words around your delicate sensibilities."

Shanks followed Harry out of the navigation room with a wave to Addams and a snort at the wizard's act. "'Fraid I wouldn't understand any of that, Harry. We pirates are coarse creatures of the body and mind, you know?" he added with a smirk.

"Coarse, hmm?" Harry questioned, slowing his steps before turning around and leaning into the pirate captain's chest. "I find that rougher men tend to be quite dirty, and I'm no novice at dirty talk in the bedroom. Tell me Shanks, what kind of language turns you on?" His voice dipped low as Harry raised his arms to lightly rest them on the pirate's shoulders, head leaning in until his face was within the brim of the straw hat sitting loosely on Shanks' head. "How hot would it make you if I spent the next hour detailing my plans to map out every inch of your skin… with nothing but my tongue? Your clothes are loose, you know, leaving a lot to the imagination, except of course," fingers walked down from the shoulders to Shanks' exposed chest, smooth and firm, "for your fine muscles here. How badly would you like to know the many things I fantasize about doing to you?"

Through the tantalizingly light contact Harry had with Shanks' body, the wizard felt the pirate captain take a deep, shuddering breath before stilling. The air thickened with an aura of what Harry could only assume was the other's powerful haki. For a fleeting moment, the feeling reminded Harry of the trapped green fire in his medallion before he was distracted by the sight of Shanks' growing smirk.

"Do to me?" the pirate repeated. "I'm afraid I'll have to protest that statement Harry." Shanks stepped away, an almost dark expression on his face so different from the usual grin that Harry couldn't help but stare for a moment. It'd been a while since a target surprised him during conversation. In that time, Shanks shrugged off Harry's arms and brought up his own. His fingers rose to eye-level but didn't touch, instead falling slowly, drawing nearer, brushing feather-light touches on the collar of the wizard's robes that grew firmer as it walked lower. Soon, magic joined the haki being released until the air was almost crackling. "I'm the captain here, after all."

Harry's hand captured Shanks' as it reached his lower stomach with a smile. "Captains are responsible for the orders. Surely it is up to the crew to do the work? Speaking of which…" Images flashed through Harry's mind as he spoke. It had been some time since his last fuck, though he tried to keep such thoughts to a minimum since there was little privacy for taking care of the problems they would bring when aboard a fully staffed pirate ship. He was quite certain that right now though, Shanks wouldn't protest one bit if he dragged the man to bed this moment.

The thought was welcome and Harry was caught off guard when the haki dissipated.

"Yes, speaking of which," Shanks continued, taking back his hand, "I should be letting the crew know about the new information on the enemy before they turn in for the evening." With a cheeky grin and a far too chirpy 'good-bye!' Shanks left behind a flushed wizard with a strong desire to give himself a cold shower with an over-powered aguamenti charm.

To think just seconds ago he was optimistically hopeful that the problem would be resolved much more pleasurably.

"Did you chicken out, or what?"

"And a very good evening to you as well, Freddy," Harry smiled, hiding his irritation at the unexpected rejection.

"Feh, sure. I suppose seeing as you actually have the possibility of being laid sometime this month, you would think it's a good evening," Freddy replied. "So? Why didn't you go for it?"

Harry didn't answer for a while, suddenly embarrassed about his failed seduction – he had never failed before in hooking a sexy man or woman for a quick shag – choosing instead to watch Shanks walk away from the door of the navigation room, presumably to find Beckman to inform him of the new situation. When the person of interest left his view, the wizard finally turned back to the doctor who was leaning against the railing of the ship, patient but curious. "How long have you known your captain?"

Freddy shrugged, crossing his arms and leaning back in thought. "About ten years now, I suppose."

"Has he ever been in a relationship?" Harry inquired, stalling but curious.

A snort was the initial reaction. "Almost none of us have been," Freddy informed him with a wry smile. "Yassop has a cute wife back home, and I used to have a sweetheart a decade or so ago, but otherwise we pirates satisfy ourselves at the many whorehouses the more heavily settled islands are willing to provide. All of us get a certain, ah, allowance of gold and cash to spend on entertainment beyond the alcohol our captain provides. There's a particularly nice and affordable one in a back alley on the fourth tree of Sabaody Archipelago," he said with a leer. "Gorgeous women and a nice selection of males for the more experimental or the occasional interested female pirate."

"And your captain? Is he one of those more experimental ones?"

The pirate paused to think the question over a little. "You have to understand," Freddy finally began, "that I've never been in a whorehouse with the captain, so I can't say for sure."

Harry nodded but said nothing, knowing that the ship doctor's opinion was more likely to be accurate than not.

"Well, I'm sure you've heard Addams talk about his retirement by now, yeah?"

"Shanks said he's being released from a five-year contract with the crew."

"Yeah." Freddy chuckled. "It's not really a contract, 'cause since when did pirates like doing stuff that legal and tidy, huh? Captain kidnapped Addams, really. I don't know from who or where specifically, but it was definitely around a certain Red-Light District well known for catering to the weird sexual interests. As far as I can tell, our navigator fell into debt and was forced into a five-year prostitution contract to pay it off. He's a masochist, a trait which is bound to attract some rich perverts, so regardless of how much money the debt was it seemed the collectors believed they could gain from the agreement. Luckily enough, his first night out coincided with Shanks' venture and being our idiot captain, he proceeded to snatch the man right then and there to be our navigator for the next five years instead of a whore. I can only assume from all this that the captain was in that district for pleasure and that he at least entered a brothel where male options were displayed, or offered when he requested it."

"Well, that should reduce the awkwardness in bed, at least," Harry concluded aloud, smirking when Freddy coughed slightly at the mental image the statement brought up.

"Is that all you were worried about? 'Cause man, you should've just jumped him. I can't imagine he's never at least had anal with a woman."

"Actually," Harry finally admitted, "he turned me down."

"Oh." Freddy shuffled a little awkwardly in place. "Well, uh, sorry then, though I guess it's not that surprising in hindsight."

"Do enlighten me."

"For starters, it's probably not you. I mean, you're the kind of person even I wouldn't mind taking to bed for a tumble if you were willing to take it."

Harry laughed. "You'd die trying to take someone like me, Freddy," the wizard said, not entirely joking. "But thanks, I'm flattered – do go on."

"The captain probably wants you to join the crew," the pirate doctor concluded.

Harry blinked and thought it over a bit. At first, he wasn't sure what that had to do with anything until he fit the puzzle pieces together. The bounty book in Beckman's collection showed a significant fraction of pirates were female, yet Shanks had none in his crew. When he first started flirting with the pirate, the man was flustered but his attitude just now proved he was no blushing virgin, probably just out of practice. Add that to the fact that Freddy just informed him that no one aboard the ship was involved in courtship?

"Your captain," the wizard clarified slowly, tasting the words as he spoke them, "doesn't like the complications of sexual relations on the ship?"

"Pretty much," Freddy said. "He doesn't like how it eventually leads to people acting irrationally hateful around their own comrades, like out of jealousy or one-sided affection, you know?"

Harry stuck his tongue out. "But all I want is a fuck," he whined.

The pirate doctor just laughed. "Yeah, the captain's pretty weird. I really can't imagine a pair of guys falling in love just 'cause of some sex."

Harry frowned but didn't reply.

"Move, move, move!" Quickly, the pirates separated themselves into two groups – one to defend the ship, and another to achieve their original objective of stealing the Devil Fruit from its origin before the marines.

Not even the Addagator could predict the erratic weather patterns of the Grand Line. Though his navigation route minimized the ship's exposure outside calmer climate zones, the sea was brutal during the days the ship spent at its mercy. A veritable hurricane swept through, trapping the ship in its gale force winds, shredding the front sail and tearing bits of roofing from the sleeping quarters.

Thankfully, the main sail remained intact – partially due to Bombay's honey-treatment strengthening it against abuse – and there were enough back-up supplies of wood and cloth to fix the rest of the ship. Upon arrival at Yappa, however, the lookout spotted a marine ship sailing mere hours away. Though Shanks would likely disagree, Harry was thankful that the pirate flag had not yet been replaced after the storm as it gave them more time to hide from their enemy.

And so, with the clock ticking before the arrival of the marines, the crew split up, with Shanks leading the treasure hunt in anticipation of the Lieutenant doing the same.

"Alright men, our best bet is to check the large pit entrance to the underground cavern in the middle of the island we found three years ago. Let's go!" Shanks quickly ran off. He had left his collared cloak behind on the ship so he could move through the forests easier and Harry was enjoying the view. The broad expanse of the pirate's shoulders was much more delicious this way.

The past week had witnessed another cooling of relations between Shanks and Harry as Harry continued to make his interest known while the pirate never allowed anything to progress beyond simple flirtation. Harry felt a little guilty that he was still trying to seduce a man who was just trying to keep things peaceful like a good leader, but the pirate wasn't helping matters at all. Shanks occasionally responded with quick-witted innuendo and later by ignoring the teasing, sending mixed messages until the wizard felt like he was pursuing an adolescent girl playing keep-away.

For that matter, why was Harry still pursuing him at all?

The travel through the forest was long as the relatively large group tried to cut through the thick brush without creating too obvious a path for any enemies to use in pursuit of them. Only pirates with a decent sense of direction were chosen for the search group, so although they were only loosely connected through what could be seen of each other, everyone managed to end up in the same place.

The pit was incredibly wide, its depths hidden in shadows so that it was difficult to see just how deep it went.

"Let's see, the last time we came, how'd we get down?" Shanks asked.

"I think we used vines as climbing rope, Captain," one of the pirates answered. "It wasn't very deep – it's after we land and start traveling the tunnels that it gets deeper and deeper."

"That's right; this shouldn't be too hard then. Everyone grab a vine and head on down."

Harry smirked and leapt down first, casting a strong 'lumos' to light his way followed by a wandless 'aresto momentum' to slow his decent. He landed lightly a few dozen meters later to the furious cursing of the pirates above him. "Coming?" he asked casually, raising his wand and expanding the illumination charm to light the circular room around him.

Harry looked around as he waited for the others to come down. It really was just a crude cave with a single large tunnel leading the way deeper into the ground. The ground was damp, probably from collecting rain, but well drained no doubt due to the slanted ground towards the tunnel. There was likely a large underground lake located at the very end.

"Oi, Harry!"

The wizard looked up to see Shanks waving. The lighting made it difficult to see the pirate captain's face, but his request echoed through the pit.

"Help me down too, yeah?"

Harry barely comprehended the implications of the question when Shanks jumped down with an enthusiastic whoop. Quickly, Harry threw a wandless 'aresto momentum' and blinked in shock when it was slapped away by the haki pulsing in the pirate's skin. Thinking quickly, Harry threw another specifically at Shanks clothing instead while preparing to fly up and catch the man if it failed. Thankfully, the charm stuck onto the baggy pants and shirt and one very excited man floated gently to the ground with a soft 'oof' as he landed on his backside.

"That was awesome!" Shanks grinned, before yelling at the rest of his crew to move their lazy asses. Though they threw down their own curses and jibes, the remaining pirates chose to climb down rather than jump.

Their decision was probably wise as Harry was distracted by the strange reaction he just witnessed between haki and magic. His spell was quite forcibly rejected from working on Shanks with no conscious effort on the pirate's part. Would the same happen for all haki users? How adept would the haki user have to be? If Shanks used the color of armaments, how thick a barrier could he make against Harry's spells? And finally, could Harry's magic also work to repel damage from haki?

Feet thumping down shook Harry from his thoughts and the group moved on into the tunnel with only Harry's glowing wand to light the way.

"How far is it?" Harry asked.

Shanks just shrugged. "Haven't a clue. Beckman showed you what we're looking for, right?"

Harry nodded. A few days ago, after English lessons, Beckman dug out a devil fruit encyclopedia and showed Harry a few examples of what their treasure might look like. Considering only a Lieutenant who was recently transferred to the Grand Line was ordered to search for it, the fruit was most likely a paramecia or zoan. Other than that though, there was little to go on except that the fruit should have a patterned design of swirls.

"So we'll keep going 'til we find it. Sou suggested we check the underground lake, but otherwise, we're winging it."

Harry frowned as he looked around the walls of the tunnel that began to split into three ways a few meters ahead. He cast a wandless lumos so that his left hand glowed, leaving his wand free to transfigure rocks into glass jars into which he conjured bluebell flames. Now with an alternate source of light, the wizard dispelled the lumos and laid his wand flat on his palm.

"Point Me." The wand spun in his hand before falling off, almost hitting the floor before Harry caught it. It seemed that in a world with no magic, there was no magical north for a wand to latch on to. "Well, that won't work. Which way to the lake?"

The pirates turned to look at one in particular, who was looking down the three tunnels.

"Well, Skit?" Shanks prompted.

"If I remember correctly, the first turn was down the tunnel to the right. The ground also slants most in that direction, so it makes sense for rain water to drain that way."

Harry stuffed his wand back into his sleeve. A wand was a useful but fragile weapon, so it'd be best if he didn't keep it dangling in his fingers. "Great, er, can everyone carry a few jars?" The flames were handed out amongst the pirates. "Should I leave some as markers?"

Shanks shook his head. "We don't want to lead the marines right to us. Skit will remember the way."

And so the group continued, led by one man's memory of a visit long ago.

A/N: Sigh, back in school with homework responsibilities. I'll try to keep updating regularly though. This story in particular, I've got a pretty good idea of where its going and all that jazz, which should help keep the words flowing, I think.

Thanks bunched to my beta, Indifferent Nobody, for her patience in helping me with this chapter. It's a bit different from the previous chapters and I'm trying to pick up the pace a bit. I hope you liked :)

132 reviews, September 12, 2011

Thanks everyone!