Yuki's P.O.V

The mist is thick to the point where I could see it moving around me, every time I took a step forward. Luckily, I could still see well enough to navigate the area. Looking around, it was plain to see that there was no obvious sign of life besides ours. There is an eerie quiet blanketing the normally bustling peer that only gave way to the soft clacking of my shoes.

"Yuki, are you sure this man will be able to get us to Cristallo?" Aster asks.

"Yes, I am sure he can help us. Besides, there isn't much of a choice. It is either have him help us or risk being captured by their army. I shudder to think what they would do to such a cute kitty like you." I tease with an amused smile as I gently cradle Aster in my arms.

"Mmn, whatever. Just make sure to keep your head hidden. You're way too recognizable." Aster complains before pulling the black cloak, shrouding the two, closer to his body.

I hum back in agreeance as I pull the hood farther down my face. It really is a shame that I couldn't hide more of myself. My hair was dyed a dark black and cut chin length but I couldn't do anything about my eyes. For some reason, the crimson red showed through all of the coloured contacts that I tried on. I almost gave up on hiding my eyes until Mira shoved a pair of black shades into my hands.

"Aster, do you think the sunglasses are a bit much?"

"I think the problem is the fact that you decided to wear your all floral black Heart Kreuz suit and loafers. The glasses are nothing compared to that."

"Well, I had to somehow blend in while looking fashionable. Besides, I think my outfit makes me look very official and mature"

"You look like a rich lawyer girl going to an excessively expensive funeral party. Trust me, you do not blend in."

"You are so mean, Aster." I pout in protest but the exceed only quietly snicker back.

Comfortable silence soon falls upon us as we continue to break through the heavy fog that masked the night sky. I longingly look up at the sky. It would have been nice to see a clear sky before we left… I wonder if the others are okay. My departure was painfully abrupt. Maybe I should have stayed a bit longer. At least long enough to explain myself so the guild wouldn't freak out after two of us suddenly left … I expected him to scream at me and say he hates me but I never thought he would run away. Why would Rei do this? Where is he even going now? Maybe he's finally fed up with everything and decided to leave… No he wouldn't. Fairy Tail means too much to him. What do I do about our cracking friendship? The last time we fought this badly we battled it out. I don't think it will work this time unless I want one of my limbs burned off.

"Hey Yuki, we are at the harbour. Stop thinking about whatever is making you frown… Do you see the guy? It's too damn foggy for me to see anything."

Once again, I hum back but in a deeper tone this time. Now that we were closer, it is a lot easier to see the boats through the fog. A few ships were already docked but looked wraith-like in comparison to what they would normally look like. I turn my gaze to the other ghost ships as they loom over us. One of these is going to be the one we are going to board. Haaah, my stomach is already turning at the thought of it. Once I enter the boat, it will be a life of never-ending noise. My hair is going to be ruined by the humidity and, depending on the boat, I might not even have a clean bathroom. Not to mention, the constant torturous movements of the sea rocking the boat and in turn, rocking me…

"Don't you dare throw up on me, Yuki! Just stop thinking about riding the boat and don't you dare deny the fact that you are!" Aster shouts with alarm as he punches me in the arm.

"I am fine, so please stop punching me. It doesn't hurt but I might actually throw up if you keep jolting me around." My voice shakes a bit as I speak but I continue to walk forward.

Aster stares at me in silence, almost as if he was testing if I would really throw up, before speaking, "I'll brew you some earl grey later so hold your chin a bit higher. Haah, you really need to work with Wendy to permanently fix dragonslayers' greatest weakness."

"Swords and dragons?"

"Don't be so cheeky. You know what I mean."

"... I know, Aster but it's not that simple for me. My body's reaction to sailing is terrible when compared to when I'm on a train or in a car. I am pretty sure even if I wasn't a dragonslayer, boats would still have me on my knees."

"...Nevermind, just forget I mentioned it. Anyways, you shouldn't lose focus on the mission at hand. Besides, I doubt you're the first one to kneel for seasickness and… is that shadow waving at us?"

"Oh! That's the person helping us. Now, Aster, remember to be polite. He's also risking his life to bring us to Cristallo so stop calling him 'guy!' Address him by or Dave if you must."

"This guy's full name is Dave Morgan… Are you sure we can trust a guy with two first names? You know what prophets say about people like that! They can't be trusted!"

"Oh, hush up Aster! We are getting closer, so keep any insults to yourself." We end our conversation with that and just in time too. Instead of waiting for us to come, the shadow starts to move closer to us.

"AHOY! IT'S BEEN TOO LONG GUPPY! YOU'RE LOOKING AS SPRITELY AS YOU DID THE LAST TIME YOU SAVED MY SORRY ASS! Oh hey, nice hair black really makes you look like a lawyer!" An aged man bellows to us as he runs over.

His long grey hair flaps behind him alongside his long beard as he ran over. He was wearing the same yellow sailor's trench coat, captain's hat and fake eye patch as the day we met. His many potentially fake medals clang together with each step he took. It's still a wonder to me why he hasn't been shot his line of work and the noise he creates with every second of his life.

"Thank you for coming, . You are looking quite lively yourself."

"NO PROBLEM AND CALL ME CAPTAIN MORGAN! Oh uh, I mean no problem and call me Captain Morgan. Sorry for yelling and making you address me in such a formal manner. It's just, I'm sailing you guys to a new country and no one has ever called me captain before so I thought why not." He says with an easy face as he shrugs.

"Hehe, it's of no problem, Captain Morgan. Thank you, again for helping us." I reply with a smile.

"Yuki, how do you and this pillock know each other?" Aster rudely asks as he stares at the old sailor with unhidden concern.

"Huh, that's odd. I don't normally see talking cats this early in the morning." Captain Morgan admits as he scratches at his beard.

"Ah, this is Aster. He's my partner and sorry for his rudeness. He's just… extra cautious." I attempt to explain. Oh, I hope Aster doesn't scare away our ride.

"HOHOHO, DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT GUPPY! I'M USED TO IT! DON'T APOLOGIZE FOR BETTA!" He shouts with a hearty laugh before quickly quietening. "Oh, oopsie. Age must be taking my mind again. I'll try not to yell anymore and to answer your question, we formally met after Guppy saved my cargo three years ago."

"Betta?" Aster quickly shoots me a questioning look and I smile back with assurance.

"It happened during that time we all split up during the mission where our charge ran from us."

"Ah, the turkey incident but does trooper over here know how to get us in without handing us directly to the emperor?"

"Of course I do! It's just a bit outlandish if you get skittish in tight spaces. Oh, but don't worry! It's completely safe… maybe." The old man says as he rubs the back of his head.

"What the hell do you mean by maybe! We can't afford maybes! Do not piss me off." Aster pulls himself out of my tightening grip and lands on the ground with a poof of smoke.

Out of the smoke, a tall blond man looms over Captain Morgan before grabbing his shirt with a gloved hand. Aster glares at the man with sharp red eyes as his side bang shadows his eyes. A snarl escapes his lips as he successfully intimidates the old man.

"WOAH, CALM DOWN BIG GUY! Holy crap, first the talking and now the catboys. Maybe I overdid it last night."

"Aster, back off," I say with a low growl. "You are going too far. I know it is dangerous but hide your agitation better." With a sharp tug, I pull his sleek black suit back and he immediately lets go of the other man.

He silently moves behind me before promptly facing away from us as his tail curls around my waist. His ears stood rod straight and were the only thing giving away the fact he was paying full attention to any further conversations. I grab his left hand out of his pocket before interlocking our hands. A swift tug later, I move him closer and our backs touch as I reassuringly rub circles into his hand. "Let us go back to business. Captain Morgan, please explain to us in detail what your questionable plan is."

"R-right. As you already know, I mainly deal with the transport of weaponry, lacrima and corpses." The hand in mine tightens its grip after the last item in the list and I naturally squeeze back. "The easiest way is to hide you in with the lacrima but the soldiers at the port check everything: the boat itself, the crates and E-ver-y-thing. One time, I hid a sandwich in my shoe compartment and they took it!" The sailor emphasizes his point with the slap of the knee but quickly righted himself with an awkward cough.

If that's the case then there shouldn't be any way for us to get in… No, there is one chance but it's a small one. "Is there any coffins that have a hidden compartment?" I curtly ask.

"Ahem, you got it, Guppy! Normally even a coffin is rare and they would check it anyways but you two are in luck! For once, one of the corpses actually has a coffin instead of being squished inside a crate with the other corpses. It's the body of one of the daughters of a shogun. I think she belonged to the Inari family but either way, her coffin is nice. There's a hidden apartment underneath the place where the body would go. It's weird but for you guys, I guess it's extremely lucky."

Hehe, looks like Cana's fortune telling was right, "you will find your way if you trust in those willing to help." Huh, I should really have her do my fortune's more. Aster's hand squeezes mine again and I give my full attention to him. His thumb starts to draw a box on the back of my hand before drawing a line from inside to outside the box. Ah, that's right. It really doesn't matter if we can hide if we can't safely leave after.

"Do you have a plan for getting us out of the coffin? It won't do us much good if we can't travel around the country."

"That's uh… that's kinda where the maybe comes in. I don't uh pre say really have any ideas for how to get … you … guys out." He chuckles nervously as he frantically glances between Aster and I.

Captain Morgan was clearly nervous about Aster potentially attacking him again and he was rightly so. The catboy's ears and tail were twitching as his face becomes more shadowed with every second passed. His grip changed into a death grip as he tried to squeeze all the blood out of my hand.

"Aster, do you think your solid script can get us out? Perhaps you could dig us a tunnel from when the coffin is touching the ground to somewhere outside of the armies' eye." I suggest.

My thumb was rubbing circles into Aster's hand, in hopes of calming him down. His worries were understandable but it's still too early to panic and give up. Honestly, what's worrying me more right now is blending into the country. Getting out of the coffin should be simple enough as long as we have solid ground beneath us.

"Um… Guppy, why are you trying so hard to get into Cristallo? I KNOW IT'S NOT MY PLACE! But, you're so young and it feels like such a waste. I'm sure you've already heard the rumours." The sailor asks with genuine worry.

"Yes, I've heard every single rumour regarding that country. The way the emperor has an unbreakable tyranny on his people. Rumours of bloodbaths occurring every day in the streets. Of the poverty that plague the citizens that weren't lucky enough to be born into wealth. The rat-ridden streets where anyone could be taken advantage of… I could go on but I believe I proved my point. Quite frankly, everything I've learned about Cristallo sickens me. I've worked hard to get myself out of my own hell but the thought of going to someone else's...Huhaa, the thought sickens me but there is something there that I need to find. Something that is important enough for me to descend from my haven."

"BUT!"

"Please don't worry, Captain Morgan. I am not willingly throwing my life away. There's no way of knowing if it will work once we get into the country but we do have a failsafe. I was planning on using it to leave once I finished my business anyways. It just so happens that it also works wonders as a convenient escape rope… I don't plan on dying when I have a family waiting for me."

"... welp, I guess there's no way for me to convince you otherwise. Haah, I don't approve of this but even if I said no, you would have just found another way to get into Cristallo. Haha, you sure are a stubborn one Guppy."

"Hehe, you aren't the only one to have called me stubborn."

"HOHOHO, I don't doubt that for one second! Well now, since you're so sure about going! LET'S JUST GO NOW! HURRY TO THE BEST SHIP IN THE WORLD! TO THE OWL'S BOTTOM!" The sailor screams before skipping towards his boat as he hums a random tune.

What an amusing name. Hehe, but it does fit his personality. I tug on Aster's hand and we quickly follow the singing man