The crew watched Ash, who was pacing again, casting frequent nervous glances towards the bow of the ship. Japan's shoreline was in view.

"What is it, Capitana?" Renzo asked with a concerned frown, "Is there some dark force we will meet on land?"

"Worse," Ash said.

The entire crew looked at each other and muttered, shifting on their feet. Finally, Jahir asked the question they all wanted an answer to.

"What be worse, captain my captain?"

Ash looked at them somberly for a moment.

"My past," she said, and turned her back on them.

She went to the bow of the ship and stared at the approaching landmass. When she left Japan so long ago, she never expected to return. Everything she had was left behind, she'd run with only the clothes on her back and a few weapons. The weapons were later taken by the Company when they overtook her ship, leaving her with nothing when she arrived on Shipwreck Island. She'd started afresh, built her life up from nothing. Now she was going back, completely unexpectedly.

And she had never even told the people she'd left behind goodbye. She both longed and dreaded to see them again. Maybe it wouldn't be an issue, because it wouldn't happen. Right. That would be lucky, and if she'd learned anything by now, it was that luck was not on her side when she most needed it. She stood by and watched as the crew pulled the ship into port, and the shoguns came to investigate. Now it was her turn.

Instead of flashing a big smile and greeting them in a booming voice, Ash let them approach and bowed, speaking quietly in Japanese and keeping her eyes low. If they were surprised at this, they didn't show it. Ash was beginning to realize she'd picked up many bad habits since she'd left home, the most egregious among them being letting her emotions show all the time. It was strange to get back in the habit of keeping them hidden. After a brief discussion, they went below deck to look other the cargo they had to trade.

"Assholes," Ash said under her breath as soon as they were out of earshot.

Jack smirked, and she elbowed him in the ribs.

"What?"

"Stop it," she hissed, "No emotion, remember?"

"Oh bugger," Jack scowled, and when she elbowed him again, he smoothed his expression out to one of blank calm, "This is not going to be easy."

"You should have been practicing on the way here."

The shoguns came up out of the hold and approached Ash again. Now they wanted to know how a gaijin could know their language and ways. Hearing it from that perspective, she could see how Jack thought it was a bad term. They made it sound like a swear word.

Right. Here we go, Ash thought, resisting the urge to sigh and roll her eyes.

She patiently explained that she had been found on the shores of Japan as a young child and was taken in by a native, she grew up in Japan and was returning after slavers had stolen her away from her home. Not entirely true, but then again, she was a pirate. They asked who took her in, and she gave the name of her adoptive father, then asked if he was still here. The shoguns exchanged glances, then abruptly grabbed Ash and dragged her onto the docks. The crew all shouted and started to run after them.

"No! Don't leave the ship!" she shouted at them, even as the shoguns tossed her down on the dock.

"Bugger that," Jack muttered, bringing out his pistol.

"Jack, don't! Jahir, stop him!" Ash yelled.

Without comment, the big black man closed a ham sized fist around Jack's pistol and yanked it from him.

"Oi!" Jack protested.

Ash was explaining as rapidly as she could in Japanese to the shoguns that this was a misunderstanding. They insisted the man she named was involved with a criminal, Ash replied that the Yakuza had kidnapped her and taken her away to be sold as a slave, because she was a beloved daughter of a man in an esteemed position. Unfortunately, they were not inclined to listen. One of the men drew his sword, and Ash's eyes widened as she scrambled backwards.

Shit.

That was when the old man stepped forward and vouched for her. The shogun's sword halted suddenly. Ash puffed out a breath, eyeing the razor sharp steel that was less than a foot away from her throat. She rolled away and got to her feet quickly as the old man advanced, telling the shoguns she was his student, and was telling the truth. Ash froze when she heard that. Distantly, she realized there had been a brief scuffle on deck of the Black Pearl, but it had stopped now as everyone stared at the old man.

The shoguns were angry, but the old man was calm and respectfully insisted that the young woman was in fact part of their society and had been missing for a long time due to some terrible misfortune. After a few moments, the shoguns went away. Very slowly, Ash turned to face her rescuer. It was her previous master, her teacher in the art of wizardry and a revered member of the community. Seeing his face, Ash put her arms at her sides and bowed at the waist, bending her body a complete ninety degrees. She kept her neck and back straight, head and eyes down, feet and legs together.

There were no words to express how sorry and regretful she was for behaving in the manner she had before she left, and for neglecting to say goodbye. She was expecting him to swat her upside the head, but he didn't. When nothing happened, Ash peeked up at him and saw he hadn't moved an inch from before. Unsure of how much trouble she was in, she straightened, fighting to keep her expression blank. His sharp eyes looked her up and down, hard as flint, giving away nothing. Ash felt her palms grow damp and fervently wished she knew how to read minds.

"You grew bad habits," he said in English at last, "Your face is still, but your eyes burn, giving away all of your thoughts."

Ash felt her face heat up with shame, knowing he was right. She felt her eyes sting and blinked rapidly. She would not cry, in front of people, in public! She had shamed her old master enough.

"Do you know our language still?" he asked.

"Hai, sensei," Ash whispered.

"Well? Nothing to say?" he prodded.

Ash shook her head silently. What could she say? To her utter shock, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her in a hug. Her brain succeeded in going blank, but she was positive that rule was out the porthole for her face.

What the fuck?

"I thought you would be furious," she said, too shocked to speak in Japanese.

"I was never angry with you," he said quietly, "I was afraid that you had lost your way."

Ash just barely managed to hold in a laugh.

"I did, for a bit."

"But you found it again. That is the important part."

"But if you knew, all the things I've been doing, the way I've done them..."

He drew back and looked at her, a twinkle in his eyes.

"What makes you think I don't?"

Ash only stared at him, gobsmacked.

How...?

"Now, who are our visitors?"

Ash dug the heels of her palms into her eyes, wiping away any drop of moisture before she turned to face the crew.

"You can come down now," she called to them.

"Oi, not all at once," Jack said.

He picked half the crew to stay and guard the ship, and came onto the docks with the other half. Ash went around introducing them all, then made the introduction to her old master.

"Everyone, this is my sensei, Nakamura-san."

Jack put both his palms together at chest height and gave a short little bow. Ash sighed, closing her eyes, as if she'd just seen him drop his pants in public.

"I've been trying to break him of his habit of doing that," she explained to her teacher.

While it wasn't the worst way to bow, it was terribly casual and non traditional. Ash had been trying to impress upon the crew the importance of honor and politeness in Japan, with mixed success.

"There are no bad students," Nakamura said sagely, "Only bad teachers."

Ash wanted to snort derisively, but she restrained herself, remembering her manners now that she was home. He never had a student stop him in the middle of a lesson for sex.

"It is an honor to meet you, Sparrow-san," Nakamura said, bowing the more traditional way, "Please, let us talk in my home. I will make us some tea."

As Jack was opening his mouth, presumably to ask if he had any rum, Ash shot him a warning look. Noticing this, he quickly closed his trap again and nodded, smiling. Ash once again resisted the urge to sigh. He was trying to be polite, but what that meant outside this land was completely opposite to what he should be doing. Part of her wondered if he was doing it on purpose. But no, he wouldn't purposely embarrass her in front of someone so dear to her, would he? Jack ordered the crew to return to the ship, and he and Ash followed Nakamura into town, to a small house. They removed their boots at the door as they entered, and sat at a little table in the center of the room. Ash kept her question burning inside her, both needing and dreading the answer.

"I know what you want," Nakamura said as he poured them tea.

Ash's heart leaped into her throat. He knew about the map? But no, he actually guessed what she really wanted to know.

"Your father is alive," he added.

Ash hand, already curled into a fist on her thigh, squeezed tighter, the only outward show of emotion she allowed. Her mind swirled with thoughts, and it was difficult to pick out a single question from the thousand that the answer to her previous question supplied. She took a deep breath, fighting to calm the emotions battling in her heart.

"Where?" she asked at last.

"I do not know. When you left, the shoguns came for him. He fought them off and fled. He has become ronin."

Ash's eyes closed as waves of grief and guilt washed over her.

"No," she whispered.

"Drink," Nakamura urged.

Ash opened her eyes and took the handle-less teacup he slid closer to her. She wrapped her hands around it's warmth and let the steam waft against her face for a moment as she breathed in it's scent, then took a small sip. Calm washed over her, steadying her shaking hands, and she sighed gratefully, then took another sip.

"It's not your fault, love," Jack said.

"It is."

No one said anything for a few minutes as they sipped at their tea. Not even Nakamura denied she was at fault for this. But it wasn't Jack's fault for not understanding. He didn't know what being ronin meant, how it would have ripped out her father's heart to abandon the Emperor he loved.

"Perhaps you will see him again," Nakamura said at last, "Things have a way of righting themselves. But that is not the true reason you have returned, is it?"

Ash shook her head.

"Something has happened. I need to make contact with the Yakuza."

"You would know better than I how to do that," Nakamura said with a hint of reproach.

"Forgive me, sensei. I was not suggesting you aid us. I will of course keep you out of it. I've caused enough harm."

"At least stay the night," Nakamura said, "I will prepare a meal."

Ash hesitated. It had been so long since she'd tasted true Japanese cuisine, slept in a Japanese bed. Still, she did not want to impose, and there were other things to get done that night.

"We will be gone before morning," she said, "Shall I help you prepare the meal?"

"Why don't you make some more tea?"

"I'm interested to see how her version compares with yours," Jack said, "She's cooked meals every day for me and my crew, many of them she said were from her homeland."

Nakamura paused.

"I did not know she could cook," he murmured.

"Oh yes. She's very good at it," Jack promised, "It's like magic."

Ash coughed explosively, Nakamura smiled faintly.

"What?" Jack frowned.

"It is magic," Nakamura said.

"How?"

"Creating something out of almost nothing?" Ash said, "Or at least, from various seemly disparate elements."

"Oh," Jack said simply.

He hadn't thought of it that way. But now that they put it like that, it made a sort of sense. After Ash had made more tea, she began to set the table, filling it with many different dishes of varying sizes. Jack noticed she still knew where the dishes were kept, even after all this time, but didn't comment. He got the strange feeling that while this land was her home, she knew it's ways and comforts, he was the odd one here, the one that didn't belong. Perhaps that was how all Japanese saw foreigners. Maybe that was why their word, gaijin, felt so heavy to him. He hid his unease behind a still face, as he didn't want her to see and grow concerned.

They sat down to eat, and to Jack's surprise, they did not pray or anything like that. However, they did put their hands together, lower their heads, and say, "Itadakimasu." A little belatedly, Jack did the same. He fumbled a bit with the sticks he was given to eat with, until Ash showed him how to place his fingers.

"Usually I'm very good with my fingers," Jack muttered.

Ash elbowed him in the side as Nakamura pretended not to hear. The meal continued on, and Ash enjoyed every morsel that she put in her mouth. The taste of home was so missed she almost wanted to cry, but that wouldn't be polite. Jack was finding flavors that were absent when Ash made a Japanese meal on the ship, and it did make it slightly better than hers, but he wouldn't say it out loud.

"There are some things I can't get outside of Japan," Ash said suddenly, as if she knew what he was thinking, "This is delicious, sensei. Thank you."

"I still have your old bed," Nakamura said, smiling.

Ash smiled. Jack was looking around, wondering where it was, as the two of them cleared the dishes and the table away. Then they brought out a thin mattress from the closet and laid it out on the ground. Nakamura and Ash hugged one last time, and then the old man stepped into a small, private room and slide the door shut behind him. As soon as he was out of the room, Ash turned on Jack and glared at him. He took a step back, startled.

"Woah," he said, "After seeing you expressionless the whole day, it really is intimidating when you frown at me with your whole face like that."

"Good!" she hissed, "Blast it, Jack, you've got to get a grip on yourself!"

"I will."

"No, I'm serious. Because we'll be meeting the Yakuza in a few hours and they're a lot more touchy than my sensei."

"What? I thought we had to get in contact with them first."

"Oh, please. They already know I'm here, there's no need. They'll get in touch with us, we just need to go out in the open under cover of darkness. But I want to get some sleep first."

"How can they possibly know you're here?"

"The gaijin ship with black sails that came into port this morning, bearing a fair haired woman that the shoguns beat the crap out of before Nakamura-san stopped them? Yeah, you can bet that little rumor spread around this town like a grease fire. Trust me, the Yakuza have heard it by now and they know the woman in question is their old friend Ashlyn-san."

Jack looked down at the thin mattress and fluffy blanket that was laid down on the reed mats that made up the floor.

"So what's this then?"

"This is the bed."

"Love, this is not a bed. It's a – "

"What?"

Ash looked up at him with those wide, innocent eyes, and Jack quickly reevaluated insulting anything even remotely connected to her homeland.

"Suppose I could give it a try," he mumbled instead.

They snuggled down together, and just as Jack was thinking this was actually rather nice, sleep dragged him into unconsciousness. He didn't know how long he had been asleep, but the sun hadn't risen when Ash was shaking him awake.

"Jack, come on, get up. We've got to move."

He yawned as he got up and went to the door to pull on his boots. Ash propped the bed against the wall as she put hers on, then they silently exited the house together. Ash arranged the bed outside so it could air out, which Jack thought odd, but he was too groggy to comment. He wanted a nice hot breakfast, and realized he might be a little spoiled with Ash making it for him every morning. They made their way down to the harbor, where they splashed water on their faces in an attempt to wake themselves up.

"Ashlyn-san," someone said suddenly.

"It just Ash now," she said as she turned around, "Hello, Haru-san."

"I hate to have to do this," the slender Japanese man said, "But Takashi-sama wants a word with you."

"Perfect. I have a something to say to him as well."

Haru shook his head as the three of them made their way into town, avoiding the random strolling shoguns. Ash was surprised when he led them to the local ryokan, or inn.

"Yes, he came into town just for you," Haru said, "That should tell you about how much trouble you are in."

"Pfft," Ash replied, "It wasn't my fault."

"Tell that to him."

"Oh, I will. Don't you worry about that."

There was no one in the main room of the ryokan as they entered and removed their boots by the door. That was probably by design. Haru led them through a passageway and around a couple corners until they reached a black curtain. Past that was a room full of woven baskets. Ash started to grin and disrobe eagerly. Jack stared at her, shocked.

"He's decided to hold our meeting in an onsen," she said delightedly, "Probably because naked people are clearly weaponless."

"I don't... er..." Jack began, unsure of where he was going with that sentence.

"It's okay, Jack, just get undressed, put your stuff in one of these baskets."

His mind flashed back to the time they were on Jolly Roger's island and Ash had no cares in the world that his crew would see her naked, so long as she got to get clean in the waterfall they stopped at. Suddenly her behavior made a lot of sense, if the Japanese had no shame of public nudity, at least while baths were involved. Nervous, he stripped and put his effects and clothes in a basket, then followed Ash into the next room.

It was made mostly of stone, with little bathing stations against one wall. Jack followed Ash's lead, washing himself all over with soap and water provided, all of which ran into a drain in the middle of the floor. When they were done, they placed towels on top of their heads and turned toward the opposite wall from the bathing stations, or where the other wall would have been if it wasn't open air. There was a large pool of water there, steam rising off it's surface, with plenty of men already sitting around in the water.

Jack was surprised none of them ogled Ash as they slowly settled into the hot water, but they didn't. He was also interested to see they were all tattooed, some heavily, some with only one or two. They all had at least one of the same design. He felt foolish, sitting there naked in a hot spring with a bunch of other naked men, a towel on top of his head instead of his beloved hat. Ash, however, seemed right at home. Well, he supposed she was, in a way.

"Takashi-san," Ash said, "It is so good to see you again."

"I wish I could say the same," the tallest among them replied mildly, "When you left Japan, you took some of my best men with you. They never returned."

"Unfortunately, they are dead. The East India Trading Company caught us before we reached our destination. I suspect I only survived because they weren't sure what to do with a woman, especially one with my innocent, adorable face."

"How is it the shoguns knew you were meeting with my men?" Takashi demanded.

Jack cursed the Japanese custom of keeping your expression blank, as it made it impossible to guess what they were thinking.

"I have no idea. I certainly didn't tell them. But I get the feeling you don't believe me."

"No. Strangely, I do. It would not have benefited you to give up such a lucrative arrangement. I thought it might have been your father, but he would not give you up to them. In the time he's been with us, I have come to know him well, and I know he loves you dearly."

Ash went very still, the way Jack was coming to realize meant she was shocked, even when her face didn't show it.

"Wait, what are you –"

Takashi smiled.

Author's Note: Quick question, what seems a reasonable amount of time to y'all to take to update? One week, or two? Because I do have work and other stories I'm working on that aren't debuted yet. I'm leaning towards two weeks. Let me know what you think, please.