Ash's knuckles turned white as she clenched her hands into fists, glaring at Declan. She wanted to throw a dagger in his eye, but even she could see how outnumbered they all were as the Black Guard swarmed into the cavern.

"As expected, you've led us to another map piece," Declan said with a tight, smug smile, "I suppose I owe you my thanks. In return, I shall make your death swift and painless. Destroy them!"

The crew immediately formed a line, putting themselves between Ash and their attackers. Everyone knew by now that in order for them to make it out, she was their best chance. Though she pulled her rifle from her back, Ash hesitated before shooting anyone. There were too many, even for her, even if she pulled some crazy magic trick out of her ass. Her eyes scanned the cavern, looking for some sort of advantage...there!

A stalactite hung directly between the rapidly closing gap between the two parties. It was good that she took the time to look for another option instead of shooting Declan, as she would have only one chance. The downside to her idea was a single bullet probably wouldn't take the whole thing down. She glanced around, looking at the belts of the crew. One of them had to have what she was looking for. Gunnar did. Ash grabbed the grenade off of his belt, pulled the pin, and threw it as hard as she could overhead.

It smashed into the base of the stalactite, ripping the entire thing from it's foundation and sending it crashing to the ground. A few of the assassins were crushed under the falling rocks, but most of them managed to skid to a halt before they were too late. Unfortunately, it worked a little too well. The explosion ripped a crack in the ceiling, which spread and caused a large area of the ceiling to fall, directly between the two groups, effectively cutting them off from one another. As the dust settled, the crew stood in shocked silence.

"Good throw," Gunnar said at last.

Ash grinned at him, lightheaded with her success. She was so glad she hadn't blown off her own hand.

"Aye, but now ye've made us a nice little tomb!" Mr. Gibbs shouted.

"Have I?" Ash smiled, looking over at the ship still tied to the dock.

Understanding and relief wiped away fear and irritation on his face. If a ship could get in here, it could also get out. And it could carry all of them with it. They boarded the ship and took a good look around. Ash was the last to board, as she circled around to the back of the ship first.

"This is Taiyō," she announced, patting the railing.

A couple of the crew had slipped below, and when the rest of them heard the shouts from below, they all ran to see what was wrong. As it turned out, something had finally gone right. There were a couple chests of gold, silver, and precious gems.

"As much as I appreciate the shiny things," Mr. Gibbs said, running his fingers through the treasure fondly, "I am disappointed at the size. I was expecting a bit more, t' be honest."

Ash and Jack exchanged glances. They both knew the value of a ship. That was the mapmaker's real treasure. And the note Captain Steele left mentioned gold, a ship, and...Ash found a piece of parchment and could have kissed it. It was another piece of the map they'd been searching for.

"Now we just have to get out of here and back to the Black Pearl before Declan," Ash smiled.

"To stations!" Jack barked.

Everyone scattered. The sails and rigging was a little different on this ship, and Ash dredged up memories of how the Yakuza got the ship she sailed with them on out to sea in order to assist the crew in starting their new ship down the river. Once they emerged into the light of the dying sun and Jack set them on the right course, Ash drifted towards the rail, one hand toying unconsciously with the silver locket around her neck. Jack noticed this and let Mr. Gibbs take over so that he could go talk to her.

"Everything alright, love?"

"I was just thinking, it's a shame to leave a good ship behind."

There was a wistful light in her eyes as she rubbed one hand fondly back and forth over the rail. Jack nodded thoughtfully.

"You don't want to leave it."

"No."

"Because you feel a personal connection to it."

"Silly, I know. It's just – "

"It's not silly. I have the same feeling about the Black Pearl."

"But even if we split the crew in half, we don't have enough to crew both ships."

"We can always tow this one," Jack smiled.

"Oh! Right! I didn't even think of that. And I have such a reputation for being clever..."

Jack couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's been a long day. And you've performed a card reading, talked to a ghost, and summoned Death itself in the past couple days. I'm proud of you, by the way."

Ash threw him an amused glance.

"Why? Because I'm a powerful, scary wizardess?"

"No. Well yes, but no. Mostly because you didn't shoot Declan between the eyes the first chance you got like I know you wanted to. You didn't let your desire for revenge blind you to the point that it put us all in danger."

Uncomfortable with the praise, Ash shoved him. He only laughed.

"I'm going to explore the Captain's cabin," Ash announced, walking away.

He followed, interested to see how it measured up to his. A bit dusty was his first impression, but that could be fixed. Who knew how long it had been down there.

"I wonder who this ship belonged to," Ash commented as she began to go through the desk.

"Does it matter? It's yours now," Jack said.

Ash smiled at him, then went back to rummaging through the drawers. Her own ship. It was a strange feeling, but she liked it. Course she wouldn't use it, because she sailed with Jack. But it was nice to have. Now she just needed a place to dock it while she wasn't making use of it, as it wouldn't be practical to tow Taiyō around indefinitely. Ash pulled out a leather bound journal and flipped it open idly, then looked again at the name on the inside of the cover.

"Son of a biscuit eater," she swore, making Jack look over.

"What? What is it?"

"Jack... this ship belonged to the mapmaker."

It was Jack's turn to swear.

"Am I correct in assuming you won't be sleeping tonight because you're going to be reading that thing cover to cover?"

"That's correct."

She sat in the chair behind the desk and promptly ignored him, her eyes fixed to the pages of the journal. Shaking his head, Jack returned on deck to monitor the route they took back to the Black Pearl. Once Taiyō was secured to the stern by a series of long, heavy lines and everyone had boarded the Black Pearl, Jack returned to Taiyō and the woman still sitting in the Captain's Cabin.

"Ash. Time to disembark."

"'Kay," she said, not taking her eyes from the journal or moving an inch.

Jack sighed.

"Ash."

"Mmmm."

He rolled his eyes and simply picked her up, one arm around her back, the other under her knees. She was still reading even as he carried her over to the Black Pearl. He placed her in bed in his quarters and paused on his way out, looking over his shoulder at her. He wondered if there would be any room for him in his own bed with her singular focus on that blasted journal. Probably not. He didn't return to his quarters again until well after nightfall.

"Ash, it's dinner time."

"Not hungry."

At least she was speaking words to him now.

"Well, everyone else is. We did miss lunch, you know," Jack shot back, a touch peevishly.

Ash blinked and looked up at him from over the journal.

"Oh," she said, a guilty expression coming over her face, "I uh...okay."

She stood, the book in front of her face, and made to pass him through the door. Exasperated, Jack plucked the journal from her hands.

"Hey!" Ash protested.

"You get this back after dinner, savvy?"

Ash pouted, but gave a surly nod and turned to make her way down to the galley. She was grumbling something under her breath, probably something extremely uncomplimentary and definitely about him, but Jack pretended not to hear. He had never seen her cook so quickly before in his life. And he certainly never witnessed her wolfing down her food the way she did that night. Defeated, Jack held up the journal as she stood. She took it from his hands gleefully and returned to their cabin.

He directed Carver to do the cleaning up this time. And, as expected, a candle burned in their cabin late into the night. Jack lay beside her in bed, scowling, turning this way and that while he tried to get to sleep. She finally put the light out and laid down beside him, and he was asleep in minutes. When he woke, she was no longer there. Jack found Ash in the galley, preparing breakfast for a sleepy eyed and yawning crew. The late hours seemed not to have affected her, as her eyes were bright and clear as always.

"We need to return to Tortuga," she said, "I want to ask the Rogue about some things. And maybe I can dock Taiyō there somewhere."

Jack nodded and went to the helm. A proper heading this time. It would take them roughly a week and a half to reach Tortuga, assuming they didn't run into any trouble and the weather was fair. He was there for only a few hours before he felt hands slide along his waist and arms wrapped around his middle.

"I know I've neglected you recently," Ash said from behind him, "I promise I'll make it up to you."

Her suggestive tone immediately lightened his mood, but he thought he ought not be too easy on her.

"Mmmm, persuade me," he said, attempting to sound indifferent.

"Oh, I will, captain. I will."

Jack grinned as she walked away. They had over a week. During that time, there wasn't a day that passed without the two of them going at it. Jack was made very happy to have her attention again, but he knew he couldn't be selfish. He had to let her find Cibola too. Once they had docked at Tortuga, Jack helped her get Taiyō to a secluded cove. Only then did they make their way to the King's Arm to find the Rogue.

"Back from Spain, I see," the Rogue smiled, "Did you...find the piece?"

"Aye, we did," Jack said, "But the Company was there too and tried to take it."

"That's not good," the Rogue frowned, "We're not searching for the map anymore. It's a race now. You keep the pieces, Ash. They won't find them with your constant moving around."

Ash privately disagreed. They'd run into Declan more than once. He seemed quite capable of finding her.

"Unfortunately," continued the Rogue, "Now that we have these two pieces, I am not sure where else to look."

"We've gained a stroke of luck there," Ash said, "There's a journal. In it are some names. Might you know some of them?"

She gave a list of names, then looked at him expectantly.

"Felinus I know very well," the Rogue said dryly, "Takashi I only know of. If they were both part of the crew, I suspect they each have a piece. I'll speak to Felinus. You'll have to find a way into Japan to get to Takashi."

Ash scowled and folded her arms.

"Oh, I know Takashi. It won't be easy to get a map piece from him."

This piqued Jack's interest.

"Why? Who is he? How do you know him?"

"Takashi is the head of the Yakuza," Ash replied, her mouth twisting into a grimace, "I haven't seen him in...well, a while. And the parting wasn't exactly a good one. Then there's the added difficulty of actually getting back into the country. Currently, foreigners are not allowed past one port. That one port is only open to certain countries for trade purposes only."

"You didn't mention this before," Jack frowned, "And if that's so, how did you get out?"

"I didn't mention it before because it wasn't relevant before now," Ash shot back, "And I got out with the Yakuza, remember? We didn't exactly go through legal channels. Trust me, the shoguns did try to stop us. They just weren't successful."

"The who?" everyone said together.

Ash sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"The shoguns are the military government of Japan."

"I thought there was an Emperor," Jack challenged.

"There is. But he has very little say in what goes on in his own country. There's a lot of internal politics and strife in Japan. Most of the people despise the shogunate and want to put the Emperor firmly in the position of power. My father, being one of the Emperor's guard, was one of them. Growing up and seeing how the shoguns were no better than thugs and bullies, I agreed with him, but no one said anything too loudly if you get my meaning. Which is when I started my relationship with the Yakuza. They wouldn't let me actually join them, as they don't allow women, but I got information to them and we managed to be quite a pain in the ass for the shogunate."

"So how are we supposed to get in?"

Ash hesitated.

"I have a couple ideas. The first one is that we disguise ourselves as traders. 'Course that will only get us so far. But once we get in initially, we might get further due to the fact that Japan is my home, I grew up there. Hopefully I won't be labeled as gaijin. The fact that I can speak Japanese and know their customs should help."

"Going to be a long journey there," Jack mused, "And we'll need to commandeer some cargo to 'trade'."

"I can help with that," the Rogue said, "I'll ensure you have what you need to get into port."

Least he could do, really. Jack gave the crew leave to go do what they wanted on the island for the night, but gave instructions to be back on the ship at sunrise to get the supplies on board. The Rogue would have their cargo at the docks by then, and they were to set sail at noon. Ash had a long bath upstairs at the Faithful Bride while Jack drank and played cards downstairs. When he saw her leave the tavern, he excused himself and followed her all the way back to the ship. The Black Pearl was deserted, and he crept up on her silently, grinning to himself. He grabbed her around the middle suddenly, and Ash gasped and struggled to get free for a few seconds.

"Now what would such a lovely young lass be doing on my ship?" Jack murmured in her ear.

Ash went still immediately and smiled, relieved.

"Are you the captain of this legendary vessel, then?"

"Aye, lass."

Ash bit her lower lip, trying to stop herself from smirking, and ground her behind against his front. She heard his sharp intake of breath and lost the battle not to smile.

"I've heard things about it, captain. They say your vessel is magnificent, and fierce, and huge-ish."

"-ish?" Jack gasped, his grip on her tightening, "Perhaps you need a tour to fully appreciate it."

"Mmmm, perhaps so. Will you be giving it to me personally?"

For an answer, Jack pushed her against the mast and spun her so it was against her back. He took her wrists and tied them above her head to the mast as he kissed her. Ash's breath caught in her throat and she went rigid as memories of what happened the last time she was tied to this mast flooded her mind. Breaking free from the kiss, she looked into his eyes, slightly panicked.

"Jack?"

He looked back at her, his eyes boring into her.

"Trust me, aye?"

"Of course I do, but – "

"I want to replace all those bad memories with some good ones, savvy?"

Ash nodded. That made sense.

"And what is this new scent? I like it," Jack murmured as he kissed her neck.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the mast to give him better access.

"It's my new perfume," she gasped.

There was no need to mention she picked it specifically to get his...interest. She glanced to one side, the moon's light illuminating the row of ships docked on either side of the Black Pearl.

"Stop," Ash said suddenly, "Someone might see."

"So? This is my ship, I'll do what I like on it."

"But ahhhhhghn," she groaned.

He had wriggled his hand into her pants and was firmly massaging her clit as he kissed, sucked, and nipped at her neck. The combination of those two things turned her brain to mush and made her toes curl. She began a string of curses in Japanese, and Jack smirked as he maneuvered her pants off.

"You're going to have to teach me that wonderful language," he said, "I want to know what you're saying in these circumstances."

Ash sighed when he slid inside her and wrapped her legs around his waist as he thrust into her.

"Teach – you – more – than that," Ash insisted, panting for breath, "Oh, fuck."

By the time they had finished, they were both certain what happened before against that mast would be completely replaced by the newer, better memories of what happened that night. Jack let Ash sleep in the next morning, as the crew should have already had breakfast before reporting to the ship. He made due with some bread, smoked sausage, and cheese for his breakfast, then went to help get the supplies and their special cargo onto the ship. Ash woke around noon and berated him for letting her sleep in, but it wasn't the first time he'd done it, and probably wouldn't be the last knowing him.

The trip to Japan was going to take ages, but luckily, they had things to learn on the way. Ash hadn't been joking when she said she had more to teach him than the language. While he taught her French and she taught him Japanese, she taught the entire crew the customs they'd need to go by while in her home country. How to address people, the art of bows, and the importance of keeping a still face. Showing extreme emotion was like picking your nose at the dinner table, Ash explained. It was extremely rude and would get you a lot of stares. As they were a bunch of gaijin, it would be best to appear as polite as possible.

"You say that word a lot in reference to us," Jack said during one of their language lessons in their cabin, "Gaijin. What's it mean?"

"It means 'foreigner'," Ash said.

"Why do I get the feeling that term is far from complimentary?" Jack murmured.

"It isn't derogatory in the strictest sense," Ash said slowly, "But the attitude towards non-Japanese people is...not so good? You have to understand, Japan's been isolated for quite some time. Outsiders are seen as uncivilized. It isn't your fault, you don't know any better. But you are looked on as barbarians."

"Is that how you see us?" Jack asked with raised brows.

"Well, you are a pirate. And a bit rough around the edges. But I still love you. And you're much more tolerable now that you bathe regularly."

"You use baths as leverage for sex, you tyrant."

"It's just good business, Jack. I get one thing, you get something too. It's called negotiation. Are you not satisfied with your end of the bargain?"

"More than satisfied, as you well know."

Ash smiled.

"As I thought. So quit your complaining, you big baby."

She leaned closer to him and gave him a long, deep kiss. He tried to pull her onto his lap for more, but she spun away from him, smirking. Jack sighed, frustrated.

"Focus, Jack," she said, a slight taunting tone in her voice.

"Going to be a pain working in Japan to get what we want," he said, attempting to bring his mind back to business.

"Well, maybe not. I might not look like them, but I did still grow up there. Maybe I can find some allies that remember me."

"Preferably allies that don't want to hand us over to the shoguns or worse," Jack replied.

"Exactly. Now, pay attention and repeat after me. I want to hear you wound my lovely language with your rough barbarian tongue."

I'll show you later what else I can do with this rough barbarian tongue, he vowed to himself.