A few days passed and the girls were delighted to be in the company of one another. Sarah described her classes to them and Kristi diligently took notes. Alex inwardly wondered what Kristi wrote in the notebook she carried everywhere, but on another level she knew that she didn't want to know.

A knock at the door caused them to turn their heads. Ken opened the door and rolled his eyes as Yohji posed.

Alex smacked her forehead when Sarah clapped. Kristi just kept writing in her notebook, chuckling, until it was taken away from her. Alex dangled the notebook above her head, until she noticed Ken watching.

"We're here to escort you to your work study positions," Ken said pleasantly. He extended his hand to Alex.

"Hai," Yohji said with a grin, looping an arm about Sarah's waist, "you'll be working at my end of the ship."

Kristi walked along wondering what they would be doing. They walked on deck and the view of the ocean took her breath away. She stared in awe until she realized she was alone. A flash out of the corner of her eye caused her to run after the others as she came to her senses.

Ken walked them into the lounge and banquet hall area. "This is where you'll be working."

Yohji grinned. "I'm the host and entertainer for the lounge folk. I also get to teach dance lessons, Aya isn't the only teacher in our group."

Ken rolled his eyes. "Alex we've decided to have you be one of the hostesses on the ship because of your experience. The staff will welcome you happily."

Alex nodded. "Good, something I know."

Yohji looked to Sarah. "They need an extra bartender, so I volunteered your name. They'll teach you everything you need to know and I'm sure you can slip me a few drinks."

"What do I get in return?"

Yohji whispered into her ear and Sarah gasped slightly.

Kristi stifled a laugh and wondered what she would do.

Ken looked to Kristi. "They needed an extra server so we gave them your name."

Kristi froze. "Whoa. . .wait a minute. I don't do food."

Ken blinked. "But you have to."

"Uh uh, I'm not good at that kind of work," Kristi said stubbornly.

Yohji walked over to Kristi. "I'll tell Aya if you don't."

Kristi folded her arms.

Alex looked to her. "It's not that hard."

Sarah also looked to her. "At least give it a try."

Kristi sighed and nodded. A week of training passed and things were working smashingly, well for two of the girls at least. Alex was an expert hostess, smiling pleasantly to all the guests and memorizing the floor plan to perfection. Sarah had a natural knack at bartending and was happy to be around Yohji so much. Kristi however was not meant to be a server. She lost count of how many plates she dropped, the tables she forgot, and the customers that yelled at her.

Aya was walking by the lounge, being hounded by students to show them swordsmanship when he saw Kristi holding a fork and visibly restraining herself not to stab a woman who was complaining.

"Excuse me I need an assistant," he said as he pulled the fork out of Kristi's hand and pulled her out of the room.

Ken was fixing a table and exchanged a glance with Alex.

Alex whispered to him, "thank goodness. I think she was about to stab that woman."

Sarah took a drink when she saw this and Yohji gave her a look, so she poured him a drink too.

Aya presented her in front of the students. "She'll help me demonstrate swordsmanship."

"In front of the children!"

Aya nudged her, even though his heart did beat a little quicker.

"Oh right, I mean, yeah I've taken sword fighting lessons, kendo more specifically."

A child piped up. "Kendo! That's a Japanese sport and we'll be going to Japan!"

Aya gave her a sword and Kristi looked forlornly back to the lounge area. They faced each other and Kristi slowly realized that Aya wanted to fight her. "Um. . ."

He lunged at her and she responded. "Men!" She aimed for the head and missed, dodging a slash to her left. "Kote!" She went for his wrist, but he twisted his body around and she danced out of his way. Their swords clashed and Kristi pushed away. "Do!" She missed his side and found a sword at her neck. She calmly explained the meaning of the moves and the children stared in awe at Aya. They knew now not to ever mess with this teacher and they made their way inside.

Kristi ran a finger along the sword. "Superior sword skills I see, as fine tuned as ever."

Aya gave a rare smirk. "Time for you to get back to serving now that you've let out your steam."

Kristi grumbled and headed back inside.

The kitchen staff and others stared. They had seen the display. Kristi smiled pleasantly to them.

Yohji leaned against the bar and whispered to Sarah, "remind me never to piss her off."

Several days passed and the girls finally got a break. Alex lounged in the pool area and sighed contently. She had swam about the pool and relaxed on a beach towel. One of the girls she worked with kindly leant her a two-piece. A pair of hands startled her until they started massaging her shoulders.

"Hello Ken."

He smiled. "On your break I see, I am as well. It looks like you need lotion."

Alex blinked. "But we're inside."

Ken winked to Yohji who was flashing him a thumbs up. "UV rays can still get in through the sky lights and you have such delicate, fair skin."

Alex smiled. "An excellent point." She relaxed as he did his work, noting his tightly clad swimsuit.

Yohji found Sarah casually standing by a pool table. He hung a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door and locked it behind him. He sat on the pool table and said, "Fancy a game my sweet?"

Sarah looked to him. "What kind of game?"

"Pool of course, strip pool. . ."

"Excuse me?"

"It's all the rage," Yohji said with a grin.

Sarah grinned, Alex had a pool table in her basement after all and she had been practicing. "You're on."

Kristi sat in the lounge director's office and sighed as she heard the words, "I'm sorry but we can't have you as a server anymore."

Kristi nodded. "I understand." She walked out of the lounge and wandered sadly around the ship. She paused before a large door, "the ship has a LIBRARY!"

She walked in and her eyes lit up. Back home she worked at a library and she loved her work. She spent her break in there, soaking up knowledge. Though, unfortunately for her, she had library tendencies and she couldn't help but organize the books.

Ken finished massaging the lotion into Alex's skin and he lightly kissed her ear. He noted her shiver and smiled. "Care for a swim?"

"Of course," Alex replied.

They waded into the warm water and swam around the pool, until they came to a Jacuzzi. They entered and Alex savored the warmth of the water. Ken placed an arm about her; "I think I shall enjoy my breaks from now on."

"Indeed," Alex said in agreement.

By another pool, clothes were being shed after many games. Sarah still had a good portion of clothes on, but Yohji was losing clothes fast. He was just down to his pants, having shed his underwear off the previous game.

Sarah sunk the eight ball with a triumphant grin. "I win." She leaned against her pool stick and smiled innocently to him.

Yohji blinked, how did she win! He hid his surprise and decided that he had let her win. "You do indeed. And I suppose I should give the winner their prize. . ."

Sarah grinned, "I do like to win."

"In that case," Yohji said reaching for his zipper, "we should play these games more often."

Kristi had since fallen asleep in the library on top of a book. The moonlight from the porthole shined down on her form. A dark figure walked over to her, lightly touched her hair and covered her with a blanket. He smiled and whispered, "it's only a matter of time now."

Kristi stirred in her sleep an hour later and blinked at the blanket about her. A library worker picked up the books around her, "you're lucky. The librarian gave you that."

"Oh, tell her I said thanks," Kristi said yawning.

"Him," the worker said with a smile, correcting her.

Kristi stretched and headed back to the room.

The days went on like that, Alex and Ken would take their breaks by the poolside enjoying each other's company. Sarah and Yohji would play their 'special' games in private. And Kristi would barricade herself in the library, reading as much as she could get, helping the library workers by shelf reading, and falling asleep exhausted ending up with a blanket about her form.

One night she was awakened by a library worker, "the librarian wants to give you a job."

Kristi perked up. "Wow, really?"

The worker nodded. "He wants to see you now in his study." She pointed to a long corridor.

Kristi thanked her and headed down the dimly lit passageway, shivering at the cold, so she wrapped the blanket about her shoulders. She knocked softly and entered as the door opened. "Hello?"

A desk was before her and a large plush chair faced the opposite direction.

"Excuse me? I'm Kristi. You wanted to see me?"

The chair slowly turned around and Kristi stepped back with a sharp gasp. "Crawford!"

Crawford smiled. "I've been Seeing you for quite some time now, but yes I wanted to see you."

Kristi looked to the blanket in confusion and then in sudden understanding. She whirled about to the door to see Nagi standing at the entrance. The door slammed shut behind her. She struggled to steady her breathing as Crawford started walking toward her.

"What do you want?"

"To finish what we started," Crawford said with a dark smile.

Kristi backed to the door and inwardly cursed. She hadn't heard the door lock and she looked about wildly to try and find another way out. "We didn't start anything."

"I beg to differ," he said. He took her hand before it could reach for the doorknob and with his other hand he removed the blanket from about her shoulders. "You'll no longer need that to keep you warm."

Kristi shivered and he moved closer. "Whatever you think you See, I will play no part in it."

Moving close to her ear he whispered, "oh I think you will."

Kristi was about to answer in the negative when he suddenly kissed her. It caught her by surprise and she tried to push him away. For a brief moment she relaxed against him, but managed to pull away. She put a hand to her lips in an attempt to regroup, but Crawford grabbed her from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"You're going to do everything I say," he said simply.

"No, I'm not!"

"Oh yes you are, you will help to lead the men of Weiss into a trap, as will your friends," Crawford said.

"Alex and Sarah! No!" She struggled against him and he only tightened his hold about her body.

"While your struggling is fun for me, it would be easier if you did not resist," Crawford whispered into her ear, his lips brushing against them, "so much easier."

Kristi gritted her teeth with tears in her eyes and listened to what he had to say.

Author's Note: Yes, the Kristi in question (me! the insane author) does know kendo, does work at a library, and believe me…her a serving food just don't mix. My friends at this point are probably mumbling, 'great, she's talking in the third person again.'