Yes, yes, this had taken a long time coming. My apologies. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long (snot of disblief) but I will try. The next story that is on my list to updated is of course, Twisted. Then hopefully I can get Amber Linings to work with me. Once again, doubtful, but I am trying! I hope you guys enjoy this next chapter of High Seas Adventure.

Ravyn

Remember, I do NOT own Kenshin.

No Lime or Lemon in this chapter. Damn.

Misao frowned as she twisted her booted feet into the rope, working to clear the rigging from the lines of mast that had caught, the dagger clenched between her teeth damp from her tongue. It wasn't difficult work, in fact she had been climbing the rigging before she could swim, and that was unusual enough in and of itself. Most sailors were horribly superstitious. If you didn't know how to swim, then you wouldn't need to use it. In fact, on clear, open days like today; if they were docked, they would lower a canvas into the water to let most of the crew splash around.

She was getting distracted again. Aoshi would have her head, so she took one hand from what she was doing, finished cutting the ropes, and slid the knife back into her boot sheath. Then she climbed down as quick as she could, her mind drifting to the rumors that had been going around the ship all day.

The Captain had brought home a girl. Misao was hopeful that it was the girl but her brain went over the facts, and she doubted it. However, her enthusiasm that her Captain might have finally found a woman to claim as his own slightly over powered the bitter taste it left in her mouth. The fact that he would settle for someone below the woman he had been fantasizing about for years…

"Sagara!" Misao bellowed. "Smooth that backstay! I refuse to be cornered for it. Katsu, get your ass in gear and get those lines tightened. This is a ship, men, and so you shall treat her delicately!"

Sano rubbed a hand through his spiky hair and gave her a surprised look. "What bit you last night? I mean, besides Aoshi?"

Misao scowled at him.

"Or is that the problem?" Sano asked, spitting into his hand and smoothing down some frayed edges of rope, his countenance suggesting that he was still sleeping even though he was making all the proper motions. "I don't think I have this "up with the sun" bullshit down yet."

Katsu paused from where he was retying the leather thong that held his mane of black hair away from his face, his expression amused. "I doubt you understand that on this ship, you're sleeping in. I know for fact that our illustrious captain was up two hours ago, of course that could have had something to do with the girl downstairs…"

Misao's expression darkened slightly and there was a set to her mouth that suggested she was upset about something. Something that she couldn't name and didn't want to name. It wasn't hurt per se, but it was something else; like when you found out you had gotten china set instead of the pony.

Her frown increased as Sano and Katsu continued with there joking, but at least they were doing something semi-productive and helping the men let loose the canvas so that it could bellow in the morning breeze, allowing them to make headway against the ocean. Misao walked over to the edge, grasped a rope and jumped up to balance on the railing, letting the salt-breeze tug at her hair. Her braid wiped around her delicate body and she grudgingly allowed herself a smile.

The ruckus from the stairwell drew her attention as the dawn light crept past the clouds and lit up the water with its brilliant colors.

Kaoru awoke with the knowledge that wherever she was, it wasn't right. Blinking wide eyes in the dark room, she sat up, her body's movements causing whatever she was in to swing back and forth dangerously. Hands going out immediately to grasp the edges, she heard the sounds of something moving around before light sparked brilliantly. Kaoru shielded her eyes away from the lantern, and blinked until her sensitive eyes adjusted to the dark.

"Good morning." Megumi's voice softly lilted into the now lit room. "How are you feeling?"

Kaoru took several moments to register the questioned before she stretched her skin and winced slightly. It felt like her skin was too tight for her body, like a bad sunburn perhaps, but still painful. "Better." Lying was something she had gotten good at the past few years.

"Well, I have some more salve to put on it, this time it should work to kill the pain. After that, let's get some clothes on you and get you out in the sunshine." Megumi continued. 'Because if I don't get you out there, the crew is going to tear my quarters apart!' She undid the bandages on the girl's legs and was satisfied with what she found. They would be a little tender for the next few days, but only one spot was going to give her trouble beyond that and it was nothing her salve couldn't take care of. It was just a stronger version of the stuff she gave out for sunburns.

Kaoru was quite and Megumi frowned as she set about locating clothing that would fit the small woman. She ended up finding a pair of breeches she had cut down for the cabin boy Yahiko and they fit along her hips and backside well enough, but were large enough not to brush against her calves. She would have to get her hands on some of the men's pants to cut down for her. The shoes she gave the girl had fit comfortably but she would need new ones. Megumi vaguely remembered Misao dumping packages into some corner of the room and decided to look around see what she had bought. Kaoru had brushed and braided her hair without Megumi's prompting and then they were walking out of the personal quarters and moving up the steps to the deck.

The sea-breeze was a bit cool but Kaoru enjoyed the salt spray dancing across her skin for a moment before she opened her eyes. She hadn't gotten a good look at the ship the night before, and even to her untrained eye she could see that the lines were clean and smooth and that the sails were playfully snapping in the wind as they caught the wind and shot them through the blue-water.

"So you're the girl the Captain brought in!" A voice she hadn't heard in years teased from behind her. Kaoru's eyes widened and she slowly turned and met a pair of laughing brown eyes that suddenly were very, very startled. They stared at each other for a long moment and Kaoru almost missed the two people who stood next to him, starring at her with wide eyes. Instead she concentrated on the fact that he wasn't an allusion brought on by to much medications in a short time span.

"Sanosuke?" Kaoru finally managed her voice a bit thin as she stared at him. He suddenly grinned and picked her up, spinning around and drawing far too much attention to them. She would have preferred to be ignored for as long as Kenshin was going to highjack her! She barely caught a glimpse of surprised faces before he set her down on her feet and beamed at her.

"Wh…" his words were cut off as her dainty fist caught him in the jaw, following through just like had spent hours telling her. Sano crumpled like a sack of potatoes and Kaoru snarled at him while she shook her fist, swearing through clenched teeth. Sano stared at her from the ground with a blink and a shake of his head, one hand rising to cup his suddenly aching jaw. "What was that for?" he managed, surprise and pain in his voice.

Kaoru pulled herself up to full height. "What was that for? What was that for? With the way you left? How dare you ask me that question you addled brain rooster! I aught to hit you again!" She shouted glaring at him furiously. Sano stared at her a grin slowly rising on his face as he stared at her familiar, furious expression.

"Now don't take it like that!" Sano argued from where he stayed seated on the floor, his smile disappearing when it twinged his jaw. "I left you money!" His voice was rising as well slight annoyance beginning to spark in his eyes. Kaoru ignored the two who were staring at them with wide eyes, and the new heads that bounced forward to watch from behind corners; there eyes were darting back and forth between her and Sano. Kaoru was trying to decide if she should go ahead and hit him again or kick him in the shins. He still deserved both!

"What," a voice that's decidedly male tones she was rapidly learning to dislike, asked quietly. "Is going on here?" the edge of authority that had made her teeth clench the night before was right back were it belonged and she didn't like it. Men like this were the type she avoided. Kaoru turned and glared at the red-head and crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. Sano spoke before she could but at least it kept her from saying something that would get her hand fed to the sharks.

"She punched me!" Sano muttered as he stood up, brushing himself off. "But I forgive her." His tone suggested that he still didn't understand why she was angry with him. He was grinning openly though, and that just annoyed Kaoru even more.

"You deserved it!" Kaoru spat out. She emphasized her distaste with several well chosen words that had Sano's eyes widening. Out of the corner of her mouth she watched as Kenshin's mouth kicked up at the corner but there was no amusement in his eyes. She ignored him. Besides forcing him to put her on some island she didn't want to have anything else to do with him.

"You didn't' knows those the last time we were together." He complained a scowl on his face. "I should find whoever taught you to swear and hurt him."

There was another frozen silence.

"You two know each other?" Kenshin asked his tone soft. There was an edge in his eyes that made her feel decidedly uncomfortable, and she didn't care for the emphasized hiss to his voice. Kaoru was about to say something when Sano started babbling.

"Not like that! Jeez man! It's just Jou-chan!" Sano attempted his voice frigid in horror. Kaoru turned and gave him a dark look. Glaring at her long time best friend she hissed at him. While she didn't mind the funny Japanese words he had picked up from sailor's that had come in, he delighted in using them against her, that didn't mean she enjoyed being considered "just Jou-Chan" after spending three years thinking he was dead! She took a step forward as if she was going to hit him again.

"Just Jou-chan? You drop me like a bad load of dirty laundry you…" her teeth clicked together as she caught herself and attempted to get her temper under control. She crossed her arms across her chest and settled her face into a look that should have reduced him to a pile of boneless mass of nothing. "You're in so much trouble Sanosuke Sagara!"

Sano turned and grinned at Kenshin. "When did Jou-chan get hired on?"

Kaoru snorted. Could he really be that much of an idiot? "I'm not." She gave the captain a look even darker than the one she pinned on Sano. He just seemed amused by it and she forced herself to calm down and it took a visible effort. "Someone decided to add "kidnapping" to his list of piracy."

Sano jerked. "You're…" he turned to look at Kenshin. "So why did you kidnap her?"

Kenshin raised a brow and the look he gave Sano clearly reminded him that he wasn't used to be questioned, and Kaoru itched to kick his knees out from under him so he would crack his knees on humility. She was just thankful that all of her travel had given her an iron stomach and she wasn't feeling the effects of the pitch of the ship.

"She is here because Gohei was after her." Kenshin quietly informed him, his voice suggesting he leave it at that.

"Gohei!" Sano said with a scowl and Kaoru suddenly realized outside her own personal feelings for the slobbering barbarian, that these men hated him more. There was a shift in the air, a turning of amusement to dark fury in a second. "Again? I thought after you destroyed the ligaments in his sword hand he would have left you alone Jou-chan." Sano said turning. "It's a good thing you got her out of there then." That was directed at Kenshin and Kaoru decided right then that she was going to kill Sano. Slowly. At knife point.

Kaoru crossed her arms and jutted her chin out stubbornly. "This isn't the place to talk about it and your still in trouble with me!" Kaoru reminded him fiercely. She hoped that her locked was still tucked into her shirt and not causing any unnecessary attention. She just had a guilty conscious that was all.

"How are your burns?" Kenshin asked, ignoring the interaction between the two and watching her with a heavy-lidded, amber-eyed expression that would have curled her toes if she had any reason to be attracted to him. The memory of a dark ally sprang to mind but she mentally jumped up and down on it.

"There fine." Kaoru informed him stiff lipped. "They would have been fine if you had left me there!"

Kenshin curled the edges of his mouth up in something that sent a flicker of flame to burning low in her belly but she ignored it and turned back to Sano. She noted that most of the onlookers had left now that the fight was over. He was dark look. "Burns? Why are you burned? You generally know how to avoid fire." His tone was defiantly bringing up her cooking experiences and she snarled at him.

Kaoru ran a hand through her bangs in utter frustration as she attempted to find a way to get out of this situation. Either that or she was going to blow a vein in her temple because her blood was pounding in her ears. "Sano I really don't think this is the place!"

Kenshin shrugged. "I want both of you in my cabin. You can play catch up once we get in there." He turned and began walking back to where she guessed his cabin and she felt the urge to find something and hit him in the back of the head with it. Her breathing was harsh in her ears and Sano let out a low whistle.

"He really got under your skin didn't he?" Sano asked. Kaoru hit him all the way to Kenshin's quarters, yelling the vilest things she could at him while attempting to put a dent in his thick skull.

Misao turned to grin at Katsu as they went back to what they were doing. They went and checked on Aoshi, who was in charge of the Wheel when Kenshin was occupied in other locations. "It's her! I was so worried." She danced as she skipped towards her lover, wrapping her arms around his waist and appreciatively breathing in the scent of his skin mixed with sea-salt. "He found her!"

Aoshi didn't say anything, but Misao didn't expect him to. He hadn't actively participated in Misao's search for Kenshin's "dream" woman but he had never attempt to discourage it either, so Misao considered him an accomplice. Although he didn't know about her peeking at Kenshin's drawings, and she doubted she would ever tell him. Unless, of course, he got creative with her handkerchiefs again…

"Are you sure?" Katsu asked as she stood there, the wind teasing his own braided hair. There was great deal of amusement in the man's eyes and Misao scowled at him. Frowning she looked up at her lover and batted her long, feathery lashes.

"It is her!" Her voice was pitched with the slightest whine that made both men grin, although only one showed it visibly.

"It is." Aoshi agreed but even as his wife squealed and demanded answers he refused to give away any more information than that and he refused to acknowledge that Misao was punching Katsu in the arm irritably, for doubting her judgment. Some things were just better left ignored.

Kenshin wasn't sure what he was going to say to the pair once they entered the cabin, but he had the feeling he was going to have to separate them like a pair of toddlers. There was a glint in Karou's eyes that said she was furious with the world. His mouth curved upwards at the thought of her temper and he made no attempt to hide his amusement as they entered his private quarters. Sano at least remembered to shut the doors behind him.

"Sit," he ordered quietly. Sano did as he was told; knowing the rules, but the girl took a moment to look around. He suspected her of doing it deliberately and kept his tongue as he finally took her seat.

"First," Kenshin softly informed them. "I will not have you two acting in such a manner on my deck again. You both can swab it the next time it comes to blows. If you insist on acting like children I will treat you like such."

The girl narrowed her thickly lashed eyes at him, the blue darkening into an almost-black, but miraculously she held her tongue. Sano had the decency to look slightly ashamed.

"Man, I'm sorry Kenshin. We just got caught up in the moment again." Sano lightly said looking faintly embarrassed. "I didn't think."

The girl snorted. "Speak for yourself. I knew exactly what I was doing when I hit you."

As much as he admired her spark, he was not going to let this argument keep them from what he really wanted. Which was information. "That's enough," Kenshin softly warned and Kaoru glared at him.

"Now, before we figure out exactly what we are going to do with you, little thief," Kenshin drawled her name in a way that had her teeth clenching, "I want to know why Gohei was after you."

Her stomach erupted into a fuzzy explosion of nerves. "I don't know." The lie fell easily from her tongue and she forced herself not the flinch as he stared at her.

"Is that so?" He questioned lightly, never taking his eyes from her face. "Because I would have to accuse you of lying."

Kaoru shrugged at him. "You have already kidnapped me, humiliated me. I doubt that making comments against my character is going to be anything new." There was an edge to her words as she met his barbed words with her own. "Captain."

Kenshin's eyes narrowed. Before he could say anything Sano jumped in.

"Wasn't Gohei giving you problems before we left England?" Sano asked softly. "You were always vague about what he wanted back then as well." Sano frowned and tapped the arm of the wooden chair he sat in. "That's right…he was the reason you wanted to run…."

Kaoru refused to look at either man. Instead she picked a picture on his wall, a gorgeous pencil drawing of a ship she didn't recognize, and refused to show any sign of anything as they questioned her.

"You might as well talk." Kenshin told her softly. "Gohei is a man who, alone, is not dangerous. However, he has several people backing him in the Royal Courts and is a dangerous foe because of that."

Kaoru glared at him. "For a Pirate you sure know a lot about the Court."

Kenshin offered her a lazy, predatory smile. "I make it my business to know. Let's look at it this way. You're nothing to them. You a single wench in the middle of the ocean with someone of Royal blood chasing you and when he finds you, no one is going to care. They will, at the most, lock you into the Tower until you give him what he wants. If you're lucky. You can be accused of many things, and men like Gohei will use there power to take it whatever it is they can from you."

Kaoru glared at him. "You speak as if I don't know these things." There was a bite in her voice and Kenshin sensed the vulnerability in her face and voice and kept going.

"Then, perhaps, you should accept the offer I am giving you. I can't help you unless you tell me what he wants."

Kaoru shrugged. Her eyes were cast away from him again and he felt a surge of impatience and was about to snap something when Sano reached over and tugged her braid and said something so soft that Kenshin couldn't catch it. The reaction it created in the girl was interesting. Her back stiffened so that it looked like her spine was going to snap with the strain and her chin jutted just enough to give her the impression of regality. Then she wilted.

Her hand went behind her hair and then something was sailing at his head. Kenshin caught it on reflex and he frowned as he opened his palm. Sitting there was a small locket. The engraving was simple enough, and from what he could tell, there was nothing special about it.

"What is this?"

"It was my mothers." Kaoru informed him testily. "It's what Gohei wants. I don't know why. But, once he caught sight of it, he has been chasing me for years."

He opened the locket and found nothing inside except the picture of a dark hard man with blue-eyes that look familiar. He guessed this was her father. There was nothing else there. However, he could see where she got her stubborn brows. "I will keep this and make a drawing." He didn't ask and if the outraged look on her face said anything, she was furious for it.

"Hey now, Kaoru," Sano informed her. "It's not like he can take off with it. Where stuck on this boat together. You can always get it back from his later. "

'Kaoru,' Kenshin realized. 'Her name is Kaoru.' He stared at the way she swatted at Sano's hands when he attempted to ruffle her already wind-blown hair. 'It suits her.'

"Sano, have the men put up an extra hammock in Megumi and Misao's chamber. She will sleep there. Also, have someone find her something she can cut down. She needs more than one pair of clothing. We can have Megumi or Misao find her something next time we dock." He stood, suggesting the meeting was over.

"And what," Kaoru demanded, standing as well. "Do you really expect me to just live off this damn boat until you decided to drop me off somewhere?"

Kenshin gave her a lazy look. "In fact, yes." The girl gave a outraged gasp. "Once I have decided that the threat Gohei presents you is dealt with then I will drop you off on some island. Perhaps Barbados…Megumi has contacts there. If your swearing says anything you Castilian isn't bad and they can always use tutors." He gave her an amused look. "Unless you would prefer to go back to being a wench."

Her mouth thinned and her eyes flashed at him, brining a flush to her pale skin and he admired the contrast as Sano laughed and took her forearm in his and dragged her out of the cabin.

Kenshin sat back in the chair, pulling out a clean sheet of paper and picking up one of his pencils. He stared at the locket for long moments, thinking about how things were fixing to change. He closed his eyes and let a smirk cross his face. He leaned back for a moment and enjoyed the sounds of the commotion he could hear outside.

Things were going to liven up.

It would keep his crew on there toes.

Kaoru allowed Sano to drag her only as far as the railing before she jerked out of his hold and winced. The escape had tugged on the burns on her legs and she needed a moment so she could ignore the paint they brought. She had been hiding it behind her anger, and she was thankful she had done such a good job.

That man infuriated her.

"Hey, your alright, Jou-chan?" Sano asked her softly and Kaoru nodded her head, hding behind the length of her bangs. He would always be able to tell how she was feeling if he saw her eyes. It was likely that he would read into her deceit because she was hiding, but it was a chance she had to take.

"He said something about setting me up a hammock?" Kaoru asked. She hadn't slept in a hammock sense she was a child and was actually looking forward to it. Once she let go of her furry for being dragged aboard ship and being treated like a child, she could enjoy the salt-spray and the feel of the ways under her booted feet.

She had always loved the open sea. This was no exception. It wasn't the sea she was anger at, but the situation that had put her there. Following Sano as he lead her around she allowed the men who she passed to give her curious looks, pretending she didn't notice them. How could they not be curious? She had been dragged aboard ship by there apparently beloved Captain, punched one of there possible mess-mates, and was now being lead around by a smiling Sano.

If she was confused she couldn't imagine how they felt.

She was lead back down the stairs that lead to the lower deck and taken back into the infirmary. Which she discovered wasn't really the infirmary. It was the private holding of the woman doctor that Kenshin kept on board who gave Sano such a dark glance that Kaoru wasn't sure why he didn't just melt. It was the hard look in her friend's eyes and the faint, furious blush that stained his tanned skin that had her opened mouthed.

"Kenshin said to set her up a hammock. She bunks with you and Misao." Sano told her in a voice Kaoru had never heard from him before. Lazy arrogance that was colored with same tones that Kenshin had used on her…maybe she should have kicked him.

"Of course," the woman responded easily. "It's either here or with your smelling brutes. I doubt she could abide by your stench long enough to explain why she wasn't sleep. Either that or your snores." She gave Kaoru a look. "Good. You don't seem to be suffering from Sea sickness."

Kaoru blinked. "Um…no, I have done a bit of traveling…" the door flew open and small girl stalked in. Her eyes were large and laughing and she opened her mouth to complain or say something when they landed on Kaoru. Sano made some noise in the back of his throat when the girl broke into a wide smile.

"So you're the girl!" Misao cheered as she walked over and offered her hand in a bright smile. "My name is Shinomori Misao! Welcome to the Renegade and I hope you enjoy your stay! I am so glad to finally have another female on the ship." She practically bounced to wear Megumi was struggling to unfold another hammock.

"Hey, behemoth! Get over here and put this thing up!" Misao ordered as she shoed Megumi away from the bolt-ties that hung from the ceiling to allow them to hang the hammocks. Sano sighed but did as he was ordered.

"Misao is the second mate to the captain," Sano explained as he set the third hammock up. "Her husband, Aoshi, is First Mate."

Kaoru frowned. "If her husband is here…why does she share this place with Megumi?"

"Damn good question!" Misao informed her as she danced around. "I asked it myself when Aoshi told me I wasn't sleeping with him. Only the captain gets private quarters and Aoshi doesn't share well. I don't mind. When we dock he always takes me out for dinner or at least gets leave to spend the night somewhere other than the ship. There is the occasional time when we have ship leave but such is life." She shrugged and beamed when Sano got the hammock covered.

"You had best get out there soon, Sano." Misao informed him. "They are about ready to begin arms training." Her voice was calm but Sano nodded and slipped out the door. Misao and Megumi exchanged a look and Kaoru wondered at the expression on the lady doctor's face.

"So," Megumi tried, her voice oddly strained. "You said you travel a lot? Is that how you met Sanosuke?"

Kaoru paused from where she was watching Misao suddenly toss about brightly colored pieces of fabric that threatened to blind her in the dim light. She stopped attempting to figure out how the colors would look in bright Sunlight and turned to face the woman who was acting like the question was a simple, casual observation.

"Yes," Kaoru said slowly. "My father…owned his own ship. My memories of him are good, but mostly small things. He used to take me traveling with him, after my mother died, and when he came down with a wasting fever…we docked in Europe. I ran into Sano about a week before my father died." Kaoru absently played with the ends of her braid. She shrugged and hid the aching pain the memory of her beloved father wasting away in his bed from her memory. "Sano found me three days after the funeral. He took me and became something of an older brother. We traveled around a lot together, until we were separated a few years ago."

Misao bounded over and shoved some duller fabrics in her hand. "I remember that! Sano sulked for weeks about not having his precious 'Jou-chan' on board with him. I believe he said your name was Kaoru?"

Kaoru nodded. Megumi had remained silent and Misao winked at her, and Kaoru wondered at the sign. Then she was being dragged outside. "I'm going to introduce her to the crew so they don't think she is prisoner or something. See you at in the mess hall Megumi!"

Kaoru blinked rapidly at the bright sunlight that action brought and then found herself dragged on a whirlwind of introductions that generally was commenced by a serious of explicits, orders, and the absent reminder of who she was. The only introductions that seemed to have been important was to the Helmsman (who was apparently also the first mate) Aoshi. He was Misao's husband and perhaps the only man who she had ever met who rivaled Sano in size. The way his ice-blue eyes had taken her still left her feeling a little cold.

Then she had meet here on-board cook, a woman named Sae who hinted at the fact that she also took care of Kenshin when made it back to his…home. A boy named Yahiko who was the new cabin boy and who had called her busu within the first few moments of meeting her. She had also met Katsu, Kenshin's demolitions expert, and a handful of other names she just couldn't keep track of.

Kaoru was thankful when she was led to a small alcove and handed a bowl of still hot soup. The bread was slightly stale, but better than anything she had had in weeks, so she didn't complain as she ate everything. Soon there were several people taking advantage of the warm sunshine and peaceful day to sit outside in the slight breeze instead of cramming into the mess hall.

"I have to give you credit," Katsu told her as he blinked eyes that were watering. "You're eating Sae's soup without blinking. That takes work. She loads it down with spices to hide the fact that we haven't restocked in a while."

Kaoru blinked as she took another bite. There was a definite kick to her food, but she had lived in warmer climate for the past three years. In the heat food started to decay faster and lost most of its flavor, so spices were something you had to learn to live with or you would go insane. "Why didn't you restock at the last port?"

Sano swallowed. "We were hunting Gohei. Kenshin prefers to make planned restocking trips so that we can replace everything. The next port I think is out next location. If we tried to restock while chasing after a fucking Spaniard or even Gohei, then we would probably end up with fewer supplies than what we have now."

Katsu grinned. "Plus there is the side-business to keep in mind."

Kaoru raised her brows but Sano kicked him, quite visibly, and Katsu's mouth shut. Kaoru pretended that she hadn't noticed, but Misao was quite visibly rolling her eyes and muttering something in various dialects under her voice. Kaoru could only wonder at the girl's mood. Misao seemed to be like a toy she had as a child, you spun the handle over and over until the little clown popped out.

She wondered at the amount of energy it took to actually have the small woman to pop.

Kaoru stood. "Anyone else finished?" She offered quietly, motioning to her bowl with one hand. It was far to ingrained in her to take care of other peoples dishes and to refill cups for her to be able to ignore it now.

Kaoru walked back down the steps, easily balancing several bowls and one small flask that Katsu had asked to be cleaned out. Apparently it had one held a bit of ale, but they had gotten some fresh water on there trip. Kaoru knew she should enjoy it while it lasted, because water was hard to keep fresh on a boat. The barrels of rum and ale weren't for selling or bartering with local merchants, but a very important part of ship life.

If you couldn't hold your drink, you didn't belong. It wasn't the best thing to drink, but you had to keep some sort of fluid down you and out in the middle of the ocean sometimes when the water ran bad it was the only thing out there.

Kaoru was surprised when she almost crashed head long into the boy who was coming up the stairs and smiled at him as she dodged and twisted, so that everything remained perfectly balanced.

"What were you're going ugly!" Yahiko snarled, and Kaoru snorted.

"I would be careful, brat. Someone might accidentally knock you up the side of your head." Kaoru warned him as she safely made it down the stairs.

"I'm not scared of an old hag!" He returned as he raced out the hatch and into the sunlight.

Kaoru felt her temper flicker but forced it down. He would find out on his own.

"We're being followed." Aoshi warned him, leaning lazily in the door jam. "We can probably keep ahead of them for another few days, assuming our luck holds."

Kenshin looked up. "The winds are dying."

Aoshi shrugged. "If we are caught dead in the water, so are they. At least we won't have to worry about them then. We have the faster vessel but they are going to be impatient. If they thought they could do it, I don't doubt that they would row there way over here."

Kenshin stood and walked to the small globe that set on his desk. "How far are we from the neutral waters?"

"Far enough that this could be a problem," Aoshi easily replied.

Kenshin sighed. "Once the winds pick up, let the men know we are expecting an attack. Drop a note to Sae that everyone needs to be eating citrus, I don't want anyone coming down with scurvy or anything else that would give them a man advantage."

Aoshi was quite. "Would you're sudden worry have something to do with our new cargo?"

Kenshin was quite for a moment. "Not entirely."

'The girl then,' Aoshi mentally added but simply nodded, gave a haunting court bow, and slipped out the door.

'At least we won't be board.'

Alright. There it is. dances Anyway, thank to all those who reviewed the past two chapters. You guys make my day! Once again, between my schedule and poor J.D.'s schedule, this is not edited. Just be patiant and the proper beta-ing will occur!