Ahoy hearties! A thousand apologies for the typos, I didn't want to post this any later than it already is so I'll go over it sometime later.

Enjoy, ye landlubbers!

Once the food forced down, I left refectory followed by Joey. It seems I didn't have as much freedom as I expected. No matter. It's a good start. Thought the first mate and I walk silently, every pirate we come across on our way to the main deck glances at me with a mix of surprise and apprehension. Just like those in the refectory have.

"Why are they looking at me like that?" I ask the first mate.

"Ya're serious?" replies the first mate, dumbstruck. "Yug, ya brought someone who wasn't breathin' back to life."

"That's ridiculous," I retort, frowning. "I just expelled the water from his lungs, that's all. Mokuba wasn't dead."

"To be honest, t'shivered me timbers even more than when ya attacked Bakura. Where in Davy Jone's name did ya learn to do that?"

"I only…" I stopped when I realized I had no answer to that question. "I don't know. I had the feeling it's something I knew how to do. Like I've been taught or I've seen it before."

"Gotta say, that was pretty damn impressive. The other lads think yar some kind of goddess."

I scoff. "If I were, I wouldn't be held hostage by measly pirates, would I?"

"Who're ya callin' measly, half-pint?" he retorts, falsely offended. "Yer so scrawny, I could eat ya in one bite."

I can't help the snort that escapes me and the half-smile on my face. I surprise myself. Did I just try to joke around? The feeling of extreme relief from earlier made me let my guard down. I mentally slap myself and refocus. I'm still a hostage on this ship. And I have to get Moki out of this before Seto finds us. But if I can get them to lower their guard with this, it might very well serve us when we take the french leave. I need to stay focused.

We finally reach the main deck and step out into the sun. I hadn't realized but the sea is a little more agitated than before and the wind has picked up. The Millennium is advancing smoothly. I inhale the salted air around. It feels just as good as it did when I first stepped on the Blue-Eyes. My contemplation gets interrupted when I realize the pirates on the deck are looking at me just like the ones before had. It's beginning to unsettle me.

"That was quick," says the familiar husky voice of the captain.

Atem is near the mainmast, holding what looks like two of the practice swords from yesterday. I begin to make my way towards him when he tosses one to me that I catch by reflex. I stop in my tracks. Why on earth does he want to spar with me now?

"Why are we doing this?" I ask. "I thought you were going to tell me more about the Stream."

"I am," he assures, adjusting his fake blade in his hand. "I'm also verifying something."

Before I even get the chance to process his words, he heads at full speed towards me. I don't have time to switch my blunt blade to left hand. I block the first blow, expecting painful vibrations to shoot through my arm and my wound to start bleeding again. To my surprise, the blow isn't as strong as I imagined. The same surprise causes me to be caught of guard and I tumble back a few steps. A satisfied smile appears on Atem's face before he attacks again. I block his strike before it hits my head. Restlessly he attacks and I counter. My alertness is at its peek but the strength of the blows themselves feel just as light as the first time I dueled him. Is he purposely holding back? Had he been holding back then as well? Despite the lightness of the blows, if he were holding a real sword, they'd still be deadly due to their precision. Finally, he gives it a rest.

"Do you know why exactly the Stream increases the strength a Shayee?" He asks and I shake my head. "Water is heavy. The deeper you go, the heavier it gets. As they go further down, the Shayee's strength increases exponentially to support the weight. The Stream awakens the potential despite the lack of pressure."

His words made sense. I myself have never dived more than thirty feet deep because I didn't want to get too far away from the coast. I normally wasn't aloud to swim at all. I suddenly feel like a fool. Thirty feet deep but I've never realized how much time I spend down there. If I had paid attention, I'd have realized that I could hold my breath for so long. I'd always just abandoned myself to the sea and played with the currents. I really am an airhead.

"Hold on," I say. "The Stream isn't coursing through me at the moment. My strength shouldn't be different from before.'

"It's not. However," he says, pointing his sword at my feet, "the way you move now is incomparable to how you did during our first duel."

Now that he mentions, I realized that despite being on guard, I hadn't once thought about Seto or his teachings. I only reacted to how Atem was attacking.

"You were taught to fight on the defensive," he explains. "Not a bad decision for someone shorter and lighter than the average swordsman. However, that can only get you so far. The Stream also awakened your natural reflexes that you unconsciously pushed away to learn a 'proper and disciplined' way to wield your blade."

"What do you mean by natural reflexes?" I ask looking at my hand for a reason unknown to myself.

"The time Shayee spend in the water renders their bodies very flexible. That's why you are most likely gifted in things such as dancing and horse riding. The type of fighting you learned is based on standing your ground and put up a certain amount of resistance. Now you're moving like a fish responding to a current. Or if you'll pardon a terrible pun…"

"…like a stream," I finished.

"The Shayee prided themselves on being peaceful, but they knew they attracted unwanted attention. They used their natural disposition to defend themselves. You now have access to those."

The awakening he has been pestering about since kidnapping us is of much grander scale that I thought. I'm much more 'inhuman' than I could've imagined. Silence is the only answer he gets from me. I'm torn between glee and melancholy. I was right this entire time; my heritage is alive within myself. I feel the thrill of relief and yet… Tears sting my eyes at the realization of how alone I am. So different from Seto and Moki whom are closest to me. So…alone.

"I don't know what to make of that look on your face, love," says the Captain, taking a few steps closer. "Are you thrilled or scared?"

I look up at him, yet again astounded at how easily he can sense my emotions. I don't reply and just keep looking at him. What a strange man. I'm awakened now just like he wanted. One question remains. What now? My awakening as a true Shayee was his objective wasn't it? So is there more to it?

"What now?" I ask, uncertain. "I've awakened like you wanted. What more do you want from me?"

"Now?" His serious face fades to leave place to his usual smirk, and he leans closer to me. "Now love, you finish fixing up my sail. Then we'll improvise. I assure you, the Stream is not the only thing hiding within you."

how reassuring. Our proximity makes me uncomforatble and I'm about to take a step back. But before I can, he grabs the blunt blade from my hand and begins walking away again, telling Joey to keep an eye out for me. This sudden 'back to business' attitude feels a bit too brutal. An idea presents itself to me.

"Atem!" I call out, surprising myself.

He turns back to me, curiosity marking his face. The words pour out of my mouth before I can stop them.

"Let's duel again," I say, almost shouting and loud enough for the pirates around to stop and stare. "If I win, let us go."

Silence follows my sudden challenge. His eyes widen in full-on shock while I'm scolding myself inside. What am I trying to do? What is making act so recklessly? The opportunity perhaps. And maybe the fact that I'm somehow confident that he won't hurt me? At least not seriously. He said I was stronger now. Or at least that I have less restraints. It sounds foolish but maybe now… maybe now is the best time to try my new bargaining chip. Still, all of my muscles have contracted in utter shock. Before I can take back my words, the captain lets out a laugh.

"That's some confidence you're exhibiting," He compliments. "I said you were less restrained than before but that doesn't mean you have what it takes to take me on."

"I'll see that for myself."

He chuckles and shakes his head at me. "Here I thought you'd learned. If we make this a real duel, you could end up with another wounded limb. Given your intentions, I doubt you'd want to start collecting serious injuries."

Honestly, where has my common sense gone to? Seto would scold me until my ears fell off. The wound in my arm already nearly costed me my whole limb. If I get anymore injured, it'll make my escape plans that much more difficult. Not mentioning the fact that he knows exactly what I'm trying to do. Still, in case of unforeseen direct confrontation, it would be good to be prepared.

"I still want to see."

With that, he tosses one of the blunt blades back to me. "We'll be using these. As much as I like the element of fear of death in a duel, wounding you again would be a hassle for me. Remember you asked for it, love."

The pirates around move away to avoid getting caught up in our duel. I adjust the practice sword in my left hand and focus all of my attention on him. I'm not sure what I've gotten myself into, but I know I can get something out of this fight. I will most likely lose but at least, I'll know where I stand compared to my captor. And how long I can hold.

"So what are your rules?" I ask.

"The first one to hit a vital area wins," he begins, imitating me. "The upper right arm is off limits."

I'm not foolish enough to believe the second rule is out of consideration for me. He's only making it more of a challenge for himself. He's confident he's much stronger than me. And so far, his confidence has been backed up every single way. It's frustrating to be underestimated as such and also scary. I take deep controlled breaths to steady my heartbeat and ease the tension in my muscles.

"Finally, the fight is limited to the main deck."

I'm a little surprised. "You let Bakura nearly strangle me to death to make me learn never to discard death…"

"True. You never should. For yours truly however, it's only necessary if the opponent is actually capable of delivering death. No offense to you love, but I'm not worried."

Belittling me like this seems to amuse him to no end. The most unnerving thing though, is that there is truth in all of his words. I've no trouble imagining him to be a killer. But for some reason, I have a hard time thinking of him as a liar.

I quickly refocus when a shiver of warning courses through my body, making every single hair on my skin stand. His eyes are now those of a predator on his prey, ready to strike. He steps to the side and begins slowly circling, with the elegance of a lion. I imitate his moves and Joey and the others move even further back. He's different from when we first dueled. The most notable difference, is the lack of cocky smile. He seems dead serious. I can almost smell it in the air, tension so thick one could cut through it with a butter knife. In this moment, I feel exactly like I did when the rogue shark was after me. The weight on my shoulders triples.

"One more thing, Yugi." I know how serious he is when he calls me by my name. "If I win, I'll take something from you. Something once given can't be taken back."

"Wait what do you mea…."

I don't have time to process, much less agree. He dashes forward, holding his blunt blade as if it was still sheathed. I step out of the way a fraction of a second before his sword hits my head. I barely recover that I have to block multiple blows assaulting me from all sides. I deviate one to my stomach, jump to avoid getting my legs slashed, duck to escape decapitation. I realize something. It doesn't matter if our blades are blunt. He's a monster and he could kill me with a spoon if he wanted.

I'm struck by a sudden urge to run away. To dive in the water and swim away as fast as I can. The energy of fear coursing through me is the only thing keeping me 'alive'. His strikes are still lighter than Seto's, but his devilish accuracy and precision are an art all to themselves. I somehow manage to follow the movements enough to block and dodge but just that demands all of my focus.

'Loopholes. I have to find the loopholes around the rules to win. There's no other way…'

Jumping back a little too violently to avoid getting split from shoulder to abdomen, I hit the edge of the ship. He's already in front of me, bringing his blade down from above. My mind goes blank and out of our survival instinct, I slide down to the floor. The edge of the ship blocks his sword.

Out of pure instinct, I kick him as hard as I can in the knee. He tumbles back a little, giving me a few seconds of reflexion. My thoughts flow through my head like a mighty stream, connecting all of my observations. My eyes land on his belt.

Drainer at his side. My wounded arm. The second rule. I have everything I need.

My time is up. He's regained his balance and dashes towards me as fast as humanely possible, the predatory look in his eyes never wavering. My instincts scream at me to move, but I fight against them, standing my ground, purposely provoking him.

I can take your strike, is what my stance is saying.

In truth, I'm observing. Forbidding myself to blink even for a second. He's on me, but I remain still following the movement of his arms. He raises his blade, with the intent of bringing it down on my head.

Shifting my stance at the last moment, I raise my right elbow up as if to protect myself, purposely making my wounded arm in the way of his strike. I know quite well that if it hits, my wound will not only reopen but there is also a chance he'll shatter my arm. But according to the rules, he'd lose. Determination barely has the upper hand over terror inside me. This is the only bargaining chip I have but have no time to think of anything else. And my prize makes it worth it.

Finally, the demon eyes out for blood suddenly widen in surprise. Knowing he can't stop given his weight and momentum, he deviates his blow to the side, missing my arm by inches. For a fraction of a second, his side will be open when he'll turn back to me and readjust his stance. But I know too well that the time it takes for me to raise my blade will take far too long.

'Now or never!'

Letting go of my weapon, I throw myself forward with my whole weight; pushing his still misbalanced body backwards with my left hand and seizing Drainer's handle with my right. I'm genuinely surprised to find him falling back instead of me slamming into an iron wall. Just as he heavily lands on his back, I unsheathe the long knife completely and raise it up.

An image flashes in my mind. I stop. For barely a moment. Barely a half one, remembering that the blade I hold is real. In that moment, all at once, I realize my mistakes. I should've brought Drainer to his throat directly, instead of wasting precious time raising it up. In the time I've wasted, I could've easily flipped the knife, and hit him with the back of the beautiful blade. Then I remember that he is my enemy, that it shouldn't matter, if I hurt him.

I resume my movement with the intent to point the tip at his heart but it's too late. An iron grip wraps around my wrist, stopping my finishing blow, and I fill something cold sting lightly into my throat. I don't have to look at it to know it's the little knife he hid in his wrist brace. The one I'd completely forgotten about.

I began panting as the tension in my body dies down and look down at him. We both stay like that, staring at each other. He's also breathing heavily though not as heavily as I am. I can still see the shock in his eyes but a proud smile has appeared on his face. Finally he breaks the silence and begins laughing wholeheartedly.

"I can't believe I got caught off guard like this," he says. "If you hadn't hesitated, I might be dead right now."

His praise means nothing to me. I did it. I finally managed to not only find the loopholes in the rules, but also create an opportunity to win. And I'd wasted it. I can almost hear Seto screaming at me that I'm weak. This could've been it. I would've won and Moki and I could've been free. The worst part is, I understood why too late. The image that appeared in my mind and froze me… It was the one of Atem diving in the water and killing the beast that was about to tear me apart.

"At ease gents," he says louder and clearly not speaking to me. "There's no danger."

Confused, I look up to find nearly all of the pirates around hands on their weapons and ready to intervene. Even Joey's claws have started coming out. Have I scared them? How? Are my eyes blue agai…

"Ah!"

I can't help the gasp of surprise that escapes my mouth when Atem suddenly yanks on my arms, pulling me off of him but without letting go. A moment late, I'm the one back to the ground and him hovering over me, one knee pressing down on my stomach to keep me down.

"Mind letting go, love?" he asks. "You're making my men nervous. Not that there's a reason for them to be."

I finally get it. It's because of what happened this morning when I attacked Bakura. They think I could be some sort of demon or witch like Joey said. I have mixed feelings about this nervousness they have for me now. Docilely, I release the orichalcum blade which Atem returns to his sheath.

"Ye alright cap'n?" asks Reed.

"I never was in any danger," he assures, as confident as ever. But even as he speaks to his men, he keeps his eyes on me with a look I haven't seen before. It strangely —and warily— resembles tenderness. "She couldn't kill me if I handed her a knife and stuck my neck out to her."

"Seems I've barely scratched the surface of you, little Shayee," he says as if talking to himself. "Just how much more is there to you?"

The sudden softness in his eyes doesn't keep them from looking me up and down, slowly. I suddenly feel very uncomfortable. Shivers run up and down every part of me his eyes trail on and I feel as if I've been stripped of all my clothes. At the same time, I'm paralyzed by his glare. It's like being devoured by his eyes alone. Blood rushes to my face and I'm suddenly really hot. I can't hold his eyes and look aside, while self-consciously bringing up my arm to nervously scratch at my collar.

"Please get off of me," I ask, cursing my voice for coming out as a weak squeak.

For sole response, I get the trademark smirk and hold my breath in bad anticipation. Thank God, he says nothing and removes his knee from my stomach and offers me a hand. I hesitate but take it. He pulls me to my feet as easily as if I were a feather. He keeps my hand in his. I risk a curious glance at him. He's still inspecting me from head to toe. I forcefully take back my hand.

"What are you looking at?" I ask, taking a step back.

"It really does suit you."

I look down at my strange attire in which I feel so good. I don't know what to make of this sudden compliment. I doubt he means it. Not with that smirk on his face. He's most likely trying to get a reaction out of me. I'm already putting cherries to shame, without him having said anything yet. He can't possibly make it worse.

"I needed dry clothes and that's what you gave me," I say, forcing myself to look at him and desperately trying to stay composed. "Don't mock me."

"I'm not," he replies, his smirk fading. "You're beautiful."

Dear Lord was I wrong. His eyes don't leave mine, showing off nothing but pure honesty. If this were a joke, he'd have his insufferable smirk back. Somehow, the fact that he isn't laughing or mocking me makes me very concerned. My self-control crumbles and I feel even more blood rush to my face threatening to melt off my face.

"I can't believe how blessed I am to have found you."

"Stop that!" I finally snap.

"What do you mean?" he says, falsely confused.

I can't let myself play his game. It's exactly what he wants. He's already riled me up far too much.

"I'll… finish fixing the sail," I say, to have an excuse to leave.

I move to walk passed him but he steps to the side, blocking my way. I suddenly feel the menace in the air and my muscles tense up again. He leans forward until his lips are at my ear.

"Don't forget I won the duel. I'll come for my reward later."

With that, he turns heel and heads back to the quarterdeck while his part of the deal plays in my head.

Something that once given can't be taken back.

Atem is more and more interested. Yugi is awakening and we still don't know what's gonna happen to Bakura... Meh, probably nothing.

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