Naruto opened his eyes to the sight of dank, mossy ceiling, crumbling stalactites, and a near-infinite expanse of dilapidated cobblestone.

"Oh. You're finally awake," Wincing to get up, he craned his neck to the side, where the voice came from.

His eyes widened at who he saw: it was the gamu fish! Sure, the shadows of the cave obfuscated his face, but Naruto could recognize its size and deep, baritone voice anywhere.

But that brought forth a slew of questions, most critical of all was…

"You… Why are you—"

"—Am I here? Why am I not killing you where you stand?" There was a hint of self-deprecating amusement laden within as it replied, "I don't exactly know either; maybe I just felt bad, or maybe that fishwoman's courage moved me,"

Fishwoman… Naruto frowned, struggling to recall who it could possibly be. That's when it hit him: Miana!

"Miana! Where… where is Miana?!" Naruto tried to stand, but a massive palm pressing down on him prevented it.

"Hold it." The owner said, and now that they had finally removed themselves from the shadows, Naruto was able to see his 'handiwork' in all its glory.

Crippling wounds that would've killed even the most resilient warriors littered its face; from one end to the other, burns, cuts, lacerations and all sorts of other injuries made themselves present to him. Most distinct of them all, however, was the gaping black hole where its left eye used to be.

It grinned when it noticed the look of shock on his face, "Lovely, eh? My face?"

"...Nothin' personal," Naruto could only say, his head tilting down ever so slightly, just enough not to meet its gaze. He felt ashamed. It was he who barged into its home, he who tried to steal from it and he who had almost killed it. And yet… it still saved his life.

"I figured, and someday I'll get even," It sighed, "But not now. Now, we save your friend,"

Naruto watched it rise to its feet, and when he did the same, he wasn't stopped.

"Why?" He followed it out of the cave, "Why are you helping me?"

"Why do anything?" It returned, chuckling at its own non-answer, "Because I can."

Miana… why would you go so far?

It was now the next day, and all Naruto could think about was what the Gamu fish — sorry, Ermets — told him.

During his brief bout of unconsciousness, Vander Decken had arrived, being called in by Miana to assist him. However, contrary to her expectations, instead of helping, Decken came to finish him off whilst he was still weak. But before they could do the deed, Miana interfered, holding on just long enough for Ermets to wake up and eliminate his goons.

Except, in the chaos, Miana was a casualty of the machinations of Decken, leading to her capture shortly after things went south. The rest is, as they say, history.

Now you've been taken, and there's no telling what that man can do… He didn't want to, but he couldn't deny the similarities between Robin and Miana's situation.

Captured…

By unpredictable people…

All because of him…

"Oi! Enough moping around, we've arrived," Ermets called out, shaking him out of his reverie.

"Hm? Oh…" Only then did he notice the gigantic ship in the distance, its iconic shape resounding in Naruto's head.

"The Flying Dutchman. Oh how your glory has fallen, old friend," Naruto raised an eyebrow at that.

Ermets seemed to notice, though he didn't make any attempts at an explanation. At first, the two made their way there with a steady, brisk pace. However, as they closed in on the ship, and sentries appeared more frequently, the duo resorted to moving under the cover of the flora that surrounded it.

As a result, when they arrived at the base of the ship, it was dusk.

"What are we even waiting for?! They could be doing who-knows-what to her!" And being the impatient bastard he is, Naruto was just about ready to blast his way into the ship, threatening anything and everything that breathes.

"I'm telling you, they won't be stupid enough to do anything to her," Ermets was then stuck with the unenviable position of placating someone who could blow him up to kingdom come anytime he wanted.

"And how are you so sure?!"

"If you stop thinking with your dick and start thinking with your brain maybe you'd figure it out,"

Still, all things considered, they reached their destination smoothly.

Ermets pinched the bridge of his nose, "Look, the reason they took her in the first place was to reel you in, the real target here,"

"Wait… so then…"

"She's a hostage, and they're counting on the fact that you'll come in guns blazing to save her,"

Naruto paled, "What do we do now? What if we take too long?"

"Don't worry, pal, I got this."

Miana awoke to a sharp pain on her cheek. She shrieked, and once more, the pain struck again, this time on her other cheek.

As she came to, the first thing she noticed were the ropes that bound her to a nailed down chair, her hands tied constrictively behind her back. The second thing, though, and much more importantly, was the person standing in front of her, smiling as he twirled his moustache.

"Good… good… you're finally awake! I was getting impatient," Miana watched as Vander Decken rubbed her cheeks endearingly; his scaly fingers a stark contrast to her soft, supple skin.

She flinched, pulling back almost instinctively. The action didn't seem to bother him much, as he merely shrugs and moves away to put his gloves back on.

"I think you already know why you're here, hm?" Decken's normally shrill, high-pitched voice distorted into a sinister low as it echoed throughout the ship's decrepit walls.

It scared her. Frightened her to no end. He seemed to feed off of it, if his chuckling was anything to go by, "My sweet sweet daughter, you've been very naughty today, stopping me from killing my target. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"Y-Y-You lied to me!" She cried out, "You said you would come and help! So why…"

"Why were you trying to kill him?! How could you?!"

Vander Decken was taken aback at her gusto, but he recovered fairly quickly, responding spontaneously with a fierceness of his own:

Slap! "Why?! Why?! Because my life's on the line, dammit!"

Miana stared blankly into space, the sting of his hand still lingering on her cheek. Decken hesitated for a moment, a look of apprehension in his eyes, as if he was contemplating the morality of what he had just done, his previous persona wiped off the face of the earth.

"I-I-I'm sorry Miana…" He whispered, finally, frantically, as if he was more desperate to convince himself than her, "But you need to understand that sometimes… sometimes a person needs to make sacrifices,"

"Even if you owe your life to them?"

"Even so."

"..." Decken smiled. Maybe he could convince her after all, to obediently become the damsel in distress. And once he was gone, things could go back to—

"Then I don't want to understand!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, "Naruto! I know you're out there! Please listen to me and run away! I'm not worth risking everything you've worked for! Just go—"

"Gaaah! Be quiet!" Decken growled, shoving a cloth gag into her mouth, rendering her speechless. Literally.

"Mmph?! Mmmmpph!" Was all Miana could muster under her new trappings.

He nodded, "Good. That should shut you up for a while,"

Miana's glare followed him as he padded around the room, one hand on his 'stache and the other in his pocket. She could hear him mumbling something, though it was far too soft for her to pick up on anything decipherable.

Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks and turned to face Miana. With a severe look on his face, he said, "I have some business to attend to outside. Be a good girl and stay. Punishment can only go so far before it toes the line of abuse,"

Miana stilled at the expectant look in his eyes, and after a few seconds of contemplation, she nodded.

"Thank you. I don't like keeping you in those ugly chains, but family and business should never mix, and right now, daddy's gotta do some business," Those were his final words to her before he shut the door behind him, leaving her to her own devices…

Click!

…

…

Miana waited for a few minutes, just to be sure. Then, she waited a few minutes longer, because she cannot mess this up. And even when she was convinced he really was gone, she chose to wait just a little while longer.

Why?

Because she only had one chance. And damn her if she was going to let it pass her by.

After a dozen or so minutes of complete silence, Miana began to act. It didn't feel nice, keeping what amounts to a glorified kitchen knife inside of her for this long, especially when she was speaking, but if there was anything she took after from her father, it was his shrewdness.

But first, to get rid of this damn sock in her mouth.

"Bleurgh," From out of her throat and onto her tongue was a small, kite-shaped blade. It was called a kunai, according to Naruto. Apparently, it was an iconic weapon from his homeland. She had taken it from his satchel when he was out cold, just before her father and his goons could capture her.

Carefully— carefully, to the point of useless stinginess, she slid the blade down her body; her neck, then her shoulders, arms and after a brief period of panic when it dangled perilously on her wrist, Miana was eventually able to grasp it in her hands. Flipping it over so that the blade came in contact with the rope, she got to work, attentively chipping away at the layers of fibre that made up her binds.

C'mon… and… there! Sheesh, rope's a lot harder to cut when you're underwater, huh? She thought as she lifted her arms up to examine them. faint red bruises coloured her wrists, their appearance a telltale sign of rope burns.

Fortunately, though numerous, they weren't severe, so despite the slight ache, she was able to largely ignore it.

Reaching the door, Miana noticed the fact that it was left slightly ajar.

Hm? That's weird, I could've sworn he had properly closed it. Miana tilted her head to the side in confusion, but in the end, she thought nothing of it and left.

But as she went from one floor to another, making nary a sound as she swam through the winding, maze-like corridors of the Flying Dutchman, Miana was filled with the sudden feeling that she was being watched. She shifted her eyes from one place to another; it was calm.

A bit too calm.

Fwish! Miana spun around in a complete one-eighty, the sound not lost on her. She had seen it, no matter how tiny of a glimpse it was, she was sure: someone was in here with her…

Fwoosh! Again, she picked up on that light, fleeting sound from the beyond, and again, she turned herself dizzy trying to catch it.

"W-Who's there?!" She cried out, only to be met with silence.

Slither~! Miana's skin tingled as she felt something slimy move along her arm. She froze up, goosebumps rising on her arms and the back of her neck.

"W-Who are you?" She didn't dare turn for fear of what was behind.

"Why don't you see for yourself?"

She did.

And the world punished her for it.

"You…" No. No, it can't be! It can't! It can't! "Why— Why are you here?!"