Haruka raised placating hands to quell the dull roar that greeted his pronouncement. "We do not have time to debate the merits of this plan as opposed to any other; every moment I spend here speaking with you is one in which these invaders draw nearer. Therefore-"

One voice dared to rise above the others, cutting him off mid-sentence, "Therefore you're asking us to accept your assessment without question?" The young woman snorted, "You think we have the time to construct a pike pit and sand-traps but you don't have the time to justify your decision? The former will take hours, the other minutes."

Haruka shot her a dark glance, Miho Amakata had been a valuable ally those few times he found himself in direct conflict with the collective will of the council of elders; he knew she could also prove a tenacious foe, and given her reputation Haruka knew he didn't dare court her ill-favor- not in a time of crisis.

"If you see another-"

"In fact, I do." The quality of Amakata's smile warned him she had been waiting for just such an invitation. "There were four, you said, and only one of them followed the one you believe to be their captain. Send scouts for the other two, bring them here and hold them hostage; we will offer to release them as soon as we have ensured any other potential threats are safely aboard their vessel."

"That would mean bringing them here." The thought was profoundly unsettling, bringing the corsairs into their village, allowing them to note any tactical advantages… it was too risky.

"Obviously you were anticipating as much anyway, why else would we have to dig the pits?" Amakata raised a challenging brow, cocking her hip in a signature gesture of defiance.

"If we are going to seek their enmity, we may as well simply bring the captain here personally and inform him of the ultimatum; no need to bother ourselves with imprisoning his underlings when we may appeal directly to authority." There was a biting irony in Haruka's words that his erstwhile heckler either didn't notice, or chose to ignore.

"Marvelous idea. Let's take them all- if a thing is worth doing, it is worth doing completely is it not?"

"Of course… provided we get to work on the pits and traps immediately. There is always a chance this display of power will not be well-received; we must prepare accordingly."

Haru could see from the nods around him that at last he had found an acceptable compromise; no one was truly satisfied with the measures they had elected to take, but now that a plan was in place the tension began to ease gradually.

"I will take a small party and-"

"I'll take responsibility for your captain." Amakata cut in again, Haruka caught himself grinding his teeth and forcibly clenched his jaw in the hopes that his thoughts on the matter would not escape.

"And I will take his other subordinates. I would suggest a minimum party of three to accompany you. Two to one are better odds."

Amakata smiled, "Hardly fair, though."

"Fairness must be the least of our concerns. Our priority now is to get these scum off our island as quickly as humanly possible; it's our only chance, otherwise they will only return in greater numbers and presumably with better equipment."

"I take your meaning." Haru released a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, thankful for the new solemnity haunting Amakata's features- they were both intimately familiar with what a failure to act could cost them.

"It's settled then; I'll leave the selection of your crew to you, everyone left behind should begin defensive preparations immediately." He watched with satisfaction as the small gathering dispersed, each attending to their duties as though it had been rehearsed a hundred times over.

This was the first ship to put into shore all summer, and Haru had worried that they had been caught flat-footed, but his concern has obviously been misplaced- memories of seasons previous guided their actions, and he knew they would be ready for trouble when it finally found them.

Or vice versa.

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"You're really boring, you know that?" Nagisa chirped, nimbly hopping over a tree root that dared to crop up in his path. "Rin would let me clear these plants out."

Makoto's pleasant smile never once faltered, though if Nagisa had known the vengeful thoughts racing behind those calm eyes, he might have reconsidered his tactics.

"I'm sure there are many things Rin would allow that I will not, seeing as you are with me, I am the only one whose whim need concern you."

Nagisa hissed, "Come, Mako. It would make it easier to move if I could clear a few branches away, a little bit of underbrush-"

"It would make us easier to track."

"By what, ghosts?" Nagisa laughed aloud, "The shades of drowned sailors angered because we're not dead yet? I didn't take you for a superstitious ninny."

Makoto ignored the jibe, scanning their surroundings assiduously instead. "My concerns are altogether more corporeal. This little forest could hide much from view, and I'm willing to wager even Rei couldn't venture a guess as to what's beyond it. We should have circled the shore at least once before making land."

Nagisa's gusty sigh drew his attention away from the path, as he was certain it was meant to do. "We're not getting anywhere like this. Let me climb a tree, I'll look out and see if I can't spot any signs of habitation. It'll be quicker… and more fun."

"All right, just don't do anything foolish." Nagisa brightened until Makoto added his provisions, "Foolish being defined as yelling from the treetop, carving your initials into the bark, deliberately antagonizing the wildlife-"

"In other words, nothing fun."

Now it was Makoto's turn to smile, "Precisely. I wouldn't like to see you hurt." His tone left it very much in question whether it would be Nagisa's actions that would get him hurt, or Makoto's reaction afterward. Fortunately, Nagisa nodded his agreement before scurrying up the nearest tree with branches sturdy enough to support his weight.

Makoto caught his breath, watching the graceful ascent with something approaching awe; Nagisa had a gift for revealing surprising talents at the moment best suited to impress.

He ceased to be impressed the moment Nagisa reached his goal. "Mako! I can see the world!"

Of course he waited until he was out of arm's reach before flying in the teeth of a direct order; no matter, what was done was done. "But do you see any signs of others?"

"Nothin'!" Nagisa shouted down, he drew his knife and hurriedly carved his initials into the branch before Makoto thought to object. Oh yes, someone was begging for a night with the Captain's Daughter.

"You want me to put your mark up here too?"

"I want you to get down. Now."

Nagisa complied, chortling with good humor; the sound did little for Makoto's already fraying nerves, but to his credit he managed to reign in the worst of his temper when Nagisa alighted at his side.

"What did you think you were doing?" It was more of a muted roar than a whisper.

Nagisa only smiled back serenely, "There's no one here. Why bother with subtlety?"

"I told you… never mind. We're turning back for shore."

"What? We only just started!"

"Rin probably heard your shout from wherever on this blasted island he may be. Do you want me to tell him you defied a direct order?"

Nagisa pursed his lips thoughtfully, and Makoto bit his tongue to keep from growling. "No, I don't think so."

Makoto turned away, rolling his eyes with feeling. One of these days Nagisa would almost certainly be the death of him; his only consolation was that he probably wouldn't have to die alone.

"Why couldn't I have gone with Rin? It's not like the church-mouse would be much good in a pinch anyway."

"Rin doesn't agree, and that "church-mouse" has a name. Use it."

"Nitori. What has he done since we brought him aboard? A few stitches? I could have done that myself."

"Not half as well; it would have left a scar, and you know Rei would hate to have a scar."

"I think it would have suited him."

"You would think that." Makoto's tone was almost fond. "Be that as it may, Nitori is crew now and I expect you to treat him as such."

Nagisa's silence spoke volumes of his intentions; Makoto didn't bother warning him off a second time, Rin would never have brought Nitori aboard if he hadn't thought the man was capable of looking after himself. Maybe he would pay a visit to the infirmary this evening and drop a few friendly hints, the better to prepare the novice for Nagisa's particular brand of mischief. Unless Makoto missed his guess- and he rarely did- Nagisa was still a little peeved with Nitori for his perfectly reasonable questions; it would only be fair to warn the surgeon about possible reprisals.

Makoto stiffened at the soft click of Nagisa's pistol; "You think I could maybe get in a little target practice before we have to board the ship again?"

"Save your shots in case we need them; I'm still on edge."

As though to confirm his suspicions, a branch ahead creaked. Makoto winced when Nagisa leveled his pistol in that direction, squinting down the stock. "Maybe I'll have find a target after all." He murmured.

"Perhaps. Advance with caution." Makoto devoutly hoped that had been nothing more than an animal, but his skin was prickling unpleasantly as though prying eyes were watching. Motioning to Nagisa to hold his position, he moved a little farther away, eyeing the foliage uneasily. He was satisfied now that returning to shore was the best option; they could rendezvous with Rin a little early and keep as near to the water as possible while they resupplied with only those items on open ground.

"Nagisa would you-"

"No can do, chief."

Makoto turned back, eyes widening in disbelief. Nagisa stood precisely where he had left him, but his hands were empty, his own gun leveled at the center of his forehead by a tall dark-haired man, lithe and impossibly quiet to have taken them unawares.

"Who are you?" Makoto's voice came as little more than a whisper.

"I don't know how things are done where you're from, but here it's customary to give one's own name first." As if to punctuate his point, he pressed down on the hammer, smirking at the ominous clink.

"Tachibana Makoto. He is Hazuki Nagisa."

"Nanase Haruka. Pleased to make your acquaintance. Now, if you would be so good as to come with us?" He started to gesture toward the figures that seemed to have melted out of their surroundings, but Nagisa struck quicker than a viper, kicking out at their ambusher's legs so that he was forced to jump away, gun nearly falling from his fingers in haste.

Nagisa flew forward, throwing himself at their attacker before Makoto could even shout a word of warning. With an agile twist, Haruka sent Nagisa sprawling, bringing the butt of the pistol down in a vicious blow that left Nagisa limp and quiet. Well, that was one way to accomplish it, but if Nagisa were seriously harmed, Rin was going to kill this little fool.

"I hope you haven't hurt him too badly." Makoto's voice shattered the heavy silence, and succeeded in drawing the man's attention to himself.

"He'll recover." Haruka's voice was subdued but confident.

"I hope so." For both our sakes.

Haruka gestured to the three men accompanying him. "You two carry him, be careful not to jostle him too much, the headache will be bad enough as is. You."

Haruka gestured to Makoto, "Walk ahead of me, and please, don't try anything like your friend's valiant attempt at escape."

"I won't." Coming from Makoto's lips it sounded more like a threat than a promise.

"Captain."

Nitori's hesitant whisper was enough to penetrate Rin's focus, he turned back solicitously, half expecting the healer to ask for a moment of rest.

"I think we're being followed."

Rin glanced around curiously. "What?"

"I keep hearing things."

"Like the wind, Nitori?" Rin smiled half-indulgently, "If we were being followed, I would know it."

"I suppose 'followed' isn't the right word. More like we're being paced. I'm sure I saw something running to our left a few minutes ago-"

"Probably a bird." Damn Nitori for his rampant paranoia; Rin found he couldn't walk more than three paces without squinting off to his side, trying to catch a hint of the figure Nitori insisted he had seen.

Nearly a half-mile later he was forced to concede that Nitori might not have been merely paranoid after all; twice he had caught a flutter of movement from the corner of his eye, once he had thought he even heard the shift of cloth brushing through undergrowth. Charming; either Nagisa had decided a prank was in order- entirely possible given his track record, but unlikely with Makoto there to advise him- or someone wanted to arrange a trap for them and was only waiting for an opportune moment.

"Nitori, try to keep up." Rin snapped, on edge and regretting the impulse that had made him bring his crew into this overgrown death-trap.

"Captain-"

Rin glared at Nitori threateningly, reaching out to clamp a steadying hand around his arm when he stumbled. "Whatever you have to say can wait until we're back to shore. Let's hope the others aren't having similar problems."

"I don't think it can wait." Nitori's normally lilting voice had taken on a hard quality Rin had never thought to hear from the timid ship's surgeon.

"Unless you have an idea for some way we could double back and kill these bastards before they get the drop on us, it can wait." Rin whispered harshly.

"I don't like being manhandled, Captain." Something in the way he spoke the words made Rin release him immediately.

"As to the other… I think if they wanted us dead we would be dead. I can only conclude that they intend to take us alive-"

"And why would that be a problem, Nitori? Alive means a chance to bargain-"

"I don't like being caged, Rin."

Rin sputtered in shock, it was the first time Nitori had ever dared call him by anything other than his title, and to think they didn't even have a cask of grog handy to celebrate this new boldness.

"Don't worry about it, we're going to circle back to shore and get the hell off this island as soon as Mako and Nagisa return. We can come back with reinforcements and gather what supplies we need then."

"But I-"

"Shut up, Nitori. We're fine." Fuck. Where the hell had their shadows gone? In his distraction he had forgotten to account for their movements; assuming they survived this, he was going to have a talk with Nitori about the proper time for confessions as opposed to the time for silence.

"Captain. Ahead."

Rin focused his gaze ahead, spotting a smaller figure sitting on an outcropping of roots, chin cradled in her hands. She smiled widely when he locked eyes with her, standing to dust off her loose pants and approach.

"I take it you're the captain of the vessel off shore?" Her easy manner threw Rin off, and he could see Nitori running his fingertips over a seam he suspected might be concealing one of those damn scalpels.

"If I am?"

"Then I need you to come with me."

"No." Nitori murmured, and Rin could feel the hairs on the back of his neck prickling. They'd found the poor bastard in the brig of his ship, locked in there for so long his eyes had watered at even the morning sunlight. This was probably a case of his bad memories surfacing, and he didn't seem to be coping well at all.

"No?" She cocked her head, "I assumed you'd want to make contact with the rest of your crew. I'm sure Haruka has them in hand by now." She smiled gaily, for all the world as if it was their choice and not her compulsion.

"Nagisa and Makoto?" Of course, who else could it be? Rin desperately needed time to consider this new development, even a second could make a difference.

"Pretty names, what are yours?"

"None of your concern." Damn it, Nitori was determined to escalate this situation.

The woman shrugged eloquently, "I'm Miho Amakata, if that makes any difference." Confronted with a solid wall of silence, she soldiered on, "Regardless of your preferences, you will be coming with me."

"Fair enough." He couldn't leave Makoto and Nagisa on their own, as captain it was still his responsibility to get them safely back aboard ship… and once there they could consider the matter of vengeance.

The trouble came when the woman's cohorts stepped out from the trees, eyeing Nitori like he might attack them at the slightest provocation. Rin gestured soothingly to him, seeing the wide eyes and rapid breaths that denoted panic or rage, he couldn't be certain which.

"Nitori, don't. Not now." Nitori glanced to him, nodding once. He allowed himself to be pushed forward, body coiled tightly in on itself; there had to be memories here, Rin hadn't seen him this frightened since they had first hauled him aboard the samenoe and given him the choice of being ship's surgeon or fish food. Nitori had made the right choice, and until now Rin had never had a reason to regret inviting him aboard.

If Nitori fucked this up though, he could still shove him overboard, maybe leave him in the water for an hour or so while his temper cooled and he got his fear under control. He could send Nagisa to do the honors; that was sure to please both of them.

Rin breathed a quiet sigh of relief when Nitori fell into step behind the cheerful woman, studiously avoiding looking too closely at their other companions. For his part, Rin was even kind enough to offer them his obvious weapons; he wouldn't be needing them anyway.

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Haruka seethed with impatience, tossing aside loose dirt with more force than was strictly necessary. Amakata was nearly an hour late, and he was willing to wager it was because some new flower had caught her eye or she'd wanted to play with her prey a little before closing the trap. Next time, he would accompany her personally and delegate his own task to a likely looking youth.

Their prisoners seemed largely unconcerned with the circumstances, the small one had woken not ten minutes after the blow, loudly demanding to see the bastard that had laid him out; the other one with the deceptively patient smile had only whispered something softly in his ear and they had both fallen quiet.

He'd taken the precaution of assigning them a guard posted at the door to the hut in the farthest corner of the makeshift square. Makoto's eyes had been entirely too knowing when they passed over the perimeter, Haru knew better than to think he didn't understand what all these preparations meant- and the way his gaze had sharpened at the sight of the pearl strands about his wrist did not bode well.

Why hadn't he thought to take it off before he went to collect the nuisances? It had become such a part of him these past few years he hadn't given it any thought, and now it looked like yet more difficulty might come of it.

He bent to his task again, shoving the errant thoughts aside for later examination. Almost as though she had heard his mute summons, Amakata materialized before him, grinning widely.

"Suzuki says you had a little trouble bringing your marks in. Did you get those scrapes looked at?" She gestured to the small abrasions down his arms, "If you didn't, I brought a surgeon, apparently."

"It certainly took you long enough."

"And look, not a mark on me. I think it's because you lack charm- you're too serious, I've always said that was your greatest failing."

"Where are they?"

"Your myriad failings?" She quipped, "Or my prisoners?"

"You could start with the whereabouts of the captain and proceed from there." Haruka offered with mock generosity.

"I left him with yours."

"You what?" Haruka bolted out of the shallow pit he'd been constructing, frantically wiping away any trace of dust. "They're going to talk."

"We can't precisely stop them anyway, and I don't think it matters, but I'll move them if you like."

"No, don't bother. What's done is done. Let's just bring them out and see if we can't impress them with a show of numbers. I take it they're unarmed?"

"I think the one called Nitori is holding out on me- that would be the surgeon I mentioned- but he hasn't been any trouble; otherwise it's all clear."

"Then let's bring them out and see if we can't intimidate them with a show of numbers."

Amakata shook her head slightly, "I don't think so. You know they have more hands aboard that ship, and we're not terribly impressive. Too many children."

"Keep the children away, but I want every able-bodied man and woman present. Tell them to leave any precious goods behind; let's not provoke the predators."

Amakata was gone almost before he had finished the sentence.

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Wow, I am so sorry. I completely forgot I had started posting this. I have since made a note to update weekly so this won't be happening again. :)