Chapter 7: Questions and Fluff

Disclaimer: I don't wanna say it!!!

Cap'n Kira: Argh! I'll say it meself then! Kiheada.Ray.T. doesn't own the series or us, for that matter! But she does own the fic, so NO STEALIN'! THAT BE MY JOB! ARRRRRRRR YE MATEYS! SHIVER ME TIMBERS! Blah blah blah!

Me: …He's still mad from the last chapter…Oui…

"Oooooo!" went all the boys around the table. "Aw hush up! So, La Strike Island eh? He's runnin' like a coward he is." Cagalli replied. "He doesn't want us to get caught again; Rau is a very powerful and determined bloke he is! You and your brother ought to get along, or else there be fightin' anyways!" Athrun said.

"What's La Strike Island?" Lacus asked innocently. Instantly the whole room became quiet and the boys looked at her, to each other, and remained quiet; not knowing what to tell her.

Cagalli, not liking the idea one bit, decided to screw the rules and tell her everything, "La Strike Island is a pirate island known only by true pirates and not scallywag blokes what think he is." she began and Lacus's eyes went wide.

"It's where the pirates run t' get away from the Law, where they stash their booty, and where to find…entertainment." Cagalli continued, voice going dark with the last word she said.

"What do you mean entertainment?" Lacus asked, still curiously innocent. The boys grinned as Cagalli sighed and burst, "It's an island full o' WOMEN! WHORES! They're none too kind unless you're a Cap'n or good lookin', and they scheme to steal your treasure while they're at it!"

Lacus gasped and covered her mouth, her eyes wide and unbelieving.

"WOT!? Don' listen to 'er, Lacus, she just don' like the place because she caught Athrun 'ere with a lovely lady the last time she was there!" Mwu said and they all laughed as Athrun ducked his head down in shame.

Lacus gasped again and looked at Athrun. "Shut yer yap, Mwu La Flaga! Ye ain't one t' talk about that dirty island!" Cagalli snapped at him, throwing a grudging glare at Athrun.

"Oui! I bet you'd like it if it were full o' men eh!?" Yzak said and they all laughed again. Cagalli growled and Lacus said, "Oh, let's not talk about it then, I'm dreadfully sorry for bringing it up!"

"Aye, let's not continue with it, afore one a ya gets yer head torn clean off!" Shinn spoke up and they nodded, glancing at the enraged Cagalli.

In Kira's Cabin

Kira sat there steaming about his sister and newfound friend sneaking onboard his ship. 'I can't believe she did that! And pulled poor Lacus into it too! What am I to do if Rau catches up to us or somehow finds us on La Strike Island!?' he thought angrily and started to pace.

'If he wins against us at sea he'll kill all the boys and keep me as prisoner, and maybe the girls as well, who knows what he'll make them do! I can't let that happen, we must go full speed to La Strike Island and stay there 'til the coast is clear, then we can go to where we'll truly be safe…' he thought and sighed.

'Plus I need to make sure none o' those coves stole me treasure!'

There was a knock on the door and he opened it to see Athrun. He looked sad and also like he remembered something from long ago. "Aye, did me sis piss ye off so early? What'd she say this time I wonder?" Kira said and let him in.

"Nothing, she was just telling Lacus about la Strike Island." Athrun said and braced himself for Kira's outburst. "WOT!? SHE TOLD HER ABOUT LA STRIKE ISLAND!? The less she knows about it the safer she is! Why didn't ye stop her?!"

Athrun sighed, "Kira you know as well as I do that ye can't stop that woman when she knows what she wants, and she wanted to tell lacus the truth. Besides, it brought back painful memories that I was tryin' to forget." he told him.

"Besides, why are ye so worked up over the whole thing? I know what'll happen if Rau catches us, but we're far ahead of them and we're sailin' in waters that he doesn't even know about! You're acting different, Kira, not like you used to." Athrun said and looked at his friend.

Kira sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his face with his hand as he walked over to the table that Athrun was sitting at and also sat down.

"I know, Athrun, and I'm sorry. I'm just angry that she would put herself in danger like this, even if she didn't now it, 'twas a good reason why I didn't want her to come along this time. If Rau wasn't chasin' us I might've let 'er come, but it's just too dangerous right now, and it's even worse that she brought Lacus along." Kira said in his normal yet sad voice.

"Why?" Athrun asked, looking at his friend. "'Cause she put her in danger too, and, I just don't want them to get hurt." Kira said, looking into Athrun's emerald eyes while his own amethysts were swelling with tears.

"I know, but they're going t' be alright, Kira, I won't let Rau get them, none of us will." Athrun told him softly, putting his arm around his Captain and friend as Kira put his head down on the table. "Thank you." Kira's muffled voice sounded and Athrun smiled a sad smile.

Figures, the one time he needs to be comforted he ends up comforting another, but hey, that's what friends do right?

With Shinn

Shinn left after Athrun, slightly staggering over to the rail. He had a few more kegs of rum then he wanted and felt light-headed and dizzy. Of course he's experienced this plenty of times before, but what made it worse was the fact that tomorrow he'd wake up to La Strike Island, not exactly the place he'd like to be at the moment.

'Oh well, I'll just have to suck it up and stay away from the feisty ones.' He thought. He looked out over the sea. It never made him sick, the rolling of the waves; it always calmed him and made him feel happy, it was his Happy Place. (I know that sounds gay but bear with me please)

"Hey," a voice said behind him which made him jump. He looked around and let out a breath of relief to see his friend Rey. "Ye scared me." he said. "Oh, sorry." Rey said in his monotonous voice.

"So, I thought ye went down to your room?" Shinn said. "Yeah, but then I heard all the commotion and was wondering what was going on." Rey told him, and looked at him expectantly. "Well, Cagalli and Lacus snuck on board and Kira found out and got all mad. And then Lacus asked what La Strike Island was and Cagalli told her." Shinn explained.

Rey's eyes actually went wide as he asked, "How'd they get on board!?" "Apparently they climbed up the rope and crawled into the Prisoner Cell chamber." Shinn told him. "Oh," Rey says. "So they're in the cafeteria talking with everyone else?" he asked. "Yeah," Shinn replied.

"Where's Captain Kira, in his cabin?" Rey asked again. "Yeah, along with Athrun." Shinn says and they look at each other weirdly but then shake their heads no. "It's late; we should get some sleep eh?" Shinn suggested and headed for his bunk, staggering slightly with the ship.

Rey came up and helped him walk steadily and they went to their rooms and prepared for bed.

With the others once again

"Aye lads, 'tis late, we should stop the rum and get to sleep afore we can't sail in the mornin'!" Nicol called to the boys and they groaned and waved him off. He shook his head and sighed and went out, lacus (after saying good night) went with him and he showed her to her room.

The rest of the boys and Cagalli began singing the famous pirate song again, even more drunkenly than before. "They won't be able to sail tomorrow and they'll be in for it, especially if Captain Kira doesn't loosen up after tonight." Nicol said.

"What would he do?" Lacus asked, again innocently (When will she learn not to ask questions?). Nicol looked uncomfortable and said, "Something bad." and left it at that. "Oh," Lacus said and decided to stop asking questions for the time being (Thank you!).

He walks her to her room and then says, "Good night Lacus-sama." and smiles sweetly at her. She returns the gesture and then goes into the room.

It's small and simple, but the bed looks comfortable and that's all lacus wanted at the moment, a nice, comfy bed to sleep on. 'I wonder what tomorrow will be like,' she wonders as she drifts off to sleep.

She has no idea.

In the morning

"Aye lads! Wake up or its 5 lashes for ye! Don't tell me ye got too drunk to sail!" Kira yelled at the boys sleeping in their bunks. They groaned and Mwu fell out of his hammock with an "Oof!" and Dearka started laughing at him, then Yzak hit him with a pillow and thus began the morning.

Kira sighed and gave up as he walked out of that crazy mess, and went over to where Shinn, Rey, Athrun, and Nicol were sleeping. "Ok lads, wake up, time to sail for La Strike Island." he said and earned more groans.

"Well ye better be up when I get back or it be 5 lashes!" Kira told them and Shinn scrambled out of bed. Kira almost laughed as he rushed to get ready, fearing the "5 lashes" that were never gonna be given.

Nicol sat up and yawned, stretching, and also got ready after a cheery, "Good morning Captain Kira." Kira nodded to him and left, knowing the others would wake up soon.

He went to Cagalli and Lacus's rooms, first knocking on Lacus's door. "Lacus-san, time to wake." he said. He heard a yawn and a rustling of sheets as she got out of bed. He was preparing to leave when she opened the door. "Kira? Are we there?" she asked, still in the dress she wore yesterday.

"Not yet, I'm getting the crew up so we can make it by the afternoon." He told her and smiled. She blushed slightly at his smile and smiled back. "You're not still mad at us then?" she asked, hoping he wasn't. "No, not really, I'm just worried about your safety, 'tis all." he said and continued to smile.

"Ok, I'll be ready in a minute and if there's anything I can do to help, just let me know." she said and he nodded.

Now to wake up Cagalli. 'Oh boy, this outta be hard, especially if she drank too much last night.' He thought to himself. He knocked on the door and said, "Cags, wake up, we'll be at La Strike Island by the afternoon, and Yzak is going to cook breakfast."

He waited for a minute or two until he heard a groan. "I'll be out in a minute ok?" Cagalli's sleepy voice sounded from the room. "Ok, are ye alright?" Kira asked. "Yes mate, just a bit of a hangover, no big deal." she said again sleepily and he heard the sheets rustle again.

He was again about to leave to make sure everyone else was up when she opened the door and said, "Hey, I'm sorry for bein' a bad sport yesterday, I understand why ye didn't want us to come along." and surprisingly hugged him.

He was take a-back for a few moments but then hugged her back, smiling that she wasn't her usual morning monster. "Nay, I should be the one apologizin' for yellin' and what not, ye just want adventure, I can accept that." he said and they smiled. "I'll go get ready now," she said and went back inside her room.

He went back to Mwu, Dearka, and Yzak's room where they were getting ready and grumbling about waking up so early. "Good job lads, I half expected ye to either be dozin' off again or trying t' kill each other!" Kira said and chuckled as they sent him glares.

Yzak yawned and asked, "So, what time do ye expect us to make port?" "About the afternoon, if ye get ready fast enough." Kira replied. "Aye Cap'n!" they said and went faster.

He left them to get ready and then saw that the rest of the crew was already making preparations for the rest of the voyage. Athrun was taking charge while Shinn was up in the Crow's Nest and Nicol and Rey were trying to lower the sails.

"Ahoy Captain." Athrun said to him. Kira nodded and said, "Well, look at ye, already givin' orders like ye run the place." and chuckled as Athrun stammered, "Uh, sorry, Captain,"

"It's alright Athrun; you've done half my job for me!" Kira said and they both chuckled this time.

They saw Yzak, Dearka, and Mwu come up from their rooms and Yzak made his way to the kitchen to make breakfast.

Mwu and Dearka started helping Nicol and Rey and everything seemed normal. Well, until Lacus came out and went over to Athrun and Kira. "Good morning boys." she said cheerfully.

"Good morning Lacus-sama." they replied and Athrun left to go do his duties. "Well you look as fresh as a spring flower," Kira said, making Lacus blush and smile back at him. "Thank you." she replied and they stared out over the open ocean.

"Do ye ever get seasick?" she asked out of the blue. "No, the sea calms me, her sparkling waters soothe me, how can ye get sick when you're relaxed and calm?" he said. "True, it is beautiful." Lacus said and closed her eyes as a breeze swept over them.

As the wind blew her hair back Kira realized how beautiful she really was, he never really paid attention because he was so busy doing other things. But now he realized that she was as beautiful as the sea itself, and calming in every way.

'She's like the see; calming, beautiful, yet mysterious at the same time,' he thought and continued to stare at her. That is, until there was a tap on his shoulder and he heard his sister's voice say, "Ya know, 'tis rude to stare." and shook his head as Lacus opened her eyes and looked at them, slightly blushing.

He blushed a deep red and said, "Oh, um, sorry, uh, nice to see you up this early Cagalli," he stammered. She giggled and said, "You'd better go take control of your ship before they wreck it." and Kira saw Mwu and Dearka arguing with each other on how to do something.

He nodded and went over to them while Athrun was steering the ship and Shinn was on the look-out for land, or the enemy.

Cagalli turned to Lacus with a sly grin, "So, what do ye think of me brother?" she asked her, wiggling her eyebrows. They giggled and Lacus blushed, "He's nice for a pirate Captain." she replied.

"I think he quite fancies you, being a pirate captain ye'd think he'd be swarmin' with the ladies and the whores, but he's never really been involved with someone." Cagalli told her. "Really? Well, he doesn't seem the type to sleep with a bunch of women," Lacus said.

"Aye," Cagalli replied. She looked over at Athrun who was still steering and he looked over to where she was, their eyes met, and they both blushed and looked away quickly.

"Why I do believe that Miss Cagalli fancies Mr. Zala," Lacus said slyly and Cagalli shushed her and they giggled together, Cagalli still blushing.

From atop the Crow's Nest Shinn was watching everything that was happening on deck, and knew that his Captain might just find his true love after all. 'That's good for him, I only wish I had as much luck as he,' he thought sadly and went back to his duty.

Everything around him was only open water, no land in sight. 'I hope we make it by the afternoon, who knows if Rau is on his way after us this minute!' he thought again and kept a weary eye behind them.

And he was right, who knows what that Rau is up to?

-Author's Note: Ok, I made it a bit longer with some fluff, don't worry, more action and love will come, it's a bit slow right now, but oh well, at least Cagalli and Kira made up! Please review and tell me what you think, other characters will be introduced in the next chapter so don't worry about pairings!-