Calmer of the Storm: Ha, funny story. I wrote the little intro to the previous chapter just before posting it, and without actually reading this one. So in short I lied. This isn't the chapter I'm in love with. It's the next one. Lol. My bad! So you'll just have to wait a little longer…

Enjoy!

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Chapter Six: Foiled Plans

They had set out early the next morning. Hikari had been up so late with her thoughts that when the morning did come she was left in deep slumber. Takeru did feel a little bad for leaving her behind; he never liked it when she was far from him. But he couldn't let her join him on this part of the journey…it was much too dangerous. And he wasn't sure how things would go with this witch. If they went badly, he didn't want her around to experience it. Not that things would go well for her if he wasn't around to keep the rest of the crew away from her; it was just that he felt safer if she was not where the danger was. And so as quietly as he could, Takeru slipped from his bedroom and locked the door behind him.

It was around midmorning when the girl awoke, the sun pouring in through the open blinds. Open blinds. That meant that the Captain was no longer here. Panic struck her as she shot off of her mat and towards the door. Dread filled her as she realised it was locked; he had left her behind. The fool had gone and done exactly what he'd said he would. She was going to kill him when he got back, if that witch didn't do it for her.

With her back against the door Hikari slid to the ground, sudden despair filling her. He didn't trust her enough to take her along. He didn't trust her abilities with the sword, though she had been taking lessons from members of the crew. She figured she could hold her own in battle now, though she had never been in a real skirmish before. Maybe that was why he didn't want her around. Or maybe he just thought that she was weak. Either way, she knew it couldn't really be that he was concerned for her, though he had made it seem as such.

Her eyes scanned the room and she noticed a plate of food and a mug that sat on his desk. At least he's thoughtful, came her bitter and sarcastic thoughts. The nerve that he had of leaving her behind! Pirate or not, she was going to give him a piece of her mind when he returned.

At this point despair washed over her as it often did when he was not around. What if he didn't come back? There were so many stories…so many people that had never come back. She knew that the seas were full of legend and lore, and sometimes it was difficult to distinguish what was fact, but this didn't give her any comfort. Despite the man that he had become he still gave her that comfort he had so long ago, and now it was so easy to slip into a point where she saw no hope. Sitting against the door now as she was she wondered how she had survived ten years without him. He had been her strength in that unstable world they had grown up in; where allegiances were fickle and had to do with how much money one had at the moment. Of course they were too young to fully understand all of this, but something had told her that Takeru would have stuck around regardless. He was her rock in an ever-changing world, one that she would cling to with everything she had.

And truly, how had she made it without him? Perhaps it was the hope that he had left behind with him that day. The hope within her that said he was still alive. But now she had no reason for that hope, for she had found him. Now fear and doubt crept into her heart whenever it got the chance. Living in darkness without hope was beginning to take its toll on her. Could she do it? Could she wait for him? Could she really believe that he loved her, no matter how buried that feeling was? Sitting here alone she knew she couldn't. She had to get out of here.

Rising from her spot, Hikari decided that the first thing she was going to do was get dressed. No sense in setting off into the jungle in her nightgown. This did not take very long for a certain determination had set in. She was going to get out of here and she was going to find him, though how either of these things were going to happen she didn't know. Well, it wouldn't be the first time she had set out without a plan. The younger and perhaps more rational Hikari was long gone; and though many still counted her as wise beyond her years there were times when she just needed to act like the pig-headed adolescent that most expected one her age to be. It was time to be more like her brother.

First she tried the door. She knew that she wasn't the only one on the ship, but if she could at least get out of this room first she could tackle the rest of that later. For such a rickety looking thing it sure held fast against her assaults. The iron handle would not budge and the wood was thicker than Taichi's head. Great. Perhaps she should try the window. It could open, she knew that much; it was just a matter of figuring out how. The latches were not difficult to find, but were surprisingly difficult to operate. Finally she did manage to shift it, and then took to prying the window open.

In the process of doing this, Hikari hadn't taken the time to actually pay attention to what was below her. Upon opening the window she did, her jaw clenching as she realised that she had been bested in this way as well. Below her sat a coral reef; one that would have been quite beautiful under other circumstances. The tropical waters were a deep emerald colour, the brilliant sun reflecting off them into a cloudless sky. From this high up she could see the array of colours; a living rainbow at the bottom of the sea. But the water was much, much too shallow for her to jump out of the window and get by unscathed. At this point she noticed that the ship was not moving; they had run it aground. The tides would pick it back up later. If she were to jump now, it would be very bad for her. Not to mention the sharks that probably lived in the water; knowing Takeru, he would have picked such a spot just for her. Maybe even the sharks obeyed him. At this point, it was likely. What else could she do…tie the bed sheets together? No, she was too high up for that. With a cry of frustration, she slammed the window shut.

Back to the door, then. She would carve her way through it, no matter how thick the wood was. It would serve him right for locking her in his room. Now to find her sword…

A few minutes later, Hikari flopped over onto the large bed. The man had thought of everything. Then again, she supposed that he was a pirate. He would know all the tricks in the book; he'd probably tried them himself. He really had been serious when he'd said that he wanted her to remain behind without him. Now all she could do was worry about him and hope that he was going to come back home alive. It was not a pleasant state to be in, especially when all she wanted to be was close to him. No matter how horrible a pirate he had become, he was still Takeru, and she was still in love with him. Hikari crawled up further into the bed, the one place that was saturated with his very presence. He might get angry with her if he saw her here, but she was passed the point of caring. She just wanted him to come back to her safely.

~*~

The trek through the jungle was harder than the last one they had done. This place was much denser, the trees far older. It didn't help that the climb was mostly uphill. It had taken a while for Takeru to gather the courage and the supplies to lead his men here, but he now felt confident enough that he could do this. They said that a man with doubt in his heart would not be able to make such a journey and live to come back from it. It was at the urgings of the Cook and the Doctor that he had come here. They had told him of this place long ago, though neither of them had ventured here themselves. They said their grandfather had, and had barely lived to speak of it. Normally the men stayed out of his dealings as Captain Scar unless otherwise asked, but this time things were different. Takeru couldn't help but think that there was some sort of ulterior motive. Perhaps they had been too afraid to face this woman. Maybe there was something deeper and darker than that.

Truth be told, he didn't even know if this woman they spoke of was real. He was inclined to believe she wasn't, however at this point in his life he knew he couldn't be too set on things. But this place was where all pirates sought to go but were too afraid to venture to. Captain Scar wasn't. He was confident and secure in himself in all things. This woman, if she did exist, would not capture his heart so easily.

But a man in the grasp of deception is generally the only man who does not see it. Iori worried for his friend as they travelled, but knew he was in no position to argue the point. Takeru had settled many matters before coming on this journey; he had consistently braved the homeland of a savage tribe, plunged his ship and his crew into storms that had obliterated lesser ships, and he held an authority over the seas and those who traverse it that had not been seen in quite some time. Perhaps it was his young age and his charismatic personality that drew people to him and commanded respect. Whatever it was, he seemed to have something that the previous Captain Scars did not.

There was one matter, however, that had not been resolved. It was one that had been continually pushed aside. Though the Captain would dismiss it as something light, Iori knew better. When facing a witch who saw into the very depths of souls, settling matters of the heart was imperative. But Takeru had done nothing concerning the matters of Hikari. He knew they were in love with each other, it was just a matter of getting them to admit it. He could see that look in the girl's eyes as she watched her former best friend; that look that said she wanted so desperately for things to be as they had been over a decade ago. But he also knew that she was well aware of the fact that things were different…that Takeru was different.

The boy in question was a different matter. For one who knew him well it was easy to see how he cared for her. He treated her differently from other women; she was not just something to play with. He protected her with his life and made sure that she was safe and happy. But he was conflicted on the matter. The pirate life wasn't exactly one that condoned permanent relationships, especially when one was Captain Scar. His love for the girl and his love for the sea were in constant battle, and it was just a matter of him realising which was greater. If he was smart he would find a way to integrate both, but he also saw why he wouldn't want to do so.

But at least, if things went wrong here, Hikari was in the cabin. She didn't have to know what would happen to Takeru if he should fail. All his crew had to do was get him back to her alive. Maybe this would be good for him; maybe he would finally make a decision on the matter. Iori was just glad that his friend had been smart enough to leave her behind.

Takeru suddenly stopped, his eyes focused on something ahead of him. There was finally a break in the trees, where the light of day poured through and pierced the impending darkness. But for some reason this light did not give him comfort. If anything, it made him want to turn and go back to the ship. Back to where he knew where the darkness could not touch, no matter how suffocating it got. He would lock himself in his room with her and simply sit in her presence…

But he was not a coward. At least, not for very long. Without a word he continued on again, this time with more purpose than before. It was not long before they reached the clearing, all of the men having grown more silent than they ever had been. The fell in behind their captain out of instinct, though it was also fear that drove them to. Iori was the only one who walked in step with Takeru, though he was not immune to the worried feeling.

In the far corner there was a rather worn out-looking hut. It was rectangular in shape and had a thatched roof, its walls made of mud. Ornaments of fired clay adorned the outer walls, and though at one point it may have been very beautiful, now it looked rather sad. The clay was crumbling from wear and the whole hut seemed to be wasting away, as if the next windstorm would be the end of it. The forest behind the hut was darker than what they had come out of, and there was a certain eerie feeling that was carried out of it. The air was stale in that part of the forest; it could be smelled across the clearing. Whatever this witch was hiding, it must be very powerful indeed.

Not taking his eyes of the hut, Takeru began to speak. "Set up a perimeter. I do not want anything to disturb us." The pirates behind him began to shuffle, setting themselves up accordingly. Some of the men drifted into the tree line, while others remained closer to their captain.

"Are you certain you want to do this?" It was Iori who had spoken.

Takeru tore his eyes away from the hut for a moment to look down at his friend. "Do I have a choice? I've come this far."

"If anything happens…"

A light smirk touched at the corner's of the Captain's lips. "If it doesn't happen here I have a storm waiting for me when I get back. Either way I'm doomed."

Iori had to smile at that one. He was right, though; if this witch didn't finish him off, Hikari would do the job when he got back to her. The Captain had done quite the job in making sure that she would remain where she was, even going so far as to run the ship aground in order to keep her from escaping. His room was better secured than a jail cell, which Iori knew that he would have resorted to if it wasn't.

"Keep watch and do not move unless I say. Do not enter the hut under any circumstances. If she comes out before I do, run. Do not worry about me for I am already lost." It was the captain's job to sacrifice himself. They would heed his words; pirates were mostly cowards, especially when it came to the unknown. The stories of this woman were enough to have them turn tail and run, but they needed to be there for their captain.

With the resolve set on his face, Takeru began to walk towards the small hut. There was definitely not turning back now; there was only going forward.

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Calmer of the Storm: I know it's short…but it's longer than what I initially had…haha. I had this chapter written out entirely different, when I really had no idea where this story was going. But I got struck with sudden inspiration and so now it's all good! I won't tell you what was going to happen because I may have it happen later, so you'll just have to wait!

I also realised something…this is not going to be a short story. I don't know how long it will be, but I realised I was going much too quickly. So I'm going to drag it out and hopefully put in some twists and turns that are unexpected. But if anyone wants to guess, go for it! I love hearing what you guys think!