Calmer of the Storm: I swear. I am really shooting myself for this. Haha. Seems like the only time I can write something good is when I'm dog tired. It's 1:30 am and I suddenly got hit with inspiration…great. Oh well. I had hit a writer's block anyways. Maybe that's the key to a good story. No sleep.

Okay. This is the chapter that I have been dying to post. Lol. It's probably not even as epic as I'm making it out to be, but I still love it anyways!

~*~

Chapter Seven: The Woman

Takeru walked up to the worn out hut, his gait careful but steady. He had bidden his men to leave him alone as he did so; if the stories were true, he did not wish for them to endure the same fate. They hadn't exactly been quiet in their approach, though they had not spoken, and so there was no doubt in his mind that the sorceress was well aware that they had arrived. This thought was further accented by the sudden brightening of the candles visible through the windows and a sudden, eerie movement of the beads that covered the doorway. It was as if a gust of wind had blown through them, however it was coming from inside the hut and there was no wind to speak of. The chimes that rested just outside the overhang above the door did not shift, and looked as if they had not in decades.

Captain Scar paused only once at the entrance, his heart beating with doubt for a second. However he pressed through, disappearing into the impossibly deep inside to the rather small looking fixture. And so all his men could do now was wait and hope that their leader emerged from that door fully intact.

Inside, the place was deceivingly large. The walls were lined with various trinkets; most of them masks and things perhaps used in a spell. It seemed a little too cliché, but he also knew not to take things as he saw them. If this woman was truly as powerful as they said she was, he may not be seeing what was actually there. Of course, he would have to believe in magic to think like that. But since walking through that door, he was beginning to think that it was more and more of a reality than he had first thought.

Finally his cerulean eyes came to rest on a figure in the corner. It was the woman, he knew, though she did not match any descriptions he had heard. Her back was to him and she was hunched over the hearth that was typically the central place of a home; out of the way as if usually unnecessary. She gave no indication that she had noticed his entrance for a little while; she seemed rather occupied in tending to the dying fire. The young man shifted nervously on his feet; he didn't like feeling like this. He had half a mind to turn and leave now while he could, but something stopped him. His feet felt like lead, and something told him that he would not be able to run even if he wanted to. Despite this, he also could not bring himself to speak the first words.

When she did address him, her voice was such that it caused him to go into a slight state of shock; it was even further from what he had been expecting.

"Have a seat there, lad. No sense in wearing down your feet anymore if you don't have to." It was not a young voice, but neither was it old. She spoke as if she were a kindly grandmother, looking to spoil her grandchild. But there was an authority that rang in her words, one that ran deeper than anything he could ever achieve, though she had not spoken loudly. And despite the clarity of her voice there was something in there that said it was very ancient. Takeru knew that he should obey, no matter what reputation he had behind him.

After a few more moments of prodding at the fire, the woman turned. If her voice was startling than her face was even more so. Long, silver hair framed her delicate face in feathery whisps. Despite the colour it did not make her seem old, but rather it was as though she had had it since youth. The way the thick locks tumbled down over her shoulders and across her back suggested that it was not age that had done this to her. Her eyes were the colour of the ocean and as tumultuous as its waters, and even deeper than he imagined it would go. Her face, however, was not young. The weathered creases on her face suggested a divine beauty, once, though it had faded. But Takeru knew that any man would be a fool to call her anything but beautiful; there was just something about her that demanded it. Despite their obvious age difference he felt himself entranced. He wanted to get closer to her, to see what she was really like, to know the mysteries that were embedded deep within her sea-green eyes…

A light chuckle from the older woman caused him to snap back to reality, setting him rigid within his chair.

"You have come a long way." She stated, her eyes dancing and an amused smile curling at her ancient lips.

The Captain could only dumbly nod. What was to be said in the presence of such a woman?

She was silent a moment, her eyes searching the very depths of his soul. "You have come in search of something far greater than any mortal man can guard."

He was not totally thrown off by this; it was common knowledge that she was hiding some sort of great power. He was not the first to come looking for it. But again, Takeru found that he could say nothing.

Another lapse of silence fell, and it became clear to him that she wasn't going to say anything further. If he was smart he might get up and leave now, but he had come much too far for that. There was no turning back. He swallowed hard and opened his mouth. He had approached the hut with the intent of saying something deep and meaningful, something that rang with the authority he had earned for himself. It would have been some sort of demand to know where it was she kept this thing so often spoken about. Instead his voice failed him, and he managed to crack out a meagre: "They say you are a devourer of hearts."

This seemed to greatly amuse the older woman. She had not moved from her spot at the hearth, though she had turned to fully face him. Her hands were adorned with rings of every jewel; Takeru thought he recognised the insignias of various lords. "Only of men, my dear lad, and you are still but a boy." Her sea-foam eyes danced with the light of the fire, "Besides, your heart is in a state of confusion. Undecided hearts do not taste so good."

There was something in her tone that told her she was playing with him, but there was also something else that told him she wasn't. Takeru knew that it would probably be best not to press the subject in that direction any more than it needed to be. It didn't matter to him that she couldn't possibly know anything about the state of his heart or his mind; he had said nothing to her save for those eight words.

Finally she rose from her stool. Where she had seemed so small and unimposing before, suddenly she was a creature that demanded respect. Takeru felt himself shrinking in her presence, wishing now that he had left when he'd gotten the chance to. She had borne him no ill actions up until this point, but something told him that he did not want to provoke her.

She walked to the south wall of her hut, reaching out and pulling something off the shelf. Takeru saw that it was a pair of glasses; though why she would have that, he had no idea. "You are not the first Captain Scar to grace my presence. I had thought to strike you down as I had promised Jed I would all those years ago."

Jed…he was the first Captain Scar.

"But I can see that you are not of his line…sneaky those men are, I'll tell you. But I suppose it's difficult to find a suitable successor, in this day and age." Takeru really had no idea what she was talking about, but he decided to let it slide. But it did shed some light onto why the brothers had been so insistent that he do this, and why they had not.

"Tell me, what is it that they had you seek? I would imagine that the brothers asked to be stationed as far away from my home as possible…they still fear my wrath."

She had spoken the truth, but he didn't want to tell her that. "I know little of what I seek…only that it is a treasure greater than any other."

The older woman sighed. "You and every other young man that goes gallivanting off into the world. Do you really believe all the stories? There is no treasure here. At least, not one that is tangible. Not one that you can sell or boast of. In fact, should you tell anyone about it, I imagine that they would think you insane. Are you prepared for it?"

Takeru wasn't so sure anymore.

"So many men…I've seen them fall. They think they can handle it but they cannot. Very few have escaped with their sanity. They blame it on many things, but it is only their own stupidity. I give them all that they desire and still they want more." As she spoke the woman reached out to touch a pair of gauntlets that sat dust-covered on the shelf. There was a strange and sad quality that crept into her voice and suddenly she looked very old.

"So many men…" she repeated, her voice fading as she gave another long look at the gauntlets.

Turning back to Takeru, her previous countenance had returned. "They do not know that it is not what I need. To the one who realises what I do need, he will be the one to inherit such a power."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing, dear boy. But know that my body is not immortal, despite how I look."

More silence fell, and Takeru's gaze drifted to the dying flames. She was not giving him straight answers; her words did not make sense. "Will you give me what I seek?"

The old woman smiled. "For you? No. I once allowed others to see as I do because I did not care what it would do to them. But I am much too old for that now, and I see something in you that I have not seen for quite some time. It gives me hope, hope that there is something to help me."

The pirate captain furrowed his brow, suddenly feeling as though he had been tricked into something. "So that's it? I come all this way and risk my men for nothing?"

"You, Takaishi Takeru, can do more for me than any other man has been able to for quite some time. You harbour now something that is far greater than even you can understand. I suspect that you have not realised it yet, and I also know that if you do not realise it soon it will be lost to you forever." Her eyes suddenly went distant again, her face growing strangely ancient. "And if you lose it, so too will I. When you've figured it out, Takeru, come back again and see me. Until then I will continue destroying the lives of the young men who come my way. It gives me good sport, you know." Her lips had formed a smirk once more, and with that she turned back to her fire, placing herself back onto the stool.

"What is it? I don't…I have no power! I have no idea of what you speak about…give me a hint, something…"

"So eager for power and yet unwilling to work for it. Tell me, do the farmer's crops harvest themselves each year? Do trees bear fruit if they have not been watered?"

"At least a farmer knows his crop."

"I will help you in your time of greatest need, boy. Come before that, however, and I will not let you go so easily."

His jaw clenched. She was giving him nothing. Speaking in riddles and not answering questions. This was pointless. Takeru stared at her, intending to show that he was not backing down, however after a few minutes he realised that he would have a better time trying to convince a mountain to move; this woman was not going to give him anything else. With that, he exited the hut.

The old woman turned again, watching as the beads still danced after being disturbed by his movement. A heavy sigh escaped her lips and a forlorn look set into her deep eyes. "I've given you all you need, boy." More than that, if one thought about it. Only once before had she let a man leave with his sanity fully intact. Shaking her head she grabbed her prod once more and moved some of the logs into place. If he didn't figure it out soon, her time would be up. Her light was fading…soon it would go out. The fire flickered a moment, as if showing its attempt to spark. But this fire had not raged for quite some time now, and it was only a matter of time before the flames went out completely.

The crew watched carefully as their captain stormed out of the hut. At first they looked for any signs of insanity, but he seemed fine. His heart was still intact, as far as they could tell, and he had not been ensnared by the beautiful woman that supposedly dwelled within the hut.

"We're heading back to the ship. There is nothing for us here." He was angry, that much they could tell. But no one dared to ask the Captain just what had gone on within the small building, though no one was foolish enough to think it had been nothing.

~*~

Hikari had not had the greatest afternoon. She had finished what food they had left for her, paced around the room a few times, banged on the door more than that, and was now once more lying within the comfort of his bed. It was much more comfortable than her measly mat, and in her anger at him she was going to take advantage of it. You didn't touch the Captain's things, even if you were living in his room. But she was all about breaking the rules now.

The sun was setting over the island, and Hikari felt herself drifting off to sleep. Though she had not done much that day it had been emotionally taxing as she bounced back and forth between worrying for him and wishing the worst kinds of death over him. To add to this she had not gotten very much sleep the night before. All of these things were contributing to the fact that she was now falling asleep.

That was until the door burst open. It hit the wall with a bang, sufficiently startling the girl and waking her up. She was sitting bolt upright now, having been scared half to death into this position. She looked wide-eyed at the man who had entered it; none other than Captain Scar himself. As she realised what was going on her gaze settled into a glare, and she had all sorts of nasty things bottled up to say to him. However, these things were silenced as she saw the look on his face.

He was angry. More angry than she had ever seen him before. Takeru had a keen sense of right and wrong; at least, he had when he was younger. Things that fell into the 'wrong' category often made him angry. Injustice was not something he stood for, and she knew that not even this life had beaten that out of him. So what sort of injustice had he encountered now?

The Captain stormed across the room towards the window, only stopping when he punched the windowpane hard with his fist. Hikari could see the blood as his skin broke over the wood, but it didn't seem to faze him. She had never seen him act out like this before; usually such an action was reserved for his brother. But she supposed that there always had been a violent side to her best friend as well…and the pirate life had done no good in trying to suppress it.

"You're in my bed." He stated, clearly irked by the fact, though he didn't look at her.

Her initial shock at his reaction was beginning to wear off. "You locked me in your room."

"For your own good."

"A lot of good it's done."

He was really seething now. "I'd get out, unless you'd like me to take my frustration out on you."

He still wasn't looking at her, but Hikari was now more afraid of him than she ever had been in her life. Had she ever been afraid of him? She didn't think so. Angry tears stung her eyes and she clenched her jaw. This wasn't how it was supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to say things like that to her. To his best friend.

"Fine." Came her curt response, and she was out of his bed in a flash. Not only that, but she was out of his room. She couldn't stand to be with him there tonight. It seemed like such a petty thing, but it had cut her down to her very soul. Seeing that Takeru was capable of such ire…it hurt more than she would have thought. Especially because it had been directed at her, though she had not been at fault. Before she had always been able to calm him down; to be his voice of reason. Hikari realised that she had not handled things well, but it still hurt to know that she did not have the same effect on him as she had when they were younger. Realising this caused her to wonder if maybe there was no hope for her anymore. No hope for them. She had already known she was a fool for allowing herself to love a pirate, but she had counted on finding Takeru somewhere beneath Captain Scar. But maybe Takeru was too far gone now. Maybe she was much too late in finding him. She had not done enough, clearly, and now there was no hope. Hope was lost. Maybe the next time they ran into Willis she would take up his offer after all.

Takeru watched her leave, suddenly feeling horrible for saying what he had. She deserved better than that. And to think, he had almost lost control of himself. He didn't know why but in that moment he had needed her so desperately…needed her more than he ever had. He had said nothing of his dealings with the sorceress to his men, and he had fully intended on speaking about it to Hikari. But there was something about being in her presence…it drew him in. And in his frustration he found that he desired her more than he ever thought possible. But he couldn't hurt her. In his state he knew that not even being beside her would be enough. It was the same feeling he had gotten when he was with the witch, though he suspected that it was because she was enchanted. Wasn't that what they said? And now he was projecting such a thing onto Hikari, the woman he loved. In doing so he was going to push her away. Not that he hadn't been doing a good job of that lately, and something told him that she wasn't going to be returning to his room at all that night. For the first time in a long time he would be facing the darkness of the night alone, and the thought of it was more frightening than he had even imagined it would be.

~*~

Calmer of the Storm: dun dun duuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnnnn…so there you have it! A falling out. Well, it had to happen at some point, right? Now the question is…is this the end of the falling out? When is the reconciliation? Will there even be reconciliation??? Who knows!! Haha. Let me know what you think!