Morg: Heyo! I just feel like writing tonight so you get lots of updates.

Ikuto: We shall not complain.

Amu: Yes we shall!

Morg: This is why I'm thankful I don't own you.

~Alone With You~

"Amu! Move it!"

She was trying her hardest, but apparently that wasn't good enough for the man she loved. The winds were blowing them off course, but Kukai refused to give in. He took control of the boat and fought the current of both the wind and the waves. Amu and Ikuto were currently throwing buckets of water back off the ship as the wind and rain drove more onto it.

Arms tired and stomach rolling, Amu tried her hardest to keep up with the water slipping onto their boat. Hadn't the weather forecast called for good weather all night long? What had happened? All Amu wanted was to sleep.

Ikuto continued to work harder and faster. He could tell that Amu was wearing out and honestly he didn't want her working so hard in the first place. He'd almost lost her in South America and wasn't about to let her go now. "Just take a short break. I can handle it for a while."

Amu only nodded before she forced the door open to go into the still dry area of the ship. Even though there were windows to allow her to see out, she couldn't see anything due to the wind and rain. Ikuto's blurry outline was hardly visible and that annoyed Amu. If a sudden gust of wind or big wave rocked the small boat just right then Ikuto was certain to fall off. What would Amu do then? She couldn't live without him.

Stealing herself, she headed back out into the storm.

"Amu! Go back inside!"

"No!"

"This is dangerous and you are tired. Just take a break."

"I'm not leaving you!"

"I'll be just fine!"

"Ikuto! If you are going to be out here then I am going to be out here! We are in this together! All of it!"

There was nothing he could say. If their positions were reversed then he'd be fighting her just as hard as she was fighting him to stay by her side. "Fine! But you better work just as hard!"

Amu smiled. Ikuto would never go easy on her and she loved him for it. There had been plenty of times in the past where she'd proven that she wasn't just the little princess that her mother had forced her to be after the death of her father and younger sister. And though Amu had lived that lie just to please her mother, she could no longer do so. Ikuto was her life. He was her haven and she could be herself only when he was there to love her.

They fought the storm side by side. Slowly, the winds began to die down and Kukai yelled that they were through the worst of it. Ikuto and Amu didn't stop working until long after the sun had risen and most of the water was once again in the ocean. Exhausted, they crawled their way back to their beds.

XXX

Amu woke with a start. Her stomach was rolling like it never had before. All throughout the storm she had felt fine, but now that the water was calm and they were finally getting some sleep, she felt sick.

Racing to the bathroom, she made it just in time to puke in the toilet. Slumping to the floor, Amu clutched her stomach with the hopes that it would help to steady it. Her plan failed when she puked for the second time.

Ikuto woke with the feeling of something was wrong. Amu was not by his side and he could hear her in the bathroom. She did not sound well. "Amu?"

Wiping her mouth for the second time, Amu picked up her head to answer her lover. "Just f-feeling a little s-sick."

"I'll go ask Kukai if he has anything for seasickness."

Amu couldn't do anything as Ikuto went to ask the captain for help. "Hey Kukai, you got anything for a rough stomach?"

The captain looked up from the map he had spread across his table. "No, I was supposed to pick some up in South America, but I didn't have the chance since we left in a hurry. I've got some worse news though. The storm blew us way off course. Instead of landing in northern Africa we'll be landing in South Africa."

"South Africa?" Ikuto was silent for a moment before a smirk spread across his lips. "That actually works out perfectly. I have a friend there who is a doctor. You got a satellite phone? I can give her a call and let her know we're coming."

Kukai did as instructed and got Ikuto what he needed. "By the way, it is common to feel a little sick after a storm. I'm assuming that Amu isn't taking it so well."

Ikuto just shook his head before he walked away to make his phone call. Upon returning to the captain he gave back the phone and shared the altered plans. "Janel agreed to help us out. She was told to report any contact with us by our parents, but the girl is on our side. Just make port and she'll come get us."

Kukai only saluted before he went back to figuring out where they would land. Most of their supplies were dwindling considering he hadn't really had time to restock before Michelle had thrust two fellow Japanese people on him to rescue. Not that he was complaining. Kukai loved the excitement.

Ikuto returned to his still sick girlfriend to find that she was now sleeping on the bathroom floor. She looked a little pale, but he thought she looked better than she had when he'd seen her before going to talk with Kukai. Deciding to just let her sleep, Ikuto sat so he could see her just in case she woke up and needed him.

Things were becoming more and more dangerous on their trip around the world to avoid their parents, but Ikuto knew it was all worth it to keep that girl by his side. Her words from the night before rang in his ears. Even if what they were doing was dangerous, they were going to do it together. They were in this together. Ikuto wasn't about to back down and neither was Amu. They would help each other through it all.

Two hours later, Amu opened her eyes. Her stomach still felt queasy but it was better than before. "Ikuto, how long have I been asleep?"

"A couple of hours. Feeling better?"

A nod was the response he received.

Ikuto chuckled a little before fetching Amu a glass of water. "Kukai said that it was common for people to get sick after a storm like the one we went through. He also said that because of our quick getaway, he didn't have time to get any more seasickness pills."

Amu only nodded again before taking another drink of her water. That was just her luck for there to be no medication on the boat, and of course she'd just finished off the last of the fruit that Michelle had given her. "I think I want to try eating something."

Ikuto moved to help his lover to her feet. "Anything sound good?"

Amu scrunched up her nose before answering. "Yeah, pickles and ice cream. Weird huh?"

Ikuto only laughed before they made their way to the kitchen. After rummaging through the cupboards and the fridge/freezer, he came up with neither of the things Amu had claimed she wanted. "Fresh out of pickles and ice cream. Anything else?"

Frowning slightly, Amu just shrugged. "Toast, I guess."

That Ikuto could get here. He even served it up with a little bit of peanut butter and honey. "I hope you like it."

Amu ate the two pieces of toast like she'd never had food before. "So good!"

Ikuto just smirked as he watched his pinkette devour her snack. "I can make you more."

"Please do!"

This time he full out laughed. Amu had a mouth full of the breakfast meal he'd made her and yet she was grinning with what looked like pure happiness at the idea of getting more. "Alright. Hang tight."

Amu was feeling so much better now that she had some food in her. Ikuto was being sweet as well, which just put her into a great mood. Then they moved back to the small deck off the back of the ship where they sat in the shade. After seven minutes of silence, Amu burst into tears.

"Amu! What's wrong?" Ikuto's arms were quick to wrap around the girl he loved as he

tried to figure out why she was crying. "What happened?"

Amu could only shake her head. It didn't make sense. One minute she was fine and happy and the next she was crying her eyes out. There was no control. "I-I d-don't know!"

Ikuto couldn't believe how hard Amu was crying. She didn't even know what was wrong. Hell, he didn't know what was wrong. Whatever it was that was going on with her, Janel would be able to help them out. The girl was a doctor after all and Michelle had warned him to get his lover checked out as soon as he could.

Amu only held onto Ikuto's arms as she cried. They made her feel safe and soon enough she calmed down. "S-sorry Ikuto. I don't know w-what happened."

Placing a kiss on her forehead, Ikuto wasn't sure how to respond. "Michelle said you might feel a little weird and that we should get you to see a doctor when we get to Africa. I have a friend that lives there that we can trust. She's a great doctor."

For reasons unknown to the pinkette, fury boiled up within her. "Oh so now you just have random female friends on random continents? What is she really to you? An old lover perhaps!"

Ikuto was stunned. "A-Amu?"

"Save it Ikuto! I don't want to hear it right now!"

With that, the pinkette stormed off to leave Ikuto still confused as to what happened.

His confusion did not disappear over the following days. Amu woke up sick every morning. After puking she would crave the weirdest foods and then switch through her emotions like it was a game. Ikuto and Kukai were constantly on their guards to make sure nothing was said to set the pinkette off.
Despite the weirdness of their female passenger, the ship made it to Africa. Janel was waiting in the port for them when they arrived. "Well, look what the cat dragged in."

"Hello to you too, Janel. This is Amu."

Amu huffed before turning her head as to not look at the girl being introduced.

"Sorry about that, Amu hasn't been feeling well. In fact, I was hoping that you would give her a checkup while we're here."

Janel agreed before they all climbed into her jeep and took off across the savannah. Three hours later, and many pictures of the animals they'd seen on their drive, they arrived at a rather large house. "My clinic is in the back so Amu if you'd just come with me then I can start running some tests to make sure that you're okay now."

Ikuto had spent the better part of the car ride filling Janel in on what had happened to them so far. Sometimes Amu added her own information and other times she completely ignored the girl driving them. No matter how many times Ikuto sent Janel an apologetic stare; she just dismissed him with a smile.

Amu followed the other girl through the large house and to the doctor's office in the back. "What are you going to do?"

"Well, the usual for sure, but then I'm going to do some blood tests to make sure that you didn't pick up a weird infection or anything like that. Don't worry; you'll know by the end of the day if there is anything wrong and I have most of the important medications here so I should be able to nip anything that might show up."

Amu nodded before bowing her head. "I'm sorry for being such a pain. I can't seem to control myself well these days. I know I'm a burden."

Janel only laughed as she carried on with what she was doing. They talked while Janel worked and became better friends. "Well, I'm going to run a sample of your blood through the analysis and we'll see if anything unusual shows up. So far you seem to be in perfect health."

"Thanks for the help."

Janel just nodded before heading out of the room. She met Ikuto in the hall and smirked at him. "You've got quite the lover there, Ikuto."

"You don't have to tell me that."

Laughing, Janel continued on her way down the hall. She had a feeling that she already knew what was going on, but until she got the results back there was nothing she could say. If her hunch was correct, however, they'd be having one hell of a party that night.

.

Morg: So I had to get them off the ship and onto dry land for a while.

Ikuto: Oh good. I like spending more time with my Amu.

Amu: Isn't this story almost over?

Morg: Nope! I've still got some things that have to happen before it ends! Review please!