Chapter 13.

Momo immediately placed her hands on the wheel. A groan escaped from Torshiro. "You're not going to steer now. I've got to tell you the basics."

"How hard can it be?" She asked. "All you do is steer the ship to the right and left and then right again." She abruptly turned the ship to the right. The ship creaked as it turned quickly.

Torshiro grabbed hold of one of the spokes of the wheel and turned it to the left making the ship back on track. "There's more to steering a ship than just turning the wheel!" He yelled at her. "You've got to measure the wind speed and directions, look at the map, read the stars, make sure the rudder is working properly, and watch out for on coming storms; it is more than just turning!" He repeated.

"Alright! Don't have to get 'yelly'."

The pirate captain rubbed his face with his hands and sighed. Why was he doing this in the first place? Next thing you know she will ask him for sword-fighting lessons.

"And after you teach me how to steer the ship can you teach me how to fight with a sword?"

And bingo was his name-o. "Sure. I have plenty of time on my hands." He replied sarcastically. His hands fell to his sides. "Ok… now first things first, in which direction is the wind going?"

She placed one finger in her mouth and pulled it out. She then pointed towards the bow of the ship. "That way."

"Totally unnecessary to find out the wind direction but good."

"Then how would you do it?"

"Look at the sails."

The princess turned her head towards the sails. The wind pulled forward the sail indicating that it did flow towards the bow of the ship. A sly and nervous laugh came from her. "Right. Much easier."

"Either way you figured it out. Now what is the wind speed and in which direction would be the best to follow that group of stars?"

"Um…" Momo looked at him and back towards the sails. "How do I find out wind speed? I mean I know that the best way to follow the stars is to position the ship in a straight path to the stars but wind speed is something I'm not so sure how…" Her voice drifted off as she wondered on how she could measure the wind speed.

"On most ships they have some sort of weather vane like that one that's on the back of the ship." Momo looked back and saw a metal rod holding what looked like to be 4 cups that spun around in a circle at a slow rate. "Now all you have to do is do math. Look at how fast the vane moves and determine the wind speed."

She could do this. She excelled in her math studies. She can do this. She thought for a little while longer. "I would say about… eh, around 10 miles per hour?"

"Little bit off, 13 miles per hour."

"Oh…"

"But pretty close. Now that you have the wind speed in mind, position the ship to the stars."

"So steer now right?"

"Steer now."A small smile came across her face. Her hands got a hold of the wheel once more. "But no abrupt turns. Nice smooth turns." Momo nodded and slowly turned the ship to the left. "Actually to the right." She turned the ship again to the right. "Little bit more." She continued to turn the ship. "Little more."

"I just can't see."

"Quite alright. It's hard to position yourself directly in front of stars since they move and stuff." She turned a little bit more. "That's good enough. Now let me tell you about how the ship works."

Morning:

Momo woke up with a yawn. Last night she learned how to drive- correction, steer- a ship. She had to leave sometime through the night when sleepiness over came her. She just did not understand how Torshiro can stay up all night steering, unless he himself left the wheel and handed it over to Kira. Oh well. She stood and stretched, another yawn escaping her mouth.

"Good morning!" A perky female voice told her.

"Hi Tobiume. Good morning to you too."

"Thank you."

A small bark came from a few feet away. Turning their heads, the two saw Hyorinmaru dreaming about something. Another bark followed by a growl came from the sleeping male.

Tobiume shook her head. "I swear. He still sleeps the way he did all those years ago."

"Tell me Tobiume, what's really between you and Hyorinmaru?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how both of you still like- maybe even love- each other and yet still you two have arguments that would keep you two separate. What's really going on?"

A small groan came from the spaniel. "It's just really hard. I mean I trusted him all those years ago and he did just one thing and my trust for him is lost forever. I just really don't think I will ever trust him the way I did before and that hurts me to think that. I do love him still don't get me wrong. He strong, smart and considerate when he wants to be. Not to mention he's good to look at, but that's not the point. I just… can't imagine myself with him now, not after what he did."

"Yeah… I get what you mean." She silently agreed. She quickly shook her head. "I must still be tired."

All the spaniel did was shrug as she walked towards the fore-castle door. Momo followed the dog, looking back at the sleeping Hyorinmaru once before opening the door. Tobiume was the first one out followed shortly by Momo. Kira who was mopping the area around the fore-castle greeted her and continued to work. Momo nodded and looked towards the wheel. Sure enough, there was Torshiro steering the ship. "Hey Kira." Momo called out.

"Yeah, what?" Kira said without looking up from his work.

"Did Torshiro ever leave the wheel last night?"

Kira stopped mopping and looked at Torshiro. "Once but that was to go down into his cabin and check the course." He looked at the princess. "Why?"

"Oh nothing. I'm just wondering how he stay up there all night."

Kira did a shrug and continued mopping. "Who knows? Captain's always done that. Guess he was destined for the seas and vice-versa."

Momo shrugged as well as she made her way across the main deck. She walked up the stairs and onto the upper deck.

"What do you want?" He asked her with no emotion in his voice.

"You never taught me how to sword fight last night."

"And I'm not going to do that now. It's is hard steering the ship when you don't know where you're going."

Tobiume stood on her hind legs and placed her paws on the rail. Since she didn't quite reach the rail, her paws sometimes slipped off but she stayed put. "You're going the right way."

Torshiro looked at the dog and then back towards the sea. "And how would you know?"

The spaniel pointed her snout dead ahead. "The Path of Death." Ahead was what looked like to be a cave. The cave was in fact a waterway that disappears into the darkness. It was big enough for ships to get through. "That's funny."

"What is?" Momo asked her.

"That cave was only big enough for us demons hundreds of years ago. Unabara must be expecting us."

"I thought she was a sea witch." Torshiro commented.

"She is, but she does have magic. What do you think controlled the four of us?" She got down on her four legs. She then yelled out to the crew. "Sleepyhead's awake! Open the fore-castle for him!"

Kira who was still near the area went and opened the door to the groggy Hyorinmaru. Said dog stretched out in the sun, releasing a great big yawn. He then proceeded towards the upper deck. "Hey…" He quietly said as he reached the upper deck.

"Hyorinmaru, you're timing is impeccable."

"Why?" He asked with a yawn.

"The Path of Death is up ahead."

"What?!"

"That woke you up."

Hyorinmaru looked ahead. "That was too quick."

"I know, she's expecting us."

"Excuse me." Momo spoke up. "Why is it called the Path of Death?"

"Because it's a path and no man has ever come out of it alive." Tobiume replied.

All Momo could say was 'oh' as she started rubbing her hands on her arms.

"Then we'll be the first to live through it." Torshiro said as the ship started to go into the cave.

Moments later:

"Is it just me or are we going faster?" Momo asked as she looked at the few ship ruins that were passing by.

"We're going faster." Torshiro answered.

Momo nodded as she turned her head towards the bow of the ship. "Is it opening up ahead?"

Tobiume poked her head between two posts of the rails. "Yep." She then spots a rock jutting out ahead. She tried to move her head back in but found out she was stuck. "Oh crap." She started whining as her paws moved frantically.

Momo looked down. "Tobiume!" She held on to the body of the spaniel and tried pulling her out.

The spaniel continued to whine. She then felt the scruff of her neck being pulled by teeth. In one swift movement she got pulled out as the rock passed by. She fell onto Hyorinmaru who quickly pushed her off. "Don't get your head stuck again." Hyorinmaru panted.

"Yeah…" Tobiume panted as well. She looked at the retriever. "You were scared."

"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?" He then suddenly shook himself out. "Danger-proned." He quietly told himself as he walked away.

"I heard that!" She commented.

Momo passed a hand over her face. "At least you're safe now."

The ship then slowed down as it entered another cave. This one held hundreds of ship ruins, all from around the world. Kira ran up the stairs and ran to Torshiro's side. "Do you see this?"

"Of course I see it." The pirate captain replied as he tried to steer the ship out.

"She has grown such a collection." Tobiume quietly told herself as she looked around.

Hyorinmaru walked up to Tobiume's side. "The thing is; where are they?"

Tobiume looked at him and nodded. "You're right. Where could they be?"

"What are you guys talking about?" Momo approached the two dogs.

They both turned and their mouths slightly opened. "Them."

Momo turned around and saw sirens getting into the ship. All the men, even Torshiro, were under the spell the sirens were using. She then saw Torshiro walk away from the wheel and towards one of the sirens who was signaling with her finger to come closer. "Oh hell no."She ran up behind the pirate and pulled him back. "Torshiro snap out of it!" The next thing she heard was some unintelligent speaking followed by a giddy laugh. A groan escaped her lips as she held onto Torshiro's arm.

"Um Momo," Tobiume started. "As much as we need men in our lives, we should be focusing on the Death ahead!"

Momo looked towards the bow as saw what looked like a series of small waterfalls. "Tobiume, Hyorinmaru, get the crew and tie them up somehow!" She threw Torshiro on the floor.

"Right mum!" Tobiume said in her fake British ascent as she went off to look for ropes.

"And just in case you're wondering," Hyorinmaru spoke. "I'm a dog; I'm not affected by the sirens." He sunk his teeth into Torshiro's shirt collar and started pulling him down the stairs.

Momo then moved her attention to Kira who was leaning of the side of the ship. She ran and pulled him up but accidently let him go sending him falling down the stair. "Ohh…" She silently said as she moved to the wheel. Now it was time to put her only steering training from yesterday into play. She has to not only make sure that every man in this ship does not fall off the side of the ship but she also has to steer the ship so that it doesn't hit any off the deadly rocks in this waterway. Now she understands why it was called the Path of Death, there is no way that all of them would come out alive. She placed her hands on the wheel and turned it to the right, dodging a ship ruin.

The dogs on the other hand were moving productively. They bit the crew in the butt and used their demon powers to move the crew to the main mast.

Hyorinmaru watched as the spotter swung down on a rope towards a siren. The retriever shook, his fur becoming ice. He then lifted his paws up and then dropped them back down. Ice trailed the wood towards the siren with her arms open wide. Ice froze her body just in the nick of time. The spotter did a face plant into the frozen siren. Hyorinmaru shook once more- his fur returning to normal- he then ran over, bite the spotter's leg and threw him towards the mast.

Once they got the 19 members- which did not include Torshiro and Kira- tightly pressed against the mast, Hyorinmaru held the rope in his mouth as Tobiume ran around the mast, tying the men up. They then saw Torshiro and Kira up on the forecastle deck. They ran over to the two and reached them just before two sirens dragged them down to their deaths.

"I've got them." Hyorinmaru told Tobiume.

She nodded and flamed up. "This is going to be fun." She said to herself before she burned the sirens. The sirens screeched as they fell back into the water. Tobiume then turned her attention towards the sirens flopping towards the main mast. Tobiume jumped up into the air and landed on the main deck. Fire started only where the sirens were, burning the half-fish, half-woman creatures. The sirens screeched as they flopped back towards the edge. They all slipped off the ship save the frozen. Tobiume shook her head and melted the ice. The confused siren lingered a bit longer until fire hit her flipper causing her to fall backwards. The two dogs repeated the rope tying motion one the two men, this time on the foremast (1).

Momo steered the ship left and right, dodging all the ships to the best of her abilities. A sudden pounding shook the ship as it scrapped the rock wall. The waterfalls moved the ship at a breakneck pace. Before the tree knew it they were back out on the calm ocean. The ship slowed to a stop. There was a small amount of silence before Momo cheered. "I did it!"

"Don't count your chickens yet!" Tobiume yelled.

Momo looked back and heard the sirens obnoxious screeching. Momo thought on her toes and turned the ship. She ran down the stairs. "Prepare the cannon."

Hyorinmaru rolled a cannonball towards Momo. Momo- who had some problems lifting the cannonball up- placed the ball into the cannon. "Uh… gun powder!"

"No time!" Tobiume yelled. She barked a flame onto the cannon. In a few moments the cannon erupted, sending the cannon flying towards the rock above the waterfalls. It hit the rock and the boulders fell right in the path of the sirens, their screeches now drowned out by the boulders. The screeching then faded away, like a bad dream. Like before a small silence hit the tree until they all cheered. "Yeah! This crew are the first me to survive!"

"All because of the help, of a woman!" Momo cheered!

"And demons that kick ass!" Hyorinmaru added.

The three continued cheering until they were interrupted by a yell. "Momo! Who the hell tied us up?!" Torshiro's voice ranged out.

Moments later:

"My ship! What the fuck?!" Torshiro leaned over the side of the ship. He assessed the huge dent and broken planks of wood on the side of the ship that scrapped against the wall. He then turned his attention onto the rest of the ship. There were burn marks, ice marks, not to mention broken wood everywhere, but what really got on his nerves was the stairs. "Look! The stairs! They were made from mahogany! Do you know how much effort it put to steal these?!" His hand passed over the rails.

"Oh quit complaining. I saved your crews' and your life with the help of Tobiume and Hyorinmaru." Momo said.

"And I thank the dogs."

"What about me? I steered the ship."

"Look! I don't call this a great rescue!"

She scoffed. "All you care about is a ship that wasn't your to begin with."

"It's the only fucking ship I have!"

"Then steal another one!"

"Do you know how hard it is to steal another ship?!"

"Obviously not harder than it took to steal planks of mahogany!"

"They weren't planks, it was the staircase already built- and that's not what we're talking about!"

"Talking about he says! Well if this is talking I don't want to see arguing!"

"Oh do you want to see arguing?! I'll give you arguing!"

"No thanks!" She turned and walked away.

"So you walk away, very nice!"

"Fuck you!" She opened the fore-castle door and went in, slamming the door behind her.

Torshiro crossed his arms across his chest. He looked down to the two dogs that immediately turned their head away and walked away. The pirate captain rolled his eyes and he moved his head up to look at his crew, who repeated the same motion the dogs did. He groaned and walked angrily towards the upper deck.

Night:

While Torshiro steered the ship, the two dogs walked up to the fore-castle. They scratched the door which opened enough to let in the two dogs, it closed immediately after. Torshiro saw this. This which has happened for the second time. She got pissed and ran into the fore-castle; the only one who went in was Hyorinmaru, now Tobiume was in the equation. He couldn't believe this. Last time the crew was ok with the pissed of princess, save Kira who shouldn't even be a pirate, but now the crew is pissed at him. Is the whole crew against him? A possible mutiny? No. It's a fucking take over, by a female, and Momo is that female. The pirate captain sighed and placed his head in his hand. Why was he doing this? Why was he helping her? He defiantly didn't need to do anything for her, and she is of no use to him. He rubbed his eyes and then cracked his neck. He left the wheel unmanned and preceded towards the fore-castle. The crew who were still awake fixing the minor details of the ship watched as the captain reached the door. Before Torshiro could even knock on the door he overheard on the three's conversation.

"Well he shouldn't be a jackass." Tobiume's voice sounded pissed. "We saved his and everyone else's life and he should be grateful."

"That's understandable but he's still a pirate. He's completely unpredictable, though his maniacal rant over his ship was defiantly predictable." Hyorinmaru's voice reasoned… sort of.

"Are you on his side?!" Tobiume yelled at him.

"No, I am only saying that he shouldn't have been like that. Besides the dent in the side of the ship all else was not to be frantic about. Don't cry over spilt milk, that's what I say."

"Exactly." Tobiume agreed.

"Guys…" Momo's voice sounded. "Let him be like that. After I retrieve the Book of Peace, he will get his reward and I will disappear from his life… like what he did to me."

"Oh… Momo…" Tobiume's concerned voice was heard as the fore-castle went silent.

Torshiro backed away from the door. His eyes half open. He sighed and walked towards his cabin. On the way he passed by Kira, he ordered him to steer the ship. And that was the last order from the captain that night.

9 pages in Word. Please review. Flames and suggestions are welcomed btw.

1: The mast before the main mast. Is smaller in diameter from the main mast, also hold the basket the spotter stands in.