All right! This is the second to last chapter! Wooo! ^0^ I'm so excited!

Okay, I have to do this! This update is dedicated to all three of my reviewers, D101, Leiko Urameshi (who this story was written for), and Amanda Fair, but mainly Amanda Fair for your amazing review. Thank you so much! What you wrote meant soooo much to me! Too much to describe in words! ^w^ Thanks a lot! Hope you like this chapter!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, especially Kurama. Nor do I own Leiko.

Enjoy!!

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--3 weeks later

As a massive wave crashed onto the deck of the ship, Yusuke grabbed onto the rope that was connected to the main mast. Grunting in effort, he kept his boots planted the best he could onto the soaking wet deck, trying his best not to be flung around. Kuwabara was on the other side, also hanging onto one of the ropes to the main mast.

"Yusuke! Kuwabara! Quickly, now! Before that next big wave hits! Bring down the mast! Bring it down!" Kurama ordered from his spot behind the wheel, ignoring the freezing cold rain and the even colder sea water.

"Leiko! Make sure all life lines are secure!"

"Got'cha!" Leiko shouted, tying her own to one of the rails before going about to everyone else on board, doing the same. When she got to Kurama, who was the last one, she tied the rope around his waist, then stood up and kissed his left cheek.

"All done, Captain. Anything else you need done?"

"Leiko, now is definitely not the time for this…" He paused, knowing that being stern would get him no where. "All right, afterward, if we're still alive, I'll have time."

"Yay!" Kissing his cheek again, she ran down the steps and began helping around, doing the smaller things that needed to be done.

--3 hours later

After the 3 hours of hell the crew went through during the night, the crack of dawn was a welcomed sight. The crew, utterly exhausted from their ordeal, lay scattered throughout the ship, all panting heavily. Even Leiko was exhausted, leaning against one of the railings, her clothes soaked thoroughly. Yusuke and Kuwabara stood, barely, against the railing near Leiko, both about to collapse from exhaustion.

"Well done, everyone! We've made it through yet another storm!" Kurama announced, glancing behind him to see the dark and ominous clouds floating away, bringing in the new day. 'How odd…they seem to be getting worse…and they've been one after another, with shorter times in between each storm… I wonder…'

"You're the only reason why we're still alive!" One loyal crew member shouted, causing others to, tiredly, agree.

"I'll say… You're pretty strong, Kurama. For you to have to fight waves that big with this whole thing, you've got to be." Yusuke added, plopping himself down next to his sister as he tried to regain his breath still.

"Yeah…good job Kurama…" Kuwabara added tiredly, sitting down heavily and leaning his head back against the railing, closing his eyes in the process.

Kurama nodded, glad for the praise. Yet, he was wise enough not to let it get to his head. All good sea captains know that if you get cocky on the seas, you die, and your ship goes down with you. As the sun climbed higher into the sky, something dark on the horizon caught his eye.

"Oh no…" He murmured, yet, in the silence of the morning, with everyone almost asleep, everyone heard his horrified words.

"What's wrong?" Yusuke called, knowing that, by now, his friend was not easily scared off.

A dark and sinister look came over his face. "Gentlemen, we're in for some heavy artillery." He looked sharply down at Leiko. "Leiko, you are to dress up as a princess once again, and I mean entirely. You have to play it very carefully, Leiko. You can not say anything that has to do with me or anyone else on here." He turned to Yusuke. "That goes for you, too. If you both want to get out of this alive, listen to me. Don't do anything rash. If I know him, and I do, you will both be better off not saying anything, as long as it's insults. Is that clear?"

"Why? What's up?" Leiko asked, looking up at him. "Who is it?"

"My father."

"Father?!" Yusuke, Kuwabara and Leiko shouted at once.

"Yes, my father." He replied darkly, glaring at the tiny dot in the distance that was his fathers' ship. "Hurry up, we only have about 15 minutes. MOVE OUT!"

"Aye, aye, Captain!"

Leiko ran up the stairs and over to Kurama, looking worried. "Kurama…are you sure?"

"I'd know the shape of that ship anywhere…" he replied darkly, glaring coldly at it with narrow eyes.

"Uhm…but… I don't have any dresses…"

"Not exactly… In case of an emergency, I had your dress fixed and renewed, so it looks as if it were never wet or anything. Go in my quarters and change there. Your dress is in a green box that says your name on it. Change quickly, and…don't forget to close those curtains. We wouldn't want any peeping toms watching you undress…" a light blush appeared on his face as he said this.

Leiko kissed his cheek. "Don't worry, the only one I'd love to undress in front of is you, Kurama."

Prancing off, Leiko soon disappeared into his quarters and slammed the door shut, the audible click of her locking it clear. Sighing while massaging his temples, Kurama sighed. 'This will take some time to get used to…'

--10 minutes later

Leiko had changed and had her hair dry and nicely done, only the way a princess could, within 5 minutes, which was record time. The crew members were currently tying her up to the main mast, all the while murmuring their apologies.

"Hey! Not so tight!" She shouted angrily, struggling against her tight bindings.

They jumped back, surprised by her sudden outburst.

"Chill, guys. I'm supposed to at this way, remember?"

"Oh yeah…"

"Just act the way you did when I first came on board. Okay?" She whispered, seeing the ship coming closer.

Nodding, they ditched her, most of them going to the railings so that they could watch the approach of the ship, their swords drawn. Kurama calmly walked down the steps, his arms folded neatly behind his back, his face and expression completely composed. Calmly walking over to Leiko, who glared coldly at him, he stood in front of her. Knowing that his father was probably watching this, he said, barely moving his lips,

"Your brother is down stairs and in a dungeon, chained to the ceiling, hanging helplessly." Louder, he said, "If you do not cooperate, we will kill your brother. Now, will you tell us what you know?"

"I told you sea rats all ready! I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT!" She shouted, her voice carrying over the now gentle waves. "Why don't you bastards take the clue!?"

Kurama slapped her, hard. Leiko slowly raised her head, fighting the urge to cry. Glancing up, she could see the brief apologetic look in his eyes before his eyes turned a steely cold green.

"Don't you dare take that tone of voice with me. Thanks to me, you've survived for this long. Don't you dare yell at me, you filthy little girl!"

"Enough. You've tormented that poor girl enough." A voice spoke suddenly, surprising everyone.

Turning slightly, his eyes narrow, Kurama glared coldly at his father. "Kelte, it's been a while."

"Yes, indeed it has, Shuuichi. Now, why not let that poor girl go? She's suffered enough."

"Yeah, you filthy sea rat! Let me go! I'm hungry and tired! Tired of all your b.s.! Let me go!" Leiko wailed, struggling against her bindings.

Kelte studied her for a moment before approaching, eying her closely. "Where have I seen you before…?" His memories re-surfaced suddenly. He stared at her, not to mention her figure. "You're that girl! You're little Leiko from… Yeah! It is you! What the hell are you doing tied up for?"

She glared at him. "Can't you take a hint? Geez, to think that the father of Kurama and Youko would have the brains enough to notice someone whose captured and someone whose free, right?"

Kelte stared at her. "How do you know about both of my sons?"

"Duh, because that pervy bastard swung by, I dunno...maybe 3 months ago, maybe more, and kidnapped me. Kurama ran in yelling that I was his catch and that he needed to catch his own, and then kidnapped me again." She glared at him. "Do you want me to spell it out for ya?"

Again, Kelte stared at her. Well, more at her figure. Looking her up and down, he turned to his youngest son.

"Shuuichi, this is a perfect match for you! You two would be absolutely perfect together! I can see it now…" He paused. "You should claim her!"

"WHAT?!" Both Kurama and Leiko practically shouted at the same time, forgetting to stay in acting form.

"Father, you can't be serious…"

"Of course I'm serious! Who would joke about something as serious as this?" He asked, crossing his arms while glaring mildly at Kurama.

Surprisingly, Kelte looked a lot like Youko. He had the silvery gray hair, the golden eyes, and the height, which Kurama also had. However, his attire was entirely different. Wearing a dark purple color, it gave a good contrast to his lighter locks and eyes. Shrugging, he turned his attention back to Kurama.

"I have come to raid the ship. But, seeing how this is your ship, Shuuichi, I will not. But, I would like to see what is in your cargo."

Glaring at his father, Kurama had no choice but to do as he said, knowing that he was getting off easy just because he was his son. 'Might as well take advantage of it.' Leading his father down stairs, he shot one last warning glance at his crew, daring them to mess up, or face his wrath. Knowing that Kurama could be as heartless as his brother, they behaved as if they were against Leiko, and began ganging up on her from all sides.

She eyed them carefully. "What the hell do you want?"

As they approached, she figured it out. "No! Don't you dare lay your filthy hands on me! Ahh!"

Kelte ran up from below suddenly, having only been down there for a few minutes. "Don't you fools dare try to take advantage of that poor young girl. If you do, you'll answer directly to me…"

Having the same look in his eye as Youko did most of the time, they listened to him, slowly backing away from her. Sighing, she hung her head, completely exhausted.

"Damn you…you stinking pirates…"

Kelte sighed, watching her. "Damn…not even a thank you…"

"Father, I believe it is time for you to leave." Kurama said in a dark voice, glaring at his father.

Turning to him, Kelte raised an eyebrow. "Are you going to kick me off your ship just as your brother did?"

Kurama stopped and stared at his father. "You've been on his ship before?"

"Yes, roughly around 5-6 months ago. He had a lovely young lass on board. Much like the situation with your woman over there. She was quite fair, and looked very gentle… I felt sorry for her, and wanted to help, but your brother threatened me and told me if I even touched her, I would be fed to the sharks." He sighed, then looked at his youngest son sadly. "May I speak with you, in private? I need to tell you something…"

"Uh…sure… Follow me."

Silently, Kelte followed Kurama into his private quarters, closing the door behind them both.

--20 minutes later

Kelte emerged from within Kuramas' quarters, looking fairly please with himself. Leiko could only imagine what had happened between the two, and hoped it wasn't what her perverted mind was thinking. Passing by Leiko, Kelte paused and whispered,

"Don't worry about your friend, Nozomi. She's safe. I passed by the isle not too long ago, about two weeks ago. She was watching the sun set, and helped my men re-build my ship due to storm damage. I kept some men over there to keep watch over her in case anything happened. Don't worry, all right?" By the brief look of shock that crossed her face, he also added, "Yes, I figured this was all a trick. You looked too healthy to be like this, and the ropes look too fresh. Don't worry though, keep acting as you were, and you should still be able to pull this off."

Clearing his throat, he continued. "Fare thee well, fair maiden! I'm sorry I could not rescue you, but I will try from afar, and only hope that my son is wise enough not to let this opportunity pass." Turning, he kissed Leiko on the cheek and whispered, "Hope you two have fun together, Princess Leiko." Standing back up, while smirking, he walked calmly, with his hands in his pockets, all the way back over to his ship and easily jumped the gap separating the two.

"See you guys later!"

Kurama walked over to the edge. "Be careful! Towards the east was a storm, and it had pretty rough seas! I'm sure you're going in that direction?"

"Not at all! I'm going north! I was just heading this way because I saw your ship not too long ago, just as it was exiting the storm. I decided to head on over here for a quick check up on my youngest son! See you later! Oh! And if you see your brother, tell him I said hi!"

"If he'll listen!"

"Bye!"

"Bye, father!"

'God, when will this end?!'

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And that's the end of Chapter 16! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and are looking forward to the next and final chapter to As Red as a Rose! ^^ From what I can see, out of all 89 pages, the final chapter will start on page 74, so it'll be a fairly long chapter. I hope you guys will bring your comfort pillows and such, not to mention popcorn, while you read the blood boiling chapter that will end this fanfic!

lol I had to make it sound dramatic. Thanks again to all of my readers, and thanks for all of the reviews! If you're not going to review, at least review to the last chapter! IT'S THE LAST CHAPTER FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!

Thanks again, and hope you liked it! ^^ (Looks like I'm going to post this whole story before school starts on Monday after all! Yay!)