Author's Note: Nothing much to say, except let the Playdate Arc begin!

Disclaimer: I only own the Capricorn Pirates.

Ch. 79: "The Princess Contest."

A couple of days later, Aki was eagerly awaiting for the Capricorns to get to Princessa Island, the island where the princess festival was going to be held.

"Hana, how much longer until we dock?" Aki asked Hana.

"In about fourty-five minutes," Hana answered. Yuki-Rin just sighed. "And why are you sulking? Isn't it usually the other way around where you're excited for the next island and Aki isn't?"

"A princess festival? Really?" Yuki-Rin asked Aki.

"Oh, Yuki-Rin, don't be so negative. You can be a princess, too," Aki said.

"No. For me, me being a princess brings back connotations of me being a Tenryuubito's daughter. It was not a life of a princess," Yuki-Rin explained. Aki sighed.

"Oh, Yuki-Rin. You can still be a princess, even if it's just for today. Don't you want to get your hair and nails done, dress up in pretty dresses, and have tea and cake with the other ladies-in-waiting?" Aki asked Yuki-Rin, who facepalmed.

"No, Aki, I am not that girl. I'd rather dress in pirate coats, have swordfights, and eat noodle bowls with Kazuma," Yuki-Rin explained bluntly. Aki shrugged.

"Suit yourself. One of these days, I'm going to take you to get a makeover," Aki said.

"Oh, hell no!" Yuki-Rin yelled before she got up and left the room. While walking down the hall, Yuki-Rin bumped into Holden.

"Oh, hey, Yuki-Rin. What's up?" Holden asked Yuki-Rin. Yuki-Rin gave Holden an annoyed sigh.

"Aki's hell-bent on making me a pretty, pretty princess, which will happen over my dead body," Yuki-Rin explained. Holden sighed.

"Well, I can't do anything about that, but I can tell you this," Holden explained as he put his hand on Yuki-Rin's shoulder. "Aki is your friend. All she wants to do is hang out with you, and she wants to do things she likes that you don't necessarily like. So… Just try to bear with her, okay?"

"Okay…" Yuki-Rin said. Holden patted her on the back.

"Don't worry about it. You're not the one who's entering that princess contest, so you're pretty much free to do whatever until we have to go see Aki compete," Holden explained.

"Not just Aki. I have to compete, too."

Heathcliffe approached Yuki-Rin and Holden.

"Why are you competing?" Holden and Yuki-Rin asked together.

"It's a couples' thing. There's a prince and princess section of the contest, and I decided to enter as well. For Aki," Heathcliffe explained as the three re-joined Aki and Hana. "Besides…"

Heathcliffe put his arm around Aki.

"We have nothing to fear now. Aki's family isn't going to mess with us anymore, so… We're free to love each other."

Aki gasped at the realization.

"Oh, Sarutobi-kun… I… I…" Aki stuttered as tears of happiness fell from her eyes. "I didn't realize that we aren't the star-crossed lovers anymore. We're free. We can be lovers and nobody would stop us! I love you, Sarutobi-kun!"

Aki began crying.

"Aki, don't cry! Shouldn't you be happy?" Heathcliffe asked Aki.

"I… I am happy. I'm so glad that we can love each other," Aki said with a smile before she grabbed Heathcliffe and gave him a passionate kiss.

A couple of hours later, the Capricorns were in the audience of the princess contest.

"Okay, whose idea was it that we'd all go to a princess contest?!" Rubio asked everyone.

"We're all here to support Aki, even though half of our crew consists of men," Showtarou explained.

"Well, I'm sorry, Showtarou, but this is totally not manly," Kazuma explained.

"Yeah, it's not," Gareth said in agreement.

"Well, if you don't like this kind of stuff, then leave," Hana stated.

"We can't leave!" Holden and Soren cried.

"Why is that?" Hana asked. But, before Holden or Soren could answer, the announcer cut them off.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please give it up for prince and princess #5… Prince Heathcliffe Sarutobi and Princess Aki Chung-Feng!"

Aki and Heathcliffe walked onto the stage, and the Capricorns' jaws dropped. Aki was dressed in a bright pink gown with silver high-heels, white opera gloves, and a princess tiara, while Heathcliffe was dressed in a white tuxedo with a black tie.

"No way! Heathcliffe's seriously in this?!" Enlai cried.

"I never knew he had it in him!" Wolfgang commented.

"Well, you've gotta hand it to Heathcliffe. He's doing it for his love for Aki. They have nothing to fear now since Aki's family can't do anything about her future now," Kartik explained. Onstage, Heathcliffe and Aki smiled as they grabbed their hands, causing the audience to cheer.

"That was Prince Heathcliffe Sarutobi and Princess Aki Chung-Feng!"

The audience cheered, with the Capricorns cheering the loudest.

"Win for us, baby bro!" Holden and Soren yelled as the rest of the contestants walked onto the stage.

"And, now, we would like to crown the princess and the queen of our princess festival. Our princess of the Princessa Island Princess Festival is… Saint Ninamori!"

Two girls then crowed a seven-year old girl with black hair in two pigtails and black eyes. She wore a red dress with a Tenryuubito's cloak over it. As soon as the princess crown touched her head, Saint Ninamori ran off crying.

"And, our queen of the contest is…"

Everyone grew silent, waiting to hear who won.

"Aki Chung-Feng!"

Yet again, the audience cheered loudly, with the Capricorns cheering the loudest.

"She did it! She did it!" Hana yelled.

"That's… That's my baby brother!" Soren said before he began to cry happily. The Capricorns (and anybody sitting within a two-foot radius near them) sweatdropped. "What?! His girlfriend won, which means that my baby brother is king of this contest!"

A few minutes later, the Capricorns were celebrating Aki and Heathcliffe's win at a busy restaurant.

"Cheers to victory!" Yuki-Rin yelled.

"Cheers!" The Capricorns yelled as they toasted their drinks.

"This is the life. I've got my brothers, my nakama, and my girlfriend with me, and nothing can go wrong. Everything is okay," Heathcliffe said.

"Yep. It's as if we stopped getting into everyones' business and decided to just relax for a while," Yuki-Rin added.

"Here, here! Eat, drink, and be merry now, since we may not get to do this later!" Kazuma added. An hour later…

"Man, I'm stuffed! I can't eat another bite!" Enlai commented.

"Wait until dessert comes, then we'll talk," Wolfgang said sternly.

"Dessert? No way?" Gareth said, sounding sleepy. "I don't think I can stay awake to dessert."

"What are you talking – " Wolfgang asked before he fell to the ground and fell asleep. Enlai walked over and checked Wolfgang's pulse.

"He's still alive. What do we do?" Enlai asked the Capricorns.

"Well, for now, all we have to do is just remain calm and –" Ageha explained before she fell asleep.

"Man! That's two people in a row! What's up with –" Heathcliffe asked everyone before he fell asleep face-first into his food.

"Uhh… Baby bro, wake up, please," Holden said as he shook Heathcliffe. But, he and Soren fell asleep on top of Heathcliffe.

"Sarutobi-kun?" Aki asked, stifling a yawn. The next thing she knew, was that she was also asleep.

"Man! Everyone's dropping like flies!" Hana commented as Capricorns all around them went to sleep.

"Are they trying to poison us?" Yuki-Rin asked Hana.

"I don't think so, but I feel really sleepy. Night-night," Hana said before she put her glasses in her pocket and put her head on the table. Yuki-Rin sighed.

"Good grief," Yuki-Rin commented before she lied down on the ground and fell asleep.

Ending Note: I've noticed that I've been staying up late to write and update the previous chapters. This became really ironic as of the end of this chapter where all of the Capricorns fall asleep.

Since we know that the Capricorns were most likely kidnapped, please review. Reviews are their ransom money right now.