The Greatest Treasure

by Cosmic Sky

In her life, Francis Drake had pilfered many great treasures. So, it was nothing but ironic when she realized that the one she valued the most hadn't exactly been stolen. He'd simply walked into her life and remained there. Ritsuka was many things she wasn't, but he was hers. She wouldn't give him up for all the gold in the world. He likewise wouldn't trade her for anything else.

Hello, everyone. This one's coming a bit latter than I wanted, but it's still summer, thus I can finally get this one out of the way. As promised, the leading lady this time is entirely new, Francis Drake! I got a few requests to do her a while ago and promised that I would eventually get around to her. Being a pirate and heavily associated with the sea, I figured why not do her around summer time; it took me a while but I've finally worked my way to her, and thus here is her long-awaited lemon. I hope you all enjoy it! This one's going to be pretty lewd since Drake is a sultry woman and this being themed around pirates and the sea, I'm going to go a little buck wild.

I do not own anything.

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The Greatest Treasure

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For anyone with a lick of common sense, it was preferable not to touch what belonged to a pirate. It was a mistake that could prove fatal, and indeed, had proven fatal to countless people throughout the history of mankind. Piracy was an age-old thing; it'd existed as long as sailing had. There were those who believed that it was take or be taken from, kill or be killed. The law of the so-called jungle was also the law of the sea, which was a merciless and unforgiving thing. Danger could come from any direction, and that included from one's fellow man. There were no laws out on the open water, and that meant if one fancied something, it was either take it or watch it sail away. Pirates didn't do that. Pirates saw something they wanted and they took it, simple as that. Try to take it back? Well, pirates didn't just give back what they'd claimed as theirs easily.

It all seemed so simple, maybe because that's what it had became for Drake. That's how it'd been for most of her life. No doubt it hadn't been easy, but it'd been the life she'd lived. The life she'd say that she succeeded at.

Given new albeit temporary life as a Servant, she'd continued that way of life without any interruptions. Not even the fast of the humankind had changed that. Well, not mostly.

Drake didn't want to say that too much had changed. She'd stuck to her code and her way of life as a point of pride.

So why? Why did she feel such new, unbridled rage at the sight before her? Why did she squeeze her flintlocks with such fury that the triggers themselves threaten to break under the pressure?

The answer was seemingly quite simple-one didn't steal from a pirate and expect to get away with it. Not with their lives.

Her magic bullets left trails of fiery smoke as they barreled toward their target. To her chagrin, the shots were deflected, but that didn't stop Drake. She squeezed the triggers again, and again, more shots flew from her magical firearms. Once again, they were deflected.

Twirling his cutlass, the target of her ire, laughed. It was a booming, mocking sound that filled her blood with more fiery fury than what was already coursing through her. Forget the gold and jewels that surrounded them, silencing that voice would be her true prize. She would utterly relish it. Unfortunately, with every passing second that was proving harder said than done.

"Hmm, if you want, Drake, we could take a little break. Give you some time to catch your breath. After all, the eyesight is amongst the first things to go."

"Shut up, bastard! Shut the fuck up and fall!" Square-shaped rifts in space appeared behind her, and from them emerged the cannons of her Golden Hind. Though unseen, the fuses on each cannon was lit, and once they ran out each exploded in thunderous cannon fire. They seemingly filled up the entire chamber, smoke rising toward the cavern ceiling. She watched their payloads speed toward their target, the hope that they'd blow him to bits high in her heart.

Sadly, those hopes were dashed, cut to pieces just like the cannonballs by her opponent's cutlass. Her trained eyes saw him draw one of his own pistols and aim it at her. Her ears rung with the familiar pop of a flintlock going off. Drake saw the bullet coming at her and rolled to the side, her cannons, and her own flintlock firing. Her adversary swung his cutlass creating a sweeping veil of red energy as it cut through the air. To her ire, the veil protected him from all her attacks. Drake's teeth gnashed as she broke into a sprint, still firing all her guns at her opponent.

"Getting desperate, huh?" Roared the opposing pirate. "Well, don't worry, Drake! You'll be joining your first mate in hell together!"

"No thanks, you'll be going first!" Reaching into one of her portals she pulled out an entire cannon, the fuse lit just like all the others. Drake knew she had only seconds before it went off, but those seconds were all she needed to get into position. Holding it with one hand, she reached behind her back for one of her many bombs, lighting it with her magical energy and then throwing it. She watched her opponent's wicked face twist into a smile. He probably thought that he had her beat, only a mere smoke bomb being the best she could do. Oh, how wrong he was.

The male pirate's grin changed into a frown, and then finally to a scream of shocked outrage as the arcs of lightning tore into him. Though his cutlass didn't fall from his grip, it was no good as his body was seized with paralyzing lightning. The screams he made as he struggled to regain control of his body was sweet music to Drake's ears, though she had every intention of making them louder; her feet finally slid to a stop as she jammed her cannon straight into her opponent's stomach. She looked straight into his bright blue eyes and saw the rage intermix with a silver of fear. Grinning, Drake watched his entire ugly vestige vanish in a plum of smoke and lightning as her cannon went off. Though she was pushed back herself, the Englishwoman didn't mind. Her opponent was hurled several dozen feet, all the way to the other end of the chamber. The whole place shook as he made impact, the energized lightning striking out in all directions, no doubt thanks to the abundance of water around them. After all, this was a subterranean island cave.

Drake turned away from the spectacle, her eyes immediately homing in on the fallen form of her first mate. "Ritsu-" she got no more than two-thirds of his name before her senses alerted her to danger. Turning around, she had just enough time to throw up her hands in defense-the only defense she could manage. This time, she was the one sent flying through the air. Her arms hurt as blood sipped from the lacerations on the forearms. Still, the good news was that her arms were still attached, not to mention they were still usable.

"Well, I'll be damned! That was a neat little trick with the power of lightning. I'm sure that it wasn't your own idea though. No, you're far too stupid to come up with such amazing contraptions, Drake. I'm sure that their invention was this young lad's." To her ire, aside from a few singe marks and some blood trickling down his lips, her attack seemed to have done little damage. The six-foot figure of her opponent loomed over her, cutlass in one hand and in the other…her Master. Drake forced herself up and took him at him only to stop as she realized there was a possibility she'd hit Ritsuka, which was the last thing she wanted. Such hesitation didn't go unnoticed. Cackling, her opponent threw their head back, his pirate hat somehow managing to stay on despite the downward tilt. It wasn't the first defiance of physics that she'd seen, hell, her own clothing tended to defy physics as well.

"Let him go and I'll make your death quick," Snarled the Rider-class Servant.

"A quick death? That's the best you can offer me, Drake?" Asked her adversary with mock disappointment. "Come on, you can do better than that. Surely, I've earned your respect by now, Captain Drake."

"What you've earned is my fury, you bastard upstart!" Shouted the scar-faced woman. "Now, I won't ask again, release him! Do it now or God help me, I'll make you regret ever being born!"

Her threat did nothing but cause the younger pirate to roar in laughter. Drake hated this. She hated this sense of power that her opponent held over her, all because of one person. As much as she wanted to hate Ritsuka, she couldn't. There was no way that she could hate him, and there was absolutely no way she was going to let him die here. He'd survived too much for it to end her, not to mention he still had a promise to her to keep.

Not that her opponent knew any of this, but he'd correctly guessed that he was special to her. Special beyond just what a first mate was to a sea-faring captain. It meant that there was no way that he was going to let Ritsuka go unless she forced him to, and that wasn't going to be easy. But it was doable.

The man's gaze moved from Drake to the Japanese youth he held in his left hand. His grip on Ritsuka's throat wasn't a strangle hold, but it could easily become such if he was incited. Blood leaked from the wound in the boy's lower left side, forming a small puddle beneath him. Drake eyed with concern. While not the gravest wound he'd suffered, she knew she was going to have to do something about it. It was definitely going to limit his mobility before it was properly treated.

"I've know his kind before," remarked the male pirate. "They may not look impressive on the surface, but they are true diamonds in the ruff. It's not wonder that one such as him managed to defeat the Demon Pillars and stop Goetia's foolhardy plan. He is everything we humans aspire to be." The genuine respect he'd spoken of Ritsuka with changed to mocking laughter as he shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sorry, humans excluding us. After all, Drake, we left humanity behind a while ago, didn't we?"

The Servant merely gnashed her teeth at the statement, not exactly an untruth. While she may have looked the same as she did in life, Drake knew she wasn't human. Not anymore. Though she had no divine or demonic blood coursing through her, no unique lineage that granted her a form other than humanoid, she was a Servant, a spirit by familiar, a spirit. In a few ways she as similar to her enemy. Both of them were spirits, lingering spirits whose time had long since came and gone. Nothing about them had changed though, they still lived the same as they did hundreds of years ago. But that style of living had been different. While Drake may have called herself a villain, she truly didn't have the heart of one. Not like the man who stood in front of her.

Thomas Morley had been what many including herself called a pirate prodigy. He was cunning, charismatic, capable, and most importantly ruthless. While Drake remembered how she'd once praised that ruthlessness, in the back of her mind she always knew it wasn't a good sign. Morley had a ruthless streak that allowed him to exorcise cruelty that she was never a fan of. Sadly, it was coupled with a sharp intelligence that allowed him to stay one step ahead of his enemies and rivals, for a time anyway.

"I'll be taking him as part of my crew, Drake."

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE! HE'S MINE, YOU THIEVING BASTARD!" Her thunderous shout seemed to shake the entire chamber, a massive subterranean room that lay below the island. It was rather fitting for it served as the resting place of lost treasures, a mound of which stood behind Morley. He wasn't interested in that treasure though, at least not anymore. He already had a Holy Grail with him, with it he could probably incarnate himself and be on his merry way, but no, he'd stumbled upon another, just as valuable piece of booty. Perhaps it was even more valuable than the Grail itself. It, or rather he, certainly was to Drake.

"If you want him so badly, Drake, then come at me and take him back!" Howled the blond, raising his empowered cutlass."

"How's about you just go back to hell." The name caught both pirates off-guard. Simultaneously, their gazes shifted to its owner-the supposed comatose human boy.

Drake watched him produce something from his right sleeve, a tight wrapped spear with one of his land's symbols written on it. Upon recognizing it, she managed to close her eyes just in time.

The flash bomb went off, filling up the entire chamber with its blinding payload. For a split second, all the tense standoff was utterly broken as all the combatants in the underground chamber were paralyzed by the blinding light. Ironically, it was the physically weakest one of the three who recovered first, and made the most use of the blinding light.

Drake heard the sound of a pain-filled gasp from Morley-something had slammed into his abdomen thus knocking the air out of him. She heard the echo of more blows that followed, punches and kicks that all found their mark unlike her bullets. Though a part of her felt annoyed, the pride and joy she felt in Ritsuka far outweighed the damage delt to her own pride. She wasn't too surprised-Ritsuka had a knack for surprising everyone from his enemies to his allies. It was part of his charm as a Master and as an ally.

Amidst Morley's pain-filled screams, she caught her Master's voice calling out to her. "Drake, aim straight ahead!"

Without hesitation, she summoned another cannon, this one loaded with conventional but more powerful round. This time there wasn't going to be any secondary side effects, she was just going to blow Morley to smithereens, pure and simple.

Boom!

The chamber shook again as another cannon roared to life, expelling its payload straight at the cutlass-wielding pirate. While Drake couldn't see, she knew where her target was positioned thanks to her first mate. She heard the impact and took further relish Morley's scream of agony as he was again blasted into the wall. As the flash receded, Drake scoured the nearby area for Ritsuka. Upon spotting him, she dismissed her cannon and ran toward him, calling out his name.

Seeing his somewhat pale but still lively face brought elation to Drake's once raging soul. It was akin to happening upon a treasure mound, that's what his smiling face was to her.

"Sorry if I worried you." He offered while moving his hands to his abdomen wound.

Her cheeks flushed pink as she realized that he'd been faking unconsciousness far longer than shed' realized. How much she'd heard, Drake could only wonder. Either way, her bravado rose to shield her. "Worried? Over you? Hah! Don't be silly! I just wanted to make sure you didn't croak before your time! Not that I was worried that something as petty as this would be enough to do you in!" Despite her words, she'd steadily moved in front of Ritsuka, shielding him with her much tougher body. As damaging as that combination of attacks were, she knew that Morley wasn't down for the count yet-Drake could feel it in her bones.

She was proven right as he slowly emerged from the crater in the wall he'd made. A nice-sized burn occupied his abdomen where her cannonball had hit him. It should have been a massive, smoking hole, and he shouldn't have been on his feet in the first place, not after that. Naturally, she trained her flintlocks on him, ready to ensure her next shots indeed blow some holes in his body, or blew his head off. Yes, she knew that her next shots had to be focused on his head, it was the most definitive way to bring him down.

"Like I said…the kid's a remarkable example of human spirit. I want him for my crew." Morley's hat had fallen off, exposing his sun-kissed blond hair. Drake remembered how he'd steadily grown from a strapping young land into a rather handsome man. Those features hadn't been lost, but she knew those good looks belayed a shark's savagery. Such savagery was on display as he lifted his head up and grinned at them. "Ritsuka Fujimaru," he addressed.

Said boy shook his head. "Sorry, but I've already sworn service to a captain, and I'm pretty happy with her." Pulling his hands away, he held up his hands, summoning forth a red spear that glistened with a spark of red lightning around the tip. Drake knew that the spear wouldn't quite be as deadly in the teen's hands as they would be in Ireland's Child of Light, but it would still see great use. It had already seen great use, just as the Witch of Dún Scáith had predicted when she bequeathed the spear onto him.

Dammit all, you're the one with dominion over the dead, why couldn't you have kept this bastard fastened to the afterlife like you should have? It was a complaint she had a feeling she wouldn't voice to Scáthach herself, at least not with the expectation of an answer. Drake muzzled her frustration in favor of remaining focused on the task at hand. She could sense that Morley had something planned, so could Ritsuka. He was doing well being the recipient of his maniacal grin. Drake hated it though; she utterly hated the way he was looking at Ritsuka like he was a prized jewel to be pilfered.

"You're aware of how pirates operate, aren't you, boy?" The blond called. Ritsuka remained serious faced, his gaze never wavering from the enemy before them. Drake didn't break her glare either.

"You're not going to kill her; I won't let you." He retorted with ice-cold determination.

Morley shook his head, still cackling like he was in on some kind of joke. "Never say never, boy. A lot can happen out on the high seas, especially when you're far off the map! There'd be monsters!" His once bright blue eyes morphed into eerie green, glowing with otherworldly light that Drake recognized to be the work of sorcery. With the transformation of his eyes, the rest of his body followed, much to Drake's horror.

Oh God, WHY?! She bemoaned watching her opponent's form change from humanoid to ghostly, literally. His flesh faded away, becoming replaced with wisps of shadowy smoke that covered bones. Rotting bones that made up his body. Drake made the mistake of looking at his face, now a skinless skull lacking any organic features. Where once were his eyes were now merely the glowing green light of the supernatural. They shined like a ghostly light in a dark abyss. An abyss that was slowly growing, spreading out to consume everything around them. The light glowed brighter as Drake found herself rapidly becoming lost in it.

Give up. Give up Give up Give up…Francis. You cannot win this. You cannot fight…your fate!

"N-No…n-no…no. I-I…I-I c-can…I-I-I can't…I-I-I won't…I…I…" She could feel the strength draining from her arms and legs. The former caused her arms to wobble, not helping her already faltering aim. "T-T-This…c-c-c-can't be real!"

"Can't be real? Come now, Francis…you know that this is as real as it gets. You're here on the doorstep to the next world. You can hear it, can't you, my dear? It beckons to you? The souls of the dead beckon to you! All around you!" Came Morley's echoing voice. It no longer sounded human, fitting as he'd finally dropped the guise that he was still human.

Despite not being technical human herself, Drake was feeling a very real human emotion-fear. It was unbecoming of a pirate, but even pirates had things they feared. Drake certainly did, and what she feared was rising all around her, carried by a wave of darkness that had overflowed from Morley.

"NO! NO! NONE OF YOU ARE REAL!" She yelled. There was no coordination in how she waved her arms about, plus, she couldn't even find the strength in her to pull the trigger.

"THEN WHY DO YOU TREMBLE IN SUCH FEAR, RIDER OF THE STORM?" Barked the specters as they encircled her. "SURRENDER TO YOUR FEAR! SURRENDER AND BECOME ONE OF US!"

"Francis!"

The two voices almost overlayed with each other, one as unearthly as possible and the other quite mortal, filled with panic and concern for her. Its owner tackled her to the ground just in time as one of the specters shot out like a spectral cannonball. If she'd still been standing Drake would have taken its attack from behind, and she dared not imagine what kind of damage that would have done. A fierce voice screamed that she'd find out if she didn't pull it together. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. All around her, Drake heard the ghostly wails, the calls from the specters that were unfortunately real.

And worse, they were calling out to her.

Terror had seeped into every portion of her body. It'd paralyzed her, quelling the once roaring fire that had surged through her. The blood in her veins might as well have been ice, and its coldness had frozen the rest of her body.

"Do you see, Ritsuka Fujimaru? Is this the captain you want to serve? Is this one of the Servants that you're so proud of? Is this whom you want beside you?" Came Morley's mocking voice from beyond the spectral storm. Normally, Drake would have a passionate rebuttal on her tongue and in her flintlocks, but this time she just laid flat, still keeping her head down for fear of the ghostly maelstrom she was now caught in. "You can do better than this, Ritsuka Fujimaru! You deserve better!"

"Will you shut the hell up!" Shouted back the teenager. Finding a modicum of strength, Drake dared to look up. After pushing her to the ground to protect her, she saw Ritsuka was on his feet, twirling his Gáe Bolg with incredible skill. For a split second, she was reminded of the spear's two most iconic wielders, both of whom had taken the time to train Ritsuka. It showed in his twirling of the red lance, and in the undoubted determination in his eyes. He swatted aside every phantom that came his way, ignoring its ghostly wail as it came at him. Drake noticed how he seemed to be searching the darkness for something, his eyes constantly shifting from one side to another. What was he looking for?

"I'm only speaking the truth, lad! Look at the woman cowering at your feet! Isn't she supposed to be protecting you?" Called the phantasmal pirate. "Isn't this disgraceful behavior for a Servant!"

A ghostly face came shooting out at Ritsuka from his left. Drake shouted out its direction, concern for her Master overriding her fear. Heeding her words, Ritsuka struck his spear in that direction, scattering the specter into wisps of harmless black smoke. Seeing it gave Drake a little boost of confidence. With it, her eyes looked further up and fell on Ritsuka's face.

She suddenly remembered when they first met, what seemed like a life time ago. Back then, he was exactly where she was, hugging the ground in a total panic as the world fell into chaos. No, looking back, Drake bemoaned how her now-Master had more dignity than her. What quickly came to her mind though was how he found it in him to rise up, figuratively and literally. Gunfire and smoke were everywhere, death a heartbeat away, yet he got to his feet and did what needed to be done. He'd fought through impossible odds to claim the Holy Grail, knowing that the fate of mankind rested on his shoulders. To her, a villain of history, it was the epitome of heroic. That heroic spirit had always been there, and after so many adventures and tribulations, it shined brighter than ever. It shined even in the darkness of the dead. It inspired allies and won the begrudging respect of enemies, including her.

"Francis," he called out, his voice breaking through the storm veil. She stared at it in complete awe, her once fearful heart now racing in serene excitement. "I need you on your feet. I need you to cover me."

That was it, no big or impassioned speech like one might have expected. She certainly remembered reading about such things in stories, and she'd have expected such from someone as gallant at her formerly inept Master. His short but firm plea to her could be seen as another testament to how far he'd come.

Likewise, the surge of strength his words inspired in her caused Drake to rise. She was back on her feet before she'd even realized it. Not that she was complaining, and she certainly wasn't seeing the smile her arisen state had brought to his face. Drake felt her lips curving into a smile as one, one fueled by the accelerated beating of her heart. She was all too aware of it, and the implications behind it.

Christ…of all the times and places, and of all the people. Well, he did beat me before, and since then he's only grown so much. He's…Ritsuka…

BLAM!

Her smile turned from emotional to cocky as she hoisted her left arm, flintlock pistol at the ready. "Got a plan, huh? Well, get to it! I'll give you all the cover you need, Master!" The boisterous pride had returned to her voice. Her fingers squeezed the trigger; the familiar feeling of excitement rushed through her, and it felt great. Almost as great as feeling Ritsuka's back gently pressing against hers. The second she felt them touch, Drake felt a bolt of excitement shot through her. Urgh, unbelievable! I'm turning into some love-struck maiden all because of his presence!

With her focus realigned, she was able to predict where each ghost was coming from. Wherever they came from, they were meant with a shot from her flintlocks, dispersing into whisps of smokey darkness. Drake had to admit, it felt good doing so, a little bit of pay back for the terror they'd inflicted upon her. Now, if only she could get a lock on Morley. Even if her shots weren't quite as effective on him, it'd still feel damn good filling him up with a few balls of lead.

Through the cyclone, she caught what looked to be a figure moving through the shadows. While she'd shoot at it, her shots would either be deflected or hit nothing but rock. It was frustrating and she was about to ask Ritsuka if he was finished with whatever he was planning when she noticed him watching the shadows as well. Her mouth split open as she noticed the turquoise-colored lines racing up his cheeks and crossing his eyes, which glowed a brighter shade. She knew it wasn't just reinforcement magic, it was something more…colorful.

"Found him?" She coyly called.

His face remained serious as he steadily moved his head from the side. "…Just…give me…a-"

"Hold that thought!" Drake yelled, summoning an array of cannons around them. It was needed as multiple shadowy faces manifested in the maelstrom; an omnidirectional attack that called for a greater counter attack. She had that in spades. "Cursed specters!" The British Servant cursed as each cannon fired, their payload smashing into each of the specters and dispelling them. White-colored smoke mixed with black, surrounding the pair in an eerie cocoon. Both kept their guard as they waited for it to disperse. "Ritsuka?"

"There!" he yelled. Not exactly the answer she was expecting, but she was more than happy to take it. Drake watched him fling his spear, cackling with red lightning, with all the skill of a professional javelin thrower. He probably counted as one given the numerous skilled and downright legendary spear users he'd trained under. That training showed in how he hit his mark, the loud thunk! echoing through the chamber.

The legendary sailor's eyes went to where it'd landed, her jaw dropping as she watched the shadows disperse. As it did, what was revealed was a…kind of lizard, clearly a Phantasmal Beast of some sort. It squirmed and howled in agony as its power was disrupted by spear lodged into its abdomen. Drake noticed one unique detail regarding its flailing tail-it was shaped by a lantern. Instead of light, it was giving off darkness, emphasis on was. As whatever passed for life force within the creature perished, its shadow powers faded with it. Like mist, the darkness was dispersed, revealing the cavern walls around them.

"Hah…hahahahahah!" The Englishwoman laughed watching the creature's last moments of life. "Damn! You're getting better and better!" No sooner had she spoken did her senses kick in, alerting her to a new threat.

"Makes me want him even more!" Drake raised her arms up just in time to block the cutlass that would have split her head in half. Even with that defense, she felt her arms groan in discomfort. While she wasn't overtly strong, she wasn't weak either; unfortunately, Morley was stronger than her none the same. Surprising considering he was nothing but bones and darkness. "Well met, Drake, but are you sure you want to keep on tangling with me? We both know you can sale the high seas just fine, but you quiver like a child on stranger tides!"

He was right. Looking at him now, an unholy ghost, Drake felt her knees beginning to wobble. His maniacal grin, nothing but rotten teeth and seeping shadows, only made the pull of fear all the stronger. He knew how horrifying he looked to her, and he pressed that advantage for all it was worth.

"Just give up and let me have the boy, he's finer than you deserve…woman." Morley snarled.

In a split second, her resolve was found and seized. "You may be right, he deserves better than me, but YOU AREN'T TAKING HIM, YOU BASTARD UPSTART!" Strength surged into her arms, she used it to fend Morley off. He seemed stunned, then outraged at her defiance. Drake saw him moving his left hand, holding a flintlock, at her. She reached for her own, knowing this was going to be a tense shoot off-just the kind she liked.

BLAM!

"Gah!" Shouted the skeletal pirate, his left arm, or pieces of it, scattering in all directions. Along with his flintlock, which miraculously didn't go off. Seizing on her opportunity, she took her shot, nailing Morley in the face. "You damned bitch!" It would have been the perfect time to kick him in the groan, a favored tactic of hers, but since he had no groan, it wouldn't do much. So, Drake settled for shooting him in the face a second time. Sure, it didn't do much, but damn did it make Drake feel good.

Turning to her left, she grinned at the sight of her Master smiling back at her, and holding one of her flintlock pistols to boot! Drake temporarily flashed back to those times she'd taught him how to shoot using them. The boy had never been around firearms in his life, and it showed, but he'd grown used to them, especially as he hung around her. All those hours of training had paid off in that one, glorious moment.

"Drake, I think I know how to stop him!"

"Really? Great, because this has gone on long enough! A-A-And not the least bit because I'm scared!"

"I never said that." Ritsuka grinned. "I know you're scared, and you've pulled it together to kick some ghostly ass."

Drake could feel her cheeks blushing beat red, not helped by her Master's all too wide grin. He knew exactly what kind of effect his words were going to have on her, and he enjoyed watching it play out. "Damn, when did you get so cheeky?"

"You spent so much time trying to help me build up my confidence. Are you complaining that it actually worked?" Ritsuka cooly shot back. As she playfully shrugged, he reached into one of his back pockets, one of several in fact. Drake kept her eyes on their surroundings instead of watching him. Morley was still out there, and he was no doubt sufficiently pissed after their combination attack. This game was reaching its conclusion.

"You think you can defeat me, boy? How, how mistaken you are!" Came Morley's angered voice. Drake tracked it to the center of the chamber, where a locked-up chest lay, their original prize. He raised his sword up, and from it plumes of darkness erupted all around them. Without hesitation, Drake opened fire on each, blowing apart the skeletal monsters as they began to take shape. Even if they were to reform, it'd take time.

"Damned bastards! Just stay dead!" The pink-haired woman yelled while firing in all directions.

"Hypocrite!" One of the skeletal wraiths shouted back at her.

"Liar!"

"Pretender!"

"Scoundrel!"

"Yes to the liar, yes to the scoundrel, but I am no pretender!" Drake retorted, her ire overriding her fear.

"You call yourself a villain, but you are not villain, Drake." Sneered Morley. "You never had the heart to truly embrace being a pirate."

While her portal cannons roared, the sea-faring Servant turned her attention to her chief adversary. Her anger reached its zenith, yet it did not burn as hot as a burning ship. It was as cold as the northern waters. The venom in her voice was just as frigid, it seemed to seep into her pistols as she leveled them at Morley. "We had standards, Thomas."

"You speak to me of standards after what you did?! Especially in the name of our motherland! Is that supposed to make it justifiable!" The former blond screamed.

Drake didn't respond. Any words by this point would be nothing but a waste…not to mention a part of her somewhat feared getting into this combative argument with her former crewmate. She wore the label of villain with pride…but her supposed villainy had been outmatched by those of several she knew. People whom she had nothing but disgust and even hatred for. They were pirates like her…but Drake fully believed some of them were monsters. She knew people thought the same as her, but she wasn't like them. She wasn't like the true monster that stood before her.

She wasn't like that. She wasn't.

"Francis," again, the use of her first name surprised her. The call penetrated to the depths of her soul, driving away the creeping shadows. She looked to her left, spying Ritsuka staring back at her with determination in his eyes. Determination and acceptance, the likes of which Drake told herself she'd never need. "You ready?" His right hand gripped her left, she felt the surge of prana flowing straight into her. It manifested as sparks of golden lightning that was funneled into the barrel of her flintlock. The heat was palpable.

"Damn right, I am!" She yelled as she pulled the trigger. The lightning-infused shot went straight for Morley, who simply sneered at it. Despite its speed, he saw it coming, and he acted in the most direct way possible-swinging his sword at it.

And that proved to be a fatal mistake.

The second his spectral blade came into contact with the bullet, the lightning exploded over his skeletal form. Morley's mouth stretched open in a new scream; for the second time he was paralyzed by bolts of lightning that tore through his spiritual form. The lightning tearing through him wasn't normal, Drake could sense that from several feet away. It was the sort that interacted with malevolent spirits like Morley; it was just what they needed.

"Alright, now we hit him with these." Ritsuka's right hand rose and in it Drake saw a set of coins, golden coins. She immediately knew they'd came from some treasure trove, likely ancient treasure.

The pieces clicked a heartbeat latter leading her to grab at the coins. "These are-"

"The Aztec gold that Morley and his crew had in life? The thing that they used to turn themselves into immortal spirits? Yeah. Took some digging, but Quetzy managed to help me find some."

"Oh, I'd kiss you now if we didn't have a ghost to send back to hell! Maybe later!" To her glee, she saw his cheeks explode into crimson. It made her regret her next choice of words. "So, how do we use them to put that bastard down?"

His expression turned grim and focused, looking back to the stunned ghost. "I ram these coins into his chest, then you blast him to hell."

"Him or the coins, which I'm assuming will bind his spirit to them?" She felt a bead of sweat roll down her brow. Drake had been afraid he was going to do something reckless with those coins, and she was right. "Just make sure you're able to get out of the way in time."

"Come on, it's me? It's not like it's the first time I've done something crazy like this!" He'd taken off before he'd even finished. Ritsuka had always been able to run, and his speed had only increased-the wonders of continuously running for your life. Of course, he still wasn't fast enough to out speed her eyes. Ironically, that just made the next several seconds even scarier.

Ritsuka was on Morley in moments, jammed the set of coins into his chest, being just a skeleton, that was rather easy to do. Once the coins were in, the magic within them exploded outward, ensnaring Morley's spiritual body in its hold. Even his mouth was frozen leaving only a formless scream to rip through his lips. She watched her Master jump to the side, throwing his arms up in preparation for what he knew was coming. Drake summoned several cannons, all trained on the same target. Along with her flintlock, they simultaneously fired at their sole target. What followed was undoubtedly the biggest blast yet, shaking the chamber to the point cracks spread from the walls up to the ceiling.

Drake's eyes moved upward as several of those cracks caused pieces of the ceiling to come down. "Oh shit. Guess I overdid it."

"Better you overdid it than underperformed!" Ritsuka shouted. The sound of his voice told her that he was mercifully unharmed.

Turning back to her front, she saw the smoke dispersing to reveal Morley, now buried deep in the wall. Though he was still standing, his ghostly body was beginning to distengrated, she could see it breaking apart bit by bit. Still, he locked eyes with her and Drake saw he still had some fun left in him.

"Fuck…you. Fuck…you, ya'…infernal…bitch." He snarled. Behind him, the spider-web cracks continued to fan out, spreading further along the walls. "I'll…I will…have my revenge. It's…inevitable that…we'll see each other in…the Wild Hunt." His grimace turned into a malevolent smirk that made her skin crawl. "Remember…you can…sail the seven seas all you want, you know where your journey ends. It ends with the rest of us!"

Pieces of debris began to cascade down her shoulders. She felt the shaking of the ground beneath her feet as water splashed against her legs. It grew higher by the minute. The chamber's structural integrity had been reached and there was only one outcome left.

"You may be right, but that end hasn't come today, and sure as hell not by your hands, Morley." Drake spat in a merciless voice as she leveled her pistol at his chest.

Before she could pull the trigger, Morley laughed, his final stab at her. "Maybe, but it'll happen eventually. When it happens, you'll have lost everything, including that treasure of yours that you cherish so much. The look on your face when you-"

BLAM!

He crumbled away completely from the chest outward. He did so smiling, which made Drake gnash her teeth in frustration. It was foolish as she knew sometimes the enemy got the last laugh, but Drake still hated it. She was mere seconds from launching into a fiery retort at the mass of ashes that used to be her enemy before she felt a hand on her shoulder. Already knowing who it was, she turned around, her anger fast fading. She didn't look to the shining golden cup in Ritsuka's hand, she looked to his face. His young, hardened yet warm face. Even as the chamber around them began to collapse, Drake focused solely on Ritsuka's face, a smile of her own forming along her lips.

She had her treasure, now all that was left to do was to make her escape.

Grabbing Ritsuka's hand, she did exactly that. Not a second was lost in pulling him along as they left the collapsing chamber, albeit not exactly how they came in. The stairway they'd taken down had collapsed, but one of the waterways was a different story. Being a pirate, Drake didn't mind getting wet. She especially didn't mind a swim for dear life that got her heart pumping. It was this kind of excitement that she lived for.

Only when she felt the sun on her face did she stop. The same went for Ritsuka, who'd kept pace with her. He was soaking wet like her, and breathing hard. Despite that, he had a smile on his face. Holding his grin, he held up the Holy Grail in his right hand. Its golden shine reflected the afternoon sun's light.

"So, guess we'll be toasting from this thing tonight, huh?"

"Hah! I guess we will! I'll let you be the one to do it since you've earned it." Her mind immediately jumped to what else he'd earned, what else he deserved. Not just for this mission but for all those that had came before. Including his original task of saving human history from annihilation. Surely, he deserved something better than whatever poultry accolades the Magus Association would give him, if they gave any at all.

What he deserved was…

---

Ordinarily, leaving her with a gold shiny cup was a colossal bad idea. Only an absolute fool would have given her such a thing and expected her to give it back. The only way she'd give it up involved violence. At least, that's how it used to be.

As she twirled the mystical object in her hand, Drake found herself totally calm at the eventually parting that would ensue between her and the cup. It didn't feel her heart with as much sorrow as it would have a while ago. Like the seas that she overlooked, her heart was calm, calmer than it should have been.

Pirates don't part with their treasure, that was an ironclad rule. Well, it wasn't as ironclad as one would have believed. Sometimes it was for the best to part with one's loot, particularly when said loot was more trouble than it was worth. A great many pirates had discovered that, at times too late. She'd been fortunate in never making that mistake, but she'd came close. Too close for comfort. The golden cup she toyed with in her hand was one of those pieces of treasure that might have been better left buried. She'd heard stories from the Fuyuki Servants about how it was an object of evil. Other Servants had shared similar tales, memories from their own experiences in Grail Wars that apparently went south. She'd seen with her own eyes that the Grails could be used for great evil.

Perhaps it was only fitting that even after the defeat of the Demon King, a few persisted, scattered throughout sub singularities and the like. A handful lay in the hands of surviving Demon Pillars, others in the hands of beings just as wicked, like Morley.

"I'll…I will…have my revenge. It's…inevitable that…we'll see each other in…the Wild Hunt."

The thought made her tremble in sudden fear. She looked up, almost swearing she could hear the ghostly wails of those damn spirits calling out to her. It was a paranoid fear of hers that some of them lingered on the Golden Hind.

"Well, the good news is aside from you guys, there are no ghosts aboard. Trust me, I triple checked."

"Did you know?"

"I am your first mate, aren't I?

"Hehehe, that you are, and I'll say you've been a damn good first mate, Ritsuka."

The memory brought a smile to her face that blew away the creeping anxiety. It also brought her back to the irony of her existence as a Servant. Technically speaking, she was a ghost, a ghostly projection of the being once known as Francis Drake. All that said, she was Francis Drake as far as she was concerned. So she had the same fears as she had in life. All that said, there were things about this life that were fundamentally different from those of her first. She'd experienced things in this new life she hadn't before.

Groaning, she gripped the golden cup with both hands and brought it to her forehead. The more she thought about her old and life and current life, the more she thought about what changes she'd make to the latter. Naturally, she'd love nothing more than to be reincarnated into flesh and blood. It would have been so easy to make that wish on this grail, or any of the others that Chaldea had locked up in their vault. To that vault this grail would be going, out of her reach, and with it, her dream of reincarnation out of her reach as well.

Well…not unless she got Ritsuka to use one of them on her.

Pulling it away, Drake looked at her own scared reflection in the flawless golden surface. Would he see her as worthy of such a thing? Especially since she made no secret about what she'd do with a-

"Drake?"

"Gah!" To her embarrassment, she fumbled the cup. Her eyes swerved from it to her Master, having just came upon the deck to greet her. His turquoise eyes shifted to the grail, leading Drake to look back at it. Luckily, that focus led her to catching it. She gripped it like the wind itself would try to steal it from her grasp any second. "You know, I blame you for that."

"Me?" he playfully asked.

"Yes, you! You startled me, you little bastard!" She yelled with mock annoyance.

"You've got a sharp sense of hearing, at least when you're sober." The teenager slyly sniped.

She looked back to the cup, a quiet chuckle rising in her throat. "So you know, I wasn't drinking from this thing. I don't see any booze on you, so I'm assuming I won't be drinking anymore tonight. It's probably for the best you don't have anymore either."

"Thanks to a group of certain people, including a certain ship captain, I've built up quite an alcohol tolerance."

"Yes, I'm quite proud of my work." She boasted. This time, she was able to twirl the Golden Grail with all the finesse of a master. Ritsuka joined her by the railing, leaning against it like her and looking out over the reflective waters. The deck was peacefully silent, a far cry from the victory party that had rocked the boat hours earlier. "You've learned not only to hold your liquor, but how to mix and match some rather fine liquor of your own. Oh, the corruption we've heaped upon you, Master."

"Compared to all the things I've learned how to do I think that's a little on the light side. It also means that bar tending is one of the career choices I've got when this is all over." He offered.

"True, but it's a far cry from the one you should go for. You're far too skilled to merely serve drinkers to rowdy strangers." She absent-mindedly said. Drake realized it was too late to take it back when Ritsuka looked to her with slightly widened eyes. Telling someone they could do better wasn't like her, it was more like him. "You've learned how to do far too much, more than just how to fix some nice drinks. Like how to sail." There, that sounded more like her, right?

His surprise melted away into calm joy as he looked back over the sea with her. With such clear waters, the half-moon had a near perfect reflection. "You know, I'd be the first in the family to take a crack at sailing. My grandparents would probably be thrilled that I'm going into shipbuilding."

"Heh, not exactly what I had in mind, but you're just as good of a shipwright as you are a sailor." Chuckling, she lightly jabbed him on the shoulder. "The sea would be likely to have you."

"Just like how Britain was lucky to have you." He replied.

"But of course, I was one of, if not, their greatest sailor."

"Hmm, welling to wedger that against Horatio Nelson?"

Despite her attempt to play it cool, Drake couldn't help but feel a pout dominate her face. "Urgh, don't tell me you're willing to trade me for that one-armed stick in the mud. Fine, I'll admit, he's a great seaman, but I'm clearly the better sailor! I've won Chaldea enough sea battles that you don't have to summon him!" She knew that she was letting her jealously show, Ritsuka's all too obvious smile gave it away. "If we…ran into him, then…urgh, I'll do my best if you end up summoning him."

"By any chance, he wouldn't also have to really been a woman, would he?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

A half humorful left her. "No, no, trust me. He's about as manly as they come despite missing an arm. And before you ask, yes, I encountered him once before. My memories are a little foggy, but it was during a Grail War, whereas would two people like us meet." Her hold on the cup tightened as she further let her walls down. "He beat me, I'm ashamed to say. And he just had to rub salt into the wound, though I suppose it's to be expected. Guy had patriotism oozing out of him the same way Romulus does. He'd also be over the moon being able to meet the Pendragon Twins."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure a lot of Brits would." He agreed.

Turning to him, she grinned. "Especially male Arthur."

Finally, she turned the tables on him. Her Master looked away with a sheepish blush consuming his face. "Look, he's…he's…he's a great guy."

"Uh-huh, I'm sure he is, Master."

"You once told me you thought he was the handsomest boy in armor you'd ever seen."

At first, she laughed off the retort, having no memory of making such a thing and believing he was grasping at straws. As Ritsuka's embarrassment transformed into smugness, Drake realized at some point she had told him that. Her eyes widened as she searched her memory for that moment. In it, she prayed she'd find something-

"You were drunk." He said in a sing-song voice.

"That doesn't help me, Ritsuka!"

"That's all you get." He grinned.

"I'm the captain of this ship, remember!" She yelled. Grinning he held up his left hand, showing the full set of Command Seals that gave him power over her. "You remember the promise I'd made if you ever misused those?"

"Yep, but still, that hint is all you're getting." He answered lowering his arm. Even without them, he was confident enough to verbally spar with her, do a pretty good job at it. She was left once again admiring how far he'd came. "It's not the most embarrassing thing you've said while you were drunk. I mean, probably not in the top five."

"What about top ten?" She jokingly asked. His face became thoughtful as he actually seemed to be considering the possibility. Hearty laughter suddenly burst from her lips; Ritsuka joined her a moment latter leaving them to enjoy the serene moment they now shared. "I'll assume that it was only you I said this to. Even when I'm drunk, I know there's only a few things that I would say to you."

"I've noticed that. Sometimes, even when you're drunk, you seem more…open with me than you normally are around others."

"That's because on some level, I know I can bear everything I am to you, and not be judged for it. You're a saint, Ritsuka, hell, you've had to be one to put up with the lot of us. Especially the likes of Columbus and me."

"Drake," he called, a bit of an edge in his voice. She looked back and saw he'd gotten defensive…over her. He clearly didn't like her mentioning herself in the same breath as the so-called discoverer of the new world, but she knew several uncomfortable truths. As did he, after all, he'd seen glimpses of her memories as he had several other Servants. "What Morley said, it got to you, didn't it?" His tone was solemn, the anger having been replaced by concern.

Drake found herself laughing at it. As she'd suspected, he'd heard a lot of the back and forth between her and Morley. "The Wild Hunt, that parade of ghosts and specters, would you believe that I want nothing to do with it? But it's fated to happen to every incarnation of me?"

"Maybe not every version of you." He offered. "Besides, why do you sound like you're just going to give into it? That's not the Francis Drake that I've come to know and love."

She tried not to think about how her heart furiously beat at the "love" part. Oh, how she hated it, yet a part of her mind couldn't help but race with possibilities. Why did love have to be so complicated? Why did she even have to fall in love? She hadn't before in life, but she'd never met anyone like Ritsuka. To an extent, Drake felt like it was better that way-he was who he was because of the modernized world he'd grown up in. From intelligence to morals, all of which she found oddly appealing. Quite ironic for a hedonist like her; still, the saying went that opposites were sometimes attracted to each other. Surely, she and her Master were opposites, so…was there any chance for them?

He was still looking to her with confusion and worry. Drake believed he'd looked at everyone at least once like that, because that's who Ritsuka was. Be they saint, sinner like her, or something in-between, he treated all his allies like people. Empathy came naturally to him, or perhaps it had started given the number of varied individuals he found himself forced to manager. Her included.

"Suppose I'm getting a wee sentimental now that the voyage is coming to an end." She finally responded. It wasn't entirely false, there was always that melancholy that set in when an exciting journey was nearing its end. "Makes you think about what comes next, and I sadly know what awaits me at the end."

"But what if you were wrong?" Came his impulsive retort. Something about it caught Drake's attention leading her to look at him with mild surprise. He took notice of it and tried to backstep. "I-I mean, you're one of the ones who told me that you never know what lies beyond the horizon until you go see it for yourself."

She couldn't help but give him a sad smirk. "True…but even a go-getter like me has to face facts. I'm not alive in the strictest sense of the word. I'm-"

"What if you could be again?" This time, the outburst nearly stopped her heart cold. Her mind raced with possibilities, all of which were quickly narrowed down to one. As the shock consumed her face, Ritsuka stood before her, resolute as he had been since he came into his own as an adventurer, and a Master of Chaldea. Drake stood there captivated by it, captivated by the young man she'd fallen in love with. It took her a few seconds to realize he wasn't looking at her anymore but the Holy Grail still in her hand.

Once it clinked in her hand, she gave it to him, trembling a little as she did so. It wasn't in denial of giving away such a treasure, it was from the realization of what Ritsuka planned on doing with said treasure.

"I-I'm a pirate!" She suddenly shouted. "I'm a bloodthirsty heathen who'll take to pillaging the high-seas as I once did! A-And I won't be doing it under a national flag!"

All he did was give her a seemingly helpless smile. "Yeah, you probably will, which means I'll have more deaths on my head."

She defiantly shook her head. "No, you won't."

"Drake, if I use a Grail to reincarnate you, whatever you do will be on me." He said with a somewhat stern edge. "It'd be the same if I used it on someone like Jack, Iskandar, or Gorgon."

Her gut tightened at those three names. Jack may have been a child, but she was a killer, one who Britain was utterly loathed to admit was one of their own. She doubted that people would change their opinions of her knowing the truth. Iskandar may have been charming, but he made it no secret that if he were given a second chance at life, he'd try to conquer the world again. His charms could blind one to the fact that he could be quite brutal in his conquest, and his negligence could be just as harmful, as the ruins of Persepolis could attest. Finally there was Gorgon, who…was probably best left returned to the Throne of Heroes, something even her more sane Lancer and Rider selves whole heartedly agreed with. Those were just three of some of the more problematic Servants Ritsuka had managed to wrangle, but was rightfully hesitant to let out into the modern world. Drake knew that she could be counted in that number. After all, she proudly boasted that as a pirate, she was a villain of the world.

Villains weren't supposed to feel this way-regret or hesitation to do the very thing that gave them their reputation, yet here she was.

"I know you're going to say you're on the same level as them, but you're not. And that's not meant to be a dig at them. It's just-"

She regained her footing enough to raise her hand to quell his worries. "It's fine, Ritsuka. Believe me, I understand. Luckily, I can't say I'm motivated to try to reach the levels of carnage those three can get up to once they're motivated, especially Gorgon. I'm a pirate, not a monster…heh, then again, I'm sure that some people would argue there's no difference between the two." Seeing the way his smile brightened, Drake broke into another fit of laughter. "I'm talking about a real pirate like myself."

"You know, history doesn't exactly remember you as a pirate, more like England's greatest privateer." She chuckled at that little reminder. He had a point, even if she wanted to deny it. Plus, being called "the greatest" anything seafaring tickled her ego. "Look, I know that you'll do your own thing, and…people will likely die from it, but I'd still choose you. This is me being selfish, isn't that something else you told me to be from time to time so I don't have any regrets?"

Beyond her giggles, her cheeks flushed red. She never would have imagined that he'd turn her words on her. Oh, Shakespeare, thank the Lord you're not here, and that you'll never know of this. The irony will stay forever between Ritsuka and I. Likewise… "I did give you that advice. Regret can kill a person as surely as bullet to the hard."

"Yeah, and after hearing the stories of so many people with regrets, I…figure I want to live with as few of them as possible." Her heart beat faster as he looked at her with those warm, shining turquoise eyes. Their deepness outstripped the sea and their glow outdid the moon above them. "I…Drake, look I…I want to do this for you because…you're special to me. More so than any other Servant. Look, I know very well you're not the most moral person around, and probably never will be, but you're better than you think. You're more than just some destined leader of a pack of crazy ghosts, and you're more than a bloodthirsty scoundrel like Morley or Columbus. I've seen you be more, and I…I want to give you a chance to sail the seas again. That's why I'm doing this."

He pushed the Grail back into her hands, trusting her to lock it up until their return to Chaldea. Rayshifting back would occur tomorrow in the afternoon. Once they returned, she would be required to give it Da Vinci and the others. Ordinarily, she'd never do such a thing, but she had several times before. All because of the man in front of her. The same man who saw fit to give her a second chance at life, who downright encouraged her to do so.

"Goodnight, Drake. See you in the morning, oh, and try not to do any more drinking! I don't want to have to carry you back when we Rayshift back to Chaldea!" he called turning his back to her and heading toward his quarters.

She said nothing watching him leave, only holding the cup with a red tint on her face that could put her coat to shame. Once he was gone, she laughed, she laughed and felt tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Love? Hah! Don't be ridiculous, people like me don't fall in love. They want, and what they want, they take. It's as simple as that."

Drake knew it was time she took what she wanted…but never in all her life did she think she'd do so feeling like this. She'd never found a treasure as worthwhile as the one who'd just retired to his quarters of the night. It wasn't going to be as quiet as he'd have liked…not that Drake thought he would regret it by the time the sun came up.

---

In retrospect, maybe he should have done something other than look at ships. Doing so just made him think more about the ship captain that he'd just spent the last five minutes conversing with. The same ship captain whom he'd came within a hair's breathe of confessing his feelings for.

Ritsuka simply sighed and flipped the page, arriving at the next illustration he'd made. Drawing had always been a side hobby of his, but in the presence of master artists like Da Vinci, his capabilities had jumped several leagues. Though there were numerous reasons he was glad for it, sometimes he just enjoyed drawing to unwind. He found there was something especially relaxing about doing it while aboard a ship. Usually, the steady rock of it didn't disrupt his sketches. If anything, he saw the potential upset as practice for his writing hand.

He turned all his focus to putting the finishing touches on the sketches. Ritsuka had left them half-finished as to come back to them later. Now seemed like a perfect time to finish them up. Looking back, Ritsuka realized he'd developed that subconscious habit. After tonight, the habit was no longer subconscious.

As he drew, he thought back to the conversation they'd had. Cars had been his family's focus, but he'd developed a taste for ships and the sea. Maybe that taste would wain with time, or maybe it wouldn't. Maybe it'd drive him to get into shipbuilding. He'd drawn a handful of modern ships that might one day become real, if he were lucky.

"I wonder what-"

Knock! Knock!

"Speaking of the devil." The teenager mused. He already knew who was at the door before he even got up and opened it. His heart did a summersault in his chest as he made for the door and opened it. "Captain," he jokingly greeted.

"Permission to enter?" She replied in a similar tone.

With his left arm, he beckoned her in doors. The Grail was gone, no doubt sealed away in her vault, and there it would stay until they Rayshifted back. He watched her strut straight over to his bed and sit down on it, legs crossed with a playful smirk on her face. Ritsuka smiled back, even as he felt his cheeks burning bright, in clear view of the buxom woman he'd fallen in love with.

It was comical, even storybook like. Him, the everyday man, or more accurately schoolboy, falling so heavily for the wild and hedonistic pirate woman that was Francis Drake. Those that had picked up on his growing crush (read: many) had teased him about it to no end, including Drake herself. She knew perfectly well how he had the hots for her, and she took the time to flirt with him, leading him on like a dog with a bone. Ritsuka knew he probably wasn't going to get that bone, but that didn't stop him from trying. It also didn't stop him from simply wanting the best for her.

Giving her a second chance at life seemed like the best he could do. He wasn't-

"Ah, getting into your little writings again, are you? A shipbuilder, a sailor, or an artist, so many choices before you." She declared after catching sight of his sketchpad lying on the desk.

"I've had a lot of help from a lot of different people, several who've given me their two cents. Including you." He stated.

"Yeah, I did. I even said you'd make for a fine pirate, heh, and here you are having made an excellent first mate."

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the door and fixed the Rider with a daring smirk. "Think I could ever make captain?"

"Of someone else's ship, I hope. There's no way you're taking the Golden Hind from me. If you want a ship, we can always steal one for you." She stereotypically waved off. Like a flash of lightning illuminating the darkness, her face grew softer as she looked back to the sketchpad. "Or, I could…help you build one for your…self."

The hesitation in her words spoke to him. "Would you…like to build one with me, Drake?" Ritsuka questioned.

Her eyes looked away as her cheeks grew darker, a shade of red that he was familiar with. "I've never built anything before, Ritsuka. I'm a pirate, I take what I want or need. So…building something like a ship would be…new to me. That said…if you were the one guiding me, I'd be able to do it. Like if you were there with me, I believe I'd be able to live something of an honest life. Only with you."

He blinked, temporarily believing his ears hadn't heard right. "D-D-Drake?"

"You heard me, I'll be able to live a life like that with you, Ritsuka. Hell, I'd only be able to live this second life you're offering me with you in it." Her clarification knocked the wind out of him, something that made her laugh. Any second, he was waiting for the laughter to turn mocking, for her to say that this was all a joke or even a dream. Looking into her crystalline blue eyes, he saw that she was being genuine. "I could pillage the modern world for all the riches it has, but none of them would compare to you. In fact, none of the riches that I've gained can measure to you, Ritsuka Fujimaru." Uncrossing her legs, she rose from the bed and took the short steps toward him. He tensed up as she sandwiched him between herself and the door, leaving him non way out. So close, he could see every bit of exposure on her face, exposure, and vulnerability that he'd seen on Drake's face only a handful of times before, but never like this. "You're my most precious treasure, so I can't give you up. I won't give you up for anything. Likewise, I…I…I want to be your most precious treasure. I'm stained with blood and debauchery, but I-"

"I'll take you!" Her eyes widened in alarm like she couldn't believe his words. Ritsuka could hardly believe he'd spoken them. Everything in the cabin seemed to be spinning, so he tried to correct it with a deep breath. That wasn't easy considering his hands rose to wrap around the Servant's shapely waist. The moment she felt his embrace around her, Drake pushed herself against him. Ritsuka's cheeks burned brighter feeling her bountiful chest against his own. "D-D-Drake, I…Francis, I…don't want you to change yourself for me."

"You bloody fool, you've already changed me! I think about actually doing the right thing from time to time! Morality actually has an inkling of meaning to me! I'm standing here asking for you to take my whole life! I want you for life and no one else!" Her right hand reached up, grabbing the back of his head. He was sure that a kiss was seconds away, but it never came. Ritsuka saw that Drake was fighting the urge as much as he was. The King of Storms was fighting a literal storm within herself. "However you live your life, I want to be there. I'll…I'll even leave the sea. Without you, it just doesn't seem as grand as it used to."

He shook his head. "Drake, I won't ask you to do that. It'd be wrong of me. That's why I didn't ask you to…be in a relationship with me when I told you I wanted to reincarnate you with a Holy Grail. You're beautiful because you're so free spirited."

She gave a short, humorous chuckle. It quickly became cover for her sensually grinding her body against his, a move that made his cheeks burn brighter than they had before. "I'm beautiful only because I'm free spirited?"

"N-No. I mean it's another-mmh!" Shock, that was the feeling that coursed through him as the scar-faced woman pressed her pink lips against his. It was a kiss, a full kiss on the lips instead of the cheeks as he'd gotten used to. Ritsuka felt his mind spin out of control while his body quickly adapted. His mouth opened and Drake's tongue seized on the opening, and thrashing around like fish caught in a net. He was the fish though. The euphoria coursing through him added to his light-headedness, his legs were going to give out at this rate. That…wouldn't be so bad. Gingerly thought his now unleashed lust.

No, it wouldn't, but lovemaking is better done when it's on the bed, Ritsuka. Came the amused voice of the English explorer in his head.

The Japanese youth's hands tightened around her waist just as she broke the kiss off. Ritsuka was left wanting, deeply wanting. So was she as evident by her heavy panting. Her hand was still on the back of his head, ready to bring him in close again any second.

"That's one of the reasons why I've fallen for you. If you had tried to tie a relationship to a second chance at life, well…I can think of so, so many men who'd have done that. The fact that you didn't just proved how different you were…and it made me fall for you even more." Her hand slid from the back of his head to his left cheek. She raised her other hand to caress his right cheek. "You're giving me this freedom, and with it, I'm choosing you."

His jaw dropped and his heart did another summersault, this one reverberating throughout his entire body. "F-Francis…"

"If you want…you can…call me Fran. I let only a handful of people in life call me that. Special people. And you're…pretty special to me." She actually sounded a bit embarrassed. It shook some sense back into him, and got a hearty laugh out of him. "F-F-Fine then! I-"

He'd dreamed of kissing her for so long. It remained even after she kissed him-his dream was to be the one to kiss her. That's exactly what he did, silencing her just like she'd silenced him. Her eyes widened in surprise, then lowered as she melted into the kiss. The rest of her body seemed to follow suit. The boisterous sailor leaned against him, like all the strength had left her body. Ritsuka moved his hands low, pulling them; Drake wrapped around her legs around his waist, affectionately grinding their hips together.

"Ahhh~ Aaaah~" Ritsuka moaned between the short breaks that dotted their kiss. It took him a second to regain his concentration, with it he began walking toward the bed. Thankfully, it was a short walk. He the pink-haired woman onto the bed, and she promptly pulled him down onto another kiss. Ritsuka pushed back against her tongue using his, showing he wasn't going to let her take full dominion of the kiss.

It ultimately ended in a tie between them. They were both breathless, though Ritsuka had a slight advantage in being on top. He pushed himself up and stared down at the scar-faced woman who'd just confessed to him. It dawned on him that he hadn't given her a direct answer yet.

"Yes." He simply said, his mind in something of a haze. "Y-Yes to everything. Yes to being with you, yes to calling you Fran if you allow me to. Yes to-waaah!"

The bed shook as he was rolled over, nearly hitting the wall. Drake loomed over him with a sultry smile that spoke clear of her intentions. Ritsuka felt his heart slam into his chest in maniac anticipation, his eyes meanwhile grew wide like a deer caught in the headlights.

"A little scared, huh? Not surprising, this is after all your first time laying with a woman. Worry not, Ritsuka, I promise that I'll make it memorable. Not to mention…" her lips fell against his cheek, kissing it in a slow and tender way that she hadn't done so previously. The next kiss came against his neck, nearly making him arch up. "Make sure that you never dream of any woman besides me."

"I-I won't, I-I promise, D-D-Drake." He managed in a gasping voice.

"Hmm, have you ever dreamed of another woman besides me, Ritsuka?" She teasingly asked, her lips centimeters from his neck.

He shuddered feeling her hot breathes tickling his skin. "Y-Y-Yes." The confession was met with a pout from the Englishwoman. As disarming as that would have been, he fastened his hands to her hips, surprising her. "Don't act so innocent. I know you've thought of other men as well, thought and acted on those impulses."

"Hehehehe, guilty." Her warm arms wrapped around his neck while she buried her face in his neck, gently kissing it. Ritsuka sat up, keeping his hold on her waist. Once he was upright, Drake pulled away and looked him in the eye. "Ritsuka," she whispered with serene affection. "I know that my word may not mean much, but…I well and truly mean that I am yours from this moment onward. No one but yours."

His hold on her tightened as he leaned in close. Just before their lips met, he whispered, "I'm never going to let you go, Fran. You're my precious treasure too." A flash of blazing joy illuminated her eyes, it guided her into the next kiss. Ritsuka wasn't caught completely off-guard, he held his ground and returned it with vigor. Their tongues met again in a new duel. They pushed and slid past each other, their mouths melding into one for the duration of the kiss. At its end, they were once again left panting, wanting more. With only seconds to catch their breathes, they indulged in another round of kissing.

Though he held his own, the lustful captain steadily forced him down. Ritsuka hardly noticed when the back of his head touched the pillow. The current kiss they were on continued for several minutes. With its end did he notice that he was back in a similar position he had been several minutes ago. He looked up into the hungry eyes of the Englishwoman, noting how they were more intense than before. His vision was temporarily obscured as he felt her grind her waist against his. Ritsuka's fingers tightened on her waist as a groan tumbled from his lips.

"Just relax and let me make you into a man, and show you how much I value you, Rit~su~ka." She whispered into his ear. His response was to give another deep groan. She was still grinding her waist against his, fully knowing how hard his erection was. Drake knew it, she could feel it poking at her lower regions. He wondered how wet she was behind her own garments.

He moved his hands from the buxom beauty's waist to the sides of the bed, gripping the sheets tightly. A sensual storm was coming, and Ritsuka knew it was going to rock him to his core. Anticipation swirled within him, growing stronger by the second.

His recently fastened arms were forced up courtesy of Drake lifting them upward. She removed his t-shirt exposing his chest to her. An embarrassment blush immediately broke out across his face.

The captain giggled, "Oh, Ritsuka, no need to be so shy. You've got nothing to be nervous about. Quite the opposite, you have so much to be proud of." Her hands traced his chest, his abs, with erotic interest. "God, I remember when I first met you, how scrawny you were before Leonidas and the others got a hold of you."

She was right about that. When he looked in the mirror, he couldn't help but note the difference between his pre-Singularities self and his current physique. As the saying goes, danger helps a person get into shape, and stay in shape. It hadn't been easy, sometimes he felt like he was going to literally crumble away into dust, yet time after time, he'd found it in him to take that next step, do that next push-up or sit-up, and at times throw that last punch. Limits he thought were ironclad had been surpassed, and he looked back on them with pride. A handful of Servants like Fionn and Cú had joked that all his working out would attract all sorts of women to him, and Fergus had boasted to him that his increasing stamina would definitely help him hold their interests. The Celtic Servants would all be laughing in triumph if they could see him now. Or in Fergus and Fionn's cases, laughing and crying in jealously.

Drake's hands were on his abs as she leaned up toward his face, like a snake going in for a bite. Ritsuka bite first though, lunging forward and capturing her lips in a kiss. The seafaring Servant moaned in appreciation, eagerly flicking her tongue against his. Their tongues held onto each other for as long as possible as she pulled away, much to his chagrin. Smirking, Drake slowly leaned forward, inviting him in for another kiss; Ritsuka took it without hesitation. Unfortunately, it ended all too soon for his liking. Drake winked at him as a way of telling him to be patient.

He watched her plant hot kisses down his chest, descending further down toward his waist. His erection stuck up through his pants like an island in the sea. Grinning, Drake pulled at his belt and pants with greedy fervor. He'd seen such eagerness several times before-a treasure she'd had her eyes on lay within her reach, and all she had to do was dig for it, and dig she did.

"Good Lord…you're bigger than I thought, Ritsuka." She licked her lips, salivating at the sight of his exposed member.

His embarrassment was initial present, but he thoroughly picked apart her words. The conclusion he arrived at left him with a dry stare aimed at his lover. "I-I-I…you thought I had a dagger instead of a full-sized blade, didn't you?"

Letting out a shameless laugh, she reached forward and began gently stroking the eight-inch member. "I couldn't help it. You had all the hallmarks of having a small cock, too small for my liking. Plus, I heard those rumors about eastern men…" she let the drift off. Ritsuka said nothing in response to it, merely continuing to drily stare at her, even as she stroked his dick. "Can you forgive me, Ritsuka~?"

His fortitude was crumbling fast. He knew that it wasn't going to make it past the next minute. Sighing, he hung his head, then lifted it fully exposing the growing blush on his face. "Y-Y-Yes, F-F-Francis. I-I…forgive you."

She licked her lips. "Wonderful."

"Aaaaaahh~!" His restraint was blown apart at the first kiss she laid on his dick. Ritsuka didn't know if it was one kiss or many, he was totally overwhelmed by the burst of euphoria that came with her lips smooching his dick. His howling continued as the lips moved along his member, sending wave after wave of mind-numbing euphoria through him. "F-F-Fr-Fran…I-I…"

"Far better than your hand, huh?" She coyly sniped.

"…Y-Y-Yes. W-W-Way better." There wasn't any point in playing dumb. "I-I-I…oooohhh~" Ritsuka felt something warm and wet encircling the tip of his cock. He didn't need to look down to know what it was, but he did so anyway because he wanted to see it. See it he did-Francis Drake, the busty pirate captain was sucking his tip. Her blue eyes looked up meeting his. She smiled with his member in her mouth. "Aaaahh~!" The teenager yelled, his back arching an inch or two off the bed. "Franciiiis!"

"Mmmmmm~! Mmmmm~!" She was using her hands as well, using them to massage his balls. Ritsuka knew that she had experience with this sort of thing. Still, he didn't care who she'd been with prior to him, all that matter was she was using those erotic skills to make him feel alive, maybe more than alive. He howled again as he felt her tongue continuously running over his tip. At this rate, Ritsuka knew he was going to cum, it was just a matter of when.

He'd have bet maybe another ten to twenty seconds.

His hands shot back to the sheets, gripping them hard. They were his anchor as he thrusted his hips upward, Ritsuka felt his tip hit the roof of Drake's mouth. She let out a surprised, muffled gasp. Something about it just…turned him on, unleashed him even. Holding fast to the bed sheets, he began thrusting his hips forward more and more. His tip began batter against the top of her mouth. Drake's surprise quickly transformed into cries of eager euphoria. Her tongue continued to flick against his member, now bathing all sides in her saliva as he eagerly pushed it in and out of her mouth. Her hands kept working as well, massaging his balls and quickening his orgasm.

Ritsuka didn't know if it was ten seconds, it could have been a full minute, regardless, he came. With a shout, he thrusted his hips forward, driving his member deep into his Servant's throat and unleashing his load. He felt it spilling out of his tip; Drake's mouth tightened on his cock like she was trying to force out every drop of his semen. Fighting through the haze of ecstasy, he opened his eyes and saw the spiky pink hair between his legs. His ears rung with the sound of Drake slurping down every drop of his cum.

Without warning, he grabbed a hold of that pink hair and pulled it back, his member still erupting. Drake let out a shocked gasp, no doubt wondering what was happening. Her confusion was short-lived as he pushed her head back against his cock, while ramming his hips forward.

"GULRRRKK!"

He just couldn't help himself, and after that thrust he couldn't stop himself. Ritsuka felt his orgasm intensified. His mouth hung open in a relieved, pleasure-laced groan as he emptied his essence into his Servant's mouth. Her continued lewd slurping hung in his ears. It eventually became the dominant sound in the cabin.

When Drake pulled away, it was replaced with both her and his heavy panting. It was a surprising silence that neither of them never thought they would have engaged in, yet here they were. As the seconds passed neither looked away from the other; they simply drunk in every detail of one another's face.

Ritsuka was a little surprised to find that not a drop of cum had escaped Drake's face. Her cheeks were bright red, just like his. She had a look of awe on her face, again, just like him.

Slowly, the sailor stood up, her legs wobbly.

"Drake," he called.

The next thing he knew, he was on his backside, being cradled in her arms. "I said it once, but I have to say it again-I'm not letting you go, Ritsuka. I don't think I'm ever going to let you go."

His confusion lasted for only a second. Once it passed, he grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist. He didn't mind his total nakedness in contrast to her fully clothed body. "So, you like my cum?"

Her face-splitting grin had a touch of deviousness to it. "Oh, yes. The best rum I've ever had, and I want more."

"Heh, still thirsty, huh? Even after all that drinking?" He jokingly asked.

"I'm a pirate, love, what do you expect?" She grabbed him and turned him over so his legs hung over the edge of the bed. Next, he saw her quickly begin undoing her coat; his eyes widened immediately realizing what she was about to do. Catching his expression, she giggled. "What? I've seen all of you, so it's only fair you see all of me."

He knew that more than that, she wanted him to see her nude body. She wanted him to be as utterly captivated by it as he'd been by her wearing clothes. Like she said, she wanted him to to dream of no other woman but her.

Watching her remove every ounce of clothing, she accomplished exactly that, and so much more.

His jaw dropped seeing the absolutely gorgeous naked body of Francis Drake. Contrary to her masculine mannerisms, she had a super model's body, beautiful and feminine, yet also athletic. He caught a few faint scars over her body, battle scars like the one that adorned her face. It stood out as the greatest embellish, or it would have if Ritsuka was turned off by it. He'd always found her scar oddly enticing, and now, looking at the rest of her lightly scarred body, he found it more dazzling.

After gazing at her face, his gaze moved south. He lingered on her watermelon-sized breasts, breasts that she always kept covered no matter how much she showed them off. Blackbeard had gawked at them more so than anyone, and he'd give up his ship, all his good, and probably all his limbs to be in Ritsuka's position. A few Servants would have likewise made similar sacrifices.

But it was him. He was the one who was able to marvel at the Navigator of the Storm's unclothed body. And lay claim to it.

Ritsuka's eyes eventually moved further down. Between her sensual legs he saw a patch of well-trimmed pink hair in between her legs. As he gawked at it, his nose wrinkled. Focusing his gaze, he saw the drops of cum leaking from her loins.

"You're wet." He stated in slack-jawed awe.

Giggling, she strooted over, hopping into his lap. "But of course, I'm staring at a hunk of a man who just gave me the greatest deepthroating ever." His hands moved to wrap around her waist, his head rising as hers descended. The kiss was vitalizing and gratifying. Their naked bodies grinded together, sending brand new sparks rippling through their bodies. "And now, it's time I gave him the best titfuck he's ever had. Heh, as well as his first one."

Laughing, he removed his hands from her waist, knowing how she was going to move. "I'm one lucky guy."

"Yes, you are, Ritsuka. I'd say I'm pretty lucky as well." Her breathing intensified as she lowered herself down to his waist. "After all, I get to have this all to myself." Her pink lips found his cock again, and yet again, Ritsuka howled in ecstasy. She kissed it up and down before pulling away and gripping her breasts. Their eyes met for a brief second, and then the contact was broken.

"OOOH!" The teenager yelled from the twin blasts of euphoria that crashed into his member. "F-F-FR-FRANCIS!"

"That's it, live it up, Ritsuka! I know you've dreamed of this! Well, here it is, your dream come true!" Chanted the long-haired woman. Her breasts squeezed the Japanese youth's member while bouncing up and down. The towering waves of ecstasy were filling her up just as she was slamming them into Ritsuka. Drake was genuinely amazed at just how good it felt titfucking her Master. While she may have entertained the thought when she first met Ritsuka, actually doing it with him was proving to be far more exciting and even arousing than she could have imagined. Who knew you'd turn out to be one hell of a fine man. Heh, it's a good thing that I snatched you up before one of the other harlots could, especially that Holy Maiden.

Ritsuka's voice filled the room, his ecstasy-laced shouts bouncing off the small cabin walls. She made them louder by pressing her tits against his cock. Drake felt it pulsate between her mounds; any second, she expecting a shot of cum to come spurting out of his tip. Amazingly, seconds passed and that burst of masculine seed never came. Though she felt a little disappointed, she felt more motivated than anything. Not to mention she was happy that she was able to keep on titfucking her young lover.

It also meant that she could enjoy the utterly disheveled look on his face. His fortitude that she so dearly admired was on the verge of crumbling, courtesy of her knockers. Drake never felt prouder of them.

"I-I'm…I…I can…s-s-shit! Shit! Fran, I'm going to-aaaaaaahhh~!" His hands grabbed hold of the sheets and gripped them with vigor. "Aaah! Ahhhh!"

"So close already? Well, let's hurry up and get to it, my little Ritsu!" The tip of his member stuck out enough for her to move in and take it into her mouth. Ritsuka's loudest scream yet shook the cabin. Drake dragged her tongue across his tip. Mere seconds after doing so, she felt Ritsuka push his dick upward. She smirked and repeated the act. Her Master followed suit; she felt the hot friction of his member sliding up her tits and his cock pushing through her lips. She felt each of the continued twitching. Ritsuka may have controlled himself, but that control was being blown away as the night ticked by.

The Japanese teenager was all but certain his knuckles were turning weight. Holding onto the sheets was all he could do to keep his inevitable orgasm at bay, and that was a losing battle. A single boat could only stand strong against a raging storm for so long before it was swept up. Drake's tits and mouth were the perfect storm, one he couldn't weather, yet one he was absolutely overjoyed at experiencing. His hips continued to thrust upward, operating on full instinct.

He struggled to lift his head up, but he did so. The sight of Drake sucking him had always been tantalizing, but its splendor was surpassed by the sight of her pillowing his cock with her tits. He could tell that she was enjoying it. His grip on the sheets reached new heights with each flick of her tongue against his tip. Ritsuka felt his hips reached their zenith in thrusts, as well as his hold nearing its end. Sucking in a breath as best he could, he decided no more.

"Franciiiiiis!" He shouted, not caring if their shipmates in the next room heard them. They'd think he was either having a wet dream or…perhaps the unthinkable had happened. The latter did happen as he came, his tip unleashing a new stream of love nectar. Drake pulled her head away just in time to let it shoot upward like a geyser. She opened her mouth and allowed his semen to come crashing down into it, and onto her face.

To her, it was like gulfing down a barrel of rump. Sometimes there was nothing better than having it splashed all over your face. Drake found it was like that, and incredibly, more. She felt the splatter of her lover's juices on her breasts, which she kept squeezed around his member. It continued to throb between her melons. That made her keep going, swallowing what landed in her mouth then opening it in preparation for more. Ritsuka had plenty of his delicious seed to give her, and God Almighty, did Drake feel like she could take it all until she burst.

Fortunately, her far east lover's eruption came to an end before that could happen. She was sure that he wasn't finished for the night though. Not her Ritsuka. He'd left her with enough to keep her satisfied for the moment though.

He fell back against the bed, panting hard while she looked over. The Englishwoman laughed at the utter mess the teenager had made of her.

After licking up some of the man seed around her mouth, she stood up, albeit on shaky legs. Having his mast-like dick between her tits left her wanting to have it in her pussy. Looking over Ritsuka's naked and sweaty body only intensified that yearning. She found herself awestruck by his naked form.

Ritsuka's arms regained a sliver of strength allowing him to push himself up a little. Coincidentally, Drake took one step forward. It was a stumble, one that led her to fall forward. As she cursed herself, Ritsuka reacted, moving like lightning to catch her. Her falling body was caught by his, her cum-stained breasts pressing against his chest. Drake curled her hands against his chest, surprise quickly spreading through her; it only intensified as she looked up into his turquoise eyes. Naturally, a kiss followed. It was long and sweet, a little toned down from the fierce lust they'd exhibited earlier. Quite surprising given their nude bodies were pressing together, especially their most intimate parts. Even when their lips parted, their lower regions remained pressed together.

They became aware of that some time later. Drake pushed herself upright, red-faced and with a look of stunned bewilderment on her face. Ritsuka, surprisingly, seemed a little more composed. That just made her blush deepen.

"Promise me you'll never speak of that to anyone. Ever." It didn't come out as the order that she'd hoped for, but it was alright.

"I promise, Francis." He answered with a cherry smile.

She looked away, annoyance briefly fighting for dominance on her face. It melted away as she looked back at him. Sighing in defeat then smiling in acceptance, she leaned forward and kissed him. Drake knew he was going to keep his promise…and she had a feeling that this wasn't going to be the last time she made a fool of herself in the bedroom.

As they kissed, Ritsuka rolled them over. He pulled away, a leering look in his eyes. "I-"

"Want a taste of me too?" She guessed, now with a cool smile. He silently nodded. "Take your fill of me, Ritsuka." To emphasize her point, she grinded her hips against his. "Don't hold back. I'm all yours, love."

He could have done like her, kiss his way down her body, but he was a little too impatient for that. Ritsuka simply crawled down, becoming eye-level with her breasts. His heart drummed in his chest as he stared at Drake's. As crazy as it was, he had full permission to do what he wanted to them.

Just as Drake was about to give him another statement of encouragement, she felt the tantalizing drag of his lips across her right-side nipple. Her words morphed into a throaty moan that went together with Ritsuka dragging his tongue across one of her mounds. Her other one was granted the attention of his hand. Drake's moan grew louder thanks to both of her mounds now being under sensual assault by her Master.

"You're…God, Ritsuka…you're…a bloody natural." She managed.

He temporarily broke from her right tit to murmur, "Am I?"

"Yes." She whispered back. "You are…gah, who knew."

"I didn't, and you certainly didn't. Heh, guess it's a happy surprise to the both of us, huh?" The Rider couldn't respond. Most likely thanks to his kneading of her left breast. Chuckling at her flustered state, he returned his mouth to her right nipple, giving it the same treatment her mouth had given his cock. She moaned and occasionally screamed just as he had. "They feel so good."

"O-O-Of…c-c-course t-t-they do. T-T-They're the…b-b-best in…best in…aaaaahhh~ Ooohhh~" Her words degenerated into into hot moans filled the cabin. Drake's eyes stared at the dimly lit ceiling, fluttering open and shut every few seconds. "Ooooohhhh~! Aaaaaaaaahhh~! Aaa-AAAHHH~!"

The sailor's arms to wrap around his head, but it was too late. He'd already lifted his head up to switch tits. He spent several seconds making his mark on her left tit.

"Best in what, Francis? Chaldea or England? You wouldn't happen to still be jealous of Lancer Artoria? Or Lancer Artoria Alter?" The human teen questioned.

Drake loved and hated how cheeky he'd gotten. He knew he had the cards, and boy was he playing them well. Another lewd scream shot from her lips when he went back to kissing her left tit. Her right was given the sweet kneading courtesy of his hand.

"Ritsuka…you're…aaaayyyy~ You're…so good with those hands of yours. Those hands and your…lips." Drake proclaimed in a broken up, trembling voice. "Gaaaaahhh~ I-I…n-never would have…guessed." Her arms tightly wrapped around his head, her legs following suit. "Ritsukaaaa~"

"If you want me to have my fill of you, you're going to have to let me go, Drake." Came his whispering voice.

Reluctantly, she did that. It felt good having him toying with her breasts, but her cunt was calling for attention. Before descending toward it, Ritsuka looked up and gave her a wink.

Bollocks, where was he hiding this much charm? The Servant wondered. Her breathing intensified as he finally crawled down and at last was level with her pussy. Drake spread her legs out, "Don't keep me waiting, Ritsuka."

Gripping her legs, he said two simple words. "I won't." Drake through her head back and howled the second his tongue met her soaking wet pussy. His tongue was like a drill, boring deeper into her vaginal snatch. She reached up behind her at the pillows and grabbed at them, they were all she could hold onto; her legs briefly shot upward only to wrap around the teenager's head. Ritsuka released a muffled moan, buried so deep in his Servant lover's pussy.

"Aaaaaaaahhh~! That's it, Ritsuka~! Oh, yessss~! That's it, deeper, baby! Deeper!" With her hold on the pillows, she rocked her hips against his mouth. His tongue kept going at it, though he seemed to burrow deeper into her folds. Drake relished it, but the euphoria she was already riding high on was magnified as she felt a sudden protrusion in her snatch. "Ooooooohhhh~! R-Ritsuka~! Ritsuka~!" One became two-two fingers, both pumping her cunt alongside his whiplike tongue. It was a double assault that Drake was all too help to be hit with. "Aaaaaahhhh~! Keep going, Ritsuka~!"

His fingers reeled back, then thrusted straight in, sending a mind-blowing jolt of ecstasy racing up her spine. Drake felt her back arch up, leaving the bed. She held that position, that erotic lightning continuing to pulsate within her, thanks in no small part to her lover's continued thrusting. His tongue lashed at her insides like a whip of pure lightning, each flick sending more shock waves through her. His fingers were the mighty claps of thunder that further shook her to her. Drake felt tears sliding down her eyes from the nonstop euphoric surge.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she was going to crash eventually, but Drake didn't care. This feeling was all that she cared about, and it was all she focused on. She told other people to just forget the world around them and live in the moment. Now more than ever she took her own advice, utterly losing herself in the smoldering hot pleasure her Master had visited upon her. She was faintly aware that he was doing the same, focusing not on the world or the future but on her.

"OOOOOHHH~!" Her hips made one final thrust simultaneous to her cunt giving out. Love nectar exploded from it and crashed into Ritsuka's face as a white tidal wave. He opened his mouth and took nearly all of it, just as she had taken nearly all of his cum during his first orgasm. Still, he had a little less skill than her, thus he pulled away. Not that he minded getting his face totally doused with her feminine juices, just as she didn't mind being splattered with his seed.

Drake felt herself crash down onto the bed, her cunt still spraying her juices all over her Master turned lover. Ritsuka stayed on her, lapping them up while still occasionally thrusting into her with his fingers; it lengthened her orgasm until she felt like she'd screamed herself hoarse. As she lay there atop the pillows, panting, Drake wondered if she actually had. How long had it been since that happened?

The concept of time slipped away from her. She merely stared up at the cabin ceiling, listening to the soft beat of the waves against the ship and Ritsuka's erotic slurping. She let out a proud chuckle knowing she'd been the first woman he'd tasted, and she'd be his second, third, and everything up to his last. No woman other than her would satisfy him, and she would leave him satisfied every time they were together, just as he would do the same for her.

Eventually, the scar-faced woman lifted her head up and was greeted to the sight of her Japanese lover right in front of her. He'd cleaned himself off, mostly, and was staring back at her with a naked hunger in her eyes. Drake immediately responded by grabbing at him, bringing him in close for a kiss. It was passionate and needy, like she was starving for drinkable water and his lips were her long awaited salvation. He gave her what she wanted, and she gave him what she knew he wanted as well. While kissing him, she grinded her hips against his, pressing her wet cunt against his member. It was hard and ready for use, a ship finally ready to enter its long-awaited harbor.

"Take me, Ritsuka." Drake whispered between breaks for air. "Make me your woman."

"You…want me to be on top?" He asked somewhat hesitantly.

"Atop of me, take me from behind, however the hell you want me. I'm yours, Ritsuka Fujimaru." She answered with heated breath.

Needing no more encouragement, he sat upright, grabbing his cock and leveling it at her soaking entrance. Once again, Drake spread her legs out and prepared herself.

"Gaaaaah!"

"Aaaaaahh~!"

The feeling of having his cock enveloped by Drake's pussy was…different from his fingers and tongue. Ritsuka thought he was ready, but he was pleasantly surprised. It was even better than he imagined.

"God Almighty, yesssss~!" Thundered the Englishwoman, her vaginal walls and legs locking in around him. Ritsuka took that as his cue to start thrusting, and the fruits of his labors were immediately made evident. "Yesssss~! Fuck! Fuck~! Fuccccccking, yesssss~! That's it, go on, Ritsuka~!"

Grabbing her breasts and forcing her down, he reared his hips back then slammed them forward, earning a thunderous scream from the stormy Rider. "Did you like that, Fran?" He teasingly asked.

"Yes!" She shouted.

"I said…did you like it!" He repeated his words and actions, pushing his cock in deeper, feeling it scrapping against her inner walls. Ritsuka never knew a feeling like this could exist, but now he did, and he never wanted it to end for himself or his British lover.

"YES~! FUCKING YES, I FUCKING LOVE, RITSUKA~!" Her voice shook the cabin and his heart along with it, the latter reverberating with immeasurable pride. "DON'T YOU DARE STOP~! FUCK ME~! FUCK ME TO YOUR HEART'S DELIGHT, MY MASTER~!"

She must have known what she was doing as that last bit got him riled up. He gave her another hard thrust, earning another scream of equal caliber. Far from that one being the last, it became the norm. Ritsuka continuously rammed his dick into her pussy while kneading her breasts. It felt like he hadn't gotten enough of them before, so he made up for it then and there. Drake enjoyed it as much as she did getting speared over and over again by his cock. The constant tightening of her pussy didn't slow him down one bit, it actually accelerated his thrusts.

"RITSUKAAAAAA~!" She cried in erotic bliss.

"YOU'RE…SO…FUCKING…TIGHT, FRAN~!"

"YOU…LOVE IT THOUGH, DON'T YOU?!" Came her grinning retort.

Smirking himself, he seized her lips in a fiery kiss. Her booming voice was now muffled by his mouth. Replacing it as the loudest sound in the room was the bed creaking under the force of their lovemaking. Their hips smacked each one another numerous times every second. Neither of them showed any signs of stopping, as marked by their erotic pleas to each other for more.

Ritsuka always answered his lady, much to her pleasure. "That's it, that's it, that's it! You're…fucking…INCREDIBLE!"

"And…you're…MINE! YOU'RE MINE, FRANCIS DRAKE!" He shouted giving her a hard thrust to her core. Ritsuka felt her hold on him tighten as she threw her head back against the pillow and screamed. "YOU'RE GETTING TIGHTER, FRAN! ARE YOU READY TO CUM YET, HUH?!"

"FUCK, YES, I AM!" She screamed back. Her hands reached up to grab at the back of his head, forcing him down for another kiss. Though brief it conveyed all the stirring ecstasy she was experiencing. "CUM IN ME~! POUR YOUR WHOLE LOAD INTO ME~! FUCK ME AS IF YOU MEAN TO IMPREGNANT ME, RITSUKA~!"

He tightened his hold on her breasts, giving them the strongest knead yet while rearing his hips back. "Do you want that, Fran?"

Her blue eyes locked with his, time slowing to a crawl. "Yes, my love." Came her reply. His came in the form of a sharp, powerful thrust that was another hit to her core. "AAAAAHHH~! AAAAAAHHH~! OOOOOHHH~! YES~! GOD, YES~!"

"FRANCIS~! I'M GOING CUM…JUST LIKE…I PROMISED! JUST LIKE…YOU WANT ME TO~!" He warned.

"DO IT! I AM YOUR WOMAN, RITSUKA~! FILL ME UP, FILL ME TO THE BRIM~!"

"FRAAAAAAANN~!" Yelled the Japanese teenager as his cock unleashed a mighty torrent of his seed into his Servant. With it went a surge of magical energy that she greedily absorbed. More than that though went his love, his heartfelt love, which was taken up with equal avarice. Taken up and returned.

"RITSUKAAAAA~!" Boomed the English sailor. Her vaginal walls made their final clamp on her lover's penis, blasting it from all sides with her feminine juices. They too carried the genuine love she'd nurtured for him and which he accepted. She just barely felt his hands slid from her breasts to her sides, wrapping around her to pull her close against him. Drake did the same, holding fast onto him as their union created the strongest storm either of them had ever experienced. It battered and energized them, creating a sensual limbo they never wanted to be disrupted or end.

Their heartbeats thundered in their ears in the absence of their pounding bodies. It was so encompassing they lost themselves in it, never noticing their orgasm had subsided until they each found the strength to open their eyes. Turquoise met crystalline blue; both were stained with tears of joy.

"I love you." Ritsuka quickly moved in to respond, kissing the pink-haired Servant with all the vigor he could muster. To his, and her, joy, it was quite a lot. Drake felt a new surge of energy rushing through her body. "Ahhh~ Ahhh~ Ritsuka, again. Let's…go again."

His once living face split into a lewd grin. "Happy to hear that, Fran."

Sporting such a grin herself, she untangled herself for him and rolled over. Drake reached down and playfully slapped her butt knowing Ritsuka was watching. She watched him quickly sit up and move into position behind her. Feeling his hands grab her hips felt like being struck by twin bolts of lightning.

"Take me however you please, Ritsuka. Make me truly your woman!" She yelled.

"Gladly!" He responded, thrusting his hips forward. "Aaaaaaaahhh!" The teenager shouted feeling her vaginal muscles immediately tightening around his dick. "Draaaake!"

"Come on, do it! Fuck me again! Fuck me to your heart's content, Ritsuka~!" He was already doing it, but Drake knew the more she talked the more riled up her Japanese lover would get. She was absolutely loving this new sexually dominant side of him. It was such a contrast to the kind and at times reserved young man she'd come to know. Gripping the sheets and burrowing herself in the pillows, she mused on how Ritsuka was a clear-cut case of looks being deceiving…with a dash of the kind ones are always the best. "OOOOOOHHHH~! NNNNNAAAAAHHH~!"

"AAAARRRRRAAAHHH!" Ritsuka had to admit, he really liked this position. Something about it, the sense of power and dominion he held over the sultry and flirtatious woman turned him on. So did the smack of his hips against her ass. Seeing it in motion, continuously bouncing about eventually drew his attention.

SMACK!

"FUCK, YESSSS! AGAIN, DO IT AGAIN, RITSUKA!" Yelled the sea captain.

SMACK! SMACK! SMACK!

"ENJOYING FINALLY BEING PUNISHED, ARE YOU, FRAN!"

"YES, I AM! I'M A NAUGHTY WOMAN, SO DO IT! PUNISH ME, MASTER! PUNISH YOUR NAUGHTY SERVANT!"

His blows continued as a dark, lustful look consumed his eyes. More so than it already had, anyway. Following a fierce smack that left her right ass cheek beat red, Ritsuka pulled back, then slammed back into his lover with the force of a battering ram. Her back curved as she let out an ecstasy-laced howl that surely reverberated throughout the entire ship, maybe even shook it with her voice. He faintly remembered Drake once telling him if anything compromised her mental state it could cause the entire ship to destabilize and vanish; the same apparently went for all Riders who possessed a ship-based Noble Phantasm. The possibility of that should have dissuaded him from the path his mind was on, but it didn't.

"I-I…R-Ritsuka, I…I'm going to cum again!" Drake warned feeling that familiar tightening between her legs.

She was blind to the predatory grin that her young lover sported. "Me too, Fran." He pulled out and she thought nothing of it, at first. Only when she felt the complete absence of his dick in her folds did she start to question it. "BUT I'M CUMMING IN YOUR ASS!" Wide-eyed, she only had seconds to brace herself before she felt the sharp protrusion of his manhood in her anal hole. "AAAAAAAHHHHH~! YOU'RE TIGHT EVEN BACK HERE, DRAKE!"

"NAAAAAAAAHHHHH~! AAAAAHHH~! AAAAAHHH~!" She tore the sheets as she pulled at them, her heart slamming against her chest from the shock. H-H-He…r-r-really does have a…wild side w-w-w-when it…comes to the bedroom. Lord Almighty, h-h-he's…he's a perfect match for me! As she made that realization, her body subconsciously reacted to his anal thrusts.

"Fran," He growled feeling her pushing back on him. It made him push back harder, continuing to dominate her as he had before.

With shaky arms, the pink-haired woman pushed herself up and turned back to look at him. Her face was utterly disheveled, sweat pouring down her crimson-colored cheeks. While some may have found her scar off-putting, Ritsuka certainly didn't; it added a type of savage beauty to her. Especially coupled with the utterly wild smile on her face and look in her eyes. He could have sworn they were sporting pink hearts.

"KEEP GOING, RITSUKA! CLAIM YOUR HARLOT~! CLAIM ME~! CLAIM ME, BABY~!"

"GLADLY, FRAN!" His thrusts reached a new level, their final level. Ritsuka knew he wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer. Not only was his strength nearing its end but he felt his own impeding orgasm coming up. At least…now I know she's fine with anal. It'd been a suspicion that he wanted to confirm, but Ritsuka never dared truly broach the topic. Drake may have boasted about her sexual exploits, but he couldn't help but be skeptical of them-she did enjoy lying just for the sake of messing with people, him included.

As if reading his mind, Drake pushed herself against him. Her arms looped around his neck dragging him in for a quick but heated kiss. "Over the…railing of the ship! Tie me to the mast and fuck me silly! DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO ME, RITSUKA! I'M YOUR WOMAN~! YOURS~!"

"AND I'M YOUR MAN, FRAN~! YOURS ALONE!"

The next kiss was filled with joyful relief from her. She wanted to give herself to him, but she wanted the same from his end, and that's what he gave. He'd give her his everything, from now to the very end.

"HHYYYAAAAAAAAHHHH~!"

"AAARRAGGGGHHH!"

His seed burst into her backdoor, filling it up to the point it spilled out through her ass crack. Drake howled in white-hot ecstasy at the anal fuck; she hadn't experience one in centuries. She even faintly remembered no Master she'd laid with had the honor of fucking her from behind. None except for Ritsuka, who stood head and shoulders above them. He was the only one she could say she well and truly loved with all her heart.

Likewise, of the many Servants he commanded, of the men women he'd came to know and respect, Francis Drake was the one that Ritsuka loved. She was the one he wanted to give another life to. She was the one he would take responsibility for, and with whom he'd shared what came beyond the Grand Orders. She was the one that he would face the rest of life's unexpected, yet numerous challenges with.

They lay cradled together, unmoving, not even willing to crawl underneath the covers. They silently decided that they were just fine sleeping in the nude; being in one another's arms was all they needed.

"See you in the morning, Fran." The teenager whispered.

She'd heard several variations of that phrase before, but never had it been spoken with a pet name like that. Never had hearing it made her heart flutter like a butterfly in flight. Fixing him with shining eyes, Drake responded, "See you in the morning too, Ritsu." Chuckling, he stole a kiss from her, the last one of the night. She'd return it in the morning, when they docked in safe harbor of Chaldea. While it may have marked the end of one voyage, it would also be the full beginning of a new one, one that they'd share together.

---

After a couple of years, that's Francis Drake down, and I must say, I'm pretty happy with how this one turned out. Admittedly, I dragged my feet a little, but overall I'm satisfied with the finished product.

Similar to one I did with Cleopatra, I threw in some movie references for this one. Naturally, a couple of Pirates of the Caribbean since it's my favorite pirate-themed movie franchise, and one of my favorite movie franchises in general. Drake would be right at home in it…until she runs into some of the supernatural elements, namely Salazar and his full-on ghost crew from Dead Men Tell No Tales. Watching it on TNT then remembering Drake's scared shitless of ghosts led to the first chunk of this story. It's almost comical how a hot-blooded, adventurous woman like her has a fear that's so I guess mundane. What's ironic is that there are quite a few pirate ship-based stories that feature ghosts of some sort. Coupled with Drake's Nasuverse destiny of leading the Wild Hunt, I decided to ring some drama out of that. Plus, as a Kingdom Hearts fan, I made the showdown with Morley a wholesale reference to Barbossa's boss fight in Kingdom hearts II.

Ironically…the real Francis Drake was more known as a privateer and explore more than a swashbuckling pirate. He was even knighted by Queen Elizabeth for his deeds, which included harassing the Spanish. If Chaldea had any Spanish Servants, or even a Spanish sailor, I'd have included Drake's famous animosity toward Spain, but again, I worked with what I could. It always felt like he was gender bent into boisterous pirate woman because it fit the franchise which was already leaning toward fan service even back then. In sequel stories I'll probably have her and Ritsuka touch on the historic Drake's more voyages, including where he landed in what is now north of San Francisco.

I hope you all enjoyed this One-Shot! My next Fate Lemon should hopefully be out in a couple of weeks or so! Until then, keep safe!