Morg: Heyo! Seriously, what have I done to earn your love for this story?

Ikuto: You haven't gotten anything from me.

Amu: So far it isn't so bad.

Morg: I was talking about my readers, not either of you.

Ikuto: Harsh. I was only telling the truth.

Amu: Want some more truth? You don't own us.

Morg: Now who's being harsh?

Ikuto: Deal with it.

~The Eighth Sea~

Boots clicking along the deck of his ship, Ikuto moved through his crew members to look at the peaceful town nestled along the edge of the sea. "You know what we seek. Get in and get out without anyone noticing and we can be on our way. Yaya, you will stay here and watch over the ship with Pepe and Kusu."

The three girls nodded to their captain. They didn't usually leave to go on shore for these types of stops anyhow. Their task was to help make certain that the ship stayed clean, though each and every member of Ikuto's crew knew how to fight. The girls were no exception. However, they lacked the finesse of being secretive, which is what Ikuto needed for this mission. "Aye, Captain."

Turning his gaze back to the harbor they were quickly approaching, Ikuto prepared himself for whatever they found. "The ship will stay docked until all are accounted for. We do not leave a man behind. Find it and return. Try not to start a fight unless a fight is needed. Get in and get out. It should be in the mansion."

While Ikuto spoke, Utau gave the orders to those she was in charge of to prepare the ship for docking. They quietly tied everything off before lowering the plank. The girls worked swiftly together without a word.

"El, Il, and Dia, you will find the provisions that we need from the market. We are not stealing, do you understand."

The twins bowed to their captain in understanding. The girl dressed in black pouted while the one in white smiled. They worked well together in Ikuto's crew.

Dia stood off to the side of the twins. She met Ikuto's eyes for a moment. Slowly, Dia dipped her head down in answer to the silent question the captain was asking her.

Ikuto handed his hat and coat to Yaya as he moved to lead his crew off the ship. "We are not taking prisoners. Try not to kill. Let's go."

A small cheer followed Ikuto's command as the pirates entered the quiet harbor. Never mind the fact that everyone in the port seemed to be elsewhere. The crew didn't care about that. They had a job to do and they would see it done.

XXX

The looks that Amu received as she moved through the large house and out to the cliff where Tadase decided that they'd be married were anything but happy. The pink-haired girl couldn't force a smile to show the people giving her sympathetic looks that she'd be okay. There were plenty of people in attendance at the wedding that thought that this would be a happy union, but the ones that she passed now, the people that weren't allowed to witness the wedding up close, were people she knew from the market and harbor. They were people that knew Amu almost as well as her family did. They were people that knew that the young master wasn't doing this out of love.

Attempting to be strong, Amu held her tears back. There would be no crying. Tadase probably wanted her to shed tears and Amu would not ever give that man what he wanted. Silently, with her head held high, Amu moved through the mass of people. She passed familiar faces until she reached some that she didn't know as well. People that looked down on her and her family for not having more than they did. People that Amu wasn't so worried about disappointing, but still people that she would not let their opinions or thoughts get to her. She was doing this for her family and nothing more. Tadase could keep his riches.

The music grew louder the closer Amu got to the place where the actual ceremony would take place. All too soon, the pinkette stood in her wedding dress at the end of a long aisle. Everything was decorated beautifully, and if this wasn't a forced marriage then Amu might have taken a second to look around and appreciate how perfect everything was. Since she was not doing this out of love, Amu brushed off everything in her sight as she looked down the aisle to where her fate stood waiting for her.

Squaring her shoulders, Amu kept her head up as she began to walk to her soon-to-be-husband.

XXX

Together with his best friend, Daichi, Kukai tiptoed through the biggest mansion in the small town. The piece of the map they were looking for was said to be on the back of a large portrait of the current king.

Other times they'd had to complete a similar mission, the pirates hadn't been so lucky to go unnoticed. This time, however, Ikuto had asked that they do their best to keep their presence unknown. Doing so would not only make retrieving the map piece easier, but it would also keep those who were after them from knowing their moves.

With other pirates elsewhere in the house, Kukai and Daichi moved through the rooms searching for the item they desired. Just as they entered a separate sitting room, a servant came through a door opposite of them.

"What is going on? Everyone should be at the wedding. You shouldn't be here. Who are you?"

Frozen in their spots, Kukai was about to reply when a cry broke out from a different part of the house.

"PIRATES! THERE ARE PIRATES IN THE MANSION! HELP! ROBBERS! THIEVES! MURDERERS!"

XXX

The priest had just begun the marriage ceremony when shouts were heard from the house. The people toward the rear of the seating began screaming as they scrambled to get away. Tadase seized Amu by her arm and dragged her through the mass of panicking people back to his house. He pushed her inside before following her in and shutting the door behind them. "Pirates or not, you will still become mine tonight. Leave now and I'll make certain your family suffers."

Nodding her head, Amu stayed put in the small room that Tadase left her in. There was nothing she could do. The pirates were attacking the town and her family was in danger, but Amu had to stay and do nothing. Then again, Tadase was gone. He wouldn't know if she left the small room as long as she didn't leave for good and leave her family to his threats.

Making up her mind, Amu burst from the room she'd been left in to find many of the villagers still scrambling around the celebration area. They were too busy trying to find friends and family before rushing off that they were creating more chaos. Not that Amu minded. She quickly scanned the crowds until she caught sight of her younger sister with her mother.

Rushing through people, and somehow dodging around most of them, Amu made it to her family. "Mama, Ami."

Midori hugged her eldest daughter the moment she stopped in front of her. "Amu! Your dress is torn and your hair is a mess. Oh, baby, we have to get out of here."

Shaking her head, Amu pulled her mother and sister off to the side so they wouldn't be in the middle of the pandemonium. "Where is papa?"

"He went to make certain that the people down at the market were okay. You know your papa."

"We have to get you and Ami out of here. Get back to the house and stay there where it's safe."

Midori caught her daughter's arm and pulled her close. "This is your chance, Amu. Get away. Escape into the crowd and run. This isn't what you want and not what I want either."

Shaking her head, Amu knew she couldn't just abandon her family. "I can't. Tadase threatened to make your lives horrible if I left. He said-"

"It doesn't matter what he said. Amu, he can't do anything to us as long as we have each other. Your father and I were talking about leaving anyhow. We'll try out somewhere else and make a living there. For now, you go. This is your chance."

Amu desperately wanted to disagree. She wanted to cry and hold onto her mother and beg for forgiveness for not being able to help them better. She wanted to be hugged close and have sweet words whispered in her ears, telling her to be strong even when she knew she couldn't. Amu wanted all of that, but instead, she swallowed back her fear and nodded her head. "You'll have to leave tonight. Get out before Tadase can do anything to you. Head inland and find the next town. Don't stop there. Keep going. Live happily."

Midori nodded as tears sprung into her eyes. She hugged her eldest daughter. "Be strong, my Amu. I love you."

As soon as Amu was released by her mother, she hugged her younger sister. "Ami, grow up and help mama and papa. They need you now."

Nodding her young head, Ami tried to be strong in that moment for her sister. "Go, Amu, I'll be good."

Nodding once more, Amu took off through the crowds of people. She had no idea where she was going to go or how she was going to get away, especially in her ridiculous wedding gown, but she knew that this was her chance. Hopefully, she'd get to see her papa before she left.

XXX

Ikuto could hear the mess of shouts and people outside. Someone had been discovered, but that didn't mean that they were to retreat. They would get what they were there for. The piece of the map would be his before the night was through.

Entering a large study, Ikuto froze in his tracks. On the opposite wall hung a huge portrait of the king. Without wasting a moment, Ikuto crossed the room to throw down the painting. Stuck to the backside was a small piece of parchment. On the side facing out was information about the man who had painted the picture. Smirking, Ikuto pulled the paper away from the canvas. A smaller piece of parchment fluttered out onto the floor.

Scooping up the fragment of the map they were there to collect, Ikuto headed out of the room. Yoru, his usual companion, stood in the hall just outside the door. "Sound the retreat, I have it."

Grinning, Yoru lifted a small whistle to his lips and began to blow air through the small device. The crew had a code. Each member knew what each specific whistle meant. The one that Yoru used now was to signal every crew member to return to the ship. They had their spoils.

XXX

Losing her shoes as she ran down the stone road toward the town, Amu tried to carry her large dress with her as she went. Her father was supposed to be down near the marketplace. The strangest thing Amu found about everything that was happening, was the fact that even if there were pirates attacking, there were no fires or gunshots heard. Just screams from people trying to find loved ones and return home quickly. Something was off, but Amu couldn't put too much thought into it at the moment. She had to get away.

Dashing through the small streets, Amu kept an eye out for her papa. She found him helping a woman to close down her shop before any damage could be done to it. "Papa!"

Tsumugu turned to see his daughter that was to be married today running toward him in a tattered gown. "Amu? What are you doing here? You should have stayed up at the house where it was safe!"

Pulling her father away from anyone else that may be able to hear them, Amu quickly explained what was happening. "I have to go. I have to get away from him. Mama said you'd leave. Go find her and escape while you can. I'm sorry I can't go with you. I love you, papa."

With tears in his eyes, Tsumugu hugged his daughter close. "Fly strong, little sparrow."

Smiling, Amu pulled away before continuing her run. There was only one way for her to make it out of the harbor that night without Tadase being able to catch her. Somehow, someway, Amu had to make it onto the pirate ship.

XXX

Returning to the room he'd left his soon-to-be-bride in, Tadase was thankful that most of the people had finally left. As soon as he got the priest to finish their vows, he'd be taking Amu upstairs to show her what being his wife was going to be like.

Tadase opened the door to an empty room. His anger built as he clenched the doorknob in his hand. "Amu thinks she can run. We'll see about that."

.

Morg: So yeah. There you go.

Ikuto: Amu is sneaking onto my ship?

Amu: I want to be a pirate?

Morg: Well, you don't want to marry Tadase, so…

Ikuto: She can sneak into my bed. I'll hide her there.

Amu: Pervert.

Morg: I sort of like that idea, but that's not how it'll work.

Ikuto: Whatever, she'll end up there eventually.

Amu: Nope.

Morg: We'll see.