Morg: Heyo! I've been making an attempt to update faster. How am I doing?

Ikuto: Do you honestly want me to answer that?

Amu: All right, I suppose.

Morg: Please let me know!

Ikuto: Okay, well, you update stories with no smut before you update your good stories, and sometimes you don't even put the goods in the chapter that you update. I have a problem with this.

Amu: As I said, you're doing all right.

Morg: I'd be doing better if I owned you.

Ikuto: No you wouldn't.

Amu: Don't even joke about that.

~The Eighth Sea~

Chaos. That was the only word that could describe the scene around Amu as she made her way toward the harbor. There weren't any sounds of fighting or killing or stealing that one would expect when pirates were on shore. Despite the situation not making any sense, Amu kept running. This was her chance. She wasn't about to waste it because a few pirates weren't killing everyone. Considering she wanted to sneak onto their ship, it was probably a good thing they weren't being overly violent. It meant her chances of actually staying on board and not being thrown to the waves after they left were higher.

Weaving in and out of people screaming and running around as they attempted to find loved ones and save the material possessions they thought the pirates would steal from them, Amu entered the dark harbor. The pirate ship was pulled right up to their longest dock. Seeing the pirates that were left on the ship to guard it and some others heading for their ship with whatever they were after, Amu tried to think fast. Needing a way onto the ship without drawing attention to herself from the crew, the pinkette scanned the area around the ship and tried to figure out where everyone was stationed.

Amu was about to give up when she caught sight of a rope blowing in the wind. The rope hung from the mast of a ship she'd been recently helping to fix. At least, she had been before Tadase banned her from the yard. The dangling rope was hard to see in the darkening evening, but Amu knew it was there. A plan quickly formed in her mind. One that would be hard, but she could do it.

Quietly, the runaway went straight for the ship she knew well and snuck aboard. Moving without making a sound even in her large but tattered wedding dress, Amu began climbing the mast. The bastard that she had almost had to marry had forbidden her from making any jumps within the last few days. Amu was itching to feel the wind whip by her. She'd have to calculate the weight of her dress into the equation for where she wanted to land, but she doubted she'd have any trouble with that.

Tying the rope securely around her waist, Amu eyed the distance between the ship she was currently on and the one just down the dock from her. Her presence in the harbor had gone unnoticed so far. The pirates were helping one another with whatever they were doing. This was her chance.

Backing up a step or two, Amu took a deep breath before throwing all caution to the wind and running in the opposite direction of the pirate ship for the end of the mast. The familiar feeling of the air flying around her greeted her like an old friend as she dove off the end and out into free space. This feeling. Amu had missed this feeling in the few days that she hadn't been able to experience it. Her future had looked so bleak while she was being forced to do what she didn't want to do that Amu had almost forgotten what freedom tasted like. In the few seconds that she hung in the air, Amu remembered. Then the rope caught.

Gravity did its part in helping Amu escape. Swinging back around, Amu ran alongside her ship to keep her momentum going. The plan was to propel herself fast enough to swing over the water and land on the side of the other ship if her rope was long enough and she hadn't miscalculated her jump.

The moment of truth approached as Amu began to run out of hull to run against. Reaching the last bit she had left, Amu pushed off hard to send herself out over the top of the water. She was aiming for the side of the pirate ship in order to run along it for just a bit until she reached the backport windows. The plan was to climb in one and hide somewhere in the hull until she felt they were far enough away for her to reveal herself.

The weight of her dress scared the flying girl as the water continued to rise up to meet her as she soared above it. If even the tip of her dress began to drag in the water, Amu knew that she'd slow down too much and fall in. The weight of her dress would drag her under. The ties were too complicated for her to undo by herself, which meant that Amu would find an escape from her unwanted marriage in an unconventional way. Her life would end. She'd drown because of the weight of her wedding dress. Amu almost found it ironic as she prayed she'd make it to the other ship. The distance wasn't that great, but the fear of failing made it stretch out in her mind.

Nearing the end, Amu closed her eyes. If she hit wood, her body would automatically react. If she hit the water, then there was nothing she could do. Yes, she was tied to a rope, but her muscles would give out long before she could pull herself out of the salty water.

Sending one last plea to whatever gods existed, Amu felt the wood of the pirate ship beneath her bare feet. Feeling life flood through her veins, Amu began running along the hull of the ship. The window she'd been aiming for wasn't that far now. All Amu had to do was make it to the window, stop, pull herself in, and untie the rope. Then she'd be free to hide wherever she could, as long as she didn't get captured before she could do said hiding. If she was spotted then she was certain that it was all over. She'd be thrown overboard and die anyway.

Attempting to focus on the positives, Amu moved along the ship, aiming for her window with the confidence of making it flowing throughout her body. The running girl braced herself for the strain she knew she was about to feel in her arms when she grabbed the edge of the window and put a stop to her momentum. The dress was possibly going to be an issue here, as well. There was a chance that she wouldn't be able to take the weight and her fingers would be ripped from their secure position.

Focusing once again on what she had to do and not on what could go wrong, Amu narrowed her gaze at the exact spot she wanted to grab. She was ready; hopefully, her body was as well.

Fingers clasping and wood biting, the girl risking her life held on with all her might. The weight of her dress pulled on her, but Amu wouldn't let it win. Still hanging on, she felt the extra weight she'd been carrying on her shoulders slip off into the water as she hung on the side of the ship leading to her freedom. The pressure to marry Tadase. The worry for her family. The fear for her future. All of it was gone. Her dress was heavy, yes, but she wouldn't let it drag her down.

Hoisting herself into the boat, Amu remained silent as she looked around for a place to hide. Any place would do. Hopefully, when they let her stay (Amu had her fingers crossed for that one as well) they'd give her better clothes to wear. Her dress was becoming more and more annoying as she tried to move through the ship and caught it on different objects stored in weird places. Someone needed to organize. Though the chaos of the stuff randomly thrown into the hull helped the pinkette more than it hurt her. She could easily hide and even if she was slightly seen out of the corner of an eye, Amu doubted that they'd realize what they were seeing.

Freezing mid-step, Amu stared straight ahead at the silhouette of a man. He was staring directly at her, unmoving. "Uhhhh…"

Her voice sounded harsh against the silence of the storeroom she was currently in. The man made no move to show that he'd heard her speak. Amu took a step forward again. "Please, don't throw me out. Let me explain…"

Something was off about this person. He seemed only to get larger as she moved toward him. He was definitely further back in the hull than she originally thought and he still had yet to say anything about her presence.

Staying silent now, Amu continued to approach him. As she did, she realized that his build was way too big to be normal. What kind of pirates were these?

Bracing herself in case there was some need for her to run, Amu continued to approach the silent, giant person. A rock of the ship caused a strip of moonlight to hit something else in the room and reflect. For the brief seconds of light, Amu's eyes fell upon the face of a large statue.

Gasping, Amu moved forward once more to examine what she now knew to be just stone. The space between the statue and the wall of the ship was just enough for her to squeeze herself and her large dress in so that she wouldn't be seen unless someone was standing directly next to her.

Happy with her hiding place, Amu settled in to wait. She could tell the difference between the rocks of a ship at rest and one in motion. Soon enough, she hoped, they'd be on their way out to open waters. Once Amu was absolutely certain she couldn't be taken back, she was going to expose herself. The need for food and water would drive her out eventually anyway. Long before they ported somewhere else, at least.

XXX

Having what they came for, Ikuto took count of the members of his crew. Everyone was present. "Kukai, give the order to set sail. We've got our bounty."

The crew cheered and spread the word as Kukai ordered them to get moving so they could get out of there. They hadn't done more than take the piece of the map they were after, but that didn't mean some good-hearted citizen wasn't going to attempt to take down an entire ship of pirates by themselves. They'd had it happen once before. They didn't need for it to happen again. "You heard the captain! Get to work! Get us out to sea! Then you can be lazy!"

Ikuto didn't bother to wait as he headed for his cabin. The piece of the map he carried was too important for him to risk losing it somewhere. It belonged in the chest with the other pieces that they had collected so far. All that hard work was not going to go to waste. "Set a course and let's get some sleep."

Nodding to the last instruction he was going to receive from his captain that night, Kukai kept the ship in running order as everyone got their chores done before retiring for the night, save the few left awake to make certain they didn't crash into something or were attacked in their sleep by enemy ships.

The crew lay down that night, exhausted yet happy with how the day went. They were all completely unaware of the girl hiding amongst them. The girl praying for a better future and willing to work hard to get it.

.

Morg: So yeah. Amu makes it onto the ship. Now you guys will just have to wait until the next chapter to see how the crew responds to finding her.

Ikuto: I'm sure I'll be happy.

Amu: I won't let you touch me.

Morg: I said you'll have to wait and see! I'm not telling!

Ikuto: Whatever.

Amu: Doesn't matter! I still won't let you touch me.

Morg: Just love me since these two won't!