Morg: Heyo! Please understand that the details that I put into my stories are important. I don't believe in things such as 'filler chapters'. Everything that happens is happening for a reason!

Ikuto: Is there a reason you're saying this?

Amu: She's gotten some 'nothing is happening' reviews.

Morg: Those make me rather upset. I get that everyone wants couple action, but Amu has relationships with other people besides Ikuto. That and she has to have a reason to stay on the ship.

Ikuto: Some people.

Amu: Agreed.

Morg: I may not own the characters, but I sure as hell own the plot.

~The Eighth Sea~

Trying to not stuff her face in front of everyone present, Amu ate as slowly as she could for how hungry she was. Going for a few days without eating was never a good idea, but Amu had hidden on the boat. She couldn't leave her hiding spot until she was certain that they weren't going to be able to drop her back off at the port she was escaping from. That and most of the crew didn't trust her at first. There was no way that she could ask for some food when she hadn't earned any.

Luckily, for the pinkette, Kukai had thrown his arm around her after she'd climbed back onto the ship from getting the metal out of the rudder chain and dragged her down to the kitchens. Amu hadn't been certain if she could do much more on an empty stomach. The first mate was her savior.

Frowning at the girl that was clearly holding back, Kukai shook his head before leaning across the table. "You can eat, Amu. It's only you, me, and Su. We aren't judging. You must be hungry."

That was twice in one day that this man had saved her stomach. Returning the grin being directed at her, Amu dug into her food. With puffed-out cheeks, she turned to thank Su as the cook entered the small dining area.

"Amu! Don't speak with your mouth full!"

Kukai laughed as Amu attempted not to spew food across the table in front of her. The pinkette's cheeks turned a deep red color as she became embarrassed. The girl was rather cute. "I'm going to go speak to Ikuto about finding an island for us to use for supplies. If the yard isn't going to last much longer then we need to fix it as quickly as possible."

Swallowing the food in her mouth, Amu took a second to take a small drink of water from her cup before responding to the first mate. "I just need a good sized tree and I'll be able to fix it. It doesn't have to be an island with anything fancy."

Nodding to her before he left, Kukai let his mind quickly wander from what the girl had said to the boat they were on. The stairs and the yard were just the beginning of repairs that needed to be made. Maybe Amu's presence wasn't so bad. They could have gotten stuck with worse stowaways.

Climbing the steps to get to the main deck, Kukai sent a wink to the sailing mistress before entering the captain's cabin. Being that he was first mate, Kukai didn't have to bother with knocking when he knew Ikuto wasn't going to be doing anything of importance anyhow. "Cap."

"Yo."

Spinning, Kukai found that his captain was already looking over the maps on his large table. "I came to see if you could find anything for us to stop this tub on. Seems like you're already doing that. Are we going to have to go out of our way and keep her a little longer?"

Not bothering to look up at the other, Ikuto placed his finger on a small spot on his map. They were five days from the next port. Stopping at another island to get the ship fixed would only put them behind by a day at the most. Especially if Amu used some of the five days to fix what was broken on their ship. "Not really. I want her gone, but we do need the yard fixed. I'm simply trying to work out how to do both things."

Kukai didn't like Ikuto's decision in the least. Amu would be a very smart addition to their team. Having someone on board that could fix just about anything that broke could get them out of sticky situations that they hadn't been able to avoid in the past. Like now, they were going to have her fix the yard instead of trying to find somewhere that would help pirates without tipping off the navy. Still, Kukai knew that it wasn't his place to say anything about the decisions that Ikuto made. "So where are we going to stop?"

With his finger still on the map, Ikuto shifted so that the other man could see. It was obvious from the way that Kukai didn't agree with him that the other wasn't so keen on getting rid of Amu. Ikuto just couldn't explain his reasoning. No one else would understand. "I want to see if we can beach here. I haven't heard much about this island, which means that there shouldn't be anyone living on it. I'm sure we'll find our tree there."

Sending a nod to his captain, Kukai took his leave to go inform the sailing mistress that they had a slight change in course. It was a job that he could leave to Ikuto, but talking to Utau was something that the first mate just loved to do.

XXX

Amu felt terrible while watching Su wash the dishes, which was why the pinkette ended up helping the blonde girl with the cleanup. She'd made the food for Amu, after all. There was no reason for her to be the only member of the crew to be made food without having to do something to help clean up afterward. Not that she was actually part of the crew.

"You really don't have to help."

Smiling up at the other girl, Amu shook her head before taking the pot out of Su's hands. "I want to. You cooked such a delicious meal for me that I have to show my gratitude somehow."

Leaning against the counter behind her, Su watched as the stowaway cleaned up a mess that she hadn't made. From the looks of it, Amu knew how to scrub a pot the right way. The fancy dress that the other had been in didn't suit the callouses on her hands. "Amu, will you tell me how you learned to fix ships? Kukai was saying that you are very good at it."

Blushing without turning around, Amu focused on what she was doing with her hands for just a moment longer before letting her mind slip into her past. She might have chatted with Miki while fixing the stairs, but that didn't mean that she'd told the girl everything about herself.

Swiping some hair out of her face, Amu debated on where to start her story. "When I was young, my parents hoped for a new life in a colony. So we left and came over. At first, it was everything they wanted. Then taxes got worse and worse. I gave up school so that my younger sister could attend."

Su didn't say anything as Miki and Ran joined them in the kitchen. The girl scrubbing the pot hadn't seemed to notice their arrival so Su wasn't going to make her stop telling her story.

Sighing, Amu used the clean bucket of water that Su had to rinse the soap off the pot she'd been cleaning before reaching for another one. "I had to take on jobs to help support my family. My mother already cleaned for a rich family at our colony, so I went along to help. It wasn't enough. My father found me the job in the yards. I started off small and worked until I could do just about anything that needed doing. Boss always said I was his hardest worker even if I was a girl."

Su giggled at that, though Miki and Ran kept quiet. They motioned for Rima, Dia, and Nadeshiko to remain silent as well as the girls came in.

Finished with another pot, Amu put it to the side before grabbing the next one. With her hands busy, she found it easier to talk. "In my free time, I began drawing pictures of the area around the colony and the ocean. There was an older lady that would sell them in her shop for me. That helped a little, too. In exchange for teaching me what she had learned at school, I sang to my sister. I miss her terribly."

The girls listening to the story remained silent for a moment before Miki let out a slight cough. "I'm certain that she misses you, too, Amu."

Turning to find that her audience was much larger than she'd thought it was, Amu smiled a bit while fighting back a few tears. Ami was going to be a tender topic for her to think about for a long time to come. "I gave them up. My mother, father, and sister. Just so I could escape a marriage forced onto me. If I would have stayed and married that man then I could have still seen them."

Leaning against a different counter, Ran kept her eyes fixed on Amu's form. "So then why didn't you stay, Amu?"

Wiping a stray tear that managed to slip out, Amu turned back to the sink so that she wouldn't have to face the other girls. "Because marrying a man that I could never love was something that I couldn't do. When you guys attacked the port, my mother told me to run. He was going to take everything from them if I didn't marry him, but she said that I couldn't do this for them. I couldn't give up my life for that selfish bastard. Now I feel like the selfish one."

Amu wasn't expecting Su's arms to wrap around her. She definitely wasn't expecting Miki's or Ran's to join hers, but they did. Eventually, though there was much coaxing by a couple of the other girls to get Rima to join, they all hugged her.

Pulling away last, Su placed a quick kiss on Amu's cheek. "That life doesn't sound easy at all. Seeing you show up in that gaudy dress made me think that you were some sort of defenseless princess. Now I know that you're strong."

Right then and there, Amu knew that she'd be able to rely on Su for anything that she needed. The cook was so much like her mother that Amu couldn't help but trust her. "Thanks, Su. I can't tell you how much I needed to hear that."

"Do you want me to tell you how you should all get back to work?"

Heads turning, the girls found Ikuto standing in the doorway of the kitchen. The captain didn't look pleased to see them all just standing there. He looked even less pleased when he noticed that Amu was the only one that had been working.

Sighing, Rima rolled her eyes before taking Nadeshiko by the hand and heading for the stairs. "We don't have much to do now that Amu's here, Ikuto. She's fixing everything that needs to be fixed."

Ignoring the way the younger girl acted, Ikuto kept his eyes on the back of the pinkette that had turned around to finish scrubbing pots. "I thought Su was in charge of cleaning the kitchen."

It wasn't a question, though Amu decided that she was going to answer it like it was one. "Su made me food when she didn't have to. I wanted to repay her by doing the dishes. I don't have anything to fix, at the moment, unless you've found something else."

Narrowing his eyes, Ikuto didn't bother to say anything to the other girls as they trickled out of the gallery. "I came to find you to tell you that we'll be stopping at an island tomorrow. You'll have the day to find a proper tree and get it back to the boat. Once you get it back on board, you have three days to fix the mast before we make port. From there, you're on your own."

Amu didn't bother to turn around and acknowledge the captain as he left her alone with Su once again. There was nothing to be said. Once the man made his decision, it was final.

Not liking how the conversation had gone, Su placed her hand on Amu's back. "Leave the rest. You can come sleep in my room for now. You need some proper rest. You've been working so hard."

Unable to refuse the offer, Amu really didn't want to spend the night sleeping somewhere uncomfortable, she allowed herself to be pulled from the gallery and up the stairs. "You don't have to be so nice, Su. I know that I snuck on the ship without permission. I know it was wrong of me to do so."

"Nonsense. You were escaping from a life that was unwanted. You sound just as much like a pirate as the rest of us. That's what we're doing on this ship, escaping lives that weren't meant for us."

Not having a response to that, Amu allowed herself to be led to the same cabin that she'd changed in earlier that day. She was pleased to find that her dress was no longer there. Though, before she could ask about it, Su was already explaining where it had gone.

"The fabric is very rich, and the tears in it weren't much. I mended it down below the deck. I hope you don't mind."

Returning the smile, Amu laid on the bed that Su pointed out was hers. Exhaustion hit her harder than anything else had. "I don't mind at all, Su. You can fix it however you please. You can have it if you want."

"Oh, no! Something that rich should not be given away lightly. I will fix it for you, but it is still yours. Now sleep. Get some rest."

Yawning, Amu turned over to moan a bit as she stretched. "Don't let me kick you out of your bed, Su. You can join me when you want to get some sleep. I promise not to take up too much space."

Smiling at the girl that was more asleep than awake, Su made her way quietly out of the room. Amu was a good person. That much she knew already. The captain was a fool for not giving her a chance, though Su wasn't so stupid to think that Ikuto didn't want to.

XXX

Roused from her sleep by an irritated Rima, Amu sat up slowly. "What is it?"

Looking to see if Su had woken, Rima motioned for Amu to get out of the bunk she was sharing with the ship's cook and follow her. It wasn't until they were out in the hall that the blonde turned to face her. "We're at the island that the captain mentioned. He's going to send you and a few others to help you find the tree you want and bring it back. You're to be left here alone at sundown if you don't complete your task."

Well, if that wasn't some kind of incentive then Amu didn't know what was. There was a very small chance that she could survive on an island by herself. That didn't mean that she wanted to. "I understand, and I'm ready to go with whoever the captain has chosen."

Leading the way, Rima took Amu up onto the main deck. As much as the blonde wanted to say that she knew who was going, Ikuto hadn't announced that just yet. Clearly, Su would not be one of them. The girl was about the only member of the crew still sleeping. Her and Utau. The sailing mistress would not be leaving the ship. Not after having sailed through the night to get them to the island that Ikuto was desperate to reach.

Seeing that the girl that he needed the most to be there was there, Ikuto cleared his throat so that the rest of the crew would listen to him. It was easier when he only had to give orders once. "A select party of individuals will be accompanying Amu onto shore to find a tree that can replace our yard. She has the day to find one and bring it back. If she is unable to complete her task then Amu will stay on this island while we leave. Any questions?"

No one spoke a word, though that was mostly because they knew that Ikuto would make whoever did speak up do something ridiculous and stupid as a punishment. Most of them had been a part of the crew long enough to know better.

Smirking, Ikuto turned back to look at the sleepy stowaway. "Excellent. As for the party going ashore, Kukai will stay here and command the ship. I will be going along with Amu. Musashi, I need you to stay. Il and Temari, you'll be coming with me. Miki and Nadeshiko will also be coming. Rhythm, Dia, you will also be coming. Any questions?"

Once again, the crew was silent. They might all have a great relationship with their captain, but when Ikuto gave the order for them to follow, they followed.

Shaking herself to wake up a bit more, Amu turned to look at the island that they were beside. There were no trees near the beach, though she could see some further in. There was plenty of tall grass covering most of the small landform. Still, Amu knew that she could find what she needed. Ikuto's threat, though a great show, was unneeded. Of that, she was sure of.

Slipping to stand beside the girl studying the island, Ikuto didn't bother to look down at the pinkette. "You only have today, Amu. I suggest you don't waste it."

Sighing, the girl tried to remind herself that Ikuto was the captain and that she was the stowaway on his ship. He could treat her however he pleased. All Amu could do was hope to prove him wrong. She could do this. She was going to do this. There was nothing that could stop her.

.

Morg: I love writing strong Amu!

Ikuto: It took you that long to update for this?

Amu: Eh, it could be worse.

Morg: I've been busy!

Ikuto: Whatever.

Amu: Not interested in hearing about it.

Morg: I'm sure you're not.

Ikuto: Do better next time.

Amu: Don't even update next time.

Morg: I'll show you!