Morg: Heyo! I get so much love for this story!

Ikuto: Yeah? So?

Amu: Maybe she doesn't have a point.

Morg: No, I do. My point would be, I'm glad that you all love it, but please remember that it is mine. There is a reason for the rating and there is a reason for everything else, too.

Ikuto: Uh oh! Some readers are getting pushy.

Amu: Well, she doesn't own them any more than she owns us.

Morg: It isn't like that. Just trust me! I won't let you guys down!

Ikuto: Oh, I'm counting on it!

Amu: Oh jeez.

~The Eighth Sea~

Amu barely remembered getting out of Su's bed when the girl came to get her to eat. Luckily for the pinkette, the gallery was empty. None of the other crew members were present, which meant that Amu had somehow missed mealtime. She knew hadn't missed supper since the sun was still in the sky, but lunch was clearly over. "What time is it?"

Patting the other girl on the back, Su moved to get something for Amu to eat. "Sweetie, you slept through the afternoon and the night. It's almost time for lunch again. When we tried to wake you for lunch yesterday you didn't move so we let you sleep. When I came to get you for supper, you asked to be left alone, so I did. Clearly, you were exhausted, dear."

Waking up a bit more, Amu could hardly believe what she was hearing. If what Su was telling her was real then they'd be making port that evening. Amu's time on the ship was coming to an end. She'd slept through most of what she'd had left. "I didn't mean to sleep so long."

Coming through the door to catch the last part of the sentence, Nagihiko laughed before moving to sit beside the new girl. "From the stories that Nade has been telling me, it sounds like you needed that sleep. Don't worry, no problems have come up while you were sleeping. We would have woken you up if that was the case."

Smiling a bit, Amu hid a yawn beneath her hand before moving to eat the food that Su placed before her. Sleeping for so long had left her rather hungry. "Still, sleeping for so long means I don't have a lot of time left with everyone."

Releasing a sigh, Nagi scratched at a spot on the table before turning to look at the girl beside him. "I was there, you know. Yesterday when you fixed the yard. I saw all the hard work that you did. Rima even admitted to me that a lot of repairs that have been happening lately are thanks to you. To give you up would be a mistake. Especially, if you are willing to stay."

The words meant a lot to Amu, but they didn't matter much to her future considering that Nagihiko wasn't the one that was to make the decision as to whether she was able to stay or not. Even if all the crew members told her to stay, Amu couldn't do it unless the captain agreed. "Thanks, Nagihiko, but this isn't a decision for you or me to decide. No matter how useful you all think I am, I still snuck onto the ship. I'm a stowaway. It doesn't surprise me that Ikuto doesn't want me to stick around."

"Good. You shouldn't."

Looking up at the sound of a new voice, Amu wasn't surprised to see Ikuto standing in the doorway of the galley. She'd become rather familiar with his voice as of late due to all the orders and nagging he liked to do. "Captain."

Holding back his smirk at the sight of the pinkette tilting her head his way before she went back to eating, Ikuto moved further into the room. He'd heard that she'd finally woken up and had come to make certain she wasn't sick. Sickness on a boat could mean trouble. "I trust that you're feeling better."

Nagihiko snorted before moving to stand. "I should get back to work."

With a quick bow toward Amu, Nagi moved to the door. Pausing just beside his captain, the purple-haired sailor leaned closer to the other male so that his voice didn't have to be too loud. "Be careful, Cap'n. The crew might start thinking you care about her if you're nice."

Scowling as the other male left, Ikuto made a mental note to talk to Kukai about having Nagi do an extra night of work for that comment. Then again, with having Amu on board for just a few days, most of their problems had already been taken care of. Ikuto wasn't a fool. He could see her worth, he just couldn't let her stay.

Unaware of what had happened near the door, Amu continued to eat whatever Su was giving her. The hunger in her gut didn't exactly care what she ate to sate it. As long as she ate. She was, however, aware when Ikuto stood just on the other side of the bolted-down table from where she sat. Looking up with her cheeks full of food, Amu lifted an eyebrow in question seeing as she couldn't speak with her mouth so full.

Smirking this time, Ikuto took in the sight of Amu like that. He couldn't deny that she was beautiful even when she was being rather gluttonous. "I'm just here to give you your instructions considering you decided to sleep through the meeting this morning."

Swallowing, Amu took a drink of water before letting out a light hum. Su was an amazing cook. Amu was rather thankful to have met her, even if it was only for a short time. "The captain came to deliver his orders himself?"

Smirk quickly changing to a scowl, Ikuto placed his hands on the tabletop so that he could lean closer to the girl that thought she had any right to talk back to him. "Don't feel special. I'm here to remind you that once we're in port and everything is done, you'll be left behind. In fact, the entire time that I'm in that town, you'll be beside me. All the way until when I get back on the ship and you don't. You won't have the chance to sneak back on a second time."

Calmly wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, Amu raised her gaze to meet Ikuto's once more. Blue met gold in a clash of wills. Ikuto was going to keep her by his side. Amu wasn't going to argue with that. What better way to be allowed to stay on the ship than to spend a lot of time with the only person that could allow her to do so. "Fine by me."

Eyes hardening, Ikuto turned to leave. He looked back at the girl once he reached the door. She was still staring at him with the same determination in her eyes. Ikuto didn't like the look. "Ran has already spotted land. I suggest you get yourself ready."

Amu kept up her demeanor until Ikuto was really gone. She slumped into her spot when she realized the captain wasn't going to come back in and say something else. No wonder she'd slept for almost a full twenty-four hours. That man made her feel drained.

Having stayed silent throughout the entire exchange, Su moved back to Amu's side to rub her back and pet her hair. Sometimes Ikuto was so stupid that she just wanted to slap him. Still, it wasn't Su's place so she held back her concerns. "Are you all right, dear?"

Nodding, Amu leaned into the friendly touches. She was going to miss them, but it was better for her to be in a town of strangers than back at the place that she'd managed to escape from. "I'll be fine. What better way than to convince him to let me stay than spending time with him. Even if I don't really want to."

Su chuckled at that before urging Amu to clean up. They were going to make port, which meant that every member of the crew was going to be able to take proper baths and wash some of the stink from their skin, but Amu being with Ikuto the entire time meant she wasn't going to be able to do the same as the others. Her only chance for cleaning up a bit came from Su's boiled seawater. Still, Amu was going to take what she could get.

XXX

Standing before his crew, Ikuto gave them all a smile before holding up a large bag. Inside his bag was a bunch of smaller bags. Every member of the crew was paid their due before they left the ship. "Be good while we're here. No stealing, please. Please remember the time, we can't stay for long in case anyone happens to be following us."

A hard gaze was directed toward Amu, but the majority of the crew just ignored it. Most of them really liked the girl that they'd discovered on their ship. They also didn't want her gone, but each member knew that there was nothing they could say against their captain.

Pulling out the first of the little bags of money, Ikuto smiled as his crew moved forward to take them. He was glad that they all had time to take a break and move around on land for a few hours. Of course, a couple of the members wouldn't leave the ship. Su was one of them. She hated going ashore so Ikuto never made her. She was never left alone, as the other crew members took turns as to who would wait with her. This time it appeared to be Musashi that would be staying behind. Ikuto didn't comment on that.

Finished with handing out their pay, Ikuto motioned for Amu to follow him. In a large sack on her back, the pinkette carried the dress that Su had worked to repair. The thing looked beautiful even if Amu hated it. The dress could make her rather rich, which was a good thing considering she was going to be left to fend for herself in the port.

Eyeing the girl moving toward him, Ikuto hefted his now emptier sack to his shoulder before making his way over to the gangplank that connected their ship to the dock. "I won't help you carry that thing if you get tired."

Heaving a sigh, Amu saved her eye roll for when Ikuto looked away from her face. She didn't need his help. He should have known that by now. "I'll make sure to remember that."

Leading his way into the port, Ikuto ignored the people selling wares right there on the docks. He knew that in order to get what they actually needed for the ship, he had to look past the sparkling treasures that the sellers promised brought luck and peace for sailors. Ikuto, as captain, had to be the one to spend what was left of their money wisely. There wasn't much of it. He couldn't waste any of it.

Amu, on the other hand, was rather intrigued by the sellers around them. She let her large eyes take in the sights of the place as she and Ikuto moved further in. This town was so different from the one that she'd left behind. The people here looked more gnarled than they did back at her home. Though most of her town was rather on the wealthier side than what appeared to be the case here.

Skirting around people that seemed to want to grab her to force her to look at their wares, Amu stuck close to Ikuto's back as he led the way for her. The pinkette didn't know where they were going, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. She felt the need to break the silence between them anyhow. "So where are we going?"

Glancing back for only a second, Ikuto turned back to face where he was going. Though he usually tried to keep his head down when in port so that he wouldn't leave a name for himself anywhere, he'd sort of fallen out of favor with some of the lesser citizens that resided in the darkest part of town. The captain hadn't meant for it to happen but it had. Which meant he needed to be on alert as he made his way through the port just in case old wrongs died hard. "To get supplies."

Nodding, Amu took a quick step to get around someone that was trying to block her path. Amu wasn't going to get separated from Ikuto. "Are we going to stop at a store somewhere for me to sell this thing?"

"You want to sell it?"

Lifting an eyebrow as Ikuto stopped and turned to talk to her, Amu couldn't help but think that Ikuto still knew very little about her. "I don't want to keep it. I don't want anything to do with that man. Besides, it is worth quite a bit of money."

Sighing, Ikuto glanced around to make certain that no one was watching them. He hated that he had enemies that he had to be wary of. "We'll go after I find some of the things that Su requested."

The answer was better than Amu thought that she was going to get. Ikuto was going to help her sell the dress, which meant that she could probably get more for it than she was expecting since men tended to bargain better with other men. If he actually helped her with that part.

The shop that Ikuto stopped in front of didn't look that impressive to Amu. Then again. She didn't know the people that ran it or why Ikuto always came to that particular spot. She knew that he did, considering the way the shopkeeper greeted him.

"Ikuto! Long-time no see. How are the seas?"

Grasping the hand of the older man, Ikuto smiled in return before releasing the hold. "Rougher than ever. I trust you are faring well."

Rubbing his larger than most belly, the man gave a shrug before gesturing around the shop. "Better than some, I suppose."

As the two got acquainted once more, Amu took her chance to do some looking. There were lots of different types of dried food stored around the place. The store clearly sold things that sailors could use for a long time to come. This could be part of the reason that Ikuto came to this particular store.

Turning the corner, Amu found the man that had been talking with Ikuto waiting for her. "Oh, hello."

Smiling at the girl, the man held out his hand. It wasn't every day that someone so beautiful came into his shop. "And what can I do for a beauty like you?"

Amused by the man's sweet words but not at all taken in by them, Amu allowed for a kiss to be placed on the back of her hand. Just like the shopkeepers did from her home, Amu knew that this man was just trying to get information from her. Something that she wouldn't be giving him. "Oh no, I don't require anything. I just happen to be traveling with that man over there for today."

Glancing over his shoulder to see Ikuto arguing with one of the lads that worked in the shop about prices and how things were going to be delivered, the shop owner turned back to the girl he found much more interesting. "You've just met him?"

Smiling in return, Amu couldn't help but think this man was a bit too curious about things that didn't truly concern him. "You could say that."

The smile on the man's face slipped a bit as he looked the girl over. At first, he'd thought her to be one of Ikuto's crew, which was something that had never happened before. Ikuto always came alone. Now, he knew that she wasn't so. "Be wary of him, young miss. That man may appear handsome, but he isn't a kind fellow. There are some here who wish his death. Lucky for him that we are old friends. The amount of money on his head would make anyone want to turn him in."

Instantly becoming cautious of the man before her, Amu slipped her hand out of the grip that he still had on it. She was aware that being a pirate meant that Ikuto had enemies, but she didn't know that he was so close to some here. She also didn't like the man before her. She didn't trust him. "Thank you for the warning, but we really did only just meet. He's helping me with some errands. I hardly know him."

Moving away from the man that she didn't like, Amu made her way to Ikuto's side. He was asking for a ridiculously low price while arguing that they were old friends and longtime customers so they should be given discounts. Amu was quick to wrap her arm through his and pull him away. "Ikuto! You said that you'd help me! Come on! I want to go!"

Surprised by Amu's actions, Ikuto frowned down at the girl on his arm as she threw him a hidden wink. With a sigh, he decided it wouldn't hurt to play along. "Fine. Let's just go. Clearly, I'm getting nothing from here."

"Wait! Wait!"

The man that Amu didn't like came forward while wiping his hands on his shirt. "For being an old friend, we'll take that price. The goods will be delivered to your ship by sunrise."
Narrowing his gaze, Ikuto threw a small sack of coins to the shop owner. "I want them there within an hour. Just leave them at the dock. My crew will take it from there."

With that, Amu managed to drag the pirate captain out the door.

Turning to his boss, the boy that worked in the shop seemed a bit suspicious. "I thought we were stalling them for that reward?"

Grinning, the man hefted the bag of money that Ikuto had tossed to him. "We were. They're close enough now that he'll be caught and we'll still be rewarded. Go ahead and deliver the goods. We'll just collect them later after we get paid again."

The boy nodded before rushing to do as instructed.

XXX

Amu didn't stop pulling Ikuto until they were a long way from the shop. She backed them into a dark corner of an alley before peeking out again.

More than amused by Amu's actions, Ikuto simply let the pink-haired girl do whatever it was that she wanted. "Are you going to tell me what you're doing?"

"He sold you out."

Instantly losing the small smile on his face, Ikuto placed his hand on Amu's shoulder to look over her head at the street. There were men moving toward the place that they'd just come from. He couldn't be sure what they were doing, but Amu seemed to know. "How do you know that?"

Looking up to meet Ikuto's gaze, Amu gestured back to the guys on the street. They looked as though they were casually trying to find someone. However, it was the hard looks in their eyes that told her that it wouldn't end well for whoever it was that they were trying to find. "He said that there was a large reward for you. One that any man would be tempted by. Clearly, he included himself in that group."

A bit impressed by how smart Amu actually was, Ikuto looked down at the girl again. He'd thought she was more of the do whatever she could to get money type. Including marrying for it. That idea was changing due to her hard work on the ship but also because of now. She'd just saved him from having to deal with those idiots out on the street.

An idea formed in Ikuto's mind. One that made him smirk. "Amu, you know that I don't have much money for supplies, right? What do you say we make a bit more?"

A bad feeling began to grow in Amu's gut. Something told her that she wasn't going to like the plan she could see forming in Ikuto's mind. However, she'd go along with just about anything to make the captain like her. "What is it?"

Smirking now, Ikuto took a step back further into the shadows. "I'm going to need you to put on that dress."

.

Morg: So yeah, things just keep happening that I wasn't expecting.

Ikuto: How does that even work? You're the one writing the story.

Amu: He's got a point.

Morg: I mean yeah, I've got the major points figured out, but this little stuff keeps growing a bit.

Ikuto: Whatever. It's fine.

Amu: You could just stop writing.

Morg: Never!