Morg: Heyo! Did you think you'd seen the last of me?

Ikuto: No.

Amu: You always take forever to update.

Morg: Yeah, I guess I do.

Ikuto: The first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one.

Amu: I can tell you both about all your problems.

Morg: I don't actually have to listen to this so no thanks.

~The Eighth Sea~

Ikuto paced his cabin for at least half the night. Dia was asleep in her bed where she belonged. He knew that she wouldn't say anything to anyone until he gave her permission. Still, he wasn't sure yet what he wanted to say to the others. Dia's vision changed things. Ikuto just wasn't sure how much they actually changed.

A knock on his door when the sun was just beginning to rise brought Ikuto out of his pacing. He crossed the cabin to throw the door open. He shouldn't have been surprised to find Amu standing there.

"Good morning, Captain. I heard that Dia made it safely to bed last night so that's good."

"Amu."

Smiling, partly because Amu could see that Ikuto had clearly not slept as much as he needed to, Amu kept talking as though he hadn't said her name the way he did. "The girls and I scoured the ship yesterday to find any damage that Tadase and Kiseki did. We found some holes in the lower holds but nothing that will cause us to sink as long as we don't sail through any storms. We also had a support beam crack. We need to replace that as soon as possible."

Sighing, Ikuto ran a hand down his face before stepping aside to let Amu into his cabin. "Anything else?"

"The masts both seem to be in good shape. We didn't find any cracks or breakages anywhere but I'd like to do a full check of the outside of the hull. So we'll need to find somewhere safe to anchor so that I can do that."

"I thought you said that you didn't want to visit any more unknown islands."

Amu grimaced at that. "True. This is going to be necessary though. I want us to not sink more than I want us to not visit another unexplored island."

Ikuto nodded at that before moving to look at the map on his table.

Amu hesitated for only a moment before she stepped up beside him. "I did notice that you haven't called for a change in our heading."

Ikuto squeezed his eyes shut before nodding. "I haven't."

"Did Dia see something that is making you hesitate?"

Lifting his gaze to rest on Amu, Ikuto studied the girl before him. She seemed concerned but ready to drop the conversation if he said she should. "She did."

Amu bit at her lip for a moment before she nodded her head. "It is something that caused you to get very little sleep. It is something that's really bothering you to the point where you are hesitating where you haven't before."

"Yes."

"Are you scared?"

Ikuto swallowed hard before looking away from Amu. "Only of making a selfish decision that will put everyone in danger."

Amu didn't hesitate as she reached out to take Ikuto's hand in hers. "Then let us make that decision with you."

"What?"

"Call a meeting, Ikuto. Get everyone up here and explain what happened. Explain what we suspect and what Dia saw and see what your crew has to say about it."

Ikuto couldn't help but twist his hand so that he was holding Amu's in return. "That isn't how a crew works. The captain makes the decisions and the crew follows them."

Laughing, Amu tugged on Ikuto's hand without pulling hers from his. "That might be how a normal crew works, Ikuto, but nothing about this crew is normal. You said that everyone here knows your story and is willing to help you to rescue your father. So let them know what has changed and let them keep deciding what it is that they want to do."

He looked down at the hand in his for a moment before slowly nodding his head. "You're right. We're a crew that runs a bit differently than any other. We'll have a meeting and go over what's happened."

Smiling, Amu couldn't help but be glad to see that the look that had haunted Ikuto's face had started to recede. He looked more sure of himself than he had when she'd come to give him a report. "Nobody has to decide anything today, Ikuto. We need time to do repairs before we sail anywhere. We have time to figure things out."

Ikuto nodded again, feeling more sure of himself than he had since Dia woke up. "Are the others waking up?"

Nodding, Amu released Ikuto's hand, smiling a bit when he was a little slower to do the same. "The crew was getting ready for breakfast when I came up here. I wanted to see if there was somewhere nearby we could go to that we knew wouldn't be dangerous."

Trying to find some of his usual confidence, Ikuto smirked at Amu as he led her to the door of his cabin. "I don't know what you're complaining about, Amu. I have only ever tried to take you to the most exciting places."

"Yes," Amu answered dryly. "I have definitely enjoyed the giant rats and being buried alive. That excitement is what I ran away from home for."

Sweeping into a bow in order to allow Amu to leave through the door before him, Ikuto chuckled to himself. "I have strived to make sure that your time with us is never boring."

Laughing, Amu stopped just outside his door to wait for Ikuto. "You have done a marvelous job."

Ikuto simply winked at her before following her down into the galley. Most of the rest of the crew was already seated at the tables. Su was quickly serving everyone their food.

Ikuto took a second to just look at his crew. They were men and women that had come to him over time. They'd all left lives that had made them unhappy. He liked to think that he was giving them a better life here.

Taking the bowl that Su was shoving into his hands, Ikuto cleared his throat to gain the attention of the sleepy crew members already eating. "We're going to have a meeting on the main deck as soon as everyone has eaten. Make sure the others are aware."

Not bothering to wait for anyone to say anything in reply, Ikuto swept out of the room. He didn't bother to look back at where he knew Amu was shaking her head at his dramatics. He took his food back to his cabin to study the map. It didn't take long for Yoru to join him.

Yoru slipped into Ikuto's cabin and joined him at the map table for a few minutes without saying anything. Then he looked up at the man that he had come to see as an older brother more than anything else. "Are we going to be okay?"

Ikuto turned to face his cabin boy. "We have some choices to make today that are going to change some things, Yoru. But I will do everything in my power to make sure that you are always okay."

Yoru gave up the pretense of looking at the map to slip closer to Ikuto and press into his side for a hug. "I'll only be okay if you are, too."

Smiling, Ikuto wrapped his arm around Yoru to pull him closer. "I will do what I can to keep myself safe along with everyone else in our crew."

Yoru snuggled into Ikuto for a moment more before stepping away from his captain. "Everyone is already starting to gather on the deck. Are you ready?"

Ikuto sucked in another breath before nodding. "Yes, let's go."

The group amassed on the deck looked at him as Ikuto walked up with Yoru. The captain took a second to look around to make sure that everyone was there. He noticed that Amu was missing. Then he realized that Dia was, as well.

Before Ikuto could say anything about them missing, he turned to find Amu guiding Dia onto the deck. She looked up to smile at him as she brought the tired girl to the meeting they were having. Ikuto was glad to see Dia there. He hadn't thought about the fact that she had probably been sleeping still.

Turning back, Ikuto met Kukai's eye before sharing a glance with his sister. He swallowed hard before clasping his hands behind his back and standing a little straighter in front of his crew. "Yesterday, Amu and I were talking about the clue on the seventh piece of the map. We think we figured out where we need to go."

Kukai, noticing that Ikuto was pausing, chose to step forward if only slightly. "What did the clue say?"

Nodding, Ikuto shifted his weight but stayed standing as tall as he could. "Only once you can fly can you discover what you seek."

"And what do you think that means," Rima asked.

Ikuto glanced at Amu but answered the question himself. "There is a spot on my map that shows an island. Over that island is a dragon with wings. That will be the best place to start."

Utau shrugged as some of the other members of the crew started to talk amongst themselves. "If sirens exist then I think it's possible that dragons do, too."

Ikuto couldn't help but be thankful for his sister. She was always much better at pointing out things than he was.

Slowly, Dia pushed herself to her feet. She smiled at Amu as the girl helped her, but she didn't stop until she was standing beside Ikuto. "The choice to go to the dragons is the correct one. I saw the future. We have to go there to get the last piece of the map and get to the Eighth Sea."

Nadeshiko saw the way Ikuto shifted. She saw the way Dia blinked slowly and Amu fretted. "What else did you see?"

Dia did not flinch. She faced the crew with her head held high. "We make it to the Eighth Sea. We save Ikuto's father and bring him back to this dimension but Tadase and Kiseki catch us. They bind the magic to them and they take over the world. I saw a city burning."

"Those are the guys that thought I was Amu, right?"

Ikuto nodded at Ran. "Yes, Kiseki is an officer in the Navy. He's been hunting us for a long time."

"Tadase was with him," Amu added. "They're somehow related. Tadase is the one I was supposed to marry before I escaped him and stowed away on the ship. He apparently has decided that he cannot live without me and that I have to marry him no matter what."

Miki shook her head as she leaned against the railing of the ship. "A man that chases you like that is one that you should definitely run from. No thanks."

Laughing at that, Amu nodded. "Yeah, I'd rather not be forced to spend my life with him."

"I think it might be more important that a guy that we already know is crazy should not gain the power of the Eighth Sea," Nagihiko deadpanned.

"There has to be a way," Amu said slowly, "to save Ikuto's father and make sure that Tadase and Kiseki do not burn down the world."

"Do we have to make a decision today?" Su asked with a raise of her hand.

Ikuto shook his head. "No, we have time to think about what we need to do. Amu said that we have repairs to make. Kairi and I are going to look over the map today and find an island for us to stop at that we know is safe. I think we need a few days without any adventures. We'll take those days to think about what our options are and then make a decision as a crew."

Kairi nodded to their captain before getting up from where he'd been sitting. "The injuries that anyone suffered from the fight with the Navy were seen to. There was nothing drastic or overly worrying. That being said, I think a break on an island would do all of us some good."

Ikuto smiled as he relaxed his shoulders and finally released his hands. "Well, if it's what the doctor has ordered."

The rest of the crew laughed, though it was more subdued than it usually was when their captain made a joke.

Ikuto wasn't too worried. He knew they all had a lot to think about over the next few days.

.

Morg: Things just don't get easier for you guys.

Ikuto: You could make them easier if you wanted.

Amu: You could also stop writing this if you wanted.

Morg: I won't do either of those things.