Author's Notes: Guess we're sticking to snippets now. XD Big shoutout to Smoh2525 and Kurorrin for supporting this short story that's now being riddled with snippets and bonus chapters. Still waiting on those three reviews for the expansion pack. lol Don't forget about me! You don't have to give me much, just a "Green" or "Green Light" is enough.

~ ... Tub Wars ... ~

Ace was running a quick checklist for his crew's new adventure in this unnamed mystery town. There just so happened to be another pirate crew running amuck at the edge of town, so his mission was to loot them and send them packing. If they were good-natured pirates, he'd consider an alliance. Baragon ran past him without a care in the world while Nesi shopped around in the market with an empty basket and a warm smile. She caught sight of a bath salt shop and spoke with the local salesman to inspect fragrances. The floor scrubber was oddly happy about being able to venture out more, but Ace found he didn't mind her chipper mood. She finished her studies anyway and needed new books. Of which, one of his boys stole two and a magazine for ladies. While the girl on the cover was a hottie, Ace wasn't that impressed.

One of his boys had asked him what he felt about girls or if he had a type, but Ace never really thought about it until... well, if he had to be 100 percent honest, he... didn't think about it too much. He supposed he liked tomboys, but he didn't mind a pretty girl either. He was so wrapped up in his seafaring journey and trying to find himself that he dismissed romantic encounters. Thought they were useless since most girls didn't pay attention to him, and his freckles sort of played with his imperfections. While he found Isuka and Yamato to be lovely girls, he preferred their friendships. They both provided a place to belong in the marines, which he turned away from, and a life in chains trying to prove his self-worth. Together, they could've made the Spades something really special. Yamato was interested in joining his team, so he wanted to go back and get her soon. Isuka might not have wanted to be a pirate, but she saw the good in some of them and could be a potential informant. It's always a good thing to have one to stay in touch with the goings-on of modern times. He didn't have many friends back home, so he liked being able to truly fit in somewhere at the moment.

Though he'd never say it aloud, though, he wondered about Nesi from time to time. Her scales were becoming more decorative now. Pretty soon she might just be a reptilian version of the country girl he met. She... started to look different after he read Makino's letter and asked questions about her. Her hair wasn't as stringy, her eyes weren't beady, and her skin was dirtied or tattered. She traded her timidness for confidence but kept her sassy housewife personality the same. The books were changing her further into an elegant, political, and intelligent woman, which must have been in her all along, and he found she was coming into the woman she was meant to be. That bothered him because there would come a day when another boy or man would take interest in her. The muscle man she fought was a clear sign of what was to come.

"Hey, nee-san!" Corale called, waving a hand. "Whatcha gettin' for the mascot?"

"Huh?" Nesi questioned, chuckling at something a shop clerk said. She turned to Corale's voice, waved her hand, and replied, "Oh, this woman was selling accessories for pets. I wanted to get something for Baragon."

"Squaw!" Baragon cheered, playing in a basket of ribbons.

Corale ran up to her, kneeled, and inspected some of the name tags. He tilted his head a bit and said, "Neat. These are for dogs and cats, though. He's a... actually, what is Baragon? We keep calling him a lizard, but he really doesn't look totally like a lizard."

"I've been calling him a hybrid creature," Nesi said, shrugging. She put a finger to her lips before saying, "He is a type of lizard, though. It's just his ear fins and teeth that say otherwise. Not to mention his cute, round nose!"

"What colors go better with his pink and red skin?" Corale asked, smiling cheerfully.

The clerk blushed at Corale's handsome face and replied, "Oh, um, I think greens and golds work best with pink. His rosy coloring can also go well with blue."

"Hey, wait, what about a map?" Corale asked, pointing to a trinket. "Like yours, nee-san. The ones in Ace's cabin or the laundry room. Those would go good on Baragon."

"I did see one that she had over there," Nesi replied, walking over to the clerk's display. She picked out two and showed them to Baragon to ask, "What do you think, snookums?"

"Squaw!" Baragon cheered, ultimately choosing a golden globe that resembled an antique map. It was the one on the left.

Nesi and Corale spoke at length with the clerk until Baragon hopped over to the bath salt shop again. He smelled a soap fragrance that made him nuzzle against it like a cat with nip. While Nesi chased after her rosy companion, the clerk tried to keep Corale's attention for a little while longer. When Corale returned to the group of boys, they started cheering and wiggling their eyebrows at him. Questioning them, they discovered that the cheerful Corale had a date later. Chuckling at his crewmates' behavior and weird dating and sex tips that he knew weren't going to work, Ace was interested in Nesi's purchases and checked on her. She made an offer to the owners to deliver some things for a reduced price and Nesi happily agreed, getting Baragon all dressed up in a big green ribbon and some accessories. He actually looked dapper... for a pink worm that bit people in the ass.

Trading labor for reduced prices on certain things was strange, but it earned Nesi some interesting relationships with others. Some people asked more about her dream and how it would benefit them. The more people asked about it, the more confident she seemed in what she was trying to do in the future. It was enough for people to say not to forget about them or to revisit them when she did succeed in making her dream a reality. Frowning, Ace let the boys explore the town while he looked into getting books on architecture, gardening, and more ladies' articles for Nesi. Was there really nothing he could do to stop Nesi from being a privateer? She should be a pirate! She's good at it! He might not like it, but... he could try to let her be a girl from time-to-time and... maybe date around. Can't really date when you're half lizard, can you?

A thought then came to Ace's mind. What if he just talked to her about normal stuff? No training, no dreams, no chores, just regular conversation. They don't get to do that much. Would that... work?

"Will you relax, Corale? It's just dinner! You act like it's an engagement party," Nesi said, walking to the shower/bathing room. She had her basket of goodies all ready to go. She just had to get her night linens from the laundry room. Baragon was his most playful today and eager to bathe with the lizard nip soap. She then continued, "She just thought you were attractive because you were nice and wants to get to know you."

"I was cool with that, but what if she wants more than that? I'm a pirate. I travel everywhere!" Corale argued, unbothered by a girl liking him. "I can't be her guy."

"She's not asking you to be her guy or her seafaring gentleman. She just wants food and conversation," Nesi said, getting some towels. "What did the boys tell you?"

"You don't wanna know," Corale said curtly, waving a hand.

"Well, from what I could see, she doesn't want sex. She just wants to get to know you. Just be yourself. That's all a girl wants," Nesi said sweetly, smiling warmly. "You're a nice guy, Corale, and you like animals. Baragon grew on you the fastest."

"Meh, his needs are simple. He's not noisy or plotting your death or thinking he's better than you. He helps clean up, keeps you entertained, and is pretty good at listening t - Whoa, captain! What the hell!?" Corale shouted, flinching at Ace's naked form... in Nesi's tub.

"Hey, how's it goin'?" Ace greeted, lifting a hand lazily from his position in the tub.

It was a smidgeon too small for his taller form, so his legs being nice and open didn't leave much to the imagination. He discovered that Nesi's tub actually leaned back if you pulled this weird lever she had on the right side of the tub. It was great for his back and stretching it out! No wonder she was hogging this thing! The tub itself was filled with steaming water and bubbles, so his actual junk was covered. They just weren't expecting him to be in Nesi's tub. He usually took up residence on the bench Nesi threw together with some old wood and the old hammocks to make a cushioned seat.

"WHY ARE YOU IN MY TUB?" Nesi shouted, teeth sharp out of anger.

"Okay, so I was in my cabin, right?" Ace started, pulling a small towel out of the water and putting it on his head. "I was going to wait for you, but the boys were busy talking to you, so I just went to get a quick steam. Just felt like it, right? Well, I got curious about this tub thing because why wouldn't you be? So, I sunk in and behold."

"BEHOLD MY LEFT ASS CHEEK! That tub was for me!" Nesi argued, making Ace lift a brow out of amusement. His lips turned into a toothy smirk.

"Both my butt cheeks made a reservation for tub time, so here I am," Ace remarked, not budging from his spot. "Hit the showers."

"Evil. Spawn!" Nesi hissed.

Ace chuckled darkly before he turned his eyes to Corale and said, "Nesi's right, Cor. She asked you out because you were nice to her. She likes you for you, not whatever the boys want you to be. Stick to your guns. If you want to see her more, we'll work out a return trip or bring her aboard. You won't know where anything stands if you can't even get through a basic dinner date, though. Relax, mate. You're a Spade. I want confident, tough men on my ship. Nothing less."

"Oh, uh, aye, captain," Corale said, smiling and blushing at the brotherly advice Ace gave him.

"If the food's trash, Deuce is making sandwiches. Floor scrubber's gettin' the night off," Ace said, leaning back some more.

"My death is coming, isn't it?" Nesi asked, eyes wide with horror at the thought of Ace being this nice.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Ace questioned angrily.

"Take care of my snookums for me when I'm six feet under, Corale," Nesi continued, ignoring Ace's question and putting a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm still here!" Ace argued, tongue lengthening like a viper's forked tongue.