Pirated
Chapter 1
Written by: CS-Masyet
Uploaded on: September 20, 2016
Saile

According to a widely known legend, the islands of Ariga were once one, big landmass. In the center of that landmass was an enormous castle. A castle filled with many riches: gold and silver, rubies and sapphires, and even diamonds and pearls... It was filled to the brim with treasure. But one day, a massive quake split the land into many parts, destroying the castle and scattering the treasure along with it...

Now, pirates from all over have come to explore these islands, in hopes of finding some treasure for themselves. Now the Ariga Islands, which was previously a prosperous land, have now become known for the many pirates stirring up trouble there, marking the start of a new era.

As for me... I don't believe that stupid legend. Yeah, I definitely love me some treasure, but I'm not one to get my hopes up after hearing some tall tale. I have my own reasons...

... for becoming a pirate.

--

"Seems that the pirates are at it again, huh?" I heard an unfamiliar middle-aged man say with a slur, as I walked into a local tavern. "They never seem to stop causing trouble, even when they know the SIS are around!"

"Welcome, sir, to Azore Tavern." The owner standing behind the bar greeted me as I walked up to him. "Oh, it's you, Saile. Would you like me to prepare a drink for you?"

"No thanks Bart; I'll pass today. I'm trying to save up at the moment, actually."

"I see. But then why are y-..." He cut himself off as he eyed the large box in my arms. "... Wait, don't tell me..."

I proceeded to drop said box of valuables on the counter. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to make a trade for the beauties I've got in here."

He stared at me with a very unamused expression on his face, but decided to open up the box anyways. What was in there apparently seem to peak the interest of the drunk man sitting in the stool next to me.

"Whoa, are those... bars of gold?!"

"Honestly, are you really trying to pull this on me again, Saile?!" Bart uttered in irritation. "Sorry, but you won't be swindling me that easily."

"What do you mean? I'm not trying to swindle you." I smirked. "I assure you these are made up of 100%, genuine brass."

"So, you're not even gonna bother to hide it anymore, are you?" He sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll give you 10 gold for all of this."

"W-what!?" I slammed my hands on the counter in anger. "Are you out of your mind!? There's absolutely no way these are all worth just 10 gold! Are you sure you're not the one who's trying to swindle me?!"

"Sorry, Saile. But a lot more people than you think have been bringing in brass to sell around here lately. As a result, the demand for brass has dropped, and so has its value."

"Um..." I had a hard time thinking of how to respond to what he'd just said. "How about... some sort of compromise?"

"And how exactly would any sort of compromise benefit me? I'm not exactly making lots of money here myself, and the last thing I need is more brass..."

"Damn, what rotten luck... I really don't want to have to lug all of this with me to sell somewhere else..."

"... You said you're saving up money, right?" He recalled. "Is there any particular reason why?"

"Well, let's just say... I'm going on a voyage."

"A voyage? Really?" Bart said in surprise. "And you're preparing for this voyage at the moment?"

"Obviously. All I need is a ship and some food to store in it, and I should be good for now."

"I see... Hold on one moment." Bart stated, going into the backroom for a few minutes.

While I was waiting for him, the drunk man decided to look at the box of brass I had left on the counter a second time.

"Hey boy, if you can't find a place to sell that, you can always donate it to the SIS!" He said with a belch. "We could use as much materials to work with as possible to help take out all of those nasty pirates! Hekhekhek!"

What?! This stupid drunkard is with the SIS!?

... Figures...

I decided to ignore the man and continued to wait for Bart. When he eventually came back, he came in lugging two barrels with him.

"Okay, Saile. Since you've been a regular here for so long, I'll agree to your 'compromise'. I'll give you these two barrels for your box of brass. How about it?"

"Depends. What's in them?"

"They're filled to the brim with bread. They're getting a bit stale, so I would've had to throw this all out otherwise. At least this way I don't have to waste it."

"Are you seriously trying to trade me stale bread for my box of loot?!"

"Two whole barrels full of it. And since I'm nice, I decided to throw in some apples in there, too." He explained to me. "You said you needed food, right? Well, on a voyage, beggars can't be choosers, y'know. And I think all of this is worth it for your 'loot'."

I groaned.

"Fine, fine; I guess I don't have much choice. At least, unlike brass, that food is actually edible..."

"Great! You can take the cart that they're on to help you carry these to your ship... if you manage to get one, that is. Maybe it might come in handy for something else down the line."

"I appreciate it... I guess."

"Where are you thinking of heading to, anyway?"

"Star Sapphire is the closest island to Light Azore, so I'll head there first."

"'First'? Are you planning on traveling to many of the islands? Is it going to be a long voyage?"

"Yeah, I suppose so."

"Ah, that's a bummer. It'll be a shame to lose a regular, but good luck on your trip regardless."

"Thanks... Farewell, Bart."

As I felt I took care of everything I needed to in the tavern, I made my way out the door. But...

"Hey there, boy!" The stupid drunkard called out to me as I approached the exit. "You should be careful on your voyage, you hear! Lest you run into danger on the open sea!"

"I'm aware that there are some storms that can easily destroy ships." I told him, a bit annoyed. "I'll make sure to avoid routes with records of bad weather..."

"That's not what I mean, boy! I'm talkin' about the pirates! The scum of the seas!" He exclaimed, making sure to remind me once again of his disdain for pirates. "They'll up and devour you if aren't careful, boy!"

"I'm pretty sure they're not cannibals, but I'll take your words into consideration..." ... not. And stop calling me boy!

"Well, where you're headed is veeery safe, so you should at least be fine heading to your currently planned destination."

"Yeah, I've heard it's pretty peaceful there..."

"And it's even safer nowadays, as many SIS members have taken up guard all over the island! Hekhekhek!"

"Wait, seriously?!"

Oh great; that's just fantastic. Looks like I've got something to look forward to when I arrive there...

... a pain in my arse, that is...

--

"Well, it's great that I managed to gather up some food, but I might not have enough gold for a ship now..." I said to myself, considering what to do next.

If it comes down to it, I might have to resort to stealing one...

"Dude! Bro! Dudebro! What should we do?!"

As I was pushing the cart toward the dock, I noticed two sailors freaking out like rabid chimpanzees near one of the ships.

"Bro! Dude! Brodude! I dunno! I have no idea how that girl got there! Did she come from the last island we stopped at, yo?"

"We don't got time to care about that right now, dude! Bro! Dudebro! We gotta get her off the ship, or we'll be in serious trouble!"

"But, like, bro! Dude! Brodude! But she's sleeping so soundly! There's no way we'll be able to move her!"

"Have you tried using force?" I said to them, deciding to cut into the conversation.

"W-we can't do that!" They both screamed at me in unison.

"And why's that...?"

"The answer to that's incredibly obvious!"

"So obvious, that my bro and I will both say it at exactly the same time!"

"Really? Let me here it then..."

"Because she's a girl!" "Because she's really cute!" They both said at the same time.

So much for it being "obvious"; they didn't even give me the same answer...

"Whoa, dude! Bro! Dudebro! I didn't realize that type of girl was your type!"

"What, you don't think that long, raven hair is a thing of beauty, brodude?!"

Hm, these two seem really dim. I might be able to take advantage of this situation to get myself a ship...

"Say, is that a SIS-issued ship?"

"Uh, yeah, that's right..." One of them answered.

"How'd you know?"

"Well, you two are members of the SIS, correct?"

"That's also correct! How'd you know that!?" The second one asked again, in more alarm than before.

"It says 'SIS' on your hats, so I figured y-..."

"Are you some sort of psycho?!"

"... Uh, I think you mean psychic..."

"Wow, you really are one?! That's amazing!"

Wow, these two are even stupider than I realized... This might go even more smoothly than I thought...

"Say, you two. As members of the SIS, you must have very important things to take care of. So I'm sure you don't have time to be wasting on a matter like this, right?"

"Of course not, dude!" "You're absolutely right, dude!"

"So tell me; what island did you just come from?"

"Star Sapphire... why do you ask?"

"Oh, that's perfect! It just so happens that I need to run an errand there! I wouldn't mind bringing her back for you if you want."

"Wow, that's so convenient, dude!" You'd really do that for us, dude?"

"Of course! I want nothing more than to help that girl get back home out of the kindness of my heart. As fellow samaritans, you can understand how I feel, right?"

"Wow, what a kind man you are! It's so touching, dude!"

"Oh, but I just remembered! The ship I'd used to get here was stolen by pirates! Almost all of my belongings were taken by them..."

"That's awful! Stupid pirates!" "If there's anything we can do, just tell us, dude!"

"Well, if it's not too much trouble, could I maybe... borrow your ship?"

"Sorry dude, but we can't just let you use the ship on your own. We'd get in trouble if anyone not in the SIS uses it..."

"But we'd be more than happy to escort you, dude! With our support, you'd be free of any pirate-related troubles!"

Hm, this isn't exactly going as planned...

"U-um, but I need to head out as soon as possible..."

"That's fine; we'll go right now, then!"

"But didn't you two come here to do something important? I wouldn't want to trouble you..."

"He's right, brodude. If we don't get to that meeting soon, the boss will get mad at us..."

"What do we do?"

The two said nothing afterward, racking their heads for ideas.

I sighed. Guess I've got no choice...

"What if I give you something in exchange for you lending me your ship...?"

"Sorry, that still won't be enough to..."

"Not even this piece of gold?" I took out a piece of brass from my pocket, one of the few I decided to keep with me just in case a situation like this occured.

"Whoa, is that real, dude!?" Both of them exclaimed, staring at the "gold" in awe.

"Of course it is! Would I lie to you?"

"Well, I don't know of any psychos I've met that have ever lied to us, so..." "Not that we've actually met any before now, dude... But can we really have this? Won't you be needing it?"

"I do, but if it's to help you SIS members, who do so much to help us common folks, I don't mind giving it up at all. Besides, if not for your help, I won't be able to make any more money, anyways."

"Well, I have always wanted to try the pricey shrimp scampi on this island..."

"... You'll come back and return the ship to us when you're done, right?"

"Yes, of course I will! You have my word!"

"Great, then it's a deal! Thank you for doing this for us!" "But please don't tell anyone that we were the ones that lent you this ship. We want to prevent from getting into trouble, not get into more of it..."

"Naturally! Thank you very much, sirs!" I thanked them, handing them the brass piece.

"No, thank you!" "After the meeting, let's pig out all night, brodude!"

They accepted the brass piece happily, and ran off to enjoy the fool's gold I had given them.

That was almost too easy! I can't believe how lucky I was, to meet bozos as stupid as them!

Of course I'm not giving you your ship back, suckers!

I almost began chortling as a result of my easy victory, but I did my best to suppress it, as I didn't want to attract attention to myself.

--

I went down to one of the docks to get a better look at the ship.

"Hm... it's pretty small. Well, considering who (previously) owned this ship, it's not really that surprising. At most, I could probably squeeze nine to ten people on it if I really had to, but it seems more suited for about six. I'll definitely need to get a better ship in the future, but it's decent enough for now, I suppose."

Now to find a way to get this cart onto it...

As there was no walkway from the dock to the ship, I had to leap onto it to get to it. I ended near the front of the ship.

"I guess it's best I take a look around. Hopefully, I can find something I can use..."

I can leave the stern for later, since I'll have to go over there to raise the sail anyways. I'll just focus on the bow for now...

I started with the very front of the ship first, examining the helm. It was unsurprisingly rather small, but it oddly enough seemed to have a seat next to it. Between them were what appeared to be pedals of some sort.

"What are these here for? I don't think it's just for decoration..."

I decided to stomp my foot on one of the pedals, causing the ship to make a loud noise and move slightly forward. This startled me and almost sent me down to the ground.

"Was that a motor? But this ship looks too big to be able to use one of those... Maybe it's for emergencies?"

Well, it's not going to help me get the cart onto the ship, so moving on...

I returned to the area where I had first ended up, and noticed a door near my feet, leading somewhere below deck.

"If I'd decided to check this door first I might've thought I could find something useful here, but judging from the noise I heard earlier, I'm sure I can guess what's under this door..."

I decided to open it anyways, and saw the area below me was filled with all sorts of mechanical objects, used to help run the motor at the backside of the ship.

I knew it; this door must be for motor maintenance. Definitely not a place that's good for storing anything; it'd get shredded in seconds...

Closing the door, I then turned my attention to the other side of the ship, to the elevated area with the unfolded sail laying atop it. The elevated area was actually three "rooms", which I could (obviously) tell because there were three doors leading to them.

"The areas at the left and right seem smaller then the middle, so that probably means they're used for storage, and the middle is the resting area..."

I started with the right door.

"Oh! A large board! I guess this'll do. At last, that problem is solved."

I removed the board from the storage room.

But that's weird. There's plenty of space in here, but this board was the only thing in it. Why's that? Well, at least I won't have to worry about fitting the cart in there...

"I was hoping there would be some extra 'goodies' I could take with me... Maybe I'll have better luck with the other storage room..."

I left the board sprawled on the deck and checked out the other storage room. There was a single storage chest inside.

"Now we're talking! Let's see what kind of treasures those bozos have saved up!"

Whatever it is, it's all mine! Heh!

Unfortunately for me, I had gotten excited for nothing, as there wasn't a single thing in there.

"Are you kidding me?! Is there really nothing but that board and that chest on this ship?!"

From the smell of this chest, they must've used it to store food. But there isn't even a single morsel in here! Did they not prepare that much stuff because the neighboring island is closeby?

I sighed. "That's disappointing... Well, I guess I should be happy enough that I got this ship at all, at least..."

Let's hope there's no problems with getting it to move...

Giving up on finding some hidden loot, I moved the board to the dock to create a walkway for my cart to get onto the ship. I got it on with, fortunately, no issues. Once that was done, I moved the cart into the right storage room.

"I still need to get some stuff at home before I head out, so I'll leave these food barrels here..."

I moved the barrels off of the cart and moved it out of the room, preparing to take it off the ship with me again. As I did, I looked back at the center door.

"Oh right. I haven't looked in there yet, have I?"

I'm sure all I'll find in there are beds, but I might as well take a look...

I left the cart near the right door and opened the door to the resting area. As I figured, there wasn't much of interest in the room. There were only two beds, obviously because only two sailors had been using the ship previously. There were two small desks near the beds with burnt out candles on them, as well as another desk off in the right corner of the room near me, with another burnt out candle on it.

The right bed was neatly made, but the left one was rather messy, as if someone had been previously using it...

... Actually, hold on. It looks like someone is still using it...

... and that's when I realized I had forgotten about another "problem" I still had to deal with.

"Ah, right... The little stowaway..."

There she was, just as the morons described her: a black-haired girl sleeping soundly while wrapping herself in the bedsheets.

Like I'd actually do something to help her... It's none of my business, after all. I've got to get her out of here...

... Oh, I've got an idea.

Without hesitation, I pulled at the bedsheets upward, forcing her off of the bed and onto the floor face first.

"U-uggh..." Uttered the girl, slowly sitting up while rubbing her nose. "O-ouchies! That hurt, meanie!"

"Sorry if I'm a 'meanie'. It's time to rise and shine."

After she stopped rubbing her nose, she began to stretch herself. "That was such a nice nap! What a comfy bed that is!"

"Oh, really? Well, if you're done snoozing, could you get off my ship?"

"Whuh?" She opened her eyes wide, eyeing me curiously. "Wait, who are you? You don't look like those burly people that were here before..."

"Actually, there's a very good reason for that. But to be honest, it might shock you... Maybe it's better you don't know..."

"I can take it! Tell me!" She told me, putting on a very serious face.

"If you insist..." I pretended to sigh. "The truth is, you've actually been asleep for about a thousand years."

"A-a-a thousand years!?" She exclaimed in shock. "Like, one and three zeroes?!"

"That's right. Those men you mentioned are actually my ancestors from many years ago. Their descendants have decided to watch you all this time until you finally woke up, until it finally became my duty. But I've grown tired of watching over you, so I used more... 'forceful' measures to wake you."

"I-is that all really true?!"

"Sure is. I bet you're wondering what it looks like outside right now, don't you?"

"Of course! I really want to know!"

Before I said anything more, she rushed past me out the door.

"Well, what do you think?" I followed her outside, watching her look around frantically.

"Wow, the future is... not very different from 1000 years ago. How disappointing..."

"Really? Maybe if you explore a bit you might find something different. So why not get off my ship and look around?"

"B-but!" She unexpectedly protested. "I-I can't leave this ship... At least not yet..."

"W-why not?!"

"There's somewhere I still have to go. But I couldn't find anyone that wanted to take me... That's why I decided to hide in this ship, hoping it could take me there."

"And then you found that bed, and you fell asleep?"

"Yes, that's right."

"... For 1000 years." I reminded her.

"Augh!" A huge frown appeared on her face upon realization. "O-oh no... T-there's no way they'd wait me for this long..." Tears started to form in her eyes. "Waaah!"

She wailed, starting to cry.

"H-hey! What's with the waterworks all of a sudden?!"

"I-I'm sorry, mama! Papa! I-I'm sorry I ran away from home!"

"Hey, that's enough, okay? I wasn't being serious! It was a joke!"

"A-a joke?" She looked at me, having stopped crying, but still looking sad.

"I honestly don't know how long exactly you've been asleep for, but I highly doubt it's actually been a whole millennium..."

"R-really?" She started to look happier. "Y-you mean it's still not too late for me to go see mama and papa?"

"Well, that depends. Where are you from?"

"Um..." For some reason, she had difficulty answering. "Hm..."

"How do not know the name of your home island?!"

"I-I'm sorry; I can't remember! I never even knew there were other islands before I left home..."

What? Did she live a really sheltered life or something?

"I think if someone told me the name of the island, I'd remember..."

"Is it Star Sapphire, by any chance? That's the island this ship came from."

"No, that's not it. All I remember is that it's an upper island."

"An... upper island?"

"Yes."

I slapped my own forehead in response to her stupidity.

"I-is something wrong?"

"This island is Light Azore, east of Star Sapphire. Both of which being south islands."

"Really?" She looked at me questioningly, still not understanding what I was getting at.

"Don't you get it?! Getting on this ship was a mistake! This ship headed away from your home, not towards it!"

"W-wha!? O-oh no!"

"Oh no is right! You get it now!?"

"N-now what do I do...?"

"I don't know. It's not my problem."

"U-um, couldn't you take me there, sir...?"

I said nothing, glaring at her.

"E-eh?"

"Do I look like the kind of person who'll take any old person wherever they want, without getting anything in return?!"

"U-uh..." She paused for a second, taking in my words, and then... "But I don't have anything to give you..."

"I figured as much. So scram."

"I-if I show you something interesting, can you take me there?"

"'Something interesting'? What're you, some kind of comedian?" I questioned. "No thanks. I don't care for that kind of thing."

"No, that's not it! Check this out!"

All of a sudden, what appeared to be two black objects popped out from her back.

"Ta-dah!"

"And just what're those supposed to be...?"

"What, can't you tell?"

She spinned around for me to get a better look.

"They're wings, of course!" She said, beginning to "flap" them. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"Wings... right."

I think I've heard of winged people before. They were called... "avians", I think. I've never heard of any of them having black wings, though...

"I bet you're wondering why they're black, huh?"

"Why yes, actually. Care to enlighten me?"

"You see, to tell you the truth, I'm actually... a vampire!"

"A... what?" I uttered in confusion. "What the heck is that?!"

"I have no idea!"

"You don't even know what you are!?"

"... Actually, that was a joke!" She stuck out her tongue playfully. "To be honest, I don't really know why my wings are black..."

"Oh, really? Because I think I know..."

"F-for real? You do?!"

"Yep. It's because they're fake, right?"

"W-wha!? No they're not!" She yelled at me, puffing up her cheeks in anger. "Hmph!"

She ran up to the upper half of the ship, ending up above the resting area she had been in earlier.

"Watch this!"

She closed her eyes, seemingly concentrating hard, as her wings started to flap wildly.

"H-here goes! Taaah!"

She jumped off the top, continuing to flap her wings rapidly. She tried her best to stay in the air, but she ended up drifting down slowly after a few seconds.

"Haah... Haah... Phew..." Apparently, flapping her wings so much and using them to stay in the air made her really tired. "S-see?"

"Wow, that was amazing. Best flyer I've ever seen..."

"R-really? Thank you so much!"

Apparently she's never heard of sarcasm... But I suppose she technically wasn't lying about those wings being real...

"Tell me. Who are you, exactly?" I decided to ask her, her unique trait beginning to spark my interest.

"Oh! I'm Ebony! Nice to meet ya!"

"Ebony, huh? That's a surprisingly fancy name for someone like you..."

"... Why does everyone say that...?" She uttered to herself.

Ebony is a shade of black, right? Did she get her name from her hair, or maybe her wings? Ah whatever, who cares...

"If you want, you can just call me 'Bunny'! It sounds cuter anyways!"

"Bunny, huh? Fine by me, I guess..." To be honest though, she reminds me more of a dog than a rabbit... Or maybe a parakeet since she has wings...

"So, what's your name, sir?"

"It's Saile."

"Nice to meet you, Sai-... wait a minute!" Her eyes suddenly lit up, as if she just remembered something.

"What? What's wrong?"

"If this isn't a thousand years in the future, why are you on this ship instead of those other guys? I don't remember seeing you before..."

Did she seriously just realize that?!

"Those guys were apparently very concerned about bringing you back home, but they didn't have time to take care of you, so I told them I'd handle it for them if they let me borrow their ship."

"Huh? But you told me you didn't want to take me back... Was that a joke, too?"

"The only 'joke' in this case was the notion that I'd actually ever return this ship to those clowns."

"Wha? You won't be giving it back?!"

"Nope. It's my ship now." I said with a smirk, recalling how easily I tricked those bozos.

"B-but that's... stealing!"

"What of it? A bit of stealing isn't a big deal for a pirate like me, especially if it's from members of the SIS."

"Pirates? And who's sis?"

"You don't know what pirates or the SIS are...?"

"Nope; not a clue..."

Just how sheltered were you?!

I sighed. "Fine, I'll explain it you then; just make sure to remember, okay?"

"Got it!" She answered, trying her best to put on a serious face.

"I'm sure you at least know that once the islands split, power and ruling between the lands has now become disjointed, right? Well, there are a group of people that have taken advantage of that to follow their own set of 'rules', and live more freely. They're called pirates." I explained. "They travel the seas, exploring the islands in search of loot and adventure."

"Ooooh!" Bunny exclaimed, starting to become excited. "Treasure, and exploring! That sounds like fun~!"

"But there's an organization that isn't very fond of pirates. They're called the 'Seven Island Squad', or SIS for short. They pose as a benevolent group that is for the people, protecting them from pirates and any other 'villains'. Another 'goal' of theirs is to gather up the valuables that have been scattered across the islands in an attempt to return it to their rightful owners."

"Wow! They sound like good people!"

"No, they aren't. It's all a farce."

"E-eh? Really?"

"What the SIS really does is take advantage of the status they've built to extort money from the islands' inhabitants for false protection, and take treasure and other loot from pirates and other people and claim it as their own. I recognize that pirates, myself included, are not good people by any means, but we at least aren't hypocrites about it. Those types of people are the kinds I hate the most in this world. Not to mention that pirates and SIS both don't get along at all to begin with...

... in other words, the SIS are my mortal enemies!"

"They're our enemies! Got it!" Bunny said, returning to her serious expression.

"Good, glad you understa-... wait, our enemies...?"

"Yeah! I wanna be a pirate, too! I wanna travel the sea and go on adventures!"

"Oh, do you now..."

"So, can I travel with you on your ship and do pirating stuff with you? Pretty please!?"

"Are you out of your mind?! What makes you think I'd want to bring you along!? Besides, didn't you say you wanted to go home?"

"B-but..."

I was planning on traveling alone, but recruiting some cohorts might not be a bad idea...

"Being a captain could be nice, but I don't think I'd want her as my first crew member..."

"I don't really know what it means to be a pirate, but I'd still like to be a member of your 'crew', whatever that means!"

"Oh? Do you truly realize what you're saying? Because I'm sure you don't."

"Y-yes! Yes I do! Really!" She insisted. "So can I be a pirate now?"

I sighed again.

I'm sure she'll be a handful to deal with, so I'm sure taking her with me isn't a very good idea... But at the same time, if she gets better at flying, she could end up being useful... maybe.

And to be honest, she might cause more trouble for me if I leave her behind... Those sailors were dumb, but if their higher-ups managed to find out what I'm doing...

"... How old are you?"

"16!"

"Seriously?! That's a lot older than I was expecting..."

"W-well, you look old! How old are you, old man!?" She stated in a mocking tone, obviously upset by my previous comment.

"I'm only 22!"

"Oh yeah? Well, that's still older than me!"

I can already tell this is going to be a pain in the arse... But...

"It's your lucky day. I've decided to make you my subordinate. As long as you follow my orders, I'll let you sail across the sea with me."

"F-for real!?" Bunny chirped in a joyful tone. "Forrealforrealforreal!?"

"Yes... until we make it your home island, anyway."

"Oh, yay! Thank you so much, Captain Saio!"

I'm too soft... I hope I don't regret this... And who the heck is "Saio"!?

"But listen; you'd better behave yourself. Or I won't hesitate to throw you overboard, little girl."

"Y-yes! I understand, captain!"

"Good. Now, time for your first order." I told her sternly. "I still have to some things at home that I prepared that I want to bring with me before we head out. Guard this ship while I leave to go get it."

"Aye aye, sir!"

"And please make absolutely sure not to attract any unnecessary attention to yourself or this ship!"

"A-aye aye, sir..."

"Now, I'll be going. Be back in a bit."

I grabbed the still empty cart and took it with me off of the ship and headed for home to get the rest of my stuff.

--

"I got pretty lucky; this cart is already turning out to be very useful." I said to myself, making my way back to the ship from the small shack I had once called home. "It's big enough that I only have to make one trip."

I loaded the two barrels of my stuff onto the cart and headed back to the ship, where Bunny was still waiting...

... well, at least she was supposed to be...

"Where'd she go?! I told her to guard the ship! Is that simple order so hard to follow!?" I said angrily, while I had already made my way onto the ship's deck with a loaded cart once again.

Did she end up running off after all? Or is she sleeping in the resting area again...?

"Whatever, I check on her later. It's time to put away this stuff, and then I'll finally set sail..."

I opened the door to the storage room on the right, where I put the food barrels originally. Upon entering, I was greeted to... a surprise.

"W-what?!"

"Oh, you're back, Captain Saio!" Bunny said happily, sitting on the floor while munching on some apples. "You won't believe it! I found some food in here! And it's yummy!"

"What I can't believe is that you'd stow yourself in this room and gorge yourself on the food I put in here, instead of guarding the ship like I asked you to!"

"O-oh... So you put this in here..." She uttered sadly, putting down her already half-eaten apple. "Oopsie..."

"Meh, whatever... I don't really care about those apples to be honest, but if you want food, you need to ask my permission first!"

"Aye aye, captain..."

"And I don't know when we'll have enough money to buy better food, so the bread in there will only be for emergencies, got it?"

"Money? Will we get more if we find some treasure?"

"Well... yes. That's right, I suppose..."

"Alright, then I'll do my best to help you find some, Captain Saio!"

"Good, I appreciate it. But stop calling me 'Saio'; the name's Saile!"

"So, are you all done getting your stuff, captain?" She asked me, seemingly ignoring my previous comment. "Are we ready to set sail?"

"Yeah, that's right. We're heading out... to Star Sapphire!"

"Oh boy! I can't wait!" Bunny chimed happily, following me out of the room to help me put away the board and set up the sail on the upper deck.

Well, things aren't exactly starting out as planned, but my pirating life is finally about to start. I've been waiting years for this day... So long, Light Azore...

Adventure awaits!

End of Chapter 1

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Writer's Comments:

I'm finally done with this chapter! I'd started this in August, hoping I could get it done before the month rolled over... But now September is almost over! I wanted to do another chapter this month, but now I don't think that's going to happen... oh well.

It's ironic that I had so much trouble with this chapter, considering I only started working on it because I had some motivation to work on this one. Then, it kind of just... died.

I was kind of lazy at the beginning of the month once I knew I couldn't possibly get this done in August, and a new game that I've been looking forward to for a while just so happened to come out while I was working on this, so it affected the time it took to write this... But at least it's finally done at long last!

To be honest, I'm not that proud of how this chapter turned out. I had some writer's block problems, and I admittedly kind of rushed the last part. I'll most likely come back to this later to fix it up a bit if I need to.

Well, now that this is done, I don't have to worry about it anymore and can put all my free time into finishing playing Phoenix Wright: Spirit of Justice! ... Later.

- CS-Masyet