The ship was in disarray the following morning. The few moments of peace I had shared with Fukase the previous night were well past over as passengers stirred and panicked.

As we walked through the halls to get to the dining room, the noise was apparent—people in their rooms talked in loud, corybantic voices and telephones clicked frantically as they tried to reach their loved ones. Even Fukase seemed concerned, which surprised me since he seemed to be pretty aloof about most affairs.

"Hey, Olikase!" Miki greeted us warmly once we reached the dining hall.

"Not you too..." I grumbled under my breath.

"Fine morning, isn't it? The ship's stopped at this... uh... this very interesting and unique island! Truly beautiful, right?"

"She's in denial," Rana said quietly.

"Yeah, it's a nice morning," I said, deciding to humor her for now. "Where are Flower and Piko?"

"Oh, they're sitting over there." Rana pointed behind us to a small table in the back of the dining hall. Flower was staring out the window next to them while Piko talked in a low, serious voice. Flower seemed mostly uninterested in whatever he had to say, though.

Miki, Rana, Fukase and I sat down at the table in front of them. Piko immediately stopped talking once he saw us coming over.

"Good morning to you all," he said in his usual dignified manner.

"Morning," Miki responded lazily.

"Any updates for us, Oliver? Do you know if we're getting down at the island or if we have to stay on board?"

I felt my throat seize up as they all turned their attention towards me. "Well, I don't know anything for sure, but I'm pretty sure we're staying on the ship for now. Once my brother determines how long we'll have to stay here, he'll be able to tell us if we can disembark or not."

"Fair enough," Piko said after a moment of silence.

"Come on, there are better things to talk about!" Miki said. "Like, what if we played I-Spy? Yakushima edition!"

"Sounds good to me!" Rana replied in an attempt to lighten the mood.

As they played their game (and tried to get Piko and Fukase invested in it too), I couldn't help but notice that Flower seemed out of it. She spent the entire time staring into the sable depths of the island's forest, absentmindedly chewing her food. I couldn't tell if she was just tired or if something was indeed on her mind.

Whatever, if something's wrong, then she'll probably talk to Piko about it, I thought gloomily.

They kept talking as if it was any other morning, but my thoughts began to drift. By some instinctive sense, I felt that it was absolutely necessary for me to get down on the island. I had always been a curious person, but this was different.

This was unlike anything I'd ever experienced before. There was something outlandishly alluring about the island and its slim, gentle, sandy banks and its dim, cedar forests. It was easy to forget such a beautiful place even existed in Japan.

I made up my mind then and there to ask Yohio if I could go. Whatever it took, I wanted to explore the island. It was too unique an offer to pass up.

Besides, it seemed like something Fukase would like, too. Maybe it could get us some time alone. After all, there were some rather... sensitive things I wanted to speak with him about.

After breakfast, I solemnly walked over to the bridge where Yohio was, rehearsing my request over and over in my mind.

"Absolutely not."

"But why? I'll just tag along with you when you go down there! I don't have to go alone or anything. It'll be fine."

"Oliver, this island is hardly inhabited. There's a town with a ferry stop and that's pretty much it. It would be way too easy for you to get lost."

"I never intended to stray far."

"No. Besides, if something were to happen to you, mom and dad would never forgive me. Especially after what happened back in London—"

He froze.

I averted my eyes compunciously. "I get it. Nevermind then."

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up—"

"It's ok. I'll stay on the ship."

I trudged back to my room, staring blankly into space. No way was I going to let such a trifling smudge from my past hinder this experience.

"Something wrong?" I looked up to see Fukase standing across the room from me. I had been so upset and lost in thought that I didn't even notice him come in.

"It's—it's nothing major."

"Then tell me." It took me a moment to realize that he had said the words in English. He sat down beside me on the sofa and directed his full attention to me. His gaze was so intent that I felt my cheeks heating up with sheepishness.

"No, it's just that I really wanted to go explore the island, but my brother won't let me. He says he doesn't want me to get hurt and brought up what happened in London..."

"With those friends of yours? Who were kidnapped?"

"Exactly. He's just being paranoid though! It had nothing to do with me. Besides, that was London and this is Japan. It's so much safer here, and the chances of something like that happening near me are extremely slim."

"You're right; it doesn't make sense logically, but of course he's worried for you. He cares for you a lot."

I sighed ruefully. "But still, it's been years. I can't believe something like that, an event I thought we were over and done with is coming back to haunt me. And such great timing too." I looked at him in his bright ruby eyes and suddenly, an idea popped into my mind. "Say, how old are you again?"

"Sixteen."

Aha! If I convince Yohio that someone older than me will be with me the whole time, then maybe—

"I know what you're thinking, and it probably won't work," he deadpanned in a heartbeat. "I don't know your brother that well, but he doesn't seem like the type of person to let up so easily. It's gonna take a lot more convincing than that."

I knew he was right, but didn't want to face the truth. I could feel myself getting seriously agitated now—and it was over such a seemingly trivial thing, too.

I hadn't wanted things to come to this, but it seemed that there was no other way. "Then we'll just have to sneak out."

"Oliver, are you crazy? What'll happen if your brother finds out?"

"He'll never let me out of his sight again, so the plan is to not get caught."

Fukase sighed, but as expected, he gave in. "Fine. But at least tell me why you want to do this so badly."

"I can't keep living in the shadow of my past," I answered simply. The slightest smile blossomed on Fukase's lips, almost tiny enough for me to miss it.

My brother had constantly been trying to protect me from the world after my parents entrusted me to him, but I had to do something on my own for once, right? There was simply no point in living in fear of something that happened years ago.

We quickly devised a plan for when the gangway was dropped and Yohio and his crew would disembark. So long as we could bribe the crew members into turning a blind eye when we left the vessel, too, everything would go smoothly.

"Should we take the others?" Fukase asked.

"No, it might get too messy. Do you want them to come along?"

"Not really," he smiled and abashedly admitted.

"That's what I thought. Come on, let's go. My brother's probably about ready to disembark by now."

We exited our room and got to the lower deck as inconspicuously as possible, doing our best to avoid any prying eyes that might be following our movements. We made it down to the lower deck in no time at all and were greeted with the sight of Yohio putting his coat on, embellished with Hime's crest. I grabbed Fukase's arm and pulled him back around the corner to ensure that we wouldn't be seen.

I peeked over the hall's corner, covert as ever, and watched for the moment my brother disembarked across the gangway.

Fukase and I exchanged a few hushed words until, finally, Yohio and a few crew members started walking down the gangway. Once Yohio had finished crossing and turned away from the vessel, I hurried across the hallway, gesturing for Fukase to follow.

To our surprise, there was no need to bribe the crew members—they all turned a blind eye; it was like we didn't exist. A part of me was deeply unsettled and wanted to stop and question it, but after remembering the strong surge of curiosity I felt upon gazing at the island, I abandoned my inhibitions.

I got to the gangway and sprinted across the pier, Fukase closely in tow. There was a cabin on the beach, just a few yards away, which we had decided to hide behind until the crew moved away.

"How long will it take before they leave?" Fukase asked. I was somewhat winded, but to my surprise, Fukase seemed perfectly fine.

"Shouldn't be long. After all...the entire cruise ship's waiting. He wouldn't want to stray too far away from schedule and probably wants to spend as little time here as possible..."

It turns out I was right; within a few minutes, they had disappeared from view. Fukase and I grinned at each other, eager to explore the island for ourselves.

A/N:

I'm so sorry this chapter took so long for me to finally post! But it's finally here~ I'm trying my best, really. 

That being said, the announcement I had is that I will be taking writing commissions! I'll put a link to my Carrd with info in an inline comment, but you can also find it on my profile under my bio. 

If you're interested, please let me know by private messaging me here or on Discord. Thanks :>

Catch ya on the flip side~

~Stargazer

(P.S. I'm a lot faster with writing one-shots and commission stuff than writing chapters for longer works, I promise!)