"Yohio, will you slow down and listen for a second?"

"Oliver, no. Do you have any idea what might happen if I let people on board? Last minute? For free?"

I sighed. I had known it would be difficult convincing him, but had hoped he'd give in before this.

"Yohio, seriously, just think about it. There are extra rooms, right? And besides, Rana and Miki said their parents would let them go on their own as long as we looked after them. They can share a room, it'll be easy—"

"And what about your other friend?"

"Uh..." I hadn't thought that far. If he was reluctant about giving away even one room, how would Fukase come along? There was no way he'd give away two free rooms. The only way Fukase could come along was if he shared a steward's room, unless...

"Fine! I'll share my room with him," I finally said.

Yohio looked at me in surprise. I had always been adamant about having my own room when I moved to Japan, and had even made Yohio move to a bigger apartment for me. After what had happened with my parents back in England, I had always been uncompromising about my privacy.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, really," I sighed, answering his unasked question.

Finally he gave in. "I'll see what I can do. But until then, change into something more suitable! We have to board in an hour."

"Yes! Thanks, Yohio." I gave him a quick hug and went to go change in my room.

~~~

Ten minutes later, I was back at the beach.

"So? What did he say?" Miki asked curiously.

"He said yes! All of you three can go. Miki and Rana, I hope you two are okay with sharing a room."

"Fine by me," Rana said.

"I don't mind at all. What about Fukase, though?" Miki asked.

"Fukase will stay with me." I glanced over at him to see his reaction, and he didn't seem to mind.

"When do we board?" Miki questioned.

"Well, I have to board today, but tomorrow's the official embarkation day," I explained. "Only a few people board today to get into 'vacation mode' or whatever rich people like to do."

"I bet Flower and Piko get to board today..." Miki grumbled.

"You guys can board today if you're ready," I replied. "But usually only the rich people have a ton of luggage and prefer to board a day early to get settled in."

"Heck yeah, I'm going today!" Miki said, sudden enthusiasm lighting up her face. "Come on Rana, let's get our luggage—"

"Actually, I think I'll board tomorrow..." Rana trailed off. "You know, I wanna tell my parents more about it... and spend time with them..."

"Aw, you're nervous, aren't you?"

"I'm not nervous! I mean, kind of..."

"Fine. But at least walk back with me to get my bags."

I chuckled at their banter as they walked off, and then turned to Fukase. "What about you? Do you want to board today or tomorrow?"

He waited a few more moments to make sure the girls were out of earshot. "If you're going today, then I'll go with you," he said.

I smiled. "Do you have anything you're taking with you? Like, extra luggage, clothes...?"

"I have a few things I'll bring, but it's not much. Don't worry about it," he replied, idly pushing sand around with his fingers.

"Alright," I said, shrugging mildly. "Anyway, I'll go get my things and you can get yours. I'll tell my brother to stop by here to get us before going to board, okay?"

"Fine by me," he replied, and we went our separate ways.

As I trudged back up and away from the shoreline, I found it difficult to resist watching Fukase to see where he'd go. If he had things to bring, then surely he had kept them hidden somewhere.

But that wasn't my business.

He'd tell me when he wanted to—if he wanted to.

When I neared our apartment building, I noticed that it was almost noon. Embarkation opened up to cruisers at one, so there was still a bit of time left before we could board anyway. Yohio and I had already gotten most of our luggage to our cabins, but that was all we had time for. Unpacking would have to wait until tonight.

I stepped into the apartment and was immediately greeted by my brother.

"Oh, Oliver! I was just going to come looking for you," he said. "You have everything, right?"

"Yeah. I just wanted to double check."

"Okay, fair enough. I already loaded everything, so I'm going to grab a bite and then head over to the ship," he replied. "You want anything?"

"I'm good, thanks. And stop by the beach before you go, okay? I think Miki and Rana would want to meet you."

"Sure." With that, I stepped around him to check my room.

With most of my few belongings gone, the room looked even more blank than usual. The only sign of color was my yellow futon, and even that was washed and pale. From my window, I could just make out the bronze mermaid on the hull of our cruise ship. I couldn't see what the copper letters wrote below it, but I knew exactly what they read: Umi no Hime. The Ocean's Princess. A fitting name for a ship decked up with bronze, copper, and gold shades.

Since there's nothing I need here, I might as well go and wait for the others... I thought. As I walked back into the main room though, I noticed Yohio's book peeking out from under one of the sofa cushions. 1984 was written in bold red letters across the cover. A book that was written twenty-seven years ago... but took place nine years in the future.

I sighed. "Why does he always choose the weirdest things on the shelf to buy?" I wondered aloud, but tucked it under my arm nonetheless. No doubt that Yohio would be disappointed if he left it behind.

With the small book in hand, I wandered back out to the shore and was surprised to see the other three already waiting for me. Rana and Miki had changed into clothes more suitable for a vacation—Rana wore light pink culottes and a loose white peasant blouse, and Miki was dressed in a simple, floral shift dress.

Fukase was dressed the same, but next to him was a large white suitcase that climbed up to his chest. It startled me for a moment since it contrasted so much from Rana and Miki's small carry-ons, but I decided not to address it.

"What it is, what it is," Rana greeted cheerfully.

"I thought you said you weren't coming today!" I said to her.

"Yeah, well... Miki convinced me."

"I have learned the ways of Flower and Piko!" Miki said, waving her hands mysteriously.

Rana rolled her eyes. "Only sort of."

I smiled. "Shall we go then?"

"Sure!" Miki replied eagerly. "That ship looks off the hook, by the way."

"It really does," I replied, grinning widely as we walked towards the towering vessel. I tried to ignore the loud swishing sound Fukase's colossal suitcase was making in the sand.

"What's it called?"

"Umi no Hime."

"That's a pretty name," Rana replied. "Fits the ship nicely."

Miki nodded in agreement. "Flower and Piko are going to get a shock when they see us there..."

"You didn't tell them?" I asked.

"Of course not! That would ruin the surprise."

"I doubt they'll be very surprised," Rana said coolly. "They don't seem like the type to be easily influenced."

"That's true," Miki replied, "but at least I get to rub it in their faces for a few days. They're not the only ones who can afford luxury!"

"You can come sit with Yohio and I at the captain's table if you'd like."

"For real?" Rana exclaimed, excitement shining in her eyes. "You had better not be psyching us."

"Of course not, I'm serious!" I laughed as we finally got in the shade of the ship's bronze hull. "Oh, and here are your room keys." I whipped the blue cards out of my pocket and handed one to each of them.

"Thanks," Miki said, scrutinizing the shiny card carefully. "Come on Rana, let's find our room!"

"You don't want me to take you?"

"We'll figure it out! It's more fun that way."

"Don't worry, we won't get lost or anything," Rana added. "And if we do, you'll probably find us anyway. Catch you on the flipside, Oliver!"

And with that, both of them wandered onto the ship and disappeared from my view.

"I'd... rather not risk getting lost, if you catch my drift," Fukase said once they were gone.

I smiled. "We're sharing the same room anyway. I'll take you there to get settled."

"You get a bigger room since yours is one of the captains' cabins, right? Does it look luxurious? I'm sure there's a nice view, right?" Suddenly Fukase was full of questions.

"I think it's best if you see for yourself."

A/N: 

Heyo! I'm so sorry this is super incredibly late T-T I was failing almost every class because I was busy prepping for NaNoWriMo... also, now you know the timeframe this book is in! The dialogue ended up being way more '70s than I had originally planned, but I like it.

Also I decided that NaNoWriMo would put too much stress on me this year so I'm not doing it (sob)... I'll still try to update this frequently though. I also have a couple of other vocaloid fanfictions in mind!

That being said, who do you guys ship with Len (other than Kaito)? I know FukaLen and OliLen are somewhat popular, but I don't really like either... so tell me what you think :P

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter nonetheless! Catch ya on the flip side~

~Stargazer