The ship was bustling with stewards and stewardesses as I expertly navigated us through the residential halls, trying to get to the suite Rana and Miki stayed in. It was later in the afternoon now, and the amount of people walking around just for the sake of taking care of the ship was slightly astounding. It was nothing like the small crew and open deck that I had been used to from sailing on cargo ships.

"How do you know where we're going?" Fukase asked. "You haven't even been on this ship before yesterday."

"Yeah, but I explored a lot of it yesterday. And besides, I know enough about how ships work to know the general layout."

He only nodded, seemingly impressed. "Who were the others that Miki was talking about?"

"Flower and Piko?"

"Yeah, those two."

"I don't know, I haven't seen them yet. Or anyone that looks like them." Then again, I hadn't exactly expected to. Miki had described them somewhat casually, and embarkation day was a rather formal occasion. It would make sense that I wouldn't notice them until the next day.

Finally, I arrived at Rana and Miki's suite. It was a similar size to the captain's quarters, but the living room was much smaller. Other than that, they were nearly identical.

I knocked on the door, in case the two of them had already arrived. To my surprise, someone opened the door.

"Oliver!" Rana said excitedly. "Did you know we'd be getting this huge suite?"

"Of course I knew."

"And you didn't tell us?!"

"That would've ruined the surprise, wouldn't it?"

"Is that Oliver?" I heard Miki call from inside the room.

"Yeah," Rana replied. "Oh, come in, come in."

Fukase and I stepped into the room. I could tell he was impressed, but of course, not as impressed as he was with our room.

"Oliver! When do we get to meet the man?" Miki asked, her eyes wide with anticipation.

"The man?"

"Your brother. You know, the captain? The man?"

"Oh. I don't know, maybe later today? He'll be a bit busy tomorrow, but like I mentioned before, you can sit with us at dinner and stuff."

"By the way, aren't there activities and excursions we get to go on?" Rana asked, plopping down on one of the big, plush chairs that adorned the corners of the room.

"There are, but I'm not sure if we're allowed to go," I replied.

"Don't worry about it, I can get Flower and Piko to invite us along," Miki responded, sitting down next to Rana. Fukase and I sat down across from them. "Oliver, do you know how many stops there are?"

"Sort of. There's two in Shikoku and one in Kyushu, and then we go straight to Yaeyama. Then there's three or four stops on the archipelago...and then we come back."

"Okay, so tomorrow I'll see if we can meet up with Flower and Piko to see what their plan is. Their parents probably already booked the excursions, so we'll have to go with their schedule."

"That's ok," Rana chimed in. "They'll choose well. As long as we get to go river rafting, I'm happy."

"Why river rafting?" I couldn't help but ask.

"I don't know, from what I've read and heard about, it's really fun! You get to pile into this big rubber raft, and then paddle down a gushing stream..." she went on describing her fantasy, wildly whooshing her hands from side to side as if mimicking the river rapids.

"That sounds kind of dangerous though," Miki replied when she had finished.

"Don't worry, there are professional rafters controlling it. We'd be fine. Besides, Flower is strong. In a worst case scenario, if the raft tips over she'll save us."

Just then, there was a loud knock on the door.

"Come in, it's open!" Rana called.

The door swung in silently, and standing in the doorway was a tall, lilac-haired girl. It was tied up in a messy ponytail with one dark gray streak and hung just to the nape of her neck. She was dressed in a long, violet vest with white fluff at the edges, and dark purple culottes that reached her ankles.

"So it is you two!" she said cheerfully. Her voice was powerful and surprisingly charismatic.

"Flower! Piko! We were just talking about you guys," Miki said, standing up to greet them as they walked in.

"Flower told me that you guys somehow got on, but spared me the details," Piko said. "I didn't believe her at first, but here you are." His voice starkly contrasted from Flower's, I noticed—he sounded much softer, mellower, and almost shallower than her. Even though his tone was quiet, he somehow still shared the same attention-grabbing charisma.

Although, maybe it was just his looks. He was dressed expensively in comparison to Flower, with a pure white dress shirt and dark blue jeans, with polished, jet-black dress shoes to finish off the aesthetic. His hair was a bright silver-white, and his eyes were colored slightly differently; one looked more blue and the other was more green.

Maybe the light was playing tricks on me.

"Wait a second, how did you guys even get on? Embarkation day is tomorrow."

"Ah, you must be Oliver," Piko said, ignoring my question. "You're the captain's brother, right? Somehow I pictured you... taller."

"Hey..." I pouted.

"No matter," Flower said with an air of superiority. She plopped herself on the coffee table and crossed her legs. Piko settled himself down on the coffee table beside her, but sat much more politely.

Fukase offered me a quizzical look, and I could only shrug back at him.

"So... we were wondering, you guys were planning on booking excursions, right?" Rana asked.

"Of course! They're the best part of any cruise," Flower responded.

"Can we go river rafting?" Rana's eyes shone like stars.

"Yes!"

"No."

Flower and Piko had responded at the same time.

"What do you mean 'no?'" Flower asked, incredulous.

"River rafting is absolutely dangerous."

"River rafting's fun!"

"It's dirty."

"It's just water. You can stay here and be a wimp if you want, but I'm going," Flower decided.

"Yes!" Rana cried, pumping her fist in the air.

"I guess I'll go too," Miki piped up.

"And me! If my brother lets me, I mean. What about you Fukase?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded eagerly.

"Great! So we're all going. Except Piko the girly girl," Flower concluded, shooting him a smug look. Piko just rolled his eyes, seemingly unperturbed at being called a girl.

Their confidence was slightly foreign to me. Flower and Piko continued to joke about each other, each response more passive-aggressive than the last. Neither got flustered nor bashful; it was almost as if they were putting on a show for the rest of us. Something about them seemed a bit off.

Don't be paranoid, I thought to myself. Just because Rana mentioned they were a bit strange before doesn't mean they're bad people.

"O-li-ver," Miki said, poking me harshly and startling me out of my thoughts. "Show us around the ship! It's our first day, so you owe us a tour."

"Indeed," Piko agreed, "it's only fitting. Flower and I have been on cruises before, but all ships are different, I'm sure."

"That's true, they really are," I replied. "I guess I could show you around. We have a few hours before dinner, anyway. And since none of the other guests are here, we can go to places that are usually off-limits!" I added, suddenly excited to show them around. Was this the effect Flower and Piko had that Miki had mentioned before?

Ignore it for now, but stay cautious, I reminded myself. If there's no lighthouse, then trust your instincts to guide you to the harbor.

"Off-limits? Why would anywhere be off-limits?" Rana asked.

"Well, places like the bridge, or concert halls or whatever. Places that are restricted to the majority of people on the ship."

Miki looked ready to burst. "We get to see the bridge? For real? Like, the place where all of the cool navigation tools and buttons are?"

I nodded. Fukase looked interested in the idea of visiting the bridge again, even though we had just been there.

"I don't think we've ever seen a bridge before," Flower said. "Piko, have you?"

"Of course I have," he replied. "The layout is rather fascinating, although there are a few flaws—"

"Not in diagrams and pictures, nerd. A real one. In-person."

"No, but I can imagine—"

"Ok, so no," Flower answered. I could hear Miki snickering and Rana was trying to hold back a smile. Piko looked slightly irritated, but ultimately ignored it.

I giggled slightly. "Come on, let's just go."

A/N:

Hai everyone!

First of all, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I meant to update sooner, but I ended up procrastinating for a while... sorry! >w<

And the second thing: a friend of mine mentioned that my characterization is lacking... he mentioned that the characters are very shallow and they all seem the same rather than acting like unique individuals. I admit that I don't pay as much attention to characterization with fanfiction compared to my originals, but I didn't think it was that bad *sweats profusely*

Did you guys notice that? If so, please leave some feedback about how I could edit the previous chapters (and take better notice in future ones) to do better! Of course, any other feedback is much appreciated. 

Thanks again!

~Stargazer