Wow. It's been a long, long time... I apologize. I've been swamped in exams and other such nonsense. And I've actually had this chapter done for a while now, I had just been neglecting to edit and post it... laziness. That's not excuse.

So, please forgive me, please please please! And for your patience this chapter is just a tab bit longer than the others. Not much, but still.

So with out much more delay... chapter 9.

It started out as a nice day. How it ended up like this, Leon had no idea.

"Yuffie," the captain screamed. "Have the men set sail!"

The first mate was fighting off a group of soldiers who had her blocked off from Leon. With her attention momentarily split, one man bravely swiped at her head. However, the woman proved to be paying better attention than he thought as she effectively knocked him out.

"But Captain, what about you?"

"Don't worry, I'll catch up."

"Leon."

The brunet only clenched his jaw and fought harder. He couldn't afford to breakdown in front of Yuffie. It was why he was sending her away.

"I know you, Leon. Please," the first mate begged. "We can do this together."

"NO! The two of us could never win with this many guards. Go!"

Leon swiftly made his way over to Yuffie. With one last look of sadness, the young woman took off towards the ship, leaving her captain vastly outnumbered. When no one moved to follow her, he knew it was him they were after… she could get away safely.

Leon kept fighting until he could no longer see his first mate, before allowing the exhaustion to take over.

"It's about time you gave up. I should've known it would take longer to subdue the infamous Captain Squall Leonhart."

The brunet looked up into the face of the other man and he knew this was the end. Even if he wasn't killed here, the village people would demand his head just for being a pirate.

There'd be no more annoying Yuffie, no more merry crew, no more exotic fish, no more ship… and worst of all, there'd be no more Cloud.

Leon had finally, against his better judgment, agreed to take the mer-folk around town. The three younger ones kept around with Yuffie, excitedly checking out the merchant stands and moogle shops while Cloud stayed with him.

The two had managed to get closer over the last couple of days, and while Leon was loathed to admit it, he found he rather liked Cloud's undivided attention. Not that he'd ever in his right mind, tell anyone. Still, it felt like Cloud knew because it was almost like they were, dare he say, flirting…

What are you thinking about, Cloud murmured in his mind, using the brush between their hands as a connection.

"That this is a bad idea. Someone is gonna notice something is different with you guys… especially with Namine," Leon grunted.

Speaking of the blond girl, the poor mermaid still hadn't grasped the hang of walking yet and was toddling behind the others, every so often trying to catch her balance.

Cloud smiled softly. I think it was a wonderful idea. I get to show off my mate.

Leon felt the merman's arm slither around his shoulders. His response was to elbow the other man in the stomach. He was vaguely satisfied by the wheezing gasp from the blond.

"Keep your hands to yourself in public please. I'm a pirate captain. I have an image to uphold."

An almost impish expression spread across Cloud's face before the merman leaned in and murmured into his ear, "But I know you don't want me doing this."

Leon fought valiantly to not be pulled in by the hypnotic voice. And once he righted himself, he took a look around to make sure no one had noticed.

After he concluded that no one was paying attention, he grabbed the blond and pulled him into a shrouded alleyway.

Cloud groaned softly as he was shoved into a brick wall. I thought you said no touching.

Leon smirked, "No, I said for you to keep your hands to yourself. I didn't say anything about me touching you." The captain brushed a soft kiss over the merman's lips. "And if you are on your best behavior, maybe I'll owe you."

Someone cleared their throat from the mouth of the alley. "Seriously you two should get a room," Yuffie teased.

The others were giggling softly behind her.

Leon pulled away and tried to keep the flustered feeling from showing on his face. But from the goofy smile on Cloud's face it seemed like he wasn't succeeding.

"Don't you guys want to try some Paopu fruit? I think I saw a fruit stand around here somewhere." Leon tried to change the subject.

The mer-folk were instantly curious as to what it was, as they had only eaten fish all their life. Well, the captain was sure they only ate fish… maybe some seaweed?

Yuffie excitedly agreed and dragged the younger ones ahead explaining how good the fruit was and effectively pulling their attention away from her captain.

The older bunch arrived just in time to listen to Yuffie explain how one was supposed to share the paopu with the person they wanted their lives to be entwined with, before quite obviously winking at Roxas.

Cloud chuckled (garnering a few curious looks) and placed a hand on Leon's shoulder. Won't you share one with me?

Leon thought for a moment before shrugging. It wasn't like he believed in the stupid myth. So it wouldn't hurt to share one with the blond. Plus, he was a little hungry. He stepped forward and reached for his money pouch on his hip.

However, the sudden feel of eyes watching him gave him pause. He turned and was met with puppy dog eyes from the youngest mer-people. He looked to Yuffie.

"What?" she said. "I left my money on the ship."

Leon sighed heavily before turning back to those pitiful eyes. "Fine. But you all have to share."

Once everyone nodded Leon paid for three of the overpriced fruit. Immediately Roxas turned to Namine and asked if she would like to share. The other blushed and nodded happily. Cloud was the next to grab a piece of fruit and bit into it.

Sora glanced and Yuffie and frowned. "I don't wanna share it with her." He ignored the way the other gave him an offended look and hissed, instead he turned to Leon. "Can't I share one with you?"

Leon didn't even see Cloud move; he just saw how the younger brunet grabbed the back of his head and cried out.

"Fine, fine," he murmured. "No need to get all cave-mer on me." Reluctantly the smaller boy took the last piece of fruit and split it in half to share.

From the looks of it, Leon could see everyone was enjoying the fruit… well, everyone except Sora, who wore a sour look as he watched Yuffie eat his other half.

Cloud held out a small piece for Leon.

Frowning he took it and popped it in his mouth. Least he could've done was save me a bigger piece. I did buy it, he thought to himself.

"Hey Squall," Yuffie called excitedly, pulling his attention away from the seductive blond who was licking his fingers. "I have a great idea!"

The captain grunted.

"Why don't we take them to a restaurant? It's a great idea since all they've had is raw fish!"

"Hey!" Roxas shouted. "We've had more than just fish."

"Oh yeah? like what," Yuffie challenged.

"Like crabs," Sora said.

"And octopi," input Namine.

"And shrimp, and shark, and seaweed!" Roxas concluded.

Yuffie grimaced. "Maybe we should have them try chicken. Cuz that's way too much seafood for anybody," she muttered.

"And who's paying for all this? You've seen how they eat! I can't afford it," the captain declared.

"Aw, Squally, yeah you can. We put on a show, so we should have plenty."

"No, that stupid thing was a disaster and it took almost all the money we made to rebuild a tank and buy them," he gestured wildly to the mer-folk, "some clothes!"

"So," Yuffie shrugged. "It's not like we weren't well off already. Plus it's about time we put on another show. And we can put Sora in there with him."

Sora and Roxas were murmuring to Cloud about who this mysterious Squall was until the younger heard his name. "What about Sora?" he asked loudly.

"They want to put you in a show," Namine said.

Sora's eyes lit up. "I get to perform?"

"You don't want to do that," Leon interjected.

"Yeah," Yuffie yelled over the captain. "And you get to do it in your merman form."

Cloud was shaking his head firmly.

"Come on Spikey! It'd be helping your mate and his crew a lot," Yuffie explained.

"Cloud says we shouldn't, as royalty, belittle our titles like that," Roxas said, and in that moment Leon finally saw the royalty in the twin.

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Aw please. This time we'll plan it a little better, so no one can actually touch the tank. And the minute someone does, we'll have Seifer take care of it." The look Cloud was giving the first mate clearly said no.

A mischievous smile spread across her face. "Even if we put Leon in there with you," she asked.

Leon flicked Yuffie's head as hard as he could. "No!"

"HEY," Yuffie shouted. "You're the one who said we needed money. This is an easy way to make it! On a more serious, though, we should probably go to another port. I heard these people were not easily amused."

"CLOUD," Roxas shouted, effectively bringing everyone's attention to him. "Namine is missing," he cried.

Cloud and Leon were immediately on alert. Yuffie seemed to melt into the crowds while Cloud pulled his brothers closer to him.

"Cloud, do something," Roxas pleaded.

"Shh," Leon soothed, "If there's anybody that can find your girlfriend, its Yuffie." Still Leon let his hand stray to his gunblade.

Leon glanced at the twins. Roxas' eyes were dilated in worry while Sora's eyes had sharpened, almost like those of a cat as he scanned the crowds.

"Captain," Yuffie called as she made her way back to the little group. "It's bounty hunters."

Leon cursed softly. "Did you see where they were going?"

"They're heading towards the docks. We can cut them off if we cut through town."

Leon nodded. "Good, how many," he asked already moving heading towards the docks.

"I counted two. And the way they were talking, it seems like their goal was Cloud and the other two," the first mate informed.

The captain noted the way the merman stiffened. "Leon," Cloud murmured. "I don't know if we should go."

"Okay," Leon nodded. "Go back to our boat. Consider Namine found."

"No! Cloud we have to go with them," Roxas pleaded.

"Trust him, Rox," Sora soothed. "Namine is safe."

They were coming up on the docks fast and Yuffie led Leon to the bounty hunters while Cloud took his brothers back in the direction of Leon's ship.

"There they are," Yuffie shouted over the breeze.

When they got closer, Leon couldn't help but notice the way the two bounty hunters were just standing there. And Namine looked more like a scolded child than a damsel in distress.

"Wait," Leon halted and snatched Yuffie up by the scruff of her shirt. "Something's not right."

His mind slowly started putting the pieces together… Cloud didn't want his brothers here, Sora knew Namine was safe, Namine looking scolded and not in danger…

"It's an ambush," he murmured as he watched the royal guard file out around them.

Yuffie let out a startle squeak. "Did Cloud set us up?"

Leon scowled. "It looks like it."

"LEON," Namine shouted. "RUN!"

But it was too late. The two were surrounded by the guards. Leon unsheathed his gunblade while Yuffie pulled out her shuriken.

The second the royal guard attacked, Leon's mind immediately jumped into overdrive. He dodged, attacked, parried, and retreated trying to keep his back to Yuffie. However, the guards were smarter than to let the two stick together.

Yuffie, for her part, was steadily knocking down her opponents and Leon's heart swelled with pride. He'd taught her well. If only they could survive this.

And just like that, Leon's mind supplied a solution. If he couldn't make it out of this… maybe Yuffie could.

"Yuffie," the captain screamed. "Have the men set sail!"

The first mate was fighting off a group of soldiers who had her blocked off from Leon. With her attention momentarily split, one man bravely swiped at her head. However, the woman proved to be paying better attention than he thought as she effectively knocked him out.

"But Captain, what about you?"

"Don't worry, I'll catch up."

"Leon."

The brunet only clenched his jaw and fought harder. He couldn't afford to breakdown in front of Yuffie. It was why he was sending her away.

"I know you, Leon. Please," the first mate begged. "We can do this together."

"NO! The two of us could never win with this many guards. Go!"

Leon swiftly made his way over to Yuffie. With one last look of sadness, the young woman took off towards the ship, leaving her captain vastly outnumbered. When no one moved to follow her, he knew it was him they were after… she could get away safely.

Leon kept fighting until he could no longer see his first mate, before allowing the exhaustion to take over.

A voice commanded the men to stop.

"It's about time you gave up. I should've known it would take longer to subdue the infamous Captain Squall Leonhart."

The brunet looked up into the face of the other man and he knew this was the end. Even if he wasn't killed here, the village people would demand his head just for being a pirate.

There'd be no more annoying Yuffie, no more merry crew, no more exotic fish, no more ship… and worst of all, there'd be no more Cloud.

"Now that you're worn out, where's my son," General Sephiroth snarled.

"You're son?" Leon questioned.

"Yes, my son!" The general landed a heavy blow, that even when Leon blocked it; it still knocked him back a few feet. "Where's Cloud?"

Stormy grey eyes widened. "You're…"

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed in amusement. "So my boy didn't even tell you who I was, who he was."

"But you're human. You work for the royals. You're the king's general!" Leon pointed out.

The general looked disdainfully down at the pirate captain. "I'm getting tired of you avoiding answering my question. Where is my son?"

"I don't know. He ran off," Leon answered, somewhat truthfully.

"Don't lie to me!" Sephiroth swung his mammoth of a sword and this time knocked Leon onto the ground.

"I'm not lying!" Leon spluttered. Quickly he tried to readjust himself for another blow, but the silveret was already on him again, snatching him up by the collar of his shirt.

"Why did you kidnap my son?" The general's voice was dangerously low.

"I didn't kidnap him," Leon growled. "He said I was his mate and decided to stay."

Sephiroth held the other for a few moments, trying to gauge if the man was telling the truth, before tossing him on the ground. "If he is telling the truth, then I have no other use for him. Finish him," he told his troop and sauntered away.

Leon fully expected the group to all jump on him at once but the sound of a familiar voice caused him to perk up.

"Now, I know my captain didn't give up that easily."

"Seifer," Leon gasped.

"You knew I couldn't leave you alone, right," a cheerful voice echoed through the mass of soldiers.

"And I'd b' damned if that tiny brat became cap'n," another declared.

Leon was surrounded by his crew. Well, they were spread out in the herd of guards fighting for him. If he was a sentimental kind of guy, the captain would be crying.

"You guys came back for me," he murmured.

"Couldn't leave without you, Captain," came Yuffie's voice from beside him.

The petite girl helped him up and together they fought against the royal guard. It was a battle long fought but everyone one made it back to the boat with only cuts and bruises. And once everyone was on, the boat set sail leaving behind the soldiers who were conscious to follow.

Once the boat was well into the ocean, the crew cheered heartily. Yuffie was bouncing around, being herself. Cid was drinking a few people under the table. Seifer was recounting his victories. But the captain couldn't find the mer-people. Something in his gut told him he wouldn't.

Leon finished making his rounds, checking that everyone was okay and doing his best to be pleasant to his crew. And even though some were more beat up than others, everyone was in lively spirits. It made Leon remember his reason for becoming a pirate in the first place. He wanted to be free...

If only there wasn't that empty feeling that had settled into his gut.

So? how was it? Good enough to review?