Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

A perfectly clear sky.  The sun shining, somewhere in the high 90’s, a generous breeze - it was the recipe for a day of smooth sailing.  The Queen Shelby hadn’t encountered a single ship, ally or enemy, all day.  Granted, the reputation of the ship had reached far and wide.  Few would dare to stand up to the one ship known to be tailed by a kraken.

Shelby, the kraken the ship owed its current namesake to, cooed and babbled on as the ship beside her steadily rode the light waves.  It never took much to keep up with the ship, even in harsh waters, but the conditions were excellent today.  Most of the crew remained on standby.  Majima steering was really the only thing that really mattered in the middle of the sea.

Shelby provided excellent shade this time of day.  Majima, as well as the majority of his crew, were only a small percentage of her total size.  The less Majima felt the sun beating down on his neck, the better.  Shelby could even mist him a little if he asked.  Maybe Jason and Masaru were right about him attempting to get a tan but Majima was always more likely to burn.

“Looks like we got company.” Jason’s gruff call made Majima snap to attention.  The streak of good luck on the water could be over.

“What’s the other ship look like?” Jason was closer but even still, the ship was a fair ways off.

Jason shook his head.  “Can’t tell from here.”

“We have to get closer?” Masaru’s statement morphed into a question as he looked to Majima for what to do next.

Majima briefly peeled away from the helm, taking his spyglass out of his coat and aiming in the direction of the ship.  The other ship was still a number of knots away but even from the fuzzy details, Majima could discern it was another pirate ship.  Friend or foe was still to be determined but they were right in the path of the Queen Shelby.  No way to get around them without being noticed.

“Everyone, at the ready, but don’t shoot til they start shooting at us.” Majima collapsed the spyglass, returning to his post at the helm.  The crew gave a simultaneous acknowledgement as the ship began steering towards the strangers ahead.

It seemed the other ship had the same idea, as they advanced towards the Queen Shelby with no intentions of going around.  The other ship gradually came into view.  It was a pirate ship, alright, but not the likes The Queen Shelby crew was used to.  The other ship was much smaller, much less equipped, and lacking a lot of cosmetic fixes.  It slightly amazed Majima  that the other ship seemed to be smoothly sailing considering all the damage.

The Queen Shelby finally pulled up alongside the strangers’ ship.  Majima took his usual position - hopping onto the side of the ship to walk the ledge.  It was a stupid show of bravado, at least to Jason.  At least the others on the ship were enough of an interest to not have to focus on his own captain for a bit.

“Ahoy there!  Who might you be?” Majima barked out to the strangers.  If he was trying to appear friendly, he wasn’t exactly hitting the mark.  The ledge was significantly elevated compared to the other ship, adding to the imposing form Majima already had.  

Three faces looked up towards the opposing captain.  The first two, a scruffy, tan youngster and a more put together ginger lady, stared at him like deers in headlights.  They did appear to be pirates but these poor kids looked like rookies who’d never seen a real day of adventure in their lives.  The third figure, though, immediately answered the question.  

“Captain!  We are the Riptide Pirates.  I am Gillion Tidestrider, Champion of the Undersea, Hero of the Deep, Pigeon Lord, The One, Warrior Of Rock and Roll, Singer and Songwriter of Gillion And The Tidestriders hit single ‘The Hole In Your Heart’-“

Majima was a bit more intrigued by the third of the crew.  He was clearly more of an aquatic creature, far less fearful of him and the rest of the Queen Shelby.  As a tentacle tapped his shoulder, he realized why the first two appeared so startled.  The lad furthest to the left looked like he’d had the worst of it, as if he was dragged out for this meeting against his wishes.

“Right..!” Majima abruptly shouted, cutting off Gillion on what was probably his fortieth listed title.  “I be Captain Majima, this is The Queen Shelby!  One of the most feared sea-farin’ vessels on the seven seas!” Shelby cooed next to him, bringing out an even larger smile on his face.  He nodded, signaling her to wrap her tentacle around his waist and hoist him up.

“The ship’s namesake be to me adoring dear Shelby..~” Majima’s words made Shelby coo and purr as she dangled Majima a yard or so above the deck.  Majima’s crew were all used to these kinds of antics.  Most of them didn’t even look up at the captain by now.  The public displays of affection were commonplace to them.  The strangers on the other ship, though, were wide-eyed as they took in the information for the first time.

“Shelby’s half the reason we be able to sail on through no problem!  She’s also the sweetest lass in the world, isn’t that right?~” Majima’s mushy talk made Jason roll his eyes.  Okay, the entire ship got it, they were in love.  A glance to the other ship was more amusing; each person on deck was in a similar state of shock.  Even the aquatic gentleman seemed unable to process Majima’s words.

The ginger girl looked pale but the poor guy beside her looked ready to faint.  Neither seemed to be able to utter a word.  Thankfully, their other friend pulled himself together the quickest.  “Well!  It is…surely a feat that you have earned the respect of a leviathan!”

Majima giggled as one of Shelby’s free tentacles patted him.  “Oh, I’m not sure if I’d say that, but Shelby’s just as much a part of the crew as everyone else!” 

Jason just shook his head.  Any more sap and he’d go into a diabetic coma.  Masaru tried to continue the ice breaking.  “Ah, then, who are the other two aboard?”

The silence from the still shell-shocked duo was broken by Gillion not so subtly jabbing his elbow into the girl.  “I-uh, I’m Jay Ferin…! A c-co-captain k of the Riptide Pirates…!”

The other boy remained silent, wide eyed as he couldn’t take them off the kraken.  “That’s…that’s Chip,” Jay spoke for him.

Majima seemed oblivious to the shock of the other three.  “Why don’t me crew introduce themselves!” The question was uttered as more of an exclamation as he gestured to his right towards Jason.

Although his bravado made the man roll his eyes, Jason still answered.  “I’m Jason, first mate.”

“Oh, let Goro see!” A higher pitched voice piped up from beside Jason.  Before he could even protest, Shelby lifted both Goro and Noah with spare tentacles.  Noah waved eagerly at the new faces.

“Be careful with him..!”

Jason’s overprotective indignation just made Majima chuckle.  “Oh, he’ll be fine, he just wants to meet the new guys!”

“Hi!!  I’m Noah, and that’s Goro!  He’s our cat!”

Jay spoke softly to Gillion.  “That’s a…tiger…”

“Oh…what’s a tiger?” Gillion whispered back.

“And over here?” Majima gestured to the left towards Masaru.

“Oh, me?  I’m Masaru, uh…head chef?”

“Oh, yer sellin’ yerself short again!  Ye do more than that but, a chef be needed on a ship!” Majima patted Shelby’s tentacle, signaling she could let him down.  “In time, I’m sure we’ll get to be more acquainted!  Where might you all be headed?”

Once again, neither Jay nor Chip could find the words.  Gillion, though, had no problem speaking up.  “We are headed towards the island of Hawaii!  A strange, uncharted island where-“

“Hawaii? We live there.”

Jason, Masaru, and Noah all looked to one another, somehow having been able to say the same thing in unison.  

Majima chuckled as his crew gave such a witty response.  He’d really trained them well.  “There be strength in numbers, right?  We can all go down to Hawaii together!”

Jason shot him a look.  “We just met these guys-”

Before he could even finish the sentence, Gillion piped up again.  “Excellent!  We shall embark with our new allies of the Queen Chevy!”

“Shelby…” Majima flatly corrected.

“Shelby!  Let’s set our course!”

Though Gillion seemed more than eager to tail the Queen Shelby to Hawaii, the Chip fellow still looked pallid and like he might lose his lunch.  Majima couldn’t pay attention to that for very long, as he had to direct his own crew to steer back to their established course.

Majima groaned as he stretched.  He was always more than happy to take a break from seafaring on dry land, though the transition from boat to solid ground wasn’t always the smoothest.  While the rest of Majima’s crew had taken the liberty of pulling into port, Majima had changed out of his usual captain’s garb into something that wouldn’t turn as many heads on Honolulu’s streets.  A quick few dressing tricks and the pirate shirt that had sat deep in his closet for an unknown amount of time looked freshly pressed.

As he strolled out to the middle of the deck, Shelby’s tentacles motioned for him to pay attention to her.  “What is it, dear?” Majima couldn’t help but be amused at how excited Shelby looked.

Shelby happily gurgled and waggled the two tentacles closest to Majima.  Although she was ecstatic, Majima shook his head.  “I know you wanna go down there with us but who’s gonna watch the ship?  You’re our best defense.”

“I can watch the ship while you’re gone, Captain!”

Majima’s head turned to who’d interjected.  When he saw who’d spoken up, the offer didn’t put him at ease.  Before him stood one trusted member of his crew, Masao Kakihara.  He was a scrappy young man, at least when compared to Majima.  His appearance was befitting for a pirate - a heavily scarred face, scruffy hair and beard, tons of piercings, and an aura that would easily frighten most away.  Still, that didn’t do much to assuage Majima.

While Kakihara looked scary, the man was a total softie with a heart of gold.  He was perpetually a ray of sunshine on the ship.  Though he could absolutely hold his own in a fight, looking after a whole ship was more suitable for Shelby, a kraken who could - quite literally - be in almost every corner of the ship at once.  “I dunno, I don’t wanna put that on just you…” Majima didn’t want to outright squash Kakihara’s enthusiasm but he always felt anxious to leave the ship in anyone else’s hands but Shelby’s.

“Oh, you don’t need to worry!  Shelby wants to see the city with you, she hardly gets to go on land!  I can take care of things back here!”

Majima still didn’t seem swayed, though Shelby was more than happy to agree.  Her bubbling and gurgling only increased as she agreed with Kakihara.  He was about to protest before Kakihara spoke up again.

“Captain, just get some guys to stay behind and I”ll make sure the ship is safe!  I promise you’ll have nothing to worry about.”

There seemed to be no moving either of these two.  With a sigh, Majima acquiesced.  “Alright, let me go get Shelby something to wear.”

Kakihara smiled as Majima went back into his quarters.  “Shelby, you’ve got such a nice man with you~”

Shelby coyly gestured with a tentacle as if to say “oh, stop.”

“Say, you should try getting something new to wear!  That’ll get Majima wanting to take you everywhere~"

Shelby agreed, elated at the suggestion.  Even just thinking about it was making her excited.  She looked over to the ship they’d just met and sailed alongside with.  The redheaded girl, Jay, caught her attention.  Shelby gestured a tentacle to her, enthusiastically singling her out to Kakihara.

“Hmm?  Oh, the girl from earlier!  Yeah, she might be able to help you find clothes you like!  It’s gonna be a good break from all the testosterone on board, huh?”

Shelby nodded, bubbling happily at the prospect of a trip into the city.  Majima finally returned with a spare dress.  It wouldn’t be the best fit, as anything she’d wear would need to cover her tall stature and tentacles appropriately.  “Here you go, babe.” Majima handed off the dress to her, which was slipped over her closest tentacle.

Shelby began her transformation ritual.  It was a quick transformation from kraken to humanoid, but it always mesmerized Majima.  Her form quickly morphed, going from a gelatinous, grayish-green blob to a beautiful, half-aquatic woman.  Her hand fit right into Majima’s, having shifted from the tentacle it was before.  Even if Majima had been hesitant to leave the ship in someone else’s care, seeing Shelby’s humanoid form always made him so happy to see.

With Majima’s guidance, the now humanoid Shelby stepped onto the deck.  Or, rather, slithered, as under the faded burgundy dress were a collection of tentacles, all slithering along as Shelby moved.  The dress covered them well enough to not arouse suspicion but she’d still glide along in a manner that might get some wary looks from strangers.

“Oh, it’s been such a long time since I’ve been on land!” Shelby’s voice now reached Majima’s ears in a different way.  Her primordial voice as a kraken was strikingly different to the airier, feminine voice of her humanoid form.  Majima didn’t favor one over the other but hearing her excited tone washed his worries away.

“Darling, how about I go with that girl on the other ship and you show the boys around the city?”

Majima looked over to the Albatross.  It appeared they were moving at the same pace as the Queen Shelby.  The Chip fellow seemed to have regained some of his pigment, at the very least.  “You know, that sounds like a great idea.  You oughta get some time with some other girls, for a change.”

Shelby giggled, moving alongside Majima on their way off the ship.  “Oh, I just hope she’s into fashion.  I think she’ll like shopping here!”

“Yeah, they’re gonna be fascinated by it.” Majima didn’t say it out loud but he knew he’d be in for a long day carting around the fish out of water and his landlubber friend.  He didn’t know what world they came from or if it would prepare them for all the corners of Honolulu.

Shelby slithered onto the dock, immediately making her way to Jay.  “Hi, you’re Jay, right?”

Jay looked up, taken aback by this sudden, strange woman.  She wasn’t expecting to see another fish-like person during this trip.  “Uh, yes, who are you…?”

“Oh, goodness, pardon me.  I’m Shelby, the kraken you met earlier!  Well, I guess, not so much a kraken right now.  I have to take a bit of a different form if I wanna go on land!”

Jay nodded, still not quite grasping everything but seeming to piece together that this woman and the kraken seen prior were one and the same.  “Uh, okay, that’s…cool.”

“Anyway, why don’t I show you around?  Majima and I come here all the time.”

Jay glanced discreetly back at her other two co-captains.  Maybe it would actually be better for everyone if she tagged along with Shelby and didn’t subject Chip to her presence as much.  “You know, yeah, that sounds good, uh, where should we go first?”

“Oooh!  I was hoping you could help me pick out some dresses, oh, really anything new to wear.  I mean, bless Majima’s little heart but it’s so hard to find anything that’s in my size!  And you know, not just the sizing but it’s gotta be something long too, because I’m so tall and I don’t exactly have legs like Majima does, or, well, he’s got about one and three quarters-”

Shelby’s voice faded as she and Jay walked out of earshot towards the center of town.  Majima was just happy she’d found a new friend.  Jay was sure in for a lot of conversation.  He turned his attention to the descending boys on the other ship.  They’d also got the memo about dressing down to mingle among the civilians but there seemed to be little Gillion could do to tone down his appearance.  It wasn’t like anyone would do anything, especially with Majima in tow, but there was no telling what the reaction would be to this other visibly fishy person.  Shelby alone was a hard enough sell.

“I see you boys are ready?”

Gillion smiled, already more than raring to go on this adventure.  “Yes!  What all lies in this city of..what was it called?”

“You boys are in Honolulu, Hawaii!  The last state to be added to the stars on the flag of the United States..~”

“United States, it’s got a nice ring to it!”  Gillion’s praise seemed to slide off Chip.

Chip’s eyes briefly scanned the older captain before him.  Nothing really stood out to him until his gaze drifted down to his shoes.  Or rather, just the one shoe.  The hem of his pant leg on the right side was tucked into his boot proper but his left was cuffed and tied around the beginning of a peg leg prosthetic.  Majima had spared no expense, as the prosthetic was no hastily made wooden junk.  It was forged with care, encased in genuine iron and- were those gemstone studs along the top band?

“You’re the real deal…” Chip murmured without realizing he’d spoken the thought.

Majima was confused before realizing where his and Gillion’s eyes were resting.  “Oh, this?” He raised his knee for a second before sticking it back down.  “I’ve had that probably longer than you two’ve been alive!  Lost that foot in a real fearsome battle, must’ve scrapped for hours before I was able to plunge my sword in-”

“He lost it fucking up rigging up the ropes.  Constricted himself and was upside down for hours before anyone found him.” Jason sidled up to Majima, having heard him try to retell his favorite lie.

“Jason!  At least let me have one thing to impress them with…”

“No need for that!  You’re already impressive enough with taming a kraken such as Shelby!”

Chip rolled his eyes at Gillion’s statement.  “Don’t remind me…”

“Where are we headed first, Captain?”

Jason quickly offered the quip of, “The bar.”

Majima reached to swat at him, which was quickly dodged.  “Not this early, no sir.  Besides, you and Masaru got real work to take care of.”

“Fine, dad…” Jason knew he’d be saddled with grunt work eventually.  If only Majima could be a little more subtle about it.

“Can I go with Majima this time?” Everyone’s attention turned to the smaller voice.  Noah beamed at the others looking his way.  Goro let out a small growl as he hovered by Noah’s side.

“I dunno…” Jason didn’t know how he felt leaving his son around the two new strangers.  Even if they claimed to be allies, there was no telling when they could flip.

“Jason, he’s with me, it’ll be fine!”  Majima patted Jason’s shoulder.  “Hey, the sooner you get chores done, the sooner you can rejoin us and have fun!”

“Does ‘fun’ include losing all our money at mahjong?” Masaru injected.

Gillion’s brow furrowed.  “What is mahjong?”

Majima cut off Masaru before he could even explain.  “Don’t worry about that right now, you got work to do yourselves!”

With a little shooing away, Jason and Masaru turned around, walking off to do their share of the supply run.  “Always with the jokes…” Majima murmured.  “Alright, let’s go ahead and explore!”

Shelby’s head might as well have been on a swivel as she and Jay entered the shop.  The girl couldn’t seem to focus on a single point for longer than a few seconds.  Every displayed dress seemed to be more beautiful and intricate than the last.  Shelby’s frame of reference might have been small but the selection she could see mesmerized her all the same.  “My goodness, they have everything here!”

Jay nodded.  Although she was trying to be nonchalant about it all, the selection evoked the same awe in her as well.  She had no idea what to expect when choosing to step off the ship into Hawaii but the tailor work in this boutique was fascinating all the same.

“May I help you…two..?” One of the shop’s employees approached the pair, caught off guard by the appearance of Shelby.

“Yeah, we’re- uh, she’s looking to get some new dresses.” Shelby nodded at Jay’s words, her ears already wiggling with excitement.

“O-Okay,” the employee tried not to stare or sound rude, even though Shelby wasn’t a sight she’d see everyday.  “Well, ah, we can certainly make that happen, but we’re going to need to take quite a few measurements first.”

“Oh, that’s alright, take your time!” Shelby moved where the girl was leading the two of them towards.  The small room within the boutique appeared to be a fitting room, but with a raised circle in the middle of the floor.  “Why don’t you go ahead and step up there, now?” The girl forced her smile to be a bit wider in an attempt to hide her apprehension.

Without thinking about the action, Shelby pinched at the bottom of her dress, picking it up and exposing the ends of her tentacles as she slithered up atop the raised platform.  The poor employee looked a few shades paler, speechless at what was going on beneath the dress.  Still, she chose not to acknowledge it.  “Okay, um, why don’t I get the upper body measured first?”

Shelby nodded, raising her arms enough for the employee to take measurements.  She took to looping the tape measure around her chest, moving it every so often to measure the top, middle, and underside of Shelby’s chest.  Shelby couldn’t see it, but the employee’s expression began to morph from anxious to stunned.  She murmured to herself, barely above a whisper.  Shelby didn’t seem to hear or notice any issue but Jay was fearful for what this might mean.

“Um, would you two excuse me for just a minute?” The employee withdrew the measuring tape, slinking off to another part of the store.

“Hmmm…I wonder what she needs?” Shelby mused aloud, still unaware anything could be amiss.

Jay didn’t say anything but her mind raced with what that employee could be thinking about.  She wasn’t off to go contact law enforcement, was she?  Thankfully, before Jay’s mind could run off track any further, the previous employee came back with another coworker.  She quickly brought her around to Shelby’s front.  “See?  I told you!”

“No way…” The other girl that had been brought out was equally as stunned as the first.  “They’re, like, actually real-real, right?”

Shelby was confused.  “Is what real?”

The second boutique employee reached for Shelby’s breasts, cupping them and giving them a mild squeeze.  “Oh my god, they are natural!”

Shelby smiled, amused at their discovery.  “Well, of course they are!  Why wouldn’t they be?”

Jay immediately felt a huge weight ascend off her shoulders.  Thankfully, that’s all that the commotion was about.

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen ones this big up close!” The girls from the boutique at least seemed to be in better spirits, now.  Gawking at Shelby’s breasts was at least better than them being fearful she was in there with them at all.

“Uh, you’ll still be able to make a dress for her, right?”

The two boutique employees looked back at Jay.  “Oh, yeah, a custom dress isn’t a problem.  We just don’t get as many ladies like her here!”

“Oh, wonderful!” Shelby giggled as the girls went back to taking measurements.  She could already envision so many options for what a new dress would look like on her.

Gillion seemed amazed at every little thing around him as he walked though the streets of Honolulu.  Although Chip was more keen on keeping a low profile, he also found little wonders himself as he tailed the others.  By now, Majima found city strolls to be routine.  Though nothing much would jump out to him, he could tell the two newbies he had in tow were amazed by the city.

“Captain, where are we going first?” Noah sped up a bit to catch up to Majima’s pace.

“Well, where do you think we should show Chip and Gillion first?”

“Hmm..” Before anyone could think of anything to say, a strange noise rose into the air.

“Uh, sorry, Captain…” Chip sheepishly apologized. “We didn’t exactly eat much yet today…”

Majima chuckled.  “Not a problem!  Honolulu has no shortage of places to eat.  Where do you think we should take them?”

Noah went back to pondering options again.  “How about somewhere in the outdoor mall?  There’s a lot to see there!”

Majima nodded.  They could easily spend hours just in that spot of the city alone.  “How about that steakhouse that’s there?”

“I’ll take anything at this point, I’m starving.” Chip groaned.  “Just lead the way to it, Cap.”

Majima chuckled.  He was getting hungry himself, so leading everyone to food was an easy trip.  The group trailed their leader into the bustling shopping center.  To Gillion and Chip, it seemed that every single possible store one could ever conceive was held in just this area.  “How do you even decide where to go..?” Chip mused aloud.

“Ah, most of the places are just tourist traps and near duplicates of each other.  At least with me, you’re not gonna be sucked into any of those.”  Majima led the group down to the ground level, guiding them all right to the front entrance to the steakhouse.

“Boogie Woogie Steak House…?” Gillion read the name of the restaurant slowly.  “Does everything in this city have names like that?”

“Not everything, just this place.”  Majima led everyone in, letting the hostess guide them to a table.  Noah and Goro slid into the booth first with Majima capping off the end as Chip and Gillion slid in across from them.  

“So, uh, what’s good here?” Chip began consulting the menu.

“Well, it’s a steakhouse, so…steak..~” Majima and Noah giggled at the obvious joke to be made.  Gillion seemed to be in better spirits about it but Chip hadn’t come around to this older captain just yet.

“Okay, are you ready to see it?”

The voice pulled Jay out of her half-asleep haze.  It had been quite some time since their arrival.  Earlier, Shelby had handed over a sizeable wad of strange bills - currency in this city - to get them something to eat at a nearby food truck.  Jay hoped she’d handed over the correct amount to the man working the truck.  At least the bills seemed to be readily countable, even if she wasn’t familiar with the appearance of the dollar.

Even though everyone had stopped for lunch, the work on Shelby’s dress had resumed and had continued for what must have been hours.  Jay wasn’t keeping great track of time, as she was more tempted to doze off while waiting on the tailors to finish.  She had little to do, even if Shelby said she could go out on her own.  She was assigned to stay with her, and besides, the whole city was a new, foreign place.  There was no telling what lurked in the corners of Honolulu if she were to venture out by herself.  Chip and Gillion were who knew where with Majima, so she didn’t even have her usual backup.  

Jay fully came to attention when she saw one of the boutique girls approaching her.  Jay had been in the waiting room for what must have amounted to several hours now, in and out of sleep on the chairs and pacing around.  “It’s ready?  Really?”

“Yeah, come on back!” The employee gleefully led Jay with her into the fitting room Shelby was in.  Jay wasn’t sure what the final result was going to be.  She’d left that vision up to Shelby.  When Jay entered, Shelby turned to face her, adorned in her new dress.  Jay hadn’t known what to expect but her mouth hung ajar all the same.

Shelby’s new dress was gorgeous, by no exaggeration of the word.  The base color was a rich, sapphire blue.  A white band tied around her waist, adding to the flowing, layered lower half below it.  The ends of each pleated layer of the dress had seaform creeping up, creating an absolutely beautiful illusion of the ocean in the form of the dress.

“What do you think?” Shelby playfully swayed so the dress would sway with her.  “I told them something sea-like and oh my gosh, they delivered!”

“Yeah..!” Jay could hardly find the words to describe her awe.  The girls had done an excellent job, even surpassing Jay’s own expectations.

“Okay, so, the cost…” One of the employees nervously began.

Shelby’s ears twitched as she awaited the final total.

“Since it’s a custom piece, that adds to the charge, so it’s going to be higher than what we estimated earlier.”

Jay started to feel that worry from before creeping back in.  “Well, with everything else we did for the dress accounted for, the total is now $2,285.” The employee continued.

“Oh!” Shelby nodded,turning to Jay.  “Would you reach into the pocket on the dress I came in with?  My wallet’s in there.”

Jay was shocked at how blasé Shelby was reacting to the price.  “S-Shelby, that dress is over two thousand dollars!  Don’t you think you should, you know, think about it?”

Shelby giggled.  “Oh, I don’t need to worry that much about budget, Majima always has enough to cover whatever I need..~” She motioned for Jay to get her wallet out.  There seemed to be nothing Jay would be able to say to dissuade her.  She begrudgingly rifled through the dress, finding the wallet and handing it to Shelby.  Sure, she was a kraken with a wealthy pirate beau, but she should at least attempt to have more awareness about her own finances.

When Shelby took her wallet, she rummaged through it and pulled out a blue card with a silver border.  “Here, I’ll pay, that one’s credit.”

Credit?  How in the world would that work?  “Shelby’s that’s not dollars..” Jay whispered as Shelby was about to hand the card over.

“Hmm?  Don’t you have a credit card?  Majima says most humans have a credit card.”

Jay continued to look completely lost.  “Well, I don’t, none of us on the ship do.”

Shelby figured it made sense.  Maybe Jay only had a debit card.  Maybe she was holding off on getting one.  The profession of a pirate did mean lots of travel, so keeping a bank tied to it would be difficult unless it somehow had complete global coverage.  She hadn’t learned Jay’s age yet but Majima had mentioned several times before about how the young people of today had a harder time building and maintaining credit.  Jay not having knowledge about credit cards was understandable.  For Shelby, she’d only been educated about this stuff very recently herself, and she was far older than Jay or any of her other friends.

“The card just automatically takes money out of Majima and I’s account!  I’m not certain on how the tech stuff works but it’s convenient!”

Shelby’s explanation sounded like science fiction to Jay.  A card that small could tell another machine to take money out of an existing account?  Hawaii was really a strange place.

“Okay, I’ll go ahead and run this for you.  You’ll be wearing the dress out, yeah?”

Shelby nodded in response.  “Gosh, I hardly want to take it off!  It’s so beautiful!”

Jay smiled, in spite of worrying about how much money Shelby was ready to spend in one sitting.  It was impossible not to; Shelby was genuinely over the moon about this dress and her elation was contagious, even in the smallest way.

Shelby finally made her way off the platform, relieved to finally wear her dress out.  “Oooh, this is all so exciting!” She gleefully followed behind the original employee they’d first spoken to as they all made their way to the register.

Jay watched the entire transaction of Shelby’s credit card being processed.  The technology of the whole payment method was still like something out of a fictional story to Jay, but watching how quickly the employee ran the card and seemed to successfully complete the purchase was mystifying all the same.

“Alright, you two should be good to go.  Oh, do you need a bag for the dress you came in with?”  Shelby and Jay both seemed to be confused for a second before Jay realized she’d been holding onto Shelby’s previous dress.

“Oh, uh, that’s up to you, I guess…” Jay turned to Shelby to gauge her response.

“If you wouldn’t mind, that’d be great!”  The employee reached for a large bag, handing it over the counter to Shelby.  She held it open for Jay to drop the folded dress into it, happily slinging the bag’s handles over her arm.  When her receipt printed off, she graciously took it and stuck it in the bag.  

“I just can’t thank you enough for all the work that you did today!” Shelby’s bubbly personality seemed to have won over everyone around her.  Not one of them seemed to fear her anymore.  Jay guessed that was more preferable to them being wary of her, even all this time later.

“Oh, it’s our pleasure.  You look wonderful in that.  We’re just glad to have been of help to you.”  The other employees around her nodded in agreement.  “If you ever need our services again, don’t hesitate to stop by!”

“Absolutely, I will!  Thank you so much!” Shelby and Jay waved off the employees as they exited the boutique back out into the city streets.

Jay inhaled deeply once they were outside.  That fresh air felt better than usual after all the time spent cooped up in the store.  “So, where should we go now?” Jay asked as they fell in step with the other pedestrians on the sidewalk.

“Ooh, that’s a good question.  Honolulu has a lot of things to do!  It’s really got anything you’d want to do or see.  But, what kind of stuff do you want to see?”

Jay thought about what Shelby asked.  “I don’t really know what’s here, what’re the landmarks here?”

“Oh, tons!  There’s tons of fish landmarks, you should tell your other friend about them!  They love dolphins here especially.  There’s that big outdoor mall and the arts district.  Majima likes taking us to this little bar on the upper side.”  Shelby took a look around.  “We’re already on the way, kinda!  We can swing by my friend Julie’s since she’s close by there, too!”

“Julie?  What’s she like?”

“She’s gotta be one of the smartest humans I’ve ever met!  She has a shop where she can make you pretty much anything!  She helps with construction on the ship and makes us cannons, she even makes us rings sometimes!”

Cannons?  That sounded like something Jay could get into.  If she was as good as Shelby praised, she could come out of Hawaii with a meaningful souvenir.  “Let’s go ahead and see her first, you just lead the way.”

“For sure!  You’re gonna just love Julie, she’s so nice and helpful, I think we’d have been totally lost without her!”

Even if they were on the lowest level of the mall, Majima could tell the afternoon was only progressing.  He was running out of time if he wanted to do what he set out to do today.  The addition of the additional guys following him around wasn’t helping to ease his nerves, either.  He needed to find a way to ditch them, if only for maybe a half hour or so, and come back like he’d never even left.  He couldn’t have anyone with him on this secret solo mission.

After lunch, Majima had let the group wander the ground level shops.  Gillion and Chip had been amused at nearly every place they’d been into, though the two really liked bickering over what they could and couldn’t bring back to the Albatross.  Gillion wanted to take nearly everything he laid eyes on while Chip would chew him out for weighing down the ship with useless junk.  The tug of wars usually ended with both walking out of stores empty handed.  Majima couldn’t even get a word in during the arguments, so stopping them from hashing it out in every new store was an impossible task.  Even then, this was just wasting Majima’s precious time.

As they wandered to another corner of the mall, Majima finally clued in to where they were going.  The bright, flashing lights and music of the Anaconda’s arcade started coming into view.  Of course, he could get them to spend hours trying to beat the games here.  That would buy him however much time he’d need.  “Say, you fellas wanna go to the arcade?”

“Arcade…?” Chip and Gillion said in unison, mirroring the confusion of the other. 

“The arcade’s sweet!  You’ll love it, come on!” Noah took the lead, making the others behind him quicken their pace as he led them to the center of the arcade.  Majima lingered at the end, curious to see the reaction of the two fresh off the boats.

Chip and Gillion both took their sweet time looking around the arcade.  Majima wondered if this might actually be the first time in their lives they were ever seeing an arcade up close.  “What’re these, here?” Gillion was immediately drawn to the UFO catcher.  Perfect, Majima thought.  He didn’t even have to lure them over to the machine.

“That’s a UFO catcher.  It’s a crane game, you get 3 turns each time you put in money and if you can grab somethin’ from inside with the claw, it’s yours.”

Majima’s words seemed to put a new determination in Gillion.  “That shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

Chip looked at the prizes inside the machine.  A few round birds and some kind of small octopus-esue blue plush.  Winning any of those seemed far too easy.  “What, that’s all?  That’s nothing.”

Majima smirked.  He just knew they were going to say that.  “Maybe so, but it’s harder than it looks.  Look at those over there.” He gestured to the second side of the machine.  The other half had a few rectangular boxes lined up along the shelves.  “Those figure boxes are almost impossible to grab.  Guaranteed you can’t nab one of those.”

To Chip, that sounded ridiculous.  The boxes were a more regular shape than any of the other prizes, wouldn’t the boxes be easier to get with the claw?  Maybe the old man had some really bad depth perception and just wasn’t good at this game.  

“Seriously?  That’s all we have to do?  You’re on, old man!” Chip dug in his pocket, pulling out some strange currency.

“What is that?” Noah stared mesmerized at the shiny gold piece Chip held.

“Whatever it is, you can’t use it here.  You can only put in dollars or quarters.”  Majima paused to stroke his beard.  If they had no usable cash, he’d have to improvise.  He pulled his wallet out of his pocket, rifling through his wallet to pull out a wad of bills.  It was a stupid amount of cash, easily hundreds even if Majima hadn’t been looking closely, but he needed to be sure they had enough to be occupied.

“Here,” he bent down to hand the stack to Noah, “That should be enough to play in the arcade as long as you want.  If you manage to get one of each figure, I’ll pay back whatever amount you lost on that machine.”

“But, Captain, this is-” Majima signaled for Noah to keep quiet.

“You just focus on trying to win it, if you think you can.  I’m gonna go use the bathroom real quick.” Majima motioned for Noah to start showing Chip and Gillion how to work the UFO Catcher.  Though Noah felt strange about being handed such a large sum of money, he started putting bills into the machine.

Noah assuring the other boys that this was an easy game began fading into the background.  Majima made sure all three of their backs were turned before he swiftly turned from the bathroom entrance into the hall to the right of the arcade.  They’d be stuck in there for hours, he had plenty of time.

Majima made it out of the mall quickly but efficiently.  He wanted to sprint the whole way over but he knew that would make him look crazy.  Slow and steady would win the race.  The entire city was a route he knew like the back of his hand by now but the beeline he made for his destination was done on almost full autopilot.

When he came up to the front of the jewelers, he stopped, losing all his former momentum.  He knew what he was about to ask for, intuitively.  He’d been thinking about and planning this for months now, to the point he had imagined nearly every possible path of conversation this could take.  But now, faced with the fact he was about to put his plan into motion outside of his own head, that all seemed so much more daunting than he’d anticipated.

Still, after a deep breath to steel his nerves, he opened the front door and strode his way in.  “Hey there, Jane!”

The previously bored woman resting her chin on her hand snapped to attention at the sound of his voice.  “Majima?  What are you doing here?”  She looked him up and down, looking for anyone in tow with him.

“Not too many reasons a man would walk into a jewelry store alone, are there?”

Jane smirked and scoffed at his little quip.  “I can think of ten good reasons for you alone.”

“Maybe so, but I’m not looking for a ring for me this time.”

“Hmm, alright.  Who’d you lose a bet to this time?”

“Come on, this is the one time I wanna be serious.  I’m already nervous enough just being here.”

Jane’s smug attitude shifted.  Majima seemed actually serious about whatever it was he wanted.  His whole demeanor was unusually sincere.  If he wasn’t here for a ring for himself, then why was he so anxious about getting one for someone else?  It dawned on Jane, the realization completely bringing her into the present.

“You’re kidding.  I didn’t think you of all people would have it in you.”

“I didn’t think I’d do it again in a million years but, I think Shelby’s the one.  I just hope that hunch is right.”

“Shelby?  You mean, the kraken that follows your ship around?”

“Jane, please, she’s more than that to me.  I need this ring to be perfect, I need this whole thing to go without a hitch.”

Jane sighed, smiling at the internal wreck Majima was over this.  “She’s the type that would be happy with whatever you propose to her with, I’m sure.  That said, you can look at some I’ve got and see what you think is best.”

Majima followed Jane to another part of the jewelry case.  There were a collection of extravagant rings displayed in tiny boxes.  He had his work cut out of him with all of these choices.  Though Majima sought out his own rings or found them in chests, he needed something much more special for Shelby.

His eye scanned the available rings.  Each one seemed like an excellent choice, but he could only give her one.  His nerves were starting to get to him again as he pored over them.  Suddenly, his attention was grabbed by a ring in the second row of options.  A beautifully designed ring with winding, almost tentacle-esque silver bands with a studded top row circling around a tourmaline spherical gem.  It stood out as the most ocean themed one of the bunch.  “That one, there.” Majima pointed to it.

Jane understood why Majima would be drawn to that one.  She slid her side of the case open, pulling the ring out for Majima to examine up close.  “That’s a pariaba and platinum tourmaline ring.   Figured that would be at least one of your choices.”

“It’s definitely gonna be this one.  It reminds me of her so much..”

Jane couldn’t offer anything snarky back, not with the way Majima seemed to soften as he turned the ring over in his fingers.  “Hey, if it goes well, you can come back to me for the wedding band.  Not exactly sure how a wedding band is gonna fit a kraken…”

“I already have a plan there.  You can size this to a 10, right?”

“Of course.  I’m sure cost isn’t an issue for you?”

Majima shook his head.  “Whatever it takes.”

“Come ON man!!  Why is this so fucking hard?!”

Chip, Gillion, and Noah had been glued to the UFO catcher for god knew how long now.  Just trying to win a figure box alone had probably cost them a hundred dollars easily.  Other prizes had only taken a couple of tries to get with the claw at most, but the boxes would only be nudged by the claw at best.  Gillion and Chip were especially frantic at trying to get the boxes, though to no avail so far.

No matter if Gillion of Chip was at the helm, neither could seem to figure out how to get the UFO catcher to pick up the figure box.  They were eventually going to run out of Majima’s money and go back to him empty handed.  To them, the stakes were extremely high.

“We’re never going to even get one of them!” Gillion bemoaned as the crane yet again returned to the starting point, the box they’d attempted to pull up barely moved from it’s original spot.  

“Keep it down man, we just…we just have to trust the process, a-and adapt a new strategy, or something!”

Noah noticed how disheveled both were looking, especially Chip.  It surely wasn’t this serious but if both of these guys were this fixated on it, it must be that worth it to them.  “Um, guys?”

Chip and Gillion snapped their heads back to Noah.  They both looked almost crazy, like neither had slept in weeks.  “How about uh, I try to get it?”

“Ugh, what good will that do?  This is just as impossible as he said it would be…” Chip glared at the accursed machine.

“Maybe you two just need a break, or something?” Goro let out a little growl, partially to agree with Noah, partially to announce how tired he was.

Gillion and Chip looked dead on their feet, still not convinced Noah would make a difference.  “Just let me try on one turn!”

Chip and Gillion looked at each other, both noticing the dark circles under the other’s eyes.  Noah would probably still lose but it was worth letting him step in.  They wordlessly stepped aside so Noah could put in the money for his turn.

“Okay…” the UFO catcher sounded off and the turn amount went back to three.  Noah began steering the claw with the machine’s buttons to the target.  Even just observing the two showed him that the crane had to hit just the right spot to be picked up.  What was that called, again?  Noah knew he’d heard there was a fancy word for that.

When he believed he was at the exact right position, he released the button, sending the claw down.  Noah and his fellow onlookers watched, holding their breath as the claw descended.  The noises of the arcade faded into a hissing, white noise as the claw closed around the box.  Chip and Gillion’s eyes widened as for the first time that day, the claw successfully picked up the box, bringing it over to the drop box.  Their jaws hung open all the way until the box was dropped in and the machine sounded a congratulation for the win.

Both Chip and Gillion loudly exclaimed with joy, celebrating as Noah pulled the box out.  Noah felt relieved about his dumb luck.  The pressure had really been on and only now did it feel as though it was finally off his shoulders.  Other patrons in and around the arcade turned to stare at the boisterous young men but Chip not Gillion seemed to notice.

“Holy sh- Um, I mean, wow!  You got one of them?  How’d you even do that?”

Noah laughed, somewhat nervous about how beside himself Chip seemed to be.  “I just kinda did what I saw you were doing..?”

“No way, you did something different!  You have a divine talent!” 

Noah wasn’t sure what Gillion was on to, but he didn’t have to ruminate on it for too long, as a familiar voice cut through all the noise.

“Well done, boys, or, Noah.” Majima’s voice greeted the three.  All of them turned to see Majima, seeming to still be in his high spirits.

“We won one of the figures!” Noah showed the Onomicho figure box to Majima.

“Noah’s got some kind of magic touch on him!” Chip was unable to stay still due to his excitement.

“Oh, but, we only got one…” Gillion looked at the remaining figure boxes in the machine.

“Don’t worry yourselves none, just keep the change for later.  We ought to be headin’ back to find Shelby and Jay, now.”

Gillion and Chip seemed to come back to their senses at the mention of Jay.  “Right, Captain…!  Where are they at right now?”

“I’ll go ahead and shoot her a text.” Majima pulled out his phone, making Chip and Gillion give him curious looks.

“What’s that little box..?” Gillion asked as Majima began typing.

“Hmm?  It’s a phone, you got phones, don’t you?” Majima was amused at the pure confusion on Chip and Gillion’s faces.  He didn’t pay them much attention as he prattled off a quick text to Shelby, telling her to meet them at the hotel front by the beach.

Majima slipped his phone back in his pocket and gestured for the others to follow him.  “We’re gonna swing by the beach, come on!”

Gillion seemed especially enthused to follow Majima.  Chip was just glad to finally be free of this arcade prison.  The group trailed Majima out of the mall, relieved to once again breathe the air of the outside world.

“Is this really okay..?”

Jay glanced back over her shoulder at the two others standing behind her.  Shelby had on her usual smile while Julie stood with her arms folded.  Though it might not have showed in her expression completely, she was itching for the demonstration.

“I wouldn’t be asking you to try it out if I didn’t think it was safe to test it here.”

Julie’s words didn’t do much to console Jay.  “It’s…it’s a flamethrower.  Like, a whole flamethrower…”

Slung over her shoulder and aimed at the area of burnable trash was a freshly constructed prototype of a flamethrower.  It wasn’t particularly heavy, nothing that wouldn’t hinder actual use, but Jay was concerned that it could burn down the whole garage.  

“I know what it is, I just need to make sure it works before I hand it over.  Just squeeze the trigger once and we’ll see what the damage is.”

Shelby nodded along with Julie as she spoke.  Jay knew Shelby was probably used to weaponry like this on the high seas but it was different when Julie wanted a demonstration right here in the concrete garage.  Sure, it was ventilated, as the side furthest from the three opened up to the outside.  But what if the fire got out of control and spread beyond the barriers Julie had set up?  She claimed they were completely fireproof, but, what about the small, small chance they weren’t?

“Jay, it’s fine, I need to make sure you’re at least used to it first.”

Jay turned her gaze back to the dedicated test area.  If Julie said it was okay, then Jay should at least let one pull go off.  She took a deep breath before taking aim and finally pulling on the flamethrower’s trigger.  In less than a second, the entire test area engulfed in flames.  Jay let go immediately but the surge of fire power had lit up a spark within her.  Her worries from before had completely dissipated as the stack of boxes and paper were torched.

“Looks like it works like a charm.” Julie smirked as even with Jay’s back still turned, she could tell her face was lit up with excitement.

“Oh, wonderful!” Shelby was practically jumping for joy after the demonstration.  “I told you that Julie could get you something good!”

Jay chuckled, still coming down from cloud nine after just letting the flamethrower fire once.  A sudden, strange series of musical jingles filled the air.  Jay and even Julie looked around, confused about the source of the sound before Shelby perked up.  “Oh, that’s Majima calling!” She reached for her phone, quickly pressing the button to accept the call.  “Hello there, dear!”

“Shelby!  How are you doing over….wherever you are?” Majima’s voice crackled through on the other side of the line.

“Oh, we’re great!  I took Jay to Julie’s to get a flamethrower and oh, you should’ve seen it!  I also have a surprise for you when I see you again!”

Shelby could neither see nor hear it but Majma had to swallow an unexpected lump in his throat.  He actually had to go through with this when Shelby met with him again.  “If you’re about done there, do you think you could meet me and the guys down by that hotel front at the beach?  We’re probably gonna re-group for dinner.”

“Oh, that sounds lovely, dear!  We’ll start heading over there now!” Shelby’s lilting, excited voice made Majima’s heart flutter.  Mostly out of his love for her but also his creeping fear over the question he was about to ask.

“We’ll see you down there, honey.” Shelby and Majima said their goodbyes, her phone going back into her pockets.  Jay hadn’t quite understood what had just taken place but she figured now wasn’t the time to ask about that little rectangle.

“Okay, well, we should wrap up here and get back to Majima!”

“Uh huh,” Jay let the flamethrower slough off her shoulder as she held it at her side.  “I wonder what Majima and the guys got up to.”

Majima stared ahead of him, not really taking into account what was actually before him.  Noah had managed to entertain Chip and Gillion with an unfairly advantaged game of volleyball on the beach.  None of them seemed privy to what was going on in Majima’s head.  His left hand held the ring box within his pocket, nervously rotating it again and again as he mentally ran himself through his lines.  If this proposal wasn’t perfect, he’d be beating himself up over it til the day he died.

Goro wandered over to Majima’s side, rubbing against his leg.  For what was very obviously a tiger cub, he sure acted like the cat Noah said he was.  Majima found himself smiling, at least temporarily distracted from the churning turmoil of emotions going on inside.

“We’re here!” A familiar singsong voice announced.  Majima turned from his position against the railing to see the two remaining ladies of the group stepping off the walkway onto the beach.  

Majima’s breath caught in his throat for a moment when he saw the dress Shelby now wore.  She seemed to catch on, moving closer to show him the finer details.  “Oh, darling, isn’t it gorgeous?  I had it done at that cute little tailor shop and they did such a good job!”

“Dear, it’s…” Majima chuckled, his words failing him for a second.  “It’s beautiful, it suits you so well.”

“Oh, I knew you’d love it too!  I just never wanna take this off, now!”

Majima’s heart rate spiked back up again.  He had to take care of this now or he might never get another chance.  The sounds of the intense volleyball match had ceased as all eyes were now on Shelby.  Even the other three guys had been stunned by the craftsmanship.  This was the perfect opportunity.

“Well, you might have to, ‘cause if you agree to it, you might need another dress made.”

Shelby’s ears wiggled, confused at what Majima was saying.  Maybe it was another innuendo Majima was infamous for but he seemed much more serious this time.

“Shelby, I…I’ve thought about this for a long time.  Maybe longer than anything I’ve thought about before.  I didn’t know if I’d ever even be able to go down this road again.  I thought my only real love was the sea, and then you…” He sighed, smiling faintly. “You came along and changed all that for me.  I didn’t think I’d ever see myself in my current position, but, reality’s stranger than fiction, right?”

Shelby kept her focus on Majima but those around her looked to each other, confused at where Majima was going with this.  Gillion especially seemed tense, ready to take up arms if this went wrong.

“I think I’ve drawn this out long enough, so…” Majima reached into his pocket, covering the ring box in his grip.  Taking care to not unnecessarily strain his bad knee, he knelt on the sand, his right boot planting firmly onto the ground.   He opened the ring box, holding up the ring for Shelby to see.  “Shelby, you’d make me the happiest captain - the happiest man on Earth.  Shelby, will you marry me?”

Everyone seemed to have the same shocked reaction.  It was as though everyone on the beach was holding their breath as they waited for the answer.  Shelby’s eyes widened as she finally realized what was happening.  Her eyes welled up with tears, a hand covering her mouth as she was overcome with emotion.  Although she couldn’t speak, her head nodded in an obvious, enthusiastic yes

“Yes?” Majima smiled as he stood back up.  Shelby could only weep tears of joy as she continued to nod.  Majima laughed, bringing her into a hug.  Shelby’s voice was a mixture of crying and laughter of her own as she tightly embraced her new fiancé.  

The outside world came back into focus as everyone in earshot was cheering and applauding.  Shelby lifted Majima off the ground as she held him tight, giving him a kiss in spite of her disbelief.  When she set him back down, Majima took her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger.

“I-I must be dreaming.” Shelby managed to say between her cries.

“Ain’t no dream, babe, we’re gettin’ hitched!”

Shelby continued to be out of sorts, refusing to let go of Majima’s hand.  She could hardly believe it.  In her multiple millennia of living, she’d never actually been proposed to.  There couldn’t have been a more perfect man to propose to her than Majima.  No words in the English language would be able to describe how happy she was in this moment.

“Captain, no way!  You and Shelby are gonna get married?” Noah was grinning ear to ear as he approached Majima and Shelby.

“Sure are, Noah.  Dunno when the ceremony will be but best believe we’re gonna have a good one.”

“Oh, goodness, I can hardly believe this!  I can’t believe I’ll be Misses Goro Majima soon.” Shelby wiped her tears.  A rather futile effort as they still fell from her eyes in droves.

“Here, hon,” Majima pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her.

Shelby wiped at her tears, trying to calm herself down.  Gillion also bore a huge smile along with the others.  “Captain Majima!  I am beyond grateful we could bear witness to this moment!  If it is not too much of an imposition, may I conduct your wedding ceremony by the powers vested in me by Lunadeyis?”

Only about four words of that had made sense to Majima.  “Ah, well, I was raised Baptist…but I dunno any other priests out here.  Sure, why not?”

“Excellent!”

Chip looked to Gillion.  He was serious about this?  “We…we’re really gonna officiate a human and kraken wedding…?”

“Of course!  It is the least we can do for the generous captain and his new wife!”

Jay found herself still gripping the stair railing.  The excitement of the past few minutes had sapped her strength for a moment.  She wobbled down, if only for a few more seconds, as she descended the stairs to the beach.  “Have you told the other members of your crew, Majima?”

Majima chuckled.  “They’re all about to find out!”

Jay supposed she could respect the hustle.  Keeping a secret like that must’ve been eating away at Majima.  “But, before that,” Majima put his arm around Shelby’s side, “We’re all starving, aren’t we?  Let’s have a little celebratory dinner!”

“I’m down for that!” The prospect of Hawaiian cuisine quickly cast aside all of Chip’s doubts as he joined the group to go to Majima and Shelby’s restaurant of choice.

“You actually f- you actually did it.”

Jason held his profane tongue when he saw Noah sitting close to Majima at the table.  Majima had only texted for him and Masaru to join him at Soleil and an image of the engagement ring on Shelby’s finger.  He thought Majima had been playing some elaborate prank but his proposal had been legitimate.

“Captain, congratulations!”  Masaru was quick to pick a seat and sidle up to the table.  “I’m so happy you and Shelby are tying the knot!”

“Maybe you’ll be next, Masaru!” Noah offered with a smile.

“I wouldn’t count on it…” Jason said under his breath as he sat down.

“Glad ya made it.  I didn’t know if I could pull it off either but I finally just went for it.” Majima glanced at Shelby, pure love in his eye.

“Oh, and get this!  Gillion says he can officiate the wedding ceremony for us!”

Jason and Masaru looked towards Gillion.  Neither seemed to have adjusted to the sight of the particularly aquatic looking fellow.  He didn’t seem to notice their incredulous looks, simply waving hello at them when they looked his way.  Masaru spoke up first.  “Well, uh, that’s great, Captain!  I’m sure that’s gonna be wonderful.”

“Yeah, we’re gonna need all hands on deck for this thing.  If you know anyone who’s good for the job, run it by me.  I ain’t been married to someone else for a long time.”

“Obviously Masaru’s cookin’” Jason chuckled as he reached for the fried pickle basket in the middle of the table.

“Figures.” Masaru smiled, obviously not minding being tasked with the job.

“When are you gonna have the ceremony?” Jay asked after a sip of her drink.

“I was hoping as soon as possible.” Majima glanced over to Gillion.

“Of course!” Gillion readily agreed, causing Chip to flinch a bit with his sudden outburst.  “I am prepared to conduct the ceremony tonight at the earliest!”

Majima looked to Shelby, genuinely curious if she was ready that soon.

“That’s quite nice of you, Gillion, but, I have to get a wedding dress, and Majima has to get a suit, and Masaru has to prepare all the food, and-“

Majima cut in before Shelby’s rambling could go off the rails.  “Gil, lad, that’s kind, but we need a bit more than a few hours.  You all will still be here for at least a few more days, won’t you?”

The three from the Albatross nodded.  That was a relief to Majima.  “Let’s not overthink all this, we don’t need all the bells and whistles for this.  Just having a ceremony at all is enough.” Majima smiled as he took Shelby’s hand, gently running his thumb over her engagement ring.

“Just let us know when you need our help, Captain!”

Majima grinned.  At least he could rely on these enthusiastic youngsters.  

“Hey, how about a toast to the newly engaged?” Masaru raised his glass, inciting everyone else at the table to raise theirs as well.  After a moment of clinking glasses, everyone drank up, settling in for a celebratory dinner for the captain and his soon-to-be wife.

“Almost…” Kakihara murmured to himself as he did his best to finish stringing the last of the lights.  Nearly the entire perimeter of the Queen Shelby was now adorned with bulbs on strings.  The last remaining corner was within Kakihara’s reach but only just so.  Most of his body leaned precariously in the direction of the last corner hook, the man shaking slightly as he attempted to make the final connection.  When the rubber-coated wire finally slipped into place, he immediately snapped back to the safety of all four limbs having a point of contact on the ladder.  He sighed in relief as he finally exhaled a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Kakihara shimmied down the ladder, grateful this finishing touch was over with.  “Yo, Kakihara.” A familiar voice called his name as he approached.

“Hey, Jason!  I got the lights up, how's everything else coming along?”

“Looks like we're all set, now.  That, uh, what's-his-face…the fish guy?  He's not to be moved on officiating Cap and Shelby.  Don't have any idea what he'll be up to but it ain't like we got that many options.”

Kakihara giggled.  Even though he hadn't known Gillion or his other friends long, he knew stubborn determination when he saw it on anyone.  “Best to just let him conduct the ceremony how he wants.  How are our bride and groom doing?”

Jason chuckled as he moved to help Kakihara with folding the ladder.  The pair walked along the deck as Kakihara answered, “Shelby hardly knows what to do with herself.  The ladies on board are trying to help her but she's three million years old and never had a wedding before.  I know even the captain’s nervous.  He may not show it but I know he's hoping this goes perfectly.”

“That sounds about right.” Jason couldn't help but smirk.  He was as happy for the soon to be newlyweds as anyone else but it felt just a touch cathartic to hear Majima feeling some tension after all the harrowing expeditions he'd rushed the crew into. “Should we try talkin’ to him?  Ease his nerves some?”

While that sounded like a good idea on paper, Kakihara knew there wasn’t much they could do to make Majima any less anxious.  “I guess it wouldn’t hurt.  He might listen to someone who’s already been married before.”

Jason had to fight the grimace forming on his face.  Someone who’d been married and hadn’t had such a rough go of it might lift his spirits, sure, but what could Jason say to him?  He was already handling a delicate situation.  Majima making the decision to get hitched was a huge deal, knowing he’d already been once divorced.  Everyone had to say exactly the right thing to him, something Jason - and really, many others on board - weren’t very skilled at.

“He’s below deck right now.  They’re keeping him and Shelby separated til they walk down the aisle.”  Jason simply nodded and followed Kakihara.  The man in front continued to babble to himself but Jason hardly registered what came out of his mouth.  He was far too preoccupied with weighing his dialog options.

The two men descended into the lower level of the ship, entering from the side opposite of the captain’s quarters.  No man on board had seen her or the bridal party almost all day but the level of panic in that room was surely just as bad as what Jason and Kakihara were walking into.  Kakihara jumped in first - literally - seemingly unfazed by the landing as he made his way through to the end where Majima was.  Jason shambled down the short ladder, falling in step with Kakihara.  His expression turned puzzled as he witnessed a much calmer Majima at the end of the counter than he’d been expecting.

If Majima was feeling even slightly nervous, it wasn’t showing.  Everyone else below deck was in as high of spirits as he was.  Majima noticed the two approaching and waved them over.  “Yo, Jason!  You get all the prep upstairs done?”

“We should be good to go, ready whenever you and Shelby are.”  

Majima smiled differently than the way he usually would.  No sarcasm or smug superiority to be found, not today.   “I know Shelby’s a wreck.  Three million years and she’s never done a wedding before.”

“Still, she’ll see it’s the right decision!  I’m so happy for you both!” Majima chuckled at Kakihara’s happy little quip.  

“So how much longer til we walk out there?” Jason couldn’t help but size up Majima’s choice of wedding garb.  The sight of a shirt on him that was closed for once was enough to inspire shock and awe but this was probably the best dressed he’d ever seen the captain.  Despite it being after dark, Hawaii was still incredibly warm.  No three piece suit but the ruffled pirate shirt and dressier pants and boots than Majima’s usual already made him stand out.  He was never unhygienic normally per se but he’d clearly done some work to preen himself up for the occasion.  His usual gloves were gone but a singular ring remained on his right ring finger - a small squid tentacle-themed ring that Jason assumed would be moved to the opposite hand by the next hour or two.

“Guess we should let the girls watching Shleby know we’re ready and goin’ up there.  Kakihara, why don’t you tell them to get her ready and out?”

Kakihara’s already wide smile touched ear to ear as he nodded.  “Certainly!  I’ll come back to get you when it’s time!” Majima and Jason watched the little guy beeline up and out of the lower deck.

“Can’t imagine what he’d be like at his own wedding…” Jason murmured to himself, not realizing he’d spoken loud enough for someone else to hear.

“I can’t imagine him ever finding someone who’d marry him but there’s always someone for everyone, I guess.  Stranger things have happened~”

Jason chuckled.  “Stranger things are happening tonight.  I ain’t never heard of a man marrying a kraken but you somehow did it.”

“Don’t be a-” Majima tried to think of the term that would apply best, “...Species-phobe?  Shelby’s a beautiful woman without a mean bone in her body.  She couldn’t hurt no one.”

“Except when she sinks enemy ships?”

The remark made Majima lightly hit his arm.  “Man, come on, you know that don’t count!”

Shelby swayed herself in front of the mirror.  She’d hardly been able to pull herself away from it today.  Either she was obsessively making tiny adjustments to her outfit or hair or she was mesmerized with the way her dress flowed so effortlessly with every small turn she made.  She was in good spirits but everyone in the room could tell she was still a bundle of nerves.

“Ooh, I just can’t wait for Majima to see this!” Shelby excitedly squealed.  She’d be jumping for joy if she had regular legs.  Maybe her lower half being tentacles that poked out at the furthest end of the hemline were a blessing in disguise.  Even then, the team watching her had to do everything to keep her from bouncing off the walls enough as it was.

“Hopefully that captain of yours can stay upright when he sees you.  I saw him almost falling over when he saw you in the ocean dress.” Jay tried to keep things light.  The last thing anyone on the whole ship needed was a Shelby meltdown, even if she wasn’t in kraken form.

“Oh, goodness, I think he’ll do much more than fall over!” Shelby giggled as she observed the dress.  The ladies at the tailor shop had been so worried about the final product and tried to downplay the “rush job” but Shelby had been in tears at the first fitting.  The dress was as beautifully constructed and flattering as it was…accentuating to her features.  It was layered much like her first dress but with a white, lacy theme throughout.  She could very well be right.  The groom might pass out just looking at his bride tonight.

“Well, uh, as long as it’s mutual…” Jay’s musings were cut short by the opening of the door.

“Coming in!  Hope everyone’s decent!” Kakihara’s singsong voice preceded him as he made his entry.  His eyes lit up as he saw Shelby in her full wedding look.  “Ohh wow!  You look amazing, Shelby!”

Shelby giggled at Kakihara’s wonder.  “Thank you!  Gosh, I just hope Majima thinks so too.”

“Oh, I know he thinks so.  Are we all ready to go out there?”

“You think we are?” Jay stood up, her fears spiking for the first time that night.  Everything they’d been planning would be enacted.  It wasn’t just talk anymore.

“Majima’s ready down there, we can get everyone in place and then send Shelby out!”

Jay nodded, trying to hide her rising trepidation.  “Yeah, just let everyone know it’s all ready.”

“Okay!  You’re gonna do great out there!”” Kakihara absconded back to the lower deck, nearly as fast as he’d come in to check on Shelby.

Jay took a deep breath.  “Well, better make sure you’re ready to walk, Shelby.”

Majima took a look around from his position.  A seat had been provided for every available crew member aboard.  Sure, folding chairs that would be returned by tomorrow morning weren’t the best but no one would be sitting for very long.  It was always the thought that counted.  The crew, primarily guided by Kakihara and Gillion, had done an excellent job decorating the ship with the limited time and resources they were given.  String lights went across nearly the whole perimeter of the deck.  The makeshift altar hardly looked amateur at all - the cheap papier-mâché and wire armature were thoroughly concealed with a mix of fake and real flowers and moss, wrapped in more party lights and ribbon.  Gillion had even added some of his personal touches to the deck, something about him being able to shape water.  Either way, the whole display on the deck had come together in impeccable fashion.  Now all that was left was to actually have the ceremony.

For a rare moment in his life, Majima was feeling his heart race.  This was everything he wanted, of course, but that did little to ease his worries.  His sudden nervous streak was no longer going unnoticed, as he jolted when he felt a hand on his shoulder.  Thankfully, it was only a concerned Masaru.

“Captain, you feelin’ alright?”

Majima nodded, even knowing that his answer wouldn’t be convincing.  “Yeah, I just…it’s been a while since I was in this position.”

Masaru gave him a reassuring smile.  “Hey, don’t think about it too much.  She’s gonna appreciate this any way it goes.”

Before Majima could respond, he was jostled from the opposite side.  “Oh!  My apologies, Captain!”

Majima sighed when it was only Gillion.  He’d been quite adamant about officiating.  There weren’t exactly any other options or chaplain on board so his request hadn’t been challenged.  His demeanor and coordination issues, for lack of a better term, didn’t really set the greatest scene to Majima.

“Ah, you’re alright.  Are things all ready?”

“They should be.  Shall we begin?”

Majima looked back to Masaru and the rest in the groomsmen line.  Everyone seemed to give the green light.  Even the other lad that had followed Gillion on board seemed less pale and fearful, though he was still the man furthest from Majima.  “Let’s do this.”

With the signal given, the doors to the captain’s quarters were pushed open.  Shelby slowly and carefully glided out.  Her arm tensed against Jay’s as she was guided out as the reality of the events sat in further.  Jay whispered a quick “It’s alright” as they made their way to the altar.  Shelby seemed to drop her tension slightly the closer they got, though she still seemed fretful about the ceremony.

Everyone seated rose as the bride walked down the deck’s aisle.  It would have been picturesque and silent if Angel wasn’t ruining it with his crackly rendition of Here Comes The Bride from his poor memory.  Even still, Majima and Shelby were fully tuning it out as both were fixated on each other.  Anything not Shelby seemed to briefly fade from Majima’s view as she approached.  Everything about her in this moment was stunning.  All of this was real and tangible, no longer an idea.  It wasn’t until her hands joined with his at the altar that he’d realized he’d been holding his breath.

Majima smiled up at Shelby.  She could just as well have been a goddess or angel descended from heaven.  He’d been offered a stepstool earlier but had refused, knowing this would be the view he’d be greeted with when the time came.  “Hey, beautiful,” he quietly whispered, much to Shelby’s delight.

Shelby’s ears wiggled in delight.  Gillion cracked open the thick book he’d been holding.  It appeared to be some kind of Bible, though Majima had no idea what religion, if any, he’d be pulling all his words from.

“You may be seated,” Gillion began.  The man didn’t need a microphone, at least.  He had vocal projection down pat, even if he never toned it down inside regardless.  “We gather here today, under the light of Lunadeyis, to unite two beautiful souls in holy matrimony, irreversibly.”

The name didn’t ring a bell to Majima but he wasn’t about to put up a fuss.  Must be a figure in his undersea religion.  “In the darkest of places, these two have come together upon this ship to show the world true love and light.” Gillion was right about that first part.  Perhaps the second, even if that seemed a harder sell, given not everyone married krakens.

“Graaaaahk, rings!” Majima resisted his initial impulse to stomp out that parrot.  He held out his left arm, allowing Angel to land and drop the wedding bands in his hands.  He handed one to Shelby, her fingers curling tightly around it to ensure it wouldn’t fall.  He took her left hand in his, waiting for Gillion’s next words.

“Captain Majima, do you have your vows prepared?”

“Memorized.” Majima responded.  He took a deep breath, looking Shelby in the eyes as he recited, “Shelby, I truly never thought I’d be here again today.  I thought I’d only be loyal to seven seas, that love wasn’t something in my future.  I’d blown it forever for the first time, at least, I thought so.  You proved me wrong, not just there but on so many other things.  You showed me mercy when I thought I’d never get any from you.  You showed me there’s more to life for me than riches and status bein’ the best pirate, if that’s even a thing.  I’m ready to be committed as not just a captain would be, but as a husband.  I can hardly believe this is happenin’ for us but I’d be a fool to complain.  I love you to the moon and back, my dear.”

Shelby did her best to stifle her joyous tears, even if that was the hardest feat in the world to pull off.  Majima’s words were so clearly the truth and mirrored her own feelings.  She loved to hear them but his vulnerable emotions were so moving.

“Wonderful.” Gillion turned to Shelby.  “And your vows, Shelby?”

“Um…U-um..” Shelby’s voice quivered, her tears threatening to spill over.  “I-I don’t think I can read mine right now, I’m sorry.  Can we just…can we just say I do?”

A collective “Awww” filled the air as Majima gently reassured Shelby.  “That is quite alright,” Gillion turned to another page of the book, though he didn’t really seem to be reading a word on it.  “Do you, Captain Majima, take Shelby, to have and to hold, to weather the darkest storms and strongest tides together?”

“I do.” Majima confidently said as he finally slid the wedding band on Shelby’s finger.

“And you, Shelby, do you take Majima for all that stuff too?”

Shelby didn’t seem to notice Gillion’s truncated wording.  “I do.” She squeaked out as she reciprocated the placing of the wedding band on Majima’s hand.

Majima and Shelby both seemed to be taken aback as the rings began glowing.  The light grew to envelop the entire altar, both Majima and Shelby squinting as the brightness reached its peak.  “May you both be each other's destinies, for now and always.” When Gillion finished speaking, the light finally subsided.  Majima and Shelby’s fingers once again intertwined with each other, smiling as the ceremony was reaching its end.  “So here is where usually in undersea culture I would say "You may now release your spawn", but that doesn't really seem super appropriate, so we're switching it last minute. You may now kiss the bride. You may now mack it!”

Shelby carefully leaned down for a kiss, embracing Majima as the two had their first kiss as a married couple.  The crowd roared with cheering and applause as Majima and Shelby were pronounced man and wife.  Majima giggled as he felt Shelby raise him off his feet as she hugged him tightly.  His sweet nothings said to her did little to quell the happy tears streaming down her face but he knew she’d never been happier than she was now.

Kakihara sighed as he watched Majima and Shelby from another table.  The reception had seemed to be a hit with everyone, though pleasing the crew wasn’t a high bar.  As long as good food and alcohol was involved, they’d be down for anything.  Everyone was in good spirits as they drank, ate, and danced to the rotating playlist on the rented speakers.  Luckily, no one had gotten adventurous and thrown anything they didn’t own overboard.  The night was still young but so far, the crew was being respectful to the Captain and his new wife.

“They’re so happy!  Don’t you just love love?

Jason chuckled in agreement.  He couldn’t really argue that.  He’d rather have lovesick puppy newlywed Majima over cranky Captain Majima any day of the week.  “Looks like we were right about gettin’ them together.”

“I wonder when there’ll be another wedding here?”

Jason tried to hide being incredulous with another sip of his drink.  “I dunno if anyone else aboard is really the settlin’ down type…”

“Well, it’s like Captain said himself, strange things can always happen!”

Jason didn’t know if he’d ever said a thing like that but he didn’t have it in him to argue.  Especially not tonight of all nights.  He may very well have to eat his words on this one some day. 

“At least Captain picked a great place for a honeymoon!  Hawaii’s such a great place for one!”

Jason shrugged.  “Best to just leave them to it.  They need the vacation.”

Kakihara didn’t seem to pick up on Jason’s snark.  “Say, you think we’ll hear the pitter patter of little feet and tentacles here soon?”

The remark made Jason almost choke.  “Ugh, hope not.  Last thing we need is whatever they’d spawn aboard.”

“Oh, Jason, come on!  They’d be great parents, if that’s what they want!”

“Yeah, sure.” Jason sighed as he watched the happy couple carrying on and dancing.  It was a welcome sight to see the two of them genuinely in love.  They had brought out the best in each other so far.  Hopefully more critters on the ship weren’t in the plan but the future already looked exciting and brighter than it had ever been.