Infinite Brine by Ai Kagi (books for 9th graders .txt) 📕

table, waiting for them.
"Please, have a seat, Miss Ana," Captain Kire said. "Thank you," Ana said gratefully and sat down, after Fukyuu pulled out a seat for her. Fukyuu, then, sat down as well.
Captain Kire said grace and the food was passed around. Ana got some meat, vegetables, and bread; Captain Kire got a whole lot of food; and Fukyuu got nothing. Ana noticed Fukyuu's empty plate and asked, "Fukyuu...um...why don't you have anything on your plate? Aren't you going to eat?"
Fukyuu sighed, "I can't eat food." Ana was shocked, "Why not?" "I...uh..." he said. This was the first time she'd seen Fukyuu at a loss for words.
"Ah, he can't eat food, because it makes him sick," Captain Kire said. Ana didn't ask any more questions about it, although she still didn't understand.
So, Ana and Captain Kire ate while Fukyuu drank something. There was an awkward silence as they sat, until Captain Kire said, "Ana, you won't be staying in the jail cell anymore. You also don't have to help out on the ship, if you don't want to and I'll still give you payment." "Thank you," Ana said, "I'll still help, though." "Well, we need to find you a place to sleep," Captain Kire said.
Fukyuu spoke up, "You can stay in my room; I'm going away for a while." This surprised Ana greatly. "Thank you," she said.
Fukyuu got up and left the room. "Thank you, Captain Kire!" Ana thanked, following Fukyuu. Captain Kire chuckled.

The following day, Ana helped the crew out and swabbed the deck again. She looked over at Fukyuu as he lowered a boat into the water. He turned to see her and smiled, "I'll be back soon." "Okay. I'll see you later," Ana said, waving. Then, Fukyuu left. Ana watched as he and the boat got smaller and, finally, disappeared into some fog.

Chapter II

About two weeks later, Ana heard some commotion from the water, alongside the ship. She and some crew members were curious and they walked over to the railing.
Bru and Jugger were in a boat with a young, silver-haired boy, who looked to be about seventeen. The three came up onto the deck.
"Now, here we are; home-sweet-home. We'll get you back safely to land soon," said Bru. The boy heard the flapping of a flag and looked up to see the pirate flag being blown brilliantly in the wind. He gasped.
"You said you were sailors!" the boy growled, turning to the pirates. All the pirates laughed.
Just then, Captain Kire came out onto the deck to see what was going on. "Hello. Who might you be?" the captain asked, "I'm the captain."
The boy had an angry scowl and yanked out a knife. He tried to kill Captain Kire, but Bru and Jugger grabbed him, restraining him.
"My, a feisty scamp, eh?" Captain Kire chuckled. "You pirates killed my father!" the boy yelled. "Don't accuse us of such things. We don't kill." "Grr!" "Take him to the cells. The pirates obeyed and drug the boy down below.
Ana didn't know what to make of the scene and was startled when someone put their hands on her shoulders. "I'm back," she heard Fukyuu say. Ana turned around and tried not to blush. "Welcome back," she said. Fukyuu grinned and hugged her. Now, she completely blushed.
Fukyuu let go of her and went to the stern with the captain. Ana went to the kitchen to help the cook out.

When the food was ready, the cook asked Ana to take some food to the boy. Ana jumped on the task.
Ana came down to the cells and noticed that it was damp and dark. Her eyes adjusted and she lit a lantern on the wall. She found the keys and opened the door to the cell the boy was in.
"I brought you some food," she said. The boy said nothing and she put her hand on his shoulder so she could sit him up and see his face. He suddenly grabbed her hand, twirling her around, and put a knife at her throat.
"Get me out of here and I'll make sure you can escape safely," he said into her ear. "I'm not a prisoner and I'm not a pirate. They're taking care of me," Ana explained, "They wouldn't kill anyone." "I don't believe that," he said.
Fukyuu appeared in the cell, "Let her go." The boy's grip on Ana's hand got tighter and he put the knife harder at her neck, though not cutting it. Ana gasped.
Fukyuu seemed to have a dark aura now and walked up to the boy. He began to act like he would unchain the boy, but, then, he grabbed the boy's wrist.
Instantly, the boy let go of Ana and she got behind Fukyuu. The boy groaned and Fukyuu finally let go of his wrist. A black, thorny ring mark was left around his wrist. "Don't try anything foolish or I'll make that pain worse," Fukyuu warned, picking up Ana and leaving to the deck. The boy glared at him as he rubbed his marked wrist.
After Fukyuu and Ana had arrived on the deck, he let her down. Ana walked over to the railing, as Fukyuu asked, "Did he hurt you?" Ana remained silent, trying to keep back tears that began welling up in her eyes.
"Ana..." "No..." she said, turning around, "He's just mad that he lost his father. Why should he be punished for that?" Ana's tears ran down her face.
Just then, the ship rocked and Ana lost her balance, colliding into Fukyuu. He put his arms around her.
"It's okay, Ana," Fukyuu consoled. He picked her up and took her to his room. He put her in his bed. "Get some rest; you've been working hard," he said and left the room. Ana closed her eyes and went to sleep.

When Ana got up in the morning, she opened the door and walked out onto the deck. The crew members had already begun to work.
Fukyuu came out from the dining room and saw Ana. "You're up. Come; it's time for breakfast," he said. "I haven't swabbed the deck yet." "Don't worry about it; it's already been done." "Okay..."
So, Ana went with him and ate breakfast. She was unsure why he wouldn't let her do any work that day.
That night, Ana noticed that the boy was allowed to work. He was annoyed and still had a scowl on his face. When he stopped paying attention to his work, he got hit with a cat-of-nine-tails.
He fell down when he got struck the fifth time and Ana ran over to him. "Are you alright?" Ana asked. He shot his head up to look at her. "What do you think?" he spat back. "Well, it's no help to get mad at me about it," she said. He looked away, growling.
"What's your name? I'm Ana Feesico," she said. "Tres..." he mumbled. "Hm?" "Tres Mikoto." "See? That wasn't so hard." Tres slightly smiled.
Every night, Ana would talk to Tres as he worked. Fukyuu soon noticed that Tres and Ana had started talking to each other and was displeased.

A week later, a red, pirate ship stopped next to Captain Kire's. A blonde-haired lady, with a pirate captain's suit on, boarded the ship.
"Ah, Yuuki Tamori!" Captain Kire greeted. "It's 'Captain Tamori' now," she said. "Oh, so you killed Benny; a fine captain he was," Yuuki rolled her eyes.
"I'm here to get a new hand for my ship," Yuuki said. "Oh, well, let me think..." Kire said.
"Take this one," Fukyuu spoke up, dragging Tres toward everyone with an invisible force. "Ah, good choice. Eternias have good taste," said Yuuki. 'Eternias?" thought Ana in confusion.
"I'll take him," Yuuki complied, "Here's a treasure chest I found. I'll trade the chest for him." "Okay," Captain Kire agreed and the two pirate captains traded.
When the red ship left, Ana glanced over at Fukyuu in question. She had so many questions swimming in her mind and said, "What's an Eternia? Why did you give Tres to the other pirates?" Fukyuu sighed and said, "An Eternia is someone who becomes immortal. I'm an Eternia and the reason that I can't eat food is because Eternias can only drink Red Root potion. If I eat human food, I'll get sick. Captain Kire is also an Eternia and Yuuki is an Everlive, an immortal that is marked with a shape somewhere on their body. We all have abilities, but the Eternias are far more powerful than Everlives. Concerning the matter about Tres, I haven't the heart to tell you." Ana was speechless and wouldn't talk to Fukyuu for the rest of the night.

'Eternias. Everlives. Immortality. Red Root potion. What is going on?' Ana thought in mixed horror and confusion and surprise. She rolled over on the bed and felt cold glass. She picked up the object in her hand and read the label of the glass bottle; it read 'Red Root'. Then, the liquid started turning black. Ana gasped and held the bottle close to her chest.

On Yuuki's ship, Tres was sitting on the floor of the captain's office. 'Fukyuu... That fool!' Tres thought in anger, rubbing his wrist again. The black, thorn mark was still on his wrist and it throbbed a little, but less than it did when he was around Fukyuu.
Yuuki came stomping into the room in large, black boots. "So! Your name?" she demanded. Tres looked away, as he answered, "Tres Mikoto."
He was surprised when she came over to him without a word. "Hmm... Ah! I have the perfect job for you! You'll be my personal servant and lover!" she said very eccentrically. Tres was about to jump out of his skin when she said this.
She suddenly held his face and kissed him. He jolted back in disgust and hit her hand. Yuuki was enraged and slapped him across the face. He quickly jumped up and punched her in the face. She fell down with a loud thud.
Tres took this chance to jump out the window into the vast ocean below. As soon as Tres' body touched the water, his ears became pointed, his hair acquired aqua-colored streaks, and some fins on his arms, legs, and back grew out. Tres also had gills and could breathe under water.
'What happened to me?' Tres thought, staring at his hands and legs. Yuuki looked out her window. "He's an Oceanse!" she gawked.
Tres took off, as far away as possible from Yuuki, when he saw her. He somehow sensed where