What is... "Home?" (Hetalia Fanfic, W.A. '13 Finalist)

Chapter 74~!

"Melina! You're supposed to be keeping these brats occupied!" Captain Rayn yelled as America and Italy raced around, chasing Sunshyn excitedly. The pup was enjoying the younger kids' attention, it was clear on his face.

"Sorry, Captain!" I called as I ran over and scooped up the indefatigable countries. With both in arms, I walked them to the next level of the deck and set them down. Before they could go back to running around, I grabbed them by their arms and held them in place. "Not so fast, you two."

"But, Melina!" America whined.

"No, just listen to me for a minute. You all need to keep your distance from the captain, alright? Don't do anything to upset her, or else we'll all have to pay for it."

"Okay," America said, chagrined. Italy nodded.

"Si, I got it. No messing-a with the captain."

"Good. Now, try to rein it in a little. It's exhausting trying to keep an eye on you both," I said while standing and going over to where Canada was playing with the remainder of the bubble soap and the makeshift wand. "Hey, what're you doing here all by yourself?"

"I miss Kumajirou," he said woefully, dipping the wand in the mixture and blowing out a bunch of small bubbles all clustered together.

"I know you are," I said with a sad sigh. "I miss my pets, too."

"Kumajirou's not a pet, he's my companion!" Canada said defensively.

I held up my hands in surrender. "Sorry, that was poor wording. I meant he was your companion, and my pets are my companions, too."

He turned his gaze to the oily surface of the water, his expression too sad for a child of his appearance. "What do you think Rayn's going to do with us?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, Canada. If this was the Rayn I know, it wouldn't be anything to worry about much. But this Rayn, she's... not at all like the Rayn I know."

"The Rayn you know, is she nice?"

I nodded. "Yes, she's very nice. She's one of the only female friends I have at the school I go to. I'd trust her with a lot."

"But this Rayn isn't like that at all," Canada guessed, and I nodded solemnly.

"Yeah, this Rayn's pretty sneaky and crafty. I'm a little worried about falling asleep now..."

"Oh, you're a part of the crew now, there's not much to worry about," Ben said from behind me, making me jump.

"Ben! Quit sneaking up on me!" I yelped, standing and smacking his arm lightly. "Rude!"

He laughed and weakly fended off my "assault". "Alright, alright, Melina. Calm down. Captain said to show you where you'll be sleeping."

"Oh? Okay," I said, following him as he made his way belowdeck and into a hallway with multipe doors. He opened one marked with a red "X" and stepped aside to let me go in first. 'This pirate's a gentleman' I thought in the back of my mind. 'Odd...'

"So, this is where I'll be sleeping, huh?" I said, turning in the center of the cabin to take it all in. There was a set of hammocks hanging near one wall and a chest against the other. Other than that, and the porthole that served as the room's only natural lighting, that was it.

"Aye, you'll be bunking with the other women onboard," he explained. "Wouldn't want any of the other men to try something while you were sleeping."

I nodded to him gratefully, and he left, closing the door partway. I made my way over to the porthole and looked out over the waves, thanking my lucky stars that I didn't get seasick.