You stretched your arms out as you yawned, before quickly retracting them and burying any sense of safety. You needed to take in the blurry, unfamilar enivorment.

You had slept in Damon's room last night.

As your eyes slowly focused in the direction of the approaching footsteps, you noticed the all-too familiar royal purple hair. Damon was leaving the bathroom; his hair was messy and leaving a trail of water droplets. His upper body was exposed and his shirt was pending on his shoulder.

He ran his fingers through his hair, slicking it back. "Oh, you woke up."

He added: "I didn't think you'd see me like this...since you were so out of it when I woke up."

The long, stressful days as a prisoner had left you more exhausted than you had ever been. It meant you were knocked out most of the night despite your body telling you to stay alert for any danger.

"Well it's definitely nicer in here than the locked room." 

He raised an eyebrow, as he made his way over to the bed. "Well, I'd suppose so by the way you were clinging to me last night."

Oh please no. 

"...Clinging?"

He chuckled. "Don't look so scared, I'm only kidding." You just felt more uncomfortable. It was a surprise Damon even cracked any jokes in the first place.

Damon sat on the bed, water droplets continued to fall from his hair and onto his chiseled chest, trailing down his torso. You averted your gaze quickly as he began staring intensly.

"Today you'll be eating with us."

Your eyes widened. "Together?"

He nodded. For your stay, you had always eaten by yourself or shared a meal with Katsu and Damon. Never had you all eaten together. He pointed to the washroom. "You can go wash up beforehand princess."

You had a moment of thought before you hurried to the washroom. You couldn't help but feel slightly excited, the minor act of eating together would let you feel slightly less like a hostage and more on their level.

The idea of becoming more like one of the crew did make you feel slightly more satisfied.

But deep down, you knew it was just wishful thinking.

~

You followed Damon closely as he led you to the dining area. Knowing where the crew ate their food did interest you after always being cooped up in a stuffy room to eat. 

As you'd woken up later than usual, your hair was still slightly damp and the clothes clung to your skin more than you would have liked. 

Up two steps on a higher wooden base, there was a long table with five chairs surrounding it. The table had an impresive spread of food and organised cutlery that could only be the meticulous work of Damon.

He had somehow managed to do all of this and still collect you all whilst you were washing up and rushing to dry off as much as you could.

The two sides room were occupied by two smaller tables that were unorganised, with a much less impressive spread of food (likely for the rest of the crew).

A commanding voice broke your stream of thoughts.

"You'll be sitting with the working crew." 

You passed a confused look at Damon who met your eyes immediately. There was a hint of emotion you couldn't put your finger on  before he suddenly walked towards the main table and slid a chair for himself. Your eyes flickered between the two other tables, eyeing the empty chairs left.

You couldn't help but scoff.

Of course this would happen. After all, you were a hostage.

You had gotten too complacent being around the Raiders. Had they just acted close to make a fool out of you?

You were almost certain this was true with the embarrassment you felt as the Raiders and crew watched you make your way off the platform.

You knew you had to find a seat with the crew, otherwise you likely wouldn't eat anything for the rest of the day.

As you made your way to the empty chair you felt their eyes on you. Those dirty smirks and hungry gaze felt suffocating. You could hear them whispering as you took your seat. You realised the two beside you began closing the gap between you and them.

You had initially hoped to get a couple bites in as you reached for the bread and knife, until one of them suddenly slid their hand up your leg from under the table. The embarassment from what had just happened with the Raiders, the frustration at your situation as a prisoner...the fact this vile guy had just touched you.

You felt it happen so fast and without mental preparation.

All you saw was the crew member screaming out, grabbing the attention of everyone in the large room - including the Raiders - before he toppled off the bench and held his leg with the knife sticking out of it.

"Dont touch me...ever again." You stood up and took a couple steps back, wanting so desperately to escape the scene.

The mere contact made you shiver. You couldn't stand to be here anymore. The environment in this area was overwhelming. All eyes were on you, they wouldn't let you leave since they'd just drag you back.

You were genuinely considering swimming your way back to shore if it meant escaping this hellscape. 

You could hear Shayato's frustrated voice. "I thought this would happen, why did you make her sit with them Damon?"

"I wouldn't make her sit with them. It's not like I have a say."

"What about you?"

You looked over at the large table where they sat. Shayato had leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed. "I never said anything of the sort, I said she should sit 'with' us."

Katsu rolled his eyes and made his way over to you. 

He offered a gentle smile as he lwd you over to his table and away from the graoning man. "Man...I wish he would shut up already, this isn't a theatre performance." Katsu muttered as he gave you his seat by Shayato and pulled out another chair next to Rei. 

"Katsu..."

You didn't have any words, he waved his hand dismissively. "It's fine! We should all eat together like we're supposed to...right?"

You didn't say anything. The weird tension didn't rise as only Katsu was eating. The rest seemed to be preoccupied with getting ready to respond to Rei's reaction. You realised Rei was staring at you from his seat with his arms crossed. You couldnt break eye contact despite his challenging gaze.

He stood up, turning all attention towards him.

His expression was grim. "She's not allowed to sit with us. If she's going to eat, she's eating on the other table."

Silence fell over the room again. 
Katsu stood up, and you could see the Raiders tense up, Shayato's eyes widening. "C'mon! The the crew wi-"

Rei snapped. "She's our hostage. She's not allowed to sit here."

You were completely tense as Katsu continued to insist. Rei's eyes narrowed as though to dare him to continue.

But Katsu didn't seem to pick up on it. "I won't let yo-"

There was a loud slam and the food was now on the ground. Katsu's face was pressed against the table, he was pinned with Rei twisting Katsu's arm back so he couldn't retaliate.

You felt conflicted on if you could help as he had come to your defense, but it very clear getting involved would make things worse...

The room was deafeningly silent, the air felt so thick it could be cut with a knife. Rei's expression made you unable to move an inch.

"She's. Our. Hostage. She doesn't have the right to sit at the same table with us! A prisoner is not a fucking crew member."

You could see Katsu's head being pushed further, he gritted his teeth at the pressure. You had just noticed the pool of blood surrounding temple and slipping into the cracks or the wooden table. 

The blank expression on Katsu's face was unsettling, almost like he was someplace else. Shayato had quickly appeared by Rei, wrapping his hand around his wrist. He spoke quietly. "I understand, although we can still show decency she is a princess after all. We haven't had a prisoner this high-up in a while."

Damon tugged at your shoulder, nodding his head at you reassuringly as if willing to step in. There was a long pause before Rei ripped his hand away from Shayato, also letting go of Katsu in the process.

Katsu pulled his bloodied and bruised face from the table, he had an annoyed expression as he returned to his seat. Yet he continued eating as though nothing had happened.

Shayato half-smiled at Rei, who simply brushed him off. 

Although it didn't show much, you realised Shayato's words seemed to settle Rei slightly. He sighed and rubbed his temple.

"She will be allowed to eat with us, but that is where the special treatment ends. She's still a hostage on the ship. After all, her freedom will only last for a few more weeks."

You sat beside Shayato and Katsu as they took their seats again. You had completely lost your appetite as you felt on edge knowing Rei was watching your every move. You were certain if you even ate too loud it would be a valid enough reason for him to kick you off the table.

You only took a couple bites and stole a few glances at Katsu's bloodied face. He was eating normally but his eyes felt uncharacteristically lifeless. Not to mention that It was unusual to hear every other Raiders voice speaking, yet he was the quietest. He was clearly avoiding eye contact.

The guilt at seeing him I'm that state made you willing to risk a gesture. Just to show him that you appreciated him defying Rei. It meant a lot that a Raider was willing to defy orders to help you, and that type of loyalty wouldn't hurt in the future for your escape.

Your heartbeat was loudly thumping in your chest as you reached out a hand over to Katsu, avoiding his eye contact to not draw suspicion from Rei. You felt the small jolt of Katsu who hadn't expected it as you ran your hand across his.

You intertwined your fingers, and rubbed your thumb comfortingly on his hand. You tried to remain composed as you continued eating a couple more bites, but you suddenly felt his hand tighten around yours. It had brought you back to your first night in the same bed, when you had held hands just like this.

You halted as he whispered in your ear, "join me for a a small walk on the deck?" You immediately glanced in Rei's direction to see him preoccupied discussion something quietly to Vincent.

You allowed yourself to face Katsu and felt a small sense of relief to see his gentle smile and eyes returned. He was looking at you with such intensity it was difficult to hold eye contact.

You nodded subtly, turning your eyes away. He leant into your ear again, though catching the attention of Damon who looked at him strangely.

"Good, because I wanted to talk to you about something."

...