Tsume did her very best to keep a straight face. At least the captain wasn't interested in her. "I think, ah, that we should make a new contract." Her glance flicked from Asuma to the captain and back. The only way she could keep from laughing was to open her eyes really wide and purse her lips. "Anything for the--for the mission."

The captain was glowering at her. It was almost too much. A smile cracked, and she looked away quickly.

From across the ship, one of the crew bellowed. "Sails off the starboard bow!"

Tsume frowned as the captain lost interest in them and went racing toward the front of the boat, while the crew became suddenly alert. She leaned against the railing, out over the swelling ocean, to try and see what everyone else was looking at.

Not that 'sails' didn't give her a pretty good idea.

"We shouldn't be anywhere near them, yet," she muttered. "Not until long after we hit land." A battle on a bit of floating wood didn't fill her with excitement.

The sails were getting bigger. Tsume lifted her face to the wind and scented, but they were much too far away; she smelled only salt and ocean. Frowning, she turned to look at Asuma. "Is the ocean a crowded place? What's the likelihood those aren't our ninja?"