Chapter Text
When the ship approached the dock and Jou dropped the anchor, everyone else on the crew prepared to exit the ship.
"Oooh, it's so exciting to be back home!" Mimi said.
Mimi and Koushiro made their way to the edge of the side of the ship where Jou had unfolded the staircase connecting to the dock. They rushed toward the top of the staircase with excitement to leave the boat first, but Sora stopped them immediately.
"Wait!" she said. "We can't leave the ship yet. It's customary for the captain to depart the ship first to report to the guards at the dock before the rest of us can follow." Then, she pushed Taichi ahead, making him nearly trip.
"Hey! What was that for?"
"Go on, Captain. Give a good impression to your crew."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
But in the midst of their bickering, Yamato approached the side and noticed that the guards were there, but not in their usual group of two or three at the bottom of the staircase. Instead, there were six guards standing in a line along the dock. In the center of the line, four more surrounded a tall figure who was making their way toward the ship. The figure was dressed in a white gown with a gold sash laced around the bodice, and a light pink cape covering her gown. Yamato had an inkling that he knew who it was, but her long, lavender-colored hair confirmed it.
"Looks like the customary greeting won't be necessary," said Yamato. Everyone joined him at his side. Sora held in her breath, and Mimi gasped.
"That's the Princess!" Mimi cried. "You didn't tell me you knew her?!"
"Yup!" Taichi said with a grin. "She really saved our butts back when Yamato and I were fresh pirate-lings from Taiyou. We wouldn't have gotten a boat if it weren't for her."
Before Taichi took a step down onto the staircase, he realized that a guard had already made her way up.
"You're all clear to enter the kingdom," she said. "The Princess would like to meet you once you head down."
Taichi exchanged glances with Yamato, then he turned to the crew who exchanged glances.
"Let's go," Taichi said.
Once they all headed down to the docks, Taichi, Yamato, Sora, and Mimi kneeled to the princess in greeting. Koushiro followed suit, as Jou did immediately after.
Princess Miyako curtsied in return. "I've been expecting you and your crew, Yagami," she said as she surveyed them all. "Sora," she added with a nod. "Good to see you again."
Taichi turned to Sora curiously.
"There was a time she saved me, too, you know…" said Sora, shifting uncomfortably.
Jou cleared his throat then, which snapped Taichi out of being distracted by Sora's comment.
"It's good to see you, Princess Miyako," said Taichi. "You probably know why we're here, then."
"If it has anything to do with a certain pirate crew and what they're after, it's why I've come to meet you. I'd like a meeting with you, Taichi."
"Just me?" He turned to the crew.
"We've got shopping to take care of, Captain!" Mimi said, with Jou and Koushiro nodding vigorously in agreement.
"Yamato?"
Yamato smirked. "I think I'll pay a visit to our friend in the armory."
Sora stepped forward. "I'll go with you, Taichi."
Taichi was hesitant to agree. The princess must have been aware that Sora was not a part of his crew, so he was uncertain if she would've allowed Sora to join him.
However, to his further surprise, Princess Miyako stepped forward and threw her arms around Sora to give her a tight hug.
"It really is great to see you, Sora," Miyako said, smiling cheerfully. Sora smiled back, and looked as though she was relieved.
"I… guess Sora can join me, then," said Taichi. "The rest of you - will you be alright without me?"
"Let's go shopping!" Mimi exclaimed.
"Right behind you, Meems!" Koushiro shouted, both of them making a head start past the guards and entering the city.
"Don't worry, Captain," said Yamato. "We'll keep an eye on each other."
"I'm counting on you," said Taichi. You too, Jou!"
"Aye, Captain!" Jou said, immediately standing up straight with his hand to his forehead as a salute.
Sora hid her amusement at Jou's reaction.
"I'm surprised Yamato didn't want to tag along," Princess Miyako said in a lowered voice once they began their walk toward the palace and out of earshot from the rest of the crew. "Considering everything that's been happening."
"What do you mean?" Taichi asked.
"Yeah, what's going on?" Sora added.
Miyako turned to look at them on either side of her, her eyes widened at their curious expressions.
"I'm surprised that neither of you have heard. Especially you, Sora - I thought all that sneaking around and thievery made you one of the top pirates in the know."
Taichi glanced at Sora, suddenly realizing this. Usually, other than trying to steal his treasure and bickering with him, Sora was the one who gave him inside knowledge of the pirate happenings, where they might find new treasure, and, in most cases, where trouble had been brewing. After all, she had been the one who tipped him off about Hagu's voyage to Taiyou Town for the Yagami treasure.
"I guess I haven't been myself lately," she replied.
Taichi kept his stare on Sora, who was blatantly avoiding his gaze.
Miyako picked up on this silence and knew that she had to step in.
"Let's not discuss this until we get to the palace. It's not something I want to be heard by stray ears."
Back at the dockyard, Jou heaved a sigh while he and Yamato watched Taichi, Sora, and Princess Miyako walk further away from the dockyard and into the town.
"If it has anything to do with a certain pirate crew and what they're after, it's why I've come to meet you."
It was obvious that Princess Miyako's vague response was intentional, but especially after their encounter with the Crimson Bats, everyone who had been aboard the DoreDore would have known by now what she had been talking about.
And Yamato chose to keep silent. He had always done that whenever anyone talked about the diamond. It was the other promise his father made him keep, and it was the one of the secrets he bore to keep from anyone and everyone, even from his own captain and best friend.
But Taichi might have suspected something. Yamato noticed him glancing his way once Princess Miyako made a general reference to it. Even if he trusted Taichi with his life, would he trust Taichi with that diamond?
"Hey, Yamato?" Jou said suddenly, his voice shaking with apprehension. Yamato wondered why Jou was always so tense, but that thought was interrupted as soon as he looked in the direction that Jou was pointing to. A crew with large, burly men arrived and they were giving a guard a hard time as he asked the typical questions of ship arrival protocol.
Suddenly, one crew member lurched forward, causing Yamato to take a step and pull his sword half-drawn, but another guard shouted from behind him and Jou, and three more guards rushed toward the unruly crew.
The troublesome pirate stepped back, but then, he walked past the guard, lightly shoving their shoulder while the others followed him and sneered. The burliest pirate with the smug look on his face turned to Yamato and smirked even wider in reply to Yamato's glare.
"Hey… Yamato…" Jou tapped his shoulder lightly, hoping that Yamato wouldn't further provoke the pirate, or even worse, lash out at him and start even more trouble. "Maybe we should head to the market with the others."
Yamato knew that it was a wiser decision to follow Jou's suggestion as opposed to acting on his irritation. He sunk his sword back into its sheath completely and relaxed his shoulders. "You're right. Let's go."
In turn, Jou became much more relaxed.
"They do seem like trouble, though," Jou added.
"Yeah, I agree."
They fell silent as they walked together up the path where Koushiro and Mimi had gone. Jou felt calmer after realizing that he had Yamato nearby, although Yamato couldn't help but think that trouble was going to show up sooner or later.
Taichi and Sora followed behind Princess Miyako as they walked through the large city square towards the palace. Taichi was amazed by the sight of it, even though he had visited once before. It was three-stories high, wide with a pillar topped with a large pink dome on either end, and archways across the ground floor that met the tall arched door. What he liked seeing the most was the dome above the center of the building, where a large statue of an eagle stood with its wings spread out.
It amazed him, but he knew that the large palace and its extravagant embellishments was fit for the lifestyle of a royal: a large, comfortable setting filled with responsibilities that any royal blood would be forced to live with.
He admired Princess Miyako – who was younger than he was, but a year older than Hikari – for owning up to the life she had no choice but to lead.
Sora paid more attention to the flower beds that lined the archways at the front, filled with long-petaled flowers of blue and pink; though, she had looked at them to avoid Taichi's attempts at conversation and his gasps of amazement. Her heart was pounding, and she had hoped that he would be too occupied to notice.
"Sora, aren't you listening?" Taichi asked.
"Oh – hmm?" she replied, knowing that her mind had been adrift with thoughts, and that was the only way she thought to respond with.
"Doesn't the eagle look really cool?"
"It's a hawk."
Sora corrected him, just as Miyako had a few times before.
Miyako laughed. "How much do you keep in that brain of yours, Taichi? I told you about the family emblem the last time you were here."
"Apparently not much," muttered Sora under her breath.
"Hey!" Taichi said.
The three of them walked up the stone steps to the palace with the Princess's guards surrounding them. At the top of the steps, they walked further down the pathway decorated with the same blue and pink flowers until they reached the large door where two guards stood on each side. Princess Miyako halted, with her entourage along with Taichi and Sora following suit.
The two guards at the door bowed at the princess who nodded, and then they turned to open the large door.
Taichi stopped Sora by placing his hand on her shoulder.
"You okay?" Taichi asked. "You know, I would've managed to come here on my own. We can trust Miyako. I would trust her with my life, you know."
Sora took his hand from her shoulder. "So would I, Taichi."
Without another word, Sora turned to follow Miyako, leaving Taichi to follow her in confusion.
"Come, Sora, Taichi!" Miyako said, continuing her walk beyond the grand staircase and entering through a pair of smaller, lower-level doors."We'll talk in the throne room."
The fact that Sora refused to talk bothered Taichi. It was becoming more obvious that she was hiding something from him, and, for once, she was not being good at being sneaky about it.
He heard a sound that made him stop in his tracks. A cough – no, a giggle? He wondered if he was hearing things, but the following sounds of leaves rustling against each other made him turn. There, his eyes fell on a tall, bushy plant, and a pair of a child's brown eyes staring back.
The child looked familiar, more so when their lips curled into a mischievous smile as they looked up at him from behind the plant. Their hair was covered and tied back underneath a bright blue bandana, and it left Taichi intrigued.
"Milady!" Taichi heard from the hiss of a guard running up from behind him. The child gasped and immediately disappeared from sight. "Sorry," the guard added to Taichi. The guard seemed to be in a panic and out of breath. "Have you seen a little girl? she's small… she's wearing a light blue bandana."
"Hmm…" Taichi brought his fingers to his chin, casually turning from one side to the other. "I guess I haven't seen her."
"Taichi?"
He turned to Sora who was at the front of the throne room, waiting for him. It surprised him that she didn't look impatient and aggravated. She looked calm, or, she tried to make it look as though she was. He joined her side to walk into the throne room the rest of the way, but he hoped to see that little girl again and show her to Sora, because he had a feeling that the girl would bring a smile to her face.
The burly, muscular shopkeeper commonly known as 'Sting' recognized Yamato the moment he walked into the Armory. Jou ended up following Yamato to check out the weapons in the shop. There were two other patrons in the shop, though once 'Sting' had left them to continue browsing, he approached Jou and Yamato soon after.
"No way!" Jou exclaimed, running past Yamato and 'Sting' as he found a slingshot weapon on display.
'Sting' laughed as he stood next to Jou. "I was just going to remove that from the display. I haven't sold one of those in ages."
"That's a shame! They're really useful, even in close calls."
"Jou here's an expert marksman," Yamato said, slapping Jou's back and causing him to jump in surprise. "He's gotten the crew out of lots of crazy situations."
"Ah, it was nothing."
"So you're with the DoreDore, eh?" asked 'Sting'. "Taichi always has a good eye for reliable pirates. Tell you what - I'll give you this for half the price. Whaddya say?"
"You don't have to do that, sir!"
Come on! I know it'll be in good hands."
Jou was hesitant, but he turned to Yamato who gave him a smile and a nod which boosted his confidence to accept the deal.
Yamato had a few swords to sell off, and he found four more that he wanted to buy, including one he knew that would be fit for Taichi, as well as a blade for Mimi. As he held each new sword in his hand one-by-one, he listened to Jou continue his conversation with 'Sting' about the different types of ammo and bands that he liked to use. Yamato enjoyed listening to Jou whenever he talked about his passions. It was more pleasant than listening to him fret about the smallest worries.
But Yamato also took moments from time to time to scan the armory for another person, one whom he expected would show up soon.
"I'm so sorry!" Jou said suddenly. "I didn't get your name. What was it?"
"Say," Yamato said once he slinged two swords onto his side, and the other two wrapped up to take back to the ship. "How's your 'apprentice' doing these days?"
Yamato noticed that 'Sting' laughed with Jou from a joke that he had just cracked, but the shopkeeper's eyes moved toward the door, where the other two patrons had walked through and out of the shop, leaving the bell on top to chime as the door opened and closed.
"Actually, you can ask him yourself in a moment," replied 'Sting'. "He's been waiting for your arrival."
The bell at the door chimed again, and this time, a tall, lanky man walked in, his shirt, vest, pants and boots of formal attire, though he wore his sleek, dark blue hair tied back underneath his bandana.
Yamato stared in anticipation after taking notice of the serious look in Ken's eyes, but when Jou turned to see who had walked in, he let out a horrified gasp.
"Yamato, we need to get out of here," said Jou urgently and in a lowered voice as Ken turned the lock upright on the door behind him.. "Do you know who that is?!"
"Relax, Jou," Yamato whispered back. "He's a friend to us nowadays."
"Sting is your friend?!"
"It's an honor to be called a 'friend' by a DoreDore pirate," Ken said, walking over to Yamato, then he smiled and patted Yamato's shoulder. He turned to Jou. "Jou, is it? Marksman extraordinaire?"
"Um, yeah, I guess…"
Ken stared at Jou intently. "Trust me, I'd never lay a sword against anyone on your crew. Not if Taichi or Yamato would have anything to do with it. Hell, not even Sora."
Still, Jou felt the need to take a seat in a chair on the side of the room to process the fact that a once villainous pirate was now unarmed and acting friendly to other pirates. For months, he had known the notorious Sting and his crew, his face on "Wanted" posters that were plastered all over his hometown of Kurosu, until one day he had disappeared. No one in his town ever found out why, and interest in hunting him down disappeared along with the talk of his now disbanded crew.
Jou calmed down as Ken filled some gaps in Jou's story.
"So, let me get this straight," Jou said. "The big, muscular guy who is the face of your armory is the one everyone knows as 'Sting'."
"Yes," Ken replied, looking over to "Sting" who was now polishing the weapons that were on display.
"And, that is to detract attention from your own reputation when you used to go by that name, right… uh, Sting?"
"Please, you can call me Ken."
"...Ken?"
"He's giving you the name he was given at birth, Jou," said Yamato, leaning against a wooden pillar. "With a pirate like him, his birth name is a treasure in itself. He's not going to let just anyone call him that."
"Not only are you a DoreDore," added Ken, "but I know you are someone whom we can all trust. Someone reliable."
Jou looked to Yamato, then to Ken, who gave him a small smile.
"It's funny that you mentioned 'treasure', Yamato." Ken continued, now meeting eyes with Yamato. "We need to have a conversation about the Azure Diamond."
Jou perked up at the name in recognition, though Yamato remained expressionless.
"The diamond that apparently every other pirate is hunting down?" Yamato asked. "They're wasting their time on a myth."
"That's the thing, Yamato," Ken said. "You and I both know that this diamond is far from being a myth. It's time to stop hiding what you know. Either way, you'll have the Yami Crew to deal with."
Yamato stared at Ken. The Crimson Bats had mentioned their name in connection with the diamond. Princess Miyako had referred to it, and now Ken was pointing the conversation to him directly.
"It's obvious that Kuro and his hooligans have come out of hiding," said Yamato. "Kuro of all people should be well aware that he's never going to find the diamond. He's wasting his time."
Ken blinked in surprise as he observed Yamato's expression. "You haven't heard, have you? That he went back to Taiyou Town?"
Yamato took a pause at this, with a sudden intake of a breath at the mention of the town. Ever since his and Taichi's escape from Taiyou Town, Yamato intended to lead Kuro to where his father Hiroaki told him to - to where they had convinced Kuro was the diamond's true location. Yamato heard about the Marines capturing the Yami Crew later on, followed by their escape. After their last confrontation, he didn't think that Kuro would dare go back.
Suddenly, his mind burst with questions and his thoughts began to race. Did Kuro figure out the diamond's true location? That damned pirate took his parents' lives and destroyed his town. What more could he ever take from him -
"No…" Yamato stood up straight, his eyes widening with his slow realization. Fear crept into his mind as he breathed in slowly. "Please tell me that Takeru is alright."
"Kuro took him captive after destroying Taiyou Town," Ken revealed. "As far as we know, he's still alive. But, you know why he's doing this, don't you, Yamato?"
It took him everything he had to resist throwing a punch through the glass display of weaponry.
He needed air. Clinging onto that thought, Yamato turned toward the door in the back of the shop and forced it open, then slammed it shut behind him.
"Yamato!" Jou said, standing up immediately and taking a few steps to follow him. Panic rose within him with the thoughts of Yamato rushing off of the island.
But Ken lifted a hand up.
"He'll do whatever it takes to get Takeru back alive," Ken said, and Jou wondered if Ken had read his mind. "But he's not going to do something as rash as leave you and the rest of the crew behind."
"They took Takeru?!" Sora said in shock.
Princess Miyako stood before the dais of the throne room as she explained the events in Taiyou Town to Sora and Taichi, who was at a loss of what to say.
"Ken has reported that the dockyard and a few buildings were destroyed," the Princess relayed, "but the Marines kept the pirates from going further into town. Governor Yagami and his family and all of the townspeople are safe."
Taichi felt his shoulders relax. It sounded like Sargeant Daisuke had been doing well and didn't let the Yami Crew from causing too much trouble. And especially knowing that Hikari was out of harm's way.
But there was the fact that Takeru had been taken captive.
"Yamato…" Sora said, eyeing Taichi with worry.
"Yeah," Taichi said, sharing her concern. "He's probably itching to leave this island right now. I know if it was Hikari, I would have hightailed out of here the moment I found out."
Princess Miyako paused. "Well, she wasn't taken, but she's not in Taiyou Town right now, either."
Taichi turned to Miyako. "She's not?"
"We've heard she boarded a merchant ship the night before the Marine Chief arrived. Some luck the Governor had with his children, huh?"
A smirk formed on Taichi's lips; then, he let out a laugh. He knew it was going to be a matter of time before Hikari broke free from the shackles that their parents kept her in.
"Let's back up, Miyako," said Sora. "We all know that Yamato's father was a pirate, and he had been keeping that a secret as he raised his family in Taiyou Town."
"That's right," the princess replied. "And as you already know, the Yami Crew went to Taiyou Town once they found out that Hiroaki was there, and you know what happened next."
"Yeah…" said Taichi, and he shared a grim look with Sora. "But that leads to the question, why, years later, did the Yami Crew come back for Takeru?"
Sora perked up suddenly, darting a look toward Princess Miyako. "It's about the diamond, isn't it?" she asked.
Taichi crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Of course, you'd be the one to bring that up."
This caused Sora to glower at him. "Taichi, now's not the time."
"But, Sora's right!" Princess Miyako cut in, despite the beginnings of Taichi and Sora's bickering match. "The Azure Diamond has always been Kuro's obsession, and it wasn't until recently that the Yami Crew spread the word of its whereabouts."
"I don't understand," Taichi said. "For as long as I've been a pirate, I'd never thought a diamond as beautiful as the stories say could ever exist. What do you think, Sora?"
Sora thought to herself, running through the images in her mind of gems in every color, shape, and size. Of course, some were more pleasing to look at than others, but the fact that they were all worth varying amounts of gold made them much more appealing.
Yet, her mind still wandered to the day of the first Yami Crew attack on Taiyou Town. Dynamite exploded everywhere, and she had hurled herself over the girl who had been Taichi's betrothed at the time. Sora had asked the frightened girl if she was alright, but she had also taken notice of the girl's sparkling jewelry. Being the Governor's daughter in the neighboring town, this girl's ornaments that had been decorated on her person, especially in her hair, had to have been worth plenty.
"Sora?"
Both Taichi and Princess Miyako waved their hands in front of Sora before she realized what they were doing, and Sora shook her head.
"Look at her, getting all starry-eyed when we talk about treasure," murmured Taichi to Miyako with a grin.
"Doesn't she look so darling?" Miyako added, smiling.
"Stop it, you two," Sora said with a groan as well as a blush forming on her cheeks. "Besides, I'd have to agree with you, Taichi. Stories like that exaggerate what's real, if it even is real."
Miyako's smile faded, and she pressed her lips together. "It has become clear to me that the two of you haven't realized just how disconnected you are from the knowledge of this diamond. Especially when your best source of this knowledge has been so close to you, all this time."
Sora and Taichi looked at Miyako, curious.
"What do you mean by that?" Taichi asked.
"I mean, there's a reason why you are convinced that the diamond isn't real. Your crew must still think it's a treasure of their wildest dreams. And you were told by the very man who first told you the story that it wasn't real."
"Ishida-sensei?" Sora asked. Then, her lips parted as the dots began to connect. "Miyako – are you saying that the Azure Diamond is real?"
"Not only that," said Taichi. "But Yamato's father knew?"
Miyako nodded. "There's more that Yamato hasn't shared with you."
Both Taichi and Sora continued to stare at her, dumbfounded.
Although Jou had gotten anxious about Yamato leaving the shop, Ken had stopped him twice from going through the backdoor of the shop.
"He might need some time alone," Ken reasoned, patiently. Ken had hoped that his calm demeanor would ease Jou's mind and that Jou would at least take a seat on "Sting's" wooden chair to wait.
Jou successfully rushed out the backdoor on his third attempt, and Ken called after him hopelessly. But when Jou stepped onto the dirt of the backyard, he didn't expect to meet the blade of Yamato's sword heading straight at him. Jou yelped and dodged and Yamato's eyes widened in surprise, but the sword swung right through a standing pole, slicing right through it.
Ken stepped out from the doorway and frowned as he spotted the one sword training pell that had been heavily butchered and sliced into.
"You can take extra rubies from me for that one," said Yamato, straightening his stance and returning his swords to his belt sheath.
"I'll accept that, given that you didn't destroy the whole yard unlike last time," replied Ken with a sigh.
"The whole yard?" Jou asked, turning to Yamato. "Really?"
"It was a brawl between me and Captain Taichi," Yamato replied. "Taichi was the one who started it, by the way."
Ken approached Yamato, eyeing him curiously. "Have you let it all out, now?"
Yamato eyed him back. "Not all of it," he answered Ken. "But I've been able to calm down, for now."
Moments ago, Yamato had taken two of his swords out and swung them against the sturdiest-looking pell. He whirled and slashed against it, letting the anger flow through his veins and onto the tips of his blades.
All Yamato had wanted to do was to protect the secret of the Azure Diamond that his father had told him to keep, and to protect his brother from the danger of it all.
But it was only a matter of time before Kuro showed up to cause a ruckus about the diamond. And for him to capture Takeru…
Yamato, Jou, and Ken stood outside in a circle while Ken filled them in on the second Yami Crew attack on Taiyou Town, and how the Governor and the Marines were handling the aftermath.
"I'm trying to understand something here," said Jou, crossing his arms. "Kuro must have really had a vendetta against your father, and now you, Yamato, if he went to Taiyou Town twice."
Ken looked to Yamato knowingly, and Yamato knew he had to reveal the first of three secrets.
"Jou," Yamato began. "You remember how my father was a pirate, and that he gave up that life and started a normal one in Taiyou Town?"
"Yeah."
"Well, my father and Kuro – they were partners."
Jou's eyes widened. "Partners?!"
Yamato nodded. Ken was still looking at him expectantly. Yamato knew that Ken wouldn't force pressure on him to talk, but he knew what Ken's stare meant: that holding the secrets longer would do more harm than good to everyone involved.
So, Yamato revealed the second of the three secrets.
"They had heard the old folktale themselves, but together, they traveled to hunt for it. They both knew that this diamond would make them the richest, most powerful pirates in the land.
"But, they both had different ideas for it. Dad wanted to use its worth for good. Kuro wanted to destroy… He even gathered pirates who sided with him, and it caused an uneven rift between him and my dad."
"These pirates…" Jou began. "They're now the Yami Crew, aren't they?"
Yamato nodded.
"They'd followed a map and found their way closer to the location of the diamond. That was when Dad overheard that Kuro was going to kill him once they'd found the diamond, and keep it for himself. But, Dad had his own tricks up his sleeve. He slipped some sleeping potion into the liquor and got everyone to drink up in celebration of being one step closer. He succeeded and bound their hands behind their backs before leaving them behind to get to the diamond on his own."
"So, your father found the diamond? It wasn't dropped into the depths of the sea, after all?"
"Even if it was, there's no predicting the currents and where the sea creatures go," said Ken. "Anything that falls into the ocean will eventually get swept up onto a shore somewhere."
"I could never forget his eyes when he told me that part of the story," Yamato said. "He said he saw it appear in front of him, just as the tide fell and he found it resting in the middle of a bed of black rocks."
""The deep blue that shines the color of the sunrise against the horizon?" Jou asked in amazement, his mouth hanging open.
Yamato nodded.
"Wow…" said Jou. "He actually found it."
"Not only that. He found it, and took it with him to Taiyou Town."
"But, that still bears the question that every pirate wants answered, and one that I have to ask you now," said Ken.
Yamato shot Ken a glance, and he could see from the corner of his eyes that Jou was staring with anticipation.
"Yamato," Ken said. "Where is the Azure Diamond now?"
Before Yamato contemplated on revealing his third secret, a knock came at the front door to the Armory.
"So, Ishida-sensei was Kuro's partner, huh," Taichi said after listening to Princess Miyako's intel. He looked away from Sora and Princess Miyako, running that sentence in his head to process.
"And Ishida-sensei had the diamond with him when he first got to Taiyou Town," added Sora.
They both stood in silence, their eyes avoiding Princess Miyako's and each others'. They had only ever been told that Yamato's father had once been a pirate and were aware of the dangers that lingered with him, but they were never told anything more.
"That must be why Kuro went to Taiyou a second time," Sora thought aloud. "He probably thinks the diamond is there. That, or he took Takeru as leverage for Yamato."
"Precisely what Ken and I concluded," Miyako said.
"Kuro probably knows as much as we do," Taichi said, "given that the only person he encountered who knows the most about the diamond is my own partner in crime."
Both Sora and Miyako laughed. "I guess that's what you pirates have in common," Miyako said.
"The only difference is, Yamato is more likely to actually tell us."
"Ha," Sora replied, folding her arms across her chest. "Like he's told us much already."
"Well, he'd better tell you all soon," said Miyako. "I'm glad you arrived safely in my territory and that we had a chance to meet to talk about this. Just know that from here on out, you'd better be on high alert. There are rumors flying around that you know where the diamond is, and, better yet, that it's on your ship."
"On my ship?!" Taichi cried.
"On his ship?!" Sora yelled simultaneously.
"Look, Taichi," said Miyako. "I like Yamato. He's an excellent accomplice and swordsman. I'd be lying if I said he wasn't a looker."
"Miyako!" warned Sora.
"But would it be wise to trust someone who hides something as important as this from his own captain?"
"I would trust him with my life," Taichi said immediately. "He may not be telling me everything, but he's always got a reason. I trust him to tell me when he's ready."
Miyako gave a knowing stare to Sora, who shifted uncomfortably in her spot.
"You're way more mature than I thought you were, Taichi."
Taichi gave Miyako a stare. "What's that supposed to mean?"
At that moment, Sora needed to distract herself from this conversation. But at the same time, she came to a realization. "Miyako," she began. "How long have these rumors been spreading?"
"For about two weeks," she replied. "Why?"
Sora's brows crinkled into a worried expression. It caught Taichi's eye, and he watched her concern.
In the last two weeks, Sora had been distracted, following Taichi and carrying the weight of her own secret on her mind until she gained the courage to board his boat. All that time, these rumors flew past her ears, but they had long enough time to spread like wildfire throughout the pirate scene, where, by now, any pirate going in and out of the peaceful Jundo territory would have heard to keep an eye out for the DoreDore Crew.
Not even Jundo was safe.
Sora grabbed Taichi by the arm. "Taichi, we need to leave," she said. "We need to gather the crew and leave. Now."
A look of confusion showed on Taichi's face. Before he could respond, he took notice of a small child zooming past the three of them – the same child from before. She laughed delightfully, and she was followed by the exasperated guard huffing and puffing as he shouted after her.
"Your Majesty..." he said as he panted. "...I'm terribly sorry… the child…"
"That's alright," said Miyako, unfazed. "Kazumi, dear!"
The child ran along until she stood at Miyako's side, and she stared at Taichi and Sora as she wrapped her arms around Miyako's gown over her leg.
"That's the kid I saw earlier," said Taichi. "I didn't know you had a daughter, Princess."
At first, Miyako tilted her head to the side in confusion, but as Sora began to panic, she noticed the quick change in Miyako's expression. "That's right, Captain. I have a daughter. Yup. She's mine."
"Waaaait." Taichi narrowed his eyes at Miyako. "Something tells me that you're hiding something here. I wonder if she even is your child."
Sora's heart beat faster.
But Miyako narrowed her eyes in return. "Why would I, Taichi? I figured that you would understand the depth of the love between a princess and the handsome man at the armory."
"Or the love between two pirates," Sora muttered.
She thought her voice was too soft for anyone to hear, but Taichi looked at her. And when she met his eyes, she began to wonder if it was finally time to stop keeping him in the dark.
Just then, two of the Princess' guards burst through the front doors. Based on their state of panic, Miyako motioned the child to stay behind her, and the child hid her face behind Miyako's leg. Sora's worries shifted to the fact that the child might not be in the safest place in the palace at that moment. She instinctively placed her hand near her back pocket where she kept her dagger.
However, Taichi took a step forward, with his feet spread apart and his hands motioning the other three to stay back. Whatever was to come next, Princess Miyako, Sora, and Taichi stood, preparing themselves for the worst.