I do not own Tenipuri, the great Konomi-sensei does!

I'm finally back home and now I have my wireless connection to exploit xD

She-Pirate -4-

"Mainland ahead!" Bunta yelled as she excitedly jumped around on the watching deck.

"Prepare the anchors, we're stopping!" Miko said as her crew saluted and started going around. Miko then approached the females of her crew and coughed to get their attention.

"We're going to re-stock. And I'll be seeing around, I'll be leaving the ship to you. Be careful." One woman approached her and placed her hands on Miko's shoulder.

"You be careful as well, child… we won't know what happened to us if you left. And we can't be there if something happened to you on mainland."

"I understand, keep the children safe. You shall show them what minorities can do if there are those who asked for trouble." The female cheered as the children followed. Miko nodded and smiled, feeling proud of her crew.

"Miko, can I talk to you?" Miko saw the queen of Rikkai beckoning for her to come with her and she looked back to her crew who nodded and her and continued doing their previous activities.

"Yes?"

"Renji told me, are you going to get re-stocked mainland?"

"Yes, and Yanagi-san wanted to show me some places of your kingdom, it'll be about time I know what mainland is like." Suddenly, the woman in front of her smiled widely as Miko tilted her head in confusion.

"Is there… something I can help you with?"

"If you don't mind, can you come by to our castle? It'd really love to give you something as thanks for bringing us back…"

"But I don't think I should leave my crew for too long, if something happened to the ship…"

"I will have Renji tell some of the officers to guard the ship, then your crew and buy stocks without worrying about the ship."

"But I…" Suddenly an elderly woman came and placed her hands on Miko's shoulder.

"I'm very sorry for listening, but perhaps you should go, dear." Miko looked up to the older woman and furrowed her brows.

"But everyone…"

"I'll make sure the rest of the crews are safe and back on the ship, and since the queen will have people guard the ship, I think the men can rest assure, can't they? But I'll tell them to still stay alert."

"But I…"

"Are you going to refuse the queen's request? I know you're a pirate dear, but you should know manners as well. And accepting a queen's request is a must, don't worry, I'll make sure everyone's alright."

"… Alright, I'll be leaving it to you. Be careful." Miko said as the old woman nodded. Then the elder looked towards the queen who smiled gratefully.

"Thank you, I'll make sure she'll be back unharmed." Yukimura said as the old woman nodded and walked away. Miko then sighed and smiled wryly at Yukimura.

"Really, is that all you wanted me to go there for, Yukimura-san? I don't think anyone would like seeing a pirate walking into a castle."

"Don't underestimate yourself, you might be known for a powerful pirate indeed. But you were known to exterminate those who did wrong deeds in the sea, and you're not an ordinary pirate either. You are the one who made the rule on the sea, and one who lives doing the rule. You are the rule itself, they say. And the pirates on the sea follow your rules, and do not hesitate to attack those from the mainland who broke those rules either. There were also people from my kingdom that was killed under your rule as well." Miko was silent through the whole time Yukimura was talking, not denying anything the Queen said.

"But those who were killed, were those who knew nothing of the sea and were rebels to the kingdom as well, and for that matter, I don't think anyone from the kingdom will never judge you. As seeing it was me who invited you, I don't think they have a say on anything, unless you were planning something behind me, that I didn't see through." Yukimura said as Miko chuckled with a dry sense of humor.

"You are not an ordinary queen as well, Yukimura=san. I can already sense your authority through your words."

"Thank you, then."

"Captain! We've anchored!"

"Good. Take care of the ship, I'll be back by the end of the day. I'm counting on you and everyone."

"Yes, captain!"

/

"So, this is the market, it sure is crowded." Miko said as she walked through the crowd of people behind Yanagi. Miko saw how the civilians would greet Yanagi who nodded in acknowledgement and would stare at her warily.

"It seemed that I'm not welcomed around here."

"It's because they have never seen you here, and also because I am leading you, making them think that you might be a criminal."

"Ah, you are the King and Queen's personal guard after all, childhood friend of the King, am I correct?"

"Yes. I've known the King since we were children, both of us grew up together. As well as the queen, we've known each other for quite a long time."

"A long time indeed, and where are we going?"

"I thought you might be interested how Kingdoms' borders are like, so I'm taking you to one of our borderline." Yanagi noticed the girl behind him now walking faster alongside him and knew that indeed, the girl is interested.

"Which border is it?"

"Ours and Seigaku's. I have an old friend there, he might be there, he might be not. But both of us are on good terms, both Kings and Queens have quite a close relationship."

"The Kingdom of Seigaku, a small Kingdom but grew larger ever since the change of King."

"Correct, King Tezuka Kunimitsu and Queen Fuji Syuusuke."

"Tezuka… Kunimitsu…" Miko suddenly whispered that made Yanagi stopped and looked towards her.

"Is something wrong, Miko?"

"No, it's strange… I didn't know their names… but somehow, it felt as if something is familiar with them, my head is a bit aching right now…"

"If you can't take it, we can get back to the castle since Seiko's waiting for you."

"No, I'm curious. A kingdom's border, I've heard from one of my crew, it was a village, right? A border can be marked by a village, or rivers."

"Yes, as long as that mark in question stays there forever and won't move places." Yanagi said as Miko nodded.

"One of my crew used to be a villager there, when he knew I'll be walking around, if I happen to come across that village, he wanted to give something to his family, telling him he's still alive and well…"

"You didn't let him go visit?"

"I told him to go by himself, but he said that his family didn't really worry about him, so he didn't think it'll be wise for him to go." Miko said as she sighed.

"If what he says is true, I hope you won't do anything rash." Miko stared at Yanagi and shrugged.

"I can't fight with my fist, but I might utter some words… so, can you stop me then, Yanagi-san?"

"If you needed to be stop, I will stop you."

"Thank you… I can't stop myself from saying something that hurts others when I'm too angry… my crew understands me, but I still feel I should be stopped…" Miko said as both of them stopped on a hill, overlooking a small village.

"We're here. That's the village we'll be entering." Both Yanagi and Miko then continued walking before two men stopped them.

"It's alright, it's me." Both men's eyes widened and one of them spoke.

"I've heard the ship sank, was it an attack?"

"It was a strong storm, we can't do anything about. But she saved us, ever heard of a pirate named Miko?" Once again, both men's eyes widened and both of them stared at Miko who kept her calm by breathing deeply and letting it out slowly before looking back to their stares with her calm and emotionless eyes.

"The rumored most powerful pirate on the sea? This little girl?" Kumiko's eyebrow twitched and she gritted her teeth.

"I would keep my mouth if I speak to others if I were you." Kumiko said calmly before Yanagi shook his head.

"She is."

"Do you think she's planning something by bringing you back? She is a pirate after all, even if she's a girl." Kumiko heard one of the men whispered and gritted her teeth.

"As she said, you might need to watch what you're speaking. She has great senses, and that means, she heard what you said. And the Queen trusts her, is that proof enough?"

"Yanagi-san, please refrain from saying anything more." Yanagi chuckled as Kumiko walked pass both men after shooting them a deadly glare.

"Very well, please don't walk too far from me, Miko. You might catch someone's attention." Yanagi said as both of the entered the small village. Miko's eyes then wandered around, looking around to the people walking back and forth, some busy with their works and men pulling crates consist of their harvest of the season. Yanagi watched Miko as the girl looked around, and noticed a light in her eyes, a curious glint as how a child would after seeing something they have never seen before.

"Is there something you wanted to see, Miko?"

"It's a small village, but it is crowded…" Miko said before she heard a child's cry. She turned around and saw a young girl crying for her mother in the corner, hugging her knees. Kumiko suddenly felt a pang in her chest and quickly walked towards the girl. Yanagi saw Miko suddenly walked away and quickly followed her before he stopped when he saw the girl Miko walks to. The young girl looked up from her knees and saw Miko kneeling in front of her with a small smile on her face.

"Don't cry… are you lost?" The young girl nodded before Miko placed her hand on the girl's head.

"Don't cry, everything's gonna be alright. Your mother must be very worried about you now, and she must be looking for you. You can't just stay here, you should look for your mother too. I'll help you."

"Really onee-chan? You'll help me look for mommy?"

"Of course." Yanagi smiled when she saw the lost young girl took Miko's hand and stood up. Miko then walked together with the small girl while the girl showed her where she last saw her mother.

"I was here with mommy, she was talking with a friend when I walk away. But when I got back, mommy's not there…"

"It's okay, we'll find her soon." Miko assured the girl who nodded and both of them kept on walking while Yanagi follows from behind. Miko then heard a woman screaming and the girl beside her quickly run towards the woman who is yelling in the middle of the crowd, looking for her daughter. Kumiko watches with a smile as the young girl hugged her mother as she cries. Yanagi then stood alongside Miko and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"We should be going, you're looking for your crew's family member, right?"

"Yes. She found her mother now, she won't get lost anymore. Not like I did." Miko said as she turned and walked away while gripping the paper one of her crew gave her that showed an address. Yanagi watches the young pirate walked away before shaking his head and followed the girl looking for the address.

/

Miko stopped in front of a house, not too big, not too small and is quite perfect for a small family to live in. Miko looked back at the paper before knocking at the door while Yanagi watches from the side. The door opened, and Miko saw a small child's head peeking out from the door, looking curiously at her.

"Who are you?" Miko couldn't help but smile and knelt down to be at the same heights as the child.

"Is your mother home…?" The child looked curiously at Miko before running back inside, yelling for his mother. Kumiko waited and saw a woman walking out while holding the eager child's hand, pointing towards the waiting Miko.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?" Miko stood up straight and dusted her clothes before handing the paper she had in her hand, as well as a bag.

"These are something someone wanted you to have, and you might need to read that letter." Miko said as the woman looked towards the letter then back to her before gently ripping the envelope and opened the letter. Miko watches as the woman watches and took a peek at the inside of the house. Miko smelled a sweet aroma of cake and how tidy the house seemed to be and thought that she should have forced her crew to come instead of her. It was a shame, not coming back to such a good family. Miko saw the small child looking up to her and she smiled before noticing the woman shed out a tear and started sobbing. The child then looked up to his mother and pulled her hand.

"Mommy…?" Miko saw the woman wiped her tears and smiled to her.

"Are you the one named Miko then…?"

"Yes, I am. And I might need to ask, is he your husband?" The woman nodded and held onto the child.

"I knew he's alive, I didn't believe it when they say his ship sunk… he said he'll come home, he said he would, so I waited and waited… thank you…"

"He's a good person."

"Yes he is, that's why I love him. And this is my son, say hello to this nice miss." Miko smiled when the child bowed his head to her and looked towards the woman.

"Thank you so much for saving him, and for taking him in… he said he won't come back… it's okay, but I'll wait for him. He must have had a reason to not come back by himself. And thank you for bringing this to us."

"Go to the harbor, there's supposed to be royal guards watching over the ship, just show this to them and I'm sure they'll let you see him. And if he still refuses to come back, tell him, it's my order and if I saw him still on the ship, I won't hesitate to throw him off the boat. Tell him it's a father's job to protect the family and told him to look for work so he could maintain the family. It's an order." The woman in front of her looked at her with wide eyes before suddenly Miko was pulled into a tight embrace by the woman.

"Thank you, thank you… thank you so much!" Miko pulled away and nodded before walking away from the house as she heard the woman told the child they'll be going to see his daddy and the child quickly yelled in happiness and eager to go. Miko felt herself smile and suddenly a tear trickled down from her eyes.

"Is something wrong, Miko?"

"I wish I knew my family… now I really do… let's go back to the castle now, Yukimura-san is waiting." Miko said as she walked pass Yanagi who looked at her with misty eyes before shaking her head and walked beside her.

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