Chapter 3
"I cannot let you go on a mission as dangerous as this one."
"Why? You know that I might be the only who would still recognize him or he recognize me!"
"What if it is not him? What would you do?"
"I would return, ready to take on my duties as expected of me."
"I know that you had sword loyalty to him when young and that you still hold on to that oath even now."
"Why don't you choose a queen to conceive an heir?"
"You know quite well that I am not capable of doing that with the sickness I carry. I fear that I have not much time left."
Momo woke up with from her dream abruptly and sat up. Feeling that she would not be able to sleep again after dreaming of that meeting she had when overhearing them. Maybe returning to that mansion had triggered those memories.
Her feet led her to the deck and she leaned against the railings, breathing in the fresh sea air. She closed her eyes to feel the wind breeze upon her skin. Footsteps sounded in the night nearing her. Momo did not turn around as she didn't feel any hostility and appreciating the night air for a moment longer.
"Can't sleep?", came the question from beside her.
"Toshiro… ", Momo said in recognition and sighed, "Yes I can't sleep."
"Bad dream?"
Momo thought to have heard concern in his voice but dismissed it.
"Not exactly… just a memory", Momo tried to keep her answer vague.
"Hmm…"
Toshiro did not speak any further but simply stayed beside her as accompaniment. Momo enjoyed the comfortable silence between them.
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The next day, Momo, Shuhei, Kisuke and Uryuu gathered again within the captain's room. Toshiro was already waiting for them, while going through the diary and the paper they had retrieved. It was a cryptograph wheel. Toshiro did not look up as he greeted them and went straight to the point:
"I'm surprised that his daughter could memorize this picture within a short span of time and replicate it with no errors."
Momo smirked at the compliment and teased him:
"It's rare for you to praise someone Captain."
Toshiro dismissed the sarcastic comment as he replied:
"I know when something is worth the praise and this is one of them."
The retort certainly baffled Momo since she did not say anything again.
"How far have you gotten?", Kisuke spoke up to diffuse the awkward atmosphere.
"Not too far, but enough to now the approximate direction we should take."
"I didn't know the captain could read the Nameless Language", Momo commented thought it was more of a question.
"Only the basics. Someone who learned it taught me for fun."
[For fun, eh? That much would not be taught for fun. I'll need to keep a better eye on him.]
Toshiro pointed at a location on the map.
"It should be one of the three islands there, north to the location of the shipwreck. It not too far either compared to the other islands. He must have been swept up through the currents and stranded there. He probably didn't know that the mainland wasn't too far from there either."
"Tough luck, eh?", Shuhei said pityingly.
"Since we'll be coming from the mainland direction, we will arrive at the island first, so we should go for the island furthest from the shipwreck location", Kisuke analysed.
"Yeah", Momo agreed, "The area around the other islands is filled with rocks and cliffs, that could puncture the ship like a needle does a paper and quite a number of them are underwater. It's one of the reasons the royal ship sunk in the first place – not to mention the fire that broke out because of some idiot smoking near the hay for the animals."
Toshiro nodded as he took in the information. He stood up and announced:
"Then let's head there for now and if we find out anything more, we'll decide again."
Kisuke nodded as he started consulting with Shuhei about the course they should take. Meanwhile Toshiro walked over to Uryuu and Momo, who stood walked outside and waited for him.
"Uryuu, how are the supplies? Do you think we have enough?"
"I went over the list this morning with the others already. We've got enough to last for a month."
"Looks like our last loot was better than expected."
Toshiro discussed a couple of more things with his quartermaster while Momo droned out their talk and watched the crew work and scrub the deck. She spotted her cabin mate climbing the mainmast and checking the riggings while shouting over to a blonde haired man on the foremast. She didn't watch them bickering for long since a hand tapped her shoulder.
"Hmm?", Momo turned around.
"I want you to continue and decipher the diary and update me on the information. I'll come and change places with you once lunch comes around", Toshiro ordered and left once Momo gave an ok.
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An hour had passed already and Momo's mind was still working with full concentration that she didn't even notice Kisuke and Shuhei's absence and the entrance of Toshiro who wanted to check up on her. Momo was already working on her third paper. The other two were beside her were filled with her handwritings and drawings related to the text. Translating the text became easier over time as she eased herself into the code language. She didn't notice Toshiro leaning over her and watching her progress until she felt his hair tickle her ear. She turned to see what was wrong and Toshiro's face appeared. The shock made her unable to compose herself and she simply stayed stock still.
From Toshiro's throat rumbled a satisfactory hum and he straightened himself. Only then did he perceive Momo's frozen appearance staring to the side, where he was a moment ago. At first he wondered what she was doing and was about to ask, when he realized how she might have turned that way. A low chuckle resounded from him and frozen Momo finally thawed. Her cheeks turned pink and with jerking movements her head turned back forward.
"W-what are you doing here?", Momo stuttered.
"Just checking up on you", he replied while stifling his laughter.
"W-why did y-you not say anything when you entered?"
"It's me room, so why should I?", he retorted.
He refrained from mentioning that he had knocked and got no response. And when he entered he saw her working so diligently that he felt like not disturbing her. Seeing her get riled up over his answer entertained him.
"How far have you gotten?", he asked instead of teasing her again.
"You've got eyes, don't you?"
"… Why don't you go and eat in the kitchen? The food's ready."
Still mortified at her own behaviour, Momo didn't reply and stood up, leaving for the kitchen. Toshiro gave a wry smile after Momo's departure and sat down to continue her work.
#####
Momo sulked at the thought of her actions in front of Toshiro. She barely touched the food she got from the cook.
"What ails you mate? Do you not like the food? Should I make you something else?"
The voice of a young girl entered Momo's ears and she glanced up in panic.
"Oh no, no, no Yuzu, your food is great. My appetite's not in the right place…", Momo trailed off as she started digging into her food instead.
An angelic smile spread on the young girl's face as her worried complexion brightened. Momo smiled as well and continued eating properly this time. She had often wondered over the last few days how a girl like her ended up on a pirate ship. Although Yuzu continued with her kitchen work, she still seemed bothered by Momo's earlier behaviour.
"So what's your trouble? If it's not the food that's wrong", Yuzu enquired with a concerned face.
Momo felt bad for worrying her and answered truthfully:
"I made a fool of myself in front of the Captain and he made fun of me."
Yuzu gave a harmless laugh as she understood what happened.
"He didn't actually mean that. You see, he seems to have taken a liking to you. I haven't seen him that happy for some time. He ain't got a lot of chances to relax", she explained.
Yuzu saw that Momo had finished eating and took her plate to the sink where she continued talking.
"The captain may seem overly serious with his words but he is also caring. As you can see from his attire, he is also very humble. He does not dress flashily like most captains do. He is the practical type, wearing clothes that also help him blend in with the crowd better. It makes him feel closer to the crew."
"That's quite hard to imagine with his white hair", Momo muttered under her breath.
"Did you say something?"
"Huh?"
"Oh, must have been my imagination."
[Good, acting surprised always works.]
Yuzu continued:
"We're not a tightly knit crew here but closer than most I must say."
"I can see that. The crew listens to him most of the time. Usually the crew dismisses most of the captain's selfish wishes."
"He's not being selfish", Yuzu denied, "Though he has his reasons and they are mostly for the crew's welfare."
"Hmm…"
#####
Two days passed and they finished the decoding. As to celebrate this Yuzu said she would prepare something special. Toshiro went up deck to look for Momo as Yuzu had told him to. When he spied her, he called her over:
"Hey Momo, want some watermelons?"
"Watermelons?", Momo repeated as a memory flashed though her mind.
"Do you like watermelons? I really like them, especially cooled ones in the summer."
"Really? I like them as well", Momo giggled.
Momo laughed at the sweet memory. Her clear tone rang over the deck.
"Yeah sure Cap'n!"
Toshiro looked a little confused at her laugh but simply thought her weird. Some of the crew looked up at the sound of her voice. Some smiled at seeing Momo have fun.
Momo followed Toshiro downstairs to the kitchen. Yuzu was cutting some watermelons and arranging them on a plate. She gave small plate to Momo with two slices on it and a big one to Toshiro with what must have been half of a watermelon on it.
Curious, Momo looked at the chef who noticed her inquiry.
"The Captain loves watermelons."
[I see.]
Momo's head bobbed up and down in understanding.
While she leisurely ate her pieces, her eyes wandered to Toshiro's plate and found it almost empty.
"You really like watermelons, huh?", Momo unintentionally blurted out.
"Yeah", was the short answer and Toshiro immersed himself in eating again.
"I like them as well", Momo whispered.
Toshiro heard Momo even though it was barely audible and looked rather wistful for a second but the girl beside him stayed unaware.