"Alright crew, we all know what we came here for," Captain says aloud. During breakfast this morning, Captain Morgan suddenly proclaimed that we would go to Ocra Island to stock up on supplies and information on Crystal Island. I sigh to myself and listen to Captain. "Russell, Nathan, go grocery shopping. Christopher, medical supplies. Eduardo, get information. And Thomas, we're goin' to the bar!" Captain chuckles. I roll my eyes.
"Um, Captain?" I speak up and he turns a bit to face me.
"Hm? What is it Sakura? Wanna come too?" He smiles, taking a step forward and placing a hand on my head. I take a step back and look up at him.
"Can I help with something?" I ask. I look at Captain anxiously waiting a response. He look at me a little surprised, but then smiles.
"Then help out Eduardo," he replies and I nod my head enthusiastically. Eduardo, on the other hand, doesn't seem too fond of the idea of me coming along.
"I have to take care of this kid?" he averts his eyes from me for a moment then looks at me with a glare. "Don't get in the way," was all he said, then he walked off.
"Ah! Wait!" I exclaim and quickly scurry off after him. As we walk down the street in silence, I spot a small, young boy and a teenage girl playing nearby. Ah, that reminds me of my older brother. Heh, even though the little one should be me. I smile gently, until Eduardo's voice brings me back to reality.
"Hey!" I get pulled out of my thoughts to see an annoyed Eduardo. "Idiot, don't just stop walking in the middle of the street, gawking at something!" he scolds me as he grabs my hand and drags me along behind him.
"S-sorry, just that, that girl and boy reminded me of my brother," I apologize, but he keeps walking and dragging me fast down the street. "Eduardo, please slow down! You're too fast!" I plead. Abruptly, he stops and I bump right into his back. "Sorry." I apologize again. After a few beats, he sighs and continues walking, still holding my hand. Great, now he's mad. At least he slowed down for me. We both continue to walk in silence, until we reach a bar. as we walk inside, the room was filled with barmaids, thugs, and pirates. A bit on the edge, I took a step closer to Eduardo.
"Sakura, is that you?" a familiar voice rings from behind me. Surprised, I turn around and see a tall man wearing a white tunic, an ivy green vest, brown trousers and boots. His face was refined, skin slightly tan, aqua-colored eyes, and chocolate brown hair, style similar to Russell's. A small smile spreads on his face. 'It is you. Sakura, its me Daniel." My eyes widen at the sudden memory. This person in front of me, my first best friend in Yamato as a child.
"Daniel, is that really you!" I exclaim in shock. I look back at Eduardo, who is now sitting at the counter trying to get information on Crystal Island from one of the bartenders. I turn back to Daniel and pull him to a counter nearby and take a seat. "What are you doing here?" I ask once I'm sure Eduardo's too busy to notice me gone. Daniel smiles and chuckles.
"Aw, you're the same as always," he laughs. I roll my eyes and shake his left arm for an answer.
"I'm serious!" I smiling a bit. Feels like old times. Daniel straightens up and stops laughing.
"Alright, alright, my uncle and I own this bar, I'm just working here for some extra money, that's all," he answers cheekily.
"Wow, so you live here at Ocra Island now?" I question, eyes wide with curiosity.
"Yeah, pretty much," he says. "Hey, do you want something to drink?" I nod eagerly. Daniel smiles then go to the back of the counter, and bring out ingredients. "So, what will it be Miss? Strawberry Shake?" I laugh at his politeness and shake my head.
"Are you even supposed to make shakes in a bar like this?" I tease and he puts his index finger to his lips whispering,
"Let's keep this a secret between us." He wiggles his eyebrows up and down and I smile, while rolling my eyes.
"Fine, you win," I laugh, hitting him lightly on the arm. We both laugh even more and Daniel returns to making the beverage. We continue to talk, as he hands me my drink and I take sip. As the sweet liquid seeps through my lips and touches my tongue, a burst of flavor fills my mouth. "Mmm, this is so good!" at my sudden comment Daniel's face goes a little pink.
"Th-thanks," was all he says, before turning to Eduardo, who now has an irritated expression on his face. Mmm, did he not get any information? Isn't that kind of impossible, considering bars are the best place to get info? Suddenly, Daniel's voice pulls me from my thoughts. "Hey Sakura, isn't that the guy you walked in with, why does he look so annoyed?" he asks, and I sigh in response.
"Well, probably because he didn't get any information on Crystal Island," I shrug and turn back to Daniel. His eyes widen and I look at him curiously.
"Oh, if you needed information about that, I can help you," he smiles confidently. I stare at him in disbelief.
"Really?" I ask and he smiles even wider.
"Yeah, I hear a lot of things in this bar that the bartenders don't even care to listen to," he reassures, scratching the back of his heads timidly. I nod in a gesture to go ahead and fill me in on the island and he straightens up. "Ok, they say that Crystal Island is located where all seas like the North, South, East, and West meet. And also that the island can only be seen by people of pure of heart,"he explains to me as I nod my head in interest.
"So what's on Crystal Island? I mean, why all the trouble to get there?" I question as I wait for Daniel to answer.
"Well, it's kinda hard to say,since nobody's either been there or came back to tell the tale, but they say that the kings and queens of the Uru people, placed each of their most valuable possessions there, even the crown of the last Uru queen," He says carefully. I nod my head a few times and ask one last question.
"Daniel, would there be a map to the Island?" He looks at me for a moment then folds his arms, thinking. then I see his face light up like a light bulb.
"There is one rumor that I'm pretty sure is true," he starts and I lean in closer, listening intently. "The map to the island was drawn by this famous pirate who died five years ago. It's said that the map was to be found in his grave along with his body at the Icelands. But apparently, it gets so cold up there with the constant blizzards, no one's really attempted to go there." I nod my head and smile.
"Thanks, I think that's all the information I need," I say, and he smiles. Abruptly, I feel a hand lightly bop me on the head. Ow, gosh. Rubbing my head, I look up to see Eduardo glaring down at me. A bit surprised, I shrink back in the seat I was sitting on. "E-eduardo, did you get any information?" After hearing my question, his face softens up a bit and he sighs.
"Nope, not one bit, stupid bartenders, also, why the heck did ya just disappear like that? You're lucky I found you right away, instead of wasting time looking for ya," he growls, clearly in a bad mood. Eduardo then look towards Daniel then looks back down at me. "Who's this?"
"Oh, this is Daniel. He my best friend since childhood in Yamato. Daniel this is Eduardo," I introduce, as Daniel smiles and nods his head, while Eduardo lets out a huff. Immediately, he starts pulling me by the arm.
"Come on, we're going back to the ship," Eduardo orders. "This bar won't help us find what we're looking for." I nod my head, and get up. I quickly say goodbye to Daniel and leave the bar with Eduardo pulling me along. All the while, I didn't know that five pairs of eyes were glaring and cursing at me from afar.