DOWNWIND

Juri was sure that he was going to die. The gun in front of his face was going to be his death, yet he hadn’t even done anything in the first place which could in any way justify the action of the person in front of him. 

“Any last words?” 

In silence Juri stared at the man pulling the hammer of his gun back, holding it right towards his forehead. He wasn’t playing tough, he was dead scared, unable to voice out anything. He wasn’t even supposed to be here. Here at Port Royal, one of the deadliest pirate harbors of the Caribbean. Yet he had gotten himself into this situation through thinking he could reach an impossible goal by just jumping off a random trading ship at this harbor.

“Well then,” the man spoke again and in a last attempt Juri tried to bring out some words. Anything to make him stop, as begging for his life wouldn’t even be embarrassing to him right now. 

But right before he could find the courage to speak, his attempt to bring out words was replaced by his body jolting with a gasp leaving his lips the moment a second gun had been fired, leaving the man in front of him cursing as the bullet had gone right through his hand, forcing him to let his gun drop. With wide eyes Juri stared from one to the other until the person to his left spoke.

“You better get out of here or the next bullet will go straight to your head.”

At first the man was outraged, ready to attack, but when he turned towards the other one he made a step back. Without even getting his gun he retreated in such a hurry that Juri worried he had just stepped from one mess into the next.

“I would hurry with a thank you.”

Juri hurried to lift his gaze as he turned to the person who had shown up without any of them noticing, now his gun lifted towards Juri.

“Thank you,” Juri brought out faster this time, while his body was slightly shaking as he could have been the one getting shot a few seconds ago. When he looked up his fear changed to slight curiosity. The person in front of him was of his age, yet he didn’t look at all like a simple crew member or worker of the harbor. High black boots, an expensive looking brown embroidered long coat with a wide belt. A sword and dagger were put on that belt while his gun now also got put back into the halter on its side.

“Whatever you did, you should make sure to not repeat it.”

The other one looked up at Juri with a dangerous glare while Juri kept analyzing the other one’s features. Blond straight hair, a few strands on the right side had some blue bands tied into them. 

“I didn’t do anything,” Juri voiced out when the other one turned around and usually Juri would just leave it at this, but it was already nightfall and he just knew that he wouldn’t survive even a single night at this place. 

“Then maybe that is exactly what’s wrong with you?” The other one asked. “Weaklings like you shouldn’t be at this harbor. Whatever your business is at this place, you better end it fast.”

“I have no business at Port Royal. I am looking for a ship to bring me to my destination,” Juri spoke again, daring a step closer when the other one made an attempt to leave once more. He looked slightly annoyed by Juri’s words, yet he turned back to him once more.

“And where exactly is that destination?”

“The Republic of Pirates.”

The other one’s eyes widened on Juri’s words before he burst out laughing, making Juri slightly angry. The way the other one scanned Juri’s clothes, showed how he thought he was crazy. Who wouldn’t think that? Juri himself thought so. He was dressed like a royalty member who had been tossed out of bed too early. Which was exactly his situation in one way or the other, but right now that topic was too complicated to explain.

“Someone like you will die on arrival at that harbor.”

“I didn’t die here.”

“And who do you thank for that?” The other one asked with a charming smile, mocking Juri.

Juri dared to click his tongue, but found his calm immediately as he didn’t miss the shine in the other one’s eyes changing.   

“Can you give me a safe passage to the Republic of Pirates?”

“You do know who you are asking this, right?” 

“A pirate I assume?” Juri asked, knowing exactly that he had to take the risk or he would never make it. That was how he had ended up in the first mess. People weren’t welcoming at this place in common, but him trying to ask around for someone who was willing to let him on their ship, had pissed off the wrong people.

“Do you have money on you?” The other one asked, already seeming to know the answer.

“I can help out on your ship. It will take at least a few days so I can make myself useful over that time to repay you.”

“Careful with vague promises, the crew might see another use for you,” the other one said, but his smile was playful this time as he gave Juri another thoughtful scan before he waved his hand. “Let's find out if you’re brave or stupid. I might allow you on my ship, but whatever happens from there is fully on you.”

Juri gave the other one a grateful nod, knowing that he was taking a huge risk, yet the other one’s words had him stop and tilt his head. “Your ship?”

With another smile the other one made a hand movement down to the harbor, a beautiful three masted black galleon with the Jolly Roger visible at the main mast, raised high.

“Kyomoto Taiga, Captain of the Rogue Renegades pirates.”

Juri kept looking down at the massive ship, the crew putting new provisions onboard while they were talking, but suddenly his courage had slightly left him.

“My ship won’t easily get attacked and definitely not sunk without a fight, but while my crew can most likely give you the safest passage to your destination, you have to understand that we could also be your grave.”

Juri understood that more than well. Not many would dare to pick a fight with them and those who dared, could end up dead just through the wrong words. A reminder on how short tempered pirates were and that he had to watch his own temper. One wrong word or step could have him end up exactly the same. 

“So what will it be?” Taiga asked, ready to leave for his ship while Juri’s thoughts were racing until he remembered why he was taking all these risks in the first place. If the marine caught Taiga’s ship then that would be a problem for later. Other pirates weren’t such a threat to them, but no one would care for Juri’s life in a battle between outlaws.

“Let me join you,” Juri finally let out with more determination while his stomach was still twisting from the slight smell of blood in the air and the risky decision he had just made.

“Then welcome onboard-” Taiga said, tilting his head while stretching out his hand.

“Juri. Tanaka Juri.”

Juri hurried to shake the other one’s hand to not delay him even more and he could just hope that he had made the right decision at the right time. Taiga was a young captain, yet his ship and his crew seemed to be more than capable of making it through the Caribbean without trouble.

“Well then, Juri, let’s see how much use you can be on my ship.”

***

Whistles greeted them when Taiga boarded his ship first, Juri hurrying to follow him.

“Another stray, captain?” One of the crew members teased and immediately approached Juri, but the crew member was pretty young and his steps were playful and not threatening.

“Hands off, Reo.”

The warning coming from Taiga, had Reo pull his hand back right before he was about to touch Juri. He immediately pouted while the other crew members laughed at him.

Juri let his eyes wander over the ship, for a pirate ship it seemed extremely well taken care off. The crew also didn't look like most others he had seen so far. They were all pretty young and Juri wouldn't immediately think of them as pirates if he stumbled over one of them at any harbor.

“So is he going to stay with you captain?” Another crew member asked, his teasing obvious.

Taiga made a step back towards Juri and then pushed him towards the crew member.

“And just like this we have a volunteer. Thank you Kentaro,” Taiga said before he yelled over the ship for everyone to get ready to leave.

“You wait here,” Kentaro said as he pointed at Juri, his look anything but amused now that he had to take care of him. Kentaro hurried after Taiga who made his way up to the quarter deck. “Where to, captain?”

Taiga turned to his crew with a serious expression before he faced Juri for a brief moment. 

“The Republic of Pirates.”

His announcement had the crew silent for a moment until another crew member yelled at everyone from the quarter deck to get ready and not waste their time.

“Can you sail?” Kentaro asked Juri when everyone started moving in a hurry.

“Yes.”

That reply surprised the crew member, but his stunned expression soon changed to entertained. 

“Well then, up there is the navigator, Aran. Don't go on his nerves.”

Juri only nodded, looking at the crew member who had shouted at everyone to get ready. Now he was talking to the captain about the course. 

Slowly Juri felt calm enough to analyze them all a bit more. Most crew members were dressed a bit more simple than Taiga, but most of them also had high boots, swords and guns and long hair. It seemed to be a habit for this crew to braid things into their hair. Aran had some almost white parts in his brown hair, which was up in a half ponytail. Reo had short hair like Taiga, but in black and only with one side braided up over his ear with no visible other color. Kentaro had several colors mixed in his hair which was also not long enough to make a ponytail, but it already reached his shoulders in the back.

“I'm the second mate, so don't get on my nerves either,” Kentaro warned him strictly, before he pointed at Reo who was half hanging in one of the nets, trying to untie the sail ropes. 

“He might not look like it, but Reo is our master gunner. He's fun to be around until you piss him off. So don't.”

“So in general don't piss anyone off on this ship,” Juri said, making Kentaro laugh.

“Fast learner, like that you might survive until we arrive at our destination.”

Kentaro kept explaining everyone's positions, Juri having trouble remembering who was who, but they went under deck before he could have another look at the remaining crew members.

The quarters were actually nice, the crew not too big to have to cramp everyone under deck.

“And now you'll tell me what the hell you want in the Republic of Pirates?”

Kentaro’s tone had changed the moment they were under deck without anyone else and Juri gave him a confused look. 

“There is no way the captain would just make his way there without a reason and the only reason he could have right now is you.”

“I asked him for a safe passage and he accepted. I'm not here to cause trouble. I'll help out on the ship as best as I can and then I'll be gone as soon as we reach the harbor.”

Kentaro snorted on the other one's words before he stepped in front of him with a more threatening look. “You've no clue about the islands and harbors lying on the way to our destination and you're totally avoiding to state your reasons. Taiga might be nice enough to give you passage, because he has a weak spot for strays, but be careful. These territories are lawless and all of us will gladly throw you to the sharks if you're making this complicated.”

***

Juri had tried to get used to his surroundings as fast as possible and as promised he helped out as much as he could, better actually than most of them expected. Of course most of the crew had made fun out of him and tried to find duties he would embarrass himself with, but Juri knew how to sail a ship, even of this size. He wasn’t a newbie to the sea or rough people in the first place, but he also knew that he shouldn’t test his luck and he stayed out of trouble for the first day. 

Unfortunately he couldn’t really relax even at night as nightmares kept haunting him and after the third half swallowed scream and way too sweaty getting cotton clothes he decided to sneak on deck. 

With a deep breath he rested his elbows on the railing, looking ahead at the still dark horizon. The only bright place on the ship was the captain’s cabin and Juri wondered if Taiga was awake. 

“I would not disturb him.”

Juri had turned towards the cabin and at his first step Reo landed on the railing right next to him, startling him to such a degree that he accidently pushed Reo.

“Oh shit,” Juri yelled and tried to get a grip on Reo’s leg as he feared he would shove him off the ship, but Reo laughed as he had indeed been pushed off the railing, but came back right away as he was still holding on to a trope. A rope he had used to get down from the crow’s nest. 

“You need to learn to be on high alert in this kind of environment,” Reo said as he sat down on the railing while Juri had one hand on his chest, trying to calm his racing heart.

“Taiga would have killed me if I had thrown his master gunner overboard.”

“Oh, already on a first name basis with the captain?” Reo teased.

“What? No, of course not…how do I address him?” Juri asked as he hadn’t even thought about it yet.

“Well with the crew it’s definitely easier. You can call me Reo and I will call you Juri, because I hate calling people by their last names,” Reo said with a bright smile. “The captain on the other hand…Aran calls him by his first name, but not on official business. If anyone outside the crew is around you should make sure to call him captain.”

“I will try to remember that,” Juri said as he turned back to the captain’s cabin as the light got turned off. When he looked over his shoulder he realized that in less than an hour the sun would rise already.

“I call him Taiga too,” Reo said as he looked at the dark cabin now. “But only if he is in the right mood for it.”

“What exactly is the right mood?”

“Definitely not the one he will be in today after not getting enough sleep,” Reo said with a laugh following. 

“Why is he staying up so long?”

“Who knows.”

It was definitely not the answer Reo would give to one of the crew members, but Juri couldn’t be trusted, not yet. But he also didn’t mind. It wasn’t like he trusted them. This was the last place he had imagined himself in the first place, but right now he needed to use whatever method to get to his destination. A sudden wind gust hit the mainsail and the mast made a squeaking noise.

“Well, I guess we will get a storm,” Reo said as he looked behind him towards the west where Port Royal lay already a day behind them. 

“Hopefully a not too bad one, the next harbor is still a day away,” Juri said before Reo gave him a knowing lopsided smile, which made Juri immediately bite his lip.

“Sneaking around already, well that makes you fit in with us quite well. Just make sure that Aran is not catching you using his maps.”

Juri had not stolen it or anything, it had just been at a good place at a convenient time and luckily he could read maps easily. 

“If the storm gets bad then you can at least impress Taiga,” Reo teased before he jumped off the railing and headed down to the quarters as he had taken the night shift at the crow nest.

“Staying alive here might already be impressive enough,” Juri said to himself as he watched how the sail got another west wind push, which worried him.

***

Juri had tried to play down how tired he was over the morning hours, but soon Kentaro pulled a rope out of his hands with a click of his tongue.

“Not used to nights on ships yet,” Kentaro said as he tied the rope down where it was supposed to go minutes ago already, but Juri had spaced out.

“Sorry.”

“Wow, so polite. Well that can help you later on for sure,” Kentaro teased before he pointed at the deck. “Scrub the main deck and then take some rest. You are not of much use if you make mistakes through being tired.”

Juri just nodded as Kentaro didn’t wait for a reply and got up to the quarter deck instead where Aran was waiting for him. They both looked worriedly towards the west where they could see dark clouds now and hear thunder approaching.

Scrubbing the deck was definitely an easier task right now as trying to concentrate on complicated tasks like getting the sails adjusted to the strong wind. Still a bit too tired to concentrate much, Juri didn’t realize that someone had stopped right in front of him until he almost brushed over the other one’s boots.

When he looked up and found Taiga standing in front of him, he hurried to stand up and almost knocked the bucket with the water over. But while Taiga had definitely slept even less, he didn’t look tired to him at all.

“Were you given any other duties after this?” Taiga asked.

“No,” Juri replied as he looked over to Kentaro who only gave Taiga a small nod.

“Then follow me,” Taiga said and turned back to his quarters without looking back. Juri hurried to put everything aside and get his hands at least a bit clean before he dared to step into the captain’s quarters.

The entire ship was pretty clean already, Juri had immediately realized that, but Taiga’s quarters reminded him of those he had seen on other kinds of ships. Those kinds were someone would expect such a decorated and clean cabin.

“This ship wasn’t always owned by pirates,” Taiga clarified right away as Juri had been looking through the room with wide eyes and a stunned expression. Now he hurried to fix that and look back at the captain.

There was a dark wooden desk with a heavy chair behind it on which Taiga sat down, but there was no chair for Juri to sit on, not that he minded. There was actually a corner with two chairs and a small table where they could have both sat down, but the least Juri would do now was complain about high society problems.

“Here,” Taiga said as he pushed some clothes over the table and Juri gave them a questioning look. “Your clothes don’t fit on this ship and they stink.”

It was the small teasing smile Juri showed that got Taiga’s attention immediately so Juri hurried to show a neutral expression.

“Did I say something funny?”

“Not at all,” Juri hurried to reply.

“Then why did you laugh?”

“I did not-”

“Then why did you grin? Even if you didn’t make a sound, you were amused by my words. Let me guess, you thought such words from a pirate were amusing? Stinky pirates on their dirty ships and yet they want you to dress nicer around them and wash yourself?”

Juri was left speechless as he hadn’t seen Taiga’s harsh words coming and this time he took a moment to choose his words before answering, but Taiga’s serious expression made it easy to find the right reply.

“My apologies. I indeed just assumed what you said. My opinion about pirates was indeed not the best until here and the happenings at Port Royal didn’t help either. But your ship and your crew definitely surprised me.”

“And I didn’t?”

Juri almost rolled his eyes at the way Taiga tried to find a scolding in everything he said, but then Taiga actually showed a teasing smile and leaned back in his chair. “Relax, I’m just playing with you. It’s not like I will throw you overboard after allowing you on my ship.”

This time Juri finally relaxed a bit more, but still only nodded.

“But there is one serious question I indeed need to ask you,” Taiga said as he put his elbows on the table and rested his chin on the back of his hands. 

“You want to know why I travel to the Republic of Pirates,” Juri said, not even forming it as a question as it was obvious. 

“Well then, do you have an answer for me or will you leave me in the dark and just walk off this ship at our destination?”

“Would that be bad?” Juri asked, the seriousness in his voice surprising Taiga. 

“That depends on if your reasons for your travels could cause problems for my crew?”

“No one should know my face or my name. My presence should not be a threat.”

Taiga slowly nodded before he pushed the clothes even more towards Juri. “Well, I guess you still have a few days to decide if you want to let me know more or not, but if your presence indeed becomes troublesome then I will have you take full responsibility.”

“As so often,” Juri whispered under his breath with a look to the ground before he gave the captain a clear nod and wanted to reach out for the clothes, but at the same time the entire ship made a harsh movement starboard, forcing Juri to make some steps to the side, while Taiga didn’t move as the furniture in the room was locked down to the ground, but the clothes fell off the table and Taiga hurried to put some small lose items into locked drawers.

“Well, I guess you can now show us how well you are trained for rough waters.”

Juri hurried back on deck together with Taiga and the crew was already getting the sails in as the wind was now starting to mix with heavy rain and the waves started moving the ship.

“Juri, get under deck. Help Reo with securing the cannons,” Taiga ordered. Juri nodded and hurried under deck while Taiga made his way to Aran who tried hard to keep the ship on course.

“Oh, didn't fall off yet?” Reo greeted the other one when Juri arrived at the place with the cannons. They were secured all the time, but they had to be extra cautious with such a storm.

“Taiga almost made me believe that I'm definitely close to getting thrown off board.”

“Still sticking to the first name basis I see,” Reo teased when Juri helped him put another rope around a cannon.

“He's doing the same so I don't see a reason to be more polite,” Juri said with a grin.

Before Reo could reply they were both thrown half through the room by a wave clashing on the side of the ship, bringing a lot of water inside through the cannon holes.

“And now it's time to get out of here. If any of those things get loose, they will crush us,” Reo said and urged Juri to get back on deck. On their arrival the deck had turned into a slippery mess with water getting thrown on and off the deck through the waves.

Juri spotted Taiga at the helm, while most of the crew was trying to keep everything secure. 

“Everyone who is not needed, get under deck,” Kentaro yelled as he made his way over the deck, trying to not get caught by another wave.

If anything got loose then they would easily get hit by it, so only a handful of people remained on deck. Aran was with Taiga and Kentaro had definitely decided to stay on deck as well while Reo told other crew members to get under deck.

“Hold tight,” Aran yelled from the quarter deck when he realized first that another wave would tilt them extremely sideways. 

Everyone was able to somehow hold on to something, but then there was a squeaking noise from the front mast and then Juri realized that one of the ropes would most likely snap on another wind gust. 

Unfortunately Kentaro hadn't realized it as he was trying to get closer to Juri and Reo, but then one strong wind gust hit the mast, ripping a bit of the sail out of it's tied up position through which the rope tied down to the deck got way too much pressure.

“Kentaro, the rope!” Juri shouted and the other one turned to the railing, but at the same time the part the rope was tied to broke off, getting thrown right into his direction together with the rope. 

There was a painful yelp from Kentaro when the sharp wood hit him right in the face before he got taken off his feet and with that another wave swept more water over the ship, taking Kentaro with him.

“Shit,” Reo yelled when he started running the same moment Juri also ran to the front intuitively. 

Kentaro hit the side of the ship with his back, but a second wave was already on its way and this time it would take him overboard.

“Kentaro, catch,” Juri shouted as he got a grip on the loose rope and threw the part with the broken wood towards Kentaro. He caught it, but the question was if he could hold on to it.

Juri tried to lock his feet at a plank on the deck to pull him from the railing before the next wave hit, but he got taken off his feet by it as well and Kentaro lost grip on the wood.

Juri was sure that Kentaro would be lost, but right when the water dragged him over the railing, Reo jumped after him with the rope in his hand. 

There was no way Juri could hold two people, but he still didn't let go of the rope and started yelling at himself when he reached the railing and put his feet on it with all his might, leaning back with the rope half around his waist, so that he wouldn't get dragged over as well.

“Hold on,” Aran was heard behind him when he grabbed Juri under the arms, locking himself in so that Juri would gain more weight. Just a few seconds later more crew members stormed on deck and they were finally able to pull Reo and Kentaro back onboard. 

“Everyone get off the deck,” Aran shouted at them, making them head under deck. 

Juri turned around to the quarter deck, but Taiga was concentrating on the course and the waves. But Juri didn't miss the way he looked down to the deck a few times.

“Juri, hurry,” Reo urged him as he pulled him down to their quarters, but then Juri made the other one halt.

“Reo, your hands.”

“They will be fine,” Reo soothed him, but he had caused himself a lot of bruising and cuts through the rope. His hands were also shaking through the force he had used to hold onto it with another person dragging him down with his weight.

“Let's see how Kentaro is doing for now.”

Juri nodded, but wanted Reo to get his hands treated as well. Luckily Juri knew that they had a medical person on board and exactly that person was already checking up on Kentaro.

It was hard to get cuts and wounds clean on a ship and unfortunately Kentaro seemed to have sustained a pretty deep cut on his temple.

“Are you okay?” Reo asked Juri while they were waiting for Kentaro's injuries to be checked up on. Not that it was easy to do so in the first place with the entire ship harshly moving forth and back.

“I think so. A bit shaken and some bruises, that's it,” Juri said as he looked at his hands which had a few bruises from the rope and his legs were hurting a bit as well.

Reo received medical support next while Juri walked up to Kentaro who had half of his face bandaged for now.

“Are you okay?” Juri asked, knowing that Kentaro had a back injury as well as he had let out a hiss when he got checked for other injuries before.

“A cut and a sore back. I'll survive it.”

“Glad to hear that,” Juri said, suddenly feeling like he was in the way. The storm had calmed down a bit, but they still had to watch out for high waves making them stumble through the ship.

“I should maybe check up on the cannon room,” Juri said as he wanted to leave. 

“Thank you,” Kentaro said before the other one could turn around. “There was absolutely no reason for you to risk so much for me or anyone here. I can't even promise that we would have rescued you if it had been you falling.”

“I didn't do it for any reward or other reasons. It was just a natural instinct to help.”

“Then I have to thank that instinct,” Kentaro said and let Juri leave as he realized that he felt weirdly uncomfortable.

The cannon room was miraculously undamaged, just a bit drowned through the high waves. 

Juri took a deep breath when he leant against a wall and closed his eyes for a moment. Like this he would be haunted by even more nightmares the next night.

“We're not stopping?” Juri asked when Aran let them know the next morning that they would not make a halt at the next harbor.

“There is no need to,” Aran explained, bur Juri gave a worried look towards Kentaro who was on deck while he should definitely rest. The damage on deck wasn't too big, but they still tried to fix as much as they could. “You want to get to your destination, right? Don't forget that the captain is choosing this course because of you.”

Juri gave the other one an understanding nod and refrained from asking more questions. They worked through half of the day and Juri went up on the quarter deck, looking over to the island they could have made a stop at. 

“We're close to Tortuga so there is no way the captain will stop at any of these harbors if not necessary,” Aran said as he stepped next to Juri. “Trust me, we're all grateful for your help and we understand your worry, but this territory is not ours.”

“So there are other pirates.”

“Not just others,” Aran said at the other one's naive words. “If it's just about pirates then there are hundreds of ships in each territory, but there are also those crews that are leading those territories.”

“Are you leading port royal?” Juri asked.

“More or less,” Aran said with a nod. “The rough renegades pirates have made their strong name with the lost diamond in Panama at first.”

“Lost diamond? Is that the name of the ship?”

“The captain chose it,” Aran explained.

“This might be a dumb question, but why do you keep addressing him as the captain in front of me? I heard from Reo that you usually call him Taiga.”

“But only in front of people who are as connected to him as I am,” Aran replied.

“Fair enough.”

“So anyway, from Panama the crew grew through the captain’s strong reputation. A clean ship, good leadership, fair payment and no unnecessary fighting.”

“Doesn't even sound that much like a pirate ship,” Juri said.

“Yet we're indeed all renegades. People not accepted or needed in society. The captain doesn't easily let anyone join the crew. The reason he offered you a passage through such dangerous waters is because he saw something in you.”

“Another renegade,” Juri said with a nod as he looked over to the now almost not visible coastline.

“But I guess you're not here to stay, right?” Aran asked, but Juri only lowered his gaze to the waves. “No need to reply. Just know that the captain wouldn't offer his help easily.”

***

It was in the early morning hours of the next day that things turned bad, very bad. With an open injury on sea it wasn't easy to keep bacteria away and even with some medical supplies, Kentaro had ended up with an extremely high fever and an infection on his cut face. 

Reo had woken them up after he had realized that Kentaro was trying to play down his condition, but this time Taiga was the one who showed up next to the medical crew member and when they removed the bandage it was painfully visible how infected the wound had become with black necrosis now all over the wound.

“What do we do?” Reo asked, but Taiga remained silent for a moment.

“How long can he keep going with this infection?” Taiga asked the crew member.

“Maybe a day or two? His blood will get poisoned like this. With the heat he might not even last until nightfall in the worst case.”

“I'm going to be fine. It's just a stupid infection,” Kentaro complained, but just speaking seemed to exhaust him as he didn't even bother opening his eyes. His entire body was slightly shaking and even without touching him, Juri was sure that he was burning up with the way he was sweating.

“We'll change course,” Taiga announced and without any question all crew members moved, but Kentaro reached out for Taiga's arm before he could walk away.

“It's not worth the risk. The only harbor on this route left before the republic of pirates is on Cuba.”

“Exactly, but it's also none of the five main harbors,” Taiga replied. “Yet the only one which could have a doctor.”

“But what if-”

“Then we take care of that problem at that time,” Taiga cut the other one before Juri even got to know what exactly they were talking about. “Juri, let Aran know about the new course. We will have to delay your arrival at the republic of pirates for a bit.”

“That's okay with me,” Juri said with a nod and gave Kentaro a worried look, but the other one let out an annoyed growl when he fell back with closed eyes. 

“Trying to pull one person out of his grave while shovelling your own.”

Juri didn't want to know what that meant and luckily Taiga made him leave to report to Aran. 

They had avoided Tortuga because of another leading pirate crew, so Juri was sure that they were avoiding Cuba as well. But with no main harbor on this side of the island, he hoped that they wouldn't run into trouble. 

***

“We're not entering the harbor?” Juri asked perplexed when Aran gave the order to let down one of the small boats when they were around one of the cliffs at the small Cuba harbor. 

“The captain doesn't want to cause uproar,” Aran explained. “These are not our territories after all. We are here to get treatment and medication, not to cause the crew even more trouble.”

Juri nodded understandingly while Taiga and Reo helped Kentaro in the boat. It took until nightfall for them to arrive and they had to wait until the morning hours to make their way to the harbor. Over that time Kentaro’s condition had worsened a lot. He had kept groaning in pain over the entire night, his fever forcing him down at some point, but now he could barely walk, half collapsing into the boat even with Reo's help.

“Are you not going with them?” Juri asked when Aran remained on board.

“I'm in charge of getting the ship out of danger if we are getting unwanted company.”

“Right,” Juri said, scanning the ocean, but right now there were no other ships visible. When he looked back at the boat he met Taiga's stare, immediately feeling like he had done something wrong or forgotten something.

“Hurry up,” Taiga said with a head movement to the boat.

“You want me to come?” Juri asked perplexed, but hurried when Aran pushed him to the rope ladder to get down.

“You showed your worth in the storm, don't disappoint him now,” Aran warned him while Juri made his way down to the boat. He has no intentions to run or cause trouble, after all he had a goal. 

Juri and Reo tried their best to make it through the dangerous waves at the harbor. It wouldn't help Kentaro if they had to swim the rest of the way. 

To Juri's surprise they made it to a doctor without much trouble. Taiga was able to pay him and that was all he needed to know.

“Reo, you stay with him,” Taiga ordered as they had left the room after some first treatment. But the doctor had to clean the wound and restitch it. After that Kentaro would need some rest and receive some medication before they could hopefully leave in the evening right away.

“Where are you heading, captain?” Reo asked while he didn't seem annoyed by the fact that he had to stay behind. Someone needed to be around just in case after all.

“We're going to get some extra provisions. I want to make sure that we have enough fresh water and food,” Taiga said, not adding that he was worried for Kentaro's condition to worsen again, but that was obviously his thought behind his sudden provision adding.

“Make sure to have a close look on your surroundings,” Reo warned Juri when Taiga had already turned and walked away.

“I will try, but I'm not sure what to look out for.”

“Mostly guns pointed to your head,” Reo teased before he urged Juri to leave.

The harbor was already lively in the early morning hours with a lot of fishermen getting their boats ready.

“Did you ever go fishing?” Taiga asked. Such an innocent question that Juri needed a moment to reply.

“Yes, a lot actually. My family lives close to a harbor. I loved to run up to the docks in the morning to help out.”

When Juri looked up at Taiga, who was walking next to him, the other one showed him a teasing smile.

“What? Is that weird?”

“No, not at all. It's just the very first private matter you were willing to share.”

Juri bit his lip as he realized that he had indeed maybe already said too much, not that it was a big secret where he lived before, but he didn't want to get too close. There was no need for private talks.

“For now let's get some food from the market and then some water before we leave,” Taiga said as he headed towards the small stalls alongside the road at the harbor where some traders got ready for the day.

Juri followed in silence, immediately falling silent again after he felt like he had shared unnecessary information, but his attention soon landed back on Taiga when he realized that no one seemed scared of him and why should they? The captain showed the market people calm smiles and talked with them like any other person on this market did. Sure he had a sword and a gun on his belt, but that wasn’t necessary where everyone’s eyes went right away, not with that beautiful smile. When Juri caught himself staring unnecessarily long, he made sure to offer to carry the first provisions they were getting. 

“You don’t have to carry it all,” Taiga said as he snatched away a small box from Juri after he had tried to balance the boxes after they got almost everything they needed. 

“I can carry more than you think,” Juri challenged, but maybe he shouldn’t have said that, because Taiga casually dropped the box back on the other ones, making it impossible for Juri to see where he was going. Before he could get hurt Taiga snatched the box away once more, right before a corner and a small alley to the side. 

“I am sure you can, but right now those provisions are more important than your pride,” Taiga teased before he walked ahead as the alley didn’t give enough space for both of them to walk next to each other. 

Juri immediately pouted and got ready for a snappy reply, but then Juri could hear someone approach from the back and he got ready to move faster so that they weren’t in someone’s way. There was another alley to the side so they could get out of the way, but before he could even ask Taiga if they should move, the situation took the most surprising and unsettling twist when Taiga stopped on the spot right at the next alley and turned around towards Juri and lifted his gun up without any hesitation.

Juri immediately stopped, but before he could even try to analyze where he had messed up, he could hear the hammer of another gun getting pulled back behind him.

“Don’t move,” Taiga said, so serious and with such a dangerous look that Juri didn’t even dare to nod. “What the hell do you two want? We are busy.”

The laughter that followed came from the side alley and another person got into sight, holding a gun right towards Taiga. Juri was sure that the captain had realized both their presences before Juri and yet he was pointing his own gun over Juri’s shoulder at the person behind him instead of at the direct threat next to him.

“No greeting?” The one closer to Taiga asked. He was a tall figure, as young as them and obviously a pirate as well. 

“Will you fuck off if I give you one?” Taiga hissed back.

“He might fuck off after you fucked him,” the one behind Juri said. 

“We both know that he only fucks the captain,” the tall one said with a laugh and to Juri’s surprise Taiga remained completely calm. 

“You shouldn’t challenge your luck a second time,” Taiga warned them. “The last time I saw the midnight shadow you ran from the marines with tucked tails.”

“And now remember whose fault that was,” the one behind Juri said as he stepped closer, but Taiga also lifted his gun with a warning look. “The captain wants his payment. You were the one to run.”

“We never had a deal that decided what kind of payment he’d receive,” Taiga reminded them, but as Juri wasn’t able to fight easily against them, there was not much they could do and the two crew members knew that as the one closer to Taiga dared to moved his gun towards Juri instead. “You want to pay with a life then? I bet the captain wouldn’t be satisfied with that, but he told us to make sure to remind you that he doesn’t like to wait.”

“As if we came to this harbor to meet the all so mighty Black Navigator pirates,” Taiga mocked, but to Juri’s surprise he lowered his gun. 

“Now it is your goal,” the one behind Juri said as he pushed Juri to the front and that so harshly that he had to drop the boxes, but Taiga only dropped the box he had still in one hand on top of the rest and made a head movement at Juri to walk with him.

The tall one walked in front and the other one walked behind them, but when Juri finally dared to turn around, he realized that they were both extremely tall and he gave Taiga a worried look.

“Just remain silent and calm. This has nothing to do with you, so don’t give them a reason to make this about you.”

Something Juri should definitely consider. This wasn’t part of their stop on this journey and while he had so many questions, he knew that he shouldn’t ask a single one of them. His journey was his private matter and so was the one of Taiga. Pirates getting into trouble with other crews wasn’t uncommon after all and while Juri could just hope that he would get out of it alive, he didn’t want to see Taiga getting hurt or killed either. Not that he could say for sure yet who was the villain in this sudden encounter.

Minutes later they had walked through some back alleys of the harbor area and while some people were of course crossing their way, the crew members had put their guns back to their belts for now so no one would pay them much attention. Juri kept giving Taiga side glances, but it didn’t seem like he would try for a sudden escape and weirdly he also didn’t look too worried.

At a place that didn’t even look like a secret layer they stopped. It was a normal stone house, even if it was located a bit away from the busy main streets. Before they entered, the one walking in front held out his hand and while Juri only looked a bit confused, Taiga took his sword and gun to hand them to the other one.

“Are you sure you don’t have any hidden weapons?” The other one asked Juri.

“You should ask me that instead,” Taiga said as he turned to the other one and actually pulled out a dagger from his boot and handed it towards the other one blade first.

“So protective,” the crew member teased before he pushed them ahead to enter the building. 

They had obviously had this layer for a while now, not that it seemed like Taiga had been aware of it. Whatever was going on was obviously something Taiga hadn’t seen coming either.

The building had several floors and an open meeting space on the ground floor. They got greeted by whistles and whispers, some crew members only giving them hateful glares.

“You stay here,” the one behind Juri said, but to his surprise Taiga grabbed his wrist before he could touch Juri’s shoulder.

“He is not.”

“Oh, so demanding.”

And this time he really was. The obedience in Taiga’s eyes had vanished in an instant as he stepped closer to the other one.

“Know your place,” Taiga hissed at him and while the other one seemed ready to start a fight on Taiga’s words, the other crew member went between them, pushing his comrade to the back.

“Iwamoto, don’t you put a hand on him. Orders are orders.”

“Look, even Meguro gets it,” Taiga mocked, the tall crew member now turning towards him with an annoyed look, but different to Iwamoto he was indeed still a bit calmer.

Juri felt trapped in the situation as he didn’t want to stay down here with all those unknown pirates, knowing that they all seemed to have some kind of grudge against Taiga.

“Whatever,” Iwamoto hissed and urged them up the stairs.

On the next floor they were greeted by a corridor first and then they entered a room, which was unnecessarily over-decorated in Juri’s opinion, but then he spotted the person sitting on a way to over the top armchair between two huge windows and he immediately understood why the room looked as it did. That person’s outfit screamed pirate from head to toe. The wild hairstyle, with black and curly hair. The half open white shirt with a long black coat half hanging from his shoulders. The way he was sitting with one boot up on the armrest and then there was that shadow around his eyes, which Juri hoped wasn’t natural, because if it was then he would look extremely unhealthy. The rest of the room was a mess, yet kind of artistic, with random ripped curtains everywhere, but over the windows. The wide bed was also a layer of random sheets, pillows and blankets and even the floor had carpets randomly laying half over the next one.

There was no need for the crew members to announce themselves, the captain was looking straight ahead at Taiga. Iwamoto and Meguro remained at the door, but Juri didn’t dare to move away from Taiga’s side.

“What an honor,” the young man in front of them said, his voice everything but amused. “I thought my men were mocking me when they said they saw the lost diamond on the open waters.”

“And here I couldn’t spot the midnight shadow in the harbor. Seems like you finally learned how to lay low.”

Taiga’s reply was direct and cold, triggering a reaction Juri hadn’t seen coming. The other one was up on his feet without delay and then he reached out for his gun. There was something in his movements that made Juri grab Taiga by the arm and yank him to the side and that right in time before the other one shot right into the wall. 

Juri wanted to yell at Taiga for not moving. He obviously knew the other one, so he should have seen this coming and yet he hadn’t even tried to move out of the way by himself.

“Got yourself a lapdog?” The other one asked as he now moved his gun right at Juri, but the danger of him shooting again seemed to be low this time. “Or more of a fuck boy?”

“What do you want Hokuto?” Taiga let out coldly once more and this time Juri squeezed his arm warningly as he hadn’t let go of him yet. He was maybe clawing his fingers a bit too harshly into his arm, but at the moment he had to fear for both of their lives.

“What do I want?” Hokuto asked before his expression changed, first it was only a chuckle, then when he stepped back it was close to a manic laughter. “What could I possibly want?”

Taiga remained silent and this time Hokuto lost it once more, but instead of trying to shoot him again, he went for his throat, pushing him so sudden and forcefully into the wall that Juri had to let go of Taiga and before he could try to interfere, Iwamoto had pulled him aside, holding him back.

“You fucking bastard broke our deal, you left without payment and on top of that you left us without a warning. You can’t see the midnight shadow? You know why not? Because the fucking marine sank it, thanks to you.”

Taiga was seriously struggling for air by now, but once more he wasn’t really fighting back while he definitely could, not that it would make much sense as they were in the inferior position in the first place.

Luckily Hokuto backed off and let Taiga take some deep breaths mixed with some coughs before Hokuto’s eyes finally went over to Juri. 

“And who the fuck are you?”

“He is-”

“I did not ask you,” Hokuto growled at Taiga’s interference and just one look from Hokuto had Meguro stand next to Taiga, obviously already knowing that he wouldn’t like it when Hokuto approached Juri. Iwamoto backed off when Hokuto stopped in front of Juri, scanning him with an annoyed look. “So?”

“Tanaka Juri.” 

“And who the hell is Tanaka Juri?” Hokuto asked.

“I am a crew member,” Juri said while his eyes traveled forth and back between Hokuto and Taiga. “Temporarily.”

“A temporary crew member?” Hokuto asked as he looked over to Taiga once more. “In your life a lot of things seem to be temporary. Your loyalty, your trust, your interest in someone.”

“At least my patience level is steadier than yours,” Taiga let out judging.

“You are more than right with that,” Hokuto said before he turned back to Juri and gave him a harsh punch under the ribs without a warning. Taiga made an attempt to interfere, but Meguro stepped in his way. 

“What? He is only a random person on your ship, right? Why protect him?” Hokuto mocked before he grabbed Juri by the hair, forcing his head back after he had faltered a bit to the front. When he lifted his gun under his chin, Juri wasn’t that sure anymore if the other one just played games or if he was too furious to actually think straight enough to keep them alive.

“Hokuto-”

“Don’t you dare!” Hokuto hissed at Taiga when the other one addressed him casually. “One more word and I have you shut up forever.”

The warning was clear and obviously threatening enough to actually make Taiga stand back and remain silent when Hokuto turned his attention back to Juri.

“Then tell me Tanaka, why are you with a useless crew like this?”

Juri was hesitant to reply, but his attempt to look over to Taiga for help had Hokuto give a look at Meguro and Iwamoto. They hadn’t even done anything yet, but the threatening way they approached Taiga and seeing the captain back off this fast, had Juri reply.

“I am looking for someone,” Juri let out, resulting with the two crew members stopping, for now. “The captain was so nice to offer me an escort to my destination.”

When Juri didn’t explain more Hokuto raised an eyebrow before he pressed the gun even harsher up against Juri’s chin. “Go on. I will tell you when I got enough information.”

Once more Juri hesitated, but Hokuto’s patience level was indeed not the longest and he snapped his fingers, making Iwamoto immediately reach out for Taiga and while it was once more clear that the captain could fight if he wanted to, he didn’t and that even though he just got a knife put to his throat by the other one. 

“I am heading to the republic of pirates,” Juri said in a haste. 

“Mh, I feel like you cherish his life more than yours. A gun to your head doesn’t seem to concern you as much as a knife to his throat, but be careful, he might be the one putting a gun to your head next time,” Hokuto warned Juri, but right now that was not really of Juri’s concern. “So you were saying?”

“I fear that knowing about my reasons for my travels might bring trouble,” Juri replied honestly this time, but as he had unfortunately expected, trouble wasn’t something Hokuto seemed worried about. 

“So mysterious,” Hokuto said with some amusement. “Then let’s get to the point, who are you looking for?”

“The murderer of my brother,” Juri said and this time he had found a bit more courage as he hated talking about his intentions as he knew that he was acting ridiculous, but he was done sitting at home like the perfect son, behaving like the rest of his family, pretending like his oldest brother had never existed.

“And do you know who he is?” Hokuto asked, now more than excited about hearing more, while Taiga was now focused on Juri as well while the knife to his throat was still a threat.

“I have a name and I know I will find him at the Republic of Pirates.”

“Then who is that ruthless murderer?” Hokuto asked directly once more and this time Juri didn’t hesitate to reply. 

“The captain of the mouse peace pirates, Ueda Tatsuya.”

It was the first human reaction Hokuto showed when he lowered his gun on the mention of that name and he immediately looked at Taiga who was now looking directly back at him.

“Iwamoto, Meguro, out.”

“But, captain-”

“Out, now!” Hokuto said, making it impossible for both of them to argue and with a warning look Iwamoto pulled back his knife and gave Taiga and Juri both an annoyed look before he walked outside with Meguro.

There was a moment of absolute silence before Taiga let out a long sigh, almost sounding annoyed when he stretched out his arms towards the ceiling. “I thought you’d never make them leave.”

Juri looked dumbfounded through the room when Taiga walked over to Hokuto’s armchair and just sat down while Hokuto’s look was still kind of threatening, but his intention to kill them seemed gone.

“You,” Hokuto suddenly addressed Juri as he pointed at him, this time the gun in his hand luckily not pointed at him to threaten his life. “Sit down there and wait.”

Juri only nodded and made a few steps back towards the bed to sit on the side of it while he watched Hokuto walk over to Taiga. When he put his foot up right between Taiga’s legs on the chair, the older one looked up at him with a questioning look after he had made himself way too comfortable on the chair already.

“How dare you show up here unannounced?” Hokuto hissed at him as he leant to the front.

“Oh come on, how should I have known that you’re camping here? It’s not like I sunk your ship. Sorry about your precious midnight shadow by the way.”

Taiga had reached out for Hokuto’s open jacket while speaking, pulling playfully on the seam. “But aside from you trying to shoot me earlier, I am sure you missed me, right?”

For a split second Juri thought about getting up once more when Hokuto grabbed Taiga by the collar, but this time he was definitely judging the situation extremely wrong as he hurried to sit back down and look straight ahead towards the opposite wall when Hokuto pulled Taiga into a way too intimate kiss, which Juri didn’t feel comfortable looking at.

“As if you hadn’t caused me enough trouble until now, you bring a new troublemaker towards me,” Hokuto scolded when he retreated, making Juri turn his head towards them.

“Not that I invited myself here,” Taiga teased. “And unfortunately we cannot stay long. We had an emergency and we will leave before nightfall.”

“So you don’t want help?”

“Are you offering it?”

“Depends on the payment?”

Juri couldn’t quite follow the conversation, but he didn’t like the way both of them looked at him. 

“I cannot offer any payment and I also do not need any help,” Juri said. “All I need is-”

“To get to the Republic of Pirates,” Hokuto interrupted as he walked over to him and Juri hurried to stand up, but immediately backed off towards the wall when Hokuto came way too close. “And then what? You won’t last an hour there. One question about Ueda and you will be dead. One side glance at the wrong person, dead. One-”

“I get your point,” Juri hissed at him. “But my problems are my own to solve.”

“Why do you even want to take revenge? A dead person doesn’t come back through it,” Hokuto asked, but this time Juri remained silent. 

“Hokuto, you are scaring him,” Taiga teased from the back, but didn’t make a move to stand up.

“I am honest,” Hokuto replied, but kept his eyes on Juri. “You know, pirates keep to their territories most of the time, but we also like causing some uproar here and there.”

“We are talking about killing someone,” Juri said.

“And?”

The fact that the reply came from Taiga had Juri remember that the other one had indeed definitely killed someone before.

“Okay so let's get back to the point,” Hokuto said. “I might not have given you the best first impression, but with the right payment my crew can indeed be really helpful.”

“And mine isn't?” Taiga asked with a pouting expression, making Hokuto roll his eyes and walk back to Taiga and this time he handled the other one more roughly as he pulled him closer on the hair.

“You're not known to keep your promise of payment.”

Instead of feeling intimidated, Taiga pulled himself closer to the other one's face. “Wasn't it you who said that you accept three payments? I gave you one of them.”

“Be careful or I will let you pay with the last option next time.”

Hokuto shoved Taiga back against the backrest before he pointed at Juri who hadn't moved at all.

“You pay with money,” Hokuto explained as he walked closer again. “If you can't do that,” he continued while he reached out for Juri's face and the other one didn't dare to pull away when Hokuto put his hand to his cheek. “Then you pay with your body.”

Juri tried to stay calm, but he couldn't stop his body from taking a deep breath as he forced his mind to not shout at Hokuto for his inappropriate methods. 

“And if you don't want that option,” Hokuto said as he pulled back his hand, but remained close and the next second Juri jolted as he hadn't seen how Hokuto had pulled out his gun once more and held it right under his chin. “Then you can still pay with your life.”

“Thanks, but no thanks.”

Juri's reply came so fast and unexpected to both of them that Hokuto looked back at him dumbfounded before Taiga burst out laughing.

“I guess your help just got declined,” Taiga said with another laugh before he got up and pulled Hokuto away from Juri, resulting in Hokuto moving his gun right under Taiga’s chin instead. “Then why should I let you go today in the first place?”

Taiga gave the other one a challenging look on that question before he dared to touch the gun and pulled it up to his face. “Because I can still offer you payment for that nice act of yours. I have money on my ship as well, but I wonder if you'd be satisfied with it?”

“I could ask for your ship instead.”

“Never.”

“Oh declining payment after all?”

“Just that kind of payment,” Taiga teased before Hokuto pulled the gun back which had Taiga dare to reach out for the other one's collar. He made a move to touch the other one's lips with his, but then he put his head to the side, looking over Hokuto’s shoulder at Juri.

“You might want to try and get to know Iwamoto and Meguro better for a while.”

“What?” Juri asked in pure disbelief.

“You can also stay,” Hokuto said as he turned towards him, but pulled Taiga closer towards his body with his lips on the other one's cheek for a moment before he grinned back at Juri. “But then I will have you join.”

Once more Juri reacted immediately as he walked over to the door without a second thought. This wasn't an option for him. Taiga had said it, this wasn't about him and he didn't want to make it about him so if Taiga was fine with handling the situation this way then he wouldn't stop him.

Juri could hear a chuckle from both of them before he closed the door in a hurry and leant against it with a sigh. He wasn't sure anymore if this was worth all the danger or not. His life was in danger at any point, but his sanity was as well.

“Did anything happen?”

“Don’t ask, just please don’t ask,” Juri said and to his surprise Reo indeed didn’t ask a second time, which was also because Taiga left the doctors’ house together with Kentaro the next moment.

Juri had had a pretty uncomfortable day with Hokuto’s crew, not that anyone had tried to hurt him, but the fact that Taiga had easily thrown him into that situation had him angry at the captain for the rest of the day. They were still alive thanks to Taiga, yet Juri remained angry while they tried to get their provisions back in the afternoon.

Now Reo was helping Juri with carrying them, while Taiga had made sure that Kentaro was in a good enough condition to go back on their ship.

Even Taiga hadn’t said anything about the previous incident and they had all returned to the ship without anything feeling off for everyone else, at least until night time. Then Juri was suddenly stopped by Reo before he could make it to the crew’s quarter and after following the other one he found Kentaro and Aran waiting for him in the cannon room.

“What is this about?” Juri asked, but luckily no one looked threatening. Especially Kentaro should actually rest more, because while he had gotten really strong medication and the doctor had made sure to take care of the infected parts of the wound, Kentaro still looked exhausted.

“You tell us,” Reo said. “You might think everything seemed normal when you came back, but you’re not really good at poker faces.”

“So now we want you to tell us what happened,” Kentaro said.

“Why don’t you ask the captain?” Juri asked, his snappy attitude surprising the crew members as he crossed his arms to his chest.

“Well, it’s not like we can demand any explanation from him, he is the captain after all,” Aran said. “But if anything happened we would like to know.”

At least Aran was calm, yet Juri was still looking to the ground with a pouting expression, instead of replying.

“Did he tell you not to say anything?” Reo asked. “Or did anyone else tell you to?”

“We are both back without problems, isn’t that enough for you to know?”

“So something indeed happened,” Kentaro concluded and got up from one of the cannons he was leaning at and approached Juri. “We are not asking you, because we like gossip. We ask, because we know that Taiga likes to keep secrets and knowing when something bad happened to him makes it easier for the crew to adjust.”

“Almost getting shot in the head should definitely be on the list of bad happenings,” Juri finally spilled. “Not that I think it is something uncommon for pirates.”

Juri somehow expected the others to panic, maybe even to get angry, but then they all exchanged some weird looks as if Juri was throwing a fit over nothing.

“You do realize that I was sarcastic?”

“Well, it’s not that uncommon,” Reo said, shrugging his shoulders. 

“The question is who dared to put a gun to his head,” Aran asked.

“Hokuto did,” Juri said with a snort, rolling his eyes as if he already had a personal enemy with the other one.

“Hokuto?” Kentaro asked.

“As in captain of the Black Navigators?” Aran added.

“Yes…?” Juri asked, now getting worried, but then Kentaro was the first one to crack a smile and start laughing, but that movement actually made him hiss and sit back down on the cannon as he wasn’t feeling well enough.

“What the hell is so funny about what I just said?” Juri asked when Aran and Reo also chuckled at Juri's words.

“Well, let’s say you were extremely lucky and unlucky at the same time to encounter that crew,” Aran said while Reo put his arm around Juri’s shoulder.

“So, did you say yes?”

“Of course not,” Juri let out scandalized, feeling immediately embarrassed about even replying.

“Well, Taiga definitely did or you wouldn’t be back on this ship with him,” Kentaro said before he let out a kind of painful sounding sigh.

“Then we don’t have to worry about anything right now, so you can go and rest,” Aran said as he helped Kentaro up.

It was the way they casually left that had Juri speechless until Reo turned back towards him once more with a questioning look. “Aren’t you coming?”

“Do you not respect him at all or do you fear the Black Navigators that much?”

Juri’s sudden serious tone had Reo step back towards him and he had definitely understood Juri’s question the right way.

“The only one who is not respecting Taiga right now is you.”

Juri got ready to argue, but then he gasped when Reo grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer. “Let me put you in place for once. Taiga took the risk to go to that harbor to save a crew member, other pirates wouldn’t even have rescued him in that storm in the first place. Later on they would have just thrown his dead body to the sharks, like they do with all crew members who don’t survive the rough sea.”

Once more Juri made a move to interfere, but the small movement he made to make Reo let go, had the other one pull him even closer and for the first time he actually felt a bit scared of Reo. “So guess what he could have done with you or with the crew members who dared to threaten him. He could have just killed them, let them kill you or leave you with them. Yet he offered to get us all out of the situation. Just because you don’t agree on that kind of payment between them, doesn’t mean it is something to judge him for. He did what you couldn’t do.”

Reo shoved Juri harshly to the back, forcing Juri to take a few steps before he gave Reo a pissed expression, but Reo pointed at him. “Remember, we are pirates. Usually there is not even any payment between the crews. It’s the survival of the fittest. Hokuto could have killed us all and taken our ship today. The fact that he didn’t, should make you respect him, no matter how disgusted you are by his methods.”

By now Juri didn’t have much left to argue, but he was still angry, yet when Reo made a move to leave this time, Juri let out an annoyed sigh so the other one turned back towards him once more.

“You rescued Kentaro, because it was an instinct. You said that yourself. Be happy that Taiga doesn’t run with his instincts, but with logic. You owe him more than just a thank you for getting your ass out of the situation today. Better make sure to show that gratitude.”

***

The atmosphere had turned gloomy the next day even though it was lovely weather and they would only take about two more days to their destination, but while most of the crew members didn’t even know that something hadn’t gone as planned, those who did were now on Juri’s to ignore list. He had put a ridiculous pride up to stand his ground and keep his opinion, but when it was getting dark once more, Juri felt exhausted by his own attitude. He hadn’t spoken to anyone for the entire day, except for some crew members who told him what to do. Now he looked at Taiga’s cabin as he could still see candle light in it, while everyone else was getting ready to go under deck. 

Juri spotted Aran getting down from the quarter deck as they had decided to not go with full sails through the night. The Republic of Pirates lay in dangerous waters, they could get into trouble out of different reasons if they approached it unprepared.

Aran gave Juri a small side glance, but didn’t approach him and only looked up at the crow’s nest where luckily someone else was on watch this time and not Reo. That thought had Juri let out a long sigh as he felt ridiculous once more and then he finally got up from the last rope he had just put aside and approached Taiga’s cabin.

In silence he cursed at himself before he finally dared to knock. No reply. Then he knocked again, a bit louder. Still nothing. It was Juri’s annoyance that made him open the door without permission. Here he had found the courage to thank Taiga and the other one was ignoring him. So he thought at least. When he stepped inside the cabin he was surprised to not find Taiga at his desk or anywhere else right in sight. 

Juri took a few steps inside the cabin, remembering that behind some curtains at the side of the room, Taiga’s bed was standing a bit hidden. Taiga was already asleep, so he had most likely just forgotten to blow out the candles, something Juri would now do for him, because the ship catching fire wasn’t something he wanted to happen. Juri had already blown out most candles when he went over to the desk, but then he halted, moving around it when he looked at the map on the desk. It wasn’t anything special, just a map of the islands around, but Taiga had marked dangerous territories. Names of other pirate crews, marine stations and routine controls of marine ships were all on it, but of course this close to the Republic of Pirates there were usually not many marine ships. 

While studying the map, Juri sat down, intensely reading through the notes. What Juri noticed next were red marks on the Panama harbor and Port Royal, the two harbors the rough renegades pirates were most known at. The other pirate harbors were marked as well, but there was one more mark, different to the others, it had been put with a lot of force as a small hole was right in the middle of the circle that was drawn on a place that seemed to be more of a marine territory. A smaller port called Maracaibo, just a trading spot, yet something was definitely important about it. 

Next to the map the last candle stand was lighting up a small silver broach on the table. Juri took it in his hand with a scanning look. There was nothing special about it. The pin on the back was broken and there had been a stone or diamond in the middle of it, but it had obviously fallen out. 

“For someone who doesn’t like speaking about his own life, you really like investigating others. Found anything interesting?”

Taiga’s voice had Juri jolt and jump up from the chair, dropping the broach to the front so that it fell off the table right to Taiga’s feet when he approached the desk.

“My apologies. I didn’t want to sneak around. I came to talk to you, but you were asleep. I just wanted to blow out the candles.”

Taiga picked up the broach from the floor before he put it back on the table and gave it a look in silence before he looked back up at Juri. “I believe you. You already showed me that you don’t like to get yourself into trouble. You are not good at getting yourself out again.”

Exactly the topic Juri was here for and while he had the words on his tongue already he hesitated with his reply.

“You don’t have to thank me,” Taiga said instead. “Let me guess, the crew got angry at you.”

Juri only looked up at him, opening his mouth to speak, but then remaining silent, biting his lip.

“I don’t care what you think of my or Hokuto’s methods. You are not here to understand us or be part of our world. You are here to end the life of a pirate captain, yet you don’t accept help from other pirates. You have high pride. You are naive. Extremely unworldly.”

This time Juri didn’t get angry, because Taiga was right after all. 

“On top of that you are a liar.”

This time Juri looked up at the other one with wide eyes, but Taiga was walking towards the table in the corner, sitting down on one of the chairs. “You said unfortunate business brought you to Port Royal, yet you made your way there with a pretty serious purpose and almost got yourself killed on the first day out in the wild. Are you sure you want to proceed? Tomorrow we will enter the waters of the Republic of Pirates.”

“Yes, I will not back out now,” Juri said, finally finding his voice again. 

“Fine, but don’t judge me or my crew if you die on arrival.”

“I only asked you for a safe passage, nothing more.”

Taiga let out a long breath on those words before he stood up again and this time Juri hurried to finally move away from Taiga’s desk as he shouldn’t be standing behind it in the first place. Taiga stopped in front of him with a scanning and kind of scolding look.

“You remind me of someone,” Taiga said. “Someone arrogant and stupid. Someone who couldn’t ask for help and couldn’t tell the truth, but also couldn’t lie when it was needed. You have no survival skills and he didn’t either.”

“Did he die in these waters?” 

“A part of him did,” Taiga said, making Juri look at him questioningly, but Taiga only clapped him on the shoulder before he moved over to the table, blowing out the last candles, leaving them staring at each other in the dark room.

“You should make sure as well that only the weak and useless part of yourself dies here.”

***

“EVERYONE ON DECK! EVERYONE WAKE UP!”

Shouting together with the sound of a bell on deck had Juri jolt as he had barely slept, yet he wasn’t the only one as almost all other crew members hurried to get up and dash on deck at the same time. 

“What is going o- oh shit,” Juri replied to his own question when he made it on deck and stared ahead at incoming Marine ships, now visible to them as the sun was slowly rising at the horizon. 

“Why the hell are there so many?” Reo complained and immediately shouted at everyone to get the sails ready. 

“Most likely Ueda annoyed them or they just thought let’s be suicidal and roam the waters of the Republic of Pirates,” Taiga was heard as he walked between them, taking a look at the ships. Not just one, but three massive first-rate marine ships were coming their way.

“Do we fight?” Kentaro asked, but immediately got a scolding look from Taiga as he wasn’t even supposed to be up, but still resting.

“Aran, make a plan, fast. We will run, as long as we can,” Taiga said, walking over to the quarter deck, but then stopped next to Juri. “Your destination has to wait a bit longer or do you prefer getting escorted by the marine?”

Juri looked over at the massive ships approaching fast and then shook his head. “I doubt they will offer me that luxury.”

“Then it is decided,” Taiga said as he nodded at Aran who shouted at everyone how to set the sails before Reo got some people together to ready the cannons as running was possible right now, but they wouldn’t be fast enough without the right wind and current. 

“Can you fight?” Kentaro asked after Juri had tied down the last rope, but the marine was rapidly catching up.

“I know how to use a sword,” Juri replied.

“How about a gun,” Kentaro said as he handed him one and while Juri hesitated at first, the trust Kentaro put in him, giving him such a weapon in the first place, had him take it. “And just in case, here.”

Kentaro handed him a knife as well, which Juri immediately put on his belt. 

“You are more than welcome to surrender and explain your situation to them, it’s not like we can stop you. That is if they win.”

Kentaro spoke with a teasing expression, but while Juri was sure that against one ship they definitely had a chance, three were a bit too much to take on.

“Where is he trying to head to?” Juri asked as he looked up at Aran and Taiga on the quarter deck. 

“He is going to try and shake them off between the rocks of the Bahamas.”

“What? That is suicide,” Juri said as he knew what route Taiga was trying to take. The currents between the small islands and rock formations could easily rip their ship off course and into one of the lower reefs or cliffs.

“Well, not the first time we are taking such a huge risk, better get used to it,” Kentaro said as he hurried over the deck to help out with the cannons on deck.

“Getting used to it,” Juri repeated and while he didn’t even want to feel in any way happy about Kentaro’s words, there was this tiny little bit of him that finally felt welcome somewhere, even though it was in the midst of those he should call his enemies.

“Any last words?” Reo asked Juri when he clapped him on the shoulder with a smile after they had reached the cliffs of the Bahamas. The other one’s carefree reaction had Juri stare back at him without replying. “What? Did you think I would stay angry at you? I wouldn’t be on this ship anymore if I held grudges each time I fight with someone.”

“Good to know,” Juri said instead of letting out an apology, but Reo didn’t seem to need one in the first place. “And hopefully it is still too early for last words.”

“Good mindset,” Reo said with a laugh. “Then let’s get on the ropes? This will be a tough battle against the currents.”

“But we will definitely need it,” Juri said as the marine ships were already so close after not even an hour of chasing that Juri could see the people on the ship clearly already. They had way more crew members on one ship alone, not to forget the amount of cannons they could fire at them if they made it close enough.

“Everyone get ready,” Aran shouted as they navigated right into the first current between some huge rock formations. 

“We just need to make it through, that’s it. They cannot follow us with those huge ships,” Reo said as he and Juri pulled on the same rope, now having to listen to Aran’s instructions as they had to adjust the sails as fast as possible each time a current would bring them off course.

An unwanted sound from the back had them all turn their heads at once and Juri’s eyes grew wide on the incoming cannonballs. 

“EVERYBODY DOWN,” Taiga yelled from the quarter deck, yet that position was the most dangerous one and everybody jolted when one cannonball actually hit the side of the quarter deck, leaving a lot of wooden parts flying over the ship.

“Everybody pull to portside,” Aran shouted when the marine ship was obviously reloading their cannons. Luckily the remaining two ships were too far away to be of any danger, for now.

Juri tried to concentrate back on the task as they had to fear getting their ship shattered on a reef or sharp stone structure. 

Reo shouted up at Taiga on another attack of the marine ship if they should try to attack as well, but Taiga kept their focus on the front. They just had to cross over one or two dangerous reefs and then the cannons wouldn’t be able to reach them anymore.

“One more,” Juri hissed to himself as they all had to change to starboard, but the ship had to make such a harsh turn that Juri got thrown off his feet when the wind in the sails was too much for them to hold against. Before he was back on his feet another cannonball hit the quarterdeck and this time there was more uproar, but right before Juri wanted to look at the damage, Kentaro was next to him, yelling at him to get back up and pull. 

With several people they finally managed to turn, but it had been a bit too late and the ship’s side ended up crashing into one of the rocks, but luckily it had only been a part on top, so they wouldn’t just sink through it.

“We are out of reach,” Reo shouted as they could hear another round of cannonballs, but they only hit the rocks behind them.

“But not out of danger, stay concentrated,” Kentaro shouted and gave everyone orders how to navigate the ship, but that made Juri finally turn to the quarter deck and in shock he realized that the last cannonball had hit it straight on and with the other ship being way bigger, it had hit right on top of it, most likely leaving Taiga’s cabin in chaos as well, but that wasn’t what Juri was concerned about. Aran was at the helm as he couldn’t let go of it, but while Taiga had been standing next to him, he was sitting on the ground now and while Juri didn’t have any time to see clearly what had happened he was sure that he was hurt.

“Worry for the ship first, if it sinks then we all die,” Kentaro warned him and Juri hurried to concentrate back on the course until they finally managed to come to a stop in a small bay where they could stay hidden as they were sure that the Marine wouldn’t try to chase them with their small boats in these dangerous waters.

“Secure everything,” Kentaro shouted as he dashed up to the quarter deck when they had finally made sure that the ship wasn’t too damaged. Juri intuitively followed him, but stopped on top of the stairs while Aran and Kentaro crouched down next to Taiga.

“Just a cut, nothing bad,” Taiga immediately said, but the way he held the side of his ribs it was obvious that some wood had hit him quite heavily when the cannonball had hit the ship.

“Nevertheless you will have it checked out,” Aran said and looked up at Juri. “Juri, get the doctor up here.”

Juri only nodded and hurried back down. He hadn’t expected Aran to talk in this tone with Taiga, but then again Juri had already realized that Taiga wasn’t the type to easily accept help himself or show any kind of weakness, so forcing him to actually get help was the only thing they could do.

Juri had tried to keep himself busy as he didn’t want to interfere where he wasn’t needed in the first place. Eventually he had helped cleaning up the deck and while some other crew members were looking at a way to fix the broken parts, which would eventually need to be done by getting off the ship and getting some wood supplies, Juri carefully opened the door to Taiga’s cabin, which had somehow stayed intact, different to the inside of the cabin. 

Taiga had been brought under deck for now, so the cabin was empty and while Juri was sure that he would get into trouble once more, he stepped inside. The cannonball had hit the cabin from above, but luckily also went out through the side, so the floor of the cabin was still intact. The desk had miraculously also survived, but one shelf had been completely ripped to pieces, leaving wood, books and other things scattered all over the room.

At first Juri just started cleaning everything off the floor, making sure that all the sharp wooden pieces and glass parts from the window were all gathered at the same corner. When he put some books from the floor on the desk, he realized that the candle holder had fallen down as well and then he remembered the broach, but he couldn’t spot it.

In a hurry he scanned the floor around the desk, but as he couldn’t spot it anywhere he opened the drawers of the desk, stopping at the third drawer as a gun was placed in it and then he stepped back, realizing what he was doing. The broach shouldn’t even concern him, but looking through Taiga’s desk like this was something he would definitely get scolded for once again so he hurried to just place everything somehow back into order and leave the cabin.

“You like getting yourself into trouble,” Taiga greeted him the moment he had opened the door and instead of apologizing, he stepped back in, Taiga stepping inside the cabin as well instead of letting Juri leave.

“I- I wanted to make sure that the damage wasn’t too severe,” Juri said while he watched how Taiga walked through the room, looking at the damage himself.

“And?”

“And what?” Juri asked in confusion.

“Do you think it’s too severe?” 

“I mean- the furniture is mostly still okay and some planks can fix the walls…” Juri said, but then stopped and looked up at Taiga once more, the other one tilting his head at Juri’s sudden silence. 

“How are your wounds captain?” Juri finally asked as he should have asked that the moment Taiga had showed up in front of him randomly as if he hadn’t just gotten hurt.

“Fine,” Taiga said, walking up to his desk and nothing even showed that he had just gotten injured. “We need to get to a nearby town to get some material to fix the ship.”

“We?” Juri asked in confusion.” Captain, you should-”

“Rest?” Taiga asked as he grinned at Juri who cursed himself for his concern. Why did he even care? “So that we can depart faster, right? You have a destination after all.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Juri said, feeling immediately triggered by Taiga’s words, not that he wasn’t right.

“Then what do you mean?”

“The Bahamas have a Marine base.”

“I am aware of that,” Taiga replied before he reached out for the drawer with the gun, a movement that finally showed some pain on his face when he bent to the front. “That’s why we have to hurry. Those ships will definitely report back to their base at the port. If they are faster than us, then we won’t be able to sail out on either side of the reefs and will get stuck.”

Taiga put the gun on his belt and was about to leave the cabin again, but then Juri turned around to him once more.

“Is it okay for me to join?”

“Oh? You want to put yourself into danger again? There might be other pirates as well and the marine might not even listen to your story if they catch us.”

“If that happens then that is on me,” Juri replied, but immediately looked away when he realized that he was acting way too snappy.

Instead of getting angry though, Taiga gave him a lopsided smile before he aimed for the door. “Suit yourself.”

It was the provocative attitude that had Juri pouting before he indeed followed.