We'll Meet Again

It finally happened. Niklas, who enslaved the people on Craftsman Island, was finally knocked down on his back and defeated, with Kou being the victor of the battle.

It passed three days since that moment, and the black vision blurred out a colorful scene, revealing Yumiko's face, smiling. "Oh, good, you're awake." Kou quickly pulled himself forward, sitting up. He looked at his arms and legs, noticing no wounds.

He moved his hands and fingers, making sure he wasn't mistaken, and finally looked around the room. "This is ridiculous. Every time I try to do something right, I end up in bed. Why can't I fix anything?"

Yumiko was unimpressed by him. "Have you lost your memories or what, Kou? You were the one who defeated Niklas, and it's because of you that we could have brought you and Tim to bed without anyone disturbing us. You did well, kid." Yumiko chuckled, noticing that Kou was puzzled. "So, that was enough to make it stop? Does that mean others can be back to their normal lives?"

Yumiko stood up from the bed and walked toward the closet. "Yeah, that's right. You did the unthinkable, Kou, although you did cause quite a massacre outside of the docks, nothing to worry about. The major told us it's fine; It'll get fixed through time." She dragged out an orange hoodie and black pants and approached Kou.

She put the clothes on the bed. "Here, your clothes are messy, so use these for now. I'll wait for you outside for you to get dressed. Everybody's been curious about your condition. Do you need something before I go?" she asked.

Kou reached for the clothes calmly. "No, thank you. I'll come and find you when I dress." Yumiko grabbed the thread and tied her hair into her fluffy ponytail. "All right then." Kou began putting on the new clothes.

"So, I really did it? Maybe I finally did something useful, but my arm and leg still ache a little. I really overdid myself, huh? But, even after that, I must've still caused trouble for Ayuka to attend to my wounds. So, in the end, I haven't done anything special." He zipped his hoodie and looked in the mirror. He fixed his hair and then walked outside the door. He came across Yumiko who kept her word of waiting for him.

It took a few seconds for them to come outside and were instantly greeted with arguments. "Come on! Let me help you out!" Tim was frustrated at Ayuka while she was holding boxes. "Will you shut up already? You shouldn't move your arm! It's already been broken, and I can't heal your cracked bones! You already know that!"

He quickly snatched the box from Ayuka's hand, and when she looked at it, she became furious, veins popping on her forehead. "Hey! Give that back to me!" she retrieved her box that Tim stole and heard him complain. "Hey! That hurt!" he shouted, holding his wrist. "Yeah? Then stop being stubborn and go sit down! We'll take care of the rubbish!" she moved away from Tim, who was disappointed and upset.

Kou remembered what he witnessed these three days ago. He scratched his nostrils with his pinky finger and made a piggy face. "Those two just don't know if they want to be angry, sad, or happy."

Yumiko moved her hand on her hip, looking at him confused. "What does that mean? Ayuka's always angry at him. She gets angry at me too, and let's not forget that she yelled at you too for doing a poor job of keeping Tim in check." Kou slowly glimpsed at Yumiko, unimpressed. "I don't wish to talk about that. What I saw was the side of Ayuka I'd never seen. She's not what you think, Yumiko."

Kou stepped forward, leaving Yumiko unaware and bewildered. "Ha? Hey, now I *need* to know what you saw!" she ran after him. Kou didn't tell her either way.

Leandre stood inside a big open room with Kira having her back leaning against the sofa, with her breasts bulging a bit from under her shirt. "Kira, would you put on something bigger?! That shirt is too little for your... you know, torso." She lowered her jaw, unamused. "Oh, will you shut up? I've been feeling exhausted these last three days. I guess Niklas' curse did my body poor. I thought he told me that it would make me weary after 15 minutes passed, but when it did, I didn't feel exhausted until the next morning." She explained.

Bruno sat on the chair behind the table with his elbows leaning on the glass. "Maybe it's because you broke out of that spell before 15 minutes passed, and maybe that's why it didn't exhaust you until the next morning." Explained Bruno, looking at her. She yawned, "Maybe you're right," and then shut her eyes.

The door behind Leandre opened. Nicole and Luca entered, holding bags in their arms. "Ah, Nicole, Luca. Have you managed to find all of the treasure that Niklas had?" Leandre wondered, and watched the two of them dropping the bags on the ground, nearly crushing Bruno's toes. "Whoa! Watch out a little, will ya?"

Nicole looked at Leandre, while Luca sat down next to Kira, who continued weighing her whole body on the sofa's edge. "Yes, we have. These were the last of the bags that involved treasure. I hope that's going to be enough."

Leandre rubbed his beard, smiled, and nodded. "It should be plenty. I am pretty sure it will be more than enough. Very well then, I would like you Bruno to go find the White-Haired pirates with Kira." Bruno stood up from the chair and walked toward the door. He stopped, realizing that Kira didn't move. "Oh, for god's sake, Kira! Will you get fat ass up and do as told?" for the first time in a while, Bruno seemed quite intimidating. "Hey! My ass is not fat, 'kay? It's just on a more rounded shape, jerk!" Kira hopped to her feet and followed him outside.

Bow hammered the nail in the wood and wiped off his sweat. "There you go." He breathed in and out, then prepared to hammer the next plank, but the moment he tried to do so, Yumiko shouted out his name, and instead, he slammed the hammer into his finger. "Have you seen Kira and the others? Leandre told us to gather everyone and meet them at the hotel." Bow nearly cried out from the pain, but he turned around and stood up. Peter stepped next to him, holding a hammer.

"We haven't seen them? Tim and Ayuka were arguing about the boxes, and Ralphie's been in the kitchen preparing food." Yumiko placed her finger on the chin and thought. "Now that I think about it. We haven't seen Codey for these three days. Where the heck is he?"

Ayuka stepped from around the corner, holding the boxes, and then looked at them. "Oh, Yumiko, Kou!" she approached them with a smile on her face. "Looks like you're back to normal, Kou." Giggled Ayuka. "Um. Y-Yeah, thanks a lot, Ayuka. I really caused you trouble again." He politely bowed in gratitude, noticing Ayuka's confused face. "You're doing it again, Kou. Look, you didn't cause me any trouble. I'll gladly help if I can, just remember that." She confirmed. "Oh, that reminds me. Koume was looking for you. She's been worried, so I think you should go talk to her and tell her you're all right."

Kou's cheeks blushed in an instant, and he slightly turned his head to the side. He gently scratched his cheek. "O-Oh... Koume... Y-Yeah, just need to know where she is." Ayuka was easily able to tell that Kou was acting odd, but decided to ignore it. "She's been in the kitchen, helping Ralphie. They should be done with the preparations. I'm sure they have time to talk."

"Yeah, okay." Kou smiled and was directed to meet with Ralphie and Koume, which he reached in less than minutes.

He came running through the alleyway when Ralphie and Koume suddenly came walking from the door. "Wow, you're such a good chef, Ralphie! I really loved your food!" laughed Koume, happy and proud. "Yeah, I've had cooking as my daily hobby. I've been doing it for years now, and I've come up with some special recipes that I claim for myself." He explained, dragging even more curiosity from her. "Ooh, I can't wait to taste them one day. Although, I'm guessing not anytime soon. You were planning to leave the island when Kou was ready to go?"

Ralphie agreed. "Yeah, he's been out for quite some time, but don't worry. He's going to be all right, he's a strong kid." The moment Ralphie claimed, he got busted. "I'm not a kid!" Ralphie and Koume looked in front of them, seeing Kou.

"Hey, kiddo! You're up!" laughed Ralphie. Kou became unamused and bored of being called kiddo. "Kou..." Quietly said Koume, and seeing that he was fine nearly made her tear up. "Hey, Koume. I see you've been helping Ralphie in the kitchen." Koume got surprised, but she hurriedly hid her happiness, making a confident pose.

"Yeah, sure. His cooking could use some work, but it's better than my father used to make." She claimed, and that's when Ralphie became befuddled. "Hey! My cooking's great! I thought you said it was great too."

Koume scratched her itchy nose with closed eyes. "I lied." She was merely trying to hide her true feelings and emotions. "I think that Ralphie's cooking is great. Probably the best I've ever tasted." Kou said, and that's what instantly changed Koume's perspective. "Oh, yeah! Of course, I think the same!" Ralphie became angry, nearly dropping the basket he held. "Make up your mind!" but instead, she winked and giggled.

"Anyway, Kou. How are you feeling?" Ralphie stepped closer to Kou. "Oh, me? I'm fine!" Ralphie couldn't help but notice that Kou seemed to be happier than usual. "Huh, really? I guess Ayuka's treatment was more efficient than we thought."

"You talking about me?" Ayuka found a perfect moment to interrupt, and it made Ralphie fall in love. "Oh, Ayuka-swan!!" he started spinning on the spot, surrounded by flopping pink hearts. "I didn't think you missed me so much, Ayuka-swan!" Kou and Koume were both caught unimpressed. "He sure seems to become an entirely different person around girls." Claimed Koume who grabbed her basket with both hands. "Well, nothing changes in him," Kou said, then the two looked at one another. Kou smiled, but she remained confused.

Ayuka approached the three. "Kou. This might be a bit too fast to ask you, but, do you think you're ready to move on? We don't know what's been going on with Chiaki, and I don't think we can afford much more time. If you're still not feeling well, then you can wait here and we'll come and pick you up when we find her."

Kou covered his mouth with his fist and coughed. "No way! I want to save Chiaki as much as you do. There's no way that I'll stay here while you're going through all the trouble to find her. Of course, I'm coming with you. I'll just stay away from fighting a little if that's fine by you?" Ayuka nodded, smiling. "You bet. Then, we'll go find Yumiko and Tim, and we'll be on our way."

Kou placed his hands in his pockets. "But, how are we planning to sail without Codey? He's been our only navigator, and there hasn't been a sight of him." Ayuka blinked and put her palms on her waist. "Oh, I'll take care of that. I happen to have a better orientation than Codey had at times. Then again, Codey hasn't told us where he went, and he's definitely not on this island."

At that time, something flashed in Kou's mind. "Wait, hold on. Do you think he could've followed the WPDA when they left with Chiaki? If what I'm saying is true, then I think we have a bit more time before things go south entirely." Kou's idea made Ayuka quite confident. It was a believable statement that was most likely true. "Then I guess we better not waste more time and ask Leandre if he knows where the WPDA is."

Ayuka turned around. "Ralphie, bring the basket to the people and then meet us at the ship, all right? But don't waste time." Ralphie had no problems with her and did as told with hearts wrapping him tight. "Yes, Ayuka-swan!"

It didn't take them long to meet with everyone, and they waited outside the ship, with Leandre, Kira, Luca, and Bruno outside with him, holding bags.

Leandre rubbed his beard. "You are wondering where the WPDA lies? Well, I am not sure, but their headquarters is giant at the "la Isleta Cortada" if I recall correctly. I do not know where they hold executions, but if you wish to find your friend, then I recommend you to go look for her there. But, if you *do* intend to enter, I must warn you that it is dangerous and will not be easy to rescue your friend." Explained Leandre, while Tim yawned. "Yeah? Well, I don't care. I'm not letting anyone else put their hands on Chiaki. Whether that is pirates, the world government, or the whole planet. I'm not losing her, I need to find her, and if it kills me!"

They notice the determination and care in Tim's eyes. "You don't know who you're messing with. The WPDA is guarded by several agents, and they're one of the strongest people on the ocean. If Niklas gave you trouble, then they'll give you triple times more trouble." Bruno explained, but Tim remained careless. "Then I guess I'll kick their asses the triple times more." Bruno grinned a little, shrug with his hands. "Well, if you want to go, go. But don't say we didn't warn you."

Tim nodded. "There's something I've been trying to test out, so I guess that'll be the perfect time to test it!" he smiled, but not a single person knew what Tim meant. Leandre closed his eyes, crossing his arms behind his back. "Very well then, then head north of here. You need to pass Winterpeak Island to reach "la Isleta Cortada", so be prepared for some harsh weather. But before you do, please, we would like to give you a little something as thanks for your help."

Tim's friends became confused, but then noticed Luca and Nicole dragging the bags toward them. They placed them in front and backed away. "We have found some treasure below the mansion where Niklas resided before he was defeated. We would like *you* to have it. It will help you on the journey, and you will not need to worry about food and other expensive things too much."

Leandre's gift made Tim and his friends excited. Their eyes were sparkling and Tim raised his arms in the air. "I can eat again!" he shouted. "Wow, um, thanks. But you really didn't have to pay us for something like this. We were happy to help." Explained Ayuka, trying to ignore Tim's enthusiasm. "No, we would like you to have it. You have risked your lives on the line for the sake of this island. So. with all due respect, please accept our gift." Ayuka looked at the bags for a few seconds but smiled. "We really shouldn't, but if you insist, we'll gladly take it." She chuckled.

Kou had something on his mind. "Did you find that in that stairwell that had a wall blocking it? We found that with Tim. We tried to open it, but it didn't budge."

Leandre nodded, confirming Kou's thought. "Yes, that is the room we have found it. But we have more than enough money to rebuild the docks and the city hall, and all the damage that was done. It should keep you sailing for a while, and maybe you can even buy a new ship in the future. I can see that your ship has been through quite a mess. I am surprised it still hangs on." Leandre pointed out that the ship had been repaired multiple times. "Oh, yeah, that. It's mostly been done by Ayuka." Tim claimed, casually, until he suddenly felt a hand slap the top of his head. "Shut up!" Ayuka shouted, and Tim needed to grab his head from the ache.

"Hey, Tim!" Kira called out, holding a serious face, her arms crossed. "Don't forget. You promised to have a rematch with me. So the next time we meet, you better keep your word. Got it, Flamey. And don't think I forgive you for punching me in the face." Tim nodded with confidence and swiped his thumb on his nose. "Yeah, you bet. We'll fight when we have more time. I'll try to avoid punching your face, 'kay?"

Kira smirked. "You better. So, try not to die out there until you keep your promise to me." From hatred and opponents, it turned to friendly rivalry.

Yumiko looked at Bow, confused. "And, what are you planning to do, Bow?" she asked. "Me? Oh, I'm going to stick around for a while, help them sort things out, and then return to Harventona." Yumiko smiled and reached with her hand forward. They shared a handshake of confidence. "Look out for them, bud." Yumiko giggled, and Bow nodded. "You got it, Blue."

Then it happened. When everybody climbed on the ship and put the bags of treasure on them, Kou was stopped by Koume. "Hey, Kou." He looked at her. "Don't worry. I'll be fine. You make sure not to trust others so fast, okay?"

Koume felt a bit awkward. "Yeah, got it! But if I do, I'm sure you'll help out, right?!" she giggled, and that made Kou a bit shy. "Um... Of course." He gulped. "Good, then make sure to show those WPDA what you're made out of but try not to overdo it and end up dying. I want to see you again." Kou made a confident fist, shaking it. "Right. See you, Koume." In the end, Koume reached forward and shared with Kou a friendly hug, making him feel even more uncomfortable, but he accepted it and hugged back.

But then, it was time to move on, and Kou was the final one on the board. "You ready?" Ralphie asked, looking at Kou, who nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready to find Chiaki." Finally, Tim gave commands. They pulled up the anchor, opened the sails, and sailed into the distance in front of the sun's fall.

"See you again!" they waved with their arms as a goodbye, and Leandre, as well as the others, did as well, wishing them good luck.

They were ready to embark south, where their next destination awaits.

To be continued...