The Ninja and the Pirate Ch. 14

14 The Island
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Kiku's hands touched the cold wet sand as he dragged himself onto the shore. He had allowed the ocean to direct him where to go, and this is where she decided to take him. Shivering he looked around. It was now sprinkling lightly and he spotted an island in the distance. He began walking along the beach determined to find out where he was. After a while (around 6 hours) he found himself back to where he had started.

'So she decided to bring me to an island,' he thought as he started to make his way to the island's center. By now the sun was rising, the clouds were still covering a portion of the sky, but the wind was slowly beginning to blow them away. He grabbed as many sticks as he could find and brought them back. He put them down on a rock so that the sun could dry them before heading back into the forest. He kept bringing more and more sticks as well as grasses so that they would dry. After checking the bigger and longer ones he grabbed the small knife (it had been strapped to his arm) and began sharpening it to a point.

He went back to the section of the island where he remembered having seen fish. After catching some he went back, started a fire with the dried sticks and grass. Then he cooked the fish after cleaning it.

'This will have to do for now. But I need to get off this island and go back home, and deliver the news to my brother.' Kiku sighed as he calmly ate the fish before putting out the fire. Grabbing the rest of the sticks he had he headed to the cave he found. Then he went and continued exploring the island looking for anything else he needed. He found a stream nearby, and he quickly drank his fill. Satisfied he got up and began looking for anything else he might need.

That night he just sat on top of the cave, gazing up at the stars. Inside his mind he was mapping the constellations and star positions. 'If I am correct then the way home is in that direction. But I will need to head South as well. Looks like he was headed to the Northwest. So I need to go Southeast. I will see if I can make a raft out of anything tomorrow…'

Time Skip

Kiku frowned as he looked down at the water. He had been able to find some stuff, but he needed more if he wanted to go back home. He sighed and hugged himself as a cold breeze went by. The temperatures have been slowly dropping for the past couple of days and he knew that the weather in the North would remain cold until spring. The temperature drops probably meant that another storm was on its way.

He sighed as he continued to study the fish swimming below. He shifted his spear a little bit as he spotted the one he wanted. He was about to move when he heard strange noises, as if someone was approaching. Last time he checked apart from the fish, seals, and the seagulls he was the only other living thing on the island. He immediately stood up and took off, and he could hear footsteps chasing after him.

'Damn it. I was hoping to have gotten rid of them.' He continued running checking once in a while to see who it was. He easily recognized the person chasing him. He made a wide circle in order to lose the person. Then he quickly headed back to the cave and started getting the little things he had managed to make from the island's resources. He was grabbing the last thing when he heard noises outside. He froze and pointed the spear at the entrance. No one was there, but he could hear the voices from the bastard and his crew.

'Why in the world did they even bother trying to find me? Wouldn't it have been better for them to assume I died?' He backed into the back wall of the cave, eyes on the entrance. He knew the bastard was stubborn, but seriously, what are the chances of someone surviving after falling into the ocean during a storm? Or for them to land on one of the many islands that were nearby?

Something foul started to fill the air, which he quickly identified as smoke. Bastard! Is he trying to smoke me out? Kiku moved to one of the corners of the cave and covered his mouth and nose with the sleeve of his kimono. It did offer some protection against it, but eventually he began coughing as the smoke began filling his lungs.

He could feel tears forming in his eyes as the smoke continued to deprive him of oxygen. But he made himself stay where he was and not run outside. He would rather die of smoke inhalation then have to spend the rest of his life chained to the bed of the bastard.

At some point he heard footsteps, but he just continued to sit there, hoping the person would go away. Instead he heard the person approach him and kneel in front of him. He felt a wet rag on his face, covering his mouth and nose. He struggled a bit, but he was already on the verge of passing out as the person carried him out of the cave. The rag was taken of his mouth, and he ended up coughing all over again as his lungs tried to get rid of all the smoke he had inhaled.

Whoever the person was gently lowered him to the ground. A blanket was wrapped around him and someone gave him water. He accepted the water in order to sooth his irritated throat. After a while the person picked him up and carried him off. He felt himself get put down on a wooden surface. Ignoring everyone he kept his eyes closed as he heard them chatting. He drifted off for a while, but he woke up as he felt the person pick him up again.

He felt himself get transferred into the arms of someone else. He immediately recognized who he had been given to, Arthur. He heard Arthur speak briefly with someone else before the pirate walked off. Kiku felt himself start to fall asleep once more, and the last thing he noticed was that the pirate had once more lowered him onto a soft surface…