ugh, this took forever to write. I'm so sorry guys. This just isn't a fun part of the story to write and I have had a bad case of writers block when it came to this story. But that's over! We get to move on! Next chapter will be more exciting but also please read this chapter because it's pretty important in the story. Actually, really important.
Edited by BluePixieKimiko. (OH MY GOD SHE IS AN ANGEL SENT FROM ABOVE! She helped BIG TIME on this story. I mean, you guys would not enjoy this story if it wasn't for her so it goes without saying but I'll say it anyway, thank you so much to her!)
enjoy the chapter :)
Days passed and the cuts and bruises from the flogging had started to heal. Akihiko and Masamune were only given small portions of food to eat once every day. Usually their meals consisted of stale bread, old fish, and raisin. Akihiko and Masamune had to share the food, cutting their servings in half. The prisoners made due for about a week and then they started snipping at each other, bickering over every little thing.
While Masamune was sleeping, one night, he unconciously kicked Akihiko in the stomach. Akihiko woke up and attacked Masamune, rolling over and grabbing his neck. "Would you STOP KICKING ME IN YOUR SLEEP?!"
Masamune was wide awake when Akihiko had grabbed him, so in return, he wrapped his hand around Akihiko's neck and flipped their positions. "You're so whiny! I'm trying to SLEEP HERE! JUST LIKE THE REST OF THE ENTIRE SHIP!"
"WELL I WOULD BE SLEEPING IF YOU HADN'T KICKED ME!"
"WELL I'M SORRY I DISTURBED YOUR SLUMBER, YOUR MAJESTY!" Masamune growled right back at Akihiko. They realised suddenly what they were doing and released one another, panting as they sat back and rested against one of the walls. Akihiko ran a hand through his hair and sighed.
"Look at us…"
"What's gotten into us?"
"It's the confinement. The solitude. We're going mad."
Masamune shook his head and faced his friend. "We need to find a way out."
"How?"
"We come up with plans all of the time. It's not hard for us. C'mon, Akihiko."
Akihiko looked at his friend, giving him an unsure look, and rolled his eyes. He scooted forward and crossed his legs. "Alright...what do you got?"
"Well," Masamune had to pause for a moment. He looked around the room for any ideas and finally, something came to him. "Oh! Okay, so…you know how that one night guard is always sleeping?" He paused so Akihiko could listen to the sound of loud snoring up on the ship. "Well, we could get on deck, sneak past him, and steal one of the row boats, then row our way back to Spain!"
Akihiko nodded. "Okay, great idea, really, it's good...but how are we going to get on deck?"
"That's your job."
"My job? You got the easy job!"
"Akihiko-Akihiko, come on, think. Now isn't the time for arguing."
Masamune was right. Akihiko sighed and scanned the area, hoping something would spark an idea when an apple fell from the well above them and landed on Akihiko's head. He was about to get really mad when he suddenly came up with a plan. He grabbed the apple and looked up.
"Masamune, give me a boost."
"What? Why?"
"No questions, just help me up."
Figuring it was best not to question his friend, Masamune did as he was told and lifted Akihiko up so he could reach the bars of the well. He stuck his hand out in the open and waved the apple around. "Horsy! Horsy, come here!"
"It's name's Suzuki."
"Suzuki?" Akihiko froze, "you know, I once had a teddy bear named Suzuki-"
Masamune rolled his eyes. "Akihiko! Pay attention!"
The horse must have heard the call and came closer to the brig, sniffing at the apple Akihiko held in his hands. Akihiko got chills as he felt the warm, fuzzy mouth brush against his fingers. Akihiko pulled the apple down and smirked. "Suzuki, go get a pry bar. Can you do that? A long piece of metal?"
"Akihiko," Masamune was officially starting to believe his friend had gone insane. "He's a horse. He doesn't know what a pry bar i-"
Before Masamune got the chance to finish, a ring of keys fell to the ground next to his feet. Both Masamune and Akihiko looked down, staring dumbfounded at the object. Without having to even look, Masamune could feel the smug look on his friend's face.
"That is not a pry bar."
"Oh my god, shut up for once, would you?"
Akihiko quietly shut the brig door while Masamune untied the rowboat. There was a guard sleeping on the other side of the deck but they weren't too worried about him. He was such a heavy sleeper, he could sleep through a storm. One time, it was actually raining lightly in the middle of the night and they could still hear him snoring on like nothing mattered.
"Akihiko, can you help me?"
"Yeah sure." Akihiko stepped onto the live boat and held onto the ropes so Masamune could get in too and they began to lower the boat. Suzuki, the horse who had helped them out earlier, stuck his head over the side of the ship and began to neigh.
"What does he want?"
"I don't know!"
"He's going to wake up the entire ship!"
"I know!"
"Did you give him his apple?"
"No."
"Well do it!"
Akihiko sighed and tossed the apple up into the air, watching it disappear to over the deck. Suzuki disappeared along with it, but moments later, he was in the water, struggling to stim in the huge waves.
"Masamune, what do we do?"
"Leave it."
"We can't just let him drown!"
"Yes we can. I know you don't want to let him, but we can't do any-"
Really, Masamune didn't think just telling his friend to stay on the boat would work. He rolled his eyes and paddled toward the man swilling next to the horse. Masamune threw them the rope and tried reeling them in but a huge wave flipped the entire row boat. Now that both of the men and the horse were all in the water, and the rest of the ships were coming towards them at an alarming rate, they had to think fast. Akihiko still had a hold on the rope and was suddenly struck with an idea. "Masamune!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. "Tie the rope under his belly and flip the boat over!"
"Okay!"
Well it would have originally been easy to do, but Suzuki was scared and not so good at staying afloat so he kicked and kicked, making it had to swim under him without getting kicked in the head. One blow to the head from that horse and they'd be out so they had to be careful when swimming under. When the rope was finally secure, Akihiko and Masamune both pulled themselves onto the belly of the small boat and pulled backwards. Their weight, along with a little help from the waves, managed to make the boat flip back over right side up. They made it just in time to ride the wave from the last ship.
Masamune and Akihiko both lay in the boat, panting and gasping for air. The water had calmed down and they could finally relax. Only long enough to realise that all of their supplies had been lost in the chaos.
Over the next few days, Akihiko and Masamune were tested by the sea. Roaring storm waves that tipped the boat multiple times, extreme heat that parched them to the point of drinking sea water, and hunger that drove them to wanting to eat each everything and anything in sight. They grew too weak to fight with nature any further and they started giving up. Akihiko lay with his back pressed to Masamune's and Masamune doing the same.
"Akihiko…" Masamune whispered with a gruff voice.
"Yeah?" Akihiko called back.
"I'm really going to miss this. You know, our adventures and all of the fun we had."
Akihiko chuckled. "Me too. You know...you remember that one time we met those guys in barcelona?"
"Which ones?"
"The street dancers."
"Ohhhhh," Masamune chuckled and grinned. "Yes...yes I remember them well."
"Yeah...that was a good time."
"It was."
They were silent for a while longer and Masamune scoffed. "Do you remember the time we were in Madrid and I nearly cut your arm off because you fell in the middle of one of our get away sword fights?"
"Yes yes! Or the time we did the running of the bulls?"
"Oh yeah! I almost got impaled by one of the horns!"
"Oh lord, we sure had fun."
"We sure did."
They two men were silent for a while. They sat quietly and let themselves think of all the good times they had. During that time, it seemed to go unoticed that the boat had stopped moving. When they finally did notice, it was only when they felt the warm grains of sands running through their fingers. Masamune looked down and back up, the straight ahead.
"Akihiko…"
"Huh?"
"You might want to look at this…"
Akihiko turned around and sighed. "What is it, Masamune? I'm tired and weak and-" He shut right up when he realised what Masamune was talking about.
The small row boat had somehow made it to a small deserted island. It may not be spain, but it sure as hell beat the sea. Akihiko and Masamune raced to the shore and began to kiss the very sand they walked on.
"WE MADE IT!"
"WE'RE ALIVE!"
"WE AREN'T GOING TO DIE AFTER ALL!"
"WE'RE GOING TO LIVE!"
While the two friends were celebrating, they must not have noticed the skeletons and skulls that bordered the beach. Either they didn't notice or they chose to ignore it. Either way, it was clear that despite the fact that they had finally found land, they were still stranded on a remote island which wasn't much better than being lost at sea.
And so, their next adventure began.
Again, the next chapter will be much more interesting than this. I promise.
Tell me what you guys think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? What could I improve on? I NEED feedback!
oki doki, that's all. Thanks for reading.
Bye bye!