Piracy

The Yamato? I don't remember very much from history class. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? I know that if it's this specific ship that's going down then we must be reaching the end of the war. Personally I don't get why Kunikida likes this sort of thing. He would go on and on about his little figurines and sometimes he would take me to a tournament to watch him play. He was pretty good, by what I could reckon. I think he won first prize a couple of months ago. Come to think of it, his personality doesn't seem to be obsessed. I wonder how he picked it up?

But if this ship is capsizing then I should probably get him off and to safety. If he dies (I hope not) will I experience some sort of paradox? Tsuruya's older sister fought me all the way to her estate, and that triggered Tsuruya's challenge. During this time my cell phone got broken, so I had to pick up a new one and that triggered Fujiwara's ambush. Logically, that would imply a paradox. But why go through such a convoluted scheme? If he can send me into the past with such success then why doesn't he send himself? And what did he mean by 'bend the rules'?

"Tsuruya, do you know a way off of this boat?" I propped him up against a bulkhead.

"Why are yous being so familiars? But it's fines. Yous my drinking buddys nows. Nothing in between us, rights?"

Do you know or do you not know? I have a bad feeling about this.

"There's a couples of auxilary lifeboats to the rears. Dunno if anys are lefts..." He took another drink from his bottle. Man, could he drink.

I took away his bottle and hurled it into the sea. If he wanted to drink during a emergency situation it would only make things worse. Even in the past people are still irritatingly quaint. Is this how Asahina feels all of the time? Does she sees walking, talking anachronisms wherever she goes? And to be forced to adapt to a alien culture must be a sink-or-swim proposition. Poor Asahina.

"Heys! I wasn't dones with thats!" He grasped for the bottle that wasn't there any more. "Gives it back!"

You don't need to drink now. We need to get going.

"Why didn't you says so? Let's go!" He picked me up with one hand and jumped. I could see the ship actually shrink in the distance, so he must have jumped pretty high. Did I mention that the feeling of vertigo and my hidden fear of heights manifested right then? No? Well, I was screaming like a little girl, nowhere near any measure of manliness. If I was in any state of coherency I would be embarrassed.

"Alrights! We're heres, Smith. Happy?" I took a moment to throw up the contents of my stomach all over the floor. "Ah come ons, you drink one little sip and you already feel that bad?" He started to giggle. "Guess you are too much of a lightweight to drink too much of this stuff. My uncle always said that his homebrews could knock out a oxes."

I don't think that anyone could drink as fast as you can. That stuff tastes like vinegar.

"Ah, you talk too muches. Here's a boats. What do you want to do with its?"

I stared at the tiny boat. It was a rowboat. How was a rowboat supposed to get us out of here? More importantly, how am I going to convince him to leave the ship? He's high on the ultranationalism that is endemic during wartime. How am going to phrase it without sounding like a defeatist...

"We'll row out and we'll defend the home islands!" Thankfully, Tsuruya was soused enough to lack judgement on the impracticality of this. I don't think that a rowboat has ever sank a submarine in the history of warfare. I don't think that any rowboat can claim any sort of kill at all. But he looked determined.

"With my art of the sword, the divine wind will blow once again!" He pulled out the sword that all Tsuruya's seem to have. Perhaps he was allowed to keep it when he signed on. "Come, noble Smith! Let's go kill some foreigners!"

Wait! Stop! He dropped me in the boat and he leapt into the sea, carrying the rowboat with him. Do all of the Tsuruyas have this insane strength? I'm scared as to what exactly this family does – fight monsters? Godzilla? I don't think that those kinds of things appear very often in Japan. Thank goodness Haruhi hasn't found a interest in such a field. I doubt that the world would survive for very long.

The boat rocked to the staccato beat of the rowing. I swear, this man is nuts. If I didn't know any better I would think that I was trapped in some horrible historical revisionism anime. This is the kind of thing that Haruhi was talking about. A strange, foreign man trapped in the past with nothing familiar to aid him. Well, at least he isn't suicidally depressed anymore. In a way, he behaves like my sister. I know what you are thinking, but he's that immature. He spills his guts to a stranger and engages in this kind of naive bravado. But I can't complain, since he can probably crush a train in between his thighs.

"John! Do you haves my sword?" His voice could hardly be heard over the choppy waters. "I have urgent needs of it soon! hic" To punctuate his senseless statement, the Yamato exploded.

Words cannot describe how loud the explosion was. Imagine the loudest sound you've heard, to the point of pain. It was louder then that. My eardrums were ringing and the water started to get a lot more hazardous. The mushroom cloud of fire and death loomed large in the horizon. I remember this. It was in that film my father took me to see. It was a lot smaller and less threatening on screen, though.

"Shouldn't we look for the other ships?" I screamed, trying to shout over the noise. But it was no use. Tsuruya was paddling as fast as he could towards that speck in the horizon. Was it land? A friendly boat? Whatever it is, it can't come any faster.

A wave of water crested above us. The aftermath of the capsize of the Yamato must have created a tsunami. I returned to my only solace in life or death situations. If I were a shonen protagonist, some sort of deus ex machina would come along and save me. If I were a seinen protagonist, I would angst in thoughtfulness and die a good death. Wait! That's what I'm doing! Think happy thoughts, Kyon. There is probably nothing living on this earth that can save you at this point, so why bother?

The wave crushed the tiny rowboat and I was carried underwater. I held on for dear life, clinging desperately to the boat. The water had a brutal force that was carrying me away! It was so cold... my entire body is in pain. I was forced to let go. I kicked off my shoes and tried to focus on my remaining options. Which way is up?I opened my eyes only to be greeted with stinging seawater. I saw a flash of light, a shaft that decended from above. I saw little black spots in my vision – that couldn't be good. I didn't care anymore. It's too much for me. I just need to rest...

A strong hand grasped my shoulders and I was carried up. As soon as I surfaced I was gasping for air. Tsuruya hadn't forgotten me! I was busy revelling in the feeling of being alive and I didn't notice him saying something to me. All I could hear was a faint mumble, like the world was slowed down and the colors were faded. "-you alright? John? John! Can you hear me?" Tsuruya, now that my senses have returned to me, had really long hair. His hair floated like a green jellyfish.

"I'm fine, but what are we supposed to do now? The boat is a lost cause."

He grinned at me. A wave of water enveloped our heads and he sputtered. "My uncle always said the best hangover cure is a dunking into the sea of Japan! He was right! I feel better know!"

Aren't hangover cures supposed to be administered the day after? I don't think that it would do anything while you are drunk.

"I feel fresh! Since you are a foreigner, I'm not supposed to show you my family technique... But your resilience has impressed me, so I think that they'll make an exception for you." Tsuruya grinned again as another wave made its displeasure known. Have I mentioned that it's unpleasant to have a conversation in a roiling sea?

"Ah, er, sorry about that." He started flutter kicking intensely and I found myself in the air, nestled on his shoulders.

He was running on water.

Break

Surprisingly I didn't manage to lose my grip on his sword. Since he was demonstrating an ability that hadn't been seen in humans for millenniums, I refrained from screaming at the improbability of his actions. How can he run on water? Isn't there a issue of weight, water tension and other things? I have to accept these things in stride. If you think about it, walking on water is no more fantastic then time travel, esper abilities or advanced alien sciences indistinguishable from magic. I have to ignore these glaring impossiblities for the sake of survival.

"Where are we running to?" I asked. Tsuruya was so focused on his task that he didn't even look at me when he spoke. "The American destroyer. Where else?"

A closer look revealed that whatever that ship was, it was definitely armed to the teeth. It had cannons bristling everywhere and fearsome-looking anti-air cannons mounted on the ends. Don't you think this is a little... dangerous?

"Of course not, why would I admit fear at a time like this?" He turned to look at me. The cannons made themselves heard. Tsuruya jumped barely in time to dodge the shot. The payload made a very large explosion and my ears started to ring. At this point, I'm going to shut up and let Tsuruya do his doing. If he is confident in his ability to go one-on-one with a fully armed battleship then anything I say is only going to distract him. I closed my eyes.

Several ear-shattering and nausea-inducing jumps later, I felt him come to a standstill, the water no longer spraying into our faces. I dared to open my eyes. His feet were extremely bloody. No wonder! I thought he was some sort of super martial artist, but apparently even he was mortal! I may be in more trouble then I realized.

"Smith... I want you to take up my sword." He dropped me onto the deck of the destroyer. He sat down next to a crate and pulled out a knife. "I want you to kill as many Americans as you can. I don't think that I can run anymore." He looked even more depressed then he was on the ship. He was staring at the knife like it was was his last option.

"I want you to cut off my head to spare me the pain. Heh, I couldn't do it back at the Yamato, so why did I think it would be easier here?" He looked at me expectantly No, it can't end like this!

"Do it!" He started to yell at me, his fear bleeding into his voice. "What should we do, Smith? What can we do?" He looked so small, sitting by himself. "The home islands have no defense. The Americans will keep firebombing our towns, our cities! Operation Ten-Go was our only chance at forestalling them for long enough to ready a suitable defense..." He trailed off. "There is no hope, Smith. There is no hope at all." And for the first time I heard a man weep. It was not a good sound. It was the sound of a man that knew that he was already dead. This was the sound of a man driven to his deepest, darkest depths. It was a sound, that I, again, knew. I heard echoes of it in myself.

I started to laugh. I thought of the times when I was with the Brigade, the times when I would curse the heavens for my misfortune, that I would complain about the most trivial of things. I laughed for these things, and more. I must have laughed for a long time, for Tsuruya looked at me amazed. His tears dried, he looked at me quizzically.

"This isn't the end. Things never end. Stories never end. A very good friend of mine told me this. Stories end only when the author tells you it does. In your mind, the story will always continue, no matter how bad it gets. This isn't a suicide mission. You are going to get up and we are going to find a way to Japan, no matter how much pain or blood we have to give. Don't be selfish and give up. Don't you remember the reason why you fight? You fight for your friends and the people you love! They pin all of your hopes on you, so don't you dare give up. You hear me?"

Tsuruya looked down in shame. I stood there, my chest heavy with borrowed emotion, as we contemplated each others words. He was right. What could we do? Haruhi, I think a little of you is rubbing off of me, because the speech I just made couldn't have come anywhere from you. I think you'll forgive me if I don't tell the details of your revelation to him, will you?

And then he started to laugh. I joined him and we laughed for several minutes. He then looked up at me.

"You know, even in my last moments my mind was there, but my heart was astray. Even before I have shunned you, and I have not given you sufficient respect. I give you my most sincere apology. I would commit suicide now, but I would think you wouldn't like that." He smiled. "You are right. I have forgotten the reason I fought. I believe it is a failing of many men, but your intervention saved my spirit." And then he grinned at me. He stood up and knelt in front of me.

"My offences are too great to be mended with a simple apology. I swear my allegiance to you, worthy man. Tell me what to do, lord."