69

Shattered

"Get 'im on the ship, boys! We're going fishing." Tori sneered close enough to Oga's face for the ex-captain to smell the rank breath of developing gangrene. Oga walked away from the inlet, and searched for the small sailor, though the lad had betrayed him, Oga could still make an ally out of him yet. By the time Oga reached his old ship with the rest of the crew, the lad was nowhere to be seen.

Rest in peace, Waving Wally.

They tied Oga to a post before heading back out into the ocean. "So, how do we call it?" Tori dug his cutlass into one of Oga's kidneys. "You don't."

Tori's eyes darkened. "Ngh!"

Oga's eyes fluttered, and grit his teeth, the breathing heavy between them as the cutlass dug deeper into Oga's side. Tori moved his cutlass to Oga's neck. The cut was fairly small but Oga could feel the blood travel down his neck to his chest. "That's a warnin', Captain. Toss me about, and I'll settle with the next best thing after catching the fish. You," Tori pointed with the bloodied cutlass, "take some o' that and sprinkle it overboard."

"Captain?"

"JUST DO IT!"

The sailor rushed toward Oga, but stopped for a millisecond before filling up cupped, bare hands by Oga's face. Lucky for that man, Tori began walking back toward his quarters for rest. Oga closed his eyes when the sailors went back to their positions. The brunet didn't recognize any of them. Oga hoped the blood in the water wouldn't work. Oga wished these ropes weren't so tight. Oga prayed that Furuichi would be alright.

"Well, where is it?"

Oga's chapped lips couldn't speak even if he had the energy. Tori was so taken by the idea of using Oga's blood to capture Furuichi, Oga's bloodletting became a daily ritual. "Tell me where it is, or this time I'll cut a vein!"

Oga stared sightlessly into Tori's face which Tori mistook for rebellion. "Grmmm humph," Tori cut into the length of his left forearm. Oga's consciousness was fading faster this time. Tori panicked.

"Fetch me some dressings, quick!"

Truth be told, Oga had expected some sign of his silver fish by this time. They were at least two weeks out into the open ocean. Blood and all, but still no sign of the siren. As the crew cut off Oga's bonds, his legs buckled beneath him forcing him to collapse on the crew member Oga suspected to have a louse infestation.

Splash!

"Cap'n!"

Tori rushed to the ship's starboard side, catching a glimpse of a long silver tail and the gorgeous skin of a left arm. Tori licked his lips. Ever since seeing the siren board the ship all those years ago, Tori had never forgotten the mermaid. Now, the mermaid was his for the taking.

"Ready the nets!"

"But Cap'n, what about the prisoner?"

"Forget him," Tori laughingly called out over his shoulder, "he's useless to us now."

Oga felt the men drop him onto the grimy deck, hitting the side of his head on the mast. Though the blackness crept along the edges of his vision, Oga pushed himself to stand. It was time to pay back Furuichi for all the times the siren had saved the human. It was also time to say good-bye.

"Now!"

The shipmates threw out the net only to see Furuichi swimming on the other side of it. "You damned fools! Grab another!"

Oga barely heard Tori and the other members of the ship scrambling for nets and throwing them overboard as he left a bloody trail going up the steps to the helm. Oga grabbed at the elongated sides of the wheel, ignoring how natural it felt to be holding it, then used his body weight to make a hard left. "What the devil!"

Tori stomped his way toward the helm to see Oga staggering to keep his balance. If Oga hadn't screwed it up, the crew would've snatched up the siren that time. Heart pounding in his ears, eyes darkening, teeth set on edge, Tori took up the blunderbuss and shot a round into Oga's stomach.

The force and the shock threw the brunet overboard.

Realizing what he had done, Tori screeched for his crew members to retrieve the rag doll body that hit the sea below. By the time his crew members raced to do their best to retrieve the body, the silver tail splashed a final time, never to be seen by Tori again.

"Oga! Oga. No no no no no no no no no," Furuichi had swam for thousands of miles to reach Oga's old ship. The amount of blood in the sea warranted Furuichi to use much of his energy to swim faster than most sea creatures occupying the water below them. "Stay with me. Stay with me!"

It was clear that the air in Oga's lungs was depleting fast. The bubbles fading faster Furuichi swam. There wouldn't be time to take the ex-captain to a human healer. Finally a safe enough distance from the ship, Furuichi brought Oga's body up to the surface and began to suck the water out from his lungs. Oga hacked and coughed when he regained consciousness. "How long have I been waiting for that when all I had to do was swallow some water."

"Now's not the time for jokes, Captain Idiot."

Oga smiled, he couldn't feel his body anymore. "I'm glad to see you one last time, Silver Fish."

Furuichi choked back a sob. "Don't say things like that. It's not like you."

Oga began memorizing every shape and plane to the siren's face. "Even I know when I'm beat. Furuichi," Oga's eyes began to roll, "I- I...I,"

Furuichi bit his lips together, if the Wise Octopus was right, they should be right above it. Furuichi just needed faith. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

Furuichi sucked out the rest of Oga's air and then dragged down the human's dying body to the bottom of the cold sea.