Chapter 2

Kuja opened his eyes. He couldn't see out of his right eye and at first thought it blind, but then realized it was just a beam of sunlight coming through the leaves. He turned his head away from the harsh glare and saw the sea. It always brought an inner peace inside him to watch the endless movement of water, but now was no time to relax.

Kuja braced himself for the wave of pain and tried to move. He gasped. His limbs felt like knives, and his wounds threatened to open their newly formed scabs. 'Well,' he thought, 'at least I know I'm not paralyzed.' When the waves of pain finally died down to a tolerable level, Kuja looked around to get his surroundings.

In addition to the never-ending sea, all Kuja could see was a dense growth of tropical trees and ferns—oh, and sand...plenty of sand. He felt so vulnerable just lying there for anyone to spot him, but he didn't feel like experiencing another symphony of pain. There was nothing to do but lie still on the forest floor and wait. 'Wait for what?,' he thought. It didn't appear to him that this place was often frequented, but even if someone were to come along and find him, it wasn't likely they'd take kindly to him once they found out who he was. 'Wonderful. I'm to just lie here helplessly and wait for help that I cannot afford in a place that's probably completely void of people in the first place.' Kuja sighed and closed his eyes. As he tried to relax he felt something in his right hand. Curious, he turned his head and looked down at his hand.

He uncurled his fingers and saw a piece of ripped cloth. He almost disregarded it when it hit him that it had obviously been placed there for him to find. He reached out with his mind and touched it cautiously. The astral scent he picked up from it was fresh and very familiar, and soon he had a face matched with the scent: 'Jitan?! But where--?' He tried to sit up, but was quickly reminded that such an action had painful consequences, so he leaned back and stared at the cloth. 'This must mean that he's here! He must have left this here knowing that I would wake up and see it, but.... where had he gone?' Kuja turned his head in all directions, but lying on the ground didn't exactly give him the best viewpoint, but there was nothing else he could do without being doubled over in pain. So he decided to wait.

* * * * *

Jitan had been walking for at least an hour in the forest with nothing to show but his growing tiredness and frustration. 'Where in the world are we that there's no sign of people or animals to speak of?' Oh, there were birds of course, and other little vermin, but no large beasts could be found. 'We must be on an island that's too small to support large animals,' he thought. At least, that was the only explanation that came to mind.

Jitan continued walking for a few more minutes and caught the smell of fresh water. He followed his nose until he came upon a small stream of water not but a couple yards away. It was fairly small; only a couple hand's width wide, and the clear water was so welcoming that he drank several handfuls of it before his thirst was quenched. Jitan walked the length of the stream hoping to find it's source, and after a few minutes he was standing in front of a good-sized cave. Jitan couldn't believe his good fortune, and he ran up to the entrance and looked around.

The mouth of the cave was spacious enough for several people and dry enough to build a small fire. Jitan peered into the dark, looming throat of the cave wondering how far it went, but he reminded himself that his brother was still lying under the tree, and now that he'd found a shelter it was time to go back. Jitan gave the cave one final look around before he stepped outside and began running back to the spot where he'd left Kuja.

'I hope he hasn't woken up yet,' Jitan thought as he ran through the brush, 'he will be in so much pain. I don't want him to be alone anymore.' As he started to run, he looked up to the sky to check the sun's position. 'Damn. I've been gone for too long'. He began running faster, and after what seemed forever, he finally reached the spot where he'd left Kuja.

Jitan dropped down next to him and put his hand on Kuja's chest to feel his breathing. As Jitan watched his hand move up and down in a rhythmic fashion, he sighed with relief and closed his eyes a moment to catch his breath from running. Something touched his hand. Jitan's eyes shot open and he saw Kuja's hand resting on top of his. He turned to face his older brother and saw Kuja straining to say something. Jitan leaned closer to Kuja and could barely make out the whisper:

"I'm glad you came back."

"Me, too." Jitan smiled. He wanted to hug him so badly, but he knew it would only cause him pain. So instead, he took Kuja's hand in his and told him gently, "We need to get you out of the sun and the elements. I've found a cave not too far from here, but since I'm going to be carrying you, it'll probably take the remainder of the day before we reach it." Jitan squeezed Kuja's hand, "Are you going to be able to make it there, big brother?" Kuja took a deep breath and nodded his head.

Jitan looked up at the sun; it was late afternoon. "We'd better get going," he told his brother. He saw Kuja brace himself for the pain, closing his eyes tightly. Jitan very carefully scooped up Kuja in his arms and slowly stood up, watching his brother's face twist in agony all the while. 'I'm sorry,' he thought. Jitan took the first couple steps and asked Kuja if he wanted to try again later, his only response being a slight shake of the head. So Jitan continued walking as carefully as he could; taking the smoothest paths and walking around fallen trees instead of simply hopping over them.

After a while of walking, Jitan could smell the stream again, and picked up his pace just a little. Kuja still hadn't opened his eyes, but his forehead was coated in little beads of sweat as he silently coped with the pain of being moved and jostled around. "Just a little bit further," he informed him. Kuja didn't respond, but he knew his brother had heard him.

Jitan finally came upon the stream and paused for a minute to catch his breath. The sun was beginning to set; they had only a few minutes left of light. Jitan took one last deep breath and started walking up alongside the stream. Although it took longer than expected, they reached the entrance to the cave just as the sun disappeared under the horizon.

Jitan lay Kuja down on the smooth cave floor and did his best to make sure he was comfortable before he stood up and stretched his muscles. He walked to the other side of the cave where the stream was and drank a few handfuls of the cool water. When he'd had his fill, he took out his handkerchief and soaked it through before walking over to his older brother. Kuja was nearly asleep, and Jitan had to coax his mouth open to squeeze the drops of water into it. He did this three times before he finally gave up, since Kuja had eventually fallen asleep and wouldn't respond to him.

Jitan sighed and stretched out beside his brother. The cave was pretty dark now, and the only light came from the moon outside. Jitan wondered where his friends were now. He wondered if they'd gotten away in time. He wondered many things that night, and when his eyelids became too heavy to keep open, Jitan found Kuja's right hand and held it in his own before he himself drifted off to sleep.