Castaways! We Are Castaways!

Spoiler:

Kinko, the pale skinned lone vampire was walking down the shores of Mikadzuki Beach, the beach with a nice sunset, good weather, and the sand was not too baring.  His flip flops easily worked a top of the sand, as they kicked up sand behind him.  He strolled down in loose garbs and embraced the culture, trying not to look too much like a tourist.  Nothing indicated that he was a shinobi, a simple pouch on his hip that was cloaked.  His long hair swayed away from his face as the salt from the sea kissed his skin; it was not much longer until he pulled out a water bottle full of berry fruit tea to quench his thirst.  It was strange, to think that he was on some sort of vacation.  This was strange and odd to him, he wondered how this would happen, how it occurred, how he even got there.  Regardless, he continued to walk down the coast of the beach, empty.  So empty because there were not bare feet that imprinted themselves into the sand.  It seemed like he was the only one on the beach, almost the only one in the world.  His eyes gazed out to the water, he could not see past some of the crashing waves; Kinko respected the majestic powerful ocean.  It could move anything it happened and housed creatures that could feed us, teach us, eat us.  It was a whole new world, right in front of him.  

His eyes continued to look over the waves, noticing and hearing the sounds of the crashing waves.  He knew there was much more out there than he could see.  One foot in front of the other, he slowly made pace through the seemingly endless beach…alone.  It was only for a moment, a moment of peace where he was able to put down his stress, and really, truly, be with himself.  He stopped to take a deep deep breath in, a good strong inhale through the nose.  Holding that breath in through the diaphragm in the stomach.  His eyes closed, he would hold onto this moment as the breath of air refreshed him.  With an exhale through his mouth, he emptied his belly to exhale his energy and goodness into the world.  It was only a moment, only that moment that would be uninterrupted, until now.  His eyes opened, widened, in shock, amusement.  It turned out, he might not have been as alone as he thought.

[WC: 413]

As the sun continued to either kiss the skin of the fresh or sear the blistered, Kinko started to run towards the water. Almost with an immediate haste as he knew someone needed to help. He could be like many and continue to walk away but his inability to never forget that he could have helped would haunt him. He was motivated to help others because he knew it was the right thing to do, because it would bother him later if he did not. The hero would save this person and you have to CHOOSE to be a hero, everyday. He ran closer and closer and felt the immediate impact of sand; it was dragging and he really needed to pull his legs to run through the hot sand. The hot sand almost served as a motivator to get to the waterline faster. However, soon, he would reach the water line, breaking his feet into the cold splashing water. Immediately, he could feel heaviness of the water. It was different than back home, or actually any place he had never been. It was heavy and he could feel the minerals and salt in it. He wondered if other being would feel like this about 'gravity'.

It was a man! An older man, who was drifting closer to shore. He had some energy but his skin showed he had gone without water for days. He must have been near the breaking point, Kinko knew not to over hydrate him. However, the man was still drifting from the crashing waves. His little raft seemed strong and sturdy enough to withstand the waves that would bring him closer to shore. Kinko's feet were blessed by the ocean as he continued to walk through the crashing waves and further into deeper water. Soon, his hips were fully submerged as he could still see his feet from the crystal clear water. The water was not like this at home. He knew he would miss it when he left, it almost transported him somewhere tranquil, he almost felt a spiritual connection with it, something he had never felt before. It almost hypnotized him away from the stranded man; this water really did wash troubles away. The man would drift closer to the shore as Kinko started to have to swim towards the raft as his feet were no longer touching the floor. He could feel the life in the water eating the dead skin in his feet and the fauna that provided a home for those fish. He really wish he spent more time out here. It was almost like he could drink it. Kinko would start to shout towards the man, not in anger but in concern, to alert him. The man would slowly open his eyes as the sun beat down on him.

[WC: 470/883]

Kinko in a rush, dove closer to the man, trying to see if there was anything that needed immediate attention. From first glance, he looked stable but clearly was weak from his troubles of staying afloat of the raft. Quickly, Kinko reached into his pockets to pull out some of the fruit that he was eating, nothing too much though. He did not want to over feed him; this likely would cause no harm but there is always potential. He did not know this man, this situation or his health. The man would quickly consume the fruits, clearly indicating he had not eaten in awhile. Kinko wondered how his stomach would react to it. It would serve as a good test to determine the state of his digestive system. The man would continue to fade in and out, almost like a drunk person. Someone who would stay still for a few seconds then make a sudden abrupt movement, almost as if he was moving to stay alive. Kinko would guide the raft back towards the shore, ensuring there would be no issues like him falling off the raft, the raft breaking, or any other issues. Quickly the duo were at the point where Kinko was going to have to carry this man, something he was not happy about but was willing to do. His eyes looked for shade, a place of refuge where the young vampire can better understand how to help this man. He was certain that this man needed to get out of the sun. Bending at the waist, and bending his knees, he would get into a position of leverage to pull the man on the raft towards the shaded tree line. Fortunately, the shade was going to stay longer than the sun. Driving with his legs, and maintaining his shoulder and back, he pulled the raft through the sand into the treeline. It was not incredibly difficult but most people would struggle more than Kinko did, he was oddly proud of it.

The man continued to move in strange ways as Kinko grabbed his fruit tea and dripped a few drops into his mouth. The only movements he made was his tongue looking for more like a snail. Kinko would continue to drop a little bit more at a time but needed a way to cool down his body. The salt water was probably already cooking his skin with the sun. The shade was a nice start but this man needed a shower. This man needed some lotion, this man probably needed to stay out of the sun for the next few days, this man needed quite a bit. Nothing really else that Kinko could do until he got access to fresh water. Kinko needed to move this man, but how ? He looked around and saw an empty card, must have been used in someones old fruit stand. He was surprised someone would leave that because those are expensive. He needed to borrow, hopefully he can return it.

[WC: 503/1386]

With haste, Kinko ran over to the cart to see how stable it was, if he could use it during this rescue attempt. It was breaking, but still held together by enough rust that it should work, if anything, the young vampire would surely be able to rig the raft and the cart together to create some sort of boxcar that surely would be sufficient. Still, Kinko had to brush off the overwhelming sand, the splintered wood, and other trash and discarded items that made the cart its own. Within a few minutes, Kinko had pulled the cart over to the man, who found refuge in the shade. He wanted to maintain that shade but getting to fresh water was certainly more important. Kinko transferred the body from the raft to the cart. It was dreadful, the dead weight of his body and complete lack of strength made Kinko hold the burden of moving an entire man. Of course, he did it quickly and with enough comfort it did not cause any damage to the man, he knew there would be plenty of people who would have simply dropped him onto the cart. Really, it would not have changed much but Kinko knew he needed to be considerate.

It took only a moment for Kinko to find his stride. Starting the cart was difficult because he needed to sink his heels into the sand and push hard, like a bull to start the wheels turning over the sand. Each step, his feet sunk into the sand, taking away energy as sweat soon started to drip. The initial pulls would tire him, and he knew it would, he was certain a second wind would come, one where he would be used to exerting the energy. He knew he could not stop. It would be almost fatal if he did because starting would be hard. It was also easy to not stop because someone’s life was on the line. Kinko would never be able to look at that man’s family and tell them his back hurt, his feet hurt, the blisters forming on his hands from the rough wood hurt. These were all little issues that would resolve themselves with time. This was not about Kinko, this was about a man who was dying who came from the ocean. Kinko had no idea who this man was. He could have been a felon, murderer, or a test from the Gods. He did not know, and most likely, would never know. But, Kinko would know and remember how he reacted at this moment. This moment would be a part of Kinko forever, he needed it to be a moment where he would be proud of himself.

[WC: 453/1839]

The man, frantically and desperately pleaded for Kinko to stop, sobbing. Kinko stopped in that moment, he wondered if he hurt the man somehow. He did not know what it could have been. He heard a thump with the man rolling onto the hot sand. The old man's mouth sobbed and made noises of someone in a drunken stupor. The young vampire froze, as he saw the man crawl towards a ball, a volleyball? The man must have not been as close to death as Kinko might have thought. The young vampire stood frozen on the sunny day, confused, unsure of what was happening as he watched the old man crawl desperately to the ball that was only slowly rolling away the small dunes of sand left by footprints and cart wheels. Each time the ball rolled down a new dune and new cry of despair broke through the man. The old man was only sobbing and yelling, WILSON, WILSON, as the ball was slowly drifting further and further away from his fingertips. Did Kinko not see the ball this whole time? Was it hidden? Either way, Kinko would slowly walk towards the edge of the cart, closer and closer to the ball. The man's eyes widened with hope as he watched Kinko walk closer to the ball. More random noises came out from the man, like an ape that was given a treat. What was the connection that the man had with this ball? Of course, Kinko would not kick it but the idea only simply crossed his mind, never stayed to consider it. Regardless, it seemed like the health of the old man was no longer important, what was important was getting this ball back. Almost, like a drug, an addiction, a requirement for life. Clearly, there was something here, within the relationship of the ball and the man. Kinko thought about of others would abuse this, Kinko just wanted this man at the hospital, even a clinic would do.

Kinko took the equivalent of 4, maybe 5 steps to walk over to the retrieve the ball. The man was so weak that he used all his power to try to get there, but simply could not. The old man's arms stretched out like a baby demanding his treat. It was so strange. Especially, since the distance was really not far at all. Kinko walked past the man and threw the ball in the cart, where the old man would scream in panic, pain, and concern. Kinko used this as motivation to help get the old man back into the cart, the old man would follow suit. As he used Kinko to help himself up to fall back onto the cart. "Don't fall off this time." Kinko said to the old man who was CLINGING on to this ball, more than he was holding the actual cart. In his mind, Kinko was trying to figure out what wilson even was or where this man was from. Wilson did not seem to be anything more than a volleyball, was it some scared orb. Was it familiar? It seemed like nothing more than sun burned fiber ball. Did Kinko not know what he had in front of him, there was limitless scared power inside that ball? There could not be, there is no way. It must have been the crazy man, bringing this ideas. He never prayed to it. Either way, he bent down to grab the raw wood handles of the cart as he used his legs to bring himself to a position to lift the cart through the sand dune. The cart slowly but surely, started to turn over the dunes made by the footsteps, one step at a time, as they got closer and closer to the next hut that may have water. More importantly, he was ready to see the obsession that this old man had for this wilson of his. His neck turned to allow him to see the man hugging onto the ball, as if they were lovers.

[WC:674/2513]

As the cart was rolling over the small footsteps, Kinko got stuck.  The sudden stop sent the man and wilson forward but jerked them so hard backwards that the two fall from the cart and collided not only into each other, but straight into the hard, dense sand.  The man, landing directly on his head, took a moment to get up, but only a moment.  The man stood up and looked over at Kinko who had managed to rush over to him.  He looked around and started kissing the sand and Kinko's feet.  "You saved me! You saved me!"  I was lost at sea for who knows how long.  Actually, I do.  Must have been around a week.  I was on my boat and a storm took over my boat.  I was almost a goner!" He exclaimed, praising life.  His eyes looked around and he jumped towards Wilson. "WILSON!" He yelled as he picked him up.  "THANK YOU!" He yelled as he was bursting with energy.  "We should get you some water, you probably have not had anything to drink recently."  The old man nodded his head.

"My name is Kanjiro Yamiguki.  I hope my wife and children and okay, they must be worried sick."  He said as his memory was coming back.  "The only thing I don't remember is coming here, was I asleep?"  Kinko explained how he found him in a raft and started to transport him to a clinic for a general check up.  Kinko would introduce himself and it appeared that the man had enough energy to walk.  The two would converse and learn about each other as they strolled down the sandy beaches to a life post with some supplies.  Kanjiro did not seem to be in critical need of supplies but he seemed to be doing okay.  Of course, he brought alongside with him, Wilson, who Kinko imagined he would never let go off.  The two would surely get to a supply station where Kinko bought Kanjiro some water and some fruit to reenergize him.  Kinko figured this could be a good time to part ways.  There was nothing else for him to do, Kinko was not going to walk the man all the way home.  Kanjiro seemed oriented with where he was.  The conversations the two had were jogging his memory and he fruit brought back more memories.  Kinko was relieved that Kanjiro remembered the flavors of the fruit as well, it would have been concerning if he remembered fruit incorrectly.  But, Kanjiro started to seem fine, well, as fine as someone could be.  Kanjiro had gone through a lot and he was sure that a lot would have died in that situation.  Kinko would say his goodbyes as the two/three would depart.  Kinko would find refuge under the shade of the supply tent as he drank some water and picked at some berries.  What a strange day, today has been.  Hopefully, tomorrow will be just as strange.

[WC/3008]

Exit
Water Wall B Ranked
Poison Mist B Ranked
+ 20 Vigor
+10 Strength
10,000 Ryo (Base + Vagabond Bonus)
20 Beachside Tickets

Approved