Live! Live! Leave! Chapter 2

Kanabe and I stayed by the shore, waiting for any ship to pass by. It was
a hopeless gamble to wait for rescue. I asked Kanabe what happened but he
wouldn't give me any direct answers, he just simply said we washed up on
shore, I didn't wake up until earlier so he left to gather some fruits to eat.
"Bored?" he asked all of the sudden. I was thinking maybe I shouldn't answer
him because he doesn't answer me as well but I'd be like a child falling for
his trap.
"Thinking."
"About her?"
Maybe it wasn't a good idea to answer him after all.
The two of us were sitting separately on the shore. I made sure to keep a safe
distance from him since he's a really weird fella. He didn't say or react to the
distance I put between us and remained in place. Neither of us are also looking
at each other, both our eyes are locked on the horizon.
"I'm sure she's fine." he spoke again, trying to clear the silence between us.
"Are you alone, Kanabe?" not like I care but I want to know at least a tiny bit of
information from him. He knows a little too mucha about me and it's safe to also
know about him.
He tilted his head a bit and faced me. "Are you a ghost?" he asked back.
Maybe I was caught in shock when he said that. In reflex, I turned to meet
his gaze and he just stared oddly at me, waiting for a sincere answer.
I just don't get this guy's sense of humor. Or maybe I was just confusing?
"No." I replied with a hint of irritation in my voice. Either he didn't notice
it or he was ignoring me, his facial expression did not change.
"Then I'm not alone." he replied with now a smile plastered across his face.
"I meant if you're alone back at the yacht." I clarified since it's obvious
now that he didn't get what I mean. Before he could answer, I decided to
clarify my sentence a bit more. "Were you with friends?"
"No."
"Were you with-?"
"Kuro-kun." he called my name and I stopped with the questions. "I'm not alone."
Okay, things were getting weirder by the minute. I decided not to talk after
that. I looked back at the sea, focusing on my hopes of being saved. It's better
if I pay him no mind.
But then again, a little later, I will be hungry. And so will he.
"I'm getting hungry. Want to get some food?" he asked as he stretched his legs
forward, his arms stretched behind him as he leaned backward, the weight of his
body being supported by his hands.
"Go get some like you did earlier." I'm not going anywhere with him. He might
attack me from behind or set traps for me. After all, I've been asleep for quite
some time and I don't know what else he did while I was out.
"Do you trust me to get you some food? Aren't you suspicious if I'd poison you?"
"We ate earlier and I wasn't poisoned." I tell him. What is he trying to get at?
"Earlier was different. I ate with you. What if I ate while gathering food?
Then I'll come back with food only you will eat." he points out.
His eyes were curiously staring me down, as if trying to bait me for something.
I tried not to get intimidated by it.
"Fine. Then I'll go look for something to eat and you stay here." I tried to
play his game until I figure out his schemes.
"Then what if a boat comes by and I leave without you?" he argued yet again.
"It's just a 'what if'. I don't care what you do." maybe if I pretend that I
actually don't care whether or not I trust him, then maybe he'd stop this
nonsense.
"How can you obviously lie? Don't you care about Akira-chan?" he said. "I know
you do. That's why you are hoping to get back home and that you would obviously
care if I leave without you."
I gritted my teeth, trying to hold in the irritation towards him. I tried to be
friendly with him but it's just impossible. He's picking a fight with me!
"Don't speak like you and Akira know each other! Drop the honorifics and don't
ever say her name again!" I shout out of anger.
He wasn't frightened, startled or even scared. He just smiled as he scratched
the back of his head, as if thinking 'whoops, I didn't mean to make him angry'
kind of way. There's no way he's even sorry!
I took a deep breath before a speak again. "If you don't trust me then don't.
But I will have to trust you if I want to survive." I tell him in a much calmer
tone now.
"I trust you, Kuro-kun. But the thing is, between you and me, you obviously
don't feel like trusting me. That's why I want to know, how far you'd allow me
to be your ally." he explained as he averted his gaze to the sky. The sun was
up, it was hot, but we endured it.
Whether there's a message behind it or he just simply speaks this way, I couldn't
tell. But what I do know is that he's asking me if I trust him like he does me.
After all, he knows my intention is to go back home no matter what. For Akira. He
knows that much about me already.
I dropped to the hot sand and heaved a sigh. It's a long day ahead of us.
"I trust you. Just go get me some food already." I tell him and he grinned like
a child rewarded with a stamp on his hand.
"I hope you're fine if I take long enough to get something to eat." he says
as he got up and inspected the forest behind him. "It'll be quite a search."
"You didn't seem to have problems earlier."
"If you knew how long you were out then you'll know how long it took me to
find food." he retorted with a grin of victory and left.
It seemed like everything was a competition between us. Or that guy was just
paranoid or something? I couldn't pinpoint the exact problem but I know there's
more to him than his eerie personality.
I waited and waited... and waited.
To be honest I would've waited until a boat really comes or pass by. But my
stomach began to growl in hunger. The fruits earlier weren't enough to satisfy
my hungry belly the whole day. I don't even know how long it's been but I know
that I'm hungry and the sun is still shining so bright.
Did Kanabe really just left to find food or did he leave to find a way out of
here? Was he sending me a message earlier? Is he gone for long?
Questions that won't be answered unless I do something. I rolled off the sand
and shot back to my feet and dust off the sand in my clothes. This is a gamble
I'm doing but I have no other choice. Kanabe probably found himself some trouble,
fell asleep, fainted or already left the island, I never know. I shouldn't wait
for nothing after all. But on the other hand I am risking the fact that a boat
might pass by while I'm away.
Thinking about it now, maybe there won't be a boat and I'd just starve myself
to death. Or am I just overthinking things?
I muttered curses to myself as I head towards the forest. I won't survive alone.
I need to find him.
There were no tracks anywhere, not a trace of where he possibly went. Just my
luck, I might even get lost trying to find him so I need to mark the trees or
something so I can find my way back.
But to no avail, my search ended with me empty-handed. I didn't find anything
edible or even a trace of Kanabe going in any direction. It was like he completely
disappeared. Or maybe I'm just worrying too much? He did mention it was going
to take him some time to actually find food. Maybe I was just too hungry.
I decided to head back and retraced my steps. I left hard prints on the ground
to help me find my way back but this was just not my day. The tracks were erased.
And I have in no way knowing how to get back.
Or I can just try finding my way back to the shore and circle the island until
I return to where I woke up. A good plan!
With one straight direction, I walked and jogged until I got out of the forest
and finally got a glimpse of the sea again. All that's left is for me to circle
around the island and find my way back.
While walking, I spotted a figure by the shore. I couldn't determine what it is
and so I ran towards it until I realized it was a woman. She was wearing a black
tank top and the other half of her body was under the waters. Another living
person! I could not describe my joy finding another individual other than that guy
and myself.
As I got close to say something, she seemed to finally notice me and stared at me
in surprise. Or was that embarassment?
"Hey!"
"Stay away!" She shrieks and sat under the water to only reveal her head and neck,
hiding the rest of her body.
"S- Sorry. I'm just relieved to find another human being here." I tell her in relief.
"Are you shipwrecked here?" she asked.
"I wouldn't say shipwrecked, more of, I got washed up here." I explained. I couldn't
erase the joy in my face. There was hope. "So is there a village here or something?"
"I wouldn't tell a stranger that."
"I'm Hayashi Kuro. I'm not from around here."
"I can see that."
Not a friendly individual but she's better than Kanabe... then again, I don't want to
spend my time with a girl. Especially if that girl isn't Akira.
"Look ma'am, I'm just a lost traveler and I want to go home. So if you don't
trust me enough then can you call someone for me? I won't follow you or anything.
Just give me your word that you'd call her."
This is another extreme gamble but if she's my only way out then I'm willing to
put stakes here. I won't leave that weirdo of course, I don't think he can even
help my case.
"What number?" she asks, giving me the go-signal to speak. I was relieved and
immediately told her Akira's number. "Who am I going to look for?"
"The one who answers it, is the person you're looking for."
She nods and said nothing more. Giving me the cue that I should leave. I hesitantly
turned away to find my way back again.
I don't even remember how long I've been walking or how much time had passed, but
I know I'm both hungry and tired as I walked endlessly around the island. Maybe I
could also spot the village on my way around it.
What if he really left me? What if he was giving me a fair warning earlier? Even so,
I want to believe he's not the type of person. I mean he's uncanny there's no denying
it but he's not bad. Or that's how I want to justify my decision for trusting him.
A little while later, I fell on the sand, weakened. I'm tired and hungry and I could
barely move now.
Akira...
...I want to see you again.
Supposedly a dying wish should've made me stronger, it should've helped me rise
up and stand or at least crawl some more distance. But I guess in reality...
there's no helping it.
Or is it simply because my will to see Akira wasn't enough?