Forever His

Kid

On the ninth and final day of my journey, I saw a black dot on the horizon. The vivre card from my pendant pointed straight at it, and I sighed. I fell asleep for a few hours, and when I opened my eyes, the dot was closer, and it turned out to be a ship. My vision started to blur and go black around the edges due to lack of food and water. The last thing I saw before falling unconscious was a small, black shape flying in my direction.

A few moments later, I was brought back to consciousness, feeling a bird peck lightly at my face. I cracked my left eye open, and saw a familiar pair of intelligent black eyes.

"U-Umai." I whispered, my voice cracking a bit. Umai cawed lightly before flying into the air and started circling around my ship.

I tried my hardest to keep my eyes open, but it was difficult to. A few moments, or hours, later, I started to hear indistinct voices carried by the wind. My eyes closed a few seconds later.

"Look, there's someone in that boat." I heard faintly. I tried to move my hand, and managed a small twitch.

"They're alive?! Quick, someone get the Captain!" Another voice shouted. I could hear the blood rushing through my ears with every thump of my heart. I felt the boat shudder as someone jumped in, and Umai cawed loudly, making the person curse.

"Get away..." I tried to say, but it came out in a feeble whisper. The person grabbed the pendant from my hands and took a sharp breath in.

"How did you get this?" He asked harshly, his voice muffled.

"M... my friend... he... gave it... to me... when... we were... young...er..." I wheezed out, my throat dry and sore from lack of water. I felt the pendant drop back down into my hand.

"What's your name?" The man asked, this time a little more kindly.

"A...ki...to-*cough*" I replied, and coughed.

"Akito? So you're-" The man said but then cut himself off.

"Killer! The Captain is here!" One of the previous voices shouted. The boat shuddered again as another person jumped on.

"Step aside, Killer." The voice commanded. Even though it had been years since I last heard it, I immediately recognized his voice.

"K... Kid..." I whispered, cracking one eye open. All I could see was a blurred shadowy figure with amber eyes.

"Rest, Akito. You're okay now, I've got you." I heard Kid's voice say as I drifted into the black of unconsciousness.

I was lulled awake by the sound of a whispered conversation.

"It's been three days now, Doc. Do you know when she's going to wake up?" Kid asked, his voice coming from somewhere to my left. I heard a sigh before the other man answered.

"I've done everything I can, this is all up to her now. She went days without food or water, which can take a serious toll on a person." The doctor sighed again before grabbing my wrist to check my pulse.

"She won't die on me, I know it. But it would be nice if I could talk to her." Kid grumbled. I let out a light chuckle before trying to open my eyes. It took a few seconds, and when I opened them, Kid and, who I assume was the doctor, were huddling over me. Everything was still so blurry, and I blinked my eyes a few times.

"Hey, Kid." I whispered, a small smile appearing on my face.

"Akito..." Kid said, his amber eyes lighting up.

"Ms. Akito, how do you feel right now?" The doctor asked me, and I glared at him.

"I feel great, thanks for asking." I retorted. Kid chuckled at that and helped me as I tried to sit up.

"Well, if you're doing okay, I guess I'm not needed right now." The doctor said and began packing up his stuff.

"Hey, doc. Tell Killer to bring a bowl of soup." Kid told the doctor as he was about to open the door. The doctor nodded and stepped out of the room.

"Thank you, doctor, for taking care of me." I called out, just before he closed the door.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Akito?" Kid asked, sitting down at a chair next to me. I turned and finally got a good look at him. Dark, jagged scars ran down the left side of his face and neck.

"You have no left arm." I dumbly stated, my eyes following the scars. He let out a humorless chuckle.

"What? I lost my left arm? I didn't know that." He sneered, his words laced heavily with sarcasm. I rolled my eyes.

"In my defense, you had both arms the last time I saw you." I said, lifting my hands up. Kid cracked a smile and I chuckled a bit. Someone knocked on the door, startling me.

"Jeez, were you always this jumpy?" Kid asked, laughing a little.

"Fuck you, Kid." I huffed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"When and where, Akito?" He asked, leaning close to me. I felt my face heat up and I looked away from him. He smirked and laughed again.

"Captain, can I come in?" A voice asked from the other side of the door.

"Yeah." Kid said and sat back. A masked man opened the door, carrying a bowl of soup with him. He handed me the bowl and I nodded in thanks.

"Everybody has been asking about you two." The man said, facing Kid. He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Asking about Akito, I understand. But why me?" Kid asked.

"You have been here for three days, not leaving this room once. Of course the men are going to ask questions about you, Captain. You normally hole yourself up in your workshop." The man explained lightly. I stared at Kid.

"You've been here with me for three days? What the hell, Kid?" I exclaimed.

"I just wanted to make sure you didn't die, Akito. Is that a bad thing?" He asked, shooting a glare at me. I returned his glare with a dead stare, my left eyebrow cocked.

"You are the captain of this crew, dumbass." Was all I said.

"Shut up and eat your soup. I'm leaving." Kid grumbled and stood up. He and the masked man walked to the door and opened it up. "Oh, when you're done, you can join us on deck so I can introduce you to my crew." He stated, before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

"Fucking dumbass." I muttered before eating a spoonful of the soup. It was surprisingly good, and I hummed in delight before devouring the rest of the bowl.