The lost continent

Chapter 25

Kirishima joins the crew at noon, sore and aching, but in a blissfully good mood. There’s a breeze that’s enough to help them along, so he raises the sails high. He hasn’t been on deck an hour before Hatsume is calling down to him.

“There’s boat. A little one.” she shouts out. “Three men.”

“We’ll bring ‘em up.” Mina calls back. Kirishima scans the seas for them until he sees their boat. The men inside must be either dead or near death, one waving for their assistance with the strength he has left.

Kirishima runs to get the medical kit and water. The kit is well re-stocked, but the supplies are chosen for the ailments of combat, so he hopes he’s at least knowledgeable enough to ease their suffering.

One man is dead when they pull him onto the boat. Kirishima presses his fingers against his neck, warm from the sun but not from life.

“No pulse.” Kirishima says.

“Pulse…” Mina repeats. “You mentioned somethin’ like that a while back when the Captain was dead.”

“I wasn’t dead!” Bakugou retorts, but Mina ignores him. He’s been staring hard at the lifeless man. “Sometimes, I can still hear his voice” Mina sighs.

“Fuck.” Bakugou mutters, clicking his tongue.

“Put your fingers on your neck.” Kirishima says, ignoring their antics. Mina does so, and Sero, who has just finished giving the other men some water, follows suit. “That bumping? That’s your pulse. You heart pumps your blood through your body. That’s one of the places you can feel it.”

“Sero my pulse is faster than yours!” Mina taunts. “I’ll beat you!”

“Ha! Not likely.”

" Uh,” Kirishima looks to the dying imen. “Maybe that can wait for later. Let’s get them out of the sun.”

" Um, Captain, what do we do with this one?” Mina asks. “Toss him over?”

Bakugou leans down. He takes the man’s arm and pushes up his sleeve, looking for something. Kirishima catches a glimpse of the brand on his arm- the small P that marks pirates captured. Bakugou has one like that, too.

“No, we’ll send him off.” Bakugou says. “Use their rowboat.”

Kirishima stands back as the pirates prepare the funeral. He’s never been to one, even on land. They wrap a scrapped sail over his body, drenched in alcohol. Bakugou lights the spark that sends the small boat into flames as they lower it into the water, letting the waves rock and carry it away, along with the black smoke and an acrid smell. As Mina steers away, Kirishima sees Bakugou still looking on.

“What did they say?” Bakugou asks, turning to Sero.

" Government ship.” Sero says. “They were escaping, but those Iida ships… they’re damn fast.”

B akugou nods. “Let’s get to a port to drop ‘em off.”

B akugou looks so pensive the rest of the day, eyebrows so tightly knitted in thought that Kirishima doesn’t want, at first, to break whatever train of thought he’s focused on. Later though, when the sun is setting and Kirishima catches Bakugou alone, he tests the waters of communication, and asks him about his reservedness. He leans against the boat’s railing, close enough that their shoulders brush.

“That man…” Kirishima starts, his voice careful and quiet. “Did you know him?”

Bakugou nods.

Kirishima nods, too. “A prison?”

“Yeah.” Bakugou says. Kirishima sees his eyebrows knit together. He’s frustrated about something.