Blonde Hair And Sand

Exploration and Desolation

The gentle breeze rushed past my face, providing a brief moment of cool air while the sun's heat bombarded the two of us. I sat on my knees, the sounds of Miura's sobs filling my right ear while the ocean filled my left.

I was mostly shocked, wondering just how unlucky we had to be to end up in a predicament such as this. I mean, I was joking about this very scenario just yesterday night and now here we were, on what seemed to be a deserted island.

I grabbed the piece of driftwood I opted to use as a cane and used it to stand up. We wouldn't survive this if all we did was sulk and feel sorry for ourselves. I needed to see everyone again. Komachi, Mom, Dad, Hiratsuka-sensei...I didn't wanna imagine how much pain they'd be in if they never saw me again, or worse.

Based on the sun's position in the sky, it seemed we'd have 10 or so hours to formulate some kind of plan. I looked over to the still sobbing Miura, and used my cane to kneel down in front of her.

"I know it's hard Miura, but we have to find a way to survive on this island. Let's go look around."

She continued to sob, her face in her hands. I understand, I really do, but this is exactly when we should be getting our bearings on where exactly we are.

"Miura, there are people you need to get back to. Your mom, dad, Hayato, and the rest of your friends, right?" This caused her crying to quiet down temporarily. Good, she was listening now.

"Let's make sure to survive until rescue comes after us, alright? That way, you can see them again." She nodded gently, sniffling and wiping her tears. I stood up and extended my free hand toward her, pulling her up once she took it.

Miura winced in pain and fell back to the ground. "What's wrong?"

"I-It's my leg, I can't move it much..." I was reminded of her broken leg. Both of us had an injured leg but luckily for me it only seemed that mine was slightly fractured. I'd only need a cane but Miura would need a splint at best, and medical treatment above my ability at worst. Suddenly, I was reminded of my accident, and when I broke my leg.

"A splint..." I muttered to myself.

"Huh?" Miura said curiously. I turned around and looked toward the shore, looking for something.

"Stay here, I'll be right back!" I said, making my way along the shore with my cane.

"Wait! Hikio- where are you going?!" I ignored her, too focused on the plan in my head.

Theoretically, a splint wasn't impossible to make. It'd be a makeshift one but a splint nonetheless, which was better than nothing. I collected various pieces of driftwood I found along the shore with my right hand, before making my way back to Miura, who only looked at me with a confused expression.

"Which leg hurts?" I asked, placing down the wood and taking off my jacket.

"T-The left one, but why? What are you gonna do with that wood?" She asked curiously.

"When I broke my leg, I remember reading about treatment options for it and seeing how a splint works." I sat down in front of her and began to stretch my jacket, grunting as I tried to tear it. Eventually, the jacket gave away and tore. 

"Theoretically, it shouldn't be impossible for me to make a splint. It'll be a makeshift one, but it'll do for now." She stayed quiet as I tore the jacket into slightly smaller sizes. Afterward, I gently wrapped the torso of the jacket over her leg and tied it. I then sorted through the pieces of driftwood I'd collected before picking up a suitable one and handing it to her. "Place this under your leg and hold it there." My seriousness seemed to be enough for her not to protest, and she slowly lifted up her leg before placing the driftwood underneath it. I could feel her staring at me, but didn't let that throw me off as I tied the torn long sleeves of the jacket in two places around the board and her leg.