An Unwanted Rescue

Every so often, one of the Black Dragon’s crew walked past, reminding him of the reality of his situation. He was a prisoner, his own crew likely sunken to the bottom of the ocean. Strangely their demise was not at the hands of the Black Dragon, the other crew had just happened to be nearby to swoop in and “rescue” him.

The sun was beginning to burn his skin, and his mouth was dry, made worse by the cloth gag in his mouth sapping up any remaining moisture. His body ached from the injuries he’d received from the invasion of his ship, dark bruises lining his ribcage. Closing his eyes, his head dropped down slightly. He couldn’t tell if he was on death's door or just about to pass out, but somehow either was welcome at that moment.

His eyes shot open as he felt a cool liquid splash down on him. Jolting upright, he looked up to meet Captain Kano’s gaze. He was holding a tankard, and wearing an idiotic grin on his face. If Kuai weren’t tied up at his mercy, he’d have punched him in the face.

“Can’t have you fallin’ asleep on me mate,” Kano sneered, getting down on one knee and grabbing Kuai’s chin in his hand. “N’ lucky for you, I can’t have you die on me either.”

Kano’s fingers hooked into the gag, and yanked it down. Kuai’s mouth opened but before he could say anything the tankard was being pushed up against his lips. Despite himself, he let Kano pour the water into his mouth, and he eagerly swallowed, the hydration a welcome comfort in this time. So much so when Kano pulled it away, he did his best to chase after it.

“Thirsty, huh?” Kano laughed, grabbing Kuai around the throat and pushing him back against the mast. “Alright. You want more water?” He rubbed his thumb against Kuai’s Adam’s apple. “Then you’re gonna have to give me something in return.”

Kuai levelled him with a glare.

“Hey, don’t give me that look.” Kano’s hand squeezed Kuai’s throat, causing him to choke slightly. “Given I saved your life in the first place, I’d say you owe me anyway.”

“What do you want?” Kuai croaked, trying to hold back his contempt even if he knew he was failing dismally.

Kano chuckled, shifting until his chest was pushing against Kuai’s, pinning his entire body against the mast.

“Rumour has it, you know the location of one of the Kamidogu.” Kano pressed himself a little harder against Kuai, the pressure building in his ribs. “I need you to take me to it.”

“Not every rumour has truth to it,” He wheezed out, squirming under his captor's weight.

“Maybe. But I’ve got it on pretty good authority this ones true.” Kano reached down for his belt, pulling a knife out from his belt. He slowly brought it up to Kuai’s face, stroking it against his cheek. “Now, here’s what's going to happen. You are gonna admit you know where it is and agree to take me there. Then I will untie you, let you drink all the water you want and I also won’t have to cut up your pretty face anymore than it already is.”

He really wanted to know who the fuck told Kano that. Not because it wasn’t true, but because it was.

The knife slid against the scar on his face, and he winced as if it had sliced through his skin. He didn’t want to give Kano the information, but he was damned if he did and damned if he didn’t. He’d either refuse and be left here to die of dehydration, or accept and have Kano stab him in the back later on. There was no way to win this situation.

“Why would you even want to find it?” Kuai asked slowly, suspicious of Kano’s motives.

“Money, mate, why else?” He should have guessed the answer would be monetary in nature. If that was Kano taking cash to bring it to someone else, or he thought he could get a pretty penny for it on the black market, Kuai didn’t know. “Choice is yours mate, we can do this the easy way or hard way, it makes no difference to me.”

Kuai screwed his eyes shut and grimaced. What was the point of fighting it?

“There’s an island, a little off the shores of Earthrealm,” he bit out from behind his teeth. “Houses the old Lin Kuei temple. The Kamidogu is within, but you’ll never get to it.” He reopened his eyes, glaring defiantly up at Kano. It seemed he wasn’t taking Kuai’s warning seriously. “It’s behind all sorts of traps and deterrents. You’ll never get to it alive, let alone get back out again.”

“Well, good job I’ve got a little navigator who knows how to get in there unharmed, isn’t it?” Kano patted Kuai’s cheek a couple of times, but thankfully removed the knife and put it back in its rightful place on his belt. “But just know, that if you’ve lied to me, or when we’re there, you try to fuck me over, I’m gonna make you wish you’d died with the rest of your crew.”

Kuai didn’t reply, just growled lowly. Kano’s hands reached up to Kuai’s wrists, untying the knots that kept him bound and finally letting them fall beside him. He rubbed his wrists, rope burn inflicted on them but hopefully there would be no lasting damage.

He was surprised when he felt something being pushed against his lips. Looking down he realised it was the tankard again, and he reached up to take it in his own hands. Kano didn’t let go of it however, but did let Kuai set the pace of drinking.

As he greedily swallowed the offered water, he made eye contact with Kano. The other man was grinning ear to ear, watching Kuai with a strange glee, like he was in some way enjoying this all a little too much.

If the Elder God’s were merciful, they’d let Kuai’s time aboard this ship be a short one.

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