The wind had held and the ship managed to keep a decent pace. As they approached the coast, the moon was high in the sky and illuminated softly the majestic scenery. Kagoshima wasn’t exactly a savage land, but approaching the mountains from the ocean, they could see a few lights on the shore. Dark, foreboding cliffs overlooked the water like the fortifications of an ancient castle, protecting the interior from storms and invasions alike.

  They headed into the darkness—landing away from prying eyes was their best chance. Kaori knew exactly what she was looking for. A long beach of gravels and stones, probably produced by the collapse of the cliffs. A large chunk of rock jutted out of the water about twenty yards from the edge of the beach forming a narrow passage along the side of the cliff and exiting a few ship lengths away. If they could slide the Asahi behind the rock, it would be all but invisible from the sea, and pretty hard to spot from the shore, assuming people even came that way, which was quite unlikely, she assured.

  Of course, maneuvering a ship the size of the Asahi into such a narrow channel would be foolish, especially at night, what with reefs kissing the waves, but then again, the ship was probably beyond recovery anyway and hiding it was their best bet.

  “Thinking about it, it might be better if it sank.” Kaori said pensively.

  “Come on, it can be fixed. All the electrical circuits need to be replaced, and a bunch of other things too, but the hull is holding fine, the sail can be changed, and I’ll bet the engines aren’t too badly damaged.” Ma?l answered. He was almost pleading on behalf of the ship.

  “And how would that help us now?”

  “It wouldn’t,” he conceded, still unconvinced, “but isn’t that too much of a loss?”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll just have to buy a new one. I’ve been meaning to do that, this one was getting kind of old and it’s a bit small anyway.”

  Ma?l’s mouth opened to reply, and closed again without a sound. I’ll just have to buy a new one. That single sentence hit him harder than he’d ever been hit inside the cage. He’d been living in a dream world these past few days, a world in which he and Kaori were equals, where his opinions mattered, and his advice was sound. He had cradled her naked body against his and she had sought his protection and his presence. For a brief while, he felt like they were truly meant to be together, that she would be his soon.

  Now that they were about to return to land however, reality was hitting him in the face, a reality where she could just discard a million dollar ship and get herself another one, just as a matter of convenience. Wake up, dumb-ass! he admonished himself.

  Kaori noticed his face turn gloom. Had she been insensitive? Did he like the ship that much? It was a pity to be sure. The Asahi has saved our lives, more than once, and it is also the place where our romance began, she thought. He is right, we shouldn’t have to give it up just for a tiny bit of extra safety. Besides, as soon as Oroshi gets arrested, we can end this “spy” charade.

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  She’d buy it from Aiko and have it repaired properly. They’d enjoy sailing the Asahi again—and maybe even convince Aiko and her husband to join them later on. It had been too long since she last saw her anyway.

  She gave Ma?l a quick hug.

  “You’re right. Let’s just hide it in the cut between the cliff and the sea stack—that’s the big rock sticking out of the sea.” she said, pointing to the rock formation.

  It was located at the end of a deserted beach. Clouds had dispersed and they could now see the bay bathed in the silver rays of moonlight. The “cut” looked dark and foreboding, but they were so close to the shore that the risks seemed meaningless. Worst came to worst, they could always swim.

  “Take down the jib, then get ready with the anchor.” she ordered. “We need to slow our approach as much as possible before we get in.”

  She had to slide the ship in with their remaining momentum, and he had to throw the back anchor as soon as they cleared the entrance of the cut. Hopefully, it would stop the ship from going too far in.

  He executed the maneuver in matter of seconds and was ready with the anchor before the ship even reached the mouth. The ship glided smoothly over the calm silver sea and entered the passage.

  “Now!” she called.

  Ma?l dropped the anchor. It hit the swallow bottom and promptly caught on a rock. The rope unwound lazily then tensed up, jolting the ship to a halt. Ma?l rushed to the front, but Kaori was already there, throwing the front anchor ahead of them. With anchors on both sides, the ship was effectively locked in place. Their coordination had been impeccable.

  They undressed to swim to the shore, and Ma?l entered the water carefully. The sea stack’s shadow was dark and they had no idea where the reefs were. Kaori lowered a makeshift raft made with three of the remaining life jackets, a piece of sail and some duct tape. It contained a backpack wrapped in garbage plastic bags. All of their earthly possessions.

  Kaori joined him in the water and they made for the beach. The water felt cold, but not unpleasantly so. They only had to swim a short distance anyway. About a minute later, they exited the water, Ma?l gingerly stepping on the sharp rocks with bare feet, Kaori comfortably walking over them with her “sea shoes.” Life isn’t fair, Ma?l reflected as he struggled to maintain his dignity.

  If Kaori’s laughter was any indication, he wasn’t doing such a great job at it.

  They dried themselves up and got dressed. The “beach” was mostly made of rough stones, but as they looked toward the sea, they were pleased not to see the ship. They couldn’t have asked for a better hiding place. Not as good as an actual pirate cave, but as close to it as could be found. Perhaps there had even been pirates here in ages past.

  Either way, they were now on shore, in a quantum state of safety. They were safe from the storm and its consequences, and yet now exposed to Oroshi’s pursuit, who might pick of their trail as soon as they got into a city. Cameras were everywhere nowadays.

  Can I really hide now? Kaori thought as she examined the shore.