Panting and drenched in sweat, you raise the blade to stab in his direction in warning. Without thinking, the captain reached in, greasy fingers wrapped around the sharp side and held it tight.

He was huge, broadly built and heavy in weight. Blood oozed from his palm and over the metal as he gripped so hard that you could no longer hold the weapon. With a mighty jerk, he disarmed you.

You let go, reacted with lightning speed and bent down to grab a handful of wet sand to throw it at his face with full force.

Unprepared, he stumbled back, the katana falling to the sand with a thud. You rushed forwards, your hands outstretched to reach for it. But suddenly a force so violent hit your shoulder that you fell into the stale water with a gasp.

Pain pulsed on your skin, eating into your flesh and bones. With a narrowed eye, you managed to lift your head. The heavy metal chain danced in his hands. A gurgling laugh made his throat tremble.

"Give me a reason.", he purred and took a swing.

Screaming tears were brought to your eyes as metal hit your back. It felt like bones were breaking. Pain exploded in your spine and for a moment you lost feeling in your legs.

Trembling, you tried to crawl away but he grabbed you by the hair and pulled your head back so far that it hurt. With a scream, you reached behind you, burying your nails in his hand until it hurt.

The chain sank clanking into the sand beside you only for you to find your head under water a second later. Salt filled your throat as a scream escaped your lips.

The small bubbles of air rose up. Everything blurred. Only a light remained in the corner of your eye. Rough bodies of sand pressed against your nose and cheek.

With a rough jerk, he dragged your head back above the water. Used air burned in your lungs. Coughing and spluttering, you tried to free yourself from his grip, kicking around and hammering your nails into every limb you could find.

The hand on your hair came loose with an annoyed growl. A powerful blow to the back sent you back into the water. Salt stung your eyes.

Just in time, you managed to turn onto your back before the hand could push your head under the water again. This time the fingers shot round your neck and squeezed so tightly that a gasp escaped your lips.

The beat of your heart pulsed in your forehead. With all your strength, you braced both feet against your chest and pushed him away from you.

The man was massive and big. It was a power struggle to stop him from throwing himself at your chest with full force.

Water filled your ears, drowning the world in an indistinct roar. You wanted to breathe but not enough air reached your lungs. It felt like your head would burst at any moment under the pressure.

Desperation welled up inside you as the grin on the captain's face grew bigger and bigger. With the last of your strength, you grabbed his wrist with both hands and tried to force it open.

But in vain.

He was simply too strong. A hoarse gasp squeezed out of your throat while tears obscured your vision. Blackness threatened to engulf the world.

"Remember the feeling.", he hissed, his eyes wide like a maniac. "That will be the last thing you feel if you escape again."

Your eyes rolled back. Pain and fire burned in your throat and lungs. Only the feeling of cold metal pressed against your chest, as cold and clear as your first breath in winter.

The dagger.

With the last of your strength you let go of him, it seemed as if he thought you were giving up. He didn't even notice how your hand slipped into the side of your kimono, your fingers wrapped around the pommel.

Only when you rammed the blade into his arm with full force did he cry out in surprise. Blood splattered on your face, staining your hands. He recoiled in pain, his hands leaving your neck.

You breathed in greedily, everything hurt. Salty water splashed around your hands but you didn't let go, holding the dagger as tightly as you could.

When you pulled it out again, the blade tore such a deep wound in his flesh that the captain was unable to stand upright. With a strangled cry, he stumbled back to the shore, his free hand pressed to the wound that was already soaking his armour with blood.

Panting, you got to your feet again. Blood and water dripped from the blade. Adrenalin rushed through your veins as you took a step towards him.

Your whole body was shaking, whether from anger or fear was hard to tell. Both mingled in your chest while your face was consumed with hatred.

"I'm not going back.", you said icily. "Never!"

With a scream, you raised the dagger and lunged at him. Out of reflex, he threw up his arms and the blade cut two deep wounds in his hand. Blood welled up and soaked the golden white sand with death.

You stabbed him again and again while anger and hatred lent their power to your voice. You screamed, cursed. All that remained was the sight of blood.

Your whole body trembled. You wanted to kill him, wanted to wrap his insides around the outside and watch him die miserably. You had never felt anything like it before, so ugly and hateful. Suddenly two hands grabbed you by the collar and pulled you back.

"No!", you scream. "I'll kill him! I want to kill him!"

Blind with rage, you lashed out. The bloody blade whizzed through the air, slicing a scrap of cloth and just missing the flesh of a cheek.

"Amaterasu!", Jin's voice was like the first sunshine after a frosty night.

Suddenly the blind desire for violence was gone and all that remained was exhaustion and the feeling of warm blood on your hands.

Trembling, you stumbled back together, fell and landed in the waves of the sea. The dagger slipped from your hands and the sand devoured it.