Free The Isle of South Kamui and Other Stories by Kyotaro Nishimura Page A

island. The sea had made me look like a hero to her. Yet this time it had severely betrayed me. It had tried to drown me and had made me a miserable loser in her eyes. I would no longer be able to take pride in my youth and strength before her.
    It’s all your fault , I muttered at the sea.
    When I reached the rock pools, I saw that the crab was still lying awkwardly where it had fallen yesterday, its white belly showing. No doubt when I was rescued, I had looked as ungainly as that crab. And no doubt she had seen me lying unconscious in that unseemly state.
    I started slipping into depression. I kicked the remains of the crab as hard as I could into the ocean. Startled flies swarmed up from the small, wretched corpse as it landed on the water and sank.
    As if on cue, suddenly the sun went in and rain started falling; as I watched, little ripples formed and quickly became a flood of countless rings in the water. The rain fell in large drops like a storm burst. The raindrops hit the sand, throwing it up over my bare feet. The grains of wet sand clung to me. The raindrops stung my face and shoulders. But I remained motionless where I was. I felt a masochistic pleasure at being beaten by the rain. If it was the same sense of defeat, then the harder, the better. I opened my mouth and swallowed the rain as it poured in.
    The downpour stopped as quickly as it had started, and the sun came out once again. At the same time, the pleasurable self-torment also vanished, and all I was left with was the pitiful sense of defeat.
    I rinsed my feet in the sea and started walking aimlessly toward the headland. Little by little, the clinging sense of defeat turned into a frustrated rage against myself.
    Useless!
    As I walked, I muttered the same word over and over. Useless , useless!
    A car was parked at the beginning of the headland. Two guys of about twenty got out when they saw me.
    â€œDo you know any good places for fishing around here?” asked one.
    I saw fishing rods on the back seat of the car. But I really couldn’t be bothered to answer. I didn’t know why. It was probably because I was angry with myself, or perhaps because I was tired after having been beaten by the rain.
    As I stood there without answering, the two frowned at each other.
    â€œWhat a weirdo,” said the taller one, scrutinizing my face. His provocative look really got to me. It probably would not normally have bothered me, but with my nerves on edge, his petty attitude rubbed me up the wrong way.
    â€œWhat’s it to you?” I snarled.
    He reddened and glared at me. “If it’s a fight you’re after, I’m up for it,” he said in a low, threatening voice. The sun was beating down from the west, and I had the light directly in my eyes. I was getting annoyed. Saying nothing, I stepped forward and abruptly hit the guy in the face. A sharp sound rang out as he staggered and fell beside the car. “Bastard!” With a savage roar, he got up and came swinging furiously at me. His friend stood petrified and watched in dumb amazement.
    I went beserk. All my pent-up rage found an outlet as I rained down blows him. His fists slammed into my face and belly. I was bleeding from a split lip, but I felt no pain.
    The guy was about the same height as me, but my build was stronger from baseball practice. As we fought dementedly, he suddenly dropped to the floor and stopped moving. His face was covered in blood. I grabbed his collar and hauled him to his feet, then hit him again.
    â€œStop!” yelled the other guy on the verge of tears. “Stop, please stop! You’ll kill him!”
    His sobbing brought me to my senses. The savagery that had taken hold of me slowly dissipated.
    â€œYou’re crazy! He’s half dead,” he screamed at me as he dragged his unconscious friend into the car. I watched numbly as the car sped away. I felt no sense of triumph. I began to feel even more wretched than before. I had