Eyes wide and filled with unshed tears, Shogo's mind is in full overdrive. Millions of scenarios flashing through his mind hoping to find some way to escape these treacherous waters with his life and all limbs intact.
His powerful will to live overpowering any moment of reflection. It turns out all Shogo's previous struggling on the boat prior to him being kicked off had paid off as the chains that bind him to the corpse are now loose enough for Shogo to use his right hand to grab his left wrist. And with a desperate yank following a deep breath...
*POP! *
Adrenaline beats out any of the pain coming from Shogo's now limp left arm and his lithe frame instantly slips out of the chains while airborne. Shogo quickly uses the descending corpse as a platform to jump out of the immediate trajectory of the hungry mouths below.
*CRUNCH! *
*CRACK! *
The chained-up corpse is gobbled up before it can even hit the water, quickly consumed chains and all.
*SPLASH! *
Shogo hits the water a few feet away not a second later, earning the full attention of the moss shark, who had received the smaller helping from their recent snack.
Locking eyes with the hungry shark slowly angling itself towards him underwater, Shogo uses that time to rip the knife out of his cheeks with his right hand and get his back parallel to the ocean surface. The shark seemingly pushes off an imaginary surface and in the blink of an eye, is inches away from Shogo's face opening its mouth to swallow the boy whole.
Extremely horrified by the endless rows of teeth primed to gorge on his flesh, Shogo lashes out with the knife in his right hand and finds purchase in the only place not fortified by coral on his aquatic assailant, their left eye socket.
The newly half-blind shark partially closely its mouth and angles its head to the left in response before it can bite down on Shogo but its titanic body still clips Shogo's left side ripping open multiple gashes all over his body and breaking multiple ribs.
Knowing his best bet would be to stay as close to the shark as possible, Shogo keeps a death grip on the handle of the knife now lodged in the eye of the moss shark. He uses the wild thrashing of the injured behemoth to wrap his legs around its body for a better hold, only to immediately regret it as the spikey coral along the shark's body burrows itself deep in his legs.
'FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! FUCK! - '
Shogo rapidly yanks out the knife and plunges it in the shark's eye socket over and over again, hoping to stop its frenzied movement from impaling him even deeper on its hide but it proves to have the opposite effect.
The rapid blood loss now making it harder and harder for Shogo to keep his eyes open, quick thinking and quick execution becoming more implausible for Shogo as he lost feeling in his right hand. Not that him losing grip on the dagger really matters as the spikes are now so deep in his body it is unlikely Shogo will slip away from the moss shark's body without some assistance.
Unable to move much anymore Shogo lets go of the dagger and almost on the same cue the moss shark stops its desperate struggle too, likely tired from blood loss as well. For a brief moment in the blood-stained water surrounding the two tuckered out adversaries, Shogo contemplates letting his eyes close just for two seconds at most.
The fight with the overgrown mutant fish feels like it has gone on forever. Where was the shame in taking a little nap in between? Shogo has been fighting his entire life, what's the harm with taking a little break before he's finished this one?
And then he felt it.
Beneath the fear, anxiety, tiredness, and pain; a familiar burning rage along with a surge of newfound strength floods into every part of his broken body and overworked brain.
Shogo's eyes snap open analyzing every part of his dire situation again. His focus immediately goes to the other shark who had gone largely ignored.
The emerald shark had long since finished its meal and is approaching its wounded brethren with alarming speed. Mouth fully open and eyes completely rolled back.
In a moment of absolutely inhuman strength and speed, Shogo pushes off the hide of the half blind shark with his right hand, unimpaling and breaking off pieces of coral to free his body before placing both of his bare feet on its hide and kicking with everything Shogo has in him.
The massive, injured shark's body moves forward only a couple inches before it meets the jaws of its emerald companion. As if to complete the betrayal the green shark doesn't miss a beat and proceeds to tear a fatal chunk out of its injured family.
Even more blood and pieces of coral fill Shogo's limited range of vision underwater but all Shogo can feel in the moment is triumph and elation.
Until his air final runs out, Shogo looks up and frantically swims for the surface which is only a few feet away. A big smile paints itself on Shogo's exhausted face as his right fingertip gazes-
*BANG! *
It's as if the ocean itself decided to self-destruct as a concussive blast rips through the water ejecting Shogo up in the air at least 30 feet. Panic and utter exasperation fill Shogo as he quickly approaches the ocean surface once again. A hard collision ensues rendering the victorious and battered child warrior unconscious after a fight to the death that lasted a grand total of five minutes.