The ninja shifted in the barn rafters to get a better view of the shabby pirate below. The pirate placed two pistols and his cutlass on the floor, then backed up from his weapons, looking around and calling out.

The ninja couldn’t understand the words, but he knew the intent. He dropped from the rafters and landed neatly in front of the pirate. The two eyed each other, and then the pirate held out his grubby hand. With a sigh, the ninja took it. The pirate grinned, showing several missing teeth, and shook the ninja’s hand up and down enthusiastically. The pirate pointed to himself and said, “Levi.”

“Makoto,” the ninja replied. The pirate grinned again and moved over to his weapons, replacing his cutlass in its scabbard and his pistols in his bandoleer.

Seeing the pirate rearming made the ninja nervous, but he knew it was a necessity. The zombie virus had spread as quickly through the ninja village as it had through the pirate ship, and they would both need to be armed if they were to survive.