That's how long they'd been given to train in the Shuuren no Mon, that's how long he was going to be trapped here with Snow and Bappo and Merilo.
Six months in the alternate dimension was only three days in the real world, but that was a long time for only the four of them to spend together. Even if they were to train non-stop, it would get a little boring with only the three of them around to talk to. He had a feeling the Stone Golem guardians would show up every once in a while to test them, but they'd still need to find other things to amuse themselves.
He finished up his business and headed for the river to wash off his hands before returning to their make-shift 'home' and going back to sleep.
'Still have to think of what to use the other two stones for as well.' he said to himself, thinking of the stones Allan'd given him for Bappo's
power before throwing them into the gates.
He spared a thought for Jack as he washed his hands, wondering how he and Dorothy were doing in their own section of space.
As he stood up, he noticed a strange sound coming from up-river and followed his ears to find it. He didn't think there were other creatures here,
so he was at a loss of what the sound was. Luckily the path was fairly clear and the moon was bright, so it wasn't hard to sneak up on the area
where the noise was coming from.
It was again thanks to the bright moon that he could recognize a humanoid figure standing in the river, even while he watched from his hiding spot behind some bushes by the waterfront clearing. As he glanced around to try and figure out who it was.
Had someone else entered the dimension with them? He questioned himself. He spotted a pile of clothes on the bank, and stopped his scanning to try to figure out what was going on. When he spotted the hair bow he recognized it for what it was, and he glanced back at the figure in the river and ran a mental check.
When his mind responded, Ginta immediately stood up and took a step back. He blinked and turned around, then began jogging back to the campground. Before he'd gone very far, he stepped on a fallen twig, breaking it in two and alerting her to the presence as he retreated.
*****
Along the way back to camp, his mind remembered that Snow's makeshift bed had been empty, something he hadn't though much about when he'd left, but now his mind was buzzing with thoughts.
'Not going to get back to sleep for a while.' Slowing down and trying not to be too noisy as he made his way back into the clearing, trying to let at least Bappo and Merilo stay asleep after the training he'd done with the kendama and having the guardian directing him through the first level of training.
As he sat back down on his mat-leaf-bedding, Koyuki's chocolate fell out of his pocket and he thought back to her.
'Sorry Koyuki.. again.' He thought again of how similar Snow and Kokuki looked and acted, and his thoughts descended into even more chaotic
thoughts, causing him to zone out for a while.
*****
Snow entered the clearing a few minutes later, quietly as she could, and noticed Ginta sitting up and staring at nothing with a package in his hands. She hoped she hadn't woken him up when she'd left.
She blushed as she remembered how they'd met, but calmed herself and touched his shoulder, and jumped back when he jumped, startled out of his thinking.
'Oh, I didn't know if I'd woken you when I left camp earlier.' She said, turning away to hide the blush deepening being so close to him.
'No,' He answered, 'just thinking.'
She nodded, returning to her own resting place and sitting down. 'What's that?' She ventured.
'Hmm?' He said for a moment, 'Oh, this is chocolate. A treat from my world.' He explained, putting it back in his pocket while reminding himself to eat it later. 'A friend gave it to me, before I was pulled into this world.'
Taking that as the end of conversation, she began to lay down to fall asleep. 'Were you just at the river?' He asked suddenly.
'Yes?' She answered, opening her eyes to try and see where he was headed with that question. The blush on his cheeks answered her own question about who had been around there and her cheeks blossomed in blushing as well.
'Oh, I just.. wanted to make sure it was you. I'd heard something and followed the sound and um.. saw you and..' He drifted off for a moment. 'And I didn't want you to think I was trying to peep or anything or..' He said in a rush and then trailed off.
There was a small giggle that both of them missed hearing coming from the third humanoid in the area at that, but she declined to comment, keeping up the facade that she was sleeping through the conversation.
'I was just thinking.. if you could leave a note or something so I knew when to stay away from the river, next time.' He continued after a minute of silent blushing between the two.
'I'll try to remember.' She answered. Sensing that the conversation was over now, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep, hearing the rustling of Ginta doing the same.
**********
First chapter, I had to do it *^_^*
Between listening to 'Summertime' by Kenny Chesney, and seeing (and laughing at) episode 70 or so of the MAR anime (the one where they all go to the public, co-ed bathhouse before Dorothy's match of the final round) and seeing that Ginta was the 'Only' guy who wasn't completely distracted by Dorothy's looks (Even Alviss reacts :p) combined with the Naruto episode where he sees Hinata in the waterfall, and remembering that, while we get hints, there are a lot of holes in the '6 months' where they're in the Shuuren no Mon. I wanted to do a story, so this slowly built itself.
I plan for more chapters to follow this, and I have some ideas for additional scenes, Snow building (at least one) the necklace that becomes the symbol of MAR for Ginta, Ginta coming up with the other two stones' powers and revealing '1b' transformation, talking more about Koyuki and how Snow resembles her, in appearance and in manner, and other things, but I'm open to other ideas as well. If you want to see a scene played out during the 6 months they're in the gate, let me know and I'll see what I can do with it.
I'd like to include Merilo in as much as possible, she's not a fighter, so she can't really help with the training, but inputting a comment here and there if nothing else. Maybe standing in as an adult figure for them while they're in there.
Another reason for writing this scene first is to show how far the physical relationship between Ginta and Snow is going to go. They're still blushing like school-children when they're reminded of the kiss in the episode they get out remember, so it can't progress too far, and I'm going to try to stick to the main story line as much as I can.
I'd also like to make the chapters longer if I can, this one felt a little short when I was writing it, but I liked where I ended it, so I moved the planned discussion about Koyuki to later.