This was bad. This was very, very bad and very, very stupid. It was official, Tenuma Kaname had just done the stupidest thing a mentally conscious and sentient life form could do wile walking home through the forest, in the rain, alone at sunset. He had gotten himself stuck. Worse yet he was stuck waist deep in running water. It was his own fault, really. He'd gotten distracted by some odd shadows and walked too close to the fragile creek bed and it had slipped out from under him, sending him straight into the water and wedging his foot between an old, thick tree root and a large rock that had fallen when he did. Summary of the situation: Tenuma was stupid, fell in the water, and was now stuck there.

He didn't have very many options. He had already tried for half an hour to move the rock himself with no success. At least his foot didn't really hurt though he supposed it was probably just numb because he couldn't move it. The way things looked like there were three possibilities. Someone miraculously stumbling across him and helping him out of his watery shackles, no one finding him for so long that he gets too tired to keep standing above the water leading to him drowning there and making the news as the unrecognisable waterlogged body in the river, or there could be a flash flood from the recent rain, causing him to drown a lot quicker. Needless to say he was hoping for the first possibility. The third was his backup choice.

A shiver ran down his spine and he uselessly hugged himself in an attempt to stay warm. It wasn't a particularly cold evening, but being waist deep in an icy river just after sundown was never a warm business. There was another possibility, hypothermia. Though he doubted that one. After all as long as his chest was high and dry it would take hypothermia a long time to set in. The rain was only light so he wasn't exactly soaked. You've got to have optimism about this stuff.

The sun had gone down a while ago but it was only now getting truly dark. The idea of having to stand there in cold water for approximately twelve hours of darkness was honestly a bit disconcerting in Tanuma's books. He thought he might be a tad less worried if this had happened in the morning.

Tanuma's legs were already starting to get tired and he hadn't really been there for that long. The push of the current against his legs was more tiring than he had anticipated. For about the millionth time since he got stuck he tried tugging his foot out but no matter how roughly he jerked his leg it refused to move. He huffed lightly and stared down into the running water.

Suddenly a blearing light hit him in the face and he winced, shielding his eyes as he at tried to adjust himself to the sudden brightness.

"Tanuma...?"

Tanuma looked up, blinking against the light. Around ten metres ahead, standing by the creek bed, was Natsume. He was wet from the rain and he had a puzzled look on his face as he shon his flashlight into the stream. Tanuma sighed as a wave of relief washed over him before he realised the position he was in and his face lit up with embarrassment.

"Hi, Natsume." He replied, waving awkwardly from his place down in the water.

Natsume walked closer, hopping down from the bank to stand on a large rock protruding from the water hardly two feet infront of Tanuma."What are you doing out at this time? In the water?"

"Oh, well, you see," Tanuma began, rubbing the back of his neck. "I was walking home."

"In the creek?" Natsume asked in confusion.

"No, on the creek bed. I guess I walked too close and it crumbled." He pointed to where a chunk of earth was missing from the creek bed. "I fell in and, well, my foot got stuck."

Natsume blinked and shon the torch into the water where Tanuma's foot was wedged.

"Oh, are you okay? Does it hurt? How long have you been here?"

"Yes, no, and I don't know. Since sunset." Tanuma listed off. "But what are you doing here?"

"You're stuck in the creek and that's your concern?" Natsume asked with an amused expression.

Tanuma shrugged. "I've had a lot of time to get used to being here and now that you're here I don't really have to worry."

"I was helping a Youkai find her friend. Good thing I was or I wouldn't have found you." Natsume's brows furrowed. "I don't think I'm going to be able to move that. I'm going to have to call authorities."

Tanuma's shoulders slumped. "Really? I guess I should have expected it."

"Sorry, I know it's a lot more of a hassle but I don't see any other way." Natsume shifted. "I don't have a phone, though, so I'm going to have to go find one. You're house is pretty close, isn't it?"

"You're going to leave me here?" Tanuma pouted.

"I'm sorry, unless you have a phone.."

"Oh! My dad got me an emergency cellphone. It's always in my bag." He looked around and then frowned. "I hope I didn't drop it in the stream."

"Hold on." Natsume climbed from the rock back to the bank, shining the torch on the ground near where Tanuma had initially fallen. He was looking for a while before he smiled and reached into a group of shrubs, pulling out Tanuma's small carry bag. "Is this it?"

Tanuma's face lit up in a grin. "That's it!"

Natsume smiled and sat on the creek bed. Tanuma watched tentatively as he called for emergency services. For what seemed like a fairly simple problem they asked a lot of questions. The phone call lasted several minutes as they went over the location, Tanuma's state, what they were doing there, the water level, just about everything. It was sort of irritating. When Natsume finally ended the phone all he sighed and told his friend that help would be there in fifteen to twenty-five minutes.

"Sorry I couldn't just move it myself, you'd be out by now." Natsume apologised regretfully but Tanuma just smiled and shook his head.

"No, I should be thanking you. If you hadn't shown up I would have probably been here all night and who knows how long after that."

The creek bed was substantially elevated from the actual water so Tanuma had to arch his neck a fair bit to give him a friendly smile. He shivered again as he felt the flow of the water pick up. It was probably raining heavier further up stream.

Natsume suddenly looked incredibly guilty. "You must be freezing. Here." He put down the flashlight and began pulling off his coat.

"No! I'm fine you don't have to-" before he could finish his sentence, Natsume threw the jacket in Tanuma's direction and he was forced to fumble to catch it before it hit the water. It was already damp but it was good enough. "Thank you, Natsume." He gave in. Instead of putting it on he tarped it over himself to sheild himself from the rain. If he had tried to wear it properly the end would have been in the water. Speaking of the water, it seemed to have risen to his ribs. It had been a gradual rise so he hadn't immediately noticed it.

"Did you end up finding them?" Tenuma asked suddenly.

Natsume blinked. "What?"

"The youkai's friend, did you find them? You said you were helping a Youkai find her friend but you never said if you found them or were still looking."

"Oh." Natsume chuckled. "Yeah, we found him. Turns out he'd been taking a nap in a tree and slept a bit longer than he meant to. They didn't really need my help at all, they would have found each other just fine on their own."

"It was sweet of you to help anyway." Tanuma stated.

"I still don't understand why you were asking about that. You're stuck in a freezing river, it'd be understandable if you wanted to complain a bit."

"Well, I could complain. After all I am freezing, wet, tired, and I'm pretty sure my foot has fallen asleep, but I think I'd rather keep my mind occupied with other things." Tanuma joked with a small grin and Natsume laughed.

"Fair enough. What would you like to talk about, then?"

Tanuma tapped his chin thoughtfully. "I want to talk about," he paused with a smirk before pointing at Natsume. "You."

"Wha?!" Natsume fumbled awkwardly, face turning red. "Why me?!"

Tanuma chuckled at his friends embarrassment, having achieved the result he wanted. "Because I like talking about you."

"To talk about me, that's a very hard thing to ask." Natsume huffed, unamused with Tanuma's sense of humour.

"So is asking me what I want to talk about. If you don't like that, you could tell me a story?"

"A story?" Natsume asked skeptically.

"It's a joke. I was trying to start a conversation without having to pick a topic." Tanuma frowned, furrowing his eyebrows. "I don't think it worked."

Natsume snorted and broke out laughing. "I-I'm sorry!" He managed between gasps and chuckles.

"Hey, you're not the pinnacle of social grace either you know." Tanuma huffed but couldn't help but smile. He loved to see Natsume so carefree. It was a nice change from worried half smiles and distant looks. He spoke before he even thought about his words. "Your laugh is nice. If I weren't stuck down here I think this would be perfect."

"I think the cold must be getting to you." Natsume shook his head but smiled down at him nonetheless.

they remained in comfortable silence for a while after that. They weren't sure how much time past, neither bothered to keep track. Sometimes it just seemed better for them to be quiet. It wasn't awkward like nobody knew what to say. It was just their natural state or so it seemed. It was probably a good thing after Tanuma's spectacularly failed attempt at forming a conversation.

Tanuma closed his eyes and focussed on the sound of rushing water and the feeling of it flowing past him quickly and fluidly. It was cold and tiring, yes, but at the same time it was comforting. He had always loved this creek, ever since he had moved to the area. He sat by it often when he wanted somewhere to relax by himself. There were days when he would sit there for hours upon hours just listening to the flow of that water and yet it hadn't occurred to him until just this moment that he had never actually felt the flow on his own skin. He might just have to do this more often.

After a long while of listening to the flow of the water, something changed. The soft rush of water past his sides was no longer the only sound he could hear. Now there was something else, something more powerful and menacing. A harsh tumbling of water against water. Tanuma's eyes snapped open and as he turned he saw a look of horror sweep across Natsume's face. Tanuma didn't even get to fully turn to see what was coming before he was whacked in the back of the head by a swell of water that threw him off balance and pushed him under the now rapid water.

The impact and force of the oncoming water knocked him off of his feet. The only reason he hadn't been swept away was his still jammed foot. He had been jerked so roughly that he had instantly felt a snap in his ankle. His lungs were tight and he just barely managed to stick his face out of the water to take a gasping breath and yell a desperate command before being plunged under again. Any air he had managed to take in had been wasted with his shout but he didn't regret it. He knew Natsume and he knew what he was going to do. If nothing he was glad that he was able to tell him to stay back, he could only pray that he listened. Unfortunately his waste of breath was proved pointless. Only moments after he was swept under and he forced himself to open his eyes in an attempt to gain his bearings. Much to Tenuma's horror he managed to force them open just In time to see someone dive into the water after him. Natsume. If he had any air left in his lungs he would have screamed but it was impossible. His lungs were already burning and his head felt light. The last thing he remembered seeing was Natsume, in an act of inhuman strength, struggling against the current. He had one hand on Tanuma's leg and the other on the rock crushing it as he tried desperately to free him. After that there was nothing.

Tanuma had read in books that everything went black. He didn't think that was true. He was almost certain that wasn't the moment he blacked out, that was just the last memory clear enough to grasp. People didn't just black out like that while drowning. It was very hard to pass out holding your breath. It's more likely for someone to fail to hold on any longer and breathe in a lung full of water before truly passing out. Yet last he remembered he had yet to give in to the near to breathe. The rest was nothing. Not blackness, just nothing.

When he finally came too it was far from comfortable. It felt like someone was shaking him awake so violently that it was painful. Unfortunately when he actually came to a wakeful state he wasn't sure he even had control over his own body. His entire torso spasmed and tensed and he vomited what felt like too much liquid to have come from inside him. Then all of a sudden his body began breathing, something he hadn't even been aware the he wasn't doing. He was coughing and sputtering and there were hands on him, moving him onto his side and wiping liquid from his mouth as he struggled to get a full breath of air.

His stinging eyes cracked open and he could see again. The first thing he laid his eyes on was, much to his comfort, Natsume. He was alive and kicking, soaking wet but alright. He was on his knees some metres away. There was a blanket haphazardly over his Shaking shoulders and it appeared that he was being physically restrained by a man in emergency services uniform. His hand was over his mouth and there were tears spilling down his cheeks. It was pretty close to heartbreaking.

tanuma was shifted back onto his back and people were trying to talk to him. Telling him he was going to be alright and that they had a stretcher coming to get him to an ambulance. Tanuma didn't care. He smiled in Natsume's direction.

"Tanuma...?" Natsume practically begged.

"Hi, Natsume." Tanuma replied, weakly waving in his friends direction.

Natsume looked so indescribably releaved to hear his voice.

"You saved me?" Tanuma rasped, thinking back on the last thing he remembered seeing back in the water.

natsume shook his head but the man who had been holding him back spoke. "He managed to get you unstuck but we pulled you both out. He did save your life though, we don't know if we would have gotten you out in time."

Tanuma relaxed, breathing more steadily now.

"I guess I'm kind of lucky." He mused lightly. "I got my first choice and my second."

No one else really understood that, but Tanuma couldn't help but chuckle at his own joke.