ChapterThree:Wasn'tIDreaming?
Haruka's eyes flew open as he coughed and hacked. A hand was dragging him out of a pool of water by his shirt. This caused him to fall to his knees gripping his chest as he tried to clear water from lungs. It was apparent that whomever saved him wasn't going to let him recover as he came face to face with what looked like a whaling spear. The teenager gasped falling back on his hands as he stared up at the person who held tightly onto the object in question. Confusion quickly wrapped its way around his face as the spear jabbed toward him in a threatening manner."G-get up!" He knew this person. This was Aiichiro Nitori, the grey bob and beauty mark under the left eye was unmistakable.
Why on earth was he holding a whaling hook? On the note why on earth was he wearing those clothes? Aiichiro was clothed from head to toe in a very unusual outfit. Starting with his feet there were loose fitting leather sandals that wrapped around the bridge of his toes and his ankles. On up were baggy pants that appeared to be made from cotton or wool and were colored a rich sea-foam green. The only thing keeping the trousers on the small body of the tiny male was a leather belt that seemed to be tied around his waist as there were no loops to keep them up like on traditional jeans or any form of normal pants. As observations continued their way up his body his garb that covered his chest consisted of what could only be described as a cream colored tunic rolled up and under toward the middle of his thorax. It was quite clearly meant to expose his toned stomach as it did little else then that as the straps hung off his shoulders as if the tank didn't quite fit right. As if the outfit wasn't already strange enough the oddest part about it was the turban-like bandana wrapped around Aiichiro's head. It was the same color as his cotton trousers.
All these observations seemed to be a waste as Haruka was quickly forced to stand despite his condition. He had no idea what was going on. "W-who are you? H-how did you get into the private garden?" What on earth was Nitori talking about? Nanase stared down at the whaling hook that was now trained at his throat. He swallowed nervously and his fingers came up to push it to the side slightly.
"Nitori?" He questioned very quietly wondering if this was still part of his dream. It had to be. It seemed that saying Aiichiro's name only alarmed the tiny male more and he stepped back gripping the staff of the hook harder.
"How do you know my name? Are you a spy perhaps?" What kind of ridiculous dream was this? Haruka took a step back glancing around. It was now that he suddenly realized he was not in the park anymore. Nanase eyes widened shimmering with wonder as he realized he was in an expansive garden sporting every kind of flower that could possibly exist. Every single bed was surrounded by pools and rivers of water. It was beautiful and the urge to jump into the nearest pond tugged on Haruka's mind. "Hey! Don't ignore me!" Aiichiro demanded as he watched the absentminded male look around as if he had no idea where he was. Maybe he was drunk.
Nitori jumped a little as the stranger finally focused on him again."Why are you dressed like that Nitori?" What does he mean why am I dressed like this?
"What are you talking about? Your dressed the same way!" He was convinced that this person had been sampling wine or spirits of some sort. His exclamation seemed to surprise the raven haired intruder as he quickly turned to look into the pool that Aiichiro had dragged him out of. The free style swimmer couldn't hold back the expressions that warped across his face as he tugged and pulled ath the clothes attached to his frame.
"What am I wearing..." This wasn't built for swimming at all, it wasn't even very comfortable. His hands went up to the clothe wrapped around his head. Then they shifted down his chest to his exposed stomach as he grimaced. He could just feel that he wasn't wearing his swimming trunks. He felt very naked in this. While Haruka seemed more concerned with how he looked, Nitori was trying to come up with the best plan to deal with the male. It wasn't as if he could simply throw him out. It was against the law for anyone but the king to bathe in the waters.
"L-look I don't know how wine or whatever you've stolen but y-you need to d-do what I say and come with me." Aiichiro lowered the hook a little as Nanase turned back to him staring at him with perplexed eyes."I don't want to have to hurt you. I have to bring you before the king." A king? This really must be a dream after all.
"Who is the king?" Haruka asked trying to get a grip on his surroundings. This was a little much even for him. He needed to get as much information from the grey bob as possible. Again it seemed as though his question bewildered the younger swimmer.
"H-how can you not know who the king is! He's the greatest ruler in all the land! How can you be so disrespectful toward his majesty Matsuoka?" Definitely, a dream. Haruka's shoulders relaxed as his expression instantly calmed. He would wake up soon anyway. He wasn't really that worried truth be told. This was just some expansive dream world, it had to be.
"Alright, Aiichiro take me to the king." Nanase would humor the dream a little until he woke up. It didn't seem like he could wake up in the traditional way anyway. The grey bob seemed to relax a little as he straightened up leaning the hook away from him.
"Please, advance this way." Nitori motioned with the whaling hook and watched the interloper sigh a little moving in front of him to walk in the direction he was pointing. A trail of water prints following behind him. Who was this raven haired individual anyway? He'd never seen him before, and he certainly didn't look like anyone around here. Maybe those questions would be answered soon.
As they walked out of the garden into what could only be described as water palace, Haruka found himself relaxing more and more. Only he would have a dream like this. The floors were made of white tile, the walls deep mahogony panel, the art displayed was of water creatures and plants. One could not look more then a few feet before they ran into a fountain or a wading pool of some kind. This was truly only something a dream could produce. Aiichiro lead Haruka through halls and up staris until they reached what could only be the thrown room. It had a large pile of cushions sitting in the middle of a tile floor that spread out a few feet before sloping into a ankle deep moat of water that poured out from two holes on the inner side of two white pillars that reached the ceiling on each side of the moat.
Aiichiro put a hand to Haruka's chest stopping his progress into the moat, warm water lapping over his feet and soaking into the cotton of his calves. "No one is permitted past the moat but the royal guard and honored guests please take a step back." Nanase didn't really want to step back, this water felt delightful against his toes, but seeing as the whale hook was still present he obeyed. So, where was this dream version of Rin anyway?
"Your Majesty I have apprehended the intruder you spotted in the garden." Aiichiro stood beside Haruka, his voice had risen in volume as if Rin was several miles away. There was a stirring within the mountain of cushions and a few tumbled from the top splashing into the water. Well this was awfully strange."Your Majesty?"
"Oi...Aiichiro.." The cushion mountain was now talking. A familiar sharp voice echoing from the pile. "What did I tell you about waking me from my naps?" The precarious peak wobbled and an avalanche of feather pillows rushed toward the moat as burgundy hair poked out like crab grass from the land mass. It didn't take long for the long and slender body of Matsuoka Rin to make an appearance as he stood up from his nest. His eyes were still blinking away sleep as he clumsily pulled his right leg out of the pile and then his left. The entire ordeal was hilarious and honestly Haruka could barely keep himself from laughing. He actually might have if his tongue hadn't gotten stuck in his throat. As the sight he was now seeing of Rin was to much for him to handle. As the shark toothed male was stark naked and didn't seem to care in the least.
"M-my apologies!" Nitori scrambled to lay the hook on the wall as he splashed across the moat pulling the bandana from his head and wrapping it around Rin's waist. It was a lot longer then Haruka had realized. Had Nitori actually be wearing a blanket around his head this whole time? In fact, was that exactly what he was wearing? Nanase blinked rapidly as he watched the two males banter back and forth, Rin was trying to tug his way out of the covering and Nitori was insisting he keep it around himself. "S-sir your indecent! No stranger must lay eyes upon your frame!"
The dream Rin stopped tugging his red eyes now focusing on the stranger in question. They instantly took on a sharp attribute as he stood straight his hands moving to hold the covering himself so Aiichiro could step away."So your the one who was taking pleasure in my garden water." A statement not a question. Haruka wondered what on earth was wrong with what he was being accused of. Was swimming in this dreamland illegal? How awful, maybe this was a nightmare.
He didn't say anything toward what was said however and it seemed just like real Rin this Rin didn't appreciate his silence. The gill-less shark stomped across the moat his feet landing on water soaked cushions. As he came face to face with Haruka, their noses barely touching."Do you know what we do with people like you?" It was a question this time and obviously he was meant to say something but instead his head barely shook back and forth in reply. He was far to distracted by how close dream Rin was to him. Even in his more repetitive dreams Matsuoka never came this close to him. This felt to real. This felt like the Rin who constantly got up into his face to intimidate him."We throw them in cells to rot away." Haruka was whipped out of his thoughts as Rin's hand came across his chest shoving him to the ground staring down at him with glinting red retinas. "But for you, I have something else in mind."
The shark turned looking at Aiichiro and cocked his head at Haruka."Prepare him a camel, he will be sent out in to the desert." Nitori mouth gaped just a little. Did Rin intend to send this stranger to his death? He understood the laws, but this seemed like a severe punishment.
"But your Majesty..." Aiichiro didn't finish what he wanted to say as his lordship had already turned to his back to him again. He watched as the red haired royal dragged the intruder up onto his feet by his shirt bringing him uncomfortably close to his face.
"But first, since he won't be seeing water for a very long time, we should let him have one last taste of it. " Before Aiichiro could even begin to understand what his master meant, Rin was dragging Haruka by the shirt tails out of the thrown room. The grey bob scrambled to follow grabbing his hook from the wall.
"Your Majesty!"
Haruka Nanase was almost positive that if this was real that Rin wouldn't even be bothering to do this much to him. He would have just challenged him to some kind of duel and been done with it. Maybe he would have just mocked him so more. He didn't have much time to think about it as he was toted toward the balcony of the stairwell that connected the room he'd just been in with the lobby. Rin released his shirt shifting to put a hand on the banister.
"Look." He jerked his head over the barrier toward something that was clearly on the ground. Haruka slowly moved toward the banister to look. There was a pool below them that from where he stood looked to be about ten feet deep. He wasn't sure as the pool itself was about fifteen feet below the balcony itself. It was pretty, but it wasn't anything extraordinary as it was a round pool that was probably only six feet in width. If it wasn't so deep it could have been mistaken for a kitty pool. Before Nanase could turn to question dream Rin on what on earth he was suppose to be looking at. He found both the young male's hands on his chest shoving him backward, the amount of force that was used was excessive and being taken by surprise Haruka went straight over the barrier with very little resistance. However Haruka's reflexes weren't so shallow that he couldn't attempt to save himself. The raven haired swimmer grabbed for Rin's still out stretched arms. The shark was not prepared to be pulled forward by Haruka's weight and this resulted in them both going over the banister at an alarmingly fast rate.
Nanase was almost positive that the drop couldn't kill anyone, that this was a dream. However, time seem to slow down letting Haruka realize something. He could see complete and shit faced fear spreading across the shark's face. He'd never seen Rin so scared before. Even if this was a dream, he didn't want Rin to have that sort of face. So with a single movement Haruka pulled Rin toward him wrapping his arms around him tightly as they plummeted into the deep pool of water.
"Haruka! Haruuuuuuuuuu!" Nagisa's voice caused Haruka's eyes to pop open. What? Haru blinked rapidly as he turned toward the sound. Nagisa was standing inside the doorway of the restaurant waving his arms like a chicken. "The food is ready Haruuuu!" What? He whipped around toward the sound of water. The fountain was there, it wasn't overflowing though, in fact it was as calm as it ever was. What?
Nanase's eyes dropped to his left hand which was clenched into a fist, it was so tightly coiled that his knuckles were turning white. He relaxed it slowly opening his palm to reveal...his quarter. WHAT?
