Haru sighed in boredom. They'd been sailing on this stupid chunk of ice for hours. Maybe even days. He'd already lost track and couldn't remember if there had been any nighttime, or if they still hadn't been floating for even a day. It was freezing too. So cold, to sit on ice. He couldn't even distract himself by looking for crawdads. The banks of the river had long since diverged far enough away that they were floating through the middle of the river, with each bank only visible as a distant horizon.
He scooted around in a 180 and stared at the back of the girl sitting on the other side of the ice chunk. Her long golden hair shimmered in the sunlight, lifting and falling gently in the faint breeze that had started to blow.
"What's your story?" Haru shouted, having already forgotten the tussle that had led them to this mess.
The girl glanced over her shoulder and harrumphed at him. Her attention returned quickly to the water.
The smile that had been starting to beam across his face as the girl turned vanished. Haru scuttled across the ice, ignoring the stinging chill on his bare hands. He felt determination bubbling up in him, that he'd make this girl nice. It had worked with Shizuku, why not try and make friends with this girl by assuming they were friends too?
"What's your name?" He blurted out as he plopped down beside her, exhausted by his scrabble across the ice.
The girl stared blankly at him for a long moment. "I'm a princess from Venus. I don't need to speak to lower beings. Only Riku is important enough to always obtain an answer."
Haru blinked. From Venus? What was wrong with this girl. Still, he remained stubborn. He held out a hand. "I'm Haru. Who are you?" At least her crazy attitude was keeping him occupied while they sailed onward to... to wherever they were sailing to.
"Find me Riku. Then we'll talk."
Haru scowled. This girl was being completely unreasonable. How was he supposed to find anyone while floating on a chunk of ice? He was getting angry. He fingers tightened into a fist. Without thinking any further about it, he lashed out and punched her face.
The girl reeled. Her hair seemed to fly everywhere. She remained facedown on the ice for a long moment her shoulders shaking. Haru bit his lip in worry. He hadn't meant to hit her hard. Finally her head lifted. Golden hair was scatted across her face, smearing the blood running from her nose. But she was smiling, and Haru abruptly realized that her shoulders had been shaking, not because she was upset but because she was laughing.
She threw her head back and suddenly the laughter was audible. Very audible. Haru's hands smashed over his ears trying to drown out the sound. Abruptly she stopped and held out a hand. "I'm Nino."
