Ichigo stared blankly into the campfire long after all the others had gone to bed. It was clear to anyone watching that her mind was, once again, miles away.
She was oblivious to the soft shifting of sand until a soft voice asked, with just a touch of amusement, "Am I gonna have to dump water all over you again?"
Slowly, the part time cat-girl looked up into her boss's brilliant blue eyes. She gave a vague shrug before her eyes returned to the orange-red flames flickering before her. Her gaze was drawn to the blue at the heart of the fire, and in her meditative state, her subconscious reflected on the likeness of the blue there to the eyes watching her silently from above.
Shirogane invited himself to a seat beside her, flicking sand at her as he settled into a cross-legged position. She made a face.
"What's bugging you? I can't have our team leader tying her little brain in knots!"
Ichigo shot him an amused glare, wrinkling her nose at him in minor annoyance.
"Why do you always do that?"
"Do what?"
"Insult me. Pick on me. BUG me!" Ichigo huffed, sending her own little handful of sand his direction. True to "Ichigo Luck", a breeze chose that moment to pick up, sending dusty grains right back into her face.
Shirogane chuckled as she sneezed a couple times and dropped her head in embarrassed defeat. Reaching over, he gently smoothed away the sand with gentle fingers on the side of her face he could see.
"I don't know, really," he said contemplatively. "It's like… I just… have to." He gave a shrug of his own.
Ichigo looked up in disbelief, her own hand coming up to wipe off the remaining sand with a short, irritated movement.
"You have to? What kind of answer is that?"
"I don't know," the blond repeated.
"You're impossible!" the redhead grumbled, rising to her feet and moving to stand at the edge of the moonlit waves.
"I know," he replied, coming to stand a few feet behind her. "It's just that…" He paused.
'"Just that" what?' What would he finish his sentence with, she wondered. What did she want him to finish it with? Above her, the celestial assembly gazed down in absolute impassivity and impartiality.
The silence stretched longer. Finally, when she couldn't bear it any longer, Ichigo turned, ready to demand completion.
The beach was empty.
Bathed in shadowy blues, Ichigo turned once more to the waves, shivering as the spray washed over her body.
AN: Short, I know, and probably not the ending most of you were anticipating, especially after all this time.
The fact of the matter is, I intended this to be a stand-alone prelude to another story I have in mind, but I jumped in headfirst without any clear idea of how I wanted it to happen and started to drown. However, it is done, and if I can get my rear in gear, hopefully the next story won't be far behind.
I hope you enjoy the tone to this chapter. Let me know what you think of it!
Thanks for reading!
BH
