"Kumari-chan?" I looked back to see Seiya rubbing the back of his head nervously.
"What?" I tried not to sound bitter.
He seemed to perk up. "Hey, I was just curious . . . as to why you defended Naruto-sensei so devotedly this morning."
I set down the jug of water I'd collected for the camp and faced him, still on my knees. "I spoke with him the other night, and he said a few things that made me think he was worth defending."
"He acts like such an idiot though," Seiya grumbled under his breath.
"Naruto-sensei? Yeah, he is quite the idiot, but he's also the kind of person who wouldn't care if he were murdered to save the life of someone close to him. I guess I've kind of come to respect him." A thoughtful smile perched on my lips.
"What he said was that powerful?"
"Well, I'm not sure if he'd said those words to anyone else, if they'd be as special, but they struck a nerve with me."
"What did he say?"
I turned away a little. "It's not my place to say. However, I can tell you this: he's smarter than he looks."
"Doesn't say much for him."
"Seiya!"
"Sorry! Force of habit!"
Surprisingly enough, I found this incredibly funny, and began giggling. "Where-where'd Hideki-kun go?" I asked once I'd caught my breath..
His eyes narrowed slightly, "I think he said something about checking the perimeter. He was planning on giving us a thirty-meter radius. He didn't leave too long ago, so he probably won't be back for about ten minutes, assuming he checks it three times, which I am betting he would."
I nodded at his logic. "Works for me. Help me with water and food security?"
"Uh, sure," he bent next to me and picked up the jug, I gathered up the empty one beside me and filled it in the river. While standing up, some of the water sloshed on to my clothes.
"Crap," I sighed, bending back down to refill the container. The frigid water turned my fingers red and stingy. Exasperated, I set the container down beside me and proceeded to warm up my fingers, pulling them into my fingerless gloves. "Gets cold at night out here," I noted, pulling my fists into core for extra warmth.
"Oh, you okay?" Seiya asked, leaning over my shoulder.
"What? Oh, yeah, just cold," I assured him.
"I've got a jacket back at camp you could borrow," he offered
I nodded in thanks.
"Here," I blinked as something red and soft dangled in front of my nose, tickling its tip.
"Hideki?"
"Wrap your fingers in this, I'll get the water," Hideki dropped the scarf into my lap, and picked up the water.
"You got back fast," Seiya noted, with narrowed eyes, his tone cold and emotionless.
"Hn. You don't expect enough from me," Hideki said in an equally cold tone.
I watched them glare at each other as she made a makeshift muff from the scarf. The evil glares that clashed between my teammates were so electrifying the hair on my neck stood on end.
I grunted as I got to my feet, both of them breaking eye contact with each other. "Let's get these back to camp before everyone's favorite sensei gives us a lecture."
"I'm not afraid of Naruto-sensei," Hideki laughed. "He's not all that great."
"Now you've done it," I heard Seiya mutter under his breath. I shot him a glare, and just to spite him, I disregarded Hideki's remark and began walking back towards camp. "Let's go, slowpokes!" I called over my shoulder. "It's gonna be dark soon!"