Seigaku Training Camp: Between Us
It was sunrise when Asahina woke up again, but the forest was still a little dark for the trees didn´t allow enough light to pass though. Resting her head on the captain´s shoulder she decided to stay a bit longer since it was still cold early that morning: to savor Tezuka's warmth and the feeling of his chest raising and falling as he breathe.
Tezuka had also woken up. Imagining that Asahina was still sleeping and yet to recover from her exhaustion, he didn't dare to move: afraid to wake his angel up. He gazed down to look at Asahina's sleeping form; feeling comfortable around her and wishing that time would stop so that they could stay forever like that.
Unable to see her serene face from his position he recalled the image of Asahina sleeping peacefully on him; her lips sputtering on a feminine snore. This thought made a tiny smile escaped his lips: if he ever mentioned to her that he heard her snore last night, she probably would bite his head off. Now that he thought about it, she looked adorable whenever she was angry: with her dark silky jade hair framing her finely sculpted heart shaped face which was as pale as milk except for the flashes of angry pink on her cheek. Well, at least he found her adorable until that rage were directed to him.
You became a part of my life.
Tezuka heaved a sigh as he envisioned his angel, slowly descend before him. The longer he gazed her, the more detailed the image had became. To say that Asahina was attractive or pretty would have been a crass understatement. With her vibrant, filled with love and energy personality, her allure was beyond temptation.
He especially loved the way her eyes sparkled every time she smiled or laughed. He could easily lose himself in those magnificent green eyes: so green like a sparkling emerald lagoon, reminiscent of a baby's wide-eyed, innocent and glowing. And the way that full delicate pink lips of barely ripened strawberries curved into a smile was enough to melt his entire being and lighten up his world.
Tezuka repositioned himself to be able to run his hand up and down her back while his other unoccupied arm wrapped itself around his angel's waist. Yes, the waist that he could easily encircle with his arms. The way her soft roundness fit perfectly against inflexible flatness of his was as if she was made especially for him.
I can´t express in words or even in simple gestures the secret I´ve been keeping in my heart.
In the past, he'd never given those things more than a passing thought. He´d never imagined that one day he´d fall in love. That one day he would find a girl he would give his heart to had never crossed his mind. But the moment he met her these moments kept popping into his mind more and more frequently, making him feel what his life had been lacking for so long.
So I loved in silence, admired you from a distance and dreamt of you from afar.
Tezuka smiled to the memory of their first encounter in the fitting room: as soon as he opened the door and laid his eyes on her, his heart started beating hard and wouldn't stop. She was so beautiful that he stopped dead in his tracks and stood there just starring. Her large green eyes did something to him he couldn't explain and from that day on, he knew he had fallen for her and kept thinking about her; her image stuck in his mind no matter how hard he tried to rid it.
I wanted to say that I love you, but I´m not brave enough.
After a while, just when he thought he had forgotten her, she stood before him talking to Momo. The sight of her was enough to incite the feeling which he had tried to bury at the back of his mind. He tried to ignore it, but the more she appeared before him, the harder it was to overlook her existence. And with Fuji intervention in his affairs, he knew that he was at the point of no return.
So, in silence I will love you and in silence I will care for you.
He wondered if she felt the same about him. He wondered how she would react if he were ever to say the three magic words to her. And he wondered how it felt to actually tell her how deeply he felt towards her: to tell her that she had become an important part in his heart. Actually, he had tried to tell her several times before, like yesterday for example. However, every time he looked at her, he didn't know what to say. He didn't even know where to start. It was difficult for him to search for words to get describe how he felt and every time he tried to, something inside him held him back from telling her.
Rejection. Yes, that was it. A part of him was the Seigaku captain, ready to withstand any challenge, but the other was Tezuka Kunimitsu, unsure of his feelings that he just had to bury them deep inside him. He was in fear of what she would say to him was not what he hoped to hear. He knew that his life wouldn't be the same without her, but he wondered how would he lived knowing she didn´t love him back?
Lost in the swirl of emotions raging inside him, he didn't realize that he was running his hand through her silky hair. 'I love you, Rie.' He could feel his heart echo as the words tumbled out. When he finally realized what he had done, it was too late. The Seigaku captain tensed and snapped opened his eyes, quickly looked down on Asahina. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw that his angel was still sleeping peacefully.
When her brain finally registered Tezuka's confession, Asahina's eyes flew open in disbelief and she gasped. Not thinking about the consequences she turned her head back to face Tezuka. The moment their gaze locked, hers wary, his filled with tenderness, the world around them seemed to stop spinning and slowly cease to exist. His confession bounced back and forth her mind, smashing the wall of the fort she had worked so hard to build. Right now, nothing else seemed to matter as pleasurable tingling tension built between them. Pinned in his gaze, slowly but surely, Asahina's eyes softened. 'Kunimitsu,' she whispered.
As many times as he had dreamt of her calling to him with such passion, his dreams had never come close to being as wonderful as the reality. The lilting cadence of her voice calling his name sent jolts of electricity flowing warmly through him.
A wealth of love shone in his eyes as he gazed up at her, melting every barrier that separated them. Entranced by his gorgeous possessive hazel eyes she could feel her soul slowly being sucked by those magnificent orbs. The temptation was so great as her gaze fell on his soft lips that she was unable to fight it any longer. Slowly she inched forward, anchoring her lips onto his, lightly as if to see how he tasted.
As she drew closer to him, her beautiful face seeming to eclipse everything else around her. And the moment her velvety rosy lips touched his, his breath hitched and his mind turned autopilot on while throwing his logic out the window: only raw instinct and desire was left behind waiting for the right moment of release. Before her sweet lips made him completely abandon his rational mind, he pulled her further toward him and grazed his lips on her cheek like the caress of butterfly kisses, light and tantalizing while his fingers ran through her hair.
Oh God! She closed her eyes, battling the waves of panic and pleasure, both of which swamped her as he trailed his lips lightly over her cheek towards her mouth. 'Kunimitsu.' She knew that what they were doing was wrong and now would be a very good time to retreat. But how could it be wrong when it felt soooo right?
Seeing that Asahina wasn't resisting to his advances really surprised him. He had expected her to push him away, maybe even slapped away! Does she feel the same way as I do to her? He needed to know if she loved him too. Finally, Tezuka made up his mind and decided to take the risk. It was too late to turn back because he knew that he had gone too far and he had no intention to do so. As his mouth lightly touched hers, her breath rushed from her and he took it into himself.
She curled her fingers over his shirt. For a second, Asahina meant to push him away but pulled Tezuka towards her instead, deepened their kiss. There was no point of resisting anymore; she was completely driven by her true desire for him, forgetting that they were not suppose to this. Forgetting that she wasn't supposed to do this to him. Leading him on. Shivers ran over her skin and shuddered down her spine as heat pooled in her belly, radiating out from there like tendrils of fire. Oh God! He´s good at this. Asahina returned to kissing him fully on the mouth, murmuring that she loved him so much, and the words almost indistinguishable from her blissful sighs, which he drew into himself as if they gave him sustenance. His lips were soft and warm, but somehow he made her feel pleasantly cold. It took everything she had not to shiver and melt in his arms.
The moment he heard Asahina moan her love declaration to him he pulled her to him and deepen their kiss. She loved him and for him, everything else didn't matter.
After what seemed like an eternity, Asahina finally regained her senses; she jerked her mouth from his and looked up to him with nothing short of stunned amazement. She clutched his shoulders and took a few second to clear off the cloud of bliss she felt. Oh dear, what have I done? Afraid that she would change her mind, she quickly pushed herself off him, stood up and lurched away from him towards a nearby tree, half expecting him to stop her.
The hair stood up at the back of her neck and she could feel her pulse slamming in her skull. She rested one of her hands on a tree for support, still not able to believe she had responded to him so easily. 'I´m going to find more fruits for breakfast,' Asahina said over her shoulder. A safe distance. She told herself. That´s just what I need.
……………...SILENT WISH SILENT WISH SILENT WISH………………………
A tangle of confusing emotions swept through her as Asahina recalled what had just happened. She didn't know what had possessed her to do that. But it could have been just... um... a quick kiss. Asahina was about to blame Tezuka for turning an "innocent" kiss into a long passionate one but when she thought about it, she couldn't bring herself to blame him because the captain probably was just reacting by his instinct. Besides, as far as she remembered, she was the one who initiated the kiss and he was after all a guy and from what she heard from her girlfriends at school, any guys without exception would not hesitate to take advantage of an opportunity when they stumbled onto one. The thought hung in her head for a while and then shook her head, feeling guilty. Despite of her first impression of him as being perverted the first time they met, she had begun to understand and realize that Tezuka was not just any guy. He was not the kind of guy who like to fool around and took every aspect of his life seriously. In fact, she knew from her experience while going out with the captain that he wouldn't bat an eye to the girls around him. But that would mean one thing... A realization struck her and her heart fluttered at the thought. He kissed me because he likes me? Asahina shook her head at the thought. That couldn't be right, Asahina thought. She knew Tezuka's type of people: they care nothing for "trivial" things like this and would only focus on the goal they had set for their life, in Tezuka's case would be tennis.
'That would be a crass understatement, Hina-chan,' a mini devil Megume appeared with a puff of smoke on her left shoulder.
'He loves you! How could you not see that?!' another mini devil appeared beside Megume which looked exactly like Kiki and she looked really furious.
He loves me. The words bounced back and forth in her mind. The exact same words Tezuka had used to expressed his feeling to her. The idea of the Seigaku captain having such feeling for her made her felt somewhat uneasy although it was not a repulsive thought.
'For crying out loud! For a tensai like you, how could you be this clueless!' Kiki screamed, wanting to pull her hair out. 'How could you not picked up the hints he dropped all this time? It is too obvious that he is very interested in you.'
Asahina raised an eyebrow to the little devil before her. Even in her imagination, Kiki managed to be annoyingly defensive to "Mr Perfect Tezuka Kunimitsu". If it wasn't for her to realize that this was nothing more than a daydream, she would have taunted Kiki that she shouldn't stood up for guys other than her boyfriend.
'Stay calm, Kiki-chan. You know how slow she could be on things like this.' Megume said, patting the overreacting devil. 'And you, Asahina Rie should stop being in denial at once.'
In denial? Asahina was taken aback. She knew that the real Megume would definitely say that but she didn't expect to be scolded in her imagination. Wasn't it that since she owned the daydream, she was suppose to be the one in control. In fact, if she wanted to, she could pawned these two devils for making her life complicated. What she needed right now was an angel to appear on her right shoulder and tell her to forget the whole thing and act as if nothing had happened. Asahina turned to her right, expecting an angel to appear.
'Fat chance, Hina-chan. Not going to happen' Megume smirked. 'Even the angel thought that we are right and didn't even bother to come and argue the case.'
'Wake up! Are you in an anime or something?' Kiki snickered. 'You see in the real world, there is no such thing as angels; there are only devils and more devils.'
Now that is absolutely a cliché, Asahina thought. 'Real world? You are not even real!' Asahina argued heatedly. Kiki raised her eyebrow before approaching Asahina and kicked her square on her face. 'Ouch! That hurts,' Asahina cried, rubbing the sore part.
'How real could we get than this?' Kiki smirked smugly.
'You are suppose to make my life easier,' Asahina glared the two devils. 'Not to complicate it.'
Kiki and Megume looked at each other and flashed a knowing grin before turning to Asahina. 'You are the one who make this whole thing complicated, Hina-chan,' Megume said. 'It is actually a very simple thing! All you've got to do was to follow your heart. When your heart says you love him, believe it. When his heart tells you that he loves you, accept it.'
'You are crazy. I am not taking advise from a mere imagination!' Asahina refused stubbornly.
'No, actually you are the one who are crazy since you are actually talking to yourself right now,' Megume retorted. Asahina opened her mouth but nothing came out. She had indeed lost her mind as she had just been ridiculed by her own make-believe fantasy. Megume sighed at her stubbornness and said, 'You love him, Hina-chan. Admit it and I can assure you that you won't regret it.'
'So, what are waiting for?' Kiki said with her hands on her hips. 'Get your butt back there and tell him how you truly feel.' With that the two devil disappeared with puffs of smoke.
Asahina leaned on one the trees and sighed. This was absolutely the most ridiculous daydream she ever had but she had to admit that the devils were right. Asahina recalled her morning sweet moment with Tezuka flooded her mind. She recalled the way those sharp mysterious brown eyes looked at her. He was attracted to her, no question about it, and if she were to be honest, she was equally attracted to him too. The fact that she was falling head over heels for the Seigaku captain hung in her mind and slowly she learnt to get used to the truth. There was no use to deny it anymore; there was no excuse she could come up with which could convince herself otherwise and the worst thing was that right now she felt a sudden strong urge to be in the captain's strong arms with his warmth and the solidness of his shoulder enveloped her entire being. In fact, she could still feel the intoxicating sensation of his lips pressing firmly against hers and the way his hand touching her hair so lightly while his lips trailing like gossamer over her cheek, undoubtedly got her addicted.
Oh God… I am in serious trouble here. She realized that she had never been so attracted to a boy before. Not even to Kyo who had been such a Prince Charming to her. As to how Tezuka managed to sneak his way around the thick fortress which she had worked hard to build was beyond her. All she knew was that he somehow had became a part of her and he was here to stay. She frowned at that thought. She couldn't let herself to have these feelings. They went against every vow she made to herself after leaving the Rikkai.
Asahina sighed, wondering why how she ended up falling for a guy like Tezuka. Why did she let herself to dig her own grave? She should have been more careful so that she wouldn't be carried away with her emotion. And how could she fell in love with Tezuka who was definitely not as sweet as the guys she typically had a crush on? Then, a realization came to her: she had let her guard down and she allowed it to happen because she thought that it would be okay as long as there was no potential relationship develop between them. She thought that the strict and indifferent captain would never reciprocate her feeling. Tezuka had somehow tricked her into his trap behind those emotionless facade. Liar! her mind screamed. There had been many times, Tezuka had dropped so many hints for her: letting her know that he was attracted to her and she knew that Tezuka cared deeply for her. That was evident so much every time he looked at her. But, she was in denial despite of developing a deep fondness for him as well as every time she looked into those eyes of his, her heart skittered and her mouth went dry.
Now that she knew Tezuka also felt the same way for her, she didn't know what she was suppose to do and think about this. Why am I feeling like this? With other guys it had been easier to say that she wasn't interested in relationship but with Tezuka, it was hard to say that.
She breathed in and slowly exhaled, struggling for calm. She would deal with this, she told herself. Maybe if she could divert him from talking about what just happened and didn't mention the incident, both of them would forget what happened and pretend as if nothing had happen. If he insisted to talk about it, she needed to come up with a good reason not to talk about it. Telling him to focus on their priority would be the best reason, she thought. It is not a good time to discuss about this anyway. Or, she might just tell him that she does not have any feeling for him and was not interested in a relationship with him. The thing is I do love him and very much interested to be his girl!
Talk about a mess. How could she let her guard down and allow feeling run lose like that? She should have known better than allowing those emotions to rule her. Slowly, Asahina fought off her initial panic and began to feel better. It was easy to overreact when things happen all of a sudden. And that was what she was doing, overreacting.
Telling herself that she couldn't afford to lose her cool in front of Tezuka, Asahina looked around her, searching almost frantically for something to distract her.
……………...SILENT WISH SILENT WISH SILENT WISH………………………
Tezuka closed his eyes, his heart twisted as he recalled Asahina blindly walking, literally pacing, back and forth, trying to avoid him. She even refused to look at him whenever he tried to talk to her. Her silence should have revealed nothing but yet it had. Suddenly, so many things seemed clear to him. He now knew that she also had feelings for him, if not as much as he did for her at least the fire was there. The way she had returned his kiss proved that much and the way her eyes looked at him told him that she wasn´t angry nor hated him for kissing her. She was upset about something else. He didn't know what it could be but he was willing to listen to whatever crossed her mind right now. She looked sorry for what had happened. There seemed to be something which prevented her from accepting her feelings for him and that something acted like an impenetrable wall between them. But why? He, for one, wasn't sorry for what he had done. In fact he was glad that he finally got a chance to tell her how he felt for her.
Asahina just finished washing the fruits she had gathered. When she was finally ready to face Tezuka she saw that he was standing against one of the trees with one of his hand on it, probably supporting himself while examining his knee to see whether he could stand and walk on it or not. The girl decided to act normal as if nothing had happened because they would need to stick to each other if they wanted to get out from this mess. And once this is over, I´ll tell him that –
As Tezuka turned around, an intentional gasp escaped her lips. For a heartbeat, she froze and just stared at him, not knowing what to do. 'B-breakfast,' was all she managed to say, quickly tore her gaze from him. The bespectacled boy looked at her and then at the fruits in her hands. 'How's your knee?'
'I think it´ll be alright, we can make a few stops here and there as we walk but otherwise I´ll be fine. Besides I don't feel any pain: so I doubt that it´s broken,' he said as he approached her. He noticed that she took one step back away from him and sensed her awkwardness.
'Yeah, you better be. I wouldn't want the whole school to hunt me for injuring the Seigaku tennis ace. I don't think your fangirls would appreciate you getting hurt for the likes of me,' she joked, still avoiding his gaze, hoping that Tezuka would just forget the awkward moment between them.
Tezuka's features softened as he looked at her while Asahina avoided his gaze. I would have made the same choice if this was to happen again, he wanted to say but held it back, thinking that it wouldn't be wise to say that. As much as he wanted to know how she felt about what had happen between them, he decided that it would probably be better to give her time to think about it. He always pride himself for being mature and patient. So, waiting for her to settle her emotion would not be a problem for him. Besides, they had more important problem to deal with and finding their way back to the cabin certainly their top priority.
Asahina gave him one of the apples she had collected to him and sat down while biting on another. 'These are all I could find, I hope you wouldn't mind eating the same thing the rest of the day. I hope it´ll take less than a day for us to reach the cabin.'
'I´ll need to take a look at the map first to see how long it is till we reach the cabin. But, Inui said that it shouldn't take more than half a day between the cabin and the waterfall.'
'And Inui-senpai is always right, isn't it?' Asahina kidded.
'He is better than me on things like this but don't worry we´ll be alright.'
'I hope so. I´ll have to depend on you this time ´cause I can´t read a map even if it has the "You are here" arrow.
'The map´s with you, right?'
'Yup, it´s in my pocket. Do you want it?'
'Later. We´ll need to find the waterfall first and then work with the map from there.'
………………………SILENT WISH SILENT WISH SILENT WISH………………………
They had been traveling towards the waterfall in silence. A brittle silence. Tezuka was worried about the girl who was currently walking before him. Despite her trying to be as cheerful as humanly possible, he was able to read through her façade with ease and could feel her uneasiness. He supposed this was all related to his confession earlier. Of course it is. That was the only thing that could possibly make her awkward.
Asahina didn't talk to Tezuka while leading him. She was thinking about all those times Tezuka had 'slipped' hints regarding his feeling to her. Yes, she hadn't forgotten about them, it was just that she had been in denial and had always managed to convince herself that she had been hearing things. I guess it makes a perfect sense now.
When they reached the waterfall they decided to take a break and discussed the route they would use to reach the cabin. After fifteen minutes they decided that the best route was the one that allowed them to stick close to the river, apparently being the same river as the one near their cabin. However, the greatest challenge was to climb a cliff before them.
'You think you can handle the cliff?' Tezuka asked.
'Yeah, the cliff isn't that high and the slope isn't that steep either. It can´t be that hard!' Asahina replied with confidence. 'How's your knee?' She asked, suddenly remembering his injury.
'It´s okay. Don't worry.'
'Good. Then, I don't have to worry about you holding me back or to consider leaving you here, do I?' Asahina teased.
'No, you don't. In fact, I am pretty good at rock climbing.'
Asahina looked at the indifferent captain and rolled her eyes. 'Show off.'
With that both of them started to climb it.
………………………SILENT WISH SILENT WISH SILENT WISH………………………
'I think we´re lost, Kunimitsu-kun,' Asahina commented, observing the familiar surrounding. They had been forced to re-route around the river because of a path blocked. 'I think we´ve been here four times already. Look at that tree with the yellow flowers under it. It can´t be a coincidence that we bump into four trees that look exactly the same. ' I guess even the great Tezuka Kunimitsu has a weakness. Nobody´s perfect after all.
'We´re not,' Tezuka stubbornly said. 'I am just trying to get my bearing right.'
'I don't know if you´ve realized it while you were busy with your map, but we´ve been walking in circles.'
'…'
What´re we going to do now?' Asahina asked. When the captain didn't answer, she sighed. We´re in so much trouble.
'Look, it´s impossible for us to be lost.'
'And why is that?'
'Because I´ve been following the map very carefully. The river should be right here.'
'Oh sure, I guess that the most logical reason is that the river must have dried up in a few hours.'
Tezuka twitched at the sarcasm.
Asahina sighed at his lack of response. 'Maybe we missed a turn or something. Maybe you read the map wrong, are you holding it right?'
Tezuka heaved a deep breath, his patience was wearing thin. 'Would you like to read the map and lead the way then?'
Asahina looked at him and wrinkled her nose, feeling offended. 'I can´t read maps, I´ve told you already.'
'Then, I would appreciate it if you remain quiet and give me time to think.' An uncomfortable silence settled in.
'Do you think the ghost has anything to do with this?' She asked in a low mumble, eyes on the ground.
What?! Tezuka absolutely didn't see that one coming.
'You know I think this place is really haunted.' Asahina paused a while before continuing. 'I've seen it.'
Tezuka gazed her for a moment. She´s probably panic; afraid that we won't be able to get out of this place. He reached out for her and put a hand on her shoulders while gazing directly into her anxious emerald orbs. 'Asahina-san, I promise that I´ll get us out of this place.'
'But how? We´re already lost.'
'We are not. We´ll get out safely, but you need to trust me.' Tezuka said, placing his hand on her shoulder and looked direcly into her eyes. 'Do you trust me?'
Asahina hesitated at first but nodded at last.
'Let´s try once more, shall we?'
'Wait,' Asahina said pulling off one of her shoes off and a sock afterwards. 'Just in case.' She threw the sock onto one of the lower branches of the tree before putting her shoe back on.
Preoccupied in their discussion, both of them didn't see a large black boar stalking them behind a row of trees approaching them slowly. A gruff growling and grunting sound finally attracted their attention.
'Oh my god!' whispered Asahina when she saw the boar looking piercingly at them. The moment the boar detected that its preys were aware of its presence, it sprang forward charging angrily towards them.
Momentarily stunned, Tezuka turned his head back to Asahina and grabbed her hand. 'Run!' he commanded while pulling her with him.
'It's after us!' Asahina shouted, looking over her shoulder. Both of them ran as fast as they could away from wild boar. Thanks to their stamina, they were able to keep ahead of the crazy black animal. However, they were aware that the boar was slowly gaining after them. Asahina was slowing down as panic overwhelmed her. 'Oh my god! Kunimitsu, the boar –' she yelled while glancing now and then over her shoulder.
Tezuka tried to fight off the panic which was threatening to attack him. It wasn't an easy thing to do over his concern for his girl who seemed to start to give up and slow down. 'Rie, don't let your guard down. Focus!' he said, slightly squeezed her hand in encouragement while keeping his eyes ahead. 'You can do this!'
Asahina snapped her head towards the boy, and saw determination on his face. I can do it! Somehow, the feeling of his hands on hers renewed her strength. Slowly, the dark cloud of fear in her mind slightly lessened. She tightened her hold to him, determined to hold herself together.
Tezuka saw a big tree not far from where they were and an idea hit him. Pointing the tree, he said, 'Climb that tree. It won't be able to get us.'
As soon as they reached the tree, Tezuka told her to climb up first. Asahina's legs trembled as she made her way up the tree. 'Hurry!' Tezuka urged before Tezuka himself climbed up too. They stood facing each other where the tree branched off into three leaving enough space for them to stand at the centre of it. Fortunately, the tree was big and sturdy enough to hold the two of them. Below them, the boar was furious for their successful escape. It slammed its head onto the trunk of the tree again and again, causing a slight tremor running through the tree. It seemed like an eternity when finally the ramming stopped as it decided to wait there for them to come down.
'Ohhh…' Asahina uttered a sigh of relief. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest. She shut her eyes, trying to fight down the waves of nausea that rose up from her stomach.
Breathing hard, Tezuka studied her: relieve that she was alright. Then he observed their surrounding and made sure they are safe. At least for that moment. Now that the immediate danger had passed, he felt his determined calm starting to crack. Fear. Worry. Panic. The mixture of emotions he felt just now certainly overwhelmed him.
Asahina was scared at first when she felt his strong encircled her waist and brought her close to him. Believe it or not, she could feel him tensed and his whole body grew rigid. He was just a human after all. Sometimes, after going through so many tough things, a person needed time to breath and needed someone else to lean on to keep their sanity intact. Asahina opened her eyes and placed her hand behind his head which was buried deep into the nape of her neck while the other ran up and down his back soothingly trying to calm him down. It was all she knew to do, simply to hold on until the storm passed. It seemed like the gesture was working: she felt him relaxed and his breathing gradually calmed.
When at last his arm loosened around her, Asahina felt as though she had been sandwiched between two cement slabs. He gentled his hand on her waist, lightly caressing the pressure area where his arms had been. She could almost feel him returning to awareness, inch by inch.
'Did I hurt you?' he asked, gazing down at her as he placed his hands on her shoulders.
It was so like him to think first of someone else. Asahina smiled at him, shaking her head while stroking his chest with her hand to assure him that she was okay. 'Feeling better?'
'I am sorry for losing it like that. I hope I didn't scare you.'
Asahina didn't know what had possessed her to do it but right now she didn't care. Slowly, she leaned forward to trail her fingertips over his cheeks and smooth his hair, to comfort him. 'It's okay. We all lose it sometimes.'
'I am glad that you are here with me.'
'Same here.' She meant what she said. If it hadn't for him, she probably would have been bulldozed by the boar. They gazed each other for a long time before the tree vibrated again due to the impact it received from the boar caught their attention. 'Look like it didn't like being ignored,' Asahina joked, looking down before gazing back at him. The ramming stopped as soon as it started.
He looked back at her, amused. She was the only one who could still joke around in difficult situation like this. 'I think it would be a few hours before it would be completely dark. If we don't find our way back to the cabin by then, we would have to stay overnight again.'
Asahina went silent. She absolutely didn't like the idea of spending another night in the forest. Suddenly, an idea hit her. 'Wait! Why don't we light up a fire using the small branches of this tree? Not only we could rid of the damn boar, we could also use it to send signal to the others of our whereabouts.'
'Could you do that?'
'Absolutely!' she answered in confidence. 'But we need to hurry and lit it up before it got dark. Or else they wouldn't be able to see the smoke.'
Tezuka considered her idea and finally agreed. 'Just make sure you don't burn the whole tree down,' he said. '- and the forest.'
'Only one problem.
'What is it?'
'You would need to break the branches for me because I don't want to break any nails.'
Tezuka looked at her dumbfounded. Never had he known she was that… feminine.
Asahina couldn't hold it much longer and burst giggling while supporting herself on him. 'You should look at your face. You are so easy to trick, Kunimitsu-kun.'
'Asahina-san, I would appreciate it if you refrain yourself from making jokes at the times like this. We have important thing to attend to.'
Asahina grinned at him. 'Lighten up, okay. You are too serious and it is getting my nerve,' she said before climbing higher to get to the smaller branches they needed. 'No need to follow me, you are too heavy. Don't want to break the branches,' she teased.
'Just be careful,' he advised while following her with his gaze.
………………………SILENT WISH SILENT WISH SILENT WISH………………………
'How long do you think would it take for them to come and find us?' Asahina asked, sitting down on a branch not far from Tezuka while looking up to the sky after she finished setting up the fire.
'I hope soon,' Tezuka answered. The sky had darkened and the boar was still down there.
'Why do you think it is after us?' she asked again, referring to the boar.
'I don't know. Maybe we disturbed it somehow.'
'Maybe the ghost disturbed it and told it to run after us.'
'Ghost?' Tezuka looked at her skeptically.
Asahina ignored his look and said, 'Yes, I saw one right before I fell down the cliff. This place is haunted.'
'There is no such thing as ghost.'
'I don't believe in ghost too. But I saw it!' she defended heatedly.
'Please calm down, I'm sure –' Before he could finish, they could hear a gunshot exploded and the boar howled in pain before collapsing. Then, they saw several figures coming out from the shadow.
'Oh my god, they killed it!' Asahina gasped. Although, the boar had been causing trouble, to her, it didn't deserve to die. It was just an animal which acted based solely on their wild instinct.
'We don't kill it, dear. We just tranquilized it,' said an unfamiliar middle aged man with a rifle with others
Asahina looked down at him and then to his rifle. The sight of that weapon caused a shiver running down spine. 'You d-didn't k-kill it?' she stammered.
'Yes, you can take a look at it if you don't believe me,' the man said, standing beside the boar to make sure it completely unconscious. 'It's safe to come down. Come on, I will help you.'
Tezuka and Asahina looked at each other. 'I told you that we will get out safely, didn't I?' Tezuka said.
'Yes, you did,' she smiled at him.
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I hope you enjoy it... I am currently having jetlag... just arrive yesterday... yeah, after 25 hours of flight I caught a very bad flu... and tomorrow I am moving out of this house after only one day of packing... n I have an orientation on the next day... So, you can imagine how exhausting is that...
Anyway, thanks for the review my dear friendzzzzz... purplestylus, Aika Hanagawa, alvis2, Love leads 2 Pain, Milisante, unknown player, invisible-gurl, Otakugal, ecyoj06, Fujiwara Michiyo... wow... new names makes me happy... familiar names makes me super hyper happy... and of course, my super duper huge flowery thanks to my awesome beta friend, Kailly... you saved me... (If you are reading this, I am telling you that I meant to proof-read the rest but it could only be in my dream... XD)
Right, before I forget the word I took out from the next chap is 'SLAM!'
Review!