𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 5
"WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"
Haruka's arms crossed over her chest with a huff. Her hair flowed gently in the water as the rest of her body laid on land.
She had been here all day waiting for Tobirama to arrive. The sun was finally going down which coated the ground in a nice golden glow. Her eyes were glued to his side of the water. She was waiting for the sound of snapping twigs, but they never came.
It had been like this all month.
No sign of Tobirama at all.
The first few days she would come by and wait for about an hour and then head home, but as time went on she started to come by early in the morning and wait until late at night just in case they had been coming at different times. Just this week she had been spending the night here.
But no sign of him anywhere.
Haruka wasn't sure if she should be mad at him for not showing up or worried. There's also the lonely feeling that has been itching at her skin for days on end. This was her first friend. She actually had someone that she could talk to. Someone her age. Yes he's an ass, but that doesn't matter to her.
He hates you.
"Shut up," She closed her eyes tightly.
He thinks you're annoying.
"Stop it," Her eyelids squeezed down harder.
He never wanted to be your friend. He was just taking pity on you.
"Please," Her hands covered her ears as if that would stop the noise from inside her head.
He's dead.
"STOP IT!"
Her hands pressed harder against her head. She could feel her skull pushing itself inside and could already see herself pushing too hard. Her skull would collapse around itself with a loud crack and her brains and blood would spill into the water for the animals to eat.
She heard a muffled voice from behind her, but thought nothing of it. Maybe it was her brain deciding to shut up now.
"Haruka!" Two cold hands wrapped around her wrists and pulled her hands away from her head. Her eyes snapped open as a gasp parted her lips. Her eyes met the red eyes she had been longing for this whole month. They looked scared and worried. "What are you doing?"
She was so entranced by seeing him again that she couldn't find any words. Her mouth was wide open as her eyes blinked up at him. She fully expected him to disappear after a few blinks, but he remained.
Her hands reached up and rested on either side of his face, "Are you real?"
Tobirama smacked her hands away, "Of course I'm real, you idiot!"
Haruka had never been so happy to hear such a mean insult come from someone's mouth. She arose from the water. Water from her hair dripped down onto her back making goosebumps grow along her arms. But she could care less about the cold.
Tobirama was here now.
She whipped her head around, getting water on his face in the process, with a large smile on her face, "Where have you been?"
She saw something shift in his eyes. They weren't as bright anymore. His face looked down into the water, "I've been busy."
She could tell by that look that he didn't want to go further into it. She wasn't one to pry so she wasn't going to try to dig into a wound that he didn't want her to dig into. But now she couldn't think of something to say. She had to find something before the silence became unbearable.
Her eyes scanned the area. They went from left to right and up and down and all around. Then she found something. She felt so dumb for not realizing this before.
"Hey," Both their eyes met. "Do you think that this water leads somewhere?"
Tobirama glanced side to side, but remained silent. He stood up from his crouched position and turned around. She was scared for a moment that he would leave her again and never come back, but all he did was crouch down again.
"Let's go look."
She felt those goosebumps rise along her arms as her cheeks matched the pink clouds in the sky. She stood up from the ground and walked over to him. She leaned down as her arms snaked around his neck. As he lifted himself up, her legs wrapped around his waist. He hooked his arms under her thighs so that they could hang. Finally, she rested her head right next to his.
Her heart was beating hard against her chest. He could probably feel it against his back with how much it was pushing against him. She had never been this close to a boy. She wasn't sure why she was feeling this way since they're only just kids.
"Oh, before I forget," He rummaged around in his pocket before slipping out a small piece of bread. "I'm sorry it's not a lot. I was in a hurry to get here and I didn't want my father to see me sneaking food out."
Her eyes sparkled at the piece of bread in front of her. Since she's been out here waiting for his return, she hasn't been able to get that much food recently.
Not wanting to seem like an animal, she gently took a hold of the bread and brought it over to her mouth, "Thank you, Tobirama. And you don't have to be sorry. You could've brought me some crumbs and I would cry tears of joy."
She took a large bite of the bread and could feel the tears brimming on the edge of her eyelids. It was so soft, but had a crunchy outside. It tasted fresh like the farmer had just produced it. Fluffy like a cloud and the taste was making her taste buds dance with joy.
It was silent between the two of them. They let the world make noise instead. Tobirama's feet walking against the water echoed as each time he rose his foot droplets of water would come down. Haruka was chewing away on the last bites of her food. Birds sang their songs as wind brushed gently against the trees.
The sun was almost set, but the golden hour was still strong. She liked the way it made the water look. It looked like a rich golden silk that could be soft to the touch. Every now and then she would even see fish rush by them. As they continued walking, she could see that the ground below them became deeper and deeper and the width of the water became wider and wider. It was a much bigger space than they had seen before.
She was worried about her friend. He's been gone for long and yet he has nothing to say, but she refuses to pry. But she still wants to check in on her friend. He has yet to make a remark about how she smells or how ugly she is. Nothing. Only idiot.
"Tobirama?" She leaned her head forward so that she could see the side of his face.
His eyes glanced over at her, "Hm?"
"Are you okay?"
The pace of his walking slowed down. His eyes glared at the water ahead, "Yeah. I'm fine."
She could almost see right through him, "Are you sure?"
Silence eloped them again. He kept walking until he was at a complete stop. He didn't look at her again, but surprisingly opened up the door that she had been scratching at.
"My younger brother was killed by a group of Uchihas," Anger laced his voice though his face remained the same. His fingers dug into the bottom of her thighs making her flinch. "That's why I was away for so long. I'm a little angry so I'm sorry if I don't seem 'fine' to you."
"So, you're not fine," She took the last bite of her food.
His head turned over to her. She could see it in his eyes, "I said it twice before. I'm fine."
Haruka sighed knowing that she wouldn't get anywhere with him. Her head rested on his shoulder, "It's okay to be sad, Tobirama. It's a normal human emotion. Ignoring it will only make matters worse."
Tobirama started walking again, but stayed silent. She wasn't sure how far they would be going, but she hoped that she would be able to make it back home without getting lost. She wondered what was going through his head. She only wants for him to be okay and losing someone like that can be a lot. She would know.
Suddenly his hands from under her thighs moved away. She felt her whole body surge down. She screamed while holding onto his neck for dear life. His hands were scratching at her arms, but she wouldn't give up.
His feet lost balance causing them to both topple onto each other. They were submerged into the cold, dark water below them. The cold gripped their bodies tightly. Haruka mistakenly gulped a large amount of water into her body while trying to gasp for air. Her arms thrashed around as if she would magically start swimming.
Tobirama's small hands wrapped around her waist as he hoisted her up above water. As soon as her face met the dry world above, she wasted no time replacing the water she gulped with air.
She growled, "I can't swim, you...dummy." She wiped her eyes while he brought them back to the bank of the river.
When she opened her eyes she could see the worry in his face, "I didn't know that, you half wit! Great now that you dragged me in with you my family is going to wonder why I'm all wet again."
She scoffed with an eye roll, "Ass."
He shot her a glare, "Imbecile."
They were now both glaring at each other, "Moron."
"Twit."
"Chump."
"Oh yeah? Well, you smell bad and now you're going to have mildew all over your clothes," He stuck her tongue out at her.
"Well at least I don't have mildew in my brain," She flicked his forehead.
He rubbed the spot where her fingers met his head. He growled and was definitely thinking about lunging at her and having them wrestle again, but he remained still. He watched her face as her glare slowly softened. She snorted and then quickly covered her mouth as she tried to hide the smile that was growing on her face.
But eventually she couldn't hold it back. She burst into a fit of laughter leaving the boy confused. Though he had to admit that her laugh was contagious. As much as he hated it, he joined in on the laughing as the sun finally put itself to rest.