𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 8

"Haruka...you..."

Tobirama broke through the trees and came into the eager girl's view. Her blue hair was soaked and her clothes were as well. They clung to her body as if her skin would immediately dry them off. She had a bright smile on her face and her eyes were sparkling in excitement. "Have you been swimming?"

Haruka shook her head with a giggle, "Nope. Not at all. Well wait...kind of. I guess...Maybe?" She glanced up at the night sky blanketed with stars while trying to find a different word for maybe. "Anyway! I think you'll be proud of me."

"Okay..." He started to walk over to her, but she held her hand up to stop him.

Tobirama came to an immediate stop, "Wait!" She took a deep breath to calm herself. "Let me walk to you."

His raised eyebrow soon became two raised eyebrows when she took a step on the water. No loss of balance, no shaking, no insecurities. She was completely confident in her movement. The water that was beneath her feet rippled with each step. The sound of water droplets hitting the blue liquid came after.

She now stood in front of a shocked Tobirama with that bright smile still written on her face, "Well? Are you proud?"

He was at a loss for words. Haruka was struggling to even stand for a second that last time they saw each other and now she can walk right over to him. He wasn't just proud, he was amazed.

"How long have you been practicing?"

Her face fell slightly at his dodge of her question, but she still kept her smile high, "Every day and night. I'm really tired, but I just had to show this to you."

"That's...wow...I," He didn't know what to say. He wanted to tell her he was proud but would that be weird? "Good job."

Tobirama's hand landed gently on her head. He ruffled her hair around and then quickly brought his hand back to his side. He watched her face intently waiting for some kind of reaction from her. Was that weird? Did he go too far?

Haruka's cheeks soon matched the pink color of her eyes as her brain short circuited. She could only stare at him like he was staring at her. It was odd for Tobirama to show any kind of affection and that was definitely a first.

She shook herself back into reality, "Thank you, Tobirama-sensei." She salutided him.

His cheeks quickly went pink as well, "Please don't call me that."

She tilted her head, "Why not?"

His pale hand reached to the back of his head and he began to scratch, "I don't think I deserve to be called your sensei." He did quotation marks with his hands around the word sensei.

Haruka giggled to herself. She had her eyes closed before and was now peaking at him with one eye, "Oh come on. Of course you do!" She opened both her eyes and reached forward. Her arms outstretched and her nimble fingers wrapped around his two hands. With a laugh she dragged him out onto the water. "You taught me how to do this!"

He was caught by such a surprise that he almost didn't prepare his feet and was ready to fall into the water. He gripped her shoulders to catch his balance. Catching her eyes, he realized just how much he's grown since their first meeting. He practically towered over the short girl. Her hands laid upon the upper parts of his arm while she held their stare.

The color of their eyes danced in one another as everything else around them disappeared. It was just like the night before except the tables had turned. Tobirama was the one losing his balance now and Haruka had to catch him. He quickly felt more heat rise up in his cheeks as he realized just how embarrassing that is for him.

He pushed her away from him. The sounds of quick steps on the water rippled around as she fought to keep her balance. She staggered for a moment, but soon was back on her feet, "Sorry. I guess there's still the no touching rule, huh?" Her hands clasped behind her back as she kicked the water like it was dirt. Her eyes stared down at her reflection against the water.

He soon walked up close to her, "Sorry. I just wasn't expecting you to catch onto so soon. I was still hoping to laugh at you falling in." He chuckled to himself. She watched him, confused by what he meant. "Oh wait. That was mean, wasn't it?"

"A little, yeah," She simply blinked at him.

His head was on the back of his head scratching again, "My bad...But hey, you can touch me if you want." He held out his hand to her. Seeing her wide eyed, red faced reaction made him stop. "Gah! That came out so wrong!"

The quiet giggle that left her soon became a roar of laughter. This caused him to get more embarrassed. He turned sharply away from her with a 'tch.' Once she realized how embarrassed he was, she swallowed the rest of her laugh.

"It's fine," She smiled at him. "I got what you meant. Here." She wrapped her hands around his and brought him out further into the water. He stumbled a few times, but didn't let himself lose balance and fall. "Now that I can do this you no longer have to walk all the way to my side. Now," She brought their hands up and pushed his open with her fingers sliding against his. Once their palms met she continued. "We can meet in the middle."

Tobirama's red eyes were fixated on their hands and how soft her's felt against his. It was almost perfect to the touch. She took a bold move and intertwined their fingers together. He almost pulled away like his brain was telling him to, but he let his heart take over instead.

They refused to look at each other. The wind picked up and blew against the trees which killed out the silence that they were engulfed in. Her hand felt so frigid against his. His hand was her only source of heat during that moment. Her heart felt at ease while his was clenching in his chest. They both weren't used to things like this. Though they both imagined it. Haruka was set to make it a reality while Tobirama was set to keep it to himself. And yet here they are. Holding hands.

Haruka finally gained the courage to look over at him, "Do you know how to dance?"

He was taken back by her sudden question, "That came out of nowhere."

She pouted and stared off to the side again, "Well I was just wondering because I don't know what it's like on your side, but all the rich people in my village do it all the time." He raised an eyebrow. "I'm not assuming that you're rich or anything! I just always thought it looked cool."

"I don't know how to dance. That's something someone else has to teach you," He noticed her face fall slightly. "But when you learn it, feel free to teach it to me."

She was silent for a moment until her eyes started to glow that usual happy glow. Tobirama could feel his heart climbing out of his mouth at this point. Why must he feel this way?

"Or maybe we could learn it ourselves!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Just trust me! After this, we'll both have a cool trick up our sleeves," She took a gentle hold of his hand and held it out beside them. Then his other hand was placed on her waist. Her free hand now laid on his shoulder. "So we get into this position and then I believe I step back and you step forward with one foot."

Tobirama was lost, but followed her movements. He was sure the man was supposed to lead, but she's the teacher now so it shouldn't matter. She took one step back and he followed with one step forward.

Their eyes met again, "Okay. Then what?" He couldn't believe he was actually going along with this.

"Then we move our other foot back as well," She moved her foot back and he took a step forward. "Then a side step." She moves her foot to the side and he follows her. "Then bring them back together. Then you step back and I step forward. Then another side step but to the left this time and then repeat. Got it?"

Their eyes moved back up to each other. She smiled softly at him making all of his nerves go away, "Yeah. I think I do."

"Good, but hey Tobi," She glanced down at the space between them. "I don't think we're supposed to be this far apart. We're supposed to be only inches away from each other."

He realized that he was physically pushing her away. They had a whole gap between them, "Oh my bad." With his hand still on her waist, he brought her closer to him. Their chests barely brushing against each other. He could've sworn he saw her face light up pink. "Is that the right amount of space?" He didn't know if it was appropriate to smirk at her or not so he held back the urge.

"I think so. If we were any closer you'd be stepping all over my feet," She giggled. "Oh and if you step on my foot at least once you'll have to do twenty pushups with one arm." She was proud of her revenge idea.

He chuckled, "That sounds easy. I could do one hundred right now if I really wanted to."

She took a step back causing the start of their dancing, "Fine. One hundred pushups and I will be laying on your back."

Tobirama was determined to keep up with her pace while they continued dancing, "That sounds perfectly fine to me. But if you fall into the water you will be doing one hundred pushups."

Her eyes widened with worry, "That won't happen! I've been practicing ever since you bailed last time." She stuck her bottom lip out in a pout.

He scoffed with an eye roll, "I did not bail. I just realized how late it got and decided that I should go before people get curious."

She smirked and leaned closer to his face. She spoke in a low whisper, "No you bailed because you got scared."

"Scared of what?"

"Us almost kissing," Her eyes went from his down to his lips and then back up to his. She wasn't sure where the boldness came from, but she didn't mind it. She had become aware of her feelings for her best friend and wanted to be open about it. She wanted to know how he felt.

His face boiled with red. She could see the steam rolling off the top of his hair. The red calmed down into a small pink. His eyes softly looked away from her. His lips flattened. She couldn't get a read on him at all. She had a feeling that she overstepped a line. Opened a door she wasn't supposed to open.

But they kept dancing along the water anyway. The moon was shining down on the two friends. Both quiet. Both in their own heads. The scene around them was calm. The water made no sound except for when it gently went onto the bank and then came back off. Haruka started to move them in a circle while also keeping the same movements. He was lost for a second, but caught up soon enough. They were twirling together against the water.

Their eyes finally met again and he felt as though they had been transported to a vast and luxurious dancing hall. They were the stars of the show. Everyone's eyes were on them. They wanted to see what was going to happen next. But instead of them being dressed from head to toe in fancy clothes, they remained the same. He may call her ugly from time to time, but he was only hiding away from the fact that she was captivating and no amount of clothes would change that. He liked her messy hair and dirty face. He wouldn't trade it for the world.

Give the crowd what they want Tobirama. Give them what they're waiting for. What you're waiting for.

"I'm not scared of kissing you," His voice was low. If he spoke any louder he might scare her off. The boldness that once filled her was now swimming into him. "I'm not scared at all." His eyes were narrowing down into her's. He couldn't look away from her.

Before all that boldness could slip away from her, she took a strong hold of it. Her tone matched his, "Then do it."

The hands that were being held up slowly melted their ways down. He detached his hand from her's and placed it in the empty space on her waist. Her hand rested on the side of his arm as he began to crouch down. Slowly, but surely their lips met in a soft and loving way.

It was awful. It was late at night so therefore his fresh breath was gone. Their lips were chapped, her's were way worse than his.

And yet, it was amazing. She had never felt this way before. His lips were rough, but his kiss was soft. She was trying to pour the feelings she wanted to say into the kiss and was hoping and praying they would reach. She always imagined that this moment would make her heart explode, but she felt perfect. She felt calm. She felt like she was in heaven and that this kiss would somehow bring world peace.

Tobirama couldn't put into words what he was feeling. Was it okay for a strong shinobi like himself to feel this way? He felt the happiness of a child in a candy store, but the worry of a mother. What would happen after this kiss? What if she didn't like him at all and was just wanting to know what a kiss felt like? Is this just another lesson?

As soon as the kiss started, it ended.

He pulled away coming to terms that he was scared of them kissing. He couldn't bring himself to look at her. His hands left her body and she felt lonely all of a sudden.

"I'm going to go," He turned completely away from her and started walking off to his side of the water. "I'll see you next time."

"Wait, you don't have to go!" She tried chasing after him but his hand stopped her.

"Good night, Haruka."

Once he was out of sight, she couldn't help but feel angry. Did he use her? What was that? Her hands balled into tiny fists as she tried to hold back angry tears. Why did he just leave her like that?

She made a small 'tch' noise before whispering, "Jerk."