Tempus Fugit …

XO'MagickMoon'OX

Chapter 7: Close Call

Falling at a painfully fast speed, the ocean beneath me comes closer and closer. I can still see the rippling, white crest where Kazahaya had landed. The salty air stings my face, whipping through my hair. Dammit, why is it taking so long to land?

SPLASH!

Chilling, swirling water surrounds me within seconds. The salt stings my wind-burned face, and my limbs feel numb … probably from fear and the physical exhaustion of falling from four stories.

I squint through the water and see Kazahaya drifting further down in the depths of the ocean. I swim down quickly, fighting the current, and wrap my fist around his arm. Then, I struggle to the surface, the extra weight making it all the more difficult to swim through the relentless ocean. My lungs are on fire, screaming for air. I feel faint and dizzy and sick to my stomach, but still I swim upward.

Finally, I burst through the surface of the ocean, gasping for air. My chest heaves as my body fights to take in the largest breaths it can. Then I look down at Kazahaya and pull him up with me, holding him close against me. Fatigue begins to slow my limbs and weaken my muscles. My legs are working overtime to tread in the water while my arms hold Kazahaya above the waves. Damn that ghost. Why the hell did she do this?

"I won't let you fall." Uh-huh … right. If she weren't already dead, I would kill her.

All right, don't think about that know. Focus on getting to shore.

I look around and spot a small alcove in the cliff a little ways away. If it weren't for the current constantly dragging me in the other direction, I could reach it in no time.

Current or no, I begin to kick my legs and struggle to pump my arms (or rather, my one arm that isn't holding my idiot of a friend) … and start towards the shore. The briny water finds its way into my eyes, nose, and mouth, making it all the harder to see and breath. The strong ocean current isn't helping much either. I find myself going no where, like running on a treadmill.

What the hell am I going to do?

Darkness crawls on the edge of my blurred vision. No, I can't pass out now! Dammit! I feel my legs beginning to go numb from all of the strenuous work, my chest aching with each strained breath. Damn … it …

"I … am sorry … Kaza …"

I never actually finish his name as my eyes fall shut and our bodies begin to sink beneath the waves.

But then, just before my head completely disappears, I feel myself and Kazahaya being lifted from the waves and forced forward. My eyes flicker open, and I look behind me. It's …

Marianna?

What the hell is going on? Why would she push Kazahaya off the roof just to save him from drowning?

Whatever. The fact is that she's moving us towards shore (how someone who doesn't technically have a body can do that is beyond me), and Kazahaya will be safe. That's all the matters.

My eyes fall shut once more as the waves swirl around me, lulling my body into rest.

---

When next I come into consciousness, I see darkness from behind my closed lids. I'm soaked from head to toe, and if it weren't for the heated, grainy ground beneath me – probably sand – and the heavy bulk of warmth on my chest, I would be shivering.

Where am I? Where's Kazahaya? And what is laying on me?

I open my eyes, wiping the salty residue from my lashes, and look around. The light is blinding, and I sit up. It's a little difficult because of the weight on my chest. I look down …

It's Kazahaya laying on me.

He appears to be unconscious, but I think he's breathing. I survey our surroundings. We're on the bank, the small alcove in the cliff. It's like a small secluded beach, probably about twenty feet long and ten feet from the cliff to the ocean, about five feet worth of cliff overhanging the alcove. There are no plants, only sand and rocks, random boulders jutting out of the ground here and there. The half of the beach under the overhanging is shaded, and the half that we're laying on is sweltering under the harsh sun.

Marianna is nowhere to be seen.

Okay, surroundings analyzed, position recognized … now time to act.

"Kazahaya." My throat is raw from the salt, and my voice is nothing but a painful rasp. After a bit of talking, it should be back to normal. "Kazahaya." See, a little better already. "Idiot, wake up."

Why isn't he responding? I wrap my arm around his soaked body and turn his face up to mine with the other hand. Eyes close, lips parted, breathing faintly. His usually pale-brown hair is stained darker by the seawater, clinging to the sides of his pale face and neck. I brush his matted locks from his face. If I wanted to, I could just lean down and …

Ah! Rikuo, stop it! Kazahaya won't wake up, and all you can think about his kissing him in his unconscious state? There must be something seriously wrong with me. After mentally chastising myself for my rare bout of stupidity, I grab Kazahaya's shoulder and shake him. "Kazahaya, wake up!"

But really, I have him right here, sitting in my lap, and our faces are just inches apart …

I sigh angrily. Shut up, shut up! Don't think such things right now! "Idiot! Wake up!" Yes, wake up before I take advantage of you, and you end up waking to find –

"Nnng …"

"Thank God," I murmur. "Kazahaya? Idiot, are you all right?"

Instead of answering – to my absolute horror – he just rests his head on my chest and grabs my shirt with trembling hands. "Rikuo …"

I screw my eyes shut against the feeling bubbling in my gut. Oh, how I wish he'd just get off of me …

"Yeah?" I ask through gritted teeth. I can feel a flush rising in my face, spreading down my body.

Again, he doesn't answer. He just nestles himself further into my chest, like a frightened child.

But he's no child, and I know that all to well. Damn him and his naïve seductiveness. Doesn't he understand what he's doing to me?

After seconds that pass agonizingly slow, seconds where I'm so afraid of losing my self-control that I'm barely breathing, he opens his eyes and looks up at me. There's a puzzled haze clouding his eyes, and his eyebrows are knit in frightened confusion. He just looks so innocent … like a fallen angel … I don't think he's yet grasped the full concept of the situation.

I sigh and wrap my other arm around his back, pulling him closer despite myself. I reach up with my hand and run my fingers through his matted hair soothingly. I feel him relax in my embrace, a sigh of released tension escaping his lips.

This is what I do. I protect him and keep him safe, no matter how it tortures me so to always be so near him, simply because …

I love him.

---

"Agh!"

I look down at Kazahaya as I pull him to his feet.

"What?" I ask.

Kazahaya bends down and wraps his fingers around his ankle. "I think I twisted it when I fell."

I nod curtly. "Here." I take his arm and sling it around my shoulder. Then I wrap my arm around his waist. "You'll be okay if I help you."

He sighs. "Why is it that I can't do one thing without you having to save me or help me?"

I smirk. "Because you're an idiot."

He glares up at me. "And you're a bastard."

Another smirk. "Yeah, okay. I'll remember that the next time you fall four stories into the ocean and nearly drown."

He rolls his eyes. "Eh, yeah, thanks for … saving me … again," he says grudgingly.

I nod. My smirk widens. "Why do you sound so unhappy? I seem to recall you snuggling against me a little while ago."

Kazahaya reddens. "Yeah … well … I was disoriented. It's only natural to look for comfort after a near-death experience. And besides, I don't think you really minded. It's not like you were pushing me away, or anything."

I frown. Now, how did he turn that around so easily? Damn him. "Let's just find a way to get off of this beach." I look around, Kazahaya's arm still wrapped tightly around my neck to support him. "Look." I point. "There's a little path leading up the cliff right there."

Kazahaya groans. It won't be such an easy hike with his bad ankle. I help him stagger across the beach to the jagged path leading up the side of the cliff. We start up, and I can tell by Kazahaya's twisted expression that each step causes him pain.

Finally, about a half-hour later, with the cool breeze blowing off the sea chilling our damp bodies, we reach the top and start towards the main road to find the bus stop. Now that we're up here, there's less of a breeze and more heat. We'll probably be dry by the time we reach the stop.

As we begin our walk down the road, I glance over my shoulder one last time at the house. To my surprise, I see Marianna standing up on the roof, look down at us with that unnerving, analytical gaze.