We Were Children Once

Part II


"Hey, Genma-kun!" Between words, Hayate took great, gasping breaths. He dropped his bike into a patch of the seemingly never-ending sea of wheat. This time of year, it was grown out to full-length, and even a boy his size could get lost in it if he didn't use the old harvesters' paths. "Have you ever been told you live out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Reckon so," came the answer, and from its sound, Hayate approximated where his friend was. He leapt over the heads of wheat, and landed on something soft that went 'Oof!' "Hell, Hayate! That hurt!"

"Sorry." The black-haired youth smiled apologetically and slid off Genma's stomach onto the ground, where he lay down. Just then, the relatively-clean, brightly-colored clothes Genma had on (that weren't covered by his usual overalls) settled in on his perception. "You look like you might have looked nice, earlier."

"I did."

"Why's that?"

"ANBU exams, dummy. Remember?"

"Ohh!" Hayate's face fell.

"It's okay. You had a mission, I know. You told me last week."

Embarrassment flared color into Hayate's cheeks and ears. "It's not that. I...well, I got back early. I was really tired, and I had to go to the hospital, and I sort of...I'm so sorry, Genma, I forgot!" Tears pricked his eyes, and he wiped them away with one black sleeve.

"Aw, hey, Hayate, don't cry. I'm glad you wasn't there – woulda been embarrassed. I did real bad."

"Really badly," corrected Hayate with a cracked giggle.

"Sure. Yeah. I did really badly."

"You didn't make it?"

"I knew I didn't have a prayer. How's a guy supposed to do if half his luck's somewhere else?" He gently prodded Hayate with his finger, then tickled him, and then they were rolling together in the wheat, elbows and knees and fists all sort of blurring together until they ran right into Hayate's bike, and stopped.

"We'll do it together next year, Genma-kun. I promise."

Genma grinned down into Hayate's slightly-flushed face. Too much exertion did things to his lungs and circulation, so Genma was careful not to overdo it when they horsed around. He just wished he wouldn't remember things like that during such moments. "You swear?"

"I swear."

Genma slipped out a kunai from behind his back and nicked his palm, then handed it to Hayate, who did the same. They clasped hands, and Genma pulled Hayate up, still sort of squatting on his legs. "ANBU's as good as ours."

"Yeah."