Chapter 2
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Zabuza texted his friend of his arrival. Today was the day they would officially meet. Granted, they met a few times in the past though they were rather brief because of his father's work. The most they had to themselves was a few minutes. Even given the time, they were still rather new to each other and had a rather slow flow of words exchanged. Thinking back, she must have decided to leave her house by impulse, judging by what she wore those times. Sweat jeans and a plain dark shirt did nothing to promote her femininity. Anyone could mistake her for a boy. He wondered if she cared about how she appeared. Still, that image he had, was burned to his mind. Before he left for the first time, they said their farewell and that was when he saw her beauty. When her eyes locked onto his and her lips curved into a smile, her face magically lit up. He was glad no one else got to witness it and hoped that no one beside him ever did.
For two weeks after he left, he was in a good mood. After that, whenever his father was heading there for business, he would tag along as well. He had been there three times and each one was as brief as the last. Today was different. He now lived in the town only recently much to his and her delight. Their communication became prominent after he told her of the news. The desire to meet was evident, hence today. They were going to hang out in the mall and let the day to decide their time together. He saw a few children around his age that were clearly talking about him.
He did stand out with his specially dark color skin though he guessed what stood the most was his bindings he had around the lower portion of his face. It was nothing gruesome though it had its importance. As a child, he had extremely sharp teeth that resembled those found in sharks. Everyone, including the adults would get alarmed by the mere sight of them. They would tend to believe he was either possessed by a demon or an abomination. It was why he now wore these bindings below his eyes. He met Haku in the same matter though he saw how nervous she was to really be curious about them. She must have asked herself afterward of their intention. Maybe after getting to know her would he reveal what he had under them. He looked up at the giant clock pole. She was very late.
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"Is that him?" Anko said as they hid themselves behind a brick pillar. Despite the distance, Haku could easily make out Zabuza. No one he knew had those color skin and to top it off, wore bindings over their mouths. He nodded to his friend as he held his hands to his chest. His heart beat was exponentially high. Moments before he spotted Zabuza, he felt excited. They had the whole day to themselves and time was not an issue as it was in the past. Thinking about it, they have so much time that Haku was not sure if they would really utilize it completely. What would they talk about? Was he overdressed for the occasion? He did meet Zabuza in what he considered his pajamas.
He couldn't help it. When he received a text message that his friend was in town, his appearance was the last thing on his mind as he dashed out of his house. Still, he knew that people would commonly mistake him for a girl. Zabuza was the same; they messaged each other the night after meeting for the first time. Zabuza commented on how cute of a girl he was and how wonderful his smile was. When Zabuza said he was cute, his face flared up. He told Zabuza how happy he was after reading that. He continued using the faulty premise that he was a girl as the conversation between them increased ten-fold.
There was nothing wrong he told himself. As long as he fitted the description, he could pull it off. Days before the meeting today, Anko helped Haku in organizing himself. For the meeting, he had three clear objectives. The first was to meet Zabuza at the rendezvous point. The second would be to hang out with him the entire day without a hitch.
The third one…
"He's cute with his spiky hair and exotic color skin." Anko commented. Haku had cherry marks on his face from Anko's observation of his friend. The cocoons had been opened as the butterflies appeared to fly in the pit of his stomach. I can do this, Haku chanted to himself over and over again. He was psyching himself before the big move. His first move was crucial and should not be taken lightly.
"Haku, you may want to hurry up there. Those girls over there seem interested."
True to her words, Haku spotted Kagura and her friends nearby. They were seated at a table and were obviously focused on Zabuza. Zabuza paid no mind to them as he continued to wait. The girls let out a group shriek as Kagura rose up from her seat and began to walk toward Zabuza.
"Come on and go already!" Anko said as she pushed Haku toward his Zabuza. With the given momentum, Haku quickly arrived before Kagura though he nearly lost his footing when he slowed down. Despite Haku's blunder when he finally came to a stop, he quickly composed himself. Zabuza took the time to notice Haku's appearance as Haku dropped his head down.
"I'm sorry! I know I'm 15 minutes late but I'm here now." Haku had his eyes closed as he spoke. Zabuza said nothing at first which made Haku worried. This meeting could have already ended before it could take off. They only met three times before so perhaps their friendship was not as sturdy as he believed to be. When he felt Zabuza's hand gently pulling his clutched hand, Haku looked up.
"It's no big deal. You came just in time." As he spoke those words, Haku could see Kagura in the background. She was not pleased by his sudden appearance, but then again, this was their day. They began walking away from the meeting point, leaving Kagura to return to her friends in frustration. Anko was happy for her friend as she kept herself busy while remaining close by.
Haku's heart was flustering as he held his hand. He could feel the warmth from Zabuza's hand but more than that, he could feel the calluses. Zabuza may be a hard worker in something that involved his hands. They began their day by checking out some trinkets while commenting on them. Haku took out a key-chain that resembled a cat and commented how he liked its eyes. Zabuza commented back by saying how he liked his eyes more than those of the key-chain.
Haku let out a blush as he stood there dazed. Zabuza took the opportunity to buy the trinket the moment he snatched it from Haku's hand. When they left, Haku thanked Zabuza as he went ahead and strapped the key-chain onto his phone. The day had only begun for them, though Haku could already see how great it was turning out. Anko was, at the time, buying her fill of mangas at a bookstore nearby.
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-END
The next chapter would definitely have more dialogues between the two of them. See you next time! -sorrowXdarkness