Good luck

"A little bit higher!"

"I can't go higher than this!"

"Go on your tiptoes!"

"If you want to fall…"

I am not sure what Kurani did to convince me to go on a quest to collect leaves. My friend was standing on my shoulders attempting to grab a leaf on a high branch while I held her ankles with my hands so that she would not fall.

"Can we do something else?" I asked in a bored tone. Where was Pairo when you needed him?

"No." she answered firmly. "You're so short, Kurapika. I can't even reach that one." She pointed her finger towards a branch and lifted herself on her tiptoes.

"I'm not short." I complained, trying to avoid sounding offended. I was tall like any other average twelve, almost thirteen year old.

"You are too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Not."

"Too."

"Not!"

"Too."

"NOT!" I sighed irritably as I shot Kurani a nasty glare. I doubt she saw me from up there. I heard her giggle.

"Still, you're not being as useful as I thought you'd be."

So that's how it was? I was not going to have any of that. "You know, you are in no position to talk." I stated with a frown. "I'm leaving since I'm not appreciated." With that said, I turned around and headed back to the village. I could feel her lose her balance.

"He-HEY! KURAPIKA!" Kurani was still standing on top of my shoulders, bracing herself and trying not to fall as I walked. "KURAPIKA! STOP! I'M TOO HIGH UP I'M GONNA FALL."

I gripped her ankles more firmly. I did not want her to get hurt, it was just a fun little payback for her unwanted comment. "Oh? So now you're too high up? I thought I was short." I could feel her wobbling on my shoulders and I could hardly hold back my laughter. I sped up my pace a little to which she whimpered.

To keep balance, she placed both her hands on the top of my head and kneeled a little. "Kurapika! Give it a break!"

"Mmh… what if I don't?" I smirked. Again, I'm sure she did not see it.

"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry for calling you short and useless!" my friend panted, her arms around my forehead and her chest pressing against the top of my head.

I laughed and slowed down. "Apology accepted." I said with a smile. We were now at the entrance of the village when we saw Kurani's mother looking at us with a happy expression on her face.

"Hey! What are you two lovebirds up to?" she yelled in our direction. Both Kurani and I froze. Even though we tried to make those romantic comments stop by playing along, it only seemed like they were getting worse.

"Go away, go away, go away, go, go, go, go!" Kurani frantically whispered to me, tugging at my hair. She was now sitting on my shoulders with no risk of falling to the ground so I immediately took her advice, taking a couple of steps back before I broke into a run. As soon as we were far enough from any more marriage remarks from her mother, I stopped to catch my breath.

"That was close!" I sighed in relief and patted Kurani's knee, her legs dangling over my shoulders and touching the side of my chest.

"Yeah…" was all she said. We – or rather I- walked quietly for a while, simply enjoying the silence and taking in the fresh air. The sun was lowering, almost setting behind the mountains and tainting the sky with a mixture of pink and orange hues.

Kurani's chest was lightly resting against the back of my head, and I could not suppress the blush that shown on my face as I realized that what was gently pressing against my head were her small, soft breasts . She was just twelve, but her body was slowly maturing, making her look every day more like a growing young lady. Back then I did not give it much of a thought, I just liked the feeling of her soft chest against me. I wish she would have had a different fate. I wish she could have had the chance to become a woman. She would have been beautiful.

"Uhm… Rana—"

"Do you think they'll ever stop?"

"St-stop what?" I stuttered, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"I'm sorry, were you saying something?" my friend realized she had interrupted me. Truthfully I had no idea what I wanted to tell her. The way her body was touching mine was making me a little nervous and uncomfortable.

"No, no… what were you saying?"

"Do you think they'll ever stop making comments about us getting married?"

I stared blankly at the mountains in front of me, as if hoping that an answer was going to rise from behind them. "I don't know. Maybe they'll stop when we get married." I laughed and waited for Kurani to tag along… which she did not.

Silence covered us like a warm and comfortable blanket until she spoke again, her ankles brushing against my stomach.

"Kurapika… do you really think we'll get married?" there was something odd about the way she said, I couldn't really put my finger on what is was. Back then I was too young to understand that it was a subject that was on her mind quite often. "Give me an honest answer." It sounded more like an order than a request. I gave that question some time in my head to see if I could find an answer.

"Considering that there are not a lot of us in the clan… the chances are pretty high." I said frankly.

"I wouldn't mind marrying you." She rested her chin on the top of my head and I shifted uncomfortably.

"Rana, why are we talking about this?" Truthfully, I could not understand. I felt her shrug.

"I've just been thinking about it." She candidly said. "If you think about it… when you marry someone you're suppose to stay together until the end. I think I'd rather marry someone that I've known for a long time than someone that I've just known for a little while." She was without a doubt referring to what happened between her mother and father. So young and already preoccupied about the future.

"I think you're worrying about something you shouldn't." I said turning my eyes to the sky for a brief moment. "We're young, we still got time."

"Right…" she agreed, but I could sense that the conversation was not over yet. "If you meet a girl that you like outside of the village you should marry her." Kurani said almost absentmindedly.

"I don't think I will… why are we talking about this?"

Kurani shrugged again and I could feel her fingers curling around my hair. The situation suddenly got a little awkward.

"Are you somehow trying to bribe me into marrying you?" I asked in a playful tone in an attempt to lighten the situation.

"What?! No!" she yelled, reacting to my words by lightly hitting my head with her fist. "How could you think of something like that!"

"You're as crazy as our mothers!" I jested, a big smile playing across my face.

"I'm nothing like them!" my friend objected, her cheeks puffing up in annoyance.

"And here I thought you were normal. So much for tha—Ouch!" I stopped midsentence when Kurani pinched my cheek hard. "Violent as well."

"Baka!"

"Poor me!"

"Shut up, Kurapika!" Kurani crossed her arms over her chest and rested them over my head. I laughed in amusement.

"So, you decided to take the test to exit the village tomorrow?" she changed subject of conversation, as per usual when she did not want to talk about something anymore.

"Yes, I'm confident I can do it."

"Mmh… good luck."

I smiled and lightly nodded my head, the sun almost setting behind the mountains.

"Thanks." That word slipped out from my lips almost as a second thought, absentmindedly. The sun was grazing the horizon and I closed my eyes, wishing I was home.

Note:

Hey guys! New chapter. Hope you liked it :) next chapter will be the last. Thanks for making it so far!