Carefully gathering the feelings I've become aware of
Hand in hand, the warmth was divided
~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*
Kidzuita omoi taisetsu ni sukui
Nukumori waketa te to te
"-And then I shoved her off and ran to my apartment building. Got inside right before she could get to me."
I glanced over at the silently fuming god beside me, holding back a sigh. Maybe it wasn't the best idea to tell him what had happened two days before when I'd left.
I'd had to skip a day of visiting because of some surprise tests that made me question how well I knew my material, so I had dedicated a night to studying. I was still yawning some as I told the story, eyes slightly bleary.
"Why does she think you're such an easy target, jellyfish?" Takeru growled out, hands clenched into fists on the blanket spread underneath us.
"It's because Nayomi thinks she still knows me. Only thing is she knew who I used to be, not who I am now." I thanked the gods for that, otherwise I'd been in a place worse than hell by now.
"What did she do when she saw you at school?"
"Nothing. She wasn't there these last two days," I said, hearing my own voice lower tone from the suspicion. I saw the same emotion reflected in those golden eyes I'd come to love watching, just for the expressions they showed.
"Something's not right with that," the blue-haired god muttered, biting into a pocky stick. He seemed to like those a lot. With a mischievous grin, I leaned over and bit at the other end of the stick, taking off a nice little chunk for myself and quickly pulling back. "Oi, that was mine, jellyfish!"
"You're the one who left it hanging from your mouth all unprotected," I laughed, waving the piece around before eating it happily. Takeru shook his head at my silliness and kept eating.
"Anyway, you better be careful from now on. That girl might be planning something she doesn't want to start with us."
I raised an eyebrow. "Us?"
A slightly embarrassed look crossed his handsome features, and he scratched the side of his cheek sheepishly. "Well, you might be tough enough to shove her and get away, but you'd be terrible if you got cornered. Jellyfish always are."
I scowled and smacked his arm playfully. I noticed that we'd gotten comfortable enough around each other that touching wasn't really an issue, though I still felt awkward at times when he pat my head or shoulder. It wasn't bad, but I just wasn't sure what to make of it.
Takeru chuckled, smirking down at me. "So what's been going on in school? You said you had to study last night, and it's obvious you're tired."
"Yeah, summer vacation's coming up in about two weeks, and there's a few tests that I have to pass before I can relax for the summer. I honestly can't wait, it means I can come to the beach every day!" I was giddy with excitement just thinking about it. One thing I always did during summer break was go to the beach every day. Granted, if I didn't wear any sun screen I turned as red as a steamed lobster, but I usually had too much fun to care.
"Does that mean I get to see you all day?" Takeru asked, grinning at me.
"Oh yeah. We can go shell-hunting, swimming, build sand castles...everything there is to do at the beach, we'll do it!"
"And what about off the beach?" he questioned, leaning a little closer with an interested look. "What will you do when you're not here?"
I blinked, caught off guard by his question. "Um, well..." I shifted slightly where I was sitting, thinking about it. "I honestly don't know. Most of my classmates will probably go do things like karaoke, or arcades, even shopping. I never bothered with those because I never had anyone to go with." It hadn't bugged me that much either, but now that he mentioned it...
Takeru tilted his head slightly, looking thoughtful for a minute. Then he stood up and offered a hand out to me, making me blink up at him.
"Come on. I want to show you something."
I hesitated for a second, wondering what exactly he wanted to do, but my curiosity was pricked now. I gently slid my hand into his, feeling the slight roughness to his palm as he pulled me up and headed through to cave towards the outside, all the while keeping his grip on my hand.
My hand looks so small next to his, I found myself thinking, blushing while hurrying after him so I wouldn't stumble. He stopped at the entrance to the cave, turning and grabbing me around the waist.
"H-hey, what are you-whoa!"
I let out a terrified yelp as he suddenly hoisted me to the lip of the entrance, placing me on it before letting go. "Go on, I'm right behind you."
Flustered and blushing even more, I quickly scrambled out of the way and scanned the area, finding it empty. The sun had long since set, and the moon had risen a good ways into the sky, casting it's gentle glow on the earth below, washing it in blue, black and silver. I turned and saw Takeru climb out of the hold, dusting off the front of his armor carefully. A quick glance to me, and then he walked towards the surf gently lapping upon the shore.
I followed him to the edge, taking off my socks and shoes before wading out to where he was thigh deep in the dark waters. "Takeru-san, what are you doing?"
He was quiet, staring out at the shimmering waves as they reflected the moonlight. Nothing could really come close to the beauty of the Light Pool, but that was a special case. The outside world at night had it's own cool, silent beauty, and I found myself basking in it, eyes fluttering shut as I listened to the waves.
I could feel everything with my eyes closed. The way the sand shifted beneath my feet as the water gently swirled around my legs. The way my hair fluttered from the breeze that came off the dark sea, and the way I could sense Takeru's presence beside me, silent, but ever present and reassuring.
Like a shield, sturdy and strong enough to protect me, my mind thought lazily, my entire being relaxing in the night.
We stayed like that for a while, listening to and feeling what nature chose to show us. But I was jolted out of my trance-like state when I felt Takeru's arms suddenly come around me from behind, tugging me close to his body. I unconsciously shivered at the sudden warmth around me, eyes snapping open as another blush appeared.
"T-take-"
"Shush," he murmured, clutching me tighter. I felt my heart start to race as I felt my own temperature rise, and I demanded that my body calm down, lest he hear or feel the change.
Thankfully, the Sea God remained oblivious. He slowly walked us forward into deeper waters, and I let out a squeak at the sudden chill against my skin as my clothes became wet. The water came to our waists, then our chests, and finally up to our necks. At this point I was craning my head upwards, so that I could continue to breathe.
"Take a deep breathe," Takeru whispered into my ear, staying absolutely quiet except to tell me what to do. Wondering where this was leading, I slowly inhaled as much as I could before holding it, lungs full to bursting.
"Now, whatever you do, don't breathe until I say so. Don't make a sound, or you'll scare them off."
Scare what off?
I barely had the chance to think that when he suddenly dunked us both into the freezing, pitch black waters.
A scream tried to escape my throat at once, but the sudden shock had also paralyzed my lungs, so no sound came even when my mouth opened to let it out. Not giving me a chance to adjust, Takeru swiftly pushed off the bottom and began to swim strongly towards the ever-darker waters of the deep, holding my body close to his and kicking his feet in a steady rhythm.
I shut my eyes to stop the sting of the salt water, not appreciating being submerged so suddenly. I briefly panicked when I remembered that sharks came close to shore at night, and I wondered what in the world this god could possibly be thinking.
My lungs were starting to ache after a minute, and I gently let out some of the pressure by blowing a few bubbles. I felt Takeru's arms tighten around me some, reassuring me as we went deeper and deeper into the dark, the moonlight barely illuminating what was a foot in front of us.
My heart was pounding in fear now, and I knew there was no way for him not to feel it with our bodies being this close. Despite the chill of the water around us, his body radiated heat, keeping me at least mildly comfortable during this odd journey he was taking me on.
Finally he leveled us out, and I felt my feet brush against the silky smooth sand of the seabed. I heard him mutter something, which surprised me into turning around and looking at him. My lungs were burning now, but I held my breath stubbornly, watching to see what would happen.
A few seconds after he uttered some strange words in a language I didn't know, a very light blue aura surrounded him, and then slowly extended to wrap around me as well. Entranced, I held my hand up and turned it over, inspecting the strange light as Takeru opened his golden eyes.
"You can breathe now, Yukino-chan."
I hesitated for only half a second before expelling the rest of my breath, immediately sucking in to get more air only to choke slightly at the water that filled my mouth instead. Only...it didn't truly fill it, only went slightly in, then was repulsed back. I blinked, and realized that I was breathing air somehow, and not suffocating on the salt water that surrounded us. I looked back at him, my mind buzzing with a million questions.
"Shh, it's just a spell." Takeru still kept his voice low for some reason, so I just nodded a response and tilted my head, letting my body ask instead of my voice.
In response, he held his hand open, and a small ball of aqua colored light appeared before floating up and illuminating some of our surrounding area. My eyes practically bugged out at the sight of what was in front of us.
S-so many jellyfish!
I couldn't help but squeak and back up into Takeru as a few of the stinging devils floated by my face. He patted my shoulder reassuringly before pointing to a certain spot in the jellies. I squinted my eyes, trying to adjust them to the dim lighting provided.
I vaguely saw a shadow moving among the swarm of carefree blobs, a small head darting out every once and a whlie to snap up one that got too close. The loud clack of a powerful beak resonated in the water, and I suddenly realized what it was.
"A sea turtle." I turned my head and looked back at the Sea God. He nodded, a knowing smirk on his face as he looked at me. I turned my attention back to the graceful reptile as it fed. "It's so pretty..."
"It only comes up this close to shore late at night, when no humans are around," he explained, wrapping an arm around my shoulder and pulling me away from more free-floating jellies. I blushed for what seemed to be the millionth time that day, wondering why I was even flustered at all.
"This is amazing. How did you know they'd all be here?" I asked, carefully reaching out to a very tiny jellyfish that moved by pulsing its bell-shaped top. I smiled, thinking it was rather cute.
"They usually appear right around this time of year, before any of the currents change and take them elsewhere in the world."
"Amazing..." I murmured. I lightly stroked the top of the tiny jelly, pulling back and giggling as it flip flopped around at being disturbed.
"Watch out, they may not poison you, but their sting will hurt for a long time afterwards," the bluenette cautioned me, tugging me back into him. I squeaked when I realized that he was no longer standing, and instead was floating down to sit on the seafloor with me in front of him.
As we settled he pulled me more snuggly between his legs, and I resisted the urge to squeal like a tiny child at the motion. At this point I thought I couldn't get any more red, even my ears felt hot for god's sake!
But then he had to put his arms around my waist. It was a casual motion, with no intentions behind it other than comfort and companionship, but it made my brain go haywire. I bit my lower lip and shut my eyes tight, willing my body to kindly calm the fuck down.
Why in the world is this happening? Why am I reacting like this to him?
"Oi, you okay, jellyfish?"
I opened my eyes and turned around enough to look back at him, ocean blue eyes meeting polished gold. I swallowed my nervousness and told myself to relax, that there was nothing going on that was unusual. "I-i'm fine, thanks. I'm just not used to breathing in water."
He shrugged his shoulders, and I felt the muscles move against my back at the motion. So strong...he has to work out regularly. But when?
"It's a simple spell, though it's normally only meant for one person. So I'll have to take you back up to the surface in a bit. Let me know if you have any trouble inhaling."
Nodding, I turned my attention back to the turtle, surprised to see more coming out of the dark gloom of the night. They snapped up the jellies left and right, filling their bellies to their heart's content while lazily riding the currents the ocean provided.
It was an extraordinary scene I was witnessing, something I'm sure scientists would give their entire careers to see, and here I was with a god, casually bopping the stray jelly on its head as it passed by on the 'sea breeze.' I wondered to myself how I was allowed to be so lucky.
It's because you like him, my mind responded, the inner voice sounding rather smug. You trust him, and you like him.
I felt a sense of denial at the word trust, and a few of the turtles paused and looked towards us, as if sensing my thoughts and the direction they were turning. Startled, I let my mind go blank, and they immediately went back to feeding on the hapless jellyfish.
Slowly, I started to piece it all together. The way we were so comfortable around each other, the reason I always felt the need to tell Takeru everything that happened with me, good or bad, and listened to when he talked about himself. The reason I occasionally felt awkward when he touched me, and the blushing at the slightest smile he gave me.
I've got a crush on Takeru-san.
The realization struck me like a bolt of lightning, and I couldn't repress a small sigh. I felt him shift behind me, could sense his eyes on me, checking to see if I was okay. Smiling a little, I casually leaned back against him, wriggling my bottom some to be more comfortable between his legs. At first he stiffened in surprise, but relaxed again and tightened his grip on me, reaching out with one hand to bop a jelly away from my face.
As we sat together at the bottom of the night sea, watching the last of the jellyfish, and also the sea turtles, disappear into the distance, I came to terms with my feelings. I didn't know how it happened, but I liked him as more than just a friend. I trusted him, which was something I was honestly more worried about. The crush, however, I found I could handle to some degree.
But...does he feel the same about me? I found myself thinking. I shut down that thought quickly, not wanting to stray into that path just yet.
"Come on, you need to get home and get some sleep," Takeru said suddenly, breaking the silence under the waves. His voice was garbled, but I at least could understand him. I nodded and let him help me up, holding onto his hand tightly.
"Here, wrap your arms around my neck." He turned his back to me, and I only hesitated a few moments before complying, pressing my front against his warm back and wrapping my arms securely around his neck.
"Hang on." The god pushed off from the sea floor with a strong kick and swiftly made his way back towards the shore, avoiding any stray jellyfish that had been separated from the swarm. I saw a lone turtle to the side, an old an injured one with a twisted flipper, slowly swimming and snapping up the stragglers in his powerful beak.
What wonders he must have seen in his lifetime.
We broke the surface when we were able to stand about chest deep, and I gratefully took in deep gulps of the salt-tinged air. Takeru paused for a moment to let me gain a breath before swimming towards shore, slow enough for me to hang on tightly to his neck still.
I let go after we neared the beach, using my own two legs to stand. I almost fell over, shocked at how jelly-like they felt. The Sea God chuckled at my predicament before helping me gain my balance, much to my relief. We sloshed our way onto shore, and I grimaced at how drenched my clothes were.
"You wouldn't happen to have an auto-drying spell, would you?"
Takeru shook his head, much to my disappointment. "I can pull as much water as I can from off of you, though."
"Good enough." I held out my arms and waited for him to do his magic. With a slight gesture of his hand, quite a bit of the water from my school clothes came free and collapsed on the sand, quickly soaking into it. I sighed in relief at the sudden loss of weight. "Thanks, Takeru-kun."
"Takeru-kun?" One of his eyebrows rose up, and I giggled.
"What, too personal for you?" I teased, giving him a grin. "Or do you prefer sea monkey still?"
"Takeru-kun is fine," he said quickly, and I snorted a laugh. "You go ahead and head home. It's very late."
"Okay. I'll see you in a day or so, okay?" I picked up the pack that had somehow materialized outside the cave entrance before turning to look at him with a soft smile. "You be good, sea monkey."
"You too, jellyfish," he responded, walking over and ruffling my hair like always. I scowled and poked his belly, making the muscles jump and him glare.
A sly smirk crossed my face, and I bolted a few feet away before turning and quickly blowing him a kiss before turning and running up the beach, too nervous to look behind my and see the reaction of my little stunt on his face.
Home was dark as usual when I came in, and I immediately headed for the shower, needing to get the salt I knew was going to form on my body and clothes out of there as soon as possible. The water was perfectly warm as I sank my body into it, the last bit of tension leaving my tired muscles.
Leaning my head back against the edge of the tub, I thought of the stunning sight that I had been able to witness. As soon as I was able, I was going to buy more chalk to etch the memory of this night on the cave wall. The rest of the free space I would dedicate to memory saving, only in picture form. Any special time with Takeru would be drawn, and I felt pleased with my decision.
"A god, huh..." I murmured to myself, sighing. My heart thumped in my chest when I pictured that sweet, cocky smile of his, but it wasn't painful like I was used to. It was warm and comfortable, and I thought I could easily get used to it.
My eyes slipped shut of their own accord, and I let myself drift off into a doze, sighing some.
What am I going to do with myself...
For reference, their language is Japanese, but I'm just writing it all in english cause yeah. The words for 'jellyfish' and 'sea monkey' are 'kurage' and 'umisaru,' respectivly. Like 'zaissou' is 'weed.' Just a little fun fact I thought you might all like.
Thanks to all my readers and reviewers, and my silent watchers as well. Stay turned for the next chapter!