Icy Water

I don't own Nura or any of its characters

"Well...would you like to head back to the arena? I'm sure everyone will be pleasantly surprised to see your new hair due." Reira suggested while a kind smile swept across her face.

Yusuke glanced out the window that allowed the paint-like colours of dawn to seep through. It was already sundown by the time she had finished getting changed and cutting her hair. A small smile slipped onto Yusuke's features as she gave a light shake of her head.

"No...I think I'll just wait until tomorrow." The half breed answered. Reira nodded before turning around, starting for the door. The yuki-onna sent a glance back at Yusuke as her hand met the handle of the door. "I almost forgot, how is your hand doing?"

Yusuke returned her gaze. She blinked unsurely before realizing what Reira meant. "Oh! I-it's doing fine; great actually, I'll be able to get to work tomorrow!" She answered while her reassuring smile appeared. Reira nodded before exiting through the door.

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Yusuke slowly strolled through the cool grass as a chilling breeze flew past her. The silver rays of the moon reflected off of her pale skin like a mirror, causing her to stand out tremendously from her dark surroundings, such as a lantern in the night. The glittering stars the scattered the blackness of the sky reminded Yusuke of how she used to sneak out of the temple as a child to stargaze...that is...until Yamato caught her. Yusuke pushed the painful memory out of her mind before she could relive the agony that was inflicted on her all those years ago. She wouldn't allow such things to ruin her night stroll. Yusuke paused and took a moment to glance up at the sky with a dreamy smile following suit. The silver specs could easily be seen reflecting off of her grey eyes. She loved the beauty of the stars which was most likely the reason why she adored the night so very much.

Her eyes continued to wonder the vast darkness the engulfed the village until her eyes caught sight of a pond, almost blending right into the ground. If it weren't for the reflection of the moon in it, Yusuke probably would have made the mistake of tripping in it, no matter how shallow it could end up to be. A small smile spread across her thin lips as she strolled towards the shallow pool. The water reflected the darkness of the sky along with every star. It was so calm and still, despite the occasional heavy wind that would blow through the trees. Yusuke bent down and began searching the ground for flat rocks. After a small while she managed to find two relatively flat stones that she could try skipping. Yusuke had always wanted to try skipping rocks, of course she had never done so before but how hard could it be? Yusuke grasped one of the rocks and flicked it towards the water. She had expected it to skip at least twice but instead, the stone plummeted into the dark water, causing unstill ripples after its fall. Her smile slipped away as she watched the ripples calm and flatten.

"You're doing it wrong." A voice spoke from behind her.

Yusuke's head whipped towards the source of the voice only to be met with Itaku standing behind her, arms crossed as always. Before she could process what he had said, Itaku stretched out his hand in front of her, most likely a gesture for the purpose of obtaining the other rock she held. Yusuke glanced at his and the rock that she held before handing it to him. Itaku flicked the stone across the pond with ease. Yusuke counted in her head how many times the pebble had skipped until it too plummeted along with its friend.

"One, two, three, four."

The half breed's eyes widened in wonder as a large smile tugged at the corners of her mouth.

"Wow that was great! I wish I could do that." She exclaimed. "You're pretty talented!"

"Actually it's pretty easy. You just do it wrong." Itaku spoke in a somewhat criticising way, though his words seemed to have no effect on Yusuke. She just simply smiled at him in return.

Yusuke's grey orbs wondered back to the water that now laid still, her smile still in place. Itaku followed her gaze back to the water as well, though he had no idea what she found so intriguing about a boring pond. There wasn't even any fish in it. Instead of wasting time staring at motionless water, Itaku turned his attention to Yusuke. He had noticed that her hair was now short and because of that fact, her face had become much more visible than before. Her ragged bangs no long masked her fair features and her large eyes were much more noticeable. It was hard to tell before but she actually had a very light, natural blush that tinted her face. The silver moonlight seemed to make her look that much more pretty. She never really looked that natural in the sunlight, almost like it burned her (despite the fact that her fear was fire and any yokai with that fear cannot easily be overcome by such circumstances). Itaku was pulled from his thoughts by Yusuke's soft voice.

"Hey, Itaku...? How old are you?" She asked, the question coming completely out of nowhere. Itaku sent her a strange look but answered, nonetheless.

"532." He replied simply. Yusuke's head snapped towards him with her eyes widened.

"You're that old?! I knew that yokai could live for a long time but I had no idea you were that ancient!" Yusuke exclaimed rather loudly.

Itaku's expression remained the same but it didn't change the fact that he was greatly displeased in being called "ancient". After all, there were yokai in the village that were even older than him. After her outburst, Yusuke's face became solemn as she looked to the ground.

"Hah, I wish I could live to be that old. My uncle always told me that I wouldn't live past 20...I guess that's what I get...for being so weak." She whispered softly while crouching down to the pond and dipping her slender finger into the icy water.

There was a long stretch of silence between them before Itaku broke it.

"You're not weak." He said, sternly. Yusuke glanced back at him before a small smile swept across her features. Instead of denying it or berating herself, for once, she decided to accept the positive statement.

"Thank you...Itaku. You're very sweet." She said, softly.

Yusuke stood from her crouched down position and brushed off the clinging dirt on her pants (technically on Itaku's pants but they were sort of hers at the moment). As she turned around to face Itaku (being as clumsy as she is), Yusuke managed to slip on a rock that seemed to be hiding the entire time until now. She let out a yelp as she began to fall backwards toward the pond. Out of instinct, Itaku quickly grabbed hold of her hand only to find himself now falling over with her. The two of them fell into the icy pond with one big splash. Yusuke was the first to emerge from under the freezing water. She began shaking her head, attempting to rid her already soaked hair of any water.

"I-it's cold!" She spoke while still sitting in the shallow pool.

The water was a little deeper than she had anticipated. It came up to her collar bone when she was sitting down. Realization had finally decided to hit her as she remembered who she had pulled in with her. Yusuke looked to her side, frantically to see that Itaku was still recovering from the fall as well.

"Ah, Itaku! I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean to!" Yusuke called out. Itaku groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. Why was it that she had to cause him so much trouble all the time? After his short recovery, Itaku pulled himself out of the icy water, ignoring his soaking clothes that now clung to his cold skin.

"I-I'm sorry." Yusuke apologized once again, this time feeling the guilt stab her in the heart.

"Don't apologize." He replied, more out of annoyance rather than kindness. Getting wet was one thing that Itaku hated.

His face was twisted into a very displeased glare as he held out his hand to Yusuke. Yusuke could already tell that he wasn't very happy so she made sure not to test his patience. Yusuke grabbed his hand and allowed him to help her out.

"Go back and dry off." He said once she was out, clear annoyance laced in his tone. With that being said, Itaku jumped into the trees and began making his way back. The cold water plus the freezing night breeze did not equal a very comfortable and nice evening. He was just eager to find someplace warm.

Yusuke watched as the kamaitachi left her by the pond. Her face bared a small frown as she hung her head.

"I think I made Itaku mad at me...oh, why do I always have to cause him so much trouble?" Yusuke scolded herself before letting out a long and heavy sigh.

After standing in the same spot for a moment, the half breed finally gave in once a strong and cold gust flew by her. "I guess I should probably be getting back..."

Just as she was about to start walking, a dilemma appeared. Had she come from the left or the right? Or did she come from behind? Yusuke began frantically sending glances of concern in every direction possible until she had realized something...

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO GET BACK!"

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Awashima stared down at the sleeping form in front of him with Amezo, Dohiko, Reira, Itaku and Yukari all surrounding him. Since Yusuke had no idea how to get back to the temple, she simply curled up under a tree and fell asleep. Because of the cold air and the fact that she had taken an unexpected dip in the pond, her skin had lost its entire colour except for her nose and cheeks which bared a red tint. Her thin arms were wrapped in a tight hug around her torso while she had huddled herself in a ball, in an attempt to keep warm for the night. Yusuke looked more like she was in the fatal position.

"She looks dead..." Amezo stated.

"What was she even doing out here anyways?" Dohiko inquired.

"Oh, I hope she hasn't caught herself a cold." Reira spoke with a worried expression plastered to her pristine face.

"You know, that just sounds weird coming from you." Amezo spoke as he sent a glance towards the concerned pinkette.

Awashima reached for a stick that lay on the ground and used the tip to poke the pale girl in front of him a few times. At first there was no response but Awashima was not going to give up that easily. He began to poke her more frequently and finally did a few pokes to Yusuke's fair cheek. Yusuke groaned as she muttered a few terms before slowly blinking her eyes into focus.

"Mm, w-wah?" She murmured as the yokai that stood above her came into focus. Yusuke had to squint a little as her eyes tool notice of the beaming sun the shone down on them all. Reira's concerned frown was replaced with a relieved smile as she spoke.

"Oh, good. You never returned to the temple so we got worried." She said.

"What the hell are you doing sleeping outside? And why are you all damp?" Awashima pressed for an explanation. Yusuke sat up and dumbly glanced at each person surrounding her. Her gaze landed on Itaku for a moment before she answered, making up an excuse.

"O-oh, I, uh, was—well I was walking and tripped in the pond, ha, stupid me!" She stammered with a nervous laugh. There was an awkward moment of silence until Awashima spoke.

"Hm...guess we'll have to keep an eye on you so you don't go drowning during the night." He joked before remembering what it was he wanted to say. "Oh yeah, nice hair by the way, barley recognized you at first!" Yusuke was caught off guard by the sudden compliment.

"O-oh! Uh, really? Ah, I mean t-thank—thank you." She stammered, mentally scolding herself for being sounding so stupid. Awashima and the others seemed to find amusement in watching the half breed stutter and search for the right words. Yusuke laughed sheepishly as she glanced at the ground. She felt a little dumb for falling asleep outside and she also felt bad for making her friends worry so much but seeing them happy washed all of those thoughts away.

Author's Note: Well here we go, another chapter! I had writer's block and couldn't figure out what to write for this one but I managed to get it done anyways. I have to say, it's pretty dang short though...hmph well that sucks :\ But anyways reviews are necessary for your survival for the next apocalypse!

~FlammingAxel