A Little Black Box
After the rain stopped, he regained his strength.
He couldn't stay out here like this. But every part of his body protested.
Eventually he trudged to his feet and found shelter in a small niche behind the inn. He was tiny and it was hard to reach. He would be fine here.
He sneezed, and shivered.
His time keeper was ruined. The night sky was as dark as ever. Not a single star was visible. His stomach gurgled with hunger. His fingers were thumbing through his pockets for the stone, until he remembered what had happened to it. With a frustrated cry, he dashed the fresh tears away.
He was drenched and miserable, but he had no choice but to stay like this. There was always a chance that the rain could start again.
Feeling restless, he ghosted his fingers along the cramped space, feeling the edges. The little handle he found distracted him. It turned easily under his hand. Where did it open up to? Where did it lead?
It was too dark to see. But sleep was not an option and he had nothing better to do. Besides, the shinobi would soon come for him. There was nothing to lose.
.
.
His little niche had actually been a broken part of an unused vent. After crawling along inside the tunnel for one minute, he saw light at the other end at last. Chakra infused sand made quick work of picking the lock. The door was pried open. He was momentarily blinded by the light.
He noticed the candle first after adjusting to the glare. It stood alone and singular atop a nearby table. The room was awash in its warm glow. His gaze drifted lower.
Then-
Jade eyes widened.
His fist clenched painfully, drawing blood.
His heart stopped, and then restarted at a frantic pace.
Never in his wildest fantasies did he expect this to happen.
But there was no mistaking it.
His vision became blurry with tears once again.
The kunoichi.
She was here.
Curled up on a cushioned bench at the other end of the room, eyes closed. A pen hung limply from her fingers, so very close to falling away.
Her hair. Her face. All of it was unmistakably hers.
Despite everything that had happened to him.
She was here. She was close.
He slowly crawled out of the vent. He didn't tear his gaze from her for a single second. Each step was filled with trepidation. Each breath came shallower than the last. If this was a dream, or an illusion, he felt he would die.
At long last, he stood next to her slumbering figure. Underneath her body were various notebooks that his addled mind barely registered.
He swallowed, his throat having gone dry. Her name escaped his lips in a whisper. He was afraid that if he spoke too loud, it would all shatter in front of him.
Her eyelids fluttered open.
For a moment, she stared at him. Unfocused. Unresponsive.
And then she smiled, and everything was right in his world once again.
"Hi. What are you doing here, little man?"
Her voice was thick with sleep, but he recognized it instantly.
After so long. After so, so long.
The one he had yearned for.
He was finally reunited with her.
Both of his hands were shaking so hard. After several false starts, he reached out and grasped the hem of her red shirt.
And promptly burst into tears.
He did not know when she righted herself into a sitting position. Or when she'd lifted him off the floor and cuddled him close. He didn't care that he was getting her clothes wet. That he was sniveling in quite an unsightly way. With both arms he grabbed for her. Tried to gather up as much of her as he could into his embrace. Tried to meld himself into her stomach so they wouldn't be separated.
She cooed at him. Didn't mind the way he grappled with her. He felt her pat his shoulder and back.
And she patiently held onto him just as tightly as he did to her. Even when two older women came down the stairs to see what the commotion was about.
.
.
He took a sip of the liquid in the cup.
Inside his chest, he felt warm.
No doubt about it. It was the most delicious drink he'd ever had.
The kunoichi stopped toweling his hair to tease him. Surely he'd tried green tea before now.
Maybe, he admitted. But none as delicious as this.
Hesitantly, she offered a plate of food to him. She warned him about the taste.
He took one big bite.
It was food that she prepared for him. It was enough to make his eyes water once again.
With a sniffle, he proclaimed that the rice ball was the best in the country.
He got a light cuff behind his head for that, but he stubbornly insisted. She rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. Nevertheless, she also looked pleased.
After eating, his hair was dry. It spiked so much, and stuck out all over the place. Ignoring her giggles, he latched to her side. He had no intent of letting go, crazy hair or not.
One of her companions, an older blonde, complained about the paperwork this business trip would generate.
The kunoichi whispered that she was the new leader of her village. The role was similar to his father's.
But why was she accompanying such a woman, he wondered.
She smiled proudly in response. It was because she was her new apprentice. She would embark on a journey to become a healer, just like her master.
It would be a lonely journey that he could not imagine. Intently going forward through the darkness, even one minuscule of hope would be difficult to find. Only believing that there must be something beyond the horizon and at the edge of the world.
How far would she go, he pondered.
That night, he listened while she talked. Enveloped in a big blanket together, he heard about her hopes and her dreams. In return, he told her about his own experiences. They talked about cranes. They talked about cake. They talked about the things they've read, and the little things that they'd done under clouded skies.
With trepidation, he told her the fate that had befallen the stone just hours prior.
It was her smile that lifted that weight from his shoulders at last.
There was nothing to fear. He was still free to dream, to wonder, to marvel. And he was glad.
To his utter joy, she pulled out a little black box that was no bigger than her thumb. In the candlelight, the little box danced against her skin in all those ways that made him breathless just like before. No strings. No mechanisms. No chakra. Just her, and the little black box, and magic.
Without realizing it, the kunoichi fell back into slumber just before dawn.
He did not sleep, but remained tucked within the circle of her arms. Jade eyes closed in pure bliss.
This was probably what forever felt like.
.
.
And yet all good things eventually came to an end.
The next day, a group of shinobi from his village arrived in response to the blonde woman's summons. On that same morning, he was to be separated from the kunoichi once more.
This time, he had no way of knowing when he would see her again. Because she was now an apprentice, she would be studying and traveling for many years. He would not see her next spring, no matter how much he wished it. Neither would she arrive in the spring after that. Or the spring after that...
No matter what he did, their hearts would not move one centimeter closer. Those clouded skies were farther than he could ever reach.
The kunoichi bent down so they were eye level, and embraced him.
"I'm sorry for everything that's happened to you. I'm sorry that your life will continue to be one of hardship. But you'll be fine. Even without me, I know you'll be fine..."
Like the grains of sand beneath their feet, time was slipping through his fingers. His mind, his heart, was in turmoil. Desperate to steal a little bit of her to keep for himself. Desperately reaching towards something that lay so far away...
She took his hand and pressed the little black box onto his palm.
He still had no idea what it really was.
A mischievous giggle escaped her lips.
"Maybe you can figure it out?"
His spine stiffened. He would find the answer, definitely. And when he did, she would have to return to him.
Her smile became lonely at his declaration. And yet, she was still very pretty this way, he thought absently. Whether under the moon beams, or in the rays of the sun. She never failed to captivate him utterly.
The kunoichi leaned forwards.
Slowly, carefully...
Instinctively, he knew what was happening.
Jade eyes dropped shut at the tender, feather-light touch of her lips on his forehead.
It would be a lonely journey that he could not imagine. Intently going forward through the darkness, even one minuscule of hope would be difficult to find. Only believing that there must be something beyond the village walls and at the edge of the world.
At the last possible moment, he grabbed her face with both hands and pulled her downwards.
His lips tenderly brushed the corner of her mouth.
This was what he had been yearning for. The meaning of living for seven years.
The world was surely a big place. All he could do was pray that one day, his path would find hers again.
And that was enough for him.
The kunoichi gasped and jerked backwards.
Jade gazed deeply into emerald, halting her forthcoming apology.
I don't regret it.
Her smile this time was mystified. As if suddenly faced with an enigma.
Her master suddenly called her name, ending the moment.
She ruffled his head fondly and stood up. Emerald eyes hardened, looking straight into the future.
Until next time.
He watched her dash over the dunes until he couldn't see her pink hair anymore.
.
.
In the time before and after that kiss, he felt that all of the world has changed because of it.
Deep in his heart, he prayed to one day have the strength to protect her. Thinking that way, he would always watch the scenery outside his window back in his village, especially on cloudy days.
TBC...