The Tale Of An Utterly Old Lady. [Jiraiya x OC]

Chapter 9 | Heartbeat, Speeding Up

Chapter 9 | Heartbeat, Speeding Up

A beautiful scenery.

We stood by the riverside, with sparkling water running its course, watching as the sun's orange color spilled across the sky. I took the spot next to Jiraiya, my eyes absorbing the sight before me: the leaves rustling on the other side of the river, the green grass and gray stones, with all of it filtered into a warm palette.

"What're we doing here?" I asked him, genuinely curious.

"Well, I like this place," Jiraiya replied, placing his hands on his waist. "I hung out here on my own to train sometimes. It's really peaceful and it feels nice."

"Is that really it?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay, okay," he frowned, but then the familiar perverted smile appeared on his face soon after. "Sometimes, women would come by here to, you know, have some fun and play in the water! Heh...heh..."

"Oh, you good-for-nothing," I shook my head in disappointment.

"Good-for-nothing...whatever! I don't care," he pouted like a child. I rolled my eyes before crouching down near the river, dipping my fingers in to let the water run against them. It felt cool against my skin.

Beside me, Jiraiya sat down with his legs crossed, and I turned my head to look at him. Our eyes met, and for that fleeting moment I felt the time slow down, my breath caught in my throat. Inevitably, memories from the previous night returned to me like a slap on the face, and I quickly averted my eyes from his, my cheeks burning.

Mortification, maybe, was what I'd felt about my vulnerable state from that night. It took away what shamelessness I initially had with Jiraiya, knowing that he'd seen me in such a state. For the entire day, I felt like I was walking on Lego blocks around him, desperately trying to act like none of it affected me but unfortunately, no person is able to fully control their emotions.

I watched as he mimicked my action of touching the water.

I was painfully aware of my heartbeat: it drummed in my ears in some hypnotizing rhythm. I fell into a daze, my eyes trained on the man beside me.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump–

Splash.

"Wat da fak—!"

Water was splashed right onto my face, and my instincts allowed me to close my eyes in time. I fell back from my crouching position, and now was sitting on the ground, wiping the water off my face with my kimono sleeve. Jiraiya's laughter echoed in the area, and knowing what had just occurred, I frowned.

"You bitch!" I yelled at him, moving over to the river to splash him with water as well. He grunted when the water hit his face, cutting off his laughter.

Next thing you know, we were in a full-on water fight, drenching ourselves with the river water, bellows of laughter filling the otherwise peaceful area.

When our game finished, Jiraiya used his fire-style to start a fire. The two of us, with clothes soaked in river water, sat around the fire to warm ourselves as night fell. Long gone was the sun, and the indigo skies of early evening were above us.

I twisted my black hair to squeeze out water, while Jiraiya took off his kimono shirt so only his mesh shirt was on him. Feeling uncomfortable in my own wet clothes, I began to wish I had an undergarment that was okay for public display underneath my kimono. Sighing, I scooted closer to the fire, hovering my hands near its embers, focused on getting warmer.