riptide | kyojuro rengoku

VI | hero

HUMAN. You hadn't been able to get it out of your head. What Rengoku said was harsh, yet true. You sometimes did view the people from the Fire Village as anything but. Scratch that, you always had. After witnessing the burn on Kagaya's face, there was no question as to who did it. Who else could other than the demented fire-wielding people on the same island?

Still, he made the same mistake viewing as just an 'Ocean Seer' at first too. His first words hadn't even been a greeting, but rather a revelation that you were just like Kagaya. Just because he had known your old caretaker's name doesn't relieve him of the judgments he carried. You two hadn't talked much since the night before.

Rengoku had been staying at the bottom of the ship for a while now. It was a cramped space save for a few tabletops and the very back of it held two bigger slabs, places that he deemed as beds after layering a bunch of old blankets over the cold material. You didn't have any complaints, however, and actually slept pretty well the night before.

He didn't even need to teach you how to fish either as you had woken up, ate some fruit, and then taken one of the fishing rods set near the sails. You wanted to prove yourself to be useful. From what you guessed, he wouldn't be starting to move the boat until later in the afternoon; he was still busy fixing the bottom of the ship and getting everything organized.

You hadn't realized back then, but after stumbling about for a bit down there, Rengoku had brought his own heavy bag. It was way bigger than yours and when your foot kicked it, it felt like he was storing much more than clothes in there. Still, though, you weren't one to ask annoying questions.

You reeled the hook back, tossing it into the ocean before glancing ahead into the water. It was only a foot or two in front of you, but you could see the hook clear as day. There weren't that many fish out at the moment, most of what surrounded you two was coral. "Rooting for you, Y/n!" You flinched at the sound of Rengoku's voice.

You hadn't even heard him coming up to where you were. Is it even possible to be that quiet? You pushed aside your anxieties, nodding at him curtly. There was a tug on the hook twice, but you could see the fish nudge it and then swim away as if trying to confirm that the bait in front of it wasn't a threat.

Sorry, little fishy. It finally latched onto the bait and you pulled the reel, making sure there was a net next to you. Unfortunately for you, if you tried to pull the fish on board now, you wouldn't be able to see it whatsoever, so it was important to put it in a bag before tossing it onto the boat. You grabbed the makeshift net, blanketing it around the fish before removing the hook from its mouth.

"Nice one," Rengoku spoke up, his hand planting against your shoulder. You yelped, nearly falling overboard if it wasn't for him quickly tugging you back. Both of you were frozen for a second before the flame-wielding boy leaned forward, bursting out laughing. It took a moment before you responded, turning around in his direction.

"Not funny!"

"Well, you're safe now! You have nothing to worry about!"

That cheery tone in his voice returned and he planted his hand on top of your head like he had done yesterday, ruffling your hair comfortingly. Although you were glad he saved you, his happy-go-lucky attitude did bother you a bit. Yet, you swallowed your bitterness, letting out a sigh of relief instead.

"Thank you, Kyojuro."

He grinned widely at your praise, his hands set on his hips. "Of course! I'm your hero!" Your face flushed at his words but he didn't seem to process what he said, humming a small tune as he disappeared from your senses. However, he was probably still on the boat, if he went on the island he would've told you so.

You went back to fishing, looking back at the sound of the fish beside you flopping. Its efforts were fruitless though considering you had promptly shoved it into the net before pinning down the bag with your knee. You managed to reel about four more fish before you called it quits; the sun was burning at this point and it felt too hot for you to stay out any longer.

You set the fish all in one bag, pinning it down using one of the boxes and leaving it in the dark. To any of your luck, it'd either become dry fish or just die with time. You had no idea where Rengoku was and if he was sleeping, you didn't exactly want to wake him. "Kyojuro," You mumbled softly, testing the waters.

The only response you got was quiet snores, so you opted to leave him alone, ducking under the shade of one of the sails instead. You pulled out one of the books you had packed; Kagaya had translated it himself. According to him, Amane had read it out to him and he had rewritten it in Braille when you were eight.

It was their birthday present to you. You flipped through the pages, hands tracing the dots of The Giver. The author was unknown to you, but it told a sad story about a society that lived desensitized to the world around them. The only way to truly live after that was to relive the harsh history they had locked away before.

You had just gotten to the part in which the main character saw red when you heard Rengoku stumble up to where you sat, a tired yawn leaving him. "What are you. . . " He stopped himself, wondering if 'reading' would even be the right term. He slumped beside you, leaning his head on the wall behind you two.

You ignored his question, asking him something else instead. "Kyojuro, what's red?"

"Well," He hummed, seeming to be in deep thought before responding sweetly. "It's like the tips of my hair!" You didn't have the courage to break his heart and tell him that his description didn't exactly help, but you nodded and pretended to understand anyway. "I'll have to see you one day then." You announced, folding the edge of the page to bookmark it.