riptide | kyojuro rengoku

VII | alone

YOU SIGHED, relaxing near the fire. Kyojuro had managed to light one on the island you two had stopped at next. You had already looked into the water and just like the last one, there wasn't anything concerningly dangerous around it. He was busy poking at the fire, occasionally yelping when the flames seemed to bite back at him.

"Aren't you the esteemed Flame Pillar?" You teased him. You could practically hear his ego deflate as he slumped forward, his clothes brushing against the sand. "I am, but that doesn't mean fire doesn't like me sometimes!" He tried to justify it but you simply giggled, turning your attention back to your book.

Kyojuro looked up at you silently, poking at the fire twice before setting the stick at his side. Studying you like this while you were the least bit aware was probably the strangest yet most entrancing thing he had ever done. You were beautiful; that was without a doubt. Kyojuro typically wasn't interested in people like this anyway, so you confused him.

He admired you. He didn't know you entirely, but he definitely wanted to, so this newfound interest was setting off alarms in his head. "Kyojuro, keep an eye on the fish," You didn't seem to be as oblivious as he thought, your head lifting to look in his direction. You were looking a bit too high when you spoke, but your words were directed to him nonetheless.

"It'll burn."

Kyojuro paused, brows furrowing at you. "Are you really blind?" You gaped at his comment, using the lessons Kagaya had taught you to chuck your Braille written book right at his face. His head hit the ground with a thump and he groaned, plucking the literature off his face and setting it on a rock by him.

The Fire God knows you'd probably kill him if he set it in the sand or something. "You think I'd just casually pretend to be blind? What am I supposed to get out of that?! I only mentioned the fish burning because they are actually burning!" It was only then that he noticed the billows of smoke, his nose scrunching at the smell.

He cursed under his breath and you chuckled, hearing him rush to put out the fire and reveal the now crispy and well-cooked fish. Kyojuro stood up, handing you a stick of the fish as you bit into it, the skin crunching underneath your teeth followed by the bland yet satisfying flavor of the fish.

"Come down here," Kyojuro mumbled, a whine imminent in his voice as you slid off the hull of the ship. You didn't like sitting in the sand; it reminded you of the shipwreck years back. It wasn't only that, but the feeling of sand sticking to your skin bothered you immensely. You could feel his careful gaze on you as you took more bites of the fish.

Unsurprisingly, he reached for another stick before deciding to split the last fish with you. It was filling, but part of you still craved for the sweet fruit that'd be hanging out your window every few weeks. Sometimes there would be days where you'd make fresh bread too; your options were limited, but they were what made home 'home'.

"You're gonna bite the stick," He advised you after finishing his ramble about how tasty the seafood was. Honestly, you had been listening to him, but at some point, you had just lost all sense of whatever he was trying to say. He could talk a lot, but that didn't mean everything he said made sense.

Kyojuro grabbed your left wrist, tilting it slightly so that the stick rolled with it. "Now you can bite," He spoke cheerily, still finishing his half of the fish as you adjust your grip, thanking him quietly before continuing to eat. "Y/n, what was your life like?" You nearly dropped the stick at his question.

It's not that his bluntness surprised you, but the lack of understanding behind his words. You two had just met a few days ago and he was already asking for your life story? You shrugged, not really responding. "Boring, I guess. Kagaya and Amane raised me and then they left. That was about it."

You set your stick in the sand, pulling your knees up to your chest. Your shorts moved with you and you shivered. Hot days back at the island typically didn't require you to wear much clothing, so you were stuck in a floral white shirt and a pair of shorts. You heard shuffling before something light dropped onto your shoulders.

"Fire village cloak," He answered your question. "It suits you."

A bitter feeling hit you and part of you wanted to shrug off the cloth, but you didn't want to hurt Kyojuro like that. He didn't deserve it, especially when all he wanted to do was an act of kindness. So, you sucked it up, keeping the cloak on your shoulders. "Thank you," He hummed in response, looking up at the stars.

"My life was pretty great! I met all kinds of people in the village and when I was deemed the Flame Pillar, so many people were proud of me. It was repetitive, but I was okay with that. I had to train a lot to get where I am today since every blessing is its own curse." The boy scratched his head at that, seemingly unsure of his own words.

"Well, that's what my father used to say. I still don't know what he exactly meant by that," Kyojuro murmured under his breath and you leaned closer to the flickering flames of the fire. You knew that if you got too close, Kyojuro would end up stopping you. "Did you ever feel. . . alone?"

You couldn't help but prod. He had to have felt alone, right? Even when surrounded by your father and his crewmates growing up, there were instances that you felt alone. It was as if no one else in the world could understand you, see what you saw, understand what you said. It sounded as if everything you described was in a foreign language.

The only one to keep you afloat from all of that was your father who had complete faith in your abilities and nothing but trust and love for his daughter. He blinked a few times at your question. "Sometimes," The Flame Pillar shrugged, laughing lamely under his breath. "But I think that's just a part of being. . . blessed."

You moved your head in his direction, grabbing your stick and poking the fire yourself this time. "It's not. It's a part of being human."

And that was the first time you left Rengoku Kyojuro speechless.