XI | hero

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AS SOON AS YOU arrived, Kyojuro had anchored the boat and made his way into the forest, telling you he went to go find some fruits and possibly hunt if there was anything to kill

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AS SOON AS YOU arrived, Kyojuro had anchored the boat and made his way into the forest, telling you he went to go find some fruits and possibly hunt if there was anything to kill. You were fine with that and busied yourself with cleaning a bit, throwing away the fruit peels, and fishing for some food too.

Unfortunately, there weren't very many fish stupid enough to fall for the bait, so you only ended up with three catches. You ultimately gave up, sighing to yourself and searching for your book, bringing out a damp copy of The Giver. It was still drying, but some of the pages were frayed and curled at the ends.

You had left it at the top of the boat since you read it pretty often whenever you two stopped or when you grew bored, but your actions clearly had consequences. You had already killed some time looking for threats too and ended up finding nothing. All that surrounded you two now was bright coral and the usual swarm of neon fish.

"Hey, Y/n!"

You heard Kyojuro call your name, tilting your head up at the sound as you looked in the direction of the voice. His footsteps grew closer and you heard him grunt as he hopped onto the boat, his calloused fingers pressing against your hand to let you know he was there. "We can head to the cove right now if you want. I think it'd be nice to sit in the water; it's warm!"

Your face flushed at the thought. Does he. . . want to get in the water together? NO WAY! Your jaw fell slack and you quickly shook your head, backing away from the man. Kyojuro grew confused at your behavior, "I didn't really find anything to hunt, so we can go to the cove together and relax in the water there."

As if realizing what you were hinting at, his own face turned red and he quickly sputtered. "W-With clothes on, of course!" He didn't want you to think he was some kind of man that only thought with what was in his pants; he was pretty brainless at times, but he would never stoop that low!

You recovered slightly, nodding shyly at his offer and taking his hand as he helped you up. "It's getting dark too which means it'll get cooler, so the warm water should be satisfying!" Kyojuro seemed to be confident in his own plans, hyping himself up for even coming up with something like that.

You didn't have the heart to tell him it was relatively common sense, too grateful for his considerate nature nonetheless. "Do you think Senjuro ended up here by chance?" You mumbled quietly, holding onto his hand firmly. You couldn't risk losing yourself in the forest, so you kept a tight grip on him.

Kyojuro wasn't bothered by it though, taking it in stride and occasionally swinging your hands together childishly. "If he did, he would've done some kind of signal. We're not that far from the village and I've taught him how to make a smoke signal before. Plus, we didn't cross through here in the shipping expedition."

His tone grew awkward and he continued to walk forward, the two of you falling silent. He doesn't sound that worried. Your brows furrowed in concern, wondering if Kyojuro was acting nonchalant to keep you calm at the same time. You wouldn't be surprised considering how generous he had been up until this point.

Once again, you weren't sure if Kyojuro was trying to reassure you or himself, though. At this point, you weren't regretting going on this trip, especially since you got to meet someone like the amazing Flame Pillar himself. However, you were wondering when it would end. Kyojuro had always been reassuring you that you two would find Senjuro eventually, but when?

Nonetheless, if they lost him on the shipping expedition here, wouldn't you two have found him sooner? It's just retracing your steps, right? Even after the event, Kyojuro had the time to make sure you two were heading the same way as they had before, so some of the things weren't adding up.

However, it also didn't make sense for Kyojuro to lie. Why would he lie about something so important? Especially if the village hadn't approached you all in so long? You felt bad for doubting Kyojuro; he had looked out for you so long and you couldn't disregard that he had a lot riding on his shoulders.

So, you kept your thoughts to yourself, your lips pursing as you tried your best to step where Kyojuro stepped. "There's a vine here, make sure to step over it," He spoke bravely as if it was some kind of opponent. Sometimes you could feel the utter pride radiating from Kyojuro; his burden was large, but he was proud of it.

You knew that he didn't like carrying it, but the labels with it made it seem rewarding.

Twistedly rewarding.

"Thank you," You mumbled, stepping higher than you probably should've in order to avoid the thick vine from wrapping around your ankle. Kyojuro responded with positivity again, "Of course! I'm your hero, after all!" There was that sense of pride again as if he was proud of saving you so many times before.

Although someone else would argue that he hadn't done much for you; your lack of vision impaired you far greater than you could put in words. Yet, Kyojuro had gone above and beyond by making sure to sound a little louder when approaching, holding your hand when you two went anywhere, and also handling your belongings with great care.

"We're at the cove," He announced and you could hear him shuffle, letting go of your hand briefly only to grab it again and lead you down the rocks. It curled around a cave filled with water and you looked into it, making sure there weren't any fish or seaweed. You never liked the sensation of seaweed or fish brushing against your legs.

"Also," Kyojuro awkwardly cleared your throat, leading you to one side of the small pool of water as he stood across from you. "You can. . . um. . . remove your clothes if you want. I-I can't see anything." He fell silent after that, seeing your cheeks flush as his own face grew hotter. "I-I'm going to keep some clothes on."

The boy turned away from you to give you some privacy and you shuffled out of your clothes so you'd be left in your undergarments; you couldn't afford to lose another set of a top and pants. You paused, dipping your feet in the water and slowly settling into it as you sat. "Are you set?" He asked, still not turning around. 

"Um, yes," You said, your cheeks getting hot again as he sunk into the water beside you. The fact that he had waited until you got in made your heart flutter and you sighed. This trip was only getting more and more confusing by the second.

 This trip was only getting more and more confusing by the second

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