Under the Shaded Willow

Chapter Eleven: Leap...frog?

Author's Note: Hello everyone! I am so sorry for the lack of competence. I will try to start updating somewhat regularly again. This is just a small teaser of chapter 11. Please comment what you think so far!

Hakase sat under the Willow tree with Spirit's stuffed frog in his hands. It was a pitifully tattered thing, becoming that way only after Hakase had cut it up. At the time he thought it was a great idea. He could simulate a dissection without harming a living creature. However, reflecting upon his actions now, he found that it may have been a poorly calculated mistake. He was still waiting for the aftermath of Spirit's realization to come to light. A thousand thoughts had raced through his mind earlier that morning on how to make it up to the redhead. Though none of them seemed to sufficiently satisfy him.

It was very out if character for him to worry about such trivial matters, and if he could manage it, he would erase the inconvenience from his thoughts. As it was, he could not do that. He could only visualize the angry red rising to the very tips of Spirit's ears and the glower of utter indigence he had elicited from the boy. It was all he could do to not seek the boy out to verbalize an apology. Of such would be an indignity on his part. He would never do such a thing.

The mere thought was ridiculous. Yet, he needed to make amends somewhere, which brings us back to the fact that Spirit's frog lay in his hands. As he peered down upon it's dirtied appearance, he sighed, taking the threaded needle in his hand. The only idea that satisfied him was this. He would sew the frog back together and mend it's openings. Hopefully that would be enough for Spirit. It had to be. As he penetrated the frogs cotton covering with the needle's point, he felt a slight breeze followed by the sound of rustling leaves.

On a warm day like this such a breeze was rather refreshing. He continued with a steady hand mending the toy. He was quite good with a needle, actually. He often times would practice sewing random things in order to prepare for suturing his experiments. He was proud of that as well, yet still slightly impartial. He preferred not to call it a skill, but rather a necessity. It was several minutes later that he finally noticed an illustrious presence looming near.

He looked up just in time to catch Spirit running towards him in full force. The redhead wore a blue tank top and some sort of swimming trunks. His hair was knotted into an unruly up-do, his eyes shining in the opaque sunlight. He pulled his sister, who wore a pear colored one piece, along with him. Frantically, he stashed the frog, the needle, and the thread into an opening in the tree.

"Hakase!" Spirit hollered.

Hakase carefully watched as the boy and his sister bounded towards him. Reaching him only after a few moments, the redhead thrust a piece of green clothing at him.

"They're too small for me, so I never wore them," he said rather casually, flashing the paler boy a bright smile.

Upon examination of the piece of fabric Hakase realized that they were a pair of swimming trunks. Hakase shook his head at the obnoxiously bright things. What in the world was that boy thinking?

"What exactly are these for?" Hakase inquired.

Spirit gave him a dumb look and chuckled.

"Gosh, Hakase, how can you be so smart and so dumb at the same time? They're for swimming!"

Spirit's outlandish comment irritated the younger boy. He however, chose not to reply snidely.

"I know what they are and their purpose. Why are you giving them to me, is what I meant," the boy clarified.

"Well, because we're going down to the beach side lake at the bottom of the cliff."

It was a known fact to Hakase that the Albarn's house resided on a cliff that overlooked a vast lake, however, he didn't know that they swam in it. Furthermore, on any other given day he would decline the offer, but today was different. Today he had something to make up to the other boy. Today he would comply. To his dismay, Spirit insisted on him changing right where he was, and lacking the energy to walk all the way back to the house, he did so. The siblings turned away from him.