Under the Shaded Willow

Chapter Twelve: Ichigo the Lifeguard?

Chapter Twelve: Ichigo the Lifeguard?

Hakase stood staring out into the open abyss that was the ocean. He watched as tiny ripples became larger ones; washing upon the shore and then receding back to where they came from. It intrigued the boy. No matter how many times the waves met the shore, they always returned to the ocean. To have such a home must have been pure serenity. It was as if there were some sort of magnetic pull, and of course, Hakase knew the scientific reasons for this, but it was nice to think deeper in such subjects. Though he would never tell that to anyone else, and especiallynot Spirit.

Spirit, yes, the crazy absurd boy who was out way past his waistline. Hakase wouldn't dare go out that far, in fact, he wouldn't even inch a toe out into the cold water. It was beneath him to partake in such uncanny acts. That...and the fact that even if he did want to, he didn't know how to swim. So instead, he just vacantly stared off into the distance.

"Hakase, what's wrong? Is swimming not your cup of tea?" Indigo asked as she sauntered towards him, sitting beside where he stood.

He looked down at the cherry headed girl as she pulled her knees to her chest. She was looking at him, too; smiling. She had such a gentle smile, such gentle eyes. He hair was pulled into a braided bun that connected at the back of her head. Yep larger strands of hair hung on each side of her face. It seemed that she preferred to be warmed by the sun rather than take a cold dip.

"I don't quite fancy tea. Coffee is more my forte," he retorted.

Although his retort was more of a softly backhanded comment. For some reason, ever since the first day she had spoken to him, he held some sort of soft spot for the girl. She laughed at this. A dog with no bite was surely nothing to fear.

"Spirit will be so disappointedwhen he finds out. He makes the best cup of tea there is."

"Yes well, Spirit will just have to deal," he replied, allowing a ghost of a smile grace his lips.

She laughed again. It was odd; being able to speak to this girl as if they had some sort of connection. Maybe they did, he didn't know. All he was sure of was that something had changed; a change that he didn't quite dislike.

"He sure is a handful. I always have to play lifeguard when we come to swim. I always tell him not to go out too far, but he never listens."

"That's interesting coming from you. You and him aren't too different, you know?"

Ichigo looked at him with a surprised gaze. He mouth was slightly open, then she gave him a sly smile.

"That isn't anything I want to hear from you. You know, you're not too different yourself. You're actually quite similar of you let down your creepy adult atmosphere."

"Creepy," Hakase thought to himself, shaking his head the slightest bit.

"I am nothing like him. I am way smarter. Not to mention more refined in every aspect. Your brother is an unruly hooligan," Hakase spoke, defending himself.

"That he is," Ichigo responded, throwing a soft glance Spirit's way.

"Ichigo, Hakase, the water is perfect. Come join me!" the boy shouted, throwing one arm up in the air.

"You know, I think I will. Do you dare join me, Hakase?" She asked as she rose, extending a hand to him.

"No... I'll surely pass up the opportunity. You two knuckleheads have already gotten me this far."

"That we did," she laughed, " just you wait, we'll convince you someday!"

Who knew, maybe they would. Hakase was starting to feel unsure of how long his resistance would last. Surely he knew by now that he wanted to be apart of the two siblings lives. In all reality, he felt himself craving nothing more than that lately. However, the lingering feelings of gaining his mother's love still weighed heavily on his heart. She didn't deserve him. But he wanted her to want him.

***

Spirit watched as his sister walked towards the water. She dipped her toe in at first, testing the temperature. Ichigo wasn't one who could tolerate cold things. She liked the feeling of warmth much better. However, today the water seemed to be just right for her, as she delved in deeper; wading her way towards her brother. The water came only to her chest, whereas on Spirit, it made it's way all the way to his neck.

"Hakase won't come in?" he inquired.

His sister smiled at him, giving him an odd reply that Spirit didn't understand.

"Hakase doesn't like tea."

"What does tea have to do with swimming?!" A flustered Spirit questioned.

"Shh," his sister cooed, flicking his red forehead. He was definitely going to have a nasty sunburn.

The day moved along, all the while Hakase stood firmly on the beach. Although, there was a particular time when he inched towards the water, kneeling and letting it's transparency trickle from his fingers. As he watched the Silver haired boy, Spirit swore he saw a tear slip from his cheek.

*** One Week Later ***

Hakase laid in be staring up at the ceiling. Any moment now he would feel the weight of the redhead as he climbed in beside him. He anticipated that moment with a certain eagerness that welled up inside of him. He wodered what they would talk about when he slid into bed. It was sort of like a little tradition they had; Spirit would start a conversation and Hakase would go along with it to mock the other boy.

Spirit was sure that Hakase Hamas was bothered by the conversations he started, but in reality the younger boy practically lived for them. It had been one week since the swimming fiasco and Hakase had finally told him about the frog, to which Spirit simply laughed at in response. He said that ge wasn't worried about the frog and was touched that Hakase had tried to repair it for him.

"Thank you," he said with a tear in his eye.

When Hakase asked why Spirit was crying, the redhead told him it was because Hakase was finally starting to open up to him. He was just so happy that he couldn't help but cry. To which Hakase responded to with calling Spirit and idiot, but he was happy nonetheless. Well, happy and a little sheepish. Spirit was becoming someone very important to him.

It was about fifteen minutes later that the little ball of energy came to bed, and instead of a large conversation, he simply sighed a quiet goodnight. A smile could be seen in the dom moonlit room. It was gentle and joy-filled.

"Goodnight, Spirit," Hakase whispered long after the boy had fallen asleep. As he spoke the word he laid his hand atop the older boy's head, gently stroking his damp hair. If there was one thing in this world that he was glad to have near his side, it was Spirit.