Them [O. H. S. H. C. ]

26.5 | Accident

It was early in the morning. The beach had a few people, some sunbathing, others already hitting the water.

Kaoru and I had been splashing around  for an hour, enjoying the slap of the bigger waves. They were crazy and crazily exhilarating.

That was, until, the lifeguard's red signal flared. The bright light was stationed at the top of the tower, visible to everyone. Shark warning.
Surfers began wading through the water towards shore. Children tarrying in the shallow end were snatched up by anxious parents.

"Kaoru, let's go!"

"Why?"

He noticed the light, and began free styling towards the miniature dunes of sand. I tagged along, unwilling to face the mighty shark prowling these waters (cue scary music).

We were exiting the deep end, when a steel grey fin poked out. You have got to be kidding me... The shark began bobbing along, in our direction, towards me. Kaoru wrapped his arms around my form, either paralyzed with fear or smartly, staying still. We held each other as the animal circled us. The water began turning red. A deep Crimson shade.

"Kaoru!"
▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️▪️
"So what are we doing, exactly?"

"We're roller skating."

"Why? You're aware of my natural unbalance!"

He only smirked at that.

We laced up our skates, adjusted our helmets, and began gradually making our way around the ring. I was wobbling with each "roll".

"I hate this!"

"Oh?"

"Shut up!"

I punched him, playfully (maybe). Of course that extra weight on my right side disoriented me, sending me sprawling to the ground. My elbow bore a blackish-blue bruise. And many more to come.

*timeskip*

When the song ended, we decided to give up and ice my sore self. I tripped, I stumbled, I face planted, I fell in every way imaginable. Twice.
We approached the ramp outside, where a slight lift caught me. I crashed back into Mori, who acted as my cushion. Unfortunately, his single arm couldn't support us both. We went backwards, his figure flying into a wall. He got the brunt of it. I went to assist him, ask him if he was "okay." Then I saw a patch of blood, staining his messy hair.

"Mori!"

As promised...enjoy!