Love Hurts

[ThatGuy]

One thing he should have talked to Akio about when he joined was his job description. Yeah he realized he was getting paid generously for a medic of his caliber. But still! He never agreed to manual labor. Shirai was far too pretty to be dragging around sacks of rice. Well he wasn’t strong enough for two. So he dragged just the one. Tsubaki however was carrying two over her shoulder like it was nothing. It was clear which one was the strong one and which one was the pretty one… Both her. Out of breath and sweating he dropped off his bag of rice in camp and turned to Tsubaki.

“Hey do you want to go swimming to cool off? I feel like I’m gonna collapse.”

When she agreed they both went off to go get changed. With a smile Shirai darted out of the tent. Calling out to Tsubaki as he ran in the direction of the lake. “Race ya there!” With a head start like this there was no way she was going to be able to pass him. With minimal interruptions while he ran through the small forest leading to the lake he figured he’d be there first for sure. But as he reached the lake extremely out of breath he was surprised to see Tsubaki there.

“You had to have cheated.”

Giving her a quick kiss he jumped into the lake. The water was freezing. Just what he was hoping for. He could already notice the difference being in water with his new haircut. For starters when he lifted his head above the water he noticed how much lighter his head was wet. There was about half the amount of wet hair weighing him down now.

“Come on in cutie! Water’s great!”

[Amy]

Tsubaki didn’t mind the manual labor. It was good training, lugging around sacks of rice. It was also amusing to watch Shirai struggle with the task. He was very talented, more than he gave himself credit for which was surprising considering his ego. But strength was not his...well, strength. He was huffing and puffing along and she was pretty sure that he would be whining and complaining if he had the breath to do so. Seeing as he couldn’t even defend himself, she kept herself from teasing him if only barely. That could come later when he asked for her to use her massage techniques on his sore muscles. Of course, she would. But she wouldn’t do it quietly.

When they finally got back to camp, Shirai wasted no time in dropping his duties and running towards the lake. Shaking her head and chuckling to herself, she threw her bags of rice down by the one he dropped and she took off after him. He really did not seem to grasp the fact that physically he was just not on par with her. It had gotten closer since she taught him the basic jutsu. He had picked up, physically, a bit. He had more stamina. He was stronger. Faster. Just not as strong and as fast as she was. He also hadn’t figured out how to use his new skills to his advantage.

That was why she took to the trees. Leaping from branch to branch, swinging her way over his head, arriving at the lake nearly fifteen seconds ahead of Shirai. In fact she already had her shirt off when he appeared and accused her of cheating. Tsubaki only grinning mischievously and kissed him back before walking onto the water behind him. She didn’t have any intention of getting wet. The water was freezing, she could feel the chill seeping into her bones even just sitting on top of it, a layer of Chakra keeping her safe. She knew Shirai was going to try to drag her in so she was prepared for that, keeping a watchful eye on him.

"I have absolutely no intention of getting hypothermia today, babe. You know if I get in that water I will be chilled and shivering for hours and unless you have plans to cuddle me naked in my tent under my blankets for the rest of the day..." Tsubaki let her voice drift off, watching the blush rise on Shirai’s cheeks. He was so shy about the more...intimate side of their relationship. Brazen, too, but somehow shy at the same time. It was endearing. It made her love him just that much more.

"Besides, who else is going to save you if you start to drown? I mean after all that hard work your muscles might just give out. It’s not every day you have to actually lift something that weighs more than a pail of water." This time she smiled sweetly at him. She was in a playful mood. Of course, Tsubaki knew that she would pay for it later. She just didn’t yet know how severely.

[ThatGuy]

Ouch. Right in the pride. She’d have to pay for that one. With a mischievous grin he dunked underwater. Going just deep enough where Tsubaki would lose track of him. Honestly he knew he was going to pay for swimming in water this cold. But it was fun! Like a creature from the deep Shirai shot up and went to grab Tsubaki’s foot. She saw it coming though and was able to easily step out of the way. Shirai was getting off his game around her. Telegraphing his moves way too much. He’d have to be smart if he was going to get back at Tsubaki. So he emerged from the water laughing.

“Come on cutie! The fear of hypothermia is half the fun!”

The boy then started to relax. Floating on his back as he soaked in the moment. Part of him wished him and Tsubaki could just be here forever. Just the two of them. But if he had to be honest. The crew was growing on him. It really started to seem less and less like a job and more like a responsibility. Like it was his family chore to be stitching up clumsy bandits. Half of that he owed to Tsubaki. He wasn’t sure if it was her telling people to stop beating him up or if she balanced out his negative qualities. But the crew is a lot nicer to him now that she’s around. Well except Akio. Shirai was pretty sure he burned that bridge of friendship a long time ago. He shuddered at the thought of Akio finding out about him and Tsubaki being together. Thankfully the dude was as oblivious as they come. Just how Shirai liked it. With a warm smile the boy looked over at his girlfriend. Patting the water next to him and making a light splash. Motioning for her to come sit next to him.

“Let’s relax for a bit. We don’t get enough time with just the two of us.”

Honestly they had a pretty good deal of time alone. But it didn’t quite feel that way with all the sneaking around. Though really he just wanted to get her to come over and let her guard down. That way he could tackle her into the water and get his revenge. Hey. She knew what she signed up for when she started dating him. Tsubaki would have no one to blame but herself. Or at least that’s what Shirai told himself.

[Amy]

Fending off his first attack was easy. It was halfhearted at best. As he started to relax though, she followed suit, getting closer to him. Staying away lately was nearly impossible. Before they had gotten together, she had never realized just how much time they spent together. It was rare for them to be apart even when they were just friends. Between working the med tent, gathering what they could to help the camp, eating together around the fire, the only time they ever really spent apart was when they were sleeping or Tsubaki was with Akio. And now...well, they usually went to bed and woke up in bed alone but the time in between that they were usually not alone.

With a content sigh, Tsubaki laid herself on top of the water on her stomach. She crossed her arms under her chin, staring Shirai in the face. He wasn’t as clever as he thought he was. It read in his eyes, the mischief running through his head. As soon as she was good and relaxed he was going to try to dunk her again. If he really thought that she was that easy...he had a whole other thing coming to him. But she wasn’t worried about that. She was more worried about what he was saying.

"We really don’t...it’s a bit of a problem, isn’t it?" It was true, they did spend nearly all day together, but not like this. Not when it was just the two of them and they could talk like this, look at each other like this. It was a bandit camp, someone was always getting hurt. Or someone was with them while they were gathering supplies. Meals were spent with the entire camp. They were constantly stealing moments with each other. Two or three minutes here and there. The only time they were ever really alone was at night but even that wasn’t the same. Constantly shushing each other, warning the other to be quiet. One of them always having to leave before they fell asleep. It was stressful.

"I wish it were different. I want to tell everyone. But with all of the fighting, lately. With all of the stress...you know how protective Akio is of me. I’m an adult but he treats me like a child. If he finds out I’m dating anyone he would go into complete meltdown mode. But if he finds out I’m dating YOU? Oh...The very thought makes me shudder."

True to her word, Tsubaki shook slightly where she was. Akio wasn’t violent towards her, or at least he never had been before. But with Shirai? He wouldn’t hesitate to break him. And Tsubaki knew exactly how she would react to that happening. She would stand up for Shirai. Against Akio. And they would fight, again. The crew already knew something was going wrong. The tension between Akio and herself. It was nearly tangible at times. But she didn’t want to think about that right now. Not when she was alone with her boyfriend.

Pushing closer to Shirai, she pressed her warm lips against his cold ones, finding it hard to not let a smile take over her face. Never, in a million years, would she have guessed that the obnoxious boy who she was introduced to on that day...never would she have guessed that she would feel like this about. That she would have this with him. And that she would never want to give him up. Not for anything.

[ThatGuy]

The boy couldn’t really understand how he got so lucky. He’d done enough bad things to definitely rule out karma. From the moment he saw her he wanted to make her smile. Calling her cutie because he knew it got under her skin. Being just annoying enough to try to keep some distance between them. Some part of him always knew he had a thing for her. Which is why he developed some subconscious block. Focusing on jokes that were only funny to him. But it was an impossible battle. He dropped his guard and all it took was a smile. Just a smile could could tear down all his walls. Leave him stunned and blushing at the mere sight of it. For the longest time it’s what kept him going. Even when he was getting beat up by Akio. It was worth it so he could make her laugh while she patched him up. Putting his hands on Tsubaki’s face he pulled her back in for another kiss.

“I’d say we should run away. But we have too many kids together. A whole camp of ‘em.”

Shirai laughed slightly. They were the youngest in the group. But it seemed like they were the mature ones at times. Especially when patching up Kai after cutting himself because he wanted ‘a cool looking scar’. Going in for one last kiss he couldn’t help but break out into a huge grin. He had her right where he wanted her. Now it was a battle of wills. Whispering slightly to her he held back his laugh.

“Now would be a good time to plug your nose”

With that he used his full weight to try and dunk Tsubaki under the water. Shirai would be content if he had this one victory today. If not then he’d get her back later today. One thing was for sure he wasn’t going to let her off the hook this easy.

[Amy]

They definitely had too many kids together for them to leave. Tsubaki didn’t like that Shirai said that even jokingly though. Not because she was worried that he meant it but because in her darkest moments, when she most felt like she didn’t belong, it was something that she had considered. How many times had Akio said that he didn’t care if people left so long as they didn’t betray the crew and Tsubaki would never do that. But there was a little bit of...hurt, there. He said she was family, he always said the crew was family. But if that was true, wouldn’t he chase her down? It was a horrible thought that she always put out of her head as quickly as possible but she was still ashamed of it. The crew needed them...didn’t they?

Her thoughts almost distracted her long enough for Shirai to succeed in his dastardly plans to soak her in the cold lake water. He tried to break her chakra by jumping on top of her, thinking the added weight would break her concentration and drive them both into the icy waters. Of course, Shirai was underestimating her once again. He almost had her though, her toes and fingers dipping through the waters surface. But he didn’t get her. Surging her chakra, she not only reinforced the chara underneath her but extended it as well, bringing Shirai up and out of the water as well. A little bit of extra concentration and they were both laying on a large island of chakra. Perfectly safe from the water. And now, she had him right where she wanted him.

Flipping him over so she was kneeling over him, she smiled sweetly down on him. Staring at him, she remembered their first kiss. Well, what she could remember of it anyways. The moment had been impeded by alcohol and a bad knock on the head with a pipe. But she remembered the important part. The part where everything was perfect and beautiful and it was just them. If she could relive that moment over and over again for the rest of her life how could she ever want for anything? It was these feelings, these thoughts, that she attempted to convey to Shirai as she kissed him. Deep, long, and passionately. But it wasn’t all innocent, no. He should have known better by now not to mess with her.

Pulling away from him she smiled at him again, a glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Hey, babe?" Leaning just a little bit closer to him, eye to eye, she paused. "Now would be a good time to plug your nose."

All at once, the chakra beneath Shirai would dissipate, dropping him neatly into the lake. Laughing loudly, the sound drifting over the lake, she pulled her chakra back enough so that he would be able to use it as a ledge and not be trapped when he came back up for air. When he did reappear, she would still be laughing, everything about her light.

"Love yoooouuuuuu~"

[ThatGuy]

Damn. She could even outprank him. Tsubaki had proven that on multiple occasions. She was the whole package. What more could he ask for? Well a victory here and there would be nice. But that’d have to wait for another day as he pulled himself back onto Tsubaki’s chakra ledge. Slicking his hair back to keep it from getting in his eyes he laughed along with her. But the breeze quickly cut that short. Making the boy shiver instantly.

“ Love you too cutie. But I’d love to go warm by the campfire with you even more right now. Wanna head back?”

He didn’t really give her an option to answer as he made his way across the top of the water to shore. It was difficult to keep control of his chakra while he was so cold. But he managed to make it. Grabbing a nearby towel he quickly wrapped himself in it and dried himself off to the best of his ability. Wasting no time switching back into his warm, dry clothes. Shirai was never one to be embarrassed by that sort of thing. But he didn’t even give it a second thought around Tsubaki. It was nothing she hadn’t seen before.

“ Okay I lied. Hypothermia is not fun at all.”

Walking back to camp took a little while seeing as Shirai was shivering and taking small steps the whole way. Swimming was not the greatest idea in hindsight. But hey he got some time alone with Tsubaki. That made the cold totally worth it.

[Amy]

Following behind Shirai, chuckling at his shivering body, Tsubaki almost couldn’t handle how much she loved him. He was ridiculous. Hard to manage. Sometimes, he made her want to beat her head against the nearest solid thing. But he was hers. Hers to laugh at and to tease and to manage and to love. But mostly the first two. This was proven when she ran forward suddenly, jumping on his back, nuzzling her face against his neck.

"I’ll help warm you u-oomph!"

Well, the plan sort of worked out. Shirai was not the most...coordinated boy around and was clearly unprepared for her sneak attack. He managed two steps forward and he tried to right himself but to no avail. Shortly, they were both lying on the ground, Tsubaki shaking with laughter and Shirai moaning and groaning and shivering still. Popping up from the ground quickly, rolling her eyes in good nature, she grabbed onto Shirai’s arms. Standing him up before picking him up over her shoulder.

"You, slowpoke, are going to go into a hypothermic shock before you manage to crawl your way back to camp. So you now get to ride the express lane. Hold on tight."

Holding him tightly behind his knees, Tsubaki took off at a run towards camp, giggling the whole time, bursting into full out peals of laughter when Shirai began acting all high and mighty. As though he deserved to be carried around. As though it wasn’t his fault for going swimming in a lake when in was this cold out. But who was she to complain? She’d do anything for him. Including carrying him around looking like a fool. But when she finally stumbled into camp, her laughter slowly died down as she dropping Shirai next to the fire. Her face was bright red and not from the running. A group of men from the crew were sitting by the fire and had seen everything.

They were laughing. Not necessarily at them but...they were definitely laughing. And they were definitely raising their eyebrows at what they had just witnessed. Tsubaki knew that they wouldn’t be able to keep their relationship a secret for forever. But...oh, this was not the right time. This was not the right situation. This was not...no.

"So...uh...how’re ya guys doin’..."

Snarky grins all around.

"Not as good as Shirai’s doin’."

And just when Tsubaki thought that she couldn’t get any redder, she did. Shooting Shirai a look that clearly read “Help me.”

[ThatGuy]

Shirai was practicing the art of mind over matter. Telling himself over and over again he was not cold. It didn’t work in the slightest. Instead he found himself on the ground with Tsubaki laughing and him groaning. It wasn’t long before he found himself on Tsubaki’s back. Being carried back to camp? Wasn’t he the one always carrying her back? The boy wasn’t entirely sure how many more blows to his pride he could handle. Normally he can just make a joke and brush it off. Never letting anyone know it got to him. But today was way too much. He felt like he just couldn’t catch a break. Shirai wasn’t about to let that ruin their little mini-date though. So he sat up like a knight riding a horse.

“ONWARD!”

He quickly regret that as they arrived in camp. It wasn’t that he was making a fool of himself. He did that all the time. It was the fact he could tell Tsubaki was incredibly embarrassed. Shirai had seen that face many times before. So he decided to get back at the ones laughing at them. Though the boy couldn’t pretend it was an entirely selfless act. He wanted to restore some of his pride as well.

“Is that a hint of jealousy I hear in your voice? Jealousy doesn’t suit you! You’ll find a lady that’s perfect for you. The kinda gal that can grow her beard longer than you.”

With his trademark hyena laugh he sat down by the fire to warm up. Was it smart of him to tell them they’re dating? No. But the way they were laughing and smiling… They had to know already right?

[Amy]

Not. Helpful. It was all Aimi could think as she stared at Shirai. She had asked for help. She had very clearly and deliberately asked for help. NOT for him to basically confirm to the crew that what they had seen was exactly what it looked like. Obviously, she and her lovely boyfriend were going to have to have a chat later about what being “helpful” meant. She could try denying it but at this point it would only make them more suspicious. So. The cat was out of the bag, at least as far as this crowd went. It was nice, in a way, to not have to hide it. But this was dangerous. Maybe men weren’t gossips but they were talkative. And they liked to tease. So it was going to come out, sooner rather than later. And that was what put a sick feeling in her stomach.

She was just going to stay quiet. Let Shirai handle this. But teasing him alone was apparently too easy for the crew. Teasing her was just so much more fun.

"Shirai, though, really? I mean c’mon girl there’s gotta be better fish in the sea for someone like you."

Three degrees redder.

"Didja lose a bet? Blink once ferr no, twice ferr yes."

Six degrees redder. Zero chance of being able to respond.

"Or, don’t tell us that he’s brazen enough to just tell ya he was datin’ ya. Is he holdin’ ya hostage? Ya can tell us, Tsubaki."

Still red, but a little indignant now, Tsubaki finally spoke up.

"Hey now. There’s no bets, no hostages. Anyways, I’m the one who made the first move. I kinda stole our first kiss…" She didn’t know why she said that. Do not engage was the first rule of avoiding confrontation.

Especially when that only got the men going more.

"Dammmmnnn, Shirai. Couldn’t even man up enough to take the first kiss huh? Guess we know who wears the pants in yerr twos relationship."

Dropping her head into her hands, Tsubaki wished she had kept her mouth shut. This was just going to get worse. She just didn’t know how much worse.

[ThatGuy]

Shirai got irritated as they continued to tease Tsubaki. He was the only one allowed to do that. The boy would just have to break out the big guns. Jokes that he hadn’t told anyone yet. The kind of ones that a person just couldn’t live down. The kind of jokes that leads a man to change his name. But he was caught off guard by something. Tsubaki said something back. Something that led to Shirai’s face turning red. Why did she tell them that? Shirai quickly composed himself but it was already too late. They noticed. And of course they had to use the term ‘man up’. It was like everyone was out to destroy his pride today! The boy didn’t even notice what had came out of his mouth until it was too late.

“Well I was man enough to take a different first.”

Why? Why the hell did he say that? Well Shirai knew honestly. It was his fractured pride speaking. He just never suspected that’d lead to him doing something so stupid. The few men around the campfire spit out their drinks in surprise. Coughing like mad. Shirai stood there paralyzed unsure of what to do. He was screwed in every possible scenario he could think of. So he just stared at her. Trying to think of something he could do to make him seem like less of an asshole. But the longer he waited the worse it was going to be. It seemed like the only option he had was to run away. Shirai made one step backwards but by then it was too late.

[Amy]

For the next few moments, it was like everything was in slow motion. Shirai’s words, the reaction of the men around the fire, everything played in slow motion. And for just a second, Tsubaki almost laughed along. Because she must have misheard. There was no way on earth or in heaven or hell that Shirai had dared to take it that far. That he would even consider something like that to be information to be shared. To be made into a joke. It was honestly just ridiculous. He liked a joke but he was smarter than that, right? She hadn’t agreed to be in a relationship with someone that dense, right? Right.

Except, she had.

Because he did say it. The look on his face and the crew’s faces made that perfectly clear. With time still moving in slow motion, Tsubaki stood up. Going through a very wide range of emotions. After the disbelief cleared there was a moment of calm. A moment where she could have just walked off and pretended it never did happen. But that, oh that passed even faster. And it was replaced with a blinding rage. Tsubaki could count the amount of times she had been this mad on one hand without even using all of her fingers. And it had never been directed at Shirai.

For all of his jokes, pranks, and teasing, he had never crossed such a wide and blaring line. He had pushed lines and crossed them before but never...never like this. Never putting so much of her out on display like this. It was why, through it all, she had never hit him before, not like the rest of the crew did. But this..what he said...that was private. It was more than private - it was personal. It was...hers. She had trusted him completely. Emotionally, physically, in every single way she had put her trust in him to keep her safe. To keep her safe in every way imaginable. And he had just shattered all of it.

But still, she was surprised when she stood in front of him and without blinking, without a single word to him, she pulled her fist back and struck him in the face with all of her strength. It hurt her, but she was pretty sure that it hurt him even more. The men around the fire made more noises, but Tsubaki had something for them too.

"If any of ya even think about tellin’ Akio about ANY of this. Next time ya decide to come into the med tent I might just forget a few things. Funny how my skills can be used to cause just as much damage as it can healing."

Turning on her heel without even looking at Shirai, who was likely still on the ground, Tsubaki stormed off towards her tent. Before she did worse damage to him than she already had.

[ThatGuy]

Shirai didn’t know what hit him. Well he did. But he certainly wasn’t expecting it. The boy had done a lot of stupid stuff since he’d known her. Hell it was his goal to annoy her when she joined the crew. But not once did she ever hit him. Why did he have to go and say something like that? The boy couldn’t help but look over at the men by the fire. The look on their face was clear. It screamed ‘you fucked up’. Shirai could feel his face start to swell up. Obviously it wasn’t the hardest punch he had taken. But it was top three easily. With the other two spots being held by Akio. The boy had plenty of practice staying conscious from all the times he pissed off Akio. So he was able to stand up and he was immediately told by the men to go apologize. But the boy didn’t really know how. He had tried once before but that ended up backfiring.

So he wasn’t entirely sure who to go to. He couldn’t go to Akio. Even if the giant didn’t hate him he would be furious to find out he was dating Tsubaki. So Shirai turned to the only person he could think of. An old bastard that he really tried to avoid talking to. It always turned into a two hour long storytelling session. Except all of the stories sucked. Shirai wasn’t surprised at all to see the old man on lookout surrounded by empty bottles.

“Yo Isobe. Can I ask you something?”

“Quite the shiner you got there. You gotta stop pissing off Akio. You’re gonna start losing teeth here pretty soon.”

“Nah this wasn’t from Akio… I just wanted to ask… How do you apologize to people? I don’t like how much I hurt the person who punched me.”

“Bwahaha didn’t know Tsubaki had it in her to punch ya. First argument since you’ve been dating.” Shirai stood there surprised. How the hell did he know? “Oh don’t give me that look. Half the crew could tell right away. Hell I started a betting pool on how long it would take Akio to find out.

“I don’t really care about any of that. Can you just help me out here?”

“Apologizing to a woman is like walking on thin ice. If you accidentally say the wrong word it can end up making the whole situation worse. I remember years ago when I first joined the crew my wif-”

With that Shirai turned around and started walking away. He wasn’t about to sit through one of Isobe’s boring stories. Naturally this pissed the old man off greatly. Causing him to yell at the boy as he walked away. Something about kids these days being disrespectful. He wasn’t really listening. With a sigh he made his way towards Tsubaki’s tent. It was getting dark out and he was still cold from the water. He didn’t exactly get much of a chance to warm up. He’d need to change into warm clothes soon. But something else took priority. Shirai needed to apologize to her. The whole time he was walking there he started thinking of excuses. Reasons why he would have said that that didn’t make him look like a dick. There were a couple ways he could go about it. He just wasn’t entirely sure how she would react. So he stood outside of her tent. Hyping himself up to just go apologize. That’s when he found an arrow land next to his foot. Normally he would have seen it as an attack but there was a note written on the arrow. ‘Just be honest’. With a deep breath he walked up to the tent.

“Hey cutie. Are you in there?”

[Amy]

Tsubaki didn’t know what to do with herself. She knew what she wanted to do. She wanted to run until she couldn’t run anymore. Until she couldn’t breathe, until she couldn’t feel. Until she was as far away from the camp as humanly possible. But that would only end badly for her. Akio would come after her and he would want to know why she was so upset. If it wasn’t so bad, she could lie, make up a story about nightmares. But what she was feeling now, there would be no lying about it. And as mad as Akio was going to be when he eventually found out about the two of them, she couldn’t even imagine his rage at finding out about them being intimate. Or, about Shirai making that joke. It made her shudder through her rage. Akio had been impossible enough to deal with lately.

When Shirai called to her through the fabric of her tent, she realized that she had been standing and staring, fists and jaw clenched. She didn’t want to see him. She didn’t want to talk to him. This wasn’t the first time they had been in this position. When she had taught him how to use Ninjutsu, he had taken to terrorizing the entire camp. Akio had blamed her, rightfully so. And Shirai had tried to apologize then. But now, as much as she didn’t want to talk to him, she didn’t want people to see him camped outside her tent either. Reaching through the flap of her tent she latched onto his arm and yanked him inside, tying the flap closed. No words passed her lips but Shirai would see everything she was feeling in her eyes. In her body language. The way she looked upon the blossoming bruise on his face with a slight bit of satisfaction.

Chest heaving, she continued to stare at him and when she finally spoke, her voice was harsh but hushed.

"I’m sure that you have a lot that you want to say right now but first, you’re going to listen to me. I am absolutely furious with you. Do you. I mean. The fucking nerve, Shirai. They all know by now. About us, about...it’s so personal. It’s. Just, how could you. You made a fool out of me. You put me on display. How am I supposed to forgive that. How am I...Why? How could you?"

Even through all of the anger, there was a hint of heartbreak in her voice. It was one thing to make jokes. It was another to strike at her like this. Raising her arms in a motion of helplessness, she stared at Shirai. She didn’t think that he would have anything to say for himself that would make either of them feel any better. But he deserved the chance to try.

[ThatGuy]

Shirai was caught off guard as he was pulled into the tent. All he wanted to do was hug her and apologize but something told him Tsubaki wouldn’t be wanting a hug from him anytime in the near future. He felt like his heart was being ripped in two as she spoke to him. What was he supposed to say to that? How was he going to convince her he wasn’t a total asshole. Be honest. That’s what he was supposed to do.


“Because I’m an idiot… I’m insecure, I’m prone to jealousy, I’m too proud, I make everything a joke, and most of all because I wanted them to know we were together. I was an asshole for bringing up our private affairs. There’s no defending that. But I don’t like having to keep everything a secret. I’m so incredibly lucky to have you in my life. I want to yell it to the whole damn camp! But I know things don’t work that way. Akio would kill me no question. And I know this isn’t an excuse. I’m just explaining why I do stupid things when it comes to you. For the first time… I’m being as bluntly honest as I can be. Unabridged. The real Shirai. I’ve never had… This. I haven’t been emotionally intimate with anyone before. You’re the only person besides my parents to see the side of me that I thought died in the streets a long time ago. I spent so many years not trusting anyone. I spent so much time using humor as a shield. I dismiss and make fun of people all the time because it’s all I know. But I don’t want to screw it up with you Tsubaki. You bring out these emotions that I don’t know how to deal with. I’m willing to work on it if you’re willing to let me. I’ll never talk about our relationship like that again. If you can forgive me.”


The boy didn’t notice but he was tearing up at this point. His voice faltered a few times as he spoke. How many times had he gotten beat up to the point of not being able to see out of one eye? How many times had he gotten stabbed or cut for his money? Not a single tear was shed. But this girl walks into his life and it feels like he’s been crying all the time. She was the most important thing in the world to him. Shirai could understand why Akio was so protective of Tsubaki. Because she was something that was worth protecting. Above all. Which is why it broke his heart to be the one to hurt her.

[Amy]

It would have been easy for Tsubaki to fall apart as Shirai talked. It was what she was so good at, letting her emotions run rampant, destroy every bit of sense she had in her head. But there was a hardness to her heart while he talked, a hardness that caused her to stand up just a little straighter, arms crossed tightly across her chest as though that could hold her together. She believed every word he said and she agreed with most of it. Hiding their relationship, their feelings, it was exhausting and miserable because she really did love him and she wanted everyone to know. It was just complicated. She hated having people involved in what was so personal to her. She hated that what had happened out around the fire would happen time and time again, people teasing them, poking fun.

And worse than that was Akio. Someone who would protect her with his life. Someone who saw her as a child though he had never even known her as such. Someone who disliked Shirai. They had been getting along somewhat better lately, but still. To find out that they were dating..Tsubaki knew that Akio wouldn’t kill Shirai but it wouldn’t be pretty either.

Sinking to the ground and motioning for him to do the same she tried to think of how to put what she was feeling into words.

"I understand it’s hard. And if you had just...talked about us dating, I would have still been...embarrassed, but, not like this. They’re my...family? My comrades. They’re...How am I supposed to face them? Maybe I’m overreacting because I’m the girl here. Maybe they don’t care past the point of teasing us, but to me it’s a big deal. It’s a big deal that they know about...that."

Shrugging, she tried to smile at Shirai. Emotionally, she was exhausted. There was nothing to do now to take it back, they knew and soon the whole camp would and then Akio would know. And then there was a very big possibility that everything in her life would once again come crashing down around her.

"So what do we do now? It’s only a matter of time before everyone knows."

[ThatGuy]

Shirai listened intently to Tsubaki as she spoke. She really was one of the family. Something he wasn’t entirely sure if he could say about himself. The boy really wished he could make things better for her. But how? From the sound of it pretty much everyone knew already. It didn’t really put them in a good position. Especially not with the threat of Akio around the corner. As he laid down with her he figured she had a right to know about Isobe.

“I’m not sure honestly. Apparently Isobe has already started a betting pool on how long it’ll take Akio to find out. My face hurts just thinking about it…”

He had been ignoring how cold he was until now. Swimming was definitely not a good idea. He’d been sniffling and his toes were frozen. Shirai had to stop himself from sneezing. Looked like he was definitely about to catch a cold. With a pathetic look on his face and his arms stretched out towards Tsubaki he spoke.

“Let’s worry about that later. I need cuddles.”

Shirai just wanted to spend some time with her right now. Well along with sapping as much body heat as he could.

[Amy]

There was really nothing else to say about the crew, about Isobe, about Akio and what would happen when he found out. So, Tsubaki didn’t say anything else. She only contemplated her pathetic looking, shivering boyfriend and the way he held out his arms to her. As though being with her could make everything better even when she was pretty sure she just made it worse. Made it complicated. But still he sought comfort from her and wasn’t that one thing she was good at?

So she turned to her side, backing up against him so that he could wrap his arms around her. So that he could pull the comfort from her that he needed. But this wasn’t a one sided arrangement. Despite the anger and worry that she still felt, she found great comfort in being close to Shirai. To, even for a short time, not have to be alone. To get to feel like there was someone in the world who cared more about her than she herself did. So, Tsubaki did what she so rarely got to do and she stopped worrying. She relaxed and she closed her eyes, pressing her head against Shirai’s chest. Knowing that at that moment in time there was no where else in the world she would rather be.

---

It was several hours later that Tsubaki woke up. She was confused, her hands wrapped around Shirai’s, her head still against his chest.

"Hey, " she mumbled, shaking him slightly "You gotta go, it’s late. We fell asleep. " But he only chuckled, pulling Tsubaki closer to him, his mouth soft against her neck. She laughed quietly with him but she turned towards him, dedicated to making him leave even though she wanted nothing more than for him to stay. But by the time she was facing him his shirt was already off and he was kissing her again and she forgot what she was going to say. She forgot that she was going to do anything other than kiss him back, her hands pulling off her own shirt.

And so they continued until she was pulling his shirt over her head, sinking back down next to him. Curled over on top of his bare chest, their naked legs intertwined so that it was impossible to know where one started and where the other ended. They fell asleep again just like that, never imagining that anything could happen that would ruin such a perfect time together.