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"Ah, there you are. It seems I've finally found you, Kanata."
The afternoon heat is near oppressive as Shu approaches the fountain, the shining waters glaring back at him with the sun's reflection as he brings a hand to rest above his brow. Somewhere within the water lays the muddled figure in blue, tufts of cyan hair popping slightly out from under the water. A steady trail of small bubbles form around where the figure's head should be, floating up as if they were blown by some playing child. Shu supposed it was only fitting for Kanata; the boy always was somewhere in the clouds.
Glancing once more over the water, Shu watches the bubbles scatter about as the figure rolls over lazily, not yet acknowledging his presence.
Sighing, Shu strides over to the side of the fountain, crouching beside it as he reaches a hand across the stone rim and into the water. The figure doesn't take note of it at first, and so Shu swirls it around some, sending small rippled waves out. Nothing.
Shu leans over more, the other hand careful to pull out anything important in case Kanata decided to attempt to drip water over his phone. Kagehira would only scold him once more about the importance of safety in such a situation, and Shu would only roll his eyes, although he knew the boy was right. He was quite out of it when it came to the protection of anything that wasn't his precious fabrics or creations, which meant it was often he made some careless mistake that would only cost him dearly in the end. The last incident had involved Wataru and some antics to "multiply a phone", which only led to Shu being phoneless and frustrated. The sight is clear in his head; Shu watching in horror as Wataru only pulled a dead dove out of his "magic hat", rather than Shu's phone, which had seemed to vanish entirely into thin air. Such a memory makes Shu shudder in horror as he remembers Wataru nearly flinging the bird onto him, and the awful shock that came upon them both as the dead dove had vanished mid-toss, leaving only a white feather in place. Ever since then, Shu had taken much more precaution with his belongings, and if any of the Oddballs would be most likely to bring destruction upon his things, it would be Kanata, who seemed to be in a perpetual state of wet, whether it be his hands, hair, or in the cases like these where he'd been going for a mid-afternoon soak, every inch of his body.
Once he'd assured anything important was tucked away in a plastic bag set behind him, as to not risk its destruction by the soaking Kanata, Shu dipped his hand lower into the water. Carefully, he lets his fingers break through the water, a calming cool surrounding his hand as he moves it around until he can find the other boy's slender wrist. Fingers curl around Kanata's thin wrist, and Shu exhales softly in relief as he feels the soft, steady beat of the other boy's heart. It was by some miracle that Kanata could somewhat breathe underwater--a fact he'd learned in a particularly frightening encounter with an Oddballs trip to a nearby lake--but it was still worrying to see a dear friend of yours resting underwater. Shu thinks once more how grateful he was that the Cospro fountain was far enough off any busy path, lest any unsuspecting employee stumble upon what eerily resembles a corpse. However, this clearly isn't a corpse, as Shu feels a hand sliding down to match his own, slender fingers intertwining with his own.
Kanata squeezes Shu's hand gently, before pulling it softly towards his own chest. A pair of green eyes peek open lazily, glancing at Shu through the water before slowly closing once more. Some sort of noise catches in the water, and Shu assumes it's something Kanata said, although it vanishes almost as quickly as it was said, dispersing away into rippled waters.
Somewhere a foot or so away behind him, Shu's phone chirps. Although, chirps was quite the understatement. No, it nearly screams as a series of texts floods his phone, the bright red icon on the screen alerting Shu to the fact that one particularly worrying vampire seemed to be spamming his phone with texts, presumably about Kanata. Of course, Rei had a habit of disturbing Shu with a stream of texts whenever he spotted anything to catch his eye that he so desperately had to share with the other boy, but Shu doubted that now would be the time for Rei to share such a thing. After all, it had been Rei who'd contacted him that Kanata'd been missing from Ryuseitai practice, and while he'd been waiting for Kagehira to get out of his classes, Shu had been the only one available to search on a manhunt for the boy. Luckily, there were little places Kanata could hide that another Oddball could not find him in, and it took little time to find him.
Getting him out of the water was another task entirely.
Opting to ignore the buzzing of his phone, Shu tugged once on his hand in hopes that Kanata might decide to release it, but the other boy was far stronger than he appeared. Instead, Shu only got a sting in his wrist as he pulls harshly with no luck.
"Kanata, you troublesome boy. Wake up, lest I drag you out of this fountain! You've got others looking for you...now is hardly the time for a nap!" Shu tugs once more, and once again finds himself with no luck in freeing his hand.
However, this time, Kanata peeks his eyes open once more, a soft smile on his face. Slowly, the other boy begins to pull himself out of the water, droplets falling off his hair like a soaked dog as he tips his head to look at Shu.
"Mmm...Shu? I did not think you were really 'here'...good 'morning'." Something in the slow, half-asleep drawl of Kanata's voice makes a soft blush rise up Shu's neck, though he quickly shakes it off, waving his free hand dismissively at Kanata.
"You fool...it is already past the morning hours. Have you been so mindless to sleep in the water for so long? Had anyone else seen you, they'd have assumed you dead. Not to mention I've had Rei nearly wailing at me since Morisawa asked his help in finding you. You've caused quite a bit of trouble all to take one nap!" Shu's scolding hardly holds any weight, and as he waves his hand once more at the boy, as if to shame him, Kanata only giggles softly. The sound causes a hitch in Shu's throat, one that he doesn't want to entertain for more than a second, and a skip in his heartbeat that nearly draws a squeak out of him. Instead, Shu clears his throat, faking a small cough. "But...I suppose I am just glad I did not find you deceased."
"Fufu...Thank you, Shu. You are like my 'hero', even if there was no 'danger'~. It makes me feel all 'bubbly' to hear that Shu 'cares' for me~." Another skip of the heart, another hitch of the breath. The sun feels even more oppressive, or is that his own mind playing tricks upon him? Kanata only looks at Shu with wide eyes. His gaze is innocent, and Shu can barely meet his eye, the beautiful shades of emerald.
"Nonsense...you have no reason to praise me. I was...only acting upon what Rei asked of me." Kanata sees through the bluff easily, but doesn't say anything about it. Shu is grateful for this, as he's not sure what he would tell Kanata.
My apologies, dear friend, it seems you've caused me health issues.
Saying such a thing would only startle Kanata, and so Shu holds his tongue, instead offering his other hand to lift Kanata out of the fountain. The other boy takes it earnestly, squeezing both of Shu's hands, including the one that Shu is quickly realizing never left Kanata's grip. However, before Shu can entertain any more thoughts about that matter, there's a pair of soft lips warm against his cheek.
Kanata's lips.
"Thank you either way, my 'hero'." Kanata's voice is light and airy as he speaks, as if he hadn't just kissed Shu. For a moment, Shu stands in stunned silence, barely processing the ghostly feeling of lips still pressed upon his cheeks. That is, until Kanata leans in once more, this time kissing Shu's other cheek.
"What are you- Gah!?" Shu squeaks out, startled.
Kanata only laughs softly in response.