Work Text:
“Ta-da!” yelled Hanako, grabbing Yashiro’s hand. He had taken himself, Yashiro, Mitsuba, and Kou into a new boundary.
“This is a boundary that isn’t headed by any spirits, much like the festival boundary,” he proclaimed.
The boundary in particular appeared to be a beach, complete with glistening sand, rolling waves, and beautiful shells. In fact, it was the most spectacular beach Kou had ever seen. Kou turned to Mitsuba. The ghosts’ eyes were sparkling, this “new” Mitsuba had never gone to a beach, and the only memories he had “recovered” were those that happened at school. As soon as they stepped into the boundary, they were all wearing swimsuits. Yashiro’s was cream, Kou’s was blue, and Mitsuba’s was pink. Hanako, being Hanako, just seemed to be wearing a hawaiian shirt over his uniform.
“Well kids, have fun!” he smirked mischievously, as he interlaced his fingers with Nene’s and started dragging her down the beach. They could hear her cries of “Hanako-kun!” fading away as they disappeared off into the sparsely packed beach.
Kou turned to Mitsuba. “Do you want to go into the ocean with me? Or, the not-ocean. I’m not actually sure what that is.”
Mitsuba fidgeted. “I… I don’t know how to swim.”
Kou grabbed both of Mitsuba’s hands and looked right into his eyes, taking Mitsuba very off guard.
“Don’t worry,” Kou reassured him, “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Something in his eyes made Mistuba blush. “F-fine pervert. But if something happens to me, you’re the one to blame!”
Kou just laughed. “Ok,ok. Let’s go, Mitsuba!”
They darted down towards the water, Kou’s hand confidently encircling Mitsuba’s wrist.
Mitsuba hesitated slightly at the water's edge, nearly falling headfirst as Kou continued to pull him forward. Gingerly, he put one foot in the water. I did it! He thought, before a large splash of water doused him head to toe. He glowered at Kou, who was laughing hysterically. Mitsuba got deeper into the water and started trying to retaliate. Kou dodged his attacks easily, laughing all the while. As Mistuba grew more and more aggravated, he lost all sense of pride, and in one last-ditch attempt, he threw himself at Kou, tackling them both into the sea. The ocean was warm, much warmer than it would ever be in Japan. Mitsub stood up, triumphant. He didn’t care that he got wet, the goal was just to take the exorcist down a peg or two. Suddenly, Mitsuba realized how far out at sea they were. The water came practically all the way up to his collarbone. At the moment he realized this, a large wave came, crashing over the boys and sending them underwater. Kou easily rose to the surface, and looked for Mitsuba. He was nowhere to be seen. In a flash, the words Mitsuba had spoken right befre their water fight came to his mind.
“I… I don’t know how to swim.”
Kou gasped, and then dove underwater, looking for the ghost. He had taken responsibility for him, he had to get him safe. In the back of his mind, Kou knew Mitsuba was dead and couldn’t die again, especially in a boundary, but Kou’s panic consumed him. Besides, who knew what creepy things could be lurking in a ghostly ocean? Kou whipped around, trying to see where the current had swept his companion to. He spotted Mitsuba's pale form quite a few yards away. Swimming faster than he ever had in his life, Kou raced over to where Mitsuba was flailing. He wrapped his arms around the shorter boy’s torso, and lifted them both to the surface. Mitsuba wrapped his arms around Kou’s neck, coughing out water. As Kou swam back to where they could stand, he could feel the boy trembling.
Touching down on the sand, he asked, “Are you ok?”
Mistuba nodded, but Kou swore he could see tears mingling with the saltwater streaking Mitsuba’s face.
Kou wordlessly grabbed Mitsuba into a firm, yet still gentle, hug.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, “I should have been paying attention to where you were. I promised I’d protect you.”
“Y-yeah,” retorted Mitsuba, but his heart just wasn’t in it, “It’s all your fault, Lame-Ass-Traffic-Safety-Earring.”
The boys hugged in silence for a few minutes more. Mitsuba could feel his own breathing calm, and Kou’s racing heart beat slower.
And as they hugged, waist-deep in water, Kou thought he heard something, something he would cherish for a long time afterwards.
“Thank you, Minamoto-kun.”