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Sunlight pierced through the patchy canopy of clouds overhead, blinding Tenzo where he lay on the sand. He curled onto his other side and swatted blindly at the rays. He knew that he needed to move, to crawl deeper into the shade before his skin blistered from the heat, but the effort seemed too great for his body to make. Tenzo tried to count how many days had passed since his world turned upside down, but he couldn’t calculate the numbers. His mind struggled with logic, focused entirely on survival instead.
The gentle lapping of waves against the shore had sounded peaceful when they’d started this forsaken mission. His entire team had laughed, comparing an assignment in the Land of Waves to a vacation rather than work. Now, Tenzo would have given anything to hear the soft twitter of birds arguing between themselves amongst whispering tree limbs. He ran his tongue over sandpaper dry lips, trying to impart moisture, but there was none.
The island that Tenzo had ended up on was small enough for him to walk completely around in two hours without using chakra. If there was any sign of fresh water, he hadn’t been able to find it. Pushing into a sitting position, he used one hand to scan the horizon and empty sea around him. White caps danced in brilliant water, but there was nothing else. If he’d had the energy, he would have laughed. The ability to walk on water didn’t do him much good if he didn’t know which way to go.
Tenzo tried to swallow, but his throat was swollen almost to the point of being shut off. He wondered if the rest of his team had made it back to shore. They might be looking for him, but the chance grew thinner with every passing hour. Rubbing at his temples to try and lessen the headache, Tenzo stared at the sand by his feet. He should get up and look for water again, but he was exhausted. He curled back into a fetal position on the poorly shaded sand and closed his eyes.
The sound of Sakura whispering Tenzo’s name drew him from his fitful rest. He tried to smile, especially when she tucked a strand of black hair behind one ear, but his lips only cracked with the movement. The woman had dyed her normally eye-catching hair dark for their mission, but Tenzo wasn’t sure it provided much of a disguise. He would have known her in any lifetime.
“You came,” Tenzo managed, voice papery and weak. He tried to force some spit from his throat to wet his lips, but he couldn’t.
Sakura knelt next to Tenzo, and raised one hand to smooth over his brow in a gentle touch that would have made him cry if he’d had the moisture. Instead, he leaned into the touch. Soft, cool lips brushed his forehead. “I will always come for you.”
Tenzo managed a weak hum of agreement; that felt easier than talking. The pain in his head returned, pounding with the thrumming of his heart. He needed something, but he couldn’t remember what it was. His vision blurred, then steadied. Sakura wiped something cold across his face. It left him shivering. “Just rest,” Sakura murmured. “Everything is going to be fine.”
Closing his eyes, Tenzo nestled into the intent that his body had made in the sand. It felt better than the most comfortable bed he’d ever slept in. The agony grew less as he drew a shallow breath. He opened his eyes, searching for Sakura, but the sun was too bright. Tenzo needed to tell her. . . something. He didn’t know what it was, but it was important. She needed to know, in case something happened to him.
Tenzo groaned Sakura’s name, fighting the pull of sleep. Her voice sounded like the wind when she shushed him, the words too soft to pick up. Sakura lifted Tenzo’s head to her lap and brushed through his hair. “It’s okay,” she whispered. “You’re okay.”
Hours later, when the sun sank toward the horizon, it painted the sand in delicate shades of pink and purple. The trees threw long shadows across the beach and the solitary figure that curled beneath them, umoving.