Chapter Text
Bubbles float to the surface, and he watches them slowly ride to the light. Under the sea, you can’t hear anything, things sound muted, it’s cold, it’s hard to move. But this wasn’t the sea, Ukyo thought. He felt wet, and sluggish, but things felt warm…too warm.
Sound shouldn’t be able to travel through water, and yet he hears someone faintly calling him.
”Ukyo! There you are!”
Ukyo’s eyes pop open, and the haze disappeared, giving way to a bright blue sky and blazing sun shining down at him. So, I wasn’t underwater — he thought, when did he fall asleep though? It must have been a dream, as he now easily moves his body, rising to sit up using his elbows to push himself off the ground. “Minami-san, I’m right here.”
Minami quickly skipped over to him. “Ooh, it’s rare to see you on the ground, Ukyo-san. What are you doing? Cloud watching? I thought for sure you’d be in the trees again.”
Cloud watching, huh? Ukyo thought. He might just try that, since before the stone world, Ukyo spent time ocean-watching instead during his breaks down at the submarine. Wait, he was getting distracted again. “Just taking a break, Minami-san. Was Tsukasa calling for me?” Ukyo answered as he stood up, brushed dirt off his clothes, and put his hat back on.
“Don’t you think I could have been the one looking for you~?” She joked before continuing. “But you’re correct, you’re being called. But I am lucky I caught you, usually you’re out patrolling.”
“Haha, that is pretty lucky.” He laughed and smiled politely, trying to hide the fact he was gathering all his thoughts together. The archer took a glance at the sky, and based on the sun’s position, it was probably before noon. During this time every day, Tsukasa held a group meeting discussing the tasks for the day, and reports. Ukyo knew this, always on top of his schedule, and made it to the caves early, thus, never be needed to be called. The fact that Minami was here then means he was cutting it close.
Minami continued, unaware of Ukyo’s musings.” I don’t blame you for taking a break, it’s been pretty hot lately.” As she says this, Minami fanned herself with her hand, sighing. “I could use an iced tea honestly. If only we could find some lemons, or plant some tea leaves or something. I miss cafes…..”
As Minami rambled, Ukyo looked up to the sky, squinting at the sun’s rays. “It has been.” He concurred with a serious face. Right, that’s why he had been lying down on the grass. When his patrol concluded earlier than usual, and Ukyo found he had time to spare, he decided to take a quick break. Lying down on the cool grass for a quick shut eye sounded like a great idea at the time, but now, he wasn’t sure if he would have been able to wake up on time if Minami hadn’t tried to find him.
”Ukyo?”
The man turned his head back towards her. “Sorry, just checking what time it was. Let’s go, Minami-san, and let’s get out of the sun.”