Gracefully landing on the forest floor from a high tree, Indra then gently placed the girl back on her two feet.
"I'm sorry the ride was a bit bumpy again, I guess I had another miscalculation. I can't believe I forgot that those two always patroled in this part of the-"
He was immediately cut off from his own words the very moment he felt something soft pressed against the left side of his chest. Looking down to see, his face then slowly turned into glowing red when he realized that it was practically Krishna's small pale hand.
Letting out a quick yelp and stumbling back a few feet away from the girl, he stuttered through the fluster he was now feeling "K-Krishna! W-What are you doing th-this time?!"
Your. Chest. Was. Raising. An. Unusual. Pace.,. Why?
Understanding her honestly caught him off guard, he knew that she was talking about the moment when they were hiding from the two older men earlier. Feeling slightly nervous all of a sudden, he subconsciously placed one hand on his arm and began rubbing it as an attempt to soothe himself from the building anxiety perbaps.
"I...I...I was just...uhhh..." Taking in a deep breath and letting it all out, he managed to speak normally this time "I was afraid that they might find you. I honestly didn't mind at all if I get caught. But you, with the basket out of our reach, who knows what will happen if they found out about you. All of the things we have done tonight would've been all for nothing. And the worst part is that you're going to miss the surprise Ashura and I have been meaning to show you."
She tilted her head to the side a bit, signifying how clueless she was on the topic. But upon feeling the deep sadness in the males's voice, that very emotion had seemingly found it's way to her as well. But the sad expression on her face soon disappeared into a sweet one as she grab on to both of his hands, catching his attention.
She then let go of them to handsign the following:
Then. What. Are. You. Waiting. For.?. We. Already. Came. This. Far... Now.,. Show. Me. This. Something. Cool. Thing...
Thankfully, this made the boy feel a bit lighter and finally made him let out a chuckle.
"Excited are you? Very well then, let's get going. But first, close your eyes" he smirked, earning a confused look from the girl. "It's a surprise, isn't it?"
Suspiciously starring at his damn handsome wink with an arched eyebrow, she looked to be pouting through her bandages but slightly nodded in agreement with a hum and gently closed her eyelids. Smiling to himself, he then took a hold of the girl's hand and interlocking their fingers to make sure none of them will ever let go. And with that, he lightly pulled the girl and began leading her towards whatever surprise he was dying to show her tonight.
"We're almost there, Krishna! No peeking, alright?"
She simply replied to him with a single hum. After a few minutes of walking through the dense forest, over rocks, root arches and ducking under low branches, the pair then eventually stepped out into a clearing.
"Okay, Krishna! You can open your eyes now!"
Slowly unfolding her eyelids and raising her head to see, her white orbs then suddenly widened and began to sparkle and glitter as she felt her breath being taken away. Because the very sight before her perfectly describes the word of breath-taking. From the large full glowing moon floating above the tall mountains and surrounded by thousands upon thousands of glittering stars, it's brightly lit image of the starry heavens above reflected upon the crystal clear lake below it.
And what made the lake twice the sight to see were the many lily pads and many species and colors of water lotus ranging from white to pink to purple floating above the water's calm surface. Raising her head to look at the magnificent sky above her, she then too realized that they were both standing below a tree filled with beautiful pink cherry blossoms attached to every single one if it's branches. The scene was truly breathtaking in the girl's eyes.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Indra smiled in awe as he too tilted his head up to look at the sparkling night sky. "This is what Ashura and I were meaning to show to you tonight. This place is actually what you call our secret garden of sorts, our hideout, our little getaway from everything." Turning his head to look at the girl, he continued "So you can say that this place can also be a place where we-"
He immediately cut himself off to let out a horrified gasp the moment his now widened eyes had noticed the small crystal droplets immensely pouring out of her beautiful white eyes. Quickly leaping to stand in front of her, Indra then grabbed on to both of the albino's cheeks and used his thumbs to brush away the tears falling on her cheeks.
"Hey, Krishna! What's wrong?! Why are you crying?!"
Alas, the worry in his voice was not enough for her to give him any kind of reply until she began quietly whimpering and more tears to flow out of her eyeballs. That's when it hit him.
"Krishna, tell me! How...Just how long were you down there? When was the last time you get to go out of there?"
And yet again, she only continued to sob. But this time, she then took action and raised her hands to wipe off the continously flowing tears in her eyes. That's when his eyes then caught something hiding beneath the girl's sleeves. Curiosity simply took over him when he grabbed her wrist and immediately slid it open.
He then felt his breath hitch and his eyes widened in horror, because it was soon revealed that hiding within the sleeves of her kimono were multiple scars on her forearms. Taking a hold of her other arm and sliding it open as well, the same as the other, there too were many scars on her beautiful pale skin.
Wh-What the hell is this?! These...These were never here last time! Indra thought through his now dishevelled mind the image of the pale girl bathing in the tub from days ago.
But his memory was more focused on her pale arms, delicate and free from any marks.
Just by the looking at it, they look very deep. And the colors... He added, starring down on how dark brownish-red the scars were and surrounded by a dark purple shade. They look like they were just recently made.
"Krishna, where did you get these?! Who did this to you?!"
Said girl was left in a bit of a shock at the boy's sudden change of attitude, from the sweet, kind and gentle boy he was a few seconds ago, now in a panicked and desperate state.
She hesitated a bit at first, but she managed to amswer:
Your... Father!
As the information slowly began to process into his mind, this had nearly crossed the line. Dread suddenly shot right through his body when another memory had flashed through his head, the instant moment when he noticed his father climbing up the stairs from earlier that morning.
Grabbing both of her shoulders, he asked the girl, his tone sounded enraged and very desperate for an response, the truth probably "Are you telling me Father did this?! Father did this to you?! Krishna, answer me!"
Just by looking at her face, she was extremely frightened of this new side of him, who knew that this handsome boy would also turn out to be as terrifying as he was now. Taking a few steps away from him out of fear, she had then failed to notice the small thorny branch close to her feet. Letting out a pained yelp, she then fell on the grassy ground on her bum.
Realizing what he had just done, he apologized in a panicky tone as he knelt down in one knee "Oh no! Krishna, I'm so sorry! You're not hurt, are you?"
His eyes then looked down to inspect for any sign of harm on her feet. And once more, he noticed something odd. Her feet were bare and the soles were a bit dark and dirty, probably from their walk to get here.
She's...She's not wearing slippers?!
Releasing a breath, he then said "It looks like you stepped on a thorn branch."
Taking said object, he then threw it a few feet away from them.
"Here, let's get you cleaned up!"
------------------------------------------------------------
With her feet now dipped into the water's cool water, there both children sat at the edge of the lake. And his sleeves folded up until it reached his elbows, Indra had a small clean rag in his hands and used the piece of fabric as well as the lake water to clean the soles's of the pale girl's bare feet. He then paused for a moment when he caught something odd.
That's weird! I'm pretty sure I noticed Krishna stepped on the thorn branch. So, why aren't there any puncture wounds on her feet, let alone blood, not even a single drop?!
He was then woken up from his thoughts when he felt a light tug on his sleeve. Turning his head to see, his gaze was soon met with the girl's.
Are. You. Alright.?.
Funny question! Yes, indeed it was. Was he alright? Even Indra himself couldn't find a decent reply to that question. Letting out a sigh, he just dropped the rag and lazily plopped down beside the girl, both his hands were on the ground supporting his weight as he leaned back a bit.
For awhile, the pair sat in an awkward silence.
That's until the brunette finally broke it by saying a bit hesitantly "Krishna, please be honest with me. Was...Was it painful?"
She was very hesitant as well, but she managed to reply to him with a slight nod and a single hum.
With his eyes never drifting off from the magnificent sight before him, he said in a hushed tone "Why...Why would Father do something as cruel as that to you?"
Fearing that it was a question out of curiosity, Krishna nervously sat there and anxiously pulled her feet off the cool lake water, allowing one arm to wrap around them. The brunette then immediately regretted his choice, when the thought of her reminiscing such horrid events in her mind came to him.
"Sorry!"
Gathering up what little courage to look back at him, she was then met with a deep look in the boy's beautiful dark eyes.
"You know, that's actually the first time I ever saw you crying, Krishna. It made me wonder, were you really sitting in the basement that long? When was even the last time you saw the outside? The trees? The mountains? The skies? Let alone went out. And another thing, how were you even able to-"
What interrupted him was when the girl suddenly shot up from her place and pounced at him. Indra's face then began to burn a bright shade of red and somewhat felt every single depressing feelings he had replaced by a heating fluster when he eventually realized that the girl was in front of her, with her legs on either sides of his very own and both her hands were supporting her bodyweight. While still in a sitting up position, he pulled his face away a bit, only for the albino to draw closer towards his.
"K-Krishna, wh-what is it?"
As some sort of odd reply, she then ducked her head to press the side of her face against his chest. He tensed a bit by the feeling, and what worsened whatever this feeling in his face and chest was the thought of her feeling his rapid pulsing heartbeat. He then jolted a bit, upon feeling her slender finger trailing on the otherside of his chest.
He was honestly surprised when later on found out that she was writing something, communicating to him perhaps.
Through the writing, he was able to make out the following words:
"Your chest is beating quickly again, there's nothing scary here, there are only pretty things. So, why are you afraid again?"
And once more, he was given a question he couldn't answer.
Why am I afraid? He thought, but it was more of a repeating echo through his mind than questioning to himself. Why am I afraid? Am I even afraid? I dunno? My heart is beating unusually fast though, but why? What am I even afraid of?
He was hesitant at first, but there was this feeling in the pit of his stomach that made him wrap his arms around the girl's smaller form, both his hands caressing and raking her long light grey hair.
"To be honest, I...I...I don't really know myself." Taking a few strands of the albino's hair, he added "But maybe...just maybe, whatever this feeling is, I don't think it's fear."
Subconsciously drawing his hand that held pieces of her hair close to his face, he then took in a deep inhale, the sweet familiar scent filling his nostrils.
"You know, you actually smell a lot like a sweet lotus. I find that quite ironic, we are after all by a lotus lake. Ashura did assume that your favorite flower may be a lotus, since he mentioned that he noticed you drawing a lot about it. Bringing you here was even his idea to begin with."
Lightly pushing her away so that the pair can look at each other, the boy then this time, gently took the girl's arm and carefully unfolded her sleeves, revealing the many scars on her arm that he saw earlier.
Narrowing his eyes into an apologetic look as he starred down on those seemingly deep cuts, he then said "All this time, you've been hurt like this, and I barely even noticed."
The events of earlier this morning then flashed through his mind. From the moments when Krishna hugged him along with his brother, her drawing along with him while studying. And lastly, the memory when all them three were squeezed into a tight embrace.
Changing his expression into a serious one, he then lifted his head to meet gazes with the girl and said with a voice filled with so much determination "I have no idea why on earth would Father do something this cruel, but all I can say is that next time, I promise that I'll protect you!"
Krishna seems to have been a bit taken aback, starring with mild eyes and surprisingly a pair of light pink blushes on both her cheeks. Upon realizing what he had just told her, if his face were already red enough, the color only so happens to become even deeper.
With his eyes widening in shock, he then slapped both his hands to cover his face, probably to hide from all the embarrassment and stuttered "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I had no idea what exactly had gotten over me! I...I..."
Finding the brunette quite adorable in a state like this, the pale girl couldn't help but let out a giggle as he continued to ramble out nonsensical words. So, in order to save him from all the embarrassment he was feeling, she stretched one arm out and patted the top of his head. It somewhat worked, making Indra remove his hands off his face.
Gathering himself up just so he could meet eyes with the albino, he slowly began to calm down when he noticed that Krishna herself looks to be smiling behind her bandages. This time, both his cheeks only lightly blushed a bright pink as he looked down and darted his eyes to the side out of shyness probably. Turning his head towards the exquisite view of the lake, he then managed to notice a single sakura blossom had landed nearby on the water's surface.
Picking it up, he starred down at it for a moment then murmured "I...I was actually serious you know."
And with that, he then placed the blossom on her hair, earning a light blush from the girl.
"I really want to protect you!" He added, his fingers had caught a few strands of her and began playing with it. The gentle smile on his handsome face then broke into a dumb grin when he chuckled and awkwardly rubbed his nape. "It sounds really cheesy, doesn't it? Seriously?! Why do I always act like this all of a sudden?!"
You. Are. Not. The. Only. One.,. You. Know.!.
Understanding this, left honestly surprised Indra a bit.
"Wh-What do you mean?"
The girl's pale cheeks then turned a bright pink for some reason and handsigned:
I. Have. No. Idea. What. Exactly. These. Are.,. But.,. I. Keep. Feeling. Them. Again. And. Again... Are...Are. These. Feelings. Called. Emotions.?. And. This. Feeling. Right. Now.,. It. Is. Called. Happiness.,. Is. It. Not?. However.,....
This worried the brunette a bit.
What. Is. This. Feeling.?. In. Here?
She then drew her right hand close to the left side of her chest and tightly crumped the fabric below it.
Drawing her hand back, she continued:
The. Same. As. Yours.,. It. Is. Too. Acting. Very. Unusual.... As. You. Have. Mentioned.,. I. Too. Do. Not. Feel. Afraid... Yet.,. It. Is. Acting. Off.... Here.,. Feel. It.!.
Without any warning, Krishna then grabbed Indra's wrist and made his palm press against her chest. Due to the fact he was a male, of course the brunette would turn red. And even though they were just children, as well as the sad truth that the girl's chest was young and flat as a chopping board, he knew too well that this was wrong for some reason.
But all those thoughts then disappeared the very moment he felt something off.
That's weird! I...I...I don't feel anything!
For reasons unkown, he squeezed his hand a bit, causing the girl to let out a squeal.
Realizing his mistake, made him shoot his hand back at him and apologize in a panicky way "Sorry! Sorry! I can't believe I'm acting weird again!" Slapping his two burning red cheeks twice, he grumbled "Seriously?! What the heck is wrong with me?!"
Letting out a giggle once more, she then placed both her hands on either sides of his now blushing cheeks, catching him off guard. But what actually tensed his entire body was feeling her bandaged forehead pressed against his very own. Feeling this, the embarrassment he had been feeling surprisingly disappeared and instead felt very relaxed.
With their eyes linked with each other, dark onyx ones meeting with pearl white ones, one of them couldn've sworn that they have noticed a bright glint in each other's eyes.
After a few moments of starring at one another, Krishna finally drew away from him and handsigned:
We. May. Not. Know. What. This. Feeling. Exactly. Is.,. But. All. I. Know. Is. That. I. Can. Only. Feel. It. Everytime. We. Touch.
Understanding this, Indra immediately blushed at the idea. Pressing his own hand against his chest, as he has expected, his heart is once again beating uncontrollably, and he still has no idea why. Smiling to himself, it was his turn to take the girl's wrist and press it atop his hand on his chest.
"Don't worry, Krishna! Honestly, I actually feel the same. Everytime we touch, I too have this weird feeling in here. That's why I...I...I want to find out what kind of feeling this is. And I want you to help me find it...Together!"
Mildly starring at the determination in the boy's eyes, she suddenly had this warm feeling in her cheeks, turning them pink once again. But she managed to slightly nod in reply with a hum.
"Krishna, can you...can you hold your pink out, please!"
She was confused at first, but she did so anyway, raising her right hand and brought out her pinky. Raising and brining out his very own, Indra then interlocked their two pinkies together.
"This is called a pinky swear!" He quietly said, earning a look of interest from the girl. "Mother used to say it signifies a promise that can never be broken. Pinky promises can only be made if there is a clear understanding on both parties. If there is none, then the pinky promise may be voided. That's why I want you to promise, will you help me find whatever this emotion is, together? And I promise that I will protect you!"
The albino was able to feel the pain in the male's voice by the mere mention of his mother. However, as an attempt to keep him from all those sorrowful thoughts, she squeezed his pinky with her very own and happily nodded and hummed. It worked, the brunette now felt slightly better now that the girl has agreed to her promise.
"That's a promise!"
Finally stepping off of the lad to sit by his side, the pair then had their gazes focused on the breathtaking view of the lake in front of them.
"You know, I was going to mention that this place is where Ashura and I would go if we want to run away from our problems and worries, training and studying for him of course. It feels a lot like you're escaping to another world." Dropping his head to look at the girl by his side, he then added "And it would be nice for you to think so too."
As some sort of reply, she just leaned her head against his shoulder, admiring the scenery before her eyes.
Letting out a chuckle, he turned back to watch the lake and smiled "The plan is that we were supposed to be leaving by now, it is late after all, so the others might get suspicious. But, I don't mind sticking around for a while if you like to stay a little longer."
She hummed in agreement in reply. And from then on, both the boy and girl then comfortably sat alongside each other, silently enjoying the gorgeous view of the moon and lotus lake.
------------------------------------------------------------
"It's a bit of a shame Ashura wasn't able to come with us, the place actually looks much nicer under a full moon."
The pale girl only responded to him by nodding and humming yes. Time has passed, the two were now making their way back home, their hands holding on together and their fingers interlocked with each other.
"I'm sorry too that we're leaving so soon. Well, at least we get to enjoy it before it lasted."
Once again, the girl nodded and hummed in agreement.
"Oh, and Krishna! Are you really sure about this, walking back home barefoot? I mean I could carry you all the way, or maybe I can just lend you my slippers."
Raising her free hand and lightly waving it, she only furrowed her eyebrows in a sorry look. The brunette then immediately understood her.
"You don't mind huh!" He said in a low and apologetic tone. But his once down look quickly changed into a cheerful one when he continued "But I promise you, Krishna! I'll buy you a pair of slippers of your very own. And the next time we go back there, you don't have to walk bare feet ever again."
Raising it again, she then happily handsigned with one hand:
That. Sounds. Very. Nice.!.
Suddenly, something then hit him.
"Oh, that's right. I almost forgot. Krishna, there's actually a festival tomorrow night!"
This indeed caught the girl's attention.
"And I would like you to come along with us. You know, me and Ashura."
What. Is. That.?l.
This honestly shocked the brunette a bit.
"What?! You don't know what a festival is?!" He said in a surprised tone, which she replied by shaking her head no. "For starters, it's an event where people celebrate something, whether it be big or small, religious or cultural and so on. In other words, a festival is the time when people get together to just have some fun."
Fun.?!. Krishna handsigned, her head titled to the side in confusion.
"Yeah, fun!"
She hummed in her thoughts for a moment, but she handsigned with one hand:
I. Would. Love. To.!.
With that, the two children then let out a laugh. That's until...
"That's not going to happen!"
The two children then immediately paused in their tracks and their once bright faces dropped into frightened looks the very moment they had heard that all too familiar deep voice. And hearing that obviously utterly enraged tone, the pair's eyes widened in horror and their bodies shook in terror. That's when there stepped out from a nearby tree before them was an all too familiar older man.
"Father?!" Indra quietly hissed in a bit of shock.
It was oddly surprising that despite how angry this man sounded, his posture was somewhat calm, looks calm rather. His body was straight and still, he had one arm neatly behind his back and the very moment said man had fully stepped out of where he was hiding, there revealed a young squirming brunette quietly yelping multiple 'Ow!'s as his left ear seemed to be painfully pinched and pulled by the pale man's right hand.
"Ashura?!"
Noticing this, the so called younger boy, in spite being stuck in such a painful situation, just sheepishly smiled and raised one hand to wave at his older brother.
"Hehe! Hey, Elder Brother! Hehe-Ow! Ow!" Giggled the young boy before the man painfully pulled his ear even more.
"Indra Otsutsuki, young man, you disappointed me!" Turning his head over his shoulder to look from behind, he then said, placing more emphasis on the words in a booming and infuriated tone "All of you!"
Hearing this, there the advisor quivered behind a tree, and when meeting with the older one's stern glare, he whimpered and his body jolted in fear and hid himself deeper behind the trunk.
Turning his head back to the pair before him, the stern man then exclaimed "Krishna!"
This of course startled the girl upon hearing her name.
"Basement, now!"
Feeling his fingers tighten around hers, Krishna darted her eyes towards Indra a bit, noticing the serious look in his eyes as well as the tiny drop of sweat on his cheek. As some sort of attempt to calm him down, she placed her other hand on his that so desperately holds on to hers, causing him to tense a bit and whip his head to her direction. Giving him an apologetic look in her white eyes, she let out a breath and helped her hand slip out of his tight grasp, allowing her to slowly walk away from him.
"Krishna!" Shouted Indra in fear with one hand reaching out for her.
Hearing her name come out from his lips, she then spun to meet him. He couldn't bare to see her like this, a sad look stuck in her pale eyes as she lowly bowed before him. An act of gratitude for all the efforts he had done for her perhaps, even though they were seemingly in vain.
She then turned back to making her way towards his father. Now she was standing before him, with one hand, Hagoromo had noticed the sakura blossom Indra had placed on her hair from earlier and flicked it off. Seeing this had surprisingly irritated the boy.
Afterwards, he then placed a large white fabric over her head, a makeshift veil or cover to hide the girl's ghostly features probably.
"Futami!"
Startled as well upon hearing his Lord calling out his name, his body shivered a bit as multiple beads of sweat appeared at the back of his head.
"Y-Yes, Lord Hagoromo?" He replied, his voice was shaky and dishevelled.
"Take her back home, and make sure she doesn't leave!"
"W-What of the Young Masters then?" He hesitantly asked.
The kind of reply he didn't expect to receive however was a dangerous glare from behind. Fearing that he may anger him even more than he is now, he released a breath before clumsily but quickly trotting by the girl's side.
"Come along, young Miss!" He exclaimed lowly as he placed a hand at her back and began leading her away.
She twisted her head a bit over her shoulder so she could look back at the very brunette she took a liking to behind her before turning back and disappearing from his line of sight. As he watched her leave the scene, Indra finally dropped his arm and whispered her name, a last departe attempt to call out for her.
"Krishna!"
What he failed to have notice however was his father making his way to him and painfully grabbing on to his own ear with his other. Causing him to the same as his younger brother, silently yelp multiple 'Ow!'s.
"As for you two, I'll be needing to teach the both of you a lesson!" Hagoromo angrily growled as he dragged his two sons by the ear, seemingly not caring whether they were in pain or not and probably back home.
===============================
Trivia:
A cherry blossom is a flower of many trees of genus Prunus. The most well-known species is the Japanese cherry, Prunus serrulata, which is commonly called sakura (桜 or 櫻; さくら).