When the sun goes down (Ai/Demi)

[Ai]

It was late at night, probably close to midnight. Ai didn’t really look at the clock before sneaking out of his room, a large towel under his arm. What mattered was that everyone seemed to be fast asleep, including his noisy roommates and the teachers had been visiting each room to check if the students were asleep earlier, so they should be out as well by now.

But why was he going out at this hour? The problem was, Ai didn’t get to enjoy the beach a whole lot, due to one small miscalculation he made. The boy got himself a really majestic but big tattoo covering most of his back right before the trip, which was a very bad time. But he now had to deal with the consequences by missing most of the fun. He couldn’t exactly go around wearing a shirt in that heat, no? He probably wouldn’t be able to resist and jump right into the waves, which would make his tattoo all visible to the whole world because, coincidentally, he only packed white shirts and tank tops. Hah.

So what time was better than night time to go and have a much deserved swim? Nobody would be there to watch him, no teachers to potentially threaten expulsion or whatnot. He had to take the chance. So he sneaked out with small, quiet footsteps out of the guest house and soon enough, he was at the beach with nobody having spotted him.

There was one small thing he was waiting for. Earlier in the day, he’d promised Demi that he’d show her the tattoo if she agreed to sneak out with him. He didn’t really think that she would, but there was still time for her to show up. Meanwhile, he grabbed the sides of his shirt, pulling it over his head. His tattoo was now all visible, maybe part of it covered by his long, silver hair which wasn’t pulled up, like during the day.

The boy stepped closer towards the sea, the waves just barely touching his feet. The water was colder now, but definitely still at an enjoyable temperature.

Demi

[Demi]

Demi slowly made her way to the beach, her sandals in one hand, holding her cover up with the other closed. If she was gonna go to the water, she had decided she would wear her swimsuit... maybe swim for a bit. Or at least dip her feet in. The problem was... her swimsuit was still a little wet from earlier... so it felt cold against her skin whens he had put it on, and now it felt cold still. Brr. She hoped the water was tolerable enough to swim... she hadn't considered it, but maybe it was cold by now?

Oh well, she knew she'd get used to the temperature, at least. As she walked, she glanced up at the stars... man, it sure was pretty out here. The main reason she was out at night, though... it wasn't to swim so much as to see someone. She had agreed to come meet Ai so that he could show her his tattoo. She hadn't really thought about it until now, but that was kind of... inappropriate, really. It was too late now, though... she was already walking to the beach, and she spotted Ai up ahead.

She made her way quietly, not wanting to disturb him yet. She watched as he peeled off his shirt... but she couldn't see well enough from this distance, so she couldn't make out what the tattoo was... but she could tell it was big. She knew it was big from before, but... wow, it was even bigger than she thought, judging by what she could see now.

"Ai-" she stage whispered to him so she could get his attention... not really wanting to yell because she felt it would disturb the quiet stillness in the air... and she was rather enjoying it. She made her way over to him, waving lightly. "Hey." She greeted, feeling the water touching her toes. Okay, so it wasn't cold, just... cooler than it was earlier. That was fine, she could handle that just fine. "So..."

She looked to Ai. "Turn around, let me see it." Yep, right down to business. So Demi-like.

[Ai]

Okinawa was so pretty at night, but then again, the countryside view always beats the city. Ai liked the stars and the cool wind touching his skin. The silence and stillness of the night wasn't anything new to him and although he was a people's person, having some quiet time once in a while wasn't that bad of a thing. Especially after today... damn. He'd never actually had fangirls following him around. And spending a day at the beach all dressed up and sweating kind of worsened his mood. But he was okay now.

He wouldn't be alone for a long time. Ai couldn't hear her silent and cautious footsteps because of the sound of the waves. But then, her whisper took him a little by surprise as he turned away. He knew Demi would come, but was glad to see her there nevertheless. Perhaps she won't be joining him for a swim later but having a bit of company from his dear friend was always nice. Quite a welcomed change from the craziness earlier in the day.

"Hey Demi." He smiled a little, looking at her. Perhaps it was because of the the moonlight, but he thought she looked especially pretty. She got straight to the point though, demanding to see his tattoo. So she wanted to see it that badly, huh? He chuckled at the thought. "Alright, alright, you can look." He turned his back to her, taking some long,silver strands of hair out of the way. As he'd told her previously, the tattoo was big, covering almost his whole back side.

The whole tattoo was in black ink, the biggest part of it, on either sides, resembled a pair of wings. Along his backbone, there were four black circles with different, colorless symbols in the middle. The first one had a pair of chales balancing on a sword blade, the second one was a hand helping another, the third, a heart, and the last one, a bird. They all obviously had their own meaning for Ai.

"I suppose I should also explain what it means..." He was quiet for a little. They were all wishes. All of them represented the person he really wanted to be. " I want to be strong and just, so I can protect the ones whom I care about, thus the sword and the scales." He moved onto the next one. "I want to be selfless and kind, so I can help the ones in need. I want to love and be loved... thus the heart. And the last one... I want to be free, like a bird. To not worry about what others think of me and to find my own way."

[Demi]

Getting down to business didn't allow her to reflect on things, and that's how she preferred it, honestly. She didn't want to think of the way he looked or the reasons why she came out at night to meet him... by the water... just the two of them. She didn't want to think about anything besides the reason she was here, the main reason anyway... to see the tattoo.

When he turned around and pulled his hair out of the way, she felt her heart skip a beat... that was weird. But... the tattoo was really cool, honestly. She was about to say something, but he started in on an explanation, so she kept her mouth shut for the moment. When he finished, she reached out and gingerly traced around the first circle, then the second, then the third, then down to the last one.

"This is... really cool..." She mused, kind of in awe. "It must have hurt a lot..." she mused aloud. "Does it still hurt?" It wouldn't be healed completely for a while, that she knew... especially being such a big piece. She was surprised it was all done in one session... must've taken quite a while. Her finger moved back up to the first circle and she traced the sword. "This first one... that's Nagamasa, right?"

Finally, she withdrew her hand, both of her hands moving to clasp behind herself, shifting on her heels in the sand. She stared at Ai's back for a moment, just kind of... taking a moment to take it all in. She noticed how broad his shoulders were, his back too... and she felt kind of young standing next to him... for the first time since she'd met him. They were in the same year and all, but... he was older, wasn't he?

She bit her bottom lip a bit. "I'm kind of jealous..." she commented after a moment. When he turned back to her, assuming he did, she glanced away, not wanting to meet his gaze or even look at his face for the moment. She wasn't sure what to say... but it felt... awkward. No, not so much awkward.. but weird? Weird to be out here with him... weird for her to have even decided to come out here in the first place. Weird that she could suddenly hear so many things and everything seemed... echoed in a way.

She could hear the waves in the water... her breathing... even her heart beating in her chest, thumping loudly in her ears. It was almost... romantic that they were out there. Wait... did she really just think that? No, no. She didn't see Ai that way. She couldn't. He was just a friend, right? Right. Her face was red, and she knew she needed to stop thinking... knew that it would be dangerous to continue. Quickly, she pulled off her cover up, kicked off her sandals, and without a second to let herself back out of it, she took off to the water, running. "Last one in is a rotten egg!!" She called out.

[Ai]

Ai's muscles stiffened as he felt Demi's fingers trace against his back, but then slowly relaxed under her touch. If she could have a look at his face, Demi would find that it was colored bright red from embarrassment. It was really cool... and it did hurt. The skin on his back was still very sensitive from the work that had been done, so her touching it... kind of just made him feel more than he was supposed to. Why was he even feeling like this? It was just Demi, she was supposed to be his good friend.

"Erm, It does, a little,I suppose. but It's fine. There are things that hurt more in this world." Whoa, where did that come from? Was he getting a little emotional because of the atmosphere? Not good, need to shake it off immediately, this unfamiliar feeling that made his chest hurt. Ai tried to regulate his breathing that became somewhat rushed, along with his pulse. He had to just focus on her question, but hearing her quiet voice combined with the sound of waves created a hypnotizing melody that made his head spin.

"Yeah, that's supposed to be him." Finally, he turned around, perhaps looking at her would help him regain his focus. But it seemed like she was just as flustered as he was. After all, they were alone at night... on an empty beach. Of course, he could never lay a hand on her, she was too beautiful and too far away. And since she was here, she probably trusted that he wouldn't. "Well, I mean, it was all worth it in the end. Cause it does look really cool. I'm planning to get more after High School." He tried to revert back to his chatty self, but it did seem somewhat forced.

"Ah-" He was a little taken aback as she suddenly started running towards the sea, challenging him to follow. "Hey, wait up!" He laughed a little then ran after her, jumping into the waves as the water got deeper. Swimming would help with cooling off his head, definitely.... right?

[Demi]

Everything became muffled under the water... she could hear... her heartbeat... the sound of the water... and his voice for a moment, telling her to wait up... but she was already in the water and he was muffled. She stayed under for as long as her lung could hold the breath, then she popped up, breaking the surface and pushing her hair out of her face, gasping for a gulp of air. She floated around a bit, looking for Ai, then without thinking, a smile appeared on her face.

"You're a rotten egg, Ai!" She called out. Speaking of eggs... Encore was fast asleep in her egg. Demi had left her in the building, though, not wanting to wake the blonde... even though Encore knew Demi planned on sneaking out. Honestly, though, Encore didn't think Demi would keep the promise... but low and behold, here she was, playing in the water in the middle of the night.

She ducked under again so she could push her hair out of her face better... gosh her hair floated all around her, long strands of black barely visible in the black night time water. She rubbed her face, as if she could take the smile and the redness out of it. Yes, water was good... she didn't get left with her thoughts in the water.

[Ai]

Demi was already under water before him, so yeah, he was the rotten egg, probably. Holding his breath, he allowed himself to sink in deeper, making his way underwater. The moonlight was barely visible through it, but it served enough to guide his way and not let him stray too far from the surface. He didn't see much.. nor hear much, but that was okay, he probably needed it. The stillness and emptiness of the sea , if he allowed himself to be carried away by it, his mind would go back to normal.

Ai thought he could hear Demi's voice for a bit, muffled by the sea, so he swam back to the surface, but she was gone. He took another deep breath and sunk in the deep blue, looking for her. A dark point clouded his already blurry view... was that hair?Was that her? Unconsciously, he swam in that direction, reaching out his hand .

[Demi]

Ai was most definitely the rotten egg in this situation. Demi surfaced just as something reached out and touched her side through her hair. She let out a surprised squeak, reaching down and grabbing Ai's wrist, pulling his hand away from her side. "Ai!" She exclaimed. What the heck, bro... you don't just go touching someone like that.

I mean, not that it mattered too much. Demi was just glad she only squeaked softly instead of, you know... squealed or screamed. That would've been very bad... and could've potentially woken up some of the teachers or other students that were sleeping away in their bunks.

[Ai]

Ah, so that was Demi after all. Ai did feel kind of bad for startling her, but he was still caught up in the moment, so he didn't apologize or anything. Instead, he just smiled brightly and kinda childishly, pointing towards her. "Tag, you're it!" And with that, he dived back into the sea, holding his breath as he swam deeper and deeper. He was a decent swimmer, probably the only sport he was above average at, so he could hold his breath well.

It was pretty hard to see in the water, though, especially at night, so Ai didn't really know where he was headed, but that was fine. He was... starting to feel better. Yeah, that... must have been a mistake, just something he thought for a moment...yeah, definitely. Curious if Demi was following along, Ai stopped for a bit, turning his head around to check.

[Demi]

She blinked, confused when he said tag you're it. What- wait! She tried to grab for him, but he was gone, under the dark water. He couldn't just do that- and yet he did. She watched for a sign of him, then caught sight of something shimmery in the water. Aha- that was his hair.

Quickly, she dived under to follow him, catch him and return the favor. Though she was... not super good with swimming. She could swim, but it wasn't super easy with her stamina. plus, she had to come up for air pretty quickly. When she did, she looked around... dangit, where did he go? She searched the waters, frowning. She couldn't see that well... she'd taken her contacts out before bed, so it seemed that she was going to bed, too... and didn't grab her glasses because she knew they'd go swimming. Whoops, everything seemed blurry. "Ai--?" She called out. Where did he go?

[Ai]

He dived quite deep into the sea, but eventually his lungs started to burn and his muscles were aching from the lack of air, so he swam right back to the surface. He ran a hand through his hair, getting rid of some wet strands of silver hair that were covering his face. And then he heard her call out his name. Demi was a bit further away, but he could still hear her clearly. He might have gotten too caught up with swimming and left her alone... that wasn't very nice of him.

A hint of worry crossed his face as he swam to her side. It was night and it was harder to see, but he could swear her eyes were a little out of focus. " Are you alright, Demi?" He asked her. "Sorry, I just got a bit carried away. I'll take you back if you want." He honestly felt guilty now. It was still night time, Demi was probably too tired to play around... he should've thought of that. "Here..." He extended his hand for her to take.

[Demi]

She blinked as he swam over. "Ah- yeah I'm fine I'm just not wearing my contacts, so I can't see that well." She admitted. "It's okay though, I can see enough to..." She touched his hand. "Tag, you're it!" And started to swim away, a soft laugh escaping her lips as she did so. She may not be able to see super well, but she could tell where he was, for the most part. Just... blurrily, that's all.

If he caught her again, though, she'd give up and say they should head back... since they probably should. Just in general. After all, if they got caught out of bed after hours, they'd be in some serious trouble, probably.

[Ai]

"Hey! You tricked me!" He called out as Demi swam away from him once again."Not fair!" He laughed a little, then jumped into the waves after her. Ai was thankful that that the waters were cool, because he was slightly nervous... slightly burning up before the swim. But he was alright now. Who knew why he got that odd feeling earlier but... he wouldn't, not again, right?

It didn't take him too long to catch up. Even in the water, Demi's long hair was unmistakable to him. He could just speed up a little and tag her back, but he had a feeling that if he did, this night and this moment would come to an end. So he just.. swam after her, keeping a small distance. He wanted to enjoy this for just a little longer.

[Demi]

She laughed. "All's fair in love and war! And this is war!" She called back to him, swimming away. She thought he'd have caught up to her by now, but he didn't! Sweet! She had the upper hand. "Can't catch me!" She was... having fun... her guard finally down. Nobody else was out there but them... nobody to judge her, nobody to poke fun at her... just her and her closest friend. That was the best thing, honestly... she was glad it was Ai and not someone else. She probably wouldn't open up as much to someone else... maybe one other person, but it was kind of unlikely... not without some alcohol in her system.

That thought made her stop swimming, brows knitting together. That's right... she had to stop pretending like it wouldn't catch up to her... these thoughts... the memory of kissing someone she didn't even like... it all kind of came crashing back down on her.

[Ai]

He could theoretically catch up to her, but she seemed to be having so much fun so he had all the reasons not to. He hardly ever saw her let her guard down and laugh so freely, so he just watched over her and enjoyed the moment.Ai was really grateful for Demi at that moment. To have someone you trust and who trusts you back is a really lucky thing. Thinking back on their first meeting, it was almost hard to believe that they came this far in a relatively short time.

But then, Demi suddenly stopped and he resurfaced next to her. She didn't look all that happy anymore, her brows knitted into a frown. Did she see something? Or did something happen? "Are you okay, Demi?" He asked, obviously worried. He didn't really care if she was trying to fool him again or anything... he was always worried about her.