""I can't wait! This is gonna be so much fun! My boyfriend is supposed to be here soon! We get to spend the whole day together!!"Moment MusicAyukawa would stand outside the entrance of the village, her hands resting behind her back as she leaned back and forth. Her expression was filled with excitement as both she and Issei were supposed to meet up today to go on a "date". After everything that had happened before, they had wanted to try and spend as much time as the could with each other and ensuring that either felt as though the other had forgotten about them.
Ayukawa had allowed herself some distance with what had happened with her clan, but after writing him and telling him, he had wanted to see her as soon as possible to make sure she was okay. As much as she tried to assure him that she was, it was clear that she wasn't. She didn't know how he could recognize that through her writing, but Issei always seemed to know just how to tell when she might need him.
Looking out toward the distance, her own eagerness was getting the better of her as she hoped that he'd be here by now so that they they could spend the whole day together.
Aside from her hoping that she could reaassure him that she was fine, she wanted to show him a few new places within the desert, as well as how she had managed to even make her own meals now. Granted, they were simple meals, but a vast improvement from the last time the two had a meal together. Though she was thankful that he could perhaps guide her through it.
As a passing carriage made it's way into the check point, she'd wait to see if perhaps the Uchiha had elected to be a passenger, only to find strangers emerging from it.
Disappointed, she'd then begin to pace as she wondered if he had forgotten.
"He wouldn't forget....not Issei...I bet he's just running late. I mean...after all...he has a lot to do!"
In saying this to the gate guard, the man would look at her in confusion before returning to his duties, leaving Ayukawa to release a breath as she continued to wait.
With the hours passing before her with barely a moment of relief, she began to see the sun starting to set, leading to her to worry that maybe he had forgotten completely. Or perhaps...even the worse had happened...
"What if he got hurt!? I mean! Theres a lot of things out there that could attack him just getting here! Lions! Lizards, snakes! BIG SNAKES! Sand worms too! Maybe I can...no...no..I can't! I'm not supposed to leave the village without permission....Oh! Wait! What if I rush over and then come right back! That would be okay right!?"
Speaking to the gate guard once more, the clear panic on her face as she spoke, the man would just blink before returning his gaze to the distance, leading the girl to shake her head.
"No...your right! Everything is fine! Everything is fine! He's just running a little late...thats all!"
More time passed and soon night had taken hold of the desert, leading to the girl now just pacing back and forth with worry.
"He could have gotten lost ya know!? I mean...I can't count the number of times I had gotten lost in the desert! One time I found myself passing a snail, followed it half way across the badlands and it wasn't until the clan found me that I was able to realize how far I had gotten...granted..they were mad at me for tracking a snail..."
Shrugging her shoulders, Ayukawa would then see a hawk flying overhead, seeing it perch down upon the shoulder as it held a small scroll within it's talons.
"Hah! There we go! It's probably him just saying that he wasn't able to make it! Good! Good...I mean...bad...very bad that he couldn't come today...but there's always next time!"
Taking the message into her hands, the Saeko nin would send the bird on it's way as she began to open the scroll with a calm expression.
Yet as she began to read it, her eyes would widen and then reset to normal before then seemingly grow less bright.
There was a look of confusion on her face, then grief and sadness took hold as she found herself staring at the message and seemingly reading it over and over again.
Ayukawa was silent....then finally began to speak as she struggled to allow the words to emerge. It seemed to come out as if the babbling of a child, yet as she realized it, she'd stop before allowing herself to sink down to the ground. Her fingertips digging deeper into the parchment as she lowered her head and just began sobbing.
As she did so, she'd feel a touch upon her shoulder, prompting her to look over to see the gate guard over her. With the man staring down at her, she'd reveal the tears in her face before sobbing louder as she leaned into them as she clenched the scroll tighter to her chest.
-End Thread-
