The sun lit up the world under it; shining it's light upon all that could be seen. The lakes, the trees, the fish, the humans, there was no one who could escape the glory of the sun.
Even the eight realms had never been able to escape it, they all had a sun.
Under the sun, a lone man sat on a rock; looking until the glistening, clear water of the flowing river.
The river flowed down the mountain; the noises of the water flowing over the rocks, splashing against the terrain calmed the mans mind.
He looked at his own reflection, seeing his tall, pale face. His eyes were a glistening light golden color, as if reflecting the light of the sun itself. His long, black hair flowed down his body, even cascading onto the wet, black rocks that he was sitting on.
His voice was soft as he spoke to himself, slightly chuckling.
"Interesting, he has been here for seven years now. Oh Ivan, I am really looking forward to meeting you."
...
Koji swung his his leg up, swaying through the wind, his short leg looking a bit funny when considering the situation he was currently in.
"Eck!"
He let out a sound of struggle as Ivory grabbed his leg; he knew it was already over.
She took her elbow and brought it down as fast as a viper towards his knee, it would destroy his leg. Of course, she stopped before actually hitting it; but this still meant she won.
Her pale, childlike face had a playful look on it; contrary to her demeanor of coldness when she first met Koji, she actually was was very playful now.
"Got you again! You haven't won once!"
She smiled and stuck her tongue out at him; she was unlike women he had encountered before.
'Good lord, most girls at least try to act fierce. But instead of acting fierce, she just demolishes me then acts like we are best friends!'
He shook his head; not really caring about the loss. He was just utterly confused by this peculiar girls attitude.
He had a pitiful expression on though, because during the fight he was still hit multiple times and the pain had not fully went away.
"You're so cute Koji!"
She giggled, although for the first months of meeting him she hid all her feelings due to her drive to be a warrior, she was after all just a young girl. She decided to stop hiding, because it felt exhausting and she wanted to be herself around Koji. He was the only friend she really had.
Koji stubbornly reacted, his face slightly heating up in embarrassment.
"Calm down! I'm not cute..."
Ivory just giggled without responding; meanwhile Lin let out a scary frown.
He decided to hide his disapproval towards the matter, and went to Ivory's side patting her small shoulder with his big hand.
"Honey, it's rude to embarrass random people like that."
Ivory now frowned slightly; she did not fully grasp why this was.
"But it was a compliment! Hmph!"
She looked to the side, exaggerating her obvious disagreement with this.
"Lots of men don't like being called cute."
In reality, he didn't care at all if it offended Koji or not; he just didn't want his daughter to get involved with a boy yet.
"Well it doesn't matter if he doesn't like being called cute, I think he's cute!"
At this point, any further attempts at further explanation would be futile against Ivory's stubborn mood.
Lin just sighed and stopped responding; at least Koji and Ivory weren't all up on each other or anything.
Suddenly, in the house Ivan called out through the open door.
"Lin, can you come help me with something real quick?"
Lin was hesitant at first, due to the situation that Ivory and Koji would be left alone. But he ended up going, and now Ivory and Koji were in fact alone.
The first time they were alone, it was awkward at first, but now it was far from that.
"Let's see who can run faster!"
Ivory said with glee, immediately challenging Koji.
"I'm too tired..."
He instantly rejected her idea; his legs felt like noodles after fighting so her so many times.
Ivory frowned, of course she would feel dejected at her request being instantly shot down.
"You're no fun Koji!"
He sighed, feeling a tad bit annoyed.
"I am plenty fun, but I'm tired! Aren't you?"
Her expression raised in sudden realization. Indeed, she was kind of tired.
"W-well yes, I guess you're right."
His expression changed to a slight smile, he was glad she instantly gave up.
"Exactly, so instead we should do nothing."
Ivory didn't respond, her thoughts drifting off to a certain memory of her dad saying she should be cautious around boys, they were dangerous.
"Koji, you know my dad said I should be wary of boys. But you're so weak and frail I don't have to be worried!"
She giggled, of course Koji's reaction was about the opposite. Of course, he tried to not value the opinion of others, but he couldn't help it sometimes. After all, he was not perfect.
"What!? I am not weak!"
He furrowed his brows in anger, but quickly calmed down. It was not worth getting angry over such a small thing.
"Koji! Koji! Koji!"
She repeatedly said his name like she was chanting for a football team as they would back on earth.
"Why are you saying my name?"
Now he was confused, and expressing that as he looked up at her above him. He was sitting down on the grass, she was still standing.
"Because I like it!"
He frowned as he fell into deep thought, already considering the meaning of her words.
'Is she attracted to me or something? It must be that...'
It's not like he was trying to flatter himself or be delusional, but he couldn't help but feel that this was the case.
If she was attracted to him, then she would say everything he does was attractive. Basically, if she liked his face, then she liked his name too, and his voice, body and hair.
'Wait.. This means a girl may actually be attracted to me, yes me! A girl... Attracted to me!'
The possibility was impossible back on earth, but he was truly experiencing it now!
'Should i ask her? No, I have to spend several more years around her, which would get really awkward if I asked about that. I'll just keep it to myself.'
He came back to his senses, now looking at Ivory with a happy expression.
Of course, he would not yet make a move on her; she was still too young for him.
Ivory has been isolated to only interacting with Koji for the most part for awhile now, so she had not been exposed to many social areas. Which means that her view of how to handle social interactions was not exactly on par with most people. Often, she would make random decisions that most would deem as erratic.
Which is what she now did, jumping right on top of Koji.
"I'm tired Koji! You're warm!"
Koji furiously blushed as she did this, screaming on the inside.
'W-what!? Oh no! Lin is gonna kill me, wait no that's not important!'
What was important was the fact he was a 15 year old back on earth, being like this with a nine year old was not acceptable!
'H-how do I get her off?! Do I push her off!?'
Ivory nuzzled her pale face into Koji's small chest, he white hair cascading onto his body and her small legs resting upon his own; she giggled as if this was the most normal thing ever.
"I'm going to sleep!"
Koji's hands were up in the air, he was completely frozen without the knowledge of what to do now.
'I have to tell her to get off, but wait.. She's gonna hate that!'
All the choices in this situation were bad, but he had to pick the best one.
"I-Ivory please get off of me!"
He said it in the worst way he possibly could.
"H-huh?"
She was slightly confused and let down, but she slightly frowned and got off of him.
"Sorry Koji..."
He immediately reacted, realizing his stupid mistake.
"N-no Ivory it's fine okay?"
But she did not react how he thought she would. He thought she would run away in embarrassment but she just stood still.
"Really? You aren't mad or anything?"
He was thoroughly surprised at her question and lack of action.
"O-of course not."
He lightly smiled, trying to salvage the situation.
But he looked to the side of them, and through the light of the setting sun he could see Lin; who was frowning deeply.