"Come on! Even Babu can handle a little water, and he actually has the excuse of being a real cat - not just some zombie-loving boy with neko mimi hair..."

"Won't you just shut up? I told you I'll just watch..."

Rea wades calmly back towards the shore where Chihiro sits with narrowed eyes. Her large pupils focus intently into those cat-like slits of his, and she doesn't blink once as she slowly inches towards him.

"The water feels so nice..." Rea reaches over and pours a handful of water onto Chihiro's foot. He flinches as the chilly water drips down his sandal.

"Um no...it actually feels like the winters of hell, but you can't tell with your dulled senses."

"Hey! They're not that dull! I can still smell the river, and hear the whispers of the current, and see the pathetic boy in front of me who's afraid of 4 feet of water..." Grinning as Chihiro pouts, Rea twirls in the clear stream. The water here reaches her waist, but her white blouse clings to her chest, damp with previous ventures into the current. Clouds make the shading of her figure more prominent. Chihiro breaks from his pouting long enough to notice the tiny droplets of water resting on her eyelashes.

Blushing, because he's noticed how transparent her blouse has become, Chihiro reaches towards Rea's hand. "How is it that you always end up getting me to do things I don't want to do? Shopping...fireworks...and now, here I am, fully clothed, but..."

Before he can finish speaking, Rea grabs both of his hands and squeals, "You are coming in then?!"

"Uhhh, well..."

With her extreme zombie strength, the beautiful girl pulls him down into the water with an ungraceful splash. Ungraceful because, well, it's Chihiro.

He stiffens at the shock of cold water. "It's way too cold in here...isn't the shower water enough? Why did you want to swim in the river? Normal girls don't even do that..."

Eyes downcast, Rea's smile vanishes. "I-I-I just though it would be fun...to do together...I'm sorry I'm being a burden." She turns her back to the shivering, wet boy, wrapping her thin arms around her chest.

Realizing he's been inconsiderate, Chihiro attempts to cheer her up again. He puts one hand gently on her shoulder and turns her around, tilting her chin up with the other.

"Rea...Look at me."

Her gaze falls consistently on his chest.

"Rea...please look at me"

She does so reluctantly.

"I'm sorry, Rea. I know you just wanted to have fun...I'm just stupid sometimes..."

Pushing his hands off of her and grabbing his shoulders with her own, she whispers, "Sometimes? Don't you mean...all the time?"

Chihiro resumes his frown and narrows his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh come on! Don't you pout again...it's already taken so much to just get you in the water!"

Chihiro attempts to respond, with wit most likely, but is cut short by the chattering of his teeth.

Seeing him shivering, Rea wades closer and wraps her arms around his waist, pressing against his chest. "I'll make you warm."

Chihiro blushes deeply and thanks the zombie gods for the cold water. "Uhhh...um Rea...you're dead so you're cold too..."

"Oh yeah..." She steps back slightly, but Chihiro pulls her back to him.

"I don't really mind the cold so much when you're here...you could stay close if you want."

Rea tilts her face up towards his and widens her eyes in shock. Chihiro is never so...

She slips under his arm and swims under the bridge, waiting for him to follow. He does. He always does. With her back resting against the cement base of the bridge, Rea watches him for once. He smiles rarely, and when he does it's from some perverted zombie-related thought. He has few pleasant or complimentary things to say. He's a bit lazy and odd, but he's really a good person. After all, he promised to take care of Rea, and he's been trying his best to keep that promise. Chihiro spends late nights in his tent, researching, looking for a way to protect her body. He's always caring for her and making her feel precious. Rea has decided that she should do something for him in return. That neko mimi haired boy wading towards her deserves more than he gets.

When Chihiro finally rests, about a foot to her left, against the cement, Rea turns to face him.

"You do so much for me. Why?"

His eyes widen as he scratches his head, looking for a good answer.

"Well, I promised to take care of you, didn't I? I'm not going to break that promise if I can help it! And I do it because...well...I don't know..."

Grinning at his blushing, Rea giggles,"Well I know! It's because you love zombie girls so much!"

Chihiro stutters,"That's not...I don't...well I do...I mean...but that's not why..."

Looking down nervously, he whispers,"It's because I think of you more than Babu...or anyone. You are the one who makes me happier than any zombie movie. The fact that you're also a zombie just makes it even better. Plus, you look really good in a nurse outfit..."

With all of his courage, he raises his eyes to meet Rea's. Surprisingly, he finds them only a few inches from his own.

"So I see, Chihiro...are you saying that you want to deflower me and use my zombie body to fulfill your perversions? Eh?"

"No! No, I'm saying that I love you!"

Rea gasps and slips backwards on the riverbed, but Chihiro catches her waist and pulls her back steady. He feels her cool breath against his neck, and then on his lips. She looks as if she were about to cry, but in the absence of tears, she looks more beautiful than ever. The zombie girl suddenly tosses her arms around the boy's neck and brings her mouth to meet his.

There's really nothing like kissing a reanimated corpse in the river under a bridge. For Chihiro, that is a very good thing. It's also a very good thing for him that the water is so cold, for even though her body may be icy, his is not.