University of Konoha (Modern Naruto Various)

Chapter 18

After the game was over, I was hot and ready to go for a swim in the ocean. Ino, Kiba, Choji, and Shino decided to join me. Ino and I were standing thigh deep in the ocean and chatting with each other as the waves gently washed around us. Suddenly, I felt arms scoop me up. I automatically wrapped my arms around the person's neck to steady myself. I looked up to see Kiba grinning at me. "Hey gorgeous, why don't you come swim with me?" I raised an eyebrow. "No thanks, Kiba." He frowned at me. Then a mischievous glint came to his eyes. Uh oh. "Kiba, whatever your planning. Just stop." He started walking forward so that we were going deeper into the ocean. He shook his head and grinned. "If you give me a kiss, I'll stop." I raised an eyebrow. So that's want you want to play, huh? I pulled myself up and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Nuh uh, not good enough. A real kiss," Kiba taunted. At this point, Kiba was a little above waist deep in the water. I crossed my arms. "Not happening Kiba." "You sure?" I gave a nod. I knew what was coming next. A flash of disappointment crossed his face before he grinned again. "Alright." He let go and I dropped into the water. But instead of immediately coming back up, I swam around behind him. I grabbed a hold of his ankles and grinned. Two can play at this game. I yanked his feet from underneath him and he fell face first into the water. I kicked back up to the surface and watched when his head popped back up and he was spluttering and coughing. I laughed. "Serves you right Kiba." He glared and aimed a splash at me. I dove back underwater and headed deeper into the ocean. I popped back up and stuck my tongue out at him before I swam again.

I finally reached a spot where the waves were calmer. I turned my body so that I was floating on my back in the water. Ah, this is nice. I could still hear the others on the beach. I closed my eyes and let myself drift along. I wonder how Uncle Saito is doing. I knew my uncle was on a new dig. We had been emailing each other but it was not uncommon for Uncle Saito not to communicate for a couple weeks at a time. Many of his digs were in very remote places where it was almost impossible to get any sort of internet or electronic communication. I wonder if he's made any new discoveries yet. I was so deep in thought I didn't realize that something was wrong. It's too quiet. I should still be able to hear the others from here. I opened my eyes and straightened in the water. That's when I realized I was going incredibly fast away from the beach. I floated into a riptide. I felt my heart start to race as I realized the danger of the situation. No, I can't panic. Think. I remembered a news report I heard a long time ago about what to do if you're caught in a riptide.

Flashback

News reporter: "If you are ever caught in a riptide, the first thing to remember is don't panic. You don't want to fight the current. If you do, you'll just exhaust yourself and drown. What you need to do is pay attention to your surroundings. The way to get out of a riptide is to swim parallel to the beach. If you see waves, that's a good sign. Riptides generally look like calm stretches of water so waves indicate that there is no riptide there. Remember, stay calm and try to conserve as much energy as you can."

Flashback End

I took a deep breath. Ok, first things first. Find out which direction is parallel to the coastline. I looked back at the beach. It's so far away already. I turned my body to the right a bit and started swimming. I saw a patch of water being disturbed by forming waves and aimed for it. I reached my goal and realized I was no longer speeding away from the coast. Ok, now I just need to swim back towards shore. Just take it slow and stay calm. I took a deep breath and started swimming again. And swam. And swam. And swam. My arms and legs started to burn. I was already pretty worn out from the volleyball game. It felt like I had been swimming for hours. I looked back towards the beach to get my bearings. What I saw made my heart skip a beat. I'm still so far. Worse yet, the ocean had started to get rougher and it was getting harder to keep my head above the waves and water. I don't think I'm going to make it. I mentally shook my head. No, I can't think like that. I have to keep going. I kept swimming. It felt like another hour passed. My chest was starting to burn from the exertion. I felt my legs and arms get weaker with each kick. A wave crashed over me and water entered my lungs. I broke back through the surface and coughed violently. I'm so tired. I forced my trembling limbs to keep going. After a brief amount of time, I heard a noise different from the waves. I focused my ears on the sound. It took me a minute to realize what it was. "Asami!" It was several voices calling my name. I opened my mouth to try to answer. 'Here!' I wanted to call out. But I couldn't seem to find the air or the strength to get it out. A huge wave crashed over me, pushing me under the water. I felt myself sink into the depths of the ocean and reached out towards the surface of the water. I was so close. My chest burned and I released the last of the air from my lungs. My vision started to go black as I felt my consciousness slipping away. I guess this is the end for me. Right before I slipped away, I felt a hand grab my wrist.