Nino's POV:
The test of courage wasn't supposed to be romantic, but it was yet another opportunity to be alone with him. Maybe I can pretend to be scared so that he could hold me... would that work with him?
"Nino?"
I was in our dorm, looking out the window as I listened to the first song we heard together. The entrance to the test of courage was already lit. In a few minutes, he'll come knocking on our door.
"Nino."
"Oh, what is it, Itsuki?"
"Are those Miku's headphones?" She asked.
"Yeah. She's taking a shower."
"I see..." She went quiet.
"Why did you call me for?"
"Can you come on the test of courage with me?"
I took off the headphones, looking at Itsuki a bit puzzled.
"You want to go?"
"Yes... but I couldn't find a pair." She said, "Miku is going with Ichika and Yotsuba in one of the staff."
"You don't necessarily need to have a pair to go through it."
"I know that." Itsuki said, averting her eyes but still maintaining a decisive tone of voice, "But I'm scared of going alone."
"You also don't have to go if you don't want to." I argued.
"You're going with L/N-kun, aren't you?"
"...Yes."
"I should have figured." Itsuki dismissively said. "Is it ok if I... no, nevermind."
"Wait, but why do you wanna go so much? Didn't you say you didn't want to participate because you were afraid of ghosts?"
"Yes, but-"
"Such a scientific-minded individual shouldn't be afraid of ghosts." A masculine voice interrupted Itsuki.
Both of us looked at the room's entrance, seeing Y/N casually leaning against the doorframe, "You left the door open, by the way."
I weighed the options. I wanted to be alone with him, but poor Itsuki...
"Y/N-kun, can Itsuki come with us?"
"Oh, no don't worry about me-"
"Of course." He smiled.
Itsuki shot a look at me that conveyed to me all of her thoughts, even without words. This outcome would be suboptimal at best. She would be kinda third-wheeling us for the entire track. But I'd feel really guilty if I left my little sister to go through an experience she finds so scary all by herself.
"No, it's ok. Really. I can go on my own." She protested.
"Yeah, you could. But it would be more fun to have you around."
More fun? What do you mean more fun?
"Are you sure?" She said, still a bit reluctantly, "T-Thank you."
I don't know if I was seeing things. It might have been the lighting or maybe just my paranoia, but I'm pretty sure I saw Itsuki blushing at his words.
"Let's get going then, shall we?" Y/N-said, "The test will begin in a few minutes."
...
The forest looked far more ominous at night. The students gathered at the entrance of the track to await their turn. In intervals of about two minutes, a new group would go into the woods, walking a few steps before their silhouettes got lost amidst the dark, dense foliage.
Our classmates had organized into groups of no more than three, the majority of which were pairs. I don't know if that's a strict rule, but my guess is that it's harder to get scared when you're in a large group. One thing I noticed is that the great majority of pairs were made of a boy and a girl. I had no idea that there were so many couples in our class, but maybe I'm just starting to notice it more.
As I looked for a bit of reassurance, I looked at Y/N-kun only to see him with one of his earbuds in and his eyes fixated on the screen of his phone.
"Hey, take those off!" I said, "You're gonna miss the whole thing!"
"It's not like we'll be missing much." He said, shrugging and doing as I demanded.
"C'mon, you can't be on your phone for the whole track! What if I get scared and I need you to hold my hand?"
He gave me that little smug smile I loved so much, "You can always rely on Itsuki."
"A-Aren't any of you scared?" Itsuki said, looking a bit embarrassed.
"Depends on your conception of scared." He replied, "I don't mean to sound like Chad Thundercock here, but I honestly think this test of courage thingy is going to be pretty underwhelming."
"How is this underwhelming?" I asked, subtly getting closer to him, "That forest looks pretty scary."
"I mean, it looks menacing, for sure. But I wouldn't say it's something to get frightened over other than a few jumpscares here and there."
"If this was a horror movie, you'd be the first one to die." Itsuki pouted.
"Good thing it isn't then." He pocketed his phone, looking at the track ahead, "I know my skepticism kinda ruins the mood, but the truth is that this is a controlled situation. The school wouldn't let us go through anything that was actually dangerous."
"But we're going to walk through a forest at night! Haven't you heard the ghost stories our classmates have been telling?"
"I have. But you know what's scarier than ghosts? Lawsuits. And the school absolutely isn't going to risk having to deal with one of those."
"Group 14, you may now go." One of the monitors announced.
"That's us." I said, "Are you ready?"
Without much ceremony, the three of us headed into the dark woods, following a twisted dirt path that promised so much.
The truth is that, just like Y/N-kun, I wasn't that scared. Uesugi is the one encharged with this whole thing so I'm confident in saying that this experience is going to be underwhelming at best. However, I haven't the slightest intention of letting Y/N-kun know that. On the contrary. If I look frightened, Y/N-kun will want to hold me and protect me, falling right into my plan.
"This place is too dark..." Itsuki said, turning on the flashlight on her phone.
"For real, the worst that could happen would be something like walking face-first into a spider web. Everything else is scripted."
"I'm a bit scared..." I said, pressing my body closer to his.
"No. No, you're not." Itsuki said.
"What do you mean I'm not?"
"I know you, Nino. This isn't how you react to scary situations."
"W-Well, I've never been lost in the woods before."
"We're not lost. We're literally following a path." He said
"Y/N-kun, you're not helping me here." I mumbled.
Suddenly, we heard movement a few steps ahead of us. A dark silhouette ran across the path, disappearing amidst the dark woods. It was most certainly humanoid, though it was hard to truly discern anything in the pitch black.
"Gahh!!!" Itsuki screamed, jumping onto Y/N's arms much to my dismay.
"Heh... cool." He said, "You can let go of me now, Itsuki."
Once again, I'm not sure if it was the poor lighting or just my imagination, but I swear by my name that I saw Itsuki blushing just now. I huddled even closer, to him, specifically with the intent of pressing my breasts against his arm.
"Sorry... I got scared."
Got scared, huh? I'd better step up my game.
"That was pretty scary." I said, hugging him tighter.
"You didn't even jump." He said.
"That doesn't mean I didn't get startled."
"Meh. I was personally more startled by Itsuki grabbing me and suddenly screaming."
"I said I'm sorry!" Itsuki protested.
"Oh gee, did I startle you there?" We heard an annoyingly familiar voice coming from the woods.
The silhouette made itself visible once more, now emerging from the bushes it had run into. Itsuki shined her phone's flashlight at the figure, and gradually we were able to discern who that was.
A meeting that was far worse than any ghost or monster. It was Takeda.
"Ah, if it isn't L/N-kun and the Nakanos. Remember me?" He said.
"I'll never forget the first time we met. But I'll keep trying." I replied.
"My, my. I see you're a trio and I'm all on my own. Do you mind if I pair up with one of you?"
"Yes, we do." I stepped forward, "Groups are of a maximum of three people. You can't join us."
"That's why I specifically asked if any of you could pair up with me, hahah."
Apparently, I wasn't clear enough the first time around. I was about to give him a more direct callout, but Y/N stepped forward before I could do anything.
"Did you get lost?" He objectively asked.
"Oh, no I didn't."
"Okay. I'm willing to ignore you running across the forest just now. Where is your pair?"
"He's um... he's up ahead."
"Who is he?"
"Shiroda-kun."
"Why did he abandon you here?"
"I don't know. Anyway, there's no need to turn this friendly conversation into an interrogation, right?"
"Indeed there isn't." Y/N-kun said, "Here's what we'll do. I'll pair up with you and scout ahead until you find Shiroda."
"Oh, but there's no need for-"
"You wanted a pair. Now you got one, dipshit. Let's go."
Just as efficiently as he dealt with Takeda, Y/N-kun began to make his way deeper into the forest, with his pathetic excuse of a rival following behind. I was left alone with Itsuki in the dark forest.
"C-Can I hold your hand?"
I sighed, "Come here Itsuki."
He kept walking through the woods, now a lot more quietly than before. I could feel how Itsuki's hands were cold and sweaty. She was trembling a bit as she looked around wearily.
"You know, you don't need to force yourself to do something you're scared of."
"I know..."
"But then why did you come?"
"..."
For all this time, there was a question nagging at the back of my head. One that I didn't want to ask in fear of having my suspicions confirmed. But I don't think I'll find any better time than right now.
"Itsuki." I asked, "Are you hitting on Y/N-kun?"
"W-What? No! Why would I?"
"I don't know. That's why I asked." I sighed, "I think it's just my jealousy getting the best of me, but I've been noticing how ever since that fight you had with him you've been acting... differently. Not exclusively around him, but more frequently when you're with him or talking about him."
Now Itsuki was the one who sighed, the fear and the confrontation troubling her profusely.
"What were you talking about with him this morning?" I asked
"I... how do I say this in a way that won't arouse suspicion?" She said to herself.
And then, as we strolled through that slightly less ominous forest, she told me all about her whole dichotomy and how she had been feeling more aware about her feelings. I listened attentively, and the more she spoke, the more similarities I would find between our situations.
"To summarise," she said, "I'm not in love with L/N-kun. But I wanted to experiment with this test of courage thingy. I knew you'd pair up with him, but I still wanted to make sense of my feelings with him. Hence why I asked to go accompany you both on this test of courage."
"...So scary situations can strengthen the bond between people, huh? Sound's like a tip he'd give."
"Yes. That's why I wanted to go through this even if I'm absolutely terrified of it. I wanted to understand if the feelings I had were truly for him or if they were just being directed to the first attractive boy I could think of... and I know that it was wrong to do this behind your back. I'm sorry."
"Oh, little Itsuki."
I patted her on the head. Calling her little was a little funny considering she was taller than me, even if by just a few millimeters.
"I've already made up my mind. Don't worry, he's all yours." She said.
"Always has been." I chuckled, hugging her, "It's ok, Itsuki. Thanks for telling me."
"I'm glad you understand... but come to think of it, if even I have fallen for this love trap, who's going to be the defender of the family?"
"Honestly, I feel like we've moved past the need to have someone defending us wherever we go. We're old enough to be responsible for our own decisions. If we just continue to keep the five of us in our perfect little nest, we won't ever learn how to fly."
"You're right... then I guess it's time to let go."
"Let go of what?" Y/N asked, suddenly emerging from the shadows.
"Ahhh!! C'mon! Don't do that!" Itsuki angrily said.
"My bad. Goldilocks' partner got lost but he has already been found."
"Did you find any scares ahead?" I asked.
"Yes, actually. And I've helped them with a little bit of tactical repositioning."
"Repositioning?" Itsuki stuttered.
"GO STUDY!" A thunderous voice came from a few steps ahead of us as a man in a clown suit jumped out of the bushes.
Itsuki. Fucking. Booked it. I guess this is how Takeda got separated from his partner.
"Big man! Nice one." Y/N-kun gave the clown a fistbump as he helped him out of the bushes.
He took off his mask to reveal that he was none other than Uesugi in a blonde wig. He looks kinda cute this way... but Y/N-kun is still leagues ahead of him.
"Is this what you mean by repositioning?" I asked.
"Yep. Notice how we're in a bifurcation and the sign points to the path to the left? Fuutarou and Yotsuba were a bit behind, and their scares were causing some of the students to divert from the path. By hiding him in the bushes near the right path, it will make it so the students will run to the left."
"I see... but then where's Yotsuba?"
On cue, we heard Itsuki screaming in the distance.
"There." Uesugi said, "I still got some other dumbasses to scare. Enjoy the rest of the test, you both."
...
"I guess you were right. It was kinda underwhelming."
"Tomorrow will be better."
After the test of courage was over, most of the students returned to the dorms, including my sisters. But I wanted to stay with Y/N-kun a little longer.
Our dorms were separate, but just so that I could stay together with him a little longer, we decided to take a stroll around the campgrounds.
The lights of the few buildings had already been turned off, so it was just us and a beautiful stary sky.
"Is there something you want to do tomorrow?" He asked.
"What is there to do? Skiing and the bonfire, right?"
"Yeah, but I was hoping that you could spare us about half an hour tomorrow. Specifically the half-hour before the bonfire."
"I like where this is going." I chuckled, "I guess I have a little bit of time for whatever you're planning."
"Cool. All I need you to do is to meet me at the entrance of the test of courage at exactly 6 PM."
"Why would we be going there again?"
"You talk as if you expect me to tell you."
"Nah, I know you want. That question was rhetorical. I'm used to being left in the dark about your little schemes."
"I know it can be annoying sometimes." He said, "But I promise this one will be worth it."
"I know it will." I smiled.
We strolled for a few more minutes as he walked me to the door of my dorm. I didn't want to part ways just yet, but it was already past 11 PM.
"Y/N-kun... about yesterday."
"What about it?"
"...I'm sorry if I was being too pushy. I couldn't control myself. I... the last thing I want is to push you away with my advances."
"You're not pushing me away, dummy." He reassured me, "If anything, it's working to make me want you even more."
"R-Really? Um... should I be more aggressive then?"
He chuckled, "Things will develop naturally. There's no need to force anything you don't feel comfortable doing."
"Ugh... you're always just so... perfect."
I closed my eyes and he kissed me on the forehead.
"Good night, Nino."
"Good night, Y/N-kun..."
I reluctantly closed the door, being careful to not wake anyone. I watched from the window as he made his way back, though instead of taking a right turn to the dorms, he headed into the forest once again.
...
A/n:
mmmm cliffhanger. At least this time it wasn't literally hanging from a cliff like the official media.
So, I have a bit of bad news to tell you. Recently my schedule has been really tight, and now that my classes are really early in the morning, I'm having less and less time to write - which is something I typically do best at night. In a nutshell, the time between updates is going to increase a bit, but it won't go past the 13 day rule I established in chapter 2 (or 3 i don't remember)
Thanks for the constant support and understanding guys. I hope you have an amazing week. See you later!!