Fujioka Ryouko continued walking in a hurried pace aimlessly and stopped. "Scared the heck out of me." She said before pausing to analyze the situation. Finally, she scoffed. "I'm gonna kill whoever it is that placed that piece of ridiculous paper there. The game managers must be toying with us, seriously." She said, irritated. "Where am I anyway?" She asked herself and looked around. Shoot. She must be in the site of the Beam Balance obstacle. She looked up at the nets and the high beam obove her. "I walked this far?" She said in disbelief.
She placed a hand of her forehead. She shouldn't have escaped like that. It was stupid that she left them with an awkward air like that. She sighed. "I better go and fix it all up." She told herself.
All of a sudden, she was distracted by a gloomy feeling that sent chills down her spine. "What was that?" She asked to practically no one, looking around.
She narrowed her eyes at the corner of one pillar holding the beam in place. Someone was hunched over, hugging his knees, his red head bowed in between, muttering to himself. "We lost. It's my fault. We lost. It's my fault."
"Kintarou?" Ryouko called questioningly. He looked at her. "Ryouko." He said, blinking. He stood up and started walking away.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"To hide. I'm so ashamed, I can't show my face to anyone today." He answered.
Ryouko smirked. "Are you beating yourself up because you fell when you so confidently said that your obstacle is easy?" She teased.
Kintarou's shoulders stiffened. "Oya, a sore spot. I shouldn't have done that." She told herself. "Are you blaming yourself for the loss of our team?" She asked.
Kintarou stopped and looked over her shoulder. He was wearing an expression that said 'Well, it is, ain't it?' The corners of his mouth were turned downwards.
"Seriously... That wasn't your fault. It was a team battle." She looked thoughtful for a second. "Well... It did contributed a bit to the loss but it wasn't your fault alone." She added.
"Then it's still my fault." Kintarou concluded.
"Oh my gosh, he's behaving like one of my little cousins..." She thought in exasperation. She walked towards him.
"Tooyama. Face forward." She instructed.
Her tone had such authority that Kintarou turned around and faced her. He avoided her eyes though.
Ryouko stepped forward. Kintarou closed his eyes and braced himself for the worst. She was Team 2's representative. Of course, she'll be angry at their loss. Maybe a slap, or a punch was coming his way.
Ryouko gently caressed the side of his head, flattening down the stubborn red locks. "Ooh, his hair is soft. I thought it'll be prickly." She thought. She snapped back to reality as he saw her looking questioningly at her. Back to business then... "Yosh, yosh..." She said as if pacifying a young child. "Warukunai. (You did nothing wrong.)"
"You can just try better the next time. You feel bad for underestimating the onstcale don't you? Then you just have to do better on the next event. Okay?" She told him.
"Ryouko..." He said, quite touched, relieved tears forming at the corners of his cat-like eyes.
"Hai, hai, don't cry now... Let's go back to the cabins and find the others. I was dazed on my way here but I still noticed the camp managers leading the third team to the abin where the stocks are stored." She said.
"But I don't want to go back yet. Some people might be mad at me for messing up." He said, wiping his eyes.
"No one would do that... Besides, we still reached second place." She answered.
"You're just saying that to make me feel better." He said, quite convinced at his own logic.
Ryouko sighed. "Then why don't you hear it from them yourself?" She said, went behind him and grabbed his shoulders. "This way." She said, pushing him to go forward.
"But I'm scared." He said, braking his feet.
"I'll be right behind you. Don't worry." She replied, pushing again, harder this time.
"I don't wanna be in front. I'll hide behind you." He said and jerked her hands from his shoulders. He immediately went behind her and took hold of the hem of her shirt.
"You'll tag behind like that?" She asked. He nodded his head, looking very much like a little kid.
Ryouko smiled and shook her head. "Okay then. Do whatever pleases you."
They walked in silence before Kintarou spoke up. "You said you walked over here in a daze. Why would you be in a daze?"
"There's just something. Little kids like you don't need to know." She answered.
"I'm not a little kid." Kintarou said, quite obstinate.
"Yes you are." Ryouko retorted.
"No I'm not." Kintarou argued back.
"Yes you are." Ryouko said.
They bickered like that until they reached the cabins of their team and found that there was no one lurking on the grounds.
"Where on earth did they go?" Ryouko asked, looking around.
~~~
"Don't scare me like that." Yukimura complained.
"Gomen, gomen... (Sorry, sorry...)" Shiraishi replied. "I had to do something about the awkward situation and it's the only thing I can think of."
"It's the only thing all of us could think of." Sanada said in agreement.
"It's amazing though, that most of us went along with it." Mizuki said knowingly, twirling a lock of his hair around his forefinger.
"You guys were acting? I thought it was real." Yuuta told them.
"Apparently, the situation was too delicious to pass. It's not everyday that something would happen that can be used to make fun of the Rikkaiddai's team captain." Tachibana commented.
"I can't believe that all these sensible people actually did this prank." Yukimura said, a bit annoyed. Deep inside though, he felt really relieved. If they were serious... that would've been to scary to even think about. His thoughts trailed off as Shiraishi spoke again.
"Well, it's not everyday that we act out of character, e Tachibana?" Shiraishi said.
Tachibana merely smiled as his arms were crossed over his chest relaxedly.
"Speaking of acting out of character, there is someone who extremely acted out of his personality back then..." Mizuki suddenly said, glancing knowingly at the door of the Team 2 lunch hall. It turned out that the building located right at the middle of the cabins was to be the personal hall of the second team wherein they would share meals together and conduct meetings.
Atobe Keigo was outside the hall building, his back leaning on the wall, arms crossed and narrowing his eyes at the blazing sun above.
Some of the members retorted to whispering. "I was really shocked when he grabbed Yukimura by the collar back then. He looked so angry." Mizuki continued.
"To be honest, I was also surprised. Well, Ryouko-chan and Atobe-san know each other outside this event, right? They were always at each other's throats most of the time too." Aoi Kentarou commented.
"Thinking about it, it was a rather unusual happening." Kajimoto said.
"Maybe they were much more than we thought." Dan Taichi also joined in. "Ryouko-san said they were almost betrothed."
"They're not." Hiyoshi suddenly interrupted. His tone was a bit sharp that they swerved their heads towards his direction.
Hiyoshi was also surprised at the sharpness of his voice. He cleared his throat, conscious of the eyes watching him. "She was almost betrothed to one of the young masters of the families affiliated with their businesses and Atobe-buchou is just one of them. That's all I've heard."
"Oh. I get it now..." Aoi said thoughtfully. "Must be tough being rich. They have a whole range of problems compared to other people."
"I'd love to welcome all those problems if I would be able to enjoy such luxury though..." Kajimoto commented.
Meanwhile, the person outside was doing a serious self-evaluation, his forehead knitted in deep thought. Why on earth... Why did he do that? Atobe wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead.
What was it that he said back then? 'You jerk.' He told Yukimura that. He blinked his eyes. "Why?" He asked himself, completely mystified. "Why would I, the mighty Atobe, react that way?" It didn't make any sense. No sense at all.
Why would he care for whatever happened to that girl? It wasn't logical. He hated her. He loathed her even. There was no reason for him to act like that.
"Was it chivalry perhaps? Maybe I'm much more of a justice person and a gentleman than I've thought?" He paused for a second. "Nah." He answered himself, crossing out the possibility. He wouldn't waste a freaking breath on such matters.
Then what was it? Did he get carried away? But why would he be carried away by that?
"This is harder than making a new signature shot." He said to himself, getting anoyed. "I give up. Maybe it's just nothing after all. There's no need to strain myself over such stuff." He finally concluded and proceeded inside the cabin.
The moment he walked in, everyone went silent. He stared at them, his violet eyes sober. "Hmm? What is this? Something tells me that you we're badmouthing me before I went in." He said.
"We're not." Tachibana answered.
"Yeah, whatever. I'll go back to our cabin now, since there's no point squandering time here." Atobe told them.
Suddenly, someone interrupted. "Who said you can go anywhere?" Fujioka Ryouko's voice came from the hall entrance.
Their heads swerved towards her. She was standing there with her arms folded and her head cocked to one side. Her expression was surprisingly, as expressionless as it usually is. "The winning team is just about to finish picking out their ten boxes from the stockroom. We need to get ready. Everyone will help unload the groceries." She told them.
Before anyone could react, she sighed and rotated her right shoulder. "Oi, Kintarou... I can't move." She said, swiping at the fingers tightly clenching the sleeves of her shirt.
They noticed that there was someone hiding behind her. Tooyama Kintarou peeked from her right side. "What is this? A meeting to condemn me?" He asked. For once, his tone was missing it's usual confidence.
"Why would we condemn you?" Shiraishi asked, confused at the way their youngest was acting.
"Don't lie. I know that I'm the reason why we lost. If I didn't fall then I could've saved more time. You're all angry at me, aren't you?" He said matter-of-factly, still hiding behind Ryouko.
Ryouko sighed. "I found him sulking at the corner of his obstacle. Tell him that it isn't his fault. He's not listening to me."
"Well, you were just saying that to make me feel better." Kintarou told her.
Ryouko sighed in resignation. "I told you that it wasn't your fault because it is really not your fault. Now quit whining and just help with carrying our groceries out of the stockroom."
"That's right, Kintarou-kun. It wasn't anyone's fault. We did our best so that's the point." Aoi told him.
"Hontou? (Really?)" Kintarou said, peering from behind Ryouko again.
"That's right. It's no one's fault." Shiraishi assured him. Kintarou looked at Sanada, because he was the captain after all. Sanada nodded.
"Yokatta... (That's a relief.)" Kintarou said, coming out from behind Ryouko, back to his shameless self. "Shall we get to work then. I'll go ahead to the stockroom and warn the third team not to take too much of the meat." He said cheerfully and went out of the cabin skipping.
"He recovered so fast." Yuuta said in exasperation.
"Seriously simple-minded..." Yohei commented, shaking his head.
All of a sudden, there was tension in the air as Ryouko stared at them and the group doing the same. She walked towards them and the boys began to feel nervous. It was remarkable how a girl of barely five feet could make them feel such tension mixed with a little fear.
"Yukimura-san?" She called. The Rikkaidai captain had shielded himself by hiding behind Sanada. Ryouko fought the urge to laugh.
"Yes? Do I need to get slapped? Or do I need to write an apology letter or something?" Yukimura replied, timidly looking at her.
Ryouko smiled and shook her head. "Neither." She answered. "I scared you, didn't I? By suddenly going off like that. I sincerely apologize. It was a bit of a shock and I needed a few minutes to collect myself."
Yukimura went out in the open. "You're not mad?"
"Why would I?" She asked, cocking her head to one side, blinking her rust-colored eyes. She scanned the faces of the people around here. "Why are you guys looking at me like that?" She asked.
"Well..." Mizuki said and could do nothing but shrug.
"You guys are weird. And to think that I can spot all of you in the same place... Maybe the teamwork is slowly seeping into you, huh?" Ryouko told them, smirking.
"You're the weird one..." Sanada thought, looking at the oblivious girl and sighing.
"Is she even a girl? I thought she went off to cry." Yuuta said to himself, looking at Ryouko as if it was the first time he laid eyes on her.
"Well, I guess you can say that..." Shiraishi said, catching the eyes of the other members.
"We got work to do. Everyone is here right?" She told them, looking around. "Hmm? Where is Kite-san?" She asked.
"Dunno." Yohei answered.
"Don't care." Atobe added. "And I'm not tagging along. I'm tired." He said, strutting towards the exit with both eyes closed.
Ryouko grabbed the back of his shirt without even turning around. "What the?" Atobe said, surprised.
Ryouko slowly looked over her shoulder at him. "The minute you go out that door, I'll make sure the rest of your stay in this camp would be as comfy as hell itself." She threatened, sparks shooting off from her eyes.
"Scary." The rest of the members thought to themselves.
"Fine, I get it. Let go already." Atobe said in resignation, shaking his back to jerk her hand off.
Ryouko rolled her eyes and gave a slight push. Atobe was forced to take two steps forward to keep his balance. "Why you?" He said between gritted teeth, looking at the back of Ryouko's head.
"It's better for all of us to be there so you guys can pick whatever you like. And if you have any food allergies and stuff, be sure to tell it to me immediately." She told them. "I'll go fetch Kite-san. You people go ahead. Kintarou might already be wreaking havoc in the stockroom." She added before going out.
When she had left, a smile formed on Yukimura's lips. "What a strange girl..." He thought.
"She's a weird one isn't she? She even apologized to Yukimura-san." Aoi commented.
"Yep, she's weird alright... More like crazy." Atobe said and went out of the cabin as if chains were cuffed on his ankles. He really made it obvious that he was tagging along unobligingly.
Mizuki laughed. "I can't guarantee that what he's saying is false. After all, there's only a thread separating crazy from genius." He commented.
~~~
"Ryuzaki-san, this one, where should I put it?" Kitamura Tohru asked.
Sakuno was spacing out and could not hear him. Tohru placed the box down. "Oi!" He yelled as he waved a hand in front of her face.
"E?" Sakuno said, snapping back to reality.
"I said, where should I put the spices and condiments?" Tohru asked, opening the small box for her to see.
"Oh, right over there by the upper cabinet. They provided containers for those." She answered.
"You really should pay attention right now, Ryuzaki-san... We're so busy." Kusakabe Mikoto commented as he helped Tohru unload the box.
"Sorry." She said quietly.
"Ah, isogashii, isogashii... (So busy, so busy...) It doesn't help that some uncooperative bunch is being exempted for this task. Especially that Echizen. He barely moved a muscle for the obstacle race and he's not even helping us here." Yamamura Kazuki said, his voice obviously full of complaints.
"Oya? Now that you say it, where did Ochibi go?" Kikumaru asked, looking around.
"I haven't seen him since the obstacle race." Gakuto answered.
"If it's Ryoma-kun you're looking for, he-uh... he got called by some of the camp managers for something." Sakuno said. Her ears were getting hot and she suspected they might be turning red so she covered them with her hair. She wasn't accustomed to lying.
"Oh. Then somebody go fetch Zaizen and Kai. They're just lurking inside their cabins. Tell them we need some help." Higashikata Masami said.
No one was moving so he turned towards the freshmen. The freshmen stared at him.
"Us?" Takada Motoki asked, pointing a finger at himself.
Higashikata nodded. "Who else?"
"Oh no... No way... They're hard to deal with and they won't listen to people yonger than them. You go, Higashikata-buchou." Motoki said.
"Ooh, the freshmen are learning to speak up in this camp. Don't get too cocky though." Ishida Tetsu told them, a bit amused and displeased.
"There's the equality rule after all, so you have to let us slide this time." Motoki grinned.
"That damned equality rule. It's taking the order out of everything." Akazawa Yoshiro commented, his eyebrows knitted unpleasantly.
"Sorry, senpai. We promise not to act up too much." Tohru said to pacify him, elbowing Motoki in the ribs. He was scared of what the upperclassmen would do once the camp is over.
Meanwhile, inside the Yellow Cabin of the third team, Echizen Ryoma was lying sprawled all over his bed, staring at the ceiling.
He wasn't blinking nor moving a muscle. Anyone that could see him might mistake him for a statue.
Finally, he moved. He propelled himself up in a sitting position and took his phone out of his pocket.
With his eyes narrowed, he opened his messages and started typing furiously. 'You stupid girl! You should've kicked him and ground him into dust! Why were you standing there like an immobilized imbecile?! I oughta' He stopped and read his message. He deleted it and once again fell onto his back to lie spread-eagled on the white sheets.
He looked at his phone and started the message all over. 'Are you a sitting duck? Are you a pushover? You should've said something. You're not a dang mute' He read the message again and scoffed in frustration. He deleted the words and tossed to his side.
He paused for several seconds before starting another message. 'I saw what happened between you and Yukimura in the obstacle course earlier. I believe I deserve an explanation' He stopped. Why on earth would she owe him an explanation about that? Where did those words even come from?
He deleted the last sentence and looked thoughtful. 'I'll tell your cousins' Her cousins again? When would he stop threatening her about the cousins? It was like he was always using them whenever he wanted something from her... It was getting pathetic.
He deleted the last sentence again and stared at the remaining words. 'I saw what happened between you and Yukimura in the obstacle course earlier' He was reminded of the look in her face after that. She looked horrified. No one could make Fujioka Ryouko look so frightened like that. No one was allowed to make her like that. Absolutely no one. That was why he was pissed off.
He stared at the words thoughfully. Finally, he continued typing. 'Are you okay?'
He pursed his lips together. "Ow." He said as pressure was applied to the injured corner. He automatically nursed it with a gentle patting with his forefinger. He looked at his phone again. Should he send it? His thumb hovered above the send button for two seconds. He sighed and saved it to the drafts folder. "I give up. I don't know what to say." He thought, throwing his phone at the foot of the bed. Besides, why would he care for something like that? It was her cheek, not his.
But he couldn't keep still. It's like hiccupping. He wouldn't be able to shake off the uneasy feeling without doing anything, just like hiccupping won't stop without drinking water or holding your breath for thirty seconds. Groaning, he reached for his phone once again and began to type. 'Are you free later?' He sent it so he won't have any time to hesitate.
"There." He told himself in satisfaction.
To his surprise, there was a reply. It didn't even take two seconds. It was a simple one-word question.
'Why?'
Ryoma couldn't help but smile at the speed of her response. He doubled up and layed down on his stomach, propping his elbows and chin on a pillow as he typed another message. 'You want to hang out?' He answered.
Meanwhile, Ryouko was inside the pantry of the second team's lunch cabin which would also serve as their kitchen. "Hey, don't put that there. Those are condiments." She said, sounding very bossy and pleased with ordering the team members about.
"Where should the vegetables go?" Yuuta asked.
"Inside the refrigerator on the right. The left one's for eggs and meat." She answered.
She was holding her phone in her hand as she did so. Ryoma just sent her a message. Her phone vibrated again. She looked at the screen and opened the message. 'You wanna hang out?' He texted.
Ryouko gave a corner smile. 'Sure. After sunset.' She replied.
Inside his room in the yellow cabin, Ryoma's eyebrows shot up. "Why sunset?" He asked himself.
'Why after sunset?' He texted.
'I had things to do until it gets dark so I won't have any time until then. You're not free at that time?' She replied.
'No, it's fine. What kind of things?' He typed quickly.
'Training of the freshmen. And we have afternoon activities I think.' She texted.
'You're such a workaholic.' He replied.
'Whatever. I heard the seashore is not far from here, but of course, I don't have any idea how to get there. Are you up for a little adventure?' She said.
'Tsk, tsk, tsk. You're dragging me again into another one of your ploys... Sure. I need something exciting. This camp is getting a little boring for me.' He texted, a smile playing on his lips.
'Okay then. Wait for me outside the representative's cabin at six.' He read.
'Promise me one thing.' Ryoma typed.
'What?'
'You're not gonna do anything to place both of us in trouble.' He typed, attempting to tease her.
'You sound as if I'm always leading you to your deathbed. Don't worry. The path is across the forest but it's nothing like the Amazon.' She replied, taking the bait.
'I thought you didn't know how to get there?' He texted. Without noticing, he started to rock sidewards, unknowingly enjoying their little chat.
At the second team's pantry, Fujioka Ryouko started tapping her right foot, as if listening to music. She typed her reply. 'I don't. I just asked around. Don't worry, the information came from a legitimate source. We won't get lost.'
Ryoma was just about to type his message when the PA system boomed all over the campsite. "Calling, all campers." Arai's voice echoed. "Please gather inside the main hall where we met up earlier this morning. For the celebration of the third team's victory, lunch will be served for the last time. Enjoy this while it lasts because you're going to be cooking your own meals after this one. Congratulations to the winning team. That is all. Thank you."
Ryouko had sent another message. 'I'll see you at the hall.'
'Sure. Don't forget tonight.' He answered and jumped down his bed to get ready for lunch. His spirits had totally lifted. He was feeling grouchy just minutes ago. "Talking things out really does lift one's mood... I thought fistfights always does the trick." He commented as he changed out of his jersey.