It's his fault. He was doing something. She followed him and now she's lost in the woods.
It's unfair, because she's sure that Seki at least would have been prepared for such a situation. Except he probably wouldn't even have gotten lost in the first place…
Last week the teacher announced that the school trip would be in Sapporo, Hokkaido, which automatically translated to Onsen in everyone's head (except Seki who was prepared for anything). The class didn't realize the plan meant getting out of the train at Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto Station, but not getting into another train, but actually taking a few days on feet to get to the place they would be staying at. It seems their parents knew. While japanese youth did like camping to a certain extent (mostly depending on the individual) getting it sprung on the unprepared was not a great thing.
Well, she had only hoped it wouldn't be like their class trip. The picture still laid in her desk drawer.
Maybe it wouldn't have happened if she had been put into a group without Seki, but instead she was put into his group together with him, Goto, Uzawa and Maeda. With all three of them in the same group for one moment she had hoped, but now look at her. Stupid Seki. She wasn't even going to be grateful that because of his last adventure with the two bears she now always took more than enough water around with her. It was Uzawa's fault that one of the bears nearly died of thirst in a desert when just a moment before they was having fun at the beach. Yokoi provided the oasis. She gave Seki her water bottle and nearly died of thirst after P.E. class that day, which Seki naturally hadn't noticed.
She feels like she's the only one always suffering from his escapades. Even when she helps him.
She sighed as she draped and knotted a piece of yarn over the branch that pointed in the direction she would be walking to. She had read a similar thing in a book once. The yarn she was carrying with her because she planned to train after having been defeated by Seki-kun with his cactus.
She still couldn't believe he unraveled that adorable…She wiped the coming tears away. Don't think about it Rumi! Naturally she knew to stay in one place was the right behavior, but she had just heard growling. It was far enough away, but too close for her taste. She read this region has brown bears.
The most logically thing to do then would be to move into the opposite direction the noise was coming from. So, now tracking into nowhere. At least she thought, she could get a good look around.
It wasn't long, just a few minutes after he left the path that he would round back to the groups. With perfect timing. Just before he had used his watch to determine the intervals with which the teacher checked on them. As he was certain Yokoi followed him she would get into trouble for going off-path. She nearly got him caught the last time. And Adachi-sensei was already keeping a sharp eye on her. The last few seconds of his calculated time ticked by. Their social studies teacher turned around and it all went wrong. Tick. Tick. Tick. "Where is Yokoi?", he barked. Their group and the one in front of them halted. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Where was Yokoi? Seki now looked around with the others and a really bad feeling was rising in his guts. She was suppose to be just behind him!
"That girl!", they teacher bellowed. He seems to be considering further actions for awhile before he came to a decision. "It's getting late. The sun is already going down. We'll go to the camping place just ahead first. I have to talk to Tani, Ueno and Ueda-san about searching for her" And they did.
The camping place was really just ahead a few meters with the rest already waiting for them. A few wooden houses and wooden tables on the outside. Both Tani-sensei, Ueda-sensei and Ueno-sensei looked worried. Seki was feeling numb. A bear had been sighted nearby. Authorities were momentarily on the lookout keeping an eye on its route and informing people around. They try not to kill in the National Park. And Yokoi. He was sure they would find her. The teachers were scurrying around and the authorities were looking around too, which meant there are much more capable people involved. Not too mention dare he admit it, Yokoi was a capable person too, if a bit unrefined and clumsy. A sob. Yokoi's friend Tomoka was crying. She was being way too dramatic. He looked at the person holding her. It was Yokoi's other friend Goto. He flinched. The girl was normally shy and for some reason easily embarrassed around him, he couldn't figure out why, but now she was glaring at him evilly.
Did she know? Or was there another reason? He sighed. Nothing is going to happen.
Nervously she clutched her backpack. Her sensitivity of her surrounding made her flinch at every noise. Her awareness pointed at all the insects and whatever crawling around. She couldn't sleep even though she found a little burrow too narrow for a bear to fit. A scratching sound startled her. Her eyes immediately moving in the direction it came from. Shuffling and more scratching could be heard. A whimper escaped her and the thing's head shot up. It stared at her from beady black eyes. One of her hands slowly moved to her mouth to stop further panic and regulate her breathing. She barely notice the small tremor in her hand all her attention on the unidentified black beast in front of her. Sure, it was much smaller than little her, but she was tired and dirty after trekking through this dark unknown place alone and… scared. She was born and raised in a bustling petit city and even though she admired, respected and enjoyed nature and wilderness. This was definitely not the way at all. She would even be happy, if Seki would come and tell her this was a prank, but she was lost instead. Another whimper escaped her before she could stop it by biting into her hand and that thing was slowly coming closer. The tentativeness was somewhat adorable but it still didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. Surely, Seki would have a plan to deal with her situation. Seki-kun, please…
He suddenly sat up wide awake his eyes looking around wildly categorizing his surrounding. Just for a moment, just now, for a moment he had finally been able to drift off only to be awakened by a sudden bout of cold uneasiness dousing him. Glowering he stood up took his flashlight and left the wooden hut he was sharing with the two other boys of his group. The cool air outside send a shiver down his spine. He was well-aware that he would't get any rest this night. Even more so with Uzawa's bad sleeping habits, snoring, muttering, constant moving. The other boy was simply put a menace. Slowly he walked toward what could be considered the entrance of the camping place, his flashlight still off. In the soft moonlight he could barely make out the form of another student, female, with the back toward him looking out into the direction they came from. He turned on his flashlight. Startled by the sudden stream of light appearing just beside her the girl whirled around. It was Goto who looked at him surprised for a moment before the expression on her face closed off. He was impressed. Normally the girl was as easy to read as Yokoi. At least her moods, Her thoughts on the other hand too bizarre for him to fantom. She seemed to still be unhappy with him. Did she know?
"Seki-kun?", her tone serious, her countenance no-nonsense. He looked at her inquiry about her attitude in his gaze. She's biting her lip. Then she takes a breath. "I'm just furious at the moment. At you! I mean I saw you guys disappearing together. And I thought- Woah! It's the usual! Except forest!
At first I was worried, but I saw you carrying around map and compass, so my notion was more along the line of- How exciting! But then you came back without her and you didn't seem to care about Yokoi at all despite your relationship. Like last art class she gave you her water and then she didn't have any in sports afterwards! You're taking her for granted and it just…I just Argh!" It's not like he didn't care. He does care. She was after all his classmate, his neighbor, the one sitting next to him.
He blinked. Professionals? Hah! He could do better! With a determined mime he marched into the cabin, got dressed and slung his backpack over his shoulders. This is just another adventure.
He barely registers Maeda wishing him good luck and Goto-san's encouraging squealing and he thinks she has some kind of misconception going on as he walks back toward the diversion point.
Well, the first step off road, where the same he took, but he has to keep an eye out to see where she broke off from his intended route. Then he saw a severe broken bush. It seems she fell at this place…
Something slightly wet nudging her face woke her up. She had fallen asleep with her knees drawn toward her. Blearily she opened her eyes went for only light movements too get rid of the pain in her back and wake up her sleeping limbs, which were protesting with some muscle pain. She had walked much longer it seems than it had felt like yesterday. She looked at the animal that woke her up. It was an Ezo marten, a sable, and it had really soft dark fur. She somehow seemed to have endeared herself to it giving it part of her lunch. Although she had been so scared at first as she could only see a shape in the dark and gleaming eyes. It had been sniffing at her backpack and that was close enough to give her a better view at how adorable it was even at night in this place. She hadn't notice it before but barely noticeable holes were visible. It made sense, her night vision couldn't have been that good. Yokoi looked at her furry companion stretching itself. She did the same on knees and hands because of the low ceiling hoping her back would feel better afterwards. She enjoyed how pretty dust dancing in the sunlight shining at the burrow's entrance looked like. Her thoughts drifted of to the day before. She couldn't believe she had wished for Seki-kun to save her. She bet the boy would have been rather delighted at her plight. Shuffling and scratching noise shook her from her thoughts. She looked at the sable that had pulled her second lunch box from her backpack tumbling backward in a role when it finally went free. It had stopped playing with the yarn ball. Food sounded good now. She was glad that beside good sets of clothing and a very lot of water her mother had deemed it fit to stuff the rest with lunch boxes. According to her she was a growing girl and so food was necessary. It's a good thing she didn't knew what else to take beside crocheting equipment and a good book in english for the exercise. A book that she read on their train ride and made her glad that Seki wasn't the antichrist with reality bending powers. At least Adam had put things mostly back together after the apoca-that-wasn't. Seki probably wouldn't have, that fiend. The sable was giving strange sound and unsatisfied noises. It couldn't open the box. Instead it was running in circles around it. So adorable! With a little soft laugh she took the box and opened it putting a good portion for the small animal onto the ground. She on the other hand took off one of the thin leather gloves she had been wearing, the hand under it fortunately clean. Mind you, she couldn't recall the reason she packed the gloves, but it probably was because of Seki. Everything unreasonable was because of him. Mostly. She admits to herself she wasn't one of the most reason abiding people either, certainly when it came to cute, pretty and beautiful, emphasis on the first. He eyes wandered back to the ezo marten. A flash of red caught her eyes from the moving animal. Poor thing, it was hurt and she wondered if it was in pain. Closing and putting down her box she pulled her glove back on and crawled toward the sable. A small wound was visible at its hind leg. She took her new bow for once not wearing it with uniform but in her hair. It was small but long enough to function as make-shift bandages. More importantly it was clean enough. She'll mourn it loss later but it was for a good cause to save an adorable thing for now. The sable was unprepared when she packed it. It was struggling, clawing at her, trying to bite her and while it hurts, the leather was holding against the onslaught well. She let it go when she was finished and gave it a bit more food as a peace offering before sitting back into her just a bit sun-flitted place and going back to her own food. The sable didn't immediately took it instead it was hissing at her it's fur standing up looking puffy. While that was adorable too, it did in fact not slip her mind that it was a wild animal. She watched it warily carefully until it calmed down and all was good again. She was glad. Even if her mother's word came back into her mind again, that her adoration of cuddly animals was going to get her killed on day. She would have jokingly agreed with that if the story her mother told her hadn't been too off reality. While her memories of that age was blurry, she didn't think she could in a Seki-worthy stunt at the age of three gotten into the zoo's lion enclosure because she wished to hug the cubs. That's unreal. Growling interrupted her thoughts and she froze. Sable also went stiff like a board. The animal that had just been enjoying its meal was instant alert and without further ado flitted toward hoping for protection from between her and her backpack. She in no way had the ability to attack or defend against a full grown brown bear. The only good thing at the moment was that it couldn't come into the burrow at all, because the entrance had been so narrow she had to lay flat and use her arms to pull herself in. Without being able to turn around she had taken the risk and is glad for it. The bear certainly couldn't come in from that entrance and was luckily several meters away not even it arm swipes were coming any closer, but it was certainly trying, the earth grumbling bit by bit. Nothing stopped her heart from hitting it up to her throat and falling down to her stomach. By kami! Think calm, she scolded herself. There's a bear at the entrance and it doesn't look like it will be going away soon. It actually looks like it would try to shovel its way in. She just had to- dig her way out!
He knew Yokoi was capable! Not that he would ever tell her. As he, after having found the direction she took after her fall, soon came across yarn wound tightly around a branch. It had the same color as the cactus he made and he just knew. He instantly thought it indicated the direction but just to be sure he had looked for more traces of movement and it seems his initial idea was correct. He was following the trail searching for knotted yarn the whole night. How long Yokoi went nearly made him think that it was a joke or he had been wrong because that girl's stamina shouldn't have been that good. Maybe it was because he nearly lost his way a few times in the dark and had to get back on track again, but it still was over the ability she showed in sport. Could nature enhance her? He shook his head and carried on. This wasn't the time, because he just noticed the bear tracks joining him. Yokoi's luck was terrible. Taking out his map he started a plan to distract the bear and lead it away. He doesn't think his teachers and classmate will hold it against him that he stole the meat for the barbecue and their lunch boxes. Taking out rope from his backpack he made way to climb the first tree. First the trail away from Yokoi and the backtracking towards her should work…
She was tired her arms were protesting as she made her way further in the direction the holes over her had been. It now seems much further than she had expected. Even Sable seemed tired. The little one was doing its best. A deep groan like sound came from the bear who now could already stuck his head together with one arm in, although the rest was still very much too narrow. She couldn't even understand why the bear was trying this. She just wished it didn't. She took another one of her water bottles and sprayed some liquid at the earth in front of her. She had already sacrificed three of her bottles to make the earth more pliable. It was muddy but it was working. She silently thanked her brother for destroying her small backpack, so she had to take the bigger one. She pulled her head from the digging place as some earth fell down. A petit light hole had opened up and while she couldn't fit a hand through at least it gave her hope.
He was now standing at the edge of a clearing barely visible in the shadows of the tree. His eyes were half on the brown bear on the other side of the clearing trying to stick itself into the tiny opening of an other animals burrow and half on the branch of the leafless bush next to it where dark green yarn was wrapped around until the whole branch was green. Yokoi! Yokoi was in the burrow! Well, good that he planned this. He looked at the rope bound to his wrist leading up into some tree in this forest and looked for a good tree for the last piece of his lure. That one was perfect! Directly behind the bear, but far enough away with the wind blowing in his favor today. He threw a last glance in the direction of the burrow and blinked. He watched as a black brown blur shot out of the earth several meters from the brown bear before disappearing down again and the appearing again followed by dots of pale skin. Fingers! Seki wiped his imaginary tears. He was so proud of Yokoi thinking clearly in this situation. He really shouldn't have put her in his mind with this thoughtless girls that could only be damsels in distresses. She after all part-time joined his game unlike that girl in grade school who like Yokoi tried to get him caught, but went and fell in love with him the moment he accidentally saved her from the room she had closed herself in for a night. Really he was only trying to get into the room, get a trophy of his accomplishment and get out again. Not suddenly have a girl with a puppy crush following him around. Except Yokoi hasn't thought it all through. If she had bad luck the bear may notice her getting out even if it was in the forest again. And if it tried to hunt her down it was definitely quicker on its feet than her. A good thing he came. His lure should take the bear far enough away that even if it came back she should at least be out of view. Now he just had to hurry so the bear would leave before she came out. With silent steps he flitted through the forest climbed a tree, hooked a piece of meat and then went around until he was closer to the burrow where a whole hand just stuck out before going back in. What he could now recognise as an ezo marten was still going in and out taking looks at the bear and surrounding. Seki climbed a tree to be safe and released one of the ropes bound to his wrist. A whistling noise was heard as one of the pieces of meat swung down from a tree getting the attention from the bear who had stopped his activity for a moment to shake the dirt from his pelt. The bear was getting onto his hind legs to be able to grab the meat when Seki released the rope bound to his other wrist and the piece of meat made its way behind the bear falling down at the edge of the clearing. The bear was only a moment torn between the burrow and the meat before deciding for the meat. It was easier. Seki waited. The moment the bear ate the piece cleanly from the rope a second rope connected was released and scattered the content of a bento as a trail to the next piece of meat. The bear left to follow.
She stopped her movements when she suddenly noticed that she couldn't hear the bear. Would it now be safe to leave through the entrance? But what if the bear came back? She turned around to dug again now that she was so close already to breaking out when the crunching of grass, footsteps made her halt. Sable hushed down and jumped into her backpack that she now had on her shoulders again. Was the bear coming from this side? What should she do? The bear wouldn't be able to get through this hole either, right? Should she leave throughout the burrow entrance? But wouldn't the bear be able to catch up? Didn't that mean that he could also have caught up to her when she gets out from her self-made escape? Was there no possible exit that wouldn't have- She shrieked when a hand suddenly shoot down her hole from above. From above! As it retracted she looked up following its way and came face to face with Seki. She pursed her lips to a flat line and glared at him in a successful attempt to stop tears of relief from falling. Her eyes were wet, but no drops trailed down her cheeks. She took a step back and watch how he made quick work with the rest of the earth in her way. She helped from this side and soon he shoved and pushed the last bit of dirt aside and before she could react he had grabbed her still upward stretched arms and pulled her up. It hurt and she couldn't help crying out in pain, but she was so glad to be free and under the sky again. If only Seki wasn't urging her to move, but she could see the sense in it. She wasn't going to pay attention on the fact that he was leading her by her hand and it reassured her. For now she would trust him to know the right way, because he had for once a general map and second he probably has a notion where the bear was. She was sure he must have done one of his tricks again to lead the big beast away.
Seki didn't comment on how tightly she gripped his hand as they took a roundabout way to get to the camp. It wouldn't do to cross the way with the brown bear again. He had already marked several safe ways with the red paint he had carried in his backpack. His initial plans must be postponed.
…
"Seki-kun, how far does your lure trap go?"
"Eh, really that far?"
"Seki-kun, where did the food even come from?"
"We'll be scolded, won't we?"
"Seki-kun, you know it was your fault, right?"
"I- I guess, thank you, Seki…Toshinari?"
…