Hey everybody! ^^
So this is my second fanfiction here. Please don't be too mad if there are some mistakes with grammar or vocab - my first language is German instead of English, you know...
I hope you enjoy reading this story!
Lost in wilderness
Tezuka rolled his eyes while listening to his teammates' excited conversations. He seemed to be the only one who knew what was coming up.
It had been a surprise when their coach had offered the team to go on a hike, but as the captain, he had agreed, thinking of it as a chance to improve their stamina and physical condition.
But in the end, since he had experience in things like hiking, he decided to go without a guide – and without mobile phones or walkie-talkies. The captain wanted his team to know what it was like to live outside without a connection to the rest of the world.
The team bus they were sitting in stopped at a parking lot and they exited.
"Hey, that's my bag!"
"No, it's mine! Look, here!"
"Ah, you're right. It's got that mark with 'Kaoru' on it."
"Don't you dare making fun of my first name!"
"Momo, Kaido!" Oishi, the team's vice captain, interrupted their fight. "Please just get your backpacks and walk over to Tezuka." The black-haired boy was glad that they did what he wanted them to do so Tezuka didn't have to do something – where should they carry out his favourite punishment, running laps around a tennis court here in the mountains?
While Oishi was thinking about that question, his Doubles partner Eiji jumped over to him and smiled at him happily. "Oishi!" he laughed. "We're finally going to hike in the mountains!"
"Don't tell me you've never been to a mountain before," his partner said in surprise.
"But if it is the truth?"
"Oh, Eiji. Please – just go over to Tezuka and listen to his introductions, okay?"
The redhead nodded and walked over to the captain – his good mood didn't even change a little.
It wasn't the case that Oishi wasn't excited – he had never done such a long hike before – he just wasn't as excited as Eiji.
"We're going to hike for a whole week," Tezuka exclaimed. "Since everybody was told to bring some food and drinks, I'm sure our supplies will last for that time. Oishi, did you check everybody's luggage for the things I asked you to look for?"
"Yes, I did. I was surprised that nobody took his mobile with him, exactly as you said. I expected at last Momo or Kaido would bring their mobiles..."
"Hey!" the two shouted almost simultaneously.
"It's alright, calm down..."
Tezuka continued telling them everything they needed to know: "When we start to walk, don't run ahead to fast. You'll only lose your stamina and if you do that, you won't make it until the first stop. Today, we'll walk until 6 pm and we'll sleep in tents. We should get to the first stop tomorrow."
But as soon as they started walking, Eiji ran ahead in his excitement, followed by Momo and Kaido who tried to run faster than each other.
"According to the data I gathered, they should start to feel the weight on their backs and get tired in about... nine and a half minute," Inui, the team's manager stated. "There's an 89% probability that they will come back then and try to get rid of their backpacks by asking others to carry them."
In the evening, they got to a plateau and decided to set up their tents there.
Kawamura, a strong power player, was sent out to collect firewood together with Momo.
When they came back, Tezuka exclaimed: "We have three tents, each for three persons. You should come to an agreement who is going to share a tent..."
Immediately, Eiji clung to Oishi. "Oishi and me! Oishi and me! And..." He looked around. "... and Taka-san!"
The said power player tilted his head in agreement.
It took them ten minutes to convince Momo and Kaido to share a tent – in the end, they only agreed because the first-year regular Echizen said he'd sleep in the sleeping bag between them.
The third tent would be shared by Tezuka, the captain, Inui, the manager, and Fuji, a third-grader who was called 'genius' or 'tennis prodigy' because of his impressive skills.
While they were setting up their tents, Tezuka lighted a campfire and started to prepare the dinner.
But it didn't take long until Kaido and Momo started to fight again:
"Oi, stupid viper, don't take that much of that soup!"
"If there's anyone who takes much of it, it's you! There won't be enough left for the rest of us!" Kaido protested.
"What are you saying?!"
They took each other by the throat and came from one topic to the next to continue the fight.
Oishi tried to calm them down: "Hey, Momo, Kaido, would you please-"
Suddenly, he got a punch against his shoulder.
The vice captain staggered a few steps back – then they heard a strange noise and Oishi vanished.
"Oishi?!" Eiji jumped up and ran to the place they had seen his friend the last time.
Oishi had fallen into a hidden hole; the ground had given in to his weight.
"Oishi?" Eiji asked worriedly, "What's up with your leg?"
Just now the others realized that Oishi's right leg was laying there in a pretty unnatural angle.
Their vice captain tried to get up, but he couldn't even stand and fell back with a painful sound.
"Does it hurt, Oishi?"
Momo and Kaido stopped for a moment when they heard this question. "Oishi?" they asked confusedly. "What's up with Oishi?"
But nobody answered their question. Even Inui and Fuji, who rarely showed feelings, seemed to be really worried.
"Does it hurt, Oishi?" Eiji repeated his question after the black-haired boy hadn't answered the first time.
"Yes... yes, it hurts..."
"Inui, Tezuka! How can we get him out of that hole?!" the acrobat asked almost despairing. "If he can't even stand... Oishi's leg must be broken!"
"Calm down, Kikumaru," the manager told the redhead. "We'll get him out of it. Just try to stay calm. That's how you help us the most. – Kawamura, you're the strongest here. Can you try to pull Oishi up here?"
Still in a shock, Momo walked over to his teammates, who had gathered around the hole.
Kawamura climbed down carefully and helped Oishi to get up. "And now... – does it hurt too much if I try to move your leg slowly?"
Oishi grinned and beared it, not showing how much pain he was feeling. "It's okay, Taka-san2. Please do what you have to do."
Kawamura nodded in agreement. "Don't let go now."
"Yes."
As soon as he was sure that Oishi held on to him, the power player climbed back upwards again as slow and as careful as he could.
When he let Oishi down on a safe place in front of the tents, Eiji was right there, alternately death-glaring at Momo and trying to comfort Oishi.
"Momo, how could you?! How could you hurt Oishi?!" he asked accusingly.
"Hey, I didn't know that the ground isn't tough! I didn't do it on purpose!" Momo defended himself.
Eiji's eyes turned to the ground when his partner laid a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry, Momo. I know that, but..."
"... it was the shock," Oishi finished the sentence. "Eiji, could you please stop almost sitting on my leg? It hurts, you know..."
The red-haired boy jumped back at once. "I'm sorry, Oishi!"
"How do you feel, Oishi?" Tezuka demanded.
"Well, not as good as before... Even you don't have a mobile phone with you, have you?"
"I don't have on, either..." The captain seemed to realize that it wasn't a good idea to go anywhere without a mobile. "I'm afraid, you'll have to stand your pain for a while. Even if we went back now..."
"No," he was interrupted. "Don't worry about me, I'll be alright. And... Momo, don't reproach yourself that bitterly. I know that you didn't want to hurt me. Please... everyone, just do what you would be doing now if that accident hadn't happened."
Hesitating, the others did what he told them.
About half an hour later, Eiji helped Oishi into their tent, but they just couldn't fall asleep – Oishi because of the pain in his leg and Eiji because he knew his friend was suffering and that a broken leg had to be attended as soon as possible.
"It's about a week," he mumbled to himself.
"Huh?"
"I said, it's about a week. The time we're going to spend out here."
"And you wish it was less?"
The acrobat agreed.
"That's strange. A few hours ago, you were so happy to go on a hike..."
"But... Oishi wasn't hurt back then," Eiji sulked, his voice getting more unclear with every word. "Now I'm worried about you."
"I told you already, I'm completely fine."
"You just want me to enjoy the trip..."
"That's right."
"But... you... you're hurt, Oishi! You must be in pain! A broken leg should be treated as soon as possible – you're the one who told me that. How could I enjoy this hike when you're hurt?"
"Your 'as soon as possible' is in a week... I'm the one whose uncle is a doctor. I can tell how much pain I can stand. Please, just try to sleep now, Eiji, I'll be okay!"
He could hear his friend sniffle and then an awkward "That's the part of yours I hate!" before it got quiet in the tent.
Tezuka woke them up early in the morning. He, Fuji and Inui had been thinking about another route they could take and which would be easier to walk with Oishi's broken leg.
Although Eiji supported his Doubles partner, they wouldn't be able to move as fast as before and the captain's biggest fear was that their supplies could get used up before they got to their destination.
Of course Momo and Kaido were fighting again and Echizen walked over to Tezuka with a resigned sigh. "Captain, can't you do something about them? Or let me change the tent with someone."
"The others don't like their relation as well, you know, Echizen. But you can go and look if Kikumaru, Oishi and Kawamura need some help with their tent since Oishi isn't able to move freely, so you can get away from Momoshiro and Kaido for a while."
The 12-year-old freshman went over to the vice captain's tent, just like he was told. "Vice captain, Kikumaru-Senpai, Kawamura-Senpai. Captain Tezuka told me I should ask if you need some help with your tent..."
"Ah, thanks, Echizen," Kawamura replied. "Eiji is helping Oishi to walk by supporting him and he also tries to carry their both backpacks, but I don't think that'll work for a long time. You should know that Eiji doesn't have very good stamina, and if he carries about half of Oishi's weight in addition to his own and Oishi's bag... I don't have to be Inui to tell that this won't work for more than ten minutes."
"So what should I do?"
"Please go over to Eiji and ask him if he'll give you some of his luggage. And tell him that I can take some as well."
"Yes, as you wish."
When they continued walking, they were way slower than the day before because everyone had to match up with Oishi's and Eiji's speed.
Momo was still reproaching himself because he was the one who had pushed the vice captain, and he thought the accident was his fault.
The first problem came up when they got to a narrow bridge which went over a canyon.
"We can't cross it next to each other," Tezuka said.
Eiji's eyes turned to the ground. "But... Oishi isn't able to walk, Tezuka. I have to help him and I can't leave him alone."
"So you don't hate me at all," Oishi smiled.
"Be quiet! I never said I hate you! I only said I hate that part of yours which cares so much for others – and besides you are my Doubles partner after all."
"Could someone take my backpack?" Kawamura asked. "Then I can carry you, Oishi."
"Thanks. I'm so sorry to make you so much trouble," the vice captain apologized.
"I can take your backpack, Kawamura-Senpai³," Momo offered. He still felt like he owed Oishi something for pushing him into the hole.
They finally crossed the bridge one after another with Kawamura carrying Oishi.
When they arrived at the other side of the canyon, Eiji went back to his position as Oishi's support.
The next day, they got to a wild river.
"Tezuka," Fuji mumbled, "I don't want to say anything against your leadership qualities... but when we talked about our route at home, you never told me about a river..."
"I didn't tell you because I didn't know we'd have to go this way – I'm not able to predict the future after all." Tezuka applied to the others: "Kawamura, did you get the inflatable boat I asked you to buy just in case?"
"Yes, here it is." The power player put down his backpack, rummaged around in it and took out a red inflatable boat.
Their captain took an inflatable boat out of his bag as well and decided: "Momoshiro, Kaido, you'll steer Kikumaru's and Oishi's boat. You others, get into the same boat as me. Momoshiro, Inui, use these pumps to inflate the boats." He handed over two pumps to them and about five minutes later, they got into the boats.
Eiji was watching Oishi worriedly, but he didn't say anything.
Sometimes, they had problems to withstand the current, but they made it headway – until they came to rapids.
"Tezuka!" Eiji called over to the other boat. "What shall we do?"
"We have to shoot the rapids!" the captain answered. "Keep an eye on Oishi. We don't need him to get more injured."
Suddenly, Momo clung on the boat.
"What's up, idiot?" Kaido asked alarmed.
"I don't know... I'm feeling dizzy..."
"Oi!" The other second-grader pricked his oar into the water in order to save the boat from a crash with a rock. "Get a hold of yourself! You can't pass out now!"
But it was useless: Momo's grip around his oar became loose and he fell into the cold and wild river – he was thrown against a rock...
"Oh no, that idiot!" Kaido cursed, "What's up with him? Why did he pass out?! – Captain! Momo just..."
"Steer the boat to the bank!" was Tezuka's order.
Without hesitating Kaido did what he was told, but then he left Eiji and Oishi and jumped into the river.
"What are you doing, Kaido?!" Oishi and Eiji shouted simultaneously.
"What does it look like?! I try to save that stupid fool!"
His teammates watched him worriedly when he dived under water, looking for his rival's motionless body.
He found Momo and pulled him to the bank before he flopped onto the ground. "What's wrong with him? He didn't seem to be sick or something."
Oishi leaned over Momo in order to examine him. "Here," he said, pointing at a small stab wound in Momo's neck. "An insect must have stabbed him last night. Probably it was a poisonous one. And-"
"Oishi-Senpai," Echizen interrupted him and pointed at a deep wound on his best friend's leg. "He must have cut himself on a sharp rock."
He was right; blood flew incessantly out of a deep wound on Momo's leg.
"Oh no," Kawamura mumbled. "What are we supposed to do now? We can't go back, can we?"
"We can't," Fuji agreed. "We'll have to carry Momo and Oishi as far as we can and we must try to contact someone."
"But who and how? We don't have our mobile phones with us..."
"Hey, guys," Oishi attracted his friend's notice. "Just don't worry about me, I'm fine. Make sure you carry Momo to our next stop safely."
Tezuka, who had been quiet all the time, intervened: "Oishi is right. We have to take a safe route to our next stop and try to treat Momoshiro."
"So which way should we go? I don't think it is very good to use the boats again. We have to go by foot, right?"
The captain took out his map of the area. "We should be around here. The next stop is-"
"Wait," Eiji said, "'we should be'? I thought you knew where we are?"
"Since Oishi's leg is broken, I thought of a way which is easier to go for him and Eiji." Obviously the captain cared more for his teammates' well-being than he seemed to do. "Now don't complain any longer, we have to make it headway as fast as we can. Inui, you stay with me to find a new route together. You others, find a way to carry Momoshiro as safe as possible." In every other time he had made them running laps around anything, but in the current situation, he knew they would do what he commanded them to do without hesitating.
And the other middle schoolers actually gathered around the unconscious Momo, collecting ideas how to carry him in the safest way.
"We can build a stretcher from the tent-roofs and poles," Echizen suggested. "I think that's the easiest way, isn't it?"
His friends thought the same and so they tried to build a stretcher for Momo by using the tent-roofs and poles.
"Are you ready?" Inui asked about half an hour later.
"Yes," Fuji answered, "we're now testing how much weight it can stand." He pointed at Kawamura who was laying on the stretcher in order to find out if it would collapse under his weight or not.
Because it appeared to be safe, he lifted Momo up slowly and let him down on the stretcher carefully. "I can carry one end of it – who takes the other?"
Eiji was about to raise a hand, but he suddenly remembered of Oishi's broken leg. "Sorry, Taka-san. I have to carry Oishi."
"Don't overtax yourself," Oishi warned his partner when they started to walk again. "You look exhausted. You know, there is no reason why we shouldn't rest for one more day if you need time to recover."
'Except for the fact that we will run out of supplies soon if we don't get to our next stop. We should have arrived there yesterday and in addition we ate already more than I calculated,' Inui thought worriedly, but Oishi was right.
Eiji seemed to get weaker with every kilometre he had to walk and he was way less happy and excited than he was usually.
That was a secure sign for everybody that he wasn't feeling well: An Eiji who didn't jump around happily and who didn't perform his acrobatic skills almost every time was rarely seen. Eiji was himself when he laughed and embraced everybody except Inui and Tezuka.
If he didn't do all that, something had to be wrong.
Everyone of Seigaku's regulars knew that the acrobat was really worried about Oishi – and on top of that there was Momo's accident which had happened just about half an hour ago.
Eiji wasn't that much of a mentally unbalanced boy, but it appeared that the hike was getting too much for him as well as for everybody; they all were tired and worried and just wanted to get home.
"I'm sorry," the redhead apologized. "I just want to help Oishi and Momo..."
"We know that," Fuji replied in a gentle voice. "And we know that it's hard to see two of your friends injured – because we're feeling the same. But it doesn't help anyone if you push yourself too hard with trying to help both of them. – Tezuka, can we set up our tents over there? It really would be better if we took a lay-off now so Eiji can recover a little. Oishi, does your leg still hurt?"
"Yes," the vice captain answered after hesitating for a short time.
The genius nodded to show that he understood. "So, Inui, could you please give him some painkillers?"
Inui agreed and took off his backpack to look for the medicine.
In this time, Tezuka helped Kawamura to carry Momo upwards the bank and then to set up their tents – inclusive the only replacement tent since they had remodelled one of the tents as a stretcher.
They followed the route along the river for two more days.
Momo was still unconscious – and their biggest problem was that they were really running out of supplies, just like Inui had said. But even the manager couldn't tell why there weren't enough supplies for eight boys. Because of his consciousness, Momo didn't eat anything; that was why they had thought that their supplies would last longer. But probably there had been less food than they had thought from the beginning.
Drinks weren't a problem since they were walking along the river, but they had to be really thoughtful with food.
And then, on the altogether sixth day of their hike, Tezuka admitted: "I don't know where we are."
"But... isn't that the river on your map?" Eiji asked uncertainly.
"I thought that, but... we must have lost our way earlier. The only thing we can do now is to follow the river until we get to a street."
But they didn't get to a street. They arrived at a small lake where they set up their tents again and lighted a campfire.
On this evening, the boys except Tezuka and Oishi went to bed early.
The two third-graders sat around the fire, staring into the flames.
"What do you want to do now, Tezuka?" Oishi asked. "We won't stand a longer way. Everybody is worried about Momo and it's getting harder for Eiji to carry me. Inui always calculates how far we will get with our supplies, you and Taka-san carry Momo and Kaido carries almost as much weight as Taka-san and you. We can't expect from Echizen to carry Momo's heavy bag since he's much smaller than us others and he has the shortest legs."
"They're not only worried about Momo but about you as well, Oishi," Tezuka reminded him. "But what other than continuing to walk can we do?"
"We should go and look for help. Someone has to be here!"
"Yes, but who do you think should go? Momoshiro is unconscious. Kaido, Kawamura and I carry him. Your leg is broken and Kikumaru carries you. That leaves Fuji, Inui and Echizen. We need Inui here because he is the one who knows the medicines we need the best. Fuji and Echizen are the smallest of us; they can't take many supplies with them and we don't know how far it is until the next town."
Oishi sighed. "I know that, Tezuka, I know that. But do we have any choice?"
"No. But I'd rather see us all together than anyone of the others getting even more lost than we are now." Tezuka had good arguments and so he convinced Oishi: "Let me help you into your tent now. We should sleep as well. And tomorrow..."
"Yes, I know. I only wish we'd get home soon. Or to a hospital."
Tezuka kept silent.
"Kikumaru-Senpai, are you okay?" Echizen asked the acrobat the next day. "I can take your bag if you want."
"No, it's okay, kiddo," Eiji answered. "I'm completely fine-" In the same moment, he stumbled and would have fallen together with Oishi if Kaido hadn't caught him.
"You're not fine," Echizen said. "But as you wish."
They walked for two more hours until Eiji collapsed. "I can't go any further..."
"That's..." Fuji wanted to say something when they suddenly heard voices.
"Please just keep quiet, Akaya..."
"But... Niou-Senpai is playing tricks on me, Captain Yukimura!"
"Niou, stop playing tricks on Akaya. And Marui, why are you chewing gum again?"
Oishi's eyes widened. "That's... could it be..."
"Rikkai!" Kawamura said, heaving a sigh of relief. "We're saved!"
Without waiting for anyone's orders or requests, Kaido went around the few trees which seemed to be the only thing that separated the two teams.
A few minutes later he came back, followed by seven boys who looked at them curiously and one boy who didn't seem very enthusiastic.
"What are you doing here?" Yukimura, the captain of Rikkaidai Middle School's tennis team, asked interestedly. "And why is Momoshiro laying there?"
"We went hiking about a week ago," Oishi explained. "Momo was stabbed by a poisonous insect and cut himself on a sharp rock while almost drowning in the river. I fell into a hole on a place where the ground isn't safe and broke my leg..."
"To make it short," Echizen interrupted him, "we need someone to take the two of them to a hospital. And I think that Kikumaru-Senpai has a temperature, so he should be examined as well."
"Why do you-" Eiji was interrupted by a coughing fit.
"It's pretty obvious," the first-grader replied. "You're getting an infection. Just take a look at yourself."
"Of course we can take you to a hospital," Yukimura said gently after he had heard everything about Seigaku's accidents.
"But..." Rikkai's second year-ace, Akaya, protested. "What about our hike?"
"You won't die if we went a day later," Marui, a red-haired boy who was called 'Rikkai's genius' made nasty remarks. "If Captain Yukimura says we should help them, we'll do that. – Jackal?" he turned around to his half-Brazilian Doubles partner. "Will you help me to carry Momoshiro to our team bus?"
Two hours later, everyone of Seigaku's tennis team was treated and they sat – except Oishi and Momo, who were still observed by doctors – in the hospital's waiting room, together with Rikkai.
"Are you alright then?" Yukimura demanded. "Or do you need our help any longer?"
"I'm sure we'll be fine, thanks. But do you have a mobile phone for us?" Tezuka requested.
"Of course." With a friendly smile, the other captain handed him over his mobile phone.
The mobile phone went the rounds through Seigaku's team; everybody called his parents and Tezuka informed their coach as well.
After that, it didn't take long time until all the worried parents arrived at the hospital.
Fuji was taken home by his older sister, Echizen by his father, Kawamura's father said he'd take Tezuka with him as well, Inui went home with Kaido while Momo hadn't woken up from his consciousness and had to stay in the hospital and Eiji refused flatly to go home with his family: "No! I have to stay with Oishi! – Mum, I'm fine, let me go. But I'll stay with Oishi!" he protested against his mother's arguments.
In the end Oishi's mother suggested to take Eiji home with her and her son. "He can stay with Shuichiro if he wants to. And we have medicine against infections as well, so don't worry."
Eiji's mother agreed.
Tezuka watched that all with a small smile.
Maybe it hadn't been the best method, but the hike had definitely strengthened the teammates' bonds.