There were harsh words from Takashi later. Never mind that the taller boy almost never contradicted him, this time Honey had gone too far. Takashi had been worried, and he had thought that, despite the little-boy act, Honey was mature enough to recognize that.
Honey was apologetic, but not overly sorry. It had been something he had to do, something where Takashi's help would only lessen the satisfaction he felt at the end. So he went and did it without telling Takashi, and accepted his big friend's anger afterwards. It was an adventure and a challenge, after all, and even Takashi couldn't deny him that.
It started, as everything seemed to, with the ridiculous antics of Tama-chan and the twins. Honey wasn't a good swimmer, but he was strong, and with his inflatable water belt to keep up above the water, he could easily fight the current. Even after that enormous wave carried him downstream, he could probably have made his way back up to the beach where the others had been. But as that enormous wave had lifted him up, even as he instinctively cried out for Takashi, he realized that this was a chance for him to have an adventure on his own. He wouldn't stop Takashi from protecting him, since it mattered so much to the other boy, but sometimes it was fun to take care of himself.
He made it his goal to make it all the way to the end of the river. He'd have to do it quickly, or who knew what Takashi would get up to: he really was so irresponsible when Honey wasn't around to take care of him.
The first part was fun. The current in the river was swift, carrying him rapidly away from the others. Honey felt a bit like a boat, being carried along by the currents. He imagined himself as a daring solo kayaker, racing the clock down the river, trying to read the river and catch the fastest currents without upsetting his tiny boat.
Then came the crocodiles. That was fun too: he'd never fought a crocodile before. They turned out to be big sissies after he punched the first one in the eye and kicked the second on the end of its enormous scaly snout.
That was when it stopped being quite so fun. One sneaky, nasty croc he hadn't noticed snuck up behind him and tried to eat him. It didn't matter that Honey knocked all of its teeth out: before he had, the stupid beast had managed to get a bite of Honey's inflatable tube. His beautiful, pink tube with its adorable bunny pattern. It didn't occur to him until later that Kyoya might want his crocodiles to still have a few teeth between all of them. If that was the case, he shouldn't have let the big meanies destroy Honey's inflatable tube.
The fight with the crocodiles took longer than he meant for it to. Sometime during it, it had started to rain heavily. Takashi would be really worried by now. Still, Honey wasn't about to go back and give up on his goal. He raced along the bank beside the stream, occasionally jumping up to and between tree branches or swinging on vines between the trees. It was more fun that Honey could remember having in a long time. So much, in fact, that he almost forgot to be sad about the poor pink tube's fate. Usa-chan would be heartbroken when Honey told him about it later.
When he reached the lake at the end of the stream, Honey jumped in and splashed around for a few minutes, delighted at his accomplishment. Playing on his own was boring, though, and he soon wished that Takashi or Haru-chan was there to play with him. He would have to go find them and bring them back to play with him here. Haru-chan would appreciate how pretty it was, and how nice the water was, and she would finally let herself have fun. Takashi would be amazed at how well Honey had managed on his own, and at the wonderful spot that Honey had found, and he would let himself have fun too.
He set off to find them, knowing instinctively which direction Takashi would be in. It was all very well being the Great Explorer Honey, but what was the point in discovering amazing places if there was no one to play in them with you?
There were harsh words from Takashi later. Never mind that Honey had been fine, and had in fact protected Takashi when he was in trouble, they had all been worried about him. Honey pointed out that, really, it had all turned out in the end: Great Explorer Honey had discovered a beautiful secret hiding spot, and Takashi got to play with Haru-chan. From his big friend's sudden silence, Honey knew that hadn't even occurred to the other boy. Really, Takashi could be such a little boy at times.