A/N: I started this right away, as I said, and I realized that I hadn't eaten anything but 3 packets of Pocky all day. The small kinds. That aside, I'm sorta starting this off from where it ended in chapter 1. I also forgot the disclaimer, so I'll put that here.
Disclaimer: I do not own PoT. If I did, you'd know.
On the Other Side chapter 2
"You really want to know?" He asked, looking the shorter boy in the eyes. Akaya nodded, facing the other. With a deep breath, Hiyoshi began to recall what happened up in the mountains, Zaizen watching and listening closely.
xXxXxXx(The flashback will be in italics)
Everyone lined up, waiting for the coach. They were all tired, being woken up at 3:15 am. Coach Mifune came out, a phone in his hand, not loking very happy.
"Alright, before we start today, I have an announcement." He said, watching everyone closely. "I was told that theres a bear up here in the forests. It got out of it's container or something and is somewhere in the area. It's violent, they said, so if you see it, run back here immediately. Don't try to provoke it," He sent a glance to the high schoolers, "And don't try to take it on. It's pretty big." He finished, looking to the middle schoolers. Gakuto raised his hand, like a child in class, wide eyed.
"Your sending us out there, in the dark, while a giant, violent bear is on the loose?" He said,not believeing what he was hearing. "Is that allowed?" The coach glared at him, and he stepped back a little, behind Hiyoshi and Shishido. "Thats why I said, don't go near it. Your tennis players, aren't you? You've outrun eagles, you can outrun a bear. If not, climb up a tree. Just get away from it." He shouted, "Now, I'm going to tell you your training for today. Theres a checkpoint in the middle of the forest. I want each of you to pair up into groups of two and find it, bring it here, and your done. Remember what I said: If you see the bear, run, even if your near the checkpoint. Don't bother with it. Now, go!" Everyone was given a flashlight and paired up. Hiyoshi went with Gakuto, the older boy grabbing onto his shirt right away.
xXxXxXx
"Wait, you went with Mukahi-san? Why not with Hikaru?" Akaya cut in, earining a glare from both boys.
"Because he went with Kenya-san. Now shut up, I'm trying to tell a story." Hiyoshi said, Zaizen nodding along. Akaya pouted, but did so. Hiyoshi rolled his eyes and continued.
xXxXxXx
Walking through the forest, in the dark, was tough. Especially when you needed to keep your guard up the whole time. Hiyoshi walked ahead, flashlight in hand, Gakuto clutching the back of his shirt.
"You think we'll run into it?" The redhead asked, voice shaking from the cold air. The sun had yet to come up for another two hours, and the breeze wasn't helping either. It was quiet, broken only when Hiyoshi answered his question.
"Only if we're not careful. Just stay quiet though, we're almost there." He said, pointing the flashlight in the direction they were walking. There was a small glint from where the light landed, and Gakuto stopped himself from running off into the dark. As they walked on, Hiyoshi heard a rustling in the bushes. Thinking it was just the wind, he kept moving, barely noticing Gakuto's hand tightening it's grip on his shirt. He must have heard it too. He faintly heard what sounded like stomping coming in their direction, but put it off as another group trying to scare them away.
xXxXxXx
"Thats stupid, why would they make noise trying to scare you guys away when theres a bear on the loose? It'd hear the noise." Akaya interrupted, and was thumped on the back of the head. Again.
"We were jumpy, of course we'd agree with what came to mind first. Now seriously, shut up, I'm almost there."
xXxXxXx
Ahead of them, they saw a small table with several little flags. "That must be it," He said, Gakuto nodding his head. Something didn't feel right, the wind had stopped and it was completely silent except for the sound of grass crunching under their feet. There was a low growl, one that made both boys freeze. Gakuto slowly turned to look at Hiyoshi, whose face paled.
"Please tell me that was your stomach, cuz it wasn't mine." He said, voice shaking. Hiyoshi, shook his head. They turned around, and froze on the spot. Right behind them, standing taller than both boys any barely visible in the faded light, was what their coach had warned them about.
Gakuto gripped Hiyoshi's arm tightly, frozen. Hiyoshi did what first came to mind. He grabbed Gakuto's arm, and ran. The bear let out a roar (lol I was tempted to put 'rawr', but this is a serious moment.) and ran after them, clawed feet hitting the ground heavily. They ran through the trees, passing the checkpoint, it didn't matter anymore.
xXxXxXx
"Wait, you guys passed the checkpoint? I thought-"
"Dammit, Akaya, please just shut up."
"Oi, Bakaya." Zaizen said, leaning forward. Akaya yelped at his forehead was flicked rather hard.
"Now, do shut up."
xXxXxXx
Gakuto was breathing hard, his low stamina taking a toll on his body. He stumbled over a rock, dropping to the ground with a thud.
Hiyoshi turned around to see Gakuto trying to stand up, knees bleedingafter connecting with the ground. He turned his head to see the bear directly above him. He froze, not registering any calls from anyone. Hiyoshi yelled out for his sempai to stand up and run, or use his acrobatics to get away, but the large animal brought up a clawed paw and swung it down.
"Mukahi-san!" Hiyoshi jumped forward, bringing himself between the animal and his frozen teammate, back to their current danger. He felt searing pain flow through his body from his back, slumping forward. He faintly heard Gakuto cry out, screaming his name, before there was a bang and his vision faded to black.
xXxXxXx
Akaya stared at him, the information running through his head, eye wide.
"What the hell were you thinking?" He finally said, earning a chuckle from the brown-haired boy.
"Honestly? I have no idea. When I woke up I was back at the cabin, lying on my stomach. My back felt like hell-"
"And looked like it, too." Zaizen cut in. "Do you knw how worried everyone was when Shishido carried you back, you all bloody and Mukahi-san in tears. He was barely able to speak, much less stand. Not to mention you were out the whole day. Sucks that our revolution started the day after though. At least you were given a weak opponent and anesthetics, or else we wouldn't be here now." Hiyoshi rolled his eyes, and Akaya gaped at him.
"Anesthetics? It was that bad?" He said, a shocked look in his eyes. Hiyoshi looked at him.
"Want to see a picture?"
"No thank you."
They sat in silence for a while, before they all broke out laughing. It had been a long day, and they were tired, but they didn't want to sleep. Akaya suggested they play a game, and when asked what game, he smiled widely.
"Let's play Monopoly!" He said, running over to his luggage and pulling out a small box.
"'Monopoly'?" Zaizen asked, looking over the rules while Akaya set up the board. He looked up from his spot on the floor, grinning madly.
"Yeah, my parents sent it over from America and my sister sent it here." He said, looking through the little metalic figures. He chose one that looked like a shoe, before placing it on a square that said 'GO'. Hiyoshi followed, picking what seemed to be hat, both looking to Zaizen. He sighed, picking up the car piece and placing it with the others. "Each player gets two hundred in the beginning." He said, handing out the colored paper. He read the rules aloud, seeing as Akaya didn't know them since his grades in english weren't the best. "Roll the dice first. The player with the highest number goes first." They rolled the dice, watching it before it stopped.
"I got a seven!" Akaya said, raising his fist in the air. Zaizen rolled, frowning as he got a five.
"Nine" Hiyoshi said, staring at the dice. Akaya pouted, having to go second. (I don't remember the rules to the game too much, sorry if I get something wrong) Hiyoshi rolled again, getting a six, and moved his piece. Soon they were so into the game they didn't notice the time.
"Haha, you got sent to jail!" Akaya said 15 minutes later, watching as Zaizen moved his piece to the other side of the board. Hiyoshi placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll come visit you. Right, Akaya?" He said, a smirk on his face as Akaya nodded through fits of laughter. Zaizen glared at them both. A few minutes later there was knock on the door. Akaya stopped his yelling for Hiyoshi to 'stop charging me for stepping on your property' as the other boy yelled that it was unlocked. The door opened and Momoshiro popped his head in.
"Whats going on? This doesn't seem like the kind of room to be this noisy this late at night." He was met with three blank looks, two of which turned to look at the clock. It was, in fact, 11:45 pm. He then noticed the piece of colored cardboard on the floor.
"You guys are playing a board game?" He asked, eyeing the metal pieces. Akaya grinned.
"Yeah! Wanna play? We still have some pieces left over." He said, motioning for the taller boy to come in. He did, and picked the spinning wheel. 5 minutes later they were joined by Ryoma and Kintarou, who went looking for their missing roommate. The two had picked the Thimble and wheelbarrow(did I spell those right?) and the room was noisier than before. A knock on the door signaled another visitor.
"What are you all doing still awake? It's nearly one in the morning." Coach Saitou opened the door all the way, and raised his eyebrow when he noticed the game. The others exchanged glances, before looking back to their mental coach. "Wanna play?" Akaya asked, picking up a random piece(I'm sorry I forgot all the other pieces) and holding it up for their coach. He stared at it before coming over and sitting between Akaya and Ryoma, rolling the dice and smiling as he rolled a twelve.
Moments later, of course, they were all scolded by another coach that sent in Saitou to get them all to bed. Their departure was followed by a bang and the three of them- Momo, Ryoma and Kintarou had left for their room after being scolded for staying in another room too late- couldn't help but let out a hearty laugh before going to sleep.
xXxXxXx
I end chapter 2 there because I wanted to save the next scenes for chapter 3. In my stories, Hiyoshi, Akaya and Zaizen are best friends :D They just fit really well together. But the pairings stay the same, no matter what happens during the fic. These will probably all go up together at the same time, I have far too much spare time today, chapter 3 is halfway finished since I just took a scene from here and moved it.
We chose Monopoly because it's an awesome game. I was gonna pick Clue, but I forgot the rules since I last played it in elementary school.
Chapter 3 is started right away!