Kamen Rider Hitomi 002: Getting Oriented part 1
Hitomi, Akira, Tomizo, Ichirou and Iori sit around a table in the basement of the dumpling shop. Akira and Tomizo look down in shame. Hitomi has a dazed look on her face. Ichirou looks troubled.
Iori finally speaks. "Let's start from the beginning. How did this all happen?"
Hitomi pipes up. "It's all my fault. I noticed that Akira seemed less genki at school."
...
Hitomi walks up the stairs to the roof of the school. Good thing I gave Risako and Kanon the slip.
Hitomi sees Akira eating her lunch by the fence. "Akira!"
"Hitomi. Let's eat together."
"Thanks." Hitomi sits down and starts eating.
"Hitomi, is something wrong? You seemed less happy than usual this morning?"
"I did?"
Akira sees that she's gotten a negative reaction. "Oh, please forgive me. I'm always asking blunt, rude questions."
Hitomi nods weakly. "But, your blunt, rude questions are always truthful."
"What's wrong?"
"I'm kind of being bullied by two girls who think that they're my friends."
"Do you want me to beat them up?"
"No, no, no. It's not like that. It's more like they think that Hibiki is some pervert trying to take advantage of Asumu, so they are acting weird."
Akira laughs. "Hinaka called me about your visit to Tachibana's, I don't think I ever laughed so hard before."
"But, I don't know what to do."
"Unless you have something else that you seriously need to do you should just put up with them."
Hitomi nods. "By the way ..."
"What?"
"Well, it's kind of embarrassing to ask."
"To the queen of blunt, rude questions?"
"Okay, then, I have noticed that you seem less genki recently. I was wondering if you have quit orienteering."
...
Iori raises an eyebrow. "Orienteering?"
Hitomi blushes. "Well, Asumu told me that Akira did orienteering to explain why Akira was out of school so often. Since she was showing up for school everyday and looking less lively I guessed that she had given it up."
"I think I understand. Go on."
...
Akira at first looks surprised, then regains her composure. "Oh, yeah. Well, I decided to take a break and concentrate on school for a while. I was getting tired of reading Asumu's sloppy handwriting."
Hitomi giggles. "Is orienteering hard?"
"Yes, but it's a lot of fun. Basically, the idea is to move on foot to a bunch of points on a map. You try to do it as quickly as possible and your speed will often depend on what path you take."
"That sounds cool."
"It takes a lot of running ability and map reading skills to be good at it."
"Can you take me orienteering?"
Akira looks panicked. "Me?"
"Yes, you."
"But, orienteering isn't exactly the safest thing in the world. We usually do it in the mountains where there are wild animals to worry about."
"I would feel safe if I was with you."
"But, I don't drive. I usually catch a ride with the adult orienteers."
...
Iori looks at Akira. "Good thinking."
...
"Maybe I could ask Tomizo to drive us?"
"You could, but I don't know why you're so interested. It's a lot of hard work and you usually wind up insanely tired afterward."
"But, I want to see the real Akira again, the Akira who would climb mountains and jump ravines just to do it."
Akira blushes.
Hitomi pulls out her cell phone. "Hello, Tomizo? It's Hitomi. I was wondering, could you chaperone me and Akira doing orienteering?"
...
Iori looks sternly at Tomizo. "And, this is where you said no?"
Tomizo bursts out. "You don't know Hitomi. When she wants something she has a way of asking it so that no one can turn her down. I have seen her in action since she was very young. Her cuteness technique is overwhelming."
Iori looks at Hitomi. "Okay, I guess I will let that slide."
...
Akira and Hitomi listen on the phone. "I don't think that's a good idea, Hitomi. It's kind of dangerous out there. Do you really want to be a sweaty, banged up, bruised up mess?"
"Please?" Hitomi uses an exaggerated melodramatic voice.
"Well, okay. I think I am off this weekend."
Akira grabs the phone. "Tomizo, make sure to find a beginner's course. No point in putting Hitomi in the hospital."
"Okay."
...
Hitomi and Akira ride along in a hatch back driven by Tomizo.
"Wow, you guys have a ton of gear."
Akira nods. "We will pick out the course tonight and then run it in the morning. We can use the evening to study the maps and make sure we use the right trails."
"Sounds complicated."
Tomizo pulls into a park. "This park has several beginners trails. They shouldn't be too tough."
Tomizo parks in a camping area by a lake. They unload the truck and set up camp. Tomizo brings some dry wood and sets up a fire.
The sun sets.
"So, have you and Akira done orienteering together before?"
Tomizo looks embarrassed. "No. Up until recently I trained with my friend Zanki. But, he passed away. He had a heart condition but he never wanted to slow down."
Hitomi gets a devilish expression. "So, he was a handsome older guy?"
Akira shoves her. "Hitomi! Isn't that what your friends were saying about Asumu and Hibiki?"
"It's okay, Akira. I did get teased about that from a lot. And, I did love Zanki a lot. But, not in the way Hitomi is implying. He was a really good mentor to me."
Akira's ears prick up. Tomizo's ears prick up as well.
Akira grabs Hitomi. "You need to get in the tent, now. There are some wild animals approaching. They can smell fear and will go into a frenzy if they are around something that is afraid. Tomizo and I are used to them and we can scare them off. But, whatever you do, don't look outside once you get into the tent!"
To Be Continued