I think the overall concensus was for Shin to be next. I found this one hard to write, particularly in regards to keeping Shin in character, but let me know what you think!
Shin: More?
Though she couldn't quite agree with the methods used to arrange the exercise, Mamori couldn't help but think that the teambuilding orienteering would have strong positive outcomes for the two groups that were dispersed in the forest. She only hoped that Sena would be able to manage and he wouldn't get picked on whilst alone with Shin – she wasn't quite sure what to think of the larger boy, even if Sena did look up to him greatly.
Whilst the groups in the forest were making their way back, she was left at the small cabin on the outskirts of the forest, that Hiruma had managed to convince the headteacher to hire for the duration of the training exercise.
All the teams had been left roughly the same distance from the base camp, and, with the extra points they would be directed to first, they were expected to arrive the evening of the following day – Hiruma had generously made sure they all had the proper equipment for their night in the wilderness, or so he claimed.
Hiruma and Takami were the first pair back the next day, just after noon, not at all surprising with the two tactical quarterbacks working together. After that it was a steady streams of players that arrived, leaving only three pairs (including the Sena/Shin combination and, not surprisingly, Taki and his unfortunately teammate) to suffer through another night alone. It was only when the afternoon of the following day began to pass by that Mamori really began to worry, as all the teams were waiting at the target zone, barring Sena and Shin.
After that it didn't take long before Hiruma started firing shots into the air, cursing at the fucking shrimp for getting so lost and not using the fucking radio.
Several Oujo players blanched at the thought, secretly wondering if they would ever see the two players again. It was Takami who finally informed Hiruma of the difficulties that arose when Shin tried to use technology: that he had to dodge bullets for not mentioning it earlier was expected.
With the setting sun fast approaching, it was all they could do to make arrangements for the search-parties that would go out the following day.
They sent off in groups of two, trying to cover as much ground as possible whilst keeping in frequent radio contact, each being overseen by Hiruma who had given them each a tracking beacon that linked to his laptop. Mamori didn't want to be mean, but there were many people she would have picked to accompany her before Monta even came to mind. It, therefore, didn't upset her too much when he began chasing after a deer, sure it was Sena – he could tell from the hairstyle... – she did have the radio after all.
Hiruma had just sent out a mass radio announcement, telling them to turn back – him giving directions when necessary – and head back to the camp, when she finally spotted two figures through the trees. Not radioing in immediately, she headed through the trees quickly, sighing in relief when the two forms came into focus and confirmed her suspicions.
"Sena!" she was seconds away from throwing her arms around his neck in a bear hug when she noticed something different about him. Pushing him back to observe from arm's length, her eyes quickly fixated on his neck.
"Sena! What did you do to get so many bruises on your neck?"
It only confused her when his face flushed an unhealthy red and barely managed to stutter a few words.
Several silent moments passed before Shin came to his rescue. "We were training."
It possibly wasn't the best answer, as Mamori only became curious about what sort of training they had done to end up with marks like those, and verbalised her thought.
"Physical exchanges. They play an important part in American football, I can only see benefits to learning how to do such a thing socially."
And only Shin would be able to relate their previous activities to football so that Mamori was none the wiser. Pity it didn't work on anyone else. Besides Taki.
When Hiruma had happily declared that they would be participating in some endurance training alongside the White Knights, Sena had been terrified – Hiruma's training was bad enough without his rival there to see his failures. When he had announced that they would be orienteering – of all things – Sena's nerves had shot through the roof – he was expected to read a map? When he and Shin were paired together he didn't know what to feel – nervous that he'd be alone with Shin for however long it took them to reach their destination, or happy that he had someone reliable to work with, surely Shin would be able to get them back to safety with ease!
He didn't notice the pitying looks other members of the White Knights were sending him.
It was something only Hiruma would do: drug their food with enough sleeping pills to knock them out long enough so that, when they woke up, they were alone in the middle of a forest with only their packs, a compass, a map and a radio – labelled clearly with a note saying 'If this radio is used before you're fucking dying of starvation, you'll be playing a Penalty Game!' that made Sena think maybe starvation was a better option.
Even so, that didn't make it any less devastating when Shin picked up the radio, only for it to immediately start to smoke in his hands before sparks erupted from it and it fell to pieces.
Sena hadn't appreciated before how quickly the sun disappeared from the sky. They had been in the forest for about eight hours now, lost for at least six of them. With the rapidly deepening darkness, finally Shin called a halt to their jog, setting his pack down in the small clearing and beginning to root through it. A look of puzzlement appeared on his face.
"Kobayakawa-san, do you have any supplies other than rations?"
Even without looking, Sena was pretty sure he knew the answer – of course Hiruma would do something like that! He was pesimistic when he checked, but that only meant that his expectations were exceeded when he found a slightly thick blanket bunched up messily at the very top of his pack.
He pulled it out with a flourish, only to find it was only about two meters either way, not quite as large as he had hoped.
Not much later found the two of them trying to organise themselves for the night, only once Shin had reassured him many times that there were very few dangerous animals in the forest, none of which would approach them, even if they were asleep.
The next trial was convincing Shin that they would share the blanket for the night, and he would not be sleeping without even the slightest amount of protection from the cold. The argument (rather one-sided) only ended when Sena's shivering became too severe to continue and they quickly settled down, chest to chest.
Then came the awkward silence, which Sena was sure that only he found awkward, until Shin finally broke it: at the time, Sena almost wished he hadn't.
"Kobayakawa-san, your body fits well against mine."
"Sh-Shin-san?" Sena managed to stutter.
Shin glanced down, only to see the dark red flush that had covered Sena's cheeks.
"Are you feeling feverish, Sena-kun?"
What with his blush growing a few shades darker at the question, Sena didn't feel his 'no' was very believable, but Shin seemed to accept it.
"That is good. I would be disappointed if you were to fall ill, I like you very much." And without another word he placed a chaste kiss on his lips. Sena could barely feel the rest of his body, as the blood in his veins drains from everywhere but his cheeks.
"You... you like me? In what way?"
The question only seemed to confuse Shin who stared down at him blankly before kissing him once more. "In the way that I enjoy the physical contact between our mouths."
Sena wondered what he must look like, face red with excess blood and eyes as wide as they could manage. How did one respond to such a naive proclamation? Trying to think of something to say back to the Oujo linebacker, he blurted out the first thing that came to mind, only to nearly faint in horror of what he said.
"Well, do you like me enough to enjoy physical contact between our tongues as well?"
He tried to take it back, the confused look on Shin's face said he didn't quite understand the question, but everytime he opened his mouth to pass it off as a joke nothing came out. He was stuck opening and closing his mouth like a beached fish, giving Shin the perfect opportunity to capture it, sliding his tongue into the gaping jaw.
Even as his body reacted, threading a hand into the short, blue hair and kissing back slightly nervously, Sena's mind went blank. 'How did this happen?'
Everything came back into focus when he heard the moan that left his lips, Shin's own departing his a second later as the boy looked down in worry. "Are you alright, Sena-kun? I am not... hurting you in any way?"
He panted breathlessly, his tongue sneeking out to lick at the saliva sticking to his lip without conscious thought. "I'm fine. More than fine. And I like you very much too, Shin-san. Enough to do that and more, when we're ready."
Shin settled back down again behind him, wrapping his limbs around Sena once more for warmth, so close that he could feel each exhale that Shin made against the top of his head, and his heartbeat where his chest pressed against his back.
Sena had closed his eyes, thinking Shin was settling down now and would be silent when the next words came, seeming to echo around the empty clearing.
"There's more?"
Yeah... just reread it... REALLY don't like this one. It feels awkward, and not in the way it should...