Some of you may feel annoyed that things are going exactly the way it does in the anime when I already guaranteed that there will be differences in the story. Well, the thing is, things will be different; but it'll need a major build up. I'm making the story flow with canon for a reason and though you will see the exact same scenes or happenings from the anime, I assure you that the differences and changes will be identifiable.

So please be a little bit patient.


"No, no no! GAH! YOU FUCKING CAMPER! I'MMA FIND YOU BOY! I'MMA FIND YOU AND I'MMA HANG YOUR PANSY ASSED CORPSE IN YOUR MOTHER'S DRESSER!"

"HAHA! You mad bro?!"

…Forgive my vocal outburst but when it comes to competitive multiplayer first person shooters, I'm a very sore loser.

I slammed down the controller of my PS4, before shutting the console off.

I'm mighty pissed right now… mighty. I don't always start my morning like this… playing videogames, rage quitting because some fucking twelve year old camper in CoD and ending up in one of the shittiest mood I ever felt… no, today's a very different day for me. Both literally and figuratively.

For starters, it's the middle of summer vacation. School's out and I don't have to sleep through boring classes for the rest of the month. Of course, this doesn't mean that I'm completely left with nothing else to do; I have a life, you see, one whole eternity in fact. But… I'm kind'a out of ideas as to what to do. I've pretty much done everything ever since the start of summer break.

I finished my manuscript, thank god that thing took forever to write, and it's just a matter of time until Tanaka-san comes to pick it up.

I took a jog earlier this morning at around… five a.m or so. You can never skip leg day.

I did my old, though not as extreme, shinobi workout routine which consisted of 100 sets of push-ups, squats, sit ups and ten kilometer more running every single day. I'm surprised I'm not bald yet, to be honest. (1)

There was also this one time last week when I didn't sleep at all.

So, yeah, summer break's been great for me.

Oh, of course, Komachi stops by from time to time.

"Damn, if this continues anymore then I'll seriously go bald…" I muttered, slapping myself on the face. Turning off the TV, I retreated to the kitchen to make myself breakfast. This is pretty much my routine ever since the start of summer break and there seems to be nothing that can change it.

"Hm?" while I was trying to reach for the meat I kept further inside the fridge, my phone – which was in my pants' pocket – buzzed. I looked at the screen and nearly drop the beef that I was holding. "The hell?! A hundred unread message?!"

Frantically, I swept the screen to the side to view the messages.

As I read, I now understood why Hiratsuka-sensei is still single. Sighing, I pocketed the phone back inside my pocket. Basically, she wants me to call her but I'm not gonna do that just yet. I'm hungry and maybe, maybe, I'll do it after breakfast.

"Eh… I better turn off my phone."

For safety reasons.

Well, now that I've turned off my phone, I proceed to cooking. Today's dish will be a very basic beef and vegetables stir fry. It seems like a huge meal for breakfast, but I've always been a big eater. Turning on the stove, I drizzled vegetable oil into the pan, no need for tedious measurements; I'm not a fucking chef. While waiting for the pan to get hot, I retrieved a jar filled with sliced vegetables that I always have to make things easier when cooking. Hearing the sizzling of oil beckoned me to return and once I'm back, I dumped a fistful of mixed vegies into the pan.

"Ah, never thought I'd see the day when vegetables look delicious."

Several pinches of salt, a shake of coarse black pepper and a drizzle of sesame oil; all that's left is to put the beef. Slicing the beef into bite-sized pieces, I then dumped them into the hot pan; letting them cook. I like my beef red, so I'll let them cook a minute or two less than the normal time it takes to cook them. I make sure to stir the food with a heavy duty wooden spatula, hey, it wouldn't be called stir fry if you're not stirring.

And no, shaking is not stirring.

"Itadakimasu."

All seated, rice steaming warm and my stir fry's ready for me to devour. I dig the spoon into the stir fry, bringing the food to my mou-

"HERE'S KOMACHI!"

I slammed the spoon down, making a mess of my meal.

"GODAMMIT KOMACHI THAT'S THE THIRD TIME THIS WEEK!" I screamed to my (un)related sister who's standing under my doorframe. "Only one person on earth is allowed to do that! And it's Jack Nicholson, and are you Jack Nicholson, Komachi? No! No you're not! And you should feel bad for doing that!"

Komachi giggles as if she's done something completely normal. "Maa, maa, chill down Onii-chan, I'm here for something real this time." Her nose catches a delicious smelling scent. "Oh! You're eating breakfast? Uwaah it's stir fry! Can I eat?! Can I? Can I?"

I sighed. "Just sit down and wait while I go grab you a bowl of rice."

"Thankies Onii-chan!"

I can never get mad if she smiles like that, god, what have I become? I beat demi-gods and overpowered pink eyed goth princes like it's Monday, but I can't defy this little girl who's not even my little sister. Man… Sasuke's probably rolling wherever he's at right now…

"Here." I placed the bowl of fresh steamy rice in front of Komachi, as well as an empty plate.

"Ittadakimasu!"

I munch on my food at a comfortable pace, but I feel the need to question Komachi now. "What are you doing here Komachi?"

"Whuf dooh ywou mhean Onii-chawn?" Ah… she looks so adorable speaking with her mouthful of rice.

"Don't talk when you're chewing." She gulps down her food.

"What do you mean? It's still summer break, it's totally fine if I'm here, right?"

I snorted. "I know that's fine and all but what's that bag for, huh?" I pointed a finger at the luggage Komachi's placed on the floor. "You're not going to invite your friends here saying that your mom rented out the place specifically for you and have another pajama party are you?"

"What, no!" she denies, slamming her chopsticks to the table. "Well, I was going to do that, but no!"

"So you were going to do that!"

"No, but really Onii-chan, I'm not here for that." I noticed, in a blink of an eye, the sudden change in mood that suddenly erupts in my apartment. "I… I want to talk to you about something."

"About what?"

If it really concerns her, then there's really no need beating around the bush.

I saw her pursing her lips, her eyes flicker with hesitation and the biting of her tongue is enough for me to know that she's nervous.

"Well, there's this guy."

"What?"


"Uh… Uzumaki-kun, why are you… carrying around that spiked baseball bat? And why are you wearing a hockey mask?"

"…before you say anything again, I can tell you that I know that today's not Halloween, the bat's real and so are the power tools in my bag."

Yui and Yukinoshita retreat back away from me at the exact same time.

"But can you blame me?" I pointed a thumb to the girl's who's grinning like a Cheshire cat next to me. "She said that some punk ass kid's giving her the hots, you can't blame me for exercising my right as an older brother and go over to his house to threaten him with a very painful death now can you?"

Yui raises a finger. "But… you're not even her real brother…"

"Psh! Details!" I threw my arms in the air, still holding my bat. "Anyway," I took off my hockey mask, giving it to Komachi. "what're you guys doing here?"

"…you lost Yukinon, pay up."

"Haah… it's foolish of me to believe that I'll win a bet when there's Uzumaki-kun involved."

I watched the suspicious exchange of money with a mild squint. "Hey, hey, are you two having a bet about me?"

"Yeah, doing bets isn't good you know, Yui-san, Yukinoshita-san." Komachi pipes in.

"Why am I not included?!"

"That's what you're worried about Onii-chan?!"

In the midst of our bickering, a red SUV, a land rover or something, I don't know, pulls up on the curb near us. Our attention on each other is disrupted by the opening of the car's door. The driver walks around from the front and it took us five seconds to realize who the person is.

"Hiratsuka-sensei?" I said slowly. "Why do you look like someone who's ready to go on a field trip?"

Hiratsuka-sensei's all geared up in a polo shirt, a cap, a pair of shades, short cargo pants, boots and even a towel tucked into one of the short's pockets.

"That's because what we're about to do is more or less a field trip." She removes her shades, letting it dangle on her collar. "Anyway, Uzumaki, why didn't you reply to my messages?"

Urk! "Uh… I was up late, yeah, that's why…" I know she knows that I lied to her, if her glare's enough of a clue.

"Fine then, it took me a lot of effort to get to your sister." She tells me.

My head snapped towards Komachi. "You?! You set me up for this?!"

"Ehehe! She says that she'll recommend me to your high school, Onii-chan!"

I glared at Hiratsuka-sensei. "How dare you use my (un)related little sister against me?! That's cheating! Manipulator! Trickster! You shitty old la-BWUUUUUGH!"

…give me a few minutes to recover…

Okay, I'm back up.

"Kukuku… you sure know how to open your mouth, eh, Uzumaki?" Hiratsuka-sensei's raising the fist that she just used to hit me with.

While I try to ignore the, not so painful but still tingling, damage that was done to me, Yui steps forward. "Are you okay, Maki?"

"'m fine." I mumbled, letting her help me stand on my feet. "But what's the big deal anyway?"

Hiratsuka-sensei sighs. "I'll tell you about it on the way, we just have to wait for one more person."

"One more person… who?"

From the distance, I can hear the voice of an angel calling out my name.

"Naruto!"

I had to make sure I was not dreaming, because it's a very beautiful voice.

"Naruto!"

I turned my head to see Saika running towards us, carrying a duffle bag and dressed in clothing that definitely suits him.

"…now, are you interested in joining us, Onii-chan?" Komachi tiptoes so that she can whisper these words into my ears.

"…I admit nothing… nothing." I can only look down, ashamed. I can't go against this girl, she holds my weakness.

Komachi waves hello at the approaching Saika. "Totsuka-san, Yahallo!"

What's with that, is it a fad or something?

"Yeah, Yahallo!" Saika returns with a smile.

Oh my God, that was cute. Can we make this fad even bigger?

"Now that everyone's here, let's get inside!"


"We're goin' on a trip in our favorite-"

"SHUT UP UZUMAKI!"

"HEY! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO FORCED MY SISTER INTO TRICKING ME INTO THIS SO CALLED FIELD TRIP OF YOURS! YOU DON'T HAVE THE RIGHTS TO SHUT ME UP FROM SINGING WHATEVER SONGS I WANT!"

As you can see, we're already having a good time in the car.

Yukinoshita has long abandoned reality, putting on a set of earphones so that she could tune out her surroundings. Yui's too occupied with the sceneries, constantly taking pictures of the sky, the highway, the sky, street signs, highway and oh, did I mention the sky? Komachi's happily sleeping in between the two of them, undisturbed from my singing and the earlier shouting.

Am I mad that I am, somehow, tricked into this situation I'm in? No, no I'm not. Disappointed? No. Sad? Nu uh. In fact, I'm mildly interested at how this whole thing will turn out. Admittedly, I'm still bummed that I won't get to exact revenge on that camper, but at least I'll be doing something different for summer break.

"So, where are we going exactly, Hiratsuka-sensei?"

"We're going to a small recreational village called Chiba Mura." She says, while keeping her eyes on the road.

"Chiba Mura?" now why is that name familiar to me…? "Meh, wake me up when we're there." I yawned.

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

"Oh I'm sorry, do you want me to sing again, Hiratsuka-sensei?"

"If you dare to sing again, I'll throw you out of this car."

She wouldn't da-

GLARE

Okay, so she would dare.

I closed my eyes, letting my consciousness drift to zzz-land.

And before I knew it, we've already arrived.

Wow, such transition, much creativity.

So we're at this recreational site just on the outskirts of town. It's the kind of place that family would go during summer break and enjoy the rest of the week without having to deal with the bustling and monotonous city life. I'd say that this is quite the nice place, I mean, we're camping right? Looking around, I can see why people would spend their summer break here. Aside from the obvious fact that it's close to the city, it has a variety of facilities to offer.

There're campsites for camping, duh, a lake that you can go and take a swim in, lots of forest paths that you can take a nice evening walk in and they even provide barbecue. I stretched my hands, sleeping in a car will do this to me, while stifling another yawn. I felt somebody nudging me on the side, looking down I saw Komachi grinning at me.

"Hehehe, this place sounds familiar to you, Onii-chan?" she asks me.

I blinked. "Now that you say, it does sound familiar." I'm having mixed feelings here, what Komachi knows that I don't?

"Well, from what I've heard, the middle school that you attended visited this place before. That's why I was hoping that you'd know about this place, turns out you don't."

Ah, now that she mentions it, I remembered skipping out on a supposedly important week during middle school. So they went here, huh? "Huh, well that's nice to know." I dropped the topic, opting for a better one to talk about. "You brought everything with you?"

"Yup!" she exclaims, making a popping sound with the last 'p'. "I have everything. Clothes, food, hygiene kit, first aid kit, money, more food, underwear, mangas, my phone's charger… everything!" she's listing out all of the items whilst extending a finger. "What about you, Onii-chan?"

"I don't know, it's not like you told me that we're camping in the first place…" I muttered bitterly. "But I got the useful ones."

"And what are those? Ramen?"

"Hey." I glared. "It's instant ramen, don't get them mixed up. Instant ramen are not real ramen."

Now don't you be rolling them eyes at me! "Yeah, yeah, Onii-chan. Ah, by the way, Onii-chan?" she tiptoes, so that she can align her lips on my left ear. "So… are you and Yui-san an item?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. Now what is this kid talking about. "You mean like dating?" I blurted out the words, but only between the both of us. "No, from what I last checked, Yui and I aren't dating. Therefore, we are not an 'item'." I scoffed. "And it doesn't look like I'm her type of guy anyway."

"Oh, what makes you say that?"

I shrugged. "Jus' saying that there're better guys out there with better attitudes than mine."

I mean, if I have to be honest; while I do enjoy Yui's cheerfulness and exuberant attitude, there's really no telling if she feels the same way about mine. I can go all day listing out all the things that I find likable about her, but considering with how I've been acting around her – joking or not – I don't think I'm advancing in anything other than being a total jackass.

"Geez, Onii-chan, you're like those guys who always say 'she's too good for me, she's better off without me' or something like that." The way she changes her tone and gesture while demonstrating how those type of guys speak is very cute to watch.

And it seems that my answer has dissatisfied her greatly, looking at the frown she's making.

"When I first met you Onii-chan, I thought you're one of those ikemen (2) who always switch girls like boys switch their briefs. Looks like you're more of an herbivore than a carnivore."

"Hey, in my defense, I didn't say that she's too good for me nor did I say that she's better off without me." I smoothly counter Komachi's claims about me. "I said that there're guys out there with better attitudes than mine. And when you first met me, you accused me for having an affair with your mom, see how that went."

The both of us chuckled at our inside joke.

"But… really, though, Onii-chan. When will you find a girlfriend?"

I slowly turned my head to face her, a grim expression evident on my face. "Since when has my relationship status been a major concern for you?" and how did this turn out to be this kind'a talk anyway?

"Since, I don't know, forever?" wow, much obvious, such sarcasm. "The girls in my class keep on bragging how they each have boyfriends or a very awesome older sibling."

"So, you're saying that I'm not awesome?"

"No, you are awesome," I smiled. "but it'd be more awesome if you have a girlfriend." My smile dropped. She lets out a mock sigh, shaking her head for effect. "Haaah… looks like there's no hope for my hopeless—from—birth Onii-chan." Then she hugs me. "Looks like Komachi have to be your girlfriend after all, teehee!"

"Ha ha ha." I did my best Squidward impersonation. "That's not funny Komachi." No, it really isn't. "No one's laughing about it."

"Oh, but Yukinoshita-san over there is, though."

My eyes snapped towards where Komachi's finger is pointing. My esteemed club president is currently preventing herself from falling by resting her hand to support her body. She's using her other hand to stop the laughter that's threatening to burst out of her mouth and she's stomping her legs to alleviate the stress of holding in her laughter.

"...MPF!... Having… ppft… your little sister become your girlfriend… because you can't find any… pfft!"

"Screw you too."

I graciously flipped her the bird.

The distant sound of car engine grabs our attention and from the distance, we see a white family van approaching before stopping to park next to the red SUV. The door slides open, and the moment I saw who it was, I lost an ounce of my enthusiasm.

"Hey look, it's Hayama and the Hooligans."

"Pft…!" Yukinoshita stops laughing. "…that actually sounds like a legitimate band name…"

Hayama approaches us, awkwardly laughing while his posse of peeps trailing a few steps behind him. Let's see if all of 'em's here.

Hayama himself, check.

Miss crank and skank, check.

Glasses girl, check.

To… To… Toto? Or whatever his name is, check.

"Huh, where're the other two side characters?" I asked, casually while wiggling my eyebrows.

"That's mean Onii-chan!"

Hayama chuckles. "If you mean Yamato and Oka, they're away on personal reasons. It's summer break after all." He explains.

I scoffed. "Lucky them. They get to enjoy the rest of their summer break at some five starred hotel" I could do that too, actually. "somewhere while we're stuck here playing Nanny Mcphee with a bunch of elementary school kids." I placed my left hand akimbo, imitating the posture of an overworked farmer. "Haah… kids these days, man…"

"That doesn't sound like something someone from the volunteer club would say." Hayama mutters awkwardly.

"Well, it's something that I'd say." Deal with it.

Hayama laughs at my answer and by then, he must have noticed Komachi who's standing next to me. Normally, I'd go all overprotective-Onii-chan-mode here but since she's gonna end up talking to the rest of us, I might as well introduce her.

"This's Komachi, she's my (un)related little sister." I introduced her.

"Hi!" Komachi waves at Hayama with a large smile on her face. "You look so cool, Hayama-san!"

"Ahaha. Thanks." Hayama's face morphs from a smile to that of confusion. "Wait, unrelated little sister? Are you two…"

Before he could finish his assumption, I provided him with the answer. "It's exactly as it sounds. We're not related, not even step siblings. But you know what they all say, if she's willing, she's up for the picki-OW!"

She hit me! My own, unrelated, little sister just hit me!

"That saying sounds so wrong Onii-chan! And no one said that in the first place!"

"Uh, I just did, though? Blam, mind blown." Whup, poof! "It's just a joke, sis."

Oh and by the way, I forgot to mention. While I'm here chatting with Hayama, I've forgotten and left all the unloading to the ladies. Now normally, you'd call me a jackass for letting the ladies do all the work. But there's this fickle thing known as equality, yeah, and what I'm doing and not doing right now is basically me supporting that concept. From where we're standing, we hear the voice of a man calling for us to gather right in front of the reception cabin. The kids began to gather, flock more like, to the site.

After eavesdropping on a conversation between Hiratsuka-sensei and the committee head, it turns out that he's the principal of the elementary school. Instead of teachers, we'll be the ones taking care of the kids. There'll be an orienteering session after the announcement and our job starts there.

I have mixed feelings about this whole thing, I really do. While it's a nice change on the way I spend my summer break, I really don't think that our roster mix well. Believe it or not, hint the sarcasm, I'm perfectly capable of detecting the hostility between Yukinoshita and Hayama. Well, it mostly comes from Yukinoshita, but that basically warrants the same thing; things are going to get heated, innuendos aside, later on when we have to think and work together.

I'm no stranger to working with people who doesn't share the same mindset as me, hell, my whole life consisted of people with different views from mine. I can deal with those kind'a things fine, but these kids – my classmates – will behave differently.

This secret hostility that Hayama and Yukinoshita are having won't do any good, but I trust that the both of them will make decisions only when their heads are cool. At least we can cross out the chances of a straight out verbal fight happening between these two.

The next thing I'm worried about is me myself. Yeah, this time, I'm putting myself as a liability.

I'm not sure if I can enjoy this as much as I want myself to. Why do I sound so concerned about myself? Well, I didn't bring my laptop with me, for once. My manuscript's finished, I finished it just two days ago and it's currently under the responsibility of the editing department back at office. But there's really no telling when they want me to re-write an entire scene, chapter, maybe the entire book even. If, let's say, if they call me and want me to re-write something, then that means I'm gonna have to go back home and do as they say. That sucks, because why? I'm in no position to use chakra as excessively as I used to. A long ranged sunshin will cost me less than a quarter of my chakra and though that doesn't sound bad, I can't exactly replenish chakra properly anymore. Does that sound bad now?

And… there's also a matter of my own role as a counselor.

I'm not sure if I'm fit to be a good role model for these kids, though I doubt that I'll get attached to any of them, I feel the need to discuss about this anyway. If I do try to get to know at least one of them, I'm not sure if I'm fit to be seen as one of the guys who represent the school. Good thing we have Hayama over here to play poster boy for us.

It's already later in the morning and they've just finished the opening speech. We, high school students and Komachi included, are standing in front of the kids who are seated on the empty clearing, and I can feel their eyes observing us. Judging us. Mocking us…

No, I'm totally not overreacting here.

I saw the speaker, the elementary school's principal himself, walking towards our direction.

"Now, the big brothers and sisters you see in front will be your counselors! So please get along with them!"

Then the bloke shoves the mic right at my direction. Clueless, I blinked for several times, even Yukinoshita and Yui's as shocked as I am. I looked at Hiratsuka-sensei and I can see her doubling over with restrained laughing much like Yukinoshita before.

"You…damn vixen…" I made sure to have my mouth away from the mic when I said that. Turning and giving the kids my undivided attention, I opened my mouth. "Eh… mic test, baka test, check one two three…"

I coughed and took a deep breath.

"Kids, happy hunger games and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

I got a tent kit thrown at me from Hiratsuka-sensei seconds later afterwards.


"You know, those who've watched that movie must've felt terrified, Onii-chan…"

Thankfully, I managed to live with only a bump on my face. It's only a bump, so they only had to patch me up with bandages. Now we're doing the orienteering, walking up the forest path to reach our destination. It has been an hour ever since the opening gathering and the members of the Service Club are currently walking together with Hayama and his clique in one group. Oh, and Komachi's scolding me after what I've done earlier.

"Puh-lease." I pulled that straight out of Mean Girls. "The only thing's terrifying about that movie is their third installment. Both part one and two." I deadpanned. "I just couldn't believe that she'd throw a tent at my face… she was laughing at me earlier too…"

"Haaah…" my cute younger sister, unrelated, sighs. "You just have to do something stupid, didn't you, Onii-chan? Just deal with it, Onii-chan. You're embarrassing me..."

"Oh…"

…somehow, that last part got me.

My world did not survive long enough for me to have a family. In fact, now that I'm thinking about it, have I ever considered on settling down in the first place, before getting cursed by Kaguya I mean. I was too immersed in the war back then. Everything and everywhere was… FUBAR. All I did was fight, fight, fight, fight and fight. Obito's and Madara's army of resurrected zombie ninjas was only the beginning, and even that took more than half of our forces. By the time Kaguya entered the fray, things went from worst to… pure chaos all over. That woman… it took us everything we had to even delay her relentless attacking. Most of my friends died trying to stop her. And it's still unclear whether or not she's truly dead, but I'm hoping that she is.

I… used to think about settling down. After I've discovered that I'm immortal, I even considered on doing it. But… just the thought of outliving my wife, kids, grandkids is just… pure horror.

Will I have to feel that kind of feeling when Komachi is older?

Without knowing why, and out of the blue, I paused my walk so that the group could walk before me. I purposely lagged a few steps behind, before eventually catching up to embrace Komachi from the back.

"O-Onii-chan!?"

I just buried my face into her hair, the both of us stopping unknown to the group.

"What are you doing, Onii-chan?" Komachi whines. "You're embarrassing me here…" she hisses like a frustrated but cute kitten.

"Mmh… let your brother do this for a while…"

"Eeh…?~ why? If Yui-san and the others turn around, it'd be embarrassing."

"Please. Komachi."

She must have sensed the hollowness in my voice, because she flinches the moment the words come out of my mouth. After exactly three seconds, I let her go, flashing her a smile. "Thanks, Komachi. Now let's go before they leave us. Oi Yukinoshita, you bitch, I can see you hurrying up over there!"

"…geez… Onii-chan. You're older than me but it feels like you're the younger one." Komachi sighs. "Maybe that's why I love you."

So we manage to catch up with the group and it seems that they do not notice that Komachi and I stopped earlier.

"Should I worry about you stopping anyone else like that, Uzumaki-kun?"

Well, almost everyone.

Just as I'm lagging a few steps behind my group, Yukinoshita is walking at the same pace as I am. Of course, we go unnoticed by the group. Except probably Komachi, but in any case, it's safe to say that we're having our conversation between the two of us only at the moment. What the hell was I doing? Now she's going to go all Spanish Inquisition on my ass, well, not really like them but she'll try to get a couple of beans out of my can.

"Well, I'm not stopping anyone else now but it seems that you've taken the initiative yourself." I've got to give myself at least two points for saying that with sass.

"Initiative? Huh, looks like you know your vocabulary after all." Damn you and your sick humor, Yukinoshita. "But it's not initiative, it's a… compelling urge." I looked at her weirdly, she notices my look. "Yes, an urge. Believe it or not. I do not why I felt the urge to speak to you in the first place, Uzumaki-kun, but if it has something to do with anything; I blame it on this trip."

"Hiratsuka-sensei conned you into this?"

"No." she shakes her head. "I agreed to this, since this is also a part of my obligation."

Ah, there it is. Obligation… such a petty word when used in this context.

"…is it really obligation, or is it just you being one competitive girl?"

She gives me one of her rare smiles. "Maybe a bit of both, you'll never know."

I guess I never will.

After spending time with her, I figured out what are the things that drive Yukinoshita Yukino. One of them is none other than pride. She is a proud person; that much is obvious, even Yui probably knows about this. She always tries her best no matter what the situation is, even if it is as unreasonable as trying to change a person like me. It feels as if she has this… standard to keep, to maintain; and the last thing she wants to do is lowering the banner. Another one is her own unique, and somehow charming, stubbornness. Take it from someone who's known to be the most stubborn person amongst his peers; Yukinoshita can be stubborn whenever she wants to.

"But what's truly surprising is you being here, Uzumaki-kun." She says, suddenly starting up conversation. "While I know that you're here because Hiratsuka-sensei conned you, I'm more surprised that you're actually showing interest in participating."

"Hey, wait a minute, I've been very participative in our previous club activities too!"

"But this is a whole different case, is it not? You don't have anything to do with this, and the reach of the Service Club's responsibility does not extend as far as the elementary school that these kids are attending. Makes me wonder what's driving you into being here, really."

Aside from the fact that my, unrelated, little sister will be getting a recommendation to attend the same school as I do, nothing else. But… she's sharp.

"I don't know." I said. "Maybe a bit of competitiveness and obligation." I winked.

"…touché…"

But… "But maybe you're right, Yukinoshita." she twitches, reacting. "Maybe I have nothing to do with this whole field trip charade, but hey, so do you. Just as you've said, the Service Club has nothing to do with this but I guess the reason we're all here is because it has something to do with you being you."

Her smirk drops.

"…something to do with me… being me?"

I blinked. "Yeah, you're stubborn in your own mysterious and, god damn me for saying it, charming way." I did not hesitate to voice out what I had thought earlier. "Maybe this camp is your way of catching up to me, since you've been missing all of those points from the services we've been doing."

Her eye twitches. "Oho? Are you implying that I did nothing at all during our previous club activities?"

"Oh no, my dear. I'm saying that I did a better job at doing our job than you will ever do."

"Ufufufu… it seems that your ego has gotten the best of you again, Uzumaki-kun. Be careful, you'll hit a tree branch if you raise your head that high."

Meanwhile, a couple of feet away, a group of high school students and a middle school student are currently overhearing their conversation with their respective opinions. But they all can agree,

'Those two sound like old married couple.'

There can only be hell afterwards.

Oh, and on a completely unrelated note, I got bitten by a snake afterwards because I was too careless and stepped into a snake pit.


"Ow, ow, ow, ow!"

"Stop being a baby Maki and stay still, I can't apply the disinfectant if you move around too much!" Yui whines. Hey! Don't blame me, snake bites hurt!

And don't give me that look, Hayama! "Ahaha… thank goodness that it was just a milk snake though. It wasn't poisonous." His expression stiffens. "What's amazing is that you didn't even notice you were bitten until we reached the river. Was the snake stuck in your shoes or something?"

"Probably." Damn, I hate snakes… I hate all kinds of snakes, no matter if they're small, big, a pedophilic legend or a buxom proctor lady; I hate all snakes. "Anyway, can you be gentler Yui? You're hurting my beautiful foot!"

"Aw shaddup!"

"OW!"

I can't believe she just slapped the bite wound!

"Oh, that actually stopped the bleeding. There!" she wrapped bandages around my leg, I was bitten around the ankle. "Next time, please scream when you're bitten by a snake Maki, that way we can treat the wound faster…"

"But he was screaming, no?" Hayama comments. "He was rolling around, even tried to dunk himself in the river hoping that it'll get rid of the snake."

"Yeah, yeah thanks for the concern you guys, I can totally feel it." I snapped my head towards the girl who's hitting a nearby in an attempt to contain her laughter. "AND YOU! LAUGHING OR PUNCHING, DECIDE ON ONE OF 'EM GODDAMIT!"

Yukinoshita is having a lot of fun today, out of my misery.

"Uh… are you sure you're okay, Onii-chan?" Komachi totters over to me, who's sitting underneath a tree while the kids are enjoying themselves playing by the river. "It's not… infected, is it?"

Instead of me, Yui answers. "He's fine Komachi-chan. I put lots of disinfectant on his wound earlier!"

"Uh, you also slap-OWOWOWOWOW!"

"Ahahah? What was that Maki?" You're gripping my leg! You're gripping my leg! "I need to apply pressure to the wound, see?"

Komachi! Can't you see your dearest Onii-chan is in pain?!

"Oh, if you say so, Yui-san!"

…great, everyone's ignoring me today. Best day of my life right now.

After letting go of my leg, Yui returns the disinfectant, remaining roll of bandage and scissors back into the first aid kit. I can't believe she brought that thing all the way from home, what's next, an ambulance?

"Hayato~! Come over here, I need to show you something!"

Over the distance, we can see Yumiko – the girl with the blonde dyed hair – calling over Hayama while she's accompanied with her glasses wearing friend.

"Coming Yumiko!" Hayama, dude, what are you even doing here in the first place anyway? "See you later, Uzumaki, Yuigahama-san."

"Meh." I rolled my eyes, dismissing his dismissal.

"Never thought that someone would really get bitten by a snake, especially when that someone's you, Maki." Yui says, looking calm now. When I found out that a snake's been biting my leg, she was the first one to scream for help and then she pulled out that first aid kid from her bag.

"Anything can happen when we're in the woods, Yui." I grumbled. "But it's not my first time bitten by a snake." Technically, I was swallowed whole once by a huge ass snake, but details. "Anyway, why are we stopping by the river? It's afternoon already, when are we going to get some grub? And what will we eat?"

Yui adopts a thoughtful look, using her index finger to touch her chin. "Hmm… they said that we're going to eat as soon as we reach the next checkpoint, which isn't far. And as for what we're gonna eat… I think it's obvious." She has this deadpanned look on her face.

"Gee, thanks for being so helpful, Yui." She glares at me. "No, seriously, what are we gonna eat? You're saying it as if I'm supposed to know what we're having for grub later." Is this one of those common sense that I haven't learned about?

She sighs, giving me an honest look of disappointment. "It's very likely that we're going to have curry for dinner… don't you ever had curry during fieldtrips before, Maki?"

"No."

"O-Oh… why?"

"I did not attend my middle school's field trip. I skipped it. I told you that I wasn't particularly liked at one point in middle school… that's one of the reasons why I ditched the trip."

"Aw, that's too bad. It could've been fun."

I scoffed. "Sharing a tent with a group of kids that hate you is fun? Wow, Yui, you're so innocent."

"H-Hey! That's not what I was implying!" she bursts, denying my claim. "I meant that the trip itself could've been fun. And even if people hated you, you could have found ways in order to have fun by yourself."

"Hm… you're right." I'm a loner after all. Being alone is like breathing to me, so, I should've been able to have 'fun', right? "But who cares about it now anyways?" I leaned back, resting my head on the tree behind me. "I'm here now in a field trip of my own. Despite being grouped together with a group of people that I have no interest in getting along with and getting bit by a snake, it isn't as bad as that trip could've turned out to be."

For some reason, Yui smiles. "Right? It's nice that we get to go out like this, spending time together… o-only if we could do this just the both of us though…"

"What was that?" sorry, I missed that.

"N-No! Nothing!" she jumps to her feet. "A-Anyway, I'll be with Yukinon now. I'll come fetch you when we're about to leave."

"Sure."

Underneath the shade of this tree, I've remembered how fast things could change. You're that lonely kid who sits at the corner of the class and the next thing you knew, you're spending your summer with your fellow club members and a couple of other guys. It would've been better if you weren't bit by a snake, though.

I chuckled.

Being here right now is strangely… nostalgic. I remembered those quiet times back in the day when everyone's just… happy. We'd all sit down on the grass, arguing over who's the best while Kakashi-sensei's reading his book next to us. Those were the good ol' days. Happiness come and goes. It's not… permanent, transient or even eternal. But there are glimpses of happiness now that I remember carefully.

I used to think that I was so blessed having friends who could finally accept me for who I was.

But, they were all taken away from me.

Then, one day, I'm here; feeling glimpses of that happy moment.

To be able to feel happiness in times to sadness, truly, that is happiness.


"Alright, gather up kids, we're going to make curry for dinner!"

Looks like Yui was right after all.

We've finally arrived at the final checkpoint, the place where we'll have our dinner. The little lads and lasses are currently gathered in the cooking area where Hiratsuka-sensei's giving out orders. The committee members for this field trip provided us with the ingredients as well as utensils that we'll use to cook food and since there are a lot of us here, the amount they brought is plenty. I'm actually excited to cook, I'm not going to lie. I've wanted to experiment around with curry, since it's been a long time ever since I've eaten real curry.

When I said real curry, I meant the one that will even legitimately revive the dead.

"Well now that we're all here, let's divide the task!" Hiratsuka-sensei is acting all adult-like, like, really for reals. "The boys will be here and getting the fires ready while you, girls, get the ingredients and start cooking as soon as the boys are done!"

Uwaah… look at this responsible adult, she's splitting up the boys and girls just because she doesn't want them to be together. So sad.

"OU!" The kiddies cheer, doing as they are instructed to do.

"Haah… this's the good things about kids," wow, that's a rather scary look you have on your face, sensei. "they're so easy to use. Keh."

"Wow, now I know why you become a teacher." I said distastefully, all the while shaking my head. "But I can't deny that ordering these kids around doesn't make you feel superior." Yes, I had the exact same look on Hiratsuka-sensei's face when Konohamaru and his friends were under my so called 'command'.

"That just makes you as bad, Maki!"

Komachi, Yui and Yukinoshita are helping along with bringing the ingredients. They placed whatever they're carrying on an empty cooking station nearby. Komachi is giggling, Yukinoshita is looking as blank as ever and Yui's glaring at me.

"Psh! That's what adults do, right? Get paid for work, be bad examples and lording over kids?" I asked, as if those're the most normal of things. "Now before you shout at me again, let me get this clear: I don't care." Crossing my arms, I raised my nose high.

"Uwaah… now he's the one who's like a kid here…"

"Haaah… Onii-chan."

Opening my eyes, I caught something… or someone, more like. Standing alone on the hill that elevates her from the rest of us, I was able to identify her quickly. She's one of the elementary school kids and… it seems that she'd get along nicely with us from the Service Club, if my guess of her being a loner is correct. Looking at her, standing, brooding and looking down on us as if we're… aliens to her just doesn't sit right with me. And the fact that I'm weak to sad, little girls doesn't help one bit.

Looks like I won't get to cook after all.

But wait, if I approach her now, that'll make me look suspicious, right? I mean, even if I say something like 'Hey, what's wrong, you can talk to Onii-san' that'll just make things worse! Hm… how should I tackle this… ah, screw it, I'll just pretend as if I'm trying to find reception and then talk to her.

Pulling out my phone, I carried out my plan.

Walking up the hill, I made sure to look like someone who's fixed to his phone. I constantly look up while holding my phone in the air, acting the part. She's standing near this caged like thing that strangely gives me the impression of a chicken's coop, leaning on it with her smile upside down. Even from here, I can still hear the commotion that they're making down there.

"Alright, let's try to put something interesting in the curry!" Hayama's taking his job seriously.

"I want!"

"Me too!"

"Me, me!"

"Oh! Oh!" Yui, what are you doing? "I want to add fruits! Like peaches!"

Watching that exchange, I can only cringe mentally. "Is she an idiot…?" truly, and idiot.

"Yup, everyone's an idiot."

Oh, she talked to me-I mean, sure, this is all part of the plan to get her to talk to me. Now from here, I just have to play it by heart.

Pocketing my phone and then crossing my arms, I snorted. "Well, that goes for a lot of people in this world." I made sure to add a little bit of sassiness. "Glad that someone as young as you realized it this early."

She gives me a very familiar scoff, the kind that I've seen on a certain Ice Princess before. "With the kind and amount of people I'm forced to be with, I would've ascended to enlightenment a long time ago."

"'Most people' includes you too, no?"

Whoa!? Don't speak out of the blue like that, Yukinoshita, you scared me!

And what is she doing here?! This is supposed to be the scene where I give inspirational speeches and quotes and look like a big brother figure to this kid, c'mon author!

"Hey, I'm not strictly one of them. I'm a very special molecule that exists within a very densely populated oxygen rich environment. While the rest are just floating around, I go up high." You can call me helium.

"Special in the fact that you can take pride in that, I'm sure." She's looking at me with that judging look of hers. "You're beyond disgusting, Uzumaki-kun. You're inviting my contempt."

Oh, I've just invited it, now haven't I? "I thought we've established that a loooong time ago."

"Name."

I turned. "Huh? Who, me? Looks like you're forgetting your manners. Before you ask someone for their name, you give them yours first." I might've scared her there.

"…Tsurumi Rumi."

"Uzumaki Naruto and the Nee-chan over there is Yukinoshita Yukino."

"I could have introduced myself just fine, Uzumaki-kun."

"I'm just here trying to make things easier for you, princess."

From the corner of my eye, I saw Yui running up the hill, waving. "aaand this tawawa (3) Onee-san is Yuigahama Yui."

"Who's a tawawa Onee-san!" she complains before turning one eighty. "You're Tsurumi Rumi-chan, right? Let's get along well, okay?"

"You two are kind of different." You two? Who? "From those other people."

Anyway, she continues. "I'm different too. From those people."

"Different… what do you mean?" Yui asks.

"Everyone's a kid." Well, you're all kids, here… "So I thought maybe being alone wouldn't be so bad."

Not so bad?

"But… memories of friends from elementary school are kind of important, aren't they?" for her, Yui, no. I don't think so.

Rumi sighs. "I don't need memories. I can just make friends with other people when I get to middle school."

"She's right." I cannot help but agree.

But…

"That's not true." Whoa, you don't have to glare at me like that, princess. "Those girls that made fun of you are going to the same middle school as you, aren't they?" wait, which girls? "If you let things be from now on, other people will join in and support their cause of belittling you."

Ah… I see it now.

"I guess you're right." Rumi makes the face of someone who's accepted the possible conclusion that Yukinoshita has given her. Almost as if she's given up on trying. "I guess this is all just karma coming around."

"Karma?" now that's interesting. "Why karma, Rumi-chan?"

"This isn't the first time they've shunned somebody away like this. They did this in the past and I was one of the people who'd stand back and watch as they shun other kids away. But it would blow over quickly. Someone would make the suggestion and the rest of us follow. I'd go along with it too. Heh." How can a kid this young let out such a bitter laugh? "Now before I knew it, I'm the one getting shunned." Another set of bitter laughter. "I can't really complain now could I?"

I clapped.

And everyone's looking at me as if I had a third head.

I looked at the strange. "What? Can't I be amazed at how mature this kid is? Look, she's smart enough to come to that kind of conclusion and how can you not be impressed? Look at her and the rest of the kids down there!" I gestured. "It's a shame to do that. So don't. Rumi, that's your name right, you're the best ten year old that I've ever met in the past… three years or so. While your take on your… situation is mature, you're not really right."

"Oh, how so?" she can bite too.

"Let me tell you: you made a mistake in thinking that being a loner's going to be much better than a social butterfly. No, you're wrong. Being a loner means that you are segregating yourself from the rest of the world, not them segregating you."

"But they're the ones who shunned m-!"

"Ah, ah, ah." I wagged my finger, not letting her finish. "Yes, they were the ones who shunned you but do you think they care?" her eyes widen. "If you start to be a loner right after they decided that it's hilarious to ignore your very presence, then they'd take it as their victory. They've won, Rumi. And… in their eyes, you've lost. You're the loser. But… that doesn't mean that they're right, though." I smiled when the look of realization dawns upon her eyes. "See it now, Rumi? The difference between you and them is that you are able to see the difference; that crooked line that borders us and them. You're able to see it. And them? Let them think that they've won, but it's you who'll have the final laugh."

I placed a hand on the crown of her head.

"You know, there's this saying. When others go down…" I trailed a finger down, touching the dirt as I'm crouching to meet her level. Then, I flicked a thumb up, slowly raising my hand to the sky. "…you go high."

Letting go of the hand that I've rested on her head, I used both of them to support my chin by letting my elbows rest on my knees. "But me saying all of this won't do you good if you won't come to a decision. Choose, Tsurumi Rumi-chan. Do you want to go high, only to find yourself sitting on a lonely throne or do you want to remain low, and live within the ignorance of the people around you?"

I poked her nose. "Boop. Now that's the end of your counseling session with Naruto-Onii-san. Come see me if you want to talk more, ja ne~!"

And I hopped off the screen, whistling.


Dinner was good.

But… the mood now is anything but that.

"I hope that she's okay…"

The Service Club, Hayama's group and Komachi are sitting together in order to conduct an after dinner meeting with Hiratsuka-sensei. We're all seated around the table with a rather uneasy mood lingering around us.

"Are you worried about something?" asked Hiratsuka-sensei who's smoking.

"There's this girl who's always alone…" Hayama starts speaking.

"I kind'a feel sorry for her." Followed by his girlfriend... maybe.

Well, they're right. Rumi is a lonely girl, she basically told us about that herself. But they're not getting the whole picture here. Being alone is fine, the only thing that's not fine is that she's doing because of some pushy and stuck up brats forcing the condition on her. And even if Rumi followed along with their earlier shunning, this does not make things right.

"So, what do you wanna do about it?" Hiratsuka-sensei asks again, while disposing the ashes of her cigar in an ash compartment.

A moment of silence reign over us because none of us could give a solution. But Hayama, being the initiative and righteous person he is, speaks first eventually.

"I'll do whatever I can do to change that."

"Fool/Foolish."

Oho? When Hiratsuka-sensei said that Yukinoshita and I were in sync, she's right after all.

Being the gentleman I am, I let the fair lady deliver her speech first.

"Whatever you can do? I see." Hayama reacts by flinching. "You can't do it. You couldn't do it before, and you can't do it now."

"Because the only one that can change that is herself." I continued on Yukinoshita's behalf. "We're just counselors here, we offer advices, but we can never solve their problems for them. It'd beat the very definition of counseling."

Probably sensing that we're back into another ditch of dead end, Hiratsuka-sensei interferes. "Yukinoshita, Uzumaki. What about you two?"

Yukinoshita speaks first. "You said that this was part of the Service Club's summer camp. Would her case be included as a part of the club's activities?"

"Being this camp's counselors is your job in the first place. Then, what about you, Uzumaki?"

"Me?" I blinked. I felt sensei glare at me. "I guess I'll do whatever I've been doing up until now."

"…okay then."

"Then, if she seeks our help," Yukinoshita continues. "we will do whatever it takes to solve her problem."

I don't really agree with that, but fine. I'll play along.

And by the way, Hayama, can you please stop glaring at us like that?

"And is she asking you for help?"

"Ask?" I parroted the words right out of Hiratsuka-sensei's mouth. "Oh she asked alright, like any other mute person would."

Oh and if there're any mute people reading this, no offense.

"Maki, Yukinon." Both mine and Yukinoshita's eyes darted towards Yui. "I don't think she'd ask even if she wants to…" she says. "Rumi-chan said that she did the same thing. So she might think that it's unfair if she got help, since no one did."

"The world is unfair, Yui." I griped bitterly. "She's smart enough to realize that she's a part of the cycle, surely she's realized that it is unfair. Something's preventing her from asking for help and I suggest that we search into that first."

"But what is it?" Hayama pipes in, finally finding his voice.

"…" I stared at him for a good five seconds. "Of course you wouldn't know. If she asked for help, then it'd give her oppressors more than enough reason to oppress her even harder. By bringing in the adults, Rumi's oppressors would think that she's being even more stuck up and selfish than what they think she's already is at the moment."

"So, ultimately, by helping her deal with her problem; we are doing nothing but adding more of that weight onto her shoulders… is that what you're trying to say, Uzumaki-kun?"

"Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner folks!" I jeered humorlessly. "Yes. If we just gonna help her then we might as well forget changing anything in the first place."

And we're back to silent mode.

"Anyone objects? No? Okay, you guys can think about what you'll do." Sensei yawns. "I'll be going to bed."

"Old ladies and their beauty sleep…"

"What was that, Uzumaki?"

"Nothing."


To better optimize our thinking skills, we decided to switch to a more comfortable area under the gazebo and sitting around another wooden table.

"But, like, she's cute and all. Why can't she just hang out with another cute girl? She could, like, try and talk to them right? Then they'd, like, be friends, right? Easy peasy lemons squeezy, right?"

"Dude, that's awesome! Yumiko, you're a genius!"

If she is this world's standard of a genius, then I'm glad that I'm dumb.

"Aren't I?"

So glad.

"As far as foothold goes, Yumiko's got a point." Hayama says. "But seeing the situation, it'll be hard just getting someone to talk to her."

"Oh, right."

"I have an idea." Oh, glasses girl? She hasn't been speaking much lately.

"Oh, Hina, you got an idea?"

"She'll be fine. She can just live for her hobbies. When people really get into their hobbies, they start to do offline meet ups and go to conventions to hang out." Oh, that sounds like a legitimately good idea. "I'm sure that she'll fine a lot of friends and where she belongs. She'll soon realize that school isn't just the only thing in life."

Wow, glasses girl, forgive me for thinking lowly of you. I thought that you were just a side character that we needed in order to fill up an empty cast positio-

"Then she'd go along with the other BL loving fujoshi's from around the world!"

…never mind. I take back what I said.

"There are no girls in this world who could resist the hot, burning pathos inducing, love between men!" she hugs herself, a trickle of blood flowing down from her nose. "So I'm sure that she'll do fine if she just go and embrace the gayne-

"Yumiko, why don't you go with Hina and grab us some more tea?"

Thank you Hayama, can't believe that you'd be the savior this time.

"Okay Hayato!" Yumiko stands, before grabbing her glasses wearing friend by the arm forcefully. "Come on now Ebina, let's go!" she starts dragging her friend away from the table, ignoring all forms of resistance coming from glasses girl.

"Wait! I'm still not done spreading the gospel of our lord and savior BL-sama!"

"Alright, alright, Ebina, let's go."

"Wait, no, wait!"

Watching as the helpless, and hopeless, girl being dragged away; I couldn't help but shake my head.

"I don't think we'll solve anything if we don't find a way to make everyone friends again."

"Pft, everyone, huh?" I rolled my eyes.

"That's impossible." Yukinoshita immediately states. "There isn't even a remote chance of it happening, not like this." our esteemed club president, people!

"Hey, Yukinoshita-san, what's up with you?"

Oh ho?! Incoming catfight!

"What do you mean?" ever the fearless lioness she is, Yukinoshita retorts with an unwavering composure.

"We were, like, thinking about making everyone friends. Why do you have to, like, say that?" she asks. I assume that she's using what people would call her 'bitch' voice right now. "Like, I totally don't like you much, but I'm putting up with you because we're, like, on a trip here!"

I leaned back, watching the exchange with a stupid grin on my face. Aaaah, I can already smell something roasting.

Yui's completely aware of the face I'm making, by the way. "Maa, maa… Yumiko."

"Oh?" Yukinoshita crosses her arms, irking Yumiko further with a challenging smirk. "I'm flattered to know that you have such high opinions about me. As for me, I hate you."

She dropped the first bomb.

"Yukinon!" Yui hisses.

"But… Rumi-chan's got a pretty strong personality. It might be hard for her to blend in." Komachi offers us her two cents.

"You're right. Kind of like she's disinterested, or disillusioned."

"Disillusioned? More like she's looking down on everyone else. She got shunned probably because she acts all holier than thou." Yumiko then gives Yukinoshita a not-so-subtle glare. "Like someone we know."

Excuse me, what?

Disillusioned?

"Disillusioned?" I repeated the words, followed by gasps of laughter. "Disillusioned? What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked. "She's not disillusioned, she's completely aware that she's being shunned. She's completely aware of the fact that her 'friends' are ignoring her. The girl knows about that, Jesus, it's you who don't know anything here."

"Oh and what do you know?" I can feel the pitiful glare – if you can even call it a glare – that Yumiko directed at me.

I kindly returned her with a real glare.

She jumps and you can see the exact moment when her body flinched. Goosebumps appeared on her skin and now she's standing behind her glasses wearing friend. I might have put too much intent on that one, because everyone's looking at me as if I'm about to pull a Jason Voorhees on Yumiko.

"Unlike you, I actually bothered talking to the kid myself earlier this evening. Don't believe me, you can ask Yukinoshita and Yui, they were with me after all." My glare died down and no one's sweating anymore. "I know why she's in this situation and I know what she thinks of herself while being subjugated to this segregation. But that's not all that I know. I know the reason why you think she's looking down on others. You feel you're being looked down upon because you're a hundred percent aware that you're far more inferior."

"You…!"

"Yumiko, stop it." says Hayama.

Being the sheltered little princess she is, she couldn't bare the reality that her crush's just told her to stop. "Hmph!" she stomps off the place.

I can already hear her crying as she storms away.


"Naruto… uhn… Naruto…"

…I'm straight…

Right?

Saika's sleeping next to me.

My mind's telling me no, but my body… my body's telling yeeaaaa-

-eeeeah I'm getting outta here.

Closing the cabin door behind me, I decided that a late night walk outside underneath the starry sky is the best thing I could do right now. Alright, the next best thing. Stepping out of the cabin, I found myself wandering the area around the campsite, following the dirt path. I don't really know where I'm going right now, I'm just following this path while enjoying the night's warm breeze.

"Hm~ hm~ hm~"

Hm? Is that… humming?

Focusing my senses on my ears, I managed to identify the humming as twinkle twinkle little star. Who's humming this late at night anyway? Curious, I tracked down the sound.

And, oh, it's Yukinoshita.

I'm conflicted. Should I interrupt her? Yeah, I guess I should.

"Yo, what're you doing this late at night?" I came out from my spot behind the bushes. I totally looked suspicious just now.

"…so stalking is one of your hobbies huh, Uzumaki-kun?" she asks me, stepping away as she says that.

"Oi, it's not stalking if you're aware of my presence." But she's not exactly wrong though. I was a ninja, stalking's just one of the things that we normally do in the daily.

"Hm… and what are you doing here yourself? It would've been better if you'd to never wake up from your sleep."

"That's just a nicer way to say 'please die'." I muttered. "Don't… do that, please, it's already late at night."

She smirked in triumph, before glancing upwards towards the starry sky.

"Are you out stargazing?" I asked.

"No." she shakes her head, before looking at me again. "I'm actually here because of you. Miura-san is still crying and Yuigahama-san is currently trying to console her. I never know that you'd ever make a girl cry, Uzumaki-kun."

"Psh. You'd do the same thing." And I never knew that you couldn't stand people crying. Hell, I should cry often.

A gentle breeze went by us.

"I need to do something for that girl."

"Rumi?"

"Yes."

I pursed my lips. "You're awfully motivated for a girl you don't know."

"All the people that I've helped so far consisted of people I didn't know in the first place." Touché. Including me, huh? "I don't only reach out to people that I know. Despite what you've said about Tsurumi Rumi-san's situation being something she herself is aware of, I still think that there's something she failed to look into."

Yukinoshita walks over to a nearby tree, trailing a finger on the bark.

"Don't you think that girl is like Yuigahama-san in a way?"

"Rumi reminded me of… well, myself to be honest." I sat down, hugging my legs to retain warmth. "That's why I was a little mad when Hayama and his girlfriend decided to take things to their own matter. If you see someone else going through the same thing as you did before, there's a part of you that wants to see them go through it like you did."

I paused.

"I had no one to help me to go through the isolation I went through, maybe a part of me wants Rumi to be strong enough to go through the same thing as I did. But… I'm just reminded that not all of us can be as strong as the other."

"…what a narcissistic way of thinking, Uzumaki-kun."

I blew raspberries at her.

"But… perhaps you're right, Uzumaki-kun. Some of us are born strong, while others aren't as fortunate." She pauses. "But I will still need to do something for her." She kicks a pebble. "And I think that it's still bothering Hayama-kun."

Oh?

"…is there something going on between you and Hayama?"

Yukinoshita gives me a delayed answer. "We went to the same elementary school. That's all." She pauses again. "And our parents know each other. His father is a legal advisor for my family's company."

"Heeeh… really? Heh, you rich folks are really something else aren'tcha?" I couldn't help laughing. "Dealing with people because of your family sounds like it sucks."

"It does, believe me."

Yeah, I remember a certain actress-slash-princess telling me the same thing a long time ago.

Yukinoshita leans back on the tree, looking down at her feet. "Anything involving the family's reputation is my sister's job. As for me… I'm just a replacement."

Oh God, not another sibling feud. I've had enough of that with Sasuke and Itachi, I don't want to know especially since her sister's scary as fuck.

"Regardless, I'm glad that I could come here today. I thought I'd never be able to."

"Huh, why not?"

This time, unlike before, a chilly breeze swept past us and Yukinoshita doesn't answer me.

"Anyway, I think it's time for me to return."

Huh… avoiding the question… "Okay, see you." standing up, I dusted my pants.

"Hm. Good night."

She walks away, disappearing into the distance.

Looking up, I looked at the sky. So many stars, yet only one moon.

"Heh. How about you guys, are you lonely up there?"

Like they could hear me…


1: C'mon, you gotta know who I'm referring to here...

2: Ikemen, pronounced ee-keh-men, are handsome dudes. Hot Boiz.

3: Tawawa is basically a term used to refer to big breasted girls. Anime recommendation: Tawawa on Monday.