"Ok, is anyone still missing?"
"Keiko-chan isn't here yet, Sensei," Sumiko announced. She double-checked the roll once again. "But the rest of the class is now present."
"It's getting so late," Mako sighed. "The other buses left five minutes ago. We really can't wait any longer."
"We should just leave without her," Hidemi announced petulantly. "If she doesn't have the common courtesy to show up on time, I see no reason to waste our precious time.
"She's definitely coming," Azumi protested as she tried Keiko's number for the tenth time. "I talked to her last night, and she was really excited about today."
"That's all very well and good," Mako replied. "But everyone was supposed to be here a half hour ago."
"But you only got here ten minutes ago," Shin innocently pointed out.
"Be quiet, Yoshito-kun," Mako snapped back. "I had a good reason for being late."
"What's that?" he asked.
"None of your business!"
"In any case, we can't just leave without her, can we?" Azumi pleaded.
Their teacher shook her head. "Everyone, let's go ahead and get seated on the bus. That way if she does show up we'll be ready to go." She glanced over at Sumiko. "Make sure you keep a good headcount of everyone today. I don't want any lost students on this trip."
"Ok," Sumiko promised as she watched the students shuffle onto the bus. "Jeez," she grumbled more quietly to Azumi. "Like it's not enough responsibility just being a group leader, now she wants me to keep up with everyone else too."
"We'll help you out," Azumi muttered as she scanned the skies for their missing friend.
There was still no sign of Keiko as the teacher reluctantly followed Sumiko onto the bus. "Well, I guess she's not coming," Mako announced.
"Can't we wait just a little bit longer?" Azumi asked.
"If we don't get going now, it'll be dark before we finish hiking," Mako explained. "I'm sorry, but we can't."
"Keiko's hardly ever late," Azumi said to herself. "How come it had to be today?"
"Don't worry about it," Sumiko told her as she took the seat next to Kinuka.
"Don't you even care?" Azumi muttered irritably as she glanced back at Sumiko.
The bus shuddered as the engine roared to life. "Everyone make sure to stay in your seats while we're moving," the driver announced. He glanced over at the teacher. "That means you too, Modoki-sensei."
"Yes, ok," Mako replied as she sat down in the front row next to Shin.
"Why do I have to sit up here?" Shin grumped.
"Because I don't trust you," she replied. "I'm keeping an eye on you until we get back."
He slyly grinned. "Are you sure you aren't just trying to flirt with me?"
In reply she merely gave him a disgusted look. "Let's get going," she ordered.
"Here we go," the driver announced as the bus lurched forward.
They had barely gone a couple of miles when the bus suddenly slowed to a crawl.
"Now what's all this about?" the driver wondered out loud, scratching his head.
A long procession of large tanks slowly rumbled down the formerly empty street in front of them, completely blocking their way.
Azumi peered out the window. "What in the world?" she asked. Noticing an octopus symbol on the side of one of the turrets, she glanced back at Sumiko. "Do you know anything about this?"
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Sumiko calmly denied. "It looks like they're just out on maneuvers."
"Right in the middle of town? And on this particular street?" Azumi demanded
Sumiko looked her dead in the eye. "Urban maneuvers are important."
Azumi smiled and settled back down in her seat. "I knew you were worried," she mumbled.
As the minutes slowly passed and the tanks showed no signs of moving out of the way, Mako looked more and more agitated. "Can't we go another way?" she demanded.
"Where am I supposed to go?" the driver replied as he pointed out the tanks now flanking the bus on both sides.
"This is just great," she grumbled.
A black sports car suddenly skidded into view from behind them and screeched to a stop directly to the rear of the bus.
"Hey, Sensei, there's Moroboshi-san!" one of the students in the back called out.
Azumi peered back to see the green-haired girl emerging from the car, a large backpack clutched in her hand.
Mako shook her head. "That's one of my students," she explained. "Could you please let her on?"
"Sure, it's not like we're moving anyways," the driver replied as he opened the door.
"Sorry I'm late, everyone!" Keiko called out as she swooped in. "I guess I overslept."
"You're just lucky that we got held up," Mako told her sternly. "But how did you know where to find us?"
Keiko shrugged. "No idea," she replied blithely as she headed back towards the empty seat next to Azumi.
"Hey," she told her friends as she settled down. "I guess I made it after all."
"Yeah, you sure are lucky," Azumi observed. "I was afraid you were going to miss the whole trip."
"All the tanks are moving out of the way now," the driver pointed out as they started moving again.
"How about that," Mako replied dryly. "Well, you'd better step on it if we're going to get there."
Kinuka glanced over at Sumiko, but her expression remained unreadable. "Impressive," she whispered.
"Urban maneuvers are unpredictable," Sumiko replied stoically.
"How could you oversleep today of all days?" Azumi demanded.
"I was so nervous that I couldn't fall asleep last night," Keiko hissed back. "He's going to be in our group, you know?"
"You're hopeless," Sumiko spoke up.
"Sorry," Keiko replied. "I really owe you one."
Sumiko shook her head and looked away, her face slightly red.
Keiko yawned as she turned back around. "I'm really glad I didn't miss today," she murmured."
"Are you still tired?" Azumi demanded as Keiko's eyes started to close.
"I just got woken up ten minutes ago," she muttered sleepily.
Azumi shook her head. "You'd better not sleep the whole way."
"I'll try to stay awake," Keiko promised as her eyes struggled to stay open.
Azumi sighed. "It's fine, just get some rest," she said more gently. "You've got a big day coming up."
"Come on, wake up already!" Azumi grumped as she softly shook Keiko's arm.
"Something like that's not going to work," Sumiko observed as she leaned over the seat. Carefully grabbing a single strand of Keiko's long hair, she unceremoniously yanked it out.
"Ouch!" Keiko complained as her eyes snapped open. "Who did that?"
"I did," Sumiko replied, dropping the strand right on Keiko's irritable face. "Now get ready, we're here."
Keiko blew the hair away and glanced out the window at the thick forest nearby. "Oh, we are, aren't we?"
"Ok, everyone, I want you to all stay close to the bus until we're ready to start," Mako announced as she ushered Shin off first.
"Here we go," Azumi said as she stood up. "Are you excited?"
"More nervous than anything," Keiko admitted as she caught sight of Kenma near the back of the bus. She gave her friends a wary look. "So you're all going to hang back a bit, right?"
"Don't worry, I don't want to be anywhere near him," Sumiko mumbled.
"We'll make sure to give you some room," Azumi promised as she led the way down the aisle.
The four gathered in front of the bus along with the rest of their class and waited patiently as the teacher finished speaking with the bus driver.
"Well, it looks like the other classes already started without us," Mako announced as she glanced around the mostly deserted parking area. "Now listen up! I want everyone to be careful out there. This is going to be a long hike, so make sure you stay hydrated. And even though I know that some of you aren't the fastest walkers, make sure you stay with your group at all times."
"What if the rest of your group walks into a bunch of thorns?" Shin asked.
"You're the only one who would do something like that," Mako retorted. "Now please be quiet." She turned back towards the rest of the class. "Group leaders, make sure no one leaves the path. And if someone's lagging behind, I expect the whole group to slow down for them."
She signaled for Sumiko to come forward. "I want your group to stay in the rear," she explained. "Make sure no one gets separated from the other groups."
"Ok," Sumiko promised.
"Well then, let's get in our groups and get going," Mako continued. "We're really going to have to hurry if we're going to make it before it gets dark."
"It turned out to be a really nice day," Keiko observed, trying to break the awkward silence.
"Yeah, it did," Kenma agreed. "This wouldn't be any fun if it started raining."
"I know." She was silent for a moment. "I'm really embarrassed that I was so late earlier," she admitted.
"I don't think it was a big deal," he replied. "Mendou-san helped you out, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she did."
"I think that it's nice that you have such good friends," he continued. "Takamura-san kept asking the teacher if we could wait a bit longer for you."
Keiko blushed. "Azumi is really nice," she replied.
"So they're hanging back on purpose, right?" he suddenly asked.
She glanced back at the three girls. "No, not really," she lied. "Azumi's taking a lot of pictures, and Sumiko has to make sure no one gets left behind."
"Ah, I see," he replied, not sounding convinced.
"I'm glad we already switched over to summer uniforms," she remarked. "I already feel like I'm about to start sweating."
"Yeah, it is kind of warm," he agreed.
Several long minutes passed as Keiko desperately tried to figure out something to talk about. She had lain awake for hours the night before trying to think of topics to discuss, but now that he was actually here absolutely nothing was coming to mind.
She was surprised when he was the one to finally break the silence again.
"I'm kind of happy to get away from the house for a couple of days," he began, nervously scratching the back of his head. "My mom was on a real rampage this morning. I figure Pop must have said something stupid again."
"Is that so?" she asked lamely.
"Yeah, he's pretty tactless most of the time," Kenma continued. "I guess it kind of runs in the family though."
"I'm sure he's not that bad. My dad, on the other hand... well, he's just kind of unique," Keiko replied.
He laughed. "I guess no one's family is really normal, huh?'
"Probably not," she agreed. "Heaven knows mine isn't."
"But I guess my family is pretty boring compared to yours though, right?" he asked. "Isn't your mom like an alien princess or something?"
"Not really," Keiko answered, her face turning slightly red. "My grandfather is more like a general than royalty."
He nodded. "Still, that's pretty different."
"I guess so," she replied. "It doesn't really mean anything here on Earth though."
"I suppose not," he quietly agreed. "It must be neat being able to fly though, right?"
"Oh, I love flying. Walking is such a pain." She scowled. "Our P.E. teacher said if I didn't walk the whole way, I wasn't going to get any credit for the trip."
"Sorry."
"It's alright," she sighed. "I need the exercise anyways."
"Is there anything else special that you can do?" he asked.
"Well, I can shoot lightning," she revealed.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah, see," she said, holding her hands out in front of her.
His eyes widened as a series of crackling sparks jumped between her fingers.
"That's crazy," he marveled. "I've heard stories about those who could control the elements, but I've never actually seen anything like that."
"It's no big deal," she murmured. "Besides, I can't control it nearly as well as my mom can."
"I think it's pretty cool."
"What do you think that they're talking about up there?" Azumi demanded eagerly.
"No idea," Sumiko responded glumly. "Probably something stupid."
"Now don't be like that," Azumi scolded. A catty smile appeared on her face. "Could it be that you're jealous?"
"What? No way. I can't stand that guy."
The taller girl coughed. "I was actually thinking you're jealous of him taking Keiko-chan away from you," she murmured.
"I don't really care."
"Anyways," Azumi continued as she pulled her camera out. "It looks like you're having fun, Kinuka-chan."
Kinuka nodded, not taking her eyes off the pair walking up ahead.
"I hope I can get some good pictures," Azumi muttered as she made some adjustments on her camera. Momentarily satisfied, she pointed it at Sumiko. "Smile!"
Sumiko's eyes shot wide open as the flash went off. "Ah, don't do that so close," she complained as she rapidly blinked to recalibrate her vision.
"Heh," Azumi laughed as she checked out the picture on the camera's display. "You look really surprised."
"Tell me you're going to delete that," Sumiko groaned.
"No, I really think this one should go in the paper."
"Don't mess with someone who has a private army at her disposal."
"Don't you believe in freedom of the press?" Azumi demanded.
"No."
"Fine, fine, I won't use it."
"You two are being really noisy," Kinuka spoke up.
"Well excuse us," Azumi replied, playfully tousling the shorter girl's hair. "This is a field trip after all."
Kinuka carefully smoothed her silky hair back down. "I'm trying to listen."
"You can hear them?"
"Not when you're gabbing," Kinuka retorted.
"Amazing!" Azumi replied. "What are they talking about?"
"She's telling a story about Sumiko-chan."
"What about me?" Sumiko demanded.
"Something about you throwing a big fit over some toy. A stuffed frog named Gunso."
"What?" Sumiko's felt her cheeks growing warm. "That little brat! I can't believe she's still making fun of me."
"What happened?" Azumi asked, trying to hold back a smile.
"Back when we were little, like four or five, she stole my favorite toy and hid it from me," Sumiko explained angrily. "She kept teasing me that she had burned it to a crisp!"
Azumi cast a glance up at the two. "But she eventually gave it back, right?"
"No! She completely forgot where she hid it." Sumiko grumped. "I was really upset about that."
"That's pretty harsh."
"My father found me another one, but it just wasn't the same." Sumiko clenched her fists. "Now I'm getting angry all over again."
"Keiko isn't laughing about it," Kinuko spoke up. "She says she always felt really guilty about it."
Sumiko's face turned even redder as her mouth clamped shut. "She did apologize a lot back then," she finally admitted.
Azumi grinned. "I'm sure she really meant to give it back."
"Yeah, I know she did," Sumiko agreed reluctantly. "She used to tease me a lot, but after losing Gunso she never hid any of my toys again."
"She's been telling a bunch of stories about when you two were little," Kinuka revealed. "Are you really terrified of dark places?"
"Nyctophobia isn't that uncommon," Sumiko sniffed. "Besides, it's not that bad anymore." She shook her head irritably. "Why is she only saying embarrassing stuff about me?"
"You must be a good icebreaker," Azumi suggested.
"Well, Keiko used to wet the bed when she stayed over," Sumiko grumbled. "And everyone knew it was her too."
Azumi had to fight hard not to burst out laughing.
"Ugh, how long have we been going now?" Keiko practically whined. "It seems like we're never going to get there."
"Almost four hours," Kenma replied, checking his watch. "We started a little after three."
"I can't believe they're making us walk this far." She willed herself not to wince as the throbbing in her feet increased. "Would you mind if I took a breather?"
"No, go on ahead," he replied worriedly. "But we're already way behind the rest of the class, so we need to make it quick."
She sighed as she sank down to the ground, carefully stretching her legs out in front of her. "I guess I'm just not used to this sort of thing."
"Seriously? You're taking another break?" Sumiko demanded as she and the other two girls surrounded Keiko. "We're never going to get there at this rate."
"I can't help it," Keiko retorted quietly, tears springing into her eyes. "I don't walk all that much, and my feet hurt really bad."
Azumi knelt down beside her in a flash. "Let me see," she demanded.
"That's ok," Keiko replied nervously.
"Now."
Blushing, Keiko gingerly removed one of her shoes and stripped her sock off.
Azumi winced as she caught sight of the large raw blisters forming on her friend's swollen foot. "That looks terrible," she scolded. "Why didn't you say something earlier?"
Keiko glared at her. "It's embarrassing," she hissed. "Don't tell him."
"I don't think you should try walking any more," Azumi told her in a concerned tone. "Just fly from now on."
"But Kesshutsu-sensei said I have to walk the whole way," Keiko protested.
Sumiko peered over Azumi's shoulder. "Don't be an idiot," she said bluntly. "I'll speak to the teachers about it. You've done really well today, but it's obvious that this is too much for you."
"Is everything ok?" Kenma asked as he tried to peer around the gathered girls.
Keiko hurriedly slipped her sock back on, wincing from the pain. "Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.
"Keiko's just tired," Sumiko interrupted her. "Stop being so stubborn about it," she scolded Keiko. "Either you fly the rest of the way, or I'm going to make this guy carry you."
Kenma looked confused. "Huh?"
"Fine, I'll fly," Keiko quickly relented, her face bright red.
"Do you need me to carry you?" Kenma asked.
"Nah, I'll be ok flying. It doesn't take much energy."
"Ok then," he replied uncertainly.
Well, if you're flying, then let's get going already," Sumiko announced. "I don't want to be out here when the sun goes down."
Keiko carefully put her shoe back on. "Fine," she said quietly as she rose into the air. "Sorry for holding everyone up."
"You didn't," Azumi assured her. "You know I'm not all that fast myself."
Keiko nodded, but she still looked depressed as they continued on their way.
Despite their best efforts, by the time Sumiko's group reached the end of the train darkness had already fallen on the mountain. They could only barely see their teacher waiting impatiently for them to arrive. The rest of the students appeared to have already started eating their dinner around a large bonfire.
"Where were you guys?" Mako demanded as soon as they reached her, her expression a mixture of worry and irritation. "You're a half hour late."
"Sorry, Sensei," Sumiko spoke up. "It was my fault that we fell behind a bit."
Their teacher shook her head. "Just make sure that doesn't happen tomorrow," she warned them. "I don't want the rest of the class to have to wait for you guys." She caught sight of Keiko hovering in the back of the group and sighed. "Moroboshi-san, you know you aren't supposed to be flying on this trip. That's going to be a big deduction in your P.E. grade."
Keiko immediately sank to the ground. "Sorry," she said dejectedly.
"Sensei, Keiko-chan walked most of the way," Sumiko interjected. "Since she tried her best, shouldn't she be given the credit anyways?"
Mako shook her head. "It's not up to me."
"Yeah, but if you spoke with Kesshutsu-sensei, she might change her mind."
"What's there to say?" Mako argued. "It's not fair to everyone else, and Moroboshi-san was given fair warning."
"As the group leader and class representative, you gave me the responsibility of helping take care of everyone," Sumiko snapped. "I'm the one who told her to fly the rest of the way here. If you're going to deduct points from anyone, you should deduct them from me."
"That's not how it works," Mako stuttered, taken aback by Sumiko's sudden assertiveness.
"I don't think this is being very fair either," Kenma spoke up. "Keiko-chan really did try hard to walk the whole way."
Sumiko shook her head. "Saotome-kun, could you please go ahead of us?"
"But..."
"Please? You owe me one," she reminded him.
"Fine," he grumbled as he headed off to join the other students.
"Keiko-chan's didn't want him to know, but her feet are in really bad shape," Sumiko continued once Kenma was a safe distance away. "She couldn't have kept walking like that."
"How bad are they? Let me see," Mako replied worriedly as she knelt down.
With a sigh Keiko obediently removed her footwear once again.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry, Moroboshi-san," Mako apologized as she focused her flashlight on the girl's swollen feet. "These blisters could get infected. We need to get these cleaned and bandaged up right away." She peered up at Keiko's face, noticing the tears on her cheeks. "It must hurt really bad, right?"
"Just a little," Keiko admitted.
"Now, it's nothing to be embarrassed about," Mako assured her. "I know that you don't usually walk much, but I had no idea your feet were this tender." She shook her head and stood up "I'm glad Ozuno-sensei came along. InutaishÅ-san, could you please go tell her we need her?"
Kinuka nodded and dashed off to find the nurse.
"Come on, Moroboshi-san. We'll get a bed ready for you."
"Here, I brought you some food," Sumiko announced as she returned the small cabin they had been assigned to.
"I'm not hungry," Keiko replied, not lifting her eyes from the floor.
"You didn't have any breakfast or lunch," Sumiko reminded as she set the plate down next to Keiko. "You need to eat something."
Keiko was quiet for little while. "I keep hearing laughter from out there. What is everyone else doing?" she finally asked.
Sumiko sat down heavily on the other lower bunk. "I don't know," she replied. "The fire's starting to burn down, so most everyone's just sitting around talking."
"I don't see why I have to stay in here," Keiko sighed.
"Sakura-san said not to let you get up," Sumiko reminded her. "You're pretty tired, aren't you?"
"I guess," Keiko admitted. "But I don't feel like sleeping."
"Yeah, I suppose you did sleep a lot earlier."
"Today's just been a disaster from start to finish."
"It wasn't all bad," Sumiko protested. "You got to hang out with Saotome-kun a lot, didn't you?"
"Yeah, but I'm not making a good impression, am I?"
"I don't know about that. He's asked about you several times."
"Really?" Keiko perked up. "What did you tell him?"
"I told him you just needed to get some rest," Sumiko replied.
"You might as well have told him what happened. I won't be able to hide these tomorrow," Keiko grumped, looking at the bandages covering both of her feet."
"Yeah, there's no way," Sumiko agreed.
"Are Azumi-chan and Kinuka-chan having fun?"
"They said they'd come back as soon as they finish eating."
"No one's suspicious that you aren't eating?"
"I ate a little," Sumiko replied. "I told them I was too worried about you to eat much."
Keiko grinned. "You liar."
"I am worried about you," Sumiko replied irritably. "You're an idiot."
"Hey!"
"Well, you are," Sumiko scolded her. "You should have said something before it got this bad."
"Kenma probably thinks I'm pathetic," Keiko replied, her depression returning.
"I don't think so," Sumiko replied. "He's just worried." She glanced away and begrudgingly continued. "I guess he's not that bad of a guy after all."
"I saw him first," her friend growled.
"I am soooo not interested," Sumiko retorted.