Yusuke has left. He left to return to Genkai's, where he has trained before, seeking for more power so he can compete against Toguro. May could see that Atsuko tried not to worry, outwardly looking unconcerned, but she knew better by now.
Keiko too was distressed after seeing Yusuke had not appeared to attend classes. She even approached May to ask her about it. She lives with the boy, so she should know. But May could only brush her off. She honestly didn't know what to tell the girl. This didn't improve their already strained relationship of course.
May herself was restless as well. She couldn't stand the wait, so when Kurama offered her to accompany him and Kuwabara for a bit, as they planned to train, she jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house.
One crisp morning, a week after the 'invitation', she found herself waiting for the two boys at the train station. They would camp out in the mountains for the week. They would have that much time before having to return home for a bit and making up another excuse to leave again so they can train in peace. May had it easy, she figured. She only had Atsuko to account to and that wasn't all that hard.
"Hello May-chan~!" May hears a familiar voice call out to her. She rolls her eyes, wondering why Kuwabara insists on calling her that. Yusuke told her to take it as a compliment.
She turns to face him and Kurama as they walk up to her, all packed.
"Are you all set May?" Kurama asks as they reach her.
She nods. "Yeah. Thanks for inviting me to come. Honestly, I don't know how long I'll be able to look at Atsuko and Keiko anymore before caving in. It's horrible to hide everything from them." she admits, frowning.
Kurama nods in understanding. If anyone knows what it's like, it would be him.
They get their tickets before stepping onto the train for their ride towards the mountains. It's a whole new experience for May. The last time she went on a train ride, a locomotive was still pulling it and the ride was loud and shaky.
After reaching their station, they set to trekking into the wilderness, leaving the civilized world behind them.
"This is a good place. Let's set up camp here." Kurama tells them after a few hours of walking. They are halfway up a mountain now and have reached a clearing among the trees that is covered in soft moss and surrounded by a mixture of pines and other trees.
May and Kuwabara release a sigh of relief. Both had some trouble during their walk, May's knees are green from the times she slipped on the moist grasses and moss. Kurama merely smiles at them in amusement.
"Need help setting up your tent?" Kuwabara offers May kindly as Kurama makes to set a fire.
"No need." May smiles, pulling her tent from the round sack holding it. As she whips it out, it unfolds itself automatically into a small one-person dome tent. "Ta-da~!"
She flashes Kuwabara a peace sign, grinning as he groans at the sight of own tent. It's an old-fashioned one with all the poles and lines in there. "Don't worry. I'll help you out." she tells him after putting down her tent in a spot to her liking.
"You set up tents before?" Kuwabara wonders.
"Not really." she admits with a shrug. "But some logic thinking will get us a long way I'm sure."
Soon, all their tents are set and they have a fire going strong. Kurama urges Kuwabara to follow him to another clearing he found while searching for wood, telling him that they should start training immediately. They can't afford to waste time after all.
"Will you be staying here May?" Kurama wonders, as he and Kuwabara are about to set off.
She nods. "Yeah, maybe I'll take a look around in a bit." she tells him.
"Alright. Have fun." he tells her, his eyebrows quirking upwards teasingly as he throws her a smile, which she returns.
He looked like such a geek when he does that. Sometimes she can't imagine him being centuries old; that is until he opens his mouth that is and a whole encyclopedia just rolls off his tongue. Scratch that. That just makes him more of a geek, just an ancient, demonic one.
May gives Kuwabara the thumbs up, knowing he will need all the support he can get. She's sure that Kurama will drill him hard. Lives are on the line after all and Kurama takes that very seriously. That's why she thought it best to leave them to do their thing, not wanting to get in their way.
After making sure the fire will hold for a while, she decides to explore the area for herself. She's never been camping before, nor has she spend a lot of time in the woods. The smell of it makes her feel invigorated.
"Trees, where have you been all my life?" she jokes to herself before throwing off her shoes and setting off bare footed, liking how the moss cushions her feet.
On her trek, she encounters a natural hot spring and notes it down for future reference. She also comes across some of the local wildlife. A tanuki looks at her oddly as she darts past.
It's odd and perhaps a tad bit cliché, but this is actually the first time she feels like she can just enjoy that she is still alive and not have the feeling like it's something she has to work herself through each day.
It's been rather hard for her since being brought back to life, her emotions constantly sparring. Some days she was swayed more towards making the best out of it and at some times, she just wants everything to be back to how it was before.
What really gets to her is her constant paranoia. She's been so used to having spiritual beings all around her, but now she cannot perceive them like she used to. The thought of perhaps a ghoul passing by her without her notice… It just makes her skin crawl.
When she finds her way back to camp, the boys are still gone. She can sense their energies though, so they must still be training hard.
May pulls picks up the little radio Kuwabara brought and turns it on, softly letting it play some music as she gathers everything to start dinner. Hopefully she can fix them up something over the open fire.
…..
The wind howls trough the pines and the fire crackles. Night has fallen and May gazes at the pine cones that pop in the fire, their seeds jumping out of their sockets.
Her thoughts are dwelling again. It seems to go that way every time she has too much time on her hands and nothing to keep her occupied.
"What are you thinking about?" Kurama interrupts her thoughts as he sits down next to her. Apparently he wasn't asleep like she thought. Kuwabara was out like a light after stuffing his face with dinner.
May shrugs slightly, sitting upright so she can look at him better. "Just about the time before I got killed…and…. how petty I was back then." she sighs.
"How so?" he wonders, sounding a bit disbelieving.
She thinks over her words before answering. "I suppose I was a typical moody teenager back then. Never quite happy with my life and rebellious towards my parents. It's what got me killed in the first place. If I didn't run away in an angry fit, I wouldn't have gotten caught in the fire. When I realized of how childish I was being, I was already dead." she sighs.
"May I ask why you ran?" Kurama questions curiously. He can't help but jump at the opportunity to search for more pieces of the puzzle that make out May.
May purses her lips in distaste. "They found me a suitor. I knew him, he was kind enough, but a bit of a stiff. They thought he would take care of me. We weren't very fortunate money wise, but he had enough. It would've helped my parent if I married him. It's just… I was too wild back then and a real sap for romance. I didn't feel anything for the guy and wanted to fall in love like my sister had the opportunity to do. My parent didn't want to wait that long though." she explains, growing a bit embarrassed.
"Now that I think back on it, my problems were very petty compared to the ones that Yusuke faces for example, or you for that matter. I would be stuck with a bore perhaps, but I would have lived comfortably." she finishes.
Kurama nods silently, his nimble fingers treading loops from the few dry grasses at their feet.
"Do you regret it?" he finally asks.
"What?" May questions, snapping from her momentary trance as she watched his fingers weave in and out.
"Not getting married? And so, everything that sprung from your decision to run away?" he specifies, his eyes rising to meet her. The way he looks at her now, she can just imagine a wide-eyed, curiosity filled fox looking up at her with a tail swishing back and forth in eagerness.
May is pretty used to him asking for more information by now. At first she thought it was annoying, but the longer she got to know him, the easier it was for him to pick her brain without her getting upset about it. It's actually satisfying to talk to him because she knows whatever she tells him, he won't judge. I guess that's what makes him such a good friend.
"I regret hurting my parents…" she admits with a sting in her heart. "And dying is not something I recommend. But, my existence sure became a lot more interesting. I don't feel like I can regret that. I wouldn't want to miss it for the world." she tells him earnestly, making a smile stretch out on his lips.
"I'm glad." he says. "And allow me to be selfish by saying that I'm also glad that you made the decisions you made. Else I wouldn't have met you." he admits, making May look away with a shy smile and a blush.
"Shucks Kurama." she waves him off jokingly. "I bet you say that to all the girls." she teases, making him laugh, though not too loud so he won't wake up Kuwabara.
"No. I do believe you're quite unique in that respect. I seem to tell you a lot of things I wouldn't say to any other girl." he tells her as a matter of factually.
"Oh~. So I'm rather special." she smiles cheekily up at him, looking at him through her eyelashes.
"I would say so." he nods, returning the smile as he tilt his head at her slightly.
May blinks as she suddenly realizes what their doing. They're flirting. What the heck?! She can feel her cheeks start to redden even more when Kurama smiles down at her softly, amusement twinkling in his eyes. He knows exactly what he's doing.
She clears her throat awkwardly, unsure of how to handle the situation from here. "I- uh. I think I'll go to bed now." she excuses and she is sure his amusement has grown when his lips pull up even higher, watching her squirm is discomfort. A sadist, that's what he is!
"Of course. It's rather late." he agrees, getting to his feet also. He's standing very close to her, she can feel his body heat over the heat of the fire. Her heart starts to beat uncomfortably.
"Goodnight May." he tells her, his breath tickling her cheek.