My apologies for not posting this any sooner. I really just have been lazy so far this summer. Forgive me.
A deep sigh sounded next to Kyoya's left ear. He turned slightly to view Nile, who had the unfortunate circumstance of having the middle seat in the back of the van, with Yu Tendo on the other side of him. Seriously, why hadn't the smallest one taken the middle seat? In the three seats in front of Kyoya, Nile, and Yu were Gingka, Masamune, and Tsubasa. The former two had just finished a rousing chorus of "99 bottles of beer on the wall," and Tsubasa looked like he could barely restrain himself from punching both of them. Driving the van was Toby, and riding shotgun – giving the driving directions – was Zeo Abyss.
"Why did we agree to this trip?" Nile groaned as he saw the slight movement of Kyoya's head.
"Because once we get there it will be fun fun fun, Nile!" Yu squealed happily.
Tsubasa turned around to face the three behind him. "We'd better get there soon, or no fun will make up for this torture." His voice was completely serious and devoid of emotion.
"Um... yeah. Take a left up here," Zeo could be heard giving instructions to Toby as the eight of them drove through some thickly wooded forests. This had all been set up by Ryo Hagane, Gingka's dad, who wanted all the boys to get together for old time's sake and have some 'good old-fashioned fun' as he put it. Supposedly there was an area up ahead for them all to camp in. Ryo had said he would bring 'the most epic tent seen by all mankind,' so Kyoya was kinda wondering if it would indeed be that or just the opposite.
"Are we there yet?" Gingka whined, bored after only a minute of not singing in the car.
"We better be, because I can't think of a single other song to sing!" shouted Masamune unnecessarily loudly.
Thankfully, Toby slowed the van to a stop, put it in park, and turned it off. "We'll just walk down this short path and be there at the campsite. Ryo should be here already, since we said we'd show up at 3:00 and we're running late already."
"Hooray!" Gingka and Masamune scrambled out the now-open doors of the van and promptly fell to the ground.
Yu laughed and stepped on top of them to get out. "What's the matter guys, can't walk now after all that sitting?"
The Pegasus and Striker wielders looked up at Yu with tears streaming down their cheeks. "LEG CRAMPS!"
Kyoya and Nile slowly emerged from the vehicle, stretching as they stepped onto the earth. Tsubasa, Toby, and Zeo did likewise, avoiding the leg cramps that still crippled Gingka and Masamune. "Come on, everyone. We need to walk fast! As I said earlier, we're running late!" Toby led the way down a path that looked less like a path and more like deer trail to Kyoya. Seriously, this place was really in the middle of nowhere. What exactly were they to do out here? When he and Nile had heard from Ryo that they were invited to a wilderness adventure in the northwoods of the USA, they had pictured a crystal lake, a populated beach where they could chill in the sun, and whatever else there was to the perfect vacation. After some quick math, the two friends calculated that the fun of such a vacation outweighed the annoyingness factor of Gingka and Masamune.
Soon the eight bladers walked into a small clearing, beyond which was a crystal clear lake that sparkled in the sun. A perfect looking beach ran along that lake, complete with an umbrella in the sand and about a dozen towels laid out under it. A dock on the far end of the beach housed multiple boats, one necessary for each lake-going occasion: A pontoon party-boat, a speed boat for activities such as wake boarding, tubing, and water skiing, and a fishing boat with every sort of fishing pole available to mankind (or so it seemed) stocked on it. In fact, only two things about this place didn't match the fantasy in Kyoya and Nile's minds. One: the beach was not populated, it was void entirely of people except for Ryo, waving them over to him. Two: 'the most epic tent seen by all mankind' was a one-person tent that lay sprawled awkwardly in the clearing.
"Dad!" Gingka sprinted across the clearing toward Ryo, with Masamune and Yu close behind. "Did Benkei and Demure make it here?"
"Yes, they just arrived a little before you guys did," Ryo answered, as the two other Wild Fang team members showed up from wherever they had just been. Ryo inwardly grinned. The Gan Gan Galaxy, Wild Fang, and Dungeon teams had all showed up. He had had his doubts about Kyoya and Nile, but they had come after all. "So what do you all want to do first?" he asked as the rest of the group approached.
Kyoya opened his mouth to reply, but as nearly tackled in a hug by Benkei. "Kyoya! I missed you so much! On this trip, I'll follow you wherever you go!"
"Guh." Kyoya pushed Benkei back. "What I was trying to say earlier was that we should build ourselves a proper shelter first."
Nile nodded in agreement. "Yeah, 'the most epic tent seen by all mankind' really won't cut it. But you can have it all to yourself if you want."
Ryo beamed, seemingly not catching the hint that his tent was not good at all. "Really guys? Thanks! Now run along and have fun building your shelter. Gingka, Masamune, everyone else, let's go swimming!"
"But shouldn't we help put up a shelter?" Tsubasa, the responsible one of the group asked.
"Nah, I'm sure Kyoya and Nile can put one up themselves, since they really want to do that first." Okay, so Ryo had caught Nile's earlier jab at his tent-puting-up skills.
The Leone and Horuseus bladers shrugged, not really caring. Benkei looked torn as he had to decide whether to keep true to his promise to Kyoya or do what Ryo said. In the end, he followed Kyoya, ignoring the look of disapproval given to him by Ryo as he and the others changed into their swim trunks and headed out to the lake.
Kyoya and Nile silently pulled out their beys and walked with them into the woods. "Hey guys! Wait for me! Bu-bu-bu-bull!" Benkei charged after them with Dark Bull clutched in his fist.
"Mystic Zone!" A giant hole appeared in the ground, which Kyoya then rounded out with Leone's King Lion Tearing Blast.
Benkei blinked. "Is this the basement? You know, you don't have to build a house for us to live in."
Nile shrugged. "Ryo wanted us to put up a shelter, so we're putting up a shelter."
Benkei sighed, as that wasn't really an explanation, but oh well.
"Benkei! Grab these logs and pile them over there," Kyoya commanded, gesturing to the trees he had chopped neatly down with Leone. "Don't look so stressed out, I planted new ones to replace them, see?" He pointed out the small saplings neatly placed in the spots the older trees had stood. Benkei frowned, but didn't ask where Kyoya had gotten the saplings. Sometimes it was best just not to ask.
"Yes sir, Kyoya!" Benkei and Bull worked together to haul the chopped trees into a neat pile. Leone and Horuseus, under the direction of their bladers, built a perfect log cabin complete with a basement cellar. Even the furnishings looked perfect; just enough bunk beds for everyone in the group. Minus Ryo, of course, who got to stay in his very own special tent. '
Just as the three finished up the last of the furnishings for the interior, all the swimmers arrived back. "Wh-wha?" Tsubasa was in shock. How could the three of them have built this perfect looking cabin AND furnished it in a little over an hour?
For some reason, Yu was the only one not fazed. "Nice place, guys. Which one is my bunk?"
"Any one but this one," Nile answered, pointing to the one on the end that he and Kyoya would have. Nile had won the rock-paper-scissors game that determined who got top bunk, and Kyoya was still fuming about it. Benkei, meanwhile, was fuming that Kyoya had chosen to bunk with Nile over him. Now he was stuck with Demure. As always...
"Oh goody!" Yu danced around the room and then called top bunk on one of the beds. "Tsubasi can have the bottom."
Gingka and Masamune picked the next closest bunk to Kyoya and Nile – probably so they could annoy them – but fortunately for the Wild Fang members, Benkei and Demure's bunk was between them.
That left Toby and Zeo in the far bunk, not that they really cared. Ryo on the other hand, looked at the cabin with mouth agape. "H-how?" He shook his head and stumbled down to his dilapidated tent that rested in the clearing and started talking to it. "You're still be best in my eyes," he said. Though even the tent seemed to see through that lie.
That night, after everyone had stowed their stuff in the cabin (or in Ryo's case, his tent), they gathered on the beach and stoked up a bonfire. Yu had had the presence of mind to bring s'mores ingredients (probably to get his sugar-fix on this vacation), so everyone grabbed a stick and roasted them. Gingka and Masamune kept burning theirs on accident. Toby, Zeo, and Demure twirled their sticks, roasting their marshmallows lightly, while Yu and Tsubasa took care to cook theirs to perfection. Benkei just put together raw s'mores, not bothering to roast the marshmallows. Ryo frowned in concentration over his, a frown which only grew bigger when he noticed the perfect golden marshmallows Kyoya and Nile took off their sticks. 'Why are those two so good at everything?' he thought, rather annoyed. Then he turned his attention back to his son. "Gingka! Masamune! Stop waving those burning marshmallows around in the air!"
"AAAAHHH!" The two blader friends screamed, waving their flame-tipped sticks around as they ran for the lake, which they then plunged the burning sticks into. "Whew!"
After a late night of ghost stories by the embers of the fire, all the bladers were tired and went to bed. "Hey Kyoya," Nile whispered when he thought everyone else was asleep.
"Hnn?" was the Leone blader's response.
"Let's go fishing at dawn tomorrow."
"Sure thing."
Me: Hope you enjoyed! Hopefully part 2 will be out tomorrow, or the next day at the latest...
Kyoya: Good. I wanna go fishing.
Nile: Starsnow, don't forget about us again and go on a six month break!
Me: Guys, I said I'm sorry! By the way, Nile, maybe this will console you: I was unsure of what to write on this chapter, but once I started writing I came up with so many ideas!
Nile: Well, that DOES make me feel a LITTLE better.
Kenta: What about the documentary?
Me: Later, later. You still need to finish filming it, right?
Kenta: Yes.
Me: Exactly.
Ryuga: Hey Starsnow, I DEMAND THAT YOU PUT ME IN A CHAPTER IMMEDIATELY!
Me: ... I'll see what I can do, Ryuga.
