(Note: Kintaro doesn't exist in this fic, sorry if this is disappointing. I'm using this opportunity for Nino to get closer to him.)

"Itsuki!" yelled a worried Nino, "Where are you?"

Nino was left wandering by herself through the forest, after Itskui had ran off. She was extremely worried for her sister, and she would never admit it, but she was a bit worried about being alone in the dark forest. Her phone had died so she was left without a flashlight.

"Grr..I've had enough of this. I had to share a room with him, the guys on my team won't listen to me, and now I'm stuck here without a flashlight."

Her grumbling was interrupted by strange noises that were coming from the dark.

"Noo!"

Her eyes widened and she tried to run but she tripped and collapsed to her knees in fear.

"... This is the worst…"

Nino felt tears brimming her eyes.

"Are you okay?" spoke a familiar voice from behind her.

She looked up with an angry expression on her face. Her eyes met Fuutarou Uesugi who had a worried look on his face.

"I'm not doing so great, no thanks to you!" She angrily spoke to him, "I mean, what were you thinking?"

"Well, I am kind of in charge of scaring everyone…" Fuutarou mumbled.

Nino got to her feet and in Fuutarou's face, "Shut up. I don't want your excuses."

She took a breath to collect herself.

"Look, right now we have to find Itsuki."

"I agree with you there."

Fuutarou looked around for the main trail, he had lost track of where he was going when he saw Nino on the ground.

"Dang, it is pretty dark out here…"

Nino's eyes rolled, "Of course it is, genius, just use your phone flashlight."

"Good idea." Fuutarou reached for his pocket, but he found nothing.

"Well, what's the hold up?"

"Uhh… well… it may have… fell out of my pocket when I was hanging upside down…"

"What?! This is the worst rescue attempt ever…" said Nino, walking away.

"Wait! Nino!"

"Shut up, Uesugi, just follow me and keep quiet-"

She was interrupted by her foot slipping off a cliff. Before she knew it she was about to fall into a massive chasm. Before she could even scream, she felt an arm in front of her, propelling her backwards away from the cliff. Fuutarou had rushed forward and slingshotted her back, but his momentum made him stumble off the cliff.

"Uesugi! Your hand!"

At the last possible moment, Nino stuck her hand out and Fuutarou grabbed it. She then grabbed a tree to stabilize herself and pull him back up. It looked like he was going to land on top of her, but he caught himself, and the two found themselves in a very compromising position, breathing hard.

"Y-You… saved me…" Said Fuutarou, his eyes wide.

"W-Well… only because you saved me first…"

The two then realized the position that they were in and Fuutarou quickly got off Nino and sprawled out beside her. Nino was blushing a bit, whether it was from exhaustion or embarrassment, she would never tell.

After they caught their breath, Fuutarou got to his feet.

"We have to head back, it's getting too dark to see. Itsuki had to have found her way back by now."

Nino, however, stayed sitting with her arms around her legs.

"Nino? Is something wrong-"

"I'm scared, alright!" Nino heard herself yelling and hushed her tone, "Look, I can't anymore. This trip has turned into a disaster."

There was silence between the two of them.

"I don't think it has been."

Nino looked up.

"I know your sisters have been having fun, and I know I certainly am." He knelt down to where he was eye level with her, "If that is what disaster means to you then we may have to work on vocabulary together."

He grinned and she put an annoyed look on her face, but Fuutarou could have sworn he saw a grin being held back.

"As for being scared…" He stood up, "It's perfectly normal, for a situation like this. I'm freaking out as well."

He offered her his hand. She took it to get up, but he didn't release after.

"If you want, we can hold hands so that way you know that even in the dark, someone is with you."

Nino's face immediately got red and she started struggling with words.

"Wha… You… this…"

She quickly composed herself.

"Fine, but only because you said that you are freaking out." She looked at him, "But as soon as we are in range of any other humans, I am ditching you. I would hate to be caught like this with you."

Fuutarou grinned, "Sounds like a plan."

The two walked hand in hand until they were relatively close to the campsite, where they heard a familiar voice wailing.

"Ninooo… where did you goooo…?

"Itsuki!"

Nino ran to her sister and the two embraced.

"I finally found you!" said Nino, " Don't ever run off like that again!"

"I-I was so scared that you were never going to get out like my classmates said."

"That is just a stupid legend. Of course I would make it out."

"Still though, I'm impressed you were ok by yourself."

"..." Nino looked back at where she had run from.

Fuutarou was nowhere in sight and she remembered what she had said to him.

"I would hate to be caught like this with you."

Nino felt a bit of remorse saying that to the guy who had just rescued her. She hadn't really meant it, but Uesugi always seemed to get on her nerves.

"Nino?"

Itsuki's voice snapped her out of her trance.

"W-What?

"I was saying we should head back. It's getting pretty dark."

Nino glanced once more to where Fuutarou was.

"Yeah… let's go…"

Author's Note:

Hello! This chapter was done pretty fast, so I was able to release it pretty fast, but I did want to space it out with the last chapter. Also, the next chapter is reader's choice. If you read the manga, you know what's coming up, so if you want Fuutarou to get stuck with someone else let me know. I touched on this a bit at the beginning, but sorry to anyone who was disappointed by Kintaro not existing in this fic, I saw this as a better opportunity to further Nino and Fuutarou's development.

That's all I have for now, be sure to vote and let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!

See you next chapter-Gabriel