Chapter 46: Ramen and a Not So Gigantic OTN
This took longer than expected, but here's a longer chapter to make up for it, filled with lots of "interesting" scenes. Also, thanks to my sister's recent obsession with UTAUloids, I decided to drop a few more into the story~
Rin's Room, Under Multiple Covers~~~
Rin's POV
My hand slides over the alarm, dangerously close to the snooze button. But I've already pressed it three times, so I really need to get up or this song will drive me crazy. Yes, even "Raspberry Monster" by HoneyWorks can get annoying if it's used to wake you up when you don't want to.
Well, at least it's Saturday.
I wipe off the drool leaking from my mouth and look down at the small pool on my poor pillow. Geez, I barely got this new orange pillow and it's already faced my horrible sleeping habits.
Kicking the hot covers off me, I look outside at the dark sky, still waiting for the sun to come up and blind people's eyes. To my left is my bedside table, where that picture of me hugging Len is still standing. Ha, I remember that day. I ran up behind him and glomped him, making him yelp. Although he kept protesting, I held onto his shoulders and quickly shot a picture of us together.
Back then, I only saw him as a friend. That was when we were getting used to each other, only a few months ago.
"Rin! You're going to be late for school!" my mom yells from downstairs.
My dad's cheerful voice soon comes after. "Come down! Daddy made some heart pancakes for you~!"
Even this early, my parents can be such dorks. I laugh and shift out of bed, looking at my reflection in the mirror.
Time to head out for that trip, huh?
Near the Buses at Yamaha High~~~
"Rin! Rin!"
Luka's figure runs after me, nearly smashing into my luggage when she pulls to a stop. I glance at the small carry-on bag on her shoulder.
"Where's your...?"
A distressed soul lets out a groan before collapsing two feet before us. That poor soul is Kaito.
"Kaito offered to carry my bag," Luka explains and turns back to me, smiling. "Isn't he the sweetest?"
I laugh and adjust the strap of my carry-on bag again. "What all did you pack in there?"
"Just everything that we would need if there was a tornado, flood, hurricane, a surprise visit from a demon cult that lived in the forest, or someone getting severely injured."
Sounds reasonable. Well, Luka's always been one to be kinda paranoid about trips, even two day long ones.
"I also brought snacks for the ride there, since it takes a while." Luka's manicured nail points at the writhing Kaito, who has another small bag with him. I just noticed, but all her luggage has fish charms hanging on the handles. That's kinda... fishy. Ha.
"Outta my way, assholes!"
I think that would be Neru.
"Don't you tell the Queen to move aside!"
And that would be Teto.
"Teto, p-please don't do anything rash."
There's Gumi, always worrying about Teto getting in trouble for her shenanigans.
"She's not worth it, Teto."
And Miki, who doesn't really care, but doesn't want to see Teto get in trouble.
"The only rash here are the ones on Neru's prickly butt..."
I move my attention away from the potential screaming fest. Instead, my eyes focus on the familiar blonde coming my way.
"Hey guys," Len greets, dragging behind his yellow luggage.
"Good morning, Len," Luka says warmly as Kaito heaves the bag off and waves from the ground. I smile and wave as well just before getting a tight hug with one hand.
Oh gosh, he's leaving his hand there on my shoulder. The teachers are right there, Len, you cheeky bastard. Right there!
Luckily for me, his hand slides off my shoulder-
Aaand now it's on my waist and going down my back
Len just smiles and engages in a normal conversation with Luka and Kaito. "So are you guys excited for the trip?"
That hand is going downwards towards territory that will get him slapped.
With a smile on my face as well, I nudge his side "lightly" before he can get his hand on my skirt. And by "lightly", I mean that he doubles over in pain and tries to give me a sheepish smile. Yeah, try that again.
Kaito and Luka look at each other with confused looks as to what just happened.
And like he just came out of the dead, Aito arrives behind us, carrying his own dark green bag.
"Hey, Aito!" I call out, trying to wave over, but he just moves over to Gumi.
"I guess he didn't hear," Kaito awkwardly says as Luka meets eyes with Aito.
Ah, things are still awkward between the two.
"Everyone, please board the buses now. Remember, only two to a seat," Mrs. Megurine calls out. "No laying on each other, snuggling up, and keep your hands to yourselves. No trying to hide anything under blankets or sitting in the back on purpose."
"Darn it, my plan's ruined," Len jokes, scratching his disheveled hair.
"Try anything like what you just did and I'll have you under the tires of the bus," I threaten as I begin walking towards the front bus.
An Hour into the Ride~~~
Teto's POV
"Everyone seems to have come to the trip," Gumi says as she looks at the packed bus. She's sitting right by her new boyfriend, and I'm guessing from the light blush on their cheeks, they're holding hands in between each other. How adorable!
"Good! More things will go as planned then," I say, shifting through my bag of snacks and tricks. Miki looks over my shoulder and into the contents of the bag, pointing at a small grenade-shaped object.
"Don't tell me you're planning to explode the place," Miki says, raising an eyebrow. Silly Miki, those types of items are in my other bag. Carrying them now would be too risky.
I laugh and pull out the small grenade. "It's a homemade stink bomb. This baby can make an entire cabin stink up."
"How about a bus?"
"It'd probably be so foul that people would vomit."
Miki stays quiet with a worried frown.
"Don't worry, I'd never be so careless to just let it fall here."
Normal POV~~~
"Yes! I just beat your highscore!"
Len looks over Rin at the Nintendo DS screen showing a high score. Yep, she had just rolled over his score with a road roller.
Rin laughs and looks up at Len with a smirk. "You know what that means, right?"
"B-but if I do your dare then I'll lose all the manliness I have!"
Which is a lot, I may add, Len mentally adds to himself.
"The bet was that if I could beat your highscore, you would have to do that dare," Rin reminds him, starting the game over again.
"Let's have a do-over!"
"The results will be the same."
"Ha, I'll show you!"
Len grabs the red and black Nintendo DS and begins playing once more, more concentrated than before. Minutes later, just as he is close to reaching the same number as Rin, there's a loud thud. Quickly, a foul stench begins filling up the bus, and there might have been a "fuck" followed with that.
Everyone begins coughing, arms reaching up and over to open the windows in desperate need for fresh air.
"I c-can't breathe!" Aoki yells, taking Kiyoteru's jacket and covering her mouth.
"Did someone let one go?" Leon jokes, receiving a nudge from Lola.
There is the sound of someone retching- the short teal-haired girl sitting in the back. Neru cries as the throw up covers her skirt and stands up, trying to contain her own disgust.
Neru leans over the seat in front of her and lets go of her stomach. Right. On. Aito's. Head.
Gumi's eyes turn to saucers as she quickly lets go of Aito's hand and pulls away. Unfortunately for her, the armrest was pulled up and she fell to the floor. The same floor that Miku puked over seconds before.
Miki is staring at them in surprise as people began to audibly (and physically) show their disgust. Teto ducks her head under her hoodie, cursing under her breath at how she could have so carelessly been juggling with stink bombs. Rin and Len are fighting to stick their heads outside the moving bus just to get fresh air. Luka feels the tuna from the night before coming up.
"Oh heck no, I'm not getting rained down on!" Kaito yells and fumbles for the trash can in front of them. He helps guide her pink head into the brown trash can as her mother tries to calm down the students around her.
Needless to say, this incident is not helping set the mood for the rest of the trip.
When they finally arrive at the camping site, bus number 12 is the first to have students push each other out of the door. The other students on the other bus look at them, confused as to why they stink and why they're so rushed to get out.
I think I made a wise decision for choosing to get on bus 13, Meiko thinks to herself as she pulls her luggage out.
"Everyone, stay in an orderly line to get your luggage! You can bathe later," Mrs. Megurine instructs as Neru glares at Miku.
"One of my favorite skirts, and it's ruined! Thanks a lot, Hatsune."
"No thanks needed," Miku replies sarcastically, pushing her aside and grabbing her own bag.
"Go Hatsune!" Teto cheers, only to receive a blank stare by Miku. "Or not..."
"That was officially the worst ride in my life," Rin complains to Luka as their boyfriends go to retrieve their bags.
"You think you had it bad? I think I ate some bad tuna last night," Luka mutters, trying not to taste the bitter coat on her tongue. "I need some bleach to clean my tongue. And worst of all, Kaito saw me throw up! That's probably the worst thing to happen to a girl! I think his image of me being this cute and ladylike girl was ruined the moment I began making horrible vomiting noises!"
"It can't be that bad-"
Luka takes a hold of Rin's shoulders and shakes her back and forth vigorously. "It is that bad! I felt like I was going to die from embarrassment!"
"So, did she vomit on you?" Len asks as they wait in line to grab their girlfriends' bags.
"Nope, but I helped keep her hair back so she could," Kaito answers and Len laughs.
"Dude, sick."
"Hey, at least it wasn't like Neru and Miku back there."
"What happened?"
Kaito laughs as he remembers overhearing Teto and just shakes his head.
"Ask Teto to tell you. It'll be more hilarious that way."
Len nods and looks at the crowd of students. "I wonder what made that smell though. It smelled like some kind of stink bomb or something."
"I don't know, but that was pretty crazy."
Defoko's POV~~~
It was definitely a bad idea to go in that bus. Any place with those people has some sort of incident. Oh, who am I referring to? How about the people I have in class? The idiots I'm forced to sit through a whole school day with, the ones who manage to also tend to forget my figure in the back row. Yep, this is me, Uta Utane, or as I like to name myself in video games, "Defoko". Or sometimes, "Raspberry Monster".
Anyways, I crawl out of the bus after being stomped over and walk over to retrieve my bag. Len and Kaito are also grabbing their girlfriends' bags. How nice. Geez, I kind of wish I had a boyfriend.
Or some type of interesting life.
"Whatever," I mutter to myself as I pull out my purple PSP.
Finally, I'm gaining some ground on this freaking level. After what, three days of no sleep?
A bag bumps into me, followed with someone's shoulder. I look up from my game and shoot a glare at the person. "Watch it, buddy."
...Is what I would like to say.
Instead my PSP falls out of my hands and I lose as a monster begins attacking me. As I kneel down at the horror in the screen, I look back at the asshole who pushed me.
Ah, Aito. The guy who is "madly in love" with Luka and yet is going out with that green-haired girl. Gummy, or something. Friends with blondie and a complete jackass to anyone else.
"Asshole," I mutter to myself, picking up the device and dusting it off.
I am definitely not going to enjoy this trip if all these people are here.
I keep muttering to myself as I pop in a raspberry gum into my mouth and walk towards the group of girls waiting to get their cabin number.
"...Kasane, Neru Akita, Rin Kagamine, and Uta Utane."
What?
"What?" I ask out loud, dropping my bag on Neru's foot.
"Ouch! Watch it, freak!" she yells and pushes me and my bag aside.
"Lola Dolores, Teto Kasane, Neru Akita, Rin Kagamine, and Uta Utane. Cabin three," Mrs. Megurine repeats, looking at the spot where I was. Ha, yeah, now I'm on the floor thanks to bitch blondie over there. Who is still glaring at me.
"I'll give Rin the keys, since she seems like the most responsible one."
Yeah right. She's just friends with your precious Luka. Don't think I haven't seen you curving her test grades up when all she does is dreamily stare at Kaito.
"Purple girl! Come on!" someone calls out, pulling my arm. Ah, that's Teto.
"I-I- my name's Defoko!"
"Dephoto?"
Teto gives me a questioning look.
"D-de-foko..."
"The foko?"
Okay, you're not that stupid.
"De fucking foko, you got it?"
I expect her to glare at me just as Neru did. Or maybe to look at me like I'm a bitch for snapping. Instead, she just laughs. Yeah, you saw that right, brain.
Teto laughed.
"That's the first time I've ever heard you talk like that, Purple Girl," Teto says, patting my right shoulder. Personal bubble, please?
"M-my name isn't P-p-p-p-"
Screw this stuttering problem.
"Come along, my fair maiden!" Teto yells and grabs me by my shoulders, pulling me along to our cabin.
We've only been here for an hour and there's already trouble.
"Akita! You've been in there too long! What are you doing, shaving your forests?"
Teto bangs on the bathroom door once more. I swear, that girl is close to breaking the door down.
Of course, the shower sounds still continue.
"Teto, I don't think Neru really gives a fuck," Lola says, putting her bag on top of her bed. "But anyways, she did get vomited on, so it's reasonable for her to be in the shower."
Really? Thank you, universe! Justice is served!
I turn back to my game, but there are two blue eyes on me. Two Kagamine eyes.
"What are you staring at?" I icily blurt out.
...As if I'm brave enough to actually say that.
Continue playing the game and focus on that instead, Defoko.
Left right left right...
"Stop banging on the door, you freaking idiot!"
Aaand dash and up and-
"Alright! I'll stop banging it!"
B B A B...
Up and-
Down goes the bathroom door.
Hey, that's not the fighting sequence-
"There! You happy?"
With that, Neru stomps out of the bathroom with only a towel covering herself. Lola just sighs and sets her straightener down on the table. Rin turns away from the scene and awkwardly starts texting on her phone.
Aaand I continue playing. Gosh, I hate my roommates.
Being outside is better. Definitely better.
I have about a couple minutes to kill before we're all supposed to gather up at some meeting place for some activity. If it has nothing to do with gaming or being lazy, I'm not interested.
I spit out my chewed up raspberry gum. Yeah, screw Mother Nature too.
Seconds later, I walk back and pick up the gum to properly dispose of it.
Whatever.
Just as I drop the small ball of gum into the trashcan, Miku walks by me. Yeah, you saw right, eyes. The once cheerful preppy girl who now has her hair chopped off like a madman. I also heard a rumor that she pushed a girl down the stairs or something. Another one about her having an arm garden or something. Creepy.
Aren't all my classmates all odd?
"Purple Girl! We're heading over to the meeting area!" Teto yells, walking out of the cabin with Rin right behind her.
"I t-told y-y-"
Instead, I start coughing and turn away, angry at my stupid stutter.
"What's her real name?" Rin asks Teto as they walk towards me. I want to just say it, but my mouth stays shut.
"Uta Utane, right?"
Stupid me just nods in response.
"Hi, I don't think I've ever met you before," Rin says, extending her hand out to me. "I'm Rin Kagamine."
I HAVE YOU IN CLASS.
I just nod and shake her hand briefly.
"N-nice to meet y-you..."
Normal POV~~~
"The main goal of this exercise is teamwork. You'll stay in groups no smaller than four, looking around the camping ground for small treasure boxes."
Everyone starts turning to each other, trying to come up with partners for the task.
"There will be many trick treasure boxes and only one will be the true treasure. Obviously, that one will be hard to find."
As the blonde teacher continues talking about the dangers in the forest, Rin looks around the crowd for her close friends.
"Look for a white bow just bobbing around," Luka advises Kaito, who nods and scans the area. Len just stays put, not being the tall enough to look over the heads of others.
"The Ultimate Four!" Teto yells, raising the hands of Oliver, Miki, and Gumi. Gumi looks over the crowd once more for Aito.
"Once you are in a group of four or more, come up to the front so I can count you off," the teacher says and the true horror begins. Boys and girls go right and left, counting off friends and dragging those who are too lazy.
Amid the mess, Defoko starts fumbling around, trying to find at least one person she can tolerate. Yet again, she bumps into another boy, but this time, a boy with blonde and red/brown hair. Coke spills over her purple converse and the ground. Defoko turns around to find the boy cursing and almost crying over the spilt Coke.
"My precious Coke!" he yells, but his eyes travel up the body of Defoko. And slowly, she will tell you that. He thrusts his Coke at her chest with a small frown. "You owe me another Coke."
The nerve of this guy! Defoko mentally yells and pushes his hands away from her chest.
"Harmon-e, are you bothering another poor innocent girl?"
The two turn to the high voice.
Fuck, there's more of them, Defoko thinks, looking at the group.
"Remember, you have a girlfriend," a girl says.
Harmon-e rolls his eyes and takes a sip of his Coke. "Kimine and I took a break, Mimi."
The one named Mimi rolls her eyes. "Again? Ritsu, knock some sense into this boy."
"How about the usual? Purple nurples?" Ritsu offers, cracking his hands.
Two other friends look at the scene, wondering what to do. Defoko notices the weird animal ears on their head. One with cat ears, and another with dog ears...?
"What?" the cat-eared one asks, making Defoko snap a bit back.
"Sorry, Yami's not very social," the dog-eared one apologizes as Yami looks down at the ground.
"I-it's a-alri-alright."
"I see we've scared our little friend here," Ritsu says, letting go of Harmon-e and looking at Defoko.
"N-n-n-"
"Apologize, Harmon-e!" a small pink-haired girl yells, coming up behind Harmon-e and easily pushing him towards Defoko.
"Suika!"
Defoko stares at Harmon-e, wondering if she should turn and walk away or actually wait for him to apologize.
"I'm not apologizing!"
And cue Ritsu tackling Harmon-e to the ground and giving him a purple nurple.
"Sorry about them," Mimi says, facepalming herself at the scene. "But you seem pretty confused, so I'll just introduce all of us. I'm Mimi Yorune. The asshole there is Harmon-e, spelled with a dash and 'e', not like your normal harmony. The guy on top of him, well, the guy that's crossdressing is Ritsu Namine."
"C-crossdress?"
Mimi nods and continues with the group. "Cat boy is Yami Ryone. Dog girl is Bou Asane. As for the small pink-haired girl with ridiculous strength, that's Suika Irie."
Suika waves at Defoko, who's trying to process everyone's figure. Three of them looked like the opposite gender.
"A-are they crossdressers?" Defoko asks, pointing to Bou and Yami. Now that she looks closely, she isn't sure if the hair ears on Bou look like a dog's.
"I am," Yami clarifies, dusting off his dress.
"And your name?" Suika asks, watching the other groups leave.
"D-defoko..."
"Dephoto?"
Suika leans in to hear better.
"D-de-foko..."
"The foko?"
Not again.
"It's fucking Defoko, okay?" Defoko sighs and facepalms herself for loosing her temper once more. Suika frowns and steps back. "S-sorry about that..."
"No need to be sorry," Mimi says, smiling at her. "And I thought you'd be just a boring stuttering girl, but looks like you're kinda interesting!"
"Wait, is Defoko a gaming screen name too?" Harmon-e asks, pushing off Ritsu and standing up to get a close look of her.
"H-how do you know-"
"You're that legendary badass player!" Harmon-e yells, poking her chest once more.
Defoko snaps again and pushes him back. "Stop touching my chest, you pervert!"
"I can't believe you're a girl," he continues from the ground. "Everyone else thinks you're like some low-life dude who's obsessed with high scores."
This guy really wants to get slapped... Defoko glares at Harmon-e but is interrupted by a teacher yelling at them.
"Are you all the last group?"
Mimi turns to the large group and smiles. "Yep!"
"Come on forward and start the hunt with the others!"
"W-wait, I-I'm in your group?"
The warm smile Mimi gives Defoko makes her shiver. She has never actually been with a group of people like this. Usually, she hides away from others and spends the entire day alone.
"Do you not want to be in our group?"
Defoko looks at the group of misfits.
"I-I'd be glad to be in your group."
Normal POV~~~
"It's really dark in this forest..."
"It's not even that dark," Len says, trying to reassure Rin's worries. "We still have a couple hours before it gets late anyways."
Rin just nods but continues holding onto the edge of his shirt. Len can't help but smile a little at the gesture, which gets a thumbs up sign from Kaito.
Just up ahead, they hear a startled cry and the sound of a branch or two breaking.
"That sounded like a girl," Kaito says, pointing out the obvious. Rin looks at her protection first before advancing forward to see if anyone is hurt.
As soon as they arrive at the scene, Kaito starts snickering at the sight. Two teal eyes glare back.
"Miku?"
Miku sighs and tries to cross her arms over her chest. But there's one problem- she's stuck in a trap and is hanging upside down a tree. Miku wobbles the ensnared foot again, trying to make the knot loose.
Rin steps up to start climbing the tree, but an arm pushes her back. Confused, Rin looks up at the arm's owner, Kaito.
"You guys go on ahead. I want to talk to Miku for a second."
"What's with this?" Len asks, not daring to look at Miku in the eye. Ever since that... incident... he never cleared things up with her. Heck, he hadn't told Rin either.
Well it's not like we were dating at the moment...
"Just let me talk."
It's odd. Usually, Kaito isn't this serious. Even Len knows this. The only times Kaito is serious is with ice-cream, and well, with this girl in front of them. Well, the girl from a year ago.
Nonetheless, as his friend, Len grabs Rin's hand and leads her away.
Miku watches the two blondes leave, trying to get rid of the small frown on her face.
No emotion, not even for him, she reminds herself.
"I'm not talking," Miku resists, finally succeeding in crossing her arms.
"Fine, don't talk." Kaito shrugs as he walks up to her. "You can just scream so someone else can get you out of this trap."
"I don't need your help."
Silence sets in once more. Miku stops looking at the ground and settles on Kaito's chin. As she considers her choices, she clears her throat to get rid of the awkward silence.
"Does she make you happy?"
Now it's Kaito's turn to be silent.
She's not even avoiding my eyes or anything, he thinks as her cold eyes look at his. But this dull look... that wasn't there before.
"Who?"
"Who else? Megurine."
"Oh."
Kaito looks away and scratches his hair. "That's personal."
"Fine. You won't answer my questions, I won't answer yours."
"You're impossible..." Kaito mutters, dragging his eyes back to her. What's this? A small smile because of his playful statement?
The smile soon disappears as if it was never there.
"I guess I am happy with her." He places his hands down, wondering himself if that's even the right answer.
"You 'guess'?"
He mutters, "We've barely been going out so..."
As if sharing a brain, their thoughts immediately turn to that fall, that same night when two teenagers shared their first kiss. No words needed to be said, both of them knew they were happy with each other.
But now, what happened to that happiness?
"Your questions?"
Her eyes stay dull, not betraying her for one second.
"O-oh, right."
Kaito clears his throat and speaks. "What happened to us?"
"You have a girlfriend already, why do I need to answer that question?" Miku answers quickly.
"Because I want- no, I deserve to know."
"You don't deserve anything."
Two hands grab hold of Miku's shoulders, forcing her to face Kaito. Forcing her to face the situation.
"I deserve to know because for the past year that we've been apart, all I feel when I look at you is the same pain over and over again. I deserve to know because where you used to give me kisses, you just glare and roll your eyes. I deserve to know because you caused this!"
"I never did anything to you!"
Some things never change. Just like that Halloween night before, the two are yelling again.
"You felt it too, at that play-"
"I felt nothing! Now get your fucking hands-"
"Stop interrupting me!"
"Not until you stop bothering me about this!"
Finally, Miku pushes Kaito off, making her swing back and pull the string in the trick apart.
Kaito barely lets out a cuss word until Miku's head hits the ground and she blacks out.
Luka's POV~~~
Somehow, I lost Kaito and now I'm just walking around with Meiko and Aito. Yeah, just the three of us, although we're supposed to be in groups of four. There are no teachers around, so I don't think we'll get in trouble or anything.
"So, Luka, how's your family doing?" Meiko asks, breaking the awkward silence.
What an odd first question.
"Fine, I suppose," I say, looking down at the ground.
"It doesn't sound like everything's fine."
What's this hint of anger I hear in her tone?
"Is there any reason for us not to be okay?"
For some reason, I'm getting a little mad too. That look she's giving me, and that odd personal question.
Or maybe I'm just being too emotional. Especially with my mom and dad yelling even more often. All night, all day, and all I can do to help Lulu's tears are... nothing.
Meiko looks away, not meeting my eyes. "No reason at all. None at all. Your mom just kinda looked tired."
"Why the hell do you care anyways?" I mutter, looking away as well. "My mom's just your teacher."
I wonder if Aito feels awkward being in the middle of us.
"True," Meiko says, "but your dad also looks tired."
I quickly turn to face her. "How do you know my dad?"
"I just saw a guy who looked like you and figured it was your dad. And I've seen him here and there ever since school meetings and such."
"Oh."
Meiko brushes her hand against her upper lip. "Luka, sometimes things go against what you'd like them to be. But it's not anyone's fault."
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
She coughs and mutters something under her breath."It's just some advice, that's all."
A hand grabs her wrist. My hand.
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I repeat, this time outside my head.
She just tries to pull her hand away. "L-let go!"
"Not until you tell me what you mean!"
"I didn't mean anything!"
"What do you know about my dad and mom?!"
"I'm just telling you what you already know!"
I'm not sure what it is, but something snaps inside me. The normal Luka snaps under pressure.
Before I know it, she's on the ground. I'm on the ground. A hand in her red hair. Screaming. Yelling. Is that a fist? One two three four five six. Stop it! From Meiko. Her cheek is red. Aito's voice comes through the blur. Stop it! Stop it! One two three four five times, he repeats. Stop it, Luka!
Luka doesn't want to stop it. Luka wants her mom and dad back together. Luka wants a happy family. Luka wants to be happy.
Luka wants to hurt the girl who made her unhappy.
"Let go of me!" I yell as someone pulls me back. "Let go of-"
"You're being an idiot! Calm the fuck down!"
Meiko stands up from her spot, breathing heavily. My god, her face is a mess.
Suddenly, everything gets quiet.
She leaves. We leave.
"I can't believe that you did that," Aito mutters under his breath, leaving me beside a tree. "Why the fuck would you do that? Did you know she could go off and tell on you? And to get suspended from school- do you know how your mother's going to freak the fuck out? Gah, you're such an idiot sometimes!"
I pull my legs out from under me and hug them. What did I just do?
Aito keeps ranting on and on about how idiotic I was until he turns around to look at me. My blue eyes meet his golden orbs. Finally, he falls silent and takes a seat in front of me.
"Why haven't you been talking to me?" I whisper, sniffling and raising my head from my knees.
"I've been right here all along."
"No you haven't, you've been ignoring me."
"Gumi-"
"Give me the real reason why you're avoiding me."
"Why do you care if I talk to you or not?"
"You're my friend."
"Really? Just that?"
"Is that not enough for you?"
There's no more looking away. His eyes are set on mine. No more trying to hide what he means. The small specs of gold in his eyes shine from the sunlight.
A pause.
A random squeeze of my hand.
And I hear a confession.
Teto's POV~~~
Seems like my first trick has worked. But I never expected Miku to fall for that stupid tree trick. She was just walking around aimlessly- did she even have a group?
Before I can question it more, my phone starts buzzing with "Kasane Territory" in my pocket. Feels funny. But that only person with that ringtone is-
'Kaito and Miku are headed towards the infirmary. Are you going to join them?' IA's text reads.
'Nah. Just tell me where Oliver is.'
'You don't want to look for him.'
I roll my eyes and continue walking forward while texting.
'Why not? Did he get caught in one of my traps or something?'
Stupid Oliver. Of course he would.
'Just turn around and walk away.'
Okay, so maybe that isn't it. What the heck can it be then? Something that IA doesn't want me to see... Gore? Nah, I've seen plenty of that. Oh gosh, did he get scared and piss his pants?
Just then, I hear a moan protrude from the forest.
From... Oliver?
I duck down into a bush as I see two bodies laying down beside a tree.
Another buzz from my phone.
'You don't want to see this, Teto.'
Just as I'm about to look up, someone starts laughing.
"D-don't laugh-"
"It's just so tiny!"
Don't tell me they were planning to... in a forest...
"Are you even sure that you're a guy?"
The most insulting words for a man to hear in his life. But wow, is he really that small?
Neru keeps laughing, and I can hear grass rustling.
"I'm sorry, but there is no way that... whatever that is can pleasure me," she says snobbishly. "Let's just go back to the cabins, I'm laughing too much."
From what I'm hearing, I'm guessing that Oliver is quickly zipping his pants back up and buckling his belt.
My head peeks out from the bushes. Oliver ducks his head down, trying to fight back tears as Neru walks away, laughing to herself. For some reason, it angers me to see someone make Oliver cry.
That was a low blow, Akita.
Normal POV~~~
"What's so hard about just reaching up there and getting the damn treasure box?"
Mimi sighs as Harmon-e continues climbing the said tree, trying to get the treasure box perched at the top.
"I would climb, but everyone would see my panties," Ritsu explains, blushing at the thought of exposing his undergarments.
"I don't think anyone would look," Defoko mutters under her breath.
"Okay, I suppose I-I'll climb too," Ritsu says, heading to the tree with a blush.
Please lord, someone stop him, everyone mentally pleads.
"Well, I'm not getting a pleasant view up here either," Harmon-e says, looking up at the figure in front of him. Yami looks down and rolls his eyes.
Mimi sighs once again and turns to Defoko. "I apologize for my friends. They can be... a little odd at times."
"We're odd? Ha, try looking at a mirror for once!" Harmon-e yells from above.
"Why you little-"
"Guys."
Bou comes out from behind a tree and presents a golden treasure box. "Anyone want to open it?"
"Oh! I want to!"
Just as Harmon-e falls down from the tree, Mimi grabs the treasure box and hands it to Defoko. "Wanna open it?"
Defoko just nods and holds onto the box. "I-it's light..."
Everyone begins to crowd over Defoko as she begins to lift open the lid.
As soon as it opens, a foul stench starts filling up the air around them.
Dinner at the Mess Hall~~~
"So in the end, no one found the freaking box?"
Gumi nods and places her chopsticks down. "Apparently all the ones that were found had stink bombs or something."
Miki and Gumi exchange glances. "Sounds like someone we know was up to this."
But there's one problem: Where is she?
"Do you know where she went?" the two ask at the same time.
"Ah, so she didn't tell you..."
"Of course she wouldn't."
"This must mean that something's bothering her. Poor Teto."
"I feel sorry for her victim."
Off in another table, Luka sits alone, poking at her food. She has been staring at it ever since dinner began and now it's bits of cold food.
Not like she has the appetite.
Rin and Len? Probably somewhere teasing each other.
Aito? In the same situation as her, poking at his food in a separate table alone.
And what about Kaito, her boyfriend?
Screw it, it's not like she has the heart to talk to anyone either.
Well, with time alone now...
Luka pulls out a cellphone from the right pocket of her jeans. Not hers, but surely hers for the duration of the trip.
It was just a split second decision. His phone was on the table, and her hand grabbed it. Her father won't miss it, right? He can get calls from his company from someone else.
But who controlled that hand that grabbed the phone? Was it doubt? Fear? Anger?
Either way, she couldn't will herself to open it up. Couldn't.
But now that there is reason to suspicion her dad...
Luka begins typing in the four digit password. She had seen it when her father took her out for some "father-daughter bonding". But most likely it was to stuff her full of her favorite food and make sure she saw him in a better light than what her mother is seeing him in now. Bribery...?
And just when the deed was going so well for him, his phone had to ring.
"I'll be right back, it's the company calling."
Yes, her eyes stayed on his fingers as he pressed his passcode to enter his phone. Top left corner, middle, and twice on the bottom left.
1577.
With those four digits, the phone unlocks and the message app begins to taunt her. Just one tap of the green app and months of a secret affair pours out.
Infirmary~~~
Miku's POV
The clock strikes 9:33 before I wake up.
The back of my head hurts and the room is dark and fuzzy as my eyes try and focus. Something blue to my left, someone slurping something rather obnoxiously...
When the figure finally comes to focus, I realize that it's Kaito eating a cup of ramen. What the heck is he doing in this room with me?
A cabinet full of medicine and first aid kits... ah, the camp's infirmary.
Just as I sit up, my eyesight turns dark on the sides again. I close my eyes tightly as the tingles in the back of my eyes leave. Geez, did I hit my head that hard?
Kaito finally stops slurping up the ramen and tears his eyes away from the shoujo manga in his hands. He drops the chopsticks in the cup and sucks up the noodle hanging from his mouth. Disgusting.
"Ah, you finally woke up," he says with a warm smile. Then he proceeds to wipe his mouth with the back of his hand. Again, disgusting.
"You're probably astonished that I stayed in here waiting for you to wake up, right?"
"Not really," I answer dully. "I'm sure you just felt burdened of what you caused."
The smile goes away. "Hey, you pushed yourself away from me!"
I roll my eyes and throw my legs off to the side of the cot.
"Whatever, just stay away from me. I'm going to go eat."
Just as I am about to walk by him, he extends his arm out and blocks my way.
"What-"
I notice the cup of ramen in his hand.
"By now they probably don't have much food left," Kaito says, "or the food isn't good."
Against my own will, I'm forced to eat cheap instant ramen noodles with Kaito.
Of course, I don't slurp it like he does.
He wipes his mouth with his hand again. "So... have you had fun today?"
I raise my eyebrows at his horrible attempt to get a conversation started. "Look, you don't have to talk to me. I don't want you to and the feeling is mutual. Just eat your damn food and get out. I don't even know why you're still in here."
"...I take that as a no."
I'm seriously considering throwing this cup at his head.
Just Outside the Mess Hall~~~
Normal POV
After finishing her meal and letting Gumi go off to comfort Aito, Miki steps outside to get some fresh air.
"This day sucks," she mutters under her breath, letting the cool night wrap around her arms and give her goosebumps.
"At least you weren't thrown up on."
Miki looks over at the gray-haired boy sitting on a bench beside the wall, looking up at the sky.
"I know it's cool for a guy to just be outside and looking up at the sky in a Korean drama, but what in the real world that's just creepy."
She can't help it. It's always a habit of Miki's to immediately insult the person who has done her wrong. But not like he minds. After all, he is SoundlessVoice09, the guy who's dealt with Miki on a daily basis.
Up until New Year's Eve.
Miki wastes no time just standing around and questioning herself. "What are you doing out here anyways?"
"It was getting a little stuffy in there," Piko answers, adjusting the collar of his shirt. "You?"
"Same. And Gumi's busy with her boyfriend."
"Has she been like that for a while?"
"Yeah, but it's not like I mind it," Miki says. "I'm glad that she has a boyfriend. She's liked Aito for a long time now."
"Ah."
"I guess for some people you really do get a happy ending with the person you love."
Chirps from nearby crickets fill the dark air.
"Miki-"
She cuts him off. "It doesn't matter anymore."
Piko's head lifts up at the statement. "What do you mean, it doesn't matter anymore?"
"The Miki from that night..." she drags her sentence to a stop. "She... she didn't know the entire story. She only loved what she had read on a screen. Falling in love through a digital device... that isn't a complete love."
Miki breathes in cold air. "But now there's the opportunity to learn everything about you. All in its natural time, of course, but still..."
"The Miki that told you she loved you, and the Miki that stands beside you now, is different."
Ten Minutes Until Curfew, 10:20~~~
"Teto and Rin still aren't here," Lola says as Neru looks across the room.
"Tch. I hope Kasane comes in late so she can get in trouble."
From the dimly lit corner of the room, a swivel chair spins around to face the three. Lola and Neru gasp, Defoko's eyes remain on her game.
Teto grins at their expressions. "I've been here this whole time."
"Trying to be ominous now?" Lola asks with a giggle as Neru rolls her eyes and moves onto her bed.
"Nah, just wanted to have a little fun," Teto says, pointing at the open window to her right. "But anyways, where's Rin?"
"The last I saw her, Len was apologizing for spooking her in the forest," Lola says. And cue the cabin door opening.
"What a fucking a-"
Rin stops mid sentence to see everyone staring at her.
"...ant... yeah, ants bit me while here."
Lola looks to break the silence. "Yeah, there were a couple ants here and there that bothered me."
"Ant bites suck," Teto says and points at Neru. "Just ask Akita. She has two permanent ones on her chest."
Neru mutters something under her breath, too focused on her phone to make a comeback.
"Welp! I'm going to sleep guys," Teto says, jumping on her lower bunk and wrapping the covers around herself.
"Why so early?" Lola asks, but Mrs. Megurine steps in just in time to do roll call. After doing so, she nudges Rin's side and asks her to come outside for a second.
"Is something wrong, Mrs. Megurine?" Rin asks as her cabinmate's eyes follow her.
Mrs. Megurine shuts the door and looks down at Rin. "Did you hear anything about Luka getting in a fight today? With Haigo-san? Meiko?"
"N-no," Rin replies. "Luka doesn't even talk to her, I think."
"Well, Meiko showed up with bruises and cuts from the treasure hunt, saying that Luka attacked her while out there. I asked Aito about it, but it seems there's also something going on with him too."
Rin pauses as she looks out towards the cabins. Could it be that he finally...?
Mrs. Megurine clears her throat and starts again. "Well, it seems that you don't know what happened either. But don't worry about it, I'll talk to the three of them tomorrow morning."
Rin just nods as she says goodnight and walks out from the small porch of the cabin.
Maybe it's just the cool air outside in that dark night, but the feeling of something dreadful crawls up Rin's back.
"Are you coming in, Rin?"
She just nods once more, even though Lola can't see and enters the cabin.
"Raspberry*Monster" is a song by HoneyWorks, which is what I used to wake up Rin and to come up with Defoko's personality. The song is amazing- I suggest you look it up and take a listen. Also taking a look at several UTAUloids will help a bit too. Anyways, I hope you all liked the crossdressers, the instant ramen noodle cups, the secret affair finally being revealed, and Aito's confession! Sorry to those who were expecting something a lot more romantic, and sorry to those who were expecting Luka to return the feelings...
*cough* Thank you for reading this chapter and you can review down below anything about the chapter that you liked or disliked. Bye bye~!
