Alright I am vastly more satisfied with this chapter compared to what I had earlier. Interesting thing to note with this one, is I had actually planned on this chapter being a part of Life at the Shinozaki's, it would have been set between chapter fourteen and the epilogue, but I decided not to implement it because I felt it was unnecessary to that story's plot. Here however I have adjusted it to be set after LatS, and am pleased with how it turned out. I hope you all enjoy it.
Life Together
Chapter Four:
It was the last week of summer and the Kisaragi group plus Mayu and Miki were all gathered. Despite having spent their last year of high school away from here friends, Mayu felt as though she had never left them.
The brown haired girl looked down at the hand holding hers before smiling up at her glasses wearing boyfriend. Sakutaro kept his gaze focused on the group's current speaker. However he was far more aware of the girl connected to the hand he was holding.
This was a slightly new thing, it was kind of amusing that out of their entire group they were the last to get together. First had been Satoshi and Naomi during the first half of their second year at Kisaragi, then Yoshiki and Ayumi during the later half. Now half way through their final year Sakutaro and May had finally begun dating.
Ayumi grinned deviously as she continued her scary story. From her right Yoshiki was listening intently, his eyes only on her. From across her Satoshi was shaking like a leaf as Naomi tried to keep him from grabbing anything that would be inappropriate in public. The tomboy was a little more lenient to letting her boyfriend cling to her during Ayumi's stories, but still boundaries.
Seiko grinned as she registered movement from the corner of her eye. 'Oh I see how it is, Class-rep.' The bubbly girl thought to herself with a inward chuckle. It still amused her to no end how far Ayumi was willing to go to terrify her friends.
"And even to this day he wonders if what he saw was a figment of his imagination or if it was re-."
"BOO!" A feminine voice cried out into Satoshi's ear. The brown haired boy screamed in terror as Kishinuma Miki fell to the ground laughing.
Ayumi grinned at the appearance of her boyfriend's younger sister. "Good job Miki-chan." She complimented the younger girl who waled over to sit next to Yoshiki. Miki grinned in appreciation as she shared a quick high five with the twin tailed girl.
The blond smiled before lightly lightly patting his sister's head. "That was mean..." Yoshiki heard Satoshi mutter.
"You're too easily scared, Mochida-kun." Seiko said in between snickers.
Naomi rubbed her boyfriend's shoulder as he heaved a defeated sigh, despite her sympathy she was also smiling. It was the last week of summer and the group of teenagers were currently on a camping trip. They had brought two tents, one for the girls and another for the boys.
At the moment they were all gathered around a small camp fire. And of course Ayumi had just finished one of her latest attempts at scaring Satoshi to death.
Even if she was very happy with her boyfriend, and no longer craved Satoshi's attention it was still fun to scare him. "Please let that be it for scary stories." The brown haired boy pleaded as the group around him chuckled.
Ayumi settled in her seat as she shot another grin at the easily frightened boy. "I'll lay off, for now." She promised, her smile doing little to comfort Satoshi.
Yoshiki smirked at his best friend's reaction before glancing at Ayumi. Her blue eyes briefly turned in his direction before settling on the rest of the group. They were about to start the final event of the night. 'I can't believe I let her rope me into this.' The blond thought to himself in amusement.
Once the group had stopped laughing at Satoshi's expense Ayumi reclaimed their attention. "Okay before we all turn in, I had one last thing planned." Her blue eyes seemed to shine as she reached into her pocket to present four strands of red string. "It's time for Kimodameshi." The twin tailed girl couldn't contain her giggle at the surprised faces of her friends.
Kimodameshi, the test of courage. Typically involves people traveling a lonely dark path to a certain destination to place a token of some sort to prove their bravery.
The group gave varying facial reactions, Satoshi's of course being borderline terrified. Naomi and Seiko both looked interested in what the class-rep had planned, as did Mayu. Sakutaro, however, sighed and pushed his glasses up.
"So this was your plan, eh Class-rep?" Seiko questioned as Ayumi held the strands of string for every one to grab an end.
Ayumi's lips curved into a smirk. "There's more." She said as everyone grabbed an individual strand. "We'll be going in pairs, so when I drop these you'll know who your partner is." Ayumi explained as she indicated to the mass of strings in her left hand.
Grabbing the last strand with her right hand Ayumi turned to look at her boyfriend. It's funny a year ago she would have wanted to be paired with Satoshi, now for her plan she was hoping it'd be the blond who was looking at her. Releasing her left hand she watched as the strands gave way and revealed the pairs.
To her immense satisfaction she would be walking with Yoshiki. Seiko and Naomi were together, as were Sakutaro and Mayu. "Well this is unexpected..." Miki muttered as she looked at the person connected to her end of the string. Satoshi sighed as he nodded in agreement.
The brunette was by no means unhappy to be paired with Yoshiki's younger sister. But he really had been hoping to be able to go along with Naomi. Hopefully he'd be able to keep his nerves in check while walking with Miki. 'Yoshiki would be mad if I left his sister alone...' Satoshi reminded himself.
Ayumi turned to look at the rest of the partners. Seiko seemed pretty satisfied with her other half, and Naomi didn't appear to have many complaints. Though she was doing her best to keep the other girl from getting too personal. Sakutaro and Mayu were both blushing at the notion of being connected by a red string.
"This is the red string of fate." Ayumi explained as she lifted hers and Yoshiki's string. "We're going to be walking up to the shrine at the highest point. I went by earlier and placed a couple candles and matches." The blue haired girl informed them before grinning deviously. "When you get there you'll light your candle and begin walking back, but before you leave you have a choice to make." She paused to allow her friends a moment to let things sink in.
The group looked intrigued by her plan. "Wow Class-rep, I didn't realize you had put so much thought into this." Naomi commented as she smiled, enjoying Ayumi's latest event.
The blue haired girl appreciated Naomi's compliment. 'You have no idea, Nakashima-san.' She didn't say out loud. "When you light your candle you have three options." She informed the group while holding up three fingers and counting down. "If you don't like your partner you can burn you string and walk back separately. However if you like your partner you don't burn it and walk back together. Now if you really like your partner than you keep the string intact and walk back together hand in hand."
Ayumi glanced at Yoshiki, unlike the new couple that was blushing lightly she and Yoshiki were not embarrassed. Over the last eight months they had been dating they had held hands a lot, so they were use to such display of affections.
"Oh this will be fun." Seiko commented after Ayumi had finished her explanation. "A dark and lonely night, just you and I." She fluttered her eyelashes at Naomi who rolled her eyes before pushing her away.
"Easy there, Seiko. Don't make me have to discipline you for getting too out of hand outside of school." Seiko couldn't help but snigger at her friend's response.
The four groups quickly went about their separate ways of traveling to the shrine located at the top of the mountain. Ayumi glanced at her boyfriend as they walked silently, the night air around them was comfortable. The blue haired girl smiled as she shortened the distance between their hands and held his in hers.
The blond looked at her, not having expected her action, but smiled nonetheless. "It'll take them a little longer to get there than us." He reminded her as they continued their leisure pace.
Ayumi smiled, understanding his hidden meaning. He wanted to enjoy the tranquil moment with her before enacting the next bit of her plan. The twin tailed girl nodded before standing closer to him and placing a soft kiss on his cheek. "Thanks for going along with this, Yoshiki." She told him, appreciating his help.
The gray eyed teen smirked as he savored the closeness. "No problem, it's not like I won't enjoy his reaction either." Mentally picturing the end result made him chuckle under his breath. "I think you've become a bad influence on me." When Ayumi turned her nose up and away from him he knew that she wasn't actually insulted by his comment. Smiling lightly he landed a light peck to her temple and continued walking through the forest with her.
It was quiet for a bit longer before Ayumi spoke up. "Summer's almost over." She commented looking up at the starlit sky. "This last year is really flying by." Next year her and her friends would be moving onto university and into the adult world. The twin tailed girl hoped to get her degree in art, she still held true to her desire to be an illustrator.
"It's hard to believe. Last year around this time was when my grades started improving." Thanks to you Yoshiki didn't say out loud. "Hell I didn't even think college would be an option for me." The blond admitted to her.
Ayumi frowned before shaking her head. "Yoshiki, you were always capable. I know you're smart, I wouldn't date a dummy." She said the last bit teasingly. "I've told you before that when you put everything into your school work you do really well." She was genuinely proud of him for having kept his grades up over the last year.
Yoshiki nodded as he shoved his free hand into his pocket. "Yeah." He said before changing the subject. "Did you tell your parents about your decision?"
Ayumi tilted her head at the abrupt change of topic but decided to answer. "Yes I did." She answered slowly before pouting. "They weren't happy, but yours and Hinoe's support is enough."
Yoshiki's shoulders dropped slightly at the sadden expression she was making. Squeezing her hand lightly he tried to offer her comfort. He knew that this was a big deal for Ayumi, she wanted to accomplish her dream yet despite her parents love they didn't approve. "I'm sorry, Ayumi." Yoshiki told her, causing her to look back at him.
The dark haired girl shook her head in negative. "Don't be, it's just how it is. I understand why Otou-san doesn't approve." She admitted in a resigned voice. "He'd rather I work towards a more stable career, but I told him what I wanted to do." At least while Ayato wasn't for her decision, he wouldn't do anything to hinder her. 'But it would have been nice to be encouraged...'
The blond pursed his lips but didn't say anymore. Instead he maintained their closeness and enjoyed the warm night air with Ayumi.
They were the first to make it to the shrine. Ayumi's earlier crestfallen expression was replaced by a mischievous one. Quickly they went to the back room and pulled out the projector they had hidden the other night.
"I can't believe Yui-sensei actually agreed to let you borrow this." Yoshiki muttered as he sat the machine up.
Ayumi's shoulders vibrated softly as she laughed. "Fufu, Shishido-sensei was very much on board when I told her what I was planning." The only thing the brown haired woman requested was a detailed telling of the events about to occur.
The couple didn't have to wait long, roughly five minutes after setting up came the first pair after them. "Naomi-chan, you don't need to be embarrassed." Seiko's voice was heard. "I don't mind holding your hand, among other things."
They could hear the curly haired girl's snickers as Naomi scolded her. "Seiko you do realize that we're far away from civilization? Where no one can save you from any disciplinary action I might want to inflict?" Seiko looked worried for all of five seconds before she was grinning again.
"I've told you before, I like it when you punish me, Naomi-chan!"
Naomi groaned loudly. "I swear I am going to burn this string the moment we light that candle."
Seiko's horrified gasp was audible. "Naomi-chan you're so mean! Please forgive me!"
Ayumi and Yoshiki remained hidden as Naomi lit her candle. "Hey, Naomi?" Seiko's voice, suddenly less playful, sounded out.
"What is it?" The brown haired tomboy inquired, a bit more relaxed after having bantered with her best friend.
"You wouldn't actually sever our string, would you?" The usually excitable girl hesitantly asked.
Naomi's brown eyes narrowed for a moment as she considered Seiko's words. Normally she was energetic and loud, now she just seemed subdued. Despite her exasperation with Seiko's endearing quirks she loved her friend the way she was. Naomi smiled thinly before shaking her head in hopes of assuring her best friend. "Of course not, Seiko. You are my best friend, I would never cut our connection."
Seiko stared at Naomi for a few seconds before grinning and lurching forward. "Oh, Naomi-chan you do care!" She said, her earlier melancholy forgotten.
Nearly dropping her match and candle, Naomi struggled to remain on her feet. "Hey now, Seiko." She said, somewhat embarrassed by her friend's abrupt display. "Get your face out of there!" Naomi shouted as she felt Seiko's face press against her bust.
It was at that moment a somewhat subdued Satoshi arrived with Miki. The young girl sighed at the slightly nervous teen. "Come on, Satoshi-san. We're halfway done, so let's get the candle and head back." She coaxed.
Satoshi gulped as he moved with shaky legs, finally reaching the entrance of the shrine they saw Naomi and Seiko lighting a candle. The usually energetic girl was trying to convince Naomi for them to walk back hand in hand. Satoshi's nerves seemed to fade away upon seeing his girlfriend, he opened his mouth to call out to her only to be interrupted.
An eerie voice echoed softly throughout the shrine. "H-a-v-e y-o-u c-o-m-e t-o j-o-I-n u-s?" A disembodied voice softly asked.
Yoshiki bit his tongue to keep from laughing at the way he saw Satoshi's shoulder's stiffen. From next to him Ayumi was doing her best to muffle her snickers as the prerecording played out.
"W-Whose there?!" Satoshi all but squeaked as he turned around to look for the source of the voice. Suddenly he could hear chains clinking in the distance.
"G-e-t o-u-t..." The voice whispered as the chains started to grow in volume. "G-e-t o-u-t, g-e-t o-u-t, g-e-t o-u-t. GET OUT!" Suddenly a door opened and the teens watched as a pale arm reached out from the darkness.
Satoshi yelled in terror before turning and running out of the shrine. "Satoshi!" Naomi called out after him as she and Seiko chased after the brunette.
Coming upon the shrine Mayu and Sakutaro were surprised to see a terrified Satoshi running for his life, followed by his girlfriend.
Ayumi turned off the projector and came out of hiding, she was clutching her sides as she laughed herself to tears. Yoshiki also revealed himself with an amused smirk that he shared with his younger sister. Seiko, having realized that this was all an elaborate prank set up by the class-rep also shared in the laughter.
In the end Satoshi ran back to the camp followed by a worried Naomi. Seiko and Miki, having been left without partners made the trek back side by side. While Ayumi and Yoshiki walked back hand in hand followed by Sakutaro and Mayu.
The rest of the camping trip passed by in relative peace, Satoshi did calm down quickly once his fear induced mind realized it had been another case of Ayumi scaring him. "Still though." The brunette said as he shot his blond best friend a halfhearted glare. "Never would have thought she'd rope you into it." Yoshiki grinned in response as Ayumi squeezed his hand in silent appreciation.
And there we go. As some of you might have noticed, the events of this chapter were kind of foreshadowed in chapter one. But like I said I dropped this chapter because I felt LatS was long enough, and that this was unnecessary for that story. Here though it was a lot of fun creating.