A/N: Eventually the day of the campout arrives... what events does Yui go through there? Read up to find out! Oh, and the next chapter maaaaay be filled with some fanservice for the fans of the MC x Kanji pairing, though it could be kinda cheesy? I'm bad at characterisation even if I try. Oh well, some anticipation there, huh?

KatoriAeku - Maaaaaybe. Or not. Can't answer directly, no? That'll ruin the fun XD

Mr Giraffe (Guest 1)
- Aahhh he didn't knoooow. Yesh his mom knows, cause I think she would know the difference between a real male and female face... or something like that? Nyeh. Yui ran away, ahh what a shame. But there will be more where that came from in the next chapter!
- I'm thinking of how to settle the conflict Yui has with her grandfather, either with a happier note, or on a somber note...
- Yeah, I saw that scene. Poor Kanji if you end up taking the left route, lol. Exactly what I found out, Rise makes things too spicy due to spices, Chie adds meat and kind of like Yukiko, but Yukiko picks the weird and unorthodox ingredients... hmhmhm.
- You'll find out how he'll deal with it next chapter... he will definitely be crushing on those two, but ends up liking Yui for real in the end. As for having a thing for crossdressing girls, idk about that lol

Guest 2
- Thank you for the kind words! I've never dreamed that someone would actually say my stories are good since this is my first time actually writing a fanfic with this many chapters. I'm glad you think that way about the social link sidestories too. As for more story on Yui's life, one thing for sure that I can tell any reader for this fanfic is that what you get about her are like shavings of the real reality of the life she lives, and that in time it will all be revealed.
- You'll have to read to find out how he does deal with it... but my ideas are really cliche (I read romance fanfics too XD) soooo eh, we'll see how it goes. Thank you for your compliments again!

The next day came along with clouded skies.

Like usual, Mr. Morooka was just speaking like the bastard he is during his lesson. "School camp will be taking place this weekend. Remember, this isn't like ordinary camping. It's going to be a place of education to wind up the lazy ass minds you get from screwing around all the time."

Yu mentally sighed, trying to tune out the teacher's voice. Seriously, why does this school have him as a teacher? He'd be fired earlier if he had gotten a job at a city school…

Mr. Morooka just kept on talking… or ranting. " You know, you all depend on other people too much! That's why you jerk-offs have all this spare time! 'Oh, he'll do it someday,' or 'She's doing it for me,' I bet that's all you think about! Let's take a closer look at it, shall we? What's the root of the word 'pend'? Hanamura! Stop smiling and answer!"

Now that was a sudden mood changer.

Yosuke looked troubled. "First of all, how could I be smiling in this class…? And second, this has nothing to do with logic… 'pend', eh? Words with 'pend' in them… uh…" He glanced at the silver-haired boy. "I have no clue… Yu, help me out here?"

"It means 'to hang'…" Yu told him as quietly as he could, but Mr. Morooka didn't miss that. "Ahh, pretty good, Hanamura… or should I be praising Narukami? You're right. The root word 'pend' means 'to hang'. Like Hanamura was too tongue-tied to explain, words like 'pendant' and 'pendulum' are good examples! Those girls who got murdered were fooling around and depending on others, and that's what got them killed! Unless you want to end up the same, make sure you don't depend too much on others!"

That's just cruel for him to say.

"…That was evil. How could he say that…?" Yosuke muttered to himself, trying not to frown in front of the teacher. He looked back at Yu with a small smile anyway. "…Thanks, Yu. He'd probably have stabbed me to death with his words if I hadn't 'depended' on you…"

With a small shrug, Yu smiled back. "Hey, I depend on your help too. Wouldn't have gotten this far in our investigation if it weren't for you."

Yosuke gave him a grin before focusing back on Mr. Morooka. Wouldn't want to get called out for chatting…

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

After school ended, Yu headed out of school to take a short trip to the shrine at the shopping district. The fox did have a new ema for him to help fulfil the wish written on it, which someone named Saito wrote, asking that their pet named Koro would return to them.

He agreed to help fulfil the wish… now he needed to find where this pet was.

While walking back to school, he encountered a dog at the flood plains. Something seemed to tell him that this was the pet he needed to help bring back to its owner… so he carefully approached it. However, the dog soon ran off after whimpering quietly, leaving the silver-haired boy alone.

…Guess he'll have to search for Koro another day.

He continued his walk back to school, planning to join soccer practice for the day.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Before Yu went upstairs to meet with Daisuke, he noticed that Saki's brother was standing around in the lobby. He did try to talk with him, but the conversation didn't last very long as it turned somewhat sour… seemed like the younger boy went through a lot since his sister died.

The silver-haired boy couldn't do much about it for now, so he eventually went upstairs to go and ask Daisuke if he wanted to walk with him to soccer practice.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

After practice finished, Yu was talking with Daisuke who looked much better than the last time the silver-haired boy saw him. At one point, the brunet glanced over to the side. "…Hey, see that girl over there?"

"…Oh." Yu noticed the girl there.

"That's her. My ex-girlfriend."

The two boys looked at each other. "She shows up every so often to watch us practice. I wonder if she's as stuck in the past as I am…" Daisuke murmured, looking melancholic. "You know I don't know the answer to that, Daisuke…" Yu told him, a sad smile on his lips.

"Then the only thing we can do is talk. Not just for me, but for her, too." The brunet nodded with a gentle expression. "Thinking back on it... I... should've just told her everything that was on my mind. Even if the truth hurt, at least we would have understood each other..." He then smiled. "Well, I'll talk to her after practice."

"It'll go well, Daisuke. You're doing great." Yu grinned encouragingly at his friend. Thanks to Kou and his efforts, Daisuke was taking a big step to finally reconcile with an old fear… and as a result of it, their bond grew stronger with the Strength Social Link.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Yu was passing by the shoe lockers after changing back into his uniform when he noticed that Daisuke and his ex-girlfriend were talking there. He stopped in his steps and kept quiet while watching the two… talk. Though it was more of Daisuke telling her of how he was back then.

"I just want you to know... I really did like you, back then..." Daisuke told her. His ex looked at him in silence for a moment. "What's gotten into you all of a sudden?" she asked him. He scratched his head, unsure of what to say to that. "…Hey, have you been coming to practice because you…" he was about to ask her when she interrupted him. "Oh, he's here. Get outta the way, or he might get the wrong idea."

So Daisuke let her pass by him to watch her meet up with one of the varsity players. "Senpai, you're late!" she told the boy. The varsity player apologised. "Sorry about that. Tearing down the goals took a little longer than usual today," he explained to her.

Daisuke's ex only giggled. "So you'll take me somewhere nice for dinner then, right?"

"Sure, sure." The varsity player soon noticed Daisuke standing there. "Daisuke...? What's up, man? I'll see ya at practice. Later."

Then, the girl turned to face her ex-boyfriend. "Daisuke... thank you."

That was all she said before she left with her current sweetheart. Daisuke and Yu watched them leave, then their gazes met. The brunet scratched his head awkwardly again while looking away… then looked back at the silver-haired boy. "...Hahaha... ya know, I feel pretty good..." he admitted, smiling as he laughed with relief.

"That good…" Yu smiled back. "Come on, let's go home."

They both then walked back home together, things now finally looking up for Daisuke.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

That evening, Yu was watching TV with Nanako… the show they were watching was a documentary about a young man searching for his real father. He took a quick glance at his cousin and noticed that she was staring into the TV.

"Real... father..." Nanako then looked at him. "Hey big bro… what do they mean by 'real'?"

For a few seconds, the silver-haired boy tried to think of a simple yet meaningful answer to that question… and soon resorted to an answer that might be stretching the truth a little, but was still relevant. "It means 'a person you love a lot', Nanako."

She smiled happily at that response and giggled. "Oh, okay... then you're my real big brother, and Dad's my real father!" She suddenly fell quiet for a moment, her smile falling. "…But I don't think Dad really loves me... maybe... maybe I'm not 'real' to him? Daddy doesn't come home because I'm not his 'real' daughter?"

"Nanako, did he say that?"

"…No." With that short question, Nanako stopped worrying about it. But she still thought about something that worried her. "Mom... why'd she leave me?"

Yu looked at her sadly. He's not even sure if her situation was worse than him… he still had parents, but they were so busy, they were barely there for him… and he was left at the mercy of his grandfather. Nanako lost her mother, but her father still tried to be there for him…

Nanako looked down, dejected. "...When Mom was still here, we all went out together... we picked flowers at Samegawa…" She talked about some of her memories… and in a way, Yu could understand her true feelings a little better.

Because of it, the Justice Social Link grew stronger.

"Hey... big bro..." Nanako was about to ask something, but Yu had noticed that it was now nearing her bedtime… he decided to let it be. "Yes…? What is it?" he asked, smiling. Nanako smiled back. "Okay! Umm, well, today, I woke up..."

…Well, at least she's having fun telling her cousin about her day.

Eventually, Yu put her to bed and went up to his room for the night since it was getting late.

Thursday came along with clearer skies, and Yu was feeling much better because of it.

While on his way to school, Yukiko caught up to him and walked at his pace. "Good morning, Yu-kun," she greeted him. "Ah, good morning, Yukiko…" The silver-haired boy greeted back, smiling. "What's up?"

"Well, school camp starts tomorrow. We'll be in the same group, but what should we be cooking for dinner? Hey, why don't we get everyone and go buy ingredients after school?" she suggested. Yu nodded – at least they all would have a say in what they wanted. "We should do that… oh, and curry is pretty easy to cook," he added.

Yukiko nodded too, smiling back. "Okay. I'll be sure to let Chie and Yosuke-kun know, then… and curry, huh? I'll talk to Chie about it… thanks, Yu-kun."

"Don't mention it." It was just a simple suggestion, but who knows what everyone will pick?

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

When school ended, the four teenagers went to Junes to buy some ingredients for dinner during the campout.

Yosuke told them that he had to do something on a different floor when they arrived at Junes, so now it was just Yu and the two girls. Both Yukiko and Chie were insisting that they be the ones to cook, so Yu had no choice but to let them buy the ingredients… but he had a very bad feeling about it as he watched them do so.

While standing near the shopping trolley they were using, he listened in on the conversation the girls were having as they looked at the many ingredients for sale.

"What do you put in curry again?" Chie asked the black-haired girl. "Carrots, potatoes, onions… mushrooms, green peppers, and… radishes?" Yukiko answered uncertainly.

"Are radishes… the same as turnips?"

Seems like they were making curry… but Yu felt like their dinner could be ruined at the rate they were going.

"Curry's fine, right? It's practically our national food," Chie asked her best friend. "We were going back and forth between ramen and curry, but I thought ramen might not be enough for you guys," Yukiko answered her.

"Hmm, I wonder what kind of ingredients Yosuke likes… I get the feeling he's real picky."

"He's on another floor, isn't he? Do you want me to go ask?"

"Nah, no need. Plus, he said he needed to get ready for something."

Yukiko fell silent as she looked at the ingredients again. "…Hey, Chie. You use potato starch for curry, right?"

"Eh…? O-Of course you do."

"Otherwise, the sauce wouldn't thicken. Then, we need potato starch and… some flour, too?"

"Th, there are different kinds of flour… which should we get? All-purpose? Whole wheat?"

"Hm, whole wheat sounds healthy."

At this point, Yu was pretty sure these girls had no clue on how to cook. Dinner is so going to be ruined… unless…

The two girls of the team continued to talk to each other about what to pick. "Let's get that one. And… here they are! Chili peppers! It's not curry if it isn't spicy." Yukiko picked some chili peppers. "Oh well… let's just get everything that seems right. How about some kimchi, too? And some ground pepper!" Chie then suggested.

"There's two kinds, though. Black and white."

"Whoa! Way to go, Yukiko… the Amagi family sure knows their stuff! Let's get both, just in case."

"Oh yeah… we'll need some special ingredients, too, to spice things up."

"Hmm, I remember seeing something on TV about that… I think it was… chocolate… coffee… yogurt… how about mint chocolate!? I love that stuff! I don't like coffee that much, though… oh, I can drink mocha, so let's get that."

"What about some seafood? That should make the sauce taste better."

Yu stared at them in utter silence and horror. Now he wondered if whatever the abomination of a curry they were going to cook will actually kill him and Yosuke when they try it out tomorrow…

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Yu stayed behind at Junes a little longer after the others left, having bought the ingredients for the so-called curry. The ingredients Yukiko and Chie chose were terribly unorthodox, and the silver-haired boy had the idea of maybe using some of the money he had to buy his own ingredients for curry…

It's better to be prepared, no?

So, with some spare time left before his curfew, he decided to buy a few ingredients to make curry in the case that whatever food was made by the two girls was inedible. It would be just curry with some vegetables that taste well with it, but it'll probably be more than enough.

Paying for the stuff he bought, he soon went back home.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Dojima was home today, so Yu decided to talk to him after carefully storing the ingredients for tomorrow in the fridge. While they were talking, Nanako approached her father while looking tired. "I'm going to sleep…"

"Hm? Oh, it's this late already? 'Night," Dojima said, bidding her goodnight. His daughter was quiet for a moment, causing him to look at her in some confusion. "What?"

"You said you would read me a book before bed."

"Oh... ohh, that's right... I got it, I got it. Just a few pages."

The little girl's face brightened up. "Yay!"

However, just as Dojima got up, his cell phone suddenly rang out. "Hold on," he told Nanako as he took out his phone and answered the call. "Dojima here… Ichihara-san! Yes... yes... then that means... well, if it's okay with you, I can be there in just a few..." He was quiet as he listened to the person on the other line. "…I understand. Goodbye..." He ended the call.

Nanako's smile fell quickly. "Dad…? Are you leaving?"

Her father couldn't bring himself to look at her. "It's… my job."

"But you said you'd read me a book..."

"I can do that anytime…"

Yu slightly frowned at the sight. "…This is more important, huh?" he asked his uncle. Dojima stared at his nephew in surprise, then sighed after being quiet for a few seconds. "Of course not..."

This made Nanako worried. "Are you two fighting...? Y-You can go, Dad."

Shaking his head, Dojima gently smiled at his daughter. "No, that's not it... I'm sorry, Nanako. What book do you want?"

"…It's okay?"

The detective nodded. "I promised. C'mon, let's go, Nanako."

"Yeah!" Now the little girl was smiling again.

The father and daughter went up to the latter's room for a while…

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Later, Yu was finishing up on preparing his things for the camp tomorrow when his uncle finally went down. He had a small smile on his face as he did. "Man, she made me read the whole thing..." It soon fell when he looked at his nephew. "…Let's talk."

With a wordless nod, Yu followed Dojima to the porch in the backyard of the house.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

The two sat there in silence, the only noise around them being the sound of the crickets. The stars above them twinkled in the black sky, no excess light to block them out. Right now, it was just them both, as uncle and nephew… yet the latter has grown to become a confidant to both his uncle and cousin.

Dojima eventually began to talk, glancing at the silver-haired boy. "The phone call was from Ichihara-san, my former senpai. I'm having him run tests for Chisato's hit-and-run investigation. He was calling to tell me that the test results are in..." He looked down in silence. "...Judging by his tone, he didn't find anything the police haven't already come up with. I know going over there won't change the test results, but..."

Yu has been looking at his uncle this whole time, seeing how severely disheartened Dojima was…

The detective continued with a sombre voice. "It was a white sedan. Most likely large and American. As expected, no such car is registered in Inaba. No records of one being repaired or scrapped, either... worst case scenario, the car's out of the country by now."

"That's terrible…" The silver-haired boy murmured quietly, shocked at the circumstances. His uncle never even told his mother or anyone about this…

Dojima gritted his teeth, his hands turning into fists. "It scares me... that I couldn't catch the perp... that I'll never have an outlet for this sick feeling... that I'll just have to swallow it...!" His shoulders then slumped. "Every time I look at Nanako... every time I notice ways she looks like her mother... I feel like... my face is being pushed down into reality... and it scares me..."

After saying all that, they were both silent for a while.

"Hah…" Dojima sadly smiled. "I never thought I'd be talking to you about this..." he admitted, looking at his nephew. He had just confided in Yu, and the teenage boy felt like he could understand his uncle more. Because of it, their bond grew deeper with the Hierophant Social Link.

The man broke his gaze away from the silver-haired boy and slowly nodded to himself. "I know I can't stay this way forever... while you're still here... I need to face myself."

Although Yu won't say it, he'll do his best to help his uncle and cousin too.

They both sat outside for some time in silence… until it was time for Yu to go to his room to sleep.

Friday came along with clouded skies, but there was no sign of rain once Yu and the rest of the second-years and first-years were at the mountains. As Chie and Yukiko had informed, the campout held nothing fun to it… just endless trash-picking from the moment they started until dinner time.

Which to say, Yu can already sense the impending dinner disaster coming their way… he did bring the ingredients he bought yesterday – no way he's forgetting them after what he witnessed. Yukiko and Chie were busy with their own curry… hopefully the pot they're using was still useable after the 'abuse' it just went through.

He was chatting with Yosuke in the meantime, though his body did feel tired from all that track-picking. "Ugh, picking up all that trash was murder on my back… I can't believe someone threw away an entire bike. Dammit, litterers should have to deal with their own garbage…" Yosuke muttered, rubbing his back.

Yu shrugged. The city had worse litterers. "Well, humans are humans… at least Inaba is more of a rural town than a town people can come and go to as they please. Otherwise, we might see worse things than a bike…"

"I don't even want to imagine that. Anyways, time for dinner! Man, I'm starvin'." The brunet grinned as he looked at Chie and Yukiko for moment. "Dude, the girls cooked just for us! Not that I expect much outta Chie, but Yukiko's got the full tradition of the Amagi Inn behind her food! You know it's gonna be out of this world!"

Oh, how pitiably innocent Yosuke is.

Imagining all those ingredients in something as simple as curry made Yu feel sick. "I… suddenly feel ill…" he murmured, covering his eyes. Yosuke looked at him with worry, but that didn't last long. "H-Hey, what's the matter? Is it okay if I have yours?"

"Go ahead…"

"Man, thanks! I can't wait to dig in!"

At the same time, Yukiko and Chie were troubled at the result of their cooking. "Should we… taste this?" Yukiko asked her best friend. "Huh? O-Only if you do it first…" Chie answered nervously. The two then prepared two plates of rice and curry for Yu and Yosuke, going over to them with it.

"Oh man, here it comes!" Yosuke was all excited at the thought of eating something made by the two girls in the team. "Uhhh, sorry for the wait. Um… we… put a lot of love into it…" Chie told the two with a hesitant smile.

"Whoa, really? That's kinda clichéd, but still awesome! Okay then, chow time!" Taking a spoonful of rice and the curry, Yosuke then took a bite, much to Yu's horror. In an instant, the brunet seemed to choke on it… "Urh, agh, aaarghraaaaw!"

He promptly sputtered and spat the food out, then fell onto his side like a lifeless person.

"H-hey…?" Chie worriedly called him, and for a moment he seemed to stay like that… before he sat up in a fury. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!? I mean, what kinda—" He coughed, still tasting the terrible curry in his mouth. "Curry's supposed to be like 'really spicy' or 'kinda mild'… this just stinks! And it's gritty too! It's somehow both gritty and slimy… and it's got squishy parts in it… it's so frickin' nasty I can't swallow it!"

"Well, it just didn't mix too well… but it does offer a wide variety of textures…"

"It's nauseating!"

"C'mon, it's not THAT bad…! That's just your opinion!" Chie glanced at Yu with Yukiko, and the silver-haired boy suddenly felt like his body just went cold. Yosuke also looked at his with seriousness in his eyes. "I'm telling you as a friend… don't do it. I wouldn't even joke about trying that slop!"

…Did Yu really have a choice, though? He's being looked at with expectation from the two girls… with a mental sigh, he took a spoonful of the horrid food and put it in his mouth.

The second he did, it's like his mind went through a shutdown as his body realised that the food was inedible as hell. He can't even bring himself to swallow it. In a manner similar to Yosuke, he spat the food out and coughed heavily.

Yu never even knew that one can make food taste like this. It's even worse than he imagined!

With a shake of his dizzy head, he lifted the left sleeve of his jumpsuit down a bit to reveal a watch he always wore. They still had some time… "Yukiko, Chie, I'm sorry to say this, but that was… bad," he admitted.

"It's not just bad! It's… I can't even describe it…" Yosuke shook his head as he remembered the taste.

"…We're sorry…" Chie apologised on both herself and Yukiko's behalf. They looked down in shame – of all things they were bad at, it just had to be cooking. Yu sighed and got up. "Look, it's okay. We still have time to cook a proper batch of curry and eat it too. I brought extra ingredients."

"Dude, what's the use if they're the ones cooking?" Yosuke whispered at him. The silver-haired boy smiled sheepishly at him. "They're not."

"Huh?" It took a moment for the brunet to realise what his best friend meant. "Wait, you? Oh right…" He remembered how damn tasty the food the smaller boy had cooked – this could be their salvation for dinner tonight! "Yeah, that sounds right. C'mon, whaddaya need me to do?" He gave Chie and Yukiko somewhat of a stink eye. "You guys better help out too!"

"Y-yeah, we get it. What first, Yu?" Chie asked, awaiting orders from the silver-haired boy.

Yu glanced at the pot full of the inedible curry. "Well, clean up the pot and fill it up to a quarter of its height with water, then heat the water up," he started off. "I'll go get the ingredients real quick – it shouldn't take too long to cook." So he went to where his bag was.

For once, his intuition paid off.

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

Although Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko didn't show it on their faces, they were stunned to see how quickly Yu prepared the ingredients and started cooking. If anything, he was like the perfect husband… or housewife. He's attractive, brave, polite, smart, and even knows how to cook… but he's surprisingly short and somewhat feminine for a boy.

If he wore a dress and had makeup on him, he might even pass for a girl.

…That's a strange thought.

After a small while, Yu finished cooking the curry and took four plates to fill it with rice before taking a scoop of the curry using a ladle, pouring it on the rice. Once he finished, he put out the fire under the pot and finally went over to where his friends were sitting, placing the plates of rice and curry on the table. "Here you go..."

He sat down at the table, beginning to eat his food calmly and politely. From the looks of it, he barely even broke a sweat from his cooking.

The other three teenagers stared at him for a moment before trying out the food… and to their delight, it was delicious. "Man, this is good!" Yosuke complimented it, grinning at his best friend. Yu smiled sheepishly, a small blush on his cheeks. "It's just curry with potatoes and a few vegetables in it. Nothing much to brag about…"

"Are you kidding? This is the best curry I ever tasted! It's so tasty…" Yosuke hungrily ate up his plate of curry and rice, which was a nice change in taste after tasting that weird and inedible curry. Chie and Yukiko had to admit that the curry was much better than theirs… hell, it's actually edible, to start off.

Thankfully, they were able to finish eating and clearing up before Mr. Morooka forced everyone into their camps for the night...

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

After a small while, the last person Yu had expected to come to his and Yosuke's tent was Kanji Tatsumi… who was exactly the last person he had hoped to meet during this campout after that small incident in the rain… yet at the same time, he needed to talk to Kanji.

Yosuke raised an eyebrow at the blond boy's presence. "How the hell did you end up here?"

Kanji didn't answer for a moment as he glanced at Yu, who glanced at him as well with an embarrassed look on his face before looking away from the younger boy. The silence that followed afterwards made things even more awkward.

Heck, even until now, Kanji could see how feminine the silver-haired boy's face looked… even more so in the dim lighting of the electric lantern.

"Uh, hello…?" Yosuke was feeling weirded out at seeing that exchange. Kanji then acted like he usually was. "…My teach threatened to hold me back a year if I didn't show. And the first-year's tent is all quiet, like someone died."

The brunet scratched the back of his head. "Well, if you were in there with 'em, I'm not surprised…"

Kanji looked at the two older boys again. Yu still wouldn't look at him, keeping his gaze at the floor. "Is it just you two in this tent?" he asked the two, trying not to mind the fact that the silver-haired boy has gone quiet since he entered. Yosuke sighed. "The other guys called in sick. Smart move…"

"So… it's okay if I hang out here?"

At that question, Yu himself let out a long and quiet sigh. Finally, he looked up at Kanji. "...Sure. Stay as long as you want, Kanji," he told him, a small smile on his lips. The blond boy stared for a moment, then nodded quickly. "H-Hey, you're a stand-up guy, Senpai. Don't worry, I won't make any trouble for you. They won't catch me unless we raise a ruckus."

"Alright, alright. You can sleep over there…" Yosuke told the younger boy, pointing at the sleeping mat at the other end of the tent. Kanji looked at it and frowned. "Dude, there's a huge rock under there. How'm I supposed to sleep? It's gonna hurt like hell."

"I can trade places with you if you want," Yu spoke up. Kanji grew a bit flustered at that suggestion, shaking his head. "Nah, S-Senpai… you don't need to do that…!"

"Pipe down… didn't you say you weren't going to make any noise?" Yosuke said, hushing.

"Yo Senpai, can't you go just a little further back?"

"Nope. There's a slope just past here. I'd roll down the hill in my sleep. If you don't like it here, go back to the first-year tent."

"Hey… wasn't your teacher some guy called King Moron? That guy stopped me outside earlier, and he pissed me off so bad I was about to lose it. He was going on and on about when I was in middle school, when he doesn't know shit about any of that… not only that, he was bullshitting about how I'll be expelled immediately if I cause trouble… that ain't funny, man."

"Yeah, that guy's set a speed record for jumping to conclusions…" Yosuke groaned at the thought. Mr. Morooka was definitely the worst teacher they've met.

"Check this out, right? I heard it from a guy in my class. He said that asshole was talking shit about the two girls who died."

The brunet perked up at that. "King Moron was talking about Ms. Yamano and Saki-senpai…?"

"It was like, 'It's no surprise that people who are unfaithful or run away from home meet a bad end…'. I dunno, maybe he was exaggerating. Everyone seems to hate that son of a bitch Morooka."

"Damn, I can just picture him saying that… he never shut up about me either when I moved here last year. Not that I remember anything he said…"

"Even if it's only a little true, it still pisses me off… the dickhead's a damn teacher, for god's sake."

"Ahhh, don't waste your energy getting pissed at that clown." While Yosuke said that, he took out a small pack from a bag nearby. "Yeah, you got a point…" Kanji then spotted what was in the brunet's hands. "Hey, those are mine!"

"These?" Yosuke held the pack up. "What are these, anyway?"

"Animal crackers! Don't eat it!" Kanji managed to snatch it out of the older boy's hands, putting it into his pants' pocket. Yosuke huffed, crossing his arms. "Dude, why're you acting up about it? They're just animal crackers…" he muttered.

"I'm planning to find the penguin… it's the secret animal cracker," Kanji said without a sense of shame. Yu couldn't help but smile, maybe even giggle a little. "Really… is it that important?" he asked, feeling much relaxed for some reason.

"Y…yeah!"

…For a split second, Yu swore he could've seen a hue of red on the blond boy's cheeks… but he could be wrong – the light was too dim to see properly.

In the end, Yosuke just sighed. "Let's just go to sleep…"

Yu nodded quietly. He needed a rest after trash-picking and practically speed-cooking for his group…

~*~*~*~*~*~…~*~*~*~*~*~

The three boys lied down on their sleeping mats, though their positions were completely different.

Kanji lied down on his mat with his arms behind his head, while Yu lied down with his legs bent and his arms crossed, and Yosuke lied down on his side, facing the other two. "Kanji, don't you have more space on your side?" he asked.

The blond boy shook his head, looking at Yosuke. "Man, I can't sleep over there, or my back's gonna break."

"Oh… okay."

A silence fell among the three for a few moments.

"Uh… hey." Yosuke called again.

"Yeah?"

This time, the brunet sounded suspicious. "…Why'd you come to this tent?"

"Huh? I already told you. Geez… 's wrong with you?"

"This is as good a time as any, so… I-I want you to be honest with us."

"Uh… okay?"

"A-Are you really… you know…?"

"Am I really what…?"

"What I mean is, uh… are we gonna be safe alone with you?"

Did Yosuke just seriously ask that?

"What-!?" Kanji got up, antsy at the question. "Wh-Wh-What the hell's that supposed to mean!? I-I already told you guys I'm not like that!"

Yu and Yosuke got up too, the mood suddenly tense. "W-Well then why are you all hot and bothered about it!? That's just more suspicious!" Yosuke retorted.

"Hell no! We settled this already, dammit! Right now, I'm… well… how do I put it…?"

"Oh God, don't trail off like that! You're freaking me out!"

"I'm trying to tell you that I have no problem being around girls now!"

"Can you prove it!?"

"P-Prove it…?"

"'Cause if you can't, we're gonna be stuck here all night, half scared to death."

"Yosuke…" Yu looked at the brunet disapprovingly. Kanji gritted his teeth. "Tch… to hell with this. If that's what you really think of me, then I'm gonna go hit the girls' tent right now!"

Now that was something Yosuke didn't expect. "Huh? Wait, well that's a little extreme! You don't have to go that far! They'll expel you if they find you! Don't tell me you forgot! King Moron's got his eye on you!"

"Yeah… like that'd stop a man like me!"

"Dude's seriously going for it… hey man, you gotta stop him…" Yosuke whispered to Yu. The silver-haired boy gave his friend a dirty look for a few seconds. This happened because a certain guy couldn't stop worrying about something so trivial. Then, he looked back at Kanji. "Kanji, don't do this," he told him, worry in his eyes.

…But Kanji wasn't listening to him at all. "Y'think I'm gonna put up with this crap!? I'll show you guys! To hell with King Moron! No one's stopping Kanji Tatsumi, dammit! Raaaaaaahhhhh!" he promptly ran out of the tent.

"Uh, hey! Wait!" Yosuke tried to stop the younger boy, but even he couldn't do anything. What shocked him more was that Yu suddenly ran out after Kanji. "Woah! Hey, not you too!" …Now it was just him alone in the tent. "…I declare myself not responsible for anything that happens," he said to no one in particular, but just in case. He just hoped that Yu knew what he was doing…