Usui was guiding the horse, while I sat right behind him, my arms laced around his stomach in order not to fall off. It was quite peaceful, actually. I'll admit it, being stuck in a forest with this guy actually wasn't so bad.
"Misaki, listen," I hear him say. I stay silent and listen carefully. I hear a distant but recognizable sound. Almost like... water. Wait a minute.
"Oh my god! Water!" I cheer. "Let's go!" I exclaim.
"Hold on tight," he warns. I oblige, my mind set on finding the source of the sound. Suddenly, the horse took off at an alarmingly fast pace. Good thing Usui warned me beforehand. I could hear the sound of water getting louder and louder the closer we went. Eventually, I could make out the shape of a small waterfall.
"Usui, do you see that?" I yell to him over the loud sound of wind in our ears due to the speed. I pointed straight ahead at the waterfall. I couldn't see his expression since his back was toward me.
"Yeah, I do," he answered back. I could hear a smile in his voice. Once we arrived at our destination, I hurriedly jumped off the horse, and was about to dive into the clear, tempting water, but Usui stopped me from doing so.
"What's wrong?" I ask, only to see him pull of his shirt. Damn, he was pretty sexy. Wait, did I actually just think that?! Snap out of it, Misaki!
"Don't wet your clothes, or you'll catch a cold," he informs me. I blush.
"Well, what do you expect me to do? Take them off?" I reply sarcastically. He looks at me.
"Yes, that's exactly what I expect you to do," he answered honestly. I could tell he didn't have any perverted intentions, so I hesitantly pulled off my dress. I decided to leave my tank top on, and I took off my tights, making sure to leave on the shorts I wore over them.
"Is it cold?" I ask Usui, who was already fully in the water.
"Just at first," he promises, waving me over. I take a few steps back, before running at full speed and jumping into the water, purposely splashing some on Usui. The water was freezing at first, but just as he'd said, it warmed up within a matter of seconds.
I could feel the bottom of the lake with my feet, so I walked around in the water a bit. Wading a bit deeper, I screamed as I lost my footing and slipped face first into the water. It was unexpected, so I forgot to hold my breath, leaving me to swallow large amounts of water. I had very little oxygen right now, so I used every last bit of my strength to swim back to the surface. When I popped my head back up, I could see Usui looking for me.
"Misaki, are you okay?" he asks, noticing me choking.
"Yeah, I just slipped," I reply in between coughs, slamming my chest with my fist. Usui frowns.
"We should get you warmed up," he suggests. "There should be a hotel somewhere around here," he says. I look at him and raise an eyebrow.
"So, you knew where we were the whole time? We weren't lost after all?" I accuse. He shakes his head.
"Well, we were lost," he explains, "but since I live near this forest I have explored here once a couple years ago. I remember spotting this river, and next to this river there should be a hotel nearby," he says. I nod.
"Okay, so let's find the hotel," I casually say.
"Get dressed first," he tells me, getting out of the water. I get out right after him, and get back into my maroon dress and black leggings.
"All done," I announce. "Let's go now," I say eagerly. He chuckles, hopping onto the horse. I carefully climb up, before wrapping my arms securely around Usui's waist. He gets the horse moving again, and we ride off somewhere. It was getting pretty dark out, so we needed to find the hotel quickly. In the distance, I see a small light. Maybe that was it?
"We're almost there," he tells me, riding towards the light. I shiver a bit. It was pretty windy out. Once we arrive at the hotel, we get off the chestnut horse. He ties it up to a tree, before walking into the small building. It didn't look much like a hotel- more like a small cottage. I follow him inside.
"Hello?" I hear Usui ask. A middle-aged woman came out from a room behind the front desk. She had short brown hair and blue eyes.
"Oh, hello! You two must be freezing, would you like a room?" she welcomes us politely, pulling out a binder full of papers and a ballpoint pen.
"Yes, please," I say, walking up to the desk and leaning against it.
"Names?" she asks.
"I'm Takumi Usui Walker," he answers. The lady nods her head, scribbling down the name on a chart of some sort.
"And you, young lady?" she points at me with her pen.
"Misaki Ayuzawa," I reply. I could see her tense up very visibly.
"I didn't quite catch that," she says quietly, as if she were deep in thought. "Last name is Ayuzawa...?" she confirms. I nod.
"Yep, Misaki Ayuzawa," I repeat. She seems in shock, but maybe it's just my imagination. I watch her carefully write my name down right next to Usui's. She holds out a key for me to take, so I did.
"Room 13," she tells me. "Enjoy your stay," she says, before disappearing in the room she came from. We decide to take the stairs since our room was on the floor just above the lobby.
"That was strange," Usui comments.
"How so?" I ask, continuing up the stairs.
"I don't know... just something about it was weird," he replies with a shrug. I frown.
"Maybe you're just over-thinking it," I conclude, finding the door to our room. "10, 11, 12... 13!" I count each unit number we walk by. Usui chuckles before unlocking the door, and flinging it open.
"Yippee!" I cheer, running inside, and jumping onto the bed. That's when I noticed a slight problem. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I said 'the bed'. Which means there is only ONE BED! I quickly scramble off the bed, and snatch a pillow and blanket, leaving the bed bare. Yep, you heard me once again! There was only one blanket and one pillow. I'm officially signing out of life.
"What are you doing?" he asks. I blush.
"T-t-there's um... only one... b-bed..." I stammer, my face bright red in embarrassment. He smirks.
"Then we'll just have to share it, now won't we?" he says, taking the pillow and blanket out of my hands and making the bed neat again.
"L-like hell I'm going to sleep on the same bed as you!" I yell. He just laughs.
"I'm going to go take a shower," he tells me, grabbing a robe from the closet, before making his way into the bathroom. That brings back the memories from when Usui took off his shirt and I could see his good-looking abs... I swear I was droolin- WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, MISAKI?! You cannot think such weird thoughts about your master! Also you'd be a hypocrite if you ever called him a pervert ever again!
"Ugh... So frustrating..." I groan, burying my face into a pillow. Hey, this was actually pretty comfy. My eyes fluttered shut, and I lay there in silence. This felt so nice. I could feel the soft and bouncy mattress beneath me, the fuzzy blanket, my hair being stroked... It was so relaxing. After a while, I was about to fall asleep, until realization dawned on me.
"WHO THE HELL IS STROKING MY HAIR?!" I jerk up out of my comfortable position, ready to fight off whoever was touching me. I was greeted by Usui's laughter, as I was humiliated, like always.
"You're so amusing," he laughs. I blush.
"You scared me! At least warn me next time!" I exclaim, walking over to the floor and laying down. He frowns.
"Misaki, get off the floor..." he whines. I stay on the floor.
"No, goodnight," I say, getting on my knees and turning off the lamp. Usui took this chance to grab me by my waist and throw me onto the bed.
"You will sleep here tonight, princess," he commands gently. "I'll sleep on the floor," he offers. A feeling of guilt makes my stomach churn. I grab his wrist before he can move. He turns to face me.
"Uhm," I mutter, my throat suddenly feeling dry. "D-don't sleep on the floor... you'll catch a cold..." I whisper, but he heard me loud and clear. His eyes widened, obviously surprised by my concern.
"Where do you expect me to sleep, then?" he asks, a smile tugging at his lips. I couldn't help but smile myself.
"Well... there's enough room for two on this bed..." I mumble shyly, patting the empty space on the bed. He grins at me, and I look away, an evident blush on my face. I could hear him getting settled into the bed. I was just grateful that he decided not to tease me for this. A thought suddenly came to my head.
"Hey, Usui?" I ask.
"Hmm?" he responds sleepily.
"...Do you think things would be different between us if I was a lady of higher-class rather than a slave?" I question. I couldn't see his expression in the darkness, but there was definitely a noticeable pause.
"We would've never met, then," he replies, pulling the covers over my shoulders. "Don't worry about silly things like that and go to bed," he says, though I could tell he was wondering the same thing as I was. "Goodnight," he whispers.
"Goodnight..." I respond, drifting off to sleep.
"You're positive her name was Misaki Ayuzawa?" a tall lady with raven black hair asks suspiciously. The brown haired one nods.
"Yes, I've found her," she responds eagerly.
"I see... don't tell her about me, okay...?"
"Of course. Anything you want, Minako."