Chapter 4: Bonus! Chapter 3.5 Ryou's POV

Chapter 3.5: Ryou's POV

The sun felt warm on my skin and the gentle caress of the wind was soothing; Ami had led us well into the forest at this point and, much to my relief, the girls seemed to be getting a little more comfortable with the idea. We aren't actively trying to make their lives difficult and it's not fair to them; they didn't ask for all this nonsense. It is a necessary sacrifice though and it was my personal mission to make sure they could safely go on with their missions, even if it means putting them out a little bit from time to time. That guilt was easily replaced with comfort when I looked ahead and saw them walking along the path- laughing and talking. It was so nice to see them able to relax and enjoy each other's company for a change.

My thoughts drifted to Ichigo: I was worried about her, more so than the others. After what had happened the previous night with that jerk Masaya… How he could have passed up a girl like Ichigo was, well, beyond me. Sure she could be a little whiny at times, maybe a little nearsighted when she should be looking at the big picture; but she was a teenage girl after all, and a very brave and intelligent one at that. I suddenly felt grateful to be at the back of the line; it made it easier to conceal the blush that was spreading across my face:

God, I had been so stupid on the bus; why did I always have to torment her; and, more importantly, why did she keep putting up with it. She gets me. I don't like it, but it's true. Keiichiro and Ichigo: The only two that have truly been privy to my past and both have kept the confidence shared with them. She'd offered no pity, no words of comfort; she knew I didn't want them; but she got me, and told me she'd work hard. As if it hadn't been hard enough to remain distant from the girl I'd been falling for since Keiichiro and I had ever talked to her directly—now it was damn near impossible. Unfortunately, that meant I just had to try harder and suffer welts on my head as a result. Every time, I want to apologize, I truly do; I am like my father: a cold scientist too involved in work to really entertain much of a social life, let alone a romantic one. Even if, and that was a big if, Ichigo was interested in me it wouldn't be fair to pursue her: I could never show her how much I cared for her, no matter how deeply I felt it.

**SOME TIME LATER**

By the time we stopped for the night, the girls seemed exhausted. Of course, we had walked almost eight hours throughout the day. Ichigo slumped to the ground, her backpack falling beside her. I stifled a laugh.

Keiichiro and Ami were going to start dinner while the girls set up the tarps… I leaned against a tree and watched. They were completely mesmerized by the sunset and the surroundings.

"Hey, Akasaka-sama," I heard Retasu say suddenly: "There are only two tarps here. We forgot the rest."

"No, there's only two," replied Ami, "four people per tarp. It makes the load easier to carry. Besides, it gets cold out at night. You'll be thankful to curl up with other warm bodies." She rejoined Keiichiro at the gas lit stove. Damn, I thought, I hope Keiichiro didn't do what I'm thinking he did…

"You didn't decide who was sleeping where too, did you?" I heard Ichigo asked nervously. Somehow, I felt she was worried about the answer too.

"Groups share a tarp with one other group: Keiichiro and I are in one tent with Purin and Retasu. You and Ryou are in the other tarp with Mint and Zakuro." Ichigo fell back into Retasu's arms blushing heavily. Not sure what else to do, I quickly walked over and picked up the tarps and rope:

"I'll take care of it," I muttered being sure to study the ground; I couldn't let them see me blush too.

**BED TIME**

I think it's safe to say that both Ichigo and I avoided each other for the better part of the evening. The whole situation was uncomfortable but, truth be told, not an unpleasant thought: spending the night beside the red head, waking up and letting her be the first thing I saw; I moved to the far end of the tarp.

"Oh, no," Mint teased, "you have to sleep next to your buddy!" Zakuro raised her eyebrow and stared, half smirking, at us. I met her smirk with a dark glare and Ichigo sunk deep into her sleeping bag. I muttered a quick word of acceptance and scooted around to rest in between Mint and Ichigo. Just as I'd curled up tight in my bag, I felt the crushing weight of one of my tent-mates as she landed square on top of me:

"There is a huge… gigantic… monstrous…"

"Bug." Grumbled Zakuro. She held up the beetle up which prompted additional screams, and the addition of more weight to my poor back:

"Get off," I whined. Both girls apologized and scooted off. Zakuro laughed at them and released the beetle outside of the tarp. Mint crawled into her own bag and zipped it all the way over her head.

"Mint you look ridiculous," tease Zakuro as she slipped back into her own sleeping bag.

"Maybe so," came Mint's muffled voice, "but I feel bug proof in here!"

"Good night guys," called Keiichiro from the other tarp. "We're getting up at dawn so I'd suggest you get some sleep." The camp site grew silent. I closed my eyes and attempted to relax to the melodious sounds around me- breathing, rushing water, the wind in the trees… it was all so peaceful. And then… I felt my heart thump… Ichigo… I rolled over and noticed that she was missing. I heard a twig snap outside and peaked out.

There she was, her hair burning red like fire in the summer moonlight; everything else seemed to pale in comparison. She walked to a flat rock and sat, seemingly deep in thought, and I was quite content to watch her from a distance. Content, but not overly happy; everything inside was screaming to go join her, talk to her, enjoy her company in the solitude of the night. My brain however, over-rode my emotions, reminding me why I could only love her from a distance. After a small eternity, she stood; I rushed to get back in my sleeping bag and quickly forced myself to rest as though asleep; I felt her come in and crawl back into her bag and, for a moment, felt her eyes on me. Then, there was calm and quiet: I felt her lie down and soon heard her gently breathing as she slept.

**6 A.M. **

I stretched as the warm rays of the sun warmed my face and looked up briefly to see if anyone else was up yet; all I heard was a muffled moan from Ichigo. I lay back down a watched her as she rolled over, facing me, and mumbled something in her sleep. A wisp of hair fell in front of her face… I gently reached out and brushed it to the side. She began to stir and I quickly pulled my hand away.

"Good morning Ichigo," I whispered. She blushed. I smiled at her… which kind of freaked her out. So I quietly snuck out of the tarp and suggested we go for a swim. I almost expected her to say sure and then immediately fall back asleep, but I was pleasantly surprised.

By the time we had changed and begun the short walk to the river, Keiichiro and Ami were starting to get up. Breakfast would be soon and we couldn't be gone long.

"Oh my god this is cold," she whimpered; I laughed and jumped right it. She stood there, shivering waist deep in water, dripping from her head all the way back into the river. I laughed and leaned back to float a bit in the deeper water: "I hate you so much," she glared.

"You'll get over it. You always do." I teased, walking towards her.

"What are you doing," she asked suspiciously; she never saw it coming until I had her scooped up and in my arms. She squealed, though I couldn't tell if it was a happy sound or not, as I tossed her out into the river. I was so distracted laughing that I never noticed the gleam of revenge in her eyes. A surprisingly strong Ichigo jumped onto my back, dunking me under the cold water.

"Oh, so we're going to play that game are we?" She smiled in a "just try and catch me" sort of way and the chase was on.

"What are you so happy about anyway?"

That internal battle played out quickly in my head: even if I could bring myself to tell the girl how I felt, 6:30 in the morning in freezing water in the middle of nowhere didn't really strike me as the right place and time:

"It's nothing okay." I looked back towards camp. "We shouldn't stay down here too long…"

Ichigo seemed rather disappointed with my response and began heading back to shore.

"It was just amazing to wake up to your face," I whispered without thinking; I quickly caught myself and, pushed to blush away from my face right before turned back to me.

"What did you say?" She was blushing slightly. I sighed, shook my head, and walked up to tussled her wet hair.

"It's nothing. Let's go get something to eat. Think Keiichiro can cook? You haven't tried Ami's pancakes yet!"

I looked back at the river we'd just been playing in; this was a memory I would file away in a series of others to treasure when I lost her to another, one more worthy of her than Masaya, for good. A sudden sadness filled me as I prepared to go back to acting normal.