Chapter 7: Ryou pushes his luck
The days that followed were fairly uneventful. By this point in our journey, the days seemed to blend into one. There was something about being in nature… something about bare survival… it was humbling. Even Mint was becoming more active and adventurous. Everything around us truly seemed to be bringing out the best in all of us. However, this part of our trip was now at an end.
"Alright girls," began Ami as we gathered around for our nightly meeting. "I promised a hotel room and tomorrow night that is exactly what you're going to get." She presented us with a pamphlet detailing the five star hotel accommodations we'd be spending the next night in. "The boys have a room, I have a room, and you girls will share a two bedroom suite. Dinner will be in the hotel restaurant at 6 pm sharp, so don't be late. We'll arrive around ten in the morning or so, giving you plenty of time to clean up before then."
"Finally, a real bed." Mint closed her eyes and smiled.
"A shower," Zakuro and Retasu murmured in unison.
"It's not so bad out here," I commented, leaning back. Ryou looked over at me and chuckled.
"I thought for sure you'd be jumping up and down Ichigo," he teased. I stuck my tongue out at him. "I must say I'm somewhat impressed though. I didn't think you'd make it past the first week!" Every one sitting near him took two giant scoots back.
"You know Ryou, you've got some nerve. How dare-"
"OKAY," interjected Akasaka-sama, "time for a game!"
"You're so overly sensitive," he muttered under his breath. I glared at him. Why did he have to be such a jerk? I mean geez, insulting me and complimenting me at the same time… That was different. Sometimes I just didn't understand him. As the rules of the game were explained, I quietly got up and snuck away.
I wandered through the woods for a while. It was a fairly warm evening, so it was an easy trip. I didn't have any clear direction as to where I was going, but after having been surrounded by my friends for the last couple of weeks, I really wanted to be alone anyway.
Off in the distance I heard my name called, but I didn't care to answer it. I found a nice tree branch and climbed up into it, watching the sun finish setting on the horizon. I heard footsteps approaching… I heard my name again… this time I could tell it was Ryou's voice. I kept quiet and watched him as he walked under the tree.
"Damn it Strawberry…" he muttered, "Where are you?" To my surprise, he seemed to be a little worried. With a sigh, I called out to him from my perch.
"Why the hell did you answer me?" he yelled. I calmly shrugged and commented that I hadn't wanted to. "Yeah, well, they were worried about you back at camp," he grumbled.
"Were you worried," I asked him as I hopped down. He blushed slightly and muttered an 'of course not.'
I threw my hands up in annoyance. "Then why bother coming to get me! Send someone else next time if you don't care." I stormed back to camp, with him right behind me.