New Chapter: This chapter is getting into the camp and Sakuno's first group "mission". I will only go into some detail with her other group members, because some of which you already know.
Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis all rights belong to Takeshi Konomi.
It would be so strange living at a school for a week, Sakuno went home and talked to her grandmother and found that she did consent to it a few weeks back and was told not to tell Sakuno. Sumire informed Sakuno that they are to bring a sleeping bag, pillow, toothbrush, hairbrush, undergarments, shampoo and conditioner. They had to wear their school uniform and they were allowed to use the school washer and drier, other necessities are also included from the school. Though cell phones aren't allowed there is the phone in the office which is allowed to be used under special permission.
When Sakuno arrived at school Monday she was told to place her things in a closet and come to role call in the auditorium with everyone in the school attending. To her surprise there were only about 50 people in the whole school, but to Sakuno's recollection there should be about 60-65 students attending. Sakuno tilted her head in confusion for a moment wondering if maybe the number she read about was wrong. In the registration office there was a map of the school, and the population year to year.
"I wonder…" She said absent mindedly.
The announcer then told everyone to line up and receive a number which will be the group they will be working together with for the week, and they are expected to be with the group at all times until bed time. Boys and girls will be sleeping on opposite sides of the school.
Sakuno got in line and felt very nervous and trapped, as if this was going to destroy her very being. She wondered if she would know anyone in her group, if they are nice or not, and if she can actually contribute to her team.
"I-I've got to try…" She thought. "I want to try hard; I want to try my hardest." With that thought Sakuno realized that she has grown since that time, and that her willingness has grown also.
She smiled a cute but embarrassed smile.
"Ah, Sakuno-chan I think I'm in love." Sakuno looked to see Rai standing beside her with a grin on his face.
"R-Rai-sempai?" She tilted her head in confusion.
"Oh, it looks like you're next to get your number, I got to go but make sure you don't smile like that around too many guys." He said with a chuckle and before he dashed off to what seemed like his other group members.
She hoped that maybe she could be in the same group as him but when she finally got her number which was 4 and found her way to her group her hope was dashed easily. The only good thing was that there were some familiar faces in her group.
First there was the ever complaining Usagi who was too busy talking about how this camp was such a waste of time to even look at Sakuno. Second, was Nana whose eyes were closed shut which showed off the dark circles under her eyes, Sakuno wondered what made Nana so scared of sleeping when she seemed perfectly comfortable closing her eyes.
Nana took a deep breathe and Sakuno saw that she was clenching her fists, Sakuno could tell that Nana was becoming annoyed by Usagi and her nerves growing thin by each word that burst out of Usagi's mouth. Having a bad feeling about the two, Sakuno directed her attention to the last person she recognized which happened to be the light hearted Shiro. He seemed to be resting peacefully to the side ignoring the other people around him and Sakuno wasn't sure if she should disturb him while he was sleeping so adorably.
Deciding to just sit down next to him she looked over to who Usagi was talking to, and saw it was a boy who was a third year, he seemed like a good listener because he never once tried to leave the one-sided conversation. He looked mysterious because he had black shoulder length hair with purple eyes that seemed to look through you, deep inside you and all around you. The most surprising part of him was that he was looking at Usagi calmly, with not a hint of boredom or disgust with her over exuberant speech so he either was blocking her words entirely or he didn't mind what she was saying and might actually find it interesting.
"That's Kyo, Sakuno-chan." Came a groggy voice from beside her.
"Shiro-san, you're awake."
"Yup, just taking a short nap, I see you tried the coconut shampoo Kaito was talking about."
Sakuno blushed.
"S-so it's Kyo-sempai right?"
"Ah! Yes…he's a very weird guy don't you think?" Shiro asked with a smile.
"W-well…he's definitely mysterious." Sakuno said softly.
"Very true, but look over here." Shiro pointed to a girl next to Kyo who seemed busy cleaning her chair and her hands.
"Who?"
"That's Kikyo, a first year like you and a sweet girl who likes old fashion things and always smells like soap and rice. She has a fear of disorder and always has to have everything in its place, no speck of dust is going to land near her is she can help it." He said.
Kikyo too had black hair but hers went to the middle of her back and was in a long braid that was perfect in every way shape and form. Her face was a bit frantic but she was a beautiful girl with dark blue eyes which made Sakuno a bit envious of the all the people with such dazzling features around her.
"Over a few seats you'll see another weird guy named Maro, he likes people to call him Maro Maro though. He's a second year like me and we've talked a few times in class, he's nice but I still don't know him too well. "
He had silver hair that framed his face with golden eyes and he seemed to be working on his homework. He was working diligently and didn't seem bothered that people were looking at him in the slightest, it may be the reason he was trying to work even harder. He had a feeling he was being watched, and that made him want to look like he was a good student, though he was in all actuality just doing some creative writing.
"Hehe, don't be fooled by his engrossed look, he's actually a free spirit type." Shiro explained to Sakuno in a whisper.
"After a while of him constantly writing in class I got curious and was able to sneak a few looks."
"Shiro-san." Sakuno said in a disappointed tone.
"I didn't mean anything by it and from what I could tell he is an amazing writer."
"S-Still…"
"I know it's wrong, b-but you should see him. It's amazing how fast he goes he seems to really love it so I couldn't help myself. You know when you can tell when someone really loves something you want to try it too?"
"Ah…yes." Sakuno knew exactly what he was talking about because, that was one of the reasons why she liked Ryoma during her first years of middle school.
It got quiet for a moment then Shiro tapped her shoulder softly.
"I'll apologize if you want me too, so please don't be mad." Shiro said giving the puppy dog eyes.
"Oh, no I'm not mad at all!" Sakuno said loudly getting nervous. "Sorry, I was just spacing out.
"Oh, okay then I can show you who are last…" Shiro was cut off when he was picked up and moved to a different chair.
"Juro! Don't do that!" Shiro yelled embarrassed he was man handled so completely.
Juro was a man about 6 foot with dark blue hair that was messy, wild and stuck out in all places with grey/silver eyes he basically looked like a gang leader. He had a cocky attitude about him and he sat down next to Sakuno ignoring Shiro all together.
"Ah…a-ah." Was all that Sakuno could form, very intimidated with his size and prior actions.
Shiro then tackled his head, but it had no affect on the man what so ever he just sat with his arms crossed against his chest as if Shiro wasn't squeezing his head with all his might. It was a pitiful sight to see as Shiro tried with all his might to move the man off the seat, while Juro did nothing but relax in a chair and only need to pull him off with one hand and set Shiro on the floor.
Shiro looked hurt emotionally, and Sakuno kneeled beside him and rested her hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about the softy there little lady, he should be used to this by know." Juro said with a small smirk.
"That jerk." Shiro whimpered.
"I-its okay Shiro-san, being big isn't everything." Sakuno said trying to comfort.
"It helps…" He said and Sakuno couldn't deny that.
"Yes, but I like Shiro-san the way you are." She said trying to be nice.
"Ah…thank you!" Shiro said with a smile and they both stood up.
"So, you've been here?" The sound of Usagi's voice rang calmly through the air and Sakuno turned to see her resting on one hand and twirling a strand of hair with the other while smirking at Sakuno.
"Ah, Y-yes." Sakuno said with a bow.
"How long?"
"Ah, 5 minutes?" Sakuno said unsure.
"Hmph! You didn't even bother to say hello to me? How rude." Usagi said crossing her legs then pulling hair closer to her face and examining it closely.
"S-sorry." Sakuno said sheepishly.
"What was that?"
"Sorry!" Sakuno said forcefully.
"That's better." Usagi said as she finished looking over her hair and smirked at Sakuno.
"How is that better?" Nana asked annoyed.
"Well can't you hear her better?" Usagi questioned innocently.
"I heard her fine before." Nana mumbled.
"Oh, that's right you have the freak hearing." Usagi said with a snort.
Nana was about to lose her cool but simply clenched her fists and walked to an empty seat near Maro.
"Hahaha! She's always like that, whenever she gets mad she goes to sulk in a corner like a spoiled brat." Usagi taunted as she remained relaxed in her chair.
"Ah…U-usagi-sama." Sakuno said with a sweat drop.
"Hey now, little girl why don't you be more humble towards your sempai." Juro said with a huff glaring at Usagi.
"Why don't you stop calling me little girl? Nana's only older than me by one year so who cares?" Usagi countered.
"That doesn't mean you can be so disrespectful, you bitch!" Juro yelled almost too loudly because people from other groups looked their way.
"H-How could you be so cruel to a lady!" Usagi said while faking tears.
"W-wait, I'm sorry…my tongue slipped, I didn't mean it. Please forgive me." Juro said ashamed.
"Hm, a grilled cheese sounds nice right about now." Maro said absent mindedly.
"Maro maro, this is hardly the time to thinking about food." Shiro said.
"It's so messy too." Kikyo said placing a hand on each of her cheeks.
"Really? Maybe greasy but it's not that messy." Juro asked.
"Oh yes! Anything with cheese and grilling can be nothing but trouble." Kikyo said.
"I'm surrounded by freaks." Usagi commented.
"Come off it, Usagi-sama!" Shiro said sarcastically while giving a mock bow.
Sakuno was laughing inside and trying hard not to giggle, never has she met such a group of people, who can only get on each other's nerves and the only quiet one was Kyo. Friends and family always have their little differences now and then but this group is certain to be chaotic until the end of the camp when they can finally leave each other.
After a moment more of bickering a bell rang which signaled the groups to hurry up and go outside for their first group activity. Sakuno decided to walk near Shiro who was walking with Juro, Maro, and Usagi who got her hood and parasol while Kikyo, Nana and Kyo lagged behind.
Outside they saw a booth with group numbers on each one and a teacher sitting behind waiting for the group to approach. Shiro decided to race ahead while dragging Sakuno along, he seemed very excited for whatever the activity is but for Sakuno it was starting to make her panic a bit when she remembered how useless she usually is when it comes to helping others.
"All of you close your eyes." The teacher said slowly as he stood up.
A few of them were slow to react but did as they were told, the group heard a sprits noise and then their faces became moist. They all opened their eyes curious to what happened, to find the teacher smirking at them as he sat back down.
"What was that?" Usagi asked.
"The first activity, you all have a terrible disease and you will die in 24 hours unless you find the antidote hidden somewhere on this campus. You might find enough for only a few members, but remember this is a group so work hard so your teammates can live." He said.
"W-What!" Kikyo exclaimed as she began to panic.
"This is crazy!" Juro said.
"Now don't worry guys! This is just a game with a cool plot." Shiro said excitedly.
"Still it sounds pretty stupid." Juro complained.
"Do we get a hint on where we can find some of these antidotes?" Maro asked.
"Nope." The teacher said as he got up and walked away.
The group looked at one another and went over to Usagi's favorite tree and sat down to discuss how they were going to find the antidotes. Trying to find the safest solution to their problems.
"M-Maybe it's in a place we need to work together to get to." Sakuno said.
"Possible, but if it's not and only hidden randomly it would be easier to split up." Maro countered.
"A-ah…you're right." Sakuno said sheepishly.
"But splitting up is dangerous because the other groups might be trying to find the antidote as well. It would be easy for them to gang up on the person." Nana pointed out.
"That's right, we should just go as a group, and that way there is no back stabbing." Usagi said simply.
Nana glared at her and could only think that if there was any treachery it would come from Usagi the diva who only talks about herself. In a situation like this it wouldn't be surprising if she formed and alliance with another group so that way she could come out on top.
"Now that that's settled, where do we look first?" Shiro asked.
"Well some place that's hard to get into." Juro offered.
"How about the teachers lounge?" Maro asked.
"I don't know…what if it's filthy?" Kikyo asked becoming nervous.
Kikyo has made it a point to look into every class and more to make sure it's spotless and sense she's never been inside the teachers lounge only her imagination could help her.
"It must be disgusting in there, the teachers are pigs and I don't think there is even a janitor." Kikyo whined.
"Shut it neat freak, if you actually knew anything about the teachers you would know that they care more about themselves than they do us. That's why they don't care how the classroom is kept." Usagi said shortly.
"Usagi-sama, you don't need…" Sakuno started.
"Hey! Don't be so mean! No wonder no one likes you." Shiro said growing impatient of the diva.
"I agree with shorty." Juro said while patting Shiro on the head.
Shiro of course didn't like the nickname or gesture but ignored it for now and only glared at Usagi.
"Sakuno-san you decide." Were the only words that came from Kyo.
"M-Me? Why me?" Sakuno asked bewildered. "I-I couldn't."
"Go ahead." Nana mumbled to her.
"W-Well, I thought that the antidote might not be so hard to find as everyone thought, but…" Sakuno said but ended doubting herself.
"Go on little miss." Juro said with a smile.
"Since students aren't allowed I think a lot of the groups will be going to the teachers lounge so I doubt t-the teachers would actually put antidotes t-there." Sakuno said as her face grew red.
"Then where do you propose we look?" Usagi demanded.
"Well, we don't know what the antidotes look like so we need to look for something out of place." Nana said.
"Oh, I can help! I know almost every spot in this school if something's out of place I'll know." Kikyo said suddenly becoming brighter.
"Good let's start with the first year classrooms." Maro said.
"Let's go everyone!" Juro yelled and pumped his fist into the air before he set off running.
Everyone followed and did see that people were heading over to the principals office and the teachers lounge. From what Sakuno could remember there were a few empty classrooms and a storage closet by the faculty room, but she had a strong feeling that going over there would be a waste of time.
Entering the first classroom Kikyo began her search and came up empty handed to the groups' disappointment. It would have been nice if they found the antidotes on the first look but life is never that simple, so they kept on searching the first floor to find that it was empty. They checked the bathrooms and the infirmary and were still unsuccessful, lunch was getting close and they had no leads and Sakuno was starting to second guess her decision. She felt her stomach knot up as she thought that the other groups may have found all the antidotes and used them and she let her team down.
"Oi! It's not in there?" A person in the hall yelled.
"The place was empty, like a ghost town!" replied another person.
"Fuck, this is hard." The first person said.
"Yeah, I was sure it would be in the storage closet or something." The other said.
"Guess, we got to start from scratch."
The group walked out to the hall and saw the two people talking to one another.
"Are you two saying no one found anything in the teachers lounge? Juro asked.
"Ah…Yes!" The two said and bowed when they saw how tall Juro was.
"Haha! Good thinking little miss." He said merrily.
"Yeah, good job Sakuno-chan." Shiro commented.
Usagi seemed to pout, and when Nana saw that she smiled a bit and walked beside Sakuno.
"I guess we should go to another building then?" Nana said softly.
"Yeah we better hurry; people are starting to look in different places now." Shiro said excitedly.
"I wish we could get a hint." Maro whined.
"Yeah, it's almost 12:30; they should be serving lunch soon." Kikyo said as her stomach grumbled.
"Well let's try to look in one more place before we take a break." Shiro said.
As soon as the group took their first steps the principal was heard speaking on the intercom.
"Students! Since none of you have been able to find the antidote, I will give you some words of advice. Wherever you think it is, it is not. It's a liquid that you don't need a needle for and things are best hidden in front of your face. Now with those words of advice let's all come to the cafeteria and get some lunch. You all must attend!"
"Makes me feel as if he's laughing at us." Maro said as the group made their way to get their lunch.
"Yeah, I'd like to punch that freak. Juro said as he cracked his knuckles.
"J-juro-san there's no need for that." Sakuno said.
"I think so." Nana said.
"I agree." Usagi commented.
"Eh? B-but why?" Sakuno asked.
"He's dirty…" Kikyo stated.
"Like filthy?" Sakuno asked, she has never met the principal, seen him around but never met him.
"No, He's a filthy man but in a figurative way. I can tall by the way he stands, walks, and talks that he is not right in the head." Kikyo said.
"From what I can tell he's a senile old man." Shiro said.
" When he smiles it's so creepy though!" Usagi screeched.
"Even though he's old it feels as if he knows something… like he has a secret about you and he wont say." Maro said.
When they finally got to the cafeteria they saw some of the groups already eating, but everyone had a damper mood. It was depressing to see people eat so dismally and Sakuno could help but feel depressed too. Her team was getting nowhere fast and not only that the food was mediocre as well adding insult to injury.
"I like candy bracelets." Shiro said suddenly.
"Huh?" Sakuno asked confused.
"Haha, just making sure you're awake, but it's true I love them." Shiro said with a smile.
"Don't worry I'm fine, thank you." Sakuno said with a small smile and feeling awkward.
"This food is not to my standards!" Usagi said as she dumped her food onto Nana plate messing up her food and making it into slop.
"That should be fine for you." Usagi commented.
Nana was boiling inside and was trying to stay calm on the outside with no luck. Her fists were clenched and she was gritting her teeth, she wanted to hit her with all her might. The others were silent and waiting to see what would happen, wondering if Nana was going to finally snap and attack Usagi, not that they would mind or try to stop.
"You…"
"Correction, Usagi-sama."
"I figured it out, the reason you are unbelievably rude to me." Nana said shaking.
"Really now? Why is that?" Usagi smirked.
"It's obvious, you're jealous that I have bigger breast than you do." Nana said blatantly.
Everyone except for Kyo seemed to look at Usagi's chest then to Nana's and noticed a huge difference. Not that the men on the team were unaware of Nana's chest size but when comparing it to Usagi's which were proportional with her limber and lean body it was obvious.
"Wh-why would I be jealous of s-such monstrosities!" Usagi yelled as she pointed a finger.
"Who knows, maybe because I have what you don't have." Nana said.
"T-that's not…never mind we should be talking about finding those antidotes right?" Usagi said changing the subject.
"Haha, Nana way to put that diva in her place! Good job!" Juro said while giving a thumbs up.
"I only analyzed the situation and found that it was the only possible reason. Also the way she reacted was a clear sign, her heart spiked a bit when she tried to defend herself." Nana mumbled.
"Ah…r-right, Good job anyway." He said a little disappointed by her lack of enthusiasm.
"So were to do we look now?" Shiro asked.
"Outside, I would guess." Maro said. "I mean when he said that "Wherever we think it is, it is not" and we've thought that it was inside a building so maybe it's outside."
"There are gardens and trees they could be hidden around." Kikyo said.
"That is practically right in front of us." Sakuno said.
"I know where it is." Kyo said looking out from under his bangs at the group.
"Where sempai!" Shiro, Juro, and Usagi yelled.
He put his finger to his lips, and went back to eating his food leaving the rest of his group confused and flustered by his announcement.
He was a mysterious guy for sure, and the fact that you could never tell if he was happy or upset only made it even worse. Never once did his face falter he never looked frustrated or bored, he looked like a solemn painting walking with the rest of the group. He too was good looking but he didn't seem to care about his looks or that many girls liked him. Kyo looked to Sakuno like a rock, steady and unchanging and holding more information than people give credit for.
When lunch time was over everyone was told to come back around 6:00pm for dinner, and they will try to make an announcement a few minutes earlier. The group left and Kyo was ahead while everyone else walked behind him like little chicks following their mother.
When he approached the booth the teacher first "infected them" the little chicks stopped dead in their tracks and watched as Kyo walked around bent down behind the booth.
"Did you find it?" Shiro asked.
"Yeah." The heard Kyo say softly.
"How do you know it's the antidote?" Maro asked.
Kyo peeked his head up and placed a small cup with a purple liquid on top of the booth.
"It say antidote on it." He said.
Maro walked to the booth table and saw that on the cup was the word antidote written in sharpie. He sweat dropped.
"I-I see." Maro said.
"Is there enough for everyone?" Shiro asked.
Kyo nodded and brought out some more of the small cups and stood up as he let everyone grab one.
"This doesn't look too good." Kikyo said.
"Yeah, looks like bug juices." Juro said.
"Don't say that!" Shiro whined getting grossed out.
"Well down the hatch." Juro said as he drank his down.
The others followed after him and noticed that it had no taste at all and that it was probably just water with purple food coloring in it.
"So how are they supposed to know that we received the antidote?" Maro asked.
"Wait, say something again." Nana said suddenly as she noticed something on his tongue.
"Something again?" Maro said confused.
"Stick your tongue out." She demanded.
"Wah?" He said but did as he was told and opened his mouth to reveal a purple colored tongue.
"Hey, do I have that?" Juro asked Sakuno as he stuck his tongue out.
"Yeah." She said a bit embarrassed.
"So I guess that's how they know." Kikyo said.
"Well let's go back and see if they're still there." Usagi said wanting to get back inside a building.
The others nodded and started to walk back when Sakuno became concerned about what they were doing. She wondered if they should tell other people, and wondered if they were allowed to tell anyone after they figured it out. Her conscious was telling her it was the right thing to do, but this team against team camp so that's maybe too childish a thought.
"Ah…"
"Hm? You say something little miss?" Juro asked.
"Ah…n-nothing." Sakuno lied and smiled softly to him.
When they reached the cafeteria they saw that there were a couple teachers still left. They were sitting around waiting and as soon as they saw the group walk through the door they instantly stared at them. For a while no one said anything until Kyo walked forward and stuck his tongue out at the teachers. "We're cured." He said after he put his tongue back in his mouth.
"True, Good Job! You can get a head start on the next mission." A teacher said as he gave the group a round of applause. He then proceeded to take out a piece of paper and handed it to Kyo with a smirk on his face.
Kyo then brought it to the group and handed it to Usagi who read it aloud.
"Scientist have found a flesh eating disease that can be ingested by mouth as a liquid. Once in the stomach the fluid is able to breakdown into a simpler form allowing it to spread through-out the body. Signs from bad to worse: Headache, nausea, dry skin, a rash that includes swelling and red blotches, Bronchospasms, weakening heart rate, and ultimately death." She read, slightly uninterested because learning about medicine usually leads to caring about people.
"You have to figure out what the name is." The teacher said simply. "There is no time limit but you have to figure it out before everyone else does."
The next chapter wont be as boring as this one because it's more of showing what the other group members are like and what you can expect to see from them. I made Usagi somewhat of an outcast in her group, but I hope to change that.
For the other groups that Yoi, Kaito, Rai are in, I will not go into depth or give details about their looks. For a insight into future chapters the Seigaku regulars are going to show up.
I hope you enjoy this chapter, please review.