En Route
A blanket of sunlight filtered through the nearby shutters, its presence fuelling energy into the bedroom. Inuyasha's mind was a blank canvas, relying on memory to paint itself an informing recollection. Subconsciously, the outside hum had been muted. Letting for a tranquil atmosphere to thrive- bringing forth a precise balance of rise and falling to waver across his being.
A reoccurring motion- just as his mind began to sink into somethinga sense of consciousness would pull him back into reality. As if life itself had a tight, persistent hold onto Inuyasha, it prevented him from experiencing two timelines at once- stubbornly refusing him access. A mental snap came into form, the extraordinary level of concentration broken, as frustration took over.
Inuyasha cursed at his inability to recall anything from the last few hours. Taking a deep inhale, he reassured the situation. "I'll get there eventually."
A farewell to put anyone in high spirits, Kagome entered the hired bus with a gleaming smile. She took her seat, choosing a comfortable offset between the front and back. As due east was bathed in a pleasant ray of sunshine, she took luxury in positioning herself closest to the window, resting an arm on the sill.
As the coach gradually became heavier, the weight of collective students and their luggage signalled for its departure. Kagome smiled as each classmate passed her seat, in turn they would wave or hum a small greeting before taking their own positions. The bus itself wasn't extraordinarily large- a simple commute vehicle able to transport a small crowd from A to B, and then back to A.
It had been announced in homeroom, before break, that next terms third years would be attending an outing in the mountains. Throughout the twelfth grade structure, individual classes of Social Studies students would take turns on a camp spanning for two days. Due to teacher schedules, some classes took their camps during the holidays.
It was an odd opportunity that was said to exist in the Social Studies curriculum. 'Life experience' as their teacher persuaded it to be- the class not actually earning any credits or points in final examinations. During homeroom, many students had groaned over its significance, why waste the start of their final year with an extended vacation? It had been pressured into them enough that next year could make or break their futures.
Making it less appealing, in Social Studies that day, their class representative explained the overall itinerary in unnecessary detail. Pointing out enjoyable elements then subsiding gained excitement with relevant class work, causing an up haul in student moral. Whatever the argument was, Kagome was just happy to attend the camp.
There was something pleasing about a boundless environment which drew Kagome toward its wild-natured demeanour. Although the closest she had personally come to the wilderness was the forestry surrounding her family's shrine, Kagome felt an immediate connection to a simple time before the modern day.
"Seat taken?" a voice sprang- Kagome's attention quickly focussing to the figure leaning beside her. An equally gleaming Houjou stood slightly bent over, his left hand firmly grasping the seat's back. His knuckles were protruding toward the surface of the layered skin, although he presented a calm aura- as if trying to hide the fact he was holding onto the chair for balance for dear life. Kagome gestured for him to sit, nodding affirmatively in his direction.
As Houjou took a temporary placing, another familiar face popped up from behind the seat- whom Kagome also greeted. On their explosion of conversation topics, friends from the opposite row started up an immediate conversation as well. This continued on until virtually the entire bus had taken turns in talking with Kagome, either individually or through their groups. Houjou watched over with amusement, intently embracing Kagome's interactions with each admirer.
Her friends were not selective at all; admirers took this as an opportunity to make small talk with Kagome whenever possible. For each, she would react with the same amount of interest and input. This was all an automatic response- the association in her talkative nature.
As the silence began to rest, Kagome slowly turned back to the window. She gave a glance at Houjou, who smiled back in return. She propped her elbow onto her carryon luggage, a small bag, which also served as supporting her side against the solid walls of the bus. The grooves in her bag not exactly making for a soft pillow, but still proved as a firm reassurance she could doze off to.
And that she did.
The murmurs of students heighted and silenced in accordance to their location. As the bus gradually made its commute upward multiple turns and hills, the outside transformed dramatically. Scenes of an urban trawl, flooded with mass population, panned out into a graceful countryside. Concrete buildings becoming scarce and farms vast. As they rode closer to the mountains incline, the road varied between a mixture of dirt and gravel- its quality less pleasant than a smooth tarmac.
The class was now a comfortable distance from city, not yet free of the chains which bound them to life within conformed society, but close. The entire purpose of the camp was to illustrate this through first-hand experience. At the destination, students would be appointed to their camp counsellors. They would spend the time till noon briefed about the dangers, protocols, and finally team structure of the two days at camp.
From there, one student from each team would collect a cell phone from their team's counsellor. This mobile was to be used as main contact if an emergency occurred; it was also equipped with a tracking device for surveillance, in case a group did stray off the tracks. Once briefed, it was up to teamwork and awareness alone for the teams to venture through marked trails down the mountainside forestry- declining pathways meeting up at the camp lodges at the base of the mountain.
Through building and acting upon learnt teamwork skills in a real-life scenario, this camp aimed to provide as an opportunity for the students to act as individuals in a world without the binding laws of conformity. An open world where the responsibilities a conformist world consisted of, didn't exist- the wild. Perhaps an allowance for these almost independent adults to return to the only free life they could still experience first-hand.
Free, what a concept. Kagome thought, her eyes opening on the bus's motion into park.
AN: Hope you're enjoying the story thus far! See you next chapter (: