Shadow: Yo! Lol. I really loved typing this chapter. I could make Ikuto and Haruko do anything! xD
Haruko: -gets out flamethrower- And what would you make us do…?
Shadow: Ikuto would end up sleeping close to you shirtless. xD
Haruko: -shoots out flames-
Shadow: -uses Tadase as a shield- In your face! xD
Tadase: I-itai… -falls dead- x.x
Amu: T-tadase-kun!
Ikuto and I were still looking away. Yoru giggled at the awkward atmosphere. "A-ah… i-I better go…" I mumbled and made my way to the tent's door. He murmured a yeah before I was outside.
Outside, I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself down. 'It's alright Haruko… Ikuto may have been a jerk when he got me kidnapped, but he did save me when I was about to get attacked by that giant group of X eggs a few days ago. And he may have kissed me in front of Kukai-' I stopped right there and put a hand over my lips.
Ikuto kissed me. On the lips. In front of Kukai…
I shook my head and sighed miserably. "That didn't help at all…"
I walked to a tree and climbed it. Sitting on a tree branch, I looked at the view the tree could give. It was pretty nice. I could even see the ocean from up here. I smiled at the scenery and closed my eyes, basking in the sun's warmth.
"Haruko-san. Haruko-san!"
I woke up hearing someone's voice from under. The sky was a dark purple-bluish. It was near nighttime. I looked down to see Shizuka waving her hand. "Haruko-san! It's already time for dinner!"
My eyes widened and I jumped down. I wobbled back to my feet. "You didn't even wake me for lunch?!"
She put a hand behind her head. "Hehe… sorry. I forgot…" she clasped her hands together. "I'm really sorry! Please forgive me!"
"It's alright. I rarely eat lunch anyway…" I said as we walked to the camp.
"By the way… what were you doing up in that tree anyway?" she asked. I sweatdropped.
"I was admiring the scenery until I fell asleep."
Shizuka giggled. "Really? I wanna see the view, but I don't know how to climb trees. Can you teach me?" she pleaded.
"Sure. Maybe tomorrow." I smiled. She cheered and went to her friends to tell about it. I sighed as I was alone again.
After I got my lunch, I sat down near a tree to eat alone. I sighed as I opened my bento. "I really shouldn't have gone to this trip…" I mumbled as I took a piece of sushi and popped it into my mouth.
"Nya! Fish!" I heard Yoru cheer as he floated toward me. Ikuto was behind him a few meters away.
"What do you want?" I asked him as I gave Yoru a piece of sushi. He held out a bag out chips in his hand.
"Is it okay if I eat with you..?" I sighed and gave a small nod. He sat down next to me. I tried moving away a little, not wanting to bump shoulders or something.
We ate in silence. Yoru was the only one talking though, saying how good the sushi is and that Ikuto should try it. Not being able to handle anymore of the annoying talking, Ikuto finally told him to shut up.
"Come one Ikuto, nya. You like fish. Give it a chance, nya." Yoru begged. Ikuto sighed and took away my last piece of sushi that I already bit.
"Hey! My sushi!" I cried as Ikuto finally swallowed it. He licked his lips.
"Not bad…" he murmured.
"That was my last piece! And I already bit it too! Why did you eat it?!"
"Yoru told me to." He simply said. He pointed to my cheek with a small smile. "And you also have some rice on you too."
I blushed and quickly wiped it off. "Thanks…" I muttered and looked to my side.
"Nya! Ikuto! You could have just licked it off like you always did, couldn't you?" Yorau told him. I glared at Yoru. Ikuto looked at the sky.
"Yeah… I could have…" he trailed off. I looked at him. He just shook his head and stood up. "See ya Birdy-chan..."
I watched as he walked off. He and Yoru were mumbling about something as they went. I was wondering about what it was.
Ikuto… for some reason… he's a bit different now. Not like his looks or personality… but maybe his usual mood? It felt different after the last time he visited me at night.
I looked at the sky. Stars were finally appearing, but some were being blocked by the night clouds.
"Haruko-san! Haruko-san!" Shizuka and her friends made me snap out of the thoughts again.
"Eh…? Nani?" I looked up at them as they ran toward me.
"It's getting dark now. The teachers said we should go to our tents. And we wouldn't want you to sleep outside where animals can get you!" Shizuka said. Her friends agreed.
"Ah. Thank you." I said and walked to my tent.
Ikuto was there, lying on his sleeping bag as he was staring off into space. Although it was dark, he had a big flashlight on that was bright enough to light up the tent.
"Oi." I said, and got his attention. "The teachers said it's time for bed." I said and got into my sleeping bag.
"Un…" he mumbled but still stared at the tent's ceiling. I sat up; also noticing Yoru was sleeping at his side. I looked at him and then my sleeping bag. It was only a few feet away.
I quickly moved my sleeping bag a little bit more farther. Ikuto looked at me. "Are you trying to avoid me?"
I looked away, embarrassed. "…no…" I lied. He chuckled at me face.
"What? Afraid that I might do perverted things while you sleep?" he taunted. The blush deepened.
"Maybe…"
He raised a brow. I quickly hid in my sleeping bag. "Goodnight!" I said and ducked my head into the covers.
"Goodnight." He replied back with a soft laugh before turning off the lights.
The next morning, I felt something very warm in front of me. I didn't know what it was since I still had my eyes closed. "Kya… it's so warm…" I smiled and snuggled into it more.
I heard someone mumble something, and then a pair of arms wrapped around me. My eyes opened to see Ikuto's face really close to mine.
3…2…1…
"KYAA!!!!" I screamed as I hurriedly backed away from the sleeping cat. As I was trying to catch my breath, Ikuto groggily woke up and rubbed his ear.
"Geh… Birdy-chan… don't yell so loud…" he mumbled and yawned. "What's the matter, anyway?"
" Y-you…face… close… m-mine…" I stuttered. Yoru angrily yelled at me for waking him up too.
"Shut up! Nya!!" he yelled before falling back to sleep. When Ikuto was wide awake now, he asked me the same question.
"I woke up sleeping next to you!" I frantically flailed my arms around. "Just what were you thinking?!"
He smirked. "Me? Weren't you the one who was cuddling up to me?"
"You were awake during that? Why didn't you wake me up?!"
"You said I was warm and I thought you would wanted to sleep like that." He teased. I groaned.
"Never mind! I'm going outside!"
When I stood up, I fell back, seeing a bunch of girls in front of me. And these were the girls that hated me. I managed to put on a bored face. "What…?" I asked.
"Why do you get to sleep with Tsukiyomi-kun?" a girl hissed. I stood up and brushed myself off.
"It wasn't my fault. He got kicked out of his own tent-"
"It is your fault! You probably made him get in trouble with his friends didn't you?!"
"Well-"
"Didn't you?!?" she yelled again. I took a glance back at the tent. A little fluff ball quickly moved his head back in. I sighed and walked away from the tent, not wanting Ikuto or Yoru to worry.
The girls followed me, still glaring daggers. I stopped near a tree and turned around. "Look. It wasn't my fault. This guy named Hiro made Ikuto-"
"Oh! So now you're blaming Sakamoto-san?! Are you always trying to blame people to make yourself look like an angel?!" another girl yelled. I cringed. Her words stung.
"No… I'm not. But it's true."
"Stop lying!" another one said. This was like two years all over again.
'Don't worry…' I reassured. 'It's not going to be like that again. You're much stronger now…'
"I'm not lying. You just don't want to listen to the truth." I said with my eyes closed. The girl in front grabbed me by the collar and shoved me to a tree.
"You little-"
I winced but smirked. "Eh? You said something?" I staggered up. "If you're trying to apologize, you should speak up a bit more so people could hear you."
She and the others began beating me up. I forced myself to still keep that smirk, not wanting to let then know the pain I was having.
"Why don't you just wipe that smirk off your face!" someone yelled and slapped me.
"I can't. It seems like it's glued on." I said. They were going to continue hitting me again until-
"Hey! What's going on!?" a voice yelled. We all turned around to see Ikuto's friends.
The group of girls quickly got off me. "A-ah… w-we were just simply teaching this girl a lesson…" one girl stammered in fear. They started backing away from me before running, scared of the glares the boys were giving them.
One of them helped me up. "Hey. You okay?" I slowly nodded as I spat out blood on the ground. Those girls know how to be aggressive.
"You should've called for help. You're lucky Arata and I even saw you before the teachers did. I'm Ichirou by the way. "
I gave a small shrug. "It's alright… At least that woke me up besides; I didn't really mind getting hurt. Haven't bled in a while anyway…"
The boys looked at each other before pulling both of my sleeves up. They carefully looked at my wrists. I quickly pulled away. "I didn't mean it like that!"
They smiled and helped me walk to my tent. "Okay. We believe you."
I sighed as they continued aiding me. "Geez… why do you have to think like that anyway?"
"Because we're Ikuto's friends." Arata said.
"And Ikuto cares about you, so we wouldn't want his girl to do something he doesn't like!" Ichirou winked. I turned pink.
"Wa-wait! I'm not his girl!" I said. Their smiles came back.
"Whatever you say~!" they laughed as we all went in the tent. Ikuto was lying down there, but when he saw me, he abruptly sat up.
"What happened?" he asked a little bit too loudly. "I mean… what happened to you..?"
"She got beaten up." Ichirou explained as he set me down on a sleeping bag. While, they were talking, I went through my bag to look for some bandages. Ikuto looked at me worryingly.
I noticed his gaze and gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm alright. Don't worry."
"Yeah Ikuto. You shouldn't worry about your girl. She's strong." Arata said.
"And hot too." Ichirou added. I felt my face go warm. "We'll see you and your girl later."
Ichirou and Arata laughed on their way out as I yelled. "I'm not his girl! I'm Kuk-" I stopped myself. Ikuto looked at me with a pained look. There was a long silence between us.
"…so… your with soccer boy now?" he said smugly. I blushed and looked away.
"N-no…" I gasped as Ikuto pinned me to the floor. "I-iku-"
"Why do you always think about him? Is he that great?" Ikuto yelled. I flinched as his grip tightened.
"L-let me go. You're hurting m-"
"Not until you answer me…" he said. I gazed into his eyes as he gazed into mine. His were full of hurt, pain, and sadness. Mine was full of confusion, fear, and worry.
"Ikuto…nya…" Yoru whimpered. Ikuto blinked and turned away. His head lowered.
"Sorry… I said I wouldn't anymore…" he whispered and got off me. I sat up and looked at him, confused.
"Ikuto…?" I asked as he walked out the tent.
Shadow: I'm ending it here for today. I'm tired. –yawns-
Eru: Waahh! So sad. It's like a one-sided love! So painful! –bites on a napkin-
Shadow: I know. I feel sort of bad for Ikuto.
Ikuto: ¬_¬
Shadow: Don't worry Mr. Kitty! I'll make Haruko give you some love!
Ikuto: … -thinking- Mr. Kitty?
Shadow: -sighs and pulls out that catnip thing-
Ikuto: -ears pop out- !? –stars in eyes-
Shadow: -playing with Ikuto- Lol. I gotta love the first K. We'll see you next time.
