Shadow: Yosh! Welcome back! It's finally the last day of the camp field trip thing!
Kukai: About time.
Shadow: Shut up. Why do you have to be against Ikuto?
Kukai: He likes Haruko.
Shadow: So do you. And you just better shut up soccer boy or else.
Kukai: Or else what?
Shadow: You'll see in this chapter… :D
(The next day, dusk)
"Okay kids, undo the tents." The head teacher commanded.
"Why?" Rin asked.
"Because for the last night here, we're going to sleep under the stars." Another teacher said cheerfully.
"We are? But there are bugs!!" Ran whined.
"That may be true, but the night sky is a very wonderful scenery to watch. And also, we'll let you see something else beautiful."
"You really love the outdoors, huh sensei?" Shizuka sweatdropped. She turned to me. "Hey, Haruko-san, do you like the stars?"
I nodded as I was now folding the tent. "Yeah… it really is a pretty sight. You should try seeing it without the city lights."
"Fine…if Haruko-san says it's pretty…I guess I'll try…" the twins sighed. I giggled and walked over to the tent poles, only to trip on them and land on someone's chest.
I quickly backed away from them. "Ah- sor- I mean- it was an accident-"
"Heheh… even when I even taught you how to say the word, you still can't say sorry?" Ikuto chuckled.
"A-ah! Ikuto!" I looked down. "S-sorry…"
He chuckled again and patted me on the head. "There you go."
I swatted his hand away. "I'm not a kid.(lol I'm listening to I'm Just A Kid right now XD), so stop patting me on the head."
"Whatever you say Birdy-chan. See you." Ikuto said as he walked to Ichirou and Arata.
"Wow Haruko-san. You already made up with Ikuto-senpai already?" Shizuka asked. I nodded. She cheered. "Yay! That means our plan worked!"
"Plan? You mean you planned yesterday to make those things happen?!" I yelled. Shizuka laughed and ran away. "Shizuka!!!"
I sighed and smiled as I watched her run. "Well, you're lucky it worked."
(Night)
After we all packed up, we just in time for the surprise our teachers said we'd have. "Neh…sensei…what are we going to see?" someone asked as we were all walking through a forest.
"You'll see." She giggled. One of the girls that beat me up yesterday shoved me away from Ikuto from our conversation. Arata caught me as I stumbled back.
"Hey Ikuto-kuuun~~" she whined. "Why are you talking to that dim-witted Fujiwara? Aren't I smarter and prettier than her?"
I glared at her. "Yeah. She was really smart when she said 1 and 1 equals three."
She shot me a look as we were all laughing. "Well at least I have friends."
"I do too." I said back. Her glare became even harder.
"Ooo…cat fight! Cat fight!" Arata cheered.
"Like hell would I fight with her." I crossed my arms.
"What? Scared?" she taunted. Ikuto walked behind me and put his arms around my waist.
"NO. She wouldn't have a cat fight because she's my Birdy-chan." Ikuto said as he put his lips against my neck. I tensed. "And birds aren't cats."
"I-ikuto! Let go of me!" I complained. The girl scoffed.
"Whatever. I'm leaving!" she yelled and stomped away. I sighed.
"Glad that's over…" I mumbled and tried taking my arms out of Ikuto's grasp. "Uh…Ikuto? Could you let go of me now…?"
"I could…but I don't want to…" he said as he buried his head in my neck.
"Hey! The two at the back! Let go of each other this instant!" a teacher yelled at the front. Everyone turned back to see who the two were, but they only saw all five of us walking causally. They turned away, thinking it was a mistake.
"We're here!" the teacher who loves the outdoors said happily(let's call her… Ms. Misora .)
We all gasped in delight as we say many fireflies flying around the field.
"Yup! Happy are we?" she laughed. "This forest is where fireflies come and mate every year. And tonight just happens to be their mating night."
"Sugoi…" I said as I walked to the middle of the field. I gestured the others to come too. "Come on! It's not like they'll kill you or anything."
People glanced at each other anxiously before slowly walking to the middle too. They all smiled as they looked all around, seeing the fireflies scatter everywhere.
Ikuto and Hiro were the only ones left. "Come on guys!" I said. Ikuto took a step forward before Hiro grabbed his arm.
"I have to talk to him. See you!" Hiro said and pulled Ikuto away from the group. I looked at the two confusingly before turning back to enjoy the fireflies flying over the river.
It made the water glisten with sparkles in every ripple. You could also see the fish who were swimming in the river because of the shining light.
As we were walking back to the camp site, I realized Hiro and Ikuto still haven't come back. "Hey. Arata. Where are Ikuto and Hiro?"
He shrugged. "They're probably back at the camp."
When we arrived, it was true, they were already there. Hiro was looking to his side while Ikuto was just walking toward me. I didn't notice the smirk Hiro had on his face because I was too concerned about Ikuto.
"Ikuto where were you? You should've seen the fireflies. They were so beautiful!" I said and put my arms in the air. Ikuto looked up, showing his eyes that were full of worry and melancholy. "…Ikuto?"
"We need to talk…" he mumbled and pulled my arm back in the forest. I glanced at him confusingly and looked at Yoru. He looked sad too.
We stopped in a small clear spot. "What is it?"
"Birdy-chan…?What do you think of me?" he asked. I tilted my head.
"What? I think of you as a friend, why?"
"Why…?" he repeated and pinned me to a tree. "Because I love you!"
I looked at him, frightened. "I-ikuto…I can't. I like Kukai…"
"I see…" he looked away. "So I'm still just a friend?"
"But… I'm not fully sure what I think of you… I don't know since I sort of feel…I'm not sure…" I didn't know how to explain it to Ikuto. I'm not sure if I like him as a crush either.
"Haruko…" he whispered. I looked up.
"Nani-" I was cut off by Ikuto's lips shoving into mine. I tried getting him off. "Iku- sto- no!!" I yelled.
But Ikuto just kept going back every time I was able to break away. "STOP!!!!" I screamed and slapped him in the face. Ikuto let go of me and held his face. I looked at him, shocked.
"I-ikuto…I'm sor-" I stopped myself and shook my head. I looked at him with a glare. "…No. You know what? You don't deserve an apology. And guess what? I don't like you. And you're not even a friend anymore either. You're nothing to me!" I clenched my fists, starting to feel the regret, but I did my best to ignore it. "Ikuto… I HATE YOU!!"
I ran away from him, not even noticing a shadow that was watching the whole time. Once I was gone, the figure stepped out of the trees. "Neh…it was all according to plan, eh Ikuto?"
Ikuto looked up to glare at the person. "I had to do it because youtold them." He growled. Yoru glared at the person's snickering chara.
"What are you laughing about, you stupid devil nerd!!" Yoru yelled.
"Hey, just because I got glasses doesn't make me a nerd." Kazuki said as he pushed up his glasses.
"Anyway, since that's over. I hope you have enough strength to endure Easter's wrath once we get back Ikuto. You know, since you did break my sister's heart and-"
"Shut up Hiro!" Ikuto yelled. Hiro smirked.
When I arrived at the camp site, everyone was to busy being amazed at the night sky to notice my tears. I immediately hid my head in my sleeping bag. Ikuto…just why did he have to do that…?
I continued hiding myself inside until my tears slowed down. I slowly poked my head out to see the sky myself. Tears still stained my face, but they weren't that visible.
The night sky was beautiful, like how Misora-sensei said. The moon was crescent shaped, the waxing kind. But then the sky made me even sadder. Why? Because it was a radiant midnight blue… the same color as Ikuto's hair.
I turned to my side and looked at the grass. I clenched some of it and more tears came out again. One word was all I ever thought about.
'Why…?'
(The next day)
The next day, I woke up. My eyes still stung from they crying I did. I rubbed it away and groggily stood up. "Neh! Ohayo, Haruko-san!" Shizuka greeted. She looked at me. "Why do you have red eyes?"
"Huh? Oh. I think I had dirt in my eyes from last night." I lied. "My head did end outside my sleeping bag."
Shizuka laughed. "Really?"
I half-heartedly laughed along with her.
We were very close to my school now as I was looking outside the window. Shizuka and the twins were with each other again, so I was alone. Again. I gave a small sigh.
"Class. We'll be back at Seiya in about 5 minutes. So get ready." A teacher said. We all said yes.
When I turned back to the window, my eyes widened because I saw Ikuto's bus driving next to ours. And he was staring out the window directly across from mine. When our eyes met, I instantly looked away.
He did the same. Hiro smirked when he saw this. When his bus was about to turn the opposite direction from where we're going, I took one last look at his bus before it was gone.
"WELCOME BACK!!!" everyone that didn't come said. We all cheered back as we stepped out of the bus. Kukai jumped on me.
"Yo Haru-chan!!" he yelled. I gave a small giggle.
"Yo to you too Kukai." I smiled.
"Hey. Howwasthetrip? Didyouhavefun? Didyou-"
"Kukai! Slow down! I can hardly understand you!" I laughed. Kukai rubbed his head.
"Sorry…" he said sheepishly. He grabbed my arm. "Hey. Why don't you tell me and the guardians at the garden? Let's go!"
"Wai-what? It's still 12! There's still school!!" I yelled.
"Who cares?" Kukai laughed and did his 'Full Speed Dash' thing. "Run Haruko!!"
"WAHH!!! KUKAI!!!" I yelled as I was being pulled away.
"Hey! Where are you going?" a taecher yelled.
"Ku-kukai! You know we can't ditch school!" I panted as we were inside Seiyo now. We were now walking to the garden.
"I know." He said. "But I haven't seen you in 3 days!"
"Same here, but you don't see me trying to break the rules to see you." I stated. Kukai gave me watery eyes.
"So you wouldn't do the same thing for me Haruko?" Kukai pouted. "I guess that means you don't love me…"
"Wai-wait!! I didn't mean it like that!!" Kukai turned away. I sighed. "I'm sorry…"
Kukai looked at me, surprised. "When were you able to say sorry?!"
"When I was at the camp. Ikuto taught-" My eyes widened. Kukai's eyes narrowed.
"…that black cat was there with you…?" he slowly asked. I looked away. The wind blew by us, scattering the fallen leaves around.
Shadow: Whoa…Haruko's in another tough situation.
Haruko: …I fuckin hate you…
Shadow: And she also started cussing! ^^ Gack! –gets hit in the head with a encyclopedia- What the hell?
Kukai: I'm going to kill you…
Ikuto: …-gets out a rocket launcher-
Shadow: O.o I'm in deep shit now, so I'll be seeing you guys later. OMG!!!! –dodges rocket- See ya! –looks at rocket on the ground- I have got to get a rocket launcher someday…
Hiro: Hahahahaha!!! That's what you get for calling me conceited!! Oh sh- -dodges a rocket also- … -looks at Ikuto-
Ikuto: -reloading-
Hiro and Shadow: -runs away-
