Chapter Four - The Waiting Forest

The next morning was as I had been expecting: A rude awakening.

"Mai, get up, get up, GET UP!!"

"M…Mikoto… Five more minutes?"

"No Mai, the rest of us are ready!"

Midori's voice came through the door. "Yeah, so get that butt out of bed!"

I gasped and thrashed myself free of the sheets. "Why did you let me sleep in like that?" I asked Mikoto as she sat at the end of the bed over my feet.

She simply shrugged. "You looked peaceful."

"Mikoto!"

I threw myself out of the bed, the sheets dangling about my feet as I raced for the bathroom. Outside I could hear the rest of the group arguing about how long I was taking and I felt myself go red.

"Don't worry, I'll talk to them," Mikoto said as she wandered out into the hall.

I showered as quickly as I could, slipping and sliding as I tried to brush my teeth and pack my remaining bathroom essentials at the same time. I cursed over and over again as it became almost suicidal, but it saved plenty of time. I left the bathroom in a hurry with a towel wrapped tightly around me and my last bag in my hand. What I did not expect to see was the rest of the forest friends staring at my barely concealed body.

The next thing I knew I could hear a voice calling my name, and I opened my eyes to see Midori staring down at me with an amused laugh waiting on her lips. Natsuki was beside her, her hand ready to slap my face.

"W-what are you doing?" I gasped, slowly sitting up as best I could.

"Bring you around," Natsuki said, lowering her hand. "It's worked before when Midori passed out from having too much alcohol.

"Seems like this trip is coming at a good time, Mai. You just fainted," Yukino explained from behind the red headed nurse whom was now glaring sideways at Natsuki.

Immediately I stared down, expecting to have lost the towel on my collapse, but they had thrown it back over me. I let a sigh of relief escape.

"We'll wait outside while you dress, okay?" Midori said, finally letting out the laugh before adding, "Mikoto will give you a hand if you need it, and if you start to feel light-headed again, call me. I'll make sure to make my presence known this time."

I watched as they all left before letting out a frustrated and embarrassed scream. Mikoto was doubled over laughing that went on for some time before she finally fetched me my clothes. When she came back she was obviously not expecting me to be in tears.

"Mai? What's wrong?"

Everything was flooding my mind again. The last hours had been great, and I had almost forgotten about the pain that hid behind my protective barrier inside, but now it was crashing down again, and I felt true hopelessness. "It won't work," I muttered.

It took a moment for Mikoto to understand, and when she did she griped my arms and pulled me into a pressing hug. "That's not true. It will work, because you have me, Midori, Natsuki, and the others to help you. We won't let things end like this, okay? This trip is going to make things all better, and I will have the smiling Mai back."

Her words brought on more tears, but they were no longer from the pain, but the happiness that I had her and the rest of the group by my side.

"Thank you, Mikoto. I won't forget that."

******

"About time," Haruka muttered as soon as I stepped foot out of the door. "Did you completely forget about this trip? You know, the one we're doing for you?"

"Leave Mai alone!" Mikoto defended immediately.

"At least she got sleep," Midori said with a smile. "You were really starting to freak me out with those dark rings around your eyes. It looked like you had been punched out or something."

"Great," I muttered sarcastically, remembering all of the whispers around me as I passed people in the halls. Tate's face came to mind and I realised that it probably didn't help him open up to me more when I looked like a racoon.

My bag was added to the giant suitcase Midori was stuffing with all of the luggage. She threw it on top neatly and started to drag it along, singing a tune as she went. We rarely heard her sing, so we assumed she was in quiet a good mood. Naturally my own joy in singing became too much to wrestle down, and I joined the song with the teacher.

Behind me, Nao was stifling a laugh. "I think they've lost it," she muttered.

Natsuki shrugged. "I like putting up with Mai singing better than seeing her struggling with who-only-knows-what."

"Hmm… wait, what is actually bothering her anyway?" Nao asked. Clearly her expected lack of care had resulted in a lack of knowledge about the problem.

Natsuki sighed. "I'll fill you in later. For now, leave it. She hasn't looked this happy in days."

We left the school halls, staring in the classrooms at all of the students who were stuck into their studies. Their heads were bowed down over their books as they struggled to remember the information that leapt out at them. I found it hard not to smile when I realised that for three days or so I would not have to face such boring lectures and fall sleep in my work books. The next days were looking bright indeed, and for many reasons. I would be avoiding this continuous work, I would be with my friends, I could finally escape these walls that were becoming like a cage, and most importantly, I would be able to take control of my troubled mind and let my ideas of the future form normally without the traumatic memories.

As we stepped out into the school grounds I realised how beautiful the world looked. The grass had an emerald as it swayed in the warm spring breeze. There was a soothing feel to nature's relaxed state and as I looked to the clouds I saw that the bright blue skies peeked through the soft balls of fluff as though to greet us.

Excitement coursed through Mikoto as she raced out towards the trees, rolling through the grass and laughing. This filled me with a stronger hope and I ran after her, eager to reach the forest and begin the adventure.

Midori smiled after me and Mikoto with pride. "Well those two are certainly off to a good start."

"They're both as wild as each other," Nao remarked, her arms crossed over her chest as though she were bored already.

Yukino looked like she was on the edge of chasing after us as well. She looked longingly after the trail we had blazed through the grass. Haruka sighed. "Go after them, Yukino. I won't think any less of you."

Yukino beamed thankfully at her friend, then raced off across the fields, shouting for us to wait up for her. It was a beautiful moment. We were all keen to escape the work that lied behind the walls behind us, so this opportunity would benefit us all. That made me feel even better.

Once we reached the outed shadow of the trees we stopped to wait for the others. I was doubled over to catch my breath as my tired body yearned for a break, but Yukino and Mikoto were still buzzing with energy. They stared through the thick rows of trees and noted how it looked to go on forever.

"This is going to be a long trip, huh?" Mikoto said as she leaned against one of the tree trunks. "That's good though, right? More time together!"

I nodded. "Yep, that's right. We need to treasure times like this, because it won't be likely for something like this to happen for a while."

"That's why you have to get better!" Mikoto almost ordered, but she looked hopeful for me.

I tried to smile, but it was hard. "Yeah," I muttered simply. "I will, Mikoto, don't worry."

Once the others had caught up, we stood facing the trees for sometime, thinking about whether or not we were sure about this. I found myself looking back at the school yards, trying to see if Tate was there. How I wished he had decided to come along, even if it meant putting up with Shiho hounding over me for him. I could picture his smiling face in my mind, but I realised it was an old memory. He had not been smiling for a long time when he was with me, and despite the enthusiasm I felt about the trip that lay before me, I felt worry flood me like a river gushing through a broken bridge.

"If any of you want to back out now, say so this minute, because once we're in there we're only going forward until we reach our agreed point." Midori was already the strong leader.

Everyone glanced at each other as though expecting at least one to pull out, but no one said a word. Haruka and Midori shared the same burning determination in their eyes. Even though this was all for my sake, it was a challenge for them, and they faced their challenges head on. Nao, as expected, still looked bored, but she was always hiding her emotions. Natsuki had her head bowed as she thought deeply, probably about Shizuru whom she was leaving behind. Yukino and Mikoto were both over the moon and ready to go. Then there was me, wondering what was going to happen to us in these woods. I would furiously firm on being cured by this trip, so there was no backing out. They were all here to help me, so they were counting on me to try my hardest to find my inner resolve.

As Midori stared around at every face and saw that they were all ready to face the coming days, she slammed her fist into her palm. "Alright! Let's get going then!"

******

Entering the forest felt quiet nostalgic. I longed to look back at the school again, one more time, and know that inside those walls was my love. Did he know that I was leaving now? Was he expecting me to tell him? Would he be waiting for me to come back? As though expecting to see him, I turned my head back to see the academy one last time, but leaves covered my view as we passed through the first of the enshrouding trees.

A warming hand clasped my shoulder gently. "Don't worry, He'll be waiting outside for you, I'm sure of it."

I smiled up at Midori, thankful for her comforting words. "That's the only thing holding me back right now," I explained.

She gave my shoulder a little squeeze. "Don't let it worry you. Just think, when you leave here and meet up with him again, you'll be an all new Mai, and I'm sure he'll be thrilled."

This made me feel a lot better, and I gave her a little hug. It caught her off guard, but I felt her arms tighten around me as I let my emotions pour out of me in that embrace.

"Come on lovebirds. We have a quiet a way to go before the first checkpoint," Nao teased as she walked past us with a triumphant smile on her face.

Midori pushed me away quickly and raised a fist at the girl. "Say it again!"

Nao waved a hand lazily behind her. "Nah. Maybe later. I'm already getting tired."

Midori ran after her through the trees and the pair were lost in sight.

Immediately and naturally, I panicked. "Wait! You don't know what's out there!"

"Let them go and be children." Natsuki had crept up beside me silently. "We'll catch up with them shortly. I don't think Nao has a hope in hell of outrunning Midori."

That was true, and I began to relax. I was getting tense already, and if I wasn't careful I would end up giving myself a panic attack. To calm down, I let myself focus on our surroundings. I had not often come to this part of the school grounds as I had never had much of a reason apart from looking for Mikoto when she ran in here. She had come to these woods many times. She seemed to be fine with the idea of becoming lost amongst the towering trees, but it made me feel touched in. I let out a little groan and tried to picture the beauty.

The sky above was a beautiful blue, as the weather had predicted. Bordering the blue mass that I could see were the thick leaves blooming from the trees. Small balls of colour were amongst the vivid green, some sort of berry I realised as I approached one of the nearest trees. We were not squeezed in between the trees like I knew we would be soon, so it seemed very spacey and easy to breathe. The grass blew over my shoes and I kicked at it almost playfully. The wind was picking up, but it sent a warm breeze over us and brought everything to life. The leaves rustled like music and the trees swayed in dance whilst the grass was the audience, seeming to bow down to the symphony of sound.

I smiled as my heart calmed with the forest music, and I passed through with the rest of the group. Mikoto was leaping up and down on the spot like a cat, always settling on her hands and feet. She really was a wild child, and before I could even think about stopping her she let her instincts take over and rushed out into the trees.

"Hmph, does she live here or something?" Haruka asked.

I turned to her. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she seems homesick or something, rushing around." Clearly, but for a reason I did not know, Haruka was very displeased by the behaviour.

"Well I'm not sure how often she comes here, but I guess it's the sort of place where she can finally let out her inner self."

"Her inner self," Haruka echoed. "What is that, an animal?"

I let the insult roll past. Haruka had never really gotten along with my little friend, so her sharp words were expected. Natsuki, however, did not seem pleased.

"Haruka, if you're going to be like this the entire time, than we really don't need you here." She looked apologetically at Yukino, giving her a tiny smile for a sorry, but Haruka crossed her arms and changed her attitude almost immediately.

"Alright, I'll stop. But don't expect me to get along with any of you any more than I do."

Natsuki sighed. "Now that would be too much to ask for," she admitted.

I couldn't help but laugh. It looked like the friendships were already off to a terrible start, but I didn't react badly. I couldn't let those bad thoughts grip me, so instead I belted out a heart laugh and strode towards the trees with my head held high. If this adventure was starting now, I was going to make it a good beginning, because things were only going to get herder from here.

Natsuki stared at me as I disappeared through the trees. It struck her as an odd change that I was laughing out loud like that, but she knew that I was hiding myself inside as she used to. It was such a dramatic effort though that she laughed when I was out of earshot.

"She's lost it," Haruka muttered. "I thought Midori would be the first one to go."

"Give her a break, Haruka," Yukino said as she followed in my footsteps towards the trees. "She's putting in the effort to smile and concentrate on the positives of this trip. I think we should be congratulating her."

Natsuki nodded and followed after Yukino, saying back to Haruka, "She's right. Even though you aren't really fond of Mai either, wouldn't you rather see her beaming like this instead of crying in a corner?"

Haruka crossed her arms across her chest. "Well, sooks do annoy me… so I guess so."

"Then let's go and make this trip as bright as we can for her," Natsuki said. She stopped before the trees and waited for Haruka to catch up, adding, "I think you'll also benefit out of this."

Haruka laughed in her face. "What more do I need to work on to be perfect?" she asked, flipping her hair back so gloriously it was almost fake.

Natsuki sighed and shook her head. "Cockiness, for one, and secondly," she added quickly before Haruka could retaliate, "I think you need to work harder on making friends besides Yukino."

This surprised the over confident girl. "Why can't I just have Yukino?"

Natsuki shook her head again and turned her back on Haruka as she spoke. "Because she won't be able to help you with everything. Especially out here." Once this was said she walked into he trees to give Haruka some time to think. The decision was up to her, after all.

Haruka pressed a finger to her chin and stared into the trees as her train of thought wondered into the words Natsuki had spoken. Maybe it would be better to have more friends, but these people weren't the sort she would get along with. They were much les intelligent than she was, and they never seemed to take things seriously enough. But now she was worried about what they would do if something happened to her during this trip. Would they do anything.

"Maybe it's a matter of taking the good with the bad," she thought, exhaling deeply and slapping a hand to her forehead. "Damn this is going to be a long three days."