Camping Trip (Part 2)

Fooling around, the band reached their destination.

It was a patch of clear land, a little larger than four apartment bedrooms put together.
A large blue tent, enough to occupy five people, was standing between the endless green, sticking out like a sore thumb.

It occupied about a third of the land, resting in one of its corners.
The inside of the tent had some synthetic material covering the floor which would have been all grass otherwise.

And thus, the tent was nearly completely rain-proof, save for some small pores.
They allowed for ventilation of air, without which staying inside the tent would become suffering.

"It's bigger than I thought..."
"Wow..."

Thankfully, Nakajima had forgiven Yoshi for his prank and moved on.

The group promptly dropped off their belongings inside the tent, which would be empty if not for the 5 futons neatly made on the ground.

Yoshi and the others had brought just enough essentials to last until the next day, since they'd be staying the night in the camp.
Because there were no strict instructions on what to bring, everyone had brought whatever the hell they wanted to.
Although, they were brought while keeping in mind the general rundown they were given of what they were going to do all day.

They goofed around for a few minutes in the area, because they weren't allowed to wander off without proper supervision.

Fortunately, before it got too boring, Mr. Ichiro coughed to get the group's attention.

"Ok! They're calling us for fishing. Ready up."

So apparently, there was a river nearby where fish could be found in plenty, completely unsuspecting of the predators known to man as 「fishermen」.

"We wouldn't want to be late, because then all the good spots will be taken."

It would become a race against time.

Although Yoshi was confused by why they were being told about this now.
They could have been briefed about this earlier, and could have instantly taken off when the time arrived.
Even though he had no proof, he dismissed it as Mr. Ichiro's forgetfulness to get some peace of mind.

As they were walking deeper into the forest on a trail, which was made so that people wouldn't get lost, they could hear the sound of gushing water.
The river was just up ahead.
And before they knew it, they were already walking parallel to it, clear water flowing beside them with significant speed.

They could see one or two groups already there, with someone who looked like an instructor teaching them how to use a fishing rod.
The fishing rods were courtesy of the camping committee or whatever it was that ran this tourism business.

Catching hold of a decent spot where many fish could be easily spotted, they were approached by the instructor stationed there.

He was a short and skinny man who wore black half sleeves, black trousers, black shoes with black socks, and a black cap on his head that had beautiful green embroidery on it.

That aside, he looked like he literally didn't want to be there, as he had a forced smile plastered onto his face, and eyes that were tired from working at this job.

Even though he spoke in the dullest tone Yoshi could ever imagine, he was surprisingly good at explaining, and handled the fishing rod fairly well, as if he had been doing so for a long time.
Which would explain his dissatisfaction and boredom with having to work there.
He probably hadn't ever seen the world beyond the river.

The instructions were made fairly simple and easy to understand, and the group cast their rods into the river the moment they got their hands on them.

And so they waited...

Waited...

And waited some more.

The fish would ignore the bait altogether.
And what was worse was that some of them would nibble on the bait, before swimming away following the river to the unknown places it would take them, as if to mock the foolish mortals who expected them to be good fish and be caught that easily.

That attitude of the fish, a story made up entirely by Nakajima, was truly enraging, to say the least.

Yoshi got bored enough to want to break his rod to turn it into some sort of spear, just for entertainment. To feel something, anything.

However, he refrained from doing so, because his friends must also be experiencing the same urges, going through the same rage as he was.

...And partially because he would be fined heavily for doing so.

It was 30 minutes before the group managed to catch a single fish.
A foolish one seemingly refrained from listening to its peers, and fell into Misoku's trap.

It gave Misoku an immense sense of accomplishment, as he put it in the bucket with a rather smug face, filling the rest of the group with envy, as it gave them the much needed motivation to catch one as well.

In another 15 minutes, all the intensity had died down, and everyone was filled with gloom.

There were no more unsuspecting fish who were willing to take the bait.
It was as if they had learned from the poor fate of the one Misoku had caught, and were trying their best not to give in to the temptations of the food that was crafted specifically for their sake.

However, such a thing wasn't possible, since the river kept flowing, replacing the set of the old ones every few minutes or so.
The new set had no way of knowing the misfortune that befell the one fish they had caught over a quarter of an hour ago.

Yoshi was slowly getting disheartened, as he was succumbing to the boredom of having to sit still, doing absolutely nothing noteworthy.

Fishing truly wasn't as exhilarating as he had thought, nor was it as easy as the instructor made it look.
The sun was steadily scorching their exteriors, as the boredom whittled them down from the inside.

After the end of a two-hour-long session, they somehow managed to catch 6 of them.

Everyone caught one, except for Misoku, who caught another one not long after his first catch.
4 of them were pretty small, about the size of a fist, while the other 2 were medium-sized, just bigger than a fist.

The sun had still not set as it was the middle of autumn, and there was still a month or two left before it would consent to set at that time.
Although, its influence was decreasing as it slowly neared the horizon, putting on a beautiful orange mask.

The moment Mr. Ichiro had declared "That's it for today. Let's go back." with a tired expression, the group practically jumped in joy, except they didn't because their back hurt too much.

They then proceeded to walk back to the tent for a small break, before they would be called for the next activity.

"Man, this sucked. I'm never going fishing again."
"This was your first time. I'm sure you'll catch more next time."
"Yeah, but that's if there is a next time, which I'll make sure there won't be."

Yoshi voiced his displeasure, as Misoku tried to comfort him.

"You really should try things a second time if you want results."
"Look. I caught one fish in 2 hours. It's just not worth it, is how I see it."
"Well..."

Misoku tried to think of some sort of a comeback.

"If you look at it the other way, you should be thankful that you managed to catch one whole fish-"
"One small fish."

Yoshi bluntly corrected him.

"Yeah, that. Many fishermen go all day without catching even a single one, you know?"
"That's not convincing at all."

Yoshi coldly shot down Misoku's statement, trying to convey the fact that whether he wanted to continue fishing was his choice and his alone.

Why did he have to be encouraged by a fisherman's misery?

He wasn't a fisherman.
He didn't find this fun.
He didn't have the need to do this.

Wasn't it ok for him to not want to do this again?
Yes, it was, was the conclusion he reached, and he didn't want to argue with someone who thought otherwise.

He had always hated this side of Misoku, trying to push him to do something he didn't enjoy.

Misoku, sensing Yoshi's annoyance, decided to speak any further, because Yoshi wouldn't listen to anything he would say next.

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As they walked back to the camp, there was a hedge in their way.
It looked like it hadn't been trimmed in a while, thanks to sloppy maintenance.

While on the way to the river, they had got past it with some difficulty by exercising certain caution, but right now, Yoshi wasn't in the best of moods.

He wasn't paying too much attention, as he pushed aside the branch that was in his way.
And the moment he did, he was greeted by an intense stinging feeling in his now soiled left hand.

"Ouch...!"

When he looked at his hand like there was a big drop of a red liquid resting on his thumb, slowly increasing in size.
It was his blood, which trickled out because he had been pricked on the branch he hadn't been paying attention to.

Not too big of a deal, as he had seen this on multiple occasions, when he would goof around with no reason in particular.

But, Misoku's ears which were most sensitive to any sound Yoshi ever made in his presence, picked up on Yoshi's almost inaudible groan of pain, and his ears stood up like that of a cat.

"Are you alright?"

It took him less than a second to rush over to Yoshi, and hold his hand to check the injury.
His face was so close to his hand that Yoshi could feel his ragged breathing, which wasn't due to running, but because he would enter that state whenever Yoshi got hurt.

"It's just a small prick. Nothing too big about it."

As usual, Misoku's reactions were really overdramatic, as he carefully examined the injury.

"No, this is a forest. What would you do if you got infected by the soil?"

And as usual, he refused to listen to Yoshi no matter what.

"...This needs disinfection."

He declared that out of nowhere.
But, it was a logical proposal, so Yoshi didn't retort or complain.

Misoku rushed back to the camp with him in tow, forgetting his fatigue, and focusing only on Yoshi's injury.

Once they reached there, he pulled out a comically large first-aid kit from his relatively small bag.

-How did that thing even fit in his bag?

It almost felt like he was some cat robot who pulled large gadgets out of its pocket, or those cartoon characters who would just walk around with large hammers and the like in their pockets.

In short, it was the epitome of convenience.

Anyway, Misoku didn't care about the size of the kit, and immediately grabbed a water bottle that was lying nearby.

"First, we wash the wound thoroughly."

He dragged Yoshi with that short statement, instantly pouring water on his thumb, and rubbing the wound carefully.
It stung quite a bit having water poured on your wound, along with the feeling of someone else touching it.
But Yoshi had to bear with it, because there was no escape from this situation.

Immediately after that, Misoku dragged him back to the tent.

"Next, we disinfect."

-Why are you saying the steps out loud, like some sort of secret move?

Misoku couldn't hear Yoshi's thoughts, and took out a ball of cotton and tore out a small piece.
Holding a bottle of disinfectant in his other hand, he swiftly poured a few drops onto the cotton.

Yoshi thought that if he had to flee, this was the only chance.
Because he knew, that disinfectant stung like hell.

However, before he could even start planning his escape, Misoku grabbed his hand again, and slowly started rubbing the cotton against his clean wound.

"Ahhhhh...!"

And just like he had anticipated, it stung. A lot.

Yoshi had a sudden urge to pull his hand away, as a reflex.
But, when he looked at Misoku's worried face as he treated his wound delicately, he couldn't bring himself to, and stopped his hand halfway.

"Hey! Don't jerk your hand like that."
"Ah. Sorry."

He had mixed feelings, seeing Misoku's usually blank expression painted over with pure concern. He was supposed to be mad at him right now, for trying to make him do something that he didn't want to.

But that face, it made him forget all about that small discord.
All he could do right now was to stay silent and accept his treatment.

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Thanks..."
"Anytime."

That small exchange held more meaning than what met the eye at first glance, as Yoshi reinstated the fact in his head that Misoku was, and would always be his best friend.

And even if they didn't think on the same wavelengths, they cared for each other much more than their own lives.

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After that was over and done with, they enjoyed the little time they had as their break, after which Mr. Ichiro cleared his throat once again to get the attention of the group.

"Alright, next we have animal spotting. Gather up. We're leaving in about 15-20 minutes."

Now that Yoshi's hand had correctly been bandaged, and the stinging sensation had reduced quite a bit, he was perfectly ready for whatever life threw at him next.

And if it was animals it threw at him, that was fine by him too.

However, animal spotting was an event that was comprised only of pure luck.
You could find some at the very beginning, or you could go on the whole day, not catching sight of a single one.

It was actually quite similar to fishing in that aspect.

They brought a pair of flashlights, since it would get very dark in the next half an hour or so.
And walking without a sense of vision seemed kind of dumb, especially if you are in a forest.
That aside, they reached the place they were supposed to within the next few minutes.

There, one of the guides eagerly awaited his arrival.

Since the fishing instructor was the first employee Yoshi had dealt with, he sort of became the standard for his comparison.

That said, this one wasn't as slender as the fishing instructor, and wore more or less the same outfit as him.
What distinguished him from that guy lay not just in his appearance, but also in the look on his face.

He was enthusiastic and full of energy, almost as if he had a particularly good sleep last night.
Or maybe that's just how he was normally. Yoshi had no way of knowing.

You could tell that he loved his job from the bottom of his heart just by his expression.
And that enthusiasm was dangerously contagious, as Yoshi could also feel his excitement increasing.

Even Mr. Ichiro, who was unenthusiastically just playing the role of a chaperone up until now, had a thrilling glint in his eye.
'His inner love for wildlife was spreading its wings', was something a person who didn't know him well enough would say.

But Yoshi, and probably the rest of the class as well, knew what lay behind that glint.

He wasn't looking around hoping to spot animals.
His eyes were hunting for Ms. Akatsuki, his co-worker, on whom he had a one-sided crush.

There was just something about experiencing unrequited love from such a close distance, so the group decided not to ruin his excitement by telling him that literally all the students had their eyes on him.

"Sir, you're staring at Ms. Akatsuki too much."

That however, did not stop Misoku from ruining it by his incredible skill of not being able to read the atmosphere.

"Nakajima, you're also staring."

Well, since everything had gone to hell already, Yoshi decided, "Why the hell not?", and reminded Nakajima that he had been eyeing the girls as well.

Before the guide started speaking, he did a tiny wave happily, which got all eyes trying to locate the target the wave was for.
No one responded back, so they imagined it was some animal or something he had seen.

But, to see those guys lurking around in this place where they could easily camouflage themselves was no small feat.

His eyes must have been spotting them for many years now, and his technique must be the real deal, since Yoshi saw nothing in the wilderness, not even a single movement, even though he boasted a rather keen eye.

After the unnecessary distraction, the instructor spoke up, not the faintest trace of nervousness in his voice.

"Good evening! I will be your guide for today! I hope you will enjoy the beauty this forest has to offer to the fullest! Then, is everyone ready? Let's go!"

With that small enthusiastic briefing, There was no objection as everyone followed the guide while he proceeded deeper into the forest.

While they were walking, the guide started to rant about the history of the forest.

About how tribes used to inhabit this forest, and how they were bribed into leaving.
But, the forest was marked under a protected zone shortly after by the government, so it turned out quite well.
The tribes were compensated appropriately, and did not have to face the dangers of the predators lurking around, while the animals were saved from harm with the area marked as a protected ecosystem.

This would normally be the part where the guide would start losing the attention of his audience.
But that man sure had a way with his words, as not a single person seemed to be disinterested to what the guide wanted to say.

By the end of his lecture, he had led the students to the fence.
The fence was supposed to keep the potentially dangerous animals out.

Walking along the fence, they spotted some deer just going along with their lives, finding fresh pastures to graze upon.

Talking pictures was not allowed, so the students just admired them from afar with their flashlights.

The deer seemed to have gotten used to the light being flashed at them regularly, as they ignored it after turning their eyes to it for a moment.

Walking further, they came across squirrels, who ran away as soon as they realized that they were being watched.
The guide explained that they were extremely sensitive to stimuli, and would instantly run away from anything they would regard as threats.

So while it couldn't be helped, they moved on.

After that, the guide told them about a special spot where hedgehogs would gather, and started walking in a brisker pace.

When they arrived, the spot was full of hedgehogs, who were minding their business.
Since they were friendly to humans, they walked right up to the students, who were squealing over how cute they were.

Although, they were strictly warned against touching them, because they had enormous spikes on their backs.

"Alright, it's getting late! Don't want to be here too long, so let's go back, shall we?"

With that came the end of the animal sighting.

-I've seen enough. I'm satisfied.

Yoshi felt like he had seen something really cool, and his excitement didn't want to calm down.
Although walking back made him feel a little disappointed.

As he did, he turned around and saw Michiru.
Seeing her made his heart flutter.

He remembered Nakajima's words from before.

-Isn't this the perfect atmosphere for romantic situations? If I was lucky, I could get myself a girlfriend!

He still cringed at those words, but there was some truth to them.
This might just make for a good atmosphere.

Should he try again today?
He worried that it might make him seem desperate.
but he felt like he should try once more.

She seemed to be scared of Misoku particularly, and did not seem to show any aversion to Yoshi. At least, he thought that was supposed to be the case.

He wouldn't let a misunderstanding end his chances of enjoying his youth.

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It was time for everyone to return back to their respective camps for another break.
Yoshi, having gathered his courage, decided to approach Michiru.

-I got rejected once. But that was Misoku's fault. I'll try once more...

If she wouldn't budge on her answer, Yoshi would have convey to her that Misoku wouldn't do anything.
He couldn't give up, because he wanted her true and unbiased opinion on whether she was willing to go out with him.

Rejection because of fear for another person was not something he would accept.

The first hurdle he had to clear was to convince Misoku, because let's be real here.
Yoshi was not capable of slipping away from Misoku's sight, and would probably never be.

Sometimes, he wondered if the guy had eyes at the back of his head.
It was very unnatural.

Anyways, he had to clear this hurdle, if he didn't want a repeat of what happened 3 days ago.

He looked at Misoku with the most serious expression he could make.

"Hey, I'm going to stay for a minute or two. Can you go ahead?"
"What is it? If it's something minor, we can wait for a minute, can't we?"

Yoshi had anticipated this response word for word.
He knew Misoku way too well.
And he would not hesitate to use all of that knowledge in his favor.

That said, he didn't really have any concrete plan to convince him.
So, he turned to Nakajima and Teruki, who already knew of his intentions, and signaled to them.

-Do something and get him away from here!

Of course, he didn't have enough skill to signal all of that with just his eyes.
And even if he did, the two on the other side would have no clue on how to decipher it.

Yoshi decided to start learning the language of eye contact once he got home, if that sort of thing even existed.

Anyway, they got the general gist of what Yoshi was trying to do, and jumped in.

"Well, it's gonna be fine! It's not like he will forget the way back, will he?"
"And it's definitely not that he will try and meet up with some other girl while we distract you, right?"

-I hate both of you.

Suggesting that Yoshi wouldn't forget the way back was a very bad argument to make, because Yoshi would sometimes be clumsy enough to forget the way to school, stuck on some crossroad until he called Misoku for help.

And, bringing the talk of meeting up with girls was oddly suggestive.
In short, the both of them failed to do the one job they were given.

Yoshi shot them a glare, to which they shrugged, trying to convey that they tried their best.
Seeing not a trace of apology in their eyes, Yoshi hung his head as he lamented the fact that his plan had failed...

"Ah, then I guess it's ok. Don't get lost, ok?"

-Ok that was easy! Easier than I ever could have expected!

Ah, how otherworldly Misoku's naivety was! To think he would believe such obvious lies...
To be honest, Yoshi was both a little disappointed and relieved at the same time.

Disappointed at how easy he was to convince, and relieved by the reassurance that Misoku wasn't a perfect existence.
He would definitely need someone to keep him on his toes.

And Yoshi would not approve of any random girl to be that someone.
Thinking that, he felt like he understood Misoku's feelings just a little more. Just a little.

Anyhow, this was the perfect chance to clear the first hurdle.

"Yeah, yeah, you guys go ahead! Don't worry about me, 'kay? I'll return real fast."

Satisfied by Yoshi's answer, and not knowing that he had been utterly deceived, Misoku walked off quietly without putting up even 1% of the fight Yoshi expected.

With the biggest potential problem out of the way, Yoshi moved on to the step of his plan, which was to find Michiru and call her, as the others left for the camp without him.

Finding her was easy enough, because he had been keeping an eye out of her the entire time.
While scolding Nakajima of doing the same with other girls every once in a while.

Thankfully, she was in one of the groups that was behind Yoshi's own group, so that if Yoshi went back from where they were returning, he would meet her on the way.

A few stopped him to ask where he was going, and he replied to all of them with, "Got something to do...", and leaving immediately after answering to not allow them to pry any further into his business.

When he found her, though, he didn't know how to approach her.

She was, without a doubt, in a group full of girls, and even though she wasn't talking with them, the mere presence of those girls around her made calling out to her a challenging task.

Wait, was that her sister he spotted?
His sister, who had started school later than other kids normally would , was a year behind than them, and in the same grade as Yoshi.

Unfortunately for him, though.

If he were to go ask her to accompany him in front of them, she would surely create a fuss, which was very embarrassing, and the last thing he wanted right now.

But, he couldn't back down either.
He had made this conscious decision, and he had to see it through to the very end.

This was the part where Yoshi had to man up and ask her frankly.
If he couldn't do even that, all his courage and risk would be for naught.

He probably wouldn't get many chances later as well, so this might just be the best one.

-As they say, treat every chance as your last one.

He timidly approached the group, trying to stop his hands from shaking and spectacularly failing.

"Ummm... Michiru, may I have a minute?"

Now, Yoshi never spoke this formally in normal circumstances.
But he had a tendency to do so whenever he was nervous, confused, or scared.
And this was one of those times where he especially felt all three of them, in varying proportions.

His sentences undoubtedly attracted the attention of the entire group and everyone was a little surprised.

"Hey, hey, what is this? You're gonna confess?"
"This is interesting! I want in too!"
"So bold!"

-Is that woman's intuition? It's woman's intuition, isn't it?!

Their respective reactions were pretty loud for a lot of the passing students and even teachers to overhear.
It was a miracle no one stopped. Maybe they knew how to read the atmosphere, unlike an oblivious someone.

On the other hand, a new hurdle appeared.
There were now pestering girls in the way, who seemed to want to tease the both of them to the fullest for their enjoyment.

Yoshi wanted to die of embarrassment right then and there.

However, the girls could also read the mood well enough to leave the two of them alone, giving both of them encouragement that definitely did not work.

As his sister passed by him, she stopped to whisper in his ear.

"I'm going to hear all about this later, ok?"

Her voice was very teasing, but not one of disapproval. Exactly what he would expect from her.

He hated to admit it, but he felt just a little stronger.
He felt like he could stay standing just a little while longer.

Now that everyone had left, it was just the two of them alone in that area.
Good thing they both had flashlights with them, because it was pretty dark now.

Yoshi could see the other groups leaving, the cluster of lights getting smaller by the moment.
It was such a beautiful spectacle, one might mistake it for a sparkle of fireflies, although they couldn't be further away from the truth.

Michiru's face, on the other hand was bright red, trying to gauge his reason for coming here.
As her hair floated in the evening breeze, he thought that she was really beautiful, as his heart rate slowly started to increase.

"Ummm... Is this about two days ago?"
"Yeah..."

She arrived at the correct answer in very short time.

Although it wasn't too much of a deal, Yoshi found it amazing that she remembered him, as she sometimes had trouble remembering even her classmates' names.

That had to mean that he left some sort of impression on her.
But there was a chance the she remembered him because the death stare Misoku gave her that day.

Fear for one's life could not be easily forgotten, after all.

He could not eliminate that possibility, no matter how much he tried.

"So, about my confession, I will ask once more... Would you... ummm... go out with me?"

He asked it once more, just as scared as he was back then.

Was her rejection out of dislike for him?
Or was she scared just for her life, and would not mind going out with him if that fear is dispelled?

The answer to this question would clear up that doubt once and for all.

The 5 seconds of pause before her answer felt like an eternity of endless possibilities, most of them scarier than the last.
Even though the cool breeze blowing gently made the surroundings rather chilly, Yoshi found sweat dripping from his forehead and temple, drenching his face.

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear... But really, I would like to pass on your offer."

There came the dreaded answer in that shaking voice, one of the worst possibilities he had considered.
His speculation coming to reality drained him all of his courage as he struggled to find words to say.

Neither did he get a positive response, but he also didn't get to know the reason for her denial.
But, one thing he had decided on was that he wasn't giving up without knowing the cause.

"May I know the reason?"

At this point, he was just desperate.
Something inside him tugged at him, asking him not to stand down.

"I-It's not like I think that you are not an attractive person!"

Michiru seemed to understand his dejection, and denied his assumptions strongly, waving her hands quickly in a fluster.

"It's just... that I'm scared of Misoku. And, to speak about it to you. You must consider him a dear friend. And for me to say such things... might make you mad at me."

To his question, he finally got a response that could allow him to turn the tables in his favor.
This was the opening he needed.

-Good things truly do come with persistence...

"There's no way I'd be mad. Misoku is kind of eccentric, after all. He keeps scaring others off, whether he means to or not, and I have to clean up the mess left behind. So you don't have to feel bad about it. Although, it'd be better if you stop saying those things about him..."

He would allow it once, because it was for his benefit.
Besides, he'd properly resolve the issue, so Misoku would forgive him for that much.
Even though he didn't know people talked about him like that behind his back because of Yoshi's strenuous efforts.

He could sort of predict what sort of reaction his statement would bring forth.

"But you were the one who pushed me to say so. Don't you think it's unfair to reprimand me for saying something you wanted to hear?"

Her words were filled with just right amount of adorability and teasing, and combined her looking down with her pouty smile, it was enough to give Yoshi a cuteness overload.

He forced his heart to calm down, and tried to stop himself from falling on his face.

-This was more damage than I thought I would take.

"I-I-If it's only once, I can forgive it!"

With a expression that easily gave away how effective Michiru's teasing was, he nearly shouted.

"Moreover, about Misoku... you don't have to worry about him doing something to you. I can guarantee he has no such intention. Even if he meant to, I will guarantee that he will not harm you in any way."

Misoku was a truly unpredictable being, and even Yoshi could not tell what went on in that brain of his.
If there was one thing Yoshi was particularly sure about when it came to Misoku, it was that he did not promote senseless violence, nor was he rough with the opposite sex, because he literally had no interest in them, something that had been affirmed just a few hours ago.

Other than that, he just wanted to have a chance to act cool in front of Michiru.
In front of his seemingly pure determination, Michiru was a little moved as words failed her.

A small silence followed where the both just stared at each other, Yoshi with his black eyes holding a sense of anticipation, and Michiru with her black eyes reflecting a flurry of emotions as she clenched her fist just a little tighter.

And then, Yoshi realized something. He had only made a declaration.
She had no response to it, having a really touched expression on her face.

He had to break this silence with the words he thought would be the most appropriate thing to say, or the situation would plunge slowly into awkwardness.

"So yeah... you don't have to worry about any of that. What do you say? Would you... like to go on a date with me?"

The last part of his sentence sounded pretty cheesy in his head as he thought about it another time, but the way it came out was more timid and doubtful.

The moment was so full of tension and anticipation, it wouldn't be a surprise if the silence continued for eternity.
But neither of them had the time to wait that long, because that would be outright insanity.

The silence did last for a few seconds, however, which they couldn't stop even though they tried.

"I-I'll take up... on your offer, then..."

Michiru looked down after every word, until her neck got in the way.
She must be embarrassed to even speak at that moment.

Although, Yoshi had no think about it, as blood rushed to his head at an alarming rate.
He was ecstatic, so happy that he might collapse that very instant.

In fact, it would be better if he collapsed.
He definitely would not be able to handle the embarrassment of being near Michiru now that his confession had been accepted.

-Wouldn't... Wouldn't that mean that they were officially in a relationship?
As b-boyf-fri-iend and g-g-gir-rlf-f-friend?

Wait no, he was getting a little too ahead of himself.

Calm down. Take a deep breath.
Was his hair ok? Was his face ok?

Wait, shouldn't he have thought about these things before he walked up to her?
Why was he thinking about them that hard anyway?
That might be the first time he was doing so.

Yoshi was slowly falling into a panic, out of happiness, out of self-consciousness and out of embarrassment.

No matter how he wanted to calm down, his heart had decided that it wasn't going to slow down.
And the heart's decision weighed heavily on the brain, as it slowly got more and more dizzy.

"S-s-should w-we he-head b-back?"

He was stuttering so hard, he might have bitten off his tongue.

"Y-Yes, l-l-let's..."

The voice behind the reply was shaking like crazy as well.
Although, the both of them had no opportunity to think about the other's situation, as they were indulged in their own feelings, struggling to keep them in check.

And with that, their conversation was over, and they started heading back to the camp.

"T-Then... I-I'll h-heading this way... o-ok?"

When they arrived at a crossroad, it was time to split up.
Yoshi wanted to escort her back to her camp, but he really couldn't stand being in that suffocating atmosphere.
He really needed some fresh air.

"O-ok... Then, I-I'll go that way..."

And they went their separate ways as Yoshi finally was able to relax his heart, which gradually returned to a stable pulse.

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When Yoshi walked into the boundaries that defined the beginning of the camp allotted to his group, he was greeted by his friends and his teacher, the latter trying to put up a campfire with Misoku's help.

"I'm home."
"This is not your home, is it?"

It was a casual exchange between Yoshi and Nakajima, who was lazing around sitting on the ground, with his hands and legs spread out.

"Moreover, how did it go?"
"I wouldn't say it went smoothly, but I got a date..."

Yoshi could not stop himself from blushing as he said that out loud, and a certain sense of satisfaction spilled out from his awkward smile.

"Congrats."
"You're grinning like a damn normie, you know that?"

Teruki congratulated him, while Nakajima was not happy with how it turned out.
Yoshi had no words to retort with, so he just kept on smiling.

"Man, I wish I were you! I want a girlfriend too, you know! What did she see in you? What do you have, that I don't?"
"Maybe some common sense, but I wouldn't know..."
"You trying to pick a fight or something?"

Nakajima seemed annoyed, but it was really just temporary envy.
He didn't mean anything bad.
For them, it was like light banter with no ill will.

Yoshi turned around and looking at Misoku, who was quietly blowing on the smoldering firewood, as it started to burn with a majestic yellow.

"Hey Misoku, why are you blowing on the fire?"
"To help it burn properly..."
"But when you blow on it, aren't just giving it carbon dioxide? I don't see how that helps at all..."

Yoshi's curiosity got the better of him, and he started asking questions.

"That's not what is happening here. Of course, I am giving it carbon dioxide, but there's something more to it as well."
"And what is that?"
"I can't really explain it well, so Mr. Ichiro, if you will."

Misoku deftly shifted all the focus onto the poor man watching over the fire.
But, he didn't mind, and was rather exhilarated at the spotlight.
He almost seemed like he was dying to explain it.

Yoshi didn't really get too much of what he said.
His speech went something like this:

When you blow on a fire, you create a lower pressure system full of oxygen to give the fire the appropriate amount of oxygen to burn well.
When you push oxygen into the structure with the embers of the fire, you are creating a vacuum to feed the fire.
This vacuum will keep oxygen flowing into it even after you are done blowing.

Also, when we blow outward, we are pushing carbon dioxide out, but it is mixing up with and grabbing the oxygen in the air around us.
When blowing, you are pushing a pressure system of both carbon dioxide and oxygen to the fire.
In the same way that CPR is effective, you are still transferring oxygen into the fire despite exhaling carbon dioxide.

-Wow. That was a lot of difficult words.

Mr. Ichiro seemed to have done his research quite thoroughly.

-That's dedication and a half. Respect.

Although, for some reason, Yoshi felt like he was being desperate.
Almost as he had done his research solely to impress somebody.

He realized it right away.
Because no one took the poor man seriously, he probably must have gotten into trouble with the principal again.

-'You'll be fired' was probably the exact thing he was told. I am at least 90% sure of that.

"Why did every action of his teacher just make him feel pity for him?", he wondered.

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It was finally 8:30 pm.
The past hour had passed by in a flash as Yoshi stayed immersed in his console.

Mr. Ichiro declared that it was time for dinner preparation, and they would be cooking the fish they caught by themselves that afternoon to eat.

The first step was to cut off and separate the gills carefully, he said.
It wasn't too hard though, once they were given a visual demonstration.

The second step was the most troublesome.
They would have to get rid of the scales covering the entire body of the fish.
Removing all of them while making sure not cut off too much meat from the fish, or your finger for that matter, was not the easiest task in the world.

If Yoshi had to rate the difficulty, he would give an easy mode of a bullet hell shooting game for an amateur out of a ten.
That did not mean that it was an easy task, because bullet hells were pretty damn hard, especially for beginners.

Yoshi had to practice the patterns for over two weeks before he could beat one of those on normal difficulty.
And that wasn't the end of them as they had higher difficulties to offer.

As he thought about bullet hells and his painful experiences with them, he thankfully did not end up being caught red-handed.

When he was done with the peeling of the scales of his share, he secretly thanked the fish in the river who were smart enough to not fall for the bait they had set out, because if they had hypothetically caught more of them, they would have to peel more scales off their bodies, which did not seem like a fun thing to do with one's life.

After that, the third step was to season the fish.
The school had arranged for proper seasoning beforehand, so all they had to do was to apply it on the fish.

Following the first two steps, Yoshi was filled with relief that the third was nothing so difficult.
After that short task, the last step was to heat up the fish to cook it until it became rust colored.

They placed a high microwave grill onto the fire, and placed their fish on top carefully, to make sure that they didn't fall off, or all their hard work would go to waste, because the fish would be rendered inedible, and no three-second rule would be applicable in a forest.

The rest went without a hitch and the dinner was ready.
Of course, 6 fish wasn't enough to fill the stomachs of the lot, which is why they had brought rice balls to eat with them.

"Thank you for the food."

Satisfied with the meal, Yoshi let out a small sigh of contentment.

"Hey, how about we go stargazing? I found a good open spot where the trees aren't clustered together."

Misoku was very enthusiastic when it came to stars, so Yoshi had somewhat anticipated this from him.

"That's fine by me, but I'm getting really sleepy, so I'll only join for 15 minutes or so."

Yoshi always got really sleepy after dinner, something he did not know the cause of.
This habit was the reason he had to skip dinner when he had stay up late night for online gaming events.

"I guess I can use that as a distraction..."
"Count me in too!"

God knew what Nakajima wanted to be distracted from, but knowing him, Yoshi was sure it was something related to the opposite sex, which only really left one possibility.
On the other hand, Teruki showed a fair amount of interest in the idea, enough that it could rival Misoku's.

Seeing all of them agreeing on the suggestion, Mr. Ichiro had no choice but give in to the majority's opinion.

"I'll allow you guys to go for an hour only, no more than that. It's dangerous to wander outside the tent at night here."

Mr. Ichiro said that with a defeated sigh.
With the fence around, the danger was not too high, but no one said that, because they took his advice seriously.

Safety was the first and foremost priority.
Having fun came second, and everything else came after.

They headed to the patch Misoku was talking about, and saw a clear piece of ground.
When they looked up, they were greeted by the beautiful view of all the stars the night sky had to offer.

Lying down on the ground face up, they admired the various constellations that were visible only at that point in the year.

Yoshi, on the other hand, tried his hardest to not fall asleep under the comfort of the cool grass underneath him, and the perfect lighting conditions.

And because he was giving it his all, he was unable to catch any of what the rest were talking about.

After 15 minutes, Yoshi's alarm that he had set earlier went off, and he went back to the tent and he crawled into bed, falling into a deep slumber in less than 5 minutes of entering the futon.

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Author's Corner:
I wish I could upload more frequently. Maybe twice a week.
Writing takes a lot of time, especially because I tend to write pretty long chapters.
This one's so long, I almost ran out of space for this corner.
Besides, if I end my chapters early, or break down the long chapters, I don't think I'll have enough unique names (Adding "Part 1" or "Part 2" to the names doesn't really feel cool.)

Enough about that,
With this chapter, I think I have fleshed out the characters a little more.
Although all of it is character interaction, with absolutely nothing important going on.
If you think the same, you are going to love the next one.

Here's a secret:
The guide for animal spotting was not waving at any animal.
He was actually waving at his son, who was among the crowd. And because the poor kid did not want to be pointed out, he looked along with the others behind him, so that no one would find out.