Out with the Old, In with the New

The bumpy bus ride suddenly comes to a halt as students pour out of the buses. The sun beams down into Toshiko's eyes as he squints to get his bearings. He notices the cabins and tents across the entire area. The dense forests, the blue sky, the rushing rivers all bring him back to simpler times. A big fire pit rests in the heart of the camp. 

Kazuki pats Toshiko on the shoulder and gives him a quick thumbs-up. The pair look around, pretty shocked. "Sheesh, Hakuryu doesn't play around when it comes to this stuff.." Kazuki responds. "Dragoncrest have been getting better recently, at least from what I heard... That at least explains why we're doing this so early.." Hiroshi responds. Toshiko sighs, still downtrodden. Kazuki looks at him, a little concerned. 

"Man, I just wanna get him outta this slump. He messed up but I think he's just in his own head.." Hiroshi rubs his chin, thinking. "It's complicated though.. From what I can guess, he hurt her. Badly. But it wasn't really on purpose? I want my friends to just BE friends again.." Kazuki closes his eyes for a second, thinking deeply.

"We have to let them handle it, Hiro. It's gonna suck, and it always will but this is their problem. All we can do is pray. But also make sure he's not an idiot." Hiroshi smiles brightly. "I'm sure we could do that much!" Suddenly, the sound of clapping hits their ears. "No rest for the weary! C'mon!" Someone shouts. As they investigate the noise, they find Yamamoto-sensei next to a man with short blac k hair and a trimmed beard in a tracksuit. As people pour in slowly from both buses, splitting the crowd into two groups, the man clears his throat. 

"Hello, hello! Welcome to the Hanayama Forest Training Camp! You all seem pretty capable, don't you?" The man exclaims. Sakura diligently nods along with his speech. As the man pauses for a bit, Toshiko spots Emi in the distance. She smiles and laughs along with another girl, someone with noticable blue-to-pink hair. Toshiko looks at her, visibly confused until looking back. He looks at his hand, before clenching his fist. 

"That fast..? I.. No, I'm just gonna shove this back.." the man clears his throat amongst the noise. "The name's Ryohei Kurosawa! And I'll be overseeing you all for your time here! And helping me here will be Sakura Yamamoto as well!" Sakura bows. "I'll be doing my best, regardless of if I don't know anything about this.." a member of the crowd raises their hand. 

"When're we gonna get to sit down and relax?!" Kurosawa laughs heartily. "Not for a while. Because the first exercise of the day begins!" He shouts. Sakura lifts a red flag and a blue flag. "RETURN THE FLAG!" The crowd of a hundred students all erupt in excitement, shouting amongst themselves. "Well, before I begin.. Sakura-chan, would you like to explain the rules?" Kurosawa asks. She stares daggers into him. "Who are you? Don't call me that." He laughs, putting his hand on his neck. "Right, right!" She clears her throat. 

"Anyway.. the rules are as follows. Firstly, there'll be two flags planted in the heart of the forest. If a member of blue team grabs the red flag and returns it to the fire pit, they win. This goes for the other way around as well. Second, you'll be provided a paintball gun with two balls of paint only. Anyone shot with the paintball will be taken out of play for 5 minutes." An audience member gasps. "So this is timed then?" Sakura nods.

 "Correct! You'll have an hour to complete this exercise. If you win this exercise, you'll be awarded a point. Those with the most points at the end of the week will be granted a special prize by the school. Otherwise, Do your best to win." Sakura concludes. "Of course, thanks to Hakuryu's budget increase, you'll be provided with radio communications between your teammates. That about does it! Except, who'd you like to lead the charge?" Kurosawa asks. 

The groups fall dead silent. Kazuki and Hiroshi smile at each other instantly, before breathing in. "YOU GOT THIS, TOSHIKO!" He turns around, multiple visual question marks above his head. "Yeah, I'd say Toshiko! He managed to handle that student council guy, so why not?" Someone says. "I thought I'd hate that guy.. but I guess I warmed up to him, he didn't seem half bad." Another crowd member says. Toshiko clenches his fist, bringing all of his determination back. 

"Fine then, I'll lead you all! Don't disappoint me!" Toshiko yells. "Well, what about you guys?" Sakura says, pointing to the other group of students. "Aya-san is easily our pick! We need her!" One of the opposing girls says. "Mhm! Aya-san is definitely our key to victory!" Another opposing crowd member says. The girl from earlier walks up, her vibrant hair and violet eyes piercing through Toshiko. Aya stares at Toshiko with disgust and anger, while Toshiko stares her down with determination. 

"Toshiko, you'll represent Red Team. Aya, you're Blue Team. I'll plant the flags, and once I return the game begins! Until then, please get your gear from Kurosawa-san." Sakura proclaims, heading off into the forest. Kazuki and Hiroshi walk up to Toshiko. "Are you back to normal now?!" Hiroshi asks. "Oh, absolutely not. My heart still hurts. But if I can just win this and get to do.. something. I'll feel better." Toshiko responds. Kazuki nods. "...Fair enough. I know my way through this stuff a little, so I'll help!" Kurosawa hands each group a big box of gear. 

Radios, Paintball Guns, even things like smoke bombs and tracking devices. "Damn, Hakuryu stepped it up!" Kazuki shouts. Toshiko looks in the box and back at his team. He gets an idea, almost instantly. "Hey, Red Team! We'll stick close together! If we huddle over the flag, they won't be able to get near!" Toshiko shouts. Aya overhears this getting near Emi. "Don't stress, we'll crush him together okay?" Aya exclaims. "S-sure.." Emi responds. "Here, you need a diagram? Plan's pretty simple but fine.." Toshiko says. Aya and Toshiko make eye contact, a lighting bolt of rivalry connecting them. 

A few minutes pass until Sakura arrives. She stands next to Kurosawa. "Are you two ready, Aya Nakamura and Toshiko Kimura?" Kurosawa exclaims. Toshiko, Kazuki and Hiroshi walk up, their entire team behind them. Aya and Emi do the same. "Been awhile, sis! Didn't think you'd actually come!" Hiroshi exclaims. "Well, I don't think I could've if I wanted too.. have fun over there." Aya responds. Toshiko and Kazuki turn over to Hiroshi, both confused and surprised. "That's your SISTER?!" Toshiko yells. "I mean, yeah. Nakamura's our last name! I thought that was obvious.." Toshiko looks at her, then back at Hiroshi. 

"Sure. Obvious." Emi looks away, trying not to make eye contact with Toshiko. Toshiko glances at her, but Aya sticks her arm out to block Toshiko. "I'm ready." Aya says. "And so am I." Toshiko adds. Kurosawa smirks. "Then what're you waiting for? Let the first exercise begin!" He shouts. The groups immediately take off for the forest. Aya and Toshiko dash through the forest, keeping eye contact until they split up. The hunt finally begins.

Chapter 11 - The End.