Camping Trip (1)

"Come on, guys! We're going to miss the train!" I shouted, pulling Kaito and Sakura's hands as we hurried down the vibrant streets. In the distance, the train was pulling into the station, its unmistakable sound growing closer.

"Slow down," Kaito yawned, his eyes still heavy with sleep. "We just barely woke up."

"That's why I told you all to sleep early last night!" I reminded them. As the train doors opened, we rushed inside and barely made it in as the doors began to close.

"Made it!" I bent down, catching my breath, while Sakura plopped down on the nearest seat. "Rest all you want, everyone. No more running for now."

"Great to see you guys made it," Ayumi greeted us as she approached us. "Tough morning?" She inquired.

I nodded, slightly embarrassed. "Getting these two to get up took too long."

"Don't blame all of it on us! You woke up too late. I was already starting to get up, but you were still snoozing!" Sakura chimed in.

"Okay, maybe that was my fault," I admitted as I rubbed my temples, "but I did just carry you two here."

"It was your choice to join this club and drag us into it." Sakura pouted. Ayumi couldn't help but giggle at our playful banter. I looked away, feeling a mix of embarrassment and defeat.

"Anyways, are you guys ready for today?" Ayumi asked as she joined Kaito and Sakura.

"Yeah! Staying away from home will be fun!" Sakura exclaimed with excitement. Ayumi settled next to them.

"Are you two planning on stargazing?" She asked. Kaito simply shrugged in response. Ayumi reached into her backpack, pulling out a well-worn notebook that I had seen before.

"You see how some of these stars line up?" She pointed at a picture. Sakura leaned over, trying to discern the shapes.

"Kind of," she admitted. Ayumi continued, moving her finger along the constellation.

"If you connect the right ones, you can see a picture."

Sakura looked closely, following Ayumi's finger.

"Oh! I see a spoon!" Ayumi smiled at her.

"This is the Big Dipper. It's quite easy to spot at night."

Evidently intrigued, Sakura looked at Ayumi.

"Now, Sakura," Ayumi encouraged, "Look beyond the Big Dipper. Do you see any other pictures?" Sakura's eyes scanned the stars.

"Try connecting some stars to the Dipper," Ayumi suggested.

Sakura moved her finger around, trying to find stars to connect to the constellation. "I think I see something," she finally said. "An animal?"

"Great!" Ayumi replied. "You found Ursa Major, the big bear."

"Oh!" Sakura bobbed her head. "Cool!"

"It'll be way better when we see the stars tonight," I chimed in. They shifted their attention to me. "It's way better looking at them with our own eyes."

Ayumi nodded in agreement. "That's for sure."

As the train announced our arrival at Javilier station—the thirteenth stop on our journey—I glanced out the window, expecting to see our friends Yujiro and Aika waiting for us. Ayumi pointed to my left, and I turned my head to see Yujiro and Aika walking toward us with their bags.

"Morning, guys!" Aika greeted cheerfully, while Yujiro playfully saluted at us.

"Beautiful day, isn't it?" He remarked with a grin.

"Yep. Glad to see you're not late," I replied, earning a shrug from Yujiro.

"Aika basically dragged me halfway here," he explained. I looked at Aika with a raised eyebrow. "Seriously?"

Aika plopped down on a seat, exclaiming, "You wouldn't believe how hard it was!" I patted her on the shoulder, sympathizing, and then looked at Yujiro.

"Carrying a 200-pound person was really tiring."

Ayumi laughed and Yujiro rolled his eyes.

"I do not weigh that much."

"No," Aika looked up at him. "You're way heavier!"

Their laughter filled the train car.

As we settled in, Yujiro leaned in and whispered to me, "So, any progress with Ayumi yet? Any confessions or big moments?"

I pushed him down onto a seat, exclaiming, "What's the matter with you, dude?!" 

Yujiro laughed, undeterred. "Come on, we're heading to the top of a mountain, away from people. You could be all alone with her."

I dismissed the idea with a shake of my head.

"I'm sure that won't happen."

--❦--

"Haruki!" I felt a persistent nudge on my shoulder. "Haruki! Wake up!"

Moaning, I reluctantly opened my eyes to find Yujiro pulling me up to my feet.

"What?" I yawned.

"We've reached our stop! Come on!"

As we stepped off the train, I shielded my eyes from the bright sun.

"How long were we riding?" Yujiro checked his phone as my eyes adjusted. "About three hours. It's eight-twenty right now."

I took a deep breath, trying to wake myself up. "It got bright fast," I remarked, catching up to the group.

Aika laughed. "Well, that's why we had to wake up at five!"

"We still have to walk to Taji Mountain to meet with the group," Ayumi mentioned. Sakura rushed up to me.

"Hurry up! Kaito has already started going!" I looked down the station and saw Kaito walking away from us, disappearing from our view.

"Kaito!" I shouted and started running after him. Sakura followed closely behind me. "Get back here!"

"Haruki!" I heard Yujiro's voice. "Wait for us!" Ignoring him, I kept running.

As we exited the station, I looked around, but there was no trace of him. Running down the street, I called for him, but there was no response. Reaching a fork in the road, I stopped.

"Do you see him?" I asked Sakura. She shook her head. "Kaito! Where are you?!"

"No luck?" Yujiro said as he caught up to me, with Aika and Ayumi following close behind.

"Where did he go?" I stared into the distance. "He couldn't have run far..."

"Don't worry," Ayumi said reassuringly. I looked at her. "He'll be fine. Trust me." She smiled at me, and I managed a small smile back.

"I hope so," I mumbled. Aika put her hand on my shoulder.

"We could split up. Maybe that would be faster?" Yujiro nodded. "We'll call each other when we find him."

"That won't be necessary." A voice called out. We all turned our heads. "Izumiya!" I shouted. He smiled, and standing next to him was Kaito.

"There you are!" I ran up to him and gave him a hug. "Why did you run off like that?" I asked, still holding him.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"You should be more careful," Izumiya scolded Kaito. "Your brother has enough to do without making sure you don't disappear."

"Thanks," I said, releasing Kaito. Izumiya waved a hand at me. "No problem. Anyways, let's go. The rest of the group is close by."

Standing up, Yujiro put his arm around me. "Now the fun can begin!"

Aika looked at him as we walked behind Izumiya. "If you mean hiking up a mountain for about two hours was fun for you."

Yujiro groaned. "T-two hours?"

She nodded.

"It's quite a hike. Two hours might be a low guess," Aika added.

Yujiro sighed. "I signed up for this?"

Ayumi giggled. "You'll make it eventually."

"When's eventually?!" He retorted.

I shrugged. "It depends on your willpower." Yujiro frowned.

"Then I'm done." The rest of us laughed as we arrived at the entrance to the mountain trail.

"Okay, everyone's here now," Izumiya said as we met up with the group. "I hope you all are awake and energized because we'll be hiking for a few hours."

Yujiro and some others groaned a bit.

"Don't worry too much. The first part of the trail consists of stairs. And since we'll be hiking all day long, we'll have lunch halfway." He looked around. "Everyone fine with that?"

We nodded.

I leaned over to Yujiro. "You're lucky that there are stairs for now."

He sighed. "We'll still be hiking for hours."

"Stay loose," Aika said. "It'll feel more relaxing."

I looked at Sakura and Kaito. "Can you two handle this?" I asked.

"No problem!" Kaito said. Sakura smiled at me.

"Okay!" I shouted. "Let's go!"