Worthy of Love

Days go by, as the group make memory after memory, the memories float into the air like the sparks of a campfire as they all sit near each other. "We go home in the morning, huh? I can't believe it's already over.." Kazuki says. "I thought this was gonna be hard but.. I'm glad this happened. This might've been the best time I've had at this school EVER!" Hiroshi exclaims. Aya nudges him. "Wonder why? Hehe!" Hiroshi smiles back. 

Toshiko just stares into the campfire, curled up. His eyes filled with regrets. "You still never managed to do that, did you?" Hiroshi says. Toshiko shakes his head. "Dude, you'll lose her for GOOD if you don't do something!" Kazuki yells. "You don't think I KNOW THAT?! I can't just WALK up to her and spill my guts out!" Toshiko shouts. Kazuki exhales loudly. "You can't. But what choice do you have? This is the only chance you have. Please don't screw this up, man." Toshiko ponders for a second, before standing up and walking away. "H-hey, where are you-!?" Hiroshi yells, reaching out. Kazuki sticks his arm out. 

"Let him go, blood brother. He has his own battles to fight. No matter what happens, we support him." Hiroshi nods, determined and praying for Toshiko. Emi leaves her cabin, only to find Toshiko standing outside. She looks away, already angered. "What do you want?" She says. "Listen, I just wanted to talk to you." Toshiko retorts. "We talked enough before all this started. Even during the camp, you NEVER let me have anything! I told you to stay the hell away from me!" Emi shouts, dashing off into the forest. 

"Emi! Emi, just WAIT!" Toshiko yells, running after her. The group by the campfire hear the commotion and immediately get up to investigate. All they find is a few footprints leading to the vast dark forest. "You better know what you're doing man.. Aya, go tell the teachers, knowing them they're probably lost!" Kazuki yells. Aya nods, understanding. "I got it!" She runs off towards the teachers cabin. Kazuki and Hiroshi subtly fist bump each other as they walk into the storage cabin nearby with a smile.

As Toshiko and Emi run through the forest, the familiarity begins to fade very quickly. "Emi, you need to STOP! We can't keep doing this!" Toshiko yells. Emi turns the corner as he keeps up the chase. "You don't GET IT! First you get me to open up to you, then you give me all of these MIXED SIGNALS! I though you..! I thought I..! I thought so MANY THINGS! I thought we were FRIENDS! Then you go behind my back and break something precious to me and HIDE IT?! Not even COUNTING how nonchalant you've been acting this entire week! Did I mean NOTHING TO YOU?!" Emi shouts, tears welling up. 

"It's because I'm SCARED! OKAY?! I'M SCARED I'LL LOSE YOU!" Toshiko shouts. Emi stops in her tracks, surprised. She looks back at Toshiko, a little taken aback. "Scared? Of what..?" She ponders. Toshiko looks away. "There's a lot of explaining I need to do. But I think we have bigger issues.." They both look around, surrounded by the darkness of the forest. "Then.. let's build a campfire then.. just for now at least." Emi responds, crossing her arms. Toshiko points to her side. "Hey, there's a hill. If we can just get on top of that hill, maybe we'll see camp!" He suggests. 

"Alright then.. I guess we can do both." Emi replies. While they causally walk to the hill, gathering fire supplies on the way, the atmosphere gets a bit awkward. "I should've asked this from the beginning but.. what happened to your mom? I thought she was fine with how you spoke about her.." Toshiko ponders. Emi hesitates for a second, but rubs her arm.

 "My mom.. is sick. Really sick. She's been sick for a long, long time. Even when my dad, my brother, when the world didn't get me.. she did. She made me feel safe. She made me feel like I wasn't just some rich girl that made it this far because I had money. I felt human around her, I'm who I am because of her. But I can slowly feel her slipping. And it hurts.. that one picture I have of her is the only thing I have left, the good times that feel like an eternity ago." Emi admits. "I.. didn't know. I'm so sorry, that has to be so awful. I didn't want to trample on her memory, it's my fault. I know I could never apologize enough, but I need to do it anyway." Toshiko responds. 

."We always talk about me, and my problems. And you help me put things into perspective, but..." They reach the hill, walking up until they can see the entire forest. The night sky shining as brightly as can be, the stars twinkling like a fairy dancing across the sky. Emi quickly makes and lights the campfire, as she and Toshiko sit across from each other. "Tell me who you are, Toshiko Kimura. What are you so afraid of?" She continues. The fire burns brightly as Toshiko clears his throat. "I.. never really told this anyone. So I don't know how to phrase it exactly.. but I'll try my best. If you care so much then.. I'll tell you. everything." He responds. 

The stage is fully set as Toshiko exhales in nervous tension. "Once upon a time, there was a boy. From a young age, this boy always felt like he was an outcast. He never enjoyed the things other boys enjoyed, he never enjoyed things anyone else enjoyed. Sometimes he was called clumsy, a screwup, a failure. It didn't weigh on his mind. But it weighed on his heart. Years later, the boy became more aware of his surroundings. Everyone he knew started finding love, so he wished for that same feeling. The feeling of being truly loved. He tried and tried to seek it out, but there was only failure, embarrassment, and regret."

 He continues. "One thing struck him after a long time of trying. "Maybe I'll be alone forever." Crude drawings of the darkness fill his words. He continues on. "The mere thought scared him, but what else could he do? Was he wrong? Not to his knowledge. This was his truth." Toshiko explains, pausing to hold back the tears. 

"However.. he met a girl so similar to him. She loved the things he loved. She enjoyed the things he enjoyed. They felt like soulmates, and yet how could he have been so wrong? When they got together, it felt like his heart could do flips, it felt like something that should've happened so long ago finally did and now his life was better. He danced with glee, surely it would only get better? It would, but to an extent." Emi grabs Toshiko's hand and holds it tightly, looking him in the eyes. "If you can finish it.. then go ahead. I'm listening to every word, okay?" She says. Toshiko exhales and wipes his eyes.

 "Weeks passed, and the cracks already started to show. Simple Disagreements turned into Arguments, Arguments started Fights, Fights turned into grudges. Her and the boy were so similar, yet so different. Too different. The boy couldn't have imagined it, he has far too inexperienced, but maybe that was his fault. Alas, after not too long, the girl tries to break apart from the boy. The boy is all right with this, as he long lost the spark he once had. The girl shared the same sentiment, however, she harbored blame against the boy. "Things could've ended so much simpler if you had just said something! Why would you wait?" The girl asked him.

 The boy spent days, weeks, sleepless nights telling himself "I can fix this, I can try to fix this." Only for this to have shot him in the foot. Maybe he should've given up on it the second the spark was gone? Maybe he shouldn't have said anything and just let things die on their own? It didn't matter anymore." Two tears stream down from Toshiko's face as he holds Emi's hand tighter. 

"That night, The boy and the Girl said many things to each other that hurt. a lot. it wasn't his best moment, he didn't WANT to hurt her, but the more he thought, the more he convinced himself she wasn't a good person. It didn't matter whether it was true or not, it just felt right to him. It's human nature, but he never felt human to begin with when it came to her." Toshiko clenches Emi's hand. 

"And one mysterious day, they never saw each other again. It was so sudden, it was so abrupt, it shook the boy to his core. But maybe it was a sign, a sign from god saving him. He didn't know, he didn't care anymore. Some part of him wishes she's doing worse than he is, even if it's shameful to say aloud. Some part of him would enjoy to see her fail, exposed to be the unknowingly awful person she was to him. To validate his hatred further. But at some point, life got so much better. Maybe he lost a part of himself, showed a part of himself that was never meant to be seen, but it was an experience he needed to learn. But... Old habits die hard, I guess."

Emi looks at Toshiko with genuine concern, contemplating on his story. "I know it's not the most awful backstory but... It's hard feeling like that about someone again, especially when it could turn out the same way. I know you can't always fix things but.. some part of me has to TRY! I don't.." Emi grabs Toshiko's other hand and pulls him closer.

 "Listen. It's just human nature to feel like that. Don't feel ashamed. It... hurts. You're human, you make mistakes, and you're allowed to hurt." Emi responds. "It just feels like I hurt everyone. I can admit I do good stuff sometimes but when I hurt people they HURT. Maybe I'm just a screwup after all." Toshiko chuckles to himself. Emi looks at him with confidence.

 "You aren't a screwup! This kind of thing doesn't go away easily, it might never go away! But that doesn't mean you need to let it eat away at you! You changed Kazuki's life, Hiroshi's life, and MY life, Toshiko! You made me want to be MYSELF!" She yells. Toshiko looks at her, a little surprised. Emi pulls back, fully embarrassed. Their faces get closer. But Toshiko pulls his head back. 

"I-i don't think you'd be into someone like me though, especially after all that.. I guess we sh-" Emi jumps forward, kissing Toshiko. His eyes shoot open for a second, but he calms down soon after, kissing her back. He holds her close as the two hold each other underneath a starry sky. The moment is quickly interrupted by a person's shout. "Kimura-san! Watanabe-san! Are you here?!" The two pull back and look down to see a group of people's flashlights peering out from the trees.

 Before they can yell out though, multiple fireworks go off, illuminating the sky even further. "HAHAHA! THIS IS OUR ANNIVERSARY!" Kazuki shouts, from far away. "That guy is such an idiot." Toshiko whispers. "Oh, absolutely." Emi adds. They look at each other, and immediately realize what just happened. Emi starts steaming red and turns around. 

"Seriously though. Thank you. I needed to hear that." Toshiko says. "...N-no problem." Emi responds. Kazuki's laughter fills the sky as the night turns to day. Toshiko waves goodbye to the camp and the experiences he's had there. As the bus door closes and the camp gets further from view, Toshiko and his friends rest up together for the long journey back to where they belong. Yet.. somehow, it almost feels like their journey hasn't ended. As they rest, Toshiko grows a little smile on his face. "Now.. what's next?" He mumbles to himself.

The End..?