Day 1
(Mamori's POV)
I watched the rain fall. I heard it thundering on the roof above and on the windows all around.
Have you ever noticed how beautiful it actually is? Or how peaceful? Or memorable? I remember that day clearly...
Because of the rain.
(Normal POV)
"Hey everyone! Listen up!" shouted Mamori over the noise, and the team fell silent.
Last year's Christmas Bowl was over and summer was just around the corner. Hiruma had made it clear that they wouldn't be doing the Death March (not very hard for him to convince them) and had told Mamori what his plan was.
"Hiruma-kun has made plans for us all to go camping in the woods(cheers around the clubroom) and it will last for a week. The woods have bears so you can bring a few safety precautions. Don't forget to bring all necessary items and be here in two days at 6:00a.m. sharp, got it?" said Mamori. Everyone nodded, grinning at each other.
Suddenly, the door slammed open and Hiruma came in. "Told 'em yet?" he asked lazily. She nodded curtly. "Alright shrimps, PRACTICE!!" and pulled out a machine gun, shooting at their feet. "You can ask them to, Hiruma-kun," said Mamori in a exhasperated tone. Sneering, he left her alone.
"Okay, everybody here and ready?!"Sena shouted over the rumble of the bus. The team cheered and punched the air. "Good! So line up and get on the bus!"
Mamori came running from the club house and skidded to a halt behind Sena. "Thanks. Have you seen Hiruma-kun?" "No, I thought he was with you! Maybe he's already ion the bus." "Ok, let's go!" and the two joined the rest of the team on the bus.
"Has anyone seen Hiruma-kun?" she asked once aboard. Everyone shook they're heads. "Why don't you try calling him?" Kurita suggested from the back, he was so big the only place he could fit was the back seat (no offense to Kurita fans). She pulled out her cellphone and speed-dialed him.
"What?" came the sharp, irritated answer from the other line.
"Hiruma-kun, where are you? We're all wai-" "I'm already at the campsite. Tell the fucking driver to bring you lot to Kohaku Falls. I'm waiting," and he hung up.
Sighing, she kept her phone and gave the instructions to the driver. "Where is he, Anezaki-san?" asked Musashi. "He's already there," she replied, with a smile.
They arrived in half an hour to see a frowning Hiruma.
"What the hell took you so long?!" he demanded.
"It's a bus Hiruma-kun, not a jet airplane," came Mamori's exasperated reply. "Really, can't you be patient for once in your life?"
He simply shrugged. Giving a couple of things to everyone to carry, "Alright, listen up! Everyone is to do exactly what I say when we're camping and don't go wandering off without telling anyone else, especially at night. Now pair up and get in line!" he ordered, and everyone did as they were told: Sena with Monta, Mamori and Yukimitsu, Komusubi (of course) and Kurita, Kuroki and Toganou, Jyumonji and Musashi and Hiruma was the lead.
They walked under the canopy of trees on a faint path, listening to the sound of animals and enjoying the scenery for almost two hours before Hiruma stopped suddenly, causing everyone to walk into each other. Cackling, he turned and said, "Well be camping here for one week and next week, we'll look for another spot," he pointed to the five tents that Komusubi was holding and said, "Everyone share a tent with somebody, now go pitch it in a circle!. I'm gonna go looking for firewood." "I'll come with you," Mamori offered. "You pitch up the tent with the fucking baldy," he said without looking back, and kept walking. Mamori didn't look away until he was hidden by the trees. Sighing, she turned to help Yukimitsu.
"Are you sure you don't mind sharing with me? Don't you want privacy? As a girl?" asked Yukimitsu nervously, "I could share with Sena and Monta..." "No, it's okay Yuki-san," she replied, smiling, "If I need to change or anything, you could wait outside for a moment, right?" Nodding in reply, the two continued putting up their tent.
Hiruma came back with an armful of twigs before calling Mamori over. He conversed with her for a while before shouting out, "Damn manager and I are gonna go climb that ledge over there to determine our location on the map. You idiots do whatever you want but don't get lost!" "They're not children you know, they'll know how to take care of themselves," said Mamori.
As they walked on, Mamori realized something. "Hiruma-kun, where are you sleeping? There are only six-" "That's none of your business, now is it?" he said, cutting her sentence. Irritated, she shot back, "I'm just ASKING you, there's no harm in that!" "I have my own place to sleep, that's that," he replied curtly. They continued the rest of their hike in silence.
When they reached the top of the ledge, the two of them scouted on opposite sides, looking for the break in the trees that would tell them where the river was, that was enough to tell their location. Hiruma discovered it first and kneeled down to mark their spot on the map he had brought. Mamori took this time to venture to the edge of the ledge and peered into the distance.
"I wonder how far you can see from this point of view..."she wondered aloud.
Suddenly, there was a crack, and the next thing she knew, she was falling. She managed to grab the crumbled ledge with one hand, the rest of her hanging a fifty feet from the ground.
"Hiruma-kun!" she cried desperately. All she could hear was the sound of falling rocks and the wind around her. "Hiruma-kun!!" she screamed as the ledge began to crumble beneath her grip. Just as the rocks broke off, a hand shot out to grab her by the wrist. She opened her eyes to see Hiruma's face contorted with strain with one hand supporting him on the ledge. 'He must have threw himself,' she thought.
"Give me your other hand!" he yelled.
The force of gravity pulling her down, she reached her hand up to his outstretched one. They tightened their grips on each other's wrists and Hiruma began pulling her up. Sweat ran down his face as he pulled, his muscles straining and his chest aching. When she was high enough, he raised himself to his knees. Mamori saw the veins pulsing in his arms and neck as he struggled to pull higher. Once waist high, she pulled her legs up and tried to reach the ledge. With one final pull, she managed to use her knees to scramble up, where he grabbed her by the waist and lunged back. Moments later, the ledge broke off.
The two of them sat there side by side, panting and sweating. Between deep gulps of air, Hiruma managed to wheeze out, "Geez, all that fat you piled on could have killed you! What the hell were you doing on that ledge anyway?!" With shuddering breaths, she gasped out a reply, "I was just taking a look..." then fell silent. But when Hiruma tried to get up, she grabbed his sleeve and held him in an iron grip. "What do you want, damn mana-" it was his turn to fall silent. Mamori's fringe covered her eyes, but she was shaking. Her breath was short and she seemed... frightened.
Not knowing what else to do, he put an arm around her and held her close. She let go of his sleeve and grabbed the front of his shirt, hiding her face in his lean chest. 'She's crying...' he thought, as he felt his shirt front get wet. He put another arm around he and rested his chin on the top of her head, rocking gently forwards and backwards. When she finally calmed down, he pushed her away and looked at her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and she was still sniffing, but she had stopped shaking.
"You okay?" he inquired, stroking her head. With a hiccup, she nodded her head and smiled. In a small, soft voice, she muttered a 'thank you'. Hiruma stood up and dusted himself before reaching out with his hand. But when Mamori was about to take it, he stopped her and took her hand palm up. The palm was grazed. Looking at her other hand, it was fine. 'Must have been when she grabbed that ledge,' he thought. Her knees were in the same condition. Sighing, he kneeled down beside her and took out a roll of bandages and proceeded to rinse her wounds with the water from his bottle and wrapping them.
Then, he helped her up and they continued with their silent descent. When they arrived back at camp, everyone asked what had taken them so long and what had happened to Mamori. "She had a little fall on the way, no big deal," Hiruma said smoothly. Mamori couldn't help feeling grateful towards him. They spent the rest of the day getting water, clearing up the camp site, and getting dinner ready. Everyone didn't mind Hiruma, who sat in against a tree typing away on his silver VAIO laptop. After dinner, the happy campers went into their tents. Mamori fell back to see where Hiruma was, only to find him lying on a branch in a tree, one leg swinging below him, staring at the sky.
Stopping below him, she asked in a low voice, "Stargazing, Hiruma-kun?" He peered down at her with his emerald eyes, which looked more piercing than usual with the moonlight reflecting off it. "This isn't something you can see anywhere, try it out," and he retired to his silent form. With his all black outfit, he looked quite like a panther, his leg as the tail. Seeing that he wanted some privacy, she returned to his tent.
'This was a good day,' thougth Hiruma, closing his eyes and listening to the sounds of the night. He remembered the feeling of holding Mamori close. He had never before known that he could comfort someone, not to mention a girl. He had never been comforted before, and he had relied on his instincts to do what he did. 'I wonder what tomorrow's gonna be like...' he thought. With these thoughts, he swung himself down and walked a bit into the distance before arriving at his tent. With a yawn, he lay down to sleep.
How was it?? Spent three days to complete the 1st chapter! R&R please!