Aikō-ka Kurabu | The Lovers Club IC Season 1

[Rads]

Interactions: Bob, Rain, Ruby (@Rads ), Ryunosuke (@Shinku⭐Kun )Miyuki (@DANAsaur ), Lucinda (@xLarius ), Mami and Akemi (@MaryGold ), Keita (@Kurogane86 ), Shione (@Accelerator), Haruhi (@ScarletNova)

Location: Dining Room

It was then that Yuuta heard the voice of his president before squinting his stinging eyes at her. Almost instantly, his eyes lit up with glee as he seemed to almost float towards her. He extended his arms out for a hug. Haruhi! It's so good to see yo-Gah!" His heartwarming reunion was interrupted but the sudden assault of black and white before he fell to the ground with a steaming lump on his head. He quickly sat up with his legs crossed, his eyes miraculously healed, and called back at her.

"What do you mean you haven't received any of my messages! I was in France, so I couldn't really call or text, but I emailed you everyda-" He had pulled out his phone to show her the emails. That was when he saw his grave blunder.

queenofherts

All this time he had been off by one letter and he never noticed it. "Suddenly the one reply I got from the person asking if I needed sound equipment makes sense... Anyway, mistakes are mistakes and I have returned to the club that I love so much. As well as the ladies." He blew a kiss to all the girls in the room.

---

Everyone eventually returned, for better or for worse, and it was time for Yuuta to reacquaint himself with them. Once everyone was in the room, Yuuta took the stage and bowed to everyone. "Hello everyone, my name is Satoshi Yuuta. Some of you may remember me from last year being elected for president. Of course I remember all of you so vividly!" Having been told by his president not more than two seconds earlier, he moved to Lucinda. "Oh soft Lucinda, you are still so beautiful, though you look so solemn. Fear not, I know that for you there will be great things for you. I promise this to you." After hitting on perhaps the person who two people would likely not appreciate, he moved on, finding himself gazing upon Shione, her own steely gaze staring back. "And the chilling Shione, no chilling only as of the feeling I have as I look upon your beautiful sapphire eyes. Deep and blue, they are as chilling and twice as magnificent as the seas." He looked toward Ruby next, extending his hand out to her, and pulling his other to his chest. "And never forgive that I forget Ruby. Though you look upon me with scorn, I simply cannot resist looking back in awe." As he continued, he could have sword he saw Miyuki somewhere, but she seemed to have evaded his gaze this time. That was until he saw her talking with Ryu. He sighed smiling and continued on.

After he took his moment with the girls of the club, he looked toward the others who were there. Mostly other guys. He had seen a few of them around before, but now they were with the Lover's Club. "For those who don't know me, I am very pleased to meet you all. I look forward to learning all of your names, and in spite of my extended absence, I will work hard to assist our lovely president in all matters related to our organization."​

Ruby chuckles at the way he is with the women and then says" you do bring some of the scorn on by being a real flirt, but I can't completely blame you with so many distractions, and to a point, I think we're at that age so things happen".

 

[Stray Shinku]

Ryunosuke Aisaka and Alexander Kisaragi
~~~
Location - Haruhi's Villa → Living Room
Mentions: | Interactions: Miyuki (@DANAsaur), and Haruhi (@ScarletNova)​

After a short moment of silence, Alexander took a sip of his Cherry Pop soda before turning his head to his right to look over at Ryunosuke, which was still reading his manga, smiling a few times at some funny scenes of the reading. Blinking his sapphire eyes, Alex turned his whole body to face his best friend and cross his legs.

"So, Ryu-kun," he said with a kind of mischievous tone, but he did his best to hide it by putting his best normal expression. "Did you noticed Miyuki-chan staring at you the whole time when we were eating dinner? I found it really intriguing and curious."

As Alexander shot in the question, a string of Ryunosuke's hair perked up, highlighting that something caught up his attention. Slightly raising his eyebrows with surprise, Ryunosuke slowly lowered his manga and placed his dark brown eyes on Alexander. He scoffed with a small grin, believing that his short blonde friend was just messing around with him.

"You really want me to believe that Miyuki, practically the only person in the Club that hates me and calls me "octopus", was checking me out?" he asked and chuckled, shaking his head in total disbelief. "There's no way that's possible. Not even in an alternative universe. Nice try trying to trick me, buddy."

Scoffing, Alexander pouted and crossed his arms. "I'm not joking around with you, baka! I'm telling you the truth. Miyuki was definitely staring at you! Like if she was trying to find the opportunity to talk to you, but was too shy or embarrassed to do so in front of everybody." Sighing with frustration, Alexander leaned his back all the way to the floor, laying with his arms extended to his sides. He stared blankly to the ceiling. "Man, if only Haru-chan stares me like that. Then, I won't feel awkward to keep checking her out too... Like I always do. Mmh... Now that I think about it, that sounded kind of creepy."

When Alexander got lost in his thoughts, Ryunosuke shook his head and returned to read his manga, but this time, he got distracted thinking about what he told him. Miyuki was staring at him a few hours ago and he didn't even notice it. More importantly, though, why would she stare at him so eagerly? Did Miyuki was actually trying to maybe... Thank Ryunosuke for saving her from the weird creep in that town and for helping her return to the Villa safe and sound? This sounds like something Miyuki would never do, but that's what Ryunosuke thinks about her since she has been mean to him this whole time. Not that he can blame her, though, as she has a serious case of androphobia.

"Ugh, great, now I can't enjoy my manga," said Ryunosuke after snapping out of his thoughts, sighing deeply before closing the manga and tossing it on the table. Then, he picked his drink and finished it with a few more gulps.

Suddenly, the one and only, the Queen of Hearts in person, the girl that will definitely steal your heart and won't be even sorry about it, the lovely Haruhi jumped into the Living Room. With a smirk and a hand on her hip, she pointed at Alexander.

"I need you!"

Those three and simple words were enough to make Alexander literally jumped from the floor and stand on his feet. Smiling widely and brightly, and with invisible hearts floating around him, the blonde guy looked like he was floating all his way toward Haruhi.

"My heart, my soul, and my body are all yours, Haru-chan!" he said out loud with excitement, but upon realizing what he just said, he gasped with shock. He wanted to die right now. He wanted somebody to just bury him a thousand feet under. He just wanted to disappear into dust and to never be found.

"Oh, God! I-I-I mean... I didn't mean to sound that weird and creepy, Haru-chan!" he quickly said afterward, waking his hands in front of him with a wryly smile, sweating nervously. "I, huh... You know what, nevermind what just happened, okay? For what do you need me?"

Laughing hysterical, Ryunosuke leaned a little bit to keep laughing, holding his stomach and with tears on the back of his eyes. The scene in front of him was in fact hilarious.

"Oh, my, that was so good," he said and gently poked Miyuki's arm (ah, shit, here we go again with Ryu not realizing Miyuki's presence), with his right elbow. "This poor Alex has such a hard time trying to... Hold up, Miyuki!?"

Now realizing that Miyuki was sitting next to him for God knows how long, Ryunosuke's cheek turned bright pink as she stared at him closely. He was so confused by what was going on inside her head right now, and by the fact that she was that close to him and her androphobia wasn't triggered. It was a good thing that Ryunosuke took a shower an hour ago.

Clearing his throat and trying to act cool, Ryunosuke lifted his right index finger and was about to ask Miyuki what was going on, but he got quickly interrupted when she shoved his shirt at his face. A question mark suddenly appeared above his head, floating and blinking as the poor Ryunosuke was now more confused than before. When he took his short, which landed on his lap, he noticed it was neatly folded.

Blinking once, Ryunosuke raised his head and looked over at Miyuki just in time to hear her thanking him for everything that he did for her today, especially for saving her from that weird man. Not been able to hold it back, Ryunosuke began to smile as he listened to Miyuki, his body turning warm and his heart beating a little faster than usual. Yes, it was totally odd for Miyuki to be so kind and passive with him for once, but Ryunosuke was really glad to know that she didn't hate him as he thought.

Then, she took out a box of cute cat prints band-aids and as Ryunosuke took the box with a scoff, she heard Miyuki finally call him not only by his first name but by his nickname. As he heard her, his heart skipped like a beat or two and his cheeks turned a dark shade of red. He closed his eyes and smiled warmly and brightly.

"You're welcome, Miyuki," he said and slowly opened his eyes to looked at her. "And I would save you again if I have to no matter what wounds I will earn."

When Miyuki was about to leave, obviously embarrassed, Ryunosuke quickly took her right hand to stop her from leaving. "Ah, wait!" he said and lifted the box of band-aids. "What about if you help me put these now? Alexander just bailed with Haruhi."

 

[ScarletNova]

Haruhi Nakamura
Club President | Location: Living room --> Haruhi's bedroom --> Outside Villa
Interactions: Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun), Yuuta (@Reanimator Spuds), Keita (@Kurogane86), Lucinda (@xLarius) Shione (@Accelerator), Ruby, Rain, Bob, Ryu, Miyuki, Mariko
Mentions: Ryunousuke and Miyuki (@DANAsaur)​

"My heart, my soul, and my body are all yours, Haru-chan!" Haruhi heard come out of Alex's mouth as he seemly floated over towards her after she called for him.

Ba-dump!

A sudden color of deep red came over her cheeks. His heart, soul, and body were all hers?! What was Alex expecting her to ask him to do?! What kind of crazy things were going through his head?! Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump. And why the heck was her heart beating so loudly after those words from him?! Her lips parted open in an attempt to say something. But what was she supposed to say at this point? What was even on her mind?

She was so distracted she didn't hear the rest of his comments to her until "...nevermind what just happened, okay? For what do you need me?"

"Huh?" Haru said back. She stared at him for a moment, her face blank as she stared at him though that blush still lingered on her cheeks. "Oh yeah! I wanted your help with..." But her eyes trailed over towards Ryu and Miyuki sitting on the couch and a sudden large, most likely dangerous, smirk came over the girl's face. A throat chuckle escaped from her lips and she grabbed onto Alex's arm to pull him close as she watched their interaction.

"Look at that. Such naiveté. They can't even see the love when it's staring them right in the face," Haruhi commented as she looked over at Alex, their faces inches away. (Cue narrator: Hello pot meet kettle.) Haruh's hand went from Alex's shoulder to his hand, grabbing onto it and then pulling him over towards and up the steps whether he wanted to or not. "Come on. We have a lot of work to do."

She dragged him all the way to her room and once inside shut the door closed behind him. "I need to find some things first." She pulled him over towards the large walk-in closet. "Take a seat here, Alex. Just outside the closet." She opened the door and went inside to look for the things she wanted.

"I know they're here somewhere," she shouted out as she started to throw some things out of the way which happened to be towards Alex's direction. First went the bikini bathing suit top she planned to wear tomorrow, coincidentally landing on top of Alex's head. "That's not it!" Then went a few socks.

"I already finished this game! Why's it even here?" She flung a game case right into Alex's lap, a game that suspiciously looked a lot like a dating sim where the main male choice oddly looked a lot like Alex. Then she threw a few more things out of the closet right towards Alex until... "Ah! Found it!" She came out of the closet holding a treasure chest. She opened it up, revealing a large batch of diamonds, crystals, rubies, and much more. She looked at it and stared for a moment.

"Geez. What are these doing in here?" She turned it over and let them all fall out. "Okay. One thing found. Hold on to this." She handed Alex the now empty treasure chest and then went back into the closet, casually stepping over those jewels she dropped on to the floor. A few minutes later she returned with a hat in her hand. She walked over towards Alex and suddenly plopped it onto his head.

"Oh, I knew you'd look good in it." She let out a little laugh. "But we're going to use it for the names. So let's get a piece of paper and write everyone's name down onto a slip." She took hold of Alex's free hand and pulled him back downstairs and to an office where she and him cut out strips of everyone's name and placed them into the hat she had given to Alex.

"Okay. Go hide this treasure chest somewhere in the woods to the right of the villa and I'll go gather everyone together. Return to me when you got that done, okay?" she told Alex and sent him off. She then called for everyone to join her outside, just where that forest started. Once everyone was together and Alex had returned to them she began to explain.

"Alright everyone! It's time for our next training camp activity. There's a treasure chest hidden somewhere in this forest. We're going to break up into randomized teams and which ever team finds the chest first wins any kind of prize they want. B-but...you guys might want to be careful while you're out there. I've head ever since I was a kid that this forest back here is haunted by many dangerous and revengeful spirits. My parents always told me never to go back there when I was young. So, keep a look out and be careful." She looked at them seriously for a moment and then smiled again. "But I'm sure that it's was just all a story really. So, there's nothing to worry about. Right?"

"Now, let's get those groups together." She took the hat that she had Alex hold for her and started to pull the names out of the hat. Oddly enough, even though Haru seemed to have pulled them out randomly right then and there, the groups ended up like this:

Keita -- Akemi
Shione --Yuuta
Lucinda -- Ruby
Miyuki -- Ryunosuke
Alexander -- Haruhi
Rain -- Mariko -- Bob
​

Wait? Who was Mariko? Why was there a person named Mariko in there? There wasn't any Mariko there, was there? Even though she hadn't seemed to be there before, there appeared to be a girl standing right behind Haruhi.

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Outside Villa
Interactions: Haruhi. Bob and Rain (@Rads)​

"Everyone! This is Mariko. She's the newest member of the Lovers club, joining just today. She couldn't be here earlier for personal reasons but she's here now. So, be nice to her. I'm trusting you two boys, Rain and Bob, to be nice to her while you're out there looking for the treasure." Haruhi stated but Mari didn't seem to move towards her partners. Haruhi then went behind her and pushed her towards Bob and Rain.

Mariko looked over at them then looked back down. Why did she had to join this club? Why did her mother make her do this? There was no way she was going to be about to handle this situation? Look, they were already staring at her weird like she was some sort of freak. Did she had something on her face? Maybe her glasses looked weird? Maybe her hair was messed up? "U-um..." she tried to say towards Rain and Bob. "H-hi..."

Wait? Did Haruhi say they were going to go into that woods? And that it was....HAUNTED? Mariko's eyes suddenly opened wide. "W-wait! L-Lady Haruhi..Did you just say...that...that the forest there is h-h-haunted?!" Her heart started to beat rapidly. Her hands began to feel sweaty. She gulped. What if there was a ghost waiting in there for her right now? What if it was just waiting to pop out right when she got inside? What if it was going to pull her braids? "I don't think I can..."

"You'll be fine Mariko. Rain and Bob will protect you from anything scary," Haruhi responded back. "So, go on. All of you now. Go on. Remember. There's a special prize at the end for whoever brings the treasure chest back. They get to have anything they want. They can just name it and I'll give it to them. So, go!" She pushed Mariko a bit farther towards Rain and Bob.

The girl stumbled over her own feet, bumping right into Rain. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said, probably a little too loudly than she should have and quickly moved herself away as fast as she could, almost like she had disappeared for a second and reappeared a few feet away from both of the boys. She blushed a soft pink as she stared at them and then looked down at the ground again. Did she really have to go into that haunted woods. She took a big gulp, then a deep breath just like her mother had told her to do, and looked back up. "U-um...I suppose we should get going if you want to win and all..." She started to head for the woods, hesitating a few times after a couples steps a number of times but eventually went into the woods with the others.

Haruhi on the other hand stayed behind as she watched all of her members head off into the woods. Then a little chuckle began to escape from her again and she looked over towards Alex. "Come on Alex. It's time to scare some people straight into the arms of another!"

 

[DANAsaur]

Momozono Miyuki
Event Planner

---

Location: Villa
Interactions/Mentions: Haruhi | Ryu | Lucinda

---

One glance was all it took for her to stare and blush as glitters and sparkles flew around them. Ryunosuke was holding her hand! And for the first time in her life, Miyuki didn't know how to react.

She felt frozen on her spot while she kept staring at Ryunosuke's hand. Usually, she would have freaked out by now; perhaps shouting mean things this very second. So why isn't she doing that? Was it because she promised to be his friend?

Miyuki couldn't hear what Ryunosuke was saying as she kept on staring at their hands. Why did it felt so right? Was it normal to feel this way when holding a male friend's hand? Miyuki doesn't know the answer.

Moments had already passed when Miyuki pulled her hand away. There's an unmistakable tinge of pink in her cheeks though she acted like it wasn't bothering her. She also disregarded the fact that her heart felt like it was going to explode any minute. I'm just nervous, that's all.

Nodding her head as she finally understood that Ryunosuke was asking for help, she then leads the way back to the couch. She was still embarrassed around him though she did try to tone it down. "T-This will be the first and last time, okay? I.. I can't let people know we're friends." Blushing harder when she realized that her words sounded harsh, she quickly backtracked to add "I mean, not that I despised you. Or embarrassed that you're my friend! I'm just not used to all of this stuff."​

"A-Anyway! Let me see your wounds."

Miyuki leaned in incredibly close, not noticing that her face was mere inches away from Ryu. She was busy inspecting his wounds closely that she forgot about personal space. "Hmm, your wounds seem fine" she commented, her voice so soft it's barely above a whisper as she started covering him with band-aids, making sure to be as gentle as possible. "I think it will heal in a couple of days. Just don't be s-stupid and get it infected or anything."

Placing a band-aid to cover his last wound, Miyuki kissed it out of habit. "There! Now you're all-," The black-haired female stopped her words as she realized what she had done. SHE. FREAKING. KISSED. RYUNOSUKE.

Like a robot that malfunctioned, her cheeks became extremely red before steam came out of her head. She can't believe she just did that! Miyuki quickly and clumsily scrambled away from Ryunosuke to sit on the opposite side of the couch, making sure to keep a far distance between the two of them. Oh, how she wished the couch would swallow her whole! She was so embarrassed she was looking anywhere but Ryu. "T-That was.. um..."

Thankfully, Haruhi came to save her! Miyuki could hear the heavens singing as the president started announcing the second part of their training camp activity: to find a treasure chest. She also thought she saw a holy light surrounding their beloved president when it was decided that everyone will be in random groups.

Thank heavens! I wish I get paired with Lucinda! Or anyone else but that octopus head. I don't think I can face him right now.

But fate (or someone else) was toying with her. Lo and behold, Haruhi pulled out her name with none other than the guy she wants to avoid, Ryunosuke.

Gaping like a fish, Miyuki looked at Ryunosuke then at Haruhi. The game must be rigged! "Haruhi-sama" she called out to their president, her cheeks getting red once again as she tried to reason with her. "Can I be paired with someone else? It's just... well, I don't think me and Ryu-, I mean, octopus head should be paired right now."

"C-Can we pair up, instead?"
​

​

​

​

 

[Kurogane86]

Keita
Interacting with Everyone

Just as everything seemed to wind down they were back at the Villa, Kei was hesitant to walk back in since he had caused a scene and caused his fellow club members to get hurt. He walked into the house and before anyone could say anything he bowed as best he could with his injuries and shouted out "Sorry for all the trouble that i have caused. I. I didn't know that You all thought of me in such a way. I promise that from now on i'll be more mindful of my choices and will work hard to regain your faith in me." After his apology Haruhi scolded him and the others, he didn't feel bad about it if anything he was happy that there didn't seem to be any ill will or hard feelings between them. A helicopter then landed in the yard and a doctor came in and started working on those that were injured.

Kei and the others that were hurt were ushered into the other room for treatment, Kei was patched up and given a splint for his arm and a sling for his shoulder. The official diagnosis was that it wasn't broken but he had a deep bruise and a serious muscle sprain. The Doctor scolded Kei as he was bandaging him up. He was given some pain killers and something for the swelling, and was warned to not do anything physical for a while until his arm is completely healed.

When everything was calm and things started to go back to normal a new face introduced himself, his name was Yuuta and he was the VP of the club. He seemed like an ok guy that is until he started flirting with all the girls. Keita watched as he made his way to Lucinda. He gripped the arm of the chair he was sitting in as he started laying it on thick. Kei grit his teeth as he sat there watching, he didn't like the thought of another guy talking to the girl he has a crush on but he didn't want to make a scene. He sat there and watched and made a mental note to scare this ladies man away from Lucinda once and for all.

Some time passed and it was now time for the next event. A scavenger hunt, Kei's face lit up as he imagined getting paired with Lucinda. he thought it would be nice walking with her in the woods and having her talk to him about anything and everything. Haruhi pulled his name and he looked on as she reached in to pull out another name. She read Akemi, he was disappointed at first but smiled anyway, it could be worse he thought. He walked over to Akemi and nodded. "so looks like were paired together. What do you think we should ask for if we win?"

 

[xLarius]

❀Lucinda Asakawa❀
| The Secretary || Location: Outside the Villa -> Forest Entrance | Color Code: #FF0080|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

After they had returned to the villa, all Lucinda honestly had wanted to do was sleep. She squirmed when she was scolded, more than slightly embarrassed. She was glad everyone had gotten checked out though. She would just have to keep a close eye on her kouhai furthermore to make sure he hadn't a reason to run once more. On the other hand, if Lucinda didn't think that her opinion of Shione couldn't get higher, she was wrong. She wondered what she had done to be surrounded by extremely admirable people. The secretary was glad she could get closer to more of the female crew.

Despite the lovely dinner they all had delved into, Lucinda had begun to empty a bag of rice crackers. It was a better use of her time than wandering throughout the hallways contemplating her actions. Then she saw it. The pastel haired individual, the rosy atmosphere that had surrounded him, she was so surprised that the cracker fell out of her mouth. When he had all but dropped off the face of the earth, a part of her had been relieved. No more throwing herself into circles of fan-girls to get papers signed, no more flirtatious woes thrown at her, no more chasing. However when he had left a part of the club felt off, at the sight of the same individual she felt relieved, well until he had approached her at the first he chance he got after his introduction.

Ah yes. The routine she didn't miss. She gave a nervous smile when he approached. When he mentioned how solemn she looked, she had assumed she made such an expression after sight of the ex-current-co-well, returned maybe ex-vice president. Perhaps her control of her expressions was slipping again. The feeling she had towards the flirt wasn't disdain, however being around him seemed to make the remaining energy she had vanish into thin air. It was a shame. When she had heard Ruby's laughter a pained expression flashed across the secretary's face: 'don't encourage him-'

She picked up the cracker and said a silent prayer in mourning for it, before wrapping it in a napkin for later disposal. At the mention of the next activity Lucinda perked up, after the event she was glad to have a bonding activity.... Except the groups were randomized and it took place in the dark... In a forest... That even Haruhi herself wasn't able to validate the safety of. She could swear she felt goosebumps already. A piece of her felt relief when she had found out that she had been paired with Ruby, she just hoped her peer didn't dismiss her fears as just minor feelings. The other piece of her felt like she shouldn't show weakness around the other individual which is probably all she (Lucinda) was made out of. She had wondered what to ask for- well if she found it. It wouldn't do to simply become extremely arrogant from the start. All she had hoped was a) not to get a heart attack of some sort, and b) survive. Lucinda tucked her rice crackers away, if she got lost at least she'd have an emergency snack... Along with the others she always had packed.

Before Keita had approached Akemi, she tugged lightly on the edge of Akemi's clothing in order to get him to lean down, Lucinda had a concerned expression on her face. Lucinda cupped her hands, standing on her tippy-toes before she whispered in the red-head's ear, "You'll be alright, right? Don't be too scared, because you and Assaragi-kun were pretty cool back there. Don't let a ghost rumor get you." She backed away and smiled softly, no signs of malicious intent were anywhere in sight. Ah, how hypocritical she was sometimes, but back then she had always been the one to put a brave front, she wasn't sure how much had changed at this point, but despite how much time passed, he might still be Akemi who was afraid of the dark.

She then placed her hands behind her back and smiled as Keita arrived, it seemed that they would be planning further, "Good luck you two, I can't promise I won't get too competitive though, I have to show my kouhai that he has a reason to look up to me." She said in a determined manner, she had to put herself in a higher position considering how powerless she had been earlier.

With now a resolute expression on her face she gave a quick wave before she turned to catch up to Ruby. "Sorry for the delay, which direction do you think we should head first? Er, should we leave a temporary mark on the trees to make sure we don't get lost?" She spared a quick glance at the Miyuki x Ryunosuke couple, she had to get more interactions with the ship before it sailed. Perhaps if she saw the couple in the woods she'd have to rustle the leaves to give a small scare, or perhaps have to steer Ruby away. Lucinda looked towards Ruby and displayed a thoughtful expression, she probably wouldn't have to do that with her companion... Hopefully. She would have to get more stories about Ryuiki moments later from the primary source. Lucinda's thoughts then strayed as to when exactly Haruhi had set the treasure chest up. She wondered who was the poor soul who had to wander into the woods to put the chest there in the first place.

Despite her previous confidence when faced with her childhood friend and her kouahi, it seemed to diminish as time progressed. "Er... How much do you want the prize? I-urm... Might be a little bit more focused on finding the way back. It'd be fun if some flares went off to indicate the reveal of the treasure chest." She said a little bit awkwardly. She still wasn't comfortable with the individual and perhaps had started to ramble, Lucinda's gaze shifted to look anywhere but towards her companion now.

She looked around wondering if there were any markers to indicate where the treasure chest was, perhaps she should've asked how far the limit was for where the treasure chest was buried... That is if Haruhi didn't simply just pick a random spot. She continued walking, if met with awkward silence she maintained it for a little longer, not exactly sure what to talk about. Love? She wasn't sure if she could even support that conversation, nor was she as close to Ruby to probably discuss something like that, right? Favorite animals? How long would that conversation last?

Lucinda was so caught up in her thoughts she narrowly dodged a tree before awkwardly looking back at Ruby, her smile twitching uncomfortably. She hoped it didn't show too much on her face. At the moment she was too occupied to even remember the potential impending danger... Well at least the danger of "ghosts".

- - - - - - - - - -
Interaction(s):
Ruby Greywood x @Rads
Akemi Watanabe x @MaryGold
Keita Assaragi x @Kurogane86
Yuuta Satoshi x @Reanimator Spuds

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Mention(s):
Haruhi Nakamura x @ScarletNova
Miyuki Momozono x @DANAsaur
Ryunosuke Akiyama x @Shinku⭐Kun
Shione Higurashi x @Accelerator ​

 

[Rads]

❀Lucinda Asakawa❀
| The Secretary || Location: Outside the Villa -> Forest Entrance | Color Code: #FF0080|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

After they had returned to the villa, all Lucinda honestly had wanted to do was sleep. She squirmed when she was scolded, more than slightly embarrassed. She was glad everyone had gotten checked out though. She would just have to keep a close eye on her kouhai furthermore to make sure he hadn't a reason to run once more. On the other hand, if Lucinda didn't think that her opinion of Shione couldn't get higher, she was wrong. She wondered what she had done to be surrounded by extremely admirable people. The secretary was glad she could get closer to more of the female crew.

Despite the lovely dinner they all had delved into, Lucinda had begun to empty a bag of rice crackers. It was a better use of her time than wandering throughout the hallways contemplating her actions. Then she saw it. The pastel haired individual, the rosy atmosphere that had surrounded him, she was so surprised that the cracker fell out of her mouth. When he had all but dropped off the face of the earth, a part of her had been relieved. No more throwing herself into circles of fan-girls to get papers signed, no more flirtatious woes thrown at her, no more chasing. However when he had left a part of the club felt off, at the sight of the same individual she felt relieved, well until he had approached her at the first he chance he got after his introduction.

Ah yes. The routine she didn't miss. She gave a nervous smile when he approached. When he mentioned how solemn she looked, she had assumed she made such an expression after sight of the ex-current-co-well, returned maybe ex-vice president. Perhaps her control of her expressions was slipping again. The feeling she had towards the flirt wasn't disdain, however being around him seemed to make the remaining energy she had vanish into thin air. It was a shame. When she had heard Ruby's laughter a pained expression flashed across the secretary's face: 'don't encourage him-'

She picked up the cracker and said a silent prayer in mourning for it, before wrapping it in a napkin for later disposal. At the mention of the next activity Lucinda perked up, after the event she was glad to have a bonding activity.... Except the groups were randomized and it took place in the dark... In a forest... That even Haruhi herself wasn't able to validate the safety of. She could swear she felt goosebumps already. A piece of her felt relief when she had found out that she had been paired with Ruby, she just hoped her peer didn't dismiss her fears as just minor feelings. The other piece of her felt like she shouldn't show weakness around the other individual which is probably all she (Lucinda) was made out of. She had wondered what to ask for- well if she found it. It wouldn't do to simply become extremely arrogant from the start. All she had hoped was a) not to get a heart attack of some sort, and b) survive. Lucinda tucked her rice crackers away, if she got lost at least she'd have an emergency snack... Along with the others she always had packed.

Before Keita had approached Akemi, she tugged lightly on the edge of his clothing in order to get him to lean down, Lucinda had a concerned expression on her face. Lucinda cupped her hands, standing on her tippy-toes before she whispered in the red-head's ear, "You'll be alright, right? Don't be too scared, because you and Assaragi-kun were pretty cool back there. Don't let a ghost rumor get you." She backed away and smiled softly, no signs of malicious intent were anywhere in sight. Ah, how hypocritical she was sometimes, but back then she had always been the one to put a brave front, she wasn't sure how much had changed at this point, but despite how much time passed, he might still be Akemi who was afraid of the dark.

She then placed her hands behind her back and smiled as Keita arrived, it seemed that they would be planning further, "Good luck you two, I can't promise I won't get too competitive though, I have to show my kouhai that he has a reason to look up to me." She said in a determined manner, she had to put herself in a higher position considering how powerless she had been earlier.

With now a resolute expression on her face she gave a quick wave before she turned to catch up to Ruby. "Sorry for the delay, which direction do you think we should head first? Er, should we leave a temporary mark on the trees to make sure we don't get lost?" She spared a quick glance at the Miyuki x Ryunosuke couple, she had to get more interactions with the ship before it sailed. Perhaps if she saw the couple in the woods she'd have to rustle the leaves to give a small scare, or perhaps have to steer Ruby away. Lucinda looked towards Ruby and displayed a thoughtful expression, she probably wouldn't have to do that with her companion... Hopefully. She would have to get more stories about Ryuiki moments later from the primary source. Lucinda's thoughts then strayed as to when exactly Haruhi had set the treasure chest up. She wondered who was the poor soul who had to wander into the woods to put the chest there in the first place.

Despite her previous confidence when faced with her childhood friend and her kouahi, it seemed to diminish as time progressed. "Er... How much do you want the prize? I-urm... Might be a little bit more focused on finding the way back. It'd be fun if some flares went off to indicate the reveal of the treasure chest." She said a little bit awkwardly. She still wasn't comfortable with the individual and perhaps had started to ramble, Lucinda's gaze shifted to look anywhere but towards her companion now.

She looked around wondering if there were any markers to indicate where the treasure chest was, perhaps she should've asked how far the limit was for where the treasure chest was buried... That is if Haruhi didn't simply just pick a random spot. She continued walking, if met with awkward silence she maintained it for a little longer, not exactly sure what to talk about. Love? She wasn't sure if she could even support that conversation, nor was she as close to Ruby to probably discuss something like that, right? Favorite animals? How long would that conversation last?

Lucinda was so caught up in her thoughts she narrowly dodged a tree before awkwardly looking back at Ruby, her smile twitching uncomfortably. She hoped it didn't show too much on her face. At the moment she was too occupied to even remember the potential impending danger... Well at least the danger of "ghosts".

- - - - - - - - - -
Interaction(s):
Ruby Greywood x @Rads
Akemi Watanabe x @MaryGold
Keita Assaragi x @Kurogane86
Yuuta Satoshi x @Reanimator Spuds

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mention(s):
Haruhi Nakamura x @ScarletNova
Miyuki Momozono x @DANAsaur
Ryunosuke Akiyama x @Shinku⭐Kun
Shione Higurashi x @Accelerator ​

Location: Outside the Villa -> Forest Entrance
Ruby gently sighs after she stops feeling a little bad for Lucinda as she can Lucinda is a bit of a mess, then see calmly says" first things first let's head north, as for the prize I'm not sure how I should feel about it". However since we're in the game set up by Haru, and I want to be friends with you I'll help you find it". Ruby pauses for a few moments as she starts to walk north and looking around at the surroundings, then says" As for your question about the markers, that's a good idea, I don't want to get lost in the woods again like I did when I was younger".
Ruby paused for a minute or so as she walks then says" Knowing how haru somewhat there are probably clues with in the area, it's just a question of knowing how to find them".
Ruby pauses for a minute or so then says" I'm glad for this opportunity, to be honest with you, I'm sometimes awkward just in a different way to how many people are".
" If we do become friends I can't promise I'll always be nice given the kind of girl I'm but I can promise this, I'll be someone you can count on".
Ruby laughs at herself then stops and gives a look to say wow you got me talking more than I normally do to people I don't know very well.


Meanwhile, rain looks over at Mariko after she introduces herself and gently sighs then says" well I'm rain and I can't say I was expecting this, also even though I don't really care about treasure, I understand what it's like to be the new kid on the block, so I don't mind helping you fit into the group till you get used to things around here". 'He then suddenly remembers ruby told him she used to know a girl from her school at some point after they had become family' He gives an unexpectedly warm smile then says" I just remembered something, weren't you in the same class as my sister as kids if so I hope you two can be friends".

Bob playfully punches rain in the arm and says" Well aren't you Mr nice today and you are smiling somewhat what a rare sight". He pauses for a few moments then says" teasing aside as haru said you'll be fine with us". Rain's like a bat and this time I'm not teasing him, for some reason he's always had really sharp eyes and senses".
I got to admit if he was to start dancing as a hobby I bet he would be really good at it". Bob facepalms himself then says" I'm sorry I babbled on a bit too much there it's just I've never done anything like this so I'm really excited shall me get going".

@ScarletNova

 

[MaryGold]

AKEMI

CONSULTANT
Location: Dining Room >> Kitchen|| Interactions: Lucinda, Keita || Mentions: None

It was strange. Akemi had been so angry and fearful of Keita before. But when he stood next to him as his schoolmate, senpai and club member, it was easy to forget they had just fought not long ago. But instead they had fought together, an it had been both rewardinga nd scary.Okay, so maybe Keita wasn't that bad. He had a temper, but he wasn't a bad guy. Far from it. Not that Akemi would ever admit it to the little idiot ... still, he was really good.

Glancing at the younger teen, a shy smile snuck its way onto his face. Even if he wasn't a fan of letting him and Lucinda get too close, he was glad to have him in the club and was looking forward to the assignments they'd have together. And lucky for them, Shione made that possible when she saved their behinds. Honestly, she was perhaps the scariest member of the club. How could someone so small be so strong! Again, thanks to her they made it back in one piece. And there was the ... The ex-vice president!

As usual, he was flirting with all the girls. All the girls. All. The. Girls. Including Lucinda! Of course, he would flirt with Lucinda she was very cool and sweet and soft and really he had no right to be kissing her hand that way he was! He wasn't even really European, he should have been a respectable Japanese man and kept his hands to himself.

Akemi smiled though his eye was twitching. This never used to bother him as much as before. Then again, before he didn't realize he felt something strong and beautiful for Lucinda. "Glad to have you back, Yuuta-baka." Akemi grumbled to himself and looked at his shoes. Ugh, after all, that happened how was he going to proceed to talk with Lucinda. Was he weird? He was always weird though, wasn't he?

The tugging of his shirt caught his attention and he turned around to Lucinda at his side. Akemi swallowed hard and hoped his face wasn't warm as he felt, but he knew what she wanted and leaned over to hear her out. If his face wasn't red before, it surely was now. Akemi pulled back and covered his mouth.

Lucinda called him cool! "Oh, haha, hahaha... Of course not." He laughed confidently, or what he deemed confidently, it was actually very nervous sounding. "We're gonna beat you guys and -- eh ..." Akemi paused. Ghost. Clearly he had missed something here.

. . . . .

Oh no, the treasure hunt! And he was paired with Keita! Akemi knew he said he liked the guy and all but didn't they need a break from each other. And then they'd b traveling in these haunted woods too. Then again, Lucinda called him cool. So, ghost or not, he was going to show her just how cool he could be. "Come on, Keita. That treasure isn't going to find itself." Akemi raised his fist and smirked. "Plus, we already have pretty great teamwork, we took on a bunch of guys, what's a little dead ... guy." He swallowed.

"Let's go!" Akemi took the lead. Damn, of course, they had to while it was dark.
​

---

Tagged: @Reanimator Spuds @xLarius @Kurogane86

 

[Kurogane86]

Keita saw how pumped up Akemi was. "yeah! let's do it.!" He said as he was getting ready to head out. he looked back at Lucinda as he was about to take off after his partner. She offered him and Akemi thanks as they got together. He wanted to say something but she was already off on her way with her partner. "Good luck Lucinda and Ruby. we won't be beaten so easily. Don't get scared out there. If you need help just yell out and we'll run to help." he said not really sure what to say. "he looked at Akemi who was already walking. "hey hold up Akemi."

he saw how his face seemed to lose it's color once the rumor of the ghost was brought up. "hey, are you one of those guys that are bad with ghost stories?" he said nudging Akemi in the side. "you know." he said getting closer to Akemi, "now that we are hear it looks familiar." his smile, turned to a concerened glare. "it reminds me i saw something in the news paper a few years back about a couple that was lost in these woods for a couple of days and when they came out they were scared crazy. They kept repeating the same thing. I'm sorry Junichi-Kun, I'm sorry i don't know where your parents are."

Kei was trying to hold back his laughter as he couldn't help but poke fun at his sempai.

 

[ScarletNova]

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Woods
Interactions: Bob and Rain (@Rads)
​

Mariko appreciated Rain offering his help in getting used to the new situation she was put in thanks to her mother and Haruhi. Though, even those nice words from him did little to calm her nerves, mostly because they were heading into a dark forest that supposedly had some ghosts lurking around. For all she knew there was one following them already. But she couldn't stay in her head or else that would make her seem weird...at least that's what her mother told her. She had to interact with the others. "T-thank you," Mari replied to Rain with a small smile but she was caught a bit off guard when he mentioned something about his sister.

Honestly, Mariko had no idea who his sister was since she had only gotten his first name so she wasn't quite sure if the girl he was speaking of was her or not. "I suppose it's possible," she then said to him. "I'd have to meet her again to know if we were really in school together in the past but even so, i-it would be nice to become friends with her." That's right. She was here to make friends after all. Friends would be nice.

Then she turned to Bob when he mentioned a few things and gave him a thankful nod and smile as well. "I'm sure I will be safe with you two," she replied...even if there were some ghosts chilling out in that woods just waiting for their next victim. Mari just really hoped that next victim wasn't either of them. "Yes, we should start looking."

She headed into the woods with them, finding that although the woods wasn't very thick and that the moon was full enough to brighten up some of the area, it was still rather dark. "Oh, I have an idea," she said out loud and then pulled out her phone from her pocket. She clicked a few things and then the flashlight on her phone clicked on to light up the area ahead of them. "This way we can see where we're going better. Now, I'm sure Haruhi wouldn't really have had time to bury the treasure or anything like that...so I figure that it's probably just somewhere easily hidden like inside a bush or covered in some leaves...maybe a cave of sorts...We should look for anything like that or areas that might look like they have been moved recently."

Wow...she was talking a lot. And to people...

...This was hard work.

...Wait! What was that noise? Did something just rustle some leaves? Would ghosts do that? Could ghosts even rustle leaves? Crap! There was a ghost! There was totally a ghost! The ghost was going to get them! What should she do? Out of fear Mariko's hand attempted to reach out towards one of the guys, which ever one was the closest to her.

And then, not paying attention to where she was going, Mariko's foot hit a root and suddenly the girl was falling forward. Her destination: Face first into the ground.

 

[Stray Shinku]

Alexander Kisaragi
~~~
Location - Haruhi's Villa → Backyard Woods
Interactions: Haruhi (@ScarletNova) | Mentions: Miyuki and Ryunosuke

---

​

"I know, right?" said Alexander with a scoff, turning around to look over at Miyuki and Ryunosuke once Haruhi pointed at them. When he was about to comment something about them, Alexander felt Haruhi's hand grabbing his, catching him off-guard. Blushing faintly, when Alex turned around to look back at Haruhi with an excited smile, his lovely fantasies were shattered when the hyperactive President quickly made her way upstairs, dragging him from behind, but holding his hand firmly. Alexander quickened his pace with hers to prevent himself from falling.

Damn. Just when he thought he could have a romantic moment with her, but Haruhi was like a busy bee, always planning her next move.

However, her destination, from all the places around this big Villa, was no other than her room. And she brought in Alexander with her! But, WAIT! That's not the weirdest thing. She not only shut close the door of her room but also dragged the poor Alex inside her walk-in closet...! Well, not really inside, though, but barely.

It was a fact this wasn't the first time Alexander entered Haruhi's room. He has been in this place a lot of times in the past when they were just kids, but right now when they're such grownups... It felt different. And that was true. Her room was bigger and everything inside got replaced by stuff a mature young lady would use. Yes, Alexander definitely shouldn't be in this room right now. What if he sees something that he shouldn't see yet? Marrying Haruhi needs to be first!

"A-Are you sure I can be here, Haru-chan?" asked Alexander, smiling nervously while sitting on a chair suspiciously placed in front of Haruhi's closet. She didn't manage to hear him because she went inside to apparently find something she was looking for. Sighing while waiting, Alexander placed his hands on the sides of his seat and slowly looked around her room, and as expected, the whole place was neat, shiny, and super organized. There was also a nice aroma in the air, probably some perfume Haruhi used before leaving the place.

When Haruhi's voice rang through the room once again, Alexander quickly turned his head to look in front of him just in time to be assaulted by random stuff Haruhi was throwing out the closet. Gasping with shock, Alexander ducked his head, dodging a few shorts, but was unlucky enough to miss the top of what was part of a bikini bathing suit. As it landed on top of his head, Alexander grabbed it with his hands and when he lowered them to have a look, his cheeks blushed a deep tone of red, kind of matching the color of the top he was holding.

"The red definitely suits her!" thought Alexander with a nod. "This must look PERFECT on Haruhi! Oh, my God, what the hell are you thinking, Alex!?" Shaking off his wild thoughts, Alexander quickly threw the top away and got slapped by a pair of clean panda and tanuki socks. They looked so adorable and just the type of stuff Haruhi would definitely wear!

"See!? This is why I knew being here was a BAD IDEA, damn it!" thought Alexander, this time covering his eyes to prevent himself to look at anything. He had enough already.

BUT WAIT! There's more!

Alex felt something landing on his lap. Curious, he uncovered his eyes and looked down to find out a dating sim game case. As Alex looked closer, he also realized the main male protagonist looked a lot like him. "Hol' up, what in the world?" he whispered with a shocked expression, covering his mouth that had a smile. When he heard Haruhi that she found what she was looking for, Alexander slapped away the game case and sat straight on his seat, looking up at her with a wide smile, trying to act like nothing happened while he was sitting waiting for her.

As Haruhi plop down a cute witch hat on Alex's head, she explained to him the treasure hunt activity she planned for tonight. While listening, Alexander nodded, understanding everything and once she finished and gave him the important task of hiding the treasure chest in the woods at the back of the Villa, Alexander quickly stood up from his seat and saluted her. "Yes, ma'am! I'll make sure to give them a real challenge in those woods!" With a nod, Alex returned the hat to Haruhi, carried the treasure chest, which was actually lightweight, and ran out of her room.

It took him a couple of minutes to hide the treasure chest, but because he was such a mischievous cat, he also made a makeshift trap to prank the unlucky person that finds the chest.

Alexander returned to the entrance of the woods where Haruhi and everyone where reunited. He helped her by holding the hat from where she pulled out their names, and he obviously knew she paired the groups on purpose, however, there was a new name he didn't hear before: Mariko. Tilting his head in confusion, he turned his head to ask Haruhi about that girl's name, but just like that, a cute and adorable dark-haired girl came out from behind her. After Haruhi introduced her to the Club, she was about to send everyone into the woods, but Miyuki spoke out, demanding to be paired with Haruhi. Frowning with awe, Alexander quickly jumped in front of Haruhi and hissed like a cat, his blonde hair all perked up.

"She's already paired with me, missy!" he lashed out, but once he realized he spoke way too aggressive, he blushed and cleared his throat. "I-I-I mean... Sorry, but I can't allow you to change partners. It's a rule that everyone must go in there with the partner they first got paired. Haruhi said it, not me, so... Sorry."

Just when he thought he solve everything, Ryunosuke spoke out too, refusing to be paired with Miyuki as well and wishing to be paired with him. Frowning with annoyance, Alexander quickly pointed at the woods with his right index finger while staring daggers at Ryunosuke. "You better get in there with Miyuki, Ryu," he said with a fake, creepy smile, his right eye twitching. "I said NO. PARTNERS. SWITCHING. YES?"

Once everyone finally entered the woods, Alexander sighed deeply in relief. Then, he shook his head before crossing his arms. "Geez, we really need to do something with these Miyuki and Ryunosuke," he told Haruhi, turning his head toward the woods. "They still not liking each other, apparently. There can be something between them, they just need a little push."

When Haruhi mentioned her plans of scaring everyone, Alexander's eyes widened and an evil laugh escaped his lips as well. "Ah, yes, a scare will definitely push these two together for good!" Chuckling, Alexander raised his right hand, waiting for Haruhi to high five it. "What a great plan! As expected from the Lovers Club Prez!"

 

[ScarletNova]

Haruhi Nakamura
Club President | Location: Outside Villa --> Woods
Interactions: Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun)
Mentions: Ryunosuke and Miyuki (@DANAsaur)
​

Everyone except Miyuki and Ryunosuke seemed to be alright with their partner choice and headed off into the woods. Of course, Haruhi expected something like this considering the way those two were and Miyuki's problem with men. Granted, it might seem a little mean of Haru to push her androphobic friend towards the very thing she was afraid of but she had a genuine reason. And that reason was to help the two of them.

Just as she was about to say something along the lines of not being able to change partners for Miyuki because then she would have to do it for everyone, Alex all of a sudden stepped in.

...And he hissed at them, claiming that Haruhi was with him.

For some reason, a light shade of pink seemed to grace the president's cheeks but it faded over time as he further explained the situation and sent the two off into the woods together. She nodded when she heard his comment about needing to do something about those two considering their current relationship. "They're a tough couple to crack but they'll get there," Haru responded back. They were at least showing progress considering Miyuki was terrified of men...and Ryu was a man.

But when Haru heard Alex's response to her idea, a devilish smirk, mischievous enough to be blurred out if children were watching, appeared on her face. Boy did this guy just get her! Her hand smacked into his to finish that high five he wanted. "Well, I do what I can to bring happiness to the masses," she commented, feeling a bit proud of herself thanks to Alex's ego boost.

"Come on, let's go!" she added as she made her way towards the forest, looking back at Alex with a smile and motioning for him to join her. Though when they finally got inside and she started to look around to see where one of the groups could have gone, she had noticed things were a lot more creepy in the woods than she realized they would be. But it was just dark, right? It's not like those ghost rumors she made up were actually real. Although...her parents really did tell her to stay away from the forest when she was young.

What was the reason for that again?

That smile of hers started to fade and she reached over to grab Alex's arm. "It's kind of a lot creepier in here than I thought it was going to be...isn't it?" Did Alex really go into this woods by himself earlier? Why would he do that? Oh right, that was because she told him to. Why did he always do everything she told him to? He wasn't even part of the club. She wrapped her fingers around his upper arm and started to squeeze a little bit more. A warmth came over her hand and it only took Haruhi a moment to realize it was Alex's body heat that caused it.

"Alex..." she muttered. "I'm kind of scared..." It was something she would have never told the others, not when she needed to be the president of the lovers club. The president of the lovers club always had to be cool and calm. She always had to know what to do. She could never be afraid. But she was with Alex. She was just with Alex. And Alex was the one person she knew she could be completely honest with. Alex was there with her. He was the warmth her fingers felt. He'd make her feel better. Just like he always did.

 

[MaryGold]

AKEMI

CONSULTANT
Location: Woods || Interactions: Keita || Mentions: Ryu, Lucinda

"What? Me? Scared of ghost stories? Pfft! Why would you even ask that?" Because he was one hundred percent terrified of ghost. The cool rehead fightig along side his kohai was nowhere to be seen, he was replaced with scared to the bone sempai, walking as closely to his partner in the chase without actually touching him. All while, he was questioning why he even agreed to participate in this stupid competition. And it was just another proof the women in their club were crazy to the bone.

But it was Keita's ghost story that really began to get to him. The serious look on his face, the tone he took as he started speaking. Akemi felt a chill run down his back and every hair on his body stand straight. His face grew pale and he swallowed the growing lump in his throat. "Hah," Akemi was blank-faced by the end of Keita's tale.

Slowly he began to laugh, it started out as a small chuckle and barely audible chuckle but grew loud enough to be heard. "Where on Earth did you hear a story like that? That's so silly, Keita. You shouldn't believe in stuff like that, take it from your sempai." Akemi clicked his tongue in disappointment, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head in disappointment at his partner. "Now, no more ghost stories. That treasure won't find itself. Maybe there's manga in it."

Akemi turned on his heels and took the lead. As soon as his back was facing Keitahe bit into his lip to stop himself from releasing a scared scream. What. The. Hell. It wasn't just a ghost now but a ghost child? Everyone knew ghost children were creepier. Akemi had to clench his fist to keep himself from shaking.

"It can't be far," Akemi said, his voice shakier than before. His flashlight beam was shaky as it led the way for them. He prayed to run into Lucinda and Ryu before they were found dead and forever bound to these woods.
​

---

Tagged: @Kurogane86 @Shinku⭐Kun @xLarius

 

[Kurogane86]

Location - woods
Interacting - @MaryGold
Mentioned - @ScarletNova

A mischievous smile crept on to Keita's face as he watched his sempai and his love rival squirm at the thought of ghosts in these woods. He Tried his best to not laugh as he figured he'd take it as far as it goes. He looked around and found a few twigs on the floor and stuffed them in his pocket. He ran up to his sempai who was now ahead of him looking for the the treasure. "um Sempai, sorry but don't you think it's weird?" he said walking up placing a hand on his shoulder to slow him down. "I mean, we haven't seen any member of our club around here and it seems really quiet right? maybe to quiet." he said doing his best to look Nervous. "i don't even hear any of their voices around, listen." He stopped Akemi and on the sly reached behind him and pulled out a twig from behind him and broke it with his hand. "Did, did you hear that Sempai?" he took hold of Akemi and spun him around quickly to look behind him to find the source of the noise. "you heard that right?" he said as he repeated the process breaking another twig behind them. "there it is again. you heard it right Sempai? I mean you did right? It sounds like it's following us."

The spun around again looking for the noise that seems so close. "Hey Sempai, um you said those stories weren't real right? I mean i know it was in the paper about the ghost boy Junichi-kun but that must have been a joke or something right. And then the prez said something about these woods being haunted too. I'm sure she was just joking right?" He waited until Akemi was listening closely and snapped another twig right behind his back. "IT'S RIGHT BEHIND US!" He yelled out trying his best to not laugh, he waited to see what his scared Sempai would do.

 

[Rads]

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Woods
Interactions: Bob and Rain (@Rads)
​

Mariko appreciated Rain offering his help in getting used to the new situation she was put in thanks to her mother and Haruhi. Though, even those nice words from him did little to calm her nerves, mostly because they were heading into a dark forest that supposedly had some ghosts lurking around. For all she knew there was one following them already. But she couldn't stay in her head or else that would make her seem weird...at least that's what her mother told her. She had to interact with the others. "T-thank you," Mari replied to Rain with a small smile but she was caught a bit off guard when he mentioned something about his sister.

Honestly, Mariko had no idea who his sister was since she had only gotten his first name so she wasn't quite sure if the girl he was speaking of was her or not. "I suppose it's possible," she then said to him. "I'd have to meet her again to know if we were really in school together in the past but even so, i-it would be nice to become friends with her." That's right. She was here to make friends after all. Friends would be nice.

Then she turned to Bob when he mentioned a few things and gave him a thankful nod and smile as well. "I'm sure I will be safe with you two," she replied...even if there were some ghosts chilling out in that woods just waiting for their next victim. Mari just really hoped that next victim wasn't either of them. "Yes, we should start looking."

She headed into the woods with them, finding that although the woods wasn't very thick and that the moon was full enough to brighten up some of the area, it was still rather dark. "Oh, I have an idea," she said out loud and then pulled out her phone from her pocket. She clicked a few things and then the flashlight on her phone clicked on to light up the area ahead of them. "This way we can see where we're going better. Now, I'm sure Haruhi wouldn't really have had time to bury the treasure or anything like that...so I figure that it's probably just somewhere easily hidden like inside a bush or covered in some leaves...maybe a cave of sorts...We should look for anything like that or areas that might look like they have been moved recently."

Wow...she was talking a lot. And to people...

...This was hard work.

...Wait! What was that noise? Did something just rustle some leaves? Would ghosts do that? Could ghosts even rustle leaves? Crap! There was a ghost! There was totally a ghost! The ghost was going to get them! What should she do? Out of fear Mariko's hand attempted to reach out towards one of the guys, which ever one was the closest to her.

And then, not paying attention to where she was going, Mariko's foot hit a root and suddenly the girl was falling forward. Her destination: Face first into the ground.

Bob gently smiles in approval at the first parts of what Mariko says and then in kind says "I don't like to be a downer and such, but a phone light is good for looking in some cases but this is not one of them. It's good that you are trying to think on your feet and being so flexible though." He looks to rain for a few moments then says "For as long as I've known you, you've been prepared for a number of situations". Can me and Mariko count on you to have some torches this time?" He now waits for rain to answer his question and while not paying attention he trips on something. Thanks to quick reflexes he quickly moves his foot and lightly stamps down and pulls himself back up.

Rain catches and stops Mariko from falling more. He quickly bends his knees and gently wraps his arm around her waist and then gently puts her back on her feet. After all, this has happened, he nods as he takes all in thinking about what is being said and then puts his free hand in his right pocket first and pulls out three medium-sized mag lights with straps, then holds his free hand out so Mariko and bob can take them. He says "I do like people that try and think on their feet and use their heads. As for everything else as much as I would like to talk more about it right now if we do not focus we won't get very far and we could end up losing altogether." In his mind, '''the another version of himself thought "wow. Smooth rain. You spring something on Mariko but you don't give her the full details of what you are talking about. That's so not like you. You are lucky she's a really nice and caring girl. You could do with someone like her by your side'" Rain shakes the thoughts out of his head refocusing on what's at hand.

 

[xLarius]

❀Lucinda Asakawa❀
| The Secretary || Location: The Woods | Color Code: #FF0080|
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

As Ruby mentioned that she hadn't known what to feel about the game they had been playing, Lucinda nodded slowly. This concept was good for Lucinda, then she wouldn't feel as guilty if they hadn't won this contest. "Any kind of prize I wish." This phrase softly exited Lucinda's lips as she furrowed her brows just slightly. What a vague prize. Her thoughts were startled when Ruby had bluntly mentioned her interest in being friends. Lucinda's eyes had begun to sparkle and her cheeks had tinted a lovely pink shade. She hadn't expected it and hadn't prepared herself for that notion. She was really lucky to be in a club where she could be potential friends with someone as confident and seemingly carefree as Ruby. As Ruby mentioned when she had gotten lost Lucinda quirked her head, was it too much to ask about that experience? Lucinda hadn't dared tried something as risky as venturing into the woods in her lifetime.

Lucinda begun hesitantly, "Do you usually spend a lot of time near or around the woods?" Lucinda didn't know too much about Ruby's history but she thought it was a good chance to get to know her... In the spooky woods... Where anything could nab her... At least she wouldn't have regrets about getting nabbed if this truly was a chance to get to make another friend. Friends were hard. This wasn't like Starderp where you give people gifts and they automatically start liking you.

Ruby seemed to voice Lucinda's thoughts with her next few statements. At this realization that Ruby maybe wasn't too different from her, a soft smile graced Lucinda's lips. Lucinda intertwined her fingers as she felt warmth flood her heart. The secretary nodded her head in agreement before she spoke up, "Sometimes a wake-up call of reality is exactly what I need." Lucinda felt a little less anxious but the facts still seemed to radiate around her companion. Confident, honest, attractive. Lucinda let out a long sigh, jealousy didn't suit her. "Haha, in the least I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to talk to me. I'd rather that than be intimidating. It's my job as a secretary to provide at least that to the club if Akemi-ku-san isn't available."

After her words Lucinda reached up to a branch and broke off a twig in order to mark if they've been there before. She hoped that the others were conducting a similar but not exactly the same action. If they had been doing the same action then she'd get lost... Hopefully not. She then pulled out her magical-girl heavily decorated flashlight as she shook it making sure the light was bright enough to see, it had been flickering quite a bit. She hoped that was just because it hadn't been used in awhile and not some other reason. Lucinda clenched her hands together in prayer, the flashlight in between her hands. She wasn't that religious but if she got out of the woods unharmed she would consider going to church. Oh dear God please- -. Lucinda heard an abnormally large rustle as she squeaked slamming herself to Ruby's side hugging her companion's arm tightly, promptly dropping her flashlight. "U-Uwa-" Maybe she should've stayed behind...

She allowed herself to hold on for a little bit longer before shakily reaching for her flashlight forcing herself to detach from Ruby. This time she did stay more relatively close to her companion. Her voice dropped at least two voice levels, barely above a whisper, "sorry. that was very childish of me." The secretary in a bashful manner gently tapped her flashlight once more to get it to stop flickering. "Y-You don't believe in ghosts... Do you Greywood-san?" Lucinda felt a little bit silly that she had to ask, but she had to admit, a little bit of comfort wouldn't hurt her.

Upon the sound of another shriek Lucinda flinched as she directed the light upwards. The reflection of a ruby eyes seemed to glare at them before the bird took flight, seeming to take shelter wherever the light wasn't. This was stupid. She was being silly. This was ridiculous. Lucinda sharply inhaled before continuing her pathway. Her subconscious murmuring then began, some of her words mashed together and some parts were too low to hear, "it's not like anyone has actually died in these woods... that'd be ridiculous. but then again things happen don't they? accidents are accidents. ghosts don't exist... maybe it'd be best to start looking for clues instead of thinking too much about it."

The more they seemed to walk the more eerie their surrounding seemed to get. Lucinda stopped her movement as the flashlight's light settled on an alignment of cans all strung together by string as if to create a barrier around an array of trees. The cans were rusted and a segment of the string was snapped, it was clear that whoever the barrier was made by hadn't come back in awhile... It was like a protection system to alert a person whether something crossed over. That thought made Lucinda shudder. There was a sign attached on the trees but it seemed to be so long either whatever was on the paper had faded away, or had been shredded away.

She moved the flashlight upwards to reveal a makeshift tree house made out of scrappy materials, long since abandoned. Lucinda's gaze had seemed to grow softer as she gaze upon it. She relaxed, just a bit. "Thank goodness it's just kids. I wonder how much farther we'd have to travel to look for the treasure." She faced Ruby before smiling at her companion, she took a step forward she seemed to kick an extra loose stick, but in the next moment it seemed to trigger something as she felt her leg jerk upwards and her whole body followed as she was suspended midair by the rope wrapped around her leg. Multiple objects seemed to drop out of the trees as Lucinda launched upwards, they seemed to be handcrafted ghosts, scary masks, and the like. Lucinda tried, she really did. She couldn't help as a loud, high pitched scream emitted from her mouth, slight tears forming at the corner of her eyes in shock. Her backpack dropped to the floor of the woods as her arms had straightened out and it slipped off of her arms.

Her face turned a bright red as she promptly covered it, ignoring how her skirt was following gravity's wishes. She seemed to be recovering from her earlier scream as her voice sounded slightly hoarse and meek, "i'm so sorry."

- - - - - - - - - -
Interaction(s):
Ruby Greywood x @Rads

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mention(s):
N / A ​

 

[Accelerator]

The Tactician| Location: Haruhi's Villa -----> Into the Woods| Interactions: Keita (@Kurogane86 ), Haruhi (@ScarletNova ), Yuuta ( @Reanimator Spuds ) | Mentions: Akemi (@MaryGold), Lucinda (@xLarius )​

Shione chuckled at the though of Keita asking Griselda to essentially lie to Shiro. It was a sweet gesture of gratitude and to be honest, she was glad her friends weren't as freaked out as she thought they'd be by what she did. For her part, Griselda merely gave a nod in their direction before leaving. While she can't exactly lie to her employer, Shione feels like the maid can paint her in a better light after hearing Keita's words.

When they returned to the villa, Shione grabbed Keita's shoulder reassuringly and gave him a warm smile.

"Don't worry, I can handle my older brother... most of the time. Plus I'm sure Griselda won't neglect to put in a good word for me now that you vouched for me as well. The important thing is that you guys are okay. "

Suddenly, a not-so familiar face appeared before them and suddenly started blowing kisses at all the ladies' directions. Shione never did truly like Yuuta and his flamboyant nature but since he was elected as the club's vice-president, she learned to tolerate his antics. Unfortunately, being a ladiesman and a playboy was one of those. She could feel the tension rise in the room as the idiotic vice president decided to flirt with Lucinda first of all people, the one girl that had been the center of attention and affection for two guys who had been up in each other's throats ever since this summer camp started... Wait, come to think of it, if those two share a common enemy maybe they'd get a long a bit better.

"Heh, despite being a clueless schmuck, you may have some use to those two after all" Shione thought mischievously.

As expected, however, Yuuta had the attention span of a two year old since as soon as he saw another girl, he was all over them. Unfortunately, the next girl ended up being her. She visibly had to put in a lot of effort not to punch him right then and there since most of the things he used to describe her was chilling.

"Haruhi, can we pretend that Yuuta did not return. I can show him how "chilling" I can be when I make him disappear." Shione said in an annoyed voice.

"Really though, he comes back after all this time, flirts with other girls and says these honeyed words to them and all he could describe me is "chilling"." she says in a quieter voice as she looks away from him and pouts."

After some time, Haruhi gathered everyone and explained their next activity which seemed to be a treasure hunt. She had hidden a chest inside the forest and the first one to find it gets a reward from the President. As she announced the pairings for the treasure hunt, Shione's jaw dropped in disbelief when she ended up having Yuuta as her partner. The silver haired girl cursed Haruhi internally for pairing her with the playboy but seeing as how fiercely Alex had been against to the idea of swapping partners, she knew that all she could do was bear with it. However, there was one tiny little detail that had her worrying a little bit.

"Hold up, did she just say the darn woods are haunted?!"

It was true that Shione had been here several times in the past but neither she nor Haruhi, Reina and Alex ever dared to venture into the forest. A little known fact about Shione is that she's... kinda scared of ghosts and anything supernatural. She can take on the toughest men and have no trouble squaring off with them but ghosts are a different story since you really can't beat up what you can't hit to begin with. Luckily, she was almost certain that Haruhi was lying about the ghosts and this could just be some sort of scheme to get people together. Surely, there really aren't any ghosts here, right? RIGHT?!!!

As soon as they entered the forest and had split up with the other teams, Shione began addressing Yuuta, mostly to distract herself from thinking a ghost would ambush them any second now.

"Ahem... looks like we're stuck with each other for now. I guess it all comes down to how much you want to win that prize. Personally, I'm not interested at the reward. However, if you really want to win, we could take this a bit more seriously." She told Yuuta in a calm voice trying to hide her nervousness. "Or we could find Haruhi and Alexander and initiate what I'd like to call the "No U" Protocol. I'm sure you're aware that Alex has a huge crush on Haruhi and our dear President has focused on getting others paired that she hasn't had a chance to be in a relationship herself after all this time. So... while they are undoubtedly trying to scare the other members in this little activity, we're going to scare the scarers and drive them closer to each other! Whaddya say, Yuuta? I'm down for either so the choice is yours."

Suddenly, she could hear something rustling from a nearby bush. Coupled by the low visibility and the creepy atmosphere created by the silhouettes of dead trees cast by the moonlight, Shione was as tense as she could ever get as she prepared for what could come out of the bush. As she took on a defensive stance, she didn't notice that her right hand was already grabbing Yuuta's arm. Maybe it was a survival instinct that prompted her to do so since if push came to shove, she wouldn't hesitate to use Yuuta as a weapon and hurl him towards whatever creature was making that ruckus. At least that was the plan. But things don't always turn out the way one imagines it would at real life.

With the rustling getting even more violent, she was expecting something to jump out of the bush any second but strangely enough, the rustling stopped all of a sudden. For what seemed like five tantalizing seconds, the forest had gone quiet, tricking Shione into letting her guard down. But as soon as she did so, a raccoon leapt from a nearby tree branch and landed on her face --

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!" --causing her to produce the girliest scream she possibly could until the raccoon was able to jump off and scurry away. She was now clutching Yuuta's arm tightly, still a bit shocked from what happened. This lasted for an entire minute before Shione managed to calm down.

"Is--- Is it gone?" She asked Yuuta nervously as she scanned her surroundings. In contrast to the self-assured, confident, and reliable aura she constantly projects, the Shione Yuuta was seeing right now looked uncertain, vulnerable, and scared. That only lasted for a minute as Shione dusted herself and gave Yuuta a chilling glare. "If.... If anybody finds out about this, you're dead ya hear me?!" She exclaimed. Strangely enough she hasn't let go of his arm yet. Their next course of action would be decided by the Club Vice-President. Would they go along to Haruhi's plan and just try to find the treasure chest or would they attempt to give Haruhi and Alexander some memories they'd treasure for the rest of their lives?

 

[Reanimator Buns]

The Vice-President | Location: Haruhi's Villa -> The Woods | Interactions: Shione (@Accelerator) | Mentions: Haruhi (@ScarletNova), Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun)

Yuuta was excited by the prospect of a challenge of bravery. After all, it was always a place where a girl and a boy would hold one another close. The suspension bridge effect was at its peak in a test such as this. Of course the woods weren't haunted. There was no way that they were after all. Ghosts weren't real!... Right?...

Still, he was paired with Shione. And she really was quite stunning. Yuuta really did look upon her in awe at times. So graceful and beautiful, yet capable of so much. He always wondered why she never had a partner for very long, only vaguely remembering the mention of some sort of 'curse' Well perhaps this test of courage could serve to quell those superstitions and anxieties. Shione had mentioned that she thought about forcing Haruhi and Alex together. He remembered a lot from before he disappeared, and honestly it seemed to make sense. He would be happy to help, but maybe she needed the assistance too.

"Oh poor Haruhi... Always looking so hard for others that she never thought to look for herself. I think that would be a lot of fu-

The furry bandit had made itself known, drawing a frightened shriek from Shione. But Yuuta stood strong for her. At least that was what it appeared. On the inside the sudden raccoon had frightened him so badly that he had froze in place, and was unable to react. Still, this did not stop his partner in this excursion to jump into his arms. Something that shook him out of his frightened stupor.

"It was just a raccoon..." He said mostly to himself to reassure that everything was alright... Then turning to Shione as he remembered that there was a girl there too who might need comforting "It's alri-" She looked at him with a steely gaze. One that reminded him of her charms... While simultaneously sending shivers down his spine.

"You have my word, Shione. I would never act in a manner that would upset a lady. He gave a slight bow, and placed his hand over his heart as a pledge. But he raised his head to address her more candidly. "Um... Shione, if I may... I will gladly help Haruhi, but what of you? Is there any way I could help you as well?

 

[Stray Shinku]

Ryunosuke Aisaka, and Miyuki Momozono
Location → Backyard Woods, Haruhi's Villa | Shinku x Dana Collab

---

​

When Ryunosuke noticed that Miyuki was kind of frozen in her seat while he was talking to her, he blinked a couple of times, confused, and it took him a while to realize that he was holding her hand. This wasn't the first time that he did this, but seeing that reaction on her made him pounder if he should avoid holding her hand in the future to prevent any misunderstandings.

Sighing and blushing faintly, Ryunosuke was about to let go of Miyuki's hand, but she did it first. Funny and lucky enough, she didn't felt disgusted or uncomfortable after holding hands with him. Yes, she was embarrassed, but Ryunosuke thought that was just a normal and natural reaction, especially after Miyuki is just starting to meet him.

The pink blush in her cheeks, though. Ryunosuke found it very adorable. With a smile, a faint chuckle escaped his mouth while secretly staring at Miyuki's beautiful face. And then it happened again. His heart began to beat really fast, like if it was trying to pop out of his chest. After swallowing hard, Ryunosuke found himself blushing a deep tone of red, and then he slowly swung his head to his right to avoid any eye contact with Miyuki until his heart slowed down a few beats.

"God, what the hell is going on with you, Ryu!?" he thought, rubbing the back of his neck while sighing deeply. Miyuki began to say something, but he was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't pay any attention.

"Why are you acting so funny and weird around Miyuki all of a sudden, huh? Geez, relax, okay? It's not that you have a crush on her or something. R-Right…? Right. Now, you need to… OH MY GOD, WHY IN THE WORLD SHE'S THIS EXTREMELY CLOSE TO ME!?"

Miyuki agreed to help Ryunosuke put some bandaids on the small wounds on his face, so right now she was leaning really close to his face, carefully examining it. Oh, and this was really bad for the poor Ryunosuke. He really did his best to act cool, but he couldn't resist blushing the deepest tone of red a human can have while swallowing hard.

He was sitting with his back straight, his body completely frozen in his seat with Miyuki's eyes all over his face. She was so close to him that he could feel her soft and gentle breathing, and its warmth was very welcoming to his skin. The poor guy was so flustered that when Miyuki began to gently put some bandaids on his wounds, which thankfully weren't that bad, he instinctively flinched a little and the hairs of his skin perked up as a cat would. He hoped she didn't notice that because he didn't want her to feel bad or annoyed by his reaction, after all, it was him that asked for her help.

When Miyuki finally finished with her job, Ryunosuke released a long sigh of relief with a faint smile as she was finally at a proper distance from him, but, oh boy, he was definitely a magnet for weird and embarrassing moments.

MIYUKI. FREAKING. KISSED. HIM.

It was only a kiss on his right cheek, BUT STILL A KISS.

Ryunosuke once again froze himself where he was with his brain at the brink of exploding as he was trying to process what the hell just happened. At least this time nothing was his fault, so that was a good thing, but damn, if only his heart wasn't beating so fast and strong. And this time, his face wasn't the only place blushing red. Ryunosuke was looking like a weird and brand new species of red alien thing.

"Y-You… I-I-I…"

Ryunosuke was trying to speak, but no understandable words came out from his mouth because his brain was a whole mess at the moment, so the only thing he could do, and always do when finding himself in this kind of situation was to just stand up and run away. Runaway and forget about everything and everyone. Just run and run until his feet burn with pain.

Taking a deep breath, Ryunosuke stood up from the floor and when he was about to actually run away, Haruhi called out everyone. Widening his eyes with relief, and began to run toward the direction he heard her, excusing himself from Miyuki. He didn't even wait for her as she supposed to go to the same place too!

When Ryunosuke finally reached the entrance of the woods at the back of the Villa, everyone from the Lovers Club was already there. Haruhi explained everyone about a Treasure Hunt in the middle of the woods that supposed to be hunted. Ryunosuke got so excited about that that he definitely didn't hear anything else from Haruhi.

"Oh, my God, yes, I love haunted places!" he thought with bliss, raising his fists with a giddy expression, like a child waiting in front of a line to enter a candy shop. "I really hope to find a ghost or two! Oh, oh, I should bring my camera! I need to record this!"

As Haruhi began to pull out names from a hat Alexander was holding for her, Ryunosuke widened his eyes with a dumb smile, blinking in confusion, and it took him a moment to realize that must have been something she said on her explanation… Yes, that one explanation he didn't listen to at all. "Well, damn, this is unfortunate," he mumbled with a chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "I just hope I get paired with Alex-kun so he can te-"

"Miyuki and Ryunosuke!"

Ryunosuke double facepalmed, letting go of a frustrated scoff. Of course, he got paired with the last person he wanted to be right now! Life really hated him, apparently, and really badly.

"I agree with the ugly Jigglypuff!" said Ryunosuke out loud while raising his right hand, and then pointed at Alexander with his index finger. "Can I be paired with my blonde friend, please? I can't stand this person beside me."

Ryunosuke is not usually this mean and aggressive toward somebody, but he was doing everything he could to avoid being around Miyuki. He just couldn't be with her right now. Not after she kissed his cheek and made him have weird sensations inside of him. Besides, that's what she gets for calling him stupid octopus again.

A faint gasp escaped Miyuki's lips upon hearing Ryunosuke's statement. She did not expect any of that! She is not ugly! Nor a Jigglypuff! She was also taken aback by the sudden mean attitude of the octopus head. With her embarrassment now turned into annoyance, the black-haired beauty huffed and crossed her arms. "As if I asked you to stand beside me!"

Miyuki awaited Haruhi's final verdict about the pairing though before she can hear a word from their beloved president, Alex jumped out and hissed at her. She let out a surprised yelp, quickly backing away from the feral male while subconsciously sticking to Ryunosuke for protection. She can't believe Alex just hissed at her! Like a mirror, her view of Alex's slowly cracked and shattered. She didn't feel safe around him anymore.

The black-haired female stepped closer to Ryunosuke, her fingers tugging at the hem of his shirt. She tried not to flinch hard when Alex emphasized with a conviction that they cannot switch partners though, during that moment, Miyuki doesn't care. All she wanted right now was to leave and hopefully, with Ryu by her side.

"D-don't make him mad anymore," she mumbled under a whisper, tugging harder. "...let's just go. Please."

Ryunosuke couldn't believe what his eyes just witnessed. Alexander, someone he considered his true best friend, jumped out from behind Haruhi and hissed at poor Miyuki before lashing out toward him too. He explained Miyuki and him that they were not allowed to switch partners because it was like some kind of golden rule that Haruhi said. He was seriously thinking that he should've paid attention to everything his beloved Prez said earlier. Still, there was no reason at all for Alex to be so mean and grumpy, especially not toward Miyuki, which really had a liking toward him regardless of her androphobia. Poor Alex probably left a really bad impression on her after this, ripping to pieces that little trust she had on him.

What was more surprising and kind of amusing, however, was how Miyuki tried to find protection behind Ryunosuke, adorably tugging the hem of his shirt. Wait… Does that mean she was using the poor Ryunosuke as some kind of shield against Alexander's wrath!? Oh, she wasn't a stinky, ugly Jigglypuff. She was definitely an evil one as well!

"Ugh, okay, we get it, dude," Ryunosuke said with a slight frown, clicking his tongue. "Geez, calm down, okay? If you just want to be with Haruhi alone, you could've just told us calmly." Sighing, Ryunosuke turned around, and unconsciously worried for Miyuki, he gently grabbed her right hand before heading into the woods. "Come on, Miyuki, let's try to find that chest and win this hunt. And, who knows, maybe we can find a ghost or two on our way. I hope so!"

With a giddy chuckle, Ryunosuke smiled brightly, forgetting completely once again that he was holding hands with Miyuki when minutes ago he told himself to avoid doing such a thing. He couldn't blame himself, though. It was her fault for trying to find his protection. Besides, he was already so accustomed to the warmth of her hand that his body already found her touch comforting.

There it was again: the loud pounding of her heart. In that exact moment, her focus once again zoned in on their intertwined hands. Since when did her hand fit his perfectly? And when did she start feeling so warm and tingly around him?

Miyuki was completely oblivious about what's going on around her as her eyes shifted from their hands to Ryu's back. Was he always this tall? She was starting to notice little things about him and for some odd reason, she liked it. She continued staring at him until a rock interrupted her step. Stumbling forward, Miyuki found her face buried into Ryunosuke's back.

"I'm sorry!" The black-haired beauty squeaked, her cheeks already flushing red. "There was a rock and I lost my balance and... And..."

Hold up. Since when did she become so awkward?! Especially around Ryu! Usually, she'd be attacking him with mean words just like minutes before so why isn't she doing that now?

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she then distanced herself away from the octopus head by a couple of centimeters away. Sure, she wanted to walk away from him but upon looking around they're already deep inside the forest. She didn't want to get lost. Nor get scared.

"I'm still mad at you, you know?" Miyuki suddenly blurted out while looking anywhere but him. "Y-You make me feel comfortable and protected so um.. I.. accidentally kissed you. But it's your fault okay! If you weren't so beaten up and asked me to help you with your wounds then I wouldn't have kissed you!"

By now Miyuki looked like a tomato but she didn't care. "J-Just keep your distance from me and let's find the treasure. I want this to be over."

It took Ryunosuke quite a while to notice that his hand was holding Miyuki's once again. By this point he didn't know what to think: if he was really stupid for always forgetting not to hold hands with Miyuki or, apparently, he actually enjoyed holding her hand and he doesn't know about it. Yes, he prefers to believe that first option. There was no way he liked holding hands with the girl that always finds an opportunity to insult him or argue with him for practically no reason at all. Yes, Miyuki has a special condition called androphobia, but that still doesn't give her the right to treat him so rudely. Besides, why in the world she calls him an "octopus head", though? Does his head really look like that of an octopus?

Geez, he really doesn't know what to think about that, honestly. And, yes, that comes from the guy that compares Miyuki with a pink fluffy Pokemon, but, hey, at least a Jigglypuff is cute!

Concerned that Miyuki has been so silent through their stroll into the woods, Ryunosuke slowly began to stop walking, and when he was about to turn around, he felt a slight bump on his back, followed by Miyuki quickly letting go of his hand with an adorable squeak. With a confused smile, the black-haired guy turned around to look down at Miyuki, just in time to hear what happened to her when he wasn't looking at her.

Seeing her so flustered and at the brink of a panic attack for such a trivial incident really amused Ryunosuke. Scoffing with a grin, Ryunosuke crossed his arms. "Geez, Miyuki, just relax, okay?" he told her, shaking his head. "Nothing bad happened and I'm glad you bumped with me instead of falling to the ground face first. That would've been tragic as your cute face would-"

Did Ryunosuke just said that Miyuki's face was cute RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER!? Oh, boy! Now, the one that was acting all awkward and almost to go full-panic mode was him. His whole face was flustered with the deepest red possible, and he didn't know where to look. He couldn't look at Miyuki now. Not after saying such an embarrassing statement. Oh, how much he wished for the ground to just swallow him at once.

"I-I…! Huh… T-This isn't what you think, okay?" he began to say, stuttering dumbly as he tried his best to regain his cool composure. "I-It's not that you're cute or anything… No, wait, that's not true, you're actually really cute. Ugh, no, wait, that's not what I'm…! Oh, God, what the hell is wrong with me!?"

This was it. This was the exact moment our poor Ryunosuke died… At least internally. He was trying to say something to Miyuki, but his stupid brain forced him to say something completely different, mixing up what he was trying to say. Realizing there was no way he could save himself from this situation, Ryunosuke took a deep breath and quickly turned around before raising his hands and slapping his cheeks.

"OKAY, MOVING ON," he said out loud, acting that what happened seconds ago didn't happen. "We should continue venturing deeper into these woods. I have a feeling Haru-chan, and Alex-kun hid the treasure chest somewhere in the center of this place. Let's keep our eyes wide open, okay? I really want to win this thing, so don't blow it."

Nodding with a smile, Ryunosuke began to walk in a weird and funny robotic manner as he was still feeling embarrassed by everything he said to Miyuki minutes ago. He really called her cute. Two times. God, he really wondered what she was thinking right now.

Not noticing there was quite a big rock in front of his path, Ryunosuke's right foot tripped with it and with a yelp, he fell on the ground, face first. And there he stayed. Our poor Ryu… Laying on the ground with his right arm and left leg twitching a little bit.

"C-Cute?!" Miyuki's red cheeks suddenly turned crimson upon hearing Ryu's words. She was completely flabbergasted, unsure of how to respond! She gaped at the octopus head while trying to understand what was going but her tiny brain just can't comprehend it. "Ryunosuke thinks I'm cute? Wha-, Why?! Does he have ulterior motives? He's not going to kill me in these woods, is he? Oh heavens, what is happening."

She was snapped out of her little paranoia when Ryu shouted and suggesting that they should move forward. Miyuki thought it would be best to do just that, just so they can stop being awkward. She didn't utter a word as they walked around since her mind was filled with questions. Just what is this man up to? One minute they're enemies and the next, he'll call her cute! Her cheeks flared up once again at the very thought. Why does her heart keep skipping beats whenever she thinks about it?! I definitely need to visit the doctor after this trip. There must be something wrong with me.

Not a moment longer, Miyuki looked around. Ryu was walking way ahead of her and she was supposed to mind her own business until Ryu was about to stumble into a rock. "Ryu-," before she can even give him a warning, the said male tripped and fell face-first on the floor.

Instead of a worry, a giggle escaped Miyuki's lips. She didn't mean to be rude or anything but she just finds the scene funny. "Oh, dear!" she uttered between giggles, trying to help him but failing miserably. "I'm... I'm sorry! I... I don't know why I'm even giggling!"

"Here," she said once her giggles were gone, reaching out a hand to the octopus head to help him stand up. She can already feel the awkward atmosphere dissipating and turning into something else though she couldn't figure out what. "Try to focus on the path ahead, okay? I-If you're distracted by my…um... cuteness then I can just… put a paper bag in my head. Or if you want, we can split up."

She knows it's a dumb idea but truth be told, she didn't want to cause any more physical harm to Ryunosuke.

"B-Besides, it's getting darker and I don't want to return to the villa empty-handed so um... Let's focus and find the chest."

Ryunosuke could swear he kind of heard Miyuki giggling at his unfortunate fall. It that was the case, that was straight out cold, and rude. With an awkward sigh, Ryunosuke moved his arms, and with his hands against the ground, he pushed himself upwards and turned to his right to sit up. Luckily for him, he didn't cut or broke his face. However, his forehead wasn't that lucky as it now had a medium-sized red spot right on its center. With a pout that surprisingly looked cute, Ryunosuke gently lifted his left hand to rub the reddened spot on his forehead.

"Ugh, yeah, yeah, go ahead and laugh," he told Miyuki after a minute. "I just got distracted by a moment, okay? I'm not usually like this, but it can happen. Geez, no need to be so rude, and laugh about it." Ryunosuke rolled his eyes to his right, his cheeks already red out of embarrassment. He couldn't believe he just tripped and fell right in front of Miyuki from all the people in the Lovers Club. That's what actually has him so annoyed, not that she was laughing at him.

"For the love of God, can this night get any worse?" he thought, growling internally.

The blush in his cheeks intensified when Miyuki told him that he shouldn't get distracted by her "cuteness". Scoffing nervously, Ryunosuke pouted once again, and when he was about to cross his arms, Miyuki offered to help him to get up by holding out a hand. When Ryunosuke noticed her hand, he blinked twice before gently raising his hand to grab hers.

But, wait… Wasn't that a great opportunity to get revenge on her for laughing at him? With a smirk, Ryunosuke chuckled. "Oh, what about if YOU join me on the ground as well!" he said with an evil grin. Then, he pulled her toward him by her arm but was unfortunate enough to miscalculate where Miyuki supposed to land. So, it was already too late when he realized what would happen next: Miyuki fell right on him, accidentally bumping her forehead with his. With a slight yelp, Ryunosuke threw himself backward, eyes closed, and taking Miyuki with him.

In the end, they ended up in a really awkward situation: Ryunosuke was laying on his back on the ground while Miyuki was on top of him, her face just a few short inches apart from his. She was so extremely close to him that he could hear and feel her warm breathing and could smell the perfume that came from her neck. Noticing the strange extra weight on him, Ryunosuke slowly opened his eyes, and almost had a heart attack when the first thing he saw was Miyuki… RIGHT ON TOP OF HIM!

Gasping with shock, and swallowing hard, Ryunosuke froze where he was and just kept staring directly into Miyuki's eyes, his heart racing like a hundred beats per minute, and trying his best to not lose his crap at the moment.

Miyuki expected Ryunosuke to accept her helping hand but no! The octopus head decided to be petty by pulling her down towards him. With wide eyes, the black-haired beauty lost her balance.

"Ow!" The girl yelled as she felt her forehead bumping into something hard. Did she knocked her head against a rock?! Pain seared into her head as she rubbed the sore spot before opening her eyes.

A faint squeak escaped her lips. Ryunosuke was staring so intensely at her! She tried to move but found herself frozen. There was just something the way he looks at her that made her heart beat faster than a cheetah. Why is he staring at her? And why is she staring back at him?! God knows how long they were in that position though, after a couple of seconds, Miyuki had enough. She felt like if she stared at his eyes any longer, she'll melt!

Miyuki clumsily tried to push off of Ryunosuke by sitting up but realized that she was straddling him! Her blush reddened even more. "I.. uh… um..." Completely and utterly lost for words, the black-haired girl squirmed. She didn't know what to do in this situation! As she kept on squirming, she suddenly felt something poking her. "Um," uncertain what it was, Miyuki tried to figure out what was poking her until her thoughts dictated what it was.

"P-P-P-PERVERT!" The girl screeched, clambering away from Ryunosuke. "W-Why… H-How... K-Keep that away from me!"

Little did she know that the thing that was poking her was merely Ryunosuke's phone.

"I'm definitely a stupid octopus, Goddammit!" shouted Ryunosuke mentally after realizing he put himself on a really awkward and embarrassing situation. In what the hell he was thinking of pulling Miyuki towards him, huh? It was more than clear and obvious that the chances of her falling on top of him were more than high! Now, look where he put himself. Whichever he looked at this situation, not even a sorry can fix it. And Miyuki knew that he pulled her to him on purpose!

"I-I-I…! Oh, my God, I'm sorry!" he managed to say, at last, sweating nervously and blushing intensively. "If only I knew we would've ended up like this, I wouldn't have been stupid." Giving excuses to try to fix his mistake wasn't working at all. Once again, nothing could save him from this one. Boy, he definitely fucked it up again with Miyuki. Yikes, the poor guy can't score anything at all with her!

Sighing, and swallowing hard, Ryunosuke gently tried to roll to his right, holding Miyuki from her back to not let her fall, but apparently she thought the same thing and tried to get off him. Sadly, both of their movements made everything worst. The poor Miyuki ended up straddling him like a horse, and Ryunosuke ended up feeling her tight, and thick thighs.

"Alright, stop right there, Miyuki," he quickly told her, blushing with an awkward smile. He looked up at her. "This won't work if we both move, okay? Let me just…"

Ryunosuke was quickly interrupted by a loud screech from Miyuki before getting off him. Confused, Ryunosuke frowned, pushing himself to sit. The next thing he knew, Miyuki was yelling at him, accusing him of being a pervert. With an annoyed and confused frowned, Ryunosuke blinked his eyes. "Huh? What the hell did I do now?" he asked her, but after he saw her looking at his pants in horror, Ryunosuke looked down at them.

After a short moment, the black-haired guy burst into hysterical laughter. "Oh, my God! Oh, no, no, no!" Between laughs, Ryunosuke took out his phone from his right pocket before showing it to Miyuki. "It was my phone, Miyuki. Oh, my God, really!? You really thought it was something else!?"

Ryunosuke began to laugh more after staring at Miyuki, facepalming.

"Y-Your phone?" Miyuki asked hesitantly, her cheeks still aflame. Was it really a phone? The poor girl then shook her head. There's no way she'll try and confirm whatever it was. She's already embarrassed beyond belief! Deciding to just ignore what happened, the black-haired beauty cleared her throat.

"We should get going," she said. "It's already getting darker and we haven't even started looking for the treasure."

God knows how long they were looking for. They started searching behind bushes, above the trees; even went inside caves. Miyuki was already close to giving up considering that she has numerous insect bites until she stumbled upon an oddly constructed group of rocks.

"Hey, octopus head. Isn't that... Weird?" Miyuki asked while pointing out the group of rocks. "It's like it has been moved recently. Come on! Help me dig the rocks out."

Agreeing with Miyuki with a nod of his head, Ryunosuke lowly stood up from the ground and dusted off his pants. Then, he began to walk deeper into the woods, Miyuki walking beside him at every moment. It was as she didn't want to leave his side now that they were so deep into the woods, and things around them were getting kind of scary. With a wide smile, Ryunosuke looked around the woods, hoping to find some ghosts or any ghouls creature. Then, this whole stroll through these woods with Miyuki wouldn't end up being a complete fiasco... Like it's turning out to be. The poor guy definitely wants to see something exciting or else he will cry internally.

"I'm so killing Alex after this," Ryunosuke thought with a kind of creepy smile over his face. "Nothing of this would've happened if he wouldn't have be a selfish monkey, and let us switch partners. That's right, everything that happened here is his fault!"

After a couple of minutes of some walking deeper into the woods, Ryunosuke, and Miyuki stopped. The black-haired female pointed at a suspicious stack of rocks that clearly somebody put around to hide something. When Miyuki told Ryunosuke her suspicions that something could be among those rocks, the black-haired male nodded in agreement, crossing his arms. As she walked toward the rocks, she asked for his assistance, which he immediately accepted.

"I wonder what the prize could be," said Ryunosuke with a smile as he reached the stack of rocks, and began to put them away, digging them out and see if there was in fact something hidden under them.

 

[Stray Shinku]

Alexander Kisaragi
Location → Backyard Woods, Haruhi's Villa | Interactions: Haruhi (@ScarletNova) | Mentions: Ryunosuke, and Miyuki

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"Oh, boy, I wonder if it's okay to never wash this hand again!" thought Alex once Haruhi received his high five. No, Alex, seriously, wash your hands, please. That's anti-hygienical.

As he looked down at his right hand to get lost in his wild fantasies about his beloved crush, Haruhi agreed with his plans of helping Ryu, and Miyuki to get closer to each other. Just like him, she also thought that they could be something between these young lovebirds that still don't know their hidden feelings toward each other. So, when Haruhi called him to join her to enter the woods, Alexander quickly followed her like a loyal dog, leaving behind a trail of invisible floating hearts. This guy definitely sold his heart to Haruhi. Too bad Haruhi still giving him the Friendzone card, though.

It took the couple a few minutes to reach a deeper part of the woods, and Alex surprisingly could recognize where they were because he passed through here before while looking for a spot to hide the treasure chest. With an unamused and calm expression, Alex moved his head to stare at his surroundings, nodding as he made some mental notes to mark their path so it will be easier for him, and Haruhi to exit the woods afterward. This was an acquired skill he earned thanks to the help of Maggie, his personal maid, and Shione. They both trained him, explaining to him that this skill could save his life if he ever got lost in some woods or get kidnapped by some weird group in an attempt to ask his family for money. Luckily, nobody has ever dared to kidnap him, mainly because he knew Maggie was always around.

"Ah, you should know that I hid two treasure chests, Haru-chan," said Alex with a mischievous smile after a while, walking beside Haruhi. Suddenly, he felt something wrapping around his arm. Blinking in confusion, Alex stopped walking and turned his head to his right to find Haruhi practically hugging his arm, looking around the woods, apparently scared. Doubting his suspicions, Alex stared at her for a couple of seconds, observing her carefully before she began to say that the woods were actually kind of creepy.

"They are?" asked Alex with confusion before turning his head to look around them. "I mean, yeah, it's kind of dark, but not that much thanks to the moon, and stars up there. Mmmh... Instead of creepy, I find this place peaceful." With a smile, Alex stared a little longer in the woods around him. This was another detail of Alex only a few knew. He wasn't scared at all of the dark or creepy places. In fact, the guy was practically immune to scary stuff, finding them stupid, and obviously fake. That's why when they were young, Haruhi named him her "brave knight".

Suddenly, a memory from the past struck Alexander like lightning. He remembered when they were like 8 years old or so, and he joined Haruhi to one of the summer parties her family did in the Villa. Trying to act tough, Haruhi dared Alexander to join her on a little stroll deep into these same woods. Obviously wanting to be with her as much as possible, Alexander accepted her challenge without thinking it twice. The funny thing was that after they accidentally got way too deep into the woods, Haruhi lost track of their path, getting lost. She also got scared of the woods once she realized they were creepy when the darkness fell on them. After confessing it to Alex and in the brink of crying, Alex's protective instincts kicked in. There was no way he would let his beloved crush cry or be scared by some lame woods. With a smile, Alex grabbed Haruhi's hand, but this one instead hugged his right arm, feeling safer that way. Blushing cutely, and with his heart racing at full speed, Alexander luckily managed to lead their way out of the woods with ease, not scared at all. After finally reaching the Villa, Haruhi hugged the crap out of him, kissed his right cheek, with almost gave Alex a heart attack, and cutely named him her "brave knight".

Years later, though, now they are in the same situation. Scoffing with a bright smile, Alexander turned his head to look back at Haruhi. "It's okay, Haru-chan, I'm right here with you," he told her before gently poking the tip of her nose with his left index finger. "Nothing will happen to you, okay? These woods are not haunted or cursed at all. Now, let's move, I know this path." With a smile, Alex began to walk with Haruhi closer to him so she could feel safe with him. A dumb smile was still visible on him, along with his pink cheeks once he realized that the Haruhi he knew back then was still here beside him, just a little taller, and mature. He guessed that some things will always stay the same no matter how older you get, and, secretly, he was glad Haruhi didn't change that much. Thanks to that, he returned to be her "brave knight".

After a couple of minutes of walking, Alex suddenly stopped walking when he heard some voices. Quickly, he turned his head to look at Haruhi and gestured her to listen.

"Come on! Help me dig the rocks out."

"I wonder what the prize could be."

With a low, mischievous chuckle, Alexander turned his head to look at Haruhi. "Those sounded like Ryu-kun, and Miyuki-chan," he said and chuckled again. "Boy, they are about to fell for the trap. Come on, let's get a little closer to have a better look at their epic fail." Walking silently, Alexander made his way toward some bushes that were behind Ryunosuke and Miyuki. Crouching behind the bushes, Alexander slowly and silently poked his head above the bushes just enough to have a peek at Ryunosuke and Miyuki.

As Ryunosuke dug out one of the remaining rocks at the suspicious spot, this one triggered a makeshift mechanism that, after a few seconds, made fake spiders, and other fake insects fall from three nearby trees and land on Ryunosuke, and Miyuki. Knowing that Miyuki was such a nervous, and scardy cat, Alexander braced himself, expecting her to scream at the top of her lungs, jumping at the arms of Ryunosuke for protection. Ah, yes... Alexander, and his wild fantasies, huh?