Aikō-ka Kurabu | The Lovers Club IC Season 1

[ScarletNova]

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

Mariko expected a face full of ground at this point but when the inevitable didn't happen, she was in a moment of shock. It took her a few seconds to realize that Rain's arms were wrapped around her waist and that he had kept her up. Just like a thermometer when the temperature suddenly rises, a deep shade of red quickly engulfed Mari's face. This was the first time she had any other person besides her family members touch her, and especially someone that was of the opposite gender.

Considering Rain was much more normal than her, the scene had ended as soon as it started with him releasing her and pulling out flashlights for them. Stiffly, she reached out for the light and took it, like she was some robot set on automatic. "T-thank you," she muttered out still acting much like that 'Mariko robot'. All she could think about was those hands that had been around her waist. But when Rain mentioned something about focusing on the task at hand, she finally snapped out of her head.

What was she doing? She needed to thank him for what he did. And yes, they needed to get to finding that treasure. "Right," she replied. "Let's keep looking." She turned on the flashlight and started to look around, particularly in places she thought someone might hide something like a bush or under some branches.

"Oh and thank you, Rain. For catching me," she added as another blush appeared on her cheeks for a moment as she thought about the scene a little bit more again. Still, he really did help her out. It was because of him that she didn't get hurt or break her glasses from the impact. After she let out a mental sigh to try to calm herself down, she glanced over to a group of branches. Maybe there was something there? She reached down but stopped midway. What if something took her hand when she reached down?

She hesitated for a moment then instead opted to use her foot rather than her hand. She just hoped nothing grabbed at her leg. Already her imagination was running scenarios in her head about a corpse hand taking hold of her foot and then pulling her off somewhere never to been seen by anyone ever again. Then she would become another ghost story for this woods. She slowly pushed the branches away to see if there was anything under them. To Mariko's relief, nothing had attacked her but unfortunately there was also no treasure chest there. It was time to keep looking.

She walked on with Bob and Rain, searching for anything that looked like it might have been touched more recently. "Where would you two hide a chest?" she then asked. Maybe if they thought about it some more they might be able to pick more specific areas. After all, the forest was pretty big and a chest was small.

Mariko moved the flashlight around some more but when she did she swore that a shadow passed by nearby. She suddenly broke out in a sweat as she went pale. She stuttered like she was trying to say something to the boys, but it was impossible to get out. She stared towards the direction she thought she had seen it. Thoughts ran through her head, trying to tell herself that it was just her imagination and that the stories plus the darkness were just playing tricks on her as they could. Then she would change her mind and claim that she did see something but it was probably just another group nearby or an animal of some sort. Yeah. It's not like they were alone in the woods.

"D-did you guys see a shadow?" She finally got out.

 

[ScarletNova]

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

"Peaceful?" Haruhi repeated as she heard Alex's calming words to her. So, he didn't find this place creepy or scary at all and instead peaceful? That was expected of Alex. He was always like that, wasn't he? He might look adorably cute (don't tell him she thought that) but he really was a lot stronger and tougher than his appearance.

"It's okay, Haru-chan, I'm right here with you," Alex had said. Then he poked her nose. "Nothing will happen to you, okay? These woods are not haunted or cursed at all. Now, let's move, I know this path."

A light shade of pink came over her cheeks. She had been right. Like she had thought, Alex would be able to make her feel better. The woods weren't really all that scary or creepy. And with Alex there, she knew she would be fine.

"Right, okay," she responded and gave him a smile in return. She walked beside him, keeping close just in case she started to feel a bit bothered by the woods again. But just knowing he was right there with her already made her feel much better. After a few minutes of walking though, Alex had gestured to stop and listen.

As she paused, she could hear very familiar voices not far away, Miyuki's and Ryunosuke's. Alex confirmed this, then mentioned that the two fell for a trap and that they should get closer to watch. Haru followed and joined him in the bush, poking her head out with him to watch what would happen. She had no idea what kind of trap Alex had made.

She waited as the unsuspecting party moved the last of the rocks out of the way. Then suddenly a bunch of fake spiders and other insects began raining down on Ryu and Miyuki. Haruhi's face grew very pale but she steeled her expression in an attempt to not freak out. They were fake! They were fake! They weren't real spiders and insects!

She pulled her head out of the bush to turn away, being terrified of spiders and many other insects herself. She glanced back over towards Alex. He had come up with such a plan?! To use fake insects? It was dastardly! It was horrible! It was perfect! Something so terrifying would definitely force Miyuki into Ryunosuke's arms. And Alex had come up with it?! He was a genius demon of love!

A dark red blush came over Haruhi's cheeks. She raised one of her hands to her cheek as she closed her eyes for a moment. Her other hand touched the ground to stabilize herself. Her mouth parted open as she breathed out. "What is this feeling?" she muttered. "Ah, it's just so....just so...attractive..."

Was Alex always this dangerous? Was he always this irresistible? Haru pulled her hand from her cheek and reached out towards Alex, pulling him back out of the bush and to her. She stared at him, her face beet red. "You...you genius demon of love," she whispered and leaned closer, her face inching closer to his. Her lips parted, only centimeters away from Alex's lips...

And then something rustled up in the trees and seconds after it did so, an owl flew out of the branches towards the two of them, only to swoop back upwards just before it hit them. But the action forced Haruhi to pull away from Alex and fall backwards away from him. Luckily, she had caught herself by putting both of her hands on the ground behind her so her back didn't hit the ground. She looked up at the owl as it flew to another branch then she looked back at Alex.

"Huh?" she said as if she was confused. The red in her cheeks had disappeared. She stared at him for a moment, blinking a few times. What was she just thinking about? She could have sworn something was just on her mind and that she wanted to do something, but it was like she couldn't even remember. She thought about it for a moment.

"What were we doing...? Oh yeah, trying to scare the others," she muttered. She looked at Alex again, seeing him just sitting there. "What are you doing Alex? We need to mess with everyone more. We can't just sit here and do nothing. We have the perfect opportunity to make some romance."

 

[Accelerator]

The Tactician| Location: Haruhi's Villa -----> Into the Woods| Interactions: Yuuta ( @Reanimator Spuds ) | Mentions: Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun ) | Haruhi (@ScarletNova )​

After swearing Yuuta to secrecy, Shione was about to get pumped up once more when he readily agreed to her plan of bringing Haruhi and Alex closer together but he just had to ask if he could help her as well? What the heck did that mean really? For starters, Yuuta had just came back from god knows where and only the girls were supposed to know of her current predicament so there was no way that he would also know about it, right? It's not like the resident playboy of Bara High is actually a sensitive guy that would easily take note if something is troubling a maiden. The most likely source of his inquiry could just be because of her reputation as someone who couldn't maintain a relationship for too long because of her curse.

Regardless of how he had come to the conclusion to ask her that question, Shione had come to a decision.

"What, me? Nope! Not right now at least. My priority is getting Haruhi paired up before this training camp ends. We're third years after all and most of us are probably going to different universities, pursuing different career paths. I want to help Haruhi find her one true love just as she did for countless other students in our school. I want her to experience the bliss and sorrows of romance before our time together ends. And if you could help me make that happen, I'd be eternally grateful to you." Shione told Yuuta with as much sincerity she could muster.

It was a valiant wish, and Shione did mean every word she had just uttered. But deep down inside, she wanted that as well. To experience love for herself. To go on dates, get on fights, make up, and make precious memories with her significant other. To feel normal and not feel empty inside all the time. To not feel a pang of jealousy every time she guides others to a treasure she couldn't possess. It might be presumptuous of her to feel this way, but if money could buy her a normal life, she would have traded all of hers for one a long time ago. Some people may label her a hypocrite if she says this, while enjoying the wealth and resources the Higurashi family has, but no sane person would trade places with her after experiencing her "curse".

"AHEM! In any case, my plan is to scare the bageezus out of those two and bring them closer together. Luckily, I know just what to do."

With a knowing grin, she momentarily leaves Yuuta on his own to get a makeup kit back in her room, sneaking on the way there and back to avoid suspicion from Haruhi and any other groups. When she returned, she immediately went to town with Yuuta, putting makeup and dressing him up with whatever material she could scavenge from the forest plus the accessories she brought with him. It was a good thing that she managed to convince Griselda to teach her to make monstrous costumes in between her tactical camouflage sessions. The end result impressed her quite a bit. I mean it looked so convincingly real that Shione wouldn't have pegged it to be just a ladiesman dressed up as a monster rather than something that goes bump in the night.


"Kukuku. I gotta say I outdid myself this time. You look terrifying! In a good way!" Shione praised? Yuuta while that dastardly grin of hers never left her face.

"This isn't just some random monster too. Back when we were kids, Haruhi, Reina, Alex, and I would use to tell scary stories about the forest around a camp fire every time we come here. This is from one of my stories, the Hangman Fiend. Legend says that in this very forest, A man committed suicide after his unrequited love got married to someone else. He hanged himself in the most sinister looking tree he could find and the tree ended up becoming a horrible monster that specifically targets women, as it longs for the company of his unrequited love. The problem is, even though you look the part, your cover would be instantly blown if you talk using your normal voice, so you gotta use this portable voice changer the R & D department of my brother's company developed. I was gonna use this concept for a future Lover's Club operation but I reserved this specifically for a special assignment so not even Haruhi should know about this." Shione explains as he hands a choker-like device to Yuuta.


"You just gotta try and target Haruhi, and provoke Alex into protecting her. If Alex overcomes his fear of the monstrous entity that haunted as us kids in the past and ends up protecting Haruhi from ya, it could inadvertently spark something between them. I made you look extra menacing by splashing fake blood and adding some gory details to you to amp up your shock factor. In theory, the scarier the experience, the closer they're going to be to each other. " She added with a confident grin.

Shione snaps her fingers and a few seconds later, Griselda appears before them.

"Griselda, are there any "Guardians" present aside from you?" Shione asks inquisitvely.

"Yes. I've met with Maggie under the Kisaragi family's employment a while ago." Griselda replied.

"Could you let her in on this operation? Wouldn't want one of Alex's combat maids to accidentally murder Yuuta while he performs Operation Scary Doki."

"As you wish." Griselda bows in acknowledgment before vanishing as quickly as she arrived.

"That should just about do it for preparations. Now get out there and give Haruhi and Alex the fright of their lives... and hopefully jump start the first moments of the rest of their lives!" Shione declared excitedly.

 

[Rads]

Location: Woods
Interaction: @ScarletNova
xLarius


Rain thinks a few moments as he's taking everything in then says "it's probably a fox or a mouse. We are in the woods and there are lots of nocturnal creatures that live in the woods. As for me helping, you're welcome and I'm glad you are okay." He pauses for a minute then says "as for the treasure, have you checked a small grove or between the roots? If it's deep enough under the roots and given its night time, it will be harder to spot." He moves towards the tree and it wasn't long before he's by the roots and shines his light down in the roots to see what's there. He can't see as well as he would like so he knees down so he can see better.

A few moments or so later he sees a fox come from behind the tree. The fox comes up and rubs against his leg because it wants some food. Rain gently laughs then takes some jerky out of his other pocket to feed the fox. After the fox is done eating it jumps into Rain's arms and climbs his arm, licking his face. Rain gently smiles and strokes and pats its head. Rain starts thinking 'I quickly grabbed Mariko and propped her up because even though I look like a thug I'm a gentleman most times. I did make her self conscious about it but she seems to have gotten over it fairly quickly despite her reaction before. Also, outside of ruby and mum, I don't really have much experience with the vast world of women.

Bob goes over to Mariko then says "it's also clear you are not used to male contact the way many girls are because you seem fairly embarrassed and jumpy in your reaction to rain holding you up. That aside though, you have recovered quickly so that's a very good thing. I'm sure in time you'll get more used to being around everyone here." Bob is about to move away from Mariko and then it occurs to him that they can look together and slowly spread out to cover more area. He pauses in his thoughts for a few moments or so then says "I was just thinking, let's start off where we are then we can slowly spread out and cover more of the woods."

Bob then turns around and sees Rain with a fox on his shoulder licking his face and playfully says "I see you've made a new friend and a fox no less. I wonder what the others will say when you bring the fox back."

Rain gently laughs and then says "that's a valid point. I'm not used to this but since it seems so attached to me that for the time being it would seem to mean to shoo the creature away. Rain pauses for a minute then says "What should we do next as a group since we're not making much progress at the moment?"

Ruby gently sighs, one minute they were having a normal conversation about who they are and friends and such then all of a sudden she's running to save her new friend. Ruby quickly catches up to Lucinda, grabbing the backpack as it falls. She then runs up a tree then flips and lands on her feet like a cat. In one swift motion she cuts the rope with a single chop. She grabs the other part of the rope and gently starts to let Lucinda down.

She then says "You seem to have a lot on your mind and that noose was very well hidden. Are you okay? It's only natural most girls would have reacted the same way you just did because it's embarrassing." Ruby pauses as she continues to lower Lucinda down until she's on the ground safely. She then jumps down from the tree and undoes the knot that made the trap. Her eyes reflect the moonlight and she then helps Lucinda up and pulls her into her arms holding her gently because it had been a while since she last had a hug from her brother.

 

[DANAsaur]

Momozono Miyuki
Event Planner

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Location: Forest
Interactions: Ryu

As the two of them started digging around the rocks, Miyuki couldn't hide the excitement in her eyes. Finally they're going to have the treasure! All the awkwardness; the irregular heartbeats; the clumsiness; all of it will be worth it! "Dig faster!" She eagerly commanded to the boy. "We'll finally-"

Suddenly the sound of something being unlatched reached Miyuki ears. Before she could even tell Ryu about it, thousands of insects and spiders welcomed them! It was such a horrifying sight that Miyuki let out a scream on top of her lungs, enough to make the birds around them fly off of their perches.

"AHHHHHH!" She screamed while jumping frantically to shake off the bugs. Her movements were so erratic that she might have elbowed or punched Ryunosuke out of accident. Her hands then immediately found its way towards Ryunosuke's collar as she saw him covered in insect as well before she started shaking him aggressively. She cannot stand spiders or bugs! She hates everything about it! Oh, just the very thought of it is making her skin crawl!

"GET IT OFF. GET IT OFF. GET IT OFF" she begged Ryu between shaking him and repeatedly punching his chest hard. She cannot take this anymore! Out of all the things that could happen, why does it have to be spiders?! The poor girl started beating up Ryunosuke body while shaking out of fear.

"Get them off!" She frantically squealed, shaking him over and over again while throwing slaps and punches here and there. "I don't want spiders! And I don't want the treasure anymore! I wanna go home!"

Tears started streaming down her cheeks once again as she remembered her childhood. Back then during summer, boys around her neighborhood would tease her about spiders. One boy who apparently had a crush in her gave her a spider and let it crawl on her skin! It was one of the many reasons why her androphobia was developed.

"I don't like spiders so please, let's go home. I don't want to play this game anymore"
​

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[Reanimator Buns]

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

Yuuta was about to speak of his own ideas for the plan, but he was suddenly whisked off, and helping find materials for Shione. Anything she requested was met with a "As you wish," or a "With the greatest of pleasure" or even the rare "My only desire to to help you achieve your goal" However while alone he was always more of a "There is nothing to be scared of, nothing to Ahahaaaa!" or "The things I do to be a gentleman..." to the not so rare "Shione, my fair lady, please save me!"

Eventually he had collected everything she needed. Looking up at her handywork, he was both impressed and terrified. The thing looked absolutely monstrous. He knew it was fake it was causing him to shake in place by himself. Shione was quick to get everything set up. While her face was serious, Yuuta could tell that there an earnest feeling of enjoyment and appreciation for their president. Truly a remarkable and laudable attribute.

"Poor Shione. It is admirable to try so hard for the sake of others. But there is nothing wrong with trying to do things for your own sake at times..." he said aloud to himself.

Soon after the whole trap was set. He was just as excited to help their beloved president finally recognize her true feelings. However...

"Excellent!... Um... so then, do we wait here for them to wander by? Or should we try and go find them?" He hadn't really been a part of much of the planning. Yuuta did not care so much about that, but he was worried that Shione would be sending him out into the woods alone again.

 

[ScarletNova]

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

"A fox or mouse?" Mariko repeated after Rain had suggested the shadow she saw might be one of those animals since they were in the woods. It was logical to think that, the only thing was that this shadow was much larger than small animals like that. It would have had to be a very large animal. And although she wanted to believe his words, even maybe just some other animal, there was this nagging feeling that something just didn't feel right.

But the girl tried to blow it off and focus on what Rain said next. "A small grove or root is quite possible though there are many of those around here. I would assume it would look a little touched already," she responded and took a look around but glanced over towards Bob when he brought up how she acted. A pink blush came over her cheeks. Was it that obvious? Was he able to tell so easily that she wasn't used to guys? Well, actually, she wasn't used to anyone really. All sorts of human interaction was new for her.

"Ha, yeah. I suppose I will get more comfortable with time," Mari responded as she tried to act normal in this situation. She didn't want to embarrass herself even more. She gave him a smile as she figured that was probably what she should do. Luckily, the focus went back on their task again until the fox popped out and seemed to take a liking to Rain. Either way, Mariko was glad their attention was on something else now.

"Well, foxes are an animal that can be tamed or domesticated," Mari replied when she heard them mention about what the others might think if Rain showed up with the fox. "And Lady Haruhi likes animals quite a lot so you might even be welcomed happily if you return to the villa with it. Although, I can't say that the maids would be happy afterwards if he makes a mess."

Now, they probably should get back to looking for that treasure chest. Mariko took a few steps forward to look at another area of the woods where the treasure chest might be. But as she went to look she saw another large shadow out of the corner of her eye. She straightened herself up and looked over at the others to see if they noticed anything.

"T-There was another shadow," Mari commented. "I mean...like people sized shadow." She was really hoping it was just going to be another group yet there wasn't any sound coming from where she saw the shadow. Even the fox that was with Rain seemed to be looking over in that direction like it had sensed something in that area as well.

"What if...what if it's a ghost?" Another shadow passed by, this time it was in clear enough view that all of them would be able to see it. Mariko's body stiffened. She went pale. She really wanted it to be another club member. She was trying her best to convince herself that it was a club member. She let out a little laugh. "It's probably a club member, right? Yeah. They're just playing a prank on us or something like that, right?"

And she was starting to believe herself, after all Haruhi liked to scheme a lot in order to get people together. Maybe this was another one of her plans. It had to be. She was really starting to believe this, until she felt something touch her shoulder. She looked over at it. A cold, white hand. She turned to see who it was connected to and right behind her was a woman all dressed in white just like her skin. Her hair was long, dark, and a tangled mess. Mariko screamed and without thinking, started to run away from the ghostly woman.

 

[Accelerator]

The Tactician| Location: Haruhi's Villa -----> Into the Woods| Interactions: Yuuta ( @Reanimator Spuds ) | Mentions: Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun ) | Haruhi (@ScarletNova )

Shione had to admit that Yuuta's submissive nature made it easy for her to set things up. Had it been any other club member, she doubted she could proceed with her plans as smoothly as this. What's more, it felt good having someone who wanted to help her and please her whims. It was a dangerous road though since the last thing she wanted was to become one of those bitchy, stuck up, and spoiled archetypes.

"Honestly, Yuuta's so nervous that he's acting like he's one of my butlers rather than a friend and a fellow club member. I just wish he'd act a bit more normally but we'd have to work on that a bit later. " Shione whispered to herself.

She then heard Yuuta say something that stopped the silver haired girl in her tracks.

"Poor Shione. It is admirable to try so hard for the sake of others. But there is nothing wrong with trying to do things for your own sake at times..."

"Yuuta... I'm not as nice as you think I am... I'm not doing this just for Haruhi and Alex's sake. I'm doing this for mine as well. " With a look of conviction in her eyes, Shione decided to come clean with Yuuta. If he was willing to help her this much, then he at least deserves to know her situation.

"I can't live with myself if I don't do this before this training camp ends... because by then, I'll probably be forced to leave the club." She says in a shaky voice. She feels her legs grow a bit weary forcing her to sit on a tree stump to get a bit of rest. " My brother has only allowed me to use our companies' resources for the club because he thinks being in the club was the best way for me to overcome my curse and find true love. "

Shione explains in detail to Yuuta about her peculiar condition... how for some reason, anybody who attempts to be in a relationship with her is afflicted with progressing levels of bad luck. "The last person I dated made it until a month... then he freaked out and broke up with me when a piano fell out of the sky and nearly crushed him to death had I not been with him. " She admitted with a forlorn look on her face. "Now, my brother gave me an ultimatum. In order for me to stay in the club, I'd have to get in a genuine relationship with someone who is willing to be with me through hell and high water. Unfortunately, I don't know any guys in this training camp who's interested in me even in a single bit... and quite frankly, I'm not really sure if I'm into girls as well. "

As she stood up from the stump, she turned away for a bit from Yuuta as a few tears had already started rolling down her cheeks but she wipes them away just as quickly. She fakes a smile as she forces her emotions back inside her before addressing him once again. "So, I want to do this much for Haruhi before I have to inevitably leave the club. It's the least I can do for my dearest friend."

Shione fishes out one of her phones in her pocket and hands it over to Yuuta. "As for finding where Haruhi is, I've installed a tracking app on my phone which should display her current GPS coordinates. Just follow it to where she is and based from her current coordinates, she isn't that far away from us. "

Flashing a smile and a thumbs up, she shoos Yuuta away to go and give Haruhi and Alex the fright of their lives and hopefully bring them closer together.

"And don't worry if things get a bit heated. I'll pull you out before you get too hurt... hopefully."
​

 

[Stray Shinku]

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

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When Ryunosuke finally triggered the make-shift trap that released the fake insects, Alexander quickly covered his mouth with his hands to muffle his evil, mischievous laugh.

"Oh, my God, this is freaking gold!" he thought as he kept staring at his poor victims, the innocent Miyuki screaming at the top of his lungs once she noticed the fake spiders. Apparently, behind all that sweet and adorable appearance lies an evil Tsundere guy that just wants to see the whole world burning and just laugh about it while having a pleasant tea party with Satan, but, honestly, even Satan would be scared of Alexander. Looks can be deceiving, after all.

"Ne, me, Haru-chan, look at their-"

As Alexander turned his body just enough to face Haruhi, his whole body froze and his laugh instantly faded as Haruhi grabbed his right hand and pulled him closer to her. Blushing an intense red shade, Alexander stared at her with a "surprised Pikachu" expression, clueless of what was going on inside Haruhi's mind.

"You genius of love."

Those were the only words Haruhi said, blushing flustered before slowly leaning closer toward Alexander's face.

"O-O-Oh, my freaking God! She's going to kiss me out of the blue!?" Alexander thought, completely panicking, yet excited as heck. "This is it, guys! My feelings finally reached her heart, and she's finally going to answer them with a kiss!"

Nodding with an excited smile, Alexander closed his eyes and puckered his lips, slowly leaning closer to Haruhi's lips as well. His time finally has come, and heck yes he will enjoy this very moment until the very end.

Just when their lips were only a few inches to kiss, a random owl decided to ruin the lovely moment and flew down from a tree, screeching. That made Haruhi jump out of its way, pushing back Alexander with her. Opening his eyes widely, the blonde Tanuki yelped before falling flat on the ground, face first. It was as if the karma was punishing him for what he did to Ryunosuke and Miyuki. He imagined them laughing at him, taking pictures from the sad and kind of pathetic scene.

"Goddamn my bad luck, and gray life, dammit!" thought Alexander, mentally screaming with despair as he funnily cried on the ground. "We almost kissed, man. WE ALMOST FREAKING KISSED! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!!!"

Angrily, Alexander double punched the ground with his fists as the owl flew away, hooting as if it was teasing Alexander after interrupting his romantic first kiss with Haruhi.

After a moment, Alexander slowly rolled to his right and pushed himself to sit. He was frowning with frustration and disappointment. Clicking his tongue, he carefully dusted off some dirt from his face and shirt. Then, he turned his head to look at Haruhi, which apparently was clueless about everything that happened. She didn't even remember she was about to kiss Alex. That last statement felt like a stab right on his chest. However, when she practically scolded him for just sitting on the ground and not doing anything to scare the rest of the Club, Alexander died internally.

"Ah, sorry, I just tripped," he said with an empty smile, slowly standing on his feet. And, yes, he probably was crying in his head. Sighing, he walked toward the bush to look at Ryunosuke and Miyuki, only to find that she was frantically beating the crap out of Ryunosuke. With a frozen, confused smile, Alexander blinked a couple of times, trying to understand what was going on.

"Nani...? I'm pretty sure she wasn't angry a few minutes ago," he thought and sighed, facepalming with his right hand. "What the hell you did this time to piss her off that badly, Ryu-kun?"

And we're back again with Alexander blaming everyone about something it clearly was his fault. Classic Alexander. It never gets old.

---

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When Ryunosuke heard a weird clicking sound as he pulled out a rock, he blinked a few times with confusion. Nothing happened at first, but when he stood straight, a bunch of fake insects fell on Miyuki and him from nearby trees. Raising his right eyebrow, unamused, he looked down at his right shoulder and picked the black plastic spider that was laying on him.

"Kek, what a pathetic attempt of scaring me," he mumbled with a scoff as he observed the small toy, but his whole body, and everything around him felt like trembling when Miyuki screamed as loud as she could. Of course, if it's about Miyuki we're talking about, some fake insects are enough to scare the crap out of her.

Sighing, Ryunosuke stood on her right side, and when he opened his mouth to try to explain to her that the insects were fake, he suddenly got slapped across his face, followed by a smack from her elbow.

Frowning and groaning with surprise, Ryunosuke quickly stepped back from Miyuki. He rubbed his right cheek, which had a slap mark.

"Yo, what the hell, Miyuki!?" he shouted at her angrily. "These spiders are fake, you idiot! Stop yelling and-"

Ryunosuke's eyes widened when Miyuki frenetically grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and began to shake him in an attempt to get off a few fake bugs he had on him. She was yelling and begging at him to take them off while slapping and punching his chest.

By this point, Miyuki was beyond scared, and all of a sudden, this whole prank wasn't funny anymore. Ryunosuke realized that as he looked down at her, her beautiful face covered in tears. Something definitely was going on in her mind, and the fake spiders were the reason for it.

"Miyuki, please, calm down," Ryunosuke said after a while, gently grabbing Miyuki's forearms to stop her from punching his chest. With a serene expression, he slowly embraced her on a warm hug. "They are fake insects. They can't hurt or do anything to you. This was just a really bad prank, that's all."

As he tried to calm down Miyuki, he gently laid his chin on top of Miyuki's head, and hold her close to his chest. Honestly, this was everything he could think of, and after remembering that he managed to calm her down at the beach when she thought some seaweed was a creepy sea insect, Ryunosuke hoped for the hug to work one more time.

Once he noticed that Miyuki was finally calmed down, Ryunosuke slowly released her from his hug and looked down at her. He noticed the tears covering her eyes and face, so he reached for a plain red handkerchief that was in the right pocket of his pants, which he always carries just in case he needs it for whatever reason, and gently began to wipe her tears.

"Geez, Miyuki, you're such a scary cat," he said with a teasing manner, scoffing with a small smile. "Mmh, I hope you invite me one day to meet your cats. I bet they're as cute as you."

A chuckle escaped Ryunosuke's mouth. He was trying to talk about anything that could distract Miyuki's mind from what happened, even if it was just for a few moments. When he made sure there weren't any visible tears on her face, Ryunosuke let Miyuki keep the handkerchief just in case she needs it again.

"Well, huh," he said, turning his head to his left to look down at the small treasure box among all the rocks and fake insects scattered around the ground. The box was obviously empty and was just a distraction placed by the criminal mind behind the scare prank. Sighing, he guessed this was all planned by no other than Alexander because he knew Haruhi would never do anything related to fake insects. She was as scared of creepy crawlers like Miyuki. "Let's just get back to the villa like you said, okay? I'm not interested at all for this treasure hunt now."

Smiling, Ryunosuke turned his head to look back at Miyuki. He thought of walking out of the woods holding hands with her so she could feel safe but guessed that would be too much and uncomfortable. She was okay now, so she would definitely yell at him if he does that. Scoffing, he turned around and pointed at their path.

"This is our way. Stay close to me, okay? The last thing we want is you getting lost in this woods."

Without anything else to say, Ryunosuke turned around and began to walk, expecting Miyuki to follow him closely.

---

​

"Oh, shit... I think I went too far with that prank," mumbled Alexander with a nervous chuckle once Ryunosuke and Miyuki walked away from his trap. "I mean, this was just a prank, she's going to be alright soon... R-Right?" Sweating nervously, Alexander placed his right index on his chin, sweating nervously as he plundered everything. "Oh, my God, I hope I didn't scare Miyuki for life. And I really hope Haruhi doesn't get mad at me for this."

Sighing, Alexander walked out of the bush. He looked around to make sure Ryunosuke, Miyuki, or anybody else from the group was nearby before placing his hands on his hips. He slowly walked closer to the treasure chest, which wasn't opened. He sighed with disappointment.

"Man, I wished Ryunosuke would have opened that, though," he mumbled with a pout. "Ugh, what a waste. That was the big finale of my prank."

Sighing again, he turned around and gesture Haruhi to come out of the bush. "Haru-chan, you can come out. They left. They fell for half of my prank, by the way. I'm kind of mad and disappointed, but it is what it is, I guess."

 

[Reanimator Buns]

The Vice President | Location: The Woods | Interactions: Shione (@Accelerator) Haruhi (@ScarletNova) Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun) | Mentions: None

Yuuta listened to the strife of his current trial of courage partner. So she had been suffering under the weight of having to leave a place she loved so dearly. It made sense that she would want to do this. They might not be her lovers in the club, but she loved them perhaps more so for simply being her friend. Haruhi most of all. It made him wonder and question what he would do. He also had no faith in this curse. He had heard of it, as it was quite a popular rumor, but it made no difference to him.

"Then it's decided. You help Haruhi, and I help you." He said without deciding anything. He needed to get some planning. In the next few days, Yuuta was going to take her with him and act as her wingman. Wooing boys was really not that much different than girls. After all, even men wished deeply for the loving embrace of another. He would do research and he would bring her to the beach in the morning and would not take no for an answer. But until then, he agreed. "I do request that you humor me with something at a later date though~!" He called in a sing-song voice as he walked off into the woods.

Now with a plan in mind, he wasn't too scared. But his focus had shifted more than it should have. He was running through scenarios, and making a list of all the qualities that were admirable of Shione. Things that he would accentuate while talking her up to others. It wasn't as hard as one would expect. In spite of her insecurities, she was really quite a fine girl.

She was beautiful for one. Her silver hair was a stunning sight especially in as it gleamed in the moonlight, and although understandably a sensitive topic, her uncovered eye was truly a beautiful shade of blue. He meant it as a compliment when he re-introduced himself. Then there was her disposition. It was strong and stern. While not everyone's preference, Yuuta saw it as remarkable. Seeing how she was able to take command of a situation and make her own plan come to life shows that she was respected and deserving of said respect.

And then there was her gentler side. While she was ususally more stern than the others of the club (particularly with him), it was clear that she was still heartfelt wanting to help others find love. But more than that, she was lonely and wishing for someone. She might not have expressed it outright, but Yuuta had a feeling that there was more than just a deadline placed upon her by her brother. She seemed to have given up as well. That loneliness was not so much a boon as it was a call to action for others. To show her the truth that she was someone worthy of being with another.

As he wandered, holding Shione's phone, he looked up to realize that he had gone almost too close, as he soon spotted out in the woods two figures. Their distance matched that on the GPS. Sure enough this was Alex and Haruhi... Or some monster that stole their phones and was now eager to find its next prey. But that idea frightened the boy, and he quickly banished the thought. Now, he needed to get them to follow him... The best way would likely be to make them believe that Shione was in trouble... Right? He hoped he had it right though. It was hard to see in side the mask that she had made for him.

He cleared his throat and performed a few vocal exercises before taking a deep breath and slowly increasing it to a quick and frantic pant. It was no doubt He followed them from behind for a while. His panting being as loud as he could make it, only to stumble a bit and let out a loud grunt. He kept getting closer and closer, trying to be a little louder each time.

Then, he jumped out of the brush behind her. "Graaaaaaaauuuuuuugh...." He let out a long moan of anguish and terror. Hoping that Alex would jump in to save her.

 

[ScarletNova]

Haruhi Nakamura
Club President | Location: Woods outside Villa
Interactions: Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun) and Monster Yuuta (@Reanimator Spuds)
Mentions: Ryunosuke and Miyuki (@DANAsaur)
​

Tripped? Alex had tripped? Haruhi frowned. She looked over at him as he stood up, checking to make sure the boy was okay. Did he scrap any knees or elbows? Was anything broken? She reached out her hand towards him but it was at that moment that Alex pushed through the bush again to check on Ryunosuke and Miyuki. Right. Ryunosuke and Miyuki. She had forgotten them for a moment. She was caught up in Alex tripping.

She pushed through the bush to see the left overs of fake bugs scattered across the forest floor. She cringed for a moment and then pushed them aside with her foot. They weren't real. They weren't real! She walked over towards Alex. She glanced down at the treasure chest on the ground as he mentioned that his prank wasn't fully triggered. "It happens sometimes," she admitted. "But the result was still the same. Miyuki is clinging to Ryunosuke. Her fear of bugs trumped her fear of men. It's progress."

A smile came over her. "So, what was the rest of the prank anyway?" she asked but then she heard her phone go off. She pulled it out of her pocket and took a look at it for a moment. She made a faint sound and another smile came over her, but she didn't say anything. She placed her phone back into her pocket. She then looked back at Alex.

"We have some more work to do." She went to turn around but she paused when she thought she had heard something. What was that odd noise? Was she perhaps hearing things? It seemed strange. She took a couple steps forward. It was at that moment that something quite terrifying jumped out of the woods in front of her. She took a couple steps back quickly to get away from it, but her foot had hit a root. She fell back, right into Alex.

Both their bodies hit the ground, her back pressing against his chest. She turned to him. "Alex!" she shouted out. Her arms wrapped around him and she buried her face into his chest. "M-monster!" She tightened her grip around Alex, pushing herself closer to him. Her body shook slightly. There weren't supposed to be any monsters in the woods. Monsters weren't real. She had to be imagining things, right?

She turned just slightly to look again but that monster remained there. "Make it go away!" she said to Alex as she turned her face and pushed it into his chest again. "Please."

 

[Kurogane86]

Assaragi, Keita
Location - lost
Mentioned - Haruhi, Lucinda

Kei was wandering the woods alone, he was seperated from his group and refused to call for help. "Ha, this test of courage isn't much." He said obviously putting up a brave front. "I don't know why everyone was so scared about that story. It was just a story. I bet Pez just thought it up randomly. Or something like.." suddenly a scream boomed throughout forrest. "What the Hell?" Keita suddenly felt nervous. "Hey! You guys ok?" He listened and didn't hear a response. "I said are you guys Ok?!!" Still nothing. At this point Kei started running tword the scream.

'Someone's in trouble. I hope its not Lucinda Sempai.' He started to run faster and faster. Leaping over logs, bushes and weaving throughout the trees. "Im coming Sempai!!" He yelled as he ran. He only saw trees, trees and more trees. Nothing was familiar. He stopped and listened again, this time he heard specific words. 'Monster! Here? Whats going on?" He started running again tword the noises.

 

[ScarletNova]

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Woods
Interactions: Keita (@Kurogane86)
Mentions: Rain and Bob (@Rads)
​

Mariko continued to run through the woods with only the ghost woman in her thoughts. Her feet crunched the leaves underneath her feet with each step.Those steps brought her farther and farther away from her partners, Rain and Bob, without her even realizing it at all. And she would have kept running if it wasn't for the fact that she had suddenly ran straight into something large. She stepped back a few steps, almost like she had bounced off of it. She blinked a couple of times. She would have thought it was a tree, considering she was in a forest, but she was surprised that she wasn't hurt.A tree would have been really painful, but instead she was perfectly fine. And it had felt much softer than a tree.

Her eyes adjusted and fell onto the object she had hit. Right in front of her was a tall, dark haired man. She had seen him recently, just before she had entered the forest with Rain and Bob. Though, she had no idea what his name was considering Haruhi didn't introduce her to anyone properly.She at least knew though that he was apart of the lovers club, which meant he was most likely safe and not another ghost. Besides, could you even run into and bounce off of a ghost.

"I-I'm sorry," she suddenly said to him with red on her cheeks from embarrassment.She bowed to him, an action that momentarily brought her eyes to the ground. She glanced at the dying leaves then to his feet. She straightened herself up and look at him again. Now, what was she doing? A few moments of silence went by...

Wait a second! She had left Rain and Bob with the ghost! How could she?! What if something happened to them? What if the ghost took them away? She needed to go back and save them. She turned away from the man for a moment, took a few steps forward, but then suddenly turned back towards the guy and took a few steps towards him. Then she did this a few times again, like she was debating something in her head.

There was no way she could do this alone! What was she supposed to do? She looked over towards the large guy again. He looked strong and brave. Maybe he could help with the ghost? "You have to help me," she stated. She stepped over towards him and grabbed his arm. "I left them behind! We have to go save them!"

She tugged at the arm she grabbed and tried to take a step back towards Rain and Bob's directly, but clearly she was too weak to actually move Keita. "They might be in trouble so we have to hurry," she added as she tugged again. She then let go and started to run back in the direction she had left Rain and Bob behind, hoping that Keita would follow her. Even if he didn't though, she knew she had to go back and save them.

Meanwhile, Mari had left that ghostly woman back with Rain and Bob. Her ghoulish eyes shifted over to the two boys. She smiled at them with a smirk. And then she slowly faded away as she continued to stare at them. It was silent for a few moments, until she reappeared again just behind the two of them. She smiled again then a strange laugh started to escape her lips.

 

[Kurogane86]

Keita Assargi
Location Woods
Interacting with @ScarletNova

Keita was running like a mad man through the woods. He slowed down once again listening for the screams of help from before. He was about to start running again when he hit something Soft. "ugh, what?" He blurted out as he bounced off of whatever was in front of him. He took a better look, he saw her earlier when everyone was gathered around, but due to some other stuff he didn't get her name. He watched as she paniced and started apologizing. "please it was my fault. i was in a hurry." Keita looked at her and wondered why she was out on her own. She looked so small, so delicate. like she needed to be protected. Kei watched her in silence as she just stood there looking at him.

Suddenly she started pulling on his arm and asking for his help. She kept pulling and saying how she left them behind, "wait. who'd you leave behind? what kind of danger are they in?" He wanted her to explain it to her carefully but she took off running. "hey, wait." He said as she took off into the woods again. "argh!, i said wait damn it." he huffed as he took off after her. As she ran Kei started to think what happened to who group, she didn't even say who her group was. "hey, who's in trouble? what kind of trouble are they in?" he shouted at her trying to catch up.

 

[ScarletNova]

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Woods
Interactions: Keita (@Kurogane86), Rain and Bob (@Rads)
Mentions: Rain and Bob (@Rads)
​

Mariko heard the fast footsteps of the guy she ran into behind her. He called out to her, asking her some questions but she knew she didn't have time to stop and answer him. She glanced back, noticing that since she was much smaller than him and most likely less athletic, he was catching up pretty quickly.

"Rain and Bob," she shouted out to him but continued to run. She had to get back to them. "I left them alone with the ghost! What if she takes them away? What if we can't find them ever again!" Now, Mariko knew that this could sound odd to someone else but she hoped he would follow her anyway. She glanced back to him for a moment but faced forward again because she didn't want to trip on any roots or run into any trees or bushes.

"Please, even if you don't believe me just come with me anyway." He could at least humor the idea or even if he didn't believe her at all, still come to make sure everyone was okay. This was a large woods after all, anything could happen in it. Whatever made him accompany her, as long as he followed then that was the only thing that mattered.

A few steps more and Mariko had found herself with Rain and Bob again. Luckily, they were still there. Unluckily, so was the ghostly woman. Mari had really hoped that she would be gone by the time she had returned. The ghostly woman turned to Mariko and Keita. Her smile briefly disappeared for only a moment until her lips curved upward again.

"You brought another one," she spoke. Her voice was eerily cold and sent a shiver down Mariko's spine. Mari reached out, wanting something to calm her racing heart. She felt the fabric of Keita's shirt and gripped it tightly. She really wanted to run away. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"R-Rain, Bob, c-come over here...quickly," she said. She pulled her eyes away from the specter and placed them on her two partners. With her free hand she motioned for them to come over to where she and Keita stood, which for Mariko was preferably much farther away from the ghostly woman.

"Don't be like that. Why don't we play?" the spirit replied. She reached her arm out towards Mariko and Keita. "We'll have so much fun together. Come closer."

"W-We can't play right now. W-we have to get back to the villa," Mariko replied. "Y-Yeah, Lady haruhi is calling for all of us. We have to go." Mariko wasn't big on lying but she figured since this was a strange situation and they were dealing with a ghost, that giving them a reason like that would make them less angry. You never wanted to anger a ghost, right? Didn't that make them worse?

 

[Rads]

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Woods
Interactions: Keita (@Kurogane86), Rain and Bob (@Rads)
Mentions: Rain and Bob (@Rads)
​

Mariko heard the fast footsteps of the guy she ran into behind her. He called out to her, asking her some questions but she knew she didn't have time to stop and answer him. She glanced back, noticing that since she was much smaller than him and most likely less athletic, he was catching up pretty quickly.

"Rain and Bob," she shouted out to him but continued to run. She had to get back to them. "I left them alone with the ghost! What if she takes them away? What if we can't find them ever again!" Now, Mariko knew that this could sound odd to someone else but she hoped he would follow her anyway. She glanced back to him for a moment but faced forward again because she didn't want to trip on any roots or run into any trees or bushes.

"Please, even if you don't believe me just come with me anyway." He could at least humor the idea or even if he didn't believe her at all, still come to make sure everyone was okay. This was a large woods after all, anything could happen in it. Whatever made him accompany her, as long as he followed then that was the only thing that mattered.

A few steps more and Mariko had found herself with Rain and Bob again. Luckily, they were still there. Unluckily, so was the ghostly woman. Mari had really hoped that she would be gone by the time she had returned. The ghostly woman turned to Mariko and Keita. Her smile briefly disappeared for only a moment until her lips curved upward again.

"You brought another one," she spoke. Her voice was eerily cold and sent a shiver down Mariko's spine. Mari reached out, wanting something to calm her racing heart. She felt the fabric of Keita's shirt and gripped it tightly. She really wanted to run away. She swallowed hard and took a deep breath.

"R-Rain, Bob, c-come over here...quickly," she said. She pulled her eyes away from the specter and placed them on her two partners. With her free hand she motioned for them to come over to where she and Keita stood, which for Mariko was preferably much farther away from the ghostly woman.

"Don't be like that. Why don't we play?" the spirit replied. She reached her arm out towards Mariko and Keita. "We'll have so much fun together. Come closer."

"W-We can't play right now. W-we have to get back to the villa," Mariko replied. "Y-Yeah, Lady haruhi is calling for all of us. We have to go." Mariko wasn't big on lying but she figured since this was a strange situation and they were dealing with a ghost, that giving them a reason like that would make them less angry. You never wanted to anger a ghost, right? Didn't that make them worse?

Location - woods
Interacting- Mariko, Kieta

Bob and rain come over to Mario after picking up on Mariko cues then bob gently sighs now they say" i got to admit this has become a bit of an awkward situation, but since we can't put the cat back in the bag so to speak, i suppose it wouldn't hurt to find out a little about what's going on with the lady ghost but we shouldn't be out too long because that will cause problems later". " Also Mariko are you going to be ok talking to the ghost and hearing her out for a bit or should i take you back and leave rain and Keita to talk to her for a little while"?
He looks between Rain and Kieta and Mariko to see what would happen next, and act according to so things wouldn't get too messy.

Rain is not completely happy about the sudden turn of events, but as Bob said one can't put the cat back in the bag so to speak, so he says" I'll go along with whatever works best for the group, so far the female ghost hasn't been too bad so i don't want to be overly rude to her". " However next time Keita please think a bit more before you speak so you can avoid putting the group in situations that could have been avoided". " So miss ghost, what should we call you it's kinda of weird to keep calling someone one miss ghost".

 

[Kurogane86]

Location - woods
Interacting- Mariko, Rain and Bob

Keita followed the frazzled Mariko. "Slow down! they'll be fine." Keita yelled out as he chased after the girl. "A ghost? Theres no ghost here, its just your mind acting up cuz the ghost story Prez. Told us."

They finally arrived and Kei was confronted with a ghostly figure. "What the hell?" Kei yelled out as he saw the ghostly presence. He stood still as she spoke. He felt Mariko's hand on his shirt. He reached up and gripped her hand tightly. Rain and Bob joined them as the faced off against the ghost.

Once the ghostly figure reached for them, Kei pulled Mariko behind him and the other boys. Kei heard them all try to plead with the ghost. The boys offered to return and hangout with the ghost, Mariko tried to lie to it. "Guys, relax. We just need to relax." Kei said as he motioned for everyone to back up slowly. "Look, ghostly person. I understand that you may be lonely. Why don't you tell us about your unfinished business. How can we help you find peace?"

 

[Stray Shinku]

Alexander Aisaka
Location: Woods, Haruhi's Villa | Interactions: Haruhi (@ScarletNova), "Monster" Yuuta (@Reanimator Spuds) | Mentions: Ryunosuke, Miyuki

---

​

"You're right, but is still annoying, though," replied Alex with a slight pout as he looked down at his half-triggered makeshift prank trap, crossing his arms on his chest.

Haruhi was right when she explained to him that, even when the trap wasn't't fully triggered, Ryunosuke and Miyuki still managed to get closer to each other. Kind of. Sure, the poor Miyuki is going to probably be scarred for life, but she'll live with it, and Ryunosuke will be there for her. At least that's what Alexander believes, and he hoped for Haruhi to think the same way.

"Damn, it's really depressing that I'm this good helping others all in love, but when it comes to my romanticinterests, I'm completely helpless," Alex thought, smiling through his obvious pain with a kind of funny-depressive face.

As the blonde teenager sighed deeply, he turned his head to look over at the woman of his dreams, his goddess incarnated, his soulmate, and perhaps future wife... Wow, look at that. There's no doubt now that Alex probably just sold his soul for Haruhi. This is obvious, of course, but man, he's beyond salvation.
Before getting lost deeper in his fantasies, Haruhi told Alex something he didn't quite managed to listen. Blinking his eyes with a confused smile, he raised his right hand just a little bit with his index finger lifted as he wanted to ask Haruhi if she could repeat what she was trying to tell him. However, things took a full 360º turn when Haruhi suddenly backed off from a nearby bush in front of her before tripping with her foot. Like the brave shining knight he is, Alex dashed forward behind Haruhi to catch her in his arms, but the sudden impact of her body against his chest knocked him good, making him lose his balance and fall backwards to the ground with a heavy thud.

It was a good thing that Haruhi fell safely on top of Alex, but something was definitely wrong. She turned around to face him, shouting his name with a shaky voice before burying her face on his chest. As she held him close for dear life, Alex looked down at her, frowning with confusion and concern as he held her protectively.

"Haruhi, what's wrong?" he asked her calmly, hiding the fact that he was quite nervous. When he gently pushed himself to sit on the ground, holding Haruhi, she mumbled something about a monster. Baffled, Alex scoffed with a small smile, thinking that Haruhi was just trying to prank him.

"Come on, you can do better than that, Haru-chan," replied Alex. Everything turned serious when she moved her head to look once again the bush in front of them, and the blonde guy copied her. There's when he finally saw the weird creepy creature staring down at them, menacingly.

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT THING!?" Alexander thought with an internal screaming as his jaw slightly dropped with shock as he observed the creature. Is that thing a ghost haunting these woods and got angry because the Lovers Club were invading its home? But ghosts aren't real, though. Besides, these woods are Haruhi's parents property, and Alex was pretty sure they made sure this whole place was safe before buying. After processing the whole situation in his head, Alex finally arrived to a finally conclusion.

"Oh, so there's a funny person that dared to scare and mess with my beloved Haruhi? Ha... Ha, ha, ha~ I'll make this fool regret its whole existence, then."

Gently, Alex moved Haruhi off him, and made her sit on the ground. Then, he picked a short but thick branch that was bellow a nearby tree before slowly standing from the ground. A dark, purple aura was radiating from him as he stared at the "monster" in front of him with a sharp death-glare. He lifted the branch with his left hand, and pointed at the menace with it.

"I don't know what the hell are you, but know only this: scaring Haruhi was a BIG mistake," he told the "monster" with a defying grin. "I'll make you suffer for it, and send you back from where you came from."

And with nothing else to add to his "pissed off Shounen anime protagonist" speech, Alexander took the branch with both of his hands, and took a step back as he slowly moved his arms with the branch above his shoulder. After a few seconds, he swiftly dashed forward towards the "monster", swinging the branch like a bat in an attempt to smash the crap out of whoever was behind the monster disguise.

 

[Reanimator Buns]

Yuuta​

Location: Woods, Haruhi's Villa | Interactions: Haruhi (@ScarletNova) Alex (@Shinku⭐Kun)

Well, he eventually get to looking cool. Yuuta was glad this was working so far as he smiled beneath his frightening mask. Good for Alex! Standing up to protect Haruhi from a deranged killer who he has no idea is actually him!... Wait... This all felt so familiar... Suddenly the branch came bashing in to the side of his head. Much like the first time Alex had beaten him senseless, he was doing it again. Only this time the bat was wooden and jagged, instead of foam.

With a single solid strike, Yuuta tumbled to the ground behind him at high speeds, before slamming his back against a tree trunk. He was gasping for air, trying to collect himself. "Ah... I see... So this is where I die..." he muttered to himself. It was such a shame. There were still so many beautiful girls to hit on... He hoped he would be reincarnated as attractive as he was this time.

"Farewell cruel world... I hope my sacrifice will bring those two closer together... For now... I leave this material plane..."

He tilted his head sideways, his soul escaping out from his mouth in a wispy tailed form, blowing loving kisses to the world as it ascended. The mask fell off from the impact, leaving a swollen and bloodied face of the "deceased" Vice President for all to see.

 

[DANAsaur]

Momozono Miyuki
and
Ryunosuke Aisaka

---

Location: Forest - River - Villa

There was something so comforting about Ryunosuke that Miyuki couldn't figure out. Was it his warmth that seemed to engulf her every time they hugged? Or was it his voice that's so gentle and sweet that makes her want to believe whatever words he spouts? Whatever it was, it was enough to calm her down.

She let herself rest against Ryunosuke's sturdy chest until her breathing slowed down. It caught her off guard how a tiny part of her wanted to stay in his arms though she quickly shook the idea away.
​

What is happening to me? she asked herself for the ninth time. Ever since she started spending more time with the octopus head, her emotions were all over the place.

Miyuki must have looked so dazed as Ryunosuke wiped off her tears. Heck, she was still out of it until the male mentioned getting back to the villa.

"W-Wait." Miyuki stuttered before reaching out to loop her pinky finger with his. She could already feel her cheeks warming up though she tried her best to ignore it. It's the least she can do for him, right?! Besides, it would be a real problem if she got lost deep in the woods.

"I'm doing this so that we w-won't get lost. Not because I find your presence comforting or anything. Also..." Taking her phone out, Miyuki began scrolling through her phone to show Ryunosuke a picture of her cats. "I think my cats would like you. Y-You're... nice."

Shown on the picture were two cats: a plump black one with green eyes and a slender white cat with blue eyes. "This is Kuro and Shiro, my babies." she introduced with a fond smile. "Kuro likes to eat a lot. See?"

Ryunosuke blinked twice with a surprised expression as he felt his pinky being grabbed by Miyuki's. Smiling with confusion, Ryunosuke slowly turned around to look down at Miyuki. He was about to ask her if everything was okay, but the black-haired maiden was already spitting her explanation, highlighting that she was holding his finger to stay close to him and avoid getting lost in the woods. It's clear that these woods aren't that big, though, but after witnessing how panicked Miyuki can get when scared, Ryunosuke simply smiled gently and nodded at her.

"Oh, alrighty then," he replied to her and moved his hand to completely hold her hand, which was very soft to the touch. "Don't worry, I won't let you get lost around here." His eyes shuffled to Miyuki's phone as she showed him a picture of an adorable duo of cats.

As he heard Miyuki's comment about her cats liking him because of his kindness, Ryunosuke smiled gently with a soft blush on his cheeks. He was really glad those cats would like him. Just by imagining all the pets he can give them and all the purrs he will hear in return almost melt his heart into bliss.

"Oh, my God, they are so cute!" said Ryunosuke with a wide smile, not being able to hold his composure. After all, adorable and cute things are his weakness, hence why he's quite the admirer of Haruhi, Shione, and… Well, Miyuki as well, but, of course, secretly.

"Ha! I can see that Kuro loves to eat," said Ryunosuke after looking at the chubby, yet handsome black cat on Miyuki's phone, "and Shiro has such a gorgeous white fur!"

Excited, Ryunosuke turned his head to look back at Miyuki. "You… You must invite me to your house one day to meet these two."

Miyuki was caught off guard by Ryunosuke's words. Her eyes widened and her mouth was agape as a deep blush settled on her cheeks. Invite him to her house? She could already imagine the horrified faces of her entire clan! Never in her life did she invite a boy over yet why wasn't she repulsed by the idea?

The thought of Ryunosuke coming over her house was making her heart beat incredibly fast. It also didn't help that they were holding each other's hand with their bodies incredibly close!

"D-D-Does it really have to be at my house?" Miyuki stuttered while taking away her phone and placing it back in her pocket. "I mean, m-maybe we could meet at a park instead and bring over the cats? I-It's not that I don't want you to see my house! I mean, I do but ah! Um, well.."

Blushing deeper and deeper, Miyuki blurted out "I just don't want my family to make a big fuss about it! B-Besides, it's embarrassing. I just… don't want them to think of anything weird going on between us."

As they continued walking, the sound of rushing water caught her ears. Miyuki knew it was already late and that they should go back to the villa but somehow, she suddenly had the urge to check it out. "Ryu" she called out to him while tugging on their hands. "I think there's a river nearby. Should we check it out?"

Not bothering to hear his answer, Miyuki started leading him towards the sound.

Ryunosuke tilted his head to his right with a slightly confused expression when he saw Miyuki's reaction when he told her that she should invite him one day to her home. Honestly, he really didn't see anything wrong about it. They were just friends, right? And friends can visit their homes from time to time, right? Well, at least that's what Ryunosuke believes.

"O-Oh, I get it now," thought Ryunosuke with a low sigh, smiling faintly with disappointment as he straightened his position before crossing his arms. "I guess Miyuki really doesn't consider me as a 'true friend'. W-Well, I guess it's okay considering we're not that close."

Even when he said it was okay, the thought that maybe Miyuki didn't consider him a friend was actually bothering Ryunosuke deep inside. So, with a resolved expression, Ryunosuke smiled, and lightly bumped his right fist on his left hand before nodding firmly.

"You know what, I'm not going to give up on this yet. I promised myself that I would end up befriending her by the end of this camp, and that's what's going to happen! I just need to try harder and NOT MESS THINGS UP. Like, seriously, I really need to stop acting weird around her. Ugh, I really need to work hard on that one, actually..."

Finally making up his mind, Ryunosuke grinned with a slight chuckle, and turned his face to look at Miyuki with a thumbs up. "A-Ah, yes, we can definitely meet up in a park, Miyuki!" Realizing that maybe his confidence pose was a little too much and weird, Ryunosuke blushed with embarrassment and slowly lowered his arm. Wow. There goes the "stop acting weird around Miyuki" plan.

Sighing, Ryunosuke proceeded to just continue to walk back to the villa with Miyuki, this time without saying a word, not only because he was way too embarrassed to speak but also because by being silent he really couldn't mess things up with Miyuki.

After a few minutes, just as Miyuki caught the sound of rushing waters, a string of hair on the top of Ryunosuke's head perked up, signaling that his attention had been caught.

Stopping on his track, Ryunosuke turned his body to his right, still holding Miyuki's hand, and noticed a slightly hidden path between a few tall bushes. The sound of the rushing waters came from there, and, as Miyuki stated, it appears to be the sound of a river.

"Mmh, I don't know if we should- Oh, I guess we're going there, anyways," said Ryunosuke with a nervous chuckle as a curious Miyuki was already dragging him with her through the hidden path, which probably will lead them to the river. So, not really wishing to ruin Miyuki's curiosity, Ryunosuke thought that it wouldn't hurt to do a little adventuring off-track for a few minutes.

The sight of the river under the moonlight made Miyuki smile in awe. How can it be so pretty?! The water was so clear that the beautiful night sky was reflecting on it. The scenery looked like it came out of a fairytale. The river was so calm and serene that she was tempted to sit down and relax for a while.

Thus, the girl removed her sandals before sitting down on a conveniently placed boulder. A sigh escaped her lips as the cool water splashed against her skin. "It would be nice for a night swim but…" glancing at the male, Miyuki shook her head. "I-It's kind of embarrassing especially since… it's just the two of us and well… because I feel shy around you."

"Don't get me wrong! Y-You're really nice but… is it bad to say that I'm still hesitant around you?"

Perhaps it's the ambiance or the cool night air that Miyuki wanted to be honest with him. Looking up at the night sky, she sighed once again. "I… I really want us to be friends but… I don't know if I'll be a good one to you. Especially since… I'm like this."

Ryunosuke was standing behind Miyuki, a few steps away from her, simply observing the beautiful surroundings of the river. The whole scenery was almost magical, and it looked like one of those landscape pictures Ryunosuke spotted in one of his photography books.

"My God, this place is extremely astonishing," he whispered with awe, kind of sad that he didn't have his professional camera to take some shots from the whole place. He also wondered if Haruhi knew that such a hidden gem was literally in the backyard of her villa.

Scoffing with a smile, Ryunosuke crossed his arms before turning his head to look at Miyuki. Almost like a spell, Ryunosuke found himself frozen in the spot when he was standing while staring at Miyuki, which was sitting on a boulder with her feet in the river. He felt as if the whole world just stopped around him as he saw how the light of the night sky fell perfectly on her, highlighting her gorgeous body complexion. In Ryunosuke's eyes, Miyuki looked like a beautiful nymph enjoying a quiet time near a river. Her reflection on the waters of the river was pretty as well.

And then it happened again. His heart began to beat as strong as that time when Miyuki took care of his small wounds back in the living room of the villa. As he realized that he was way too excited about staring at Miyuki, Ryunosuke snapped back to reality, and turned his head to look away from her, placing his right fist in front of his mouth to clear his throat. His face was obviously flushed with a deep tone of red.

"Damn it, Ryu, what the hell is going on with you again?" he thought to himself, trying his best to calm down his heartbeats, but they were still strong and fast. "Goddamn it, I need to calm down. This whole ambience will turn weird and uncomfortable if Miyuki finds out about what's going on."

A moment later, Miyuki finally spoke, breaking the silence between them that was turning a bit embarrassing for Ryunosuke. However, the black-haired teenager blinked his eyes with surprise after listening to Miyuki's confession of her being shy around him. That wasn't a shocking fact because Miyuki is known to be such an adorable shy person, but it caught Ryunosuke off-guard that she decided to just confess it to him out of the blue.

Miyuki continued to talk, explaining to him how she knew that Ryunosuke was a nice guy and her desire of becoming his friend, but sadly, she was hesitant about it, especially because of her androphobia.

For the first time ever, Miyuki opened up a little bit to Ryunosuke, exposing herself to him all vulnerable and fragile. And just because of that, Ryunosuke felt that he should open up himself to her as well, something he has never done before, not even with Alexander.

Sighting deeply, Ryunosuke took a deep breath before walking towards Miyuki.

"Well, I actually don't blame you about feeling reluctant to befriend me," he replied to her with a slight smile, stopping on the boulder before gently kicking off his sandals aside, then he lowered his body to sit beside Miyuki, at her left. As he felt the crisp, and cold but pleasant waters of the river when he put his feet in it, he smiled brightly.

"People say that I got the appearance of a really intimidating criminal, so that's why I pretty much scare people away without saying a single word," Ryunosuke continued speaking, looking down at his reflection on the flowing river. "It took me a while to get used to it, you know? It's hard to see people running away from you just because they got a bad first impression of you, not even giving me a chance to speak to them, and know me better. And, huh… Well, in the past, I ended up befriending really bad people just because they were the only people that weren't scared of me. I was so excited at first by it, but, man… I was so innocent at that time, and couldn't realize they were going to be such a bad influence in my life."

Ryunosuke found himself revealing a little of his dark past to Miyuki. He told her how he became a bully a few years before, harassing innocent students with a small gang of criminals. He confessed that back in those days, obviously, he was an ignorant guy, but gladly matured just enough to realize that he had to change for the best.

Just when he was about to mention about his yakuza days, and his darker past, Ryunosuke went silent. That's definitely something he didn't want nobody to know, not even Alexander. That was a past he wanted so hard to forget, but sadly couldn't.

After swallowing hard in silence, Ryunosuke sighed before lifting and turning his head to look at Miyuki. "Look, I'm not a bad person, okay? I-I mean, I was, yes, but swear I changed. The Ryunosuke you're seeing right now isn't the same one from five years ago. You can be my friend, really… A-And, y-you know…"

Suddenly, Ryunosuke felt a slight pink blush covering his cheeks, making him turn his head away from Miyuki in an effort to hide his reaction from her. Apparently, exposing some of his past so freely with Miyuki made his feelings kind of sensible, and vulnerable.

"I… I really want to be your friend, Miyuki," he finally was able to say, his blush darkening. "Like, for real, I'm trying really hard to befriend you. I know I'm a little weird, and I guess my head looks like an octopus, but I swear I'm a good person, and I'm a really, really, REALLY great friend. Just ask Alex, and he will agree with me, and not just because he's my best friend."

"Ryu.." Miyuki called to him after a few minutes of silence before scooting closer to grasp his hand with hers in a comforting manner. "...Thank you."

Miyuki was fighting with her inner thoughts after hearing Ryunosuke open up to her though it all faded away as their skin touched. It was weird but she didn't dwell on the thought. All she felt at that moment was sheer comfort. She finds his vulnerability so heartwarming that it washed all her worries away.

As she held his hand, she didn't feel any remorse or embarrassment. It just felt...right.

"I.. I appreciate all of what you've done and um… I'll trust you a little bit more. Just keep in mind that you're the one who wants to be my friend, okay? S-So, you have to stay by my side. Even when I push you away."

With a smile on her face, Miyuki then stood up. "I would have stayed here a little bit longer to enjoy the scenery but I'm worried Haruhi-sama will think we got lost or something. Let's head back to the villa now, okay?"


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