CLOSED SIGNUPS The Lovers Club IC (Reboot)

[Takumi]

Hiroki Niwa
Location: Living room → River
Interactions: Kio (@Rads), Daichi (@The_Queer_Alien)
Mentioned: Ren (@Monbon)

"I feel sorry for the guy. Ren seems to be the type that thinks the world shines out of his arse; if I turn out to be wrong, I'm more than happy to admit it. Daichi, on the other hand, seems to be way out of his comfort zone for whatever reason that might be; I'm staying out of that one over all.". Kio pauses for a few moments or so, then returns his attention back to the map and then says, "Depending on what type of terrain the river will normally be where it can flow the best, there should be some wavey lines that look like a river, even if it's not the best drawn map as a reference."

"Ehh, Ren isn't for everybody which is true for everyone." Hiroki shrugged, though tilted his head a bit when Kio brought up Daichi, his blue eyes shifting over to his new friend with a small frown.

"Hopefully they can get along, then they can find their puzzle piece and get the job done faster and maybe become friends." Hiroki chirped optimistically. When Kio explained how rivers typically looked, Hiroki couldn't help but to softly 'ooh' as he nodded along.

"See Kio-kun, you're not daft! You're plenty smart.☆" Hiroki proclaimed, tapping his own temple with a cheeky wink.

"My oldest sister, Violet, taught me how to read maps because her job is making maps, so she travels a lot and knows about many kinds of lands. I digress, so I'll get back on topic. This area is woodland, and woodlands sometimes have lakes in or near them. A cave can also have a lake nearby, but from what the map and the clue show, the river should be more in the open." He moves his finger over to where he thinks the river is and then says, "What do you think, Hiro?"

Squinting in thought as he glanced to where Kio was pointing, Hiroki nodded to himself with a soft 'mhm, mhm' while pretending not to be nosy with Ren and Daichi's Interaction, his ear not towards Kio comically growing three sizes as he did so.

"Yep," he stated, popping the 'p', "that looks like a river! Let's go look there!" He spoke up, grabbing the taller boy's wrist without thinking and turning to leave, though didn't grip Kio hard enough that he couldn't pull away if he wanted and started trying to tug him into moving while also waving to Daichi.

"See you later Sato-san!" He called.

The walk to the river wasn't quiet, Hiroki hummed a random tune to himself the whole way until the duo came to their destination, turning to his partner with a wide smile, he cocked his head to the right like a curious puppy.

"Do you think the puzzle piece is in the river or nearby?" He asked.

 

[Jig The Zom-B]

The sudden and unexpected rocking of the boat would take anybody by surprise. What had been a nice little boating trip with some nice pictures, went to seeing as the front left of the boat kicked into the air and solaris tumbling into him. It him no time to understand what had happened. A rock. He hadn't expected anything to be even remotely close enough to the surface, although he would kick himself mentally for not taking the precaution. With the front of the boat kicking hard, his leg reflexively dug under the seat and tensed it's muscles, anchoring him in his seat. He wanted to start correcting the boat, but his attention was swallowed by the view of solaris crashing into him.

There wasn't a decision, seeing Kousei unstable in the boat, let go of the left oar and made sure to catch him, making sure he was stabilized inside the boat. Of all the things to fall out of the boat, he was making sure that his companion wasn't one of them, although completely missing the phone he once held flying over head and plopping into the water. With the front of the boat kicking hard, it was made somewhat worse with Kousei's tumble, pushing more sudden weight into the back of the boat, kicking the front concerningly higher. The thought that the boat might capsize crossed his mind. He wanted to be confident he could stop the boat and steady it where he was, but wasn't willing to take the chance.

Letting the other oar go, hearing it plop into the water just as the other had, gripped solaris and spun, putting him in his seat before rushing towards the front of the boat. With a twist of his torso, trying to gain momentum in his movement as best he could, slammed his shoulder into the front seat of the boat. With a quiet protesting creak from the vessel, the front slammed back into the water, wobbling the boat hard for a few moments. The moment the boat's front was back on the water, he sat up swiftly, grabbing both sides of the boat, swinging his weight against the boats to steady, then stop the boat. He was silent as he felt the boat return to it's gentle wobbles on the calming waters. His eye's were narrowed, waiting and making sure that the boat was going to behave. Once sure, a tired sigh escaped the boy, standing and turning to make sure his companion was alright. The bag, and his friend both thankfully alright. Looking around, spotted the glimmer of a large rock peeking the waters surface, a deadpan tired expression on Medrin's face as he made note to watch carefully for other rocks on the rest of his journey.

"Are you alright Kousei-San? No injuries?" A tinge of disappointment in his tone, he shouldn't have hit the rock at all. He disliked the idea that negligence would get his friends hurt. Once sure Solaris was alright, noticed the two oars had floated away after he had let them go. Turbulent waters often washed things away. They were made of wood thankfully, so could see them floating not too far away from eachother or the boat. Unzipping his coat and placing it on the empty seat. "Please stay seated, i will only take a moment." Stepping from the boat and hopping into the cold waters. The cold shock would take him a second to overcome, but began swimming after the oars. His left eye would wince each time he moved his right shoulder. Ignoring the feeling and collecting the first oar, then the second. Worst case, he knew he could drag the boat back to the shore, but having the oars would make it much less stressful. With both in hand, swam his way back to the boat and climbed carefully back aboard.

He was soaked to put it lightly, a hand coming up and swiping wet hair from his face and out the way of his eye's. His clothes stuck to his body, letting Solaris see some of the muscle beneath his baggy clothing. "Let's get off the water." Sitting and starting swiftly on his effort to get them both to shore. Thankfully it wouldnt take long. Feeling the nose of the boat scrape against land, placed both oars in the vessel and jumped out, a loud splash as his boots thudded against the surface of the lake. It was shallow water, letting him grab the front of the boat and drag it manually onto the shore. Once the whole thing was safely on land, got Kousei off the boat. Another tired quiet sigh as he felt relief to be on on dry land already. The wet clothing wasn't a bother thankfully. With the boat empty, took steps to ensure nothing else would go wrong. Gripping the boat, slowly lifted it above his head and walked it towards the treeline, laying it down carefully. Even going as far as to reach into the bag and pulling free some rope, tethering the vessel to a large tree.

With that done, re-joined Kousei. As he approached, placed his right hand in his pocket for now. His other hand checking his fishing hook was still there, it was. Meeting his gaze, gave a small nod. "Tried, but alright. I know i've done it a lot already, but i will apologize once more. I should have seen that rock and stuck clear of it. I'll be certain the return trip is on a different route through the lake." He could see Medrin felt bad about the little crash. He did lie about being alright though. He was hiding it under stoicism, but knew he had hurt his right arm. His shoulder tackle on the boat to stabilize it had him hitting a corner, digging into his arm and most likely going to give him a nasty bruise soon. The bag hoisted over his left shoulder. He was confident that his shirt could hide any bruise his right arm had, he knew he could hide any pain he had.

"I don't mind paying to replace your phone Kousei-San. It's my fault it's gone. If i had seen where it had fell into the water, i could easily retrieve it, although i do not believe it would still be functional." Helping him to his feet, was about to speak, before he heard mention of using his own phone for now. His face couldn't deadpan any further, although his disappointment in himself certainly could. "I don't.... Have...... A phone........" The disappointment in himself growing with each word. Everybody had a phone! Who wouldn't?! He remembered his old one, he also remembered he left it behind in the off chance it was used to track him by debtors. He wanted to apologize again, but frankly it was all Kousei was going to hear from him at this rate. Letting his words of phonelessness settle in, decided it was best to simply continue the quest of the scavenger hunt. No use getting depressed. His warm smile regrowing on his face, reviewed the map.

Watching Solaris start off towards the treeline, nodded and followed after him, the map wasn't entirely obvious, but it wasn't complex either. From what he could gather, they were looking for some sort of building. If he had to guess, it was going to be central to the island. "Ohh, before we head off, mind if i take a quick minute to set something up?" Jogging towards the tree's and taking a look around. Finding three fairly thick looking stick's, returned with them in his arm's. Any pain his shoulder gave he ignored. Moving towards the boat, took one of the oars and placed them on the beach. Giving the sticks a quick test by trying to bend them a little, was happy with their sturdiness and jogged back to the treeline. With both hands, he pushed fingers into dirt and dug a small hole, swiftly finding what he was looking for and returning to the beach with dirtied hands. He was absorbed in getting his little task done, forgetting that his friend was watching him. Taking the stick's, set up a tri-pod formation just in the shore of the water. Grabbing the string he had brought and used some of it to tie the tip of it together, the base of the sticks burried in the sand so it wouldnt move. Retrieving the oar, wrapped the pommel of it in string a few times before knotting it, noting he had a good chunk of string left over. Fishing his hook from his pocket, firmly tied the other end of the string to it. Tugging it a few times to ensure it was secured.

Solaris could see what he had dug from the dirt earlier, a fairly large worm between his fingers. Hooking the worm, smiling to himself washed his hands in the lake before standing. Oar in one hand, hooked worm in the other, took a throwing stance and carefully threw the hook to the lake. A quiet plop, the string all used up and his makeshift rod complete. Placing the oar on the tri-pod, pushing the paddle part into the sand to make sure it was also secure hummed softly as he was happy with his result. "Ahh, my bad. I got a bit absorbed." Walking towards solaris and gesturing towards the treeline once more, leading him onwards to their destination. "I had been planning on doing a little bit of fishing at some point, and as we will be here for a little bit to look around, thought why not put out a line until we get back to the boat for our return. It's a big lake, im certain something will bite and waiting to be reeled when we are done." He was sure that Solaris journey through nature was as simple as possible. No further hiccups were happening, at least ones he could control. It was a fairly nice time walking through the brushes, finding dirt path's and hearing the sounds of the wildlife alongside the canopy of the tree's leaves in the breeze.

"The trip is something i got recommended. I only just recently got admitted into the school yesterday. The head-teacher said that i should join in on the trip in order to meet fellow students alongside give the teachers a bit of time to prepare for me. I agreed and they gave me the place you were all heading to. I think i got the time a bit wrong though, i arrived early. I have already met Sayuri and Akari, but i have yet to meet the club pres. I'm guessing it's the girl who sent us out on the scavenger hunt. I am certain i will get acquainted with the other members soon enough." He ignored the comment of being kidnapped into the club. He was all too aware that if he got unlucky, he might well end up being so. Shaking his head softly, a few droplets of water falling from his hair. The thought was depressive, best ignored. The journey through the tree's and foliage was not as long as the trip from the lodge to the boat. The island they stood upon was not too big, so it was only natural. Just ahead was the outline of some sort of building, most likely their destination! And if it was, then they had most likely hit the centre of the isle. "I think we're here."

Mention('s) - Sayuri: @Monbon - Haruhi/Akari: @ScarletNova
Interaction('s) - Solaris: @xLarius
Location('s) - Lake - Map's destination

 

[ScarletNova]

Haruhi Nakamura
Club President | Location: Forest --> Lake
Interactions: Aya (@YetieBetie)
Mentions: Ren (@Monbon), Medrin (@Jig The Zom-B), Solaris (@xLarius)
​

"It does when the bus is custom," Haruhi replied back. "Suited for all the Lovers Club needs, made just for our own outings and adventures. Fitted with only the best for my members." Aya was rather new to the club, so she hadn't yet seen the club room either. If she had, she would have known that Haruhi spared no expense for the comfort of the club. Haruhi could get anything any member wanted and she had the principal trapped in the palm of her hand. He had to approve anything she asked for.

She gave the fellow heiress a smile and waved off her concern of offense with her hand. "No need to call me senpai unless you want to. I'm fine with you just using my name really. I much prefer for everyone to feel comfortable here." So said the club president who may have purposely rigged the team selection for particular teams, some of which might not have been so comfortable for them.

Haruhi's eyes lingered back to Ren, whose comments he made just before he headed over to Daichi left the young woman curious as to who was talking about when he mentioned a girlfriend. Solaris, a girlfriend? No. That wasn't possible. That would be something Haruhi would have known about. There was no way he'd have a girlfriend and she wouldn't know about it. He wasn't one just to date someone for no reason, that would be a waste of money, so he would have to actually like them. And Solaris liking them...well, then that would have meant she would have won the bet they had made so long ago.

Besides, chances are his sister would have found out too or maybe even his grandfather, and there was no way either of them wouldn't tell her about it either. Not after everything they had been through together to change that dear boy.

Pulled out of her thoughts when Aya seemed to approve of her tracking, meaning she most likely wouldn't go telling anyone about it, Haruhi focused back on their task at hand. Please with Aya's response, she glanced at her phone to see where the dot was located.

Haruhi's pace was fairly quick, enough because she wanted to catch up with Solaris and Medrin as soon as possible, but nothing too much so that it would tire her or Ayame out. She wasn't willing to give that much effort into finding him. After all, eventually he'd probably end up back at the cabin, even if it was late. But if she was going to require her members to do this work, then it was only right for her to make some effort in participating as well.

When Aya stopped her humming to question her regarding the tracking, Haruhi glanced over towards her as her brows furrowed with confusion. "Mariko?" That was a rather oddly specific person to ask for. Haruhi was already running through the possible reasons for Aya to ask for little Mariko in particular. That at least meant that they had already meant. Perhaps Aya developed a little crush on Mariko? She was rather cute.

"Mariko is one of my maid's daughter, so yeah I track her. Though, I don't pay as much attention to her as I do Solaris. Most of the time, she's just at her own home or at school. The only other places I've ever seen her visit are the grocery store or the library."

Haruhi wasn't going to admit, actually, that she tracked all the club members. That wasn't something Aya asked for anyway. And it was best to leave it hidden for now. After all, why would Haruhi reveal all her cards at the very beginning of the game. Plus, some of them probably wouldn't be too happy to hear it if they did. But Haruhi had her reasons for it. It wasn't technically to invade their privacy.

"Why?" the club president then asked. "Is there a particular reason? Do you want me to show you where Mariko is?"

Haruhi glanced back down at her phone to see where the dot was moving. It had paused momentarily, at what looked like the edge of a body of water. "We should speed up a bit. It looks like Medrin and Solaris have slowed down some. We might be able to catch up to them if we hurry."

Speeding up her walking pace a bit, Haruhi continued their trek in the woods. As the trees started to clear, a lake came into view, but there was no sign of either of the two boys. Haruhi let out a sigh. Her hands found her hips as she stood there in annoyance.

"It looks like we missed them," she muttered. She stepped out onto the shore and glanced around. She let out a little grumble at the thought that they would have to cross the river. She looked down at her phone again. "It looks like they're on the lake. So, we'll have to take a boat out. They're not moving very fast though, so I have an idea. Follow me."

Without any warning, Haruhi took hold of Ayame's hand, intertwined their fingers so she couldn't get loose, and pulled her along with her. Walking along the shoreline some ways, Haruhi paused for just a moment along the way to look around and then speak. "It looks like they took the row boat. It was left here last time I checked. But don't worry, they didn't go far enough down."

With her fingers still intertwined with Ayame's, Haruhi continued down the shoreline. Eventually they came upon a dock. At the end of the dock sat a small sized speed boat. "Why bother doing all the work ourselves, right?" Haru commented. She walked over to the speed boat, and finally, let go of Ayame so she could get the boat ready.

"Hop in," she said, with a toothy grin on her face.

Once Ayame and Haruhi were sitting in the boat, she untied it from the dock and started up the engine. With a sudden vroom, the boat started up and Haruhi steered it towards the direction where the blue dot was located in the lake.

"That's odd. It looks like they stopped moving," Haruhi commented as she stared down at the phone. She looked upward to scan the area ahead of them. "Maybe they had some trouble. They should be up ahead very soon."

But when they arrived at where the dot was located, and Haruhi stopped their engine so they could double-check, neither Solaris or Medrin were anywhere to be found. "But the dot is right here." She glanced around some more. Where was Solaris? She took one more look at her phone. The dot still showed they were right where they were supposed to be.

"If the dot is here... but we see no Solaris..." A sudden realization hit Haruhi like a train, and her eyes widened in fear. She looked down into the water.

"Solaris!" She suddenly shouted. "He must have fallen in! What if he's drowning?!"

Without any other thoughts or a reply from Ayame, Haruhi jumped out of the boat and into the water, diving down into its depths to look for Solaris. But as she swam, she saw no sign of Solaris at all. Panic started to overtake her. What if the currents pulled him and Medrin somewhere farther away!? She returned to the surface to take a breath of air and then returned back under the water. Her eyes darted towards other directions, fear starting to overwhelm her.

Until she saw what looked like Solaris' phone sitting at the bottom of the lake. She dove farther down and picked it up, then returned to the surface. She gasped for air as she made it out and pulled the phone up to show Ayame what she aquired. "It looks like Sol dropped his phone into the water. They must have had something happen while they were rowing and it fell."

There was no way Solaris would drop it into the water on purpose. He didn't even know about her tracking, and the guy wouldn't want to lose money like that. Haruhi pulled herself back onto the boat and put the phone into her pocket for safe keeping. Soaking wet, she sat down at the drivers seat again. She let out a large breath, as if to calm down, but revealed nothing else otherwise. She then squeezed some of the water out of her hair and pulled it into a ponytail so she wouldn't feel it against her neck.

"Well, it looks like tracking his phone isn't going to work anymore," she admitted. "But I'm sure, if they're on this lake, they went to that island." Haruhi pointed forward, an island visible off into the distance. "We might as well head there." She started the boat up again and steered them towards the island, oddly saying nothing regarding her moments of panic and sudden jump into the water.

 

[xLarius]

Tsukiko Inari

Aaah, a city kid huh? Tsukiko curiously tapped on his lips in thought, his gaze sliding upwards. "You're really missing out on the beauties the forest has to bring! Ah! The lighting! The sunshine on my back to the long fields where you could practically see the patches of rice growing! You can practically smell the glorious scent of riches that every grain brings... Ah, not to mention the fairies in the countryside."

His eyes excitedly sparkled before he made a finger-gun with his hand, resting his chin between his thumb and his pointer finger as a star practically emitted from his smug smirk. "Beautiful in every way, from the way they shimmer in the light..." Tsukiko clasped his hands together, his eyes shining with his lips curving into a 'w' shape.

​

He leaned forward, tapping on his cheek before tilting his head to the side. "One doesn't truly live until they've been blessed by that creature that carries grace and the hopes of the wind on their every breath!" Tsukiko hummed before continuing down the path. He blinked twice before a soft "heh" left his lips.

"So it's safe to say, the country-side and I are one! Like how rivers can become waterfalls so unexpectedly! Or how with the clouds eventually can come the rain! The soul of the earth and I are one! It's as if the spirits all around have appointed me the voice to their qualms!" He declared boldly, his foot slamming boldly down on a rock before Tsukiko spun around, "Well, just one devoted follower I suppose. I don't deny that I am just one body."

​

"Do not worry about me! My brother claims I have the skull of a boulder." He playfully knocked his fist against his own head before letting out a proud 'hmm' noise. "After all, true samurai have both heads and nerves of steel." Tsukiko looked towards the map, eventually letting go of her wrist. "Perhaps? Hopefully the Gods are merciful today, lest we get sucked into the blackhole of malevolence."

Tsukiko let out a long sigh. "Well, really it depends on how well-taken care of the shrine is. It really does vary by region. Some shrines are left behind when people get their fills, or people overall can't handle how much time you actually have to invest to get the gods to play nice." He shrugged. The Inari family owned one of the more popular shrines and as a result there were never a shortage of people asking for help with blessings or just charms to ensure their studies went well.

​

"If you visit, I'll give you a 'harae' on the spot." Tsukiko considered on the trail, confidently marching ahead as he looked up at the shrine gate. It was pretty run down, the red paint had multiple chips and some of the wood had already begun to rot away. After he deeply bowed, he passed through the gate. "Do you visit shrines for the new-years? I find that our peers visit around that time to wish in good luck, grades, or a lover to get their year off to a stupendous beginning." Tsukiko remarked, his footsteps solid on the haggard stone path. The shrine itself was pretty small as well...

Only a small building left of perhaps what had been. He stuck to the left side of the path, careful not to get in the way of 'where the god pass'. It was as if Tsukiko's entire demeanor had relaxed as soon as they passed the gate. He eagerly motioned towards Mirai before motioning towards the 'temizuya'. "The water looks pretty fresh in all honesty. Perhaps someone does maintain this place albeit with all the leaves around..." He noted before pulling up the long sleeve of his cardigan.

​

Soon enough he washed his left hand, then his right with the water. There was something graceful in each movement, as if he were a conductor in charge of an orchestra. Each subtle change of movement in his wrist had a purpose as his lashes fluttered over his glacier eyes. He set the ladle back in its spot before motioning for Mirai to go ahead and do the same.

"If we're going to disturb the resting place of the gods, might as well do our best not to invoke their fury." He mused before tapping on his cheek. "We can head inside the building or we can look around the grounds." He offered her the next choice, curiously looking around at the worn down statues that had been chipped away by the weather.

"Have you encountered any supernatural happenings? They happen more often than you think." He hummed, tucking his hands behind his back before enjoying the cool breeze, there was a soft chiming of bells somewhere in the distance... "Now puzzle-piece... We're here to claim thy company!" Tsukiko boldly declared before blinking twice. "... Though these grounds are pretty big... You think it's wedged somewhere?" He curiously looked back towards Mirai.

「 @Takumi 」

credits

 

[Rads]

Interactions: @Takumi hiro
Mentions:none
Location: River
He turns to Hiro and then says, "You didn't get most of what I was saying before from the looks of it, but that's ok.". "As for your other question, well, it never hurts to be through with some things because, as the saying goes, expect the unexpected.". "I learned that from my oldest sister, and I do my best to look at all the angles, though I have to admit I do fall short sometimes." He pauses for a few minutes or so, then says, "Let's check both; I don't mind which place I start; to be honest, I'm just glad I get to destress.". " Please make sure to watch your step if you choose to start by the river, as it takes a while for many clothes to dry".

He realises he went on too much and gently face palms himself. He then looks up and starts to look around at the river trying to figure out the right place the clue might be. He then says" I'm happy to go over how it works later but I've talked much more than I normally do".

 

[ScarletNova]

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Cabin --> Outside in woods
Interactions: Shin (@YetieBetie)
Mentions: Ren (@Monbon)
​

With Shin's agreement Mariko headed for the cabin's door. Shifting her gaze from their destination towards Shin when she heard him offer to take her bag for her, the brunette paused in her steps for a moment. His words had almost trailed off, and while he might be asking her, she thought that perhaps his hesitation in his words meant he was just offering to be nice but really didn't want to carry it for her.

"I-I..." she started to say. "I wouldn't want to add extra weight to your load." But her eyes focused on his outstretched hand, and she wondered that if she refused, he might take it the wrong way. Taking much longer than she probably should, the different options spun around in her head. Thinking of each scenario, but she found no easy answer.

She took a deep breath to clear her mind, wondering that she might be overthinking it too much. Perhaps this situation would be easier if she didn't think about it. She finally undug her nails from the straps of her bag and slipped her bag from her shoulders. Gently she reached out to Shin and handed it to him.

"T-thank you," she commented. "But...uh...if it gets too much, you can always hand it back to me. I wouldn't want you to struggle with two bags." She gave him a small smile then continued to the door once he was ready after taking the second bag. Mariko then opened the door and headed outside. The sun was bright and warm, with a gentle breeze occasionally blowing the few loose strands of hair that has slipped from her braids over time and her bangs.

"I believe we should go this way," Mariko commented as she pointed towards their right. If he agreed with her, she walked again, heading into the trees where their treehouse would most likely be. Although a large forest, the area they were in at the time didn't seem to be so dense. With the birds singing away, the walk was actually rather peaceful and pleasant.

But the only thing musing were those birds, and Mariko wondered if she should try to keep their conversation going. That's what she should do if she wanted to make more friends. Taking a few glances over to Shin, then looking away out of uncertainly multiple times, the young Mariko grew restless. She knew she had to talk to people, but it was hard. And it was even harder when it was a man.

A few more minutes in silence passed as Mariko contemplated what she should do. Finally, she took in a few deep breaths of the fresh air and then gained her courage. "S-Shin-san..ah...if it's okay if I call you by your first name, I didn't catch your last name earlier," she spoke. "Excuse me if I'm being rude, but you're new to the club, right? I'm actually quite new myself, so I could be wrong, I'm still getting to know everyone here. In fact...I'm not so great at interacting with the other club members to begin with."

She paused in her words as she played with one of her braids. "N-not because I dont want to...it's just...I'm just not the best at conversations and all...so I'm sorry I'm not being very courteous to you and rudely being so quiet during our walk." With each step Mariko made, her shoes crushed down on the leaves that had fallen from the trees.

"Are you perhaps...related to Fujiwara-san?" she asked. "The two of you really look alike."

 

[Takumi]

Briar Mori

Location: Muppet Cave

Interactions: Sayuri (@Monbon)
Mentioned: n/a

"Domo-kun?"

Briar shifted slightly to let Sayuri know he was heard, but their golden eyes stayed on the lump of tangled fur still softly growling at them.

"Sayuri? Are you feeling a-any better?" They spoke up, their own voice still a bit wobbly and now a bit hoarse from crying. Blinking when the other grabbed their sleeve, Briar's eyes landed on Sayuri for a moment.

"Domo-kun, w-what is that?" Their voice was no more than a trembling whisper. So faint, it was as if the slightest breeze would blow it away. Wide green eyes fell onto the mass of tangled brown fur. First thought was 'bear' but it was way too small to be a bear. "Is that the mountain god?"

"I-I don't know, can't clearly see it right now." Briar muttered, shifting their hold on the flashlights to one hand so they could scrub at their eyes in an attempt to clear them of tears with their free hand.

The soft growling stopped as Sayuri held out the jerky, the creature tilting it's head curiously to the right before cautiously stepping forward with a twitching nose. When it seemed Sayuri wasn't going to pull away, the beast snatched the treat and scrambled back a few steps to scarf it down as if expecting either teen to try and snatch it away, the matted fluff of what could only be it's tail wagging as it did.

Once done it approached again, sniffing at Sayuri and their bag as if looking for more. Briar shifted the light a bit to get a better look at it

"I-I think it likes you, and it definitely looks more like a dog now that I can see it a bit better…" they muttered as they shifted into a crouch and slowly held out their free hand towards the beast, before their gaze went to Sayuri specifically, however with worry over their teammate.

"Do you want to head back and let Haruhi know that there's some cave dog up here? Even if we don't find the puzzle piece I'm fine with that." They suggested, feeling a cold nose touching their palm for a moment as the newly dubbed cave dog began sniffing at him and his bag for treats before sniffing along the cave floor around them, going down the main path a bit before releasing a small gruff at something, ears twitching as its head rose a bit.

If Briar wasn't so tired from the adrenaline fizzing out on top of crying they'd have felt a bit silly at how worked up they had gotten over the 'bear' they ran into.

 

[Monbon]

Sayuri Satou​

|| Location: Bear Cave || Interactions: Briar @Takumi Ruby @Rads , Akari @ScarletNova || Mentions: N/A || Mood: Terrified, and dying inside ||

Were they feeling better?

"No… haha." Sayuri admitted with a halfhearted laugh, small hand still tightly gripping the other's sleeve like it was a lifeline. "Are you okay?" They asked, their free hand felt across the other's chest, gliding upwards until it reached Briar's shoulder. Though they couldn't see the other's face, their voice sounded off. Had they been crying too?

Once they could make out where Briar was, Sayuri pulled them into a tight comforting hug. "Sorry for… That. I didn't mean to freak out and leave you all alone. It's okay now, okay? We should get outta here."

For some reason keeping their eyes closed seemed to help. Sayuri could pretend it wasn't dark at all, at least enough to give off the impression that they were handling their current problem better than they actually were.

Unfortunately it did not help when it came to identifying the mysterious creature. Though Briar suggested it was a dog, Sayuri found more comfort in treating it like a God. "... So Komainu?" They suggested, choosing the middle ground.

Thinking it must've been a protective being sent to save them from the cave and anything dwelling within it, Sayuri listened to the dog's movements. When it let out a little gruff, Sayuri's curiosity got the better of them. Carefully, they grabbed their flashlight back from Briar and pointed it towards where they last heard the fluff. Peeping open one eye, then the other, they took extra care to only focus where the light was shining.

Briar was right. It did look like a dog. Only… its coat was so matted, Sayu couldn't help but feel for the poor thing. Just how long had the little dog gotten lost in these woods for? "W-whatchu got there… ahhh k-kami-sama?" Sayuri asked, finally releasing the other's sleeve for a moment to check.

Kneeling down beside the pooch, Sayuri shined their flashlight at what the dog was pawing at. After gently smoothing out the dirt, the round end of a puzzle piece caught their eye. With a gasp, Sayuri's movements grew more hurried. After quickly dusting the large piece off, they picked it up and showed it off to Briar. "Domo-kun! AAAahhhhhh!!! Look!! WE CAN GO HOME NOW!!!"

Stuffing the piece into Briar's hands, Sayuri reached back into the camera bag and pulled out the rest of the jerky. With a turn of the bag, the contents fell down right in front of their savior. "We have more offerings back home. Do you want to join us, Kami-sama?" The pinkette happily welcomed the pooch to join them. God or not, it saved them from Haruhi's wrath should they have given up then and there.

All they had to do was make it back through the cave. They made it in, they could make it out. Yet the moment Sayuri looked back down the path, they could feel the anxiety persistently clawing at each and every nerve. "W-ww-w-we should p-probably get the doggy a bath a-and some food." Sayuri stuttered, feeling dizzy just thinking of traversing the cave again.

Reaching out once more, Sayuri reached for Briar's hand with their free hand and balanced both the dog and the flashlight with the other, dog settled comfortably in the crook of their arm. "L-lets go back." Sayu muttered, encouraging themselves to take those steps forward.

Not even five minutes in, Sayuri couldn't help but feel they heard voices echoing from the entrance. Was it another group? "Hello?" They called out, voice shakier than they'd have liked. The back of their mind crawled with what ifs. What if it wasn't another group? What if it was a ghost? A demon? A talking bear?

'No, that'd be ridiculous.'

"If you're a ghost, please go away!"
​

 

[YetieBetie]

Location: cabin then the lake
Interactions: Haruhi @ScarletNova, Ren @Monbon
Mentions: Mariko, Ren

There was little point in arguing with the club president on matters as trivial as transportation. It was clear they were bound for an agree to disagree. Haruhi seemed big into the whole 'sharing' fad. Something Aya would never understand. Nor entirely felt the need to try and understand. At the end of the day, she would never understand why someone would want to share a traveling space with anyone other than the appointed people said passenger had specifically chose to travel with. For Aya, such people was typically Shin or no one.

Thus, Aya gave a sly smile, "If you were to make such efforts sweet Haruhi, I suppose it wouldn't be overstepping my bounds if I were to request I have my own form of comfortable transportation provided by the club for activities such as this? I'd much prefer my own privacy comparted to sharing spaces with others~"

Her silky smile faded as she in took Haruhi's name preference. A odd request, one she hadn't expected to receive so fast.

"Ha-ru-hi." She sounded each syllable, imitating a child reading their first book. As she'd thought, the use of such informality so fast felt foreign. Yet if Haruhi preferred it that way she supposed she could humor the other. Once more, a sly smile lit her face as Haruhi finished her sentence. "I can easily say that I'm beyond comfortable here. Though I do hope that we can get more comfortable sometime." Her drawl lingered on her last word as she gave the president a few batted eyelashes. Only to be interrupted by Ren-kun pinching at her cheek.

GASP! A MINX?! She was NOT a minx!

Well... by definition she was. But what did he know of that?! And how dare he come into her personal space and pinch her-

She frowned, giving a small 'huh!' as he proceeded to poke her cheek. Why was he touching her? It took everything in her not to turn and give him a death glare. Instead she forced herself to remain dull, thoughtless, and blank as she stared at Haruhi.

When all was finished, Aya followed along rather easily with Haruhi's pace. Listening to Haruhi's explanation of Mariko-chan. The girl was just as mousey cute as Aya had expected! Hiding in libraries and her home and such. Yes, her and Aya's sweet Senpai would make the cutest match. Excitement flared as Haruhi suggested exposing Mariko-san's location. "Would you?!" Sparkles surrounded her as she clasped her hands together. Chances were she wasn't near Senpai's dot. But how far away were they? Was Mariko-chan in the process of trying to find her way to Senpai for another attempt at confession? Were they to spend this activity stealing away into a romantic escape? She needed to start brainstorming ways to bring the two closer together. IT WAS SO EXCITEING!
Aya enjoyed their walk with these very thoughts. Imagining the two in various situations with more daydreaming giggles even as they sped up their pace.

She lazily eyed the lake when it came into view. Half listening to Haruhi's words and half imagining the fun she and Shin could have if they were to spend a day at this lake.

Her body flinched a little as she felt fingers close in around her hand. Her focus hyper fixating on Haruhi as the other began pulling her along the shoreline. Like Ren-kun, the touch hardly held an ounce of aggressive possessiveness. Though compared to his, Haruhi's hold was definitely more firm.

Was everyone here so soft with others? She took a few blinks before she was able to tear her eyes away from Haruhi and eye the boat the other had lead her to.

"Why bother doing all the work ourselves, right?"

An easy smile slid across her face. "That, I can agree on." She happily obeyed the command, grinning to herself as the boat rocked sideways at her jumping in. It reminded her of the vacations her family would spend during the hottest parts of the year. Weeks spent doing nothing on top of the water. Aya took the spot she typically claimed while using any boat: The very front. She sat facing the wind. Closing her eyes and inhaling the cool air as Haruhi began their journey. How could anyone despise money when it allowed for joyous moments like this?

The wind picked up, then died down as Haruhi slowed somewhere in the middle of the lake. Something was off. Haruhi sounded utterly panicked.

Aya's brows knitted, a feeling of queasiness forming in her stomach as she realized the girl looked absolutely horrified. It was a bit confusing. Why she was getting so riled up about losing someone so expendable, when the other jumped in.

Every muscle in Aya's body froze. Her eyes widening as it clicked. It would take someone seriously stupid to not understand why Haruhi had jumped in. Yet the action posed both a contradiction and a solution to so many things.

Of course Haruhi liked to share her comforts. Of course she offered her first name... she thought the club members as genuine friends.

Aya gripped the edges of the boat as it rocked from the sudden loss of Haruhi. Feeling sick as her fingers dug into the rails. Haruhi cared about these people. Haruhi... who was just as powerful and rich as Ayame. One of her peers and equals.

But how had she-

What was she-

Swallowing bile, Aya squeezed her eyes shut. Grinding her teeth as she fought to sort out this new piece of information.

Clearly the other hadn't been hiding that fact. She had willingly panicked in front of Aya. Not only that, she'd easily talked of Solaris as her best friend. Something Aya had assumed was sarcasm or some sort of diminishing tease. Haruhi was breaking the rules. She'd made genuine connections with people. But then... if she wasn't hiding it... didn't her other peers know? Hadn't her parents been disgusted with her? Wouldn't the vile rats of her peers find ways to use such connections against her? How was her family's business still standing? Hadn't she been threatened or blackmailed? Was Solaris a fighter? Had he not been targeted? How was this not... how was she- how could it be possible that-

'It's impossible to be loved.' her mind hissed. Fear smacking her into a bit of hyperventilation. Living with actual, real relationships was impossible for people in their position. And if wasn't... then that meant- if it was possible than that meant Aya didn't have to-

'Stop' her mind commanded. Her body listened. Everything went blank at that moment. Her eyes dulling as she slumped over the side of the boat. Her body moved almost mechanically. The splitting headache growing to a migraine as her head slumped against her right arm. Her left fell limp over the side. Her hand submerging into the water. Ren's hoodie fell down. The edge of the cuff soaking into the water as it licked at her feverish skin. She couldn't seem to do anything in that moment. Besides stare and blink.

With each long breath, her murky thoughts began resorting itself. Carefully picking it all back into it's proper place.

Her name was Fukushima Ayame.

Her parents were rich. Extremely rich.

People both liked and disliked that.

She could not be loved.

That was a good thing.

She let out a long sigh, her eyes closing as she let herself focus on the feel of the water against her fringed nerves. It was nice to be surrounded by silence. It was so peaceful. Even the splash of water from Haruhi's swimming felt serene. The quietness of it all lulled her deeper into it's trance. Calming her beating heart and stealing away any ache she might of felt knowing she was reminding herself of her flaw.

Then Haruhi resurfaced. Inhaling the air sharply. Aya sat up in her seat. A bit dizzy as the wet cuff of the hoodie dripped onto her lap. Funny, Haruhi was the one who'd jumped into the water. Yet Aya felt like she was the one who'd just jumped into a tank of cool water. Her body felt numb. And her breathing felt matched with Haruhi's. Her chest rising and falling deeply as she was forced back into reality the very moment Haruhi was back above water.

Maybe it was the fact that Haruhi had just fractured a bit of Aya's core, or maybe it was simply the numbing relief of having a breath to herself. Whatever it was, Aya could barely register Haruhi's explanation as the other held up a waterlogged phone in her hands. Despite not catching a single phrase, Aya nodded.

Her mind remained fuzzy as the other pulled herself back into the boat. Presenting an easy distraction from the unsettling display of affection Haruhi had shown only moments ago.

Aya's eyes latched onto the girl. Watching each bit of water roll off the other's frame, noting each droplet running down Haruhi's face. It was mesmerizing to watch as the other's fingers squeezed water from her hair. Something Aya watched freely and shamelessly as the other tied her hair back into a ponytail. Her neck was exposed now. What would it be like to mark her right on that side where that bit of water was running down her skin?

Cringing, Aya turned her back to the other. Staring out into the horizons in complete silence.

The sooner they got this puzzle piece the sooner Aya could leave this fancy president to deal with whatever mess she wanted to create for herself. The only part of Haruhi Aya would have to deal with was finding this single puzzle piece. Maybe afterwards she could convince Shin to call in a pizza and have it catered up here.

 

[YetieBetie]

Location: Cabon -> outside
Interactions: Mariko @ScarletNova
Mentions: Hani and Ren @Monbon
Mood: I'm so tired of panicking :")


Ah, he had overstepped his bounds. Perhaps he ought to have given Aya more credit. She did have better experience with these types of things. His hand fell slightly, face burning both from embarrassment and shame as Mariko-san hesitated. The longer it took, the more his guilt grew.

"I'm sor-" his voice died away as a weight settled in his hand. Hadn't she just said she didn't want him to...? Confused, but certain he'd offended her, he wordlessly slipped a strap of each backpack on each side. Holding both firm by his hands.

Feeling absolutely terrible for his mounting mistakes, Shin dutifully set to glaring holes into the ground. His mind worked overtime as he struggled to think of some way he could smooth things out between them now. Sadly, lacking the ability to say a single intelligent thought made it a bit difficult.

He seriously needed to get over this. The amount of possible friendships he'd skewed terribly all because of his stupid stuttering was only growing larger by the day.

'Note to self, add pounding my head against a wall to my next workout.' He thought.

"I-it's n... not a- a struggle." He whispered, meaning to sound reassuring but instead sounding more like a crying bullfrog. There was only one thing left to do at this point: shut up and follow along.

His head dipped down, eyeing the few others they'd passed with a helpless expression as he followed Mariko-san out of the cabin.

The tense in his body relaxed slightly as they stepped outside. The outdoors... thank all gods above they were doing an activity outdoors. Already he could feel himself straightening under the sunlight. His shoulders happy with the stretch. He wasn't used to being stuck in panic mode for so long. Made obvious by the slight pop of his shoulders as he rolled them back. His eyes couldn't help but rise as he inhaled a fresh burst of air. Some of his panic-numbed thoughts seemed to be loosening up again. A soft smile curling over his lips.

One would think, after spending an entire day being dragged up a mountainside might have made Shin at least a smidge tired of nature. But no, Shin was more relieved than a grandma putting in her first row of stitched on a knitting project. He found himself eager to explore more of the area. A treehouse sounded pretty legit. If Haruhi-sama was as rich as Aya had made her sound (which the cabin said enough on that front), the treehouse could be pretty freaking awesome. Or it could be hilariously small. You never knew with big money people. That was the exciting part.

Mariko-san pointed towards a direction, to which he was happy to follow along. He seemed to be easing up quicker as they walked. Which was a good sign right? It was hard not to when they were surrounded by trees that promised a good climb. Some of them practically begged a challenge. There were a few he found himself longing to run towards. How quickly could he climb one? If he were to time himself sometime...

The path. He ought to focus on the path.

Which wasn't that bad either. As he searched around the areas they walked through, he was thrilled to find a good bit of wildlife. The inevitable sight of squirrels were abundant. He could easily count 10 within the first glance. A few mice tickled at his peripherals. Some birds chirping up in the branches. There were quite a few nests too. Baby birds chirping into the wind as they called for their mothers. How could anyone hate nature? It was just so... so... fun. There were a handful of deer much further from the path. In the far edges of their place. Clearly having learned to try and stay far from the sounds of footsteps they were making.

He was in the middle of watching a fascinating show of two rabbits munching on some grass when Mariko-san spoke up.

He'd been so consumed in enjoying everything, that he jumped. Very visibly as well. Both horrified at his lack of manners, and sheepish, he turned back to Mariko-san. Some of his guilt fading a bit as Mariko-san talked. "Y-yes." He responded to her first question. Cringing a bit at the mention of his last name. It wasn't that he hated the Fukushima name. It was just... complicated. Though Aya's parents had told him many, many times that he was more than encouraged to use it. It still felt wrong. As if he were stealing someone else's identity. Maybe if he were their kid it'd be different. But that wasn't ever going to happen. Not legally.

Sadly, it wasn't like he could go about without having a last name. Nor did he particularly like the idea of going around explaining to everyone and anyone why he didn't have one. That just led to lots of unwanted attention. And an unnecessary cross of emotions he'd rather not confront every time he said 'hi' to somebody.

"P-please... call me Shin..." The words were lower, more of a beg than a request. Shin was better than Fukushima. Shin was solely his. The only thing he could truly say that didn't feel undeserved or stolen.

He listened to her words, taking courage as he listened to her words. Taking courage as he listened to her attempts to converse. "I'm-" He swallowed, turning his focus back to the trail ahead of them in an attempt to keep his mind as stable as possible. "I'm new." He assured. And this time, he actually managed to sound reassuring!

More of the stress slipped away as she spoke. It couldn't be helped, something about Mariko-san's voice was soothing. Far more reassuring as she stated the very feelings of guilt he struggled with so often around the other sex. "I'm... not too good at it either..." He winced, daring to give her a side glance. Their eyes met briefly before he returned to staring ahead. A sarcastic 'ha' breathed from his lips as he forced his next words out. "I-if you... haven't already n-noticed."

There was a pause before Mariko-san spoke again. The words smacked him in the chest with an unexpected force. He spent a few moments frozen. Doubled over in pain as her sentence about being 'rude' and 'not courteous' for not making more conversation. He rubbed at his chest as his mind registered more of her words. Here he was having the time of his life watching some mama bird vomit into it's baby's mouth while Mariko-san had been suffering with the silence.

Maybe he'd been around Aya too often. They often settled into silence without really caring much about it. Hani hadn't seemed to mind it either. He'd been trained to be rude.

'Make sure that wall I hit my head against is made of bricks.' He noted.

"N-no, forgive me Mariko-san." He shook his head, brows knitting in pure frustration at himself. How many times did he have to wish he could speak to girls before it actually did something to help these sorts of things? "I- I didn't... well... I just assumed... I was wrong." At the very least he could have at least attempted to make some sort of conversation. He could have pointed out the bunnies grazing at the very least. Even if his mouth didn't work, it wasn't like his finger couldn't point at something.

"D-don't feel bad.... if... if it makes you f-feel any better, I do like some silence..." It was a half-hearted attempt to fix the wretched mess of an impression he was giving her. And then she asked if he was related to Ren.

"No." It wasn't even a hesitation. Though something about the question felt strangely funny to him. He had to bite back a bout of chuckles, which he did by turning it into a single cough. He continued to count trees as they passed by. Keeping his mind busy with something so small seemed to help some of the anxiety. If only a little. She had specifically asked about his last name and families. At this point it felt wrong to not explain at least a little of it.

"I don't have any family." He stated blinking at the trees. The lines were used frequent enough to keep his voice calm and somewhat rehearsed. "At least... n-not any that I'm aware of."

It was almost second nature to turn and give her a small reassuring smile, "It's alright th-though..." ah... shoot. His mind remembered she was pretty. Effectively kicking him off his habitual actions. His clingy friend in these moments, Mr. Blush, dusted his cheeks as his eyes returned to his shoes. He battled to remember his thoughts for a few seconds before continuing. "I'm very lucky t-t-to have m-met Ayame-sama a-and her f-f-family... They're very kind to me."

It was nice to think of the small family of three. Almost more calming than counting trees. When his heart rate had returned to a decent speed, he gave a hard inhale and forced himself back into the moment. "That was depressing wasn't it!" His words were now too loud. Almost panicked. He sputtered over himself, his eyes raising to the trail as his mind reeled for some way to save this conversation.

It didn't take a genius to imagine that when Mariko-san had voiced her desire to talk, she hadn't meant 'give me a sob story'. He gave a few nervous laughs, attempting to chase away any bits of heaviness.

"So..." A subject change. A subject. He just needed a subject. Literally all he needed to do was find a new subject. "you like waffles?"

...

He was an idiot.

 

[ScarletNova]

Akari Morita
Music Club | Location: Cave
Interactions: Ruby (@Rads), Sayuri (@Monbon), Briar (@Takumi)
Mentions: Haruhi
​

"Eh?" Akari stopped in her tracks and quickly jolted the flashlight over to Ruby to illuminate her as she spoke. Why was it so easy for some of these people to figure it out when Akari barely even interacted with them? And what was some of the other things she was talking about? Jaded? Step back and think? Was she suggesting Akari didn't think? Simply because she said she wanted to do things herself and not have help? What was wrong with not wanting others to interfere with your personal relationships?

Right, this was the lovers club. They were known for that. Akari released a sigh, calming herself down before she got upset. She shouldn't be surprised that those in the lovers club would be keen on getting into other people's business. She tilted her head slightly and look at Ruby.

"Look," she said back. "I'll admit it. I am interested in Sayuri. I like him. But I don't want anyone's help and you better not go around telling anyone, especially not him. These are my feelings and I will do what I want with them, whether that's telling him or not, when I want."

"As for you, I don't even know anything about you to know whether you are jaded enough or not for him or what he would think of you. This is the first time we've met and interacted," Akari went on. She turned away to return to her search for the puzzle piece. "And you better be looking for that piece right now more so than thinking about my love life. I'd rather get this activity over sooner than later."

She moved the flashlight to the ground again, searching under rocks for their piece. The farther in they went, the more Akari wondered if Nakamura's maids really went to this much trouble to hide it from them. Then again, it was probably the club president's orders to make it where the groups had to interact long enough with each other. Didn't she claim this was some sort of bonding and skill-building trip?

Growing more annoyed by their struggle to find the piece, Akari suddenly kicked a rock. It flew up into the air, hit the side of the cave with a bang, and then made a clack as it hit the floor. A few moments later, another clack could be heard. Akari shinned the light over in that direction, two pieces of rock sat on the ground of the cave instead of one. She lifted the beam of light upward to see a hole in the wall, a puzzle piece sitting lonely tucked away in it.

"Found it!" She shouted and reached over to grab it. She pulled it out and with a smile, shoved it into her pocket. "Alright, now we can get out of the this cave!"

"Hello?"

"If you're a ghost, please go away!"

Akari jumped at the sound of voices as they drew closer to them. "I ain't a ghost!" she muttered loudly. "Wouldn't you be the ghost!"

This cave was definitely haunted. Probably from all the souls that this club drove crazy from all their antics. Though, oddly, the voice sounded a bit familiar? In fact, it almost sounded like her beloved Sayuri. Maybe...maybe she was going crazy? Love crazy? She was hearing Sayuri everywhere now?

Akari rushed forward towards the voice, shinning the light into that direction. She caught the glimpse of pink. Was she seeing Sayuri everywhere as well? Wait...no...she wasn't seeing things. That was the real Sayuri!

A large grin came over Akari and her eyes practically twinkled with excitement. "Sayuri-san!" she commented. "It's just me, Akari. Oh, and Ruby too. No ghosts." She scanned him and his partner, her eyes focusing on the tattered dog in his arms.

"Let me take that guy for you," she offered, reaching out so she could take the dog out of Sayuri's hands. "I'll carry him out of the cave for you." Akari wasn't one to ask questions about where the dog came from or what Sayuri was doing with it, but if he was holding it, then that meant he wanted to do something with it, and Akari was willing to help him. Besides, the poor little guy was dirty and would mess up Sayuri's cute clothes.

Placing the flashlight into her pocket since the others still had theirs, Akari took the dog and held it carefully in her arms. "Let's get out of here," she suggested and turned on her toes back towards the entrance of the cave. As she started to walk, she realized she had noticed something else when she had looked over Sayuri and his partner. They were holding hands.

Why? Why were they holding hands? This activity didn't spark something between them and ended in their love, did it? What if they were dating now? Internally panicking, Akari bit down on her lip to try to calm herself. She attempted to push those thoughts out of her mind. Just because they were holding hands in a cave didn't mean they were going to get married, Akari. Wait? Marriage? Ah! Akari stopped thinking about those things!

With a sharp turn of her head, she glanced back towards Sayuri and their partner. "So...did you find your puzzle piece? If not, I can head back in and look for it for you guys once you're out of the cave. I don't mind."

 

[Takumi]

Briar Mori

Location: Muppet Cave

Interactions: Sayuri (@Monbon), Akari (@ScarletNova)
Mentioned: Ruby (@Rads)

"No… haha." Sayuri admitted with a halfhearted laugh, small hand still tightly gripping the other's sleeve like it was a lifeline. "Are you okay?" They asked, their free hand felt across the other's chest, gliding upwards until it reached Briar's shoulder. Though they couldn't see the other's face, their voice sounded off. Had they been crying too?

Once they could make out where Briar was, Sayuri pulled them into a tight comforting hug. "Sorry for… That. I didn't mean to freak out and leave you all alone. It's okay now, okay? We should get outta here."

For some reason keeping their eyes closed seemed to help. Sayuri could pretend it wasn't dark at all, at least enough to give off the impression that they were handling their current problem better than they actually were.

Briar grimaced a bit at Sayuri's initial response, though when asked if okay they turned a bit more to face their classmate and answer.

Ba-bump.

Heart stuttering for a moment as Sayuri's hand trailed up his chest to his shoulder, Briar blinked in slight surprise as the other tugged them forward into a warm embrace. The hug was unexpected, but was nice. For a moment, the cold, almost oppressive atmosphere of the cave couldn't reach them.

Sayuri's hug was needed more than Briar realized.

"I'm alright, thank you. You don't have to apologize y'know," Briar immediately reassured, returning the hug. Though they frowned a bit when Sayuri comforted them, as the smaller was the one who had more or less had a panic attack as far as Briar was aware, "isn't the one who's supposed to be getting comforted right now you, Sayu-chan?" They attempted to joke, though nearly winced at how it seemed to fall flat.

Unfortunately it did not help when it came to identifying the mysterious creature. Though Briar suggested it was a dog, Sayuri found more comfort in treating it like a God. "... So Komainu?" They suggested, choosing the middle ground.

Thinking it must've been a protective being sent to save them from the cave and anything dwelling within it, Sayuri listened to the dog's movements. When it let out a little gruff, Sayuri's curiosity got the better of them. Carefully, they grabbed their flashlight back from Briar and pointed it towards where they last heard the fluff. Peeping open one eye, then the other, they took extra care to only focus where the light was shining.

Briar was right. It did look like a dog. Only… its coat was so matted, Sayu couldn't help but feel for the poor thing. Just how long had the little dog gotten lost in these woods for? "W-whatchu got there… ahhh k-kami-sama?" Sayuri asked, finally releasing the other's sleeve for a moment to check.

Briar's beam of light joined Sayuri's as Komainu seemed to be pawing at something. Though they couldn't make it out from this distance.

Kneeling down beside the pooch, Sayuri shined their flashlight at what the dog was pawing at. After gently smoothing out the dirt, the round end of a puzzle piece caught their eye. With a gasp, Sayuri's movements grew more hurried. After quickly dusting the large piece off, they picked it up and showed it off to Briar. "Domo-kun! AAAahhhhhh!!! Look!! WE CAN GO HOME NOW!!!"

Sayuri's sudden rise in volume startled Briar, their eyes growing wide as they jumped and nearly dropped their flashlight, nearly fumbling to keep their grip on it.

Stuffing the piece into Briar's hands, Sayuri reached back into the camera bag and pulled out the rest of the jerky. With a turn of the bag, the contents fell down right in front of their savior. "We have more offerings back home. Do you want to join us, Kami-sama?" All they had to do was make it back through the cave. They made it in, they could make it out. Yet the moment Sayuri looked back down the path, they could feel the anxiety persistently clawing at each and every nerve. "W-ww-w-we should p-probably get the doggy a bath a-and some food." Sayuri stuttered, feeling dizzy just thinking of traversing the cave again.

Blinking as Sayuri suddenly placed the piece into Briar's hands, the taller couldn't help but laugh lightly, "Komainu is a very smart dog." They commented, taking the time to put the pieces into their own bag for safe keeping, then looked up at the sound of the jerky hitting the ground followed shortly by the excited yip of the pooch as it started to chew away at as many pieces as it could.

"Y-yeah, a nice bath will get little Komainu to feel much better I bet." the other agreed, hoping it helped take Sayuri's mind off the trek back as much as it was for Briar.

Reaching out once more, Sayuri reached for Briar's hand with their free hand and balanced both the dog and the flashlight with the other, dog settled comfortably in the crook of their arm. "L-lets go back." Sayu muttered, encouraging themselves to take those steps forward.

With Sayuri carrying the dog, Briar silently offered to carry Sayuri's bag for them, not wanting the other to feel overburdened by unnecessary weight and possibly hurt themselves while the two made their way back.

Giving Sayuri's hand a gentle squeeze once he grabbed their hand and was ready to go, Briar turned to begin leading the way back, using their flashlight to try and light the path ahead, when Sayuri stopped, causing Briar to stop as well. The turned to face their companion to ask if everything was alright when the other started speaking-

"Hello?" They called out, voice shakier than they'd have liked, "If you're a ghost, please go away!"

Hopefully it wasn't a ghost. There was enough excitement for one day, but Briar couldn't help but tense a bit as if ready to fight a ghost if it was one. Somehow.

"M-maybe it's another team?" They suggested and silently hoped so. What if it was a dangerous person? Briar wasn't the best fighter but if they had to they'd be quick to throw a few punches if it meant one of them got away. They even squared their shoulders a bit and tensed to look more intimidating just in case.

When it turned out to be Akari and Ruby, Briar's tensed body relaxed considerably with a small 'whoosh' of air leaving them in a sigh of relief. Komainu seemed fine with Akari holding him, panting and tail wagging the whole time. Briar briefly wondered if the dog had a single thought going on behind his eyes.

"So...did you find your puzzle piece? If not, I can head back in and look for it for you guys once you're out of the cave. I don't mind."

"Sayuri found our piece with the help of little Komainu there." They answered, motioning to the dog with a small nod.

 

[Rads]

Ruby

---

Interactions: @ScarletNova, @Akari, @Monbon Say kun @Takumi Briar
Mentions: Kio
Location: Heading back

Ruby gently chuckles at the over mood and Akari's reactions, then says, "Some things never change; still a scaredy cat in dark places." "Well, since Akari found our piece, we're heading back; we'll take more on the other subject later.". "As for thinking things through, emotions, for better or worse, can sometimes get the better of us and not always for the right reasons, as I know from experience.". "For people like me and Kio, we see that both of you have a one-track mind in some aspects, which is a double-edged sword."
"Well, in any case, I'll keep my promise, moms, as the saying goes". "For some reason, it feels like I'm gaining a fisty little sister in a way, which is adorable in it's own right, and it does make me happy." She pauses for a few moments and says, "On another note, say and Briar did get to support each other; caves are scary for most people, so I totally understand why it's better to put on a brave front and all that." "Oh, aki chan, later on, please join me in the kitchen if your up for it; I want to share some of my recipes with you."

 

[Jig The Zom-B]

The quiet hum was always something she tried to zone out, whether through boredom or just trying to find anything else to focus on, the sound of the engine always got stale quickly. Every now and then there would be a wobble, small bump or the sound of brush against the window as they moved. A difference from the smooth roads, it told her that she was on rough terrain, not a road many take daily. It told her that she was closing in on her destination. The driver, one of her butler's, the passenger one of her maids, quietly sat as they drove. One had offered to put the radio on, something to listen to for the journey, but found herself not wanting to listen to anything at the time. She admitted it would break the boredom of listening to the engine, but it also made her far more easily travel sick, something she did not want to suffer.

Gentle fingers caressed over body-warmed steel, the shape that of an animal's head she was all too familiar with now. A red Panda, her cane topper. Even when seated in the car, she never seemed to want to put it away. Resting her hands on the cane, listening for something new, keeping her attention on anything outside the care that wasn't a rumble, hum or snapping of wood beneath the tires of the car. Soon enough, she felt as the momentum of the vehicle slowed, slowed, slowed. Then stopped. Her brow raising, Dull red eye's looking to the window as though she would see their destination. Although unable to rely on her eye's to know she had arrived, the sound of the engine dying down and then off let her know instead.

Eager to leave the car, still waited until hearing the sound of the passenger door open, feeling cool air flow into the car, almost instinctively breaking in the scent as soon as it hit her. A small smile formed, she knew the smell of the forest, of nature. She had most certainly arrived! The car door to her left would click then open, "We have arrived, My lady." A hand offered to the girl. Reaching out her hand, rested it in the maids offered one, letting her be guided from the Vehicle. The quiet crunch of dirt beneath her feet, a nice breeze that made the brush of the forest sing, the sounds of ambient life were all wonderful. Taking in the fresh air, hummed approvingly, head turning to the maid. "Thank you both for bringing me here, i know you both have a busy schedule." Hugging the maid, smiling in the direction of the car where the butler, still sat in his seat, would be able to see her appreciative smile. Grip firm on her cane, took a step back , hearing the butler leave the vehicle and round it to the boot, collecting her bags. "We're more than happy to do something as simple as this, My lady. We will escort you to the cabin, then as per your wishes, return to the estate."

En smiled, hearing the car boot shut, the approaching footfalls of her butler causing her hear to turn towards it, smiling in his direction. A hand reached out in his direction, fingertips with feather light touches found his stomach. Taking a step towards him, gave him a hug as she gave to her maid. With a warm smile, let the two guide her towards the building. It was a short walk, her cane helping her find any would be tripping hazards, thankfully none present. Even if there were any, the maid and butler far too prepared to prevent such events. After what felt like a walk far too short, the cane lightly tapped a step, Carefully climbing the steps. "We are here my lady. Are you certain you would not like us to help you navigate the building and get you comfortable?" The male's voice showing it's concern. En's hand reached out, fingers gently caressing the material, tracing it to find the handle and turning to where the two stood. "I genuinely appreciate your concern's and want to help, but i promise that i will be alright. Please make sure to give Father and Mother my love upon your safe return."

It had taken a little bit of convincing on her part for her parents to let her go without any of the maids, butlers or themselves present. Gideon and Amora trusted her, but also wanted to make sure she was going to be alright. One set of puppy eye's and hug's later, she had their approval. Although if anything were to happen, to call the number Her mother had given her. She understood their worry, even felt a little anxious as she stood at the door. But she wanted to do this. With the two bowing, watched as En opened the door, walked inside and closed it after herself. They were both still worried, but understood that she just wanted to show she could do things on her own. Turning, the two departed, starting their journey back home.

Walking the hall's, the only noise made, the soft rubber tip of her cane tapping the ground every two steps, ensuring she did not bump into anything. Her right hand reached out, one of her fingers tracing the wall as she walked. Each step she took, was counted in her head, any furniture she noticed she took note of for future reference. The tip of her cane found no shortage of things for her to remember the location of. Every now and then, her tracing finger would find a door. Nodding as she took her time walking the building. An ear was kept, trying to listen for anybody that might be around. She heard no-one, assuming that as they were out in the forest that the members may be out and about. Figuring she had the place to herself for a little while, took the opportunity to walk it's hall's and room's a few times. Each room entered, she spend a few minutes tracing fingers around the length of the room, over where furniture rested, where windows existed and where small items may live. Noting that there were stairs leading up to another floor. It was only natural that there be more than one floor, although she was going to have to take special note of their location when it came to descending them. Last thing she needed was to find herself falling down them.

She knew she was not going to learn where everything was in just a few minutes or even few hours. It was something that took a bit of time, but at the very least enjoyed picturing how the rooms looked from what she learnt in her head. The excitement of a new building to wander. She knew if she wanted to wander outside, she would need another person from the club to supervise her, lest she get lost. But she didn't feel concerned about that for now. Confident she had visited upon most room's, found her wat towards the kitchen, taking extra time to confirm that it was indeed a kitchen. When the room location was memorised, moved back towards the bunk room. During her wandering's, had come across two rooms that fit the description of bunk room. Unfortunately not only were they upstairs, but also beside each other. Climbing slowly, ensuring her brain remembered where the stairs were for her return trip, made her way into the closest bunk room.

Spending a moment in the room, trying to get an idea of who was sleeping in here, just figured to leave her bag's next to the door, just in case she was in the wrong room. Relieved of the bags, spent an idle minute wondering what to do. The building was quiet, not sure quite how to spend her time until the others returned. With a quiet hum, turned and left, careful to make her way down the stairs and towards the kitchen. Finding the kettle, a cup, the fridge and the tea-leaves, hummed a quiet tune as the boiled some water. Despite her lack of sight, she had made her father and mother enough cup's of tea to know how to make it without her eye's. Making herself a nice cup of tea, placed the kettle down, the tea leaf jar right beside it, the milk on the lowest shelf of the fridge and the located the table. Happy with how much she had done, carefully took up her cup, walking to the table and made herself comfortable, melting into the chair a little as she let her drink cool for a minute. Letting her cane rest against the table, her hands reaching up to her hood and pulling it down, pulling her white silken hair free of her hoodie. She wasn't sure what kind of experience she was going to have from this trip, but she knew it was going to be fun, raising her cup and taking a small sip.

Location('s) - Estate -> Cabin
Mention('s) - N/A
Interaction('s) - N/A

 

[Monbon]

Sayuri Satou​

|| Location: Outside on the way to the cabin. || Interactions: Briar @Takumi Ruby @Rads , Akari @ScarletNova || Mentions: N/A || Mood: Relieved, Upset, Worried ||

"I'm not a ghost!" Sayuri shot back to the strangely familiar voice. "I'm the one and only cute and lovely Sayuri Satou!" Though the claim was one full of pride, their voice wavered. At least, they were pretty sure they weren't a ghost. This couldn't all be a dream, could it?

A snug squeeze of Briar's hand told Sayuri all they needed to know. They couldn't both be dead, right? At the very least, Briar would be aware even if they were. Sayuri could only hope that they were right and it was just another team. Did the maids run out of time hiding the pieces and just happened to have left two in one location?

Then the 'ghost' came running around the corner flashing their light in their direction. Shining their light at their feet in return, Sayuri was surprised to see Akari standing in front of them in the flesh. "Ah, ghost- No Akari-chan!" Sayuri cheered, bubbly mode on in full force as if their bright personality could be so blinding that the others wouldn't notice their poor state. After crawling on the ground, their knees were bruised, socks torn, and their eyes were puffy and red from all the crying.

Being caught would be embarrassing not only for Sayuri but for Briar as well. Though they hadn't taken a good look at their partner's face, they were pretty sure they weren't faring any better. There was something comforting about suffering together though. Life was strange like that.

Thankfully if Akari had noticed, she had enough tact to not say anything. She even offered to take their protector. Ah. Now that Akari arrived, Sayuri supposed they had just gained an extra protector. At least if there was a bear in the cave somewhere, they'd probably be fine. Could there be a better combination?

After Akari took the puppy, Sayuri was about to ask them who their partner was. The answer made itself known in the form of a voice coming from somewhere behind her.

"Some things never change; still a scaredy cat in dark places."

Sayuri couldn't help but agree. Some things really never changed. Like Ruby's inability to keep her mouth shut and her lack of consideration for the feelings of others. It was one thing to reveal their fears when in front of others, it was another to do so in a way that completely disregarded their feelings. Especially when Ruby was clear how this fear of theirs came about. Sayuri in a rare moment of vulnerability had told her everything but to her it was nothing but a joke, right?

So be it.

She could say and poke fun at them however they wished to. But Sayuri didn't need her to make Briar uncomfortable when he was already having a bad day. Ruby's teasing wasn't worth a response. Sayuri instead focused on Akari, their happy smile not once faltering. "Since we both got our pieces, we should head back. The Komainu could use a bath, maybe some food, water… Maybe even a name?"

Tugging at Briar's hand, Sayuri tugged them along, speeding ahead of everyone to be the first ones out of that godforsaken cave both in an attempt to save his partner from the cave and trying to keep the girls from seeing how bad a shape they were in. Once they were in the open daylight, there was no way the other two wouldn't notice they'd been crying. "We're never coming here again~!" Sayuri half sung, happy to see the entrance ahead of them but distressed at how much of a mess it had become to get to that point.

"Last one back to the cabin is a rotten egg!" Sayuri cheered and shut off their flashlight the moment they made it out, excitement bubbling through naturally, disguising their relief quite well. If one didn't take a good look at their face, there'd be no way to tell they were on the verge of crying again.

With Briar holding their bag and Akari holding onto the pooch, Sayuri was free to run off in the direction of the cabin, completely unfettered. With nothing weighing them down and a head start, Sayuri made it pretty far. As they passed by the waterfall, they could see a few other members doing their own thing.

Their legs ached, their lungs stung with every gasp of air they sucked in but it was so much better than being stuck in that cave. Sayuri wanted nothing more than a warm bath and maybe even a nap. The mixture of adrenaline and whatever was left of the caffeine rush propelled them forward back towards the safety of the cabin.​

 

[ScarletNova]

Haruhi Nakamura
Club President | Speedboat --> Island
Interactions: Aya (@YetieBetie)
Mentions: Medrin (@Jig The Zom-B), Solaris (@xLarius), Mariko
​

As the speedboat moved closer towards the island, Haruhi's orange eyes glanced over to her companion. A paleness seemed to have come over Aya. She almost looked sea sick. But she had been find just earlier and appeared to show no concern over entering the boat to begin with. If she was one to get motion sickness or ill from the water, she would have been much more hesitant.

Though Haruhi wasn't able to really know what might be bothering the other lady, her fingers reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone again. She tapped away on it for a few short minutes and then held it out towards Aya. "That green dot on the screen is Mariko," she muttered. A little bit of distraction might help.

"You know, Mariko is a bit of a shy girl. She's not used to interacting with people," Haruhi explained. "She could use some help with socalizing. I'd appreciate it if you'd help out with that." It seemed like Ayame had taken a liking to Mariko. Haruhi hadn't seen their first interaction. She wasn't entirely sure what type of 'liking' that really was, but it was clear the both of them needed some more human interaction.

The boat neared the island, and Haruhi started to slow down their speed as they came upon the shore. Though there was no dock in obvious sight from where they were coming in from, Haruhi drove the boat as close as she could get it until it beached itself on sand. Her eyes scanned the coastline, catching sight of the make-shift fishing pole.

"Well, without the tracking, we can't know for sure where they're at on this island," Haruhi stated. "But since they're looking for the puzzle piece, I suspect they're heading towards the center. We can either head that way or wait here. It looks to me like they would eventually show back up here, considering we have the fishing pole and the row boat right over there."

Her gazed found Aya again, querying her about what she wanted to do. Though Haruhi didn't mind just waiting at the boat for Solaris and Medrin to return, and it would most likely be the easier route, she wondered if it would be better for Aya to keep moving. A breeze blew through Haruhi's wet clothes, sending a chill through her body. She shivered slightly.

She hopped out of the boat and onto the sand. The wet sand stuck to her shoes. Waiting for Ayame's response, she wrapped her arms around herself to warm herself up. It was a decently warm day, but her clothes dripped with water, making each gentle breeze feel much stronger than it really was. If she was to stay in one place, she'd might have to start a fire.

Haurhi held out her hand, offering Ayame some help in getting out of the boat if she so choose to use it. Her fingers were pruned, her clothes still dropped water like rain, and goosebumps started to form along her arms, but she still gave Aya a warm smile. Her hand still held out, like a prince waiting to help a princess out of her carriage.

"What do you think?" Haruhi asked. "Want to continue our adventure a bit more? I have to admit that waiting here for them to return sounds a bit boring, don't you agree? I think it might be much more interesting if we headed farther into the island and searched for them. I think I might know where they're going anyway."

 

[ScarletNova]

Mariko Tanaka
New Member | Location: Woods
Interactions: Shin (@YetieBetie)
Mentions: Aya, Haruhi
​

Mariko's eyes suddenly sparkled like stars when Shin told her she could call him by his first name. A warmth filled her chest and a hint of butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She was getting the opportunity to call so many people by their first names and nicknames today, something she had never thought would even be possible. But it was even more surprising, and slightly nerve-racking, in a good way, when it was a man.

As a shade of pink graced her cheeks at the thought, she eagerly listened to him further. When she told him he was also new, she felt a sort of comradery with him. Maybe they could get to know the others in the club together? Social interaction wasn't as hard when you weren't completely on your own trying to do it. Having someone else to help the conversations along and give you some strength was always helpful.

But when she realized she was getting a bit ahead of herself, Mariko had to take a few minutes to calm herself down and let those butterflies rest. Then Shin admitted he wasn't so good at conversation either and everything started to click. Maybe she wasn't really being rude and he didn't think low of her? He just was as unsure how to talk with others as she was.

Her lips parted, about to speak, but words failed to come out as soon as he stared to apologize. Her broadening smile suddenly faded and turned into a frown. "N-no, S-shin-san," she suddenly spoke, almost in the form of a shout. "D-don't think like that. You weren't wrong and you don't need to apologize. I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't mean to make you feel like you're doing something wrong!"

"Silence while walking in the forest is nice too," she went on. "Y-you get to hear all of natures sounds and y-y-you can watch all the animals doing really cute things." Ah! Mariko, you're starting to ramble again. He's not going to enjoy all your rambling. Stop talking so much. It'll make him uncomfortable!

She suddenly looked away from him, having unknowingly starred straight at him the whole time. Her eyes carefully checked the ground, taking a few deep breaths to try to relax herself again. But her eyes shot back up to him as he mentioned that he didn't have a family and brought up Ayame and hers.

Though Mariko didn't know what exactly was going on, it wasn't hard to put all the pieces together, especially for someone who read a lot of fictional novels. "S-Shin-san," Mariko whispered softly. "I can't imagine what that's like. I'm s-sorry you have to go through it. B-but to me, it sounds like you do have a family then. I don't think A-Aya-san's family would bring you in to simply tease you. I'm sure they themselves consider you part of their family."

She paused for a moment, looking away then back to Shin, the away again, anxiously. "And even if you don't feel that way, y-you're part of the lovers club now...and Lady Haruhi says that the lovers club will always be a place for all of us to belong."

Her lips curved into a small smile and she shook her head in the form of a no when he mentioned about things being depressing. "Talking about stuff like that isn't depressing. I-It's good to do."

"So...you like waffles?"

The words were random. Super random. And suddenly, Mariko couldn't help but let out a giggle at the comment. The shade of pink returned to her cheeks as she laughed. Her gaze finally left the ground and rested on Shin.

"I do like waffles," she commented. "They're one of my favorite breakfast meals actually. W-what about you? What's your favorite?"

As her gaze stayed on Shin, Mariko's attention failed to notice the small rock just ahead of her path. Then the tip of her shoe kissed the stone and her body started to fall forward. Her dainty fingers reached out and found the nearest solid object to stop herself from falling. That object happened to be Shin. Her hand wrapped around his arm, catching herself before she could fall to the ground.

 

[Takumi]

Hiroki Niwa
Location: River
Interactions: Kio (@Rads)
Mentioned: Haruhi (@ScarletNova)

"You didn't get most of what I was saying before from the looks of it, but that's ok. As for your other question, well, it never hurts to be through with some things because, as the saying goes, expect the unexpected; I learned that from my oldest sister, and I do my best to look at all the angles, though I have to admit I do fall short sometimes."

Hiroki gave Kio the biggest shit eating grin when the other said the pinkette didn't get what he said, deciding to be a little shit and not confirm or deny the statement.

"Life does like to throw curveballs at people; so it's good to expect the unexpected, but sometimes you just gotta go with the flow or roll with the punches. However the saying goes." he shrugged out.

"Let's check both; I don't mind which place I start; to be honest, I'm just glad I get to destress.". " Please make sure to watch your step if you choose to start by the river, as it takes a while for many clothes to dry."

"It should be fine~☆! I'll just look around those rocks over there by this side of the river," Hiroki replied with a wave of his hand as if brushing off Kio's comment, while his right was pointed to the right where a few rocks were grouped together. Though he paused and seemed to think for a moment.

Coming to a silent conclusion he nodded to himself and took off his shoes and socks, setting them aside and even taking off his backpack and setting that near his shoes so none of them got wet just in case.

There were some rocks and trees scattered about near the river, so the puzzle piece could be hiding behind any of them for all Hiroki knew. It shouldn't take them long, since Haruhi said the puzzle pieces were bigger than a normal puzzle piece.

"You can look over there if you want?" He suggested, motioning to their left, where a few more rock and trees were, "if the puzzle piece is, like, in the water I can get it." He added. He already had his shoes and socks off, he could just step in and dig around for like…some kinda waterproof bag or something and Kio wouldn't have to worry about getting wet.

Smiling, he turned and began looking behind the rocks, humming a random tune to himself as he did so. He didn't find anything near the smaller rocks, and tried to peak around the biggest of the cluster.

"Hey–" he started, turning to ask Kio if he found it, but he had leaned too far when leaning against the rock and-

Splash!

His hand slipped, and into the river he went with a flailing yelp.

It took a moment, but he resurfaced with a dramatic gasp. He coughed and sputtered, spitting out water a moment.

"I'm okay!" He called as he stood moving to pull his wet bangs out of his face as he blinked away water.

'Maybe this is what wet cats and dogs feel like?' He thought with a bit of a pout as he began to wade his way out of the river.

—​

Briar Mori

Location: Muppet Cave → Cabin

Interactions: Sayuri (@Monbon), Akari (@ScarletNova), Ruby (@Rads)
Mentioned: n/a

"Some things never change; still a scaredy cat in dark places."

Briar's brows nearly shot to their hairline at this. Did they hear her right?

"On another note, Say and Briar did get to support each other; caves are scary for most people, so I totally understand why it's better to put on a brave front and all that."

"Do you now? Do you know how dangerous a cave can be? How one wrong turn could get someone lost or hurt? The 'brave front' was for Sayuri's sake more so than mine, cause Sayuri's comfort comes before mine and that goes for any friend of mine at the end of the day. If anyone's the 'scaredy cat' it's me in all honesty, for having to act stronger than I really am." Briar spoke up at Ruby's words, their tone starting deadpan and growing more bitter the longer they spoke as they raised a brow at the redhead. They weren't sure how she could tell so easily that they were putting up a 'brave front', especially when this is their first time meeting the redhead, but they didn't have the energy to get into it. Who knows, maybe the hoarseness of their voice gave it away? Briar was more than ready to head back, give Komainu a bath, and nap. Giving Sayuri's hand one more squeeze of comfort, Briar let the other pull them along before they could really verbally lash out like they wanted, feeling the anger simmering in their chest again. Sayuri came first though.

"Since we both got our pieces, we should head back. The Komainu could use a bath, maybe some food, water… Maybe even a name?"

"Yeah…do you want to name it? It likes you quite a bit." He asked, glancing at Sayuri and frowning at what looked like tears in their eyes. Was the pinkette going to cry again? Briar would have to make sure Sayuri was alright as soon as possible.

"We're never coming here again~!"

"I'll eat my shoe if we ever have to–" Briar grumbled as they turned off and put their flashlight away once out of the cave, only for Sayuri to cut them off.

"Last one back to the cabin is a rotten egg!"

"Huh–?" They blurted out, dumbfounded as they watched Sayuri dash off back towards the cabin. Blinking blankly for a moment, their brows furrowed. They debated on how tired they were and if running after Sayuri was a wise choice. Maybe not a full out sprint, and they should be fine.

"Don't overdo it!" They called, jogging after their partner, leaving little Komainu to tilt its head as it was still in Akari's arms.

Keeping a bit of distance once near Sayuri in case the other didn't want the taller in their space, Briar shifted the pinkette's bag so it hung off one shoulder, not caring how awkward it may have looked with their own bag already on their back.

"Do you want a hug? Or do you need some alone time?" They asked quietly, more than willing to open their free arm for a hug if Sayuri needed one at any moment, or to leave them be to calm down. Whenever upset, Briar usually took some time to themself to calm down, and their mom always suggested that taking a bit of a walk sometimes helped.

There was a moment where they didn't say anything before asking, "did I overstep a bit?" The last thing they'd want is to make the pinkette uncomfortable.

 

[Rads]

Interactions: Hiro @Takumi
Mentions: @Monbon sayu
Location: River Shortly after finding the puzzle piece, between two rocks on the outside bank, he hears a splash, turns around, sees Hiro, and gently sighs, then says, "If I sounded condescending, that wasn't my intent; I got somewhat frustrated, and for that, I'm sorry. I just know a lot about this kind of stuff because of my grandpa and my secret hobby."
He pauses for a few moments, then pulls out a microfiber towel out of his back pocket and offers it to Hiro, and then says, "You can quickly change when we get back to the cabin, but for now, you should at least wipe your face and dry your hair.". He puts the puzzle piece in his zip pocket and pulls the zip up with the other hand. "I don't know if Sayu told you anything about me, but as a rule, I'm not spiteful or do things to deliberately hurt someone, and so on."

 

[xLarius]

Solaris Kousei

Aaaah. Medrin was... Seriously not one to be messed with.

Perhaps it was the physique though his demeanor was rather... Gracious, to put it lightly. Solaris wondered if his attitude was on auto-pilot as well or if this truly was his personality at full throttle. His emerald eyes shifted as droplets fell from his own damp sleeves. Comfortable, he sarcastically lamented. He didn't think he was injured.

Solaris figured that the fortunate circumstance had something to do with Medrin's body softening the blow. When the other apologized once again, Solaris simply brushed it off. Used one too many times and the word became nothing but a word to make the other feel better rather than true remorse. The vice-president simply maintained his calm smile, "Sure." Was the simplistic word he chose before shaking his head.

​

"It is really alright. I was due an upgrade." Better it fell into the water and promptly fried rather someone else get even a chance of getting whatever information was on the device. When the other suddenly deadpanned, a silence filled between the two of them before the vice-president simply blinked back at him.

"Well, worst case scenario, we'll have to re-enact the Castaway scene where they're stranded on an island, unable to get back home. I hope you put me on your list of the one person you'd take if you were stranded on an island." His tone was fairly lighthearted, he motioned for the other to do whatever it was that was so pressing before holding his hand over his eyes and looking towards the distance.

Alas, it wasn't as if he could see anything. This would be a good place for an impossible game of hide-n-go-seek, Solaris noted. The upperclassman resisted the urge to shrug once again before deciding a nod would be more polite. He didn't really know much about fishing so it wasn't as if he could provide satisfactory input onto if something would, or wouldn't be awaiting them when they returned.

​

As they trekked along the terrain, his eyes flicked over to the other. He recognized the surname Sayuri as bubbly as they were it was hard not to notice their participation in the club or the rumors the girls who approached Solaris would lie at his feet. However... Akari wasn't a name familiar to him.

He shook his head, "Whoever Akari-san is, they aren't registered with the club." He simply mused, his rather amicable tone didn't waver. "When they stumble upon our path you may have to point them out to me." Solaris wondered how many random students they had along with them. If they got lost in the wilderness it would be the teachers, or at the most, their dearest president responsible. It wouldn't be Solaris who didn't know a single droplet of information when it came to these unknowns.

"But ah, yes. That's our Club President, Nakamura-chan. Even if you don't plan on tagging along with our club forever, it's impossible not to hear that name once or twice in your lifetime." After all, if the wealthy even breathed a different way, news that didn't paint them in a negative light was bound to reach one or two ears. Well that and if Haruhi wanted to find you, she would find you. Solaris knew that too well.

"Admitted yesterday?" He reiterated, continuing to walk forward, pushing a branch upwards and being particularly wary that it would snap back at him. "Do you move often?" Some kids seemed to travel as if their lives counted on it... Not that it was their choice. Solaris could only imagine what it was like every month to have to adapt to new streets. It wasn't something he would particularly be interested in, in all honesty.

​

When Medrin announced that they arrived, he looked at the foliage around the building. Well... The 'building.' All that remained was the outline left by the rubble which outlined where rooms had been. Flowers were already sprouting in the cracks and there wasn't enough coverage or ceiling for that matter for it to be a proper building. There was a large hole in the center-- perhaps it used to be a courtyard with how deep it was. It seemed that rainwater generously had filled the center.

How lonely this place seemed, long abandoned by whoever this building was made for in the first place. "A house perhaps?" He murmured, glancing back to Medrin to exactly figure out what kinds of memories someone would try and construct on an island. A shattered glass wind chime laid on the floor, reminiscent of black, gold, and red goldfish lay at his feet.

If the vice-president had a sweet plot of land such as this, he'd never let it go.

​

Solaris's shoes crunched against the gravel on the ground before kneeling down next to the deep pool of water in the center. He curiousl dropped a stone, a small bit of him wondering if he could see the bottom only to find that the stone vanished after a little bit of time. Well he wasn't sure if swimming to the bottom was an option. The last thing Solaris wanted to do was swim as far as he could down, get absolutely drenched, only to find that he couldn't even reach what lie at the bottom of... Whatever this pool was.

It was then that a flash blinked in the corner of Solaris's eye. He furrowed his brows as he reached out, a shard of glass with the words written in red lipstick--

\ Love is so magnetizing
thus you should be finding
high above you must shoot
to uncover the truth
at the bottom of the water
you have no time to falter
Shoot your shot
A rod awaits on top /
​

Well at least this riddle didn't attempt a homicide on Solaris's brain cells.

Shoot? Solaris blinked at a wooden chest that had been set against one of the walls, flipping it open to reveal a set of a bow and arrow... Not that it would be very useful for him. He was better with a proper dart board than archery. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking around at the nearby walls before approaching Medrin and flashing the mirror his way. "Any ideas on where to aim?"

「 @ScarletNova , @Monbon , @Jig The Zom-B 」

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