Chapter 25: Summer Camp pt. 3

The early morning sunrise is a treat to watch in the mountains. Our Sun's bright orange light as it ascended into the sky to start the new day. It was a peaceful and serene sight.

"Gah! That hits the spot!" Shizuka said as she finished her bottled water with a sigh of satisfaction. I looked beside me and saw her lean forward and watch the rising Sun. Sweat gleamed off her toned body as minor bruises lay spread across her forearms. She was also wearing a similar outfit to the one she wore yesterday, except she had decided to forgo wearing a shirt.

We sat under a tree from the same clearing from our last spar. There were several skid marks and ruined patches of grass from this morning's spar. This was impressive, considering we were holding back considerably in consideration of not waking any other campers and volunteers from the inevitable quakes and rumbles we'd create.

It was Shizuka's idea to get our training done early in the day to focus on our chaperoning duties during the day. This way, we wouldn't have to worry about having everyone else follow us to watch us beat on one another. Overall, it worked as she intended.

Today, she focused on teaching me several of her fighting moves and techniques. While my self-created fighting style was effective, it wasn't refined. So, Shizuka drilled into me several ways to improve my skills. She was pleased to see I was able to pick up and learn what she taught quickly. A natural, she called me. So after three hours of intense training and spars, we've ended our training. It was also the last day of our summer camp, considering it only lasted two days.

I sighed and leaned back on the tree; I closed my eyes and enjoyed the Sun's warming rays. Shizuka smiled at me and leaned back as well. We remained like that for ten minutes.

"Hey, Hikigaya. I'm gonna give you some advice on dungeon raids. I doubt you've come across this, so I think it would be best if you knew about it early on." Shizuka said with a frown after sitting up straight. Her tone had become severe. I opened my eyes and nodded to her as I sat straight.

"You run into some real crooks in this line of work. Since it's dangerous, accidents happen regularly enough. But since those accidents are totally isolated, you could also commit a crime, and it'd never come to light." Shizuka said. "There are no security cameras in dungeons, and if there are no living witnesses, there'll never be any evidence. Do you get what I'm trying to say?"

You're either the Hunter of the Hunted.

"Yeah… I get it." I said. I was reminded of how I and the others during the Red Gate incident were left behind. If Ozaki and the others in his strike squad had managed to make it out, they could have simply said we were killed by enemy monsters, and the subject would be dropped like that. No investigation would happen, and no evidence would be collected. It was merely word of mouth of those that made it out.

"Good. That's good." Shizuka whispered and stood up. "We should head back. It won't be long before it's time to make breakfast. We can use a quick shower as well."

I nodded and followed behind her as we traveled back to camp. In dungeons, you could commit murder and get away with it. So keep your guard up around those you don't know. That's what Shizuk was trying to explain to me as best as she could besides outright saying it. I guess she's afraid of scaring me off from becoming a Hunter.

x x x

[ PEERLESS ADAPTATION RING ]

[ TYPE: ACCESSORY ]

[ CLASS: B+ ]

[ When wearing this ring, the Player's body will be able to adapt to the intense environment he resides in. ]

[ 65% FIRE ( HEAT ) RESISTANCE]

[ 65% ICE ( COLD ) RESISTANCE]

[ MANA FLASK ]

[ TYPE: POTION ]

[ CLASS: A ]

[ When used, the Player will recover 35% of their overall Mana. Can only be used three times once a day. ]

[ 0/3 ]

[ STONE OF LUCK ]

[ TYPE: MISC ]

[ CLASS: B+ ]

[ When equipped, Players overall luck will increase up to 20% ]

These aren't so bad. The peerless adaptation ring is definitely the star of today's pull. I grinned as I carried a large stack of logs over my shoulder. Wait, a stone that will boost my luck? Where has that been all my life?

I've decided to use the rewards from my daily strength quests to stock up on gift boxes. Once I've collected enough, I'd combine them into rare item boxes. Thanks to that, I've received a lot of cool and epic items; at the same time, I've also received some lackluster ones.

"Wow! Isn't he, like, really strong?"

"Wow! They must weigh a thousand pounds!"

A few wandering children watched me in fascination as I headed toward the center of the open clearing of the camp. I looked over my shoulder and realized I ended up carrying more than an average person could have. I sighed and ignored their excited chatters.

"Wow, Hachiman. Are you trying to show off here?" I looked at Shiho as she carried two small logs in her arms. I walked over to her and took them off her hands. "Thanks."

"No problem." I said as I placed the logs onto my stack. We began stacking the logs onto one another for tonight's bonfire. I couldn't help but think back to the time in elementary school when the girl I was paired to dance with had told me she didn't want to hold hands. I'd end up doing the Air Oklahoma mixer. I sighed and dismissed the memory.

"Hey? Are you okay?" Shiho asked as we paused in our log stacking. I held the log in my hands tightly and heard it strain slightly.

"Ah, yeah." I said slowly and placed the log onto the pile. Shiho frowned and walked closer to me.

"It's not nice to lie to a friend, Hachiman." Shiho said with a small smile. I frowned and looked down at the wood pile. I placed my hands on one of the logs and felt the wood's rough texture. "You were making this pained expression as you were stacking the logs. Maybe... talking about it will help?"

"...when I was younger. The girls in my elementary school didn't want to hold hands with me during the bonfire dance, so I had to dance alone. I guess building one of these myself reminded me of that." I said while avoiding Shiho's gaze. "Pretty lame, right?"

"I don't think so." Shiho said as she picked up another log and placed it on the pile. The pile was now up to her shoulders. She looked over at me and smiled softly. "If you want... I'll dance with you tonight."

My eyes widened, and I turned to her. Her cheeks had turned a shade of red as she waited for me to reply. Is she... serious? I swallowed the lump in my throat and looked away from her. You can fight Igris, the Blood Red Commander, and Radahn, the Starscourge, with a grin, but you become a bubbling moron in front of a cute girl! Get a hold of yourself, Shadow Monarch!

"Are you sure? This is mostly for the kids." I said lamely. Shiho chuckled and placed another log on the ple.

"Mhm. I'm sure, unless you don't want to dance with me?" Shiho said. I sighed but ended up smiling despite myself.

"Okay then. I guess you're my dancing partner for tonight." I said and watched Shiho's smile grow wider. If I could bottle up the energy from this smile, I'd have the solution to world peace.

x x x

Kuse Taro was having a fun summer vacation so far. He and his family had decided to visit the Miraku-Nagasakibana lighthouse on Fuku Island, a long-time family vacation spot his mother and father wanted to see.

"Kuse! Over here! Look!" Kuse looked up from the pile of rocks he was playing with and turned to his younger brother's excited yells off on the beach. Kuse stood up and ran along the sand. He came to a stop next to his brother.

"What is it, Miyata?" Kuse said and began running behind Miyata. Miyata smiled as he guided him to whatever amazing find he had found.

"You won't believe it, Kuse! It's an enormous ant! The biggest I've ever seen!" Miyata said as they came to a stop.

Kuse looked in amazement at the giant red ant lying still on the sand. The ocean's water moved in and out in waves. The ant's body was as large as a fully grown adult, and its exo skeleton shined brightly with the midday sun. On its back were a large pair of wings that twithed sporadically. Unknown to both young boys, the ant's large eyes twitched and turned towards them.

"Wow! That's so cool!" Kuse said in awe and turned to his brother with a large grin. "We have to show mommy and daddy!"

Miyata nodded and jumped in excitement. "Yes! Mom's going to freak out-"

Kuse watched in stunned horror as a fast-moving claw sliced off the top half of his brother's head. Blood and brain matter landed on the sand-covered ground. Miyata's body crumpled forward in a silent thud, the remnants of his eviscerated brain splattered on Kuse's white shoes. Staining them in red.

Kuse could only turn his head and watched as the ant's large red body loomed over him. The ant's moving pincers twitched as they stared at him coldly. The ant then dashed forward with its mandibles wide open.

x x x

"So, why is everyone in swimsuits?" I asked as I watched my friends playing around in the shallow stream from last night.

Ryuji, Ann, and Iroha splashed water onto one another with mischievous smiles. Shouko, Komachi, and Saika were running around the stream as they chased each other. Yui grabbed Yukino's shoulders as the two looked at me and Shiho from the rocky shore.

"It was getting hot while we were working, so we decided to take a break and chill in the water!" Ryuji said as his face was splashed by a large wave of water kicked up by Ann. She laughed as Ryuji sputtered and turned to her with a glare. "Now you've done it!"

Ann squeaked and ran away from Ryuji as he sent wave after wave of water onto her back. Iroha walked over to me and placed her hands behind her back. "Blondie's right! So we asked Hiratsuka if we could chill off in the water. As you can see, she agreed! So? What do you think? Is my swimsuit cute?"

Iroha was wearing an orange two-piece swimsuit with a floral design; she grinned at me with a flushed face. I hummed and made a show of inspecting her, which caused her already flushed face to become redder. "It suits you." I said.

"How lame." Iroha said with a sigh. What were you expecting? A five-star review?

"Ah! Big bro!" I turned my head and watched Komachi, Saika, and an embarrassed Shouko waddle their way over to me. "Check out Shoukos swimsuit! Isn't it the cutest?!"

Shouko wore a black and pink one-piece swimsuit that hugged her curves tightly. On her head was a wide-brim straw hat. Shouko's face was red, and she pulled her hat down slightly to hide her face. However, she peeked from under it to look at me.

'It looks good, Shouko.' I said through sign language. Shouko's face lit up on fire, and she thanked me in sign. Those around us watched in confusion because they did not understand what we were saying.

"HA? I want to know what you two are saying! No fair!" Komachi whined and began hitting my arm repeatedly. I snickered and looked away from her.

"Maybe you should learn how to sign, dear sister of mine. Then we'll let you in our little club." I said jokingly and watched her cry while mumbling about being betrayed.

"Hikki, why don't you and Suzui join us!" Yui said as she walked over to us all. "The water's really nice!"

"I'm okay." I said. Shiho took off her shoes and walked into the stream. She squeaked as her feet submerged in the cold water. "The heat isn't bothering me." I said and felt the cool surface of the peerless adaption ring on my left index finger.

"Hoh, you came too, Hikigaya?" Shizuka said as she headed over to our direction. She wore a white and pink floral swimsuit top while a purple and pink skirt wrapped around her wide hips.

"Teach. Not bad." I said with a smile as I slid my hands into my pockets. Shizuka flinched back slightly, and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. She rubbed her head and turned away from me.

"A-ah. What do you mean, H-Hikigaya?" Shizuka said robotically, eyeing the stream with heavy interest.

I chuckled and watched Hayama's group join in on cooling off in the stream. Yumiko and Hina passed us while chatting about Akihabara. As Yumiko passed Yukino, she had said something about winning. It took me a while to realize what she meant, but then my eyes trailed down to Yukino's small chest and Yumiko's much larger chest. Ouch, minus fifty HP for Yukino.

From there, Komachi and Yui began to say that size didn't matter and that a girl's chest doesn't measure their worth. It took Yukino a second to realize what they were talking about.

"I wasn't really concerned about them in the slightest bit. Also, a person's worth isn't decided by their outward appearances." Yukino turned to everyone while covering her chest. "If, by argument's sake, that there were to be variances based on such, then that assessment should be relative, and the entire body should be assessed as to keep a good balance!"

"Yukinoshita." Shizuka said slowly and placed a hand on Yukino's shoulder. "This isn't time for you to give up."

Big ouch. From there, everyone began to play and enjoy themselves in the cool stream. I sat by a nearby tree and watched my friends enjoy themselves. I noticed that Komachi had been giving Yui thoughtful looks every now and then but would quickly get back to playing with Shouko, Saika, Ryuji, Ann, and Shiho. Yui would also look at Komachi with a sad frown, but she'd return to hanging off Yukino.

"Hey." I said with a small smile as Rumi Tsurumi sat on the other side of the tree I was under. She stared at the ground with the same sad eyes from yesterday.

"Why're you alone." Rumi asked.

"The heat doesn't bother me. Plus, I didn't plan on swimming, so I didn't bring my trunks." I said. Rumi nodded and watched as Shiho and Ann ran from Ryuji as he chased after them with a large grin. Komachi was hanging off his back as he ran. That's dangerous, you two. "What about you?"

"...they said today was a free day. After I was done with breakfast, there was no one in the cabin." Rumi said silently and rested her arms on her knees. I turned to Yui and Yukino as they walked over to us.

"Rumi. Wanna play with us?" Yui asked with a smile while holding a hand out. My eyes gravitated to Yui's ample chest, but I quickly looked away as Yukino peered at me. I see, so this is the law of universal boobitation. Bewbton, you really knew your stuff! Rumi shook her head at Yui's question.

"Hachiman." Rumi said. Where's the respect, kid? "Do you... have any friends from elementary school?"

"Hikigerma! Hikiguana! Hikifroggy!"

"Ew! Hikifroggy wants to play tag!"

"No." I said absentmindedly. "I don't."

"I see." Rumi said sadly and looked over to a line of ants nearby. "My mom always asks me if I'm getting along with my friends. So she told me to take lots of pictures of camp, so she gave me a camera. When you're isolated, it really feels like you're at the bottom. It kinda sucks. but... there's nothing I can do about it."

"Why is that?" Yukino asked, her brows furrowed.

"I... let someone else get isolated before. So now we can't get along. Even if we can, I still wouldn't know when something like this would happen again. So I thought maybe this wouldn't be so bad." Rumi said as her eyes began to shimmer and her lip quivered slightly.

I sighed and watched Shouko hold some water in her cupped hands. She seemed to have noticed my gaze, so she turned to me and smiled widely. I felt my chest warm up from such a small sign of affection. I then turned to Rumi and watched as she gripped her legs tightly. Yui and Yukino looked at each other, unsure what to say.

"Loners are forced to be loners." I said. "If someone tries to stand out, they'll just use that against them. That is the rotten rule of the world of children."

I stood up, walked in front of Rumi, and kneeled. Yui and Yukino watched me with curiosity. "You don't like being miserable, do you?"

Rumi shook her head. Her eyes looked into my own. However, I saw something profound in them. Something I saw in my own eyes when I looked in the mirror when I was growing up. Hope. I saw hope.

"I didn't either when I was growing up. Let me tell you, It hurt like hell. I'd like to tell you things will get easier in time, but they won't. So I won't lie to you." I said and looked down at my hands. "Things will only get worse, that's a fact."

Rumi looked crushed, but before she could succumb herself to the pit of loneliness. I continued speaking. "But that's only if you let it. If the people around you don't want to grow to know or understand you, there's nothing you can do to change that. But there are people who will understand and accept you for who you are, despite what others say. So you can't close yourself off to everyone. If you do, you'll miss those who genuinely want to be your friend. So don't give up, Rumi. Don't turn away from everyone, and stand tall."

"Hikki." Yui whispered with her hand over her chest. Yukino's eyes shook briefly, but she quickly closed them.

"How do you know?" Rumi asked. "How can you be so sure that things will get better?"

"I know because I went through it myself." I said with a smile and held a hand in front of her. "And if things start to seem tough, you can always talk to your big bro Hachiman, and he'll remind you to keep going. Because we loners have to stick together, don't you think?"

Rumi stayed silent and stared at my hand. Slowly, she lifted her arm and placed her small hand on mine. She offered me a small, scared smile. "Okay... I'll try."

"Good girl." I said and patted her hand. Rumi smiled and stood up. I looked up at her and smiled back. Rumi then left the stream and headed back to her cabin. I stood up and sighed deeply.

Well, that went well. Maybe I am leveling my people skills? I turned back to Yukino and Yui and saw them looking at me with odd expressions.

"What?" I asked. They shook their heads and smiled slightly at me.

"Hikki, that was really nice of you." Yui said as she placed her hands behind her back. Yukino nodded and crossed her arms.

"Indeed. I didn't know you were capable of speaking like that." Yuknio said softly.

"Me either. I just said what I wanted someone else to say to me when I was her age. I guess... loners can understand one another better than anyone else." I said absentmindedly and watched as my friends played the American game, Marco Polo.

Well, past loner.

We all spent the rest of the evening enjoying the stream. I even took off my shoes and joined them towards the end. This was a bad idea because Ryuji suddenly jumped on me, causing us to fall into the water and ruining my clothes.

"Goddamnit, Ryuji!"

x x x

That night, we had set up a test of courage for the elementary school kids. We had to use whatever the camp had on hand for props and costumes. So it came to no one's surprise that it ended up being incredibly lame. The costumes were the furthest thing from scary. It was basically lousy cosplay. I was half tempted to use my shadow soldiers to scare the kids but decided against it. I'd probably scar them for life.

I watched Rumi as she moved through the woods. Instead of looking sad and depressed as she did when she first arrived, she walked through the test of courage with her head up and in front of the group of girls who were alienating her from the start. They looked at Rumi with narrowed and confused expressions. I smiled as Rumi ignored their pointed looks. Good girl. Just keep going like that. You'll do alright.

Once the test was over, everyone gathered around the bonfire Shiho and I worked on. Its large flames lit the camp's clearing in warm yellows and oranges. Several kids ran around and played in the firelight, either by playing tag or play-fighting. Rumi had chosen to sit by me on the cement stairs as we watched the fire burn and the children play.

"Hachiman." I looked up and saw Shiho smiling down at me. "I'm ready for my dance."

I swallowed and nodded. I felt my cheeks flush and my hands become clammy. I looked down at Rumi and saw her looking at me questioningly.

"Don't laugh, okay?" I said jokingly and stood up. Shiho extended her hand to me as one would a dance partner. I grabbed her hand, and we walked closer to the fire.

We stopped and looked at each other for a moment. I took a deep breath and calmed my nerves. I smiled and nodded. We got into position, with me standing slightly beside him with her hands in mine. We then performed the Oklahoma mixer between ourselves. Everything around me seemed to vanish as I focused on Shiho. My memories of every girl looking at me with disgust or disdain seemed to disappear and were replaced by Shiho's kind eyes and smile.

As we danced, I couldn't help but smile back at her as we continued. The cruel words my classmates said when it was their turn to dance with me were muted by the calm pops of the fire as Shiho and I spun around. Much to my disappointment, we came to a stop in front of one another.

"Thank you, Shiho." I whispered with a smile. Shiho nodded and squeezed my hands.

"You're welcome, Hachiman." Shiho said.

We walked back towards where I left Rumi and saw her clapping slightly with a small smile. I smiled back at her and retook my seat beside her, with Shiho beside me. There was barely an inch of distance between us, I didn't mind it.

"Why did you two do that dance?" Rumi asked as she looked between Shiho and me. I looked at the fire and scratched my cheek with my pointer finger.

"Well… I…" I muttered and looked into the fire awkwardly. Shiho giggled and grabbed my arm.

"I asked him to dance with me. You can't have a bonfire without doing the Oklahoma dance. Don't you think?" Shiho said with a playful grin. Rumi hummed and nodded at that. I heard her whisper something about 'Teenagers are weird'. Shiho let my arm go and giggled.

The bin fire slowly began to die until it went completely out. Charred logs were left behind as smoke billowed upwards from them. With the fire gone, the elementary school teachers told the kids to head to their cabins to turn in for the night. Shiho and I waved goodbye to her as she left. Considering that we might not see each other again, I gave Rumi my number so she could text me whenever she felt down or needed advice.

"You're good with children, Hachiman." Shiho said as we sat in darkness.

"Well, I am an older brother. It comes with the territory." I said, causing Shiho to giggle.

"Shiho, Hikki! Look!" Yui and Yukino walked towards us with bags filled with sparklers. Behind them was everyone else from school, including Komachi, who was hanging off Shouko's arm.

Yui and Komachi walked around, handing out the sparklers to everyone. Shiho stood up to join Ann and Iroha. I smiled and watched everyone enjoy themselves with the bright fireworks from my spot on the ground. A burnt-out sparkler in my hand. Yui ran around with three sparklers in each hand and began to wave them around like a knockoff Wolverine.

"Yukinon! Look, look!"

"Yuigahama, be careful!"

"Shouko! Have another one!"

"Ryuji, don't put that in your mouth!"

I chuckled and closed my eyes as I threw my dead fireworks into a small pale of water. I looked to the side as light footsteps approached me. Hayato stood beside me with an outstretched hand. A can of Max coffee sat comfortably in his grasp. A peace offering?

"I have a question, Hikigaya." Hayato said after we sat down on the concrete steps. "I noticed you and Yukinoshita seem… close. How did that happen?"

I see. The false knight wants answers. How dare he use Max as a Trojan horse. "What's it to you?" I asked and saw him twitch.

"…I suppose you're right." Hayato muttered as he drank his own drink, a can of black coffee. We sat in silence and watched our friends play around with their fireworks.

"You like Yukino, don't you?" I asked and watched the can in his hands crumble. He turned to me with narrowed eyes and frowned.

"Don't call her that." Hayato said ominously.

"Why shouldn't I? She told me herself to call her that." I said and took another drink. "But what I want to know is what you did to make her not like you."

Hayato sighed and looked over at Yukino. She was holding a sparkler in her hand with a slight smile. "What was happening to Rumi… I saw something similar happen in front of me, and I did nothing. I guess I tried to help Rumi out because I wanted to redeem myself… but I ended up failing again."

I see… You turned your back on Yukino. I nodded and finished my Max. "Have you tried to apologize?"

Hayato turned to me with a grimace and sighed. "It's not that simple."

"Something's never are. But you never know until you try." I said and stood up. "I don't know what your deal is, Hayama. But nothing will change unless you change it yourself. That applies to Yukino. So, if you want her to like you back, start by apologizing for something you did when you were a child. If you can't do that, move past her and find someone else."

I walked away from Hayato and headed towards my cabin. He sat there and watched everyone play with the fireworks with a pained expression.

x x x

"Good work, everyone! This trip is over once you head back home. Try to be careful on your way back! Now then, dismissed!"

Shizuka said while standing in front of us all. She had parked in front of Sobu, which was the most straightforward location for everyone to make their way home. Everyone cheered and began to pick up their bags and head home.

"Komachi, let's go shopping before we head home." I said as I lifted our traveler's bags over my shoulder.

"Aye-aye, sir!" Komachi said with a smile.

"I'll see you guys later." I said to everyone. They all nodded and made their goodbyes as well. But before any of us could go anywhere, two black limousines pulled up in front of us.

The limousine to my right was the same one Yukino had entered on the day we went to the shopping center for Yuigahama's gift. Stepping out of the passenger door was Haruno. She had a serious expression as she walked towards me dressed in black and purple business attire.

"Sorry for the lack of warning, Hikigaya. But I was just told about this thirty minutes ago." Haruno said, standing beside me with her arms crossed. Shizuka looked at Haruno in confusion and stepped forward.

"Haruno? What's going on?" Shizuka asked from my other side.

But before Haruno could answer, a man with brushed-back black hair and a prominent chin stepped out of the limousine to my left. He looked through everyone gathered by the school entrance with intrigue. However, his scanning eyes stopped once he saw me.

"Ah, you must be Hachiman Hikigaya. I'm sorry for us to meet under these circumstances, but things are as they are." The man said slowly and stepped forward.

This guy… he's an S-Rank! I could feel the restrained power within him. While it came no close to Ryuji Goto. This man was no pushover; he was around the same level of strength as Kenzo Tanaka and Kanae Tawata. Hold on, this guy is…

"Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Satoshi Kamoshida. S-Rank Hunter and member of the Scavengers Guild. I am also Suguru Kamoshida's older brother."