Camping with your Crush (Ryu)

[kazue]

Silk took some convincing but finally let Kazue go on the bus to the campsite with her friends. Little Kazue was so excited. Kazue had borrowed some camping equipment from Silk. She had another flight to Japan for business. At least that is what she told Kazue. The young girl set about gathering wood for their camp site. After the firewood and kindling had been gathered, Kazue went about setting up her tent. She looked at the instructions her mom gave her and blinked.

"Insert that thingy into the other thingy and viola tent is made... Mom... we gotta work on your skills when it comes to explaining stuff."

Kazue rolled her eyes and unrolled the tent from it's case. She began to fit everything together. Her tent was made and it didn't take her too long. It did require more than her mother had explained but Kazue was smart enough to figure it out. Kazue stood back a moment to admire her tent. She smiled and content with her work, began to set up the inside. She put her clothes in a corner of her tent, along with a radio and crank lantern her mother had let her borrow. Her Mp3 player was thankfully charged and could be used when she needed it. She padded the bottom of the tent with two thick fluffy blankets and then laid her sleeping bag out over top.

Kazue, never having gone camping before was rather excited. She put her cooler that her mother had given her in her tent as well. It was full of water and soda, hot dogs, chocolate bars and marshmallows. She set the hot dog buns on top of the cooler in her tent. She took up half the tent and her things took up the other half. She would emerge from her tent and start to unfold a camping chair her mother had bought for her. Lucky for her the hardest part of setting it up was getting it out of the bag. After a few moments struggle, Kazue was set up and sighed as she sat in her chair. She only needed a moment's rest after all that work.

She looked around and after a few minutes stood up to start digging a small hole for the fire pit. With the hole dug, Kazue did exactly how her mom told her. She circled the small fire pit with large rocks that she found laying around. Cleared out a five foot area around the rocks so nothing could catch fire, and then she set about putting the kindling and sticks in the pit to get it ready. After a few minutes she would stop and spray her self with some all natural bug spray her mom had made for her. Silk was a woman of many talents.

"Ne, Ryu... want some of the bug spray my mom made? She says it works better then the store bought stuff."

[Ryu Hikari]

Stretching his arms up over his head as he hopped off the bus with his guitar case containing his acoustic guitar inside slung on his back and his duffel bag slung over his shoulder, although Kazuki hadn't been affected as badly by the kidnapping of Patrick O'Connor as the others, most especially Kazumi O'Connor, since he barely knew Patrick, it had still hit him pretty hard, and it wasn't all that surprising, who wouldn't be shaken up after learning the School Captain had been taken by the two assailants that had attacked the school during the lock down.

To be honest though, he was glad he had been allowed to arrange this camping trip, probably almost everyone needed some time away from Public High School #8011 to just rest and relax. Although it was still summer, the nights were growing increasingly cooler, and the woods were no exception, so along with his shorts and t-shirts, Kazuki had brought a couple pairs of track pants and jackets.

Along with his tent and sleeping bag, he had packed a number of things; his guitar and enough clothing for the entire trip obviously, enough food and snacks to feed an entire family, a radio and crank flashlight, collapsible pots, eating utensils, and his music player and headphones so he could listen to some music if he wished. Unpacking his tent, he'd get set on setting it up, and after a few minutes later, his tent had been made, and get start on setting up the inside.

Padding the bottom with three, thick pieces of foam, he placed the cooler with all his food and snacks inside in the right area of the tent with his duffel bag and other items, his sleeping bag and pillow in the left area of the tent, leaving the center free. It was filled with bottles of water, ginger ale, Ramune, cold cuts of ham and turkey, slices of bread, lettuce, a couple boxes of macaroni and cheese, graham crackers, rice crackers, and boxes of chocolate Pocky. Hearing Kazue talk to him, poking his head out the entrance of his tent, he'd sit cross-legged in the entrance area of his tent, since he hadn't set up his camping chair yet.

"...? Oh, yeah, thanks. You want some Ramune? Kaori insisted I bring some for you to have..."

[kazue]

Kazue blinked and tilted her head. She looked so very confused. Matter of fact she was still having trouble with her brother's change in appearance. Oh don't get her wrong, she was still crushing and HARD, however, the change in appearance was just... something she was trying to understand.

"Kaori?"

Her mother had explained this to her she faintly remembered. Mai was Kaori and... Kazuki was supposed to be Ryu's real name. Well that meant that Mai and Ryu were nicknames, just like her mother's nickname was Silk.

"O-ohhh! you mean Mai right? Mom kinda talked with dad and explained the name thing."

She nodded. Still she felt a little lame not having a nickname her self. She would move over to Ryu's tent and hand him the bottle of bug spray. It smelled like Citronella, Mint and Rosemary.

"Sure, I'll have one. Oh... when you spray it, hold it about here... and spritz it on. Then just rub it in."

She smiled and remained crouched down near his door. Already, cause she had been digging a little fire pit, Kazue had a few dirt smudges on her arms and hands. Still she was pretty clean other than that. After a few moments she would tilt her head a little as she looked Ryu over.

"Ryu... why did you change the way you looked? Like I mean your hair and stuff. Not to say I don't like it!... I.... I mean... uh... it's just... different and..."

Kazue would shut her lips. She felt that familiar blush creep to her cheeks and laughed nervously. Oh this was so routine by now. The blush, the laugh. She was annoying her self with it. She rubbed her arm a bit.

"I... I like it. I guess I just don't understand why you did it."

[Ryu Hikari]

"Yeah... Oh, that's right, you've never heard us being called by our first names before. Yeah, it's Mai, we went by our second name because our mom went by hers almost her entire life, so it was our way of remembering her. Hold on, I'll grab you one then."

Taking the bottle of spray from Kazue, ducking back into his tent, he'd open the cooler and grab a bottle of Watermelon for her, and a Vanilla for himself. Poking his head back out again, he'd hand the bottle to her, but before he opened his own bottle, fully unzipping the tent flip, he'd climb out of his tent, a pair of sandals on, and spray his arms and legs like Kazue had instructed him to, before crawling back inside his tent, zipping the flap halfway up.

Cracking open his bottle, he was about to take a sip when he noticed Kazue tilted her head and looking him over, as he lowered his bottle down.

"...? Oh... Do you remember that blond Japanese psycho from the library, that threatened to kill us both because I didn't help him fight Raven? I did it because I won't let him lay a single finger on you, and with my hair color different and going by my first name, I can keep an even better eye on that aho (idiot)."

Kazuki smiling slightly at Kazue, despite the blush that crept up on her face and her nervous laugh, seeing her rub her arm a bit, reaching out, he'd dust off some of the dirt on her other arm, sending an easygoing smile that would make most girls blush, or in her case, blush more, her way.

"That's why... Do you understand now, Kazue? I will not let anyone hurt you or Kaori... I'll make sure of it. I'm glad you like it though, Kaori said it makes me look even more better suited for you... I'm not sure why she said that though..."

[kazue]

Kazue smiled as she took the watermelon ramune from Ryu and nodded her head to her words. It made sense to her, it really did. Her mother always went by her middle name too. Kazue would pop the marble that was the cap in her drink down and it clinked softly against the indents in the neck of the bottle. They kept it from falling further into the drink. She loved this cause it was almost like a game. You had to keep the marble from falling back into the top.

"Mmmm... I understand. My mom goes by her middle name too. And I understand wanting to remember your mom. Silk named me Kazue cause she tried her best to find a name that would keep me close to dad in some way."

Kazue would look at him with a smile. She would take a sip of her drink just as Ryu began to answer her question. He brought up that day in the library and Kazue lowered her drink. She remembered that day. Perhaps a little too vividly. A shudder went through her as she remembered how weak she had been and the pain that racked her little body after she had gotten stuck by that giant monster guy. She would turn her gun metal grey eyes to her arm where she had been injected. The bruise from the rough injection had vanished but... she still remembered the pain that followed it. She swallowed a bit, as a small lump started in her throat. Perhaps if she had been quicker...

"Yeah... I... I didn't see him... but I remember his voice."

She said softly. She would look at Ryu. It was true, that day her face had been buried in Ryu's shirt when the boy chose to make himself known. She couldn't believe how weak she had been. Ryu's explanation made sense but really... Kazue didn't think she needed protecting. When he smiled at her, she blushed a little more and would take a sip of her drink to try and cool her face. She felt Ryu touching her arm and looked to see him brush some of the dirt away.

"Ryu... You don't have to worry. I'm the daughter of a knightess remember? My mom didn't raise me w-... well... my mom didn't raise me to be scared of some stupid punk. Let him try to lay a finger on me."

She stood up and punched the air a few times rather quickly, like she had when they had attended summer classes together.

"I'll knock his teeth down his throat and make him eat grass."

She smiled down at Ryu before crouching again.

"I just don't want you getting hurt. Try to stay out of trouble okay? Don't make your nee-san have to turn into a DOA girl and whoop his ass."

She would giggle before sipping her Ramune a bit. She would tilt her head in the direction of their camp fire.

"You think we need more wood and kindling? If not, I can start it up. Mom gave me some lighter fluid, a lighter and some waterproof matches. She just made me swear to not burn the forest down."

[Ryu Hikari]

"... It's the same for me. My mom named me Kazuki and Ryu for my second name as a way for her to be reminded of dad, while she named imouto-chan Kaori, not only because Kaori looked like a miniature version of her, but also as her way to remind us of her."

Kazuki smiling comfortingly at Kazue, reaching out, he'd grasp her hand and gently squeeze it, that had definitely not been one of their better days, that was for sure. Brushing away the dirt on her arm, paying no heed to the deeper blush on her face, he'd frown slightly up at her as she did some shadow boxing.

"... Don't be stupid, you are my nee-chan, of course I'll worry about you, even more because you are the daughter of and raised by a Knightess. He's not an ordinary student nee-chan, he has a Qi, just as I do, and he can easily slice your hand up with kamaitachi (cyclone cuts) before you even manage to knock one tooth out. That's why... I don't know what I would do... if you got hurt..."

Kazuki staring down at the ground, a small sad smile on his face, he'd laugh a little and look up at Kazue, a smile slowly forming on his face.

"I know, but there's no guarantee I'll stay out of trouble, especially when it concerns you. If you turn into a Dead or Alive girl, the two of us can form a tag-team duo and beat that blond Japanese psycho's ass to the ground. I think the camp fire looks good, if we need more kindling, I'll just go and get some more for us. Lighter? Matches? Who needs a lighter and matches? Watch this."

Climbing out of his tent, flicking his index finger up, he'd make a small flame about the size of a lighter flame appear on the tip of his finger, and touching the flame to the wood, would light it up instantly, a beautiful camp fire blazing away and ready for them to use, as he deactivated his Qi and the flame died out, he pretended to blow on his finger, like he had blown it out.

"Need me to light anything else up? I can roast a mean marshmallow."

[kazue]

Kazue looked at Ryu. To be honest... as an only child the only one who ever looked out for her was her mother. She wasn't used to the idea of Ryu wanting to protect her it all seemed so silly to her. Still, she smiled at him. It was sweet he thought of her and wanted to protect her. Now this talk about Qi, to be honest... Kazue had heard about it but she had never seen one in action. She would pout a little at Ryu saying she would get hurt if she went up against the boy.

"Ryu you worry too much. I'm not afraid of anyone or anything."

She said still pouting a bit. She thought she could beat that boy before he could hurt her. She always felt like people underestimated her because she was small and cute and put her hair up in pigtails. Silk always told her to act innocent and vulnerable, it lowered the defenses of people around you and made them think you weren't a threat, but Kazue found her self wanting to be seen as a threat. She wanted to be seen as dangerous just like her mother. She was sure even her father was seen as dangerous too. The conversation would change to their fire and she smiled when Ryu said it was fine and that they only needed a bit more kindling.

"Well I uh..."

She started after he spoke about fire and matches. When Kazue saw a little flame flick up from his finger, her eyes went big.

"Ahhh! Sugoi!"

After Ryu had lit the fire for her and blown out his finger she took his hand excitedly and was looking it over trying to see if he had done some sort of magic trick. It was then it dawned on her. Ryu had said he had a Qi too. She blinked and ran her fingers lightly over his hand.

"Ne... Ryu... does having a Qi hurt?"

She said as she looked up at him. She was generally curious. Kazue still held onto his hand and smiled up at him. The little black haired girl still had so many questions for her brother, about himself and about her younger sister. These questions mostly alluded her mind though, until something that came up reminded her of them. This camping trip would be all about trying to get to know her adopted brother some more. She had missed out on a lot of sibling bonding time.

"When did you get it? Was it scary? Do you think I'll get one too?"

She rattled off her questions rather excited at the idea of possibly being a human torch like her brother. This was technically the first time seeing someone use their Qi. Hell, she didn't even know Ryu had one till today. Amazing what one learns when they are spending some alone time with another person.

[Ryu Hikari]

"I know you're not Kazue, but don't underestimate him. He can activate his Qi instantly, I saw him use it back in the library against Raven, and he managed to cut that giant hulk. I know you're strong, but so is he. Be very careful if you confront him, alright?"

Kazuki knew it was nearly impossible to convince Kazue otherwise, to not take Atsushi on, and would just give up trying to. Underestimating her had nothing to do with it, he just didn't want her to end up seriously hurt because of him. However, no matter what, he would always have Kazue's back, and if she wouldn't let him protect her, at the very least, he would adamantly insist on fighting alongside her.

Kazuki laughing at Kazue's reaction to his Qi demonstration, lighting the fire up and pretending to blow the flame on his finger out, a blank expression appeared on his face as Kazue took his hand excitedly and looked it over like she trying to see if it had been some kind of magic trick, but it was not. Seeing her blink and feel her run her finger lightly over his hand, he'd look down at her as she looked up at him in genuine curiosity.

"It doesn't hurt... But the various kinds of Qi have various kind of effects on the users. Mine for example, requires me to eat and drink a large amount of food and water, since I burn off energy faster than most people and need to keep myself hydrated. I got my Qi when I first faced off against Raven, which happened to be when I fought against that blond aho in the library. It wasn't scary, but I don't think you'd want to fight against Raven to get one. I got shoot with a dart during the fight, which allowed me to tap into and activate my Qi."

Giving his sister's hand a comforting squeeze and smiling reassuringly at her, he'd drink some of his Vanilla Ramune, having developed his own technique for preventing the marble from falling back into the top while he drank the soda.

"... Right, I forgot. Dad also had a Qi too, I have the same one as him... but mine is not as powerful as his is. If you really want a Qi nee-chan, fighting Raven is the only way I know... but you wouldn't be alone, I'll be there with you, by your side, to help you out."

[kazue]

"Why Otouto-chan you make it sound like your big sister goes looking for trouble."

Kazue said as Ryu warned her about the blond boy from the library. She wouldn't tell him that the idea of the boy having cut the giant hulk of a monster didn't scare her, because... it did. She had given it her all to attack that giant and nothing... It was almost like she was some sort of little fly to him. Her eyes would go up to Ryu once more as he talked about how he had fought both Raven and the blond boy before. She still held his hand in her small delicate soft one.

"S-so you knew them before.... that day?"

Kazue asked softly. It scared her to think of Ryu fighting that monster alone. It scared her even more to think that he had to depend on that blond idiot to help him during that fight. Slowly she would move her hand from his and wrap her arms around him in a hug. She had quite forgotten about her Ramune for now.

"I'm sorry Ryu... I wasn't around to help you."

Kazue would look up, her gun metal grey eyes lighting up with something. It was hard to tell what it was just yet. Excitedly she pulled back. Her father had a Qi? That settled it, she would have to get one. Of course... her mother did all her fighting with out a Qi didn't she? She would have to think about this some more. Right now it was hard for her to decide what she wanted. Getting a Qi would some how make her feel closer to her father, but at the same time... her mother was a strong fighter with out one. Kazue furrowed her brows in thought now as she would take a sip of her Ramune.

"That is something I should think about Ryu-chan... I... I wanna be close to dad... and be like mom."

She said softly. It was clear she was thinking hard about this.

"Mom... the only abilities I have from her are silly witch things that she taught me when I was little. Things like which plants could heal, which ones could harm... how to draw cards and read them. People laugh at those things you know? No one takes them seriously...and... you can't really throw a bunch of mashed up plants and cards in someone's face when you are fighting."

Kazue said before taking another sip of her Ramune. She hmmed a little and then... just as quickly as it had appeared, the thoughtful look vanished and was replaced by something else. A bright smile. Kazue began to hop up and down like one of those little terrier dogs.

"I'm excited Ryu... I've never been camping before. Mom sent me with stuff to make smores and I have hot dogs and some other stuff. To be honest I don't know half the things she packed for me. Haha. Do you think we will get to tell scary stories? My mom let me borrow her diary and I read some pretty scary stories there."

Kazue laughed and smiled up at Ryu. If the fact she was hopping up and down while drinking her Ramune didn't tell the boy she was excited nothing would.

"Of course... I brought it. She wrote some stuff about dad in there. I figured you might wanna hear some of it."

[Ryu Hikari]

"Trust me nee-chan... You won't have to go looking for trouble, trouble will find you. Yeah... I had beaten the both of them after that annoying blond idiot sent some brainwashed goons after me and Raven. That idiot had been so pre-occupied with taking Raven down, it wasn't hard to take him and then Raven out."

Feeling her move her hand from his, he'd suddenly find Kazue's arms wrapped around him in a hug, taken somewhat aback by the sudden gesture, but would wrap his arms around Kazue back all the same, a somewhat sad smile on his face.

"You don't have to apologize Kazue, you have nothing to be sorry for, you weren't even in New York City yet, much less the two of us knowing each other at the time."

Kazuki smiling slightly at her eyes lighting up as he felt her pull away excitedly, to be honest, he hadn't planned on having the same Qi as their dad did, it just... sort of happened. Not only that, but his Qi resembled the fire Qi his mother had had before she passed away as well, which made him feel somewhat even closer to both his parents, unlike poor Kazue. He could tell by the thoughtful look on her face, she was torn between having one or not having one.

"I understand nee-chan. It is, and always will be, your choice if you want to have a Qi or not, but if you do want to have one, you always have the choice of not using it in any of your fights. I know I rarely use mine unless I really feel like the situation calls for it. That way, not only would you be close to dad, you'd be like your mom."

It really was not a decision anyone could make on the spot and right away, even though his own had been an impromptu and unplanned decision, completely the opposite of Kazue's.

"... That isn't "silly"! To be able to tell harmful and helpful plants apart, to be able to draw cards and read them... That isn't "silly"! I think it's amazing!"

A serious look on his face, his bottle of Ramune held loosely in his hands, hearing Kazue let out a little hmm, the thoughtful look on her face disappeared and was replaced with a bright smile. It was a little hard to stay serious around Kazue, especially hearing her laugh and seeing her look at him so excited.

"I only went camping once, but that was back in junior high. Kaori helped me pack a little, mostly making me take at least a week's supply of Ramune, but I did most of my own packing. I've got the stuff to make sandwiches with, boxes of macaroni and cheese, rice crackers, boxes of Pocky, need I go on? I'm pretty sure we'll get to tell frightening stories around the campfire, what kind of camping trip would not have one? I'd like to hear about how your mom and our dad met... but skip the night time adventures, I don't want to know..."

Pretending to shiver, drinking more of his Ramune, a thoughtful look appeared on his face. He had a couple scary stories under his belt to tell, but he hadn't been scared by them when they had been told to him, if anything, it had been Kaori that had ended up frightened by them.

"What do you want to eat tonight? I brought collapsible pots and pans with me, so I can cook up some food for us."

[kazue]

Regardless of what Ryu said to try and comfort her, the small dark haired girl still felt bad that she hadn't been around to help Ryu and at least give him a chance at the choice she now had. She would smile up at him as it seemed he understood some of her inner turmoil on the subject. They moved on though, to the topic of her mother and what her mother had taught her. She laughed a little at Ryu telling her it was amazing.

"Mom calls her self a gypsy witch."

She said with a hushed voice and then put a finger to her lips with a giggle as if telling him a secret. She would smile though and that finger would slip away from her lips. She shook her head a bit and giggled again. She thought it was silly her mom would call her self a witch but sometimes Kazue wondered. Her mom did know quite a lot about odd things. She would take another sip of her Ramune and listened to Ryu tell her about his last camping trip. She smiled and giggled as he said Mai had packed him with a week supply of Ramune.

"She's a smart little sister. Ramune is the best type of soda to bring on trips."

She nodded with a giggle before blinking at his night time adventure comment about their parents. It looked like it took a minute before Kazue got it and when she did her eyes went wide, her face turned a little red from blushing and she shuddered.

"Uhm, yea... I'll be sure to avoid those."

She said softly. She had indeed run into a few of them and had read through them which is why she blushed and shuddered. At the mention of Ryu cooking for dinner she blinked. Kazue's head would tilt and she would shrug lightly.

"You can make what ever you want to make Ryu-chan. I'm sure it will be delicious. Mom sent me with skewers and fold up racks to cook on if you need any of those. She said it wasn't really a camp out unless I grilled or cooked food on sticks."

Kazue giggled at her mother's imparted wisdom. She would shake her head lightly and take another sip of Ramune before looking around the two of them.

"I should get some more kindling and stuff before the sun goes down."

[Ryu Hikari]

"A gypsy witch...? Remind me to never piss her off, not unless I feel like having a curse cast upon me..."

Kazuki smiling slightly at Kazue's hushed tone of voice, a finger held to her lips as if she had just told him a secret, he'd let out a small laugh and shake his head after seeing her smile and pull her finger away before shaking her head and giggling, especially when he mentioned Kaori giving him a week's worth supply of Ramune.

"Yes she is. She got both dad and my mom's book smarts. She'd make a great lawyer, the way she can argue a point to convince you."

The two of them coming to an agreement that Kazue not mention any of their parents night time adventures, although he was slightly amused by Kazue's reaction, he really rather not know... AT ALL. Nodding slightly in acknowledgment and agreement, leaving Kazue to grab more kindling, he'd disappear back into his tent, the sound of soft rummaging heard, before re-emerging with boxes of macaroni and cheese and pots in one hand, his bottle of Ramune in the other.

Stepping out of his tent, he'd zip the entrance up to keep mosquitoes out, and stride over to their campfire. Placing the boxes of mac 'n cheese down on top of a nearby wooden picnic table, he'd fill up the pot with water from a nearby tap, and placing a heavy duty grill rack he had brought with him over top the fire, would place the pot of water on top, and begin to boil the water for their macaroni and cheese, drinking his Ramune while he waited.

"Hey nee-chan, do you want original macaroni and cheese, or white cheddar macaroni and cheese?"

[kazue]

Kazue giggled at Ryu. She was glad he didn't make fun of her mother like so many of the other kids from her old schools. Though her mother may not have been a standard parent, Kazue still loved her mom greatly. In fact, she couldn't imagine herself coming out as well as she had with someone else raising her. The topic turned to Mai and Kazue would blush and smile, a hand coming up to rub the back of her neck.

"Yeah.... I.... I kinda know what you mean. She can make one hell of a point sometimes."

Kazue said as she thought back to the night she told their little half sister about her feelings for Ryu. Mai had made one hell of an argument supporting the idea of Ryu and Kazue actually being together. Kazue would wander around collecting more kindling and wood to keep their fire going. Humming a little tune as she did and when she returned with her arms clinging tightly to a large bundle of sticks she would look at Ryu and all his cooking tools. She set the bundle of sticks down and hmmed at his question. She would crouch down beside him and point at the white cheddar box of macaroni.

"I dunno why, but that one is always a favorite of mine. I'll get the hot dogs and we can have a full meal."

Kazue stood up and went off into her tent. She returned shortly after with the hotdogs and set up putting them on the skewers. The night went by fairly quickly. The two would eat their dinner and Kazue would pull out her mother's diary deciding one entry would be a good thing to help them sleep. She would sit in her chair, beside the fire and open the book.
She smiled at Ryu and squirmed in her chair before reading. Kazue sat up and leaned forward. A smile formed on her lips as she thought about how happy her mom sounded. She looked over at Ryu and smiled.

"Sounds like my mom really cared for our dad. She doesn't really have nice things to say about anyone."

With a yawn, Kazue would stand up and fold up her chair. She would stuff it back into it's little carrying case and toss it into her tent. She would wave to Ryu as she slipped into her tent. Today had been a long day of setting up and tomorrow hopefully would be full of fun for them both.

"Well... I'm going to change and then go to bed Ryu, goodnight."

The next morning, Kazue would wander out of her tent. Her pigtails were askew and she wore a black night dress with a sword on the front of it. She reached up rubbing sleep from her eyes and tiredly looked around to see if Ryu was awake yet.

[Ryu Hikari]

"Then that's what we'll have for dinner tonight. That sounds good to me, I'll let you handle cooking the hotdogs."

Kazue fetching and setting up the hotdogs, cooking them on skewers while Kazuki cooked up a pot of white cheddar macaroni and cheese, the night passed by fairly quickly. After they had finished cooking and eaten their dinner, Kazuki washed the dishes and placed them away back in his tent, and was now working on setting his chair up. By the time Kazue had fetched Silk's diary, Kazuki had gotten his chair set up, and was sitting by the campfire and looking into it.

Looking up and over as she sat down in her own chair and opened the diary, he'd return her smile with a slight smile of his own, seeing her squirm in her chair, then sit up and lean forward, a smile forming on her face and looked over at him, smiling away.

"... I'm not surprised. Dad is probably a literal unmovable rock in the middle of a vast ocean for your mom, a sturdy and dependable shield for her."

Kazuki unsuccessfully stifling a yawn after seeing Kazue yawn, he'd get up and fold his own chair up, waving goodnight back to her and crawl into his own tent.

"Good night nee-chan, I'm going to take a shower, brush my teeth, and then head off to bed."

The next morning, Kazuki would crawl out of his tent half-asleep, his front hair falling into his eyes and dressed in a simple black tank top and boxer shorts. Yawning widely, unsuccessfully managing to rub the sleep from his eyes, he'd sit in the entrance way of his tent, his chin cradled in his hand, his elbow resting on top of his knee, taking a few minutes to wake up fully.

"M... morning... nee-chan... What do you... want for breakfast...? I've got... bread and ham..."

He had yawned a couple times during that sentence.

[kazue]

Ryu would yawn through his sentence and Kazue groaned a little before setting up her chair. She would reach up and rub more sleep from her eyes before disappearing into her tent again and coming out with two bottles of water. One she would hand off to Ryu and the other she opened and took a sip from. It was always easier to think when she had some water to drink in the morning.

"Well... you cooked last night..."

She said as she yawned a little. she would reach up and take her pigtail down. Her dark black hair falling in waves over her shoulders.

"You can make anything for breakfast Ryu-chan. I get to make lunch and dinner tonight though."

She would smile a little tiredly at him and go back into her tent returning with today's clothes and a towel.

"You make breakfast, I'm going to go take a shower. We can go for a nice nature walk and then have a picnic. That sound good to you Ryu?"

With that, she leaned up on her tip toes and kissed his cheek. Then she wandered off still dressed in her night dress towards the showers. Her dark wavy hair bouncing as she did. It wouldn't take her long before she'd return. Her dark hair braided and still a bit damp. She wore a sky blue tank top with a white feather on the front. A long flowing white skirt danced about her ankles and her high-tops shuffled across the ground as she still a little groggily made her way towards Ryu.