Akari's POV

I continued walking alone, trying to find Ryouta. But he was nowhere to be found. Then, I saw a faint light moving from afar. I followed the light, hoping it was Ryouta. The light stopped moving. 'Ah did he see my light too?' I waved my flashlight. I went closer to where the light was coming from. "...Ryouta??" I called quietly, there was no answer. "Ryouta?" I went closer to the light source. Without looking down I took a step further, only to feel nothing underneath. I fell from the small mount and rolled down to the lower level of the mountain. 'Thank god it was a small mount, if it was a huge one, I would have seriously gotten injured. I landed on my face, unfortunately. ""Ow, ow, ow...." I tried to stand up but my knees were too weak. I felt a small sting from my knee and my elbow I think I scraped them a bit.

I stand on my all fours then I saw my flashlight that I accidently let go when I fell. I crawled towards it and grabbed it. I tried to turn on the flashlight, checking if it was still working or not. I flinched a bit due to the sudden light exposure to my eyes. 'Well at least they still work, that's a relief.' My hair was a mess from all the rolling a few fell in front of my face, I bet there are even leaves in my hair. 'Ah! Right! Ryouta! Is he here?' I looked up and face the person that I wanted to see the least.

Ken's POV

The 'creature' lit up the flashlight from beneath its face, revealing its horrific face. I could only see the pale skin underneath the hair the cover its face. Leaves were sticking out from its hair. Suddenly, it crept towards me.

"N-NO! STAY AWAY STAY AWAY!" I cried as I covered my eyes with one hand and tried to back away. Then, it stopped. And slowly got up, swaying side to side. No no no, this is bad....

"Ken.....?"

Uwahh!! It said my name!!!! How did it even know?? Am i going to be cursed for having an eye contact with this ghost-like creature?! I tried to hold back my screams and backed away slowly. Then it took a step towards me. "Please don't kill me! I'll do anything! Please spare my life!!!!!" I yelled, squeezing my eyes shut.

"Uh....Ken?" That voice....I slowly opened my eyes to still see the ghost. I let out a small scream but it covered my mouth with its hand. I struggle to get away but it was freakishly strong! "H-Hey! Wait, stop struggling!"

I paused for a moment, and the 'ghost' flipped its hair to the back. My eyes widened when I saw who it was. "E-e-elephant girl.....?"

"Yeah, it's me. Geez, you scream just like a little girl, I didn't know you'd be that scared," she brushed off the dirt on her yukata. Oh right, I should've noticed that it was someone from our group since she's wearing the inn's yukata, but I guess I freaked out.

I tried to calm down and let out a sigh, relieved that it was her. "W-What, I wasn't that scared," I lied.

She sighed, "You still dare to say that to the person who witnessed everything? You were crying and begging me to spare your life when I just walked up to you."

"N-No I wasn't!!"

"....You," She drew her face closer to mine, "thought I was a ghost, didn't you??" She snickered and started laughing as she pointed at me. "I can't believe you believe in ghosts!"

"You suddenly crept up to me after all.....," I said quietly as I looked away from her in embarrassment. For a girl to see me like this...

"Need a hand?" she scoffed and handed her hand out.

"Tch...," I took her hand and she pulled me up. Then she started looking around.

"Where's Natsumi??"

"Ah...she left me," I said trying not to sound pitiful. "Thanks to someone appearing out of nowhere and scaring us," I glared at me.

"It's not like I wanted to trip and fall either," she rolled her eyes. Then she picked up the map lying on the ground. "Is this yours?"

"No, I've got mine here," I showed her my map.

"It's Natsumi's then?"

I gasped, "Will she be okay, without a map??"

"Who knows, she'll be fine. She's Natsumi after all." She kept Natsumi's map.

"Yeah, I hope so. By the way, I don't see Ryouta? He's your partner right?" I asked not seeing him around her.

"We got separated..."

"So he didn't leave you?"

"No, he wouldn't do that....I think. He must be in trouble now, I should go find him!" With that said she begins to walk away.

"Wait!" I grabbed her shoulder, "Since we're both alone why don't we go together? It's dangerous to go alone......" My voice dropped when her yukata slips from her shoulder, showing her bare shoulders. The worst part of it was that my hand was on her bare shoulder. Her skin was pale, smooth, and very soft. I was startled but was frozen to do anything, I found myself just staring at her back.

Elephant girl slowly turned around me with her face saying I'M GOING TO KILL YOU all over her face. "YOU......till how long are you planning to hold my shoulder???!!"

"AH! S-SORRY!!" I let go and flinched back as I came back to sense. "I didn't mean to.."

She turned away again facing her back to me and wore her yukata properly. Just then the thought of what Ryouta said earlier in the hot spring came to my mind. The images of her from earlier flashed through my mind again. I shook my head. 'NO! NO! NO! What are you thinking about Ken?! Stop!' I slapped myself repeatedly.

"You better not be thinking about anything dirty," she scowled at me as she turned around to me.

"H-Huh?? Of course, I wasn't. W-What could there be to think about an Elephant girl like you??" I stuttered as I managed to make up an excuse.

"Tch. I'll let you go this time," She took her map out and started studying the map. She soon started to walk ahead.

"Where are you going??" I asked as I ran up to her and caught up with her.

"Where else? To the goal, of course."

"But Aoi-sensei told us to return with our partner...."

"What will you do if we searched for them but they're already at the goal?"

She's right..then an idea popped into my mind. "Ah right let me call them!"

"I've already tried that, the signal is weak here, so it's no use." I checked my phone, she was right.

"We're going together right...?? You won't leave me right??" I whispered

"I will if you don't shut up."

"Don't be so mean...we only got each other at times like this!" She started to walk faster and ahead of me. "Ah! Sorryyy! I won't annoy you, so wait up!!"

She stopped and sighed, "Geez, hurry up."

"Oh! You actually waited for me~"

"I'm gonna go now, bye," she turned back around and walked faster.

"Nooo! I'm sorry!!! Waitttt! Don't leave me in the dark alone!!!"

"You're seriously hopeless," she shook her head. Then we continued walking in silence for a moment. "Why are you even scared of the dark?" She glanced over at me.

"Oh?~ You're curious?" I teased.

"No, never mind," she fastened her pace again.

"Ehh~ you're so not honest," I chuckled.

"Shut up, I don't wanna know. I'm pretty sure it's because you're scared of ghosts or something like that anyway."

I laughed when she said that. Well, I can't blame her for thinking that way. The memories flashed back in my head when I tried to think of why I fear the dark. "Well, it's because the dark is so cold and empty, I don't like it," I smiled halfheartedly.

She stopped her tracks, "Hmm...is that so?"

I tried to think of something so that she won't ask any further questions and lighten the mood, "By the way, I'm not scared of ghosts!"

"Then what was that just now?" She scoffed.

"T-That was just-- I was just surprised back then!"

She sighed, "Whatever you say..."

Natsumi's POV (Meanwhile...)

I ran and ran, not even stopping to catch a breath. It was all dark, and I didn't have time to turn on my flashlight. But there was one problem, I forgot to take the map with me! 'Maybe I shouldn't have left him, I'm all alone now' I thought, regretting my decision.

"Oof!" As I was running, I ran into something and fell.

"Ow..." Although I couldn't quite see, I knew it was someone from our group, by the clothes and the flashlight that was thrown off besides. The person grabbed the flashlight and shone it right on my face. "N-Natsumi?!"

I could now dimly see his face, "Ryouta?!! What are you doing?"

"That's what I should be asking you, you charged towards me with full speed," he said as he got up and pulled me up.

"Ahehe...sorry about that, I was running away from a ghost," I explained.

"G-Ghost?!"

"Yeah, where's Aki-chan?" I looked around searching for her.

"Umm...actually we got separated and I was finding her..."

"You got separated?! We gotta find her! Wait, or do you think she's already going to the goal? No...wait, I got it!" Ryouta looked at me confused, "Maybe the ghost we saw was Aki-chan! It sounded kinda like her voice too!"

"Really??"

"Yeah! Then there's nothing to be worried about! Ken's there after all! And they have the map," I gave a thumbs up.

"Oh, if Ken's there then I guess it's fine," Ryouta laughed. "Then should we also go to the goal?"

"Yeah!" I nodded.

Mari's POV

(Meanwhile when the others got separated...)

Shou-kun and I walked normally towards our destination. I heard some running sounds but I guess it was the animals. "Shou-kun are you scared of this kind of stuff?" I smiled as I continued walking.

"Nah...I don't really care," he answered.

"Hmm, so you don't believe in these stories?"

"They seem fake...why would you believe in that kind of stuff?"

"Ahaha, well it's fun! I know it's not true but it's more thrilling to think it's real!" I laughed.

"Hmm...." he hummed lazily.

"Don't you think it's fun doing these with your friends?" I questioned.

"....I don't know...," he mumbled. I never really had an actual conversation with Shou-kun but I'm surprised that he's not ignoring me and answering my questions.

"I hope you do, Shou-kun. After all, there's no point if everyone's not having fun!"

"....Yeah, I guess so."

"Mm! So let's try our best and win this! Then we'll also be able to eat a lot tomorrow!" I beamed.

"Yeah..."

Just then we heard a scream from our left. It was faint but we could still hear it. I guess it's the others. I giggled imagining them screaming and running away from a 'ghost' or something.

"Looks like they're having fun~" I smiled. Shou-kun nodded and smiled slightly. I was a bit surprised to see him smile and it made me happy to see that he's also having fun.

>>>>>>>>>>>

A few minutes later, we arrived at our goal. Aoi-sensei was waiting for us there. It seems like no one else was there.

"Finally, you guys are here. I was getting tired of waiting," Sensei sighed.

"Um...are we the first ones here? Or are the others already here?"

"No, you guys are the first ones. Congrats, you'll be having the buffet for breakfast!" She popped a small confetti up in the air.

"Really?! Yayy we did it, Shou-kun!" I grinned. He nodded and Aoi-sensei started to speak again.

"Okay, we'll have to wait for the others now. You guys can sit and rest around here." Both of us nodded and sat down under a tree and waited.

Soon, another pair showed up, it was Ryouta and... Natsumi?

"We're here!!!" Natsumi lifted her hands up in the air.

"Finally...." Ryouta sighed in relief.

"Ah! Maa-chan! And Shou!" Natsumi ran over to us and hugged me. "So we're second?!?"

"Yeah, but wait a minute...." Aoi-sensei approached from behind her, "how did you guys get together? Natsumi wasn't your partner Ken? And Ishikawa-kun was with Akari?"

"Well....we kinda got separated and ended up like this. We believe that Ken's also with Akari-chan," Ryouta explained.

"Hm...."

Just then, we heard footsteps, our attention went to Akari-chan and Ken who just arrived.

"Aki-chan! Ken! You're here!" Natsumi skipped to them.

"Y-Yeah..." Akari-chan answered tiredly.

"Hey, Natsumiiii......" Ken had a dark aura and as he said her name. "Are you forgetting what you did to me???"

"Eh? Oh, Ken....umm..ahaha, I'm so sorry, I got really scared and ran away, so forgive me?" Natsumi smiled nervously.

"As if you can be forgiven so easily," he glared at her, "I'm gonna get back at you, just wait!"

"Ehh??"

"Ahem!" Aoi-sensei cleared her throat, "looks like everyone's here."

"Ah...I guess we are the last," Akari-chan sighed. I noticed that Akari-chan's yukata was wrinkled and saw some dirt. Her hair was a mess too.

"Akari-chan, what happened to you??" I asked, concerned.

Natsumi also noticed and said, "Are you okay??" Natsumi held Akari-chan's shoulder and shook her.

"Ah, just tripped," She replied like it was nothing. "I'm fine."

"You should've been careful! You idiot!!" Natsumi pounded Akari-chan repeatedly.

"Geez, stop worrying over something this small," Akari-chan replied as she patted Natsumi on the head. Then Aoi-sensei interrupted.

"Well, I've decided!" She put her hands on her hips, "Because the four of you messed up, you'll both be in third place and just get to eat bread with coffee!"

"Eh??! Why?? We came second though!"

"I just told you, it's because you got separated! It's one of the rules to stick together with your partner throughout the game!"

"Ehh, it's not fairrrr~" Natsumi whined.

"It's a punishment. And it'll not be changed!" Sensei said sternly. "Okay, so let's head back, shall we?"

"Okay," I got near the group and the seven of us went back to our inn.

Akari's POV

As we got back, Aoi-sensei stopped us from going to our rooms. "Woah, wait, not so fast," she put her hand out. "It's still early! So why don't we play another game?"

"Ehh?? More??" Ryouta whined.

"I'm tired. I need sleep," Shou yawned.

"Come on, don't be like that, kids! Have fun while you're young!" Sensei grinned and convinced us to play with her. We had no choice but to play along.

"Where are we playing, sensei?" Mari asked.

"In your room! I don't wanna use my room and it's dangerous to go into the guy's' room so it'll be yours!"

"Ohh, okay," Mari nodded.

"What do you mean it's dangerous in their room??" Natsumi questioned.

"Natsumi, all men are beasts you know~?" She put her arm around Natsumi's shoulder, "Although they're still kids," she shook her head as she sighed.

"Beast....?" Natsumi titled her head and wondered.

"H-Huh??! We're not like that sensei!!" Ryouta protested.

"Heh, that's mean, sensei, saying that we're only kids," Ken let out a laugh.

"You guys will soon grow up and become like that one day anyway," Sensei cried.

"Can we just hurry up and go?" Shou interrupted. He looks like he can't hold his patience any longer than this. His eyes were barely visible and his eyelids kept flickering, trying to stay awake.

"I don't really mind but, please don't make a mess in our room," I mentioned as we slide the door open to our room.

"Yeah! It's such a pain to clean!" Natsumi nodded as she agreed.

"Okay~" they responded and we took our seats on the floor, forming a small circle.

"Ah! What game are we playing?" Natsumi questioned.

"Heheh, guess," Aoi-sensei took out a cup with popsicle sticks and hold it out to us.

"The King's game?!"

"That's right!" Sensei twirled the cup around making the popsicle sticks mix on its own, "let's start! Everyone, pick one!"

We each took one of the sticks and I got number 3. After Aoi-sensei got back to her seat, she asked who the king was.

"Ah! It's me!" Ryouta raised his hand.

"Okay, king, you can only order once. So, what's your order?" Sensei asked.

"Hmmm....." Ryouta then began to think of what to make us do. "Ah, got it! Number 2....and number..." he started and looked around at everyone making eye contacts. This guy...he's purposely making all of us nervous on the first round. "5! You guys will have to act cute! Like a cat! Say 'nyaa~' and stuff." Ryouta chuckled/

"Bwahaha, who are they?" Natsumi laughed as she held her stomach.

"Oh~? I'm number 2," Aoi-sensei cut in and smiled.

"Ehh, so it's sensei huh?" Natsumi said in an upset tone.

"Why do you sound so disappointed?!" She yelled.

"Who got number 5??"

"Not me," Ken said. Mari and I shook our heads. I glanced over at Shou who was sweating, looking nervous. He was trembling.

"Oh?! It's Shou?? Pfftt," Ryouta tried to hold back his laughter.

Shou gave a death glare to Ryouta, "I'll kill you."

"Sorry, Shou, but the king's orders are absolute," Ryouta crossed his arms with his chin up, trying to look mighty. All I see was cockiness. Shou clicked his tongue.

"Come on Shou~ Do it!!" Natsumi cheered and clapped.

"I don't know how.....," Shou mumbled and look down.

"Then I guess I'll go first!" Aoi-sensei smirked. "Make sure to look carefully~ I'll show you how cute I can be!" Then she curled her fingers and winked, "Nyaa~"

"Okay! Shou-kun now do it!" Mari smiled.

"Yeah, you've seen it!"

"Are you guys just gonna ignore me?!!!" Sensei shouted.

"Come on, Shou!" Ryouta nagged.

"Ugh..." Shou looked from left to right uneasily. His cheeks turned red, blushing intensely. Then he slowly curled his fingers, trying to make a paw and averted his gaze away from us, "N-Nyaa...."

"UWAHHH!!!!" Natsumi covered her eyes but leaving spaces between each finger, to peak and look at. "This...cuteness is too extreme!" Natsumi looked away and shut her eyes.

"Shou, you actually did it!!" Ryouta laughed and put his arm over Shou's shoulder.

Ken clutched his chest and closed his eyes. Then he dramatically opened them as he weakly smiled. "Shou...t-that... was too cuteee!!!" He sounded as if he was defeated. Ken threw a hug onto Shou and squeezed him.

"S-Shut up," he blushed and pushed Ken away.

"Ahahahah, Ken's right! That was so cute," Mari giggled.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"You thought it was cute too?!" Ken blurted out. He looked surprised. The others looked at me the same way he did.

"What?"

"This reaction from you was unexpected, Aki-chan!" Natsumi snickered.

"Cats are cute.....," I replied quietly. "And...he looked like one...."

Everyone gasped.

"So you're saying he's cute?! Awwnnn!"

"Wha--really? You think Shou's cute?" Ken questioned. He glanced over at him and at me again and pouted, "Ehh..."

"What? You were the one who was hugging him and all."

"Yeah, but still, for you to think that it was surprising," he continued.

"Stop. Let's just hurry up get this game over with already," Shou said.

"Yeah! Let's proceed to the next round! I can't believe you guys didn't pay attention to me whatsoever. I was definitely cuter though...," Sensei pouted. All of us looked at her in disbelief. 'Of course, he is,' is probably what we were all thinking.

Then sensei collected the popsicle sticks and mixed them by twirling the cup again. She held the cup out to us we picked the sticks at once and sensei took the last one that remained. I checked my stick it was number 6 this time.

"Who is the king this round~?" Natsumi asked, excited from seeing Shou, who got dared last round.

Ken guffawed, "IT'S ME THIS TIME!"

"Ahah, what's your order?" Mari asked this time.

"Hmm, let's see...." he started and Natsumi and smirked. "I guess I'll get my revenge back here~"

"Eh??"

Then he pointed at Natsumi, "I order that number 4's face will be drawn with a permanent marker by me!"

"EH??!! HOW DID YOU KNOW I WAS NUMBER 4??!!!!" Natsumi slammed her hand on the tatami mat as her other hand which was holding the popsicle stick shivered. She looked very shocked.

"Heheh," Ken smirked, "I'm the king after all," he flipped the ends of his short hair, making them sway.

We face-palmed at his answer and sighed. "Do you even have a permanent marker?" Ryouta asked.

"Yeah, I came prepared," Ken smiled.

"Why would you even need one?!"

"To do this of course! I can't miss the chance to draw on people's faces," He laughed.

"You mean our faces?" Shou said monotonously.

"You're gonna do that again?? You've always been drawing on our face whenever we sleepover!" Ryouta exclaimed. "You better not draw on our face tonight!" Shou nodded, agreeing with what Ryouta said.

Ken laughed nervously, "W-Well...I only have it now in case something like this happens!"

Next, Aoi-sensei clapped her hands twice, "Okay, let's continue on, or it'll get late."

"Okay~" Ken hummed and took out his marker. He opened the cap as he smiled at Natsumi. "Stay still~"

"Nooo!!!!"

"Natsumi-chan, you can't disobey the king's order," Mari reminded.

"Ehhh...." Natsumi complained.

"You also deserve this since you left him in the forest too," Ryouta said.

"Yeah, he's right, remember? You left me?" Ken continued smiling at her.

"Umm..." Natsumi cried, "Fine...hurry, okay?"

"Sure!" Then Ken started doodling a mustache on her face and spirals on her cheeks. He also gave her a beard and drew a poop on her forehead. He finished the doodling by drawing a huge dot that looks like a mole beside her nose and closed the cap. "Done~ What a masterpiece!" He smiled proudly for exceeding to have the way he wants with her face and getting his revenge back.

All of us tried to hold back our laughter after seeing her face, "Gimme the mirror! I wanna see!" Natsumi held out her hand.

"Here you go~" Mari handed her the mirror and she screamed when she saw herself.

"What is this?! A poop on my forehead?! And the mustache and a beard too!" She pointed at her nose. "WHAT'S THIS HUGE MOLE BESIDE MY NOSE?!"

"Remember, you can't wash this off until tomorrow morning. You have to come eat breakfast looking like that," Ken ordered.

"WHAT?? Then how will I wash my face??"

"You can't until after breakfast," Ken explained.

"Ehhhhhh" Natsumi gave in and sulked. "No way...."

"Pfft!" Sensei tried to hold her laughter in too. "Ahem! A-Anyway, on to the last round!"

"Eh~? Is it already the last round? I wanted to play moree! I wish I can be the king this round...," Mari sighed.

"We shouldn't be staying too late! We're going hiking tomorrow after all! We need to get rest."

"Hiking?? That sounds like fun!!" Ryouta beamed.

"Yup!" Sensei collected the popsicle sticks and mixed them again. "Now, pick!!"

This time I got number 2. I saw Mari flashed a smirk. 'Don't tell me she's the king?! I have a bad feeling about this somehow. No one pairs couples as much as Mari does. No one love romance more than Mari does.' Then I saw a glance of her snickering as she looks my way. 'Oh no.'

"Who's the king--" Ryouta started.

Mari immediately raised her hands and smiled, "Me~! Number 3 and 2!" I flinched, it was my number and she saw my reaction and smiled. "Reenact the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet!! Hehe!!"

"Eh?! Romeo and Juliet?! Moreover, that balcony scene?!" I shouted. Everyone laughed when they found out that I got one of the numbers, except Shou.

"Yup!!" Mari grinned and nodded. I sighed.

"Good luck, Aki-chan!!" Natsumi mocked me and continued laughing.

"Pfft!" Ryouta tried to laugh but stopped when I glare at him.

I wouldn't care if number 3 was a girl, if it was Ryouta and Shou, it wouldn't be that bad either. Sensei would be fine too, but maybe a bit awkward. But what I'm worried about is that guy being number 3. He has been quiet since Mari demanded the dare. Please don't let it be him.

"Who got number 3?" Mari asked. Please anyone but that--

"My my, to think that I'll get to do this with Elephant girl," Oh no....why??!!! I turned towards the bastard, who was smirking at me.

"Yup! It's Ken! Akari-chan and Ken will be acting out this scene," Mari smiled proudly. I knew it, it was her plan all along...

"YESS!!!!" Natsumi fangirled.

"Nice job, Mari!" Ryouta gave a thumbs up.

"This is great and all but how will they know the lines?" Aoi-sensei interrupted.

"R-Right, we don't know the lines, Mari we can't do it," I lied. I actually knew the lines--well some. I can't say I remember them all, so not what I said entirely was false. Once, during middle school our class held a Romeo and Juliet play for the cultural festival. I was part of the team that worked on the script.

"Worry not, I know that both Akari-chan and Ken love to read books. We've also learned this in class so I'm sure you guys have read it a couple of times," Mari folded her arms.

"W-What, but that doesn't mean I remember the lines! I've read many books, I already forgot some things," I stuttered.

"Heh~ then I can just tell you the lines, I remember them," Ken teased.

This bastard...he's not even trying to refuse. "Really!? Did you remember the lines? That's great! You can just tell Akari-chan then!"

"Yup~" he replied and his eyes averted to mine. "You have to do what the king says, so let's just get over with it," he stood up.

Ugh, I hesitated, but slowly got up on my feet. "....Fine, only a few lines right?"

"Yayy!! Yup~ three or four lines are okay!" Mari hugged me.

"Okay...now what do I do?"

"Ah, we don't actually have a balcony so Akari-chan will stand there and Ken will kneel to you," Mari explained.

I stood where she instructed me to and Ken knelt down in front of me.

"Okay! Action!"

Ken then whispered to me, "You have to start by saying 'O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo'."

I let out a breath and looked away. "O-O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo? If only you weren't Romeo, the son of the Montagues, nothing and nobody would get in the way of our love," The others were surprised that I continued.

"I knew it! You were just lying that you forgot the lines," Mari smirked.

"Aki-chan, don't just say the line act too!!! You have to reenact, you know??" Natsumi shouted.

"I know, I know..," I replied. I have always been nervous about acting, I couldn't try to pursue a different image aside from my own.

"Alright, then let's start again from the beginning!"

I breathe out. "O Romeo, wherefore art thou R-Romeo?" I put out my hand, but as I was too nervous about acting nor did I know how to, my hands were shivering. The others are looking at me...I don't like this...What if I embarrass myself?! I looked away and tried to continue my lines. "I-If only you w-weren't Romeo," I tried to look at Ken and forced a smile. 'I'm stuttering. What am I even doing?' "t-the son of--" Just as I was conscious about my acting and was absorbed into not knowing how to act, Ken held my hand. My eyes widened in shock and tried to pull back my hand but he gripped on it. I looked away when he looked at me.

"Juliet," I ignored him, "Hey, Juliet!" He held my face by my chin and turned me towards his face. "Look at me," he said as he smiled.

I squinted my eyes, "No."

"You...little...," Veins popped up Ken's forehead. He was clearly pissed off by me, but he somehow suppressed it.

"What are you guys doing??? Continueee!!" Mari ordered.

"Okay, Juliet. Let's do it properly this time okay? Don't be nervous. I'm here beside you," Ken tried to encourage me and bring my hand closer to his face as he kissed it. He looked up at me and winked.

'Omg. Ew. Ew. Ew. What is this guy doing? ' I snatch back my hand quickly afterward and grab some tissues on the table and wiped my hand with it.

"OOOO!!!! What's thissss?" Natsumi squealed.

"Hey, Ken. Don't go overboard," Ryouta said.

Ken laughed, "Shall we continue, Juliet?" He said as he went back to his kneeling position.

"O Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?" I started. 'Oh? I'm not stuttering anymore..??' " If only you weren't Romeo," I put out both of my hands, "the son of the Montagues, nothing and nobody would get in the way of our love," I completed saying the part that I was too nervous to say a while ago.' "Romeo, doff thy name, and for that name which is no part of thee, take all myself." I take back my hands as I clutched them together and I closed my eyes. 'Where is this acting that I couldn't do before coming from??'

Ken's eyes widened. 'I know, I can't believe myself either.' But he smiled at me and said his lines smoothly. "I take thee at thy word," he stared into my eyes, "Call me but love, and I'll be new baptized. Henceforth I never will be Romeo. My beloved Juliet..." he hands out one hand and winked. Oh my gosh, eww.

Then I realized the next line that I have to say. No....no no no, I can't say that! I glanced at the others who were watching eagerly. I turned back to Ken and slowly reach out my fingers to his palm.

"Yes...." I looked at Mari, signaling that it's the end but she shook her head and mouthed 'finish the sentence'. "As if I can say that!" I yelled.

"Ehh, it's only a play, you're just acting," Mari complained. Ugh.... right, this is all from the script, right now, I'm not Akari but Juliet... let's just get this over with.

"I-I," I started.

"GO ON!!"

"I-I l-lo.."

"YEAHH???"

"I-I l-lo-lo--"

"MMHM???"

"I....I LOATHE YOU!!!!!" I pulled my hand back. Everyone stared at me in silence.

". . ."

"Huh?"

"Eh...?"

"What.."

"WHAT?!!!!!" Everyone yelled, shocked. Except for Shou again, he didn't care, like always.

Meanwhile, Ken had the same reaction as everyone but then he started laughing so hard.

"K-Ken what's wrong with you?" Natsumi asked. "Don't tell me you like getting rejected. A-Are you those type of people...??!" She gasped.

"N-No..," Ken said between his laughs. "Ele-Elephant girl was just too funny," He continued laughing.

"How was that funny?" Natsumi asked.

"Don't bother with him, Natsumi," Ryouta shook his head as if he feels pity for Ken.

"He has a few screw loose in his head," Shou said.

"Just ignore him," Aoi-sensei sighed.

"Yup!" Mari cheered.

"But weren't you disappointed that Aki-chan didn't say 'I love you, too Romeo'?"

"Ahahah, nope. I knew something like was coming, it's elephant girl after all," he chuckled as he shrugged.

Mari and Natsumi looked at each other. After a moment they also laughed.

"Ahahahaha!! You're right. Only Aki-chan would do that," Natsumi said as she wiped the tears that came out while she was laughing.

Mari nodded as she agreed. "Yup, yup!!"

At this moment, I was puzzled. What do they mean by what I said was funny...?? Why are they laughing?? What do they mean when they said it's me after all??? No one told me why they just continued laughing.

"But even so, you're not bad at acting!" Ryouta praised.

"Yeah, she was stuttering at first but when Ken kissed her hand she suddenly became good!" Natsumi exclaimed.

"Alright, let's give Akari and Ken a round of applause for their acting and talking without a script!" Aoi-sensei said as she began to clap and so did the others. "Okay, let's finish this up."

"Alreadyy?" Natsumi looked a bit disappointed.

"I told you, we need to rest. And it's getting late," sensei said.

"Woah, that was really fun! I hope we can play again!" Mari smiled.

"It was all thanks to me!" Sensei grinned proudly.

"Okay okay, ahaha."

"Okay, let's clean up. And after this, make sure to get some sleep, okay?"

"Okay~"

When the fun was over, we wrapped up by cleaning the mess they made. But they were barely any, I did warn them before we let them come into our room. Maybe that helped? Aoi-sensei and the boys went back to their own rooms. Mari, Natsumi and I took out the futons and set them up to sleep. 'Ah, right I should go shower before I sleep, again. Since I fell when we were playing the test of courage.'

"I'll go shower real quick," I told Mari and Natsumi.

"Oh, okay, come back quick!!" Natsumi waved at me.

"Don't stay there too long!!" Mari reminded.

"Imm," I answered and head out to the hot spring. I took a quick shower at the wash area. I debated with myself if I should go inside the hot spring or not but I chose not to since it was late. I got out, wore another yukata and head back to my room. I dried my hair with the towel on the way. I decided to grab a quick drink at the vending machine.

"Ah."

"Ah." There I meet that bastard.

"Did you showered?"

"Yeah." I went ahead and inserted some coins inside the vending machine. Then chose the warm milk, it makes me sleep better at night after drinking it. "What drink do you want?"

"What?"

"Choose, quick."

"Let's see," he check what was available quickly, "that," he pointed at the green tea bottle. I clicked the button for the drink. Soon I heard a clunking sound from the bottom of the vending machine. I bent down to get the drinks. I took my milk and handed him his green tea. "Thanks, why are you being nice all of the sudden?"

"Would you rather like being treated badly? Wow, you're exactly like what Natsumi said."

"No, no this is fine," He laughed nervously. I leaned on the wall as I sipped on my drink. Warm milk after a bath at night is the best.

"Earlier..I was nervous about acting and saying the lines..."

"Hmm?"

"But...why did I felt less nervous when you started sprouting and doing stupid stuff...?" I looked at him. He was also looking at me. Our eyes locked.

"Oh~? You acted like you hated it when you actually felt that way?" Ken took a step towards me and smirked.

"Just tell me the reason."

"Maybe I wanted to make you less nervous and said those things on purpose?~" he took one more step.

"But why?"

"Why? I wonder why too...," He came closer.

"Stop joking around, I'm serious."

"So am I," he placed one of his hand on the wall and the other on my side, cornering me.

"Is this your way of making fun of me for being nervous?"

"I wouldn't do that to you." 'I was a bit surprised.'

"How were you not nervous acting at all? Have you done it before?"

"Nope, it was my first time too."

"Then, how--" he puts his finger on my lips.

"Because you were there, I was sure I could do well," he winked. 'Ugh.. makes me cringe.'

"Do you know that what you just said was really cringy??"

"C-CRINGE?! Why would you cringe?? No girl has ever said that I was cringy," he removed his hands from the wall and panicked.

"I've been keeping it inside for a while now, but whenever you say that kind of stuff, it makes me cringe."

"H-HUH??"

"Want me to list them? Earlier you said 'Don't be nervous. I'm here beside you,' or something and you even kissed my hand. Ughh, that was really cringy." Ken's mouth dropped. "Then you keep winking." I shivered showing uncomfortableness. "I could list a thousand more cringy things you said since we met."

"Uhh, stop, please...I didn't know they were that cringy to you," he sulked as he slumped down on the floor.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I slightly pushed him which made him fall since he was weak at the moment. "S-Sorry?" I tried apologizing.

Then he laughed, "Gotcha! You fell for this genius acting of mine!!!"

"There you go again," I face-palmed as I sighed.

"You even apologized to me~! So cute~!" he smiled. "Oh and I've been wanting to say this --your shampoo smells really nice, makes me want to hug and--"

"S-Shut up!! W-What are you saying!! Are you out of your mind?!" I punched his stomach.

He crouched down, his hands clutching his stomach. "Y-You still don't change, Elephant girl," he managed to say.

"It's normal since you were saying weird things," I glared.

"Ahahah," he started laughing.

"W-What're you laughing at?"

"Nothing," he looked up and grinned at me, "That part of you is also cute~"