"We're going on a trip!" Yankumi announces cheerfully as the class stares at her with boredom. "Yaaaaay!"

"Did you plan this trip?" asks Kosuke carefully.

"We love you Yankumi, but your ideas are boring," Takeda confesses, placing his hands together as if he was going to pray.

"The trip to the temple was a waste of time!" adds Tsucchi, flapping his signature fan.

"No! It's actually a fun place this time!" Yankumi yells, trying to defend her choices of 'fun'. "We've planned a trip going to an onsen! A famous one too!"

"That's still lame," Kosuke whines.

"And the streak continues..." Ryu tallies in his mind. Curious, Hikari looks over at Hayato, who seems to be really quiet lately.

It's been two days since the incident with Shoon and for some reason Hayato's been really quiet when Hikari was around. Although she often caught him staring at her and quickly turning away when she caught him, and when she confronts him about that, he apologizes! Of course they still had some small arguments here and there, but Hayato would often end it quick. Everyone knew something was wrong, but Haytato would deny it whenever someone ask him.

"Ne Ryu," whispers Hikari. "Do you think you can find out why the class bunny's been so strange lately?" Smirking, Ryu shakes his head slightly and turns to his female friend, who was sitting with one leg on her seat. How unfeminine....

"Why so worried for Hayato all of a sudden?" asks Ryu with a sly smile.

"I'm not!" Hikari denies, blushing hard. "It's just weird not having someone to fight with anymore."

"You fight with Tsucchi," corrects Ryu.

"I do not!" she retorts defensively.

"Hey Ri-Chan!" Tsucchi calls to her. "Look at what I can do!" He flips his fan around, acting as if he was some kind of princess greeting her subjects while hiding her face behind a fan. Unable to bear how creepy the show was, she snatches his fan out of his hands.

"One, don't call me Ri-chan," WHACK! "And two, please don't ever try to act like a girl again," she says boredly. "It's almost as creepy as Hayato's face."

"My face is handsome thank you very much!" Hayato retorts offended. "You wanna go Toda Toad?!"

"Gladly!" returns Hikari as she turns to face him.

"SETTLE DOWN!" Yankumi yells, annoyed at her students going off topic and not praising her good ideas. "Look, our trip will take place tomorrow and last until Sunday, so go home and pack today okay?"

"Yes Yankumi," the class answers with a dejected tone.

 

~After School with Ryu and Hayato~

 

"So what's going on?" Ryu asks bluntly and straight to the point when he and Hayato were alone.

"What?" asks Hayato, confused, but he knew what his friend was referring to. "Oh nothing, everything's fine."

"You've been watching Ri-chan a lot lately," Ryu lists. "You've been quieter, you've willingly forfeit staring contests with her, and you haven't been picking fights with her lately."

"It's this stupid feeling!" the frustrated guy suddenly yells, scratching his head violent. However for the first time in two days, Hayato felt like a weight has been lifted, even if he hasn't said much yet. "I keep feelin weird around Ri-chan! Like there's this feeling making me want to look at her! But at the same time, I look at her and wonder what is it that makes me look at her!" He stops messing with his hair and turns to Ryu, desperately grabbing his friend by the collar. "What's gonig on Ryu?! Why do I keep wanting time to stand still so I can stare of that ugly toad forever?! No matter what I do, I keep thinking of that violent tomboy! WHAT DO I DOOOOO?" By now, Hayato is fake-sobbing dramatically into Ryu's shirt, who awkward pushes his friend away.

"You like her," Ryu states with a calm demeanor. Although everyone believed she and Hayato would only date when they were the last two people on Earth, Ryu always had a feeling they could grow to like each other. The two were pretty similar after all. "Just accept it."

"WHAT?! NO! I CAN'T LIKE RI-CHAN!" Hayato denies, yanking his hair. "Can't you see Ryu?! Ri-chan is like a guy that looks like a girl! If I like Ri-chan, then it basically means I like a guy!" He begins pacing back and forth. "I CAN'T like a guy, man! What would people say when they see the head of Kurogin's 3D liking a guy?"

"Well that would explain your failures with girls," teases Ryu with a smirk. "But jokes aside, Ri-chan's still a girl, Hayato."

"A girl that's actually a guy," reminds Hayato.

"Then you like guys," Ryu replies bluntly.

"Ryu, if I like Ri-chan, then I'm screwed," he hisses through his teeth. "You see how we act around each other. What kind of relationship will we have? I normally don't even look at girls that act like her. I prefer girls like the ones from Momo High, the nice princesses, not the stubborn tomboys."

"Just admit you like her," Ryu says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It'll make it easier for you. Just give it a try between you two." Without another word, Ryu leaves for his house.

"Thanks Ryu," Hayato says, smiling. Although Ryu's teasing was unecessary, he was happy he decided to talk to Ryu. It took off a lot of the stress he has been holding in. Although.... "There is no way I can like Ri-chan...."

 

~Loading Buses~

 

Yankumi assigns her students to their partners as they came. Unfortunately for Hayato, his partner ends up being Hikari. They just happened to arrive at the same time, so Yankumi put their names down together on her sheet. Hayato groans mentally when he hears that his bus buddy will also be his room mate.

"No fair how come Hayato gets to room with Ri-chan?!" demands Kosuke as Tsucchi fans himself angrily.

"Because they came at the same time," answers Yankumi. "Oh dear, that would be indecent. Why don't we have Yabuki have his own room and Toda-chan can room with me okay?" Everyone agrees, mostly Hayato, but he couldn't help but giggle inward about being roommates with Hikari.

"Don't call me Ri-chan," reminds Hikari before whacking both Kosuke and Tsucchi in the heads. Then she looks over at Hayato and decides to knock him in the head too.

"WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!" Tsucchi and Hayato growl in unison, which seemed weird but funny to her. "We didn't even call you Ri-chan!"

"Because your faces were annoying me," she retorts. "Especially Hayato's..."

"Just get on the bus!" Yankumi yells annoyed with her students. Everyone begins to pile onto the bus, most excited, but a few were sinking into sleep as soon as they got their seats. Hayato sits stiffly in his seat, trying to physically distance himself from Hikari  as much as he can without falling off the seat.

"Why are you so scared?" asks Hikari in an annoyed tone. "You've been really weird lately. I know you're not afraid of me or of me hurting you."

'But I'm afraid of what I'm feeling for you,' Hayato thinks helplessly, forgetting that she was staring at him intensely.

"Hayato, I don't know what happened, but it's getting weird," Hikari admits, running a hand through her hair. "Look we're going to be partners on this trip, so can we just pretend whatever caused you to be like this never happened?" Hayato found himself surprised at her request. He's never seen her that worried abou him except for during and after fights.

'I can't pretend I was never attracted to you though,' thinks Hayato with discontent. "Sure." Although he wasn't sure if he meant it or not, Hikari's reaction immediately cheered him up.

"Good," she says, smiling sleepily. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm really tired. Wake me up when we get there." Before he could ask what she meant, Hikari leans over on his shoulder and begins to drift off into slumerland.

'WHAT?! NO! DON'T LEAN ON ME!' Hayato thinks desperately in his head. However he doesn't attempt to move her seeing how tired she is. Instead, he tries to turn his attention away, however no matter where he looks, he sees idiots from 3D giving him a thumbs up or grins that would give one nightmares. After torturous bus ride, 3D finally reached a dark looking hotel.

"Ne, Ri-chan wake up," Hayato says softly, turning to her. Big mistake. He felt his blood run cold as he turns to see how close their faces were. Their lips were just a few inches away from touching while Hikari's head was still on Hayato's shoulder. Swallowing hard, he fought the urge to kiss her and tried to wake her up again.

"Hayato, are you going to kiss her?" asks Takeda with a grin. As a punishment, Hayato kicks Takeda in the shin and growled at him, which surprisingly did not wake up Hikari.

"No you fool, I'm trying to wake her up!" he yells defensively.

"Then why were you staring at her so much?" teases Kosuke, who too got kicked in the shin.

"Hayato has finally fallen for her eh?" chimes in Tsucchi, fanning himself.

"I don't like her!" Hayato hisses at them, face turning red. "I seriously am trying to wake her but she won't wake up!"

"Just do this," states Ryu with a bored tone as he pokes Hikari in the cheek. And just as he said, Hikari's eyes fluttered and opened up.

"Are we there yet?" she asks in a sleepy tone.

"Yeah, let's get off the bus before these idiots say anything else," grumbles Hayato, pushing himself off the seat and walking off the bus. However due to her sluggishness, Hikari fell over to the side where Hayato once was and tried to wake herself up again.

"Ri-chan, let's go," orders Ryu as he pulls his best friend by the arm.

The class enter the hotel and find that the inside actually looked better than it did on the outside. Well except for a creepy portrait in the lobby.

"Okay everyone! I will pass the list of assigned rooms around!" announces Yankumi. "Please find your room and go there right away! Curfew is 10:00PM! Please meet in the dining room once you have finished unpacking. After dinner we will go around to explore the surroundings of the hotel. Then we will get a good night's sleep because tomorrow is our tour of this town!" Despite their groaning and complaints, the class all look through the list to find their rooms and obey what Yankumi ordered.

"Ri-chan, we got room 313," Hayato informs her and takes her by the hand to lead her to the elevator. Suddenly they realized what was happening and quickly let go of each other's hands. "Sorry." They nodded awkwardly to each other before continuing to the elevator. However before Hikari walk to her and Hayato's room, Yankumi holds Hikari back by her hand.

"Oh Toda-san you'll be rooming with me," reminds Yankumi. "I don't want anything to happen between you two, like destroying the hotel with your fighting." Too tired to say anything, Hikari follows Yankumi to their own room. "However if anything happens, you are welcome to go to your room with Yabuki-kun."

"Okay," she states boredly.

"This will be so much fun!" cheers Yankumi. "We can have a slumber party between just us girls! Oh and we can talk about boys and paint each other's nails and talk about fashion and play dress up!" Hikari couldn't help but stare at her teacher in shock.

"Are you sure you're 28 and not 14?" asks the tomboy. "I love you Yankumi, but I really rather you train me than do some girly activities."

"Even when I get a girl, I still have boys," sulks Yankumi in the corner, which irritated Hikari to the extreme.

"Am I seriously that boyish?!" asks a hurt Hikari as she angrily unpacks her clothes and leaves the room quickly.

"Ah Ri-chan!" Tsucchi calls out to her, waving his fan in the air so she can see him and the guys. However seeing her stomp over, he shrinks away. "What's wrong with her?"

"How should I know?" asks Yankumi cluelessly. "I guess I better go teach her."

"Teach her what?" asks Takeda, jumping out from behind Tsucchi. Kosuke, Hayato, and Ryu soon follow.

"AH! Nothing! Teaching her girl things! Like bras!" Yankumi randomly says, hoping it would gross out the guys. She quickly runs away to her and Hikari's room. Sadly her comment led the boys to imagine Hikari trying on different bras, which was worse than the truth.

"Get to your rooms," Ryu orders, hitting each of them. Hikari was like a little sister and he did not like them fantasizing about her like that. As the other three left in a hurry under Ryu's death glare, Ryu holds back Hayato by the collar. The two best friends head toward the elevators together. "Are you going to tell Ri-chan you like her?"

"What?" Hayato asks in return, whipping his head. "I think she's cute but she's so agressive. I don't think I really like her, I think I just find her attractive."

"So you don't mind me asking her out?" challenges Ryu boldly, causing Hayato to whip his head over once again.

"Are you serious?!" asks the confused man. First Ryu wanted to set the two up, now he wants to ask out Hikari? Didn't he turn her down before too?

"Just kidding," retorts Ryu with an amused smirk. Without realizing it, Hayato found himself gripping his luggage tightly, but relaxed once he realized Ryu was only joking. As Ryu walks ahead, Hayato slows down, pondering over how he really feels about Hikari. Isn't she only cute? How can he like someone that was really a guy in a girl's body?

"I'm going crazy," he mutters under his breath before getting on the elvator besides Ryu.

 

~Hikari~

 

"HYA!" Hikari cries, mimicking Yankumi's kick.

"You're getting really good!" the teacher cheers. "I was really worried about letting you get in on dangerous business like this, but I guess this is your true path."

"Thanks Yankumi," chirps Hikari, smiling brightly. "I really wanna be someone who can protect those dear to me.And I hate being looked down upon, so I guess this is the best choice for my future."

"You've worked hard," praises Yankumi. "Come on, the boys should be done packing by now. Let's go to the dining room for dinner." The two change out of their sweaty clothes and accompanied each other to the hotel's beautiful dining room. The two were shocked at how similar it looked to the dining room in Harry Potter.

"There are the guys!" Hikari points out and begins to walk towards them.

"Hi there you all!" greets Yankumi.

"Oh there you are, I was going to eat everything," Hayato says, holding up a tray full of food.

"I bet I can eat more than you," challenges Hikari, taking some of his food.

"Hey get your own!" he shouts, hiding his food from her. "And I, the man, can eat much more!"

"Keep acting like that and I'll make you a girl," threatens the tomboy, as the two glare harshly at each other.

"Oy, Toda-san, let's go get our own food," lectures Yankumi, dragging her away. The two women quickly got their trays and went back to the table. Suddenly the guys, except Ryu, pulled both the women down and got in a circle.

"What's going on?" asks Hikari, but is "SHHH!"ed by Kosuke. "Hush me again and you'll get it."  He timidly smiles at her before running behind Takeda.

"Yankumi what kind of hotel did you book us at?!" Hayato demands quietly and angrily.

"What are you talking about?" asks Yankumi, confusion all over her face.

"This hotel's haunted you foolish woman!" Tsucchi hisses, slapping his fan in the air. "We just heard it from two customers who just left!"

"What?" asks Hikari. "How's this place haunted?"

"Several decades ago, this hotel was ran by a family of three brothers," starts Takeda, holding a flashlight to his face, causing Hikari to hit him on the head.

"Why are you using a flashlight in the middle of a room with all its lights on?" asks Hikari, annoyed.

"Shut up, let him tell the story," hisses Hayato. "And you've been hanging out with Ryu too much." At this, both Ryu and Hikari smirk at each other and turn to Hayato with a death glare.

"Let me continue!" Takeda whines, slapping Hayato on the arm. "Anyways one day the hotel caught on fire and burned to the ground. The brothers quickly got all their guests out and ran out afterwards like true owners. However when everyone was being counted, they noticed that the youngest brother was missing."

"After days of searching through the debris, they finally found the little brother," continues Kosuke. "Crying for their lost kin, the other two brothers rebuilt this hotel and and buried their younger brother in the front of the hotel."

"You know, where the statues of the three men are out in the front?" confirms Tsucchi. "You know, they are the founders of this hotel."

"Save the extra details," retorts Hikari, but she was shaking. The only one who noticed was Ryu.

"As I was saying, his ashes were buried in the front, under the statues," repeats Tsucchi. "After they rebuilt the hotel, they thought their brother would be honored in some way with the statues. However one night, the two met their little brother's ghost."

"'Why did you leave me behind?'" Takeda moans, pretending to be the ghost. "'You two left me...You think a statue is enough to exchange for a life?'"

"Blaming his brothers for his death, the little brother's ghost murdered his two older brothers in cruel ways," explains Tsucchi. "Both were found dead in coffins. However the first one was found completely blue while the other one seemed to have been crushed."

"Now they say that every year the two brothers' ghosts come back with guilt and kill one person as a tribute to their youngest brother," Takeda adds in.

"Those two guests said they saw them!" whispers Kosuke, shaking behind Tsucchi.

"So in other words, you doomed us all Yankumi!" shouts Hayato loudly, causing everyone in the dining room to turn their heads toward them.

"Sorry!" Yankumi apologizes to the nearby guests. She then turns back to their group. "Do you really believe that kind of legend? Then again, there was a story about this town.... What if I really doomed my students? I'm a horrible teacher! What if one of my students die?!" The guys and Hikari watch her in embarrassment as she acts out a scene of a student being captured and begging her for help.

"Ri-chan you've been quiet, what's wrong?" asks Takeda, concern evident in his voice. They look at their only female classmate, who was shaking and looking down at her hands.

"You're still scared of ghosts aren't you, Ri-chan?" asks Ryu, rubbing her back.

"Ri-chan's scared of ghosts?" asks Kosuke, to which Ryu nods.

"Don't worry, we'll protect you, Ri-chan," promises Tsucchi, holding up his fan. "I swear on the fan."

"Thanks guys, but I think I'm going back to my room," she replies quietly.

"Eh? But you haven't even eaten anything yet!" opposes Kosuke.

"Toda-san, sorry but the whole class is going exploring now," apologizes Yankumi. "If this place is truly dangerous, you shouldn't be alone. We should go exploring as a class." She proceeds to call the whole class to the front of the hotel, and takes role as they pass her. Hikari used this time to look for the statue of the three brothers, which she found pretty easily.

"Don't worry," a voice states. Hikari turns to see Hayato with his arm out to her. "It's okay to lean on me once in a while."

'Why does it feel so hot all of a sudden? What should I do? Hayato wants me to link arms with him! Hikari say something!' she mentally argues. "Thanks Hayato, but I'll be fine." Hayato felt his mood dropping slightly, as if he's been rejected.

"I see," he mutters. "It's okay, I'll be right there if you get scared though okay?" Nodding gratefully, Hikari smiles at him and the two walk together once Yankumi finished taking role.

"Everyone will protect their beautiful teacher if something happens right?" asks Yankumi, turning around with a scared look on her face.

"Beautiful teacher?" asks Kamimura from behind their group, evoking laughter from the class.

"How can we fight against ghosts?!" asks Hiro.

"Shouldn't you be the one protecting us?" asks Ryu in a blunt tone, deflating their teacher.

"That's right huh," Yankumi thinks aloud. "Why'd I become a teacher?" Hayato and Hikari sneak a look to each other and snicker at their poor teacher.

"Let's go exploring!" Kuma yells excitedly, clueless about the legend for some reason and runs off.

"Wait! Kuma! No don't go off on your own!" Yankumi yells, chasing after him. Hikari worriedly turns back to the rest of the class.

"Okay everyone, get in a group of at least 6 and make sure you stay together at all times!" she orders. "For now, we need to find Yankumi and Kuma and make sure they're safe! I'm sure all of you have heard about the so-called legend by now, if not then ask around the class for details. Overall this place is dangerous and we must be in a group at all times, not two, not three, but at least 6 people got it?!"

"Yes mam!" the class responds, saluting to her.

"Now let's go find them before they get in trouble!" Hikari commands the class and runs off after Yankumi with Hayato and the guys on her trail.

"Looks like we got a third leader now huh?" jokes Ryu, running next to her.

"I'm still the head though," taunts Hayato, trying to look cool as he ran next to them.

"But I'm better than you!" retorts Hikari, shocked. "Why is the bunny the head?"

"What? I'm way better than you! I beat you last time we fought!" returns Hayato.

"Only because you pulled my hair, you girly rabbit!" Hikari yells back.

"BUTSU!"

"JERK!"

"BUTSU!"

"LAZY !"

"BUTSU!"

"GIRLY HAIR GRABBER!"

"BUTSU!"

"IS THAT ALL YOU GOT YABUTSU?!"

"Just shut up andkeep running!" yells Takeda from ahead. The rest of the class had already passed them while they were arguing without them knowing. The leader of 3D and the new co leader glare at each other competitively and try to catch up to the rest of the class.