Daiki took a great big sigh after hearing never ending lectures from his friends through his mobile. “How can you get lost?! You’re with Amu!”, he heard Yabu’s paternal scolding, while the others on the background just kept saying “Don’t go anywhere, we’ll find you”. He felt defeated and thought how little trust his friends have on him, not having much confidence to get his way back to the camp.

With a couple more earfuls, the poor boy pressed the end button which signalled the end of the phone call.

“I could hear them from here”, Daiki did not have to go on loudspeaker for Amu to hear what the other members were saying. She chuckled at their misfortune while patting the older boy’s shoulder.

“They told us to wait here. They said that I might lead us deeper into the woods if we try to find our way back”, Daiki explained and puffed his cheeks. “Those guys really have very little trust in me!”, he sounded betrayed but could not help but feel guilty for dragging Amu with him.

“I’m sorry”, Daiki mumbled, and it did not take long when he saw the girl shiver. It’s been a few hours since they entered the forest, and the evening started to drop its temperature. He watched as Amu rubbed both of her palms together to create some heat. Seeing this, Daiki pulled her closer and placed both of his hands over Amu’s and moistened them with his breath like a prayer. He placed his forehead on hers, then her petite hands on his chest.

“This will keep you warm”, he whispered. Little did he know, Amu already sensed an overwhelming amount of heat diffuse all around her body after feeling the boy’s warm touch. Her heart pounded like crazy when Daiki’s breath touched her skin. She immediately felt a fiery sensation on her cheeks as Daiki intertwined his fingers with hers and placed her left hand inside his coat pocket.

Suddenly, Amu did not feel the need to even wear a jacket. All she needs at the moment is to have Daiki by her side.

--

The couple waited for a few more minutes when Amu heard something similar to flowing water, “Dai-chan, can you hear that?”, she pointed out. Both stayed silent for a while and agreed that there is a river nearby. “Come!”, the girl gently pulled his hand towards the sound and soon found a small creek with flowing water glistening by the moonlight. The sound of the water hitting the rocks was hypnotising, making Amu and Daiki sit on one of the large boulders. Their clasped hands made it quite difficult to manoeuvre around scattered rocks, but neither Amu nor Daiki intended to let go.

“I’ve been looking at the same sky since I was born but tonight, the stars look exceptionally beautiful”, Amu took a deep breath and enjoyed the night breeze kissing her cheeks. She continued to look up and admired the twinkling stars up in the heavens.

“Yeah… so beautiful”, Daiki uttered, but his eyes were not at the sky but instead, they are fixed at Amu. The girl noticed this in her peripherals, making her frown.

“The stars are up there, Dai-chan”, she said while pointing up.

“I know. But I found something more beautiful”, his words pierced through Amu’s heart like an arrow, making the poor girl blush. She locked eyes with Daiki and found herself frozen, unable to break away from his gaze.

It might be the romantic scenery and the fact that they are alone, but Amu did not have the urge to turn away when Daiki inched closer. She did not protest when the boy titled his head, slowly closing the gap from their faces. Amu gently closed her eyes when suddenly…

“We finally found you!”, the couple quickly stood up from their seat after hearing the abrupt call of their friends. Hikaru and Yuya pointed a bright light towards them and saw the couple avoiding eye contact, as if they had disturbed something intimate.

“Oops”, they said, knowing well that they stopped Daiki from getting his ‘score’, “Did we come at the wrong time?”.

“N-No, no! Thank you for coming to get us”, Amu defended with her face completely crimson. She was first to greet the two and soon noticed Chinen trailing behind them. She could have sworn that she heard him sigh in relief as soon as their eyes met.

“Yokatta, I’m so glad you’re safe”, he smiled and patted Amu’s head. He then pulled something from his pocket and presented it to Amu. It was her missing phone, “Here, I found it when we got separated. I saved my number in case of emergency or whenever you need help”.

“Thank you”, Amu gave him a gentle smile and somehow felt blessed to have a friend like Chinen. They went first towards their path back to the camp while trying to ignore the continuous teasing coming from Hikaru and Yuya against the poor Daiki.

--

“Better luck next time, Arioka”

“Urusai!”

“By the way, you’re the last couple to get back. Be ready to get your punishment”

--

Meanwhile…

Yuto looked at Rio in worry. They have been trapped inside a man-made hole for nearly an hour with no hope of getting out. He tried to climb up a million times, but despite his towering height, he could not find any way to escape. To make matters worse, the girl he likes is in pain and he cannot do anything but watch. He sat beside Rio and allowed the girl to rest her head on his shoulder.

A couple of minutes had passed and felt his hopes rise exponentially when he heard a familiar voice shouting his name from not so far away. It sounded like Ryosuke. This prompted him to stand up and respond to his call, “Yama-chan! We’re here!!”.

He was successful and heard the boy’s footsteps nearing. He noticed that Ryosuke was struggling to locate their exact location but felt absolute relief after seeing his best friend peer over the hole, “Thank God!”.

Yuto saw Ryosuke reaching down but the depth of the hole is not in their favour, “I can’t reach”.

“I’ll push Rio-chan up so you can pull her out”, Yuto suggested, while Rio frowned. This may be the last thing to worry about but she is totally aware of Yuto touching her thighs as he pushes her up.

With not much choice, Rio reached for Ryosuke’s hand before feeling a strong pull from the latter. The boy pulled with all his might, making Rio stumble and land on his chest. Yes, right on top! Rio blinked twice after realising that Ryosuke is probably cursing her weight on his body, so she immediately withdrew and rolled to her side, minding her sprained leg.

Ryosuke cleared his throat and was annoyed at how his heart pounded when he saw Rio so close to him.

“Guys? I’m still here, you know”, Yuto reminded the couple, breaking the awkwardness. Ryosuke shook his head with an attempt to get back to his senses before finding a rope-like material on the ground which he used to pull Yuto up.

Yuto panted a few times before finally able to feel the breath of freedom as he saw himself outside the trap. Ryosuke offered his hand and the boy took it to stand up, “Thanks”.

“Let’s get out of here”, Yuto turned to Rio who is still struggling to make a step. He chuckled at how she pretends that nothing hurts. Without further ado, he kneeled and offered to carry her back to camp, “Hop on”.

“Wh-What? No no! I can walk!”, Rio protested and noticed how Ryosuke is also against the idea.

“It’s the least I can do for giving you a sprain”

Not able to watch Yuto and Rio acting like a couple, Ryosuke grabbed Rio’s right arm and placed it over his shoulder, “I’ll bring her back”, he said while guiding the girl walk. Yuto saw this as a challenge from a rival and took Rio’s left arm over her shoulder. By this time, the two boys are acting as Rio’s crutches.

--

“Ne, Yama-chan… did you come all the way from Tokyo to rescue us?”, Rio teased, thankful for the boy’s heroic appearance. Even Yuto was curious on why Ryosuke deviated from his usual schedule.

“Don’t flatter yourself. I came to rescue Yuto. We need him for the shoot tomorrow”

“Maa, we’re still thankful you came”, Yuto couldn’t help but smile at how his best friend act towards Rio. Even as a rival, he found him cute acting like a 'tsundere'. 

--

It is nearly a 25-minute walk back to their cabin, but with Rio’s sprain, it took them almost 45 minutes. Yuto, Ryosuke and Rio found it miraculous that they arrived safe and sound, without getting eaten by flesh-eating predators in the forest.

The three arrived at Rio’s room and Yuto was quick enough to grab the first-aid kit from the nearby cabinet. He prompted Rio to sit on her bed for him to tend her injury.

“Is Amu not back yet?”, Rio worriedly asked after seeing the room in a state the same as how they left it, “I hope she’s okay”.

“Inoo-chan called me earlier. They said they’re on their way back, so don’t worry”, Yuto reassured, “Before you worry about someone else, please mind your injuries first”, he continued before removing Rio’s shoe.

“Yuto-kun… I can