Fall

Madoka's POV

I left the cabin and saw Kenji laying on the bench with his eyes opened looking at the night sky filled with stars. I approached Kenji and just sat on his stomach making him yelp.

"Are you really going to take up the entire bench to yourself?" I asked

Kenji took off his earbuds and looked at me.

"You could have given me a warning before sitting on my stomach." said Kenji

"Too bad." I replied

I got up and Kenji sat up and he looked at me.

"Why are you here?" asked Kenji

"Cause you're out here." I replied

"Oh I see." he replied

"Why are you out here?" I asked

"I just needed some time to think about something." replied Kenji

"About Yuziki?" I asked

"How did you know?" asked Kenji as his eyes widened

"I heard everything." I replied

"Oh..." whispered Kenji

Kenji scratched his cheek with his pointer finger and looked away.

"Is there a problem?" I asked

"I don't know, I never rejected a girl before and I feel guilty for some reason." replied Kenji

"Why do you feel guilty?" I asked

"I don't know, I just hope I didn't hurt her feelings." said Kenji

'Good thing you rejected her.'

"Well just know that you did good." I said, "You don't actually like her right?"

"I don't have feelings for anyone." replied Kenji

I felt my heart feel the same strain again and suddenly I thought about the kiss on the train. I shook my head to get rid of that thought since it wasn't really something I wanted to remember.

"I heard that you're always out here every year." I said

"Oh yea I am." replied Kenji

Kenji put his phone down on the bench and sighed, breath vapor coming out of his mouth.

"Madoka, can I tell you something?" asked Kenji

I looked over at him and he looked back at me.

"I'm scared." he said

"Of what?" I asked, "The girl?"

"Her name's Aiko." said Kenji, "Aiko Tachibana."

I took out my phone and quickly typed her name into Instagram and her account popped up.

"Damn, she seems popular." I said, "And she's into mixed martial arts."

She had a lot of pictures of her fighting in the octagon.

"No wonder you can't fight back." I whispered

"She's a professional MMA fighter, she's going to make her debut probably next year." said Kenji

"Isn't that good?" I asked

"I don't know." replied Kenji, "I hope it is."

"Hey Kenji, forget about her for now. Just enjoy your time here." I said

"I know but it's kind of getting into me, the fear of the past replaying." said Kenji

I looked at Kenji and just patted his head.

"Have you heard of this saying, you can either run or hide from your past or face it?" I asked

"Yea I have, I tried to but Aiko is different." replied Kenji, "You have to run away from her."

I looked down at Kenji's hand and it was trembling again.

'How much have you experienced to the point you tremble just by mentioning her name?'

"I said I was going to protect you so don't worry." I said

"I know, I hope it'll be enough." replied Kenji

Kenji smiled a bit and took a deep breath.

"Oh by the way, I'll be working starting next year. Technically a few days but it's during the day when I don't have classes." said Kenji

"On campus?" I asked

"No, a cafe but it's near campus." replied Kenji

"Do you know what days?" I asked

"Everyday from 1 pm through 6 pm when practice starts." replied Kenji

"You don't have that many classes?" I asked

"Yea I earned most of my credits last year so I only have 4 classes." replied Kenji, "But they're all an hour long."

"I see, you're pretty busy." I said

"I am, I have to earn money on my own." replied Kenji

But then that's when I remember Kenji telling me about him being called Aiko's errand boy.

"Is it for Aiko's errands?" I asked

Kenji seemed surprised by the fact that I figured it out but he slightly nodded.

"Kind of, I already got the job before, well, when she found me." said Kenji

"Right." I whispered

"Yea, but she still goes to her designated college so she's not going to have time to even come." said Kenji

I looked at Kenji and back at the cabin.

"Are you going to stay out here for the rest of the night?" I asked

"No." replied Kenji

"Then would you mind having me sit here with you for a while, until you're ready to go in?" I asked

"Of course." replied Kenji, "Feel free."

It was pretty cold so I moved in closer to Kenji until our arms were touching.

"You're shivering, are you cold?" asked Kenji

"No not really." I replied, "I can survive."

"Your body says the opposite." said Kenji, "Wait here."

Kenji goes back into the cabin then comes back with another jacket and wraps it around me.

"It's better to stay warm." said Kenji

I wanted him to have the jacket instead but I just took since it was pretty warm with the jacket. We sat there for about 10 minutes looking at the stars in silence, it wasn't awkward at all and I enjoyed it.

"Let's go back inside, it's getting late." I said

"Right, lights out in a couple minutes." replied Kenji

"Did you brush your teeth?" I asked

"Yes I did, you?" asked Kenji

"Same, let's hurry up and go to sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day." I said

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next day

Madoka's POV

"Kenji here's an extra pair of hiking boots I have." said Coach Yamoto, "They're your size so they should fit."

"Thanks." replied Kenji

"Alright everyone, is everyone ready?" asked Coach Yamoto

Everyone nodded in response.

"What's this, bootcamp training? Why do we have to bring so many tents?" asked Chibi

"The tents are pretty small." replied Akito

"Yea midget." said Dai

"Shut up giant." snapped Chibi

I put on my bag filled with some food and water and Kenji got up and walked around testing out his hiking boots.

"Everyone let's go!" excitedly said Coach Yamoto

We all began to start walking down the trail and I had to walk next to Homura.

"I should have used the bathroom before leaving." said Emiko, "Kenji Kun can you wait for me? I need to go."

"Oh, uh sure." he replied

Kenji and Emiko turned around and left the group and quickly headed back so that they could use the bathroom.

"Let's go." said Homura

But I ignored it as I watched Emiko and Kenji behind us walking together.

'Is she trying to do something?'

"Are you thinking about Kenji and Emiko?" asked Homura

"No, just wondering if I forgot something." I lied

"Oh, yea sure." he replied

We kept walking for about 10 minutes but Kenji and Emiko were still not back.

"The winds blowing pretty hard right now." said Yuziki

"It is but it's so bright today." commented Haruka

"And cold." shivered Chibi

"Chibi stop being such a pussy." laughed Homura

"Shut up Homura san you're clearly shivering as well right now." snapped Chibi

"Short people, short temper." commented Dai

Everyone chuckled and Chibi just rolled his eyes.

"Oh Kenji kun and Emiko chan are back." said Haruka

I turned around to see Kenji and Emiko walking like normal people, they weren't acting any different so I supposed that they didn't do anything.

"What took you so long?" asked Homura

Kenji didn't reply and just walked right past him.

"Oi I'm talking to you." called out Homura

"Sorry Homura senpai but I took a long." apologized Emiko

"Doing what?" asked Homura

"Why are you so nosey?" asked Ayaka

"What? I just want to." replied Homura

"She was obviously using the bathroom, have some common sense." grumbled Ayaka

I looked towards Kenji and the only thing he was carrying was his guitar Coach Yamoto wanted him to bring, Kenji was fine with it but I think it was pointless.

"How long is the trail?" asked Dai

"About 3 hours long." replied Coach Yamoto

"Not bad, not bad at all." sarcastically said Dai

"Fuck..." I groaned under my breath

"It's going to be worth it." said Coach Yamoto

Kenji seemed fine with it so I just sighed and went with it. We've for about 30 minutes and the road was pretty easy but there was a sign saying that after passing a red marker it'll be a bit hard.

"There are safety handles though." observed Emiko

"It's not hazardous it's just steep." said Coach Yamoto

We continued moving and the road was pretty narrow and the wind was slowly picking up.

"Damn, it's getting chilly." said Emiko, "Aren't you cold Kenji kun?"

"It's okay." he replied

But suddenly the wind blew extremely hard and it blew away Emiko's beanie.

"Huh, oh no that's my mom's hat!" gasped Emiko

The beanie landed on a branch and it was pretty close.

"My mom's going to kill me." groaned Emiko, "I think I can reach it."

Emiko was about to reach for it but Kenji grabbed her arm and shook his head.

"There's a handrail blocking the edge for a reason." he said

"But it's so close." said Emiko, "Can you get it for me?"

"Homura I think you can reach it." said Dai

"Hell no, I'm not risking my life to fall off the edge just for a hat." replied Homura, "You do it."

"No one's reaching for anything, we're moving!" yelled Coach Yamoto who was all the way in front of the line

I was annoyed by the fact that no one would get it so I went under the rail and reached for the beanie while using one arm to reach for it and the other to hold onto the rail.

"Madoka!" gasped Homura

"Almost there." I groaned

"Madoka stop it's not safe!" yelled Coach Yamoto

"I can reach it just an inch or two, stop standing there like a bunch of idiots and help me." I called out

But suddenly the dirt underneath my foot broke off and I lost grip on the rail.

"Madoka!" gasped Homura

I began to fall but I felt someone grab my bag.

"Kenji kun!"

I began to fall down and I fell onto the ground and began sliding the side of the mountain but I felt someone wrap their arm around my body and I didn't feel and part of me hit anything hard, rather something soft. We slowly slid to a stop and I slowly opened my eyes and looked up to see Kenji.

"You good?" he asked

"K-Kenji?!" I gasped, "You were the one who grabbed my bag?!"

I was in shock, did Kenji try to save me?

"You shouldn't have gone for the hat." he said as he got up and brushed himself off, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I replied

But as I tried to stand up I felt a strain of pain on my right ankle and I winced in pain when I put weight on it.

"Madoka, your ankle." commented Kenji

"Yea I know." I replied

"Sit down, I have an ankle brace." said Kenji

That's when I noticed that Kenji didn't have his guitar bag with him.

"Wait Kenji, your guitar." I said

"I took it off before I tried to grab you." he replied

Kenji began helping me take off my hiking boot.

"I can do it myself." I said

"Sit still, it looks bad." replied Kenji

Kenji took off my sock revealing a bruised foot.

"It's not that bad, you won't be able to move that well for about a week and a half." said Kenji

Kenji took out the ankle brace from his pocket and began to wrap it around my foot. My heart was thumping the entire time, him touching my bare skin felt new and almost charming. Even though it was cold right now his hands were warm and it somehow brought warmth into my heart. But then I saw Emiko's beanie inside Kenji's pocket.

"You got Emiko's beanie?" I questioned

"Yea I got it as I caught you." replied Kenji

"That's nice." I replied

"There." said Kenji

But then Kenji pat my foot and pain spike throughout my ankle causing me to slap him.

"Why the hell did you pat my bruised ankle?!" I snapped

"Sorry it's a habit." groaned Kenji as he rubbed his cheek, "Anyways you still can't walk."

"Let's go back to the cabin." I said

"That's impossible, there's a cliff blocking our path. The only way is up." replied Kenji

"But I can barely walk." I commented

Kenji seemed to think about it then suddenly he turned around and bent down.

"Get on, I'll carry you." said Kenji