039- Trip Preparations: Plans

-Friday, May 4th, Aokigahara District Main Highway, 10 AM-

"I can't believe I agreed to help you!" I said in frustration as I leaned back into the bus seat.

"Haha~! You can't get out of this now, Nakamura, I talked to your sister and she won't let you in unless I tell her to." Arthur laughed and nudged my shoulder.

"It would be a lot better if only the two of us were doing it... and not the whole fucking student council! I don't like this!" I roared in frustration, hitting the bus seat in front of me with my forehead.

I rolled my eyes and looked over at the seats on the left, checking out the Student Council vice president. "But at least I have something to stare at~!" I smirked.

Arthur smacked my head. "Nakamura! Stop staring at my sister! You're the last person she needs to deal with!" He said in annoyance.

I rubbed my head in the place he smacked me. "Ouch... you fucker... ugh... oh, yeah! Did you like Sebas's training~?" I asked him with a smug smile.

He grabbed my shirt and stared at me with teary eyes. "You... you made me remember that! It was a torture! I stayed there because of that girl... Seraphina seemed very cute to me. I thought that she might teach me something, but she told me that she was a bad teacher, so the priest started training me! It was straight torture for three damn days, and then Seraphina told me to just run away!" He sighed deeply and pushed his face into his hands.

"Did you even manage to learn anything~?" I asked mockingly.

He blew his nose into a handkerchief and looked at me with pride. "Haha! I've managed to learn Vymir Enhancement Type Two!" He said, pushing out his chest.

"Only?! Hahahaha~!" I started laughing so hard that a couple of tears left my eyes.

Some members of the student council looked at us. "Wait... I haven't recognized him yet...", "Yeah you're right... what's that idiot doing here?!", "Don't tell me that Hirano-kun called him for help!"

"What are you laughing at, Nakamura?!" He asked in frustration, shaking my shoulders.

"Hehe~!" I smirked. "Unlike you... I was able to learn: Vymir Enhancement, Aura Manipulation, and Basic Light and Dark Magic in one day!" I said with a smug look of satisfaction on my face.

"You're lying! No! No! I refuse to believe! Bla bla bla!" He plugged his ears in rejectance.

"Hahah-..." Suddenly someone softly tapped my left shoulder.

"Heyy?" Mitsuki smiled softly.

I looked at her with surprise. "What?" I asked.

"Could you be uhh... a little bit more quiet...? Our President... Elaine wanted to take a nap... she's had a lot of work lately and wanted to rest before the preparations." She said softly.

The Student Council President peeked her head out from behind Mitsuki.

She had short light brown hair and brown eyes. "Oh damn... she's a cutie!"

"That's right you idiot! Shut the hell up or I will throw you out of this bus myself!" She roared in annoyance, her voice cold.

"Never mind, not a cutie~!"

I smiled nervously. "Fine, fine!" I rolled my eyes.

"Wait a second... I know you! You're the one that was expelled! What are you doing here?!" Elaine asked in frustration.

She then looked at Arthur. "Hirano! Is this guy your friend?! What's he doing here, huh?!" She stood up in anger.

"Uhh... my si-... Vice President Mitsuki told us to bring someone that could help in preparations... so I invited him to accompany us..." He said in embarrassment.

"Fucking pussy... he's scared of her!" I frowned.

"Is that true, Mitsuki?!" She glared at the girl sitting next to her.

Mitsuki looked down in shame. "Uhh... yes..." She said quietly.

Elaine looked around the bus, seeing almost every member of the Student Council having a supporting friend sitting next to them.

She sighed and rolled her eyes, calming down a little. "Then it was a good idea, but... out of every person..." She looked at Arthur again. "You had to bring that guy?!" She said in frustration.

Arthur looked down on his feet in shame. "I'm sorry, President... it's just... he's my only friend... I didn't think of anyone else..." He said quietly.

"Oh... sor-..." Before she could finish I cut her off.

I stood up, feeling very hurt. "Huh?! What the fuck do you mean 'Our of every person, huh?! You're speaking about me as if I was a fucking disease!" I said in anger.

Her face reddened with fury. "You... watch your damn mouth, you stupid brat! How can you even speak like that to your seniors, huh?! And why?! Why am I speaking about you like that?! Oh please! Since the first day you've been attending our high school, I've constantly heard that you were in detention more than in classes, you've constantly caused trouble, you've been already expelled once and somehow you got back!" She took a couple of breaths.

"I thought that the teachers would stop complaining about us not trying to do something with you after you were accepted again by a miracle, but no, immediately after you came back, you started to hang out with that sick murderer! That's the worst possible combo we, the student council have ever imagined!"

I heard Mitsuki giggle under her nose, but I just ignored it.

I grew even more angry. "You fucking whore! How dare you speak of Layla as if she was a monster?! She probably is more human and kind than you will ever be! Besides, I don't fucking care about being here! If you want then kick me out of that bus, I have better things to do instead of helping someone who is worse than me!"

"Hey... Nakamura... calm down a little..." Arthur said.

"Ohh~? Do you think that the murderer is capable of feeling? Very well then! I'll make sure to place your and hers tents next to each other, far away from others without anyone watching you two and we'll see if you will survive till the end of the event~!" She smirked.

"Wh...-" She then cut me off.

"And since you want to leave, thinking that you're better than I am... at the end of the day we will count up points for each task everyone from the student council did, and if you score lower than me, then you will have a lot of charity school cleaning after the event... if you survive of course~!" She added.

"Fuck you! Fine! I'll do it! I'll do so fucking well that you'll be drinking your tears out of sadness! But only on one condition! If I will score more than you, then you will apologize to Layla for everything you said to her, or behind her back!" I said with determination.

Arthur giggled under his nose.

I heard Taida let out an irritated sigh.

"Fine~! We have a deal!" Elaine said.

I sat down and started pouting under my nose. "Who the hell does this bitch think she is, huh?! Hmph... I will show her human determination! Stupid demon!"

Arthur sighed softly and looked at me. "Hey, Nakamura?"

"What do you want?" I pouted.

"Why do you keep protecting that girl so much?" He asked.

"What do you mean by 'that much'?" I rolled my eyes.

"You know what I mean... you've argued with Father Sebastian about her and now you're trash-talking the Student Council President, just because she said the truth..." The moment of realization finally hit him.

"Wait a second..." He smirked mockingly "Don't tell me that you feel for her haha~!" He started laughing.

"Shut up, Hirano..." I blushed in embarrassment.

"No way, no way in hell! Nakamura Shoji, The Emodiment of Lust to who even the most lustful demons in The Underworld cannot compare, has fallen in love?" He started crying out of laughter.

"I'm not sure if it's even love! It's just... I feel very bad... I haven't spent a lot of time with her... but the things she's done and said... just made me feel weird... made me feel something more than I feel towards Haruki or Carmilla... and now that she got mad at me over a misunderstanding which I totally agree with... I can't help but find myself thinking about her... if she's alright or lonely..." My face got so red that I looked like a tomato.

Arthur just stared at me, his eyes wide in disbelief. "No way... you're really? No no no! I thought that you were...! Uhh... I can't believe it... Nakamura Shoji... the same Nakamura Shoji I've hated since the day we met..." He shook me by the shoulders. "Who are you?! Where is the one I hated so much!"

I finally came back to my senses and I slapped myself a couple of times. "What the hell am I doing, huh?! I am talking about things like that with Hirano out of all people?!" I sighed and looked at the ceiling on which Taida was lying, denying the gravity.

Taida seemed to be lost in thought, almost as if he was doubting something.

"What's up with you today? Aren't you supposed to be telling me to do things I'd never do or something while laughing like a monkey?" I rolled my eyes.

"Uhh... yeah... you know that I don't want anything bad to happen... but I need to think for a while... I... uhhh... I won't be talking to you for some time..." He said, biting his nails nervously.

"Whatever! I don't give a fuck if you're here or not... wait... no... it's a lot better with you gone!" I smirked.

Arthur snapped his fingers before my eyes.

"Hey! You listening to me, Nakamura?!"

"Huh?! Yeah, yeah! I'm here!" I looked at him.

Some time later the full group was on a large flat area surrounded by the forest.

Everyone was very loud, but then everything went silent as Elaine clapped her hands.

"Okay, calm down everyone! We already have the teams, so I will set a task for every team." She then started counting. "Hmm... eight teams... okay~!" She smiled softly.

"Team Tsubaki is the team one! Your tasks are: setting up a medical station, water filtration, and refill points and creating an emergency drill for the first years!"

"Team Sylvia is the second team! Your tasks are: preparing and distributing medical kits, inspecting and clearing the forest trails, and writing a guidebook for the first years!"

"Team Mei is the team three! Your tasks are: Setting up barriers and preparing rescue protocols for water emergencies!"

"Team Elizabeth is the team four! Your tasks are: Prepare a nice scavenger hunt for the first-years, make an obstacle course, and manage all the sports and games equipment!"

"Team Kaede is the team five! Your tasks are:

Organizing the cooking equipment and setting up the cooking area!"

"Team Mila is the team six! Your tasks are:

Distributing all the camping gear to the points from the map I'm gonna give you!"

"Team Arthur is the team seven! Your tasks are: Setting up the campfire stage, transporting the food crates, and marking and clearing all the hiking trails nearby!"

"What a fucking bitch! She picked the worst tasks for us!" I frowned.

"And the team eight is my team! We will be assigning and setting up every tent, collecting firewood, and ensuring proper waste disposal!" She smiled widely with a lot of excitement.

"Let the preparations begin!" She shouted with lots of excitement and authority at the same time.