Chapter 2

Kou POV:

Kou grumbled as he trudged up the steps. Who the hell did this kid think think he was? Kou wasn't going to be taken advantage of. This trip was already spontaneous enough, he didn't need some pink-haired brat adding to their baggage.

Both figuratively and literally.

The blonde snuck a look over at Mitsuba, who was still smirking because of the free ticket he had earned. Kou was obviously still upset, but he couldn't help but melt at the sight of Mitsuba's smile. His happiness was unbelievably pure, and for a moment the blue-eyed boy felt at ease.

"Tch. Undressing me with you eyes, eh?" Mitsuba cocked an eyebrow at Kou as the boys headed off to the third class sleeping arrangements.

"WHAT?" Kou shrieked. His feelings of warmth and fuzziness had drifted away immediately, and he was angry yet again.

He pinned Mitsuba against the wall.

"Listen here, bastard," he started as he pointed his finger aggressively at the cocky boy.

"I don't know who the hell you think you are, but you will NOT be making this trip more difficult for us. We didn't even want to be here in the first place, we have no choice. Now if you don't like us then feel free to walk away, but I'm not allowing you to mess up our plans".

The blonde turned away and headed toward their room, Amane following close behind him. Kou peeked back and noticed that Mitsuba following him as well, and luckily it was silently.

Amane POV:

Amane was tired of the boys bickering at one another, though he decided not to get involved as he would only be fanning the flames.

The trio finally arrived at their room and didn't hesitate to go inside. It was cramped with two sets of bunk beds, but it was better than their home. Mitsuba didn't hesitate to flop down on the bed on the left and call, "This one is mine, you both can share that one". He pointed lazily at the beds to the right.

"How come he gets a whole bed to himself?" Kou whined as he gestured toward the lounging Mitsuba.

Amane rolled his eyes. He didn't have time to deal with their bs, and frankly he didn't care.

"It doesn't matter," Amane tossed his backpack on the top bunk of the bed on the right. "Just pick who gets their own set of bunk beds or else I'll choke you both and keep the beds for myself".

Mitsuba snickered and Kou tossed his bag on the bottom bunk of the bed on the right side. The brunette was grateful that there was no more bickering.

The three of them sat in awkward silence for a while until Amane decided to explore the environment that they'd be staying in fir the next few days.

Yashiro POV:

Nene finished unpacking and sighed. She felt as if this was going to be the most boring trip she would ever take. She fidgeted with the barrette that was holding most of her hair back, and eventually removed it. She for once wanted a day where she could go without having the need to impress her family and friends, she wanted to feel free.

"Ne-Ne!" Aoi exaggerated each syllable as she swept into Yashiro's room.

"Come with me, I wanna meet the other people on board!" She giggled as she took the blonde girl's hands.

Yashiro couldn't resist meeting new people, especially if there was a chance that she could potentially meet a cute guy who was around her age. So of course, she couldn't help but agree.

The girls left the room Nene was staying in, and eventually made their way out of the entire living quarters of the guests they came with. The first class living arrangements were huge and difficult to navigate, but they eventually found a way out.

They finally set foot on the top deck and began to stroll a little. The cool ocean breeze was pleasant, and certainly an upgrade from the stuffiness of her temporary resting place. Even if where she stayed was nice, nothing would have been able to top the blue ocean view and the chilly wind. It was a gorgeous day, and Yashiro couldn't help but completely wind down and tune out her surroundings.

The young girl hadn't been paying attention, and like the clumsy person she is, bumped into a waiter which caused him to drop the fine glassware that she was carrying. The waiter, Aoi, and Yashiro were all stunned at this, and the blonde girl shrieked as she took off at a full on sprint.

How could she be so stupid?

She was finally having a pleasant time and now it was ruined because of her clumsiness. She felt warm tears beginning to stream down her face, and she tried to close her eyes yet again to prevent them to continue rolling down her cheeks.

The tactic worked just fine until she bumped into someone again.

"I- I'm so sorry, please forgive me, I didn't mean to-" She stuttered as she buried her face in her hands.

She looked up and realized that the person she bumped into was a wide eyed boy with brown messy hair. He had to be around her age or younger, which gave her some peace in mind, since she knew that she couldn't get into too much trouble for bumping into a boy rather than a full grown adult.

The boy smiled. "Don't worry about it!" He waved his hand s if trying to dismiss the subject. Yashiro sighed in relief and smiled back.

"I know it could be hard to get around when you have ankles that fat". Amane cocked his head to the side and grinned.

Yashiro's smile disappeared almost instantly. "MY ANKLES AREN'T FAT," she shouted. "AND AT LEAST I'M NOT STUCK IN THIRD CLASS WITH THE OTHER RATS LIKE YOU!"

Amane POV:

The blonde stomped off and Amane frowned.

'A rat?' He thought

'She's right, I shouldn't have opened my mouth like that...' He stuffed his hands in his pockets and walked away dejectedly.

Amane gazed over the ship railing at the sunset and couldn't help but stop dead in his tracks to admire it. The sky was bright orange, with pink puffy clouds and fragments of gold and blue scattered everywhere. He was content with enjoying the view, until he remembered the reason why he was aboard the ship in the first place. He was immediately uncomfortable by those thoughts and shivered as he tried to push them away.

Yashiro POV:

"Stupid... rat... big mouth... idiot..." She muttered as she stomped in the direction of where she left Aoi. The waiter was picking picking up the shards of glass and almost shrieked at the sight of her. She was a livid mess who had already been at fault for shattering dinner glasses.

"Hey, where'd you go?" The purple-haired girl asked Yashiro with a puzzled look.

Yashiro waved her hand, mimicking Amane when he dismissed her apology. "I bumped into someone and apologized for it. He told me it was okay, but then he made fun of my legs and wouldn't let my hand go!"

"Huh? He made fun of your legs and something about Hanako??" Aoi raised an eyebrow.

Yashiro chuckled. "Y'know Aoi, I think that's called selective hearing," She giggled.

"Hey, I'm serious!" The other female threw up her arms and whined.

"Alright, whatever. If we see him again I'll let you know. I guess I'll call him Hanako now, since I don't know his real name and your hearing is hilarious," The blonde scoffed as she brushed some her her hair behind her ear.

Aoi pouted. "Whatever, daikon legs..." She muttered and did her best not to burst out into laughter. She didn't really mean it, but seeing Yashiro become so utterly frustrated about it was hilarious to her.

"HEY!" Yashiro screeched.