Fate, Reason and Destiny - Chapter 8 They were back in school, and Sunny could not help but sigh with relief. Maybe now, maybe now… maybe, she would be able to take her mind of Rukawa. She laughed bitterly. She had always been the type to be described as boy crazy, yet… yet… she tried not to let the emotions she was feeling appear on her face. As she waited by the door, Sendoh appeared. She smiled. He was a friend of sorts. She had never actually had a guy friend. It was stupid, yet that was one of the things she wanted in her life. Male friends… And someone who returned her love. “Kitsune-chan!” Sendoh said with a smile, “Ohayo Gozaimasu!” Sunny waved back. Stepping side by side with him, they walked to school in silence. Sunny frowned for a moment, thinking, when she heard Sendoh start to speak. “You know, there’s a trip held yearly. It's open for every school in Kanagawa. It’s a week trip to the countryside. You know, fishing, hiking, sleeping under a tree,” he said, smiling. “In fact, there was suppose to be on in March, but that was cancelled, so its been moved up one.” He smiled. “It's in June, two weeks before Inter High starts. Are you going?” Sunny smiled. “I’ve never been the country girl type…” she started. He put on his most puppy dog expression, and Sunny couldn’t help but giggle. “I’m going, you know. I go every year. There’s a small, shallow pool where the fishing is absolutely wonderful.” Sunny watched him for a moment. “Maybe… I’ll call my parents tonight and ask them.” He watched her with a pleased expression. Later The phone rang, and Sunny looked up, slightly distracted from her book. Getting up, she ran for the phone and looked at the time. It was 8 o'clock, who could be calling? “Hello?” she said softly. “Kitsune-chan?” Sunny frowned. “Sendoh-san?” she asked. He laughed. “Call me Akira, Kitsune-chan. We’ve known each other for a while.” Sunny chuckled. “Akira, why did you call?” she asked. “Did you call your parents yet?” “About wha-“ she stopped. “Oh, you mean about the country side thing? Hai. They said I can go.” /They were pretty surprised I wanted to go to the countryside/ she added quietly to herself. “Great then!” he said cheerfully. “Do you know who else is going?” she asked quietly. There was a silence on the phone. “Maki and Kiyota from Kainan, Hikoichi and I from Ryonan, Sakuragi, his friends, Haruko… ...and Rukawa.” The trip to the countryside It was not such a bad trip after all. Filling up their entire one-week break, they were put into small, quaint Japanese styled rooms. The boys had to share one per three people, and the girls had one room, as it was only her, Haruko, and a couple of other Shohoku girls. “Kitsune-chan?” came a voice from outside. Sunny yawned and looked out the window to see Akira standing there with a grin. “Nani?” she asked, and looked at the time. “It's only five in the morning…” she grumbled. He smiled. “It’s a great time to fish. Do you fish, Kitsune-chan?” he asked. Sunny frowned. “The last time I tried, I heard the fish laugh at me from below,” she said gravely, yet couldn’t help but break into a smile. She saw that he was equipped with the fishing gear. “Why? Do you want me to come with you?” she asked. He grinned. He was wearing his Ryonan basketball jacket with a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. “I want to show you my little place,” he said, smiling. Sunny chuckled, “I’ll be down in a second.” Changing into a pair of white shorts and a white T-shirt, she brushed her hair back away from her face. Adding a swipe of mascara and a smudge of eyeliner, she quickly lined her lips with gloss, before running downstairs. Slipping into a pair of sandals, she walked outside and saw Akira watching her with a amused expression. “Well then, follow me!” There was a small forest starting at the edge of the fields. They walked there, watching the sunrise over the mountains. Sendoh seemed to know his way around here pretty well. There was no marked path and the ground was wet with dew. Yet, at the sound of the sleepy songbirds, Sunny couldn’t help but admire the place. She was not a fan of hiking or walking through the forest, yet here with Akira… it was not so bad. They entered a small clearing. here was a lake running through the clearing with a small pool slightly detached from it all by a narrow strip of the river. The water was a cool blue color, not the brown that she was used to. She smiled as she watched him sit on a pile of rocks near the river. “Do you like it?” he asked, grinning. “I used to come to this place alone, but I’m glad I have somewhere to share this place with.” She smiled. “Well then, lets see the Master at work,” she said. He smiled, and seemed to blush slightly. Sunny watched him for a moment, and sat down on the grass beside him. It was a relaxing moment when the sun was just starting to peep through the leaves, the water was cool, the air still heavy with mist. She stretched and got up. Walking over to the small, pool like pond, she grinned with delight. “Akira-san…” she said softly, causing the boy to look over. He looked up, and watched as she made her way towards him. Sitting by the lake, she smiled up a very innocent looking smile before… Her hand skimmed through the water, and then she plunged it in and pushed it towards Akira, causing sprays of water to cover him from head to toe. He sat there for a moment, watching her, and then his face broke into a very mischievous smile. He stood up and walked towards her, causing Sunny to wonder if that had been a good idea. He smiled, and suddenly as fast as lightning, his hands shot out and.. Pushed her into the River. Sunny swam back up for air. It was only slightly deep, such that, when she was sitting down, the water was over her head only by a few inches -but then, that could just be because she was short…-. She stood there for a moment, and pushed her hair away from her face. “Okay, truce!” she said, and reached forward. “Help me up?” He smiled down at her for a moment, and then reached forwards with his own hands. He suddenly saw the sneaky gleam in her eyes, but it was too late. He was already chest deep in the water. “You said truce!” he protested, grinning. “Yeah, well, why else do you think I’m called Kitsune, Akira?” she said, and laughed. They both grinned. The water was nice and cool against their skin. They did a few lazy laps in the lake, and had a couple more ‘fights’. Sunny looked up suddenly, and saw that the sun had risen and was casting a warm glow in the clearing. “I guess we need to go join the others,” she said with a grin. “Didn’t you promise to play basketball with them?” He grinned. “I know. But we know who's going to win, don’t we?” he said with a wink. He got out of the water first, and then helped her out. Sunny was soaking from head to toe, and shivering. He stared at her for a moment, and frowned. Reaching for the discarded jacket, he placed it around her shoulders. She looked up startled, but he grinned. “Come, my clothes will dry quickly, but with what you're wearing…” he raised an eyebrow. Sunny blushed. She forgot white see-through. Putting on the jacket, she grinned. “Wow, same size,” she said, with slight sarcasm. Akira stared at her for a moment, and laughed. Gathering up his fishing tools, they walked back towards the house. By the time they reached it, the small basketball court was already full, and the main players were practicing. Upon their arrival though, they paused. Sendoh was walking, now only moist, carrying his fishing tools and Sunny, who was still drenched from head to toe, was wearing a Ryonan jacket which didn’t fit her at all, and almost came down to mid-thigh. People laughed and giggled. “What did you catch, Sendoh? A mermaid?” came a voice. Sunny blushed, and looked away. Sendoh just laughed. “Fishing was great,” he said. Sunny felt someone watch her, and looked up suddenly to see Rukawa’s blue eyes staring at her. She stared back, unable to look away. He walked forward. He dropped a towel on her head, and walked back onto the court. Sunny stood there for a moment, then slowly reached up for a towel. She looked over at Haruko, and saw the girl staring at her slightly worriedly. Sunny couldn’t help but look away. Sendoh placed a hand on her shoulder, causing some people to whistle and make jokes. Sunny blushed, and ducked out from under his hold. She turned and headed quickly towards the house. “Kitsune-chan…” he said softly. Sunny turned, and saw Sendoh watching her. His eyes melted, and Sunny couldn’t help but give him a slight smile. “Nani?” “We will see you later at breakfast?” Sunny nodded. She headed back inside. Sendoh’s narrative I watched her walk away, and turned to the others. We were already split up into teams. As we took our positions, I made my way over to Rukawa. He was mine. He ignored me completely, but I was used to it. I stood in front of him, and smiled. “I guess we’re not rivals only on the court,” I said. He knew who I was talking about, I knew who I was talking about. Sunny. To be Continued... **Previous ** Next **