Young Wild and Free

[NOGUCHI DAISUKE]

Daisuke accepted silently what Yui had shared with others. It was the truth, they had just been talking. They tried to see if there was more to it but there wasn’t unless you counted the fact that he didn’t quite understand what she was trying to tell him back then. Or the fact he wondered if she picked up on his feeling… if she did she didn’t seem to think much of it as they were seemingly acting normal and he tried to shrug it off. He was probably reading too far or assuming things he shouldn’t. He knew he should just keep his feelings shut down but as each day passed it was hard for him to do and accept his role as a friend. Makiko gave the same kind of reaction as the boys and hopefully, the discussion would move to something else. Anyways, they’d be first informed if anything was to happen as it could possibly change their friendship dynamics –which he hoped not. Yui nodded at Makiko’s suggestion. “That works, I’ll see if there are activities I’d like to do tomorrow, and I’ll let you know.” She told them, glad that the discussion was moving to something easier for her to talk to. Daisuke nodded. “It would be nice to chill tonight before we go back to the hotel.” He agreed.

Yui smiled and started wondering if there had other great spots at the facilities for them to hang out. She wasn’t against doing a few turns in the lazy river and laying later on that chair with her friends. The food they ordered soon arrived and everyone was happy about it. While they started eating Yui stared at the boys. “Are we playing games later tonight or are you planning to be good guys and go to bed earlier?” she wondered, she knew how they were and didn’t mind tagging along, it could be fun, what harm was there for them to enjoy themselves a bit longer before they’d get back to their exams?

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

They all seemed fine to letting Yui pick up some activities for tomorrow. Even had Makiko not suggested it, Yui would only have to ask if they could do something that interested her for them all to agree to it. She just had that kind of effect on people, being so kind and softspoken. Sure, it should have been Daisuke's role to let her have some fun too earlier today, but he apparently got lost in his own mind and forgot to do so. It was impressive how he could bottle things inside, albeit rather troublesome when it led to moments like what happened now. Ryohei could never do that. He expressed his feelings as they came to him. He was bad at bottling things inside.

"Is there a terrace we can relax at while drinking, or we should find some room to we can pay for," Kento asked. Like a karaoke booth, was what Ryohei first imagine, but he doubted there was such a thing here. The closest has got to be a private room for meals and drinks people could rent. Kind of what they could get at some onsen and other spa-type of places. Although a terrace, with lounge chairs and a more open area sounded better in his opinion. But, depending how private such areas were, they may be a bother to other people. Ryohei didn't care a whole lot about making noise if they were having fun, but he also didn't want to have staff coming to them and ask they quiet down.

"Go to bed early? Why should we do that, I thought we were here to have some fun," Ryohei let out. Kento was also good at pushing people to go and drink and have fun, but Ryohei was not to underestimate either. If he had to ask you a coward for backing out, he would, even if he might let you go. "It's not like I was thinking of some complicated games." It wasn't like any of them brought board games. He didn't even bring a deck of cards! "Yeah, it's fine even if it's shiritori. Just some simple drinking games," Kento added. Then again, that word-chain game could end up pretty intense and silly with them.

[IWAMOTO YUI]

Yui was happy with the idea she would get to pick activities for the next day. She had to look it through with Daisuke and ask him what the place had to offer that would content her. She knew it was a facility for health but also one to help you relax and have a bit of fun. She didn’t mind letting her friends have their fun though, she had fun too, and didn’t think she was bringing the mood down in any sense. They never made her feel that way and they were certainly better than her current family. It was weird to have to lead at something. The discussion soon went back to a place they could go to afterward.

Daisuke had to hold back a laugh when Ryohei and Kento had in mind to get a few drinks in the way. Of course, they would always do that! He didn’t mind though as it helped him to relax a bit more. Sometimes he was always too tense because of his feelings. They were constantly getting in his way and it bugged him a little, but he grew a master of not acting out on these. Or so he thought.

The girls nodded agreeing to this and interrogating Daisuke about the places and areas. He mapped out a few places. “We could go to the bars that are near or have a room in the hotel, they also offer that option.” He told them, which pleased the crowd. It’d be easier to be on-site instead of having to wander around especially depending on how much amount of alcohol they intended to have in the night.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Maybe Ryohei could go for something smoother later on. Did they have massage or baths or anything like that? He would have to ask Daisuke about it. Ryohei was rather organized for the planning part of a project but once he arrived here, all he cared was to do whatever he fancied. What the others fancied too, of course, but he wanted to do the things he liked also. He would not apologize for this part of his personality, everyone was entitled to be a little selfish sometimes. But the girls, and to a point Daisuke too, were not into thrills as much as he seemed to be and being invited here by Daisuke, he would let him have activities befitting his personality.

Not this evening though. Ryohei and Kento were probably the ones enjoying a drink the most out of them and they intended to do that. Had Yusuke been here, he would have brought him over as well but maybe it was best the other guy was not around. There was alreayd an imbalance between boys and girls as it was.

"Alright, let's get alcohol and drink in our room. Like this, if we get tired, we won't have far to go to rest." There may be another reason why the hotel was the better option, but neither of them thought of that in this circumstance. Well, Ryohei believed that, had he been Daisuke, he could have thought of it, but he didn't think his friend was anywhere near making that kind of move on Yui. "As long as no one can tell us we're being disruptive, I'm fine," Kento added. The two friends looked at each other. They could be pretty chaotic while drinking if they wanted to, but they would behave for today. "Let's order a bunch of snacks and drinks and see how long we can last." Ryohei nodded. They already suggested playing some games as well. They were past the age of the pocky game, and it would be weird, but they could play word games or other things like that with the loser having to drink. Or even just rest on lounge chairs looking at the horizon and talking of nothing that mattered. Ryohei thought he'd have to watch over Daisuke though. He was not sure what he'd be like while drunk and it would be embarrassing if his confession was said in that state. It would lose of its meaning and could push the guy to never speak up ever again. That would be a loss. "Shall we go then?"

[NOGUCHI DAISUKE]

This sounded like a good plan. Daisuke wasn’t against drinking alcohol, perhaps not as much as Kento and Ryohei did but he wasn’t against it especially when they were having fun. It tended to lighten up the atmosphere, or perhaps, he wasn’t as stuck up with his feelings when he drank. He didn’t know, but he was more relaxed and less on the defensive. The girls might drink less than they did but he wouldn’t mind, besides, it’s not like they weren’t respectable people. “That works, I order the usual?” he asked, mostly to Kento and Ryohei, the girls, he knew of their tastes but they could always pitch in if they wanted something lighter for a starter. Usually, they tended to follow their lead when it came to drinking and they had a better knowledge of the matter.

The girls agreed to the idea, preferring it that way too. They had always been together, nothing could go too wrong when they’d play games and drink and eat snacks. Daisuke had no idea of what Kento and Ryohei were thinking when they suggested that. It was best that way. He nodded at Ryohei and stood up, already grabbing his phone to order a few things to their room. It was nicely thought, out to have that option and the room service was also good. The girls followed them. “Are we good with that for now?” He asked showing what he ordered to his two friends and then to the girls. He knew very well that Kento and Ryohei were to be the ones who would do most of the drinking. As for the snacks, the girls could get their seal of approval as well.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Both Kento and Ryohei nodded to Daisuke. They were the most intense ones of their group and they might have to ease down around the others, but they were up for drinks and games. Ryohei might just have to be careful with how competitive he could be. They didn't need any of them to pass out drunk because of excess. It was not why they came here after all. Maybe they could just go with beer or something with less alcohol in it, if that eased the others.

"Which room is best for us to go to? Or do we have space between them just for us?" Kento asked as they were making their way to their rooms. It was true that they could pick either the guys' or girls' room. "Maybe ours. There are more beds if people want to rest for a while," Ryohei suggested. Unless the girls preferred to be outside of their rooms, because of what else it could otherwise mean. Not that they planned on doing anything to them. It would also be weird anyway, with the others present. Ryohei might be on the wilder side in this group but he'd never do that. Certain things needed privacy.

They also nodded, approving of the choices Daisuke made in terms of food and drinks. The girls seemed fine with it as well. So their night of fun and games could start. Now, Ryohei just needed to prevent Daisuke from being sappy drunk, towards him or, God forbid, Yui, and the night would be perfect.

[NOGUCHI DAISUKE]

Daisuke was used to being around Kento and Ryohei when they were drinking but sometimes they would just be the guys, with the two girls around it might have to be different. They might have drunk on occasions together but he couldn’t tell if the girls had seen the worst of Kento and Ryohei when they were on alcohol. Besides, they came here to relax originally, especially with their exams around.

He nodded as they spoke. “We should go with ours it has more space in it too if we want to play games.” He eyed the girls for a moment wondering if they were fine with the idea and they didn’t argue about it. He wasn’t that kind of pervert even if it might sound like they were having two girls in their rooms. They were but for completely innocent reasons. They made it to the room and their drinks and snacks didn’t take too long to arrive, just as he thought. He was glad that he had gotten the passes for such a place. He didn’t regret inviting the girls either even if it was partly his friends’ idea.

They cheered to the fun weekend and started playing games, it was nice and fun, he they should do that more often when they were in a period of high stress and had to be at the top of their classes. It helped evacuate the stress.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

The girls apparently approved too that the boys' room would be better. At least they weren't too far from each other if they wanted to go back to theirs. Or they could put the girls on one bed and still have enough space for them. Daisuke also pointed it left more space for games. He didn't know how much they'd do other than drink, but he supposed that, should they decide a punishment game could work too, having some space might be useful. It also depended on the games they chose to play. It wasn't like Ryohei thought to bring any, so they would have to make up for stuff that did not require anything. It was fine, there were plenty of games that could work. And there was still the chance this die early and they end up talking instead, only to play again later.

Some people might find it inappropriate for men and women to mix like this but Ryohei thought they were all from a generations where friend groups could have both and it seemed silly to separate themselves because of that. Besides, it wasn't like they decided to do all of this in a love hotel. Then people would have reasons to question it.

With the food and drinks coming shortly after they arrived, they quickly set up, mixing talking, playing and drinking. As expected, Kento and Ryohei's competitive side took over them at times, particularly when against each other, but at least they were able to laugh it off. The alcohol helped on that too since neither of them were the mean drunk type. Ryohei even tended to soften up, but he had yet told anyone he liked them. He somtimes checked on the others. Daisuke didn't seem more talkative than usual but at least he looked a bit less serious. Kento did push Yui closer to Daisuke at some point, but they could pretend not to read anything to it. The fact he held onto Makiko shoulders to refute losing a game as thought she was the judge on the question might help into not thinking twice about what he was doing. But Ryohei was certain he pushed Yui more so she could be near Daisuke and less to be close to Makiko.

[NOGUCHI DAISUKE]

Daisuke also thought that there were plenty of games that they could play that did not need anything. He just wished that Kento and Ryohei did not have the silly idea to get through truth or dare game or any other awkward party games there was that teenagers would play. They were past that age and there were plenty of other games that could satisfy them. Besides, he didn’t want the girls to think that they were creeps either. God, sometimes he hated his overthinking brain and he thought that shoving alcohol in it would help him calm his nerves down, which it did, luckily for him. It took him some time to drink. They had a good time, alright, he played along with the guys, letting them fight if they wanted to argue over who was the winner he didn’t even care while usually, he would make sure that things went smoothly. He just was…very relaxed, nothing bothered him as much. Yui tended to be more expressive when she drank and even more when she was around friends. He still kept an eye on her his protective side acting up but didn’t react to it.

He looked at Kento though when he noticed that he pushed Yui to him when he focused on Makiko. She tended to show more affection too and it startled him when she hugged him. “You’re always so nice, Daisuke-kun, that’s why I like you.” Daisuke didn’t hug her back, just shaken by what he heard. “W-what?” he asked trying not to choke. He didn’t know what to do. Why did Kento have to push Yui to him? She always liked to hug people and it tended to be mostly Ryohei and Makiko who got that treatment, never him!

“You need to relax a bit, let me help.” She said as she moved forward realizing she was about to kiss him. He quickly pushed back. “I’m sorry Yui-san but..” She frowned when she saw that he resisted her. “You don’t like me?” she asked pouting. He tried to look at Kento and Ryohei looking for help. He didn’t want his first kiss with Yui to be like that! “That’s n-not it!” he said quickly. “I-I d-don’t w-want o-our firstkisstobelikethat-“ he removed her hands from his neck and made sure she was fine. Why did she have to do this in front of their friends?! He’d never hear the end of it the next day! He ran a hand through his face and hair. “I’m sorry Yui-chan but I have too much respect for you to do this when you are drunk.” He managed to say praying someone would help him. Yui was a bit sad to be rejected; she never was, knowing that she was pretty, and why was Daisuke doing that to her? She thought that he liked her! She was a bit down but tried to not look too affected by it.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

At least if there were punishment games they weren't too bad. There was a limit none of them was willing to break. Sex jokes might be something Ryohei could drop around the guys but not with the girls around and things too embarrassing in a suggestive ways would not fly here. There would be nothing but laughter coming out of this room.

Ryohei didnt think Kento pushed Yui this badly but she apparently ended up in Daisuke's arms. At least it was how she was when he looked at her. She was hugging him, with Daisuke looking quite shocked by it. Almost scared in a way. Yui dropped a bomb. Had she told Ryohei, Kento or even Makiko that she liked them, they would dismiss it as her being drunk. But it was Daisuke and while the reasoning remained the same, it was something he no doubt wished to hear for a long time already and was not prepared for it to come out like this.

"Forget it," Ryohei told him, hoping he understood that she was drunk, it was not the time to use it as an opportunity to say anything back to her. He was not expecting Yui to go and try to kiss him though. She never did that with him. Hugs, 'I like you's, sure, but not that. Daisuke had a much bigger reaction. Yui might jsut start crying at this point while Daisuke would simply ramble and start beating himself up.

Ryohei moved towards them and grabbed Yui's shoulders from behind. "I think you just scared Daisuke. You know he's not impulsive like that," he told her. He didn't know if she would cry and while he could get that this too would just be drunk behaviour, he knew Daisuke wouldn't forgive himself if she did that. He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "And I think you drank a little too much. Why don't you rest a bit?" He was gently turning her towards one of the beds for her to do that, but he bet the atmosphere was too far down now for them to continue playing. Maybe they should just get her back to her room. He supposed he would let the girls decide what they preferred to do. And that they didn't sober up enough so they could forget Daisuke talking about their possible first kiss.

[NOGUCHI DAISUKE]

Ryohei was right, Kento didn’t push Yui that hard, Yui just wanted to hug Daisuke and be with him. She had a good time earlier that day and she wanted him to have a good time too. Though, her drunk self didn’t think much further than that or the fact that she might mess with Daisuke’s feelings in the process as well. She didn’t know that he liked her though, she was so dense regarding him she never noticed but she didn’t expect him to reject her and even less when she’d try to kiss him! Daisuke shot a glare at Ryohei, forget it, right! It wasn’t easy to forget that she just flat out said that she liked him and was now trying to kiss him! He knew his friend tended to be like that when she was drunk but she never attacked him with a hug in the past, she only did today. His brain started acting up and he immediately felt bad when he noticed Yui looking sad. Makiko was quick too, standing up and helping Ryohei with Yui. “I think Ryohei is right you should go to rest, Daisuke is too nice.” She said gently. Poor guy, she too felt bad for him and didn’t expect Yui to go all out on him like that.

Yui nodded agreeing with the friends despite being sad. “I think we will go to bed.” Kento asked Makiko if she needed helped and shook her head, telling them that she could handle it from here and left them once she told them goodnight. Meanwhile, Daisuke rested his head into his hands sighing heavily. “Why did this have to happen?! I just couldn’t do that to her!” He wanted to go to bed now and forget that it all happened but the problem was that it was a hard thing to do.

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Daisuke glared at him, but Ryohei chose to ignore that. Clearly the guy missed what he meant by that, too flustered by the situation. He should be grateful instead. It was a shame that the girl he liked was the only one not to see it, and now this happened. Well, it could have been worse. Had she managed to kiss him, Yui might not fully remember or try to apologize, saying she was drunk while Daisuke would no doubt overthink it, if not simly think he sort of took advantage of her. So yeah, Ryohei wanted him to forget about it. And Yui too. It would be better that way.

Makiko decided to take care of Yui, thinking it would be best to call it a night and go to bed. "You'll manage on your own?" Kento asked, ready to accompany them to their room if Makiko needed help. Ryohei could understand wanting to flee the room. They would have their own trainwreck to clean up. Makiko however said she was fine and the guys only made sure she could leave the room and walk down the corridor with Yui before returning to the room.

They needed to occupy their hands a bit and started cleaning up while Daisuke, head in hands, was having an existential crisis. "Relax. You did the right thing. Imagine if you would have kissed her and the next day she remembers and feels embarrassed about it, when you viewed it as your first kiss." They weren't asking for him to help them. He'd probably ramble for a while and take even longer to fall asleep, still thinking about it. "It's just a shame she had to tell him that she liked him," Kento pointed out. On that Ryohei agreed. Because Daisuke had been waiting for too long to say or hear those words. "Forget it, " Ryohei repeated to him. "She saw you and thought you didn't have as much fun as us and, being drunk, she did that. There was nothing more to it. Tomorrow, she'll be even more embarrassed than you right now, and might be even more so if you act like this around her."

[NOGUCHI DAISUKE]

Daisuke tried his best to remain classy and not push himself away from Yui. He was trying hard not to hurt her feelings. She had drank a lot of alcohol but to what point? He wasn' sure. He didn't want her to remember that he turned her down. She caught him off guard and he failed miserably at being the cool and collected guy. Not only that, she had to say that she liked him and even tried to kiss him! He wanted to die just about now! Life liked to test him like that and it irritated him. if only he could managed to get the guts to tell her he had feelings for her for so long, but he didn't and whenever he tried to tell her, something happened.

He let Makiko taking Yui in charge and watched them leave, unable to say anything else but he did wave goodbye at the girls. They were still his friends and he still had to face them tomorrow. That would be the worse! What would Yui say the next day? Oh lord, he wished she would forget about it.

"I would never have done that!" he said to Ryohei. He wasn't that kind of guy, he wouldn't take the opportunity to kiss a drunk girl! "I just hope I didn't hurt her feelings, I don't want things to be awkward tomorrow." Why was life cruel with him? It was easy being told to forget it! He'd be curious to see how Ryohei would react if he was stuck in that situation. At least, Kento was showing a bit of compassion. "I think I'll go to bed, I'll help clean tomorrow morning." he said wondering just how the hell he would get to sleep after that happened!

[MURAKAMI RYOHEI]

Daisuke was useless right now, too buse beating himself up when he did the right thing. But, apparently, seeing Yui flustered about it made him question everything. And whine over why she had to tell him the things he wanted to hear at a moment when he couldn't take anything seriously. And so, Kento and Ryohei were left alone to try and clean a bit before ending the night too.

Ryohei sighed. He was too affected by what happened and was now acting up on him, even thought Ryohei never implied that he would do it. "Forget it. You know she gets more emotional and tells people she likes them when she's drunk." Daisuke needed to stop thinking about it otherwise it would get awkward. "I'm sure she didn't even know how much she hurt yours," Kento pointed out. Ryohei thought he had a point. Daisuke should have made his feelings clear a long time ago. He either risked it all and dealt with the consequences or gave them up altogether. He didn't get how Daisuke could hold back like that. It was unlike Ryohei to do that.

Daisuke said he would go to bed which, considering they were all in the same room, meant he'd have trouble sleeping with them keeping the light on as they cleaned up. But Ryohei also doubted he would sleep much. "Don't spend all night pondering about it," he advised him. Once things seemed somewhat clean, at least enough to not look like slobs when the cleaning crew would show up, the two of them turned off the lights and went to their own beds, not thinking one second that Daisuke had slept all this time but choosing to leave him alone. He had enough of his own mind to deal with.

[NOGUCHI DAISUKE]

Daisuke would have helped his two friends cleaning up if it wasn’t for the fact, he was too busy trying to figure out the ‘what else’ and what he should have done. Part of him did think that he did the right thing, he didn’t want to think that her feelings were the real ones there, mostly because she drank too much. If only he’d hear these words when she was sober. He tried his best not to overthink, but he couldn’t help it. Besides, he tried his best not to be a weight to his friends and if he was to help, he would only be in their way.

He knew that she tended to get like that, but she never tried that on him before, at least, not like that. She would often tell him that they were good friends, no matter how painful that it was. It was true that Yui hurt his feelings, but he didn’t want to think of that. He preferred to ignore his own feelings for the best of Yui’s. It might be wrong to do that, but he loved her too much for that to happen. Maybe he was in the wrong, maybe he should just move on. Every time he thought that Yui might like him back even a little, she reminded him that they were just good friends. Though, he was certain that she might have seen him in a new light at the Aquagarden and it gave him hope, which was destroyed in an instant.

He went to his bed, trying to find sleep but it was quite hard. Ryohei was right, he spent most of the night analyzing the situation repeatedly until he fell asleep. The next morning, he was still sleeping, but woke up the moment a ray of sun hit his face. Darn, it would be hard to keep up with today. Hopefully, they’d find something calmer, and Yui would forget anything that happened last night.