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Author notes (Beginning) IMPORTANT:
This is a story I have been planning for a while. This is my first time writing this type of story, so excuse any mistakes if you can!
Here's some background information on the characters' habits, their relation, etc.
There are two main characters in this story, no other people, but there are pets. The male and the female lead are, Unnamed and Yuna, respectively. They are both over 18.
There's a reason for not giving Unnamed a name and giving Yuna one. Try to comment on what you think it is!
Fun fact: Unnamed likes to call Yuna with the suffix ~san (sometimes)—I tried to make his character a bit unique.
Relationship: Their relationship is not quite dating yet, it's somewhere in the middle between dating and friends. It's not that they're afraid, they're just not sure if the other likes them back.
There are a total of 6 pets: 2 huskies, Nova and Kairo; 2 pomeranians, Orion and Kiki; 2 shih tzus, Hina and Sora. The pets all belong to Yuna.
Pacing: The pacing of this story is relatively slow; you'll often see POV's of both characters for the same scene!
Here's another fun fact: If you notice that Unnamed has a broader vocabulary/sounds more fluent in English, than Yuna, it's because that is how I intended it to be. Yuna is not fluent in English, but she is pretty good at it.
The main goal of this story is not just what happens between Unnamed and Yuna; the main goal of this story is to make you—the readers—feel what love is like, what it feels like.
Okay that's enough blabbering; let's get started with the actual story!
Author notes (Finish)
Third person POV:
This story takes place somewhere in Japan.
Yuna and Unnamed get out of the bus they were riding, to a fascinating view of the woods they've been awaiting to see. Trees here and there, scattered everywhere; the sunlight pierces through the branches, just hitting their face but not so much that they can't look up.
"You were very excited on the bus." Yuna says while looking ahead, at the green scenery.
Unnamed looks down to his left and takes a glance at her, "Haha, of course, you know how long I've been waiting for this very moment." letting a slight smile appear on his face.
Yuna doesn't seem to be able to hide her smile either, her face lights up. "I know... Let's go forward." She seems to take the first step towards their trip.
"はいはい (Romaji: haihai). Hey! You guys too, come on!" Unnamed follows the lead and also doesn't forget to invite the rest of the family, the pets. はいはい is basically a playful way of saying 'sure sure', simply it is like 'giving up' or 'just accepting it'.
They embark on their journey through the woods until they find a comfortable spot to set camp. Sometime in between, Unnamed attempts to start a conversation.
"Say Yuna, did you believe this moment actually would come? Or, I was serious about all this stuff?" Unnamed says while looking straight up ahead, making sure there aren't any obstacles that might pose a threat.
Yuna smiles again, "Well, what you were doing back then, I cannot say I didn't believe you; but, I didn't think you'd do it, it just sounded so impossible. It's good you managed to do it though." She says, her smile grows more radiant every second. "How do you feel?" She throws at him a question while glancing up at his face.
"Yuna-san... Do you even need to ask? I can't possibly describe what I am feeling, with words! I didn't think this moment would arrive either; remember that one time I talked about going on a camping trip? Only one percent of me believed I could actually pull it off, but, even that one percent is more than enough. Since back then, I've been working hard, every day, just for this moment—I am just, so, so glad..." Unnamed expresses himself, not being able to hold back his tears, he lets them flow out naturally, as if this was bound to happen.
Kairo looks at him with a sad look, and tries to say something, but he can't say words, so he tries his best with soft barks.
"よしよし,ずっと頑張ったね." (Romaji: Yoshi yoshi, zutto ganbatta ne.). This basically means, "There there, you've been trying your best all this time.". Yuna comforts him, giving him a gentle hug and pats his back.
"こっちを見て.私はいるから,泣かないで" (Romaji: Kocchi wo mite. Watashi wa iru kara, nakanaide.) This means, "Look at me, see? I am here now, so don't cry.". Yuna gently holds his face with her hands, asking him to glance down at her.
That seemed to comfort him. "Yuna-san... It seems like you still lift my spirits with just a few words, every time. It's okay now, I've calmed down." Unnamed says, his smile returning back to his face, as if nothing ever happened.
"Hey little guy, don't worry; I am alright!" Unnamed tries to calm Kairo down and pets him. Kairo also seems to have calmed down and lets out some barks of happiness, the rest of the pet group also tries to join in on the fun.
"Oh no you don't! Let's go, you all; get going already." Yuna says with her temper almost running out.
"You heard your mom, come on, let's get going you all." Unnamed says and lets out a chuckle.
"もううう!" (Romaji: literally just, mouuu!). This is best interpreted in English as, "Hey!" Or "Stop it already!", something like that—basically frustrated. Yuna feels embarrassed and gives a playful slap to Unnamed's back.
"Get. Going. Now" Furiously, Yuna commands them to stop it already. But, Unnamed doesn't seem to think that.
'Hey, that's pretty cute actually, maybe I shouldn't state that out loud' He thinks to himself, unsure of whether he should state the fact aloud, a grin seems to reveal itself on his face.
"Hey! What're you grinning about now?" Yuna commands him to answer with the same tone she used earlier.
"It's nothing, it's nothing. Alright you all, let's get going!" This time, Unnamed takes the lead, hitting Yuna with the 'I used your technique against you.' card. She doesn't seem to take that too happily and lets out a quiet 'Hmph'. But it appears that she couldn't hide her smile either, not wanting to show them, she walks forward at a fast pace.
With that, their journey resumes once again after the little hassle. It goes smoothly and they find a place to set camp, by a river. The scenery was beautiful—bushes scattered on the ground, trees arranged in a mesmerizing way, birds chirping, sunlight still just as blinding, the air fresh.
"This is... beautiful; I did imagine it, I knew it was going to be captivating, and yet, it still surpasses what I imagined." Unnamed blurts out, not being able to hide his emotions; his eyes light up, captivated by the surroundings. 'With you, it transcends the capability of imagination... I'll just keep that to myself...'
"Okay... Let's set up the tents here." Unnamed takes the lead again, assuming they had two tents, which they do. (Yeah, there is no cliché 1 tent/bed accident or whatever here.). He then set aside a big bag he had been carrying on his back, resting it against a rock.
"Yuna-san... I hate to ask you this but, might you help me with setting my tent up? I have zero experience." Unnamed asks Yuna for help with an embarrassed tone, an imaginary sweat falls down his face.
"No, do it yourself... Kidding, of course I will!" Unnamed's face was rid of all color hearing the first part, but relieved when the rest came. He puts his hand inside his bag, searching for something; he finds it and brings it out, it appears to be a small sage green teddy bear. "Thanks, here's a teddy bear.", he hands it to her.
"Oh, thanks! But, why did you bring a teddy bear on the trip?" Yuna asks, puzzled, it seems like an unusual thing to bring on a camping trip; she isn't complaining though, she's more than happy to receive it!
A smile reveals itself on Unnamed's face once again. "To show my appreciation, of course! Plus, it's a habit of mine you know? You know that more than anyone else. I brought it along since I thought I might need it, and it turns out, I did!" he expresses the reason happily. (He has a habit of giving her teddy bears whenever he feels like it, kind of weird but I feel like it's a nice, wholesome gesture.)
She hugs the teddy bear, "Thanks, I'll treasure it!". Unnamed couldn't help but be a bit embarrassed by the scene unfolding before him. He quickly turns around, "I'll go collect some firewood!" he says and gets out of the scene briskly before he dies of embarrassment.
"Stay safe out there!" Yuna shouts; "I will, thanks Yuna-san!" Unnamed shouts back, reassuring her.
"Hehe, I didn't think it would work so well." Yuna said to no one. "You know, it's not that easy for me either" she whispered, not being able to hide her blush anymore, red tints begin to reveal themselves on her cheeks.
"We also have to do some work, let's get to work Nova, Kairo, Orion, Kiki, Hina, Sora!" She decides it's time to do some work with the pets. The pets all reply in their own way, either barking, howling, wagging their tail, any way they're used to.
Unnamed POV:
I am headed east right now, the river's west from the campsite; I just thought east's the way to go. God, I feel my heart beating rapidly, she's way too cute for her own good! There's no way I could stay there after that. She makes it look so simple, I couldn't do anything like that in a million years... It's like she does it often, I don't know how that makes me feel... Honestly, what am I even thinking, that's so selfish.. But I can't help it...
I took both of my hands and gave my face a light slap on both sides. Focus, focus! I have a duty now, I have to get this done first; let's look for scattered branches nearby.
Oh, there is a ton of it under that tree! I'll go pick them up... Ouch, I almost tripped on a rock and slightly grazed my right forearm against a tree... Bad luck, well, can't do anything about it now. I should just take the branches and go. I wonder what she'll think of this little accident... I really can't get her out of my mind.
I picked up some of those branches, more in my left hand, and a few in my right one. Time to go back. I went back the way I came.
Yuna POV, right after Unnamed left to look for firewood:
I put both of my hands on my chest, one hand wrapped over the other, I feel my heart beating so fast, why did I do that... Never mind, I have some work to do now, I will handle the cooking later; I already came with some food from home so we could eat lunch here, and cook at night; for some reason, he really wanted curry rice, so I just made that, I really wanted to know the reason, but he just didn't tell me, he said, 'You should know why'... *Sigh* For now, I will focus on the tents.
Okay, let me first put up my tent; I haven't set up a tent in years, we used to go on trips from our school, but we haven't in the past few years. I'll try my best, even if I can't, he will do something, he always does. Why does it feel like I'm smiling?
Even though I didn't set up a tent in many years, I can do it. So first, I have to put the tent footprint on the ground. Okay, that's perfect! I haven't felt this excited for yearsss, I have to thank him, I feel like a simple thanks wouldn't be enough, what should I dooo...
I'll think about that later, right now I should make the tent. What was I doing.. Oh, I have to put the body on the footprint. Which direction should I place the door... Maybe I'll place it facing east.
... For some reason, Nova's near the footprint, howling. I don't understand why; oh! I just realized I made a mistake. I have to put the footprint with the キラキラ(Romaji: kira kira; English: shin/glittering/sparkling, you get the point.) side up, idiot me hehe, I'll fix it. I put the body to another side and picked up the footprint, and this time, I put the キラキラ side facing upwards.
"Thanks Nova, you did a good job." I pet him for telling me about the mistake, maybe he knew the mistake because I used to practice building tents in front of the pets. He has a good memory. The nickname he gave Nova, 'Cool guy', really suits him, he saved me from embarrassment in the coolest way!
That's enough petting, let me make the tent. I put the body on top of the footprint, the door facing east again. Now I will put the poles together, they should fit together. Okay, that worked, *sigh* this is hard.
What do I do now? Oh! I remember, I have to attach the tent poles to the body of the tent. If he was here right now, he would probably say, 'Yuna-san! It's so easy to figure it out, the only sensible thing to do right now would be to clip the tent to the poles using the clips on the body of the tent!' hehe; I would act stupid even if I knew everything, just to see his reaction.
Now, what... I should put the poles into those little circles on the tent? I think that's it. Let me try it, yes! It looks like a tent now! This is it, good job me! I praise myself for being so smart. The pets also seem to understand and respond in their own ways, I love them so much!
"I think now I have to bend the poles and place them on the ground?" That makes sense to me, Nova is also howling in approval, that's definitely it! Okay... I hope it does not break.
I did it! I placed the first one, I think I know how to do it now, it will be easy. "The second one! There, I placed it! Look you all, feel proud of me?", they all responded in their own ways, barking, wagging their tail, howling, whatever they prefer.
The rest were very easy, I placed them easily on the ground. "Look at me you guys! I did it, that's easy work for me! Why am I acting this way smiles, whatever it is, it's not bad..."
I should give the pets food now, they've been working so hard! "Come on you all, it's lunch break!" I put my hands in my bag and brought out 3 dog bowls and a pack of dog food; I didn't bring meat or other foods because it would take time to prepare those, right now, I already have work to do.
I poured the entire pack and divided the portions into 3; I poured more of the pack into Nova and Kairo's bowl, and divided the rest of the pack equally among the other two bowls.
"Eat up, we have much work to do!" They seem to understand what I said and respond in their own ways again, then get to eating their lunch.
I should also get to eating lunch, but I want to eat with him though, wait no! That's not right, I just don't feel hungry, that has to be it. Yeah...
Unnamed POV:
At this moment, I am headed towards west, where our camp is located. I feel quite hungry, I wonder what she brought, I hope it's homemade. I urged her to prepare curry rice, the reason is somewhat silly, but that's just how I am. On top of that, I've always wanted to try her curry rice since the day she told me about it. I always like to think using logic, only choosing the best outcome for me, but when it's about her, I just can't think straight.
As the view of the camp became clear, I saw that she'd already almost finished setting up one tent, reminds me of that one time I played a game with her, good memories.
Seems like she's already given the pets food, they didn't get any meat or vegetables, probably because we've already got our hands full with other matters.
I should ask her if she's eaten yet. "Y-"
Yuna POV:
"Yuna-san! Look, I found some branches scattered around!" My ears heard the voice I hadn't heard in a while, I looked towards where the voice was coming from and saw his figure standing, holding some branches in both hands.
"Welcome back, you found a lot of wood!" I welcome him back in a warm tone. I saw his eyes getting a bit teary, but he didn't seem sad; he smiled at me, his eyes filled with affection, I couldn't help but feel something. He then put the branches down; I noticed something, something's wrong with his right arm, when he put down the branches, his right arm seemed slightly weird. I'll ask him just to make sure.
"Is something wrong with your right hand?" I asked him, the moment I did, I saw his eyes widen and he froze in place. Huh, that seems weird, is something actually wrong?
"You didn't hurt yourself while looking for firewood, did you?" I asked him with a stricter tone, he better say the truth!
"Uh, uhh.. umm... Of course not! Haha...haha...." He awkwardly tried to laugh it off; I noticed something else, he usually looks at my face but this time, he tried to look anywhere except my face, that's also suspicious. I am sure he's somehow hurt his right hand..
"Tell me honestly, did you hurt your right hand? Don't play games." This time I said it with a 'you-better-tell-the-truth-or-ill-finish-you' tone; I already know he's hurt his hand, I am just trying to make him admit it.
"Yes.... I did.. I slightly grazed my right forearm against a tree, it's nothing much!" He finally admitted it; I'll have to treat it, good thing I brought my first aid kit with me.
"How can you say that!? Come on, show me!" I asked him to show his right forearm to me with a hurried tone, I am worried too! How can I not be?!
He didn't want to show me, but showed it to me in the end, it was bleeding, it's bad. "That looks bad! How could say you say it's not anything serious?? I'll talk to you about that after patching you up" I said in a scolding tone; knowing him, he probably didn't want to tell me because it'd put more work on me, he needs to take more care of himself.
I brought out my first aid kid from my bag. From the first aid kit, first, I brought out some disposable gloves along with antiseptic wipes, I put on the gloves, then I took out a packet of antiseptic wipes and ripped it open.
"Give me your forearm" I said in a controlled, calm manner; I have to focus right now or I might mess something up; I am too fixated on treating the injury right now; I'll scold him for his little act later.
"Y-yes ma'am!" He said as if he was thinking about something else, focusing on something else; honestly, what'll I ever do with him, he's still thinking about something other than himself in this situation, what.. Or who... Could be so important..
I'll think about that that later, for now I have to pay attention to fixing him up. I gently rubbed the antiseptic wipe on the graze, making sure it's gentle.
Okay, it seems like there isn't any pieces of random things left in the graze, that's good, or I would've had to use tweezers to remove them.
I then brought out a bandage and put it on the wound, gently pressing against it to stop the bleeding. After some time, the bleeding seems to have stopped; I'll pat the area dry with a gauze roll.
Then I slowly ripped off the bandage I placed; we don't want the bandage to stay because it has absorbed blood and other harmful things, which might cause infection. I then placed a new bandage over the area.
"There, it's all done!" I let out a sigh of relief; stop making me worry so much!
Unnamed POV, right after he comes back with the wood:
"Yuna-san! Look, I found some branches scattered around!" I called to her, seeing her face turn around to look at me, got rid of every unpleasant thought I had. She always manages to make my worries go away just by existing.
"Welcome back, you found a lot of wood!" She welcomes me back with her usual adorable, warm voice; do I really deserve to be this fortunate?
While looking at your smiling face, I think to myself, what have I ever done to deserve such a beautiful, kind, sweet person such as you? Life is more lively, beautiful, vivid than ever with you around. It's become hard to imagine a world you don't exist in; what would I ever do without you?
At that moment, some lines from a song I used to listen to a few years back, なんでもないや (Romaji: Nandemonaiya, literal translation is: It's nothing), came to my mind:
叶えたい夢も今日で１００個できたよたった一つといつか交換こしよう
(Romaji: Kanaetai yume mo kyou de hyakko dekita yo tatta hitotsu itsuka koukan koshiyou)
{English translation: (Today) I've reached a hundred dreams I want to come true, one day, let's trade/exchange all of mine for the one dream you have.}
慣れないこともたまにならいいね特に貴方が隣にいたら
(Romaji: Narenai koto mo tama ni nara ii ne toku ni anata ga tonari ni itara)
{English translation: It's nice doing things/something I am not used to, especially when you are by my side}
君のいない世界にも何かの意味はきっとあって,でも君のいない世界など夏休みのない八月のよう,君のいない世界など笑うことないサンタのよう
(Romaji: kimi no inai sekai ni mo nani ka no imi wa kitto atte, demo kimi no inai sekai nado natsuyasumi no nai hachigatsu no you, kimi no inai sekai nado warau koto nai SANTA no you)
{English translation: Surely, there exists some kind of meaning in a world you don't exist in, but a world without you is like August without summer vacation, a world without you is like Santa without a smile}
I still listen to it sometimes, it is still my favorite along with 愛にできることはまだあるかい (Romaji: ai ni dekiru koto wa mada aru kai, translation: Is there still anything that love can do?), I used to listen to these two songs every day. Even now, I can't keep my eyes from tearing up, just like back then, I should get back to working, now is not the time to reminisce.
With reminiscing over with, I decided I'll get back to the matter at hand. I began to lower the branches with my hand; but, just as I was about to put down the branches in my right hand, I felt a slight sting in my right forearm, causing my right hand to twitch a little... She won't notice, right? I mean how will she, it seems impossible, yeah she won't.. she won't... please don't.
"Is something wrong with your right hand?" I froze in place, moving my eyes here and there; how!? How did she know, wait, wait, she doesn't know yet, I can just play it off! Yes, I can do that, I can do it!
"Uh, uhh.. umm... Of course not! Haha...haha...." I awkwardly laughed while saying that, how did I fumble so bad. I've never lied to her even once before, the first time I try to do it, I mess it up so badly, I really can't lie to her.
"Tell me honestly, did you hurt your right hand? Don't play games." This time she said it with a more 'You better tell me' tone, I probably should confess already; I feel like, if I continue this any longer, I'll do more harm than good. I'll just tell her.
"Yes.... I did.. I slightly grazed my right forearm against a tree, it's nothing much!" Look at me still trying to play it off as if it's nothing, this should be enough to make her back off though; why would she want to increase her already existing workload just to treat me.
"How can you say that!? Come on, show me!" No, no, no.. That wasn't supposed to happen, Yuna-san, you care too much! I was reluctant to show it at first but gave up the act.
"That looks bad! How could say you say it's not anything serious!? It's bleeding! I'll talk to you about that after patching you up" Oh.. I just noticed it's bleeding, I was so focused on my reminiscence and tasks, I didn't even feel it. Maybe it is quite bad after all.
Then I saw her bring out her first aid kid, and from that, she first brought out a pack of antiseptic wipe and a pair of gloves. But, that's not what I am focused on right now; I am focused on her, the way she's so serious right now is just so attracting and captivating, these are moments of her I rarely get to witness. I am glad I got that-
"Give me your forearm" !! Oh! Yeah, yeah, that caught me off guard. I was so focused on her; I almost forgot about my current situation, I really should stay focused right now. I might disrupt the process and upset her if I don't pay attention.
The rest of the process goes without any disruptions or any interesting thoughts on Unnamed's mind, he decides it's time to focus now. We'll skip to when the tending is done.
"There, all done! Proud of my skills yet??" She says in a boastful manner, but it seemed like there was something else she wanted to say, like she was holding something back. I looked directly at her eyes, it felt like she was averting her gaze; I decided I wouldn't try to pry any further.
"Yes, yes, I am very proud! Thanks for tending to me Yun-" I was about to thank her but then-
"Idiot! Why would you try to keep that a secret!? What would I do if something happened to you here; I know you didn't want to tell me because you think it bothers me. This camping trip, these experiences are important, because you are in them, if it weren't for you, they wouldn't be so important anymore! You are more important to me than anything here. You've always cared more about what I think, and not what you want, so please, just for once, care about yourself more, tell me what you want! Don't do this ever again..." She let her thoughts out, the shackles that were binding her from looking at my eyes, she was now free of them. Her eyes were getting watery, she was looking at my chest, approaching me for a hug, I couldn't help but give in to it, I put her head to my chest. I put my left hand over her back and my right hand behind her head, making sure she's comfortable. She clutched to my jacket tightly, her sobbing noises ringing clearly in my ears.
I see. I had the wrong idea this entire time... I feel so disappointed in myself—how could I not realize something so crucial.
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That's going to be it for this chapter; right now, it's just lunch time in the story so there's still a lot remaining! Stay tuned for more.
Something happened, so the next chapter might take a while to be published, for now this will have do.
I planned on making the entire story a single chapter but decided I'd publish it in parts.
Make sure to leave your review, and of course, don't forget to vote if you enjoyed!
AnonymousWRITER1103U signing out.