Chapter 2
Tomori was standing in front of the camping store, carrying a large bag and a small list of things they needed to buy.
“Eh? I thought Taki-chan would take care of buying things, Tomori-chan. I’m really sorry, but I won’t be able to accompany you. You’ll have to go alone.”
Tomori remembered Soyo's words. Taki couldn't go buy the things needed for the camp due to her work schedule, Anon had given herself the role of organizing what they would do at the camp so as not to get bored, and Rāna… Rāna was simply out of the equation.
So here she was, alone and standing in front of the camping store, with only a large bag in her hands without knowing what could be found inside.
“I could take my telescope to camp…!”
She thought as she entered the tent. She looked around, not really understanding what she saw. Tents, pots, lighters, lamps… Tomori had an idea of why people would bring those kinds of things to a campsite, but she didn't know exactly what they should bring to their campsite.
“Should I choose anything…? I think that at night, the forest is very cold… maybe I should bring an oven… but which oven?”
On the other side of the store, Ena Saitō watched a girl from a distance, wandering around the store and looking at the products again and again. She turned to Rin with a small smile.
“Hey, Rin. That girl looks lost.”
“Hm?” Rin turned her gaze. “Yeah, she does.”
“Do you think she needs help?”
“I don’t know, but you can ask the store managers.” Rin said as she looked closely at a small metal stove. “When I went to Motosu I needed one of these.”
Ena sighed, and watched as the girl just wandered around, even ignoring the store managers.
“That girl really does seem lost…”
“And she can ask the store managers. Don’t worry so much.”
“She doesn’t seem too convinced, Rin. She keeps wandering around and ignoring the managers.” Ena laughed as she turned to Rin. “Do you think you could help her?”
Rin turned to look at the girl. “It seems she picked something up.” She said as she pointed at the girl, who was holding a small lamp in her hands. Ena noticed that the lost girl left the lamp behind. She sighed and walked over to her.
“Excuse me, are you lost?”
Tomori almost jumped in shock. He looked at Ena for a few moments before answering. “Uh… it’s just that… it’s my first time camping and…”
Ena smiled kindly. “My friend there is an expert. If you want I can ask her to help you.” Rin blushed as she saw Ena pointing in her direction, and quickly shook her head.
“If you don’t mind… yes, I would love for you to help me…”
Ena led Tomori through the tent until she came to Rin.
“Hey, Rin~” She approached Rin to introduce her to Tomori. “This is Rin. She’s my friend and has a lot of experience in camping.”
Rin sighed and replied somewhat nervously. “E-Ena, don’t embarrass me…”
“Come on, Rin! She’s just lost and needs help!” She turned to Tomori. “What’s your name?”
Tomori lowered her head. “...Takamatsu Tomori…”
“Tomori, huh? It’s quite a striking name. I’m Ena Saitō, and this is Rin Shima, like I said before.”
Tomori nodded.
“Hey, Tomori-san.” Rin said. “Why didn’t you want to ask the managers?”
“I just… don’t want to bother them… they’re just working and… maybe they don’t have time to help me pick something out…”
Rin smiled softly. “I see… Is this your first time camping?”
Tomori nodded. “Anon-chan got us a sponsor who gave us a weekend at a nearby camp… and no one else but me was available to buy what we needed…”“A sponsor?” Ena said, curious. “Do you have a business, or something?”
“I have a band… I’m the vocalist, Anon-chan and Rāna-chan are the guitarists, Soyo-chan plays the bass, and Taki-chan plays the drums.” Tomori replied with a slight glint in her eyes. “We haven’t been a band for very long, so we’re not very well-known…”“What’s your band called, Tomori?”
“MyGO. From ‘Maigo’, it means we’re lost, but that brings us together. Somehow...” Tomori replied.
“A band… Hey, Rin, how about-?”
“No.”
“...so you only have one tent?” Rin asked.
“Yes. Soyo-chan has one, but she didn’t tell us how big it is…”
“Hmm…” Rin thought. “Well, how much can you spend?”
“Uh…” Tomori checked her bag. “Not much…”
Rin nodded. “I see. Come.” She asked Tomori.
They walked around the store, looking at the different products they had for sale.
“If you want to cook something, take this lighter with you.” Rin said as she showed Tomori a small oven. “Though I would recommend not putting it directly on the fire. Wherever you cook, it will get covered in soot after a few uses and it will be a pain to clean.”
“Oh…” Tomori said, fascinated.
“You should also take this rechargeable flashlight.” Rin said as she handed Tomori a small flashlight.
“Is there another one?” Tomori asked.
“Well, there are many kinds. Nadeshiko-chan bought a gas lantern recently, if I recall correctly.” She looked at Ena.
“Ah, that lamp… yes, she bought it with her first paycheck.” Ena said. “She was so excited that she almost broke it, fufu.”
Rin sighed, then smiled. “That girl…”
“Uh, Rin-chan, what is this?”
Rin walked over to see what Tomori wanted to show her.
“That’s an awning, Tomori-san. It’s so you can have shade if you’re camping in the summer, or if you know it’s going to rain where you’re camping.” Rin put her hand on her chin. “May I ask where you’re camping?”
“Ah, yes. Here.” Tomori handed her cell phone to Rin, showing her a map that Anon had sent them. Rin nodded.
“Okay, I see. First, when you want to camp you have to look at the place you’re going to be, Tomori-san. It’s important that the place you’re camping is decent. There are some that don’t have drinking water, others where there’s no phone signal...”
Ena chimed in.
“I remember that one time I walked for several minutes to the bathroom. I think it was for that Christmas camping trip.”
“True. Although I think it was when we camped in the spring, when Nadeshiko invited us to see the cherry blossoms.”
Tomori was fascinated by the small talk. Even if she didn’t understand much about camping, that fascination and enthusiasm that Rin put into her explanations slowly made her realize that maybe Rin wasn’t who she seemed to be on the outside.
Maybe they were both similar in the passion they put into what they like to do.
“Now that I think about it, I think I was once camping where you guys are going, Tomori-san.”
“Really?”
Rin nodded. “The only drawback is that there’s no good signal there. And they charge for using the firewood there.”
“Firewood… ah, but I remember now that Anon-chan mentioned something about food. That she and Rāna-chan are going to take care of that.”
Rin nodded. “That’s a good idea. Although I’d say it’s more enjoyable if you make your own food there.”
Tomori nodded as she jotted down a few things on her phone.
The day continued as normal, with Rin, Ena, and Tomori hanging around the shop, chatting happily and sharing experiences and tastes. Rin gave Tomori helpful tips to make her first camping experience at least memorable, while Tomori told Ena about her experience as MyGO’s vocalist.
“Is that all?” the cashier asked. Tomori nodded. “Alright. One single tent, one stove, one flashlight… It’ll be ¥40,000.”
“40 thousand…” Tomori rummaged through her bag and found what she was looking for. “I got this coupon for ¥30,000.” She gave it to the cashier and paid the rest.
The three of them left the store, with Tomori following behind with a huge bag.
“Do you have everything, Tomori-san?”
Tomori nodded. “Yes. I think that’s all.”
Ena and Rin looked at each other for a moment, then nodded.
“Alright, Tomori. I guess we part ways here.” Ena said with a small smile. “Good luck on your journey!”
Tomori nodded and, after saying goodbye, left the place.
Once Tomori was far enough away, Rin sighed in relief. “I hope nothing bad happens to her. I still remember that time you almost froze to death with Chiaki and Aoi a few months ago.”
Ena laughed nervously. “Ahaha! Please don’t remind me.” She said before bowing to Rin and offering her a coin. “Have this offering as a token of gratitude, Rin-sama.”
The two of them walked to the nearest station, talking about the next campsite Aoi invited them to this time, when a familiar voice spoke to them.
“Hey… wait…” Tomori said, catching her breath after her little run.
“Oh, hello again, Tomori-san. You shouldn’t be running around with all that stuff on you.”
Tomori nodded and handed a small piece of paper to Rin. “Here.” Rin looked closely at the paper in her hand. Ena immediately recognized what it was. “It’s my phone number.”
“Why are you giving it to me?”
Ena gently tapped Rin’s arm with her elbow.
“It’s just… I really enjoyed talking to you and… I want you to be my friend, Rin-chan.”
Rin smiled softly. “Okay. If you insist.” She pulled out her phone and, after registering Tomori, handed the paper back to her. “Done.”
Tomori smiled. “Th-thanks.”
Rin shook her head. “You’re welcome. Besides, I think we could get along, Tomori-san.”
They said goodbye to Tomori and continued their wait at the station. Ena snickered, before speaking to Rin.
“Fufu~”
“What is it, Ena?”
“That girl hit it off well with you, Rin.”
Rin nodded. “Yeah. It’s like… it’s kind of comfortable to talk to her. I think maybe we have some things in common.”
“You should invite her camping sometime, Rin. You could teach her more things then.”
Rin thought for a moment before nodding. “Someday I’ll consider it, Ena.” She said as she sent a greeting to Tomori on her cell phone.
“And if you do, maybe you could consider inviting Nadeshiko and the others to have a ba-”
“Never.”