Ayumu Tomoe was not an outdoorsman.

[color=F19CBB]"Hah... This is defo a way to get morning exercise in..."[/color] he commented, [color=F19CBB]"I should've taken this time to read you all my copy of my favorite book."[/color]

------------It was not an obvious fact. Partially because his hiking outfit was on point, even if he looked somewhat ridiculous with that large pack on his back, stuffed with supplies for any eventuality. One might say that it was as if he had consulted a guidebook and planned for every eventuality, but people with better intuition or understanding would know that he had done exactly that. After all, having fun isn't hard when you have a library card. Having fun also becomes more cost-effective with a library card, a fact which his wallet dearly needed following yesterday's charity event. 

However, his image was mostly due in part of his apparent comfortibility in this rather inconvenient situation. One might be led to many assumptions regarding why this was. It could be prescribed to his affinity as a morning person, or maybe it was just another aspect of his jack-of-all-tradesiness manifesting itself. More likely, it was a naive and ultimately misguided belief that their instructors would not send them into the deep end right off the bat. No, he was mentally capable enough to have had come to that realization already. At this point it was a self-suggestion that was driving himself forward, a denial of the truth meant to motivate himself.  At any rate, he had not managed to fall behind everyone, but he wasn't leading the charge either. No matter how childishly innocent your persistence is, it is not a valid substitute for actual capability. With all the effort he put into hiding it, the toll it was taking was imperceptible, but it was still there. In his uneasy footing, in his breathing, in his constant drinking. Like a drop becoming a lake, it would build. His fortress of the mind would break sooner or later. He just had to hope that soon they'd get to a-

[color=red]"Stop."[/color]

Ah, music to his ears. They reached a space where the steep trail plateaued much more comfortably. Large rocks and tree stumps formed natural seats to take advantage of, and the foliage left large patches of shade. [color=red]"You've all worked hard enough. I'll let you give your equipment to Miss Shiso,"[/color] Fon informed, still sitting comfortably on Yoshiaki's head, [color=red]"She has kindly volunteered to bring it the rest of the way up while we take a short rest here. In the meantime, feel free to fraternize as you wish."[/color]

Ayumu checked his phone. No reception, how forboding. Maybe Sanji's insinuation about serial killers hiding in the wilderness would come to pass... and maybe pigs could fly without having to strap them to a catapult. [color=F19CBB]"So Sanji-kun,"[/color] he began, deciding to broach conversation with someone he didn't know all that well, [color=F19CBB]"See any dark shapes or ominous foreshadowing recently?"[/color]