61: Rika's Perplexed Feelings

Rika's Perplexed Feelings

~Rika's POV~

"Alright... go now!" Dante shouted with an amused smirk on his face, his back turned as Rika dashed into the forest with the sound of her audible footsteps being the only thing that gave an indication as to what direction she could've possibly gone off to.

The cold afternoon wind rushed past her face as the purple haired woman jumped over the roots of trees and avoided hanging branches that might've smacked her in the head otherwise. Feeling a small adrenaline rush as she quickly tried to find a hiding spot, Rika couldn't stop a little giggle from leaking out of her mouth.

Rika's ears perked up once she could faintly hear Dante finish counting to zero, which meant that he would start trying to look for her now. Honestly, the purple haired woman felt like a little child playing this old hide and seek game with him, but it still felt undeniably fun to do anyways.

Taking a deep breath, Rika found a pretty good hiding spot as she glanced upwards, noticing that there was a broad oak tree capable of carrying her weight up ahead. It had a multitude of thick branches, which looked strong enough to support the woman's light weight, and she figured that Dante wouldn't expect her to actually climb a tree in order to avoid getting caught.

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~Dante's POV~

"Three... Two... One... Zero!" I yelled, uncovering my eyes and turning around towards the direction that I had heard Rika go. Chuckling with amusement, I walked further into the densely packed forest, keeping my eyes peeled for Rika as I made sure not to trip over anything protruding out of the dirt.

"Where are youuu?~" I said loudly, a smirk kept in place on my face as I listened to my surroundings with laser focus. In a split-second, my head snapped towards the quiet sound of shuffling behind me, only to witness a small squirrel run past with a mouth packed full of nuts.

'Alright... I see you trying to sabotage me, you little fucker.'

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~Rika's POV~

She quickly put a hand over her mouth, trying to stay as quiet as possible considering the forest they were both currently in was damn near completely silent aside from the animals. Rika could faintly hear the rhythmic crunching of Dante's footsteps nearby, which only made the purple haired woman's adrenaline spike even more.

The silence was tense yet fragile, able to be abruptly cut short at any given moment if the situation gave way for a dramatic chase through the snowy forest between the two of us.

The female sniper's red eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and trepidation as she watched Dante walk into view and directly under the thick oak branch that she was hiding on top of, his head turning left and right in an attempt to spot the woman.

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~Dante's POV~

A few minutes ago, I had noticed a couple of distinct footprint tracks in an area of the forest that had dirt which appeared to be somewhat disturbed by someone walking through it. Following the signs, it lead me to a more open space, and that's when my lead ended at an abrupt stop.

Taking a few curious glances around, I couldn't spot any sort of possible leads that would've allowed me to continue my search for Rika, which further increased my puzzlement.

However, it reminded me that I was currently dealing with a person who had at least some level of training. She was literally one of the top five best snipers in the country. It seemed logical that the woman also knew how to conceal her presence to some degree.

That left a couple of very interesting possibilities...

Rika has embraced the lifestyle of a squirrel and made a home inside of a tree.

Honestly, while it could've been true, I just didn't think that was the case.

For the second one, the woman dug into the earth and has already created multiple underground tunnels, making a complicated network of many different routes to other escape hatches on the opposite side of the forest.

That didn't seem very plausible.

However, I was going to keep that idea for a viable project later on. It sounded like a pretty useful thing to have.

Now, the last one. It was fairly simple, really...

She climbed up a tree.

Plus, it seemed oddly convenient that the footprint tracks just came to an end all of a sudden. They had been pretty clear to see as well, which also gave a clue as to her ignorance of what she was leaving behind, but I couldn't blame the woman because of that.

We are literally playing a game of hide and seek, after all.

It wasn't that serious.

A grin crawled onto my face as I looked up, directly into the eyes of Rika, who had a look of shock on her face. It was probably due to just how casual I appeared while doing it. Honestly, it was a comical sight with just how outraged she seemed to become after the underwhelming loss.

Rika seemed to be a bit more competitive than I thought.

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"- Can't believe it... I should've won that shit!" Rika huffed in frustration, throwing her arms up in order to further accentuate just how much it had upset the woman.

All I did was gain even more amusement from her pain, an afterglow surrounding me as I relished in my triumphant victory. Another roar of laughter erupted from my lungs as she gave me a glare, although there clearly wasn't any real hostility being aimed at me with it.

Before she went further on her little rant, I set a hand on the woman's shoulder. Rika paused as she opened her mouth, closing it just as quickly, and gave me a look of confusion.

"What?"

Keeping silent instead of giving an explanation, I simply grabbed Rika's hand and lead the woman through the snowy woods, all the while she badgered me with questions at an incessant pace. I wasn't even sure how I would've explained it to her.

Showing it to the woman instead seemed like a better option.

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"Where the hell are you taking me, Dante?" Rika sighed in resignation. However, the interest in her voice hadn't gone away just yet.

Finally reaching the location, I pulled Rika through the last few trees standing in front of us, and what came into view made the purple haired sniper grunt in surprise. Earlier this morning, I had finished setting everything up, and successfully established a decently-sized camping area in an isolated spot within the woods a fair distance away from the Takagi mansion.

"D-Dante, what the hell is all this?" Rika inquired as she began walking around in order to check everything out.

Motioning towards the entirety of the campsite with a wave of my hand, I chuckled in mirth at her obvious bewilderment. "Exactly what it looks like. I already let our group know about it, including mom too. She's most likely already informed Kohta as well, which means that the rest of the guards will become aware of it soon enough. I figured that they should know just in case someone wandered across it while randomly walking around the forest."

I sat down on a tree stump that had been carved down into a stool-like chair next to a campfire. It was packed down with sticks and twigs, along with a couple of small logs sitting on top. Surrounding it with little rocks, the campfire was at a pretty big size, and would no doubt look pretty once it hit night time.

Grabbing a lighter from my pocket, I lowered it towards the bottom of the campfire and tried lighting it up, only for it to not work due to a lack of Butane. "Shit..." I whispered, flicking it multiple times in an attempt to get it working.

However, I was unsuccessful.

I turned towards Rika, who had been watching me this entire time. "Hey, I think I brought another lighter with me. It's probably lying around somewhere. Can you see if you can find it for me?"

Humming to herself, she nodded her head before turning around in search for it.

"Yeah, sure thing."

Waiting until she appeared distracted enough, I quickly turned towards the campfire and spit into it, my saliva coming out as a small flame as it ignited a small fire with ease. "Oh! Never mind, Rika! I got a fire going now. It seems like the lighter had just enough for one more."

Whirling around, she tilted her head in confusion before walking forward. "Really? Wow, that's lucky." Rika murmured, sitting down on a chair just like mine a few feet away.

Giving the woman an innocent smile, I nodded my head in agreement.

"Yup. Lucky me."

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After eating some food that I had brought along with me to the campsite earlier today, I suggested to Rika that she was welcome to sleep in the tent for the night instead of walking all the way back to the Takagi mansion. The purple haired woman eventually accepted, especially considering the fact that it was quickly turning pitch black outside.

However, there was only one bed, and it was pretty small.

That's when it happened, the switch in her demeanor, reminiscent of all the other times we had reached a point that an intimate moment where prolonged skin contact was involved. Every time that it's ever happened over the past few months of spending time with one another, Rika just seemed to automatically withdraw into herself and put distance between the both of us, excluding the very brief moments when she would decide on teasing me.

"Here, you can take the futon. I'll just sleep next to the campfire." I compromised, not bothered to make a deal like that. It would be probably be awkward if Rika had to lay on top of my chest for the entire night just because of the fact that there was only one bed. I didn't want to make a nice situation like this uncomfortable for her just because I wouldn't mind in the slightest at having the beautiful woman rubbing up on me.

Before I could even make my way out of the tent, she grabbed onto my left arm and turned my body towards her, giving me a stern facial expression. "Don't do that. You're the one who brought me here and I'm not about to just take away the bed that was literally meant for you..." Rika trailed off, turning her head to the side after seemingly cutting herself off. It seemed like the woman had wanted to say something.2

I sighed, nodding my head. "Well, if you're okay with it, I would like to lay in my bed now." I joked, giving her a crooked smile.

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~Rika's POV~

'Warm.'

That was the first thought that came to mind as Rika laid down on top of Dante's muscular body. At first, there was a brief period where she had to get comfortable, shifting her body a couple of times. It quickly stopped after she realized just how something like that could've affected the man she was currently on top of. However, after a while, Rika had placed her head down on Dante's chest and quickly began feeling a dreamless sleep calling for her.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen.

Rika's mind was still wide awake, seemingly trapped within an endless loop of the same kind of thoughts constantly running through her head. Her feelings were simple yet she still felt troubled by their strong pull towards the man underneath her body. It's been causing the woman to feel bad about her actions towards him as well, knowing for a fact that he felt the same affectionate emotion towards her.

The reason she had such a hesitant reaction towards a more intimate relationship was because of how it would affect their dynamic. It was also the reason that she hadn't accepted the advances of a police officer named Tajima, who was a man that she had previously worked with beforehand. Getting into a relationship, especially in a dangerous environment like this where your life is constantly on the line... it could go very wrong.

Not to mention, losing someone that you love always hurts like a bitch, and Rika just wasn't sure whether she was willing to actually go through a situation as fucked up as that. The woman has already been through enough.

Continuing to think about her final decision throughout the night, she breathed out a quiet sigh and closed her eyes. It took a while until Rika eventually fell asleep, desperately clinging to the warmth that Dante naturally emitted from his body.

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