Chuushin no Soko kara "Ai" wo yonda Shounen
中心 の 底 か ら "愛" を 呼 ん だ 少年

Ryou sighed melancholy and looked out the open window of the inn. It was already getting dark and the lamp above the old-fashioned peasant bed only threw a pale light on his dark hair. A look at the small plastic alarm clock told him that it was now six o'clock and it was slowly time for his classmates and teachers to get up. Ryou looked once more at the pale, shining full moon and sadly inhaled the still cold April air, his heart beating hard against his chest. He was very grateful to Fubuki that with his incorrigible charm he had persuaded the teaching staff to go on a class trip with a selected group of students to Norway. Fubuki had only done it for his best friend, Emperor Ryou, arguably the most respected and admired student in the Academy. After realizing that Ryou sought his help as a victim of the sweet pain of love, Fubuki just couldn't help but help out in this matter.It wasn't easy for Ryou to admit to himself that it was really true that he was in love with Fubuki's younger sister. Asuka was a treasure he wanted for himself. She wasn't like all the other girls. For her he was the best friend she could have, it wasn't the gifted emperor that counted, but the quiet moments together. And it was the same when he thought of Tenjouin Asuka. This innocent girl who was actually too insecure to really be the brave queen. However, Ryou thought that if he only knew her by his side, he would give her the protection she needed to take her place as the proud queen.

Ryou closed the window and turned to the door. His room was next to Asuka, Momoe and Junko who really wanted to share a room. He could already hear low murmurs from the room and an amused giggle from Junko. There seemed to be life in the hostel kitchen too.He could hear Chronos and Daitokuji's voices from the dining room discussing the upcoming events of the trip. Ryou slowly walked down the creaky wooden stairs and entered the dining room. Chronos and Daitokuji greeted him with a polite "good morning" and gave him a sign to sit down at the table. A mug of coffee was handed to Ryou, which he gratefully accepted. He didn't look very well rested. Again he had fallen in love with a night without proper sleep and thought about the best way to make Asuka realize that he loved her. But the teachers didn't even know anything about it.
"We should wake up the other students slowly. Otherwise they'll miss breakfast, nyah!", Daitokuji said in his nervous voice.
"At least the girls are already awake. I heard them talking in their room," Ryou replied and took a sip of hot coffee.
Just as he had said this, the others gradually arrived.At first Juudai came into the dining room, still very sleepy, followed by Shou, and rubbed his eyes tiredly. "The administrators should do something with the stairs, that wakes everyone up!" Juudai mumbled. Shou just nodded and greeted the teachers and his older brother. Next came Asuka and her friends Junko and Momoe. The two girls were wide awake and laughing because of some fun they had allowed themselves, Asuka still looked a bit tired but sat down next to Ryou with a friendly smile.
"Where's Fubuki?" He asked immediately.
"I suspect that he is still asleep", Asuka replied briefly and looked around, "Although it is really strange that Juudai is not the last."
Juudai yawned heartily: "It is Kaiser’s fault."
Fubuki wasn't long in coming. He had Manjoume in tow, who also looked very sleepy, while Fubuki grinned cheerfully and immediately sat down at the table without hesitation. Manjoume grumbled and sat down next to Juudai, saying that he would have liked to jump on Fubuki's neck because he was roughly dragged out of bed.Fubuki sat down between Momoe and Junko with a cheerful smile, looking at both of them alternately.
"What was there so exciting to tell last night? You sounded very cheerful," he asked mischievously.
Junko suddenly looked at the table, embarrassed. Fubuki's room was right next to hers, so it was no wonder if he overheard more than half of their girls' conversations. It was easier to talk undisturbed in the girls' quarters at the Obelisk Blue Dorm. She was just able to cover up her flush of shame with a cough as she pretended to choke on her hot chocolate. Momoe, on the other hand, looked annoyed and sounded more vicious in her response than she intended: "You weren't listening, Tenjouin-kun !? It's not proper to overhear young women at night. Don't you have any respect for our privacy, you you're almost a stalker !? "
Both Ryou and Fubuki and Manjoume looked at her in surprise.Nobody expected such a hysterical answer. Not even Asuka, but before Momoe rushed angrily at Fubuki, she wanted to save breakfast and the dining room.
"Then we are complete," she said and looked around with a nervous smile.
Chronos nodded and asked for a little silence. Fubuki was saved.
Daitokuji pulled out a small notebook in which the dates of the trip were recorded. The trip was started on Fubuki's suggestion, but with it some duties of the guest duels were connected. One quick look at the calendar told the teacher that today they had the whole day off and could see the area.
"Do you already have plans?" Daitokuji wanted to know.
Fubuki immediately took up the floor with a grin: "Yes. Ever since our arrival we thought that we would climb the Kolsåstoppen, the mountain nearby, to enjoy the view!"
Ryou looked at Fubuki in surprise. Did you mind something like that?His friend winked at him slyly, apparently he had a plan. Ryou had no idea how a walk up this mountain should help him, especially since Fubuki, the other boys and Asuka's friends would be there. How could he find a quiet moment to confess his love to Asuka? The others also gave each other questioning looks, apparently Fubuki had spoken for them and in the end they had no plans anyway. Only Juudai looked a little annoyed and said: "Hey, Shou and I wanted to go into town and then down to the water!"
"What do you want in town on a Sunday, we're not in Japan!", Manjoume wanted to know, aghast. In his eyes that was again the stupidest statement from his classmate.
"Aniki and I mainly want to go down to the water! We can do that badly in our city. So please don't be angry with us", Shou replied with a sweet smile.With that the daily routine was already clarified. After breakfast, the students prepared for the mountain tour. Each took a small backpack that contained a bottle of water and a small lunch box. Asuka, Junko and Momoe were the first to stand ready in the entrance hall and wait for the boys. Manjoume joined them too and looked up the stairs to find out if Fubuki and Ryou would join them soon.
These two were still in Ryou's room and were packing a large backpack. Ryou seemed calm, but deep down he was still a little upset. The situation was so new to him, so far it had been enough for him to just have Asuka around him. Now he wanted to show her a lot more. His only hope was Fubuki, who had apparently already carefully considered how he would go about pairing Asuka and the Emperor of the Duel Academy.
"Don't worry! I already have a plan and it will definitely work!", Fubuki patted Ryou reassuringly on the shoulder," Don't look like that, you look like seven days of rain so Asuka doesn't even know you. "
Ryou gave a small, barely recognizable smile. Fubuki was right, actually, there was no reason for him to be sad, because Asuka didn't even know anything about his feelings. Fubuki packed another blanket into the bulging backpack and then took it on his back.
"Come on, let's go," he said and left the guest room and went down the creaky stairs.
"There you are at last! Do you always have to wait that long for you, Tenjouin-kun?", Momoe asked, still irritated, but avoided eye contact with Fubuki and strutted out the door. Fubuki just grinned back and followed the others out the door. Ryou was the last to leave the hostel, he was so a little confused about how Momoe and Fubuki treated each other.
Asuka walked next to Ryou, as always, who was inspecting the map.The Norwegian street names were difficult to read and he couldn't find the current location either. How were they supposed to find the right way up the mountain if he didn't even know where they were. The rest watched Ryou's hopeless attempts to study the map carefully. Manjoume crossed his arms and was about to say something, but Fubuki looked sharply at that he was keeping his mouth shut. Asuka leaned slightly over Ryou's arms and looked at the map over the vast area. She put out one of her slender index fingers and tapped a small black dot.
"Here we are, this is the hostel!", She said calmly and gave Ryou a friendly smile, he returned her look with astonishment, "And we have to go there!"
She traced a few lines with her finger, Ryou didn't take his eyes off him but watched Asuka closely. He was slightly embarrassed, but hid it by folding the card again with dignity and directing his gaze on the path: "You are right.So let's go!"
It didn't sound harsh or cold, but both she and Fubuki knew that he was a little embarrassed. Manjoume was a bit offended that he had to keep his mouth shut while Asuka was allowed to try his hand at a card reader. He let out a derogatory noise, Junko walking next to him threw a shy look over at him. Momoe was silent and took a few steps ahead without paying attention to the others. She looked up at the gray sky. It was colder than when they arrived. The temperatures had dropped dramatically from one day to the next. Suddenly Junko's voice appeared behind her:
"Momoe-chan wait a minute!"
She turned around, the others were far behind her. Fubuki waved to her and couldn't help but comment: "Do you even know where to go? Have you been here before, Momo-chan?"
"Momo-chan !?", it shot through the girl's head and actually wanted to go on