*-*-*-*-*-*

The 198 residents gathered in the dining hall ceased their chatter as Shinobu entered the hall followed by a seething Mitsuru Ikeda who was wiping his damp hair with a towel. Shun suppressed a laugh as he though of the only reason Mitsuru could have gotten his hair wet. Kazuya looked at his roommate wondering at what he could be laughing for and Shun just waved his hand dismissively.

"Thank you for coming here at such short notice," Shinobu said when he reached the front of the room. "We all know that we’ve been cooped up here for too long with nothing to do." A murmur of agreement rose through the crowd. "Our good friend, Shun, has pointed out the need for a distraction from the monotony that we’ve been subjected to for the past four days. I’ve decided that we should play a little game." Half the population of the residents shuddered at the evil glint in Shinobu’s eyes. "I have hidden an item somewhere inside Greenwood and it’s up to you to find it. We will have ninety-nine teams, seeing that all of the residents are here and accounted for. Your starting clues have been placed inside your respective rooms and it will be completely up to you whether or not you want to participate in the search."

"Do we get a prize, sempai?" A voice at the back of the gathering shouted.

"Of course," Shinobu said, smiling. "The team to come back here with the mystery item will get the prize."

"When do we start?" Sakaguchi said inching towards the door with Aoki in tow.

Shinobu looked at his watch. "You may start when I give the mark. You will then be given two hours to find the item and I will confirm if you have found the correct one."

Kazuya groaned out loud. "You mean there’s more than one item?"

"No," Shinobu said, a Cheshire cat smile on his face. "But the clues are very misleading and you just might end up going on a wild goose chase." Shinobu glanced once again at his watch. "Time starts now!"

In a flurry of rushing feet, the entire student body in Greenwood vanished leaving several overturned chairs in their wake.

"Oi, Shinobu," Mitsuru said as he looked at him with hate-filled, sleep glazed eyes. "You woke me up just so that I can see them rush off in some kind of scavenger hunt?"

Shinobu gave him a smile that scared the sleep from his eyes. "On the contrary, my good friend," he said as he produced a small bag he’d stashed from behind a counter. "You and I will be going on our own mission."

"Shinobu, what the heck are you doing with my video camera?" Mitsuru asked him, recognizing the bag for what it was. "Don’t tell me you’re going to document this."

"I won’t," Shinobu said as he shoved the bag to him. "You are."

Mitsuru looked at him dangerously as he clutched the bag to his chest. "If you think I will be doing your dirty work, you have another thing coming...."

"Ah, but you haven’t let me explain yet," he said raising a finger. "You see, it is true that I have hidden an assortment of clues throughout Greenwood and a lot of them are misleading, not to mention that some of the clues are hidden in some of the most compromising of places...."

Mitsuru’s eyebrows raised in piqued curiosity. "You mean...."

"The real highlight will be the showing of the hunt’s video," Shinobu said as he turned to leave. "It would be really interesting to see their reactions when they see what their progress, however embarrassing they may be, has been recorded for posterity."

*-*-*-*-*-*

"What do you suppose this could mean?"

Kazuya looked over Shun’s shoulder at the latest clue they’ve found. The first three have been easy enough -- their room, the visitor’s lounge, and under the dormitory telephone. It seemed that each room had a different set of instructions and clues to follow, so that they will be sure that everyone would play the game fairly. Unfortunately, the clues start becoming more and more vague as they progress.

"This could mean almost anything!"

Kazuya fumed as he looked at the small piece of paper. On it was written -- loved too much to bear to part. They knew that it meant someone’s prized possession, but almost everyone in the dorm had one, so there was absolutely no where they could start looking. Shun was ticking possibilities off his fingers while Kazuya was trying to get his brain to start being more calculating.

He asked himself as Shun started pacing.

Two residents passed them by shaking their heads. They spared a glance at Kazuya and Shun to see how they were progressing.

"Not too good," Shun replied. "The latest clue has us stumped bad."

"We’ve just about had it, too," one of them said. "We decided that it would be a lot better to just forget about Shinobu-sempai’s game. Come to think of it, I think several others have too. Looks like most of the residents gave up after the first few clues. Anyway, we’re going to the third floor to borrow some books from Furusawa-sempai."

The two turned to leave as Shun gaped at their receding figures. Kazuya was still trying to figure out their latest clue when Shun pounced on him.

"Suka-chan!" Shun said, shaking him out of his contemplation. "I’ve got it!"

"Huh?"

"I know which one it is!"

Kazuya gaped at his roommate and gestured ‘how?’.

"Never mind that," he said as he tugged at the redhead and started up the stairs. "The next clue is on the third floor."

"What do you mean the third floor?" Kazuya said as he let himself be dragged up the stairs.

"The clue said ‘loved too much to bear to part,’ didn’t it?" Shun said. "Furusawa-sempai is totally in love with his bike that he practically sleeps with it. I’m willing to bet that that’s where the next clue is!"

Kazuya smiled as they raced up the remaining steps. He thanked his lucky stars that he was paired up with Shun.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Sakaguchi looked glumly at the door wishing that Aoki had made a mistake. Noting the withering look on his friend’s face, he knew that there was no mistake.

Their next clue was inside room 217.

"I’m willing to forget about the entire hunt if you are," Aoki said to Sakaguchi quietly. "There is no way in hell that I’m going to go in there!"

"Oh, come on, Aoki," Sakaguchi hissed as he listened at the door. "I don’t even think that Yoshiki and Fujikake are inside! It’s too quiet. Besides," he continued as he gave Aoki a small smile. "Shinobu-sempai is known for giving great prizes! Who knows? Maybe the prize would be worth it after all."

"I still don’t like it," Aoki grumbled.

"Fine! I’ll go in," he said silently turning the doorknob. "But make no mistake about it, Aoki Kunihisa, you’ll be the one going after the next hard one."

Aoki forced a grin on his face to prevent himself from retching. Yoshiki and Fujikake have been known to actually do it in the dorm room and he’d actually been next door once to know so. He said a silent prayer for Sakaguchi wishing that he’d be spared the sight and that the two were actually out of the room.

Sakaguchi closed the door behind him and smiled. The lights in the room were off, and from the heavy breathing he could hear from the direction of the bunks, he knew that at least one of them were asleep. He moved as stealthily as he can, trying to find the square of white paper that had been used as clues. His heart nearly stopped when he accidentally bumped into a pile of books on the table. Standing like a statue, he could hear his heart pounding in his ears as he listened for signs that he’d been heard.

Nothing.

Slowly, he let out a shaky breath as he continued his search. After a few more minutes, he was ready to scream. He’d looked everywhere and still no clue. He felt himself go weak as his eyes strayed to the only place he hadn’t searched.

The bunks.

He gulped in a breath as he listened at the top bunk and sighed in relief. Yoshiki was not in. He clambered up onto the bed as silently as possible and started looking through the stuff.

Still nothing.

Sakaguchi thought as he moved off the top bunk. With there being the lower, obviously occupied bunk.

He steeled himself as he reached out to pull the curtain open. He was about to touch the cloth when the thing opened and before her knew it, he had taken several quick steps back and was doing his best to stay as far away from the bunk as possible.

Inside were Yoshiki and Fujikake with a rumpled blanket barely covering the lower halves of their torsos. Unfortunately, also, the much sought-after clue was in plain sight -- underneath the small alarm clock that Fujikake kept on his headboard.

The smaller Yoshiki smiled coyly at him and extended a hand his way in a ‘come hither’ manner.

"Sakaguchi-chan," he said in a playful voice. "How nice of you to join us." He then moved towards the quaking boy plastered to their wall, letting the blanket slide fully off his body. A frown creased his cherubic face just as he started to extend a hand Sakaguchi’s way. He looked back at Fujikake and shrugged. "I guess he had a change of heart," he said as he jumped back into the bunk and closed the curtain.

Sakaguchi had fainted.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"I don’t like this, Sagarii...."

"Shut up, Riku, or I’ll throw you down the steps!"

Riku breathed out a shaky sigh as he stepped down the stairs leading towards Greenwood’s basement. It had been a hard-fought hunt and they knew that they were very close to finally finding the wretched item that Shinobu had so effectively hidden. They’d barely managed to evade the dorm lady’s broom as she chased them out of her quarters after they found one of the clues hidden in her closet. Riku never knew that the matronly lady had so many words of profanity in stock in her head.

Sagarii held the flashlight as steady as he could as they descended the rickety stairway. Less than a flight down, one of the steps gave way and Sagarii crashed down, taking the flashlight with him. He was about to warn Riku of the ruined step when another crash sounded and a muffled ‘itai’ ensued from somewhere near his left.

"K’so," Riku said as he finally found the flashlight and flicked it on. "I swear, one of these days, Shinobu-sempai is going to either land one of us in the hospital or in the morgue!" He rubbed his shoulder and winced a bit. "I think I broke something."

Sagarii crawled over to his side and pulled the shirt down his shoulder. He touched the skin and saw Riku wince. The tell tale blue-black color of a bruise was beginning to form.

"I don’t think anything’s broken, Riku," Sagarii said as he helped his roommate up. "But you have one hell of a bruise. Better get Dr. Hasukawa to look at it after this thing’s over."

Riku nodded as they proceeded to look for the light switch. Sagarii found it behind a stack of crates and flicked it on.

Stark white light filled the room and they saw that the place was a literal maze of boxes, plastic bags and what not. They looked at the clue and sighed. The thing could be anywhere, hell the item could be anything!

After all, what else would one think if the very last clue said -- something out of place in the last place anyone would look.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Shinobu crossed his legs as Mitsuru entered their room with the video camera. The auburn haired boy gave him a wry smile as he handed him the videotape.

"It looks like you had fun," Shinobu said as he took the tape.

"Well, things got a bit more interesting after the first three clues," Mitsuru said as he pulled a beer from his stash. "You should see the footage. I’m willing to bet that any one of the residents would give an arm and a leg to make sure that that tape doesn’t get shown anywhere."

"Oh?" Shinobu said as he laid the tape on the desk. "And what, may I ask, made the tape so interesting?"

Mitsuru just smiled and sipped his beer. "See for yourself."

*-*-*-*-*-*

The residents gathered at the end of two hours in the dining hall, exhausted and about ten teams carried with them stuff that they all assumed was Shinobu’s mystery item. The terrible duo made their way to the front of the room and Shinobu clapped his hands to get everyone’s attention.

"Okay, I see that ten teams have been able to see the hunt to its end," he said eyeing the groups. "First, I want all of the groups who finished to hand me their final clues." Shinobu scrutinized the clues and picked out seven of them from the bunch. "The teams of Harito, Guranai, Woruji, Kanabi, Furito, Kashida, and Dunara are disqualified. They were not able to reach their final clues." A muffled groan sounded throughout the teams. "That leaves the teams of Kazuya, Sagarii and Tochizawa."

Shinobu stepped up to them and looked at the items they managed to scavenge. Tochizawa held up a pair of lace underwear, Sagarii held up a rubber duck, and Kazuya held a soot covered rattle.

Shinobu shook his head and murmured to Kazuya, "I don’t know how you did it, but you and Shun won."

Shun started jumping in glee as Kazuya’s eyes just popped open wide, unable to believe that Shinobu had told them that they won. Sagarii and Tochizawa’s teams gave them congratulatory pats on the back as Shinobu presented them with a sealed envelope. It was then that the gathering was adjourned for lunch.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"I wonder what’s in it," Shun said as he dried his hair, having taken a bath after the scavenger hunt.

"We’ll soon find out," Hasukawa said as he ripped open the seal, he nearly fainted when he saw the contents.

Inside was the sum of twenty thousand yen.

"Wow," Shun breathed. "I wonder where Shinobu-sempai got this much money."

"It’s the extra money from the ‘date’ betting pool," Mitsuru said from the doorway.

Kazuya made a face as he tried his best to send a withering glare Mitsuru’s way. The infamous date betting pool had been set up when he was still trying to court Miya Igarashi. He knew that most of the residents though he wasn’t likely to succeed and bet against him. Unfortunately for them, he and Miya had ended up together.

"What are you doing here anyway, sempai?" Kazuya asked him in irritation. "Shouldn’t you be out tormenting some of the new students?"

"Actually," Mitsuru said as he leaned on the doorway, "I came by to tell you that Shinobu requested another gathering at the dining hall. He said that he was going to show a film that none of you would want to miss."

"Is it one of those action films, sempai?" Shun asked excitedly.

"Wee~eell, I guess you could say that," Mitsuru said as he grinned mischievously.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Everyone was murmuring excitedly as they waited for the film to start. Shinobu had taken a seat towards the back of the crowd as he waited for a muttering Mitsuru to load the tape. The crowd silenced as the tape began to play. They were surprised to see the hall of Ryokuto hall and one by one, faces turned beet red in embarrassment while some others wanted the earth to swallow them whole.

There was a shot of Kazuya and Shun running as fast as they can from a very angry Furusawa.

A shot of Tochizawa as he tried to pull the lace underwear from it’s perch near a window.

The sight of Sakaguchi fainting as a naked Yoshiki turned the charms on full.

Sagarii somersaulting over the last flight of basement steps.

Kazuya and Shun literally bathing in soot as they opened the chimney flue....

So the show went on for another hour or so, and by then, the residents had taken turns from guffawing in laughter to turning red in embarrassment. Unseen in all the confusion, Mitsuru had made his way to the back of the room and had taken a seat next to Shinobu.

"You were right," Shinobu said as he let a small smile past his lips. "This was a really interesting video. I never knew that some of our residents were that daring."

Mitsuru shrugged nonchalantly at the comment. "What can I say? I’m good. So what are we going to do now?"

"I hear that the rains are going to continue, probably for another five days," Shinobu said.

"Are you planning another one of your schemes?" Mitsuru said warily. Shinobu had the uncanny way of getting him to do all of his dirty work.

"Maybe," he replied as he moved to go back to their room. "In the meantime, I’m going back to my book. Oh, and by the way," he said turning back to look at Mitsuru. "Don’t lose the tape."

Mitsuru was about to ask him what he meant when he saw more than one resident try to make a break for the notorious video of their two-hour hunt. Mitsuru muttered a curse as he rushed to retrieve it.

Shinobu smiled inwardly as he exited the room. At least he wouldn’t have to deal with a snoring Mitsuru for a few more hours.

------------------------ The End ------------------------