Tsukiko was again lost in her own thoughts, still concerned about Rei and her headaches.
Poor Rei-san...she's been suffering as well...but no one is helping her...I need to check to see how she's doing... Before she could get up, however, Tori arrived and started to talk to her.
"Hey, Tsukiko, how are you doing?" He hid something behind his back then reveal a flower and gave it to the girl "I was keeping it for Natsumi but she'll probably just destroy it, besides, you looking like you need some cheering up."
Tsukiko was a bit skeptical at first.
Tori-san isn't just playing a prank on me, right? "...what's this for?" Tori just laughed slightly. "I'm not going to play a prank on you. I just see someone who looks a little down is all." After hearing this, Tsukiko took the flower and blushed slightly as she spoke. "T-Thank you, Tori-san...I just haven't been the same since...well...you know..." Another chuckle came from Tori. "What do you mean? I think you being quiet like this has made you cuter...it's kinda better to be around someone that's nice and quiet...don't tell Natsumi that, she'll hurt me, heh heh..." This brought a small giggle from Tsukiko. "She can be pretty loud, can she? ....don't flatter me like that, Tori-san...I don't deserve it..." Tori seemed a bit puzzled by this. "Why not? You're like her opposite, so quiet..." A frown developed on Tsukiko's face. "...I wasn't always like this, remember? Before the accident, I used to be like Etsuko-chan...it was...my sister who was the quiet one..." Tori started to blush at the mention of Tsukiko's sister. "Oh, you mean the one I had the crush on? Haha, you're just like her now...then again, you are twins."
Tsukiko seemed...offended by Tori's comment about her sister. "...don't talk about her so lightly, Tori-san...it's disrespectful to her..." In response, Tori became a bit more serious. "I'm not lying about that...everyone liked her, just like we like you...you're the reason why we're mostly out here. I should be practicing for the playoffs, but the gym is trashed...this is a little stress-relieving though." The black-haired girl's face looked shocked after hearing this, surprised about this revelation.
I...I knew they were doing this for me, but...I never realized that they cared about me that much...I've...been so selfish... Tsukiko then bowed. "I'm sorry, Tori-san...I've been absorbed so much in my own grief that I didn't realize the lengths all of you have gone for me...I thank you, Tori..." Tori was speechless about this display and was silent for a few seconds. "Geez...I really don't know how to respond to that, heh, your so cute when you are grateful and polite. You don't have to thank us...you probably don't remember, but we were friends when we were younger and we are friends now...unless that was your sister I was talking too, heh. This twin thing can be a bit confusing, haha." Tsukiko giggled and corrected Tori. "It was me, Tori-san...Amaya wore her hair clip on the right side and I wear mine on my left...she was so shy when she was younger..." Tsukiko then remembered that she was going to see Rei and check on her. "Excuse me, Tori-san...I need to check on Rei-san."
"I understand. I was gonna go get the firewood ready, anyway. It was nice talking to you, Tsukiko-chan...I enjoyed it." Tsukiko again blushed slightly. "Um, I enjoyed it too...I'll talk to you later Tori-san..." With that she got up from her sitting spot and headed for Rei's tent as Tori looked on. "Hmm...she's a nice girl..." Tsukiko soon reached Rei's tent and opened it, only to see her friend resting on the ground in a sleeping bag. "Rei-san? I'm just here to check on you...are you feeling any better?" Rei looked at her friend and forced a smile on her face. "I'm fine, Tsukiko-chan. I just didn't get much rest last night..." Tsukiko didn't buy it and took a seat next to her friend. "...I'll stay here with you, Rei-san...it's the the least I can do since you've helped me so much..." Rei looked as if she was going to protest, but only thanked her friend for being with her. "Thank you..." Tsukiko just shook her head. "That's what friends are for, right?"
Natsumi, meanwhile, had come out of hiding so that she wouldn't have to deal with Tori. She then bumped into Etsuko, who had a mischievous look on her face. "Why are you hiding? Are you afraid of Tori-san? Or is it something else?" Natsumi looked irritated. "No! I just don't want to beat him up...for Tsukiko's sake...where is she anyway?" Etsuko pointed to Rei's tent. "She went in there after talking with Tori...she seems to be checking on Rei-san." Natsumi's eyes suddenly shot open after hearing this. "W-What?! Tori spoke to Tsukiko?! Why did-" Natsumi noticed that Etsuko was still giving her that look and changed the subject to Rei. "Still has that headache, huh? Poor girl..." Natsumi was shaken out of this when she spotted Mai returning to the campsite. "Oh, so you came back. I don't know why you were searching for water...Tori and the others found a stream...anyway, you look worried, what's up?" Etsuko was taken aback a bit by Natsumi's tone of voice.
She's not yelling? Must be the air...it must be mellowing her out... Unbeknown to everyone at the camp site, something was circling overhead...waiting for the perfect time to strike.
Natsuki looked up at Ayame and just showed her the picture she's been sketching. " Im sorry, HQ didn't tell me the exact location due to the classified lock, so I decided if I was in the area you find me" Natsuki said and flipped the book to a close " I'm sorry I've wasted your time and I know that you don't like me too much, but could you at least pretend to work with me?" her phone then rang and she answered " yes...okay" She then looked over to Ayame again and waited for her to lead the way " The G3 system is at the site now"
Ayame just gave her colleague another cold stare and proceeded to lead the way to the site. "What we've been able to find is rather intriguing...there are numerous symbols and what appears to be an ancient language of some sort...we're trying to decipher it now." Making their way down the fading paths, it wasn't long before the site came into view, that of a cave. Entering the cave, Ayame noticed that a portion of vines at the entrance had been cut away, revealing the horn-like symbol. "Looks like we may have witnesses...we better hurry up then, before they start to come back..." Going further inside the cave, Ayame saw her other colleagues uncovering more symbols from the rock walls. She called over one of the men and he brought a stone tablet that looked worn with numerous characters in a strange language on it. "We also found this tablet...I heard you studied a little on this, Natsuki...what do you make of it?" Ayame then handed her colleague/rival the tablet and waited for her answer.
Ryo walked off the armor's platform and said," Well whenever you are ready I am prepared, and remember I am not going to hurt you." Ryo took a fighting stance and said," Ok you make the first strike."
Hiroshi seemed a bit offended by having to face G4.
What, they think me and Natsuki aren't good enough to fight against the Unknown? Well, I'm going to show them that this G2 armor is stronger than it looks. Apparently, Hiroshi missed the memo that this was a test to gather data and further enhance his suit...though the professor never mentioned that detail to him, either. Taking a fighting stance, G2 suddenly lunged towards G4 and delivered a punch aimed for the black armored rider's head.