Scavenger Hunt
A Renge x Nekozawa Oneshot
Based on my art “Rainy day shelter”
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“You’re really not pulling your weight here.” Renge’s cutting remark was not ignored by the tall hooded figure of the Black Magic Club Leader.
“Not pulling my weight? Hehehe.. Pray tell, which one of us was it who at first didn’t even want to participate?”
She rolled her eyes. “Well… whatever, now we’re playing, and you need to put in some EFFORT! I don’t think I’ve seen you check the list even once!-”
“-I don’t need to check the list, I have it memorized. How else do you think I cast such an extensive library of rituals and spells? Memory is integral to the pursuit of the occult!” He retaliated.
“Oh yeah? Then what’s number three, Sherlock?”
“…ah…hm. Charon……?” *
“A ‘HERON’!” She smacked him lightly on the arm.
“If I had known I was going to be partnered with you, I would have brought a flashlight.” She furrowed her brows as she peeked around the bushes of the campus garden, diligent to the search.
“You wouldn’t dare. As it is, I am pleased that the horrid sun is withdrawn today. My incantations must have already taken root.”
He was right, though Renge doubted it was due to any magic. It was a chilly winter day, fog rolling across the landscape and humidity hanging densely in the air. Puffy clouds loomed overhead, blocking out the sun and threatening to rain. Not the best conditions for a scavenger hunt, but the school had planned it in advance. The environment felt drenched in the cool colors of winter, broken only by a pop of yellow by the gazebo- wait. Yellow.
“Hey! Over there!” Renge exclaimed, eagerly pointing towards the gazebo. Before Nekozawa could even react, she was tugging him along towards the gazebo by the end of the long sleeve of his cloak.
And there it was, tangled amongst the vines that creeped onto the opulent white gazebo.
Renge took out her pen and checked off the list with a satisfied smirk.
5. A yellow rose.
“Now that leaves us with 2 more to find. Something soft, and a heron.” She returned the pen to her pocket as she looked towards the rose, still reveling in the little victory.
Nekozawa was distant, but Renge was unable to read whether it was in any helpful way or if he was just caught up in the same subjects he always was.
Eventually, he turned to her and reached out a hand. Her eyes widened. He grasped a corner of the bow she had in her hair.
“Something soft?” He explained uncertainly.
She huffed, letting out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. She swatted the hand that lingered on her bow away. “Is that cheating?”
He only offered a shrug. “The rules do not forbid it, do they not?
“Well, if we’re now using the things we have on us, why don’t we use Beelzenef for ‘something soft’?” She made a grab for the hand puppet, but Nekozawa dodged.
“Y-you fiend, you know better than to trifle with such dark power-“ He held the puppet up and away from her grasping hands. He put his other hand out to stop her and she pushed back against it, wrestling past it.
Oddly enough, after a moment, her fingers being clenched in his, she felt his defense relinquish slightly. She used this to her advantage and jumped up, scoring Beelzenef clean off of his hand.
She triumphantly pocketed it, to Nekozawa’s dismay. Was it dismay? It was hard to read, and the long shadow the hood of the cloak was now casting on his face made it even more so.
“You know not what fate you have sealed…”
She shrugged off his ominous speech. “I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”
A flash of light, and the rolling boom of thunder. Both club leaders jolted in surprise. A drop of rain fell from the sky. Then more.
“…Maybe we should call it a day.” Renge reasoned as she watched the pavement increasingly spatter in rain.
“Indeed.” Glad to have the agreement of her scavenger partner, Renge began her walk back to the main building. She wrinkled her nose at the rain, feeling its intensity only pick up as time passed. She squinted her eyes in the wet icy wind and pushed on forward.
Swish.
The rain was gone. The air was… warm. Comfortable. She blinked and looked up.
“Nekozawa?”
He had draped his cloak over her head in order to shelter it from the rain, carefully holding his arm above her head as he carried onward. His eyes looked anywhere but at her, a blush just barely visible under the shadow of his hood. He was silent.
Her face erupted in a red blush. Why was he doing this, being so sweet and gentlemanly to her out of nowhere? What had she been overlooking in him? Her head was spinning. She didn’t realize she had stopped walking until he put his free hand uncertainly on her shoulder, urging her forward.
“Yes, right.” She stammered, looked away and quickly resumed walking.
As they neared the school, a rustling made them turn their heads. Wings flapping as it landed onto a tree branch, a bird with a long, sharp, orange bill and large gray wings began to preen itself.
Renge looked to Nekozawa excitedly, meeting his eyes that had already been looking in her direction. “A heron! The last thing on the list!” She laughed. A small grin grew on his lips. They reached an awning where his cloak retreated from over her head and she pulled out the paper, checking off the last item. She tapped the pen against her lips as she double checked their list.
Something soft.
“Oh! Right.” She pulled Beelzenef out from her pocket, extending it towards Nekozawa. He shyly took it back.
“But what will we use for ‘something soft’?” He questioned.
“We could actually use my bow, I suppose.”
“And… here.” She watched as Nekozawa reached into his cloak, returning with something familiar. Something yellow.
The yellow rose glittered with stray raindrops as he extended it toward her with one uncertain hand. His eyes, though averted, were as soft and powder blue as always, but she was surprised at just how little she had paid attention to them before. The other hand, where Beelzenef had been rightfully returned, tugged nervously at the top of his hood, casting further shadows onto his shy expression. Nervous. Shy. Soft.
To an outside observer, this surely looked like a love confession. But it wasn’t anything more than an exchange for a scavenger hunt….. right? Renge felt that red-hot blush return in full force to her cheeks. Nekozawa? Nekozawa was making her feel this way? It couldn’t be possible. It couldn’t be possible that her heart panged when she looked at the small smile on his lips, that her voice had all but fully disappeared from her throat. She felt as if she had switched places with the player character of Uki Doki Memorial. Where could she save her game and return to this moment again and again?
She took the rose, delicately, to avoid the few thorns. She cleared her throat. “Thank you, Nekozawa…”
He turned away, likely eager to return to his club room. Twiddling the rose in her hands, she felt herself impulsively call out for him. He turned, curious.
Quick, think of something to say. Something coherent.
“I- uh… we have to think of something new for ‘something soft’.”
“Were you not going to use your hair bow?” He looked slightly puzzled.
“I-I mean… well yeah…” She took a breath and gathered herself.
Looking up at him again, she felt her confidence returning, and she knew just what she wanted to say.
“You know, I think I’ve figured out something else for that prompt.”
“Well?” He stepped forward to face her again.
She stepped forward too, still fidgeting with the rose. She heard his breath hitch as she moved closer and closer.
She kissed his cheek, her lips gentle on his warm skin. When she stepped away, he had an expression she had never seen on him before. Blushing madly, eyes wide and shyly looking away, lips slightly parted in surprise.
Adorable.
“There, something soft.” She smiled brightly and turned to walk away.
*Charon is the ferryman to the Underworld in Greek myth. Nekozawa is way more used to memorizing rituals and stories than he is scavenger hunt lists, so his wires got crossed there.
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