The sun had just set, now, and Syo had no idea of where he was. Dark clouds enshrouded the land, and a rumble across the sky lashed at his feet like whips. He had to get back to the dormitory. Unfortunately, he walked without direction, and before long, the storm was upon him. He covered the camera hanging from his neck with his folder, then looked down at his notepad, disheartened. Since Jack was nothing like the lumberjacks that he knew, Syo couldn’t use the experience for his report. All of those observations in the home of a woodsman, wasted. He sighed and covered his head with the notepad, no longer caring about his notes. Fifteen minutes, over thirty rumbles and flashes, and countless raindrops later, Syo considered himself royally screwed, to which he cursed furiously. Lost in every way, he slammed his back hard against a tree and let his mind drift further into the abyss.

A sudden jerk by the wrist pulled him back to life, a hand of salvation. Jack. With rain-soaked hair clinging to his nape and forehead, sleeves rolled up his thick forearms, and a concentrated scowl on his face, he fought the raging elements with nary an ounce of fear. The torturous feelings of lust resurfaced, but Syo gave up on fighting them. This man fucked him up. He just wanted to shove Jack to the ground, rip his jeans open, and eat him up, and that desire sickened him. It wasn’t who he was, but right then, even for the moment, that was all that he wanted.