Chapter 145: Ski resort (2)

Skiing. The Japanese word for “like” (suki) and “skiing” (sukii) were almost identical, differentiated only by a long vowel sound. But right now, I didn’t have the mental capacity to worry about proper pronunciation. I was exhausted, my legs aching, my voice reduced to a whimper.

“Ugh… Aya… skiing…”
“Yes, I like it too.”
“Nooo… skiing… skiing is…”
“Rina, do you like skiing?”
“Nooo… that’s not what I…”

My legs hurt. A lot. I’d been exercising during winter break, but skiing used completely different muscles. My legs ached from my ankles to my thighs. The beginner’s slope had seemed gentle enough, but I’d lost count of how many times I’d fallen. Each fall felt like my bones were shattering, and my ski gloves were worn from desperately clutching at anything to slow down.

And there was Aya, effortlessly skiing backwards, patiently and cheerfully teaching me the basics… I was beyond embarrassed; I felt guilty for wasting her time.

“How are you feeling now? Not too difficult, right?”

“It’s hard…! Too hard…!”

I’d never skied before. Even with Kurosawa Rina’s athletic abilities, skiing was a different beast altogether. She was athletic but also easily scared, so even a slight increase in speed terrified me. By the time I reached the bottom of the slope, my face was covered in tears and snot.

“You’ve had a rough time, Rina.”

“Ugh… I can’t do this anymore… My legs hurt… My eyes hurt… Everything hurts…”

I wiped my face with the handkerchief Aya had given me for my birthday and gave up, gathering my ski equipment.

****

I gave up on skiing. I didn’t return the rentals, which were for three days, but I stored them at the lodge and went back outside.

“Rina, want to go to the lodge at the top of the mountain?”

“The lodge?”
“Yes, the view from there is amazing. You don’t have a fear of heights, do you?”

“Of course not…! We went to the top of Tokyo Tower together, remember?!”

Aya chuckled, but not unkindly. We took the gondola up to the mountaintop lodge. Being on solid ground felt amazing.

The lodge was warm and cozy, and my chilled body quickly warmed up. I sat down with a plate of steaming hot meat buns and hot chocolate, watching people ski down the advanced slopes.

“Mountains are best viewed from afar,” I said.

“You’ll be able to ski down there someday, Rina.”

“Down there? That’s practically a cliff…!”

The slope was incredibly steep and dangerous.

Aya sipped her hot chocolate elegantly.

“Mizuki’s already gone down twice.”

“Ah… Mizuki.” I hadn’t seen her since we’d come up. Twice? I could barely manage one run down the beginner’s slope…

“It was fun, though. You were so cute, clinging to my hand every time you fell, Rina.”

Suddenly?
My face flushed at Aya’s words.

“Wh-What’s so cute about crying… You’re weird, Aya!”
“I remember you calling my name, ‘Aya, Aya…’, and pulling on my hand.”

“Ugh… Stop remembering those things…!” I said, covering my face, mortified. I wanted to run over and cover her mouth, but my legs ached too much to move. I was trapped, at Aya’s mercy.

“But you were so cute, I couldn’t help it. I can even tell you exactly how many times you held my hand today.”
“Don’t count those things!”

Aya smiled and moved closer, sitting beside me. The sunlight reflecting off the snow-covered mountains and Aya’s silver hair made my heart skip a beat.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop teasing.” She said, and her soft lips brushed against my cheek.

“…Eh?! W-What…?”

My face burned. As I sat there, flustered, Aya whispered in my ear,

“That’s okay, right?”
“Y-Yeah…! But so suddenly…!”

“Did you dislike it?”

“…N-No, but…” I mumbled, looking down, embarrassed, and Aya chuckled softly and took my hand. “That’s good.”

Just the touch of her hand sent shivers down my spine. I squeezed her hand back, and we sat there in comfortable silence, enjoying the view.

“Aya.”
“Yes?”

“You’ve been… really busy lately, haven’t you…?” I asked hesitantly. The news reports had given me a clue, but I wanted to hear it from her. I wanted to ask her what she was doing, for my sake, but I held back.

“A little, yes.”
“It seems like more than ‘a little.’”

Aya’s serious tone made my face flush again. So… she was behind all of it.
Aya, seeing my embarrassment, smiled faintly.

“You look so cute when you blush, Rina. But if you keep doing that, I might not be able to control myself.”

“Aya! Stop saying those things…! And you have to control yourself!”

Just then, the door burst open, and Mizuki, beaming, entered the lodge. I was relieved. If I’d stayed with Aya any longer, my face might have actually caught fire.

“Rina-tan! Aya-ring! There you are! What were you two doing all alone?!”

Startled, I tried to pull my hand away from Aya’s, but she held on tight.

“We were having fun.”
“Aya?!”

Mizuki grinned and sat down across from us.

“Hmm~ Should we have come here just the two of us~? I feel like a third wheel~”
“No! I’m glad you’re here, Mizuki.”

“Rina-tan~! You don’t mean that.”

I did! Being alone with Aya was too intense, our feelings too deep. Without Mizuki, we might have drowned in our emotions, our relationship imploding.

I think Aya agreed. If she didn’t, there wouldn’t be room for Mizuki between us.

“I’ll go get some hot chocolate.” Mizuki said cheerfully, heading towards the counter. The pink, lovey-dovey atmosphere was replaced by a more relaxed and comfortable vibe, thanks to Mizuki. And she was the one with pink hair!

Mizuki returned with her hot chocolate and sat down.

“Why are you two relaxing here instead of skiing?”
“Rina said she couldn’t ski.”
“Eh? Rina-tan, you can’t ski?”

“Yeah… I don’t think skiing is for me.”
“Then how about snowboarding tomorrow? I’ll teach you!”
“Isn’t that… even harder…?”

I looked at Aya anxiously. She smiled and whispered,

“I’ll hold your hand while you snowboard too. It’ll be fun, just the two of us.”

“Aya, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?”

I pouted, and Aya chuckled. Then, she whispered in my ear, just loud enough for me to hear,

“Yes, I am. Because you’re too cute, Rina.”

Aya’s sweet words made my face burn.

“Eeeh~ You two lovebirds are being too lovey-dovey~! Aya-ring, what did you say to her~?”

Aya just smiled and deflected Mizuki’s teasing.