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The crunch of the snow beneath their boots echoed as Trucy and Pearl walked up to Hazakurain Temple. It was a long train ride and an even longer hike to endure, but Pearl was used to it. She visited Hazakurain Temple pretty often whenever she had the time. It’s practically a second home to her. Not so much for Trucy, who despite bundling herself up in several layers of thick clothes, as well as her favorite blue winter beanie and red scarf, she still felt like her ears were ready to snap off and fall into the white snow.
“H-h-how much long-g-g-ger P-Pearly??” Trucy shivered through her teeth.
“Close. Just a couple more steps.” Pearl replied, unphased by the frigid temperatures of the mountains.
“H-how c-c-c-can you st-stand this c-c-cold??? It’s f-f-f-freezing up h-here!!” No amount of rubbing her arms could heat up Trucy’s shivering body.
“I’m just used to it I guess.” Pearl giggled. They walked a couple more steps until the main gate was in full view.
“Here we are,” Pearl stated, “Hazarkura Temple.”
“F-Finally,” Trucy complained, “L-l-let’s go inside, q-quick!” Before she could sprint toward the entrance, a short, chubby woman with a nun’s hood and robe appeared before them. Pearl’s face beamed as she ran toward the woman.
“Sister Bikini!”
“Pearl,” bellowed the small woman, embracing Pearl in a welcoming hug, “It’s been so long, dear! When was the last time you’ve visited?”
“Not since last year, I think.” Pearl turned around to face Trucy who was awkwardly standing there unsure if she should say anything or not. “Sister Bikini, this is Trucy. Trucy, Sister Bikini.”
Trucy tried to power through her immense cold in order to give Sister Bikini a warm smile. “It’s nice to f-f-finally m-meet you! Pearl’s t-told me a lot about you!”
“And she’s told me a lot about you,” Sister Bikini chimed. Without warning, she grabbed Trucy’s face and started observing it, much to Trucy’s confusion, “look at you! You’re just as pretty as Pearl said you were!”
“S-Sister Bikini…” Pearl interjected, slightly embarrassed. Though, she probably shouldn’t be. She and Trucy have been dating for a couple weeks now.
“Now, I can tell you’re freezing to death out here, why don’t you both come in for a nice bowl of soup?” asked Sister Bikini.
“Yes! P-please, this place is c-c-crazy!” Trucy blurted in excitement, causing Pearl to giggle.
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Trucy felt right at home in the main hall. Finally, taking off all those heavy layers, simply wearing a loose long sleeve shirt and her black leggings, enjoying a delicious bowl of soup next to a burning fireplace. Pearly was right next to her, enjoying her bowl of soup and smiling at how content her girlfriend was in this hall.
“So,” Sister Bikini began, “How’s Mystic Maya doing? I heard she’s the master of Kurain Village now!”
“She is,” Pearl replied, “and it’s going really well! Though, some of the elders don’t like how rarely she sticks around in the village.”
“It’s usually ‘cause she’s helping Daddy with some cases. Can’t say she doesn’t work hard though.” Trucy added.
“Oh, that’s right, your father is Mr. Wright, isn’t it? Oh, I hope he’s doing well too!”
Pearl nodded her head. “He’s been a bit short-handed with Apollo staying in Kurah’in, but he’s doing well regardless. I don’t think you ever got to meet Apollo, right?”
“No, I haven’t,” Sister Bikini answered, “but I’m sure he’s a wonderful gentleman!”
“I miss him,” reminisced Trucy, “the office just isn’t the same without him.”
“That’s how I feel about Iris,” Sister Bikini sighed, “I’m glad she’s moved on to bigger things, but it does get lonely up here, you know?” Pearl smiled and placed her hand on Bikini’s.
“At least we’re here, right?” said Pearl, giving her a soft smile.
“Oh, of course,” Bikini replied, “but I’m an old woman now. My figure isn’t the same as it used to be, huh?” Bikini roared in laughter, startling Trucy. She laughed along once she came to her senses, but she started noticing Pearl get slightly uncomfortable when she said that. She wasn’t sure if she could say something or not.
“You’re a really nice lady, Sister Bikini. We’ll visit you as often as we can!” Trucy proclaimed, hoping her enthusiasm can lighten the mood for Pearl.
“Thank you Trucy. I can see why Pearl likes you so much, huh? If you catch what I’m throwing?” she chuckled to herself while Pearl rolled her eyes. Trucy sipped the last of her soup, admiring how cute Pearl looked when she was embarrassed.
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“You sure you want to cross this bridge?” Trucy asked, looking at the worn out wooden planks dangling over the rushing river and sharp stones.
“You should have seen how it was BEFORE Mr. Nick fell through it,” Pearl remarked, moving through the bridge as if it was nothing, “this is perfectly safe.”
Trucy trusted Pearl and began to cross the bridge, freezing in fear every time she heard a creak. So basically, every two seconds. Pearl looked at her and giggled.
“Want me to hold your hand?” She extended her gloves out to Trucy’s shaking body.
“Y-yeah…” Trucy extended her hand and held Pearl’s, slowly making their way across the bridge. With Pearl holding her hand, Trucy felt a lot safer.
They reached the end of the bridge, Trucy breathing a sigh of relief. Pearl was staring at the Inner Temple in front of them. She wasn’t saying anything, but Trucy could tell something was wrong.
“Hey, everything okay?” Trucy asked. Pearl didn’t respond. She just kept looking at the temple.
“... I’ve told you about what happened the first time I visited here, right?”
Trucy cocked her mouth to the side. She’s heard about this place before from her dad. Trucy was wondering why Pearl wanted to come here in the first place.
“I can’t recall a day I felt more abandoned and useless,” Pearl continued, “I couldn’t carry out my mother’s dying wish, I was stranded on this island with no one around me, and when I found out my mother was using me to try and kill Mystic Maya…” Pearl’s voice began to crack. Trucy’s hand darted for Pearl’s, holding onto it tightly.
“It’s hard for me to trust anyone. Every day, I wake up, fearing that someone I care about is going to stab me in the back and leave me. Just like my mother…”
“Is that why you were so distant from me when we first met?” Trucy asked.
“... Kind of. Part of me knew I can at least trust you, but…” Pearl let out a shaky sigh and looked up at the temple again.
“Sister Bikini is practically my mother now. That’s part of why I come back here so often.”
“She’s really sweet,” Trucy replied, “she seems to care a lot about you.”
Pearl nodded. “Ever since Iris left the Temple, I visited her as often as I could so she wouldn’t get lonely. She’d share me so many stories and helped me out whenever I had any problems… Actually,” Pearl laughed, “she gave me advice on how to ask you out.”
“Aww!” That made Trucy feel all warm inside. It makes sense though since she asked her own dad on advice on how to ask out Pearl.
“... When she joked earlier about how she was getting old, it kind of made me worried,” Pearl mentioned, her voice lowering in concern again, “What if one day she… what if one day she-”
“Hey, hey, hey!” Trucy interjected before Pearl could continue, “Don’t think about that! She was just messing around, she didn’t mean-”
“But what if it does happen Trucy!? What if one day I wake up, I go and visit her, and next thing I know… she’s gone?”
Trucy didn’t know what to say. All she could do was watch Pearl try to pull herself together from the outburst. A few silent minutes pass until Pearl spoke up again.
“Trucy… will you make me a promise?”
“Yes?” Pearl turned around and held Trucy’s hands in front of her, looking into her shining blue eyes.
“Promise me you’ll always stand by me. No matter what happens. If something happens to Mystic Maya or Mr. Nick… or… us…” The mere thought sent a shiver down Trucy’s spine. Definitely not from the cold.
“... if something does happen to us, promise me you won’t abandon me? Promise me we could still be friends. I can’t imagine going on without you…”
“Pearly,” Trucy said, resting her palm on Pearl’s jaw and brushing her thumb on Pearl’s cheek, “of course we’ll always be friends. There’s nothing in the world that could take that way from us.”
“D-do you mean it?” Pearl asked, a puddle of tears welling in her eye.
“I do,” Trucy reassured, giving that same tender smile that made Pearl fall in love with her in the first place, “I promise.”
Pearl held Trucy by the shoulders and pulled her close, their lips clumsily coming together and forming a gentle kiss. It caught Trucy off guard, but she embraced it as soon as she came to her senses. When they separated, Pearl gave Trucy a shy look.
“I didn’t think my first kiss would be here of all places.”
Trucy giggled, “At least you won’t associate this place with feeling abandoned anymore!” Pearl thought about it and smiled.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right