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A year after graduation, the girls of 3-E saved up money to go on a small field trip, for old times sake over the long weekend. They left approximately straight after school on a Friday. It was around seven at night when they finally arrived. When all of them finishing packing up, Rio jumped on the couch and yelled at the top of her voice.
“Everyone! There's a pool here, let's go today because tomorrow is going to be jammed packed!” it was made apparent that this girl was up to something mischievous.
“Keep it down,” Kataoka replied tugging Rio’s shirt in an attempt to get her off from her couch as a pedestal. But it was too late, all the girls had turned their heads towards Rio and all the cabins near them probably heard it too.
“We should go, it would be good fun!” Kayano exclaimed, Okuda opened her mouth to protest so she could re-read ‘Introduction to Nanoscience’ for the fifth time, but Kayano stopped her from a hug and a small push from behind to her room. “Go on Okuda, we are on vacation!” Kayano cheered as she made her way to grab her clothes.
“Anyone else?” Touka asked. Murmurs of agreement filled the room. Except for Fuwa, who was trapped in another room reading.
“Fine, as long as I get to write,” Hazama uttered with a smirk on her face, you’d wonder what stuff she’d come up there it’s scary, what kind of mindset would you have to have to think of the most absurd, horrid things to make a dynamic, but concerning piece of work.
“Wait where is Fuwa?” Okuda asked coming back. “I’ll go and get her!” Hinano called from across the room, already making her way there.
It was an unusual room arrangement for Fuwa, Hazama and Hinano to share a room, although Hinano did volunteer to share a room whoever was left, because there weren’t enough rooms for them to each of them have an individual room.
“We are going to the pool here!” Hinano’s tea green eyes lit up above the shounen manga Fuwa was scattering her eyes through the panels of.
“Aw, but I wanna finish these volumes, the mission is gonna star-”
“Man, you’re so boring.” Hinano cut off. “Hey, not everyone is going.” Fuwa shrugged. “Actually you’re wrong, even Okuda and Hazama are going.”
“Too bad.” Fuwa went back to skimming her eyes through the ink of images and strings of words that built this fantasy, this world of adventure, a childish novel that sent her to bliss and joy. Hinano took a peak of the book out of curiosity.
“Why read about adventure when you can go outside?” Hinano questioned, hands-on work was way more fun in her opinion, feeling the forest moor against her shoes, showered by clumps of greenery and peaking sunlight, singing to the churns of animals, just everything about adventuring and discovering the outside world intrigued Hinano, she couldn’t just simply understand why the shorter haired almost-eccentric as she was, didn’t want to go outside. “Listen, it’s only a pool, now let me finish these four volumes,” Fuwa whined, cutting out Hinano’s thoughts.
“Fine, I’ll leave you to it you coward.” Hinano stuck her tongue out and winked at the same time.
Fuwa couldn’t help but chuckle when Hinano left the door. She’ll admit that the gesture was cute and humorous.
“Wake up, rise and shine!” Hinano gigged opening the shutters. Hazama was surprisingly sound asleep, she seemed like a person who was plotting and awake twenty-four hours a day. However, a groan came out of Fuwa’s mouth. “What time is it?” Fuwa yawned rolling over to the other side of the bed, avoiding the pale streams of light coming from the windows.
“It’s four forty-five.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“Nah, wake up sleepy head, you’re coming with me for a morning hike,” Hinano smirked and threw a pillow at Fuwa’s head. But Fuwa refused to get out of the comfort of her bed, she was an idealistic person, wanting to dream more so she buried her face in her pillow to get those extra few moments of her anime-inspired imaginations. “Not my fault someone didn’t decide to not come last night.” Hinano landed another strike with her floral patterned pink and white pillow. This made Fuwa get up and defend herself at the bare minimum. Eventually, she gave up and murmured “Fine, I’ll go.” seeing that Hinano had pinned her down to the ground, getting as many hits with that floral pillow as she can. Although Fuwa didn’t mind at all, she didn’t want to admit that pillow fighting was fun due to her will to binge read and over analyze manga in her free time. A typical Otaku.
Fuwa went up to pack a backpack of stuff. She had this normal black backpack that had tons of keychains of anime characters that jingled a chime when she got up because they all slid across each other when she moved.
After Fuwa went to get changed, in a simple purple t-shirt and white shorts Hinano turned a corner and almost jump scared her. “Let’s go! We gotta arrive back before 2 pm for the next thing we are doing today!” Hinano was in the classic cream-coloured explorer outfit.
Hinano felt like a wildcard to Fuwa, the idea intrigued her. Fuwa was interested to see where Hinano would take her. She would complain more, but Hinano’s enthusiasm and energy made her content to the heart.
What sort of adventure was Fuwa getting herself into?
Thirty minutes went by, and Fuwa slowly noticed the footpath beneath her feet slowly disappearing and being replaced by Earth and the dirt. Sunlight glowed on smooth, sedimentary rocks turning them into a bright yellow or white. The canopy of trees, of all sorts, pine trees seeping in sap, the scent of eucalyptus and of various amount of plants, some of which looked like they touched the stratosphere. Along the edges, Fuwa noticed a few flowers she could name; the purple and white clumps of wisteria hanging off several branches, the bright orange coming from the marigolds, dove-like daisies dancing in the wind, it was a place of tranquil. It was still a dry environment, but then again they were just getting started on this hiking track. They both heard a bird chirp.
“Ooooh! It's a Downy woodpecker!” Hinano emitted, going into a rant about Downy woodpeckers. At this moment, they stopped moving and Fuwa stood in silence, Hinano’s words registered as a sweet melody rather than information, but when she opened her mouth to let her enthusiasm flow through Fuwa found it lovely, she could sit down and listen to Hinano drown in her hobbies all day.
Hinano, who was in front of Fuwa was gleefully skipping along through the track, despite it feeling like every other track they’ve walked about. Fuwa would admit, this was fun the display of Hinano’s interests and happiness just laid out in front of her made her content.
Fuwa was back on high energy levels all of a sudden and struck an exaggerated, cartoonish pose and said “Let’s go!” pointing to the faintly seen sky due to the number of trees covering them.
They both took up a faster pace and made their way further down the track.
This time Fuwa was in front, Hinano gleamed of the sight of Fuwa being back, full of energy. This was exactly what she wanted.
The dirt path slowly felt steeper and steeper. The further they were going the fewer trees sheltered them from the sky. They were climbing up a hill. It had been an hour or two of walking and walking. Even though Fuwa is full of energy when she talks about her favourite things, she wasn't exactly the one for exercise.
Fuwa stopped to rampage through her backpack for a drink of water and Hinano took as seat next of a bush full of purple flowers and started picking them off.
"What are you doing?" Fuwa asked.
"Ah, take a break you'll see later," Hinano replied with a cheeky grin, picking long strips of grass on the side of the dirt path.
Fuwa looked a Hinano in confusion as she watched her fiddle with leaves and flowers almost like she was knitting.
Although it didn't take long for Fuwa to be distracted by her physical features.
The sunlight grew stronger from when they first left, drooping onto Hinano's hair turning her locks into a gold colour, her eyes felt like a window to the insight of the bawling amount of energy inside of her. She seemed like your stereotypical adventurer; not caring for the rules, going to long extents just to discover something and always full of energy. Your stereotypical protagonist you'd find in an isekai or shounen manga.
Fuck, I fell in love with an anime protagonist. Fuwa thought.
A couple of minutes went by, Fuwa was lying down in the grass on the side of the hiking track, making up theories and opinions about what would happen to the four major characters in their mission from the manga she was reading previously.
"Come on get up, I'm done." Hinano chimed. "Oh, and close your eyes!"
Oh no, what was Hinano up to. Fuwa acquiesced.
Fuwa felt a light weight placed on her head.
"Open up!" Fuwa opened her eye to a beaming gaze, and bright green stones.
"It looks pretty on you." Hinano said, brushing a part of Fuwa's purple short hair to the back of her ear. Fuwa felt her face heat upon that gesture.
"Hang on, what did you do?" in response, Hinano took out her phone and took a photo. Fuwa almost jumped at the flash sound.
"See, I thought you would look beautiful with a purple Coneflower crown." Fuwa felt her face heat up even more.
Another hour and half past, this hill was two times bigger than the other small hills that Hinano and Fuwa had to climb together and there were less and less plants as they made their way up.
Hinano took a look back to see a roof of trees meters away from her feet, they almost looked like clouds from up there.
Then suddenly she heard a shoe slip against the rock. Fuwa was struggling to get up.
"Aw, having fun there?" Hinano teased, partially relieved that she was fine.
"Man, can't you just stop teasing me from your pedastal and help me?"
Hinano lent her hand to Fuwa.
Fuwa was struck by the realisation that they were holding hands.
Holding hands.
"Put your foot on that right groove" she instructed. "Good, now lift your left leg to that upper grove.". Once Fuwa did as instructed, Hinano pulled her up to the surface she was standing on.
Fuwa was dazed. She just held hands with a girl. Hinano seemed to have no reaction though, it's almost like she's done it before.
Seven hundred more metres of this track to go.
To Fuwa's surprise, they went downhill again. As they reached closer to their destination they could hear the sound of water near them. The environment started to feel less dry. Trees went back to shelter them and they heard the melodies from all sorts of unseen birds above them.
"Are are here!" Hinano exclaimed. Fuwa turned the corner.
Woah.
It was a magnificent view of water pouring down from rocks that reached approximately sixity meters in the sky. The water glimmered, and reflected the beautiful ranges of plants anf trees.
Hinano tugged Fuwa by the wrist to a spot in front of the water.
"Do you know this place?"
"Yeah."
"Why did you take me here?" Fuwa asked making the two fall silent for once.
Hinano leaned towards Fuwa, giving her a peck for an answer instead of answering it verbally. But Fuwa instinctively, from reading, wrapped her arms around her neck.
For once, the world around them felt infinitesimally small compared to them. Captured by each other, arms around each other, lips tied to each other.
As the pulled back, Fuwa giggled at Hinano's sudden amount of silence.
"So when are you planning on taking over the world?" Fuwa chuckled, gesturing to the atmosphere lying ahead of them.
"Whenever you please." Hinano smirked back. "But we have to walk back."
"Awh, I can't be bothered though." Fuwa whined.
"Ha, too bad." Hinano took Fuwa's hand and led her back to the track.
It was going to be a long trip back.