Work Text:
Three days later – which is a short enough time to suspect that Chisa had this planned ahead of time and was just waiting for Yui to bring Munakata up – Yui finds herself sitting at a bus stop three stops away from Hope’s Peak. Her backpack rests in her lap, and she fiddles with it, pulling out a black stainless steel water bottle and taking a swig from it before tucking it back in a side pocket. Every now and again, she looks up and around for Chisa, but she doesn’t see her.
Hm.
There aren’t too many people at this bus stop, so she should be able to notice her before she shows up. That said, she’s also early. It’s better to be early than to be late. Yui’d known that before the Duel Noir envelopes showed up; those only reinforced it. The earlier she and Kyoko were, the more time they had to discover the truth of the situation, and the more time they had, the more likely they could save someone.
Not that this date is about saving anyone. Or murder. Or detective work. Or….
“Yui! Hi!” Chisa’s voice comes from behind her, and before Yui can turn to her, she wraps her arms around her. “I’m so glad you’re here!”
At first, Yui flinches. (Kyoko would call her foolish for not looking behind her, but this isn’t a trap. Just because she didn’t notice one thing doesn’t mean that—) Then, she freezes. It isn’t like they haven’t worked closely with each other. This just feels…different. She doesn’t know if she can turn – if she did, that would put her face really close to Chisa’s, and for a first date—
Chisa unwraps her arms and steps back, a look of confusion etched on her face. “Is something wrong?”
“No! Nothing!” Yui pushes herself up from the bench and slings her backpack across her back. “Where to?” She blushes as Chisa’s gaze roams over her but doesn’t say anything more, uncertain of what to even say.
Chisa’s head tilts to one side. “That’s a pretty big backpack.”
Yui’s eyes widen. “You’re the one who told me to make sure I had water and snacks and—”
“Yeah, but not that much!” Chisa laughs, one hand lifting to her chin, fingers curling so that they don’t quite cover her mouth. “I think you’ve got enough for a whole class in there!” She pats the backpack twice. “Did you pack for that kid you mentioned?”
“No.” Yui adjusts her glasses and frowns. “I just wanted to make sure I was prepared!”
But it’s not just that. Yui can’t – won’t – say it, but she’s used to packing for the possibility of being stuck somewhere for literal days without necessarily easy access to food or water. (And even when there is access, there’s no promise that it isn’t poisoned or drugged in one form or other.) She would rather have enough just in case than to not have enough. Even for something as simple as a date.
That said, now that she’s noticing Chisa’s much smaller backpack, Yui maybe wants to reconsider.
Chisa just smiles (and she’s really pretty when she smiles, not that Yui’s noticed, or anything) and pats Yui’s arm. “Well, then you’re the most prepared person I’ve ever seen.” Her smile softens, and she tilts her head to one side. “C’mon. We want to get there before sunset.”
“Before sunset?” Yui echoes as she follows her from the bus stop. “Where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there!”
They are hopefully halfway up the mountain trail Chisa guided her to before Yui raises her hand. “Break!” she exclaims, breathing not heavily but heavily enough. “I need a break.”
“I thought you were the Ultimate Leaper,” Chisa jests as she stops and turns back to her, “and you’re tired before me?” Still, she walks over to one of the nearby fallen logs and sits on it; then, she pats the spot next to her. “This is a good spot to rest. I stop here all the time.”
“All the time?” Yui echoes as she sits on the log next to Chisa and drops her backpack on the ground next to her. (Chisa was right – she did over-pack, and she’s seriously regretting that now. She’s going to be so sore tomorrow. (She’s sore now!)) “How often do you do this?”
Chisa places her hands on the log on either side of her and then leans back, looking up at the trees overhead (or the clouds behind them; Yui can’t tell which). “Whenever my cousin comes to visit. He’s a bit of an adventurer. Never wants to sit still.” She sighs. “We hike a lot of other trails, too – he always finds new ones! – but we still come back to this one every time. It’s my favorite, you know? Lots of memories.”
As Chisa explains, Yui pulls a granola bar out of her pack – and then a second one, when the first one just isn’t enough. “How often does he visit?”
“Oh, not much. More, when I was younger. Every new year, he comes back for his shrine visits, but he doesn’t always have time to see me. He’s quite the busy little beaver!” Chisa reaches over and pulls a granola bar out of Yui’s pack.
“Hey!” Yui exclaims as Chisa unwraps it. “Don’t you have your own?”
Chisa shrugs. “Sure,” she says around the bar. “But yours looked so good, I just had to try one.” Then she pats the log a couple of times and pushes herself up. “We should get going. You don’t want to miss sunset.”
Yui groans and then pushes herself up. She takes a swig from her water bottle, then multiple gulps, before sticking it back on the side of her bag. “Why didn’t you tell me we would be hiking? I wouldn’t have brought so much stuff.”
“I didn’t want to ruin the surprise!” Chisa grabs Yui’s hands and tugs her towards her. Yui stumbles over a branch but rights herself just in time. Still, Chisa’s smiling at her – like maybe she expected that, maybe she wanted that. Odd. Then she lets go of Yui’s hands, clasps her own behind her back, and starts back up the trail.
“Ok, ok, stop!”
Yui stops immediately, brow furrowing. This spot doesn’t look any different from the rest of the trail. There’s still trees all around them, still a little creek trailing along beside them, still that sound of rushing water that might have gotten louder, but she can’t tell. She starts to look around more, but Chisa moves directly in front of her. “What are you—”
“Close your eyes!” Chisa says, leaning forward so that her face is directly in front of Yui’s.
Yui blinks twice then obeys.
“Hand me your glasses.”
“But I can’t—”
“Ok, ok, never mind!” Chisa moves around behind her – Yui knows because Chisa’s skirt brushes against her legs – and then covers Yui’s eyes with her hands. “Ok, now walk forward.”
“Up the trail? Blind?”
Chisa takes a deep breath. “Would you rather hold my hand? I can guide you, but you’ll have to give me your glasses. I don’t want you to peek.”
“I won’t peek!” Even as she says it, Yui takes her glasses off and holds them out in front of her. “Here!”
Chisa moves back around her – skirt brushing her legs again – and takes the glasses. “I’ll take very good care of them,” she says and then takes Yui’s hands in her own. “And you.”
Yui tries not to let Chisa’s tone send a shiver through her. Instead, she grips Chisa’s hand tight and takes shaky steps forward. She doesn’t say anything about not letting her fall; she trusts that Chisa won’t. There doesn’t seem to be anything new to trip over, or if there is, Chisa carefully pushes it out of the way.
After a few minutes, Chisa lets go of Yui’s hand. “Here,” she says, placing Yui’s glasses back on the bridge of her nose and then gently pushing them back into place. “Just give me a few seconds before you open your eyes, okay?”
“Sure?”
A few second pass. Then Chisa calls out, “Ok! Open up!”
Yui opens her eyes.
In front of her, a lake fueled by a roaring waterfall far on the other side, lit from above by the setting sun. Where the ripples barely reach, the water reflects the lavenders, pinks, soft fading oranges of the sunset overhead. Chisa stands in the middle of it all, just before the lake’s edge, her arms outstretched. She grins at Yui’s expression and then tilts her head back, letting out a huge sigh. “Isn’t it beautiful?”
The lake reflects Chisa, too, and it looks like she’s standing among the clouds.
“Yeah,” Yui whispers, blushing. “Sure is.”
They sit on the lake’s edge for a long time.
Chisa brings out a pair of bento boxes – “A reward for making it this far – you get some of my fabulous home-cooking!” – and they eat, as the sunset fades away and the lake begins to reflect the stars above. When they’re done, she sighs. “I’ll have to bring you up here earlier someday. The lake’s freezing, but it’s great when it’s hot out.” She reaches over and brushes something from Yui’s face. “But the sunset’s the best first look. I wanted you to be surprised!”
Yui chuckles. “Thank you.” She glances up, meets Chisa’s eyes, and then quickly looks away. “About…about Munakata—”
“Don’t worry about him.” Chisa purses her lips to one side. “I’m here with you, silly.” She bops Yui’s nose. “Rested up enough? We should probably start heading back.”
“Back?” Yui’d forgotten. She stands up, stretches her arms over her head, listens to her back pop, and then jumps into a ready position. “Sure! It’s all downhill, from here, right? I’ll be fine!”
Chisa laughs.
It’s the best sound Yui’s heard all day.