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Through Mitsuki’s left ear, she heard the strummed guitar of The Smiths. The charming warbling voice of the singer. The patterns and twisting sounds of the band, evoking melancholic love. And if a double decker bus crashes into us…
Through her right ear, she heard the gentle wind between the trees. The soft rustle of leaves and her hair and her jacket. A bird chirping somewhere, hidden by branches. The river beside them chattering and sloshing towards the sea happily. Her footsteps on the rocky path, and the footsteps of the girl beside her. The girl spun towards her and spoke.
“Oh my god, I think there’s a mosquito!” Aya said, revolted. Her eyes were on the mosquito in question, and she stepped away.
“Did you forget to put on bug spray?” Mitsuki said with a smile.
“Shut up, oh my god, I don’t wanna get bitten–” Aya flinched and jumped away from the mosquito with a scream.
Mitsuki spotted it and quickly clapped her hands over it. They came away gross and bloody. At least it was dead.
“Eugh,” she said. “Do you have tissues?”
“Of course, Koga-san.” Aya fished around in her backpack and passed a tissue to Mitsuki. “My hero.”
Mitsuki grinned, wiping off her hands. “Your knight in shining armour?”
Aya flushed. “Shush.”
“I’m happy to be of service, my queen.”
“Shut it,” Aya said, crossing her arms. “Come on, let’s keep walking. Wait, did you say you have bug spray?”
Mitsuki nodded, getting it out of her bag and handing it over. Aya sprayed herself, the sharp stench of it temporarily joining the calming smells of earth and summer flowers.
Mitsuki had been very well prepared. Preparing to go on a hike wasn’t all too different from preparing to go to a music festival. You needed the same basic things– water, snacks, bug spray, sunscreen if you were picky about tanning, good protective shoes…
Considering that this whole thing was Aya’s mother’s idea, Mitsuki was surprised to be the more prepared of the two of them. Aya had gotten her ear chewed off about not getting enough fresh air, and asked Mitsuki to go with her. If she had to be put through two hours of walking in ugly shoes and running from insects, she’d at least do it with her friend.
So… it wasn’t a date.
Not that Mitsuki had been thinking about that. Of course not.
Besides, hikes are a sweaty affair. Aya would never pick that as a real date. She would prefer something indoors, like going to an aquarium, or something more aligned to their interests, like a concert.
Not that Mitsuki had been wondering what sort of dates Aya would like.
They did hang out a lot, of course. That’s just all it was– hanging out.
But hanging out just the two of them, trying something new, felt special. Plus, the location Aya had picked wasn’t not romantic.
The hike was a couple of hours long, and quite straight and flat, being on an abandoned railway. They could see a short tunnel up ahead.
“It’s darker than I thought it would be,” Aya said, furrowing her brow. “Like, way darker.”
“Did you bring a torch?” Mitsuki said, already knowing the answer.
“Nope, I didn’t,” Aya said sheepishly. “You did, right?”
“Uhh.”
“Oh, Jesus. You didn’t either?”
Mitsuki couldn’t help but laugh. “Nope.”
Aya sighed loudly. “Are we done for?”
“I think we’ll be fine, right? Our eyes will adjust, or whatever…”
They walked up to the mouth of the tunnel. It was quite tall, having been built for older trains, and the inside was completely unlit. The blinding sunshine and boiling heat from outside seemed to dissipate into nothing just a few metres into the tunnel. A coolness emanated from the darkness.
“It’s such a nice temperature…” Aya said, delighted.
It’s very dark , Mitsuki thought, scratching the back of her neck.
“I guess we should just go in, right? I can see the other end from here,” Aya squinted into the darkness, and took a step forward on crunching gravel. “Koga-san? You alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine, I just… don’t want to trip over.” Mitsuki hesitantly walked after Aya, standing a little closer to her than she had outside. In their ears, smooth arpeggiated guitar multiplied.
“It’ll be fine. The ground’s the same as outside, it’s really even. I mean, if you need, I can use my phone light?” Aya asked as they slowly headed deeper into the spacious dark.
“N-no!” Mitsuki said, louder than she meant to. The sound bounced off the walls, reverberating.
Aya looked down the tunnel as if tracking the sound. Mitsuki couldn’t see her face much, just the light from outside on her pink hair and the blue baseball cap she’d borrowed from Mitsuki.
“Hello!” Aya hollered suddenly.
Mitsuki jumped. “Gah! Aya-san, you scared me!”
“Sorry! But you hear the reverb, right? Here, pause the music for a second.”
Mitsuki took out the earphone and passed it to Aya, brushing hands in the process. The sudden quiet and Aya’s soft, warm hands made her self conscious. There was only the click as Aya shut the earphone case, and the sound of their breathing.
“Um, is it supposed to be this dark?” Mitsuki said awkwardly.
Aya looked at her. “Are you scared?”
“Well– it’s dark ! Aren’t you?”
“Not really, I’m just happy to get out of the heat.” Aya took a step closer, and Mitsuki felt their arms touch.
“Koga-san, this is just the first tunnel. Are you sure you’re alright?”
Mitsuki bit her lip. “I’m just a little worried. That’s all.”
Aya paused for a moment, then took a breath of cool air.
“I can hold your hand, if you want. If- if that would help,” Aya stuttered. “My hands are sweaty though, so–”
“Are you sure?” Mitsuki said, sounding much more relieved than she meant to. “I– I’ll be fine…”
“Yeah, but I don’t want you to be scared,” Aya said softly.
Despite the cool darkness of the tunnel, Mitsuki suddenly felt very hot in the face.
“Come on,” Aya said.
She held out her hand. Mitsuki gulped, and took it. It hand was sweaty, but warm, and held hers securely. Reassuringly.
“Sorry.” The word tumbled out of Mitsuki’s mouth instinctively. She didn’t want to weird her out.
“I-it’s okay, it’s okay ! Besides, it means we won’t get lost, right!?” Aya said, starting to lead Mitsuki through the tunnel. Gravel crunched beneath their feet, echoing softly.
“And you get an excuse to hold my hand,” Mitsuki said before she could stop herself.
“Wh- hey- well- fine!!” Aya stammered.
Mitsuki couldn’t help but grin. “Anyway. I don’t feel worried anymore. Thanks, Aya-san.”
“Yup. Yes. You’re welcome . Anyway.”
Mitsuki gave her hand a squeeze, glad that the darkness was hiding both their blushing faces.