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“Oh. It’s snowing.”
Keisuke looked to where Inoue pointed. Large, fluffy flakes floated past the window, drifting down toward the ground in lazy spirals. His first thought was of Souta. If he really had run off to find Nao at karaoke he’d be out in a storm alone. Would he be alright? His second thought was much less selfless. Much more focused on the radiant girl standing beside him. The meddling, hopeful, brilliant, beautiful girl he’d spent the last month convincing himself would never look at him twice.
Keisuke wanted to stand in the falling snow with Inoue one day.
She was smiling out toward the snowflakes, but Keisuke was staring at her eyes. They seemed almost wistful.
“Are you okay?”
“Hmm?” Inoue turned toward him. “Am I okay?”
“Yeah, you just looked…a little sad for a second there. I know you’ve been trying to be there for Souta lately but I just thought you might still be” —he cleared his throat— “getting over Nao.” Keisuke flicked his eyes back toward the window.
Inoue chuckled. “That’s really thoughtful. Thank you for asking. Actually I think I’m okay.” She was quiet for a moment. “A lot has changed since the amusement park, you know.”
Yes it has.
“How about you?” Inoue turned to face him, hands clasped behind her back. “Are you doing okay? I feel like you’re always checking on us drama queens. Have you been okay lately?”
The well-oiled machine of Keisuke’s mind ground to a halt.
“Uh,” he eloquently uttered. “Good. I’m fine.”
Inoue leaned forward on her toes, cocking her head to the side. “You sure?”
Keisuke wasn’t sure of anything right then. Except that the cinnamon and vanilla scent of her hair might give him a heart attack.
“Yeah. I’m fine. I’m good. Great, even. You don’t have to worry about me.” He took the smallest step backward, not trusting himself to be so close to her.
“Well, somebody has to!” Inoue smiled, tucking that damned hair behind her ear. “It’s okay to let someone check on you for once, Himura-kun.”
Keisuke’s stomach did a backflip. It was too hot in this room.
“I appreciate you thinking of me,” he managed.
Inoue’s eyes darted over his face. If she had noticed his blush she had the grace not to mention it. “Can you make me a promise?”
Keisuke nodded, unable to summon words.
“If you ever need my help, will you ask?” She reached forward, resting her hand on his arm for the briefest of moments.
Keisuke swallowed. And then swallowed again. “I promise.”
She clapped her hands, a grin spreading across her face. “Good. Now I’m getting thirsty again. Want any punch? Or hot chocolate?” She started walking backward toward the refreshment table, never taking her eyes off of him.
“Sure, I could go for something sweet.” His cheeks burned, and he tried not to regret his choice of words.
“Then follow me!” She spun around and flitted toward the tables. Keisuke trailed behind, weaving his way around his teammates and classmates. Inoue shone like a beacon in front of him, the warmth of her smile drawing him in like a moth to a flame.
I need to snap out of this. It’s not the time.
Keisuke walked up to the drinks table, grabbing a mug and tea bag before reaching for the hot water carafe. He fought to keep his attention on the steaming water he was pouring and not Inoue filling her cup with punch beside him. They moved away from the table, drifting toward the edge of the room.
“I hope Souta will be okay. That was a big risk to take.” Keisuke blew on his tea. “He has no idea what he’s going to find or what Nao will even say.”
Inoue shrugged. “What’s life without a little risk?” She turned her face toward him, a soft smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. “Sometimes you never know unless you try.”
Keisuke felt his stomach drop.
Could I try? Could I try with her?
He gripped his mug and made his own promise to himself: if there was a chance to be with her, he was going to take it.
• • •
Keisuke closed his textbook, sliding it to the side and reaching for his glass. Souta sat across the booth from him, head in his hands and notes still strewn across the table.
“You’re done already?” Souta mumbled from behind his hands.
Keisuke drank the last of his juice before answering. “I had half of the assignment done before we got here. Don’t worry, you’re doing great.”
Souta groaned and planted his face in his book. “It’s only the end of January and I’m already falling behind again. It should be illegal to assign this much homework.”
“Want me to get you a refill?”
Souta pushed his empty glass toward Keisuke without lifting his head from the book. Maybe he thought he could absorb the information through osmosis. Worth a try.
Keisuke stood, a glass in each hand, and walked toward the front counter. He’d only made it a few steps before something stopped him in his tracks. Actually, someone. A beautiful blonde someone. Inoue sat in a booth next to the front door. She was laughing, hands wrapped around a steaming mug. Her eyes sparkled in the afternoon light and something twisted in Keisuke’s stomach. He needed to walk past her to get to the counter. It would be only natural to say something to her. He stepped forward, but before he could open his mouth she turned toward him, locking eyes.
“Himura-kun! Hi!” She waved, beaming, and motioning for him to come over. Keisuke stepped to the end of the table, noticing for the first time that Kawano Saya and Omori Miki were sitting in the seat across from Inoue. All three girls had notebooks in front of them, and they stopped writing to look up at him.
“Hello.” He inclined his head at each of them. “Are you all here to study, too?”
“Not this time,” Kawano answered. She tapped her pencil on the scribblings in her notebook. “We were trying to come up with a Valentine’s Day event for all of us single people.”
Keisuke raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”
“Yeah, to get our minds off of how lonely and sad we a—”
“To have fun!” Inoue interjected, cutting off Kawano. “Just to have fun.” She looked up at Keisuke. “So far we’ve thought of going to a cafe, visiting the zoo, or having a movie-watching party!”
Omori sighed. “Miyako-chan, I already told you that cafes on Valentine’s Day are a terrible idea. Everything is going to be love-themed and discounts are for couples only! Not to mention everywhere good is probably already booked up.”
“And the zoo? Are we in elementary school?” Kawano rested her head in her hand. “And movie nights are fun, but we can do that any time. This has to be special.”
Inoue slouched a bit in her seat. “You’re right. I guess we didn’t come up with anything after all.” She glanced at her watch. “And my Grandma will be here any minute to take me grocery shopping.” All three girls groaned, flopping back against their seats.
Keisuke looked between the three of them, not sure what he was supposed to say next. I’m sorry you don’t have anything planned for Valentine’s Day, Inoue-san. Maybe you and I could—
Bang! The front door of Sunrise Cafe flew open, a blast of cold air washing over Keisuke as he turned to look toward the entrance. There stood a tall woman with shimmering silver curls erupting from her head like a volcanic explosion. Her bright pink tracksuit was blinding, and he had to blink twice to adjust his vision. The woman removed her sunglasses, and stretched one arm across her chest, then the other, her piercing blue eyes scanning the restaurant. Her gaze landed on something beside him and she sauntered over to the table.
“There you are, Miyako-chan!” Her voice was far too loud for the enclosed space, and several groups at other tables turned to look in her direction. “Are you ready to go?”
“Grandma! You’re early!” Inoue fumbled for her notebook, shoving it and her pencil into her bag.
“I decided to run over instead of taking the train. My knees may not function like they used to, but I’ll be damned if I can’t make better time than the train.” She planted a hand on her hip and leaned toward Keisuke, peering at him from the corner of her eye. “If I can’t run a four-minute mile you may as well go ahead and bury me.” She winked.
Keisuke stared at her dumbstruck, his glass and Souta’s still gripped in his hands. He cleared his throat.
“You must be Inoue-san’s grandmother. I’m Himura Keisuke, one of her classmates.” He bowed as well as he could with her standing so close. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ah, so you’re Himura-kun.” She gripped each of his shoulders in her hands, looking him up and down. “Thought you’d be taller.”
Something bumped into him and he realized Inoue was pushing between them, grabbing her grandmother’s hands and moving her backward. “Please don’t bother him, Grandma.” She looked at him over her shoulder, an apology in her eyes. “She has absolutely no filter.”
Inoue’s grandmother laughed, drawing the attention of everyone else in the restaurant not already aware of her presence. “Who needs a filter? Why, when I was your age I drank straight out of the stream! And nothing bad ever happened to me. Nowadays everyone needs everything filtered, and frankly I don’t see the point. The chances of actually swallowing a brain-eating amoeba are incredibly low.”
Inoue rubbed her hand across her eyes and then down her face. “We should get going, Grandma.”
“Of course, of course. Did you finish planning everything you needed to with your friends?”
Kawano and Omori sighed.
“Not quite,” Inoue admitted. “We wanted to come up with an activity for Valentine’s Day, but the cafes will probably be busy and—”
“A cafe? Honestly, that’s what’s wrong with kids these days.” Inoue’s grandmother shook her fist in the general direction of the entire human race. “Always wanting to sit pretty in some stuffy cafe when the entire world is out there just ripe for the taking! You kids don’t need an overpriced latte and a cookie the size of your face! What you need” —she rubbed her hands together, her mouth spreading into a smile— “is an adventure.”
“No! No adventures!” Inoue was now pushing her grandmother toward the door. “They don’t want anything to do with your kind of adventure.”
“Miyako-chan, let your friends speak for themselves.” She pinned Keisuke, Kawano, and Omori with her fiery gaze each in turn. “Would you rather sit on your butt in a padded chair watching cutesy couples make goo-goo eyes at each other while you nibble on a pink-frosted piece of cardboard and cry about your life, or would you rather make memories you’ll cherish until the day you die; a life well-lived keeping you warm in your old age? I can show you what it’s like to truly live.”
There was a stunned silence. Not just from their group but from the entire restaurant. Someone across the room motioned to a waitress and whispered, “I’ll have what she’s having.”
“Grandma, please.” Inoue tugged at her grandmother’s arm once again.
“You’re right.” Kawano jumped to her feet. “I am tired of sitting around. We should go on an adventure.”
Inoue’s grandmother clapped her on the back. “That’s the spirit!”
Omori also stood. “It sounds better than crying at home about not having a boyfriend. I want to do it, too!”
“How right you are!” Inoue’s grandmother grinned at her, then whipped her head toward Keisuke. “And what about you, Young Himura? Are you the type to face an adventure head-on? Or the type to sit at home and watch life pass you by?”
Keisuke was the doesn’t-trust-his-friends-alone-with-a-crazy-lady type, so he said: “Count me in.”
• • •
Keisuke pulled his textbook from his bag, only half-listenting to the loud chatter and laughter of his classmates. Souta sat next to him, hunched over his desk and scribbling frantically on the last problem of their math worksheet. Keisuke leaned over and pointed to a spot on Souta’s paper.
“You skipped a step here.”
“Damn it. Thanks.” Souta erased the last few numbers and started again.
Keisuke sat back in his seat. Someone tapped his shoulder and he turned to see ocean-blue eyes staring down at him. Inoue smiled.
“Good morning, Himura-kun! Do you have a second?”
“Of course? What’s up?” Keisuke folded his hands to keep them from fidgeting.
“I just wanted to see if you were still interested in going on our Valentine’s Day adventure next weekend. My grandma is kind of intense, and I don’t want you to feel pressured to come just because she invited you. Do you actually want to go?” She was gripping the strap of her bag, knuckles almost white.
“Well, I guess that depends. What kind of adventure did she have in mind?”
Inoue grimaced. “She proposed a mountain hike. She said she picked one so easy a baby could crawl the trail, but she said the same thing about summiting Denali so I don’t exactly trust her judgment.”
Keisuke shifted in his seat. A hike sounded more tame than he had been expecting. And at least there wouldn’t be any roller coasters this time. Not to mention his promise to himself. If he had the chance to spend time with Inoue, he was going to take it.
“I’ll go. It sounds fun.” He smiled up at her. “Just let me know when and where.”
Inoue visibly relaxed. “Oh, I’m so glad.” She straightened again, holding her hand up in front of her. “I mean, I’m glad you weren’t scared off by my grandma! And, you know, glad you want to come.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “Not that you had to come or anything, but it’s nice to get out and do stuff, and well, exercise is good for you! And what better time to exercise than…February?” She gave him two thumbs up, her grin a bit too wide.
Holy shit, she’s adorable.
“Anyway, that’s all I wanted to say.” Inoue started to back away from his desk. “Oh, and feel free to invite whoever you want. My grandma has her Class 2 driver’s license, so if there’s enough people interested the school might let her borrow a bus.” She gave one last little wave and then darted out the door.
Keisuke stared at the spot where she had disappeared, not sure if he was feeling excitement or terror at the prospect of the Valentine’s Day hike. No matter which he was feeling, his stomach ached all the same.
“Done!” Souta’s relieved voice snapped him back to reality and he turned to look at his friend.
“You got it figured out?”
Souta nodded, stuffing his calculator in his bag. “Nothing like the adrenaline of finishing your homework right before class to wake you up in the morning.” He propped his elbows on the desktop and turned his head to look at Keisuke. “What did Inoue-chan want?”
“She’s planning a singles outing for Valentine’s Day. She asked if I wanted to come and if I could invite people.”
Souta’s eyes widened. “Oh yeah? Are you going?”
“Yeah, I am.” Keisuke arranged his face into a mask of calm, but Souta was already squinting at him.
“Interesting…”
“Nothing is interesting,” Keisuke said. He turned toward the front of the classroom before his best friend could look too closely at his face. “You’re invited if you want to come. If you don’t already have plans, that is.”
“Thanks!” Souta was quiet for a moment before whispering, “I need to check with Nao before I—”
“That’s enough talking, you hooligans!” Murasaki-sensei smacked a ruler against the lectern. “Everyone to your seats.”
“But we’re already in our—”
“Quiet! Turn to page 89.”
Keisuke flipped the pages in his book, attempting to ignore Souta’s surreptitious wave to Nao, and Nao’s answering wink.
Yeah, they’re not coming on the hike.
• • •
“...and as if turning me down in front of her whole class wasn’t bad enough, then she said she’d never date someone with, and I quote, ‘crazy eyes.’ What is that supposed to mean, huh? What’s wrong with my eyes?” Bits of food flew from Takeo’s mouth as he regaled them with his latest attempt to secure a girlfriend. Keisuke gave a sympathetic smile and continued to eat his lunch.
“That’s rough, buddy,” Souta said from across the table. “Doesn’t seem like love is in the air right now.”
“Well, it should!” Takeo banged his fist against the table. “Valentine’s Day is on Saturday. If love isn’t in the air now it never will be!”
Souta and Keisuke glanced at each other, lips twitching.
“I just wish I didn’t have to spend the day alone. It seems like everyone has plans.” Takeo poked at his food. “Hey!” He whipped his head toward Souta and Keisuke. “We should all hang out on Saturday!”
Souta looked at Keisuke again, this time with a hint of panic in his eyes. Keisuke gave him a small nod.
“Not sure what Souta’s plans are, but I’m going on a group hike on Saturday. Inoue-san is organizing it. You’re welcome to come along,” Keisuke said.
“Are there going to be a bunch of couples holding hands? Because that might make me too sick to hike.”
“Only singles, as far as I know.”
“Perfect!” Takeo slammed his fist on the table again, this time in triumph. “Maybe I can get a girlfriend on the hike!”
“Takeo,” Souta began. “I don’t think that’s the point of—”
“Maybe we get lost and I have to lead her to safety. Maybe she twists her ankle and I have to carry her down the mountain. Maybe I confess my feelings and she says she’s always felt the same! This is going to be the best Valentine’s Day ever!”
“Why do you want her to get injured or lost?” Souta said.
“And who even is ‘she’?” Keisuke asked, but Takeo wasn’t listening. He was too busy planning his first date with his imaginary, lost, ankle-twisted girlfriend.
• • •
Keisuke stuffed his scarf, hat, and gloves into his backpack, then bent to tie on his hiking boots. The forecast for the day was cold, but not wet. He was more than prepared for a simple hike. He checked the backpack once again to make sure his water bottle was upright before zipping it up. He froze.
There’s no way Takeo is going to check the weather.
He glanced back at the bin of winter clothes, unzipped the backpack, and crammed in two more hats, three pairs of gloves, and one scarf.
There. Now nobody would freeze.
Keisuke slipped his arms into his coat, hoisted the pack to his shoulder, and walked out the door.
It felt odd to be taking the train to school on a Saturday. Odder still to have nervous energy bubbling in his stomach the entire ride. He knew better than to try and convince himself that he was just nervous for the hike. For months this familiar aching in his chest had one cause and one cause only: Inoue Miyako.
Her infectious excitement. Her ability to find joy in small things. Her thoughtfulness. Her musical laughter. Her unceasing curiosity. Her gentleness toward others. Her undaunted initiative. Her mesmerizing smile. Her clarity and wisdom. Her silliness. Her eyes. Eyes like oceans he could happily drown in.
She had invaded his brain, and before he even realized what was happening she had set up camp in his heart. He was long past denying her hold on him. Long past the reasoning and the excusing and the justifying. Keisuke cared about her. Deeply. And in the quieter moments sometimes he’d even let himself think about kissing her…
The train lurched to a stop, almost tossing a distracted and blushing Keisuke to the ground. He hitched the backpack higher on his shoulder and darted out the train doors. The cold air cooled his cheeks during the short walk to the school, and he was grateful to see that a small group of his classmates had already gathered near the borrowed bus.
“Keisuke! You made it!” Takeo slapped him on the back and then slung an arm over his shoulders. The taller boy leaned in to whisper in Keisuke’s ear. “I’ve been scoping things out and there’s definitely a few pretty girls going on the hike with us. Sit next to me on the bus and I’ll fill you in.”
Keisuke would rather ride on the roof than listen to Takeo’s opinion of the girls in their class, but maybe he could distract Takeo from his Valentine’s Day mission.
He glanced over toward where Inoue stood chatting with some of the other girls. Her hair was tucked under a blue knit hat with a green pom-pom on top, which bobbed as she gestured with her hands. She looked cozy in a coordinating green jacket and blue mittens, and he wondered for a split second if there was any way to ride next to her instead.
“Look alive, adventurers!” Grandma Inoue’s voice boomed from near the front of the bus, and all fifteen teenagers turned as one to look at her. The pink tracksuit had been abandoned in favor of a purple winter coat, matching purple hiking boots, and even a purple hat fighting for its life to contain her mass of curls.
“I’m proud to see so many young folks eager to explore the world! I’ll be your tour guide through nature’s glory today,” she said, hands on her hips. “I promise that if you keep your eyes open and your feet moving, you’ll be far more satisfied than if you were sitting around waiting for a bouquet of flowers to arrive only to watch them slowly wilt and die.”
Inoue was shaking her head, pom-pom flopping, and Keisuke stifled a laugh.
Grandma Inoue yanked open the door of the bus. “File on in here, kiddos! Unless you need a last-minute potty break. Where we’re going the only toilets are trees!”
“Ha!” Takeo laughed in Keisuke’s ear. “Tree toilets.”
They moved as a group toward the door of the bus, Grandma Inoue inspecting each of them as they passed. As Takeo and Keisuke approached her she reached out and tugged on Keisuke’s backpack.
“Looks like someone came prepared! Did you bring a book? A hammock? Your favorite stuffed animal?”
“No, I brought water, high-protein snacks, and extra winter accessories for people who forgot them,” Keisuke said, maintaining eye-contact.
Grandma Inoue grinned at him, a mischievous glint in her eye. “Well answered, Young Himura. Personally I’d have let people face the consequences of their own actions if they forgot anything important, but I admire the forethought. Climb aboard!” She waved him toward the door, then stopped Takeo with a hand to his chest. “And just where do you think you’re going dressed like that?”
“Huh? Like what?” Takeo looked down at his outfit.
“Your shoes have no ankle support, your jacket looks flimsy at best, and if you don’t cover those ears with a hat you’ll either get blown away or lose them to frostbite. Not sure which option would be worse for you.”
Takeo just blinked.
“Good thing your friend Himura came so prepared. Ask him for a hat and gloves before we arrive. Welcome aboard!” She clapped him on the back and shoved him toward the door before turning to inspect the next victim.
Keisuke led a stunned Takeo to their seats, wishing that there had been some open a bit closer to Inoue. Without a word he reached into his bag and retrieved a hat, scarf, and pair of gloves for Takeo.
“Thanks, man.” Takeo sat back in his seat. “Wow. What a cool lady. Is it true she holds the women’s world record for shot put?”
“I’m not sure,” Keisuke said, “but something tells me we’ll be really thankful for these seatbelts.”
• • •
The hour-long bus ride accomplished two things: delivering the hikers to their destination, and making them all overcome by the desire to kiss the sweet solid ground.
The air was even chillier up in the mountains, and Keisuke had no problem finding takers for his remaining gloves and hat. He rearranged the contents of his pack before zipping it up once again.
“That was really considerate of you.”
He spun around to see Inoue standing behind him, breath clouding in front of her.
“You’re always taking care of everyone, aren’t you?” She smiled and tilted her head to the side.
“Just trying to help.” His words came out hoarse, and he wasn’t sure if it was the cold or Inoue’s closeness that was making speech more difficult than usual. He slung the backpack over his shoulders and gripped the straps. “I try to notice what people need.”
Inoue opened her mouth to reply when the sharp thweeeeeet of a whistle interrupted. Every head swung in the direction of Grandma Inoue.
“Well, the boring bit is over, kiddos. Now comes the fun part! This hike” —she gestured toward the mountain behind her— “is a three-hour loop. An hour and half up one side, and an hour and a half back down the other. There is a well-marked trail that anyone should be able to follow provided they have eyes. Do you all have eyes?” She peered at each of them.
No one responded.
“You certainly don’t seem to have mouths, but the eyes are there! So stick to the trail, you hear? I might be the leader of the volunteer search-and-rescue team for this area, but I am off duty today. So no wandering off.” She pointed her finger directly at Takeo.
“Now then!” Grandma Inoue marched among them, hands gripped behind her back like a drill sergeant. “After we return we will be getting dinner before driving home. I also need a volunteer to bring up the rear of our group. Anyone? Anyone?”
There was a lot of shuffling of feet and clearing of throats before Keisuke finally sighed and raised his hand.
“I can do it.”
“Ah! Young Himura! I should have guessed. You hear that, everyone? Himura will be making sure you don’t fall behind, so keep your legs moving! This isn’t a stroll, it’s a hike. So follow me!” She spun on her heel and took off at a quick pace. The teens all scrambled to follow her, looking like confused ducklings.
Keisuke waited until all his classmates passed by before taking his first few steps.
So much for trying to be near Inoue. I’ve barely spoken to her all day.
He trudged after the group, all too aware of how far away Inoue was at the front of the crowd. Maybe he could convince someone else to be the caboose of the troupe on the way back down? Maybe walk beside her for a while.
The cold air bit at his cheeks and nose, pulling his attention from his disappointment and outward toward the world around him. The trail was rocky, but easy to follow. The trees grew thick and close, creating a natural tunnel overhead. Without being able to see too far ahead or too far behind, it felt like they’d entered another world. Somewhere magical, eerie, and beautiful. A world where anything could happen.
Grandma Inoue set a relentless pace, so despite the steep trail and easily distracted teens, they made excellent time toward the summit. “Try to keep up, kids!” her voice boomed from the front. “Unlike any of my speedskating competitors. Ha! Slowpokes. How did they make it to the Olympics anyway?”
Before long a break appeared in the trees, and the trail led them to a clearing at the crest of the mountain. Everyone flopped to the ground or found rocks and logs to sit on, passing around water bottles to share. Keisuke walked around, distributing snacks to those who hadn’t thought to bring any along. At last he sat himself on a rock, removed his gloves, and opened his own bag of cashews and almonds. He looked around, finally taking in the view.
The small mountain they had climbed was one among many, closed in on all sides by peaks even taller than the one they had climbed. Instead of being able to see for miles, the encircling mountains created a feeling of isolation, as if they truly had found their way into another world. Keisuke stopped eating and just stared. He heard crunching footsteps and turned to see Inoue walking over.
“It’s beautiful up here,” she said, plopping down onto the ground beside Keisuke’s rock.
“Yeah…” he replied. His eyes never left her face.
“Do you mind if I walk with you on the way down?”
Her question surprised him, and he blinked twice before answering. “Of course. That’s fine with me. I hope you don’t mind being stuck at the back.”
She leaned forward, wrapping her arms around her knees and looking out at the view. “It’s not stuck if I’m with you.”
Keisuke’s heart pounded harder than it had during the entire hike. What did she mean? What was she trying to say? Why couldn’t it be as easy to guess her feelings as it had been to guess Souta and Nao’s? The light of the late afternoon sun washed her in a warm glow, and Keisuke felt his own cheeks heat for an entirely different reason.
“Okay you lazy bums, enough lolly-gagging!” Grandma Inoue clapped her bare hands together to get their attention and then tugged on her gloves. “We are burning daylight and I’m sure you’d all like to be walking back down the trail while you can still see it. Himura!” She pointed one gloved hand in his direction. “Bring up the rear and make sure our little adventurers all make it back down safely.” Without any further instruction she started off down the next part of the path, leaving the teens to scramble after her.
The idea of being the last in the line again had filled Keisuke with disappointment earlier, but now he floated down the trail with Inoue at his side. She chatted away, her musical voice the perfect soundtrack for traipsing through the forest. Keisuke calculated the exact number of centimeters between his hand and hers. Close enough that he could probably call it an accident if his fingers brushed the back of her hand and—
“Can we stop for a second?” Inoue pulled up short, turning to face Keisuke.
“Sure. You okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I just have a rock in my shoe.” Inoue grabbed his arm with one hand for balance while she lifted her foot to pull off her shoe. Keisuke’s arm burned where she touched him, and he didn’t dare move a muscle. She tipped her hiking boot upside down and a pebble dropped to the ground. Inoue tried to jam her foot back in the boot while balancing, and nearly toppled over. Keisuke steadied her with one arm.
“Here, let me.” He bent down and loosened the laces, allowing her to push her foot back inside. Then he re-tied the laces, only focusing on the double knot he was tying and not at all on Inoue’s hand resting gently on his shoulder.
“There. Better?” He stood, realizing he was now much closer to her than before. She grinned up at him.
“Much better.” Inoue looked over his shoulder down the path. “Looks like they kept going without us.” She was peering up at him from beneath her lashes. Keisuke swallowed.
“Oh,” he managed. “We should probably catch up.”
“What’s the rush?” Inoue stepped around him, setting an ambling, leisurely pace down the trail. Keisuke followed.
“I told your grandma I’d keep an eye on everyone from back here.”
“You’re always keeping an eye on everyone, Himura-kun. How about a break?” She spun to face him, walking backwards down the trail. “I know another way down! My grandma marked it on the map. We could take the shortcut and beat everyone to the bus!”
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” he said. “We were supposed to stick together as a group.”
“I’ll be your group. What do you say?” She held out her hand toward him.
Keisuke had planned to say no. Had already formed the rebuttal in his mind. But her hand. She was holding out her hand. So instead he said nothing and just reached out to clasp her gloved hand with his own. She grinned.
“Follow me.” She practically dragged him down the trail until they reached a split in the path. He could hear the distant voices of his classmates down the wider trail to the left, so he wasn’t surprised that Inoue pulled him toward the more narrow path on the right. It was rockier than the main trail, and even more enclosed by trees. They wound their way through, hands still joined. The air was close and quiet, the sound of their footfalls the only noise to be heard.
I’m alone with Inoue I’m alone with Inoue I’m alone with Inoue I’m alone with Inoue.
“You’re really quiet, Himura-kun. Something on your mind?”
“You.” The word popped out before he could stop it. “I mean, I was thinking, uh, about why you wanted to take a shortcut.” Shock and embarrassment squeezed at his throat. How could he have said that out loud?
“I told you,” she said, not appearing to catch his slip of the tongue. “I wanted to give you a break. You’ve been taking care of everyone all day. This hike was supposed to be fun, not work.” She squeezed his hand, and he wished they weren’t wearing gloves. “Besides, sometimes it’s fun to try something new. I mean, I probably won’t take up base-jumping like my grandma, but I still love a little adventure.”
“And you wanted…to go on an adventure…with me?” he stammered.
“Well, yeah.” She didn’t turn to look back at him as she answered. “I did.”
Keisuke opened his mouth to say something —anything— when Inoue suddenly stopped short.
“Huh. I guess there’s another fork in the trail here.” She looked first to the left and then to the right. “I think it’s this one.” She pointed toward the path on the left and started down.
“You think?” Keisuke asked.
“I’m like 90% sure. It’s still leading down the hill, see? Definitely the right direction.” She suddenly yanked their connected hands up toward her face, and it took Keisuke a moment to realize she was twisting her wrist to see her watch without letting go of his hand. “We still have almost an hour until we’re supposed to be back at the bus. That still gives us plenty of time before the sun goes down. Although wouldn’t a sunset be magical here in the forest?”
Keisuke couldn’t help but get caught up in her excitement. She exclaimed over the birds they saw, laughed at a rock shaped like a hippopotamus, and gasped when she spotted some wild enoki growing on a log by the trail. He remarked on all of these discoveries, but it was Inoue herself that he couldn’t stop staring at. He kept glancing down at their hands expecting to find that he had been imagining things, but there they were, still tethered together. They approached several more forks in the path, choosing whichever one sloped more down the mountainside. Time seemed to stand still under the canopy of branches, so it surprised Keisuke when Inoue twisted her wrist around to check the time again and made a face at her watch.
“That’s weird,” she said, lifting her face to glance at the sky. “We should have been back by now.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, it’s 5:00 PM now. That’s when we were supposed to be back at the bus. And look, the sun is almost setting.” She pointed up through the trees, then brought her hand back to cover her mouth. “Oh no. Oh no no no.” She turned to look at Keisuke, a look of panic in her eyes. “I think I got us lost.” Inoue finally dropped his hand, pressing her gloves to either side of her face. “I can’t believe it. I’m so sorry. What was I thinking taking the shortcut? I should have known better. Grandma is always saying I need to ‘calibrate my internal compass’ but what the heck does that even mean?”
“Hey.” Keisuke stopped her ramble with a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. We’ll find our way back. We’ve been going downhill this whole time, right? That’s still generally the right direction. We can’t be that far off.”
“But it’s getting dark!”
Keisuke pulled his phone from the side pocket of his backpack.
“Oh! You brought your phone? That was good thinking. I left mine at home so I wouldn't lose it,” Inoue said.
Keisuke peered at the screen. “Looks like I don’t have any cell service here, but this will still work as a flashlight if it comes to that. We’ll be okay. Let’s keep moving.”
Inoue nodded, letting Keisuke take the lead on the trail.
The atmosphere had shifted. The calls of the birds and the quiet of the forest were less magical and more eerie as the sun descended behind the mountains. The shadows grew longer and the air cooled. Darkness closed in faster than they expected, and Keisuke switched on the flashlight on his phone. It didn’t help much, but it allowed them to see the next few feet of the trail ahead of them.
“Grandma is going to kill me,” Inoue muttered, picking her way over some loose rocks.
“She won’t,” Keisuke said. “We can tell her it was my fault.”
“There you go again.”
“There I go again? Doing what?”
“Always taking care of people.” Inoue sighed. “I didn’t want you to have to take care of me. I just wanted you to have fun.”
Keisuke stopped walking, nearly causing Inoue to run into his back. He turned to face her, the blue of her eyes almost invisible in the deepening twilight.
“I…I am having fun,” he said, voice just above a whisper. He thought he could see her raise an eyebrow.
“Really? Stumbling around in the dark lost on a mountain is your idea of a good time?”
Keisuke’s heart pounded in his ears, easily the loudest thing in the forest. “I’m having fun because I’m with you.”
Inoue didn’t respond, and Keisuke started to wonder if he’d made a mistake being so honest. His brain buzzed with twenty-three different responses that would fix this and make him seem normal again and how should he phrase this and—
“—too,” Inoue was saying.
“Huh? What was that?” He tried to mute the chaos of his mind.
“I said, ‘I like being with you, too,’ Himura-kun.” She smiled, and Keisuke was sure her smile lit the darkness around them more thoroughly than any flashlight. His hand twitched, desperate to reach out and touch her face. He pulled off his glove and took a step toward her.
And then he was falling.
The rocks on the trail shifted under his feet, sending him sprawling to the ground. He slid and tumbled several meters down the steep incline before his body caught on a tree. The sudden violent stop knocked the wind out of him and he gasped for air.
“Keisuke!” Inoue’s voice seemed to be coming from a long way off, and he heard her scrambling down toward him. “Don’t move, I’m coming!” She grabbed his phone from where it had fallen in the underbrush and hurried to his side. The flashlight blinded him for a moment as she knelt down next to him. “Please don’t move. You might have broken something. Do you feel pain anywhere?”
“Everywhere,” he groaned. “But I don’t think I hit my head.”
“Are you sure?” She placed a hand on his forehead and pulled open one of his eyelids with her thumb. The light shone directly in his eyes and he yanked his head back.
“Sorry!” Inoue pulled her hand away. “I was checking for a concussion, but I’m not sure that’s actually an effective method. Can I help you sit up?”
“Yeah, let’s do that. But I think…I think I need some help.” Keisuke pushed off the ground with his arms and Inoue helped him sit back against the tree. He moved his legs to stretch them out in front of him and pain shot up his leg.
“Shit, ouch.” He grimaced and pressed his head back against the bark of the tree.
“What? Are you okay? Where is it hurting?” Her hands hovered over him and she looked ready to pounce on any pain.
“My ankle,” he said through gritted teeth. “The right one.”
“Here,” she said, handing him the phone light. “Hang onto this for me.”
Inoue moved around to that side of his body, pulling off her gloves and untying his laces with quick fingers. “This might hurt for just a second.” She gripped his leg above the boot in one hand and sole of his shoe in the other and slowly pulled his foot out. Keisuke winced but bit back any sounds as she rested his leg across her lap. She gently peeled away his sock and pressed her fingertips against his ankle.
“It looks swollen to me. Can you move it at all?”
Keisuke rolled his foot in a slow circle. “Hurts like hell, but yeah.”
Inoue gave a determined little nod and replaced his sock. “I think it’s just a sprain. Or just badly bruised. Hard to say, but I don’t think it’s broken.” She carefully moved his leg so it was lying on the ground, snatched the phone from his hand, and started searching for something on the forest floor.
“I’m going to see if I can find something to make a splint, okay? Just sit still.” Inoue moved a few meters away from his spot against the tree. “Aha! Got it.” She clambered back toward him, flashlight swinging. “Can you hold this again, please?” Keisuke grabbed the phone from her, his frigid fingers brushing her equally cold hand. He pointed the light down toward his leg where Inoue crouched with a collection of sticks of varying sizes in her arms. Her eyebrows knit together as she studied his ankle.
“Okay. I think I know what we need to do.” She dropped the wood and reached for his discarded boot. “I’m going to use my scarf to wrap your foot and ankle, both to keep it still and to keep it warm.” Her breath clouded in front of her as if to demonstrate her point. “Then I can stabilize your ankle with splints and use the shoelace from your boot to hold everything together. What do you think, Himura-kun?”
“Sounds like a plan to me. How can I help?”
“Just…hold still.” Inoue carefully maneuvered them until Keisuke’s leg was resting on her lap once again. She unwound the scarf from her neck and wrapped it around his ankle tight enough to hold it steady. He could see her fingers shaking in the cold, but she didn’t stop working. She yanked the shoelace free, selected two of the smoothest sticks from her pile, and tied them on either side of his ankle. Inoue poked at his toes.
“Can you feel that? You’re not going numb, are you? I want to make sure you still have good blood flow,” she said.
“I can feel it.” He watched her fuss over a few of her knots. “You really seem like you know what you’re doing.”
“Oh! Well, when I was little my grandma made me do some wilderness survival drills because I asked if I could take my toys into the backyard. I guess some of that stuck. Although I have to say you're a bit more of a complex case than my stuffed whale with heat exhaustion.” She settled Keisuke’s leg back on the ground and got to her feet. “Can you try to stand?” He nodded, taking her outstretched hand and bracing his other arm against the tree. They worked as a team to get him upright. Keisuke sagged against the tree as Inoue grabbed his shoe, stuffing it in his backpack before swinging it onto her shoulders.
“You don’t have to carry that. I can help.”
“You focus on keeping weight off that foot while we walk. Here!” Inoue grabbed one last stick from her pile. This one was long and quite thick. “I found a walking stick for you. If you lean on that and lean on me I think we can make it down.”
Keisuke swallowed. “I can’t believe this happened. I’m so sorry.” He couldn’t see her face with the flashlight pointing down, and for the first time he was glad he couldn’t. He’d managed to ruin a perfectly good day, unable even to walk without her help. Inoue stepped closer, grabbing his phone flashlight and silently helping him put on first one glove and then the other.
“You don’t have to apologize,” she said, looking up to meet his eyes in the gloom. “You asked me for help. Just like you promised. And I’m so glad I was here for you.” She lifted his arm and draped it over her shoulders. “Ready?”
“Ready.”
The path continued to wind downward. They moved slowly, picking their way over any loose rocks with extra caution. The temperature continued to drop, and Keisuke was thankful for a reason to be huddled so close to Inoue. His ankle throbbed, but it was his racing heart that distracted him most.
“Look!” Inoue shouted, pointing ahead of them. “Is that what I think it is?”
The light from his phone didn’t reach far, but it illuminated just enough for them to see their small rocky path intersecting with a broader, flatter one.
“I think we found the main trail again!” Inoue must have tried to bounce on her toes in excitement, only to be stopped by Keisuke’s heavy arm. She turned her face toward him. “We made it. You’ll be okay.”
They stumbled forward the last few steps onto the trail. Inoue swung the flashlight around until she spotted a log on the side of the track.
“Here, sit down. You need to rest for a minute. I’m going to check if your phone has any service yet.” Inoue helped settle him on the log and then fumbled to click the on button with her gloved hands. “Oh my gosh! I think you have one bar! That might be enough to—”
Darkness. Sudden and complete.
“Inoue? Are you okay? What happened?”
“The phone just died. I can’t believe it.”
“Can you find your way over here?”
He heard the crunch of her shoes in the dirt before feeling her body bump into him, hands searching for the log. She sat down beside him and sighed.
“I guess that means we’re stuck again. I’m so sorry, Himura-kun. This is all my fault. I wasn’t thinking straight. I should never have taken us on that stupid shortcut! That’s like the first rule of hiking: ‘don’t wander off.’ But I really did look at the map and thought it would be simple and—”
“‘Keisuke.’”
He felt her go still.
“What?”
He cleared his throat. “You can call me ‘Keisuke.’ Like you did when I fell.” His eyes had adjusted somewhat to the darkness, and he swore he could see her face just inches from his own.
“That was…I didn’t mean…” She paused. “Can I really?”
“Yeah.”
She pressed her shoulder into his, not speaking for several moments.
“You can…you can call me ‘Miyako.’ If you want,” she whispered.
“I do want.” Keisuke leaned his head toward her. “Miyako.”
Neither of them moved. They sat frozen, frosty breath brushing across each other’s cheeks. Keisuke searched his mind for something more to say. His tidy answers and well-worded questions had flown from his brain. Only one thought remained, playing on loop: ask if you can kiss her ask if you can kiss her ask if you can kiss her.
Something wet and cold landed on his cheek and he startled.
“Keisuke? Are you alright?” He felt Miyako’s hand on his arm.
“Yeah. Did you feel that?”
“Feel what? Oh!” She shifted on the log next to him. “I think it’s snowing!”
They both looked up. Even in the darkness of the forest they could see the large white flakes falling from above. The snow danced through the air, landing on their hats and arms and eyelashes.
“Is this real? Is it really snowing?” Miyako laughed. “It actually came true.”
“What came true?” Keisuke asked.
“My wish.” Keisuke could just make out the outline of her upturned face as she spoke. “When it started snowing at the soccer party on Christmas Eve I made a wish.”
Keisuke felt an intense fluttering in his stomach. No way. There was no way.
“I wished that I could have a ‘first snow’ with you someday. This isn’t at all how I imagined it happening, though. I thought maybe we’d get hot cocoa or go sledding or try ice skating, not that we’d be stuck on a mountain in the dark while you can’t even walk.” She started to pull her hand off of his arm. “I’m sorry. That must sound so silly.”
Keisuke reached out, snatching her hand back. “It doesn’t sound silly at all. In fact” —he squeezed her fingers through their gloves— “I made the exact same wish that night.”
“You…you what?” she squeaked. “But how is that possible?”
“I don’t know.” The snowflakes brushed against Keisuke’s nose as he spoke. “But I’m happy our wishes came true.”
Miyako threw her arms around him, giggling in his ear. Keisuke dropped his walking stick so he could wrap her in a hug, burying his face in the snow-soaked shoulder of her coat. He had never felt warmer.
“I know this is crazy because we are literally stuck in the dark on a mountain in the snow, but I’m so happy right now,” she said in his ear.
He held her tighter.
“Me, too.”
“Well, I’m not happy at all!”
Keisuke and Miyako both jumped at the loud voice, turning together to see Grandma Inoue standing on the trail, one hand on her hip and the other holding a flashlight.
“I distinctly remember saying I was off duty for search and rescue today. You kids made me break out my reflective vest and first aid kit!”
Miyako leapt to her feet, closing the distance to her grandma and hugging her.
“You found us,” she said, voice wavering.
“Of course I did, sweetheart.” Grandma Inoue squeezed her tight, flashlight illuminating the snow falling all around them. “There’s no worse feeling than being left behind.” They held each other for a few more moments before Grandma Inoue cleared her throat and stepped back.
“Now then!” She pointed the light at Keisuke. “What’s wrong with you?”
He motioned toward his leg. “I slipped on some loose rocks and twisted my ankle. Miya—I mean, Inoue-san patched me up.”
Inoue’s grandma clapped her on the back. “Well done! I can see from here that those are some solid knots. Now, where’s my helper?” She spun around, aiming the light back down the trail behind her. It landed on Takeo. “Hasegawa-kun, get over here!”
“Right away, Inoue-sama!” He jogged over to where Keisuke sat.
“Stop calling me that and be quiet so I can teach you how to do a four-handed seat carry. You and I will hoist Himura-kun out of here in no time! First I grab your wrist like this and then you—”
“I think I’ll be okay if I can just lean on you guys? You don’t have to carry me.” Keisuke pushed off the log and stood on his good leg. “See?”
“If you insist,” Grandma Inoue said. “But if you’re feeling weak let us know right away. Not like my friend who passed out while we were running. Carrying her really slowed down my time for that triathlon.”
Miyako hurried to his side, taking up her position under his right arm once again. She snaked her arm around his waist and he squeezed her shoulder. Keisuke was glad they had been found, but he found he was suddenly bursting with things to say to Miyako. Questions and queries and why me’s just waiting to tumble out of his mouth.
Takeo moved to stand on his left, supporting him with one hand on his arm and another under his elbow.
“Right. Follow me then, kids!” Grandma Inoue took the lead, making sure to shine the light on the path in front of their feet. The trek would have passed slowly, if not for Takeo’s running commentary.
“Good thing the competitive part of the soccer season is over. Akeda would kill you for hurting yourself. Oh man, you did everything backwards, Keisuke. It’s the girl who’s supposed to fall and hurt her ankle. So you can save her! So she’ll like you! That’s a surefire way to get a girlfriend.”
“Maybe the type of girl who likes Himura-kun is the kind with two functioning ankles. Like me.” Miyako turned her head toward Keisuke and winked. Happiness and wonder coiled in his chest.
She likes me. Miyako likes me.
“Hmm…nah!” Takeo prattled on, more focused on his ideal formula for romance than on the two blushing classmates beside him.
Keisuke could feel his pulse in his swollen ankle, and just as he was about to ask for a break they rounded a corner and saw the lights of the bus ahead of them.
“Almost there, Keisuke,” Miyako whispered. “Only a little further.”
As they approached the bus all the other students streamed out, shouting questions and scolding and worrying.
“Move back, move back, let him through!” Grandma Inoue shouted over the chaos. “The boy needs to sit down!”
Miyako and Takeo helped him up the few steps into the bus where he collapsed into a seat in the first row. He sank back into the seat, exhaustion finally catching up with him. The rest of the teens piled back into the bus, patting him on the shoulder as they passed.
“Take your seats, everyone!” Grandma Inoue shouted from the front of the bus. “I know I promised you dinner, but looks like we’ll be eating in the hospital cafeteria tonight!” She threw the bus into gear and stomped on the gas.
“Woah!” Miyako had been standing beside his seat, but as the bus began moving she fell across Keisuke’s lap. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Did that hurt your ankle?” She pulled herself upright, settling herself next to him.
“You didn’t hurt me. I’m fine.” Keisuke reached up and brushed the snow from her hat and shoulders. “You know,” he began, “I actually enjoy taking care of people. I don’t mind taking care of the people I…people I care about.” His hand paused at the side of her head, and before he could think better of it he brushed the thumb of his glove across her cheek. Miyako’s lips parted, and she reached up to grasp his hand in both of hers. She leaned closer, her lips inches from his ear.
“I…care about you, too. I have for a while,” she whispered. “I’ve never met anyone so kind, thoughtful, selfless, just good. You’re smart and you’re funny and, oh my gosh, the way your eyes sparkle when I know you have something sarcastic to say but you hold it in because you’re just trying to listen to what someone is saying, gosh, I always want to ask what you’re thinking in those moments. I feel calmer just being near you, which is weird because my heart is always racing when I talk to you. You’ve been so considerate of me for months, and I’ve never been able to say how much that means to me.” Miyako finally stopped speaking, breathless from her flurry of words.
Keisuke lowered their hands. He first pulled off his own gloves and then hers, tugging from the fingertip until her hands were free. He reached for her, slowly sliding their hands together until their fingers intertwined.
“I really wanted to hold your hand without gloves in the way,” he murmured. In the dark of the bus it was hard to see her face, but he could still tell that she was grinning.
“Me, too.” She inched closer, leaning her head to rest on his shoulder. “How mad do you think Hasegawa-kun will be when he finds out you did everything wrong and still got a girlfriend on Valentine’s Day?”
Keisuke’s stomach flip-flopped.
Girlfriend. Inoue Miyako wants to be my girlfriend. How is this real?
“He’ll be distraught. But I’ll probably be too busy trying to figure out how it happened to notice.”
“It happened because we both made the same wish, Keisuke.” Miyako tilted her head back so he was staring down directly into her ocean-eyes. “I wished for snow, but what I was really wishing for was you. Just you.”
The cold, the pain in his ankle, his gnawing hunger, nothing could dim the light burning in Keisuke’s heart. He smiled at Miyako.
“Thank you for taking me on an adventure. Do you want to keep adventuring with me?”
She squeezed his hand.
“With all my heart.”