Chapter Nine
December 28th
“Where are we going?” asked while she was driving.
There was no answer to her question and she was extremely annoyed by the whole situation. I am driving to hell knows where and she is not talking to me. glanced sideways to see what was doing and found her friend singing the song that was playing on the radio totally ignoring her. Oh no, you are not playing dumb on me , she thought as she turned off the radio.
“Hey…” started to complain, but she was cut off by .
“You have been ignoring me for the whole trip.” She stopped the car on the side of the road. “Now, you’d better tell me where we are going or I am going to throw you out in the street and go back home,” she said, pointing her finger at .
backed away, as much as she could. “Umm… If I tell you it won’t be a surprise anymore.” She pleaded with puppy eyes.
glared at her dangerously. “That will NOT work on me. Now, spill it or I will count to three.” She crossed her hands and narrowed her eyes.
“Fine… fine…” said, moving her hands in front of her frantically to make calm down. “I booked us 3 days at a hot spring resort,” she sighed defeated. “It’s near Kawaguchi-ko Lake on top of a mountain.” She looked at and grinned, “Satisfied?”
rolled her eyes and started the car. What the hell got in to her all of a sudden, she thought as she drove through the highway towards Yokohama; though the idea of relaxing in an onsen… is quite tempting.
She kept driving while was singing along with the songs on the radio. She looked at the big sign that had the name of the city that was on their way. “Yokohama, huh?” she whispered. I wonder what he could be doing today. She thought wryly, I wonder if Yosuke was right.
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(’s flashback)
swore out loud as she ran out only in a towel to the phone. I’m going to kill who ever is calling and I’m going to murder when she gets home because I have repeatedly asked for a phone extension in the bathroom… “Wait, damn it!” she yelled and then stopped when she realized that it was ’s cell phone. And I’m going to kill for forgetting her cell phone when I’m in the shower.
She frowned and picked it up. “Yes?”
“… oh… its , right?”
felt warm, standing there listening to his strong voice. For a second, she forgot that she was only in a towel and frowned. “Sanada?”
“Yes, I’m sorry to have disturbed, but I was wondering if was around.”
felt her heart… why do I keep forgetting that he is ’s boyfriend, she thought sadly. “No, I’m sorry, but she went out to run an errand and forgot her phone.” She sat down on the sofa. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I was hoping if she could meet me,” he admitted. “I don’t have a car and I promised to see her tonight.”
Ah yes… you tend to keep your promises, she thought sadly. “Where were you guys supposed to meet?”
“At your place to be honest, but I’m half an hour away in another district. I might be late.”
“Oh…”
“Yes, so I wanted to let her know that I will reschedule and...”
“I will pick you up,” she interrupted.
Sanada paused. “I will never allow you to…” he began after finding his voice.
“Sanada, ’s been slaving herself in the kitchen for you, so she will kill you if you don’t show up. Plus, this is ! Do you know how long it took me to teach her how to cook?”
Sanada went quiet again.
“I’ll take your silence as a yes,” she said with a chuckle. “Tell me where you are,” she ordered, walking back to her room. I really feel like seeing you, so please don’t cancel on tonight…
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“Are you okay?”
looked at taken aback. “I am fine. Why?” Did she understand I was thinking about Sanada?
“Umm… Nothing, I was just wondering if you were better after that raging moment of yours earlier,” she answered and continued with her singing.
She is completely dense, thought, chuckling softly. I guess Yosuke was wrong.
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(’s Flashback)
“I’m sorry, I’m late!” exclaimed, panting in front of Sanada. “I…” She tried to stable her breathing and looked at him sheepishly. “I was doing my hair.”
He watched her and felt tenderness towards her. She was dressed very casually, but still managed to look beautiful in only a pair of jeans, turtleneck and boots. Her hair was curled at its ends and she looked really innocent. “No… I’m sorry for asking you to help me with this.”
“No! No! I love my baby! Of course, I’ll help you find a gift for her,” she said cheerfully. “We can go to Kumiko-san’s shop and get it for her.”
“Where is that?”
“It’s at the far end of the street,” answered, looking around.
“Okay, wait here and I’ll get my car!”
She shook her head and held his wrist. “Nope, we’re taking the bus! Come on! The weather is beautiful and it’s only two stops away!” she pulled him towards the bus stop.
Sanada bought tickets for the both of them and they got in. He noticed that it was crowded as tried to walk through and he stayed close by her side. She stood quietly by the side, her back towards the window and tried avoiding many of the strange men that were rather close. I think this was a bad idea, she thought, noticing the many leers she was getting.
She hesitated and just tried to hug herself properly so no one would touch her. However, the next step came rather unexpected when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Stay close,” he whispered, looking at her.
She nodded and stepped closer as he put an arm around her. stood by his side, and tried not to think at all of how natural and comfortable the situation felt like. During the whole ride, her heart was beating fast; she just hoped that he couldn’t feel it as her body would touch his during the bumps. She was thankful when they finally reached and she immediately stepped away from him, getting off the bus.
They didn’t say anything as led him to Kumiko’s store. walked in and the door rang the familiar sound it did when it had new customers.
Kumiko looked up and smiled. “Hi!”
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Nah, it was just a coincidence. Both times he was looking for . Yosuke is totally wrong, he doesn’t like me, kept thinking as she drove around the outskirts of the city. showed her the rest of the way since she had never been around that area before.
“I wonder how you came up with the idea of the onsen resort.” asked, looking at both directions before driving forwards.
grinned mischievously. “I needed a break and you do too.” She looked at and batted her eyelashes. “Park the car in that parking space.” She pointed to her right.
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At the parking lot, inside Sanada’s car
“Genichirou, I am bored. Would you tell me what the hell we are doing here?” Niou asked in annoyance, but he did not get a reply in return. What the hell is he thinking, he complained inwardly as he leaned backwards in his seat and crossed his hands behind his head.
“You know, I don’t like you when you turn secretive on me,” he sighed and turned his head to look at his friend. “Talk to me for Heaven’s sake,” he exclaimed exasperated.
Sanada looked at him taken aback. “I have nothing to say Masaharu,” he answered quietly. You are late , he thought sighing inwardly, but he moved forward a bit when he saw a car entering the parking lot.
“What is it?” Niou asked when Sanada opened the door and walked out of the car. “Genichirou?” he shouted, but he was ignored. I hate this. He decided to follow Sanada and got out of the car. “Damn its cold,” he whispered and placed his hands in the pockets of his jacket.
He started walking behind Sanada, but he stopped midway when he saw hopping in front of him. He looked at Sanada and saw talking to him. “Wow… Easy sport,” he said when jumped to hug him.
“Haru, I am so happy to see you,” she said cheerfully and pulled away. “Come with me.” She took his hand in hers and pulled him to walk over to where Sanada and were standing, but she was pulled back by Niou.
“Wait a minute!” he said, looking at straight in the eyes. “You schemed all this, didn’t you?” he asked as broke the eye contact and looked away without saying a single word. “Sanada isn’t capable of thinking something to that extent. That’s something I would do.” He smirked and cupped her chin and moved her head so she would look at him. “So, do you confess?”
blushed and pulled her tongue out. “I confess,” she said with a smile. “That’s because you two are so damn stubborn!”
Niou let go of her and smiled. “You are evil. Lets go.” He passed by her and walked to Sanada. “Genichirou, its cold what are we going to do now?” he asked, without greeting or looking at .
Sanada didn’t answer him, but spoke directly to . “Are we going to take my car?”
“Yes, I think it’s better,” she answered with a smile. “ lets go get our things.” She pulled along with her to the car to get their things.
This will be a vacation from Hell, thought sighing inwardly as she pulled her bag from the trunk of her car.
This definitely won’t be fun, Niou thought rubbing his jaw, looking at the girls, and turning to go sit in the car.
Oh dear! Sanada sighed defeated.
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"We're hiking!"
felt the color drain from her face. She looked at as if she had said something incredulously stupid. looked at Sanada, who stood next to and Niou, who she was so not ready to face yet. She knew she was set up by , but she didn’t know that this was going to be the consequence.
"Earth to !" said cheerfully, waving her hand in front of 's face. "Are you ready?"
looked horrified. "! Do I look like I'm dressed to HIKE?!" she demanded, referring to the skirt she was wearing. "You said that we were going to a hot spring resort."
"A ski resort which is up there." She pointed at the top of the mountain.
frowned.
"Stop being a brat, and start walking," Niou muttered.
looked at him sharply. Why is he here? What the hell is trying to do? I haven’t seen or spoken to Niou since our date!
"Haru!" scolded. " didn't know," she said. "That's why I got these."
blinked.
held a pair of trousers and a football shirt in front of . That is so ’s way to piss me off, she thought smiling sweetly at .
threw them at her and then took out a pair of sneakers. “Go and change behind that rock,” she ordered.
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“Wow! This is a beautiful place,” exclaimed happily, clutching Sanada’s arm.
“I am… exhausted!” panted as she dropped to her hands and knees. She felt someone pass by her, so she lifted her head and saw… “Niou,” she whispered. She still hadn’t apologized to him. She wanted to tell him how sorry she was for their disastrous date, but she never got the chance to do it. I will do it; she thought and struggled to her feet.
helped her carry her things, smiling sheepishly.
“He he… Sorry , but that was the only way to come up here,” she said, trudging cheerfully.
rolled her eyes. “Next time, warn me, or else I will push you down the cliff.” She grinned mischievously.
gasped at the look gave her.
They walked through the entrance and were greeted by warm heat coming from the fireplaces adorning the interior of the resort. The resort was built mostly of wood and stone. The entrance was spacious and was joined with a cafeteria on a five stair lower level. The sleeping rooms were on the back side through the entrance and were all either double or single traditional rooms. The onsen was on the left wing of the rooms and the ski slopes was over the right side of the whole building.
They were given opposite rooms. Each room had two futons and a small low table with cushions around it. On one corner of the room was a television and next to it a wall closet. It had a heater, so the room was warm enough for people to stay in. Also, they were given yukatas and bathrobes.
“Umm… this room is great!” piped, leaving her things on the floor. She opened the closet and looked inside, then moved to the window and looked at the beautiful scenery. “There are yukatas in the closet, probably for the onsen.”
“Yukata,” muttered slowly, remembering the beautiful yukata she got from Sanada’s mother on Christmas day. “I think I will go for a hot chocolate at the cafeteria. Are you co…What are you doing?” asked , who had just changed into her Poo Bear pajama.
“I am tired, need to rest my body.”
“You were jumping like a joyful bunny a few minutes ago,” she exclaimed exasperated. “I am leaving. You drive me crazy.” She walked out of the room and walked across to the boy’s room. She knocked on the door and waited for someone to respond before she slid it open.
“Umm… Guys I am going for a hot chocolate. Do you want to join me?” she asked, looking at Niou and Sanada.
Niou said nothing and started taking off his jacket and turtleneck.
“I am sorry , but I am tired. I would like to rest a bit,” Sanada said firmly.
nodded and then looked at Niou.
He had his back to her. “I am going to the onsen,” he said dryly. said nothing to him, but she wished Sanada a good rest and left. So much for adventurers; they are tired already; and they call me untrained, she thought as she rolled her eyes. She walked quietly downstairs and frowned. I don’t think Niou is in a forgiving mood… frankly, I don’t think I want to apologize either.
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"You're being rude."
"Shut up," Niou muttered, putting on his yukata, behind the special place to dress. "You don't know what happened."
"Then tell me what happened."
Niou shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I won't say anything. It's embarrassing for the both of us."
"Niou," Sanada said, crossing his arms. "I don't know what happened and it's none of my business, but it's clear that she's upset with you being here. Could you at least ease up around us all because if 's upset then it would ruin 's mood as well."
"That was forty two words in one sentence," Niou muttered. "Whenever you use more than five then I know you're serious," he said with a sigh.
"I'll go join her and leave you to think."
"Don't bother," Niou said, walking out of the room. "I'm still going to the onsen." He left without saying anything else. What the hell? I only went on one date with that woman! Why are they all acting like we’re a divorced couple?!
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walked into the cafeteria and looked around for an empty table. She found one next to the fireplace in the rear end of the room. She hurried to get a seat because she was afraid that someone else would sit there. It was ironic that someone read through her thoughts, another man sat at the same table just as she reached it.
“Umm…sorry, but I saw this table first,” she said politely.
“Oh?” the young man said raising his eyebrow. “In that case, I sat here first,” he answered with a smirk.
placed her hands on her hips and glared at him. “I am not in the mood to argue,” she said annoyed.
“Look, I am not a man to disbelieve a beautiful woman, but since there is no other place available, I think we should share this table,” the young man said smiling sweetly.
narrowed her eyes looking at the man in front of her. Why does he look familiar to me? She thought, eyeing him dangerously. I am not buying his innocent act, but he’s cute, so why not? She shrugged, sitting down. She picked up the menu and skimmed through it ignoring the other man.
“Thank you.” Was all the man said, sitting right across her, his smile never fading.
lifted her head and looked at the man, she shuddered seeing his smile. I am getting scary vibes from him.
They both ordered a cup of hot chocolate. turned her gaze to look at the fire burning in the fireplace and the man was looking around at the different people in the spacious room.
Their orders came after a few minutes. The waiter placed each cup in front of them and left after bowing politely.
sipped on her hot chocolate quietly, without looking at the man, but could feel his intense gaze on her skin. She shivered and looked at him annoyed. “Would you mind not staring at me,” she said as softly as possible, trying not to show her irritation.
“Oh! I didn’t realize I was staring,” he said, looking at her straight in the eyes. “Are you alone here?”
“I don’t think its any of your business.” She sipped her hot chocolate, not backing off from the staring contest. Why does he look familiar? I have seen this face before! I just know it.
“You are very interesting.” He chuckled “So, are you alone here?” he asked again.
narrowed her eyes at him. “No. I am here with friends.” She looked away annoyed. "You said we were only going to share the table, you didn’t say anything about talking."
“Oh! Where are they? I don’t see them.” He placed his elbow on the table and rested his chin on his hand, completely ignoring her last remark. “What’s your name?”
“Are you hitting on me?” she asked, looking at him in surprise. “Just so you know, I am not interested in playboys like you.” She crossed her arms and glared at him.
“He he… you sure are a very interesting woman.” He chuckled. “I am Yukimura Seichi. Photographer.” He winked.
sighed. “I don’t care Yukimura-san.” She looked away. “Please don’t share too much information. I already have someone special.”
“So cold. It doesn’t suit you,” he said calmly as if her words never reached his ears. “Besides, I am a photographer for National Geographic. So you can relax.” He laughed. “And for your information, if I wanted to seduce you, I would have already.”
She looked at him raising her brow. “You are very confident,” she said indifferently.
“Don’t flatter yourself miss, you are not my type.” He smiled sweetly, looking at her intensely.
“Seiichi?”
Both and Yukimura turned their heads to the voice they heard. was shocked and Yukimura just grinned and stood up to hug his friend. “Genichirou. Now this is something I never expected.” He laughed.
“Seiichi. What are you doing here?” Sanada asked his friend, smiling warmly.
“Sanada. You know this man?” asked, shocked at the greeting exchange of the two men.
“Oh! !” He looked at her surprised, noticing she was sitting at the same table with Yukimura.
“So, you have a name! And it's .” He laughed cheerfully “Nice to meet you -sama.” He bowed politely.
was looking from Sanada to Yukimura and back to Sanada again. She was waiting for someone to tell her what was going on. Both men sat on the table and Sanada looked at .
“This is Yukimura Seiichi; he was my captain in Junior and High School. He is also my best friend,” he explained calmly.
“Oh… I remember you now! I saw you in a picture at Niou’s place!” After looked at him perplexed trying to absorb everything he told her. A while later, when she realized what was going on, she blushed and looked at Yukimura embarrassed.
“I… I am so sorry. I… I didn’t know who you were.” She bowed respectfully.
Yukimura laughed and waved his hand “Nah…it’s alright. It was fun,” he said with his usual sweet smile eyeing both Sanada and carefully. "So, -chan," he said playfully. "Is he your special someone?"
looked at him as if she wanted to kill him and then turned to look at Sanada, who had a surprised look on his face. "Umm… no," she said, wanting to kill herself. "That… That was just a lie to get you off my back," she admitted with a nervous chuckle.
"Then answer me this, are you two here together alone?"
blushed even more, but shook her head.
"Seiichi, you need to stop embarrassing ."
Yukimura laughed and looked at who was glaring daggers at him.
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Next Day
"I'm sorry, it seems this is not your type of outing," told .
let out a sigh, looking at the slope underneath her. She frowned and was trying to decide whether to take the risk or not. "I'm sorry because I never told you I didn't ski before."
"Oh, come on!" She slapped her back. "With your rich parents?! I'm sure it was child's play for you."
grimaced at the word 'parents'. "My mother was allergic to snow," she mumbled.
hugged her arm. "Come on, girlfriend. It's easy; I know you're a great ice skater, so just go with the same flow."
looked at her wryly. "I highly doubt that."
kissed her cheek and moved away. "Watch me," she said, moving ahead and skiing down the slope.
hesitated and noticed that they were all down waiting for her. She wasn't that confident because she had never done it. She moved a bit and went downhill. It was a small slope and she wasn't that ready. However, the minute she felt confident, she slipped. "Uh-oh…" she said, tripping and rolling hard onto the snow.
"Oh my gosh! !" exclaimed, running to her. "Are you alright?" she asked, rolling her onto her back.
coughed, spitting snow out and looked at her wryly. "No," she said. "I have snow in my pants!"
smiled and hugged her. "Let's go back up and try again."
"I'm sorry, but no." shook her head, removing her skis. ", I… I just don't want to do this. You hang out with Sanada and Niou. I just want to go back inside and drink something warm." , why are you trying so hard to make my relationship with Niou work? We only went on one date. One date is normal and we didn’t click… why are you insisting ?
"Stop being a coward and get your ass back up."
and both looked sharply at Niou who had said that. simply ignored him, picking up her keys and went back up to the cabin. If he didn’t want to be around her, then he should be quiet and leave her alone. 'I'll see you later, ." I don’t have to put up with his crap! And I seriously don’t have to be around him if he doesn’t want to be around ME.
The minute was gone; pushed Niou hard onto the snow in front of Sanada. "What the hell?!" he shouted.
"You're being an intolerable ass! Could you stop picking on her?" demanded, hands on her hips. "She already hates being here."
"I'm in the same predicament as hers," he muttered, standing up and shaking the snow off his hair. “Why are you insisting for us to try? We had one date, damnit! We didn’t click! Get that through your head, !”
"I want you to go up there and apologize to her,” she said, completely ignoring his last statement.
"Over my dead body," he said, holding onto his skis. "I'm here to have fun, period." He walked back up to the slope, not saying another word.
"Sanada…' looked at him for support.
He looked at Niou who was going up and then back at . ", let's enjoy our time. I wouldn’t worry about them." The best way to handle Masaharu when he’s pissed off is to leave him alone, he thought knowingly. needs to calm down as well.
She let out a sigh and nodded.
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"Idiot!" muttered. "Idiot! Idiot!"
She was trying not to be very angry. She finally reached the resort again and caught a glimpse of him behind her; she decided to ignore him and walked to her room to change.
However, she did notice that he had ignored her as well and that he had gone up to the top floor. Knowing him, he probably wants to be alone, she thought with a sigh.
She walked to her room, but then stopped, looking down. I am to blame for his mood, she thought, swallowing hard. fought with her inner self and finally decided to follow him. She told herself that she would apologize to him. At least, she wanted to get that out of her conscious.
Why am I in this predicament? She thought, looking around. I thought I was going to get some free time alone… I… I don’t know what to do with Niou. Lately, someone else has been occupying my mind. Someone that shouldn’t even be in my mind in the first place…
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Niou never went back down, but he decided to go to the top floor of the resort and enjoy the view with a cigarette. He didn’t know why he kept picking on her, but every time he saw her, his blood boiled with want. He knew he was physically attracted to her, but he didn’t want to go through that painful experience again. She is one confused woman and I don’t need that on my mind right now…
“You’re mad at me.”
He looked at her, exhaling the smoke and nodded. “Yes,” he confirmed, leaning on the balcony surface, looking at the snowy scenery below.
walked up to him. “Will it help if I say I’m sorry?”
He let out a sigh and glanced at her. A few seconds later, he threw the cigarette away and turned around, his back leaning on the wooden banister. “I’m only here because Sanada insisted.”
frowned, hugging herself. “For what it’s worth, I do want to try with you,” she said honestly. “It… It was a mistake, Niou. My date with Sanada was awkward and… well… I think it was my fault when he kissed me under the mistletoe, but it meant nothing.”
“Your face always says that it meant something.”
used all her inner struggle not to blush and she was glad that it worked. “Well I am telling you NOW that it meant nothing,” she snapped angrily. She really wanted to try this. Even if she had a slight better feeling when she was with Sanada, she just couldn’t do anything about it. liked him and she continuously talked about him and knew that she would never ever do that to anyone, let alone her one and only, .
He didn’t say anything.
was disappointed at his silence. She withdrew quietly. “Anyway… I needed you to know that. Please… This is between us Niou. No one knows.” She turned around to leave.
“.”
stopped, turning back around to face him.
He wanted to say something, but then shook his head. “Goodnight.” He said and turned his back to her.
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Later
struggled to get to her feet as she walked back outside again. She decided that there was no use sulking in her room anymore, so she wanted to try the outdoor activities again. Damn it, , she cursed inwardly, you and your ideas. She moved slowly and tried to keep her balance, but was not so successful. A hand circled around her waist and steadied her. She looked confused at the person and saw…
“Niou!” she said shocked. He hadn't spoken to her after she had apologized to him. “I’m surprised you’re helping me up…” she said softly, not looking at him.
He looked at her seriously, his face emotionless. “For now, you look like you need my help," he said, taking off his ski pedals. He walked behind her and placed his hands on her waist. “Keep your knees slightly bent, that’s to gain balance.” He pushed her body forward a bit. “That’s to gain more stability and speed. It’s like skating, but instead of skates you have ski pedals.” He walked away from her. “Do you think you can handle it?” He chuckled looking at her “You don’t want to repeat this morning’s fall, do you?”
looked at him and placed her hands on her hips “Hey… You shouldn’t make fun of me, ok?” she glared at him. “I am fine. Now go. Sanada and are already down waiting for us.” She positioned herself and hesitated because it seemed too high and she suddenly got a flashback of that morning’s tumble. She bent down and took of the pedals. “On second thought, I am too much of a coward to ski again.” She picked the pedals and looked at Niou who was laughing aloud.
She walked and picked up the pedals. Niou had followed her and done the same thing. “So now what?” he asked.
“You could have gone down. Stop laughing,” she murmured softly. She started to walk away, but stopped when she felt his arms around her waist. She stopped and he kissed her softly on the base of her neck. She felt warm inside from this small gesture. She turned and looked at him; he had a mischievous look on his face.
“I am wondering what’s going on in that head of yours,” she stated flatly “Is it even something I would like to know?” she asked not expecting him to answer. She knew that she had hurt his pride; therefore, she was not going to wait for an apology from him. She would just go with the flow and see the turn of events occur.
“I was just thinking about how to get down to our friends.” He smirked. “I have a brilliant idea.” He pulled along with him.
He went ahead and rented a sled. Is he for real? thought, looking at him as he pulled the sled towards her. They reached the top of the slope as she hesitantly walked behind him. He positioned the sled and motioned for to sit on it.
“Are you crazy? I am not sitting on that thing.” She crossed her hands and looked away.
“If you don’t sit on it, then I will throw you down the slope.” He chuckled and eyed .
She turned to look at him wide eyed. Somehow she was under the impression that he would throw her down because she never knew when he was serious or joking… so she took her seat in the middle of the sled.
Niou sat right behind her and hugged her while he reached for the rope that controlled the sled on its way down.
“If I die, I will come back and haunt you,” she said and trembled at the sight of the slope in front of her.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered “I am holding you. Think of it as a roller coaster thrill ride.”
“That makes me feel a lot better Niou,” she retorted sarcastically.
He pushed the sled and they were off the slope. was screaming all the way down and Niou was laughing. He held onto her tightly and directed the sled to slightly turn to the right so they could reach the bottom where and Sanada were waiting for them.
They reached the bottom safely. was in shock. She had leaned into Niou’s body for safety and was trembling. When they stopped, she jumped off the sled and closed herself into ’s arms.
was laughing; Sanada was trying to keep himself from laughing at the sight of . Niou was still sitting on the sled, laughing out loud like a kid.
“I will get back at you for this ,” hissed.
“Why me?! He’s the one that put you on it.” laughed. “There is a coffee house over there.” pointed to a small wooden café. “Why don’t you go over there and sit. I want to go through some more slopes.” She giggled. “Unless you want to follow in the sled.”
groaned inwardly at her friend, she can be so childish sometimes. walked towards the café without saying anything. She was annoyed at the