(V4) Chapter 7: Leap of Faith (II)

By the time we reached the fourth checkpoint, the air had changed. The tension, the pace, the game—we weren’t rushing anymore.

It was a plateau—so quiet and peaceful.

The next puzzle block was waiting on a field with azaleas, alpines, hydrangeas and short wild grasses swaying on the breeze.

“糸 and 言,” I said, reading off the two blocks. “Thread and…words?”

Takamine-san’s voice was soft. “Kizuna. 絆. It means bond.”

She didn’t explain further, and I didn’t ask. We both knew what that word meant, even if we weren’t ready to talk about it.

But it hung between us anyway.

A memory passed through my head—Mukojima inn, especially. We never touched each other back then but I’m damn sure that there’s something that remained between us.

It wasn’t those unsaid feelings that we cherished. It was an invisible thing.

A connection, probably.

Maybe they called it a thread. And that’s something that is hard to sever.

Takamine-san’s figure crying on the riverbank, the way she embraced me at their mansion. And then…how she broke down on my suite’s balcony.

There was something that made our fates cross even though we never wanted it in the first place. It was as if destiny played tricks with us, making sure we are drawn together constantly and keep finding one another all over again.

And then—

"Bridge." I mumbled subconsciously, as if my own thoughts created the word for me.

I looked at my hands and I already absentmindedly set the blocks in the right order.

"If it's a bridge, then we're already here."

I followed Takamine-san’s gaze, and there was a long hanging bridge connecting two cliffs.

As we got closer, I got a great look about how high enough our position was. Falling from this altitude could guarantee death.

At the entrance, there was red signage.

"ONE AT A TIME."

The sign was half-eaten by moss, and the bridge itself swayed slightly at the breeze.

"Seems safe." I remarked.

"Safe?" Takamine-san questioned. "It looks like it was built in the Edo period."

“Then, are you scared?”

She shot me a glare, stepping forward.

“I’m not scared. Just not stupid and reckless as you.”

"Alright." I knelt down and tied a spare rope near the bridge on my leg.

Takamine-san sent an ‘are you crazy’ glance over me, which I managed to disregard.

"What the heck are you doing?"

"Preventing you from being scared."

Her brows furrowed.

"How's that supposed to help me?"

I kept doing my work, tying another knot at the wooden plank supporting the bridge entrance.

"You'll know later, if we're too unlucky."

***

Takamine-san cautiously held at the bridge handles, and started to take the first step.

Creak.

Her foot landed on the first wooden plank with a slight tremble. It held her weight. I turned to her, brow raised.

“See? Just walk slowly."

She nodded hesitantly, our eyes meeting for a beat. “If I fall and die, I’m haunting you.”

"Not on my watch."

She kept threading carefully until she was a fourth across the bridge. I kept a steady glance, and the structure was holding fine.

"I'm doing fine here. Maybe." she spoke with a shaky voice.

"Just keep walk—"

SNAP.

The sound was too fast and loud, enough to snap my adrenaline rush.

"AH!" Takamine-san screamed.

One of the bridge planks beneath her heel gave out entirely.

Her eyes widened with a flash of fear and horror as she dropped.

“Takamine-san!”

I sprung from my position.

No hesitation.

One breath.

And I found myself jumping along her descent.

We plunged half a meter before I could grab her arm, and the rope I tied on my foot prevented us from falling entirely.

However, the momentum of our combined weight made my leg twist in an unnatural position.

Massive pain shot, but I didn't care. What matters is I held her in both arms.

We laid there for a moment, trying to register what happened. Our breathing was a mess, and we stared at each other as if we're our own lifelines.

"Don't let go! Just focus on calming yourself!" I screamed.

She nodded eagerly, "I'm doing it!"

I started pulling her up with a groan of effort.

I tightened my grip and pulled again, my body straining with everything I had.

And that’s when my shirt slipped from the force.

Takamine-san's eyes locked on my torso.

She froze. I don’t know if that was the fear of falling or something way deeper.

Her voice dropped to a whisper. “What…are those?”

I didn’t answer right away. I kept pulling. Until finally—she scrambled up over the edge and collapsed into me, both of us panting hard on the wooden planks.

Her weight against me.

The soft ends of her body.

Her warmth.

Her scent, like spring rain and something sharp.

Noticing we were on top of each other, her face burned red and she bolted upright to sit.

“You…idiot,” she said softly. “You almost fell.”

“We didn’t,” I muttered, still catching my breath. “You okay?”

She didn’t answer.

Instead, she pushed me back on the grass, clambering on top of me and raising the hem of my shirt.

Scars, cuts and burns trailed along everywhere including my limbs, a reminder of what I've fought before.

But what's more alarming was the diagonal stab wound that extended from my liver up to the right chest.

Her fingers brushed against it, the wound still fresh and healing. I'm glad that Ayase didn't bother to check on me before or this will be a big issue.

“…These came from a rapier...” she murmured quietly.

“No.” I rose to a sitting position and yanked down my PE shirt.

“Stop lying. I do fencing.”

“Yeah.”

Looks like I have no way out of here.

Her voice was quiet, trembling. “Did you…do this to stop my transfer?”

I looked away.

When I couldn't voice my reasoning, she spoke again.

“So you really brought me home that night and confronted my father?!”

I didn’t deny it. I just kept my head down.

Her exhales were more audible than ever. “You airhead—are you out of your mind?! Why—why would you go that far—?! That wasn’t your burden to—”

“I know,” I cut in. “But I couldn’t let you go.” The words came faster than I expected. “You said you didn’t want to say you’d miss me. But I’d rather carry scars than spend every day wondering if I’d ever see you again.”

Her lips parted slightly. No words came.

I said before that I'll appreciate a brief scolding but looking at her eyes, she had no intention of doing such.

And for a second—I thought she was going to cry. I couldn’t read her face. That was the part that scared me more than anything. Not the fall. Not the scars. Just not knowing what she’d say.

Before I knew it, she swats her arms sideward.

And a burning sensation flared at my left cheek.

“You’re such a goddamn idiot,” she whispered. “But…”

“But?” I asked, voice low.

She leaned her forehead against mine. Breathing in time with me. Close enough that I could feel the heat of her skin.

“…Don’t stop being one. Not yet.”

The sun broke through the clouds above, casting the entire plateau in gold.

"Can you call for rescue?" I asked.

"Later."

We sank on the grass bed and stayed up for the moment, feeling each other's warmth. My leg pulsed in protest. Probably strained something, maybe worse. But her breathing evened out, so I didn’t care.

And somewhere behind us, far down or maybe across the hill, the others already won and grabbed their prizes.

But up here?

It was just us.

And I feel like this was enough.

I glanced back at the red sign swaying in the wind.

"ONE AT A TIME."

Guess they didn’t account for two idiots tied together.