To Mt. Yotoke

After waking up and getting ready, the four of us met in front of the hotel. However, despite telling us to be here at 6 a.m. sharp, he wasn’t here himself. Before I could even comment on it, Rentarou beat me to the punch.

“Where the hell is he? He made us go to sleep super early, just to have us loiter out here? That’s it, I’m going back inside!” Rentarou began to stomp away, leaving heavy boot prints in the snow, which Hinako trailed after.

“Wait, Rentarou… Don’t go inside, we are supposed to wait out here. It hasn’t even been five minutes yet.”

“Well, it’s been too long!” Rentarou didn’t stop walking off. Even in the distance, I could hear him and his harsh steps. With a slam of his foot, the snow crunched underneath, and that was a soothing sound to hear. It let me close my eyes, as I was mostly unable to last night, all because of Yukimura.

She was… no, her smile was so beautiful. I want to see it again. Maybe I can see it if I fall asleep again. However, before I could sleep in the snow, I suddenly heard a voice behind me.

“Boo!” I sprang up, and when I landed on my feet, I saw who the culprit was: Takeda. He chuckled after seeing me jump up like a cat.

“Were you trying to go to sleep, Shin?”

“Me? Nope. Never.” I shook my head profusely until Takeda asked me another question.

“Where are the siblings? Did they sleep in?”

“No, Rentarou went back inside. So, Hinako followed him.” Takeda sighed before marching inside the hotel. Seconds later, he came out, dragging Rentarou by the ear, and was followed by Hinako.

“Why couldn’t you wait a few extra minutes, huh?”

“I-I’m sorry, Takeda. I tried to stop him, but he wasn’t listening.”

“Hinako, it’s fine. I don’t want to hear an apology from you; I want to hear one from the leader. But if he can’t give a simple apology, then how can I expect him to lead the fight against a yokai?” Takeda sighed as he said, “I guess you leave me—”

“I’m sorry! I was cold and bored waiting for you, sorry.”

“Good, a team leader should be able to do that much.” Takeda released his grasp on Rentarou’s ear as he raised his hand. “What is it, now?”

“Why are you five minutes late? You’re never late!”

“Oh, that?” He was about to explain before glancing at Yukimura and me. He sighed as he placed his hand on my shoulder. “Before I explain, can you wake up Yukimura, Shin?”

“Wake her up? What do you mean?” Yukimura was standing a few feet away from me. Her eyes were cold like ice as Takeda and I approached her; they didn’t budge, and neither did the rest of her body. It was like she was an ice statue. Even when Takeda pointed his finger straight toward her eyes, Yukimura didn’t budge.

“She can sleep with her eyes open and also while standing up. But I didn’t expect her to do both.” Takeda laughed, walking away from Yukimura, while I stepped closer to her. And when I was really close, I could hear it: her gentle snoring.

Oh, she really was sleeping. I wanted to laugh, but I also didn’t want to disturb her. You look adorable when you’re sleeping, but I’m sorry, Yukimura. I lightly poked her cheek to wake her up, but the unexpected touch made her jolt awake.

“W-W-What are you doing?” I’m not sure if it was from the cold or from embarrassment, but her face was beginning to turn pink.

“Waking you up. Did you not get much sleep last night?”

“I-I did. I was just more tired than I thought.”

“Then, I have good news for you, Yukimura.” Takeda interrupted our conversation, I think in an attempt to get us back on track. “You can sleep on the shuttle bus that I was busy loading up.”

“Shuttle bus?”

“Yes. It’s packed with all the gear you need to go hiking today.”

“Hiking? Why didn’t you say that earlier? I thought we were gonna kill a yokai, but hiking is fun, too!”

“Rentarou, we are going to kill a yokai.”

“Then, why are we hiking? Seems like a waste of time to me.”

“That’s because the Yuki-onna resides somewhere on Mt. Yotoke.”

“Couldn’t we just use a ski lift to get us to the top, instead?”

“No. I’m not particularly sure why, but this Yuki-onna has only appeared toward people climbing the mountain. There may be something off with it, but in any case, that is why you guys will be hiking up Mt. Yotoke. Any questions?” The only one to raise their hand was me.

“How do you hike?”

“Do you not know how to hike?”

“Nope. I’ve never even been on a class trip before.”

“Well, in that case—”

“I can help you, Shin.” Hinako interrupted Takeda with a gleam in her eyes. “Hiking is super fun. It’s not hard or complicated either. You just need to know the basics, what to look out for, and not to get lost. I-I-I…” However, that burst of excitement did not last long as she immediately went back to her usual timid self. “S-Sorry, I got carried away there.”

“No, it’s fine. It’s good that you care so much about hiking; it means that you’ll probably make a good teacher.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

“Good… So, we should hurry and get inside so the teaching can begin.” After saying that, Hinako immediately began to tug and pull on my sleeve until I let her drag me to the shuttle bus. I can see how they’re related now.

Before I fully entered the bus, I took one look back behind me. I saw Rentarou running after us and Yukimura trailing him. She seemed to be mouthing something; however, I couldn’t hear it. I didn’t even have time to inquire before Hinako pulled me inside.