Snow.

As I blinked awake in my bed (a foreign experience in its own right), the remnants of the previous night's distraction remained at the forefront of my mind. As I'd drifted off to sleep, those worries had bled into my dreams, and my thoughts had been a frigid, pure white. While I trusted that I would be safe, that hadn't prevented my subconscious from catastrophizing.

Rising from beneath my blankets, I quickly dressed, and checked what I needed for the day. Having never skied before, I had elected to leave the preparation of the list entirely in Yotsuba's hands.

"Gloves... check," I muttered to myself, searching through my suitcase. "Balaclava... hmm, couldn't find one of those, so I guess... not check? Ok, next... ski goggles. I still don't even know what those are."

"Mmm, good morning, Uesugi Fuutarou. What a bea-u-tiful day!"

I glanced behind me to see Second Place-san peeking out from under his blanket, a cheeky grin on his face. Rolling my eyes, I muttered greetings back to him and returned to my checklist.

Ski poles? Where the hell would I have even gotten those?!

My faith in Yotsuba was plummeting by the second.

Having assured myself that I had procured every reasonable thing, I left the room. Second Place-san watched me go, then elected to bother Maeda instead.

More power to him, I guess.

After a quick breakfast courtesy of Itsuki and the other students on meal duty, I found myself lined up to board a large bus. For those who had chosen to go skiing, the buses were set to carry us up the mountain to where the ski resort was located. Of course, not every student was going -- but a large enough majority were standing in the various boarding lines that it felt as though it were everyone.

Nino was with her friends, as one might have expected -- but the other four sisters were standing in line with me. As we slowly prepared to board the buses, Yotsuba prodded my side gently through the thick, warm jacket I'd put on.

"Are you ready, Uesugi-san? This is gonna be so much fun!"

"I am ready," I nodded resolutely. "I am terrified."

"Good, goo-- wait, terrified?! That makes it sound like you don't trust me as a teacher! Geez. I bet I'm a great teacher!"

"Promise you'll teach me how to stop," I said drily.

"You're still on that? I wouldn't forget something that important!"

"Right..." I said, my voice drenched in doubt.

"You don't believe me! Rude, Uesugi-san!"

"My apologies, Yotsuba-sensei," I said, bowing my head as I stepped up onto the bus ahead of her. "I'm sure you won't forget a single thing."

"Shi shi shi! That's right, I won't!" Yotsuba grinned smugly as we ascended the steps. "It's gonna be great!"

The bus was of a different type than the one we'd taken to the campgrounds; instead of four seats facing one another with a table in the middle, it simply consisted of rows upon rows of forward-facing seats. Resigned to a lack of cards, I walked down to near the end of the bus, and slid along to sit next to the window. Yotsuba immediately plopped into the seat next to me, while Ichika and Itsuki sat in the row in front of us. Miku sat across, taking the aisle seat -- an odd decision in my view, given the window seat was empty.

As the bus began to pull away, Miku looked out the window, and an uncharacteristic grin crossed her face. She looked down at her phone, which was in her lap, and I noticed that she was almost... cradling it. As we ascended out of the valley in which the campgrounds were located, she began tapping on her phone screen. Curious, I pulled out my own phone, and saw that we had ascended enough to receive a faint cell phone signal.

Suddenly, I heard a buzzing sound -- but it wasn't from my phone. Yotsuba pulled her own device out of her pocket, and looked down at it. She frowned, and then started laughing. Turning to me, she grinned.

"Why yes, Uesugi-san! You should come find me! Good luck -- I'm a master of stealth!"

I frowned at her.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

She turned her phone to show me the message she'd just received -- from none other than myself.

<Done putting my stuff away. Should I come find you?>

Groaning, I looked at my phone to see that the message I'd failed to send the previous day had finally been delivered upon our return to service range.

"Well, that's about twenty-four hours too late," I muttered.

"Come on, Uesugi-san! Try and find me!" she laughed, reaching out with both hands and covering my eyes.

"Hmm, let's see," I said drily. "I imagine you're approximately thirty centimetres to my right."

"Aw, boo, you're too good at this," she pouted -- or at least, I imagined she was pouting. Her hands were still over my eyes. I could clearly tell from her voice that she was joking, though.

"Thanks. I'm famous for having object permanence."

"Oh really?" she said, removing one of her hands but leaving the other. "What an interesting and rare skill!"

"Can you guys keep the flirting down?" Itsuki asked, turning back and looking at us through the gap in the headrests. "I'm trying to read."

"Sorry, we'll tone it do-- wait, hang on," I frowned. "We're not flirting."

"Sure," Itsuki retorted, turning back to face forward. "You just keep telling yourself that, Uesugi-kun."

Yotsuba's face immediately began to redden. As she laughed awkwardly and removed her other hand, I could see Ichika attempting to stifle her laughter through the gap in the headrests.

Rolling my eyes, I turned to look out the window.

We weren't flirting. I have no interest in such things.

The scenery going by was truly stunning, and I was soon distracted from my irritation by my awe of the mountains. As the bus weaved its way along winding roads, the orange and green forest canopies gradually gave way to a pristine white as we got higher and higher into the heights. As we rose, I could feel my ears pop. Eventually, the entire ground was covered in snow, the effects of the snowstorm two days prior still fully on display.

There was a stark beauty to grey mountains wreathed in white.

Finally, we rounded a corner, and began to descend into a shallow valley. On the far side, I could see where trees had been cleared to make runs, and small specks of black were shooting down the mountain -- presumably, the skiers. Having crossed another valley at some point, I had to look out the far window to see the beautiful sights on display; but as I did so, I found myself distracted.

Specifically, by the fact that Miku was literally bouncing in her seat with excitement.

My eyes narrowed. It was possibly the most un-Miku-like thing I'd ever seen. She was completely ignoring the scene outside the window, looking down and typing frantically on her phone. Whenever it vibrated, she'd start bouncing again, and glance out the window momentarily before returning to her phone.

Weird. Maybe I just... have a fundamental misunderstanding of her character.

Eventually, the bus pulled to a halt at the resort, and we began to unload. Eventually I found myself standing outside with Yotsuba and her sisters -- minus Nino, naturally. Miku looked as impatient as I'd ever seen her, practically hopping from one foot to another. She kept looking at her phone, and then at the teacher.

She's like a puppy pining for a walk...

The thought hit me out of nowhere, and made me chuckle. Itsuki looked at me funnily, and I turned the laugh into a cough.

We were called in groups of six based on where we were standing to go get our "lift passes", whatever those were. Eventually Itsuki, Miku, and Ichika were called separately, leaving just Yotsuba and I behind. A few minutes later, we too were sent forth, and upon reaching a service counter, I was handed a ticket about the size of my extended hand to be attached to my jacket somewhere visible. Clipping it on, I followed Yotsuba into a separate room filled with all sorts of equipment.

"Now then, Uesugi-san," she said, her voice a rhapsody in smug. "It's time for me to ascend, to become... Yotsuba-sensei! Did you bring the things I asked you to bring?"

"Obviously not," I sighed. "I brought gloves and a jacket, but I couldn't find a balaclava, goggles, nor ski poles. Where the heck was I even supposed to get those anyways?"

"From a department stor-- ah, well, nevermind. It's not that important. The poles and goggles you can rent from here, and you can use a scarf instead of a balaclava. So... it's fine!"

I frowned. "If I could get them here, why were you suggesting I buy them?"

"For repeat use," Yotsuba said blankly, a quizzical look on her face. "It's cheaper in the long run to buy than to rent every time."

"...Eh?"

"Eh?"

We both stared at each other. Then, her face started to slowly get red as she realized the implications of what she'd said.

"A-Anyways, let's go get the stuff you need, Uesugi-san!" Yotsuba said, turning on the spot and marching away, her hand held high above her head, indicating for me to follow. I stared after her for a moment.

I... guess we're going skiing together again at some point? And... not on a school trip?

The thought gave me both a warm feeling in my chest... and a vague sense of terror.

Shaking my head to clear it, I set off after her. The large building we were in was apparently called a "chalet", or a ski lodge. There was a small gift shop on the second floor, where Yotsuba bought me a scarf and ski goggles. I'd protested, naturally, but she insisted that it was her prerogative as "Yotsuba-sensei". As we walked down the stairs, I inspected my new scarf, and couldn't help but laugh. It was inscribed with the name of the ski resort... and then what appeared to be a series of different species of penguin, each going skiing or snowboarding. One was going sledding, and I found one more on the end which appeared to be taking a nap.

It was ridiculous.

And cute.

"Alright, we're here!" Yotsuba declared, turning around and putting her fists on her hips. "First things first -- take off your boots!"

"...Excuse me?"

"Boots! Off!"

Pulling off my boots at her command, I felt strangely naked standing in the public building in just my socks. Picking them up, I followed Yotsuba over to a set of footlockers, which I promptly used to store my recently departed boots. Clipping the key to the inside of my jacket pocket so as to not lose them -- I was rather fond of my boots after all, having only just purchased them -- I was then led by a wayward Yotsuba over to a counter where a rather bored-looking foreign man was scrolling on his phone.

"Excuse me!" Yotsuba called as we approached. "We'd like two pairs of ski boots, please!"

The man looked up at us, glanced at the tags on our jackets, sighed, and put the phone away.

"Certainly," he said in heavily accented Japanese. "May I have your shoe sizes?"

After providing him with the relevant information, the man went over to a large wooden rack, and began browsing. As he looked, I tried to place his accent -- I wasn't sure, but I thought he might have been Australian. When he returned, he was holding two boots that looked like they were designed for a broken ankle.

"For you, sir," he said politely, handing them to me. "I'll have yours in a moment, miss."

"Thank you!" Yotsuba said brightly. She beckoned me over to a flat wooden bench, and had me sit down.

"Now," she began, "with a ski boot, it's not going to feel the same as a regular boot at all. It's a lot tighter, so that you don't injure your ankle if you fall! So, you won't be able to move your ankle, and it'll feel pretty tight on your calf. It shouldn't hurt though, so if it's too tight, let me know!"

"Um, ok," I said, looking down at the gaping chasm that was the mouth of the boot. "So, do I... just stick it in?"

"Um... yes."

With Yotsuba knelt down in front of me, I slid my foot into the boot that she was holding steady. It was a bit of a tight fit, and for a moment, I wasn't sure I'd be able to manage; but then my calf popped through, and my foot was fully in.

"Alright!" Yotsuba cheered. "Now, do up the latches as tightly as you can, and we'll do the other one."

I leaned down, and saw that there were two latches on the boot, which served the purpose of compression. I latched them, and felt my calf immediately be immobilized. It didn't hurt, per se, but it wasn't the most comfortable of feelings either. As Yotsuba helped me put the other boot on, I grew ever more confident that within a matter of hours, my shins would be killing me.

"Miss?"

Yotsuba looked up to see the man at the counter holding up another, smaller pair of boots. Popping up from her kneeling position, she bounded over to the man and grabbed the offered footwear. Returning, she sat down next to me.

"Do you want help?" I offered, feeling a bit awkward about my relative incompetence.

Yotsuba shook her head. "Thanks, but it'll be kind of hard for you to kneel down with both of those boots on. Besides, I've done this on my own before -- I'll be fine!"

Her own ski boots went on much faster than my own, and soon enough she was standing again.

"Alright, now, let's get you a helmet, skis, and ski poles!"

I got up -- and immediately wobbled. Yotsuba hurried over to my side immediately, and grabbed my arm to support me.

"Whoa! Uesugi-san, you've got to walk with your legs straight. You can't bend your ankle, so you need to stiffen your legs, and walk like a penguin!"

"Like... a penguin?"

"Yeah! Come on, try it!"

I attempted to walk, and immediately found that it was quite difficult. I had to rely on Yotsuba at first until I found my footing, though eventually I found my rhythm. We walked over to an area where there were helmets hanging from a rotatable hat tree, and I eventually found one that fit snugly. We then walked -- or rather, waddled -- over to another counter, where another foreign man was helping two of our classmates.

When he finished, he turned to us, and grinned.

"Skis?"

Another Australian, huh?

"Yes please," I said.

"Height?"

We both told him the relevant numbers, and the man briefly disappeared before returning with skis. He put one pair aside, then turned to me.

"Boot please?"

I just stared at him.

"Oh, shoot, sorry Uesugi-san," Yotsuba said from behind me, sighing. "I forgot they need to adjust the skis. Can you take off just one of the boots?"

Scowling, I reached down, and undid the clasps on my right boot, something which required no small amount of effort. Yotsuba squatted down and held the back of the boot, and I pulled my foot out. She rose back to her feet and handed the boot to the worker, who took it over to the set of skis, and began making adjustments with a screwdriver.

"Uesugi-san, would you mind helping me get mine off next?" Yotsuba asked.

"Sure," I said, one eye still on the man adjusting my skis.

I squatted down behind her, and held the back while Yotsuba undid the clasps. She then pulled her foot out as well, leaving me with the boot in-hand. Making a distinct effort not to think about the relative placement of her body and my head -- a base, irrelevant concern which had been forcing its way into my head unbidden a frustrating amount recently -- I pulled back, and then rose to my full height, my knees groaning in protest.

"Thanks!" she said brightly, taking the boot. The employee returned with my skis, and then took Yotsuba's boot out of her hands. Hobbling back over to a bench with the skis over my shoulder, I pushed my foot back into the boot, and re-did the procedure of tightening the clasps. By the time I'd finished, Yotsuba had already been handed her skis, and had sat down next to me to do the same thing.

"Ready to hit the slopes?" she grinned as she finished.

"Nope," I said. "Let's do this."

I followed Yotsuba out a nearby double-door, and found myself on a small plain of flattened snow. There was a collection of ski poles in a bucket outside the door, and we each grabbed a pair. As I started to lower my skis to the ground, Yotsuba stopped me.

"Ah, no, no, hang on, Uesugi-san!" she warned. "If you put those on here, it's going to be really hard to get up the slope. Let's make our way over to the bunny hill first."

"Oh... ok," I replied uncertainly, unsure as to what exactly a 'bunny hill' was, nor its relationship to rabbits. Lifting my skis back up onto my shoulder, I followed Yotsuba around the edge of the lodge, and across a flat plain of snow to a small path with a sign labelled 'bunny hill' at its mouth. Walking through the snow in the ski boots posed a significantly greater challenge than the flat, linoleum floor of the chalet-- and the gentle upward slope as we trudged along the path certainly didn't help. Being unable to bend my ankles was... inconvenient, to say the lease.

It was almost ten minutes later that we finally emerged through a gap in a stretch of bright orange crash fencing, stepping out onto a relatively flat area of snow, though there was still some light curvature. Before us rose a long slope with various people skiing, snowboarding, and falling.

A lot of falling.

To the far right, I could see some sort of giant conveyor belt leading up the hill, which people were riding with their skis to reach the top.

What an odd contraption...

"The time has finally arrived!" Yotsuba exclaimed, her hands firmly on her hips. "It's time for Yotsuba-sensei to take the reins! For today, Uesugi-san, you'll be my student!"

"Yes, Yotsuba-sensei," I said, bowing my head. I put my skis down on the ground in preparation for putting them on.

"Lesson number one -- gravity!"

I blinked, pausing with my foot hovering over one of the skis. "Somehow, that's... not what I expected the first lesson to be."

"Eh? What were you expecting?"

I indicated at the skis. "How to put the damn things on."

"That's lesson number two," Yotsuba huffed. "Don't make me go out of order, please!"

"Ah. Sorry, sorry, my bad."

"Anyways, lesson one: gravity. Throughout the day, you're gonna get all caught up in skiing and figuring out how things work, so it's really easy to forget something super basic."

"Yeah?"

"Skis slide down the hill."

I paused for a moment, waiting to hear if there was more to her point.

There was not.

"What an astounding revelation," I said drily.

"Shi shi shi, I know! Earth-shattering!"

"So, are we going to move on to lesson two?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not until you've thoroughly absorbed lesson one."

"I'm pretty sure I know how gravity works, Yotsuba, so let's--"

Yotsuba waggled her eyebrows at me.

I frowned. Clearly, there was a point that she was trying to make, and that I was missing.

Looking down, I stared at the long pieces of wood I'd laid at my feet. There didn't seem to be anything particularly amiss with them. I looked back up at her with a question in my eyes, and she just waggled her eyebrows again.

I looked back down, perplexed.

Then--

"Oh wait, shit, they're aligned with the hill."

Yotsuba nodded, and I leaned down to turn the skis so that they were pointing perpendicular to the gradient of the hill, instead of parallel. As I was moving the skis, I marvelled at the fact that I'd completely missed something so basic -- and Yotsuba had caught it.

Maybe she'll be a decent teacher after all.

"Ok," I said, "lesson one has been thoroughly absorbed. Lesson two?"

"Right," she said, laying her own skis down parallel to mine. "Do you see the little lip at the front of your boots?"

"Yes."

"There's a lil' slot for them at the front of the bindings on the skis. Stick them in one at a time, and then stomp down on the pedal, hard. That'll lock the boot in place."

I did one experimentally, and felt a satisfying click sound as my ski locked. I stepped into the other, but it was harder than expected to balance on the one ski, and I began to wobble -- but then Yotsuba grabbed my arm, steadying me. Nodding gratefully to her, I slammed my other heel down.

Click.

Yotsuba quickly put her own skis on, and then began side-stepping up the hill towards the conveyor belt. After a moment, I tentatively followed her lead. At the bottom of the conveyor belt, the snow gave way to wooden planks, which were far easier to step on without sliding. Yotsuba ushered me onto the belt first, and then followed behind me.

"Ok, lesson three!" she called as we began to ascend the hill. "How to stop!"

"Oh, thank god," I murmured.

"Sorry, what was that Uesugi-san? I couldn't hear you!"

"Nevermind. So tell me, how do I stop?"

"There's the easy way, and the better way. The easy way works without needing any skill, but it won't work on steeper slopes. Which would you prefer to hear first?"

"Easy first," I decided.

"Ok! Look down at your skis."

I did as she commanded.

"Usually, when you're going down the slope, you wanna keep them as straight as possible. If you want to slow down, though, you can tilt them inwards, creating a kind of triangle shape. That'll slow you down, possibly even to a stop if the hill is shallow enough. It works by digging into the snow, so it's sometimes called snowploughing."

"That... seems simple enough," I said uncertainly. "Uh... what about the better way?"

"It's called a jump turn, and it's... kind of hard to explain. Basically, if you want to stop, you can jump and turn mid-air so that your skis go sideways, and you build up a ton of snow beneath the ski. Unless the hill is super icy, you'll stop almost immediately. It's hard to get right, though."

"Maybe we can hold off on that, then," I said nervously. "I think I would fall flat on my face if I tried that."

"Probably," Yotsuba said agreeably. "You should know, though -- you're going to fall anyways."

"Huh?"

"You're definitely going to fall at some point today. It happens to everyone when they're learning."

"...Oh."

"The important thing is to get up again. Oh, we're at the top of the hill!"

As we reached the top, I stepped off the belt onto the wooden board at the top, and quickly waddled forward to let Yotsuba off as well. Stepping forward, I found myself on a relatively flat area at the crest of the hill. There was a small slope to my right, before the true descent to the left.

"Ok, first things first -- let's try stopping!"

Yotsuba slid past me, down the shallow slope. Then, after about three seconds, she tilted her skis in, and came to a halt. Turning around, she beckoned to me. Gulping, I slid after her. As I began to pick up steam, I could feel myself panicking -- I already felt like I didn't have control over my motion. Looking down at my feet, I could see that the skis weren't really aligned, but rather were splayed outward. Forcing them inwards, I over-corrected, and my skis crossed. I felt myself lose balance, and as my boots collided, I crashed to the ground at Yotsuba's feet.

"Ow," I groaned. Yotsuba grinned down at me, and gently hauled me to my feet.

"Hmm, let's try that again. Maybe not while moving this time," she laughed. "Are you ok? Are you hurt at all?"

"Yeah, I guess," I muttered. "My pride is more bruised than anything else."

Standing, I practiced the snowplough position numerous times until I felt like I properly understood. Then, Yotsuba skied a short distance away again, and I followed suit. This time, I was able to successfully bring myself to a stop, though I did have a dangerous moment where I thought the skis would cross again.

"Good!"

The next step was going down the actual hill. Yotsuba pulled up beside me as we walked to the lip of the slope. Somehow, even though it hadn't seemed all that steep from the bottom... the edge felt like a precipice, a drop from which I would never recover if I allowed myself to fall.

Silently, I gulped again.

"We're going to go down the hill, so you can practice stopping on a real slope, ok?" Yotsuba said. "That's the first step, and then we'll practice turning."

I nodded, but I could feel mild panic rising in my gullet.

Who's damned genius idea was it to develop an activity where you strap sticks to your feet and shoot down mountains at high speeds?! This is a terrible idea, this hill is too steep, I--

Suddenly, I felt Yotsuba's hand slip into mine. Though I was wearing a glove, I could feel the pressure on my palm, and the fear began to abate.

"Don't worry, Uesugi-san!" she laughed. "I'll hold on to you so that you can't go flying away!"

"Uh... alright," I replied uncertainly.

I slowly began to slip forward, the lip of the hill looming ahead of me-- and then I was over, and I could feel myself accelerating, and the skis beneath my feet were wavering, and I could feel them wanting to cross, and I was going faster, and faster, and faster, and faster, and faster faster faster faster faster fa--

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Yotsuba keeping pace with me.

I felt the pressure of her hand in mine again, and I remembered what I needed to do.

Looking down, I brought my skis together into the shape she had taught me, and I began to decelerate. Yotsuba let go of my hand, and performed a little hop and turn, a spray of snow coming out from beneath her as she brought herself to a standstill. Having stopped far faster than I had, she looked over and grinned at me from a few paces further up the hill.

"See? You were able to stop on your own!"

I looked down at my hand, the sensation of her touch still present, though fading. Looking back up at her, I nodded silently.

She's a good teacher after all.

"The next lesson," Yotsuba said, her face a study in smugness, "is turning."

We spent the next thirty minutes practicing turning, in addition to stopping. As we did so, we reached the bottom of the hill at least twice, and had to take the conveyor belt back up. Eventually though, I felt fairly confident in my ability to stop and turn, and I was starting to enjoy the thrill of the descent. Eventually, it got to the point where I could make it down the whole hill without slowing down, weaving my way back and forth across -- though just shooting down at top speed was fun too. As we rode our way back up to the top one last time, Yotsuba looked down at me, and a mischievous look crossed her face.

"So, Uesugi-san... you ready for the main slopes?"

"The... main slopes?"

'This is just the bunny hill," she said, shrugging. "It's shallow, so that it's easy to learn on. The real thing is a lot more fun -- and a lot steeper."

"Oh."

A pause.

"I'll be in your care."

Yotsuba laughed. "Shi shi shi! Have no fear, Yotsuba-sensei is here!"

I rolled my eyes as we reached the top of the hill and dismounted. "So, I guess let's just head down one last time, and then head over?"

"Yep! Luckily, going down is easier than walking up!"

"That is, indeed, how gravity works," I agreed mildly. Yotsuba grinned at me.

"I'm glad to see you've thoroughly absorbed lesson one! What a good student you are, Uesugi-san!"

"You saying that doesn't make me happy," I said drily.

"Boo! It should, your teacher is praising you!" she pouted, before sticking out her tongue.

"I'll earn much better praise than that!" I shot back, pushing myself over the lip of the hill, and beginning to accelerate. I used my new-found turning skills to weave back and forth across the hill, until eventually, far too soon for my liking, I was forced to come to a halt at the edge of the orange crash fencing at the bottom of the hill. Yotsuba pulled up next to me, and gave me a huge smile.

"You've improved pretty quickly, Uesugi-san! Let's hope you can keep up on the real thing, though!"

With that, she passed through the gap in the fencing, and began to ski down the trail towards the chalet. After a moment, I followed her. The shallow slope, which had so frustrated me on the way up, ensured that we didn't need to walk at any point on the way back down -- we could just glide. Eventually, we emerged from the trees near the lodge. Drifting across a long flat stretch, I eventually had to begin propelling myself forward with the ski poles, as the gradient was no longer large enough to carry us on its own.

As we slid past the chalet towards the point where the snow began to once again arc away, I suddenly heard an annoyingly familiar voice from about fifty metres behind us.

"Nakano-san! Please, I beg of you to listen to me!"

Turning, I winced as I saw Second Place-san slowly skiing down the hill towards us, trailing only a few metres behind Itsuki, who was resolutely doing her best to ignore him.

"Nakano-san! Come now -- I am simply doing my best to express my deeply felt emotions!"

"Stop following me!" she hissed, glaring at him. "I just want to ski in peace!"

"But-- But I must be resolute! Indeed, I must express the depths of my resolve!"

"Save it for another time! I'm begging you to leave me alone. Geez, I just wanted to-- oh, Uesugi-kun, Yotsuba. Hey."

I raised a hand in greeting, while Yotsuba vigorously waved. Second Place-san seemed temporarily distracted by our sudden appearance-- and, glancing back at him, Itsuki took the opportunity to push off with her ski poles, zooming off down the increasingly steep slope. Second Place-san looked back at where she'd been, and then yelped.

"By Jove, she's gone! Curses! Have no fear, Uesugi Fuutarou, I shan't let down your expectations! I shall properly express my remorse to Nakano Itsuki!"

"Wait, no, this isn't what I mea--"

With that, he too sped off down the slope, presumably to find Itsuki. Yotsuba watched him go, and then turned to look at me, bemusement on her face.

"Uesugi-san? What was that all about? What... expectations?"

I sighed. "Believe me, you really don't want to know."

"Um... ok," she said uncertainly. Pushing forward, she began to slide down the gradient, and after a moment's hesitation, I followed suit.

The hill down from the chalet was steeper than the bunny hill, and so I took it slowly, snowploughing most of the way down. Yotsuba weaved back and forth across the descent, and I followed suit, though far more slowly. At the bottom, in the depths of the valley, I could see a line of skiers and snowboarders leading up to a building -- and from that building rose chairs hanging from a line, ascending up the mountain.

That must be the thing they call a 'ski lift'.

Eventually, I pulled into the queue. Yotsuba had reached the valley floor significantly before me, but had waited off to the side until I finally arrived. Over the span of the next five minutes we inched forward, until finally we were at the head of the line.

I was close enough now to see what the contraption actually was. A cable was rising up towards the peak of the mountain, and every ten seconds or so, a bench attached to that line would swing around and pick up passengers. The whole concept seemed incredibly dangerous to me, but I imagined there were likely some safety features of which I wasn't aware.

"Ok," Yotsuba said, putting a hand on my shoulder, "we're gonna slide forward as soon as these people go, and stop where they tell us to. When the chair swings around, just sit on it as it comes. When it begins to rise up, lift your skis up off the ground. I'll take care of the rest. Sound good?"

"Seems simple enough," I nodded.

She flashed a grin at me. "Great! Don't fall."

"Huh? Is there any danger of--"

"Go go go go!"

We rushed forward to a line drawn in the snow -- and then a few seconds later the chair was swinging around, and it smashed into the back of my calves, and I sat down with a hard thump. My skis ran along the packed snow as the chair moved forward, and I only barely remembered to lift them off the ground as we began to rise into the air. Wincing, I reached down and rubbed my calf, grabbing the back of the lift with my other hand for stability. Yotsuba reached up above us, and grabbed a metal bar that was attached above our heads which I hadn't noticed. She slowly pulled it down, until we were securely held in place with it across our laps.

"Lift your skis onto the footrests," she said mildly. "It helps keep the bar in place."

I nodded, but my attention wasn't really on the bar -- partially because of the slowly fading pain in my calves, but mostly because of what I could see as I looked back over my shoulder. The view opening up behind us was stunning -- as we rose up the mountain, the valley behind us got smaller and smaller, and the full majesty of the rocky crags amongst which we were nestled came into view. I had thought the view from the ryokan the previous day had been fantastic, but this was in a class of its own. The harsh snowy mountains were devoid of all colour, a landscape of black and white. It almost felt as though some higher being had pulled all the colour out of the world, leaving behind a pristine crystallized remnant.

It was harsh, and yet it was untainted.

Awed, I turned back around to face forward. We had risen quite high above the ground, and the slope below us continued to get smaller and smaller, until the figures racing down it felt like they were just small toys. I saw a couple of children swing by, their laughter rising on the frigid air, as well as some people who I thought were probably amongst my classmates. While I certainly didn't know their names, I had at least a passing familiarity with most of their faces.

I'm really glad I'm not scared of heights.

Eventually, we approached the peak of the mountain, and I nervously glanced over at Yotsuba.

"So... how do we get off?"

"Well, there'll be a small slope at the top that you can slide down. You'll need to just push off the chair, and shoot down."

"I see," I said.

"Of course," she added, glancing over at me with a small smirk on her face, "you're going to fall. Just so you know."

"I... see?" I repeated, a note of panic entering my voice.

"Don't worry, Uesugi-san!" she said, a grin beginning to break out on her face. "I'll pick you up again."

"Why doesn't that reassure me at all?"

She shrugged. "No clue. Take your feet off the footrests, please!"

I did as she asked, and Yotsuba slowly raised the bar again. As we approached the small station at the top of the run, I lifted my skis slightly, and prepared to push off the chair. As my skis made contact, I propelled myself forward -- but I hadn't properly adjusted my weight, and the chair continued to push me forward. I shot down the small slope, and immediately lost my balance. Falling on my slide, I slid a short way-- and then suddenly came to a stop, my view entirely obstructed.

My head had gone straight into a snowbank.

After a moment of disorientation, I pulled myself out from the depths, scowled, and sat up. A small pile of snow fell off my helmet, and I shook more of it free from the newly-acquired scarf which I had wrapped around my face. Yotsuba pulled up beside me, a concerned look on her face.

"Um... I wasn't expecting that much of a wipe-out! Are you ok, Uesugi-san? That looked like it hurt!"

"Once again," I said, my teeth gritted, "nothing hurt but my pride. My pride's definitely hurt though. Would you mind helping me up?"

"Huh? Oh! Yep, sorry!"

Yotsuba reached down and hauled me to my feet. Shaking my head, I rolled my shoulders experimentally. Everything seemed fine.

"Well, that sucked. Let's go down the run," I said decisively. Yotsuba nodded approvingly, and we began to walk over to the right, where one of the "green square" slopes were located -- the easy ones intended for beginners. Yotsuba had explained the labelling system to me weeks before, and had warned me to stay away from the so-called "black diamond" slopes if I valued my life.

Given I did value my life, I would be steering well clear.

As we approached the slope, I began to appreciate just how shallow the bunny hill had been. Where that had been a gentle, rolling hill of no real magnitude, the beast before me was an entirely different thing. The slope stretched out, descending far more rapidly than those to which I had grown accustomed. I glanced nervously over at Yotsuba, who grinned reassuringly at me.

"Go on, you can do it!" she encouraged. Taking a deep breath, I pulled my ski goggles down onto my face, and slowly began to slide forward. As I picked up speed, I was grateful for the scarf wrapped around my face, because the skin that was exposed was being stung. Nevertheless, the frigid air whipping into my face made the experience, the speed, all the more viscerally real. As I picked up a head of steam and began to truly race down the mountain, my nerves melted away.

It was fun.

I didn't even realize I was whooping with glee until Yotsuba shot past me, a flash of a grin followed by her red hair fluttering by, barely contained by the cat-eared toque she was wearing on her head. I grinned back, and lost myself in weaving, accelerating, and trying my best to keep pace with her. Far too soon, the trees that lined the edge of the run opened up, and I saw the chalet spread out below us. It grew larger and larger with our approach, and eventually we were shooting by it at high speed, following the descent of the slope back towards the ski lift at the valley's base. As we made the approach, I began to slow myself down, and eventually, I came to a halt at the back of the queue. A second later, Yotsuba pulled in next to me.

"So?" she asked, her face broken out into a huge grin. "How was it?"

"Amazing," I whispered as I raised my ski goggles onto my helmet, staring back up the mountain. "I can't wait to get back up there."

"Right?" she laughed. "I knew you'd love it."

"I'm glad you're having fun, Uesugi-kun."

Yotsuba and I both looked over to see that the person in front of us in the line had turned around to look at us-- and was none other than Itsuki.

"Yeah, I'm really glad Yotsuba convinced me to come," I agreed. "I didn't think strapping sticks to your feet and throwing yourself down a mountain could be this exhilarating."

"It's quite nice," Itsuki agreed. "Somehow, I find it... calming. The view is also spectacular. It would be even more nice if I weren't being followed around by Takeda-san."

I winced. "Ah. Yeah, sorry, that might be my fault. Where is he, by the way?"

Itsuki looked at me curiously. "I managed to lose him on the slopes. I got far enough ahead of him in line that by the time he reached the top, I was already gone. He'll find me again though -- that was already the third time when I ran into you two."

Then, as we shuffled forward in line, her eyes narrowed. "So... Uesugi-kun. Care to elaborate on what you meant by this being your fault?"

Ah. Shit.

I laughed nervously. "Ah, yes, well. See, after Second Place-san pissed you off yesterday, I... may have torn a strip off of him, and told him he needed to apologize. He seems to have taken that as 'at all cost' and 'at any time'. So... my bad. Sorry."

Itsuki sniffed. "I appreciate you letting him have it. It makes me feel a bit better. He has been relentless though."

"Yeah, that checks out," I sighed, shrugging. "Nevertheless, it feels like there's been some progress."

As Itsuki approached the front of the line, she frowned at me. "Well... maybe."

"I think you should hear him out," I said decisively. "I know he's... like that, but I'm starting to come around to the idea that he means well. I think he might have some other things going on."

"What?"

"I mean, in all fairness to him, he's trying to apologize-- and you're running away every single time he tries. How is he supposed to make it up to you if you keep running away?"

Itsuki's eyes hardened. "Why are you taking his side?"

"I'm not taking a side, I'm--"

"No, you are! He's been harassing me non-stop over this whole trip, and I just want some time to myself on the mountain!"

"Look, I get that," I said, raising my hands in a placating manner. "I'm just saying, you might want to hear him out once."

Itsuki's eye twitched.

"Uesugi-kun, like I said, that boy has been harassing me non-stop since we got here. I'm serious, I've had to spend the last hour trying to shake him off, because he doesn't understand the meaning of the word 'no'! I don't get it -- why are you taking his side?! He's clearly being unreasonable. I'm just trying to enforce my boundaries!"

"I'm not asking you to spend time with him!" I said, frustration creeping into my voice. "I'm just asking you to take five minutes and listen to him! That's all!"

"And I'm saying no! If he wants to talk to me, he can do it during lunch at the chalet, or after we get back to the lodge. I don't go skiing often, and I want to enjoy it, instead of having to be harassed by him! Is that so wrong?!"

"If you listen to him, he'll definitely--"

"Next!"

"Forget it," Itsuki hissed. "I'm disappointed, Uesugi-kun. I thought you, of all people, would take my side in this. I'm leaving."

I watched her slide forward to be lifted by the chair, then looked at Yotsuba and heavily rolled my eyes. She was looking back and forth between us with a panicked look on her face, the one she often got when she wasn't sure if we were fighting. As the lift picked up Itsuki, we both slid forward, and she grimaced.

"Um... I can never tell with you two. Was... was that an actual fight, or you two messing around?"

"An actual fight," I muttered, rolling my eyes. "If you can call it that. She's being completely unreasonable, and I think she knows it. She's being stupid -- if she just... ugh, nevermind."

"Oh..." Yotsuba said quietly.

As we rose into the air and the bar came down, we rode in awkward silence. I looked up at the chair in front of us, where Itsuki was huddled, and I felt irritation spike in my chest again. She was definitely within earshot if I yelled. Nevertheless... I was finding it hard to find my voice.

It was clear I'd pissed her off, but it was equally as clear to me that I hadn't done anything wrong -- and I was pissed off as well.

Nevertheless, as we slowly ascended, I felt that anger begin to ebb away. By the time we were halfway up the mountain, I instead started feeling a gnawing feeling in my chest. I was... dissatisfied. The way that argument had ended rubbed me the wrong way.

I don't want to leave this unsettled.

Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the chair dangling ahead of us. I could, just barely, make out the top of Itsuki's head.

I'm... probably going to regret this.

"Itsuki!" I called, my voice presumably reaching up to her. She didn't react.

"Itsuki!" I called again, a hint of irritation entering my voice.

Again, no reaction.

"Itsuki, I know you can hear me. This is stupid."

Itsuki turned back around to look down at me, annoyance and hurt written across her face.

"My feelings aren't stupid, Uesugi-kun!"

"No, they're not, but how you're expressing them is. Since I've got you stuck here, how about you actually listen to me? I'm not saying you have to be friends with Second Place-san. Hell, I'm not, nor do I particularly want to be. He pisses me off. I'm just saying that things will never get better if you don't even let him apologize."

"It's not that I won't let him apologize at all, it's that he's being relentless and I--"

"That's an excuse," I said bluntly.

"What?!"

"It's an excuse. You don't want to confront him because you're still upset from last night, and so you're avoiding him."

Itsuki's face darkened. "Don't try to psychoanalyze me."

"I'm not. I've just known you long enough at this point to figure this stuff out. Look, you don't have to forgive him if you don't want to. You just need to confront him head-on."

"I don't need to do anything."

"If he were just a random stranger, I'd agree," I said, shrugging.

"No, you wouldn't. You're contrary like that."

"Anyways," I said, gritting my teeth in annoyance, "you need to keep interacting with him as your tutor. The least you can do is listen to his apology, and then either accept it or reject it."

"I can do that later. You're taking--"

"Damn it, I'm not taking his side, Itsuki!" I yelled, my temper flaring. "I'm trying to help you as your friend. I'm on your side. I'm suggesting what I think will help you. I don't care about Second Place-san."

Itsuki looked away from me, back up the slope. There was a long pause where she didn't say anything. Then, finally, she looked back down at me.

"I'll think about it," she said finally.

"Fine," I sighed, leaning back in the chair and rolling my eyes.

This girl's pride is going to kill me.

"I..."

I looked back up at Itsuki, who was still looking down at me, her mouth open. I raised an eyebrow, and she looked away.

"Look, I... like you said, I'm just upset right now," she said, loudly enough for me to hear over the gap-- but barely. "I needed some space, and him trying to push in like this isn't affording me that. You saying what you did-- it hurt me, but I think it might be because... I just need to cool down. Let's... let's talk about this later. After I've had some time to think."

I stared up at her in surprise, and suddenly recalled our promise on the balcony months before -- and I realized that she was doing her best to try and honour it.

"Right," I said awkwardly. "Um... sounds good."

Itsuki glanced back down at me again, and a weak smile crossed her face. Then, she looked away again. I glanced over at Yotsuba next to me, who had spent most of the ride studiously looking down at the skiers and snowboarders shooting past beneath us.

"Sorry," I whispered. "I feel like I ruined things."

She glanced back up at me, and smiled, though it seemed a bit strained to me.

"It's fine, you don't need to apologize, and you didn't ruin anything. I just get uncomfortable when you guys fight. That's my problem."

I wasn't totally sure how to respond to that, so I just didn't. As we neared the peak, Yotsuba suddenly tugged violently on my sleeve.

"Huh?"

"Uesugi-san... isn't that Miku down there?"

I glanced down at where she was pointing -- and indeed, stopped on the side of the run was Miku. She seemed to be engaged in a very passionate conversation, her hands moving all over the place as she talked. Her interlocutor, though...

"Do you know who that is?" I asked, frowning. "I don't recognize her, though that doesn't say much."

Yotsuba shook her head. "Nope. I don't think she's from our school -- I scouted out the competition during the orienteering, and I don't remember seeing her there."

I frowned. It wasn't like Miku to randomly make friends with someone on the slopes.

"Hey," I muttered. "Look, I've been thinking this for a while -- Miku's been acting weirdly recently, right? It's not just me?"

Yotsuba frowned at me, then down at the rapidly shrinking Miku and company. Then, she looked back up at me.

"Hmm... I think you might be right. Her being that excited for the camping trip was just bizarre. I wonder what's going on with her?"

"Right?"

"We should ask her," Yotsuba said decisively.

"Eh? You want to just go up to her and ask?"

"Yeah," Yotsuba said, her brow furrowing. "Isn't that the most direct option?"

"I... guess you're right," I nodded. "Let's go talk to them, then."

As we approached the top, Itsuki shot off, and was already gone by the time we dismounted from the lift. I managed to stay on my feet, Yotsuba giving me explicit instructions on which way to go. She arced around in a wide, circular path while I cut a sharp turn to the right. Going around the top of the ski lift, we both shot down the main slope, making our way down to where we'd seen Miku and the mysterious girl.

As we approached, we both slowed down. Miku was still where we'd last seen her -- but as she saw us coming, her eyes widened in panic, and she grabbed the other girl's hand. They both began shooting down the slope away from us, building up a head of steam at the same time that we were decelerating. Frowning, I turned to look at Yotsuba, who was staring down the hill at her sister.

"Oh, it's on," she grinned. "Time to play a little game of tag!"

"On skis?" I asked, rolling my eyes. "Really?"

"Yep! After them, Uesugi-san!"

Yotsuba accelerated, and I took off after her. However, Miku and the other girl had a head-start on us, and while Yotsuba was a faster skier than either of them, I was pitifully slow -- and Yotsuba kept falling back to keep me within her line of sight. Eventually, we reached the bottom of the slope. Miku and the other girl had entered the line for the lift -- but they had already advanced far enough ahead of us by the time we arrived that we couldn't immediately interrogate them.

"Sorry," I muttered to Yotsuba as we finally reached our own spot in the queue. "I'm not fast enough."

"It's fine," she said, shaking her head. "We'll have plenty of opportunities -- like on this next run! Besides, it was still fun!"

"True..." I murmured.

Eventually, we reached the front of the line, and when we were called, I pushed forward onto the marked spot. I turned to look at Yotsuba next to me -- but she wasn't there. Confused, I looked behind me, and saw that she was still at the front of the line, looking back. A large man had picked up a child, and seemed to be fervently apologizing. I could only presume the kid had been standing on the back of her skis.

"I'll be on the next one!" Yotsuba called as the chair swung around and I sat down heavily. "We'll catch 'em!"

"Ok," I said nervously as I lowered the bar by myself for the first time.

The whole way up, I alternated between trying to figure out where, exactly, Miku was, and looking back down at Yotsuba following from below. I thought I saw a glimpse of Nakano red hair several carriages further along, but I wasn't confident. Finally, I reached the top of the lift, and slid down off the chair. Coming to a halt, I turned to watch Yotsuba slide down after me--

But, once again, Yotsuba wasn't there.

Instead, she was dangling in the chair a mere two metres from the lip of the slope, a frustrated look on her face as the chair gently swung back and forth.

The lift had stopped.

"Go after them, Uesugi-san!" she called.

I looked at her.

I looked down the slope.

Then I looked back up at her, and shook my head.

"If I went now, it would take ages for me to find you again," I called. "That, or I'd have to wait at the bottom for ages. I'll just wait here, so we can go down the slope together."

"But-- but they'll get away!"

I shrugged. "It's not like we're never going to see Miku again. She's your sister. We can just ask her later."

Yotsuba seemed stumped by that one, and eventually she just nodded her head glumly. About thirty seconds later, the lift began moving again, and she slid down to join me.

"Unlucky, huh? That the lift broke down like that."

"It didn't break down," she said, glancing at me. "They stop it on purpose if someone falls at the bottom, or at the top in a spot where they could get hit by the lift. It's for safety. You've just been lucky enough to not have it happen yet."

"Oh," I said, feeling a bit foolish. "I see."

"Anyways," she said, a grin breaking out on her face, "we've lost them, so let's not worry about that anymore. You said you wanted to go down the slope together. Let's go!"

With a laugh, she pushed off past me, and took off down the slope.

Then, after a moment where I watched her retreating back, I shook my head, and I took off after her.

The rest of the morning passed in a blur, but eventually the scheduled time for us to return to the chalet for lunch arrived. Putting our skis in a rack, we entered the chalet, and eventually made our way to the cafeteria. Looking around, I frowned.

"You know," I said, frowning, "I expected to find Itsuki here. I was hoping to talk with her."

"Uesugi-san, that's rude," Yotsuba said reproachfully.

"What? It's lunch time."

We briefly separated to get food from the various shops, and then regrouped at the checkout. Thankfully, the tickets attached to our jackets, in addition to having vouchers for ski rental, also came with a meal ticket. As such, I made sure to load my plate -- free food was good food, after all.

Eventually, we checked out, and went to find a table. As we put our food down, Yotsuba grimaced.

"I'll be right back. Toilet!"

"Ah, ok," I said, raising my hand. "I'll guard your food with my life."

"Thanks! Don't die!"

I laughed as I watched her go. Looking down at my food, I decided to hold off on eating until her return. Looking around, I saw that the cafeteria was filled with many of my classmates, as well as families visiting the resort independently. As my eyes passed over the entrance, I saw the door open, and in walked Miku. Behind her was a girl with short black hair, and a pink toque -- the girl with whom she'd been conversing on the slope. To my surprise, she and Miku were laughing together as they talked about something.

"Hey Miku," I called, raising my hand. "Who's your friend?"

Miku looked at me, her eyes widening. She looked over at her friend -- and then they both bolted as best they could in ski boots.

My jaw dropped. Did... did she just completely ignore me, and then run away?

We weren't that close -- but somehow, it felt cold, even for her. Feeling slightly hurt, I poked around at my food with my chopsticks. A few minutes later, Yotsuba returned.

"Mission accomplished!" she said, her bow standing up proudly on her head.

"Congratulations," I clapped. "By the way, I just saw Miku."

"Eh?! Did you press her?"

"I didn't get the chance," I shrugged glumly. "She was with that girl. I said hi, she gave me the cold shoulder, and then she booked it."

"Hmm," Yotsuba said, sinking into her chair. "How mysterious."

"More like how rude," I said drily.

"Eh, Miku is Miku," she shrugged. "Anyways, we'll get to the bottom of this."

"Maybe," I murmured uncertainly. With Yotsuba's return, I began to dig into my food. Suddenly, Yotsuba stood up and started waving.

"Hey! Itsuki! Over here!"

...Ah. She was here.

"Ah... Yotsuba... Uesugi-kun..." Itsuki said awkwardly as she approached. "Um..."

"Come on, sit with us," I said, pulling out the chair next to me. "Let's have a nice lunch."

"...Ok," she said, her nervousness evident in her voice. Sitting, she placed her tray down -- it was, I noticed, even more heaping than mine.

Thankfully, as we ate, Yotsuba kept up a steady stream of chatter to ease things. She told Itsuki about Miku's behaviour, which Itsuki agreed was, indeed, very suspicious. Eventually, however, the conversation died down, our previous fight lingering at the back of our minds. Finally, Itsuki sighed.

"Um... Uesugi-kun?"

"Yeah?" I said, turning in my seat to look at her.

"I... I'm sorry," she said, bowing her head.

My eyes widened in surprise. She looked up at me, and smiled weakly.

"I took some time to think about it and cool off... and I realized that, while I don't know if I agree with your assessment of what I should do about Takeda-san... I was just taking out my anger about him on you. That isn't right. You didn't do anything wrong, you were just trying to be a good friend. I shouldn't have blown up at you, or accused you of taking sides."

She bowed her head again. "I'm really sorry."

I stared down at her in shock. I had expected us to make up, but... I hadn't really expected this level of contrition from Itsuki.

"It's alright," I said, uncomfortably scratching my cheek. "I... may have come on a bit too strongly. If you don't want to listen to him apologize right now, you don't have to. You know you need to hear him out eventually, after all -- but... you're right, it doesn't have to be right now, and you do need to enforce boundaries. Also, I... I wasn't really properly listening to what you had to say."

I bowed my head slightly. "So... what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry too."

There was a protracted silence as Itsuki simply nodded, neither of us quite sure of what to say next -- but the silence was suddenly broken by Yotsuba beginning to laugh.

"What?" I frowned at her.

"Geez, you two are so awkward," she laughed. "You both said you're sorry, so let's be done with it. Itsuki, come ski with us in the afternoon!"

"Are you sure?" Itsuki asked nervously, glancing at me. "Didn't you want to spend time with Uesu--"

"It's fine!" Yotsuba said confidently, hands on her hips in her chair. "We're gonna have a great time, and make tons of memories with no regrets!"

I sighed. "If that's what you want, I'm also fine with it."

Then I smiled at Itsuki. "Just keep in mind, I only learned today. I'm slow."

Itsuki smirked. "So? What else is new?"

"Wait, what?! Hang on a second, you little--"

Itsuki started laughing, and a moment later I joined her, shaking my head. We finished our food, and rose from the table to return outside. Stepping out of the heat of the chalet, the cold felt all the cooler -- and yet, also, strangely warm. Swinging by where Yotsuba and I had left our skis, we were preparing to descend back down the valley when a soft, melodious voice drifted across the wind.

"Naaaaaaakaaaaaaanooooo-saaaaaaaaaan!"

I looked behind me to see Second Place-san trudging along the snow from the chalet far behind us, his hand outstretched. Itsuki looked back as well-- and then looked over at us.

"Run away?" she posed.

"Run away!" Yotsuba cheered.

"Fine," I sighed.

Then, we pushed off, leaving Second Place-san far, far behind.