‘He can fight ōkami, obake, and oni yet he cannot even consider telling the girl he likes how he feels. You should be careful or he might realize you’re putting the attention on him so that he doesn’t ask you-’ Kou’s thought was cut off as their bus left the castle. Another long ride on their way to the next hotel.
‘That’s not why I’m doing it. I mean it’s not like I have any potential girlfriends or anything. Not that I’d even want one.’
David and Kou continued their internal discussion as their tour guide told them about the areas they passed through. Beside him, Takumi remained deep in thought, while the rest of the bus listened, studied, or played with their friends. For his part, David’s thoughts drifted back to the girl in gray.
At the next hotel, there was an actual open-air bath so they had an hour and a half before dinner to work on their homework and bathe. The boys were given the first forty-five minutes, so after stowing their bags they headed back downstairs to shower, then headed out to the huge bath. Unlike before, where the bath was inside, this time they had to run naked through the frigid night air to get to the water. Once they made it in, they found the water barely warmer than the air.
With such a disappointing bath, they were happy to give it up well before their time was up and returned to their rooms to finish their work. Every night they had to turn in their guide books with various questions answered so they could prove they had paid attention and learned something. With the rest of their time, they began to plan their skit for the recreation period on the last day.
As David readied his futon, he made a mental note to get a new souvenir for Jessica. With Kou already fading out, he began to drift off, yet he was not surprised that the strange girl in gray came to mind. He wondered if he would see her again.
SKI PATROL
I should have realized it back then. Love can never start with deception and violence. How many before me have gone to battle for love only to find that it was not for another that they fought, but for themselves…
The next morning, Class 2B woke again at six, and the students were soon preparing to leave the hotel. Since there were other students in his room, David was safe from Takumi’s promised reprisal, though he was sure it would come eventually.
For their fourth day, the second year Nakano Junior High School students traveled by bus to Oita Prefecture. High in the mountains, they passed snow covered rice paddies and small groups of houses until they arrived at their destination. Thick curtains of fog hid the mountain before them, and the only things they could see past the large building in front of them were the swinging ski lift chairs disappearing into the mist. Although no one had brought snow clothes, inside the warm lobby, attendants directed them to locker rooms, where the students changed into matching outfits, boots, and skis. An attendant guided David to a separate counter where he received a different set. Out of all the students, he was one of three who already knew how to either snowboard or ski. During the planning sessions, David had pulled the gaijin card and convinced Yukiko to get his teachers to let him go snowboarding instead.
David attempted to fit in and follow Japanese custom, but as the incident with the camera proved, his attempts were not always effective. He had begged Yukiko, and she had agreed to ask his teachers to let him go snowboarding. The twins had tried to convince her to let them switch as well. Since the class was only for skiing and they had never gone before, their pleas had not worked. While David had been far from athletic growing up, he had learned to snowboard while on a trip with his father’s TV station. While he had never gotten past the basics, he was far more comfortable with the idea of being on one board than two.
David was careful not to smile as an attendant led him aside to get his snowboard. Takumi’s glare was particularly epic.
‘Takumi usually keeps better control over his emotions.’
‘I wouldn’t want to hunt him right now. He still has not forgiven you for that picture.’
‘Maybe if I wipeout into a tree they’ll all feel better,’ David replied as he caught the stares of his other envious classmates.
With many stares following him, David slid over to the lift with a push from his free foot. He just caught the rest of Class 2B gather around their instructor and begin stretching as he reached the ski lift line. The last thing he saw as he faded into the low clouds was a few specks tilting their skis between parallel and triangle positions.
It took David one trip down the first half of the mountain to remember his s-curves. He was delighted at how his hard-won balance made snowboarding almost easy.
‘Do not become distracted by the snow-slider. We must stay alert.’
David acknowledged Kou’s concerns, but it was hard not to slide into a zone where nothing but the speed mattered. As his body relaxed, the board seemed to move on its own, letting him navigate around the other skiers and snowboarders. Despite his warnings, Kou purred with excitement as they gained more speed than he had ever achieved before. His second time down, the class was higher on the slopes, so David stopped to watch and help, as some of his classmates were having trouble staying up. He was surprised that even Rie and Takumi were having problems. Even with the same training David had received, they were not prepared to think about balancing on long pieces of fiberglass just to stay upright.
While David helped Kenta re-attach a ski, he saw Rie slip and fall. He moved to catch her, but somehow Hidemi was there first, catching her before Rie could hit the ground. It was an agile move for their class’s resident genius, but David caught the bit of her face that was still visible stiffen as she helped Rie back up.
‘Rie must have been heavier than she expected,’ David thought with a laugh. As soon as he got Kenta’s ski back in place, he shifted his weight and slipped away. In order to test the extent of his ability with his board, David took the second lift to the top of the mountain. Although he had never gone down the more treacherous slopes back home, he figured he could handle it, or at least heal fast enough to make it down the mountain without too many problems.
On the lonely ride up, David’s mind wandered. Something about Hidemi’s expression bugged him. His training with Masao had taught him to analyze the world, to ask questions and seek answers that could explain how things truly were. His interest pulled Kou from the Zodiac Tiger’s memories, and together they sought a reason for their interest.
Unbidden the image in his mind shifted from Hidemi. Kou growled. The girl in gray was in David’s thoughts so much that Kou was becoming annoyed. No one had ever occupied David’s mind quite so much, and what was in David’s mind, affected Kou’s as well. As David approached the lift drop off, he shrugged aside the errant thoughts and concentrated instead on lifting the front of his board and positioning himself so he would not fall down like fool during the exit.
At the top of the hill, he slid away from the lift to a small area next to a stand of trees. David sat, sinking into a drift of fresh snow. Beside him, the back edge of the mountain tapered away into a wonderland of trees and clean, fresh snow. David reached forward to brush white mush from his quick-lock bindings.
‘I’m sorry, okay? You don’t have to give me the silent treatment,’ David said as he peered through the fog, thinner at the top than it had been lower down.
‘We are being watched,’ Kou replied. David jerked his foot back out of the binding and joined Kou in re-checking the area.
Sure
