A/N: First story, go easy. Yes, there'll be more to this story, but it'll only be one or two more chapters.
-Chatper 1: Surprise Storm-
"Yui-chan, do you love me?" Kyouko asked, eyes aglow and a blush across her visage. Yui, who was reading a novel in the club room with the rest of its members, cast her blonde friend a sideways glance and a cocked eyebrow.
"Sure, I guess," Yui mumbled. "Why?"
"Hmm," Kyouko cooed with a blissful grin. "You're so sweet, and kind," Yui, fully weirded out now, grimaced and leaned away from her smitten friend, who was leaning toward her, chin resting on her fist. Yui looked desperately to Akari and Chinatsu, who seemed just as confused as she was. "And smart, too," Kyouko continued. "So smart, I bet you could do a whole math worksheet by the end of this weekend." Kyouko beamed straight at Yui, who's face had fallen into a bemused deadpan.
"I'm not doing your homework for you, Kyouko." Yui droned. Kyouko's smile didn't falter. Instead, she slowly turned to face Chinatsu, who now looked annoyed.
"Chi-"
"No."
Thoroughly shot down, Kyouko turned to Akari, who was watching blankly.
"Wow, Akari-chan," Kyouko said in surprise. "You're looking noticably noticable today."
"Oh, jeez!" Akari said sheepishly, her blush revealing how easily she'd taken the bait. "That's really sweet of you to say! But, I'm not in your year, so I don't have the same math homework as you!"
Kyouko's smile finally broke and her face hit the table in defeat.
"Math is stupid," she proclaimed.
The door to the club room burst open, and all four Amusement Club members turned to see the source of the commotion.
"Toshino Kyouko!" It was Ayano Sugiura, standing tall with an outstretched index finger pointing roughly toward Kyouko, who quickly stood and pointed back at Ayano.
"Sugiura Ayano!" she cried, doing her best impersonation of the Student Council vice president.
"If you're really planning on taking that field trip to Mt. Fuji this weekend, you need to fill out an application form," Ayano explained.
"We're going on a field trip?" Chinatsu parroted. "To mount Fuji?"
"Indeed," Kyouko said seriously. "The Amusement Club and the Student Council are going this Saturday to climb the famous volcano."
"Wait a minute, you never said anything about the student council coming!" Ayano accused.
"Well, if you really insist on going, I guess you can tag along," Kyouko said.
"That's not- I didn't- I guess someone has to keep you out of trouble." Ayano finally conceded.
"Excellent," Kyouko said with a sinister grin. "In that case, I challenge you to a test of strength and endurance!"
"Eh?" Ayano inquired.
"That's right," Kyouko reaffirmed. "If you can climb higher up Mt. Fuji than me, I will use my magical Kyouko powers to grant you a wish!"
"Wh-What kind of wish?" Ayano asked, completely unconvinced but nonetheless with a faint blush tinging her cheeks.
"Anything you want, I'll make it happen."
"Hmm…" Ayano pondered. Anything? "And what about you? What's in it for you if you win?"
"You could, I don't know…" Kyouko trailed off, looking away from Ayano and placing her hands innocently behind her back. "Maybe do my math homework for the weekend or something." Yui, Chinatsu, and Akari facepalmed simultaneously.
"Eh? I don't want to do that!" Ayano protested.
"No, no, I get it," Kyouko said, and then looked at Ayano with an evil grin. "You're just afraid to lose." With that, Ayano's face lit up with anger.
"Oh, it is on, Toshino Kyouko! I'll show you!" Ayano proclaimed proudly.
/*~~~*~~~*\\
"Alright, everybody has a watch, right?" Ms. Nishigaki asked in a rare of display of responsibility. She was met with a chorus of confirmation from the eight students, plus a gentle nod from Rise.
"Hey, Himawari, do you even know how to read a watch?" Sakurako teased.
"Why do you ask?" Himawari asked with a smug grin. "Do you need someone who does know how to read a watch to babysit you?"
"Ha!" Sakurako said, puffing out her chest. "Like I'd ever admit that to you."
"I want you guys back here at six o'clock sharp, got it?" Ms. Nishigaki announced, and was met with another bout of accordance.
Yui looked at Kyouko seriously. The blonde was stuffing an excessive amount of snacks and extra clothes into her bag, as if she were going camping.
"You're still set on this whole competition-thing, huh?" Yui inquired.
"Of course!" Kyouko responded with a wink and a thumbs-up. "You'd be impressed with my mountain-climbing skills if you could keep up with me." Yui rolled her eyes at that.
"You really think climbing a mountain is less work than just doing one math sheet?"
"Nah," Kyouko dismissed. "But this makes for a better story to tell my grandkids. Speaking of which…" she looked around before spotting her plum-haired friend. "Ayano-tan, are you ready to get wrecked?"
"Oh ho ho!" Ayano laughed smugly. "I'm ready to beat you, Machu Picchu!" Yui hid a snicker behind her hands.
"Ready-set-go!" Kyouko said quickly, running along the trail leading up the mountain.
"Wha-? No fair! Get back here, Toshino Kyouko!" Ayano called, running after her blonde friend.
"This is going to be a disaster." Yui said under her breath.
/*~~~*~~~*\\
As elevation increases, the air becomes thinner. Ayano and Kyouko realized this fairly quickly after beginning their ascent, as they found themselves inexplicably exhausted despite not climbing particularly high. Despite their huffing and wheezing, the two rivals marched on, Kyouko following closely behind Ayano.
"I can hear you panting back there, Toshino Kyouko!" Ayano called back smugly, between her own labored breaths.
"It's just because I'm overloaded with raw victory!" Kyouko cried.
"Ready to give up?" Ayano teased. Kyouko gazed out over the side of the mountain and spied enormous, ominous storm clouds quickly covering the sky.
"Actually, Ayano -" Kyouko began, but her voice was quickly drowned out by a loud, deep rumbling of thunder. Kyouko could faintly hear Ayano shriek in surprise. Both girls stopped in their tracks and looked at each other.
"I hate doing math homework as much as the next guy," Kyouko said nervously, "And as much as I'd like to prove my superior mountain-climbing skills to you, maybe it's time to call it quits?" Ayano paused and considered her words. Her pensive silence was broken by another bout of thunder.
"Alright, let's head back then," Ayano conceded.
They had only been walking for a few minutes when the two girls felt the cold touch of snow on their heads.
"What do we do if the weather gets much worse?" Ayano asked nervously.
"Remember that cabin we saw on the way up here?" Kyouko asked.
"Toshino Kyouko, we can't just count on staying at a stranger's house," Ayano chided.
"No, no, it's an emergency shelter!" Kyouko assured.
"A what?"
"An emergency shelter," Kyouko repeated. "I could make it out in teensy little letters on a sign next to the door. It's a place for travelers to stop in an emergency."
"Wow," Ayano said sincerely. "I didn't know you were knowledgeable on such things."
"I'm knowledgeable on all things! Go on, ask me anything," Kyouko dared. Ayano chuckled and decided to humor her blonde friend.
"Hmm… okay, who was the first emperor of Japan?" Ayano quizzed. Kyouko, immediately stumped, decided to employ diversionary tactics.
"Ayano, hold my hand!" She demanded.
"Eh?!" Ayano cried in surprise. Were her face not already tinted scarlet from the cold, Kyouko might have spotted her blush.
"The snow is really starting to pick up, I don't want to lose you," Kyouko said earnestly. Ayano thought that was sweet, but she'd never admit it out loud.
"I… I guess that's a good idea…" She said, timidly taking Kyouko's hand in her own, intertwining their fingers.
"Ooh!" Kyouko said excitedly. "Right for the classic 'fingers-intertwined' style, eh? A bold move, Ayano-chan."
"You…! You never told me who the first emperor of Japan was, Toshino Kyouko." Ayano deflected.
"Drat," Kyouko cried. "My elaborate plan to distract you failed."
Silence fell between them, but was quickly replaced by the roaring wind of the snowstorm. Conditions were becoming increasingly dangerous; it was hard for them to see more than a few feet down the trail. Teeth chattering, they desperately waited for the cabin Kyouko mentioned to appear on their blizzard-shrouded horizon. Finally, after several bone-chilling minutes, Ayano spotted the cabin.
"Toshino Kyouko, is that the cabin you were talking about?" Ayano asked shakily. Kyouko, clearly dazed, looked at Ayano with glossy eyes, as though she hadn't heard a word she'd said.
"The cabin!" Ayano shouted over the wind. "Is that the cabin?" Kyouko perked up at this, squinting into the maelstrom before her and spying the building.
"That's it!" She cried. "Let's go!" She ran, letting go of Ayano's hand, and immediately slipped on a slick surface of exposed rock, flailing and falling onto her back, rolling limply into the snow, face down.
"Toshino Kyouko!" Ayano cried desperately. She ran as quickly as she could to the fallen girl. She pulled on her shoulder to turn her over, to find that her blonde friend had fallen unconscious, her lips turning ever-so-faintly blue. Thoroughly panicking, Ayano let out a pained shriek and lifted her hands as though wanting desperately to act, but having no clue what to do. Finally, she hoisted the girl over her shoulders and walked - very carefully - to the cabin.
Trying the doorknob, she found it to be unlocked, as Kyouko had predicted. Immediately in front of her was a small staircase. To her left and right, a hallway. To the left she could see the hallway opened up into a den. Through a cracked door down the hallway to the right, she spied a mirror. The bathroom.
Closing the door behind her, she placed Kyouko's limp, snow-covered body on the closed toilet seat. Standing to look at her, Ayano covered her mouth and sobbed lightly; it pained her deeply to see her friend in such a state. After a few moments, she swallowed hard, ceased her sobs, and breathed deeply.
What should she do?
Spying the bathtub to her left, she tested the water to see if it was hot. Much to her relief, it was. I can throw her in the bath to warm her up, Ayano thought. She plugged the drain and turned on the faucet to fill the tub. Pushing lewd thoughts from her mind, and ignoring the deep blush plastered across her face, she began to undress her injured friend. As she went to unhook her bra, she felt a sickening moisture on her hand. Leaning Kyouko forward, she gasped as she spotted several deep, bleeding scrapes across her back. After removing the rest of Kyouko's clothes, the tub had filled sufficiently, and Ayano lifted her and placed her into the water. She had to bite her lip as she cleaned Kyouko's wounds; she realized she was unconscious, but it would have extremely painful had she been awake.
After she had cleaned Kyouko's wounds, Ayano removed her own jacket and t-shirt, wrapping the t-shirt around Kyouko's upper mid-section and tying the sleeves together in the front. Her shirt would be ruined, but Kyouko needed some sort of makeshift bandage. She put her soaked jacket back on over her sports bra. It was cold, but it would warm up eventually, and it was better than nothing.
Her job complete, Ayano sat back on the closed toilet seat, shivering from the cold and adrenaline. She watched Kyouko intently, waiting for some sort of response. She was still breathing, and her lips were less blue than they had been outside in the snow. Ayano would not be satisfied, however, until she again heard Kyouko's voice.
Five minutes later - an eternity to the anxious Ayano - her wish came true.
"Ayano-chan?" Kyouko's groggy voice came from the bathtub. Ayano perked up quickly and turned to see Kyouko beginning to lean forward.
"Toshi-" Ayano's warning was cut short by an ear-piercing shriek of pain from Kyouko. The blonde stopped moving completely and stared at Ayano, her wide eyes slowly filling with tears.
"Ayano-chan, what happened?" She asked shakily.
"You slipped and fell on a rock. I had to carry you to this cabin. There are scrapes all over your back; you should be careful when you move," Ayano advised.
"Oh," Kyouko said softly. She sniffled and looked down at the water for a moment, then returned her gaze to Ayano's shivering form.
"Are you cold?" She asked. Ayano chuckled.
"It is a little chilly in here," She mused. "It could be the snow in my clothes." Kyouko carefully sunk into the bath until all but her head was submerged.
"It's warm in the bath," Kyouko mumbled.
"You were turning blue, Toshino Kyouko. It's a good thing you noticed this cabin."
"You could get in the bath with me," Kyouko said. Shivers - not from the cold this time - ran up Ayano's spine, and a deep scarlet hue lit her face.
"T-Toshino Kyouko!" Ayano stammered. From her few years of knowing Ayano, Kyouko knew she would never open up without some sort of excuse.
"You know," Kyouko said, with an eyebrow cocked. "If you get sick from the cold, you won't be able to take care of me." Ayano thought hard about that.
"I guess I have no choice then," Ayano conceded, standing before Kyouko, who watched her with an expectant look. "Don't watch, you pervert!" Kyouko laughed and rolled her eyes, looking instead at the water. She slowly and painfully turned sideways to make room for her friend.
Incredible relief flooded Ayano's body as she entered the tub on Kyouko's right. The warm water put into perspective just how cold she'd really been. As she closed her eyes and sighed in pleasure, she felt arms wrap around her shoulders, and she turned her head to see Kyouko with a contented smile on her face, head lying on Ayano's left shoulder. Ayano froze and her blush deepened.
"Thanks, Ayano-chan," Kyouko said sincerely, "For saving my life." Ayano's heart warmed at that.
"You're welcome, Toshino Kyouko."
"Hey, Ayano-chan?" Kyouko said, lifting her head to look at Ayano seriously. Ayano looked nervously at her friend.
"I'm hungry," Kyouko said. "Think there's a kitchen in this place?"