June Prompts:
1. Mountain Climbing/Hiking (June 16)
2. Camping (June 17)
3. Amusement Park/Ferris Wheel (June 18)
4. Water Fight/Water Guns/Water Balloons(June 19)
5. Hide and Seek (June 20)
6. Swimming (June 21)
7. Free Day (June 22)
June, Day 1: Mountain Climbing/Hiking
Summary: During the middle school's hiking trip up the mountains, two students lag behind their respective classes. At the same time, Chiaki re-evaluates a thought about someone from another class.
Step. Step.
Step. Step.
Step. Step.
The ground beneath is soft. Wait, maybe that isn't the right word; it isn't fully soft to the point of sinking too deep like quicksand, but it did feel like an inch or so can sink in. At the same time, the ground's rather rough to walk in as well.
Soft and rough, huh? That's a bit contradicting, when you think about it. It's kinda funny.
Trudge. Trudge.
Trudge. Trudge.
Trudge. Trudge.
Chiaki isn't really sure how much time has passed. It couldn't have been that long, but even at this distance, her legs feel like jelly; her pacing slowed down a bit compared to normal. It might be the laws of gravity when it came to hiking mountains. It might be the status of the mountain's ground. It might be a combination of both.
On the other hand, even though they're both behind their schoolmates, Izuru didn't seem to struggle as much. It's hard to tell from this angle, although his stance and pace appeared stable. He looks like he's doing fine for a middle-schooler, actually. Then again, it's not like someone like her can keep up with him anyway. It'd be a big, unlikely miracle if she managed to do so.
Until now, she never really saw him face-to-face before since he's from another class. Back then, the only context she had about him were less than nice things said about him from the others. She isn't one to believe in gossip and rumors, but in terms of appearance, Izuru does look the part of a delinquent.
That assumption can end up being wrong, of course, as video games taught her that.
A few meters passed ahead. Without as much as pausing a step, he spoke up, breaking the silence.
"We're almost halfway."
A small mumble was her reply from this distance. "That's good to know."
The hike on this level is a lot tougher compared to how it was below. If it felt like she's about to collapse earlier, there's an bigger chance for it to happen now. It's so tempting to stay back and rest for a bit.
But if that happened, Izuru would be gone by the time she recovered.
Chiaki momentarily looked up, away from watching her steps on the ground onto the surroundings in front of her. The distance between her and Izuru was a bit reasonable earlier, at least a few feet away at most.
Now, though? She's at least a few meters behind him. Considering how easy this hiking trip is for him, it won't be surprising if the gap widened even more later on.
She'll be left behind at this point.
Despite the heavy feeling of her feet, she forced them up. Little by little, she'll catch up with him.
Rush. Rush.
Rush. Rush.
Rush. Rush.
She's almost there. As she ignored the throbbing and aching, she found herself almost there, at least five feet or less away from him. Almost there. Almost there.
Slip.
A soundless gasp comes out of her. Combined with force and overexertion, a foot twisted itself on a less stable ground. Within a few seconds, at best she'll be faceplanted onto the hard ground. At worst, she'll be tumbling down this mountain.
Before either can happen, a pair of hands grabbed the straps of her bag from the front, hoisting her up before she made impact with the ground.
She met up with the person who helped her back on her feet, who's now checking for any injuries. Thankfully, she didn't have any. Izuru's expression didn't change as usual; though she had a feeling he's a bit sterner this time.
"I'm fine." She blurted out, answering his unasked question.
He checked over her once again. "You should rest."
"I'm fine, really."
Her insistence didn't fully convince him, but it did give him a more creative solution instead of forcing her to rest, whether she liked it or not. With a completely straight face and tone, he then suggested,
"If you won't rest, then I suppose I'll have to carry you instead."
Izuru didn't give her time to think of more protests; the next moment, she ended up giving in to that second option as the boy hoisted her up in a piggy-back ride. That admittedly got her worried if she'd end up making them both fall down at first, but as with his uncanny stamina on the hike earlier, somehow he managed to do so again while carrying her on his back at the same time.
Still, just in case...
"You sure you're okay with this?"
It's hard to read his thoughts as his face isn't visible from this view. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have offered to do so in the first place."
"Hm, that's fair." She lightly shifted into a more comfortable position.
Guess that Izuru's not really a bad person like her schoolmates believed.