"Wahh! Hot springs in Hokkaido!" Nagi shouted, running ahead of us.
"Ne, why isn't Ama-sensei here?" Rei asked, pushing his glasses up. I noticed that he did that quite often.
"Hmm, she said that something came up so she couldn't come. Something like family matters. But then she said it was a cat." Mako mused over the thought.
"What's with the flurries of excuses?" I muttered. We stared at the medium-sized inn that we were staying for three days and two nights.
"We're checking in as Iwatobi Swim Club." Makoto stood at the reception desk, checking us in.
"I have two rooms for you." She glanced at me and then at the other four boys. "Will one of you be staying with the young lady perhaps?" When they looked among each other, she winked at me. Ehh?
"Eto… we were planning to let Mei-chan sleep alo–" Rei began, only to be cut off.
"There's a ghost that haunts this place." She leaned over the counter, whispering. "It preys on pretty girls who sleep alone in this inn." She leaned back smiling, her voice back to normal. "But the young miss should be fine. I mean, I think she'll make it until morning. I'll show you to your rooms."
Mako was quivering next to Haru, who stood there with an impassive face. She led the way to the second floor, where we were staying at. The four boys went into one room, leaving me in the other. I sighed and unpacked, taking advantage of the drawers. Right as I finished putting my stuff away, someone knocked on the door before sliding it open. I looked up to find Haru standing there. He came in, closing it behind him.
"…" I was waiting for him to say something.
"We talked about it and thought it might be best for me to stay here with you. Mako's afraid of ghosts, and Nagi doesn't want to leave Rei alone. So…" he trailed off, looking at me.
"Okay. Those other three drawers are yours then. Mine are those three on the right." I pointed at them. He nodded his head and unpacked his belongings.
After he finished, we walked next door to where Rei, Nagi, and Mako stayed. We all hung out, playing board games, eating dinner, and relaxing until it was eight at night.
"We should head to the hot springs before they close it," I reminded them. They all stood up, agreeing.
"Ne Mei-chan, we should go to the opened air mixed bath together!" Nagisa exclaimed, excited.
"Huh?!" A light blush covered my cheeks. But it was nothing compared to the red color blooming on Rei, Mako, and Haru's faces.
"N-nagi-chan, I-I d-don't think t-that's a g-go-good idea," stuttered Mako. Nagi laughed, grabbing my arm.
"Ano… I-I'll pass, Nagi-chan." I quickly escaped from his grasp and fled into the women's bath area. My heart was pounding. But I kinda wanted to see Mako and Haru… what am I saying?! I brought both hands up and slapped my face lightly. I stripped down, wrapping a towel around myself and wrapping my hair up. It was an open air bath with a bamboo-constructed wall separating the men's and the women's bath.
"Meiiii-chan! Are you therrrrre?" I heard Nagi's voice drift over to my side, calling for me. I chuckled, replying, "What is it, Nagi-chan?" Silence. A flurry of whispers.
"Nothing! We just wanted to make sure you were there!" I heard him giggle. I rolled my eyes and sank down in the hot, refreshing water.
"Goodnight!" Makoto, Nagisa, and Rei waved before leaving our room, leaving me and Haru alone. The lady from the reception desk misunderstood our situation, since she left us with one futon and two pillows. It was a medium-sized futon, which was better than giving us a small one. The others had single futons. We sat around awkwardly, uncertain of how this was going to end.
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Haru said, breaking the silence. I nodded my head. He crawled into the futon, wearing his t-shirt and shorts. I followed him, entering from the other side in my long-sleeved shirt and boxer shorts. For the first week of November in Hokkaido, it was freezing. I was shivering by midnight.
"Are you cold?" Haru turned around, facing my back.
"N-not r-re-really…" My teeth were obviously chattering, but I tried to ignore it. I felt Haru scooting closer to me in the futon.
"Come here. It's warmer," he suggested. I felt the warmth from his body and I automatically turned around, going for it. I accidently kicked his leg in the process but I noticed how warm they were. Without thinking, I pressed my cold legs against his. He let out a small gasp before laughing.
"You should have said something earlier." Feeling a bit self-conscious, I avoided looking at Haru. His right arm was tucked underneath his head and his left arm hung loosely on his side. I snuggled closer, attracted to his warmth against the freezing temperature. The cold slowly lulled me to sleep. My eyelids became heavy with sleep, and the last thing I saw before I fell asleep was Haru kindly looking at me.
Someone was trying to shake me awake.
"Mei-chan. Haru-chan. Wake up." I ignored the voice, snuggling closer to my source of warmth. Something squeezed me a little tighter to the warmth, and I relaxed.
"Aww! They're so kawaī!" The voice squealed.
"Shh! Let them sleep a bit longer!" Another voice hushed the first one. I buried my face into some warm and soft. And something hard beneath the softness. I breathed in a nice, wintery scent. I cracked an eye open and found a blue cotton in front of me; opened both eyes and found a t-shirt. Huh? Still half-asleep, I blinked my eyes a couple of times to see someone sleepings really close to me. Oh, it's just Haru. I began to close my eyes again before snapping them open. Ehh?! Haruka?!. I found his arm around my waist and my head on his right arm, using it as a pillow. My arms were trapped in between our bodies, making it impossible for me to escape.
I glanced over at Haru again, noticing the peaceful expression on his sleeping face. He looks so gentle, like a little kid. I giggled softly, trying not to wake him up. Oops. He groggily opened his eyes and stared at me with his intense blue eyes.
"Mei-chan?" His morning voice was heavy with sleep.
"Ohayō, Haru-chan."
His eyes wandered down, finally noticing where his hands were. We stayed like that for a while longer, not talking.
"Ano…" I began.
BOOM. The sliding door to our room crashed down, startling the two of us. We sprang apart.
"Baka! You were pushing me!" Rei shouted down at Nagisa.
"Ahh! I told you guys to stop eavesdropping on them!" Mako laid under the two of them, crushed. Rei was on top of Nagi, who was on top of Makoto. In response, Nagi giggled.
"But they sounded so cute! I wonder what they did last night!"
"HUH?!" Haru and I squeaked, our faces red. "W-w-we didn't d-do anyt-thing!"
"You both are so kawaī!" Nagi continued on. I glanced over at Mako, and I noticed something: his eyes were stormy.
"Let's go s-somewhere!" I suggested, changing the conversation.
"A waterpark!" Nagi and I cried out at the same time. We all wore our swimsuits underneath. Ama-chan had managed to convince the school to give us some spending money, and she saved the prize money for our future competitions and transportation funds. We had already paid for our entrance fees and the five of us went inside the park. Waterslides, wading pools, a large swimming pool, hot tubs, and a huge diving pool were waiting for us. We rented a large locker and stuffed out belongings inside with our clothes, leaving us in our bathing suits. I was wearing a ruffled bikini that I had from a couple of years ago, when my friends and I hung out at the beach constantly after swim practices.
"M-mei-chan, isn't t-t-that too… eto…much?" Rei stuttered after he saw what I was wearing. Nagi, Mako, and Haru stared. I shrugged.
"This is what girls wear when they're out having fun. Look." I swept a hand out, motioning towards the females at the water park. Nagi was the first to recover.
"Come on, Mei-chan! I want to ride the two-person slide with you!" He grabbed my hand and dragged me towards the forty-foot tall waterslide. I grinned, following him.
"Wait! Nagi-chan!" We heard Mako call out, but we hurried towards the slide, not wanting to wait long in line. The lifeguard stationed there handed us a double raft. I climbed in the front and Nagi climbed in behind me, sitting with his legs outlining mine. A faint blush colored my cheeks. We both grabbed onto the handles on the side of the raft, and then the lifeguard pushed us into the swirling dark tunnel.
I shrieked as we went down into the dark void as Nagi laughed all the way down. As we neared the end of the tunnel, sunlight streamed down, lighting the way out to the water. The raft slid effortlessly over the water as there was another lifeguard to catch the raft. We both hopped out, laughing.
"That was fun! Ne, Mei-chan?" Nagi asked, twirling around. I grinned, excited.
"Let's go again!"
"Mei-chan! Nagi-chan!" Mako waved us over. "Let's go on that!" He pointed to a huge waterslide that seated five people per raft. My eyes lit up excitedly. We hurried over there, just in time as no one else was there. The five of us climbed in, waiting to be swallowed up by the gushing water and open air.
"I want to go to the diving pool!" I shouted, pointing at the 10m diving board and the deep pool. The boys smiled, following me as I led the way. I gasped in awe – even at a large waterpark, they provided judges for diving competitions for fun. I signed up for it and waited on the bench with three other people, two being males and a female. My friends were waiting in the shallow end of the pool with the other spectators, observing the on-going competition.
"How many people are in this competition?" I asked the boy sitting in front of me. Startled, he looked at me before answering.
"Eto… there were two people that already went. The third one is going now, and there are four of us on the bench. So… seven." He smiled. "Do you dive often?" He asked.
"Hai, it's one of my favorite things to do." I grinned, eager for my turn.
"A total of twenty-eight points!" The announcer exclaimed. I was watching the third person who had faulted during her twist. It wasn't smooth… I took mental notes as my other competitors went.
Finally, it was my turn.
"And our seventh contestant, Haruno-san!" The crowd whistled and cheered, and I heard Nagi, Rei, Mako, and Haru cheering me on. I'll do my favorite one. I chuckled. This one won me first place in numerous competitions. It was my famous and one of the most difficult dive, two and a half back-somersaults with two and a half twists, called 'The Twister'. I jumped from the diving board, feeling the wind parting way for me as I performed. I landed in the water gracefully, not losing my touch. Heh, I still had it in me! I grinned happily as the crowd roared with approval and awe. The judges were staring at me in amazement, forgetting to write their scores down. The announcer nudged them, regaining their attention. They all quickly scribbled something down, holding it up.
"Incredible!" The announcer shouted. "A perfect score? No! Infinity beyond incredible! Performing one of the most difficult tricks of the world, 'The Twister!'"
"Can you tell us your name and your age?" He shoved the microphone in my face as I got out of the pool.
"Haruno-san is all I will give you," I winked playfully. "Age sixteen!" I held up two fingers, making a 'V' with them, winking. The audience chuckled at my playfulness.
"Aww, so kawaī!" I took a good look at the host, making him out to be around his early twenties. He handed me a gold medal and a large lollipop as my prize. I smiled, thanking him before disappearing off the stage, heading towards my friends who were waiting for me.
"Mei-chan was so cool today! Winning first in that diving competition and the one-person melody race! Wahh!" Nagi praised once we were back in the room the three of them shared from the waterpark and after we soaked in the hot springs. We were helping Mako move his stuff into my room, while Haru moved his belongings out to the room next door where Nagi and Rei were. Nagi was complaining on the bus ride home how he wanted to sleep with Haru too because of his body heat, so Haru complied. That left me alone in a freezing room, so Mako volunteered to stay with me.
"You guys were pretty great too!" I interjected. "I mean, in the team melody you guys got first!" Mako smiled encouragingly, "You're right! We did great together." We carried on our conversations, making jokes, laughing and having fun.
My eyes slowly began to droop. I glanced at the clock. 3:21AM? That's pretty late… I yawned, covering my mouth. I leaned on the small table in front of me and closed my eyes for a minute. I'll make sure to wake up in five minutes. I thought before drifting off into a dream.