A/N: Bet you're surprised to see this again, huh?

Over a year and a half… this poor prequel. Dust and cobwebs everywhere. It's just that Heartbreak Cure has more of a clear-cut ending and I'm yearning to get to it. At the same time, there are things I'd like to flesh out or play with here first. (Also I kinda just wanted to move this to the first page again ^^) Thanks to any and all new follows, faves, and reviews!

Seiram: Oh, those lovable little meddlers definitely ship NaYuri! I'd like to personally thank those crazy kids for providing the only believable reason I could fit Naoi into the skiing trip. (And thank you! Fighting over the window seat is a very NaYuri part of the classic field trip experience :'D) (Excellent question about Akuma/SSS connections. You at least know one more now, courtesy of HC.) And Saki is such a lovable character to write, so I like that you honed in on that part. Honestly I think an AU where she and Chitose are roomies with Yuri would have loads of potential. I will say you've got the right idea with your Ami theories. This could get messy, it all depends on how Hejj and Kurimu handle things this week. (Thank you very much for your encouragement! Turns out 2020 was HC's year, but this year I'm happy to say I cracked down on this chapter!)

ZainR: Glad you liked! That hug made me feel warm just writing it. (Hehe, Angel Bears...) As for TK, you know me, I love my sneaky little Battlefront cameos. ;) I seriously love the mental image of Naoi and Masuda helping Hejjiguchi through his wedding day, so thank you for that. I think a little more boy time with these three is in order at some point - as evidenced in that last scene, they have some very satisfying chemistry. My OtoHinNaoi away from home. (More Naoi vacation fun ahead!)

Hope you enjoy!

[Chapter 37]: Hit The Slopes

After lunch, the chaperons led everyone on an introductory tour of the area, pointing out all of the important attractions—

"—since we suspect some of you would rather soak in the hot springs than face-plant in the snow this week," Ichinose quipped, nodding toward certain students who'd been exclaiming all over the place.

Ami sighed longingly. "Imagine, a nice hot bath after a long day of skiing," she said, putting her arms around Yuri's and Kurimu's shoulders. "What do you say, ladies? Good idea or a good idea?"

Yuri looked like she was actually considering it as she wrapped her coat tighter around herself. "To tell you the truth, I could use one already."

"Great! We'll make a girls' night out of it," Ami cheered. "Won't we, Kurimu?"

Hovering on Yuri's other side, Ayato made a point of side-eying Ami with a frown. Already the girl was putting a dent in his plans for this week. She had better not try to hog Yuri any more than that. Having her laze about in a steamy onsen with nothing but a towel when she could be…

Hm.

"Meanwhile Naoi's wondering if those baths are co-ed," Hejjiguchi said with a sly grin.

Ayato whirled around at him in indignation. "I am NOT!" His face burned behind the collar of his blue and white jacket. That was not what he was wondering at all!

Not exactly…

They familiarized themselves with the layout of the resort and of town – cafés, restaurants, shops, locker rooms, ski rental kiosks, a recreation building – until the chaperons decided they'd finished making their rounds and sent everyone off to rent their gear (or go retrieve it if they'd brought their own). The rest of the excursion was meant to be a group skiing lesson.

"We do have to teach you something while you're here," Ichinose said, shrugging.

"Even though someone wanted to host a betting pool as to which students would fall on their—"

"Now, Nakahara!" Ichinose interrupted with a hearty clearing of his throat, nervously tapping the pole of the ski lift. "You shouldn't be spreading such rumors! I don't even know where it came from…"

"Ichinose-sensei, can we get in on that?" Shiruba asked, raising a hand.

"Not unless you want to bet against yourself," Ichinose said lightly, turning to the line of students. "Alright, three to a seat please!"

The line's arrangement allowed the golden trio (if Ayato were to offer them a mildly tolerant new nickname) to sit together, and Ami looked happy about it as she settled in the middle. Although she did turn around now and then while they were in the air to wave at Yuri, Ayato, and Masuda in the chair behind her. Ayato was the only one who didn't wave back.

In the chair behind theirs, he heard Nezumi give a deep sigh. "Dude, just put your hand down."

The lift carried them a little ways up a practice hill, and then the chaperons had the group gather in a circle and "limber up" before they did anything. A few other skiers glided effortlessly past on the gentle slope, while still others took advantage of the flat area to adjust their gear and goggles. One lavender-haired girl tried to reach down and adjust the bindings on her skis, only to fall gracelessly on her ass. The yellow-haired girl next to her laughed uproariously.

Looking at them, Ayato had a funny feeling he was seeing into the future.

"Alright, at the risk of putting people on the spot here," said Nakahara, and held up her hand before Ichinose could say anything, "does anyone here already pretty much know what they're doing? Any prior ski experience at all? I wanna see hands."

A considerable number of hands went up, including Yuri's. Ayato was hardly surprised as he regarded them all. Not their first skiing vacation, he imagined. Nobody wanted to stay trapped in Akuma for very long.

Nakahara did a quick count and then gave a satisfied nod.

"That's a little more than half," she decided. "How about this? Those of you who raised your hands, please pair up with one of your less skilled peers and help them get the hang of it. At least for warmups and a couple of practice runs."

"Only groups of two?" Ami said sadly, while Kurimu and Hejjiguchi eyed each other behind her.

Ichinose and Nakahara shared a look. "Or three, Kawata," Ichinose said, watching the others begin to pair up, "as long as no one gets left out. We are trying to encourage teamwork on this trip, after all."

Ami squealed happily and looked back at her friends. "Don't worry, Kurimu! With mine and Souma-kun's help, you'll be a pro in no time," she said, and then frowned slightly. "Though Masuda, it's too bad we're both experienced. I hate to—"

"It's okay, Ami, I think he's already gone to pair up with Jinko," Yuri said, pointing.

"Oh." Ami followed Yuri's finger with her eyes, to where Masuda was indeed talking to a previously fallen Jinko Kozakura while helping her brush snow off her coat and black twintails. She stared for a second, then managed an odd smile. "Oh! Well, that's good then…"

"I wonder if he likes her," Ayato said helpfully. Yuri elbowed him, which unsteadied him slightly on his skis but also made it harder not to smile.

"Maybe. They are friends in drama club and all," Ami mused, and looked upset as she scuffed at the snow with a theatrical sigh. "No one tells me anything…"

Ayato rolled his eyes, and was about to share a glance with Yuri when he caught the deep pensive frown on her face.

Oh great, he knew that look. She had the same look after that one baseball game last June, the time he told her why he'd attempted to take a foul ball for her. The last thing he wanted was to see that feeling of guilt take over. Reaching out, Ayato rested a hand on her arm and gave her a prompting eyebrow raise when she startled.

"You okay?" he asked.

Yuri allowed him a small smile, the warmth in her eyes doing a better job of insulating him than all his bundled layers. "I'm okay, Ayato," she said softly. Then, in a cheekier tone, "Are you ready to do this thing?"

Ayato huffed, waving a hand at her. "Please! If Hejjiguchi is an expert, I'm sure it won't be too much of a challenge."

"Prepare to eat those words," Hejjiguchi sang under his breath.

Once everyone had paired up and started excitedly chattering amongst themselves, the teachers clapped at them to draw their attention, then gave a few pointers on stance and balance as a warmup before they set them loose on the slope.

"Just remember to practice caution, remain in control, and know who has the right of way," Nakahara said sternly. "And mind yourselves, please. We're not the only school visiting the resort this week."

With that, she took her stance and pushed off, with Ichinose following after her as soon as she had a good head start down the trail.

Looking around, Ayato was quietly relieved at how many students were still trying to get a feel for their skis. Sayuki and Kaori, both unskilled but refusing to be separated, had begrudgingly come to Rumi for guidance, but their constant collapsing giggle fits and the perpetual face-palm from the latter suggested she was having a hard time getting them to take it seriously. Meanwhile, Jinko was clearly a bit wobbly and nervous, though her consternation melted into a smile of gratitude as Masuda held her arm to steady her. At that moment, Matsumoto leaned too far back to spy on them and lost his footing, landing in an undignified heap in the snow.

"Here's a new theater exercise for you," said Kobayashi, looking down at him with an arched brow. "Act like someone who actually knows how to ski."

Matsumoto scowled at the snow. "Bite me, hotshot."

"Get off your ass, pretty boy."

Waiting at the bottom of an incline, Nezumi looked away from Shiruba for just one moment. "Did somebody call me?" he asked, then pulled an unimpressed face. "Oh, never mind, it's just Kobayashi running his mouth as usual." He winked at Matsumoto. "It's the only part of him that actually runs fast."

"Hey, Nezumi? Maybe you should focus less on my mouth," Kobayashi said, pointing over his shoulder, "and more on your rookie over there."

Despite starting to scoff, Nezumi turned around just in time to see the aforementioned rookie coming down the slope at him at full force. His eyes went wide and he cursed under his breath. "Oh f— Shiruba, stop!"

"I can't! I'm trying but it won't—"

"Do the V, dude! Do the V!"

"I am doing the V!"

"You're not doing the fuckin' V! Do the—"

Yelping a flurry of curses, Shiruba crashed straight into Nezumi and sent them both sprawling into the snow in a tangle of limbs and skis. His groan of pain, whether from bruised body or pride, buried itself in his friend's chest.

Nezumi, on the other hand, had started cackling with glee the moment he hit the ground. "You moron!" he wheezed, giving the other boy a shove.

Shiruba rolled off of him and covered his face in dismay, moaning into his gloves. "Do you think Ami saw that?"

Nezumi grinned up at the sky. "I hope everyone saw that." He lifted his neck a little. "Fujimoto! Takada! Did you guys see what just—"

"DOGPILE!" Takada roared, abandoning his sporadic skiing attempts in favor of a flying leap into the air. Despite being the better skier, Fujimoto uttered his own battle cry and flung himself forward as well, bowling Nezumi back into the snow while Takada landed on Shiruba and pinned him down as he was trying to get up.

"Get off, you idiot!" Cracking up despite himself, a squirming Shiruba grabbed his ski pole and jabbed Takada with it until he rolled away. "You'll break all my bones on day one!"

Laughing all the way down the practice hill from which Shiruba had come, Hisakawa skidded to a stop next to them and extended both arms to pull Nezumi and Shiruba to their feet. Nezumi grinned at her as he heartily grabbed hold and hoisted himself up, but Shiruba's mildly grateful expression faded to annoyance within seconds. In the background, Ami had been in the middle of heading over to do it herself, but instead flashed him a reassured smile and turned back to rejoin her trio.

"Why are you partnering with us again?" Shiruba asked, slapping the snow off his pants.

Hisakawa shrugged. "'Cause your friend stole mine."

"It was the other way around, but yeah," said Nezumi. "Wonder how that's going—"

"WOOOOHOOOOO!" came a joyous whoop from the hill. Saki, obviously having the time of her life, went sailing down the hill so fast that Masuda had to dive out of the way. Confidently she threw a bright smile over her shoulder. "You can do it, Hirohashi! Watch out for the tree!"

A beaming Hisakawa watched with amusement and a little pride. "Saki likes to jump right into things," she explained.

Hirohashi was less than a second behind her, but he did not come down sailing as much as wailing. Wide-eyed and sweating bullets, he zipped after Saki with far less confidence and fancy tricks, desperately trying to maintain control. "AAAAAAAAH TREE TREE TREE TREE TREE—"

He dodged it and heaved a sigh of relief – only to fall majestically sideways over a bump two seconds later.

The other four boys whistled and burst into applause. "WIPE-OUT!" Shiruba yelled.

Shaking his head, Ayato turned to Yuri who was doing some people-watching herself. Behind him, Saki could be heard coming back around to check on her fallen partner. ("Hirohashi, what are you doing?" she asked, sounding more curious than concerned. "That's no place for a nap...")

"Are you seeing all of this?" he asked, making a vague swooping gesture at their classmates.

Yuri smirked. "Now, now," she said with a wink, "this is exactly what your dad sent you here to learn how to do."

Ayato snorted with laughter, trying to imagine the look on Kimito's face as he beheld the chaos that ensued in these mountains. Yuri laughed too, that wicked triumphant villainess laugh he was always delightfully spooked by, before grabbing his arm and pointing towards the trio just as Kurimu was bravely surging down the slope with a squeal (followed shortly by a whooping Hejjiguchi and cheering Ami).

"Come on," she said, still grinning. "Let's catch up to them."

With that, she pushed off and started gliding across the snow, moving gracefully with soft swishes as she picked up speed. Ayato watched her in amazement, admiring her from behind. She was a natural...

Blinking out of his trance, he leaned forward and pushed down as well, sailing far ahead of his thoughts before they had time to turn into fears. He set his mind on only one thing – Yuri, just ahead, and closing the distance between them.

He was shaky at first, but soon his senses began to come alive with his increasing speed. The air smelled crisp and fresh, and the wind felt pleasantly blustery against his face as it whipped through his hair. He focused on the sound of his skis carving through the snow, and the sound of laughing and yelling from his classmates. Hejjiguchi was pretty far in front of him, and Ayato could almost hear the "what took you so long" he'd get at the end of the hill, so he determinedly kept his stance steady and his eyes ahead as he pushed onward to catch up to Yuri.

Honestly, how was she so good at this? He couldn't help but wonder as he watched her weave back and forth on her skis and then sail confidently down the incline. Her movements were almost hypnotic, her ease astonishing.

It was as if she had been born knowing how to slide down steep slopes without so much as a wobble—

Ayato let out a yelp as he tripped over a bump and flopped face first into the snow. He tumbled and skidded for a second, then groaned into the snow pile that had formed. Yuri had apparently heard him cry out and stopped, and now she was only doing the bare minimum to stifle her giggles.

"You alright?" she called to him. He groaned louder in reply.

After a moment, he heard her trekking back up the hill to rescue him. A pair of arms lifted him from the snow and pulled him to his feet, and he wiped the frost from his face to see Yuri smiling at him. She reached up and brushed the powdery snow from his head, then gave his hair a good, fierce mussing to get the rest out.

Ayato felt his face heat up terribly at the sensation; his brain short-circuited and it was all he could do not to melt into the feeling of Yuri carving her fingers through his hair. What unearthly pleasure was this...?!

But just like that, it was over too soon. Yuri pulled away, saying something he couldn't hear, because it was like she'd stirred up his brains with her ministrations and he was dizzily waiting for them to settle into place.

"What...?" Yuri asked, looking at him quizzically.

He touched a hand to his scalp, which was still tingling. "You messed up my hair."

Yuri scoffed good-naturedly. "Please, it was already messed up! You looked like Shiruba."

"Fine, whatever." He picked up his ski poles, weirdly feeling a rush of energy. "I'll race you to the bottom."

"You read my mind," she said coyly, and pushed off.

To his credit, he didn't lag too far behind or even fall again before they reached the end (which was less than a minute's ride down, but that was beside the point). The trio was waiting for them when they finally made it, Yuri doing an impeccable hockey stop at the bottom. Hejjiguchi followed them both with his eyes and gave a low whistle.

"Not bad for a first-timer," he said, flashing Ayato a thumbs up before nodding to Yuri. "Excellent form, Yuri."

"Thank you," Yuri beamed, obviously pleased with herself. She proudly rested a hand on Ayato's shoulder. "And yeah, he learns quick, doesn't he?"

Hejjiguchi nodded very seriously. "Of course," he said with a semi-shrug. "Y'know. That, uh, tends to happen when you have a cute instructor." He turned to wink at the girls. "Great job by the way, Kurimu."

Kurimu giggled appreciatively while Ami rolled her eyes in exasperated fondness. But meanwhile, Ayato and Yuri simultaneously uttered choked cries of protest, and he resolutely looked away from Yuri while trying to hide his resulting blush deep in the collar of his coat.

It was one thing for Ayato to call her cute just to tease her, which he actually hadn't done in a while. It was quite another for Hejjiguchi to imply that Yuri's genuine cuteness had held Ayato at rapt attention throughout the lesson.

Especially when, God help him, it was unequivocally and inescapably true.

He hated when Hejjiguchi was right.

Behind him, there was the sound of skis sliding smoothly to a stop, and Hejjiguchi's face lit up with a smirk while Ami unconsciously fluffed her windblown hair.

"Masuda!" he exclaimed. "What gives, man? You let Naoi beat you down here."

While Ayato wondered if he should be offended, Masuda gave him a nonchalant once-over, then glanced back over his shoulder as a slow-and-steady Jinko carefully joined him at his side. "It's not a race, Hejj," he said loftily.

"That's loser talk," said Shiruba, coming up on Masuda's other side.

"You don't know him at all, do you?" Nezumi added with a smirk, popping up next to Shiruba.

Masuda stared at Shiruba, thoroughly unimpressed. "You got down here after me."

Shiruba tsked. "So defensive," he said, and his lips slowly curved into a half-grin before he sent it towards the girls. "Hey, Ami."

"Hey, Shiruba!" Ami awarded him a radiant smile, blissfully ignorant of a certain friction crackling in the air around her. She did, however, notice a certain triple-pierced green-haired boy reacting to her pep, and her smile became a little more forced. "Nezumi."

Nezumi eyed her briefly, then dropped his ski poles and dipped low in an exaggerated curtsy. "Princess."

Nicely, Ayato covered his laugh with a harrumph to be discreet. Nevertheless, Nezumi looked up and snuck him a knowing smirk – only to be knocked off balance when Shiruba delivered a warning hip check.

"Sorry about Nez," Shiruba said to Ami, trying on a rueful boyish grin. Through his teeth, he added, "I thought I told him to start being more polite."

"Uh, hence the curtsy?" Nezumi scoffed. Feigning bewilderment, he turned wide innocent eyes to a prospective ally. "Kurimu, help me out here. Aren't curtsies the pinnacle of good manners?"

Kurimu looked a little caught off-guard by his attention. Glancing almost guiltily between Ami and Nezumi, she ventured, "Well... yes they are. But I don't think yours was very genuine."

Sighing, Nezumi hung his head. "What happened, Kurimu?" he asked, sounding utterly disappointed. "We used to be cool..."

Kurimu looked more troubled, so Hejjiguchi stepped in with a protective glint in his eye.

"Leave her alone, Nez," he said, keeping his tone light but laced with warning. "What are you hovering around here for anyway? I thought this was supposed to be a vacation."

Nezumi chuckled somewhat sarcastically, then in an instant he was at Hejjiguchi's side, gripping his shoulder tight and hissing in his ear.

"Let's just say, something you encouraged this past Christmas has come back to haunt you," he said, nodding in the direction of Shiruba and Ami. "So, you're an idiot, and I'm a wingman, and we're probably going to see a lot of each other this week." With that, he released Hejjiguchi and clapped him on the shoulder. "Sound good?" he asked in a louder voice, grinning and sounding more like his playful self.

Hejjiguchi closed his eyes and shrugged in defeat. "Alright. If you think you can keep up."

"He's already forgotten who he's talking to," Nezumi tsked to Shiruba, who looked away from Ami long enough to shake his head in smirking sympathy. He scanned his surroundings until he spotted Fujimoto and Takada chatting up Saki and Hisakawa (and from the looks of it, joyfully ragging on Hirohashi about his epic flight from earlier) and waved to flag them over. "C'mon, boys! Let's go again!"

Fujimoto and Takada blinked at him. "Boys?" Takada repeated, while Fujimoto cleared his throat and gestured to their companions.

"Oh, right." Nezumi scratched at his hair. "C'mon, crew…?" He twisted his lips in thought, then shook his head and swept up his ski poles. "Eh, we'll work on that."

"Nah, I like it!" said Fujimoto, as he and the others went to rejoin Nezumi and Shiruba. "Makes us sound like we're pirates or something. Or on a spaceship."

Saki gasped in epiphany. "SPACE pirates," she intoned, her eyes wide as snowballs.

"Aw, hell yeah!" Fujimoto slapped her a high-five, then turned to Hirohashi and singsonged, "We're keeping her."

Hirohashi chuckled nervously, sweating as he followed after them. Behind him, Hisakawa gave Ami's group a cursory glance as she passed by.

Watching them until they were out of earshot, Hejjiguchi forced that same anxious laugh through his teeth until it trailed off as his eyes landed on Yuri, who was hammering him with a miffed glare.

"What?" he protested, shrugging again. "It's not my fault. If Hisakawa has terrible taste in guys, that is all on her."

Yuri closed her eyes with a sigh, no doubt counting to three in her head. "Let's just go hit the slopes..."

After a couple more runs, most of the second-year students were feeling pretty confident about their skills. At least, confident enough to get ridiculously competitive. Shouts and boisterous laughter rang out through the mountains, echoing above the treetops and threatening to crack an impeccably blue sky. Ayato had briefly looked up to admire the view when a spray of snow splattered his and Yuri's jackets as a particularly eager skier zoomed right through them.

"Souma-kun, stop getting so far ahead!" scolded Ami, who was considerately sticking close to Kurimu through the twists and turns.

"I'm new at this!" Kurimu added with a squeal and a smile, not wanting to be discouraging despite the sheepish flush to her cheeks. "Please, take it easy on me!"

"Sorry ladies, I can't be stopped!" Hejjiguchi bragged, leaving a trail of laughter in his wake. Glancing over his shoulder, he shot them a teasing grin. "Catch me if you can—"

"On your left!" Hisakawa bellowed, roaring by so fast it made his head spin.

"What the—"

Nezumi practically danced past him, spinning his head in the opposite direction. "On your right!"

Disoriented, Hejjiguchi practically tripped face-first on the snow bump that Hisakawa had vaulted. In a haste, he scrambled to regain his composure as well as his footing. "Oh, NO way—"

"What's the matter, Hejj?" Nezumi jeered without looking back. "Not used to getting your butt kicked off the track field?"

"Track? It's all about gymnastics here on the slopes, boys!" Hisakawa said smugly, her voice carrying over the wind. She smirked at Nezumi as he swiftly caught up with her. "Speed has its advantages, but it couldn't save him from missing that jump!"

Hejjiguchi's flabbergasted jaw-drop soon turned to baffled indignation as he watched them sail ahead. "Oh, okay, so that's how it is!" he called. Glancing over his shoulder, he pointedly caught Yuri's eye and said, in perhaps a playful mock enlightenment, "You were right, she's actually the worst." Leaving Yuri with that little note of validation, he got into a more serious-business stance and went flying down the hill, yelling, "Get ready to eat my snow dust!"

Meanwhile, Ami huffed a slow sigh before throwing Kurimu a sideways smile. "Well, there he goes…"

"Just like during practice," Kurimu said knowingly.

Ami watched as the race quickly turned into a one-on-one. "Do they have to do this here?"

Gliding up alongside them, Shiruba tsked emphatically. "I can't believe he'd leave you girls behind like that," he said, though his twisted lips seemed to be fighting an exuberant grin as he followed the race with shining eyes. "Guess he's always wondered what defeat tastes like when you're up in the mountains. But don't worry, girls, while Nezumi sees to that, I'll be happy to keep you company—"

"That's a funny way of saying you can't beat him yourself," Masuda commented lightly from behind.

Shiruba turned to shoot him a dour look, but Ami was surprisingly quick to defend. "Aw, give him a break, Masuda, he's new at this!" she said, sending Shiruba a cheerful smile. "He's just getting his ski legs."

"Hey, I learned quick," Shiruba replied loftily. "I'm just a gentleman."

Masuda scoffed and listed his head toward Jinko. "Why don't we ask if Horigoshi feels the same?"

A sigh from Shiruba. "Let it go, bro," he said, sucking air through his teeth. "Just… let it go."

"Yes, well, Horigoshi almost 'let it go' all over my shirt," Masuda deadpanned.

What he got in response was a howl of laughter that shook Shiruba so hard he just about toppled forward and lost control of his skis. "Oh man, that's really sick, that's…" he cackled, then caught Ami looking at him and cleared his throat, "…unfortunate."

Behind them, Ayato caught the stern disapproval on Masuda's face and grinned sheepishly to himself. He was, after all, the one actually responsible for the strawberry stomach bombs. He glanced over at Yuri for clarification and, always reading his mind, she confirmed with a slight head tilt and silent lip-biting smirk.

Whoops… He bit on the inside of his mouth to fight back a guilty snicker. Though he doubted it was Horigoshi's gut health that had Masuda so up in arms about Shiruba lately.

He grinned back at Yuri, and she threw him a sneaky little wink that made his heart feel like it had stumbled over a ledge—

"Naoi!" came Hirohashi's alarmed voice. "Tree!"

Cutting his own strangled yelp short, Ayato thankfully swerved just in time and stared straight ahead with wide eyes, clutching his ski poles tightly in his hands. Why in the world did he keep doing that…?

"Don't be a dope, eyes on the slope!" Takada singsonged as he zipped haphazardly around him.

Fujimoto followed suit, his movements not as speedy but decidedly more natural. "Think we all know what distracted him!" he called out. "Or who!"

Ayato scowled after them. They were right, but it was no less irritating. He would have to be more careful or else for the rest of the week he'd be watching Yuri ski from the window of the infirmary in a full-body cast…

Wait, why would he still be watching her from the infirmary? Ayato deepened his frown, feeling mildly perturbed. It had to be all this mountain air that was giving him ridiculous thoughts. Or maybe his brain was still scrambled from that hair-mussing incident.

But it wasn't like he was going out of his way to stare at her like some sort of creep. Excuse him for keeping an eye on his instructor, or for sharing an inside joke with a friend!

Ayato let those mental ramblings die down, wondering who exactly he was arguing with. He furrowed his brow and devoted his gaze straight ahead, to the natural beauty of Shiga Kogen's mountains.

Of course, that didn't help him when Yuri picked up speed and began gliding within his line of sight. She was relaxed, and her movements were like a dance and a lullaby through the blanket of snow. Perhaps in some sort of skiing sisterhood solidarity, Ami and Kurimu moved ahead to keep up with her.

"I hoped Souma-kun would be here to enjoy it with us," Ami said, and breathed out a dreamy sigh, "but just look at all of this! Isn't it the most breathtakingly beautiful view you've ever seen in your life?"

"Yeah, it is…" Masuda and Shiruba murmured in unison.

Ayato could hear the strangled indignation that followed, feel the electric tension crackling behind him, but he did not look back. Only steeled himself to its inevitability and kept his eyes forward. (Stay out of it, stay out of it…)

Those two would eventually have words, but meanwhile, his own had been stolen from him. He pushed forward, hoping he could catch up with Yuri – and outrun some disorienting thoughts at the same time.

A/N: I wish I had some glimpses of the next chapter to share already, but this is all I got! ^^ To tell you the truth, I'm warring with the idea of taking a break from writing HC on weekends soon to give this more attention. In the meantime, I hope this silly little skiing chapter in late August is sufficently fun filler for now.

Until next time!

Preview:

TBA.

[Chapter 38]: TBA.