A/N: This was going to be the penultimate ski resort arc chapter, but as is often the case with me, it got way too long and now it's a two-parter. ^^ I think this way will be a lot easier to read. Thanks to ZainR for the review! Other than these two chapters, the karaoke night was probably my most anticipated part of this arc, so I'm happy you loved the performances! And Shiruba finally getting a chance to show off his violin skills. :D Oh, if only Naoi had the guts to do a duet with Yuri...

Enjoy!

[Chapter 46]: Just The Two of Us (Part I)

Thursday morning, when Ayato woke peacefully in the hotel room after a sound sleep (a feeling he was dangerously starting to get used to), two of the four beds were already empty. Masuda had woken a few minutes before to the same puzzling sight. No Hejjiguchi. Since when was he more of an early riser than they were? They asked Kobayashi about it when he came back into the room after brushing his teeth, but he just shrugged and made an "I don't know" sound.

"Dude was gone when I got up," he told them. "Maybe he went to breakfast early."

But when Ayato and Masuda went to join the girls, they found only Yuri and Ami waiting for them at the table. As soon as they spotted the boys coming over, Ami stopped talking and looked dumbfounded, then exasperated.

"You're kidding me!" she said, dropping her spoon in disbelief. "Him too?!"

Apparently they'd had the exact same morning that he and Masuda did. Waking up to find that Kurimu had quietly slipped out the door while they were asleep. (Though a conflicted look on Yuri's face suggested to Ayato that this wasn't entirely true.) Despite returning from a shower, Jinko had been at a loss as well.

"Maybe Kurimu picked something up when she was in the infirmary with Fujimoto yesterday," Yuri supplied. "And Shiruba's right about Hejjiguchi, he's slippery as soap."

Ami cupped her chin in thought. "Would it really set in so quickly? Kurimu's immune system can't be that vulnerable," she mused. "If she was that sick, she would've told me. Somebody would've told me by now."

"They spent dinner and karaoke with us last night," Ayato pointed out, at least trying to be nice about it. "Is it really such a big deal if they're off on their own for a while?"

This earned him a slight look from Ami, though it softened into something more contemplative. All the same, she frowned into her salad bowl.

"No, but see, this has been happening all week," she reminded the table, poking at her salad. "I get that there's no group excursion today, people can do whatever they want. It just would've been nice if they could at least have breakfast with us first! I mean, come on, what is up with that?"

Ayato heard a giggle from a nearby table and glanced over to see the little yellow-haired girl and her lavender-haired friend who'd fallen on her ass on Monday. The yellow-haired girl pointed a finger at something and laughed, "What's up with that?"

Following her finger, he quickly spotted what had caught her attention. Specs-and-Pecs was making his way across the lodge towards the front door in confident strides, ready and raring to ski. Which would be fine if not for the fact that he was so brazenly lacking a shirt. And Ayato had to admit that Nezumi was right, Specs had more than earned the other half of his nickname. Those muscles were mind-blowing – though, why did he feel like he'd seen this gun show before?

Before he could delve too deeply into that question, Ayato heard distressed noises in the distance and saw Mitsumura bustling after Specs as fast as he could go. From the back came a frustrated voice, shouting, "Goddamn it, Takamatsu-san!" Mitsumura reflexively ducked and their redheaded friend chucked a rolled-up shirt across the room as hard as he could, nailing Takamatsu in the back of the head.

The impact knocked his glasses askew, but he barely reacted. Rubbing the back of his head with one hand, he adjusted his glasses with the other. Then he bent down, picked the shirt up off the floor, and kept walking calmly towards the exit with it folded over his arm.

Yuri, Ayato, and the girls at the other table started cracking up, and for a moment there even Ami had a smile on her face.

"Okay, I know I said people can do whatever they want, but skiing shirtless is a new one," she said. Then she called after him, "Wear a coat, too!"

"I got him!" Mitsumura assured her, reappearing with the coat. Apparently he had doubled back for it.

Yuri watched him with interest. "He's a fast runner," she said thoughtfully. Ayato side-eyed her with a note of puzzlement; was that the kind of thing girls were into?

"Maybe he can catch up with Souma," Ami muttered, deflating again. Then she brightened with an idea. "That's it! Maybe Nezumi knows where he is!" she said, smacking her palm on Masuda's arm in her eureka moment. He startled, but she hardly noticed and rattled his arm a little. "They totally bonded last night, maybe they met up this morning to have a race or something!"

Ayato nodded very seriously. "And maybe Kurimu is with him too?" he suggested. "They are old friends, after all."

"He—" Ami faltered, looking troubled and blinking at him mistrustfully. Then she conceded with a nod. "Yeah. I mean, up until they were like five, but I suppose that is possible."

Her reaction made him frown a little. Well, he hadn't meant to make her feel bad. He was just kind of messing with her, that's all.

When they had wrapped up breakfast, Ayato, Yuri, and Masuda followed Ami around as she tried to hunt down where Nezumi and his friends might be. After a few minutes, they ran into Kaori and Sayuki, who said they thought they'd seen some of them heading over to the arcade. Ami led her flock straight there, only to find Fujimoto, Takada, Hirohashi, and Saki cheering on Rumi and Hisakawa at Dance Dance Revolution.

"No, I don't think so," Hirohashi said when Ami came up to him and asked about it. "Nezumi didn't mention anything like that. He's been with Shiruba since this morning. They went and got breakfast early."

"They're spending the whole day together," Fujimoto added dreamily. "Just the two of them. They're gonna get in a little snowboarding practice, if ya know what I mean."

Hirohashi stared at him. "I really don't," he said.

"Exactly what I said, where's your mind?" Fujimoto laughed, mussing Hirohashi's hair. Then he turned back to Ami. "Whatever. Just – no baby brothers allowed." Takada, Saki, and some other kids who had gathered let out a roar of excitement, and Fujimoto spun back around to the girls on the DDR machine. "What! What'd I miss, what'd I miss?!"

Ami sighed, turning to the rest of them. "Well, that lead's dead," she said with a shrug. "So, I guess that means Shiruba won't be joining us today either."

"What a pity," Masuda drawled, putting minimal effort into hiding his smile.

Yuri and Ayato exchanged a tentative look. "We were thinking of taking a look at some of the shops around here," Yuri said. "Do you guys wanna come with? Or were you wanting to go skiing first? We'd be fine with sticking around for a few runs."

"No, no." Ami waved her off. "It's fine. You two have already paid your dues. Go have fun together! It's our last full day here, and you guys have stuck with us enough this week. Unlike some people."

Ayato was a little surprised. It almost sounded like she was giving them her blessing. "I guess it's just the two of you today, then," he said, raising his eyebrows at them.

"I guess so!" Ami replied, turning to Masuda with a smile. "For now." Then she leaned in and said something quietly in his ear. Despite the DDR music in the background, Ayato was able to make it out. "That thing we discussed on Monday… it's on now."

The rest of Masuda's smile vanished, and a conflicted expression flickered on his face. But then it was replaced by a solemn frown and a dutiful nod.

Ayato and Yuri headed out of the arcade, with Ami waving after them. "Maybe we'll run into you later!" she called out as they were leaving.

And just like that, the day was theirs.

"Wait, so you did see her?" Ayato asked, looking up from the pomegranate-scented candle in his hands.

Yuri moved a little further down the aisle to pick up a green one, pine-scented. "I woke up from a bad dream, just a few minutes before she came back into the room after a shower," she said, uncapping the candle. She paused for a moment to inhale. "She dolled herself up a little, crept around the room all light-footed like a kid going to the kitchen for a midnight snack, and then snuck back out. I pretended to be asleep the whole time." She pushed the candle in front of his nose. "Smell."

He did. It smelled like forest, and though it reminded him of Hayato and being back home at the Naoi estate, it also made him think of of walking to and from school with Yuri. Tomorrow they'd be heading back to Akuma, but at least he had that still waiting for him. He'd wondered if they should really be spending too much of their last full day in Shiga Kogen sniffing candles, before deciding that it didn't matter what they did, as long as it was finally just the two of them.

"What was your bad dream about?" he asked, setting the pomegranate one back where he found it. A three-in-one of sugared berries, frosted pine, and winter woods quickly caught his eye and he picked that one up too, absently showing it to Yuri.

She lowered her gaze, taking it into her hands and pursing her lips for a moment. "Oh, it's nothing…"

He studied her expression. That was exactly what she said about her feud with Hisakawa long ago. "Is it, really?" His tone must've sounded knowing, because Yuri's eyes flicked up to his with a look of telltale uncertainty.

"It's just…" She released a soft sigh. "You and Ami and I were skiing together, just racing down a slope and having fun. And then the slope curved off and suddenly I could see this road further down, going around the mountain. And I should've known then that it was a dream, because I don't think an official ski trail is supposed to drop you off anywhere near a road with trucks and stuff. But I was more curious than concerned. Until I saw my grandparents' car."

Despite the heating inside the shop, Ayato suddenly felt cold. He could see this going a number of ways, all of them terrible.

"I didn't completely realize it was their car at first. I only knew that I knew it somehow. You know how logic in dreams can be kind of slow like that…?" He nodded, and she continued. "I'm trying to remember this part right. I think I was supposed to stay on the same trail as Ami but I broke off, and you followed me. Or maybe I followed you." Her forehead scrunched up in thought. "No, you were wondering where I was going. You followed me. But then it started snowing really bad. The farther down we went, the harder it snowed. And then I lost you – I lost sight of you. But I couldn't turn around, I kept going. It started feeling more like ice than snow, you know? Really slick. Like I was sliding instead of skiing."

"Well, that sounds terrifying," Ayato mused. He remembered the fall from the tree, plummeting through the air with no control, nothing to catch himself on. Flying through the air upright seemed just as bad, friction failing him, nothing slowing him down. It was why ice skating or even roller blading wasn't exactly on the top of his list of things to do someday.

"I saw their car coming down the road, windshield wipers going crazy, and… I don't know, I think part of me gauged them as far away or slow enough that they weren't going to get there at the same time as me? But another part must've wanted to stop them somehow?" She gave a halfhearted shrug, still thinking really hard. "But I got to the bottom, in the middle of the road, and I was confused and panicky because I'm not where I'm supposed to be, and you're gone, and Ami's going to be upset, but it's snowing so hard, and how am I going to get back to the resort?"

She paused to uncap the triple scent candle, inhaling deeply to calm herself.

"And then I saw headlights and I realized it was my grandparents' car. They saw me standing in the middle of the road and tried to slow down, or correct really fast, but lost control and their car flipped. I ran to help them but I got hit by another oncoming car, and then I woke up." She punctuated the end with another shrug, like it was no big deal.

"That's one hell of a nightmare," Ayato said, more than a little disturbed. He wanted to comfort her but he wasn't sure how. Would putting a hand on her shoulder be too weird? Maybe if he put too much thought into it. That talk with Nezumi was starting to get to him.

"Eh, I've had worse," Yuri said. "One time it was burglars that had my siblings hostage, and I was running around the house looking for something to appease them, but I couldn't find anything, so…" She made a face. "I don't know if I've told you that one. I'm sorry. This probably isn't the stuff you want to talk about now that we finally have some one-on-one time."

"I did ask, though." Deciding that Nezumi was an idiot just like his brother, Ayato rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked over at him with a small appreciative smile, which warmed him again. "Do you think this place is the problem? Being up here in the mountains, surrounded by all this snow?"

"No, I think I'm fine here." She handed the candle back to him and turned to the rest of the winter-themed array. "I guess it's more because the three-year anniversary is coming up soon."

"That's right," Ayato recalled, more to himself. It was hard to believe that February was gaining on them fast.

She took a deep whiff of camellia blossom, then capped it and set it back down. "But I don't want to talk about that," she said softly, and took hold of his sleeve. "Come on, do you want to check out the bakery after this?"

They got snagged a bit longer in the candle area, both tempted by the call of a candy apple scent, before venturing to the bakery. Mostly the two of them just drifted around enjoying more delicious smells and appreciating the warmth, but Ayato treated himself to castella and melonpan, which was absolutely mouthwatering, though he couldn't help thinking the melonpan wasn't quite as good as his mother's.

Yuri ended up helping herself to some chocolates, cream puffs, and raspberry mochi cakes, which she exclaimed over quite fervently and even generously shared with Ayato. Rather, she practically shoved a small round bite into his mouth. Though maybe he was exaggerating, and he certainly wasn't complaining, as after a muffled noise of surprise, he quickly got over it and understood the allure.

"Good, right?" Yuri said, beaming at him. Ayato conceded with a nod, savoring the flavor, though he was still somewhat stuck on the feeling of her fingers against his lips.

But that was a normal thing to be stuck on, wasn't it? Mouths weren't used to having other people's fingers touch them. It just caught him off guard…

They headed back towards the lodge, debating whether they should go in for coffee and cocoa or stop by the theater to get in one more movie. Ayato was on the side of seeing another movie, while Yuri claimed she was craving coffee. In his eyes, they'd been inside enough heated shops today that they should save the hot drinks for after they'd gotten in a little snow time. Besides, there would be food and drinks in the theater, and he'd offered to buy her Key coffee when they passed a vending machine earlier, but she'd turned it down.

"Alright, what's the real reason you want to put off seeing the movie?" Ayato pressed, now that they were half a block away from the theater and this had been dragged out long enough.

Yuri shuffled her feet in the snow. "I dunno, I just feel kinda bad," she admitted. "This would be our second time seeing a movie, but – I mean, what about Ami?"

"What about Ami?" Ayato repeated gruffly, though he knew what she was getting at.

"She seemed kind of sad that she didn't get to see one with us. And what are we doing?" Yuri threw her arms out in a shrug. "Going to see another one without her, while she does what? Run around worrying about what Kurimu and Hejjiguchi are up to." She kicked at the snow guiltily. "I mean, we know what they're up to…"

Ayato scoffed. "So what's the solution, then?" he asked, tapping his boot against the snow. "You could text her the truth, and then maybe she'll round them up and we can all see the movie together as a nice little group outing. Happily ever after. I don't see how that could go wrong."

Yuri frowned at him. "I get your point, but you don't have to get an attitude about it."

A sigh from Ayato. He had no idea how Masuda put up with this. Ami was probably talking his ear off about it, and had likely done so this entire week (seeing as he was the only one who stuck with her the whole time), and yet he had been a beacon of grace and composure throughout. How had he not already lost his mind? Ayato was only dealing with the secret in bits and pieces and it was driving him nuts.

"I just don't like seeing you get so guilty about this," he said. "It doesn't have to be your problem—"

"It does," Yuri argued. "I pushed them together, I put them in this situation—"

"You did it for me!" Ayato interrupted. "And you've given them every opportunity to tell the truth since then."

She crossed her arms, averting her gaze. "Some things aren't that easy to admit to."

"I don't care," he said severely. "Stop taking full responsibility for things like this. Things that involve other people's choices. It doesn't all have to fall on your shoulders."

Yuri glanced back at him with a small, surprised sound. She looked like she didn't know whether to be upset or offended or even touched by his words.

He felt bad for snapping at her, so he lowered his voice. But he was still fuming. "If it's such an issue," he continued, "why don't they just tell her or not be together until they can?"

She blinked twice, confused. "Not be together?"

"Stop sneaking around. I don't know." He shrugged, feeling restless. What times were the resort's movies playing, anyway? "If you ask me, it wouldn't be as big of an issue if they didn't keep dragging it out like this."

"That's interesting," Yuri said thoughtfully. "I'd think you'd be more sympathetic about this kind of thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Being forced to sneak around." She gestured vaguely to him. "You know, like with us and your dad."

What kind of comparison was that?! Was she serious? They weren't a couple of dumb kids in love, sneaking around behind their friend's back. They were friends keeping his abusive father out of their business. Not letting Kimito interfere or use it against them somehow. It was different.

"That's different," he scoffed, crossing his arms at her. "Ami isn't even that scary—"

"HI GUYS!"

"Aaaah!" Ayato yelped, leaping into the air and clutching at his chest.

Ami laughed, appearing between him and Yuri with a huge smile on her face. Masuda was approaching right behind her and had the sense to stifle his own laughter by channeling it into a subtle smirk. Meanwhile, Yuri looked like she was too busy restarting her heart to laugh at him.

"Whoa! Are you alright? I didn't mean to give you a heart attack!" Ami said brightly, not sounding all that concerned. "Masuda and I just spotted you and wanted to say a quick hey. You two run into Souma and Kurimu at all today?"

"Nope," Yuri said emphatically, still feeling for her own pulse.

"Aw, boo…"

Seeing that Yuri was currently in shock, and lacking words, Ayato sighed inwardly and spoke up for her. "But we were thinking of going to the dine-in theater to see a movie. Do the two of you want to join us?"

(The proud smile Yuri sent his way made it much more worth it.)

Masuda looked at Ami expectantly, but she just waved it away like she did with Yuri's invitation from earlier. "That does sound great, but we're kind of on a mission right now," she said, and squeezed Yuri's shoulder. "Raincheck? Later tonight maybe? Or for dinner as a last full day treat."

"Sure," Yuri said with a shrug. "Sounds good to me."

In fairness, now that Ayato thought about it, going to the movies with them didn't sound too bad. As long as Ami wasn't the type to talk through the whole movie. She was in drama club so maybe she understood the value of a silent audience. Or else he would just have to move to sit next to Masuda out of solidarity so that they weren't awkwardly sandwiching the two chatting girls, but that wouldn't be a terrible fate either. He glanced over at Masuda in hypothetical sympathy.

But Masuda had pulled out the Shiga Kogen brochure and was scanning its contents. "Do you want to try the monkey park next?" he asked Ami.

Ami's eyes grew wide. "Great idea!" she said, snatching the brochure away from him. "Of course – monkeys are so cute! And they bathe in the hot springs! I bet a lot of people are going to be checking it out today. C'mon, let's go!" Grabbing Masuda by the arm, she started pulling him along, calling over her shoulder, "Have fun at the movies, you two!"

Yuri grinned as she watched Masuda be dragged away. "What a trooper," she said.

Ayato might've saluted after him, but they had a movie to get to.

Preview:

"You're such an optimist."

"What do you think about making him headless?"

"It's strictly business."

"What was that?"

"We were at the arcade too!"

"I made a fool out of myself all day."

[Chapter 47]: Just The Two of Us (Part II).