The last two days had been a battle for Nishikata. First, on Saturday, he'd nearly been swallowed whole by a giant, deadly python. Then, on Sunday, he had barely survived riding the fearsome Sky Princess roller coaster at the theme park. And to top it all off, Takagi had been laying it on thick with the lovey-dovey things that she knew embarrassed him, which made him too flustered to tease her when it was her turn to face her fears.

Because of all that, Nishikata was especially grateful that today his "big fear" that he would be up against was relatively mild - getting a flu shot. He really was afraid of needles, but unlike wrestling snakes and being flung around a wooden death trap of a roller coaster, getting a flu shot would only take a few seconds, and then it would be over. And surely, Takagi was running out of ideas, right?

Today being Monday, Nishikata and Takagi had to wait until after school to go to the pharmacy to get their shots. As a result, Nishikata was unable to focus in class, instead thinking about ways to use his newfound knowledge of Takagi's fears to tease her. She was afraid of heights, so maybe next time they did a contest, he would suggest going somewhere high up to do it? That could work… and her fear of thunderstorms. Maybe he could tell her he has a song to show her, but then actually play her thunder sounds? That could work too… It was almost too easy.

Takagi, for her part, also seemed distracted that day, so much so that she teased Nishikata far less than normal. Maybe she was still shaken from having faced her fears the days before, or maybe she had something especially scary planned for her next challenge. Either way, Nishikata enjoyed the respite after his own harrowing weekend, and the day practically flew by. As the bell rang to dismiss the class, he and Takagi stood at the same time.

"Well, Nishikata?" Takagi looked at him, nervousness seemingly gone. "Shall we?"

"Yes, let's," Nishikata said with a devilish grin. The two left the classroom, put their shoes on, and began their trek down the street in silence. Both wore smiles, Takagi's was easy-going, Nishikata's was mischievous.

"Say, Nishikata," Takagi began. "Has facing your fears helped you get over them?" Nishikata's devious grin disappeared as he thought for a moment.

"I guess so," He ventured. "I'm still afraid of snakes, but if I had to do it again, I'd be less afraid." Takagi nodded sagely.

"Me too," she said. "When I face a fear, and nothing bad happens, it's reassuring."

"I know what you mean," Nishikata smiled. "The snakes weren't so scary when they were in their cages."

"Exactly," Takagi said. "Sometimes the danger is all in your head."

"Yeah, but sometimes things are scary for a reason," Nishikata countered. "Some snakes are venomous."

"Hmm…" Takagi looked at her feet while she walked. "I guess so." The rest of the short walk passed in silence, and Nishikata wasn't sure if it was a comfortable silence or an awkward one. Had he said something wrong?

"Here we are," Takagi said as they arrived at the pharmacy, her mood returning to normal. "Are you scared yet?"

"N-no!" Nishikata lied, his heart definitely speeding up a little bit. "Let's just get it over with."

Takagi giggled and the two entered the pharmacy and signed in. There were very few people around, and it was Takagi's turn first. The nurse allowed them both to go into the booth, since they had arrived together. Nishikata watched as Takagi confidently put her book bag down, sat in the plastic chair, rolled up her sleeve, and put her hands in her lap.

"You're really not afraid of needles at all, huh?" Nishikata asked, while the nurse rummaged around in a crate of supplies.

"Nope," Takagi chirped, smiling. "There's a trick to make it less scary." The nurse pulled out a vial, then reached across the table and grabbed a needle. Nishikata stiffened.

"A trick?" Nishikata asked. The nurse stuck the needle into the vial and extracted a small amount of the vaccine.

"Mhm," Takagi hummed, looking straight at him. "Don't look at the needle." Nishikata, who had been watching the nurse handle the equipment, snapped his attention to Takagi.

"T-that's the trick?" He stammered.

"Yep," she confirmed, as the nurse neared her bicep with the needle. "It especially helps to look at someone who makes you feel safe." The needle plunged seamlessly into her arm, and she didn't even flinch. Barely a second later and it was over.

Then it was his turn.

They switched places, and Nishikata's nervousness escalated both at the thought of the needle and from the embarrassment of the implication of Takagi's last statement. He rolled up his sleeve, and couldn't help but watch as the nurse pulled out another needle and vial. His blood ran cold.

"Hey, Nishikata," Takagi's voice came from very close. His head whipped around to see Takagi standing directly in front of him, only a few inches from his face. They locked eyes. "Just look at me."

The bright light of the pharmacy and her close proximity illuminated all of her features: her perfect skin, her fine brown hair, her almond eyes, her knowing grin, her button nose… At that moment, nothing else in the world existed but her. He would never admit it, not even to himself, but she did make him feel safe.

"Okay sir, you're all done," The nurse said unceremoniously, drawing Nishikata out of his stupor.

"You already did it?" Nishikata asked, dazed. He hadn't felt anything.

"Yep, you've got the band-aid and everything to prove it," The nurse replied, and Nishikata looked at his bicep and confirmed as much. He and Takagi thanked the nurse and left the pharmacy.

"Hey, Nishikata," Takagi said. "You didn't even look scared at all."

"Yeah," Nishikata said lamely. "It wasn't so bad."

"I guess my trick worked then," She leaned closer to him. "I made all your troubles go away." Nishikata reddened.

"W-what are you talking about?" He lied. "I was just super brave!" Takagi laughed genuinely. After a moment, her laughter died down.

"Hey, we still have time to do my next fear," Takagi noticed.

"Really? Where is it?" Nishikata asked, glad to change the subject.

"At the top of the hill behind the school," She explained. "If we leave now, we'll have time before it gets dark."

As the two climbed the hill behind the school, Nishikata couldn't help but wonder what her fear could be. What kind of fear can you face on top of a normal, everyday hill? Were they going to sled down it on mattresses? No, how would they even get a mattress up there? Were they going to roll down the hill? No, that's not really something people are afraid of. Was it because it's high up? No, she already faced her fear of heights…

By the time they reached the top of the hill, Nishikata was no closer to uncovering the truth, and the sun was already beginning to set, painting the sky red, and bathing the town below in long shadows and an amber glow. The pair stopped at the summit, and Takagi looked out over the view.

"It's beautiful up here, isn't it?" She said as Nishikata went to stand next to her on her right.

"Yeah, it is," he mumbled, enjoying the view himself. Takagi looked a little tense, but he still had no idea what she was planning.

There was a long, silent pause.

"Okay, I think I'm ready," Takagi finally said quietly.

"Ready for what? What are we doing?" Nishikata asked.

"First, close your eyes," She said, not looking at him. He hesitated for a moment, then complied.

He heard her take a deep breath to steady herself, then heard the sound of shuffling. Then, finally, for just a moment, he felt her kiss him on the cheek. Alarm bells rang in his head. Had she really just done that? Or had she done something else that kind of felt like it, to tease him? His eyes were still screwed shut, and he wondered what any of this had to do with her fears.

"Okay," She breathed. "You can open your eyes."

He opened his eyes to find her standing in front of him, the sun setting behind her, giving her an angelic glow. He couldn't see her very clearly, but he could tell she was looking right at him now.

"W-what was that?" He stammered shakily.

"That was my fear," She said simply. "So now we're tied again."

"H-hold on!" Nishikata said, a little more confidently. "What was your fear?"

"What I did while your eyes were closed," She dodged. "Didn't you feel it?"

"That's your fear?" He asked incredulously.

"Is something wrong?" She asked, her voice taking on an inflection he had never heard before, but he couldn't quite place. "Are you upset?"

"Well…" He paused. "Not exactly. But that's pretty different from your other fears…"

"Is it?" She asked knowingly. "I think it's pretty similar. Scarier, even."

"Being afraid of k-kissing someone on the cheek is way different than being afraid of heights or thunderstorms," Nishikata insisted.

"Who said I was afraid of heights or thunderstorms?" She asked, her tone rhetorical.

Nishikata opened his mouth to answer "you did," but stopped himself. Now that he thought about it, she never had told him what her fears actually were.

"Then what were your fears?" He pleaded. Takagi reached down and picked up her book bag, rifling through it for a moment. Finally, she pulled out a piece of twice-folded notebook paper and handed it to Nishikata. He unfolded it quickly and scanned its few contents, written in Takagi's immaculate handwriting:

Face your fears

[x] Hold hands with Nishikata

[x] Cuddle with Nishikata

[ ] Kiss Nishikata

Nishikata's jaw dropped. His mind began racing, thinking back to the weekend. Sure enough, she had held his hand as they crossed the bridge. She had snuggled into him while they watched TV during the thunderstorm. And now…

"Showing you that list is pretty scary too," She said, looking off to the side now. "Maybe I'm in the lead, then."

"W-wait," Nishikata said. "That's not fair! Besides, your list says…" He blushed as he struggled to say it out loud. "Kiss Nishikata…"

"Mmhm," Takagi squeaked.

"Does a kiss on the cheek really count?" He asked plainly. She froze for a moment, then snapped to look at him, her eyes wide, and grabbed her book bag and held it in front of her face.

"Nishikata!" She cried scandalously, shaking her head back and forth vigorously behind the bag. It suddenly dawned on Nishikata what he was implying, and he staggered backwards.

"W-wait, that's not what I –" He stopped when he heard the reassuring sound of her laughter and the sight of her poking her head out from behind her book bag.

"It's okay, I know what you meant," Takagi said, wiping tears from her eyes.

"I do have a question, though," Nishikata said. "Were these things really that scary for you?"

"Of course," Takagi said, finally calming down.

"What's so scary about this stuff? People hold hands and… do those other things all the time," Nishikata said, unable to meet her gaze.

"I was afraid you might be upset," She admitted, looking down at her feet.

"Why would I be upset?" Nishikata asked casually, cocking his head to the side. Takagi looked at him and smiled a big, toothy grin, practically vibrating with excitement.

"Come on," she said, grabbing his hand and practically dragging him back down the hill. "Let's go get juice before it gets dark."

"T-Takagi-san, wait!" He implored, but she ignored him, clutching his hand and almost skipping along the path.

What had he said that made her so happy? Why did they come all the way to the top of the hill to do it? Did she really count showing him the list as a point? Did she really count kissing him on the cheek as a point? He was starting to think that maybe this entire competition had been an excuse for her to act out the things on that list.

And, strangely enough, he was okay with that.