Takagi combed her fingers through her long hair nervously as the old bus made a turn inland, causing the view of the sea to disappear. This new road was bumpier than the main one that traced the island's perimeter and as a result, something began rattling quietly towards the back of the big vehicle.

The day had finally come. She was about to start her 'date' with Nishikata, and under normal circumstances, that would be wonderful. But Takagi knew exactly why they were getting together today and what it meant.

Nishikata had originally suggested going on that same hike that she had joined Mano on just before school had started a few months back. While the suggestion gave her a short burst of elation, she was now used to reality and ended it without a second thought. Takagi couldn't try to force that hike's legend true upon her and Nishikata in their current state, even if she wanted to—risking something like that was sure to cause her bad luck or even backfire.

So instead, she brought up a different hike that her dad had talked about doing with his friends. The center of their island had a series of waterfalls that were a popular tourist attraction in the summer months, though she had only ever seen them from a distance. Takagi hadn't seen any tourists for a while, not in the beginnings of winter, but it was at least warm for the season so she had only brought a light, pink sweater.

The bus hit a rock and jostled its passengers around, and Takagi had to grab her backpack to keep it from sliding off her lap. She knew that she should be happy to spend time with Nishikata, as him asking her to do things was a big step. But even months later, it was still so hard to be around him while knowing that her feelings weren't mutual. It was painful to observe all of the cute things he did, come up with a tease, then choke it back down to avoid weirding him out. Even as they approached winter break, she still hadn't figured out how to act in just a friendly way around him, no more, no less.

The bus slowed, took another turn, then lurched ahead deeper into the forest-covered mountains of the island. While her phone's bars were quickly dropping to zero as they drove further from the nearest town, the GPS still showed that she was getting close to their meetup point, so she reached over to press the bus's nearest 'stop' button. She had never been on this hike and didn't know much about it other than the praise her father gave it, but Nishikata had cutely grown very excited at the mention before trying to claw it back and act indifferent.

She quickly rehearsed in her head one last time how she needed to act today. Nishikata had just invited her here out of concern of her crying episode during the last week's school cultural festival, the one she had been unable to contain after the heart-wrenching day culminated with even more of her classmates confessing to one another and dangling what she wanted just out of reach. Not that he knew any of that. He was never supposed to see that, never supposed to get any idea of how much Takagi was hurting after such a similar festival.

But she knew how to explain her behavior now. She would act happy and talkative and energetic. If he asked about last week, and she knew she would, she would just attribute it to her sick-but-actually-not-so-sick grandma, which she had already mentioned over text. Forcing out lie after lie like this felt wrong, and it used to be so much easier to just tell Nishikata the truth (if not the full truth). But despite this, she felt happy to be with him for a day and do anything together. After all, the more Nishikata was around her, the more likely he might fall for her in high school without her forcing herself on him.

But the distant, dull pain of rejection and of not being able to act how she wanted right now still lingered whenever she saw him.

The hydraulics screeched as the bus came to a halt. Takagi took a deep breath and stood up, fastened the backpack straps around her waist, and hopped out.

Nishikata was of course already there, his broad smile beaming all the way over from the start of the trailhead. She felt a smile of her own growing uncontrollably as he waved her over, and she wished she could run up and greet him with a hug, not just a hello.

But she couldn't do that. Takagi needed to be grateful for hanging out at all. And even for Nishikata being comfortable calling it a 'date', as far from the truth as that really was.

As they began their ascent, Takagi was glad that she had worn her hiking shoes. She had been too busy worrying about the 'date' portion to ask her dad about the hike, but it was already proving to be steeper than she was used to. It had rained the day before as well and some rocks weren't completely dry yet, so the grippy soles of the shoes gave her a bit more needed balance.

It wasn't long before Nishikata initiated their first of many challenges. "Whoever spots the first monkey, wins," he said eagerly.

"Monkey?" Takagi questioned, looking around the forest around them.

"Yeah, a big reserve isn't too far away from here," he replied, his hand moving to temporarily grasp the pair of binoculars hanging from around his neck. Takagi tittered, now putting two and two together on why Nishikata was wearing what looked like a safari hat despite it being rather cold out. Perhaps this was why he had been so excited to come here.

"I don't know how much those will help, Nishikata, we don't have much of a view with all these trees everywhere," she said with a shrug as she reached for a dew-covered handrail.

"There's gotta be a view at the top, you'll see!" he countered, gripping the binoculars more tightly as he led them up a rocky uphill stretch of trail.

"Do people really see monkeys out here?" Takagi questioned after they got past the rocks, "Or do they just hang out in the reserve the whole time?"

"Well, I-I don't know," he replied, "But I mean, wouldn't it be boring, just hanging out in the same place all the time? Maybe they like waterfalls too!"

Takagi began to laugh, noticing Nishikata beginning to blush. "You sure like monkeys, Nishikata!" she called, running ahead to catch up.

He groaned, keeping his head turned away to hide his definite embarrassment. "I-I don't like them, I just, they're kinda cool…"

She laughed some more as they turned the corner, and a small view of the valley opened up. At least she could continue to enjoy moments like these. Seeing a sign in front of the view, Takagi sprinted ahead to take a look.

"Looks like I win," she called cheekily, fighting more laughter as his eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.

"How?!" Nishikata called back in frustration, now sprinting ahead to join her, as apparently winning the challenge overruled his intention to hide his embarrassment.

Takagi pointed down at the sign, which had, among a few other wildlife creatures, a picture and description of the native Japanese Macaque. The pink-faced monkey was shown with its face scrunched up in a kind of howl that looked remarkably similar to her crush's current expression.

"That's a great imitation you're making!" she jested playfully, making his cheeks grow as pink as the monkey's as well.

"That doesn't c-count!"

"Oh? I thought you said, 'Whoever spots the first monkey, wins'?"

"I did say that, but…"

Takagi began to laugh again, continuing on up the trail. "You have to pay attention Nishikata, instead of hiding your red face," she called, "or else you'll never win!"

She heard his exaggerated groan from behind as she tried in vain to fight back her laughter.

"Fine Takagi, I guess you win," he replied in defeat once he finally jogged to catch up.

Takagi stopped laughing and turned back, confused.

"What did you say?"

"Hmm? I said you win," Nishikata repeated as he began walking beside her. "You like to hear me say it that much, huh?"

It wasn't that. Had Nishikata just dropped her honorific? Maybe she had imagined it, as Nishikata wasn't acting any more embarrassed than usual.

"So what's my punishment?" Nishikata asked, looking over at her dejectedly. She hadn't been considering that. In fact, Takagi hadn't actually given Nishikata a punishment in quite some time, as they traditionally had romantic undertones that she had been avoiding like the plague. But now here he was, asking for one, so…

"Ah, wait," Nishikata interrupted, stopping and crouching down beside her.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, he was grabbing her foot. Takagi jumped, her eyes shooting down to see him gripping her left hiking shoe.

"Your shoe got untied," Nishikata replied calmly, "I don't want you to fall."

Takagi tried to keep her foot from trembling as Nishikata's fingers guided the loose shoelaces through a set of holes and began retying the bow. She hadn't expected this and could feel her face growing hot, praying that he wouldn't look up. Thankfully, he didn't. "Thanks," she replied quietly, trying to calm her nerves.

Stay cool, she urged herself as they continued on, He's just being nice. She could feel those same butterflies that she always felt whenever Nishikata did something unexpected. Takagi wished she wouldn't feel them anymore since she now knew they were really just in her head. Instead, she distracted herself by asking more about the monkeys.

She had only seen them at the island's natural zoo reserve before, but Nishikata claimed to have seen a lone one wandering in the forest once when he was much younger. But he couldn't remember for sure and was hoping to find one today. "They shouldn't bother us as long as we don't stare at them for too long," he explained, having researched the topic a bit prior to their hike.

The trail eventually led to a rock wall with an inlet that had eroded away enough to allow hikers to climb up it. Small shrubs grew in the cracks and on a few ledges going up it, and a mostly vertical metal pole was affixed on one side to assist those brave enough to ascend or descend. Takagi and Nishikata briefly looked around for an alternate route, but it was evident that there was no other way. Takagi looked to the side with apprehension, wishing that she had researched this hike more before suggesting it, as she wasn't used to this level of difficulty. Worse, Nishikata didn't look phased at all—he had been scouting out monkeys this whole time and had no problem with the terrain. He didn't know she had never been here either.

"Do you want to stop here?" Nishikata asked. Takagi looked back to find him staring at her.

She shook her head, wanting to look away again. But she wouldn't give up this easily. Takagi tightened the straps of her backpack and entered the inlet first. With effort, she managed to find a few solid handholds and hoisted herself up. One of them broke into a cloud of dirt as she pulled, spraying her sweatshirt a bit, but there was a root next to it that she could use instead. Her heart began pounding quickly as she slowly pulled herself up higher, and she hoped Nishikata wasn't annoyed at her speed.

The cold handrail came in handy for steadying herself, but after going about ten feet up, the section Takagi was tightly gripping shifted slightly and let out a creak, sending a jolt of fear down her spine. Her hand was only a foot or two from the top, but it was out of reach. She stifled a yelp and desperately searched for something else to grip, but there was only the ledge for her feet plus the one good handhold that she was already using.

This didn't feel fun anymore. Takagi's eyes darted down to see Nishikata just below her, giving her a word of encouragement. She didn't have enough space to climb back down, and it reminded her how high up ten feet actually felt. She would have to let go of her rocky handhold, rely solely on that unsteady metal pole, and hope that it didn't come loose to go any further.

"You okay, Takagi?" she heard Nishikata call. But Takagi couldn't answer. She gulped, trying to prepare herself to move to the pole and keep her hands from shaking. She glanced up, reminding herself that there was only one more pull to go before reaching the top.

But she stayed frozen, unable to do it. Takagi had been worried about misinterpreting Nishikata and making him feel uncomfortable, not about this.

There was a slight commotion of shoes squeaking against rocks from below, but Takagi didn't dare look down again. She was beginning to wonder if she couldn't do this after all.

Suddenly she felt something brush against her side. Nishikata had somehow managed to pull himself up onto the same ledge as her.

"Just wait here a second longer," he told her, then edged his way to the other side of the inlet, the side without the handrail. Takagi bit her lip and watched as Nishikata found some thick roots a little higher up that held steady with a tug. In just a few moments, he had scaled the last few feet and disappeared out of the rocky portion to safety. A second later, his head popped out directly above her followed by his hand, reaching down towards her.

Takagi immediately grasped his open hand tightly, using it in place of the rod. She heard him grunt as he pulled her up until she could reach the top ledge, then he grabbed under her upper arm to help her up completely out of the gorge.

After scooting away from the edge, they stayed on the ground for a few seconds, each breathing heavily.

"Did you know about that?" Nishikata asked between breaths. Takagi shook her head, glad to be on solid ground again, but already feeling worried about their descent later. She wondered if he would poke fun at her at all, but he held back.

"Are you okay?" he repeated, cocking his head at her slightly as her heartbeat grew slower. Takagi mustered up a smile for him and nodded, despite some trepidation still lingering within her. As Nishikata stood up to keep going, she felt the usual warmth of being helped and treated nicely by her crush, muddled with pain at knowing it was only out of friendliness.

Nishikata shuffled from side to side for a few seconds, then offered his hand to her again to help her stand up. But this time, he didn't let it go when they began walking forward, not even when she loosened her grip to let him. As Takagi was trying to decipher why, he spoke up.

"Y-you know, if something's bothering you, you can tell me," the boy said quietly, squeezing her hand softly at the same time. Takagi's eyes darted over to see him blushing quite heavily, his gaze hovering somewhere off into the trees. Was that squeeze accidental? She didn't understand what was happening, why was he still holding her hand?

Nishikata took a deep breath and let her go, muttered that he wanted to check out the view, and sprinted up a good thirty feet ahead. She stopped as he ran forward, again cradling one hand in the other and staring down at them.

He acts more worried about me than anyone else would, she thought pensively, then paused and shook her head frantically. No no, she couldn't start fantasizing again about how he was acting like her boyfriend! Takagi needed to push these butterflies out of her stomach. He had noticed her apprehension and was just being nice as any friend would. Plus, he was probably concerned about her behavior during the last week.

Takagi stayed a bit quieter as they finished the last portion of their hike, which was luckily pretty easy to navigate. Nishikata had grown more fidgety than usual, despite not having any more challenges set up for them, and in all honesty, she was struggling to keep her all-friendly facade going after what he did. It didn't help when Nishikata suddenly complimented her outfit, despite the dirt stains covering her otherwise pink sweatshirt. And it wasn't just because of the suggestive-type teasing that she was holding back—he continued making her feel flustered, far more often than she was used to. At every viewpoint of rolling trees or rice fields below, she had to remind herself that this was just one of their usual friendly get-togethers, nothing more.

The rush of the waterfall could be heard a minute before it came into view, putting an end to their already sporadic conversation. When the trees cleared away to reveal their destination, it wasn't a particularly tall waterfall, but the white noise it created was nonetheless quite commanding. The water came crashing down into a small lake before continuing in small streams down various other parts of the mountain. Bits of sunshine shone through the clouds above, their rays refracting through the falls and waters and making them glitter.

After gazing at the falls for a bit and testing the waters (they were, of course, extremely cold), the pair found a nearby fallen log near the shoreline that looked smooth and well-used for sitting by other hikers. They faced towards the lake as they ate their small, packed lunches, foregoing more conversation to instead enjoy the serenity of the destination. Nobody else was there.

Takagi's heart rate hadn't completely returned to normal after the rock-climbing challenge. Even finding the sign at the top, alerting hikers of an easier path looping back down that avoided those same rocks, calmed her less than expected. But deep inside, she knew those were more superficial rationalizations for her anxiety. It was all of these unusually kind gestures from her crush that she was failing to fight back.

A huge part of her wanted them to be more than kind. Not just any friend would just tie her shoe like that, nor spontaneously compliment her. Especially not Nishikata.

Nishikata finally spoke up.

"It's really nice here. Thanks for coming with me, Takagi."

This time it was unmistakable. Nishikata had dropped her honorific. Why? Takagi couldn't fall for this, think it meant something and blow it out of proportion like always!

"I-I'm sorry," Nishikata muttered in a defeated tone, his face of course covered in red. Had Takagi's expression given her shock away?

"I just thought, maybe I'd take you up on your offer, since like, you call me Nishikata," he continued in a bit of a rambling. "But I guess that was a long time ago, it would be easy to forget…"

"I remember," Takagi quickly replied with a tiny nod, feeling a small, unquenchable flame beginning to grow within her. That conversation they had had about honorifics in class had happened at least a year ago, if not more, yet he still remembered it too. Nishikata had clearly put in a lot of effort to try to call her that today, given how gloriously he had failed the year prior.

"Well anyway, sorry, I should've asked-"

"I don't mind," Takagi interrupted in a near whisper, the words quite literally popping out of her mouth. As childish as it was, she had actually dreamed of Nishikata doing this, and hearing it out loud was too much. She pinched her arm and twisted in a last-ditch effort to come to her senses, but she was losing control!

"It-It's okay?" Nishikata asked, sounding almost hopeful. "Since, you and me, since we're, you know, uh…"

"Friends?" she offered. He grunted in response.

"That offer's still open. You're welcome to call me that, Nishikata," Takagi said with a small smile, the blood pulsing through her veins feeling far more pronounced than normal.

"Okay… Takagi."

She couldn't help but gasp slightly, despite anticipating it. This wasn't a dream; Nishikata could just flat-out drop her honorific at will!

This had to mean something, right?

This chapter is inspired by hiking at or around Choshi falls on Shodo island, though I haven't been there so it's going to be inaccurate. Still, I'm always impressed at how much the canon tries to use real places from Shodo island, and thought I'd try to emulate the practice.

I'd love to hear your feedback and constructive criticism, please drop me a message if you'd like!