Author's note: This is part three of five.

Chapter 3: A Haze of Red

Once there was a woman who spotted what she thought was gold in a pond. She dived in to get it, but came back empty-handed. She tried again and again, but found nothing there each time, even though she could clearly see it. Her sister walked by and looked into the pond as well; she could see that the gold she saw was actually a reflection from a tree overlooking the pond.

There are a few ways to interpret that story, but here's mine: Sometimes what we're seeing isn't quite always where we're seeing it. Sometimes it isn't even what we think we're seeing. And sometimes we need someone else to help us see what it is we actually need to see. For me, that person has been Chitose. Sometimes she's good at seeing what I've missed or pointing me in the right direction. But others have done that for me too, for which I'm eternally grateful.

The following day, there were more trip activities to partake in. When the afternoon rolled around, we were in a large park. It was a beautiful place. Kyouko ran from one place to the next, apparently eager to take in everything. As she did, I was pulled along in her wake. Finally, in a moment of downtime, I was able to briefly chat with Chitose.

"You're enjoying yourself today, Ayano-chan," Chitose smiled at me. "The trouble you mentioned yesterday must be gone."

"Yes and yes," I answered. I was a bit tired, but it had been an exciting day for me. I still hadn't said anything more to Kyouko, but I still resolved to do so before the day was out. We were getting along great, and there was no reason not to.

"Trouble?" Yui raised an eyebrow. She had apparently overheard us. "What are you two on about?"

"Ah, it's nothing, Funami," Chitose smiled. Yui raised an eyebrow at me and said nothing. Awkward. Granted, I would have easily explained it all to Yui, but I couldn't really do so with Kyouko constantly flitting in and out of earshot.

"Ayano, Ayano, Ayano!" Kyouko yelled, running over to me. I was glad for the interruption. "Come on, let's go see what's over there!"

"What over where?" I barely had time to say anything before Kyouko grabbed my hand and pulled me along down a different path, leaving behind an amused-looking Yui and a grinning Chitose. We rushed down the side path until we were ended up at a dead end before some more bushes. A few dozen little red butterflies were flying around them, some flitting on the bushes, some taking off for another part of the garden.

"Ooh, look at the butterflies!" Kyouko exclaimed. She took out her phone to photograph them. I couldn't blame her for that. My only worry was that with her inability to stand still her penchant for making noise, she'd send them all flying off.

"Yes, they're pretty, aren't they?" I replied, looking at them.

"It's like they've all got skin rashes!"

"Huh? What kind of observation is that?!"

"Or maybe they went swimming in red paint." She put her phone back into her pocket and turned to me, grinning.

"You're silly, Toshino Kyouko."

"But that's what makes life fun, Ayano! It's too short to be so serious all the time." She suddenly took hold of my hands. "You understand what I'm saying, right?"

"F-fun?" I stammered. I felt like an idiot.

"Yes, fun! Of all my friends, I think you understand what I mean by 'fun' the best."

"I…uh…" Tongue-tied again. It was annoying.

"You don't have to say anything, Ayano," she said. "I will use my amazing telepathic powers to read your mind."

I thought of the little paper owl she had given me. It was in pocket. Suddenly, my tongue unknotted itself, and I felt a little bold. My heart was beating hard again. Ba-dump, Ba-dump, Ba-dump. But I looked right into her blue eyes and pressed on. "Is that so? Then tell me what I'm thinking, Toshino Kyouko."

"You're thinking that it's so great to be in Osaka with the beautiful and amazing Toshino Kyouko-chan as your trip partner."

I smiled a slightly crooked smiled at her. "You actually aren't far off the mark."

Kyouko tilted her head at me. "Really?" I guess she hadn't expected that reply.

"Yes. I was serious last night when I said that I wanted us to be closer."

"Closer, closer," Kyouko said, chewing on the word. She leaned in, her face very close to mine. "We're pretty close right this moment, but we can get closer, I think."

Part of me felt a little embarrassed, knowing that anyone could have been watching us. A larger part of me didn't want the moment to end. The latter part won out, and I didn't move. I looked fixedly back at her. It was something I knew that I'd remember for a long time. I don't know quite how long we stayed like that, but it actually didn't last as long as it otherwise might have. As Kyouko and I slowly leaned into each other, a loud scream suddenly cut through the air, and I heard Yui yell "Chitose!"

Both of looked over with a start. I knew we had the same thought: concern for Chitose and Yui. We took off running and quickly found both of them a bit down the path from where we had come. Chitose was lying on the ground, and Yui was kneeling next to her. When we reached the pair of them, Yui was helping her sit up. I look down and instantly felt horrified. Chitose had blood down the entire front of her uniform as though someone had thrown a bucket of it at her. Her sleeves had large red splotches on them, and her hands were coated in red. There was a red puddle pooling on the ground near where she was sitting as well. All in all, the amount of blood was staggering. She looked like a victim from a horror movie. Several bystanders, including two other girls in our class, were staring at her, aghast. Unlike us, they probably weren't used to seeing this sort of scene. Chitose took out a tissue and wiped at her nose with it. That was all well and good, but one tissue wasn't going to help the mess that covered her.

"Hello, Ayano-chan," she said airily, looking up at me. "Who knew school trips could be so exciting? Ah, I think I had a little accident."

"I'll say," Yui remarked. She looked both amused and horrorstruck.

"Are you okay, Chitose?" I asked. "That's a lot of blood…"

"I do feel slightly faint."

"Should we get her to a hospital?" one of the girls in our class nervously asked.

"Thank you, that's very kind of you, but I'm okay. Really. I think I just need to get cleaned up," Chitose smiled. That was an understatement. I hoped we had an extra uniform for her to wear. She added "And probably rest some as well."

Our teacher had come running over. When she saw Chitose, a look of shock fell over her face. "Ikeda-san…what happened?"

"Just a nosebleed, sensei."

"That's all?" She looked skeptical. "Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine. It looks worse than it is, really." Chitose stood up and smiled her normal sweet smile. Considering the amount of blood on her, it looked a bit disturbing. "See, it's even stopped bleeding. I think I just need to wash and change clothes."

"Are you certain?" She examined Chitose closely, but saw, just as we did, that she was fine albeit soaked in blood.

"Absolutely. Don't worry, this happens occasionally." I nodded in agreement, as did Yui and Kyouko.

"Alright, then. I'd suggest some rest as well. Funami, you're her trip partner, right? Since she's unhurt, see her back to the hotel so she can get cleaned up and changed."

"Yes, sensei." Yui inclined her head.

"If it's permitted, I'd like to go along too," I said. I couldn't just leave her like that.

"You'll miss part of this afternoon's activities," my teacher replied.

"I'm her friend," I said. "I want to make sure she's okay."

"Yes, I'm her friend too!" Kyouko said.

"Alright, alright, you two may go accompany her, then." our teacher acquiesced. She gave us a pointed look. "But don't go off on your own again."

I sighed in my head. I probably wasn't going to live that down anytime soon. I told her that we wouldn't. Kyouko said nothing.

Back at the hotel, Kyouko, Yui, and I sat around Chitose as she lied down in our room. She had been able to bathe, change clothes, and drink some water with the three of us doting on her. Well, Yui and I did, at least. Kyouko just acted as she usually did.

"Everyone's so caring," Chitose smiled, closing her eyes. "It's a nice feeling."

"We'll care for you all day and night!" Kyouko said, bouncing up and down. The girl had no medium setting. It was all or nothing for her, usually all.

"Hush," Yui admonished her. She turned back to Chitose. "Just rest easy. We'll make sure at least one of us stays here with you."

"Thank you, Funami…" Her voice drifted as she dozed off.

"Maybe we should give her some space," I suggested.

"Outer space?!" Kyouko boggled.

"Kyouko," Yui said. "You need to be quiet so that she can rest. Use your indoor voice."

"But this is my indoor voice, Yui-nyan!"

"Kyouko…" Yui adopted a slightly more threatening tone. She had apparently had enough of Kyouko's antics.

"Fine. I'm going to go make a phone call." She got up and darted out the room.

"She never changes," Yui sighed. She looked over at Chitose. "At least Chitose is asleep now. I'm impressed that she was able to fall asleep with Kyouko making so much noise."

"Maybe losing that much blood makes you tired?" I really wasn't sure. I had seen Chitose's nosebleeds many times, but I wasn't exactly an expert on all that stuff. But rest probably was the best remedy for her. "I don't know. Nothing on this trip has been like what I expected."

"I bet."

"Maybe I should go see what Toshino Kyouko is up to and ensure she isn't causing more trouble." That sounded like a good excuse to me. I figured some time I would stop thinking like that and just say my honest reasoning behind doing things, but old habits tend to die hard.

"You don't want a break from that? I know you're…" Yui trailed off and seemed to be thinking. Maybe she wasn't sure how to say what she wanted to say. She shrugged a little at me and gave me a somewhat sympathetic look.

"Well, I'm her trip partner, so it's only natural for me to go check." I wasn't sure if Yui really bought all that or not, but she just nodded. I got up from where I was sitting. However, she stopped me before I left the room.

"Ayano?"

"Yes?"

"I saw part of what caused Chitose's nosebleed. I apologize for prying, but…well…did you and Kyouko kiss? That's what I thought I saw, but I wasn't sure."

I felt myself turn red. I should have figured that was what Yui wanted to ask about earlier. I was impressed by how forward she was in bringing it up. "No, we didn't."

"Oh. I guess your chance was cut short." She paused. "Do you think you two are going to start dating, then?"

"I don't know. It's all a little sudden." Just like the previous day, I was a mix of emotions: elation, uncertainty, nervousness. Granted, they were mostly positive, and I was dealing with them better. Maybe talking about it a little with Yui would help even more. Given that Chitose was asleep, it was comforting to have someone I could talk with about this, especially someone as levelheaded as Yui. It was unexpected, but that was okay. "I guess we'll have to discuss a few things, but honestly, I'm not sure what to think about anything right now."

"Okay. Well, here's what I think: you make her very happy. Really."

"H-happy?"

"Yes, happy. When she talks about you sometimes, she just seems different."

"I see." I wasn't sure how to reply to that. It was wonderful to hear, that much was certain.

"A little advice, Ayano: sometimes Kyouko will mask what she really feels by acting like a clown. Granted, she usually acts like a clown." Yui cleared her throat. "Yui, give me rum raisin ice cream! Yui, I'm sleeping over! Yui, let me copy your homework!"

I giggled. She did a pretty good impersonation of Kyouko.

"Anyway," Yui continued. "It'll take some figuring out. But I do think she likes you a lot."

"Is that so?" What was with the sudden unsolicited help? Well, I guess I didn't mind. This was the person who was closest to Kyouko right? I should have welcomed her thoughts and insights. And I did want someone to talk with, after all.

"Yes. And she can be self-centered at times, but there are other sides to her. You bring them out a bit, I think." Yui paused again. "And don't you dare tell her I said any of that."

I smiled at her. No, I couldn't even begin to imagine relaying those things to Kyouko. "My lips are sealed."

"Good. I have one other piece of advice for you. Well, maybe it's more of a warning. I've watched the two of you interact some. If you continue to let Kyouko do whatever she wants, she will do whatever she wants."

I chuckled a little and nodded at her. Yui was right, of course. And I knew she also had a lot of experience with that. I had seen some of it firsthand. "It seems like that would happen regardless."

"Fair point," she conceded. "But that doesn't mean you have to allow her to run roughshod over you all the time."

"I-I don't mind it, usually." Well, I mostly didn't mind. I would have preferred not getting into trouble with our teacher. "That's just who Toshino Kyouko is, right?"

"You really must be in love if you're willing to put up with that," Yui commented dryly. She smiled at me. She looked so different when she smiled. "So why don't you and she go spend some time together now? It'll keep Kyouko occupied so that Chitose can peacefully rest. And you could discuss a few things, as you put it, insomuch as that's possible with her."

"What about you? Chitose's asleep, so it'll pretty much be as though you're by yourself. Won't that be a bit boring?"

Yui shook her head. "If anything, it'll be quieter. I could use some peace and quiet after our earlier excitement. I'll read or watch TV." She paused. "I could work on my trip report, but I'm not sure if I should include this in it or not."

I chuckled again. "Maybe it would be better to leave this out."

"Just as well. I'm not exactly sure how I'd include that anyway."

"Exactly. See you later, Yui. Please message me if you need anything."

"Will do."

I left the room and headed into the hallway. Kyouko was playing on her phone, but put it back into her pocket when she saw me approaching her.

"How's Chitose?" she asked.

"She's fine," I answered. "Just resting."

"Oh, and Yui's watching her?"

I nodded.

"That's good. Yui's reliable and conscientious, just like me."

"She is," I smiled. I decided to not even bother addressing the other part of the statement she made. "So, maybe we should be reliable and conscientious too and work on our trip report, Toshino Kyouko."

"Eh…that doesn't sound like fun." She wiggled her eyebrows at me. "Remember how we talked about fun, Ayano?"

"We can't just have fun all the time, and since we have some unexpected free time, it might be worthwhile to get at least part of it finished."

Kyouko grinned impishly at me. "You know Ayano, we're by ourselves now. We don't have to stay here in the hotel. We could go and see a little more of the city. There's a lot of it out there still to see."

"T-Toshino Kyouko!" Really? Was she going to try and suggest we run off somewhere again? "Remember what our teacher said? And I thought you said we weren't going to run off from our trip group again!"

Kyouko giggled. "We're not with our trip group right now, silly. They're still out and about. And we're stuck here at the hotel, but we don't have to be. We don't have to go far. We can just find someplace close and have fun."

"But we're not supposed to go off on our own again!"

"We don't have to go for long. And just think, we'll get to see another thing or two that nobody else on the trip has gotten to see. It'll be special just to us, Ayano."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. "O-okay, Toshino Kyouko. But someplace close! And we can't stay for very long. I'm holding you to that."

And then I couldn't believe what I was saying. Oh well, one's youth only comes once, right? Besides, I figured it would just be for this trip. I could go back to being more responsible at home. And Kyouko's suggestion about something special for just the two of us, well, that got me. I completely fell for it. Kyouko happily set off for the hotel exit, and I followed her. We were almost a block away from the hotel again when she stopped and held out her hand to me.

"Do you want to hold hands, Ayano?" she asked.

I absolutely wanted to. As I took her hand, I almost told her, once again, this was only so that we didn't get separated. That would have been a silly lie, however. I just smiled at feeling my fingers intertwined with hers. We walked a little further from the hotel when she suddenly stopped.

"Oh, look at that place over there!" Kyouko cried, pointing. "That place looks bursting with excitement."

"It's a shopping mall," I said, looking at the sign. It would be fun to see, sure, but I didn't think the stores there would be all that different from the stores back home. Well, I figured we could browse for a little bit and then head back.

"Hey! That part of it has a Ferris wheel on top!"

"Toshino Kyouko, don't make things-oh," I looked up to where she was pointing. Sure enough, I could see a large red Ferris wheel on the top floor of the building How did I miss that? I guess my mind had been elsewhere. "So it does. I see it."

"Right? Let's go ride it!"

"Well, it had better be quick," I said. "And then after that, we head straight back to the hotel. We don't want to get into even more trouble."

"Of course, don't worry!" Those seemed like ominous words to me.

As it turned out, we didn't really look at much else in the shopping mall. There really wasn't going to be enough time to do all that and ride the Ferris wheel. Kyouko, who of course had wanted to stop and buy food, seemed disappointed when I pointed this out to her. I was worried that my warning wouldn't be heeded, but for once she actually listened to me. So, maybe there was actually a decent chance of us making it back to the hotel without getting in trouble. Yes, I was having a good time with her, but the prospect of more punishment didn't really appeal to me.

While we were waiting in line to board the Ferris wheel, a pair of arms suddenly encircled my waist, and I felt Kyouko press up against me. These actions, while not entirely objectionable to me, caught me off-guard. I wasn't sure it was the appropriate place for them, however. "T-Toshino Kyouko, we're in public with a lot of people around!"

"So?"

"This…uh, this…"

"Ooh, isn't that adorable?" a voice behind me asked. I turned around as best I could with Kyouko grabbing me. Two girls behind us in line were watching us and looking amused. They looked like they were slightly older than us, perhaps in high school. They had on plain clothes, however, not school uniforms.

"The two lovebirds are eager to get on the ride," one of them chuckled. "I hear it's romantic, after all."

"You are correct!" Kyouko answered brightly. "What better place to get all lovey-dovey, right?" She rubbed her nose on my cheek. The two girls laughed at us. The situation seemed to get more embarrassing by the second.

"Toshino Kyouko, please behave yourself!" I said as I attempted to remove her arms from around my waist. Just how embarrassing did she have to act?! Fortunately, it our turn to get into a car on the Ferris wheel, so my humiliation in front of complete strangers came to an end. We got in and sat down across from each other in the little car. But Kyouko apparently didn't care for this seating arrangement. She got up and sat back down next to me, snuggling up to me. I decided I was okay with that. Of all the things I might have expected to happen on the school trip, the situation in which I found myself was fairly low on the list for two reasons. One, I was riding in a Ferris wheel on top of a building. That was something new. Two, I was there alone with Toshino Kyouko. That was mostly new. Kyouko suddenly put her arms around me and embraced me again. I was caught off-guard by this.

"T-Toshino Kyouko, this is…uh…" What was it? Well, it was nice, there was no question. But where did my hands go? I put them over hers.

"Ooh, you're really tense, Ayano," she teased. "Don't worry, it's only you and me here." She giggled.

"I-I guess." She had a point. I needed to calm down, as difficult as that could be for me. I had come this far, so why did I keep reacting as I did?

"It's okay," Kyouko said gently. "Just relax and enjoy the ride." How was she so composed about all this? I took a deep breath and felt slightly more relaxed.

"This is nice, Ayano," she said.

"It is."

"So, are close enough now?"

"What?"

"You said you wanted us to be closer. This is about as close as we can get." Was she teasing me again? Flirting? Being serious? It was hard to tell with her. I recalled what Yui said about her acting silly to mask things. "I like you a lot, Ayano."

"I like you too, Toshino Kyouko," I said quietly.

"You know, I recall you saying something like that once before, but my memory's hazy."

"Well, I'm saying it now." There was no reason to hold back on that point. "I've liked you for a long time."

"I see." Kyouko stroked my hand with hers. "It's good to have that in the open, don't you think?"

"Sure. Toshino Kyouko?"

"Yes?"

"I…um…" I wasn't sure what else to say. Again, all the words and phrases I had practiced had vanished from my mind. I decided to simply try and enjoy myself with her. "Oh, nothing. Let's just admire the scenery."

"Ayano…" she said a sing-song voice.

"Yes?"

"Nothing. I just like saying your name."

As the wheel slowly turned, we suddenly found ourselves at its highest point. Kyouko and I continued to hold each other as we silently looked at the scenery together. It all seemed so far away from where we were and not just physically. I could see small cars and busses moving through the city streets, tiny people walking, and an airplane up in the sky. I could see the hills silhouetted against the horizon. Given how late it had gotten, the sky was tinged slightly red. I don't know if that was the best view one could get of the cityscape, but it had definitely just become my favorite.