June heralds the start of summer, and with the rising temperatures come the pressures of mid-term exams. Mari has one less test to take than both Yui and Kyoko, yet she finds herself pacing the corridor outside their classroom, listening intently to the sound of her footsteps and the occasional cough from behind the doors. She could be somewhere else- in the library, preparing for her next exam, or relaxing in her dorm room. Instead she waits, glancing down at her wristwatch and grumbling, then going back and forth and starting the cycle anew.
Predictably, Yui and Kyoko finish first. Mari hears the scraping of chairs being pushed back, and then Yui's footfalls ring familiar in her ears, like a second heartbeat. She recognizes Kyoko's too, but only by the way they mingle with Yui's. Mari has never paid much attention to Kyoko when she walks alone.
The pair stumble into the hall, Yui practically knocking down the door in her haste to escape. Mari waves, a dip of her fingers that is answered by Yui grabbing her and shaking her by the shoulders.
"Mari! It was awful!" she wails. "I forgot to read one of the chapters last night, and an entire page was questions just about that chapter! I'm doomed!"
"More like melodramatic," sighs Kyoko, nodding to Mari over Yui's bowed head. "Why are you here, Mari? I thought you didn't have anything today."
"I was in the area. Thought I'd see if you wanted to go for a walk somewhere."
"A walk? That sounds like an excellent idea!" Yui's head jerks up at the suggestion, and Mari snickers- between Yui's unbridled enthusiasm and Kyoko's mortified expression, the half-hour wait for them has already paid off.
Yui swings around Mari, looping their arms together and marching toward the doors. She catches Kyoko on the way, pulling her along, and together the three stride out into the heat.
The humid, unbearably sticky heat. Mari bears it with nothing but a slight change in her stance as Yui whips off her ever-present lab coat, tying it around her waist. Kyoko's eye twitches, and she steps back, ready to make a break for the comfort of the air-conditioned building. Then Mari leans forward, raising an eyebrow and smirking. It's the look she gives Kyoko right before each quiz, the look that says she's expecting a challenge. Kyoko grinds her teeth together, standing her ground. "So, where to?" she asks.
"There should be a bench with some shade somewhere around here," Yui recalls. "It's probably not going to be occupied, so we can go there."
"And do what?"
"Talk. Relax. Things we normally do." Mari answers with a shrug- not her standard hunching of shoulders, but with a prolonged spreading of her arms- just another thing she's picked up from Yui, another mannerism that bothers Kyoko. Mari can see it in how one eyebrow furrows, dipping into a disapproving frown all its own, and it brings a smile to her lips. Waving her hand forward, she says to Yui, "Lead the way."
And lead, Yui does. Two years at Kyoto University have etched the sidewalks into her mind, straight lines that she openly defies. Yui leads her friends across grass, skirting around birds who look at them with puzzled glances before flying away. Her pulling becomes a gentle tugging as Yui unlinks her arms from Mari's and Kyoko's, seizing their hands and guiding them along. They are a strange sight- three shadows masked by the haze of summer, darting under the branches.
Kyoko almost trips, catching herself with an awkward grace and drawing a laugh from Yui. Mari turns toward them sharply, only to trip on a root of her own, and the laughter becomes twofold. She pushes off the dirt, her pride and her palms stinging, and is greeted by a hand reaching down toward her- Yui's. "Mari?" she asks, hiding a giggle behind her smile. "Do you need a hand?"
There's nothing to be lost by accepting Yui's offer, so Mari reaches up, their palms clasped together for a brief second as Yui hauls the younger girl to her feet. Mari jerks away as soon as she's upright, nodding her thanks, distracted by the strange sensation in her hand- it's almost like electricity is surging beneath her skin, waxing and waning with the pulsing of her veins. She pushes the feeling aside, returning Yui's concerned glance with a nod, and the three of them make a beeline for the bench, now visible across the walkway.
As Yui predicted, it is vacant. No one is around to hear them, either: the early onset of warmth has driven mostly everyone indoors. Kyoko looks about ready to join their numbers, fanning at herself with one hand as she takes the seat closest to the tree and its shade. Yui plops down next to her, leaving Mari to sit in the sun: she chooses to stand in front of the pair instead.
"It's too hot," Kyoko complains. "Those global warming guys over in geology must be having a field day with this."
"I don't think they're from geology," Mari mutters.
"Geology. Meteorology. Whatever. It's not my job, so-" Kyoko shrugs, and Mari bites back a retort. The heat could make anyone irritable, especially someone like Kyoko. She lets her attention wander as her companions begin discussing exam questions, things she does not yet have an understanding of. Their knowledge is rooted in numbers and lab work; Mari's relies on theory and what little experience she's been granted. Two years' seniority make themselves evident in the rapid exchange of questions and answers, and Mari picks up only phrases, strings of words whose meaning she has yet to grasp before the conversation become unintelligible once more.
Sometime between topics, Mari gives up all hope of being included in their discussion and focuses on the nearby three. Bark hangs off it in loose clusters, and the lowest branch hangs just out of jumping reach. It would be difficult to climb, Mari thinks, and so she homes in on it just like with any other task. She drifts away from the bench, not stopping when Yui calls her name. Not until Mari stands at the base of the tree does she stop moving, and then, it's only for a second. Taking a deep breath, she fastens her arms around the tree, searching for handholds discernible only by touch. She finds three, one of which is too low to be of any use. Grasping onto the other two, Mari hauls herself halfway up to the branch, only to slip down and stagger back.
Yui's eyes are on her now; Mari is sure of it, and her determination to succeed drives her mindlessly forward. Crumbled bark yields before her scrabbling fingers, which crawl across the tree until they find purchase. Mari scrambles up, digging in with her feet and all but rolling onto her side atop her new perch. She inspects her nails like Kyoko would, now rugged and dirtied by her effort- but when she looks up, Yui is looking back at her, and Mari decides it was worth it after all.
Then Yui stands.
A moment later, she is at the base of the tree, looking up at Mari, the sun reflecting in her emerald eyes as she says, "That was cool! Can I get up there too?"
Even from twenty feet away, Mari hears Kyoko scoff. "Why do you bother, Yui? That stuff's for children."
"Well, there's nothing wrong with that. Right, Mari?" Yui grins, radiating youthful exuberance, and of course Mari nods: there's no other reply to a question like that. "Now, how'd you climb this?"
"There should be a place you can grab right... there." Mari leans over, grabbing the branch with one hand and pointing with the other. "You'll need to wrap your hand around the trunk and just... go, I guess?"
"Like this?"
Yui's first attempt fails utterly. She gets a good half a foot off the ground before her handhold gives, sending her onto her back. Even Kyoko, who knows nothing of climbing trees, cringes. "No, Yui, you grabbed the wrong thing. More to your left. Yeah, that's it. Okay, now-"
Mari's instructions are cut off by Yui, who's fallen again. The lab coat on her waist unravels and settles in the soil, and she retreats briefly to place it by her bag and Kyoko's. "I guess I'll have to wash that again," she sighs. "Don't worry. I'll get it eventually."
And eventually, Yui does get it, it being a growing bruise on her backside from repeated hard landings. Kyoko watches, a growing amusement breaking her haughty exterior, offering useless tips every few attempts. Mari offers her own advice, vague at best- but Yui's tenacity defies them both, and she never stays down for long.
After what feels like a hundred tries later, Mari can't take it any longer. Inching over to the trunk, she peers down at Yui. "Hey, do you want a-"
"Can I get a hand, Mari?"
Yui finishes her question a half-second before Mari can manage hers. There's silence as Mari struggles to process it, and then she squeaks out, "Okay." Leaning over and extending her arm, she adds, "Please don't pull me down with you. You'll want to put your feet on the trunk as you climb up."
Their hands meet for the second time, and as Yui struggles to haul herself up, Mari's eyes lose their focus. All that matters is the sudden pounding in her head and a feeling like static where her hand and Yui's touch. It's a feeling she's only read about, only dreamed about, and when Yui reaches up with her other hand and Mari grabs it on instinct, her senses go crazy. Yui tells her one thing as her mind screams another; 'thank you' is overwritten by 'you love her'. Time cannot go slow enough to let the thought sink in, and all too soon Yui is pulling her hands away and flinging them into the air in celebration.
"Made it!" she cheers. Kyoko claps sarcastically, but not even she can mask her happiness for Yui. By contrast, Mari lets it all show- in her eyes, in the way she tilts her head, in her pose, because every last bit of her is struggling to hide this new revelation. That she is impossibly, irrevocably in love with Yui Ikari.
"Nice view up here, isn't it Mari?"
Mari snaps out of her daze long enough to nod. "Uh-huh. Nice view."
"How is that even a nice view? You're ten feet up with birds probably about to crap on your head."
"Okay, does that actually happen?" asks Yui. Mari shakes her head, Kyoko voices an objection, and the conversation starts up again. This time, Mari excludes herself by choice, contributing only nods and short answers when prompted. The heat gives way to a cool breeze, rustling the leaves and sending some flying into Mari's hair. Yui plucks each one out carefully, untangling stray strands when she sees them, all the while unaware that Mari is staring at the ground, her cheeks burning hot like the sun.
It's not until Kyoko checks her watch that the three realize how much time they've spent talking. Between idle chat and Yui's shenanigans, a little over three hours have passed. Despite the length of the summer days, Kyoko insists she has to go- and since she is Yui's ride, so too must Yui.
When Kyoko stands to leave, Mari jumps off her branch on reflex, momentarily forgetting that Yui has no idea how to get down on her own. She turns back in time to see Yui edging forward, eyeing empty air. When she jumps, Mari reacts on instinct, shuffling over to the side and extending her arms. Yui lurches into her as she lands, nearly sending them both sprawling, but Mari keeps them steady.
"Thanks for the catch and the tree-climbing," Yui says, pulling Mari into a brief hug. "We should do it again when I've got more time. I'll see you tomorrow!"
Yui runs after Kyoko, yelling for her to wait, and Mari watches her go, the summer wind whistling happily in her ears. Even long after Yui's vanished and Mari's turned and started for her room, she still feels like whistling along with it.