Meanwhile, the group below them is following their tour guide. Some students are highly interested in the tour, while the rest are bored, including Sam and Ereen, who have grown restless.
"Where do you think they are?"
"What does it matter? She didn't even respond to our text this morning after saying she was running late."
"Still... that girl she is with gives me a bad feeling."
"Don't say things like that or you will make me worry!"
Ereen has a slight panic as Sam fills her head with worry. Sam smiles awkwardly as her eyebrows twitch, a little annoyed by Ereen's sudden shift in emotion. The two both sigh and calm down.
"I'm sure it's nothing."
"Why do you say that?"
"She used to come here with her mom. I went with them one time before she..."
"Before what?"
"Nothing... it's not my place to say these things about her."
Sam looks at Kareen, worried about what could have happened. Sam brushes it off, assuming it was the falling out they had in the past she is talking about.
"I understand. Don't worry about it."
"You don't really push for anything, do you?"
"Well, it depends... I'm not the type to make people tell me something I shouldn't know, you know?"
Ereen chuckles sarcastically, then smiles at Sam. She looks away from her to hide her smile.
"You know... it's funny. Before this, we were at each other's throats. Now you, of all people, are trying to help me reconnect with Kareen."
"I don't really see how that's funny."
"I just didn't think you were like that, you know? You seem more focused on yourself. I've seen you study alone, and practice for track all by yourself too."
Sam puffs up her cheeks and points her lips out.
"What are you saying? That I'm a loner or something?"
"No! It's just... Why help me? I was mean and again you seem so focused on yourself, you know... I don't want to be in the way of that."
Sam steps forward, placing her hand on Ereen's shoulder. Ereen turns her head, meeting Sam's gaze.
"You aren't mean Ereen. I think you're a very kind person who's trying to act strong is all. I and you are very similar, and that makes me want to help you."
Sam smiles at Ereen brightly. The sudden compliment surprise Ereen. She stands in silence for a moment before getting flustered and blushing tomato red. She pulls away from Sam, covering her face.
"W-Whats with the sudden wave of compliments... G-Go away or I'll punch you again!"
Sam can't help but giggle at the threat from her, noticing how flustered she suddenly became.
"You're so hopeless!"
Ereen, now even more flustered, turns around and stomps her foot, yelling at Sam.
"Y-You're the hopeless one! I'm serious! I'm going to punch you again!"
Sam is now laughing hysterically at Ereen. The two go back and forth, not noticing the group has moved on to the upstairs exhibit. Kanna and Lincoln listened to the tour guide describe how they constructed the structure of Osaka Castle, but both caught each other's awkward glance. The two have not talked since the night before, when Lincoln suddenly revealed his love for Yon. Lincoln clears his throat.
"So... um this castle, huh? So architecturally sound."
Lincoln nervously rubs his hands through his hair, Kanna snapping her head in his direction, glaring at him. Lincoln jumps back a little afraid.
"What do you love about my brother?"
She asked him a sudden question, causing him to just stare at her with a stupid look on his face, completely taken aback. He sighed, not wanting to go into this conversation, but understood he couldn't avoid it forever.
"I brought this up to her... I guess I should just get this over with."
Kanna continues to glare at him, waiting for a response.
"Everything." he states bluntly.
"What?" she asks, confused by his response.
"Everything. I love everything about him. The way he smiles, how kind he is to everyone, how dumb he can be. Everything."
It surprised Kanna at how quickly Lincoln could come up with a response. She looks at him, no longer glaring but just surprised.
"So everything? What about the fact he went after Sam?"
"I know... It's stupid for me to like someone without even considering how they might feel... but I just can't help myself. My heart beats differently around him."
Kanna forms a frown and looks down, knowing that Yon does not feel the same way about Lincoln at all.
"Listen, Lincoln..."
"Don't worry about it. I know how Yon feels."
Kanna looks up to see Lincoln smiling happily, as always.
"Seriously! It's ok. I'm fine!"
Kanna stares at him for a moment, before giving a slight smile back.
"If you say so..."
"We are getting behind the group. Let's catch back up, ok?"
"Right..."
The two walk over to the group and continue listening to the tour guide, Kanna unsure about Lincoln's true feelings about her brother.
"There is no way he is just ok with this. He has to be hurting inside... right?"
She stares at Lincoln, worried about his feelings. Lincoln smiles, listening to the tour guide describe the stones used for the castle.
"I've held these emotions back for a long time. What's a little longer gonna hurt?"
Meanwhile, after the tour ends, Yon and Yui are enjoying ice cream at a nearby shop together. The two sit across from each other, Yon with a bowl filled with strawberry ice cream, and across from him, Yui with a mix of vanilla and strawberry. She takes a bite of her ice cream, smiling at how sweet it is.
"It's so sweet!"
Yon smiles at her and takes a small bite of his. It surprised him at how delicious it is.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
Yui blushes at how cute he looks eating the ice cream, a small dot of it on the side of his lips.
"You have a little ice cream there."
She points shyly at the edge of his lips. Yon, a little confused, feels around his lips. Finding the small dot of ice cream, he looks at it for a moment before licking it from his finger. Yui blushes red, embarrassed. He just did that in front of her. She looks down at her ball of ice cream and gulps another scoop, trying to cover her embarrassment. Yon doesn't notice this and takes another bite.
"This is really great! It was so hot this morning I thought I was going to die."
"It really was... the ice cream is the complete opposite. It's almost refreshing, in a way."
"We should get some for when we go back."
Yui looks up at Yon, her face filled with excitement.
"Yes, we should! I would really- I mean... I don't want you spending too much money..."
She looks back down at her ice cream, losing enthusiasm due to not having money for the trip.
"Don't worry about it! I said we are going to have fun on this trip! I want ice cream too, and I couldn't just eat it in front of you without buying you some."
Yui sits, feeling a little upset that Yon must pay for everything on her trip, but she remembers what she told him. She should enjoy herself and have fun.
"I don't want to bring him down by sulking, so I'll enjoy every minute of this trip!"
She perks up and looks excitedly at Yon, holding her hands up clenched.
"Right! Let's get a bunch of ice cream for tonight!"
Yon chuckles, surprised and happy to see her mood suddenly shift.
"Sure thing! We will eat so much we get sick!"
The two happily smile at each other. Yui blushes uncontrollably, no longer hiding her excitement. They finish their ice cream and buy some more for their hotel room. They walk together down the street, making their way back to the hotel. The sun sets over the buildings in Osaka, and the temperature falls with it. Yui shivers, now cold from all the ice cream and the sudden drop in temperature. Yon notices her shaking and pulls off his school jacket.
"Here."
The two stop in the middle of the street, Yon handing Yui the jacket. She shyly accepts his offer and puts it on, feeling a sudden warmth from the remaining body heat left over from Yon.
"Thank you."
"It's nothing. I don't want you catching a cold and missing the trip."
She smiles, happy that Yon cares this much about her. Yui covers her face with the jacket top, trying to hide her blushing face. Yon puts out his arm.
"Grab on. It'll help keep you warm if we walk together like this."
The sudden gesture, her face and ears both flushing red, completely taken aback by Yon's kindness.
"No, no, no! He's just being nice... this can't be anything more... right?"
She stares at his arm, unsure of what she should do. She slowly wraps her arm around his and steps closer to him, feeling how warm his body is.
"He's so warm..."
"Wow Yui, your heart is beating like a drum, are you ok?"
She tenses up; her face somehow becoming even redder.
"Y-Yes... I'm ok..."
"Hmm, if you say so."
The two walk to the hotel, side by side, Yui's arm wrapped around Yon's. Yui, too nervous to look up, keeps her head down, embarrassed by what is happening, but smiling at the fact they are so close. Yon is, however, completely unaware of the situation, only doing it so she won't catch a cold.
"Her heart sure is beating fast... I hope she isn't sick already."