[After exiting the subway station, you transferred to a bus and, after another fifteen minutes, arrived at Azuki Mountain.]
[It was nearing noon, and Nakajima Reina was worried that the nurse delivering the meals might notice her absence, but once they entered the forest, her anxiety was quickly soothed by the rustling of the lush green trees.]
[After the heavy rain, the scent of the earth and trees mixed in the wind, fresh but somewhat pungent—a smell only found in the mountains. Water droplets clung to the leaves and pooled in depressions, sparkling in the gentle sunlight.]
[As you walked along the trail, a woodpecker tapped away on a tree trunk behind you, while two grayish-white birds fluttered and played among the treetops ahead.]
[Nakajima Reina was captivated by this new world. For forty minutes, she said nothing, her eyes moving from the treetops to the tree trunks, then to the leaf-strewn ground. Even the dust on the trail, the floating leaves in the puddles, and the few stones by the roadside fascinated her.]
[The relatively gentle trail only reaches two-thirds up the mountain. Beyond that are long staircases.]
[You left the wheelchair by a small, unattended shop at the bottom of the stairs and continued up, holding Nakajima Reina's hand.]
[After thirty steps, the girl's breathing grew rapid.]
A memory scene appears.
Azuki Mountain is not a popular attraction and is only somewhat well-known in the hiking circles of Misaki City.
Hikers usually take the forest trails and avoid the regular stairs, so the less-traveled stairs are quite narrow, only wide enough for two people to walk side by side.
The sun had risen high, and the effects of the rain were fading, with the sunlight growing more intense.
Minami Yuuki tightly held Nakajima Reina's hand, feeling her palm becoming slightly sweaty. He heard her light breaths.
"Are you tired?" he asked.
"No," Nakajima Reina shook her head.
She looked up, the narrow stairs appearing intermittently between the trees on either side, stretching endlessly and seemingly leading up to the azure sky.
"Your out-of-breath appearance is hardly convincing," he said.
"I can walk a bit more," she replied.
"Are you sure you can make it?"
Nakajima Reina fell silent.
Amid her shallow sadness, the boy released her hand and squatted in front of her.
"Come on," he said.
"No need..."
"It's okay, I actually want to carry you, Princess Reina."
Nakajima Reina settled onto the boy's back, the broad and sturdy muscles of his back making her cheeks flush slightly.
She rested her chin on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his neck, while his hands rested on the outside of her thighs.
The surrounding scenery suddenly lost its charm.
She turned her head to the side, looking at the trees, while the boy's warmth, scent, and breathing enveloped her.
Her heart raced.
Minami Yuuki's heart was also speeding up.
The girl's hair fell on his shoulder, and its faint fragrance reached his nose. With each step he took, the ends of her hair swayed back and forth, brushing lightly against his cheek.
Her pale, slender hands rested in front of his chin, their delicate whiteness making him want to gently bite them and leave a faint imprint of his teeth.
Though Nakajima Reina's figure was not extraordinary, it was far from lagging behind the average. She wore only a thin white dress, which did little to cover her soft form.
Minami Yuuki couldn't see the girl's face, so he looked down at their shadows on the steps.
Nakajima Reina, too, avoided looking at his face, focusing instead on their distorted shadows on the steps.
Birds were chirping, leaves rustling, and the two slowly made their way up, absorbed in their feelings for each other rather than the scenery around them.
After an unknown amount of time, the stairs ended abruptly, revealing the clear sky hidden behind the trees. Minami Yuuki quickened his pace and stepped over the final stair.
He set Nakajima Reina down from his back. His own back was drenched in sweat, and a patch of her white dress was damp as well.
Nakajima Reina didn't find the damp patch uncomfortable. She shyly turned her back to the boy, pretending to look down the mountain, but actually avoiding his gaze.
The sensation and warmth of the dress against her front felt like the boy's long fingers.
The sunlight and wind quickly dried the dampness.
She was captivated by the seemingly tiny city below and looked up at the sky again, feeling it was closer to her than ever.
"How's the view? Not bad, right?" Minami Yuuki asked her.
"Mm," Nakajima Reina replied, moving to the edge of the steps to look down.
The length of the steps surprised her, and she found it hard to believe she had climbed such a long staircase.
"Put on your jacket; it's cool at the summit," Minami Yuuki offered his jacket.
Nakajima Reina was about to reach for it but suddenly had a whimsical thought. She raised her arms and looked at the boy.
Minami Yuuki quickly understood her hint and teased, "You even need help putting on a jacket? Princess Reina, you really haven't grown up!"
The girl blushed slightly and began to lower her arms, but Minami Yuuki had already grabbed her wrists.
He helped her into the jacket, his strong arms wrapping around her waist as he pulled the jacket's hem down and slowly zipped it up.
The coarse jacket snugly covered her upper body.
The sun was directly overhead, and the temperature hadn't yet risen, but the sunlight was particularly intense.
The summit platform was deserted; tourists avoided it at noon during the summer, and hikers were reluctant to climb through the damp forest after yesterday's heavy rain.
On the mountain, there were only Minami Yuuki and Nakajima Reina.
They had lunch in the nearby pavilion—a variety of small snacks. They walked around the platform and then sat quietly in the pavilion.
As the sun gradually shifted, Nakajima Reina first gazed at the shrinking city and then at the orange-yellow sunset drawing closer to the horizon.
The two stood at the edge of the platform, hands resting on the iron railing, shoulders touching as they gazed together at the fading twilight.
The sun had completely dipped below the horizon, turning the blue sky into an inky black. The bright moon cast a hazy light, and the city lights began to shine. The vast buildings' shadows sparkled with countless lights, coming together to form a brilliant galaxy of stars.
The boy's face was partially obscured by moonlight. His eyes, like stars, slowly drew closer to her, and her gaze fixed on his slightly reddened lips. A fragment of a chocolate pocky suddenly flashed in her mind.
She took a step back, avoiding his approaching lips, turning her face away as she recalled a boy from spring days long past, using those memories to resist the summer boy's advances.
"By the way, I haven't introduced myself to you, have I?"
The boy's light-hearted voice echoed through the forest: "I'm Minami Yuuki."
Nakajima Reina was stunned by the familiar name.
The boy who had accompanied her in the spring now merged with the summer boy before her, and she found herself without the strength to resist.
Minami Yuuki kissed her lips.