Chapter 29
Mount Takao isn't tall—only 599 ters—and the path is well kept, so unless you're a toddler or pushing ninety, the hike is nothing to fear. Shiratori Seiya had been here once before, but only to snap a quick photo. Compared to Mount Fuji or Kumotori, this mountain is more playground than pilgrimage.
Even so, Seiya found himself eyeing the girl at his side with open suspicion. Half a year had passed, yet Hojo Suzune hadn't changed in the slightest. She was still pocket-sized—he could gather her up in one motion if he wanted. His gaze slid to her arms, slender and porcelain pale. Whatever she lacked in Shione's bust, she'd reclaid in legs and arms; the skin was so clear that sunlight struck it like white porcelain, faint blue veins showing through. If anyone ever needed a poster child for an immortal vampire loli, she could audition tomorrow.
"Um... Seiya, why are you staring at like that?"
She'd proposed the hike, then received only silence and his stare. A pink flush crept across her cheeks, and her eyes darted away, shy.
Seiya snapped out of it and looked elsewhere. "Fine, we'll climb. But if you get tired, I'm not carrying you."
"Hmph, I won't need it."
Suzune lifted one delicate arm and brandished a fist the size of a red-bean bun. "I've been training at school, you know."
"Really? Last I recall, you could spend an entire day at ho. When I dragged you out for a jog, you flopped onto a bench halfway through and fell asleep."
"N-no way!"
Caught in the lie, her face flad deeper. A sickly, charming flush spread across her skin. "I was just sleepy! Who wakes up at seven to exercise? That's inhuman..."
"So eight o'clock would've been better? Shione says you sleep until one p.m. on weekends."
Suzune stamped her foot. "Don't listen to her slander!"
She tugged at his sleeve. After two steps she froze, staring at his left hand. Seiya noticed, smiled, and said, "Stop gawking. Let's go. We're not just hiking—we're shopping this afternoon, rember?"
"Oh. Right, we can't waste ti."
She hurried toward Trail 6, which leads past Biwa Waterfall. The path was narrow; they walked single file, Suzune clutching the cuff of Seiya's sleeve above the roar of the falls. Words poured out of her: how he'd graduated, how she'd been split into a new third-year class, which teachers had married, which students were dating, how morale had crashed when the kendo club made a second-year the captain... She talked; Seiya grunted the occasional "Then what?" to keep her going. His mind had been full of Takahashi Mio's career plan, but these bright, teenage stories were a welco distraction.
"Miss Asami even has teaching the first-year idiots. I'm patient, but after three explanations they still ss up..."
"A new second-year transferred in—also plays piano. Thinks she's hot stuff. When Miss Asami said she's still below , she got all huffy and challenged to a competition 'for guidance.' I played a few bars and she slunk off."
"She ran?"
"Ran. Sha does that to people."
Suzune smiled, proud as a swan. Seiya glanced at her and said nothing; he suspected the girl had fled the mockery, not the music.
A sudden gasp. Suzune's cheeks blazed. Heat rushed up her spine; the wind cooled it, then left her shivering.
"You still okay?" Seiya slowed and studied the unhealthy flush on her face. Dummy—those thin arms and legs never saw a gym.
"No problem. Only 1.5 km left." She pointed to a sign: [2.5 km walked, 1.5 km to goal...]
"If you quit, just say so."
Suzune's eyes spun like pinwheels. She wilted, cupping her head. "Then... carry ?"
Seiya rolled his eyes and kept walking.
"Tee-hee." A bell-like laugh rang out behind him. "I'm talked out—your turn. How's university life? I graduate soon; I want the preview."
Seiya considered. "It's... all right. Friend groups are pretty set by senior year. Without fixed classes, the only real bonding happens in clubs."
"So you t your girlfriend in a club?"
"No friends in the kendo club."
"Still antisocial, huh, Seiya brother?" She laughed. "Then how did you et?"
"Money."
"Money?"
"I'll spare you the details."
"Fine... What's her na? What's she like?"
Seiya squinted at her profile. "Why the sudden interest? You're even nosier than your sister."
Suzune stared at her shoes. "Just worried you'll get scamd. Sis didn't take responsibility, so I have to vet your girlfriends."
Seiya shrugged. "Takahashi Mio. You've seen the photos. Personality? Greedy, proud, clever—overall, decent."
Green-tea gold-digging fox spirit, Suzune thought, biting her tongue to push down the ache. "Be careful she doesn't clean you out."
"Won't happen."
Seiya reflected a mont, then added, "Most people find university harder than high school. Last stop before the real world—everyone's scrambling for jobs. A lucky few have family money; the rest have to hustle. Money decides your future." He paused. "And so have no plan at all—life's a ss until soone drags them out of it."
"Hmm?"
Hojo Suzune sensed he was hinting at sothing, but after testing the words against herself, she was certain he didn't an her. She clicked her tongue.
"That sounds awful—zero self-control."
"There's no way I'll turn into that kind of slacker in college..."
She stopped walking, drew a long breath, and looked him straight in the eye.
"I've decided. I'm going to apply to Tokyo University of the Arts."
"...What?"
Shiratori Seiya halted mid-step and turned, surprise flickering across his face.
"You're serious? Did Uncle and Auntie agree?"
Seeing his reaction, Suzune's delicate brows drew together for a second. Then she smiled, eyes half-moon.
"Of course. I want to beco a famous pianist."
"But you said you didn't have that kind of dream."
"People change, don't they?"
Unconsciously, she echoed the words her older sister had told her.
"Big sis is so amazing—if I don't have sothing of my own, I'll always feel second-best."
"Besides, you said money decides the future. Once I'm famous and making loads, our future will be set, right?"
Seiya went quiet. He rembered the phone call when Suzune had vowed to support him.
"You're not starting to think I'm not good enough, are you, Seiya?"
When he didn't answer, she shot him a wounded look.
He shook himself and t her gaze.
"Not at all. You're the most gifted musician I've ever t. If you work at it, nothing's impossible."
"..."
Suzune froze, lips parted, joy flooding through her. A breeze seed to make her cheeks burn even redder. Eyes soft and unfocused, she looked down.
"Then... will you write songs for ?"
Seiya blinked, then laughed, embarrassed.
"With my skills? You're giving way too much credit."
"But later—later you will, won't you?"
Her voice turned urgent, as though she were chasing a promise, and she held his gaze.
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