“So in the end, I made a complete fool of myself in front of all my classmates, and I got signed up for summer swimming lessons. When I think about it now, though, I feel like all I really needed back then was a little more time. Time to practice on my own, without any prying eyes watching me. Time to make sure I got a good night’s sleep beforehand. And time to really pump myself up and get in the right mindset to take the test. But I didn’t have time to do any of those things.”
At this point, Akira stopped dead in her tracks.
I stopped walking too and turned to face her.
“And right now, that’s exactly how I feel again. Like I just need more time. I know it might just be me delaying the inevitable…but I feel like if I can actually have some time to get mentally prepared, then maybe even a hopeless screwup like me can find the courage to face this cruel world full of lies and pain, y’know what I mean? So I guess what I’m trying to say is… Yeah. I think I can get behind this proposal of yours.”
As soon as she said these words, a warm surge of elation bubbled up from my chest. I knew it was pretty wrong for me to actually be happy about giving the rest of the world the middle finger, but it definitely made me feel like Akira and I had just connected on an even deeper level. We were still in this together—and for the long haul too.
“Thanks,” I said. “Really glad to hear you say that.”
Akira gave a little smile in reply, then turned to face the road ahead. “So, what do we do now?”
“Uhhh, honestly, I hadn’t really thought about it yet. But I figure we can still keep making our way in the general direction of my uncle’s house for the hell of it—just that there’s no need to be in such a rush about things anymore.”
“So we can just take our sweet time now, huh?”
“Exactly,” I said with an enthusiastic nod.
I felt both nervous and excited all of a sudden, like we’d finally been truly freed from the spell called time that bound us. From now on, we could screw around and laze about however we wanted, for as long as we wanted—and no one could ever judge or do anything to stop us. But most of all, we didn’t have to think about the future anymore…and there was no better feeling in the world.
“Hey, in that case…” said Akira. “There’s actually somewhere I’d like to go check out, if it’s cool with you.”
“Oh yeah? Where’s that?” I asked.
Akira blushed and sheepishly scratched her cheek. “Well… You like hot springs, right?”
And so we changed course and headed west, over to a famous hot spring resort at the base of the Nasu Highlands—the Nasu Onsen village. It took a full day of walking just to make it here for this little detour. It was a huge slog uphill at a steep incline the whole way, though, so we both worked up quite a sweat. But the higher up we got, the more the rough roads started to become beautifully paved again, with old wooden buildings lining them on either side. Eventually, we could see a little river running through the small mountain community, with old and elegant bridges running across it.
“Oh, hey. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this place on TV before,” I said, pointing to a large wooden hot spring hotel that looked quite a bit older than all the others. “Wanna just go in here for starters?”
Akira gave her seal of approval, so the two of us headed into the building.
To make a long story short: We made the right choice. I couldn’t speak much to the water quality or the mineral efficacy or whatever, but the view from the open-air bath out back was definitely something to write home about. The incredible autumn scenery—miles of untouched nature with a spectrum of trees lush with reds, yellows, and greens—was enough to make the hike uphill feel worth it all on its own.
After taking a long, rejuvenating dip in the bath, I headed back out into the lounge. There, I found Akira sitting by the windowsill, gazing outside and cooling herself off with a traditional-style fan. I wasn’t sure where the heck she’d gotten that from.
“Wow, you finished up fast,” I said.
She stopped fanning herself to look over at me. “Yeah, wanted to stop before I had my fill. Figure since we came all the way out here, I wanna check out as many different places as I can.”
“Heh. Sounds like you’re really determined to get your money’s worth here. Well…all zero yen, that is.”
“Oh, please. Not like you’re paying either, bub.”
“Okay, fair point,” I said, then took a seat next to her.
Akira set her fan down on the coffee table in front of us, then got up and walked over to a tourist who was leaning casually against the wall, perusing a travel guide. She snatched the book from his hands as though it were a free newspaper and started flipping through the pages, then let out a gasp of surprise.
“Wow, dang!” she said. “They’ve even got mixed bathing at this one up ahead!”
“Oh, interesting,” I said. “Always got the impression they only did that way out in the boonies, but this place isn’t even that far off the beaten path.”
Akira turned to face me and flashed a provocative grin. “Well, we’re here now. Wanna give it a shot?”
“Bwuh?!”
“Ha ha! Man, you started blushing real quick!”
Akira was now cackling like a hyena, and I could feel my face growing redder and redder. I hated that she always had such an easy time ruffling my feathers. I decided to try launching a counterattack for once.
“Wh-what do you mean?” I said. “I’m down if you are…”
“Nah, c’mon. Don’t act tough. I know you’re not that type.”
“No, I think you’re the one who’s acting all smug. You know you’d never actually do it—you only suggested it because you thought I’d chicken out.”