"Sensei, please get some good rest. I'll head back to my room now."
Kasumigaoka Touji carefully helped Kojima Kana settle under the thick quilt, even going so far as to gently tuck the edges around her shoulders with a thoughtfulness that felt utterly surreal given the circumstances.
Kojima Kana didn't dare look at him!
The events of the past hour played in her mind on a dizzying, chaotic loop, feeling more like a bizarre, high-definition dream than reality.
Here they were, Sensei and student, yet they had already… seen everything.
And seeing everything was one thing, but the physical contact, the positions, the sheer proximity… it had practically escalated to… third base territory.
Kojima Kana had absolutely no idea how to face Kasumigaoka Touji ever again. Hearing his words, she could only manage a muffled "Mm-hmm" from under the covers before yanking them completely over her head, hiding her scorching face in the darkness.
Seeing the quilted lump that was his homeroom Sensei, Touji-kun hesitated for a second. He didn't try to pull the covers back down. Gathering his toiletries bag and the clothes he'd changed into, he turned and quietly slipped out of Kojima Kana's room, closing the door with a soft click behind him.
...
"Nii-san, you're back? That was a pretty long soak."
Seeing Kasumigaoka Touji re-enter their room in his yukata, Kasumigaoka Utaha—who had been drifting toward sleep—turned her head and greeted him, a hint of a yawn in her voice.
"Yeah, stayed in a bit longer… The starry sky out there is really something else," Touji-kun replied, placing his things on the low table and deftly steering the conversation.
As expected, Kasumigaoka Utaha's attention was diverted. She nodded in agreement, a soft smile on her face.
"It really is. Mom and I were stargazing too when we were in the bath earlier."
She propped her chin on her smooth, pale hand, her wine-red eyes fixed on him with mild curiosity. "Were there a lot of people when you went this time?"
"It was okay. Just three of us, including me," Touji-kun answered truthfully—on that point, at least.
Kasumigaoka Utaha didn't find anything odd about that. Ten o'clock wasn't exactly early, and besides, this inn also had a regular men's hot spring (a soda-buro, or simple spring). Some older guests preferred those, as the sulfur spring could be too harsh on their skin.
Touji-kun picked up his phone. He sent a quick message to Kani Nayuta letting her know he'd finished his bath—adding a brief, innocuous note about how relaxing it was—and after a few back-and-forth texts, they bid each other goodnight.
Of course, sleep was the last thing on his mind now. All the restless, feverish energy stirred up by the encounter with Kojima-sensei needed an outlet. And that outlet, unfortunately for her, became Kasumigaoka Utaha.
It was quite the ordeal for her. Not only did she have to keep a hand clamped over her own mouth to stifle any betraying sounds, but she also had to contend with a Kasumigaoka Touji who was noticeably more… intense… than usual.
Kasumigaoka Utaha's resistance crumbled rapidly. She was waving the white flag of surrender in record time…
…
The stars wheeled silently across the sky. Night deepened, then gradually softened into dawn.
The Next Morning
Holding his phone, Kasumigaoka Touji hesitated for a long moment before finally tapping 'send.'
[Touji.]: Good morning, Sensei. Is your head feeling any better? Not dizzy anymore, I hope?
Recalling the previous night's events, a faint, restless heat still simmered in his veins.
He had come perilously close to committing a grave transgression last night…
Fortunately, he was a person with a conscience! A young man who respected his Senseis!
If it had been some of the netizens he'd heard about, a Sensei in such a vulnerable position would have undoubtedly been subjected to… all sorts of things. Compromising photos might have been taken, leading to a nightmare with no escape.
Honestly, Kasumigaoka Touji mused, Kojima-sensei should really be thanking me properly…
He glanced down at his phone. The message status still showed as 'unread.' She probably wasn't awake yet. Beside him, Kasumigaoka Utaha was also still deep in sleep.
Touji-kun settled back against the pillow, phone in hand, and began idly scrolling through Twitter under the cozy warmth of the quilt.
Half an Hour Later
A notification pinged. His mother had tagged them in the family group chat.
[Mom]: Touji-kun, Utaha-chan, would you like to go for a morning soak?
[Touji.]: She's still asleep over here.
Just as he sent the reply, he felt movement beside him. Kasumigaoka Utaha stirred, her long eyelashes fluttering twice before her wine-red eyes slowly opened.
"Good morning, Nii-san~."
Her gaze immediately found him. In a pleasantly drowsy mood, she stretched a hand out from under the covers toward him, her greeting soft and languid.
"Onee-san, keep those hands to yourself, or there will be consequences," Touji-kun warned, giving her a sidelong glance. Once she reluctantly withdrew her hand, he asked, "Do you want to go to the hot spring? Mom's asking."
"Eh?"
Kasumigaoka Utaha blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing her face. Then she gave a soft hum of acknowledgment and began to sit up.
Touji-kun quickly typed another message in the group chat.
[Touji.]: She's up. We'll join you.
[Mom]: Alrighty~!
Before setting his phone down, Touji-kun couldn't help but check Kojima Kana's chat window again. The message now showed as 'read,' but there was no reply.
Maybe she's just too embarrassed…?
...
At that very moment, Kojima Kana was, indeed, drowning in a sea of embarrassment.
After a night's rest, the dizziness was gone, but she still had no clue how to face Kasumigaoka Touji. She simply felt that they had crossed a line that should never exist between Sensei and student. Even if it was unintentional, a series of passive accidents… what was done was done. The memory of his arms around her, the feeling of being carried…
Kojima Kana burrowed deeper under the quilt, her cheeks burning as if on fire.
...
On the Way to the Hot Spring
As they walked along the quiet morning path toward the bathhouse, Kasumigaoka Airi glanced at her daughter, feigning innocent confusion.
"Utaha-chan, why do you look so listless first thing in the morning?"
"Hmm… I'm just not used to sleeping on a futon. My body feels a bit stiff," Kasumigaoka Utaha, who was genuinely low on energy, offered a casual excuse and shot a subtle, pointed glare at her brother.
Kasumigaoka Touji gave a light, unrepentant shrug. "Is it my fault?"
…Well, maybe it was a little bit his fault.
"Is that so?" Kasumigaoka Airi 'bought' the explanation with a nod, though a knowing glint flashed in her eyes too quickly to catch. "A nice soak will perk you right up… Let's try the simple spring this time. Soaking in the sulfur spring too much can be harsh on the skin."
"Okay."
Kasumigaoka Utaha nodded gently, agreeing with her mother's skincare advice.
...
Time flowed as steadily as the hot spring waters. After their refreshing morning bath, Kasumigaoka Touji and the others returned to their room.
They enjoyed the inn's lavish traditional breakfast in their parents' room, then packed their belongings and proceeded to check out.
Their five-day Golden Week itinerary in Hokkaido wasn't meant to be spent entirely in Sounkyo. The plan was for a classic "one night, two days" stay here. Rather than rushing to check out before noon, it was easier to do it first thing and have the rest of the day free.
After loading their luggage into the family's Toyota C-HR, the Kasumigaoka family drove to the very end of the onsen street—to the "Kurodake Ropeway Sounkyo Station"!
…
"So many people!"
They hadn't arrived particularly late, but a substantial line had already formed in front of the ropeway station.
Kasumigaoka Touji pulled out his phone for a quick search. "Says here this ropeway cabin can hold 101 people at once," he reported calmly.
"Really?" Kasumigaoka Utaha leaned in to look at his screen, then glanced at the queue ahead. She estimated a few dozen people, but certainly not a hundred. It seemed they'd get on the first cabin. Her initial dismay at the line faded.
"This is the main ropeway," Kasumigaoka Eiji added, walking back from the ticket vending machine with passes in hand. "After this, we'll need to take a two-person chairlift to actually reach the ski resort area."
Touji-kun and Utaha-san nodded in understanding. Just then, their mother spoke up, her voice tinged with excitement. "Look, it's coming!"
Following her gaze, they saw a large, lake-blue aerial tram cabin gliding smoothly along the thick cables toward the station.
A ripple of excited murmurs and a few cheers went through the waiting crowd, the atmosphere instantly turning lively and anticipatory.
The Kasumigaoka family's spirits lifted as well.
When the cabin docked and the doors slid open, they moved with the flow of people into the spacious interior. They let Airi-sama and Utaha-san take the coveted window seats on the inside, while the two Kasumigaoka men settled on the aisle side.
With a gentle lurch and a soft mechanical hum, the ropeway began its ascent.
As one, the family turned to look out the wide windows—
Below them unfolded an endless sea of lush, verdant maple forests. Above, streams of white clouds drifted across a canvas of flowing blue sky. The dramatic, geometric columnar joints of the gorge walls stood as silent sentinels, alongside silvery waterfalls of various sizes cascading down the rock faces…
A cool, gentle breeze filtered through the cabin's slightly open vents, carrying with it the crisp, clean scent of mountain forests and damp earth. It was invigorating, washing away any lingering sleepiness.
The vista possessed a unique, majestic charm that was utterly captivating—!