Chapter 124 - 119: Contact while skiing
After landing at New Chitose Airport, we began lining up in the airport lobby. From here, we'd board another bus to attend a ski lesson.
While the bus to Haneda was divided by class, from this point onward, the focus would shift to group activities.
"Once all group members have gathered, decide your seating arrangements. Discuss and assign the allocated seats among yourselves."
For Group 9, eight assigned seats were allocated on the bus. The idea was to decide through discussion where each of us would sit.
Hiyori and I, the only ones from the same class and group, made our way toward the bus. To avoid unnecessary misunderstandings among the group members we'd be spending the next four days with, I planned to refrain from overly intimate gestures like linking arms—something Hiyori and I had already discussed on the plane.
"...Hiyori?"
"? What's wrong... Ah."
We were supposed to be discussing things, but Hiyori, walking beside me, instinctively reached for my hand without hesitation. The surprise wasn't just mine—she seemed startled too. Our eyes met for a brief moment before she shyly looked away.
"S-Sorry. It wasn't on purpose... It's just that when I'm with you, touching you feels so natural that, um..."
She mumbled an excuse, half-forming the words, but essentially, it was just habit—something ingrained.
"I'll be more careful..."