chapter eleven: yellow
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the green scenery of nagano was truly mesmerizing. tall mountains could be seen everywhere and the hints of various vibrant colors of flowers topped off the breathtaking view. the smell of fresh air and chilly wind created by the trees and plants - it is indeed summer already in japan.
"sugo!" atsumu said in admiration in his thick kansai accent. his eyes were practically glued to the window, seeing the flower fields they were passing by.
(note: in kansai dialect, 'sugoi' becomes 'sugo', which means "wow" in english.)
"tsu-chan, don't blame us when your head snaps off," kiiro stated. everyone in the cab, excluding the entranced atsumu, sweatdropped at her statement.
"that's too dark, roki..." suna hesitantly said, and the latter only shrugged.
"where we're goin' anyway, ro-chan?" osamu casually joined the conversation.
"somewhere," kiiro said, browsing through her phone.
"ya' didn't plan ta' kidnap us, yeah?" he asked again, lightly poking her arm, but she remained unbothered.
"no complaints! she'll be obliged ta' feed us!" atsumu teased, facing them with a grin.
the raven-haired girl looked at him with no expression. "what are the chances that you'll be alive and breathing when the cops find you if i kidnapped you three?"
the atmosphere went eerily silent. the female asked that question so casually and in monotone that it caused shivers down their spines.
"ro-chan, how's tokyo?" osamu broke the awkward silence. the stoic girl responded to his question and their conversation continued on.
it was more than an hour when they arrived at their resort that was booked by kiiro beforehand. their ride fare was split between the three males since kiiro had warned them about fighting each other again, for the nth time today, over a small thing.
"what's tis' place, iro-chan?" the blond roamed his eyes around the place.
"hakuba iwatake - it's a mountain resort," kiiro answered, walking up to the front desk. "for kozume kiiro," she told the male attendant.
the attendant nodded, typed on something on the desktop before handing the high school girl a keycard holder with two cards inside. "room 130 is on the second floor. would you like us to assist you?" he asked.
the raven-haired girl shook her head. "no, thank you." and then bowed politely at him before motioning the boys to follow her to the elevator and to their shared hotel room.
"w-we're sharing a r-room?" atsumu stuttered. his eyes were wide open while watching the other three remove their shoes and get comfy inside.
"i didn't book an expensive suite with two separate rooms for no reason," kiiro sarcastically said, walking past the lounge area to the left room. "i'm taking the left because i'm leaving y'll tomorrow," she joked, before heading inside the room.
"what's ta' deal with yer' dark craps?" atsumu exclaimed, clearly annoyed at her last statement.
suna sighed, shaking his head before heading into the other room. he hates to be in the same room with the twins, but as long as he gets to hang out with kiiro, he'll manage to bear with the two.
"i'll take the middle one!" atsumu claimed, flopping on the bed and spreading his limbs all over.
osamu settled his stuff in the bed near the veranda. "no one likes to be in the middle anyway."
meanwhile, the brown-haired boy placed his stuff beside the bed near the door and headed out immediately. once suna stepped out of the room, he saw the raven-haired girl in the lounge area.
"roki?" suna called out. her golden orbs met his, and then she smiled softly.
suna blinked, looking away as he felt a weird sensation in his stomach. "i-i... are we heading out?" he stammered.
kiiro hummed in response, walking up to the stunned male. "tsu and omu?" she asked. before she could even knock on the door, it was opened by osamu, who almost stumbled upon the girl.
"ro-chan, let's go!" osamu said, grabbing her hand before the pair went ahead, leaving the other two behind.
after securing their hotel room, they all walked together outside the facility. osamu accompanied kiiro throughout the entiee walk, making suna feel annoyed while watching them talk and hearing her laugh because of osamu. the four of them arrived outside and they saw various bicycles parked behind the hotel facility, and some people were already riding the bicycles.
"we can use these bicycles to go around the outdoor garden," kiiro said, choosing a suitable bicycle for her, which was the white japanese bicycle.
the others chose their own bicycles, and the twins already went ahead, having their self-proclaimed competition against each other, leaving suna and kiiro alone. both of them decided to have a relaxing ride together along the side of the flower fields.
"don't lilies usually grow around july?" suna asked.
"from what i know, they are, but i guess today is a lucky day for us," the raven-haired girl said, watching the flowers swaying in the summer wind.
"they're beautiful, aren't they?" kiiro grinned, still eyeing the flower fields.
his gaze was drawn to her figure, and he noticed how her facial features illuminated under the sunlight. her golden eyes sparkled, her long eyelashes fluttered, her cherry lips turned up, and her shoulder-length raven hair with blonde streaks underneath flowing along the wind - everything about her fit perfectly like a puzzle.
"yeah," suna mumbled with a smile. they continued to ride along the pavement while conversing with each other until they stopped at an vacant bench to take a rest.
they parked the bicycles beside the bench as they went on a walk along the rocky path inside the flower field. they occasionally share small talk before falling silent. the atmosphere between them wasn't awkward nor suffocating, rather it was comforting.
"i haven't seen that camera," kiiro said, referring to the camera hanging on suna's neck.
the latter looked down at it and turned it on. "i just bought it months ago," he answered, taking photos of the surroundings.
kiiro nodded with a smile, continuing her stroll around the field. her golden orbs glanced everywhere until she saw familiar flowers in a distance.
"look, those are yellow lilies!" she exclaimed.
suna looked at the direction she was looking, before glancing at the excited girl beside him. "do ya' want ta' go there?" he questioned, receiving a nod as a response.
the brown-haired male didn't waste any time. he held her hand, tightly engulfing her soft one with his, as he led the way over the section where the yellow lilies resides.
"kirae!" kiiro took out her phone, starting to take photos of the yellow flowers.
meanwhile, suna watched her silently, admiring how cute and excited she was. he looked at the camera on his hand before turning in to the direction where kiiro was standing. he took multiple snaps of her while she was occupied with the flowers.
"are? what are you doing, taro?" she asked, noticing his big smile on his face.
"n-nothing," he cleared his throat, looking away in embarrassment.
suna turned his camera over to the yellow lilies in front of him then he found a ladybug resting on the petals. he zoomed in the lenses before stabilizing his hands and taking a photo.
"roki, look." he showed the photo to her, proud of his work.
her eyes widened as she clasped her hands together. "sugoi! you're so good at taking photos!" she said, causing the male to turn into a tomato with her compliment.
"can i see the other- oh, are you alright? you're red..." her brows were furrowed in concern after noticing his red face. she slightly flinched at the hotness when she cupped his red cheeks. "you're burning as well! are you feeling okay, taro? let's take a seat at the bench." and then she took him to the bench where their bicycles were parked beside.
kiiro brought out the water bottle from the string bag, opening the lid before handing it to the blushing male. suna didn't reject her offer and just took a sip from the water. his eyes were glued at his feet, not wanting to meet her golden eyes since his pounding chest might burst out any moment.
"taro," she called out, moving closer to him to check out his state. "are you okay now?" she asked, seeing that his face was turning back to his normal color.
"yeah, am good," he answered, continuously calming himself down in secrecy.
kiiro smiled before leaning back on the bench, enjoying the view in the comfortable silence. her eyes glanced at the brown-haired male beside her and then down at the flower in her hand that she picked out awhile ago. she gathered up her courage before tapping on suna's shoulder to get his attention, which she did successfully.
she handed the yellow to him. "for you." she said, puffing her cheeks out as she watched what would be his reaction.
his eyes widened by a fraction, shocked at her sudden gift giving. "a-arigatō, roki," he mumbled, taking the yellow flower from her.
she smiled and nodded, looking away. "it means thank you," kiiro said, retracted her hand to her lap, and she heard him hum in response.
both of them were engulfed in silence once again. for various reasons, neither of them were brave enough to face one another to initiate a conversation and have eye contact as they were both feeling shy.
"happiness." suna broke the silence, staring at the yellow lily as he twirled the stem in his fingers.
the sky was painted with the hues of orange, red, and violet - the sun is slowly hiding behind the horizon to take a rest. suna looked up from the flower as he swallowed his nervousness. his grayish-yellow eyes met her golden ones, and a genuine smile appeared on his lips as he let himself get entrance by her eyes.
"tis' color means happiness... you're my yellow, roki."