"Man, you gotta be kidding me...what a jerk." Natsuki mumbled to herself. She shook her head and sighed. Yuri was able to see that Natsuki was in an upset mood by the expression on her face as she was making her way over.
"Is everything alright, Natsuki? Why the long face?" Yuri asked worriedly.
"Our partner just ditched us. She said that she'd already made plans with her friends in another group. I told the teacher about it, but looks like we're on our own today."
"Ah," Yuri sighed. "Very well. It's not like we've decided on what to do anyways, so regardless, that'll be one less person to worry about in making a decision." She pointed out.
"Yeah, that's true. Well, what're you in the mood for? Some more historical stuff, I assume?" Natsuki asked, folding her arms in front of her chest.
"That would be nice. But what would interest you? I know that there's a lot of nice shops in the downtown area." Yuri brought up.
"Eh, I don't feel like shopping really. But I would like to do something in the city." Natsuki suggested.
"Of course...then I have a proposal. I have one thing that I would like to do more than anything else. And then afterwards, we'll do whatever you like." Yuri offered. Natsuki's eyes widened in surprise.
"Really? You sure?"
"I think that seems fair especially since what I want to do may be a little out of the way. Have you ever been to the palace?" She asked. Natsuki shook her head, but now her interest was piqued...
The Kyoto Imperial Palace was like a more impressive version of all of the shrines and temples they had gone to see yesterday. A huge plot of land had been dedicated to all that this landmark had to offer. It looked like they could spend a whole day just here if they really wanted to.
"Jeez, this is impressive, but I guess it was for royalty, so..." Natsuki commented, looking up at the sheer height of the main building.
"I don't want to completely overtake the day, so I'm limiting our time here to a simple tour of the grounds and a chance to walk the garden. I believe it will only take a few hours at most." Yuri summarized her simplified itinerary.
"Okay. Well I'm not gonna rush you or anything." Natsuki said in reply.
The plaza itself was so large in scope already. As they made their way inside, much like the shrines from yesterday, Yuri and Natsuki found themselves being transported back in time. It was hard not to imagine what their surroundings would have looked like centuries ago.
"Wow, I gotta hand it to you, Yuri. This was a really good choice." Natsuki said as they went on their scheduled tour. Yuri was surprised at first by Natsuki's genuine praise, but when she looked over and saw that Natsuki was taking pictures of the different rooms, she could see that she was being genuine.
"I'm glad that you're enjoying yourself as well. I've always wanted to come here so I suppose now I can cross this off of my 'bucket list'," Yuri said, making air quotes with her hands. "There's more that I would like to do here in the future, but for now this is certainly satisfying." She said with a content smile.
"I almost feel like I should be wearing a kimono just to allowed in here," Natsuki joked. "What do you suppose life was like for royalty back then?" She wondered aloud.
"I'm sure it was quite strict. There were many rules implemented on people who held royal or even just high status: you could only be seen at certain times, in certain places, wearing certain things; not to mention rules of engagement and general behavior in public and in private." Yuri expressed.
"Yeah...but you know they were getting pampered." Natsuki pointed out.
"That is a fair point. I could use some pampering myself." Yuri said with a sigh.
"Heheh, same!" Natsuki agreed with a laugh...
Once their tour of the inner rooms was finished, Yuri and Natsuki made their way to the gardens area. Once again their surroundings changed to a pristine courtyard full of greenery and other well-maintained plant life.
"Oh wow...this is like actually beautiful." Natsuki commented in astonishment.
"It is, isn't it? The pictures always make it seem so...flat." Yuri added before walking ahead of Natsuki, taking her time to look around and take in all of the scenery around them.
"I'm sure you're already thinking about your next poem now, aren't you?" Natsuki guessed with a faint chuckle.
"More than that. Think of all the rich history that likely took place here – hundreds of years back in time full of untold conversations; things we may never know about." Yuri said thoughtfully, resting a hand over her chest.
"That's...profound of you." Natsuki said in a quieter voice. She decided to quiet down and just let Yuri have her moment of inspiration.
Yuri walked ahead with her gaze transfixed on the trees above. She stepped onto a small arching bridge that went over a creak. She rested her hand on the side of the bridge and took a moment to stand there, breathing in deeply while holding still.
From Natsuki's perspective, it was hard to tell what was running through her mind. Clearly, something about this place was touching her deeply but she couldn't imagine to what extent.
Yuri then spoke in a whisper under her breath:
On the bridge of eternity I stand
Between the past and the future
Searching for my place
Somewhere in the middle
Yuri sighed to herself with a faint smile. She could already feel ideas beginning to take shape in the back of her mind. She opened her eyes to see that Natsuki was holding up her phone and taking a picture of her.
"E-Eh? Are you taking a picture of me?!" She exclaimed in surprise as her eyes widened and her face went completely pale.
"Well if you're gonna stand there praying and posing I might as well!" Natsuki said with a laugh.
"I did not consent to that!" Yuri shouted, her voice wavering somewhere between defensiveness and embarrassment.
"You will when you see the picture," Natsuki snickered. "We should've come here with the others. They would've loved this." She said with a smile.
"Ah...yeah...they probably would have...can I see the picture...?" Yuri asked with a defeated sigh.
"Sure, at the end of the day." Natsuki replied with a smug little smirk...
Once the two of them had finished up at the Palace, it was still early in the afternoon. They weren't too far from the city but they still had to think about what they would eat for lunch. As they took public transport to get downtown, Natsuki looked for what they could do next.
At first, Yuri assumed that they would stop somewhere to eat and then go on from there to whatever it was Natsuki wanted to do, as per their agreement. However, Natsuki surprised her by finding an activity to do that involved eating:
A Shiba Inu cafe.
"This cafe is supposed to have like the cutest little puppies on the planet! So we can eat and then feed and play with them!" Natsuki said with an excited grin as she closed in on the cafe, leading the way for Yuri to follow.
"That does sound nice...very cute..." Yuri thought out loud, being sure to say that last part a little quieter since she knew how Natsuki felt about being called that.
"It'll be totally fun! There it is!" Natsuki pointed it out with a gasp and hurried ahead.
"Wait, Natsuki!" Yuri quickened her pace but was unable to rush in the same manner, so by the time she caught up, Natsuki was already opening the door.
"Come on, Yuri! We're burning daylight!" Natsuki waved her inside. Yuri let out a quick forceful breath as she hurried inside.
The inside of the cafe was small and quaint, modeled almost like the inside of someone's home. A few tables had been set up against the wall, and the rest of the floor plan was left open so that the different dogs would have room to walk around and play.
"Aaah! They're so cute!" Natsuki exclaimed with an excited grin.
"Adorable...so how does this work?" Yuri asked, looking around curiously as she followed Natsuki up the counter.
"You pay by the hour to spend time with the dogs. This particular cafe also serves food, so we can eat and spend time with them for an hour after," She explained. "You think an hour will be good to start out? Well, we should eat first, shouldn't we?" Natsuki seemed to be speaking her thoughts as they were popping in her mind.
Yuri found this noteworthy. Natsuki wasn't one to usually express outward excitement so openly.
"I think we should eat first so then we can have ample energy to spend time with the dogs." Yuri suggested with a smile.
"Alright! Let's do that first then. Table for two, please." Natsuki requested.
The two of them were sat at a table where they could sit and observe the dogs without being disturbed. Natsuki watched them with a smile on her face. She seemed delighted just to be in their presence. It was funny to see her so happy about something so wholesome.
"Have you been to one of these places before, Natsuki?" Yuri asked curiously.
"No, never! But I've always wanted to! I can finally cross this off my bucket list today." She said with a happy little giggle.
"Huhuh...well I'm glad for you. I think you picked a nice little place for us to settle after all the walking we did at the Palace." Yuri said.
"Thanks!" Natsuki replied with another smile.
The two of them ordered drinks and food and got settled in their seats. As the mood relaxed, Yuri spoke up again to share an observation that had just occurred to her.
"You know...I feel like people get the general impression that we don't really get along all that well." Yuri brought up.
"Oh? Did someone say that to you recently?" Natsuki asked curiously, raising an eyebrow at her.
"Not necessarily," Yuri shook her head. "I just get a sense of that based on how the others treat us when we're together."
"Yeah, I guess we do get a little snippy sometimes when we interact. Still, that's just part of our dynamic, no?" Natsuki shrugged.
"I'm not snippy, am I?"
"Heheh, it depends," Natsuki chuckled. "Still, I don't think we're that bad. For the record, I actually think you're a very good friend." She said sincerely.
"I think that you are as well. I don't deny that we have our disagreements from time to time, but that hardly gets in the way of us being able to be close friends, nor should it." Yuri commented thoughtfully.
"I agree. If you can only be friends with people that are just like you then that really just reflects badly on you, doesn't it?" Natsuki commented with a shrug.
"Hm, I couldn't agree more." Yuri said with a little chuckle and smile.
After finishing their meal, Natsuki got right into the main attraction of the cafe. Yuri watched as she was overjoyed to play with the dogs, wanting to spend at least a little time with as many as possible. Meanwhile, Yuri found it relaxing just to sit down with one and give it more constant attention.
While she was observing, she was also able to get a good picture of Natsuki with a wide, happy smile on her face as several of the dogs surrounded her. Natsuki didn't realize until afterwards that Yuri was taking a picture of her, and she was quick to protest and become embarrassed.
However, since Natsuki had done the same thing earlier, they agreed to exchange said pictures with each other and not show the others...