The nature reserve was unruly and beautiful, overgrown and wily, knotweed reached out to caress them as they ventured along the path toward a small pond. One of the other members of the other teams was the pacemaker, leading the red-bibbed group through the trail, in-step with one of the reserve guides, a young woman called Yoshida Mai.
She had beautiful dark blue, inky hair that cascaded toward the small of her back. She, like Mr Tsukishima and Mr Shirotani, was wearing a khaki waistcoat. Hers had a few embroidered patches on it, identifying her by name, and her role. She also had one of a bird, and one of a camera on the opposite side of her waistcoat. Her name was also emblazoned on the back in big white characters like a sports jersey.
She had a khaki cap on, with the reserve insignia embroidered on its face. She had eight handmade silver bangles on her wrist and her nails were painted a beautiful shade of blue. Her eyes were lined with a smooth cats' eye, like how Fumiko did her eyeliner, and her eyelids were covered in an iridescent blue glitter. She'd painted her lips red and her perfect white teeth shone like she was the PR girl for some luxury toothpaste brand. She was bounding on ahead, like she walked this route in her sleep. Maybe she had.
Mai wore her work jacket with a white racerback tee and some beige cargo shorts, with calf-length white socks, that were a magnet for grass stains and smears of earth. Her comfortable hiking boots were splattered with dirt and grime, and a shoulder bag full of essentials hung over her left shoulder. A hefty 'Nikon' camera beat against her chest.
Occasionally, she turned to take a picture of the scenery and the teenagers climbing along the trail. They were on the highest of the trails, with the toughest terrain, thus the supplies. She was telling the group a folktale, something about magic and spirits and fish, but few, Kaho included, seemed to be listening, too busy snapping pictures, or struggling for breath. Kaho was a mix of both.
They'd taken a little break at some picnic benches about an hour earlier, near a small walkway off the designated path. It was shrouded in overgrown plants, thorns and damp earth. Mai had said there were a series of interconnected pools that looked like little ponds somewhere down there. But it was a health and safety risk to take people over there without life jackets, so despite the heat, the sweat and the burning ache in the group's shins and knees and arches, they had to continue on. Which was when Mai started telling her tale.
Kaho had paid attention at the start. Mai had a way with words, of immersing you in the story like you were really there, but as the group fractured again, she couldn't keep up with Mai or her narrative.
"Legend says if you see the fish you'll have good luck and prosperity, but if you catch the fish, you can make a wish. Eat the fish and you'll be cursed; leaving your human vessel behind and transformed into the same fish you devoured and forced to roam the pool until you too have been eaten," she grinned.
"My God you should see your face!" Mai laughed, covering her mouth as a snort bubbled up. Her face reddened but she still couldn't stop laughing. The sound carried throughout the trail, sending birds scattering. They flew overhead and weaved through the canopy to escape the sudden noise.
Mai held her hands up to the people at the front, "I swear on my Mother's life that nobody has ever eaten the fish and died."
"That you know of!" Matsushita hollered, "Sounds like some Hans Christian Anderson shit to me."
The people nearer the front laughed.
"Hey, I wouldn't mind being a mermaid if it meant being really fast and being friends with great white sharks, giant squid and jellyfish. That's cool as hell!" said one boy.
"And you'd have boobs," another laughed.
Kaho rolled her eyes, continuing to trudge up the hill. It seemed that the group was mingling well enough.
There were trail markers and maps along the path, and last time Kaho looked, they'd reached the halfway mark, and that had to have been at least half an hour ago. She for one was desperate for a cold shower, and maybe another fruit smoothie. Her stomach growled in agreement as she surveyed the group around her.
She was toward the rear of the pack, where the stragglers were. Most of the group were further ahead, but that was fine. It wasn't always about speed when it came to Taiga and training, it was about perseverance. She knew that well enough. But, she knew that not everyone else would have the patience for that. After all, they came to practice, to do drills and have fun with their teams, not be forced to walk for miles with strangers.
There were twelve other students in their hiking group from the other schools. A few had attempted conversation at the beginning, primarily with Kaho, trying their hand at clumsily flirting. She shut them all down. She was convinced that in her periphery she could see Naseru smirking, like he took some delight in watching her bat away boys who thought they could get her to think twice about her boyfriend. But maybe that was her imagination.
Her eyes flickered to the boys from her team. They hadn't stayed clustered together like she thought they would. Despite Matsushita and Captain Hirano being from the same grade, they were walking with other people from the other schools. Yamada was struggling to keep up with Matsushita, and then there was Kaho.
While Captain Hirano walked toward the front of the hiking group, red in the face and winded by the terrain, some of the others walked along the rough trail with confidence. Nobody had toppled over yet, but there had been a few near-misses, stumbles and slips during some of the steeper parts. The path wasn't just a hill, it was up and down through steep inclines and windy wooded paths.
"Hey," Captain Hirano said, glancing behind him at the group of stragglers, most were gasping for air worse than he was, aside from Naseru, who was walking as if the steepness and unsteady path was as easy to navigate as the route to school.
"Hey," he tried again, interrupting Mai's story, "Sorry, Ms Yoshida, but our teammates are struggling. Can we slow down, maybe take a water break."
She frowned, furrowing her brows and bonked herself on the head with the heel of her hand, "Sorry," she said, "I forget that I walk this route like six times a day."
"You must have incredible stamina," Hirano said, "And endurance."
She nodded and gestured to a rocky pasture up ahead. Maybe ten metres away, up a small, dusty incline, "We will take a break up there. We're almost at the descent. There's plenty of level ground and rocks to sit on."
The stragglers groaned. Kaho included. She wiped the sweat from her brow and staggered ahead, kicking up dirt under her feet. Another kid, maybe a first year from the state of his round cheeks and acne, was struggling even more than even her. He was dripping in sweat, furiously swooping his full fringe off his brow, making his haphazard shag cut look even more like bedhead. His legs were wobbling with each step. She took a deep breath and looked around her. Most of the players were all but crawling to the rest spot. All but one. She huffed.
"Matsuoka," she said, "Gimme a hand?"
He shrugged and walked to one side of the boy. Kaho put one of his arms around her shoulder. Naseru put the kid's other arm over his shoulder.
"Okay, Aigawa. On three. One. Two. Three," and together they each took a step. And another and another, until they were at the steeper incline at the end of the ten metres. Kaho's brow was dripping from the effort, the boy weighed more than he seemed to. Naseru took a deep breath and bent down.
"Aigawa, put his arms around my neck."
She did as she was told, praying the woozy kid could hold on. If he tapped out, he tapped out, but better to radio for help somewhere somewhat comfortable than at the bottom of the incline, especially since sitting on it and fighting the tilt of the earth, resisting the friction underfoot and not slipping over, would probably use more energy than climbing those last few steps.
"Almost there," Kaho said to the kid, "We'll get you a granola bar and some water. We're almost there."
The kid grunted as Naseru crested the incline. He gently set the boy down on a slimy, mossy rock and he shivered. Yoshida Mai, who had been at the front of the pack, let out a panicked shriek, reaching for a radio latched onto her belt loop.
"Base this is Mai. I'm with the Red Group on Path 3, we're at the moss mass and have a fainter. Can we get some help?"
He hadn't fainted yet, but the kid looked close to it,
Kaho squatted in front of the boy, holding the rock on either side of his skinny, knobbly knees.
"Hey, what's your name?"
"Shoji," he said, his head lolling backwards, "Am I still moving?"
"No, you're sat down nice and safe, we've got you, okay?"
"Who are you? An angel?"
Matsushita let out an amused scoff. Hirano elbowed him in the ribs.
"Not an angel," Kaho said, "But that's going to do great things for my ego. My name's Kaho. I'm from Hanagawa."
"And you carried me?" Shoji said, his voice was weak, breathy and puny.
Naseru sat beside him on the rock, as did another guy. This guy was tall and broad with dark skin and sprouting stubble. His shoulder-length hair was tied back in a ponytail with a rubber band, and a hot pink claw clip with little white hearts held it off his neck. There were pink scaly, scabby patches of eczema in the ditches of his elbows and on his kneecaps. He rubbed circles on the kid's back. Kaho's nose twitched. He stank of cologne.
"Hey Sho," the guy said.
"Captain?" Shoji asked quietly, he squinted up.
"Yeah, Kid, it's me. You got your asthma pump?"
Shoji shook his head, "I gave it to Coach for practice. I didn't even-"
"Shh. Deep breaths now, Shoji, in and out."
"Is anyone here asthmatic? We need an inhaler!" Naseru bellowed.
The group were huddled around Shoji as he rocked forward and back. Kaho held his knees, trying to keep him from falling forward. Naseru and Shoji's Captain clung to his shoulders.
A boy with gelled black hair and smeared eyeliner reached into a small, black fanny pack, buckled over his shoulders.
"I haven't needed this thing since I was nine," he said, "Thank God I brought it, huh?"
He tossed the inhaler in a perfect arc, but not in the right direction. His aim was off. Matsushita caught it as it flew toward the bushes. He handed it to Shoji's Captain. he nodded, gratefully and handed the inhaler to Shoji.
The boy took a few desperate puffs on the inhaler. He was pale, still unsteady and trembling, but he was still awake. Mai was deeper into the bushes, talking on the radio. Probably getting her head ripped off for not setting a manageable pace. Kaho didn't care.
"You're from Hanagawa, yeah?" Shoji's Captain asked, "We're from Kuroyama. I'm Captain Takahashi Isamu."
"Nice to meet you, Isamu," Kaho said, "I'm Kaho. That's Matsuoka Naseru."
"You two look dead familiar. I don't know why though," Isamu said, furrowing his brows.
Kaho shrugged, "Can't say I'm particularly remarkable."