Chapter 43: Strawberry Hug on the Snow
“Hold the boards in a figure of eight and ski slowly. You’ll be fine. Just follow my instructions below and you’ll be able to slow down.”
“Oh, oh, … I know. Slide in a figure of an S-shape. When stopping, strongly pull inwards. Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Fufu. There’s nothing to be nervous about. If you get scared, fall backward from the waist down. Don’t panic if you go too fast. Okay?”
I nodded my head in agreement, but even though the course was gentle enough for beginners, it was still scary. But Kaede-sensei put on her goggles and dashingly slid off. Wow, it’s a two-plank-slide with her legs nicely aligned. [TL: When the planks are parallel to each other, I think.] Kaede’s wind-swept descent was very cool, to say the least.
“Yu-ya—kun! Please come this far~!”
Seriously? You’ve reached the bottom in no time at all, Kaede. She was smiling and waving at me, but to be honest, I’m really embarrassed. Because all eyes were focused on me.
There were a lot of families on this slope. And this was a beginner’s course. So inevitably, the age range was low.
“Yuya—kun? What’s wrong~? Hur~ry~ u~p~!”
Kaede-sensei, please don’t humiliate me anymore. See, all the parents and children around me are looking at me with smiling faces. Ugh, I’m scared but I have to go!
I felt like an ace pilot of the Air Force. After shouting the word ‘Go.’ loudly in my mind, I glided down the slope with hesitation.
“Keep it up! Yuya-kun, you’re good!”
Are you sure, sensei!? Are you really sure I’m skiing well? My stance is awkward, and I can only go straight ahead. Well, when you want to turn, you just put the foot opposite the direction you want to turn in front of you, right? Or were you supposed to put your weight on the opposite foot to the one you want to turn? Until you get used to it, let’s try to put your foot forward in a straightforward manner. So I put my left foot forward first.
“That’s good! I’m turning to the right! Now try turning to the left!”
All right, sensei. If you want to turn left, put your right foot forward. Oh, it’s so easy to change directions!
“Hahaha! It’s surprisingly easy to turn! I think I can handle this, Kaede!”
I have to confess that I’m getting a bit carried away with the fact that I was able to ski so well for the first time. I was able to turn left and right, so I tried to go faster and leaned forward as I had seen in the tutorial video.
“—Yuya-kun! No, it’s dangerous!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine! It’s gonna be okay!”
Let’s conclude. There was nothing I could do about it. As soon as I leaned forward, the speed accelerated rapidly. I panicked and put too much pressure on my legs and I found myself turning to the left. Kaede’s goal was just around the corner, but at the same time the safety net was closing in. Kaede was shouting something, but I couldn’t hear her.
“Uwaah—!!”
“Yuya-kun—!!”
At a reasonable speed, I plunged into the net and fell into the snow. Luckily, the snow-covered ground was as soft as fresh snow, so it didn’t hurt at all. [TL: Hmm… yes, the snow is made out of snow.]
I tried to sit up, but the board was in the way and I couldn’t get up. I was about to wave to Kaede, who was desperately calling my name, to let her know I was okay, when…
“Yuya-kun—!”
“—Kaede!?”
The next thing I knew, Kaede was running up the slope and jumping into my chest. I was able to hold on to her, but thanks to her I was buried in the snow again.
“Mou! Why did you try to go faster!? What if you got hurt!?”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure I could handle it…”
“Yuya-kun, you baka…”
Finally, she muttered weakly and nuzzled her face into my chest. It was a disaster. Families were smiling at me, boys from my school who were waiting for the lift were trying to kill me, and girls were blushing and cheering in support.
“Ah…, Kaede. It’s time to get up, otherwise you’ll disturb the others. Can you move away from me…?”
“… No, I won’t. I’m not leaving.”
“Please, don’t be selfish. I promise I won’t do this again. Let me go for now. I’ll give you a big hug when I get home.”
As I said this, I patted Kaede on the head. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable hugging her in public, but I think I could handle this at home. It’s not bad at all to be in close contact with Kaede on the snow, and I’d rather not be separated from her, but I’m at the end of my rope.
“Don’t forget what you just said…, okay? When I get home, I’m going to need you to cuddle me and stroke my head until I’m satisfied, okay? That’s a promise. If you break it, you will suffer from a thousand needles, okay?”
“Oh, a man never backs out from his word. So get up. Stand up, please.”
‘It couldn’t be helped then’, she said, her cheeks reddening as she stood up and reached out her hand to me. It was a little embarrassing, but I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. Thanks to this, I was able to get up without any problems.
It was time to get back on track and go skiing again. In the afternoon we would try the intermediate course.
“It’s time to get back into the game and go skiing again. In the afternoon we’ll try the intermediate course!”
“The intermediate course is supposed to be steep, right? Even if I’m careful not to slide too fast, I’m sure I’ll tumble spectacularly…”
“If you fall, I can legally hug Yuya-kun again, so please fall a lot. Oh, and of course, as long as it doesn’t worry me, okay? Please don’t do anything else like you did earlier, okay?”
That’s absurd, Kaede-sensei. I’m sure that every time I fall, you’ll come running to me with blood in your hands. In this case, it’s nice to be worried for me, but it’s hard to reason with you hugging me every time. I never know when I might have to hug you back. That’s for tonight—
“Don’t be shy, Yuya-kun, you can hug me too, you know? Fufu~.”
She whispered in my ear and then dashed down the slope. Needless to say, all at once, my cheeks heated up while I vowed to get even tonight.
Chapter 43: Strawberry Hug on the Snow
“Hold the boards in a figure of eight and ski slowly. You’ll be fine. Just follow my instructions below and you’ll be able to slow down.”
“Oh, oh, … I know. Slide in a figure of an S-shape. When stopping, strongly pull inwards. Yeah, I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Fufu. There’s nothing to be nervous about. If you get scared, fall backward from the waist down. Don’t panic if you go too fast. Okay?”
I nodded my head in agreement, but even though the course was gentle enough for beginners, it was still scary. But Kaede-sensei put on her goggles and dashingly slid off. Wow, it’s a two-plank-slide with her legs nicely aligned. [TL: When the planks are parallel to each other, I think.] Kaede’s wind-swept descent was very cool, to say the least.
“Yu-ya—kun! Please come this far~!”
Seriously? You’ve reached the bottom in no time at all, Kaede. She was smiling and waving at me, but to be honest, I’m really embarrassed. Because all eyes were focused on me.
There were a lot of families on this slope. And this was a beginner’s course. So inevitably, the age range was low.
“Yuya—kun? What’s wrong~? Hur~ry~ u~p~!”
Kaede-sensei, please don’t humiliate me anymore. See, all the parents and children around me are looking at me with smiling faces. Ugh, I’m scared but I have to go!
I felt like an ace pilot of the Air Force. After shouting the word ‘Go.’ loudly in my mind, I glided down the slope with hesitation.
“Keep it up! Yuya-kun, you’re good!”
Are you sure, sensei!? Are you really sure I’m skiing well? My stance is awkward, and I can only go straight ahead. Well, when you want to turn, you just put the foot opposite the direction you want to turn in front of you, right? Or were you supposed to put your weight on the opposite foot to the one you want to turn? Until you get used to it, let’s try to put your foot forward in a straightforward manner. So I put my left foot forward first.
“That’s good! I’m turning to the right! Now try turning to the left!”
All right, sensei. If you want to turn left, put your right foot forward. Oh, it’s so easy to change directions!
“Hahaha! It’s surprisingly easy to turn! I think I can handle this, Kaede!”
I have to confess that I’m getting a bit carried away with the fact that I was able to ski so well for the first time. I was able to turn left and right, so I tried to go faster and leaned forward as I had seen in the tutorial video.
“—Yuya-kun! No, it’s dangerous!”
“I’m fine, I’m fine! It’s gonna be okay!”
Let’s conclude. There was nothing I could do about it. As soon as I leaned forward, the speed accelerated rapidly. I panicked and put too much pressure on my legs and I found myself turning to the left. Kaede’s goal was just around the corner, but at the same time the safety net was closing in. Kaede was shouting something, but I couldn’t hear her.
“Uwaah—!!”
“Yuya-kun—!!”
At a reasonable speed, I plunged into the net and fell into the snow. Luckily, the snow-covered ground was as soft as fresh snow, so it didn’t hurt at all. [TL: Hmm… yes, the snow is made out of snow.]
I tried to sit up, but the board was in the way and I couldn’t get up. I was about to wave to Kaede, who was desperately calling my name, to let her know I was okay, when…
“Yuya-kun—!”
“—Kaede!?”
The next thing I knew, Kaede was running up the slope and jumping into my chest. I was able to hold on to her, but thanks to her I was buried in the snow again.
“Mou! Why did you try to go faster!? What if you got hurt!?”
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to make sure I could handle it…”
“Yuya-kun, you baka…”
Finally, she muttered weakly and nuzzled her face into my chest. It was a disaster. Families were smiling at me, boys from my school who were waiting for the lift were trying to kill me, and girls were blushing and cheering in support.
“Ah…, Kaede. It’s time to get up, otherwise you’ll disturb the others. Can you move away from me…?”
“… No, I won’t. I’m not leaving.”
“Please, don’t be selfish. I promise I won’t do this again. Let me go for now. I’ll give you a big hug when I get home.”
As I said this, I patted Kaede on the head. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable hugging her in public, but I think I could handle this at home. It’s not bad at all to be in close contact with Kaede on the snow, and I’d rather not be separated from her, but I’m at the end of my rope.
“Don’t forget what you just said…, okay? When I get home, I’m going to need you to cuddle me and stroke my head until I’m satisfied, okay? That’s a promise. If you break it, you will suffer from a thousand needles, okay?”
“Oh, a man never backs out from his word. So get up. Stand up, please.”
‘It couldn’t be helped then’, she said, her cheeks reddening as she stood up and reached out her hand to me. It was a little embarrassing, but I grabbed her hand and she pulled me up. Thanks to this, I was able to get up without any problems.
It was time to get back on track and go skiing again. In the afternoon we would try the intermediate course.
“It’s time to get back into the game and go skiing again. In the afternoon we’ll try the intermediate course!”
“The intermediate course is supposed to be steep, right? Even if I’m careful not to slide too fast, I’m sure I’ll tumble spectacularly…”
“If you fall, I can legally hug Yuya-kun again, so please fall a lot. Oh, and of course, as long as it doesn’t worry me, okay? Please don’t do anything else like you did earlier, okay?”
That’s absurd, Kaede-sensei. I’m sure that every time I fall, you’ll come running to me with blood in your hands. In this case, it’s nice to be worried for me, but it’s hard to reason with you hugging me every time. I never know when I might have to hug you back. That’s for tonight—
“Don’t be shy, Yuya-kun, you can hug me too, you know? Fufu~.”
She whispered in my ear and then dashed down the slope. Needless to say, all at once, my cheeks heated up while I vowed to get even tonight.
