Satisfied with our fortunes, we started the descent toward Yotsutsuji to have lunch before continuing down. Different route from the climb, but apparently it would loop us back fine.
“After Fushimi Inari we’re just heading home — kind of bittersweet.”
“Yeah, Kyoto isn’t somewhere you visit often, so more so.”
“These three days flew by.”
“Right? They say time goes fast when you’re enjoying yourself, evidently true.”
“I wish regular school days felt that fast.”
I had thanked them yesterday too, but I genuinely owed Reona and Riona for making this the best school trip of my life. The idea of enjoying a school trip would have been unthinkable to me a few months ago.
It was so fun that the prospect of returning to normal school life on Monday was depressing. Pre-trip, the trip itself had been the source of dread. Things had inverted.
We reached Yotsutsuji and entered a tea house. Ordered food.
“Going down is easier than going up, but walking is walking.”
“Long way to go still.”
“Refuel here, energy for the descent.”
“Yeah, once we hit the bottom it’s bus and Shinkansen, hold it together.”
We chatted while eating. Window seat with nice view — bonus.
After lunch we descended, taking breaks and photos. Got back to the main shrine in about an hour.
“Plenty of time, but should we just head to the bus?”
“Wait — I want to buy a charm first.”
“There’s a charm Nee-chan and I agreed to get at Fushimi Inari.”
“Sure, time’s plenty.”
We went to the charm counter. They picked up Myōbu Enmusubi-mamori — card-style charms.
“Matchmaking charms. The word myōbu — unfamiliar — what’s it mean?”
“Myōbu means fox attendant of the Inari god and also wife.”
“The Myōbu Enmusubi-mamori is reputed to be the most powerful good-relationship-bringing charm — write your name and your desired partner’s name on the back.”
After explaining, they bought the charms and started writing the back-side names.
What kind of person was each of them trying to forge a connection with? I was curious, but reading their writing would have been unspeakably low. I didn’t.
Reona-and-Riona-tier girls would be writing the name of some superstar, the natural enemy of an introvert like me. Real irritation rose. Normies of the world — all of you, please explode.
We got back to the bus right before the deadline. The headcount completed, the bus departed for Kyoto Station.
“Crush talk, round two?”
“You ran me through so many of those over the past few days — please give me a break.”
“All right, fine. Riona’s tired too, so I’ll let you off this time.”
Riona had collapsed onto my shoulder and was breathing deeply, out cold. Earlier on the climb she’d said a week’s worth of fatigue; she’d hit the ceiling.
With her tag-team partner offline, Reona had relented. But one phrase she’d used caught my attention.
”…This time? Meaning — you’re planning to do it again?”
“Of course. Don’t know when, but look forward to it.”
“You serious…”
If Reona insisted, I was going to get dragged into it again. I might be developing crush-talk PTSD. At least I knew it wouldn’t happen during the rest of the trip. Small mercies.