Dedicated to these wonderful tumblr users: nicomaki-trashblog, nicotachi, nishiklno, and rectumlord. Fantastic people. I honestly have a lot of respect for each and every one of them. So naturally I wrote them some RinMaki.

Maki wasn't sure why she agreed to do it. Sure, her pride had been on the line, and nothing messed with Maki's pride, but in retrospect it probably still wasn't the best reason to agree to a snowboarding race, of all things, with a girl she'd only known for about an hour.

She followed the aforementioned girl to the lift, clumsily dragging her snowboard behind her and praying to every god she knew that she wouldn't fall down and make a fool of herself. Rin, walking across the snow with practiced ease, babbled on, completely unaware of the redhead's struggle.

"I really had no idea you were a pro snowboarder!" Rin was saying, turning around briefly to flash a dazzling grin. "I've always wanted to race against one! This is gonna be great!"

"Yeahh," Maki muttered in return and left it at that.

They reached the line shortly, Rin still talking a mile a minute and Maki ignoring her in favor of making sure she didn't trip over her own board. Things were a little better when they actually got to the lift - Maki managed to sit down on the moving bench without too much trouble, and with the safety bar secured she resolved to enjoy her last few moments of dignity around Rin.

"So how long does it take to become a pro?"

"Oh, you know… a while…."

"I bet! When did you start?"

"A… young age…." Maki scrambled for an answer. "I've been coming to this mountain since before I can remember." It wasn't a complete lie, at least.

"Wow! I've been coming to this mountain since I was tiny, too! I can't believe we've never met before."

"Haha. Yeah. Weird."

Rin stretched out her legs comfortably, taking in a deep breath. Her gaze wandered to the hills, eyes gleaming when she saw the skiers and snowboarders passing underneath. A smile spread on her face, likely unconsciously, and she leaned back with the most content expression Maki had ever seen.

You sure like this place, don't you? Maki bit her tongue before she could ask such a stupid question.

And then Rin turned to her again with that same dumb, oblivious grin, and Maki tried to pretend she hadn't been staring. The awe and excitement that had been on Rin's face when Maki had first spoken to her was gone, and now there was only genuine warmth and friendliness.

"Thanks for agreeing to race with me. I love snowboarding, but it's more fun to do it with a friend, don't you think?"

Maki couldn't remember the last time anyone her age had looked at her like that. Her breath caught, and she suddenly realized just how long she'd been gazing at this girl with her mouth open like an idiot.

"Y-yeah," she muttered, abruptly turning away as much as she could on the seat and instinctively reaching up to tug at a strand of hair. "Having friends is… good." She mentally applauded her spectacular eloquence.

"It really is!" Rin either didn't notice or didn't care. She scooted over and nudged Maki amicably. "Hey, afterwards do you wanna get hot chocolate? It's the best after spending a lot of time out here!"

Maki stiffened at the sudden contact and almost jumped out of the lift at the offer. "H-hot chocolate?" she repeated dumbly.

"Yeah! Loser buys?" Rin suggested.

Maki hesitated briefly, and then shrugged and nodded. Her family owned the lodge anyway - she wouldn't really be spending any money in the end. And besides, maybe hot chocolate would be enough to keep Rin from laughing at her too much after the race.

They reached the top of the mountain a couple minutes afterwards, and Maki somehow made it to the edge of the slope, clipping her free boot to the board and trying not to hyperventilate. Rin's actions were fluid and graceful as she did the same, years of practice translating perfectly with her every move.

With a small salute, Rin called, "See ya on the other side then!" and just like that she was gone.

Maki watched her zoom down the hills, weaving skillfully around trees and people alike. There was an odd sort of beauty to it, even as her figure became smaller and smaller with each passing second. After a few moments, Maki paused. Glanced around. Looked down again. Rin was out of sight.

Now or never, she supposed, and pushed off.

It went terribly.

Maki made it about two feet before falling flat on her face and rolling the rest of the way.

Maki sprawled out on the snow spread-eagle style, barely even caring that she was currently very much an obstacle on the course and inconveniencing everyone else. Hey, maybe if she was lucky she'd get run over and hospitalized and never have to see Rin ever again.

Rolling on to her back, she squinted at the cloudless sky. Her goggles had slipped off at some point during her tumble and she doubted she'd be able to find them again. Not that it mattered - she wouldn't be needing them, not after she changed her name and moved to another country and destroyed all memory of her life in Japan.

She was just planning out the details of her escape when she noticed the crunch of boots against snow, growing louder and louder as the wearer approached, and a moment later Rin appeared in her peripheral, crouching down and leaning over her body questioningly. Rin's snowboard, stuck firmly in the ground, stood straight behind her.

Maki resisted the urge to pull her hat over her eyes. "Hi," she stated dully.

"Hey," Rin returned. She grinned, and Maki braced herself for the inevitable teasing, but all Rin did was stand up and offer a hand. Maki accepted it with a hint of reluctance, and it was only when she was properly standing and brushing the snow off her clothes that Rin asked, "You're not actually a pro, are you?"

Maki refrained from rolling her eyes. "No, Rin. I am not."

"I see." Rin blinked, apparently still processing the information. Maki shifted uncomfortably, and then yelped when the snowboard still attached to her foot slipped. Rin grabbed her arm in a flash, smiling shakily once Maki had regained her balance. "Ehehe… Maybe I should've realized it sooner," she admitted sheepishly.

"It's not your fault," Maki mumbled. She dropped her gaze, hoping the redness of her cheeks would be attributed to the cold rather than anything else. When Rin didn't respond, she shook her head and muttered, "Whatever. I'll just… You know. Go."

"E-eh? Already?" The thought of Maki leaving seemed to jolt a reaction out of Rin, as the orange-haired girl suddenly started frantically digging into the coats of her jacket. "Hang on a sec! I, uh… I have… Ah! This!" With a triumphant beam, Rin held out a pair of red-and-black goggles, and Maki grimaced when she recognized them as hers. "I found them when I was looking for you! This is a really good brand so make sure you don't leave them behind or anything."

Maki stared at the offered item for a moment and then shrugged. "It's fine. You can keep them."

"What?"

"I mean, I'm not a real snowboarder anyway. There's no point in me having them." Maki made to turn away but froze when she heard a snort behind her. Whipping around again, her eyes narrowed at the sight of Rin covering her mouth. Maki scowled. "What?"

Rin sniggered, hiding it poorly behind a gloved hand as she responded, "Maki-chan, you really don't make sense sometimes."

"Wha-? What's that supposed to mean? You barely know me anyway!"

"I mean what I said!" Rin insisted with a laugh. She punched Maki's shoulder lightly, looking at the other girl with an almost unbearably fond expression. "Snowboarding is fun. You can't give it up now. Let me teach you."

Maki gaped. "Teach me?"

"Under my tutelage, you'll be a real pro in no time!" Rin pounded her chest enthusiastically.

"I don't even-! But you-! Why would you even want to?" Maki spluttered out before she could stop herself.

At that, Rin paused, tilting her head questioningly as though she hadn't even considered that. Her uncertainty was short-lived, however, and within seconds she was grinning again as she answered honestly, "Because I like you!"

Maki was pretty sure her face alone could melt all the surrounding snow at that moment.

In contrast, Rin didn't seem fazed in the least. The mountain sun shone in her eyes, bright and determined, and she asserted, "I want to share these slopes with you, Maki-chan. And someday, I'd like to race you for real."

"You…" Maki shook her head in disbelief. "You really know how to say embarrassing things without shame, at least."

"So I've been told," Rin replied cheerfully. She flashed a peace sign and then suddenly perked up, raising her arm in excitement as she exclaimed, "Oh yeah, I almost forgot! You owe me a hot chocolate date, too!"

"A- a what?"

Rin pouted. "That was our deal, wasn't it? No offense, Maki-chan, but I kinda think you might've lost this one."

"Well, I-! I mean, yeah, but-." Maki forced herself to pause before she could spit out any more incoherent sentences. She frowned. "Geez, just don't use confusing language like that."

Without warning, Rin launched herself at Maki and latched onto her arm ecstatically. "It's fine~ don't worry about it!"

"I-it's not like I'm worrying-!"

"Hey, Maki-chan, do you like marshmallows with your hot chocolate?" Rin peered up at her curiously.

Maki made a valiant effort not to look into those wide, yellow-green eyes and found herself failing miserably. "They're alright, I guess-."

"What about whipped cream? Chocolate powder? Ooh! What about both?"

"You're not even listening, are you…."

Honestly, at the end of the day, Maki did know why she agreed to that race hours ago.

She'd kind of really wanted to impress that cute girl with the snowboard in the lobby of the lodge.