The week of midterms was finally upon all schools in various prefectures and each student had diligently worked their way to study for the first round of the rest of their lives when it came to the third years. But for one, he was antsy but not for the success of passing midterms with flying colors. Toudou knew well that he wouldn't fail but the tests and essays were the last thing on his mind. The matter with Zhen still weighed heavily on his mind, new attempts never happening and Manami never mentioning of him being approached again to learn about Maki-chan. That alone worried him. He was a man of persistence before he got acceptance and if Zhen was anything like him, he wouldn't give in even when he didn't have all the information needed to even approach the demon on the mountain without the unfortunate end of forgetting he existed. The breach of the demon's security is what made him worry cause after the midterms, it would immediately be training for the upcoming inter-high which mean even less time to get all the way to Fuji to see and reassure the precious spider of his dreams that everything would be fine and that he would protect his secret at all costs.

So there he sat, in the midst of his Japanese history midterm, mind frazzled as he wrote correct answers without fail but on certain occasions, the slip of writing in 'Maki-chan' over the proper answer made him quickly erase it before continuing on. 'I have to focus.' He told himself mentally. Maki-chan will be fine. He handled himself for more than a good chunk of decades, there was no way some overzealous brat will get the upper hand and pull the wool over his eyes. With a smile, Toudou turned back to his work and focused.

His own insecurities still burnt a sinister hole in the back of his mind.

0

When the last of the midterms were done, Toudou left the classroom with a sigh before seeing Shinkai rounding the corner. "Ah, Shinkai..." The sprinter looked up before waving as he stepped over to him. "Just who I wanted to see. Fukutomi told me to go see everyone to give them the basic schedule for the inter-high training." he said as the two walked off. Toudou nodded and listened silently as Shinkai told him what is to be expected since he was already a valued member to the team that was slotted as their main climber. He nodded slowly at the schedule, already knowing full well that with it meant that there was no way he'd be able to break from it and go to the mountain. It made his stomach tighten but the team counted on him. Toudou thanked Shinkai as they reached their lockers and he went to put some of his things away. "Maki-chan...Please endure the time I won't be able to see you. I just hope Zhen doesn't use this opportune moment to find you." he whispered as he closed the locker.

The day after, they were on their stretch schedules to train for the inter-high, Toudou on cylinders alongside Arakita and Izumida. Fukutomi watched them in silence along with some of them underclassmen part of the cycling club but didn't make the cut for the team. Sweat drenching his face and shirt, Arakita glanced around before giving a grunt. "Where the hell is Manami?! He should be here too!" He groused. "Probably riding out Mt. Hakone again. I wouldn't expect him to stick to one place easily." Izumida commented and Arakita groaned. "That little brat...and we trust him as our second climber over Kuroda..."

"As long as he does his job, that's all that matters." Toudou spoke. After all he was with his mentor so he trusts him to be practicing his climb in preparation for the upcoming competition.

But alas, that isn't what Manami was focused on as the first year instead carried a box of manjuu on his ride to Fuji to see the charmingly shy Sakamichi. He too had his worries on the matter of Zhen but as long as he and Makishima were still in one piece then he had nothing to worry about at this very moment. Besides, if he did know they existed, it was obvious that he won't get far with the older demon without being wiped clean of his memory so they really had nothing to worry about. What he didn't know, though, is upon leaving the school, he missed the sight of Zhen stepping out from the building to see him riding off. From the get go, his intentions clear as most clubs were in full effect and being part of the cycling club and a major competition about to come up, he shouldn't be shirking from whatever inane schedule their captain had for them.

"I knew it..." he mumbled before turning back into the building.

Manami hummed softly as he rode along on his way to Mt. Fuji, smiling all the while as he easily bypassed motorists and took the time to enjoy some of the peaceful scenery. It was nice, he thought, but nothing beats the comforting warmth of the little cottage within the mountain. The trip, while taking close to an hour at best, felt like nothing to Manami as he reached the familiar drop off point. Stepping off his bike to bring over the guardrail, he led it into the forest to where the homely setting was located. From the window, Sakamichi had spotted the brilliant blue hair and gasped excitedly before running to the door, passing a curious Makishima on the way. Throwing open the door, Sakamichi smiled more.

"Manami-kun!" he called cheerfully as the other kicked the stand down and smiled. "Hope you didn't miss me long, Sakamichi-kun." Manami greeted as the smaller boy ran over to him. "Kinda...a little...a whole lot." Sakamichi admitted eventually with a soft blush. "The rainy season was such a downer cause it meant you couldn't come to visit because of the bad roads and rain." Manami chuckled and nodded. "And Toudou-san would have my head if I tried. I had to stay to prepare for the midterms or I wouldn't be able to participate in the big inter-high race." Sakamichi nodded, knowing well of Manami's love for cycling from his stories so he understood how much the big race must mean to him. "I also brought a treat for us..." he said, holding out the box of manjuu and Sakamichi's eyes widened in delight as he took the box and opened it to reveal the tiny filled desserts and took one. "And a proposal to you as well." Manami added as he took one to munch on.

Sakamichi bit into the manjuu he had in hand but looked up to show that he was listening. "Would you like to take the rare opportunity to come down the mountain and visit the nearby town? I heard it's pretty nice for locale." Manami offered as Sakamichi swallowed the bite of manjuu he had, frowning a little. "Well...I have a bit of paranoia you see...for the cities and towns...I lived up here for so long...I'm not accustomed to the modern world. The cars that drive by are bad enough since some come out of nowhere when I go to cross the main road." he murmured. Manami tutted softly as he reached out to place a hand on his shoulder. "I know the world outside your home is going to be scary but you'll have me with you every step of the way. We won't be there long if Makishima-san gives us the ok. He'd worry for you more and risk himself if I didn't bring you back in a timely manner." Manami reassured. Sakamichi pondered over the idea. To finally see what the world had become since his time was exciting and he had always been curious of the world below. But as he knew well, because of Makishima's trust in people, he wouldn't go down there with him and he definitely wouldn't make him go alone without some sort of trusted escort. And with Kinjou and the others so far away, he was left with very few options.

So Manami making him an offer he could easily refuse but didn't want to was a very hard set of choices playing out in his mind. The only worry he truly had even in the safety of Manami's care is what kind of people laid in wait. For the many, many years that have gone by, people surely had evolved from what he remembered and while there are some good ones out there like Manami-kun and Toudou-san, there are also those that Makishima spoke of that would take someone of great beauty like him and Manami wouldn't be strong enough to protect him. Even the reverse could happen and he was afraid he would fail Manami-kun cause he couldn't handle himself. Manami stayed quiet and watched as Sakamichi processed so many scenarios that could happen with their outing. He knew the boy was still concerned of the outside of his previous home but he was there and he would protect him. Not matter what sacrifices he'd make to do so. Reaching out, Manami grasped Sakamichi's hand, making him look up curiously.

"I promise...I won't let anything happen to you, Sakamichi-kun. You mean too much to me to have someone take you from me." A faint blush had crossed his cheeks at his words but trust in that Manami-kun wouldn't break those promised words, he nodded eagerly. "Ok! I really want to go down to your world! Let me go ask Makishima-san!" he said happily as Manami let go of his hand so he could run back into the house. Makishima had watched the exchange silently from the window and seeing Sakamichi's face light up, he could only guess that whatever the boy told him was exciting. Thus when Sakamichi ran inside, he looked over to him.

"What did he tell you?"

"Manami-kun wants to take me into town! Can I go, Makishima-san?"

Makishima looked crossed at the thought but the excitement on Sakamichi's face was too innocent to crush if he said no. There was a very deep part of him that felt so much would go wrong if he allowed him to go. That Manami wouldn't be able to watch Sakamichi and he gets lost or hurt or kidnapped. The latter is what he feared the most which is why he would never step out from his home in the mountains. "I can't let you go out there..." he began, watching Sakamichi's face fall greatly and he raised a hand. "Til I get a solemn oath from Manami himself. Come along." he said as he went to step outside with Sakamichi quickly following behind. Manami looked up and straightened himself when Makishima approached him. "So, you want to bring Sakamichi down into town, do you?"

"Yes sir."

"You know how I feel about the towns and the people that reside there, right?"

"Yes sir."

"So then...can I trust you with your very life that Sakamichi will be safe and unhurt and return back to me? He is like a son to me and the last thing I want is for him to be lost from me completely."

Manami gave a nod as he placed a hand over his heart. "I swear to you, Makishima-san, that Sakamichi-kun will be safe in my hands and returned to you with nary a scratch on him. I just want him to see things from my world. Not enough that he would consider leaving you, never that, but just a glimpse of what has changed since his time." he said as he bowed low to the older demon. Makishima folded his hands into the sleeves of his yukata as he processed this. He could tell his words were sincere and he would indeed keep Sakamichi safe. Not to mention that this would be the means to prove to Sakamichi of whether Manami would be a suitable partner when the decision to grant him his pact came along as he had discussed before. Closing his eyes, he came to his conclusion. "Then with your words as our contract, I allow Sakamichi to go down into town with you."

"Really?!" Sakamichi squeaked and Makishima nodded. Bouncing in place and unable to respond, Sakamichi could only run forward to give Makishima a hug and he stroked his short-cropped hair. "Just have him back before nightfall since you travel by bike and your hometown can't be easy to get to." Manami nodded before going to tap Sakamichi's shoulder. "Let's go. We won't have a lot of time but luckily, I have a place picked out we can go to." Sakamichi nodded, passing off the box of manjuu to Makishima before the two ran off back into the forest where Manami's bike waited. Makishima watched the two run off and he sighed softly as he closed his eyes. Slight movement in the waves running down his back revealed his dear familiar Mari there, her small body moving to his shoulder and mandibles clicking softly. "I know...but I trust him. He has a big heart. Not the most trust in nature since I feel there is more he hides til he reaches that boiling point but for the safety of Sakamichi, I believe in him to do what he must to protect him." He spoke before turning to head back into the house to fix himself a soothing cup of tea since he had the place to himself. Also the manjuu looked inviting and he didn't mind having one for himself.

With the two, they reached where Manami settled his bike and Sakamichi gasped as he looked over the foreign transport curiously. Walking over, he placed a hand on the cool metal, completely in awe. "This is your chariot? It's so small." He whispered. "Small but fast. This is what we call a road racer. Different from the cars you see but just as fast as them. The best thing about them is that you have no walls or a roof over it. You can feel the wind in your hair as you climb the hills or ride the flats. It's a really great feeling and I love it each time I go climb Mt. Hakone." Sakamichi hung onto his every word, starry-eyed as he imagined himself in Manami's position despite his clear inexperience of riding such a thing. "I know that feeling so well! I love having the wind blow through my hair as I run through the forest when I go to forage!" Manami nodded and smiled as he kicked up the stand and walked over to the guardrail. "Then let me pose a question to you, Sakamichi-kun. Think you can run like the wind and keep up with me as we head downhill?" he asked, bringing the bike over and setting it on the paved street. Sakamichi giggled as he leapt over the guardrail and answered happily that he could. "Then let's up the stakes with a race. The thrill of the descent that is so smooth to your tired muscles is just as good as the climb." Sakamichi nodded to the request as the two moved to the other side to match incoming traffic as they head down and Manami climbed onto his bike and smiled to him. "Ready, Sakamichi-kun?"

"Ready as I'll ever be!"

"Then ready...go!"

Clicking his shoes in place, Manami was off and with a laugh, Sakamichi was running off right behind him. Manami had a bit of distance ahead of him but that didn't deter Sakamichi in the slightest as he picked up the pace. After some time, Manami glanced back to see where Sakamichi was and laughed when he found the other closing in to take place beside him. "Your cadence is absolutely amazing, Sakamichi-kun! And you haven't tripped once!" Manami spoke over the wind that tried to drown out his voice at the speed they were going. "I had plenty of practice, Manami-kun!" Sakamichi replied. Manami laughed and promised great things when they reached the base of the mountain and make their way to Gotemba, a town famous for its premium outlets of various stores all over Japan. Sakamichi nodded to the idea before, to Manami's amazement, he took off ahead of him. Grinning a little, he shifted his gear to catch up. There was hardly a car on the road as they had their race so the sight of having a smaller male running up against a road racer down the incline of Mt. Fuji wasn't a sight to be seen and boggled on by the general public. Soon, the upcoming flat roads hidden by the sparse trees began to appear and Sakamichi gave a happy cheer as he landed first onto the flats and looked back to Manami as he rolled to a quick stop beside him.

"I won, Manami-kun! I actually won! I can't believe it!" he gasped, chest heaving but a wide smile crossing his face. "You did indeed. I'm actually a little shocked but this was a fun run so I have no reason to feel disappointed. Actually, I'm fairly proud of you for your first race." Manami said with a smile. Sakamichi blushed at the praise, tenting his fingers which made the other chuckle. "I promise though, on the way back up, we'll tie." Sakamichi nodded as Manami waved for him to follow as they continued on their way to Gotemba. As more things were opened to his sight, Sakamichi was in awe, observing every little thing around him and trying to burn it all to memory of the rare chance given to him. A few times his pace lagged and Manami had to call him to get him to catch up again. By the time they got to Gotemba, Sakamichi was floored by the tall buildings of concrete and the many people walking about. Some were in normal everyday clothes, others a little more flashy or formal business attire. Sakamichi continued to look around as Manami climbed off his bike. "Come. Let's go to the visiting center. Aside from the outlets, they also have fun attractions here too." Sakamichi nodded as he went to follow the other. As Manami set his bike into a bike rack, Sakamichi continued to look around in awe before Manami's movement caught his attention. "Ready?" Sakamichi nodded eagerly and when Manami held a hand out to him, he took it and followed him. Their first stop was a visitation center that held plenty of brochures and directories to the various places Gotemba held.

"See? They have outlet malls with so many things for you to see. And to have something to remember the trip with, I'll buy you one thing that really catches your fancy." Sakamichi's eyes shone with delight and he nodded quickly to the offer. "Yes please!" Manami smiled before taking one of the pamphlets and they were off to explore. Sakamichi took most of the lead as he dragged Manami along as he looked into each store curiously to see what they had and what was different from the thing he remembers of his time. When something generally has Sakamichi confused of its purpose, Manami was there to explain it for him much to his delight as well. He was learning so much and couldn't be more grateful not only to Manami for coming up with the idea for to Makishima for allowing him to chance to come down from the mountain. As they walked to see to another store before breaking to get some food, a very familiar tune had caught Sakamichi's attention and he turned to look for it. This caught Manami's attention as he looked to him.

"Something wrong?"

"No...nothing's wrong. But that tune...I know it."

With that, Sakamichi had started off and Manami was quick to follow so he wouldn't get lost. He really valued his life and he didn't want to become spider food if Sakamichi got hurt. Eventually, the diminutive boy stopped before a display, the music blaring out from two speakers as a television mounted there was showing off ads of products for the ever-popular Love Hime that was sold at the shop. Sakamichi's eyes glistened behind his glasses as he looked to the television and Manami stopped beside him. "Oh, so this is what caught your attention. Have you got around to hearing about it?" he questioned and the boy shook his head. "I have heard this song before from one of the cars that drove through the mountain. It was so catchy that I began to hum to it but only knew of so little." he explained before turning to Manami. "Oh ho, and since you could never leave the mountain without an escort, you could never find the source." Seeing that Sakamichi's attention was wholly on the display, humming now to the full song that he was finally able to hear as he watched the bubbly heroine do her job, Manami smiled before getting an idea and stepped to Sakamichi's side. "Hey, Sakamichi-kun, I have an idea for you." He began, catching his attention as he turned to the other boy.

"What is it, Manami-kun?"

"Since you're already in so deep after watching a few minutes and listening to this little theme song here, how about I get a portable DVD player and the DVDs of this series so you can watch it when I visit?" Manami suggested. Sakamichi couldn't even reply as he was too speechless of Manami's generosity to indulge in his newfound interests. "R-really? You'd do that for me...?"

"Of course. You really like this show and it wouldn't be fair if you'll never hear anything of it ever again after today." Rendered to nothing but a sputtering mess, Sakamichi could only now in deep regards to Manami while thanking him profusely. Manami laughed softly. "So cute. Now raise your head, Sakamichi-kun, you still have to pick out something you like that you want to take back with you." Sakamichi did indeed raise his head and clapped as he ran into the store with Manami close behind. It took them a bit as the store had plenty of Love Hime merchandise but eventually, Sakamichi had found something he really liked. It was a simple keychain with the main heroine pictured on the hard plastic. While of course the other would have no sort of keys to use where he lived, Manami couldn't say no. So he purchased the keychain and Sakamichi was giddier than a schoolgirl as he held the item close. "Thank you, Manami-kun!" he said as he looked to the other. "It was nothing, Sakamichi-kun." he replied as they left the store to explore more.

Back in Hakone, after practice, Toudou decided to take a small visit back home to Toudou-An. His muscles were screaming and a nice dip in their precious hot springs was a delight he wanted to indulge in for a bit. He greeted his mother when he walked in and his sister upon passing the kitchen. Changing in the changing room and grabbing his towels, he stepped out into the private spring that was reserved for the owners to avoid the usual cacophony of their guests. As he bathed in the warm waters, he was left to his thoughts. Various ones came to mind; the inter-high, finals and especially, his dearest Maki-chan. He really wanted to visit the beautiful demon again before schoolwork and the inter-high took over his time but even so, the time he could spare still isn't enough. To travel so far right after practice was pushing it and even if he could have the gracious honor of staying overnight, then it was about waking up much earlier than his eight hours of beauty rest would allow just to get back to town and get ready for school. He sighed, sinking further into the water. But while his desires to visit was at an all-time high, there was still the pit that weighed heavily in his stomach that the time away would lead to something terrible.

"But...I suppose all I can do is keep my head up. I will take this secret to my grave and never put Maki-chan in danger. I promised myself that since our first meeting."

With that in mind, he shoved his worries into a box and enjoyed the rest of his soak. Toudou had no doubts his sister will shove dinner at him before he could head back to his dorm so he couldn't stick around in the spring for too long.

But of course, while Toudou decided to bury his worries, they would be on the rise once more...if he only knew.

0

"Perfect...absolutely perfect..." A voice commented, a corkboard before the shadowed figure. Tacked to that very corkboard was a menagerie of things. From delicately written lists to crossed out post-its, each detail was meticulous in planning to get the overall prize. That prize that this one person desired, a legend that he was soon going to oust to the public but keeping the best of spoils for himself...the iridescent spirit of Mt. Fuji.

"And soon...you will be mine. And this perfect piece, this dastardly plan is all I need. To capture you and make sure the closest thing you trust to be invalid will remove all my obstacles." Zhen whispered, sharp grin pulling across his face as he tugged down the one sheet with the only thing he needed. Now all he had to do was wait for the perfect moment, the best time where no one could follow. With his connections, school meant nothing so a day missed to capture the illustrious demon of the mountain will be well worth the truancy.

"You can't fool me forever, Jinpachi. This is where your close guard will fail you..." he whispered and chuckled deeply, the page clenched tight in his hand.