Yukino Ritsuko looked up, able to directly see the deep night sky and the August cherry blossoms blooming under the pale blue night.
"I’ve never seen cherry blossoms in August ," she murmured.
The moon hung in the night sky, cherry blossom petals drifting down from above.
Just as Yukino Ritsuko was about to reach out to catch a petal, in an instant, more petals fell. The night sky, mountains, and earth blended into one, as if the whole world was dyed a cherry red.
In the dim candlelight, Yukino Ritsuko chased the petals with her small white hands, like a butterfly dancing in the dark night, enchanting and beautiful.
"It’s autumn," Fujiwara Reya sensed the autumn breeze.
"Really, the autumn wind is blowing. With autumn coming, what are you thinking about?"
"I want to die with a young lady."
"Die together? Is that the Mountain God’s sense of loneliness in autumn?"
"Ahem! Listen up. Cough alone!"
Fujiwara Reya laughed, "That’s the shortest haiku ever."
"Always joking to amuse me," Yukino Ritsuko turned and patted his shoulder.
Fujiwara Reya scratched her back with his fingernail.
"Ah! Don’t scratch!" She instinctively wanted to get up and avoid it, but couldn’t.
"Does it hurt or tickle?"
"It gives me goosebumps, it’s too weird!"
"I’ll scratch gently, it won’t hurt."
"Then I’ll use my teeth to bite," Fujiwara Reya lowered his head.
Yukino Ritsuko stopped moving.
Feeling the warmth of his lips, her eyes shimmered, her pretty face blushing slightly, and she pressed her lips together to hide a smile.
After a while, Fujiwara Reya lifted his head, and heard her continue talking about autumn.
"It’s only early August, but someone in Tokyo is already saying it’s autumn. They must have never seen the autumn in Hokkaido. After entering autumn, Hokkaido becomes very cold..." Perhaps the romantic cherry blossoms eased her shy feelings, Yukino Ritsuko’s voice took on a coquettish tone, mimicking the accent of a city girl in love.
Fujiwara Reya rested his chin on her shoulder.
Moonlight filtered through the petals, spilling onto her other shoulder, like silver.
"In my hometown, there’s a river..." Yukino Ritsuko leaned against him, looking up at the moon, "Every autumn, red and yellow leaves float all over the river... that view is truly beautiful."
"There must be fish in the river."
"Why are you so sure?"
"You said that where there’s water, there are fish."
"You still remember that..."
"Every word Little Xue says, I remember."
"A term of endearment."
Yukino Ritsuko shyly huddled her shoulders.
After transforming back into a human, her hair was glossy and shiny, with a fragrant aroma of spring water when wet, making Fujiwara Reya inherently perceive an enticing allure from her.
How did I only notice her foolishness before... Fujiwara Reya seriously reflected on his mistakes, then bent forward and kissed her soft lips, gently and attentively.
Yukino Ritsuko’s long eyelashes constantly fluttered, her eyes half-open, half-closed, like a quail withdrawing its head in a nest. Slowly, the slight coolness on her face gradually dissolved, turning into a shy and delicate little woman’s demeanor. After a long time, she was released, looking at Fujiwara Reya with a sweet, tired gaze.
While admiring the cherry blossoms in the night, they rubbed each other’s backs, their conversation sometimes emerging, sounding like whispers. After soaking for about half an hour, they left the bath. Although communal bathing was delightful, there were even more delightful things to do... Actually, it was mostly that Yukino Ritsuko insisted on transforming into a Snow Woman; otherwise, it would be fine in the water.
After leaving the bath, Yukino Ritsuko walked toward the clothes rack.
The moment she took a step, an icy wind blew through the air, freezing the water droplets on her smooth skin into ice crystals that fell off. Yukino Ritsuko raised her hand to pick up the prepared robe, wrapping it around her alluring body that was slightly steaming. She then loosened the bun at the back of her head, casually tying it into a high ponytail. Her swan-like graceful, snowy-white neck was hidden for just two seconds before revealing itself again.
Fujiwara Reya also put on his robe.
Yukino Ritsuko leaned back against the bedhead, her eyes half-closed in a doze.
In the night, her hair, white as snow, carried a gentle glow. She stared intently at something outside the window, seemingly lost in thought, softly humming a tune.
"Holding hands, gradually disappearing... Upon dawn’s light, disappearing without a trace... Only seeing the white pampas grass fields, truly poignant."
It sounded like a Hokkaido folk song.
After singing a part, she suddenly stood up, stepping on the white sheets.
The robe was short, and Fujiwara Reya could already see her thighs.
Yukino Ritsuko watched him expressionlessly, her wrist turned nimbly, as if starting a kind of dance. The candlelight wrapped around her legs, her calves taut, with lines that became more delicate and beautiful toward the ankles. Her feet pressed against the sheet, knees slightly bent, then gently leapt. In the moment when her robe fluttered up, it revealed her upper thighs. Above that was a faintly dark color, like the dark sky before dawn glimpsed from above.
Her whole body began to dance at this moment.
With lightly pinching fingertips, she skillfully moved behind her neck; in the candlelight, those fingertips shimmered with a faint golden hue, with the silver hair behind her head gleaming similarly. Then, gracefully poised on the tips of her toes, she spun around a few times, her hair fluttering.
Fujiwara Reya caught a glimpse of her fleetingly beautiful face.