Arisukawa and Aoi Keisuke were each lying on their own beds, sleeping peacefully, but still holding each other's hands together.
The moon has moved to the other side, and the moonlight cannot shine into the room through the window, so it looks very dark.
The footsteps and conversations of hikers can be heard from time to time outside the mountain hut, but once you get used to it, it won't feel noisy anymore.
Arisukawa slept deeply because he had exceeded the standard of exercise today - not only did he go for a morning run with Aoi Keisuke, but he also took a long-distance bus and climbed half of Mount Fuji.
At one o'clock, the alarm clock on the phone rang on time.
Aoi Keisuke woke up first. He sat up, turned off the alarm, and gently put Arisukawa's hand back into the quilt.
Just when he was about to wake up Arisukawa, he paused and his eyes fell on the girl's peaceful sleeping face.
He reached out his hand, gently touched Arisukawa's cheek with his fingertips, carefully brushed the girl's cherry-like lower lip, and finally smoothed the bangs on her forehead.
Qing Keisuke stood up and sat by the window, calling Arisukawa's name.
"Um……"
The girl turned over lazily: "Qinggui-kun?"
"It's time to get up, Arisukawa."
"Is it dawn yet?"
Arisukawa asked with his eyes closed.
"Yes, Mount Fuji erupted."
"……Um?!"
The girl quickly woke up and then glared at him angrily.
Qing Keisuke laughed heartily, raised his hands in surrender, turned around, opened the door and left, leaving the girl enough private space to get ready while he went to the public area to wash up.
The mountain hut is still busy at this time - many climbers also choose this time to continue climbing.
This month now, you can see the sunrise from the top of Mount Fuji around 5:10.
Climbers who repair at the seventh station need to climb the final third station within four hours to catch the sunrise at the top of the mountain.
Of course, because the altitude is high enough, you can still see a very magnificent sunrise even if you don't climb to the top of the mountain.
Qing Keisuke waited in the front hall for a while, and soon saw the girl who had also washed herself in the corridor.
"Let's have some midnight snack before leaving."
The mountain house only provides one meal, and you need to pay extra for late-night snacks, and the menu options are very simple - instant noodles, bread and various portable foods to replenish energy.
The two bought two buckets of instant noodles, sat down and slurped them together, packed up their backpacks, checked out of the hotel, and prepared to continue their journey.
The noodle soup warmed Arisugawa's body, and she told Aoi Keisuke that she was now full of strength.
So the two set off again, following the footsteps of the large army and relying on the weak light of the flashlight to continue climbing up.
The feeling of hiking at night is even more magical.
Human senses seem to be magnified. In the boundless darkness, there are outlines of various things, making it difficult to see the whole picture clearly.
This feeling not only arouses the fear of darkness in human genes, but also arouses human beings' desire to explore the unknown.
In the process of climbing, people gradually accumulate the courage to defeat nature and fear.
This courage supports the climber's body and charges towards the top of the mountain beyond the limits of physical strength.
It took Aoi Keisuke and Arisugawa an hour to arrive at the eighth station. There are also mountain huts here, the more famous ones are Baiyunso and Ikedakan, but the accommodation conditions are not as good as those at the seventh station.
The two of them rested for a while in the rest area at the eighth stage, listening to the climbers beside them telling interesting stories about their past mountain climbing.
After Arisukawa adjusted his breathing, the two set off again, and soon followed the team in front of them by following the flashing flashlight light.
It was very difficult to go from the 7th station to the 9th station of Mt. Fuji. The knee pads on Arisukawa's knees had already been scratched with many scratches due to the fall. However, she never complained about being tired. Instead, she smiled and talked to Aoi Keisuke about the past mountain climbing with her father.
experience.
She was just a primary school student at the time and couldn't even climb a mountain of several hundred meters. She finally completed the challenge by lying on her father's back.
But now, she has grown up and become an adult who can challenge Mount Fuji.
——If you have the opportunity in the future, can you bring your parents to come and watch it?
The girl thought to herself when she stopped for a short rest.
Unknowingly, they arrived at the 8.5th station, which is about 3,450 meters above sea level.
There is a check-in point building here called "Olaikokan", which is also a mountain hut with 330 meters left from the top of the mountain.
For a long time this was the mountain house closest to the top of the mountain.
They stopped in the light of the signboard and took a photo of the two of them.
In front of the mountain house, there is a narrow viewing platform. Looking down the mountain, you can still see the bright lights of the city.
"There's still enough time, let's rest here for twenty minutes."
Qing Keisuke took the initiative. He looked at his phone and found that about an hour and forty minutes had passed since they set off.
There were two hours left for them to reach the summit, which was plenty of time.
After relieving fatigue, you may be able to reach the summit faster.
"Okay~"
Arisukawa bought two cups of instant hot coffee at the front desk of Yamaya and handed one to Aoi Keisuke.
The coffee steams out in the low-temperature air of the mountains, as if it wants to connect to the clouds and mists of the distant mountains and blend into it.
The girl took a sip and let out a sigh of relaxation and contentment.
"Qinggui-kun, you still look calm."
"In my eyes, it's just a small mountain."
"Eh~"
Arisukawa smiled and poked his waist: "On Mount Fuji, you have to respect the mountain god enough."
"All right."
Aoi Keisuke shrugged.
"But Qinggui-kun is very handsome."
The girl's added words made the boy laugh happily.
"Isn't Arisukawa a staunch materialist?"
"Yes, I mean respecting the local customs."
"Where's the polite Yamato Nadeshiko?"
"Yes, yes, Prince."
On Mount Fuji, which is 3,450 meters above sea level, they made fun of each other's nicknames and smiled knowingly when they looked at each other.
Beyond the unnoticed world of the two of them, they have also become the sight of other climbers.
After the break, the two of them drank coffee, solved the metabolic burden on their bodies in the mountain hut, and went back to battle lightly.
By the way, you need to pay 200 yen to use the bathroom here.
This is their last rest, and then they will launch the final 330-meter sprint to the top of the mountain.
Qing Keisuke's eyes were on the girl, always on guard against her exhaustion.
Time passed by minute by second, and they gradually approached the final destination.
Arisukawa was already exhausted, and each step required a big breath, but her tenacious will exceeded Aoi Keisuke's expectations.
She is like a clump of green velvet growing alone among the rocks, lonely, dreamy, growing mysteriously, isolated from the world, and blooming quietly.
Step by step, she kept her feet on the ground and supported herself to the end of the mountain road.
Groups of climbers stopped here, cheering, clapping and shouting "conquer the world".
Qing Keisuke stepped forward and took Arisukawa's wrist, asking her to raise her head.