Chapter 123

I finally saw her house under the streetlights. I put her down by the entrance and turned around. “I’ll head back there ASAP!” Fushimi shouted. “See you there.” “Thanks, Ryou.” “It’s nothing. We’d be in trouble without an extra helping hand.” I took a step away, but I noticed she still wanted to say something. I turned around, and she awkwardly opened her mouth. “Also, I don’t mind you copping a feel so long as you don’t go overboard! Okay, bye!” She turned around and ran into her house. “…I told you I wasn’t doing that,” I whispered. I could still feel her warmth on my back. I shook my head to drive away any weird thoughts. I hurried back to where I came from, when I got a call from Torigoe. “Takamori, we just found Kuu.” “Thank goodness.” “Thanks for helping out. Unfortunately, she won’t stop crying, and it seems they’ll be going home now, so I’m gonna see them off at the station.” What a nice sister. “All right. Call me once you come back.” “Yeah.” I imagined she’d already told them, too, but I texted Fushimi and Himeji about it as well. Then my phone died. “Oh, shoot.” I was so sure I still had enough battery. I considered going back home, but I was already at the boulevard with all the stalls when it happened. If only I could find Mana, I could get her to contact the rest, but I hadn’t seen the gyaru all day. “Hey, Ryou!” Himeji found me just as she was coming out of the crowd and waved at me. “Good thing they found Kuu. Shizuka must’ve been so worried.” “Yeah. She said the kid was crying.” “Poor Kuu… If only I could take all the misfortune that would befall her onto me instead…” Just how much do you love Kuu, girl? “I wish I had a little sister instead of a brother.” Himeji was eating shaved ice with a spoon straw. “It’s strawberry flavor. Here, have a bite.” She casually scooped some of it and shoved the spoon into my mouth. “Would you mind not force-feeding me?” “You know, I should be charging you for this. A thousand yen a spoonful from a pretty girl would be too cheap, even.” “Don’t call yourself a pretty girl.” “Huh? I thought you admitted I am one.” Yes… I said that. Where do you get that self-confidence from anyway? I guess it wouldn’t be you without it, but geez. I changed the subject and told her about Fushimi and my phone dying. “So Hina should be coming back any moment.” “Could be now, could be later.” Maybe I should’ve waited for her if she was just changing her sandals. In any case, Fushimi had to come along this street if she was walking back to the festival from her house. Yet even after ten minutes of waiting, she didn’t show up. “Wasn’t she just gonna grab a new pair of sandals?” “Wait, wouldn’t she change out of her yukata, too?” Himeji said. “No, she only mentioned the sandals.” “So unladylike…” Himeji was in disbelief. “I suppose I shouldn’t expect any proper fashion sense from her.” “Please don’t call her out on it. She’s actually hopeless.” Himeji checked the time; it was almost eight PM. “Ryou.” She did the hand sign. I did it back without much thought. A huge smile bloomed across her face, and she hugged my arm and started walking. “Where are we going?” “It’s a secret.” I could actually feel Himeji’s chest. Unlike Fushimi’s. Perhaps because yukata was thinner than regular clothing, you could feel it more. “What secret?” Summer festival. Fireworks. At night. Secret place. The key words brought back memories. Shizuka Torigoe I got a peep of their backs from afar. “…” I tried calling out to them, but my voice stuck in my throat. I had come back after seeing my mom and Kuu off at the station and found Takamori and Himeji locking arms. It was clear it was Himeji who was one-sidedly wrapping her arms around his, but anyway… They were walking off somewhere together. I didn’t have the courage to get in between them and stop her, like Hiina did when Himeji tried giving him takoyaki. Someone bumped into me, and I felt as if the world was telling me I was in the way. I got away from the crowds and sat on the sidewalk. “Hey! Shizu!” ManaMana waved at me. I waved back, and she came over to me, along with her friends. All of them were gyarus, as one would expect. “What’re you doing? Where’s Bubby?” “We lost sight of each other.” Let’s go with that. “You should call him. The fireworks show is coming up!” “Yeah,” I muttered. That’s when ManaMana realized. “What’s up? You seem bummed out.” “Yeah. Kinda, I guess.” I felt tired. I knew I’d end up alone if I didn’t get in between them, but I still chose not to follow them. I knew you couldn’t objectively quantify love, but I didn’t think I liked him less than Hiina or Himeji. “Shizuuu… C’mon, have a french fry and cheer up.” ManaMana sat down beside me and offered me some of her french fries. The saltiness of the crinkly potato reminded me of a bowl of miso soup in winter. “I think I’ll watch the fireworks from here,” ManaMana said, before eating three fries in one go. Her friends went somewhere else. She waved good-bye. “You sure?” I asked. “Yeah, don’t worry about it.” She giggled. Ryou Takamori The situation reminded me of back then. We had come to the summer festival with the kids in the neighborhood, and Himeji and I got separated from the group. She said she knew a good spot and pulled me by the hand through the crowds outside the boulevard. “…” I didn’t remember what we talked about then, but I remembered it being a good spot for watching the fireworks. I think that was the last day I wore a yukata. It wasn’t the plaza designated for watching the fireworks. It was somewhere higher, from which we thought it’d be easier to search for the rest of our friends, not realizing it would be too dark to identify anyone from up there. And as we tried looking for them, the fireworks began. I remembered all that as the noise of the festival faded away in the distance. We arrived at the entrance to a small mountain and walked up the simple steps nailed to the ground. “Walking up in these sandals isn’t easy, is it?” Himeji giggled awkwardly. I kept my arms crossed, since she really looked like she’d lose her balance at any moment. We got to the top and saw a hiking trail. There was a gazebo and bench for resting midway. And the rusty metal trash can was full. I felt like we had an easier time climbing up back then; now, I was short of breath. The lights of the festival stalls looked smaller now, and the stars in the sky felt closer. “What about Fushimi and Torigoe?” “I told them.” Oh. I guess they’ll be here any moment, then. Himeji sat down on the bench and patted the spot beside her. I sat down, and the fireworks show began. A flower bloomed in the night sky, leaving a trail of smoke as it vanished. We stared at the fireworks in silence. “I’m impressed you remembered that sign.” “This, right?” I did it again. She nodded. “I’d forgotten it, but then I saw you do it at your concert, and it all came back to me.” “So you got my message.” “I’m not sure it counts…” Aika’s official answer was that the sign didn’t mean anything, but she kept on using it every time. “I won’t forget you.” She made the sign up just before moving away; the meaning fit. “I’m impressed you even remember the meaning of it.” “Is it really that impressive?” “Don’t you feel like fate is at work here?” she said, with a soft expression. “…Fate?” What’s gotten into her? I was clearly confused. She laughed in response. “It’s such a funny phrase.” “Huh?” “I used it a few times when I was an idol, but no one liked it.” She chuckled. Maybe your fans didn’t like it…but I’ll admit you had me there for a second. “I’m half serious, though. I didn’t know you’d be at that high school. I just wondered when I saw your uniform when we met again at the station. I’m glad you received the message I repeated again and again.” “Fate, huh?” The word brought Shinohara to mind; it was hard holding back my laughter. We watched the fireworks, sometimes in silence and sometimes saying what came to mind. We chatted about the film, about Mr. Matsuda, and about our mutual friends. “Oh right,” she said, something coming to mind. Then she pinched my cheek. “Wh-what?” “What were you talking about with Hina when we went to the beach?” “The beach? With Fushimi?” “You two were all by yourselves for a moment there, weren’t you?” She pulled my face close to hers. “Hina was so obviously happy when she came back, so what did you do?” “Was she?” “I doubt anyone but me noticed.” She sighed and dropped the topic. “Fine, not like you being dense and forgetful is anything new. I’ll let you off the hook for now.” “What’re you, my boss?” “Yes. I am your superior. At least… I deserve to be treated as such after how much your forgetfulness has hurt me.” She pouted and looked away. “Do you remember we came here before?” “Yeah. Though I only realized once we arrived and I saw our surroundings.” I continued listing what I remembered. “We got lost and came here. We gave up on reuniting with everyone else and watched the fireworks from here.” “Yes, yes. What else?” I had nothing else. “That’s all I remember at the moment… Sorry.” I apologized sincerely, and thankfully, she didn’t sigh or pinch my cheeks. Instead, she took off her wooden sandals and put her feet on the bench, resting her head on her knees as she looked at me. “I proposed to you.” “…Excuse me?” “I asked you to marry me.” I…think I remember that… “I remember it like it was yesterday, but you… Men…” “I’m sorry.” I could do nothing but apologize. Wait. Didn’t I promise the same thing to Fushimi? “You said yes, by the way.” Himeji grabbed my sleeve. “And now here we are, years later, at the same place, watching the fireworks just like back then… And I’m of age now. Don’t you feel fate is at work, even if a little?” The fireworks lit up Himeji’s face. I was captivated by the red, blue, white, and green reflected in her eyes. Her cheeks turned red as she grabbed my hand. I glanced at her, and she kept her eyes averted, looking up at the fireworks. Boom… Bang… Boom… The fireworks stopped for a moment, and she tightly gripped my hand. “I gave you the right to kiss me. So give me one if the musical goes well.” “Huh?” “I’m giving you permission.” What about what I want? I didn’t know how to respond, and her face was turning redder by the second. “A-actually…forget about it.” “Huh?” “A-anyway!” She spoke louder to change the subject. “What I wanted to say is, please cheer me on. I’m putting all my effort into this.” She spoke quickly, hiding her face behind her hand. The fireworks stopped. The afterimage was still burned into my eyes as only smoke was left behind in the night sky. I wondered if it was really over now. I looked at the flyer and saw it said there would be a fifteen-minute break in the middle of the show. “Fushimi should be back now. Let’s return to the venue.” “Okay.” Himeji grabbed my hand again. It really felt like we were back to being kids. “Let’s stay like this, so you don’t get lost.” “So I’m the one getting lost now?” Himeji expected the response; she giggled. “Let’s come see the fireworks again next year.” “The show isn’t over yet.” “Right,” she sang. Though it’s not like the latter half would be any different. It wasn’t as exciting now. We walked down the hill, and we found Fushimi on the way back. She wasn’t alone, though. Two adult men were talking to her. “Ryou, d-do you think they’re hitting on her?” “Y-you think?”