Chapter 13

They put on their sandals and headed around to the garden by the veranda, the children growing more and more excited as they opened a bag of fireworks. Watching them pull the collection of little sparklers and small fireworks free and pass them out, Kagiura felt for the first time like summer had really come. He lit a candle, dripped some of the wax onto the ground so there would be somewhere to fix the candle down, and then set it in place. Until last year, one of the adults had always done that job, but this time around, the duty had shifted to Kagiura. As for the job he’d done the year before—getting a bucket full of water—he entrusted that to one of his younger cousins. The boy who’d once pounded his own shoulders, declaring that he had “the very most important job of all” when it came to the fireworks, was practically an old man now! Three sticks of mosquito-repellent incense were burning on the veranda, and his elementary-school-age cousin, who’d just arrived that morning, was dressed in full protective gear: long sleeves, long pants, and even socks. He looked ready to go camping. Another cousin—ten years older than them—had knocked back a beer and then gone to sleep for a while. Now he was sitting on the veranda, keeping an eye on things. The fact that Hirano was there with them was at once thrilling and somehow surreal—but it certainly made Kagiura happy. He was already wearing the studs Kagiura had given him, which sparkled brilliantly in the firelight. Kagiura had mentioned the occasion at the breakfast table, and the whole family sang “Happy Birthday” as they ate their breakfast of fish. Then Kagiura’s aunt had promptly gone off to buy a cake. Hirano was apologetic for the trouble but privately seemed thrilled. White smoke drifted through the air, accompanied by the odor of burning fire powder. Once in a while, a large bug would skitter by them, but after a few minutes they all stopped noticing, captivated by the beauty of the many colorful fireworks. As soon as one burned out, another would be lit, and then another. For as quickly as the children traded places in front of the package of fireworks, it was a wonder no one bumped into anyone else. When the package was almost empty, they divvied up the two kinds of sparklers between them, trying to see who could hold on to the tiny, climbing ball of flame the longest. “It’s so beautiful,” someone said in wonderment, and no one could quite be sure who. Then the flames from the sparklers dropped to the ground, and everything was suddenly dark. All the fireworks went in the water bucket, people collected their trash, and the candle was put out. “It’s dark out here. We’ll do the cleanup tomorrow,” Kagiura said. Even though the words were coming from his own mouth, he felt like someone else was saying them. It was as if he himself had burned bright and then been extinguished with the fireworks, his very presence melting into the night. He almost thought he could still feel it, the faint heat at the tips of his fingers. “There weren’t enough Flaming Spears in that package,” Hirano mumbled, and suddenly Kagiura found the idea of heading straight for the bath almost unbearable. “Wanna go get some more, then?” They stood in the entryway putting on bug spray. They had only their wallets in their pockets, and Kagiura’s aunt had told them how to get to the store. “Akiraaa! It’s dangerous out there! Be sure to take your cell phone!” she called from inside the house, but Kagiura pointedly didn’t go back for his phone. While he was with his family, he tended to leave it even after it was charged. He glanced over at Hirano as they were putting their sandals on, and he also grinned a bit and held up his empty hands. He didn’t have his phone, either. They wouldn’t even know what time it was. Kagiura’s feet almost felt light at the exhilaration of knowing they were free of the dorm’s strict schedule. The lights of the town glowed in the distance, and it was so dark that they could only just see where the path dropped away into the irrigation canal. The cries of insects that only came out at night tickled their ears. It almost gave them the feeling that summer was ending, even though there wasn’t a hint of chill in the air. It was still only the first day of August. Hirano’s birthday. There was plenty of summer left. “So where are we going, Kagi? Convenience store?” Walking through the damp night air almost made Hirano feel as if he were a kid again, spending summer vacations just as he had back then. Walking slightly ahead of Hirano to show him the way, Kagiura nodded. “Yeah, I think that’s a plan.” He knew that with a few shortcuts, they could soon be at a twenty-four-hour supermarket that had an excellent fireworks selection. Getting to the convenience store would take twenty minutes or so if they went straight down the road, a bit more if they didn’t walk too fast. That way they’d have more time together. “I wonder what we’ll do if they don’t have any fireworks,” Kagiura said. It seemed very unlikely—this was the season, after all—but somehow he couldn’t help himself. “Buy some ice cream and go home?” Hirano answered. Kagiura got snacks to eat on the road all the time, but this was the first time he’d heard Hirano say anything of the sort. “They’d melt by the time we got back.” “So we eat ’em while we walk. Only need to get enough for the two of us.” “Ahhh…” “What? Eager to bring a present for your cousins?” Hirano asked. “Eh… More like others did the same for me when I was little, so I thought maybe it was what you were supposed to do.” He had a little more money in his pocket, since he didn’t have to buy his own snacks while he was with his family, plus his relatives had given him a nice bit of pocket change. Both of those reasons came to mind, but he didn’t say them. Even if he’d had a bit less cash on hand, he figured he still would have wanted to indulge those kids. “Huh! I like the way you think,” Hirano said. “Oh yeah?” They kept their voices down so they wouldn’t echo around the darkened road, and it almost gave the impression that they were melting into the night themselves. As he listened to Hirano, Kagiura was seized by the feeling that they were going somewhere much farther away than the convenience store, and he swallowed heavily. “Yeah.” After a beat, Hirano continued, “Your family’s a lot like you, Kagi. I’ve never met them before, but I totally feel like I have. Before we got here, I was worried I might be an outsider, but you were right—I’m glad I came.” “You already fit right in, Hirano. And you’re great with the little ones.” “Yeah, well, I’ve spent a long time living with youngsters.” “Oh? I thought you didn’t have any little brothers or sisters.” “Dumbass. I meant you, Kagi.” “Do I really seem that much younger than you? Am I that much of a handful?” “You’ve got morning practice every day, but you can’t wake up on your own. They say you fall asleep during class all the time. And you suck at studying, so you need someone else to light a fire under your ass before a test.” Kagiura’s eyes brimmed, but he found he had no comeback. Hirano was hardly wrong, after all. Hirano grinned at him. “Yeah, you’re a handful. But I know you’re trying your hardest, and I know you’re a decent guy. Your team is taking a pause from practice during the break, but you’re not, are you? I saw how well-used the hoop in the garden is. Everyone told me how you spend plenty of time shooting even on vacation, and that’s when I was like, ‘Hey, Kagi’s really serious about this basketball thing.’ I was really impressed, man. If you work that hard with the team, no wonder you’re tired in class.” The gentle cadence of Hirano’s voice drifted to Kagiura’s ears, and he felt as if those words were warming his entire body. If he’d felt as if he were fading into the humid night before, now it seemed he stood out sharply; he could feel the hot blood coursing right down to his fingertips. He’d always resisted complaining on the days that he was tired, so much so that he wanted to shout from the rooftops that of course you would work hard on what you loved to do. Not because you wanted the results of your effort to be praised and admired throughout the world. In part, he’d hoped to make up for what he lacked in academic ability by excelling in a field where he was more gifted. Because of all that, when he received such unadulterated affirmation, Kagiura wasn’t actually sure if it was all right for him to accept it and celebrate it uncritically. He wondered for a moment if he hadn’t tried too hard to look good for Hirano. But he soon remembered: Back in May, shortly after the semester had started, when Kagiura had been pathetically jealous of one of his teammates, hadn’t Hirano spoken well of his abilities then, too? He seemed to know full well the pain of panicking into comparing yourself against someone who was starting from behind you. Finally, Kagiura said, “Thanks, Hirano.” They crossed an intersection, waiting awhile because the light worked on a sensor that didn’t notice them right away. Then they were on a street with more traffic lanes but also a wider sidewalk, a large thoroughfare lined with recognizable chain stores. As they passed a searingly bright video-rental place, Hirano remarked wryly, “I’ll bet the police would take us home to our parents if they saw us go in there.” There were still a fair number of cars going by. Kagiura and Hirano walked side by side, and even as he felt his own heartbeat in his fingertips, Kagiura unmistakably felt his hand brush Hirano’s. He glanced briefly in Hirano’s direction to see the brand-new studs glittering in his earlobes. They were a gentle blue color, not unlike Hirano’s eyes, and the way they shimmered seemed to make the night road even brighter. “Those ear studs look really good on you, Hirano,” he said. He felt a rush of pride; he had picked them himself, after all. He smiled broadly at Hirano. “Well, that’s because you made a great choice, Kagi,” Hirano said. It was true, wasn’t it? Kagiura wasn’t exactly with Hirano twenty-four seven, but they were together from the time they got back to the dorm in the evening until they both left in the morning. Kagiura probably spent more time with Hirano than anyone else. It was only natural he should be able to pick out the perfect accessory for him.