They were to meet up with the others at the Motegi’s secondary building.
Next to the front entrance of the main building was a steep path. Hanabi and Kuon climbed that for a while and found themselves at the gate to the second building. There were several people up there, and one saw them coming.
“Oh! Kyuu-kun!”
Motegi Rin was the first to call out. She was the eldest daughter of the manor’s owners. She’d cut her hair a little bit shorter after they’d recovered the capital, and today it was in a braid hanging over her yukata’s shoulder. When she saw Kuon’s haori/hakama combo, she grinned.
“Kyuu-kun, what are you wearing?! It’s so badass! You look like a knight or a shogi player!”
“Th-thanks, I guess…” Kuon said, sheepishly.
Rin turned to Hanabi, trying to make it look natural. “You agree, don’t you, Hanabi?”
There was a long silence. Then Kuon thought he heard a click from inside Hanabi.
“Yes, it looks very good, Kuon-kun,” she said firmly.
“Thank you, Hanabi-senpai!” He looked thrilled.
Rin shook her head. “She goes into Warrior Mode with everyone looking, and then she can totally say it just fine! Also, Kyuu-kun, you got the same compliment from both of us but sure took it differently.”
“Er, I didn’t mean to…owww!”
She gave him a noogie.
“Oh, where’s Tooka-kun?” Hanabi said, as if just remembering. “I thought she was staying at the Nanahoshi home? Didn’t the headmaster bring her?”
Rin had invited Tooka, too, naturally. But… “She’s already asleep. She is only ten…”
Oh, Hanabi thought. “What about En-kun? Is she asleep, too?”
“She’s with my Master. Something about swapping her body out for a new one.”
“Swapping?” Hanabi looked confused. Then two people came up behind Rin.
“Looks like everyone’s here,” the man said.
“Squad Leader! And Nao-san!” Kuon exclaimed.
“Okegawa-kun. Nice hakama. Good look for you,” Fuji said with a warm smile. One of the most handsome boys in the school, the breezy jinbei he wore looked all too good on him.
Next to him was a gentle, smiling girl, waving her hands. “Heyyyy! I saw Hanabi and Rin this morning, but Okegawa-kun, it’s been ages!” She was Fuji’s fiancée, Gotenba Nao. She was a third-year student and lived in the girls’ dorm, next door to Hanabi and Rin. She didn’t look the type but was excellent at mahjong…or, at least, cheating at mahjong.
They were all here. One high school boy, three high school girls, and one junior high school boy all began making small talk.
“Kyuu-kun, you’ve met Nao before?” Rin said, looking down at him.
“The squad leader introduced us once before,” Kuon said, looking up at her.
“Rin! How long are you going to cling to Kuon-kun?!” Hanabi said, yanking him away.
“I think it’s the first time we’ve all been together,” Fuji nodded, only just realizing.
“Eh heh heh! You’re all so close!” Nao said, enjoying herself.
Then came a rumble that echoed in the pits of their stomachs, and a beautiful flower exploded in the sky above.
Fwwwwwwwwwwwwww…boom!
There was a firework festival today. Rin’s proposal had been that they skip practice and watch the fireworks. Not to slack off but to welcome their new teammate and strengthen the bonds between them with a little R&R. Sadly, the new teammate had fallen asleep.
“Ah! They’re already starting!” Rin yelled. “Kyuu-kun and Hanabi were so late!”
“What? We weren’t even supposed to meet for another twenty minutes.”
“Oh, riiight… Which means…”
“Motegi-kun proposed the wrong meeting time. Honestly!”
“Jeez, Rin-san.”
“J-just hurry! Before it’s over! Come on!” Trying to cover up her mistake, Rin ran off, her geta clacking. The Fuji Squad, plus Nao, went out one of the back gates of the Motegi manor, through the gardens, and to the front of the second building. There, the servants had prepared seats for them to watch the fireworks. Hanabi had a firm grip on Kuon’s hand, pulling him after her. Once they were all seated, another firework went off. Rin showed no signs of repentance.
This mid-September fireworks display was an annual Jogen event. The fireworks were launched from a park by the seaside and helped remind Jogen citizens that they were part of the Empire, even though they were a small island far from the mainland.
Since the Motegi estate was on a mountain with a fantastic view, there was nothing obstructing the colorful flowers blooming in the night sky.
“We’ve got lots to eat and drink! We’ll keep it coming!” Rin said, playing the part of the hostess. Yakisoba and takoyaki were being carried to the tables nearby. This was Hanabi’s home, too, so she pitched in, and when Kuon tried to join them they both snapped, “Children should sit down!” Finally, a giant tray of yakitori came out, and they were ready. Hanabi filled the disposable plastic cup in Kuon’s hand with orange juice, so he filled hers with lemon-lime soda, and then he realized Rin, Fuji, and Nao were all drinking something brown and bubbly. Before he could ask if that was allowed, Rin proudly raised her cup.
“Cheeeeeeeeers!” she yelled, joyfully.
A firework exploded behind her.
Everyone tapped their cups together. Rin, Fuji, and Gotenba seemed to be competing to drain theirs fastest. Fuji had his hand on his hips, chugging like a post-bath milk, and Rin was standing on her chair letting it flow in, but Nao beat them both, sitting properly on her chair and holding her cup with both hands. They all flaunted their empty cups proudly. “Another!” At least wipe those moustaches off.
Kuon gaped at them, then his eyes met Hanabi’s, and they giggled. Is it always like this? Pretty much. These words went unsaid.
“Cheers, Kuon-kun.”
“Cheers, Hanabi-senpai.”
The two members with non-alcoholic drinks clicked their cups together.
The rest of the gathering was wild.
The first five minutes brought a lot of memories back for Kuon. Possibly not even from his last life but ones before that.
Rin was as an awful drunk and was quickly berating Kuon, demanding to know why he’d taken Hanabi from her and what he was going to do about it. “Sorry, Kuon-kun,” Hanabi told him. “She doesn’t mean anything by it.”
Fuji appeared to be in an excellent mood and then fell asleep after his third cup. Nao had drunk more than anyone else but wasn’t even flushed. She pried the cup from Fuji’s hand and softly kissed him on the cheek.
Ba-ba-ba-boom! The final fireworks went off.
The noise startled Rin, and she turned, falling out of her chair. This appeared to be all she had in her, and she just laid there, snoring. A butler appeared out of nowhere and carried her into the house. Fuji, too, was picked up by two burly bodyguards, and Nao followed them inside.
Which left Kuon and Hanabi all alone.
Kuon was unclear if this was Rin’s plan all along, but now that they were free of the drunks, Kuon glanced next to him and saw his girlfriend’s face lit by the fireworks she was named after. Like a waterfall, one flash after another, as dazzling as they were fleeting. Watching her watching them, Kuon forgot to breathe.
It was extraordinarily beautiful.
For some reason, he found himself thinking that at the moment of his death, he would remember how she looked tonight. “Hanabi-senpai,” he found himself saying. He regretted breaking the silence. He’d wanted to stare at her forever.
The last few pops faded, the final lights dimmed, and a quiet darkness settled over them. Hanabi turned to Kuon and smiled. “What?”
This was a smile she reserved only for him. It hit him hard.
While the others were drinking and Rin was accosting him, their fingers had never untangled, like they were afraid to let each other go. Now he pulled her hand closer, making himself as tall as he could. He cupped her cheek with his free hand and tried to steal a kiss.
Clunk. He went in a little too fast and their teeth bumped.
“Oh!!” Both of them covered their mouths with their hands. It was definitely painful.
“Argh, Kuon-kun!”
“S-sorry…”
Hanabi snorted. Kuon hastily got on his knees on top of the chair, trying to make up for his failure. They had to do this properly. Hanabi’s hands reached out, cupping his cheeks. Kuon didn’t dare move.
She kissed him gently, their lips barely touching, and then she pulled away. He couldn’t bear it. “I love you, Hanabi-senpai,” he blurted.
She froze, startled. A moment later, her expression melted before his eyes. “Mmm,” she said, a smile spreading across her face.
He just wanted to stay like this, and he believed in his heart that he was not the only one.
“I…” Hanabi said. “I want to stay like this forever, Kuon-kun.”
There was love in her eyes. Oh, he thought. That’s how I feel. He extended his knees, matching her eyeline. I think this feeling is…adoration.
Hanabi closed her eyes, and as his lips moved to hers, Kuon realized he’d found an emotion his previous life had never granted him.