＊
By the time they’d finished performing prayers after their wait in a seemingly-endless queue, Fuyuka had finally grown accustomed to Hinami’s zeal. Her tolerance for any physical contact was still nonexistent, but the anxious disposition she had displayed earlier had subsided noticeably.
Meanwhile, Chiaki chose to retain a moderate distance from Fuyuka. Still, he was managing to steadily build a connection with her. He chose an easy topic of conversation—Asahi, the friend they had in common.
Probably just a tactic to break the ice. It’s always awkward meeting new people, Asahi noted. He kept a watchful eye on “The Obnoxious Couple,” to ensure Hinami didn’t suddenly jump onto Fuyuka, or that Chiaki wouldn’t make any unsolicited remarks. I don’t trust that smirk on his face. It feels like he’s controlling the flow of the conversation.
“All right guys, hear me out—what’s the first activity that comes to mind when you’re at a shrine for New Year’s?” Chiaki inquired.
“It’s gotta be checking our fortunes!” Hinami exclaimed.
With that unexpected proposal put forward, the four of them went to draw omikuji—strips of paper found at shrines which held random fortunes written on them.
Their results turned out to be widely different.
“I pulled ‘terrible luck!’ I swear to god, this has never happened to me,” Chiaki lamented dramatically.
“Yeaaah... wow. There’s nothing but horrible things written on this one. You know what you do, right? There’s a place over there you tie it over to,” Asahi said.
“He’s right! Whoa, look at how many people are gathering over there!” Hinami noted with a pointed finger.
“Lemme go get this over with.”
“Chii-pie, wait for me! I’m coming!”
Hinami—who had pulled a respectable “middle blessing”—soon caught up to her trudging boyfriend. She pushed on his back, causing him to stumble on the stairs. He was the type who normally bore some ill-omen to an extent, but perhaps the “terrible luck” slip he’d pulled was a little too effective.
Chiaki was well within his right to be terrified. Thinking he was about to die, he curled himself up tightly. Hinami squealed with laughter.
“They get along quite well,” Fuyuka noted.
“Makes sense. They’re a couple,” Asahi responded.
“Th-They are?!”
“Why are you surprised? They couldn’t make it more obvious if they tried.”
“I-I suppose they were a little too intimate... I just never expected that they were in a relationship.”
While Asahi thought she was a bit late to the party, Fuyuka hadn’t met the two of them before. Additionally, she had been dragged around by Hinami all day, so this was the first time she’d experienced “The Obnoxious Couple” flirting.
“Chii-pie, look! Look at what it says for my love fortune!”
“Let’s see here... damn! ‘You’ll find happiness with your current partner,’” Chiaki read aloud. “Couldn’t have put it better myself!”
“This means we’re a god-tier couple!” she cried.
“They’re perfect for each other,” Fuyuka whispered, watching them savor their own little slice of heaven as they tied the paper around a wire.
“What am I gonna do with mine? I think I also need to go tie it up,” Asahi said.
“The fortune you drew said ‘good luck’ on it. I don’t really see a need to do so.”
“Isn’t that fortune sorta iffy? Like, it’s the least amount of good fortune you could pull.”
“Not necessarily. There are many interpretations regarding the fortunes’ order. There’s even a sequence where it considers ‘good luck’ to be one away from ‘excellent luck.’”
Fuyuka, being the top of her class, naturally possessed an extensive repertoire of knowledge. She proceeded to offer an exhaustive explanation on the matter. According to her, the Association of Shinto Shrines—the administrative organization which oversaw the shrines—hadn’t been wholly precise on which fortune ranks where. It was, supposedly, because they placed more of an importance on using fortunes to serve as principles to live by, rather than solely focusing on the type drawn. She also assured Asahi that any doubts regarding the rank of his fortune could be readily diffused by asking the chief priest. In fact, the same could be said for any shrine.
“Maybe I’ll hold on to it, then,” Asahi said, pocketing the slip. Still not 100 percent sure on where it stands on the list, but hey. If Fuyuka says it’s good, then it probably is.
“Yes, please do.”
“Fuyu-Fuyu!” Hinami yelled.
“Y-Yes?”
“Can you show me the ‘excellent luck’ slip you drew real quick?”
“Sure, I don’t mind...” Fuyuka replied, puzzled.
Hinami paid no heed to her new friend’s bewilderment as she examined the slip of paper with sparkling eyes.
“How’s it look, Hina?” Chiaki asked.
“It predicts her future’ll be filled with happiness!”
“Whoa, that’s great to hear. That’s definitely something to look forward to.”
“Safe to say that expectations are at an all-time high!” Hinami said.
The “Obnoxious Couple” had come back swinging. The pair wore identical smirks, glancing at both Fuyuka and Asahi.
“You have any clue why they’re grinning like that?” Asahi asked.
“I-I don’t think I understand it either,” Fuyuka stated, her cheeks slightly flushed. “Aoba, can I have my fortune back, please?”
“Whaaa? But I haven’t even read, like, half of it yet!” Hinami protested.
Unfortunately for the other girl, Fuyuka was discernibly flustered. She retrieved the paper slip somewhat forcibly.
Huh, did something happen to tick her off her or something?
Chiaki and Hinami stared at the two of them—Asahi with his perplexed expression and Fuyuka with her beet-red face—and their grins widened even further.
✦ ✦ ✦
＊
The crowd congestion had reached its peak by the time the group had exhausted all of their options and were considering heading home. They were certain they’d done everything there was to do, from enjoying sweet sake to writing their wishes on small wooden plaques—called ema—and hanging them.
They figured it would inconvenience the visitors if they continued to wander around in a four-person group, and so they split into two pairs. Chiaki and Hinami took the front, while Asahi and Fuyuka followed behind them.
“They hold hands so casually,” Fuyuka noted, observing that Chiaki and Hinami held hands without needing to exchange a look or articulate a single word.
“Sometimes they’ll even full-on embrace each other if you take your eye off them,” Asahi replied.
“How bold...”
Fuyuka gazed pointedly at the pair of entwined hands. Chiaki and Hinami seemed to have sensed an intense glare, or perhaps they’d just overheard the conversion. Either way, they swiftly swiveled their heads back. Their expressions seemed ominous to Asahi. Based on his experience with “The Obnoxious Couple,” they were definitely up to something.
“Why don’t you guys hold hands too?” Hinami asked.
“Huh?” Asahi mumbled after a pause. Her proposition had made him come to a grinding halt, and his mind went blank.
“What?” Fuyuka gasped.
Asahi resumed walking again somehow. They couldn’t simply stop in place—there were large amounts of visitors around.
“And why would we do that?” Asahi pressed, still unable to compose himself.
“Easy—so you don’t get separated from each other again,” Chiaki said.
“Yeah! It’d be reassuring, don’t you think?” Hinami added.
“Nice one, Hinami. But maybe that wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t run around like a chicken with its head cut off,” Asahi retorted.
“W-Well yeah, but... You never know what could happen!”
This whole argument is pretty stupid, but it’s almost convincing coming from someone who just got lost.
Indeed, the crowd passing by was a virtual torrent. One could certainly get stranded if they allowed their minds to wander even for a second.
I see their point, but holding hands? Might be the norm for couples, but not for friends—especially if they’re the opposite sex. Wait, why am I even seriously considering this?
Asahi had been incredibly close to being swayed, but an instance of clarity provided him with a rather basic answer. He and Fuyuka paid attention to their surroundings, unlike Hinami. If they remained careful at all times, then there wouldn’t be a need for them to hold hands.
He was confident Fuyuka—who’d had her head lowered in silence for some time now—had reached the same conclusion.
Suddenly, he noticed Fuyuka’s left hand creeping hesitantly closer to him.
“You all right, Fuyuka?” Asahi asked.
Her small, delicate hand inched forward one centimeter at a time. The “Obnoxious Couple” and Asahi monitored it with bated breath. Her slender fingers edged yet another centimeter closer, then...
“I feel... safer this way,” she mumbled, timidly pinching Asahi’s kimono sleeve between her index finger and thumb.
“Heh.” “Oooh!” the peanut gallery replied cryptically.
Unfortunately for them, Asahi didn’t have the spare resources to even notice. “Hold on tight,” he said.
“I will.”
Asahi and Fuyuka brought their shoulders together, connected by a rather loose binding. Although they weren’t touching each other directly, Asahi could still sense a warmth emanating from her hand.
They were interrupted by a pair of energetic, cheery children comparing their fortunes.
“You hear that? The ‘excellent luck’ fortune is followed by ‘good luck’ in this shrine!”
“That means our fortunes sit right next to each other!”
“Good for you, Asahi,” Fuyuka said.
“Mm, yeah.”
The sound of two sets of footsteps overlapped atop the extended, stone-paved path. Asahi and Fuyuka chatted with each other, the two of them smiling softly the entire time.
They kept a short proximity between them, and—despite the intolerable vexation it stirred in Asahi’s bosom—it wasn’t an entirely unpleasant sensation. It was a lighthearted, ticklish feeling, feathery in nature.