Thanks to the rising rockets of color, the trip back went much more smoothly. When they arrived at the picnic blanket, the timing was just right, as the first volley had concluded and the second was being readied. Three voices welcomed them:
“You’re late!” Aya exclaimed.
“Where is my takoyaki?” Eru demanded.
“Are you okay? It got crowded, didn’t it?” Nanaka asked in concern.
“It was fine coming back, but it was packed on our way there,” Kai explained.
“Don’t sweat it,” Nanaka said, “Besides, it’s hard to find this spot since everyone else has laid out blankets, too. I was getting worried that you and Aina-chan had gotten lost, so I’m relieved to see you.”
“Kai-kun aside,” Aina objected, “there’s no way I’d get lost, is there? Oh,” she paused with a wicked smirk. “...but we did enjoy ourselves a little, right?”
“Y-You ‘enjoyed yourselves’?” Nanaka stuttered.
“That’s lewd, senpai,” Aya remarked.
“N-No! This!” Kai protested, thrusting out the empty Ramune bottle. “Aina-san bought some soda all of a sudden, so we were drinking them.”
“Who cares about any of that?” Eru questioned. “The takoyaki’s going to get cold.”
“‘Takoyaki, takoyaki,’ you’re so annoying,” Aina said mockingly. “Here. Be grateful: I went and stood in line for you. Were you always this gluttonous?”
Eru put her hand on the package that Aina had handed her, but then stopped and began silently staring at Aina. “W-What?”
“...Here.” After a long moment of deliberation, Eru offered up one of the takoyaki back to Aina. “I’ll give you one, dear.”
Nanaka was beaming with joy. Seeing this awkward gesture, Kai (who was in no position to be judging others) was swept up in the moment and joined Nanaka in smiling.
“Huh? I’m on a diet, so I don’t need that ball of carbs.” Aina’s reply was curt and to the point.
What part of your appearance do you need to diet for? Kai thought. But despite his gut reaction, he could see that perhaps her current form was the result of all the efforts she put in to maintaining it. Still, he wondered, if you’re going to pick what you eat so carefully, can’t you do the same for your words, just this once?
But then, Aina continued, “...In the first place, you’ve given me a lot already... and I’m sure you will in the future, too. I don’t need your takoyaki,” and turned away as she finished speaking.
“...Huh? What is this girl on about with all this sentimentality? This pitiful miscreant ended up being our gofer, so I decided to bless her with a piece out of the goodness in my heart.” This time, it was Eru who was being brusque. And of course, there was no stopping them now.
“Huh?!” Aina’s voice inflected upward with rage. “Oh, geez! Fine, then! Give it to me!”
“Hey!” Eru shouted. “Don’t eat two at once!”
“Itsh hawt...!” Aina garbled back.
“A-Aina-san, water! Drink some water!” Kai suggested.
“You know,” Aya noted, “Aye-aye is a pretty splendid idiot, herself.”
✦ ✦ ✦
The loud booming above their heads resumed amidst their ruckus, and the fiery, rainbow-colored fragments popped into circles of color and scattered to earth.
Aina quickly found her seat by Eru, and Nanaka made room beside her for Kai. He sat down and looked up at the night sky to find that it stretched out unimaginably far. The moon and stars seemed to shine more brilliantly than usual, and the glow of the fireworks painted over those miniscule lights with a thunderous bang that shook the very heavens. There were some that proudly bloomed into vivid colors like sunflowers, and others that drew lines across the night sky like weeping cherry trees. Both were intensely beautiful.
“So pretty,” Nanaka whispered.
Owing partially to the restricted space of the blanket, Kai felt as though Nanaka was directly transmitting her warmth to him. He turned to agree with her when he suddenly realized that his left hand was laying atop Nanaka’s right. He’d been so enchanted by the dazzling flares that he hadn’t noticed at all. It was no wonder he’d felt her presence so closely.
Flustered, Kai lifted his hand away... but for whatever reason, Nanaka layered her right hand over his again. He could dimly feel her gentle warmth, completely distinct from the heat of the summer night, spread throughout his palm.
When he looked at her, she spoke with her gaze still on the night sky. “Hey, Kai-kun... We might be swamped with entrance exams, but let’s come again next year.”
“...Yeah,” he agreed softly.
“But the year after that... will be tough, won’t it? Not just the fireworks... I’m sure it’ll be hard to get everyone together... It’s going to be lonely,” she said slowly. At some point, the fireworks will end.
The balls of light shot up, burst, and diffused. Once the rockets ran out, the show would end, only to remain in their memories. The beauty would linger in their remembrance, but that, too, would slowly fade away. Eventually, this would be no more than a single summer’s memory whose radiant luster had faded.
That might be the natural course of things. “That’s not true,” Kai said out loud. But who would accept an ending like that? “Next year, and the year after that, and past that, too... Let’s come together,” he told her. “There’s no need to give up on something that isn’t even here yet... It’s not going to be lonely.”
Kai felt Nanaka’s fingers squeeze his own tightly.
“Yeah,” she said with a quiet nod, and a smile blossomed across her face—lovelier still than any of the fireworks.