T/N: This chapter is kinda long and I was having some troubles irl, so I could only TL one chap. Iâll release an extra one later to make it up. Anyway, enjoy! Also, thanks Thiranoyama for the coffee!
As we continued on our way while chatting, we soon came to an open area. It seemed like this was the actual top of the hill. A fence had been set up here to prevent people from falling down.
There were no benches or anything of the sort here. Umi said that the people of the shrine didnât prohibit entry to this area. They wouldnât do anything unless we caused them troubles like littering everywhere or being too loud.
âOver there, Maki. Itâs a little dark right now, but you can see the sky from here.â đđđđŁđđ«đđĄ.đ€đ§đ
âYouâre right⊠We can see the riverbed from here too⊠Huh, could it be? The reason we came here really is for tomorrow?â
âI told you~ When I told my mom that weâre going to see the Fireworks Festival, she told me about this place. She said that this is the place she went to pray for my safe birth a little before I was born.â
I looked toward the direction Umi pointed at. There was a large river which reflected the lights coming from the various buildings on its surface. It was the same river where the Fireworks Festival would be held.
The festival was the only large-scale event this town had, so I had been bracing myself for the inevitability that was being crushed by the crowds of people. However, if we were to watch the festival from here⊠It was a distance away from the riverbank, so it wouldnât be ideal to come here for people who wanted to see the fireworks up close, but we should be able to watch the entire thing from here. Since there wouldnât be anyone else whoâd come here, the five of us would be able to watch the fireworks in peace.
Also, when Umi and I were walking through the shrine, I managed to find out that aside from selling charms for childbirth, they were also selling charms for a successful exam. It wouldnât be a bad idea for us to visit the shrine while we were at it.
âItâs getting a little chilly⊠Maki, can I snuggle closer to you?â
âMhm. Also, you can wear my shirt. Itâs a ? sleeve shirt but itâs better than nothing.â
âThank you⊠Hehe⊠I never expected Iâd get to wear your shirt in a place like this~ It looks a little lame though~â
âWell, I didnât expect that weâd come here in the first place. Also, if you donât like it, give it back to me.â
âI never said I donât like it~â
Because of the darkness, I couldn't tell what kind of expression she had. But, it was obvious from her tone that she was happy.
âŠI just hope that she could stop sniffing on that shirtâs collar⊠I actually got goosebumps from seeing thatâŠ
âYou know, Umi? This is a nice place.â
âRight? This is my first time coming here so it surprised me too. The air is clean and the place is quiet~ Well, we wouldnât be the only ones here tomorrow, so it might not be as quiet.â
Watching the fireworks while being surrounded by a crowd of people didnât sound too bad, but honestly, watching it from a quiet place like this suited me better.
Tomorrow, our usual group of five would come here with us, so who knows how rowdy it would get compared to this moment.
I tried to imagine Umi and I here by ourselves, watching the fireworks⊠Wait, no, if I were to continue it, Iâd start thinking in that direction again.
âAh, you are about to think something perverted again.â
âHow did youâ? Are you sure that youâre the only one whoâd notice me doing something like this? Are you sure that no other people are aware of my habit or whatnot?â
âDonât worry about it, unless theyâre watching your face closely on a regular basis, they wonât know. If you still doubt me, why donât you ask your mother? She might be able to tell that youâre thinking about something weird, but she wonât know the details.â
ââŠThe detailsâŠ?â
It seemed like this matter went deeper than I thought.
âŠI wonder how far Umi could read my thoughts?
Honestly, I didnât plan on keeping any secrets from her, but it seemed like if I were to actually do it in the future, sheâd be able to tell anyway.
As expected, I was no match for her.
After spending more time together, cuddling while admiring the starry sky, we headed back to the way we came, the shrineâs grounds.
Half an hour had passed while we were flirting in that place. The flame had reduced by half of its original size and the atmosphere of the place had calmed down a little.
âMaki, while weâre here, why donât we make a prayer? We didnât get to have a proper hatsumode this year because you were sick, right?â (T/N: Hatsumode is the first shrine visit on the new year. Itâs a tradition for the Japanese that they make a visit to a shrine on the first few days of the year to pray.)
âGood idea. Letâs buy some charms too. I still have leftover money, we can get one for my mom and one for your mom too.â
ââŠBy the way, what kind of charm should we get? Academic success? Love? Health? Or maybe, a safe childbirth?â
âItâs really hard to choose from those three options⊠It isnât like we could just get all three eitherâŠâ
âHey, donât ignore the obvious one! Donât belittle the worth of that charm for the new moms!â
âWhatever you say.â
âŠEventually, Iâd be ready for thatâŠ
Both financially and mentallyâŠ
ââŠAnyway, we should buy three charms for good health. Health is the most important one out of the other two options anyway.â
âOkay. Weâll buy them after weâre done with our prayers, then weâll go home.â
With that, we went to the line for the prayer and ended our very, very late hatsumode.
As we gave our offering and joined our hands together, I took a glance at Umiâs side profile. Thanks to the festival as a background, she looked even prettier than usual.
Once again, I got reminded of how cute my girlfriend was.
âHm? Whatâs wrong, Maki? Have you finished your prayer yet?â
âAh, yeah, I have. Itâs been a while since Iâve done this so I didnât know what I should do while waiting for you.â
ââŠYou can just be honest and tell me that you were admiring my face.â
ââŠYou arenât wrong.â
âHehe, youâre as cute as always, Maki~ Here, here~â
âStop poking my cheeks!â
Despite the fact that we had been going out for a while, there were things that stayed the same. After that, we proceeded to buy the charms as planned and left the shrine.
Although we only stayed for an hour, it was the first time in a long while that we were able to have a date outside of our homes.
While spending our time relaxing at home together without worrying about anything might be the best thing to do, it still felt nice to enjoy the cool night breeze, leisurely watching the scenery outside while holding each other's hands.
There was still time before our curfew, but if we were to go back to my place and continue our date, weâd end up missing it, so we decided to go to Umiâs place instead.
On our way home, we rode the last bus for the night. There were more people compared to the previous time. Several seats were available, but there werenât any ways for us to sit side by side, so we ended up standing up, with me holding the bus strap and Umi leaning on me.
âHow was it, Maki? I know I dragged you outside on short notice, but did you have fun?â
âYeah. Itâs my first time going to a festival with someone else, it was funâŠâ
Because of my dadâs work, we had to move from city to city. My mom and I didnât go out together that often when I was a child, so it felt refreshing to be among the crowds in that festival.
The foul smell and the shaking of the bus that I hadnât felt for a while. The warm light that lit up the festival ground. The taste of the thick yakisoba and takoyaki sauceâŠ
And more importantly, the warmth of the girl next to me. This would be a memory that Iâd always cherish even in the future.
âŠBut, there was one thing that kept persisting in my mind. A selfish thought that I couldnât get rid of.
ââŠUmi. About the festival tomorrowâŠâ
âHm?â
ââŠWhat about we watch it from the festival venue instead?â
âHuh?â
At that moment, a hint of unease appeared on Umiâs smiling face.
It was understandable that sheâd react like that. The reason why she brought me here was to check this place out for tomorrow. I had been giving her a positive reaction yet I suddenly said those words to her.
âAh, sorry, I wasnât saying the place was bad or anything, rather, it feels too good to be true. The thing is⊠I donât really fancy the idea of everyone coming to that placeâŠâ
ââŠAre you saying that you want us two to monopolize that place?â
âSomething like that.â
There was no doubt that itâd be great if we were to go watch the fireworks with everyone in that place. We could avoid the crowds, which meant we wouldnât get into trouble. Objectively speaking, watching from that place was better than going to the venue itself.
But, when Umi and I were stargazing just a while ago, something came to my mindâŠ
A desire to keep that place a secret just for the two of us.
âSince weâve already planned things out with everyone, we couldnât do it tomorrow, but there should be another opportunity next year, or the year after thatâŠâ
âIf you say so, Iâm fine with that, Maki, but, that means we have to prepare ourselves for some troubles tomorrow. The train is definitely going to be packed. In the venue itself, if we arenât careful, we can get separated from everyone. We might also be unable to watch the fireworks because of the crowds.â
ââŠI guess youâre rightâŠâ
Even if the five of us were careful enough, there was no guarantee that we wouldnât get into trouble. Since it was a big event, theyâd definitely put up a security measure for it, but there were just some things that the security couldn't handle.
For the three girls especially, theyâd definitely get called out by someone like back when we were going to the pool.
While that wouldnât happen if Nozomu were there, if one of them got separated from the rest, it would be a different story.
ââŠSorry, forget about what I just said.â
âDonât be. I was exaggerating things a little. As long as weâre careful, we should be fine.â
âI know, but I kinda realized that I was a little too selfish.â
Though my time with Umi was more important to me than anything else, that didnât mean I wanted to disregard everyoneâs feelings for my selfishness.
âI see. Then, Iâll tell everyone to come here tomorrow. Is that okay with you?â
âYeah. Sorry for saying something weird.â
âDonât worry about it. I know more than anyone else that youâre a selfish kid, Maki-chan~â
ââŠNow weâre back to treating me like a child again.â
âAm I wrong though? Like, the other day you were holding on my chestââ
âLetâs continue this conversation after we get off the bus, okay?â
Our first outing in a long while ended with a note of embarrassment for me. With that, the first night of the weekend was coming to an end.
I wonder what will happen during the festival tomorrow?
Hopefully, everything will end without any accident.