After the twenty minute break, they finally started to shoot the second batch of fireworks. As planned, the remaining three thousand fireworks would be set off simultaneously.
Compared to the first batch, theyâd be adding more variations to the fireworks. Thereâd be ones that would resemble particular well-known characters and various other shapes thatâd keep the audience entertained.
During the thing, somehow, Umi found me with my mouth half-opened again. It felt embarrassing. I thought I was a changed man after the first time, but it seemed like I was still the same old me.
ââŠEverything will be over soon, huh?â
âMhm. Time went by quickly.â
Currently, there were only around a hundred fireworks left, waiting to be shot. Those were a special arrangement of fireworks (they were called star mine) that would serve as a signal of the festivalâs end.
It made me wonder what would happen next year. If they were to hold another festival, I guess theyâd be holding it here again, but by that time, maybe not all of us would be able to come to see it again.
After a brief pause, the remaining hundred or so fireworks finally hit the night sky, lighting it up with colorful lights, followed by the loud sound of explosions.
âLetâs come back here again next year, Umi.â
ââŠOf course. Weâll come back with everyone here.â
âYeah.â
While it would be nice if we were to go here only with the two of us, we couldnât really do just that. There wouldnât be many times for our group to hang out together like this.
All five of us were connected by my friendship with Umi.
There was only a year and a half left before our high school life ended. I wanted to make good memories with Umi, that was a given, but I also wanted to make good memories with the rest of them.
At that moment, the last shot came, it was bigger and prettier than anything that had come out so far. It flashed brilliantly before disappearing, prompting a huge applause from the crowds.
âThat was amazing! See you again next year!â It felt like they hid that message inside their applause.
âAh~ It was fun! My neck hurts thoughâŠâ
âI feel you. My shoulders are all stiff. Seki, Iâll give you special permission to give them a good massage.â
âAnd why should I do that? Both your hands are intact, you can do it yourself, Nitta!â
âSo cold! I canât help it then! Rep, will you do the honor?â
ââŠObviously, Iâll refuseâŠâ
âMe too. Yuu, Iâll leave her to you.â
âOh jeez! Fine, come here Ninacchi!â
âWoah, thank you, Yuuchin~ You really are the only one on my side here~â
âNo, I donât think thatâs the caseâŠâ
After the fireworks display was over, we naturally started talking to each other. We talked about what happened in the morning, our change of plans at lunch time, me getting lost, our impression of the fireworks and many more. Various topics came unprompted and the atmosphere around us was rowdy to say the least.
A lot of things happened recently, from Nitta-san asking me out so suddenly to the relationship between Amami-san and Nozomu. Since the sports festival, there were a lot of things going on, but at this moment, we forgot about those things and enjoyed ourselves together.
âI wish this kind of atmosphere could last foreverâŠâ As I was thinking about that while walking, I noticed the crowds had dispersed.
âAlright, now that weâve arrived at the station, we can go on our ways. Reiji-kun has already fallen asleep, so Iâll go back home with Shizuku. What are you going to do, Maki?â
âI know I brought it to myself, but I'm tired after getting lost, so I guess Iâll head home too⊠Uh, Umi-san, can you not pull on my yukata?â đđđ đŁđ€đ«đđĄ.đđđą
âYour clothes are still in my place, so if you want them back, you have to come with me.â
âAre you really trying to keep them hostage now? Nah, Iâll get them tomorrow. Iâll also wash the yukata and return it tomorrowâŠâ
Of course, if possible, I wanted to spend more time with Umi, but it wasnât like I could just indulge myself this time. I knew that Sora-san would let me stay overnight if I were to ask her, but with Shizuku-san and Reiji-kun around⊠Yeah, there was no way that Iâd be that thoughtlessâŠ
ââŠOi, Umi.â
âW-What? No matter what youâll say, Iâll go with him to his house!â
ââŠSeriously, you⊠Whatever, just go home after you get him to his house. Donât even think about troubling Mom tonight. And, Maki, whatever it is that she asks you later, refuse it.â
âO-OkayâŠâ
And with that, Riku-sanâs group of three went back to Umiâs house. Nothing really happened tonight, other than me getting lost, but thanks to Riku-san and Shizuku-san acting as our guardians, we were able to enjoy the festival without worry. I really should say my thanks to them when I meet them again.
ââŠAlright, we should head home soon too. Personally, I want us to hang out a little longer, but looking at the time, it isnât like thereâs a place we could just hang out atâŠâ
âOkay, Iâll be going with you, Ninacchi, since weâre going in the same direction and all! I feel like talking more since I joined later than everyone else⊠Oh, right, do you want to come with us, Nozomu-kun? You know, since youâre also going in the same direction and allâŠâ
ââŠSorry, I gotta pass. I came by bike today, you see⊠Also, I have to go home early since I have morning practice tomorrowâŠâ
âAh, sorry, I didnât know⊠I thought youâd be lonely by yourself, Nozomu-kun, but I guess I was getting ahead of myself, huh?â
âNo, no, itâs fine! Donât worry about it!â
Thanks to my conversation with Nozomu prior to this, I managed to notice the air of awkwardness between the two.
It made me wonder what was in Umi and Nitta-sanâs mind after seeing those two.
In any case, the five of us went our separate ways. I went home with Umi, Amami-san with Nitta-san and Nozomu went home by himself.
âHm? Whatâs wrong, Maki? I know Iâm pretty in this yukata and youâre smitten by it, but arenât you used to it by now?â
âNo, it isnât like thatâ Well, itâs true that you look pretty in whatever you wearâŠâ
âHehe, so do you want me to wear this yukata again next year?â
ââŠYeah.â
âPervert~â
âWait, what do you mean pervert? I havenât done anything?â
âWhat, you expect me to forget the words you told me earlier today? Also, do you think I didnât notice that you were staring at the back of my neck? Câmon~â
âB-Both is something that you should do, donât you think?â
âNah, I donât think so~â
Perhaps she expected Iâd react like this as she seemed to be in a really good mood.
No matter how she was dressed, Iâd always find her pretty and my love toward her wouldnât change. But, in cases like this, when she had put in more effort to dress up, I had to give her a proper compliment even though it was embarrassing.
Anyway, Iâve said it multiple times already, but I felt the need to emphasize a fact. My girlfriend was the prettiest girl in the world. She was prettier than Amami-san, Nitta-san or any other girls out there.
âThat idiotic couple over there! Itâs fine if you want to flirt, but canât you do it after the rest of us are out of here?!â
âSeriously, you two! Iâm burning with jealousy over here~â
âWell, gotta agree with Amami-san here. Get a room, you two.â
âââŠââ
Their voices pulled us back to reality. We ended up bowing our heads to three, who were still yelling at us, before quickly leaving the station.
After walking for a while and making sure that those three were out of our sights, we let out a sigh of relief.
ââŠWe got carried away like usual.â
âWeâve always been like this ever since we started going out, huh?â
âYeah⊠Hopefully weâll stay like this forever.â
âOf course. Weâll stay like this forever and everâŠâ
As if confirming our feelings to each other again, we walked side by side, intertwining our hands.
Yeah. Even if something were to happen between our group of five, there was one thing that would never change.
No matter what happened, Iâd be staying by Umiâs side. I felt sorry for Amami-san and the rest of our group, but this was the only thing I could do.
âUmi.â
âWhat is it?â
ââŠNever mind.â
âHuh? What? What are you trying to say? Is it something that will make me mad again~? Câmon, I wonât be mad, so tell me~â
ââŠLetâs talk about it after weâre home, okay?â
I actually wanted to tell her that I love her again, but I had a feeling that weâd get carried away again if I did.
And so, the night went on as we spent the rest of it, acting like the lovers that we were.