Before the sun sets (pt 2)

After school, Haru and the boys met up at Renji’s house. Daichi and Haru waited in the front room while their friend went to his bedroom to gather some stuff he had been collecting. Haru took a sip of his tea while the dreamy Daichi stared out the window.

“I wonder what Ayaka and Mia are doing,” Daichi mumbled, “If Mia’s relentless energy doesn’t kill her.”

“Who knows?” Haru said while shrugging, “She might.”

Dachi smiled, “If she could do the same for her as she did for you… It would be awesome!”

Haru looked at his friend, eyes filled with confusion. “How so?”

“You don’t notice? I guess it’s hard to see yourself,” Daichi said, “every time she enters the room, you light up.”

Haru took another sip of his tea. “I guess I might have changed a bit, I am starting to appreciate this town more.”

Daichi sighed, shaking his head. “Man, I’m jealous. I’ve been begging you to put your books down and actually see the world for years. Then she comes along and fixes it in just a few days.” He smirked, his eyes gleaming. “I guess that’s what love can do to a man.”

The door swung open, Renji appeared carrying a box of knick-knacks. “I found something!” He said, holding a stack of weathered calligraphy paper. “Let’s write some fake love letters.”

“I’ll do it!” Daichi said as he grabbed a pen and a pot of ink from the box. Holding the pen, he stared at Haru. “Mister poetry, please give me some ideas.”

Haru sighed, his mind pondering. He closed his eyes, trying to think about something, something romantic. But the only thing surfacing was Mia’s face. He shook his head, this is not for her. He recalled the poems he had been reading recently… the horrors of war… widows. An idea popped into his mind.

His eyes met Daichi’s, and he started slowly reciting.

“Though the earth has claimed your body, my heart will not let you rest - if love could defy time, I would write you into eternity, where no war could tear us apart.”

“You are terrific at this stuff, Haru!” Renji exclaimed while he fumbled with some batteries.

As Daichi finished his writing, Renji finished putting in the batteries in the electric candle. A blue light started illuminating from it.

“Blue? That's spooky!” Daichi exclaimed.

“Wait until you see this,” Renji held his phone and swiped the screen, the color of the candle changing.

Daichi clapped his hands, “You are awesome, Renji!”

The boy smiled, satisfied, and pressed another button on his phone. Ghostly noises started playing from a speaker still sitting in the box.

Haru smiled at his friends. “Thank you for helping me. I think it'll turn out well.”

“Well, as a little thank you, we would like you to promise something to us,” Renji said, pausing for effect. Then, with a grin, he added, ”Promise us you’ll confess to Mia.”

Daichi nodded approvingly.

Haru let out a nervous chuckle. “S-Sure… I’ll do it.”

Renji raised his hand in the air, and Daichi joyfully slapped it. The boys turned to Haru, who paused before slowly lifting his hand. Their high-five was a little awkward, but snappy enough.

X

After the sun had gone under, Haru and his friends gathered by a little bench on the edge of town. The glow of the iron street lights cast long shadows on the quiet street, where most townsfolk had already gone to bed. The male friends eagerly waited for Mia and Ayaka to arrive, eager to see how the girls had spent their time together.

When two familiar figures turned the corner, Haru instinctively lowered his book, his gaze drawn to them. Mia’s golden locks shimmered under the streetlights, her confident stride closing in on the boys. A few steps behind her, Ayaka walked hesitantly, almost as if she was using the foreign girl as a shield.

Renji focused his attention on Ayaka, his eyes zeroing in on her unusually timid posture. "What's wrong?" he asked, a teasing lilt in his voice. "Afraid we’ll try something in the dark?"

“N…nothing of your concern,” Ayaka stammered, her usual sharp tongue replaced with uncertainty.

Renji frowned, something was definitely off. Without thinking, he jumped up from the bench and stepped closer. His face was only a hair away from Ayaka's.

Ayaka’s voice squeaked. “What are you doing?”

But Renji didn’t answer right away, his usual teasing grin had disappeared, his eyes scanning her face like he were seeing it for the first time. "Ayaka… you look-" He hesitated, swallowing hard. Then, in an unusually quiet voice, he finished, "gorgeous."

“WHAT?” Ayaka exclaimed, her face turned red like a tomato as she pushed Renji away. He stumbled back, looking away from Ayaka. His face was equally flushed, neither of them seemed able to meet the other's gaze

Mia chuckled, crossing her arms with a satisfied grin. “Haha… Maybe I got a little carried away with my little makeover.”

Haru took a closer look at his female childhood friend's face, inspecting Mia’s work. A bit of red lipstick made her lips look puffy, and her eyes were accentuated by small scribbles of eyeliner. A bit of powder gave her face a smooth glow, she looked totally stunning.

Mia poked Haru with her arm, she put her hand before her mouth. “Did I create myself some competition,” she said while pointing at the still-embarrassed Ayaka.

A little makeup didn’t make the difference, Haru’s heart was still beating for Mia. Haru smirked. “I think you’re safe… for now.”

The blonde girl glimpsed, putting the outside of her hands in the air. “Look at this nail polish, isn’t it cute?” She had painted her nails pink and then added little white cartoony ghosts on them. One looked happy, the other surprised… they all had a different expression.

Haru stared at her beautiful nails in awe, “You are good at this.”

She hummed a cheerful melody as she grabbed Ayaka’s hand from behind her back. “Look, I painted cute cats on hers!”

Ayaka brushed Mia away, her face still deep red. “I could die of embarrassment.”

Mia shook her head, “I just wanted to thank you for cooking me such a delicious meal!”

“Shhh!” Ayaka hissed, frantically trying to hush her.

But it was too late - Renji, now somewhat recovered from his flustered state, had taken an interest. “Wait… you can cook?”

Ayaka stiffened. “W-Well… a girl has to learn eventually,” she muttered. Then, while gazing at the boy, she added, “Not that it means anything! It’s not like we’re getting together or anything!”

Daichi chuckled, stepping between them with a relaxed grin. “Alright, enough teasing for tonight,” he said while clapping Renji on his back. “Let’s get moving before we wake up the whole town.”

Ayaka huffed, crossing her arms, while Mia giggled, clearly enjoying the chaos she had created. “Time to meet some ghosts, I am ready!”

Haru closed his book, “Let’s go.”

With that, the group finally started walking, the cool night air cooling down their heated emotions. As they walked past the final house, onto the dark path leading outside town, Haru turned on his lantern, leading the way to the abandoned shrine.