Chapter 6.5 – Wishes in the Summer wind

Writers note : Hey, guys thanks for all the support, I really do appreciate all the love for this series. So I wanted to announce that I've made an X account to update situations to you guys as I might not be able to upload every day after this chapter, You know school and stuff.

Alright with all of that said you can find my X link in my profile or just use this @YuukiDaruma_12 Thanks alot!! And enjoy the short extra chapter!

Today after school, something special was happening at Seiryou High.

Our school was having a small Tanabata festival in the courtyard.

Tanabata is a summer tradition where people write wishes on colorful paper strips called tanzaku and hang them on bamboo branches. The decorations were everywhere bamboo stalks, streamers, sparkly stars dangling from strings

It was like the school had turned into a cheesy romance anime.

Bamboo stalks tied up near the school gate. Colorful streamers blowing in the wind. Tables filled with pens and tanzaku.

I walked around, holding a blank paper strip in my hand. Students were laughing, writing wishes, and tying them up. Some wishes were normal, like :

"I want to pass my math test."

Others were very normal :

"I want to sleep for ten hours straight."

And some were... questionable :

"Please let Nishiyama-san notice me." — signed anonymously. (Suspicious.)

Daiki waved me over with both hands.

"Yuuji! Check mine out!" he grinned, pointing at his wish.

It said. "I want six-pack abs before summer vacation."

"You wrote that like Tanabata is a gym program," I said.

"Hey, dreams come in all shapes. Mine are ab-shaped."

I laughed, then noticed a certain someone nearby.

Airi Fujimoto.

She was wearing her school uniform as usual, but she had a little star clip in her hair.

Cute.

She was tying up her wish carefully.

"What did you write?" I asked, trying to act cool.

She smiled sweetly. "Secret."

"Come on."

"Nope." She turned away, then looked back. "What about yours?"

I held mine up: "I wish for a peaceful school life."

She stared at it.

"...Is this about me?"

"N-no! I mean, not directly! I—"

Too late. She was already giggling.

Suddenly, someone jumped between us.

"Let me see! Let me see!"

It was Mika. She had ink all over her fingers and a worried look on her face.

"I tried writing something deep and poetic but my pen exploded," she said, holding up her ruined tanzaku. It looked like an abstract painting.

Airi tilted her head. "That looks... creative."

"It was supposed to say 'I want to grow stronger.' Now it says 'I want to grow strawberries'."

(In japanese one wrong line can change the whole meaning)

"Same thing," Daiki said, walking by. "Strawberries are strong. They survive birds and bugs."

Kenta ran up next, holding a suspicious looking notebook.

"Guys! I’m conducting a Tanabata investigation! Last year I wished for a turtle plush and BAM my grandma gave me one the next week! I’m tracking this."

"You think your grandma was the stars?" I asked.

"Don’t be silly. It was probably aliens."

While Kenta continued his conspiracy, I looked up.

The sky was orange.

The wind blew gently through the bamboo trees, making the tanzaku papers flutter.

It felt peaceful.

Even Airi was quiet.

We stood there, looking at our wishes.

She smiled at me again. "I hope your wish comes true, Yuuji-kun."

"Thanks," I said. "I hope yours does too."

She looked away, a little red.

Mika sneezed. "Oh no, I got ink on my nose!"

Daiki offered her a napkin. Kenta tried to tape a bug to his notebook as "evidence."

And I stood in the middle of it all.

Confused, like always.

But maybe...

Just a little happy too.

Yuuji’s Mental Diary – Tanabata Edition

Airi Fujimoto Status: 🌠 Suspiciously sparkly
Damage Taken: 1/10 (Emotional teasing)

Notes:
– Wrote a peaceful wish.
– Mika is now part ink and 10% strawberry.
– Daiki wants abs. Again.
– Kenta believes aliens grant wishes.
– Sky was pretty. Moment was... kinda nice?
– I may or may not be smiling right now. Help.