The Summer Festival Part 3

We left the noise and chaos.

The narrow path I remembered from my childhood was still there, stretching along a line of trees, illuminated only by far away lanterns and flickering shadows.

We walked until the sound of the festival faded into a soft hum. At the top of a small hill, beneath wide tree canopies, was a spot overlooking the river.

No crowds, no noise. Just the wind and some crickets.

Yuna stopped.

“...It’s beautiful. It feels like we’re in a completely different town.”

I prepared the blanket I had packed just in case. She set the fox mask aside, and because nobody was in sight, I removed mine too.

Her face, half lit by the moon, looked peaceful. I had to force my eyes away before staring became a problem.

We sat down on the blanket as we waited for the fireworks.

I shuffled slightly to give her space.

She… did not.

She sat down practically pressed against my side, close enough that our sleeves brushed, close enough that I could hear her breathing.

“Uh… Yuna? Why are you sitting so close?” I asked carefully.

She stiffened.

“I…” she hesitated.

Then:

“...B–B–because you stink!”

I blinked.

“...What.”

“You stink.” she repeated, voice tiny and defensive.

“That makes 0 sense.”

“It does.” she insisted. “Bugs won’t come near me when I’m with you.”

I stared at her.

She stared ahead, stubborn, flushed cheeks.

Then I started laughing.

…’Bugs won’t come near me’, huh?... Why do I feel like there’s a 2nd meaning to this.

She tugged her yukata sleeve over her hands.

“S–Shut up…”

But she didn’t move away. Not an inch.

Suddenly, the 1st firework bloomed.

A deep boom echoed through the trees, followed by a burst of color that painted the sky in red and gold. Light spilled through the leaves, flickering across the ground, across her face, across the tiny gap between us.

More followed, one after another. For a moment neither of us spoke.

I watched the reflections dance in her eyes and felt my chest tighten.

…This might be a good moment.

The thought came uninvited.

I shifted slightly, my fingers brushing against the small paper bag hidden in my yukata.

The fox bib.

Was this too much? Too sudden? Too… weird a timing?

Fireworks weren’t exactly subtle. Giving something like that… now… under this sky, in this silence… it felt dangerously close to meaning more than I knew how to explain.

I glanced at her. She was looking up, completely absorbed, lips parted in quiet awe.

…If not now, then when? In the hallway?

The next firework exploded overhead, brighter than the last.

Before I could overthink this any further, I took a slow breath and reached into the yukata pocket.

“Yuna.” I said gently.

She blinked. “You say something?”

“Yes. I have something for you.” I said louder.

“F– For me?”

I took the small paper bag out of my yukata pocket and held it out to her. Her hands trembled slightly as she opened the bag, and pulled out the small fox bib with the same red markings as our masks.

“...Wait. This is…”

She took a good look at it.

“...This is the one from before.” she said quietly. “The one from that stall…”

She looked up at me, cheeks flushing pink almost instantly.

“Y– You bought it? For me?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “Yeah, you looked like you really wanted it.”

Her lips parted, but no sound came out.

Then her shoulders trembled.

“Ren… you didn’t have to do that.” she said, voice unsteady. “I mean… this is too much. It’s really… too kind.”

Her eyes were glassy now, tears gathering at the corners as she quickly looked away, embarrassed.

“I just… I didn’t expect…” she murmured, trying to calm herself.

“But we’re not even–”

She stopped.

“...Not what?” I asked.

She didn't answer.

Instead, she hugged the bib to her chest, fingers curling tightly around it.

Under the fireworks, her face was bright red.

“...Thank you.” she whispered. “Really, I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything.”

She swallowed.

“...I want to.”

The fireworks suddenly grew louder. A rapid succession of fireworks, filling the sky with light and sound. Red, white, blue, green, gold.

The final phase.

Explosions overlapping, echoing through the trees, shaking the air around us.

Her face was still burning red, eyes wide, lips slightly parted.

“... I think I…”

BOOOOOMMMMM!

A massive burst detonated directly overhead.

Her voice was swallowed whole by the fireworks.

I saw her lips move.

But all I heard was.

“...you.”

I blinked.

“Sorry.” I said, leaning a little closer. “I didn’t quite catch that.”

For a moment, she didn’t move at all.

Not her hands, nor her shoulders. She might’ve stopped breathing aswell.

Then, slowly, she inhaled.

Her grip on the bib tightened.

“...I said…Thank you!”

She glanced away, still hugging the small fox bib to her chest.

“...Thank you for thinking about me.”

Another explosion lit up the sky.

I nodded, a little embarrassed. “Of course. Anything if it makes you happy.”

Why did I say it like that…

And then…

Silence.

The last echo faded into the night.

No more light.

No more sound.

Just the wind in the trees, the crickets growing louder, and the two of us sitting there.

I stared at the dark sky, my thoughts suddenly far too loud.

…Yui would lose her mind if she were here.

That was straight out of an anime.

The perfect opportunity for a mishearing scene.

Way too cliché.

And yet… the way Yuna had frozen. The way her voice had broken. The way she couldn’t meet my eyes afterward.

…Was that really all she’d said?

Beside me, Yuna sat perfectly still, completely silent.

And for the 1st time that night, the silence between us felt louder than the fireworks ever could.

Then, almost at the same time, both our phones buzzed.

I glanced down at mine out of habit.

Another invitation. A streamer collaboration. A tournament by the same organizer as last time.

My thumb hovered over the screen for a second longer than necessary.

…Not now.

I locked the phone and slipped it back into my pocket.

Yuna noticed.

“Something important?” she asked quietly.

“No.” I said, forcing a casual tone. “Nothing important.”

She nodded, but didn’t check her own phone.

“You’re not going to look?” I asked.

The words were out before I could stop them.

Idiot. Why would you ask that?

She probably just doesn’t want to see her boss’s name pop up right now, on a nice evening like this.

Yuna blinked, then gave a small nod.

“...You’re right.”

She reached for her phone.

The moment she read the screen, she froze.

“Yuna? Is something wrong? Is it from your boss?”

She shook her head quickly.

“No. It’s… nothing like that.”

She looked up again, eyes soft, lips curving into a tiny smile.

Something about it made my chest feel strange.

“...We should probably head back soon.” I said after a moment.

She nodded.

“Yeah… we should.” she agreed quietly.

We walked back slowly.

Yuna held the fox bib against her chest the entire time.

As we walked side by side, I couldn’t stop my thoughts.

What am I even doing?

Buying baby things…

Touching her stomach…

Taking her to a secret place from my childhood…

But why did it feel so… right?

Some part of me still wants to believe that I barely know her. It’s been only 3 weeks…

No…

That excuse doesn’t work anymore.