Delusions Made Real

I made my way through the festival, watching as other students were preparing their stalls, until I reached the Ema station. Four tables were set up in a square under a large tent. Haruto and Kanon were already hard at work, setting up markers and wooden plaques.

"Oh! Kazuha!" Haruto said as I approached. "You're finally here. Had to take your sweet time talking to Chihara, huh?"

"...I guess so. Anyway, where am I stationed?"

"Honestly, wherever the hell you want. I can't imagine a lot of people are gonna stop by to make an Ema, so it'll be chill."

Just behind him, Kanon was hard at work, drawing on a wooden plaque with the concentration of an eagle to its prey.

"Hey, Kanon," I said.

She glanced up.

"Oh. Sup. We're making our own Ema. Wanna jump in?"

"Sure."

Before I could sit down, Haruto propped his arm on my shoulder.

"Actually, Kazuha," he said. "Now that you're here, let me borrow you for a second. There's something I need your help with."

"Oh. Okay."

"Don't take too long, guys," Kanon said. "Any minute now, the courtyard's gonna fill out, and I'll be left here to fend for myself."

"Hah, don't stress," Haruto chuckled. "We'll be right back."

Haruto led me to a branching path between two main strips. The festival lights barely reached us, so I couldn't see his expression. Even then, I didn't need to see it to know that something was up.

"Help, huh?" I said. "What could you possibly need help with out here?"

"Well... It's complicated."

"I bet. Anyway, what's poking at your head?"

He let out a deep sigh before turning to the sky.

"You look dumb as fuck, by the way," I scoffed.

"Ah, shut up, man. I'm just... thinking. By any chance... Do you remember the little charm I gave to Kanon? The one I put together as an apology for rain-checking our boba date?"

"Yeah? What does that—"

In that moment, I recalled just a few days ago, when I was doing some last-minute prep work with Kanon in the Student Building. She revealed the omamori charm hanging from her phone case. It was then that she admitted she had a crush on Haruto. For three whole years, no less.

And it looks like Haruto has finally figured it out.

"You know she's super picky about what she wears, right?" he asked.

"...Yeah, I do."

"She won't even wear accessories. I mean, have you ever seen her wear necklaces or bracelets?"

"Can't say that I have. She's got— uh... What was it again? Sensory hypersensitivity, or something like that."

"Yeah! She does! So that's why... I'm starting to think that she might... I mean... Look at it this way. Kanon is attractive. I've always thought so, and many others did, too. That's why she got asked out how many times since we've known her? Ten? Fifteen?"

"Just about fifteen."

"Yeah. Fifteen. And every single time, they gifted her expensive jewelry and all that, but I never once saw her wear any of them. So why... Why is she wearing that charm? It's almost as if... A-as if..."

With a deep breath, Haruto planted both hands on my shoulders.

"Kazuha," he said, almost panicking. "Tell me straight up, man. I'm not crazy for thinking the way I do, right?"

Shit... After Kanon shared her secret with me, I was really hoping not to get involved in their relationship. As much as I didn't like drama, it was tough to stay silent when I knew things that others didn't.

The question now is... What am I supposed to do? I swore to Kanon that I'd take this to the grave. At the same time, though, Haruto is on the cusp of realization.

"Well, let me ask you this," I said. "If she really does feel that way about you, how would you feel?"

"That's... I... don't actually know. Kanon is such a..."—he groaned, scratching the back of his head—"How should I say it? She's such a bro, you know?"

"Is being a bro an issue?"

"W-what? No! That's not what I'm getting at. I actually find her boyish personality... a-attractive. It's just that I respect her too much to think about a relationship. Does that make sense?"

"Honestly, no. Not at all."

"Hah... Fuck, man..."

I never thought I'd be giving relationship advice to Haruto, whose popularity is through the roof. Come to think of it, he was always talking to girls, but never had I actually seen him in a committed relationship.

"Well..." I mumbled. "As someone once told me, we're adults now. Third-year college students, no less. Leave all of that high school drama in the past. No beating around the bush."

"As if you have a right to speak on that matter."

"That's why I'm gonna tell Chihara tomorrow."

"Easy for you to say, man. That girl is clearly head over heels for you, so the hard part is already done."

"And how do you think I got there to begin with? Anyway, if you really do like Kanon, you're gonna have to make it clear at some point."

For a while longer, Haruto stood there, pondering. It seemed like he was genuinely taking what I had said into consideration, which... Depending on how I look at it, it could be good or bad.

Eventually, he drew a heavy breath and said, "I can't believe I'm taking advice from a troglodyte who dated Junko, of all people, for two whole years."

"Live and learn, you know? But comparing Junko to a catch like Kanon is insane work."

"H-huh?! I wasn't trying to compare them or anything!"

"Haha, I'm just kidding, Haruto. Still, you should learn to take a hint. And Kanon wearing your charm when she never wears accessories? Yeah, I'd say that's a pretty big hint."

"...Godammit... I hate when you're right, because when you're right, you're actually right."

"What can I say? Come on. The festival's about to start. We've kept Kanon waiting for long enough."

We made it back to the Ema stall, and soon, the festival was in full swing. Students and outsiders alike flocked to the campus grounds, smiling, laughing, and enjoying the fruits of the Festival Committee's labor.

Just as Haruto had predicted, not many people came by the Ema stall, but the few that did produced amazing charms. Albeit most of them were about their love life, which sent Haruto into a spiral. Kanon, on the other hand, was none the wiser.

An hour went by, and from the corner of my eye, I caught the cutest girl trying to sneak up on me.

"Boo!" Chihara exclaimed.

"Pfft, almost had me," I scoffed.

"Aww, did my plan fail? I was gonna surprise you, and you wouldve screamed, but then I'd give you this as an apology!"

She lifted a boba cup with a wide grin.

"...F-for me?" I asked.

"Yep! Oolong milk tea. Ah... Roasted oolong milk tea, actually."

"Hah... Thanks, Chihara."

"Mhm! Anyway, while I'm here, I should make an Ema, right? Hehe! I'm excited."

She sat at the table while I stood across from her. With the joy of a child on Christmas morning, she snatched a plaque and a few markers.

"What are you gonna make?" I asked.

"Hmm... I'm not sure. What have people been making?"

"Nothing too deep. I don't know about Haruto and Kanon, but the only ones I've seen so far were about love lives and how they wished that romance would work out for—!"

I stopped when I noticed Chihara staring at me, only to realize that I was insinuating something I wasn't meaning to.

Before I could say anything else, she turned away with a smile.

"Love life, huh...?"

Then, without another word, she began working away, and all I could do was shame myself in the corner as I watched. When she finished, she promptly said bye and ran off, not even showing me what she drew on the Ema.

"Hah... Seriously?"