Chapter 31:

Festival Works

Kinoshita at Midnight

An hour later, we arrived at the festival, bright and early.

"Hmm... Small crowd today, no?" Haruto asked. "Still a good bit, don't get me wrong, but not as many as there were yesterday."

"I mean, it's ten in the morning on a Saturday," Kanon replied. "Enjoy the stillness while you can. Later, you're gonna be bumping shoulders with every step you take."

"Oof. Will you be able to handle that, Kazuha?"

"Who knows?" I said. "If anything— uh... Let's just say I went through some intense training before this, so I should be fine."

"Pfft, you mean when Chihara dragged you to the mall? Which, by the way, is absolutely crazy that she was able to convince you to go not just once or twice, but four times. The last time I invited you to a crowded place, you declined before I could even finish the sentence."

I shrugged.

"I'm a simp, I guess."

"Hah. At least you're aware of it. Now, come on. We've got some daylight to burn."

Over the next hour, we went through the festival grounds, making two laps around the whole area. Gradually, more people began to show up the closer it got to noon, so things got naturally busier. About halfway in, our time became less of a hangout and more of a maintenance run to check that everything was running smoothly.

"Whoa, check out that line," Haruto said. "What is that? The fishing game?"

"Looks like it," Kanon replied. "It was pretty popular yesterday, too. I'm not sure why. Maybe it's because the prizes are nicer than usual? Although... Why are there only three students running it? Shouldn't there be four?"

"Let's find out."

We approached the stall, where one of the guys saw us coming.

"Ah! President!" he exclaimed with a short bow.

"Hey, Takashi. Uh... Where's Koji? Wasn't he supposed to be with you today?"

"Ah, yeah. Koji fell ill because of how cold it was yesterday, I guess. Aside from Soma and Ichiro over there, it's just me on this side."

"Well, that won't do."

Without hesitation, Haruto jumped over the stall and slipped into a bright grin.

"Alright, Takashi. Let's get this thing going!"

"A-ah! Yes, President!"

Next to me, Kanon chuckled.

"He really can't catch a break," she said.

"And yet, he still manages to pull through," I scoffed. "I admit, Haruto is a way stronger man than I. If it were up to me, I'd find a quiet spot to rest rather than jump back into the action."

"That is precisely why he's president, and you're not."

"Hah. I guess so."

With Haruto now preoccupied, Kanon and I continued our trail. Of course, it was never gonna be that easy. Later down the line, we stumbled upon yet another long line.

"What is this time?" I asked.

"Hmm... Oh. Haha, shit," Kanon chuckled. "It's the takoyaki stall. See, I get why this one's popular. Not that stupid fishing game."

"Yeah, but... Is there only supposed to be one person?"

Kanon poked her head over the many shoulders to see a girl struggling to keep up with all the orders.

"Well, damn..." she sighed. "Short answer: no, it's not supposed to be just one person. Long answer—"

"This is where our day off ends, huh?"

"Looks like it. Oh, the woes of being in a position of leadership with a bunch of unreliable kids."

"Yeah, I could never."

"Pfft, and let's keep it that way. I'd sooner trust Little Chihara with that kind of responsibility. Anyway, I should step in. Any minute now, that poor girl might pass out from stress."

"Have fun."

I waved her off as she joined the girl behind the stall. Unable to contain her gratitude, the girl tightly wrapped her arms around Kanon, seemingly in tears.

That left only me. Without anyone to pull me around, I was just a sitting duck, looking for anything to do. Maybe it would've been a little easier if I weren't such a disinterested homebody, because nothing looked appealing. Not in the slightest.

I sighed.

"Damn. Now I remember why I hate going to these kinds of events. I'm bored."

After a while of wandering aimlessly, I bought a plate of yakitori and sat down at a picnic table, watching the traffic of people enjoying the festival.

A part of me wanted to text Chihara and ask where she was, but I decided not to. She might be out there somewhere, having fun with her friends. I shouldn't interrupt her just yet.

With a sigh, I reached to grab one of the skewers from my plate, but I stopped.

That's... strange. I swear I read on the menu that one plate came with four skewers, and I'm pretty sure I counted them before leaving the stall, so why do I only see three now?

Suddenly, I felt two taps on my left shoulder.

I turned, but nothing was there.

Maybe it was a passerby, and I would've believed that had I not turned back to find that another skewer went missing.

Confused, I turned right this time, only to find a huge pair of pink eyes staring me down mere inches from my face.

"Boo!"

"W-wha—?!"

If I hadn't bumped my head into a random passerby, I would've fallen headfirst onto the ground. I quickly turned, expressing my apologies, before twirling right around at the girl who somehow snuck up on me.

"Haha~! I got you!" she exclaimed with a huge grin.

"What the... When the hell did you get here, Chihara?"

"Oh. About five minutes ago. I saw you in line at the yakitori stall, so I told my friends I had to go, and now, here I am."

"Your friends? They wouldn't happen to be a trio of girls — one wearing a yellow jacket, the next in a white turtleneck, and the last with a red hoodie — would they?"

"Huh? That's right. How did you...? Wait..."

Chihara glanced over her shoulder, where three girls were oh-so-inconspicuously hiding behind a single pole that wouldn't be able to fully hide even just one of them.

"Oi! Go away!" she shouted.

"Eek! We've been caught!"

"Quick! Get away~!"

"Hey! Wait up, guys! I mean... Girls!"

And just like that, they bolted off, disappearing in the sea of people, though something tells me this wouldn't be the last time we see them tonight.

"Hmph. Those girls..."

"They seem like a fun bunch," I chuckled, sitting down.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. They're very outgoing, but that's part of the issue. One person's business becomes everyone's business."

"Hah. Sounds a lot like someone I know, that someone being Haruto. Anyway, are you gonna share even just a little?"

"Share? Share what?"

I decided to let her figure it out on her own. Expectedly, it didn't take long.

She glanced down to see a fresh skewer locked between her fingertips, while the plate had three wooden sticks, completely bare.

Then, she let out the weirdest little sound. It was something like a mix between a hiccup and a hamster squeak. Her head drooped, and maybe it was because of the cold, but her ear was growing redder by the second.

"Ah... K-Kinoshita..." she mumbled sheepishly. "I'm... I'm sorry..."

That did it. Despite how hard I tried to hold back my laughter, it came out like water from a dam.

"I'm just messing with you, Chihara," I said. "It's fine. Keep eating, and if you want more, I'll buy more. Or we can get something else."

"N-no! I'll pay you back."

"Chihara..."

"Uh-uh. It's not gonna be good for my conscience if I—"

"Hey."

Once again, I put my hand on her head for no reason at all. The way she's looking at me, wide eyes and curious, is seriously way too cute.

"I told you it's fine. So go on."

She looked at me for a moment longer, then down at the skewer.

"You're too nice sometimes, Kinoshita," she said.

"Many people would disagree."