Short-Lived Summer Memories II

"What are the results?"

"Hmmm...it looks fine right now but be cautious about your health, Tanahashi."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Currently, I'm in the hospital for a monthly checkup. I've been doing this since I got here in Setagaya.

"By the way, what are you going to wear later? Plain clothes?"

"Well, that's what I had in mind."

He shook his head and said, "There's a kimono in the closet in my room. Check if it fits on you."

"You have one?"

"I used to wear it when I was in college. Also, the sandals are in the front door, you can also wear them."

"I'll do that then. Thanks, Dr. Minoru."

This is Dr. Minoru, he is a doctor in this hospital, and also my guardian. He has been helping me ever since I moved from Fukuoka, all the way here to Setagaya.

"Take care, Tanahashi."

I left the hospital and proceed home to find the kimono in his room.

I went upstairs into his room and open the giant closet that he has. 

"This closet is empty, doesn't he buy clothes?"

I saw the kimono that he was talking about. It looks like one of those traditional black kimonos that most boys wear. Honestly speaking, it's very generic.

"Now what time is it?"

I turned around where the clock is. It's quarter to 6, we should be meeting around 6 PM.

I should be going now.

I wore the kimono, seems it was a bit big than I thought but I can manage it. I grabbed my stuff and went downstairs, wore the sandals, and left.

They say that we'll meet up at the entrance of the shrine.

A few minutes later, I arrived and I saw Nise and Itsuki waiting at the entrance.

Nise greeted, "Oh, it's Shin!"

Followed by Itsuki, "Hey there, Shin."

I replied back to them, "Hey, there. Only you two?"

Itsuki responded, "Yeah. The girls aren't here yet."

Nise followed, "They should be together, I think."

I replied, "Let's just wait for them."

We waited for a few minutes, but it was already passed six.

Nise complained, "Where are they? They are taking so long."

A voice from behind us fought back, "No we're not, you're just impatient."

It was Miu, and alongside her were Sakura and Yuuki. They are all wearing yukatas.

Wait, wait...Yuuki on a yukata. Wow, her yukata fits well on her. A blue one with white roses as a design. And her long hair tied in...it's beautiful.

Sakura noticed me looking at Yuuki, "Yuuki, I think someone has fallen for you." while pointing at me.

I reacted, "Wha—! It's...nothing like that!"

Miu teased, "Do you have anything to say to Yuuki, Shin?"

I looked at Yuuki and complimented, "You...look pretty right now."

She blushed and said, "Thank you...Shin."

We both looked away at each other out of embarrassment. You can see that both of us are blushing.

The guys just keep teasing us.

Miu said to Yuuki, "You heard that. He called you pretty."

While, Itsuki said to me, "You've got a lot of guts to say that, Shin."

Sakura killed the mood and said, "We should all get going now. We are here for the festival."

She's right, we are here to have fun at the festival.

We went up the stairs and the whole atmosphere changed. The orange bright lanterns match the darkness of the sky and you can also see the bright white moon. The environment here feels lively and peaceful.

An excited Nise pointed to one of the stalls, "Let's play that!"

He is pointing at the stall with the shooting game.

We went there and Nise went first.

The game was pretty simple, aim and shoot for one of the prizes, if it falls down, you get the prize.

Miu suggested, "Aim for the big box."

Nise shot it all and hit the box but it didn't move an inch. "Man, what's inside that box."

Miu volunteered, "I'll knock it down for sure."

...

She also hit it but it didn't move an inch as well.

Miu ranted, "What the hell is inside of that?!"

Nise agreed, "I know, right?"

Itsuki and I tried it also but nothing happened. It stays stilled, even though we hit it multiple times.

I asked, "How about you, Sakura?"

She replied, "I'm good."

I followed, "How about you, Yuuki?"

She agreed, "I'll try."

She gets the gun and points it like a hunter hunting down its prey.

She shoots it, and the box somehow moved, but was not knocked down.

We are all surprised by it.

Nise and Miu reacted, "What?!"

Yuuki shoots the second one, it moved again but it wasn't knocked down.

The vendor said, "You have one more shot, young girl."

She shoots it, she hits it. The box wiggled and wiggled but it didn't fall down in the end.

The vendor said, "Better next time, you young lads."

Then, unexpectedly, Yuuki snapped, "What in the world is in that box?! It should have been knocked down by all of the shots that we did!"

Miu calms her down, "Chill, Yuuki."

Sakura agreed, "That's right, just calm down."

Yuuki answers back, "But...the prize."

I replied, "There are more prizes in other stalls, Yuuki."

I didn't know that she has a childish side.

We left the stall before making any ruckus. 

We went and sit on one of the benches there. After a while, Yuuki finally calmed down and apologized, "I'm sorry guys if I made a ruckus a while ago."

I replied, "It's all good but I didn't expect you to be mad there."

Yuuki complained, "But it has been shot a lot of times before my turn. It didn't make sense why it won't fall down."

I responded, "Calm down, there's probably a trick there."

Sakura followed, "It's probably glued underneath it. Most festival games have it."

I added, "That's one way to earn money and scam the people."

Miu suggested, "How about we eat food now? The smell here just makes me hungry."

Itsuki followed, "I'm also hungry."

Sakura agreed, "Yeah, let's eat."

We all went and bought food from different stalls because there is just a lot of them. From takoyaki, okonomiyaki, and yakisoba, to sweets like choco banana, cotton candy and dango.

As time goes by, there are more people going to the festival and it's getting crowded, that it's easy to get lost. Even though it's getting crowded, I still see Itsuki, Nise, Miu, and Sakura who are in front of me. Yuuki is probably behind me. Then, Yuuki called, "Shin, the crowd, I might get—"

I immediately looked back and I see her getting abducted by the crowd. I grab her hand out and pulled her from the surging crowd. I kept holding her hand so she won't get dragged by the crowd again. She whispered, "Thank you, Shin." I replied back, "It's nothing. Just be careful next time, okay?" She nods back at me. We followed the group until we are free from the crowd and I immediately let go of her hand so the others wouldn't notice it.

Miu complained, "Finally, a lot of space."

Nise followed, "That was tight."

Itsuki added, "It's hard to move there, especially with my knee."

Then the speakers throughout the whole festival, "The fireworks are about to light up in a few minutes."

Sakura spoke, "Another one."

I followed, "We just saw one twenty-four hours ago."

Yuuki giggled, "It's kind of funny if you ask me."

Then the countdown started.

You hear people shouting 3...2...1.

The fireworks went out and like yesterday, it's beautiful and pretty. We're all mesmerized by it and it looks really cool from our view. But it's a little bit short-lived compared to what we saw yesterday. After that, we continued having our fun at the festival, from the games to the prizes that we got.

It's a bit getting late by now, so I suggested, "We should go home now, it's a bit late."

Nise agreed, "My parents might scold me if I go home later than usual."

Itsuki followed, "I agree, you never know what danger might come after us if we go much later than usual."

We all went to the station and separated our ways there. Like yesterday, I'm with Yuuki, whose stop is right next to mine but something unfortunate happened.

Yuuki mumbled, "Ouch."

I asked, "What's wrong?"

She replied, "Blisters on my feet."

I told, "Sit there, I have band-aids."

She sits down and removed her sandals while I put the band-aid on her. I could tell she isn't used to wearing sandals.

"I'm sorry for making you do this Shin, it must be troublesome for you."

"It's nothing. You also helped me back then on my first day in school, let me repay you back at least."

She giggled, "You're right. Thanks, Shin."

After I treated her blisters, we rode the train back. Right before her stop, the straps of her sandals broke. She complained, "Why does it have to break now?"

There's nothing she can do and she just arrived at her stop. She was walking out of the train without any footwear at all. I immediately got out of the train and asked, "I'll help you." I offered my back to her and say, "I'll carry you to your place." She doubted, "Are you sure about this?" I replied, "Yeah, I'm sure of it."

I offered my back and she hopped on it. To my surprise, she isn't that heavy at all, but I could feel the warmth of her body and her chest pressing on my back. We went out of the station and on the way to her place. 

She whispered, "Thanks, Shin. I owe you a lot on this one." I replied, "Don't mention it." She curiously asked, "Aren't I heavy?" I teased her, "Yeah, you are." She started toying with my hair and said, "That's rude to say, Shin." I replied back, "I know right?" We both laughed it off and within minutes, we were already at her place.

She gets off me and said, "Thanks, Shin. Go back safely. See you next time."

I greeted her back, "See you next time, Yuuki."

Then she puts her finger in front of her lips, like someone saying to shush, and said, "Don't tell anyone about what happened today, okay?" Like yesterday at the train, I just nodded back at her without saying a word.

"Bye-bye," as she closes the front door.

What a night is it.

Our two-day fun was over.

I wish it could last like an eternal.