Lightning in a Bottle

Ichiro hadn't even noticed how swiftly time had flown by.

Lost in his thoughts, he remained unaware of the changing weather. As the air grew colder, he instinctively reached for his school-issued sweater, seeking protection from the biting winds outside. He had just noticed today that he had been doing it for several days already.

Over the past month, his life had undergone significant changes. Once the center of attention in his class and grade, he now found himself mostly unnoticed, with only occasional interactions with teachers. The only exceptions to this were Takuya who studied with him in the library and at lunch with him outside, and Hina who still constantly held onto him against his will.

Surprisingly, this new reality felt strangely comforting. Ever since their crushing defeat at Koshien, Ichiro no longer yearned for the spotlight. He embraced the break from the pressure to impress others and could finally focus on his own pursuits without the burden of meeting someone else's standards.

However, the challenge he faced now was that Ichiro no longer held any strong aspirations. Besides maintaining good grades for his future, he couldn't think of any other worthy goals to pursue at the moment, or at least none that he could come up with.

Fortunately, he found solace in working on Izumi's list with her. Often, he would take it out of his pocket and read it repeatedly, determined to help her achieve her goals. They went through the list step by step, and whenever Izumi mentioned something new, he secretly added it.

Some items on the list posed challenges, like hiking a mountain. It wasn't about a lack of will but rather practicality. With only one not all terrain wheelchair, steep mountain trails were not an option. Additionally, he couldn't find any handicap-accessible mountain tops either.

Setting that goal aside, they pursued a more accessible one. Next, they agreed on attending a local Autumn Harvest Festival instead. Ichiro suggested it, but Izumi wasn’t too eager to go to such a place with him. He argued it was an item on her list and that meant she wanted to go at least a bit. It took a lot of prying to free her from her resistance, but she agreed, but only if Mizuki came along with them. It was a no-brainer for Ichiro, and he instantly accepted her terms.

And so he agreed to meet her and Mizuki outside the festival's entrance. Nervously, he stood there, checking his phone constantly, waiting for their arrival.

“Hey! Ishii!” a loud voice rolled in over the rumble of the gathering crowd. Looking up, he saw Izumi being pushed closer to him by Mizuki in the rear. “Hey, sorry we took so long to get here. The crowds made it difficult to move around.” She sheepishly apologized as they finally faced each other.

“It's no problem, I just got here myself,” Ichiro replied, trying to hide the fact that he had arrived well before sunset, and now the sky was twinkling with stars. “But are you sure it will be fine for you? It's looking pretty packed in there already.”

“Don’t worry about us, just being here to experience it will be enough for me,” Izumi shook her head while raising her arm defensively. “I am more concerned with you two having fun,” she laughed as she looked back over her shoulder at her sister.

“I am only here because you and Ishii said it would be fine for me to tag along. Actually, if anything, I am more concerned with the way Ishii is dressed than our ability to have fun tonight," Mizuki teased.

“What?” Ichiro asked, looking down at his clothes. He hadn't been able to get a kimono in time for a reasonable price. Though he could have worn his father’s, he would have been swimming in it. Instead, he chose to wear a jinbei his mother bought him to match his father's. Rarely did he wear it, but this time felt as good as any. “I thought the plan was to wear kimonos?” As he looked up, he noticed that both Mizuki and Izumi were in very casual street clothes, nowhere close to wearing kimonos.

“Yeah, about that…” Izumi nervously rubbed her cheek, explaining how somehow her parents had misplaced a lot of clothes, including the kimonos they were planning to wear. They had only just noticed them missing that evening, which added to their late arrival.

Feeling utterly defeated, Ichiro could only sigh as he let his shoulders droop, while the two girls giggled at his misfortune. “Figures.” A cold autumn evening breeze blew and froze his weeping heart solid.

But despite the setback, they slowly made their way into the midst of the throngs of people mingling around the festival stalls. Instantly, their senses were overwhelmed by a strong wave of smells, sounds, and lights.

Lanterns adorned the long aisles of the festival, casting an orange glow on both the visitors and vendors. From the wooden stalls, several shouts vied for attention, each trying to lure guests with their enticing food, trinkets, and amusements.

It made Ichiro smile, as he hadn't been to a festival since his parents took him to one in elementary school. The most vivid memory he had was sitting atop his father's shoulders, high above the crowd, wearing a superhero mask on the side of his head while munching on a candied apple. Just recalling that memory brought a wide smile to his face, and re-experiencing it all again now made that smile even wider.

Turning to see how Izumi was faring, he noticed her eyes wide and sparkling in the amber glow as she took in the sights. Her mouth shaped into a small 'o' as she oohed at the sheer excitement she was experiencing. “Let's go there first,” she pointed to a stall with a cartoon octopus drawn over it.

Izumi began to push herself forward towards the takoyaki stand but found it near impossible to move more than a few inches at a time through the flowing streams of people darting about. They bounced around her, not giving her any attention as they alighted in their own festival celebrations. She looked practically stuck on an island rock in a raging sea of people.

Ichiro couldn’t stand to watch her sit there helplessly, trying her best to just get to the other side of the venue alleyway. Even from behind, he saw just how frustrated she was becoming just trying to move the slightest bit forward. His feet moved before his mind had time to acknowledge it. He reached out to grab her handlebars again.

But before his fingers even got close enough to grip them, he felt a sharp pain erupt on the back of his hands. Pulling them back to protect them from what just happened, he saw Izumi turn around in her seat with angry, inky eyes.

“I’ve got this, just let me handle this!” She called out over the cacophony of voices surrounding them.

Ichiro felt his temper start to rise, but he quelled it and spoke through slightly gritted teeth. “I am just trying to help.”

“I don’t need help!” she huffed, “I need takoyaki.”

Rising to his full height and closing his eyes, Ichiro breathed hard through his nose. “Hey, Mizuki. Give me a hand real quick?”

Mizuki, who had been sitting on the sideline watching the entire scene unfold as a spectator, nearly jumped when she heard her name invoked. Glancing around, she wondered what she was being called for, but it seemed quite obvious to her quickly.

She gave him a concerned look but shrugged and pulled Izumi away from the dense crowd, while Izumi protested by leaning over her arm rests with her fist still clutching her money. “Take my money!”

Ichiro smiled and laughed at the sight, but as soon as he had the food from the vendor, he quickly made his way back to the two girls. Izumi was sitting with crossed arms, moping over not being able to place the order herself, but Ichiro tried to fix that.

“I got one for each of-” he started, holding up the three trays of fresh, steaming takoyaki. However, someone bumped into him just right, causing him to lose his grip on one of the trays, which crashed to the ground with the fried balls rolling through the dirt. His face flushed with embarrassment as he saw this, glancing up with despair to see the others' reactions. They held confused expressions, unsure of what to do next. Feeling guilty, Ichiro offered the remaining two trays to the girls, “Take these, and I'll get back in line for another for myself.”

As the two girls took their snacks from him, he rose up once more and began mentally kicking himself for such a failure. But he didn't make it far before he was called back.

“A-Actually…” Izumi started, stumbling over her words at first but trying her best to regain confidence as she continued, “I want to save room for more snacks later, so let’s- I mean, why don’t we just share?”

Ichiro froze, unsure if he had heard her correctly. To confirm, he hesitantly turned his head to see Izumi holding the tray up toward him. She had her face turned slightly away from him defensively but watched from the corner of her eyes for his reaction.

Still stunned by her suggestion, he glanced over at Mizuki to gauge her response. She, too, had frozen with a takoyaki raised to her open mouth, but it didn't go any further as she stared in mild disgust, rolling her eyes between the two older teens.

“Uh, O-OK…” Ichiro stuttered, scratching his temple nervously as he returned to her side again, “O-Only if you're sure.”

“I-I am,” Izumi nodded, her eyes locked on the fried balls. For several seconds, nobody moved. Ichiro began to wonder if he made a mistake by agreeing to her request. But then she awkwardly glanced up and quickly grabbed one of the picks, lifting a takoyaki and moving it closer to him. “S-s-say ‘A-aaahh’.”

Ichiro gulped hard and winced tightly as he leaned down to eat the offered treat, feeling his cheeks catching fire as he approached her outstretched hand. With a quick bite, he removed the ball from the toothpick, instantly setting his tongue alight with how hot it still was. He carefully breathed in an attempt to cool his mouth, but despite the pain, he found it to be probably the best takoyaki he had ever tasted.

“Ooh, that was excellent!” He mumbled through chews and cooling breaths.

“R-really?” Izumi blushed harder, “W-W-Would you want another one?”

“Yes, I would love another one,” he answered quickly and lowered himself, ready for his next treat.

Seeing this, Izumi's eyes went wide, and she nervously readied the next takoyaki for him. Her hand shook, and her crimson face was visibly steaming. Just as she brought it close enough for him to reach out and grab it with his teeth, she turned it around and quickly shoved it into her own mouth. Realizing her mistake, she chewed it fast to remove the heat from her mouth, and then gobbled down the rest of the tray in the blink of an eye.

“Y-You were right!” She struggled to get out from her burning mouth as she wiped her lips with the back of her wrist, “Th-th-they were very tasty. But hey, there’re other things to do, so let’s get going, alright?”

As fast as Izumi was speaking, she moved her wheelchair just as swiftly, making wild movements as she maneuvered by the sides of the crowd, even going on one wheel occasionally.

Ichiro was left with his mouth wide open as he watched her disappear into the crowd, trying to hold back tears as he longed for another bite of the takoyaki. Looking up at Mizuki with a quivering lip, he hoped for some reassurance, but all she did was continue her disgusted stare.

“Gross…” she muttered as she popped her last takoyaki into her mouth and followed after her older sister.

Sulking with drooping shoulders, Ichiro rose with his head held low, slowly shuffling his way after the two girls. After stumbling through the crowds, he found them looking at the goldfish scooping booth. They watched the fish swim around as people attempted to catch them in little bowls, just like little children would.

While Izumi's head bobbed around, following one of the fish, the elderly man running the booth held a scoop in front of her gaze. “Wanna give it a try, girly?”

She glanced between him and the paper scoop several times, “but I didn’t pay for it yet?”

“Don’t worry,” the old man laughed, showing his missing teeth and pointing over his shoulder, “the boy over there already paid for you to have a turn.” Izumi leaned to see around the man and noticed Ichiro bent over the pool with a scoop in hand, his focus sharpened, waiting for the perfect moment to lift a fish into his bowl.

Nervously, she took the scoop from the old man and carefully maneuvered her wheelchair as close as she could to the pool, waiting for the right fish to swim by. Once it did, she shot her arm out and swiftly scooped as best she could. And with a wide margin, unfortunately, she missed the water entirely.

She sighed in defeat, seeing the paper scoop was still dry after her attempt. But then the old man grabbed a bucket and set it upside down next to Ichiro, patting it and turning to her. “Here you go, try this.” He chuckled softly as he walked back to his seat to watch over the pool.

Once again, Izumi felt her face flash red as she nervously moved next to him, pivoting herself out of her chair and onto the overturned bucket as a makeshift seat. This time, she was much closer and could easily reach anywhere into the pool she wanted to. Taking up a similar stance, she waited for the right fish to swim by, and when it did, she darted her scoop into the water. Unfortunately, the scoop ended up broken, and she held it up with a disappointed face.

“Don’t need to be in such a rush,” Ichiro laughed at her failure while offering some advice, “Gotta move swiftly, but not rush it in the slightest.” Then, a fish caught his eye. “Like this, watch and learn.”

With precision and grace, Ichiro dipped his scoop into the water and moved it under the fish. Once he had it right where he wanted it, the paper ripped, and the fish slipped through unperturbed. He held up his broken scoop in the air, with Izumi snickering next to him.

“Oh, great master, show me your wisdom,” Izumi teased playfully, with a hand covering her mouth as she pointed and laughed at his failure.

“Shut up, I was closer than you,” Ichiro retorted, still feeling a bit upset at Izumi's laughter while he helped her back into her wheelchair.

“Gross,” Mizuki nearly gagged, watching the two of them argue, while she held up a baggy containing two goldfish. But then something caught her eye slightly off to the side. Stepping over to it with curiosity, she read the flier posted up on the wall.

“Hey! Izumi! Come here!” she called over her shoulder to the still arguing teens. As they made their way over to where Mizuki had called for them, they saw the flier too.

“What?” Izumi squealed in joy upon reading the words, “There’s going to be fireworks at this festival too!?”

Ichiro examined the flier repeatedly. It bore minimalist artwork of fireworks bursting above the river against the backdrop of the city skyline. Faint twinges of memories stirred in the recesses of his mind as he studied the image.

He vividly recalled watching the fireworks show from his father's shoulders during his childhood. However, there was a crucial fragment that eluded him, something of significant importance. As he scratched his head, he grappled with his thoughts, desperately attempting to recollect the elusive detail.

“Wow!” Izumi's eyes widened, leaning as far as her chair allowed, poring over the flier's details repeatedly. “The description suggests they're planning a massive show. And there's mention of a 'Grand Finale.' It sounds truly spectacular.”

“We seem to have some time to spare,” Mizuki glanced at her wristwatch and compared it to the flier. “Not an extensive amount, but sufficient for further exploration. Do you have any preferences for how to pass the time?”

“Watch the fireworks!” Izumi responded promptly, turning towards her sister with glistening eyes, brimming with enthusiasm.

Mizuki merely cast an irritated glance at her sister. “Something before that. What would you like to do?”

Izumi pouted, sinking back into her seat. She crossed her arms over her chest and pondered, “Well, maybe the shooting gallery? I have memories of it from when I was younger.”

“You've attended a festival like this in the past?” Ichiro inquired, rousing from his contemplative state.

“It's been quite a while,” she chuckled in response, “Mizuki was still in diapers back then. I remember dad winning us a toy by shooting one with a pop gun. It was quite the thrill.”

"Alright, let's give it a go.” Ichiro shrugged, trying to find where one was located in the festival street. It took a while of searching through the densely packed street as visitors walked around, making it hard to see, let alone get Izumi there without creating a scene.

After a bit of searching through the bustling crowd, they finally spotted one. The man seated on the stool in front of the stall wore a sour expression on his face, scars marring his visage. Despite his crossed arms concealing his hands, Ichiro believed he might be missing a pinky.

Izumi approached the stall and offered her money for a chance to play. The man gave her a critical glance at her payment, then shrugged and accepted it. “You two playing too? Pay up now. Got it?”

Ichiro and Mizuki exchanged nervous glances and promptly took out their wallets to pay. Once all three had paid their dues, the man reached over the edge of the booth and retrieved three toy rifles loaded with pop bullets. As he handed them out, Ichiro confirmed his earlier suspicion – the man was indeed missing a pinky finger.

“Each of you gets three shots. Good luck,” he grumbled.

Izumi struggled to get herself lined up from her seat, while Mizuki took her shots. Her aim was directed at the inexpensive prizes like Tocky boxes and plastic toys, but she missed every shot. Frustrated, she rolled her eyes and returned the gun, stating, “I didn't really want to play anyway.”

Ichiro chuckled at her lack of success. “Just watch, I've got this in the bag.” Taking a seat on the provided stool, he carefully aimed his shot and pulled the trigger, hitting a larger prize – a pair of expensive headphones. With just one shot, he managed to make it wobble before toppling over. He raised his arm triumphantly and cheered, “Got it!”

“Not yet, kid,” the irritable man shook his head, pointing to a sign in the corner. Ichiro craned his neck to read it aloud, “Must be knocked off the stand. Knocking over doesn't count.”

“Seriously?” Ichiro sighed in disbelief, leaning down to take more shots. With the headphones now lying flat, his target was smaller, and he missed all his remaining shots. “Dammit,” he muttered, handing back the rifle.

Returning to his stool, he observed Izumi still struggling to decide what to aim for, let alone how to shoot. “Alright, I've made up my mind. Mr. Bear, you're going to be mine.” She then aimed the gun's barrel at the large teddy bear positioned at the center of the display.

“I don't think that's a good idea,” Ichiro attempted to caution her, but she was already firing off shots one after another. All three bullets hit the soft material in rapid succession. After the repeated impacts, the bear slumped forward, its posture resembling that of a creature in pain.

“Aw, darn…” Izumi let out a sigh, lowering her gun.

“I did try to warn you—” Ichiro began before being abruptly interrupted.

“We have a winner!” the scarred man announced with a monotone voice, ringing a bell. Despite lacking enthusiasm, his voice was loud enough to nearly deafen Ichiro, who was seated right next to him.

Puzzled, Ichiro turned around to witness the man getting up and handing the bear over to Izumi, who gasped in surprise, her eyes sparkling as she embraced the bear that was almost her size.

“But I thought you said—” Ichiro started, utterly bewildered by the unexpected turn of events.

“I said the little lady won. Got a problem with it?” The man leaned over, his face just inches from Ichiro's, his words guttural as he spoke under his breath. His gaze bore into Ichiro like daggers.

“No, sir,” Ichiro replied meekly, quickly rejoining the girls.

“Look, isn't he cute and fluffy! I love it!” Izumi cheered, shaking the bear in front of Ichiro's face.

“Yeah, yeah, I can see,” Ichiro sighed, resigned to his fate. The rest of the evening followed a similar pattern. Izumi would discover interesting activities, and although they participated together, Ichiro found himself unable to outdo her in anything they attempted. Even when they didn't win, it seemed the vendors took pity on Izumi and rewarded her efforts with small prizes, while Ichiro ended up empty-handed throughout the night.

Sighing in defeat, Ichiro rested his head in his hands on a bench at the edge of the crowd. While Izumi and Mizuki indulged in their candied apples, he moped in solitude. “This just isn't my night…” he murmured under his breath.

The two girls simply shrugged, relishing their treats. Suddenly, Mizuki checked her watch and exclaimed, “Wait! The fireworks display is about to start!” Looking up, they observed that most of the festival-goers were converging on the far end of the event grounds. As the crowd thickened, movement became nearly impossible, impeding anyone's progress.

“Oh no, isn't that where the fireworks are supposed to go off?” Izumi moaned, scanning for a better route to the viewing area.

Then, realization dawned on Ichiro. “Wait, I remember now,” he said, lifting his head from his hands

“Remember what?” Mizuki asked, her tone indicating confusion about Ichiro's statement.

“I know what to do!” Ichiro exclaimed, leaping to his feet and darting behind Izumi.

“Do what?” Izumi inquired, perplexed by his sudden actions. Before she could seek an explanation, her wheelchair jerked into motion, accelerating away from the crowd. Clutching Mr. Bear tightly, she braced herself against the sudden gusts of wind caused by Ichiro's propulsion. She wanted to desperately tell him to unhand her wheelchair, but both a fear of him losing control and a trust that he really was going to help her prevented her from stopping him.

Ichiro's laughter echoed madly as he continued to push Izumi beyond the far reaches of the fair, maneuvering through hidden pathways. His epiphany had illuminated his memory. The reason the fireworks from his childhood had left such a vivid impression on him and had seemed so enormous was now clear. He knew exactly where he needed to take Izumi, and he was determined to reach that destination as swiftly as possible. Mizuki trailed behind them, imploring Ichiro to slow down.

After several minutes of intense running, Ichiro finally halted their sprint. Mizuki barely caught up, her hands resting on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath. “Why are we here?” she managed to gasp between heavy breaths.

Izumi surveyed their surroundings, even in the darkness, able to recognize their location. “We're down by the river because…?”

Standing next to her, Ichiro puffed out his chest with a sense of accomplishment. “Because when I was a kid, they launched the fireworks down by the river, just beyond the festival grounds. My dad knew this and brought us here. We watched as the fireworks burst overhead. It was magical for me as a child, and I wanted you to experience it too.”

“Whoa!” Izumi leaned forward, her eyes glittering with excitement. “Really?”

“Yeah, absolutely,” Ichiro affirmed.

Mizuki's silent interjection was filled with skepticism. “Gross…”

“Alright,” Ichiro rubbed his hands together, his anticipation evident. “It's about to begin.”

As if on cue, a short whooshing sound was followed by the whistle of a rocket soaring into the sky. Ichiro raised his hand, pointing toward the sky, just as it ignited with the brilliance of the explosion above. Yet, to his bewilderment, no firework burst forth – only the light remained.

“Huh?” Ichiro's confusion was palpable as he stared at the vacant sky. “But I…”

Another explosion swiftly interrupted him, this time clearly originating from behind him. He spun around, his gaze ascending the hillside. Just beyond the tree line atop the hill, the arch of another firework's display appeared, the green radiance shimmering faintly between the branches as one firework followed another in quick succession.

“But I…” Ichiro started, his confusion mounting as he beheld the obscured light show that lay just beyond reach. He remembered it with absolute clarity: perched on his father's shoulders, gazing skyward by the riverbank while the fireworks erupted above him.

“They must have relocated the display since you were a child,” Mizuki remarked casually, taking another bite of her apple as she continued to watch the spectacle unfolding on the other side of the trees.

“I guess they must have,” Ichiro sighed, feeling like he was having a string of bad luck. Completely defeated, he turned to apologize to Izumi, “I'm sorry—”

“This is amazing!” Izumi exclaimed, matching the explosion of a distant firework. “I'm so happy I got to see this!”

“Huh?” He attempted to ask for clarification, but his question was abruptly cut short as Izumi motioned for him to come closer with her hand. As he approached, she reached out swiftly, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly and squeezing with all her might.

“Huh!?” he inadvertently let out again, his heart racing at her unexpected embrace.

“I just wanted to thank you for being here with me for this,” she murmured into his ear amidst the colorful bursts in the sky. “I love this.”

Ichiro could practically feel his face heating up at her words. He remained frozen, uncertain about how to respond now that she had shared her feelings. “Huh?!?”

“Gross,” Mizuki muttered to herself as she observed the two older teens in an embrace, then turned her attention back to the fireworks. “But it's also kind of cute, too.”