When I brought my childhood friend back home after a long time, she suddenly started undressing and said, "I want you to hold me..." - Chapter 21
After leaving the hot spring hotel and driving for about 30 minutes, we arrived at the parking lot near the lake in no time. When I took Aoi’s hand who was in her Yukata and got out of the car, there was already a long queue for the fireworks show.
Seeing the absurdly long line, Aoi muttered, “Wow, so many people!”
“Yea, it’s so crowded.”
The number of people was unusual as this area was an hour’s drive away from the nearest city.
The number of people was so large that it could be seen from the parking lot even though the show had not even started yet. There were people even at the back of the entrance, and the number of visitors seemed to easily exceed 1,000. It was a rough estimate, but it was so much that we couldn’t help but be amazed.
Why did so many people come to watch a fireworks display held at a lake in the mountains in the countryside? Even though it’s held once every four years, the number of people present here was just absurdly large.
I’m sure I’d have heard about an event of that magnitude, but nothing rang any bells in memory so I just shook my head, ignoring it.
‘Maybe it’s because I have been more of an indoor guy…’
I chuckle to myself, as I wonder what I’m remembering now.
‘…My heart is pounding so loudly, I’m too nervous.’
When I put my hand on my chest and checked for palpitations, it was clearly louder than usual. Whether it’s because we were about to confess our feelings sooner, or because it’s been eight years since we will be watching a firework show together, I had no idea.
A voice reverberated in my head ever since that moment which were my own words.
“I want you to be prepared.”
I said it with such a serious face and in a deeper and lower voice than usual, while looking straight at Aoi.
Aoi knew that was the answer to her confession, but she couldn’t be happy about it at all. She intended to use Mizuki’s advice by seducing him in this outfit, but that wouldn’t work on Sho who already had an intimate physical relationship with her.
The only thing left to do is to wait and see. Even though I understood that in my head, my chest was tingling and I couldn’t calm it down.
“Are you all right?”
Aoi looked at me with a worried expression adorning her beautiful face.
“…Yeah.”
“Are you sure? Your breathing is rough though.”
“…Well, that’s because it’s been nearly eight years since we last went to see a fireworks show together, so I was a little nervous.”
“Is that really the case?”
“Shut up… and you already know about that, I’m embarrassed! Look, I’m the only one in a Yukata.”
“Heeh~”
Saying so, I looked around. There were also women in Yukata but men were wearing formal clothes. I looked at Aoi at the same time, wondering what she was thinking about, but didn’t decide to ask any further.
‘Well, Aoi is surprisingly uninterested in fashion. She was so embarrassed when she showed up in Yukata in front of me for the first time.’ [Sho]
‘I wonder if I lied about it… but in truth I wanted to hear the answer to my confession. Wait, why is his heart not pounding even though I am trying my best to seduce him.’ [Aoi]
[TL/N : The story sometimes goes in 3rd person POV and sometimes both of their POV’s are mixed up. Well, I tried my best to make it readable and not create any confusion for readers.]
The two of them crossed paths again.
Aoi was somehow right, why wasn’t I thrilled?
The correct answer will be that I was excited. But I don’t know if I can answer that question properly if I keep thinking about it. I just try not to think about it because I know that I am a weak-willed man who loses his reason just by drinking alcohol.
‘Phew… for now, let’s just talk normally, watch the fireworks, and then answer her.’
A few dozen minutes later, it was 20:00, the time to get ready for the fireworks show. The line was moving very quickly. It was a close call because I had managed to hold the conversation together and the stock was running low.
I can’t help but be aware that there will be a really awkward silence before the confession, so it’s a wise decision.
After that another 10 minutes passed, and we entered.
The venue was in a circle shape extending from east to west along the coastline of the lake. The food stalls were also prepared for those who want to enjoy the fireworks show while munching on something. The road we had traveled to get here was so natural that our heads were now spinning because of the confusion.
But coming here was definitely worth it, as the sight in front of me was truly spectacular.
“… It’s really amazing, after all.”
“Wow!”
This spectacle was enough to make my heart skip a beat.
After walking for a while, the area was packed up.
The special seats in the middle were almost completely occupied, probably due to the fact that there were a few groups that had already entered before us.
“I guess we won’t be able to sit down, then.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
“I wish we would have come a little earlier.”
“I’m sorry about that.”
When I said that, Aoi puffed up her cheeks in annoyance. And when I saw that scene I knew she was sulking so I hurriedly corrected my words.
“…I didn’t mean to say that.”
“It’s okay. It is the truth after all.”
“I didn’t really mean it like that so I apologize for saying that, can you please stop sulking now.”
“Do I look like I’m sulking?”
“Yeah… a little.”
A little silence followed – and then she blushed all at once.
“Wahh! I’m sorry.”
Aoi was a little annoyed with him, who told her not to make eye contact with him, and said loudly in a weird voice.
When the passerby heard it, they stopped in their tracks and looked in their direction in surprise.
Noticing that we were gathering unwanted attractions, I hurriedly pulled her hand to escape this place.
“Let’s go somewhere else.”
The two of us walked to the west side of the lake. After looking around for a while, I found a beautiful bench in front of the fence, and both of us sat down on it.
“Phew…”
“That was a close one.”
“Whose fault was it?”
“I-I’m sorry… It’s not like I had any malice.”
“…It’s fine though.”
“I’m begging you, please stop teasing me.”
The conversation somehow dies again.
Looking at the clock, the time is 20:16. With only four minutes left in the preparation time, customers started to sit down one after another in the surrounding seats.
The lake area was noisy with other people’s voices, but it didn’t bother me much because the atmosphere was a little different from that of a night in the city.
Suddenly Aoi muttered to me, while I was looking at the back cover of the ticket.
“Hey.”
“What is it?”
“I like you.”
“Eh?!… What? Why are you confessing to me out of the blue?”
“I just suddenly thought about saying it.”
“I wonder what goes through that head of yours.”
Aoi felt a little relieved when she saw that Sho was embarrassed and blushing from the sudden attack.
‘Seriously… What is she thinking? Saying something like that, all of a sudden.’
The palpitations in my chest, which I had been trying not to think about until now, rose all at once, and even though I tried not to think about it, I could still feel it. It’s bad enough that the self-control that I had was breaking down and it can’t be stopped.
I noticed that Aoi’s expression was different than usual.
She still looked embarrassed, but today she seems to have lost something… confidence or strength… or maybe something else?
In other words, from his point of view, he couldn’t grasp her behavior for the past two hours.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at the fact that there was something strange about the sudden confession and her slightly strange words.
The clock struck 20:19.
The commotion around us gradually subsided, and then I tapped her shoulders and asked,
“It’s about to start, do you want to go to a restroom or anywhere else?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“I see.”
I said back in the tactless tone I’ve not been saying in so far.
It’s really not right. It’s one-sided, and we’re not having a good conversation today.
Usually, we can derive a little bit of the old story, but since we arrived at the inn it has been so strange… At first I thought it was because of the caretakers at the inn, but no that was not the case at all.
But I just shook my head, trying to get those weird thoughts out of my mind.
“Get it together.”
I slapped my cheeks to get my thoughts back on track.
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TL & ED : Zenon #4120