Haruto was never one to go out much. Unless it was absolutely necessary, he preferred staying at home. Only when the walls began to feel suffocating would he occasionally step outside to clear his head.
If he hadn't suddenly realized how little attention he'd been giving the girls lately, the idea of taking them to the fireworks festival probably wouldn't have crossed his mind. He'd only wanted to give them a pleasant summer memory—yet, to his surprise, his suggestion seemed to spark irritation instead.
It wasn't that they disliked the fireworks festival itself. More likely, there had been a small dissatisfaction simmering for some time, and now, with one more drop in the cup, it had finally spilled over.
While letting Sayu prepare on her own, Haruto stood in his room for a while before slowly stepping out onto the balcony. Across the way stood the Kiyoura residence. He wondered if the girl was home.
Flecks of hesitation flickered in his eyes.
He pressed his lips together, staring at the house for a long time. Emotions swirled inside him, but in the end, he restrained himself. Quietly taking out his phone, he looked at the screen for a long while, then put it away again. Without sending a message, he turned back inside, told Sayu he was heading out, and left the apartment.
When the door to the Kiyoura residence opened, it was Mai standing there.
"Haruto? Isn't Setsuna with you?" she asked, momentarily surprised. She had assumed her daughter had gone out with him.
Her answer took Haruto off guard. "She… went out?"
Mai nodded. "About two hours ago. I asked if she was meeting you, but she didn't answer. That child…"
Realizing her daughter had gone out but not to meet Haruto, Mai's expression tightened with unease.
Haruto pulled out his phone, scrolled to Sekai's number, and called. Under Mai's watchful gaze, he waited until Sekai picked up.
"Hello? Haruto?"
"Is Setsuna with you right now?"
"Uh—yeah. She's here with me. Kotonoha and her little sister Kokoro are here too, along with Hikari and Nanami. We're just hanging out together."
"I see. Have fun."
Hanging up, Haruto turned to Mai.
"She's with some classmates, probably at some event."
"And you…?"
"Mai, would you like to watch the fireworks with me?"
She blinked at him, surprised, then glanced at the hand he offered. Biting her lip, she hesitated.
"I don't mind going, but… are you sure you're okay being seen with an older woman like me?"
Haruto's hand rose, gently brushing her soft cheek. He met her gaze, unconcerned by the hint of insecurity in her eyes.
"No—you're still young. And very cute."
Her mature features, so similar to her daughter's, flushed faintly under his words. She excused herself, retreating back inside and closing the door.
Left outside, Haruto was momentarily stunned but didn't dwell on it. Turning back toward his own apartment, he caught sight of Sayu's silhouette moving about inside through the gap in the curtains. Leaning against the balcony rail, he quietly watched her until, about thirty minutes later, a door opened behind him.
When he turned, Mai was there again—this time lightly made up, a touch of lipstick on her lips. She looked at him a little nervously.
"Well?" she asked.
"You look adorable. Anything else you need to get?"
"No."
"Then let's go."
He smiled, and they headed downstairs together. On the way, he asked her to wait for a moment, ran back upstairs, and called for Sayu. She joined them without a word.
The moment Mai saw Sayu, her eyes lingered on Haruto for a beat before she looked away. Sayu, on the other hand, avoided meeting her gaze, a faint guilt stirring in her chest. She knew Mai far better than Mai knew her.
Without addressing it, Mai simply walked with them toward Chūō Ward. About thirty minutes later, they reached the Ujigawa fireworks venue.
The moment they stepped out of the station, the streets were already packed. Haruto reached out with both hands—his left for Mai, his right for Sayu—and led them toward the riverside.
But when they arrived, it was already a sea of people.
"There are so many," Sayu murmured.
Being too close to the launch site meant you couldn't see much, so most people stood on the upper roads along the riverbank or crowded the bridges. Even the opposite shore was filled shoulder-to-shoulder.
It was Sayu's first time seeing such a crowd, and she instinctively edged closer to Haruto. Mai, however, had been to such events before, and to her, it looked just as it had years ago.
"Still as crowded as ever," she said.
Back then, Haruto had seen fireworks from inside someone's car, parked on a wide road. Now, things were different. He glanced at Mai's slender neck and, without warning, pressed a light kiss there.
The sudden "attack" made her jolt, her hand rising to her neck as she turned to him in surprise.
"Haruto?"
"Too many people here. Let's find somewhere less crowded," he said.
Sayu hadn't noticed the kiss, only hearing Mai call his name. She followed as Haruto guided Mai away from the densest part of the crowd.
Even then, as Tokyo's largest fireworks event of the summer, people were everywhere—couples from all districts had flocked here.
Walking down the street, Mai's gaze occasionally drifted toward Haruto, while Sayu followed quietly, stealing quick glances at him when she thought he wouldn't notice.
"Everywhere is packed," Mai observed. "Even if there is a quiet spot, it's probably already taken."
Haruto nodded. "Maybe somewhere higher up would be better."
He glanced up at the surrounding buildings but soon shook his head. They walked on, but found no good spot, and the fireworks were about to begin.
"Let's just find a slightly more open space," Haruto suggested.
"Mm," Mai nodded, following his lead. Sayu didn't object or offer any opinion—she simply let the two decide and quietly trailed along behind them.
_ _ _ _
"The streets are packed, and even the riverbank is already full. There's not a single free spot left. Ugh, and it's so hot… and crowded. This is awful," Hikari complained, wiping sweat from her forehead. She had come out with friends hoping for a romantic encounter, but before she even got close to romance, the summer heat had already drained all her energy.
She slowed to a stop, scanning the area in search of a good place to watch the fireworks. Seeing nothing suitable, she sighed and trudged after her friends again. Beside her, Nanami glanced at Hikari's dejected posture and shook her head helplessly.
"It's probably because this is the last fireworks show of the summer," Nanami said. "Seems like everyone in Tokyo with free time came here. And the place is crawling with couples."
Sekai's gaze drifted toward Setsuna. She couldn't help but think it was strange—Setsuna had been invited by Haruto, yet she didn't go with him. Instead, she had joined this group, which was entirely made up of girls, to stand here watching other couples flirt and cuddle. The sight gave Sekai a complicated feeling.
"There really are way too many people," someone muttered.
"Speaking of which," Hikari said suddenly, turning her head toward Setsuna, who was walking beside Sekai, "don't you have a boyfriend? On a night like this, shouldn't you be with him? Is it really okay to be here with us instead?"
Though the question was well-meaning, Sekai's expression shifted subtly, her eyes flicking toward Setsuna in concern. Setsuna's face, however, showed no emotion at all.
"He has things to take care of," Setsuna replied evenly. "No time tonight."
"Tonight of all nights?" Hikari asked, her tone somewhere between curiosity and disbelief.
She looked like she wanted to press the matter, but the strange tension between Setsuna and Sekai made her swallow her words. Instead, her gaze wandered toward Kotonoha, who was walking nearby, holding her younger sister's hand.
"I hardly saw you this summer, Kotonoha. Were you traveling? Where did you go—Hawaii? Guam? Okinawa?"
"Um…"
"Where they go is none of your business, dummy."
Nanami gave Hikari a light chop on the head, then glanced around at the surrounding couples with a faint trace of irritation. Looking at their own group, she counted six people in total—not a single man among them.
"It's already past seven. Once it hits eight, the fireworks will start. I wonder if we can even find a decent spot in an hour."
The group had gathered at the Saionji family's dining room around five o'clock, then arrived in the area by six. But after wandering for an entire hour, they still hadn't found a good place to watch. Many people had staked out their spots as early as four or five in the afternoon.
Even though they'd arrived a bit earlier than most, they hadn't managed to claim a prime viewing location. As the crowd swelled, they had no choice but to give up on the riverbank entirely.
"No handsome guys anywhere!"
On the way, a few people had tried to strike up a conversation with them, but even Hikari—who'd been secretly hoping for a romantic encounter—felt no spark whatsoever. All of them, she thought, had faces that screamed "bad news."
"At this hour, where are you going to find any decent men? Even if there were, they'd already have girlfriends by now."
Hearing Hikari's complaint, Nanami shot her friend a sidelong glance and smirked.
"You don't have to spell out such a cruel reality. I'm afraid I wouldn't survive it."
Kokoro walked alongside her elder sister, listening to the older women chat. Her gaze drifted toward her sister, Kotonoha.
"Big sis."
"What is it, Kokoro?"
"Nothing… never mind."
She had wanted to say something, but the words stuck in her throat. Looking at her sister's friends, she wasn't sure how to put her feelings into words. Deep down, she worried—would her graceful, refined sister one day become just as boy-crazy as them?
"What's wrong with Kokoro-chan?"
Hearing Kokoro speak up, Sekai turned back to look at Kotonoha and her younger sister.
"It's nothing. Maybe she's just tired from walking."
"Yeah, we have been walking a lot. Maybe we should just find somewhere to sit down. If we can at least see the fireworks from there, we can make do."
After all that walking, even Sekai was starting to feel exhausted. She didn't want to keep wandering aimlessly.
"Mm, I'm tired too."
"Agreed."
"What about you, Setsuna?"
"I'm fine with it."
"Unanimous! Then let's find a place to rest."
With no objections, the group began heading out of the densely packed crowd, moving farther and farther from the riverbank.
Meanwhile—just across the street—Haruto was walking hand in hand with Mai and Sayu, drawing closer to the direction the girls were headed…
~~~~~~~~~~
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