Tokyo, Japan.
Minamoto no Chisei stood on the open-air balcony of Genji Heavy Industries, looking at Tokyo's nightscape below.
This summer was exceptionally long, with continuous rainy season days pushing the fireworks festival back to September.
He pulled a cigarette from his trench coat pocket and lit it, one hand in his pocket, the deep, ink-like eyes of the man reflecting the dazzling fireworks blooming in the sky.
Tokyo's night sky was repeatedly lit up by fireworks, giant blossoms exploding on the dark canvas, illuminating the outlines of the tall buildings in a flickering dance.
The evening breeze swept past, rustling Minamoto no Chisei's black trench coat, revealing the vibrant and grotesque ukiyo-e lining inside.
"Young Master, you promised Miss Eriyi you'd play games with her tonight. It's almost time." Yabuki Sakura stood behind Minamoto no Chisei, her voice neither abrupt nor indistinct, comfortable like the summer evening breeze.
"Hm." Minamoto no Chisei extinguished the cigarette in his hand, casually tossing it into a nearby trash can.
"Click-clack, click-clack."
Eriyi lay on the table, watching the wind-up Doraemon doll bounce somewhat foolishly on the table. When it stopped, she wound it up again, repeating the process to pass the time.
Eriyi suddenly sat up straight, her delicate, small ears perked.
It was her brother's footsteps.
Her hearing was excellent; she could hear others' conversations clearly from a distance, just as she had heard the sounds of many fireworks blooming outside the room earlier.
Eriyi tilted her head, thinking. Anime seemed to say that on a certain day of the year, everyone would wear beautiful yukata and sit with friends or loved ones to watch fireworks.
Thinking of this, Eriyi took out rilakkuma, Hello Kitty, and a little yellow duck from a large cardboard box in a corner of the room, arranging them in a row.
Then the girl tiptoed carefully to the wardrobe, but seeing the uniform miko garb inside, her eyes dimmed slightly.
Eriyi then walked to the row of neatly arranged toys and sat down beside them.
The sliding door to Eriyi's room opened.
Minamoto no Chisei looked at Eriyi's actions, a little puzzled: "Eriyi, what are you doing?"
Eriyi held up her small notebook, on which she had written what she wanted to say: "Eriyi is watching fireworks with her friends."
Minamoto no Chisei's gaze softened instantly. Yes, girls Eriyi's age were mostly wearing yukata now, holding hands with boys they liked, walking the streets of Tokyo, looking up at the splendid fireworks in the sky.
Eriyi's room had windows, but they couldn't be opened. Outside the windows were artificial lights simulating sunrise and sunset.
Eriyi's world was only as big as this room. Eriyi had once run away from home, but she didn't dare go past the first traffic light at the intersection. For Eriyi, the outside world was too big and too complex.
During the time this girl was alone, only these toys accompanied her. How long had she been entertaining herself like this?
Minamoto no Chisei ruffled Eriyi's hair, then picked up a controller from beside the game console: "Brother will play games with you. My skills have improved a lot recently."
Eriyi nodded happily, about to take the controller, but Sakura's phone rang at an inopportune moment.
"I apologize." Sakura bowed apologetically, then bent down and walked out of the room, answering the phone in the hallway.
A bad premonition suddenly arose in Minamoto no Chisei's heart. Sure enough, a moment later Sakura returned from the hallway, her expression somewhat complex.
"I apologize, Young Master. The Main Branch just sent a notification. The Fierce Ghost Clan in Osaka has been unusually restless tonight, attacking multiple Main Family strongholds. I'm afraid we'll need you..."
Minamoto no Chisei patted Sakura's shoulder, a slight smile on his face, but with an indescribable weariness: "Why are you apologizing?"
Sakura quickly lowered her head, her cheeks imperceptibly reddening.
Eriyi quietly placed the controller on the table, neither acting spoiled nor making a fuss, but a flicker of disappointment crossed her eyes.
Minamoto no Chisei put on the trench coat he had just taken off, noticed the change in Eriyi's eyes, hesitated for a moment, then said: "Didn't Eriyi make a friend in the game before? I'll connect you to the server, and you can play with him, okay?"
The gloom in the girl's eyes vanished, and she nodded vigorously.
Minamoto no Chisei sometimes felt he owed his overly sensible younger sister a great deal. For years, he had worked hard to prevent the nightmare of his youth from recurring, but even now, he seemed unable to change anything.
But Eriyi was already very happy, eagerly turning on the console.
The login page flashed, and Eriyi immediately clicked into her friends list. There was only one person, all alone, and that person's avatar happened to be lit up.
The moment she saw this name lit up, a faint glimmer appeared in Eriyi's usually somewhat vacant eyes, and she swiftly sent a battle invitation.
During the brief few seconds of waiting for a response, Eriyi sat quietly, her straight back indicating the girl's tension, the light from the screen reflecting on the girl's profile, giving her a fragile, delicate look... Cheng Sui contentedly finished a plate of Beef Wellington, and at this time, the activities in the downstairs ballroom also began.
Strauss's "Blue Danube Waltz" slowly played in the hall, its rhythm gentle and elegant, as men and women partners strolled hand in hand across the dance floor, gazing fondly at each other while waltzing.
"What a nostalgic scene. Back in the day, I was quite the dancer on the floor. Hey, junior, what are you doing?!"
Under Fingel's gaze, Cheng Sui leaped from the second floor of Amber Hall, but landed silently, as agile as a cat.
Cheng Sui patted his clothes, waving goodbye to Fingel.
He had finished eating, so there was no need to stay in Amber Hall. He was quite unaccustomed to places like dance parties.
Fingel watched Cheng Sui's retreating figure, deep in thought.
The silent landing after jumping from the second floor just now was something no ordinary Hybrid could do. The principal asked him to monitor this person; sure enough, there was something fishy about him.
Cheng Sui walked with his hands in his pockets, still savoring the meal he had just digested, when a loud bang erupted behind him.
Fireworks went off in the distance at Amber Hall, like meteors rising from the ground, streaking across the night sky, red and gold intertwined roses especially striking in the dark night.
The last massive firework shell ascended into the sky, exploding into various colored lights that spelled out "NoNo, i love u" against the night sky.
Cheng Sui pouted, what a Caesar-esque confession.
Under the night sky, Cheng Sui's shadow was elongated by the firelight, appearing somewhat lonely.
Back in his dorm, bored, Cheng Sui turned on his PS3. As soon as he clicked into Street Fighter 4, he saw an invitation to battle from the Japanese office worker uncle he had added earlier.
"Quite bold, old man. Last time I won because you were lucky; you actually dare to challenge me again."
Cheng Sui rolled up his sleeves, a determined smile on his lips, and decisively accepted the invitation..