Vol 3 Chapter 9 (1/2)
#9: The Remembered Promise is Mayhem
August 1st, Sunday.
Fuyuumi arranged for us to meet at the Hane High athletic grounds.
I checked my watch and the time was 6:30 P.M.. Because daylight hours were longer in the summer, the sky was still bright. Club activities had ended long ago, so the athletic fields were empty.
—Why would that Fuyuumi want for us to meet at a time like this?
After that incident, Fuyuumi never told me where we are going. She merely just pointed out a place for us to meet up at. What is she after? Anyway, is it okay to wear casual clothes? If we are going to enter the school building, it would have been better to wear the uniform.
When I was thinking about this, someone called out to me from behind.
”Sorry to keep you waiting, Kidou-kun.”
”Aah, I didn’t wait very—?”
My mouth wide open, I couldn't help but staring at Fuyuumi.
Because she was wearing a yukata.
Fuyuumi Ai was wearing a colorful, bright yukata, with her hair done differently she furthermore gave off that 'not the usual Fuyuumi Ai' feeling. She seemed to be a little embarra.s.sed as she stood there.
Even though the casual clothes she wore a few days ago had been very cute.
This yukata was simply something that belongs to an entirely different world.
'Burning the image in my eyes', or something, I wonder if that is what people say to something like this...
”W-Why are you wearing a yukata...?”
”What do you mean? This is pretty normal, right? Because we’re going to the fireworks festival.”
I could not help but exclaim, 'Huh?'.
”We’re going to the fireworks festival?”
”That's right?”
Fuyuumi was the same with her usual expression that seemed to ask, 'What? You didn’t know?'.
”But, you didn't said so in the first place. And if we are going to the fireworks festival, shouldn’t we have just met at the Hane River Bridge, or the munic.i.p.al park?”
It was quite a considerable distance to go from the school to the location of the fireworks festival. It would've been relatively closer if we had left directly from my house.
Fuyuumi nodded lonely, and said, 'Yeah', when she heard me.
”So, you even forgot about this stuff.”
”...?”
What's that supposed to mean?
I was at a loss when Fuyuumi smiled and said:
”Come on. Let’s go.”
When Fuyuumi made her first step the Geta[1] clattered with a very lovely sound, and I followed behind her without understanding anything.
”Hey, you’re going the wrong way, right? This isn’t the way to the riverbank. We’re heading towards the mountains.”
”Enough already! Just don’t make a fuss and follow me.”
Even though she still spoke with her usual annoyed tone, the atmosphere was completely different.
Because Fuyuumi was smiling.
Even though I spent the entire summer with her at cram school, I almost never saw her smile. But today she was smiling all over the place.
It was unimaginable to think that the girl who had yelled and chased after me not too long ago, the girl who cried and sobbed in the park, was the same girl as the one in front of me now.
”Hmm...”
I had learned it yet again.
Girls just were mysterious living beings.
We walked in the residential area for about ten minutes, then we arrived at a quiet rural road between rice fields. I remembered that I once came to this neighborhood to catch fireflies with Chiwa’s family, but that had been something way back in elementary school.
”Ah, this neighborhood doesn't have fireflies anymore.”
”There’s less and less rice paddies here too. If you look at the foothills over there, there weren’t any houses there ten years ago.”
”Certainly.”
I looked at the place where Fuyuumi’s fingers pointed and nodded, and there definitely weren’t houses back then—
Errr?
”What is it?”
Fuyuumi stared at me blankly, as I had stopped in my tracks.
I looked around and said:
”Could it be that this road is a shortcut which leads to Ipponsugi Hill?”
Yes. It certainly was.
This place was very familiar. When I had been in kindergarten, I used to play in this neighborhood a lot. Even though it had changed a lot, I think I could somehow remember seeing the shape of those hills from here.
”—————You finally remembered it?”
Fuyuumi smiled.
It was a very warm smile, but why was it that it somehow seemed as if she was about to cry?
”Come on, the first fireworks will go off soon. We should hurry.”
Fuyuumi’s wooden sandals clattered yet again as she walked off.
I followed the sound of her sandals— But I didn’t need her to lead the way anymore. I knew the road. After we pa.s.sed the ditch, we would turn right and walk on the rural path. After the abandoned bus station, a little further up, there were stone steps that led up to the hill. I still remembered when were we in Cla.s.s Star in kindergarten. Hadn't we come here to play several times?
Here was the entrance of the shortcut to Ipponsugi[2] Hill.
And that was a place few people knew about, and a great place to enjoy fireworks——
”How could I have forgotten?”
After thinking about it for a while, I could only find one answer:
Because I had met Chiwa.
March before the start of elementary school, I had moved next door to Chiwa’s house. Since then, Chiwa’s parents had driven us to the fireworks festival.
So I had completely forgotten about the little-known place to watch the fireworks from.
*dodon[3]*! *dodon*!
The dark air sounded like someone hit a taiko[4].
Fuyuumi and I looked at each other simultaneously and shouted:
”The fireworks!”
Already in a rush, I ran up the stairs.
I grabbed Fuyuumi’s hand, and recklessly swung my other hand.
We kicked up weeds and stones, and covered in sweat and gra.s.s stains we went to that Ipponsugi place——
”Taaamayaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!”[5]!”
In front of us a huge firework burst into light.
The fireworks seemed to cover up the summer night sky, as they went up one after another. Accompanied by our pleased amazement, they bloomed like beautiful flowers.
There wasn’t anything that blocked the field of vision here, and as far as one’s eyes could see, the sky was filled with fireworks.
On this hill, one could have all the scenery to oneself.
”This place is great...”
I muttered, enchanted by the fireworks.
Fuyuumi chuckled as she heard me and said:
”Actually, you were the one who showed this place to me, Ta-kun.”
”Ta-kun?”
File:Oreshura v03 214.jpg
This was the name that Fuyuumi had written in her notebook.
At the time I didn’t know who that was, but with the memories in these hills, my thoughts flashed—
”...Ah, so it's about me?”
”Correct.”
Fuyuumi had an expression that seemed to be both, crying and smiling.
”That had been your nickname in Star Cla.s.s, but the only one who called you that was me.”
Fuyuumi approached me and nestled up against my chest.
I could clearly feel her soft yukata and smell the scent of her fragrance.
”You’re really too forgetful, Ta-kun. Can you really be number one in our grade like this?”
”Fuyuumi...”
”Even though you are now 'Ei-kun', or 'Eita-kun', or even 'Eita', long before that, it was simply 'Ta-kun'.”
I looked at Fuyuumi’s face who leaned against my chest, and my memories came flus.h.i.+ng.
”Star cla.s.s... Ta-kun...”
That's why. Who is that girl who's with me here right now?
Right.
It's her.
This was the 'glorious past' that my girlfriend, ex-girlfriend, and childhood friend have been mercilessly laughing about.
She was the lovely and gentle girl that I liked in kindergarten.
”...So you are... A-chan...”
Fuyuumi, no, 'A-chan' looked up from my chest and said: