Nanami looked a bit angry. gulp
And Sota had a vague idea of why that was.
For some reason, Nanami hated seeing Yuka and Sota playing together alone. It seemed she was rather sensitive to the fact that there were many things that didn’t match between her and Yuka, leading her to feel a bit left out when they hung out together.
Yuka probably felt the same way, so whenever she noticed Nanami alone with Sota, she would jump in to interrupt them.
Sota didn’t really understand how their relationship ended up like this. Friends can feel jealous, but this felt a bit odd.
Moreover, it was particularly troublesome because the girls fighting next to Sota were all girls, which made people misunderstand him even more.
“……”
After setting the meeting place via email and heading out, Nanami was, as expected, waiting with a sulky face.
And like the last time Sota saw her, Nanami was wearing a yukata. However, this time Sota understood why she was wearing it.
She hadn’t come for some festival inspection; she was truly here to have fun.
Because of Nanami, the planned visit to the festival that was to happen after their trip was moved forward.
Since festivals were held anywhere and everywhere during summer, finding a place wasn’t that hard.
But.
“Here you are.”
“Yeah.”
Nanami and Yuka greeted each other.
For some reason, Yuka was standing there with her shoulders back in a relaxed manner, while Nanami looked as if she might explode just from watching her.
If Sota had to take a guess, it was likely because Yuka had been wandering around with Sota alone, while Nanami had been hanging out with her friends.
In fact, Sota didn’t want to entirely dismiss the feelings of either Nanami or Yuka.
Sota had quite a few male friends himself, and of course, there were many days when they made plans to hang out. During those times, if his friends went on a trip without him —
Well, he didn’t entirely fail to understand. Sota was often busy with part-time jobs and sometimes had to head home early to look after his younger sister.
Above all, it seemed like lately his friends had been hyper aware of the fact that there were many girls around Sota. Though Sota felt incredibly wronged by that, it was still a little strange that his friends viewed him as the so-called “popular guy.”
“Oh, older brother?”
And just like that, another child who might misunderstand everything appeared.
“Shii.”
“Why do you two look like that? Older brother, what mischief have you gotten into again?”
Seeing Shii squint her eyes and look up at him made Sota feel even more unjustified.
At first, he didn’t even know why Yuka was calling him, and all he did was wander around the festival site to check the situation.
While it was true that he felt somewhat nervous whenever Yuka did something, that was unavoidable for a healthy teenage boy. Yuka was that much of a beauty and wearing a striking red yukata suited her perfectly.
Here, for some reason, she wasn’t wearing one.
However, as Nanami, who was properly dressed in a yukata, wore an indignant expression, Yuka seemed to be standing confidently in her regular clothes, looking much cooler.
He couldn’t really understand what was more relaxed.
Just as Sota was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the atmosphere of the three girls, Fukuda arrived right on cue.
“……What are you two doing?”
Having watched Nanami and Yuka silently facing each other, leaving passersby to gossip, Fukuda asked with an incredulous expression.
“Oh, you’re here.”
Nanami said.
“Well… I did arrive on time.”
Fukuda replied, glancing towards Sota. That look plainly suggested he thought this situation was all Sota’s fault, and Sota felt an urge to make some excuses.
But before Sota could even come up with a good excuse—
“……”
He noticed a girl quietly walking toward them.
She wasn’t wearing a yukata either. She sported a black T-shirt from the short sleeve shirts Yuka and Nanami selected for her and wore short shorts.
Her shoes were still those loafers typically worn with school uniforms, which didn’t quite match, but they were certainly more comfortable than outright walking around in a full uniform.
Seeing Kurosawa like that, the glances of the former rivals, Yuka and Nanami turned toward her.
The tension between them eased up a bit. It seemed that Kurosawa wearing the clothes they picked for her had impressed them a little.
“Kurosawa!”
Nanami exclaimed, rushing over to grab Kurosawa’s hand.
Kurosawa followed along without much care for it.
“Alright then, everyone’s here. It seems that someone and someone have already enjoyed the festival, but well, it’s a different place, so it doesn’t really matter, right?”
At those words, Fukuda looked at Sota as if he couldn’t believe it.
Even though Nanami didn’t specify any names, the glance directed at Sota made him want to explain something, but it felt like if he said anything here, Nanami would blow up, so he decided to just go along with it until the tension eased up a bit.
Particularly because Yuka was already wearing that relaxed smile with her shoulders back, making Nanami’s mood seem even more heated.
“Okay, okay.”
Nanami said while glancing around the group.
“Today, we’ll wander around here and there, eat various things, and watch some fireworks. Now, Shii, come this way.”
Saying that, she grabbed Shii’s wrist, pulling the somewhat bewildered girl along.
Shii wore a very startled expression but didn’t shake off the hand. Thanks to Nanami having played with Sota and Shii throughout the past semester, she had gotten used to it.
While Shii didn’t look particularly fond of Nanami, she at least seemed to know that Nanami meant no harm, which eased Sota’s worries a little.
Following behind the three who started walking first were Yuka, Sota, and Fukuda.
The strangely intense atmosphere dulled the moment they entered the bustling crowd.
Nanami loved to eat. Sota, who had hardly seen any teenage girls who didn’t like to eat, at least knew that Nanami enjoyed snacking and desserts among her friends.
“Here, Sota. A~ah.”
Nanami would feed Sota takoyaki, or
“Sota, here. Want to try a bite of this apple candy?”
while handing over the apple candy she had been nibbling on.
The more Sota played along, the more relaxed Nanami became. It seemed she really was here to have fun.
“Here, Kurosawa too.”
Nanami offered something to Kurosawa as well.
The fact that everyone shared the same idea that she ‘liked sweets’ made most of the food going back to Kurosawa sweet items.
Sota thought he could somewhat read Kurosawa’s blank expression now.
He still couldn’t accurately interpret her exact thoughts, but at the very least, he could tell if she was feeling good or bad.
Kurosawa had indeed been in a good mood since they entered. With each treat Sota passed her, her mood just seemed to get better.
“……”
And this was when Sota had a clear moment indicating that Kurosawa was indeed feeling pretty good.
Kurosawa wasn’t one to typically care much about her surroundings. She was quite quiet to the point that it could be said she was indifferent even to herself, making it hard to figure out what she wanted.
So if Kurosawa, the girl who was usually like that, suddenly stopped walking and stared at something intently, it was only natural for Sota and those around to be very surprised.
Kurosawa stopped in front of a goldfish scooping stall.
Inside a large styrofoam container filled with water, red goldfish swam around.
Seeing Kurosawa’s eyes track the goldfish moving back and forth, Sota crouched down next to her.
“Do you want to try this?”
Kurosawa looked at Sota.
There was still no emotion reflected in her gaze, but Sota could clearly tell she was wondering about his words.
“This is a game where you scoop up goldfish.”
Sota explained.
Once you scoop them up, you take them home.
Sota had received two goldfish when he followed Yuka around. Those goldfish were kept in a large ice box they had pulled out from storage and filled with water before moving them the next day.
“Do you want a goldfish?”
Sota asked, and Kurosawa turned her gaze back to the goldfish and answered very quietly.
“……Yeah.”
She responded almost inaudibly.
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