Ōtsuki Haruto A residential area enveloped in the quiet of the night. Bathed in the soft moonlight, Haruto and Ayaka walked slowly, hand in hand. “The fireworks were so beautiful, weren’t they?” “I wonder if that fireworks festival is that amazing every year. I kind of regret not watching it properly until now.” Ayaka’s face lit up as she talked about the fireworks they had seen today. Haruto also spoke with admiration. At that, she turned to him with a bright smile. “From now on, let’s watch them properly together. Next year, and the year after that… together.” “Yeah, let’s.” When Haruto nodded at Ayaka, who had a bashful expression, she smiled shyly and happily. Seeing Ayaka’s smile, Haruto let out a murmur of “I see.” “The reason today’s fireworks seemed so beautiful was because I was with you, Ayaka.” Large flowers of light blooming in the night sky. Ayaka, looking up at them with sparkling eyes. Haruto thought it was because these two were a set that the fireworks festival became so moving. “For me too, because I was with you, Haruto-kun, it was a really beautiful and moving fireworks festival.” Haruto couldn’t help but smile back at her cheerful words. After that, they continued to talk about the fireworks they had just seen and other things as they headed towards the Tōjō house. The jinbei Haruto was currently wearing was borrowed from Shūichi. The condition for borrowing it was to see Ayaka home, so he held her hand firmly and aimed for the Tōjō house. “Speaking of which, the condition Shūichi-san gave for lending me the jinbei is kind of a mystery, isn’t it?”
Haruto said, tilting his head. Even without Shūichi’s condition, it was natural to see his precious girlfriend home. That’s what Haruto thought. “Hmm, maybe Dad wanted you to stop by the house after the fireworks festival, Haruto-kun?” “I wonder? But why?” “Why indeed?” Not understanding Shūichi’s intention, they both tilted their heads. And then, Haruto’s gaze suddenly fell to Ayaka’s feet. “Ayaka, are your feet okay? They don’t hurt?” She was currently wearing a geta to match her yukata. If you’re not used to geta, the thong can rub and hurt your feet. If it gets worse, the skin can even peel. TL/N: “Geta” are traditional Japanese wooden sandals with elevated soles, often worn with yukata or kimono. Worried about that, Ayaka smiled back at Haruto, “I’m fine.” “Before I put on the geta, Mama loosened the thongs for me so they wouldn’t hurt.” “Oh, I see. That’s Ikue-san for you.” Haruto was relieved that Ayaka’s feet weren’t hurting. Then, she let out a sound as if she had remembered something. “…Ah.” “Hm?” “…Actually, my feet… might hurt… a little…” “Eh?! Are you okay?” At Ayaka’s sudden retraction of her previous statement, Haruto looked back at her feet in surprise. “Ah, yeah. I’m fi— I mean. It hurts to walk… it might be difficult…” “Okay. I’ll give you a piggyba—” “Yeah!” interrupted Ayaka eagerly at his words. At that, Haruto gave her a sidelong glance. Looking closely, Ayaka’s expression was brimming with excitement, and her eyes were filled with anticipation. “…Ayaka-san?” “Ugh… Ah~, my feet hurt… I can’t walk anymore…” At Haruto’s suspicious gaze, Ayaka blatantly averted her eyes. He stared at her for a while, but she kept her face turned away. Finding her reaction amusing, his expression softened. “…Hee hee, okay. I’ll give you a piggyback ride.”
Haruto turned his back to her, who was desperately pleading “My feet hurt~,” and crouched down. At Haruto’s easy offer of a piggyback ride, Ayaka, conversely, showed a slight hesitation. “A-Are you really going to give me a piggyback ride?” “Yeah. I mean, making a girlfriend walk when she says her feet hurt would make me a terrible boyfriend, right?” “Ah, about my feet hurting, well… um…” At his response, perhaps out of guilt for lying, Ayaka’s eyes darted around. Seeing her adorable reaction, Haruto shook his head slightly with a “Good grief.” “Even without a reason, if you said you wanted a piggyback ride, Ayaka, I’d give you one as many times as you want.” “R-Really?” “Yeah. Here, come on.” Haruto extended his arms behind him, beckoning Ayaka. “W-Well then, if you please.” She hesitantly climbed onto Haruto’s back, loosely clasping her hands in front of his chest over his shoulders. “I’m standing up, okay?” “Okay.” Haruto said before standing up, then removed the geta from Ayaka’s feet, which were dangling by his waist. “Thank you, Haruto-kun. Um… am I not heavy?” “Not at all.” Haruto supported Ayaka by putting his arms under her knees and started walking slowly. When he first gave her a piggyback ride, Haruto could feel a slight tension from Ayaka, but after a while, she seemed to get used to it, and he could feel her full weight on his back. “Your back is big and warm, Haruto-kun.” “Really?” “Yeah. And the swaying as you walk is so comfortable, it’s making me sleepy.” “You can sleep until we get home.” At Haruto’s words, Ayaka shook her head from side to side.
“I won’t sleep. If I sleep, this precious piggyback ride from you will be over in an instant. I have to savor it more properly.” “Savor it? It’s not that big of a deal.” “It’s a big deal to me.”
With that, Ayaka tightened her arms around Haruto. “Feeling Haruto-kun all over me is happiness…” “Ngh… Ayaka? If you stick too close, um… on my back, that is, you know, it’s that, so could you move away a little?” Haruto stammered, flustered by Ayaka pressing against him. In response, she rubbed her cheek against his back and answered immediately. “I won’t move away. I don’t want to move away.” “…Is that so?” “It is.” To Ayaka, who replied in a very cheerful mood, Haruto continued to walk towards the Tōjō house, trying his best not to be conscious of the sensation on his back. After walking for several minutes with Ayaka on his back, Haruto let her down a little before reaching the Tōjō house. “Thank you. Your piggyback ride was really nice, Haruto-kun.” “Then it was worth giving you one.” Haruto felt a slight pang of loneliness now that the warmth on his back was gone. “You’re coming in too, right, Haruto-kun?” Ayaka asked, her hand on the front door. “Yeah, I guess I’ll impose for a little while.” It was getting quite late. Normally, he would decline, saying it would be an inconvenience. However, he already knew the Tōjō family, and this time there was also Shūichi’s condition. And, he genuinely wanted to thank him for lending him the jinbei. Thinking that, Haruto followed Ayaka into the Tōjō house. When he entered the living room with Ayaka, Ikue and Shūichi were at the dining table, enjoying a light evening drink. Ryōta was nowhere to be seen, so he was probably already asleep. Shūichi was the first to notice Haruto and Ayaka’s return, and he placed the wine glass he was holding on the table and let out a cry of admiration. “Oh!! Welcome back, you two! Wow, Haruto-kun! That jinbei looks great on you! Just as I envisioned!” Shūichi greeted them with an unusually high level of excitement. Following him, Ikue also turned to face Haruto and Ayaka. “Welcome back. Look, dear, Ayaka’s yukata and Ōtsuki-kun’s jinbei. Isn’t it lovely? It reminds me of the old days.”
“Indeed, indeed! It feels like I’ve time-slipped back to when Ikue and I first started dating!” As soon as they saw Haruto and Ayaka return, the two adults started getting excited. Hearing their conversation, Haruto somehow understood. The yukata Ayaka was wearing now was one that Ikue had worn in her youth. And the jinbei Haruto was wearing was also one that Shūichi had worn in the past. It seemed the Tōjō couple were superimposing their past selves onto Ayaka and Haruto, who were wearing those yukata and jinbei. “Ayaka really looks just like Ikue did back then.” Shūichi tilted his wine glass with satisfaction. Ikue looked at Haruto in his jinbei and reminisced about her memories with Shūichi from long ago. “Seeing that jinbei reminds me of the first time I went to a fireworks festival with Shūichi-san. This man, he would glare fiercely every time another man tried to talk to me.” “Ikue was incredibly popular even back then. I was constantly on edge.” “Oh, you. Tee hee.” As the Tōjō couple began to create their own little world, Haruto hesitantly interjected into their conversation. “Um, thank you very much for lending me the jinbei. I’ll have it cleaned and return it later.” “Ah, no, no, you don’t have to worry about that! You can return it as is! If you like it, Haruto-kun, you can even keep it!” “Huh? No, I really couldn’t accept it…” “Not at all. I’d be more than happy for you to have it! Hahaha.” At Shūichi, who had been in an extremely good mood for a while, Haruto glanced at the wine glass placed in front of him. When Shūichi drank alcohol, his mood would improve, and he tended to get carried away regarding Haruto and Ayaka. “Did you set a condition for lending the jinbei because you wanted to see Haruto-kun in it, Dad?” “Yup! I thought Ayaka in Ikue’s yukata and Haruto-kun in my jinbei would look like our past selves. Is this what they call ’emo’ nowadays?” “No… I think that’s a little different…” Her father’s remark made his daughter wear an indescribable expression. “Haruto-kun, if it’s not too much trouble, could I take a picture?” “Ah, yes. Please do.”
Haruto nodded at Shūichi’s request. Then Shūichi immediately started taking two-shots of Haruto and Ayaka with his own phone. “Hey Dad, aren’t you taking too many?” Ayaka was slightly taken aback by her father’s actions. “It’s fine, isn’t it? You’ll understand this feeling too, Ayaka, when you have children with Haruto-kun.” “Children?!” At Shūichi’s single word, Ayaka’s face instantly turned red. “Well now, I got some good pictures. Thanks, Haruto-kun.” “Not at all.” “It’s quite nice to have them wear our old clothes. Was there anything else… Oh? Come to think of it, the Santa cos—” “Dear? I think it’s still too early for these two for that.” Ikue uttered a single word, as if to cut off Shūichi’s story. She wore an overwhelmingly bright smile that brooked no argument. This seemed to sober Shūichi up a bit, as he cleared his throat with an “Ahem” before turning to Haruto. “Haruto-kun, thank you for bringing Ayaka home.” “Ah, yes…” Haruto gave a wry smile at Shūichi, who had suddenly returned to his normal level of excitement. Next to him, Ayaka, who had caught a glimpse of her parents’ youthful indiscretions, wore a weary expression. “Dad, what did you make Mama wear…?” “Hm? What are you talking about?” Shūichi looked off into the distance and feigned ignorance at his daughter’s question.