Archive of Our Own ^beta

The tri-headed beast lets out a shrill cry, it’s wings lashing wildly as it’s skin begins to crack, revealing bright slivers of light. The brave hunters take a step back, before the beast explodes into a million pieces, and causes a downpour of glowing EXP points.

“Yaaaay!!”

“Yatta!!”

“Weeeee!!”

“We did it!!”

The armor-wearing birds began to sprint and jump around, and play triumphant emotes, as their voices began to cut in and out of voice chat from the onslaught of happy noise.

“Let’s split the loot!”

The bird in an all-black armor with red eyes and shadowy particle effects, leaped into the pile of floating loot and items, which were left behind after the death of the super boss. In actuality, she was played by a high-voiced girl.

As the leader of the campaign, she had the ability to perfectly subtract the amount of gold and EXP they earned, and soon, everybirdie saw the points getting automatically added to their stats.

“Can I get the opal shard, please?!” a quail, wielding a lute and a saber, jumped in front of the crow-like bird.

“Yeah sure, Nemo.”

She tossed the opal shard at him, and his avatar automatically picked it up.

“Yaaay~ I just need one more and I’ll be able to craft the Nozoah’im! Thank you guys!!”

“Nah man, you deserve it. You supported really well.” one of his teammates spoke in.

“We would’ve totally lost it if you hadn’t used the team-wide heal back then. That’s some good reflexes.”

“Ehehee… I did my best…” Nemo’s avatar crouched up and down, a sign of shyness.

“Waaa it’s gonna be the Summer Festival tomorrow! Maybe we should end soon. I wanna get enough sleep so I can go with my gf and see the fireworks!” a third guy joined in, apparently shuffling through his wide arrange of weapons.

“Sh-i-i it’s -e summer fe-val tomo-ow?”

“You’re cutting off, Eli.”

“A—aaaaa-aa—a fuck my internet connection sucks”

“It’s ‘cause you’re in Thailand”

“Physically in Thailand but my heart and soul belongs to Tokyoooo brotheeers!”

“Oh, it’s not cutting off anymore.”

“See? My love for Japan fixed my internet connection.”

“Okay Eli”

Kazuaki took his eyes off the computer screen for a moment, eyeing the two empty plates by his desk, and took one last sip of his peach-flavored chuhai. He celebrated his game day with friends with a slightly alcoholic drink. (It practically tasted like juice, and he certainly couldn’t tell if it had any effect on him or not.)

…It was totally pitch black outside… and he totally spent the whole day playing games with his internet friends. Admittedly, it was a while since he allowed himself something like this. The last time he had a several hour long game with his teammates, it may have actually been all the way in Christmas break.

And to be fair, calling them internet friends is a bit of a stretch. They were laid back with each other but have mostly bonded over this one particular video game and… suicidal thoughts. He wouldn’t trust any of these people with his house keys that’s for sure.

Kazuaki loved summer break and spending time with these internet buddies, but it didn’t fill a certain other void that filled his heart. He began to think that maybe it was a terrible waste…

He tuned back into the game and the banter of his teammates, letting out a dramatic, somber sigh.

“Oo? Who just blew their mic?”

“Nemo’s having an asthma attack”

Kazuaki made a frantic gesture, “N-Nono! I’m not! I was just thinking about things… Sorry!”

“What are you thinking about?” The high-voiced leader asked him genuinely, “Are you feeling down again?”

“Nooo… not really… Well, I’m thinking about the festival… And about what Pineman said…”

“What’d I say?” Pineman sure had a low and gruff voice. He stopped shuffling through his weapons.

Nemo explained himself, “You wanna go to the festival with your girlfriend, right? Now I’m wondering if anyone else has any plans for tomorrow.”

The leader girl replied, “Hmm, well I’m probably gonna catch up with an anime and eat dinner and then look at the fireworks from indoors. I’m not gonna go out into the city though.”

“Damn, I’m gonna be at work the whole day…” It was the guy who complimented Nemo before.

“As for me, I’m just gonna go back to the woods.” said Eli nonchalantly, “I’ll befriend a human and we’ll eat raw meat together. We might kiss under the moonlight.”

“With a human? Ewwww!”

“Ahahahaha!”

They heard Pineman move some things around on his desk as he talked some more about his girlfriend, “Yeah yeah. She got me a new yukata so I have no choice but to go out and look all stylish and shiz. She’s really cute though. She’s always happy and excited for every kind of festival.”

“CUUTE!”

Nemo listened to his teammates carefully, “Hmm… so you’ll all be spending time with somebirdie…?”

“Yeah, I’ll be with my grandma the whole day.”

“I’ll go goldfish fishing with my little siblings for sure!”

“I’ll kiss a human in the woods!”

“Yeah, with my girlfriend.”

“Ahh…” Nemo sounded sad, “…I wish I could invite my crush to come with me…”

“Your cruuuush?!”

Nemo realized that he said something that’ll cause his teammates to pester him about it forever. Instant regret.

“You have a crush? On who?”

“Spill the beans quail boy”

“What species is she?”

“Uwaaaah! It’s… It’s a chukar partridge!”

“Chukar partridge? Wait, how does that look…” one guy frantically began to google what a chukar partridge looks like.

“No way!! Chukar girls are so cute! They’re the fluffiest!”

“Isn’t Nemo gay?”

“I-…I don’t know… But he is a boy…”

“You gotta tell us how you met! Who is she he they!”

“W-Well, you know, I’m a teacher at a certain high school…” Nemo began but then felt immediately embarrassed, “W-We’re coworkers, and kind of friends? I think, I’m not sure… We’ve known each other since years but we’re not super close, but recently…”

“Look at how flustered he is…! Gosh you’re so cute!”

“Waaaah!”

“What’s he like?”

“Um… well, he’s really serious. He’s really gentlemanly, and always wears a tie, and stuff.” he leaned against his desk, starting to feel butterflies in his stomach from the fantasies, “He’s serious and formal, but also kind of socially awkward like me, and he’s not very popular. He’s not usually somebody who cares about traditions and religions and stuff, so I don’t even know if the festival means anything to him or not. Also, he has a sense of humor that makes everyone think he’s a serial killer.”

“…He sounds scary LOL”

“Nooo! I mean, he can be, but he’s nice on the inside! He’s a doctor, so he’s got to be!”

“Wait, he’s a DOCTOR? Yoooo… Get that dick!”

“eh? EH? EH?? EH?!! STOP THAT…!”

His teammates laughed at his bashfulness, but he didn’t feel like he was being made fun of. Kazuaki really felt the blush growing on his cheeks from all the talking about him .

In fact, he was surprised at himself for starting the topic with basically ‘I have a crush on Shuu’.

“If I could go with him, it’d be the best day ever… But what if he rejects me? He’s really blunt and honest, so he could easily say ‘no’ and then I’ll be embarrassed and want to kill myself…”

“Hmm.” the leader girl suggested smugly, “I got an idea.”

A rock paper scissors game invitation popped up on Nemo’s screen.

“Y-You want to play rock paper scissors?”

“If you win, you can let it go, but if I win, you have to invite your chukar doctor crush to come to the festival with you… and do it right here, in VC!!”

Kazuaki heard a villainous thunder inside his head.

“What a shady plan!! You guys just want me to be embarrassed so badly! Meanies!”

“Come! click join!”

Kazuaki agreed to it. And soon, he saw his avatar, as well as his friend’s avatar, partake in a round of rock paper scissors. A cute animation.

“Let’s go!”

“Uuuuaaah!”

Rock! Paper! Scissors!

“I won!” Nemo rejoiced.

“Now do that two more times!”

“Wah!”

Rock! Paper! Scissors!

“R…Rock beats paper!”

“No it doesn’t, paper beats rock! I win!”

“O-Oh no…”

Rock!… Paper!… Scissors!

Du-duun. The black bird’s avatar showed up on the screen with a text saying ‘Winner!’

Nemo gawked at it with his jaw open.

“W…Wait, can we get another round?”

“Nope!”

“B-But… But it’s late! …But Iwamine-kun is usually awake until much later too…”

“His name is Iwamine-kun? Well you’re just making things worse for yourself! Go! Do it! Quick, Nemo!”

“S-Shit!”

Kazuaki frantically reached for his phone, it almost fell out of his hands, but he held it and went to his contact list.

“Are you dialing your husband?”

“H-He’s not even remotely close to being that…!”

“Yeah yeah, but soon.”

“Shhhh! Let the boy garner his mental strength.”

“Everyone shut the fuck up and let Nemo make the call!”

Iwamine’s name looked so harmless in the frame of his phone screen. Kazuaki felt so pumped up from his friends and a little bit of alcohol—if it weren’t for those factors, surely he would’ve never had the courage to do something like this. Nonetheless, his online friends counted on him. For some reason, even though they have no idea what Shuu is like, they absolutely wanted him to go on a date with him.

W-What is he thinking, it’s not a date! It’s just… a friendly hangout in the evening! Tomorrow!

“I’m doing it!” announced the quail.

He pressed the call button. His chest flared up with vigor. Kazuaki would hold his breath until he heard Shuu’s low, sullen voice.

His teammates waited patiently.

Beep…… Beeep…… Beeeeep……

“Maybe it’s too late…?” Kazuaki mumbled.

Beep…… Bee-

“Iwamine Shuu speaking.”

“AAHH!” Kazuaki bit his hand and then continued as normal, “Hii, good evening, Iwamine-kun!”

His teammates already began to giggle and whisper on his computer. Kazuaki put his headphones down, devoting all his focus to Shuu.

“…Good evening, professor. Why are you calling me at midnight? It’s certainly risky to call somebody this late. Even if it’s… me.”

“Umm, well, I have to urgently ask you something!”

“…Yes?”

“Tomorrow’s the summer festival! 6th of August! I was wondering if I could… invite you to join me? Would you like to? Do you celebrate in festivals?”

Shuu’s response was delayed a little, “…Yes. I would like to come.”

“R-Really? Oh man, I’ll text you on what street we should meet. Oh man…! Wait, should we both come wearing yukata or be naked… I mean, not like— we’re birds!”

“…It’s been many years since I’ve actually worn it. I usually just hear the white noise of the festivals from indoors…”

Kazuaki heard that Shuu sounded a little sleepy.

“H-Hey, me too! I think the last time I actually went into the festival was when I was in high school.” Kazuaki kicked the air excitedly, “Awright, okay! Oh my god! Yeah I’ll text you soon! Go to bed now, Iwamine! See you tomorrow!”

“…Okay. See you tomorrow, Nanaki-san.”

Kazuaki ended the call, and put his headphones back on. Immediately he was blasted by his friends’ appraisal. He almost fell off his chair!

“You did it!!”

“Congrats!!”

“You should go to bed too, you!”

Kazuaki let out a humble chuckle. But when the realization of what he just did began to sink in, he… laughed out loud! What a joyous day! He couldn’t wait for the next day!!

The buzzing cicadas, the humming mosquitos, instruments and sound of happily cooing birds. Littledove Hachiman City breathed with life, even when the sun was set. Birds of all species, sizes, ages, wearing or not wearing clothes—everyone was invested in eating at food stalls or playing the festival games.

Kazuaki Nanaki knew that he hated crowds with all passion, but that was all it was. Awareness that he should feel anxious… even though he really wasn’t. In fact, he was pretty excited. He stood at the outskirts of the festival area where he agreed with Shuu that they would meet up.

He himself owned only one type of yukata. Like most men’s variants, it was dark blue—but with a unique dragonfly pattern sewn in with white thread.

Kazuaki fanned himself with a red fan that he brought from home. He was wondering how Shuu would look like…

And he didn’t have to wonder for too long, because there he saw the man himself in the distance. Kazuaki smiled once the other got closer, and Shuu sped up a little.

Yes, Shuu had a yukata as well. A dark purple color with a bit of a floral pattern. Hm, women’s yukata. It was noticeable by the wide, grey-blue obi. He looked… handsome…!

“Hi! Good evening, Iwamine-kun! It’s good to see you!” Kazuaki greeted him warmly.

“Good evening.” Shuu wasn’t very reactive, but he sounded relaxed, which was good enough. “I was… a bit surprised to receive your phone call last night. It was very daring of you to propose something like this.”

“S-Sorry if I woke you up back then!”

“You didn’t, don’t worry.” Shuu eyed the lights of the busy street ahead of them, “Well then, shall we go?”

“Y-Yes sir!”

They walked side by side. Some kids were still hanging around, but given how late it was, it certainly was more peaceful now than during the day. This bright and fun but balanced atmosphere matched their tastes very much.

Kazuaki couldn’t help but glance to his side and watch Shuu scan the area as well.

“You…” Kazuaki began. Shuu looked up at him.

“You look good, Iwamine!”

“Oh… Thank you.” Apparently the compliment reached Shuu better than usual. He actually hid his mouth behind his hand. “I have not worn this kimono for many years, so I was worried it would be ill-fitting. I suppose I have not… particularly grown, since I was a teenager… Anyway, I am glad that you like it.”

“Oh wow. Yeah, me too! Festivals and stuff have always been a bit scary, especially since there’s no one to hang out with… Do you like the pattern though~?” Kazuaki showed off the sleeve and did a quirky little pose.

“The dragonflies? Oh yes. It’s pretty unique.”

“They’re dragonflies? Not damselflies?”

“No no, they’re dragonflies. Damselflies have slimmer bodies, and their wings are pressed together when they’re at rest.” Shuu explained generously as always, “As far as I know… dragonflies are very symbolic and popular in Japanese literature, are they not?”

“Yes! Did you know that in ancient mythology and the oldest Japanese history book, Japan was known as ‘the land of dragonflies’?”

“Oh yeah, I may have heard something about that. Yes.”

They exchanged some casual nerdy chats as they delved deeper into the festival. Soon, they found that the temperature was hotter here, with even more paper lanterns and drum music coursing through the air.

And that was when a certain delicious smell prompted Kazuaki to head towards… food carts. Shuu remained by his side.

“Ooh!”

The quail looked upon a cart of festival foods of the sweet variety. There, he saw the love of his life, glistening in the lamp light, it was…

“Choco-bananas…!”

Kazuaki nudged Shuu, giving him a hopeful look, “H-Hey, are you in the mood for one? It’s a banana coated in chocolate and sprinkles! It’s really tasty!”

Shuu didn’t seem delighted at the sight like Kazuaki. “…Not really. But you can still buy one if you want.”

Kazuaki pressed his lip into a thin line. Gaze flipping between Shuu, the banana on display, and the bird behind the counter. Sweat formed on his cheek. “Ummm…mmm…”

The bird behind the counter noticed Kazuaki staring and flashed him a welcoming smile.

“uuuUUUUUH…” Kazuaki suddenly felt his heart beat louder, instinctively his hand went to hold Shuu’s upper arm.

“What?” asked Shuu, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m… scared of buying it…”

Shuu rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. He looked towards the sky, and then gently tapped Kazuaki’s hand off of his arm.

“Fine.” Shuu headed towards the food stall, “But only this once. If you’ll want to buy anything else, you’ll do it yourself.”

“Ahh~! You’re the best, Iwamine~!” Kazuaki lit up with joy, “Please get normal chocolate! Rainbow sprinkles!”

Thus, Shuu joined the end of the line that formed for the choco-banana stall. It wasn’t very long, but still he began to sink into his thoughts, staring blankly at the asphalt below.

He spaced out while thinking about the recent progress he made with his research. Just as planned, the school building is significantly emptier during summer time, allowing him to continue the experiments with Kazuaki’s blood.

Naturally, his eyes were drawn to the quail, still standing there and looking up at the decors hanging from trees. Certainly, Kazuaki Nanaki’s anemia has pretty much recovered. Very good. Very very good.

“Good evening what can I get ya!”

Shuu snapped back into reality, it was his turn to buy the chocolatey treat.

“Could I have the choco-banana with rainbow sprinkles, please?”

“Oh! Thank you so much Iwamine~!”

Kazuaki carefully retrieved the banana on a stick from Shuu, who said nothing.

“It’s so pretty~! Maybe I should take a photo? No, nevermind, I have no free hand… Oh well then, I’ll just savor the memory and eat it.”

Kazuaki intensely analyzed it from all angles, squinting, which earned an amused look from Shuu, before finally chowing down the choco-banana.

“…I hope it lives up to its price.” mused Shuu.

“Oh, right! Wait, I’ll give you your money back—” began Kazuaki, but was stopped by Shuu, “Whatever. It wasn’t as expensive as some other foods here. I’ll charge you another time.”

“Wow…! You’re seriously generous today! You must be possessed by some friendly summertime spirit!”

The partridge and the quail continued to stroll down the stalls, with Kazuaki taking his sweet time with the choco-banana.

As they reached a hillside, they began to hear the sounds of chanting growing louder and louder. Kazuaki turned to the crowd of people, and then looked up at the sky. “The fireworks are about to start, look, Iwamine!”

Shuu looked up as well. In anticipation of the final countdown, he held is breath.

And then, with an eruption of noise, the sky was painted with explosions of lights, paired with high pitched whistles. Birds all over the town jumped, some have made joyful bird coos towards the sky.

Colors of all kinds danced in the darkness, earning a pleased exhale out of Shuu. The tension in his body left along with his breath.

“Fireworks. How marvelous.”

“Yeah~!”

Kazuaki looked down at Shuu by his shoulder, and noticed the bright smile gracing his features. Usually, they were such grim features. The words got stuck in his throat from that. He just observed the beautiful appearance of Shuu’s face, savoring it.

“They’re beautiful.” spoke Shuu dreamily, “If only I could be so grossly incandescent… Hohoho…”

They watched the colors dance and form patterns in the sky. It was probably the utmost magnificent firework show that year. With time, the noise began to seem more and more natural and unnoticable, only leaving the beautiful art.

“Do you play Dark Souls, Iwamine?”

“Hm?”

“Nyehehehehe!”

All the way below the hill was a golden pheasant and a red-breasted quail. Tohri was bent down, peeking into the electronic abyss of a sizely invention that he had dragged all the way to this spot.

“Mhm. The fireworks are gonna start in like two minutes. Maybe you won’t make it in time.” commented Hitori behind him, sipping on a ramune.

“Oh don’t worry, everything is set up already. I am juuust making a final check.” Tohri took a final gander at the lit up green bulbs inside the device, and finally shut it down, straightening up again.

He felt around the top of his head, adorned in shimmery and flowery hair decorations, and caressed the equally gaudy yukata on his body.

“How do I look, Uzune Hitori~?” Tohri looked down at his subordinate with a smug smile, “I actually had this outfit commissioned~!”

“You look good, sir.” Hitori definitely liked it more than he cared to admit or tell. “Definitely matches your um… character.”

“Thank youuu~ Aw, it’s too bad that you came here looking so…” Tohri eyed Hitori’s shirt and jeans. “…drab.”

“Hmm?” Hitori looked at himself as well. He saw nothing wrong with a striped, wide shirt. “I thought this is one of the most stylish things I own…”

“I mean, it’s a good shirt! This IS cute, but… eh, whatever.”

Their eyes turned towards the uphill as they heard the increasing final countdown. Other firework participants were starting to get tense and ready. Of course, none of them had a device as magnificent and excessive as Tohri’s newest invention.

“Alright, let’s take some distance!” Tohri proposed.

“Huh? Are the fireworks already lit?”

“Ohohoho~ I don’t need to light them manually.”

Suddenly, Tohri went and grabbed Hitori by the waist, throwing him over his shoulder, and ran.

“With the NISHIKIKOUJI MASTERPIECE #670, I can shoot off fireworks in the exact formation I want with my brainwaves alone!!!”

“Wa-a-a-a-a-aah!!” Hitori shrieked a little as he let himself be kidnapped, “Holy shit okay!”

Five!

Four!

Three!

Two!

One!!

The firework show began, Hitori and Tohri watched it from behind a shrub. A content expression graced Hitori’s face, until he looked at Tohri next to him, who had a very concentrated and intense expression.

“Puuuuoooh!!”

In the moment that Tohri yelled that, and gestured with his arms into the sky, the invention he left behind in the field started shooting about a dozen fireworks into the sky in perfect synchrony.

“And watch!!”

Hitori watched indeed. After a few seconds, the fireworks blew up above and shone brighter than any other firework in the sky. They took on a very interesting formation.

“Cool!” Such an enthusiastic response from the quail.

“And it’s not done yet!!” Tohri’s eyes glistened with absolute childlike excitement. On the other hand, it was a bit villainous too.

Hitori watched as another episode of Tohri’s fireworks lit up the sky, and this time, they were words. Hitori raised an eyebrow as he read them.

“I think we went past a street with fishing games! Let’s go there!” Kazuaki proposed cheerfully.

“Sure. I would love to see the fish.” Shuu agreed with a nod, and walked the other way with the quail.

With their backs to the sky, they did not see the firework text;

         IMMA GET YA, IWAMINE SHUU~!

                   ☆*:.｡. o(Ò▽Ó)o .｡.:*☆

It soon faded out into ash.

The favorite spot of children during festivals, games! There were dozens of stalls, most of them featuring scooping games.

“Ahh,” Kazuaki put a hand to his chest, emotional with nostalgia, “I remember wanting to play toy scooping games for hours until my parents had to drag me away by force…” he looked into a water-filled pool of little rubber and plastic toys, and a chick trying to scoop one out. The pools were mostly empty now, after a whole day of kids retrieving toys from them. “The toys seem to be higher quality now, compared to those from when I was a kid…”

He turned to Shuu, “A-And how about you? What has been your favorite festival game?”

Apparently Shuu had spaced out again, and fluttered his eyelashes when Kazuaki asked him a question, “M-Me? Uhm, well I… I don’t think I had a favorite game.”

“Sigh. I kind of expected you to say that, ahaha…”

Shuu noticed that Kazuaki’s joy died down, and his eyes traveled to the next game stall.

“Actually…” he began, “I think I have been fond of the goldfish scooping game.”

“Ohoho!” Kazuaki immediately took Shuu by the hand and led him in that direction, “Let’s do it then!”

“Huh?”

The small fee was paid. Shuu and Kazuaki both received their little scoopers, poi, and stood by the pool of little fish. The goldfish swam in rounds, in all kinds of sizes and colors, ranging from orange, to black, to spotted.

They filled each bowl in their hands with some of the pool water, and began to scoop with the tool in their other hand.

Shuu was uncharacteristically quiet, but seemed to partake in the game anyway.

“Ahhh! These little guys are fast!” Kazuaki mumbled and grumbled as the fish fled from his scooper.

Shuu approached them with a different and much calmer technique.

“Oya!” Suddenly, Kazuaki caught two goldfish in one hasty scoop, and immediately let them slip into his bowl.

Shuu’s hand was completely still, resting under water. Kazuaki eyed his teammate and guessed that Shuu intends to strike the goldfish like a predator.

Iwamine-kun is really merciless.

“Two again~!” Kazuaki sang cutely, adding another two goldfish to his bowl.

Shuu was still dead silent and dead still.

This was starting to feel awkward, and made Kazuaki a little worried. He asked Shuu gently, “Are you okay?”

Shuu said nothing. A black goldfish swam right above Shuu’s scooper, calmly and obliviously. Then in an instant Shuu raised the scooper from the water causing a bit of a splash, and… did not catch the fish.

“…Hm… It didn’t work…”

“Time’s up!” The owner of the stall rang a bell and waddled over to the birds.

“Oh no… That’s too bad… Would you like some of my goldfish? I have four…” Kazuaki offered him his bowl generously, but Shuu simply closed his eyes. “No, it’s fine. Keep your reward.” He poured out the water from his bowl and handed it over to the owner, “I have never been particularly good at games requiring high… sensorimotor skills…”

Kazuaki remembered what Shuu said before about the injuries in his childhood that caused him colorblindness, and wondered if it’s related to that.

“Would you like to keep your goldfish or let them go?” The host had a plastic bag in hand.

Kazuaki nodded, “um, I guess, I wanna keep them… Thank you!”

And soon, he received his goldfish in a transparent plastic bag. Kazuaki held them with utmost gentleness, and watched them swim calmly in the small body of water.

“I-I guess I’ll need to get home and get an aquarium for them…?! Shit, I didn’t think this through!”

“Or you can eat them.” suggested Shuu. “Though us galliformes won’t really benefit from a snack like this. Especially this small. Do you have any pelican friends, by any chance?”

They were both startled by the sound of a child crying at another game stall with goldfish. Their parents immediately began to coo comfortingly at them.

“I didn’t catch a single oneeeeee!!” the kid cried very sadly. “W-We bought an aquarium and I still don’t have a fishhhhh!!”

“It’s okay, please don’t cry! We’ll get you a fish, baby, somehow! Maybe we can buy one at a pet store soon?”

Kazuaki and Shuu watched that scene unfold.

“Well?” Shuu looked at Kazuaki and the goldfish bag in his hand. Kazuaki pondered, but seemed genuinely hurt in that child’s stead. What a striking amount of empathy.

“Hmph!” Kazuaki went in their direction, while Shuu decided to stay behind and watch the scene from afar.

Kazuaki approached the parents and their kid, “H-Hello!” he brought forward the goldfish, “Would you like mine? I caught four goldfish, but I think they’d prefer to be with you guys!” Kazuaki pointed at each one with a finger, “Look, they’re all different colors too~ one is orange, one is white, and these two have blotches!”

The little kid’s eyes glistened with tears, a hopeful look on their face. The parents smiled politely, “Wow! That’s very kind of you! Look, Kamo-kun, what a nice young man! Would you like his goldfish?”

Kamo-kun the teary-eyed chick raised his wings, reaching for the goldfish, “Pwease…”

“Awww!” his parents smiled as Kazuaki gave over his fish to their son. “And what do we say now?”

“Thank you, mister quail!” Kamo bowed down and smiled at his new goldfish.

Kazuaki was a bit flattered, “Take good care of them! Have fun~!”

He waved the duck family goodbye, and they waved back.

As he returned to Shuu, his expression became increasingly more nervous, “Ahhhhhh! I did it!”

“Yes, see?” Shuu smirked at him, “Your social skills are just fine.”

“I’m so proud of myself… I think I deserve a reward now…”

“Oh really?”

“Let’s eat more food!” Kazuaki balled his fist triumphantly, “—And I’ll order it myself!”

“My my, you’re on a roll.”

Elated with their achievements, Kazuaki and Shuu moved on to another street in search of more food carts and food stalls.

“Um, what are you doing?”

Tohri heard the sound of spray coming from Hitori. A weird, sweet-sour smell reached his nose.

“Protection?” Hitori shook the bottle, “It’s a mosquito repellent.”

“Oh, mosquitos. Yeah, they can be pretty ruthless, especially with all these darned lanterns hanging about!” He already spotted one of those carnivorous beasts near an orange lantern hanging from a tree.

Tohri took his eyes off Hitori for just one second before… “Kya—! What the!” the cold spray reached his arms, prompting him to jump away.

“Don’t you want protection too?” Hitori asked confused, “Mosquitos spread all kinds of diseases! West Nile virus, Malaria!”

“West Nile virus? Pah, we’ve developed quite great immunity to that, compared to our ancestors… Putting it next to Malaria is total fear-mongering. The illness is not much worse than the flu…” But Hitori looked at him with a sincerely concerned expression. Tohri clicked his tongue, and, “…But yeah, I certainly value my health. Very well, quail, spray me if you want.”

“Good!” Hitori went right ahead to spray Tohri’s arms with the repellent, even lifting his sleeves a bit. He was just about to bend down to spray Tohri’s ankles, but the pheasant snatched the spray out of his hand and flinched bashfully.

“Oh, I’ll do that part myself, thanks!”

“The stalls here appear to be closing down soon.”

Muttered Shuu as they reached an area that smelled entirely like savory foods. Particularly, like octopus.

“That’s good, because I am in the mood for some meat.” said Kazuaki not-so innocently.

“Oh my.” Shuu liked the tone of his voice there.

Not a lot of people roamed the area. In fact, they were almost entirely alone, aside from a handful birds in the distance. They stumbled upon a stand which was run by one very dedicated, and very visibly exhausted java sparrow. She was counting something down in a logbook until Kazuaki spoke up.

“Excuse us!”

“!” she straightened back up and cleared her throat, “Yeah! We’re still open! Ya interested in some takoyaki?”

“Hmm!” the pan of takoyaki balls on display was almost empty. There were just enough for maybe two more portions. “Yes, um, can I get one… plate?” asked Kazuaki nervously.

“Make that two.”

Shuu added in out of nowhere, and Kazuaki grinned at that.

“Takoyaki twice it is!” The java sparrow lady got her pincers and swiftly prepared two portions, “Whew, you guys will be getting a free bonus ball each, alright?”

Kazuaki did a dance, “Wooo! Thank you very much!” it was amazing how his social anxiety about ordering things disappeared so swiftly, as soon as there were less people present.

“Nice… I managed to sell everything in one night…!” Azami chastised herself while sprinkling the portions in dried bonito.

After reasonable payment, Kazuaki and Shuu went off the street and sat under a tree to eat their food. They’ve been on their feet for at least two hours, and finishing it in the cool air with a warm meal was total icing on the cake. Icing on the… date?

“I did not expect you to buy it too~”

“Mhm…” Shuu didn’t know how to answer, and as such he simply ate his food.

Kazuaki was enjoying it more visibly than the other, “I’m not usually somebody that readily buys food from carts on the street, but this is really good…! How about you?”

“It’s good.”

“…Are you tired, Iwamine-kun?”

“Well, we have been walking for hours in this unruly setting. Aren’t you too?”

“Oh yeah, I am. This has been a long da… aaaaw… ” Kazuaki let out a cute little yawn, “Ahh, a long day.”

They soon finished their meal, and their meeting came to an end as well. The music has since long died, and only a handful of birds could be seen carrying their asleep kids on their way home. The street food vendors, and game stalls too, have finally closed and packed up their things.

It was the dead of night when Shuu and Kazuaki returned to where they had come from, more tired than before, but also more fulfilled.

Shuu looked fondly upon him as he said, “Thank you, Nanaki. I enjoyed myself tonight.”

Heartwarmed, Kazuaki smiled back. “I-I’m glad, I did too!” he laced his fingers, “I’m glad that you came, Iwamine-kun.”

His violet eyes wandered down to the asphalt below as he muttered, not particularly intending Kazuaki to hear it, “Yes, I’ll get home, and tomorrow, I have to go to the post office to mail the results, retrieve a package, and maybe step by the grocery store for-”

Kazuaki hugged Shuu.

Completely out of nowhere and without a warning, Shuu’s mouth was pressed into Kazuaki’s shoulder, and arms were left hanging limply by his sides. Without a thought in his brain, Shuu stared blindly into the sky.

The arms clung to him for a numbing moment, before pulling away, and allowing Shuu’s spirit to return to his body once more.

A content, clueless smile graced Kazuaki’s features as he said “Well, see you at work later, Iwamine!”

He did a small goodbye wave as he began to walk away. And it was only when the distance had grown between them that Shuu replied, face frozen in shock.

“…See you… later… too…”

He continued to feel stunned and out of his body even as he slowly made his way home.

Plagued by a memory so close.

“ See you at work later, Isa-kun! ”

As the hand lifted itself from his head. It had rained that evening. The cotton candy on his stick fell down and instantly dissolved in a puddle. He only felt bad about the doctor’s money having gone to waste.

“As I was saying…” Shuu muttered, all alone on the train home, “I will stop by the grocery store for a pack of coffee and chamomile tea, and then…”