A few days after my trip with Yotsuji, I went to a nearby shopping mall with Hotaru and Yotsuji. Hotaru was the first to arrive at our meeting place. She was wearing a white three-quarter sleeve shirt, a gray long skirt, and black ribbon-strap sandals.

Hotaru, whose eyes were darting around suspiciously, looked relieved the moment she spotted me and hurried over at a brisk pace.

"Ibuki-chan. Thank goodness. I found you."

Hotaru put a hand to her chest and let out a deep breath, "Haaah."

"Long time no see, Hotaru. What's wrong? Why the worried face?"

"Um, you see, I haven't been here very much, and there were more people than I thought, so I got anxious wondering if I'd be able to meet up with everyone."

"You really are a worrywart, Hotaru."

I should have come a little earlier, I thought. Hotaru laced her fingers together and bashfully looked down. I took out my cell phone to check the current time. It was a little earlier than our promised meeting time.

"Oh, you painted your nails, Ibuki-chan."

"Yeah. I had Yotsuji paint them for me."

Every time the angle of my fingers changed, the generous amount of glitter sparkled brilliantly. Pale cobalt blue. The nails Yotsuji did for me catch my eye even in passing moments.

"I see. It is summer vacation, after all. They're cute."

Just then, exactly on time, Yotsuji appeared. Yotsuji was wearing a pink T-shirt, jeans, and a long, thin black cardigan. Because Yotsuji's casual clothes are mature, she looks about college age.

Grabbing Hotaru's shoulders from behind, Yotsuji stared fixedly into Hotaru's face. Hotaru froze in surprise, her eyes wide as saucers. Yotsuji is very physically affectionate and always gets up close to people's faces. I'm used to it by now, but Hotaru remained so perfectly still I worried she had stopped breathing.

"Hotaru secured!"

Yotsuji laughed playfully. Perhaps deeply startled, the color drained from Hotaru's cheeks, and she looked as if she might collapse at any moment.

"Yotsuji, Hotaru is in trouble."

"Ahahaha. I mean, Hotaru, you're incredibly thin. Are you eating properly?"

Saying so, Yotsuji poked and prodded at Hotaru's slender sides. Hotaru's body gave a little jump; she let out a tiny squeak and squeezed her eyes shut tight. Her cheeks turned red as apples.

"Sorry, sorry."

When Yotsuji released her, Hotaru, with her face still bright red, scurried over to me with a chick-like trot and completely hid behind my back.

"Yotsuji is always like that. Sorry."

"So that's Yotsuji-chan..."

Hotaru timidly observed Yotsuji over my shoulder. Yotsuji was watching Hotaru's behavior with a smirking smile, the corners of her mouth relaxed. When Hotaru made eye contact with Yotsuji, she shrunk her body and hid her face again.

"She definitely is rabbit-like. She looks like she'd be fun to tease."

Crossing her arms like a delinquent older sister, Yotsuji showed a meaningful, knowing smile. Hearing Yotsuji's words, Hotaru trembled like a leaf.

"Hotaru is terrified. Don't tease her too much."

Even when I said that, Yotsuji just gave a frivolous laugh. She probably wasn't listening to me seriously at all.

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Anyway, let's look around somewhere. Hotaru, are there any stores you want to check out?"

"General goods stores," Hotaru said in a small voice.

"Sounds good. There are a few of those here, so come on, let's go."

Yotsuji started walking with a light step. Hotaru followed us, still hiding behind me. Was it going to be like this all day today? I hoped Hotaru and Yotsuji could get along, but it might be difficult to do so suddenly.

Glancing briefly at Hotaru, Yotsuji twisted the corner of her mouth in amusement.

When we arrived at a general goods store, Hotaru's eyes sparkled as she looked at the items lined up on the shelves. Picking up a small bottle lined up in the aromatherapy section, she brought her nose close and sniffed it, sniff, sniff.

"It smells good. Citrus aromas perk up both your mind and body."

I took the small bottle from Hotaru and smelled the sweet orange scent. It had a sweet, pleasant fragrance.

"It smells good."

"You smell good too, Hotaru."

When Yotsuji brought her nose close to Hotaru's long hair, Hotaru jerked her shoulders up as if she'd been struck by an electric current. Laughing a stifled kuku sound, Yotsuji walked off toward the stationery section. Perhaps relieved that Yotsuji had walked away, Hotaru took a deep breath to calm herself.

Looking at the back of the strangely lively Yotsuji, I let out a sigh. True, from Yotsuji's perspective, Hotaru might be an interesting girl worth teasing, but at this rate, Hotaru's heart wouldn't be able to take it.

At the general goods store, Hotaru bought a small ornament—a cork-stoppered bottle filled with colorful konpeito sugar candy. After that, we went to look at another general goods store. Getting hungry, we went to the food court and ate three-scoop stacked ice cream. Eating strawberry ice cream with her small mouth, Hotaru smiled bashfully.

"It's delicious, isn't it, Ibuki-chan?"

"Yeah. It's delicious."

Seeing Hotaru licking her ice cream with a flicking motion of her pale pink tongue, she looked so earnest for some reason, and I found it amusing. After finishing our ice cream, we strolled aimlessly through the mall. A nicely dressed shop clerk was calling out to customers in a loud voice for a time sale.

"Want to check out that store?"

The store Yotsuji pointed to had an interior that looked as if it had popped straight out of a picture book. Clothes fit for a fairy-tale princess were lined up inside. It wasn't the kind of clothing style Yotsuji or I usually wore, but I thought Hotaru might like this sort of thing.

"Want to take a look?"

When I asked Hotaru, who was walking behind me, she nodded repeatedly, apparently interested in the store.

The inside of the store was a little dim. The clerks standing at the register and walking around the store were also wearing fairy-tale-like clothes. They smiled sweetly at us as we entered. I felt as though I had wandered into an unknown world.

"This is cute."

Yotsuji picked up a piece of clothing hanging on a hanger. It was a long red dress adorned with tiers of fluffy white ruffles. It had a ribbon at the chest. It was a dress that looked inspired by Little Red Riding Hood.

"It is cute," Hotaru murmured in a small, whispering voice.

"Hotaru, try it on once."

Yotsuji handed the clothes to Hotaru. Hotaru, who seemed to have taken it reflexively, blushed and shook her head back and forth.

"I think it would suit you, Hotaru."

Wanting to see Hotaru wearing that dress, I agreed with Yotsuji's opinion.

"You think so...?"

Hotaru fidgeted hesitantly, but when I said, "I want to see you wearing it," she entered the fitting room, as if giving in.

After a while, Hotaru, having changed clothes, opened the curtain. She wore a shy expression. Hotaru in the red dress looked like the protagonist of a picture book. The slenderness of her wrists emerging from the sleeves was further highlighted, increasing her fragile atmosphere even more. The multiple tiers of overlapping ruffles swayed sweetly with Hotaru's small movements.

"How does it look?"

"It's good. You're cute."

I gave a firm thumbs-up. Hotaru smiled softly and put her hands to her cheeks. That sight was so cute, I wanted to look at her forever.

"Yeah, it totally suits you. Being this cute, you might get attacked by a wolf."

As Yotsuji nodded happily, Hotaru wore a troubled, bashful smile. We smiled looking at her. Hotaru's slender back was reflected in the mirror of the fitting room. Hotaru glanced back at the mirror for just a moment, then showed a melting smile, saying, "But it is a bit embarrassing."



When evening came, we headed back to our respective homes. Hotaru and I walked the same path part of the way.

"Yotsuji-chan was a fun girl, wasn't she?"

Hotaru swung the souvenir bag she had received from me. Inside were Hotaru's favorite cookies.

"She's always just messing around."

"I couldn't really talk to her very well. I got a little nervous."

Hotaru looked downcast. I recalled that Hotaru hadn't been able to quite meet Yotsuji's eyes. Yotsuji had been talking to her with her usual friendly, open manner, but Hotaru, perhaps because it was their first meeting, had been shy and couldn't speak much.

"You don't need to rush. Yotsuji wants to get along with you. I'm sure you'll be good friends in no time."

"Yeah. It'd be nice if we could become friends. Um, thank you for inviting me today, too. I was really happy. It felt like a dream."

"You're exaggerating, Hotaru."

"You think so?"

When I laughed, Hotaru tilted her head with a little "ehehe." I actually like that exaggerating side of Hotaru. She gets overjoyed over even the little things, which makes it fun to be with her.

"Hey, Hotaru. Do you want to go to the festival together next Saturday?"

"A festival?"

Hotaru looked at me with large eyes full of curiosity. Seeing those eyes, I felt a bit relieved. I had been thinking about inviting Hotaru to the summer festival for a while now. I wanted to hang out with Hotaru somewhere during this summer vacation, and when you think of summer, it feels like a festival is the right answer.

"Yeah. The one they hold in front of the station every year. If you'd like, I want to go together."

"I want to go! I'd love to try going!"

Hotaru said, bouncing with excitement like a kitten.

"Then let's go. I'll come pick you up around five."

"Yay. I'm looking forward to it."

Hotaru pumped both her fists. Her innocent smile was dyed in the indigo colors of the evening.

"I'm looking forward to it, too."

We waved goodbye at the corner and parted ways. Hotaru's light footsteps, clack-clack, faded into the distance.

A summer festival with Hotaru. Just imagining it made me thrilled, my feelings threatening to soar.

Feeling as though I could hear Hotaru's humming, I hummed along too. Hotaru's favorite song. The smell of curry drifted over from someone's house.

If summer was this much fun, I thought I wouldn't be able to hate this heat.

A wind chime rang with a crisp clink. The summer evening breeze quietly enveloped the town.

 

The day of the festival was crisp and clear. During the day it had been a sweltering heat, but as evening arrived, it cooled down to a comfortable temperature.

When I rang the bell at Hotaru's house, I heard Hotaru's voice say "Coming~!" through the intercom, and she stepped out of the house immediately. Hotaru was wearing a white one-piece and black strap sandals. Wearing sandals with high soles made her look just a little taller than usual, but she was still small all the same. Hotaru looked up at me with eyes as moist as a lake.

"You tied your hair up, Ibuki-chan."

Saying so, Hotaru pointed to her own head.

"Yeah. Because it was hot today. Also, I couldn't fix my bedhead."

I pinched the ends of my hair, which was tied up in a ponytail. The back of my neck felt breezy, which made me feel somewhat restless.

"Your ponytail is cute, too. Oh, right!"

As if remembering something, Hotaru thrust her hand into her dark brown pochette. Taking out a folding comb and a black hair tie, she placed them on my palm, saying, "Tie mine up, tie mine up."

"Sure. Face that way for a second."

"Okay. Thank you."

In high spirits, Hotaru turned her back to me. Her shoulders clad in the dress were delicate, and her pale legs were like slender sticks. I ran the comb through Hotaru's long hair and gathered it together. Pulling it up high exposed her slender nape. Every single feminine part of Hotaru made my heart pound.

"Done."

When I handed the comb back to Hotaru, she touched her newly tied hair, looking happy. The many piercings adorning her ear gave off a dull shine.

"Now we match."

Hotaru smiled brightly. Matching with Hotaru. I was so incredibly happy. With itching fingertips, I dug into my pocket.

"I made earrings for you, Hotaru. I thought they'd be cute to wear at the festival."

Receiving the earrings inside a small floral-patterned bag, Hotaru let out a bouncy, "Wow!"

"It's a goldfish. So tiny."

Hotaru stared at the goldfish inside the light blue glass dome. Today, on Hotaru's earlobes, she was wearing the white teardrop pearl earrings I had given her. Taking off the earrings she was wearing, Hotaru deftly put on the goldfish ones. That motion looked unusually mature to me.

"Yeah. Feels like summer. They look good, Hotaru."

I nodded with a smile.

"Thank you."

Hotaru touched the earring with her fingertips. Inside the glass dome, the goldfish swayed. I was happy that something I made was touching Hotaru. The new earrings suited her very well.

"Let's go, Hotaru. I'm hungry."

"Yeah, let's go. What should we eat when we get to the festival?"

Hotaru said with a thrilled expression.

"Let's eat a lot of your favorites."

The ultramarine sky was slowly tilting its colors toward the night.