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Morioh was always a quiet town – not as small as most people would think initially, but still upholding its reputation as a calm and serene place for anyone to live. Even on weekends, when school was out and a good chunk of adults didn’t have duties to attend to, it still remained void of any hustle and bustle other towns in Japan possessed. Though this certain weekend was different as there was a carnival meant to celebrate the beginning of spring. Naturally, everyone was excited for it and it showed with how much more people filled the streets on the daily, getting ready for it, and how the children and adults alike cheered outside their homes, making Morioh feel even more homely.
It was a no-brainer that with something so different coming along to town, Josuke Higashikata would hold more excitement than the entire town combined. After all, it was an excuse to spend more time with his friends, especially since it was something different and, though not anything life-threatening and fast-paced, still exciting. Most importantly, he wanted to spend some time with a particular member of his friend group that had been neglecting half of the usual group activities lately. And the certain member he had in mind was you, of course it was. Why wouldn’t it be? You had stolen his affections almost instantly after coming into his life and, truly, you had no idea, but you were violently ripping his poor heart to shreds as of late just by hanging out with his damn nephew. He was so confused by it, too; what business did you have with Jotaro in the first place? He even began to question whether or not you managed to fall for the older man, as strange as it’d be. Jotaro had his odd charm, yes, but the fact that you spent so much time with the marine biologist made him irritated. So, he only hoped that the festival would give you the chance to see how much better he was and how much he appreciated you.
Even if he had to wear a yukata.
If only you heard how much he whined and groaned, he thought, you would’ve surely called him a baby. But he hated it; he found it weird and too tight. He didn’t mind the colors, actually, the dark blue decorated by golden accents was something he was a fan of, but he’d never worn a yukata before and it just felt awfully wrong.
“For the love of god, Josuke, stop fidgeting!” His mother complained, tying the sash around his waist, inaudibly threatening him by making it too tight for a few seconds before properly finishing up. She proceeded to fix the collar, sneering at him with a playful look. “It’s a festival, you have to look good for your friends.”
“I look like a grandma- ow!” He recoiled at a sudden tug of his collar. “Can you not do that?”
“Oh, sorry, is the little baby hurt?” Cooing, Tomoko smirked. “What about Y/N, huh? Don’t you wanna impress her by looking handsome?”
Josuke’s face flushed, hand moving to run through currently unkept hair. His thoughts went back to you, much to his dismay, as thinking of you made him think of Jotaro by default and with both of you in mind, all he could feel was envy. It was ridiculous and he knew it in the back of his head, but at the same time he just wished he could take up nearly as much as your time as Jotaro did. Eventually, he realized Tomoko was done and began walking off, saying that he still had to style his hair. She shook her head, making sure to take a jab at his ridiculous hairstyle as he left – nothing unusual, but almost enough to tick Josuke off, making his eyebrow twitch in annoyance, even while knowing she only meant well.
Styling his hair wasn’t a chore, if anything it made him relaxed, more excited for the festival, the time he was going to spend with everyone. He had already made some money to spend exclusively on the food booths, or, alternatively, to win a goldfish. Besides…you liked fish, didn’t you? Ah…
“D- Damn it, I’m doing it again!” Josuke yelled at his own reflection in the bathroom after registering he had turned beet red at the thought of you, just like earlier with his mother. It was only you who could make him feel like this and as exciting as the thought might’ve been, he hated it. He promptly finished up on his hair and ran out into the corridor, fanning his face in the process. He was going to meet up with his friends any minute now, so it’d be weird if he looked all flustered. He was positive he could manage in the end, plus, this night was all about having fun and impressing you on the side! He was sure the festival would have the exact atmosphere he needed to steal the spotlight from Jotaro. And so, he put on the admittedly uncomfortable geta and alerted Tomoko he was leaving, before finally bolting out the door. He had previously anticipated jogging to the agreed meeting place right next to the festival entrance, but the geta proved to be difficult to walk, let alone run in. He settled on speed-waddling like a penguin, trying to become comfortable with the fact that he’ll probably arrive to the destination last because of the agitating footwear. Not a desirable start, but it would have to do.
Fifteen whole minutes passed of him going to a spot that would usually take him ten at most to get to. Not to mention the clanking of the geta against the ground – he thought he was going to go mad from the sound. But eventually he could make out the unusual bustling of the festival from afar and soon enough, the silhouettes of his friends. The one he could see the most clearly was Okuyasu, but only because he couldn’t stop waving the second he saw Josuke. His yukata was simple – a purplish blue color decorated with white stripes. Next to Okuyasu stood Mikitaka, who could be seen curiously looking around from one spot, trying to make sense of a custom that was still probably strange to him. Josuke wasn’t quite sure where the so-called alien had gotten a yukata from, especially if he really was telling the truth of his heritage, but it was a deep green color which made the white patterns that were reminiscent of constellations stand out on it even more. Then – Koichi and Yukako who stood hand in hand, smiling at each other. Yukako was the more fancy one out of the pair, her yukata was dark blue as well, but hers was accented by flower patterns and her hair was somehow tamed and put into a braid, whereas Koichi humbly sported a plain green yukata with a stand-out sash that was the more patterned thing in his outfit. And next to Koichi –
“Josuke Higashikata, punctual as always.”
The voice made Josuke grimace and he couldn’t help but furrow his brows into a glare. Looking back at him with a tauntingly fake smile was Rohan, who probably got dragged here by Koichi, much to Josuke’s dismay.
“What’s he doing here?” The teen spat out, crossing his arms. What could’ve been a perfect evening was going to be ruined by this overgrown man-child. “And – wait, where’s (Y/N)? She not here already?”
He noticed Yukako opening her mouth, presumably about to speak, but she was interrupted by a shout muffled by the distance. Mostly everyone tilted their heads curiously, Rohan being the only one not to do so and sneer at Josuke instead. Josuke, on the other hand, had to turn, squinting his eyes afterwards and finally seeing the source of the shout, accompanied by the familiar, yet somehow less annoying, sound of geta hitting the ground repeatedly.
It was you.
“W- Wait up!” You yelled, waving your arm around, distress apparent clearly apparent in your face as you panted. And you couldn’t exactly see, as you were busy running towards the group, but Josuke’s frown shifted into a wide grin merely at the sight of you, all his worries fading just like his grouchy expression. He was sure now, seeing you, that this evening wasn’t going to be a bust. He thought you looked amazing, which wasn’t a surprise – you looked amazing every day, but tonight the playfully colorful yukata and the pins stuck in your hair made you look like a goddess just running through the streets of Morioh to whisk him away from his problems.
“Hey, we’re over here!” He exclaimed, a giddy glint appearing in his eyes. He knew you could probably tell where everyone was, but he couldn’t help but act excited after seeing you. Instinctively, he opened his arms, ready for an embrace – it was custom for you two to hug every time you saw each other, and after running for so long, you practically flew into his embrace. Or rather, stumbled over into it.
You knew you were late, that’s why you ran all the way, even if you figured your feet were going to hurt by the end. And once you were near Josuke, you unconsciously decided to relax all your muscles, knowing he was going to catch you either way. So, you just wrapped your arms around him and snuggled right into his chest, almost making his legs turn into jelly in the process. He had to stand straight and hold you up though, at least until you fixed your posture up.
“Waah, Josuke, I didn’t think this was going to be so hard!” You complained, relishing in the fact that you could finally take a breather.
“Man, take it easy!” He chuckled, holding you close and praying to all the gods he knew to destroy the raging blush on his face while you still weren’t looking at it.
“I just didn’t want you guys to go on without me.” Huffing, you finally pushed yourself away and eyed Josuke with a curious glance, haven’t been anticipating him actually showing up in a yukata. You opened your mouth to compliment him, but he beat you to it.
“Y- You look good.” He stammered and somehow you failed to notice how bashful he seemed, focusing on the neatly tied sash around his waist instead.
“Fufu, your mom helped you out, right?” An image of his mom fussing over him entered your mind, making you laugh. You carefully poked his pompadour in a teasing manner, making him even more red, unbeknownst to you. “Now, I heard Tonio has a stand somewhere there and I’m dying to get something!”
Okuyasu instantly perked up at the mention of Tonio’s name and began moving first, still a big fan of the chef, the group following suit. Josuke was the only one lingering behind, smiling at you as you ran up to Yukako and grabbed her hand, pulling her away from Koichi, most likely to catch up. He couldn’t help but think how beautiful you looked even while doing something as mundane as conversing with a friend. Sighing, he waddled back to his friends as fast as he could in those cursed getas, it was a night he was looking forward to, after all, and it was time for it to start.
The festival was definitely nothing like Morioh had seen. It was obnoxious and loud, but no more than it was fun and exciting. Koichi was using Echoes for all the games so he could win Yukako all sorts of plushies, Okuyasu was splurging on all the foods he could find, Mikitaka opted to stare at the lights, occasionally stealing some food from Okuyasu’s grip, even Rohan let himself relax and bought sake to enjoy. And Josuke, well, his wallet was taking damage. Naturally, your curiosity was constantly getting better of you, with all these new smells taking over, you wanted to try all the foods from all the stands, just like Okuyasu had been doing, and you were prepared to do so, of course, but Josuke would constantly butt in and pay for you. It was chivalrous – you seemed to like this side of him and he loved making you happy, as always, but, god, he could already feel himself going poor.
Well, anything to make you happy –
“Josuke!” Your voice had pulled him away from his momentary financial sulking and he looked over at you. “Wanna finish my meat skewer?”
“Oh, yeah!” He wouldn’t admit it, but he had been starving, scared to spend money on himself in case you found something else you wanted. So he gladly took the skewer from your hands. Was about to thank you, too, but you interrupted him before he could speak.
“And, ah, sorry to cut the fun short, but I totally gotta go now.” You scratched the back of your neck nervously. “Hang more some other time?”
“W- What?” The boy almost dropped the meat skewer on the ground at your words. He hadn’t had the chance to do anything aside from buying you food, hadn’t even won you that goldfish he was so ready to present you with. “Where are you off to?”
“Oh- you know, the beach.” You said casually, and upon noticing the tilt of Josuke’s head in confusion you decided to elaborate. “Jotaro said he’s gonna be there, so I’m going to hang out. He said he was going to bring all his notes!”
Josuke could’ve sworn his entire world shattered to pieces after Jotaro’s name left your mouth. It was strange how a single name could bring him so much despair, not to mention the name of someone from his family. Not just that, he was sure that he lost his appetite, not even the perfectly cooked meat skewer in his hands looked good enough to eat. He was a bit hurt, no, really hurt, but at the same time he wasn’t entirely sure if he was just being petty over a silly situation. He couldn’t really stop you from hanging out with whoever you wanted and yet, he had expected more from tonight, especially with something so brand new coming to Morioh. A festival to hold the perfect mood for him to make a good impression on you, potentially fess up and tell you his feelings, was now ruined by his nephew. A strange thought, one he never thought he’d have, but here it was, making him feel sick.
“You’re not going to stay for the fireworks either?” Yukako walked up from behind Josuke, a frown on her face. “How unfortunate, I heard they were going to be quite nice.”
“Don’t worry, guys, I’m sure I’ll still be able to see them from the beach.” You smiled reassuringly. “Sorry again, I’ll stay longer for something else next time, okay?”
Josuke didn’t have time to think of a response before you began setting off though, much to his dismay. He looked like a beaten puppy and a lot of his friends could tell from his face that he truly wished to have you around for longer than this. And yet, as soon as you were out of sight, a laugh rang out from one of them – a loud obnoxious one that could only belong to Rohan.
“What a mess!” He remarked rather loudly, only irritating Josuke further. Didn’t even try to contain his laughter concerning the whole ordeal, ticking the other off was like a hobby, even if it got him in trouble most of the time. “I can’t believe your girlfriend ditched you for Jotaro-”
“Shut up!” Josuke exclaimed, throwing the entirety of the unfinished meat skewer at Rohan, who barely managed to dodge it by using Heaven’s Door. Though the others weren’t exactly surprised by the outburst, they were still left confused when they saw him grumble something under his breath before stomping off to a completely different direction.
“J- Josuke, where the hell are you going?” Okuyasu was first to ask, trying to match his friend’s pace. The question was left unanswered, unfortunately, and the others, despite being a bit annoyed, followed due to growing curiosity.
All hope seemed lost, but Josuke wasn’t going to give up anytime soon.
There were no doubts in Josuke's mind that he had to win your affections somehow, once and for all. In order to do that, he was convinced he had to win you a goldfish. Jotaro might have woo'ed you with his fancy fish talk, but did he have enough spirit to win not one, but two carnival goldfish? Josuke highly doubted it. It was the same petty drive that made him victorious in the carnival game, which was clearly rigged from the start - still, with the help of his own witty con-artistry and Crazy Diamond, he came out on top and left with two whole fish, all his friends in tow. They didn't question his stomping, or the excessive glaring, they just followed in curiosity and silent support, well - maybe except for Rohan, who only wanted to see how the rest of the night would play out.
"Oi, Josuke, where're you going?" Okuyasu asked, a tilt of his head accompanying the question.
Josuke, who had just left the carnival grounds, turned and looked at the other with a blank stare, which could only read trouble. "The beach."
Rohan snickered in the back. “Really? Are you going to fight?”
The water in the bags held by Josuke shook after he visibly tensed upon hearing Rohan’s comment, but he didn’t do anything, quickening his pace instead. Not even the getas slowed him down, in fact with how much speed and balance he was walking, no one could tell he was inexperienced in wearing something like this. The beach wasn’t far from the carnival, nothing was hard to get to in this town, so the trip was fairly short – fairly quiet, too, the intense aura around Josuke prevented everyone from talking too much, all they did was observe and look at each other with eyes that seemed to say they truly had no idea how the night was going to play out.
After finally arriving at the beach, it was only a question of where to find you and Jotaro. Whether Josuke really wanted to find you two was left unanswered, he just knew he had to. He didn’t know what he’ll do, or if you’ll tell him to leave you alone, but he was ready to think of anything on the spot. That were his thoughts before locating you, of course. The sight of you normally filled his heart with love and joy, but this particular one he saw near the shoreline mustered only anger. There you stood, in front of Jotaro, fixing the collar of his yukata with a content smile. The man said something and Josuke saw you smile brighter, and it made his blood boil.
Unfortunately, he failed to pick up how you mentioned him to Jotaro, or how endearing you thought it was that Tomoko fixed up his yukata for him.
Yukako noticed Josuke’s distress and stepped away from Koichi’s side, moving towards your direction. She was familiar with love escapades (if you could even call it that), so she almost felt like she knew how the other felt, which is why she made the first step for him. Lips that were pursed into a thin line shifted to a smile as she waved at you with enthusiasm, yelling out your name to get your attention. But you didn’t frown or scowl like Josuke thought you would, you smiled at the girl, waving back with enthusiasm showing in your body. Your eyes darted behind her, a glint appearing in them at the sight of the entire friend group. Then, your gaze landed on Josuke and your face looked like it brightened even more. It caused his heart to flutter and for a moment, he thought he had imagined it. He felt like you looked at him differently, much differently than how you looked at Yukako, or Okuyasu, or even Jotaro. But that couldn’t be, really, he was just letting his foolish hopes take over.
He stood there, staring, until he realized that everyone already moved towards you and Jotaro, and began shuffling through the sand to catch up to the rest of his friends. Hands obscured by his back, he tried to hide the two fish he won for you, unsure if it was because he wanted it to be a surprise, or if he suddenly felt underwhelming in Jotaro’s looming presence.
Jotaro, though, was a smart man. The same cleverness that helped him pursue a career in marine biology also aided him in deducing that Josuke had a thing for you a while back. Of course, he never meant to intervene this blooming romance – it wasn’t his fault that you showed an interest in marine life, after all – but at the same time he found it funny how angry Josuke seemed to get whenever he would glance at him. Could the poor boy not tell how much you liked him from the way your usually calm demeanor instantly shifted to a more excited one every time you were around him?
Besides, had he already forgotten Jotaro was much older than you? Or that he was married, with little Jolyne waiting for him every time he had to travel?
Yet he supposed this was all part of the regular teenage cycle. Especially when it concerned someone as eccentric and obnoxious as Josuke. But as entertaining as it was to watch Josuke throw an internal temper tantrum, he ought to give you two some space, especially if he took the time to trek all the way to the beach and especially on a night as nice as this. Instead, he turned to Koichi to greet him, believing the two should probably catch up for a change.
All the while, Josuke, with his glance alone, managed to make everyone step further away from the two of you. Oh, how he wished he could turn this night upside down, redeem it all. Maybe somehow… His grip on the bags of fish tightened.
“So, what’s with the entourage?” You asked, a bright smile on your face. Your tone was completely unbothered, in fact, you even sounded excited to have them all here, but Josuke still felt a tint of red creeping on his face, as if he had interrupted an important business meeting.
“Oh, you know, we just wanted to…” Eyes trailing to the open dark blue sky, he tried to come up with an excuse. He never needed to search for words in his pockets, but with you staring so intently, he found himself at a loss. “The stars are pretty tonight, the lights of the festival were blocking them and…it was really crowded, you know! It’ll probably turn into a war zone once the fireworks start, don’t you think?”
“Hm…” Placing your finger on your chin, you pondered for a second, before smiling again and nodding. “Yeah, definitely! Jotaro and I had the right idea coming here, huh?”
He gulped. “What were you two…up to, anyways?”
“Oh.” Josuke’s heart fluttered at the sight of your eyes lighting up even more and it felt like it did a sudden flip once you grabbed his sleeve, beginning to tug him towards the bigger group. “Jotaro was showing me some of his notes and sketches. They’re so interesting, you have no idea! I mean, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to pursue something like this in the future, but know I’m completely convinced! Come on, I’ll show you-”
“W- Wait!” He interrupted, standing firmly and not letting you tug him away. “I brought you something!”
You tilted your head, turning back to him and letting go of his sleeve, Josuke thought he was going to collapse with how cute you were. He felt his heart pounding in his throat and he believed it was unwarranted, especially considering he just wanted to give you two carnival fish. Exhaling, he moved his shaking hands from behind his back and stuck out two little bags full of water, a goldfish in each of them. At the sight, you opened your mouth to speak, ready to express your confusion, but you quickly shut your mouth. These were…for you then, huh? At the sight of the gift – a cute one to boot – your confused face shifted into a softer one, a small smile decorating its features.
“They’re so cute, Josuke! What should I name them?” You paused, but quickly spoke again, excitement coating your tone. “What about Prince? What if I name one of them Prince?”
Gently, you took one of the bags, failing to notice Josuke’s crimson cheeks. He tried to regain his composure while you gawked at how cute the goldfish was, even if it was just a carnival fish.
“You could call the other after me.” He said, chuckling lightly. “Josuke Higashikata the second.”
You snorted and then laughed, taking the other bag from his hand as well. “For sure, it’d always be nice to have a mini you around. You think it’d get into as much trouble as you do?”
God, if only you knew how much he loved you. Your cute face, personality that perfectly matched his, the strangely endearing love you held for all sea creatures. If Jotaro was a hurdle, then damn it, he wasn’t just going to jump over it, he was going to knock it down. Er, figuratively.
The way you smiled at him couldn’t have been a fluke. He inhaled sharply, trying to drown out the sound of his rapidly beating heart.
“(Y/N)-”
He was so ready to confess, so ready, but he never had it easy. This time, interrupted by the boom of a firework that completely averted your attention to it. Still, he was glad he could see you in this moment of serenity. Big eyes that reflected the colorful fireworks staring up at the sky, face full of childish wonder and surprise, the lights of the fireworks illuminating your figure and making your colorful yukata shine and loose strands of your hair fluttering in the wind – all of that and more made Josuke want to pull you close, keep you to himself, run his hands across your delicate figure. Instead, he opted to gently grab your arm. Now or never.
“I like you.” It was blunt and came out bolder than he ever thought it would, but it did its job, because all your awe and surprise was now directed towards him.
“H- Huh?”
“C- Come on, don’t make me repeat myself.” Josuke scratched the back of his neck with his free hand, gaze unmoving from the sand. “I like you a lot. And, I don’t know, I just…” he paused. “Please tell me you don’t like Jotaro or anything-”
“Wait, wait, like Jotaro?” You grinned again, amused. “Where’d you get that idea?”
“I- I don’t know, you’re always with him!”
Sighing, you set down the fish into the sand, you had a feeling you won’t be able to do anything with them in your hands. “You’re kidding, right? I mean, he’s definitely, uhm, charming, but he’s way too old for me. Besides,” you took Josuke’s hands. “I already like you, silly.”
“Eh?” He blinked, this time being the one surprised.
“Yeah! Crazy, right?” You giggled.
Wow, he really was stupid, huh? Worried over something so silly for so long. A wide smile crept up on his face as he slipped his hands out of yours, only to wrap his arms around your middle and lift you up, spinning you around while at it. A move ripped straight out of a dumb romance comedy; you could’ve sworn. Especially with the fireworks still raging in the distance, illuminating the sand and both of you, making you both equally appreciative of the other.
Josuke was glad that this night turned out to be one to remember.