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Nene awoke with a jolt, sitting up so fast the world spun. She blinked, and blinked again, finally taking in the setting. She was still at the Star Festival, and still in her yukata, and seemed to be sitting on a wooden bench. Hanako sat on the very edge of it, his hands splayed back as he gazed at the stars above.
“Hanako-kun,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. A sharp throb raced across her forehead and she winced, hands rushing up to touch it.
Hanako looked over at her, eyes bright as the lanterns decorating the surrounding bamboo trees. “You’re awake!”
“What happened?”
“You were knocked out by the cow procession,” he said matter-of-factly.
Nene sweatdropped. So it wasn’t a dream… “Where’s Kou-kun?” she asked, face warming as she tried to change the subject.
Hanako looked off to the side. “He went off to try and find the red tag again with Yako.” His voice sounded a bit off, though Nene couldn’t figure out why.
“Ooh,” Nene said, sliding her legs off the bench to sit beside him.
“Are you okay, though?” Hanako asked, turning to face her. His eyes darkened as gently caressed her chin, and Nene’s heart skipped. He tilted her face upward, his eyes hooded as they bore into her own, and his cheeks flushed. His thumb just barely grazed her bottom lip, and Nene felt herself become undone—that he was unraveling the very fiber of her soul. Her body thrummed with electricity as Hanako’s thumb moved from her lip to the curve of her cheek, creating a prickling tingle sensation in its wake.
“Yashiro?”
She squeaked, right—he asked her something. “I-I think so,” she stammered, the back of her neck felt hot, and her hair stuck to it from her nervous sweat.
“I was worried, you know,” he mumbled, his eyes sliding away from hers, and with that one sentence, he made her breath catch.
“Hanako-kun…” she started to speak, but her mouth dried up as his eyes met hers once more. And Nene was in a trance—hypnotized by the amber of his eyes. The noise from the festival faded, and the only thing Nene could hear was her own heartbeat.
She felt timid, and a very distant part of herself said look away, but she couldn’t—she was utterly mesmerized. Hanako leaned in close, the tip of his hat brushed against her forehead, and Nene’s eyes fluttered shut and—
“SENPAI!”
Hanako and Nene jolted apart, both turning the opposite direction away from each other, and Nene’s heart slammed against her ribcage.
“You’re okay!” Kou appeared before her, eyes full of tears. “I was so worried—I tried to find the red tag so I could wish for you to be okay—“
Nene felt frazzled—was she really about to kiss Hanako-kun? And as she tried to reassure Kou that she was alright, she risked a shy glance at Hanako, but his hat was pulled down, covering his face completely.