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The Irodori Festival had gone on smoothly, with only a few hitches along the way. This would be the first festival Inazuma had seen since the establishment of the Sakoku Degree- it had to be perfect. For the weeks leading up to the festival, little rest was allowed. Staying up into the wee hours of morning was the least she could do for the people of her beloved nation.
So, she planned. She organized the location, coordinated the vendors, directed the volunteers. It was tiring work, but she carried on if only to see the looks of joy upon the faces of all the people. With tense shoulders she smiled softly into her cerulean fan, a short rest before a long meeting with Yae Publishing House.
So much work, so many sleepless nights, so much of everything was put into the Irodori Festival. Girls bounced around the Five Kazen Plaza, excitement glimmering in their eyes as they gossiped. Just for a moment, she stared, wondering what things would be like if she were like them. It was a silly thought, so she turned her head back to the yet-to-be-seen painting. A small crowd was steadily forming. It was almost time.
With the reveal of the final portrait, a weight was lifted off the shoulders of Kamisato Ayaka, and she could finally take a breath. Politely, she clapped for the talented Mondstadt painter. Not too much, as to seem unmannered, not too little, as to be considered rude. Slowly the crowd dissipated, and so she began to walk off, too.
Ayaka had no destination. All she wanted was to take in the air of the festival and feel the stress slip from her noble shoulders.
She smelled the distinct salt of the sea, the roughness of the drifting maples, the almost overwhelming sweet of the best selling "Rainbow Aster". She smiles softly, a faint feeling of pride rising in her chest. This- the happiness of everyone all around her- was what the Kamisato daughter worked so hard for.
Still, even with the radiant joy echoing from every corner of the festival, it still felt as if something were missing...
"Ayaka!" Strawberry blonde hair bobs into view, then a hurriedly waving hand adorned with steadily chipping peach nail polish. "Hi-hi-hi! It's so good to see you again, I know how busy you've been lately."
The Naganohara girl hadn't said anything but a simple- well, not so simple- greeting, and Ayaka could already feel her cheeks turn pink. Five months and seventeen days dating, but she still acted like a silly schoolgirl around her. She can't help but panic a little, grasping for words like a cat does a feather toy.
"Hi, no, sorry, I mean," Ayaka turns redder, "Hello, Yoimiya, it's good to see you as well."
Yoimiya giggles, only making the princess blush more, which in turn makes her laugh harder. Ayaka can't help but stare at the girl, now standing before her. Oh archons, she was pretty. The prettiest girl Ayaka had ever seen.
Golden eyes, lit bright by the festival lanterns and her infectious joy, lined with red. Messy hair, hurriedly tied bows, twin bracelets on her right wrist. The little gold butterfly resting above her collarbones- the very same that she had gifted her for her sixteenth birthday. Oh, and her tattoos... pale purple, red, orange, swirling together.
Yoimiya rips Ayaka from her thoughts, likely for the best, lest she embarrass herself further:
"Y'know, I was looking for you! Ooh, now, just let me find it..." The blonde rummages through a brown bag, somehow fastened to her side in her usual decorative style. "Ah! Here!"
She thrusts out a book with enough force to make Ayaka jump. Sheepishly, she quickly rambles out an apology. Her words fall on empty ears, the princess too enchanted by the gift.
Truly, it was such a simple thing. Hundreds of other Inazumans had gotten their hands on the book, some had even managed to snag signed copies... so why did this perfectly average copy of Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji make her feel special?
"Thank you, Yoimiya," Ayaka blurts out, likely too quickly and too informally for a lady of her status, "I love it."
"Aww, no biggie," Yoimiya puts her hand on her hip and reaches out with her other, "Now, how about we go and have some fun experiencing the true beauty of the Irodori Festival!"
Ayaka tucks the novel beneath her arm before clumsily intertwining her fingers with the blonde's, "Okay, let's go."
The two girls walk hand and hand down the streets of Ritou. Occasionally, Yoimiya will jump up and, rather loudly, point out something in one of the stalls. An " Aww! That little fox plush is so cute! " or " Ayaka! Ayaka! Those dango look absolutely, positively delicious~! "
Ayaka always giggles into her fan at her girlfriend's comments before agreeing- " That fox does look very cute."
Walking in Yoimiya's bounding strides past the Five Kazen Plaza, the docks approach.
There's nothing on the docks but the ships , Ayaka thinks miserably, It's near time for her to leave me .
Yoimiya doesn't walk to the docks, but stops between the home of the boats and the central plaza. Only now does Ayaka take in her surroundings: Yoimiya's eyes, lit brighter than she's ever seen them and the booths of festival games lining the entire stone platform.
Ayaka squeals as Yoimiya pulls her along, running about, examining each and every game. They pass two types of ring toss, a large tub of water filled with all sorts of apples, but Yoimiya settles on balloon darts. The prize? Ayaka squints to read the tiny print or the board:
GRAND PRIZE, one goldfish!
Lovingly shaking her head, Ayaka turns her attention back to her girlfriend. Despite being such a masterful archer, she seems to be struggling to hit the farther balloons. She's clearly trying her hardest- Ayaka knows just how much she loves both goldfish and winning.
"Ah, drats," Yoimiya sighs. "I guess there's no goldfish for me."
Hesitating only for a moment, Ayaka moves to the stall owner and hands him the playing fee of 2,000 mora. With narrowed eyes she stands shoulder to shoulder with Yoimiya, filled with a new sort of determination.
She's close, so close. The scent or strawberry candies, honey shampoo, the faint smell of smoke, still lingering on her clothes from the fireworks shop. With the admiring golden gaze, following her every move, Ayaka throws the dart.
Pop! Pop! Pop! Yoimiya cheers, jumping up and clapping her hands together. She had made every single shot! The man running the stand congratulates her, carefully placing a bagged goldfish in Ayaka's open palms.
"Here," Ayaka offers the goldfish out to Yoimiya, "Take this, as my gift to you. Consider this me paying you back for Pretty Please, Kitsune Guuji ."
Yoimiya gasps, eagerly taking the clear fish baggie into her cupped hands. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Thankfully, she safely secures the fish in her bag fastened to her side before pulling Ayaka into a crushing hug. Then, when she pulls away, she turns. Golden eyes meet blue with a knowing smile playing on her lips.
"However~ I have something else for you planned! We aren't done just yet, now."
What!? Ayaka gawked, she thought she finally had the upper hand! Yoimiya laughs before taking her girlfriend's hand, yet again, and dragging her back along the crowded streets of Central Ritou.
"You can open your eyes now!"
Ayaka opens her eyes to see nothing but the open expanse of Byakko Plains. Looming in the far distance is the mountains of Nakarumi Shrine, closer yet still far is the enormous sakura in the center of Hanamizaka. Yoimiya plops down beside the princess, pointing towards the empty sky above the sea.
To her surprise, Yoimiya pulls her hair ornament out, letting her hair fall to her shoulders. Archons, she is gorgeous. Before Ayaka can phrase a question, Yoimiya has opened the ornament and shaken a few candies into her palm. Popping one in her mouth, she offers up her hand to Ayaka.
Ayaka accepts- she would accept anything Yoimiya offered her without a second thought. She pops a star shaped piece of hard candy into her mouth.
Boom! Boom! Color bursts through the previously blank sky, brilliant hues and patterns lighting up the night. The show is nothing short of fantastic, just as any one of Naganohara Yoimiya's performances are. No matter how many or how little the fireworks she makes are made for, they all share the same great quality. Boom! Boom! Boom! It's no wonder the shop is so renowned.
Whenever Ayaka has the chance to beat witness to one of Yoimiya's shows, it's always as if she's stuck in a trance. She's unable to do anything but stare towards the sky. It seems impossible to tear her eyes from the magnificent display before her, and so she doesn't bother to try. Yoimiya offers Ayaka another candy.
She feels Yoimiya rest her head on her shoulder. A small blush creeps down her cheeks, but she finds that she doesn't mind at all. Ayaka is content to just watch the fireworks and bask in the company of her girlfriend. The stress from the days before are gone and a metaphorical blanket of calm engulfs her. Boom... BOOOM!!
Ayaka turns to her strawberry blonde partner, a pout on her face but eyes still that type or entranced dreamy- "You're not supposed to set off fireworks during the Irodori Festival."
Yoimiya has the audacity to look sheepish, "Weeeeell... no festival is truly complete without fireworks. I couldn't just let you experience the first big-scale festival Inzauma has seen since the Sakoku Degree without a show! Plus! Isn't it over now, anyways?"
"Hmph," Ayaka feigns disapproval, but both girls know that Ayaka can't even tell an untruth for fun. The tips of her ears are bright red- what a terrible liar she was. Still, it was just another thing for Yoimiya to adore.
Yoimiya laughs, bright against the chill of the night breeze, "Yes, I love you too."
Ayaka smiles, sweet as the candies they ate, "I love you, as well."
The two lovers kiss under a final stray firework, lighting up the skies as brightly as their hearts.
The next morning, Yoimiya will find an exquisite ikebana arrangement beside a notice from the Yashiro Commision. Still, as she rips the notice in two and carefully takes the arrangement inside the shop, she finds she does not regret a single thing.