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Truthfully, Matcha wasn't a very big fan of summer. There was many reasons as to why she disliked the season.
It was difficult to cool down because of the unbearable heat, she never liked wearing short-sleeves often but was practically forced to if she didn't want to die of heat, just going outside was unbearable... Now that she thought about it, perhaps it was more of the heat that Matcha disliked rather than the season itself. No matter, her opinion wouldn't be swayed from anyone.
Unless you were Masaoka Azuki. But there was only Masaoka Azuki (that she knew of it) and no one else could sway Matcha's opinion on summer.
Unlike her, Azuki adored summer. Her reasons was "no school and a lot of free time to do whatever we want!" Those were her words, not Matcha's. Still, even though Matcha wouldn't say summer is her favourite season, having more free time with her best friend outside of school made things a little more bearable.
For the entirety of summer, the other girl would drag her to places, sometimes with friends, sometimes with just the two of them. They went to farms and amusement parks, they visited beaches and pools, they went camping and had sleepovers, and so, so many other things that Matcha couldn't list all off the top of her head. All within the span of two months full of mostly sunny days and free hours to do whatever they wanted.
It was just a few more days until summer ended for the year. It was just a few more days until summer ended and they would have to wake up early to arrive at school and start learning all over again.
Unlike many, Matcha truthfully didn't mind going back to another year full of studying and classes. She needed a reason to properly fix her sleep schedule anyways. Azuki made her stay up past normal sleeping hours one too many times.
They had done so much within two months that Matcha wasn't sure if there was anything they could do to finish the summer with. Azuki proved her wrong. (Something that was rare.)
That's where Matcha found herself wearing a yukata that her mother bought her a few days ago and in the midst of a Japanese summer festival with her best friend leading her. Originally, she assumed that she would've been too tired to spend hours at a festival she rarely attended to, but perhaps being around her best friend gave an energy boost. It was always hard to not feel at least a little energetic with her friend around.
Azuki dragged her to pretty much every stand that had food they have yet to eat or games to play. She couldn't find herself to complain, not when she got to eat yakisoba noodles and cotton candy until she felt full.
Playing games were fun as well, she found herself laughing at Azuki's occasionally antics. Now that she thought about it, maybe it was Azuki who made her have more fun than just the games. The thought made her blush a little, but she ignored it. She could contemplate her feelings after she had a night full of sugar and fun.
With the announcement that the firework display would be occurring soon, it was only then did it dawn on Matcha that the sky was painted black. It was only then did she noticed that she wasn't as tired as she normally would be.
Azuki looked her with the most excited pleading face that Matcha had ever seen her friend make, begging if they could stay and watch the fireworks. Saying yes was as easy as breathing air.
After they bought some more cotton candy, they managed to find a more secluded space away from people so they could get a better view and so it would be faster to leave and catch a bus to go home.
After a few minutes, fireworks began popping and exploding in the sky, ringing loudly in Matcha's ears as well as the distant chorus of voices saying "ohhhs" and "ahhs". Surprisingly, Matcha didn't hear her friend's voice as they watched the colourful display.
Confused, she glanced at her friend only to have sworn her heart skipped a beat at the sight of Azuki's face that practically glowed from her smile and the light of fireworks reflecting in her wide eyes. A breathe escaped her before Matcha smiled and looked back at the colourful night sky.
Matcha wasn't a fan of the summer and it's heat. But perhaps summer wasn't so bad if she got to fall in love with Azuki all over again.