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Against the dark sky, new year lanterns beamed merrily at Jun as Hiyori dragged him through the crowd. He saw a dango stand, some kind of game he did not recognize, a stall that sold flower-patterned fans... oh, what was that? Rubber ducks? He looked back to take another look, but Hiyori was walking too fast. Goddamn, where was he going?
Jun glanced at Hiyori's watch. Twenty minutes past ten o'clock. He didn't really want to be outside being Hiyori's common-sense-o'meter until this late, but Hiyori insisted, saying that the New Year's Eve was meant to be spent having fun.
"Oh come on, Jun-kun! You're the only one available! Everyone else said they already have plans!"
"That's because this is a last second whim, ohiisan..."
There was no stars, as Jun thought. The lights of the ES buildings doubled the light pollution.
Hiyori seemed to enjoy the night fair. He bought a green cloud of cotton candy on a stick that he asked Jun to feed to him so he would not get his own hands sticky.
Jun did not want to comply with this, but he fulfilled Hiyori's request anyway. Now his hands are half covered in sugar, and Hiyori seemed to enjoy that fact too.
Jun did not understand Hiyori. Nonetheless he kept walking by his side, looking around for somewhere to wash his sugar-coated hands. And of course he did not find any—the night fair was meant to be a chaotic place, after all.
Hiyori tugged on Jun's arm, scattering his thoughts. "Look!"
"What?" He looked to where Hiyori pointed, and saw a bunch of eggs on a food stall, dyed with red food colouring.
Jun glanced at Hiyori, and found him grinning. He looked back at the eggs, and then at Hiyori again. "What's so funny?"
"Don't they look like Ibara?"
"No...?"
"Come on, it's obviously Ibara-coloured. Imagine a pair of glasses on that egg."
Jun squinted at the egg.
"Want one?" A hoarse voice asked from behind the egg display, startling Jun.
He tore his eyes away from the Ibara-coloured eggs and saw an old lady looking at him from below. She was really short.
"Want one?" The old lady asked again. "Or two," she added, nodding—more like pointing with her chin—at Hiyori.
Jun hesitated. He didn't want to disappoint the old lady, but he also didn't want to eat eggs this late at night. And Hiyori would obviously tell him to peel off his egg too, so it would be twice the trouble.
"Or three," the old lady added again, pointing with her chin again at someone behind Jun.
Jun turned around and saw Ibara standing there with his hands on his hips.
Hiyori began laughing.
"Having fun in the night fair, Ibara?" Jun asked hesitantly.
"I was merely passing by."
Hiyori pointed at the eggs. "Hey, Viper, do these remind you of something?"
Jun expected Ibara to look at the eggs as if he was about to kill them, but Ibara merely glanced annoyedly at them for a second. "They remind me of eggs. Have you two seen His Excellency?"
Neither of them did.
Against the dark sky, new year lanterns beamed merrily at Jun and Hiyori as Ibara pushed them through the crowd. Goddamn, this ended too soon.