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Shouts of joy and greeting filled the air, infecting every person around with energy. The chochin swayed with the slight breeze and as the sun calmly set beyond the horizon they provided more than enough light for all the festival-goers to see. Sounds of chanting floated through the air while the pounding of taiko drums could be felt from quite a distance. It was natsu matsuri, one of the most anticipated times of the year – especially for one Kanzaki Mizuki.
The purple haired girl glanced around, clutching her little bag, hands wringing the soft fabric of the rope as she glanced to and fro. She raised a hand and smoothed her long hair over her shoulder in an attempt to distract herself from the fact that she could hear her heartbeat pounding in her ears. She was nervous, to say the least, waiting to see someone she made plans to spend the festival with. On the outside she hoped she appeared calm and collected, though she felt anything but that. She looked down, shifting about in her sandals, wriggling her toes a bit to free them from the purple fabric above.
“Mi-zu-ki-san!” She shot her head up, eyes wide hearing the sudden voice that made her heart feel it was going to burst from under the tight folds of her yukata. From a short distance she located the origin of that voice and immediately felt her shoulders relaxing, a warm smile gracing her soft features. She raised her hand in greeting as Ichigo Hoshimiya bounced towards her, cute blonde pigtails bobbing with each big step she took.
Ichigo reached her and as if having exerted no energy whatsoever during that big run, immediately grabbed Mizuki’s hand (much to her surprise. Everything Ichigo did still managed to surprise her no matter how long they’ve known one another.).
“Food! Let’s grab some food! Then we can play lots of games! Have you ever shot a gun before, Mizuki-san?” Ichigo rambled on, taking the lead, grip firm around Mizuki’s hand. Mizuki was rushed through the large crowd, giggling even at this fast pace Ichigo pushed.
“Ichigo, you might have to use the gun for me, I don’t think I could shoot very well.” She followed the shorter girl, heart having relaxed a little. Though Mizuki couldn’t help herself from suddenly blurting out “You look cute tonight,” to which Ichigo slowed down a bit, turning her head to gaze at Mizuki’s now rather red face. Mizuki hoped the dim light didn’t give away too much of her flustered expression. Ichigo did, after all, look cute in her yellow yukata, decorated with signature Angely Sugar frills and pink ribbons in her pigtails that complimented her blonde hair well. There really was something magical about seeing the person you held affection for wearing such pretty clothing.
Ichigo grinned sheepishly, shoulders raised as she smiled. “You look beautiful yourself, Mizuki-san!” Mizuki lowered her gaze, smiling as her face felt even warmer now.
“You said food, right? Let’s go Ichigo.” Mizuki took the lead this time, their hands remaining connected as they wove their way through the large mass of people. Ichigo stopped suddenly and Mizuki jerked back, looking behind her. Ichigo had, of course, found something of interest.
“Mizuki-san! Look at this!” Ichigo moved towards the stall, Mizuki moving with her and they found themselves looking upon goldfish.
“I want twenty of them!” Ichigo jumped, eyes shining as she crouched excitedly. The man running the stall laughed aloud, handing Ichigo the equipment to catch the goldfish. Mizuki leaned in behind Ichigo, her eyes shining as well.
“You can do it, Ichigo!” She urged her, Ichigo sticking her tongue out the side of her mouth in determination. Ichigo let out a loud “Hyyy-ah!” and dove her hand in wildly, making water splash everywhere. Mizuki shielded her hands above her face to keep from getting struck by water, laughing out loud herself.
Ichigo managed to catch one goldfish before the paper broke underneath, allowing the goldfish freedom to swim in the waters once more. “Aw no!” Ichigo pouted, but this time Mizuki crouched next to her, extending her hands to receive the equipment. The man gladly handed them to her, egging her on. Mizuki rolled her yukata sleeves back, keeping her gaze fixed on the goldfish Ichigo had attempted to catch.
“Go Mizuki-san, go!” Ichigo cheered, waving her arms about as if a cheerleader. In one smooth movement Mizuki managed to successfully catch the goldfish, placing it in the cup of water in her other hand. Ichigo stopped, jaw dropping as she stared at Mizuki catching yet another one, then another. At last the paper broke at 3 goldfish and the man cheered loudly, receiving the fish to put into a bag for her to take home.
“I haven’t seen something quite like that in a while!” The man chuckled, handing Mizuki the bag of shining goldfish. “Are you the Mizuki? Kanzaki Mizuki?” he inquired, Mizuki smiling brightly at him in return.
Mizuki placed one finger above her lips and winked in secrecy, the man smiling back and nodding in understanding. “Mum’s the word! Have a good night you two!”
Ichigo was skipping as they walked away, as much as her yukata would allow, at least. “That was amazing, Mizuki-san! I couldn’t keep even one but you got three! I’m going to go home and fill up a tub full of goldfish, then I’m going to practice until I can catch every last one, and…” Ichigo rambled on, eyes alight with the fierce fire of determination in them. That very same look was the one Mizuki admired so much every time Ichigo took the stage with her, back when they competed against one another at Starlight. That was the look that made her fall in love, she thought to herself.
“…san? Mizuki-san?” Ichigo peered up at her face from below, awfully close. This caught Mizuki off guard and she snapped from her reverie, swiftly looking away lest Ichigo catch sight of her suddenly flustered face. This had to stop happening, she thought, quietly chastising herself for being unable to keep her calm whenever Ichigo surprised her.
Mizuki breathed in deep, turning to Ichigo and handing her the bag of goldfish. “I actually caught these for you,” Ichigo’s eyes lit up immediately, a smile brightening her face. Terribly cute. “You deserve them because you worked so hard.”
“Mizuki-san!” Ichigo stared at her with unabashed happiness, gratefully accepting the fish. “I’m going to take good care of them! I’ll name one after you, even. And this one will be me. This little one will be Akari-chan!”
Mizuki stifled a giggle, taking hold of her hand once more. It felt strange not to hold Ichigo’s hand, really.
“You wanted food, right? Let’s go find something tasty.”
“Yakisoba!” Ichigo exclaimed, breaking their contact and running ahead as her eyes already sought out the food stalls.
“Ichigo! Be careful, the gold…fish…” Mizuki closed her eyes, placing a palm over her eyes in mock exasperation.
--
The next half an hour was spent buying food, trying samples here and there, the girls soon holding arms full of food. Mizuki had no idea where Ichigo put most of her food once she ate it but she kept on chowing down, happily sharing with Mizuki.
“Ah! Ichigo daifuku, Mizuki-san! Try it,” Ichigo put the soft mochi full of red bean paste and decorated with a strawberry on top in front of Mizuki’s mouth, Mizuki opening wide to bite down on it. The taste was wonderful and simple all at once. The tartness of the strawberry mingling with the sweetness of the red bean paste made Mizuki place a hand to her cheek, chewing on the food with joy.
“It’s good, right?”
“Delicious!” Mizuki replied, taking yet another bite that Ichigo offered. She made a mental note to herself to buy more to share with Honoka tomorrow.
Ichigo seemed to have something on her mind, chewing her food thoughtfully. Mizuki inclined her head, reaching forward to wipe some stray sauce that lay on Ichigo’s mouth. Ichigo started, apparently having been effectively pulled from her train of thought. Mizuki blushed, glancing down.
“Sorry, it was bothering me a little.” Ichigo smiled in appreciation, her legs kicking off the bench they sat on.
“Thank you Mizuki-san, I keep forgetting to use these napkins we got. Hold on, I’ll be right back.” She jumped down suddenly, rushing off into the crowd to God only knows where. Mizuki sighed and smiled, taking another bite of her daifuku. She knew all too well that once Ichigo got started she wouldn’t stop until she absolutely had to.
She leaned back, letting the soft breeze kiss her face and gently tug strands of her long purple hair behind her. Gazing up she saw the full moon above and smiled softly to herself. It was a perfect night, she thought. Kids rushed past despite parent’s warnings, couples passed by hand in hand, reminding Mizuki of Ichigo always taking her hands, holding them ever so lightly. Mizuki moved her right hand to her lap, staring down with a smile on her face at the thought. She hummed to herself, the familiar tune of Moonlight Destiny, as harsh and quick footsteps advanced towards her.
“I’m back!” Ichigo’s voice broke through her thoughts. Mizuki looked up at her, wondering at Ichigo’s sneaky grin. She held something behind her back, moving swiftly towards her.
“Close your eyes.” Ichigo said, Mizuki gazing at her in wonder. She then complied and Ichigo began counting down.
“Five, four, three, two, one…open!” She did, and she was met with the sight of a cluster of flowers. It was, more specifically, a flower hairpin. It had three large flowers alternating between purple and white, with soft transparent lavender beads cascading down the side of Ichigo’s hand, ending with star and moon beads. Mizuki felt her breath stolen, reaching down to run a finger through one of the purple flowers, moving her eyes to Ichigo’s warm smile.
“Thank you, Ichigo. It’s so beautiful.” She breathed out, heart moved so deeply it took all her willpower not to lean up at this moment and plant a kiss on the other girl’s cheek. Ichigo giggled in her typical Ichigo fashion, gesturing to put the hairpin in Mizuki’s hair. Mizuki leaned her head down so as to grant Ichigo easier access to her hair. Ichigo touched her hair gently, as if it were one of those most treasured things in this world, and that made Mizuki’s heart race.
The hairpin secured, Ichigo moved back, nodding to herself at her job well done. She shyly turned from side to side. “It suits you. I knew it would.” Mizuki blushed, tucking some hair behind her ear.
“I love it, Ichigo. I-“ She stopped herself from saying something more, something she was dying to release into the air, but coughed instead, eyes wide. “I-I think we should go find more things to do now that our bellies are full and happy. What do you say?”
Ichigo nodded, packing their leftover food into a spare bag Mizuki had tucked into her purse. In no time at all they were ready once more, weaving their way through crowds once again. Mizuki felt there were even more eyes on her than before and wondered if it was due to the hairpin.
“Mizuki-san! Mizuki-san, let’s dance!” Ichigo rushed to the circle of people around a bandstand, taiko drummers creating a riveting sound above that Mizuki could feel in her chest. The purple haired girl watched Ichigo as she enthusiastically joined in the circle, knowing the moves exactly and smiling at the other dancers around her. She made digging motions into the ground, moving her hands behind her as if throwing something away, like dirt. Mizuki watched her, thinking about how cute she looked once again, pigtails swinging around her head as she danced.
Ichigo glanced over at Mizuki and broke from the circle, taking hold of Mizuki’s hand. “Join me! It’s the coal miner’s dance, it’s simple and fun.” Ichigo dragged her toward the circle, moving to the inner one this time so they were more immersed. Ichigo stood in front of her, making the motions to teach Mizuki. Mizuki learned swiftly (she hadn’t been the Top Idol for nothing, after all) and soon fell into the groove of the dance, enjoying herself immensely.
Ichigo mixed up her dance a little, bouncing back and forth on her feet and singing along loudly. Mizuki followed suit, letting herself go and singing along with Ichigo. The moon seemed to watch from above, the stars twinkling to reflect the joy they both felt in their hearts that night.
--
Sometime later the two were seated atop a hill together, overlooking the sight of the city below. The myriad lights moved Mizuki’s heart, her thoughts lost for a time as she gazed at the city.
“Thank you for tonight, Mizuki-san,” Ichigo’s voice broke into her thoughts and Mizuki moved her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them. She leaned her head onto her knees, looking up at Ichigo. The lights below seemed to make her face glow even more than it already was.
“I should be thanking you, Ichigo. Anything is fun with you,” Mizuki said, moving her head to look upon the city once more. “Thank you for inviting me to this festival. I’ve only ever been to one once as a kid.”
“Really?” Ichigo’s tone held honest surprise. “I go every year; we’ll have to go again next year.”
Mizuki turned to look at her once more, hands gripping the soft fabric of her yukata tightly. She inhaled deep and leaned in.
The sound of fireworks lit the sky, cracking the dark night sky with an impressive display of light that cascaded down onto the city below. Brilliant color burst through Mizuki’s closed eyelids, her heart strangely calm at this moment, her lips touching Ichigo’s softly. Ichigo answered her in earnest, her lips warm on Mizuki’s. Another few fireworks shot up simultaneously when the two parted, foreheads close, both with their eyelids still shut, savoring the moment.
“I,” Mizuki hesitated, though she knew she shouldn’t, when Ichigo spoke next.
“I love you, too.” Mizuki moved back a bit, her eyes searching Ichigo’s confident and soft smile. Of course Ichigo knew; she always did.
Mizuki smiled, leaning in once more.
“I always have.”