Chapter 23: CH 23

Summer Night Fireworks

At first, I didn’t know that Asatani-san was ‘Kiritani Noa’.

When I heard her stage name, I still didn’t realize that she was a real celebrity and what that had meant.

–That girl, isn’t she really cute?

–I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere… Eh, isn’t that Kiritani Noa?

–Eh, that girl from the commercial? No way, we live in the same place!?

That day, I was at a summer festival with my friends – My friends had left because they saw a girl from class, so I was walking alone in the crowd.

It sounded too clear to be a mishearing to me.

I later heard that Asatani-san got separated from her friends and was alone. She had already become famous enough to be approached by fans in that short time.

Three boys, who looked to be in their high school, were talking to Asatani-san – she looked confused.

By that time, I was already moving. We knew each other well enough, so I told them that she was coming with me – I pulled Asatani-san’s hand who was frozen, blended into the crowd, got out of there and moved to a place I felt safe enough to talk.

We were at the park. We could clearly see the street which was crowded with food stalls. I stopped here because I felt if we had gone any further, there’d be no point in coming to the festival.

“The festival is great, isn’t it? I didn’t know it would be so crowded.”

Asatani-san was a sophomore when she moved here. She didn’t go to the previous festival. She said it was because she hadn’t made any friends yet.

“I guess I should’ve worn sunglasses or something. I’m wearing normal clothes, I thought it wouldn’t stand out.”

I didn’t know what to say. Asatani-san did nothing wrong, but I knew, saying that wouldn’t make her cheer up.

“…I’ve caused trouble for Senda-kun. I thought I’d be able to handle guys like those on my own but when they suddenly shouted my stage name out loud, my mind went completely blank.”

We were sitting on a bench which had no streetlights, so I couldn’t see Asatani-san’s expression clearly.

But I could tell from her gestures that she was crying.

She always had the attention of everyone around her, and she had a strength that defied expectations and pressure.

But then I realized she couldn’t always remain strong.

“…When you’re off work, you’re off work. I wish people would care more about that. The Asatani-san right now is different from the one on TV.”

It was all I could say to convey what I was thinking. If they had seen her, but pretended not to notice, Asatani-san wouldn’t have had to run away.

“But because of an accident like this, it’s a shame you can’t enjoy the festival.”

She wouldn’t be able to bring herself to go back to a crowded place anymore.

“…Senda-kun.”

“Asatani-san, anything you want to eat?”

“Eh… Is that okay? Senda-kun’s treating me?”

“Yeah, I’ll buy you anything you want. I’ll be right back after I buy it.”

“…Thanks, if you’re doing that, then, Onee-san will treat you.”

“Eh…”

“Even though I look like this, don’t you think I have more allowance than a normal middle schooler?”

With that, Asatani-san pulled out her wallet from her pouch and handed me the money.

“Ah… I-I’m sorry. It’s not safe to carry around too many. I only brought 2000 yen with me.”

“Hahaha… Then I have more than you.”

“Hmm, allowance amount? Normally I’d have more than you when I’m working.”

“If Asatani-san gets serious, I’m no match for her, but it looks like we’ll split the bill today.”

“Ah, I was trying to be cool, but I’m really lame… You must be disgusted, Senda-kun.”

“Not at all. But I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

*woosh*

–At that moment, I could hear a whistling sound through the air.

A white light flower bloomed in the night sky. The fireworks kept going off, scattering into colorful lights, and the weeping willow trees made a rattling noise.

“…I wonder if everyone is watching this somewhere?”

“Yeah… They said they’d be watching it from higher ground.”

“Senda-kun, you also got separated from your friends. I’m sorry.”

“Separated you say, but they… I guess they were just excited about the festival.”

“Fufu, I see.”

Once again, the fireworks popped, and the light illuminated Asatani-san’s profile.

It was as if the girl you see in the movies had just stepped out. I thought it looked like a scene from a movie – and I knew that it was not appropriate for me to be playing the other side.

“…I wonder what fireworks look like from a telescope.”

I didn’t answer her question, I could only look at Asatani-san’s profile.

I felt the flow of time slow down. The sound and light of the fireworks seemed to repeat itself forever.

Asatani-san looked at me. She wiped away her tears, pointed towards the sky – and smiled.

It was at that moment that something must have changed in my heart.

She was special. She was different from everybody else. That’s what I thought.

Such events were just trivial memories that passed by me.

But it was one of the memories I had accumulated until I became aware of my feelings for Asatani-san.

When I woke up, my first thought was why did I have this dream after all these years?

There were no lingering feelings. I was beginning to be attracted to Takane-san. I can say that clearly now, even if Asatani-san asks.

–When she said she’d support me and Takane-san, I wondered what Asatani-san looked like.

Takane-san said that probably because she felt she should. She probably thought it would make me more comfortable.

But if I hadn’t heard that, I probably wouldn’t have had to think about this.

Maybe I should talk to Asatani-san again.

It was a blindingly obvious and too self-aware mistake on my part. There was no way that Asatani-san’s mind had changed after learning about me and Takane-san.

The ticket was still on the desk, turned upside down. The due time for the public recording was today at 2:00 p.m. After that time, the ticket would be nothing but just a piece of paper.

‘I wanted to tell Nagi-kun that I support your relationship with Takane-san.’

“….Even if you say that…”

As time went on, I thought it was something I would forget. Even though I would see her everyday, I thought it would become less and less painful.

But when she said ‘I support you’, I couldn’t help but think about it.

Asatani-san, she didn’t dump me because she didn’t like me. If that was the case, then supporting her as a fan wouldn’t be inappropriate.

It was just a social courtesy. I didn’t want my ex to get attached to me, that’s a natural thought.

I was just feeling an obligation to go see the recording since I had received this ticket.

I thought I would stay home all day today. Even if I wasn’t home, I didn’t think I would head to the station building where the public recording will take place.

I could tell Nakano-san that I couldn’t make it. Nothing was being forced on me – Or so I thought.

I received a message. It was from Takadera – It had come in the middle of the night while I was sound asleep.

[I heard that Noarin is going to record a radio show tomorrow.]

[Something came up in my schedule. There are people who say they’re going to wait for Noarin to come out after the recording.]

[I’ve heard that someone has caused trouble at the events before. I hope they’ve got good security, just in case.]

[Senda, you’re close with Asatani-san, right? So I thought I’d tell you.]

[Hey, are you asleep already? Why don’t you stay up a little later since it’s a holiday? It’s lonely when I’m the only one awake. Are you sure you didn’t just leave me unread?]

The messages went on and on and ended with, [Keep an eye out.]

I turned off the screen of my phone and put it on my desk.

After that summer festival- since becoming famous Asatani-san’s behavior had changed a little from what it was before.

Whenever a group of boys who were always cheerful and boisterous in class approached Asatani-san and her friends, she would no longer actively join in the conversation. Even when she’s asked to talk, she would just smile affectionately and seem to be talking with reservation, not much like before.

When she was with her club members, she seemed to be more relaxed. The way she treated me didn’t change either. I interpreted it through filtering the interaction between the reading club and the astronomy club, and Asatani-san seemed to remain the same as before.

I never thought that I was special. Still, even though the opportunities were few, I was glad that Asatani-san felt at ease to talk to me.