CH 38

What the hell are you doing here?

Translated by Dawn

Edited by Dawn

What the hell are you doing here?

It was mid-July, the day of the end-of-school ceremony.

“Hey, Akito, are you free this Sunday?”

After arriving at school with Mizutani, Shuji came to me as I was sitting idly in the classroom.

Due to a seat change after the midterm exam, I had already moved from the seat closest to the door at the front of the classroom.

It was a little closer to the window than the middle of the room, a place that was neither too good nor too bad.

But the question he just asked me felt like déjà vu.

—Oh right. Mai had asked me the exact same thing the week before last or so.

Why didn’t everyone tell me why did they ask me that first?

Just because I wasn’t busy (see below).

“Sunday? …Why?”

“As expected, Akito, you’ve got some free time! Then let’s go to the summer festival! The four of us!”

“Hey, I’m not saying that I’ve some free time…wait, four?”

I felt like I was greatly riled up, but it wasn’t something I should be concerned about at the moment.

Rather, it wasn’t good for my mental health to be concerned about it, so I focused on another part.

Shuji continued with a look of course.

“Yeah, of course. Since it’s a festival, it would be more glamorous if there were girls there, right? And, it’s also been a while since we had a double date! Me, Akito, Natsuki and Mizutani! Okay?”

“…I don’t mind, but what about Mizutani?”

I turned away from Shuji and look out the window.

I’m a coward. Unlike at the zoo, this time I found myself a bit…intrigued, no, quite intrigued. I’d like to see Mizutani in a Yukata. But I couldn’t honestly say that I wanted to go, so I had to fool myself like this—

“I don’t mind either. If Aizawa okay with it.”

At that moment, Mizutani’s face broke into my vision.

Mizutani, who had arrived before I knew it, looked back into my eyes with a smile on her face.

I could already tell that this was Mizutani’s face when she was trying to tease me.

Having nowhere to run, I turned my head toward Shuji again.

“…What about Ogura?”

“Don’t underestimate me too much. I’ve already talked to Natsuki first!”

Shuji raised his clenched fist.

Well, of course. You guys are dating.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

The words came out with less force than I had expected.

*****

The summer festival we were looking for would be held in a spacious park near the school.

I decided to meet Mizutani at the station nearest my house.

After that, we would take the train and meet Shuji and the others there.

In the evening. I arrived at the station a little earlier than the meeting time.

I was dressed in casual clothes. I didn’t have a yukata or jinbei (a traditional Japanese summer kimono), because I had never been involved in summer festivals recently, let alone when I was in elementary school.

I wonder if it would be possible to rent one these days.

Well, I didn’t go that far to wear it, and there was no demand for my Yukata in the first place.

I guess it was fine to go like this.

As I leaned against a station pole and fiddled with my phone, I was unexpectedly tapped on the shoulder.

It was the delicate touch of a finger. That alone was enough to give me an idea of who it was.

But when I looked up, I couldn’t help but be speechless.

“……”

In front of me was Mizutani, as I had expected.

No matter how beautiful a girl she was, if I saw her every morning, I would naturally get used to seeing her, and I would not be surprised like this every time I saw her. If I did, I wouldn’t be able to survive.

But this time, it went far beyond what I had expected.

“Good evening. I wonder if this is okay?”

“……”

Mizutani peeked at me from below, looking a little embarrassed.

I was still speechless, unfortunately.

Mizutani had come dressed in a yukata.

It was made of a dark blue fabric like the darkness of night and decorated with hydrangeas.

The obi was emerald, like her eyes.

Her pure white skin and glossy blonde hair seemed to stand out more than usual.

“Aizawa, are you okay?”

“Y-yeah, I’m okay.”

She waved her hand in front of me and my mouth finally moved.

“Let’s go, then.”

I started to walk toward the station, but Mizutani did not follow me.

When I turned around in wonder, Mizutani stared back at me with a nearly expressionless face.

Her blue eyes were filled with a hint of dissatisfaction.

…Ah, that’s right. I forgot to give her a compliment.

“I think it looks good on you.”

I knew what I was going to say, but the words didn’t come out as well as they had when we were going to the zoo.

Mizutani seemed to be satisfied with my words, and smiled faintly, saying, “Thanks.”

She ran next to me, and this time we passed through the ticket gate side by side.

Speaking of which, is she wearing clogs today? …She is.

The first thing I did was to move my feet more slowly than usual.

*****

When we arrived at the station nearest the school, I saw Shuji and Ogura waiting outside the ticket gate.

They were both dressed in yukata.

“Yahhoo…wait, Karin-chan! You look so good in a yukata!!!!”

When Ogura found us, she waved her hand in a big gesture and immediately ran up to Mizutani to hold her hand. Ogura, as usual. In a way, she might be the number one Mizutani fan among the three of us.

“Yo, Akito.”

Shuji, who was standing next to Ogura, came up to me.

He grabbed me by the shoulders,

“See? Aren’t you glad we came to the summer festival?”

He whispered in my ear with a smirk.

“…Well, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t be silly, you’re a guy too, right? …They look great in their yukatas, Mizutani and Natsuki. You should be thanking me, right? I’m the one who invited them.”

It was an aggravating story, but it was certainly thanks to him that I was able to see Mizutani in her yukata today.

I should be thankful for that.

“Thank you.”

When I said this, for some reason, Shuji’s eyes blinked as if he had been pinched by a fox.

“That surprised me. You’re being so obedient today.”

“I’ve always been obedient.”

“…You’re right.”

Shuji chuckled, tapped me on the shoulder, and backed away from me.

The four of us walked for a while, and gradually the sound of festival music grew louder.

We eventually arrived at the park where the festival was held.

The sounds of taiko drums and flutes were accompanied by the heat and smell characteristic of summer festivals.

“I’m really excited! This is what summer festivals are all about!”

Shuji said, looking around at the stalls lined up here and there.

Ogura followed Shuji.

“I’m hungry! Let’s eat something for now!”

“Oh, that’s great. What should we eat?”

“Well…I’m not sure. Takoyaki, cotton candy, and candy apples all look delicious! What do you want to eat, Karin-chan?”

“Me? I’m…”

Mizutani, who had been asked by Ogura to speak, looked around and then stopped at a spot.

Being caught up with her, I looked in that direction and saw a sign that read “Yakisoba”

“Yakisoba, I guess.”

“Great! Then let’s have yakisoba! Is that okay with you, Aizawa?”

“Yeah, I don’t mind.”

I nodded my head and Ogura said, “Well, it’s settled then!” while laughing.

There was a line in front of the yakisoba stall, so Shuji and I decided to wait in line.

The two girls were waiting nearby.

While Shuji and I were chatting and waiting for the line to progress, a man with a towel wrapped around his head approached us with an order form in his hand. The line was long, so I guessed he was taking orders ahead of time. The man, however, was about to say, “Your order…” when for some reason he fell silent.

Wondering, I looked up and froze, too.

The man looked familiar. He looked so big and had a shaved head behind his towel, it could only be that guy—

“…What the hell are you doing here?”

Yamamoto, holding a pen to take our order, stood stunned in front of us.