Wish

Getting away from the loud and busy crowd, Haruto and Mahiru were able to make their way into an area where the atmosphere was a bit more tame.

As they turned a corner, tall displays of bamboo trees appeared in their sights that were decorated with colorful strips of long paper.

"This looks beautiful."

Mahiru's eyes glimmered with amazement as she watched how the bamboo trees swayed gently in the breeze, making the colorful strips of paper dance along to its tune.

"As much as I love the food at the festival, this is my favorite part of Tanabata where we get to make wishes and hope they can come true."

"That's a bit surprising."

"I can feel it in your gaze that you've started to think of me as just being a glutton."

"I don't know what you mean~"

Haruto narrowed his eyes at Mahiru as he saw her turn her head in an attempt to hide her grin with a horrible attempt of whistling. He leaned closer and pinched her soft cheeks feeling like his image was wrongly accused.

The two of them engaged in some banter where in the end, both had red cheeks as Mahiru also started to retaliate back from Haruto's attack on her face.

After they were finished flirting, Haruto led Mahiru to an area where the public could make their own wishes.

As they were walking Mahiru's attention was caught by a large wooden board in the middle of the venue where it told the tale of Princess Orihime and Hikoboshi.

"This board..."

"The board? Oh I think this tells the story of the background behind the Tanabata festival."

Mahiru listened to Haruto's words and carefully read the imprinted letters that were engraved onto the large wooden board.

The story was about how Princess Orihime was sad and despaired over not finding love that her father who loved her dearly, arranged for her to meet Hikoboshi who was a cow herder on the other side of the milky way.

The two of them fell instantly in love and married. Their love was so deep that they started to forget about their duties that Orihime's father became angry and forbade them from being together.

Pleading to her father, Orihime tried to change his decision but it eventually resulted in them being allowed to meet for only one day of the year.

"So that's why we wish for clear skies so that the lovers can always be reunited."

Haruto finished his summary of the story and watched the wooden board for a while longer. He turned his attention towards Mahari who was silent and noticed the slight hint of melancholy in her eyes.

"Something on your mind?"

"No, I love how beautiful the story is but I can't help but also feel a bit sad about it. Meeting for only one day over a span of a year must be very…lonely for them."

Hearing the wistful tone in her voice, Haruto couldn't help but wrap his fingers around her own.

"Well I think the story is very sweet."

"Sweet?"

Mahiru turned her head and looked at Haruto with probing eyes. He just smiled brightly catching Mahiru off guard by his sudden expression.

"Yup, it shows how strong their connection is that even though they are separated, they always find a way to meet each other despite the universe keeping them apart. How their love always stays the same, no matter what."

Hearing his words, Mahiru stared at the person in front of her and a small smile graced her lips.

"Plus I bet they must have tons of things to talk about during the time they were separated for that whole year."

"I wonder if Orihime tells off Hikoboshi for his bad eating habits during the time she's not with him."

"..Why do I feel like I've been attacked somehow…"

Mahiru giggled hard seeing his straight face and couldn't help but wrap herself around him feeling happy with the way he tried to cheer her up.

"Come let's make some wishes that would make even Orihime and Hikoboshi jealous."

"Slow down a bit, the wish strips aren't going to run off you know."

Haruto felt his arm get tugged as Mahiru pulled him towards the wishing stations where they gave away paper slips for people to write on. He looked at her face and noticed that her previous expression was now replaced with a bright smile.

'Now this look is much better.'

He thought inwardly and picked up the pace to match Mahiru's so he doesn't get dragged all the way.

Reaching the station, the lady at the front gave them a quick greeting before explaining to them how they could tie up their own wishes.

Being given a slip and a brush, they went to a small area where they could write on their slips neatly, not letting the crowd distract them.

"Do you know what wish you're going to make?"

"Hmm…not exactly but I have a general idea of what I want."

Holding the blue paper slip in his hand, Haruto slowly wrote down the wish that he wanted to make. While Mahiru tapped her chin for a few seconds before quickly writing on the yellow slip she had.

Taking just a few seconds the two of them finished writing and sneakily hid each other's wish so the other person wasn't able to see it.

"Ready to hang them up?"

"Sure, but don't peek at mines alright."

"Whatever you say~."

He noticed the slight blush on Mahiru's face and thought to himself that it must have been some very heartfelt wish that she wrote down.

They approached the cluster of bamboo branches and each found a spot to secure their wishes. Taking a moment of silence to tie them up, they shared a glance and nodded their heads thinking about their wishes that were bound to come true.

"They look like some models…"

A little girl with her mother watched as Haruto and Mahiru walked away from the cluster of bamboo trees and admired their appearances as they disappeared from the crowd.

"Honey what are you staring at?"

"I just saw some cool looking people!"

"Cool looking?"

The mother tilted her head in confusion listening to her daughter's words before lifting her up so they could quickly tie up her wish.

The little girl decided to find a spot that was near a yellow slip and couldn't help but look at the wish beside her.

"[I wish for the luck and success for my lover's journey to complete his dreams, who's lifetime I wish to have endless love and cherished memories with.]"

The little girl felt the amount of feelings that were put into the paper that she stared at it for quite some time.

"Did you finish tying it up?"

"Ah y-yes I finished already."

The mother shook her head at her daughter's behavior and placed her down so she could tie up her own wishes. She found a spot next to a blue slip and just like her daughter, she decided to slip a peek at the wish next to hers.

"[I wish for my lover's wishes and desires that she has deep in her heart to come true, never letting her beautiful smile fade away.]"

"How sweet~"

The mother gave a sweet smile reading the slip that was next to hers and wondered in her head what kind of person was this slip directed to.

***

[The firework display will start in about 5 minutes.]

"It looks like the festival is about to end…"

Mahiru gave out a sigh as she noticed the bundle of people starting to make their way towards the wide open field where the fireworks would be held.

"I wonder if we can find a place where we won't get crushed by the crowd."

"Do you think there's an area like that?"

"Probably."

Haruto bit onto a piece of dango that he bought from a stand as he replied to Mahiru who was scanning the area for potential spots. He offered the last few pieces of dango to her and she gladly accepted it, biting from the stick that was in his hands.

Tasting the sweet treat that was given to her she locked onto an area where she thought would make a good spot to look from.

"How about we go up those stairs?"

Mahiru pointed towards the stairs that led to the top of a hill and Haruto agreed since it sounded like a good location to be at.

Taking a moment to reach the top, they noticed that a few people were standing with them but it was a far lesser amount compared to the people standing by the main venue.

As they were walking around they found a bench near the edge of the overview and sat down to take a break from all the walking they did during the whole festival.

"How's your feet?"

"It's feeling fine so far. Mother placed some padding near the grooves of the sandal straps so it doesn't hurt my feet."

Haruto looked at the sandals that she wore and noticed the small white patches that his mother placed on her sandals.

He complimented Yui in his mind and talked with Mahiru for a while as they waited for the fireworks to start going.

*BOOM*

Disrupting the conversation the two were having, bright fireworks flew up in the air illuminating the dark sky that covered the exciting atmosphere of the festival.

Watching how the fireworks soared and exploded with vibrant colors, Mahiru couldn't help but feel her heart race watching the display.

This was the first time she had seen such a display up close that she could help but once again keep this deep inside her memories.

Mahiru glanced at the person beside her and felt a warm sensation grow, realizing that he once again shared a core memory with her.

"It's like a dream."

Whispering the words that appeared in her head she watched how the lights continued to illuminate the sky and felt how it casted a gentle glow on their faces. During a single moment their eyes met and she watched how he gave a soft smile towards her.

Her eyes locked onto the smile that was directed towards her and felt her body move subconsciously, leaning it towards Haruto.

Haruto noticed how Marhiru seemed to be approaching closer and his eyes widened in surprise when he felt a familiar soft sensation be placed onto his lips.

"This…"

"M-My body just moved sub—Hmph!!"

A wave of embarrassment washed over Mahiru as a rush of crimson quickly filled her face, not leaving a single spot unmarked. She was about to quickly speak her mind when she was stopped by the feeling of lips touching her own.

With her mouth closed she felt the sensation of lips moving against each other, leaving shivers down her body. After a fleeting moment that felt like forever, they separated and Mahiru stared in a daze as she watched Haruto licked his lips.

"It tastes sweet..."

"What are you even saying…"

"Kinda like dango."

Haruto laughed loudly as he tried his best to hide his embarrassment with a joke and braced himself to endure Mahiru's soft punches.

"It doesn't taste like dango okay."

"Should I check once again to make sure?"

"....Sure…"

He smiled after hearing her soft whisper and placed his hand on her cheek, leading her face close to his. Mahiru tightly clenched onto the fabric of his yukata and let herself bask in the feeling of intimacy she shared with Haruto.

"How was it…"

"Still sweet but different from the dango I tasted earlier."

Mahiru laughed quietly hearing his answer and placed her forehead onto his, staying still in the moment. The sounds of fireworks continued to go off as the two of them continued to focus solely on each other.

***

So I summoned for Kafka and was able to get her within my first ten pull. So right now I was able to get her E1 and was also lucky to get her lightcone. It seems like she really wanted to come home lol. Anyways I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu.