Chapter 226 Their eyes were fixed on the same place
“I went there with my mother when I was in elementary school.”

"That's it..."

The conversation was interrupted again.

Along the way, the three of them chatted casually, and during this time, the tram continued to move.

On the way, the tram suddenly slowed down.

"ah!"

Along with a brief scream and the sound of wooden clogs, two scents rushed into Qingshuijian's nostrils, and something soft pressed on his shoulders on both sides.

It seemed that both Sakurai Shio and Sakurai Haruka were not used to wearing geta, and when the train slowed down, their center of gravity suddenly became unstable, so they both fell towards Shimizumi, who naturally caught them.

"..."

"..."

The three people's faces were as close as they could be. Sakurai Shio's face flushed and she hurriedly backed away.

"Hug, sorry..."

"It doesn't matter. The carriage is so crowded."

Sakurai Shio turned her face to an angle where Shimizu Ken couldn't see her, pretending to look at the scenery outside the window, but in fact she let out a long sigh. Sakurai Haruka leaned on Shimizu Ken's shoulder for a long time before reluctantly separating.

After getting off the train and leaving the station, I immediately saw that the area in front of the station was crowded with people, and all I could hear was noisy noise.

Walking towards the venue of the fireworks festival, there are all kinds of stalls along the way, including stalls selling takoyaki and Okonomiyaki.

Convenience stores and bars nearby also brought their wares outside to sell, and restaurants used the opportunity to enjoy the fireworks as a gimmick to promote themselves and work hard to drum up business.

Although I didn't catch any cicadas, the current atmosphere does give me a sense of catching summer.

The Hokkaido Fireworks Festival is about to begin.

The station is not far from the venue of the fireworks festival, and the entire park is almost directly adjacent to the station. However, with so many tourists flocking to the scene, it is not easy to move forward inside.

This square is usually quite empty, leaving only the impression of being vast.

But now, even if you look from a distance, you can only see crowds of people.

Amid the stuffiness typical of crowded occasions, a comfortable evening breeze blew by.

Shimizu looked at his watch. It was just past six in the evening and the fireworks display seemed to start at half past six.

So, what should we do during this time?
Shimizu looked at the two people beside him and confirmed their opinions first.

"There's still a lot of time left. What should we do?"

"Why don't we take a walk around here first?" Sakurai Shio suggested.

Both Shimizu Mi and Sakurai Haruka had no objection to this.

So, before the fireworks display officially started, the three decided to walk around the area to kill some time.

Maybe it was because of the lively atmosphere of the fireworks festival, but as Sakurai Shio walked, her wooden clogs made a pleasant "click-click" sound.

Even in the noisy crowd, Shimizu could hear her humming a little tune as she walked.

The crowd stretched all the way to the square.

There were countless stalls next to each other, and a considerable crowd of people gathered in front of each stall.

Although everyone knew what the food at those stalls tasted like, it was still easy to stimulate appetite under the lighting of the light bulbs. Even the sauce on the fried noodles was shining, looking juicy and delicious.

Sakurai Shio's eyes sparkled with excitement and she pulled at Shimizu Mi's sleeve.

"Which stand should we start with? How about candy apples?"

"Didn't we agree to come and take a stroll?"

Although you will definitely buy some snacks when visiting the stalls and eat while walking, from what Sakurai Shio said, it seems that eating has become the main purpose.

Sakurai Shio was not very happy about this and looked at the apple candy reluctantly, but her attention was soon attracted by the cotton candy machine next to her that was buzzing and emitting a sweet fragrance.

"When it comes to summer, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?"

"Marshmallow."

"That's nothing. It has nothing to do with summer."

Indeed, marshmallows and summer have almost nothing to do with each other. Shimizu Mi just subconsciously said what Sakurai Shio was just looking at, thinking that this was the answer she wanted.

"Watermelon popsicles, of course."

"Who would normally associate it with such details..."

Most people would probably think of watermelon or popsicles first when thinking of summer, but Sakurai Shio directly combined the two into one, which makes people have to admire her unique train of thought.

"What about Haruka?"

Sakurai Shio asked Sakurai Haruka the same question again.

"... smoothie?"

The result is that all I think of is ice...

"Oh, there seems to be a place selling smoothies over there. Could you please buy me a popsicle? I want watermelon flavor, and of course, I want some for my junior, too."

Shimizu Ken did not ask for it, but Sakurai Shio made the decision for him.

"Why should I listen to you..."

Sakurai Haruka was naturally unwilling to run errands for Sakurai Shio, but when she saw Shimizu Michi sweating slightly, she left a sentence "Wait for me" and ran to the stall selling smoothies.

After Sakurai Haruka walked away, Sakurai Shio shifted her gaze back to Shimizu Ken.

"So what about you, junior? When you think of summer, what do you think of?"

The boomerang hit Shimizu again.

"Get up early to catch rhinoceros beetles?"

"I see, my junior is an idiot."

"It's already so hot, don't make it difficult for me on purpose."

Even in the evening, the weather was hot.

"Wasn't it great when the weather is hot? That's how it feels like summer. A summer of light romance, a summer of mistakes. Since you're already a high school student, you should have some experience like this, right?"

A casual romance is fine, but a mistake doesn't seem right, right?

"Since we are alive, we should fall in love."

Sakurai Shio's index finger gently touched Shimizu's chest, and her little mouth opened and closed slightly.

"It sounds very profound at first, but if you think about it carefully, it doesn't make sense at all. Could it be that the senior wants to have a boyfriend?"

Shimizu said this casually, thinking that Sakurai Shio would also joke back at him, but he was wrong.

Sakurai Shio suddenly lowered her head and fell into deep thought.

Without any warning, Shimizu continued to stare at Sakurai Shio in front of him, watching what she was doing.

Could it be that he found a hundred-yen coin on the ground?
But Sakurai Shio kept her head down, with her hands behind her back and her short golden hair fluttering in the wind.

"what happened?"

"If I tell you I want to have a boyfriend, will you help me?"

He was trying to test the other person's expression, almost like he was forcing himself to put on a meaningful expression.

Shimizu Mi really didn't know how to interpret the meaning of this expression and the implication of her words.

"What kind of help do you want to give?"

At this moment, Sakurai Haruka, who had just gone to buy popsicles, happened to come over.

"……nothing."

Sakurai Shio shook her head. After Sakurai Haruka came over, Shimizu Mi glanced at Sakurai Shio. The meaningful look in his expression just now was replaced by his usual smile.

I really don’t understand it more and more.

"Do you want me to introduce you to a joke from my friend?" "No."

"What are you two talking about?"

Sakurai Haruka's eyes lit up and she asked tentatively.

"Oh, it's nothing." Sakurai Shio smiled and waved her hand.

"There must be something, right?"

"I still want to buy apple candy..." Sakurai Shio murmured softly.

"Are you listening carefully?"

"Yeah, that's right! I'm going to buy some candy apples! Junior, I'll give you half of them then!"

"unnecessary."

Seeing that Shimizu was still troubled by what had just been said, Sakurai Shio had already regained her spirits and ran off to look for candy apples by herself.

……

The fireworks festival was about to begin, and Shimizu didn't even need to look at his watch, as he could tell from the excitement of so many people at the scene.

The setting sun finally went over the mountainside, the indigo night sky descended, and the moon rose high in the sky, as if waiting to admire the fireworks that would be launched later.

At the end of the rows of stalls is the square that serves as the main venue for the fireworks festival, which has already been packed with spectators.

The entire square was covered with a camping mat, leaving no space at all. Before the event officially started, everyone was already toasting each other. The crying of children echoed in the distance, and people were yelling at each other nearby.

Therefore, not to mention a place to sit, even finding a space to stay is a problem.

Besides, Sakurai Shio just went out to buy candy apples and hasn't come back yet.

They originally planned to wait there for a while, but because of the continuous influx of people from behind, Shimizu Mi and Sakurai Haruka were involuntarily swept away and forced to come to the square of the main venue.

If Shimizumi was the only one here, it wouldn't matter. He could just find a place to sit down or retreat to a distance to watch the fireworks. However, today he came with Sakurai Haruka and the others, so it was a different matter.

No matter what, it is impossible to stand and watch the fireworks from beginning to end, so we have to find a place where two people can sit down first.

But Shimizu didn't have a mat to lay on the ground, and didn't even have any newspapers prepared. Sakurai Haruka was wearing a yukata and couldn't sit directly on the ground.

As for the nearby benches, they had already been occupied by others.

“There are so many people…”

Faced with this situation where she had nowhere to go, Sakurai Haruka looked a little troubled.

"I should have prepared a small waterproof mat."

The fireworks festival that I attended with Akiko Hoshino when I was a child was far less crowded than it is today.

"I always feel like I'm wrong... I'm sorry, I should have told Jian earlier."

"Don't get me wrong, I rarely attend events like this, so I didn't think about it that much. Sorry."

If he had paid more attention, he should have been able to consider this point. He didn't know if it was the influence of his illness, but Qingshuijian felt a little disappointed with his own lack of consideration and couldn't help but sigh slightly.

Shimizu Mitsuki raised his eyes which had unconsciously dropped down, and happened to meet the gaze of Sakurai Haruka who had opened her mouth and was in a daze.

"what happened?"

"The popsicle is melting..."

Sakurai Haruka and Shimizu Min had already finished their portions, but because Sakurai Shio had not returned for a long time, the frost on the surface of the popsicle had melted, and the originally distinct red and green colors of the watermelon popsicle were no longer distinct, but slowly blended together, and the melted ice water slowly dripped along the bottom of the popsicle.

"If my sister doesn't come, it will belong to me..."

Sakurai Haruka murmured softly, slowly parted her light pink lips, and put the dripping popsicle into her mouth.

She is really amazing.

Shimizu watched Sakurai Haruka eating popsicles for a while, then looked away: "There seem to be some empty seats over there, let's go and take a look."

"Ah."

After Sakurai Haruka finished eating the popsicle, Shimizu Ken took the lead and started moving forward, but unfortunately they ran into a crowd of people rushing to the stalls to buy things and use the toilet before the event, so they had to move upstream like a salmon.

In the chaotic crowd, Qingshuijian moved left and right, looking for a gap to move forward.

If you are not used to this kind of crowded environment, it would be basically difficult to move in such a place. Fortunately, Qingshuijian has some experience in this regard, so this amount of crowd is nothing.

"Yao, follow closely, don't lose me..."

Shimizu looked back in the crowd, only to find that Sakurai Haruka, who was supposed to be following behind him, was nowhere to be seen.

……

……

First he had a fever, then he got separated from Sakurai Shio, and now he has even lost Sakurai Haruka.

I didn’t expect such dramatic developments to happen one after another.

Shimizu Mi wanted to turn around to look for Sakurai Haruka, but was forced forward by the crowd.

It was 6:40 in the evening, and the fireworks display, which was originally scheduled for 6:30, was delayed by ten minutes.

There was warm applause at the scene, and some people who were too excited whistled.

This area of ​​Qingshuimi is located on a small hill in the square, facing the place where the fireworks are launched. In addition, there are no trees around to block the view, so the fireworks can be seen clearly.

Although it is a good location to watch the fireworks,
Shimizu tried to call Sakurai Haruka with her cell phone, but the signal here was just as Sakurai Shio said, the radio waves could not be transmitted at all.

Shimizu tried to send messages to Sakurai Haruka and Sakurai Shio asking about their locations, but still received no reply. Then he realized that they were both wearing yukatas tonight and probably didn't have their cell phones with them.

He felt a little at a loss for a moment, and his body began to feel hot. Qingshuijian felt that his condition seemed to have worsened.

As he was thinking about this—

"Eh? Isn't that my junior?"

A familiar voice came from behind him. Shimizu turned around and saw a relaxed smile on Sakurai Shio's face, and then she showed a puzzled expression.

"Where's Haruka?"

“…lost.”

Feeling like a child who had made a mistake, Shimizu looked away remorsefully.

"Huh? Lost? Is Haruka finally stupid enough to lose herself?"

"No, I didn't think highly of her."

"Oh, this self-blaming expression is pretty good. It turns out that you are very responsible. I feel relieved if that's the case."

Sakurai Shio walked slowly towards Shimizu Ken. Shimizu Ken looked down involuntarily and found that Sakurai Shio's left leg seemed to be limping, and even the clogs on her feet were gone.

"Senior, what's wrong with you?"

"Ah, actually, I was running too fast when I went to buy candy apples just now, and I accidentally twisted my ankle and fell. Afterwards, I didn't even know where my clogs fell to."

"Really? You made a fool of yourself in front of your junior classmates."

Sakurai Shio walked to the side of Shimizumi, with one foot suspended in the air, and lowered her head awkwardly to curl her hair with her index finger.

At this time, with the accompaniment of music, super-large fireworks that were launched continuously bloomed into large flowers, and the red, yellow and orange lights overlapped with each other, lighting up the night sky continuously.

"so beautiful……"

Sakurai Shio's beautiful profile looking up at the night sky is occasionally illuminated by light.

The rumbling sound of explosions was endless, the fireworks gradually disappeared after blooming, and the wind was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

As she opened her mouth, another wave of fireworks burst into the sky, followed by intermittent booms, and the night sky flickered.

Sakurai Shio seemed particularly excited this time. Several cannon barrels made loud noises like gunshots, and crackling lights appeared in the sky. Sakurai Shio kept clapping like a child.

If it were Haruka Sakurai, she probably wouldn't have done these things.

Although the sisters look alike, they are completely different inside. Despite this, at this intersecting fireworks festival, their eyes seem to be on the same place...

(End of this chapter)