Uika was easy to fool.
Even when Haru casually tossed out a joke just to lighten the mood, she would believe it without hesitation. She was supposed to be a clever, quick-witted idol with enough social intelligence to handle anything, the kind of woman who should be sharp and hard to deceive.
Yet Haru felt she seemed a little silly today.
Was it really that easy to trick her into becoming his wife?
"Haru-kun!"
At some point the cap on her head had vanished, replaced by an oni mask that covered her delicate face. Every now and then she would shift it aside just enough to reveal the beauty hidden beneath.
A fleeting glance, a soft smile, and her expression blossomed like sunlight glimmering on spring waters.
"This is really good! Do you want to try some?"
Uika beamed as she held up a tray of takoyaki with both hands. She carefully picked one up with a skewer and brought it to Haru's lips as if she already knew he would accept it.
But was he really that easy to win over?
"I don't eat it without teriyaki sauce and seaweed flakes."
"Ah, sorry!"
Startled, Uika quickly dipped the takoyaki in sauce and tried again. This time Haru didn't hesitate, swallowing it in one bite and chewing without expression.
He couldn't help it, his hands were full.
Whenever he wasn't eating, one of his hands would be pulled away by Uika. Now, the bags he carried also held her hat and sunglasses along with a pile of festival trinkets. He really had no way to free his hands.
Haru watched the golden-haired girl skipping lightly ahead of him. Even with her face hidden behind the mask, her joy was obvious. Her figure shone like a firework in warm daylight, lighting the road before him in an instant.
When she finished her takoyaki, Uika quickly returned and slipped her hand into his again. After wandering the festival together, her movements had grown more confident, her idol-like poise and elegance gradually returning.
The corners of Haru's mouth curved into a faint smile. He spoke openly, "We should probably head out soon. The planetarium show is about to start. If we keep walking around here, we'll miss it."
"Eh? Already?"
Uika froze for a few seconds, her steps halting in surprise.
She felt like the date had only just begun, but over an hour had already slipped by. The realization left her a little downhearted. She clearly wasn't ready to let go of the festival yet.
Haru fell silent for a moment, then gave her hand a gentle tug.
"Come to think of it, you don't usually have time to visit festivals, do you?"
"Eh? That's true… With work being so busy, this might actually be the first time I've gone to one since coming to Tokyo."
Uika looked at him curiously, surprised by his calm expression. She confessed without holding anything back, and the dark-haired boy chuckled softly at her words.
"I'm usually busy too. I hardly ever get real rest."
"If you don't mind, maybe we can come to a festival together again? Even maybe take a trip somewhere else. If you stay under constant pressure with no way to let it out, eventually your body won't be able to take it."
The girl's eyes widened slightly. She seemed to catch the meaning behind his words.
"C-can we?"
"If you don't mind being with me."
Uika didn't make any dramatic gesture. She simply nodded quietly in his direction. Her response seemed ordinary, almost plain, yet inside she was overflowing with emotion.
Beneath the oni mask, her face flushed a delicate pink. Her skin glowed with a joy she couldn't hide, and her violet eyes trembled with the shock of happiness.
She understood what he meant.
"I want to come to the festival with you again, Haru."
Today's battle result: Uika-san, overwhelming victory!
…
Meanwhile, Togawa Sakiko had lost her way.
She had heard from Mutsumi that Haru was supposed to be at the planetarium "Evening Primrose." But after waiting inside for so long without finding him, she decided to check the nearby shopping street where a festival was being held, hoping she might catch him there.
But this time, it seemed the gods were not on her side.
The moment she entered the festival, she completely lost her bearings. The pressing crowd made her feel isolated and helpless. No matter how hard she craned her neck, she couldn't spot the black-haired figure she longed for.
"Haru, where are you?"
Her eyes stung red as she whispered his name, like a sulking child. She bit her lip and searched frantically through the festival streets, but no matter how many laps she made, she couldn't find him. Instead, she grew more and more disheveled.
Her carefully braided sidelocks and long blue twin-tails had come loose. Sweat beaded across her forehead, dampening her pretty bangs.
But she had no time to worry about appearances.
Only one thought consumed her mind.
"Why, why did it end up like this?"
She bit her lip so hard that she tasted blood. Forcing her way through the crowd, she decided to head back to "Evening Primrose." Her clenched fists trembled, her chest heavy with guilt and frustration. All her calm composure had shattered.
"Sakiko!"
The sudden voice froze her in place. She turned on instinct and saw a small figure standing on the steps in the distance. The familiar Haneoka uniform, the uneven light-gray hair…
"…Tomori?"
Sakiko blinked in shock. She hadn't expected to run into her here.
Her desperate cries had finally reached their mark. The little penguin came running toward her, gasping for breath. Before Sakiko could react, Tomori grabbed her wrist tightly, as if terrified she might turn and walk away.
Her poor stamina left her pale and weak. She clung to Sakiko just to steady herself, pressing her free hand against her chest as she panted heavily.
"Sakiko… just, just… wait, wait a second!"
"Tomori, why are you here?"
Sakiko's composure faltered the moment she saw Takamatsu Tomori. She hurriedly tried to smooth her messy hair, her proud back held stiff and straight, as if by instinct she wanted to hide her pathetic state.
But Tomori didn't care about that at all. She only looked at her with deep concern.
"Sakiko… your lip, it's bleeding!"
"This little scratch is nothing. But Tomori, why are you stopping me? I still have something urgent to do!"
Sakiko wiped her lip without thinking. A faint trace of blood bloomed like a flower against the back of her pale hand, yet she paid it no mind. Her thoughts were consumed with only one thing, finding Haru.
Of course, Tomori could see right through her agitation.
Her face was filled with worry and unease, though beneath that was a touch of relief.
She and Chihaya Anon had split up to search around the planetarium, but after a long time they hadn't found him. Thankfully, she had managed to stop Sakiko before she ran into Haru.
"Sakiko, you… you were going to look for Haru, weren't you?"
"Tomori, do you know where he is?"
Sakiko's amber eyes widened. The tension in her voice betrayed her desperation as she stared at Tomori, terrified of missing even a single word from her mouth.
Tomori clenched her fists, hesitation clear on her face.
The reason she had chased after Sakiko was simple. She knew what was happening. Uika was with Haru right now, and knowing Sakiko's nature, going there would only hurt her.
"Sakiko, you… Mutsumi must have told you already, about all of us."
"…Tomori, you too?"
The question struck her like a bolt of lightning. Sakiko trembled, clutching Tomori's hand without realizing it. She understood exactly what those words meant.
Tomori was part of it now as well. She too had become Haru's lover.
Yet Sakiko stubbornly raised her chin like a swan, refusing to back down.
"Tomori, you know where he is, don't you?"
"Please… tell me where he is. There are things I have to ask him to his face."
The girl who was usually so strong and cold now looked at her with pleading eyes. Seeing her like this made Tomori's heart ache, but she knew that if Sakiko went, the wound would only deepen.
Struggling inside, she pressed her hand against her chest and spoke with grave sincerity.
"Mutsumi, Anon, Taki, and I… we all feel the same way you do."
"All of us truly love Haru. But if only one of us is with him, then for everyone else it would be unbearable. I don't want to be separated from everyone because of that."
"I was the one who asked Haru if we could all be together for life. And Haru, unable to choose just one, accepted my selfishness and decided to shoulder the burden of being with us all."
"I want to be with you too, Sakiko, for life."
Tomori squeezed Sakiko's wrist, her head bowed, pouring out her honest feelings.
"I…"
Sakiko's dim amber eyes flickered. She didn't want to admit it, but her heart was shaken. In her mind, she recalled the way Mutsumi had once looked at her.
She didn't know what to do.
Her mind was a blur, incapable of clear thought. Everything that had happened recently had turned her head into chaos. Unable to calm herself, she could only follow instinct, desperate to find Haru and demand answers.
But what then?
Even if she heard everything directly from him, what would she do afterward? She was already the loser. Could she really turn away when her whole heart was bound to him?
Sakiko knew she couldn't.
But accepting that the man she loved also loved others was equally unbearable. He was no longer hers alone.
That thought alone made her chest tighten painfully, suffocating.
"…Tomori, let me go."
"Sakiko?!"
Sakiko bit her lip and pulled her hand free from the little penguin's grasp.
"I have to see him now!"
Throwing those words behind her, she pushed past Tomori and strode away toward the planetarium. She never once looked back at the disappointed, guilty expression left on Tomori's face.
At the very least, she had to see him first.
…
Having just finished watching the planetarium show, Haru strolled through the square outside.
The central fountain sent droplets sparkling into the air, glowing beneath the warm orange lights. The dim square was bathed in a gentle radiance, as if the night itself had been painted with color.
This program, "Vega," was part of the Summer Triangle. The first time Haru and Uika had met, sitting side by side, the show had been "Altair," the other star of the triangle.
"Ah, Haru-kun~"
A soft voice reached his ears, pulling him from his thoughts.
Her long golden hair swayed around her waist. At some point, the girl beside him had removed her oni mask, exposing the breathtaking beauty of her face to the night air.
"That was the first time we met, wasn't it? Back then, I helped you pick up what you dropped…"
"And you crashed into me so hard. The spot you hit still hurts, you know."
Expressionless, Haru placed a hand over his chest as if in pain. Startled, Uika panicked for a moment, only to pout adorably when she realized he was teasing her.
"…I bumped into your hand, not your chest."
"A-san, don't you think you remember that a little too clearly?"
Haru's deadpan retort made Uika laugh. Her rosy lips curved into a smile, and her violet eyes shimmered with a brilliance that seemed to overflow with tenderness and affection.
"When it's just the two of us, you don't have to call me A-san."
"Haru-kun, look, I even took off my mask."
Her gentle voice carried a trace of playful expectation, the sweetness of her smile winding into Haru's chest, coiling tighter and tighter, tugging at his emotions.
Uika was beautiful. This wasn't the first time Haru had thought so.
No matter how pretty a girl was, usually he would only give her a second glance at most. But with Uika, her presence in his heart grew heavier with each passing day. The little details that most people would overlook, she always noticed and remembered.
When a girl put that much of herself into someone, even the hardest stone would eventually give way under the persistence of water.
Haru lifted his head slightly, his eyes fixed on the girl before him.
"Uika, your hair is getting longer, isn't it?"
"This? I want to grow it all the way to my waist."
Her golden locks shone like a work of art, and her fair ears glowed crimson, carrying a shade so intoxicating it seemed to invite his lips.
She paused for a moment, then raised her head proudly to meet his gaze. In her star-like violet eyes, his figure was reflected, sparkling like glass.
"Because you like girls with long hair, Haru."
Her rising tone betrayed the flames in her heart.
Haru's gaze remained on her. Her words were shy, hesitant, as if it was too difficult to say the one word she really meant, or maybe she was just afraid of rejection.
If she never spoke it aloud, the two of them could go on as friends forever. But if she did, and he refused, even friendship would be lost.
"I know you don't actually prefer long-haired girls. It's just that the girl you like happens to have long hair. But I wanted to be sure of my own feelings."
"I know there are things words alone can't prove."
Though she couldn't be completely straightforward, she was pushing herself beyond her limits.
Under his gaze, Uika stepped closer. She tilted her head ever so slightly, showing him the perfect angle of her face, her soft smile and pure affection weaving together into her own poem.
"I thought I could endure it, even if I had to stay as your friend for life."
"As long as I could be by your side, it didn't matter what role I played. Because what mattered most to me wasn't that…"
Her hands clasped behind her back, and determination flickered in her eyes.
"But I realized, I can't endure it after all."
"My feelings for you can't be contained. I want to stand by your side openly, not just as your friend. I want to live with you, shop with you, talk with you in the future…"
"I'm too greedy, aren't I?"
Haru looked at the self-mocking girl before him, and a faint smile appeared on his lips.
But before he could respond, Uika spoke again.
"Greedy or not, I can't control it anymore."
"Because ever since long ago…"
"I've already fallen helplessly in love with you."
Her empty heart had been filled by him. Though she had lived alone in Tokyo since such a young age, always trying to be strong, she was still just an ordinary girl, unable to stop herself from loving the boy she could rely on.
Uika extended her hand to him, her face glowing with the most radiant smile.
"I don't want to be Friend A anymore. Will you let me be… Miss Lover C instead?"
The idol world had always demanded subtlety from her, but now she had spoken the most direct confession of all.
"To monopolize Uika-san, the idol, do you realize how many people will envy me?"
Haru's laugh was soft and resigned. Then he gently took the hand she offered. Before she could even process the joy, he pulled her straight into his arms.
Their lips met in that moment.
"…"
By the fountain in the distance, a small blue-haired girl stood frozen in place.
PIC: Scene[1]
[1] https://imgur.com/mY0oQ4A