Come to think of it, it's been two or three years since we last came to a fireworks festival, right?
Looking at the bustling scene of the fireworks festival before him, Miyahito silently reflected while his gaze involuntarily fell on his sister standing beside him. He was wearing simple casual clothes, while she was wearing a cute pink yukata embroidered with subtle family patterns, her long hair elegantly and gracefully styled up at the back of her head.
When he and Ayase were still little, every year he would take his sister and follow their parents to attend fireworks festivals held all over Chiba.
However, once he entered middle school and his sister moved from the lower to the upper grades of elementary school, because of his busy middle school studies, and the fact that he also started attending some high-society banquets with his dad...
"Come to think of it, it seems it's been two years since I last took you to see the fireworks." Raising his hand, Miyahito smiled gently as he placed his palm lightly on his sister's little head.
Feeling her brother's touch, Ayase, her little face somewhat innocent and dazed, tilted her head up. The faint light of the lanterns reflected in her clear eyes.
"I guess it has." Seeing the apology hidden in her brother's eyes, the little girl, who looked like a little angel, smiled slightly at the corners of her mouth.
Reaching up, she took her brother's hand off her head and, just like when she was little, pressed her fingers together and gripped her older brother's always broader and thicker palm with a slight force.p
Her gaze, full of attachment, sparkled with an unchanging reliance as she said in a soft, sweet voice.
"So, I'm going to have a lot of fun today! Prepare yourself, Big Brother!"
Hearing his sister's words full of reliance, and seeing her adoring gaze just like always, Miyahito was slightly taken aback before smiling and nodding.
"Yeah."
"Tonight, we siblings are going to have a blast!"
"OH~~!"
Cheering softly, Ayase happily raised both hands and lightly high-fived her brother's raised palm.
The long-awaited fireworks festival!
Here we come!
We're definitely going to have a blast tonight!!
...
"Big Brother, I want candy apples!"
"Buying!"
"Big Brother, takoyaki!"
"Buying!"
"Big Brother, yakisoba!"
"Buying!"
"Big Brother..."
"Buying!"
Looking at Ayase, whose little face was blooming with lively and happy smiles, so different from her usual quiet, refined young lady demeanor, the gratified smile on Miyahito's face couldn't help but carry even more doting affection.
Just then.
"Big Brother! I want that one!"
Holding a large candy apple in one hand, Ayase, her eyes sparkling, excitedly pointed her finger at the cat plushie prize at the shooting gallery.
"I want that super cute cat plushie!"
"Oh! This cute little customer has great taste!" The stall owner, a man with a white towel tied around his forehead, gave the adorable little girl a thumbs-up and said with a hearty smile.
Facing the stall owner's praise, Ayase blushed slightly in embarrassment. She hid half her body behind her brother, who had walked over, while peeking her head out and softly saying thank you to the man.
Miyahito smiled and gently patted his sister's head as she hid behind him. Then, turning his face, he spoke very politely to the stall owner, who had his arms crossed and a face full of... well, a hearty guy's expression.
"Sorry, my sister is a bit shy."
"Haha, it's fine." The stall owner waved his hand dismissively, then propped his arms horizontally on the table in front of him. He looked at Miyahito with a slightly smug smile, his tone carrying a hint of provocation.
"How about it? Want to give it a try, young man?"
"Looks like the boss is very confident." Although it was just a few words, Miyahito had already figured out a bit of this uncle's personality, so his tone was no longer as polite and reserved as before.
Raising an eyebrow, Miyahito rarely showed a somewhat spirited and confident expression.
"I think I might just give you a lesson in a bit, boss."
"You've got quite a big mouth, young man." Hearing this, the stall owner not only didn't get angry, but seemed intrigued. He handed a toy gun to Miyahito and, with a tone like a boss from a video game, waved his hand and said.
"Show me what you've got, young man!"
"Oh!!"
Hiding behind her brother, little Ayase watched her brother and the stall owner, who had inexplicably started burning with competitive spirit. Amused, she looked at her brother with curved eyes, cutely raised her little fists, and happily said to him.
"Go for it, Big Brother! Fighting!"
"Ohhh! I feel the power surging through my body! Bring it on, boss!"
...
The stall owner, who had been brimming with confidence and certain this sibling pair wouldn't hit many targets, handed over the grand prize with a highly complex expression.
Then, he looked back at all the targets he had knocked down, and then at Miyahito, who looked completely relaxed.
Finally, he let out a heavy sigh, watching the happily departing siblings who were hugging the plushie, and silently said in his heart:
"..." (Please never come back.)
"Big Brother, the boss just now looked like he was saying 'Please don't ever come again.' Hehe, it's so funny." Holding the cute cat plushie, Ayase happily squinted her eyes and looked at her brother.
"Well, what can I do? There wasn't a single worthy opponent," Miyahito said, spreading his hands.
"Big Brother, don't be like that." Amused by her brother's attitude, the little girl held up the plushie to cover half her face, giggling secretly.
"Hehehe..."
Watching his sister's happy, sneaky smile, the doting affection in Miyahito's smiling eyes grew even deeper.
Enveloped in this lively, warm atmosphere filled with laughter, just like in his childhood memories, the siblings walked past the fragrant food stalls and crouched in front of the goldfish scoop stall to try and save the poor goldfish...
Holding her brother's hand in one hand and the cute cat plushie in the other, Ayase's little face drooped slightly, her gaze falling on the stone pavement beneath her feet.
Suddenly, she called out softly.
"Big Brother."
Even though they were walking through the noisy crowd, Miyahito responded immediately, as always.
"Hmm? What's wrong?"
Biting her lip slightly, Ayase was silent for a few seconds before looking up. Her eyes held an indescribable emotion as she looked at her brother, whose face still wore his usual doting, gentle smile.
"Big Brother... why did you get together with Uta... Kasumigaoka-senpai?"
"..."
Hearing the change in his sister's form of address, Miyahito suddenly had a vague premonition and fell silent for a moment.
"Yeah, why do I like her, huh?" Miyahito tilted his face up slightly, looking at the starless night sky, a trace of indescribable affection flashing in his eyes.
"Actually, Ayase, I don't really know why myself."
"Then..."
Ayase's face showed a hint of anxiety. She had just spoken one word before her brother interrupted her.
"It's just that, by the time I looked back," Miyahito withdrew his gaze from the night sky and looked at his sister with a gentle, relieved expression.
"I realized I already liked Utaha."
Perhaps it was that year, that month, that day, that minute, that second, the very instant I laid eyes on you... I had already fallen for you beyond saving.
"So, now that Big Brother is together with Kasumigaoka-senpai, will you in the future..."
The words were right at the tip of her tongue, but Ayase lacked the courage to say them.
She was afraid. Afraid that even if she heard the answer she wanted... his eyes wouldn't hold the look she hoped to see.
But for Miyahito, this was already enough.
"No, I won't."
Even though his brother's words sounded like a perfunctory brush-off, Ayase saw only a completely serious expression on his face.
This made her silently swallow her anxious questioning, quietly waiting for his next answer.
Seeing his sister's little face looking as if she were awaiting judgment, Miyahito couldn't help but find it amusing.
He reached out and gently pinched her cheek, his smile filled with the same doting tenderness that had never changed.
"Big Brother won't lie to you, okay, Ayase?"
"You're all grown up now, and Big Brother is grown up too. Maybe in the future, Big Brother might not be around to nag you as much as before..."
"But when you feel sad, or unhappy, look back."
Letting go, he gently cupped his sister's little face, his thumb lightly brushing across her delicate cheek. Miyahito stood up straight and said softly and seriously.
"Big Brother will be right there."
"...Big Brother."
Ayase lowered her head slightly, stopping in her tracks on the bridge, the perfect spot for watching fireworks.
"Actually, I've been really scared."
Scared that one day, Big Brother would just leave me behind.
"Lately, I've been feeling... unlike myself."
I found myself hating Utaha-nee for taking Big Brother away from me. I wanted to use every means possible to drive away the Utaha-nee who would snatch away my most precious Big Brother.
"I'm sorry, Big Brother."
A tiny tear welled up in the corner of Ayase's eye and rolled down her cheek.
However, just as that teardrop was about to hit the ground, a hand gently cupped Ayase's little face and softly wiped the tear away.
"I should be the one apologizing to you, Ayase."
Tilting her little face up, Ayase, her expression and gaze a bit hazy, stared blankly at her brother, who looked somewhat guilty.
"Lately, Big Brother has been getting a bit carried away." He shifted his gaze away slightly, feeling a bit guilty, and scratched his cheek. His tone was full of embarrassment and awkwardness. "I'm sorry for neglecting you, Ayase."
"Big Brother..." Listening to his words, Ayase suddenly felt that her previous self, who worried Utaha-nee was stealing her brother, was being silly.
She knew her brother... as long as he wasn't working (involved in Seiichiro's political maneuvering), his brain basically ran on a single thread.
Why... had she been blaming Utaha-nee for Big Brother neglecting her?
"Well." Feeling his sister's gaze becoming a bit piercing, Miyahito stiffly tried to change the subject. "I don't expect a few words to make you like Utaha right away, so..."
"Ayase, why don't you just see for yourself with your own eyes."
See what kind of girl the one Big Brother likes is.
See why Big Brother fell for a girl like her.
"I believe that once Ayase sees and witnesses Utaha with her own eyes," Miyahito raised his hand and gently patted his sister's little head, giving it a small rub.
"You'll definitely end up liking her."
The moment those words fell.
BOOM—!
A brilliant firework lit up the starless night sky.
"Is that so?" Watching the firework bloom and fade, Ayase tilted her head slightly, her gaze seeming to smile as she looked at her brother.
"Then I'll definitely have to take a good look, Big Brother."
"Yeah." Miyahito smiled and nodded.
My most beloved sister, Aragaki Ayase.
Once you spend time with Utaha, you'll realize.
In the future, not only will Big Brother always be by your side, accompanying your growth.
You'll also have an older sister who loves you, spoils you, and stays by your side.
BOOM—!
The fireworks blooming in the night sky.
Illuminated this pair of siblings looking at each other and smiling, their faces surrounded by a faint aura of happiness.
Hello, summer.
Happiness, please take care of us for the rest of our lives.