51 - Illuminated by Sparklers

RAW

"Phew, I've eaten a lot" Saki said, leaning her weight limply against the back of a folding chair.

"Maybe that last banana was a little heavy."

Next to Saki, Ayaka also said in a slightly distressed voice, rubbing her stomach with one hand.

"Dessert is a separate matter, but I think I ate a little too much this time."

Seeing the two girls struggling with their bellies, Haruto turned his gaze towards the barbecue grill with a wry smile. On the grill were scattered banana peels that had burned a little and turned black in places.

After eating his fill of meat, seafood, and vegetables, a banana as dessert was something that even Haruto, a high school boy with a big appetite, could hardly bear.

The chocolate sauce made it twice as sweet, which may have been one of the reasons why he felt fuller.

So Haruto only ate one grilled banana. However, the pair of high school girls next to him ate three each. Girls' obsession with sweets is frightening.

As Haruto was thinking this, he suddenly felt a tug on his sleeve.

"Hmm? What's wrong, Ryota?"

Haruto turned to face Ryota, who was tugging on his arm, and spoke impatiently.

"Hey, hey. Are the fireworks ready yet?"

Ryota seemed dying to set off the fireworks that Haruto had bought as soon as possible.

Haruto turned his gaze to the sky upon hearing Ryota's words.

The sky was still evening when they started the barbecue, but now night had fallen completely, and it was completely dark all around.

"Yeah, let's do the fireworks. But first we need to clean up after the barbecue."

With that, Haruto turned his attention to the folding table.

Trays with meat, seafood, and other things on them were scattered there.

As Haruto stood up to clean up, Ikue called out to him.

"Otsuki-kun, you just need to take away the plates and trays. I'll do the washing up and stuff."

"Really? But..."

Haruto and Saki were also going to be at this BBQ, so they had prepared a lot of food. This meant that there was inevitably a lot of washing up to do, like with trays.

In addition, there was the grate on the stove and the charcoal to be cleaned up.

Haruto looked hesitant, thinking about all of this.

Shuichi, who was in a good mood after drinking alcohol, said to him with a big smile and a slightly red face.

"Don't worry about it. Leave the cleaning up to us adults, and you kids can play to your heart's content!"

Shuichi laughed happily, "Hahaha," with a beer in his hand.

Haruto looked at Ikue with a slightly worried look on his face, as Shuichi was starting to look a little drunk.

Ikue smiles when she catches Haruto's gaze.

"You really don't need to worry about it. Anyway, I want you to play with Ryota."

"Okay. Now, Ryota, let's start the fireworks after we put the plates away."

"Yup!!"

Ryota nods with a big smile, and Haruto takes over, picking up the plates and trays in both hands.

"We need to get moving too."

Seeing the two of them start to tidy up, Ayaka and Saki join in, moving sluggishly like sloths.

After putting the dishes away and leaving the cleanup to Ikue and Shuichi, Haruto and the others immediately start preparing the fireworks.

"Put the used fireworks in this bucket."

"Should we use a lighter to light them? Or maybe a candle?"

"I think the one we used to start the fire earlier will be fine."

Ayaka is carrying a bucket of water with both hands, and Saki asks how to light the fireworks. Haruto then says, holding the lighter he used to start the fire earlier.

"It has a long handle, so it's easy to light."

Haruto hands the lighter to Saki, and takes the bucket of water from Ayaka, who is carrying it heavily.

"Thank you, Haruto. Can you put the bucket in the middle over there?"

"Okay."

"Big bro, can I do this first?"

Ryota runs up to Haruto, who has placed the bucket near the center of the courtyard. In his hand he is holding a colorful hand-held firework with pink and gold lines.

"Okay. Just don't point it at people because we might get burned."

"Yup!!"

"Ryota, come over here. I'll light it for you."

Saki beckons Ryota with a lighter in hand.

Excited, Ryota watches as Saki lights the fire.

"Ryota, don't shake the tip. Just like that... it's on."

After confirming that the fluttering tip was on fire, Saki stepped back a little to distance herself from Ryota.

When the fire reached the powder part of the firework Ryota was holding, it started to emit small sparks at first. Then, soon after, it spurted bright sparks forward like a fountain.

"Wow!! Look, look!!"

"It's pretty~ I'll try one too."

Saki picked up the same kind of firework as Ryota and lit it herself.

Same as Ryota's, it made a whoosh sound and a waterfall of sparks cascaded down from Saki's firework.

"It's fun doing it again after such a long time! You two should hurry up and do it!"

She was just as excited as Ryota and urged Haruto and Ayaka.

"Yeah, Haruto, do you want to do it together?"

"Okay."

Ayaka holds two fireworks and hands one to Haruto.

After receiving the lighter from Saki, Ayaka immediately lights her own firework.

"Wow! It's beautiful!"

Ayaka's fireworks are a little different from Ryota's, which are full of sparks like a fountain. They bloom with snowflake-like sparks that pop and pop.

Seeing this, Ayaka looks at Haruto with innocent excitement.

"Look, look, Haruto! It's so beautiful!"

Her excited appearance is somewhat similar to Ryota's, and Haruto approaches Ayaka with his own firework in his hand, realizing that they are really siblings.

"Can you move it a little lower?"

"Is it okay like this?"

"Yeah, thank you."

Haruto brings his own firework closer to the tip of the one Ayaka is holding.

Haruto's hand-held firework, which he received fire from her firework, bounces and scatters beautiful sparks everywhere.

A summer night.

Colorful sparks dance in the courtyard of the Tojo family home.

Everyone smiles at the fireworks they hold in their hands.

The gentle night breeze is mixed with the faint smell of gunpowder, and together with the joyous laughter, it is engraved in their memories as a colorful memory.

"Look, Ayaka. Two-sword style!"

"Hehehe, Saki is getting too excited."

"Big bro! These fireworks change color a lot!"

"Ryota, after that, let's try this next."

Haruto and his friends enjoy the fireworks, each with their own style.

After cleaning up after the barbecue, Shuichi and Ikue sit side by side on the wooden deck, smiling as they watch the children having fun with the fireworks.

"Yeah, that's youthful and lovely."

"I'm jealous of not being young anymore."

"Yeah, but adults are adults, and that's fun too, you know?"

Saying that, Shuichi pours some red wine into the glass he brought with him and hands it to Ikue.

"That's right. Thank you, honey."

Ikue smiles and accepts the wine, gently raising it.

"Cheers."

"Cheers."

The Tojo couple nibbled on cheese and smoked salmon, sipping wine and happily watching the fireworks display.

Holding a sparkler that scattered thin, reed-like sparks, Haruto spoke to Ayaka beside him.

"Shuichi-san and Ikue-san seem like the ideal couple, don't they?"

"Really? Do they?"

Ayaka shifted her gaze from her sparkler to her parents sitting on the wooden deck.

"I guess they get along well, but when they start getting lovey-dovey, it’s a bit much for me."

"Haha, well, it’s great that they’re so happy together."

Haruto laughed out loud, and Ayaka smiled wryly. "It's kind of awkward from a kid’s perspective."

Just then, Saki came over holding a pistol-shaped firework.

"Ryota! Ryota! Let’s do this one together!"

"Yeah!! Let’s do it!!"

"Alright! Let’s go over there and set it off!"

Saki moved a little away from Haruto and Ayaka, but as she did, she quickly glanced at Ayaka, making brief eye contact. She then started playing excitedly with Ryota and the firework.

"Hey, Haruto. How about we do this one together?"

Saying this, Ayaka showed Haruto a sparkler.

"A sparkler? Sounds fun, let's do it."

Haruto took one of the sparklers from Ayaka.

"How about we see whose sparkler lasts longer?"

Ayaka squatted down as she made the suggestion.

Haruto sat beside her with a confident smile.

"Alright, I'll take that challenge."

"Then, how about the loser has to do whatever the winner says, for the next lover practice?"

Ayaka whispered softly into Haruto’s ear so that no one else could hear, the closeness making Haruto’s heart skip a beat.

"Anything? That’s a bit..."

Given that Ayaka had already confessed her feelings and even offered a lap pillow, Haruto felt like letting her do "anything" might be dangerous.

Ayaka gave him a slightly teasing smile.

"Haruto, do you not think you can win?"

"...No, I’m definitely going to win."

Haruto, stirred by his competitive nature, declared his intention to win without thinking.

"Then there’s no problem, right?"

Ayaka smiled sweetly, and Haruto, feeling like he had been outsmarted, nodded.

"Alright, let’s light them at the same time."

"Yeah."

Haruto took the lighter in his hand, and Ayaka, still squatting, moved closer to him.

Since they had to light their sparklers from the same flame, the distance between them naturally shortened.

The closeness, with their shoulders nearly touching, caused Haruto’s heart to race uncontrollably.

Suppressing the excitement inside him, Haruto lit the tip of the lighter.

Together, they brought their sparklers to the flame at the same time.

"Oh, it lit!"

Ayaka said softly, her eyes sparkling with joy.

At the tip of each of their sparklers, a small red bud-like ball began to grow.

Soon, the buds trembled as they expanded, occasionally scattering small sparks. Ayaka gazed at the fireball, mesmerized, as it resembled a peony flower.

The fireball crackled and intensified, scattering sparks like pine needles.

Ayaka’s expression brightened as the sparks flew.

"It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Haruto?"

"Yeah—uh!? Yeah, it is."

Haruto, lifting his head to agree, was momentarily speechless.

Right before his eyes was Ayaka’s profile, focused intently on the sparkler.

Her face, illuminated by the bursts of light from the sparkler, cast delicate shadows and appeared both bright and dreamlike.

But what captivated Haruto the most were Ayaka’s eyes.

Reflected in her eyes were the beautiful, sparkling fireworks.

"She’s really... beautiful."

The sparkler’s flame, reflected in the eyes of the person he cared about, was far more enchanting than he could have imagined.

Haruto silently wished for the sparkler to continue lighting her up.

But of course, such a wish couldn’t be granted. The once vibrant sparkler began to weaken, its light thinning like the delicate strands of a willow tree.

At the same time, Ayaka’s face became gently illuminated, now faint and fleeting.

"Ah... it’s going out."

Ayaka’s sad voice matched the final flickers of her sparkler.

With a soft, quiet flutter, the small sparks danced down from her sparkler, losing their intensity.

"...Oh."

Haruto’s sparkler crackled once more, like a chrysanthemum scattering its petals, before the fireball dropped to the ground and disappeared.

"It’s over, huh?"

Ayaka’s sparkler also extinguished just moments after his.

Bathed in the soft moonlight, Ayaka smiled warmly and looked at Haruto.

"I win."

"...Yeah. Please be gentle with me."

"Fufufu, I wonder what I should make you do."

Ayaka grinned mischievously, like a child about to play a prank, and Haruto returned a wry smile.

Deep inside, he couldn’t help but feel a little excited about what she might ask of him.