Living in Tokyo, all I want to do is laze around.

"Um......"

Gently stroking her soft, short hair, the girl's petite body remained so soft and warm.

Hanabi Hanabi pressed her face against his chest, gently inhaling his scent.

For her, it was a taste that made her feel at ease.

"Hanabi... doesn't want to leave Kai-kun..."

"Will not."

"Hanabi loves Kai-nii so much, Hanabi doesn't want to leave him."

"Will not."

Her willingness to speak is a sign of improvement.

"But the fireworks have always been like this, Kai-kun must be getting tired of it."

"Will not."

"Nobody likes fireworks..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Uesugi Kai hugged her soft body even tighter. "Didn't I say I would always love Hanabi?"

Being held in his arms feels very reassuring; it has always been this comforting to be held by him.

Hanabi Hanamaru closed her moist eyes, wrapped her small arms around him, and buried her head deeply in his chest.

“Brother Kai…”

The fact that she showed her childlike side shows that she needs to rely on someone.

Kai Uesugi understands that many people dislike her, but at least in his own eyes, he never wants her to disappear.

Her presence, her smile, her vulnerability—all these things have transformed more than a decade into a rainbow of memories.

I never want this timid girl to disappear from my sight.

The afternoon lounge was bathed in sunlight.

Kai Uesugi leaned on her shoulder, glanced around, and finding no one else, released Hanabi Hanabi, who was tightly hugging him.

"feel better now?"

"Hmm..." Hanabi's slightly trembling, violet eyes gradually regained their color. "I'm sorry, Kai-kun... Hanabi made you worry again... Hanabi..."

"Don't speak."

Kai Uesugi smiled and pressed his lips against her pink, delicate lips.

He pointed to the house inside.

He took her hand and said, "Come this way first."

The inner room has a bed with curtains and is surrounded by medicines to prevent heatstroke. It is a place for people who are physically exhausted during the sports festival to rest.

After locking the door and pressing the handle twice to confirm it couldn't be opened, Uesugi Kai turned around.

He looked at the frail girl sitting by the bed.

Hanabi lowered her head slightly, her two small hands curled together, her gaze fixed on the white legs under her athletic shorts.

The girl bathed in sunlight has a dreamlike quality.

Kai Uesugi sat down beside her, drew close, and embraced her soft, sweaty body.

“Kai-kun…”

"Don't speak."

……

"Even though we've kissed many times, you don't dislike the feeling, right?"

Hanabi Hanabi leaned against the wall, pursed her lips, and looked at his familiar face with gentle, sparkling eyes.

She weakly replied, "Mmm."

"True love means thinking about each other all the time and caring for each other at all times. Love is mutual, and it is also very rare to find."

"Since we are already engaged and are a betrothed couple, we should cherish each other even more."

Their foreheads touched again, and words flowed slowly into the girl's heart along with the warmth of their meeting.

"Kai-kun would never hate Hanabi, and the fact that he has never said he dislikes her in the past twelve years is the best proof of that."

"Kai-kun..."

All his troubled thoughts melted away like ice and snow on his body.

"Hanabi...is also willing to always believe in Kai-kun..."

Hanabi Hanamaru gazed at his incredibly familiar face, and her heart began to pound again.

“Kai-kun…”

She called out in a soft, sweet voice.

Kai Uesugi understood what she meant through her animal-like voice.

Their eyes met, and they remained silent.

The afternoon sun gradually warmed the air.

The gentle, light bite melted the hearts of young girls.

......

"I don't dislike it, do I?"

"I like it..." Hanabi Hanabi said shyly after they parted.

Her snow-white neck and fair collarbone were thus tinged with a faint blush.

The sunlight streaming in from the window, like the clear ripples and lotus blossoms in a summer pond, makes it all the more enchanting.

Kai Uesugi pressed her upper body against the wall beside the bed, his forehead resting on her sweaty head.

"As long as you don't dislike it..."

Wearing a loose white tracksuit, the girl's slender waist was already flushed with sweat.

The delicate emotions of a young girl flowed through her embellished sportswear.

"Do you remember what I said on Friday?"

The intimate touch on her waist made my heart itch.

"Kai-kun once said that Hanabi shouldn't make things difficult for herself."

"Did the fireworks work?"

"N-no...but—"

"No means no, that's the agreement."

"Is...this also an agreement?"

"All."

The closer you get to her, the more you can smell the girl's fragrant body scent fluttering in your nostrils.

It has no cloying taste whatsoever; all it has is a refreshing and elegant fragrance that is delightful to the senses.

"Running must be tiring, right?"

Uesugi Kai lifted her shoulders and gently placed her on the bed covered by thin curtains.

The girl wore a white sports T-shirt and light pink shorts, her delicate arms and hands exposed to the air, completely unable to be covered.

The white fabric soaked through her clothes revealed a faint pink hue, highlighting the graceful lines of her slender waist.

Why work so hard now?

Hanabi Hanamaru lay on the bed, her eyes, clearer than a babbling brook, sparkling with color. She looked at him and whispered:

"Hanabi doesn't want Kai to hate her. Hanabi doesn't want to always be like this. Being like this makes her very disliked."

I don't know if others dislike me, but at least I don't.

"No one needs to be cared for more than you."

Hanabi Hanabi looked at him, convinced that whatever Kai-kun said, he was not lying to her.

---------

In the evenings of July, cicadas chirped incessantly.

The grass and trees in the park are vibrant with a vitality different from that of spring.

The man in the suit extinguished the cigarette between his fingers and casually tossed it into a nearby trash can.

The dark leather shoes on his feet made a sound as they stepped on the long stones.

He saw a girl in a black dress sitting on a bench by the pond ahead.

Kitagawa Sakaki noticed the black leather shoes coming into view and looked up.

He doesn't look very happy.

"What's wrong, miss? You've been out all day and now you're sitting here again?"

A gentle summer breeze swept away the stuffy air, rustling the leaves overhead.

The girl in the black dress gazed again at the reflection of the iris in the pond and saw a dragonfly lightly touching the water's surface, creating ripples.

"Banping, do you think I'm pretty annoying?"

Banping sat in the empty seat of the chair next to her, placing his hands horizontally above the back of the chair.

"It's really annoying. Instead of being a proper rich young lady, she comes out and causes me trouble."

"Why did you have to come to me of all people?"

"Not only does he like to eat expensive food, but he also spent all my remaining savings. Now look what's happened, he's starving with me every day."

"But... out of so many people, you're the only one I know." Kitagawa Sakakisa lowered her voice considerably than usual after hearing his words.