Disclaimer: Love Live not mine ^_^
"Mou! Nozomi said to meet her here, but she's late!" The crowd's gotten heavier, and what little patience I had was getting thinner as I scanned around for my friend. I didn't even like festivals to begin with, but Nozomi insisted since I had been cooped up inside the library for so long that she thought I was wasting my life studying too much.
"Who knows. It might become a treasured experience for you," was what she said, a mischievous gleam in her eyes.
I stomped my foot out of irritation and finally decided to just go home when I heard music and drums blaring nearby, so, out of curiosity, I followed the crowd towards what seemed like a makeshift stage. The music got louder as I found a good spot where I could see the stage clearly, and, soon enough, people in traditional garb entered and started dancing. The dance was impressive, and I clapped along out of respect for the dancers, but it's not as exciting because I was all alone, so I turned around and was set on leaving when I heard my name being called. Immediately recognizing Nozomi's voice, I spun around ready to give her a telling to when I suddenly paused. I didn't even notice Nozomi approach me as my eyes stared straight ahead.
"Beautiful," was my only thought as I continued to gape at the wonderful spectacle that was currently performing on stage.
She was simply stunning. A vision in silver, the mystery woman took center stage and seemed to glide as she danced gracefully, her movements completely in tune with the customary music. Her hair a brilliant shade of dark blue and up in an intricate style, her face and hands white and dainty, her feet bare. It was too bad she had her eyes closed.
I didn't know how long I was standing there, transfixed on this unknown person, until she finally slowed to a halt, her head bowed. Nozomi took that opportunity to catch my attention as she pulled on my arm, and I finally snapped out of it and turned to face my friend, a large grin on her face.
"I didn't know you like to watch these types of performances, Maki-chan. You sure got caught up there for quite some time." I rolled my eyes but subtly turned back to catch another glimpse of the enigmatic woman, but frowned slightly when she was gone already. Too bad, I would've really liked to have seen her face fully.
"Where were you, anyway? I was about to leave since you didn't show up in time," I said as I crossed my arms and glared at my friend. Nozomi chuckled a bit.
"You should really learn how to check your phone once in a while, Maki-chan. I've been calling you for a while but you never answered." I stared at her for a few seconds before taking my phone out. I blushed. Sure enough, I had 12 missed calls and 8 text messages, all from Nozomi. So much for being smart. I cleared my throat to hide my embarrassment before facing her again.
"Whatever. Let's just get this night over with so I can go home." I gave the stage one last glance before Nozomi dragged me away towards the activity booths.
Surprisingly enough, my time with Nozomi was fairly enjoyable as we ate and played games. We even bumped into a few neighbors like Rin and her cousin Honoka who was manning a homemade sweets booth, and Kotori who was selling masks. The whole time, I was hoping to catch even a glimpse of the woman I saw earlier, to no avail. I couldn't exactly leave Nozomi and go look for her, that's just crazy. I didn't even know why I wanted to see her again, but, for the sake of argument, she fascinated me somewhat.
"Maki-chan? Who are you looking for?" My face turned beet red for having been caught as I looked at a knowing Nozomi.
"Ehh? W-what are you talking about? I'm not looking for anybody!" I exclaimed then ignored Nozomi as she chuckled. It was getting late for my standards so I told Nozomi that I wanted to leave soon.
"Oh? In that case, we'll just stop by the temple before we go. I want you to meet someone." As she said this, Nozomi led me to a kiosk that sold brightly-colored confections, and I looked at her, puzzled. Neither one of us liked sweets that much. Nozomi just smiled at me and went on to look at the vast selection of desserts.
"She really likes candied apples. Might as well bring her something since she's working tonight." I didn't say anything and just looked up and down until I spotted a plain solitary apple amongst dozens of elaborately-decorated ones, but it looked so flawless that I picked it up and showed it to Nozomi.
"Hey, is it okay if we get this one?" Nozomi beamed at me.
"That's perfect! Let's go!"
I held the treat firmly but carefully with both hands so as not to drop it as I followed Nozomi up the temple steps. Not many people were present at this part of the venue, and I could see volunteers starting to clean up for the night. Nozomi led me to a secluded part of the temple and asked me to stay put as she went off to find her friend.
The temple's garden looked beautiful as the mature trees were dressed up in small bright lights that looked like stars, and the place felt serene as a gentle breeze blew past. The tranquility got lost, though, as I heard someone yelp, so I walked around and saw someone dusting herself off near one of the trees. I approached her carefully to see if she needed help, when I accidentally stepped on a small twig, and said person quickly whirled around to face the source of the noise that I made.
Time seemed to stop the moment our eyes met, clichéd as it sounds. She was even more beautiful up close with her hair up in a ponytail, and traditional outfits really suited her well. I didn't even notice that I was staring until her voice finally brought me back to reality.
"Umm, are you lost? Can I help you?" I finally looked at her properly and blushed profusely as she gazed at me. Who would've thought I'd locate the mystery dancer here of all places? Then again, it wasn't really all that surprising.
"Maki-chan? Oh great, you found Umi-chan!" I just gawked at Nozomi as she neared us.
"U-umi-chan? You know her?" Nozomi just playfully winked at me in response.
"Umi-chan is a Miko here. She also volunteers at our local shrine. They had plenty of volunteers already so I was free for the night, that's why I invited you to come with me. Umi-chan, this is Nishikino Maki-chan, the friend I was talking to you about." Umi looked at me with a smile and bowed her head in greeting.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Nishikino-san. My name is Sonoda Umi. Nozomi has mentioned you quite a few times, it's nice to finally put a face to the name." I glared at Nozomi for a few seconds before returning my gaze to Umi, my cheeks heating up again.
"Do you also like candied apples, Nishikino-san?" I was startled by her question, and she kindly gestured towards the treat I was holding like a lifeline at the moment. 'Oh.' I looked back at Nozomi and she just nodded her head and gave me a little push in Umi's direction.
"You can call me Maki. And, uh, this is actually for you, S-sonoda-san." She seemed surprised when I suddenly offered her the apple with trembling hands. She then smiled at me, a blush on her face, as she carefully took the confection, my hands tingling from her touch.
"Please, call me Umi. And thank you so much for this, Maki." Umi elegantly held her treat with one hand as she reached inside her pocket and took out a red ball. She held it out to me then let it drop gently, a short string preventing it from falling. I cautiously took it from her, confused. She just smiled at me sweetly and held my present near her chest.
"Come visit me again soon, Maki. I'd really like to get to know you better." My face flushed as red as the water ball I now carried. Within her presence, I resorted to being a complete mess which was so unlike me. I just nodded eagerly and let Nozomi usher me away as we bid Umi goodbye.
We walked in silence as we made our way home, my mind still drifting from my newfound treasure to the person who gave it to me.
"Ne, Nozomi," I whispered as I looked at my friend, a small smile on my face.
"What is it, Maki-chan?"
"You were right. Tonight was definitely an experience worth treasuring."
A/N: It's super duper late, I know. But knowing that I left people hanging, esp since I haven't updated in, like, forever, didn't bode well with my conscience. This is still an entry for umimaki month day 9 (challenge festival au). A little bland, but I think it's sweet in its simplicity. Thanks for reading, people! And reviews are always welcome ^_^