She adjusts the flowers in her hair, and her cheeks turn about as pink as her kimono, as the flowers she's putting in her hair. It's less from embarrassment and more from sheer pleasure that she's touching her, even if it's just a small gesture like this.
"Do I look cute?" She says, posing in her kimono.
"You always do," Chikane says.
"But Chikane-chan, I want to know if I'm cute now," she says, a little petulantly. She can be so hard to read at times.
"Yes, Himeko. You look cute."
She brightens. "Thank you."
She slips on her sandals which she's been avoiding, because she doesn't want to trip on her face. Geta are hard to walk in. She's had to practice a long time, balancing just right, taking in the manta every step is a step closer to be Chikane's bride.
She snuggles a little closer in her pink kimono with its pattern of white flowers. The obi has chrysanthemums on them, and even if it breaks the pattern and only slightly goes, it's exactly what she wants to wear.
"I haven't kept them waiting, have I?" Himeko asks.
"No, they're embroiled in their own affairs as usual. Even if you were, they would not notice," Chikane says.
"Ok, that's good."
Chikane is always so polite. Whenever these four are near, Chikane smiles to their faces and mutters things about outsiders being where they aren't wanted. But then, Chikane fought wars with them, and the sting of her scars hurts until now.
Usually girls pin their hair up, but she leaves it long. She's left it long ever since Chikane once mentioned, her fingers in her hair, that she liked it better this way. After that, even when her late mother tried to chase her down and put her hair in pigtails, she wouldn't let her.
Chikane offers her arm, and she takes it, glad for the support. She doesn't want to ruin the kimono, this precious gift from her late parents, or make a fool of herself either. She's always wanted to be on her arm, but then maybe under different circumstances, not simply entertaining guests. But she isn't picky, not in the least.
The group is seated in her living room, at least half of them. As per usual, Shizuru and Natsuki are up. Natsuki looks as if she might tear her navy yukata in two with her bare hands.
"Stop picking," Shizuru mutters.
Natsuki puffs out her cheeks in irritation. "This is worse than the time that brother-in-law of yours tried to get me to wear a bunny-girl suit."
"Quit your whining," Shizuru says. "Cousin Chikane was nice enough to invite us, so we are going on her terms."
Shizuru sounds cross, and looks a little hungover. Natsuki crosses her arms, unwilling to give up the argument.
"I still think this is a plot to make us look like idiots..." Natsuki grumbled.
"You manage that on your own," Yomi deadpans.
The other pair is on the couch. Yomi's kimono is a shade of black that brings out the color of her eyes. The obi is elaborate and intricate, all twisted golds and reds. Seated next to her in a blue yukata is a someone she vaguely recognizes, but can't quite remember. Her name is on the tip of her tongue. She's absently fanning Yomi with her tails as she looks to the spectacle Natsuki is making.
"I apologize for the wait. I had some things to take care of," Chikane says politely.
Himeko turns back to Chikane.
Chikane murmurs a no, not you to her and she feels instantly better.
The woman – perhaps she'll just think of her a Yomi's other half to discern her better – rises first and helps Yomi up. Yomi gives her other half a look, the kind that implies she's imagining her yukata on the floor and murmurs Oops in such a husky, alluring way that it makes Himeko blush.
Chikane looks away, because it seems with both of the pairs that she's intruding on; Shizuru and Natsuki are arguing now. For once Yomi is too distracted to be baiting Natsuki since Shizuru is doing it for her. However there was the very real threat of her ripping off her other half's yukata and taking her right there down on the sofa.
"Perhaps we should go now?" Chikane said. Everyone is too wrapped up in their own little dramas to notice.
Himeko frowns. No one should treat Chikane like this. And they won't on her watch.
"Hey! Everyone! Chikane is talking now so listen!"
"Whoops, my bad," Yomi apologized. She looks back to Chikane, but her hands are caressing the collar of the yukata of her other half. It looks like she really wants to peel it off.
"S-sorry," Yomi's other half apologized as well, though she's barely said a word and has no reason to apologize.
"We should leave promptly, lest we miss the fireworks."
"Heeeey, fireworks!" Natsuki's eyes light up.
"Of course, leave it to explosions to get your attention," Shizuru commented.
"Oh~ So you're jealous of the love Natsuki has for Mai's fireworks?" Yomi teases.
"What in the bloody hell would that have to do with anything?" Natsuki snaps, but her face reddens in spite of it, and not from rage. "You know that I belong to you, Shizuru," she says.
Shizuru's face turns away, giggles and mumbles something that Natsuki can't seem to hear.
Chikane clears her throat. "Perhaps we should go before the crowds get too bad? Otherwise the food stands might have large lines–"
"Oh man, we gotta get out of here," Yomi says. She grabs her wife by the wrist and drags her outside, but she doesn't know the way. Chikane sighs and shakes her head. Himeko has a feeling that it's a common occurrence when Yomi is around.
"Oh, Yomi, you never change... Just like back in your revolutionary days." Natsuki loses herself in memory a moment and starts to tense up, but just as soon, Shizuru is brushing the hair from her face and looking at her with unadulterated affection.
"Shall we go, Natsuki?"
"Uh, sure," she says. Her cheeks are faintly rosy. The moment of tenseness is over.
Shizuru offers a hand, and Natsuki takes it.
Their hands dangle together as they walk on.
Himeko's a little jealous. Chikane doesn't take the hint to follow the leader. While she's on her arm, and she's happy for this, it's not as intimate as hand-holding.
It's almost dark and the park is within walking distance. Amazingly, Yomi isn't lost for once, and is actually leading them in the right direction. This must be another perk on being a being of divinity, she thinks.
She sees the glow from a long ways off before they reach there. It's like, a lighthouse, she thinks. A lighthouse made of many different lights all floating around looking like stationary fireflies.
There's little strings of lights hanging from all wooden stands and shops, and paper lanterns strewn about everywhere. There's all sorts of cute couples walking together hand in hand, kids running around playing, and vendors calling out their wares. Yomi seems determined to stop at every food stand she can, often coming back for seconds.
Hagoromo Kitsune, more commonly known as Yui Nura or Mrs. Isayama, on the other hand, has her eyes fixed toward the stand which was selling handbags of the same material as the kimonos – or maybe the pretty proprietress, it is hard to tell with Yomi.
For a moment, Himeko has Chikane all to herself. And yet she doesn't know what to say. All these feelings build in her chest and overflow and she can't refine them into words. She knows that sounds just like a manga by Kaishaku (!), but she doesn't care. Really, maybe she should just say 'Chikane, let's act out a drama. I'll be Kuu and you can be Setsuna.' But then a playacted, cosplay kiss wouldn't feel like a real kiss, would it?
"Chikane-chan, I—"
"Hey, Chikane! There you are!" Shizuru appears, seemingly out of thin air. Natsuki is on her arm. She's relatively quiet and only grumbling and muttering occasionally. Himeko thinks she must be in deredere mode now, instead of her usual tsuntsun demeanor.
She's a little irritated at Shizuru, of course, but seeing Natsuki's cute deredere side and watch her do nothing but blush a bit and look grumpy when Shizuru puts her arm around her, is worth the interruption.
"Th' iz' de' izus," Yomi says between bites.
"Don't eat with your mouth full," Yui chides. She wipes away crumbs from the side of Yomi's mouth with her hanky.
Yomi swallows in one big gulp. "Man, the Takoyaki is good this year."
"Really?".
"Go and try it, turns out that Big Al is running a Takoyaki stall this year."
"Perhaps you'd prefer some Taiyaki as well Yomi? I saw Girochi earlier at the Taiyaki stand."
"Ooh! Taiyaki! That sounds good too!"
"I believe his stall is over there," Chikane says as she points to a very far stall.
"Wa' r' e' ain' in' or?" Yomi pops another Takoyaki in her mouth, "Le' z' gra' om' aiyaki!"
Yomi excitedly drags Yui off for more sweets, and Shizuru and Natsuki drift under the lights, murmuring to each other. They come across a Kingyo-sukui, with several children ahead of them. Natsuki looks on, ever the older sister to the world.
"Ah, it brings back memories..."
"I didn't know you played Kingyo-sukui," Shizuru said in surprise.
"Yup, my late mother took me to a Natsu-matsuri once, when I was a kid, even though she might be busy with her job, she always makes it a point where she would stop whatever projects she had at hand to take me there... aaah, it felt good back there..." Natsuki's expression goes dreamy, and Shizuru's mouth turns into a thin, dour line.
"I'll win one for you," Shizuru says.
"Wha-?" Natsuki is again stirred from her memories.
"Shizuru?"
Shizuru bends down to speak to the owner of the stall. She looks determined in her own, soft way. Behind her, Natsuki stares dumbfounded at the sight.
Shizuru takes the poi in her hands, and studies it. She places it in the water slowly, through the gold cloud of fish, and tries to single out one. She tries to bring it to the surface, only to have to slip away. She follows after it, a bit too quick, and the poi tears partly.
One of the little pigtailed girls with dark hair giggles as she watches Shizuru fail to capture the fish. Shizuru holds up a broken poi, with no fish to show for her effort.
"It's harder than it looks, eh," Shizuru says. She stares into her broken poi, and then shrugs.
"Don't feel bad, these carnival games are always full of challenges, feel free to try again!" the stall-owner encouraged cheerfully.
"Here, let me, I will show you how its done," Natsuki says.
"Natsuki?" Shizuru says, faintly amused.
Natsuki hands over some yen coins for a poi, and this time focuses very hard. She dips in, light, gentle and yet precise and courts a fish towards the top. It takes some finagling, but eventually she catches it, places it in the bowl, in the end she caught two.
Natsuki picks up the little orange fishes and smiles up at it through the plastic bag with triumph. Shizuru holds the other one, and admires it as well.
"Looks like Kiyohime and Duran will have a couple of new mates."
"Or rather... a meal," Natsuki jokes, "Not sure if Duran likes fish."
"If Duran hates fish, then Kiyohime gets to eat more wouldn't it?"
They laughed as they walk on ahead. The fireworks are about to start.
The far side of the park is darker, with only little lanterns arrayed on the grass. She can see Yomi and Yui above, the latter finally had enough with her husband. There's always bound to be fights, especially with as childish like Yomi, she thinks. But they look happy in their own way. The first firework that cuts the air sounds like a missile fired. Chikane covers Himeko's ears as the first explosions start. It's a beautiful gold one that lingers in the air a while, streaming down until it finally fades into nothing. After that it's a red one.
The word hanabi is written in 'flowers' and 'fire', and that's what she sees there. Roses burning and falling to ashes, the pink one like an burst of spring cherry blossoms. It segues into more explosions as the little fragments explode as well. It's so brilliant, she blinks every few minutes as more of the fireworks fill the sky. Some are like rockets rising, with a long kite's tail that turns to smoke.
Himeko leans towards Chikane, turns her head just enough to for eye contact, and pecks her on the lips. Really, it's a childish kiss, but it does the trick. She blinks, her face a bit rosier.
"Himeko–"
"The way you blush..." she says, "...reminds me of the fireworks."
Chikane brushes back a golden tress from her face. "To me... loving you has always made me feel... like watching the fireworks like this for every single day."
"Can't wait for next year..."
"Me too..."
Another series of explosions rises as Chikane takes the initiative this time.
When they walk home, they're holding hands. She swears she can see bubbles and feathers, or maybe that's just squinting at the lights far off.
"Are you sure we shouldn't wait for the others?" Himeko asks.
"I think they would prefer privacy at the moment, just as we do." Chikane says delicately.
She giggles, and they walk together into a gentle, warm summer night. She thinks it might be the best of her life, but she'll probably think that tomorrow too, and the day after, and every day after that.