Chapter Eight:

Festival Sickness

Part One

"Hey Sora, remember the Spring Festival that we went to? Where we did ecchi things while bound together. And you had all of those perverted thoughts about me in my yukata." Aki asked all of a sudden as came rushing into his bedroom and had not paid any attention to her rival that was kneeling on the floor before him.

"Aki... What the hell are you talking about? I wanna hear that story." Runa said as she looked up and between the two of them. She had come to realize that though the two of them had kept their love a secret as much as possible, they had still gone out on many dates that were a good distance from this city. And had only been caught by a young boy once while doing an ecchi act in a metropolitan park.

Sora and Aki looked at each other and blushed. Sora was the first one to answer her, but had to clear his throat to do so. "Well, Let's just say that there was much more to it than that. We lost one another and she found me like usual. She was, also, able to reunite a mother with her son. Afterwards during the fireworks, we had tested out how strong and true our 'Red String of Fate' was. I am glad that we didn't get caught by the people of the shrine."

"Well, how about we all go as this will be the last weekend that your sisters, their lovers, and I will be here. The three couples can perform the tradition and I can try to find a guy for myself." Runa said with a broad smile. Though, the other two could tell that she was holding back her tears. "This time, I think that Sora should appear as masculine as possible. The rest of us will wear yukatas for the night and will get pampered before that."

Part Two

All of the women were surprised that they were done with their preparations before Sora was done. They were getting concerned due to his previous health issues within the last year as thirty minutes had come and gone. They had told Aki to go and check on his progress and not to take too long.

"Sora, are you ready? We're getting excited to go." She said as she knocked on his bedroom door.

"Not yet, but I need your help." Sora called out to her. He would have been ready, but he had come up with a fun revenge plan for Aki-chan. It is based on what she had done to him after they had confessed to one another. He was standing out on the balcony and leaning against the railing. He just needed to button up his dress shirt, but allowed it to flap open as the cool breeze blew lightly.

The door open enough to allow his eldest sister to enter and to not allow any of the other women to peep on him. This was an old habit of hers from high school that allowed her to remain quiet and not to awaken her brother as he slept. They, both, had had their secrets before they had started dating and become lovers. She was about to insult him when she saw how gorgeous that he was in the breeze and the light of the setting sun. She could feel herself blush and to react to the setting that he had made for them. "Wh... Why aren't you done yet?"

"Come here and let me hold you." He told her as he revealed a devilish grin. He did not change position as he was in a stance of control over her. He had thought that he would force her to be as embarrassed as he was back then. There was, also, the fact that he knew that she never wore anything underneath of her yukata.

She stuttered a positive reply and stepped slowly across the room to him. When she had moved within arm's length of him, he moved his arm outward with an unexpected speed and grabbed a hold of the yukata's bow and pulled her tight to him. The sash fell to the ground and allowed the robe to open in the breeze.

He held her arms tight enough that she could not recover herself. She attempted to struggle within his strong grip. "Wha... What're you doing? Why are you doing this?"

"Do you recall what you did to me after we had first made our confessions to each other?" She nodded in the affirmative. It was when her neck was exposed that she felt his lips and teeth upon the nape of it. He began to suck on that area as he moved a hand into the inner folds of her robe. She let out a gasp as her own pleasure grew within her. "No, don't.."

"I know that you want me to continue. Your body is reacting as it, always, has to my touch." He said as he breathed into her ear and played with he nipple between his two fingers. "And you'd better be quiet. Or do you everyone to see you like this? Especially those that are below us."

It was obvious that he was truly enjoying their reunion of their two bodies. She had desired this moment as well, but not like this. It was meant to be more romantic and she would have prepared for it. However, she had let out a soft groan of pleasure as he continued to work her body in the only way that he could.

As he heard her groan, he put his lips upon hers and kissed her with all of the passion and love that he had been holding within for all of these last and long eight years. He had done so without even realizing it and had been so mean to Runa by doing so. He would need to apologize for this. Though at this moment and with the one that he loved and desired, he wanted nothing more than to make her happy. He had to, constantly, remind himself to remain in control of himself as this was for her pleasure and not his.

His other hand had moved to groin and began its ministrations as the hand fondling her breast began to move with more force and earnestness. His mouth had returned to leaving his marks across her shoulders and neck. He had, also, allowed her to have a single hand free to stifle the lewd noises that she was making. There was one thing that he did not know about what she was doing at the moment. This was that she crying from how happy she was that she still had such an effect on him.

The two had not known that the other women in the house had cracked open the door to see what was keeping them. They had all blushed and gotten wet enough to remove themselves to the other bedrooms for their own lovemaking. It would have seemed as though this festival night would have been a bust, except that Alice and Miharu had become concerned about the group when they had not shown up at the bus station.

"Hey! Where is everyone? It's time to go already!" Miharu called out as loudly as possible from the door to their home. Alice was sniffing the air and smiling as she had gathered the cause of their tardiness. "Come on!"

Haru, Nagisa, and Sora popped their heads out of their respective rooms. They looked to the door and said that they would be right there. All of them dressed quickly and were upset that they had been unable to finish their lovemaking sessions. Sora and Aki were still the last two to gather by the door.

They were both wearing their red diamond rings that had come to represent that they were always connected by destiny. Though, there was a real thing red string that could be easily torn apart tied to each one and connected both people. This forced them to remain close to each other with just two conditions. They would keep the rings on until they went to bed or unless one of them need to use the restroom.

It was like this that the entire group of separate love partners went to the fair and, then, to the fireworks display.

Part Three

The festival was prepared in such manner to allow those that came to it to have as much fun and food as they desired. There had, also, been a change within recent years to make the shrine into a central point of the festival. This was because the organizers had learned that there were many illicit acts that were done near and around this sacred location. These actions are believed to be surrounding the legend of the "Red String of Fate" that had become a part of the shrine's history as much as the Buddha statue has. This fact forced Aki to change her original idea as it seemed to be the best place for their bodies to become a single entity again.

Aki, Shizumi, and Tomoe went to the bathroom together to plan the rest of the night and where they would be for the fireworks display. The two other women suggested that they try to find a place without anyone being there and would allow them to observe the event no matter what they were doing. Aki considered what she knew about the surrounding area and came up with a pretty good spot for them.

She told the other two about the hill that was directly behind the shrine and had an animal trail that led up to its top. She could find the path again, but would have trouble leading them up it. Shizumi replied that she could, easily, lead them up the trail as she had learned to do so around her home and around the Astraea schools. The three of them finished and returned to their companions with silly grins plastered across their faces. As soon as Aki reached Sora, she gave him a loving hug before she replaced her ring on her finger.

They continued to use the various stands as they pleased until the announcement came that the fireworks were about to start. Their group had quickly and quietly up the animal path to the top of the hill. They were able to make it there just as the first firework lit up the night and to split up into their separate couplings.

With each large boom of sound and explosion of light, the sounds of their passions and lovemaking could be heard in unison with their partners. They( and the other festival participants) could not have known what was to come in the morning.

Part Four

It was when the train was about to arrive at a station that near to the home of the Aoi family when Sora fainted to the ground. Everyone was shocked that this had happened as he had become extremely healthy again. He had even be able to remain a high level of sexual activity and had tortured Aki before they had gone to the festival. Runa lifted him up and took him to the nearest hospital's emergency room. It was as she was able to place him onto one of the hospital beds that she noticed that she and Aki were both crying with their concern for him. They were doing so when the early morning physician came in to the cubicle.

He looked Sora over with a skilled eye and swift hands. Then, he checked the medical charts that were placed on the counter within the cubicle. It was obvious that he knew the most likely cause for these symptoms. "What did Aoi-san eat yesterday? That the rest of you didn't have?"

Aki and Runa looked at him with questioning looks. However, they had attempted to recall all that they had eaten and the differences in each one. It was hard for them to recall anything from before the festival and were forced to go from there. All that they could think of was the one crepe stand that he ate from after everyone was full.

They were told that he has food poisoning and that all that could be done within the hospital's emergency room would be done. They were, also, given a list of prescriptions that would help him to get better, but he would need his energy and proper care to get better. They were released and told that he should be well within the next week.

Part Five

It was late Sunday night when Runa, Tomoe, Shizumi, Haru, and Nagisa left to return to their loves, jobs, and schools. This had left the food-poisoned Sora within Aki well-trained( In more than just a few techniques.) hands and the cooking back in their friends'( Alice and Miharu) own hands. It, also meant that Aki and Sora were alone together for most of the day except for when it was time for their three daily meals. Most of the week, Sora was fed the basic liquid and soft types of food and was given plenty of energy drinks to regain his health. It was, only, when he had been able to sit up and feed himself that he had moved onto more solid foods and could be more active in his own recovery, but he was still unable of returning to doing any type of domestic duties. However, Aki had looked forward to the day when his fever had broken and she could be of more assistance to his recuperation.

She had not thought of making him sweat ad to tire himself out as much as possible until she had a dream about that day during their first relationship of their high school days. The dream and memory had affected her in several ways more than they had within the previous eight years. However, she knew that this had caused him to catch her fever at the time. She would have returned the favor back then, but Nami had come barging in just as she was about to do so. And now, she could return the favor and she did not worry about the consequences.

She leaned in close to his ear and whispered her words into it and her request for him to allow her to do this for him. He grabbed a hold of her with both of his hands and hugged her lose to his body with his eyes still closed. She reached her lips out to kiss his cheek, but she could feel the salty tasty of his tears. She knew and understood what he he desired and wanted of her. This had been true ever since the moment that she had first laid her eyes upon him as a child.

She knew that this was, also, true for him. She allowed he tongue to flick forward and to lick up his tears from his face and closed eyes. They had the rest of the night for what she had planned to do with him and each of them knew how to make the most out of it.