Chapter Twenty-Four: Founder's Festival

Ushio was more than a little excited the next morning.

"Could I go to the festival early?" she asked as we ate breakfast.

My chewing slowed as I thought about her request. "I don't see why not," I replied after finishing my bite. "Why? Are you supposed to help your class? I thought you were excused due to our situation."

"I was," she said as she drew her shoulders together, making herself look even smaller than usual. "It's just that it's the last day, and it's my first Founder's Festival, and I realized that I'm missing out."

She had a point; I'd been so caught up in our situation that I hadn't even thought of how important this could be to her. "Well, I'm fine with it; we'd be heading there later anyway, so… What time did you want to go?"

Her forehead wrinkled cutely as she thought. "Maybe after lunch? That way, we don't have to worry about spending money we don't have to."

"Ushio, it's fine," I said. "I can give you some spending money to get a treat or two; the Founder's Festival only comes once a year, after all."

"Okay!" she chirped, her demeanor abruptly changing. "Thank you, Daddy!"

"You're welcome," I said, feeling my face warm with the love I had for my daughter. "I'll give you some money after breakfast before I have a chance to forget."

"Okay!"

"Hey, do you know what your class is doing for the festival?" I asked.

She shook her head with an amused grin. "A haunted house; can you believe it? How unoriginal!"

"Hey, you can only do much with school resources," I pointed out. "When I was there, we'd have like three or four haunted houses. I swear there was some kind of competition between them to see which class could scare the most people."

She giggled behind her hand. "So, what kind of things did your classes do, Daddy?"

I sighed, my previously lighthearted mood dropping. "I…can't remember. I basically skipped out on school, so…"

"Oh…" she said, visibly deflating. "I'm sorry; I forgot."

"That's all right," I said, feeling a tightness in my chest at the thought of memories never made. "I missed out on a lot, but I'm glad you don't have to." To distract myself from my falling mood, I rocked to one side to retrieve my wallet from my back pocket. "Would two-thousand yen be enough?"

"That much?" she gasped. "Daddy, you don't have to spend that much on me, and just for a school thing!"

I smiled warmly as I pulled out the stated amount. "Like I said; this only happens once a year, and we're not going to break the bank if you blow a couple-thousand yen."

She still seemed uncertain, though. "I-If you say so…"

"I do," I said, holding the money out toward her. "Go ahead, take it."

She reached out with a hesitant hand and slowly pulled the bills from my grip, as though she was giving me the chance to change my mind. Once the bills left my hand she withdrew hers and placed the bills next to her bowl. "Thank you, Daddy; I'll spend it wisely."

"I know you will, sweetheart. Try the stalls, try the games…just have a good time, okay? And I'll see you in the late afternoon."

"Okay," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Since it was a Sunday, we spent the morning tidying up the apartment in preparation for the new week and, before we knew it, lunchtime had arrived.

"So I'll head out after lunch, play for a while, and then meet you by the front gate at around four-fifteen?" she asked as we ate.

"That's the plan," I confirmed. "I'll plan on leaving here around three-fifty, four-o-clock at the latest. I want to give myself enough time to get there; I'm not as young as I used to be, you know," I finished in my best 'old man' voice.

"You're not old," she giggled. "Kumiko still asks about you, by the way."

"Y-Yeah…" I managed. "So…you two are still on good terms, then?"

"Yup!" she chirped; then her expression grew more solemn. "I…apologized to her for how I acted…you know, before."

"It might take us a while to iron out all the problems we…might have caused," I said carefully.

"Yeah…"

I clapped my hands on my knees. "But for now, let's focus on the festival!"

"Okay," she said. "Thanks, Daddy."

"See you later!" Ushio chirped, finger-waving as she headed out the door.

"Yeah, see you," I replied, returning her wave. I then turned to head down the hallway to my room, intent on some serious napping; I had an exciting and potentially stressful evening ahead of me, and I wanted to be as refreshed as I could be in preparation.

As much as I liked having Ushio around, I was glad for the quiet as I stepped into my room and slid the door shut behind me. I made my way over to my futon and settled down for an hour-long nap. To help myself relax, I went over the plan for the rest of the day: After a one-hour nap I would get up and take a shower, sans bath this time, and give myself plenty of time to get dressed and whatever else I might think of before leaving at three-fifty for the festival; I didn't want to rush myself at the end and raise my stress level, undoing all the benefits of sleeping and showering.

Content with my plan, I pulled the blanket to my chin, and easily drifted off to sleep.

I was slipping off my indoor shoes when I was surprised by a knock at the door. My gaze snapped up from my feet to the door, and I blinked a couple of times as I waited for another knock, just to be sure I hadn't been hearing things. Sure enough, there was another knock. "Just a minute, please…"

I was surprised again by the identity of my visitor. "Good afternoon, Okazaki-sama!"

"M-Mika-san!" I stammered. "What are you doing all the way out here? Aren't you supposed to be doing some kind of patrol at school?"

"I got someone to cover for me so I could come and…and walk you to the festival!"

I blinked several times as I tried to process the situation. "Well that's very kind of you, but Ushio's already at the festival, so you're stuck with just me. Sorry."

"Really?" she squealed, and I could swear her eyes lit up. "I-I mean, that's okay… I'm not disappointed or anything."

I groaned inwardly; while I believed that she didn't know Ushio would be gone, her behavior was unsurprising. Predictable, almost. "Well, that's good. In any case, you're just in time; I'm just getting my shoes on to leave."

"Great!" she chirped. "Well, whenever you're ready!"

I chuckled softly as I slipped into my outdoor shoes; she was energetic, that was for certain. She had to have gotten that from her father, of course; her mother was simply too reserved, though she had become more outgoing in recent years, presumably since marrying Kappei. "All right, I'm ready to go," I announced as I straightened, then quickly patted my back pocket. "Oops; okay, I've got it."

"Got what?" she asked as I joined her on the front porch.

"My wallet," I replied as I patted my back pocket again. "I really should get a light coat with an inside pocket, though; it's uncomfortable when I sit down."

"I'll bet," she giggled as I locked the front door. I then turned, only to find her moving toward my side before quickly stopping herself. "S-Sorry."

"You okay?" I asked as we started in the direction of the school. "You were all bubbly when you got here, but now you seem upset. Did I hurt your feelings somehow?"

"I-I'm fine," she replied quickly. "I-I guess I was surprised that Ushio wasn't here."

"She went to the festival after lunch," I clarified. "I'm surprised you two didn't run into each other."

"There are a lot of people at the festival today," she replied. "It's really busy. Honestly, I was surprised that Hiroki was willing to cover for me."

"Is she a friend of yours?"

"Hiroki is a guy," she said. "That's why I was surprised he was willing to cover for me."

I decided to test the waters a bit. "Maybe he likes you," I suggested, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye to see her reaction. "Maybe that's why he covered for you."

"You really think so?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"It's possible," I said. "A lot of boys will go out of their way to do something for a girl they like."

"I hope not…" she said with a distressed look. "I mean, I hope that's not why he's doing it."

"What's wrong? Is he ugly or something?"

"No no," she said almost absently. "It's just that…"

I'd seen the look on girls' faces enough times that I could pretend to have a pretty good idea what she was thinking. "You have someone you already like, don't you?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"Well…" I said, stretching my arms over my head in an effort to work out my sudden discomfort, "…unless he actually says something to you about it, you really don't have to worry about it."

"You really think so?" she repeated, sounding uncertain this time.

"Hey, if he's interested it's his job to let you know; it's not your job to second-guess him and act on what amounts to assumptions."

"Yeah… You're right. And I have to be the one to take the initiative with the guy I like."

I thought hard before asking my next question. "Do…you have any plans to talk to…this guy?"

"Y-Yeah…" she replied. "I'll be…confessing to him…really soon."

"That's good," I said, ignoring the knot in my stomach; after all, if my information was correct I was effectively encouraging her to confess to me. "Let him know, get his response, and then you can have closure, one way or the other."

"Did…Did you like your dinner last night?"

"Dinner?" I blinked at the sudden change in topic. "Oh. Yeah, it was really good, thanks. I could tell that Kyou had taught you well, and that you were a good student."

"Thank you. It…makes me happy to know you liked it."

"I did, thank you."

She was quiet after that, so I stayed quiet as well for the rest of the walk. As we approached the gate, though, I waved at Ushio, who was waiting as we had planned. "Hey, Daddy! Hey Mika-senpai!" she greeted.

"Hey, sweetheart," I returned. "Hope I'm not late."

"No, you're actually a little earlier than we planned," she replied as she pointed to the clock on the front of the school. Then, she looked to my right. "Mika-senpai, I didn't know you'd left the school; I looked for you for half an hour before I came to the gate."

"I-I'm sorry," Mika replied, sounding subdued. "I wanted to walk both of you to the festival, but I didn't know that you were already here."

"That's okay," my daughter replied with a kind smile. "If I had known that you would be coming, I would have waited. At least you got to walk with Daddy, right?"

"Y-Yeah," she said while glancing up at me.

"It's a beautiful day for a walk, too, isn't it?"

"Y-Yeah…"

"And-"

"I-I'm sorry; I have to go relieve Hiroki." With that, Mika abruptly turned and hurried through the gate and toward the school.

We watched her for a moment before Ushio spoke again: "Did I say something wrong?"

"No," I replied. "She's just dealing with some emotional stuff right now." I forced a smile to my face. "But I think things should be okay pretty soon."

"That's good. She seemed…scared or something."

"I got that impression, too," I said, feigning ignorance. "Well…for now, let's enjoy the festival, okay? As far as I know, we'll be having dinner with her at around six, so we've got time."

"Okay!"

We explored the stalls and the classrooms, trying different foods and getting scared by no fewer than four haunted houses.

"The school really should present more options to the students," I remarked as we nibbled on onigiri.

"I don't mind," Ushio said. "I mean, each of us will only be here for three years, so we'd only have to do three haunted houses."

I had to quickly cover my mouth or end up spraying rice with my laughter. "Yeah, you make a good point."

"Hey!" a familiar voice called out. "You're being too loud!" We turned as one to see Kyou, along with Pastor Ashton, heading toward us through the crowd.

"Kyou-sensei!" Ushio squealed, stuffing the last of her onigiri in her mouth so she could hug her beloved teacher. "Mmmph mmph mmph!"

"It's good to see you, too," Kyou laughed as she exchanged a squeeze with her former student.

"Tomoya-san," Pastor Ashton greeted as he extended his hand, then quickly withdrew it to bow slightly. "Sorry; I've been able to change a lot of habits, but handshakes come so naturally…"

"It's fine," I replied with a smile before extending my right hand. "Honestly? It just feels good to be able to do this."

"I can imagine," he said as we shook hands, earning us some puzzled looks from nearby onlookers.

"So what brings you to the festival?" Ushio asked, having finished her food.

"We're here to see the fireworks!" Kyou exclaimed, shooting a fist into the air. "I haven't seen them in years!"

"Hey, that's right," I said, pointing at her. "It has been a while. Well, I really hope you have fun; your niece has told me that it's a pretty impressive show."

"Where is Mika, anyway?" Kyou asked. "We haven't seen her, yet."

"She got here a few minutes ago," Ushio answered. "She went to walk with us to the festival but ended up just walking with Daddy."

Kyou and the pastor looked at each other briefly before she reached out and grabbed me by the arm. "Come with me, Tomoya. I'll be right back, Jeff."

Even though I knew that the two of them were close, my eyebrows still jumped at the usage of his first name but otherwise allowed myself to be dragged away from the group.

"I'll wait here," I could hear him call out just before we got out of earshot.

She led me to a tree away from the festivities before releasing my arm and facing me. "How was she?"

I took a deep breath as I felt my face heat up. "Well, it sounds like I'll find out tonight whether you're right or not."

She sighed as she laid a hand on my shoulder. "Are you all right?"

My chuckle came out more like a cough. "I'm kind of embarrassed to say it, but I'm scared. I haven't dealt with this kind of relationship in over a decade. Besides, what if we've been wrong and I've been going on a wrongheaded assumption? Or maybe worse; what if you're right? Then I have to reject a really sweet girl."

"…who maybe shouldn't have fallen for you in the first place."

"'Maybe'?"

"I dunno," she sighed, running her fingers through her purple lengths, completely free of its former gray. "It's just that… I've been doing a lot of thinking about you and your situation, and… Maybe someone like her would be good for you."

"Are you serious?" I exclaimed before lowering my voice as I looked around. "We're eighteen years apart!' I hissed. "She's two years older than my daughter!"

"I know that, you idiot!" she yelled before lowering her voice as well. "I just…I think she'd be good for you. I know she's young, but she's older in…in…"

"I think I get it," I said. "She's young chronologically, but older in spirit?"

"Something like that, yeah."

I sighed noisily as I roughly scratched my head. "Okay, but…she's your niece, Kyou! Would you really want her with someone your age?"

"Jeff's fifteen years my senior."

I blinked. "He is? Really?" I'd never stopped to think about it, but she was probably right. Of course, she'd know better, but… "Okay then, what about your sister and her husband? Would they want a…son-in-law the same age as them?"

"I don't care about that right now," Kyou said, sticking a finger in my face. "What I care about is seeing you happy and cared for, and for Mika to be happy and cared for, too."

"Kyou…" I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"Look, I won't hold it against you if you turn her down. I know that there's a huge difference between thirty-six and fifty-one and eighteen and thirty-six; I'd just hate for you to miss out on an opportunity just because you're hung up on numbers. Anyway… You decide what you feel is right. Whatever you decide, I'll support you."

"Thanks, Kyou."

"You're welcome!" she chirped, a smile returning to her face. "Now let's get back before Jeff wonders if we've run off together!"

"Um, yeah…wouldn't want that." I followed her back to where the pastor and Ushio still stood, talking. "Sorry we were gone so long, pastor."

"Not at all!" Pastor Ashton exclaimed as Kyou reclaimed his arm. "Did you work out what you needed to?"

"I think so," I said, giving my old sparring partner a sidelong glance.

"Well, that's great," he said, clapping his hands together before addressing his girl. "Now that you're done with him, could I borrow him for a bit?"

"He's all yours," Kyou said melodramatically. "You may have what's left of him."

"Hey!" I protested, though halfheartedly.

So I found myself in almost the same place, only with the pastor facing me instead of Kyou. "Thank you, Tomoya-san; I'll try to not take much of your time."

"No problem. So, what's going on?"

He rubbed his hands together in a way that told me he was thinking seriously about what he wanted to say. "Listen…I don't know how this is going to sound, but…" He drew himself up to his full height, which was impressive, and looked me in the eye. "I intend to propose marriage to Kyou tonight, but I wanted to make sure you had no objections."

"O-Objections?" I stammered, surprised by the revelation. "Why would I have any objections?"

"From what I understand, the two of you have a long friendship, which I have no desire to come between. Also…" He sighed, clearly uncomfortable with what he was about to say. "Kyou has confessed to me that she used to harbor romantic feelings toward you, and in fact tried to act on them at one point."

I felt the blood drain from my face at the memory. "That's…true, but we've agreed to stay as friends, nothing more. If you want to propose to her, I'm fine with it."

"I appreciate that."

Hoping to be done with that part of the conversation, I tried to redirect it to something less…uncomfortable. "So, when are you planning to propose?"

"Tonight."

"Tonight? Seriously?" The day was sure filling up with surprises.

He nodded solemnly. "During the fireworks display." He opened his mouth again, only to stop himself to reach into his coat and pull out a small box. "Here, take a look."

I opened the box and let out a low whistle. "That's a nice rock."

"Thank you. I'm hoping it'll reflect the light from the last firework for a nice post-fireworks show."

"If you can pull it off, I think she'll really be impressed," I said, handing the box back. "Good luck."

"Thank you…again. Well, I'd better get you back; there may be someone else who wants to talk to you," he said with a wink.

"Yeah," I chuckled. "Hey, before we go back…"

"Yes?" he said, stopping mid-turn.

I tapped at the grass a couple of times with my foot. "I think…well, at least if Kyou's right… I think Mika-san'll be, um…confessing to me tonight."

"Indeed?" He turned toward me fully and crossed his arms. "Are you sure about this?"

"No," I admitted, "but I've seen a few signs that lead me to believe she will. For one, she made pork cutlets for Ushio and I last night."

"Oh my…" he breathed, his arms dropping to his sides. "That's how Kyou finally won me over. The final nail in my coffin, if you'll pardon the metaphor."

"Yeah… She taught Mika-san how to make them."

"Have you decided whether you want to remarry or not?"

"I'm still…struggling with that. I think I've grieved Nagisa a little, but I'm satisfied with the way life is right now."

"With Mika as part of it?"

Crap. "I hadn't thought of that, but you're right." I sighed. "And Kyou just told me that she'd be okay with me being with her niece."

"How far apart in age are you again?"

"About eighteen years."

His eyebrows jumped as he sighed. "Well, Kyou and I are fifteen years apart, and that's not too much more."

I wiggled my fingers in my ears as though to clean them. "Am I hearing you right? Anyway, are you sure your god doesn't have any kind of age limit?"

"As sure as I can be," he replied easily. "My understanding is that both people need to be of the age of majority – which Mika passed two years ago – and be able to show some level of compatibility. Mika's kind of a unique case since she's unusually mature for her age; she still has a lot to learn, of course, but she already seems to have the tools needed for the learning process." He paused for a moment. "I actually feel a little sorry for her; I can tell that she's a little frustrated at having to be around kids who aren't up to her level of maturity. Tadashi has the same problem."

"Well…I feel bad for her, but…" I waved a hand helplessly.

"Look, Tomoya-san; I can't make this decision for you. If I know Kyou half as well as I think I do, she's told you that she'll support you in whatever decision you make, and I will as well."

"Thanks," I mumbled. "Let's head back. And for what it's worth, I think she'll accept your proposal."

"I appreciate the vote of confidence," he said with a smile as he gently clapped me on the shoulder. "Do you mind if I pray for you? About your situation with Mika, that is?"

At that point I'd take any support I could get. "Yeah. Please."

I felt his grip on my shoulder tighten ever so slightly as he closed his eyes, and I closed my eyes as well. "Lord Jesus, I lift up Okazaki Tomoya-san to you. While neither of us knows what will happen, you do, and I ask you to give him the wisdom and grace needed to deal with this potentially emotionally volatile situation. Show him how you would have him be in this situation, and help him to remember that you love him as well as Mika. Bless them both during this time. Let your will be done." I felt his hand leave my shoulder, so I opened my eyes to find him smiling down at me with compassion. "God be with you, Tomoya-san."

"Thanks," I said, my voice thick with emotion; that guy sure knew how to put his heart into his prayers.

"Well, here it is!" Mika exclaimed as she indicated the blanket covered with containers of food and place-settings for the three of us.

Ushio and I looked at each other with a smile before settling onto the blanket, and the three of us put our hands together. "Itadakimasu."

I reached out for fill my plate, but paused as I remembered Pastor's Ashton's prayer from earlier as well as Kyou's from the graduation party, and wondered if I should have said more than just 'thanks for the food'. Who was I thanking anyway? I shook my head to clear it, only to find that my plate had disappeared from my hand. "What the-?"

I quickly found the thief but wasn't surprised to discover that it was Mika, who was filling my plate with food. "I'm sorry, Okazaki-sama," she said as Ushio giggled. "I saw that you were lost in thought, but I didn't want to interrupt you so I just took your plate to help you out."

"Oh. Thanks."

"You're welcome!" she chirped as she handed back my plate. "Here you go! Eat up!"

I accepted the plate with a bit of apprehension and examined its contents: an assortment of steamed vegetables, rice…and pork cutlets. My stomach rumbled and soured at the same time.

"What's the matter, Daddy?" I heard Ushio ask. Crap; my feelings must have really been showing on my face.

"Nothing," I lied. "I'm fine." I could feel Mika's gaze on me as I took my first bite of the pork; damn. "This is really good," I said, telling the truth this time; Mika was a great cook, not as though I didn't know that already.

"I-I'm glad you like it," she replied, twirling a lock of hair between her fingers. Even in the dimming light I could see the redness on her cheeks.

"This is amazing, Mika-senpai!" Ushio gushed. "Kyou-sensei taught me how to make this, but I really like what you've done."

"It…It's my own recipe," Mika said bashfully. "Aunt Kyou taught me how to make this, but I made some changes based on what I know about your dad."

"That makes sense," Ushio said with a thoughtful expression. "You've cooked for him for a long time so you'd have an idea of what he'd like." She then stuck out her lower lip. "I wish I'd thought of that; then Daddy could have really enjoyed what I made."

"I've enjoyed your meals, sweetie," I said reassuringly. "You just haven't had a lot of experience with pork, that's all."

"If you say so," she huffed.

We ate quietly for a while, occasionally complimenting Mika on her culinary skills, to which she would blush and mumble some form of gratitude. As I finished the last of my tea, the thought tickled the back of my mind about how nice it would be to come home to meals like thi- I quickly shook my head, trying to fling the offending thought as far away as possible.

"Daddy?" I heard Ushio ask in a worried tone. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I guess I'm a little tired," I admitted. It was true, after all; with the conversations with Kyou and the pastor, I was feeling emotionally drained. "I think I'll sleep pretty well tonight."

"That's…good?" she giggled.

I chuckled with her before a tickling thought had me looking around. "Hey, where're Kyou and Pastor Ashton? I didn't think of it until just now, but I'm surprised they didn't join us."

"They went to a restaurant near the school," Mika explained, drawing my attention. "Aunt Kyou told me they'd be eating out, but that they'd come back after their meal."

"Ah."

"They plan on being back before the fireworks start, though," she added.

"Got it," I said, though I already knew they would have to be back or the pastor wouldn't be able to do what he'd planned to do.

We finished eating and packed up the bowls and other containers used for the meal. "Don't worry; I'll clean these when I get home," Mika told us as she put the last of the containers in one of her bags.

"Mika-senpai? You have to stay late, don't you? What if Daddy and I took them and washed them at our place? Then you could stop by on your way home to get them, or I could bring them to school tomorrow."

"I like the latter idea," I interjected. "After her so-called weekend, she's really going to need her sleep."

"You…You really don't have to bother yourselves," Mika politely protested.

"And you didn't have to go to all this trouble to make dinner for us," I pointed out as politely as I could. "The least we could do to thank you is clean up your stuff."

She appeared to fight the idea internally but eventually gave in. "Okay. Thank you; it would be a big help."

"Where should we keep it in the meantime?" Ushio asked, looking between the two of us.

"I'll keep it in my classroom and give it to you when you're ready to leave," Mika offered.

"Sounds good," I said. "Thanks for letting us help out."

"Y-You're welcome," she replied as she gathered up the bags. "I-If you'll excuse me…" Before either of us could respond, she turned and hurried into the school, entering through one the main doors.

We watched her depart, then Ushio turned toward me. "Something seems wrong with Mika-senpai," she remarked.

"Yeah," I grunted. "Well, like I said earlier, she's dealing with some emotional stuff right now."

"I hope she feels better soon," she said, and I could hear the compassion in her tone.

"Me, too," I said, laying a hand on my daughter's shoulder. "Yeah…me, too."

We watched the door though which Mika had departed for a moment longer before Ushio spoke. "I…I guess I'll go check out the stalls again… If that's okay?"

"Go ahead," I told her. "I'll stay here and save our spot."

"You don't want to come along?" she asked with the cutest pout.

"I'm kinda tired from all the excitement from looking at them earlier," I admitted. What I wouldn't admit, however, is that I wanted the time to prepare myself for Mika's confession, assuming it happened of course. "Go ahead and have fun; you know where to find me."

"Okay!" she chirped before tugging my arm to pull me down for a kiss on the cheek. "See you later!" With that she quickly disappeared into the crowd.

"Have fun, sweetie," I said, waving lamely at her departing form and knowing full well she wouldn't be able to hear me. I then sighed and sat down to lean against a tree next to where we'd had dinner. "Ugh…" I grunted while lightly bonking the back of my head against the wood several times. "Could we just get this over with?"

In spite of my anxiety I must have fallen asleep, because my eyes opened to Kyou peering into my face as she gently shook me. "Tomoya? Hey Tomoya, wake up. You fall asleep here and someone's gonna take your wallet."

I knew better, but I still leaned over to pat my back pocket as I rubbed my eyes. "I didn't mean to fall asleep. Thanks." As Kyou straightened I could see that Pastor Ashton, Ushio and Mika were with her. "Did I miss the fireworks?"

"No," the pastor replied as reached down to help me up. "Are you that deep a sleeper that you'd sleep through fireworks?"

"I dunno," I said as I accepted the proffered hand and got to my feet. "I've never tried."

"If…If you need to go home to sleep, I'm sure everyone would understand," Mika offered, surprising me; she definitely looked anxious.

I chuckled lightly as I dusted off the back of my pants. "No, I'll stick around; wouldn't want to miss the fireworks, after all."

"O-Of course not," she stammered, and I could see Kyou glancing back and forth between the two of us with a worried expression.

"Besides, I'm not really that tired; I guess I was just comfortable," I said, hoping my explanation would make sense.

"You've always been able to get comfy in the weirdest places," Kyou said with a grin. "I remember in high school that-"

"So, how long until the fireworks start?" I interrupted, hoping to redirect everyone's attention from my former sleeping habits.

Pastor Ashton checked his watch as Kyou smirked at me. "Should be in about half an hour."

"Well, what shall we do until then?" Ushio asked.

In the end, the girls headed back into the busyness of the festival while Pastor Ashton and I talked at the base of the tree.

"You look a little nervous," he remarked. At my alarmed look he quickly raised a hand. "Don't worry, I'm trained to notice these things; most people wouldn't pick up on the subtle cues."

"Good," I said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I guess you just surprised me since no one else has said anything about it."

"Everything will be fine, Tomoya-san," he said, patting me on the shoulder. "Just trust in the Lord and…oops, sorry about that; lost myself for a moment there and went into 'pastor mode'."

"It's fine," I replied. "But now I'm curious; what were you about to say?"

"You sure you want to hear it?" he asked, scratching his cheek with an index finger. "I don't know how it'll sound to a non-believer."

"I want to hear it," I confirmed. "If nothing else, I could use the distraction."

"An honest answer," he laughed. "I can appreciate that. Well, I was about to say 'Just trust in the Lord and let him guide your steps and everything will turn out all right. It may not be an easy road, but trust that he'll be with you and he'll give you guidance when you need it, wisdom when you need it, and comfort…when you need it.'"

I blinked at him several times in mute surprise. "It…must be pretty neat to be a Christian," I said when I found my voice again.

"It has its ups and downs," he said offhandedly. "Christianity is effectively banned in America anymore, which is part of the reason I'm grateful to be able to live here now. The Japanese are a very spiritual people, which makes it both easier and harder to reach them with the Gospel."

"What do you mean 'banned in America'?"

"It's become less and less friendly to Christianity," he explained. "From what I can tell, it started in the late 1960s, but really accelerated in the last few years, with the demands for acceptance of homosexuality and transsexuality and the like."

"It's not illegal to be a Christian there, is it?" I asked.

"No, Tomoya-san, it's…" He paused for a minute, apparently to gather his thoughts. "It's been more of a socio-political thing; politicians want to appear compassionate, so they support whatever they think will garner them the most votes. Because of the dynamic of the political and cultural, those in Hollywood started to make movies that glorified these kinds of things – though they've been doing that kind of thing for decades already – and, eventually, Christianity was considered a hateful religion due to its insistence on holding to godly principles."

"I'd have a hard time believing that you're a hateful person," I told him.

He burst into laughter. "Thank you, Tomoya-san; that means more to me than you'll ever know. Unfortunately, while Christianity itself is not hateful, some of its followers haven't been the most gracious toward unbelievers. I used to be pretty judgmental myself, until I really got serious about following Jesus. Anyway, Christianity isn't exactly banned but it's sure been told that it's not welcome."

"Sorry to hear that; I hope things get better over there."

"Thank you." He sighed, and I could hear the heaviness and emotion behind it. "I'll just keep praying for her. Maybe someday a missionary from here will head over there and do what we pastors haven't been able to do for generations." He shook his head as though to clear it. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring the mood down."

"You didn't," I said with a shake of my head. "I needed a distraction, and you gave me one. Thanks…I think."

"How's the home life?" he asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

I allowed myself a minute to think about my answer. "I think it's getting better; my shoulder's getting stronger and my daughter's acting like a normal sixteen-year-old girl." I bobbed my head a few times in a nod. "Yeah, I'd say things are getting better."

"I'm glad to hear that… Ah, it looks like the ladies are returning." I looked and, sure enough, Kyou, Mika, and Ushio were headed our way, hands full of treats.

"Here you go, Daddy; I bought this for you," Ushio said as she handed me an ice cream cone. "I bought it just before we headed back, so it shouldn't have melted….much."

"Thanks sweetie," I said as I detected and caught some of the ice cream melting down the cone.

"And this is for you," Kyou said as she handed a small bowl of what appeared to be onigiri to her date.

"Hey, thanks!" Pastor Ashton exclaimed as he accepted the bowl. "What flavor did you get?"

"I'm not telling," she replied simply. "I know how you like surprises."

He chuckled awkwardly as he removed the cover from the paper bowl and ate one of the rice balls. "Wow, this is really good! I mean, it's not as good as what you've made, but…"

"It's all right, Jeff," she said while patting his arm. "I know how much you like my cooking."

He gave her a grateful smile before downing another rice ball.

"O-Okazaki-sama…" I looked over to Mika, who was gazing at me with an uncertain expression. "…I…Th-…This is for you," she said, holding out a small box.

"Well, thank you Mika-san," I said, touched by her generosity as I accepted the gift; even though I still had suspicions about her feelings, I had to keep up the façade. "That's very kind of you."

Her face started to redden as she looked at the ground.

I opened the box to find a small assortment of chocolates. "Hey, these look good; do you mind if I have one now?"

She shook her head. "I worked…I mean, I looked really hard to find ones I thought you'd like."

"I appreciate it." I took one of the small confections, a cube-shaped one, light brown with dark-brown squiggly lines on it and bit into it. "Whoa; coconut-filled?"

"You like coconut?" Pastor Ashton asked.

"He does," I heard my daughter answer, lost as I was in bliss. "When I know he's had a bad day, I'll try to stop by this one candy shop and pick up a few for him."

"My day just got a lot better," I think I said before forcing myself out of my trance to look to Mika. "Thanks, Mika-san; this is really good."

"You're welcome," she squeaked.

"If I'm not rude for asking; where did you get them, Mika-senpai?" Ushio asked.

"I…"

"Let's leave her be for now," Pastor Ashton said gently as Mika's face threatened to catch fire. "For whatever reason, she's having a difficult time right now."

"Okay," my daughter said with genuine regret. "I'm sorry, Mika-senpai."

The poor teenager couldn't say anything, but managed a nod.

"Come on, Mika," Kyou said as she took her niece by the shoulders. "Let's go get something to drink."

As the pair headed off I turned to the pastor. "She needs to get it off her chest and soon, for her sake if nothing else."

"Agreed," he grunted as he crossed his arms. "A burden like hers is heavy enough for an adult – an older adult, that is – let alone one who has just entered adulthood."

"But she's eighteen," Ushio said with a look of confusion. "She's legally been an adult for two years."

"Yes, legally," he emphasized. "However, that doesn't mean she understands everything she needs to for life yet."

My daughter pondered his words for a moment, "I think I understand. Does this have to do with her being in love?"

The pastor looked at me in surprise, so I gave him a reassuring smile. "Mika-san probably talked to her about it; they're close, after all," I told him.

"Yes, well…" He gave himself a moment to regain his composure. "She may be eighteen, but she's still new to the kind of love she's likely experiencing right now, which could be pretty frightening to someone her age."

"I see…" she said, giving me what appeared to be suspicious look. "I could imagine that being hard to deal with."

A few minutes later Kyou returned with Mika, who had a drink cup in her hand. "Are you feeling better, Mika?" Pastor Ashton asked.

"Much," she replied, though she still sounded a little shaky. "I just needed a little water, so I'm fine now. Thank you."

"Looks like the fireworks are about to start," Ushio noted as we saw a crowd start to gather at one end of the courtyard.

"I think you're right," the pastor confirmed, easily looking over the heads of the other fairgoers. "Looks like they're setting up the last few rockets. Well, shall we go?" he asked as he offered Kyou his arm.

"Sure!" she chirped as she wrapped her arms around his. "You kids have a good time, and behave now."

"Hey!" I protested as they walked off arm-in-arm. Of course I wasn't too serious, and I smiled as the two of them joined the crowd. "Good luck, pastor," I murmured to myself. "I don't think you'll need it, though."

"Well, shall we get settled in?" Ushio said as she held the blanket we'd used earlier. "The roof's off-limits, but Mika-senpai knows of a spot where we can watch the fireworks without a lot of noise. From the crowd, I mean."

"Sounds good," I said, gesturing to the girls. "Lead the way."

They headed toward the school, but turned left just before the entrance. After a few twists and turns I found myself on a balcony of sorts, overlooking the crowd and with a great view of the field where the fireworks would be set off.

"Aw, we can't use the blanket here," Ushio pouted as she placed the rolled-up blanket in one of the corners of the balcony.

"I…I did tell you that it was an enclosed area…" Apparently Mika had explained it to my daughter a few times already.

"I guess I was so excited that I forgot," Ushio giggled. "Oh, well; at least we can lean on the wall, right?"

"Right," I said as I leaned on the retaining wall and looked over; from where I was I could see the crowd…including the pastor and Kyou. "Cool; front-row seats."

"Isn't it amazing?" my daughter gushed. "We'll even be able to watch the men light them!"

"Y-Yeah…" I said as I watched Kyou lean into her date. Seeing them like that caused me to feel a…longing.

"Oooo! They're lighting the first one!" Ushio was nearly beside herself.

"Ushio," Mika whispered as she joined us at the wall, "please keep it down or people will see us and start coming up here!"

"Oh! Sorry!" my daughter whispered back.

"And there goes the first one," I announced for no particular reason as the first firework flew up into the darkened sky.

"So many colors…" Ushio breathed as firework after firework flew up before our eyes into the night sky and exploded into brilliant, beautiful colors. "Reds, purples, blues…isn't it pretty, Daddy?"

"Impressive," I replied, somewhat sobered; listening to my daughter, I realized that I had lost my appreciation for the simple things…like fireworks.

The crowd apparently hadn't, as it 'oo'ed and 'ah'ed every time a firework erupted into color, and I looked down again to see Kyou and her date snuggled together as they watched the display.

"What do you think, Mika-senpai?" I heard Ushio ask, and I looked over to hear Mika's answer.

"It's…beautiful…" she replied, her glistening eyes fixed on the show. "I just wish…"

"Are you okay?" Ushio asked.

Mika giggled softly as she blotted her eyes with her sleeve. "I'm okay; sorry for worrying you."

Ushio looked up at me with a concerned look, to which I responded with a gentle smile and a nod, so she returned her gaze to the fireworks.

Eventually the last firework was launched, and I quickly looked down in time to see Pastor Ashton turn towards Kyou and hold out the small box he'd showed me earlier. I felt a smile start to spread as her hands flew to her mouth when he opened it. "Ushio, look; I think Pastor Ashton's proposing to your teacher."

"Really?" she squealed as she looked where I was pointing. "Oh my gosh!" I looked over to see tears welling in her eyes. "I'm so happy for her. With all she's been through…"

"Yeah," I agreed, starting to feel a lump forming in my own throat. "I'm happy for her, too."

"Aunt Kyou…" Mika breathed. "Oh, good for you…"

"Let's go congratulate her!" Ushio gushed as she grabbed Mika's hand.

"I'll…I'll be down in a minute," Mika said, hesitantly pulling her hand from my daughter's.

"O-Okay," Ushio said with a puzzled expression that faded to one of understanding as she looked over at me. "I'll let her know you're on your way, then."

"Th-Thanks."

I watched Ushio scamper down the stairs…leaving me alone with the purple-haired teenager. Trying to calm my rapidly-frying nerves, I looked down at the crowd again, trying to find-

GRAB

"AH!" My heart nearly leaped from my chest as I felt myself grabbed from behind, a pair of hands coming to rest on my suddenly-pounding chest. "What the-!"

It was then that I noticed that my attacker was shaking. "O-Okaz-z-z-za-ki-ki-sa-m-ma?"

"Y-Yes, Mika-san?" I said, trying to ignore my still-pounding heart. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm…I'm s-s-scared-d…"

"What are you scared of?"

"M-M-My-s-s-sel-lf."

"Why don't you let go of me, and I'll see if I can hel-"

"NO!"

I jumped at her sudden outburst. "O-Okay, then; we'll do it your way. What's the m-matter?"

"O-Okazaki-sama," she hiccupped. "I…I-I n-need to t-tell you s-something."

Oh boy. "O-Okay, Mika-san; what do you need to tell me?"

The shaking intensified for a moment, and for a brief moment I thought she would shake my brains out my ears. "I…I think…"

I swallowed hard; I hadn't felt anxiety like this in a long time.

"I th-think…I l-love y-you."

I gritted my teeth, my grip on the wall tightening as I fought the warmth that threatened to spread throughout my body; I hadn't felt affection like that in years and had no warning that her words would affect me the way they were. "Thank you for your honesty," I grunted through my teeth.

She said nothing, but I could hear her quietly crying against my back; the poor girl was likely feeling overwhelmed after having carried her feelings as long as she had.

I took a deep breath, trying to regain control of my body as I laid a hand on top of one of hers. "I'm…honored that you think of me like this, but…I'm too old for you."

I still couldn't see her, but I thought I heard her crying fade, though the shaking intensified. "I…I under-derstand. I-I-I'm sorry if I m-made you uncom-comfortable-ble."

"Would you let go of me, please?" I asked softly. She complied, and I turned around to see one of the saddest things I'd ever seen; reddened eyes, a tear-stained face, trembling hands clasped before an equally-trembling body…I felt like dirt. "I'm sorry."

"I-It's o-okay, Okazak-ki-s-sama," she replied. "I-I'm sorry it-it took m-me so long t-to tellyou."

"It was very brave of you to tell me this," I managed, my heart going out to her as much as I felt was safe. Thinking back to simpler days I told her, "I'm sorry I can't return your feelings."

"Th-That's okay," she sputtered. "I'll…w-work hard t-to w-w-win your af-f-fection."

"Huh?"

In spite of her tears, she managed to bark a laugh, presumably at my confusion. "P-Prep-pare yourself, Okazaki-s-sama."

"What?" Had I heard her correctly?

"That's wh-what Aunt Kyou said to Pastor Jeff," she said, appearing to gain confidence as she wiped at her face with her sleeve. "I'll show you that I'll make a great wife; you won't be able to r-resist me forever."

I stared into her expression of defiance with disbelief. "Mika-san; what's gotten into you?"

"Please call me 'Mika'," she said with a trembling flip of one of her twintails, her former distress all but gone. "See you tomorrow evening." With that, she flipped the other twintail before turning and nearly skipping down the stairs.

I suddenly felt numb, my widened eyes staring at nothing as I headed over to pick up the blanket, only to plop down on the cool cement with it in my lap. "What in the hell just happened…?"