A lot of turning points are going to happen to these kids this summer. Let's all mourn their losses now.

Thank you for reading!

Ventus was starting to think that absolutely no one like resting around here. Not the Dandelions, not the headmasters, not even Lauriam's sister and Anora. Sure, the Star Festival was a given occasion that they had to participate in, but seriously- they had only arrived at the beach four days ago. When were they going to stop running around and actually relax for once?

At least the activity kept his mind off of Vanitas. That must have accounted for something.

Ven walked alone, trying to not get too overwhelmed by all the carnival games and the smell of deep fried food as he walked down the boardwalk. He didn't know where everyone else had gone. The last time he had seen everyone, Skuld, Anora, and Strelitzia had put on rather nice looking yukata, and Ephemer and Lauriam were simply wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Brain had gone to the festival far before anyone else, so Ven definitely had no idea where the older kid was now.

That is, until Ven happened to stumble across the balloon dart game. Brain was actively trying to predict his current throw- Ventus almost laughed when he noted that the older kid had one eye closed and his tongue sticking out in concentration. Brain finally made his throw, and then immediately let out a disappointed "Drat!" when it missed. Ven couldn't help but laugh, which earned him Brain's attention.

"Hey Ven!" Brain called over to him. "Wanna try this dart game with me?"

Knowing he had been spotted, Ven let out a nervous chuckle as he scratched the back of his head. "S-sure." he agreed as he walked over to Brain.

Suddenly nervous as he picked up the balloon dart, Ventus gave Brain a quick side glance before turning his attention to the balloons. There were five rows of balloons- each row corresponding with a different color of the rainbow, which indicated what kind of prize could be won if they were popped. The higher the balloon, the higher the prize, obviously. Ventus tried to carefully line up his shot with one of the middle tier ballons and made a silent prayer to himself before tossing it.

His heart nearly leaped into his throat when the dart popped the exact balloon he had been aiming for. Barely. Just barely.

"Congrats Ven!" Brain cheered for him, giving the kid a hearty pat on the back.

"It was just a lucky shot..." Ventus sheepishly said, reached a hand behind his head.

"Lucky or not," the older kid mused, "You get to pick out a prize now. So Ven, which one is it?"

Ventus jumped a little before looking at the prizes he could get. His heart was pounding far harder than it should have been as he looked the prizes over. "That one!" he finally declared as he pointed to a medium sized teddy bear.

Brain tried to hold back his laughter as the game's operator got down the teddy bear for Ven. The younger kid happily hugged the stuff toy in joy.

"Don't ever change Ven." Brain then mused, placed a hand at the back brim of his fedora.

"Huh?" the younger questioned. "What's that about?"

But his only answer was a laugh, right before Brain messed up Ven's hair a bit. Ventus recoiled out of the way with a grimace. But, despite himself, he also started to laugh.

. . .

"Oh, look at that one." Lauriam said to Strelitzia as he pointed out a line of fukinagashi streamers. "It looks like they hand painted those symbols on. The detail is so intricate."

"But what about those paper cranes?" Strelitzia offered, motioning to a booth that sold origami creations. "Imagine how long it took for them to create all those little cranes!"

"True enough." her brother laughed. Strelitzia gave him a bright smile of her own before joining in. It was a small relief seeing his sister's relaxed demeanor after several months of watching her slowly agonize over an unrequited crush.

"Would you like some mochi?" he asked her some time later. "I think I saw a food stand offering some earlier."

"Sure!" she grinned. For a fleeting moment, he could see so much of their mother in her. He wondered how their mother would have handled Strelitzia's crush; surely their mother was the type that would have loved to have grandchildren. Unfortunately, it seemed both he and Strelitzia seemed to be slightly more deviant in that regard- but they were still young, there was still time.

The siblings found a stand offering mochi, and Lauriam paid for two. They then sat down on a nearby park bench to feast on their sweet treats. Truth be told, Lauriam didn't have much of an appetite at the moment.

"How are you doing?"

"Hmm?" Strelitzia turned to him with her spoon still in her mouth. She took it out -making a little 'pop' sound in the process- before inquiring, "What do you mean?"

"Well, if your cabin is anything like ours, it means that you girls are all sharing the same bedroom." he said to her- sounding as if he were speaking more of a thought "I wanted to make sure you were getting enough sleep since she would also be sleeping there."

"She…?" Strelitzia started to question before it hit her. Her face quickly flushed as she looked away from her brother. "It… it was hard, at first. But she goes to bed pretty early, so it's not that bad, I guess. I don't think I slept well the first few nights though. Just thinking that she was right there..."

Strelitzia looked down at her mochi. The ice cream inside was starting to melt and threatened to dribble over the outer coating.

"Have you ever just…" she started to say, faltered, then started again, "Have you ever just wanted to kiss someone so badly that you'd be willing to forget that other people will notice? And… And you're afraid that everything will change between you two, even if you never truly knew each other before then?"

Lauriam was silent for awhile. He lulled his head from side to side as he thought the idea over. "Can't say I have." he finally decided. "But I've never felt an actual attraction to someone either."

"Oh..."

"Strelitzia," Lauriam sighed. "I really want to help you, but I don't know how. I've been wondering a lot lately on how Mother would deal with this."

At the mention of their mother, Strelizia's head popped back up. She looked at Lauriam with wide eyes and her jaw slightly agape.

"Mother?"

Lauriam nodded. He reclined a bit on the park bench, looking up at the sky. "The thing is, the more I dwell on it, the more I come to realize that I'm not the one that can help you. It's time to make a choice Strelitzia; you need to talk to Anora."

Well, if her jaw hadn't hit the ground yet, it certainly did now. "H-how?" Strelitzia questioned, her voice sounding more like a strangled cat. "I… I can't…!"

But Lauriam shrugged. He had nothing else to offer. However, in some attempt to assure her, he mumbled, "May your heart be your guiding key."

. . .

There were very few things that Ephemer truly hated. Skuld insisting that they make Tanabata wishes was starting to become one of those things.

"It'll be fun." she assured him and Anora. 'Fun.' Right. Sure. As if she wasn't the one to make the girls wear yakuta, or purposely grant them all the best application of smokey eye this world has ever seen. And then there was Anora. Anora who, despite saying nothing so far this whole festival, made Ephemer's heart rush with a single side glance. The wonder in her eyes almost made her shine under the festival lights, drinking in every colorful lantern and origami crane like it was her first time out in the world. How could anyone be so… adorable? At this point, Ephemer was going to keep biting his lip until it bled.

The three of them had moved away from the main festival to a quiet picnic area on the beach. Anora had chose to write her wish at a different table than Ephemer and Skuld. Not that it mattered, they were all going to see the wishes when they hung them up anyway.

"Are you done yet?" Skuld asked him, her voice hushed so Anora couldn't hear. "Or are you going to keep gawking all night?"

Ephemer looked up from his wish strip and gave Skuld a funny glare.

"What are you talking about?" he asked her.

An impish smile crossed his friend's face when she said, "I know you have a crush."

"I do not-!" Ephemer immediately tried to shout back, but caught himself before hissing, "I do not have a crush on Anora."

"Never said it was Anora." Skuld smirked. "But now that you mention it..."

"Skuld, you're ridiculous."

To this, she let out a rather unflattering snort. "Me?" she mused. "I'm the one being ridiculous? You were the one who drooled over themselves at the formal!"

"That was different."

"No it wasn't."

A small growl escaped Ephemer's lips. "Yes, it was."

"Urg, fine." Skuld decided, throwing her hands in the air. "I've known you for six years, I know when to cut my losses."

But the words stung. They lingered in Ephemer's mind as the three of them hung their wishes up on a palm tree. And you know what? Forget Skuld. She knew how to get under his skin, and (unfortunately) it worked. He hated her. He hated her more than these stupid wish strips, this stupid festival, and the mere fact that she might have even been right.

But then Anora's wish strip flickered at him from the corner of his eye. There was a word he was able to catch- a word he really wished he hadn't had seen. Making sure that Anora and Skuld had left, Ephemer moved a bit closer to the wish strip to read it in full. A part of his heart sank. He knew so little about her. This wasn't fair. There was no way that he could…

"Skuld, I freaking hate you."