Summer went by faster then anyone could imagine. It was filled with lazy summer afternoons that Nagihiko, Rima and Utau spent together. All they did was try to beat the heat by eating ice-cream, fanning each other and sitting around the T.V.

When the days were cooler they would go outside and sit around or maybe Nagihiko ride Rima's bike around the neighborhood with Rima squeezed onto the back seat with him. Every time Utau had some extra money she would buy different boxes of cake mix, Nagihiko would help her bake and Rima would lick the spoons.

Before they knew it, the last week of summer was upon the three lazy kids. The last week of summer was the week of the Starlit Festival. It was a festival where the stars were supposed to glow brightest, it would mostly be families attending. Utau had convinced Rima's parents to let her go and Nagihiko's mother thought it might do him some good.

Utau did both her hair and Rima's before putting on their summer yukatas and heading for the festival. As they approached, they could smell all the delicious festival food and hear the sounds of kids laughing.

"What should we do first?" Utau asked.

"Look around?" Nagihiko suggested. "See what they have?"

"Yeah, can me and Nagi walk around a little?" Rima put in.

"Ok, you better keep her safe." Utau said giving Nagihiko a look. "Anything happens just scream for me as loud as you can." Then Utau gave Rima a flashlight, just in case.

"Ok!" Rima and Nagihiko said together, as they ran off. The festival had to be any kid's dream, it was full of sweets and fun games to play. Rima's father had given her some spending money, which set off her mother to give her more.

The first thing she spent money on was a fish catching game. Fake fish were floating around in a tub, you would swipe one up and there was a number written on the bottom. Whatever the number happened to be was the quality of your prize. The numbers went from 0 to 5 and prizes ranged from cheap bouncy balls to huge stuffed animals.

Rima scored a two and in turn got a duck with a boots, she picked that because it looked funny. Nagihiko landed a four, so he got a large panda and gave it to Rima. Rima gave him her duck in return.

They moved onto a little stand with lots of jewelry that were supposed to bring luck and health. Rima and Nagihiko got matching bracelets that would make their 'friendship grow'. The bracelets were made of colorful, round beads, Rima's had one star bead and Nagihiko's had a moon.

After a while the stands and people became less frequent, they had reached the end of the festival. After the stands were gone it was nothing but a forest path surrounded by trees.

"Should we continue?" Nagihiko asked. Rima stared into the darkness for just a moment. She grabbed Nagihiko's hand and held it tight.

"Yeah, we should." Rima took a step forward and they began to walk. Deeper into the darkness, where the only sounds were each other's breathing and footsteps. Out of nowhere Rima let out a yelp and bumped into Nagihiko.

"What's wrong?!" Nagihiko asked.

"There's something wet!"

"Wet?"

"Yeah, I stepped in it."

Nagihiko sighed, "Don't scare me like that."

"Sorry."

"Hey, don't you have a flashlight?" It was quiet, then there was a click and a beam of light. In front of the kids there was a large pond that reflected the moonlight.

"Wow." Rima said. She leaned down and traced over the water with her finger. "How pretty."

"Rima, we should head back now." Nagihiko suggested. Rima was silent.

"It's so magical though, I feel like I could stare at it forever." Rima said quietly. After a while Rima picked herself up and left while holding Nagihiko's hand. Nagihiko clicked off the flashlight before they left.

"Nagihiko?" She asked, her small voice interrupting the silence.

"Yes Rima?"

"..." Nagihiko felt Rima's hand tighten around his. "I...love you." Nagihiko stopped and so did Rima. "Do you, love me?"

"I love you too." Rima reached around in the darkness and hugged Nagihiko.

"I love you Nagihiko." She said again. Nagihiko rested his head on hers.

"I love you Rima."

"We should get back." Nagihiko said.

"Ok."

Finally the two returned to the festival and, after playing a few more games, found Utau. Utau had just recently gotten her drivers license and drove them back home. She stopped by Nagihiko's house to drop him off. Right before he left, he whispered something into Rima's ear.

"I love you.:

Too much use of the word love? I don't know but let me know what you thought.

Moonshinehearts :)