"Touya, look at this." = Normal speech.
'Touya, look at this.' = Thoughts/Telepathy.
(One hour later.) = Time skip.
~Yo, it's God.~ = Phone call.
"Come forth, fire!" = Chanting.
[Kingdom of Belfast] = Title/Place/Rank/Weapon Name.
{Gate} = Spell name.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At [Oedo], in the Kokonoe Residence.)
The shining rays of sunlight pierced through the uncovered room, causing Touya to shift in his sleep, waking up to the sun's rays. Hitting his face, he wanted to sleep in more but he forced himself out of the comfort of the futon he slept in, he groggily sat up straight and stretched, he let out a yawn and rubbed his eyes to get rid of his sleepiness.
He lifted the blanket off his body and stood up from his futon provided by one of the Kokonoe's servants, Ayame was one of them, being the head maid, but since the Kokonoe Residence was large enough to house multiple people at once, it wasn't a stretch to say that they needed to hire more people to keep the place clean.
And clean it was, the room Touya was in reminded him so much of his grandfather's home before he passed away, he would always sleep in one of the rooms so much so that it basically became a second room to him whenever he visited his grandparents. Touya smiled, remembering the simpler times when he was a child, though that was enough reminiscing, it was time to get up and start the day.
Though the sunshine hitting his eyes did stop him momentarily.
He covered his eyes, the sunshine nearly blinding him as he opened his eyes and was still trying to get used to the light, once he was sure he wouldn't be annoyed by the sunrays, Touya cracked his knuckles, hearing them pop and satisfying him before he fixed up the his futon, his parents didn't raise a snob and he wasn't gonna start to be one now.
He opened his phone, scrolling through his playlist and picking a song to do his work on, once he found one, he started to neatly fold the blanket and fix the pillow, after that, he rolled up the futon and tied it correctly so it doesn't come undone, once he did that, he walked around the room and grabbed his gear, and started to put them on one by one, he polished his weapons and checked his bullets inside of his pouches.
Once he was finished, he stepped out of the room he was in and peeked out of the door frame, checking if anyone was in the halls, when he found none, he closed the sliding door behind him and sighed, he had his gear on and figured he might as well go to the dining area and eat breakfast. Walking through the hallways didn't take too much time, while the house was big, it wasn't to the point where you can get lost in it easily.
After turning a few corners here and there, Touya finally made his way to the dining area, he could hear voices coming from the room and thought that maybe one or two of his friends were already awake and getting ready to eat.
Turns out, everyone was there, except for one.
"Good morning everyone." Touya announced, getting the same greeting back from everyone at the table. He chose a place to sit, being next to Setsuna and Yumina who greeted him with a warm smile. He returned it with one of his own and looked over the table doing a headcount, "Is Chiyome up?"
"Ah, Chiyome-san said she wasn't hungry, but she'll catch up later…" Yae shook her head and informed him.
Touya was a little sad hearing that, but he understood why - Despite making great progress on getting Chiyome out of her funk, along with help from the girls, they really did more than he did if he was being honest, she was still a little distance when it came to everyone. Either way, Touya just sucked his disappointment up and focused on the breakfast.
"Well that's a shame. Guess we can leave her some food when she decides to eat later." Touya sighed before he smiled again, he thanked Ayame for setting down his food.
The people there started eating the breakfast provided by the Kokonoe servants and enjoyed their meals. They even engaged in some conversations at the table, Touya laughed at a joke Sally made. While the others asked him about his plans for today. He said he was thinking about it, but he was looking forward to the festival coming around the corner and wondered if he could join it.
"That reminds me. With the upcoming festival around the corner, will you participate in it, Yae?" Jubei asked, wondering if his daughter would partake in such an event, "And continuing on that, would any of you join as well?"
"Yes, I would like to take this chance to experience a festival in a foreign land." Yumina smiled, it wasn't everyday she'd get to experience something like this, so she took every chance she could get.
"Same here, I wonder how it goes compared to back in my home country." Setsuna remarked, the rest of the party shared their opinion and even stated that most, if not all, were willing to join the festive joy.
"It is a once in a lifetime opportunity for us." Linze commented, her sister agreeing with her on the subject.
"I'm glad Yae decided to join the festival, she mostly focuses on her swordsmanship that I was afraid she'd never get a husband." Nanae lamented before she smirked, "Is it to impress a certain someone, I presume?"
"Ha- Haha-ue!" Yae choked, surprised by her mother's blunt words, a red blush appearing on her face while her mother put her in the spotlight.
"Ah yes, the festival is always a hotspot for young people in love." Jubei remarked with a smile on his face, "Why, it's where I confessed my love to your mother when we were young."
"I remember that! Oh I was so nervous about it too!" Nanae giggled, remembering the nightless days she spent planning her confession and working up the courage to actually do it. But then Jubei beat her to the punch and confessed to her first, which meant all her build up was for nothing yet she still got what she wanted in the end, "I worked up the courage to confess but then your father got up and beat me to it! In the end, our feelings were mutual and we ended up together."
Nanae giggled, covering her mouth with her hand while Jubei's landed on her other hand.
"Haha-ue, Chichi-ue-" Yae muttered, hiding her face in embarrassment while her parents reminisced about their past. Meanwhile, Jutaro chuckled awkwardly, also internally cringing when he heard of his parent's story. He loved them, yes, but he rather not hear their love stories at the breakfast table.
"That sounds like a lovely tale." Yumina commented, finding their story to be cute and mentally adding that to the back of her head, maybe she could do something similar during the festival with Touya.
"I agree." Linze nodded, also finding the story to be cute.
"In any case, festivals are usually the best place to confess your deepest feelings for someone." Nanae informed, to no one in particular at the table, "They say that if you do, the person you confess to will accept your feelings wholeheartedly."
The Kokonoe matriarch's sentence set off a series of switches within the females at the table, each one racking through their minds and scheming their own way to use the festival to confess to the object of their affections. Speaking of said person, he thankfully kept himself silent and just continued to eat his breakfast without speaking his mind on the subject.
There was no need to put more fuel into the fire that is Love and War.
"Well- It's not like we're gonna go there for someone- I just want to try out an Eashen-style festival!" Elze spluttered.
"Well, a chance to experience such a thing sounds enjoyable…" Leen pondered, it wasn't everyday a fairy like her would get to try out new things.
"I've had my fair share of Eashen festivals, it's fun if you ask me." Sally commented, remembering the times she was tasked by her old boss to infiltrate some high profile Eashen targets, she also had the chance to try out their festivals while undercover and she enjoyed them.
"Really? Can you spare some stories?" Setsuna inquired, intrigued by Sally's sentence and wanting to know more about their resident scythe wielder, she giggled and obliged, retelling tales of her adventures to the Mismedian Princess.
"Sure, there was this time where…"
After that, everyone delved into their own mini conversations, Jutaro and Yae trying to stop their parents from further embarrassing them, Sally and Setsuna enjoying the former's stories while Leen joined in at the later parts, Elze and Linze talking about the festival and Yumina adding herself into their conversation.
Meanwhile, Touya finally finished his food and was about to excuse himself from the table when he heard Yumina calling out for him.
"Where are you going, Touya?" She asked.
"Oh, I wanted to grab a plate and give it to Chiyome, she might miss breakfast if I don't." He explained, he grabbed a plate of food that he knew Chiyome loved, at least, the one he knew did, and gave a smile to the people still at the table. Yumia smiled back and nodded, and she continued her conversation with the Silhoueska twins.
The rest of his party waved goodbye before they continued their respective conversations amongst each other, Touya chuckled as he watched Yae and Jutaro getting ganged on by their parents. He thanked Ayame once again for the food and made his way out of the dining area, he closed the sliding door behind him and strode through the hallways the noise of the place falling into the background the further he walked.
He silently made his way to Chiyome's room, humming a tune he remembered hearing on his phone, which reminded him, he should find a way to recreate some headphones, that should be his next invention when he gets the chance, for now, he needs to focus on the task at hand.
Turning around the corner, he marched on, passing various rooms that he knew belonged to his party members until he stopped at one that housed Chiyome, it was sandwiched between Yumina and Sally's rooms, which was quite fitting, both of them were the ones who had the best luck when it came to talking with Chiyome, baring him of course.
He stood in front of her room and debated whether or not to call his presence out, but decided that it was worth it, he took a deep breath and sighed.
"Chiyome! It's me, Touya, I brought you breakfast!" He called out, waiting for a response inside of the room, and the sounds of muffled shifting answered him, the sound of footsteps coming closer rang until it stopped and the sliding door slid open.
Out came Chiyome wearing white sleepwear kimono, she still had that cloth covering her left eye.
"You… didn't have to do this." She said, unsure how to respond, but she was grateful for the gesture.
"Probably, but I still did… Can I come in?" Touya asked, his cousin hummed before nodding and moved out the way, Touya smiled and made himself at home, walking inside of Chiyome's room and setting the plates down on the table in her room. Compared to everyone's room, her's was the most barebones, but to be fair, they've only been staying here for a little over a week.
He turned and Chiyome not once moved from her spot other than closing the door, then, an awkward silence took over, and the two Mochizukis were stuck in the silence that was so thick, you could cut it with a knife, Touya tried to find a way to break it, but he was coming up short, but then, an idea came into his head.
"Can I ask you a question, Chiyome?" Touya inquired, Chiyome slowly nodded as she went past him and sat down next to the table.
"Are you going to join the festival?" He asked.
She hummed, grabbing the chopsticks near her plate and started to dig into the food. After she ate her first bite, she spoke up, "I don't see the point in me being there… I don't think I'll join…"
Touya's face softened, even after a week of being here, Chiyome still felt like an outcast, he wondered why, she was the one that said she'd rather stay with him since being with the Takeda Clan would only bring out bad memories from her, granted, he and his party were making progress in getting her to be more proactive, but it was slow. In any case, Touya smiled, he sat on the opposite end of the table, facing Chiyome as she ate her breakfast.
"Are you sure you don't want to?" Touya inquired, she shook her head and continued to eat in silence, "Well, I think that's a shame… I kinda wanna see you wear a yukata…"
Chiyome momentarily stopped herself from eating, a slight blush dusting her face, she shook her head and recomposed herself, the kunoichi thought it through, it was a chance to get to know her only living relative more, that and to bond with the other girls. She wanted to know them more and she was grateful for their efforts in trying to get to know her better, but there was still that underlying fear.
The fear that one day, like her family, they'll be violently ripped away from her, that's why she kept her distance from the other kunoichis in the Takeda, the only one who persisted on knowing more about her was Tsubaki. Yet, she was given a start here, all she needed was to take the first step…
"I… I guess I can join…" She decided, seeing Touya's smile widening made her a little more happy.
"That's great!" Touya cheered, happy to know she was on board with joining them.
Chiyome nodded and continued to eat, Touya silently observing and asking her things about what she did yesterday with the girls, he wasn't there since he had to join up with Yae to help look for Kansuke's whereabouts.
The two sat there at the table, passing the time with some light conversations until Chiyome was finished with her food. Touya offered to bring the plates back to the dining area but Chiyome insisted that she could do it.
After that, Touya left her room and went on with the day.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(A week later, at [Oedo], during the festival)
A week passed without anything interesting happening, the rest of that time was spent getting Chiyome used to being around other people and to have her bond with them, progress was steadily working out and the girls were able to get through her defenses, gradually getting Chiyome to join them more and more. Though she asked Touya about something and told him if they could go somewhere, it was to get some of her things back at a Takeda compound. He agreed of course and did what she asked.
After that, days spent on investigating the whereabouts of Kansuke, despise their best efforts from both clans, the dark mage was able to evade their watchful eyes, and there were no sights of Kansuke lately which worried both groups - Touya worked hard trying to find him as well, but the same results came up when he tried to use his phone, still, he didn't give up on that and kept probing his phone.
For now though, he let it take the backseat, he was now focused on the festival.
"Woah."
Setsuna gasped, mesmerized by the many lanterns lighting the areas and attractions around the festival, the streets littered with people and stalls, selling different things or paying for minigames. There were an assortment of them, ones like the usual goldfish-scooping to the gun-shooting minigames.
Setsuna wanted to try them all, she wanted to ran up to the stalls and play the minigames, but held herself back as the others still haven't arrived yet, she sighed and waited, the only one out with her was her fiance, who was dressed in his usual coat just without the gauntlets or the boots he usually wore. Meanwhile, she wore the light blue and white colored yukata with patterns of cyan lilies that matched her light-blue hair and ears.
She had to admit, it was a little difficult trying to get it on, but after Yae showed her how to, it took less than three minutes and Setsuna was already out and about.
Which was why she wondered why it's taking the others so long to prepare.
"How long are they gonna take! I'm dying just waiting here." Setsuna complained, kicking her legs back and forth while she waited.
"Shouldn't be that long." Touya reassured her, but even he was wondering why the girls were taking longer than expected, "Still, it is too long, wonder what's got them holed up in there."
"Apologies for the wait!" Yae's voice caught both of the adventurers' attention, they turned to the source and saw their party members walking up to them, "We took longer than expected, but we are here now!"
They all wore yukatas, each one handpicked to suit their unique styles, Yae wore one different from her usual pink kimono clothing, though it had the same pink color and moon pattern adorning it. The purplish-blue obi around her waist was tied neatly into a bow, her hair was tied in the same way as she always did, but instead of red ribbon, it was the same color as the obi around her waist as well.
Next to her was Sally, and her choice of colors was a far cry from her usual red and black color scheme, instead she wore a white yukata with orange and purple colors, likewise, the usual red amaryllis flower on her head was now an orange color, and instead of her twintails, she opt to let her hair down. Sally smiled as approached the two.
On Yae's left were the twins, Elze and Linze wore a red and purple yukata respectively, the white flower patterns adorning their clothing, and matching white obi sashes around their waist to lock the yukata in place, Elze looked a little uncomfortable in her dress, especially when she realized that Touya had his eyes on her, she shifted awkwardly, but said nothing, Linze on the other smiled and waved.
Next was Yumina, the colors of her yukata looked similar to the Mismedian dress she wore, the light purplish hue adorned with the grape patterns, instead of her hair flowing freely, Yumina opted to tie hers in a braid, it wasn't anything fancy, a simple tri-braid, but Touya had to admit, she was beautiful in it. In her arms was Kohaku who seemed to be taking this as an opportunity to take a nap. Yumina smiled when she spotted her fiance looking at her.
The all five girls approached the two, stopping when they were within earshot, lining up as Touya's eyes scanned each and every one of them.
"So, how do we look, Master?" Sally inquired, a smirk on her face.
"You all look… You all look amazing." Touya praised, his compliment brought the girls happiness, he then realized that there was still one person missing from the group, "Where's Chiyome?"
"Right here."
Turning around, Touya was greeted with a mesmerizing and nostalgic sight. Standing there was Chiyome and instead of a yukata like everyone else wore, she wore something different, she was dressed in a miko clothing, though more stylized than the one he was used to seeing her in. The white robe, which usually covered the top half, was semi-transparent and underneath was what resembled the usual white robe except it was sleeveless, the Hibakama was still scarlet red in color but it adorned an assortment of flower patterns. She still had a cloth covering her right eye, but instead of black it was red.
To say that Touya was surprised would be an understatement, he was flabbergasted by Chiyome's choice of clothing, yet at the same time, relieved, he never thought he'd get the chance to ever see her in that outfit ever again, even if it was another version of her.
"I… Wow, Chiyome…"
"I can see our time wasn't for naught after all." Yumina remarked, going behind Chiyome and pushing her slightly forward so Touya could get a better look at her.
Indeed, the reason why the girls took so long was because the girls spent so much time picking an outfit for Chiyome, while they originally wanted to suit her up in a yukata like everyone else, Nanae came around and suggested something different - Which left an impression on the girls before they all agreed and chose the miko outfit she was wearing right now, bonus since Chiyome also doubled as a Shrine Maiden in her spare time and judging by Touya's reaction, her choice of outfit left him stunned.
The party gathered up and discussed what to do now that they were all here.
"I heard there's minigames where you can win prizes." Yumina commented.
"Yeah, there's also a puppet show, I wanna check that out later." Setsuna informed the group, "They said it's a retelling of what Touya did back at the fortress."
"Really? That I gotta see." Elze grinned.
"There's something called Candy Apples, I wish to try them." Linze added.
"What about you, Touya-dono?" Yae inquired, turning to Touya who was silent through the exchange.
"Hm? Oh lemme think." Touya mused, "I guess nothing much, I just wanna watch the fireworks."
"Oh! Yes! The fireworks! They should be around in a few hours from now." Yae smiled.
"Fireworks? What's that?" Setsuna inquired, it was her first time hearing about that, which was shared by everyone else except for Sally.
"It's a small or large, depending on the brand, pyrotechnic explosion, it's mostly used for celebrating things and for festivals." Sally explained, "They vary, but it all comes down to making a show for your eyes to see. If you ask me, the fireworks are usually the best part of Eashen Festivals."
"That sounds awesome!" Setsuna exclaimed, she grabbed Touya's hand and pointed in the direction of the festival, "What are we waiting for! Let's go!"
Touya had little to no time to react as he was dragged by his other fiancee towards the festival, trailing behind them were the others, calling out to Setsuna to slow down which Touya was desperately agreeing to. But that left Chiyome and Yumina by themselves, the two shared an awkward silence until the latter grabbed the former's hand.
"Come now, they'll get away if we don't hurry." Yumina smiled, as she guided the Mochizuki kunoichi. Chiyome said nothing, opting to nod and let herself be taken in by the Belfastian's whim.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the festival, in [Oedo}.)
"Just aim at the prize you want, and when you're ready, pull the trigger!"
Setsuna, Yae and Sally huddled up next to a gun-shooting stall, the vendor had an assortment of stuffed toys they could win if they played and it intrigued the three. So, they decided to participate in the game, they paid the fee and were given the wooden guns and were told how to use them.
Once they were informed, the three took turns, playing a game of rock paper scissors to decide who'd go first and Yae won.
Taking her victory in stride, Yae carefully aimed at her target, a small pink teddy bear that had a katana attached to its right hand. She took a deep breath and slowly inched her finger, pulling the trigger as she adjusted her aim.
The cork flung out of the barrel and went straight for the pink teddy bear, however, Yae forgot to calculate for the wind and so the cork flew out of bounce and ended up hitting nothing.
Yae slumped, her shot not connecting and so she lost, she placed the gun on the counter and waited for Setsuna who was the next one up.
Said beastkin was aiming for the wolf plushie she had her eyes on, it looked like a mini-version of a [Great Ice Wolf] and she wanted it for her room back in [Belfast].
She carefully aimed for it, taking in the wind current and not wanting to make the same mistake as Yae, she waited for the wind to die down a bit before pulling the trigger, when she felt the wind pass, Setsuna pulled the trigger, watching as the cork flew out and went for her target. Hitting it dead center.
The wolf plushie rocked, trying to keep itself upright while Setsuna cheered for its downfall, a few seconds of anticipation and it looked like she was gonna win a plushie…
…But life had other plans.
The wolf plushie defied its fate, standing tall against the cork that tried to bring it down, Setsuna whined, her efforts wasted but she took it in like a mature person, sucking up her loss. She placed the gun down and moved so Sally could get a shot at it.
Sally positioned herself at the front, scanning the prizes and smirked when one of them caught her eye. She aimed the gun at the target, before she immediately pulled the trigger and the cork flew straight towards her target, unlike with Yae or Setsuna, the cork slammed against the plushie, hitting it hard enough that it easily toppled over and fall down, Sally's smirk widened as she puffed her chest in victory, all the while her friends were flabbergasted at her win.
"Look at that! You're the first one to win a prize!" The vendor exclaimed, finally seeing a person win at his stall, he cheerfully picked up the plushie and gave it to the winner.
"Thanks." Sally thanked, taking the plushie into her hands as the vendor gave a thumbs up, she held up the plushie, showing it to her friends, "Isn't it cute?"
The plushie in question was a flower plushie with a smile on its face, it was a normal looking flower plushie and it contrasted Sally's personality yet the two couldn't help but find it fitting for someone like her. The raven-haired female walked up to Touya and showed him what she won, earning a smile from him and praises, but that also made the two other girls behind her a little jealous but they sucked it up, you win some you lose some as they say.
Next up was goldfish-scooping, the group approached the stall of one of the minigames and asked for a rundown on how to play.
"Okay, let me show you." The vendor grabbed a scooper and gestured for the group to follow her, she showed them a crate that housed many goldfish of many variants and told them how to play, "You try to scoop up the fish in this scooper and if you catch them, you take them home, but be careful, the scooper is made of paper and so you have to time and chose the perfect moment to dive in, you lose if your scooper breaks."
The vendor finished explaining the rules, she gave each of them a scooper, Touya paid for the fees, insisting that they can think of it as his gift, deciding to just accept it, the girls went to work on catching some goldfish.
Some were better at it than others.
"Dang it!" Elze cursed, her scooper breaking when she tried to fast scoop a goldfish, "And here I thought I was gonna get it."
"Same here." Sally added, lifting the broken scooper she had in her hands.
"Make that three…" Linze remarked, also breaking her scooper.
"Guess that just leaves those three." Elze pointed out, looking over to the two princesses and the shrine maiden.
Setsuna stalked the goldfish like a predator stalks its prey, watching and waiting for the right moment to strike and capture the fish with her scooper, they swam and splashed, moving around in their makeshift home, just then, Setsuna pounced, swiping her scooper in hand across the surface of the water, aimed at the small school of goldfish, there was no way she wouldn't catch any of them in this position, she'd at least get one if all else fails.
And it failed, hard.
"Come on!" Setsuna complained, her plan failed before her eyes as the scooper broke, leaving her with broken dreams and fishless hands.
Next to her, Chiyome shared her pain, also coming up fishless and with a broken scooper in hand.
Looks like the winner of this game was Yumina, who carefully scooped up a lone goldfish that stood, stayed? In one spot and let itself be captured by Yumina. She scooped up the goldfish and presented it to the vendor. She took the fish and placed it inside of a small bucket and gave it to Yumina.
"Here's your prize young lady." The vendor smiled, Yumina nodded and thanked the vendor as she accepted the bucket.
Yumina smiled cheerfully as she won her prize, she then showed it to her beloved, earning her praise which made her even more happier than the prize she got. The girls sighed, happy for her while also envying her a little bit for getting Touya to praise her.
After that, the girls tried out more minigames in the festival, intent on passing the time before the fireworks came, they tried a lot of them and won some prizes here and there, but they also lost some of them, although saddened, Touya told them that what matters is they had fun while doing it and there's always a next time.
That's when Touya realized that Leen was nowhere to be found, he asked the girls where she was and they said that the fairy already went without them and thought that she met up with him and Setsuna. Touya shook his head and said that he didn't even see Leen at all, he wondered where she went but figured it's none of his business and continued onward. The group were walking through the streets, searching for another source of entertainment when Setsuna snapped her fingers and remembered what she wanted to visit in the festival.
"Right! The puppet show!" She exclaimed, running up to one of the many stall vendors and asking them where they can find the specific puppet show, they told her the directions and she relayed them back to her party.
They followed her lead and after a few minutes of walking, they came up to a stall where many children, and even some adults, gathered up to watch the puppet show in action.
Taking their seats, the group waited for the show to begin, the curtains of the stage opened, revealing a puppet that resembled Touya along with a puppet that looked like Jutaro. The girls giggled when they saw his puppet version while the real one sighed, at least they got the coat right, it looked almost the same with only a few differences.
The puppet Jutaro pleaded for the puppet Touya to save them from the Takeda Devils that threatened to destroy the fortress, of course, puppet Touya agreed to save them and the scene changed to puppet Touya standing proudly against a horde of puppets that resembled the oni-mask soldiers – one of the oni-mask puppets charged towards puppet Touya, but he just bonked them on the head and it sunk under the stage.
Soon enough, countless oni-mask puppets attacked puppet Touya, trying to harm him, but the puppet Touya stood firmly against the endless onslaught, many of the children gathered cheered loudly for their hero, cheering for his victory along with defeating all the oni-mask puppets, in the vaguely same way as Touya did during the actual battle, either through the use of the roughly made stuffed version of [Gungnir] or his magic in the form of paper folded up to look like arrows.
After that, the seemingly endless oni-mask puppets dwindled until it changed scenes, this time puppet Touya was floating above the battlefield, the puppet Touya raised its hand and many paper arrows appeared, the puppet brought its hand down and sent the paper arrows coming down to the ground below. Accompanied by some sound effects and visual effects in the form of paper cutouts.
When it was all said and done, the scene changed to puppet Touya standing proudly over the corpses of the oni-mask puppets, saying that the Takeda will never destroy the Tokugawa spirit and then the curtains closed, and came the round of applause from the audience.
Touya cringed when he watched the show, but still, he felt a little pride within him when they decided to make a show of his achievements, even if he did them without the intent of getting praise, he still appreciated it – Despite it being heavily romanticized and leaning towards Tokugawa's side more often than not.
"Is that what happened?" Chiyome inquired, she heard of the feat, but she never thought it was like how it was shown in the puppet show.
"It is, but it's greatly exaggerated." Touya was about to answer his cousin, but a familiar voice interjected. They all turned their heads towards the source of the voice and found Leen standing behind them with a smile on her face and holding a candy apple in her hand.
=-=-=-=-=-X-=-=-=-=-=
(At the festival nearing its end, in [Oedo}.)
"This was so much fun!" Setsuna exclaimed, taking a bite out of her candy apple treat.
"Tell me about it." Elze agreed, next to her was Linze who was enjoying her sweet candy apple.
It had been a fun two hours, trying out various different minigames and watching the puppet show. The group decided to buy some candy apples, Leen guided them to where they were since she was the one who suggested it. After that, they all rested up and tried to find the best spot to watch the fireworks begin their show.
"I have to say, these candy apples are very delicious." Yumina commented, while not as sweet as the cake rolls Touya introduced, it was still good enough.
"Yes." Linze agreed.
"So, when do the fireworks start?" Elze asked, turning to Yae.
"It should be now, if I recall correctly." Yae answered, she too wondered why the fireworks were taking longer than expected, "I'm not certain as to why it's not starting. Perhaps it may be delayed?"
"Eh, who cares, as long as it isn't too long, I'm fine with waiting here for a few." Sally remarked, finishing her treat and quickly throwing it away in the designated place via using her powers. She killed the time by starting up some light conversations with the two, "Besides, we have all the time we need."
Though, as soon as Sally finished her sentence, the first firework set off, the whistling sound of the firework caught everyone's attention, especially when more started to fly off, they set off in the sky, painting the night sky with various colorful lights. The ones who never saw a fireworks show were mesmerized at the display. Each firework in the sky was a short, yet colorful experience, some even shaping up into some vague shapes, the pretty colors that painted the night sky and the sheer amount of them was a spectacular view.
"Look at that one!"
"Oh sis! That one looks like a heart!"
"Is that supposed to be a wolf?"
"Oh! Oh! That's so cool!"
"Eh, I've seen better."
Various reactions from the group as they continued to watch the fireworks display. Touya couldn't help but feel nostalgic, who knew something like a fireworks show would make him feel like this, but he couldn't help it, he's only been in this world for close to a year now, yet it felt like forever…
He smiled, taking his eyes away from the show a bit and looked over to the amazed faces of his party. Each of them so happy and content, stars in their eyes, like children being given candy.
He turned and met eyes with Yumina, she smiled, like she always has and yet this one was different, he watched as she carefully made her way towards him. The fading light from the fireworks illuminating her form. He couldn't help but admire her beauty, especially in her yukata.
She stopped just a few feet away from him.
"It has been a while since we properly spoke, Touya." She whispered, grabbing his full attention as she continued, "Many things have happened since, some good, some bad, yet I wouldn't change any of them."
"You've brought so much joy to my life, gave me experiences I never would've had, and most of all, made me feel so much warmth and happiness I could never imagine." Yumina smiled, grabbing his hand and locking their fingers together, "I love you, Mochizuki Touya."
Ah, so the inevitable fireworks confession scene – Touya was stunned, sure, he knew how Yumina felt towards him, she made it bluntly clear multiple times, but she never outright said it like this, and her proposal doesn't count. He tried to think of something to say, anything to say, yet he couldn't find any words to reply to the confession before him.
Though it seems like Yumina doesn't mind.
"But I may be a little greedy, I didn't consider your own feelings on the matter… But just for now – for this very moment, I want you to know that I love you, always and forever." She smiled, content with just expressing her feelings right now, under the spectacular display of fireworks, "Though it pains me, I think someone out there needs you more than here, so please go to her, Touya."
Yumina let go, telling him vaguely before she went back to her previous spot, leaving a confused Touya as he tried to decipher her words, but then he made a quick headcount and found one of the people in his group missing. He wondered if that was what Yumina meant and judging by her expression when they briefly met eyes, it confirmed it.
The problem was finding where she would be, then something clicked, she was wearing it the whole time since they entered the festival, Touya quickly made his way out of the crowd watching the fireworks happening and found a secluded alleyway, he figured using {Accel}, even if it was boosted with {Boost} and {Heat Riser}, would take too long and just used {Gate} instead.
And just like that, he teleported out of [Oedo], and to the shrine where they first came to.
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(At the forest shrine, near [Oedo].)
Stepping out of the null spell, Touya was greeted with the sounds of the wind chimes, along with the muffled sounds of the fireworks behind him. Even at this distance, they were still loud enough to hear and bright enough to see, but that wasn't what he was here for, it was for the person in question.
Though it didn't take long to find her, she was at the base of the shrine, her hands clasped together, eyes closed shut as she prayed in silence. Touya dared not to interrupt, he knew better than that. He waited for Chiyome to finish her prayers, for whom, he can only assume, but he kept that to himself and watched in silence.
When she finished, she slowly turned around and was a little surprised to see him behind her.
"How did you…" She stopped, dumb question to ask, if course she knew how, he has {Gate} after all.
"Doesn't matter, why are you all the way up here?" Touya asked, he was kinda surprised that she was able to get her so quickly though, but then again, she's a kunoichi, being able to sneak out unnoticed and swiftly is her entire thing, "The fireworks started without you."
"I… I ran here and took a moment to pray." Chiyome answered, bowing her head slightly, "I'm sorry for worrying you."
"No, it isn't a problem, I can understand why." Touya waved his hand, then a silence engulfed the atmosphere, the only sounds were the audible sounds of firework explosions in the distance, he tried to find a way to break the silence but came up short.
"Can I ask you a favor?" Chiyome was the one who broke the silence first.
"Sure, what is it?" Touya nodded.
"There's a place I want to visit and I wish to go there right now if you are willing."
Touya hummed, it's not like he wanted to decline, since Yumina was the one who said that Chiyome needed him more, but he can't for the life of him figure out why, but if this was what the Belfastian Princess meant, than Touya would obliged, he nodded and asked her where.
She told him to use {Recall} to find it in her memories, nodding, he did the ritual and used the null spell, Touya was greeted with pictures of a beach, the calm waves meeting the shores and rock formations, when he opened his eyes, Touya smiled and told her that he can take her there now.
He outstretched his arm and opened a {Gate}, he gestured for her to go first and Chiyome nodded, stepping into the translucent gate and disappeared, Touya took one last look at the shrine and then [Oedo] at the distance, the fireworks still going. He smiled before he too stepped into the null spell.
The {Gate} closed behind him, Touya took in the scenery that Chiyome asked him to take them to, it was a beach, one of the many coastlines of [Eashen]. It was a little different since it was nighttime, but it still looked the same as the one he saw in Chiyome's memories. He was hit with the chilly wind of the sea, it made him shiver a bit but thanks to his coat, it wasn't as much of a problem as it would be if he wore normal clothes.
He looked around the place, nothing seemed special about it other than being the first beach he visited since he came to this new world, he idly noted in his head that he should come back here some time during the day, it might be a good resting place.
Touya spotted his cousin near the waters and approached her, he asked Chiyome what she wanted to see here at the beach, but she just told him to walk with her as she started to move parallel to the waves. Confused, he sighed before doing what she wanted, though his boots did sink into the sand a little bit.
"So why go to the beach?" Touya inquired.
"I have many fond memories of this specific beach." Chiyome answered, skipping along the seashores as she walked, not even sinking into the wet sands, "Many of them are precious to me."
Touya said nothing, keeping quiet as he listened on to her explanation.
"I had my first birthday party here." Chiyome solemnly smiled, reminiscing about the past as she continued on, "We loved going to the beach to celebrate."
"Mizuki would make the best sandcastles." She looked over to a rather large sand hill on the beach, likely the aftermath of a sandcastle.
"Yukari would make the best roasted meats over the bonfire." She recalled the delicious smell of cooked meat.
"And Amagi-obasan… She told the best stories." Chiyome said, stopping as she faced the sea, the sounds of calm waves meeting the land, and the chilly breeze clashing against her body, "Especially when she told us little ones the various fairy tales."
"Those were simple times." Chiyome expressed, "I thought I would never get the chance to experience those feelings ever since that day."
"But I have, these past few weeks have been the best days of my life since – Even when I didn't ask for it, you and the others have been there to help me get through the pain, even when I tried to shut you all out, you still persisted." She smiled, remembering all the times they spent together the past two weeks and how they bonded through it all. She turned around and faced Touya for the first time since they got here, "I pushed away everyone that day, but then you came into my life, my own living blood relative."
It was a miracle to Chiyome, she never thought that she would see another Mochizuki out there, but here he was – her cousin she never met till now, taking the time of his life to help with hers, to help her with her past and to move on from it and she had no way to repay him…
Except with the only way she knew how.
"Which is why I have decided to devote myself to you." She confessed. "To swear on my life serving under you, till my last dying breath."
"Chiyome…" He whispered, but the look on her face stopped him. He saw two Chiyomes standing there, illuminated by the moon's light, the one he knew and the one in the new world.
"I am lost, Touya, lost in this life after the death of our Clan, but now I see a path that only can happen with serving by your side." She pleaded, "So please… Don't turn me away."
"I…" Touya muttered, the words dying in his throat, her pleading look was too much for him, yet he wanted to say no, no because he didn't want her to serve beside him, he wanted her to be beside him, "I can't accept."
"Why!?-"
"Because I don't want you to serve under me, Chiyome." Touya interjected, stopping her sentence, "I want you beside me, as we take our revenge against Kansuke."
Chiyome was left speechless, she didn't think he would reject her like that only to reassure her and yet she giggled.
she giggled because Yumina was right all along.
"You really are too kind, Touya." She shook her head, the Belfastian Princess was right about how he would respond to her offer and yet Chiyome was fine with that, and it meant that he was definitely a man she could trust, "Then… If you're willing, let me stay by your side."
She gave him a smile, a bright, cheerful smile, the first one she has ever given Touya since he found her.
A smile that Touya decided then and there.
A smile he was going to protect.
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And that's a wrap.
Welp, Season 2 of Isekai Wa Smartphone to Tomo Ni has been released, and Episode 1 was pretty enjoyable if you ask me. Originally, I wanted to post this at the same time as the episode dropped, but irl got in the way and so I had to finish it now or else I'll lose momentum, but I have to say, I had fun writing this especially the festival part, always fun having a relaxing chapter.
And with this, Chiyome officially joins Touya's growing harem, which Yumina took lead in like she always does. Speaking of Yumina, she's definitely one of the best characters to write for me, her straightforward feelings and how assertive she is, which is such a blast to write. Compared to the other girls, barring Sally and Setsuna, Yumina expresses herself confidently.
Other than that, the next chapter marks the end of the Eashen Arc, bringing us closer to the Babylon Arc and the subsequent Beach Chapter/Episode, because you can't have an anime without a beach scene.
Until next time, this is V_KJ, signing out.