Chapter 7

Notes: I apologize to everyone following along for how long these last two chapters took. My release plan did not work at all.

Random things I learned when writing this chapter: the exchange rate in 1972 was 1 USD = 303 JPY, the average price of a hardcover book was $10 USD, and the first convenience store in Japan was a My Shop in 1969.

The week and a half that followed that night at Kaede's was a quick yet painful exercise in the observance of misfortune wielded at the whim of a childish goddess. Setsuna had kept the closest eye on Kaede, who continued to take the brunt of it all, but the bad luck was following all of them. Keys falling into a grate, a constantly out of tune instrument, a flat bus tire that led to a missed appointment, a broken nail on a fresh manicure.

Setsuna let out a sigh and looked down at her feet.

A broken heel on a brand-new pair of shoes that was the first indulgent purchase she'd allowed herself in centuries. She was almost certain she could hear a hint of laughter on the breeze as she stumbled.

A deep frown formed on her lips. She was quite ready for this part of her mission to be permanently over. For the evening, though, she was done. Kaya was making dinner tonight, primarily just to prove she could. Setsuna's frown quirked up. There was a great deal of potential in the outcome of this.

The first hints of that dinner touched her senses as she turned the key in the door. The full warmth of it wrapped around her as she stepped into the apartment, her new heels now a set of flats.

"Smells good," she called as she began to toe off her shoes.

"Don't touch the pot!" called back Kaya from the living room. She scrambled herself out from a pile of textbooks, medical journals, and notes. "Hold on!"

Kaya moved quickly, stealing a tiny peck of a kiss as she ran by Setsuna in the hallway. She turned into the kitchen, snagged an apron off a hook on the side of the refrigerator, and pulled it over her head without bothering to tie the waist strings. She grabbed the ladle from the counter, holding it up close to her like one might a gifted rose as she leaned against the doorframe.

"Welcome home," she said, her voice playfully seductive as it attempted to match what in her mind was a sultry pose.

Setsuna smiled widely and laughed, then reached forward and pulled Kaya to her. The little startled 'eep' Kaya let out made the hug that much better. She could almost forget about the travesty of her shoes.

Almost.

Kaya snuggled in, wrapping her arms around Setsuna's waist. Then she noticed the shoes by the door and ducked her head under Setsuna's arm to get a better look. "Hey, what happened to your shoes?"

"Do you need to ask?" smirked Setsuna.

Kaya shrugged and gave her a crooked smile. "We'll call it an excuse to go on another shopping trip." Happy with the smile this got from Setsuna, Kaya nudged her in the direction of a bar chair. "Go sit and I'll get dinner."

Setsuna climbed onto a bar chair and watched Kaya from across the breakfast counter. The apron, which apparently was only for a moment of show, was hung back on its hook. Then Kaya lifted the lid from her stew pot with a bit of flare before waving her ladle over it like a magic wand. She giggled, amused with herself, as she ladled hefty portions of stew into soup bowls. She slid two bowls across the counter along with a plate of crusty bread.

"My mom's favorite comfort meal."

"I may need to revise my estimate of your cooking skills," teased Setsuna.

"Not if that means you expect me to do it more," laughed Kaya as she came around into the main room and took a seat.

They spent some time catching up on their day as they ate. When Setsuna finished telling the tale of Kaede's singed work table and the small glaze paint fire that had caused it, Kaya's eyes lit up.

"Okay, so that was actually pretty awful, but…" Kaya reached into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. With a great deal of enthusiasm, she slammed it down on the counter. "Point for consideration."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow in curiosity. She reached for the folded flier and slowly opened it, having fun by intentionally dragging it out a bit. On the paper was a splash of color - bright greens and pinks - with the words "Summer Lotus Festival" in bold yellow across the top. There were pictures of past festival highlights and a bulleted list of events.

"A festival?"

Kaya nodded excitedly.

With a crooked grin, Setsuna leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Reasoning?"

Kaya popped a chunk of bread into her mouth and started talking as she chewed. "Oquay, stho, ith imma," she swallowed, "attention seeking adolescent goddess, I'm going to go where there's a lot of people. It's a huge celebration with a parade and music and fireworks. All kinds of opportunities to cause mischief."

"Counterpoint," returned Setsuna, giving the flier a little wave. "It's not actually a celebration forher. Even if it were to fall into her view, she's very likely to shun it as beneath her because of that. She's also very focused on a certain set of people right now."

"Rebuttal!" Kaya leaned forward. "Those people she's focused on are probably going to go, too. So we might as well have some fun this weekend while we keep an eye on them. And if they don't show up," Kaya shrugged, "we'll get to see some of the festival before we have to change the day's plans."

Setsuna found herself nodding, though she did give Kaya a playfully reproachful look. "I'm beginning to think you're a bad influence, Ishida Kaya."

Kaya laughed. "But in the best way, right?"

Without saying anything, Setsuna turned back to her meal. There really wasn't much of an argument to be made against it, and after the last week, she figured she deserved a bit of fun. All while keeping an eye on Hidemura, of course.

Alandra sighed as she surveyed the objects on the Mercurian's balcony table.

What should have been a formal invitation was nothing more than a single sheet of creased and wrinkled paper. The fake, plastic lotus flower wasn't even worth her time, though the way it lit up amused her kirkri. The hastily whispered out 'here you go, squirrel ' definitely wasn't a proper means of address. The coins in the small display were the only acceptable thing,

"You think the Mercurian left it for us?" asked Alandra, still unconvinced. "I think it all looks more Jovian than Venusian."

Her kirkri shook its head. It chittered excitedly as it repeated what the Mercurian had whispered into the sky before sneaking back into the darkened bedroom to rejoin the sleeping Time Guardian.

"I think you're far too forgiving of her calling you a squirrel. Though I shouldn't expect better of her."

None of this was a proper offering. It had gotten her attention, however.

The little goddess squinted at the flier and turned it sideways as she contemplated. "It wouldn't hurt to make an appearance, I suppose. A courtesy for the Jovians. They weren't formally invited to our ceremony, after all, so they shouldn't feel offense if we show up without the same. And it would be nice if whatever deity of theirs this is for attends, don't you think?" She glanced down at her kirkri and got an enthusiastic nod in return. "Perhaps they can tell us where all the others have gone."

Alandra nodded decisively. "Alright, we shall go. Even if it isn't for us."

The morning began with a child-like enthusiasm Setsuna hadn't previously seen in Kaya. Her partner tried to rush them through breakfast as she laid out, in intricate detail, their schedule for the day and the route she thought would be best so they didn't miss any of the festival.

"Oh, and uh, Hidemura, too," Kaya threw in sheepishly when Setsuna raised an eyebrow at that missing piece.

Setsuna let it go, though. If there were any problems, she would know. She reached for the teapot to top off her cup, refusing to be hurried.

"Hold on a sec," said Kaya, waving a hand at her to stop her. She went back inside the apartment and came back out a few minutes later with a small, brown box.

"A festival souvenir. Plus this, because you refuse to wear pink like the rest of us. Just gotta be different."

Kaya reached forward and pinned a large, pink enamel poppy onto the pointed collar of Setsuna's romper. She ignored Setsuna's quiet protest of how she just didn't care for pink, instead thinking the pin added a nice touch of color against the bright white of the collar while complimenting the forest green in the rest of the outfit.

"There," she finished with a nod. She motioned at her outfit, the denim shortalls covered in white and pink flowers with her pink t-shirt underneath. "Not as festive as me, but good enough for your first time out. Now open the box!"

Setsuna used her fingernail to break the tape holding the folded top closed and opened it. She moved aside a bit of tissue paper, a bright kelly green the first thing she noticed. A smile formed as she lifted the small mug from the box. Green ran along the rim and bottom of the cream-colored stoneware and fully covered the handle. The design around the mug was a minimalist panoramic of lotus flowers floating in water, a single large flower covering all of one half with ripples of water leading to a few tiny ones on the other.

"I got one for me, too," went on Kaya. "Except mine is pink, so we don't get them mixed up."

"Thank you." Setsuna reached forward and latched a finger around the strap on Kaya's shortalls to pull her in for a light kiss.

"You're welcome," grinned Kaya. "And! If you hurry a bit, we can see what else the shop I got that from has at their booth."

Setsuna chuckled at the way Kaya was bouncing on the balls of her feet. Not hurrying at all, and fully amused by Kaya's impatient pout, Setsuna slowly poured her tea and enjoyed the first sips from her new mug.

There were so many people!

Alandra watched from her space, sitting on her knees in a pool of stars with her feet tucked under her. She leaned forward in excitement, her nose nearly touching her observation portal. Her kirkri darted about in the human realm, flitting between people and all the different booths. There were streamers and brightly colored pennants, balloons in all different shapes, pretty glass baubles that twinkled when they caught the light, and the food! Her mouth watered at the smells drifting through as the cooks set out their wares. And she could hear the first practice chords for the music that would soon begin.

They hadn't found the festival's deity yet, but after seeing all the pink and white flowers decorating everything Alandra was absolutely convinced this was a Jovian festival. Everything was a flower, from the decorations, to the clothing, to those annoyingly cute pastries that she really would like to try. Her kirkri was mostly still playing, though, rather than seeking out the deity Alandra had sent her to find.

Playing.

The little goddess bit on her lip as she touched a finger to the portal, the image blurring briefly where her fingertip dragged across it. Such a large festival. This Jovian deity must be important. Given this, Venus really should have a proper representative there, and since she could in no way rely on her incompetent high priestess to be that representative…

Alandra smiled widely and stood. She held her arms out and gave a curt nod. A puff of smokey gold surrounded her, and vines of white flowered embroidery appeared over the silky fabric of her pants. More delicate stitching ran along the sheer orange of her sleeves, and a matching sash popped into existence around the waist of her tunic. As a final touch, a single sunflower appeared clipped in the side of her hair.

She called to her kirkri, catching its attention as it batted at a golden fish in a plastic pond. The kirkri chittered, then hastened off to meet its mistress.

Setsuna peered across the festival grounds, arms crossed as she watched Kaede and Hana happily greet and cajole customers at their makeshift booth. Charms and other little trinkets hung on clear threads around the front, with some t-shirts and patches with their softball team logo mixed in. It appeared to be primarily a fundraiser for new equipment. The young women were doing quite a good job with their kirkri themed items.

Setsuna could feel her teeth grinding as a small charm with what the young women had called their "lucky fox" painted on the front was exchanged for a few thousand yen.

"So how bad is that, actually?" asked Kaya as she came up beside her.

Attention back on Kaya, Setsuna's posture relaxed a bit and she let her arms fall to her sides. Her partner hadn't been shy about buying two balloons from the vendor by the cotton candy stand. Both balloons were now tied to her backpack, bumping lazily above her head as she moved, and the remaining half bag of spun sugar was tucked away inside. The sun glinted off the enamel flower pendant Kaya had purchased at another vendor, the pink lotus matching the comb she had placed atop Setsuna's bun. It would be wrong to break up the set Kaya had insisted through a wide smile as she stood on tiptoe to get it in place.

Letting out a breath, Setsuna accepted the crepe cone Kaya held out to her. She could see strawberries beneath the whipped cream and almond slivers. "I don't have any idea. I don't know if Alandra will be pleased with this or angered by it." She nipped a bit of the whipped cream, the frown on her lips not reflecting her pleasure over the light sweetness. "What possessed them to go this far with it? I know it looks like the medallion, and that they have no idea what they're actually doing, but… why? And how much damage have they already caused this morning?"

Kaya took a bite out of her crepe, capturing a piece of strawberry. "I'm going to inject a bit of logic into this." She rolled her eyes at the look Setsuna gave her. "Okay, I know it's entirely illogical from a certain point of view. But there are a ton of people here. Some bad luck is going to follow them that has nothing to do with the squirrel. People get flat bike tires all the time, and a lot of these booths are old. Just because one or two rickety poles broke doesn't mean anything more than they were past their useful lifespan."

A corner of Setsuna's mouth turned up. "And the fire?"

Kaya waved her free hand dismissively. "A tiny little grease fire that was quickly contained and happened because the vendor didn't properly clean his equipment the last time he broke down."

Before Setsuna could find a rebuttal, a teenager with her dark hair in a high ponytail came up to them. A bit hesitantly, she held out a folded piece of paper to Kaya. "That guy over there asked me to give this to you."

As she walked away, Kaya looked past the girl to the far end of the festival grounds. She squinted, not really able to see the huge grin on Suoh's face but sensing it in his happy wave as he leaned around his easel. Almost afraid to see what this was, she unfolded the large piece of sketch paper.

"Oh, good grief," she sighed, her hand coming up to cover her eyes.

Setsuna couldn't help the laugh that bubbled up when she saw the sketch. They were both illustrated as caricatures with tiny bodies and overly large heads. Kaya was drawn as a stereotypical nerd with thick framed glasses and buck teeth with what looked like a hastily drawn rose and sword on her t-shirt. In one hand was a book, in the other a balloon. Setsuna's image didn't have as much detail, he'd likely been going off memory rather than actually being able to see her from a distance. In spite of that, her caricature was quite lovely, all soft lines, lush eyelashes, and flowy hair. All around them in the air were little hearts and swirls.

Kaya 'eeped' as Setsuna plucked the page from her hand.

"I like it," teased Setsuna.

"Of course you like it," smirked Kaya. "You look almost angelic, and I get this kind of treatment. You know, he wouldn't have passed his classic lit class without me, so he at least owes me some sparkly eyelashes or something." She shot a look back over to him as he fumbled his sketchpad and tried to keep his easel from falling over.

Kaya would have grinned in an 'it serves him right' kind of way if her attention hadn't been drawn by a woman whirling on the young man standing behind her. He was turned a bit to the side and didn't see the hard slap coming. As a red handprint formed on his cheek, he just looked at her in total confusion while she screamed at him for touching her in an inappropriate way.

Setsuna, however, missed the slap and the apparent skirt flip that had led to it. Her attention had gone to a squeeze bottle of mayo exploding over a little paper tray of takoyaki and the faint trail of golden glitter leading away from the food stall. Her eyes followed that trail as a toddler's balloon popped, jarring her from her stroller nap. The trail headed closer to the middle of the grounds, towards a small stage. A boy lost his footing, his blue shaved ice flying from his hands and landing on the open sheet music of a familiar violinist. Mai shrieked as her flutiest companion tried to hide a laugh behind her hand.

And then Setsuna saw her. Just the faintest image, like a hazy summer mirage of the little goddess standing beneath the canopy of a large tree, her arms around her waist as she laughed in merriment. The trail of golden glitter was quickly upon her, winding up her body in a breezy manner until her kirkri settled on her shoulder. Then the faint haze of her turned and started moving back through the crowd, a familiar hint of little girl giggles following behind her.

She heard Kaya's heavy sigh and wondered briefly if she had seen the mirage of the goddess or if she had just deduced what was happening. Either way, Kaya was on Setsuna's heels as she began pursuit. The crowd created a challenge, because she couldn't transform in the middle of them. However, Alandra's easy, skipping pace allowed her to follow at a quick clip instead of a mad run, and she could hear Kaya occasionally apologizing to pedestrians behind her as her eyes tried to stay focused on that faint wisp of orange.

The crowd began to thin out as they moved away from the festival grounds and the main walkways leading to it. Buildings became more dense, and the sound of traffic became more noticeable as she entered a tight alleyway, henshin wand now in hand. Her quarry rounded the edge of the building at the alley's end, and when Setsuna exited, she found herself abruptly stopping in a small patch of greenspace hugged by a narrow two-lane. Behind her, she could hear Kaya's footsteps stop and the hard breathing that followed. Her partner was not an athlete. And in front of her…

Alandra hung in the air, bobbing slightly. The teal of her eyes held a devilish mischief that matched the sharp half-grin on her lips. Atop her head was a green and white balloon crown, the matching balloon sword held in her hand at the ready. Ignoring the oddity of that, Setsuna quickly whispered her transformation phrase.

The flash of maroonish light this created tickled Alandra, as did Pluto's staff being pointed in her direction. Her kirkri leapt from her shoulder as Alandra did a happy backflip. The goddess' apparent glee was not reflected in her familiar, however. The kirkri crouched low, a tiny snarl visible as it began to slowly circle.

Pluto hesitated, because now she had a decision to make. Put in a real effort to trap the goddess and her familiar? Or stick to the plan? Because she still had more time.

She immediately chastised herself, because there really was no choice. She heard Alandra laugh as a Garnet Ball began to materialize, realizing too late how her moment of hesitation had cost her.

Before the Garnet Ball could fully form, the kirkri darted away, splitting the goddess and her familiar too far apart to capture in one attack. Alandra pointed her balloon sword at Pluto as the kirkri was suddenly behind them. Pluto's attack died back as Kaya let out a startled yelp. Pluto turned quickly and saw the kirkri use Kaya's back like a springboard. The little creature was too light in its current form to do more than make her flinch. Instead, it carried its mistress' magic to her target, causing the flowers painted onto Kaya's shortalls to begin popping out into real blooms. Each little pop let out a puff of smokey gold as flowered vines grew from the fabric.

Having the misfortune of actually wearing the source, Kaya couldn't escape the tangling mess. She stumbled, her arms flailing like she was swatting at a large spider web she'd walked into. Pluto managed to jump away as a vine snaked towards her, though it wasn't far enough to keep another from latching onto her staff. The vine wound its way quickly up, little red and orange flowers blooming as it went. Another reached out for her as Kaya, her legs now roped together, fell to the ground. This time Pluto couldn't get away as a vine grabbed her arms and branched off, wrapping around her and tying her staff in her hands.

The kirkri chitter-chortled as it ran back to its mistress. Over what had become muffled curses from Kaya, Pluto heard Alandra speaking words in a language she didn't understand. Then the little goddess clapped her hands together and blinked out of view with her kirkri.

Her arms and most of her torso now completely covered in flowering vines, with the quiet tinkling of a windchime in the air, Pluto watched the red bloom at the top of her staff grow until it was the size of a dinner plate. It swayed a bit, seemed to pause ever so slightly, then exploded into her face in a choking cloud of glitter.

Pluto fell to her knees hacking dusty glitter from her lungs as the vines loosened and the flowers died back. She was still coughing as she reached forward to help Kaya free herself from the green cocoon that was no longer attached to the flowers on her shortalls.

Kaya scrambled out of the decaying mess, quickly getting to her feet and putting space between herself and the dead vines. She was breathing hard, but still managed to get out a few more curses. She swallowed hard. "Oh my god! She really is a child!"

"Don't let appearances fool you." Pluto stood, pushing the remains of the vines down her arms and off her body. She waved the last bit of glitter away from her face. "She's no more a child than I am. Are you okay?"

Kaya biting her lip and trying not to giggle was not the response she expected. Pluto raised an eyebrow in question.

Holding up a finger to get Pluto to wait, Kaya grabbed her backpack from where it had fallen on the ground. She ignored the sad looking popped balloons hanging from the strap as she rummaged around inside for a second, then came up with a square hand mirror. "It's appropriate, at least," she grinned.

Her frown deepening, Pluto took the mirror. Around her left eye was a brightly painted yellow sunflower, traces of green leaves peaking out beneath the petals along her cheek. On her right cheek was a pink lotus flower. The thin sheen of glitter covering the rest of her face caught the sunlight and sparkled.

Pluto let out a sigh, her shoulders slumping. She really would have preferred a fight.

Kaya stepped up to her and rested a hand on her arm. "It's not that bad. And I'm sure it will wash off." The corners of her mouth turned up. "Eventually."

Pluto groaned and started walking away, letting her uniform fade back to her romper. "I'm not getting you any more balloons."

"What about a goldfish?" asked Kaya playfully as she caught up and kept pace with Setsuna's long stride. "I know the perfect place for the bowl. And we could get a cute little castle for it. But no fake plants."

Setsuna groaned and quickened her pace.

.

.

With a bit of soap and a souvenir hand towel, the face paint and glitter did actually come off pretty easily. Setsuna leaned against the sink counter in the restroom of the My Shopwhile Kaya dabbed gently at the remaining yellow paint around her eye. As Kaya worked, she slipped into humming the same children's tune she'd sang the night they met. That same patient and determined look was on her face, too, as she made sure the water stayed warm and never let the soap get too close to Setsuna's eye. At least this time it was just paint and glitter. So maybe she was actually glad it hadn't been a real fight.

"Okay," said Kaya after she stepped back and examined her work for a moment. "I got all the paint and most of the glitter. But it's glitter." She shrugged and gave Setsuna a deeply apologetic smile. "It's going to linger."

Setsuna grinned and pulled Kaya in closer. Her arms rested loosely around Kaya's waist. "So that leaves a serious question. Can you handle your partner sparkling so brightly in the afternoon sun?"

Kaya huffed at the faux show of ego. "I think I can manage being outshined this time."

Setsuna leaned forward so their foreheads touched. "And you're certain you're okay."

"I'm fine," answered Kaya, capping the response with a small kiss against Setsuna's lips. "My backside might be a little bruised from where I fell, but no actual damage."

She would have stolen one more kiss if Kaya hadn't jumped back at the sound of the door opening. Setsuna took that as their que to move along. There was a goldfish to be won, after all.

.

.

Alandra laid her new treasures out in front of her as she sang the tune she'd heard at the parade. She waved a hand over her crown and sword, touching them with a bit of magic so they wouldn't wither away. She rolled the sketch pencil under her finger and gave the little duck rattle a shake.

Beside her, her kirkri bounced excitedly and pointed its nose toward the sewn, round patch with its image on it.

"Yes, you may have it," chuckled Alandra. She picked it up and looked more closely at it, then sighed. "I hope my priestesses didn't offend our hosts with these."

Her kirkri cooed, sounding upset at the idea anyone could be offended at something so lovely.

"It's not about the quality," answered Alandra. She reached over and scratched her familiar around the ears. "I had hoped to meet their deity, and I fear they may have been upset over my priestess' rudeness in trying to take some attention for us. It was very poor form."

The kirkri shrugged and took the patch in its teeth. As it ran off to its treasure hoard, Alandra turned her attention back to her own items. She tapped a finger against her lips as she contemplated what would be her favorite of the day, then gave a nod as she chose the pretty flowered cake.

While she nibbled on the pastry, she opened a window to check on Pluto. That had been the best part. The memory of the look on the Time Guardian's face when she saw the results of the paint flower exploding was better than all her treasures combined. The Mercurian had just been a bit of added amusement. Alandra thought about how surprising it was that the muddled Mercurian had actually been useful for something more than just keeping Pluto distracted. Not enough for a blessing, though. She hadn't earned that.

The paint was gone from Pluto's face now, though some of the glitter remained. It sparkled prettily as she watched a trio of cups move quickly over a tabletop. When they stopped, the Mercurian pointed with absolute conviction to the one in the middle. Pluto looked doubtful, but picked that one anyway.

Alandra laughed when the cup was lifted to reveal nothing beneath it. She considered playing with them a bit more, but decided to leave the Time Guardian and her game to chance. She'd already had enough fun with them. She closed the window and went back to her treasures. The last bit of pastry was popped into her mouth, and she reached for a wooden cup on a stick with a ball hanging from it on a long string. This new game looked challenging, and she wanted to try it next.

.

.

There were no more clear signs of the little goddess for the rest of the afternoon. Bad luck at the activity booths was easily contributed to basic festival rigging, and the softball charm booth hadn't burned to the ground or been struck by lightning, so they appeared to be in the clear.

Except for the goldfish booth. They spent far too much time and money there fighting with the tissue paper catchers. But Kaya was fixed on the thing, and the way her tongue stuck out of the corner of her mouth as she concentrated was amusing. As was the way she melted at the small, sad voice they heard behind them as they were leaving.

Bemusement plain on her face, Setsuna watched Kaya kneel down and smile at the two little fishless girls who hadn't made it over to the booth before closing. They looked close in age, somewhere around 8 or 9, and the younger of the two looked crestfallen against the amber backdrop of the setting sun. Until Kaya held up the large, water filled bag with two goldfish lazily swimming in circles.

The child's eyes lit up as the bag was handed to her with a kind word of caution to hold it carefully. Kaya was given a hug and an enthusiastic thank you before the children ran off to find their parents.

"You worked awfully hard to get those fish just to give them away. Though your pouting was a good motivator for my efforts," Setsuna teased as they started walking away from the festival grounds. Kaya was leading, taking them to a spot away from the main crowd to watch the fireworks.

Kaya smiled and gave a shrug. "I think I have more fun building their thanks than actually owning them. I would have gotten wrapped up in other things and forgotten to feed them."

Setsuna chuckled. "Isn't one of the cornerstones of your 20 year life plan having three children?"

"Evenly spaced at 18 months with a research year during my residency to help with timing," repeated Kaya, quite proud of her very carefully laid out plan. Then she waved a hand dismissively at what Setsuna was implying. "And children can talk to tell you they're hungry. Goldfish don't make any noise, and then you don't realize you forgot to feed them until they've been floating at the top of their tank for days in slightly green water that may or may not have contributed to their demise."

Setsuna raised an eyebrow, letting all of the questions ask themselves.

Kaya let out a sigh and hung her head for just a second. "Never mind any of that. Move a little faster. I want to make sure we can get to the best spot." She reached over and discreetly hooked two fingers into the side pocket on Setsuna's romper. She wanted to be further away from the crush of the crowd so the fireworks tonight could be for them.

Daylight was quickly waning as they came up on the Conservation and Resource Center. For awhile Setsuna had felt like they were fish swimming upstream, the crowd around them following the "Firework Viewing!" signs while they moved in the opposite direction. She didn't question it, though. The determination and purpose in Kaya's eyes made her believe she wouldn't have gotten an answer beyond "trust me" even if she did.

"Here we go," said Kaya when they stopped below the fire escape on the side of the C&R building. She looked around for a second, then gave a nod when she spotted the wooden crate tucked off to the side. As she pulled it over and stood upon it on tiptoe to try and grab the fire escape ladder, she went on. "You can get on the roof from the top level of the fire escape. The view is great and the Center doesn't seem to care as long as you don't damage anything. Some of the art students come up here when they're working on landscapes, something about perspectives and stuff."

A couple little jumps to aid with her height deficit, and her fingers grabbed hold of the bottom rung. There was happy triumph on her face as she let her weight pull the ladder all the way down. She pushed the crate out of the way with her foot, then turned that wide smile to Setsuna and held out a hand. "Come on."

Setsuna followed, the last bit of daylight completely disappearing as they emerged on the rooftop. Kaya didn't volunteer the information, but her cautious steps gave the impression she hadn't been up here often. Just enough to know about it, but not enough to comfortably know her way around. They moved slowly, Kaya holding Setsuna's hand tightly as they stepped around vents and electrical boxes.

They stopped along the back edge of the building, Kaya keeping a good bit of distance between them and the short wall that only came up to their knees. She let go of Setsuna long enough to set her backpack down and pull out a small blanket. It wasn't much, but the thin square made the rooftop a bit more comfortable to sit on.

"They should start soon," said Kaya softly as she snuggled closer to Setsuna's side. Setsuna's arm moved around her, and Kaya rested her head on Setsuna's shoulder. "Up here is better. Just us. We couldn't do this down there."

The first whistle and pop of a single firework lit up the sky with a green umbrella of sparks. A few more followed at a leisurely pace, each a different color, warming up the audience for the larger show. The rhythm picked up, the whirs and streaks creating their own symphony against the rainbow lights exploding in the sky. Setsuna glanced down at Kaya. The colors reflected in her glasses and lit up her face, showing the contented smile there.

Setsuna let her cheek rest against the top of Kaya's head.

Just them.

Kaya was right. It was better here.