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The sun finally sank into Tokyo Bay, and the heavens were filled with an indigo-blue darkness. The moon rose high as if eagerly anticipating the fireworks that would be launched towards it. We made our way from the road lined with food stands to the main venue where the plaza was already overflowing with people. Plastic picnic blankets covered every square inch of ground as people shared preliminary drinks. From far away I heard a child crying and immediately afterward, a nearby exchange of angry bellows.

All that meant was that there was nowhere to sit or go. If I had been alone, aI would have been able to manage. I could have sat wherever or gone farther away to watch the fireworks. But with Yui along, it was another matter entirely. We obviously couldn't be standing for the whole thing so I decided to look for a place where the two of us could sit. But we didn't even have any newspapers to sit on, never mind plastic blankets. Yui was in a yukata so she probably wouldn't want to sit straight on the ground. Maybe a nearby bench? But apparently everyone else had been thinking the same thing as the benches were already occupied.

Oh hey, we have nowhere to go, just like me at a school event.

"Man it sure is crowded," Yui managed with an awkward laugh.

"If I'd known it'd be this crowded I would've at least brought a little plastic sheet," I returned.

"N-ngh… that kinda makes it my fault. Sorry I should've told you."

"... that's not what I meant. I'm just not used to this stuff. I wasn't thinking that far ahead. Sorry." If I had spared it a little more thought, I could have predicted this. I was a little weary of my own carelessness.

Guys who got girls thought ahead. They sent sincere emails and looked up stuff before going out together. They take their minds off things with snappy conversation. I couldn't do any of that. Or at least I hadn't. I hadn't even thought about it.

All that sounded seriously hard. If you have to do all that to get girls then I'm deadass fine going without. And like why is it always the guy doing all the work? What happened to gender equality.

These trivial musings brought a small sigh from my lips. My eyes had been drifting downward, and I madea conscious effort to raise them again. They met Yui's as she stood there stupidly with her mouth hanging open.

"What…?" I wondered.

"So you can be considerate."

"Huh? Don't be stupid. Of course I can. When I sit quietly in the corner so as not to bother anyone, that's me being considerate."

Yui laughed. "That's not the kind of thing I mean. Um, I mean, like, you're nice? Sorta."

"Sorta. Kinda. But not really," I agreed.

"No. Really. You're nice."

I hissed a little at that. The thought burned me in its purity.

"Well whatever. Anyway there might be a space over there. Let's go take a look," I suggested. The topic change was just a nice touch.

"Okay."

We began to proceed but only moments previously a rush had begun towards the food stands and the bathrooms so we were forced to swim against the current as we moved forward. I weaved through the spaces between the masses of people jumbled together. Its a habit of mine to walk without making a sound.

Yui sprinkled apologies of "Pardon!" and "Sorry!" and "Excuse me!" Here and there as she slipped and knifehanded through the crowd.

"What's wrong?" She asked me when she caught up to me easily.

"Nothing… just contemplating." Now that I think about it someone who is used to crowds like this would be obviously better at handling them. "It looks like here is less crowded."

"This is the toll section," Yui said.

Looking around I saw that there was indeed a black and yellow rope clearly cordoning off the area. The entire clearing was encircled by trees so normally it would be a bit hard to see the fireworks from there. But the toll area was on the top of a small hill making the view exceptionally good. They seemed serious about security too. I could see part timers loitering and circling the area. If we stayed standing here they would probably drive us away.

"I guess we can look around some more," I prompted. The traffic was a little milder when we hugged the rope so I made Yui follow and began walking.

"Huh? Is that you, Hikigaya?"

The blackness of the night made a striking contrast with the dark-blue cloth of her refined looking yukata. Its pattern of giant lilies and autumn grass lent its wearer a chaste appearance. Sitting there was Haruno Yukinoshita. The rope drew a literal line between our position and hers in the special section. With the people around her at her beck and call, the chair she sat on was like a throne, and she was the picture of an empress.

Ah fuck.

I wasn't high enough to deal with her. These drugs did nothing to take the edge off my reality.

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She gestured for us to enter. I think you had to buy a ticket to get in but at Haruno's gesture we were allowed.

"I'm representing my father, you see, so I've had to greet so many people. I was getting bored. I'm glad to see you here, Hikigaya!"

"Huh. So you're the representative. Wow." I basically ignored the latter half of what she had said as my eyes darted around.

Haruno chuckled. "I guess these are what you call VIP seats. You wouldn't be able to get in normally." She bragged with the innocence of a child. Sometimes unconcealed pride doesn't come off as arrogant.

Haruno Yukjinoshita had such a straightfoward nature, and I think that's what made her so charismatic. All she had to say was 'sorry my friends were late,' and the people who had clustered around her immediately backed away. What's more, even when she beckoned us into the VIP area the part time guards didn't seem to see anything out of the ordinary about it. They didn't come over to check what was going on, not even once. Real VIPs are pretty amazing.

"You're a celebrity…" Yui breathed a sigh that rode the fine line between admiration and shock.

Haruno giggled. "Well you know my father's job, right? He's got a lot of clout at municipal events like this."

"Prefectural assembly has clout, even in the city?" I wondered.

"Oh. You're sharp. I'd expect nothing less from you. But I'd say it's less because of the prefectural assembly and more because of the company."

Haruno offered us seats next to her own. Yui and I decided to gratefully take her up on her offer. Bowing to her, we both sat down.

I would have just leaned back and relaxed. I could still feel some clonazepam in my system. But with Haruno beside me, I couldn't. It wasn't just nervousness because I was close to a pretty older girl, I mean it was also that, but what I was really scared of was her all too perfect outer mask. I got the feeling something dark was surging within her, and I had enough dark stuff within me I couldn't deal with anyone else's dark stuff.

All of a sudden, she leaned right against my ear and whispered into itt, "by the way… I'm not impressed to see you playing around with another girl."

"I don't play games," I returned.

Her expression turned immediately frigid. "So then you're serious about her, huh? That's even worse."

"Ouch," I informed her when she tugged on my ear. "We aren't serious either. We're just friends. Which I should remind you that I am with your younger sister."

The first fireworks launched into the night. ASn extra large cluster bloomed into enormous flowers in the night to musical accompaniment. Layer upon layer of red, yellow, and orange lights spread out in the sky without pause, continuously lighting the darkness.

"U-um…" Yui began to speak to Haruno, with me between the both of them. She'd probably been looking for the right moment.

Haruno blinked her big eyes. "Um…. something-gahama was it?"

"I-its Yuigahama."

"Oh yeah. Sorry sorry." Though I could sense absolutely no malic in her, that flub had definitely been deliberate. Haruno was not the type to forget names easily. For fucks sake this was a person who rivaled Yukino Yukjinoshita. I couldn't suppress my suspicion that that little slip of the tongue was meant to accomplish something. When I gave her a long hard look to try and divine what it might be, she giggled up at me. A shiver went down my spine. She read me like a book.

"Yukinon isn't with you today?" Yui asked.

"I think Yukino-chan is at home," Haruno answered. "Public appearances are my job, after all. I told you I'm my father's representative, didn't I? I didn't exactly come here for fun." Haruno jabbed a finger at herself as she gave a jocular grin. "Coming out to occasions like these is my job as eldest daughter. That's always been my mother's policy."

I seemed to remember that the younger sister had said something similar once…. That it was Haruno's role to be the public face and that she herself was only a substitute. I figured that meant Haruno was their father's official successor. Well, I feel like it's extremely reasonable to designate your eldest child as your successor. But that alone was not enough of an explanation.

"Does that mean that Yukinon isn't allowed to come?" Yui wondered.

Sure it was fine that Haruno was the successor but that didn't explain why Yukinoshita couldn't be here.

Haruno gave something of a troubled smile. "Hmm, well… that's what our mother wants. Besides, it's better to keep things nice and clear, right?"

"Well you two do look alike," Yui said. "So if only one of you is here then people wouldn't get you guys mixed up."

I didn't think that was it, though. It was basically an issue of appearances. Doing this to emphasize that there is only one successor prevents unnecessary squabbles. Any apparent disputes between potential successors would most likely be to their disadvantage.

Haruno put her finger to her cheek and breathed a small, uneasy sigh. "You know, our mother has a strong personality, she's scary."

"You're all scary," I bit out.

"Yukino-chan? Scary?" Haruno stared at me and then burst into pleasant laughter. It was melodious in a way her previous chuckles had not been, as if she sincerely found my statement hilarious. Wiping tears from the corners of her eyes, she let out a satisfied sigh. I guess she was concerned about appearancesm, though, as she cleared her throat. "Geez, that's rude, Hikigaya. She's such a cute girl and that's what you think of her?" She giggled for a bit longer and then brought her face close to mine and whispered into my ear, "our mother is even scarier than I am."

"That's inhuman," I claimed right back in her face.

"Our mother is the type of person who will decide everything for you and then try and make you fall in line, so we have no choice but to try to compromise with her, but… Yukino-chan's skills in that area are rather subpar."

Yukinoshita's skills at compromise were worse than subpar.

"So I was rather surprised when she said she wanted to live alone once she started high school," said Haruno.

"So Yukjinon moved out when she started high school?" Asked Yui.

"Yep, yep. She wasn't the sort of girl to make demands so our dad gladly gave her the apartment building."

Man, I wonder why it is that the dads of the world are easy on their daughters.

"Our mother resisted it to the bitter end though," haruno continued. "She still hasn't accepted the idea…"

"So Yukinoshita is close to your father, huh?" I asked.

"Oh-ho, you have interest in your father in law?" Haruno joked.

"Please, we both know interest rates in Japan are at an all time low," I fired back.

"Hmm… twelve points."

For someone with such soft features she sure grades hard.

"It's not quite that they're close. I think it's just that our mother has a strong personality, so our father ends up being the one to patch things up."

Talk about the carrot and the stick…

"Though both me and Yukino-chan know that, so it all evens out," she finished.

"What a horrible pair of sisters…" I decided wearily.

But Haruno's beautiful smile did not falter as she turned to speak to Yui. "So was this a date? If so, I'm sorry for interrupting you."

"N-no i-it's nothing like that," Yui stuttered.

Haruno's gaze overlooked nothing as she surveyed Yui. "Hmph… you're acting suspiciously embarrassed. But if it was a date…" Her tone was teasing. There was a momentary pause in the fireworks so it was dark all around us. I couldn't see Haruno's eyes but I was sure there was a glint in them, darker than the night sky. "...Yet again she wasn't the one."

Fireworks roared up, crackling over Haruno's murmur. The booms continued intermittently and the sky flickered. The smell of gunpowder wafter words us, carried on the wind along with the lingering afterimages of lights on the black screen of night. The fireworks occasionally illuminated Haruno's calm smile.

"Um did you…?" Yui began to speak just as the fireworks shot up.

Haruno erupted into a particularly animated display of excitement and then spun around to face Yui. "Hmm? What was that?" She grinned as if she had been so engrossed in the fireworks that she hadn't noticed anything else.

"Uh, oh um… it's nothing." Yui swallowed her words and the conversation ended there.

I could hear the brief cracking of signal guns ringing out, and then there were lights exploding and sprinkling down through the sky. Haruno clapped her hands lightly in the most innocent looking gesture. You'd never see her sister doing that… I don't know,m maybe Haruno had a natural understanding of hor others see that gesture and that;s why she was doing it.

The two sisters looked alike but at their core they were so different. Still it felt like they were both looking in the same direction. It was a little odd.

"Um, Yukinoshita…" I didn't know what to call Haruno so I just called her by her last name. I had no intention of acting familiar with her enough to call her by her first name. But when I did Haruno smiled broadly.

"Hmm? Oh you can call me Haruno, okay? Or big sis. In fact I'd like you to call me that."

"Hahaha…" A dry laugh slipped out of me. No way in hell. "... Yukinoshita," I continued.

She laughed. "You're kind of stubborn. It's cute."

"You used to go to our school, right, Yukinoshita?" I asked.

"Hmmm," she started. "Yep sure did. I'm three years older than you," she informed us.

Yui nodded with an interested ooh. "Then are you twenty, Yukinon's sister?"

"Close. I'm still nineteen. My birthday is super late in the year. Also you can call me Haruno… 'Yukinon's sister' is too long. If you want, you can call me Harunon."

I watched Yui shudder.

"S-so then, Haruno…."

The show was already shifting into the next segment. As the music blared the fireworks launched into heart shapes and stuff. Like they were going for a specific idea. The show went on, sometimes energetic, occasionally more subdued, accompanied by classical music and some songs I didn't know at all, like some recent hits or something.

The pyro technicians started firing fewer shots and it looked like they were going to slow it down for a while. Here and there I caught sight of people getting up to go to the bathroom or to go buy stuff. From where we sat in the paid area I could hear a multitude of voices engaged in pleasant chatter. There was a light meal prepared for us on the table, just what you'd expect from VIP seating.

"So that means you're in university, Haruno?" Asked Yui.

"Yep, it's a national tech university in the city."

"Whoah… you must be so smart…. You're Yukinon's big sister all right." Yui sounded surprised and impressed.

"I actually wanted to aim a little higher but this was what my parents wanted." Haruno's smile was a mixture of emotions.

"So wow both of you are going for science, huh?" Yui's comment was brief and nonchalant.

Haruno faltered midgesture. "Yeah. Yuki wants to go to a national science university…" Something in her smile was almost scornful. Maybe it was just me since I tend to read too deeply into things when it comes to Haruno. Maybe Haruno really does feel something warm toward her sister.

Yui was silent, watching that smile.

"It hasn't changed, all this time….:" Haruno trailed off. "We always match and she gets the hand me downs…." She had a nostalgic faraway look in her eyes and her tone was kind but I was unsettled by how she said it.

I do have a bad habit of reading negativity into everything. But I hadn't been the only one to pick up on it. Yui's hands were clenched into fists on her knees and they were trembling just a little bit. "Um…"

"Yeah?"

Though Yui's expression made her misgivings clear, Haruno tilted her head in response, utterly composed.

"Do you… not get along with Yukinon?"

"Aw, of course we get along! I love Yukino-chan," Haruno answered instantly, without even taking the time to think, and then broke into a warm smile. The reply and the expression were both perfectly timed and unfaltering. That was precisely what gave me the impression that she had foreseen that line of attack coming and her response was merely a counter. Haruno uncrossed her legs and crossed them in the other direction. "She's my little sister. She's always been chasing after me. How could she not be cute?"

With no trace of callousness in her perfect beautiful face, Haruno smiled at Yui. "What about you Yuigahama? Do you like her?" She inquired.

Yui seemed rather taken aback by the direct question. But still she did her best to storing the words together despite her stammering. "I-I do like her! She's cool, and sincere, and reliable, but its cute when she occasionally does something really stupid and she just looks adorable when seh's sleepy… and … she's hard to understand, but she's nice um and… and… ah… ah ha ha. I'm really just running my mouth here." Yui was smiling shyly, the fireworks illuminating her cheeks.

"Oh?" Said Haruno. "Well that's good to hear." For the very briefest moment her expression was something you could call kind. It was an odd look for her. But I should say- and as you could expect- in the next moment those eyes turned demonic."Everyone says that at first. Still, in the end they[re all the same. They get jealous, they reject her and they ostracize her… I hope you're different." Her smile was so pleasant and so lovely as to be lurid and terrifying.

"...I..." Overwhelmed, Yui was briefly unable to speak. "... I wouldn't do that." She did not avert her eyes. Staring hard right back at Haruno.

Haruno shrugged and then glanced at me. "You understand what I'm trying to say, right, Hikigaya?"

"I do," I agreed.

"Yeah you got it. I like that look in your eyes," said Haruno and I turned towards her. Our eyes met and hers were so cold they made me shiver. She suddenly giggled. "I really do like you. You have this weird understanding of things and it's made you all resigned."

That didn't feel like a compliment at all. The implications there were so obvious and there was no misunderstanding her intent at all. When people make selective compliments like when people pull out one specific thing to say they like it, you can't trust what they're saying. I really like your taste! And I like that. Oh and your taste… are two completely different things. I'm not going to fall for any descriptive trickeryu now.

"So what about you Hikigaya?" Haruno asked. "Doi you like Yukino-chan?"

"Sure. She's brutal but kind. She's a razor. It's about how you handle it."

"Oh-ho?"

"You know what I mean." I glared back at her. She bobbed her head in agreement.

The night wore on and we watched the fireworks in silence. Golden curtains fell through the sky. When the shower of colored sparks decorated the final moment of the show, we sent them off with a grand applause.

"Well it's over. I'm going to leave before it gets too crowded." Haruno remarked, standing up. How about you? She silently asked.

Yui took the hint and followed suit, standing and turning to me. "Let's go too."

"Yeah.:"

When we arrived at the parking lot, a black rental limo rolled up toward us. I don't know if Haruno had called for it or if first class drivers are always just one step ahead when they show up, but the limo came alongside the sidewalk where we were walking.

"I can take you guys home if you like,": Haruno offered.

"U-um…" Yui glanced my way, leaving the decision to me.

I didn't reply as I stared at the limo - at this very familiar vehicle. I doubted I was mistaken.

"You can look all you want but you can't see the scratches anymore." Haruno giggled.

I guess our silence bewildered Haruno as her expression tightened. "H-huh? So Yukino-chan didn't tell you? I guess I shouldn't have said that.: She sounded apologetic. She didn't seem to be lying, but still, the atmosphere was heavy.

"Then… she really…" Yui's voice was so quiet I could barely catch it.

Our reaction must have startled Haruno as she attempted to smooth things over. "Oh but don't misunderstand. She didn't do anything wrong. She was just in the car. None of it was her fault. You get that, Hikigaya?" She pressed.

"Yeah. Well, she's not the one who caused the accident, so she had nothing to do with it. It doesn't matter anyway. It's all in the past."

"Oh? Well if it's all in the past then all right." Haruno made an exaggerated show of putting her hand to her chest, relief on her face.

"I'm going home, then."

"Yeah, gotcha," she made no particular move to stop me. I was easily released. "See you later then, Hikigaya." Her wave was quite cheerful but I didn't really want to see her again if possible.

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We left the venue early but apparently everyone else had been thinking the exact same thing. The station was pretty crowded. We boarded the train. It was one stop to Yui's apartment and three until mine.

We stayed entirely silent thus far, but then Yui muttered just one word. "...Hey…" When I replied with a glance and a little sigh she paused a moment longer and asked, "did Yukinon… tell you about it?"

It was one of those questions where you already knew the answer.

"No. She didn't."

"Oh… U-um… oh!" With a jolt the train's jostling stopped. The doors opened and stuffy night air wafted into the train. Yui looked at me then out the doors, clearly considering what she should do. But immediately the bell rang to announce the closing doors, so she had practically no time to think or deliberate. I sighed and stepped off the train. Yui exited after me.

"Are you okay getting off here?" She asked, a bit surprised.

"It wouldn't feel right to end the conversation there, would it? Did you time that on purpose or something?"

"N-no! It was just hard to say!" Her panicked defense convinced me…

That schemer. Yui is totally a schemer.

"Come on. I'll walk you back," I vowed.

Apparently Yui's apartment wasn;t far from the station. But since she wasn't used to wearing geta, she was walking a little slow. The sound of our leisurely paced footsteps punctuated the quiet night in the town. As the darkness drew deeper, a breeze swept by. Even walking around outside like we were, the heat and humidity didn't feel so bad.

"Did you hear from her?" I asked Yui.

Yui shook her head. "You know, though, I think there are just some things you can't say. When the right moment has passed, you just can't. I was like that too. You think to yourself, 'I'll do it once I feel ready,' 'I just have to think a little more about it and then I'll do it,' and then you just keep putting it off. Besides, maybe the reason Yukinon couldn't say anything was because of family stuff. Not that I know anything about that. Haruno is just scary."

"I don't really think you should intrude on their domestic problems though."

"Domestic?" She struggled with the English word. "Oh you mean DV!"

"Don't open your mouth when you only understand fifty percent of what you're saying. I'll punch you."

"You're gonna DV me?!"

"Well just-just pretend you don't know anything about the incident or her family."

"Is it best to just not know, though…?" Yui seemed unconvinced, hanging her head and staring at her feet. She stopped walking so I did the same.

"I don't think ignorance is a bad thing. The more you know, the more trouble comes along with it." Just consider my basilisk. I was in danger. What you knew could hurt you. It was driving me insane. I was slowly losing my mind over these things. Luckily I had distractions.

"Hikki… if Yukinon is in trouble, help her out, okay?"

"Hmm," I hummed noncommittally. "Yeah I don;t think that's gonna happen."

"You'd still save her." She looked up at the starry sky. Her sandals clacked as she kicked a pebble at her feet.

"You don't know that," I disagreed.

Yui turned to look at me. "You saved me, didn't you?"

"I told you. That was just a coincidence. I didn't help you knowing it was you. So I didn't save you in particular." If she did feel gratitude, trust or something more, it was all just an illusion, a misunderstanding. "Don't expect that kind of stuff from me.:

"Even without the accident you still would have saved me. And I think we would have ended up going to see the fireworks together like this too."

"Of course not… there was nothing for me to save you from in the first place."

In life there was no such thing as a what if. You don't get any in mathematics either.

But still, Yui slowly shook her head. He reyes were moist and I could see the streetlights reflected in the corners. "No. I think there would be. I mean, it's like you said; Even if the accident hadn't happened you would have been alone. You said the accident had nothing to do with it. And I am who I am, you know? I would have eventually had some problem, and the teacher would've taken me to the service club. And then I'd meet you."

"Maybe…" I agreed halfheartedly. It had a twist of logic to it which made sense.

"And then you'd come up with the same kind of stupid pessimistic solution all over again. I'm sure you'd save me. And…"

Maybe it came from me, or maybe it came from her. It sounded like a gulp or perhaps the pounding of a heart. For just one moment she was unable to speak. Curious about what she had been about to say, I raised my head, and that's when my eyes met hers.

"And then, I just know…"

Bzz bzz. I heard a muffled vibration. It was a phone ringing.

"Oh…" Yui glanced at the drawstring coin purse in her hands but ignored her phone and attempted to continue. "I…"

"Shouldn't you answer that?" I interrupted her.

Yui looked down at the coin pourse she was squeezing in her hands. But it was only for a second before she pulled it out cheerfully. She lifted her head with a shy laugh. "... It's my mom calling. Sorry." She excused herself and took a couple of steps away before answering the phone. "Yeah, yeah, I'm already close to home. Yeah that's right. Huh? It's okay! You don't have to! I said I'll be home right away!" She loudly ranted about something or other before hanging up on her mom. She gave her phone a sullen glare and then returned it to the coin purse. "I live right around here, so you don't have to walk me the rest of the way. Thanks for coming this far… s-see you then!"

"Oh…"

"Yeah, see you. Night." She gave a tiny wave goodbye.

I casually raised my hand in return. "See you, then."

Before I was even done replying Yui quickly tap-tap-tapped down the road towards her apartment. I was a little concerned that she might trip and fall on her face but she just disappeared into a nearby apartment building, and I started walking back.

I kicked a rock and watched it bounce elliptically down the street. Gravity, space, time, time, time, time… time was a harness. It set us in motion. What was time made out of? We walk along blindly like those in Amigara Fault. Yet time slips away from us even as it surrounds us and penetrates us.

I thought of my lizard as I looked up at the night sky. I was alone. I was awake and alone.

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-WG