The two girls sat on a bench on the train platform. Dusk had fallen, the clear blue sky now resembled a swathe of indigo cloth, as if dyed with ink, and the sun’s final rays painted the clouds in a vibrant tapestry of gold and crimson.
Rie held two train tickets in her hand, both for their return journey to the small town.
When she had booked the tickets moments ago, Rie felt a strange disorientation, as if their arrival in Tokyo had only been yesterday… Wait, it actually *was* yesterday.
As the tickets were issued, a faint wish flickered in her heart: ‘If only there was just one ticket,’ she thought, ‘then I wouldn’t have to return, only needing to see Shion off.’
Yet, if she were truly alone in Tokyo, she likely wouldn’t be very happy either.
“Shion-chan,” Rie murmured, watching the fading sunset from the bench, “I actually… I originally only wanted to buy one ticket.”
“Eh?!” Shion, who had just been innocently sipping her milk tea, immediately wore an expression of alarm. “Senpai, are you trying to leave me here?! I… I don’t even know my way around Tokyo! I’d be doomed! Maybe… maybe next time you come to Tokyo, you’d find me begging on the streets…”
“No, no! Shion-chan is so cute, you’d be sold to the red-light district…”
Hoshimori Shion’s terror intensified. Her hands, clutching the milk tea, began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Oh, I’m just kidding~” Rie opened her arms, embraced Shion, and rubbed her cheek against hers. “How could I ever bear to leave Shion-chan here? Shion-chan is so adorable!”
“What I meant was, if I could, I’d probably only buy a ticket for you, Shion-chan. As for myself… I might just stay in Tokyo indefinitely.” A hint of self-mockery colored Rie’s expression as she spoke.
“Shion-chan, you’ve probably figured it out by now. I… I ran away from home.” Rie looked at Shion, and in the red-haired girl’s fiery pupils, the crimson glow of the evening sky was reflected.
Shion nodded, taking a gentle sip of the bubble tea she held, and replied calmly, “Mm, I know.”
“So, Shion-chan, are you still willing to come out and indulge my whims?” Rie patted Shion’s head and asked.
Shion nodded again, the sweet scent of milk tea lingering on her lips. “I told you, I’ll stick by Igarashi-senpai. And now that Senpai has told me her troubles, I can help her too.”
She glanced at the braided cord tied around her wrist, a shrine memento she had woven herself.
“’Guardian Lady,’ hehe, I’m actually such an amazing person. I didn’t even realize. And I never expected Igarashi-senpai to know my identity. I’ve even kept it a secret from Ayane.”
Rie nodded. “Yes, the Hoshimori family has borne the mantle of ‘Guardian Lady’ for centuries. I realized it after observing the elimination of malevolent spirits. However… the Hoshimori family’s lineage has been interrupted several times. After all, this responsibility is exceedingly dangerous and weighty. After the previous Guardian Lady either sacrificed themselves or passed away, it’s always been quite difficult to find the next generation willing to shoulder such a burden. Speaking of which, it’s the same for our Igarashi family; finding a successor is incredibly challenging.”
Upon speaking that last sentence, Rie couldn’t help but sigh. Her father, whom she had once looked up to, had vanished long ago under the pretext of ‘finding a permanent solution’. She herself was a girl who yearned to escape the responsibilities she was unwilling to bear.
“Then, if all the malevolent spirits in the seal are eliminated, Igarashi-senpai will be able to relax, right? And we can come back to Tokyo again!” Shion’s eyes sparkled. “We’ll come here to buy milk tea again then!”
“To clear them all… a malevolent spirit tide of the scale we saw the night before last would need to continue for over another year…” Rie counted on her fingers.
Shion nearly spat out her milk tea. “No, no, no, we’ll die!”
Rie affectionately stroked Shion’s hair. “Of course not. I absolutely won’t let Shion-chan be in danger again.”
Then, Rie leaned in, brushing aside the hair near Shion’s ear, and whispered, “If Shion-chan were gone, I’d come to join you too~”
“Senpai, don’t say such inauspicious things!” Shion exclaimed, her face flushing crimson.
****
By the time the two girls boarded the train, darkness had completely enveloped the sky. The moon rose from behind Mount Fuji, a long-awaited full moon gracing the night. Yet, its golden luminescence seemed somewhat muted compared to the dazzling neon lights of Tokyo’s skyscrapers.
However, these celestial and urban spectacles no longer concerned the two girls. Rie was returning to the small town with Shion, where she would have to shoulder her weighty responsibilities as the Igarashi family heir, even though this duty brought her torment and pain. Yet, as Rie glanced at the girl sitting demurely beside her, the oppressive weight on her shoulders lightened considerably.
At least this time, someone would face it with her, wouldn’t they?
“It’s a shame our visit didn’t coincide with fireworks season.” As the train departed Tokyo’s main urban area, and the skyscrapers they had peered down upon from the Tokyo Skytree gradually receded into the distance, Rie sighed.
“Will there be fireworks again?” Shion, her legs swinging playfully in the air, looked at Rie with curiosity.
Rie nodded. “If you come in summer, they often hold fireworks festivals here. Whether viewed from the Tokyo Skytree or the Palette Town Ferris Wheel, they are exceptionally, breathtakingly beautiful. It’s as if the fireworks are blossoming right before your eyes.” A touch of wistfulness colored her words.
“It’s alright then! Next time we come, let’s make sure it’s during a fireworks festival!” Shion leaned her head against the train window, smiling as she looked at Rie. The clear moonlight illuminated Shion’s fair face.
Just then, from a distance, the sound of fireworks exploding suddenly reached them, one after another. Shion’s face, freshly illuminated by the moonlight, seemed to be bathed in the dazzling, multicolored glow of the fireworks.
Rie pressed herself against the window, gazing towards Tokyo.
Along the coast, clusters of fireworks bloomed in the sky, one after another. Multicolored fireworks, set against the inky night sky, interwove with Tokyo’s neon lights, the silver gleam of the Tokyo Skytree, and the sparkling adornments of the Palette Town Ferris Wheel, creating a magnificent, vibrant tapestry.
Rie remained pressed against the train window, her gaze fixed on the distant fireworks, a radiant smile unconsciously blossoming on her face.
Shion also watched the direction of the blooming fireworks, but her gaze was filled entirely with Rie’s happy smile. Reflected in her fiery red eyes, beyond the fireworks, was an overflowing joy.
‘Clearly, there’s something even more beautiful than fireworks,’ Shion murmured to herself, smiling.