"Syouji-san... where are you?"
It was evening and under the twilight glow, Yoshino was walking through the shopping district.
The small figure of the girl was hidden under the straw hat's large brim with her blue hair flowing with the wind as [Yoshinon] the puppet rested on her hand.
"It's been a few hours since I made him buy food. At this point, I'm getting kinda worried."
Next to her, Shidou said that with a worried look as sweat rolled down his cheek.
"Yeah, that's right, did something happen to him..."
"Hmph— He can take care of himself. In fact, he's probably just mulling over what to get for dinner in front of one of the stalls. Tch— That indecisive idiot. Let's find him quickly and go home."
At that moment, the two girls walking in front of them spoke up. One of the girls had hair as dark as night, a girl with crystal-like eyes— Tohka.
The other girl had her hair tied into two ponytails with black ribbons, having a haughty expression—Kotori.
That's right, originally dinner was supposed to be at the Itsuka residence, but Syouji who had left earlier to buy dinner ingredients has yet to return and is unable to be contacted.
As such, Yoshino, Shidou, as well as Tohka and Kotori who were worried set out together to the shopping district to find him.
"Shidou, Shidou."
"Hm? What is it Tohka? Did you find Syouji?"
"No, I haven't... I just wanted to know, what is that?"
Saying that, Tohka pointed in the direction of the street. Over there, numerous bamboo were placed alongside the street.
For some reason, the branches of the bamboo had countless strips of paper attached onto them.
"Ah, those are wishing Tanzaku. That means that today is Tanabata."
"Tanzaku? Tanabata?"
"That's right. Tanabata's custom is to write your wishes onto strips of paper called Tanzaku and hang them on the bamboo, then supposedly, your wishes would be granted."
"—! W-What did you say...!"
Hearing Shidou's explanation, Tohka's eyes started to glow as she turned towards Kotori.
"Ko....Kotori!"
"....Alright, alright. It's okay, you two can go give it a try."
"Oh— Isn't that great Tohka?"
"Y-Yeah!"
Kotori expressed her approval as though she had seen through everything, Tohka on the other hand, nodded her head vigorously before taking Shidou's hand and forcefully dragging him towards the bamboo.
Then, upon looking at that scene, Kotori turned her gaze towards Yoshino.
"If that's the case, then Yoshino should go as well."
"Eh... Can I go too...?"
"Yeah, of course. Although it's a different case altogether whether it will come true or not, since this comes once a year, you should go experience it for yourself."
"Al-alright...!"
As such, Yoshino followed Kotori to the main street, retrieving two free Tanzaku, taking up the organizer's pen and she wrote down her wish alongside [Yoshinon].
"Oooh, what did you wish for."
At this point, Tohka who had finished writing her wish a step ahead of the others sneaked a peek at Shidou's Tanzaku which was left empty as he contemplated what to write. Upon seeing that, she then turned to look at Kotori's Tanzaku.
"......Uh!"
At that, Kotori went into a fluster, hastily rubbing off the wish that was half-finished.
"Uh? What's wrong Kotori?"
"....."
"It's— It's nothing. I wrote it wrong, just a mistake."
Kotori said a vague line as she began to rewrite her wish in the space that was left.
"Hee— Isn't that wish different from the one before, Kotori?"
Shidou asked who had finished writing his wish. Moments before, when he was thinking about what to write, he discreetly looked at Kotori's wish for reference and ended up seeing what she wanted to write.
"—! It's your imagination! R-Right, Yoshino's done too right?! Let's hurry and put these up and find Syouji!"
"Right..."
"Hm? Oh, ooh..."
"O-Okay!"
Shidou, Tohka and Yoshino nodded their heads after succumbing to Kotori's pressure. After everyone had written their wishes down on their tanzaku, they made their way through the crowd.
"Phew... But, it's going to take a lot of effort to find Syouji in this crowd. There's no other way then, let's split up and search. I'll go to the north section of the street, Tohka and Shidou will go to the south, Yoshino will circle around to search. If you still haven't found him in 30 minutes, com back here to regroup understand?"
"Yeah, I got it!"
"We just have to look for someone wearing a white hoodie and white-ish hair."
"O-Okay.... We understand."
[Okay— Leave it to us!]
Tohka, Shidou, Yoshino as well as [Yoshinon] nodded their heads.
"Good.... Then, let the searching start!"
At Kotori's signal, Shidou and the three girls plus on rabbit went off into their respective search zones.
Yoshino's area was the commercial district on the boundary of the shopping district. Compared to the large street, there's less human traffic here, there's a lesser chance of bumping into people distributing tissue papers or passers-by.
Kotori must have thought about this beforehand for Yoshino's sake. After silently thanking Kotori, Yoshino started looking for Syouji.
"......Syouji-san, I hope you didn't get yourself into any trouble."
Yoshino said to herself. However, at this point, [Yoshinon] on her left hand suddenly laughed.
"Oo—hohoho"
[Well— danger aside, he could very well have run into that, you know?]
"That...?"
[I'm talking about women— Women. After all, Syouji-kun is a sex maniac!]
Saying that, [Yoshinon] covered its face with his hands, twisting its body while acting shy. Yoshino showed a bitter smile, but before she could reply [Yoshinon]—
"Eh...?"
The next instant, she widened her eyes, standing rooted to the spot. The reason for that was simple. She saw Syouji and a girl whom she did not recognize together on the street.
"T-That was..."
[It's Syouji-kun— Uhwoo!! And what a girl! He's really something huh?]
"H-How can this be... Syouji-san is..."
Yoshino's voice started to tremble. Shidou and the girl walked straight towards a building. —That place was a wedding store.
"Eh...?!"
[Hyuuu—]
Yoshino did not understand the full details, but she had heard previously that marriage was the act of two people pledging their love for each other forever and living with each other under one roof.
—Don't tell me Syouji-san really...?
"....Uu."
Yoshino held her breath, sneaking around behind corners while inchign closer to the store that the two had entered.
Peeking inwards from the entrance into the building she saw Syouji negotiating with the receptionist about something, the girl on the other hand was waiting behind him. black silk-like hair, perfect features, this girl was beautiful to the point of making her feel frightened.
"Syouji-san... Why are you here?"
"...Ara?"
Just as Yoshino was focusing on this girl in bewilderment, the girl noticed Yoshino's gaze walking towards her.
"Good evening, do you want something from me?"
"Hyii..."
Suddenly being engaged in a conversation by a stranger caused the timid Yoshino to jump. However, now wasn't the time to be afraid, Yoshino gathered all the courage she could muster and opened her trembling mouth.
"U-Um... Can I ask what your relationship is with Syouji-san..."
Hearing Yoshino mention Syouji's name made the girl widen her eyes in surprise.
"You know Syouji-san? Ara...? Then again, did I meet you somewhere?"
The girl mumbled to herself while in thought, ,slightly nodding her head a few times after a while.
"...?"
"Aahh, don't mind me. Besides, don't you want to know what sort of relationship... Syouji-san and I are in?"
"Ye-Yeah..." Yoshino lightly nodded, at that the girl's mouth had a hint of an evil smile.
"Regarding this, how should I put this? I guess it would be like destiny that can't be severed, a passion that cannot be separated... In conclusion, it's a special relationship that cannot be interfered with by anyone, huh?"
"Eh? Eh...?"
The girl's words made Yoshino go into shock. However, the girl continued to speak while enjoying Yoshino's reaction.
"I know everything there is to know about Syouji-san including every inch of his body, that's because I have carefully inspected him thoroughly just like licking him all over. Aaah... That time when we met last month, what a passionate night that was. Just as I was confiding in Syouji, A burning object entered my body... Fufufu, I'll have to make him take responsibility for that."
"T-That..."
"Aah, that's right. The underwear that I'm wearing right now was also picked for me by Syouji-san himself. If you don't mind, do you want to have a look."
Saying that, the girl pinched the edges of her skirt, slowly lifting them upwards.
"...?!"
Yoshino's mind went blank, that world began to spin, she did not give herself time to think, her legs had already taken her away.
"Fufu, good day to you then."
The girl bemusedly called out, but Yoshino did not have any strength to turn her head. She did not have time to sort out her thoughts, she only thought of leaving this place as soon as possible.
She ran and ran until—
"Kya...!"
"Gya!"
Not knowing how long she had run after leaving the store, Yoshino accidentally ran into something soft.
"Yoshino? What's wrong, why are you so flustered?"
Looks like she ran into Tohka and Shidou who was there holding onto a lot of food.
"T-Tohka-san.... Shidou-san... Syouji-san is..."
"Nu? Did something happen to Syouji?"
Looking at the panting Yoshino, the young maiden— Tohka frowned slightly.
"Y-Yeah.... Actually..."
When Yoshino started to calm down, she started to reiterate what she saw just now.
"W-What...? Syouji is going to marry a girl who flipped her skirt...?"
"S-Syouji is getting married.... How could this be happening... Since when did he..."
Tohka raised her eyebrows in confusion as Shidou's head was spinning trying to make sense of the situation with a devastated look.
However, Yoshino who had witnessed the scene had difficulty understanding what she saw just now. At that moment—
"—Ah, Tohka, Shidou, Yoshino. How was it at your end? Did you find Syouji?"
Just as the two girls were looking at each other hopelessly while Shidou was in a state of shock, Kotori met up with them as well.
"Ohh, Kotori. Actually, Yoshino seemed to have found Syouji."
"—! Really? Where did you see him? ....And what happened to Shidou?"
"Hm, about that, it seems that Syouji flipped the skirt of a cute girl, they spent a passionate night together, so now he's being asked to take responsibility by marrying her or something."
"Ah...?"
Hearing Tohka's words, Kotori was instantly rendered speechless. However, at that moment, her cheeks blushed red, rage was evident from her countenance.
"Ar... Are you kidding me! S-Syouji getting married?! Wh.... W-W-What on earth is going on?!"
"I'm not too sure as well..."
"What kind of joke is this! Where did this vixen come from! How dare she seduce my Nii-sama!"
Kotori yelled aloud, repeatedly stomping on the ground. After that, she threw a sharp glare at Yoshino. That demonic expression made Yoshino cry out in terror.
Although Tohka's explanation was slightly different from what she said earlier, but the current situation still required their assistance. Yoshino, Tohka, along with Shidou and Kotori, sprinted back to the way she came from.
[=]
"Somehow... This makes me feel uneasy..."
Syouji said to himself, while adjusting his tie in the changing room located with the wedding store.
—[Well, this is your first time wearing one. Well, better get used to it. You may wear it in the future.]
—I get that, but come on... I'm still a Highschool student.
That's right, although Syouji and Kurumi are lovers in highschool, they have received permission to try out the wedding gown.
No, from the beginning, the female receptionist had a troubled expression on her face, however after Kurumi whispered something to her, she immediately had a change in attitude, becoming extremely cooperative and she even allowed him to try on the white tuxedo.
Needless to say, right now with his pale skin and light coloured hair, if he didn't move he could almost blend in with the wall.
"What on earth did that girl say..." Saying that, Syouji heaved a huge sigh, suddenly remembering something.
"Then, that means I can use my phone!"
Being led around by Kurumi all this time made Syouji's thinking a bit slow. Syouji took out his phone from his clothes on the hanger, opening it, he noticed the numerous missed calls displayed on the screen. It seems that he had made his family worried.
"Haa... I am sure to get punished when I get home. In any case, let's just call Kotori first."
Just as Syouji was about to send a message over, the door of the changing room opened with a bang, the receptionist who had been sitting in the waiting rushed in.
"Wh—?!"
"Come on hurry up, the bride has already finished preparing! May the groom proceed here!"
Saying that, she enthusiastically pulled Syouji's hand.
"Hey wait, hold on!"
Syouji, who was caught off guard couldn't even resist, he was dragged out of the room without even being able to make a call. Just like that he was led through the corridor, all the way til the door of another changing room did the receptionist let go of his arm.
"Come, please enter."
"Ah, y-yeah..." Syouji replied, raising his hand to open the door.
"...."
Kurumi, who was standing right in the center of the changing room entered his sights, Syouji was instantly rendered speechless.
Contrary to her usual image,, a pure white wedding gown enveloped her body, a thin layer of makeup covered her face and in the presence of such astounding beauty, Syouji was unable to come up with any words—
"Fufu... Being stared at like this, I'll get embarrassed as well."
"Ah? No, that was because you... you really are breathtakingly beautiful."
"Is that so, I appreciate the compliment."
As soon as Syouji replied, Kurumi's face took on a pale pink shade, showing a graceful smile. For some reason, the staff member behind him keeps sniffing from an overflow of emotions, at the same time taking out her handkerchief and dabbing at her eyes.
"...Hey Kurumi, what did you tell her?"
"Aaah, that miss over there? Nothing much, I only said 'I don't have long to live due to a terminal disease. I'm afraid that I won't last till the age that we would be able to swear to spend our lived together.' She was so regretful of the fact, that she wanted to let me have the chance to wear a wedding gown at least, with that she became extremely caring..."
"....Was that a lie?"
".....Fufufu, I wonder?"
Syouji looked at her with judging eyes, however Kurumi merely laughed. At this, the female receptionist who was still weeping loudly sniffed a few times, she started to urge Syouji and Kurumi.
"Alright, alright, please proceed to the wedding hall, we provide photo taking as well."
"Eh... No, no need, this is enough. You are too kind."
"What are you saying! This could be... it could be her last chance!"
After crying out, the staff member used her handkerchief to cover her face as she wept uncontrollably. It seems that she's the type that will be easily brought to tears.
"Isn't it fine like this, Syouji-san. Furthermore, I too... wish to take a wedding photo together with Syouji-san."
"...Well— haa, fine."
At this point of time, there's no reason to refute Kurumi's wish just because it was all [just a lie]. As such, under the urging of the receptionist, Syouji and Kurumi both went through the corridor.
After stepping out from the bbuilding's rear door, they reached a wide area that looked like a courtyard. This was a quiet area that was away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
In the center, a church was built and under the illumination of the setting evening sun, the entire space looked like it was being painted with a vermillion glow. Although it was small, it was a church that had been carefully maintained.
Opening the chocolate coloured door, the crimson carpet extended all the way to the interior of the church with rows of long benches on both sides, what entered their eyes soon after was the altar that was placed inside the church, the huge crucifix as well as the brilliance of the stained glass windows.
"Come! Please stand in front of the altar! Leave the photo taking to me!"
"O-Oh, yes thank you."
"Fufufu, we're leaving it to you then."
A digital lens reflex camera was in the hands of the staff, under her instructions, Syouji and Kurumi stood side by side in front of the altar.
"Well then, will the two please face over there. A little closer, groom, please smile!"
"She's right. Please smile... Darling." Kurumi said in teasing manner.
"Ahahaha...."
After being pointed out, Syouji did his best to smile and at the same time, his ear heard the snapping sound of the shutter.
End of Chapter