Author's Notes | August 2016
Hello, guys! HanaYume23 here!
This is the final chapter for the summer season and I am happy to have made it this far since the first chapter, which was published way back in May 30, 2016. Also, as of 08/03/2016, Fate/Stay Gakuen has achieved 590+ reads, which is a big shock for me. I never expected that there will be people who are reading my material, let alone it being a fan-fiction. As a token of appreciation to my readers, I have made this chapter longer than my other chapters. Usually, I end each chapter between 1,700 to 2,000 words but this one is a whopping 4,200+ words.
I won't hold you guys any longer. Please, enjoy reading this final chaper of summer! Enjoy!
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Original Published Date: August 2016
Edited Date: January 26, 2018/ January 31, 2018
August 13, 2016 - Morning
"All right, everyone! Today, the Ryuudou Temple will be holding the Tanabata Festival!" Teacher Misa happily said to her students, clapping her hands together. "It's a perfect chance to make a wish and hang it on bamboo stilts!"
Today is the famous Tanabata Festival that will be held in the Ryuudou Temple. It's a festival where people write wishes on a wishing tag and hang it on bamboos, hoping that it will come true. It's quite famous for some women since they write wishes for the sake of their love lives.
The students started to talk about the Tanabata Festival. The guys were talking about what stalls are going to be put up in the temple grounds while the girls were talking about what kind of yukata patterns they will wear. Some were busy thinking on what they will wear in order to impress their crushes.
"If you all want to know, Mushajou-sensei and I will be attending the said festival!"
Some of the male students liked the idea of seeing their teachers in yukatas. Well, it's because Teacher Bou and Teacher Misa have one thing in common - big chests - and the girls didn't like the idea of the guys going to the festival just so they can see a pair of big breasts. Their firey demeanor spreads throughout the whole class.
"I hope to see some of you at Ryuudou Temple tonight. And with that, homeroom is dismissed," Teacher Misa gathers her stuff and walks out of the classroom.
"Hey, Suzu-chan, let's wear a yukata today," Marie squeals in happiness.
Hinako mechanically turns her head to look at Marie. "C-Can't I just go and wear casual clothes, Marie-san?"
"No can do, Suzu-chan!" Marie pouts. "Come on! It's just once and it doesn't hurt to wear a yukata again."
"I'm just not a big fan of yukatas. They're hard to wear and when you need to use the restroom, it's hard to do so," she releases an anime sweat-drop.
"Hey, I experience the same thing! Why don't I come over at your place and help you with your yukata?" Marie blushes at the thought, smiling.
Hinako ponders for a moment. Yes, she doesn't like to wear a yukata during festivals. Usually, she'd just wear her casual clothing since it's more comfortable than wearing a yukata. On the other hand, it's been a long time since she last wore one. The last time she did wear one was when she went to a festival with her parents back in Karakura City. Looking back on those happy memories made Hinako smile, since she liked going to festivals with her parents. Now, she was going with her friends. It felt nice to know that she's going to the festival with Marie and Fūrin.
Hinako releases a sigh and looks at Marie with a smile. "Okay, I'll wear a yukata with you, Marie-san."
"Really?! Oh, that's great news, Suzu-chan!" Marie's eyes sparkle as she held Hinako's hands and shakes it.
"I haven't worn a yukata in a long time. I'm in your care."
"Of course!"
August 13, 2016 - Lunchtime
"Gil, you there?" Asuto asks by the north door of Gil's classroom. Some of the girls squealed as they saw one of the handsome students of Homurahara.
The golden-headed senior looks up from his seat and was a little surprised to see Asuto there. "Asuto? What does he want?" He asks himself.
The two walked along the second floor hallways, going to the cafeteria. It was located at the lower ground floor.
"So, what did you want from me?" Gil asks, his hands inside his pants pocket.
"Oh, right. I was going to ask if you want to go to the Tanabata Festival with me, Keii-senpai, and Kodaijogi-senpai," Asuto smiles at the mentioning of the other two.
"Karuna-senpai and Oji-senpai?" Gil raises an eyebrow. "It's been a while since I last heard from them."
"They contacted me and said that they're free from college studies. They also wanted to know how we've been."
"Hmph, they're just going to complain again on how I beat their butts back when we were in middle school," Gil takes out his hands from his pants pocket and places them behind his head.
"Hey, they didn't take it seriously, Gil," Asuto laughs, remembering that one time when Gil defeated those two upperclassmen during practice in kendo. "We're all still friends. Come on. It'll be fun."
Gil thinks for a second. He didn't feel like going to the Tanabata Festival today, so he was thinking of passing for the meantime. All of a sudden, his phone vibrated from his pocket. Gil took it out and looked at the dialer. It was his little brother, Dio. An anime vein pops out from Gil's cheek before answering the call.
"Hello?"
< "Ah, big brother?" > Dio greets from the other side of the line. He was having volleyball practice at school. < "Hi!" >
"What do you want?"
< "Sheesh, big bro. Why are you so grouchy? It's only past twelve, you know?" > Dio jokes, holding his laugh.
"I'm going to hang up now," Gil said, threatening to end the call.
< "Ah, wait! I just wanna tell you that we should go to the Tanabata Festival later! Mom said that it's okay as long as we don't stay outside for too long," > Dio immediately said, not wanting to be hang up on.
"Seriously, Dio? Listen, I don't feel like going to this festival, all right?" Gil looks at Asuto and saw that he was flashing his begging puppy eyes. Gil's face sunk. "Can't you go with your friends?"
< "But I wanted to go with you. It's been a while since we actually went to a festival." > Dio throws a volleyball towards his classmate, to which he catches it perfectly. < "Just this once, big brother." >
"Ugh," Gil groans in irritation. Not only does he have his big brother begging for him to go, he also has his best friend begging like a puppy. "Fine already! I'll go! Are you happy?"
< "Very much, big bro!" > Dio grins. < "I'll see you later at home, okay?" >
"Whatever."
Irritatingly, Gil hung up and placed his phone back into his pants pocket. He, then, looks at the begging pup beside him. "Will you quit that? I'm already going but Dio's coming along with us, okay?"
"That's no problem, Gil. Keii-senpai and Kodaijogi-senpai knows Dio, so it's all good," Asuto sparkles in delight.
"I just want to go home and rest," Gil mutters to himself.
August 13, 2016 - After School
"Come on, Suzu-chan! Let's get going to your house!" Marie happily said as she takes Hinako's hand and starts to drag her out of the classroom.
"Yes, yes. You sure are excited, Marie-san," Hinako smiles at her happy-go-lucky friend.
"Of course! I've always wanted to go to the festival with a friend!"
From that statement, Hinako got confused. It bugged her. Did Marie not go to festivals with her friends back in her previous hometown? Did she went alone? She was curious.
"Hey, what about me?" Fūrin asks as he hurriedly walks beside the two girls.
Marie stops walking and looks at Fūrin. "Wait for us at the temple entrance. We'll be there at around 6 or 6:30 in the evening."
"You're just going to take up your time in fixing yourselves," his lips tugged at the thought of them spending three hours just to get ready.
"That's what girls do," Marie sticks out her tongue at Fūrin. "So please wait for us patiently."
"Fine, fine, I'll wait," Fūrin scratches the back of his head.
Marie and Hinako walks together. They were a few feet away from the apartment when Hinako's phone rang. She looks at the dialer and saw that it was her senior, Asuto, who was calling. She answers it.
"Hello, senpai?"
< "Ah, Suzuhana-chan!" > Asuto happily greets. < "Did you already go home?" >
Hinako immediately realizes that it was a club activity day. She face-palms herself for being forgetful. "I'm so sorry, Juniyushi-senpai! I forgot that we have practice today."
< "Oh, it's no big deal, Suzuhana-chan! Practice is cancelled, anyways," > Asuto assures his underclassman.
"Oh, I see. I thought that we're going to have practice for the competition."
< "Hey, relax. Today's the Tanabata Festival so you might as well go. Are you going?" >
"Yes, senpai. I'm going with my friends at the festival tonight."
< "Really?!" > His spirit perks up. < "Then, I'll see you when I see you, Hinako-chan! Take care." >
"You, too, senpai."
Asuto hangs up his phone with a smile plastered on his face. He, then, looks behind him and grins at his golden-haired best friend.
"Will you wipe that smug grin off of your face? Or will I wipe it for you?" Gil said, an anime vein throbbing on his cheek.
"Suzuhana-chan's going to the festival!" Asuto interjects.
"W-Wha-?" Gil takes a step back, a blush rising up to his cheeks. "How would you even know that?"
"I have her number."
To demonstrate Asuto's point, he held up his phone and shows Hinako's number.
Gil eyes at the contact carefully and felt that it was a legit number of his underclassman. He wonders about how Asuto got her number like that while he didn't have hers. Then, Gil snaps out from his thoughts. Why did he want Hinako's number all of a sudden?
"Do you want her number?" Asuto plainly looks at Gil.
"No, thank you!"
Hinako and Marie rummages through a small closet located at the living room, which also serves as a dining room and bedroom. Hinako's house was good for two people only since it was really small. Though, the rent is really cheap and can cover two months worth of rent with her salary.
"Suzu-chan, this one is beautiful!" Marie exclaims as she pulls out a black yukata with various flower patterns. "Is this yours?"
Hinako looks at the yukata that Marie was holding up and can't help but look at it with a smile. "It's not mine. It used to be my mom's."
"O-Oh," Marie looks at the yukata carefully. She can feel the hint of a mature aura in it. "It's a beautiful yukata."
"Yes, it is."
"You should go and wear it!"
"What? I couldn't possibly..." Hinako looks away and blushes a little. "I'm still having second thoughts."
"Come on, Suzu-chan! Your mom would have wanted you to wear her yukata," Marie walks up to her friend and smiles at her.
Hinako looks into Marie's eyes and can't help but smile back at her friend. "All right. Thank you, Marie-san."
"You're welcome!" She, then, pumps up her fists. "Let's prepare for the Tanabata Festival."
The two girls fixed themselves up and wore their yukatas. Marie borrows a yukata from Hinako's closet. It was a silky pink yukata with a red obi. It compliments her hair color perfectly. When they finished preparing, the two made their way towards the Ryuudou temple, hand-in-hand.
"I hope Fūrin-kun isn't waiting too long," Marie gasps as she walks alongside her friend.
"It'll be fine. He's a patient man," Hinako comments.
August 13, 2016 - Evening
"Keii-senpai! Kodaijogi-senpai!" Asuto waves up his right hand at two people who were standing a few feet away from him.
A man with white, spiky hair notices the pink-headed man and smiles at him. "Asuto, how have you been?" He waves his hand back.
"I'm good," he grins. He, then, looks at the brown-headed man besides the white-headed man. "Hey, Kodaijogi-senpai."
"Asuto, my man! You look good tonight," the brown-headed man compliments Asuto as he wore a male version of the yukata. "How's the kendo club holding up?"
"Oh, we're doing great, you guys. The kendo competition is just around the corner."
"It's that time again, huh?" Karuna places a hand under his chin as he ponders about the kendo competition for a while. "I still remember how Gil beat his opponents mercilessly back when we were only in our first year of high school."
"Hey, you talking about me?"
Karuna's eyes widen upon hearing the familiar voice behind him. He turns around and saw Gil with Dio beside him, who was wearing a kimono and a hakama.
"Gil, you look swell as ever," Oji grins, placing a hand over his hips.
"Hmph, you still like to dress well, Oji-senpai," Gil said as he looks at Oji from top to bottom. He was wearing a long-sleeved collared shirt, black pants, and black shoes. "It's good to see you, too."
"This is quite nostalgic, us meeting like this," Karuna pulls up a smile.
"Yeah, it sure is," Asuto agrees.
"Just like those times when Karuna and I were captain and vice captain of the kendo team while you and Gil were only members. We're glad to know that you succeeded us," Oji adds.
"Heh, and I still beat your sorry butts," Gil grins, proud to be able to defeat his seniors all the time.
Karuna Keii and Oji Kodaijogi are currently second year college students. Back in high school, Karuna, a first year high school student, was the captain of the kendo team while Oji was the vice captain, who was also a first year high school student. Gil was still a new member during that time, being a first year middle school student. Asuto, on he other hand, was a second year middle school student. Even though Gil was a new member to the team, he easily defeated Karuna or Oji during practice, earning respect from his upperclassmen.
"Hello, Dio-kun. It's nice to see you again," Karuna greets the blond-headed little brother.
"You, too, Karuna-san!"
"Let's go grab something to eat," Asuto suggests, to which everyone agrees.
"Fūrin-kun!" Marie calls over to the blue-headed man wearing casual clothes.
He takes notice of the person who was calling him and waves his hand towards them. "Yo."
"Thank you for waiting," Marie smiles as happily as ever.
"Nah, I just got here," but he was actually waiting for over an hour already. "Oh, yeah. You two look great!"
"Really?" Marie lifts her arms and twirls once, showing the beauty of her yukata. "It's such a beautiful color, isn't it?"
"Yep. It suits you well, Maricchi," Fūrin, then, notices his brown-headed friend. She was fidgeting a lot in her yukata. "Are you okay, Hinacchi?"
"Uh, I guess so?" Hinako was trying to balance herself on the wooden sandals she was wearing.
"You know, you didn't have to force yourself in wearing a yukata," he releases an anime sweat-drop.
"N-No, it's okay. I wanted to go in a yukata with Marie-san," Hinako found her balance and smiles at Fūrin. "After all, it's just this once."
Marie looks at Hinako with a suprised expression. Then, she cries chibi tears. "You're so nice, Suzu-chan!" She hugs her close friend.
Hinako smiles and pats Marie's head. "Aw, it's all right, Marie-san."
Fūrin chuckles at Marie. She was always the happy-go-lucky type and that's what he likes about her. Also, he's happy to see Hinako not pushing herself too much, unlike from before. He's relieved to see his friends smiling and all right.
"Shall we go and write our wishes?" Fūrin suggests.
"Sure!" Marie smiles at the suggestion.
"That's what we came here for, right?" Hinako smiles, as well.
"Let's go! I have a lot of wishes to write!" Marie grabs Fūrin's hand and Hinako's hand and drags them with her towards the temple.
The three friends offered up their prayers first at the temple, tossing coins as an offering. Then, they proceeded to write their wishes on wishing tags and hangs it on bamboo stilts. Fūrin wishes that the three of them to get through the school year together while Marie wishes for the three of them to stay together forever as friends. When Hinako and Fūrin read Marie's wish, they were touched.
"Then, I'll hang up mine," Hinako said, tying up the string that was used to hang the tag on the bamboo stilt. "I wish everyone happiness, especially my friends," Hinako looks at Fūrin and Marie with a warm smile. "Thank you for being there for me, always. I'm glad to have you two as my friends, as my family."
Marie sniffs and releases a single teardrop. "Oh, Suzu-chan..."
"That's what friends are for, Hinacchi!" Fūrin grins. He was slightly blushing from Hinako's statement.
"Yeah," Hinako's smile deepens.
After hanging wishing tags on bamboo stilts, they all decided to get something to eat.
"I'll go and find some takoyaki," Hinako suggests, walking in front of them.
"Are you sure, Hinacchi? You might trip or something."
"I won't," Hinako assures the two of them with a nod.
"Then, meet us beside the temple, Suzu-chan," Marie points towards the free area beside the temple. "It's not a difficult place to find, since there are only a number of people there."
Hinako looks at the free area before looking back at Marie. "Sure. Please wait for me."
"We will," the pink-headed girl grins.
"I'll go get some refreshments, then," Fūrin walks to his right.
"And I'll go get some candy apples!"
"See you in a few minutes, guys," the blue-headed man waves his hand once before walking to the west side of the area.
"Be careful, okay?"
"Okay."
Hinako carefully walks around the temple grounds as she isn't used to walking with the wooden sandals on. She was having a hard time balancing on it.
"I can't wait to wear normal sandals," Hinako smiles wryly, wanting to get out of the wooden sandals. "W-Woah!"
Alas, Hinako got out of balance and tripped forward. Luckily, in a way, there was a person right in front of her or else she would have gone face flat on the ground. Hinako bumps into the guy in front of her and held the clothing with her hands.
"Hey, are you all right?" Asks the guy in front of her.
"I-I am so sorry. I accidentally tripped," Hinako looks up to see a tanned man with brown hair. He looks really handsome, in Hinako's opinion.
"It's all right. And I must say, you're quite beautiful, miss," the guy says while looking at Hinako.
"E-Eh? I-I'm not, really," Hinako looks away, slightly blushing. She doesn't even know how to handle a single compliment from a guy.
"Hey, what are you blushing for?" Someone suddenly grabs Hinako's head.
"O-Ouch! Hey, what do you think you're-" As Hinako looks up, she saw Gil. "Senpai?!"
"Gil, you know this beautiful lady?" Oji asks, curious, since he can see how close Gil and the brown-headed girl was.
"What beautiful lady?" Gil eyes at Hinako. Well, he does admit that Hinako looks incredibly beautiful, with the black, flower-patterned yukata and pinned up hair, that is. However, he's not the type to admit it in front of other people. "Don't get it into your head."
"I wasn't even doing so!" Hinako successfully takes Gil's hand off from her head. "What are you doing here, senpai?"
"What does it even look like I'm doing?" Irritation in Gil's tone.
"Suzuhana-chan!" Asuto runs up towards them, followed by Karuna and Dio. "It's good to see you here! You look beautiful!"
Hinako looks at Asuto and blushes a little. "Juniyushi-senpai, hello. Uh, I don't really look beautiful. I just feel...normal, that's all."
"Nonsense! You look great!" He gives his underclassman a thumbs-up.
"Oh, I..." Hinako blinks a few times as she feels happy to hear her senior compliment her.
"Asuto, is she the female member that you were talking to me about earlier?" Karuna joins the conversation, looking at the brown-headed girl before him. "She looks strong."
Hinako looks at Asuto with a confused look. "Uh, senpai, I don't mean to be rude but who are they? Are they your friends?"
"Don't be so disrespectful, Suzuhana," Gil grabs her head again and forces it to bow. "They're your seniors in kendo."
"R-Really?" Hinako bows properly. "It's an honor to meet you two. My name is Suzuhana Hinako from Homurahara Gakuen."
"Keii Karuna," the white-headed man replies with a small smile.
"Kodaijogi Oji. Hey, Gil, lay off of her, will you? There's no need to treat your kouhai like that," Oji said, crossing his arms over his chest.
"This is normal for us," Gil plainly replies.
Hinako looks up at her senior. "Too normal," she replies before standing up straight.
"Anyway, where are you headed to, Suzuhana-chan?" Asuto asks, grabbing Gil's hand from her head and lifts it up.
Hinako stands up properly. "I was about to get some takoyaki for me and my friends."
"Takoyaki? We were on our way to get some, too," Karuna says, smiling at a thought he came up. "Let's go get some together, then?"
"I-I don't want to disturb you. You all must be having some sort of reunion," Hinako replies as she looks at the group.
"It's fine, Suzuhana-san," Oji interjects. "I'd like to know more about the female member who is going to compete in the competition."
"Oh, uh... All right," Hinako smiles at them.
The six of them went to get some takoyaki. Hinako ordered three orders of takoyaki since she was not only ordering for herself but also for Marie and Fūrin. Dio helped her carry the other two paper trays filled with the delicious treat. When everyone bought the food that they wanted to buy, they started to walk towards the free area that was beside the temple.
"D-Douji-senpai?!" Marie was shocked to see Gil with Hinako. She also wondered about the other people she was with.
"Hi, Marie-san," Hinako laughs mechanically.
In the end, all eight of them ate together and somehow, enjoyed each other's company. Marie was starting to like Karuna since he was such a gentleman but she tries to dismiss the feeling since she doesn't want to fall in love after that epic fail of a confession from before.
Fūrin had a smooth time talking to Karuna and Oji since the three of them are in a lancing club. Karuna and Oji decided to join the college's lancing team since they have already spent their middle school and high school with kendo. On the other hand, Hinako, Asuto, and Gil talked about the upcoming kendo competition. Asuto told Hinako stories about how Gil became an all-time champion since middle school and she can't help but lightly clap at it.
It was already eight in the evening and the fireworks display is about to begin. Everyone found a good spot to watch it except for Gil, who was a few feet behind than the rest.
"Senpai?" Hinako approaches the blond man. "Are you not going to watch with us?"
"I'm good, Suzuhana. I'll just stay here," Gil replies, looking up at the twinkling sky.
"Then, do you mind if I join you?"
Gil looks at Hinako and raises one eyebrow. "This isn't exactly a good spot to see the fireworks. It's best if you join them."
Hinako shook her head lightly. "It's all right, senpai. I can still see the fireworks from here."
"Hmph. Suit yourself."
Hinako walks to stand beside Gil and looks up at the stars. She smiles at the night sky, telling to herself that it is such a beautiful night. It really has been a while since she last attended a festival with anyone. Usually, she'd just go by herself after her mom passed away but after going with her friends, she felt happy than ever before. She didn't feel alone nor lonely. Somehow, she's happy to have moved to Fuyuki City and entered Homurahara Gakuen.
"You..." Gil starts. "...look beautiful tonight...Hinako."
"Eh?"
As Hinako looks up at her senior, the fireworks started to color the night sky. It displayed various colors, leaving the audience in awe.
Hinako was blushing into a deep shade of red. She never expected for her upperclassman to compliment on how she looks tonight even though she has feelings for the prideful but nice man. Hearing him say such a thing made Hinako happy.
"Honestly, the only people that I have ever told that they're beautiful was my mom...and Souji-san."
Hinako was surprised to hear Asura's name. Then, she remembers about Gil being in a previous relationship with the student council's present secretary. It pained her a little to know so.
"I heard from Rama-san back at Ahnenerbe that you used to date Souji-senpai," Hinako starts, looking up at the fireworks.
"Hey, we don't need to go there," Gil said.
"I know, senpai," Hinako looks down on the ground and frowns. "I didn't mean to pry."
The two of them fell silent for a while. It was awkward but they didn't have much to say, let alone about Gil's previous relationship.
"The past is in the past, Suzuhana. You can look back on it a lot of times but there's no need to be hung up about it. Just do what you can do in the present and fix whatever mistakes you have done in the past," Gil starts. "It's funny, actually. Four months ago, we were always fighting. It almost seemed like we were bickering every single day. Little did we know about the reason why we acted like that towards one another."
"Yes," Hinako smiles a little at the bitter memories. "I remember slapping you, senpai."
"That hurts like hell, you know?" Gil had a slightly irritated expression.
"I-I'm sorry," Hinako laughs weakly.
"Though... I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything, Hinako."
"Senpai..."
Hinako looks up at Gil, he looks back at her. Gil's expression softens, staying true to what he feels and to what he just said. He can only act this way towards Hinako when they're alone and the reason for that is unknown. Though, for some reason, he feels at ease for being the normal person he was, just like from before.
Hinako felt her heart race. The setting was perfect but she was contemplating on whether or not she will tell Gil about what she feels.
"Senpai..." she starts.
"Yes?"
"I..." Hinako held her chest tightly. "I..."
Hinako told Gil what she wanted to say. As he looked at her, he felt his heart beat at a fast rate. It was something new and it was too good to believe in.
To be continued: (Autumn) Chapter 25