Crossing Paths, Traumatized, and Yet… - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Last festival of summer vacation

Summer vacation is only a few days away.

He has a good relationship with his father, mother, and Togo-san.

It may seem distorted from the outside, but from Daikis point of view, this is the normalcy that he has finally achieved.

He is living a fulfilling life.

He keeps in touch with Wakaba every day.

Of course, he talked to her about his father.

Other than that, most of the conversations were casual.

When talking about such things, Wakaba said to him.

Lets go to the summer festival this week together!

She said

Therefore, he replied

Sure! Have you invited everyone already?

he asked.

I havent invited them yet, so Ill contact the girls, and you contact the boys!

She said.

Immediately after that, he contacted his male friends and invited those who could come.

It seemed that some of them had made plans with other friends, so it was going to be the same group as last time.

Only one friend who had not come last time decided to come.

The girls were almost the same members as last time, so a meeting time was set and the contact was made.

On the day of the summer festival, he went to pick up Wakaba.

Last time she was in plain clothes, but this time she was wearing a yukata.

How do you like it? It looks good on me, doesnt it?

She said to him, and he came back to himself.

You look so pretty!

That was all he could say.

Really, he was in awe of her.

Thank you! Daiki!

And Wakaba was the same as usual.

Then, lets go!

and they headed for the meeting place together.

Daiki was walking with nervousness.

But he didnt want to show his feelings, so he decided to go down the street as usual.

Until they arrived at the meeting place, he tried so hard not to be noticed that he could not remember what they had talked about.

When they arrived at the meeting place, the boys were still admiring Wakaba.

Thats how cute she was.

After meeting up with the others, the boys were trying to appeal to Wakaba just like last time, but more aggressively.

Today, Wakaba was even cuter and the boys were desperate.

However, Daiki, like last time, did not join the circle and stayed with other friends.

Last time, he was enjoying the festival with his friend who had fallen down and some of other female friends while talking.

Wakaba also wanted to have fun with everyone, so she was having fun with the girls as well as the boys.

She had not been able to talk to Daiki since they arrived at the festival site.

Daiki is Daiki, and he really wants to talk with Wakaba.

But since they are always together, it is okay if they dont talk at least at times like this.

There is an air of a feeling of having said that.

Even among boys, there is an atmosphere of romance.

And even more so because Daiki himself is seen as a younger brother.

Still, both of them are enjoying the last festival of the summer vacation.

It was fun just to stand in line at the stalls with everyone else.

Some friends who did not come last time seemed to be having a good time.

Shiraishi Ren, who is in the same class as Wakaba, is handsome, smart, and taller than any of the boys who came today.

He is a handsome boy with a high spec.

He and Wakaba look good together even when they are side by side.

He also talks with Wakaba a little bit, but the girls dont leave him alone.

He was very popular this time because he didnt come last time.

The girls were divided into three groups.

Wakaba Group

Shiraishi Group

The group with no interest in romance

Daiki had no choice but to stay in the group without any romantic interest.

As the time for the fireworks approached, they started to move to a place where they could see the fireworks again.

Since the festival was held at a different venue from the previous one, they had no idea where to watch the fireworks.

After discussing with everyone, they arrived at a place where the crowd was a little crowded.

Wakaba was also having difficulty walking because she was wearing geta (wooden clogs).

By the time the fireworks started, the place was overflowing with people.

Then someone bumped into Wakaba and sprained her foot.

The person closest to her was Ren Shiraishi.

He immediately ran to Wakaba and helped her to her feet.

You guys watch the fireworks.

Ill carry Misaki to a place where she can sit down.

He encouraged her to get on his back by saying that.

Wakaba also thought that she was going to cause trouble for everyone when the fireworks were about to start.

Im sorry, everyone, Im taking a break

And then she decided to ride on his back, which she usually would not do.

Everyone wanted to join in, but just moving through the crowd was a challenge.

The boys looked on in frustration and the girls looked off in envy.

Daiki couldnt concentrate on the fireworks anymore.

All he could think about was what he had just seen.

He had never carried Wakaba on his back, nor had he ever been carried on her back.

Moreover, Shiraishi was a natural.

He carried Wakaba on his back as a matter of course.

There was nothing else he could do but to watch her go.

His chest became painful.

Again, like the old days, the feeling was bad.

Until the fireworks were over, all he could think about was that indescribable feeling.

Shiraishi did not come back until the fireworks were over.