Shimizu-san and the Sumr Festival 3
“Co to think of it, we once walked through the forest at night like this together before!”
I could hear Ai-san talking to Yousuke-san.
“That’s because you went into the woods alone and almost got lost as it got dark…”
“That’s right… I was scared and felt helpless at that ti, so I was so happy when you found , Yousuke.”
“…You always wander off sowhere so quickly, it worries .”
The moon was the only source of light, and we were at a distance, so I couldn’t see their faces, but I had the feeling Yousuke-san’s face was probably turning red.
As they talked, they arrived at the shrine.
“What do we do? There aren’t many places to hide around the shrine.”
“We have no choice. It’ll take ti, but we’ll have to sneak around the surrounding trees. Follow . Also, you two hold hands.”
“Hand?”
“So we don’t get separated, you two hold hands.”
“Why is it just us?”
Shimizu-san protested to Seto-san in a whisper.
“I’m busy holding the plastic model kit.”
Seto-san was holding a large plastic model prize from a shooting ga with both hands.
“I’m sorry for asking now, but should I hold it?”
“No, I want to hold onto this. It would be a hassle if we got separated here. So, hurry up and hold hands.”
“Shimizu-san, is that okay?”
“Here…”
Shimizu-san offered her hand.
I gripped Shimizu-san’s hand tightly so as not to let go.
“Both of you, follow .”
“Yeah.”
“Okay.”
We continued to tail them, taking great care not to be discovered.
“Look, there they are. It seems the confession hasn’t happened yet.”
A few minutes after following them, we arrived slightly behind Yousuke-san and Ai-san at the back of the shrine.
The three of us hid in the shadows of the trees and watched the two of them.
Ai-san and Yousuke-san were taking a picture together, with Yousuke-san making a peace sign beside her.
“Say cheese!”
The flash went off. Ai-san looked at the smartphone. She seed to be checking if the photo had been taken properly.
“It turned out well. We’ve completed the mission, so shall we go back to the others?”
“Wait a mont.”
“Yousuke?”
His voice was more serious than I had ever heard before.
“Ah, what’s wrong, Yousuke-san? Why so formal all of a sudden?”
“Ai, just listen to for now.”
“Okay…”
Ai-san seed to realize that Yousuke-san was acting differently than usual.
“Thank you… Well, I’ve been thinking a lot, and there’s one thing I want to tell you. Ai!”
“Yes!”
Ai-san’s reply sounded unusually flustered, perhaps because of the sudden loud voice.
“I’ve liked you since a long ti ago! I want to be by your side forever! Please go out with !”
Yousuke-san bowed his head vigorously and stretched out his right hand.
For a mont, Ai-san looked stunned, then slowly covered her mouth with both hands while trembling slightly.
“Ai?”
Yousuke-san slowly raised his head, looking a bit fearful.
At that mont, Ai-san hugged Yousuke-san vigorously.
“Yousuke, I like you too! The most in the world, no, in the universe!”
Yousuke-san hugged Ai-san back.
I felt relieved.
It seed that the confession had gone smoothly.
“…That’s good.”
When I checked beside , there was Shimizu-san with a gentle smile.
I had been in the sa class as Shimizu-san for over a year, but I had never seen such a kind smile on her face.
She must have been genuinely happy to see the two of them work out.
“Now that we’ve seen this, I can relax. All that’s left is to head back to the festival grounds before them.”
“Yeah.”
Just as we were about to head back, a snapping sound ca from below at the sa mont Shimizu-san moved.
“Ah…”
It seed that Shimizu-san had accidentally stepped on and broken a branch.
“Is soone there?”
Alerted by the noise, Yousuke-san and Ai-san started approaching our direction.
“Let’s run!”
“I’ll stay here.”
“Why? Hurry up and run with .”
“I can’t run fast because I have muscle pain, and it’s hard to escape with big luggage.”
The plastic model prize from the shooting gallery had beco an unexpected hindrance.
“Seto…”
“If even one of us gets caught here, it should stop Senpais in their tracks. Go on, both of you.”
“…Alright.”
“Sorry, Seto-san.”
“It’s okay. I always wanted to play a role like this once.”
Leaving Seto-san behind, Shimizu-san and I hurried back the way we ca.
***
“Haa… haah… Are we safe now?”
“Yeah, we should be fine by now.”
How long had we run?
We had nearly returned to the vicinity of the sumr festival grounds.
“I wonder if Seto-san is okay?”
“Neither Ai nor Yousuke would be too harsh on Seto.”
“I hope so. Hey, Shimizu-san, ou look pale. Are you okay?”
Under the streetlights, Shimizu-san’s expression seed more severe than usual.
“…No problem.”
Shimizu-san said this and started walking again, but I felt sothing was off with the way she was walking.
“Shimizu-san, did you hurt your foot?”
Considering we had been running in an unfamiliar geta, it wouldn’t be surprising if Shimizu-san had hurt her foot.
“…It’s nothing serious. Let’s get back quickly.”
“No, that’s not okay. Let see your foot.”
When I squatted down to check Shimizu-san’s foot, I saw that the area where the thong had been in contact was bright red.
Fortunately, there was no bleeding, but it was clear that pushing on would be a bad idea.
“I’m sorry, Shimizu-san. I didn’t notice it had gotten this bad.”
“It’s not your fault.”
Even now, Shimizu-san was considerate of .
“Let’s find sowhere to rest for now.”
Checking my smartphone, I found there was a small park nearby.
“There’s a park not far from here, so let’s take a break there.”
“Okay.”
I hadn’t paid much attention on the way, but it seed there was a small park along the path from the festival grounds to the shrine.
It seems we had co close to it.
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