Summer has just begun

While Shishio thought the fireworks were beautiful, Aki couldn't think so since he was so depressed at that moment.

A human was like this.

Once their tragedy ends and they receive happiness, they forget about the tragedy they had received and indulged in their happiness.

While it wasn't bad since it was already hard enough for one to suffer, one should also reflect on why they received such a tragedy instead of forgetting why it happened.

Aki was depressed, but then he heard Shishio's voice, who was talking with someone.

"Hello? Ayaka-nee? Are you there? Ah, I have found Aki. I am about to go there. Yes, you don't need to worry. He is okay, but he was crying since he had lost."

"...." Aki blushed and felt embarrassed, but he couldn't say anything since he really cried.

"We'll be there soon. Don't move from your spot, alright?"

"Okay, we will wait for you here."

They talked for a while before he hung up the call.

Shishio didn't talk with Aki since he was too lazy to do so. He just wanted to go back and watch the fireworks with everyone, but this little kid gave him trouble. He could also see that this kid was unhappy when he appeared and thought he was Ayaka.

Shishio looked at him and wondered what this boy would think if he somehow got close to his older sister. He also got a good idea suddenly and felt it was better for him not to do anything for the time being.

On the other hand, Aki started to feel uncomfortable since Shishio didn't say anything. He wanted to say something, but the words stuck in his throat. He wondered why Shishio didn't ask why he had disappeared and other things, but frankly, if Shishio knew what this guy thought, he would only say, "so what?"

Unless Aki made a contract to become a magical girl and turned his gender into a female, Shishio had a zero percent interest in him.

"How...?"

It wasn't until a moment later that Aki talked.

However, Shishio didn't say anything and ignored Aki since his question was quite abstract.

'How?'

How could he answer such a question where he didn't even know what to ask?

"How... How can I become like you?"

Aki choked and asked this question. He wanted to become like Shishio, who was calm and didn't lose control. He wanted to be like a man like Shishio, too, since he hated the part where he was kind of sissy and often cried. He had enough and became weak, and he wanted to become better.

If possible, Aki wanted Ayaka to look in his direction too, but he wasn't sure why he couldn't say those words out of his mouth. He liked her without a doubt, and it might be his first love, yet he had a feeling that it was unattainable. However, he didn't want to give up and wanted her, so if possible, he wanted to become a better man, and that way, he could take her.

As for how close Shishio's relationship with Ayaka was, Aki wasn't clear since he felt the relationship between Shishio and Ayaka was quite ambiguous. While they might leave many traces and show them proof of their relationship, he knew that Shishio and Nana were dating each other, so it should be impossible for him and Ayaka to be together, right?

If Ayaka and Shishio were dating each other, then it would be cheating, right?

If so, Nana would get hurt, so Aki didn't think it was possible for them to be together since he didn't think they would hurt Nana.

His reaction might be hard to watch and seemed quite desperate, but it was impossible for him to accept everything so easily. He was still a kid, and he was still living in his ideal. The fact that the two sisters dated Shishio together never crossed his mind.

The only thing on his mind was Ayaka probably had a crush on Shishio, but because of his relationship with Nana, she didn't say anything and kept her feeling bottled up.

Aki felt that he couldn't let this happen and wanted Ayaka to walk on the right path by making her fall for him, but before that, he was thinking about how to grow himself. As for why he wanted to become like Shishio, it was because he thought Shishio was his ideal and the person who had made Ayaka fall.

However, the answer he got from Shishio was unexpected.

"Why do you want to become like me?" Shishio asked.

"I..."

Aki fumbled and tried to sort the words he wanted to utter from his mouth. "I... I have always been weak, and many people in my hometown thought of me as a girl instead of a man. I... I want to become a man like you."

"Impossible."

"..." Aki stared at Shishio in a daze.

"It's impossible for you to become like me."

If Aki wanted to become like others and make others into his respected figure, Shishio might not say anything, but if Aki wished to become like him, it was better he stopped him since he wasn't a good person.

If Aki wanted to become like him, he might be stabbed in the future.

"Why...?" Aki was on the verge of tears at that moment.

"Why? It's because we're different people. Even if you try hard, it is impossible for you to be like me. It's also impossible for me to become like you."

Well, Shishio didn't want to become like Aki either.

Aki blinked his eyes, and his tears stopped since he didn't expect such words to come out of Shishio's mouth.

"And why did you think about those people in your hometown who think of you as a girl? Do you still meet them now?"

"...No."

After Aki graduated as an elementary student, he had never met those who mocked him as a sissy, so what's the point of worrying about them now?

"Then, why do you think so much?"

Shishio glanced at Aki and sighed inwardly since he was still quite soft, considering he still felt pity toward this little kid. After all, Aki was different from his previous opponents, such as Sorata, Mitaka Jin, or Natsuo Fujii.

The reason why he wanted Aki to leave was that he didn't want Aki to be hurt by this emotional problem, and it was better for him to move.

Still, he also felt it was too cruel if he made a move on his parents, so Aki would be forced to return to Shizouka. Instead, he felt it might be better to let his older sister come to Tokyo and let Aki stay with her instead of staying in Sunoharasou.

Shishio set up his plan and didn't continue to talk afterward since Aki also didn't say anything.

However, inwardly, Aki somehow understood why Ayaka had fallen for Shishio.

The two walked in silence and appeared in the crowd again.

When Aki ran away, he ran for quite a while and arrived at the place with no people around. The crowd somehow calmed him down.

"Shishio!"

Before long, the girls saw Shishio and Aki.

When they arrived, Aki was being held by Shishio like a cat.

"What the hell are you doing?! How could you get lost?!" Yuzu was furious.

Aki was tensed up, and he felt scared in front of the furious attacks of Yuzu. He curled up and somehow hid behind Shishio.

"Calm down. Calm down." Sumire hugged Yuzu directly.

"Yes, everything is fine now, right? How about we watch the fireworks now? It's about to start," Yuri said patiently.

"Hmph!" Yuzu snorted before she looked away.

Sumire and Yuri sighed, but frankly, they also felt slightly dissatisfied with Aki. However, getting lost was something unexpected, and it wouldn't be right for them to blame Aki. Still, it would be different if they knew Aki did this deliberately.

"Akkun..."

"Caretaker-san..."

Aki looked at Ayaka, who talked for the first time.

"Are you alright?" Ayaka asked worriedly.

"Ah, um, I am alright." Aki knew why he liked Ayaka, and it was because of this gentleness.

"I am glad that everything is okay now." Ayaka sighed in relief, then looked at Shishio and asked, "Where did you find him?"

"He's quite far from here."

The two started to talk to each other before Nana suddenly interrupted them.

"Hey! Stop talking about this! Let's watch the summer festival now! Let's get into the best position!"

The two only smiled, and everyone also agreed.

However, before that, Shishio bought a few items from Nishino's food stall.

After everything was solved, they moved to the best spot where they could watch the fireworks.

Nana was a local, and she knew well where they could watch the best fireworks.

Fortunately, they weren't late, and when Shishio returned with Aki, it was just right at the beginning of the fireworks.

In other words, the entree.

Then, after that, the main dish was about to come.

Shishio was standing with everyone after he put his camera on the tripod he had brought. As for where he kept the tripod, please don't ask since his ninjutsu made him able to keep a lot of things secretly.

Shishio stood with everyone, but suddenly he felt his hand grasp. He thought it would be Ayaka or Nana, but he saw them watching the fireworks happily and didn't hold his hand.

'So whose hand is this?'

Shishio glanced to the side and saw Yuri smiling sneakily in his direction.

"....."

However, this wasn't the end since his other hand was also grasped by someone. He looked to the side and saw Sumire also holding his other hand shyly without looking away from the fireworks. His lips twitched then he looked at Yuzu and Aki, who clapped their hands happily while watching the fireworks.

He sighed, but he didn't say anything and just held their hands while watching the fireworks. But he must admit that while the fireworks were beautiful, he really couldn't focus on them since he must realized that his summer had just begun.