Shrine Visit

The day of the new year came quickly. Tokita-san was planning on bringing me and Tochaki-san to the shrine. It was still early in the morning but we decided that we want to arrive a bit early to avoid the crowd. I woke up, wore some casual clothes, did my hair again, and went down stairs and Tokita-san was waiting for me. I looked around to see Tochaki-san but she wasn't around. Tokita-san said she was still preparing so we waited a bit. About ten minutes later, I heard the sound of the door and I turned around and saw Tochaki-san walking down stairs wearing a kimono. Her hair was tied up again and she was wearing the orchid flower I gave her during our visit to the public park after the aquarium. She came down stairs and walked up to me.

"How do I look Juni-kun?"

"You look very cute and pretty Tochaki-san."

My compliment seemed to make her very happy as her face brightened up a little more.

"Shall we get going then?"

"Yes."

Me, Tokita-san, and Tochaki-san left the house and headed to the shrine which was a 15 minute walk.

When we got there, there weren't a whole lot of people but enough people to the point we could easily lose each other.

"Ah!"

I heard a tiny yell and it seemed Tochaki-san tripped on something.

"Are you alright?"

"Yes, these getas are hard to walk in. Sorry."

Tochaki-san was struggling to get up. There were even more people now. How are there suddenly more people showing up all of a sudden?

"Tochaki-san, if you don't mind, please hold onto my hand."

"Al-al-alright…"

I reached out towards Tochaki-san and she took my hand and I lifted her up. We were now surrounded by a crowd and we seemed to have lost Tokita-san as well. We can look for him later. I took Tochaki-san by the hand and we walked towards the shrine. It was my first time holding Tochaki-san's hand at my request and I kind of felt embarrassed by it. I turned around for a slight second and saw a Tochaki-san with a blushful face. Well, I guess she isn't any different. I felt more relieved that she was also embarrassed.

When we finally got to the shrine. I put my hands together and started praying. I wished for my current life to continue and have a bright future and the safety of those who I care for. I opened my eyes and turned around to see Tochaki-san still praying. She then opened her eyes and saw me staring at her.

"Hey Juni-kun! What did you pray for?"

"I simply just prayed for the safety of those who care and support me and for our current life to go on peacefully."

"That's nice! I hope your wish comes true."

'What about you Tochaki-san?"

"O-o-Oh! What di-di-did I pray for?"

Why did she start stuttering all of a sudden? I thought my question was pretty normal considering she asked me the same question. Her face became red all of a sudden and she started panicking.

"I-i-it's a secret!"

Her face turned even more red like a beetroot and I giggled since it was kind of funny.

"What are you laughing about?!"

"Its just that your face is all red from a simple question I asked. Sorry for laughing."

"Juni-kun… you dummy…"

Her half-joking insult didn't matter to me much. I took out my hands again and placed it in front of her.

"Shall we get going then? Tokita-san must be worried about you."

She looked at my hand and gently smiled.

"Yea, let's go."

We walked side by side with each other until we got out of the crowd of people. Tochaki-san took out her phone and called Tokita-san. It seemed Tokita-san finished praying before us and headed towards the entrance of the shrine and waited for us there. It didn't seem like she was too worried. We walked towards the entrance and sure enough, he was waiting there for us and waved at us.

"Didn't know there were so many people having the same idea as us. Maybe coming later would have been a better idea."

Tokita-san wasn't wrong. There were a lot of people coming in early in the morning. I wonder how bad the crowd would be if we came during normal morning hours. We went home after that and Tochaki-san and I spent the rest of the day relaxing. Christmas break is almost over and school will start with a school festival. I wonder if we would have more unexpected drama coming our way.