Chapter 41 Summer Adventure 5
This is a feeling that is difficult to describe in words.
Kenji Hagiwara looked at the orange-haired girl so close to him and was speechless for several seconds.
Unlike the school uniforms, white dresses and black samurai suits that he was used to seeing, the girl who rarely wore a colorful yukata looked more vivid than the impression in his mind.
Not only was the yukata beautiful, but her hair also looked carelessly styled. Beneath the floral ornaments made of mesh and lace, he spotted two neatly braided, thin, three-strand braids. Without careful observation, it was impossible to see them. But he thought, if he mentioned this to the girl in front of him, she would probably make the excuse that her younger sisters had insisted on it, then look away with a slightly blushing face.
She seemed to have curled her eyelashes and put on a little eyeshadow, and the outer corners of her eyes were shiny.
what else……
...She must have applied lip gloss, her lips are shiny.
all in all--
"Kurosaki-chan..."
She is so adorable today.
He could see crimson spots of light surrounding the girl, the same ones he was holding in his palm, and he could also see the hilt of the sword she was holding, without a blade - perhaps those lights were the missing blades, and finding him through the light was one of her abilities.
...It's really cute.
He was momentarily confused as to whether he should compliment her first, "The yukata suits her perfectly, she looks so good in it," or begin by exclaiming at her cuteness, "You're amazing for finding me so quickly"... Or perhaps, he should apologize first? After all, he was quite late, and he had troubled her to come looking for him.
Before he made a decision, the girl in front of him suddenly raised her hand and then let go. The hilt of the knife that she had been holding disappeared in the fall, and at the same time, the touch in his palm also disappeared.
"What are you staring at me for?"
He heard Kurosaki Utsuki ask, her voice sounding a little dissatisfied.
But she didn't wait for his answer. The next second, his wrist was tightly grasped, as if she was afraid he would get lost in the crowd again. She pulled him out, not stopping until they reached a deserted alley.
Kurosaki Utsuki loosened his grip.
The sky was gradually getting dark, and the transition from dusk to night seemed to happen in the blink of an eye.
Kenji Hagiwara was about to say something when he was suddenly grabbed by the waist. His body stiffened, his breathing hitched, and before he could react, his support suddenly vanished. It was Kurosaki Utsuki who pulled him free from the grip of gravity, lifted him off the ground, and ascended over a nearby wall and two rooftops of increasing height to the top of a tree overlooking the entire fireworks viewing area.
After he sat down on a fairly sturdy-looking branch with the support of the girl beside him, he heard the girl speak, this time with a smile: "What a rare experience, right?"
Hagiwara Kenji nodded honestly: "It is indeed rare."
Anyway, he would never think of sitting on the top of a tree to watch the fireworks.
But to be honest, the view from this height is really good, and there is someone next to him who he can trust and who he believes will definitely prevent him from falling from a high altitude. He doesn't feel even a little uneasy at all.
However, right after that, the person who brought him up seemed to want to abandon him——
"Hagiwara-san, wait here for a moment. Keep your balance and be careful not to fall."
As soon as she finished speaking, the orange-haired girl disappeared.
Kenji Hagiwara carefully looked around and confirmed that he could not quickly find her in the crowd like Kurosaki Utsuki had just done, so he gave up and sent an email to his sister and Matsuda, who knew that he would come to the empty seat to watch the fireworks display alone today, reporting that "I have reunited with my friends."
Kurosaki Utsuki reappeared two minutes after he received Matsuda Jinpei's reply. Her yukata was a bit more disheveled than before, as if she'd been squeezed through a crowd. She held a box of takoyaki and fried noodles in her hands, and a plastic bag on her wrist contained two packaged smoothies.
"When was your last meal?" asked Kurosaki Utsuki.
After receiving the answer "Last meal or lunch", she walked to the sitting person with excellent balance on the branches, slightly pulled open the hem of her yukata, squatted down, and then handed him the fried noodles.
"This fried noodles is what Xia Li and her father must eat on fireworks night. Youzi prefers takoyaki, which I think is pretty good too." Kurosaki Utsuki said, picking up a takoyaki with a toothpick. "What else do you want to eat?"
Hagiwara Kenji turned his head to look at her and answered the question irrelevantly: "What does Kurosaki-chan like to eat?"
"Eh? Me?"
This simple question seemed to stump her, and after a long moment she answered, "Nothing special, it seems. Usually, Dad sees a stall he's interested in and asks if we want to try some. If my sisters say yes, my brother and I will share... I do like candied apples when we go to the shrine for the New Year's Hatsumode, but I don't like them in the summer."
"I see." Hagiwara Kenji opened his disposable chopsticks. "Then I gratefully accept this fried noodles. Thank you, Kurosaki-chan."
Kurosaki Utsuki responded softly and finally put the takoyaki on the toothpick into her mouth.
The temperature was still a little high, and she bit the food in her mouth carefully, glancing from afar in the direction of her family, whose location she had already confirmed due to spiritual pressure. When she looked away, she inadvertently saw the boy's gentle profile, and quickly looked away as if she was burned.
After finishing his meal, with little time left until the fireworks display, Hagiwara Kenji put his empty lunch box into a plastic bag, looked at the crowd below, and suddenly asked, "Will there be fireworks in Soul Society too?"
He didn't actually expect an answer. After all, the girl beside him, although a Shinigami, had never been to Soul Society. Unexpectedly, Kurosaki Utsuki nodded and said, "Yes."
She stuffed the plastic cup she had used to drink her smoothie into the plastic bag. "Although I haven't been there, I heard that my cousin's family specializes in making fireworks. Maybe I can meet them when I go to Soul Society this time."
After saying that, she sat down on the branch, hesitated for a moment, and finally took off the dangling clogs on her feet and put them beside her.
"I see." Hagiwara Kenji nodded. "If you can see the fireworks in Soul Society, Kurosaki-chan, please tell me about it when you come back."
"Eh—I'll try my best. The pattern of fireworks isn't easy to describe with words."
However, speaking of Soul Society, she just happened to remember that she had something she wanted to ask him.
"We plan to set off at dawn on the 8th," Kurosaki Utsuki said. "There are more people than I expected. Several of my brother's friends will be going. Although I think that with their spiritual power level, it's no different from going to die, I have no right to stop them."
After all, she didn't know what happened between those people and Rukia Kuchiki. Some experiences might indeed make people willing to risk their lives for an adventure with little hope of victory, and she couldn't make decisions for others.
The boy beside her listened intently, so she continued, "The situation in Soul Society is still unclear, so the time of return is yet to be determined. In the meantime, could you please take care of my two cats?"
Of course, she wouldn't ask for help for no reason.
"I bought an automatic feeder and I'll keep the air conditioner on. You only need to go once every two days to add water, food, and clean the litter box." She tilted her head. "Think of it as an easy part-time job. One hour each time, 2,000 yen."
In truth, Kurosaki Utsuki had no problem asking for a higher hourly rate. She'd received a generous bonus from the Metropolitan Police Department in recent months, and since she wasn't materialistic, she hadn't had any major expenses. Her savings had already surpassed most of her peers. However, considering the other party had previously insisted on charging the market rate for part-time work, she offered a roughly reasonable figure this time.
"Part-time job..." Hagiwara Kenji rubbed his chin with one hand. He thought for a while before looking seriously into the eyes of the girl next to him. "Sorry, Kurosaki-chan, I refuse."
……ah?
Kurosaki Utsuki was stunned for a moment. She only thought that the other party would object to the hourly wage she proposed, but never considered the possibility of being rejected.
"Why? Does your family have any plans to travel?"
If she hadn't lost her memory, then she shouldn't have been rejected by Kenji Hagiwara since she met him, right?
"No, my parents are still busy with the store, so they probably won't have time to plan a family trip this year." Hagiwara Kenji shook his head, then smiled, "I simply don't want to accept this part-time job."
Huh? Why is this——
"But," the boy said quickly before she could speak, as if he was afraid she would misunderstand, "If this is Kurosaki-chan asking a friend for help, then I'm more than happy to help."
"ha?"
What did he say?
Did he really want to be friends with her? Would anything good happen if he made her his "friend"? What was the reason for him to be so persistent? And even though she had rejected him before, he still didn't give up.
"Hagiwara-san, you really are..."
She couldn't think of any alternative answer except to accept it.
Although she had no idea what the other person was thinking, she inexplicably felt a little happy.
"I know." Kurosaki Utsuki turned her head to the other side.
"This is just a friend's request for help," she said, feeling her cheeks getting hot again, her voice becoming more irritated, "Is that okay?"
Although her tone didn't sound sincere, Hagiwara Kenji was still very pleased and nodded happily: "Of course, leave Maya and Sayo to me!"
He finally became a friend recognized by Kurosaki-chan!
Kurosaki Utsuki curled her lips. No matter how much she tried to pretend that she didn't care, her heartbeat was still completely out of rhythm.
"...Hagiwara-san."
"Um?"
Things turned out this way, so she no longer had to pay the little part-time job fee, which was better than nothing. But even as a friend, she didn't want this help, which would last for who knows how long, to be completely free.
"What would you like as a thank you for taking care of my cat?"
"Eh? No need for a thank-you gift...ah," Hagiwara Kenji suddenly had an idea, "those crimson spots from earlier, I guess they were Kurosaki-chan's sword. Um, can you show it to me again?"
·
It was already dark.
On the ground nearby, you can see the lights of people's mobile phone screens, a little further away there are small lights hanging from stalls, and further away is the moon.
There is only one minute left before the fireworks display begins.
Due to the lack of light and the dense branches and leaves, no one noticed the two high school-aged boys and girls sitting on top of the tree. Of course, no one noticed that a katana suddenly appeared out of thin air in the orange-haired girl's hand.
"Her name is Lian Yue."
Kurosaki Utsuki, having stood up, drew her sword from its sheath and held it forward. The young man beside her remained seated, his head tilted upwards, his eyes fixed on her.
"Be full, Lianyue."
As she whispered her Shikai words, a snow-white lotus flower landed on her wrist, and the pattern of lotus vines appeared on the hilt. Then, the sharp blade suddenly transformed into countless pieces of crimson light.
Those lights, which could probably be considered a part of the summer scenery, enveloped the two of them in an instant, and then quickly spread outward, lighting up the treetops like fireflies and illuminating the boy's eyes.
Now he finally found the right time to say that sentence again -
"Kurosaki-chan is incredibly cute today."
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