Kitahara sent messages to Anon and the others, briefly explaining the situation and arranging to meet again tomorrow, then he and the girls of Kessoku Band began cycling along the coast together.
The sky was azure.
The sea breeze was gentle.
Clean and tidy asphalt roads.
The endless azure sea.
Seabirds circling in the sky.
The crisp ringing of bicycle bells.
And the clear voices of Kita, Nijika, Ryo, and others chatting...
Kitahara turned his head, his gaze gentle as he looked at the girls cycling behind him, and a thought suddenly came to his mind:
People can never truly possess youth and the feeling of youth.
But at this moment.
Kitahara possessed both youth and the feeling of youth.
Kita: "Kitahara-kun's eyes are so strange..."
Nijika: "It feels very subtle."
Ryo: "Is it the loving gaze of an old father?"
Hitori: "S-sorry..."
...
Kita looked over, puzzled:
"Why is Hitori suddenly apologizing?"
"Hoo... hoo..."
Hitori's forehead was sweating, and she was panting:
"I... I can't cycle anymore..."
The girls: "..."
Although cycling was fun, everyone forgot about Hitori's terrible stamina.
Having stayed at home for many years and avoiding physical education whenever possible, Hitori's stamina was extremely poor; if she were to race against elementary school students, she probably couldn't even beat them!
There was no other way. When they reached the next scenic spot, Kitahara returned one bicycle and then had Hitori ride a small motorcycle so that the trip could continue.
The day passed quickly.
In a blink of an eye, it was evening.
The golden sun set in the west.
Tired birds returned to their nests.
Kitahara and the four girls stopped on a deserted beach, admiring the red sun slowly sinking into the sea.
Kita placed her hands on her hips, her red twin tails swaying gently in the evening breeze:
"Time passes so quickly, the day flew by in a flash."
Nijika raised her right hand, her slender fingers tucking away the strands of hair blown by the wind across her chest, her wine-red eyes reflecting the sea and the sunset, and her golden side ponytail was dyed red by the last embers of light:
"Today was very happy and fulfilling."
Ryo was as expressionless as ever, her somewhat neutral profile looking especially good in the sunset:
"It reminds me of that year, running under the sunset, that was my lost youth..."
Kita couldn't help but retort:
"Ryo-senpai is only seventeen, her youth has just begun!"
Hitori parted her lips. With the boy she liked and her best friends by her side, she gathered her courage and spoke softly:
"Um... next summer, shall we all travel together again?"
Kita's voice was clear, and she was the first to raise her hand in agreement: "No problem."
Nijika smiled and looked over: "If I'm not mistaken, this is the first time Little Hitori has actively invited us to hang out, so of course we have to agree."
Ryo crossed her arms over her chest: "Count me in."
After speaking, the girls all looked at Kitahara:
"Kitahara-kun, why aren't you saying anything?"
Kitahara said softly:
"Waiting for the sunset."
Kita tilted her head in confusion, her voice puzzled:
"Eh, although the sunset is beautiful, it will get boring if you keep looking at it, won't it?"
"Waiting for the sun to set completely." Kitahara stretched, then turned to look at the four girls, smiling, "Now that the sun has completely set, we can finally begin the last part of our trip."
"The last part?" Kita was quite curious, "What is it?"
"I know." Ryo said expressionlessly, "Kitahara wants to have an inappropriate..."
Before she could finish, a hand quickly reached out and directly covered Ryo's mouth:
"Ryo, don't say strange things!"
Nijika and Hitori are still children, don't scare them! And with such a terrible party, Kitahara-kun would know with his toes that everyone would definitely not agree!
"N-no way?"
Kita's small face quickly flushed, clearly having guessed what Ryo had been about to say.
Only Hitori looked puzzled, still confused.
"Ryo-senpai, don't slander my good name, I'm a decent person." Kitahara's expression was calm, "You wait for me on the beach for a while, I'm going to the Onsen Village."
With that, his figure flashed and disappeared out of thin air.
"Hoo..."
Kita quietly breathed a sigh of relief and muttered softly:
"Why did Kitahara-kun suddenly go to the Onsen Village? He's not going to bring out strange swimsuits, is he?"
Nijika's expression was hesitant:
"That possibility can't be ruled out..."
"The probability isn't high." Ryo propped her chin with her right hand, striking a detective's pose, "When everyone went to Eden together, Kitahara had already seen everyone in their swimsuits, and this beach shows no signs of being a recreational area, meaning it's probably not a place for swimming, so swimsuits would be useless. Also, the last person Kitahara looked at before going to the Onsen Village was Hitori..."
Having reasoned this far, Ryo tilted her head and looked at Hitori:
"Hitori, do you know why Kitahara-kun went to the Onsen Village?"
"Ah...?"
Hitori looked up blankly, her eyes full of confusion, and was about to say that she didn't know either, but then a flash of inspiration suddenly crossed her mind, and she blurted out:
...It's fireworks!"
Kita's eyes lit up:
"Hitori and Kitahara-kun agreed to set off fireworks?"
"N-no..." Hitori quickly lowered her head, stammering softly, "Kitahara-kun didn't say, I just guessed..."
Although it was a guess, Hitori had a vague premonition in her heart that Kitahara's sudden departure for the Onsen Village was probably related to fireworks.
Because... because everyone else had seen fireworks with Kitahara-kun, only she hadn't seen fireworks with Kitahara-kun yet...
As they spoke, Kitahara's figure appeared out of thin air on the beach. In his hand, there were no fireworks, but rather a blank wooden board.
"Eh, why did Kitahara-kun bring out a wooden board?" Kita put her hands on her hips, unable to help but retort, "What about the fireworks you promised?"
Kitahara looked over at her words:
"Why did Kita say fireworks?"
Kita lifted her delicate chin, defending Hitori:
"Hitori just guessed that you went to get fireworks, but it turned out to be just an ordinary wooden board."
Kitahara's gaze shifted to Hitori.
The four looked at each other.
Hitori, like a little mouse that had just come out to forage, nervously lowered her head.
"S-sorry..."
Hitori's lips parted slightly, wanting to apologize.
However, in the next second.
They heard Kitahara's gentle voice:
"Hitori is indeed super smart, it is indeed related to fireworks."
...F-fireworks?"
Hitori looked up blankly.
Bang.
Kitahara directly inserted the blank board into the sand, then extended his right hand:
"Hitori, give me your backpack."
"Ah... okay!"
Hitori quickly came to her senses and handed over the backpack she was holding.
Kitahara opened the backpack, took out the band poster from it, and pasted it on the wooden board. The band girls in the poster immediately 'came to life,' peeking out and looking around.
"Sakiko, please help me move the fireworks out."
Kitahara said softly.
The girls in the poster agreed and then, with grunts and heaves, moved the fireworks stored within it out.
A moment later.
All sorts of fireworks were piled up into a small mountain.
"So many fireworks..." Nijika blinked her eyes, then her gaze shifted, "Why didn't Kitahara-kun put the fireworks in the Onsen Village, but instead stored them inside the magical poster?"
Kitahara casually said:
"The fireworks were bought a long time ago. If I put them in the Onsen Village, you would all see them. Storing them in the magical poster is a surprise... Let's arrange the fireworks together, and then start our own fireworks festival."
"Yay!"
"…"
The four girls helped each other, and with many hands, the fireworks were quickly sorted and arranged.
"Shall we light the fireworks together?"
"Together, together."
"Well, I saw on the news before that some fireworks exploded the moment they were lit…"
"Ryo-senpai, don't jinx it!"
"…"
The girls carefully lit the fireworks, then quickly jogged to a safe distance.
"Everyone, stand ready for the camera."
Sakiko held her phone, her voice clear: "We're about to start recording a video."
Kitahara stood in the middle, with Ryo and Nijika on his left, and Kita and Hitori on his right, a row of burning fireworks behind them.
Bang!
Accompanied by a ball of fire soaring into the sky, the brilliant fireworks finally lit up the night.
Bang, bang, bang.
As one brilliant firework after another bloomed in the night sky, the fireworks festival, exclusively for Hitori and Kessoku Band, officially began.
"Eh, the fireworks are so beautiful…"
"They can even turn into various small animals, how amazing."
"Ah, ah, ah, there's even a panda firework!"
"…"
The girls' exclamations rang out continuously.
Kitahara was not short on money now; he prioritized quality when buying fireworks. They were all expensive, high-grade items. It was true that you get what you pay for; expensive things had no flaws other than their price.
Bang, bang, bang.
One firework after another continued to bloom, seemingly endless.
The poster girls also wanted to see the fireworks, and Kitahara naturally wouldn't refuse. He also gave each of them a lighter, letting them be responsible for setting off the fireworks.
"Eh?"
Kitahara suddenly felt his right pinky finger being gently hooked.
"The people on my right are Kita and Hitori, but Kita is holding her phone with both hands to record a video…"
Kitahara's mind raced. He turned his head to look and saw Hitori's body taut, looking up at the night sky motionless, like a marmot gazing at the night sky. But her flushed little face and the nervously trembling ahoge on top of her head all proved Hitori's guilty conscience at this moment.
Taking advantage of the cover of night, mustering the courage to hook Kitahara's pinky finger was already Hitori's limit of bravery.
However, the courage came and went even faster. Hitori's heart pounded, and she was about to pull her hand back.
But it was a step too late.
Kitahara was faster, grasping Hitori's soft, warm little hand and then intertwining their fingers directly.
"Ah…"
Hitori's little face was fiery red. She let out a soft cry and shyly looked down at her toes.
"Don't look down." Kitahara hooked Hitori's palm. "Look at the fireworks."
"Oh…"
Hitori nervously lifted her little face, secretly glanced at Kita, Nijika, and Ryo beside her, and only after confirming she hadn't been discovered did she quietly let out a sigh of relief. Then her lips curved slightly upwards as she looked at the fireworks in the night sky.
After an unknown amount of time, the fireworks festival finally came to an end.
"You, you can let go…"
Hitori's little face was flushed, and she looked up pitifully.
Secretly holding hands was fine, but if everyone found out, it would still be super embarrassing.
Kitahara lowered his voice: "It was Hitori who took my hand just now. If you want me to let go, you must promise me one thing."
Hitori looked over nervously: "Wh-what thing?"
Kitahara smiled and said: "Say 'I like Kitahara-kun the most,' and I'll let Hitori go."
"…"
Facing Kitahara's pushing his luck, Hitori had no choice but to stand on her tiptoes and stammer softly: "I-I-I, I like… Kitahara-kun the most…"
Having received the desired reward, Kitahara finally smiled and let Hitori go.
There's no need to say more about what happened next.
After the fireworks burned out, Kitahara, Kita, Nijika, Ryo, and Hitori, the five of them, together cleaned up the trash on the beach and temporarily stored it in the Onsen Village.
"It's already eight o'clock in the evening…" Nijika glanced at her phone and softly suggested, "Shall we stop playing for today?"
Kita nodded in agreement: "It's indeed time to go home."
Kitahara looked at Hitori: "What does Hitori say?"
Hitori's little face was beet red, still in embarrassment. She stammered softly: "Go, go home…"
"Then let's go back."
Kitahara nodded, went to the Onsen Village to get a mirror, then summoned Hana, ready to send the girls back.
"I'm going back first." Kita's voice was clear. Despite playing all day, she was still full of energy and didn't seem tired at all. "I took a lot of precious videos and photos today, so I need to go back and organize and save them first."
As Kita was the first to leave, Nijika's eyes shifted, and she said softly: "Ryo, let's go back together. The room hasn't been cleaned yet."
Ryo groaned: "I'm so tired today, I can't move, I really can't move."
"You have to clean even if you can't move." Nijika put her right hand on her hip. "We'll clean together, it won't take long."
"…"
With the departure of Ryo and Nijika, only Kitahara and Hitori were quickly left on the beach.
"I, I'm going back too…"
Hitori was flustered, keenly sensing danger approaching, and prepared to slip away.
"Wait a moment before you go back."
Kitahara spread his arms, blocking Hitori: "If it ends like this, does Hitori feel like something is missing?"
"Ah?"
Hitori nervously lifted her little face, already guessing what Kitahara wanted to do.
Kitahara said seriously: "It's missing the final kiss."
"Th-that…"
Hitori stammered, wanting to escape: "We already kissed this morning…"
"Morning was the start, now is the end." Kitahara said seriously, "So Hitori, quickly kiss me. You can only go back after you kiss me."
"Kitahara-kun is bullying me…"
Hitori protested softly, weakly.
"Hmm?"
Kitahara raised an eyebrow slightly: "If Hitori doesn't want to kiss, then I'm going to use the onsen mixed-bath ticket now."
Hearing about going to the onsen, Hitori immediately panicked: "N-no!"
Taking an onsen together was too terrifying, so… so she could only kiss…