Fireworks launched into the sky one after another.
Blue and red lights illuminated the dark night.
“…Beautiful.”
Arisa murmured softly.
Yuzuru shifted his gaze from the fireworks to Arisa.
Each time another firework burst, her face—like a work of art—was briefly lit up.
Her eyes slightly narrowed, the corners of her lips faintly lifted as she gazed absentmindedly yet happily at the night sky.
The sight of the beautiful girl against the backdrop of the garden and the fireworks made a perfect picture.
If someone could capture the garden, the fireworks, and Arisa together in a single photograph, it would surely be a masterpiece.
“…Takasegawa-san? Is something wrong?”
“No, I was just thinking… it’s beautiful.”
“The fireworks?”
“Of course, the fireworks.”
There was no way he could say, you are.
Yuzuru turned his gaze back towards the sky.
Before he realised it, the two of them had fallen into silence.
Neither spoke.
Yet somehow, it didn’t feel awkward.
If anything, Yuzuru found the quiet comfortable.
At last, a large finale firework lit up the sky.
With the main display finished, the fireworks show came to an end.
The festival itself would likely start closing down within an hour, as the stalls began preparing to pack up.
“…They were beautiful.”
“Yeah…”
“Takasegawa-san.”
Their eyes met.
Arisa smiled softly.
“Today was really fun. Thank you very much.”
“I had fun too. I’m glad I got to spend the day with you.”
Yuzuru spoke honestly.
Arisa turned her gaze back towards the sky.
After the fireworks ended, the night sky somehow looked strangely lonely.
“Your family is full of wonderful people, Takasegawa-san. Everyone is kind, warm, and cheerful.”
“They’re just a little excited because you’re here.”
“Maybe. But still… it’s completely different from my home.”
She spoke with a faint sadness.
There was a hint of envy—and a touch of jealousy—in her expression.
Then Arisa looked back at Yuzuru.
Her eyes wavered.
Anxiety, fear, guilt—countless emotions mixed together within them.
Her face looked as though she might burst into tears at any moment.
Yet she seemed to have made up her mind about something, clenching her fists tightly.
“Takasegawa-san.”
“…What is it?”
“I’m truly… very sorry.”
With that, Arisa bowed her head.
Yuzuru had no idea what she was apologising for.
“Did you do something?”
“…I lied.”
Her voice was so small it almost disappeared into the night.
She lied.
Which meant she had deceived him.
Yuzuru instinctively tensed.
“What lie?”
A part of him braced for something outrageous.
And Arisa looked just as nervous.
“…When we met for the arranged marriage meeting… I said my adoptive father forced me to attend.”
Her voice trembled as she spoke.
It was true—she had told him that.
And because of that, Yuzuru had agreed to a fake engagement in order to protect her.
“But that wasn’t the truth.”
“…How was it different?”
“He only… asked me if I would like to try the meeting. It wasn’t forced. But I was scared… so I said I’d go. I said it myself.”
She lowered her head, unable to look at Yuzuru.
He couldn’t see her expression clearly, but the tears gathering in her eyes made it obvious how anxious and afraid she was.
“But I still didn’t want to… so I kept refusing afterward. And then… I ran out of options. So the one at fault is completely me. I strangled myself with my own choices.”
Drops of water fell onto the engawa.
Arisa’s small shoulders trembled.
“I thought… if I told you that, you definitely wouldn’t help me. So I hid the parts that were inconvenient. And after that… I couldn’t bring myself to say it. I ended up taking advantage of your kindness. I’m sorry.”
After that, she fell silent.
It seemed her confession was over.
Yuzuru sighed.
“…Is that all? Lift your head.”
At his words, Arisa slowly raised her face.
Her beautiful features were a mess of tears.
Yuzuru turned towards her and placed both hands on her shoulders.
“I don’t mind something like that.”
He spoke slowly and gently.
Arisa’s expression twisted.
“B-But—”
“That doesn’t even count as a lie in the first place.”
Yuzuru interrupted her.
He looked straight into her eyes and spoke firmly.
“You were mentally cornered. At the very least, you felt like you couldn’t refuse your adoptive father’s suggestion. In that state of mind, you had no choice but to accept, right? In normal terms, people call that being forced.”
Yuzuru didn’t know what Arisa’s adoptive father—Amagi Naoki—had been thinking when he suggested the meeting.
Maybe he really had simply been asking for her opinion.
Maybe he believed she genuinely wanted it.
There was no way to know without asking him directly.
But the result was clear.
Arisa had ended up attending an arranged meeting she didn’t want.
She had been pushed towards a situation where engagement and marriage would be forced upon her.
“I think I said this before. You’re the victim here. You might think your actions were partly at fault. Maybe they were, a little. But that doesn’t mean you deserve to be unhappy. And it doesn’t mean you lose the right to ask someone for help.”
If there was anything that annoyed Yuzuru—
Anything he felt dissatisfied about—
It was only one thing.
“I told you before, didn’t I? If you ask me for help, I won’t find it troublesome. So rely on me a little more.”
That was the only thing he wanted to say.
Arisa’s eyes turned red with tears as she spoke in a faint voice.
“Then… may I ask for one thing?”
“Sure.”
“…Could I borrow your chest?”
At her request, Yuzuru wrapped his arms around her.
Pressing her face against his chest, Arisa began to cry openly.
Holding her like this made him realise just how small and slender she really was.
He could feel her warmth, her softness, and the trembling of her body.
With such a small body, she had endured everything alone.
Perhaps the reason she felt guilt so easily was a kind of defence mechanism.
Convincing herself that her misfortune wasn’t the result of injustice, but something she was partly responsible for.
Maybe that was overthinking it.
But one thing was certain—her timid personality and the emotional walls she kept between herself and others were likely the result of the oppressive environment she had grown up in.
Yuzuru gently stroked her head, careful not to ruin her hairstyle.
He didn’t know if something like this could truly comfort her.
But he still wanted to do something for her.
After a while, Arisa lifted her face from his chest.
Her eyes were still wet with tears, but she looked much calmer than before.
Perhaps embarrassed by how she had cried in front of him, her cheeks were flushed red.
She avoided his gaze and sat silently.
“Yukishiro, feel better?”
“…May I make another selfish request?”
“Sure.”
“Please… stay like this a little longer.”
With that, she pressed her face against his chest again.
This time, instead of burying her face, she simply rested her cheek there.
“Please pat my head.”
“Understood, Princess.”
“…Aren’t you embarrassed saying that?”
“Didn’t I say it’s more embarrassing when someone points it out?”
“…But not pointing it out might also be embarrassing in its own way.”
“Your request is pretty embarrassing too, you know.”
Even as he said that, Yuzuru gently stroked her head again.
Her hair was silky and pleasant to the touch.
As he held her close and continued patting her like one would comfort a child, Arisa spoke again.
“Um, Takasegawa-san.”
“What is it this time?”
“…May I call you by your name?”
“My name?”
“May I call you… Yuzuru-san?”
For a moment, Yuzuru was taken aback.
His hand stopped moving as he stroked her hair.
Seeing that, Arisa quickly added, almost as if making an excuse.
“Well… Satake-san, Ayaka-san, and Chiharu-san all call you Yuzuru-san. So… if I’m the only one using your surname, it feels a little distant.”
She spoke with a faintly sulky tone.
Then she glanced up at him anxiously.
Yuzuru resumed stroking her hair.
“That’s fine. …In return, can I call you Arisa? Everyone else calls you by your name too.”
“Yes. Please do.”
Arisa nodded in satisfaction and closed her eyes.
Then she clutched onto Yuzuru with both hands, like a baby refusing to let go of its favourite blanket.
“Hey, Arisa.”
“…Yes?”
“How long am I supposed to stay like this?”
Still patting her head, Yuzuru asked.
Continuing forever would get tiring, and even though it was night, being pressed together in the summer heat wasn’t exactly comfortable.
Arisa’s answer was simple.
“Until I’m satisfied. Is that… not okay?”
Yuzuru sighed.
“…It can’t be helped.”
And so he continued stroking Arisa’s head.
