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After everyone changed into their yukatas, and the sun was about to set, it was time for everyone to head to the festival’s location.

“Mmm, somehow this feels more loose than I’m used to… Hijiri, does it look weird?”
“Don’t worry, you look cute!”
“If… if you say so… thank you.”

Kou had never worn a yukata before, so she seemed uneasy about it and wanted Hijiri to reassure her.

Hijiri replied almost instantly, smiling happily as she praised Kou, who nervously looked down at the purple yukata with a pattern of lilies she was wearing, and gave an embarrassed response.

“Well… ummm… you also look good, Hijiri. Those, umm… pink flowers suit you really nicely…”
“Aww, thank you! I’m glad you think so!”

Kou also tried to compliment Hijiri’s yukata, making Hijiri break into a delighted smile that made Kou look away nervously.

As Kou had pointed out, Hijiri’s yukata was white, adorned with pink flowers, which looked really good on her. While it had a refined appearance, Hijiri’s hair was arranged up, revealing more of her neck and shoulder, and Kou had to make an effort to restrain her impulses.

While things felt a little awkward after that, they all left the house and walked to the location of the festival.

The clacking of their wooden sandals overlapped as they walked downhill along the street, passing by an old and outdated warehouse, which was followed by a place with many run-down retirement homes, and then they reached the main residential district.

They continued walking for around five more minutes.

“Ah…”
“That’s the dojo where you and Subaru went, right?”
“Yeah, that brings back memories…”

On the other side of the road, there was an old building still in good shape, standing imposingly. It was a kendo dojo, which seemed filled with history, but the main sign indicating it was a dojo had been taken off.

“Did you practice swordsmanship then?”
“I only attended for two years, so I only learned the basics at best, and never got to take part in a tournament.”

Rouge asked that, sitting on Kou’s shoulder and looking around with stars in her eyes, which made Kou’s cheeks redden a little.

Rouge had also changed her appearance, wearing a fantasy dress that was clearly inspired by a yukata, and looked extremely cute.

“Hahah, I still remember that. You were bawling your eyes out when you joined, and also when you left.”
“Su… Subaru?!”

Subaru also glanced at that building, bringing up that detail in a teasing voice.

Kou tried confronting him for spreading that embarrassing story, but as she was still not used to her current getup, her feet were unsteady and she was unsure how to move without rolling up the skirt, so all she could do was glare at him from a distance while grumbling.

Back when Kou was still in elementary school, the dojo was open to the public, and her parents took her there together with Subaru.

Now Kou understood that her parents had done that as a way to channel her vampiric instincts into something safe, but back then she had been really confused about why they wanted her to practice kendo.

She had been averse to violence at the time, so she resisted going to the point of crying nonstop. Subaru had to drag her by the hand for the first few months.

But once she got the hang of it… Kou realized she really enjoyed it. By the time she had gained the necessary strength and knew some basic stances to swing her bamboo sword, she was the one dragging Subaru to the dojo.

Then during sixth grade, the old man who owned and ran the dojo realized he was too old to continue and retired, closing the place. Just when Kou was starting to enjoy it, she had no choice but to stop, but what she learned there laid the foundation for her skills now.

That old man had once mentioned that he had a grandchild who was really into kendo twenty years before. But sadly, that grandchild fell in love with someone who lived far away and left to pursue that love.

Since Kou was still an elementary schooler back then, with little interest in romantic affairs, she commented: “What an ungrateful grandchild…”

And hearing that…

“No, I’m actually really proud. My grandkid found something worth protecting, something worth fighting for, and left everything to ensure nothing would happen to someone so important. Though I have to admit I was a little stunned as well, considering how big of a task it would be.”

Hearing that response, and how proud the old man was, made Kou stop asking questions or saying anything back. She only wondered if that grandchild had ended up taking a post with the Self-Defense Force or something like that.

Either way, that meant there was no one the old man could appoint as a successor, and the dojo closed down. But Kou still went to visit him twice a year to do some upkeep, wanting it to stay in good shape—usually for New Year’s and Obon.

“Wait, isn’t it almost time we come to help again?!”
“Oh… you’re right. It’s almost that time of year again. I lost track of time with everything that’s been going on lately.”

They realized how much time had passed, so Subaru and Kou looked at each other in surprise, then began arranging for their next visit.

“Oh… this place…”
“…Hm? Is something wrong, Kikyo?”
“Ah, don’t mind me~ I just remembered that I came here a long time ago too. I’m sorry for acting weird.”

Kikyo placed a hand to her cheek as she said that. She was wearing a yukata with a very low cut, stamped with red balloon flowers—also called kikyo in Japanese. Next to her was Hinagiku, who wore a blue yukata with daisies, matching her name, and Miyuki, wearing a light pink yukata adorned with lycoris flowers.

…And a few steps behind, together with Sora and the Furuya parents, was Amari, who wore a red yukata with amaryllis flowers. Somehow, many members of the group were named after flowers, and their outfits subtly reflected that.

“Now it all makes sense… I knew this city felt familiar… This is what caused… all of that for them…”

Kikyo muttered that to herself, while Kou and the other kids tilted their heads in confusion. The adults behind them grimaced slightly, almost as if they knew something.

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