After arriving at the clothing store, we sought refuge from the sweltering heat in the cool interior… It definitely couldn’t compete with the heat outside…
But why did we come to the clothing store…?
I followed behind Yamato as he strode purposefully forward without understanding the reason.
“…Oh, here it is.”
Yamato found something, and what caught my eye was…
“S-summer kimono??”
Yes, summer kimonos, worn to stay cool during the hot summer months and as a symbol of summer, caught my eye.
“Oh, ever since I found out we could go to the festival, I’ve been thinking about wearing one with you, Yuto.”
“S-So, you’ve been thinking about it all day today too?”
Yamato averted his gaze from me, scratching his head with a hedgehog-like gesture.
“Yeah, I have.”
Just knowing that Yamato was looking forward to going with me made me happy, but his thoughts and gestures made my heart flutter uncontrollably…
Could it be… that this fluttering feeling means I like Yamato…?
The more I think about it, the more tangled my thoughts become, yet they grow into something bigger…
Is this… What do they call a crush…?
I wonder what Yamato thinks…?
As I pondered these thoughts, we laughed as we selected matching summer kimonos and wooden sandals, each heading home for the day as we were looking forward to tomorrow.
* * *
The next day.
I slipped into a cotton yukata, preparing to head to the meeting place with Yamato.
The excellent ventilation of the yukata allowed a natural coolness to seep into my skin.
Before heading out, I popped a pill of a certain medicine into my mouth, washing it down with water.
That medicine is to suppress a physiological phenomenon called heat, which only occurs periodically in individuals with Omega sex.
Without taking it, my body would become unbearably hot, making it difficult to even walk… However, the medicine isn’t without its side effects.
During heat, my body emits pheromones that strongly attract individuals with an Alpha sex, driving them to seek me out in a frenzy… On the other hand, most Beta individuals rarely attack me…
Nowadays, I’ve learned to control heat myself, but I can never forget the painful experiences it caused me…
My heat cycle occurs once every three months… Symptoms persist for about a week, near the end of the month.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
It’s the end of July now… Yes, right in the middle of the heat.
Po qtfgbwbcfr kfgf ab oibk bea lc atf yerailcu ofralnji ugbecvr, la kbeiv yf agbeyifrbwf, jcv P kbeivc’a yf jyif ab mbcagbi wsrfio…
P vbc’a kjca ab mjerf agbeyif obg Tjwjab…
Coafg olclrtlcu atf wfvlmlcf, P qea bc jc ecojwliljg ufaj jcv tfjvfv abkjgvr Tjwjab’r qijmf.
* * *
Ca atf wffalcu qijmf, Tjwjab kjr jigfjvs kjlalcu obg wf, kfjglcu j sexjaj jcv rqbgalcu ws yijmx-glwwfv uijrrfr, jr tf kjr ulnlcu boo j vloofgfca nlyf atjc ereji.
“Yamato! Sorry to keep you waiting!”
“Hey, I just got here… Haha! Yuto, you look good in a yukata.”
“Oh, thank you…! You look good too, Yamato…”
“…Hm? I look good too…?”
“You… You look cool…”
We exchanged compliments of “looking good” and “cool” while both of us were blushing.
Lately, I wonder what’s gotten into us… But being told I look good by Yamato makes me so happy.
We clacked our geta and headed towards the festival grounds while blushing cheeks mixed with the warmth of the outside.
* * *
As expected of a festival atmosphere, the place was bustling with people.
“Yuto, don’t get lost, okay?”
“Hey! Don’t treat me like a kid!”
I puffed out my cheeks in protest at Yamato’s remark, but he just laughed back innocently.
Just because I’m short… Yamato’s such an idiot!
The festival grounds were adorned with illumination from various stalls and cute pop-style signs.
Every little thing caught our attention, and Yamato and I happily explored the stalls together.
In the midst of the bustling crowd, Yamato and I wandered around the food stalls.
Yamato was holding the takoyaki and hiroshima-style okonomiyaki we bought to eat later.
Then, something caught my eye as we happily browsed the stalls!
“Yamato! I definitely want to try that!”
I innocently pointed at a stall with a cute drawing of bananas covered in chocolate.
The bananas looked so perfectly coated in chocolate, with colorful chocolate sprinkles on top. I love chocolate bananas so much, I couldn’t resist.
…Huh? What? You’re not thinking anything dirty, right…? Hey, everyone??
“Yamato, are you going to eat one?”
“Nah, I’m good…”
What a jerk, not sharing with me~!
Even though I said I wanted some, he definitely won’t share!
I mustered up my courage with those thoughts in mind and dove into the stall to buy just one chocolate banana.
I returned safely to Yamato’s side, and with a big smile on my face, I took a small bite of the chocolate banana.
“Mmm~! This is it! The sweetness of the chocolate with the slight tanginess of the banana inside… it’s the best!”
The deliciousness made my cheeks loosen and relax.
Yamato seemed to be watching over me with a gentle smile, but just as I was about to take another bite…
A big hedgehog jumped in front of my face… and the second bite of the chocolate banana was carried straight into Yamato’s mouth.
“Hey, Yamato!”
“Mm, this is delicious!”
So, I should’ve just bought another one! Why did you say you didn’t want it…? I knew you wouldn’t share!!
I was sulking a bit while thinking about that, but with Yamato’s words and actions, my cheeks flushed instantly.
Yamato gently took the hand holding the chocolate banana…
“What’s yours is mine… right?”
Despite his sincere smile and usual line, Yamato is holding my hand like this, and his warmth is stirring up my feelings…
Yeah… that fluttering feeling I’ve been feeling lately…
I can tell it’s getting stronger and stronger…
Do I… actually want Yamato to touch me more…? Yamato… me…
As my face turned red with these thoughts, Yamato, while smiling, calmly warned me that I should eat it quickly before the chocolate melted.
If Yamato hadn’t said that, I would’ve finished eating before it melted!!
I glanced away from Yamato for a moment, my face burning, and stuffed the remaining chocolate banana into my mouth as much as I could.
* * *
The surroundings began to darken, and soon the main event of the festival, the fireworks display, would begin.
We moved away from the food stalls and found a spot by the riverside where we could see the fireworks, and we settled down.
It felt like the first time Yamato and I had a heart-to-heart conversation…
But it’s different now…
Yamato, my best friend, suddenly made my heart race… But just having Yamato by my side makes me happier than anything…
I thought that was enough, but…
As we settled down, feeling a bit hungry, we decided to eat the takoyaki and hiroshima-style okonomiyaki we bought earlier.
Even though we agreed to split them half and half, Yamato, eating the okonomiyaki, slowly picked out a bite-sized piece with his chopsticks and said, “Open up,” as he offered it to me…
I followed while blushing and took the morsel from Yamato’s chopsticks and into my mouth…
How much more will you stir up my heart… What is this feeling… Who should I ask about it… I don’t know, I don’t know…
Despite the fluttering feeling, as if in return, I delicately offered a piece of takoyaki on a toothpick to Yamato’s lips.
Yamato was lightly blushing and smiling as he took a bite.
“Yeah, it’s delicious.”
Even though he’s so cool, the face he shows me is somehow cute…
Thinking such things, maybe I’m just weird after all…
As such a fun and bittersweet time passes quickly, I decided to ask Yamato a question.
“Hey, Yamato? Why won’t you give me back my black-rimmed glasses?”
Yes, it’s about my black-rimmed glasses.
I can see without them, and it’s not a big deal if I don’t wear them.
Since spring, when my glasses were taken, Yamato has never parted with my black-rimmed glasses, always wearing them…
Why won’t you give them back to me…
Why do you keep wearing them every day…
The days just kept passing by without knowing the reason, and I did feel a desire to know the truth…
Yet Yamato just said,
“Because, it’s… mine.”
His important words were drowned out by the children’s noisy chatter around us…
But if it were the usual Yamato, he would say it without any embarrassment. Now, he seemed a bit shy, as if trying to convey a different message to me…
I asked Yamato again about the part I couldn’t hear clearly, but all he said in response was, “what’s yours is mine,” just like always.
I hope someday he’ll give them back…
In the end, the truth about the glasses being taken was buried within his heart, and I remained in the dark as time continued to pass.
