The next day.
Inazuma.
Dusk had settled into its loneliest hour.
The evening light gathered on all sides, and the last of the crimson clouds faded toward night.
Slowly, the warmth of daily life began to stir in Inazuma City — lanterns lit one by one as the first stars appeared.
Naganohara Fireworks.
Naganohara Yoimiya sat on the long bench outside the shop entrance, carefully and methodically measuring out the ratios of gunpowder for her fireworks.
The amber glow of dusk spilled across her fair, pretty face, making everything feel unusually still and soft.
"Yoimiya, dinner's ready."
Her Pop's voice drifted out from inside.
"Go ahead and eat without me, Pop."
Naganohara Yoimiya called back at the top of her lungs.
"Yoimiya, dinner's ready."
A moment later, Pop's voice came again.
"I heard you! Go ahead and start — I'll be in as soon as I finish this part!"
Naganohara Yoimiya set down the firework in her hands and cupped both palms around her mouth to shout back.
Only after that did the house go quiet.
"Pop, honestly..." She laughed and stretched her arms above her head with a lazy yawn, then picked up the firework she'd just set aside, ready to get back to work.
"Inspiration for fireworks is fleeting — you have to hold onto it while it's here."
But no sooner had she picked up the unfinished firework than she spotted two familiar figures.
Two children.
A boy and a girl.
"It's them."
The smile on Naganohara Yoimiya's face grew warmer at the sight of them.
The girl was skipping along ahead, the boy chasing after her from behind.
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could walk through the streets and see the cherry blossoms together again next year," the girl said, turning back with a bright, cheerful smile.
"Yeah."
The boy's face turned red as he murmured his reply.
"Good evening, Sister Yoimiya."
As they passed the fireworks shop, the girl stopped and gave Naganohara Yoimiya a cheerful wave.
"Good evening."
The boy opened his mouth too, a little hesitantly.
"Good evening, you two. Here, these are for you."
Delighted to see them, Naganohara Yoimiya reached into the shop with a grin and produced two lollipops, holding them out. "Now remember — don't let that Arataki Itto character sweet-talk these away from you."
As she said it, she flicked a glance toward Itto, who was seated under a nearby streetlamp, nose buried in a book.
That guy, reading by streetlamp at night — surely he wasn't trying to save on lamp oil?
He was supposedly the type to do odd jobs here and there, even if he mostly loafed around. Surely he couldn't be that broke?
"Thank you, Sister Yoimiya," the girl said, beaming as she accepted her lollipop.
"Thank you."
With a little encouragement from the girl, the boy reached out shyly and took his as well.
"We have somewhere to be, Sister Yoimiya, so we'll get going now."
The girl said her polite goodbyes.
"Off you go, then."
Naganohara Yoimiya gave them a warm wave.
Watching the two children disappear down the road, Naganohara Yoimiya found her thoughts drifting back to Your Lie in April.
She raised her head and looked up at the sky.
Above the horizon, the last of the dusk was retreating, and the stars were beginning to emerge one by one.
"I really am looking forward to Miss Fang Qiu's new book. If only I could hop on a ship and sail to Liyue to get it myself..."
Naganohara Yoimiya let out a small sigh, then slapped both cheeks lightly and said with a face full of anticipation: "Come on, chin up. I'll put together one enormous firework, send it on a merchant vessel to Liyue, and hand it over to Sister Beidou — and then when a holiday rolls around, she can set it off for Miss Fang Qiu to see. I really can't wait to see the look on her face when the fireworks go up."
With that, she turned her gaze toward Itto, still seated under the distant streetlamp, absorbed in his book.
"Wonder how far along that guy has gotten," Naganohara Yoimiya murmured to herself.
Just as she was about to pick up the unfinished firework and get back to work, Itto suddenly burst into tears.
It wasn't that her hearing was exceptional — it was simply that Itto was crying extremely loudly.
"Ugh... Lady Shina... no, Kaori..." he sobbed, wiping at his face. "Such a wonderful girl, gone just like that. Lady Shina really knows how to pick a book — this is too moving for words."
Itto kept scrubbing at his tears, muttering between sniffles: "As expected of Lady Shina."
"I can't believe that guy actually cries," Naganohara Yoimiya said, genuinely surprised. Then she thought it over and murmured to herself, "Well, knowing his personality, he'll probably get himself sorted out after a good cry..."
Just as Naganohara Yoimiya was about to go over and say something comforting to Itto, one of his underlings came jogging up, clutching a book.
"Boss, I was just passing by Yae Publishing House and figured you'd be just about done with Your Lie in April by now, so I went ahead and bought you the other book Lady Shina was raving about — The Eternal."
The underling trotted up to Itto, took one look at his boss bawling his eyes out, and froze. When had his boss ever cried like this?
"Boss, what on earth happened to you?"
The underling asked.
"Ha ha ha ha ha ha, nothing! Wind was too strong — got sand in my eyes, that's all."
Itto waved him off and hurriedly scrubbed the tears from his face, forcing out a laugh.
"So... Boss, do you still want to keep reading?"
The underling asked, hesitant.
"Of course I'm keeping reading. Hand it over," Itto said immediately, giving his nose a loud sniff. "I need to finish both books Lady Shina recommended before the meet-and-greet — I couldn't face her otherwise."
"Yes, Boss."
The underling nodded and passed the book over without another word.
"The Eternal... and it's by that same person, this Fang Qiu..."
Itto's expression soured.
The ending of Your Lie in April had been absolutely brutal. In order to protect her love for Arima Kousei — the one she had always carried in her heart — Kaori had woven a lie of salvation for him in the final moments of her life.
And once Arima Kousei found that salvation, Kaori's life reached its end.
The worst part was that this bastard Fang Qiu had written it far too well — and because it was a book Lady Shina had personally recommended, he'd read every word with complete investment, and let himself get completely swept up in the emotions.
And now The Eternal was by Fang Qiu too...
"Boss, what's the matter?"
The underling beside him asked.
"Nothing."
Itto gritted his teeth and waved it off.
"The Eternal? Eternity?" He stared at the title on the cover, frowning. "Come to think of it, isn't 'eternity' exactly what the Raiden Shogun is always going on about? Is that what this book is about?"
"Wonder if she's ever read this one," he muttered.
He grumbled to himself for a moment, then let out a long, slow breath and flipped open the cover of The Eternal.
This one probably wouldn't be a tragedy, right?
In the distance, Naganohara Yoimiya saw him settle back into his reading and decided not to bother him. She returned to her bench, picked up the unfinished firework, and got back to work.
"You know, now that Itto mentioned it — it really would be something if Shogun Almighty could read Miss Fang Qiu's The Eternal too. My Heart Will Go On — even people like us, who are nothing more than a fleeting moment to someone like her, still have our own kind of eternity. That's what Miss Fang Qiu is expressing, isn't it."
Naganohara Yoimiya gazed up at the sky and murmured softly.
Overhead, a meteor streaked silently across the heavens.
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