"Hey, wait up!" A voice came from behind them.
They all turned around without much thought, only to realise that it was Makoto. So they stopped walking and waited for him to catch up.
"Hey, you guys," he said while panting softly. "How's it going?"
"We're doing great," Lloyd replied. "And what about you?"
"I'm fine," he replied. "I was just on my way to the shrine, but then I saw you three and thought I'd come say hello."
"We're going there too," Izumi said. "You wanna join us?"
"Sure," he said, and the four of them picked off.
"Who are you guys going to meet?" he asked.
"My sisters," Izumi replied. "And what about you?"
"Wait, let me guess," Lloyd said. "You're going to meet her, aren't you?"
"Her?" Miyuki asked.
"Oh, did I forget to mention that he is engaged," Lloyd said.
"Congratulations," Miyuki said to him, but he just brushed the praise aside.
"This will be the first time I've seen her in a while, so I'm excited," he said while looking ahead.
"Hope we don't get in the way," Lloyd teased.
As they approached the gates to the shrine, the streets grew more lively, this time not with lanterns or stalls but with families excited to meet their daughters and sisters.
The gate to the inner compound of the shrine was wide open, and people were pouring in and out without restriction.
The four of them walked in through the gates and into the courtyard, but finding the people they intended to see was going to be more difficult than they expected.
Maidens dressed in white and red were everywhere you looked, and the courtyard was nearly full from all the people.
While they were looking around, Izumi felt a knock on his shoulder. When he turned to see who it was, he saw the two of them standing there.
"What the hell are you looking for? We're right here," Yuriko said.
"Way to ruin the reunion," he replied with a thin smile.
By then Miyuki, Lloyd, and Makoto had noticed them too and turned to greet them.
"So how's the place been treating you guys?" Miyuki asked as she took Takae's hand.
"It's fine, but I can't wait to get out," she replied.
"You guys haven't changed at all," Izumi said.
"Look who's talking," Yuriko replied. "You're still the same baby face you've always been. I was expecting that you would have gotten a little facial hair like Pop, but you're the same as ever."
"It just isn't the time for that yet," he replied. "Plus, facial hair would take away from my natural charm."
"I'm sorry you guys have to deal with this fool on a daily basis," she said to Lloyd and Miyuki. "Must be a nightmare."
"It could be easier sometimes," Lloyd said.
"Hey, what does that mean!" he shot. "Don't tell me you're agreeing with her of all people."
As he said that, Takae heard the sound of soft chiming bells from behind her and turned to see that it was Taki.
"Are these the friends that you talk about all the time?" she asked.
"Yeah," she replied before turning to them. "Hey guys, this is Taki, one of the friends we made here in the shrine."
"Nice to meet you," they all said in unison.
"Nice to meet you too," she replied while staring at each of them separately.
Then she turned and said, "I have to go. My parents are probably looking for me in the crowd."
She waved as she walked away, and they replied in kind.
"She's a pretty nice girl," Izumi said. "Don't you think, Lloyd?"
"Yeah, I guess," he replied with his attention elsewhere.
"So how long are you guys planning to stay?" Takae asked.
"I don't know. Maybe we'll watch the fireworks from here," Izumi replied. "Are you going to be staying here too, Makoto?"
"I might, but first I have to find her," he replied. "I'll meet up with you guys later."
Before he could leave, he heard someone call out his name from next to Takae and Yuriko. The two of them turned their heads to see that it was Leina, and she had her eyes fixed on him.
"Do you know each other, Leina?" Yuriko asked.
"Yeah, but I wasn't expecting to see him here so soon," she replied.
"Wait, don't tell me that he's the infamous guy you were talking about," Yuriko said while lighting up.
"It is," she replied as their eyes met.
"What a small world," Lloyd said. "I've heard about you from him too. I'm Kageto, his partner in the Doshin."
"He talked about you too in his letters," she replied. "Something about straightening him out or something."
"Hey, don't tell him that," he said, embarrassed.
Lloyd chuckled as he said, "It's not a big deal, I promise."
The five of them started walking away as he said, "We'll leave you two alone. I'm sure you have a lot to catch up on."
The two of them were left standing there by themselves. It felt awkward at first, but the conversations started to pick up, and it was as if they were never separated to begin with.
On the other side of town, Ayako and Hyogo were busy going from stall to stall, enjoying the pleasantries of the festival.
Their conversations would always be changing subjects until Ayako came to talk about the fireworks.
"Fireworks?" he asked. "What are those?"
"I don't know how to explain them, but they're really pretty," she replied. "They'll be set off in the town square at midnight, so we better go uphill to get a better view."
As she said that, they walked past a crowd of people, so she didn't notice the large hole in the street. She walked into it and tripped.
Hyogo reached out his hand to pick her up, saying, "Hey, are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said while standing up, but she winced from the sharp pain in her ankle.
"Are you really okay?" he asked again, noticing her expression.
"I can just walk it off. It's no big deal," she said.
Her first few steps were short and uneven, as if she was going to trip at any second. That was when Hyogo noticed a little girl being carried on her father's back, and he came up with an idea.
He walked in front of her and crouched down to pick her up just like them, but Ayako couldn't help but be embarrassed, saying, "What are you doing?"
"Come on, just hop on until your leg feels better," he said.
"But all of these people are staring," she said.
"Since when did you care about that?" he replied. "Plus, it's too late to back off now."
"Fine, but make sure you walk out of this crowd," she said.
Then she hesitantly got on, and he started walking away. At first, she couldn't bear to look up, but as the crowds of people thinned out, she felt less embarrassed.
Then he walked by a familiar artisan shop, and she suddenly remembered what she wanted to ask him.
She hesitated at first, but she finally said, "The other day I saw you going into Kanako's shop. What were you doing there?"
"Not that it's any of my business. I was just curious," she said, already backtracking. "I mean, if you wanted something fixed, you could have just come to me."
"So I'm busted, huh?" he joked. "I was hoping to keep that secret for a little longer."
"So what was it?" she asked.
He stopped and reached into his robe and pulled out a wooden hairpin. He gave it to her, and she just looked at it in shock.
"This is..." she said but couldn't complete her sentence.
"It's the pin you dropped the day we met," he replied. "It snapped in half, and when I asked Kanami about it, she said that it was really important to you."
"It was the first piece I made entirely by myself," she said, still awestruck. "I thought it was gone forever."
"I couldn't bring it to you, so she referred me to Kanako," he said. "She liked teasing me a lot and wasting time, so it wasn't ready for your birthday like I wanted it to, but I guess it's better late than never."
"Thanks," she said. "This means a lot."
"Don't mention it," he replied. "You've done so much for me since that day. The least I could do was find a way to repay you."
She curled up her hair and stuck it in, saying, "I'm grateful."
He started walking as he said, "This really brings back some memories of back then. To think that it's already been half a year and I still can't forget about it."
"Me too," she said, her eyes distant. "So much happened that day that I could never..."