Seishun Buta Yarou Series - Volume 3 - Chapter 5

Last Chapter – All That Remains After The Fireworks are Summer Memories

August 19. 

The day of the Enoshima Evening Fireworks. 

Sakuta headed to the meeting place at the Kugenuma Beach Station and found Yuuma already waiting. 

“’Sup.” 

“’Sup.” 

Despite his height, Yuuma looked good in a yukata. 

Sakuta was wearing one, too. 

Rio had forced this on them, saying it would be too much if she was the only one. 

He’d managed to put it all together for a reasonable enough eight thousand yen. He’d also bought one for Kaede, and that had been way more expensive. He was gonna have to put in more hours at work for a while. 

“Koga really did take your shift, huh?” 

Sakuta had originally been scheduled to work this evening. 

“I owe her a parfait later.” 

He was planning on making a big deal out of it being six hundred calories. 

“Good to have friends.” 

A train pulled into the station. 

She was already late. 

There were plenty of other yukata in the crowd filing out. At the very back, Sakuta spied a familiar face. 

“Yo, Futaba!” he called out, waving. 

Their eyes met, and Rio instantly stared at her feet. Even from this distance, he could tell she was bright red. 

Without looking up once, she shuffled over to them. 

Yellow and pink flowers on a field of white. The obi was a soft yellow, too, quite cute. She had her hair up but glasses on. The navy-blue kinchaku in her hand complemented the other colors. 

“You’re back to wearing glasses?” 

“I-is that odd?” 

She touched the frames, looking nervous. 

“Nah, they look good with the yukata. Right, Sakuta?” 

“It’s kinda sexy. Right, Yuuma?” 

“Mm, you’re not wrong.” 

“This is exactly why I didn’t want to wear one,” Rio scowled. But she sounded at least a little bit pleased. 

After a leisurely ten-minute walk from the station, they reached the beach just as the first firework went up. 

With a loud crack, beautiful flowers bloomed against the night sky. As those faded, the next firework sent bright colors across the Enoshima skyline. 

Some fireworks streamed downward like willow trees. Others were like stacks of rings. One after another… 

Sakuta, Rio, and Yuuma watched the dazzling display without saying much. 

As the finale approached, huge fireworks dyed the night in vivid colors, lighting up the beach, Enoshima, and Benten Bridge. 

The last volley was genuinely satisfying. The booms echoed inside them. 

“Kunimi,” Rio said softly. 

“Mm?” 

“……” Her voice was drowned by the fireworks. 

“What?” Yuuma said, leaning closer. 

Rio cupped her hands, stretching to meet him. She whispered something. Just a few words. By the time the next firework faded, she’d stepped away. 

She was staring at her feet, biting her lip. Her face was red. And clearly not because of the light of the fireworks. 

“Futaba, I…” 

“You don’t need to say it,” she said, stopping him. “I know the answer.” 

“…Oh.” 

“And if you say anything, I’ll have to cry.” 

“Then Sakuta would lend you his yukata sleeve.” 

“Feel free to get snot all over it.” 

“You’re an idiot,” Rio said, grinning at him. She grinned at Yuuma, too. Then she took Sakuta’s arm with her right hand and Yuuma’s with her left. She pulled them both closer, staring up at the fireworks. 

“Oh!” 

“Whoa.” 

Neither of them had expected this. 

“I’m the only one.” 

“Hmm?” 

“The only one who can watch fireworks standing between the two of you.” 

There were tears at the corners of her eyes, but there was a smile on her face. So Sakuta said nothing. He just looked up at the fireworks again. Yuuma did the same. 

Fire flowers bloomed over Enoshima. 

The sight seared itself into his eyes. 

This was a memory that would last a lifetime. 

The summer of their second year in high school. The three of them would look back on this together someday. 

There were ten days left in summer vacation, and they passed without incident. 

The no-dating order remained in place, so he and Mai spent no time together. She was too busy with work anyway. 

Sakuta had nothing better to do, so he spent most of it at his job. Sometimes he stopped by the science lab at school to hang out with Rio. Rio said he just got in the way of her experiments, but he ignored her. 

And before he knew it, the long summer vacation was over. 

August 31. 

Shouko and her parents came over that morning. She was feeling better and had been discharged two days before. They were here to pick up Hayate. 

Nasuno came to the door to see them off, and her meow seemed a little bit sad. Kaede poked her face out from the living room, and she looked sad, too. But she waved good-bye anyway. 

This was how it should be. It was a good thing, and they should all be glad. 

“Um, Sakuta,” Shouko said, sounding a little nervous. 

“What?” 

“Er, um…” 

When their eyes met, she looked away. Unusual. Her head was turned slightly downward, her cheeks flushed. But then she looked up again. 

“Can I come over some other time?” she asked. 

“Sure. If you bring Hayate with you, I’m sure Kaede and Nasuno will be thrilled.” 

“And you?” 

“Mm?” 

“Will you be thrilled?” 

“……” 

“Sorry, that was weird.” 

She turned red, shrinking. Sakuta patted her head. 

“Come over anytime.” 

“Okay!” she said, looking up. She was beaming now. She waved and left with Hayate and her parents. 

He never did figure out what the deal with her and the Shouko from two years ago was. But considering how happy Shouko looked… 

“Well, whatever.” 

The next day was September 1. The start of the second term he’d hoped would never come. 

It was still hot as hell, but Sakuta had no choice. He headed out to school. At least he could see Mai there. That was motivation enough. 

On the Enoden Fujisawa Station platform, he ran into Yuuma and Rio. It wasn’t often all three of them rode in together. 

“’Sup.” 

“’Sup.” 

“Mornin’.” 

Rio had her glasses on and her hair up. This made her look smart and mature. With a touch of sophistication. 

“What are you staring at?” she demanded, glaring. But she knew what his look meant. And that’s exactly why he didn’t mention it. 

“You finish your homework?” he asked. 

“It’s so you to ask that after summer vacation’s over.” 

The retro train pulled up to the platform. They weren’t even at school yet, but the sight of this already felt like proof that second term had started. 

Sakuta and Yuuma pushed Rio in through the doors at the back and took a seat on either side of her. 

Then Sakuta felt eyes on him. He looked, and standing in the next door was Yuuma’s girlfriend, Saki Kamisato. Their eyes met, and she turned away. 

“You’re still fighting?” 

“It’s a cold war now.” Yuuma grimaced. 

“Then you’d better go over there,” Rio said, giving his much bigger frame a push. 

“Uh, wha—? Futaba?” 

“If you won’t say why, then it must be about me or Azusagawa, right?” 

“Oof. Uh…” 

Yuuma winced, unable to think of a good answer. Sakuta had been assuming pretty much the same thing. 

“What happened?” he asked. 

“So, uh…I found something missing in the contact list on my phone.” 

“Me and Futaba?” 

“Nope, just you, Sakuta.” 

“Vicious.” 

“That’s not worth fighting over. Go make up with her,” Rio said. It didn’t affect her. 

“No, but…” 

“If you dither like this, my resolve will waver.” 

“Can’t argue with that…” 

Yuuma made up his mind. He stepped off the train and, before the doors closed, stepped on again at the next door down. He stood next to Saki, and they started talking. Saki seemed a little nonplussed by this, but it didn’t take long for her to start smiling. That looked like relief to Sakuta. 

Not wanting to see them be happy together, Rio leaned against the door, using Sakuta’s body as a shield. 

“You could have just left them alone.” 

“No, it’s fine. Couples break up, and that’s it.” 

“……” 

“And I want something that lasts.” 

“You’re such a sore loser.” 

“Shut up.” 

Rio puffed out her cheeks like a little kid. He’d never seen her look that childish. It might take her a while to fully sort out her feelings, but this was progress. At least…she thought it was. 

The short four-car train pulled out of the station with them on board. 

The opening ceremony forced all one thousand students into the gym. As testament to the fierce heat, the majority carried fans with them. 

Well-tanned students kept those fans flapping all through the principal’s grand speech. The teachers didn’t stop them. Nobody wanted to deal with heatstroke. 

Five minutes passed, and the principal’s speech still showed no signs of ending. Letting it go in one ear and out the other, Sakuta glanced toward Class 3-1. 

Mai’s class. 

But he didn’t see Mai anywhere. 

She’d called the day before, saying they’d see each other at school, so he’d been looking forward to it—was she running late? 

The opening ceremony wrapped up, and they dispersed to their respective homerooms. Sakuta’s homeroom teacher said, “Let’s just muddle through it,” whatever that meant—probably well aware that students just off vacation were deeply unmotivated. 

Sakuta picked up his bag, left the class, and headed upstairs to the third floor. The third-year students’ domain. 

Class 3-1’s homeroom was still going, so Sakuta peeked in through the back door. 

“……” 

Still no sign of Mai. Her seat was empty, no bag near it. Seemed like she was absent. 

Certain she wasn’t here, Sakuta headed downstairs to the pay phones. They were in the corner by the offices. 

Popping a ten-yen coin into the phone—he was probably the only person who ever used them—he dialed her number. 

“……” 

She didn’t pick up. After ten rings, it went to voice mail. 

“Uh, it’s Sakuta. You weren’t at school, so I figured I’d call. I’m headed home for now.” 

And with that, he hung up. 

He let out a long sigh. He’d been sure he could finally see her again today, so it was a crushing letdown. 

“Well, she’ll have to make up for this later,” he said, trying to find a positive spin on it. 

He headed home. 

It was a fifteen-minute train ride from Shichirigahama Station to Fujisawa Station. And a ten-minute walk from there to his apartment. 

He stopped outside, looking up at the building across the street. Mai’s building. 

He considered ringing her intercom, but as he did, the front doors opened, and someone stepped out. 

“Oh.” 

It was Mai. 

Her eyes met Sakuta’s. She blinked twice. Then she looked away and walked right past him. 

“Mai?” He reached for her shoulder. 

“?!” 

She brushed his hand away, wheeling around to face him. Looking alarmed. Her eyes swept over him. 

“Er, what?” he asked. This was really weird. Something was wrong. 

She looked exactly like Mai but seemed like someone else entirely. 

“Who are you?” she asked. 

“Huh?” 

He couldn’t understand what that meant. 

“I said, who are you?” 

There was a note of aggression in her voice. None of her usual confidence. She was giving him a look of deep suspicion, not even trying to hide it. Like she was a total stranger. 

He’d only just wrapped up Rio’s case, so…was this another doppelgänger? 

“Sakuta Azusagawa,” he said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “You may have heard of me. I happen to be dating you, Mai.” 

“Pfft,” she said dismissively. “My sister would never date someone with eyes as dead as yours.” 

“Huh?” 

He blinked at her. Had she just called Mai her sister? Did Mai have a twin? No, she’d mentioned having a younger sister before, but that was a pretty nontraditional sister, one her father had with his new wife after the divorce. They unquestionably had different mothers. Not only were they not twins, there were several years between them, and there was no way they’d look this much alike. 

But what other possible explanation was there? He was totally lost. 

So there was only one thing for him to ask. 

“Who are you?”