Episode Eighteen: Then, After the Fireworks, Want To?
If my memory serves, the promise had been to “go see the fireworks” with Yui-san this weekend.
And yet, here we were, standing in the circular drive of a luxury hotel.
The word “Ichinose” over the entrance told me immediately this had to be one of the hotels Yui-san’s father runs.
She handed the car key to the waiting valet and waved me over with a little beckoning motion. I’d assumed we were just using the parking, but she urged me forward — come on, let’s go.
“Aren’t we watching fireworks? Why a hotel…?”
“You must be hungry. Let’s eat first, then watch.”
“From here?”
“Yeah, you’ll get a great view.”
Guided by the arm around my waist, I let myself be led forward. The polished floor threw back the reflection of grand orange lighting, and the ceiling stretched so high I had to tilt my head back to see it.
Our heels clicked with every step, and I thought, this genuinely feels like a castle.
Wait here a moment, she said, and I sat obediently on what looked like an expensive sofa.
Yui-san went to speak with a man at the front desk — slicked hair, an air of importance — who’d emerged from somewhere in the back, then came back to me.
“Okay, let’s go.”
“I just came in a regular dress, though… is that okay, dress-code-wise?”
“It’s a private room, so don’t worry about it.”
“A private room…?”
Hand in hand, we stepped into the large central elevator. Without hesitation she pressed the button for the fortieth floor, and we rose, drawn upward like we were being pulled straight into the sky.
“There’s a table we don’t usually use. A private room, for entertaining clients.”
The elevator reached the fortieth floor almost instantly, and following Yui-san, still unable to fully relax my shoulders, I was shown to a table for two by the window with a staggering view of the night skyline, and I caught my breath despite myself.
A waiter pulled out my chair for me.
“Sato-san, it’s been a while.”
“It has. You haven’t been in lately, so I’ve been looking forward to seeing you.”
Yui-san smiled brightly at the waitress, addressing her by name. Mid-thirties, maybe. A beautiful woman.
She stood straight in front of the table and gave a crisp, precise bow. Honestly, unused to this kind of thing, my heart raced a little.
“I’ll be serving you today, my name is Sato. Aozawa-sama, it’s a pleasure, and I look forward to serving you going forward as well.”
“P-pleasure to meet you too…”
Brought somewhere like this, it really drove home all over again just how much of a proper heiress Yui-san actually is. At home she seems like an ordinary, easygoing older sister type, but here, she’s clearly completely at ease, used to environments like this in a way I’m not.
We ordered drinks, and once Sato-san had stepped out of the room, I let my shoulders drop and sank back into my chair, and Yui-san laughed.
“You don’t have to be this tense.”
“You’re used to this kind of thing, Yui-san.”
“There’s a dinner like this every month.”
Ah — so that’s where those “dinners” she’s always mentioning actually take place. Restaurants like this one.
“The fireworks start at seven-thirty, so we’ve got two hours, let’s take our time eating.”
“When you said we’d watch fireworks, I figured we’d be standing on the ground looking up like normal.”
“That’s actually what I wanted to do too, but the viewing tickets were already sold out, sorry about that. Next year I’ll book somewhere closer in advance, so bear with this for now.”
Bear with it — if anything, this feels like a massive upgrade. Getting to watch fireworks in an environment this relaxed and luxurious felt like a once-in-a-lifetime thing, though maybe for her, this really is just normal.
“Honestly, I’m happy. It’s my first time doing something like this…”
Good, I’m glad, Yui-san said, smiling gently across from me.
“I actually really like this restaurant. The head chef’s terrifying, though. Yuki-nii and I once tried sneaking into the kitchen as kids and got grabbed by the collar and yelled at, big time. But the food really is amazing.”
I could picture the two mischievous siblings so clearly that I couldn’t help smiling too. So Yui-san had moments like that too, once.
“…Course meals make me nervous.”
“Really? Just eat whatever comes out, in order. Table manners don’t really matter, it’s just the two of us right now.”
Even as she said that, the sheer ease of Yui-san’s own table manners betrayed exactly how she’d been raised. A proper heiress, through and through.
The French course, apparently left entirely to the chef’s discretion, was so good with every single dish that I genuinely thought my cheeks might fall off. Dessert and the tea afterward were both wonderful too.
I found myself quietly worrying just how much this whole dinner must be costing, and whether I even had enough in my wallet to cover my half.
*
“Alright, good timing, let’s head out.”
“…Huh, aren’t we watching from here?”
She said it right as we finished eating, and confused about moving somewhere else, I asked, and Yui-san pulled out a card key with a small click.
“I’ve got a room booked.”
“Wha…? A room? Here, at the hotel?”
“Yeah, the Royal Suite. Top floor.”
So that’s what she’d taken from the slicked-hair man at the front desk earlier — a room key. It clicked into place.
Wait, hold on. This is a hotel. Booking a room means… staying the night?
I felt my face heating up. Yui-san, across from me, looked perfectly composed, smiling easily. What exactly was she thinking? I had no idea at all.
“…Um…”
Just as I opened my mouth to ask, Yui-san checked her watch and stood.
“Come on, we need to hurry or we’ll miss it.”
“Ah, what about the bill?”
“The bill? Don’t worry about that.”
She said it and pulled my hand along. I called out a thank-you to Sato-san, who smiled and bowed in return. We really did just walk straight out of the restaurant without paying, and Yui-san pressed the elevator’s up button.
“The fireworks look amazing from up there.”
She held the room key up to the panel, pressed the button marked “Royal Suite,” and the metal box rose once more.
“Um, Yui-san.”
“Hm?”
“Are we staying the night?”
“I’d love to say we could just head home, but… I had some wine earlier. Can’t drive. Guess we can’t go back.”
She laughed, mischievous. This was absolutely intentional, no question. I pinched her hand hard, and she laughed again, saying ow.
“That means…”
“What?”
I caught her arm and pulled her down slightly, and, as if sharing a secret, brought my lips close to her ear, glinting with an earring.
There had to be security cameras even in the elevator… though whether there was audio too, I had no idea. I kept my voice as low as I could.
“…Does that mean you want to do something dirty…?”
I couldn’t think of any other reason to be taken to a hotel room like this. Yui-san burst out laughing right as the elevator reached the top floor.
“What’s that? Are you inviting me?”
“N-no, that’s not, that’s not what I meant…”
Holding back laughter, Yui-san gently guided my back, my face gone red, ushering me off the elevator.
She held the card key up once more, and we arrived at our destination. Beyond that grand door, the moment I stepped into the room, a small gasp of wonder escaped me. The entire living area was floor-to-ceiling glass, and the night skyline outside captured me completely, refusing to let go.
In the distance, the sea, wrapped in darkness. It somehow felt, in some indefinable way, like Yui-san herself.
Caught staring, frozen in place by the view, I felt gentle arms wrap around me from behind. Yui-san’s sweet scent reached me, and something deep in my chest stirred, restless.
“Hey, if we’re actually allowed to do this, I’m not really in the mood for fireworks anymore.”
Her teeth grazed my earlobe, gently, her voice carrying with her breath. I turned my face away, protesting — that’s not it.
“N-no, that’s not it. I was just wondering what you actually meant by all this.”
“Aw, that’s cruel, getting me all worked up like that.”
“Yui-san, what about the fireworks? Look, ten minutes left.”
I lifted my left wrist, showing her the watch. Ten minutes until the show started.
“Then, after the fireworks, want to?”
“…Even after the fireworks, no. I don’t do that kind of thing with someone I’m not dating.”
Said it plainly, and Yui-san pulled back from me, looking genuinely disappointed. I really can’t figure out how this person’s mind works.
When I’d pushed her, point blank, on whether she could actually sleep with me, she’d dodged the question so smoothly.
“…Too bad. Alright, I’ll behave and just watch the fireworks.”
Yui-san settled onto the sofa positioned to face the skyline and handed me the room service menu from the coffee table.
“They deliver until ten, so pick whatever you want to eat or drink.”
“Is that really okay?”
“Of course. It’s my father’s treat, after all.”
She said it and grinned.
“I told him I wanted to watch the fireworks with you, so I asked to borrow the suite. So this is all a present from my father to you, basically.”
“I-I feel bad, getting all this…”
“He said your father did a lot for him back in the day.”
“When I went home, your father mentioned he helped him win my mother over.”
“Really? I guess that tracks, Dad never really seemed like the type who’s good at wooing women.”
Strange, I thought. Yui-san’s a genius at wooing women. Maybe that particular gift came from her mother’s side instead.
“…I hope the fireworks look pretty from here.”
“Yeah, I bet they will…”
I sat down on the sofa too and stared at the skyline. Even just this was already so beautiful. Knowing it would start in just a few minutes, my heart picked up, fluttering with anticipation, unbidden.
“…Hey, Kanata. Why are you sitting so far away?”
Because the sofa’s huge, I started to say, and stopped. The sofa at Yui-san’s house is about the same size, so that excuse wouldn’t hold up.
Noticing the two-person gap I’d left between us, Yui-san was staring at me, settled all the way at the edge, clearly puzzled.
“…I mean, it just felt…”
Sitting pressed close together in a room this beautiful felt, somehow, like something a couple would do.
Not wanting her to see my face, I ducked my head, and I could tell Yui-san let out a small, amused laugh.
“Are you shy? Cute. I won’t do anything, come here.”
Called over in that gentle voice, I closed the distance. Her arm came around my shoulder, gentle, drawing me in. Yui-san dimmed the room lights with the remote.
“What’s with this arm?”
“It’s what I always do, isn’t it? No need to be shy about it.”
Cutting through the silence, a single streak of light shot up against the black canvas of the night sky. I caught my breath despite myself. A huge bloom of light opened in the air. A beat later, the boom rolled in, thundering.
More beautiful than I’d imagined, enough that I nearly forgot to breathe.
“…Incredible.”
The great symbol of Japanese summer. Fireworks — they’re incredible. I thought, this is the most wonderful night I’ve ever had.
Burst after burst went up in quick succession, and I lost all track of time, completely lost in watching.
“The fireworks are so beautiful…”
“Yeah, they are.”
Fireworks at summer’s end always carry a certain ache, tightening something in the chest. Once August ends, autumn is right there waiting.
Next year, I want to try hand-held fireworks too. Never got around to sparklers this year. I’m so glad, from the bottom of my heart, that I came back to Japan.
Wanting to express that gratitude, I turned toward Yui-san.
“Yui-san, next year too, I…”
I want to watch these with you again — the words I meant to say trailed off. In the distance, another firework thundered. The light lit up her long lashes, her pale cheek.
I felt the soft touch of lips, and only a beat late, understood — I was being kissed.
I thought, I never got to see that last one, but I couldn’t bring myself to push her shoulder back either.
A faint sound as our lips parted. Held under that steady gaze, I knew I should be angry, and yet no such feeling rose in me at all.
“Um… Yui-san…?”
“Did you hate it?”
“…Doing it first and asking after is unfair. You said you wouldn’t do anything, just now…”
“Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You’re too cute.”
Yui-san said it, looking genuinely apologetic, her brows drawn down. Faced with an expression like that, I couldn’t say anything back at all.
The arm around my shoulder stayed exactly where it was, and her other hand gently wiped at my lips. As if she could see straight through my worry about being pushed down further, Yui-san smiled, gentle.
“I don’t do that kind of thing with anyone except a boyfriend or girlfriend…”
“Yeah, I know. I won’t go further than this. But let me have at least the kiss. Please.”
She said it and leaned her face in close again. I knew I needed to refuse.
But the arm that should have been pushing her back wouldn’t listen to me.
Our eyes met at close range, and reading in them that I wasn’t going to refuse, Yui-san smiled, soft.
I’d never seen that particular color in her eyes before. Something predatory flickered beneath the kindness.
Unable to bear it, I let my eyes fall shut, and her lips met mine again, gentle.
The arm holding me close, the glossy black hair brushing against my neck — every bit of it drove home, hard, the fact that I was kissing a woman, right now.
I hadn’t known. That a woman’s lips could be this soft, feel this good.
Tilting, meeting mine again and again from different angles, my arms clung to her, needy, entirely outside my own control now.
Somewhere inside me, I thought I heard something collapse, crumbling apart, piece by piece.