Leaving the roar of the main stage behind, Mikan led the group up a narrow, winding stone path that cut away from the riverbank. The sounds of the festival, the muffled music, the distant shouts of vendors, and the shuffling of thousands of feet, began to fade, replaced by the rhythmic chirping of cicadas in the trees and the soft rustle of the evening breeze.
"Is it much further, Mikan-chan?" Lala asked, her tail swishing curiously as she navigated the path.
"Just up these stairs," Mikan replied, pointing toward a small, weathered access gate behind an old shrine. "Rito and I found this place years ago when we were looking for a spot to watch the fireworks without being crushed by the crowd. It's the roof of an old storage building on the cliffside."
They reached the top, and Rito pushed open a heavy iron door. They stepped out onto a wide, flat concrete roof that offered an unobstructed view of the Sainan skyline and the dark ribbon of the river below. The city lights twinkled like fallen stars, and the moon hung low and heavy in the sky.
"Wow..." Haruna breathed, walking toward the edge of the railing. The tension from the earlier accident was still visible in the slight flush on her cheeks, but the beauty of the view seemed to calm her. "It's so peaceful here."
"Told you," Mikan smirked, spreading out a blue tarp she had been carrying in her bag. "We have at least twenty minutes before the big show starts. Plenty of time to relax."
Yami walked to the edge of the roof, her golden hair caught in the wind. She looked out over the city, the plush cat Rito had won for her held loosely in one hand. She seemed more relaxed here, away from the sensory overload of the stalls.
Rito watched her for a moment. He still felt a pang of guilt for "outperforming" her at the games earlier. He knew how much she valued her technical proficiency.
"I'm going to head back down and grab some food and drinks." Rito announced. "Mikan, you want the usual?"
"Yeah, and some yakisoba!" Mikan called out.
"I want radeon-dumplings! Oh, wait, they don't have those here... anything with ginger!" Lala cheered.
Haruna looked at Rito. "I'll help you, Rito-kun—"
"No, stay here and rest." Rito said with a soft, firm smile that made Haruna's heart skip. "You've done enough walking. I'll be back before the first firework hits the sky."
As Rito turned to leave, his gaze met Yami's. She looked at him with an unreadable expression.
"I'll bring back something you'll like, Yami-chan." Rito said quietly.
Yami tilted her head. "I have no specific requirements."
"I know," Rito replied, stepping back through the door. "But I have a feeling I know what you're craving."
…
Rito descended the stone steps quickly, his enhanced physique making the climb feel effortless. He moved through the back alleys behind the stalls, searching for a specific vendor he had seen earlier. He found it near the edge of the grounds, a small, traditional stall with a sign that read Handmade Taiyaki.
He bought a dozen, ensuring they were piping hot, and tucked the box under his arm along with a bag of drinks and snacks for the others.
As he turned into a narrow, dimly lit alley that served as a shortcut back to the shrine path, the air suddenly grew cold. It wasn't the natural chill of the evening; it was a localized drop in temperature, accompanied by a sharp, metallic scent.
'Someone is here.'
The thought appeared in Rito's mind. He didn't stop, but his senses went into overdrive. His golden vision flared, scanning the shadows. He saw it a split second before it hit, a shimmering, high-tensile wire launched from a rooftop.
He tilted his head back. The wire whistled past his throat, slicing through a wooden fence post like it was butter.
"Oh? You dodged?" A voice echoed from the darkness above. "Lacospo said you were just a lucky earthling, but those reflexes... they aren't something an ordinary earthling would possess."
A man dropped from the rafters. He was tall, dressed in a sleek, charcoal-grey combat suit that seemed to absorb the light. His hands were encased in mechanical gauntlets that hummed with blue energy.
"Who are you?" Rito asked, setting the bag of food down carefully. He didn't sound afraid, rather he sounded inconvenienced.
"A professional hitman." the hitman sneered. He raised his hands, and several more wires shot out, weaving a complex web across the alleyway. "You're the target that Golden Darkness failed to eliminate. I'm here to finish the job and claim the bounty. Don't worry, I'll make it quick."
The wires tightened, closing in on Rito from all sides. They were designed to slice through flesh and bone, reinforced with an energy field that disrupted biological nervous systems.
Rito stood his ground. He closed his eyes for a heartbeat, feeling the golden energy humming beneath his skin.
'If I use my Trans-Ability by instinct, I might destroy the surroundings and affect the festival...' The hitman laughed, pulling the web shut. The wires wrapped around Rito's neck and chest, digging into his yukata.
"Got you!"
But the wires stopped there. They didn't slice. Instead, they let out a high-pitched screeching sound as they met Rito's skin. A faint, golden shimmer traced the lines of his body, a passive defensive layer made of his energy. Rito grabbed the wire at his throat with his bare hand. The energy field hissed against his palm, but it didn't even leave a mark.
"Is this it?" Rito asked, his voice dropping into a predatory tone. "For a second I was really nervous, you know?"
The hitman's eyes widened. "Impossible! That wire can cut through starship hull plating! What the hell are you?!"
Rito began to pull on the wire, his strength dwarfing the alien's mechanical assistance. The hitman was dragged forward, his boots sparking against the pavement.
"Did I tell you," Rito said, his eyes glowing with a sharp golden hue. "That I'm in a hurry!"
But before Rito could finish the confrontation, a flash of gold descended from the sky.
SHIN-SHIN-SHIN!
A series of razor-sharp hair-blades sliced through the air, severing the high-tensile wires in a single, fluid motion. The tension snapped, and the hitman stumbled back, his gauntlets sparking as his weapon was destroyed.
Golden Darkness landed silently between Rito and the assassin. Her hair was still transformed into a fan of lethal blades, and her eyes were burning with a cold, murderous light.
"Who... Who are you?!" the hitman gasped, clutching his ruined gauntlets.
"I am the one whose target you have dared to touch." Yami said, her voice vibrating with a quiet, terrifying intensity. "Yuuki Rito is still under my contract. If you interfere with him again... I will dismantle you piece by piece."
"Golden Darkness...!" The hitman paled. He knew the legends enough to not stick around to argue. He threw a smoke pellet and vanished into the darkness of the rooftops.
Yami didn't pursue him. She retracted her hair, her breathing steady. She turned to look at Rito, who was casually smoothing out the wrinkles in his yukata.
"You followed me, Yami-chan." Rito said, a small smile playing on his lips.
"I sensed a hostile presence." Yami replied, her gaze lingering on the faint golden glow that was still receding from his skin. "Though it appears my intervention was... redundant. Your defensive capabilities have exceeded my initial assumptions."
Rito picked up the bag of food. It was still warm. He walked over to her and held out a small, separate paper bag.
"I bought these for you." he said. "As an apology for earlier. I didn't want you to feel like I was showing off."
Yami took the bag. The scent of sweet bean paste and toasted batter wafted out.
"Taiyaki…" she murmured.
"It's from the best stall at the festival." Rito said. "Eat it while it's hot."
Yami looked at the bag, then up at Rito. The assassin mask slipped, replaced by something soft and genuinely curious. "You just went through a dangerous situation... And the first thing you say that you brought me snacks?"
"Of course, after all, I bought them for you." Rito corrected. "The danger was just a distraction."
Yami took a small bite of the taiyaki. Her eyes widened slightly at the sweetness. "It is... acceptable."
"Just acceptable?" Rito teased.
"Fine… It is very good," she corrected, a faint, almost invisible blush touching her cheeks. "Let us return. The others are waiting."
They walked back up the shrine path together. As they reached the rooftop, the first firework of the night shot into the sky, a brilliant, whistling streak of light that exploded into a massive, shimmering gold willow.
"Rito! Yami-chan! You made it just in time!" Lala cheered, running over to them.
The sky erupted in a symphony of colour — reds, greens, and vibrant purples reflecting in the eyes of the girls gathered on the roof. Rito stood in the center, Mikan on one side, Haruna on the other, with Lala and Oshizu nearby. Yami stood slightly apart, quietly munching on her taiyaki, but her gaze wasn't on the sky.
She was looking at Rito.
The festival was reaching its climax, but as Rito felt the warmth of his close ones around him, he knew that the real fireworks in his life were only just beginning.
*****
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