“Tomori. Look.”

Raana tugged on the sleeve of Tomori’s yukata and pointed ahead, just past the row of orange paper lanterns framing the street.

For the past several minutes Tomori had been distracted by a particularly fascinating arrangement of rocks at the foot of a nearby tree; now, she was processing the shock of being so cruelly yanked back into reality. “W-what’s up, Raana-chan?,” she asked, still disoriented.

“They have ohagi.” Raana was now actively pulling Tomori along towards the tiny stall at the end of the street.

“O-ohagi…?”

“Ohagi,” Raana repeated. “Mochi wrapped in red bean paste.” She finished pulling Tomori along, and pointed at the row of maroon adzuki pucks lined up at the front of the stall. The stall’s owner - a stout, older man with an impressive moustache - gave the two of them a smile.

“But…” Tomori leaned in to examine the sweets. “I thought you called that botamochi.”

“Bzzt!” Raana made a cross with her fingers. “If you eat it in spring, it’s botamochi. But if you eat it on Obon it’s ohagi.”

The moustached man nodded sagely at Raana’s explanation.

“W-wow.” Tomori looked over the botamochi–the ohagi with stars in her eyes, as if she had just learned a beautiful secret. “You really do know a lot about sweets, Raana-chan…”

Raana crossed her arms and gave her a satisfied grin. “Grandma taught me everything I know,” she explained; and as she did, her expression grew gentler and more fragile.

She snapped out of it, and from a pouch hanging from her waist she produced a crisp bill. “Gimme three, master.”

The alien chants of the bon-odori dancers in the distance echoed through the festival street, and the sweltering summer heat rose from the ground like steam from a boiling pot. Three pieces of ohagi in hand, Tomori and Raana turned the corner and continued down the procession of stalls.

“Ah,” Tomori said. “Raana-chan, l-look over there. That clearing.”

“Hm?”

“I just remembered… we were there. Two years ago,” she added, “um, in Tanabata.”

“Hmmmmm.” Raana put a wrapped ohagi to her chin thoughtfully. “Yeah. I remember.”

“…I’m glad,” Tomori whispered.

“I’m hungry. Let’s find Rikki and eat these.”

“I’m… surprised you want to wait for her,” Tomori said, with an uncharacteristically playful smile. “You’re not just gonna… start eating now?”

“Nope,” Raana said, with a playful grin.

Taki sat on the cobblestone path, intently watching the bon-odori dancers as they swayed to and fro, when a “Taki-chan!” ringing out in the distance broke her concentration. She looked up and got to her feet as Tomori and Raana approached.

“S-sorry to… keep you waiting,” Tomori gasped, clearly winded from keeping up with Raana for so long. “We got… ohagi.”

The sight brought a gentle smile to Taki’s face.

“Oh, it’s no problem at all,” she said. “I wanted to watch the dance.”

“Rikki.” Without a greeting, Raana pushed one of the ohagi into Taki’s hands. “Feed it to me.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m never catching a break from you, am I?”

Between grumbles, she unwrapped the sweet and held it up to Raana’s mouth. In three violent bites, it was gone.

“You know, this is on me, at this point. I have got to teach you some manners.”

“Mm. Yummy.” Raana swallowed down her food with a smile–and then took another ohagi and pushed it onto Taki again.

“What now? You want seconds?”

“No,” Raana answered. “Now feed Tomori.”

Tomori was clearly just as startled as Taki by the idea, but quickly, she closed her eyes, opened her mouth, and said a~hn.

“…Fine.” Taki complied, and Tomori took a small, delicate bite from her hand.

Raana chuckled, watching the show in rapt delight.

“Ah. I-it… tastes nice.”

“Okay,” Taki said, blushing as she finally took her own ohagi and bit down on it. “If you’ve had your fun, stray, we ought to head home. We have the okuribi to light.”

The instant she heard this Raana’s expression darkened. Her voice lowered, and she whispered, “don’t wanna.”

“…Ah, come on, stray.” Carefully, she put her arm around Raana and pulled her closer. “You know we have to.”

“U-um.” Tomori perked up and lifted a finger. “You… you said you’d make nikujaga tonight, didn’t you, Taki-chan?”

“That’s right.” Taki pulled Raana closer and looked down at her. “Don’t you want some, Raana?”

“…yeah,” Raana said. “I do.” Eventually, she worked up the courage to smile.

“Then let’s go.”

Together, they walked south three abreast, until the chanting and the lantern lights faded into the darkness.