The days leading up to the Agata Festival came in a slow-kind of blur. Kumiko never really knew what happened each day, aside from the fact that she would desperately wish for the sun to go down faster so that the next day would come, followed by the next, and so on and so forth until the dawn of the Festival was on the horizon.

And what better way to spend the morning of the Festival than to run errands?

"I'm starting to think that Mom likes me back home so that she can stay inside the house," Kumiko grumbled as she shielded her face from the blinding sun, "where there's air conditioning."

A sudden screech pierced the air. A bit startled, Kumiko looked over her shoulder to see what was going on.

"OH SHI—" The rest of Kumiko's words came out as a wheeze when two women slammed into her, locking her in a rib-crushing embrace.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" One of the women squealed, tightening her hold on Kumiko. "It's actually you!"

"U-uh-h-huh…." Kumiko wheezed, and pushed on their shoulders. "C-can't…breathe…."

"Oh! Right! Midori-chan, you heard her!"

"Aye, aye, Hazuki-chan!"

As if on cue, both women released her. Kumiko took in a huge gulp of air, wincing when a shot of pain hit her in the ribs. "I-it's great to see you two," Kumiko said with a crooked grin. "It really has been a while, huh?"

"Yeah!" Hazuki said with a nod, her bun following her movement. Kumiko wondered how long Hazuki's hair had gotten. "God, you should have told me you were in town! The both of us were thinking that you didn't come after all!"

Kumiko furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Did Shuuichi not tell you?"

Hazuki's and Midori's jaws dropped at the same time.

"What!" Hazuki exclaimed. "He saw you?!"

Kumiko nodded. "First day I came back."

"And he didn't think to tell me?"

"Are you thinking about beating him up?"

"It's very tempting."

"Do it," Kumiko said with a smile, "and be sure to film it, yeah?"

"Kumiko-chan!" Midori said with a gasp. "When did you get so violent?"

Kumiko laughed. "I was just kidding, Midori-chan, don't worry." She took a moment study Midori, noticing how, while there weren't any physical changes, a mature air hung around her.

She shook the thought aside, and put on a smile. "How's England?"

Midori's eyes sparkled as she pressed her hands together in awe. "Amazing! Truly amazing! I can't find the words to describe it!"

"That good, huh?"

Midori gave an enthusiastic nod. "It really is! The both of you should visit me sometime!"

Hazuki gave a nervous chuckle. "That's…a lot of money, Midori-chan."

"Oh, money's no object!"

"To some it is," Kumiko muttered with a frown.

"Say, we should all explore the town together!" Midori said with bright eyes. "Like we did back in high school!"

Hazuki perked up. "We should! God, it's been so long since all three of us hung out!"

"I would love to, but"—Kumiko raised her empty grocery bag—"errands."

Hazuki scoffed and waved her hand. "We can kill two birds with one stone, right, Midori-chan?"

Midori fist-pumped and nodded. "Yeah!"

"It's decided, then!" Wrapping an arm around each of them, Hazuki guided an excited Midori and an overwhelmed Kumiko down the sidewalk.

Well, Kumiko thought with a small smile, at least some things don't change.

-X-

Kumiko forgot how tiring hanging around Midori and Hazuki was. While, yes, she was having fun, there were times where Kumiko felt the need to sit down and gather herself before moving on to their next stop.

"You're acting like an old woman!" Hazuki said after Kumiko took her fourth break. "This time in your life is supposed to be your prime, Kumiko!"

"Easy for you to say, Ms. Softball Player." Kumiko rolled her eyes and leaned back, resting her head against the wall behind her. As she stared at the cloudless sky above, she noticed that waves were swimming in her vision, and her head felt considerably lighter, yet her brain felt like it was ready to explode.

"You don't look so well, Kumiko-chan," Midori said. Kumiko flinched when she felt cold fingers press against her cheek. "And you're super warm! Hazuki-chan, she might be dehydrated!"

"Seriously?" Kumiko felt another pair of fingers press against her face, this time on her forehead. "Whoa, it's like you have a fever!"

"Great," Kumiko groaned. "Just what I needed."

"I'll make a quick dash somewhere to get you a drink, Kumiko-chan. Midori-chan, can you take her inside that shop?"

Midori made a noise of confirmation. "Roger! Okay, Kumiko-chan, you need to get up, and I'll support you. Yeah, easy does it—whoa! Okay, okay, I got you."

Kumiko leaned most of her weight on Midori, grateful for the support. "You're a lot stronger than you let on," she said as she shuffled inside the open door. An intense smell of sweetness hit her.

"The contrabass isn't exactly the lightest instrument around," Midori said, lilts of amusement and pride in her voice.

Kumiko chuckled weakly. "Right."

"Here, let's get you seated next to the aircon." Midori carefully guided Kumiko down to a nearby chair, which Kumiko promptly flopped herself on.

"Thanks," Kumiko muttered, clasping her palm over her scalding forehead. "The hottest day of the week just had to be today…."

"If you properly hydrate from now until tonight, you should be well enough to go to the Festival if you were planning on going," Midori said with a knowing nod.

"Mm…hopefully." Kumiko frowned, the thought of her missing out on her meeting with Reina upsetting her much more than it should have.

"Sit here, Kumiko-chan. I'll go ask the clerk if they can spare a glass of water."

Kumiko replied with a thumbs-up, and watched as Midori disappeared behind a display of roses.

A flower shop, huh? She looked around, appreciating the vibrant colors greeting her. Explains the sweet smell.

"Excuse me! I'm here with a bottle of—oh? Oumae-san?"

Kumiko's eyes widened when she saw a familiar pair of blue eyes, a shade much lighter than Asuka's. "N-Nozomi-senpai!"

"Whoa, you actually remembered me!" Nozomi said with a laugh, tucking away a strand of hair that fell from her French braid. "God, how long has it been? Two years, right?"

"About." Kumiko's lips quirked up into a small smile as she took the cold water bottle from Nozomi. She pressed it against her face, relishing the way the condensation kissed her skin. "You're a lifesaver, you know?"

Nozomi shook her head. "Hardly, but I do try."

The sound of plastic filled the air as Kumiko opened her water bottle. "You work here?" she asked before taking a drink.

"Part-time. Mizore and Haruka-senpai work here too, but I'm the only one on shift today since it's one of our slower days."

Kumiko let out a relieved breath as she capped her half-empty water bottle. "You're still with Mizore-senpai?"

Nozomi's cheeks flushed a faint shade of pink as she chuckled. "Y-yeah. I mean, we've always been together, you know?"

"Are you two—mm—in a relationship?" Kumiko asked, fiddling with the peeling sticker on her water bottle. Nozomi's eyes widened a bit and her blush darkened, but she answered the question with a sheepish smile and a nod.

"Yeah," she said quietly, "we are."

A small smile crawled on Kumiko's face, and she chose to ignore the faint beginnings of Jealousy's flame in her gut. "Cute."

"A-ah, thanks." Nozomi laughed again, and her smile turned mellow. "It hasn't always been an easy ride, though."

Kumiko thought back to Mizore's and Nozomi's tearful reconciliation in that empty classroom in her first-year. "I bet. But you two managed to make it work in the end, so isn't that what counts?"

Nozomi nodded. "It's like that with a lot of things, really. If you want to make something work in the end, you have to put effort into it. Relationships aren't an exception."

"What was it like," Kumiko began slowly, "after you two got back together?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, was it awkward between the both of you? Did you find it hard to talk with one another?"

Nozomi hummed, shifting her weight back and forth between her feet as she thought. "In the beginning, I guess. But we kept talking about was on our minds, you know? We've developed this relationship of honesty because we were tired of keeping everything bottled up. After that whole classroom incident, there was this unsaid agreement to be more open with one another. And that whole incident that once split us apart was made us even closer together."

Something welled up inside Kumiko's chest as she smiled, and Jealousy's flames were dampened. "You two really love each other, huh?"

"Yeah." Nozomi chuckled, scratching the back of her neck. "Honestly, I'd really love to spend the rest of my life with her."

Kumiko's smile grew. "I'll be supporting the both of you."

"Thanks," Nozomi said with a grin.

For a moment, the hum of the air conditioner was the only thing that was heard.

Nozomi was the one who broke the silence.

"Is there a reason?"

Kumiko looked up from her water bottle. She blinked. "What?"

"Is there a reason you asked about Mizore and I?"

"A-ah, well, mm, I'm…reuniting with an old friend"—Kumiko suppressed a wince—"and we had this falling-out thing. We've been talking lately, but it's never been face-to-face, you know? And I'm meeting her tonight, so I'm pretty anxious to see her."

"In a good way or bad way?"

"Little bit o' both."

"Well," Nozomi began, "if you're willing to work to repair your relationship, then everything should fall into place, yeah?"

Kumiko gave a nod. "Yeah." She gave a grateful smile. "Thanks, Nozomi-senpai."

Nozomi grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Don't mention it. Think of it as thanks."

"Thanks? For what?"

"Helping me back in my second-year."

"Oh, that." Kumiko chuckled sheepishly. "I barely did anything, though."

Nozomi shook her head. "You're discrediting yourself. You were a driving force that helped me get back into band, you know."

Kumiko felt her face heat up to scalding temperatures. "Then, mm, you're welcome."

Nozomi laughed. "I better get back to the counter," she said, taking a quick glance at her watch. "If you're looking for Midori-chan, she's near the front looking at flowers."

With quick words of goodbyes, Nozomi left, disappearing behind the display of roses. Kumiko took a sip of her water before hefting herself up, the pain in her head dulling a bit.

"Midori-chan," she called out, "where are you?"

"I'm here!"

Following her voice, Kumiko found Midori standing in front of a display of Italian whites. The sight was strangely familiar to her.

"You know," Midori began, "I'm kind of surprised to find out that Nozomi-senpai worked here. She didn't seem like the type, you know. I thought she would work at a music shop or something."

Kumiko hummed, never taking her eyes off the flowers.

A silence fell over them for a brief moment before Midori broke it.

"Do you remember what they mean?"

An image of Reina, dressed in her white one-piece, looking over the town of Uji during their first Agata Festival together came to mind. The remnants of the wonder and awe Kumiko felt that night tugged at her heart.

That was the night where it all started; the night when she began to feel Something towards Reina.

"It means that you're always thinking about that person, right?"

Midori let out a noise of confirmation. "Forever and always."

-X-

"Kumiko, there you are! Why are you home so late? I was beginning to think that you got kidnapped!"

"Sorry Mom! Here, I got the groceries."

"About time—wait, why are there so many empty water bottles in the bag?"

"I was dehydrated earlier today."

"You were what?"

"But don't worry! I drank lots of water and fluids after I almost fainted."

"You almost what? Kumiko, can you please sit down and tell me everything—"

"I will, I will! Once I get back, that is."

"Get back? From what?"

"The Agata Festival, obviously."

"That old thing? Honestly, you're acting like a high schooler again—"

"Can't talk Mom, gotta go!"

"Wait, Kumiko—"

"Okay, bye, see you later! Love you!"

-X-

To say that Kumiko was nervous would have been a terrible understatement.

While, yes, taking her usual route to Mount Daikichi gave her nostalgic comfort, her mind was full of anxieties and her nerves were a jittery mess. Kumiko let out a shaky breath as she separated from the group she was clumped with to follow the quiet road that led to Daikichi—and Reina.

Walking through here, Kumiko thought as pebbles crunched under her feet, really brings back memories.

The clamor of the Festival faded behind her like a distant memory. With every step she took, Kumiko remembered the first time she walked this path, the heavy ghost of her euphonium strapped on her back. She had gotten strange looks and quiet whispers from passersby, but she didn't pay them any mind as she trekked up the path towards Mount Daikichi.

Thinking back on it, Kumiko remembered not feeling any ounce of fear as she walked alone that night.

"Gah!" Kumiko found herself tumbling forward, but managed to catch herself before she face-planted into the ground. She took a breath, trying to calm her rattled nerves.

"At least no one saw that," she mumbled as she dusted herself off."

"That's what you think."

A jolt passed through Kumiko's body, and she whipped her head up. She opened her mouth to say something, but her throat clenched before she could say anything. She stood there, open-mouthed and wide-eyed, at an enigmatic woman dressed in a white yukata, printed lilacs wrapping themselves around her body.

The woman's lips curled into a familiar half-smile half-smirk. "Yes?"

Kumiko felt her face heat up in the cool air. "R-Reina!" She squawked. "I-it's you!"

Reina laughed, the sound so light Kumiko thought her soul would drift away with it. "Why wouldn't it be me? I was the one who invited you here."

"R-right." Kumiko gave a shaky laugh, trying her best to wipe her clammy palms on her shorts discreetly. "You, uh, look good."

"Thank you. You do, too."

Self-consciousness made Kumiko hold onto her own forearm. She wasn't wearing anything elaborate like Reina; it was just a shirt and shorts with her usual sneakers.

"Well?" Reina asked, pulling Kumiko from her thoughts.

"W-well what?"

"Are we going?"

Kumiko gave a singular nod. "Y-yeah. Let's go."

Reina took the lead, her yukata flowing behind her in the breeze. Kumiko observed her and her every movement as more and more memories of their first hike together flooding back together. She remembered how she thought Reina looked like a yuki-onna that night, with her flowing hair and white dress. Kumiko felt like she was a weak traveler entranced by beauty that was beyond words.

That sentiment seemed to hold more truth now.

"You cut your hair," Kumiko said, breaking the silence.

Reina ran a hand through her neck-length hair as if to prove a point. "Didn't I mention it in one of our letters?"

"Not that I remember."

Reina hummed.

"Why'd you do it?" Kumiko asked. Her words felt heavy on her tongue, and a part of her hoped that Reina would catch onto their double meaning.

"Long hair is a pain, so I decided to cut it. Easier to manage, you know?"

"Yeah," Kumiko said as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "I can relate."

Reina let out a breath of amusement. "I'm glad you can."

Their conversation was blown away with the passing breeze, and silence was all that was left. It was awkward and heavy, weighing down on Kumiko's shoulders that it made her slump.

The "grown-up" shrine came into view. While the torii gate was more weathered than Kumiko remembered it, she thought it was in rather good shape. An offering of oranges was sitting in a pyramid of sorts, their vibrant skin giving them a faint glow in the flickering lights.

"I thought no one visited this shrine," Kumiko pointed out.

"Not exactly," Reina said. "An old woman comes here sometimes to keep it clean. Or as clean as she can—she has back pain so she can't do much."

"Yeah?"

Reina nodded. "But sometimes when I hike up here and I see her, I help her."

"Really?"

"I mean, it's an important place for the both of us."

Reina's words struck Kumiko with a hidden weight, and she wondered if Reina meant more than she was letting on.

The rest of the way was spent in an uncomfortable silence, like the both of them had things to say, but didn't have the heart to voice their thoughts.

This is stupid, Logic reprimanded. What's difference between talking to her and and writing to her? You're still exchanging words. You'll still say the same thing.

She'll hear the cracks in your voice if you speak, Anxiety said. And then what'll happen?

Fear entered the conversation. Kumiko felt her heart clench in her chest. Maybe she'll leave again.

But maybe she won't, Something said. Because maybe she's hurting just as much as you are right now. And she's struggling to find words, too.

"We're here," Reina announced. Kumiko's thoughts scurried away like little animals as she followed Reina to the railing.

The sight made Kumiko's breath hitch in her throat.

The city and Festival lights gleamed and sparkled, as if some deity had taken stars from the night sky and planted them in the soil. There were bursts of reds and oranges that came and went, no doubt from firecrackers and fireworks. Kumiko's lips curled into a smile laced with nostalgia.

"I'll never get tired of this view," she found herself saying.

Reina made a noise of amusement. "Same." There was a beat of silence until Reina asked, "When was the last time you came here?"

Kumiko didn't answer right away. "I dropped by the night before I moved."

"You did?"

"Yeah. Just to think about things."

"Mind if I ask what kind of things?"

Goosebumps littered Kumiko's arms as a breeze passed through. "What happened, what could have been"—Kumiko's throat felt unbearably dry as she swallowed—"what should have been."

Reina said nothing.

"It looked a lot like tonight," Kumiko continued, gesturing to the town. "All pretty and magical, like nothing could go wrong. But something felt wrong. Something was so very wrong." She turned to Reina, whose eyes were glued to the scenery below. "Because you weren't there."

Reina tensed, as if Kumiko's words slapped her. She slowly raised her head. Her expression was placid and emotionless, but her eyes were glazed, like she was ready to cry.

"You weren't there because you left," Kumiko said. A part of her wanted to stop so that she wouldn't say anything she would regret, but the filter that separated her thoughts from her voice was nowhere to be found. "You left without a word, Reina! L-like everything we had was nothing but—but a fling!" Hot tears were spilling from her eyes, burning into her cheeks. "I-it hurt!"

Through blurry vision, Kumiko saw Reina staring at her with that impassive masks, but the cracks were beginning to show. "You know I want to become special," she said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Anger and Frustration churning Kumiko's stomach. "You always say that! But why? Why do you need to be special? Why do you need to look for justification from others? Don't you see you're already special? To me?"

Tears began to well up in the corner of Reina's eyes.

"A-am I…not good e-enough for you?" Kumiko's words scratched at her throat, making it feel raw. "Am I not—"

"You are good enough! You always were!"

Reina's outburst shut Kumiko up.

"I always knew that I was special to you," Reina croaked out, tears free-falling "I knew it ever since our first-year in high school. You looked at me no one in the world ever did! I t-tried denying it for a whole year, trying to force my focus on Taki-sensei, b-but the way you looked at me just—God, it made me so happy. B-because I was finally recognized." Her lips curled into a shaky smile. "Don't you know how amazing that feels?

"But th-then I r-remembered what you said when we were practicing for the competition in our first-year. You said"—Reina had to pause to take a breath, and her smile faded as she did so—"you said you wanted to become special to catch up to me. A-and I said that I would work harder to be even more special. I f-felt so h-happy then, but there was this thought that scared me: What if I couldn't be anymore special? What if you surpassed me and l-left? L-like the others?"

"You know I wouldn't have," Kumiko said quietly. "You would've killed me."

"B-but still!" Reina shook her head. "That thought ate at me! Especially so during our second-year! Watching you improve so much in just two years scared me, Kumiko. And I just kept thinking if I really was special to you…."

Understanding dawned over Kumiko. "Was—was that what you meant by my good-girl skin?"

Reina's weak smile came back. "Initially, n-no. But later on, yes."

"And…and then you left," Kumiko began, "to become special abroad."

Reina's expression melted into a mix of morose and regret. "I never wanted to."

"You felt you needed to," Kumiko finished quietly.

"I know that no justification nor apology will excuse your hurt and my actions, but I'm sorry, Kumiko." Reina reached out to cup Kumiko's face in her hands. Kumiko shut her eyes and tensed at the cold touch. "I'm so, so, sorry…."

As she wiped away a stranded tear from Reina's cheek with the lightest of touches, Kumiko realized that this is the first time she truly saw Reina vulnerable. There was no more mask, no more good-girl skin to peel back at this point. If Reina's letters were raw and honest, then seeing her at this moment was pure emotion: puffy eyes, red-faced, mussed hair, quivering lips. The brilliance that set her apart during their high-school days was nowhere to be found.

Can you blame her? Sympathy asked. She's human, too.

That realization hit Kumiko like a meteor.

"You should have told me all of this," Kumiko said with watery eyes. "Why didn't you?"

"Part of it was pride," Reina began quietly, "another part was fear."

Kumiko brushed a strand of woven obsidian behind Reina's ear. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Never realizing how much pressure I put on you."

Reina took a deep breath, then released it, long and slow. "You didn't know, it's—it's fine."

"Looks like we've both done something wrong, huh?"

"Some more than others." Reina sniffled and pulled Kumiko closer so that they could touch foreheads. For a moment, the both of them shared warm breaths in the quiet cold of the night.

Kumiko broke the silence. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Why'd you come back? As a teacher?"

"Part of it was because I missed Japan. Part of it was because I wanted to repay my debt to Taki-sensei, to inspire a kid the same way he inspired me and so many others." She took a half-step closer, the tips of their noses brushing together. "But mainly it was because I had this crushingly strong urge to see and apologize to you."

Kumiko's heart leapt and fluttered in her chest like a butterfly. A crooked smile pulled on her lips. "That so?"

Reina hummed her confirmation.

"So…what does this make us?"

"I don't know. What do you want us to be?"

Kumiko opened her mouth, but hesitated on her words.

Go on, Something urged, say it.

"I'd really love to rebuild what we had," she whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

Reina broke down again. Her tears fell like little waterfalls, but the biggest grin, one that held all the genuity in the universe, was on her face. "I'd really love that, too."

It took Kumiko a moment to realize that this was the first time she ever saw Reina truly, truly happy.

A wave of Something hit her chest in a pleasant sort of pain, breaking the remaining seams on her heart, and filled her body with incredible warmth. It was a strangely familiar feeling, one that made her stomach feel unbearably light and ticklish. It made her shoulders shake as she laughed, her mirth ringing in the night sky like a song.

It took her another moment to realize that Something was Love all along.

With a light push on the shoulder from Love, Kumiko closed the distance between her and Reina. Her lips were slightly chapped and had the distinct taste of tears on them, but Kumiko could make out the faint sweetness that always lingered on her lips. Kumiko smiled into the kiss, overwhelmed by the nostalgia and awe of it all.

Things certainly changed, Kumiko mused, but Love certainly didn't.

They broke apart at the same time. They looked into each other's eyes, fondness gleaming in their eyes.

"It looks like this is the place where we found Love," Reina said with a quiet chuckle.

Kumiko smiled at the reference.

"Yeah," she said, "it really is."

AN: sorry for the late update - again. i completely forgot to do it on saturday...and on sunday...and on monday. lmao

but anyways, thank you guys for reading. this concludes this little novella-length kumirei of mine. i know, looking back on it, a lot more could have been added to make everything much more...better, for lack of better term lol. but i initially wrote this as a way to get things off my chest, and i must say, it has been quite therapeutic lol. most of these characters and the relationships, especially the relationship between kumiko and reina, have been very important to me, both in canon and in story. i guess you can say this is self-insert and projection to the Extreme^tm. if you wish to know more, feel free to PM me on fanfic or on tumblr (tumblr is much more effecient; my url is imsvg).

this story also holds a special place in my heart because it's the first multi-chapter that i actually had the dedication to finish, lmao. but that's much more insignificant in the scheme of things lol.

but really, thank you, you guys. i truly, truly appreciate the reviews and comments, and the little theories. it made me look at this piece in a bit of a different light, lol.

thanks for reading.