Natsuiro Matsuri IF - If I Hadn't Chased the Fireworks That Day
Summer of his second year in high school. Yuto gets a sudden call from Matsuri Natsuiro, a classmate he secretly admires. "I want you to chase fireworks with me!" Her words make no sense, but they sparkle. Before he knows it, Yuto is swept up in Matsuri's 'All-Japan Summer Festival Crossing Tour.' Her goal is to find Aoi, her best friend who she was separated from as a child. There's only one clue: Aoi appears for just a moment at a different summer festival every year. Relying on that alone, Yu
Natsuiro Matsuri IF - If I Hadn't Chased the Fireworks That Day - The beginning of summer came suddenly.
"……So, I want you to chase the fireworks with me."
First day of summer break, nine in the morning.
I was still lazing around in my futon when those words came flying out of my phone.
"[confused]……Huh?"
My half-asleep brain couldn't quite process it.
The name on the display was Natsuiro Matsuri. A classmate. The bright, cheerful type who gets along with everyone right away.
The complete opposite of me, Yuuto.
I'm more the type who sits in the corner of the classroom reading a book. The kind that doesn't stand out.
My height's an average 168 centimeters, and my unruly black hair hangs over my eyes in an annoying way. My slender, slightly hunched build is another complex. I've got this habit of unconsciously scratching the back of my head when I'm troubled, and my ears are a little pointy—got teased for that a lot when I was little.
And Matsuri's calling someone like me?
"[excited]I've got a story that'll change your life! Come to Kasumi Park, right now!"
She said that one-sidedly, and then the call cut off with a click.
Still clutching my phone in my futon, I stared up at the ceiling.
What should I do? What a pain.
Summer break just started. I was planning to laze around all day, then hit the convenience store for ice cream in the evening.
But Matsuri's voice was just a little different from her usual brightness.
Like she was forcing it, yet there was a desperate edge to it.
(……Guess I'll go.)
Well, whatever.
I hauled myself up.
――――
Kasumigaoka is a normal town in the Tokyo suburbs, population around 120,000.
Forty minutes from Shinjuku by train. A bedroom community spread across the hills, with a small shopping street called Kasumi-dori in front of the station. Kasumigaoka High, where I go, is a three-story building, thirty-five years old. From the rooftop in summer, you could faintly see fireworks going off in the distance.
Kasumi Park, where Matsuri called me out to, is in a residential area about a ten-minute walk from the station.
A tiny park with just a swing set and a slide. A place I used to play with friends back in elementary school.
Now, even the neighborhood kids hardly come here.
When I got to the park, Matsuri was sitting on a swing.
Her black hair, a little longer than her shoulders, was tied in a ponytail with a scrunchie. It swayed with every movement, which left a strong impression.
"[gentle]You came."
Matsuri looked up, noticing me.
Her eyes were big and full of life. The girls in class said they lit up like a cat's when she spotted something, but today, I felt like there was a slight shadow in them.
Her petite frame, 157 centimeters, looked somehow small sitting on that swing.
"[sad]……There's something I want to talk about."
It was a serious tone you'd never expect from her usual self.
――――
Matsuri began to talk.
About nine years ago, on July 7th, the night of Tanabata.
"I had a childhood friend. Her name was Aoi."
According to her, this girl Aoi was Matsuri's best friend.
They used to play together at this very Kasumi Park, and they made a promise to go see the fireworks.
"When we grow up, let's see fireworks all over Japan together."
A childish promise like that.
But Matsuri was serious about it.
"[sad]……But, the next day, she was gone."
Aoi's mother collapsed from illness, and Aoi was apparently taken in by some "protection program."
No explanation to Matsuri. Her friend just suddenly vanished.
Without knowing the reason, she had a feeling she'd never see her again.
"I've been searching for her ever since. And, I found something out. Every year, Aoi appears for just a moment at some summer festival. Always where fireworks are going off."
Her fingers gripping the swing's chains had turned white.
Her ponytail seemed to sway ever so slightly, even though there was no wind.
"[serious]So, I want to search with you, Yuuto."
"[surprised]……Huh?"
Why me?
Why the least noticeable guy in class?
"[surprised]No, I don't think I'd be any help. There are other people you could ask."
Honestly, it sounded like a hassle. Doing something for someone else—that's not my character.
I'd much rather spend summer break gaming at home, just vegging out.
"[worried]Anyone would have been fine. But."
Matsuri stared intently into my eyes.
Her large, dark pupils pierced straight through me.
"[gentle]……You're the one I want."
Saying that, she smiled, just a little embarrassed.
――――
At that moment, a memory from middle school resurfaced in my head.
There was a girl in class I liked.
Her name… I don't really want to remember.
I thought about inviting her to the fireworks show, but in the end, I couldn't say anything.
While I was hesitating, summer ended, I missed my chance, and before I knew it, we'd graduated.
If I had just managed to say a single word back then, would something have changed?
"If you wait, you'll just regret it again."
Matsuri's voice pierced a soft spot deep in my heart.
(……Yeah, that's how I've always gotten by.)
That time, and that time too.
Doing nothing, just drifting along, regretting it.
Giving up with a "Well, whatever."
"[sigh]……What about travel expenses? I'm broke."
"I've got my part-time job savings! 120,000 yen!"
"[surprised]120,000 is a decent amount."
"[excited]50,000 from you is fine. You've still got New Year's money left, right?"
How does she know my financial situation?
"[scared]And when you say all over Japan, where do you plan to start?"
"Nagano, for starters! The Suwa Lake Fireworks Festival! Tamari-san from Tamari Books told me about it. Suwa Lake Fireworks—they go up over the lake, a huge event with 500,000 spectators!"
Tamari-san is the owner of a used bookstore in the shopping district. A 68-year-old festival-loving old man, and Matsuri apparently hangs out there a lot.
I see, so that's her information source.
Matsuri's eyes were sparkling.
The shadow from earlier was almost completely gone.
(Once she gets like this, there's no stopping this girl.)
"[reluctant]……Fine. Well, whatever."
I didn't want to have regrets anymore, like back then.
――――
The next morning.
The Shinkansen platform at Tokyo Station.
I'd lied to my mom to leave the house.
"Going camping with friends"—that's all I said.
Guilt swirled in my heart.
"[nervous]Was this really the right thing to do……?"
Next to me, Matsuri, with a big backpack on, was spreading out a pamphlet and checking the next destination.
"[serious]Hey, Yuuto."
Suddenly, her tone of voice changed.
"What?"
"Aoi is being chased by an organization called Verde Research right now."
Verde Research—a name I'd never heard before.
"[surprised]Organization!? What do you mean by that?"
Matsuri closed the pamphlet and looked straight at my face.
"On the surface, they're an NPO for child welfare. But really, they find talented kids and mediate them to rich people and stuff. Aoi came under their control when she was little, and she's been running away ever since."
"[shocked]Wait a sec. That sounds seriously dangerous."
"[determined]That's why we can't take our time."
――――
That's when it happened.
The departure bell rang out.
"[excited]Let's go!"
Matsuri grabbed my wrist tightly.
"[scared]Huh, wai, hold—"
Without a moment to think, she dragged me through the Shinkansen doors.
The doors closed.
The train's air conditioning seeped into my sweaty skin.
――――
The Shinkansen started moving quietly.
About 200 kilometers to Suwa. Using local lines too, it's quite a distance.
Outside the window, the familiar Tokyo cityscape flowed by. The buildings gradually thinned out, residential areas spread, and soon rice paddies and fields increased.
In the seat next to me, Matsuri was staring intently at her own reflection in the window glass.
The momentum from earlier was gone, and an indescribable anxiety clung to her profile.
The tip of her ponytail quivered slightly in the breeze from the AC.
"[whispers]……Aoi, where could you be?"
Her small murmur sounded terribly lonely.
Looking at her profile, I felt a pang deep in my chest.
(She's actually incredibly scared, isn't she?)
She's just forcing herself to act cheerful.
Unable to rely on anyone, afraid that even if she tries, she might be rejected. Fighting that anxiety, yet still charging ahead on her own.
The total budget for this trip is 170,000 yen. Matsuri's 120,000 and my 50,000.
Lodging is cheap inns or internet cafes, 2,500 to 5,000 yen a night.
Food budget is within 2,000 yen a day for the two of us, mainly convenience store rice balls and cup noodles.
We plan to use the Seishun 18 ticket for travel, but if that's not enough, we'll use the Shinkansen, so the budget will get tighter and tighter.
It's the epitome of budget travel.
"[calm]Hey, Matsuri."
"[surprised]Hm?"
"Why was it me?"
That still bothered me.
There are guys in class who seem way more reliable.
The sports team ace, the top honor student in our grade.
Matsuri smiled a little, then turned her gaze back out the window.
"[gentle]……Before, during the culture festival prep."
"Oh, that annoying thing."
"Yeah, that. While everyone was complaining, you were the only one silently carrying desks, right? Even though no one was watching."
Did I do something like that?
I don't remember. Someone had to do it, so I just did it without thinking.
"[sincere]I kinda like that about you."
Matsuri's voice felt much softer than before.
――――
After a while, Matsuri fell fast asleep.
I could hear her soft breathing.
I turned my eyes outside the window.
The scenery had completely changed to countryside.
The green of the sprawling rice paddies sparkled, reflecting the midsummer sun.
(That this journey isn't just a summer adventure.)
I already understood that.
There's a dangerous organization called Verde Research.
The reason a girl named Aoi appears under the fireworks while being chased.
And the real fear hidden behind Matsuri's forced smile.
(I'm—starting to genuinely want to help her.)
But I don't know why.
Why me—that was the one answer I never got to hear.
Matsuri was already in a dream.
The Shinkansen quietly accelerates towards Suwa.
Outside the window, cumulonimbus clouds billowed upwards, their peaks seeming to melt into the blue summer sky.
Summer had only just begun.
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