We might have already lost count on the chances we should've taken. But even so, we're together now and I couldn't ask for anything else... --- Florence Joyce
xxxxxx
Call it a crazy feeling on her part, but Kasumi had already had the urge to go outside the house for quite some time now. And to think she would rarely do that when her research would take up much of her time and attention. This time, however, it was different.
Perhaps she really needed that breath of fresh air after several failed attempts with regard to perfecting her invention once again. Of course, she knew she had to finish it. It was for her and her cousins, after all. It was something that could aid them in fighting, even after they defeated Kibaoni Gengetsu.
There were still some other monsters trying to ruin the peace they've been maintaining. In a way, she wanted to be prepared. She wanted everyone in her team to be prepared for the unexpected.
She had already seen Fuuka doing that with someone else who the girl had met years before. To be honest, she was still surprised that Fuuka met a guy who had become her ally and confidante other than them. Even with that, she was glad that her cousin had someone else to rely on --- just in case things could get worse.
Of course, Kasumi didn't want it to arrive at that point, if she could help it. However, people weren't exactly that aware of how things could proceed, even with the peace being maintained.
She went out and headed to town. Upon arriving there, she couldn't help frowning at the sight of so many people there. Yes, it was a weekday, from what she could remember. And yet, how come there were so many people there at the moment?
"What in the world is going on right now? Is there a festival here that I didn't know about?" she couldn't help asking that to herself.
Once again, she looked around and smiled soon after. Whatever was going on around her, it was definitely something different. Possibly just the breath of fresh air she needed now that she was in a slump.
But... seeing this kind of view did remind her of something else. One that she could consider a vague memory. Or maybe she truly hadn't considered something valuable before all this.
But who could blame her, though? Things were hectic around them at the time it all happened. She wasn't thinking properly... possibly. Or maybe she just wasn't paying that much attention at all.
"I wonder how that guy is doing right now..." Kasumi couldn't help whispering as she continued looking around the festivities around her.
Yes, cheerful happenings like this would constantly remind her of that guy she met a long time ago. The one she hadn't seen in a long while since they separated to do the things they had to do, both as warriors and as ordinary beings. Well, in that guy's case, he wasn't really considered ordinary, considering the fact that the guy was a Gosei Angel.
"Kasumi?"
That voice soon disrupted her flow of thoughts and also made her eyes open wide. Why did she do that? Because she knew who that voice belonged to. But how come he was here? Why was he here? She thought he went far away after they last talked. Was it because of the festival?
So many questions began lingering in her mind as she hesitated whether or not she should turn around to have a look. But she didn't want to think that she was hearing things or even hallucinating. She already had a lot in her mind for her to think that way.
"That's you, isn't it, Kasumi?"
Once again, the voice resounded despite the loud chatterings and happy voices surrounding them at the moment. But yes, she really couldn't mistake it for anyone else this time.
It was really him.
It was Agri, the Gosei Angel she met and befriended all those times ago.
After calming herself down --- not that she really had any need to do that, she finally turned to the source of that familiar voice. Before she could even stop herself, she smiled at the sight of Agri just standing a few feet away from her holding an already bitten corndog. One that made her feel some familiarity once again.
"Agri-kun... What are you doing here? I thought you were away."
Agri took some more steps closer to Kasumi and stood in front of her. "Yeah, I was. But Moune and I managed to finish what we had to do ahead of time. She and Eri were the ones who said that we should come here because of the festival. For all I know, they just come here for food."
Typical Eri, she thought. But then again, another sense of familiarity rushed over her upon hearing that.
"What about you, though? I didn't think you'd be here, let alone be in a loud festival like this one."
She chuckled and looked around. Yes, it was loud, indeed. But for some strange reason, she felt calm at the sight.
"No reason... other than the fact that I need to walk around for a while. The slump is hitting me so hard these days that I don't even know if I'd be able to finish my invention before the deadline that I set for myself."
"You're not making yourself work so hard again, are you? How many times do I have to tell you that you also need some time off for yourself."
"I'm already doing just that right now."
"Yes, right after you start feeling the fatigue and the slump finally hit you before you know it. As if I hadn't seen you deal with the same thing before."
On a normal occasion, Kasumi would've been irritated at how Agri was scolding her for being dedicated. Or in his eyes, she was being too dedicated to the point of self-neglect. But she couldn't feel anything like that at all.
Instead, she laughed for a short while.
"You're laughing at me now? Is what I'm saying to you that funny?"
She shook her head and took a deep breath. "Stop overreacting. I just remembered you scolding me like this before you left."
"Because you were doing it again. I guess you never really listen to people telling you to even take a good rest."
"Speak for yourself. Weren't you doing the same thing before, as well? Even when your sister would scold you the same way."
"That's different."
"No, it's not. You also tend to get overworked when you're training. Moune-san said that to me. Don't tell me you're still doing it?"
Agri went quiet as he looked at her with surprise and maybe even the same sense of familiarity that she'd been feeling ever since they saw each other. It went like that for a short while before he sighed and shook his head.
"Damn it... I really hate it when I can't win against you..."
"Were you saying something?" What Kasumi heard only came to her as just a whisper, and so she ended up asking that question.
He shook his head and continued eating the corndog in his hand before looking around. "This does remind you of that day, huh? You know, that last time we went to a festival together."
It did... and it was the very first thing that she remembered as soon as she saw this place. Yes, it was the last day they spent together before heading their separate ways. But it was also one of the most beautiful memories she had with him.
"Maybe it's not a bad idea to make this a thing for both of us..." he soon said and looked at her with a smile. "You don't mind that, right?"
Would she even? Her smile had already become the answer to something so obvious.
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