The Heroines Want to Confess

Chapter 448 448: Detection of a Nuclear Strike Incoming

Under the cover of night.

Lights spread all the way to the shrine on the mountain, illuminating the entire village.

Young men carried the festival float forward slowly, their mouths shouting out the characteristic chants. Why shouting instead of singing? Just look at the sweat beading on their foreheads and you'll know—the summer night was not cool at all; stifling was the norm.

Many villagers followed behind the float, clapping their hands and singing the melody of Bon Odori.

The lively atmosphere made Sakurai Saki feel that "this is what a festival really is."

Perhaps because his mood was different, he felt that compared to participating last year, this time it was even more bustling.

"Today is Mom's death anniversary… is it really okay for us to be this happy?" Itsuki suddenly murmured.

Everyone had gone to pay their respects during the day; Sakurai Saki had gone along as well.

But as someone who knew the truth, his feelings were a bit subtle.

"If it were Mom, she would definitely want us to be happy every day." Nino immediately retorted.

"Yeah, that's true." Itsuki nodded.

The float advanced slowly, then arrived at a broader square.

This was the place for dancing Bon Odori. Many villagers had already prepared, some even arriving beforehand, just waiting for the dance to begin.

After the float stopped, the man standing on it raised the drumstick, and the drums and gongs rang out loudly!

"Boom! Boom—! Boom!"

Everyone began dancing all at once.

Bon Odori emphasizes hand movements; the difficulty isn't high. Even Itsuki and Miku—whose motor coordination was very poor—could dance it nicely.

With hundreds of people gathered together, even if you knew nothing, you could still feel the joyful atmosphere within.

"Pff, Itsuki dances so badly."

"Don't sleep too soundly tonight."

"Jeez, the night before last someone was begging so hard she was almost crying, and now you still dare to talk big?" Nino teased with a laugh.

Hearing this, Itsuki ground her teeth and scurried over next to Nino, both hands reaching toward—

"Hey, that tickles, don't touch randomly."

Nino hurriedly dodged a few steps toward Sakurai Saki.

Baka Itsuki, just you wait till we get home!

A round meatbun… and you dare try to counterattack me?!

Vengeance will be mine!

"Hmph, hmph." Itsuki snorted a couple of times, adjusted her sea-wave-pattern yukata, and then continued blending into the crowd to dance.

Watching their childish antics, Miku sighed quietly.

What a bunch of idiots.

Nakano Ichika had already retreated to the edge of the square.

She was already tired from filming, and she hadn't slept well last night due to being frightened; if she kept dancing any longer, she'd be done for. To avoid being completely exhausted after the holiday, Ichika wisely chose to skip out.

As for Yotsuba… um, somehow she had mixed herself onto the float and started beating the drums.

A terrifying social creature—terrifying to this extent, always.

Recently she appeared around the village every morning flaunting her existence; she was about to turn into Forrest Gump, running around and attracting loads of attention.

Seeing her waving energetically, Sakurai Saki could only respond with a smile.

…

After finishing the dancing and releasing the floating lanterns onto the water.

Sakurai Saki walked home along the nighttime road with the five sisters. It had to be said that the village lighting was truly very dim, almost exactly like a horror movie; streetlights were spaced dozens of meters apart, rice fields stretched out on both sides, and in the distance were pitch-dark forests and mountains…

"Haa, I'm so tired, beating the drums earlier almost used up all my strength." Yotsuba walked at the very front, carrying the prize doll that Sakurai Saki had shot for her, along with gifts from the villagers.

"Let's go back, take a bath, and sleep. I'm really tired too." Ichika yawned.

It was already close to 10 o'clock.

From heading out after dinner, strolling the festival took two hours, then dancing and releasing lanterns took quite a while as well; without realizing it, it had reached this hour.

Itsuki also yawned, her face full of exhaustion.

Nino and Miku were still okay, but it couldn't be said that they had much energy left either.

"During festivals like this, do you think there's a chance we might run into ghosts if we walk at night?"

No one knew who suddenly said that.

The few girls walking together instantly lost all their drowsiness.

"…G-ghosts?" Itsuki's voice trembled.

She was absolutely terrible at dealing with things like that.

Yotsuba, who had been walking at the very front, immediately slowed down quietly and moved closer to the group: "There's no such thing as ghosts, right? Obon is for welcoming the spirits of our ancestors, they won't harm us."

Nino, however, put on a wicked smile and said: "But what if we run into a homeless ghost?"

"Nino, ghosts don't exist." As Miku spoke, she hugged Sakurai Saki's arm. A trace of fear showed on her cute face, and her body also shrank back slightly.

"Nino, stop scaring people already. Sensei-chan mou, suddenly bringing up topics like this."

Ichika interrupted everyone's conversation as the gate of their house came into view.

Talking about ghosts during Obon was really bad luck.

"In summer, if there's no test of courage, don't you feel like something's missing?" Sakurai Saki still remembered it clearly—the unfulfilled wish from last summer: going to the beach, doing a test of courage. …As for the fireworks festival, he hadn't missed it at all, he had even watched it multiple times.

"Go do that with Secretary-chan, she'll probably like it." Nakano Ichika chose to divert the disaster elsewhere.

This time, Sakurai Saki shrank back instead.

Chika? Doing a test of courage with her—there would definitely be huge problems. That person wasn't the ordinary obedient type; she could come up with anything.

…

The plan to organize a test of courage was temporarily declared a failure.

Before sleeping, after taking a bath, Sakurai Saki sat on the edge of the bed, holding his phone and looking at the chat contents on Line from everyone in the Student Council.

Shinomiya Kaguya: [The farewell for Shirogane-kun is the morning after tomorrow. Everyone, don't be late.]

Miko: [Sakurai-senpai is still in Kyoto… can he really make it back in time?]

Just as Sakurai Saki was about to type a reply, he felt something flying toward his head at extreme speed!

With a "thump!" sound, he was struck by the incoming "missile."

Immediately after came Yotsuba's cheerful shout—

"Amazing!! I hit Sakurai-san! Super! Super far!"

The poor little rabbit still hadn't realized that danger was approaching.

'…A pillow fight?' Sakurai Saki picked up the pillow that had just flown into him and looked toward the five sisters who were in a chaotic brawl not far away.

How childish—already grown up and still playing with pillows.

Sigh, can't they be a bit more mature?

Sakurai Saki lightly shook his head, stood up, rolled his wrists, adjusted his stance, and then forcefully threw the pillow!—

"Whoosh!"

Detection of a nuclear strike incoming!

After a "thump," the little rabbit stiffened upright, then slowly collapsed.

"Uwuuwu!! It hurts so much! Sakurai-san! Why does even a pillow hurt when it hits!?" Yotsuba clutched her head, her eyes watery as she looked at him.

"Stand still, don't move, I'll teach you right now, believe it."

"Liar, I don't believe you!"

Seeing him raise another pillow, Yotsuba hurriedly hid behind Itsuki.

If it was plump Itsuki, she would definitely make a good meat shield! Yotsuba thought.

…

After a brutal pillow battle.

Midnight.

Sakurai Saki suddenly sensed the sound of footsteps beside him.

He slowly opened his eyes and discovered it was Yotsuba again, her face full of fear—

"Sakurai-san, there's a ghost…"

"?"

You was the ghost, okay? You almost scared me to death!