Firework...花火 (Hanabi)

I didn't know who invented this kind of flower (花-Hana) in the first place. They manipulate the fire and the sparkle through a chain of chemical reactions to produce a big flower in the vast sky, surrounded by darkness.

When darkness arrives as the Sun goes away, only the light of the Moon, which absorbs and reflects the light of the Sun from half of the Earth, shines brightly but lonely above us. However, sometimes, it has companions. There are some dots, decorating and beautifying the scene, making the Moon less lonely. Countless stars are willing to accompany the sole Moon in the enormous galaxy. What a beautiful picture of nature. Then, what about the man-made one?

Humans could do something impossible. They change the dark sky into a black background as they can paint whatever they want like a true artist. By using the invention called 'Firework', they're able to light up a beautiful sparkle under various shapes. Whether it's a game character or a famous painting, they can reproduce it.

However, this flower doesn't last long in the eternal darkness.

Even though the flower is very beautiful and even dazzling in the painting above us, it will diminish and reduce to ash as a result.

I loved Firework, but I also hated it because of its shortness.

There was a comparison between this kind of flower and human life. It was strange to compare but the similarity made us admit that it was so true that we couldn't refute a single sentence.

It came and went very shortly. What is left is the memory to us, the watchers...Hmm...To say frankly, the ash could be substituted for our corpse when we passed away. Hence, it wasn't wrong.

Back to the point, each person could be compared to a firework, a single spark flower, shining in a period and disappearing after that. If I compared myself to it, I might be a failed batch of fireworks produced by humans. If I didn't count this life, it would be so. When I was prepared to paint a picture of my future to the flow of life; unfortunately, there was not even a single beautiful flower lightening up the sky. It failed hurtfully as I couldn't shine in my past world. My fireworks couldn't detonate to imprint my image into the brains of the watchers.

It was sad like that...

*Wheeze~* and *Boom*

"Beautiful~"

I could only mutter to watch them repeat their process of painting the sky. Painting after painting, I couldn't remember the previous shape after the new one appeared. It was a cruel truth. If I passed away in this world, would I have a third life? Would anyone in this world remember me? Or would I be an ordinary artist without being remembered?

*Boom*

Every time they bloomed, the unique echo resounds in my ears. Each had a different note, bringing a happy memory of my past life.

It was so weird when people recalled their happy memories, they should've smiled and even...laughed happily like an idiot. However, I felt nothing...Just a video of those strangers played in my mind.

It just appeared in my mind and melted away like how the fireworks went.

*Boom*

Another note echoed in the sky...The blue sparkle formed the shape of a snow pattern, and then it couldn't escape the routine of the former one, which was unfortunate. Life was so strange.

Hyouri...After more than 10 years, was our time just like the fireworks?

After all, I haven't told you that I also loved you.

I haven't given you a hug from my side.

I missed you.

I didn't know whether Hyouri could die or not. Because she didn't even have a physical body in the first place, I couldn't describe the feelings inside my heart. It was hard to find an exact word in the vocabulary dictionary to define it.

How could she shine when she lived inside me?

This question was quite tricky. Could it be that I took her place away? After all, I was a reincarnated person...An anomaly in this world...And she happened to be the original Hoshiyuki Suiri of this parallel world. Just a thought popped up, making my emotionless face paler.

Obviously, second life was indeed impossible...Just because of my selfish wishes for an unknown existence, I stole her position, family, and love...Just when she disappeared, my connection to 'my' family went so smoothly as if it was a dream...Could it be that I was the authentic second personality instead?

If so, this would be too bad!!!

"Sui-chan, Happy New Year!"

"..."

"Sui-chan~, do you hear me?"

"Hmm... Sui-chan, back to the Earth"

"Hey, Sui-chan"

"Ah yes!"

I got startled when someone was trying to call me...It turned out that my mom Natasha disrupted my negative thoughts.

"What's wrong, mom?"

I asked back like some countryside girl just arrived in the big city.

"Yes, there is something wrong, and it is you, my troublesome daughter"

"Do you realize that the fireworks show has already been over?"

"Eh!?"

When she mentioned that, the dark painting, which had been painted constantly with various flower patterns just now, became so calm. The note of each unique echo has been quieted down, leaving only the messy noise of the people's talk, the daily activities of Miko-san in the Senso-ji temple on New Year's Eve, and the laughing of the children...

"I'm sorry...I was distracted a little..."

I could only answer like that...The secure feelings a few days ago have been shaken to this point...

She pouted like a child just reaching 6 years old.

"Hmph!!!"

She hummed angrily, making me speechless.

"..."

Did you want me to give you some candy?

"Mom..."

I stared at her silently...Then, she grabbed my hands and pulled me to the Shrine Maiden post.

"Hmph, I forgave you this time...Next, we will go to Gacha...I mean to go Draw Omikuji~, ahem~"

She coughed awkwardly as I understood her mentality...She seemed addicted to drawing a fortune-telling paper at the temple in Japan...Every year she spent more than a thousand yen just to find a Daikichi (Big luck) one.

You asked why there were only two of us, didn't you?

As for my other mom Shiori, and my sister Maria, they've gone abroad for business. Rei was too young as she couldn't stay up late to welcome a new day of the New Year. Currently, she has been snoring loudly in her private room. My Aunt Mei had been drunk due to drinking too much.

Only my mother Natasha and I went to visit the temple and watched the fireworks by the way. Moreover, there was a private bodyguard squad squatting around there to protect us so we didn't need to worry about the safety.

A pair of mother and daughter went to the temple to celebrate New Year's Day...

It was quite lonely when there were two of us. Who could blame my family's business had no rest day? Because the core of the problem was the technology field, it would be better and more modern than the last one. After a year, you had to represent a new product; otherwise, you would be eliminated later by the rival companies and the technology era.

For the time being, fortunately, the people there didn't recognize my identity due to the conservative style covering almost my face so they just thought I was like another passerby in their life.

"Hello, guests, do you want to draw Omikuji?"

A girl in the miko's custom in front of us had a business smile and asked. She has long straight black hair with a bow bang, and her face is quite young. I could guess that she was at least the same age as me. Her hair had some red thread to decorate and announce her Miko's aura. Maybe, she was a part-time employee or a family member of this temple.

"Yes, please, help us two draws"

My mom answered in a hurry. When she rolled Gacha for my game account, she didn't lose her composure like the current her.

"Each costs 200 Yen"

"Um...Anou, I didn't bring my real money there...Can I use the black card to transfer?"

"???"

"???"

Both I and Miko-san were stunned at the same time. Excuse me, it just cost 400 yen, and you wanted to pay with a black card!!? Was this a human speech!? 

I looked at the face of Miko-san, seeing the blue vein popping up in her forehead to express her dissatisfaction. Just on a New Year's Day, you met a guest, who was good at flexing like that, your mood must've been ruined. 

I had a commoner's brain thinking so I couldn't help but sympathize with Miko-san. The black card in my mother's hand was the dream of countless commoners in my past life. If you behaved like that, weren't you scared of being soaked in salt?

"Ahem~cough, Miss, it's just 400 yen..."

Miko-san coughed dryly and I could sense a jealousy in her tone.

As I intended to look for the real money in my pocket, Miko-san brought out a card machine with a modern outlook from out of nowhere like a certain future cat of a certain anime. Tada!!! I could hear the sound of this cat from her.

"Since you want to pay with a black card, our temple has been upgraded to fix the current era"

Miko-san said fluently like a PR agent from an insurance company.

"..."

But hey...In the first place, this was just drawing fortune-telling paper, right? Why did it develop to this point? It was like 'You want to flex, then I can, too'. Honestly, why did the card machine appear in the sacred temple like this? The cost of the temple was not high from the beginning. The consumption was below 1000 yen at most. Why did she have that machine? Why?!!

"..."

"Oh, it's good...Then, can you help me complete the transaction? Please"

My mom smiled smugly somehow. Or it was just my imagination of her flexing outside...

*Tick*

"Here is the bill~"

"Thanks"

With that, the transaction went smoothly by banking...Wait a minute, it was just 400 yen, right? Why did all of you go around and make each other more difficult?

Then...

Miko-san presented the brown wooden box and shook it in her hand. And then, a stick-like paper came out of the box, making both of us anxious. Then, without hesitation, my mom Natasha pulled that paper out immediately and turned to me, said.

"It's your turn, Sui-chan"

"Oh, um..."

I nodded my head and pulled out the stick from the wooden box from Miko-san. She was scary...To withstand my mom's flexing, her mentality must be good.

Back to this superstitious thing.

It wasn't the first time I'd drawn this kind of thing because of my mom's addiction. My pulls were quite good because I only drew out the 'Kichi' type. I didn't know whether there would be a change. However, I wanted to maintain a 'Kichi' streak over the years. It wasn't that I was deeply involved in superstition, but my psychology couldn't get stabilized if I didn't draw it out. Who didn't want their life to stick to 'Kyou' (Bad Luck)?

My heart was beating fast when I held this stick-like scroll in my hand. My past life was enough to reduce the Dopamine hormone in my brain through 14 years in this world. I wanted this hormone to increase instead. It was strange when Hyouri disappeared.

Recently, I had been pacing out a lot of times as if I had lost something important to my life. My mind even got more negative than ever. I left the Earth quite constantly as I couldn't focus on a single thing except for music.

"Yatta! Daikichi, Sui-chan, I got Daikichi!!!"

My mom hugged me suddenly and burst out laughing.

"Um...It's quite good"

"Your family will go on smoothly and happily, and you will have a big fortune in the future as your career will blossom under the person belonging to Pisces"

"Isn't you belonging to Pisces, Sui-chan?~ Your name has water (水) and your zodiac sign also belongs to the double fishes in the water~ It seems that you will be my supermodel this year~"

She got excited like a child...Yep, my mentality was shaken a little by this sudden correct and relevant information about this fortune-telling paper of hers. I was indeed born at the beginning of March so my Zodiac naturally belonged to Pisces, being the same as my previous life.

As for being her model, it wasn't bad...I had been accustomed to being a dressing doll for her.

"Hehehe~! What about you, Sui-chan?"

She asked curiously.

I also began to unfold it and looked at it to my expectations. As expected of me, I also drew out a Kichi one as I had successfully maintained my Kichi streak. I secretly sighed relief in my heart.

"It doesn't bad..."

When I said that, her frowns knitted together, and pointed at the paper.

"No, Sui-chan, it's Kichi but...Sueshoukichi...The worst of the Kichi types...Your luck is getting worse..."

*Stab*

"Ugh..."

An arrow pierced through my heart!!!

My HP value has reduced from 100 to 11 points as my point was like a candle in front of the strong wind.

[Ding! Your luck value has reduced from Kichi to SueshouKichi!!!]

"Let me see what it says...Your luck in this year goes down but don't worry, because it doesn't affect your career. Your luck just doesn't go well in your love life because of your serious view toward love. You will find yourself surrounded by troubles because of love's problems"

"???"

I can't help but be stunned by this paper!! How could it know my life too well!? Were you sure that when printing this card, you hired a private detective to write these lines!!!!?

"Fufu~My daughter is too good, isn't she? She can attract many suitors to chase after her. It's like when I was young~"

"..."

Excuse me, were you praising me or praising yourself? My mom had a reminiscent look on her face when recalling her past events, which I didn't even know for sure.

"Anyway, it's not a big problem...So again, Happy New Year! Sui-chan"

She glanced at me while smiling gently. I loved her smile...Always gentle like a spring breeze now...Sensou-ji Temple didn't have a big garden of Cherry Blossom Trees like my home, but it had a few to highlight the symbol of Japanese in the world. The petals fell but caught on the wind to ride in front of my eyes.

"Happy New Year, Mom~"

"Fufufu~"

Then, the pair of daughter and mother went to pray and toss a coin to the existence called 'Kami-sama'. However, because she couldn't throw the black card into the praying box so I tried to find some coins in my pocket to let us pray with peace of mind without attracting weird attention from the crowd.

I clapped my hands and prayed silently in my heart. I made another wish to be able to get through 3 years of high school safely as I could find myself the most suitable partner so I could live a life without any regret. After all, I still had the deadline set by my grandma. Therefore, I could only make this wish to overcome this matching. Not only that, but I also could get through the plot as I had messed up all of the plotlines.

I was so sorry...Male Protagonist-Kun...I messed up your future Harem.

*Clink*

We've tossed the coin successfully without much trouble.

"Sui-chan, what did you just wish?"

My mom asked.

"Nothing, just a trivial matter"

I replied casually.

"Hmm...Let me guess...You wished something about your love life, didn't you?"

She smirked playfully.

"ugh..."

I was read as always...

"Fufu~Being serious toward love is a good thing, Sui-chan. After all, we, Omega, must be careful when choosing our partner. Not only personalities but also body compatibility...Pheromone matching as well"

"???"

What did you just say? Did I hear wrong? What did you teach to your children!?

"Looking at your puzzled eyes, you're still pure, Sui-chan~"

"Luckily, I and Shiori are compatible in the first place so we went smoothly~ We're addicted by our pheromones~"

She smiled with her dazzling adult aura. So...This was the aura of an adult should have?

"Huh~, embarrassed when hearing this kind of thing?"

She caught my red ears at the spot.

"What...What're you talking about!?"

I retorted incoherently.

"Fufu~, you're about 15 years old already. You should know this kind of thing as soon as possible"

"Being pure like this isn't a good thing when you're about to live with the Shinonawa and Otonashi girls in the future"

"I don't want to have my grandchildren early"

She spoke eloquently like a Professor that you could find in a university.

"Mom~"

I was embarrassed...Embarrassed to death!!!

"Fufu~, I will give you training when we get home..."

"..."

"Mom...Seriously?"

"Of course, it's serious"

She nodded her head repeatedly.

"Fine~"

"Saa...Let's go home, Sui-chan, we will sleep together tonight"

"um..."

When she mentioned 'Sleep', my mouth unconsciously opened to let out a yawn~

*Yawn*

With that, she hugged me tightly while walking to the stairs...To be honest, I also didn't know what to do with the current situation. My eyelids began to feel heavy as if they could close down at will without my control. Her warm body had heated and surrounded my frozen back under this icy weather at the beginning of the New Year. My biological clock informed my brain that I had reached the limit of staying up late like this.

"Sui-chan~?"

I couldn't help...

"Goodnight~"

...But close my eyes and let the sleepiness take over the rest.

With the secure feelings from the hug of Natasha-Okaa-sama, I finally could sleep soundly.

"Ara~, спокойной ночи милый"

(Goodnight, Sweetheart)