Love Unseen Beneath the Clear Night Sky

Hmm.

What's wrong?

The milk tea I always drink seems to be sold out.

Oh, right.

She memorized the position of the button she wanted,

but that won't help her now.

Want something else then? Like a coffee or juice?

Tell me what you want and I'll select it.

Well, let's see.

There!

Huh? Is that okay?

Yes, it's fine. It's fun to take a chance like this every once in a while.

Maybe so,

but I'd never even thought of picking a drink with my eyes closed before.

LOVE UNSEEN BENEATH THE CLEAR NIGHT SKY

I started making a habit of hanging out on the terrace with Fuyutsuki

when I was free after lectures.

She would message me the day before asking,

"Will you join me for a drink on the terrace?" so it was hard to refuse.

Thanks for waiting.

What's wrong?

I have a bad feeling about this.

What's the matter?

I can't handle carbonated drinks. They always make my throat burn.

Maybe Russian roulette wasn't such a great idea, then.

Kakeru-kun, I'm sorry, but do you think you could drink this for me?

Sure, I don't mind.

Wait, she actually wants me to drink it?

I'm stuck either way, whether I say something or pretend not to notice.

I'm so sorry.

Oh well.

Oh, there they are!

Hmm?

Koharu-chan!

Yuko-chan!

Why are you guys together?

Good morning.

Good morning.

I just happened to run into Hayase and we're done with class today,

so we were thinking we could all go out somewhere. Right?

Yeah, yeah.

That sounds fun!

Wanna get something to eat?

Oh!

What's wrong?

If you don't mind, why don't we all go to karaoke?

Oh, that's right. You were saying that you've never gone before.

Yes. I've wanted to try it for a long time.

Nice idea! We can get food at the karaoke box.

I'm in!

I'm so excited!

What's closest?

There's a place in Monzen-Nakacho that isn't so busy.

Karaoke, huh...

Yuko-chan is so good!

Settin' the bar pretty high for the rest of us, though.

Kakeru-kun!

Don't you think Yuko-chan is a wonderful singer?

Y-Yeah.

Too close. Too close, too close, too close!

He's a good singer, too?!

What kind of song are you going to sing, Kakeru-kun?

Huh? I'll sing later. Why don't you go ahead, Fuyutsuki?

So how do you choose songs at karaoke?

Good question. How is Fuyutsuki going to choose a song?

Tell me what you want to sing and I'll put it in.

Okay.

Oh, right. If she's with friends, she can just get someone to put it in for her.

Oh, I love that song!

Is it one of your favorites?

Absolutely! It's about fireworks!

She sure loves fireworks.

Wow!

Whoa!

Wow.

Koharu-chan, you're so good!

For real! I had no clue!

Okay. You're next, Kakeru-kun.

Bring it on, Sorano!

Too much pressure!

So what are you going to sing, Sorano-kun?

I'm not very proud of this, but I'm not a great... Nah, I straight up suck.

And right after Fuyutsuki's beautiful singing, I'll be a total buzzkill.

I-I think I'll pass...

Go for it, Kakeru-kun!

I guess I've got no choice.

I tried to pick something that looked easy and ended up with a love song.

Oh my god!

Yeah, I'm a terrible singer!

Sorry for needing the backup!

I actually know this song.

"My dear love," "I love you so much," and so on...

The lyrics are all so corny. It was embarrassing to sing.

But when I saw Fuyutsuki smiling next to me, part of me started to enjoy it.

Oh, was that a painting of two dolphins frolicking in the water together?

Kakeru-kun?

Hmm?

I was starting to wonder if you had left.

I was just keeping a low profile.

You're so mean, Kakeru-kun.

Fuyutsuki says that when I go quiet and keep to myself,

it's like I'm actually not there.

Apparently, my "low profile" is more like no profile at all.

Still, I never thought I'd become such good friends with Fuyutsuki

that we could joke around with each other.

I don't know if we're just in synch or what,

but I feel so comfortable around her.

I've never had this much fun talking to a girl before.

By the way, what is that book you're always reading?

Oh. This one?

Yeah. That.

The title is written right here, you know.

Come on, I can't read braille.

It's The Diary of Anne Frank.

Oh nice! The Diary of Anne Frank!

Huh? Have you read it before?

Nope, not even once.

Then why did you act so excited?

Is it interesting?

Yes.

She lived courageously and never gave up.

I find that inspiring.

There's one passage in particular that I just love.

I could read it over and over.

Is braille really difficult to read?

It did take me a long time at first, but you get used to it.

There are a lot of audiobooks these days, so I can listen to those too,

but nothing compares to running your fingers across the letters on the page.

Huh.

Do you want to try reading braille, Kakeru-kun?

Huh.

No, not "huh"!

Yeah. Well, I'll think about it.

Ah, that sounds like a no.

By the way, what's this?

What's what?

Oh. This is a bookmark that I made.

What does it say?

I would love for you to read it yourself.

I'll decipher it when I'm in the right mood.

Now I know you're not serious about it.

You can be so silly.

Do you like fireworks, Kakeru-kun?

We talked about that before.

We did?

Speaking of fireworks, I'm originally from Shimonoseki...

Well, we moved around a lot, so maybe not "originally."

That's where we ended up anyway.

There's a Kanmon Kaikyo Firework Festival every year where they shoot off fireworks

on both sides of the straits, from both Shimonoseki and Mojiko in Fukuoka.

When I was a kid, I went with my parents...

and it was super jam packed.

Here I thought you were about to share some kind of touching memory,

but that's all you remember about it?

Seriously though, it gets insanely crowded.

It's something like the second-busiest fireworks show in Japan.

That is so like you, Kakeru-kun.