Keep Fighting

𓊈卍 𝟓𝟕 卍𓊉

Nakano is getting dragged through the busy mall. It's been five days since the Christmas battle, which means it's already December thirtieth. The day before New Year's Eve.

Emma, Hina and Yuzuha all agreed to find kimonos together for the New Year celebration, and they convinced Nakano to go with them. Though she didn't pass up the chance to hang out with her new female friends, she isn't really excited about the upcoming celebration.

She isn't quite fond of New Years, solely because of the fireworks displays. Every year since she's been back to Japan, she had to hide somewhere so she couldn't hear the loud bang of the fireworks so much.

She's dreading it because she knows she can't get out of it this year. She has a lot of friends who want her to go to the shrine with them, and have been looking forward to celebrating together.

Pushing her selfishness aside, she went with them to go shopping. She didn't once mention her fear of fireworks, not wanting to disappoint them or ruin the mood.

The store they're in now is quite busy, with people looking through rows upon rows of beautifully patterned kimonos. The three other girls' eyes sparkle at the sight of all the pretty clothing, and immediately disappear into the store to start looking.

Nakano doesn't even know where to start. She's never worn a kimono before. All these bright colours are making her head spin.

She walks through the large store, doing her best to avoid people, all the while trying to keep an eye out for a kimono she can wear. So many flower printed designs, and bright, in-your-face colours. All of them are getting snagged up one by one, and Nakano barely gets a chance to look at any.

A couple hours of bumping into strangers, and wandering aimlessly trying to search for her friends, Nakano just leaves the store to wait for them outside. About half an hour later, the three other girls walk out of the store. She notices all of them looking around with worried looks, until she stands up from the bench she's sitting on.

"There you are, Nakano-chan!" Emma skips over, Hina and Yuzuha tailing her.

"You're already out here?" Yuzuha questions. "You found your kimono that quickly?"

"Nope. Couldn't find one that I really liked. And there are too many people in there."

"Awe! But you need to get one!" Hinata says with a slight pout. "We can help you!"

"It's alright, Hinata. I'll just go in normal clothes." Nakano glances at a nearby clock, noticing the time. "We should start heading back since it's gonna start getting dark."

Night rises much quicker in the winter. The sun sets at around four or five o'clock, making for prolonged darkness. Which means increased time for bad people to lurk around.

"Good thing you already brought all your stuff to my house," Yuzuha comments as they all start walking. "This is my first sleepover, so it's really exciting!"

"Wait really?" Emma's eyes light up with excitement. "Ohmygod Yuzuha's first sleep over!!"

"Wait, it's a sleepover?" Nakano raises a brow.

"You brought pyjamas, didn't you?" Emma questions, in which Nakano nods. "Then of course it's a sleepover! It's your first too, isn't it?"

The black haired girl nods once again, then she suddenly feels two weights on both of her arms as Yuzuha and Hinata loop their arms through.

"This is so exciting!!" Yuzuha exclaims.

"We can practice our hairstyles, wear face masks, watch movies, and eat food!! It'll be so much fun!!" Hinata adds, just as thrilled as the other girls.