About fifteen minutes later, both Eri and Shimizu returned from their errands.401Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5oFcSxCICr
"We're back!"
"Oh, welcome back, both of you."
Eri handed Mizuha an ice cream she had bought, smiling. "It's so hot today; I thought this would help cool us down."
"Oh, thanks, Eri-chan."
Mizuha then took the ice cream and savored its refreshing coldness. They continued studying, with Mizuha patiently teaching her friends the parts they struggled with as the sun gradually set.
When Eri's mother called from downstairs to let them know the bath was ready, they took a break. Shimizu went first, leaving Mizuha and Eri to tidy up their study area.
Eri turned to Mizuha. "Um..Mizuha-chan, did Mother say something about me earlier?"
Mizuha smiled, recalling Eri's mother's kind words. "She just thanked me for being your friend and mentioned how you've become a better person recently."
Eri's face softened with relief, a small tear slipping down her cheek. Mizuha placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, reminding her friend to stay true to her own personality rather than striving to be like her late sister. Eri nodded, touched by her friend's words, and offered to take the plates back to the kitchen.
Shortly after, Shimizu burst back in, looking different with her hair down and grinning widely. "Ah, that bath felt so good!"
Mizuha blinked, momentarily not recognizing her friend, and Shimizu teased her, laughing at her surprised expression.
Just as Mizuha was about to take her turn in the bathroom, Shimizu said, "Take your time, and enjoy!"
Mizuha chuckled, rolling her eyes. "What's with that, Shimizu?" She then headed to the bathroom.
Meanwhile, Eri returned to her room from the kitchen.
Eri frowned. "Shimizu-chan, what are you doing? Wait, is that my old console game?"
"Eri, let's play this video game! I heard you were good at gaming during your childhood."
"Well, that was in the past, Shimizu-chan. During that time, I was a naughty brat. It's been a while since I played these games, and now I don't even game anymore."
"I don't even know if this console still works or not."
"Why not try? Maybe it still works."
Both Eri and Shimizu tried to turn on the console, and to their surprise, it worked. "Oh, see? It's still working!"
"Yes, I can't believe it still works! The last time I played this console was three years ago with Zul before we entered middle school."
"Since this seems to be working, let me choose the game."
Shimizu selected a fighting game called Road Fighter.
"Okay, let's play this."
Shimizu was having a hard time, while Eri played calmly without any issues.
Eh, why do I feel like this is so easy even though it's been a while since I've gamed? Eri wondered. Does my body remember how this game works?
Wow, she's so good, even though she hasn't played in a while, Shimizu thought. But why is she much better than me?
They played for two rounds, and Eri won both of them.
"Ah, I give up. You're too good at this, Eri."
Shimizu then pulled Eri by the hands and lifted her into her arms like a prince holding a princess.
She then spoke, acting like a prince. "How are you so good at this game, my princess?"
Eri, blushing furiously, said, "Stop it, Shimizu-chan. What are you doing? This position is so embarrassing! Please put me down."
Just then, Mizuha returned from taking a bath and opened the room door.
"Ah, you were right, Shimizu, the bath felt good."401Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWWe446NqK
She froze when she saw them in that awkward position, blinking slowly.
Mizuha tilted her head.401Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ8xNindO5i
"Wait, what are you two doing?"
Shimizu stammered, her face turning redder. "Ah, Mizuha! It's not what it looks like!"
"That's right! Shimizu-chan just grabbed my hand and—well—this happened!"
Mizuha frowned. "Oh, I see. That really happened?"
Shimizu and Eri exchanged panicked looks.
Mizuha glared at them for a moment before breaking into a mischievous smile.
She slowly closed the door as she stepped out. "Would you stay like that for a moment? I want to go to the kitchen and ask Mrs. Sakamoto to borrow an awl."
"An awl? For what, Mizuha? Are you planning to make a hole or something?"
"Wait, Mizuha-chan, I don't think my house has an awl."
Both of them chased after Mizuha to explain what happened.
After hearing their explanation, Mizuha chuckled while getting dressed.
"What's with you, Shimizu? Losing your mind after losing to Eri-chan?"
"Ah, shut up! I never expected to lose two rounds just like that."
"Ah, Eri-chan, it's your turn to take a bath. Let me handle this girl."
"Thanks, Mizuha-chan. I'll go take a bath now," Eri said, then left the room for the bath.
"Hey, Shimizu. How long are you going to be pouting? Are you little kids or what?"
Shimizu was lying on the floor. "Ah, this video game is boring. Let's change to another activity."
"I know! Let's play a card game!"
Oh, she got her spirit back, Mizuha thought.
"A card game? But we don't have any cards here."
"Hehe, I came prepared! Here!!!"
Shimizu suddenly pulled out a set of trump cards from her bag.
"Geez, you really came to play!"
"Well, that can't be helped. Alright, I'll play with you. What game?"
"Then, we'll play Old Maid."
While waiting for Eri to finish her bath, Mizuha and Shimizu began playing. Luck was on Shimizu's side as she kept winning against Mizuha, who hadn't won a single round.
Shimizu smirked. "What's wrong, Mizuha? Still want to continue another round?"
"Absolutely, I haven't won a single round yet."
Fresh from her bath, Eri entered the room and spotted them playing. "Wait, what are you guys playing? Old Maid? I want to join too, but let me finish dressing up first."
"It's okay, we'll wait for you."
After finishing dressing up, Eri joined the game with the others. "But this time I will win, you'll see, Shimizu!"
"Let's see if you can defeat me."
They played together for about thirty minutes, with Mizuha unfortunately losing every time and repeatedly asking for rematches.
Eri moved closer to Shimizu and whispered, "Hey, Shimizu-chan, can you let her win for once? If not, we'll be stuck playing this game forever."
Shimizu whispered, "I know, I tried to let her win, but she keeps losing on her own."
Mizuha lost one final round and finally decided to give up.
"Ah, I'm done. I don't want to continue anymore—you guys are too good at this."
"No, it's not like that. You just don't have a proper poker face."
Mizuha laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"But it's been fun playing together, right?"
"Yeah, you're right, Eri-chan."
"Okay, then what do you want to do now? We're done with card games. What's next?"
"Hehe, I'm glad you asked. Now it's time for... the love story session."
Both Mizuha and Eri looked at each other. "Love story session?"
Pretending to hold a microphone, Shimizu adopted a TV host persona. "Okay, Contestant Mizuha, how has your progress with Hikaru been until now? Has your relationship improved?"
Mizuha felt a bit annoyed. "What is this, a TV show?"
Mizuha explained that while she and Hikaru had grown closer, they still hadn't gone on an actual date yet.
"So contestant Mizuha and Hikaru haven't made any progress," Shimizu said.
Shimizu continued. "Now let's ask contestant Eri about her relationship with Zul."
Though embarrassed, Eri admitted that while she and Zul were close, she still viewed him as a big brother figure, especially given his past feelings for her late sister, Arisa.
"Oh, so that's the answer from contestant Eri—it looks the same as contestant Mizuha's situation. We'll see you again next week!"
With that, Shimizu dropped her TV show act and turned to chat normally with Eri.
"I understand where you're coming from, but from my perspective, I think he actually likes you. He just never mentions it. I bet you like him too, right?"
Eri hugged Shimizu. "Geez, Shimizu-chan, this is embarrassing."
Both of them had guys close to them, but none of them had gone on a date with each other yet, Shimizu thought, looking at Mizuha and Eri.
Mizuha then asked Shimizu if she had ever dated anyone. Shimizu replied that she hadn't, laughing as she spoke.
Mizuha suddenly remembered that Shimizu had been talking in her sleep about someone named 'Kita-kun' a few days ago when they returned from a picnic.
"Hey, what about the person named Kita-kun? Are you acquainted with him?"
Shimizu blushed. "Wait, Mizuha, how do you know that name? I never told anyone about that!"
"Well, I heard it when you were talking in your sleep on the train back from the picnic."
Shimizu looked surprised. "Huh, did I really say that?"
"Yes, you said, 'Please don't leave me, Kita-kun.'"
Shimizu groaned. "Ah, that was so embarrassing."
"Hey, is that person important to you?"
Mizuha suddenly acted like Shimizu’s TV show host again.
"Then how about you tell us about that person, contestant Shimizu?"
Eri, eager to know more, said, "Yeah, tell us about him, Shimizu-chan."
Shimizu sighed. "Geez, not you too, Eri."
"Well, I never had a relationship with him; he was just my childhood friend, like Eri and Zul. We used to play together years ago in elementary school, but like you, he moved away because of his family's job. I wonder where he is now."
"I see, he's just your childhood friend. Sorry for bringing that up suddenly."
"Don't worry about it; that's all in the past now. By the way, what do we want to do next?"
"I don't know, maybe we should just go to sleep?"
"Geez, Mizuha, you're so boring! Can you come up with a more interesting idea? What do you think, Eri?"
"Well, I have no idea either."
Shimizu then glanced outside, then suddenly stood up. She pulled the curtain back and opened the sliding door.
"What are you doing, Shimizu?"
"Come outside, both of you!"
"What's up, Shimizu-chan?" They then walked onto the balcony, feeling the cool night air.
Shimizu pointed up. "Look at the sky."
Eri felt amazed. "The stars! There are so many tonight!"
Mizuha looked up. "They're really beautiful."
"I know, right? I thought we could all look at them together."
The three friends stood quietly, watching the stars shine above them.
Eri pointed at the star in the sky. "Look—there's Deneb. And there's Altair (Hikoboshi), and there's Vega (Orihime). Those three make the Summer Triangle."
Mizuha was impressed. "You really know about stars, Eri-chan."
"Yeah, how do you know all that?"
Eri walked over to an old telescope on her balcony.401Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0Oqsuc8Cn
"I used to watch the stars here with my sister and Zul."
She touched it gently. "My sister taught me about all the different stars."
Mizuha and Shimizu exchanged a gentle look, sensing the weight of memory in their friend's voice.
"Does the telescope still work?"
"Yes, I used it last week. Want to try it?"
Mizuha looked through the telescope. "This is amazing! The stars look so clear!"
Shimizu leaned in. "Let me see too!"
When she looked through it, she gasped. "You're right!"
As she watched her friends use the telescope, Eri smiled nostalgically. Looking back at the sky, she thought, Now I'm here with Mizuha-chan and Shimizu-chan. Are you watching too, big sister?
Mizuha leaned in. "You know… those stars are kind of like us three, aren't they?"
Shimizu took both their hands. "Yes, just like us—friends shining together."
The three girls held hands and kept looking at the stars, smiling contentedly in the peaceful night.
Mizuha then took a photo of the sky using her smartphone and smiled.
Shimizu approached her and put her hand on Mizuha’s shoulder.
Mizuha was surprised. "Woah, Shimizu, you surprised me."
Shimizu smirked. "Ah, I see. You're sending them to your boyfriend."
"Wait, it's not like that."
"You can't hide anything from me. I know from your reaction."
"Geez, can you stop teasing me?"
Eri chuckled, watching the moment between her two friends.
After watching the stars for a while longer, the cool night breeze made them shiver.
Mizuha stifled a yawn. "We should probably head inside. It's getting late."
Shimizu helped Eri carefully cover the telescope. "Yeah, we should sleep now."
Back in Eri’s room, they cleaned up and spread the futons beside Eri's bed. Both Mizuha and Shimizu were going to sleep on the futons, while Eri slept in her own bed.
As soon as Shimizu lay on the futon, she immediately fell asleep.
Mizuha turned to her and said, "So fast!!!"
Eri chuckled, "Maybe she is too tired for today, I guess."
"Yes, you're right."
Mizuha yawned. "I felt sleepy too."
"Then let’s go to sleep too."
Eri turned off the lamp, and both she and Mizuha settled onto the futon and into the bed.
In the quiet darkness, Mizuha then spoke softly to Eri.
"Eri-chan, thanks for inviting me to this sleepover. I had a lot of fun today."
Eri smiled. "No, it's no big deal, Mizuha-chan. I'm glad to have you here. I've never done something like this before, so having both of you here makes me happy after all."
"I see..." Mizuha said, before slowly closing her eyes and fell asleep.
"Mizuha-chan?" Eri said, surprised that Mizuha had suddenly gone quiet.
Looks like she are already asleep too, she thought.
Then her smartphone vibrated as she got a notification message.
She looked at her smartphone and saw a message from Zul.
Zul: Are you still awake?
Eri: Yes, I’m still awake.
Zul: How was the sleepover with Mizuha and Shimizu? Is everything fine over there?
Eri: Yes, everything is fine here. This sleepover was perfect. I had a fun day with both of them. We did many things today after studying.
Studying, playing games, sharing secrets, and even stargazing together... I'm so glad to be friends with these two.
Zul: I see, then good for you, Eri. I'm glad to hear that.
Zul: Then, it’s time for me to sleep. Good night.
Eri: Good night, Zul.
After ending the conversation with Zul, she placed the phone down and smiled before slowly closing her eyes, imagining the image of the three stars of the Summer Triangle—still fresh in her mind—as she drifted off to sleep.
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and then Add to home screen.