He might have squeezed her bottom when she kissed him. Or maybe it was some passing animal, who knew?

"And if we need a plan, you go first. You're in the mask", he pointed toward the mushrooms. "I'll go through the thicket and meet you for the fireworks, then we can head over."

Akemi disappeared under her HIDA DISGUISE and snaked through the park until she reached a hill from which they could admire the fireworks.

There she just laid on the grass, legs folded in a half sit position, arms behind her head as a cushion, looking at the sky from behind her mask.

And eventually up trudged Shokomaru, he'd seen her on the hill after looking around for a bit. They seemed pretty far away from the crowd, he figured she would want that anyway. Approaching he put his bag down and plopped down next to her, arm resting on a propped up knee, the yukata not doing his pale leg any favors.

He reached in and found some cups for the sake he'd brought.

"Well...here we are." he looked at her. "You still have..." he brushed her hair. "Twigs..."

Pouring a drink. "Of course you might not be who I was expecting, wearing a mask and all. So if an angry woman shows up here don't worry, she'll only kill me. You'll be fine."

He handed her the cup.

She accepted it, but only moved aside the lower part of the mask, just enough to be able to drink:

"Oh? You don't think this person loves you enough to pardon you such an innocent mistake? She sure sounds like a terrible one. You can do better I think."

"Oh, I'm afraid she's terribly jealous, kind of a gorilla on a rampage, really", he poured some for himself and sighed. "But when she looks at you, her eyes glisten, when you hold her she feels much more like a girl than a proud warrior, and when she says she loves you it's all you can do to keep from screaming thank you to the fortunes."

He drank. "Plus she's great in bed."

And he put the cup down. "So I'm sorry, mystery girl, you'll have to at least show me some leg to get me interested."

Akemi took her sweet time de-li-ca-te-ly taking a small sip and making sure the cup in her palm and the liquid inside were exactly horizontal before answering:

"Hearing you, it sure does feel like your relationship is only physical and you could as easily jump the first fit woman showing enough skin. Maybe she is in the right to be jealous."

"How could I do that, feeling so happy to see her?" he said and laid back on his elbows, watching the fireworks as the show went on. "It doesn't matter if she hates me one day, or if I can never see her again, I'll carry her with me wherever I go."

"Sounds like a tragic story.

Don't think she could hate you even if I can easily picture her being very angry at you when you deserve it."

Akemi unfolded her legs to lie more comfortably.

"I also feel like she won't forget you ever. Cause she's likely to be as much of a dork as you anyway."

A pause.

"If I was enough any good at poetry, I'll say something around the lines of your relationship was as bright and ephemeral as a firework... But one I suck at poetry and two that's actually a terrible metaphor as fireworks are self-destructing engines that only leave charred rubbishes behind."

That got a laugh, and an arm over her shoulders, the other hand tipping her mask away further from her mouth.

"Maybe we're all of the above?"

"Maybe." she whispered.

She let the ineluctable kiss happen.

Up in the sky fireworks kept exploding, emphasizing that miai was ending. That the dream was ending.

But at this very moment they still had some fragments of eternity left to share.

/scene?

The Spider kissed the Crab, enjoying every sensation of the moment, locking it away along with the man he had been. He might come to be seen again, but he hoped not. He was for Akemi alone in his heart.

/scene!