On the morning of the fireworks festival, Akko shows up in mini-shorts and a fragment of blouse that sends Mrs. Kumakura's eyebrows above her hairline. Mari doesn't mind the view, which only Akko really notices. She feels a little uncomfortable having Mari stare at her so openly, and doesn't protest when Mrs. Kumakura makes them both wear yukatas. Since Mrs. Kumakura bought both yukatas for Mari at the same place, they look alike. She makes all sorts of embarrassing comments about how cute Mari and Akko look, and Mari's little brother teases her about going on a date with a girl, at which point heavy objects are thrown in his direction. At the fireworks festival, Mari wants to drag Akko around to all the booths, but Akko gets a blister from wearing the geta, and star\ts to get tired from being up so late the night before. Mari makes Akko sit and runs to get her something to drink. Akko looks after Mari and realizes something. "Wow. She really looks nice in a yukata," she thinks. While she's daydreaming, Harada, the college-age boy Mari has been seeing to hide her feelings for Akko shows up with another friend of his. Harada's friend, who encouraged him to make a move on Mari, notices Akko sitting on the grass with a shoe off, looking distracted, and gets an idea. He finds a little kid tearing around with a few of his friends, hands him the can of juice he just bought and tells the boy to spill it on Akko. The boy haggles, and Harada's friend ends up giving him a sizeable chunk of cash. Akko leaps up, yelling, when the boy does this, and the boy splits, laughing, cash in hand. Harada's friend steps in and pretends to help Akko. He thinks he's slick, and Akko's really distracted and unhappy, so she's not really on her defenses. Harada's friend manages to get her to sit on the grass and leans close, putting an arm around her shoulder. At this moment, Mari comes back and actually says what she felt the last time she saw Akko with a boy. "Don't touch her! Get away from her right now!" Mari's voice carries across the park where people are watching the fireworks. Everyone in the area turns to watch, as Mari steps between Akko, who's half-reclining on the ground, and Harada's friend, her fists raised. Nearby, Harada hears Mari's voice and looks to see her slap his friend in the face. Harada's friend staggers back a step or two. Akko gets up and clings to Mari's arm, impressed with her friend's courage and strength, a bit surprised, and still shaken by the older guy's pushiness. Harada yells out "Kumakura!" and starts to run toward her, but meets his friends eyes as they recognize each other, and stops. His friend laughs and yells, "So this is your innocent girlfriend, Harada?" Mari turns sees that her so-called boyfriend is friends with the man who just made a move on Akko, and turns away, holding Akko by the hand and pulling her through the crowd. As the crush of people thins, Akko chimes in, "Mari-chin - OW! I need to stop!" She's got one geta on, and her foot looks pretty scratched up. Mari is crying in anger and frustration as the adrenaline wears off. Her expression softens as she looks at Akko. "What do we do now?" "My house is nearby, and my mom is out of town again. Why don't you stay over?" Akko says. Mari's heart speeds up, but she tries to keep a straight face. "I'll have to call my mom first, though." Akko spaces out a bit while Mari is on the phone. Then Mari wails "Whaaat?" her face downcast. Akko tenses, looks worried. Mari smiles. "Okay, mom. Thanks. See you in a bit." Akko looks puzzled. Mari explains, "My mom didn't want me to stay with you without your mom there. So she said to come back home. Both of us!" "Uh, ok!" Akko says, surprised. Then frowns, "But Mari-chin, I thought your mom didn't like me because I don't have good manners or know how to dress properly." "No, she doesn't, silly!" Mari says. "She knows you're my best friend. Hey, Akko, can you walk?" she asks. Akko tries, but stumbles, so Mari, with Akko's arm over her shoulder, boosts her up to ride on her back. Akko is startled, thinks "Mari-chin is strong!" and rests her cheek on Mari's back, smiling. They get to the train station and Akko has to walk. Mari lets her down and says "Next week, Akko-chan, we're going back on our diets!" Mari steals a look at Akko pouting and smiles. They ride to Mari's neighborhood, and when they get home, enter quietly because everyone is asleep. Except there seems to be a bit of movement just out of the girls' field of vision. There's a note for Mari inside the door. Mari's mom ran the bath for them before going to bed, it says. They read it together, and Mari looks at Akko, who is tired, shocked from the episode with Harada's friend, and beginning to sense how Mari feels, so she blushes, a look that Mari likes even more than her pout. As they go upstairs, Akko yawns and whispers "We should probably take a bath together. Just to save time, you know?" This time it's Mari's turn to blush. They go to the bathroom in their yukatas, and Akko stops Mari from undressing with a hand on her shoulder. "Mari-chin, be honest!" Mari freezes, her eyes wide. Akko, hands on hips - "Did you know that guy at the festival?" Mari looks down, "No," she says, "but I found something out about Harada." She meets Akko's eyes, "That was Harada's friend, and I'm never speaking to that..." She starts to cry, and Akko reaches out to her, whispering in her ear, "Mari, when you came over before your first date with him, and you said there was someone else you liked, who were you talking about?" Mari wipes her tears away and in one motion undoes her yukata and stands up, letting it fall to the floor.
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