Cover High/Pekora

Finale, Part 1: Let's Settle This, You Goddamn Rabbit.

A humid breeze washes over you, heavy with the aroma of fried foods and mosquito incense. The paper lanterns strung between the procession of torii gates sway in the wind, lighting up the bustling stone path before you like a runway. An untold number of simultaneous conversations fill the air, all blended together into a cacophony of unintelligible nonsense that easily overpowers the trill of summer insects. The natural tranquility that would rule over this forested hillside path on any other evening has been temporarily usurped by the jubilance of man. All is abuzz with light, life, and laughter.

Tonight, the spirit of the summer festival reigns supreme.

You haven't been to one of these things in years. Under normal circumstances you'd prefer to opt out of a social event like this and spend the evening sequestered in front of your computer, a video game on one monitor and an illegal HoloFightZ restream on the other. Being out and about in the muggy summer heat has never appealed to you. And historically having no friends to be out and about with hasn't helped. But present circumstances are far from normal. Your long streak of self-imposed hermitry has been broken...and the festive atmosphere has proven infectious. The giddiness roiling about in your head borders on manic - this could very well be the most amped up you've ever felt. You're excited to be spending the evening outside.

And a quick sidelong glance confirms that you're not the only one afflicted by the virulent revelry.

Pekora trots happily next to you, her long white ears bouncing with every sprightly step she takes. A smile shines on her face, her amber eyes practically sparkling with anticipation. Though she let go of your hand a while ago as the increasing foot-traffic caused her discomfort with public displays of affection to rear its head, the little rabbit nonetheless hovers near to your side like a remora to a shark, well within the boundaries of your personal-space bubble. With how close you two are, anyone would be able to tell at a glance what kind of relationship you have, hand-holding or no. Seemingly taking notice of your held gaze, Pekora peeks over as a cheeky air creeps into her expression. "Just can't look away, can you?"

"Do you want me to look away?"

"Of course not!" The rabbit girl nimbly twirls a full 360 degrees, showing off every angle of her festive red yukata without so much as a pause in her stride. "It took a long time for me to do myself up like this, so you sure as heck better appreciate it, peko!"

"Oh, trust me." Your gaze wanders down her petite, yet shapely figure, zeroing in on those bare thighs. "I'm appreciating it."

The bawdy ogling seems to fly right over Pekora's head as she obliviously puffs up and beams in self-satisfaction. This girl is just too easy sometimes; offer her a crumb of flattery and she gobbles it right up. "Isn't it cute? It's cute, right? Don't you just feel like the luckiest guy there is tonight?"

"Okay now you're just fishing for compliments."

"Ah↓ha↑ha↑~ ♥"

Despite the unprecedentedly romantic nature of your little outing, the atmosphere between you and Pekora is surprisingly comfortable, your little back-and-forth flowing with its usual smoothness. Things would have probably been a fair bit more awkward if the two of you had met up at the front gate as per the original plan, especially when you consider how late she would have been. But your timely defusal of Pekora's brief bout of anger outside her house had ended up serving as something of an ice-breaker, allowing you both to slip back into your routine of playful banter over the course of your trek to the shrine. By some twist of good fortune, that whole fiasco with her mother may have actually helped you in the long run. One more thing you ought to thank that woman for the next time you see her...