{HIKARI'S POV}
I expected Jun to make a move, but I didn't expect it to be as soon as tonight. Nevertheless, a stone pings against my window right before I retire to bed.

I run to my window and fling it open. Jun is alone in the courtyard, waving his arms wildly. In his good hand is, of course, a slingshot. He makes a gesture that I should be quiet, then motions for me to come outside to meet him.

I run down the stairs of my tower, feeling positively giddy. I can't wait to see what Jun has in store. Lord Kirigawa is going to be furious, but I can't bring myself to care. This'll be so much fun!

Jun grabs my hand and whisks me towards the gate. I'm laughing and breathless and coughing by the time we make it to our final destination.

The gate looms in front of us, closed for the night. A full moon gleams overhead.

Jun pulls off his cloak for me to sit on, then he sits next to me. I pull my knees up to my chest to ward off the chill of darkness.

"We don't have much time, but I wanted you to be the first one to see them!" Jun says, grinning.

"Where are the others?" I ask, looking around for the children. It's just us on the grounds.

Jun points to the top of the gate. "Up there."

He uses the metal clasp of his cloak to reflect the moonlight, presumably sending a message. I see the fire of torches on top of the gate begin to bob.

A loud hiss and a pop, then a small fire spirals into the sky. And then it explodes. Bright red sparks cascade in all directions, made all the more vibrant by the dark backdrop of night. I jump in surprise.

I see the color a second before I hear the deafening boom. My mouth drops open. I'm speechless.

The bright red only lasts for a few seconds before the billions of sparks fizzle out. Another hiss pop, and another decorative bomb spirals into the sky.

This one explodes brilliant blue. I reach out wanting to touch the sparks, to keep them safe so they don't inevitably disappear seconds later. And yet, their brevity makes them all the more beautiful.

The next two bombs are fired off simultaneously, one yellow and one green.

"Do you like it?!" Jun has to yell to be heard over the booms of the explosions.

I can only nod in amazement.

"Honestly, I don't care about celebrating the end of the war!" Jun admits as the sky is lit up with bright reds, yellows, greens, and purples.

I glance over at Jun for as long as I dare. I don't want to miss a single part of the show.

"Then why did you create them?!" I yell-ask.

"Because you were looking glum as of late! I wanted to make you happy!" Jun shouts. I look over at him fully now, and he grins back at me. "Looks like my experiment was a smashing success!"

I turn back to the decorative bombs display, all sorts of emotions welling up in my heart. I want to cry and laugh and hug Jun simultaneously.

"They're like flowers." I whisper.

"What?!" Jun shouts, cupping a hand around his ear to hear me better.

"They're like flowers of fire, blooming in the sky!" I respond, leaning in close.

His eyes light up. "Hey, that's a good name! We should call them fire flowers!"

I can't hide my grin. As the multi-colored fire flowers continue to light up the night sky, I notice some other people are also coming out to enjoy the view.

"It's okay!" Jun notices me watching them anxiously. "I warned everyone that they probably wouldn't be getting any sleep for a while! I didn't want to cause another panic like this afternoon!"

The fire flowers are shot off with shorter intervals in between. They're firing off four to five at a time too. This must be the finale.

It's so loud that I have to cover my ears. It's too bright as fire flowers keep flashing and exploding. It's overstimulating, but in a wonderful way.

And then it's over. Too quickly, the night is back to being dark and silent. Smoke fills the air and makes me cough a little. People begin to cheer. I see the silhouettes of the children on top of the gate, in the moonlight. It looks like they're bowing.

"What did you think?!" Jun asks excitedly.

"I loved it!" I mirror his enthusiasm. Our voices are a little too loud; our ears are still recovering.

"I've got so many ideas for improvement too!" Jun leans in, his eyes dancing. "We've got to dampen the sound somehow! Also, I want to make them explode in different shapes and sizes and colors! Haven't quite figured out orange yet!"

"What if they exploded more than once?!" I chime in. "Imagine it explodes, but then all of those sparks explode a second time!"

"Oh even better, or what if one fire flower exploded into more than one color, like white then red?! My mind is buzzing!" Jun adds excitedly.

"My ears are buzzing!" I grin.

Jun looks past me for a second. "Oh crud! Help me up, my dad is coming over!"

"JUN KIRIGAWA! YOU ARE IN SOOOO MUCH TROUBLE, YOUNG MAN!"

I loop Jun's good arm around my shoulders and heave us up. It's too late though. Lord Kirigawa scolds us long into the night.

Ah, it feels good to be free!

I'll be going home soon, but I'll never forget my time here with Jun and Ren and everybody. Tai will forever hold a special place in my heart, as the pages of my story continue to blow forward in the wind...

THE END