Yiyun ran back to the shop with all her might when the explosions starting going off.

Mouth full and chewing furiously, she burst forth and carefully dodged the people who have come to a sudden stop upon the boom and blasts of brilliant lights overhead. Her tiny hands were holding little trays of takoyaki balls.

She reached their shop without a spill (much to her relief) and went in, almost forgetting to leave her slippers at the door. She had to hurry. The display outside was not going to be long and Jaki and Donghae would only forgive her for running off if the takoyaki balls were still hot and crispy.

Yiyun took up the wooden stairs, two at a time, not caring if she made more noise than necessary. It was loud outside anyway. The clanging and banging in the skies right now were nothing compared to her footfalls. Down the hall of the second floor was a secret window that led to the shop’s roof. Yiyun gingerly slid the window open and stuck her little head out and called above her.

To Yiyun's relief, Donghae and Jaki's heads and arms came into view.

"You little brat," Jaki hissed at her, holding up a fist that was also very much visible.

Yiyun cringed a little, expecting this from Jaki since her big sister was the one put in charge of taking watch of her tonight while their parents were at the launch site, orchestrating the sequence of fireworks.

To prevent her sister from getting any more upset, Yiyun bowed her head and raised the trays of takoyaki balls to her elder siblings. "Please accept my sincerest apologies and humble offering," she said. With her head down, her siblings couldn't see her little smirk.

Yiyun made excellent use of her childish innocence while she still had it. She counted on the fact that Jaki and Donghae would forgive her…they always did.

"Oh, Yiyun! You absolutely read my mind! I was thinking about getting us something to eat," Donghae said.

"You absolutely would have forgotten," Yiyun replied smartly, promptly sticking her tongue out at her older brother as Jaki took the snack trays out of her hands.

"Haha! Always taking her big brother for a fool!" Donghae bent his upper body down from the roof and offered his hand to Yiyun.

Wordlessly, Yiyun took it and let herself be hauled up by her fool of a big brother. Once she was level with them on the tiled roof, she went to the highest point and took her prime seat. Donghae and Jaki joined her soon after, their attention divided between the takoyaki balls and the fire and lights, bursting in full-bloom against the dark canvass of the Edo night sky.

Watching the fireworks that their father and mother had made and planned, with a sibling at each side, meant everything to the little girl. Yiyun never felt so joyful, so at home.

It was a shame they had to be leaving in two days.

Yiyun remembered her exchange with her father earlier. She had packed the majority of her belongings for their move already so that morning, she had time to roam around their compound. Their gates were open and just outside, she found her father loading up a cart with all sorts of merchandise. She saw firework shells of many sizes and huge bamboo racks and firework launchers.

It could only mean one thing...

"Father," Yiyun called, tugging at her father's yellow happi coat with the black Ichimatsu patterns. It was a garment of her father’s that she associated with festivals. "Where are you taking those?"

Liu Kaemon carefully set the last of the crates of hanabi into the cart and turned to face his youngest. He got down on a knee so that their faces were at the same height.

Though she was a girl, Kaemon saw a lot of himself in her. And she was a pretty one… handsome, he'd even say.

Like her father, he occasionally told himself with pride.

He brushed stray hairs out of her eyes. Her hair would always be in a mess, what with her endless running around and engaging in all sorts of mischief that was beyond typical 7-year-old girls. Yiyun was never one for grooming and cleanliness, unlike Jaki was very much particular of at her age. Liu Kaemon wondered when Yiyun would ever start caring about things like etiquette and personal appearances. He was relieved this responsibility fell more on his wife, Liu Yukiko.

"These are to be taken to the launching quarters near the river," Liu Kaemon explained.

"You mean...?" Yiyun whispered excitedly, her brown eyes going big.

"Yes, little one. It's to be a magnificent show," Liu Kaemon said with a proud grin.

Yiyun jumped up and down, clapping her small hands. The dry earth about her made little clouds and covered her socks and slippers with a layer of dirt. "But father! Whose show is it?"

"Well… it's ours."

"What?! Are you sure, father? You paid for all this? And you're just going to give it all away?"

"Silly child," Liu Kaemon chuckled. "I don't have to pay for what's already mine."

"But! If it is yours, then why are you always angry when Donghae sets some off on his own?!"

"That's different. Without my permission, he's just wasting our goods. Don't go ahead doing that, okay, Yiyun?"

Yiyun nodded solemnly.

“Well, our shop has too many fireworks and we won’t be able to bring all these to Kyoto so your mother and I thought of putting on a show. We would be lightening our load while we’re at it. And it would be nice to leave some of our good fortune here.”

Yiyun's memory of the morning was so fresh in her mind. It took Donghae's loud whoop and near fall from the roof to throw Yiyun back into the moment. The fireworks show was now in its crescendo, warming the crowd up for the big finale.

The bursting lights never lost their glory with the Liu children. They have seen many shows, even those of other firework makers, but the explosions in the sky right now persisted in inspiring in them absolute awe and wonder.

Jaki wept in that moment. Yiyun didn't fully understand why and she pretended not to see and instead, focused on the fireworks and avoiding getting sauce on her own little happi coat.

The biggest light bombs went off all at the same time, as if they were daring the heavens to open. The masses of onlookers below were hysteric, yelling and banging their wares to add to the noise, having absolutely no problem being outdone by the fireworks.

As the sky cleared, so did the congestion in the roads. Yiyun saw the people of Edo in motion again, going back to their routines. Merchants got back to calling out and flaunting their goods. The food stalls thickened with smoke and firelight and a heat that distorted the air. The perspiring vendors, armed with the smell of grilled meats or hot soups did not even have to bat an eyelash for travelers of the night to come flocking for their fill.

Things seemed to have returned to the way they were but Yiyun could not help but notice that there was something about the people down in the streets who just watched Liu Kaemon's last fireworks show in Edo. As fleeting as the fireworks were, the same could not be said for their effects. The peoples' smiles lingered and the shine in their eyes betrayed them. There was a new lightness and energy in their faces and in the way they carried themselves.

She understood then that... Well, this. This was what her father wanted.

The whole of Edo looking to the the night sky, their hearts bursting from the splendor and beauty of the explosions.

- - -

The next evening, the young Misses from the Sonyeoshidae Inn invited everyone for a humble going-away party for the Lius. The cousins Kim Taeyeon and Kim Hyoyeon were quite talented in the kitchen and their restaurant was always packed with hungry and wealthy travelers that couldn't get enough of their iconic dishes but that night, they