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Description

READER

“Ouch,” I said, pricking my finger for probably the thousandth time since I started. I brought up my finger to eye-level, witnessing the blood pool upon my skin once again. I sucked on the spot, trying to stop the flow of blood so I could continue what I was doing.

            After a while, the blood sort of let up so I continued sewing. In one part, out another, repeat. What was I sewing, exactly? Well, I was sewing Piyo-chan plushy. It was my boyfriend Natsuki’s birthday in a week and I wanted to finish my gift for him. Yes, I knew he already had numerous Piyo-chan merchandise in his dorm room, but couldn’t resist making him one. Plus, this one was special. I wanted to make it look like two chicks hugging each other. One would be wearing a pair of glasses and the other would have a (f/c) flower somewhere on its head.

            I smiled, thinking of Natsuki’s would-be reaction, pricking myself again. I let out an “ouch”, a curse, and sucked on my finger again.

            This was going to be a long week.

NATSUKI

I was fixing my bed, located under Syo-chan’s upper bunk, when he suddenly burst through the door in his pajamas, and looked around frantically. When he spotted me, he hurried over, grabbed my shoulders, and started shaking me.

            “Syo-chan!” I whined. “Stop it—I’m getting dizzy!”

            “You’d better get a grip tomorrow, you hear me, Natsuki?” he said, still shaking me.

            “What? What’s going on tomorrow?” I asked.

            Syo-chan stopped shaking my shoulders to stare at me. “What the heck do you mean?”

            “Just what I said. What’s going on tomorrow?”

            He stared at me, blinking once, twice, three times before speaking. “Did you seriously forget?” I just tilted my head to the side by way of question. Syo-chan sighed. “Look at the calendar, idiot,” he said, then directed my head to the calendar hung beside the door. There was the date today: June 8th. It was my birthday tomorrow. It was both our birthdays tomorrow.

            “Oh,” I said, springing up in sudden glee. “It’s our birthday tomorrow, Syo-chan!”

            “Yeah,” Syo-chan said from where he was half-sprawled on the floor. “You’re spending the day with ____, right?”

            “Yup,” I said, smiling all over. ____-chan had invited me for a day out tomorrow and I was very excited. “She said we were going to the amusement park. What are you doing tomorrow, Syo-chan?”

            Syo-chan had stood up and brushed himself off before climbing up his bunk. “I’m spending it with Kaoru,” he said, flopping down on his bed. I got in mine, now unable to wipe my smile off my face.

            “I hope you have a good time tomorrow, Syo-chan. Good night,” I said, before drifting off to sleep.

***

I woke up the next morning feeling rested up and ready for my day with ____-chan. I got up and got ready to the speed of light. The clock by the window read 9:39 AM. I needed to hurry if I wanted to make it to ____-chan and my meeting spot.

            I tried to exit the whole place as quietly as I could. As I walked to the train station, I couldn’t help but thank Ai-senpai’s absence—it gave Syo-chan and I some space to enjoy our birthdays. But I couldn’t think about that now; I should only think about my date with ____-chan.

            And, just thinking of the many possibilities and surprises this day had in store, I was already insanely happy.

READER

I was sitting on a bench by the train station, waiting for Natsuki to come. Perhaps I was a bit early, but I was excited! This was the Natsuki’s first birthday since we got together a few months ago—I had a right to be excited!

            Examining my yellow sundress, I thought about Natsuki’s golden hair, the way it always seemed soft to the touch, the way it shined like the sunlight, seeming to be the sun itself. It led me to thoughts about his beautiful green eyes, always sparkling like two shining peridots. With or without his glasses, he looked so beautiful. My thoughts then strayed to Satsuki, Natsuki’s alter ego.

            I sighed. Satsuki…

            What would I do with him? He was so hard to be with. Yes, I’ve met him before and was able to gain his approval to date Natsuki. But he never came out in the whole seven months that Natsuki and I have been dating. Needless to say, Satsuki and I have lost contact the second I confessed my feelings to Natsuki.

            From a pocket in my bag, I withdrew a silver bracelet with a small yellow gem hanging from a hole by the clasp. I wasn’t sure if Satsuki would take it, let alone wear it. I wasn’t even sure it was his birthday today (and it probably wasn’t, since he was only an alternate personality), but it was worth a shot to give it to him.

            “____-chan!” someone shouted. I raised my head, seeing a very tall man with gold hair running towards me. I stood up and ran to him, not giving a care that I was wearing a dress and heels.

            Natsuki and I met in a bone-crushing hug. To outsiders it seemed like we haven’t seen each other in ages (when in truth we only last met around a week ago). I didn’t seem to understand why we hugged each other this tightly, either. Maybe I just missed him a lot. I have no idea.

            We pulled apart and I said, “Happy birthday, Natsuki.” I stood on tip-toe and kissed his cheek. Natsuki hugged me tightly again and whispered in my ear.

            “Thank you, ____-chan. I love you so much.”

            I smiled, returning his hug. “I love you, too.”

***

Natsuki opened the bag that contained my present to him. He pulled it out and immediately screamed, “This is so cute!” I giggled at the face he was making. “Thank you, ____-chan!”

            We were at the amusement park and we’d just finished eating lunch when I decided to give him my present. The Piyo-chan hugging another Piyo-chan looked pretty good. All of those pricks were worthwhile after all.

            “I’m glad you like it, Nacchan.” I smiled, pleased that he liked my gift.

            “Did you make this?” he said, alternating between looking at me and looking at the plushy. I nodded and he said, “How long did it take to make it?”

            “Oh, one, two weeks, I suppose,” I said aloud. Almost a month, I said in my head. It really didn’t help that I sucked so much on sewing. It was a really good thing that I decided to make it earlier than necessary…

            My boyfriend hugged the plushy to him, feeling its softness. He looked so cute that I had to fight the urge to give him a bone-crushing hug right now.

            But then, something popped into my head—something that I knew I had to do.

            I stood up, putting a hand on one of Natsuki’s arm. “Come on, Nacchan,” I said. “I want to show you something.” And he deposited the plushy back into the bag.

***

We were walking along the beach by the amusement park. It was near the middle of it that I stopped walking, causing Natsuki to stop, too, since he was holding my hand.

            “What is it, ____-chan?” he asked, moving closer to me, eyes filled with worry.

            I gulped. “Um… Natsuki?” He was as attentive as ever. “Could you, maybe, take off your glasses for a second?”

            He tilted his head to one side. “Why? Is there something on my face?” And then he started to feel his face for invisible specs of dirt.

            “No, no,” I said, taking him hands to stop them from moving. Quickly, I moved my fingers so they were gently holding the frames of his glasses. “Just a second, okay?” I whispered. I gently took them off.

SATSUKI

I glared down at Natsuki’s girlfriend.

            But no matter how much I disliked her, the way Natsuki’s face lit up whenever he thought of her always made me rethink my hate for her. Through all the shit I put her through before she and Natsuki got together, everything kept winding up and unraveling until I was about to go crazy.

            Then Natsuki and ____ shared their first kiss. And a flame burned inside me and I realized… I was jealous. I was jealous of Natsuki. I had no idea why. Maybe it was because he had someone to love him in the physical sense. Or maybe so he had someone to consciously lean to.

            I decided to just stop thinking about that for now. I would only lead to complications that this day couldn’t afford.

            “What do you want?” I growled, even though I didn’t mean to.

            ____ just reached inside her bag and pulled out a silver chain with a little ball hanging off it. She held it out to me.

            “Here,” she said, “this is for you.” I held out my hand and she put it around my wrist. I looked at it closely and noticed that the ball wasn’t a ball at all—it was a small yellow stone, sparkling under the sunlight.

            “I wasn’t sure if I should give it to you or not. I have no idea when your birthday is, but I made my decision.” She looked up at me, a determination in her (e/c) eyes. “Today will be your birthday, too. I want you to share the happiness with Natsuki.” ____ smiled.

            I just stared at her, not comprehending what she meant. It took me a few seconds to process it all: She wanted Natsuki and me to be happy at least one day of every year. It made me infinitesimally happier. Not that I would admit that out loud.

            I smirked at ____, saying something I never thought I would say in my whole life.

            “Thanks for this.” And then I took Natsuki’s glasses from one of her hands and put them on.

THE END

Description

READER

“Ouch,” I said, pricking my finger for probably the thousandth time since I started. I brought up my finger to eye-level, witnessing the blood pool upon my skin once again. I sucked on the spot, trying to stop the flow of blood so I could continue what I was doing.

            After a while, the blood sort of let up so I continued sewing. In one part, out another, repeat. What was I sewing, exactly? Well, I was sewing Piyo-chan plushy. It was my boyfriend Natsuki’s birthday in a week and I wanted to finish my gift for him. Yes, I knew he already had numerous Piyo-chan merchandise in his dorm room, but couldn’t resist making him one. Plus, this one was special. I wanted to make it look like two chicks hugging each other. One would be wearing a pair of glasses and the other would have a (f/c) flower somewhere on its head.

            I smiled, thinking of Natsuki’s would-be reaction, pricking myself again. I let out an “ouch”, a curse, and sucked on my finger again.

            This was going to be a long week.

NATSUKI

I was fixing my bed, located under Syo-chan’s upper bunk, when he suddenly burst through the door in his pajamas, and looked around frantically. When he spotted me, he hurried over, grabbed my shoulders, and started shaking me.

            “Syo-chan!” I whined. “Stop it—I’m getting dizzy!”

            “You’d better get a grip tomorrow, you hear me, Natsuki?” he said, still shaking me.

            “What? What’s going on tomorrow?” I asked.

            Syo-chan stopped shaking my shoulders to stare at me. “What the heck do you mean?”

            “Just what I said. What’s going on tomorrow?”

            He stared at me, blinking once, twice, three times before speaking. “Did you seriously forget?” I just tilted my head to the side by way of question. Syo-chan sighed. “Look at the calendar, idiot,” he said, then directed my head to the calendar hung beside the door. There was the date today: June 8th. It was my birthday tomorrow. It was both our birthdays tomorrow.

            “Oh,” I said, springing up in sudden glee. “It’s our birthday tomorrow, Syo-chan!”

            “Yeah,” Syo-chan said from where he was half-sprawled on the floor. “You’re spending the day with ____, right?”

            “Yup,” I said, smiling all over. ____-chan had invited me for a day out tomorrow and I was very excited. “She said we were going to the amusement park. What are you doing tomorrow, Syo-chan?”

            Syo-chan had stood up and brushed himself off before climbing up his bunk. “I’m spending it with Kaoru,” he said, flopping down on his bed. I got in mine, now unable to wipe my smile off my face.

            “I hope you have a good time tomorrow, Syo-chan. Good night,” I said, before drifting off to sleep.

***

I woke up the next morning feeling rested up and ready for my day with ____-chan. I got up and got ready to the speed of light. The clock by the window read 9:39 AM. I needed to hurry if I wanted to make it to ____-chan and my meeting spot.

            I tried to exit the whole place as quietly as I could. As I walked to the train station, I couldn’t help but thank Ai-senpai’s absence—it gave Syo-chan and I some space to enjoy our birthdays. But I couldn’t think about that now; I should only think about my date with ____-chan.

            And, just thinking of the many possibilities and surprises this day had in store, I was already insanely happy.

READER

I was sitting on a bench by the train station, waiting for Natsuki to come. Perhaps I was a bit early, but I was excited! This was the Natsuki’s first birthday since we got together a few months ago—I had a right to be excited!

            Examining my yellow sundress, I thought about Natsuki’s golden hair, the way it always seemed soft to the touch, the way it shined like the sunlight, seeming to be the sun itself. It led me to thoughts about his beautiful green eyes, always sparkling like two shining peridots. With or without his glasses, he looked so beautiful. My thoughts then strayed to Satsuki, Natsuki’s alter ego.

            I sighed. Satsuki…

            What would I do with him? He was so hard to be with. Yes, I’ve met him before and was able to gain his approval to date Natsuki. But he never came out in the whole seven months that Natsuki and I have been dating. Needless to say, Satsuki and I have lost contact the second I confessed my feelings to Natsuki.

            From a pocket in my bag, I withdrew a silver bracelet with a small yellow gem hanging from a hole by the clasp. I wasn’t sure if Satsuki would take it, let alone wear it. I wasn’t even sure it was his birthday today (and it probably wasn’t, since he was only an alternate personality), but it was worth a shot to give it to him.

            “____-chan!” someone shouted. I raised my head, seeing a very tall man with gold hair running towards me. I stood up and ran to him, not giving a care that I was wearing a dress and heels.

            Natsuki and I met in a bone-crushing hug. To outsiders it seemed like we haven’t seen each other in ages (when in truth we only last met around a week ago). I didn’t seem to understand why we hugged each other this tightly, either. Maybe I just missed him a lot. I have no idea.

            We pulled apart and I said, “Happy birthday, Natsuki.” I stood on tip-toe and kissed his cheek. Natsuki hugged me tightly again and whispered in my ear.

            “Thank you, ____-chan. I love you so much.”

            I smiled, returning his hug. “I love you, too.”

***

Natsuki opened the bag that contained my present to him. He pulled it out and immediately screamed, “This is so cute!” I giggled at the face he was making. “Thank you, ____-chan!”

            We were at the amusement park and we’d just finished eating lunch when I decided to give him my present. The Piyo-chan hugging another Piyo-chan looked pretty good. All of those pricks were worthwhile after all.

            “I’m glad you like it, Nacchan.” I smiled, pleased that he liked my gift.

            “Did you make this?” he said, alternating between looking at me and looking at the plushy. I nodded and he said, “How long did it take to make it?”

            “Oh, one, two weeks, I suppose,” I said aloud. Almost a month, I said in my head. It really didn’t help that I sucked so much on sewing. It was a really good thing that I decided to make it earlier than necessary…

            My boyfriend hugged the plushy to him, feeling its softness. He looked so cute that I had to fight the urge to give him a bone-crushing hug right now.

            But then, something popped into my head—something that I knew I had to do.

            I stood up, putting a hand on one of Natsuki’s arm. “Come on, Nacchan,” I said. “I want to show you something.” And he deposited the plushy back into the bag.

***

We were walking along the beach by the amusement park. It was near the middle of it that I stopped walking, causing Natsuki to stop, too, since he was holding my hand.

            “What is it, ____-chan?” he asked, moving closer to me, eyes filled with worry.

            I gulped. “Um… Natsuki?” He was as attentive as ever. “Could you, maybe, take off your glasses for a second?”

            He tilted his head to one side. “Why? Is there something on my face?” And then he started to feel his face for invisible specs of dirt.

            “No, no,” I said, taking him hands to stop them from moving. Quickly, I moved my fingers so they were gently holding the frames of his glasses. “Just a second, okay?” I whispered. I gently took them off.

SATSUKI

I glared down at Natsuki’s girlfriend.

            But no matter how much I disliked her, the way Natsuki’s face lit up whenever he thought of her always made me rethink my hate for her. Through all the shit I put her through before she and Natsuki got together, everything kept winding up and unraveling until I was about to go crazy.

            Then Natsuki and ____ shared their first kiss. And a flame burned inside me and I realized… I was jealous. I was jealous of Natsuki. I had no idea why. Maybe it was because he had someone to love him in the physical sense. Or maybe so he had someone to consciously lean to.

            I decided to just stop thinking about that for now. I would only lead to complications that this day couldn’t afford.

            “What do you want?” I growled, even though I didn’t mean to.

            ____ just reached inside her bag and pulled out a silver chain with a little ball hanging off it. She held it out to me.

            “Here,” she said, “this is for you.” I held out my hand and she put it around my wrist. I looked at it closely and noticed that the ball wasn’t a ball at all—it was a small yellow stone, sparkling under the sunlight.

            “I wasn’t sure if I should give it to you or not. I have no idea when your birthday is, but I made my decision.” She looked up at me, a determination in her (e/c) eyes. “Today will be your birthday, too. I want you to share the happiness with Natsuki.” ____ smiled.

            I just stared at her, not comprehending what she meant. It took me a few seconds to process it all: She wanted Natsuki and me to be happy at least one day of every year. It made me infinitesimally happier. Not that I would admit that out loud.

            I smirked at ____, saying something I never thought I would say in my whole life.

            “Thanks for this.” And then I took Natsuki’s glasses from one of her hands and put them on.

THE END