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Mahiru stabbed through a cherry tomato in her salad with her fork. Across the table, her girlfriend Hiyoko was inhaling a bowl of donburi. Hiyoko had always placed some amount of traditionalism on how she ate but all bets were off after one of her performances. She would always get that runner’s hunger, where it just couldn’t be sated. Mahiru had always referred to it as “Akane hunger”, but knowing Hiyoko’s predisposition to sometimes insult her classmates, she tended to keep comparisons to her classmates at a minimum. Plus, Hiyoko wasn’t like the rest of the class.
Hiyoko was the only girl she’d ever been into romantically. She could still remember a great deal of the struggle to figure it out. Did it start when Hiyoko needed help tying her kimono sash after gym class in their first year? Was it when she first saw her dancing, and couldn’t drag her eyes away for a single second? Was it when Hiyoko’s hand brushed against hers in class one day, leaving Mahiru feeling electrified? Was it the first time she found her mind wandering to Hiyoko after she came back from a break fully grown into her body?
“Hey Mahi-Mahi,” Hiyoko said, calling her by her pet name. “You’re spacing out again.”
“Ah! Sorry,” Mahiru replied. “Just thinking about how we first started going out.”
Hiyoko took another bite and chewed slowly. “Eh, when we started isn’t important. Is it? What matters is where we are.”
“I guess.” It was a challenge to get Hiyoko to realize she liked her too. Mahiru remembered the first time she’d tried to confess. Standing on the roof, having dropped a love note in Hiyoko’s locker. It took until late afternoon but Hiyoko finally came.
“Mahiru! Have you seen anybody up here? I got a note from a secret admirer,” Hiyoko said.
“Oh! Um…” Mahiru stuttered. She’d lost her confidence in that moment.
“You have, haven’t you! They probably promised to keep it a secret!” Hiyoko lightly punched her. “Tell me!”
“Well, Hiyoko,” Mahiru said quietly. “It was me. I like you, and I really want to go out with you.”
Hiyoko’s lip had started trembling. “No… Mahiru… we can’t…” Mahiru began to tear up.
“But why, Hiyoko?” A tear streaked down her cheek.
“It… it isn’t right… you know how traditional my family is…” Hiyoko said, tears beginning to form in her eyes too. And before Mahiru could say anything, Hiyoko ran through the door on the roof.
That had been the beginning of a really hard time. Mahiru didn’t come to class a few times after that. When Chiaki would come by to check up on her, Mahiru would just pretend to be sick.
“Mahi? You’re tearing up,” Hiyoko said, putting her chopsticks down.
“Am I?” Mahiru asked, rubbing her eyes free of moisture. Hiyoko studied her carefully.
“Mahiru Polaroid Koizumi,” Hiyoko said sternly. Hiyoko making up her middle name made Mahiru giggle a bit. “I know you too well. What’s wrong?”
“Hiyoko Obi Saonji,” Mahiru responded, trying to mimic Hiyoko’s energy. “It’s nothing to worry about. Just memories.” Hiyoko opened her mouth again to speak but Mahiru quickly kept talking. “So are you excited to go to girls’ night this week?”
Hiyoko still looked a bit troubled but she dropped it. “Yeah, I guess. Chiaki said this time we could play Just Dance, so maybe I can finally win at something. She has two left feet, after all.”
“Yeah, but you know how she can get sometimes when she enters Chiaki time. All bets are off after that.” ‘Chiaki time’ was a reference to an anime they had all been watching at one point, and it referred to the thing that happened when Chiaki would get really invested in winning a game. It didn’t matter what skills she had outside the game; it was almost as if her body was taken over by some other entity and she became amazing at the game.
“Psh, Chiaki time isn’t a real thing. Nothing that Gundham calls ‘being possessed by a demon from the second order of Leviathan’ can possibly be real,” Hiyoko said, rolling her eyes and mimicking their classmate’s distinct way of speaking.
“Heh, we’ll see about that,” Mahiru said. Hiyoko finished her bowl, slurping the last of the soup in a most unrefined way. “Sounds like you’re ready to go?”
“Yep! Let’s blow this popsicle stand!” Hiyoko said happily. Mahiru rolled her eyes as they walked to the counter to pay. Hiyoko reached for her own wallet but Mahiru was quicker, opening up her camera bag and putting the yen on the counter.
“Let me take care of this. It was my idea to go on this date after all,” she said. Hiyoko just hugged her briefly with a happy noise, and after getting her change and waving goodbye, they headed out the door and turned down the boulevard towards the sea. The sun was slowly descending in the sky. Mahiru had already figured out that if they left around this time, then they would probably get to the coast close to sunset.
As they walked along, Mahiru found herself starting to think about the winter festival of their senior year. Hiyoko and her had been avoiding each other for weeks, and their classmates hadn’t failed to notice.
“Mahiru~! You can’t tell me you aren’t going to go to the winter festival with us? It’ll be so boring!” Ibuki wailed as she sat with Mahiru in her room. Mahiru didn’t want to go. She’d been ducking her friends more and more recently if they were in a group. Hanging out with Mikan, Sato, and Ibuki individually was easy enough, but she knew at festivals they would all want to hang out in a group with Hiyoko.
‘It isn’t right.’ Those words still rang in her head. Mahiru’s feelings weren’t right? She’d known Hiyoko’s family was traditional and conservative, but she hadn’t pegged Hiyoko as going along with everything that they believed in. She guessed she was wrong.
“I just don’t feel up to going this year, Ibuki. I’ll make it up to you guys, ok?” Mahiru said.
“Ibuki knows why! It's about Hiyoko!” Ibuki replied. Mahiru almost took a double take.
“W-why would you think that?” Mahiru responded. Ibuki put a finger to her temple.
“After all our band practices together, Sayaka has taught me how to be psychic!” Ibuki explained, puffing her chest out. Mahiru facepalmed. Suddenly there was a knock on the door.
“Um, excuse me? May I come in?” Mikan’s quiet voice came from the other side of the door. There was another noise behind the door, but Mahiru couldn’t make it out. Ibuki stood up and walked over to the door.
“Of course you can, Mikan.” Wait. Why did Ibuki stress Mikan’s name like that? Ibuki threw open the door with a dramatic flourish, and in a flash a person was shoved into the room. “Superspy Psychic Ibuki out!” Ibuki ducked out of the room and slammed the door behind her. Mahiru sprung to her feet to look at the person who’d been shoved inside and she froze.
The figure was wearing a kimono with a pretty floral pattern. She immediately knew who it was, especially after the figure ran back up to the door and started banging on it. “Mikan, let us out you pig-barf! I’m gonna twist you into a pretzel when I get to you!”
“Nuh-uh,” Ibuki answered. “This door ain’t opening until you two figure out whatever issue you guys have!” Hiyoko tried in vain to get the door open, but it was no use. Maybe she’d glued it shut or something, but whatever Mikan and Ibuki had done to the door, it wasn’t going to budge. A few minutes passed as Hiyoko hurled every insult she could think of at the girls on the other side of the door before taking a deep breath.
“I guess we do need to talk, Mahiru,” she said quietly. “About what happened on the roof-”
“Mahiru!” Present day Hiyoko’s voice jerked her back into reality as a hand yanked her backwards, causing her to fall. A car sped by, honking its horn. “Go to hell, asshole!” Hiyoko yelled back before helping Mahiru up. “You almost walked into the street. Mahi, tell me what’s going on, or I’m not moving from this spot.” She crossed her arms as if she was a petulant teenager again.
“I was just thinking again about how we started dating. I guess I got wrapped up in that and stopped focusing on where I was walking,” Mahiru replied.
“Is that all?” Hiyoko stepped in, and Mahiru could watch as her orange eyes burned into hers. “Is somebody messing with you at work? Do I need to kick some ass?”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” Mahiru said, trying to placate her. “Don’t worry about it. Let’s just get to the beach; the sunset will be great!”
Hiyoko still looked troubled, but the walk sign came on and Mahiru grabbed her by the hand, heading quickly to the beach.
The sunsets near Towa City were normally really beautiful, and the beaches on the west side of the island were usually not as busy as the eastern ones, even at this time. Today was no exception as the two approached. The sun was starting to get low in the sky as Mahiru took off her shoes and stripped off her socks. Hiyoko just had to take off her sandals, and they began to walk along the beach.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Mahiru asked her.
“Yeah, it really is,” Hiyoko agreed. The sand was cooling, just the perfect temperature to walk on. They got closer to the water and Mahiru felt the waves lap at their feet. Everything was starting to feel exactly right.
As they walked, holding hands, Mahiru picked right back up at where she left off.
“-I…” Hiyoko trailed off, looking down at the ground.
“No, I get it. Your family has strong beliefs. I’m sure some of that rubbed off at least,” Mahiru said, holding back her emotions about the whole thing. “It’s ok, I understand. I hope that we can still be friends Hi-”
“No! You don’t get it! You don’t understand!” Hiyoko snapped, looking up at her and startling Mahiru. There were tears beginning to form in her eyes. “Don’t you get it Mahiru? I like you too! But I’m torn between you and the people who raised me!”
“Y-you do?” Mahiru said. There were tears forming for her too, despite the feeling of hope swelling in her chest.
Tears began to roll down Hiyoko’s cheeks as she grabbed Mahiru and hugged her. Mahiru felt her shirt getting wet as Hiyoko began to cry. “I don’t know what to do Mahiru. How do I even pick that? I thought the best way forward would just be to reject you, but I can’t stop thinking about you. What do I do, Mahi?” Hiyoko looked up, sniffling. “You’ve got all the answers normally...”
Selfishly, Mahiru knew what she wanted to say. She wanted to tell Hiyoko to choose her, but that wouldn’t be right. “Hiyoko… it sounds like you’re choosing between your head and your heart. I can’t decide that for you, but I can be here for you to support you, no matter what you choose.”
“Just hearing you say that… helps me choose…” Hiyoko said. She backed away and wiped her face with her kimono sleeve. “I choose you, Mahiru.”
Mahiru giggled involuntarily. Hiyoko looked at her. “What’s got you laughing?”
Mahiru gave her a small peck on the cheek. “I’m just so happy to be here with you.” Hiyoko blushed madly as they finally reached the jetty at the end of the beach. Mahiru took a deep breath, much more confident now. They watched as the sun began to sink below the water, casting an orange glow across all of them. Mahiru raised her camera and snapped a picture of Hiyoko. The golden hour really suited her as she looked away towards the water, giving the photo a more candid look.
“Mahi!” she exclaimed.
“Sorry,” Mahiru said in a very unapologetic tone, sliding her camera back into her bag. “I couldn’t help myself.”
“Guess that’s what I get, dating the Ultimate Photographer,” Hiyoko replied. Mahiru looked around. The sun setting, the lighting, the mood; everything was ready.
“Hiyoko, I need you to close your eyes,” Mahiru said.
Hiyoko raised her eyebrow. “Why?”
“Just do it.” Hiyoko covered her eyes, but Mahiru could still see her peeking out from between her fingers. “No, you have to cover them, Hiyoko. This is a surprise.”
“Ugh, fine, Mahi,” Hiyoko grumbled as she kept her fingers closed. Mahiru pulled the thing out and got ready, taking deep breaths.
“Ok, open your eyes,” Mahiru said. Hiyoko opened her eyes and gasped. Mahiru was on one knee. The orange light made her red hair look like a fiery halo. It also sparkled off of the diamond ring that lay inside the ring box in her hand. “Hiyoko Saonji,” Mahiru started. “We’ve been through so much together. When you’re by my side, I feel like I can overcome anything. I know there will be struggles, both for people to accept us and to be together. I love you, Hiyoko Saonji. Will you do me the honor of being my wife?”
Hiyoko had tears in her eyes as she looked down at her. “Oh, Mahiru,” she started before jumping onto her, knocking her over and landing on top of her. They locked lips for several seconds before Hiyoko broke away. “Yes, yes, one million times yes! Of course I’ll marry you, Mahiru Koizumi!” They shared another passionate kiss, for the moment just in their own world; only the two of them and their love for one another mattered, as the sun set below the sea.