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“No peeking!”
“I’m not peeking, Kocho.”
“You better not be!!! Alright…. one more second… and… open!!!”
Giyu Tomioka opened his eyes to find a small object in his hands. It was small, sharp, and heavy. There were engravings of waves wrapped around a cool, metal handle at the base of a thin, flat blade. At first he thought it was a knife, but upon further inspection, he realized it was something else entirely.
“Happy Birthday, Tomioka-san!”
“…what is it?,” Giyu asked as he turned to his girlfriend.
Shinobu Kocho looked mildly annoyed at his incompetence, but smirked at him and answered anyways.
“It’s a letter opener, silly!,” she said, “that way, when you get all of those college acceptance letters in the mail, you’ll open them and think of me! Look, I had it personalized for you!”
Giyu looked closer at the wave engravings. They were meticulously crafted with the utmost care and precision. He traces the engravings to the other side of the handle, where the name, “TOMIOKA” was oh-so-carefully chiseled.
“I had them put your last name instead of your first so I could also claim ownership of it if we get married,” Shinobu jeered as she wrapped herself around his arm. She turned to look at him, but she couldn’t quite get a read on his emotions. Slowly, her smile started to fade, and worry immediately set in.
“You… you do like it, don’t you?”
“Of course, baby, I love it.”
She gripped onto his arm even tighter. He put the letter opener down to wrap both his arms around the girl sitting at his side. Shinobu buried her head into his shoulder.
“I was so worried you were gonna think it was weird. Iguaro said it was a little odd, but Mitsuri said she liked it. I mean, I’ve never bought a birthday gift for a partner before, so I didn’t know what was too much and what wasn’t enough, or if personalizing it was tacky or cheeky or-“
Giyu quickly silenced her with a kiss. It was short, sweet, and as gentle as the soft tides. As soon as he pulled away he looked directly into her lavender eyes.
“I love it. And I love you.”
Shinobu giggled and kissed him back before turning her attention back to the gift.
“Promise you’ll use it?”
“I promise.”
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One year later.
They had graduated high school. His college acceptance letters remained untouched. Her schedule became increasingly packed with new university classes and assignments.
They had been broken up for six months.
He was going through some of the hardest months of his life. She wished she could help, but she knew it was best if she didn’t. What was once an innocent blooming high school romance had snowballed into a mountain of pain, regret, and sorrow.
As Giyu walked into the living room of his apartment, he tossed his mail onto the table. Bills and bills and bills. Nothing to write home about.
However, something did catch his eye: a birthday card from his sister all the way across the Pacific Ocean. Giyu carefully picked up the card and motioned to open it before he stopped himself. He walked over to his closet and, after searching through a box of old memories, picked up a familiar letter opener.
It was a bit dusty, but it was still as sharp as ever. With one rapid swish, he cleanly opened the envelope. But instead of taking a look at the letter inside, he instead continued to look at the tool in his hand and all of its ornate engravings. He quickly became lost in every line, every indentation, and every marking. The craftsmanship was absolutely incredible, moreso than he had ever realized before. It was just a small letter opener, but to Giyu, it was nothing short of beautiful.
She was right. He did think of her.