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September 19 was a special day. It was the day Nathaniel Bacon burned Jamestown to the ground. It was the day the First Continental Congress passed the first US budget. It marked the signing of peace between Finland and the Soviet Union. However, a Japanese schoolgirl couldn’t run around memorizing dates of momentous occasions in history. For Tsushima Yoshiko, the golden aspect of September 19 was that it was her girlfriend’s, Sakurauchi Riko’s, birthday.
To Yoshiko, Riko was perfect; she could create lists upon lists without end describing her positive attributes. She could go on rambling about how flawless her pianist girlfriend was, but even with her relative social ineptitude, she knew better. The vibrating strings that sent sound waves through a room whenever Riko struck a piano key absolutely mesmerized Yoshiko; whenever Riko thought she was alone in the music room, Yoshiko would always use her secret fallen angel powers to sneakily conceal herself and listen in on what she was playing. It was when Riko’s fingers flew across the butterfly keys that Yoshiko thought she was most beautiful; her radiant shine was particularly bright when playing the old instrument. When Yoshiko went to Riko’s house, she would always ask her to play a song on the piano; whether it was from the Baroque period or a new contemporary song, Yoshiko always thoroughly enjoyed listening to it.
Yoshiko woke up early on the morning of September 19; she wanted to make sure that this would be one of the most enjoyable days of Riko’s life. Riko had transformed July 13 of that current year from another birthday to a spectacular birthday, and Yoshiko wanted to return the favor. Hearing her alarm shout, her rational process and bodily functions all indicated that she should continue sleeping; however, she moved heaven and earth to pull herself out of bed when the hour hand of the clock had only moved 120 degrees clockwise of the large 12. She initialized her morning routine, taking a trip to the bathroom and cleaning her teeth. Looking out of the window, she saw the night sky that hosted the myriads of stars that all shimmered brightly. If I find a star, I’m naming it after Riri, she thought to herself as she absentmindedly performed her usual routine.
She ended her morning schedule with a simple breakfast of some of the leftovers from yesterday’s dinner. Her mother was still fast asleep; she hadn’t informed anyone except for one person of her plans for September 19. After devouring her breakfast, she pulled out a list of activities she had compiled the previous night, quickly reviewing her plan. She scribbled on a nearby piece of paper that she had plans to make sure that her mother wasn’t going to excessively worry about her whereabouts during the daylight hours.
Between five and six-thirty antemeridian, Yoshiko stayed near the large beach in Uchiura. In the hours of the early morning, the breeze almost approached gale levels, though the strong winds never quite accelerated to that degree. She stood up sometimes, looking out into the sea. The early morning brought no human distractions, and Yoshiko reflected on her potential future. The dark sky held no secrets; as much as she would have liked to decipher fates based on the positioning of the stars, her excitement about the day ahead of her hindered her too much.
When the wavelengths of dark red light began piercing the horizon to her east, she knew it was time to move; she had to make haste of her daylight hours with Riko. As the red ball of plasma rose in the sky in the land of the rising sun, Yoshiko trudged to Riko’s house, hoping to surprise her with the first item on her agenda.
It was seven-thirty in the morning when Yoshiko finally managed to make it to her destination. The one person she happened to inform about her plans was Riko’s mother; she sounded ecstatic when Yoshiko told her about the schedule for Riko’s birthday. After thrice knocking on Riko’s door, Mrs. Sakurauchi opened it to greet Yoshiko. “Ah, Yoshiko-chan, you’re here! Unfortunately, Riko isn’t awake, but I’m confident a few tolls of the bell will do the trick.”
“A fallen angel as powerful needs no mortal tools to send mere humans into a frenzy,” Yoshiko replied, entering her classic fallen angel pose.
“She’s all yours.”
Yoshiko marched to the second story of the house, stopping when she reached Riko’s room. After stopping, she took a large breath, yelling, “RIRI! WAKE UP!”
At the door, Yoshiko excitedly waited for a few seconds for Riko’s appearance. When a disgruntled Riko opened the door with some black splotches under her eyes, she said, “Yocchan, remember what I said? Don’t wake me up early unless it’s really important or you have Chopin concert tickets.”
Yoshiko only grinned in response, raising two fingers in Riko’s face. “Guess what, Riri?”
“You didn’t,” Riko said, her eyes widening.
“That’s right, the great fallen angel Yohane snatched some Chopin concert tickets; the reverly begins in only one twelvth of the time it takes for the earth to half rotate around its axis, so you’d better get ready for the festivities, little demon Riri.”
Riko jumped onto Yoshiko like a feral dog. “Thank you, Yocchan. Don’t you hate classical music though?”
Yoshiko adamantly stood tall, spreading her arms to increase her wingspan. “Why, Riri! This is a day for you; the great angel Yohane, in her magnanimity, must place her concerns second after her loyal little demon’s welfare.” She paused for a bit before continuing on with the rest of her declaration, which she thought was slightly embarrassing. “Plus, the fallen angel is always happy when her most loyal little demon is around.”
Riko swooned before grabbing Yoshiko’s cheeks. “Aw, where did I get such a romantic girlfriend from?”
“R-Riri! Stop this behavior at once!”
Riko took her hands off Yoshiko, smiling. “Well, I’ll get dressed, and then we can go to the concert.”
The concert began with one of Chopin’s most famous pieces, Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2. Yoshiko recognized this song because she had heard Riko play it on Uranohoshi’s piano many times in the past. Riri plays better than these old slouches, even though their musical talent is on par with many heavenly beings I’ve encountered, Yoshiko thought as she listened to the orchestra play. After they finished performing Op. 9 No. 2, she tried to clap at their performance; however, Riko held her hand in front of her, saying, “Yocchan, don’t clap during classical music concerts.”
Yoshiko looked around, and, seeing that no one else was clapping, listened to Riko. As the concert went on, she could see Riko’s excitement; she knew that Riko had always wished to go to a Chopin concert, and she had made sure that her wish would be granted. She listened to the orchestra play, their instruments in perfect harmony, as she watched Riko, though she couldn’t overcome her discontent toward classical music; she eventually fell asleep slightly after the second intermission.
When the concert ended, and Riko turned over to Yoshiko, she saw Yoshiko’s sleeping figure. This will be great material, she thought as she snapped a picture. “Yocchan? Concert’s over,” she said, poking Yoshiko.
Yoshiko woke in a frenzy. “Riri! You scared me!”
“Take a look at this,” Riko said, showing Yoshiko the picture of her sleeping.
Yoshiko’s face became redder than the reddest cherry. “Delete that immediately, little demon Riri! Anyway, it’s time for the next thing to do. Riri, what time is it?”
“Yocchan, it’s 7:00 pm. The concert was surprisingly long, though I didn’t dislike that.”
What! Is it that late? Yoshiko’s head spun as her plans were mostly foiled, but she did have one last item on her list to do. “Little demon Riri, follow me! There is still one item that must be accomplished!”
“Lead the way, Yocchan.”
Yoshiko took Riko’s hand and led her out of the concert hall. They navigated Uchiura, taking a look at the masterful combination of modern and traditional architecture that made up the city’s buildings. They passed Chika’s inn, where Shiitake was. When she began chasing Riko, Riko screamed. Yoshiko leaped into action, spreading her wings to activate her secret fallen angel powers. “Stay away from the most loyal of Yohane, Riri, wild beast that roams throughout the lands of the rising sun!” Shiitake seemed to take the hint, and she ran into the inn; it was more likely that Chika had prepared some food.
When Yoshiko stopped, they were at the pier, and it was sunset. “Yocchan? Why did you bring me here?” Riko asked.
“I, the great fallen angel Yohane, found it appropriate to bring you to this location at this time of day. This is the optimal spot for the presentation of your reward for your loyalty as my number one little demon. When you first entered the dominion of Uchiura, you were welcomed here to signal a new era. I hereby bring you here again to bring forth the dawn of a new age. To mark upon you the beginnings of a great time, I bestow a pendant made of the finest jade.”
Yoshiko took a small necklace out of her pocket, and it did not disappoint. The gemstone attached to it had the finest luster, and the albedo from it was high; the glint was blinding. It seemed deep and beautiful as if it contained dark secrets from the past. While it was not the largest, it was certainly high quality. She took the necklace and placed it above Riko’s head. “Number one little demon Riri, will you accept this gift to mark not only your dedicated service but also to herald the day of your birth?”
Riko sobbed tears of happiness. “Of course, Yocchan, of course I will.” After Yoshiko placed the necklace on Riko’s neck, they both embraced each other, with Riko’s tears dropping on Yoshiko’s shoulders. “Yocchan, I love you so so much; how was I so lucky to find a girlfriend like you?”
“Little demon Riri, the highest divine forces knew you were in need of a loving partner.”
“Aw, Yocchan, you’re so romantic.” They intertwined their hands together, deciding to watch the sunset on the pier to commemorate the occasion; Yoshiko drew the character “爱” to celebrate their love.