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1.
“Happy birthday!”
Five-year-old Kazuha cheers as his parents surround him, candles illuminating his face in soft golden light. With all the impatience of childhood, he immediately moves to blow the flames out before a hand rests gently on his arm.
“Don’t you want to make a wish?” his mother asks, her smile as kind as it is worn.
“Oh, right!” Kazuha leans back, mulling over his wish before he moves forward again and blows all the candles out in one try.
The room erupts in noise, and a familiar hand ruffles Kazuha’s hair. “What did you wish for, son?” His father’s voice is full of laughter as he grabs a knife to cut the cake.
Kazuha doesn’t answer at first, remembering a superstition he’d overheard one of the housekeepers say one time. If you tell someone your wish, it won’t come true. But surely, if his father’s the one asking it should be fine.
“I wished for mom to get better, so we can all go to Inazuma City together like you said,” he says, already more interested in actually eating the cake now. He misses the look passed between his parents, barely registering his mother’s cold grasp on his arm tightening for a moment. He starts to turn to her to understand her reaction better, but then a slice of cake is placed in front of him and his other thoughts fade away.
(His mother isn’t around for his sixth birthday. He thinks it’s because he said his wish out loud.)
(Years later, he knows the truth. His wish was never going to come true.)
(Still, he tries not to speak of his birthday wishes after that. Just in case.)
2.
Kazuha’s first breaths into adulthood are heavy with recently fallen rain, the remaining Kaedehara servants around him.
“Master, are you sure?” one of the maids asks, as if this time he’ll give a different answer. “It’s not too late for the Kaedehara Clan. You could be the revival.”
Kazuha’s voice is gentle as he shakes his head. “My father devoted his life to reviving this clan. I think it is time to let things fall as they seem destined to.” The maid looks almost sad at his statement, but there are no other arguments against him. “I have left glowing references for everyone who remained in service all these years. The Tenryou Commission will take back the house tomorrow.” He hesitates here, once again regretful that he could not give the servants more time to find a job before the chips fell. “Should any of you struggle to find employment after this, reach out to the Yashiro Commission for aid.”
The servants nod silently one by one, the only sound around them being the steady dripping of waterlogged leaves. Satisfied, Kazuha gives a small smile. He starts to say his final goodbye, but the maid who spoke earlier rushes forward and grasps his hand, pressing something into it.
“Thank you for everything, Ma- Kaedehara. And from all of us here, we hope you have a happy birthday.” Kazuha blinks in surprise, looking at the small bag of baked goods now in his hand. All the servants are smiling, and for a moment a deep well of emotion threatens to choke him.
It takes a noticeable effort to keep his voice steady as he says, “Thank you, for this and everything you’ve done for me up to this point. Farewell. I hope your paths lead you to great places.” With that, Kazuha turns and begins his journey alone. After the sun has climbed to the top of the sky, he opens the bag and eats one of the pastries.
It’s delicious.
3.
Tomo likes to use his vision to make Kazuha’s hair stand on end in the morning. When he wakes up on his birthday to Tomo’s cackling, he knows today is no different.
Kazuha sits up with a sigh, and Tomo laughs louder as the static turns his usually confined hair into a mess. Reaching up, even he starts laughing at just how far his hair is sticking.
“How did you even manage this?” Kazuha asks between chuckles, giving up on making his hair lie flat.
Tomo wears a familiar mischievous grin. “Well, it’s your birthday, so obviously I had to make sure I gave an extra effort today. It’s your gift!”
Tama chooses that moment to decide that Kazuha’s hair is a new toy to play with, leaping onto his head with her claws outstretched. Tomo curses, jumping up to disentangle the cat from Kazuha.
By the time Tama is safely ensconced in Tomo’s robes, Kazuha’s hair is an unsalvageable mess. “I’m so sorry Kazuha, I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
Kazuha gives a defeated sigh, shoulders shaking with quiet laughter. “It’s fine,” he says, voice full of mirth as he ties his hair back as best he can. “The true gift was that of laughter. I’ve experienced more disparate birthdays.”
Tomo’s face softens at the words, and he reaches out to fix the strands of pale hair still sticking out. “I was joking though. I do have an actual gift for you.” He pulls out a woven red tassel, showing the rope creation in his hands. “You uhh… you mentioned wanting a better place to put your vision since you’ve been keeping it on your sword since you got it. I figured you could tie it to your shoulder… or something?”
Kazuha blinks in surprise. He’d made the comment in passing a few weeks after receiving his vision, never expecting anything to come of it. Tomo looks anxious as Kazuha gazes at the red tassel, as if he is worried the samurai will reject the gift.
With a strange, warm emotion welling up in his chest, Kazuha asks, “Will you tie it for me?”
Tomo perks up at the words, letting Tama down to tie the red rope around Kazuha’s left shoulder, hands gentle as they brush against his clothes. He feels it tighten, and then the weight of his vision settles against his shoulder. Tomo’s hands linger, and suddenly Kazuha hears another snort of laughter. “It’s a good thing we aren’t going to town- oof!” Kazuha elbows him in the gut, startling a pained noise from his friend. “Hey! That was a mean way to thank me for the gift.”
Kazuha laughs as Tomo tries to fix his hair again, paying no attention to the way his vision carries the same feeling as Tomo’s fingers against his back.
4.
Good things aren’t designed to last forever. Kazuha knows this better than anyone.
He spends his next birthday among raging seas, the Alcor rocking about as the wind carries them across the ocean. But Kazuha can hardly focus on any of it because Tomo-
Tomo’s vision is heavy against his shoulder, as empty as Kazuha feels. Gone are the days of static hair and easy laughs, a small white cat bounding between them. Instead, he feels himself drifting further and further away from his homeland. And while he’d always wanted to see the world, he cannot stop himself from resenting the circumstances that finally let him do so.
He wishes he hadn’t subconsciously kept track of time, that his birthday had just skipped him by.
Captain Beidou is the one on night watch as Kazuha wanders out of the sleeping quarters, moon high in the sky. If it’d been anyone else, he would’ve tried to sneak his way to the bow of the ship. But he has no doubt the captain would be aware of his movement, so he saves them both the trouble of pretending otherwise and simply goes to her first.
As expected, Beidou does not seem surprised to see him. She doesn’t even acknowledge him beyond a raised eyebrow. Kazuha sits on the ground with one leg over the side of the raised platform, leaning against the railing as he watches the stars.
No one on the ship knows his birthday. He can’t help but feel fiercely glad for that fact. The last thing he’d want is to have the shipmates try to throw a celebration for him when he only wants to disappear.
As the night gets darker and colder, he’s startled from his thoughts when a blanket is placed around his shoulders. Beidou returns to her position at the helm, eyes fixated on the sea beyond them, but he sees her lip curl up in a smile as he pulls the blanket tighter around himself.
It’s the warmest Kazuha’s felt since storming Tenshukaku. Beidou, thankfully, does not comment on the way his shoulders shake from something other than the cold. By the time he stills, eyes dry once more, the weight of the masterless vision against his back seems to fade slightly.
5.
Kazuha feels lighthearted as he steps into Port Ormos, the breeze pleasantly warm against his skin. He’d been able to smell the spices from a ways off from the port, but the scent is significantly more prevalent in the town itself. His stomach rumbles in anticipation of a delicious meal.
“Hey, Kaedehara Kid! Just because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you can slack off!” Juza calls from where he is unloading cargo. Kazuha hurries back to the ship to help, and everything is finished before the sun is even halfway up in the sky.
“So,” Beidou starts, slinging her arm around his shoulders, “what are you looking to do today? Anything’s on the table for your birthday.”
Kazuha can’t help but smile at how similar the words are to his father’s all those years ago. “I was hoping to explore the surrounding mountains. Perhaps I might write some poetry.”
Beidou laughs, deep and hearty. “Yep, that’s our Kazuha. I take it you wanna be left alone for that?” He nods, grateful as always that the captain can read his needs so easily. “We’ll scout out a bar or three, we can all celebrate together tonight.”
“Thank you, Captain.”
Beidou squeezes him once before she lets him go with a hair ruffle. Juza laughs at whatever state she leaves his hair in, but Kazuha can’t bring himself to fix it. Instead, he waves to the crew and starts his trek into the mountains, excited both for the journey ahead of him and for the family he will return to.