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Hitori Gotoh had found herself in an unexpected conundrum—— she had no idea what to get Kita for her birthday.
Or in that case, she didn’t specifically need to get her anything, they could always do something else instead! Like maybe go somewhere, like a restaurant! Or an amusement park! And maybe they can even have a sleepover right after——
Hitori: [No!!]
Hitori put both her hands on her head and unconsciously ruffled her pink hair, attempting to stop pursuing the previous train of thought. It wasn’t that she hated the idea, she probably even wanted it, but the thought just seems to throw her off balance.
Ikuyo Kita was a very sociable person, she was leagues above Hitori when it came to that. Hitori could never comprehend what goes inside an extrovert’s head, and that’s come to shoot herself in the foot. She couldn’t know just what an extrovert like Kita could possibly want for her birthday.
What if it wasn’t enough? What if it didn’t meet her standards? Would Kita think that Hitori didn’t care enough about her? Would Kita stop being friends with Hitori after that happens? Would Kita hate Hitori?
Hitori: [——.]
Her heart sank at the thought, so she went to bury it as deep as she could.
Hitori: [Seriously—— What’s wrong with it, you.]
Her focus shifted to her guitar case, and what was hanging from one of its zippers’ sliders— a key chain, shaped like a star. It was the gift Kita had given to Hitori on her birthday, and remembering that only made Hitori start sulking more about the fact that she still doesn’t even have anything planned for Kita’s.
Hitori: [Ah, I’m such a good-for-nothing.]
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[ Happy birthday Kita-chan !!! ]
As soon as Kita entered the classroom, a multitude of voices greeted her. Her classmates were all positioned to be waiting in front of the door, with the people in the center holding a cake that simply had “Happy Birthday Ikuyo Kita” written on it. But that was already to be expected. It has always been like this after all. Kita was popular, probably one of the most in the school, so it wasn’t extraordinary for the whole class to greet her on her birthday.
Kita: [Aw!!! Thanks everyone!!]
——in the end, it wasn’t anything special.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t grateful, she cherished these moments. But she couldn’t deny that she’d sometimes wish for something different.
And that’s exactly why she was looking forward to today, things are different now. Kita had made new friends, she joined Kessoku Band, and most importantly—— ignoring the surprise that her classmates had prepared for her, Kita ran to the back of the classroom, heading for a specific corner, and then——
And then——
—and then she was met with an empty chair.
Kita: [Eh…?]
Kita: [Where’s Hitori-chan?]
——The person Kita had looked forward to seeing the most had disappeared.
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In a dark corner of the campus—— in a place no human would dare walk into, inside dwelled a——
——a pink sludge.
This was one of Hitori’s numerous hiding spots. This was one of the places she would run off to when her energy gets drained from socializing too much— if you could even call it that. This was one of the places she would also go to when she gets too stressed and needed time to calm herself alone. And this time, it was the latter. She was stressed, she was stressed because of Kita. It was her birthday, and Hitori is scared to even face her. So she hid in a safe spot, where she could be alone.
???: [Hitori-chan? What are you doing here?]
—At least that’s what it was supposed to be.
As those words sounded out through the empty corner, accompanied by the complete silence of the uninhabited space, the voice reverberated inside Hitori’s head. It was a mark, the signal— Hitori was found. That sound had marked that—
“Ah. It’s over.”
Hitori: [K–K–Kita-san?!?! How’d you find me??!]
The girl just gave her a knowing smile, one that radiated so much extrovert energy it almost vaporized Hitori. Though she’d probably just melt into a pink puddle instead of evaporating.
Kita: [I’ve spent enough time with you to know where you’d most likely be at times like this, y’know?]
Hitori: [A–ah, I see…]
Managing to let out a small voice, Hitori responded.
[———]
Kita: [So…? What’s wrong?]
Hitori: [Huh…? W–what do you mean? N–nothing’s wrong at a–all!]
Hitori stuttered, more than she unusually should’ve. Even she could tell that she was doing a terrible job at lying.
Kita: [Mhm. Sure nothing is.]
To add salt to the wound, Kita’s remarks only made it seem like she wasn’t being taken seriously.
Kita: [Look, Hitori-chan. If it’s about my birthday, you don’t have to worry about—]
Kita knew Hitori—or at least she thinks she does. And that gave her enough reason to think that Hitori was bound to be stressed when it comes to something like thinking of a birthday present, and she can’t really blame her for that. Kita wasn’t one to care much for the gifts she received on her birthday, though she does use them, sentimental value can only come close to none. But this time, it could be—it will be different. If it was from Hitori, as long as it was from Hitori, she was sure she would cherish it. Which is why, she can reassure her that—,
Hitori: [Th–th–that’s not it!!!]
But that wasn’t the case. The true reason why Hitori had run away—the reason why she couldn’t face Kita. It was not because she wasn’t prepared, nor was it because she wasn’t confident, but simply—
Kita: [...Hm? So, what is it then?]
Hitori: [I–. I–I was just wondering if……]
Kita: [...?]
Hitori: [Hello Kita-san, it's great to see you. I hope you've been doing well. I wanted to extend a formal invitation to you to join me on a trip to the aquarium. As someone who loves marine life, I think you'll find it to be a fascinating and educational experience.
An aquarium is an incredible place where we can observe and learn about a wide variety of marine species, from tiny seahorses to massive whales. We can see them up close and in their natural habitats, and the staff is always available to answer any questions we may have. I was thinking that we could go this coming weekend, if that works for you. We can explore the different exhibits, watch feeding demonstrations, and even participate in some of the interactive activities that the aquarium offers. It would be great to have you along, and I think we'll have a wonderful time. What do you say?]
Kita: [Don’t use ChatGPT for a casual conversation !!!]
—embarassment. Hitori was too embarrassed to ask Kita out on a̶ ̶d̶a̶t̶e̶ her birthday.
Kita: [——But, wait a minute… Were you asking me out on a date?!]
Hitori: [H–Hueh?! N–no!! I–It’s just an outing between f–friends!! I m–mean, u–uh.]
Kita: [Ahah. I’m just teasing you. Though don’t take it lightly, you remember my promise, don’t you?]
Kita liked Hitori. Kita liked how she acts, and how she reacts. Each of these things that Hitori does, Kita found cute, and she couldn’t help herself at times, wanting to get certain reactions out of Hitori. And even then, the idea of a “date” wasn’t something that she can only joke about. Because no matter what, she will fulfill her promise.
——Kita will make Hitori fall in love with her.
Not necessarily now, but she would make it happen.
Hitori: [A–ah, yes…]
Kita: [Mhm. Well, the teacher should be looking for us by now, we should go back.]
Hitori: [R–right…!!]
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Excited as Kita was, the time it took for classes to end took longer in her perspective. Meanwhile, nervous as Hitori was, it seemed like time went by in a single blink—and she now found herself near the campus gate.
Kita: [Hitori-chan! Ready to go?]
Hitori: [M–mh?! Y–yeah!]
And so—, with Hitori leading the way, they both headed to the aquarium just as planned, and when they arrived—
Kita: [Ah– it’s closed.]
——just like that, said plans were canceled.
Hitori: [I–I s–swear it wasn’t like this th–the last time I came here! I’m so sorry for wasting your time I knew I shouldn’t have attempted to even invite you out to a place like this I know I’m not worthy enough and it also ended up being a failure I’m so sorry you probably could’ve used the time to do something better but I just ended up using that for nothing I’m so sorry please forgive me I promise I won’t do something like this again—]
Kita: [Wait, wait, wait! Hitori-chan! It’s fine! We can go somewhere else! I mean—, the others should be waiting for us at STARRY for quite some time now, the earlier we get back the better…!]
Hitori: [I–I’m sorry…]
Trying to comfort Hitori’s failed attempt at an outing, Kita suggested they go back to the live house. Tracing back the path they took toward the unfortunately closed-down aquarium, they walked their way back to Shuka High, and from there took the usual walk towards Shimokitazawa.
And before long, the sun had already set.
Kita: [Ah, the stars are already visible.]
Hitori: [They are…]
The sky was painted with a dark hue of blue, not dark enough to be littered with starry white dots, but enough to give room for the ones that shone the brightest to be visible.
Kita: [Mm, look, look over there, see that red star?]
Hitori: [Y–yeah…]
Kita pointed at one of the visible stars, it was easy to locate due to its different color from the other ones, and also because there were only a few visible ones to begin with.
Kita: [That’s Betelgeuse! And look, see those two other bright stars? Those are Sirius and Procyon, they make a triangle with Betelgeuse called the winter triangle! They’re the three brightest stars from their constellations… If I remember correctly.]
Hitori: [Wow… you sure know a lot about stars.]
Hitori voiced out her surprise at Kita’s knowledge, she didn’t take her as someone who was interested in astronomy—— and also that this was the first time she had ever talked about them.
Kita: [Mmhhh, well, it’s partially your fault.]
Hitori: [H–huh? Me??]
And more surprised she was after hearing that she had been the reason for it.
Kita: [Yeah, even since you wrote “If I Could Be a Constellation”, I’ve had a sudden interest in stars, y’know?]
——And suddenly, a thought intruded inside Hitori’s head,
Hitori: [Ah, Siriusly?]
Kita: [———]
Hitori: [———]
Kita: [———]
[——————————]
—an intrusive bad joke.
Hitori: [I’m sorry—]
——But even then, unexpected laughter echoed throughout the quiet road they walked.
Kita: [Pfffftttt! Pfffhahahahahahah!! That’s— Ahahahahah—]
Hitori: [K–Kita-san?!]
Kita: [Ahahah… I’m sorry, I’m sorry, —hk. I laughed more than I should’ve.]
After the laughter had calmed down, both girls continued back walking—, though accompanied by a comfortable silence once more. Some time ago, a setting like this would fluster both of them to death, and maybe too literally for Hitori—and maybe that did happen once, but right now, it was nothing but calming to them.
Kita: [Hitori-chan? Something on your mind?]
Hitori: [A–ah? W–what made you think that?]
The reason for Kita’s inquiry, was the expression seldom plastered on Hitori’s face. Something Kita treasured whenever she got the infrequent chance to witness it. That being—
Kita: [It’s really rare to see you smile.]
Upon noticing the form her own face had shaped into, Hitori immediately—— did nothing and continued smiling. What she would normally do, after finding out that she was smiling—a face unbefitting for someone like her—was take that smile off her face. However, that wasn’t the case this time, because even if she wanted to, she couldn’t take that smile off. Because—
Hitori: [I’m just glad.]
——Because it was the proof of the boundless happiness she felt at that moment.
Kita: [Glad?]
Hitori: [Yeah.]
Kita: [Why is that?]
The road they walked was still lonely, only their voices and the buzzing of street lights breaking the never-ending silence, and it was something that brought something back to Hitori—
Hitori: [Say, Kita-san, doesn’t this feel like that one time?]
Kita: [...When exactly?]
Deciding to put that aside for now, Hitori digressed to another subject. That being—,
Hitori: [Kita-san——.]
Kita: [——?]
The atmosphere being reminiscent of the day Kita professed her love for Hitori, and announcing that she will make Hitori feel the same way, it was a day that’s forever engrained in Hitori, whether she’d admit it or not. And just as more stars had started sparkling to become more visible in the sky above them, Hitori thought that this was the perfect moment, the perfect moment to—,
Hitori: [Happy birthday, Kita-san.]
And so, Hitori pulled out a white box laced with a red ribbon from her bag—— her gift for Kita. As for the latter, she was so immersed in simply being in Hitori’s company that she had totally forgotten it was her birthday. Now being reminded of it, she took the box and untied the knot. Opening the box, the inside was revealed to be a—
Kita: [This is…]
Hitori: [I’m sorry… I–I didn’t know what to get s–so… I remembered what you got me for my birthday and… so I got this instead.]
—A group of stars, held together by a single thread as if to form a constellation—, and in the very center, a crescent moon shone brightly. The gift that Hitori had handed to her, was a bracelet that held the very stars in the sky.
Kita: [I love it.]
Hitori: [R–really…?]
Kita: [Yes, I love it. Thank you, Hitori-chan.]
Something special was something Kita had always hoped to get on her birthday, something that wasn’t a mere materialistic gift to her, something she wanted to hold close to her heart. And she may have just gotten that today. Even if wasn’t an expensive present, the fact that it came from Hitori, the fact that it was given on that very day—— it was special to Kita.
Hitori: [A–ah..]
And at that moment, if it was the first time ever she couldn’t tell, but—
——Hitori could swear her heart had fluttered.