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“Mmn-” I bring my hand to my chest. I can feel it rising, no matter how I yearn for it to stay down.
My abysmal view of demoralizing white and clear water doesn’t help much. Just what every girl wants on her birthday - a stellar view of her toilet! Granted, I’m not sure there’s any day where you’d want that. Either way, I certainly don’t want it now, but that’s not for me to decide…
“HAA-” And before I even have more time to think, a lovely mix of bile and birthday cake spills from my mouth like water from a dam. It’s not just cake either, I see bits of my dinner in there as well. Lovely.
“It’s okay, it’s okay,” a warm voice rings out, a warm hand rubbing my back at the same time. It’s Ikuyo.
She’s been here since I started vomiting, helping me - holding back my hair, massaging my back, and just comforting me with her voice. I think I would’ve gone insane without her here, honestly.
After what feels like an eternity, I finally stop puking. Whether my stomach is simply just empty or if my body can’t take anymore, I’m not sure, but I’m thankful.
“This sucks,” I say bitterly.
“I know,” she responds sympathetically.
“This is the entire reason I don’t drink…” I mumble to myself.
But, of course, tonight wasn’t caused by any night festivities. No, this was the work of a little bug called the stomach flu. This annoying, misnamed virus ruined what was a perfectly good day up to this point…
“Now, now.” Ikuyo tries to break me out of my negative spiral. “You have a great immune system. This is, like, the second time I’ve seen you sick since I’ve been with you. That’s something to be happy about!”
Well, it’s a little hard to be thankful when my entire body is in pain from the constant throwing up.
…No. I’m mad at this virus, not Ikuyo. She doesn’t deserve that aggression. Still, I can’t just be happy…
“…Why did it have to be my birthday?” I say with tears in my eyes. I’m not sure if it’s from the sentiment or the pain. Either way, they don’t stop.
Ikuyo releases my hair from her grip and moves to wipe my tears with her fingers. Their gentle touch provides at least one sense of comfort.
“I’m sorry,” she says gently. “It really does suck that it was today of all days.”
“Mm…” is all I’m able to squeak out.
Birthdays are… a bit of a touchy subject for me. No one knew my birthday besides my family until my 16th. It’s not that I didn’t like celebrating with my family, but… I just wanted someone… one person that wasn’t blood related to say “Happy Birthday, Goto!” to me. And seeing what every other kid’s birthday was like…
But then, after I joined Kessoku Band and started dating Ikuyo, every birthday was so nice… It wasn’t always the most crazy. Sometimes, we’d just spend the day relaxing together, but that was perfect in my eyes too.
Today was going so well. We all went out for dinner and had a wonderful time, and they even made me an amazing cake. And now, that’s all been flushed down the toilet…
It’s not the end of the world, but… I was really hoping for positive birthday memories going forward. This just feels like…
“But,” Ikuyo claps her hands together, “I’ll make you a promise - the moment you’re better, we’ll have another day for you. I’ll get Nijika and Ryo to come back and we’ll have another dinner that’ll be even better than the last! Enough to completely overwrite your memories of today!” she says with a determined fire in her eyes.
“I-Ikuyo…” I can’t help but begin to feel saturated in her glow, like she’s easing my mind through sheer willpower alone. She’s really something else…
I don’t think I’ll ever forget this night, unfortunately… but I’m willing to believe in her optimism.
“M-Mm… It’s a promise,” I say with the best smile I can muster currently.
“Of course!” she says cheerfully.
“U-Um,” my voice drops to a whisper. “…Thank you, Ikuyo.”
“Eh?” She looks at me, puzzled.
“…You could tell, right? What was bothering me?” I smile, in a somewhat self-derided way.
Ikuyo sports a knowing smile with a slight sigh. “Do you know how much your face lights up every year on your birthdays? It always washes away every struggle I’m facing, honestly. I just think about how much I want to see that smile again,” she admits.
“I-Ikuyo…!” My face begins to turn a tinge pink.
“Ehehe, I promise you, it’s true,” she says with a subdued happiness. “But… it doesn’t take a Holmes to figure out why birthdays would mean so much to you.” A melancholy smile blooms on her face.
I don’t say anything in response.
“That’s why I’ve always tried to make sure you’re happy on your birthday every year. I mean, I wanna make you happy anyway, but it’s extra important today. For that to be ruined by something that neither of us could control…” Ikuyo looks down in bitter annoyance.
But before I can get a word in, she continues, “And that’s why I’m not playing by the rules either. If some bug is gonna try to ruin your birthday, then I’m just gonna extend it until your only memories of it are an absolutely amazing day!” she says with that same fire in her eyes as before.
I look on in awe for a few moments. I just can’t stop being amazed by this girl. For the first time since realizing I was ill, I smile. “I love you, Ikuyo.”
“Eh?” She’s surprised for a moment, before smiling back at me. “I love you too, my birthday girl~!”
“Hehe.”
“Ehehe~!”
“…I-I would kiss you, but…” I don’t want to get you sick too. Plus, I’m… kind of a mess right now.
“It’s okay,” she says gently. “We’ll do that plenty once you’re feeling better~!”
“M-Mm.”
My eyes begin to feel heavy. I suppose my little adrenaline boost from emptying my stomach wore off and my body remembered it was sick.
“You wanna go to bed?” Ikuyo lightly asks.
…I’ve had this before. I know half of this night will be spent looking into a bowl and waking Ikuyo up. If she’s asking if I want that, then no…
But I know sleeping is the only way to get better, so…
“Yeah…” I say, gently rubbing my eye.
Ikuyo helps me up and we walk to bed together.
“…Thank you… for everything today, Ikuyo. I’m sorry I got sick…”
“Psh, don’t apologize for that, silly. Just focus on getting better,” she says with a smile.
She hasn’t even complained once about having to take care of me…
I want to get better soon… for both of our sakes…
“…You getting sleepy?” she almost whispers.
“Mm.”
I feel the touch of lips upon my forehead. “Goodnight, Hitori. I hope you feel better tomorrow.”
“Goodnight…”
And like a moth to flame, sleep lulls me in. I can only hope it isn’t interrupted too often…
Still… the promise I made with Ikuyo lets me drift off with hope in my mind.