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Saku stood in the cafe washroom looking down at himself and he heavily sighed.
“How the hell did I let them talk me into this?”
Saku’s memory
“Come on Saku-chan, you’re a pro at finding Hoshina-san a birthday present, please come with us to help us find a present for her,” Shohei begged.
Shohei, Saku and Ayato were out shopping for a present for Subaru’s birthday while Rintaro was going to be making a cake for her. Due to the gang growing in size, it was going to be a larger cake which had everyone excited when they were in the planning stages of her birthday.
This left the other three boys to find her a present. Saku himself was planning on doing a present himself alongside what the three of them got but he was clueless as to what. They started in a store that sold specialized coffees and these caught all three boys’ attention.
“We know she would like these, so maybe we can get her a few different blends?” Shohei suggested.
“That’s all good with me, but I think we should get her something else too,” Ayato said, looking towards Saku.
“Why are you both eying me on this?” Saku said, not amused by the look the two were giving him.
“You are the Hoshina present master,” Ayato said.
“She likes donuts too, right?” Shohei asked.
“Yes, she does like donuts, particularly ones with chocolate cream on them,” Saku replied, to which the other two gave him a bit of a knowing side eye.
“If that’s the case, let's go see if the store where I got your donut plushie has some in stock,” Shohei suggested as he ran out of the store, leaving the other two to pay for the coffee grounds they had decided on.
“I sense danger incoming if we go to that store,” Saku said, almost as if a sixth sense had kicked in.
“I fear you’re right, and I think it’ll put you in danger as well,” Ayato chimed in as they paid for the coffee grounds and followed after Shohei.
Shohei led the way to the store where he had bought Saku’s donut plushie as if he was trying to speedwalk an entire marathon. When he reached the area where the plushie’s were located he was disappointed to find that they were sold out. As Saku and Ayato hadn’t quite kept up with him, he started looking for something else to get when he spotted it. Something so profoundly glorious that his brain overloaded.
On the shelf in a tidy package was a donut, for an adult to wear. The idea hit Shohei instantly. This costume needed to be a thing for Hoshina. He picked it up immediately and scampered off to find Ayato and Saku.
When he found them, the excited look on his face spoke far louder than his words normally did.
“Oh no,” Ayato said quickly.
“I should be terrified of whatever has him this excited, this may truly be horrifying.” Saku said, dead eyed and as if his soul was getting to leave his body.
“Guys, look at this wonderful thing,” Shohei excitedly said as he held up the costume to both of them. Their instant response was panic and fear.
“Saku-chan, how about we get this and give her you in a donut costume as a present,” Shohei exclaimed as if it was going to be a thing.
Saku looked at Shohei incredulously. “Are you joking? Why would I EVER agree to this insanity?”
Shohei frowned, “I thought it was a good idea.”
“You thought wrong. Why would she be interested in me as a present anyways?” Saku was beside himself with disgust. His face was contorted in ways that reminded Shohei and Ayato of their nightmarish study sessions.
“Well, to be fair, she likes making memories with all of us, Saku. And this… would definitely be memorable.” Ayato said, trying to convince the annoyed Saku to change his mind even slightly.
“Besides, she has been eyeing you a bit differently the last few weeks. There’s little harm that could come from this.”
“Oh, it’s memorable alright. Next you’re both going to suggest I ask her out or something to really top off the humiliation ritual aren’t you,” Saku’s deadpan sarcasm was sharp enough to split an atom. Sadly Shohei missed the sarcasm and seemingly became even more excited.
“That’s exactly what you should do, Saku-chan! Dress-up as a donut and ask her out on a date!” Shohei’s excitement was beginning to disturb the onlookers to their conversation.
“You know, I think he missed the sarcasm.” Ayato said, trying not to laugh. He found the idea to have a certain appeal as well.
“Clearly,” Saku’s sarcasm overload was only amplifying.
“How about this Saku-chan? If you beat one of us in rock-paper-scissors, you can choose whether or not this is your present. But.. if you lose to both of us, you have to do the donut plus the date.” Shohei suggested, getting a chuckle out of Ayato and an even dirtier look out of Saku.
“Why would I agree to this in any way?” Saku asked, getting ready to walk out.
“Think of it like this Saku, It’ll give you an opportunity to get the two of you alone where you can tell her how you feel without one of us interrupting. Now, I can tell by looking at your face that you still aren’t thrilled so how about this deal sweetener? Shohei can’t call you Saku-chan for the rest of the calendar year, and every time he does, he owes you a donut,” Ayato suggested, wondering if this bribe might make Saku move.
“Are you trying to make me fat, Ayato?” Saku asked
“No, but it would be a way to potentially quiet him down a bit,” Ayato suggested.
“So I trade my pride and probably my ego but potentially a date or more in exchange for peace and quiet, donuts for sure, and the look of Shohei trying to restrain himself for nearly 45 days,” Saku said, weighing out the pros and cons of this arrangement.
“Yes that sounds about right,” Ayato said.
“Why don’t I get a say in this?” Shohei asked
“You already did with the whole idea,” Saku said, clearly still annoyed.
“Oh….right, well I think you should do it, Saku,” Shohei said.
Saku placed his hand on his chin as he thought about it. He was tired of Shohei’s constant use of the honorific, but the year would be over in a little over a month anyway. “45 days isn’t enough. Make it a full year and we’ve got a deal.”
“A full year!?” Shohei’s voice almost came out a yell.
“Deal.” Ayato quickly accepted and shook his hand.
“Wait, I didn’t-” Shohei attempted to interject but Ayato cut him off.
“Shh. When has he ever been able to beat both of us in rock paper scissors?” Ayato whispered.
Shohei smiled as he listened. “You make a good point.” He turned and pointed at Saku. “Alright Saku-chan, we accept!”
“...Fine, we play rock-paper-scissors, Best of 7 against each of you,” Saku said as both Ayato and Shohei got excited at what was about to happen.
There’s just no way I lose every round to both of them… he thought to himself.
“I remember now…” Saku thought to himself as he looked down once again at the costume.
“Saku-chan!!? I’m not hearing anything, are you alive in there?” Shohei knocked on the door as he spoke. “What’s taking so long?”
“Shut up,” Saku replied sharply, as he adjusted the donut costume.
Ayato’s voice followed, “If you’re trying to escape through the window, you won’t fit. We checked already.”
Saku ignored his friend as he stared into the mirror. The chocolate icing pattern across his chest felt far more humiliating now that he remembered exactly how he had ended up here.
It was astonishing how bad his luck was. What are the odds of losing eight straight rounds of rock paper scissors, when picking different options every time?
He took a deep breath then steeled himself to face the music.
The door opened slowly, as Shohei and Ayato stood there waiting for him. When he finally made it out, just for a moment, neither of them said anything.
The moment didn’t last very long though. Shohei was the first to laugh, and Ayato turned his head and covered his mouth as he tried to hide it.
“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead and laugh. I look ridiculous.” Saku muttered as he crossed his arms, crinkling the donut into himself.
“It’s not that bad,” Ayato tried his hardest to speak through the laughs. “Honestly I thought it would be worse.”
“This is exactly what I envisioned.” Shohei quickly took out his phone. “Let me take a picture, Saku-chan!”
“Hell no!” Saku grabbed the phone from him.
Ayato put his arm around Saku’s, “It’s alright, I’m sure Hoshina-san will love it, and that’s what matters, right?”
“Right!” Shohei beamed.
Saku sighed defeatedly. “Let’s just get this over with..”
Meanwhile, back at the large table in the cafe, Kaoruko had just finished thanking Rintaro for passing her a drink when she realized how much time had passed. “Hey, where did the boys go? They’ve been gone for like fifteen minutes now.”
Subaru spoke first. “I was about to ask the same thing.”
“They said they were going to the bathroom.. But since when do guys go to the bathroom together like that?” Madoka questioned as she took a sip of her soda.
“Shohei had that look on his face..” Rintaro said, a concerned tone in his voice. “The one he usually gets when he’s about to cause problems for someone. Usually Saku.”
Chisa followed up. “Natsusawa-kun did look especially pale when he got up. I thought he might be sick or something.” Suzuka nodded as she had noticed the same thing.
Subaru frowned as she looked toward the back of the cafe. “I hope everything is okay. It is my birthday but if he’s sick we should get him home.”
As she finished speaking, Shohei and Ayato reappeared, practically buzzing with excitement.
“There you are. Where’s Natsusawa-kun?” Subaru questioned earnestly.
“Everybody! Attention please!!” Shohei shouted, clapping his hands. “We all know how Hoshina-san loves donuts, right?!”
“Of course!” All of the girls chirped in unison, Madoka louder than everyone else.
“So for your birthday,” Ayato picked up where Shohei left off. “we thought… what better gift could we give you…” He pointed back to Shohei.
“Than a life-sized donut!” Shohei finished. Both of the boys turned toward the hallway and shouted together, “COME ON OUT, SAKU-CHAN!”
The group fell into a stunned silence as a giant, chocolate donut with multi-colored sprinkles slowly came around the corner, with Saku’s head above it. He stopped a few feet from the table, looking like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him whole.
“Happy birthday, Hoshina-san…” he said, his voice as melancholic as could be.
The reaction was a wave. First, came the wide eyed shock. Ayumi actually dropped her spoon. Then came the realization.
“Oh my god,” Kaoruko whispered, “that is not what I was expecting at all.”
Madoka didn’t even try to hide it. She leaned back into her chair and let out a laugh that shocked everyone at the table. “You look ridiculous, Natsusawa! How on earth did they convince you to do this!?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Saku muttered as he stared at the floor.
“To summarize,” Ayato wiped a tear from his eye as he spoke. “He genuinely might be the worst rock paper scissors player in all of Japan.”
That did it. The laughter started, first quiet, then louder as they all kept looking at each other. And Saku stood there, trying his best to not show his embarrassment on his face. His gaze drifted over the laughing faces until it finally landed on Subaru.
She was laughing too, but not in a mocking way. It was bright and genuine, the kind of laugh that she fully closed her eyes for. Saku froze. He’d seen her smile plenty of times now, but seeing her lose her usual composure like this… it was different.
Cute, was the only word that came to his mind.
As if she felt his gaze, Subaru opened her eyes and caught his stare. For a moment, the noise of the cafe faded. Saku felt a sudden, frantic heat rush to his face, and he quickly turned away.
“How do you like it, Hoshina-san?” Shohei asked as he finally sat down.
Subaru took a deep breath, trying to steady herself. “Honestly… I have no words,” she said, letting out one more small laugh. She reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. “But I would really like a picture.”
Shohei grinned. “What do you think, Saku-chan?”
Saku hesitated. Subaru was already holding her phone up, the lower half of her face hidden behind it. Only her eyes were visible, still bright and amused.
He sighed. “...If that’s what the birthday girl wants.. who am I to refuse.”
Subaru smiled, and snapped two pictures immediately.
“We should all take a group one, right Hoshina-san?” Ayato turned to face her, obviously still loving every moment of this.
“Absolutely.” Subaru had never sounded more of something in her life.
They all gathered around him quickly, everyone talking at once. Shohei insisted on standing beside him, as he brought Subaru over to do the same.
Rintaro held the phone, as the one with the longest limbs.
“Smile!” Kaoruko said as she interlocked her arms with Subaru’s.
“Wait, I think I have something in my teeth!” Madoka yelled as she tried to remove it.
“Please.. Just take the picture already.” Saku muttered through the fake smile he showed.
The shutter clicked, and Rintaro handed the phone back to Subaru. She immediately looked down at the screen, as Ayumi and Suzuka leaned over her shoulder. After a moment, the whole group crowded closer, commenting on things they noticed in the picture.
Saku was the only one who stepped away, his eyes focused on the silver-haired girl in the middle.
She was smiling at the photo, tilting her phone so Kaoruko could see better. There was something so soft about her expression that captivated him.
He smiled for the first time all day, and thought to himself.
If I get to see her make that face, I guess it was worth it.
Subaru glanced up from her phone, noticing that he had removed himself from the group. When their eyes met, she didn’t laugh. She just smiled at him with the same soft expression.
And suddenly his heart was pounding again. Luckily for him, Shohei’s antics distracted him. “I think we need one more, just in case! Saku-chan, come back here.”
“No chance.”
The next twenty minutes passed by in a blur. Everyone had drifted towards the table with the food, debating if they wanted karaage or yakisoba.
Kaoruko was the first to dig into the noodles, when she cringed and discreetly spit it back out onto her plate. “Guys, don’t eat the yakisoba.”
Madoka and Ayumi looked at the congealed mess of noodles on Kaoruko’s plate. “Karaage it is then.” Madoka said as she picked up the spoon.
Saku was still in costume, standing off towards the window as he replayed images from earlier in the day in his head.
The way her eyes shut when she laughed, the soft smile she gave when she caught him staring.
He had agreed to wear the costume because of the bet he lost. But standing there earlier, watching her laugh.. He realized it hadn’t felt like losing.
He waited, and when he saw Subaru finish her conversation with Suzuka, he moved.
“Hoshina-san.” he said quietly.
She turned, brushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “Yes?”
“Can I… talk to you for a minute?”
She looked around instinctively, then nodded. “Sure.”
They stepped further down to the side of the cafe. Not far enough that anybody would notice, just away from the main cluster of noise.
The only two to notice were Kaoruko, and Madoka, who shot each other a knowing look.
Subaru folded her hands neatly in front of her. “What is it?”
Saku exhaled slowly, preparing himself for the moment.
“So… I was thinking..” he paused, clearing his throat. “About today. And.. And you.”
This sounded way better in my head.
Subaru tilted her head out of curiosity.
“I just mean.. You looked like you were having a good time.”
Her expression softened a bit. “I was.”
“And I… I like seeing you like that.” he bit the side of his tongue to muster up the courage. “In fact, I’d like to see it more.. If I can.”
Subaru’s posture shifted slightly.
“So… would you go on a date with me?”
Subaru blinked. Her cheeks warmed, and her thoughts went still for a moment.
She stared at him, trying to process the contrast between the sincerity in his voice, and the absurdity of the costume covering his torso.
A laugh slipped out before she could stop it. Not because she didn’t take him seriously, but because he looked so serious.
“I’m sorry,” she said, covering her mouth. “It’s just.. you’re saying something like that while dressed like this.”
Saku glanced down, the fact that he was still wearing this ridiculous costume now top of mind again. “...I probably should’ve waited until I took this off, huh?”
“Maybe,” she admitted, still laughing. “But anyway, my answer is still yes.”
Saku looked back up immediately. “Really?”
“I’d love to go on a date with you Natusawa-kun.”
Relief washed over him like a wave, and he celebrated internally.
After a few moments of silence passed, Subaru spoke first. “So.. where are we going?”
Saku was quickly brought back to reality. “I… did not think that far ahead.”
Subaru hummed. “Aren’t you supposed to figure that out first?”
“You’re probably right.. Hold on.” He quickly started thinking. Coffee is a safe option. But that isn’t enough time.. Maybe a movie? But we wouldn’t really get to talk to each other..
Before he could settle on anything, Subaru spoke again.
“There’s a new donut shop that opened near the station,” she said, glancing away bashfully. “I’ve been meaning to try it, so… maybe we could go together?”
Saku stared at her, then smiled. “Of course you’d pick donuts.”
“Well, you like them too, no?”
“I do..” he responded. “I just didn’t expect donuts to define my whole week.”
She laughed again. “True, you probably don’t want to have anything to do with donuts after today.”
“That’s what I thought too. But if it’s with you, I’ll be fine.”
“It’s a date then.” Subaru responded enthusiastically.
You wouldn’t want a turn in this thing would you?” Saku asked out of curiosity.
“Absolutely not,” Subaru giggled out as she pulled along her favorite donut to rejoin the group.