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For as long as Mina Ashido could remember, birthdays were joyous occasions that were meant to be celebrated with friends, family, and loved ones. And, every year, on her birthday, her parents would gift her something related to the number of years she’d be turning! For her eighth birthday, her parents surprised her with a book series that had a total of eight novels, and Mina read all of them in less than a week!
Speaking of the book series she received on her birthday, it was called The Hibiscus Duchess Chronicles, and it was about Aphrodite Paraplu-Hankins, the future duchess of Chiffonele, and her coming-of-age journey of becoming the first sole duchess regent. Mina adored the book series; it was her favorite book, and she especially loved the main character, Aphrodite, or Adorsi, as the character liked to be called. One of Mina’s favorite moments in the story was in book six, where Adorsi and her long-term rival turned friendly enemy turned friend, Kinmei Hamiltoni, kissed for the first time. Adorsi and Kinmei were celebrating Adorsi’s twenty-sixth birthday, but Kinmei didn't bring anything with him. So, Adorsi suggested Kinmei kiss her twenty-six times, and she’ll consider that as her birthday gift.
Even now, on her sixteenth birthday, Mina loved the romantic moment between Adorsi and Kinmei, and she longed to have a love story like Adorsi and Kinmei.
“What are you thinking about?” Eijiro Kirishima, her childhood friend, asked her. “I’d offer you a coin for your thoughts, but I'm pretty sure the birthday girl has received plenty of birthday money by now. So, how about I offer you this instead?” He handed her a bouquet of pink hibiscus; there were sixteen of them wrapped together in cellophane and tied off with ribbons.
“Oh, I love hibiscus, especially the pink ones! Thank you so much, Eijiro,” she squealed, graciously accepting the bundle of perfectly arranged flowers. Inhaling the flowers’ soft and sweet floral scent, she asked him, “How did you know?”
“Your parents would always give you a bouquet on your birthdays, and I figured they must be your favorite flowers,” he answered.
“They are indeed.”
“I hear in some parts of the world, the pink hibiscus represents the perfect wife since they're associated with qualities like delicate beauty, femininity, and love.” Looking at her, his eyes sparkled with delight as he continued, “Well, if that were the case, you’d be just that.”
“Excuse me?”
“Um,” his cheeks started to redden, “what I mean to say is that you're all of those qualities. You're beautiful, you're in touch with your femininity, and you're a very loving person. I think you're a pink hibiscus since you have the qualities of the perfect wife.”
“Oh, do you really mean that, Eijiro?”
“Yes, I swear.” With a shy smile, he grabbed her arm and then proceeded to place her hand on his chest. “I am sorry for what I just did. But, Mina, please believe me when I say I think you’d make for the perfect wife. One should feel for their wife, and you make my heart feel many things.”
Although his chest was covered by the nice linen dress shirt he wore, she could still feel his heartbeat. “It’s beating fast…Your heart, I mean.”
“Well, I don't think there's anyone who's had the person they love touch their chest and not have their heart beat so rapidly like mine.”
“You love me?”
“Yes, Mina Ashido. I love you. One, I love your eyes. Two, I love your hair. Three, I love your smile. Four, I love your laugh. Five, I love how you dance. Six, I love your quirk. Seven, I love your bravery. Eight, I love your loyalty. Nine, I love how friendly you are. Ten, I love how easily you can make friends. Eleven, I love your teasing nature. Twelve, I love how you are full of energy. Thirteen, I love how creative you are. Fourteen, I love how you dress. Fifteen, I love how manly you are. Sixteen, and lastly, I love how you inspire me to want to become a better man. I know that listing down sixteen things about why I love you isn't exactly poetic, but today’s your sweet sixteenth birthday, and I figured I could try to be romantic! It's still your birthday, after all!"
“Oh, Eijiro, you sure do know how to make me blush,” she whispered. She let a light chuckle escape from her mouth before giving him a large, toothy, ear-to-ear grin. “I love you too. I know it's impossible for humans to live to be a billion years old, but now, you have me wishing I could be a billion so that you could say a billion reasons about what or why you love me.”
“A billion reasons won't be enough,” he replied.
“No?”
“No, there are just so many reasons why I love you. I think there are more reasons I love than there are stars in the sky.”
A sigh escaped from her lips. Taking his hand, she intertwined her fingers with his. "Well, we've got the rest of our lives ahead of us, and I'll have plenty more birthdays, so please, by all means, keep them coming. I look forward to hearing them all."
He chuckled, "It's a done deal."