Chitose, who had come in with Mahiru, had also gone wide-eyed when she’d seen the boisterous crowd, but the moment she and Amane locked eyes, she broke into an impish grin.

“If the old Amane could see you now, I bet he’d be just as surprised.”

“Speechless, I bet.”

Even Amane had to admit that in the past, he always had a gloomy air about him. He was a far cry from the person he once was.

The old Amane would probably detest the person he had become.

Current Amane didn’t hate it, though.

He had taught himself hard work and discipline so that he could stand by the side of the person he loved most, and while he couldn’t say his habit of self-deprecation had stopped completely, it wasn’t nearly as pervasive as it used to be. Developing some confidence had given him peace of mind, which was probably the best way to describe his change.

It was an unmistakable fact that love changed a person, which was something Amane experienced firsthand. Now whenever he thought back on his old self, he couldn’t help feeling embarrassed, as well as a little bitter and nostalgic.

Swallowing all of that down, he put on a thin smile, and Chitose said, “You’ve come a long way, huh?” Then, louder, cheerfully added, “Finding someone to love changes you, and you’re the perfect example of that, Amane.”

“Shut up. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing, I think it’s great! There was nothing wrong with how you were before, but you seem to be having a better time now. You’re always smiling,” Chitose pointed out, poking her own cheeks.

Amane unconsciously clasped his hands over his cheeks. But when he glanced over at Mahiru, it seemed her surprise had passed, and she nodded with a soft smile. “You’ve started to relax and smile more than before, right?”

Amane was always watching himself, because he knew he had a tendency to unconsciously make a sappy face when he was with Mahiru. As he feared, his classmates had already noticed. He heard boys and girls chiming in here and there in agreement.

“You’re right—the look in your eyes is different, too. But it’s not as easy to see right now as it is when you’re looking at Miss Shiina.”

“When you’re with her, you get all lovey-dovey, for obvious reasons. That’s how much you adore her, huh?”

“Actually, recently, you’ve been acting even more affectionate than the angel.”

“…I know all that. Quit paying such close attention. Yeah, I have a soft spot for Mahiru.”

Embarrassment slowly rose deep within his chest, and about the time Amane felt it begin to turn into an itchy sensation around his lips, Chitose clapped her hands and changed the mood. “Okay, we’d better leave it there, you guys, or Amane’s gonna get sulky.”

Amane did find himself wondering why they said anything at all if they knew it would make him uncomfortable, but Chitose seemed to have plans to celebrate Amane in her own way. With a silly grin, she pulled a nicely wrapped box out of her bag.

“On that note…it’s one day late, but here’s your present from Itsuki and me!”

“…Seriously, thank you for planning with Mahiru and making such a fuss over me.”

“Oh-ho-ho! I only did it because I’m her one and only best friend! When my darling Mahiru is planning something, then of course I have to help. If not me, then who? Anyway, here ya go!” Chitose’s excited voice sounded even more lively than usual as she handed over the box. It was heavier than expected.

If Itsuki and Chitose had chosen the gift together, there was basically no way they could have missed the mark, and Amane wanted to believe she wouldn’t give him a gag gift at a time like this. As long as there was nothing crazy going on, he was happy just to get something.

They both had good taste, so he wasn’t worried about what they had chosen, but the considerable weight of the package made him look at Chitose curiously.

“…I’m gonna ask, just in case. What’s inside?”

“Oh, you’re asking that now? I don’t mind telling you, but…”

Chitose shot a glance over at Mahiru, and Amane suddenly started feeling uneasy.

“Hey, what are you hinting at?”

“Ah-ha-ha! Just joking, just joking. It’s not anything bad. There’s a bath powder and bath salt set inside. One with a scent that Mahiru likes and one that they say is really invigorating. I thought the two of you could use them together.”

“…Why would you assume we’d use them together? I’ll use them alone, like a normal person.”

He was grateful for the gift, but Chitose’s superfluous comment made him furrow his brow.

Although Amane and Mahiru had fooled around a little, their relationship was still wholesome for the most part, and it bothered him that the people around them might think they were bathing together.

He couldn’t say they had never bathed together, but they’d worn swimsuits and towels, and they weren’t in the habit of taking baths every time Mahiru slept over.

Amane arched his eyebrows, worried that people would misunderstand, and Chitose made a disappointed sound that made him want to pinch her cheek, but he managed to resist the urge.

“Knock it off. You’re gonna give people the wrong idea.”

“So this is what a coward looks like…”

“Shut up, Itsuki.”

“Fine, fine… I’ve got a feeling you two are gonna get a mushy reputation even if I keep quiet… Oww, okay, I get it!”

Amane ground his fist into Itsuki’s lower back, and it felt surprisingly solid to the touch, but even though Amane had the feeling that he had pretty much lost that exchange, he did succeed in shutting Itsuki up.

Amane let out a deep sigh. “Thank you, guys, for the present and for your thoughtfulness, but don’t go saying stuff like that.”

Trying to save himself from blushing hot with shame, Amane went back to his seat, clutching the present like a treasure, only for Itsuki to dramatically put his hand on Amane’s back.

“Hey, Amane?”

Itsuki casually brought his face close to Amane’s ear after Amane broke free of the circle of students.

“What is it?”

“I wasn’t really saying that you have to get in the bath together, but you know, if she’s staying over, the next logical step is to assume that she’s bathing there, too.”

“…Be quiet.”

“But I whispered in a super-quiet voice!”

Itsuki’s comment made him realize too late that he had self-destructed, and he turned away, biting his lip. Itsuki cackled with jovial laughter and cheerfully slapped Amane on the back.

“Ah, did Miss Shiina spill the beans?”

During lunch, when Amane went to say thank you to Ayaka for helping Mahiru, she answered him with a roguish smile.

She had worked hard to make Mahiru’s surprise celebration happen while pretending not to know anything, so Amane was grateful to her, but he also felt deceived. If Ayaka had kept quiet, that meant Souji must have also been in on it, which meant everyone around him had been keeping it a secret.

The fact that she’d been able to get that much help was a testament to Mahiru’s popularity, and he was genuinely impressed, but he couldn’t help but wonder if she had really needed to be that thorough. Of course, Mahiru had wanted to surprise Amane, so that was probably part of it.

“Or did you figure out the secret ingredient yourself?”

“More or less. The flavor was familiar.”

“Good on you for picking up on that. I’m not surprised. Though I bet it’s because the coffee at my aunt’s place is so good.”

“…By the way, what made you offer Mahiru the coffee?”

“Ah, Miss Shiina was struggling with what cake to make, and when we were looking through recipe books and magazines together, I suggested using coffee. Once I did, she got enthusiastic about it. A good idea, if I do say so myself.” Ayaka smiled.

Amane smiled back. The cake certainly had been tasty, and he nodded in agreement.

“Looks like you were very satisfied,” Ayaka continued. “That’s great, really great. Aunt Fumika is sure to be delighted, too.”

“…I really am happy that Mahiru could come to you for help, but did you have to tell the café owner all the details?”

Since Ayaka had helped Mahiru, it was only natural for him to offer his thanks, and he knew it was inevitable that Ayaka would tell her aunt what was going on. Although, he couldn’t help but feel anxious about how excited Fumika was going to be. Honestly, he was worried about her reaction, given how excitable she had been the very first time he’d met her.

Ayaka understood what Amane was implying, and she put on a slightly awkward smile. “W-well, I think giving her a brief report should be fine… Even my aunt isn’t the type to really pry… Probably,” she mumbled.

The way she said probably only heightened his concern. However, Fumika wasn’t a bad person, so he thought it was probably okay for her to be somewhat obsessed. To a point.

“Well, thank you very much. To think that you did all that for someone like me… Though, if I say that, Mahiru will be upset with me. Anyway, thanks.”

“No problem! You gotta chip in when you can for a friend’s birthday. That said, here’s another little something from me.”

She used one hand to pull a moderately sized box out of her backpack. It was covered in some kind of wrapping.

Amane was briefly taken aback. He had never expected to get a gift from Ayaka as well, but she soon brought him back to his senses by cheerfully saying, “Looks like my surprise was a success, too, huh? Sou and I went in together on this one, so I hope you like it.”

“You didn’t have to go to all that trouble… Thank you. Could I ask what’s inside?”

“Protein!”

“I should have known.”

She sounded so lively when she said it that a laugh spilled from Amane’s lips.

Ayaka presented the package again with a triumphant look on her face. “This one tastes good, and it has the perfect absorption rate! My Sou is all the proof you need!”

That only made him laugh even harder. If Souji had been there, Amane imagined he would have protested being used as a test case.

Ayaka must have realized what Amane was thinking, because she said, “It’s all right! When Sou was trying out all the different kinds, he even said, ‘Well, it’s all protein anyway.’ He was more than happy to drink them all and test them out!” She looked at Amane with a beaming smile.

Ayaka was wearing an even happier smile than he’d expected, so Amane decided to keep his thoughts about her experiment to himself. He figured some things were better left unsaid.

“In any case, thank you for everything you’ve done. It’s crazy how much you’ve helped me, Kido.”

“Nah, it’s no problem. I stuck my nose in because I like to help. If anything, Sou’s been telling me I should cool it on the meddling.”

“I don’t think of it as meddling. You really did help me out.”

“Hmm, but I did it because I wanted to, you know? You really don’t need to worry about it, Fujimiya. Besides, there’s something in it for me, too.”

“There is?”

“Eh-heh-heh, if you and Sou become better friends, his mood will improve, and if he’s in a better mood, he’ll let me touch his muscles more.”

“…Right.”

He could only force himself to smile when he learned that she had some extremely mischievous ulterior motives, but seeing Ayaka’s usual behavior, he knew that wasn’t all there was to it. Even Amane, who had only known her for a little while, could tell that she was exceedingly generous and how much she enjoyed helping others.

As she jokingly insisted that Amane shouldn’t worry about it too much, he felt grateful for her consideration and said, “Well, if you and Kayano are good with it, then that’s great.” Then he shrugged and left things there.

“Today was terrific, huh?” Mahiru mumbled gently. After they got home and finished their dinner, the two were relaxing on the sofa.

Amane already knew what she was talking about. “It sure was,” he answered.

Mahiru smiled, almost as if she had been the one being celebrated.

In her expression, he saw a perfect mixture of relief, satisfaction, and delight. Her charming face made him feel intensely awkward, and he quickly averted his gaze from Mahiru and turned toward the television.

Several of the presents he had received from his friends that day were sitting on top of the low table sandwiched between the sofa and the TV.

In addition to the gifts he had received from Itsuki, Chitose, and Ayaka, he had also gotten things from other less familiar classmates, who had gotten caught up in the excitement.

Most were snacks, juice, and the like, but just the fact that they had all been so keen to wish Amane a happy birthday filled him with embarrassment and delight, though he had taken great pains not to let it show on his face too much.

The year before, the only people he’d even told about his birthday had been Itsuki and Chitose, and there had been no big uproar among his class. Compared to those days, he had received an unthinkable amount of attention.

Easygoing, unselfish Amane hadn’t particularly wanted such a celebration, but still, he did feel happy about it.

“…I never expected to get so many birthday wishes. Though I did turn down the enoki mushroom caramels.”

“Heh-heh, I was a little curious about those.”

“You’d probably need a palate cleanser afterward.”

When it came to food, Mahiru’s curiosity was stronger than Amane’s, so she was always interested in unusual snacks. Still, the caramels had been a step too far for Amane, and just the thought was more than enough for him.

When Amane turned down the mushroom caramels, he had been handed some beef stew–flavored caramels that looked exactly like little cubes of concentrated bullion. It seemed like his classmate was a fan of bizarre candy. Amane was bewildered by the boy’s unusual tastes.

Nevertheless, when Amane looked over the many presents he had received from his friends and classmates, he naturally felt delighted. However, it didn’t take long for doubt and uncertainty to come crawling out and start spreading, clouding his honest joy.

“…Is it really all right for me to get this much attention?”

Mahiru reacted swiftly to those words, which spilled unexpectedly from his mouth. In an instant, her tender expression transformed into something slightly peevish, a look that was equal parts worry and exasperation.

“Why do you seem so anxious? People were happy for you because you’ve managed to make friends with everyone in our class, Amane. Can’t you see that it’s thanks to your good character?”

“Sorry, sorry, I wasn’t trying to put myself down. It’s just…I’ve never really experienced this. I’ve never told other people about my birthday and things like that.”

He didn’t tend to have those kinds of conversations with unfamiliar people, and even if he mentioned his birthday, he thought he would just be pressuring them into celebrating him. Plus, he had always been plenty happy just getting a few words from the people he was particularly close to.

What Amane was trying to say was that there were suddenly a lot more people wishing him well, so he couldn’t help but feel bewildered.

“Heh-heh, it just goes to show how accepted and celebrated you are by those around you. It’s something to be happy about.”

“I sure hope so.”

“Amane…”

He smiled when he heard her reproachful tone.

Mahiru’s gaze was sharp, as if warning him against putting himself down. He couldn’t possibly be negative when she was looking at him like that.

“Sorry, sorry, I know… I’ll admit, I am happy.”

“Good… Be a good boy and let people celebrate you.”

Once he obediently accepted the celebration, Mahiru flopped against his upper arm with her usual smile. When he glanced down at her, he felt his cheeks soften into a smile as Mahiru leaned on him and gently rubbed her face against him.

She was as happy about Amane’s birthday being celebrated as she would have been about her own, and he knew it was a completely genuine reaction.

…She really does think birthdays are special occasions.

That was especially true if they were the birthdays of people she loved or was close to.

Mahiru was sure to offer heartfelt words to anyone she knew, even if they weren’t dear friends.

He thought back on how, during the previous year, he hadn’t really gone out of his way to do anything truly special to celebrate Mahiru’s birthday, and in place of the warm, soft feeling that had been collecting in his chest all day long, he felt prickly, cold thorns digging into him.

Though he didn’t see these thorns as something bad.

They were a sign he should tell her the truth and a push for him to say what he was about to say.

“…Hey, so…”

“Yes?”

He thought he had spoken to her in a soft, even voice, without any hitches or hesitation, but Mahiru seemed to have picked up on the slight change in his tone. She stopped leaning against Amane and straightened up.

It wasn’t that she was on her guard, exactly. Mahiru looked like she was preparing herself for an important conversation that was about to begin.

Amane cleared his throat. “Well, I just thought I should go ahead and tell you that I’m not that good at keeping secrets, so if I try, I’ll probably seem suspicious, and I would hate to make you uncomfortable.”

“Okay.”

“Next month is your birthday, right, Mahiru?”

“Oh—now that you mention it, it is.”

Mahiru blinked several times as though she had only just remembered she had a birthday. After she let her gaze wander for a few moments, she nodded.

He could see she hadn’t thought of it at all and that she didn’t find her own birthday particularly special. That explained why it hadn’t been at the front of her mind and why her response had come so slowly.

Mahiru’s obvious indifference to her own birthday brought a bitter taste to Amane’s mouth.

“You don’t feel all that good about people celebrating your birthday, do you, Mahiru?”

“Not exactly… If I had to say, it’s more like I couldn’t care less.”

Just as she said, she seemed to be unconcerned about her own birthday.

He already knew that from her birthday the previous year. Still, despite the fact that it wasn’t his birthday, hearing her say it so forthrightly, even now that they were dating, made him sad.

“To me, it’s just a day that marks getting one year older. I’ve never thought of it as a special day. Actually, I’ve hardly ever celebrated it. Oh—but last year, I was really happy that you celebrated my birthday, Amane! It’s not like I hate it or anything. More like I don’t think it warrants any extra attention.”

Mahiru seemed to fondly recall their little celebration from the previous year and looked flustered as she waved her hand back and forth, worried that he might get the wrong idea.

He knew she was just looking out for his feelings, so Amane said, “I wasn’t trying to get you to say something like that. I’m sorry.” Even though he felt a little bad about it, he continued, “I know that to you it isn’t anything special.”

Thinking about Mahiru’s early upbringing and environment, he knew she didn’t put much stock in the day itself.

Mahiru didn’t seem to feel bitter about it anymore, but for Amane, it was horrible.

Even if it was just Amane’s ego talking, he wanted her to understand how loved she was and just how grateful he was.

“These are just my own selfish feelings, but to me, your birthday is a very special day.”

“…Special?”

“Just like how you think my birthday is special, I think your birthday is more special than anyone else’s.”

He had heard from a number of people that Mahiru had tried her hardest to set things up for Amane’s birthday, and he knew it was true.

He knew from the bottom of his heart that he was loved.

He didn’t want to become the kind of person who accepted her love, then just simply basked in it. Amane wanted to offer her the same— No, he wanted to give her the birthday of a lifetime, one amazing enough to make up for the past.

“I love you so much, I can barely stand it, Mahiru. I guess what I’m saying is that I’m grateful you were born and I’m happy you’re here. I’m really glad that you were born into this world, and I appreciate it. I’m constantly grateful to you for existing, for meeting me, and for falling in love with me… To me, your birthday is an incredibly special day.”

He meant every word. Mahiru was the most special person in Amane’s life. The day she had been born into the world was the most important day there was, and he wanted her to know it.

“So—as long as it wouldn’t make you uncomfortable, I wonder if I could celebrate you in the same way you celebrated me? Is it all right for me to show you how grateful I am you were born, Mahiru?”

If it would make her feel bad, he would absolutely treat it as a normal day. He certainly didn’t want to do it badly enough to ignore her feelings.

If she wanted to spend that day quietly, Amane would never bring the subject up again, and they wouldn’t have to do anything special.

However, if she would allow it, Amane wanted to use all the resources he had to celebrate Mahiru’s birthday.

He wanted to communicate to her that she had someone who appreciated the fact that she had been born.

Amane stared straight at her after asking his question, waiting for her answer, and immediately realized that Mahiru’s expression had changed from the earlier shock to a different kind of surprise.

The look in her eyes was questioning, somewhat uneasy and nervous…as if she couldn’t believe her ears.

“…Are you sure?”

“You don’t hate the idea?”

“Hate it? Not at all… Um, I’m happy…you’d want to do that for someone like me.”

“Mahiru, weren’t you just telling me that I’m not allowed to put myself down?”

Amane insisted that if she was going to point it out to him, she didn’t get to be an exception. Without hesitation, he grabbed a hold of Mahiru’s cheeks as she sat there timidly, frozen by bewilderment, anxiety, and indecision.

He tugged at them, teasingly tormenting her exquisitely soft cheeks—somewhere between tender and squishy—gently dragging away the negative feelings that threatened to bring her down.

“Hyah, I—I gedd id awweady,” came her silly voice, as he kept her mouth from closing all the way.

Though he had been gentle to make sure he wouldn’t hurt her, Mahiru must have still been a little startled. Even after he let her go, she sat there looking at him, stunned.

“Are you aware of just how precious you are to me?” he asked.

Red started to appear on Mahiru’s cheeks, and he didn’t think it was just because he had been playing with them.

Quiet ahs and uhs that weren’t quite words—more like groans—slipped from her mouth, and she nervously looked up at Amane.

There wasn’t a trace of uneasiness left in her expression.

“…Thank you very much. Just getting attention from you makes me happy, Amane, but…well, it’s a strange feeling. I’ve always been so indifferent about my birthday.”

“Well, starting this year, I won’t let you say you don’t care about it anymore.”

Amane was just guessing, but the passivity toward her birthday was likely rooted in her complicated relationship with her parents.

Amane couldn’t erase that history, and regardless, it was part of what had made her into the girl he knew and loved today.

It was obvious to him that, at the very least, it was a sore spot she didn’t want anyone else to see.

For exactly that reason, Amane wanted to overwrite that apathy of hers that made it seem like she was blowing the whole thing off. He wanted her to really feel that she had someone who treasured her and appreciated her existence.

“A big party…isn’t really your style, right? Let’s have a quiet little celebration.”

“…Okay.”

When it came to celebrating her birthday, although Mahiru could be quite sociable, she was a shy girl who tended to be cautious by nature and preferred a quiet environment. She didn’t seem to want too many people to know about her birthday, so Amane felt like a small, private party would be best.

At the moment, she seemed to be all right with telling the people she was close to, so Amane figured he ought to consult with Chitose and the others who seemed likely to want to celebrate Mahiru.

Amane was mentally formulating plans, bit by bit, as Mahiru stared intently at him, slightly embarrassed or perhaps uncomfortable. However, he could see that she was curling up in a happy little ball, and he let out a quiet chuckle.

“You’re not used to being celebrated, are you, Mahiru? All I’ve done so far is give you a heads-up.”

“I—I mean…”

“Mm, the way you’re acting… I can see you’re going to accept it as you should. That’s great… Which is why I’m going to be secretive about what we’re doing to celebrate. You’ll have to forgive me for that.”

“Heh-heh, sure.”

He had already given her fair warning that he was going to celebrate her birthday, so he figured he ought to go ahead and let her know he would be working behind the scenes to make it happen.

He knew Mahiru was the kind of person who would understand as soon as he told her, but he hated the idea of making her anxious when the whole point was to show her a good time, so he warned her he was going to be doing things in secret again. Mahiru broke into an amused smile.

Amane felt deeply relieved by her easygoing smile and cheerful tone. He patted Mahiru’s head after she had snuggled up to him like she was looking to be pampered a little.

“I’m going to make you as happy as I possibly can, okay? I’ll work hard to find out what you like, whatever it takes.”

“You’re saying all that right in front of me?”

“Oops.”

“Heh-heh, you never think things like that all the way through, do you? Geez.”

“I have no response to that.”

He pressed his lips together, thinking she was absolutely right, as her clear, beautiful laughter filled the room.

“…I’m really looking forward to it.”

“Mm. I’ll do my best to meet your expectations.”

“Okay, then. I’ll expect great things.”

Amane was ecstatic that he had gotten Mahiru, who didn’t care about her birthday, to look forward to it. He nodded forcefully and vowed to himself to diligently use the limited time remaining in the month to prepare something special for Mahiru.

“Ah, now that I think about it, the last time you came to me for advice was around Miss Shiina’s last birthday, wasn’t it?”

Amane knew he wouldn’t be able to come up with something that would truly please Mahiru on his own, so after school one day when neither of them had work, he grabbed his number-one advisor, Itsuki, and held a meeting at a fast food restaurant.

He wasn’t planning on indiscriminately telling people that Mahiru’s birthday was coming up, but he had enlisted Itsuki’s help the year before, which meant he already had a general idea of when it was, so Amane didn’t hesitate to turn to him again.

“It sounds like she doesn’t want to let too many people know, so don’t go blabbing.”

“I know better than that. What kinda guy do you think I am?”

They were there between the lunch and dinner rushes, so there was a chance the french fries had been sitting out a while. Itsuki held a limp fry between his fingers and wiggled it back and forth as he squinted his eyes, shocked.

“Miss Shiina is even more guarded than you, Amane. If I had to say, maybe even more of a loner… Actually, mmm, maybe ‘exclusive’ is more fitting. She’s the type who only reveals her true feelings to the people she likes.”

“…You’ve really got her pegged.”

“Please don’t glare at me like that! You’re scaaaring me! Enough jeaaalousy! Listen, man, it’s simple. She’s just like Yuuta and me.”

“Huh… Well, you do have some similarities.”

Both Itsuki and Yuuta had friendly exteriors but invisible walls around other parts of themselves. They were similar to Mahiru in that way, despite their otherwise different personalities.

Though Itsuki smoothed everything over with his overblown comical attitude, Amane, his best friend, knew he didn’t like to let people inside his head. And in Yuuta’s case, considering all the attention he received, he probably never let his mild-mannered expression drop so people wouldn’t bother him.

“Right? So we understand what will make her uncomfortable. And anyway, I’m not the kind of petty person who would go out of my way to make trouble for my best friend’s girlfriend.”

“I know that.”

“Oh wow, you really trust me!”

“You’re only noticing this now?”

Amane thought it was fairly obvious that he wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of consulting Itsuki if he didn’t trust him. But for some reason, Itsuki looked astonished.

Even as Amane dismissed Itsuki’s typical over-the-top reaction, he noticed skepticism suddenly flare in Itsuki’s eyes, before his expression finally changed into an unexpected look of concern.

“What’s with you?” Amane asked in a slightly lowered voice.

“…Seriously, what’s going on?” Itsuki replied. “This sudden lovey-dovey phase of yours worries me, man.”

“Quit looking at me like I’m a weirdo!”

“Nah, but seriously…”

“Hey!”

Amane glared at Itsuki, feeling like his friend was thinking incredibly rude things about him. Suddenly, a shadow fell over their table. Amane looked up at the newcomer.

He wasn’t surprised to see her, wearing a bright grin that was even wider than her usual, abundantly charming smile. It was Chitose.

“…You charged right in without a care in the world, huh?”

“Well, you know, I saw two boys over here conspiring together, so I had to. I just happened to spot you from outside, so I came on in.”

Amane knew Chitose had left school ahead of them, going to attend to some other errand, but he had never expected her to show up where they were meeting, and without meaning to, Amane shot her a look of suspicion.

Chitose, no different than usual, said with a smirk, “It’s not like I was following you around or anything!” and sat down in the seat beside Itsuki like it was the most natural thing in the world. She pinched a soggy fry and tossed it into her mouth. “So whatcha talking about?”

“Looks like someone got comfy quick.”

“Pick a better meeting place if you don’t want me hearing about whatever you’re talking about. Itsuki knows I walk by here, and he told me you were having a little boys’ meeting today, which means you must have had a proposal for him, Amane. After all, if you want to discuss something with him, there’s an eighty or ninety percent chance— Actually, a ninety-nine percent chance—that it’s got something to do with Mahiru.”

Amane was almost at his wits’ end with Chitose, who could be disturbingly insightful about the weirdest things. But really, she knew about Mahiru’s birthday somewhat, just like Itsuki, and one way or another, he’d been planning to ask her for help, so this just saved him the effort of needing to speak to her separately.

Be that as it may, he felt kind of embarrassed that she had accurately seen right through him, so with a soft sigh, he exhaled the uneasy feelings that were swirling around in his chest.

“…We’re talking about Mahiru’s birthday.”

Amane answered honestly—he didn’t intend to hide it.

“See?” Chitose looked smug. “Okay, okay. Got it, got it. Roger, roger. You want to surprise her?”

“It’s not gonna be a surprise, but…I did get permission from Mahiru to have a party.”

“You really are a thoughtful guy.”

“I want to be careful and considerate when it comes to Mahiru.”

Amane had often heard that, depending on the situation, a surprise could become a source of resentment. The whole reason he was doing this in the first place was to make her happy—he definitely didn’t want to do anything she wouldn’t like. Mahiru already had some reservations about her birthday, so he had to be especially cautious.

He wanted to respect Mahiru’s preferences as much as possible and intended to put in the work so that she could have a birthday she genuinely looked forward to.

“Oh-ho-ho, you’re head over heels.”

“And you’re too loud. Call it whatever you want.”

“Whoot-whoo, you’re madly in love, totally infatuated, crazy about her!”

“Itsuki, would you shut her up?”

Chitose would only get louder if they didn’t rein her in soon, so Amane asked her boyfriend to quiet her down. Itsuki gave a dramatic, exasperated shrug, grabbed a handful of fries, and said, “Not much I can do about it. Here, eat…,” as he stuffed them all in Chitose’s mouth.

Naturally, there was no way Chitose could talk with a mouth full of fries, so she just made muffled chewing noises as she glared at them with obvious dissatisfaction, but Amane completely ignored her.

After chewing for a while, Chitose finally swallowed. “Geez,” she complained, but once again, Amane deliberately ignored her whining. “So what were you planning on asking Itsuki to do?” she eventually asked.

“Well, I didn’t really have a request… I wanted to start by shopping around for present ideas.”

The first thing he had to decide on and prepare right away was her gift. Sometimes, presents took a long time to get together, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was already off to a late start.

Although Amane had been busy with his new job, he regretted not starting earlier.

“Hmm, I feel like you would know best, Amane. You’re closest to her.”

“Yeah, you’re her boyfriend. You’re with her twenty-four seven.”

“I am not with her around the clock—get real. But…I guess you’re right. Mahiru isn’t very materialistic, though… Actually, anytime she wants something, she immediately weighs the cost in her mind and buys it if she can…”

“Ah… She is kind of like that, huh?”

Chitose sounded a little exasperated—she probably knew even better than he did, since she often went shopping with Mahiru.

“Mahiru never mentions things that she wants offhand. She’s the type who buys things for herself. I’ve heard her talk about things you might want, Amane, but almost never herself…”

I wish Mahiru didn’t worry so much about what I want…

As Mahiru’s boyfriend, Amane had a unique perspective on her desires, and his brow wrinkled slightly with uncertainty over whether that was a good thing or whether she was too hard to read.

“Well, like I said, at the moment, there aren’t too many things that Mahiru wants.”

“Last year, you got her hand cream and a stuffed animal, right? You don’t remember anything else she mentioned wanting? Even a general idea could give us something.”

“Last year… Well, yeah, there was something she said, but…”

She had definitely mentioned something she wanted, but—

“Huh, then in that case, as long as she hasn’t bought it herself yet, won’t whatever that is make her happy? Isn’t that a quick solution?”

“I know she hasn’t bought it, but, well, it’s kind of…”

“Kind of what?”

“Well, it’s a whetstone.”

“Huh?”

“Huh?”

“A whetstone.”

When they heard that unfamiliar word, the two high schoolers froze, and their minds raced to figure out what he was talking about.

I guess whetstones don’t really come up in normal conversation.

Their confusion was only to be expected, since it was something that would really only come up if you were close with someone really into cooking.

After thinking it over for a good five seconds, Chitose gave Amane a curious look. “You mean one of those things that you scrape your knife over every night?”

“I don’t think it’s every night, but yeah.”

Amane was confident that even he would lose his nerve if he caught her quietly sharpening knives in the middle of the night.

Incidentally, he had seen her use a whetstone before, and from time to time, she brought it to Amane’s place to take care of her knives, but when he saw her sharpening them with a keen eye like some kind of professional, she hardly seemed like a high schooler at all.

“…Mahiru sure wants the mega-practical stuff, huh?”

Chitose must have been imagining it as well, judging by the faraway look in her eyes. Itsuki simply looked disconcerted and confused.

“At the time, she said finishing stones were expensive, so she didn’t really need one. She said you buy it for life, not on a whim.”

“…When it comes to things like that, Miss Shiina really is eccentric.”

“It’s not exactly the kind of thing other high school girls her age would want.”

“Compared to that, I guess Chitose’s an open book.”

“Ah-ha-ha, thank you! Yes, it’s me, your typical high school girl. You can get me food, or bath products, or stationery. Makeup works, too!”

“Every time I try to give you anything, you make a weird face.”

“As a girl, I like makeup, sure, but getting them from someone else is always a crapshoot, you know? If someone gives me something in a color that doesn’t work for me, it’s a mess, ’cause I don’t want to use it and end up looking bad. I want to choose that kind of thing, based on what I already have, what I like, and how it feels after trying it, so it’s not really the sort of thing I like to get from someone else. Of course, it’s a different story if they really know me and do some research about what I want.”

“That’s a lot of trouble to go through for a present.”

Certainly, Amane understood that different colors suited different people, but he thought Mahiru looked good in anything. It was the first time anyone had pointed out that gifting makeup could be such a gamble.

Mahiru didn’t want any makeup, so there wasn’t any research for him to do, and there was a good chance she hadn’t mentioned anything about makeup to Chitose, either, since Chitose hadn’t said anything.

Amane couldn’t hide his disappointment that a possible option had come up only to be so quickly dismissed.

Chitose sighed. “It might backfire anyway, since she’s so beautiful even without makeup.” She continued, “Honestly, I think Mahiru would be happy with anything you gave her, Amane. Am I wrong?”

“I’m confident she would treasure anything I gave her… That’s not really the point, though. She might be happy getting a gift from me, but it needs to be something she’d like even if it wasn’t from me. I want to give her something that will delight her. That’ll make her twice as happy, right?”

Amane knew how much she loved him, so he could honestly say, without a trace of conceit, that Mahiru would treasure and be happy with just about anything he gave her.

Yet that would make the gift’s primary value the fact that it was from Amane, which was a little different from her cherishing it because it was something she herself wanted.

Amane knew Mahiru would appreciate any gift at all, but he wanted to give her something that she truly desired.

“…His love for her is deeper than the ocean, huh?”

“Like, Challenger Deep levels?”

“That’s in the ocean, isn’t it? Anyway, don’t make fun of him.”

“Oh, I guess it is. So sorry.”

The two of them would take any opening to tease him, it seemed. He gave them both a reproachful look, then sighed deeply as he abandoned the possibility that he would be able to think of a good present on his own.

“…Anyway, I’m counting on your advice. Like I said before, Mahiru doesn’t really want anything. She doesn’t ever mention that stuff, even to me.”

“Yeah, I’ve never seen Mahiru going, ‘I want this’ or ‘I want that.’ She never says more than, like, ‘Oh, this is nice.’ Even then, it sounds less like she really wants the thing and more like it just left a good impression.”

“Sounds about right. And if that’s all she says even when she’s out with another girl like you, Chitose, then it’s hopeless for me…and it’s not like I can probe her every thought just because I’m her boyfriend. Besides, Mahiru is…well, if she really wants to buy something…I mean, if there’s something she needs to buy, she immediately buys it herself.”

Generally, Mahiru didn’t have many materialistic desires, and she was a frugal person, but at the same time, once she concluded that she needed something, she was decisive enough to purchase it more or less right away. While Mahiru’s keen perception allowed her to determine what she really needed, it also caused her boyfriend to struggle with presents.

“Ah… Yeah, Mahiru doesn’t make unnecessary purchases, but when the right time to buy comes, she pounces right away.”

“Miss Shiina seems to be pretty strict with herself about things like that, huh? Hmm, something that will make her happy… What about some kind of matching set?”

“Oh, that might be a good idea. She shouldn’t feel anxious if it’s stuff you use around the house.”

“…Well, someone already manipulated her into getting us matching pajamas, and we went to buy matching dishes and cutlery. Mahiru doesn’t really seem to like having a bunch of stuff dangling off a key ring, and I gave her some accessories for White Day, so…I guess what we really need is more storage space.”

“Oh crap, I forgot you’re living together.”

“We are not.”

“Still?”

“…No comment.”

“Aww.”

“Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“Your face says it all. I don’t want to hear about it from you again.”

“You’re the one making a point of it, Amane.”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Now, now…don’t go losing your temper.”

For certain, the couple were the ones getting a rise out of Amane, but if the exchange went on any longer, things would get out of hand, and time would be wasted, so Amane swallowed his complaints and went back to ignoring Chitose, who was calmly plundering Itsuki’s cold french fries.

“So no ideas as of now?”

“If I could come up with ideas that easily, I wouldn’t be worrying. At times like these, Mahiru’s decisiveness and lack of interest in material things make things more difficult.”

“A present, huh…? Your main goal is to give Miss Shiina something that will make her happy, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Does it have to be a physical object?”

“…No, not necessarily.”

At first, Amane wanted to give her something that would last a long time, which is why he came to his friends for advice. But the gift didn’t necessarily have to be something physical.

“Well then, maybe an activity or a trip would work. If physical items aren’t so important, you can give her a memorable experience instead.”

“…That could work.”

His main objective was to give Mahiru a happy birthday, but maybe he had been too focused on the idea of a present as opposed to granting her wishes.

The best course of action would likely be to decide after learning more about Mahiru’s feelings. If he were to give her a present, he wouldn’t want it to be something self-indulgent.

“Which means I need to do some research on my darling Mahiru.”

“Yes, please.”

“Heh-heh, leave it to me, Amane! You sit right back and relax. You’re in good hands!”

“Now, that worries me.”

“Meanie!”

“Sorry. Thank you.”

“No problem.”

Chitose looked smug. It must have pleased her that Amane had specifically asked for her help. “Hoh-hoh-hoh, you should turn to me more often!” she crowed. She was getting carried away already, but Amane let it go. When it came to dealing with those comments, Amane knew ignoring them would work best.

As expected, Chitose stuck her lips out in a pout. More pressing was Itsuki, who spoke with a grin. “You can turn to me for help, too, you know.” He whispered the words more wistfully than usual, which caught Amane’s attention.

“I have been turning to you, though.”

“Ah, what he means is the job thing’s kinda been bothering him.”

“Huh? ‘Job thing’—?”

“I am still surprised about that, yeah.”

It seemed Itsuki’s pensive expression was rooted in his dismay at Amane going to Ayaka instead of him to talk about work.

Stabbed in the back by his closest ally, Itsuki shouted at Chitose shrilly, “How could you of all people turn on me, Chi?!”

An opportunity to tease seemed to present itself to Chitose, and she turned to Itsuki with the same cheeky grin she usually directed toward Amane.

“C’mon now, how can you say that? I’m the one who consoled you when you were sulking about it!”

“Listen, Chi—”

“This time, he came and talked to you before anyone else, just like you wanted, so cheer up.”

“Hold on, who said I was in a bad mood?!”

“Okay, well, are you in a good mood now?”

“I’m being ribbed by both of you, so my mood is terrible!” he said and turned away sharply. Itsuki’s embarrassment seemed to be growing by the moment. Both Amane and Chitose saw that his ears were faintly red. They smiled, and Amane poked his friend’s forehead gently, while Chitose prodded his shoulder.

“Do you understand how I feel now?”

“Sniff… I’ll be a little bit more thoughtful from now on.”

“Not just ‘a little.’ A lot, dummy!”

“I hate it when you get mad.”

“Same goes for you, Chitose.”

“You big meanie, sniff. Itsukiii, Amane’s picking on meee!”

“And you betrayed me today, so I don’t care.”

“Huh?!”

With the roles of betrayed and betrayer now flipped, Chitose stubbornly grabbed Itsuki’s shoulders, shaking him back and forth. Amane couldn’t resist laughing out loud.

“Parent-teacher conferences, huh?”

Itsuki and Chitose had promised to do some digging on Mahiru in the most casual and roundabout way possible. Meanwhile, a grateful Amane kept working hard at his part-time job while he gradually prepared for Mahiru’s birthday, trying his best not to let her catch on.

One day, however, notices were handed out at school, informing the students of an event that they weren’t exactly looking forward to.

After the culture festival was over, schedule-verification forms were sent out to parents and guardians to conduct another round of post-graduation surveys. As might have been expected, once November rolled around and exam season grew closer, it was time for the students to coordinate with the school.

To accomplish that, the school was setting up meetings with the students and their guardians to once again confirm their desired academic or career path and make sure it aligned with their performance and lifestyle.

Quickly skimming over the handout, Amane noted that his interview was one of the first, so he knew he had better tell his mother about it soon.

He would have to ask his job for some leeway around the time of the conference, which meant the first thing on his list was figuring out the dates of his mother’s visit. He was grateful that she was willing to come so far, but honestly, he wasn’t excited about it.

She’s gonna be over the moon.

Amane could easily imagine his mother throwing both hands in the air in triumphant delight once the plans were set. She was always excited to dote on her son—or rather, his girlfriend.

“Even worse, mine’s scheduled when my mom’s busy, so I gotta ask my old man. This sucks!”

And then there was Itsuki, who was glumly staring at his notice while idly holding it up to the light, as annoyance—or rather, disappointment—began to show on his face for completely different reasons.

Amane figured he must have been really upset, because even after homeroom was dismissed, he was still in his seat looking bitter. It was all too easy to read the displeasure in his expression. On the other hand, Amane didn’t feel nearly as negative about the meetings, so all he could do was frown and give a light chuckle.

“You really hate the idea of dealing with your dad, huh?”

“How else should I feel? I just know he’s going to hound me about my grades and my behavior and try to tell me where to go to college and all that.”

The man Amane knew and the man Itsuki knew as his father seemed like totally different people with totally different personalities. Amane had no choice but to accept that Itsuki knew what he was talking about.

“Hmm.” Chitose came over to Itsuki’s side, too, looking a little troubled. “I’m planning on having my mom come. She’ll be excited about a chance to dress up.”

“My mom’s coming, too… I don’t understand why our parents get so hyped up for these meetings. Some of them seem like they’re putting on battle gear—they get so dressed up.”

While loungewear would obviously be too casual for a school meeting, parents tended to wear outfits that conveyed a level of excitement, making things awkward for their children as they walked into school beside unfamiliar-looking parents.

Amane’s mother wore formal clothes all the time for her job, so he was more used to it than most, but he still expected her to show up in an even more over-the-top outfit. The thought was already putting him slightly on edge.

“They almost treat it like some battle, don’t they? Like their kids are going off to war.”

“I guess I can see how exams are battle-like.”

“That must be why they want to show off for each other. Don’t they ever consider the fact that their kids might find it uncomfortable for their classmates to see them like that? Don’t they worry that people might talk? You’d think they wouldn’t want their kids to be embarrassed of them.”

“Well, I guess I get that, but…my mom gets so worked up.”

“Ah-ha-ha, I can kind of imagine it, too.”

“Just act normal… That’s all I’m asking for…”

Amane’s mother, Shihoko, knew how to dress herself appropriately for every time, place, and occasion. Considering she would get to see Mahiru and be in a meeting at her husband’s alma mater, discussing her son’s future, Amane could only conclude she would be in very high spirits, no matter how he sliced it.

Amane was getting a little worn out just imagining it, so he decided to forget about his mother for a while and took a quick peek over at Mahiru’s seat. She wasn’t there.

Mahiru had left to run an errand in the library, but Amane was pretty sure their current conversation would have been unsettling for her, so he was also glad she was gone.

…I can’t afford to be careless about something like this.

He had never heard about Mahiru’s parents showing up to these sorts of things. He imagined that if they did, everyone would stare at them wondering who they were, and word would get around, so he figured that they had never gone to any school functions.

It seemed doubtful whether Mahiru even told them about parent-teacher conferences to begin with.

Considering how she felt about her parents, and how Mahiru’s parents felt about her, she might very well decide not to give them a single bit of information.

It was possible that if she told her father, Asahi, he might come, but Mahiru would certainly try to keep that from happening. Mahiru seemed to consider her father’s meddling as too little too late, and Amane was sure she would choose not to tell him.

“Okay, I’m getting depressed imagining my own meeting, too, so let’s stop thinking about it! Instead, oh, honorable sir, I’ve come to ask you about the matter we discussed earlier, heh-heh-heh.”

Attempting to lighten the heavy mood, Chitose raised her voice cheerfully, then gradually lowered it with a cunning grin.

Amane teased her, “That face, that face!” but internally, he felt relieved they were changing the subject before Mahiru came back. He peered down at the note Chitose was holding in her hand.

The school had already surveyed the students about their future plans, and before Amane knew it, the day of his parent-teacher conference had arrived.

The conferences were conducted after school hours, so that meant he needed to meet his mother after class, before his designated meeting time. The moment he saw her figure in the distance, standing in the visitors’ entryway, he could tell that she was already pretty worked up.

Generally, as long as Shihoko stayed quiet, she came across as a calm, gentle woman. But she had chosen a pantsuit and makeup that looked more professional than maternal. Amane thought she looked ready to go to work but with a bit more polish.

She had a crisp smartness to her, and her posture was perfectly straight. She looked so unapproachable, it was hard to imagine she was the same person he knew.

Even though she was his mother, she looked impossibly youthful—ageless—standing there as she received furtive glances from students who were still around for club activities or their own meetings, making it extremely difficult for Amane to walk up to her.

He couldn’t hesitate too long, though, because his meeting wasn’t something that could be moved around, so he steeled himself and called out to her. “Mom!”

Amane’s mother burst into a cheerful smile. “Oh, Amane, it’s been nearly a month, I think! I’m glad to see you seem to be doing well.”

When she smiled, her earlier expression, along with the air that had been hanging around her, evaporated, and she was the same old Shihoko he knew so well.

Amane suddenly felt exhausted, and his mother must have found his reaction funny, because she made an outrageous comment. “My, my. Are you so happy to see your mother that you’re feeling weak in the knees?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he answered with a glare.

It should have been obvious, but even when she was sharply dressed and ready for action, she hadn’t changed a bit on the inside. Her light, tinkling laughter was like the sound of a tiny jingle bell rolling around, and she set off down the hallway with a relaxed gait.

They were still quite early for their scheduled meeting time, and Amane’s mother didn’t seem to have a great grasp on the layout of the school, so the fact that she’d started roaming around meant she wanted Amane to give her a little tour.

He let out a sigh and chased after her.

“I can’t believe you, Amane. You never call me unless you need me for something. I’m simply beside myself.”

“You want me to call you when I don’t need anything…?”

“Sure, couldn’t you just call to chat?”

“But all you ever want to talk about are really dumb things.”

He didn’t necessarily dislike his conversations with his mother, but she was far too energetic, and for every question he answered, she launched into ten more, so keeping up with a discussion usually wore him out.

“That’s what chitchatting is, sweetie. What’s important is that we’re communicating.”

“Maybe you could tone it down. And stop giving Mahiru photos behind my back.”

“Huh?”

“Don’t ‘huh’ me.”

Even though he had scolded her once before, he knew that his mother was still secretly sending photos to Mahiru like it was no big deal, so he had to flatly shut that down once again.

“All right, then we’ll make a new group chat with you, Mahiru, and me, so it won’t be a secret anymore.”

“As if I would want that!”

“I’m just pulling your leg!”

Amane scowled hard. His mother had not, in fact, sounded like she was joking at all.

“Come now,” his mother scolded. “If you keep making faces like that, you’ll regret it when you’re nothing but wrinkles in the future.”

Amane decided any weird wrinkles on his face would be his mother’s fault.

When the scowl finally faded from Amane’s face, his mother asked him frankly, “So tell me, are you working hard in school like you should?”

“I’d think you would be able to tell by looking at my report cards.”

There was no way she didn’t already know the answer, since Amane didn’t hide anything from his parents and always sent them all his test rankings and any kind of report card.

“Well, that may be true, but it’s also a fact that you and your teachers are going to have different perspectives—you see different things. Don’t you think it’s better for me to hear how it’s going from you, directly?”

“…I’m trying to do my best, in my own way. At least, I don’t remember slacking off or doing anything to embarrass myself… I don’t think I’ve done anything like that, and I’m putting in the effort to make sure I don’t.”

Amane was aware that when he was in his first year of high school, he had worked hard and gotten pretty good grades, but he hadn’t had any particular goals for himself. He’d worked hard because his parents expected him to keep his grades up—that was all. He hadn’t felt any desire to do anything specifically, nor any sense that he should do anything. He had just studied because that’s what students did.

It was only when he entered his second year of high school that his awareness changed.

Amane had developed an unshakable drive for his future—one where he could stand beside Mahiru and feel proud of himself.

It was safe to say that his mindset had changed.

But he wasn’t just keeping his grades up without knowing why. The main thing that had changed was that he wanted to work hard for his own sake.

His motives and sentiments had become more proactive, and his drive had changed as well, resulting in his current grades being even better than his first year’s. He anticipated that the way things were going, his end-of-year assessments would also be quite good, and that thought encouraged him to keep working.

“Yes, well, I know that, but—”

“Now, listen…”

“Amane, you’re the type of person who always follows through once you make up your mind, aren’t you?”

Her direct words, without a hint of doubt, were more than enough to stop Amane in his tracks. He had always been at least a little dissatisfied with his progress.

“You are my son, and I’ve gotten to know you pretty well these past seventeen years. You’re incredibly disciplined, and you’ve never gotten a bad result when you’ve tackled your problems. Besides…”

“Besides?”

“You can’t be half-hearted now that you have Mahiru around, can you? It’s only natural for a boy to try and show off.”

His mother gave him a playful, roguish wink, and Amane pressed his lips tightly together and turned away.

“That’s obnoxious. Come on, Mom, it’s almost time. Let’s go.”

“My, my, I must’ve hit a bull’s-eye!”

Although he was annoyed by the unnecessary comment, Amane refused to acknowledge it and picked up the pace, leading the way for his mother, who was still grinning from ear to ear.

The parent-teacher conference was originally only scheduled for a short time—about ten or fifteen minutes—but Amane’s meeting wrapped up much quicker than that.

Amane’s behavior made him a model student, and there were no issues with his grades. What’s more, his test scores were comfortably within the expected range for the university he wanted to attend. All of which meant the conversation progressed rapidly.

He had expected them to take more time and talk things over in more detail. This was, after all, his last parent-teacher conference before he became a third-year student. In other words, his last meeting as a second-year before heading into exams. Yet it turned out to be a brief meeting, just long enough for a check-in with Amane, his homeroom teacher, and his mother, so it was somewhat anticlimactic.

Once they had thanked his teacher, left the room, and walked a little way down the hall, Amane’s mother cast off the uptight parental mask she had been wearing and donned her usual easy smile.

As his mother, she had probably readied herself for whatever might have come up in the meeting, but she must have been relieved that the teacher’s evaluation had been positive.

“Whew, well done. How wonderful to hear your teacher say that you’re doing well. I wasn’t worried about you to begin with, but now that I’ve heard from your teacher again, I know you’re working even harder than I thought, which is delightful news.”

“Working hard at my studies was a condition for living alone, after all.”

Although Amane was much more motivated in his second year, he’d done well academically in his first year of high school, too.

He didn’t think his parents were going to drag him back home at this point, but a promise was a promise, so he figured he shouldn’t give them anything to complain about.

“Ah, about that, we thought it would make you focus. I always knew you would work hard even if we kept quiet, though. Amane, you’ve always been so dedicated.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, well, you’ve always been an earnest boy, and I suppose it was hard to tell at a glance just how motivated you were about something. Now it’s like you’ve become the sort of person who has the determination to go after what he wants and always has another goal lined up after. Like you’ve powered up. I think it’s a good thing!”

“…Thanks for saying so.”

“Your grades have improved a lot since your first year. There’s nothing for me to find fault with. It seems like you found some strong motivation.”

“I’m not exactly doing it for Mahiru or anything. I’m doing it for myself. Although, it is true that when I look at her, it lights a fire under me. I feel like I need to work hard to keep up.”

Amane was willing to admit that he could be a serious person, but compared with Mahiru, there was an almost absurd difference in how disciplined they were.

Amane had never seen another person who was so strict with themself, and he knew she exercised an exceptional amount of discipline when it came to developing her abilities, which were just as impressive as they seemed.

She had already finished learning almost everything they were expected to learn in high school and had moved on to studying for exams and mastering the fundamentals, which he knew took incredible effort.

Mahiru always said, “Putting in effort to make things easier for myself is no hardship,” and the way she quickly dismissed any concerns about it made Amane worry whether she was overdoing it.

It was fair to say that as he watched her work so earnestly, he was quite concerned.

He hated the idea of giving up and going easy on himself while Mahiru worked so hard beside him, so he naturally got caught up in her way of life, and as part of his self-improvement regimen, he started engaging more seriously in his studies.

“I also think it’s wonderful that you both work hard and encourage each other to improve. You two are really an incredible couple, in more ways than one.”

“Now, hold on just a second…”

“Oh no, don’t glare at me, please! I’m complimenting you! It’s a compliment. If you’re getting on well with sweet Mahiru, then everything is great, isn’t it? What are you so unhappy about?”

“I’m unhappy about the way my mother thinks of me and about her meddling in my business.”

For his age, Amane was on unusually friendly terms with his mother, but that didn’t mean he had no complaints about her at all.

Mom sure does like to ramble.

He wasn’t sure whether it was on purpose or spontaneous, or if it was because she was trying to make Mahiru her daughter-in-law by any means possible.

No matter which reason was true, or maybe because all of them were, Amane’s mother always went out of her way to tease him about Mahiru, either to urge him on or to light a fire under him.

“Well! That’s harsh, just when I was trying to build rapport here.”

“Constantly doing things you know I hate isn’t ‘building rapport.’”

“Fine, fine, I’m sorry.”

Even still, she didn’t seem very remorseful, so after scowling, Amane made a show of sighing and resigned himself to only making her feel slightly guilty.

But his mother didn’t seem to feel apologetic. She strode down the hallway with a carefree gait. Head in hand, Amane was following her back the way they had come, when his mother suddenly stopped and looked out the window.

When Amane followed suit and stopped beside her, he could hear the shouts of students at club practice—something he had never had much interest in.

He heard raised voices shouting directions, yells helping the athletes synchronize, bursts of joy celebrating the teams’ accomplishments, and whistles signaling. Mixed in with all that, he could hear the concert band practicing in some classroom. It almost sounded like the musicians were cheering the athletes on.

“It’s so nice to hear the sounds of youth.” His mother smiled peacefully as she gazed out at the small, distant figures of the students, like there was something dazzling about them. “Well, anyway, I guess you’re planning on hunkering down and studying hard as you enter exam season, right?”

Amane had just been about to ask if there was something on her mind, when his mother reverted to her usual demeanor and glanced his way with the same look in her eyes as always. He could tell that even if he asked now, she wouldn’t give him an answer.

He decided to try and forget her previous expression, which looked like a blend of nostalgia and envy.

“…Well, about that,” Amane replied. “A year from now, anyone who wants to get into college will be taking their exams—actually, some will be done with them already—and you can only defer entry for a year, so…”

So isn’t working a part-time job risky?

The question had occurred to him, but it was a dumb thought, so he had put it aside. He had decided on his own that he could balance both work and school, so he had to, no matter what.

“Next year is going to be quite busy for you.”

“People’s second and third years of high school usually are. Though I can’t say I’m thrilled about the idea of having such a packed schedule.”

“Life sure is tough when you’re saddled with exams.”

No one would want to voluntarily cram their whole day with studying. Amane put the effort into his studies because he had to, and because he knew he ought to, for his own sake.

Amane was determined to do it all, and he understood that meant a full schedule.

“You’re working hard because you’ve already factored all that in, then.” His mother smiled. “Well, make sure to visit home in the winter, okay? You probably won’t have much free time next year with exams.”

“…I know that, and yet I get a little bummed out when I think about it.”

“Oh-ho, what a sour face. Well, it’s not exactly fun, is it? Exams put me through the wringer, too.”

“Were you a good student, Mom?”

“Are you asking so you can make fun of me?”

“Why would I do that?! I’m just asking about your grades!”

At the very least, his mother came across as intelligent. She was knowledgeable about a variety of topics, some obscure, and she was a rational communicator.

Amane figured she was a fairly smart person, but he couldn’t imagine what her grades had been like.

He knew very well from his seventeen years of living with her that she could hold a grudge if he hurt her feelings, so he was eager to clear up any misunderstanding. His mother gave him a cold, blank stare for a moment, before her displeasure was washed away with a single word. “Honestly…”

Then she answered, “Hmm, I wasn’t all that clever—not compared to your father—but if I had to describe my grades… Well, I’d say they were pretty ordinary. I didn’t really have any talents, so I think I was an average student.”

“Average, huh…?”

“What’s with that incredulous look? Regardless of how I appear, I was a quiet, well-behaved girl, you know!”

“Quiet and well-behaved, huh?”

Given her buoyant personality, he had to imagine that quiet and well-behaved were not the sort of words anyone else would have used to describe her.

“There’s something you’ve been wanting to say for a while—just come on out and say it, Amane.”

“There’s nothing I want to say.”

“Hmph.”

From the way she was glaring at him, he could tell that if he said too much, she would get even angrier, so Amane, who knew how to handle his mother, chose silence.

He realized it would be pointless to question her further after she turned away in a huff. “What a troublesome boy,” she grumbled, but Amane completely ignored her. “Anyway, I didn’t have any special talents, and I wasn’t a remarkable student, either. I chose my path, which was fine, but it was a sudden choice, so I didn’t have much time to cram for my exams. Let me tell you, I was quite a sight back then. I don’t think I even looked human.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“I must have looked like I was on the brink—just really bad shape, you know? Even my friends at the time told me I looked awful. Real ghastly, like something was driving me crazy.”

Amane stared at his mother, finding it hard to believe that her friends ever described her as ghastly when she looked as warm and welcoming as she always did. She nodded as she continued and said, “Looking back now, it’s easy to tell that I wasn’t very good at planning ahead.”

The way children typically saw their mother was quite different from the way their mother was seen by others. No matter how hard he tried, Amane couldn’t even begin imagining his mother looking that haggard.

As he stared at her, his mother smiled, cheerful and sunny, and shrugged. “Well, unlike me, you’re the type who always does everything necessary to prepare ahead of time, and you’re always serious and diligent about laying the groundwork for what you want to do, so I’m not very worried. I don’t think you’ll miss your mark, and I know you’ll keep your strengths in mind when you make your choices.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“And have you decided what your strategy will be for exams?”

“Definitely. I’m taking the exams required by the school I want to attend.”

“Sure, and any school is fine, as long as you want to go there, Amane. It’s only natural that your parents are curious, though. There’s nothing we can do if you don’t want to talk to us about it, but if you’ve got a good goal in mind, we’d be able to support you better if you sat down and talked to us face-to-face, you know?”

She spoke in a gentle, amiable voice that was tender and free of judgment. Amane felt a pang of guilt in his chest, telling him that he had been extremely ungrateful.

It should have gone without saying that his mother wasn’t criticizing him, and as her son, he understood that her words came from a place of parental concern. So as hesitant as he was, Amane knew he ought to lay out his feelings on the matter, and he slowly lowered his eyes.

“…Honestly, as long as I can work a fulfilling job that lets me live a decent life with Mahiru and still have plenty of free time, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

He had consulted with his parents, but Amane had chosen his university and major on his own. Though he wasn’t so rigid as to say that was the only school he was willing to consider.

“I’ve chosen a school and a major that, considering my abilities, seem likely to give me the greatest advantage in finding a job, rather than picking something because it’s what I really want. Of course from the start, I tried to choose something that was at least a little interesting.”

Amane had chosen a school that offered a program in the field he wanted to study, one where he expected he would be able to get passing grades—considering his academic abilities and how much work he was able to do—and where he thought there were some advantages when it came to finding a good job.

Compared to other students, who had a clear idea of what they wanted to study at university and of the sort of job they eventually wanted to find, Amane’s approach did seem a little irresponsible.

He was self-conscious about that fact, which was one reason he hadn’t been very eager to talk about it.

He was prepared to take the entrance exams and for all the hard work it would require. He felt like he had been doing his best to avoid embarrassment. But whenever someone asked him what he wanted to do in the future, his confidence deflated.

“First of all, I want to be able to live comfortably on my own. Second is the matter of having enough free time. My last concern is whether I like my job. Anyway, being able to live a healthy, balanced life is my only real condition. That means college is the place I’ll go to study in my chosen field, but I’m not passionate enough to choose a school based on that alone. I mean…I guess when I’m thinking about it, those things are what I prioritize.”

Amane was determined to pass his entrance exams, but as far as an idea of what came after, or any real passion for what he wanted to learn, he was at a loss. He was determined but not enthusiastic. All he could do was groan internally at the frustrating contradiction.

His mother didn’t seem angry or sad; she just looked into Amane’s eyes like she understood what he was going through.

“So you’re not sure whether you have a dream, huh? That pragmaticism is very like you, Amane.”

“I don’t know if it’s pragmatic or if I’m just listing off conditions because I can’t make up my mind.”

Comparing universities and choosing one based on the profession he wanted to pursue didn’t seem like something he felt capable of at the moment.

“I really envy people who’ve made a clear decision about what they want to do. When I decided to attend Dad’s old high school, it was because I wanted to live a quiet life in a place far away from home. I’m glad I’ve gotten used to things here and managed to build a place for myself, but…in the end, I don’t really have any vision for what kind of person I want to become or what kinds of things I want to do.”

“Well, I don’t really have room to talk since I went to art school with an awful lot of energy and enthusiasm, but I can say this: Amane, you have to choose something you won’t regret. This is your life, after all.”

“I know. This is one of those important life decisions.”

Amane knew all too well that the things he did during his student days would, to a certain extent, lay the foundation for the rest of his life. That was exactly why he found himself dragging his feet.

At times like these, Amane’s parents respected his autonomy, so the decision was entirely his to make, which made him anxious.

Compared to other students, whose parents made the decisions about their future or who were forced to give up on continuing education because of financial issues, Amane’s problem was not a bad one to have. However, it was precisely because he had so much freedom that he felt the heavy burden of responsibility.

If he made his own choices, it would be his own fault if he crashed and burned.

“We’re only going to meddle until you’re independent, and from then on, the two of you can live your lives, okay? You’re laying out your own path, Amane, so you should take your time and seriously consider the options.”

“I know.”

“Now, your idea of what you want to become or what you want to do might change completely, but you need to equip yourself with enough skills and knowledge so you won’t have any difficulty choosing a new path if one presents itself. Giving yourself all the tools necessary to succeed should be your priority while you’re still a student. Even if you try to expand your toolbox later, you won’t often have enough time or money to spare, so lean on your parents while you still can.”

“…Okay.”

“Relax. Despite how it may seem, your father and I have plenty saved up, just the two of us. We’ve stockpiled a lot so that you can go off into the world without any trouble. You can rely on us as much as you’d like.”

Amane’s mother had always respected his freedom, believed in his success, and offered her support when he needed it. Now she was probably just giving him a push because she understood that he was conflicted.

It made him realize that even though he had been thinking of his mother as someone who normally gave him trouble at times like these, she could actually be incredibly supportive, and he felt a warmth gradually suffusing his chest.

Whether she realized just how grateful Amane was or not, his mother kept smiling, as she always did, and she spoke with pride and confidence. “Heh-heh, I know you’re set on doing your best all by yourself, Amane, but please, depend on us just a little. Ah—I’m maybe not the best person to help with your studies, though. Please go to your father for that, okay?”

“How very like you to admit that.”

“Finding the right person for the job is always important.”

“You said it yourself—you don’t have any confidence when it comes to studying.”

“And did you have something to say about that?”

“…Not a thing.”

“Honestly… Oh, on the other hand, you can come ask me anything about fashion, you know. Your mother will pull out all the stops for you, Amane!”

“I’ll pass, thanks.”

“Amane!”

Whack!

He felt the impact on his back and heard the heavy sound, but it didn’t hurt. Rather, it was a literal push on the back to dispel the timidness and anxiety that had been clogging him up deep inside, and before he knew it, Amane started to feel a breeze blowing through him, clearing out the stagnant feelings that had settled in the bottom of his heart.

Amane, who managed to feel a bit astonished at his naïveté despite being shamelessly self-aware, was taken in by his mother’s good humor, and a small smile crept onto his face.

“Aaanyway, let’s go over and see sweet Mahiru, shall we? Is her conference today, too?”

“Mahiru’s is tomorrow.”

His mother hadn’t meant anything by asking, but Amane couldn’t say anything further on the matter.

Amane knew that what was supposed to be a parent-teacher conference was just going to be a one-on-one meeting, so it seemed that bringing it up would only be hurtful for Mahiru.

Amane’s mother had some idea of Mahiru’s situation, too, which was probably why she didn’t say what Amane was worried about out loud, and just looked disappointed.

“Oh, is that so? I thought that if your conferences were on the same day, we could go shopping together on the way home. Well, I guess I’ll say hello to her at home. Even though I just saw her, it somehow feels like it’s been ages.”

“Please do. Mahiru will be happy to see you.”

“Oh-ho-ho, you’re not going to stop us from meeting?”

“It would be pointless even if I did. You’re both always so happy to see each other—why should I try?”

Mahiru adored Amane’s mother and would be thrilled to see her, so Amane was willing to accept the risk that his mother would fill Mahiru’s head with all kinds of unnecessary ideas.

Mahiru naturally wanted to be fawned over, but she only allowed her boyfriend and his mother, whom she adored like her own parent, to treat her that way. Amane certainly wasn’t going to prevent her from being reunited with someone she liked so much.

That didn’t change the fact that he was concerned about his mother telling Mahiru stories she didn’t need to hear, so it was nonnegotiable that he would stand by and watch over them.

Sometimes, she takes advantage of Mahiru’s innocence to give her weird ideas, after all.

Without his father to counterbalance her, Amane’s mother got carried away—or rather, she got way too excited—and told Mahiru things she didn’t need to know yet or stories about Amane she didn’t need to hear. He wasn’t ready to trust her on that front.

“You’ve gotten much more lenient.”

“If I could get you to chill out, I’m confident I could be even more lenient.”

“How mean to say I’m not chill! Ha-ha!”

“I’m begging you to keep your voice down and to tone down the gestures a little. We can talk about that later.”

Amane’s mother spoke and acted like a much younger person when dealing with her son. He would have been able to respect her more if she toned that down, but he knew he couldn’t say that out loud.

Amane’s mother shrugged. Her expression said she thought her son was wound too tightly.

“…I wonder when you lost your cuteness?”

“I never had any to begin with, so say what you like.”

“See, that’s what I’m talking about… Oh!”

“Huh?”

Amane’s mother noticed first. She blinked repeatedly in surprise as she gazed down the hallway, and when Amane followed suit and turned his head, he saw two familiar figures.

One of them was Itsuki. His buttons were done up properly—all the way up to his collar, for once—and Amane could clearly see he was in a foul mood.

The other person was someone he hadn’t seen since the culture festival, dressed to absolute perfection in a sharp, stylish suit. He was looking at Itsuki pointedly, without a trace of tenderness. It was only when he realized that Amane and his mother were standing there that Itsuki’s father, Daiki, let some warmth settle into his eyes, and he gently smiled.

“Hello, Daiki sir. I haven’t seen you since the culture festival.”

“Ah, Fujimiya. And your mother, too. Hello there. Glad to see you’re keeping well.”

Amane wasn’t sure whether it was all right for him to poke fun at Itsuki for the way he scoffed dismissively when his father smiled at them in a way he never smiled at his own son. At any rate, he could be certain that Itsuki was in an extremely bad mood.

Amane knew Itsuki and his father had never seen eye to eye, and he’d heard directly from Itsuki about his family situation. Amane understood that Itsuki and his father were at odds, but today, the sparks really seemed to be flying.

…They must have had an argument before coming here.

Things had already been rough for Itsuki when the parent-teacher conferences were announced, and Amane figured they couldn’t get any worse. But when he peered at Itsuki, gloomy and irritable, he seemed to notice Amane’s eyes on him and turned to look out the window somewhat awkwardly.

“Thank you for always looking after my son.”

“I could say the same thing… Amane really trusts Itsuki and always relies on him.”

Amane’s mother must have picked up on the fact that Itsuki and his father were at each other’s throats, but she continued with the same unchanging smile on her face.

Whenever this happened, it was usually extremely awkward for kids to have to listen to their parents chat, but Amane was hopeful that if his mother could at least distract Itsuki’s father for a while, it might give Itsuki a chance to relax, even just a little.

“You know, we talk about your son often.”

“Hey, Mom—”

Amane was hoping his mother would be a distraction, not for her to reveal something like that when Itsuki himself was standing right there.

“What’s the matter?” Amane’s mother feigned ignorance. She seemed truly confused, and Amane was reminded yet again just how cunning she could be.

In all likelihood, she had said it on purpose to lighten the heavy mood. Amane felt like he had suddenly been struck from behind and raised his eyebrows dramatically.

“Mom, listen—”

“Oh, am I wrong?”

“You’re not wrong, but—!”

“Your father and I can tell that you really trust and depend on Itsuki.”

“Yeah, but who says that right in front of the person they’re talking about?!”

“If I don’t say it, he won’t hear it, Amane.”

“I tell him all the time!”

“Oh, is that true, Itsuki?”

With a wide, innocent grin, Amane’s mother roped Itsuki into the conversation, and Itsuki, who up until that point had remained silent, responded somewhat suspiciously, awkwardly scratching his cheek and nodding. “Uh, yeah. Sure. I mean, he does sometimes catch me by surprise.”

“Oh-ho-ho, sounds like Amane has gotten considerably more honest.”

Her voice was pleasant and high-pitched but lost none of its elegance as she laughed. Then she smiled gently at Itsuki’s father, who had been silently watching their exchange.

“As I was saying, truly, thank you for everything. My boy isn’t very up-front about his feelings, so it’s a great help for him to have Itsuki around.”

“…Seems that way.”

When Daiki agreed with Amane’s mother in a somewhat stiff, detached tone, rather than smirking at his father, Itsuki frowned in surprise.

His father must have noticed, because his almond-shaped eyes grew slightly sharper.

“Looks like you have something to say, Itsuki.”

“Not at all.”

No matter what, Itsuki seemed to refuse to relax his stubborn attitude, and his father sighed heavily, then pointed down the hall toward where Amane and his mother had been standing earlier.

“…I’m going to step away for a minute, so make sure you come to the meeting room before it’s time.”

“I know. Hurry up and go already.”

Itsuki’s curtness surprised even Amane, and Amane was one of the most reserved people there was. In fact, Itsuki seemed almost aggressive, like he was completely unwilling to cooperate with his father. Even knowing about their situation, Amane still felt a chill.

Daiki sighed again, deeply, and seemed to accept his son’s defiant attitude. Maybe he didn’t feel up to challenging Itsuki’s attitude again, or maybe he didn’t want to strictly scold his son in front of other people. Either way, he didn’t say anything more and quietly slipped past Amane and his mother.

Although Itsuki’s father was always polite when he was dealing with Amane and his parents, the tension between Daiki and Itsuki was undeniable. Once Amane heard Daiki’s footsteps receding in the distance, he let out a heavy sigh.

Amane, of course, wasn’t used to this kind of quarrelsome atmosphere, and as someone who was on Itsuki’s side come hell or high water, Daiki’s attitude made him incredibly uncomfortable.

Itsuki must have felt the same way, because his father’s departure caused the tension to soften palpably, and his expression softened as well.

Amane looked at him as empathetically as possible. “Yours is today, too, huh? I completely forgot.”

“You’re already done with yours?”

“Yeah. It was over quickly.”

“Oh yeah? Our time slot is the one after next.”

Their conversation was more matter-of-fact than usual, maybe because the earlier interaction was weighing on them. Although Itsuki had mellowed out considerably, Amane could still catch glimpses of the sharp pain still stabbing at him.

Itsuki himself must have been aware of his demeanor, because he lowered his gaze to the floor, a little uncomfortable.

Even though he was managing to keep the irritation on his face in check, he didn’t seem to be able to fully contain the turmoil in his heart. His eyes darted back and forth as he avoided Amane’s eyes.

“I don’t think there’s any point to these meetings, though. There’s never much to talk about, and I don’t know if they want to hear what I have to say in the first place.”

“What are you planning to do after graduation, Itsuki?”

Amane probably should have asked that earlier as one of Itsuki’s best friends, but given the situation with his father, it was difficult to bring it up. Amane wasn’t sure it was all right to ask him just then, but once the question was asked, there was no taking it back.

“I’ve made up my mind, but whether my dad will accept it is a different story. He has his own expectations for where he wants me to go.”

“And your mom?”

“She generally thinks that I should do what I want.”

Once the conversation turned to his mother, Itsuki quickly shrugged, letting a hint of surprise show. The sharp attitude that had been keeping everyone at arm’s length softened a bit more.

Amane didn’t have much to say about Itsuki’s mother—he had never actually met the woman—but she seemed to have a laissez-faire attitude that came through when Itsuki talked about her.

Itsuki had certainly been the biggest beneficiary of her lax approach.

“That sounds like quite a contrast…”

“Well, it’s not like she’s indifferent—she’s being practical. She knows there’s no way they can expect me to listen to every single thing they say, and trying to control me will just make me want to rebel, so it’s better to just let me do my own thing from the start.”

“She knows you very well, Itsuki.”

Itsuki’s mother’s accurate evaluation of her son made Amane laugh, as he watched the situation play out exactly as Itsuki had described.

He did think Itsuki’s way of phrasing things was a tad harsh, considering he was talking about his own mother. It was also clear that her relentlessly tolerant stance, which showed how well she understood her child, was a real lifesaver for Itsuki. That much was evident, based on how Itsuki had calmed down the moment the conversation turned to her. “It’s only my old man who hasn’t given up yet. I understand his reasoning and his feelings, but I can’t stand it when he forces things on me.”

“Mm.”

“Sure, it’s true that he’s the one paying for my school expenses, but man…I really hate that he uses it to completely overrule my wishes. Things like that are what make me want to fly the coop, seriously!”

“I don’t think your father would take things that far.”

Itsuki’s father had spoken with Amane about it when Itsuki wasn’t around, and Amane was convinced that Daiki wasn’t just forcing his wishes on Itsuki and ignoring what his son wanted. As an onlooker, it was frustrating. He knew that from Itsuki’s perspective, his father’s actions certainly seemed oppressive.

For better or for worse, Daiki was stubborn, and he was the type of person who was difficult to understand on the surface. Though he did seem to cause a lot of unnecessary friction with Itsuki.

“Hah, I wonder? Things are pretty calm right now, but I never know what that guy’s gonna say next. Does he even know they completely failed my brother with all their meddling? I’m not my father’s second chance at life, and I’m no copy of my big brother, either!”

Itsuki’s voice was cold and full of pain, like he was spitting up blood. There was an overtone of rejection there as well. He sounded like he wouldn’t allow any more comfort or sympathy from Amane.

Amane’s parents let him do as he pleased and were open and forthcoming with affection, and his appreciation for that fact allowed him to understand that if he said anything more, it would only hurt Itsuki, whose family dynamic stood in stark contrast.

It seemed like Itsuki had vented some of the pent-up feelings that had been building inside him. Amane wasn’t sure how his friend was interpreting his expression as Itsuki’s gaze awkwardly traced the floor.

“…Sorry.”

“No, you have nothing to apologize for. You’re the one going through it… I can’t force you to do anything, but I think you should go have a real conversation with him.”

“…I know.”

No matter what path he stumbled down in life, Itsuki must have known that if he didn’t talk it out with his father, they would never be able to move forward.

Itsuki nodded hesitantly, then left to head after his father.

Certainly, there were people in the world who couldn’t see eye to eye, even after trying their best to communicate. Daiki might not have thought so, but Itsuki believed his father was someone who would never understand him. There was a good possibility they would remain at arm’s reach forever.

When that happened, Amane would stick by Itsuki’s side. He was still a minor, so there wasn’t a ton he could do to help, but he intended to do anything he could to help his friend.

He was prepared if it came to that, but still, even if Itsuki and his father could never agree, Amane hoped they could at least express their feelings.

Amane wasn’t going to meddle in another person’s family business, but he couldn’t help wishing for that.

Amane’s mother, acting less overbearing than usual, had backed off a bit to let the two friends talk. She watched Itsuki as he ran off, before muttering, “It sounds like Itsuki’s really having a hard time.”

“Yeah, he is.”

“As a parent myself, I can’t say I don’t understand wanting your child to follow the path you think is best. If your kid wants to pursue something that has nothing to do with your own career, it’s hard to not let the disapproval show. You want your child to walk a path that has as little hardship as possible.”

With her own perspective, Amane’s mother was looking at Daiki and Itsuki’s parent-child relationship pragmatically. She sighed softly and shrugged. “Raising a child is hard, you know. I’ve learned that children need to live a child’s life, and when parents meddle too much, it doesn’t allow them to cultivate a spirit of self-reliance, so it’s best to give them room to breathe. Just pulling them back to safety when they’re about to walk down a dangerous road is enough.”

“You’re very rational about things like that, Mom.”

“Well, no matter how you cut it, excessive meddling does the child no favors.” His mother seemed completely confident in her blunt assertion. “Putting unnecessary limitations on a child is something parents do to satisfy themselves. They only justify it by saying it’s in their child’s best interest. They want that kid to act the way they want, so for their own convenience, they restrict the scope of their life. I hate that kind of parenting.”

Shihoko had always doted on Amane and looked after him, but she had never compelled him to do one thing or another. She had always respected Amane’s autonomy and had shown him a variety of paths.

Amane’s mother had never pulled him along by the hand. Rather, she had always watched over him from behind. When she saw danger up ahead, she grabbed him by the shoulders and stopped him, but after that, she stood by quietly and waited to see which path her son would take, no matter how he struggled.

Precisely because he had experienced that, Amane knew his mother was unwavering in her method of parenting.

“Kids need to be able to make their own decisions when they’re out on their own. If parents ignore that and keep their kids tied to them, it’ll cause trouble for everyone in the future. Losing a parent is torturous. It’s like losing a leg. You forget how to even stand. And that’s not the only thing that breaks down, you know.”

His mother smiled bitterly. She had casually but ruthlessly dismissed that approach to child-rearing, declaring it had nothing to do with a child’s well-being, no matter what anyone said. Amane wasn’t sure what she thought of his expression.

“Though I get the feeling Itsuki’s father is acting out of clumsiness rather than that kind of attachment and restraint. I don’t sense any malice in him. That said, it’s not like he’s unaware that he’s being strict. I’m not picking up on any feelings of guilt toward Itsuki—he probably can’t take back the stubborn things he says once he says them. He reminds me of my own father.”

The mention of someone completely unexpected made Amane tilt his head curiously.

As far as Amane could remember, his mother’s father—in other words, his grandfather—was a good-natured old man who loved to chat and was always smiling softly. He didn’t seem anything like the person his mother had just described.

Amane’s mother must have picked up on that doubt. “That man was only sweet to his grandson; otherwise, he was a stubborn man who was awful at communicating.” She laughed like it was very funny. Apparently, Amane’s grandfather had been even fonder of him than he had imagined.

His mother’s shoulders shook with mirth, and Amane felt bewildered by the fact that he was just learning this for the first time as he approached his eighteenth year. Then she nodded in apparent satisfaction and glanced down the hallway where Itsuki and his father had gone.

“Once someone has a firm grasp on logic and common sense, everything after that is up to their own nature and thinking. On the other hand, you do have to teach them enough so they can wipe their own behind as an adult.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.”

“Heh-heh, I’m not worried about you at all, Amane. You are your parents’ son, after all.”

“Well, I’m pretty confident that my way of thinking resembles Dad’s, to some degree, but…”

“The fact that you’re not giving me any credit makes me feel like I’ve still got more to teach you.”

“I was just kidding. Give it a rest, please.”

Amane groaned as his mother taught him a lesson about letting his mouth run, and the very person who had launched the attack patted him on the back as she laughed in amusement.

Amane had naturally taken off work for his parent-teacher conference. When the meeting was over, he went back to his apartment, accompanied by his mother.

It was normal now for Mahiru to spend most of her time at Amane’s, and that day was no exception. She had apparently been waiting for them in the living room, and she trotted over to the front door as the sound of the lock turning signaled their arrival.

Amane’s mother was no longer surprised by any of this—she seemed to consider it a natural part of their everyday life.

Amane wasn’t sure anymore whether he should feel displeased that she saw things that way or if he should be embarrassed by it, but if he complained, he would only get teased for being upset about something so normalized, so he simply had to accept it.

“Miss Shihoko, you came to visit!”

The two of them had seen each other at the culture festival, but it must have seemed like it had been longer than that for Mahiru, considering everything that had happened since then. Mahiru smiled at Amane’s mother as if this were an annual homecoming.

Amane’s mother was even more energetic than Mahiru. She cheerfully clung tightly to his girlfriend and cried, “Oh, Mahiru darling, you look well!”

Although she looked embarrassed, Mahiru accepted Shihoko’s hug happily, so Amane didn’t raise any objections. A part of him did want to complain that her reunions with Mahiru were much more emotional than her reunions with her own son, though.

Their affectionate embrace lasted awhile before Shihoko noticed the exasperated look in Amane’s eyes. “Amane’s getting jealous, so I think that’s enough.” She clearly misunderstood the situation, and Amane glared at her even harder.

“Were you here for Amane’s meeting today?” Mahiru asked.

“That’s right. Obviously, I had to come for parent-teacher conferences. Amane’s already at the tail end of his second year, and his teachers really wanted me to come in with him.”

Although it was rare for students at Amane’s school to be living alone, the school was understanding, and they hadn’t raised any objections when Amane’s parents had failed to appear at any of the previous parent-teacher conferences. However…now that their exams were approaching, it was important for his parents and teachers to talk at least once, so they had asked him to, if possible, bring a parent to the next meeting.

Even Amane would have felt uneasy leaving his parents out this time, and his teachers knew he was working hard to prepare for exams, so just this once, he had made sure to ask his parents to come.

“Did Shuuto have to work?”

“He did. It’s a busy period for him, and it didn’t seem like he could take any time off. Though it would be nice to have a four-person meeting, since it’s an important time.”

“That sounds like it would be really stressful,” Amane said. “Let’s table that idea for now, please. The regular meetings are already awkward enough for us students.”

“Oh-ho, I can understand that. But you should savor the awkwardness while you can, Amane. There won’t be any more things like this after you graduate.”

Parent-teacher conferences were typically uncomfortable and intimidating for the students, but they didn’t seem to be hard on the parents. Amane’s mother probably had an especially easy time, though.

She certainly seemed to enjoy the parents’ side of things. Amane answered his mother with a deep sigh.

November was halfway through—the air was getting colder, and hot drinks seemed more appealing. The warmth of the delicious tea Mahiru brewed for them spread throughout Amane’s whole body.

Amane had surrendered the seats on the sofa to his mother and girlfriend and sat cross-legged on the floor, taking little sips of his tea as he watched the two of them chat congenially. As always, his mother got along better with Mahiru than with her own son.

“You have your parent-teacher conference tomorrow, don’t you, Mahiru dear?”

Amane could have throttled his mother for the way she casually stomped right on that land mine. Though he knew if he overreacted, it would only provoke Mahiru, so he managed to stop himself with just a little groan.

When Mahiru looked up, she was wearing her usual smile.

“Yes, but mine will be a two-person meeting instead of three. I haven’t told my parents about it, so it won’t be a ‘parent-teacher’ conference, exactly.”

Even after the announcements about the meetings went out, Mahiru had not heard from her parents, and sure enough, it sounded like she hadn’t mentioned it to them, either.

Shihoko, who knew a certain amount about Mahiru’s family situation, looked at her very calm, unruffled expression. While Shihoko’s expression remained perfectly composed, she sighed lightly, then casually replied, “Well, I suppose that means there’s a free spot for me to join you.”

“Mom…”

When she made that preposterous suggestion, Amane almost rose to his feet. His mother wasn’t joking one bit, however, and with a very serious look, she said, “I mean, ‘parent-teacher’ means ‘parent-teacher,’ but they didn’t specify whose parent. In other words, as long as I’m somebody’s guardian, it should be fine, right?”

She continued, speaking as though she thought the idea was golden. “Besides, she’s essentially my daughter, so I don’t think there would be any harm in me hearing about her future plans. I don’t think I’m any different from her real guardian.”

“How can you say that with a straight face? Our homeroom teacher will laugh you out of the room.”

“What if I ask Shuuto to do it so it’s not so obvious?”

“I thought you said Dad couldn’t get any time off work.”

Even though he was fully aware that his retort wasn’t going to get him anywhere, Amane felt like he had to say something, and the words just kept on coming.

“Anyway, that’s not the problem,” he continued. “You can’t just ignore Mahiru’s wishes. Especially in a meeting about her future. If an outsider suddenly barged in, no matter how close they are to her, that would probably make Mahiru uncomfortable, don’t you think?”

“Ah, I suppose you’re right. Silly me, I do tend to charge ahead.”

“No, I’m so happy for the sentiment!”

“You don’t have to worry about my mom’s feelings.”

“I’m not just being polite. I really am so grateful, and I’m thrilled she wants to go. That’s the truth.”

Mahiru shook her head slowly, and he figured she was being honest. His mother’s proposal didn’t seem to have made her uncomfortable in the least.

The only thing that made Amane wonder whether she was genuinely happy for it was the sense of resignation he picked up on in Mahiru’s expression, even as shades of envy and yearning bled through.

“How great would it be if she could come with me?”

Mahiru hadn’t said anything, but Amane could almost hear her thinking that.

“However, we’re certain to wind up talking about my home life, so I think they’ll tell you that having you there will make the teacher hold back. Even if you were so kind as to accompany me, it would just be a waste of your time…”

Rejected, his mother let her shoulders fall in disappointment, but Mahiru immediately smiled again, taking Shihoko’s hand and looking into her eyes.

Amane wasn’t able to read the sweet yet bitter expression that briefly flickered across Mahiru’s face.

“Please understand I really do appreciate the thought. I’m so happy to hear that you think of me as a d-daughter, Shihoko.”

“Oh please, you’re already like a daughter to me, dear.”

“Mom…”

“Heh-heh, Amane, you’re blushing! You’re blushing!!”

“I’m about to be real mad.”

Amane wasn’t sure whether his mother had noticed the slight change in Mahiru, but at least Shihoko hadn’t pressed the matter directly. Then she had to drag Amane into the conversation, which changed the mood entirely. Amane, following along, shot her a half-hearted glare.

Shihoko seemed to find his attitude amusing, and she looked mischievous as she whispered to Mahiru with a carefree smile, “He’s hiding his embarrassment.” Then to Amane, she said, “It’s cute when you act like this. You’re easy to read. Don’t you think, Mahiru dear?”

“Amane is always cute.”

“Mahiru…”

“What? I do always think that you are cute and handsome, Amane.”

Amane understood that to girls, calling someone cute was a compliment and that she had meant it in a loving way. But given what he knew about Mahiru, he couldn’t completely dismiss the possibility that she really did think he was cute, which was hard to swallow.

Amane would have preferred that she leave it at handsome, but he was also aware that she had seen his many foibles and somehow, bafflingly, still thought he was cute. He obviously refrained from voicing his complaint, though he figured he could get away with shooting her a slightly reproachful look.

Amane couldn’t verbalize his dissatisfaction at Mahiru’s appraisal, and his mother looked at him with her usual smirk as she announced, “Well, that means sweet Mahiru gets to see cute sides of yourself you never show your parents. You’re only honest about your feelings in front of her, too, I assume.”

“Heh-heh, I think Amane is always honest about his feelings.”

“That would be wonderful, but our Amane, you know, is rarely up-front with me about how he’s feeling. Even though when he was little, he was so direct and sweet.”

“Just as you’d expect, I think boys of a certain age can’t be honest with their mothers. The embarrassment overrules it all. I think it’s wonderful that Amane just gets a little more outspoken but still stays so considerate. He does shut down when you say too much, though.”

“You’re exactly right, sweetie,” Shihoko replied. “He’s at the age where boys want to be aloof and brooding. Although on the inside, he hasn’t changed one bit from how he used to be, which alleviates any of my worries.”

“Why do I always feel like I’m playing an away game in my own home…?” Amane groaned.

Even though he had also felt like the odd man out during their visit to his parents’ house, he didn’t expect to feel that way in his own apartment.

He couldn’t let his guard down— Whenever Mahiru saw his mother, she was no longer solely his partner. She had no qualms about going over to the enemy’s side. Now the two were once again conspiring to whittle down Amane’s stamina.

“Goodness, does that mean I have the home field advantage, no matter where I am?”

“Could you give it a rest, Mom? Really, you’re unbelievable.”

“This is exactly what I was talking about, Mahiru. He tries so hard to hide it when he’s uncomfortable. It’s adorable.”

Shihoko laughed and teased him that they were only words, and Mahiru laughed right along with her. Amane felt his energy approaching dangerously low levels.

“Heh-heh, the two of you get along so well.”

“I wouldn’t call this ‘getting along,’ Mahiru…”

Amane was already completely exhausted. Mahiru giggled softly at him as she said, “Just my assessment as an onlooker,” and gave Amane an adorable wink.

After about an hour, Amane’s mother quickly and elegantly took her leave, stating she had work the next day. Immediately, the lively atmosphere settled down, and Amane got his peace and quiet back.

Although relieved that his usual peaceful, serene environment had returned, Amane also found himself wishing his mother could have stayed a little longer, since Mahiru seemed to enjoy having her there.

However, she often made comments that wore away at Amane’s spirit, so it seemed a quick exit was best. That was the problem with his mother—if she didn’t tease him so much, he would want her to spend a lot more time with Mahiru.

“Heh-heh, it’s good to see that your mother is doing well.”

Mahiru leaned back on the sofa with a relaxed smile, and Amane took a seat beside her, grimacing, and sipped on his cold tea.

“Yeah, sure, I mean she’s always energetic like that, but I’m glad she’s well, too. I’d seriously like her to calm down a little bit, though.”

“I think it’s good. It’s very like her.”

“Well, that is true.”

“Heh-heh, you have a hard time with your mother’s energetic personality, don’t you, Amane?”

“It’s more accurate to say that I have a hard time with all the damage that comes flying my way.”

Having Mahiru around seemed to make his mother about 50 percent more intense. Whether she was aware of that or not, Mahiru just smiled, amused.

For Amane, the most important thing was that Mahiru was enjoying herself, so he didn’t have the slightest intention of criticizing her, but still, he thought it would probably be a good idea to work out a better way to parry his mother’s attacks. He let out a sigh heavy with seventeen years of futility.

“Your mother seemed pretty busy, huh?” Mahiru muttered, perhaps remembering how suddenly Amane’s mother had departed after their chat.

“Yeah, something to do with deadlines for work. I’m just glad she could come at all. It sounds like my dad wanted to come, too, but he’s super busy right now and couldn’t get away.”

“Heh-heh, you have so much love in your life.”

She spoke amusedly, enviously, and earnestly, and her words made Amane bite his lip a little. Mahiru looked at him, her eyes softening.

“You’re very easy to read, Amane. I know you’re worried about my meeting.”

The moment he let his guard down, the sharp knife of truth came flying straight at him. Amane stiffened, but Mahiru saw his reaction and said in an incredibly tender voice, “Bull’s-eye, huh?”

Amane figured the fact that he had picked up on anything might only add to Mahiru’s burden, so he knew he should have pretended as though he wasn’t worried. Yet when he saw Mahiru’s face, he found it impossible to smile along and hide his true feelings.

“It’s just like you to be so kind like that, Amane, but I don’t want to put more on your plate. You really don’t have to worry about it.”

Mahiru, who apparently had easily understood his intentions, grinned at Amane’s embarrassment.

She didn’t seem hurt. She simply looked as if she had come to terms with her current situation, as though she were taking a more detached approach.

“You really don’t have to worry about it, Amane, okay? There’s no question that my parents are at fault. It’s wrong for them not to fulfill their responsibilities toward their children.”

“…Yeah.”

“Besides, I didn’t even tell them about the meeting because I was so confident they wouldn’t come. There’s really no way I would expect them to show up. I’m the one who eliminated that possibility, so I can’t expect any other outcome. I invited this situation.”

Looking at Mahiru’s incredibly faint smile, Amane couldn’t stop himself from frowning.

“The possibility that they might pay any attention to me… Hanging on to that incredibly thin, brittle thread without it snapping is impossible. I don’t want to suffer the anxiety of holding out hope for something so unlikely, so this is fine.”

“Mahiru…”

“I don’t really need my parents for the meeting, you know. I can make my own decisions.” Mahiru spoke definitively, without any strain or hesitation, and put on a quiet smile with a knowing look in her eyes. There was none of the usual warmth she showed to Amane.

“I don’t need my parents’ input to know my grades and transcripts are fine. Apparently, I’m enrolled in an educational endowment insurance plan, so I don’t need to worry about money, either. They’ve set aside funds for my education and job search, too. The one thing they made sure of is that I wouldn’t have any financial struggles, which is nice, I guess… As little as they’ve participated in my life, they have done the most to provide for me financially, which I’m grateful for.”

Mahiru was suggesting the trade-off was because they had never given her anything else. Amane read self-derision in her smile as she sighed.

He expected her breath to be warm, but he sensed a chill.

“I know how privileged I am. The two of them hired Miss Koyuki, who’s wonderful, to stay by my side, and maybe because they felt a little shred of guilt, they set things up so that I would never want for anything in my life. Thanks to all that, I grew up all right—like a normal person.”

Conversely, if Miss Koyuki hadn’t been around, Mahiru would have surely grown twisted, which Amane couldn’t possibly be happy about.

“I’m capable of making my own decisions without instruction from my parents. When I remember that, it doesn’t seem like a big deal that they’re not around… You don’t have to make that face, Amane.”

“Sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing now? Geez!”

Amane knew carelessly offering compassion and comfort, or agreeing with her, would only deepen her hurt, so the only thing he’d been able to do was listen and be there for her in her moment of vulnerability.

When he squeezed Mahiru’s slender hand, he could feel her warmth, less than usual, slowly entwining with his own.

He thought it would be good to lend her some of his warmth and held her trembling hand firmly as he inched closer.

Amane’s lack of hesitation in scooting closer surprised her, and after a momentary daze, she lowered her eyes awkwardly.

“I’m okay, really. My view of my parents is set in stone at this point. It’s far too late for that to change. It would be a lie to say it doesn’t hurt or bother me at all, but I don’t feel terribly sad over it. It’s just a given in my life.”

“You have to know that’s not something that should be normal.”

“Sure. But it is a fact, so there’s no point trying to ignore the truth. I feel it fully, regardless.”

Mahiru was likely overestimating her own strength, but she was unshakable, and Amane was underestimating her adaptability. He started to realize that as he adjusted his grip on her hand, which was slowly beginning to warm up.

“As far as I’m concerned, we had a clean separation, and that’s fine. It’s because I’ve lived my life alone that I was able to meet you, Amane, so I’m also grateful for that.”

“…Sure.”

Mahiru spoke decisively, in a dignified manner. His beloved was too dazzling to look at.

This time, he embraced her, not just her chilly hand, and held her close. Her slim body was trembling with surprise, but it didn’t take long for her to relax.

Mahiru, who had lived an honest, straightforward life, leaned her small body against Amane, reassured by his accepting embrace. It was enough to make it obvious how much she depended on him.

She wriggled around, adjusting her position until it was just right, then maneuvered to where she could easily look at Amane and smiled awkwardly.

“You are such a worrier, Amane. I’m not weak enough to be broken by something like this. If I got depressed every time this happened, I wouldn’t be able to live my life.”

“It’s not a matter of being strong or weak… I hate the idea that someone could so casually hurt the girl I love… It’s frustrating. I want to protect you, but this is another reminder that there’s so much I can’t do.”

There was nothing Amane could do about the environment Mahiru had grown up in or the issues with her parents she now faced.

He couldn’t change the past, nor could he affect her present.

He loved and treasured her, and desperately wanted to protect her, but as long as she had another family’s name, Amane was powerless. He was scared, too, that barging his way over that boundary might intrude on something that was tender and fragile.

For the moment, all Amane could do was hold her so those more fragile parts of her didn’t get hurt and do away with any unnecessary interference or irritation.

“This is my problem, okay? I’m not rejecting your help. I just have to solve this on my own. It’s something that only the people involved could understand.”

Mahiru also seemed to realize that Amane’s hands were tied and made it clear that she wasn’t asking him to do anything.

Amane understood that she wanted him to be his rock and never leave her side.

He nodded softly to Mahiru in his arms, who looked up at him quietly.

“It’s impossible for me to understand everything you’re feeling, Mahiru. No matter how much I care, our circumstances were different.”

“You’re right. In the end, I’m me, and you’re you. Even if you can put yourself in my shoes, you can’t know everything.”

“Yeah.”

No matter how much anyone struggled, they couldn’t change reality.

Amane was Amane, and Mahiru was Mahiru. Even if their lives intersected and intertwined, they would not become one and the same. Mahiru would never be someone else, no matter what anyone did, and no one could ever perfectly detail everything in her heart.

Her feelings were her own. Her thoughts were clear only to her.

Amane understood that face, and he had no intention of trying to force her to talk about her feelings or to try to make her do anything, really.

“But I love that you try to understand, Amane. You don’t try to force your values on me. You stay by my side and watch over me, and I love that.”

“…Mm.”

“I know that you care about me so much and that you treat me with incredible kindness. I’m constantly thinking about how lucky I am.”

Those must have been her true thoughts, straight from the heart, because her face melted into a soft, cherubic smile, and she pressed her cheek against Amane’s chest, looking comfortable as she enjoyed his warmth.

He knew this was Mahiru at her most indulgent. Recognizing her desire to be spoiled for once, Amane kissed her flaxen hair, which fell around her like waves, then touched his forehead to hers.

“…I’m going to make you even happier. If things ever get really tough, make sure you say something. You have a bad habit of toughing things out and saying everything’s fine.”

“I am fine. Ah—this time, I really mean it.”

“…But sometimes, you say you’re fine when you’re not, right?”

“I’ll keep that in mind. And I know that when I’m hurt, you feel hurt, too, Amane. I really am so loved.”

Mahiru spoke with an unflinching confidence that she didn’t use to have, which gave Amane a deep assurance that she accepted all his feelings.

He was overflowing with so much love for Mahiru that he could hardly stand it. He clung closer to Mahiru, melting into her warmth, and she just smiled and accepted his embrace.

“Heh-heh, if I was immature enough to let this make me depressed and desperate, I bet I would’ve started an argument like ‘How could you understand, Amane? You were raised with love and care!’”

“You know I wouldn’t have a comeback if you said that.”

Amane knew that growing up, he was showered with affection and that his parents treasured him. If she threw that in his face, his only option would be to apologize.

Even if that apology had a chance of rubbing her the wrong way.

Amane had come to understand quite well throughout his life that if someone mentioned something to a person who lacked that thing, it could upset them and cause a rift.

“Saying that would only hurt us both, so I don’t intend to.”

“…You still thought it, though, didn’t you?”

“Well, I can’t say the thought never occurred to me.”

That wasn’t a shock.

It was something he had been internally anxious about, and having her confirm it was, in a way, a relief.

He knew perfectly well that Mahiru’s life was not all sunshine and rainbows, but she rarely let that show, and knowing that was the case only made him love her more.

“If all I did was whine about things instead of coping or trying to improve my situation, I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors. And you didn’t pick your childhood, Amane, so blaming you for that wouldn’t accomplish anything, would it? I know the moment I said anything, I would regret it.”

She carefully and rationally explained that she didn’t want to argue or hurt him, maintaining her gentle expression all the while.

“It’s only natural that we have our differences… I grew up in a household that lacked the kind of affection you can find in almost any other home, and I’ve felt the effects of that over and over. During my elementary and middle school days, I processed all of that envy.”

Amane thought it was a wonder how such negativity hadn’t paralyzed her and figured it had a lot to do with Miss Koyuki’s presence.

“I don’t know the trouble that can arise as a result of being loved, or the annoyance of having parents stick their noses where they don’t belong, so I’m not in a position to say anything about that. I do feel a little jealous—just a little—but…I’m trying to be good and keep that reined in.”

Mahiru finished that thought and looked up at Amane with concern.

Amane was starting to wonder who should be worried about whom. He felt pathetic, and a mirthless smile rose to his lips.

“You almost never get emotional. You have a good handle on your feelings, Mahiru… Ah— Did I say too much?”

“Heh-heh, you’re right on the money… You’re really paying close attention to me. I can tell.”

“I definitely am. You’re the person I love. I’m always watching carefully.”

He wanted to know everything about the girl he loved. He wanted to understand the girl he loved. It was precisely because she was the girl he loved that he wanted to be attentive, so she could be comfortable around him. He wanted to make her happy. He wanted to protect her from anything that might make her sad.

He had all sorts of reasons, but they all boiled down to his all-encompassing love for Mahiru. He wanted to watch over her with care.

He wanted to do a good job and really know what she was feeling on the inside, instead of just seeing what was on the surface. He had said as much without hiding anything, and in his arms, Mahiru repeatedly knocked her head against his chest, struggling awkwardly.

“…Saying stuff like that with a straight face… You’re becoming more and more like your father.”

“Why would you say that during a conversation like this?”

“No reason.”

The sudden mention of his father perplexed Amane. Mahiru turned her face away uncooperatively to signal that she didn’t need to explain herself and gave him another bump with her head.

Somehow, he could tell she was just hiding her embarrassment, so he rubbed Mahiru’s back to comfort her, which earned him a vaguely pouty look. He smiled and said she looked cute like that, too, and kept rubbing. That seemed to make her pouting dissipate, and he felt her give up on resisting with a final “Good grief.”

“You know, I’m glad you said I take after my dad, though. Sure, he’s my dad, but I think he’s a person worth looking up to.”

“That wasn’t what I meant, but that’s also true. You ought to be proud, and I think your mother would agree.”

“My mom’s standards would be crazy high since she’s head over heels for my dad. You’re probably right, though.”

“Heh-heh, I wonder?” For some reason, Mahiru was grinning, amused.

When Amane looked down at her, she gave him an impish grin and looked at him cheerfully as she leaned against him again. Confused as he was, Amane smiled at Mahiru’s spoiled behavior, and they shared each other’s warmth.

Though he was charmed by the adorable, kitten-like way she snuggled up to him, Amane suddenly wanted to say something that had been weighing on him.

“I was just thinking…”

“Yes?”

“You think I’m a lot like my dad, right?”

“I think you’re just like him. That goes for your looks, too, but especially your behavior.”

It was only natural that Amane resembled his father, but setting that aside, he wanted to move on and asked his next question.

“Well, I wonder if you resemble Miss Koyuki?”

“Huh? M-me?”

It must have been something she had never considered, because Mahiru was clearly bewildered when she responded with a squeak.

“Yeah. From everything I’ve heard, I kind of get the sense you resemble her.”

Amane figured that while certain aspects of a person’s character and behavior were hereditary, others were picked up by those close to them.

Amane didn’t know Mahiru’s exact makeup, but at the very least, she didn’t seem to resemble her mother at all, and based on what she’d told him, she wasn’t like her father, either.

In which case, logic would follow that she might take after Miss Koyuki, who had had such a big influence on her upbringing.

“I—I wonder… I mean, it is true that I learned a lot of different things from her, and I probably do take after her there, but…you can’t really make that call if you haven’t actually met her yet.”

“That’s true, but it does seem like you might be a lot like her.”

“Based on what, exactly…?”

“Intuition, maybe? I think you probably do. Possibly.”

“Geez.”

Mahiru might have thought he wasn’t being serious, but internally, Amane was strangely confident about this.

Mahiru described Miss Koyuki as a refined, compassionate, and gentle person, and Mahiru herself had said she aspired to be like her. In his eyes, Mahiru seemed to have those same qualities.

Whether Mahiru was conscious of it or not, it was hard to think two people who exhibited the same behaviors could have no resemblance.

He had never had the chance to confirm it, so he couldn’t judge with any real certainty, but he imagined Miss Koyuki to be a wonderful person, likely on equal standing with Mahiru.

“I’ve had this thought before, but I would like to meet her someday. She’s an important person to you, right?”

“Yes, very. She’s the person who took the best care of me. I’d also like to see her again. It’s been a long time. I’m sure she has her own things going on, and she does have physical issues, so I don’t want to impose. We do exchange letters from time to time, but…I really do want to see her.”

“I see… You write to each other?”

“Yes. I would feel annoying contacting her all the time, so I really only send around one letter a season. And I hold on to every letter I get from her—they’re my treasures.”

“Mm.”

Mahiru’s cheeks flushed as she spoke, and her eyes glistened with sincerity. It was clear Mahiru really did miss her.

The fact that Mahiru missed her so dearly made Amane want to meet the woman even more.

“…Oh, that reminds me, I’ve got a photograph that was in one of Miss Koyuki’s letters. Wait just a minute. I’ll go get it from my apartment.”

Apparently, she had noted Amane’s interest in her old housekeeper. Mahiru gently pulled herself out of the loose hold of Amane’s arms, stood up, then looked at him with a grin.

“Are you sure?” he asked. “You don’t have to go out of your way—”

“You seem like you want to know what kind of person Miss Koyuki is. And I also want you to know more about her.”

“Well, I mean, she’s basically the person who raised you…and she’s important to the girl I love, so of course I want to know about her.”

“…There you go again. Geez.”

Even though he was just being honest, Mahiru puffed her cheeks up, yet her eyes danced as she left the room, her slippers flapping against the floor as she went.

She soon returned with the whole container of letters she had retrieved from wherever she had carefully stored them.

She held the adorable box gingerly as if it were a baby. “I’m back,” she said, rushed, as she sat down on the sofa and placed the box on her knees.

When she gently lifted the lid, he saw that she must have chosen the box to suit the size of the letters, because the envelopes fit perfectly in a neat little stack. On top of them was a single sheet of paper—a memo or something similar.

As Amane admired Mahiru’s organized storage solution, Mahiru’s pale fingers avoided the memo as she felt around for a certain letter.

It had a fancy, lacy envelope, and it looked like it had been cleanly opened with a letter opener so the contents could be easily removed. Mahiru pulled a single photograph out of the envelope.

She held the glossy sheet out to him without a moment’s hesitation. The photograph depicted a woman smiling gently as she held up a baby wrapped in a blanket.

If Amane had to say, the woman with the gentle expression was probably older than his parents. She appeared to be filled with joy as she looked down at the baby in her arms, yet her smile was modest.

“This woman here is Miss Koyuki. She’s apparently living with her son and his wife now and doting on her grandchild. Her son took this photo.”

“So that’s why she’s holding a little baby… I knew it—there’s something about her that reminds me of you, Mahiru.”

“I think you’re imagining things. We aren’t even slightly blood related.”

It pained Amane because he could almost hear Mahiru’s heart continuing on about how wonderful it would have been if they were, but Amane didn’t want her to see how emotional he was getting, and he kept talking in the clearest voice he could muster.

“Mm, what I’m talking about doesn’t have anything to do with blood relation, though. I think when people spend a lot of time together, they start to resemble each other. The way they talk and the way they think. You know, their gestures and stuff.”

Amane really didn’t think biology was the only thing that made a person who they were.

Certainly, Mahiru’s genes were one of the factors that had shaped her, but Amane was even more certain after seeing the photo that the person who had supported Mahiru and made her the person she was now was Miss Koyuki.

“At the very least, your smile is just like hers in this picture.”

Mahiru had probably never considered how her smile looked to others.

She really disliked having her photo taken. She didn’t take pictures of herself, and whenever she knew she was having her photo taken, she usually plastered on a fake smile. Mahiru probably had no idea what she looked like when she smiled alone with Amane.

Though he was a little hesitant, Amane picked up his phone, scrolled through his pictures until he found what he was looking for, and handed the phone to Mahiru.

He had taken the photo while the two of them were together and Mahiru was smiling happily, and while she let him snap the picture, her embarrassment had prevented her from ever looking at it.

Considering her privacy, he had refrained from looking at it, too, which he now saw was a mistake. Once he looked at the photo, it was clear that Mahiru shared several traits with Miss Koyuki.

“See, you’re both smiling so beautifully. Look here—the way you raise the corners of your mouth, and the look in your eyes, and the way you lower the outer edges of your eyes. I think you’re surprisingly similar. These are just photos, but your whole vibe is just like hers.”

Displayed there on his screen was Mahiru, wearing a beautiful, contented smile that was just as gentle as Miss Koyuki’s, looking like she had amassed all the world’s happiness in one place.

Mahiru stared at the screen, where she was seeing for the first time her own genuine smile. Then she touched her cheek incredulously as she looked back and forth between the photo of herself and the photo of Miss Koyuki.

“…No one’s ever told me that before.”

“That’s because you never had anyone see you like that before, isn’t it? You would never know if the two of you were only looking at each other—you wouldn’t notice the resemblance. Once I meet her, I’ll probably think you look even more like her.”

It wasn’t something he could judge just from a photograph, but Amane was sure his prediction was accurate.

“…I do look like her,” Mahiru muttered, like she was contemplating and digesting Amane’s words. There was a tenderness in her trembling voice as she quietly said, “I’m glad,” and let out a sigh as she leaned against Amane’s arm.

Mahiru’s head hung as she pressed her forehead against him, rubbing against his arm. From the position he was sitting in, Amane couldn’t see her face, but he could tell without looking that the expression on it wasn’t a negative one.

Amane smiled at Mahiru, who was holding the photograph against her chest so that she wouldn’t wrinkle it, and they cuddled close together until Mahiru was satisfied.

“Mahiru, you dropped something.”

Mahiru raised her head, her cheeks already curved up in her usual smile—perhaps with just a little more pride—as she ever so carefully put the photo back in its original place.

When she did, the memo that had been resting on top of the collection of letters slipped off, so Amane innocently picked it up.

It just so happened that when he did, the side with writing was facing up, and his eyes inadvertently followed the lines of ink.

Written there, in smooth handwriting that did not belong to Mahiru, were neat, skillful characters. There was one line of romaji, one line of numbers, and one line that was a mixture of numbers, kanji, and hiragana.

The lines were so short that Amane had already read everything before he realized he shouldn’t be looking. He averted his eyes from the memo in a panic and set it gently on Mahiru’s treasure box.

“Thank you.”

Mahiru, who was smiling at him cherubically, didn’t seem to notice Amane’s inner turmoil. She thanked him genuinely, closed the lid of the box, and held it close to herself.

Mahiru had gone out of her way to show him something and someone precious to her.

Amane was keenly aware of how much Mahiru admired Miss Koyuki. Mahiru was reflecting on the happiness she was feeling, and Amane patted her on the head as he tried to ignore the growing guilt within himself.

“…What should I do?”

The following day, Amane found Itsuki sitting in his own seat and clearly in a bad mood.

Of the two, Amane was usually the one who arrived at school first, but apparently, Itsuki had left home quite early that morning. Looking at Itsuki’s complexion, unaffected by the cold outside, Amane deduced that his friend must have arrived much earlier.

Yet he also sensed that Itsuki’s anger had eased considerably compared to before the parent-teacher conferences, which signaled that Itsuki’s meeting didn’t go too terribly.

“Mornin’. Looking pretty glum.”

“Morning. That’s the first thing you have to say?”

Amane greeted Itsuki casually, in a totally normal way, and Itsuki turned away from the window and smiled at him in apparent exasperation.

Itsuki’s attitude confirmed Amane’s assumptions. Amane shrugged and said, “It’s all over your face. How was yesterday?”

“You wanna hear about that?”

“I don’t know if I want to hear about it exactly, but I didn’t think you’d appreciate it if I danced around the subject. I figured you’d get all sulky about how I wasn’t giving you enough attention.”

“I’m not sure I’m comfortable with how well you know me, Amane…”

“Yeah, well, you should be used to it by now.”

Itsuki was the type of person who would tell someone to come at him openly if they were holding back, so being too solicitous was sure to irritate him.

In which case, Amane felt it was better for Itsuki emotionally if he asked directly, even if it was a little rude. Looking at Itsuki’s subtle relief, Amane could tell he hadn’t made a mistake.

“Well, we still haven’t reached any agreements. Just as I thought, he still expects me to stay here no matter what, so he’s not gonna go along with any of my opinions. He got pissed at me just for decidin’ which subjects to take entrance exams in.”

“Ah.”

Amane was also doing basically the same thing, but his parents, who were largely supportive, and Itsuki’s father, who was trying to hold Itsuki back, were getting completely opposite results. Amane felt a little bad about it.

“Well, I’ve already turned in the forms, so…”

“So you’re fighting back.”

“That’s all I can do, man. If I’m timid about it, I’ll get forced into doing what my father wants, so I plan to push back with all my might. The only choice left is brute force.”

Itsuki, choosing defiance over sulking, sighed and added, “I’m in a real bind…” But his eyes were shining with a forward-looking brilliance.

“Luckily, my mom started standing up to my dad, so I’m gonna make it work. She’s saying stuff like ‘See, I told you—even if you try to get back at him and force him to do what you want, it will never work,’ and ‘Didn’t I tell you? If you push him too hard, he’ll explode, then he won’t listen to your instructions or your advice,’ and ‘That’s enough already—stop it.’”

“Your mom sure is strong.”

“I don’t know whether to call her egotistic, uptight, or just decisive, but she always gets straight to the point and hates it when people aren’t being reasonable.”

From what Amane knew of her, she seemed a much blunter woman than most mothers, and Itsuki, her son, likely shared that view.

“I think our parents aren’t exactly normal,” Itsuki continued. “You know, it’s not like my mom isn’t interested in my future, but she’s, like, way more hands-off. I do what I want; she leaves me to it.”

“Well, it sounds like she approves, so isn’t that a good thing for you?”

“The flip side is she also tells me, ‘You have to work hard to make sure you pass those exams. This is what you said you wanted, so we’re not going to baby you afterward. Put your money where your mouth is.’”

“…Uh, well, that’s good, I guess. Yeah.”

Amane thought that was a rather extreme way of putting it, but it also seemed to be a way of motivating Itsuki, so Amane couldn’t criticize her.

“That’s true. She’s just telling me I gotta give it my all.”

“We’d both better bring our A game, huh?”

When it came down to it, it was a solid, undeniable fact that they had no choice but to put in the work. As fellow test takers next year, they both had to be determined.

“You’ve already decided and turned everything in, too, right?”

“Basically, yeah. I don’t have a clear idea of what kind of job I want, but there is a field I’m interested in studying, and I know I want to be able to support myself. I can decide exactly what I want to do later, and I figure even if I can’t do what I’m interested in for work, I can keep it as a hobby or something.”

“If you’ve decided that much, I’d say you’re good to go. Plus, I bet thinking about a life with Miss Shiina is pretty good motivation, huh?”

“Shut up.”

“Heh-heh-heh, you can even live together in college!”

“Listen, you—”

The second his mood turned around, Itsuki was off and running with the teasing. Just as Amane was starting to feel the muscles in his face tighten up, a gentle voice cut through the scene.

“Itsuki, if you tease him too much, Fujimiya’s eventually going to get back at you.”

Turning in the direction of the voice, they saw Yuuta, wearing his usual calm, soft expression. He was taking off his backpack.

“Yuuta, huh? Mornin’.”

“Morning, both of you.”

“Morning.”

Yuuta, composed as always, briefly cautioned Itsuki, “Don’t overdo it,” and after hanging his backpack off his chair, he came back over. “How’d the conversation end up there anyway?” he asked.

“Ah, we were talking about parent-teacher conferences,” Amane explained. “Then we got into our future plans, and for some reason, this guy couldn’t mind his own business.”

“Are you saying it’s none of my business? Isn’t he mean?!”

“You’ve been hounding him. I think he’s well within his rights here.”

“You’re not gonna take my side, Yuuta?”

“Nope.”

Yuuta nodded nonchalantly, like it was the only reasonable response, and Itsuki reeled overdramatically as though he had received some huge shock. The other boys knew he was just screwing around, so Amane and Yuuta paid him no mind and looked at each other.

“Everyone’s really worked up about these meetings, huh?”

“I guess so. Maybe it makes the impending exams feel more real.”

“How can you guys be so casually cruel?”

Itsuki recovered immediately from his pretend injury and snapped at them in a somewhat resentful tone, but he seemed ready to join the conversation—not angry whatsoever.

The three knew perfectly well that these exchanges occurred simply because this was Itsuki’s sense of humor, so when Amane heard Chitose and her friends talking a short distance away, saying things like “Itsuki sure does love acting silly like that” and “He always does when he’s with them,” he wished he could tell them to keep it down so Itsuki couldn’t hear them.

“Your meeting is the day after tomorrow, right, Kadowaki?”

“Yeah. I’m glad it’s on a day when my sisters aren’t around.”

“Seems like they might wanna come.”

“Ah-ha-ha…and I would firmly refuse, of course.”

Amane had never met Yuuta’s big sisters in person, but he had learned through secondhand accounts that they were intense. As an only child, Amane tried to sympathize with Yuuta.

“Have you already decided what you’re going to do, Kadowaki?”

“Yeah. For now, I’m aiming for a sports scholarship, and if that doesn’t work out, then I’ll take the standard exams.”

“You really get results during your matches, Yuuta… It’s totally possible for you.”

Even during his time as a second-year student, Yuuta did remarkably well, and Amane had seen him up on the winner’s podium plenty of times, so he didn’t doubt that Yuuta was the sort of talent who could achieve something like that.

After all, Yuuta wasn’t only good at sports; he had good grades, too, so he definitely had plenty of options.

“I hope you’re right. There are plenty of other guys just as good as me. I’ve got to keep up with my training, still.”

“You’re being kind of hard on yourself there, Yuuta.”

“Says Fujimiya, the king of self-deprecation?”

“Hey!”

“Heh-heh, just joking.”

“Even Yuuta thinks you put yourself down, man!”

“Nobody asked you.”

Amane was willing to admit that he could be self-deprecating, but now he had a lot more confidence. He was working on improving himself, so that even when he occasionally grew insecure and became aware of his self-mockery, he would be able to think positively. He could overcome much more now.

Itsuki’s teasing was another kind of innocent fun, so Amane gave him a deliberately pouty look and stopped there.

“It’s a simple fact that I still have a long way to go. It’s worth the effort to improve myself, and my coach also says I have room for growth and that I’d better work hard at studying and sports.”

“So the ace of the track and field club is a real hard worker, huh?”

“My place at the top could be taken away in the blink of an eye if I don’t work hard, you know. I don’t plan on giving that up until I graduate, and I’d like to lead the other members with pride as captain before that happens.”

“Captain, huh…? Sounds tough.”

Amane remembered that Yuuta had taken up the post of club captain right after summer vacation and expressed his concern over how difficult Yuuta’s busy schedule seemed.

Yuuta himself didn’t seem too worried and said matter-of-factly, “Well, everyone on the team is really dependable, so there’s actually not a ton for me to do.”

He continued, “Kazuya’s my vice-captain, and we have the coach there. It helps that all the members are reliable— I actually feel bad that I don’t do much.”

“They’re coming into their own by carefully studying their captain.”

“Yeah.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, you know.”

“I was just trying to make you blush.”

Itsuki grinned, teasing again. Without showing the slightest sign of agitation, Yuuta stared back at him with the same grin.

“Ohhh? Well then, let me try to make you blush, too, Itsuki. Listen, Fujimiya, the other day, Itsuki—”

“I’m so sorry—please forgive me!”

Amane couldn’t help but be stunned by how quickly Itsuki had reversed course, but his humble apology signaled to Amane that Itsuki had done something he really didn’t want Amane to know about.

However, with Yuuta having been interrupted midsentence, Amane would unfortunately never know. He was certain it was something that put Itsuki at a disadvantage, though.

“What did you do? Or rather, what were you trying to do?”

“It was nothing—don’t ask!”

“Ah-ha-ha! Itsuki’s eyes are pleading for forgiveness, so I’ll let it go.”

“So Kadowaki has the strongest defense against Itsuki…?”

Yuuta’s easygoing laughter lacked any trace of malice, which Amane thought really showed his strength. It seemed like the secret would be useful for keeping Itsuki in check. Amane was certain that Itsuki would make a sour face if he knew what he was thinking. Amane imagined his expression as he looked to Yuuta, who was wearing his inexhaustible smile.

Mahiru’s parent-teacher conference was relatively late, so Amane had been killing time studying in the library, and when he got word from her that she was finished, he headed toward the lockers where they had arranged to meet.

Not wanting Mahiru to walk home alone, he requested time off from work that day as well.

Watching through the window as the sun began to sink, Amane walked through the now-silent school, and when he arrived in the entryway, Mahiru, who had gotten there before him, was changing into her loafers, phone in hand.

The soft vermilion of the setting sun streamed in through the open doors, vividly coloring Mahiru’s flaxen hair.

Partially because there were no other students around, she looked somewhat lonesome standing there by herself.

“You got through it.”

Unable to wait any longer, Amane called out to her, and Mahiru, who had been looking down at her phone, raised her head and put on an airy, graceful smile.

“Sorry you had to stay late. Thank you for waiting for me.”

He could almost see Mahiru’s eagerly wagging tail as she trotted toward him—or as close as she could get while wearing her outside shoes. It was so cute, it nearly made him groan, but of course that would seem suspicious, so he cleared his throat to disguise it and lightly stroked her soft hair.

“It’s fine—it was my choice. I should be apologizing for making you wait. It’s cold over here.”

“Always taking responsibility. You must be trying to not let it bother me.”

“Why are you so good at seeing through me?”

“Heh-heh, I am, aren’t I? More importantly, thank you.”

“Sure thing.”

Amane was glad she understood how he thought, but it was awkward to be seen through so completely, so his embarrassment won out.

A reserved yet amused laugh escaped Mahiru’s lips; she was even able to read Amane’s embarrassment. Uncomfortable, he turned away to open his shoe locker.

“…So how’d it go?” Amane asked Mahiru with some hesitation. The two were walking home at a relaxed pace.

“Hmm.” Mahiru sounded conflicted immediately. It seemed like she was trying to decide what exactly the question referred to, but there wasn’t any anguish in her tone, and based on her lighthearted demeanor, she had likely already come to her own conclusion.

“That’s a hard question to answer. You know how understanding they’ve been this past year and a half about my parents not coming to these things, or at least, they accepted it when I said my parents weren’t coming. Though our teacher did make a sour face.”

“I guess that’s to be expected.”

“There’s nothing I can do about it at this point, though.”

Mahiru had already said she was operating on the assumption that they would never show up. She lowered her eyes in resignation and let out a tired sigh.

“Honestly, it bothers me when they pay it too much mind. I told the teacher ahead of time, and yet when it actually came time for the interview, there was this gloom in the air… It made me care more than I would have.”

“It’s a delicate issue. I’m sure the teacher was anxious about how to approach things, too.”

“Sure, but it still doesn’t feel very good to be treated with kid gloves. Especially when my situation doesn’t bother me in the first place.”

“Still, it must bother the teachers. There were no issues with the meeting itself?”

“No, I put in a decent amount of effort, you know, so the teacher isn’t worried about my grades at all. There’s no problem there or with my behavior, so considering the average scores required to get into the college I want, they said I should be more than qualified. If possible, I’d like to go for early admission, but if I can’t pass the test, I’ll go for regular admission.”

If Mahiru had any trouble getting into college, most of the other students would have trouble, too, so their teacher’s evaluation of her chances was probably accurate. If there was anything to say, it was probably the same thing Amane’s teacher had said to him about not participating in any clubs. But Mahiru had all the other qualifications, and she was being proactive about taking her practice exams, so that didn’t seem like it would be such a serious strike against her.

What Amane was most curious about was something they had been deliberately avoiding discussing in-depth: the path Mahiru wanted to take.

“What are your plans for the future, Mahiru?”

“If possible, I’d like to go to the school you’re aiming to get into, Amane. We’ll be in different departments, though.”

Amane was taken aback by how quickly she answered. Mahiru chuckled a little.

“Ah, it’s not that I decided on this path just because I want to be close to you. I chose this on my own. Naturally, I wouldn’t let a relationship decide my future.”

“Right, I know. You’re not the type to leave something like that up to someone else.”

“Heh-heh, I don’t think we have to be stuck together anyway… There is something I can’t make up my mind about, though.”

“Oh?”

“Well, supposing things work out and we go to the same college… These apartments will be a little inconvenient, right? I mean, the campus is kind of far. But I do like this location.”

“Mm, you’re right. Commuting would take over an hour each way, huh? I think that’s still on the shorter side, but it would be better if we could shorten the commute to something like we have now.”

Amane wanted to attend one of the colleges in the city, but since the school was in central Tokyo, if they lived outside the twenty-three wards like they did now, commuting would mean walking to a station and taking a train, which would take quite some time.

Although it would take less time than commuting from another prefecture entirely, Amane wanted to shorten the commute as much as he could. Commuting to college would take energy, so if he could live closer, it would also give him more peace of mind.

“That said, I wouldn’t be able to see you so freely if I lived in a dorm, and I don’t really like communal living anyway. I hate sharing a bathroom, and I don’t like it when people are too loud. So I’m not interested in that.”

“Same here. I would be so lonely if I couldn’t see you anymore.”

“Well then, we’d better look into moving to a different apartment building… Is it selfish for me to say I don’t want to be apart from you, Mahiru?”

Amane firmly opposed the idea of separating for college after putting so much effort into their relationship and living next door to each other. Mahiru seemed to share his sentiments. Waves rippled through her flaxen hair as she shook her head and smiled.

“A-about that, I was actually thinking, um… I… If I can, I want to stay with you.”

“Great, I’m glad.”

Although Amane was happy that she didn’t want to be apart from him, he realized he first had to consult with his parents about moving.

He had already told them which university he wanted to attend, so considering they had already acknowledged he would continue living alone, he figured it ought to be pretty easy to get their approval, so long as rent didn’t change much.

That said, he feared it might be difficult to find a place with proper security and similar rent, even if he was willing to compromise on apartment size. Even if he chose a place a little farther away from school, where prices were lower, there would likely be quite a difference compared to some place outside of Tokyo proper.

When he thought about that, it wasn’t so easy to say he was ready to move. He put his hand over his mouth, humming as he thought about what to do, and Mahiru looked up at him anxiously.

Seeing her like that, Amane suddenly thought of one possibility.

“At this point, it might be easier if we moved in together.”

“Wh—?”

“I was just thinking, if we got a place together, our rent would stay at a reasonable level. Besides, it’d be nice to see each other coming and going.”

It was a simple idea—all of their various bills, including water and electricity, would be cheaper if they rented one big apartment together rather than two smaller apartments separately. Amane didn’t think it was a bad one.

He also had a feeling his parents would wholeheartedly approve of him sharing a place with Mahiru.

Amane was already calculating rent costs as he casually scrolled through real estate listings near his university of choice, but Mahiru gave a vague, unclear response. He couldn’t tell whether it was affirmative or not.

“…Th-that’s true…”

“Mahiru?”

He thought it was a brilliant idea, but Mahiru’s expression was stiff and brooding… Or rather, there was bewilderment and bashfulness spread across her face.

“You think it would be all right to live with me, Amane?” Mahiru mumbled.

Amane dropped his phone in his lap after hearing her question.

…Wait, did I just say we should live together?

He’d been talking without thinking, so he hadn’t even realized what he was saying, but that was basically it. That was how Mahiru was taking it as well.

As soon as he became aware of it, his thoughts were instantly churned into a chaotic mess. Agitated and flying into a panic, he waved his hand back and forth vigorously, driven by a mix of overwhelming embarrassment at his proposal, astonishment at his own poor judgment, and guilt for confusing Mahiru.

“S-sorry, that was an incredibly selfish thing for me to say! I’m sure you need your own private space, and that’s not the kind of decision I can make on my own, is it?! I guess I was just thinking about the future, and, I mean, being happier t-together—maybe it would help me do better in school, and… Anyway, s-sorry.”

He knew he’d better grovel after charging ahead without consulting Mahiru’s wishes, so he gestured frantically in a panic, apologizing the best he could.

But Mahiru just stared at Amane. It looked more like exasperation than anger.

“Apologizing makes it sound like I’m criticizing you.”

“Th-that wasn’t my intention, but, I mean, it’s true that I said something totally selfish.”

“When you say ‘something totally selfish,’ you mean something that was solely for your own convenience, without any consideration for what I want?”

“Yes.”

“…Then it wasn’t selfish.”

He thought he had misheard her.

He doubted his own ears, because the words he heard seemed far too convenient. But when he looked enthusiastically at Mahiru, her cheeks were unbelievably red, and she was pointedly looking up at Amane with expectant, damp eyes.

Amane wasn’t stupid enough to think her expression meant she hated the idea. When he realized she actually wanted to spend more time together—to live together under one roof—he suddenly grew hot, like a fire had ignited deep in his chest, and the heat surged all the way up to his eyes.

“It’s all right if I accept your invitation, isn’t it?” she asked, trying to keep her embarrassment in check.

“…Yes.”

In response to her unassuming question, Amane felt his heart begin to pound, and the sound of it seemed to urge his body on as he quietly gave his consent.

“I’m glad.”

“Me too.”

Regardless of how much time he had spent with Mahiru, or how close they had become, there was nothing Amane could do to relieve the awkwardness of that moment. After all, they had both just agreed to move in together.

As of now, Mahiru went back and forth between their apartments, and they were together most of the time, but even so, actually living together was a completely different story.

After so vehemently shutting down Itsuki’s jests about them living together, Amane felt extremely disconcerted that he had asked Mahiru without even realizing it. At the same time, Mahiru saying yes completely washed away the embarrassment with a wave of joy.

Mahiru reacted with a little embarrassment, and she gazed back at Amane with a cherubic smile that had a hint of bashfulness.

“Even now, I’m plenty happy, but still, I could meet you at the door every day, or you could meet me, and I could tell you good-night right before bed, and we could set off on errands from the same place, you know? Just imagining it—it sounds super nice. It’s a happy thought, eh-heh-heh!”

Amane was captivated by her gratified, sheepish smile that mirrored her bashful words. Then Mahiru’s expression turned vaguely uneasy, like she had suddenly realized something.

“Ah, I w-wonder if we ought to go see your p-parents about this? It doesn’t feel right to decide all on our own; you’re still their son, after all…”

“Hmm, well, you’re probably right, but I think my mom and dad will be happy. If we’re doing that, maybe I should go see Miss Koyuki, too…?”

When it came to Mahiru’s parents, her father was more complicated, but her mother seemed completely indifferent to Mahiru, so Amane had deliberately left them out of the discussion, as he figured there was no need to bring her down, and he was glad Mahiru hadn’t noticed.

When the moment came, Amane intended to send her father, Asahi, the only one of her parents he could contact, an announcement that he was carrying Mahiru away. For now, he wanted Mahiru to think only happy thoughts.

“I know Miss Koyuki cares about you, and I think she might get worried if you have a strange man living with you. I think we’re at the point where I should go and pay my respects first.”

“Y-you’re right. I also want to go and see her, and introduce you to her, and let you hear all her stories… I definitely want to make time to go and do that.”

“O-okay, let’s do that.”

Their flurry of a conversation continued for a short while, but after thinking about it more carefully, they realized they were getting ahead of themselves. They hadn’t even passed the school’s entrance exams yet. Now aware of their rampant enthusiasm, the two burst out laughing.

Even so, the fact that they had exchanged a definite promise about the future was certainly enough to lodge a great deal of hope and joy in their hearts.

“We better give those exams everything we’ve got.”

“Yeah, I’ll put in the work to make sure I pass. We’ve got a lot to do.”

“You’ve added to your own workload, though, Amane.”

“Guess I did. Well, I made that decision knowing I have exams coming up and everything, so I’ll take responsibility and keep working until I meet my goal, and I won’t let up on my studies, either.”

Amane was prepared for the added responsibility when he first took up his part-time job. He didn’t intend to start slacking off now. He had chosen his path because he believed he could handle it.

“I’m not going to argue, since this is what you chose, Amane. All I can do is cheer you on and help you out day-to-day.”

“No, you should prioritize your own things, Mahiru. My responsibilities are my own business.”

“I’m just going to do what I feel like. I won’t overdo it.”

“…And I don’t suppose you’ll compromise on that?”

“Heh-heh, that’s the kind of person I am.”

“I know.”

Both Mahiru and Amane had gradually come to know and understand each other over the past year, so they both knew that once the other made up their mind about something, they wouldn’t concede.

It was extremely important to them both to respect and value their partner’s decisions. Amane resolved once more that this was the secret to being able to live comfortably together, and he squeezed Mahiru’s hand after she sweetly leaned in close.

…A chance to talk, huh?

He thought about what they had just discussed and silently turned the words over in his mouth.

He decided that once Mahiru went home, he would keep working on the partially written email that was sitting in his drafts folder.

November and December were filled with parent-teacher conferences and preparations for final exams, all following right on the heels of a round of mock college entrance exams. It was a busy time for any high school student, and Amane was no exception.

In early December, he not only had to contend with exams, but he also had Mahiru’s birthday coming up. He was taking a lot of days off at work, so he wasn’t spending much time there and ended up trying to squeeze shifts into any spare moments he could find.

“Oh, is it that time already? Young people have it so hard.”

The café was nearly empty—perhaps because it was nearing nightfall—which gave the staff time to chat. Amane relayed his life updates.

Miyamoto, who was working the same shift, nodded nostalgically as he carefully washed the delicate siphons, which could not go in the dishwasher.

“You’re still quite young yourself, Miyamoto.”

“I’m an old hand who has already made it through his exam days.”

“And next, you gotta make it through your job-hunting days, huh?”

“Same goes for you!”

Oohashi had just seen off what would probably be their last customer of the day and ribbed Miyamoto as she came back. When he replied, his expression changed to one of irritation, like he had more to say.

Oohashi was fundamentally a kind and cheerful person, but she gave Miyamoto a hard time. To Amane, they seemed like good friends, but whenever he said that, they both denied it in unison, so this time, he kept quiet.

Instead, Amane asked, “By the way, how did the exams go for the two of you?”

“God, I don’t wanna think about it,” Oohashi moaned.

“Ah—”

“I just studied normally and took the tests like everyone else,” Miyamoto said. “Though I would say I studied several times harder than when I was trying to get into high school.”

“Fujimiya, honey, this guy may seem flashy, but he’s actually real smart, so don’t believe his every word, or he’s sure to let you down!”

Amane hadn’t ever really asked about their grades, nor had he the opportunity to, but from what Oohashi was saying as she mimed spitting on him in disgust, it seemed like Miyamoto had better grades than her.

“I mean, I took school more seriously than you, so my grades were better…”

“Stupid, stylish playboy!”

“Ha-ha-ha, call me whatever you want. Putting in a normal amount of effort does not amount to letting someone down.”

“Shut up.”

Oohashi ruthlessly cutting down her friend made Amane anxious, but judging by Miyamoto’s indifference, he figured this back-and-forth must be normal for them.

There was no need to worry. He and Itsuki had these kinds of exchanges, too. But he still felt uneasy, wondering if Miyamoto was all right with her being so short with him.

It wasn’t really his business, but Amane could vaguely sense how Miyamoto really felt about Oohashi.

Although he would have liked to see her return Miyamoto’s feelings, it would have been insensitive of him to stick his nose in their business, so all he could do was watch and wait, along with Souji, who also understood their situation.

“End of the year, you’ve got career counseling, exams coming up, Christmas and all that. Life gets so busy. By the way, it’d be a huge help to the owner if you adjust your hours early, before exams start.”

“Oh, for sure. I already submitted my schedule changes. I’ll cut back a little on my hours before exams so I can focus on studying.”

He was setting aside prep time for Mahiru’s birthday, too. It wasn’t like he could take the whole month off, though. He intended to make it all happen and use his time wisely to get everything ready.

“Okay, as long as you tell us your hours ahead of time, we’ll make it work.”

“Speaking of Christmas shifts… I’m sure you’ll want to be with your darling girlfriend, right? We don’t want to keep you from her.”

“Well, I mean…”

Amane had heard that the café tended to give the Christmas shifts to the single employees, so he had never expected to get stuck working one.

In a sense, it was only natural for the people without Christmas plans to pick up shifts for the ones who had them, but now that reality was sinking in, it filled Amane with guilt, making him want to bow his head and apologize.

Miyamoto, however, gave him a carefree smile. “It’s fine, it’s fine. Have fun with your sweetheart.”

“But if I’m the only one taking off—”

“It’s all right. We’ve already decided that the guy who works afternoons will take over the shifts. You haven’t met him yet. We get major bonus pay starting right before Christmas and continuing through the New Year, so he wants those shifts to make extra money. I plan on taking some, too.”

The restaurant industry always got especially frantic during the end-of-year busy season, Miyamoto explained, smiling, and Fumika took that into account when raising their pay and handing out bonuses, which suited those without plans just fine.

“Awww, it’s because you don’t have a partner,” Oohashi teased.

“Shut up. You don’t, either.”

“H-how did you know we broke up?”

“Because you tell me every little thing about your love life! Or did you forget?”

“E-easy now.”

For some reason, whenever he just let the two talk, they tended to get into arguments, so, feeling like he should interject and change the subject, Amane turned to face them again.

“Actually, there’s something I’ve been wanting to ask you guys.”

“Hm?”

“What’s life in college like? I’ve gone to open-campus events, and even though those gave me an idea of the general vibe, I still don’t know how actual college students feel.”

“Ah, I guess, as a high schooler, you would be curious about that.”

He seemed to have succeeded in changing the subject, as they both looked disarmed and looked up at the ceiling, humming thoughtfully.

They were two peas in a pod, though Amane didn’t say so aloud.

“Hard to say,” Miyamoto began. “It’s…it’s not like an extension of high school or anything. Depends on the department and the subject, but the way they do things isn’t as rigid as in high school. I made my own schedule, and it’s not as jam-packed as back then, either. My schedule was way more intense back in my exam days.”

“Why did they pack our schedules like that anyway?” Oohashi complained. “I feel like it was the busiest time of my whole life.”

“Maybe it felt that way because you don’t usually have much going on?”

“Put a sock in it, mister.”

Though Amane wondered how it always took just a few words before the two were at each other’s throats, he chalked it up to their particular style of communication.

According to Souji, who was more used to dealing with them, arguing was their default state, and Amane was definitely starting to believe it.

“I think it’s super fun to be able to take classes in fields I’m interested in, but honestly, my other lectures are pretty boring. Can’t avoid ’em, though.”

“No way anyone enjoys those…but I guess they’re important for getting all your credits. It would be great if they could get rid of those. I always think about skipping them.”

“But the fundamentals are important.”

“Who cares?”

“Now, now…”

“Well anyway, unlike high school, you have to be more active,” Miyamoto continued. “I mean, your main focus will be research in your field, and you have to do the work to manage your course load, so there’s more personal responsibility, I guess. To a certain degree, you choose what you’re gonna be studying, so the choices you make there are important. Also, if you’re not a morning person, beware the first lectures of the day—they’ll kill you. The most dangerous time is when you get comfortable and start slacking off.”

“Daichi’s overslept more times than I can count, so that’s some realistic advice,” Oohashi added.

“That was my own stupid fault.”

“Yep! Stupid, stupid!”

“You’re one to talk! You overslept most days in high school.”

At this point, their exchange seemed almost like a couple’s comedy routine, and Amane couldn’t help but notice how well they seemed to know each other.

“Also, this varies depending on the school, but mine is a lot more lenient than I thought, and campus life is great. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, though. You can choose whether to join a club or not, but either way, you’ll learn all sorts of new stuff you didn’t know before and make plenty of new friends… Speaking of, clubs can be nice places to socialize and whatnot, but eeevery so often, some hotshot will join and wreck the group dynamic. Sometimes, you can find yourself in danger, so that can be scary.”

“Don’t try to frighten me, please.”

“No, it really is scary!”

“Well, okay, sure, yeah.”

“You don’t want to hear about it. I’ll stop.”

Amane got a chill when the two of them stopped and peered down some invisible abyss, nodding sympathetically to each other with meek expressions, as if they had seen something truly horrible.

“Jealousy and relationship drama. Scary stuff.”

“They stay with you forever.”

When it came down to it, the biggest challenge for Amane wouldn’t be the lectures or the coursework, but his social life—a fact etched into his heart. He resolved to protect himself and avoid getting mixed up in any strange situations.

“Right, well, I don’t plan to get too close to anyone except for my girlfriend, and even if I join a club, I’ll remember to maintain an appropriate distance from any ladies there. I don’t want to be suspected of cheating.”

“You’re weird, Fujimiya, so I feel safe saying you’re not likely to get mixed up in any trouble. Though on the other hand, I also kind of feel like you might get dragged into something, despite being such a weirdo.”

“Will you please stop saying such ominous things?!”

Amane was practically shaking as he told Miyamoto to knock it off.

Miyamoto laughed. “Ha-ha-ha, just joking!”

But for Amane, it wasn’t a laughing matter, and he was still afraid.

“Well putting all that aside, if anything ever happens, just come and talk to us,” Miyamoto concluded. “I’d like to hope that if you do need to reach out, I’ll be done with job hunting.”

“The best outcome is that nothing bad happens at all.”

“…Somehow, the more I hear about your difficulties, the more my dreams of college life evaporate.”

“You dreamed of college?”

“No, not really. It’s more like a stepping stone to adulthood and finding a job… Should I be saying this? I’m going so I can complete my education to nab a good job later.”

Amane didn’t really picture college as something to enjoy; he had been thinking of it as additional time he could use to prepare for job hunting.

Of course, he did have a strong spirit and drive when it came to studies he enjoyed, but he couldn’t make a career out of that. It was closer to the truth to say Amane was ultimately going to college to give himself options for the future.

Though he understood colleges were primarily research institutions and places of learning, if someone asked him whether he was going to devote everything to research in his field, he would shake his head.

He was somewhat worried about whether that was okay, but Miyamoto, a current college student, seemed shocked.

“You must be a real serious student if you’re worried about that! It’s not that big of a deal, is it? Actually, I doubt there are that many high school students who are raring to go, unwavering in their determination to attend a certain college and study a certain subject because they want to get a certain job. There are plenty of people who just want to study something they’re interested in or who go because they’ll have a hard time finding a job if they don’t have a degree. Others think everybody else is going, so they might as well go, too. There are even some people who think it’ll give them more time before they have to get a job.”

“Oof, that hurts to hear,” Oohashi said.

“Yeah, well, I think you’d better express your gratitude to your mom for all the times you made her cry during your high school days, Rino.”

“I’ve already said my thanks to my mom. Besides, we’re all good now that I have a proper goal.”

“Oh, is it?”

“Shaddap.”

“…Anyway, people have all sorts of reasons, and it’s nonsense for other people to complain about them. What you make of your time there is more important than why you came in the first place. Oh, and how you use your education after graduating. Ultimately, after college, we all gotta walk on our own two feet, and you start to see all the results play out in your life, so as long as you’re satisfied with what you do, you’ll be fine. Don’t pay any mind to what other people say.”

Miyamoto gave Amane a good-natured pat on the back, and he felt a fraction of the weight lift from his shoulders.

Particularly because this was coming from his older coworkers, rather than from some authority figure like his parents, or even from a very close friend, it really sunk in. Amane felt a light breeze blow through his chest.

He was sure that he probably would have taken the words differently if they had come from his mother or Itsuki, so he was glad he had heard them from Miyamoto.

“Oh, are you talking about college?”

While Amane was quietly taking Miyamoto’s words to heart, Fumika appeared from the back, walking toward them with a relaxed gait.

She must have been working in the back, where her employees didn’t normally go, because this was the first time they had seen her all day. She was wearing her usual sweet, amused smile, and, as if her cheer was forming a cloud around her, the aroma of baked sweets wafted through the air.

“Oh, hey, boss.”

“Something smells incredible.”

“Heh-heh, I was testing out a recipe for a limited-time cake in the back. I was thinking about selling it around Christmas.”

“Ah, I was wondering why you weren’t out here in the kitchen.”

Apparently, she had been working in what was essentially her own private kitchen in the back, so it was no wonder a delicious scent surrounded her.

Fumika seemed to have her opinions when it came to making sweets, and apparently, once the cakes met her exacting standards, they would be available to customers. It sounded like she offered a different Christmas cake every year and spent the rest of the time testing out recipes behind the scenes.

“Oh, stop, please. I haven’t had a snack… I’m running on empty…and it’s right before dinner… Aw man, it smells so good!”

“Well, that’s perfect. I was just looking for taste testers. Sneak in here and have a taste. Keep it a secret from the others, okay?”

“You’re an angel…”

Fumika laughed in amusement as Oohashi dramatically pressed her palms together in a show of reverence, but then she seemed to notice Amane’s eyes on her and beckoned him over with a smile.

“You two can come have a taste, too. If you like sweets, that is.”

“All right! Your cakes are so yummy.”

“Oh my, you’ve got a knack for flattery.”

“I really mean it!”

Miyamoto and Oohashi walked on ahead of Fumika, who laughed pleasantly.

Fumika looked at Amane to ask whether he was coming with them. After a brief silence, Amane looked her directly in the eyes and asked, “Um, could I have a moment?”

“Sure.”

Fumika looked puzzled, like she couldn’t possibly predict Amane’s next words. He closed his eyes for a moment, debating whether he should continue.

Fumika had been eager to hire him, despite only having been briefly introduced. She was incredibly flexible about accommodating his shifts, and she had given Mahiru those coffee beans. She had always shown concern for him in various ways and looked after him. If it weren’t for her, he definitely wouldn’t have a job as nice as the one he had now.

For all those reasons, he wasn’t sure whether it was all right for him to turn to her for even more, but she was certainly highly qualified.

Despite the guilt he felt from Fumika’s inquisitive gaze, Amane knew he had to secure the last remaining piece, crucial to the success of the fast approaching, all-important day. Though hesitant, he opened his mouth.

“…Would you happen to have any amateur cake recipes?”

Amane headed home the moment his shift ended. He was relieved to find Mahiru rushing up to him, her gait easy and elegant.

He had messaged her from the train to say he was probably going to be late, but since it was past the time he usually came home, he thought Mahiru might be worried, and sure enough, she did look concerned. But he was glad to see that she didn’t look too anxious.

“Oh, Amane, welcome home. You were a little late tonight, huh?”

“Hey. Sorry, I had to stay after a little to help with something. It was no big deal. Did anything happen while I was gone?”

“Mm, no, nothing really. The seasoning on the stewed vegetables I made for dinner came out just perfect, though.”

“Nice. I’m excited to try it.”

Hearing that the food Mahiru had made while waiting for Amane had turned out well was good news for Amane, too, and as he changed into his slippers, the corners of his mouth lifted, and Mahiru said with a confident smile, “Please go ahead and set those expectations high.”

Although Amane had gotten a free snack from Fumika, there was no way that was enough to satisfy the stomach of a high school boy. He had rushed home anticipating Mahiru’s cooking.

He smiled and, as he took his coat off, expressed his excitement to Mahiru. She gracefully took his coat, although she seemed to hesitate when she did so.

It seemed she was going to put it away for him.

“Thanks.”

She didn’t have to do that much, but she seemed to want to, so he had no reason to refuse and handed the coat straight to her.

Mahiru was looking at Amane’s coat with a smile, when suddenly, her gaze shifted to his hand.

“…Amane, isn’t your finger a little red there?”

His girlfriend was extremely thoughtful and perceptive.

He had, in fact, burned his finger that day, just a little. Really, it was only for a moment, and he had cooled it properly afterward, so it didn’t even blister, and it was only faintly red. He hadn’t expected her to notice it.

“Ah… I burned myself a little on the stove in the kitchen. It was just for a second, so it’s a minor burn, and I took care of it right away. It’s just a little red.”

“…Does it hurt?”

“Only a little. I was just careless. I’ve accepted the consequences.”

Even though he said it wasn’t bad enough for Mahiru to worry over, she still registered her discontent by adorably sticking out her bottom lip, so to console her, Amane ran his palm gently down her head, following the bewitching river of her flaxen hair.

He used the same hand he had burned, but even when touching things, there was no pain.

“I said I’m all right. The senior employees said this happens all the time working in food service.”

“…Just be careful that you don’t get any serious injuries.”

“I will be careful not to cause you any worry.”

“Good to hear.”

Amane would avoid fooling around so that he wouldn’t make Mahiru anxious, and he fully intended to not let it happen again.

Following his sincere promise, Mahiru said, “Your health is the most important thing,” and shot him a concerned look, then went to put Amane’s coat away in his room. After watching her go, Amane headed for the sink to wash his hands after getting home from work.

As he walked to the sink, he felt a slight pang of guilt over not telling Mahiru the cause of the burn.

With parent-teacher conferences behind them, the next thing the students had to face were the busy weeks leading up to final exams, which ran from the end of the current month to the beginning of the next.

Amane’s days were already hectic, between preparations for Mahiru’s birthday and his job, so adding all the extra work he needed to put in before a round of exams made his load even heavier, and he found himself with very little time to relax.

Still, it was sufficient, and he didn’t feel bad about it.

“Going right into a study period after finishing parent-teacher conferences is seriously so depressing.”

Itsuki let out a sigh, staring down at the test prep worksheet packets that their considerate teachers had given them.

The students were grateful that the lead teachers for each subject helped them out by distributing collections of what would be on the tests, but still, it amounted to a lot of paper, which disheartened many students. The tests covered a broad range of material, so they had plenty to memorize—something the volumes of packets made immediately apparent.

“There’s a lot more pressure around finals than there was when we were first-years,” Amane said. “The teachers are way more concerned about our grades this time. We’ve got a big burden to shoulder… But the tests cover an insane amount, and classes go through it so quickly, so I guess this is how it’s gotta be.”

“Still, this is too much…”

Like everybody else, Chitose was holding her packet and came over wearing an unflattering, dejected expression. Beside her, Mahiru was wearing a very bitter, firm, strained smile, so she must have noticed that Chitose was very upset.

“No, seriously. It’s impossible. I’ll never get all this done.”

“Me too. I hate this.”

“You say that, then score decently, Amane, and your grades are good.”

“I mean, I take our classes seriously, so…”

“You look so calm… Ugh…”

Chitose was stricken, yet urging her to study was the only thing Amane could do. His test scores reflected the amount of effort he put in daily, so his only real option was convincing Chitose to try harder.

“You’ve got to show a little more drive, Chitose… And you obviously have no enthusiasm for math…”

“And I have absolutely no clue how I’m supposed to start liking it. I mean, what should I do?”

“It’s different for each person. I like math a fair bit, or at least, out of all our subjects, it’s the one where I can usually figure out an answer. It’s like a puzzle. It’s fun to apply the formulas we’ve learned and work out the answers.”

“I feel the same,” Itsuki agreed.

“But I can’t figure that stuff out!”

“Come back after you’ve actually memorized all the formulas.”

“Hmph!”

“Chitose, you assume you’re not good at something, and it stops you from getting motivated. That’s your problem,” Mahiru said. “You are not actually that bad at subjects that require memorization, so I don’t see why you haven’t memorized the formulas…”

“Because just looking at math problems makes me gag.”

“W-well, there’s nothing I can do about that…”

Chitose rejected the whole concept of studying so strongly that it was almost safe to say she was allergic. Mahiru, who was tutoring her, gave Amane a troubled look, asking for his help, as though it was the only thing she could think of at that point.

For Amane’s part, he thought it was impossible to force the issue if the person in question had no motivation or energy, so he really felt like they had no choice but to find a way to motivate her somehow.

“For now, let’s just try to get her to memorize the formulas that are definitely going to be on the tests, since even just remembering the foundational ones should be enough to keep her from failing. I don’t want to see a friend of mine fail and go through remedial school hell.”

“Nooo!”

“No, not ‘nooo.’ It’ll happen to you.”

“Waaah, Mama Mahiru, Papa Amane’s being mean to meee!”

Chitose clung tightly to Mahiru beside her. But Chitose was obviously taller than Mahiru, so despite her deliberately childlike behavior, she didn’t look the part.

“I don’t seem to remember having a big old baby like you,” Amane scolded. “Quit hanging all over Mahiru like that.”

“Are you jealous?”

“Yeah, yeah, super.”

“…If you admit you’re jealous, I’ll back off.”

“Having fun?”

“You’re imagining things.”

She was definitely acting like she was having fun being uncooperative, but Chitose turned away dismissively, her carefree demeanor a complete reversal of her previous whiny child act. Amane could feel a headache coming on.

In a quiet voice, Chitose added an unnecessary comment. “I noticed that you didn’t deny being husband and wife.”

Amane glared at Chitose to shut her up, then let out a quiet sigh as he stuffed the many printouts he had received into a folder.

“Speaking of finals, Amane, what are you going to do about work leading up to the test days?” Chitose inquired.

Amane actually had the day off, so he could take it a little easy. As he was looking at his schedule on his phone, he mentally worked through his plans.

“Mm, I’m on the schedule as usual. I’m gonna go in normally, but I requested off for the two days leading up to finals and for the test days themselves, so I think I’m all set.”

“You’re pretty confident, thinking you can make that all work.”

“It’s all thanks to Mahiru. She’s been teaching me all sorts of things at home. She’s a good teacher, you know.”

Just because someone was good at studying didn’t necessarily mean they were skilled at teaching other people, but Mahiru was an extremely talented instructor.

Possibly because she approached the problems with a perfect grasp on the material, she could always understand the essence of any question, and after asking her student to indicate where they were getting stuck, she gave hints and examples to push them along.

When it came to subjects that required memorization, Amane also had to practice on his own sometimes, but other than that, under Mahiru’s careful tutelage, he pretty much understood everything.

“I don’t doubt it, but you gotta understand the basics to pick up everything else so easily.”

“Yeah, ’cause they’re the base-ics. You build on top of them.”

“Give it a rest already—it hurts to hear!”

If this sounds like criticism to you, then you’ve made some mistakes, Amane thought. Of course, that would have been too harsh to say, but Chitose seemed to sense what he was thinking and wilted.

“Well, there are also some older workers at my job who are good at studying,” Amane continued. “So when things are slow at the café, I get them to teach me a little bit. Most of what I need I can get from my friends, Mahiru, and my coworkers.”

“Tch… What am I supposed to do? Get help from my brother…? He’s useless at studying. I can’t count on him.”

“I bet your brother’d probably cry if you asked him for help, Chi.”

“He’s made me cry plenty of times, so that’d be fine with me.”

Amane figured brothers and sisters could have a hard time getting along, judging from how Chitose was shrugging and waving her hand in exasperation. Amane imagined she probably had many things to think over.

For what it was worth, Amane had heard that Chitose’s family life was very good, so he wasn’t too worried about her relationship with her brother. When it came to her grades, however, he was somewhat concerned, and he hoped she would somehow find some motivation.

“Your schedule is packed with all sorts of things. You think you’ll be all right?”

After that, the boys and girls split up, and Amane, who remained in the classroom with Itsuki, nodded in response to his concerned question.

Incidentally, Mahiru had been whisked away by Chitose; apparently, they had gone to a nearby convenience store.

Amane wanted to talk over his plans with Itsuki face-to-face, so he had asked Chitose to get Mahiru away as naturally as she could, but when she’d started carrying on about exams, he had gotten a little worried that he wouldn’t actually get any time to talk.

“Yeah, I’ll make it work somehow. One way or another, I could survive indefinitely with this much on my plate. It’ll give me useful experience.”

“That’s the power of love!”

“Shut up.”

“Yes, sir.”

This back-and-forth was familiar for them, and after a bit of light banter, and before broaching the important subject, Amane checked that there wasn’t anyone around them who was likely to snitch to Mahiru.

“By the way, does it seem like you’ll be able to do what I asked?”

He had asked Itsuki to do a number of things to help with the preparations, but there was one thing he was counting on in particular—something only Itsuki could do.

Amane, who wanted to give Mahiru lots of joy on her birthday, had come up with something based on what he knew of Itsuki’s workplace and job description and had entrusted the task to his friend.

“About that, well, I do think I’ll be able to do it, but…I think the store owner could do a way better job of it than me, you know?”

“Mm, you’re probably right. But I want you to do it.”

He knew a professional would do a better job than Itsuki could.

Still, Amane had asked Itsuki.

Even though he’d said it in all seriousness, Itsuki pursed his lips as he screwed up his face in an uncertain expression. Then he heaved a very deep sigh. It was still too early for the sun to go down, but the color gradually painting Itsuki’s cheeks made it look like he was being illuminated by the sunset.

“…That’s what you have to say?”

“That’s what I have to say.”

“Yeesh, now you’re getting daring. Oh, you’re making me blush!”

“Ha-ha-ha.”

“You’re so annoying!”

“Go ahead and get annoyed… I have full faith in you. I’m counting on you.”

“And you know I’d never let you down when you’re counting on me. Damn. Fine, I get it. I swear I’ll do my best to live up to your expectations.”

“Mm. Thanks, man.”

Amane was truly grateful for and proud of his friend, who always did his very best, whether it was for Mahiru, Amane, or anyone else.

Amane truly appreciated him, despite his occasional teasing. He was always thinking of him when it mattered. He truly could not thank Itsuki enough.

Amane expressed his thanks honestly from the bottom of his heart, but Itsuki’s sullen frown made Amane wonder if his friend was angry or dissatisfied. Itsuki let out a heavy sigh.

By Amane’s best estimate, it was a deliberate look of annoyance meant to cover his embarrassment.

“…You really will do anything for Miss Shiina, won’t you? You’re extremely single-minded when it comes to her, and you’ve gotten bolder, too.”

“I’m fine with being bold.”

Normally, that would be a negative assessment, but Amane figured it was all right to take it positively. It made him aware of the fact that he had learned to act more confidently.

Itsuki’s words made Amane appreciate once again just how far he had come—from being a total flake to becoming someone dependable. Amane gave Itsuki his usual smile. His friend was looking at him with what seemed to be a complicated mix of feelings.

“I agree that I’m being bold, but I won’t let it go to my head,” he said. “I’m always relying on you for help, so I’ll definitely be there the next time you’re having any trouble. If I’m able to help, I will… Because if you’re going to lend me a hand, Itsuki, I intend to repay the favor.”

Even if he sometimes called Amane names or made fun of him, Itsuki had always been by his side watching over him, and if the friend who always offered his help was in a bind, Amane would always repay the favor.

“…One of these days, I’m gonna lean on you with my full weight and knock you right on your ass, you know.”

“I’ve been training, so I don’t think I’ll fall.”

“…Well, now I don’t wanna.”

“Ha-ha!”

Amane laughed lightheartedly and joked that he didn’t recall becoming Itsuki’s punching bag. When Itsuki turned away uncooperatively and cast his gaze out the window, Amane followed suit.

For a while, they sat there in silence, lost in their thoughts without a word. But it wasn’t like they could stay like that forever, so Amane brought up what they had initially planned to talk about.

“Does it seem like everyone else will be able to make their schedules work?” he eventually asked.

What he asked of Itsuki was important, but he had asked his other friends for their help as well.

“Chi and I are good to go. Yuuta’s gonna ask soon, but he’s probably set, and I think you’ll probably get a quicker answer from Kido if you ask her directly. You’re better friends with her than I am.”

“Okay, got it… All she has to do is keep the day open, though.”

“I feel like she’ll come through if it’s for Miss Shiina.”

“Still, we can make it work even if she can’t make it. I don’t want it to be a bother.”

“I doubt anyone is thinking of it as a bother. They’re all our friends, and it’s all for someone who rarely asks anybody for anything. Besides, don’t you think they’ll be glad to help, knowing you’ll owe them a favor?”

“…I hope so, yeah.”

Amane knew Itsuki was deliberately poking fun at him without him needing to say anything, so he laughed to hide the oddly embarrassing, ticklish feeling.

Itsuki said, “So that’s how it is.” He let out a deep, exasperated sigh and lightly tapped Amane’s shoulder with his fist.

“Are you sure it’s all right, though?” Amane asked. “Chitose and the others must want to celebrate Mahiru on her birthday, too.”

Just to be safe, he had asked Mahiru ahead of time if it was all right to tell Chitose and the others about her birthday, and she said that it was, so he had explained what he planned to do when he had asked them for their help. Amane’s request, to put it simply, was to monopolize Mahiru the whole day, which meant her other friends would have to postpone their own plans.

Amane was anxious about whether that was really all right with everyone.

“You idiot.” Itsuki dismissed his fears. “At the very least, Miss Shiina’s number one priority… It sounds bad to say it, but the person who makes her happiest is you, you know? And even Chi said, ‘The most important thing is that Mahiru is happy.’ And I think so, too. Besides—”

“Besides?”

“Apparently, she wants to ‘give first dibs to the boyfriend.’”

“Who does she think she is?”

Chitose tended to say things that implied Mahiru somehow belonged to her. But Amane was simply glad that Mahiru had become such an important person in Chitose’s life.

She had always preferred to be alone and had never been able to make such close friends, but she had finally made a friend whom she could trust with her whole heart.

He knew that must have made Mahiru so happy.

And Amane felt the same.

“All right then, I’ll take first dibs.”

Appreciating the magnitude of his friends’ consideration and thoughtfulness, Amane accepted their kindness, and Itsuki nodded with a gentle look, as though agreeing it was the best course of action.

“All that’s left is my task, huh?”

Once the finals were over, Amane’s attention turned to Mahiru’s birthday.

He had managed to keep up with the preparations while juggling his part-time job and studying, and he had been able to complete his exams feeling like he had gotten everything ready. He was actually optimistic about pulling it off.

Incidentally, the rest of the class was in an abysmal state. Anyone could tell that this round of exams had been hellish. Chitose was truly disheartened, enough to upset Mahiru, but Amane just hoped the results of the exams wouldn’t throw everyone into a panic.

The weekend after their brutal exams was Mahiru’s birthday.

The day before the weekend—in other words, the day before the big day—Amane was busier than ever. There was one thing he had to tell Mahiru to avoid any possibility of hurting her. Amane sat up and turned to face her as she sat beside him.

Recently, Mahiru had been spending the quiet hours after dinner doing schoolwork, and Amane saw that she was, indeed, engrossed in her studies, in what had almost become a daily routine. Mahiru finished grading her own work and appeared to be considering her next mock test. She seemed totally unaware that the following day was her birthday and was acting like nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Mahiru?” he asked politely.

“Yes?”

When he called her name, she closed her test packet without any hesitation and looked up at him. Maybe she could sense that Amane was in a different mood than usual, because she also straightened up and faced him.

But she didn’t seem to have guessed what he was going to say to her, so her whole body was giving off a curious, questioning aura.

“Tomorrow, could I ask that you not come over to my apartment until I call you?”

“Why…? Oh, I see. Got it.”

Although she might not have been aware, she appeared to immediately understand from the way Amane was acting and quickly agreed. Her expression said something like Now that you mention it, I suppose that is happening.

That didn’t mean she wasn’t looking forward to it—just that she hadn’t been thinking about her approaching birthday. It was a matter of Mahiru’s attention, so Amane couldn’t do anything about it, and he didn’t want to call attention to the issue, either.

It seemed like he would be able to secure the time for the following day’s activities without any misunderstandings, which was a relief. Mahiru still looked as though this was all somebody else’s business as Amane gazed right into her eyes.

“It’ll throw a wrench in our plans if you come over before everything’s ready. If you could wait until everything’s perfectly arranged, that would be great. I hope you understand.”

“Heh-heh, I understand completely. Here you are, asking me right to my face.”

“I told you from the beginning that I was preparing something. At this point, it’s not a surprise or anything, so I’m just asking you straight up. Give me some time, please.”

Naturally, Amane had all sorts of things to do on the day of the celebration that would render him beyond busy, and if Mahiru came over, there would be no way he could prepare everything without her seeing.

Besides, it was a given that he wanted to pay attention to Mahiru on her birthday. He was going to celebrate her after getting everything perfectly ready, and he wanted to make sure he put Mahiru first.

This was his chance to give Mahiru her first birthday surprise and lift her spirits, so he wanted to be entirely devoted to Mahiru once everything was in place.

Her eyes went wide—she must have seen how Amane was practically bursting with enthusiasm. She gently exhaled a puff of air and put on an amused smile.

“So tomorrow, I just have to spend the day excitedly waiting for your call, right?”

“I don’t know whether I’ll live up to your expectations, but I do intend to celebrate you in my own way.”

“Honestly, just being celebrated by you at all is more than enough to satisfy me.”

“I know that already, but…”

When it came to Mahiru’s feelings toward him, Amane understood better than anyone. He knew she was happy just having him by her side.

While that was important, her birthday was only once a year, which meant Amane truly, deeply wanted to give her a day that would elate her.

“Still, I want you to be delighted, so let me give it my all.”

“…I’m expecting great things, okay?”

“I’ll do my best.”

Having Mahiru believe in him with all her heart naturally made Amane ecstatic, but aside from that happiness, anxiety over whether he would be able to meet her expectations slowly began to creep up on him.

“I can see your confidence waning. That’s just like you, Amane.”

“Having no confidence is my default.”

“And here I thought the current Amane left that behind. Haven’t you learned to believe in yourself?”

“I can never be too careful when it comes to doing things for you, Mahiru.”

For the past month, he had been focused on the preparations for Mahiru’s birthday, but he didn’t know whether she would be happy with what he had done.

He wanted to communicate that his desire to make her happy and his desire to reveal the product of his hard work were honest and unwavering. He didn’t want his lack of confidence to undercut her expectations.

Not to mention, he had thrown caution to the wind when planning one particular thing, which was only intensifying his worry.

“…I’m going to try my best to make you happy, so—”

“So?”

“Could I charge myself up one time?”

He was extremely enthusiastic, but he would only be able to see Mahiru after everything was in place.

He would need lots of energy at the start and would only be able to replenish it after the day was over, so when he asked for her permission to cling to her and charge up, Mahiru blinked adorably and smiled, amused.

“You don’t have to get my permission; you can do what you like.”

“Well, it’s just, this time, I’m really thinking of getting my fill.”

“How prudent… All right, charge away, please. But in exchange…”

“In exchange?”

“Can I get my turn tomorrow?”

Mahiru slowly reached around the back of Amane’s head and pulled him close, and of course he let her. Amane did as Mahiru was inviting him to and buried his face in her collar.

Tomorrow, I’ll start first thing by finishing everything in the kitchen, then I’ll get the room ready, and email again to confirm the schedule for the day.

The success of the day depended on Amane’s efforts and Mahiru’s reactions.

Vowing in his heart that he would do his very best to get everything ready tomorrow, Amane rubbed his cheek against Mahiru, who smelled sweet, and closed his eyes to store just a little bit of energy.

It was one of the top three busiest days Amane had ever experienced.

Standing in the kitchen first thing in the morning, he brandished all the skills he had cultivated so far. Then in the afternoon, he called in reinforcements to decorate the room and held a briefing session ahead of time about the biggest surprise. Whenever he got a chance to breathe, he contacted Mahiru so that she wouldn’t get lonely as he continued his preparations.

He was juggling all sorts of different things at once, and he started to feel a little deflated. But compared to all the things Mahiru usually did, this was nothing, so he kept up the hard work, while silently marveling at Mahiru, who seemed to be able to get anything done by multitasking.

Amane spent the whole day rushing around, until the sun had set.

When his preparations were finally complete, and he was satisfied with the state of things, he looked at the clock and saw it was nearly their usual dinnertime. The sky outside was already well past a deep crimson color and was now a dark purple that bled into an indigo blue.

Amane had thought about what he would do if he didn’t finish in time, but he was deeply relieved he had finished getting everything ready, even if it was down to the wire. He rang the chime by the door to call Mahiru, who had been waiting next door for him to summon her.

It did not take long for Mahiru to open the door after he paged her, so it was probably safe to assume she was fully prepared, too, in her own way.

When Amane glanced into her apartment through the gap of the door, he could see she had decorated the top of her shoe cupboard with a vase and flowers, and he felt one of his worries shift into relief.

“I-I’ve been waiting for you,” she said awkwardly.

In spite of himself, Amane smiled at the way Mahiru fumbled over her words as she rushed out the door. She seemed to notice him grinning at her, and she flushed slightly as her eyes wandered around uncomfortably.

“…P-pretend you didn’t see that, please.”

“Why?”

“W-well, I mean, um, it’s embarrassing, isn’t it? That I’ve been looking forward to this so much?”

“You have high expectations, right? Nothing could make me happier.”

If he’d been conceited about this party, it would have been a shock and a source of embarrassment for both of them, but Mahiru had just been happily waiting in eager anticipation, which was extremely satisfying.

Although he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to meet his girlfriend’s expectations, after she had waited eagerly at home for him to call, full of so much excitement, Amane was confident he hadn’t cut any corners.

All that was left to do was reveal the results of his hard work to Mahiru.

Mahiru also seemed to have worked hard to prepare herself, and when he arrived at her apartment, she was wearing an adorable, stylish outfit.

He took her hand and asked, “Are you ready?”

Mahiru’s ticklish smile reached her eyes as she quietly answered, “Yes.”

The only thing she had with her was a little pochette, and when he took her hand and they went back to his apartment, she must have realized that all the lights were out except for the one over the entryway.

Mahiru blinked once, dramatically. “…Huh? It’s pitch-black.”

“It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if you could see, would it?

Although there were doors dividing the hallway from the living and dining room, the panes were fitted with glass, so it was possible to see inside from the entryway.

Amane had worked so hard to plan and execute everything while keeping it all hidden from Mahiru, and there was no way he was going to cut corners on the final touches. To provide her with a real surprise, he needed a dramatic reveal.

“And so I think it would be best if we obscure your vision completely, Mahiru. You might be scared of the dark, but I’m right here. Relax and lean on me, won’t you?”

“Heh-heh, if that’s what I need to do. I trust you completely, Amane.”

Her ready agreement was proof of that trust.

Without any hesitation, Mahiru closed her eyes. She didn’t even wait for Amane to cover her eyes with his hand. Amane grumbled to himself that she was a bit too trusting and ought to be a little more wary. Then he put his arms around Mahiru’s back and behind her knees and lifted her.

She was as light as ever, and he thought he really ought to try to get her to eat a little more as he used his unoccupied hand to open the living room door and turn on the lights.

Mahiru kept her eyes closed, and she didn’t seem like she was going to open them until Amane told her it was okay. Relieved by her obedience, he headed toward the sofa, which he had prepared as her birthday seat, and ever so courteously lowered her body onto the cushions, taking care not to injure her.

Mahiru seemed to be able to tell where she was just from the distance they had walked and the feeling of where she was sitting, because she straightened up in a familiar way.

“Ah, don’t open your eyes yet. I want you to sit still. Wait just a little longer. Can you promise me that?”

“Heh-heh, don’t treat me like a child, please. I understand you want your big reveal to be spectacular. I can wait and look forward to it for a little bit longer.”

“Sorry, sorry. I’m glad I have such an understanding girlfriend.”

He did wonder how she was so accommodating and knew exactly what he wanted her to do, but it was also just like Mahiru to be so sensible and clever. Amane stood up, smiling wryly, and in one last bit of preparation, he glanced at the paper bag containing Mahiru’s present that he had placed beside the sofa, making sure he hadn’t missed anything.

When he was certain everything was in order, Amane gently said, “Okay, you can open your eyes now.”

Right on cue, Mahiru slowly and deliberately opened her eyes. It seemed like her eyes had adjusted to the lack of light, because she squinted at the sudden brightness and took her time opening them.

Amane wondered what she thought as she gazed upon the scenery for the first time.

“…This—”

Her quiet voice trembled slightly.

Amane didn’t need to ask what she was referring to; he could tell from the direction of her gaze and the sparkle in her eyes.

“I got help with the decorations from Itsuki and Chitose, as well as Kadowaki and Kido. I mean, you said you were fine with them knowing about your birthday, right? I couldn’t have decorated this nicely all by myself, so I asked them for a little help. They all have much better sense than I do when it comes to decor. I was super grateful. What do you think—isn’t it cute?”

“It’s so cute… This is incredible.”

“I asked them to go all out and make it fitting for a birthday, and this is what they did.”

The few friends Mahiru trusted had helped transform Amane’s living room over the course of the day, adorning it in birthday finery.

The theme: birthdays they treasured from childhood.

The walls were lively, covered in countless bunches of balloons and paper flowers in matching colors. On top of that, there were string lights stuck to the wall, shaped to spell out HAPPY BIRTHDAY in big letters. It was all staged to look very bright and beautiful.

There were glass crystal ornaments hanging from the ceiling, reflecting the light as they swung in the breeze from the heating unit, gently brightening the room with their twinkling.

On the sofa where Mahiru was sitting, the stuffed animals she liked so much were adorably decked out in ribbons. They’d been positioned there, waiting for the star of the day to arrive.

Although Amane had worried that decorating the room so much would make it gaudy and incoherent, they had unified the decorations under one pale, warm color scheme, so it wasn’t garish. Thanks to the placement of the decorations and the choice of colors, the design created a relaxed, fun atmosphere.

Even Amane, who was usually quite composed, had let out a little noise of astonishment when he had seen the room only half-decorated earlier, so he knew it must have been quite a surprise for Mahiru.

Her eyes were open wide, sparkling brilliantly as they reflected the room. Watching her, Amane found his cheeks softening with the joy of having elicited the reaction he had hoped for.

However, he still had a lot more prepared for the day, and he didn’t want her to think this was the end of it.

“And here is your birthday bouquet. I asked Itsuki to do the arrangement.”

Mahiru seemed mesmerized as she looked around the room and saw that it had been completely transformed to suit her tastes. She looked even more bewildered when Amane snuck up and suddenly presented her with the flowers.

He had been aiming to make Mahiru’s birthday as happy as possible, so naturally, he had gotten her a bouquet packed with her favorite flowers and colors.

Although he had known to some extent which ones she liked, Chitose and Ayaka helped pick out the ones that matched her tastes.

Thanks to their assistance, he had been able to prepare a birthday bouquet that was just about perfect for her, so he was truly grateful to them.

“…Don’t tell me—Chitose and Ayaka?”

“You got me, huh? I got them to do some casual research for this one… They were very enthusiastic once I told them it was to make you happy.”

Chitose’s enthusiasm in particular had been incredible.

She had managed to ask Mahiru about all sorts of things in a nonchalant and spontaneous way and had gotten Amane the information he’d needed. Chitose had been happy to do it because it was for Mahiru, and since Mahiru had also known Amane was planning something for her, Chitose’s questions didn’t raise any alarms. Amane almost felt like he’d hired a private detective.

Skillfully bypassing someone’s defenses and gaining their trust was Chitose’s specialty and something he respected her for, because he couldn’t have learned to do it even if he wanted to.

“I know not everybody particularly likes fresh flowers, but if I’m not mistaken, you have a vase in your entryway, right? I’ve seen it occasionally when I’ve gone over to get you, so I figured you must like them.”

“I’m impressed you noticed.”

“I mean, you are my girlfriend…”

It occurred to Amane that he probably ought to know her favorite flowers, but for the time being, Mahiru would have to forgive his ignorance.

He had wanted to give her a bouquet she would love, so he had to investigate his options based on the available flowers, which changed with every season.

When he looked at Mahiru, wondering whether she actually liked the flowers, he saw her delicately cradling the bouquet in her arms, holding it close to her chest so as to not crush it, with a bit of a frown on her face.

“…These are so wonderful. It feels like a waste that they’ll dry out someday.”

“Well, I’ve also included some silica gel so that you can properly dry out the flowers and preserve them, my lady.”

“Heh-heh, you really thought of everything, didn’t you?”

“That’s because I want you to be able to enjoy them as long as possible, Mahiru. Dry flowers might also crumble someday, but until then, I want them to delight you.”

“Thank you so much. I love them when they’re vibrant like this, and I can’t wait to see them when they’re preserved, too… Every time I look at them, I’ll think of you, Amane.”

“That makes me so happy.”

“…Even when I’m at home, I’ll remember that I have you by my side.”

Mahiru whispered in a sweet tone, and Amane pressed his lips tightly together and put his hand over his heart, which had begun leaping furiously.

As her boyfriend, it filled him with joy to hear her say she would think of him whenever she looked at something he had given her. Hearing the recipient herself say that also made him feel uneasy, and he scratched his cheek in embarrassment.

Looking at Mahiru staring spellbound at her bouquet and embracing it with great care, Amane felt a tantalizing surge of impatience in his lips.

“…I’m glad you’re happy with it. All right then, I’ve also made dinner, so I’ll go get it ready!”

Giving the excuse that he had to keep things rolling, Amane stood up, and Mahiru, still holding the bouquet, smiled after him.

Even though the distance was only a matter of several meters, being away from Mahiru allowed Amane to somehow get his violently pounding heart back under control. He plated the meal he had prepared and brought everything over to the table.

Amane knew the smell had probably tipped Mahiru off to what he had made her and that it was nothing novel or surprising. But since this was ultimately to celebrate Mahiru and show his appreciation for her, he had figured a familiar flavor would be the best choice.

The meal was centered around Japanese dishes, with a largely western Japanese flavor—a choice he had deliberately made because Mahiru didn’t care too much for strong flavors or unusual ingredients.

Amane smiled at Mahiru, who had come to the table, and took a seat in his usual chair. “On my birthday,” he said, “you went all out to make me an incredible meal, so this time, it’s my turn.”

Although his cooking skills were a far cry from Mahiru’s, he was confident he had managed to pack the table with her favorite dishes.

Mahiru would eat anything, and there weren’t any particular foods she hated, but naturally, she had a preference for certain flavors. Overall, she had a gentle, refined palate. To be more specific, she preferred foods that were light on seasonings and let the flavors of the ingredients—and maybe some dashi—come through.

Achieving that delicate flavor profile was more difficult than making robustly flavored dishes.

Foods with strong flavors allowed for more adjustments and had the advantage of letting the cook hide mistakes, but foods with subtle seasonings did not. Bringing out the flavors of the ingredients and enjoying those flavors as they were were completely different matters, and each ingredient required a different method of cooking and seasoning.

It had been a long road to mastering the types of flavors Mahiru liked.

Still, I want to perfect my skills in the future.

As her partner, Amane felt like he ought to be able to prepare the dishes she loved. Even more so because Mahiru knew how to make all of Amane’s favorite dishes perfectly.

Amane was quietly ashamed of his own inadequacy. He felt sure that even though he had managed to make a delicious meal this time, his devotion was still somehow not enough.

Mahiru intently observed Amane’s expressions.

“…It’s delicious.”

With polite movements, Mahiru lifted her bowl to her mouth and drank some of the clear soup. Her face gently melted into a smile, and she let out a sigh.

When making the dashi, Amane had precisely followed, step-by-step, the method Mahiru had been so particular about teaching him. The flavor should have been exactly to her tastes.

The soup seemed to live up to her expectations, and keeping that gentle smile, she moved on to the rest of the meal.

“I’m glad it seems to suit your tastes. To be honest, I was really nervous.”

“I know I sometimes point out things you could improve on your cooking, but I don’t think I’ve ever said I was dissatisfied with it.”

“Yeah, I know, but…well, that’s different than me being anxious about my cooking making you happy,” he grumbled as he used his chopsticks to split a piece of boiled daikon radish stuffed with shrimp paste.

“That may be true, but…” he heard her say, sounding discontented for some reason. “…Amane, your cooking skills have improved dramatically without you even noticing it.”

“In my case, all I’ve done is gone from negative numbers to level fifty, at best, but there’s still a huge gap when you’re at like level one or two hundred—there’s no way I could ever catch up.”

“It would be embarrassing for me if you caught up to me that easily.”

“I doubt I could, even if I tried my whole life. Regardless, to me, your cooking is the best there is, so my own skills are kind of irrelevant. Be that as it may, I’ll do my best to learn all your favorites.”

“…So you keep saying.”

“You don’t think it’s too late for me?”

“Geez.”

Her remark wasn’t a reproachful one. It meant “There you go again.” Amane could easily tell because they had been together a long time.

It came from a place of happiness more than anything.

Amane grinned. Mahiru looked dazzled, and her lips wriggled and squirmed as she said, “Really, Amane, you…” Then she averted her eyes, like it was still too bright.

“Thank you for dinner.”

“My pleasure.”

The two of them finished eating dinner, which had been a little on the light side, in no time at all.

It wasn’t necessarily the case that Mahiru’s appetite was too small, but considering what he had waiting for them after dinner, Amane knew that if he offered too much, Mahiru wouldn’t be able to finish everything, so he had kept the portions small in a way that wouldn’t be noticed.

He had chosen to make Japanese food because Mahiru liked it, but also because with all the small bowls and garnishes, he could adjust the quantities without affecting the overall presentation, and Mahiru seemed none the wiser.

Amane told Mahiru he was going to handle cleanup and ushered the guest of honor to the sofa. But it was possible she wanted to help, because she seemed a little unhappy with that, and after Amane came back from washing up, she mumbled quietly to him, “…I never expected you to do so much for my birthday.”

“If it’s for the person I love, then I don’t mind pulling out all the stops. And aren’t you the same way, Mahiru?”

“Hmm. Y-yes, but—”

“Well, if anything, it’s something I wanted to do, so maybe it’s not entirely for your sake.”

Ultimately, Amane had pushed forward with everything for his own satisfaction, so he wasn’t really sure if there was a clear-cut way to say he had done it all for Mahiru.

“I did this all of my own volition, I guess you could say.”

“…That does sound like something you would do, geez.”

Mahiru gave Amane a light, critical smack on the upper arm, and her lips formed a complicated smile. It all at once conveyed her annoyance at Amane’s unyielding attitude, her resignation in the face of that, and her joy.

“…But today made me really happy. All of this…”

“Ah, wait here a second, would you?”

“Sure?”

Mahiru’s eyes went wide with surprise when he interrupted her, but there was no way he was going to stop there.

“You’re acting like we’re all finished, but I actually have more planned. Your birthday isn’t over yet, is it?”

He could hear the confusion in Mahiru’s voice, but as far as Amane was concerned, the main event of her celebration was still to come.

It hadn’t taken him almost an entire month just to prepare the room decorations, the bouquet, and the homemade dinner. Amane wanted to make Mahiru really happy, and he had gone to great lengths running around and enlisting their friends for help. He had yet to show her the grand result of all that effort.

The unassuming Mahiru looked completely satisfied already, but Amane wanted to fill her day with lots of happiness, enough to wash away that reserve of hers.

“Would you close your eyes one more time?”

If she was looking, Mahiru wouldn’t be as surprised, so Amane made that request for the second time that day, and she squeezed her eyes tightly shut and tilted her face upward.

She looked nervous. It seemed less like she was obediently following what Amane said and standing by and more like she was anticipating something coming to her.

She definitely seemed to be expecting something. It was overwhelmingly cute, and Amane had to put his hand over his face to hide how badly he was blushing. Of course, Mahiru couldn’t see him, so there was no need to hide, but seeing his girlfriend waiting for him like that was undeniably charming.

“…Sorry, this time, I’m not planning on just giving you a kiss,” he whispered softly into her ear. It would have been mean to crush her expectations after she had opened her eyes.

Mahiru’s caramel-colored eyes suddenly appeared as her pale eyelids shot open, and she focused on Amane. Then, obviously blushing, Mahiru called him “Dummy, dummy!” in an adorable pouting voice and thumped him on the chest in time with her words.

Amane, who felt like he was being used as a taiko drum or something, felt himself starting to grin again at how cute Mahiru was, but he knew if he let his amusement show, Mahiru’s percussive performance was liable to get even more intense, so he had to bite the inside of his cheek to resist.

“Ow, ow, I said I was sorry…! There’s something else I want to show you, so I needed your eyes closed.”

“…Tell me what it is already.”

“Sorry, I said.”

Mahiru was pouting even more than before as she turned away in a huff and closed her eyes, so Amane gently brought his lips to the ripe, delicious-looking peach of a cheek that presented itself before him.

Maybe because he had done it many times before, Mahiru seemed to know he was there by his warmth and the feeling of his lips, and her eyes snapped open, and she stiffened up.

“Come on, keep your eyes closed for real this time.” He laughed and heard a low groan escape from her slender throat.

Amane, content with having added one more little surprise he hadn’t been planning, headed into the kitchen.

Amane had prepared dinner and done all of the cleanup himself afterward, even though Mahiru wanted to help, all to keep her from getting anywhere near the refrigerator.

He took what he had prepared that morning—the culmination of several weeks of hard work—out of its box, plate and all, supporting the serving dish firmly with both hands.

Slowly and carefully, he carried it to the low table. He saw Mahiru had turned toward him. She must have realized from the sound and his presence that Amane had come back to the room. Amane smiled. He was looking forward to her reaction when she opened her eyes.

“Keep them closed, okay?”

He wasn’t finished getting everything ready yet, so he whispered to her as he carefully pushed the candles he’d been keeping hidden, which were thinner and more colorful than everyday candles, down into the white cream frosting.

One candle, two candles… Without saying a word, he planted them firmly in the cake, until their pastel colors covered it entirely—enough to make him feel that perhaps seventeen candles were a bit much.

Though he felt a little regret over his failure to predict how colorful the cake would become, he decided he couldn’t change it and lit the tip of each candle with a lighter.

The difficult thing was that it took a bit of time to light that many candles, but Amane got all of them flickering safely and used the remote to turn off the lights in the room.

Their surroundings were suddenly much dimmer, but it wasn’t as if complete darkness had fallen. The soft glow of Mahiru’s seventeen candles illuminated the decorated room, covering everything in a faint veil of light.

“Mahiru, you can open your eyes.”

When he whispered gently to Mahiru, who had carefully followed his instructions, she slowly, timidly opened her eyes, and—

“…Ah!”

A trembling, quiet noise that wasn’t quite a sigh or a gasp of surprise spilled from her lips.

Mahiru’s face, visible in the faint candlelight, was somewhat befuddled and utterly disarming.

He could see the ripples on the surface of her eyes growing larger as they shimmered and reflected the flickering flames of the candles.

After clearing his throat once, Amane slowly parted his lips.

Honestly, he felt awkward, but his desire to convey this—to give this feeling to Mahiru—was stronger, and it won out.

Amane knew singing was not his forte, but with every ounce of feeling he could muster, he sang a short birthday song for Mahiru, the same song his parents had sung for him when he was a child.

“Happy seventeenth birthday, Mahiru.”

Amane had been waiting to say that since seeing her for the first time that day. After finally speaking those happy words for the one he loved the most in the whole world, he looked at Mahiru, who now sat there frozen.

Amane understood she was probably struck by the shock of something she hadn’t expected, so he gave her a little smile. He imagined she was probably frantically trying to process everything all at once.

“I was a little worried this might be too childish, but…”

He had decorated the room lavishly, prepared a birthday seat for her, made a whole cake, stuck candles in it, and even sang a song.

All these ways of celebrating were from his childhood. Even though Mahiru was a high school student, he’d thought they would be a hit and had gotten everything ready for this moment.

“We are still children, so I decided something like this would be okay. I have memories of being super happy when people did this kind of thing for me a long time ago. Those memories from my childhood have always stuck with me.”

Some of his memories from when he was young were hazy, but even so, he remembered.

His parents had decorated a whole room according to his tastes and let him sit among all his favorite stuffed animals and toys. They’d stuck candles in his favorite cake and let him blow them out.

Amane had received plenty of birthday wishes and lots of affection.

Even now, Amane kept those memories of when he was younger deep in his heart, and they gave him confidence that he was loved.

“Maybe I’m being too forward, but I wanted to share something that made me happy, and so that’s why I did all this, because it’s what I dreamed of when I was a kid.”

There were some variations, but when it came to birthdays, this was what many children got and what they wanted.

Amane knew it wasn’t good to think of himself as the standard in too many respects, but still, when he was a child, there was no other day that raised his spirits like his birthday did.

“I thought that maybe this was what you had longed for, too, Mahiru.”

Though he felt bad for making assumptions about her feelings, seeing Mahiru’s reaction confirmed he had not been wrong.

“So I wanted to give you this experience, too. Though that might have been my ego talking.”

Ordinarily, putting seventeen candles into a fifteen-centimeter cake might have been overdoing it, but considering the fact that Mahiru never had this kind of birthday, it was definitely the right choice.

The flames on the candles flickered and danced in the gentle breeze of the heater, and at the same time, shimmers collected in Mahiru’s eyes, then fell.

Amane realized her stiffness had dissolved as her face began to crumple and tears began to fall, sending him into a panic.

“Y-you didn’t like it?”

“Of course not! I just…it’s… I’m so…happy, and you did so much for me, and…is it really…okay? I…”

Mahiru had gotten everything she had never experienced before all at once. In between sobs, she conveyed her feelings with whatever she could choke out.

Amane crouched by Mahiru’s side as she desperately tried to string words together. Her usual refined demeanor was crumbling before his eyes, and he felt like he might start crying, too, as he gently took her trembling hand in his.

“As long as I made you happy, I’m glad. I thought really hard about what I could do, about how I could make you happy. I thought a lot about what to do for your birthday and consulted our friends about a lot, which really helped.”

This was not like the first time he had celebrated Mahiru’s birthday.

Both Itsuki and Chitose had known that the person he was celebrating this time was Mahiru, and they had lent him a helping hand. Even his parents had consulted with him for Mahiru’s sake, and he had also gotten help from other friends, like Yuuta and Ayaka, his senior coworkers, and even his boss.

“This wasn’t all just my doing. So many people pitched in to make this happen. Everyone wanted you to be happy on your birthday.”

“…Okay.”

“Go on, blow out the candles before they completely melt. That’s what you do on your birthday, you know.”

After he wiped Mahiru’s tearstained face with a handkerchief, Amane gave her an impish smile, and she managed a little laugh.

She must have decided for herself that she couldn’t just keep crying—although her eyes were as wet as ever, they had regained an intense sparkle, and she broke into a broad, bashful smile.

Mahiru slid right off the sofa and kneeled on the floor, where she blew softly on the dancing light of the candles, which were still burning gently but brightly in the dark.

Of course, the flames were quite strong, and they only flickered, resisting Mahiru’s gentle puff. After several tries, Mahiru gave Amane a bewildered look.

Her look of confusion as she tried to blow out candles for the first time ever was the most adorable thing he had ever seen.

Mahiru obviously did not know what to do, and she was racking her brain trying to figure it out.

“As you can tell, you have to be more forceful to blow out seventeen of them,” he said to her delicately, rubbing her back in encouragement. He was only going to observe as she attempted to blow out the candles.

That was because the experience of blowing out candles on a birthday cake was a ritual the guest of honor got to perform.

With the extra push from Amane, Mahiru must have made up her mind, and she sucked in a big breath—then, as if she were blowing away the many bitter experiences she had endured, Mahiru squared up with the candles.

As they went out one by one, the room got darker, but Mahiru didn’t seem to mind and continued blowing out the flames. The moment she extinguished the last one, Amane turned on the living room lights.

The cake’s every detail could be seen in the light.

Amane had chosen to make a simple shortcake. Its main features were strawberries and fresh cream, and he had decorated it to resemble the shortcake he had given her the first time he’d celebrated her birthday.

It was not, however, an exact replica.

The decorations were just as beautiful, but there was a chocolate disc set in the center of the cake with the words Happy Birthday scrawled in Amane’s clumsy handwriting, and there were candles stuck in all the gaps between that piece of chocolate and the strawberries, so it was obviously a different cake.

Even so, Amane had decided on this cake because he wanted to add the memories of this birthday to her previous memories.

“Now that it’s bright, you can really see how clumsy the decorations are, huh…? W-well, I can at least guarantee that the flavor is right, since the café owner gave me directions. And I practiced.”

“Huh, wh-when did you…and where…?”

“At work. I got the owner to teach me while I was helping her with her test cakes.”

He had made his earnest and spirited request on the day Fumika let him sample one of the recipes she was developing, and she had accepted more readily than he’d expected. Amane had actually been really surprised even though he was the one who had made the request in the first place.

“She also arranged my schedule to make sure I wouldn’t get home too much later so that you wouldn’t catch on. Man, I’m really grateful to her.”

Even though she had to be busy, Fumika had gone out of her way to make time for him and offered Amane her guidance. Fumika herself had said, “More people with baking know-how will make work easier, too.” But Amane knew she’d only said that so he wouldn’t worry about taking up her time, and he felt bad about that.

Under Fumika’s generous guidance, Amane had learned a supposedly foolproof sponge cake recipe.

Obviously, if he was going to make the cake, he had to be able to reliably reproduce the recipe. Moreover, to ensure he could make whatever he decided on at home with the tools he had, Fumika had really driven home everything about the process and the spots where it could go wrong.

Thanks to her help, he had learned to bake a proper sponge cake.

He was still terrible at frosting the cake, but that wasn’t something that could be mastered right away. However, he had at least practiced enough to be able to make a decent attempt at it when the time came.

For the time being, as he gazed down at the dessert he had prepared for Mahiru, he just felt relief that he had done well enough to make her happy.

“Well, there is a cost, though.”

“A c-cost…? You didn’t have to pay for me—”

“The cost is that I have to tell my boss whether you’re happy with the cake, so…are you?”

He felt obligated to grant Fumika’s request, since she had never asked him for anything else in exchange. It was also a way for Amane to get Mahiru’s appraisal, which he was curious about. When he gently peered down at Mahiru’s face, she nodded, looking again on the verge of tears.

“I’m so happy, I can’t put it into words. Thank you so, so much.”

Despite looking like she was about to cry, she smiled genuinely. Feeling relief and gratitude toward Fumika, Amane started to get the cake knife and plates ready when Mahiru frowned and looked up at him.

“…Is it really all right for me to be this lucky?”

“Stoppp that!”

When he reflexively rebuffed her, Mahiru froze up again, but Amane immediately realized his words had been lacking and frantically continued, saying, “I’m going to try to say this in a way that makes sense, but I need you to understand that this—this level of happiness—doesn’t even come close to what you deserve. So stop it. I’m going to make you much, much happier, so don’t you dare be satisfied with this.”

“…Okay.”

He was relieved to see Mahiru’s cheeks flush slightly, and he took it as a sign that he had properly cleared up any misunderstanding. Amane finished getting ready to serve the cake and sat back down beside Mahiru on the floor.

“Anyway, let’s cut into the cake, yeah? You’ll have to give me some slack for pushing too many candles in and ruining the presentation.”

He had tried to give it some thought when he was adding the candles, and place them in a way that would make the cake look pretty, but it hadn’t exactly gone to plan because the chocolate and strawberries has conspired to thwart him.

He had tried, but he couldn’t do the impossible, which meant there were areas where the candles were a little crowded. As the maker of the cake, he of course thought there was still plenty of room for improvement and mentally challenged himself to do better on the next opportunity.

But there was nothing he could do about it now, so Amane temporarily tossed the problem into the back corner of his mind and frowned, wondering how to best cut the cake.

After puzzling over it a little, he concluded, “I guess I’d better remove these first,” and pulled out all the candles. But Mahiru looked sad when he did that, so he carefully set them aside on a separate plate, successfully appeasing her.

“Here you go.”

Since it was only a fifteen-centimeter cake, he figured cutting it into quarters would do. He settled on this allotment as being both easy to eat and cut and set about dividing the cake. When he finished, he handed the plate with the best slice—the one with the chocolate disc on it—to Mahiru, the birthday girl.

She accepted it reverently, looking at it like it was some kind of treasure. Her expression softened, and her eyes glistened and wavered. As exaggerated as that seemed to Amane, it was also proof of how happy Mahiru was; so with a ticklish feeling in his chest, he handed her a fork.

“Go ahead and eat.”

“Th-thank you.”

She seemed somewhat hesitant, maybe because there was no way to eat the cake without knocking off the chocolate precariously balanced on top.

After waffling helplessly for a moment, Mahiru regretfully took the chocolate off its white platform. It took her quite a bit of time to cut the cake into bite-size pieces, but when she ate it, her reaction was instantaneous.

She took a sizable bite, and as the beautiful clump of contrasting white and red was engulfed by her small lips, her big, caramel-colored eyes snapped open, then slowly, calmly, crinkled again.

When Amane saw her sweet, charming, hesitant expression, he knew his past half-month of effort had been worth it.

“…How is it?”

“It’s good.”

Mahiru chewed thoroughly and swallowed, then nodded with a bashful smile, so Amane figured he could relax at last. With a big breath, he finally drove the heavy apprehension out of his lungs, then sucked in fresh air with an easy feeling.

“I’m glad. You made me a cake for my birthday, so I wanted to return the favor.”

Amane, who had been happy to be on the receiving end, also wanted to let her experience that same happiness.

To that end, it had taken everything he could muster. Amane, knowing he was a total amateur and that his time was limited, had decided that rather than messing about blindly on his own, the best course of action was to seek instruction from a professional.

Given the success, he truly felt like he could rely on other people during difficult times.

“But I know it’s totally impossible for me to make something on your level with my skills. I still needed to turn to other people.”

“…The owner of the café taught you, you said?”

“Yeah, I asked her. As soon as I said I wanted to make a birthday cake for my girlfriend, she was grinning from ear to ear. That’s just what I would expect from her, I guess you could say. I really owe her.”

According to Fumika, when it came to a simple cake like this one, the final flavors really depended on the baker’s ability to bring out the best in the ingredients. Although Amane had learned to cook a little bit, he was still a complete amateur at making sweets, so Fumika had started by drilling him on the fundamentals.

She had given him all sorts of support. She let him eat and compare different cakes to see how the way the eggs were frothed changed the formation of the sponge. She also had him try out different ingredients to understand how the fat content of the cream changed the time and technique to froth the batter. She even told him of a specialty confectionery that sold the ingredients he should use.

On top of hiring him, Fumika was helping him so much. Amane definitely felt like he owed her a lot.

“She also looked out for me when I was preparing for your birthday, Amane, so I’d like to go say thank you to her in person again, but…I don’t think you would like that, would you?”

“I…I wouldn’t hate it. I’d just appreciate it if you’d come after I’ve gotten a little more confident handling the customers… I guess I’m still embarrassed that I’m not very good at it.”

Since he had been working there for over a month, he was naturally getting more accustomed to the job itself. However, he was also certain that if someone asked him whether he felt proficient enough to let Mahiru see him at work, he would answer with a resounding ‘no.’

He was sure most people felt slightly uncomfortable letting their sweethearts and friends see where they worked, but the idea of letting Mahiru see him serving customers made him really sweat.

Since it was only Amane’s vanity that kept him thinking that if he was going to show Mahiru, he wanted her to see him doing an impressive job, he did feel bad about making her wait, but…he wasn’t going to budge on that point.

As much as possible, he wanted his girlfriend to think he was cool, and since Amane had already let her see all his weak points and the lame things about him, he was hung up on that point.

“I do think you’re adorable when you’re flustered though, Amane.”

“That’s not a good thing… I want to look good.”

“Sure. That’s why I’m waiting.”

Mahiru seemed like she was going to forgive him for making her wait, and she smiled at him happily despite it, so feeling grateful for her magnanimity, he also sampled some cake.

Because of Fumika’s sound instruction, the cake itself had come together deliciously.

The sponge, soaked in syrup, wasn’t too heavy and had a moist, delicate texture. It melted softly in his mouth, along with the strawberries sandwiched between the layers. Maybe because he had also adjusted the cream so that it was not too sweet, he could really taste both the tartness and the sweetness of the strawberries.

Mahiru’s tastes were sophisticated and fashionable, but she always came back to the basics like this, and Amane thought he might have managed to recreate some of her favorite flavors.

When he glanced over at her, she seemed to be really enjoying the cake with a smile on her face, and her eyebrows arched in satisfaction, much more so than when she usually ate dessert.

“It’s really good.”

“…That’s great.”

As long as she liked it, it was a huge success.

He thought, in that case, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to make it for her again sometime, as he slowly savored the moderately sweet cake, made even sweeter by Mahiru’s smile.

Amane waited until Mahiru finished eating before heading to his bedroom for a moment.

Naturally, if he had left a wrapped present sitting out in a bright room, it would have been too obvious, so he had stashed it in the other room. But Mahiru had apparently felt lonely without Amane there and followed him with her gaze, and when he came back and she saw the thing he had in his hands, she blinked dramatically several times.

It occurred to Amane that he had already seen Mahiru make that expression several times that day, and the thought made him happy. He knelt at Mahiru’s feet as she sat bewildered on the sofa, set the present on her knees, and placed her hands, which were sitting quietly in her lap, on top of it.

“I got you a present. Making time to celebrate is important, but I also wanted to give you something that would last.”

The bouquet was only a prelude, then there was the cake, and this, and one last thing, which was sure to be her favorite.

Even though he called it a present, it wasn’t like he could give her anything too amazing. His options were understandably limited. He was working with a high schooler’s budget and still had to get something that suited Mahiru’s tastes.

Even so, he figured the thought behind the gift and the reason he had chosen it were the most important, and after worrying over it in his own way, he had decided what to give Mahiru.

“Honestly, you buy the things you need right away, and it seemed like you would feel bad about getting something expensive and wouldn’t really enjoy it. So I was really lost about what to get you.”

He’d talked it over with Chitose ahead of time, but the fact was Mahiru didn’t want that many things, and she was the straightforward type of person who never hesitated to buy what she needed because she needed it, which put him, as the person giving her a present, in quite a bind.

He had been especially perplexed because he could tell she would be happy with whatever he gave her, but in the end, he had chosen Mahiru’s present with his knowledge of her in mind.

He calmly whispered to her to open it, and that seemed to release Mahiru from her paralysis. She gave him a look that asked if it was really all right, and he smiled in amusement.

Mahiru got a little huffy at Amane’s attitude, but with timid motions, she carefully, cautiously untied the ribbon tied around the box. Amane thought it best not to point out that her fingers were trembling slightly.

The shiny red ribbon was what most people would automatically imagine when picturing a present, and after untying it, Mahiru politely peeled away the wrapping paper, and finally, the box that contained her present made its appearance.

She looked at him for confirmation again, so he nodded with a smile and said, “Go for it,” and, holding her breath, she carefully lifted the lid.

Inside was some packaging and another box, just the right size for Mahiru to hold in both hands.

Actually, it probably wasn’t accurate to call it a box. It wasn’t like he had put another boring cardboard package inside her present, like a matryoshka.

In Mahiru’s hands was a wooden, antique-style accessories case. It was an attractive color and had a design carved into it depicting Mahiru’s favorite flowers. Rather than cute, it was beautiful, elegant, and clearly high-quality.

“It’s for your accessories. I thought you would like how it looks.”

It probably would have been safe to give his girlfriend accessories or makeup on her birthday, but after hearing opinions from various people, Amane had settled on this.

There was Mahiru’s personality to consider, too. She was the kind of person who took extremely good care of her things and was especially careful with gifts from other people.

Amane had heard how she looked after the things he had given her, carefully tending to them one by one and putting them away so that they would not deteriorate, and he had great admiration for how meticulous she was.

That was exactly why, on this occasion, he had wanted to give her a place to carefully store the things she treasured, the things that held her precious memories.

“You always take such good care of everything I give you, so I thought it might be good for you to have a place to keep things like that. I mean, I know you probably already have one of your own, so I’m not trying to force you to use this one or anything!”

He cleared his throat and made sure to emphasize the important fact that just because he gave it to her, it didn’t mean she absolutely had to use it.

“I just thought it might be nice to have a place to store the things I give you, is all.”

If he looked directly at her as he spoke, the words would be too embarrassing and difficult to get out, but slowly, Amane voiced the wishes he had been keeping in his heart.

“I thought it might be nice if one day, that box was filled with things I’ve given you… Sorry, that’s just a little selfish wish of mine.”

Amane had his own reasons for wanting to give her this gift, and a smile rose to his lips as he derided himself for being so self-centered, but Mahiru looked down and shook her head.

“…It’s…not selfish.”

Her voice was trembling slightly, and a large gem of a droplet trickled from her eye and splashed on the back of her hand resting on top of the box.

He could already tell, without her even saying anything, that tear had not been born out of sadness.

“…How many times are you trying to make me cry, Amane?”

“As long as they’re happy tears, many times.”

“…Geez.”

Her peevish, spoiled tone was all the proof Amane needed of her trust in him.

Mahiru raised her head and showed Amane an even fresher, sweeter smile than before, filled with satisfaction, and it was enough to make Amane forget about his concern over the slight redness around her eyes from the overuse of her tear ducts.

“I’ll have to put my things away once I get home. I have a bracelet and the hairpin. They’re my treasures. Heh-heh, this will make me happy every time I open it.”

Mahiru gently opened the lid, as if she was handling something delicate. Inside was a simple open space with no partitions that opened into three tiers.

It wasn’t a very large box, but it was big enough to be able to store a fair number of accessories and other things that weren’t too bulky, and Mahiru’s voice leaped with an excitement she couldn’t hide.

“I want you to collect lots and lots of treasures from now on,” he said.

“It looks like there’s plenty of open space in here, aside from where the accessories are meant to go, so I’ll have to put my other precious things in here later.”

“For example?”

“Heh-heh, like mementos of my time with you, Amane. They’re trivial little things, but they’re my secret.”

He had a perfect memory of everything he had given her as a present, but from the way Mahiru was talking, it sounded like she had been cherishing other things as well.

He felt a slight swell of guilt for not really having any clue about that, but Mahiru must have realized it, and she flashed a carefree smile at him.

“You’re not going to tell me?”

“Yes… They’re things you probably gave me without even thinking or things I picked up while we were together. It’s only natural you don’t remember them. You can look forward to seeing them later. I’ll show you after I’ve got a nice big collection. We can reminisce over all the good times we’ve had.”

“Mm.”

Amane was going to make many more memories with Mahiru in the future. He was certain of it.

With only the look in his eyes, he told Mahiru he would look forward to it and that he hoped the day would come when her box was packed to the brim with happy memories. Mahiru smiled gently, and the two of them beamed at each other, eagerly anticipating what was to come.

Amane looked at Mahiru, sitting there quietly with her eyes closed, enjoying the lingering glow of her birthday celebration, and felt a little proud that everything so far had been such a big success. But he didn’t know what Mahiru would think about the final piece of the celebration, so Amane couldn’t lose focus yet, and he pressed his lips together.

He glanced over at the wall. Probably because of all the decorations, the clock on the wall didn’t stand out, but he confirmed that the hands of the clock were approaching the appointed hour.

…I guess it’s about time.

The time had come for the last surprise of Mahiru’s birthday, and probably the biggest one of all.

Mahiru was under the impression that all of the day’s celebrations were over, and she was relaxing and basking in the joy of it all, truly at ease as she sat on the sofa and squished the soft paws of a stuffed cat plushie.

He felt truly guilty for disturbing her relaxed state, but he was already at the point of no return, so there was nothing to do but steel himself.

“…Ah, Mahiru, so, um…”

“Yes?”

Not suspecting a thing, Mahiru glanced up at Amane, looking euphoric and 50 percent softer and gentler than usual. The look in her eyes, drowsy and packed full of love for Amane, was unbearably sweet—enough to give Amane five ulcers in his mouth.

He bit the inside of his cheek and, using the pain to suppress the feeling of wanting to immediately drown her with affection, continued, feigning composure.

“Mahiru, I have one more surprise for you.”

“Not when you’ve already done so much? Don’t you think you prepared too much for me?”

“Even with everything I’ve done so far, it’s still not even close to enough for your birthday. You ought to be a little greedier, you know.”

“N-no way… I feel like I’m going to burst. Any more and I’ll die.”

“Well, if that happens, then I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

As a matter of fact, he had been imagining it would go exactly like that when he was preparing the day’s final surprise.

Mahiru was staring at Amane suspiciously. She obviously had absolutely no clue what he was talking about. Rather than explain himself, Amane stood up calmly. He needed to go put the finishing touches on the last surprise, which was the greatest gift he could manage to give her at the time.

“I’ve gotten things mostly ready, but I have to do some finishing touches, so just sit there, please.”

Leaving the bewildered Mahiru behind, Amane went back into his bedroom. When he returned to the living room, he was carrying the laptop he had standing by.

Mahiru’s look of confusion only intensified when the computer suddenly appeared for no apparent reason. But Amane still didn’t offer Mahiru any answers. Looking forward to Mahiru’s reaction, he set the laptop on the low table.

It was the standby screen of a video call.

“So it’s possible that this…might be some major meddling on my part.”

The day’s biggest surprise was something Amane had arranged because he thought it was a good idea and something only he could make happen.

On the one hand, his chest was inflated with the expectation that it would surely make Mahiru happy, while on the other hand, he was tormented with the worry that she might despise him for acting on his own. It was a serious gamble.

Of course, he thought he had already brought her plenty of happiness, even without this surprise. In fact, she had already cried with joy. In the end, maybe he shouldn’t have gone for it.

However, he had already wound up the springs and set things in motion, so there was no going back.

He had, supposedly, braced himself for whatever may come.

“You’ll probably think this was none of my business or you didn’t need me to do it, but still…I’m not the only one who wanted to celebrate you, and there’s someone else who was thinking about you, Mahiru.”

Lots of people had celebrated her and made Mahiru’s birthday a happy one. By now, she had been celebrated by all the people close to her, whom she considered dear friends.

Surely, she had been given enough joy that she had nothing to complain about.

But Amane had thought one thing was missing.

She shouldn’t only be celebrated by her current friends and substitute parental figures. Wouldn’t he be remiss, he wondered, to leave out the important person whom Mahiru had once so adored?

Wasn’t there one other person who would want to wish Mahiru a happy birthday from the bottom of her heart?

In the chat box, he told her they were ready, then Amane took several deep breaths, trying to calm his racing heartbeat, and clicked the button with the icon of the telephone receiver on it.

The screen changed completely, from a black screen showing nothing to a display of vivid colors.

“Young miss.”

A voice floated airily out of the speakers.

The voice wasn’t particularly high or low; it was gentle, mellow, and calm and was not a voice Amane had heard before, but to Mahiru, that was not the case.

A little shriek spilled from Mahiru’s mouth.

She jumped from the sofa with so much energy, it was like she had been catapulted. She plopped down on the floor, bringing her face close to the screen on the low table, and stared at it with intense concentration. A far cry from her usual composure, her expression was full of astonishment.

Her eyes were unbelievably wide, as if she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. With her mouth agape in a look of hazy befuddlement, and so little sign of her usual collectedness, it was safe to say Mahiru was stunned.

The person on the other end of the call must have also noticed that Mahiru’s reaction was extraordinary.

The middle-aged woman on the screen, maybe one generation older than Amane’s parents, looked at Mahiru with a well-mannered smile that showed just a dash of surprise and delight.

“Though perhaps that’s not the correct way to address you, since I resigned from my duties. Let’s see…”

Mahiru was frozen in place, staring fixedly at the screen as Miss Koyuki looked back at her.

“…Miss Mahiru, it’s been a long time.”

Miss Koyuki put her hand to her mouth as she smiled elegantly and spoke Mahiru’s name and continued, unperturbed by Mahiru’s frozen state.

“I’m sorry for suddenly calling you by your first name, but I am no longer employed at your house, so will you allow me that?”

“Wha—…how? I… No way…”

“I suppose the surprise was a success, heh-heh.”

It was no exaggeration to say it had been a great success; in fact, it had been too successful, and Amane was worried it might have stopped Mahiru’s heart.

Even the impish tone of Miss Koyuki’s remark was refined, and she had the elegance and composure of an adult. Amane, watching from a short distance, could easily tell that hearing it was throwing Mahiru into chaotic confusion.

“H-huh? Wh-why? How?”

“I suppose you’re asking why I am calling you like this? I think you had better ask the gentleman beside you about that.”

Even though he was so afraid it might make her break up with him, Amane had to explain everything to Mahiru, so when she turned vigorously toward him, he first made her sit back on the sofa with a small smile, hoping it would calm her down. Then he looked up at Mahiru, who was ready to hear the truth.

“Well…first, let me apologize. I’m sorry.”

“Huh?”

“I did a bad thing.”

“B-bad…?”

“Aren’t you curious about how I got her contact information?”

Miss Koyuki was the housekeeper and tutor who had looked after Mahiru before she had ever met Amane. Amane had no direct relationship with her, and he had never even spoken to her or heard her voice.

Obviously, he had no idea how to get in touch with her, a fact Mahiru soon realized.

At that moment, she seemed to understand and made a little Ah! sound. So although Amane felt extremely guilty about it, he knew he had to explain everything in detail. He slowly opened his mouth to speak, mentally sorting out all he had thought about ahead of time to vindicate himself.

“So earlier, um, remember how I talked about wanting to pay my respects to Miss Ko…Miss Kujigawa?”

“Y-yes.”

“Well, when you were showing me pictures of her, I happened to get a look at your note, and I kind of memorized the address and phone number that was written down.”

At the time, Amane just happened to see Miss Koyuki’s personal information.

The two seemed to usually communicate by letter, but it looked like she’d sent her contact information in case, so they could get in touch by other means. Amane had seen the note, stored together with the letters, that had her email address, home address, and phone number.

When he’d glanced at that note, he’d seen that she had a distinctive and easy-to-remember email, so even though he hadn’t made any effort to get a good look, Amane had memorized it in a second.

Honestly, when he went to send the email, he remembered questioning and condemning himself over and over. He had spent several days debating whether it was really okay. It might be more than rude; it might even be immoral.

That hadn’t changed, even now, and he could still remember how badly his stomach ached after he’d sent the email.

No matter how badly he had wanted to go and say hello to her, he knew that was not the right way to go about it.

Trying to involve Miss Koyuki like that would be too presumptuous.

Even so—Amane wanted to get her help no matter what.

“Now, I know it’s unforgivable that I not only learned Miss Kujigawa’s personal information without asking but also went ahead and used it. I offer my deepest apologies.”

Amane knew his image was being displayed on the other end of the call, so he moved in front of the camera and bowed his head deeply. Miss Koyuki put on a strained smile, indicating she was paying it no mind.

Amane had given her an earnest apology when he’d first contacted her, too, but even so, he didn’t think it was enough, and he kept his head bowed until he heard a slightly exasperated voice say to the back of his head, “Good grief, raise your head, young man.”

She continued, “At first, I thought it was a scam email, and I talked to my son and his wife about it, you know.”

“I really am so sorry.”

“Well, I decided to trust the email, given how desperate you sounded. I could sense your guilt and your desire to reach me at any cost for your girlfriend’s sake. Just be more careful next time, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am, I won’t do it again.”

He never planned to do something so extremely rude and presumptuous like this again.

It was no surprise that from Miss Koyuki’s perspective, Amane, a complete stranger, had seemed suspicious. He was amazed she had even listened to what he had to say, let alone cooperated with him. He was brimming with gratitude and remorse.

“I hope Miss Mahiru will also forgive you, now that she’s seen my face. He tried with all his might to explain everything to me, for your sake, and was apologetic about it the whole time, you know. He asked if he could make a request of me, fully aware that it was a rude and impertinent thing to do.”

“I-I’m not angry! Amane is always trying his best for my sake, and I know he did this for me, so really, I’m full of guilt, and happiness, and gratitude!”

“As long as I make you happy, I feel blessed to be your boyfriend.”

“He was incredibly keen to tell me about it, you know. He said he was trying to make this the best birthday you’ve ever had, and to do that, he needed me. When someone asks something like that, it just makes you want to help, doesn’t it? Besides, it was quite an honor to think I could be a part of that happiness.”

As she strung those words together in a gentle tone, more droplets began leaking from Mahiru’s eyes.

They trickled down, following the curves of her faintly red cheeks, and right away, Amane could tell what sort of complicated feelings were welling up inside her.

Amane, keenly aware Mahiru had been crying all day, handed her a handkerchief he had prepared ahead of time, and Mahiru broke into a big smile as she obediently accepted it.

“Once more, let me say that it has been too long, Miss Mahiru.”

Miss Koyuki waited until Mahiru had wiped away her tears with the handkerchief, then spoke to her gently. Amane started to leave, figuring it would be better for them to have privacy for this long-overdue, unexpected meeting, but Mahiru stopped him.

Even though grabbing his sleeve tightly gave only the slightest resistance, Amane was stuck. He was sure that even if Mahiru wanted him there, to Miss Koyuki, he would probably get in the way of their reunion. But when he looked at Miss Koyuki…for some reason, her eyes and smile indicated that he should stay.

Apparently, they didn’t consider his presence to be an intrusion.

Mahiru patted the sofa beside her, urging him to come sit next to her.

When he looked at the computer, Miss Koyuki was still wearing a cheerful grin that made it hard to read her inner thoughts. Though he hesitated, Amane believed he could not refuse and softly took a seat beside Mahiru.

“Although we’ve corresponded many times, I haven’t been blessed with the chance to see you like this—I suppose this counts as face-to-face—and see how you’ve grown… I’m truly delighted to get this opportunity.”

“It’s…it’s been a long time, Miss Koyuki…”

“Come now, show me a smile, instead of those tears. This is a rare chance for me to see your face, after all.”

“Of course.”

Mahiru used the handkerchief to catch the big pearly droplets that formed one after another, falling from the pale corners of her eyes. Then she finally smiled brightly, and Miss Koyuki smiled back in relief.

“But now that I think about it, the fact that you’re able to be honest and let yourself cry is just one more thing to be happy about. It just goes to show how strong you’ve become, to be able to be vulnerable in front of others.”

Ever since she was a child, Mahiru had tried not to show any weakness and had hardly ever let anyone, not even Miss Koyuki, see her cry. Certainly, she was strong, but at the same time, she was weak.

Since she couldn’t rely on anyone else, she’d had no choice but to hold on to all her emotions herself and hadn’t been able to turn to anyone, no matter how painful things got.

Now Mahiru had certainly discarded that rigidity of hers and become weaker and softer, but also stronger and more resilient.

“You’ve grown into a fine young woman, Miss Mahiru.”

“…Thank you very much.”

“Even your expression has become much more cheerful since the last time I saw you. There’s more light in your eyes, too. You’ve been blessed to find a good environment, haven’t you? That’s really wonderful.”

“Yes…”

Her voice, incredibly relieved, showed she really did care very deeply for Mahiru.

He could even see concern and relief in her soft smile and could tell she had fretted considerably over Mahiru in the past.

Though it was good Mahiru had stopped crying, for some reason, even as she drew her body in to make it smaller, her back was perfectly straight, in extremely proper posture. Seeing Mahiru like that, Miss Koyuki put her hand to her mouth and laughed gracefully.

“Ho-ho, I’m not your nanny anymore. You don’t need to sit so attentively. Now I’m just some lady you happen to know.”

“I-I’m sitting up straight because, um, I guess I’m nervous, seeing you after so long.”

“Ho-ho, I’m glad you care, but I’ve already gotten comfortable with being casual, why don’t you do the same?”

Miss Koyuki saw Mahiru’s obvious embarrassment at her words and smiled slightly more vigorously than before.

“Pardon the cliché question, but have you been well? I’ve gotten your letters from time to time, but I’d like to hear directly from you.”

“Yes, I’m well. Very much so…”

“You’re still stiff. You don’t need to be so nervous. I’m not going to get upset, and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“See, you’re being so formal again.”

“Oh…”

“This is something you’re just going to have to get used to, Miss Mahiru.”

Even after Miss Koyuki pointed it out to her again, Mahiru’s nervousness at this long-overdue meeting didn’t seem to dissipate, and she was still sitting up straight with even more energy than usual.

Even so, the look in her eyes as she peered at the screen was not one of nervousness, but trust and familiarity, so getting used to it was probably just a matter of time.

“But if you’re really doing well, then I’m glad to hear it. Even if you don’t say a thing, I can tell by the look on your face…You met a good person, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Amane also straightened up as the words good person caught him by surprise, but hearing Mahiru confirm it immediately was embarrassing, and his gaze went wandering.

“If you say so yourself, Miss Mahiru, then I suppose I don’t really need to worry about him. Well, I’ve heard how he’s been running around for the sake of his girlfriend, so I never had any suspicion that he might be a bad person to begin with.”

Miss Koyuki flashed them an elegant yet amused smile and added that after living a long time, one learned to tell whether a person was good or bad. Amane felt a painful prickle in his gut, but since he was the one who had selfishly contacted her, he didn’t show any sign of it and simply smiled back.

Whether or not she was aware of Amane’s complicated feelings, Miss Koyuki did not let her refined facial expression fall.

“…I truly cannot thank you enough, Amane,” Mahiru said. “You prepared so many wonderful things for me and even reconnected me with Miss Koyuki.”

“You don’t need to worry about that, Mahiru. I did it all of my own volition.”

If anything, he was earnestly apologizing for it, but the fact that Mahiru was happy was still a delight, and it filled him with pride.

His methods may have been kind of questionable, however, so Amane didn’t openly show how happy he was.

“This is a special day, the day you were born, so you ought to have more happiness than you know what to do with. Though honestly, I really wasn’t sure whether I would be successful or not.”

Amane knew he was risking her annoyance, or even her anger, and that she might pull away from him, or even hate him, so he was overjoyed to get such ready forgiveness from both Miss Koyuki and Mahiru.

“If I can make you happy just by running around a little bit, then I can’t complain about the effort. I mean…after all, you work hard at all sorts of things for my sake, so I wanted to do right and give you the same consideration. I’d like it if you smiled more, Mahiru. Even though I did just make you cry.”

A beautiful teardrop spilled from the rim of her eye with every word as Amane continued, so he hastily took up the handkerchief and gently wiped them away.

It was so damp, he wondered if the handkerchief itself might start weeping before long. Mahiru’s eyes reflected a level of passionate emotion that Amane had never imagined he could evoke before now. Amane felt like that showed just how much he had been able to shake Mahiru’s heart, in a good way.

“So all of it made you happy?”

“Yes, of course.”

Both Amane and Miss Koyuki were probably similarly relieved to hear her burst out laughing in a childish, carefree way that seemed to say she wasn’t going to just sit there and cry.

“I want to hear more about the gentleman beside you as well, Miss Mahiru. You’re dating, aren’t you?”

“…Yes. He’s the first person I’ve ever loved, and when we spend time together, I feel calm, and my chest grows hot. From the beginning, he accepted me for who I am and not just the persona I wear in public, and I know he loves every part of me. He treasures me even knowing how I am. He’s the person I’m going to spend my future with.”

The person who Mahiru had looked up to as a parental figure was right there in front of them, or rather, right there on the screen. Having Mahiru sit beside him and earnestly, gladly, lovingly acknowledge and praise Amane’s personality was unbearably awkward.

Yet he was still glad Mahiru thought so highly of him, and that feeling was stronger. Keeping his eyes on the screen, he spontaneously started slowly searching for Mahiru’s hand beside him. Quickly, he found her fingers, because she had apparently been seeking him in the same way.

They simultaneously slid their hands together until their palms were touching and intertwined their fingers, and Mahiru’s body heat, much warmer than usual, melted into his own.

“I see. Well, I’m glad you’ve found such a person, Miss Mahiru. Very glad indeed.”

Her confidence in him and her happiness were both conveyed through their linked hands, and his cheeks grinned all on their own. Miss Koyuki seemed to have spotted it, and she put on a truly warm expression, even warmer than their interlocked hands. Being introduced to her as Mahiru’s boyfriend made Amane feel a little—no, a massive flood of embarrassment.

Miss Koyuki didn’t seem to intend to tease them like his own mother would have. Without letting her gentle demeanor break, she simply watched them and smiled in amusement, which was a relief.

“Miss Mahiru, you’ve always been brighter than other people, in many ways, ever since you were young, and I was worried you might be disappointed with your peers. But from the way things look, I can see that was a baseless concern.”

Even Amane could understand why she would worry about that, since Miss Koyuki had looked after Mahiru from a young age. It had also occurred to Amane that Mahiru might get angry if she heard him say she had made a good decision choosing him.

“By the way, have you captured his stomach yet?”

“…‘Captured’?”

“Yes, I’ve been well and truly captured.”

“My, my.”

This was something he could answer immediately, without hesitation, and so Amane immediately confirmed it. Miss Koyuki gave him a smile that said she’d figured that was the case.

Amane had often heard how Mahiru’s cooking skills were the result of Miss Koyuki’s training, so since he always got to eat her delicious food, he felt like he ought to bow down before the woman who had made it possible.

He was about to go ahead and bow his head to her again, for a different reason than earlier, when for some reason, Mahiru started flapping her free hand back and forth in front of her face.

“Ah, b-but it’s not like he leaves everything up to me, okay? Amane also does some of the cooking! He’s always in the kitchen with me, and sometimes, he even cooks alone and treats me to a meal! We kind of take turns, or maybe shifts, and he’s really good about doing those everyday things with me!”

Apparently, Mahiru didn’t want him to be mistaken for the kind of man who left everything up to her and didn’t do anything himself, but it was a fact that Mahiru took on a lot of the responsibility, so he informed Miss Koyuki, “Mahiru’s cooking is the best, so it’s true that I always look forward to it,” and Mahiru’s eyes welled up again.

She didn’t start crying, but through their linked hands, he could feel her trembling and squeezing more than usual.

“Yes, yes. You don’t have to get so flustered, Miss Mahiru. I can tell perfectly well. He’s your ideal kind of person, isn’t he?”

“Yes!”

Even though her eyes were wavering, Mahiru nodded decisively and continued without hesitation.

“A long time ago, you told me to choose someone who would see the real me, didn’t you, Miss Koyuki?”

“Yes, I did say that.”

“I think you were right, in the end. This was also true while you were still with us, but especially after you left, I came into contact with all sorts of different people and thought time and time again…that the person who would make me happy was someone who wouldn’t stereotype me, or judge me based only on what they saw on the surface, or make light of my feelings.”

Mahiru had been surrounded by so many people in her life, and she had decided the standard she would use to judge people in her personal life was whether they were truly capable of respecting others.

It seemed so obvious, but it was difficult, and it was so important for people.

“Amane prioritizes my feelings, and he tries to understand them. Since he fell for me after seeing beneath my exterior, he knows about my childhood and accepts it. He respects me, which makes me…super happy… Though sometimes, he respects me too much and loses his nerve.”

“But that’s for your sake!”

“I—I know that…! I understand perfectly well that you are treating me with care. And you do that precisely because you respect me so much.”

He couldn’t help but feel like she was calling him a coward in a roundabout way, and he wasn’t sure he could disagree, but it made him wonder if maybe she was unsatisfied in some way.

He stared at her intently, until Mahiru bashfully added, “I-I’m not saying I’m unhappy with that, okay?! Just that you can spend a little less effort trying to guess what I want and prioritize your own feelings sometimes.”

She didn’t seem to understand what she was saying, which only increased his anxiety as her boyfriend.

It’s obvious that Mahiru would get too excited if I prioritized my own feelings, though.

He had absolutely no intention of breaking the vow he had made, but when he heard Mahiru’s complaint, it sounded like as long as he didn’t run afoul of his promise, he could do anything he wanted.

He looked at Mahiru deadly earnest, certain it wouldn’t be a good idea for him to touch her and pamper her in that way when she never put up very much resistance, but Mahiru just blushed, maybe because she had said something so bold. She didn’t seem to realize what Amane was thinking.

“I’m glad you have such a harmonious relationship. Be that as it may, it does concern me to hear you say you’re living together.”

Though her tone of voice was not reproachful, she did sound slightly shocked, and Mahiru’s cheek twitched when she realized that was not a conversation she should be having in front of the woman she’d considered like a parent.

“Uh, ah, n-no! Amane is my next-door neighbor! We live in the same apartment building, so—! We’re definitely not doing anything you need to worry about!”

“I made a promise not to do anything that could possibly hurt Mahiru.”

From Miss Koyuki’s perspective, it probably seemed like the darling girl who had been like her daughter was being taken advantage of by some strange man, so of course she would be worried.

He was filled with regret for being so careless, but after Miss Koyuki let out a big sigh that carried more of an uncomfortable, astonished, and exasperated mood than before, she turned to Mahiru with a gentle look.

“It is not my place to say anything about your circumstances, but you should at least know I’m happy to hear you’re spending a lot of time together and getting along well. The longer you spend in close contact, the more you’ll be able to see each other’s unpleasant sides.”

“‘Unpleasant sides’…? I mean, even supposing there are any, I can discuss them with him, and we can both improve ourselves, so…”

Amane had often heard that when people lived together, they eventually got to see their partner’s lifestyle and approach to money, as well as things like their notion of hygiene, common sense, and ethics. Those people could get fed up with one another. But even though they were spending basically all their time together, at least from Amane’s point of view, there was nothing about Mahiru that he disliked or that didn’t sit well with him.

If he was forced to say something, he might point out that she was too reticent and that sometimes, she did bold things under Chitose’s influence, trying to please him. To the first point, she had gotten more up-front about things, so that was already improving, and to the second, that was primarily a Chitose problem.

It might turn out that there were some things about Amane Mahiru disliked, but she hadn’t really pointed anything out. Or rather, she hadn’t hesitated to point them out when they first met, so maybe he had already finished addressing everything she wanted him to fix.

Still, he knew there were probably parts of him Mahiru still wanted him to improve, so he told her earnestly, “If there’s anything about me you don’t like, please don’t hesitate to say something, okay? I don’t want to make things harder on you, after all. I want us both to enjoy spending time together, so if there’s anything I can fix, I will.”

Mahiru looked flustered and shook her head dramatically back and forth. “You’re the one who worries about me too much, okay?! I think you’re a really wonderful person, okay?!”

“You don’t need to flatter me, you know.”

“…Fine, then that’s my answer. I want you to work on properly accepting a compliment when someone gives it to you.”

Mahiru stuck her lip out, sulking, and slapped Amane on the thigh. Figuring he shouldn’t let her pout anymore, he said, “I got it, thanks,” hoping to soothe her.

“You have completely lowered your guard around him, haven’t you, Miss Mahiru?”

Amane turned his gaze back to the screen when he heard Miss Koyuki sincerely mumble those words. He saw that her gaze had been fixed on their playfully intertwined hands as she silently watched their exchange, so he knew she could see right through them.

As expected, when she got embarrassed, Mahiru’s shoulders tightened, and her cheeks turned red. Amane also felt shame rising gradually within his chest and desperately tried to keep it from showing on his face.

Miss Koyuki hummed happily when she saw Amane and Mahiru like that. Then, keeping the smile on her face, she slowly turned her gaze toward Amane.

“From your perspective, Mister Fujimiya, how does Miss Mahiru seem?”

“‘How’…?”

“Ah, when I put it that way, it sounds like this is turning into an interview, doesn’t it? That’s not it… I want to know what she looks like in your eyes.”

She asked the question gently, with an inquisitive look in her eyes, and Amane wasn’t sure how to answer. Rather than immediately opening his mouth to respond, he slowly worked through his thoughts.

How did he see Mahiru?

In other words, what kind of girl did Mahiru seem like, to Amane? Did Amane, who, according to Mahiru, had chosen her after seeing what she was like on the inside, really understand her? It seemed like Miss Koyuki was asking this question in order to dispel any doubts about that.

From Miss Koyuki’s demeanor, he could tell this was all for Mahiru’s sake.

Even though he understood her intentions, Amane was at a loss.

Mahiru, through my eyes?

He quietly let his eyes slide over to look at Mahiru sitting beside him, and his gaze met hers. Her eyes were filled with shades of anticipation and anxiety and apparent worry about how she was perceived.

In response to that expectant look, Amane decided not to gloss over anything at all and to put his honest feelings into words.

“…She’s really strong, and she has a lot of self-control, but really, she’s lonely, and she needs a lot of attention.”

This was Mahiru as Amane knew her.

“Amane?!”

“Well, I mean, you do like it when I spoil you, so…”

“I do like it, but—! Don’t say things like that out in the open, in front of Miss Koyuki!”

When he suddenly revealed a side of Mahiru she didn’t show to other people, Mahiru flushed even redder than before and started whacking his upper arm, but Amane had absolutely no intention of withdrawing what he’d said.

“I think, fundamentally, Mahiru is the type of person who tries to do everything by herself, because she is very capable and she doesn’t like to let others in. She isn’t able to rely on other people very easily and sometimes trips herself up, or rather, suffers under the restrictions she’s placed on herself.”

From where he was standing, Mahiru was always so humble and hesitant, reserved and never prioritized herself, which explained why she unconsciously didn’t want to trouble others, worried she’d be abandoned. Those feelings made her avoid completely depending on anyone, even Amane.

That tendency of hers was even more striking with anyone other than Amane, and because she refused to completely depend on anyone else, and because she had this obsessive idea that she had to always be the good girl, she loathed showing anyone her weaknesses. In public, she put on a mask and pretended to be a perfect girl, keeping up the pretense most of the time.

That was the “angel” everyone had seen before.

But Mahiru was different now.

“Now she’s learned to turn to me for help and to depend on me. She’s stayed by my side. She trusts me and has shown me her true self. I think that was a big decision for Mahiru and that it’s proof of the trust and love she has for me.”

She was a lonely girl who had an abundance of emotions and was candid about what she wanted from Amane. It was precisely because Mahiru believed in him enough to know she didn’t have to keep up appearances, that she could depend on him, that she could beg him for attention, that she was who she was now.

He was very proud of that.

“I told her that when she’s with me, she doesn’t have to play the good girl, she doesn’t have to try her hardest, and she can lean on me and show me her honest feelings, which is incredibly adorable…and I guess I also really spoil her.”

Amane had seen Mahiru’s transformation from a girl who gently and politely kept others at arm’s length with an invisible wall—to a girl who had torn down those walls and limitations and, though hesitant, acted on her earnest desire to spoil him. He couldn’t help but be struck by how much more adorable the Mahiru who sincerely spoiled him was.

Of course, it went without saying that the usual strong and independent version of Mahiru and the impish version of Mahiru, who schemed up various ways to spoil him, were both cute, but in entirely different ways.

It wasn’t that he didn’t want to make her melt into a gooey mess and spoil her rotten because he loved her so much, but doing so would infringe on Mahiru’s feelings.

So he had placed limits on himself, taking into consideration how much Mahiru wanted to be pampered and acting accordingly, something she surely had noticed.

In any case, Mahiru’s shame seemed to be rising every time she heard Amane speak, because at the moment, her face was bright red, and she was trembling on the verge of tears. Amane wanted to believe that in this situation, being on the verge of tears was not a bad thing.

“Ah, but it’s not like I spoil her just because she’s cute, of course. I do it to make a safe space for Mahiru and because I revere and respect her for always trying so hard and disciplining herself without begrudging the effort. And I don’t do it at times when it would make her uncomfortable!”

No matter how much he loved Mahiru, pampering her too much when she didn’t want it was not good for either of them. There was no way Amane was going to throw off all his inhibitions and let himself run wild.

His top priority was seeing that Mahiru lived happy and peaceful days, so despite how he felt, he was trying to take things easy.

“Um, and I’ve vowed to absolutely never take anything from Mahiru, or one-sidedly demand anything from her, or hurt her in any way you might be worried about, Miss Kujigawa. It might sound trivial for me to say those words, but I don’t intend to break my promise.”

At that point, Miss Koyuki’s eyes went a little wide, then he saw her exhale softly, apparently impressed, so he was sure he’d been right about her question, and he hoped his answer was sufficient.

“To me, Mahiru is a darling girl who I treasure and want to make happy, but also, she’s someone who is my equal. I don’t foist my problems on her, and I don’t ignore her opinions. We often talk through things and put in effort so we can live comfortably together, because we both want to make this a safe place where we both belong. If we work together, I think we can make it happen.”

He loved pampering her, and he wanted to devote himself to Mahiru, but he didn’t want his attention to dominate her life.

What Mahiru wanted was for them both to accept each other’s good points and bad points and to transform into an agreeable whole, then live peacefully together, each caring for the other.

Neither of them should carry the other too much. What she wanted was for them to share the burden, to support each other and live as a couple.

Amane felt exactly the same way.

“Please, don’t worry. I will make Mahiru happy. And we’ll be happy together.”

Amane had to admit that, even for him, it must have sounded like a cheesy line to any outsider, but without a doubt, that was how he truly felt, and his convictions would not change. Those words were his oath that he would strive to fulfill going forward.

They both honored, trusted, and respected each other and believed that accepting each other’s differences, sharing each other’s pain, and supporting each other was the key to a happy relationship.

Amane was sure that if he stayed true to these principles, and with enough effort, they would achieve that happiness.

When all was said and done, he did feel a bit embarrassed, but he wanted to convey his thoughts as accurately and honestly as he could, and once he announced his intentions while looking Miss Koyuki in the eyes, he saw her slowly take a deep breath.

Amane was waiting for Miss Koyuki to speak, trying to ignore the feeling of his heart beating painfully fast. Then Miss Koyuki broke into a soft, tender smile, like a flower beginning to open.

She suddenly loosened up, and the intimidating atmosphere that had hung over them so far, the one that made him feel like he had to sit up straight, suddenly abated. It was like her earnest, gentle smile was finally peeking out.

“Once again, I can see there is no problem with the partner Miss Mahiru has chosen.”

Amane couldn’t tell whether she was telling him or talking to herself.

He couldn’t tell, but he could at least be sure he had gotten her approval.

“I always had faith in her good judgment but went ahead and asked just in case… I’m sorry for sounding you out, young man. If it had seemed like there was anything bad about you, I thought I might whip this old body into shape and go tear you away from her, though.”

He now realized that if he had made a single misstep, this might have developed into quite the dispute, so he was relieved he had met her expectations but didn’t dare to let that show on his face.

It would be unbearable to be torn away from Mahiru, since he wanted to spend the rest of his life making her happy. But supposing he hadn’t secured her approval, his own inadequacy at failing to stand up to Miss Koyuki’s judgment would have been even more unbearable.

“Y-you don’t have to do anything like that! Amane is a good person, and his parents are really wonderful people, too…!”

“Oh my, you’ve already met his parents?”

Amane found himself thinking this woman really was the type to pick up on the words she most wanted to hear, just like his mother. Of course, her personality was different, but he could tell she was a tenacious person in her own right.

“That’s wonderful. It’s very important to find people who will treasure you and clear away any obstacles that may come between you. Because these days, people like that are worth more than gold.”

“Uh… Oh, Miss Koyuki, you’re too forward about that sort of thing, or, I mean, the way you said it isn’t good. That wasn’t my intention…”

“Excuse me, but if anything, I’d have to say I’m probably the one who laid the foundation.”

“Amane?!”

“Or maybe my mother did half of the work… I feel like she really got fired up and refused to give up her chance to have such a cute, polite, and incredibly good girl as her daughter-in-law.”

Thinking back on it, he couldn’t help but feel like his mother had been working diligently to build a solid foundation for him, even before he ever fell for Mahiru. He wasn’t sure whether she had astonishingly good intuition or whether she was just audacious.

He couldn’t say he had never found her overbearing, but his parents’ influence was one of the factors that had helped him get together with Mahiru, so he also couldn’t say they were just a nuisance. Even so, Amane, who hadn’t been able to move things along on his own, still felt like he wanted to say it was none of their business.

“…Hearing you say that, I feel like I might have given her a lot of help for the second half of the work.”

“Huh?”

“Never mind, nothing.”

Mahiru had quietly said something that sounded like an addition to Amane’s words, but he was too busy complaining about his mother in his head, so he missed it and asked her to repeat herself.

However, Mahiru didn’t seem inclined to say it again and abruptly turned away.

This was something Mahiru did when she wanted to hide something, but he wasn’t going to force it out of her, so he had no option but to wait for another time when she wanted to tell him.

Apparently, the microphone had picked up Mahiru’s words, because Miss Koyuki, who seemed to have heard her perfectly well, responded to Mahiru with a pleasant smile that nonetheless exuded an elegance that could not be hidden. “My goodness.” Then continuing, “As far as I can see, there was never any need for me to worry. Maybe I’m getting old… It seems I’ve been needlessly cautious and meddlesome.”

Miss Koyuki had repentant, downcast eyes, and her look alone was enough to stop Mahiru, who had been on the verge of panic.

“This has relieved me of a concern that has weighed on my chest for a long time. I’d been worried about you, since I could no longer indiscreetly poke my nose into your affairs. I worried about where you were headed, Miss Mahiru.”

Amane heard a quiet gasp from beside him.

“But everything’s all right now, isn’t it? As things stand now, I can see that I can entrust her to you. You’re probably wondering who I think I am to say that, as an outsider who has already left her life, but as one of the adults who watched over Miss Mahiru up until now, that’s what I believe…”

On every point, Miss Koyuki had been testing Amane, always thinking of Mahiru’s well-being. That much was obvious.

She had been by Mahiru’s side since she was little, keeping her company. She had given Mahiru a good education, so she would not be hurt by others. She had helped polish Mahiru’s persona, so she would not run into trouble in the future. She had treated Mahiru with plenty of affection, so she would not lose faith in people and would one day be able to give her heart to someone.

She cared about Mahiru enough to make sure she could entrust the girl she’d taken such great pains with and treasured so much to Amane.

“Next time, I want the two of you to come visit me together, okay? I want to introduce you to my son and his wife. I’ll introduce you as another of my sweet children and her boyfriend. Oh, my son won’t get jealous or anything if I acquire one or two more children, so don’t worry about that, please.”

Mahiru didn’t seem to be able to hold it together anymore when she heard the word children, and the tears, which she had managed to hold at bay, overflowed again.

Sobbing weakly, Mahiru didn’t hold back and wept as if she were letting her frail parts crumble away. It seemed likely she would shed more tears that evening than she had in her entire life.

When she saw Mahiru like that, Miss Koyuki put on a warm, enveloping smile filled with earnest affection, and together with Amane, quietly waited for Mahiru to ride out the wave of her emotions on her own.

“Oh-ho-ho, I haven’t approved of your marriage just yet, kids. I can’t possibly approve until I see what kind of gentleman he is with my own eyes, rather than over a phone call.”

Miss Koyuki waited for Mahiru to calm down, then made that playful announcement, sending Amane into an intense coughing fit.

He had been about to respond, his lips trembling in fear, when she shot him a knowing look. Amane couldn’t refute it, and all he could do was pout.

I knew it! At her core, she’s just like my mother!

If Miss Koyuki teamed up with his mother, the already-dangerous twosome would become a threesome (the other member being Chitose). Imagining that, Amane shuddered with fear. Though Miss Koyuki didn’t launch a follow-up attack, which showed she was kinder than his mother or Chitose.

Miss Koyuki seemed to pick up on the fact that Amane had trouble asserting himself—at least that’s what he understood from her quiet laugh. She straightened up, turning to face Mahiru again, looking at her with an expression that anyone would have recognized as a mother looking at her beloved child.

“So don’t be shy, both of you. Come see me. I’ll be glad to welcome you.”

“…Okay!”

“Thank you very much.”

It felt like they were making a promise to go pay their respects at Mahiru’s parents’ home. Miss Koyuki welcomed them with a beautiful smile, both Amane, who was beaming with delight and relief as well as embarrassment, and Mahiru, who let one more joyful tear trickle from her eye.

“Oh, and I won’t give my blessing if you make her cry, so be careful.”

“…I’m not the one who made her cry just now, am I?”

“Oh my, that’s… Ho-ho, well, just be careful.”

Miss Koyuki smiled mischievously, and Amane and Mahiru both looked at each other, wearing smiles they couldn’t hide.

“So long as they’re happy tears, you go right ahead and make her cry. It seems like she isn’t very used to happiness, so I ask that you make up for all the joy she’s missed so far.”

“Well then, I won’t hold back. My intention from here on out is to do my best to make her cry tears of joy.”

“Wait, Amane—”

Mahiru looked flustered, like she was going to ask him what he was talking about, but Amane didn’t have the slightest intention of taking back what he said.

Making her cry from sadness or anger would be inexcusable, but happy tears were a different story. Tears were emotions that overflowed from the heart, and if it was something positive, if the tears were born from happiness, then they were nothing to balk at.

No one could blame Amane for wanting to show Mahiru all the delights she had been deprived of before. No one would complain about him hogging those tears to himself, either.

“Well then, I’ll leave you to it… You get lots of satisfaction from that boy, and the next time we meet, I want to hear all about it. I’m looking forward to it!”

Amane’s answer must have been sufficient to satisfy Miss Koyuki, because with a cheerful expression, she smiled pleasantly and looked the two of them over with a deeply gentle, affectionate gaze.

It was the same kind of look they had gotten from Amane’s mother in the past.

“I’ll see you then. I hope you continue to live a happy and healthy life, Miss Mahiru.”

Miss Koyuki wished Mahiru the best in a clear voice without the slightest bit of cloudiness, then with her eyes, she offered one last reassuring look to Mahiru, who was trembling with emotion and obviously a little reluctant to say good-bye. Then she finally ended the call.

The silent, empty screen reflected Amane and Mahiru and the decorated room. Their parting with Miss Koyuki was quick, but it was sure to remain in Amane’s heart, which was filled with its warm afterglow.

He was sure Mahiru felt the same way, because she kept staring for a little while at the screen that had projected such joy for her, as if basking in the afterglow, as if absorbed in it, but…eventually, she slowly leaned over toward Amane.

She leaned against him, sweetly snuggling up against his upper arm and shoulder, and stayed like that as she quietly took one deep breath.

As he looked at her glossy hair flowing down from her shoulders and smoothly following the curves of her chest, Amane waited for Mahiru to silently finish putting her words in order.

“…Amane.”

“Yeah?”

She called his name quietly.

“…I don’t really know what to say, I guess… I’m so happy, I feel like I’m going crazy… I never even imagined this day would come.”

Certainly, she must have wished for it from the bottom of her heart. She must have wished to have a family-like connection to Miss Koyuki.

However, she’d lacked the will to pursue it and make it a reality.

Mahiru had a tendency to always prioritize other people, or to put it even more strongly, she was a coward at heart.

Ways to contact Miss Koyuki, ways to hear her voice, ways to see her—she must have thought of countless ways, and yet she hadn’t pursued any of them. She hadn’t been able to because Mahiru feared being rejected by Miss Koyuki and had unconsciously kept herself safe from that possibility. That was what Amane thought.

Though he still felt sorry for stirring up that fear and anxiety in her, Amane did not regret getting in contact with Miss Koyuki one single bit.

Because now that everything was done, Mahiru looked incredibly satisfied.

“…Do you feel at least a little bit happier?”

He knew asking a question he already knew the answer to was kind of rude, but he wanted to hear her answer no matter what.

Even if it was just for his own satisfaction, he wanted to verify that had made his darling girlfriend happy.

“Of course. I’m so happy, I can hardly stand it. I’m overjoyed, my head is floating, and my heart is pounding…but it’s painful to know the day is over. And I know my emotions are all over the place.”

“Mm, a lot happened, so you’ll have to process it bit by bit.”

Mahiru mumbled haltingly in a childish voice, not necessarily for Amane to hear but as a way to sort out her turbulent emotions. Amane just acknowledged Mahiru without rushing her.

Mahiru still seemed to be riding the wave of emotion that had crashed over her. As she leaned against his shoulder, she entwined her arm with his so she could cling closer to Amane and rest her face against his upper arm.

Amane chuckled a little as Mahiru rubbed her cheek against him, satisfying the desire that had apparently been building up inside her, then reached out with his free hand and smoothed down the disheveled flaxen river of her hair.

“…It’s all right. The joy you’re feeling is never going to disappear, and you can savor it slowly. You felt happy today, Mahiru. Let’s lock that into our memories together.”

“…Yes.”

“I just hope that today was a day you’ll be able to look back on and smile at how happy you were, anytime you remember it.”

His greatest wish was for this to become one of many joyful memories.

Amane wanted to go on experiencing many joys with Mahiru, and he did intend to make Mahiru happy in the future, so if she ended up remembering this day, not as the only day she was happy but as one among many happy days, he would be glad.

“…Come on, your birthday isn’t over yet, is it?”

“It’s been so gratifying already. I’m getting full.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. There’s still so much cake left…”

He knew what she meant, but he purposely joked around, mumbling with a disappointed look on his face, and Mahiru fidgeted bashfully and pressed her forehead into his arm pleadingly.

“…If you’ll feed it to me, I’ll eat a little bit more.”

“Sure, I’ll do anything you want me to, Mahiru.”

Although she was being reserved about it, Mahiru looked up at him with expectation in her eyes, and Amane knew she was going to presume upon him in various ways, as only his girlfriend could.

Amane felt he could endure it and gently stroked her head, ready to grant any wish she made, and Mahiru relaxed and broke into a smile.

“No matter how much I try, I won’t be able to eat it all, so I’ll feed some to you, too.”

“Sure, thanks… Next year, I think I’ll try to make one a bit smaller than this. Then we won’t have any trouble polishing it off with just the two of us.”

“‘Next year’…”

Those words seemed to give her something to think about as she repeated them in a low whisper. Amane was certain she was imagining the two of them together the following year, which was not far away.

A faint but distinct color tinted her cheeks, like a burst of light emerging out of the darkness, and Mahiru looked up at him searchingly.

Her eyes were filled with anticipation she could not hide.

From her expression, Amane could see she was looking forward to what was to come, that she didn’t seem to dislike her birthday anymore, and that she was eagerly anticipating her next one. He went right ahead and let the happiness that welled up from deep within his heart show on his face.

“That’s right, next year. Looking forward to it already?”

“Yes.”

“That’s great. So am I.”

The idea of spending all the days ahead with Mahiru, the idea that he could be the one to make her happy, the emotional uplift he felt knowing Mahiru trusted him and was anticipating great things from him: all these were Amane’s pleasure, his joy, his happiness.

He was certain, at that moment, they meant the same to Mahiru.

“…Really, thank you for being you. And thank you for falling in love with me. I swear I’m going to make you happy.”

He hadn’t planned to say those words to Mahiru. They had spilled out on their own, and she listened closely.

After she lowered her eyes, bewitching beads of amber, and opened them wide, Mahiru’s face seemed to melt into a sappy, broad grin. She relaxed her whole body and sank into Amane’s embrace.

“What’re you looking at, Mahiru?”

After their conversation with Miss Koyuki was over and Mahiru had regained her composure, Amane saw she was looking at the screen of her smartphone as she relaxed beside him.

Mahiru, who generally didn’t spend much time on her phone, had been holding it for a long time, so he figured something had happened.

Hearing Amane’s voice, Mahiru turned toward him, and her expression was much more mellow than usual.

“I got birthday texts from everyone.”

“Oh, that’s great.”

Everyone else had given Amane the privilege of saying it in person to Mahiru, so the others had no choice but to text her if they wanted to wish her a happy birthday.

Thinking about it, Amane did feel a little bit bad about stealing the privilege to celebrate Mahiru from their friends, but he also knew they all understood the situation when they left everything up to him, and Amane silently thanked his friends yet again.

As payback, they were likely going to demand a play-by-play of the birthday and tease him about it on Monday, but he had already resigned himself and accepted that it was going to happen.

Amane’s face stiffened a bit as he readied himself for what was waiting for him the next school day, but Mahiru didn’t seem to notice. She was wearing a sweet, gentle smile that was buoyant, earnest, and dreamy.

“Yes…I am really happy. This is the first time I’ve had a birthday like that.”

“Is it? It’s going to be an annual event now, so you’d better get used to it pretty quickly.”

“…I wonder how long it will take before I get used to it?”

“We’re doing it every year, so let me know once you do. I’m going to do my best to astonish you every year, though.”

“…But I won’t know what to do if you make my heart pound too hard… My eyes got a little swollen today.”

She sounded peevish as she said that, but instead of dissatisfaction, her voice had more of an uncertain, embarrassed ring to it.

Sure enough, just as Mahiru said, the area around her eyes was a little puffy and red, but what caught his attention even more was the redness coloring her cheeks.

“Did you not like it?”

“Of course not…! It really reminded me of how blessed I am.”

“Personally, I want to make you even happier, so I plan to add to it and update the celebration every year.”

Thinking about what he had done so far, he felt like what he’d done still wasn’t enough, and if he was going to the trouble, Amane wanted to make her completely happy. So next time, he thought he would have to spend more time on it, researching Mahiru’s tastes and what she wanted and looking into things she might want to do.

After that, he intended to spend the time up until Mahiru’s next birthday preparing everything he wanted.

He didn’t know whether or not it would make her happy, but Amane wanted to make that vow to Mahiru.

He wanted to make that important, once-in-a-lifetime promise.

“Heh-heh. All right then, I’ll devote myself to you every day, in that case. Of course, I won’t overdo things!”

“…Please try not to blow my mind.”

“Too bad. Please look forward to next year.”

“…You’d better look forward to it, too.”

“Okay, I will.”

“Mm, same here.”

Amane knew they were getting ahead of themselves as they both confirmed their anticipation for next year’s birthdays. They looked right at each other at the same time.

“…I can’t wait.”

As he felt the warmth of those words coming from her lips, Amane stroked her slender ring finger. Mahiru didn’t seem to notice as she leaned all her weight against him and closed her eyes in pleasant comfort.

She looked so sweet doing that, and Amane didn’t hesitate to close the distance between them again, until he was all she could see.