Chapter 2: Laying the Groundwork for the Celebration
“Ohh… Come to think of it, it was around this time last year when you came to me looking for advice for Shiina-san’s birthday, right?”
Knowing that he couldn’t make Mahiru’s birthday an unforgettable one on his own, Amane caught Itsuki, his closest confidant, after school. Since neither of them had shifts at their respective part-time jobs today, they had decided to hold a meeting at a fast-food restaurant. Amane wasn’t one to haphazardly talk to people about Mahiru’s birthday, but since Itsuki had helped him out last year and had a rough date in his mind already, Amane didn’t hesitate to reach out to him.
“I don’t think Mahiru wants people to know when it is, so don’t spread it around.”
“I know, I know. Who do you take me for?” Perhaps because it was a slow time of day for business, their fries were stale and soggy. Itsuki, who had picked one up and wiggled it around, narrowed his eyes in a show of exasperation. “I know Shiina-san’s way more cautious than you are, Amane. If anything, she dislikes others…well, not really. It’s more that she’s particular. She probably only reveals her personal details to the people she likes.”
“…You understand her well.”
“Don’t glare at me—it’s scary. There’s no need for the jealousy, man. If you think about it, like, she’s similar to Yuuta and I in that way, isn’t she?”
“Ahhh… Well, I do see the resemblance.”
Although of different nature from Mahiru, both Itsuki and Yuuta had a tendency to present a friendly facade while maintaining an invisible barrier between themselves and others. Beneath his signature light-hearted attitude and gestures, Itsuki never revealed his inner thoughts, which was a facet of him that Amane knew very well. In Yuuta’s case, preserving a gentle expression served to shield himself from the scrutiny his position invited, letting him avoid drawing attention to any strong emotions he might experience.
“Right? So it’s easy to tell what she’d dislike. I’m not some kind of petty guy who’d go out of their way to bother a friend’s girlfriend.”
“I know that.”
“Wow! I can feel the trust you have in me!”
“You just noticed that now?”
This should have been no surprise, especially considering the fact that Amane would never have consulted Itsuki if he didn’t trust him. For some reason, however, Itsuki directed him a look of utter astonishment, his expression even screaming, I’m so surprised!
As always, he’s so over the top, Amane thought. As he gazed at the theatrical Itsuki, he noticed a look of bewilderment flash across his face, which then settled into one of mild concern. It appeared that Itsuki was worried about him. Sensing this, Amane asked, “What?” in a tone a few notches deeper than usual.
“…Why the sudden honesty? You’re making me worried,” Itsuki replied. “Be honest now, what’s the matter?”
“Quit looking at me like I’m sick!” Amane retorted.
“Yeeaah, well, I mean….”
“Right~?”
Amane, having felt somewhat offended by Itsuki’s inscrutable look, glared at him. However, their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of another person who seemed to be on the same page as Itsuki. Curious, Amane looked up to see who had joined them.
As he expected, there stood Chitose. A slight smirk danced along her typical charming smile.
“…You just casually joined us, huh,” Amane said.
“Weeell, seeing as I just happened to spot you two sneaking around, I figured I’d join too,” Chitose explained.
Amane was aware that Chitose had left school earlier to run some errands, so her sudden appearance took him by surprise. He glanced at her with a suspicious look.
Chitose being Chitose, she clarified, “I wasn’t stalking you guys or anything, y’know?” grinning all the while. She nonchalantly sat in the chair next to Itsuki, picked up a fry, and tossed it into her mouth.
“So, what were you on about?” she asked.
“Making yourself comfortable, huh,” commented Amane.
“Wouldn’t you have chosen a different place if it was something you’d rather I not overhear? Ikkun already let me know he was going to have a guy’s day out, and since he knows that I always pass through this way, you must’ve initiated things today, right, Amane? And besides, whenever you ask for advice, eight—no, nine times out of ten, it’s about Mahirun, isn’t it?”
Realizing that Chitose was incredibly sharp when it came to the strangest details, Amane had the urge to clutch his head in his hands. Despite this, Amane knew that she, much like Itsuki, had a vague idea of when Mahiru’s birthday was and had already planned to ask her for help, which meant that her arrival actually saved him the hassle of explaining twice. Be that as it may, being read like a book by her made him feel somewhat embarrassed, so he let out a quiet sigh to release the awkward, itchy feeling swirling inside his chest.
Having no intention to hide it from her, Amane declared, “…We were talking about Mahiru’s birthday.”
“Seeee?” Chitose said with a smug grin. “Okay, okay; I see, I see; gotcha, gotcha. So you wanna make it a surprise.”
“Well, not a surprise exactly… I’ve already gotten her permission to celebrate it.”
“That’s really considerate of you.”
“I want to be cautious, respectful, and supportive when it comes to Mahiru.”
Amane knew that surprises could sometimes backfire, depending on the situation. The whole point of this celebration was to make Mahiru happy, so the idea of accidentally causing the opposite was something he wanted to avoid at all costs. Mahiru had her own thoughts about her birthday, which made him even more cautious.
As a result, Amane wanted to cater as much as possible to Mahiru’s preferences. He strived to host a birthday that she could genuinely appreciate and value.
“Nfufu, love struck much?” Chitose teased.
“Shove it. Say whatever you want.”
“*Whistle~* You’re totally smitten! So sweet and madly in love~.”
“Itsuki, shut her up.”
“Guess I’ve no choice. Here—take these!”
Amane, knowing that letting Chitose run wild would only make her more unbearable, asked her boyfriend for assistance. Itsuki, heaving an exaggerated shrug, playfully stuffed a handful of fries into Chitose’s mouth to keep her quiet. Of course, she couldn’t speak properly with a mouthful of fries. Amane decided to pay no heed to the muffled grumbles coming from her throat despite the piercing glare she sent him.
After chewing for a while, Chitose finally swallowed and immediately complained. “Geez…” Amane once again chose to remain silent.
“So, what were you going to ask Ikkun for?”
“Oh, uh, it’s not like I was going to ask him a favor… I just haven’t decided on a present yet, so I wanted to discuss some ideas with him.”
First and foremost, they had to decide on and then prepare a present. As it might take a while to arrange everything, Amane couldn’t deny the nagging feeling that he was already one step behind in preparing Mahiru’s birthday gift.
Despite his hands being full getting used to his part-time job, Amane still regretted not starting his preparations sooner.
“Hmm, but wouldn’t you know her best? You’re closest to her.”
“You’re her boyfriend. Aren’t you together pretty much 24/7?”
“24/7 is pushing it, even for us,” Amane replied. “But that aside, yeah, you’re right. It’s just that Mahiru isn’t really materialistic… If something catches her eye, she’ll carefully weigh the benefits and drawbacks before buying it…”
“Ahh… Yeah, Mahirun does have that kind of mindset,” Chitose agreed, a slight edge of disbelief in her voice. As a fellow woman and shopping buddy, she absolutely understood where Amane was coming from. “She never tells others about what she wants and instead tries to get things on her own. She might say something when it’s for you, Amane, but she rarely says anything when it’s for herself.”
Mahiru, you don’t have to make everything about me, you know… Amane frowned. As her boyfriend, learning about Mahiru’s feelings from a new angle left Amane feeling both pleased, and frustrated by her modesty.
“Well, these are all reasons why there isn’t much Mahiru wants at the moment.”
“You gave her hand cream and a stuffed toy last year, right? Don’t you remember anything she said she wanted? Even just a rough idea?”
“Last year… Well, yeah, I guess she did mention something, but…”
Mahiru had in fact specified an item that she wanted. However…
“Huh? Then if you haven’t already, wouldn’t getting that make her happy? It’d solve everything at once, right?”
“I know she hasn’t bought one yet, but, uh, it’s just that…”
“Just what?”
“It’s a whetstone she wanted.”
““What?””
“A whetstone.”
Faced with a word so detached from the world of high school students, Itsuki and Chitose froze in unison. Their minds raced to figure out what this ‘whetstone’ word could have possibly meant.
Yeah, usually you wouldn’t expect a whetstone to come up there…
Unless you spent a lot of time cooking, whetstones would rarely come up as the topic of a conversation. Their confusion was understandable.
After thinking it over for a good five seconds, Chitose glanced over at him and moved her lips, clearly baffled. “That thingamajig you use every night to sharpen knives?”
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