A fanfic that I wrote few years ago in commemoration of Homare's birthday then. Posted it elsewhere, but thought today that I'd post it here for anyone to enjoy. ^^

And note that I wrote this before Starry Sky~After Summer~, meaning that his family in here was more of what I imagined than how his family/house is in the game. However, they're surprisingly quite similar...

Hakama: Traditional Japanese male clothing

Kimono: Traditional Japanese female clothing

Tatami: Mats usually used for the flooring of traditional Japanese houses.

Disclaimer: I do not own both the characters nor the series, Starry Sky in any way.

[11th – 13th May 2010]

- Memoriam -

The sun rose directly above those underneath its sunlight: office workers hurriedly pace through the cross-roads, in a rush to fill their lunch break with something fulfilling; random passersby, walking aimlessly to wherever they see fit, and high school students, clad in anything other than their school uniforms, glancing in shops from the untainted glasses; a typical late morning of a Saturday.

As one dressed in a moderately-expensive kimono, waiting for the bullet train to arrive, she took a glimpse at her watch, sighing relief at the ample amount of time she has before an important appointment. 'I wonder whether he's preparing everything he needs now… I hope he's not nervous, though,' thought the girl to herself, shaking her head arguably at that last thought. 'No, Homare isn't like that. Yes, he'll do just fine, I bet.' Nodding and slapping both her cheeks with her palms. Just as she was done monologging, the train she had been waiting for, arrived and halted in front of the yellow line.

After getting off the bullet train, quickly, she held on tight to her small handbag, bracing herself to set off to her desired destination. Walking on the route which she was accustomed to, she was excited and anxious; both at the same time. This would mark her third visit to his house, a place where she held fond memories of. Reminiscing her way on the road, she recalled of the first time she stepped on the pavement at the entrance. Indescribably nervous! She was very grateful to his family who were so warm and friendly. Thanks to them and their acceptance, she felt comfortable within no time. Together with his all-so-cute younger sister, she explored his home which –she last remembered– was traditionally themed; tatami mats and fragile paper doors everywhere. It suits his family business, she guessed.

With a few more steps, she would be in front of his residence. Stopping at the main gate, she closed her eyes and thought back of the wonderful blessings she has been bestowed upon; how the family was so nice, how her college life was getting along fine, and especially how her relationship with this all-so-wonderful former senior has been like. Smiling to herself, she walked passed the gate, onto the stoned path and straight to the section of the house which he had told her to wait at. From afar, she could already spot a medium-sized group of people dressed in kimono, chatting away cheerfully, exchanging jokes and fun, trivial talk; "My cat, Nyaa-chan, gave birth to 5 kittens the other day!" for example.

Before she could even join in the crowd, a lady immediately went to welcome her with a big smile. "Good afternoon, Tsukiko! It's been awhile since we last met!" rubbing the shoulder of the said girl.

"Good afternoon, Auntie. It's really nice meeting you again." smiling back at the light blue-haired lady. Tsukiko herself has always been thinking that Auntie was where he got his beautiful hair from, a thought which has never failed to lightly entertain her. Taking delight in how her future mother-in-law spoke about the family and amusing incidences, Tsukiko just looked at the woman, feeling as if she herself was already part of the family. Though Auntie always walked around with a friendly smile and hoped that everyone was having a good time, she still held this gentle and calm demeanor around her which was pleasing and at the same time, something easily recognisable.

"Oh, quick. You must come right now! The tea ceremony is about to start." The older lady stated, holding onto Tsukiko's hand while leading her to the room which had its doors slid to their respective sides, exposing it to the gentle warmth of the afternoon sun.

The crowd began to quieten down as they arranged themselves to sit on the tatami mats in a respectful manner, waiting for the moment where each and everyone of them was there for. As they remained silent, the door to another room slid open, with a man of neatly combed blue hair walking into the room, poised and defined. Everyone was in awe of how his face features were now so enhanced with a certain glow from the atmosphere and from the elegant black and white hakama he was wearing; embroidered with delicate colourless floral design; covering his obi, twirling around the hems of his traditional Japanese attire. Tsukiko who sat politely next to the man's mother, was utterly speechless. Never before had she seen him dressed up like that, so handsomely groomed to perfection. She couldn't help herself but to blush with pink dashes on her cheeks.

Taking a look at the guests who were there to watch him, he smiled, especially sweet when he spotted out his beloved among them. He later sat down in a courteous posture, leading the ceremony by arranging the needed tea bowls in front of him. This would be his first time performing the art of a tea ceremony in front of the public, which will serve as a stepping stone in following this art which was his family's business, to begin with.

As a man to prepare himself before hand, he went through a significant amount of practices before showing his recently mastered skill in front of people who would be vital to the business. Nonetheless, that did not overtake the sole reason of his performance, which was to present the fine, detailed beauty of tea ceremonies; the serenity which follows suit, and the stillness it sets on the hearts of witnesses. It was his interest, his basis and motivation to portray its splendor.

Lifting up the tea scoop, he did his magic. Gracefully taking the stage; pouring hot water gently into the tea bowl. As the man whisked the tea, creating a swift yet calm swirl on the surface of the green matter, casting a spell on the crowd which continued to watch intently on every inch of his movements as he elegantly danced along with the tools.

The ceremony was not done yet, despite him being able to brew the tea flawlessly. It was now the central moment of a tea ceremony; the moment where everyone becomes the judge of whether the freshly brewed tea was fit enough to be served for said ceremonies. Just nearby, a female assistant went out and brought in tea cups, placing them on the tatami flooring and pouring the tea into each one of them. She later stood steadily with the tray of cups, slowly passing them out to the audience.

As everyone took a sip, followed by a multitude of exchanged words between them, it was clear from their faces that the tea, specially brewed by the man, was a great success. Laying their tea cups down, they applauded the man with a loud cheer; everyone was delighted.

Tsukiko clapped as hard as she could, being as proud as she is. Auntie seemed to be nodding in approval, happy that there is a worthy heir who would do just brilliant in succeeding the business. The older lady stood and signaled the crowd out of the room, as there would also be some desserts served together with the tea. Soon, there were only three people in the room, with bustling conversations going on in the other.

"Mother, I will be right there. I just need a moment," the man calmly spoke.

"Alright. I'll leave the things here to you." earning a nod from her son. The door was then slid to a close, nearly devoiding the room of any sound from the other. The girl immediately stood and sat next to the man,

"T-t-t-the… that! Th-that! It was-" silenced with a finger on her lips.

"Shhh…." the man said with his alluring soft voice. "I know what you want to say." That action of his was a bit too much for the young girl just right after being presented by his handsome form, making her blush beet red. While she was still feeling embarrassed, he unexpectedly embraced her; having his right hand on the back of her head while the other was close to the small of her covered back. "…Thank you. Thank you for being here… sincerely. You were the biggest support… you were the one who got me through the whole thing. Thank you, Tsukiko."

"H-H-H-H-Hom-Homare!" she exclaimed, compelling the man to pull back.

"Y-Yes?" worried of whether he had hurt her or did something she didn't like. Rapidly grabbing her bag and taking out a wrapped up parcel, she held it up with both her hands in front of his face.

'T-That was too much! I just had to find an excuse to break him apart from me before my heart could burst out… It was really… just too much.' the girl thought to herself, placing her right hand on her chest after he took away the parcel, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Tsukiko, what would this be?" confused and rather curious at the nicely wrapped-in-blue cubical he had on his palm.

"This…" she cleared her throat before continuing. "Happy Birthday, Homare." gaining composure to smile at him.

"Today… today… Oh. It's already the 14th?!" surprised at his discovery. "I was so caught up preparing myself for the tea ceremony till I've forgotten… it seems." chuckling a little at his single-track mindedness.

"I had an intuition you would forget, fufufu." she lightly smirked with a hand on her chin. He looked at her for a moment, happy that he finally had the chance to spend some time alone with her after God knows how many weeks…

"Can I open it?" pointing to the present.

"Sure!" getting all excited herself. Gently peeling of the cellophane tapes, he neatly unwrapped the present so as to not unintentionally tear the cute wrapping. Already done revealing the originally white-in-colour box, he carefully opened the lid, only to be welcomed by a turquoised tea cup. He found a small note in there too, reading it as she began telling her story of where she got her gift.

"Just the other day, my class had to make pots, vases, or anything we liked from clay and all sorts! Since your birthday was nearing, I thought it would be something very appropriate to make a tea cup. See, I tried carving a tiny arrow at the bottom of the cup, but I think I failed…" sighing at her last statement.

"This note…"

"Ah! That… fufu, 'Happy Birthday, the best tea brewer in the world!' is quite a good idea, right? It especially interrelates to your tea ceremony today." proud of the note she wrote.

"Tsukiko." he said with a serious, straight face.

"Y-Yes?"

"May I… kiss you?" receiving a gasp from the girl.

"W-w-why so suddenly?" unable to not stutter with her heart beating at such a fast pace.

"Because you're just too cute..." drawing closer to her, gradually leaning especially near to her face. She closed her eyes, wanting the kiss herself, but yet at the same time wanting to refuse it to prevent her mind from exploding. Without obtaining a reply, he leaned forward, holding on to her right cheek bone, and kissing the girl tenderly on her pink lips.

It was a moment of bliss. Unimaginable, indescribable; it was a perfect reunion of the couple who spent weeks apart. It was a moment of where they shared their feelings for each other which they held onto within those absent days. So tender, so magical, so lovely.

Homare parted, opening his eyes to meet with Tsukiko once again. Seeing her still closing her eyes with a reddish-pink face, he couldn't help himself but laugh out loud.

"W-What?" realising that the kiss was already over.

"No…no. It's just that you can be very cute at times… ahaha. It makes up for those days that we didn't get to see each other." giggling bits, now. Tsukiko didn't know what to do but to look at Homare with her face still flushed. He was happy, so was she.

Homare stood, holding out his hand; "Let's… Let us go together to have some dessert." he smiled.

Grasping his hand gently, "Let's!"

Near the entrance to the other room with Homare's hand already halfway to opening the fragile sliding door, he said,

"Tsukiko?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you for making today my best birthday."

Hope you enjoyed it! May have made a few mistakes on how a real tea ceremony was conducted though, not too sure, but tried my best to explain it properly. DX