Title: Birthday Kiss
Anime: Ichigo Mashimaro
It was a comfortable Saturday morning. Chika Ito had slept in until twelve o'clock, which wasn't like her. Normally, she was used to waking up at a decent hour on the weekends, which is at least nine A.M.
She sat up, feeling a little bit depressed. Today is her fourteenth birthday. Why would she be upset about that, though? All of her friends would be at her house at some point to party with her and celebrate another year together. For Chika, that was the problem. All of her friends included the one that had upset her on her last birthday once they were alone.
A light tap on the window awoke her senses. She had been out of it for a moment.
'I guess she chose today to be courteous and knock on the window before bursting in.' the birthday girl thought. She sighed loudly. "Come in, Miu. It's open." She said irritably.
"Hey, Chika!" the birthday girl's friend entered the room dramatically and did a twirl. "Know what today is?" she asked.
This brought another annoyed sigh from Chika.
"I know." She answered.
Miu nodded.
"Mmhmm! Today's your birthday! And from the looks of it, you slept in." the cheerful girl approached the bed at a leisurely pace. Chika watched as though she were in a trance. It reminded her—painfully—of her thirteenth birthday, except that day, she was just getting into bed.
"Good bye, Chika! Happy birthday!" Matsuri said. "Thank you!" "'Night, Chi! Don't stay up too late!" Nobue said as she left the room to get ready for bed. "Good night!" "I'll see you tomorrow, okay, Chika?" Anna said. "That's right!" The blonde haired girl and the grey haired girl left together to go home, and now, the now thirteen-year-old girl was alone with Miu. "Are you about to leave, too?" Chika asked. "Why the rush?" Miu approached the bed slowly. She got on her knees in front of her friend who was already in her pajamas. "I never gave you your gift!" the light brown haired girl said. "Is it special since you're just telling me this at twelve o'clock midnight?" Chika asked. For the occasion, the party lasted for a long time since thirteen is the first important birthday for a girl. "Yep!" without warning Miu frog leapt onto Chika, pinning her roughly and randomly to her bed. "Miu! What was that f—" her words were cut off as the "attacker" pressed her lips to the ebony haired girl's lips. Chika's eyes widened. She didn't know what to do or say. What just came over her friend? After it had ended, Miu left the same way she came, through the window. Chika was left confused. Later that night, she went to ask her sister about kissing. "Huh? Why would you wanna know about that?" Nobue asked. In her hands were a lit cigarette in one, and a half empty beer can in the other—the perfect combination to knock her out for the night. "Well," Chika blushed. Now she "Ah, I see." The twenty year old said. "Well, it's not easy to talk about. The only thing that I can really think about that's worth talking about in kissing is the "First Kiss"." "Huh?" "Yep. That's it. The first kiss can only be gotten once. It Chika went back to her room and closed the door. She looked at the window. It was still open and the win was blowing her curtains around. She walked over and shut it and locked it. Across a few rooftops, she could see the other girl taking down her short, straight pigtails, and yawning. She walked out of sight—to her bed, Chika assumed—and left the birthday girl feeling horrible. 'Miu stole my first kiss from me….'
She came out of the flashback to see Miu's hand waving slowly back in forth in front of her face.
"Hellooooooo?" the other thirteen-year-old said.
"M-Miu…." Chika took a moment to clear her throat and regain the composure she had lost that night. "What are you here for?"
"Well, silly, I came to give you your birthday present a little early! I can't make it to the party this year, so I decided to come give it to you before I went out of town for a week with my parents." She was silent for a moment. "Oops! I just told you about the party!" the brunette face-palmed herself.
"It's okay. I know that you guys plan a party for me every year. It's been that way since we were seven, you know."
"Yeah, I guess. But still…." Miu crouched down in front of Chika, who just happened to be sitting at the edge of her bed like on that fateful night. "I can make up for it."
Chika saw this coming.
"M-Miu! N-no! NOT THIS AGAIN!"
It was too late. Actually, one couldn't tell Miu not to do this. That's just how it is. She eagerly kissed a struggling Chika, and eventually held her arms down to control the writhing of the other fourteen-year-old. Finally, the black haired girl calmed down, and let her friend kiss her.
'And now my second kiss is gone, too. Not that it really matters as much as the first.' Chika thought unhappily.
The sound of multiple pairs of feet reached Chika and Miu's ears. The present giver stopped right away, and freaked out.
"Oh crap! Gotta go, Chika! Bye!" she fled towards the window and jumped out it, running back to her house over the rooftops.
'So she knows that it's wrong for a girl to kiss another girl. She left when she knew that our friends were coming in.' the black haired girl thought. On queue, her friends and sister walked into the room, ready for the party to start. 'I'll tell Miu that I don't like it later on. But now, I have to act happy that today's my birthday.'
On that note, the party began without Miu in mind.
'Maybe turning fourteen isn't so bad….'