It's when he glances at his calendar that he realizes it's nearing May 8th. It's when he's struggling to find a present that he realizes that she's more for sentimental value than material things. It's when he's laying in bed the night before that he realizes - Kotori is turning 18. Would she even glance at his way, even though he had waited for so long? He was 23 now, and Kaito didn't know if she'd be okay with that. Still, it would be better than 5 years earlier, when he was crushing on the then 13 year old girl.
He could do something romantic - buy her flowers, show up at her door, get down on one knee and ask her out. He could do something funny, maybe - he likes it when she laughs.

It's finally her birthday, and he receives a text from her early in the morning.
"KOTORI: are you coming later ? holding a party ! (:"
He smiles to himself, and replies with "yes".

The time is nearing 11 PM, and everyone from their 'group' is at her house, smiling and eating and dancing. Kaito clutches at his shirt, nervousness overcoming him. He shouldn't ask her, he should leave her be, she probably doesn't even see him that way, oh god he should just forget about this and go - - -
Kotori comes up to him, and she seems… flustered. Her orange-brown eyes are shining with a feeling Kaito can't quite place. "Kaito, can I talk to you?"
They walk outside of her house, the wind fresh on their faces. She seems to be deep in thought, because when Kaito asks her what she wanted to talk about, she jumps - cutely, he adds.

"Ah, well… I've been waiting to talk about this with you for a long time, and I think today seems fit, you know? Back then, I was just 13, I didn't know much about things, and I didn't want to say anything I might regret…" she starts, not meeting his eyes. Kaito's heart starts racing, and he has to bit at his lip to stop himself from blurting out 'I love you too'. This was it, he was going to get the girl of his dreams he had waiting so long for - - -

"Since I'm a adult now," she laughs, her voice sweet, "… I was wondering if you could help me with Ryouga? I'm too shy to press anything, but I like him a lot."

Kaito feels his whole world shatter around him.