Note: Non Non Biyori is an anime that was done by the studio Silver Link and is based on a manga by Atto.
Keeping secrets has been a challenge for people. Friends that are pressured into keeping secrets from their other friends, married couples that can't even tell their own family members each other's secrets, and superheroes that have to hide who they are from everybody were all challenges.
Hotaru Ichijo had a similar situation. She had been smitten with her friend, Komari Koshigaya, ever since she met her. That was seven years ago. Hotaru was now eighteen and Komari was twenty one. Hotaru had kept her feelings for Komari a secret during the entire seven years.
Hotaru's friends hadn't picked up on the fact that she was smitten with Komari. However, they could tell that something was up with her. Keeping such a big secret bottled up had led to stress for Hotaru. She often looked emotionally exhausted. When her friends asked her about it, she would always claim to be okay, but her friends knew that wasn't the case.
Hotaru came up with a plan to end her stress. She decided that she wasn't going to tell anybody about her feelings. She was planning on ignoring any feelings that made her feel uncomfortable. It wasn't a very good plan, but Hotaru ignored that thought.
One day, during her last year of high school, Hotaru was walking home. She only had a few months of high school left which was one of the few nice feelings that she had going on in her heart.
Komari quietly walked by Hotaru. Hotaru was so zoned out, that she didn't notice that her crush was by her side. Komari decided to give Hotaru a little surprise by hugging her. Hotaru was so surprised, that she said, "What's going on?!"
Komari gently replied, "I'm really sorry if I startled you."
Hotaru looked at her and said, "It's okay. I didn't know that you'd be here."
Komari replied, "Since I graduated from high school, we haven't seen each other that much. Me and your other friends have been worried about you. May I walk you home?"
Hotaru said, "Sure, but I'm doing better now."
Komari replied, "That's good to hear. Did you get over your stress?"
Hotaru explained, "I have secret feelings that are too embarrassing to reveal. I decided to ignore those feelings, forever. That way, I can be comfortable with my own version of reality."
Komari stopped walking. She said, "Hotaru, that's a terrible way of handling your emotions. You can't hide them under a rock. You need to express your true feelings."
Hotaru had a sad look on her face while saying, "My secret feelings aren't something I can never tell. If you ever found the real me, you wouldn't like me."
Komari patted Hotaru on the back and replied, "You're my best friend. I don't see how any secrets you have would change that. What kind of secrets have you been hiding and how long have you been hiding them."
Hotaru replied, "Seven years."
Komari asked, "Seven years?! That's an unhealthy amount of time to keep a secret. You gotta spit this secret out."
Komari looked at Hotaru. She was shaking and her cheeks were blushing. Komari said, "Ah, it's a romantic secret, isn't it?" Hotaru blushed harder. Komari asked, "What guy has captured your interest?"
Hotaru nervously said, "It's not ..." She paused and said, "Not a guy."
Komari replied, "That's nothing to be ashamed of. Who's the girl?"
Hotaru felt terrified. Komari was becoming closer than anybody ever has to finding out her true feelings. She nervously said, "I need to go."
She started running away. A card fell out of Hotaru's backpack. Komari picked the card up and recognized it.
A few days later, Hotaru was stepped out of her house and grabbed the mail. She saw that there was a letter from Komari. She ran back into the house and into her bedroom. She opened the letter. Inside was what Hotaru had fallen out of her backpack: the Valentine's Day card that Komari had given Hotaru six years ago.
The old Valentine's Day said, "Happy Valentine's Day Hotaru, Love Komari." It also had a big heart written around Hotaru's name. Hotaru loved the card so much, that she had kept it.
She looked at the note that was attached to the Valentine's Day card. It said, "Hi Hotaru. This old card fell out of your backpack. I don't know why you kept it, but it means a lot to me. I'll see you after school, tomorrow. Love, Komari." Hotaru started shaking with fear again. She was worried about whether or not Komari had realized her true feelings yet.
The next day, Hotaru finished up her latest school day. She started her walk home. Komari walked by and said, "Hi Hotaru."
Hotaru stopped walking and faced Komari. She nervously said, "Hi Komari. Thank you for saving that card."
Komari replied, "My pleasure, but I am awfully curious about why you've kept that thing."
Hotaru nervously shook while saying, "It was the nicest Valentine's Day card that I had ever gotten. The heart around you put around my name was too cute. I could never toss it out. I've had it in my backpack. I've brought it to school. I look it at when I'm feeling down."
Komari was surprised and touched by Hotaru doing that. She hugged her friend and said, "You're the sweetest friend I could ever ask for. Gosh, if you're so sentimental about our friendship, you must be lovesick over this crush of yours."
Hotaru started blushing. Komari looked at her friend and said, "You've got to me who your crush is."
Hotaru replied, "I don't have a crush on anybody."
Komari responded, "Come on. If you've been hiding your feelings for seven years, it must be something extreme."
Hotaru said, "There's somebody that I feel a special connection to. A connection that's stronger than I've had with anybody else."
Komari replied, "I see. Who is this person?"
Hotaru said, "No comment."
Komari had an amused look on her face while saying, "You're going to give me the silent treatment, aren't you?" Hotaru paused and didn't say a word. Komari said, "We're basically adults. You can't hide this secret anymore."
Hotaru stared up at the sky, because she was too scared to look at Komari. She said, "Komari, have you ever felt a special connection with somebody?"
Komari replied, "In the back of my mind, I've felt like I have. However, I have no idea who that connection could possibly be with."
Another piece of paper fell out of Hotaru's backpack. Komari picked it up and saw that it was the birthday card she had given Hotaru five years ago. Hotaru nervously said, "Please don't look at that old card."
Komari replied, "If this card meant so much to you, I should remind myself of what I wrote to you."
The card's message was, "Happy birthday Hotaru. It's been about two years since you moved here. However, I can't imagine life without my amazing best friend. It would be like having a moon without a sun. Have an awesome b-day. Love, Komari." There were several hearts drawn on the card.
Hotaru looked down while saying, "I'm sorry for keeping it."
Komari lifted Hotaru's chin up and asked, "Sorry? I'm honored that you kept this. I remember writing this. My sister saw the letter and joked that I was too young to start flirting. Apparently, she doesn't understand the love of friendship."
Hotaru nervously gulped and replied, "Yep."
Komari said, "I kept a majority of the cards you gave me. I didn't keep them in my backpack, but they are in one of the boxes in my bedroom."
Hotaru replied, "I'm really glad that you kept them."
Komari looked over at her bestie and saw how nervous she looked. She said, "I'll let you go, but not until you tell me your crush. Spit out the truth and we can get the stress over with."
Hotaru couldn't hide the truth any longer. She looked at Komari and said, "I really, really, really like you."
Komari replied, "Aww, that's cute, but who is the one that truly warms your heart?"
Hotaru said, "Nobody warms my heart more than you."
Komari gasped and asked, "Am I the one that you have the special feelings for?" Hotaru nodded and went back to nervously shaking.
Komari was surprised by the truth and that she didn't realize that her best friend had a crush on her, until now. She embraced Hotaru and said, "I'm so sorry for not knowing."
Hotaru replied, "It's not your fault. It's my fault for being so scared. I'm sorry for having these awkward feelings. I was too scared that I'd lose our best friend relationship, if I revealed the truth. I didn't want you to think I was a lovesick fool."
Komari responded, "I'm glad to finally know the truth."
Hotaru had a sad look on her face while saying, "But this will ruin our relationship. We can't go back to our normal friendship, now the truth has been revealed."
Komari replied, "It's okay. We can form a new bond."
Hotaru looked at her and asked, "New bond?"
Komari said, "Hotaru, I have a lot of confused emotions, but one feeling I'm confident about is that I love you. You were the only friend that I regularly use the word love for. I didn't really know why. I thought that it was because we were best friends."
Hotaru looked nervous, but she had an excited feeling in her heart. She asked, "Is it possible that we love each other in the same way?"
Komari replied, "In the back of mind, I think I've always had special feelings for you. I wasn't smart enough to know that, until you told me how you felt."
Hotaru was overcome with a new type of happiness. She said, "I love you, more than anybody. I've loved you since middle school."
Komari replied, "That was quite the secret. Aren't you glad that you told me it?"
Hotaru shyly said, "Yes, but won't his ruin our friendship?"
Komari replied, "No, we have too much for each other to let that happen." Both girls blushed.
Hotaru took a long pause, before asking, "Should I start heading home? My parents are going to be wondering why I'm running late."
Komari replied, "Okay." She walked closer to Hotaru and kissed her.
Hotaru asked, "Why did you do that?"
Komari said, "Because you deserved it."
Hotaru blushed and replied, "Oh, thank you." She kissed Komari back and waved goodbye.
Hotaru and Komari both had a lot of feelings to sort out, but their love for each was crystal clear. Wether they were best friends or more, they always have been in love with each other.
