It was already August before I realized. It means that my birthday is soon to happen. I never really gave importance to my birthday. It's just the day I was born. Nothing more, nothing less. Most people use the concept of birthdays as an excuse to have a celebration. It gives one the false sense of importance for at least one day. It's also simply a reminder on how long you've been able to traverse this live and how much longer you'll be able to do it before you kick the bucket. I have never bothered celebrating my birthday anyway. My parents are always to busy to have a party and they rarely even give me a gift. Komachi just acts a little more cheeky and is the only person who would actually greet me. That's perfectly normal actually. It's just a regular day, so why treat it with such significance?
I try to stand up and wash my face but there's something that's clinging onto me. My currently sly and fiendishly cute girlfriend is clinging to my arm. I may sound like a riajuu showing off, but this is seriously something I can't get used to. Ever since we came back from Chiba, Iroha's been acting more carefree and unreserved with me around. She wanted to bring our futons together for some reason as well as her clothing as of late. Before, she used to dress decently with a shirt and shorts. Now, all she wears is a camisole and her panties. I'm unsure why she would do something so daring. I just hope she doesn't treat me as air now. I try to stand up but before that, I got a good look on her sleeping face. For someone who constantly makes mischief to make such an innocent face is beyond me. I don't mind it though. I carefully release myself from her grasp and made my way to the bathroom. That reminds me, today's a day-off. I can finally take a break from university. I more or less learned how to cope with the lectures, but I now have to deal with a new problem. Iroha's persistence in showing our relationship with everyone is becoming troublesome. Every time we're in university, she's always acting so clingy and constantly teasing me. No one really gave a damn about me since Ryoko's my only actually acquaintance from university. Iroha on the other hand, is popular as expected. She has amazing charisma and handles people with ease. Once people who knew her became aware of our relationship, I've been constantly receiving glares and such. I obviously just ignore it, but it's still somewhat intimidating. Iroha said to not mind it and just keeps on teasing me more. She would even whine in public just to see my flustered reaction. I'm having doubts if I'm slowly becoming a masochist because of her. In all seriousness, I chose to be with her and I'll see through it till the end. She is important to me after all. Just as I was about to stand up, I felt something tugging my shirt.
"Good morning senpai..." Iroha lazily said with a yawn and a smile. It's rare for me to see her so listless and lazy. Usually she's energetic and raring to to tease me. It seems my laziness is slowly rubbing off. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not, but I'll take it for now.
"Morning. Get up already. I'll go make breakfast." I said as I finally stood up. I tried to pull her up from the futon, but she wouldn't budge.
"5 more minutes senpai~" She sleepily said as she refused to get up. It was taking too much effort to actually get her to move, so I gave up. I then made my way to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Even though we officially became a couple, our routine still hasn't changed that much. I'm slowly getting used to domestic life because of her.
After a couple of minutes, I finished preparing our simple breakfast. It was really wasn't much since they're just regular pancakes with some syrup on it. It was simple to make and caters to both of our tastes since we enjoy sweet things. I was just about to call her when she suddenly appeared in the kitchen.
"You made pancakes! Thanks senpai!" She happily said. I'm unsure why, but she's always eager to eat food made by me. I'm not even good at cooking and the ingredients aren't world class either. I only learned it as a necessity for living alone.
After the two of us finished eating and cleaning, we would usually prepare ourselves for university but today's a day-off. I really want to truly enjoy my day-off just idly spending my time. It was then that my phone suddenly rang. After opening it, it looks I got a message from Ryoko.
"Hachiman, there's a book fair near the university. I want to ask if you're interested in accompanying me. I assure you that you won't be wasting your time."
I was really conflicted by Ryoko's sudden invitation. A part of me just wants to stay here and relax while another part of me is curious about what kinds of books I'll find. Iroha seemed to have noticed my dilemma and suddenly made a mischievous smile.
"Did you get invited by Nakamura-senpai or something?"
"How would you know?"
"It's just a lucky guess! Judging by your reaction, it looks like I'm right." There is a high chance that it's simply a lucky guess, but a part of me is somewhat worried. It was because of her smile. After spending so much time with her recently, I've become familiar with her smiles. There are smiles for when she's genuinely happy, smiles for when's teasing and smiles for when she's planning something. I'm aware of how cunning she is, so I can't help but be suspicious.
"You're right. Ryoko's inviting me to a book fair and I'm unsure if I want to go."
"Just go senpai! You rarely go out anyway so this is a perfect chance."
"You seem pretty eager for me to go out with another girl."
"I just want you to be happy you know. Besides, I know you. You're not the type of person who would cheat. You're too cowardly to do something like that anyway. I'm more than enough to keep you satisfied anyway."
"You seem pretty confident in yourself."
"Why wouldn't I be? I'm the one you chose among many other girls. Besides, you still need to take responsibility for barging into my life and changing me."
"I didn't barge into your life though. It was because of the club, your presidency and all."
"I know, but I'm really glad I met you senpai." She then gave me one of her genuine smiles. She has a point though. I chose her among many others, so she should be confident in gaining my affection. My life certainly became more interesting and fulfilling ever since she appeared. After gaining her approval, I prepared myself to leave. I just chose some casual clothes and brought some money in case I wanted to buy something. I also brought a bag in case I actually bought something. I was at the doorway ready to leave until Iroha suddenly kissed me on the cheek.
"Goodbye senpai! Have fun." Despite being in a relationship with her, it still gets to me when she suddenly kisses me like that. As a loner, I've never expected to get kissed by anyone especially as frequently as I do now. Embarrassed, I just said goodbye to herand left the house. Ryoko wanted to meet up at the university, so that was my destination. Ryoko isn't the type of person to go out frequently but if books are involved she's extremely enthusiastic.
I finally arrived at the university to see Ryoko waiting by the entrance. She was wearing a casual purple and white dress. She was giving an aura of elegance similar to Yukinoshita. To most people, it would seem like she's a completely refined person. In reality, she's just a bookworm who likes poking into other people's problems.
"Hi there Hachiman."
"Yo."
After we exchanged greetings, we made our way towards the book fair. It was only 15 minutes away according to Ryoko. I could see the visible excitement on Ryoko's face. She looked like a little kid going to an amusement park.
"You sure seem excited for this."
"Of course I am! It's a book fair. A book fair! I can't wait to see how many interesting books there will be!"
"Despite your refined aura and appearance, you're acting like a little girl."
"That's just how I am. If I showed you something I'm not, you wouldn't like it now would you?"
"You got that right."
"See! Now hurry Hachiman! I want to be there already!"
I just nodded to her statement and increased my pace. The entire time we took to get there, she was full of glee proven by her frantic movement. Once we arrived, she instantly dashed away from me to see some displays. It honestly felt like I was accompanying a child. It's not a bad thing anyway. After checking a few displays myself, I got interested in some novels, but I really didn't feel like buying any. When I was looking for Ryoko, I found her carrying a bag full of books.
"Do you have enough money for all that?"
"Yeah. I've been saving up just for this day. How about you Hachiman? Did you find any good books?"
"I found some, but I don't feel like buying."
"That's no good Hachiman!" She then pulled my arm and brought me to various stands. Due to her persistence and various recommendations, I ended up buying a few books.
We were tired from going all over the place, so we opted to stay at a nearby cafe. I just ordered the sweetest coffee they had while Ryoko got a cappuccino or something. I'm not really that familiar with types of coffee since MAX Coffee will forever be my favorite. Once our drinks arrived, Ryoko kept on talking about the various books she found. Normally, one would just find her annoying, but I'm fine with it. It's nice to see someone so enthusiastic about their hobby plus I can actually relate to what she's talking about.
"Hey Hachiman, how's your relationship with Isshiki-san?"
I almost choked on my coffee when I heard her question. It's her tendency to pry into my life after all, but it's expected of her after all.
"It's the same as when she moved in. She still constantly teases me and such."
"Is that really all? You two haven't done anything exciting?"
"She's been physically clingy lately but other than that nothing really."
"Have you two crossed the line yet?"
"Of course not. That's not the reason why I'm dating her."
"I understand but you two will have to deal with it eventually."
"I'll deal with it when the time comes."
"You say that now but I bet you're just hesitant about it." She said with a smirk on her face. It's annoying how similar she is to Haruno. She just sees through me sometimes.
"Don't feel so embarrassed Hachiman. It's normal for couples to act like that. All I ask is for you not to deny the possibility of it happening."
"I'll keep that in mind." After our conversation, Ryoko suddenly said that she had an errand to attend to.
"I have to go do something but take this Hachiman." She then handed me a book from her bag. The book was hardbound and somewhat thick showing how expensive this could've been.
"I don't really feel like owing you anything."
"You don't owe anything. Think of it as a gift. If you don't accept it, you're going to make me feel bad." I knew her threat wasn't that serious, but I should still accept it regardless. It's free and more importantly a gift from one of my friends.
"Thanks Ryoko."
"No problem Hachiman. I have to go now so see you." She then waved goodbye as she walked away. I was just about to head home until I received a message. I brought my phone out to see it was Iroha.
"Senpai~ could you stop by the supermarket to buy some things? Thanks! (^_^)"
After I saw her initial message, she then sent me a list of various things. I was already out, so it's reasonable for her to ask. The supermarket was on the way home, so it wasn't that much trouble to begin with. I secured all my belongings before making my way towards the supermarket.
I finally got everything Iroha asked for and now I'm standing in front of my apartment. It's been a few hours since I left. I'm still suspicious about this about though. The time I've been gone is more than enough for Iroha to plan something. I may be overthinking this, but this is the sly fox of a student council president I'm dealing with. I just hope it's nothing to extreme. I braced myself right before I rang the doorbell. When the door opened, Iroha was the first thing I saw.
"You're here senpai! Hurry inside!" She excitingly said as she dragged me inside. I made my way to the living room to see a various people gathered around.
"Happy birthday Hikki!"
"Congratulations on another birthday Hikigaya-kun."
"Happy birthday onii-chan!"
"Happy birthday Hachiman."
Various greetings were said to me. It slipped my mind that today was actually my birthday. So this is the thing Iroha's been planning. I looked around the room to see many different people present. Yuigahama, Yukinoshita, Komachi and even Ryoko.
"Are you surprised senpai?" Iroha asked me in anticipation. I predicted that she would do something but not this.
"Somewhat. I knew you were up to something this morning."
"You were still surprised, so I'll take it!"
"How did you all get here anyway." I ask the different people present in my room. It would be troublesome fomr Yuigahama, Yukinoshita and Komachi to go all the way here from Chiba. I'm also curious to how Ryoko got here even though I saw her leave just awhile ago.
"It's simple really Hikigaya-kun. Isshiki-san invited the three of us to celebrate your birthday. All of us were available, so we decided to go along with it. Are you brain cells degrading so much that you can't come up with such a simple conclusion." Yukinoshita answered.
"I could guess that much, but I still don't understand why you three would take all the trouble to celebrate my birthday."
"It's because we want to celebrate it with you! Isn't that enough of a reason to go all the way here Hikki?"
"Besides, we haven't seen you recently onii-chan! The three of us really wanted to visit you."
"As for me, Isshiki-san instructed me to come here after the book fair to help prepare while you were busy at the supermarket." Ryoko explained to me. She really went this fair into planning just to surprise me. No wonder the timing of Ryoko's departure and Iroha's text felt too coincidental. She's becoming more cunning, if she would go and make a plan this elaborate. I then looked towards Iroha just to see her smile at me.
"I really wanted to see you surprised, but you had your usual deadpan expression you know. It feels like I wasted so much effort." Iroha complained but was still visibly happy for some reason.
"I kinda expected it but I still appreciate that you planned all this for me Iroha."
"No problem senpai! I do love you after all!" Iroha happily said to me. I then heard coughing from Komachi.
"Ahem. Could you two stop flirting, so we can start celebrating?" Komachi said with a smirk on her face. Iroha and I both suddenly realized our position and suddenly felt embarrassed.
"Come on Hikki! Yukinon even baked a cake for this!" Yuigahama happily said as she dragged me into the kitchen.
"I baked the cake because Isshiki-san was so insistent about it. I normally wouldn't put that much effort for someone like you. It's your birthday after all, so I'll make an exception." Yukinoshita proudly said. In reality, she's just really stubborn. She is in fact one of the most stubborn people I know. I just accepted her reason and enjoyed myself.
After a couple of minutes of eating cake, Yuigahama and Komachi were talking about some random girl stuff I'll never understand while Yukinoshita and Ryoko were having a discussion about novels and such. I could see that Yukinoshita was a bit taken back by her enthusiasm but still continued the conversation. I was unsure how this birthday party was about to unfold. Iroha then suddenly help my hand and looked into my eyes.
"Are you enjoying this senpai?"
"I sure am."
"Then I'm glad." She said to me as she showed me one of her genuine smiles. This girl may have various expressions and smiles, but I just enjoy them all.
"Over here Hikki, Iroha-chan!" Yuigahama excitingly said as she called out the two of us. I could see that everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves.
"Looks like this party isn't going to end soon."
"Of course not senpai. I planned this party so obviously it's going to be fun!"
The two of us then walked towards the others in order to continue the party. I've never had birthday parties before. I still don't understand the importance of birthdays either. One thing I'm sure of is that I'm enjoying my time right now.
