This is a direct sequel to my fanfic, The 30th I: Phantom of Infinity.

Disclaimer: I do not own Date a Live and it's characters.


The 30th II: Eden of Ornaments
Act 1: Snowy Days Finale
Chapter 4 - "Yoshino's Heart"


The day was darker than most. The cloudy skies dimmed the lights. The pure, white snow coated the land. The cold dominated the inner parts of the city. Some children played outside, all cheery and bright.

And yet, to a certain girl, the outside world was all but a view from a single window. Everything else was but a nearly empty and narrow hospital room.

And in the middle of it, two people—ones you might call mother and daughter sat in front of a small table. On it, a small slice of red velvet cake with a lit candle on it.

"Yoshino, happy birthday." the mother spoke up.

"Mom... I'm glad..." the child said.

"For what?"

"For... being here."

"I didn't really get you much though."

"That's fine! As long as you're here," the child said as she snuggles up to her mother.

"Things have been hard ever since your dad... left. Really, I'm sorry," the mother apologized.

"Mom... do you think I have a future? With this... illness."

"Yoshino..."

The mother, Nagisa Himekawa starts to cry as her tears descend and drop on the bedsheets. Her daughter, Yoshino tries to wipe her tears with her bare fingers with an apologetic look on her face.

"I'm sorry," Yoshino said.

"I should be the one... who's sorry. It's been like this since you were born and I couldn't let you live a normal life, as a normal girl... I'm sorry," Nagisa said, still wet with tears.

Yoshino could only comfort her mother with a hug before turning back to her slice of cake with a candle on it, still lit. She clasps her hands together and closed her eyes. Yoshino then blows on the candle, extinguishing the fire.

"I wish that my illness will eventually pass. Then I'll go to school like a normal girl, find a good romance, live life happily... and I want you to be there, mom," Yoshino followed.

"Yes. I promise to be there, Yoshino."


Mom... mom... why?


You promised...


Shinji-san, Mio... why?


Did you... know all along?


Did you... lie to me?


Two teenagers sat on the chairs in the waiting room. They felt anxious as the other room fell quiet. A nurse opened the door, catching their attention and asked about the patient's condition.

"How's Yoshino? Is she okay?" Shinji asked.

"Himekawa was crying a lot, but now she's asleep. She's recieving treatment so her condition is stabilizing. It might take a month before she gets discharged," the nurse answered.

"I see. Thank you."

The nurse walked away as the Shinji and Mio returned to their seats.

"I hope she'll be okay..." Mio said.

"Yoshino didn't take the news very well," Shinji followed.

"We were going to tell her eventually, but..."

"Let's just hope for the best. She's being treated now."


"Takamiya-kun, where have you been? You've been skipping out on a lot of practice lately," Tatsuo asked out of concern for his friend.

"Ah, sorry, Itsuka. Some things came up with work and all..." Shinji nervously responded.

It wasn't necessarily a lie, it was half true. Most of his schedule was replaced by the shifts he replaced for Tatsumi. And a day ago, he just finished working his 3-day butler job. There was obviously more to it than just that, but he decided to keep those to himself.

Shinji stood up as the class bell rang, signaling the end of class and practice. He got his bag and walked away before Tatsuo stopped him.

"Where are you going?"

"Hospital visit, I guess," Shinji said with a wry smile.

"The hospital? Something happen?"

"A friend of mine. There's really nothing to worry about..."

"Hey..."

"What?"

"If you're ever in the dumps, you can rely on me. Got it?" Tatsuo said with a serious look on his face.

"Heh. I'll keep that in mind."


"I wonder if Yoshino-chan is doing well..."

"She must be pretty hurt..."

The two entered the room where Yoshino was by slowly opening the door to find her in a deep sleep on her bed.

"Looks like she's having a nice rest," Shinji said.

Then, Yoshino slowly opens her eyes as she finds two familiar figures in fron of her. As she realizes who these were, she quickly put a blanket over herself and hide.

"Yoshino..."

"I-it's nothing... I was just... surprised," Yoshino said.

"Are you... mad?" Mio asked.

Suddenly, Yoshino pulls down the covers she was hiding in and now has Yoshinon on one hand.

[Yoshino isn't mad! Yoshino is just fine!] an enthusiastic voice called out, seemingly from Yoshino's hand puppet, Yoshinon.

"Y-Yoshinon?"

[Yo! It's Shinji-kun!]

"...eh?" the two confused teenagers said.


[Hello! I'm Yoshinon! But you already knew that, right?]

"Well uh..."

"Y-Yoshinon is my friend..." Yoshino said rather shyly.

"I-is that so..."

Shinji still couldn't understand the strange situation in front of him. To him, Yoshino suddenly learned ventriloquism and started talking through her hand puppet, Yoshinon. Although there wasn't really a problem, why did she suddenly start doing it? Perhaps, she could have been learning the technique for a long time and was always able to do it.

But the question remains: Why now?

Though it was strange, but he chose not to try and interrogate Yoshino all about it. Despite her condition stabilizing, her current emotions weren't. He knew that the news of her mother's passing was hurting her deep inside. Plus, the mood and personality of Yoshinon was completely different from Yoshino's. Whatever this was, he hoped to get an explanation someday. So he chose to pretend to understand whatever Yoshino was trying to do.

He whispered his thoughts to Mio, and she did the same.

"So, how is your condition?" Shinji asked.

[Yoshino-chan is as fit as a fiddle! There's no need to worry~]

"I-is that so..."

"U-um... they said I can get out of here in a few weeks, so..." Yoshino shyly followed.

"That's good news," Mio responded.

[Hey, hey! Shinji-kun, come here...] Yoshinon says as Shinji inches closer to the puppet.

"W-what is it?"

[Yoshino-chan's birthday is tomorrow! Make sure to make her happy~] Yoshinon whispered.

"G-got it..."

Her birthday, huh?


"Yoshino-chan's birthday?" Mio asked.

"Mm. She said that it was tomorrow through Yoshinon."

"I see," Mio paused. "But it felt a little weird. Why did she need to speak through her puppet?"

"No idea. But that's not something we should worry about right now. We know she's hurting from Nagisa-san's passing. We need to cheer her up tomorrow," Shinji declared.

"Yes. Let's get her something great for her birthday."

At that moment, a piece of paper fell from Shinji's bag.

"Wait. Mio, look at this."

"This note..."


Shinji carefully read the contents of the mysterious note he found in his bag. It was strange at first, but when he saw that this was written and signed by a certain someone, he had the urge to comply with whatever was written on it.

Hello, Shinji, Mio.

I am writing this letter in case I'm not there for Yoshino anymore.

If you're reading this and that's not the case, please return it to me and ignore the contents.

Every year, after her birthday, I will hide a new note in your bag for you to find. Can you do me this favor, Shinji?

Shinji read over the long note and found many things that was meant to be read to someone else. He thought it was best for that person to read them, and sought to follow the instructions that were given to him and Mio.

"Excuse me! Do you have this kind of cake?"

Yoshino's favorite cake is red velvet. It's not much, but she has a slice of it on her every birthday inside that lonely hospital room.

"Excuse me, can I get this?"

Yoshino doesn't really like any particular gift, so she doesn't ask for much. But she treasures something I gave to her on her 7th birthday dearly.

"Hey, Mio, should we get that one or this one?"

Usually, she accepts anything that she can use. The cold season is starting, isn't it? Maybe she would like something to keep her from freezing over while in the hospital.

"All right, this should be good!"

After you've done all these, make sure you show up on her special day!

This one day every year... is something she holds close to her heart. It's one of the remaining things from the outside world that she can experience. Please make her happy even in my absence.

- Nagisa Himekawa.


"Himekawa, you have visitors."

[Ooh! Thank you, nurse-sama!]

"It's no problem, Yoshinon!" the nurse said enthusiastically before leaving the room and signaling the visitors to come in.

"I'm coming in, Yoshino," Shinji said as he entered the room.

"S-shinji-san..."

[Ooh! Good morning, Shinji-kun~]

"Hello, Yoshino-chan," Mio entered the room and politely said with her usual smile.

"H-hi, Mio... san..."

[Yo, it's the other Takamiya!]

"Y-yoshinon, that's kind of rude..." Yoshino says to her hand puppet.

[Eh? Mio-chan isn't one to get mad from something like this! It's fine, it's fine!]

"B-but...

"Good morning to you too, Yoshinon."

[Good morning! So what brings you two lovebirds here today~]

"I figured we should visit you. It's a weekend after all."

"Mm. I wanted to see Yoshino-chan again."

This calm and chill response was masking a confusing thought the two had at the same time.

L-lovebirds?!


"For starters," Shinji says as he brings out a box. Yoshino recognized it as the one where her mom used to buy her birthday cakes, so she felt a little sad. "Happy birthday."

Shinji noticed the sad look on Yoshino's face and speculated that this was due to the familiarity in her eyes about memories with her late mother celebrating with her with the same cake. He steeled himself and continued on with Nagisa's last requests.

She opens the box to find a slice of red velvet cake with an unlit candle sitting in the middle.

"R-red velvet?"

[Ohoho! I wonder how he knew, hehe~ Maybe it's some coincidence, right, Yoshino-chan~]

"I was worried if you maybe told them yourself..."

[Hm? Oh, that's the thing. I never said anything about this~] Yoshinon playfully replied.

"R-really?"

[I did tell them your birthday was today though!]

Yoshino starts to embarrassingly cover the rabbit puppet's mouth.

"Y-you really didn't need to..."

[Arem ymou kiddinmg? Ymou looovme yourm birthdmays!] a muffled Yoshinon said, which impressed the two teenagers present with unbelievable ventriloquism coming from the small girl.

"Anyway, here," Shinji says as he and Mio bring out two paper bags that were obviously presents for the young Yoshino.

"A sewing kit?" Yoshino confusingly wondered as she looks at the present Mio gave that resembled a normal sewing kit with threads that had... Yoshinon's colors?

"Mm. It's a gift from Mio. Do you like it?" Shinji said with a smile.

"Y-yes!"

"I can teach you more of sewing whenever you want once you get discharged, okay?"

"Y-yes..." Yoshino said.

Yoshino was then reminded of the small puppet she made for her mother that had Mio teach her how to sew. She got a bit sad knowing she can never give it to her mother now.

The two noticed this and got a bit sad at the realization. But right now, they had more in store for today and they still had to follow more of Nagisa's instructions.

"Here, Yoshino. From me" Shinji said as he hands in his present to Yoshino.

[Ooh! This looks very nice~]

"A scarf?" Yoshino said as she brings it closer to her. "It's soft..."

"Winter season is approaching, so..." Shinji said.

Yoshino was taken aback for a bit before turning to look at the window to see the cold breeze visibly blowing in the distance. The clouds darkened the sky and people were walking around in thick clothing. It was there when she remembered that she spent every single one of her birthdays in the start of winter. She spent all those memories with only her mother, Nagisa.

She held back her tears as she reminisces about the memories she spent with her only parent and how important those memories were to her.

Shinji and Mio both notice this and couldn't help but hesitate to bring out a third present. But for the sake of Nagisa's wishes, they took a deep breath and gave it to her.

"Here." Shinji said as he carefully places a neatly wrapped box on the table's side where Yoshino was sitting.

"W-who is this from?"

"... you'll see."

Yoshino carefully opens the box Shinji had given her. It looked important, so she decided not to aggressively open it like a little child on Christmas. And as she opened it, she finds... a note and an old keychain?

Shinji and Mio look at Yoshino with a plain expression as she opens the note placed inside the box and held the keychain in her other hand.


Hello, Yoshino.

If you are reading this, then Shinji must have given this to you after my likely passing.

First of all, I'm sorry.

Year after year, every time we celebrate your birthday, I hand in a note to the nurse taking care of you in the hospital. But from today on, I decided to entrust these to Shinji.

Every day, I find myself crying when I get out of bed. All I could think about was you—my sweet daughter.

After your father passed, things have been harder for me—especially with your condition. It made me feel... irresponsible.

My bad mental upbringing must have passed onto you and gave yourself a weak body. For that, I'm sorry as well.

My condition was never much different from yours. My health is more prone to danger than that of a normal person's. Because of that, I'm always getting into close calls that could have cost me my life. I was paranoid that my luck could not go on for any longer, so I started writing these.

And now that you're reading this...

... I must've ran out of luck.

I'm sorry that... I left you alone.

I'm sorry that... I wasn't there for you.

I'm sorry that... I couldn't keep our promise.

It's likely that your condition got worse from the news of my death. But after meeting Shinji... I found someone who would go through great lengths for someone he cares about.

So, if that small miracle where he was able to afford the path to your future happened... I'm truly grateful.

I left a keychain here. It was one of the last things that gave me an image of you—something that kept me going every time I wept. Every year, I would attach it to the letters I turn in. If the day comes where it would find its way to you, please accept it, as a memory of me, that I'll always be with you.

You've met all these people; people who care about you as much as I do. I want you to be happy even in my absence. Our promise... lives on through these people.

So please,

... don't cry, my daughter.

- Nagisa Himekawa.


Tears started to immediately fall from the young girl's face, now knowing that her mother went through so much pain for her.

"My m-mom... s-she *sniff*... she..."

"It's okay," Shinji says as he hugs Yoshino to comfort her and lets the latter cry on his shoulder.

On Yoshino's 13th birthday, she cried more than in the days she spent fighting her illness. Her mother's words... her mother's love... she couldn't receive them anymore.

And yet... she felt fulfilled. Her determination to live on for the sake of her mother's wishes grew. She wanted to follow her final request—to be happy.


One month later...

"Class, sit down. We have a new student joining us today."

The class full of middle-schoolers all sat quietly curious to see the new face entering their class.

"Come in!"

A beautiful girl with blue and long, curly hair entered the room and stood in front of the class. She had her hair tied up in a ponytail and wore a bag that looked plain aside from an old keychain dangling from the zipper. Her school uniform fit her to a tee and she held her head high, although still quite shy. She had a neatly hand-sewn pattern on her bag with a small rabbit puppet also bound to it by thread. She bowed and introduced herself:

"M-my name is Yoshino Himekawa. I hope we can get along!"


"Mercy tempers passion. Serenity holds strength. The deep Cerulean, a drop of the moon itself."

- Rizette, Evertale


Next: Runaway Girl


AN: First of all, why is the mobile app so buggy when it comes to documents?

Second, we finally finished the first arc! I'll take a short break after this one (the chapter was actually more lengthy than usual so I'm kind of tired...) then we'll resume after a while.

The story summary will also be changing in a bit. I'm going to make it summarize the general idea of the storu better rather than make it look like it's just about Shinji slowly falling for Mio again, which looks plain now that I look at it.

If you've read the story map (in the prequel), you'll know that the next arc will focus on Natsumi, so I hope you'll look forward to it.

Until next time,

FlashTGB.