Marin looked over the rows on rows of Hina dolls in the Gojo shop. Wakana was out buying groceries, and she'd gone ahead to the shop to start preparing for dinner, but found Kaoru had already done the dishes and set the rice cooker on. At a loss for what to do, she asked him to show her the shop's pride and joy; their Hina dolls.

Leaning in for a closer look at a blonde-haired doll, Marin spoke softly, fearing her breath might damage the delicate work of art. "Jii-chan," she said. "How long did this one take?" Kaoru leaned in himself, adjusting his glasses before speaking.

"Hmm… well, I made this one's head, and one of my workers did the clothing, and Wakana did the hair. All-in-all, maybe..." he paused, rubbing his chin in thought. "Eight months, at least." He nodded.

Marin stared at the already-impressive doll with freshly heightened awe. Noting its blonde hair, she recalled the conversation she had with Wakana some months prior, when he'd told her that these days, some Hina dolls even have blonde hair. 'like a gyaru!' she said at the time. And looking at this one now, she was struck by an idea. With the way Wakana always dove so hard into their cosplay projects… she thought again on how she'd worried their relationship was all-take and no-give, at least on her end. They'd resolved the argument some time ago, but it still occasionally crept up the back of Marin's mind. She usually pushed it back by repeatedly expressing her gratitude for Wakana's help and showing her interest whenever he was busy working on his Hina dolls. Her heart sank a little as she recalled what Wakana had told her about the incident with Non-chan when they were children. It always seemed that no matter how much praise she had for Wakana's work, he seemed embarrassed about his passion for the dolls, or was unhappy with his work. Maybe this time, she'd do something different, to show him that she really did find them amazing.

Her thinking was interrupted by the sound of the sliding door and a "I'm home," calling from the front door of the shop. Marin hurried out to greet Wakana, throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him in a tight embrace. Kaoru shuffled in after her, pocketing his glasses before the three got to work on dinner. 'he does so much for me,' Marin thought, while peeling a potato. 'I wonder if I could…' She yelped softly as the peeler nicked her fingertip, causing her to drop both it and the spud onto the cutting board, then clutched her finger.

Wakana turned from the stovetop and faced her as she sniffled. "Kitagawa-san… are you alright?"

She nodded, turning towards the nearest bathroom with a soft 'just a wil' nick…'. Once inside, she ran her hands under the warm water, washing them before pressing an antiseptic patch to her fingertip. The sting made her wince, but once it passed, she dried her hands and put a bandage over the small cut. When she returned, she decided it was better for her to sit out the dinner prep, this time, and sat at the table instead, idly scrolling on her phone. Her manicured nails clicked against the screen as she tapped through page after page on Wikipedia on Hina dolls. 'Three hours a day, huh..?' she thought, watching Wakana's back as he cooked.

The two Gojos finally sat, and the three ate dinner. They talked about some of the usual topics; how the second year of high school was going, what cosplay they were working on, how Marin's modeling career was going—but things shifted when Marin asked how the shop was doing.

"Ah, about that…" Wakana said, scratching his neck nervously. "It might take a while to finish the cosplay. Hinamatsuri's coming up, so we'll be pretty busy making dolls…"

It was clear that he felt bad about it. Marin frowned. She'd asked him to make a costume simpler than Haniel this time, as a way to take some pressure off, since she knew the festival was approaching, and yet she could feel the guilt Wakana was expressing. She perked up and smiled warmly.

"Oh, don't worry about it! It's totes fine! The next event isn't for months anyway!" she waved her hand, trying to express it was truly, genuinely okay for him to take his time. Dinner carried on as Wakana and Kaoru chatted on the upcoming festival and the Hina doll process in general. Marin simply listened, much as she did when Kaoru first inspected the dress Wakana had made for her Shizuku cosplay. Though she was outside the world of Hina doll making, Marin loved to listen to Wakana talk about it—seeing him genuinely excited and passionate…

"That's it!" she said, clapping her fist into her palm. She didn't realize at first that she said it out loud, and her face flushed red as the two Gojos stared at her. "E-Erm… nevermind." She shook her head, but the idea was crystalizing in her head already: she'd try her hand at making a Hina doll herself. She'd have to do it herself, without Wakana finding out, somehow.

Wakana walked Marin to the train station as always, and she kissed him goodnight before parting ways. During the train ride home, Marin usually would sit and scroll on her phone, or text Wakana. This time, she was immediately searching for videos on Hina doll creation, opening tab after tab of blog post and documentary deep-dive until her phone was getting hot. By the time she was home, she rushed past her father to her bedroom, scribbling down a list of everything she'd need to buy. 'I've only got a couple weeks… but I'll do my best for Gojo-kun!'

The next day, immediately after school, she told Wakana she was headed to a modeling job, and rushed out. But where she was really headed was to a craft store, to buy herself a set of brushes, a dowel and wooden sphere, pots of paint, and more. Her last stop of the day was to the fabric store where she and Wakana would usually shop for cosplay fabrics. Usami-san, the store clerk who always helped them, walked up as she stood poring over the patterned fabrics.

"Ah, Kitagawa-san," he said. She turned to see him, returning his friendly smile. "Working on another cosplay, so soon?"

She shook her head. "I'm actually working on a gift for Gojo-kun," she explained. Usami nodded. "I'm trying to make him a Hina doll…" she grabbed a piece of fabric, fine black and patterned with stripes. "…I just can't decide what fabric would be best for the kimono…"

Usami-san pinched his chin and thought. Then, he reached down and suggested a smooth black fabric—matte, with small motifs of falling petals and flowers in gray. It reminded Marin of the yukata she'd worn to the festival with Wakana. It was perfect. She bought enough to make the kimono, and Usami threw in a few extra meters on his dime, just in case she'd need more. With the materials in hand, Marin hurried home to get to work.

She'd spent the past two weeks dodging Wakana and working on her project in secret. The doll was nowhere near as nice as she'd pictured it. The hair was a fine golden thread, cut into a Hime cut, with the ends dyed a soft pink. The eyes were uneven, one noticeably larger than the other—to the point she decided the smaller one would be winking instead, and painted over it. Only, the paint-over didn't go on as thick as she wanted it to, so the red was still slightly visible. The kimono was the last thing she had to do, and she was on her third, and final try now. She was grateful for the extra fabric that Usami-san had provided to her free of charge; she certainly needed it.

She laid on her back in her bedroom, with both hands over her face. 'I don't think I can do this…' she thought. 'At least I didn't tell Gojo-kun about it… so he won't be disappointed…' Tears welled up and her throat hitched as she held in a sob. The entire thing was rushed, shoddy, amateur, and she knew it. The body was carved not out of wood, but a cheap brick of foam she'd found at the craft store. She hadn't considered how long it really takes for a Hina doll to get made, and what she had could hardly even be called one. It was closer to a child's approximation of a Hina doll. 'Is this how Gojo-kun feels every time he makes me a costume..?' She thought back to when she'd listened to Wakana talking about the dolls he's so passionate about… his smile when she reassured him that he could make recognizably beautiful dolls. That smile… she wanted to see it again.

She wiped her eyes, sat up, tied her hair up, and returned to work.

Marin yelped softly as she pricked her finger with the sewing needle yet again. It was half-past midnight, way later than she'd usually stay up, and she was still hard at work on the kimono. She had a bandage on nearly every finger now, after accidentally prodding herself so many times. She sniffled, applying another. She glanced at the clock. She had only a single night left to try and finish the doll before Hinamatsuri—she wanted to present it to Wakana just before it. 'Scissors…' she thought, looking around the floor near her desk. Just need to snip this thread, and it's done. 'Where did I put the scissors…' she sniffled again, tears welling up and rolling down her cheeks slowly as she pulled the thread taut and bit down on it to cut it. She held the miniature kimono up to her desk light and looked at it.

The needle kept moving, for somebody's sake.

LIME MESSENGER

Kitagawa Marin

01:32 It's done.

01:33 I'm going to sleep.

Marin rose at 6 the same morning, tired and with still-sore fingers. She took an even-quicker-than-usual morning shower and packed her gift into a box. She was done, but still unhappy with it. She'd done her best, but it didn't turn out how she wanted it to. Still, she wanted to give it to Wakana. On the train ride to school, she worried what he'd say. Would he be insulted? Disgusted? She shook her head to try to banish the thoughts and stay awake. She caught a few extra glimpses of sleep in the minutes before homeroom, uncharacteristically not joining in the morning banter with Nowa and the others.

It was a difficult day to get through, for Marin. Mondays were always rough, but with only four and a half hours of sleep, it was even worse. After school, she got up to walk out with Wakana. As she approached his desk, her heart fluttered and face flushed in a way it hadn't since the day he measured her, and accidentally touched her—

"Kitagawa-san," he said, looking up from his desk. The late winter sun hung low, even at this hour, casting the room in golden light. "What was that text last night about?"

Marin cleared her throat, and opened her own bag, hands shaking as she handed the colored box to him. "I-I made you this, cause of Hinamatsuri…" She said, nervously winding a strand of her hair up in her fingers. "I-I wanted you to know I really do like your dolls… s-so, I…" she lost the words as he lifted the lid off the box, and looked inside.

Marin's Hina doll was, on the face of it, a self-portrait. Pale-skinned, blonde-haired and red-eyed like Marin's color contacts, clad in a clumsily stitched but finely woven kimono. Black and gray, like the one Marin wore to the festival last summer. Wakana lifted it slowly, inspecting it. He could see the expression wasn't exactly like that of a proper Hina doll, more like a cutesy chibi figurine from a goods store. One eye was closed, the other was a bright red with a neat shine painted on. The paint was applied too light and sloppy, as if by craft store taklon brushes and over-thinned, and the eyebrows looked like they were drawn on with an eyeliner pencil.

"Kitagawa-san," Wakana said. Marin shook her head, covering her face out of embarrassment. "This is… a Hina doll? That you made?"

"I-I'm sorry! I wanted to do something, t-to try your passion, like how you helped me with my cosplay, I know it's not very goo—"

"I love it," Wakana said softly, with the same smile Marin had snapped herself out of her stupor with. He stood up, setting the doll back in the box. He turned towards Marin and put his arms around her, squeezing her tightly, then kissed her.

It was the first time he'd been the one to initiate the affection. Until then, Marin was always laying love on a flustered Gojo-kun, but this time things were reversed. The tension in her shoulders relaxed as she returned the gesture, face still red when they pulled apart.

"Y-You don't hate it?" she asked, averting her gaze and gently pushing her bandaged fingertips together.

"Of course not!" Wakana said. "Kitagawa-san… nobody has ever done something like this for me before. Even since I became friends with Nowa and the others—none of them have said much more than 'that's awesome!' or 'wow, that's impressive'." He looked back at the doll, gently lifting it up. Marin's expression softened as she thought back—she'd said the same thing to him, after he played Slippery Girls and helped make her Shizuku cosplay. 'Right,' she thought. 'Just him trying it made me so happy…' She opened her mouth to speak, but Wakana beat her to it.

"I love you, Kitagawa-san."