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Well, I'm planning on running a three to four part series that would be more suitable in it's own thread rather than my usual one. So, without any questions, here The Birthday Surprise.

Table of Contents:

Part One: Secrets (this post)
Part Two: The Unexpected
Part Three: Evolution
Part Four: Endings and Beginnings

Series-related Extras:
Sleep Well, My Little Angel
Good Morning, Sunshine
---------------------------------

Secrets


Something soft and moist being pressed against my cheek?

Now against my other one? Is Hanako messing with me?

A delicious aroma tickles my nose, beckoning me to open my eyes from the slumber that I seem to be coming out of. As they peel open and begin to focus while light relentlessly assaults them, I take yet another large wiff. Once finally able to see my surroundings, I notice a large mug of coffee being held under my nose, the smooth black color moving around a bit as Hanako continues to tease me.

I sit up and am greeted by the sight of a blushing girl in a purple nightgown, as well as a massive platter of breakfast foods and the large mug off coffee that I was provoked with. All of these things are laid out on a tray that rests on the computer desk a few feet away, making my mouth drool at the sight.

"Teasing me so early in the morning, Hanako?" I whine and put on my best pouty face, which makes her frown a bit.

"I-I'm not teasing! It's your- Happy b-birthday, Hisao!" I laugh and wave her over to me, which she gladly comes and takes a seat on the edge of the bed. I pull her into a hug, holding her head close to my chest. She let's out a few muffled giggles as I plant a kiss on her forehead, stroking her hair a bit as we cuddle.

"You know you didn't have to do anything for me, right?" She ducks her head at this, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Yes, b-but I wanted to do something s-special for you..." She trails off and runs a finger down the length of my chest, looking extremely embarrassed.

"I-I overdid it, didn't I?" I laugh uncontrollably. She really did over do it, as I've never thought much of my birthday. It's just a day that marks me growing older, nothing to really be celebrated. If anything, I'd rather just have a nice dinner with my fiancée than something as crazy as this, but I'll go with it just because she seems so happy.

"Nah, it's perfect." I ruffle her hair a little before picking up a piece of fruit, the juices going everywhere as I take a large bite out of it. "You just know I'm a little old-fashioned when it comes to birthdays." She smiles at me as I speak with my mouth full. After a moment of clinging to me, she hops up from the bed and walks towards the door.

"I'll be r-right back, I forgot to bring your present in from the l-living room!" She runs out of the room, leaving me with mountains of food.

I take a sip of my coffee and begin to recollect the past few years of my life. I managed to graduate from Yamaku, fall in love, head to university, propose to her and then move in with her. It's hard to think that once we wrap up our studies, we'll be getting hitched.

We've lived together for a few months now. The feeling of finally being able to share a bed with the love of my life on a nightly basis still brings a smile to my face, even if she is an early riser and has a tendancy to wake me up during the night if she gets scared about something or another. We do 'adult' things on occasion, but more or less have always been about cuddling up and being romantic with each other. I find myself to be a master in all things romantic, and some of that may have come with my recent experiences.

My train of thought is quickly broken when Hanako comes bounding back into the room, switching her nightgown for one of my baggy shirts, a pair of jeans and her pair of glasses. In her hands is a medium sized box, wrapped in some sort of striped wrapping paper with a bow placed neatly on top. She clears the food off of the bed and rushes it out into the kitchen before bouncing back merely seconds later, jumping onto the bed and forcing the gift into my stomach.

The face before me is priceless. That childish smile, the wide eyes and slightly red cheeks...

It's as if making me happy is all she cares about.

"Go ahead and o-open it, Hisao." She's practically bouncing up and down on the bed with excitement, the springs creaking a bit with every slight movement. I laugh a bit and ruffle her hair before tugging on the bow, ripping through the gift wrap and pulling the top off of the box. It reveals something that I haven't even thought about since my last one broke during my first year of university, something that brings a silly grin to my face.

The box has a Gamecube with a massive assorment of games, ranging from fighting games to platformers. I pull her down to me and embrace her tightly, as this is one of the greatest gifts I've ever received in my life. I give her a kiss on the cheek before releasing her, holding her hands and she backs away from me a bit.

"I k-know that we don't have a lot of money right now, b-but I found a really good deal on the system a-and a bunch of games! I thought t-that maybe we c-could..." She trails off a bit, an embarrassed expression rising to her face. I grin, because I know her secret already. She is a massive nerd when it comes to technology, always finding time to browse the internet or play video games when she's not studying or working. I find it convenient that she would have purchased a console for me, simply because I know that she'll probably be playing it more than myself.

"I would love to play video games with you, Hanako. Don't worry about it, you'll probably kick my ass in Super Smash Brothers!" She gives me her one of her usual shy smiles, followed by a peck on the cheek. I hand her the box back so that she can go fiddle with getting it set up, having a slight argument over who gets the choice on what game we play first. In the end, she shuffles out of the room with the console, leaving me to get changed.

I hurry and slide out of my pyjamas, settling for a pair of khaki pants and a dress shirt, tossing on my signature sweatervest as I step through the doorway and into the hall. I notice Hanako has already set everything up with the Gamecube and our somewhat small television set, sitting on the floor with eyes glowing as 'Pikmin' flashes onto the screen. Her face burns red once she notices me standing behind her, sipping on my coffee as I watch her simple reactions to the game.

"I-I'm sorry! I should have picked a co-op g-game firs-" I cut her off with a laugh. Her thoughtfulness always goes a long way with me, as she always is worried about making me happy more so than her self. Sometimes though, it gets a little on my nerves, like right now. I understand how badly she wants to play, and if that means I don't get first play on something, so be it.

"Hanako, please. You don't need to put me first all the time, you know that." I slide off the couch and join her on the floor, sitting cross-legged beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. Her blush burns even brighter, and a her lips form into a little pout.

"B-But, you know that you're most important t-thing to me, and I just w-want to-" I silence her by pushing a finger to her lips. The finger is soon replaced by my lips, as I want to reassure her that it is perfectly fine.

"You know it's okay for you to have fun every once in a while too, right?" She smiles and looks away from me sheepily, speaking in almost a whisper as she turns in the other direction.

"Well, I'm h-having fun right now..." I stroke her hair a bit and give her a peck on the cheek, giving her the incentive to get back to her gaming. I sit and help her along a little, as this was one of my favorite games back before my previous console broke.

After a few hours of playing, her reaching a reasonable place to stop for the time being, she flicks the console off and stands up, taking a sip of her tea while walking into the kitchen. I moan in a sudden realization; I didn't call off work today, and I'm supposed to be heading there in just under two hours.

"Hisao, what's wrong?" I hear a worried voice call from the kitchen, her body reappearing in the doorway as I stand up from the floor.

"I forgot to schedule myself off from work today, so I'm going to have to-" She giggles at my frustration, causing me to stop abruptly. "What's so funny?"

"I a-already called off for you, d-darling." I think my savior in life is standing before me, not some other deity. I run forward and wrap my arms around her, some of her tea spilling out onto the ground below us. "H-Hisao! Be careful, I d-don't want you to hurt yourself!"

"Relax." I massage her shoulders a bit before taking my mug over to the sink. She turns and stares at me, her hands on her hips. Is this a bit of sass? I guess there truly is a first time for everything, huh? "Are you getting sassy with me, Hanako?" She can't keep a serious face once I ask her, making sure my face looks surprised.

"M-Maybe..." She trails off a bit, putting her hands behind her back and pushing up on her tip toes. Once at the perfect height, she plants a kiss on my nose, something that has been one of those weird things that she does on occasion. "You need t-to go take a shower. We've got plans for t-tonight."

I raise my eyebrow at her. Hanako, making plans for the two of us? That's enough to make me more than giddy. Normally I'm the one who organizes our outings during evening, but it seems that she's taken that pattern and torn it in half.

"What plans?"

"I can't tell you. It's a s-surprise!" A devious grin forms on her lips as mine droop into a frown. She's never been one to keep secrets or organize surprises, but I guess I'm going to obey her a bit today.

"Fine." I turn on my heels and head back into the bedroom, grabbing a fresh pair of boxers and stripping out of my current set of clothes. I slide on over into the bathroom and run the shower hot, just how I like it. A late start to my morning rituals, but the same as always nevertheless.

The water streaming down my body feels fantastic. A hard week of work and stressful studying is pushed away, giving me a moment to relax and recollect on the events of the day so far. A fantastic present, my fiancée being adorable as usual, waking up to breakfast in bed...

I don't think this day can get much better, to be quite honest.

As I run my hands through my hair, applying a bit of shampoo as I go, the door creaks a bit. My eyes open up in realization that I forgot to lock it, my mind diverting from all of the thoughts that have been flying around today. In a moment, the shower curtain is pulled back, and there stands Hanako. All she has on is her bra and a pair of my boxers, which always makes me laugh a bit as she's never really been one for panties.

"H-Hanako? What are you doing?" I question her, but I can't say I'm not pleased with the sight before me. She grins at me, leaning in turning the water off for a moment.

"Nothing. You forgot a towel." She whispers, nearly failing at holding back laughter as I can feel my cheeks lighting on fire. She reaches out into the hallway and pulls out a towel, sitting it on top of the toilet before making her way out. As she passes through the door, I yell out a question to her.
"Why did you come in here half naked, if all you wanted to do was give me a towel?"

"No r-reason!" I can hear her nervousness through the walls. Maybe I was getting a sneak peak for later? I guess I'll have to wait and find out. I finish my shower and dry off, shaving nice and clean and making sure I'm the most presentable I've been in a couple of months. Popping out of the bathroom, dressed up with my sweatervest once again, I meet Hanako in the living room, where she sits for another round of Pikmin.

"So, are you going to tell me where we're going yet?"

"Nope. You'll f-find out tonight, silly."

Pouting, I snuggle up close to her, trying my best at putting her on a guilt trip for not giving me information.

"Can I have a hint?"

"Only if y-you ask nicely." Oh, so she wants to play dirty? Going to make me beg for little slips of information, and never going to give me the full thing? I see how this is going to end up.

"Can I have a hint, pretty please?" I give her puppy dog eyes, but she doesn't seem to notice as she's immersed in her game. Sighing, she pauses the game and sits down the controller for a moment.

"Let's just say it i-involves Kenji."

First off, some mistakes.

YourFavAnon wrote:"You need t-to go take a show. We've got plans for t-tonight."

So was the show Hanako in her bra and boxers?

YourFavAnon wrote: I finish my shower and dry off, shaving nice and clean and making sure I'm the most presentable I've been in a couple of months.

Maybe it's just me, but I think this sentence is a little off.

YourFavAnon wrote: Popping out of the bathroom, dressed up with my sweatervest once against...

Apparently his sweatervests are devising a dastardly plan to take control of Hisao's body and he must fight them off tooth and nail. Or, you know, he just wore it again...

YourFavAnon wrote: Frowing...

So does someone have an unkept afro?

Anyways,
I like this. It's cute, light and fun. While I do enjoy emotional gripping stories, there's just a certain appeal to these kinds of stories that make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I enjoy them greatly.

I've always wondered this, why do a lot of people often characterize a future Hanako as being a total gamer? I mean, I can understand how it can be plausible, but I just never understood why it's the common consensus.

Also,

YourFavAnon wrote:"Let's just say it i-involves Kenji."

Considering that I'm still quiet young, my mind often drifts into the realm of (lets's just say) a Healthy Adolescent Sex Drive. So while reading, I kept thinking that her surprise was something along those lines. When I read that line, however, my train of thought derailed and exploded in a giant fireball of doom.
So, good job!

YourFavAnon wrote:"Let's just say it i-involves Kenji."

Wobbly H!

(It's probbably not gonna be a wobbly H.)

I'm intrigued.

Great story, I love it!
Some mistakes I found:

"You need t-to go take a show. We've got plans for t-tonight."

Shower

Popping out of the bathroom, dressed up with my sweatervest once against

Again


@atw_ah When one has no friends, like Hanako, games are a good way to kill time. I know from experience.

Total Destruction wrote:

YourFavAnon wrote:"Let's just say it i-involves Kenji."

Wobbly H!

(It's probbably not gonna be a wobbly H.)

I'm intrigued.

I had to look up what this meant even though the shape of the letter had me guessing appropriately. As today is my birthday, I'd like to congratulate you on your impeccable timing as well, YFA!

I am the Hisao. Its me. Consunk borthday cake.

atw_ah wrote:Considering that I'm still quiet young, my mind often drifts into the realm of (lets's just say) a Healthy Adolescent Sex Drive. So while reading, I kept thinking that her surprise was something along those lines. When I read that line, however, my train of thought derailed and exploded in a giant fireball of doom.
So, good job!

Thanks for the corrections, I really didn't have time last night to go back through and correct my typos. I'm glad you enjoyed though, as this is going to probably go somewhere that some people may be able to guess, while others may not. Should be close to three to four parts, the fourth may be an optional H-Scene or something of the sort though.

Doomish wrote:I had to look up what this meant even though the shape of the letter had me guessing appropriately. As today is my birthday, I'd like to congratulate you on your impeccable timing as well, YFA!

I am the Hisao. Its me. Consunk borthday cake.

<3 Happy birthday le doomish!

So, if there's one thing I'd like to emphasize, it's that you should make sure that your subject and verb usage is two things
1: Consistent. A speeding bullet should not lumber through the air.
2: Not redundant. A speeding bullet should not speed through the air.

A speeding bullet may rip through the air, or a bullet may speed through the air, however.

Brogurt wrote:

So, if there's one thing I'd like to emphasize, it's that you should make sure that your subject and verb usage is two things
1: Consistent. A speeding bullet should not lumber through the air.
2: Not redundant. A speeding bullet should not speed through the air.

A speeding bullet may rip through the air, or a bullet may speed through the air, however.

Appreciate the feedback as always, twoface.

The Unexpected


I still can't get her little 'hint' out my mind.

It's now late evening, and Hanako insisted on driving the two of us to wherever we need to be going. I haven't spoke to Kenji ever since I was in my first year of university, which was now three years ago. He randomly stopped calling me, whether it be asking for money or if I wanted to go out and have a drink, and left me basically out of contact with everyone from back at Yamaku. Hanako still talks to Lilly about once or twice a month, but even she has began distancing herself from our old friends. Sometimes, I really do miss them.

Shizune, the loudest, most demanding deaf mute girl - rather woman - I think in existence.

Misha, with her constant 'Wahaha~'-ing and insane love for parfaits, among other things.

Emi, the fastest thing with no legs, always pushing me to be the best I could even if I haven't gone for a run in a long time.

Rin, the awkward and talented artist whom I could never quite understand.

Lilly, the motherly blind girl who sort of coached Hanako and I in the early stages of our romantic relationship.

Miki, a girl with a stump who sort of pushed me to admit my feelings for Hanako, even if we weren't the closest of friends until the end of our time at Yamaku.

Last but not least, Kenji. The batshit insane, basically blind, feminist conspiracy believing bastard who was basically my best friend for my time at Yamaku, and even for a bit afterwards.

God damn, do I miss those people.

My train of thought is broken by the hideous sound of J-Pop emanating from the speakers of Hanako's car. I cringe as my hands move to rub my temples, as this music is probably the most frustrating sound on the face of the Earth. After a moment of attempting to tolerate the sound - although Hanako has been singing along to it as we cruise into the city, which is normally something I love hearing - I turn the radio off and cross my arms. As we come to a stop light, she turns her head to me, an apologetic smile spanning across her lips.

Oh, good. She's figured out that I dislike her music after all of these years of blaring the volume and singing along to it while in the shower.

Every. Single. Morning.

"I-I'm sorry, Hisao. I should have let you pick what we l-listened to on the ride over..." She trails off, but not out of embarrassment or disappointment in herself. Oh, not at all. It's because she's attempting to cover up her laughter, but it's not really an effective approach. Within mere seconds, she's laughing at the top of her lungs, only stopping once her focus is regained on the road as the light turns green. I pout at her, looking like a child who's throwing a fit over not being allowed to get a chocolate bar.

"No you're not! You're just trying to drive me through the roof today. On my birthday, that is." As I make that last point very clear to her, the smile on her lips quickly disappates into a look of sadness, almost regret. I can't tell if she's just trying to get the upper hand in this battle again, or if she's genuinely feeling bad for me, so I keep up my act.

After the morning and the slight hint towards what we're doing this evening, she's sort of taken control of me all day. Making sure I didn't eat too much, that I was well rested, even that I got dressed decently for the evening... she's took control of it all. I can't say I'm upset about it, it's just kind of annoying when you have no idea what the hell you're doing on your own birthday. I guess that's kind of the point of the surprise though.

Back to the matter at hand, I see her expression still hasn't changed. She looks a little distant now, almost upset. I'm beginning to feel bad for her now, so I figure I should play off what I said as a joke, even if it was only half of one.

"Hey, listen, I was just kidding. You never drive me insane, even when you try to. Which, by the way, I know you do on purpose sometimes." Her smile returns once again, her expression being wiped clean from what it previously was. Over the past couple of years, she's become progressively more playful with me, to the point that she will intentionally try to make me go nuts. I have a hardened defense about it though, and simply always call her out when I figure out her scheme.

I feel the car coming to a stop along the side of a one-way street, Hanako seemlessly parallel parking the vehicle into the space.

"Well, h-here we are!" She speaks with some excitement in her voice, and I now find myself peeking out of my window. Lighting up the surrounding night is a large, neon sign to a place I've only heard great things about; a bar called 'The Runner's High'. It's a little hole in the wall place, according to some of my co-workers, that is always jam packed with people. Tonight, on a Saturday, the place looks absolutely deserted.

What? I thought-

"Are you g-going to keep staring or actually come along? Come on, s-silly!" Hanako interrupts me and opens my door, offering me a hand and pulling me out of my seat. We head on over to the door and she tries the handle, which doesn't seem to budge. Her face lights up in realization before knocking on the door. From the other side comes a loud, somewhat annoying voice that I have missed for years.

"Who the fuck's there?!"

"H-Hanako." Her voice is stern, tightening a bit at the profanity.

"Oh, well shit, why didn't you just say so!" A full scale battle with the lock occurs as the door rattles. Finally, the victor shows himself in the doorway; a man with thick glasses, a casual fit white tee and khakis, all accompanied by something I haven't seen in years.

A red and yellow striped scarf.

"Kenji, you blind bastard!" I spring through the door and wrap him in the most manly hug I've given in my life, his expression changing from one of surprise to one of excitement in a matter of seconds. Hanako follows the two of us in the door, closing it behind us. Kenji breaks the hug and grips my hand for a handshake.

"Well, if it isn't my old partner in crime! How the hell are you, man?" We go through the motions of general catching up. He informs me of his adventures since the last time we spoke, talking about how he became the bartender here. As the story unfolds, I notice Hanako has disappeared from the room and has found her way over into another room off to the side, leaving Kenji and I to talk. Suddenly, the man drops a bombshell on me.

"Bro, I even managed to find a girl."

My mouth drops and my eyes go wide.

Kenji?

And... and a girl?

Dating?

"Wait, what?" If I had a drink in my mouth, it would be all over the place by now. He laughs at my confusion, giving me a hard clap on the shoulder.

"I know man, shit came out of nowhere. One day, I'm neck deep in planning to bomb a feminist hideout, the next I'm in love with some woman who gets on my case about every-" He's interrupted by a deeper, yet feminine sounding voice from the room that Hanako had walked into.

"Kenji, the fuck are you saying about me in there?" Around the corner peeks a face that doesn't register at first. After a moment of confusion, I realize who I'm looking at. A massive grin perches on my face as she steps into the main room, walking towards me with her signature smile on her lips. "Happy birthday, Hisao!"

"Well if it isn't Miss Miki Miura! What're you doing here?" She wraps me in a brief hug, something that she was never really fond of back at Yamaku. She pulls away and puts her hands - erm, hand and stump - on her hips, raising her eyebrow at me.

"What d'ya mean 'what're you doing here', I own this joint!"

What is up with people and massive bombshell dropping today?

She points her stump at me to emphasize her point, leaving me dumbfounded for the millionth time today. I shake my head from side to side a bunch of times, attempting to nail the fact into my brain. All of the sudden, I make another connection in my head, one even larger than the hefty amount of facts that have already been dropped on me tonight. I turn and face Kenji, noticing his eyes looking at Miki with a stare of admiration.

"Kenji?"

"What's up?" He shakes himself out of his daze and faces me once again, a healthy grin forming on his face.

"Are you dating her?" He gets the closest I've ever seen him to embarrassment as Miki walks behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and resting her chin on his left shoulder. She whispers in his ear, just loud enough that I can hear what she says.

"You haven't told him yet?" Kenji rubs the back of his head and looks towards the ground in what almost looks like shame. After a moment of what must have been him gathering his thoughts, he looks back up at me.

"Well, you see Hisao, uh... we're actually not dating." I wipe my forehead as my muscles relax a bit as tension had been building up from all of this new information that's been dumped onto me.

Then, I realize he's not finished yet.

"We're actually getting hitched soon." He rambles through the statement so fast that it takes a bit longer to register in my head, Miki flashing her diamond ring in my direction.

Alright, so not only is Kenji dating Miki, but they're getting married.

The slew of news I've been recieving is really given no time to settle in as she gives him a little peck on the cheek. She removes her arms from around him and walks back over to me, grabbing my hand.

"Come with me, boy. We can catch up later." She drags me behind her over towards the room that Hanako and her had been in before. I find myself peeking back at Kenji, as he appears to be heading over to the bar and picking out a range of alcohol for the evening.

Now that I think about it, I still have no freaking clue as to why I'm here. Why didn't Hanako just invite Miki and Kenji over to our-

My thoughts are brought to an astounding halt as I'm dragged into the room. My head nearly explodes as the lights are flicked on, and I'm presented with a sight that, a few years ago, would have probably given me a heart attack.

"Surprise!"

A short update, but a damn good one! Made me forget all about Hellsing being delayed. :3
It was kinda what I expected (I never believed in the "Wobbly H" theory), but I didn't expect Kenji x Miki.
Keep up the good work and please write the continuation soon!

OtakuNinja wrote:A short update, but a damn good one! Made me forget all about Hellsing being delayed. :3
It was kinda what I expected (I never believed in the "Wobbly H" theory), but I didn't expect Kenji x Miki.
Keep up the good work and please write the continuation soon!

Seems to have honestly caught a lot of people off guard, although I'm not even the first one to do it. Next part will hopefully be the longest of them all, and will transition into wrapping things up. May run four chapters with another optional scene thing, not quite sure yet. I'm just writing as I go with a general idea.

Next opportunity I'll have to write will be on Friday.

YourFavAnon wrote:Next opportunity I'll have to write will be on Friday.

Then I'm looking forward to the weekend.

I remember about Kenji dating Miki and working in a bar she owns in another fic before.
Intentional reference or coincidence?

Rin, the awkward and talented artist who I could never quite understand.

I'm always on the fence about whether or not to point this out, because, come on, whoever uses "whom" nowadays?
But for you as top-hat and monocle wearing, cocktail sipping stereotypical englishman I just couldn't resist.

After a moment of confusing, I realize who I'm looking at.

Confusion.

EDIT:
Read the comments after posting. Intentional reference it is.

Mirage_GSM wrote:I remember about Kenji dating Miki and working in a bar she owns in another fic before.
Intentional reference or coincidence?

It actually wasn't an intentional reference, but I have read Mehkanik's piece where Kenji owns a bar and Miki is his bartender. That's the least important fact of this part actually, but yeah, I guess it kind of was a reference to that although the idea sort of came to me randomly. I've just always been a fan of the idea of these two being together, and to work with my general idea, them owning a bar seemed like the most logical for the story.

Evolution


I rub my eyes once, twice, maybe even three times.

The room is a billiards room, having three tables and some chairs lined up along the walls. Cheesy noir decorations hang from the walls, giving the room a very '50s type feel to it.

But, that's not what has me standing here in amazement.

My heart is absolutely pumping right now. Before me sits seven women, and five of those faces I have not seen since our final days together after graduation. Let's see, we've got: Rin... Miki... Hanako... Misha... Shizune... Emi... and Lilly.

Yeah, that's everyone.

My grin widens to the point that it's almost painful.

"Happy birthday, Hicchan~!" Misha speaks in her typical booming tone, bouncing up from her seat and wrapping me in a hug for a moment before rejoining Shizune. I'm still registering what the hell is going on, but I certainly can't say I'm disappointed.

"W-what are you all doing here?" I stumble over my words, as I'm still completely dumbfounded. All of the sudden, six heads turn and face one, belonging to none other than the blushing face of my fiancée. I connect the dots in my head now. "So this is what you were planning!"

She gives her usual shy smile and looks down out of embarrassment.

"W-well, I thought t-that maybe we c-could use your b-birthday as an e-excuse to have a little r-reunion..." She trails off, pleading with innocent eyes to take the spotlight off of her. As I'm about to take the incentive and do so, Kenji bursts into the room with various bottles of alcohol in tow.

Perfect timing.

"Who's ready to have some drinks!" He belts out, recieving a surprisingly warm reception from the girls.

I guess some people really do change with age.

As we begin to mingle a bit, Miki turns on some jazz at a soft volume, enhancing the mood of the room. Hanako and Lilly are sitting together and appear to talking about various stories of their early adult lives, as I can see the girlish smirks and giggles from all the way across the room. Misha and Shizune are attempting to make conversation with Rin, but it seems to be deeming a frustrating task by the expression on Shizune's face.

I'm alone for a moment, which is fairly awkward, before the first of my old friends comes up to me.

The fastest thing with no legs.

"Hisao!" She bounces on her prosthetics as she paces over to me, basically jumping into a hug. "Long time no see!" I find myself hoping to some deity that she doesn't use that line when catching up with Lilly, which draws a slight laugh from me.

"It really has been. How have you been, Emi?" With that, she begins to give me a general rundown of her life after graduation from Yamaku. Over a few minutes, she speaks of how she's in school to become a physical therapist, and how she's managed to find a nice guy at her school who was willing to overlook her family problems and disability.

Next, though, she lays one hell of a statement on me.

"Yeah, we're actually expecting our first child." She rubs her stomach, which is only slightly larger than I remember from our days in high school. She must be only a few weeks into her term, but that's the least of my surprise. "We've been married for about a year now, and he's working his way up the corporate ladder at his work. It's all so exciting!"

The short girl bounces up and down on her legs to show he excitment, an act that has always made me smile like an idiot.

"Well, I'm really happy for you, Emi." I offer her a geniune smile. It makes me happy that she's finally found a person that loves her, and it truly makes me pleased to know that she's working her way to having a successful adult life.

"So what about you, Hisao?"

"Huh?"

"What have you been doing after graduation?" I close my eyes and rub my temples for a moment, thinking back on the events of my life in the past three or four years. I smile as some of the fond memories begin to come back to me.

"Hanako and I are living together and engaged, if you haven't figured that out by now." She giggles and gives me a hard pat on the shoulder, making me wince a bit.

Christ, she hits hard for her size.

"Good for you! I always used to think that someone would find their way into that girls life for the long run; I'm glad it ended up being as good of a guy as you!" She grins and takes a sip of her drink, which appears to be a wine cooler. Her eyes widen for a moment as she takes a look behind me. I turn around, puzzled at what's going on, before I realize that she just noticed who Rin was talking with.

"Do you think the Queen and her minion are actually trying to talk to her?"

"I couldn't tell you, Emi. Probably to the best of their ability." I offer laughter at the old reference. Shizune was quite the 'Queen' back at Yamaku, so I'm not really surprised that Emi still remembers our little inside name for the pair.

She gives me a hearty laugh and a girlish smile, before she begins to walk past me.

"Well, I need to catch up with her too, so I guess I'll save them from their misery." Before walking away, Emi pulls out a piece of scrap paper from her pocket and writes down a couple of numbers on it, folding it and putting it in my hand.

"If I don't have a chance to talk to you more tonight, feel free to call Seji and me! Maybe we can set up a date night with you two." She winks at me and waves her hand as she walks over towards the other side of the room, pushing Rin away from Shizune and Misha. Misha belts out a hefty 'Wahaha~' before Shizune taps her on the shoulder, signing something to her. As Misha gets up from her seat and walks out of the room, and I find myself turning away and looking at the wall decorations behind me, waiting patiently

Within mere seconds, I feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and am greeted by the short-haired deaf class president, a sight that I've actually surprisingly missed. She offers me a warm smile and a hug that I found fairly awkward. She was never a girl to show much affection back at Yamaku, so a hug is definitely a sign of change with her. She starts to sign before coming to a realization that I have no idea what she's saying, snapping loudly and pulling out a notepad and pen from her pocket to make things easier.

[Hello, Hisao.]

[How are you, Shizune?]

She offers me a warm smile as she writes, pointing her index finger towards the doorway to the room after she's finished.

[I'm always good. She makes me that way.]

I give her a puzzled look.

[You two are living together?]

She offers me a blush and a looks away for a moment, attempting to hide her smile. Shizune, embarrassed? What the hell is going on here? She scribbles and erases a couple of times, seemingly getting frustrated at getting the correct wording. Finally, she heaves out a sigh and furiously writes a sentence down, forcing the pad of paper in my direction.

[We've been dating for two years.]

I nearly drop the pad and pencil.

This is the girl, who back at Yamaku, literally denied Misha of there ever being a possibility of them being together. I really do need to question this, because I'm confused about what the heck changed.

[I thought you were never going to date her? You said so back at Yamaku.]

She looks a bit pained when she reads the words, almost sad. For what feels like ten minutes, she writes on the pad non-stop. Seems like she's got a story to tell with this one. She finishes what she's writing and pushes the pad in my direction, folding her hands together and watching me intently as I read.

[Let me explain something, Hisao. I know what I said, and so does she, because it's still true. Back at Yamaku, I had absolutely no plans on getting romantically involved with her. But, there came a time a little over two years ago where I was neck deep in work, school, depression and frustration. We moved in together while attending the same university simply because she still wanted to be my friend and translator, so I was okay with the idea. When I hit that stage of depression, she was the only person there for me. Nobody else cared, and a girl who I had denied over two years prior wasn't the same person to me anymore. I needed her in my life, in more than how I had kept her around previously.]

[One night, I got off of a shift at work and was up until three in the morning, attempting to study for an exam the next day. I was using pills, alcohol, everything I could to ease the stress, and as you figured out back in high school, I normally handle stress with ease. That night, I literally sat at my desk crying, and she came over into my room and stood in my doorway without me noticing. When I asked her, she said she stood there for five minutes, because she knew what she wanted to do. But she couldn't. I caught her standing there, and as she walked away, I literally ran out there and kissed her.]

I pause my reading for a moment and rub my temples.

This is one hell of a way to change your opinion on something, honestly.

Shizune is still watching me intently as I pick up reading the final stretch.

[I was crying, kissing her, hugging her, everything you could imagine. She was surprised beyond belief, and I asked her to come sleep with me for the night. We didn't do anything overtly sexual, and we still haven't beyond the usual kissing. We just slept, cuddled up and holding each other tightly. After that, we found ourselves dating, and if at all possible, we'll probably end up getting married sometime in the near future. I still don't know how to go about that one yet, but I'll figure something out. I don't find myself attracted to women at all, if you're thinking that I suddenly went gay. It's just her, and that's all there is to it. Nobody else.]

I set the pad down for a moment and smile. It's truly heartwarming, while still extremely odd, and makes me want to just go and give this girl a tight hug.

So that's what I do.

I wrap my arms around her and give her the tightest squeeze I can. I've obviously caught her by surprise, as she doesn't return the hug at first, but she does shortly after. I release her after a moment and offer her a handshake, which she takes professionally, smiling at me. Misha does a little waltz back into the room behind us, which I notice and point out to Shizune. She picks up the pad and quickly scribbles down one final note for me.

[Don't be a stranger, call and talk to Misha or email me some time. We'll get together with Hanako and you in the near future, I promise. You still need to tell me about you two anyways!]

I write back a last note for her, trying to let her be with Misha.

[I'm happy for you Shizune. Hanako and I have gone through some similar stuff, so I think we'll need to go more in depth on this another time. Your girlfriend is waiting for you, go have some fun, we can talk later.]

She gives me a playful elbow to the ribs and offers another smile as she turns her back to me. With a happy grin on her lips, she walks back over to her awaiting love, who has returned with two glasses of wine. My heart melts as Shizune pecks Misha on the lips and takes the glass away, Misha looking around to make sure that nobody saw what had just happened. I laugh a bit when she catches me staring at them, her face gaining in redness as she sticks her tongue out at me.

Good 'ol Misha.

I flop down into a chair for a moment, slick back my hair and take a sip of my whiskey, recapping in my head what has gone down in the past hour or so of catching up with Emi and Shizune. I haven't even gotten the opportunity to get through my first drink or speak with Lilly yet. In fact, I haven't talked to Rin either, which I'm hoping proves to be a less difficult task than it was in high school, although that may be a bit too much to ask for.

I grin.

Tonight is going to be one hell of a night.