As the gift exchange concluded, a collective sigh of relief rippled through the room, and attention turned to the neatly sliced cake… Suddenly, there was a small explosion outside. Without a word, every gaze pivoted toward the window, where fireworks now blossomed against the distant sky.
“Oh, my. Are those fireworks to celebrate Alya’s birthday?”
“Mom, stop,” Alisa cut in immediately, unsure if her mother was joking or not, before quickly explaining the real situation to her friends. “There’s a wedding hall nearby, so you’ll see fireworks from time to time.”
Everyone nodded, seemingly content with Alisa’s explanation, but Akemi, unfazed by the mundane truth, poured drinks for everyone and raised her glass toward Alisa.
“Now that the firework show has started, let’s all wish Alya a happy birthday one last time! Happy birthday!”
“Quit it.”
Alisa pouted shyly, but as Maria and the others followed Akemi’s lead, she let out a small sigh, shrugged, and raised her glass along with them.
“Happy birthdaaay!”
“Happy birthday!”
“…Thanks.”
But as Alisa shyly expressed her gratitude amid the flood of well-wishes, Maria raised her phone and aimed the camera straight at her sister.
“Okay, Alya. Say cheese.”
“Come on. You already have enough pictures of me…”
“I don’t see why we can’t have more to celebrate this special day. Come on.”
“You took a bunch a second ago.”
Alisa protested bashfully, shielding her face with her hands, but when Akemi joined in on the prodding, escape became her only option as she darted out onto the balcony, fleeing from having her picture taken.
“Alya, where are you going?”
“Fireworks,” she murmured, pushing open the glass door and slipping into sandals before stepping outside. Maria, however, merely smiled, easily catching the hint of crimson warming her sister’s ears.
“Alya’s so cute.”
“Giggle. She’s never had this many friends over for her birthday, so she’s probably embarrassed,” Akemi suggested from the bottom of her heart before smiling at everyone in the room.
“Again, I would like to thank everyone for coming today. I know she has trouble expressing herself sometimes, but I am so happy that she has friends like you all.”
“…Thank you.”
As Akemi bowed gracefully, Mikhail reinforced it with a subtle nod, and their unexpected show of gratitude left everyone exchanging bashful smiles. However, amidst the lively scene, Masachika’s gaze drifted to Alisa, standing on the balcony, lost in the glow of the fireworks—and in that moment, a certain thought took root in his mind.
Oh, this is my chance.
With that in mind, Masachika, noticing that the other guests were focused on Akemi and Mikhail, quietly gathered his belongings and slipped away from his seat. Keeping close to the wall, he made careful not to draw any attention, his destination a secret. He had to blend in, become air. He had to become like…
Become like Ayano!
Masachika moved like a shadow, as though he were channeling the techniques of his fallen comrades before the final battle.
Ah!
But just as he neared the window, victory within reach, his eyes locked with Nonoa’s. She arched an eyebrow, poised to speak—only to be interrupted by Ayano.
Oh, thank goodness. Nice save, Ayano!
He inwardly expressed his gratitude to his childhood friend for distracting Nonoa at just the right moment, even though it likely wasn’t on purpose.
Wait. Since when were they friends?
The lingering question nagged at the back of Masachika’s mind, but he pushed it aside as he eased the door open, careful not to make a sound as he stepped out onto the balcony.
“…?”
But no matter how quietly or stealthily he moved, the sound from inside would inevitably be amplified, drawing Alisa’s attention.
“H-hey.”
Unsure of what to say to Alisa as she gazed back at him over her shoulder, Masachika raised his left hand. She briefly glanced at the bag in his right hand before returning her attention to the view, so Masachika quietly joined her by the railing, albeit hesitantly.
“…What?” she asked, her gaze remaining forward.
“Oh, uh… Is the fireworks show over?”
Masachika stumbled over his words, unsure how he should broach the subject. However…
“Looks that way. The last firework was really big, so I’m assuming that was the finale,” replied Alisa in a matter-of-fact tone, perhaps not even noticing how flustered he was.
“Oh.”
The only sounds were the distant chirps of insects and the hum of passing cars. Masachika scratched his head, frustrated with his own indecisiveness. He had already blurted out something pointless in his nervousness, and now, he couldn’t afford to waste any more time.
“…”
Glancing back toward the room, he saw everyone enjoying themselves, completely unaware of his absence for the time being. Still, he couldn’t let his guard down. The longer he and Alisa were left alone, the higher the chance of being caught, especially since Nonoa seemed to have already noticed something was up.
Ugh! I’ve come this far! It’s time to man up!
Drawing in a deep breath to steady himself, Masachika held out both hands as if he were pushing something, all the while keeping an eye on the others inside.
“Sorry. Could you stand over there for me?”
“…? Why?”
Furrowing her brow in confusion, Alisa glanced at Masachika who held his palms out to her. He then moved to a spot where he was hidden from view behind the curtains, checked to make sure no one was watching, then turned back to face her. Alisa turned toward him as well, as if she sensed something was coming.
“Uh… I actually have one more thing I want to give you…”
“…?”
As he mustered his resolve and spoke up, Alisa blinked a few times before shifting her gaze to the bag in his right hand.
“It’s this…”
Feeling a hint of self-consciousness, Masachika reached into his bag and pulled out the gift, Yuki’s words echoing in his mind.
“I’m telling you to prove to her how you feel with your actions and your words.”
“If you do the same thing with her that we do every year…you’re gonna raise Alya’s affinity level exponentially and immediately unlock a new event.”
The words resurfacing in his mind made his body immediately catch fire as a tingling inferno erupted in his chest, cascading through every nerve. Even doing this with Yuki was embarrassing enough, and simply the idea of doing it in front of Alisa unleashed a tsunami of mortification so intense that he just wanted to curl up in a ball on the ground and roll around in shame.
Hhhnnng! The embarrassment…! It burns…! But you’ve got to be a man, Masachika! Even Yuki is telling you to do it! Birthdays only come once a year! Show some affection!!
Twisting his lips and gritting his teeth, Masachika thrust the gift toward Alisa, catching her off guard.
“Here. This is for you.”
“Thank…you…”
Alisa accepted the gift, looking a bit confused, but Masachika didn’t let go of it. He held it firmly, meeting her gaze, and with a deep breath, he gathered every ounce of courage he had.
“Thank you for being born, Alya.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. Feeling her intense blue gaze fixed upon him, Masachika continued…suppressing the urge to scream and roll around on the floor by sheer force of will.
“Happy birthday, Alya. I’m glad you were born, and I’m glad that we met each other.”
After finally getting the words out, he snapped his mouth shut. Devil Yuki burst into his thoughts, shouting.
“Now’s your chance! Kiss her! Wrap your arms around that broad and give her a smooch! Then, slowly stick your tongue—”
No! Idiot.
After shaking off the intrusive thought, Masachika released the gift into Alisa’s waiting hands. She drew it to her chest, stunned into silence, but after a few seconds, a tender smile blossomed softly across her lips.
“<Thank you, too.>”
She blinked a few seconds, as if coming back to her senses after whispering to herself in Russian, then smiled and switched back into Japanese.
“I’m also…glad that we met.”
The words, delivered with a straightforward sincerity that left no room for doubt, swept away Masachika’s shame like a cleansing tide, and now pure, radiant joy filled his heart in its place. That they had found each other, that this moment existed—it was nothing short of a profound miracle. And from the depths of his heart, he knew this with absolute, unwavering certainty.
Oh, man. I want to hug her so bad right now.
The surge of emotion welling up inside him alarmed Masachika. If this were Yuki, he would have gladly hugged her or maybe even planted a kiss on her cheek or forehead, but that would be entirely inappropriate with Alisa.
“Go for it!! Do it!!” the little devil on his shoulder screamed into a megaphone, but he knew better.
I know I probably shouldn’t…but…
Alisa’s tender smile and her soft blue eyes locked with his, slowly silencing the rational voice in his mind. And then, almost as if by magic, the distance between them began to vanish until… Boom!
A thunderous bang shuddered through Masachika’s body, instantly eclipsed by a burst of incandescent light blooming in the corner of his eye. A magnificent firework unfurled, painting the darkness before dissolving into a cascade of sparks. After staring at it blankly for a moment, he snapped back to reality and turned to Alisa.
She blinked as if waking from a dream, then met his gaze, immediately prompting them to take a half-step back away from each other as if they had just realized how close they actually were.
“Oh! It looks like the fireworks show wasn’t over, after all.”
“Yeah, it looks that way. Maybe that was the last one? Oh, can I open my present?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Hmm? Where’s the tape…”
“Here, let me get you some light.”
Both of them, trying to mask their embarrassment, spoke rapidly, their smiles clearly forced. As Masachika used the light from his phone to illuminate the gift, Alisa gently peeled off the tape from the wrapping paper and opened it, revealing a pair of white gloves.