Chapter 222 – Birthday for the Two of Us (4)

[Maehara: Mom, Umi's going to stay over tonight.]

[Maehara: I'm sorry, but keep your words, please.]

[Mom: Yes, yes. Well, I won't be going home tonight anyway.]

Since I had nothing I wanted from her for my birthday, I asked for a favor instead.

"If the Asanagis give her permission, please let Umi stay over at our place tonight."

I didn't need any new games, shoes or clothes, but I was still a healthy high school boy, so I wasn't devoid of any desires.

Since I had a supportive and cute girlfriend, it was natural that I would ask for something like this.

When Umi said that her mom let her stay over, it was really hard for me to keep my expression in check. There were too many people around after all, and I didn't want to make a fool out of myself in public.

…Come to think of it, Umi brought more things than she should have to school. We didn't have class or anything, but her bag was full. That meant what she brought weren't textbooks or the like, but clothes and other essentials.

In any case, I should contact Sora-san first.

{Maki-kun? What's wrong? It's rare for you to call me.}

"Hello, I'm sorry for bothering you, Sora-san… Um, about Umi staying over…"

{Don't worry too much about it, Maki-kun. Since she won't be home tonight, I guess I'll be out drinking with Masaki-san. It's been a while since we last did that~}

I thought it was strange that she told me she wouldn't be home even though it wasn't the weekend, I guess I knew the reason now.

She probably invited Sora-san out right after receiving my text.

It was good that they got along well, but I hoped that they wouldn't drink too much.

I told Sora-san that I would be visiting tomorrow and hung up.

"What did she say?"

"Just 'take care of Umi', I thought she would be scolding me or teasing me, but she did neither."

"That just shows how much she trusts you I guess. By the way, when I asked her for permission yesterday, she teased me all day long. Hell, she only stopped after I went to school earlier today! Seriously, what's with this preferential treatment?!"

"If it makes you feel any better, my mom teased me about it too."

Even so, they gave us permission, so that meant they trusted both of us.

Up until now, I had stayed over at the Asanagis a few times, but the opposite only happened once. It was back when we were friends who barely knew each other, but even back then both mom and Sora-san gave her permission to stay over. Maybe Daichi-san was against it, but Sora-san probably convinced him that it was okay.

"…Well, now that we're done talking with our parents… Are you up for some games?"

"Y-Yeah, sure."

After lunch, the two of us sat down on the sofa to play a game. Riku-san, who had moved to Shimizu Inn, lent us his collection of games, both the cartridges and the hardware. Because of that, the space beneath the TV stand was filled with a lot of things.

My head was filled with excitement over what we were going to do at night, so honestly, I wasn't in the right state of mind to play any games. But the thing was, if we were to jump the gun and start now, we would be left with nothing to do until night. I had to bear with it, at least for now.

"Ah, I got shot! Maki, heal! Damn it, just because I'm bad at this game… This guy is getting on my nerves… Fine, I'm using my ult, Maki…"

"Calm down, Umi, if you go in there, they'll just shoot you again. Here's the medkit."

"Ugh… Thank you…"

We were feeling the same way about tonight, so we had been sitting a little further from each other. Playing like this was a good way to distract ourselves though, since an hour or two could pass before we knew it.

Match after match was finished and we even got a rank up in the middle of it. The day went on like that. It felt like we were just wasting our time, but it was fun nonetheless because she was with me.

"Ah, he got me! Damn it! We were so close to getting first place too!"

"Nice try, though. Wanna go another round?"

"Of course! I won't be leaving until I get first place!"

"Now now, that's not the reason why you're here today, is it? …Anyway, even if you don't get the first place, I'll still escort you home tomorrow."

It was my birthday, but we did the same things we did as usual. Before I noticed it, the sky became darker.

Usually, around this time we would be lying down on the sofa, fawning over each other and eating snacks. It was around the time when Umi would go home, but since Umi would be staying over tonight, we wouldn't be stopping anytime soon. The night was just beginning.

"I'm hungry, Maki… Oh right, we are going to order from the usual place for dinner tonight, right?"

"Yeah. I ordered a while ago, so it should be here soon— There it is, just in time."

We arranged the pizza and the other side dishes I bought on the table. While we were at it, we also brought out the cake we bought at the convenience store earlier.

It felt like I ordered a little too much, but since it was my birthday, it should be okay to splurge a little. If we failed to finish all of it, we could always eat the leftovers tomorrow.

"This way Maki, I'll take a picture. Try to make it look like you're blowing out the candle."

"U-Um… Like this?"

"Hehe, no need to look that nervous, but that part of you is cute too~ Well, everyone will like it when they see you like this, I'm sure~"

We were taking pictures for Amami-san and the others who weren't here today. Also, we were going to add it to the Maehara family's album.

"Happy birthday, Maki."

"Thank you, Umi."

When I blew out the candle, I saw Umi's smiling face behind it.

If I told my past self that I would be celebrating my seventeenth birthday with a lovely girlfriend, I'm sure that my past self would think I was delusional.

"Anyway, Maki, are you sure this is all you want? Aside from the cake, this is pretty much just our normal dinner, you know? We could buy more extravagant dishes for you, I'll pay for it even."

"Right… We bought a lot of things, but we didn't go over our usual budget…"

It wasn't like I did this thoughtlessly, I had given it a lot of thought.

I thought about going to an expensive restaurant like the one I went to with my dad. I mean I couldn't enjoy the food thoroughly last time, so it would be the perfect opportunity. I also considered dressing up and having fun in the city like a boy my age would.

However, in the end I decided that doing the same thing as usual would be more fun.

"Since this is a special day, I want to cherish this feeling I have with you, Umi…"

"I see. Thinking back, when we first got to know each other, we did the same thing as we are doing now, huh?"

Right. This was how our relationship started. Back when we were still friends, we talked about the things that we liked and before we knew it, we fell in love with each other.

"Thank you for everything, Umi… I hope we can continue getting along well like this… That's the only thing I need to be happy…"

"…Mm."

I could say such embarrassing things because my love for Umi was greater than any embarrassment it brought.

This girl was serious, hardworking, courageous, and always thinking about her friends.

But sometimes, she would act selfish, shy, lonely, annoying or timid. Her bashful face was the cutest though.

"Maki…"

"Yes?"

"Can I sit next to you?"

"Mm."

"Hehehe…"

Sitting close to me, Umi hugged my arms in a sweet way.

We weren't merely friends anymore, but we could still enjoy our current relationship. As lovers, that's it.

Perhaps, as time went on, our relationship would change, but I doubt that the roots of our relationship would change.

To me, this girl, Asanagi Umi, was the best partner I could ever have.

"Umi, can I touch your face?"

"Hehe, you really love to touch my face, don't you? I wonder why? Is it because my face is soft to the touch?~"

"Well, that's part of the reason. Mainly it's because you always look so happy whenever I do it. I want to see your smile, Umi…"

"I see… But…"

'You sure you don't want to touch anywhere else?'

She whispered in my ears with a smirk.

That was very sly, but I loved this side of hers too.

"I'd love to, but the food is going to get cold."

"We can always heat it up later. Besides, this is all your fault, you're the one who got me in the mood with your sweet words, you know? Take responsibility."

"…Uh, fine… Let's do it then…"

"…Mm."

She snuggled closer to me and nodded. I placed a cover on the dinner table and went to my room with her.

I felt bad for the others in our group, but I didn't regret choosing to celebrate my birthday alone with Umi. As I was thinking about that, I continued my scuffle with Umi under the cover of a single blanket.