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gabriel-gabdiel · 3 years

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Keit-AI! Tomoyuki x Seiko Chapter 19: The Birthday Gift

Keit-Ai is back, baby! This is the chapter where Tomoyuki realizes his feelings for AU Seiko.

The rest of the chapters of my original story based on a plot from 4chan are available here. Enjoy.

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Love was a variety of attitudes, states, and feelings that ranged from interpersonal affection one would have for his kin (like loving your mother) to pleasure (loving a meal).

It was an emotion of strong personal attachment or attraction to something or someone else, including yourself (self-love, which wasn't necessarily narcissism).

It could either be platonic or romantic, with platonic love referring to chaste, non-sexual affection while romantic love was all about the sum-total physical and emotional attraction to a person (not to be confused with lust).

There were others who alleged that love was a virtue that represented human affection, compassion, and kindness in one word. It was an unselfish, benevolent, and loyal concern for the good of other people.

Love also caused selfishness to happen, when one felt possessive, controlling, or otherwise jealous because of an object of affection's actions or behavior.

It could even lead to hate or feelings of betrayal from those scorned or lacking of love; feelings that were about equal in passion but far more twisted and negative.

But love itself was neither selfish nor negative.

It could even refer to actions that were affectionate and compassionate towards one's self, fellow humans, and animals.

Indeed, what exactly was love?

***

Keit-AI! Tomoyuki x Seiko

An Anime-Inspired Original Story from 4chan's /a/ Board by Abdiel

Original Idea by Hataki.

What is love? (Baby don't hurt me...)

Disclaimer: This work may reference copyrighted material, the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. It is believed that this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. All copyrighted material referred to in this work belongs to their respective owners. All rights reserved.

***

Chapter 19: The Birthday Gift

***

Tomoyuki Yamamoto opened his watery eyes after the alarm on his bedside (it was just his cellphone on alarm mode) went off with a particularly loud rendition of a techno beat.

He groaned, yawned, and scratched his stomach, his mind still half-asleep.

He then blinked and stared blankly at the cellular phone on his hand, the gears in his mind finally turning.

'Oh,' he thought. 'It's June 24 today.'

Today was his birthday.

His mouth flat-lined like a heart monitor detecting the unbeating heart of a dead person, not knowing how to react.

He should be happy and all, but the bleary memories of yesterday came flooding back, souring his mood.

He remembered his pseudo-confession to Miku Machida, recorded by Aya Fubuki through her cellphone then played right in front of (Non-Alternate-Universe) Seiko.

Tomoyuki then recalled that he originally "confessed his love" to the Iincho (Class Rep) as a ruse to distract Kazuhito Sugata from Aya's own attempt at confessing her love to him (Kazuhito).

Damn. His arm was still a bit sore from the arm bar Sugata did to him.

He groaned.

He wanted to forget. He wanted to dig a hole in the ground then bury himself inside it for a hundred years or so.

For some reason, his fake confession embarrassed him more than the corny "sext" messages he sent AU Seiko.

Huh.

His birthday was the least of his worries.

***

At the gates of Maehara High, before the late bell rang...

Because he dreaded going to school today, Yamamoto ended up almost late again. And he knew what that meant.

"Hi hi!" greeted what-ser-face with the twin ponytails from behind him, skipping in a leisurely pace. "How ya doin', Cherry-kun?"

"Hmmm? Why did you say 'Hi' twice?" Tomoyuki asked, rubbing the rheum and tears off of his bleary eyes before yawning.

"Well, we say 'Bye' twice too, don't we?" the girl explained.

The Cherry Boy blinked before hitting his closed fist over his palm.

'Goto! This is Goto!' thought Yamamoto, finally remembering the name of the eternally late girl in front of him. Yukari Goto. From Class 2C. His first (unrequited) love.

Only she could come up with an answer so stupid but somehow make sense!

Yukari looked like she was about to say something else but she then waved at something over Tomoyuki's shoulder. "AYA-CHAN! I'm over here! Come get me!"

Goto then got conked on the head by Fubuki, the Class Rep of 2C, a minute later. "DUMMY! I'm not your mother! Stop making me fetch you and go to school on time!"

"OWIE! But Aya-chan...!" whined Yukari. "Hey, did you know I was running with toast in my mouth like in anime but I ate it so now it's gone? Also, I forgot where I was going with this."

With a harrumph, the motherly Class 2C Iincho pulled the ditz away by her ponytails, eliciting more cries of, "OW, OW, OW, OW...!"

However, as Aya did so, she faced Tomoyuki, their eyes meeting.

"Hello, Yamamoto-kun," greeted Fubuki with a single wave of her hand.

"Uh, yeah. Hey... F-Fubuki."

The late bell then rang.

"You better get going. You're already late," Aya then said with a flat expression on her face and without taking a second look at him.

Tomoyuki gulped hard.

He had half the mind to go to the school boiler room and hide there for the rest of the day. Or even go home altogether.

How would the Class 2B Iincho, Miku, react to him now?

Or how about the Class 2B Yankee, who was scary when mad and almost broke his arm? Or how about the Class 2B Amazon Queen, who had also twisted his arm to submission?

The mere thought of the dreaded confrontation made him wheeze. His asthma was acting up again.

His cellphone then rang to indicate he just got a voice mail.

"Happy birthday, Cherry Boy!" was the message he received from AU Seiko. "Still a virgin, aren't you?" she added in true Amazon Queen fashion.

Tomoyuki withheld a laugh. He texted back, "How'd you know it's my birthday? I haven't even told the you in my universe about it."

She replied, "Oh, Miku-chin was already preparing stuff for her best friend's birthday today and I caught wind of it. Help me out in getting a gift for the you in my universe, 'kay?"

"No prob," he messaged.

Then, with a puff from his inhaler, he braced himself and entered the classroom for Section 2B.

He was still late though, so the teacher had him stand in the hall with pails of buckets on each hand as punishment.

What was this, the Eighties? No one did this anymore.

Some birthday this turned out to be.

***

In between the first and second classes of the first period, once Tomoyuki was finally allowed inside the classroom...

"Hey, Cherry Boy!" was the greeting Tomoyuki received from the Seiko in his universe. "Still haven't popped your cherry yet, haven't you?" she added in true Okamoto fashion.

"Shut up, Okamoto," he fired back, concealing a grin. Was this déjà vu?

Speaking of which, he then got a text message from AU Seiko, which he wanted to read but couldn't because Non-AU Seiko was currently in front of him.

"Aren't you going to answer that, Cherry Boy?" asked the Amazon Queen.

He cleared his throat. "M-Maybe later."

He should've known better than to think that Seiko would hold a grudge against him. Maybe her good ol' best friend Miku had told her about his birthday and explained the "dust up" from yesterday?

Tomoyuki's arm ached in remembrance of the Yankee's scary outburst. He'd have to deal with the harem master sooner or later (preferably later).

However, if Kazuhito really were that into Miku, then who was he (Yamamoto) to stop their love from blossoming? He should let them develop their love.

Having Machida and Sugata end up together was something that worked to Tomoyuki's advantage. Right?

Jeez, what was Sugata worried about anyway? This was the "Cherry Boy" he was angry at. The eternal best friend. The guy with the Friend Zone Harem.

At any rate, he finally went face-to-face with Miku Machida.

"Hey, Machida! About yesterday..." he began after mustering the courage to talk to the girl he faked a love confession to.

"...."

Tomoyuki was just about to thank his best friend for covering his back and explaining everything to Okamoto when she turned away and excused herself, saying she had to use the restroom.

Now that reaction brought back memories.

Yamamoto sighed and asked Seiko, "Is Machida still mad at me for... y'know? Yesterday?"

Seiko responded with half-lidded eyes and a knowing, smug grin.

The Cherry Boy exhaled, one hand scratching the back of his head, as he looked at the floor. "B-But she still told you about... (how it was a fake love confession)!"

Okamoto nodded, still smiling.

"So I don't need to explain myself, right?"

The Amazon Queen shrugged.

"COME ON! Stop fooling around and tell me straight out what happened!" said Yamamoto.

Seiko snickered. "My, my. That's quite the spine you've developed, Cherry Boy! I never knew ya had it in ya!"

She slapped Yamamoto from what was supposed to be his back but her hand instead strayed to his buttocks, resulting in a crisp smack.

As the whole class stared back at the two, a red-faced Tomoyuki sat back down on his chair while a blushing Seiko ended up leaning on the wall and staring at her nails as though they held the secrets of the universe within them.

After their classmates shifted their attention elsewhere, the two then looked at each other for a minute before they burst out laughing.

Wow. Happy birthday to him! The Seiko of his world just reenacted one of his role-play fantasies while sexting with the Seiko from another world!

***

After recovering from their shared moment of hilarity, Tomoyuki felt a soft tap on his shoulder.

Miku had returned.

"Looks like you two lovebirds are having a good time, huh?" she said with a half-smile and a light touch on his shoulder.

"M-Machida, I...!" Yamamoto stuttered but stopped.

Maybe now wasn't the best time to bring up... stuff. From experience, whenever the Class 2B Rep was mad at him for something, he couldn't talk to her for weeks.

Perhaps it was better to give her some space and allow her to broach the subject rather than bring it up constantly. Like a true best friend would. "Let sleeping dogs lie" and whatnot.

The Iincho then smiled, adjusted her glasses, and told the Cherry Boy, "B-B-Before I forget: Happy birthday, Yamamoto-kun!"

"...Oh. OH! Uh, thanks. Shucks. Thank you for remembering," he said, bowing at her and scratching the back of his neck even though it wasn't itchy.

It was just like Miku to forget about that embarrassing display yesterday, selflessly remembering that it was Tomoyuki's birthday today without him having to bring it up.

"Wait, WHAT!? IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY TODAY? Jeez, Cherry Boy! Why didn't you tell me?" Seiko started before her outburst answered her own question.

Yamamoto could only palm his face and hide it as the rest of the class found out it was his birthday.

'Jeez, Seiko-chan. I love you, but you have a big mouth. Read the mood!'

Tomoyuki could only "grin" a wriggly looking mess of a smile and bear the resulting flood of polite halfhearted well-wishes from his classmates (that he wasn't really close friends with unlike Machida and Okamoto) when the dreaded trio of Matsuda, Ishiguro, and Kanemoto caught wind of the news.

His three original bullies. And with no Sugata to "protect" him from them too, seeing that the Yankee was now mad at him for his fake love confession to Miku.

Kazuhito was absent as usual (lucky for Tomoyuki but also unlucky for him at the same time). Then again, what was actually unusual was Sugata going to school for multiple days straight. He almost completed a whole school week this time around.

Like vultures to a carcass or crows to a cornfield without any humans or scarecrows to ward them off, the three buzzards circled the Cherry Boy. In this case, the scarecrow should've been Sugata.

'Damn it.'

"Hey, Best Friend Cherry Boy! What's up? Heard it's your birthday today! Happy birthday!"

Matsuda the huge-headed, donkey-toothed giant from the basketball club slung a lengthy forearm over Tomoyuki's shoulders, who shrugged it off.

"You don't look too happy that it's your happy birthday today, Cherry Boy," a sniggering Kanemoto took note. "Maybe you want our class to throw you a party or something?"

"Hey! Stop bullying my best friend here, Kanemoto!" Matsuda "told" off the pretty boy, choking back his laughter. "It's his birthday and he'll cry if he wants to."

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to YOOOOWCH...!" the thick-muscled gorilla man known as Ishiguro began to warble the birthday song in accented English, clapping along every line when something... or someone... stomped on his foot. "HEY! What gives, Amazon Queen!?"

"Whoops. Sorry about that. My foot slipped. My bad," said Seiko, who despite her claims to the contrary, continued to step on Ishiguro's foot, digging her heels onto the tips of his uwabaki (indoor shoe) until he laid off of Yamamoto.

Tomoyuki dabbed a handkerchief over his sweaty temple and whispered to the Class 2B female sports star, "Th-Thanks, Okamoto. But you didn't have to."

A sneering Matsuda then told Seiko, "What is this? Are you protecting your new boyfriend now? Are you cheating on Sugata?"

The Amazon Queen looked Matsuda in the eye, smiled, and asked, "What's the matter, big boy? Scared of a li'l banter in return? Jealous that even Cherry Boy can get a girlfriend before you did?"

The entire class "Oooh"-ed at that one.

A slack-jawed Matsuda turned towards his compatriots for support, but only Ishiguro remained by his side. Kanemoto had already turned his back on the pair, muttering, "Whatever. This is getting stupid. I'm leaving."

"H-Hey! Wait for me, Kanemoto!" said Ishiguro, who followed suit.

However, Matsuda wasn't quite done. To save face, he told the impassive Seiko off. "I was only kidding earlier, but you've been awfully buddy-buddy with Cherry Boy as of late. Maybe you do like him."

Even Yamamoto, who had a strong aversion about being humiliated by the mouthy basketball varsity jock, took exception to what he said. "HEY! Lay off Okamoto. We're only friends!"

Meanwhile, Seiko could only roll off her eyes and ask, "And what about you, Matsuda-san? You're only brave when you're facing off against an asthmatic or a girl. Like Cherry Boy. Or Aya-chin."

This made Matsuda flinch and almost raise his hand on the Karate Club President, only for the rest of 2B to call him out on the sensitive subject.

"LEAVE SEIKO-CHAN ALONE! She's the captain of her club. You're barely a rookie in yours!"

"That's right! What's with your high-and-mighty attitude? Just because you hang out with Kanemoto and all..."

"He's at it again! He's going to hit a girl again."

"Oh no. I knew he hit the Class 2C Rep on purpose. Yikes."

"Jeez. What a total creep. Disgusting."

"Stop being a bully, Matsuda! You almost got kicked out of school before!"

"Read the mood, you clueless jerk!"

"He should be expelled. Pick on someone your own size."

"Someone call the teacher. Matsuda is causing trouble again."

"Lay off the birthday boy! Can't he have his birthday in peace?"

"Hey, leave Okamoto and Yamamoto alone! They're the stars of the Sports Fest! We won because of them, especially Cherry Boy! Greet him a happy birthday and leave it at that!"

That last outburst was uttered by none other than a member of Kanemoto's Judo Club, a big burly guy with a tan who could give the gorilla-like Ishiguro a run for his money in terms of being "swole".

Actually, several of the voices from the crowd (aside from Amazon Queen fanboys and fangirls) were Tomoyuki's teammates during the volleyball competition.

Like the tall, goofy girl with big glasses or the silent girl that looked like a sadist (no offense to her). Or the cap-wearing soccer goalie jock that did all those last-minute saves in their volleyball match against Class 2A.

...Yeah, Tomoyuki was terrible at remembering names.

Yamamoto looked over at Machida, who smiled at him and said, "Isn't Seiko-chan amazing?"

Tomoyuki smiled back at Miku and replied, "Yeah. Yeah, she is."

With a harrumph and without a goodbye, Matsuda left the classroom.

He didn't come back even after classes resumed under Miss Aso, their short and cute female economics teacher with a funny country bumpkin accent and a forehead that was more of a "fivehead".

The Cherry Boy slipped in another "Thank you," at the Amazon Queen, who winked at him and said, "No prob. Happy birthday again, Yamamoto-kun."

"That's the best birthday present ever," he joked, which made Seiko go silent, pout, and then practically hiss at him, "Nope. That's not it. That's not your present! I'll get ya something else! I promise!"

'...O-kay?' he thought.

***

Around recess, Yamamoto finally found the time to read the text message that the AU Amazon Queen sent him outside of her perfunctory birthday greeting as he walked to the cafeteria.

"Cherry Boy! Cherry Boy! If you were Yamamoto, what kind of birthday gift would you want me to give you?" AU Seiko texted.

Well, well, well. Great minds thought alike. That was two in a row.

"Sex," he joked.

"How about I give him a swift kick to nuts so hard even you'd feel the pain in your dimension?" she replied tongue-in-cheek. Or at least he hoped it was a tongue-in-cheek reply.

"Sure, but I don't think the other me will appreciate that," he texted back.

"COME ON, Cherry Boy! Aren't we supposed to share our deepest, darkest secrets with each other to make our AU selves fall for us? Get with the program!"

"Don't ask me! I don't know what I'd want for a present. Food, I guess? Maybe a date with you?" was his attempt at coyness.

"D-Date!?" Yes, she actually typed that out, including the implied stutter. "Look, Cherry Boy. The Yamamoto-kun I know was just mad at me for calling him Cherry Boy too, so don'cha think a date's a bridge too far for us to cross right now?"

"...Fine, I guess. I'd love to have a date with you though. Or the Okamoto in my universe," he replied.

"Then ask me out!" Seiko messaged. "The other me, I mean!"

"But you... the other you... already dumped me several times! Gave me a black eye the first time! And that one time when I thought we had a date, it wasn't actually a date!"

"Well, fine! But if I were her, I'd want you to ask me out!"

"You're not her though! Not exactly. You and her have been through different... stuff," he replied, remembering how he hid from her the fact that at the end of the Sports Fest volleyball tournament, Non-AU Seiko reminded him of why he fell in love with her in the first place.

The way she looked so cool as she almost rallied a comeback against Class 2A by her own stubbornness. The assist he did for that final spike that almost made it had the Amazon Queen not pushed herself hard in the relay, leaving her far too exhausted to get that point.

An experience he didn't share with AU Seiko, who seemed (or was actually) so far away from him right now. Like he was talking to the actual Seiko's shadow. Or reading messages she sent months ago.

A different person altogether.

AU Seiko was still Seiko but different. Could he really be satisfied with conversing with an apparition of his crush when the real thing was right in front him, talking to him, and actually acknowledging his presence for once?

How could a distant version of Seiko who was so far away he could sext with her without consequences the next day even compete? He might as well have talked to a chatroom bot, imagining it was the Seiko of his world.

As cruel a description of AU Seiko as that might sound.

"...Y'know what I mean," he finished his message lamely.

"No, I don't. Call me and tell it straight to my face, Cherry Boy."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, mumbling under his breath, "For the last time, Amazon Queen. I'm not going to ask you out on a date on my birthday," while typing the same message to Okamoto's other self.

He then bumped into the worst person he could bump into while saying those words.

Seiko Okamoto herself, standing there in all her sporty, tomboyish glory.

"O-Oh. H-Hey, Okamoto. Wassup?"

Oh dear. Did she overhear him?

"What's this about a birthday date, Cherry Boy?"

Shit. 'She looks pissed,' Tomoyuki thought, his mind going into overdrive to find the right words to say to clear up the confusion.

"Um..."

His mind went blank at the mere thought of them dating, though.

Shit, shit, shit. 'Say something, you idiot!' he told himself, flinching as the taller girl's hand hovered over his face, remembering the black eye he got from her.

Stupid AU Her. Now Non-AU Her was going to get the wrong idea!

"...So you wanna go on a date with me? Fine. You got a date! With me! For lunch! H-HAPPY BIRTHDAY, B-BAKA (D-DUMMY)!"

What.

Wait, what!?

That was the last thing Tomoyuki expected Seiko to say.

But she still said it before grabbing hold of his hand and leading him away to the nearest table (just like "good ol' times" when they were on the run from his own bullies).

***

After they've bought and/or brought their food with them to the lunchroom, the smiling bespectacled (Section 2B) Class Rep awaited Tomoyuki and Seiko on one of the tables of the cafeteria, waving her hand at them.

"Yamamoto-kun! Seiko-chan! Over here!" she beckoned them to come join her.

"H-Hey, Machida!" stuttered the Cherry Boy, waving weakly back at his girl best friend.

Wow. Small world. Or at least, small school.

"Oh. It's you, Miku-chin." The Amazon Queen deflated, her shoulders slumping down in defeat(?).

Tomoyuki exhaled in relief, (reluctantly) letting go of Seiko's hand. "Oh, so that's what you meant by a lunch date! I was worried there for a second..."

"...L-Look, if you want, we can have a d-d-dinner date instead," stammered Seiko, looking less statuesque than usual with her drooping gait and twiddling fingers. As though she were a sad giraffe.

Yamamoto patted the taller girl on the shoulder (something he couldn't even imagine doing just a month ago) and said, "You don't have to force yourself to date me as your idea of a birthday present, Okamoto. I appreciate the thought, though."

The Amazon Queen pouted, which made the Cherry Boy's heart go aflutter and his body... stiffen. Harden. Um, freeze. Yeah, freeze.

The three classmates then sat together at one table, just like usual.

Apparently, in the heat of the moment, Okamoto forgot that they usually ate lunch together at that table anyway. So much for their "date" on his birthday.

Yamamoto shook his head. He was taking the song lyric, "It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to" too literally.

Tomoyuki then decided to take things positively and pretend that he was Archie Andrews, with Seiko being his Betty Cooper and Miku being his Veronica Lodge.

Or maybe not, since the Student Council President Mana Otonashi was more the rich girl type like Ronnie than Class President Machida, who had no equivalent Archie Comics character (a female Dilton Doiley, perhaps?).

Maybe his other self had more of a Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo type of romance filled with fiancées and suitors galore? No wait. That was more Kazuhito's shtick with his in-real-life harem.

Yeah, and Seiko was Sugata's Akane with they way the two bickered like an old married couple.

...Dammit, he was getting sidetracked. At least in the parallel world where AU Seiko resided, AU Tomoyuki had a Seiko and a Miku who was in love with him.

It was as if AU Tomoyuki had taken Kazuhito's place as a harem anime lead.

How happy a birthday that Yamamoto must've been having. Meanwhile, the Tomoyuki that was having such jealous thoughts had a Miku who friendzoned him as soon as they met and a Seiko who was in love with her childhood friend.

Like a protagonist in one of those netorare (cuckold) or NTR anime shows.

Dammit, he was born in the wrong dimension!

But he really should stop his bad habit of calling his unrequited or rejected feelings for Miku (or any other girl) as ending up in the Friend Zone.

The Friend Zone was as stupid a concept as the Tezuka Zone from the "Prince of Tennis" manga.

The Tezuka Zone was a technique that somehow made the tennis ball spin in such a way that it seemed like it was getting sucked back to Kunimitsu Tezuka, the owner of the impossible move, like metal to a magnet.

The Friend Zone was a concept made up to make socially awkward people feel better about the fact that someone didn't like them back. That they wanted their beloved to be happy.

However, as Miku reminded him after rejecting him as soon as he first confessed to her that he wanted to be more than just friends, 'If someone doesn't like you, stop chasing after them.'

He remembered the 2B Class Rep's epic Anti-Friend-Zone spiel like it was yesterday.

She told him that no girl could ever be attracted to his sadness and insecurity. No girl could ever come to save him from his cruel life like in movies and anime.

No woman would ever spend time with a guy who couldn't even get his act together.

Also, men weren't entitled to having sex with a girl by being "nice" to her in exchange for sex. As though their niceness had a hidden agenda.

This was the truth. The only way out for Tomoyuki's "Cherry Boy" status was to improve himself.

Yamamoto could either make the best out of what he had or live the kind of life he had right now without complaints of having no girlfriend.

He might not be the handsomest or fittest kid in Class 2B or Maehara High, but he could still improve himself. Learn to not be as socially awkward as he was durin first year. Dress better. Go running to improve his breathing capacity through cardio.

Machida insisted that even though he'd been rejected time and time again by many a pretty girl, he had the chance to get a girlfriend by becoming a better version of himself.

She told him to stop acting like an edgelord teenager, wallowing in his own misery.

According to her, no girl found this appealing, and the closest anime/manga example of an attractive edgelord was Uchiha Sasuke, who had dark good looks to match all his brooding and DARKNESS.

In real life, women wanted physically and mentally strong men who were confident and healthy the same way men loved beautiful and lively women with personality who weren't crazy screaming banshees when the going got tough.

Yamamoto really did owe Machida one when it came to helping him stop acting like the lonely virgin loser creep he was in the past that earned him the nickname "Cherry Boy".

Indeed, it wasn't, "Getting a girlfriend will make my life great," but instead, "Having a great life will get me a girlfriend!" That was the mindset he should have going for him.

He understood that. He got the concept.

Easier said than done.

Even now, there were still times when he felt like he was being friendzoned nonetheless, even though he understood no woman owed a man love and affection after he "went out of his way" to be nice to her.

It took him quite sometime until he accepted his best friend Miku as nothing more than a friend.

***

Tomoyuki's brain then snapped back to reality.

Grinning from ear to ear, Miku greeted, "Happy birthday, Yamamoto-kun!"

He scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Thanks, Iincho. You already greeted me, though."

"I don't exactly have a birthday present for you, but..." she trailed off, and he immediately waved off her hesitation, reassuring, "I didn't ask for one! It's perfectly fine! See, even Okamoto didn't get me anything!"

This led Seiko to squawk, "HEY! You were the one mumbling about birthday dates and whatnot! I actually humored your request!"

"Okay, okay! That was MY BAD! I'm sorry, Amazon Queen," he said with a chuckle.

Then, as he chewed on a bite of his curry pan and downed a can of ice coffee, he felt goose bumps rise all over his forearm. At the thought of Okamoto willingly going out on a date with him. Wimpy ol' him.

Who would've thought?

The Cherry Boy spared Seiko... the real flesh-and-blood Non-AU Seiko that he could talk to in real life instead of just on the phone... a glance.

Seiko's sparkling eyes met with his. "Whatsamatter, Cherry Boy? Is there something on my face? Food? A booger, perhaps?"

"Uh, no. Nothing." He looked away from her and exhaled.

'Dammit, she looks so gorgeous in real life,' he thought, remembering weeks of sexting and exchanging lewd pictures with AU Seiko. With no payoff.

Because the Seiko he could touch and meet wasn't in love with him. She was right in front of him but she wasn't the Amazon Queen that was actually in love with him.

'Focus, Cherry Boy! Focus!' he told himself using that embarrassing nickname of his to snap his head back to reality. 'Eyes on the prize.'

Miku coughed primly, squirming on her seat a little. "Anyway, instead of a tangible gift, I want to give you food for thought." She looked down and twiddled her thumbs. "Just like old times."

Tomoyuki himself looked at his own twiddling thumbs. 'That's right. We used to have a lot of these weird talks before I managed to get into Seiko's inner circle.'

"Is this like the zombie cat thing?" he asked. He remembered that strange conversation he had with the 2B Class Rep about some guy and his zombie cat who was alive and dead at the same time and how it somehow tied to multiple universes (he personally didn't get it).

"Oh, so you do remember our talk about Schrödinger's Cat!" Miku giggled and clapped. "My birthday present for you is kind of like that, but this time it's alleged proof that multiple universes exist. It's the perfect thing to add to your screenplay about lovers from parallel universes."

Tomoyuki then turned to see Seiko looking back and forth at him and the shy Miku. He half-expected her to wink and give him a thumb's up sign in approval of what she thought was progress between his "romance" with Machida.

However, this time around, she only stared blankly at them. Like the third wheel in their group.

The prospect of making Okamoto jealous made his heart skip a beat, only for him to beat the feeling down, traumatized by his presumptuousness with his first (unrequited) crush, Yukari Goto.

At best, Seiko was probably just bored. Or confused. 'I certainly am.'

"I have no idea what you two are talking about," interjected Okamoto with a mouthful of hamburger before almost choking and washing the food stuck in her throat down with a can of soda.

Yamamoto then blinked. "So what is it you wanted to talk about? A dog that exists in the fourth dimension or something?"

The bespectacled girl smiled, her hands forming a steeple in front of her while the light of the nearby bulb made her glasses glint. "Not exactly. I'm talking about the Mandela Effect."

Tomoyuki and Seiko exchanged glances at each other then back at Miku.

"The what effect?" asked Okamoto flatly. "Is it like Axe Effect?"

"The Mandela Effect," Machida repeated with a pout, nibbling on her own melon pan like an embarrassed cartoon mouse.

She then gulped her food down, steeled herself, and searched for the right words in her mind to simplify her explanation of the speculative science concept.

"It's named after Nelson Mandela. You know who that is, right? Yamamoto-kun?" she practically pleaded.

"Uh, it's that African Political Figure guy, I guess. Right?" asked Tomoyuki.

"Right! Close enough! Do you remember him being the first black president of South Africa in 1994 after being released from prison?" she asked. "Well, if you thought that, you'd be wrong! Mandela died in prison in the Eighties!"

The two tilted their heads to the side in unison, which made Miku palm her face.

"...Okay, here's a better example. You know how the Berenstain Bears children's books are spelled with an s-t-a-i-n?" Machida brought up. "Well, they aren't! They're actually spelled with an s-t-e-i-n! They're the Berenstein Bears!"

The pair... who both had passing grades in English proficiency tests at best... shrugged at the 2B Class Rep. She might as well have brought up how a German or French book title was spelled differently in another dimension. They honestly had no idea.

"Okay, fine!" yelped Miku with a harrumph that still appeared adorable on her. Like a puppy harrumphing. "You know the Kurosawa Akira movie known as Ran?"

The two nodded because both have heard about the movie. After all, Tomoyuki was a cinemaphile and Seiko loved samurai and yakuza movies.

"Well, Ran never existed beyond storyboards that Kurosawa himself painted meticulously! Many people swear up and down that the movie exists, but it doesn't. It was never made or funded!"

"Ooooh!" chorused Tomoyuki and Seiko, with the former stating, "But I could've sworn he made that movie! I remember seeing its trailer! It was supposed to star Katsu Shintaro! The guy who played Zatoichi!"

Okamoto chimed in, "No, no! That's the guy who played Takeda Shingen's Kagemusha in that Kurosawa movie about him! The one funded by Hollywood directors! I have that on DVD!"

"Kagemusha" literally translated to "Shadow Warrior", but in this context it meant "Doppelganger" or "Body Double".

"No, no. That's a popular misconception. Rumor has it that George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola were interested in funding Kagemusha after it went overbudget, but that ended up false and Kurosawa-sensei instead cut several scenes from his original screenplay to save money," corrected Yamamoto.

"Oh okay. My bad," said the Amazon Queen with blinking eyes and a shrug. She then theorized, "Wait, maybe people kept mistaking Kagemusha for Ran, that's why they thought Ran was an actual movie!"

"Perhaps, Seiko-chan. Perhaps." After finally getting the reaction she wanted from her friends, Miku smirked, looking like a smug, naughty child. "Or maybe a huge amount of people somehow had collective false memories because these memories weren't false at all!"

"What'choo talkin' 'bout, Iincho?" asked Seiko with pursed lips and narrowed eyes before covering her mouth to suppress a burp.

Machida wagged her finger and said, "I told you! The Mandela Effect! Proof that other dimensions exist! We 'misremember' things because we're actually crossing dimensions. The thing we originally remembered is true in another dimension but untrue in the dimension we're inhabiting!"

She turned towards Tomoyuki. "Isn't that fascinating? Isn't it the perfect thing you can use in that screenplay you're trying to write, Yamamoto-kun?"

Indeed, the Cherry Boy couldn't help but cup his chin with his forefinger and thumb. "Y-Yeah, that might work. I can imagine it now. What you misremember in one world can end up true in another."

In fact, Yamamoto had long talks with AU Seiko on that very subject, from pro wrestling to websites to differences in video game console names. "Thanks, Machida. This is the best birthday gift ever!"

"I'm so happy!" cheered Miku, who almost grabbed hold of Tomoyuki's hands but stopped short, so their hands sort of hovered over each other as though they were holding an invisible ball.

"Where'd you hear such a tall tale anyway?" asked Tomoyuki.

"Where else? I read it on the Internet," said Miku.

"Hooray for the Internet, then! INTERNET BANZAI!" cheered Yamamoto.

Seiko frowned (...Or pouted? Maybe that was just Yamamoto's wishful thinking), and stuck her tongue out at the two best friends. "Jeez. You two space cadets have blasted off into your own world, I see. Don't forget to write, ya NERDS!"

The two blushed and "let go" of each other's hands that weren't even in contact with each other in the first place.

***

Later, when the Cherry Boy finally had time to check his messages (after quickly browsing the Internet to read up on Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" and the Class Rep's "Mandela Effect" theory on EBO)...

"But my other self still taught you how to play volleyball anyway, right? If a date won't work, then ask her to hang out with you instead!" was the last message Yamamoto got from AU Seiko prior to his lunch "date" with the Amazon Queen of his universe.

"What about you? How will you get the Tomoyuki in your world to take notice of you?" was the message he was about to send her had the real Seiko not "interrupted" their chat earlier.

The unsent message was saved on his phone. He decided to finally send the message now.

Instead of responding through text, AU Seiko gave him a call.

"...About time you wrote back." He could hear the sullenness of the other Okamoto's voice from the other line.

"What's the matter, Amazon Queen?"

"I offered you... the other you... a date and he refused! How could you?"

"...Ouch. Sorry, I guess?"

Huh. Déjà vu. The same thing happened with him and Non-AU Seiko.

Perhaps their parallel worlds were merging, just like how they tended to according to Machida and her cockamamie theory about how movie misquotes and common misconceptions were memories from another dimension.

"Why did you refuse me, Cherry Boy?" AU Seiko asked Tomoyuki.

"I guess my other self is... um..." Okay, so why did he refuse Non-AU Seiko again? "Yeah, he did it because he thought it was the honorable thing to do and he probably considered the help you gave him in the Sports Fest as the perfect birthday gift already."

"Ugh. You two and your martyr complex. Honestly."

"Huh? Come on, man. How is that being a martyr?"

AU Seiko sighed. "Are you sure he refused because of that? Maybe Yamamoto-kun refused because I was being too pushy. Maybe I offended him again! You know how sensitive he gets! You're him!"

Tomoyuki thought for all of two seconds and said, "Nah! You're always pushy anyway, so what's the difference now and your pushiness from before?"

"Shut up, you," was her reply to the backhanded reassurance. "I'm still lacking a birthday present for your other you, Cherry Boy."

This got Yamamoto thinking. The Mandela Effect was still fresh in his mind, coupled with the hours upon hours' worth of interesting differences between his world and AU Seiko's world.

"Say, how do you spell 'Berenstein Bears' in your dimension? With an '–ein' like in Einstein or an '-ain' like in 'Spain'?" he asked Seiko.

He got the expected response of, "What are you, my English teacher? I have no clue how to spell that. Who in the world are Berenstain Bears? Some sort of gaijin (foreign) mascot?"

"Okay, no, scratch that." What was the example Machida gave him again? Oh yeah, Akira Kurosawa's Ran. The film that was never made in his world. Could it be...?

"Here in my dimension, we have an urban legend of Kurosawa making a historical epic funded by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppolla. However, when I researched about it on the Internet, it ended up being untrue. There was never any film like that."

AU Okamoto paused. "...So you're asking me if this movie exists in my world?"

"Yep," said Tomoyuki. "Since in your world, Michael Jackson became white, Kurt Cobain died, Mayweather and Pacquiao have yet to fight, and Japan is suffering from some sort of financial crisis since the Nineties."

"I see where you're going, but I have no idea how this solves my problem of getting Cherry Boy a gift for his birthday. Do we have time to chat about this?" she asked.

"Just research about it on EBO (Encyclopedia Britannica Online)."

"You mean Google."

"Google exists here too."

"Oh right. Your world's Wikipedia, then?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just look it up on your universe's EBO."

"All right, all right. I'm going to the library now! Happy?"

After a few minutes, she concluded, "So Ran does exist in our world! Huh. Old movie. Made in 1985. I wasn't even born yet when that came out. How about that."

Tomoyuki couldn't help but gasp at the revelation.

"Yes, of course! It makes perfect sense," he said, his cheeks feeling tight from all the grinning he was doing. "After writing the screenplay for Ran, Kurosawa couldn't get this film made at all because of the lack of willing producers! Kagemusha had a troubled production. The only evidence of Ran's planned existence was his detailed painted storyboards about it."

His breathing went even faster. He could barely contain himself. If he breathed any faster, he might end up having an asthma attack. Or a heart attack. "Aren't you amazed, Amazon Queen? Machida was correct! The Mandela Effect is true! It's confirmed!"

"The what effect?" she asked.

"Long story," he answered.

He could almost "hear" the blank stare that she couldn't direct at him. "Well, now what? Should I buy Cherry Boy a copy of this film or something?"

He then asked, "Was Kagemusha ever made in your world too?"

"Yep, we have that movie too."

"And was it funded by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola when it got short on funds?"

"Who are those people?" She continued reading the Wikipedia article for Kagemusha. "Wow. The guys who made Star Wars and The Godfather funded this film? That's kinda cool. Kurosawa-sensei really is a world-renowned director!"

"And it starred Katsu Shintaro, right?"

"...Seriously, Cherry Boy. I don't know their names!"

"Fine. The guy who played Zatoichi the Blind Swordsman."

"OOOH, he was that guy, huh? No, it was some other guy."

"What other guy?" Tomoyuki asked.

"Uh... let's see here... I'll check on Google. His name is Nakadai Tatsuya. It says here the Zatoichi guy pissed Kurosawa-sensei off and was fired from the job."

"Really? Unosuke from Yojimbo played the Kagemusha and Shingen? But it was supposed to be...!"

From there, AU Seiko's tone changed, rising up in pitch. She almost sounded downright girly, for once.

"Hey, I remember renting this movie out while searching for manly samurai films to binge watch! It was so cool! I first saw it on TV, but they cut some scenes to censor the violence, so I just bought the DVD!"

After hearing the silence from the other line, the other Okamoto prompted, "Cherry Boy? Earth to Cherry Boy? Do you copy? Over."

Feeling like Sherlock Holmes or Conan Edogawa when he was about to deduce the identity of the culprit or solve a mystery, Yamamoto finally figured everything out.

"In our world, Kagemusha underperformed at the box office because Kurosawa-sensei went overbudget, was forced to stick with Zatoichi even after he pissed him off by bringing a camera crew to record how he directed his films, and he ended up with a disjointed movie because he had to cut out several key scenes from his original screenplay to save money. And Ran was never made in this universe because Kagemusha flopped!"

"...Wow," said AU Seiko.

"I know," wheezed Tomoyuki before taking a puff from his asthma inhaler.

"Well, that's great and all, but I still have no idea what to give Cherry Boy... I mean, the other Cherry Boy... for his birthday present."

"Talk to him about Kagemusha and Ran," said Yamamoto. "Talk to him about the same stuff we just talked about. Take it from me, he'll love the idea of an alternate world where Ran was never made because the makers of Star Wars and The Godfather weren't able to fund the complete Kagemusha script. Oh, and pitch to him what it would've been like to have Zatoichi star as the Kagemusha and Shingen!"

"But I only watched Kagemusha! I haven't seen Ran," complained a(n uncharacteristically) pensive AU Okamoto with what Tomoyuki presumed was an unseen lip bite.

"Perfect! Then invite him on a date to watch Ran with you! At one of those theaters showing old matinees or at your apartment's TV through DVD!" said Tomoyuki.

"Baka! He just rejected a date from me!" she protested, sounding the girliest he'd ever heard her speak. She almost seemed like she was Non-AU Seiko talking about Non-AU Sugata (when Sugata wasn't around) with how high her voice pitch was right now.

"Trust me, it's the best present he'll ever get. A date with you and the chance to watch Ran again, which is probably a masterpiece. I'm certainly jealous of him."

***

Satisfied with how his conversation with the other Seiko turned out, a smiling Tomoyuki sauntered towards his shoe locker with confidence in every step.

His power walk turned into a moonwalk shuffle after he spied with his bugged-out eyes one Kazuhito "Yankee" Sugata. Looking around for something. Or someone. Someone who hadn't popped his cherry yet, for example.

Apparently, the Yankee wasn't as absent as the Cherry Boy had previously hoped.

'Shit. Sugata's actually here? But it's already dismissal time. Why'd he even bother coming to school?' were the thoughts running through Yamamoto's head as he turned around and began practicing the better part of valor.

He ended up bumping into a certain raven-haired (dragon) lady. The Class Representative of 2C and the best friend of his first unrequited crush (or even first crush ever): Aya Fubuki.

"...Ow."

"Ah! Fubuki! Sorry about that!"

Aya turned around, her long hair twirling after her, the scent of her perfume wafting into Yamamoto's nostrils. Reminding him of Mongolian barbecue and yakiniku (grilled meat), of all things.

Not that she smelled like meat, mind you. She was as fragrant as a summer blossom.

All the same, he ended up between a rock and a hard place.

He then remembered how Sugata almost broke his arm yesterday, so he appended that he was instead between a steep cliff and a sheer drop to his doom, with jagged sharp rocks below.

So he took his chances with the cliff, since he was used to being verbally abused by said cliff. Also, he had higher chances of survival there.

"H-Hey, Fubuki! N-Nice weather we're having, huh?" he greeted, not knowing what else to say to his tsundere (or perhaps bipolar) tormentor for most of his first year in high school.

He winced, expecting a verbal beat down from the 2C Ice Queen, only to be greeted back by a smiling visage he thought he'd never see again from Aya.

Because ever since their confrontation regarding their "rumored" dates, she never smiled back at him that way (even her smile when she "forgave" him for his transgressions looked different).

Another wave of nostalgia then hit the Cherry Boy like a tsunami after Aya batted her eyelids at him, her face facing downwards but her eyes looking upwards at him.

She was always so cute. It reminded him of why he asked her out in the first place.

Her long legs. Her long hair that she wore like a cape. Her fiery temper that belied her actual sweetness. Like the spicy meals they had on their dates she refused to acknowledge ever happened.

She then said softly to him, "Long time, no see, Yamamoto-chan," with a smile and a wink before turning around and skipping away.

He froze, a flood of memories of dates at yakiniku restaurants bursting to the surface of his mind. All because she called him by a name that she never called him when he first confronted her about all the dates she denied they had.

'So she remembers all our dates after all...?' Yamamoto thought while staring at how Fubuki's svelte figure shrunk into the distance as she traveled to the end of the hall.

This was before he turned around and saw a certain someone he intended to avoid, evade, and escape all this time: Kazuhito Sugata.

Of course! Just his luck, right?

He lost his grip with the cliff and he was about to have a "date" with the valley below.

Tomoyuki pivoted to the other direction (or on the same direction where Aya made her exit), thinking he could pretend he didn't see Kazuhito at all and escape his fate.

He resisted a shudder after Sugata grabbed hold of his shoulder from behind. Ah. His fate was sealed.

"Cherry Boy! Happy birthday!" said Kazuhito before he gave Tomoyuki a friendly slap on the back that almost had him coughing up phlegm.

"...Eh?" Yamamoto blabbered after recovering, hearing the Yankee say the last thing he expected him to say. "Uh... thanks?" he added, his eyes narrowed and blinking, his body stock-still, waiting for Seiko's crush to, um, crush him. Pun unintended.

10 long seconds passed them by. The Cherry Boy then dared to ask, "Weren't you mad at me?"

Sugata flashed Yamamoto a cocksure grin and wrapped an arm around the shorter boy's neck, making him flinch. "Yeah, 'coz I thought you were being a two-faced snake in the grass, saying you'd play matchmaker for the Class Rep, only to end up in love with her too."

Tomoyuki attempted to shrug off Kazuhito's invasion of his personal space but couldn't, which prompted him to ask, "W-What changed your mind?"

The Yankee responded, "Iincho told me the truth. That you already confessed to her before and she turned you down hard, saying she can never see you as anything more than a friend."

This made Yamamoto's shoulders slump down low enough to escape Sugata's grasp. "Ehehehe. Yeah, that sounds about right."

Kazuhito scratched his cheek. "She also said something about you making that confession as revenge for the joke we pulled while you and Amazon Queen were eavesdropping on us, but from what I remember, didn't you interrupt the other Iincho from 2C from saying something?"

Tomoyuki wiped the bullets of sweat on his forehead. "I dunno whatcha talkin' bout, Sugata," before taking out his inhaler to get a puff of medicine from it.

The last thing Tomoyuki wanted was for Seiko's crush to figure out that Fubuki had a thing for him, rendering his embarrassing and traumatizing confession/distraction to Machida moot.

"HEY! Cherry Boy! Are you okay?" asked Kazuhito, who shook Tomoyuki's shoulders for attention. "You look... pale. Was it something I said, dude?"

Yamamoto forced a smile. "No, I'm all right. I just had... flashbacks, that's all."

More like shell-shock, but of course he wouldn't want to exaggerate.

Surely, World War II veterans would have a word or two with him about using the word "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder" over something as trivial as middle school romance or high school blues.

Thank goodness the Yankee was so dense that he still hadn't realized that Aya was about to confess to him around that time.

Even better, thank goodness Sugata wasn't throttling him at the moment!

***

Wow. What a day his birthday turned out to be. Holy crap.

Feeling a bit chipper in terms of mood for a change, Yamamoto worked his entire shift at the convenience store without once feeling sorry for himself for having a boss that didn't greet him happy birthday because, well, that resume listing his birthday was for archival purposes only.

He did treat himself to a cupcake then went outside and blew an imaginary candle flame over it before eating it.

Okay, now he felt kind of sorry for himself.

But he accomplished so much throughout the day though.

He talked to Sugata and "made amends" with him (or maybe the other way around), saw a glimpse of the "old" Fubuki he used to date, got his AU self a date with AU Seiko, Miku forgave him for false-flag confessing to her and almost making her repeat her Friend Zone Spiel to him, and (most importantly in his mind), the Seiko in his world invited him for a date as his birthday present (a pity date, but still).

He had half the mind to text Megumi Minagata as well, but he decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

Him bragging to her that he got one girl down from Kazuhito's harem would probably lead her to tell him he was stupid and that he was asking for heartbreak if ever Seiko decided to finally confess to Sugata.

Maybe she was right but it was better than the limbo he was in right now.

The two best friends Yukari Goto and Aya Fubuki were finally out of the harem picture. Only Miku Machida and (maybe) Mana Otonashi left to go. Soon, Sugata and Okamoto would have their crossroads.

Then maybe, if Seiko were rejected by her childhood friend, then she'd look at Tomoyuki the same way she looked at Kazuhito. Or the same way her AU self looked at his AU self.

If.

He then got a text from AU Seiko, no doubt tripping all over herself in thanks for his deductive reasoning that led to her super-duper gift to his AU self.

The smug Tomoyuki smiled even before he opened his mail.

He himself was grateful for how AU Seiko served as his inner window into the mind of the actual Seiko. Now all he had to do was turn actual Seiko into AU Seiko.

A Seiko who was... in love... with...?

His thoughts stopped short upon realizing what sort of mail he had just opened.

A video. A cam rip of something.

He must've opened the attachment by accident. He scrolled back to the original message. It read:

"Hey, AU Cherry Boy. You were right. My Cherry Boy couldn't stop talking about the making of Kagemusha and Ran all throughout his birthday when I told him we'd have a movie date. I couldn't keep up with him. Kind of felt sorry how my present for a date blew Miku-chi's present. Something regarding a postcard about the Friend Zone or something? Was it an in-joke between the two of them? Now she's kind of giving him the cold shoulder. Did she friendzone him or something? But still, thanks for the tip! It means a lot to me. I'll straighten things out with the two of them though, I promise!"

'That's my girl,' he thought. This was vintage Seiko. Unwilling to trample the happiness of others for her own happiness.

His heart couldn't decide whether to sink or jump out of his mouth at the post script of her message.

"P.S. Happy birthday, AU Cherry Boy. Don't think I forgot about you! I also heard how excited you are about Ran, since it doesn't exist in your world. I owe you a lot in getting me and Cherry Boy together. So here's my thanks. My birthday present to you."

Gulping, Tomoyuki finally opened the attached video and watched it, his hands shaking in excitement. And other indescribable feelings.

He watched the whole thing. All one minute and fourteen seconds of it.

It was... Ran. Or rather, the trailer for Ran. A movie that wasn't supposed to exist in his universe. Just like how a Seiko that was in love with (the other) him didn't (yet) exist in his reality either.

It looked like Ran was obviously on some sort of soundstage (must've been a dream sequence). Like the ones found in Tokusatsu (Special Effects) children shows.

It didn't look hokey though. In fact, it left Yamamoto breathless. All those colors. Those powerful images.

However, the way everything was filmed, staged, and presented had the earmarks and fingerprints of Akira Kurosawa. His sublime masterpiece that didn't exist in his universe but did in AU Seiko's universe.

A nonexistent movie whose trailer he alone in his universe had watched. And for AU Seiko... for that Seiko... she probably didn't even think twice or thought that it was a big deal at all for her to do.

She didn't even realize how special that video she just recorded off of her phone from YouTube or Nico-something was. She was completely clueless of its significance.

He smiled. "That idiot."

Her careless kindness had charmed him once again.

A teardrop fell on the screen of Tomoyuki's phone then rolled off its screen.

He then felt a wave of shame wash over him for even thinking that AU Seiko was but a shadow or doppelganger of the Seiko of his universe. Her "Kagemusha".

How dare he think that way. For shame.

This AU Seiko from another universe... there was no one like her. Not just in his universe but hers as well. Or maybe even in the multiverse.

Every last existing Seiko from different universes could be an exact replica of her and she'd still stand out. Because she was the one Seiko in all existence that he...!

More tears dropped on the screen, and he had to close the flip phone and wipe his eyes dry.

At this moment, he realized the tragedy of contacting Seiko's other self. A version of her he could never have. A version of her that her Non-AU self could never be.

Wait. This was it.

This was what love was. True love.

And it hurt so much.

This aching feeling of longing for someone above anyone else, including himself, for someone so carelessly considerate as AU Seiko... his Seiko... couldn't be mistaken for anything else other than love.

This was the best possible birthday present he could get from her.

***

To Be Continued...

The birthday arc is done and over with. Now let's move on to other important arcs.

As a side note, the Mandela Effect meme existed way earlier in Tomoyuki's universe than in our universe (Seiko's universe).

Farewell, Abdiel

#keit-ai #finds a way #fictionpress.com #tomoyuki x seiko #keit愛 #akira kurosawa #ran #kagemusha #what is love?#baby don't hurt me

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gabriel-gabdiel · 4 years

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【Draft】Keit-AI! Tomoyuki x Seiko Chapter 19: The Birthday Gift

It’s Tomoyuki’s birthday. Which version of Seiko will give him his best present?