(Stand tall beneath the banner of my Kei!)
(A quick reminder up front: this is a special.)
It was snowing...
Before I knew it, December had arrived, heralding the end of another year. With its biting winds, it came roaring toward us.
Christmas Eve and Christmas Day both fell on the weekend. For the past sixteen years, I'd spent every holiday alone.
But this year was the beginning of an exception:
Because
I'd fallen in love.
She was a sweet girl, but a little stubborn. I'd thought she'd be tsundere about confessing her feelings for a long time, too.
There she was, holding a cup of steaming milk tea, the golden glow of the setting sun reflected in her hair.
No, it was more like the glow itself shone brighter because of her.
Karuizawa Kei.
"Seisuke."
"I like you."
"Let's go out."
Her sudden, direct attack left me at a loss.
I even wondered if I'd been distracted and heard her wrong, or if I'd just imagined it. Kei got embarrassed—even tsundere—over the slightest accidental brush of fingers.
But whether or not she'd seen through my thoughts, when I didn't say anything, Kei surprised me by boldly taking my hand.
Her small hand was cool and soft, almost boneless, and she held mine tight.
Startled, I turned to look at her and caught a glimpse of her flushed face.
Even so, her cheeks still red, she looked me in the eye and repeated herself, utterly serious.
I understood how much courage it took for a girl to say those words.
I knew her better than anyone else did, aside from Kei herself. That was why I understood all the more how much those words meant.
Even though Kei had been given a new lease on life, there were still many things she couldn't be so honest about.
Let alone something like this. In the past, no matter how ambiguous things between us got, Kei had never said a word about breaking through that thin barrier between us.
"I understand."
I could feel her little hand trembling in mine.
I opened my arms and held the girl in front of me.
"I like you too, Kei."
At that moment, all I could see in my mind was a picture of us embracing.
This was the beginning. I would spend my whole life writing this story called "love."
"We learned a line of poetry in foreign language class today."
"If our love is to last, what matter the hours and days?"
Kei stayed nestled against my shoulder as she spoke softly.
"Yeah. If it's true love, then no matter how long it takes, it'll come to fruition in the end. I think that makes a lot of sense."
"But whether it's high school or life itself, it all feels far too short."
"I'm afraid I'll blink and high school will be over. I don't want to quietly protect my love like Secretary Tachibana."
"If you don't even have the courage to express yourself somehow, then calling it love has things backwards, doesn't it?"
"I'm afraid my life is too short. I don't want to hesitate anymore. If I'm with you, I feel like no matter how much time we have, it still won't be enough."
The girl called Karuizawa Kei
was as pure as a blank sheet of paper that had never been painted on.
Like the snowflakes drifting down around us, she was spotless and flawless.
I wanted to use the brush of love to add a touch of color to that pristine sheet.
Christmas, also known as White Day, was probably the kind of day when couples went on dates and shared their feelings.
Back then, I'd never imagined that I'd one day get to live that kind of life.
Or perhaps I simply hadn't realized that day would come so soon.
I'd never even celebrated a holiday before, and suddenly I was faced with the challenge of spending one with my girlfriend.
But if I was with Kei, I felt no pressure at all.
The first floor of the dorm was already covered in Christmas decorations, with a lush Christmas tree right in the middle.
Until now, I'd only seen such beautifully decorated holiday scenes in books at the White House.
Kei and I had arranged to meet at the entrance. I stood quietly, gazing out at the snowy world beyond the door.
Suddenly, a pair of mischievous hands wrapped around my neck.
She pressed her whole body against my back, and the softness against me made it hard to keep my mind on anything else.
"Seisuke, you've been waiting here for a long time, haven't you? I told you to wait upstairs."
I turned my head slightly. She gave me a look that said, "Honestly."
"Even your ears are red from the cold."
As she spoke, she blew gently against my ear.
It was featherlight, yet somehow seemed to carry a kind of magic.
She was only blowing on my ear, but my heart started racing all the same.
Kei seemed to remember something and started rummaging through her bag.
"Bingo!"
She pulled out a pair of bunny-ear earmuffs, then rose on tiptoe and put them on my head.
Did every girl carry all kinds of strange things in her bag? Besides, these were hardly something you'd bring along on a date.
"You gave these to me before, didn't you?"
I felt the fluffy material and happened to notice Kei giggling to herself.
"You look so cute like this, Seisuke!"
Kei reached up and touched the bunny ears on my head.
"What? You can't call a guy cute."
"But..."
"Hm?"
Kei leaned toward me, curious.
"But what?"
I smiled and pinched her adorable little cheek.
"In my heart, Karuizawa Kei is the cutest person in the universe!"
"What? There's no such thing as the universe's... the universe's cutest person."
"That kind of corny line won't work on me."
"Hmph."
She hugged her arms around herself cutely and turned her gaze away, pretending not to care.
Even as she said it, her pretty face grew redder and redder.
"You're as bad at being honest as ever."
"W-who's bad at being honest?"
Watching Kei's eyes dart everywhere, I couldn't help smiling.