Amane returned home, and Mahiru welcomed him, as usual.
The difference was that she was smiling, her eyes excited, and her smile a lot calmer and gentler. Her slightly blushing cheeks showed her joy.
"Welcome back, Amane-kun."
"I'm back. You're in a good mood."
Mahiru's good mood was really worth celebrating, but Amane had no idea as to why she was so happy. Usually, she would welcome him with a beaming smile, but he had never
He did not know the reason, and naturally, was troubled. One had to wonder if she noticed his troubled thoughts, for her smile intensified.
"...Looks like you never noticed anything the entire day, Amane-kun."
"Notice what?"
"I am speechless that you never noticed what day it is today...it is your birthday today, Amane-kun?"
Mahiru said, looking a little flabbergasted,ah, and Amane blurted out.
"Goodness, Amane-kun...happy birthday, Amane-kun."
"...I forgot about it. I didn't really pay attention to myself."
It would be weird to say that he recalled once Mahiru said so, but he had completely forgotten about it, and never realized so.
Mahiru did not know his birthday the previous year, and over the past few weeks, Amane had used a lot of brainpower getting used to this unfamiliar workplace, sparing the rest of his efforts on daily muscle training, jogging, and revision. He had completely forgotten about his birthday.
In any case, to Amane, his birthday was a milestone, but he was oblivious to it, and did not have any plans to celebrate it. It might be a reason why he forgot.
His parents would celebrate this for him back home, but ever since he lived alone, he never thought about it, until this point.
"It is not insignificant, you know? I am grateful for the day you are born. Without you, I can never really trust and love a single person."
Mahiru grimaced at Amane's forgetfulness, and she gently raised his hand.
"Ah so that's how it is..."
Both Itsuki and Chitose knew of his birthday, and they were the type to celebrate a friend's birthday. Thus, since they never spoke up, it became a big reason as to why Amane forgot about his own birthday."
They did not say anything so as to go along with Mahiru's plans, and Itsuki's invite after school was probably to delay Amane.
Those guys,so he muttered, but he knew how gentle his voice sounded at this point.
He was at a loss on how to deal with the apologetic Mahiru, so he gently tapped her head while she looked down.
"Hm, to be honest, I don't really mind about date, location, or whether I was though. I already forgot everything about it. It's not that we have to celebrate, today, right? Those guys are being caring for our sake."
"But."
"I'm not really sure, but they probably think that you planning this birthday celebration will be the biggest happiness I can get, so they teamed up to hide this from me."
The assistance to Mahiru this time was their way of celebrating Amane's birthday.
Even if he did not receive their blessings on that day, he did not mind. He already understood that they sent their best wishes towards him.
"I know I'm really fortunate to have such caring friends around me, and it's really a blessing. We don't have to celebrate immediately. I don't gauge our friendship based on whether they looked for me."
The manner of celebration differed per person. If this was how they would celebrate, Amane felt that was fine.
He felt there were no words or things to reliably gauge a person, and the relationships formed were not that shallow. Their goodwill was more than enough
Mahiru looked a little devastated however. Amane showed a wry smile as he gently patted her head, and peered at her face.
"And it looks like I'll be surrounded tomorrow...you have me to yourself today, so when they ask tomorrow, I got something to brag, okay?"
"...Yes."
Amane joked with a chuckle, and it seemed Mahiru did not expect so, for she too smiled, and put her face into Amane's chest.
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