XXXVI.

Kinomi.

Tora was looking constipated while she was driving back to her house. I remained quiet as well and just had my elbow propped on the window to rest a palm under my chin, looking at the night view from outside. When we stopped at a red light, she spoke.

"Kinomi, so tell me... are you still a virgin?" Tora suddenly asked, making me dart my head to her in surprise.

"Tora!" I spluttered. I didn't know whether to be amused, shocked, annoyed or all of the above. "What kind of question is that?"

"May I remind you, missy, that you're only fifteen." She deadpanned.

"Of course I'm still a virgin! One hundred percent!" My face heated up.

"Wrong! Your lips aren't a virgin anymore obviously."

"We didn't do anything more than... kissing." I winced at her. I can't believe that I'm having this talk with her right now.

"Oh, thank God." She leaned on her seat, putting a hand over her chest as she sighed in relief. "I thought that you beat me to it."

"Huh?" I squinted my eyes at her. "Is that why you've been so quiet?"

She frowned at me. "Hey! You having a boyfriend is already an insult to me. Why do you get to have a boyfriend at that age while I'm still single since the day I was born?" She crossed her arms then pouted like a child. There she goes again with her childish demeanor. "It's a good thing that I was the one who walked in on you and not your mother."

I shook my head as if she didn't have a hope in life, then ran a palm on my face. "It's not a competition, Tora. You shouldn't be in a rush."

"You can't blame me. Teenagers nowadays are always in a rush." She sneered, which made me arch an eyebrow in question.

"We're not like that." I countered, looking back at the road. "We're just... chill." I shrugged.

"By the way," She said, moving on to another topic. "I heard that you became a manager for the boys volleyball team in your school."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Oh nothing. I just thought that... you'll continue your volleyball career in there."

I scratched the back of my head, sighing deeply. "I still love volleyball, you know. I never stopped." I admitted, which made her glance at me with worry laced in her eyes. "But I want to be home as often as possible so that I can look after Mom." I shrugged. "How's the café by the way? Reina-san and Aoi?"

"They're doing fine. But the café? I've been having a bit of a struggle." She chuckled lowly, making me raise an eyebrow in question.

"What's happening?"

Tora only smiled at me, stopping the car because we have already arrived in her house. "Don't worry about it, Kinomi."

~*~

The High School Spring Tournament Qualifiers are over and thankfully, my team got through the first preliminaries. I got a text from Kei a few days ago that his team also won the preliminaries, giving me his usual skeptical responses about the state of the matches. He's also been training hard along with his brother's team.

By September, the teams from the series of away games gathered once again at Nekoma High School this time to train for the upcoming prefectural qualifiers in October. It will only last for three days before another trip is held again the next month.

"Here," I gave Tetsurou his water bottle and a towel when they had a break from training. He took the items from me and proceeded to sip on his water.

"So? What did you analyze today, Kinomi-chan?" He asked me.

I shrugged. "The usual. You guys just have to work on the gaps that Lev leaves behind. Also help him improve." I shot a glance at Lev who was laughing with his teammates, Tetsurou followed my gaze. "He still hasn't put his height to its full potential, both in blocking and spiking."

Tetsurou nodded, smirking. "I think the whole team already knows that by now."

"Lev apparently doesn't."

"We'll have his mentor work on that." He snickered, referring to Kenma-kun. I snorted in response. Poor Kenma-kun.

"Hey, Tsukki!" Bokuto-san's voice echoed from the other side of the gymnasium, making our attention snap to him. "Jump blocks for me! Hey, hey, hey!"

I looked at Kei by the ingress of the gymnasium, who had his trademark deadpanned expression on. By the way he told me that he has been training hard with all the help he's got, blocking for Bokuto-san would also be good practice and opportunity for him. So I just smiled in amusement when they were all flabbergasted when he accepted Bokuto-san's offer.

Just by watching from the other side of the court, I can notice that Kei has indeed changed a bit. He has been watching my brother very closely as he blocks, given the fact that blocking is Tetsurou's specialty. I left him alone most of the time so that he can focus more on his own. We only text and talk frequently just to get ahold of each other. That had gone on until the last days of the month. I learned from Kina-san that his birthday is on the 27th of September.

I wanted to do a little something for his birthday. So I excused myself from my manager duties just for a day so that I can get to Miyagi just before evening. I went to Tora's café to buy a whole box of strawberry shortcake, talked to my former co-workers for a bit before going straight to his house by 5:30 pm. And as expected, Kina-san is the only one home at the moment. Kei and Akiteru-san must have been still training together with his team while Akito-san is still at the hospital.

"Welcome home, Kinomi-chan." Kina-san greeted me with a warm smile, and she moved toward me to take the plain white box of cake from me so that I can take off my muffler.

I'm still a little embarrassed from our last encounter at Kei's room about a month ago, but I didn't dare bring it up again.

I gave her an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for the intrusion, Kina-san."

"Oh, don't apologize." She waved a dismissive hand. "I'm so happy you managed to fit Kei's birthday into your busy schedule. He didn't even care whether it's his birthday."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." I said, as I slipped off my shoes. I followed her to the kitchen.

"I know." She mused. "Because I can see how much you care for him."

"Thank you, Kina-san." I bowed my head, a blush creeping to my cheeks.

She chuckled in response, and I watched her slip the box cake into the fridge before she closed it and gone back to her task at hand, which was to cook dinner.

"Can I help, Kina-san?" I offered to which she gladly accepted.

"Of course you can, dear."

I nodded, then she opened a drawer to pull out a knife then gave it to me. I took a few vegetables then proceeded to cut them, Kina-san's soothing voice in the background.

"I know that Kei is really hard to deal with... most people may view him as sarcastic and a bit of an instigator. Always calm and all of his actions are calculated... he was always viewed as, what do you youths call it? Jerk face?"

I flinched at the label, chuckling lowly because that's what I always called him, but not in the way that she means. I only call him that because it kind of grew on me, just like how he always calls me Berry.

"But once you get past his stiff attitude, he's really a nice boy... much nicer than what people give him credit for. But he wouldn't be afraid to speak his mind or call you out especially if he deems it necessary. Like everyone else, he has hopes, dreams and fears. A lot of people don't see these things because he doesn't really outright show it. And I think it's just unfair to the little dinosaur loving baby who only does his best."

I nodded in agreement. If only everybody knows Kei like we do, then people would come to understand why he's like the way he is. But either way, I'm sure that Kei doesn't care what other people think about him.

Kei.

"I'm home." I muttered, Nii-chan said the same thing with a bright tone. The first thing I noticed was the unfamiliar school shoes on the floor. "Do you know who could be visiting us at this hour?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Nii-chan told me with furrowed eyebrows.

"How should I know?" I raised an eyebrow at him.

"It's your birthday, right?" He pointed out.

"I didn't even invite anyone."

Yamaguchi even wanted to come with me to 'celebrate' my birthday. But I insisted that there's no need because there wasn't even a celebration. We're just going to spend the day like usual, with a normal dinner and a simple present for me. I didn't even bother to tell Kinomi about it because I know that she'll squeeze this day into her busy schedule. Tokyo and Miyagi are just too far away from each other.

"Welcome home." Mom greeted us with a close-lipped smile. Her warm eyes directed to me. "Happy birthday, my baby."

"Ah, thanks, Mom..." I smiled a bit when she went up and hugged me.

"Do we have a visitor?" Nii-chan asked.

"Oh, yes, we do." Mom gave him a knowing look. "Would you like to help me with preparing dinner, dear?"

"Sure, Mom." Nii-chan agreed.

I just let them do their thing while I went to the kitchen to grab a glass of cold water to put moisture to my throat after a vigorous training. It's getting very taxing as the prefectural qualifiers are nearing. When I opened the refrigerator, the first thing I noticed is the familiar white box which looked very similar to the white boxes of cake that Kinomi usually brings for me. The clear part of the cake box showed me that it was indeed a strawberry shortcake, but the thing that caught my attention was the dedication written on the rectangular block of chocolate that was on the center of the cake.

Happy National Jerk's Day, Tsukki. ♡

It felt like my world stopped right there. Then with a wide-eyed gaze, I chanced a look at Mom and Nii-chan, who were watching me the whole time with smirks printed on their faces. I frowned at them, but I can't help but feel surprised yet at the same time flustered. So... she's here.

Without another second wasted, I walked upstairs to my room and saw her on my desk, asleep. I breathed out an exasperated sigh as I took a chair and placed it beside her so that I can take a look her.

This is only one of the few moments where I'd get to see her relaxed face. She's still in her black school uniform, which meant that she immediately took the train to Miyagi right after her class. She was holding a novel she took from my bookshelf, while she has earphones in her ears. She must have been really tired if she fell asleep in this position waiting for me.

But one thing that surprised me the most is that she started crying in her sleep.

"Kinomi," I gently shook her shoulder to wake her up. She groaned and slowly opened her eyes as if waking up from a long dream. Her teary eyes stared at me for a few moments before she sat upright.

"Oh, Kei... you're home..." She muttered in a groggy tone. She took off her earphones and placed it on the desk.

"Why are you crying?" I asked, as she swivelled the chair in front of me.

"Am I?" She rubbed her eyes to find her cheeks wet. "I don't know... I think I was having a terrible dream... but I can't remember it now." She sniffed. I stood up to grab a box of tissues before going back to hand it to her.

"Why are you here?"

She rubbed the back of her neck. "Sorry... I didn't mean to barge into your room—"

"No, I mean... why are you here in Miyagi?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Duh. It's your birthday. What else?"

"I didn't even tell you my birthday."

"Kina-san told me. You didn't tell me on purpose?" She slightly frowned at me, upset.

I sighed. "Because I knew you'd do this."

She also sighed, then looked at me straight in the eyes. "Kei, even if it's your funeral, if I really don't care about you, I wouldn't even bother coming."

I gave her a bland look. "I don't know if I should be amazed or insulted at your analogy."

She smirked. "You should feel honored, Saltyshima."

I rolled my eyes, but secretly cracked a smile right after. How she does and think of these things is always beyond me. How can she not mind travelling long periods of time, I wonder? Even if it's for me. And especially at an hour like this when she still has classes tomorrow. Even travelling for five straight hours on the bus is already very draining for me.

"Oh, and I almost forgot," She reached out a pink paper bag on the floor beside her school bag. She reached out the pink paper bag to me. "It's nothing much but when I saw it, I immediately thought of you."

I took out the average sized white box from the paper bag, my eyebrows furrowing in a quizzical manner. I glanced at Kinomi who only looked at me with wide-eyed anticipation for my reaction. I opened the box and there it revealed a lamp... a moon lamp to be specific.

At my speechless state, Kinomi thought of it as a sign that I didn't like it. So she blushed then played with the tips of her long hair.

"Happy birthday, Kei..." She muttered, making my gaze shift to her.

"Thanks."

"I-it's a moon lamp..."

"I know."

"It's too cliché, I know..."

"Not really. I thought that you're going to give me stuffs like a sweater like a typical girlfriend would."

"Nah. I don't know how to knit a sweater and it's too troublesome." She shook her head. "And this looks more cool. I even bought one for myself so that we're matching." She chuckled, to which I rolled my eyes on.

I checked every corner and turned the switch of the moon lamp on, and it let out a warm aesthetic glow that resembles the calming light of the moon. Kinomi also stared at it with a warm smile, also feeling the same.

"November 17, 1996." She suddenly said.

"What?"

"It's my birthday. I just wanted you to know because it's basic knowledge for couples." She chuckled. "I'm not expecting you to do the same for me."

"If you put it like that, it's like you're implying the opposite."

She snickered. "I'm serious. I think the same way you do about birthdays."

We had dinner, Mom cooked extra today because of the occasion. Mom even offered Kinomi stays here for the night because it was already late but she insisted that she has to go back to Tokyo because she still has classes the next day. I offered to walk her to the train station because it was already past ten in the evening.

She blew out a breath, watching in fascination as it came out as a white smoke. "It's so cold in here compared to the city." She rubbed her hands together for warmth.

"It's because you aren't wearing a coat. Stupid." I drawled, letting the last word hang for a moment.

She glared at me. "Why can't you be affectionate like a normal boyfriend? Oh, that's right, you're made of salt and salt and even more salt!"

I rolled my eyes. "Says the one who's also made of salt."

"Unlike you, I can be pretty sweet when I want to be."

I scoffed. "If I follow your logic, Berry, then I can also be sweet when I want to be."

"That sounds idiotic."

"Well, how else are you supposed to understand me?"

Her mouth gaped in shock, and I tried hard not to let out a smile which I failed miserably. She quickly composed herself by taking a deep breath and letting it all out. "Okay... since it's your birthday, I'll let you win just for tonight."

I smirked. "When did you ever win against me?"

She gestured a zipping motion on her mouth. "Nope. I'm not going to answer that! My lips are sealed!"

In no time, we were already at the train station. There are only a few people left, and I think this is the last train to depart. She's going to leave again, but what makes it feel okay for me is that she always comes back to me... like she promised.

"Well then, I'm off, Tsukki. I'll see you on the training camp next month." She waved a hand before she turned on her heels and proceeded to walk away.

But I also went and stopped her... by grabbing her by the wrist and sealed her in a tight embrace.

"K-kei! There are people watching!" She was embarrassed, but she didn't even move to push me away. The people around us are the least of my concerns right now.

"Thank you, Kinomi." I whispered, hugging her tightly, my chin resting on the top of her head moving to plant a soft kiss on her forehead.

She looked up to meet my gaze, her cheeks flushed and lips formed a slight pout, making it very tempting to kiss. "You know it's nothing, Tsukki..."

"It means everything to me."

"Really?"

I nodded once, giving her a small smile. She stretched herself to give me a small peck on the cheek, smiling brightly. How she manage to hide this bright smile for so long is always beyond me.

"Go now. You might miss your train. Text me when you get home." I pulled away from her. She nodded, that same smile still intact. She gave me a wave before she ran away to the station, my eyes still focused on the way she went even if I could no longer see her.

When I arrived back home, I stared at the moon lamp she had given me, even leaving it on for a moment to see it glow dimly in the dark. She also owns one of this, and it left me with the reassurance that even if we're always apart, we're still under the same moon.

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Sorry for the late update. I already finished this chapter a few days ago but then I had to rewrite it because I changed the course of the story. I was about to dump yʼall some memes I found on Facebook but then wattpad had to malfunction //flips table. Iʼll do it in the next chapter tho.

Thank you for reading!! -- Lyn