PERFECTLY IMPERFECT

Perfectly Imperfect [Part 1]

CHAPTER ONE.

"Happy Birthday Makoto!" Aoi Asahina cried as she jumped in view coming from the dark blue curtain that covered the window which was right next to Makoto Naegi's desk in the vast ocean of cubicles, at the 4th floor of the Future Foundation office. Makoto was yawning walking towards his desk but before he could reach his desk, he sprung around quickly as he was more scared than surprised. Aoi stood there with a huge grin on her face holding a small circle cake with white icing and a strawberry in shape of a flower design on top. Right behind her, he saw Kyoko Kirigi who was also smiling, in her hands were a couple of red polka-dotted balloons and Byakuya Togami, with his arms crossed, who was not making eye contact but Makoto knew that he'd rather be anywhere but here. Makoto returned their smiles "Thank you guys!" Kyoko walked closer to him and gave him a hug "We scared you, didn't we?" she asked as she released him from her hug. Makoto wasn't surprised that Kyoko knew that. After their killing school life and all the experience she'd had doing detective work, there was no use hiding anything from her since she could almost smell everything, even if it was a mile or more away from her, not that Makoto had anything to hide anyway. Before they even began dating, Kyoko already knew everything about him. "Just a little, but I'm happy! Thanks for the surprise guys!" Makoto replied. Aoi stepped closer to Makoto and brought the cake closer to his face. It was then that Makoto noticed there was a piece of small candle on top. Aoi blinked twice before she noticed the candle wasn't lighted. She turned and looked at Byakuya who was just standing there not moving. "Hey Byakuya! Light this candle already! So Makoto can make his wish!" she cried. Byakuya just arched a brow "Excuse me, I was not the one who was supposed to bring a lighter" he replied looking at her, his expression tense, almost annoyed. "What!?" Aoi shrieked. "I believe it was Hiro that was supposed to bring a lighter, Hina" Kyoko said. Aoi's eyes widened then her expression went from surprised to annoyed. "Where is that idiot!?" she screamed, her voice echoing across the room. The office was still bare as it was an hour before work started. Aoi and the rest had planned the night before to surprise Makoto on his birthday, and decided to come in early, as Makoto always arrived an hour before he needed to clock in. "He's late, as per usual" Byakuya said. Makoto could see Aoi shaking a little. "Hina are you okay?" he asked. Aoi shook her head "No! I'm not okay! I planned all of this perfectly last night, and that idiot messed this up!" Byakuya snorted "Why are you still surprised?" Kyoko walked up next to Aoi and placed a hand on her shoulder "It's okay Hina, Makoto can just blow the candle later" she reassured. Before Aoi could reply, they heard footsteps, of someone who seemed was running, along the hall. They turned as Yasuhiro Hagakure arrived, out of breath, at the doorway towards the cubicles. "H-happy B-birthday Ma-makoto!" he cried gasping for air. He stood there at the door frame and clenched his chest. "I'm s-sorry I'm late! H-here, let me light the-" Hiro cried reaching into his pocket ignoring any of the stares that his friends gave him. He started to run again towards them but was not able to notice the floor tile was loose. Suddenly, he felt his body tip forward, and in slow motion he could see that Aoi and Makoto was directly in front of him. He wanted to scream for them to get away but it was too late. He tried to grab for anything to steady himself, but ended up grabbing Aoi's blazer making her tip the cake unto Makoto's face, shirt and floor. Hiro fell to the floor and when he looked up, he could see Aoi standing there frozen looking at Makoto, whose face was covered with white icing, as well as his uniform. "I am so sorry Makoto, let me help you clean up!" Aoi frantically grabbed tissues from his desk and aggressively wiped his face. "It's okay Hina" Makoto said between the harsh wipes that Aoi was giving his face. He in turn took tissues and helped himself to clean up. Aoi suddenly looked at Hiro who was still on the floor. "You!"she screamed pointing at him. Her face red, full of rage. Hiro sat up and brought his arms towards his face, as if shielding from an attack. "I'm s-sorry!" he cried, his voice shaking. Aoi started to dash to him but Kyoko stepped in front of her. "Calm down, Hina" Kyoko said. "I am calm!" Aoi screamed. Makoto just scratched his head once he was able to get the icing off his face and his shirt, although there was still obvious stains on his uniform. He knew that Aoi and Hiro never seem to see eye to eye, but somehow, through the years, it's gotten worse. Kyoko sighed "Let's just get along today okay? It's Makoto's birthday" she said calm as ever. Hiro nodded his head, while Aoi continued to give him a death stare. "Really, it's okay Hina, I appreciate the cake so much." Makoto said looking at the ruined cake on the floor. "It's not okay Makoto! This idiot has been ruining birthdays ever since!" Aoi screamed, her voice shaking but then turned sullen "Now you won't be able to eat your cake, or make a wish" she bowed her head. Makoto smiled meekly "It's okay, I don't really need to wish for anything. I already have you guys with me." Kyoko looked at him and smiled. Makoto was being as sweet as ever. The entire reason why she fell in love with him. Hiro smiled too scratching his head. "That's too sweet bro, and I'm sorry again"he said as he stood up. "I promise I'll make it up to you!" he told Makoto grabbing both his shoulders. Byakuya grunted "Are we done here? There are papers I need fill, if this is finished, then I'm leaving." "Uh, yes, I guess we're done here" Makoto replied. Byakuya grunted and gave a nod towards Makoto, which Makoto knew, was his way of showing "emotions", to which Makoto gathered must meant as a birthday greeting. Byakuya started to walk away and out of the room. "I guess I have to go to, an early start is a great way to meet the deadlines" Kyoko spoke and looked at Makoto "I'll see you at lunch" she gave Makoto a peck on the cheek and started to walk away. Aoi just stood there silently still looking sullen. "I'm really sorry about this Makoto, it was a fail" she said exasperated. Makoto shook his head "No, it was perfect Hina, don't worry about it" he said meekly. "Geez! I said I'm sorry Hina, this is a one time thing, I swear" Hiro spoke. Aoi quickly turned to look at him "Are you kidding me? What about Kyoko's and Byakuya's birthday surprises last year? You also messed them up!"she shrieked. Hiro placed his hands on his waist "How many times do I have to tell you, during Byakuya's surprise, the stars weren't aligned for me that's why I needed to wake up late, and during Kyoko's surprise, my spirit animal was not in tune with my horoscope" he told her. Aoi snorted "Oh, and what's your excuse this time? Your alarm clock is not the right color or some other stupid reason?" Aoi said crossing her arms. "I just, yeah, that's it" Hiro scratched his head. "Whatever" Aoi spoke and turned towards Makoto. "I'll see you later Makoto" she said as she started to walk away not failing to give Hiro another death stare. As soon as she was out of sight, Hiro looked at Makoto "Women huh? They are fucking scary"Makoto didn't know just how to react. He must admit, Hiro really isn't a responsible person, but he can also admit Aoi was being a bit too much. "You really need to keep your promises Hiro, that's how you gain trust from people" he said. "Keep my promises huh? Well, I promised I'll make up for being late today, so I'll think of a way to make it up to you guys, I'm not going to do any work today, I'm going to brainstorm" Hiro said then laughed, quite proud of his confidence. "Okay Hiro" Makoto smiled. He decided to just humor Hiro since it's sometimes hard to talk to him, and to also end the conversation, since he himself needed to start work. "See you later man"Hiro said then finally walked away. Makoto looked at him then was suddenly reminded of the cake on the floor. "Guess I'll clean this up then" he sighed.