Birthday Stories R18 ( KiyoKei COTE )

oct 20 | 3rd year

Another fragment of memory to be dug up.

The first time he took a written test in the White Room, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka ranked 24th. Stumped by a certain math problem. Clueless on what formula to use. The instructors always gave them questions too advanced for their age. He worked backwards by substituting the variables with different numbers, each time trying and failing to make the equation work. Will doing this lead him to the answer? He didn't know. There was a part of him that wished for that to happen, and another part that realized it was impossible. 

Far from being disheartened, he was rather enjoying the process. There is an impatient thrill in trying to discover new things. Four pages of scribbled computations later, his tiny fingers grew numb. Still, he gripped his pencil and kept going. But just when he thought he was getting close, time ran out. The instructors collected their papers and he was forced to leave the question blank.

If he had more time, would he have gotten there?

He spits the water into the sink and rinses his toothbrush under the tap. Pointless to think about what-ifs. He was too young then, blind to the bigger picture. He's grown and learned since, and can now perfect any test no problem. He puts the toothbrush back onto the bathroom counter and does the same with his cup. Those are the only things on there now. Months ago it had a few more items on it: another brush with a different color and a matching cup, some bobby pins and sometimes a hair tie, maybe a forgotten comb or lip gloss. Without them the surface is wider. Colder. He wipes his mouth with a towel ang hangs it afterwards.

Laughter greets him when he steps out of the bathroom. These variety shows never appealed to him but he had gotten used to the sound of TV in the background whenever she stayed over. She loved watching TV. She would leave it on while doing other things. She'd be on the bed scrolling through her phone. Sometimes she'd watch until she falls asleep. Kiyotaka would turn it off as soon as she leaves, preferring silence to engulf the room.

The show cuts to commercial break, but he makes no move to switch channels or turn it off this time. He lets the noise accompany him as he gets changed. Even though she's not here.

"Will you be happy, Kiyotaka?"

He checks the time on his phone and dozens of birthday greetings written in dozens of different ways flood his inbox. Replying to each of them is a pain so he doesn't. To think that on his first birthday in this school there was only one person who acknowledged it. 

That person did not send him any message today. He expected at least a cake sticker if nothing else. He can't say he's surprised though.

Kiyotaka needs new experiences, and keeping their relationship will get in the way of his grand plans. Most importantly, Karuizawa Kei must learn to stand on her own.

"What you're asking is gonna hurt a lot but..."

He doesn't regret it, he learned a lot from Kei.

For example, he learned that conversations about trivial topics can be quite fun. He learned about princes rescuing princesses and about wolves being villains in children's tales; something in the way Kei retells stories made them more fascinating than the printed version.  He learned that taking a shower can be a delightful experience rather than a mere routine of keeping himself clean. That it can be more than cold water spraying over his head, washcloth scrubbing off oil and dirt from his skin. That instead it can be the soft body of a lover lathering soap on his back, slender fingers massaging his scalp with shampoo. That leaning against the cold tiles can't stop the heat from spreading throughout his body brought on by the warmth of another person's mouth.