A Rue in the Night

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"Happy birthday‚ Tsuruko!!!" The Super Peace Busters cheered‚ beaming at their friend who was baffled by their actions.

"....Eh...?" The girl questioned on seeing her hospital room decorated with ribbons and balloons.

She had been called out by a nurse for some analysis but she certainly did not expect that on returning of her room ‚she would have been greeted as such.

"What?Pff d-don't tell me you forgot y-your own birthday‚ Tsuruko?"Anaru said in between her laugh.

"I-I was just too busy to remember it!" The bespectacled girl said defiantly as she settled down on her bed.

The others who surrounded Tsuruko‚ gave the latter‚ looks that read 'Sureee~ We all believe you~"

"Ugh... I am just surprised! I never thought that you would do such a thing for me..."

After all‚ back at home‚ Tsuruko's birthday was never really celebrated. Her parents who were always busy with work‚ would have already left when she woke up so the last few years‚ she had been wished first by a lonely round cake bought by her mother and other wrapped gifts from both of her parents that sat on the dining table sadly...

As for her big brother‚ he would always send her a package and call whenever he was free on that particular day as he was studying abroad. His schedule was pretty much crammed but he always made an effort to know how she was fairing on her birthday.

At school‚ only Yukiatsu wished her and at times he even went as far as treating her to pastries after school.

When she returned home‚ she was met by emptiness‚ something common to her since he parents were late-workers... She'd heat up the frozen dinner left by her mother and eat a slice of her cake‚ wishing herself happy birthday. Then she'd do her usual routine of freshening up‚ doing her homework and studying till late and finally going to sleep.

Tsuruko's heart clenched at the yearly memory...To her that was how normally her birthday was celebrated so she felt moved by her friends effort to make that day memorable.

Suddenly she felt a hand patting the top of her head. She looked up to see who it was and was met by the caring eyes of Jintan who smiling gently at her and Anaru at his side‚ giving her an ever so slightly envious look.

Poppo stepped in the little moment and held something up to Tsuruko's face. It was a pretty vanilla cake decorated with artificial but edible flowers of different colours and in the middle of the whitish cake was written 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY TSURUKO'. And all around were blue lighted candles.

As the flame wavered in front of Tsuruko's eyes‚ she felt a wave of nostalgia wash over her. If only Menma had been here too‚ then this moment would have been perfect. But it wasn't only Menma's presence that was lacking. Someone else had been missing throughout the day and it was the one she was yearning to see the most.

Yukiatsu

Why was here not here? Had anything important come up? If not then she had no other explanation for his absence.

If it was the her 2 years before‚ she would've easily guessed Yukiatsu's reason for not attending her birthday sorta-ish party prepared by her dearest friends. But the current her didn't understand a single thing about him. She was clueless as to why he had been 'avoiding' her ever since she had awaken from her comatose state...

When she had at first opened her eyelids‚ she had seen a very anxious looking Yukiatsu sleeping at her bedside‚ his eyebrows furrowed‚ looking worried. His right hand was clasping her left one tightly and their fingers were intertwined perfectly.

Petals {YukiTsuru}Where stories live. Discover now