Original Published Date: 2017
Edited Date: February 19, 2018
Music: SCANDAL - Mado wo Aketara (from their 8th album, HONEY)
December 24, 2016 - Morning
Hinako was preparing breakfast for her, for her grandmother, and for her grandfather. The climate in Karakura city was cold but the sun was up and shining. The cool, calm air was perfect for today's Christmas eve. Not too long, the doorbell sounded.
"I will get it, Hinako-chan," her grandmother said.
"Oh," Hinako turns around from the kitchen counter to look at her grandmother. "my apologies, grandmother, my hands are kind of full."
"No worries, dear," she chuckles a bit before heading to the front door.
Hinako was making the onigiri while multi-tasking in making some soup and tea for breakfast.
"HINAKO-NEE!"
Hinako almost dropped the onigiri she was shaping in her hands when she heard a startling shout yet the voice was familiar to her ears.
'H-Huh? That sounded like Dio just a moment ago,' Hinako thought, an anime sweat-drop forming on her head.
"Hinako-chan," her grandmother called out from the front. "you have visitors!"
"Hinako-nee, are you here?" The familiar voice called out again.
Hinako stops shaping the onigiris. 'T-That was definitely Dio-kun's voice.'
"Hey, mongrel! You better come out!" Another voice said, very familiar.
An irk mark suddenly pops out from Hinako's cheek. She places the onigiri on a wooden board and hurriedly ran towards the open doorway from the dining room to the hallway. She shows herself from the side and and held the doorway tightly with her left hand.
"Y-You're still calling me a 'mongrel'?!" Hinako was flabbergasted but she stops her furious rage when she met eye-to-eye with two people who were close to her heart. "D-Dio-kun? Senpai?"
"Hinako-nee!" Dio hurriedly rushes over to Hinako and tackles her into an embrace. This triggers a hint of jealousy inside Gil, his face was blushing.
"Hey, Dio! Don't just hug her all of a sudden!" Gil said, walking towards the two and hits Dio's head lightly with his fist.
Dio lets go of Hinako and held his head. "Seriously, big brother, you're gonna split my head into two!"
"That's because you just suddenly hugged Suzuhana and now you have her all startled!" Gil was blushing furiously.
"Oh?" Dio smirks under his smile. "Maybe you're just saying that because you want to hug her, too, right?"
The brown-headed woman froze in her spot at the thought of being hugged by her senior. Gil, on the other hand, saw Hinako's frozen expression and his blush intensifies.
"I-I-It's nothing like that, you mongrel! Don't go and think of such stuff!"
"E-Eh?!" Hinako snaps. "I-I won't even dare thinking of such things! Why would I?! Also, I'm not a mongrel, senpai!"
"Yes, you are!" Gil takes Hinako's cheeks and pinches them.
"No! Senpai, stop it! That hurts!" Hinako said as she continuously slaps Gil's hands as it pinches her cheeks even more.
Hinako's grandfather comes up from another hallway that was near the front door. He looks at Hinako and the newly-arrived ones as he walks up to his wife.
"Dear, who are they?" asks the old man while stroking his gray beard.
Hinako's grandmother smiles at the three. "They're Hinako-chan's friends, dear."
Hinako, her grandmother, her grandfather, Gil, and Dio were all seated at the rectangular table inside the dining room. Hinako's grandmother and grandfather were eating quietly and so was Dio. Hinako and Gil, on the other hand, also ate quietly but there was a rather awkward aura around them. After all, Hinako didn't expect to see Gil and Dio in Karakura, in her grandparents' house nonetheless. She was surprised, really surprised.
'W-Why are they here? D-Douji-senpai is here!' Hinako thought. She's not really mentally prepared to face her senior again. They still have this awkward aura around them. 'Oh, why? I can't even talk to him properly.'
"So," Hinako's grandfather starts. "you two are?"
"Oh, my apologies, sir," Gil replies. "I am sorry if we suddenly intruded your home. My name is Douji Gil, Hinako's senior at Homurahara Gakuen. The person to my right is my brother, Douji Dio."
"Hinako-chan's upperclassman, eh?" Hinako's grandmother was a little surprised, placing a hand over her cheek. "By any chance, are you the vice president of the student council?"
Gil blinks rapidly, thinking on how she knew that he is the vice president of the student council. "Y-Yes, I am. How did you know that I am the vice president? I haven't told you about my..."
As Hinako's grandmother's smile widens, Gil comes to realize on how she knew about that information. Slowly, he looks at the underclassman beside him. "You've been talking about me?"
Hinako was drinking some tea until she almost choked on it. She lets out a few coughs and wipes the edge of her lips. "They were asking me about my high school life. So, it's only natural for me to mention you, senpai."
"Yes, that was the story," Hinako's grandmother laughs a little. "She told me how the two of you quarreled like day and night. She said that you were the worst upperclassman that she could ever have."
Gil grabs Hinako's head. "You said what now?" The desire to crush her head was strong.
"I-It hurts!" Hinako grabs Gil's wrist. "Take it off, senpai!"
"But," her grandmother cuts in. "she said that after a while, her opinion of you changed."
Hinako suddenly starts blushing. "G-Grandmother! D-Don't talk about that, please! It's embarra- Ouch!"
Gil tightens his grip around Hinako's head. "Please continue."
"Is this how you treat my granddaughter at school? If so, I cannot tolerate that," Hinako's grandfather cuts in, raising an eyebrow.
Gil realizes that his actions in school towards Hinako is quite active even when he is in her grandparents' house. He retreats the hand that was holding Hinako's head and bows in apology.
"I'm sorry. I behaved incorrectly in front of you."
"N-No, it's okay, senpai!" Hinako said. "That didn't hurt at all!"
"You're going to tolerate that, Hinako?" Hinako's grandfather's tone was extremely scary.
"It's not like that at all, grandfather!" Hinako was having a hard time explaining her side.
December 24, 2016 - Late Afternoon
Gil was resting in one of the guest rooms of Hinako's grandparents' house. While he was fixing his stuff in the room, he heard a knock.
"Douji-senpai?"
"Yes? Just a moment."
Gil drops whatever he was doing and walks up to the door. He slides it open and was greeted by his brown-headed underclassman. When he met the eyes of Hinako, he slightly blushes.
"U-Uh, what can I do for you?" He looks away.
Hinako realizes that her senior was embarrassed and this got her embarrassed too. She looks down on the floor and her right foot fidgets a little.
"W-Well, there is a small festival at the shrine that's not too far from here. I was wondering i-if you and Dio-kun would like to come?"
"Oh, a festival?" Gil gathers up his courage and looks at Hinako. When he saw how embarrassed she was, he can't help but smile. "Sure, Dio and I would love to come."
"Ah," she immediately looks at Gil with a smile on her face. "that's good to hear, senpai!"
Then again, when their eyes met, they got embarrassed and looked away from one another. The silence was quite awkward - neither of them are talking or opening up a topic. They have been this way ever since that confession two months ago. It truly was a long time before they tried to talk so casually like this.
"Suzuhana?" Gil starts.
"Y-Yes, senpai?"
"I want to ask you about something."
"W-What is it, senpai?"
"Suzuhana," Gil suddenly holds Hinako's left hand with his right hand. This caught the brown-headed girl's attention and made her look at her senior again. "it's about...us."
Hinako's blush intensifies upon hearing the word "us". She doesn't know what to say nor what to do for this is the first time she's ever been in such a situation. To love and to be loved back was something that she wanted for a long time after losing the love she knows back when she was still a middle school girl. For her, Gil was everything she has dreamed of, everything that she needed in her life.
"A-About...us?"
"Yes," Gil's grip tightens. "We've been this way for two months already and honestly, I don't want this to get in the way of what we have right now."
Hinako frowns and looks at the floor. "I know. Even though I don't want it to be this way, I just can't help myself. It's because," she looks up slowly and looks at Gil with full concentration in her eyes. "this is too good to be a reality for me."
"What do you mean?" He takes Hinako's other hand and held it with the same strength and affection as he did with the other one.
"That I," Hinako's blush intensifies. "That I would be loved by someone like this."
Gil's cheeks were painted a soft pink blush, looking away from Hinako and hiding his slowly reddening face.
"Hey, big brother! There's-"
Dio suddenly comes up from the end of the hallway, looking for his big brother. He suddenly stops walking when he saw him with Hinako, their hands being held together. Dio grins, a wide smile on his face.
"I'm sorry if I was disturbing you two!" Dio slowly disappears into the hallway. But before he could leave, he looks at the two one last time and added, "I don't want to interrupt such a precious moment," then he left completely.
After that awkward situation, Gil and Hinako suddenly realizes that they're holding hands and that they were having an intimate conversation. The two of them immediately lets go of each other's hand, turning around with their backs facing the other.
"A-A-Anyway, I'll leave you to tell Dio about the festival," Hinako stutters. "I-I'll go and get ready, all right?"
"Y-Yeah, sure. I'll make sure to tell Dio about it."
"T-Thanks."
Hinako mechanically walks away from Gil and Dio's room and went inside her room, which was two doors away from theirs. She immediately shuts the shoji door of her room, trying to stop herself from blushing intensely.
'This is really too good of a reality for me!' Hinako thought.
December 24, 2016 - Evening
Hinako, Gil, and Dio were at the Christmas Eve festival in Karakura city's shrine not too far from Hinako's grandparents' house. There were a lot of people. Many food and game stalls lined up the stone walkway of the shrine. It was just like the summer festival in Fuyuki city.
"So, this is Karakura city's festival, huh?" Gil wonders.
"The shrine here isn't as big as the one in Fuyuki city but it's still lively, right?" Hinako asks.
"Yes, it is."
"Anyway," Dio runs off ahead. He stops a few feet and turns around to look at his big brother and Hinako. "I'll be going on ahead and take a look at a few shops. You two should enjoy your time together!"
"B-But Dio-kun, we were supposed to go together - the three of us," Hinako retorts.
"It's all right, Hinako-nee!" Dio grins. "I'll come back when we're going to eat. For the meantime, enjoy your lovey-dovey time together!" He dashes off.
"Lovey- what?!" Gil was a bit irritated. "That Dio..."
Hinako and Gil were left together and the awkward atmosphere suddenly rises. But, for Gil, he won't let it happen again. This 'something' that they have has to press forward.
"So," Gil starts. "shall we go around and take a look?"
"O-Oh!" Hinako looks up at Gil and smiles. "Sure, I would love to!"
"All right," Gil looks around and points at a game stall not too far from where they are. "do you want to take a look at that?"
Hinako traces to where her senior was pointing and saw a medium-size stuffed panda hanging on the stall. Her cheeks suddenly blush a bright pink, feeling warm and at awe as she saw the cute item. "T-That's a, uh, cute panda."
"Oh?" Gil studies his underclassman's expression for a while: wide, sparkling eyes, pink face, and two hands that gave off a motion that it desperately wants to touch the stuffed toy. Upon realizing that he saw a new side to Hinako, it made Gil release a small chuckle.
"Huh, what's so funny, senpai?" Hinako asks as she raises an eyebrow.
"It's nothing," Gil replies, placing a hand over Hinako's head. "I didn't know you like cute stuff. You didn't strike me as the type who'd have a thing for those."
"W-Well," Hinako looks down on the ground, hiding her glowing blush. "I really like them...ever since I was little."
Seeing his underclassman get embarrassed about something for the first time made Gil blush, as well. He was trying his best to contain the warm and fluffy feeling that was erupting within his heart. However, it was such a feeling that he has missed and that he has wanted to feel more often.
"Say," Gil lifts his hand from Hinako's head and transfers it to hold her hand, earning the brown-headed woman's surprised expression. "why don't I get that for you?"
"S-Senpai, y-your hand is, uh," Hinako was stuttering, pointing at their intertwined fingers. "A-Are you sure it's all right to, you know?"
"What, this?" He brings up their laced hands. "We've done this before, didn't we? Don't tell me you're getting embarrassed right now?"
"I-I know we did this before!" Hinako looks away, bringing up her free hand up to her face. "But this time, it's...it's different, senpai."
"Ah," he realizes how insensitive he was. "I'm sorry, Suzuhana. I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"I-It's all right," Hinako brings down her hands and slowly looks up at Gil with a smile. "I... I can get used to it," she tightens her grip on her senior's hand.
"All right," Gil brings their hands down but never lets go of his underclassman's hand. "Let's go."
"Okay," and off they went to enjoy the Christmas Eve festival.
Two hours before midnight struck, Hinako, Gil, and Dio went home. The little Douji got tired and now, he is being carried by his big brother on his back, sleeping soundly. Hinako, on the other hand, was carrying a medium-sized stuff panda, in which Gil won in a shooting game and gave it to her.
Hinako giggles under her breath while looking at Dio. "He sure is sleeping comfortably on your back, senpai."
"Yeah, I just hope he doesn't drool all over my back," Gil replies with a slightly irritated voice at the thought of his little brother spilling drool on his clothes.
"He won't," Hinako, then, squeezes the stuffed panda tightly. "It's so soft..."
Gil eyes at Hinako and looks at her happy expression while embracing the stuffed panda. He can't help but smile, too, seeing the person he loves.
Someone he loves...
Now that Gil thinks about it, the two of them have already confessed their love to one another. But, even so, nothing much is happening after that night, aside from them holding hands earlier. Is this what Gil wanted after expressing his feelings towards the person he cares the most? Or maybe it's because of the awkwardness between them over the past months that it was quite hard for him to open up more? Whatever the reason is, he can't bear to be stuck in the rut any longer.
Back at home, Gil slowly lies Dio onto his futon and leaves the room after he did so. He and Hinako went by the outer corridor of the house and sat on the cold, wooden floor. The two of them are having a cup of warm tea together.
"It's quite cold tonight but there's warm tea to make our bodies warm," Hinako said after taking a big sip of her tea. "It truly is refreshing."
"Yeah," Gil looks down on his cup with a smile. "It really does make you warm."
Then, a moment of silence ensues.
The gentle breeze of the wind passes by and brushes Hinako and Gil's cheeks. It was quite cold - cold enough for the wind to touch the skin beneath their clothes.
"Suzuhana, can we continue our conversation from before?"
"From before?" Hinako turns her head to look at her senior.
"Yes," Gil looks at Hinako back. "the one before Dio interrupted us."
"O-Oh..." Her eyes soften. "Is it about...us?"
Gil didn't say anything and he just nods.
"I see," Hinako slowly looks down. "I... I'm sorry if I was avoiding you for a long time...over these past two months, senpai. I just...don't know how to react, that's all."
"Then," Gil lifts his right hand from his tea cup and places it on the hands of Hinako that held her tea cup. "is it all right if we could start again? This time, there will be no more awkwardness between us. I want you to talk to me normally, the way we talk every day before that night."
Hinako's blush intensifies. She doesn't know how to respond to Gil's sudden declaration of 'starting over again'.
"S-Senpai..."
"It's really strange," his grip tightens a bit. "I never felt this this warmth inside of me before, not even when I was with...her."
Hinako was confused as to why Gil just didn't mention Asura's name but maybe he has a good reason for it and she just let him be. After all, Gil is quite serious right now.
"Senpai," Hinako releases one of her hands from the tea cup and held Gil's. She slowly intertwines her fingers with his. "about your idea of starting over... I think I like that plan."
"Suzu...hana..." He was surprised.
"Senpai," she smiles her biggest smile. "let's start over again, all right? This time, we'll make it right."
And as if in that moment, the world just stopped. Everything just stopped and in that world, there were only two people in it: Hinako Suzuhana and Gil Douji.
For the first time in their lives, something really is happening between the two of them.
"Thank you, Suzuhana," Gil replies. Then, he switches his hand, from holding Hinako's hand to placing it on her opposite shoulder. Slowly, he pulls the brown-headed woman towards him for an embrace, to which Hinako was surprised. "Is it all right if I ask a favor of you?"
Hinako blushes a deep red as she was able to breathe in her senior's scent. "W-What is it, senpai?"
Gil places his chin over his underclassman's head and gently pats her back. "Is it all right if I call you by your first name?"
She, then, bites her lower lip and just nods. "Sure."
"You can call me 'Gil', if you want."
Hinako slowly pushes herself away from her senior's embrace and looks at his crimson red eyes. The dark blush was visible on her cheeks but a warm smile was pulled up on her lips. "...Gil...senpai."
Hearing his name being called out like that blankets Gil's body with a different kind of warmth. He places his right hand over Hinako's left cheek and said, "Hinako."
It was a beautiful night that neither the two of them could ever forget.
To be continued: (Winter) Chapter 39