11A/N: Happy Birthday to the one and only Misaki Tokura!
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Kofi.c om (slash) christophernagura
A/N: Story is currently set several months after the previous chapter
"Hmm, now this is tough. What would make for a good gift?" A lone blue-haired boy mumbled to himself with his hand underneath his chin, as he stared at the items that were placed on display through the mirror.
"Have you decided on a gift yet?" Someone uttered from behind with an impatient tone, causing the boy to turn back where he saw two males standing behind, both dressed in thick clothing in order to counter the cold weather.
They were none other than his friends from Miyaji Academy, Shingo and Naoki.
"As much as I don't want to agree with the idiot, he's right. We've been at this for hours already! Surely, you've already had a gift in mind by now?" Shingo pointed out in a slightly hopeful tone, getting a growl from the redhead at being insulted for no good reason.
"Hmm, I thought I did, but I was hoping to check out a few more shops before making my decision." Aichi responded getting groans from his two friends.
The three male students from Miyaji Academy were currently out on the streets of Japan as the blue-haired boy stared at the figurines that were placed on display.
As for the purpose of their trip?
"I'm sorry that you guys had to come with me to find a present for Misaki on your day off." The blue-haired boy apologised as he turned to face them with a frown.
Yes, the trio were currently out in the shopping district in order to get a gift to their fellow club member and friend, Misaki Tokura, seeing as her birthday was coming soon.
"Don't worry about it too much. We were planning on getting a gift for her anyways. It's fortunate that you told us about it now rather than us finding about it later." Shingo scoffed when his friend said that.
"Speak for yourself, I already knew her birthday was coming up thanks to all the Vanguard Weekly magazines. I just came out to help Aichi." A tick mark formed on the redhead's face as he glared at the brunette.
"If that's the case then why didn't you tell me! Do you want her to beat me up or something?!"
"Maybe I do! You do deserve a beating after all the crap you've put us through in class each day!"
"What did you say to me?!"
The two immediately butted heads as they glared at each other heatedly.
Aichi chuckled uneasily, especially since they were in public and there were a couple of people staring weirdly at them. The boy quickly separated the two and returned the topic back to the gift.
"Anyways, haven't you been friends with Misaki for a couple of years now? Surely you should know what to get her by now, right?" Shingo asked as he adjusted his glasses, staring at his idol who was scratching his cheek sheepishly.
"You're right about that…but, the truth is, I normally relied on Emi to help me with that."
"What do you mean by that?" Naoki asked, staring at the blue-haired boy in confusion.
"Well, whenever her birthday was coming up, I usually just give some money over to Emi and ask her to buy whatever she thought was best for Misaki. So that way it would always be a gift from the both of us, rather than an individual gift." Both Naoki and Shingo stared at their club captain with a dull look on their faces.
"That's terrible of you, Aichi."
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I have to agree with Naoki on that." The two berated causing the lone boy to raise his hands up in surrender.
"Look, I know it was irresponsible of me to rely on Emi for all those years, but that's the reason why I need your guys' help in getting a gift for her this year." The two boys couldn't help but sigh at their friend's request.
"Well, why didn't you just ask Emi for help again like you used to? I'm sure it'd be easier if you asked her instead of us?" Naoki questioned curiously, finding it hard to believe that they were the first options his friend thought off.
"I would have…had she not told me to do it myself." He sighed, recalling the events which transpired the day before.
Flashback
It was another peaceful night in the Sendou Residence with Aichi currently watching television in the living room while his mother was currently in the kitchen preparing dinner.
Though that peace slowly began to disappear the moment his little sister, Emi, entered the living room. Originally, Aichi didn't pay her any attention, thinking that she would head to the kitchen to help their mother prepare the food. Yet, she stopped right in front of him, blocking the screen.
"Yes?" Aichi asked, staring at the girl who crossed her arms over her chest.
"So… Misaki's birthday is coming up in a couple of days…" Emi said, her eyes staring straight at him as she uttered those words.
"Yeah, it is. So, what do you have in mind? Just tell me how much it cost and I'll pay you back for half of it." Aichi said as he tried looking past the girl so that he could resume in watching his show.
"NO!" She shouted and this caused Aichi to jolt up in his seat in shock. He hadn't heard his sister yell that loud in a long time.
"E-Emi? What's wrong?"
"I'm not going to help you this time around! This time I want YOU to get your own present for Misaki! You guys have been friends for years and you haven't even got her a present on your own yet! Don't you think that it's unfair to her?"
Aichi flinched as she said that. He certainly couldn't deny that. Out of all his friends, it was Misaki whom he had yet to purchase a gift on his own.
"That's why this year you're going to get her a gift for her birthday, and to make sure that you won't just simply get one from any store. If she doesn't like your gift, I'm going to show everyone all the pictures mom took of you when you were younger." Emi threatened and Aichi immediately felt a chill run through his spine at the mention of the pictures of his past.
Before Emi was born, his mother always wanted to have a daughter and bought plenty of girly clothes in preparation for a girl… and it was because of that, that she would always make sure to dress him up in cute, frilly outfits and even take pictures of him in the process.
It was always embarrassing to relive those memories, and if those pictures were to be shown to his friends…
The boy shook his head, not wanting to imagine that as he nodded his head. A newfound determination welling up in the man's body as he sought out to look for the perfect gift for his long-time friend and comrade!
Flashback End
"…Remind me again which is the older sibling between the two of you?" Shingo deadpanned as Naoki chuckled; Aichi could only chuckle uneasily.
He definitely was asked that way too often for his liking.
Aichi coughed, "Anyways, even if that is the case, Misaki is a close friend of mine, and I want to repay back everything she's done for me in these past few years. That's why I want to get her a gift that'll make her happy." The Royal Paladin user stated as both Shingo and Naoki looked at each other before sighing.
They were already there anyways, so they might as well assist their friend.
"Well, just so you know, when getting a gift for someone, it doesn't have to be something expensive or extravagant. As long as you think that the person receiving it will be happy, then that's all that matters, right Naoki?" Shingo turned to face the redhead who had a confused look on his face.
"Uhh… right, what he said!" Shingo sighed in response and Aichi let out a chuckle, but he nodded his head in appreciation.
"Thanks for the advice, Shingo."
"So, with that in mind. What do you think Misaki will appreciate as a gift?" Aichi's eyebrows furrowed as he thought about the question.
"The first thing that comes to mind would be a book since she loves to read, but I don't have any idea what genre she enjoys reading."
"At the very least that's an option. We could head to a bookstore if you want to check out some books there?" Aichi gave it a thought before looking at his watch, only to see that it was only five minutes past eleven.
"Well, we still have plenty of time before lunch, how about we go and explore a bit more before going there?" The blue-haired male suggested, getting nods from his friends as they began to walk.
However, after exploring the shops for a while longer, the group decided to head to the mall where they felt certain that they'd be able to find something for the silver-haired shop worker.
Unfortunately for them, similarly to before, they didn't have much luck in finding anything as the trio had left every shop, they had entered, empty-handed.
'I guess getting a book for Misaki might be the best option after all?' Aichi sighed, he truly wanted to get something more for the girl.
At first, he had looked at clothes, but not only did he have zero fashion sense, something both Shingo and Naoki shared, but he didn't quite know the girl's size. After that, he thought about getting something practical, but even then, he hesitated as he didn't know if she'd like it or not.
It was only after today did Aichi realise the true horrors of purchasing a gift for someone he cared about.
Just as he was about to give up, the trio passed by a shop where there were several plushies that were placed on display.
The blue-haired boy immediately stopped and walked up to the display case, something both Naoki and Shingo noticed as they walked up towards the boy.
"Saw something you like in there Aichi? Didn't know you were a fan of toys." Naoki teased with a smirk, but Aichi ignored it and turned to face him.
"I think I figured out what to get Misaki for her birthday!" The two boys looked at him in shock, the puzzle pieces forming in their heads.
"Wait a minute, you plan on getting her a plushie?" Aichi nodded his head with a smile while Shingo hummed in thought.
"Well, something cute is bound to work for girls, so I'd say it's worth a shot!" The brunette pointed out, as he too agreed with his idol's decision.
Naoki sighed seeing as his two friends had already agreed on it, he figured he would be outvoted by the two anyways.
Now, it wasn't that he felt that a plushie for the girl was a bad idea. Shingo was right when saying that something cute would be good for girls.
However, personally, he couldn't imagine the girl, whom he once assumed to be a gang leader in the school, to ever have something cute on her. Especially one such as a plushie.
'Then again, one could say the same about Aichi.' While the boy definitely looked more confident compared to his shy persona at the start of the year, there was no denying that the boy had a rather gentle appearance compared to someone like Kai or even himself.
'Well, I guess it's worth a shot anyways.' The redhead shrugged as he followed after Aichi and Shingo who were trying to search for a plushie suitable for the silver-haired beauty.
After going around the shop, Aichi decided to get a cat plushie, claiming that it reminded him of the Assistant Manager, as they headed to the cashier and pay for it.
"Thank you for your purchase!" The cashier, who was a woman with shoulder-length black hair, thanked the boy with a smile and a slight bow as the trio walked out of the store.
"Well, looks like we can call this a successful mission!" Shingo smiled as Naoki began patting his stomach.
"That's great! Do you think we can go ahead and get some grub? I'm starving!" To prove his point, the redhead's stomach began growling hungrily, eliciting a sigh and a chuckle from Shingo and Aichi respectively.
"Well, we might as well go get some lunch before heading back." With that, the trio headed to the food court in order to fill their stomachs, and by the time they were done, the group began heading their separate ways.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Aichi waved goodbye to his two friends who waved back before walking off towards the opposite direction.
Aichi smiled as he stared at the plastic bag which contained his gift for his silver-haired friend.
'I sure hope that she'll like it.' He thought to himself as he thought about the girl.
As much as the girl can be terrifying (especially when angered), there was no denying that Misaki was just like any other girl in the world.
As he walked through the mall, something managed to catch the boy's eye as he turned to the side where he noticed a particular shop located in between two clothing stores.
An accessory shop.
Though unlike some of the accessory shops he had seen in the mall, this one was much smaller and it didn't have the ostentatious feel to it that most did.
A part of him wanted to just walk away as he had already purchased a gift. Though there was a part of him that strongly urged him towards the shop and to check out its contents. The feeling was similar to the time he visited card shop PSY for the first time.
Deciding to follow that feeling, the blue-haired boy decided to walk into the shop, and upon entering, he was greeted by a variety of items being displayed there. To the trained eye, they would be able to see that each item that was in the shop was worked on meticulously well. Heck, even for someone like Aichi, he could appreciate definitely appreciate what was being shown to him.
"Hi there. Are you looking for something?" A brunette woman, who had noticed him entering the shop, asked as she walked up to him. The blue-haired boy realised that she must have been a worker in the shop.
"Ah, yes… I'm looking to get a present for a friend of mine." Aichi responded and the woman observed him for a bit before a smirk appeared on her face.
"A friend? Or a girlfriend?" The girl teased and a tint of red dusted across the boy's cheeks.
"A-a friend that is also a girl." The brunette couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing the boy's reaction as she extended her arm out.
"Well, go ahead and explore the shop and see what you like. If you have any problems, go ahead and ask me, I'll be at the counter."
"Thank you very much, miss." The boy bowed in thanks before the woman waved her hand.
"Don't call me that, it makes me sound old. Just call me Aiko." The brunette, now revealed as Aiko, introduced herself.
Aichi smiled, "Alright, thank you very much Aiko-san." With that, the blue-haired boy began walking around the store in search of another gift he could get for Misaki.
However, despite exploring the shop for about ten minutes, the Vanguard player was unable to find anything he thought would be a good gift for the girl, which somewhat disappointed him.
So much so that his dissatisfaction could be seen on his face.
"What's wrong kid? Having difficulty in choosing a gift?" Aiko asked as she walked up to the boy in order to check up on him, before noticing the frown on the boy's face.
Aichi turned to face the girl as he nodded with a wry smile on his face, "Yes, everything looks incredible, but I just can't decide on something." He admitted as he scratched the back of his head, this brought a smile to the brunette's face.
"Thanks. Actually, all this stuff were made by my grandparents, and all I do is sell them. So, it makes me happy that someone here appreciates them because I can tell you that not many do." She sighed surprising the blue-haired boy.
"Really? But everything here is well-made, why wouldn't more people be coming here to check it out?"
"Sometimes, it takes more than hard work in order to be successful, kid. That's just how life works." Though that was when a smile sprouted on Aiko's face.
"But enough with all the depressing talk, what sort of thing are you looking to get for your friend anyways? I'm sure some of these things are more than enough to make them happy." She asked curiously.
"Well…" Aichi started as he stared directly into Aiko's eyes.
"When I was thinking of getting a gift for my friend, I didn't just want it to be something that'll make her happy, but I also wanted it so that she'll know just how much I appreciated all the things she's done for me." Aiko's eyes widened in surprise. She couldn't detect any falsehood in the boy's words. He had meant every single word.
"That friend of yours must be really special to you, eh kid?" Aichi smiled as he nodded his head.
"She is. She's one of the most important people in my life." A smile couldn't help but find its way to the brunette's face. She certainly hadn't expected to meet up with such a pure soul in her shop today.
Besides, if he truly cared for the girl, perhaps she could give him a hand.
"Then, how about I suggest you something that I'm sure your friend will like? I have a feeling that that'll be the one." The brunette suggested with a wink. While he was slightly confused, Aichi nodded his head.
He just couldn't refuse after hearing that.
Location: Card Capital
Date: November 1st
"Happy Birthday Misaki!" Everyone cried out as several party poppers were shot out the moment those words were uttered.
Numerous banners were hung around the shop as Misaki stood in the centre while she was surrounded by the people who were closest to her, which was a mix of the regulars at Card Capital, her closest friends from school and her only living family member.
"I can't believe you're already all grown up, I-I'm so happy!" Shin comically cried as tears fell from his eyes as he sniffed on his sleeve.
"You didn't have to put in so much effort just for my birthday, you know?" Misaki said as she stared at her uncle, but it had been another person to respond in his stead.
"Oh, come on! Don't be that way, it's a special day after all!" Akari insisted as she rubbed cheeks with Misaki who immediately blushed at the close contact and tried pushing her friend away. Despite doing so, the girl certainly didn't look dissatisfied.
Meanwhile, standing by the wall of the shop, Emi elbowed Aichi and stared at him with a glare, and despite her size she still managed to make it look intimidating, "Did you make sure to bring your gift with you, Aichi?"
"Come on, have some faith in me, of course, I brought it." The blue-haired boy raised the bag which contained his gift.
The girl grinned and nodded happily, "Good, I hope that Misaki will enjoy the gift!"
Aichi smiled as he placed his right hand into his pocket where he felt his second gift, which he had bought for the girl, wrapped in a box.
Aoki was right when she said that this gift would be the right one. While it had been a little bit pricey, he felt it was worth it, as long as Misaki would be happy with it. In fact, he hadn't told anyone about his second gift, wanting it to be a surprise to everyone and not just the birthday girl.
With that, the party proceeded as planned Shin brought out the special cake he had baked for his niece as they all shared it with each other. Though before that, the group all sang 'Happy Birthday' to the girl, who looked like she wanted to disappear out of sheer embarrassment as they did so.
Moving on from that, the girl was then moved to the centre of the room, against her will, where she sat down while everyone handed her their gifts.
She got all sorts of gifts from everyone, such as books (including a copy of the 'Mr. Wizard Self-Help' book from Morikawa), miscellaneous items, such as keychains, and even booster packs.
Finally, it had been Aichi's turn as he was shoved forward by Emi.
"Happy birthday, Misaki. I hope you like the gift." Aichi wished the girl with a wide smile on his face as he handed the silver-haired girl his gift.
The girl smiled in response as she stared at the packaging, "I'll be honest, but it definitely took me a while to find the right gift for you, but I hope you like it." The boy chuckled as he scratched his cheek in embarrassment.
The girl proceeded to open the package and her eyes widened slightly the moment she saw an adorable cat plushie, she looked up to stare at Aichi who scratched the back of his head.
"I remember going to your room before [1], and I recalled seeing a stuffed toy there once, so I thought about getting you one that was a bit smaller."
"Thank you, Aichi I really appreciate it." Misaki thanked with a smile as she held the plushie gently across her chest.
Aichi was relieved that the girl was happy with his gift, and just when he was about to take out his second gift from his pocket, he moved along, allowing someone else to hand over their gift to the girl.
The blue-haired boy frowned, the box secured in his hand, but decided that he would hand it over later.
The party had begun early in the evening and ended late at night. Though that hadn't meant that everyone stayed till the end as most of the participants had left in between the party. In fact, the only ones who were still at the shop were Misaki, Shin, Aichi and Kamui.
It made sense that both Misaki and Shin were still at the shop since they lived there, Kamui was still there because he had planned on following the Sendou siblings back as he lived nearby anyways. And speaking of the siblings, Emi was still waiting on her brother, who insisted on staying on longer for a bit.
While the girl was confused by this, after seeing the look on her brother's face, she couldn't find it within herself to refuse, even if she were tired.
Of course, Aichi was feeling just as exhausted as his sister, but because he hadn't handed over his second gift to Misaki yet, he was set on staying as long as it took.
At first, he intended to hand his gift over to the girl sometime during the party, but he had been unable to do so because of two factors. The first was that he had been dragged around by the rest of his friends throughout the night, and even if he had escaped them, that led to factor number two, whereby Misaki was dragged away by both Akari and Emi.
It was unfortunate, but Aichi was not going to give up today! He had already made up his mind and he would accomplish his task! With that, deciding that now was a better time than any, the blue-haired boy walked up to the girl.
"Hey Misaki, do you mind if you follow me for a bit?" Aichi asked the girl, who was confused by this but saw no reason to refuse as she nodded her head.
After telling both Shin and Emi that they would be heading out for a bit, the two exited the store.
The two proceeded to walk through the town in complete silence, neither one uttering a single word as they matched each other's pace.
'I wonder why he brought me out here. If he had something to say to me, couldn't he have said it at the store?' She thought to herself, as they walked, trying to think up the reason for such a case.
'Maybe he wants to confess to-' Misaki immediately shook her head, cursing herself for having such thoughts in her mind as a tint of red dusted across her cheeks.
She definitely blamed Akari for placing those thoughts in her head throughout the entire day.
The two kept on walking until they eventually arrived at the park. A place the two had been to more frequently in the past few months.
"So… is there a reason you wanted us to come here, Aichi?" Misaki asked, breaking the silence between the two, as she played with her hair.
Aichi turned to face her with a nervous grin, "Ah, sorry about that. It must have been a bother to come all the way here, isn't it?"
The girl quickly shook her head, "No, no it's fine. I was just curious is all." The blue-haired boy sighed in relief.
"Well, you see… the truth is, I have another gift for you." Aichi said as he pulled a medium-sized box out of his pocket and handed it over to the girl.
Misaki felt slightly disappointed by this (not that she would ever admit the reason why), but she didn't let it show on her face, as she walked up to him and held the box in her hands.
"Thank you, Aichi, but why didn't you just hand it in at the party? I'm sure that would have been easier." She asked curiously as the boy in question rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
"Well, I did intend to do that, but I just couldn't find the right timing to do so." He admitted as the silver-haired beauty couldn't help but giggle.
Despite the fact that the boy in front of her had saved the world on numerous occasions, he still acted like the same clumsy boy she had met all those years ago.
"Can I open it?" She asked, getting a nod from the boy.
With that, Misaki slowly opened the package and let out a small gasp as she stared at her present.
The present shined softly underneath the night sky, as the gift ended up being a lustrous silver pendant, one that had the letter 'M' at the end of it.
The girl slowly looked up to stare at the boy for an explanation, one he was rather happy to give.
"Truth be told, I only intended to get the plushie for your birthday. Though, I suddenly had this feeling that I should try and get you something else. But in all honesty, I think that the plushie was the only birthday present I got you… the pendant, on the other hand, is a thank-you gift."
"A thank-you gift?" Aichi nodded his head as the wind began to blow gently.
"Yeah… a thank you for everything you've done for me, Misaki. Thank you for being my friend, and thank you for being there with me at all the best and worst times. Without you, I'm sure that I wouldn't have been able to be where I am today." He said with a bright smile, each word laced with his genuine feelings.
Overwhelmed by her emotions, Misaki's eyes began to water, but she quickly wiped it away before the boy could see it. She gently held her gift towards her chest, and even at that point, she could feel her heart thumping rapidly.
'…Good grief… why must he always be like this?! So kind… so generous… so honest.' Misaki lightly chuckled to herself as she stared deeply into the boy's sapphire orbs.
'I guess I really do love him after all…'
'…Only as a friend of course!' She mentally added in her mind, but the redness on her cheeks begged to differ.
"Thank you, Aichi…I really love it!" a bright smile adorned Misaki's face and just for a split second, Aichi was completely enamoured by her appearance, the lighting behind her just enhancing how beautiful she looked.
Neither one uttered a single word as they stared into each other's eyes. It seemed like the whole world stopped moving, yet that didn't matter to the two. All that mattered was that moment.
Though it only lasted for a short period of time as Misaki was the first to break eye contact with Aichi due to her embarrassment.
"L-let's head back to the shop before the others start getting worried." The girl quickly turned away from the boy, to prevent him from seeing how red her face currently was as she walked off. A soft smile slowly appeared on his face before he decided to walk after her and matched her speed so that he would walk by her side and not behind her.
Later that night, Misaki Tokura slept with a massive smile on her face as she hugged the plushie she received from Aichi, while the silver pendant was gently placed on her table, alongside her precious picture of her family.
End Chapter
[1] This took place back in Chapter 3 of the story
Once more, happy birthday to the one and only Misaki Tokura. I remember watching Cardfight Vanguard almost every day back when I was younger and it was always a blast to watch the main cast alongside her!
Be sure to follow me on Ko-Fi page for weekly updates on my Fanfic stories. If you're not followed then please do so now, and if you're feeling generous, please buy one or two coffees for me so that I would be able to keep writing more stories more often than I do now. Even a single one would mean a lot to me and be more dedicated to write.
kofi.c om (slash) christophernagura