A week had passed since the cultural festival ended. I couldn’t say if it felt long or short, but it was definitely more than just a moment.

          The next time Miyagi called for me was after the festival’s excitement had faded, and the school had shifted gears to prepare for midterms. I wasn’t sure how I’d have handled it if she’d reached out any sooner, so I was relieved she waited this long.

          Maybe Miyagi was hesitant to see me, but the time apart helped me sit next to her now without losing my cool.

          We hadn’t met at Miyagi’s place for some time due to our conflicting schedules, but her room still felt as comfortable as ever.

          「Do you think you’ll do well on the midterms?」

          I asked as I turned the pages in my textbook.

          「I don’t know.」

          「I taught you a lot over summer break, didn’t I?」

          「Yeah, but that doesn’t automatically mean I’ll do well on the exams.」

          「Well, I’m pretty sure your grades will go up at least.」

          We might’ve done things over the summer that we could never admit to anyone, but more importantly, we spent plenty of time studying. It’d be strange and concerning if her grades didn’t improve, yet Miyagi hadn’t said anything like, “I feel like my grades will improve,” or, “I’m sure I’ll do fine on the exams.”

          「Show me your results once midterms are over.」

          I poked Miyagi’s arm with my pencil, as if to push her into agreeing.

          「Why should I show you anything, Sendai-san? 」

          「Come on, I tutored you through the summer. Of course I’d want to see how you did.」

          「I guess you have a point.」

          「I’ll show you mine too.」

          「I don’t need to see them.」

          「Fine, I won’t show you mine, but I still want to see yours.」

          「Why do my grades even matter to you?」

          Miyagi brushed me off, but if it didn’t matter, I wouldn’t have asked in the first place.

          Knowing her grades would help me figure out which schools she’d likely get into—and more importantly, if she had a shot at the university I was aiming for. I had no plans of swaying her choices, but I still wanted to see her results.

          「Look, I plan on tutoring part-time in university, so I just want to see how my teaching paid off.」

          「That sounds like a lie.」

          「It’s not.」

          I’d planned on getting a part-time job once I started university, though I hadn’t fully committed to tutoring. It was still an option I was considering, so I wasn’t exactly lying.

          「Let me see your results.」

          I pushed again, and Miyagi answered with a sour tone.

          「… I’ll let you see them as long as you don’t make any comments.」

          「Like what?」

          「Like if my scores are low, or if I’ve made any mistakes.」

          「I wouldn’t do that.」

          「Fine, then I’ll let you see them.」

          Miyagi said, but her expression made it clear she wasn’t thrilled about showing me her scores.

          The tone of her voice made me doubt that she’d actually go through with it, but for now, I had to take her word for it. If I pushed her into “promising” me, she’d likely back out altogether.

          “I won’t say anything, I just want to see them,” I reassured her one last time before turning back to my textbook. After solving a few problems, I glanced over at Miyagi. She was staring down, but not at her books or any notes.

          The faint tapping of her fingers on the table cut through the silence. It wasn’t particularly loud, but it was enough to distract me. And judging by her restless tapping, she wasn’t really focusing either.

          What’s going on with her?

          Recently—or at least before the cultural festival—Miyagi had been taking her studies seriously. But today, she seemed completely unmotivated.

          Midterms were right around the corner, and if she didn’t focus soon, it could be a problem.

          I was just about to get her attention, her fingers still tapping on the desk, when she called out to me first.

          「Sendai-san.」

          「What is it?」

          The tapping noises stopped, and Miyagi grew quiet.

          Even though she called my name, she didn’t follow up with anything.

          「Miyagi?」

          I glanced at her, who had supposedly called my name out for no reason. After a moment, she quietly asked,

          「… Sendai-san, when’s your birthday?」

          「Wait, my birthday? Why are you asking me that all of a sudden?」

          Her question felt completely out of the blue.

          「No particular reason.」

          「When’s yours, Miyagi?」

          「It’s in September. It’s already passed. But enough about me; tell me your birthday, Sendai-san.」

          I half-expected her to say, “I’m not telling you,” or “I’m the one asking,” but to my surprise, she answered without a hint of annoyance. If anything, she seemed too busy to complain, so I decided to give her a straightforward answer.

          「Hazuki.」

          「Isn’t that just your name?」

          「That’s not what I’m getting at. You know how there’s Satsuki, Minazuki, Fumizuki…¹」

          As I began to list the months from the Japanese calendar starting from May, it seemed Miyagi finally understood what “Hazuki” meant.

          「—So, in August?」

          「Yep. My birthday’s in August, which is why my name is Hazuki. Pretty simple, right?」

          “Hazuki” was the traditional name for August in the Japanese calendar.

          And since I was born in August, I was named “Hazuki.” It might not have been the most creative way to choose a name, but I did like how “Hazuki” sounded.

          「So, why did you want to know?」

          I asked, still unsure why Miyagi suddenly inquired about my birthday.

          She didn’t comment on the connection between my name and my birth month, nor did she ask for the exact day.

          What could she possibly want with just my birth month?

          Miyagi looked back down after she said ‘August,’ leaving me clueless about her intentions.

          「If you’re not going to explain why you asked, then get back to studying.」

          Miyagi had a habit of saying things that didn’t always make sense, but she usually had a reason behind them. She must have asked me about my birthday for a purpose, yet her silence left me unable to pry it out of her.

          I shifted my focus to my textbook, but then Miyagi suddenly stood up and pulled out a small box from her desk drawer.

          「Here, take this.」

          She said flatly, placing the box on top of my textbook.

          「What is it? What are you giving me?」

          I asked, staring at the long, thin box.

          「… Obviously, what I want to give you is in that box.」

          「Okay, but why are you giving me a present out of the blue?」

          「Why does it matter? It’s just something I want you to have, so take it.」

          Honestly, I already had a good idea of what was inside, but I wanted to hear it from her.

          「Is this supposed to be a birthday present?」

          I doubted Miyagi would give me a straightforward answer, so I decided to answer my own question.

          「If that’s what you want to think, then sure.」

          She really wasn’t being honest.

          The small box was beautifully wrapped, clearly showing it had been specially prepared. After asking about my birthday, presenting a gift like this made it obvious it was intended as a birthday present. I couldn’t understand why Miyagi wouldn’t admit it, and I had no idea why she had taken the time to prepare a gift for me in the first place.

          It was strange to have a birthday present ready before knowing when my birthday was, and we didn’t have the sort of relationship where we’d exchange gifts either.

          「What would you do if my birthday hadn’t already passed?」

          「That doesn’t matter. Even if this were a birthday gift, there’s no rule that says I have to give it to you on your birthday.」

          「You went through all this trouble just to give me a birthday present. There must be a reason behind it, right?」

          「Fine, if you don’t want it, then just give it back.」

          Miyagi said sharply, and before I could respond, she tried to grab the box from my textbook. I quickly caught her hand.

          「Wait, what are you going to do with it if I let you take it back?」

          「I’ll just throw it away.」

          「You always act so rashly. There’s no reason to throw it away, is there?」

          「Well, I don’t plan on using it, and I don’t have anyone else to give it to.」

          I still couldn’t figure out the mystery behind this birthday present, which clearly had to have a reason behind it. But I realized I didn’t have the luxury of time to puzzle it out. If I hesitated any longer, Miyagi would probably just toss it away.

          「Okay, I’ll take it, so give it here.」

          I reclaimed the small box from Miyagi’s grasp.

          「Can I open it?」

          「There’s no point in giving it to you if you don’t open it.」

          Miyagi snapped back, her tone sharp. Given her irritation, it was clear she wasn’t in the best mood.

          As I opened the box, I noticed the expression on Miyagi’s face was as if someone had forced her to eat 99% dark chocolate. I couldn’t remember ever receiving a birthday present from anyone while they looked so bitter. I had a feeling Miyagi would be the first—and last—person to do that.

          This feels awkward to open.

          I sighed, feeling her gaze bore into me as I slowly peeled away the wrapping and opened the box. Inside was a silver necklace—well, a pendant², to be precise—but either way, it was an accessory.

          The charm hanging from the chain had a moon motif, which felt a bit too cute for my taste. It seemed like it would probably suit Miyagi better. As I inspected the chain for any brand markings, I hoped it wasn’t anything too expensive, but thankfully, it didn’t seem like it was.

          Miyagi had already given me five-thousand yen today. Whether this accessory was a birthday gift or not, it felt wrong to accept another thing from her without giving something back.

          「Let me give you something in return. Is there anything you want?」

          I asked, placing the pendant back into the box.

          「I don’t want anything.」

          「So you wouldn’t mind anything I choose, then?」

          「I don’t want a gift from you.」

          Miyagi replied, her tone sharper than I expected.

          「That stings a little, you know.」

          It was common to offer something in return, like homemade sweets or sharing notes. When you get a birthday gift, it’s only courteous to reciprocate. But Miyagi, who adamantly rejected my offer, didn’t seem to get that.

          Or maybe it was just me she didn’t want a gift from. She’d probably accept a return gift from someone else—like Utsunomiya, for instance.

          It was probably for the best not to dwell on it, so I shut the box’s lid.

          「I’m the only one allowed to give gifts here. Now put it on. That’s an order.」

          Miyagi said, reopening the box I had just closed.

          「Sure, but usually, the one who gives the gift puts it on for the recipient.」

          「You can put it on yourself.」

          「Normally, you’d say, “Let me put it on for you,” right?」

          「I’m not saying that.」

          I figured she’d say something like that, but the way Miyagi put it was incredibly blunt.

          I didn’t find this part of her cute at all.

          「Is that so?」

          While I didn’t mind wearing it, her tone wasn’t exactly endearing. I figured there was no point in mentioning that now; any comment would likely lead to another order from her, which wouldn’t end well.

          I pulled the pendant from the box, unclasped it, and slowly put it on.

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1. In the Japanese calendar (which used to be based on the Chinese lunar calendar), each of the twelve months have a common Japanese name (which are used today), and a traditional Japanese name. January was called Mutsuki, while February was Kisaragi, March was Yayoi, April was Uzuki, May was Satsuki, and so on (you can find out the rest in the Wikipedia link). There are other ways of writing “Hazuki” in Japanese that aren’t written the same way as our lovely Sendai Hazuki’s, but 葉月 does seem to be the most common, and it directly translates to “month of leaves.” ↩︎
2. This one is a minor/trivia footnote. I do not know if this is the same case in English… but there’s a slight difference between “necklaces” and “pendants” in Japanese. Now, I personally think of just the charms that dangle on necklaces as pendants, and anything that’s a chain to be worn around the neck as necklaces. Well, the very small difference in Japanese is that you can call anything with a chain + a charm as “pendants.” Anything that is “V” shaped around your neck is generally considered a pendant, while… anything else is a necklace. But pendants are also a type of necklace. In any case, jewellers will know what you’re talking about if you tell them you’re looking for a “pendant,” but they’ll also understand if you’re calling a “pendant” a “necklace.” ↩︎

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