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“I can’t wait to see the look on sensei’s face!”
Puffs of vapor form with each of Hifumi’s giggles as he and Doppo walk side by side, Jakurai’s house coming into view at the end of their path. Using the hand he isn’t carrying a large bag in, he points.
“The lights are on!” he notes cheerfully, before nudging Doppo. “See, I told ya he’d be up! I knew he was working later shifts this week!”
“That doesn’t just make it okay to invite ourselves over, Hifumi…” Doppo sighs, his teeth chattering. “Wh-What if he’s tired from work and doesn’t want to deal with other people right now?”
“Then we’ll just wish him well at the doorstep and be off on our merry way! No need to overthink it!”
“Yeah, but…” Doppo’s head sinks between his shoulders. After a second, he blinks and looks toward the bag Hifumi’s holding. “I still bet you’re going to just barge right in.”
“Heh-heh-heh!” Hifumi grins wider. “Sensei won’t turn us down, just you watch!”
“B-But what if he does…?” The bags under Doppo’s eyes seem to darken on their own as worry paints across his expression.
“C’mon, Doppo-chin, you know how nice he is! Have a little faith!” Hifumi flashes him a thumbs up before an idea strikes and he snaps his fingers. “Hey, how about this! I bet I could beat you to sensei’s door!”
“Huh?” Doppo raises an eyebrow. “What for?”
“Whoever gets there first gets to wish him a happy birthday first!” Hifumi answers. “Heck, at this hour it’ll probably be the very first person to say it at all!” Doppo’s back straightens a bit, and his expression lightens.
“That’d…!” After a quick blink and a shake of his head, he looks at the bag again. “N-Nevermind. It’d hardly be fair to race you when you’re carrying all those snacks. Plus, it’s kind of immature.”
“Sounds like someone just doesn’t wanna admit they’re a slow runner…” Hifumi tuts, wagging a finger.
“S-So what if I am?!” Doppo’s cheeks puff up a little when a mischievous glint lights up in Hifumi’s eyes.
“I guess you won’t mind if I go on ahead, then!” he chirps, then instantly takes off in a full sprint. Doppo stops in his tracks for just a fraction of a second, eyes blown wide in surprise, before he takes off himself.
“Wait! Hifumi!” he yells out in vain, watching the gap between them grow. “This is so unfair, you jerk!”
“Early bird gets the worm!” a taunting call cries out.
Doppo grits his teeth, his lungs already burning as he strains to keep his pace. Part of him panics a little when Hifumi stops at Jakurai’s front gate, and raw instinct kicks in; pushing past the protests of every single muscle group in his body, he launches himself at a speed previously unknown to him, and barely manages to barrel into Hifumi’s back just before he can press the button for the intercom.
“Raagh!”
“Nyahaha!”
—
“What in the world…?”
Jakurai jolts where he is on the sofa, his hand hovering just above his phone as it lights up with notifications.
Maybe I just imagined it, but that sounded an awful lot like—
“Gyahaha! Doppo-chin, if you don’t let go, then neither of us can ring the bell!”
“Nice try, Hifumi, but I’m not letting you get a headstart again…!”
Voices clamor in the distance outside. He blinks.
Not my imagination!
Jakurai jumps up, leaving his phone behind, and puts on a pair of slippers by the door before quickly stepping outside.
“Ahahaha! I promise, I promise, we’ll both go toge—”
Everything freezes in place the instant the gate swings open; it creaks loudly on its hinges while Jakurai stares at his two teammates wrestling each other away from the intercom, hats and scarves thrown to the ground by their feet.
Jakurai blinks at them. They blink back. The night wind whistles softly between them.
“Aaah!” Doppo is the first to break the silence, releasing his grip on Hifumi’s arms and floundering backward, unsure of if he should prostrate himself on the spot or dig himself a hole to crawl into. “S-S-S-Sensei…!”
“Hello, Doppo-kun, Hifumi-kun,” Jakurai replies with a (more than slightly concerned) smile. “What brings you two here at this hour?”
“W-We’re so sorry!” Doppo stammers, pulling at the back of Hifumi’s jacket. “F-F-For disturbing you this late!”
“Oh no, it’s no trouble at all,” Jakurai assures him. “Really, I’m more concerned about why you two are arguing with each other…”
“Aha!” Hifumi pops his head up, pushing against the hand that’s trying to nudge him into a bow. “Doppo-chin, now’s our chance!”
“Huh…?” Doppo’s grimace softens, and his mouth drops open. “Ah!”
“Hm?” Jakurai’s head tilts a little.
“One, two…!”
Hifumi and Doppo spread their arms wide.
“Happy birthday, sensei!”
Two dear friends call out in unison, their excitement a bright beacon even in the dark of night. Jakurai’s eyes widen, and a heartfelt smile quickly spreads across his face.
“Oh my,” he says quietly, putting a hand to his heart. “Thank you very much, Hifumi-kun, Doppo-kun. The two of you came to wish me well the very moment the day started; I’m blessed indeed.” He reaches out and pats each of them on the shoulder before gesturing toward the house. “How about you come inside and warm up? I’ll prepare some tea for us all.”
“Yippee!” Hifumi cheers, wrapping his arms around Jakurai to pull him into a hug. “See, Doppo-chin? I told you sensei would let us in!”
“S-Still!” Doppo counters shakily. “You shouldn’t just assume!” He looks toward Jakurai apologetically, shrinking down and twiddling his thumbs. “Um… If it’s alright with you, sensei, we brought some snacks that we could all share…” He points toward the gate, where Hifumi had dropped his bag on the ground when they were scuffling. Jakurai nods, patting Hifumi as he detaches from him and skips over to retrieve it.
“That sounds lovely. By all means, let’s have a seat inside.”
“Thank you for your hospitality, as always…!” Doppo’s about to drop into a bow, but freezes when he notices Jakurai’s clothing; he’s in a simple set of lounge clothes, with no jacket and only slippers on his feet. “Oh… oh no, oh no, oh no!”
“Hm?” Hifumi blinks at the way Doppo’s face drains of color, then follows his gaze and drops his jaw. “Aah! Sensei! You must be cold as ice!”
In a flash, the two of them scramble to grab their things off the ground and urge him toward the door, each putting a hand on his back.
“Let’s get inside before you freeze over!”
“I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry…!”
“Ah,” Jakurai simply chuckles and lets himself be hurried along indoors. “Please don’t worry, you two. I’m quite alright.” Nevertheless, they continue to fuss over him as they make it through the doorway and kick off their shoes.
“Have a seat, have a seat!” Hifumi insists. “I’ll get a kettle on the stove!”
“A-And I’ll set out the snacks we brought!” Doppo adds. The two of them push Jakurai in the direction of the couch, then rush for the kitchen, still in their winter coats.
“But…” Jakurai reaches out in vain; they’re already scurrying about getting things ready. “You’re… the guests…” When he predictably doesn’t receive a response, he sighs a little and chuckles to himself, then quietly returns to where he was sitting on the couch earlier.
“Where are the plates again…?”
“Here, here! These match the teacups.”
For the next few minutes, he simply watches, a warm feeling settling in his chest as his friends shuffle around each other.
Truly, I’m glad to have met you.
His folded hands clench a little tighter, and his expression fills with fondness.
“Sorry for the wait!” Hifumi calls out when they’re done; when they walk toward the coffee table by the couch, he’s holding a tray with a teapot and cups for the three of them, while Doppo follows behind him with a plate of sweets neatly lined up.
“Please, help yourself!” he adds meekly, as they lay their things down on the table. Jakurai gives them both a warm look, and pats the seats at his side.
“Thank you very much,” he says. “Please, do sit; you must’ve been on your feet for a while now.”
“Ehe, don’t worry about us!” Hifumi replies cheerfully, unzipping his coat and draping it over the back of the couch before plopping down. Doppo does the same, sitting on Jakurai’s other side.
“We’re the ones imposing so late, after all…”
“Not at all—your company is welcome any time of day.” Jakurai looks up at the clock on the wall. “Did you two want to be the first to wish me a happy birthday?” he wonders aloud.
“Bingo, bingo! You’re a mind reader, sensei!” Hifumi laughs. “We had to have been the first, right? Right?”
“Indeed you were,” Jakurai confirms; he chuckles again when the two of them beam and lean over him to high five each other.
“W-We did it…!”
“Yeah!”
Jakurai pats them on the shoulder affectionately again, and they all laugh to themselves. Just as he’s about to reach for the tray of teacups, his phone, lying where he’d left it on the table, lights up and catches his eye. Hifumi and Doppo watch curiously as he picks it up and grins widely when he reads over the text onscreen.
“More birthday wishes?” Hifumi asks, peering over his shoulder.
“From Hitoya and Amemura-kun,” Jakurai answers with a laugh. “I didn’t see their first messages since they came in just as you two arrived, and now they’re both upset at me for ignoring them.”
“Oh no…!” Doppo’s eye twitches fearfully, but Hifumi just giggles.
“Nyahaha! Too bad for them, we beat ‘em to the punch!”
“I… Well, I guess so!” Doppo tries to soften his expression, and smiles awkwardly at Jakurai. “But… the more well wishes the better, right?”
“Indeed.” Before he can even bring up the first few messages to type back a response, more notifications pop up. “Oh my, and now Ichiro-kun and Samatoki-kun. Really, everyone should be minding their sleep schedules more…”
“Heheh! Just goes to show how many people like you, sensei!” Hifumi rests his head against Jakurai’s shoulder and nuzzles up to him softly.
“Exactly!” Doppo balls his hands into fists, more confidence alight in his eyes than usual. “I might not be able to speak for everyone else, but the two of us will always be at your side, sensei!”
“Heck yeah!” Hifumi pumps a fist in the air.
“Hifumi-kun, Doppo-kun…”
Jakurai’s hair spills into his lap when he looks down at his feet. To think, not so long ago he would have spent a night like this completely alone, but now there’s the warmth of friends at his side, and more still sending along their blessings.
“Thank you.” Hifumi and Doppo gasp a little when he spreads his arms out and pulls them in close. “I…”
He thinks back to that day in his clinic, and how a flicker of light sparked in his long-dulled eyes. Fascination turned to friendship before he even knew it, and a steadfast pair was at his side through the highs of victory, the lows of defeat, the pain of conflict, and the joy of reconciliation.
You may think me a leader, but really…
“I really, truly don’t know where I would be without you two.” He holds them closer, and feels their arms wrap around him gently in response.
“Baww, sensei!” Hifumi cheers, giggling into Jakurai’s side. “We could say the same to you!”
“E-Exactly!” Doppo says, nodding vigorously. “After all, the three of us are a team!”
“Heh. Then we’ll all be in each other’s care for the year to come, no?” Jakurai says fondly, looking at each of them in turn.
“And many more after, sensei!” Doppo answers quickly.
“So let’s get to celebrating!” Hifumi cheers, leaning toward the table to bring the cups and snacks closer. “Your cake and presents gotta wait ‘til dinner, but who doesn’t love a midnight snack!”
“My, my. It sounds like I have quite a day to look forward to.”
“But of course!”
As they pass around tea and sweets, the three of them settle into their seats, and laughter rings through the house. Jakurai’s fingers tighten against his cup as he listens keenly to the sound, soothing and invigorating in equal measure.
So begins another year of life.
With friendship, warmth, and good prospects abound from the very first moment.