This side story is about the IF scenario where ‘Nagisa successfully confessed to Mika before Haruna’s kidnapping incident.’
Happy birthday, Nagisa-chan!!!
*
Rustle, rustle.
“Hmm…”
I hear the sound of paper flipping from somewhere. Struggling to shake off my sleepy head and forcing my heavy eyes open, I finally can check what has disturbed my deep slumber.
“…Oh, you’re awake?”
“Mika… do you even know what time it is…?”
“Hehe…”
Honestly. To disturb someone’s sleep and then let out such a pleasant laugh. How am I supposed to get mad at you like this?
…But that’s always been the problem.
“Sorry, sorry. But Nagisa-chan, do you know what this is?”
“…?”
Truth be told, my vision is still a bit blurry. I probably look so disheveled right now that I’d be embarrassed to show myself to anyone.
But the person who sees that shaming look every day happens to be right in front of me.
“Tada!”
“This is… W-What?!”
“Hehe. So, how do you feel? Were you moved? Yes, you were! That reaction is just what I wanted; I put so much effort into making this!”
What Mika was rummaging through early in the morning was a very thick album. It might even be thicker than a scripture.
“…You’ve been unusually busy lately; did you spend all that time making this?”
“Of course! Or did you think I’d just ignore you without any reason, Nagisa-chan?”
“That… ‘Ignoring’ is a bit of an odd expression, don’t you think, Mika?”
I found it so surreal that I said that while my gaze was still fixed on the album in front of Mika.
In the center of the album was a photo of us in wedding dresses… It’s a really precious photo that brings forth new emotions each time I see it.
So, every time I look at that photo, I end up caught in a time-stopping magic.
“…Chan.”
It’s pretty ridiculous when I think about it now. That I, who looked endlessly happy in that photo, almost had a wedding in a suit instead of a wedding dress.
“…Mika-chan~?”
Every girl naturally dreams of wearing pure white wedding dresses, the most beautiful version of herself on what should be the most important day of her life.
If Mika had pushed a bit harder to wear a suit, I might have fallen for that temptation…
“Nagisa-chan!”
“Y-Yes?”
“I know very well that I look so pretty in my dress that you can’t help but stare… but when your adorable wife calls, you need to respond, okay?”
“…”
Seriously, she’s always the same way.
An odd person with a stronger self-love than the Mika I knew.
Yet it fits her so well, my lovely wife.
“…Hmph. Still not responding, huh? Has the love faded? I never knew it’d be like this after getting married! So this is what they mean by marriage being the grave of life… I’m so totally depressed!”
“Shh. That can’t be true, my love, the most beautiful in the world. I’ll always be devoted to you. That hasn’t changed and won’t change in the future either. I swore to love only you forever, didn’t I?”
“…Umm. I love you too.”
Seeing Mika turn her face slightly away, blushing, makes something inside me boil. It’s all because of Mika, planting strange complexes in my otherwise normal self.
“Oh, look at this. Whee, that’s amazing!”
“Huh? Where… Hmm. Cough, cough.”
Holding back laughter at the picture Mika pointed at, I ultimately failed and burst into giggles.
There we were—Mika, Seiya, and…
… another Mika.
The four of us were gathered together.
In the front, we completed a heart with our hands, while in the back, the two others pinched each other’s cheeks.
Thinking of those two still playfully tussling whenever the four of us meet brings a smile to my face.
Especially since Seiya treats my wife Mika and my friend Mika so differently…
“The princess, too… Oh no.”
“…”
The title Mika accidentally mentioned when referring to the other Mika comes up from time to time.
I know well why she calls her that. So I won’t say anything regarding the use of that title.
But Mika always checks my reactions during times like this. It’s a little, complicated, to say the least.
Just as my devotion is absolute, Mika also feels genuinely devoted to me. The original Mika, whom I love, turns out to have been in love with that Mika from another world.
When I first learned that fact, it was quite unsettling. At the same time, I understood where Mika’s boundless self-love stemmed from.
After all, the person she adored so much would have looked perfect every time she glanced in the mirror.
“Ahaha… This… isn’t going according to my plan… Uh, you know what I mean…?”
“Yes, of course. She’s your princess.”
“…Are you mad at me?”
Mika asked, looking at me nervously.
I know that seeing her cute self would make any anger I have evaporate instantly, but it’s just not like her to intentionally act that way; that’s one of her special traits.
She’s just so sweet it makes me feel like a fool. I really can’t let her go unprotected.
“Hehe. Of course not. When have I ever been mad at you?”
“…When I was taken to the Rescue Knights?”
“That was… a situation where I couldn’t help but be mad. Think of a time excluding when you got hurt.”
“Uh… then, there isn’t any.”
“See?”
That’s the truth. I have never gotten mad at Mika for anything, except when she was hurt.
The countless suitors who pursued her must have been over twenty, at least. With those I don’t remember, it might even exceed thirty, yet she always loves only me and never pays any attention to anyone else. How could I possibly get mad at her?
“Hey, Nagisa-chan. Every time I send those kids away who come at me with feelings, it feels like my heart is going to tear apart?”
“…I know that feeling.”
“But if I don’t do this… you, Nagisa-chan, would suffer even more. Right? And we promised back then too…”
Looking back, I was probably shockingly selfish back then.
I told Mika that I would love only her for life, and I wished for her to feel the same. In the end, it made her heart hurt.
But I have no regrets about that choice. Yes, because that’s why I’m so happy now.
…All the while, though, I sometimes think of the original Mika, who declared she didn’t have the right to interfere with the happiness of the two of them.
Recently, I’ve been often having thoughts like, “I shouldn’t take part in their happiness” and then dismissing them. That might be something worth thinking deeply about.
“Oh, Nagisa-chan! Do you remember this?”
“What are you talking about?”
“This photo right here.”
Mika flipped many pages ahead, pointed at a photo with her fingertip, and without realizing it, I nodded my head. I clearly remember it.
“Your first photo.”
“Hehe, I didn’t even know this existed! So, you were head over heels for me from this time, huh?”
At the time, Mika, who had grown up like a precious princess, cooking, looked so strange. It felt so fascinating that I remember taking a picture back then.
Mika then showed me various other photos.
“Wow, this photo still looks great.”
A picture of Mika and me sitting across from each other against the backdrop of T-party’s terrace.
“Hey, Nagisa-chan. In this photo, do I look prettier, or do I look prettier now?”
A well-made-up Mika took a picture during her idol days.
…To be honest, I admitted the photo was prettier. After all, there are comparisons to be made.
My hair is all messed up, one button of my pajamas is undone, makeup completely gone, and there are kiss marks all over my collarbone… Competing with that would simply be unethical.
“Hehe… I see. So you prefer younger girls, huh?”
“…When did you claim yourself to be an eternal 17-year-old high school girl?”
“But if that’s the case, people would think Nagisa-chan married a thief while still being way younger than her! I definitely don’t want that…”
“Pfft… What are you even saying, seriously?”
Mika sometimes leaves me wondering what on earth she’s talking about. Just like now.
Yet looking at her, even those moments feel endlessly lovely. I may be besotted, but I can’t help it.
Personally, I believe this isn’t just because of that infusion of craziness.
Because anyone as lovely as Mika would always look lovely in everything they do. So technically, I’m not under any spell, you see.
“Hehe… Once I gather enough pictures later on, I want to make another album.”
“That… sounds wonderful.”
Mika’s statement, willing to create another album to keep building memories with me, truly makes me happy.
Being able to spend my life with a person this wonderful makes me perhaps the luckiest person in Kivotos.
‘Why am I D again, though? Something feels off here. Listen, Mika. There’s no way my luck can be that bad, right?’
…Anyway, I’m surely considered fortunate. After all, I’ve gained a lifetime with this person.
After Mika closed the album, she stretched beside me and yawned.
Thinking about it, it’s early morning now. Despite saying she’d be living a carefree life after graduation, here she is still working hard, making these sleeping hours precious for her.
…And for me too. You didn’t need to be doing this at this hour, you know?
As I pondered that, I found myself mesmerized, placing my hand over the title written on the cover of the album.
[Kirihouji Nagisa & Kirihouji Mika]
[Love is eternal, for our hearts will always be one.]
Reading the words, written in Mika’s handwriting, makes my feelings swell.
“Mika, I’m sorry.”
“Huh?”
I slid the album aside and naturally sat on Mika’s lap, grasping her wrist and bowing my head.
I could hardly contain the swirling emotions and desires anymore.
“I think it’s about time for us to start having… kids.”
“…Ah, that.”
“I hope they look just like you…”
Peck.
“Huh, oh no… If they look like us, I might get jealous…?”
“It’d be easier to live if they took after my personality.”
Peck.
“No, that’s not right… Nagisa-chan, you still don’t have that many friends, right? No matter how you think about it, it should be half and half… Hmm.”
“…”
“Why?! You know what I said makes sense!”
“Sigh… For our daughter’s future, I will agree.”
I was convinced that the time had come to borrow the technology from Millennium, the best in the world.
*
“…Oh, right.”
Before I knew it, morning had arrived, yet Mika was still in bed. If we didn’t get ready soon, we would be late for work.
But honestly, as the boss, it wouldn’t have mattered much if she was late.
Mika, who had been buried in her pillow with her face down, seemed to recall something, and her eyes opened wide. Then she looked at me and smiled, saying:
“Happy birthday, Nagisa-chan.”
Upon hearing Mika’s words, I probably smiled brightly and expressed my gratitude.
For me, the greatest gift has always been you.
So,
I hope this love lasts forever.
