Chapter 72
White day
Saturday afternoon found Elyna standing outside Kazuki’s building, quivering in anticipation. Since graduation had stolen White Day, they’d pushed their own little celebration to the week end.
Elyna needed nothing more than Kazuki’s presence, but she knew him well enough; he would mark the date with a token worthy of his affection.
After all, White Day was a massive social event in Japan, the day men reciprocated their ladies’ gifts offered on Valentine’s Day.
His messages had been cryptic: a simple invitation to his place, without flatmate.
She definitely owed Fujimoto for a full day’s privacy. The physics teacher was more devious than she’d initially surmised; ever since their discovery, he carefully guarded their secret, not a look out of place.
Sakura bloomed on cherry trees, marking the turning of another school year; a full revolution of the sun ever since she’d landed in Japan. The country had owned her heart for a decade before she could set foot on its soil, but now…
I never imagined this.
Elyna lifted her head to the sky; the few early petals danced their usual ballet, soft and smooth, like Kazuki’s voice. His building awaited her and she pushed the door eagerly.
Elyna climbed the stairs in haste, each step felt like shedding another link of the chain that kept them buried. Eventually, she reached Kazuki’s floor. His door was unlocked. Her pulse quickened in anticipation as she slipped off her shoes in the genkan, right beside his.
It was a small symbol, but one that filled her chest with belonging. Meditative music drifted through the gap—a traditional erhu that coaxed her inside the flat.
Kazuki was nowhere in sight. Practising Qi Gong, maybe?
“Kazu?”, she called out, closing the front door behind her.
“In here.” She followed his voice all the way into his bedroom and stopped dead, breath catching in her throat.
Kazuki knelt on a cushion in front of his low desk, back straight and posture perfect.
Instead of his usual clothes, he wore some kind of white tunic crossed at the breast that reminded her of old Chinese movies.
The bright cotton caught the light, contrasting with his dark hair, transforming him. Adorned in white like this, he resembled a historical figure from a painting … an angel, even. A very earthly one, for the robes only emphasised his powerful frame.
A cast iron teapot sat before him, steam curling gently at its spout. Two cups awaited the brew, while another seemed to contain tea leaves. Kazuki sat motionless before his offering, so still that he looked lost in meditation.
“What’s all this?” Elyna asked, afraid of breaking the charm with her presence.
Warm brown eyes found her beneath parted lashes. “A little ceremony,” he said simply, lifting his arm to invite her in this sacred space. “Will you join me?”
His tone was vulnerable, calling her to his side instantly. A cushion awaited in front of the table, and she slipped her coat off before settling down. Kazuki gave her an uneasy smile, one that held many secrets. His expression was a strange mix of peace and dread, causing Elyna to frown.
“Bear with me,” he murmured. He took a deep breath and reached for the tea with his usual grace.
The ceremony started then, every gesture deliberate as he warmed the cups with hot water.
He measured tea leaves carefully, put them to steep with the reverence of someone who had woven this ritual into his very bones.
Mesmerised, Elyna watched his features tighten as he focused on getting each detail right.
He pushed his long sleeve aside to pour the tea into those tiny cups.
To see this athletic man handle things with such care was endearing. Peace unfurled in her veins, brought forth by the sheer magic of the moment. Each of his movements felt like a dance, a prayer to the heavens, one that aligned her soul and her body.
“So beautiful…” she said softly, accepting the cup he offered with both hands. Their fingers brushed a moment, lingering longer than necessary.
“Arigatō gozaimasu.” Elyna took a careful sip, savouring the subtle flavour of the green tea he’d chosen. Probably a Chinese blend; it didn’t feel like the mineral, sea-bearing brew of Sencha.
Kazuki drank from his own cup, looking at her with raw intensity that made her shiver.
Elyna was full of questions, but his purposeful silence stalled her tongue.
She breathed in a whiff of steam and relaxed, lost in the moment.
As she tasted another mouthful of green tea, Kazuki set his cup down neatly, and removed the tray from his lacquered table.
The large white sleeves billowed as he twisted around to reach for a different set of supplies. She spotted a brush, an ink stick and a modest grinding stone. Calligraphy material. Excited at the prospect, the young woman couldn’t help but ask. “Kazu, what…?”
“Please,” he responded, setting up his material with formal precision. “Let me do this properly.”
Elyna felt her pulse quicken with anticipation as he began grinding the stick against the stone with deliberate circles.
The movement was slow and rhythmic, just the right amount of pressure applied for the drop of water to turn into jet black liquid.
Once satisfied with the ink’s consistency, Kazuki produced a long piece of rice paper.
Features still like the water of a lake, he selected the brush and dipped it, allowing the ink to soak. Elyna fell completely silent when his hand remained poised, as if waiting for the right moment; his eyes flickered to her face, just an instant, before he returned to the rice paper.
Suspended, Elyna felt her breath quicken; Kazuki seemed completely absorbed in his task, completely exposed to her scrutiny. Elbow supple, he finally brought the brush down; the ink bled into the fibres at once. With careful, deliberate strokes, he began to write.
One hand held his flowing sleeve away as he painted a complicated kanji she knew well.
愛 - Love
Elyna gasped. More characters followed, written in Hiragana this time. His calligraphy was exquisite, each symbol flowing into the next with innate grace.
She remembered one late night confession when Kazuki had revealed using brush work like a form of meditation; his impressive skill shown in every stroke. And what he’d learnt from his grandfather was now used to lay his heart bare, for she could recognise the full sequence.
愛してる - I Love You
Aishiteru—words that conveyed intense love and devotion in the Japanese language. Never uttered in public. To see them written felt monumental.
Kazuki set the brush aside, staring down at the calligraphy, as if he couldn’t quite believe such strong words were finally immortalised.
Indelible. Dazed, Elyna could only watch as he rounded the table on his knees, shifting forward easily to cover the distance.
Then, he carefully gathered the rice paper in both hands, and presented it to her with a bow.
An offering.
Elyna’s hands shook as she received the priceless work of art, eyes set upon him in wonder.
Is this real? Is he real?
Kazuki finally straightened, a small smile blooming on his features. Timid like a winter light trying to thaw a frozen lake. But his next words were strong enough to punch the breath out of her.
“Aishiteru,” he breathed. Then, with more strength, he switched to English. “I love you, Elyna.” His hand rose, warm and inviting, to cup her cheek. She nestled into his palm, feeling it tremble. “I’ve been wondering how… I didn’t know how to tell you.”
He gestured to the paper between them, where his feelings had been painted in dark ink. “It’s simpler than I thought. I love you, Elyna. Completely. With everything I am.”
She set the calligraphy on the tatami mats behind her carefully. Her pulse raced at the overwhelming offering. Such courage! Kazuki was a private man, and she appreciated the sheer determination it took to bare himself so fully. Through a ceremony, no less.
This whole setting suited him so well, quiet and reverent. Completely magical.
“Kazu,” she whispered as she reached for him.
“This is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me.” Her thumb grazed his cheekbone, chest fluttering like the fireflies from the Hotaru Festival.
It was a lifetime ago, days when she could only pine but not touch.
Dream, perhaps, but keep her longing safely hidden.
And today … those dreams had come true. A tear slipped past her lashes, sliding down her cheek. Something shifted in Kazuki’s expression; he surged forward, setting his forehead against hers in silent apology. “I’m sorry it took me so long to say it properly…”
Oh! He’s misinterpreted my tears!
Elyna’s throat closed; she pushed past the lump to reassure him. “But you have, my Tsuki.” Her voice trembled, and she finally lost the battle with her joy; tears cascaded in silent rivers.
Kazuki retreated an inch with a suspicious look, probably wondering if he’d ever been drunk enough to forget making such a grand declaration. His confusion was so adorable that a wet laugh escaped her. “Not in words, but you told me a thousand different ways.”
His eyebrows furrowed. “But Shintarō…”
” … doesn’t understand us, I think.” What the heck did he say to make him so self-conscious? “And Japanese people express love differently than in the West,” she added. “But I know. You would never have accepted we see each other if you didn’t love me as much as I love you.”
When realisation set in, his expression turned sheepish. “Oh…” His tongue darted out to wet his lips, and Elyna laughed.
“I’m fluent in Tsuki now.” She reached for his hand and squeezed. “I’ve been studying hard for a year and I hear every word you don’t say.”
His features lit up in wonder, as if he’d spent weeks bracing for the wrong answer. “Am I another language to you now?”
Elyna looked up at him, chest filling with such warmth, such love, that it stuttered painfully. “More than that. You’re another world,” she said. “Mine.”
He exhaled like a man setting down a heavy charge. His fingers curled around hers, and he watched their entwined hands upon the tatami mats of his room. “I was afraid you didn’t know,” he whispered. “After Mako-san kicked up that storm, I was afraid…”
He shook his head, jaw tightening briefly with the memory of it. “That you deserved better than someone who couldn’t even say it.”
“Kazu. I’d rather have a man who loves me, but doesn’t say it than the opposite. Words don’t matter to me, as long as I know I have your heart.”
A smile bloomed upon his face. “You are an extraordinary woman, Elyna. I am … glad that you chose me.”
He looked so earnest sitting there in his white ceremonial robes, completely undone by her response to his confession that she felt her heart crack open. She reached up and drew him down to her before he could find another reason to doubt himself.
The kiss was tender. Just a caress. When he sighed into the embrace and wound his arms around her, Elyna knew her point had come across.
The kiss turned into a hug, Kazuki’s head landing on her shoulder while she carded her fingers through the silk of his hair.
“I wanted to give you something permanent,” he breathed in her ear.
“Something you could keep even when…” his voice trailed then.
Kazuki straightened, reaching for her hand to entwine their fingers.
Warmth engulfed her skin, the familiar touch sending blissful waves in her body.
“Even when?”
“Even when we have to pretend we’re nothing to each other.”
She looked up at him then, still in awe that this wonderful, handsome man had chosen to declare himself through a ceremony. She would never, ever forget it. That confession flooded her veins like the most benevolent river, and she felt her eyes sting anew.
“I love you too,” she whispered. “I love you so much it scares me sometimes.”
This time, Kazuki just pulled her in his lap and kissed her senseless, the taste of green tea and his own masculine fragrance invading her mouth.
I’m framing this calligraphy.
Outside the window, cherry blossoms danced in the wind, marking the beginning of another spring. Another year. Another life.
Aksel: hey sis, I heard they do something for 14th of march in Japan. Got a super uber jewellery stuff that you will never wear?
Elyna: nope. Much better
Elyna sent a pic
Aksel: … and you like it better than jewellery?
Elyna: of course. Jewellery would look strange on the wall