Tsukiuta. Tsukishiro Kanade Birthday SS - 12/5/2023

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🌟Let’s get draft for now🌟

 

“Well then...... Cheers!”

“Ch-cheers!”

 

“...”

 

“Phew~~~”

 

The man sitting in front of my eyes drank his first cup of “Let’s get draft for now” in one delicious-looking gulp.

His makeup should’ve been taken off completely, but his face and figure were so brilliant that it easily drew people’s attention.

My companion had declared that we were definitely not going to bring work into things, which is why I’d allowed myself to presume upon his kindness. I looked at his face from straight-on without hesitation, ever so slightly.

Then I thought, from the bottom of my heart,

 

(My son... is just, so~~~ cool.)

 

And......

 

“Ah, Tsukishiro-san. You liked egg omelets, didn’t you? I’ll ask them for one with soup base in the batter, but apparently, there’s two types... Which would you prefer?”

“Ah, I’m fine with either one. You can choose whichever you’d like, Arata-kun...”

“Fufu. No~ way. Please decide for yourself.

Today’s a drinking party I’m holding for your birthday, Tsukishiro-san.

You’re going to order everything according to your preferences.

And of course, I’ll be the one treating you 🎶”

 

Considerate, skilled at getting others to spoil him, but so incredibly kind.

 

Isn’t he perfect?

He’s perfect, for sure.

No – He’s absolutely, definitely, most certainly perfect.

 

And on top of that, he’s cool from every single angle you see him from, so the employees who came to set the table or take our orders looked at him with eyes that yelled, “Oh!”

 

Of course you would.

I wholly understand as well.

“Ah, he’s off work right now, so...”

While keeping on an apologetic expression that said such a thing, I actually wanted to scream from the depths of my heart,

 

“ISN’T MY SON SO COOL!?

I HAVE ABOUT FIVE OTHER CHILDREN WHO ARE JUST AS PERFECT IN THEIR OWN WAYS TOO!?!?”

 

I didn't actually say it, but – Ahh, I wanted to scream it.

(......Perhaps I might have screamed it with a mic in hand at one of the managers’ drinking parties in a karaoke room.)

 

“Wasn’t your birthday today, Tsukishiro-san?”

 

He invited me to a one-on-one drinking party tonight, saying something along those lines. It was a rare pair.

A thought came to my mind as various dishes were carried over, we ate, and we drank.

Though we’d been working together for nearly ten years, it might have been the first time that we did something like this with just the two of us.

 

“It’s probably... the first time we’re drinking together like this.”

 

It seemed that he, who was sucking on a mackerel, was thinking the exact same thing. It made me laugh.

 

“Yes. I was thinking the same thing.

Typically, there would be Aoi-kun here, or the rest of Gravi. It’s more common that we have a few more people, hm?”

“It is.

I see, it’s our first time doing this...

......It makes me feel... like this is special. It makes me happy.”

 

That’s

What

I

Should

Be

Saying

.

 

Calm down.

Calm down, Tsukishiro.

We’re outdoors right now, and I’m an adult with perfect control of my common sense.

It’s still too early for me to head into the direction Shun-kun is beckoning me to join him in.

 

“......Me too. I’m very, very happy, too.”

“That’s a relief to hear. Fufu!”

 

Oh

My

Gosh

You’re

So

Cute

!

 

His laugh clearly made a critical hit on my emotions, but I somehow managed to righten my posture by pretending to fix my glasses.

That was close.

If I weren’t his manager, I would’ve collapsed right then and there.

 

(Even so...)

 

Arata-kun’s smile hadn’t changed a bit from the past.

 

People say that his range of expressions is lacking, but those miniscule changes are indeed, so precious, that I constantly wish that the knowledge of it could spread through the world as quickly as possible.

His coolly-constructed features become the slightest bit softer, the outer corners of his eyes drop somewhat...... and with those sparkling bright eyes of his, he laughs ever so gently.

 

Yes.

The most eye-catching part of his face are those beautiful long-slitted eyes, which seem as if God had smoothly drawn them out with a single brushstroke.

(※These are personal opinions.)

 

Arata-kun’s eyes are always shockingly bright, shockingly full of expression.

When those kaleidoscope-like eyes look at me, I feel as if my heart has been squeezed tightly. I bask in that sensation.

When I first met him, I was surprised that there was a boy with such eyes who conveyed his heart so directly, so deeply.

 

(......When we first met......)

 

He was still in high school back then.

When I thought about how someone like him has become old enough to treat me to a drink, I began thinking about the passage of time: what’s happened until now, and what would happen from now on. It made me tear up a bit.

 

Whether or not he knew of my personal sentiments at the time, Arata-kun laughed childishly in his “off-mode,” so to speak, with his mellow features.

 

“Since it’s not every day that we get to spend time with just the two of us... let’s chat the day away and drink as much as we want.”

“...Of course! Let’s do so!”

“Happy birthday to you again, Tsukishiro-san. I’m representing Gravi, so I’m first. Let’s have them all celebrate for you once we get back home.”

“Thank you!”

 

＊＊＊＊

 

Arata: I feel an arbitrary sympathy towards you, Tsukishiro-san.

Tsukishiro: Sympathy... you say?

Arata: Yes. You’re like a comrade-in-arms with the same resolve to protect Gravi.

Tsukishiro: Protect... Am I protecting you?

 

Arata: After all this time, you’re not aware of it? You’re always protecting us.

You save Hajime-san from overworking himself. You let Haru-san direct his thrills in a way that he can use for work. You let me go at my own pace, at my own leisure. You give Aoi work that gives him proper challenge. You help Koi achieve his wishes for what he wants to do. You treat Kakerun to tons of food.

 

Tsukishiro: Wasn’t the last one a little different? (laughs)

Arata: But it’s important, isn’t it?

Tsukishiro: I suppose so. (laughs)

You’re always kindly protecting Gravi too, aren’t you?

You remain calm and composed mentally, which I believe is very reliable.

 

Arata: Do rely on me, please. I have great confidence that I do things my own way.

 

Tsukishiro: You have great intuition as well.

Such as the time with Hajime-kun at the closing party, when they were about to take a photo with him and an actress coworker...

 

Arata: Aah, that? It was a nice job, if I do say so myself.

I had the vibe that there’d just sorta be a camera around~ so I made sure to cling right to Hajime-san’s side and I kept getting in between him and the actress.

Tsukishiro: You were a great help. (laughs) Thanks to everyone, and not just Hajime-kun, remaining right and proper in their conduct, we’ve had few, if not zero, topics regarding that sort of thing...

And various companies are aiming for a scoop......

Good grief.

 

Arata: Y’know, I think it’s high time we make people suspect that passionate love’s happening inside Gravi... ...Or, wait. Suspicion isn’t the right way to put it. We’ll keep proving that Gravi is super-duper lovey-dovey within our squad.

Tsukishiro: Ahaha. I’m counting on you.

 

Arata: Ah. The glass is empty now. What would you like to drink next?

Tsukishiro: Goodness, I don’t know. I feel as if I might drink too much, because I’m having so much fun.

Arata: Please let yourself loose once in a while. I’ll make sure to send you home.

 

Tsukishiro: ...Perhaps I should take you up on your offer? Well, then...

 

Arata & Tsukishiro: Let’s get draft for now 🍻

 

# Tsukishiro Kanade Birthday Festival 2023