Kaede Birthday

I agreed to take Kaede out shopping for her birthday. It was a bit early to celebrate but she was getting a little stir-crazy without some new reading material. She had unusual tastes and she couldn't share it with most other people. Kaede even went so far as to emulate her favourite stories and artists in her own sketches and had started her own manga series that she submitted to a circle under an alias.

 

The only way I managed to find out was by accident. While talking online she mistakenly linked me to something she enjoyed. In order to keep her from panicking and disappearing from my life altogether I made a promise I'd keep her secret. Kaede was relieved to find someone she could be herself around but as much as I liked her it seemed as though I'd opened the floodgates. Without friends to share this interest with I came the person she turned to when she needed to gush about her obsession.

 

Part of maintaining our relationship meant helping her buy her reading material without raising suspicion of her friends who had their own tangentially related interests and frequented the same stores she did. Since it was her birthday soon I told her this trip would be on me.

 

I kept watch in the aisle while Kaede scoured the shelves she stuffed her prized treasures between stacks of shoujo work which she had no interest in and some Sci-Fi work by an artist she met at a convention. It was her clever disguise for her more deviant tastes. She sat crouched with a pile of works in her lap and when it became too heavy she passed them over to me.

 

'You don't have to pay for all of these. I brought some money too.' She asked anxiously 'I just missed so many issues. I want them all! I want all the hotties!' Her puppy eyes turned into the lustful eyes of a horndog and she drooled out of the corner of her mouth.

 

'It's okay.' I flicked through the books she chose and gagged a little when I came across something I shouldn't have. I covered up my distaste as best I could 'You're still in the clear to pick out some more stuff.'

 

Kaede smiled and it quickly turned into a dumb grin as she pulled more issues out 'Oh this looks delicious.' She slurped up a trail of her own slobber. I swear I saw her glasses fog up.

 

There was a familiar voice that boisterously hollered throughout the store and was promptly hushed by a store clerk. It made the hair on Kaede's body stand on end and she jumped up to shove the books into my arms and drag me away to another aisle. 'What's wrong?' I asked.

 

Kaede nervously bit at her lip 'It's a friend of mine. I need you to hold onto these. Don't let anyone see them. If you can sneak these to the cashier that would be even better.'

 

I too was now mortified. The idea of having to take these to the counter alone was embarrassing but I had to do it for her. 'Alright I'll do my best.'

 

As we rounded the corner we bumped into strange woman wearing a Hannya mask. The ogre face startled me but delighted Kaede. Whoever it was behind the mask they had an amazing figure and Kaede's admiration. Kaede squealed like a fan-girl and took the masked-woman's hands 'Oh wow!' Kaede swooned 'I didn't know you shopped here too! Could you sign something for me?' Kaede yanked a book from the pile I was hauling and almost sent the stack onto the floor.

 

'Oh I can't believe they gave this shelf space.' The woman humbly chuckled to herself. One of the books Kaede picked out was actually written and drawn by her. She took a pen and scrawled a special message and signature for Kaede. 'Who's the guy?'

 

'Oh, he's my date.' Kaede blushed. 'He's a very sweet guy.'

 

'You're very lucky.' The woman tilted her head. If not for the mask she would have looked cute. 'If you excuse me I still have some shopping to do.'

 

Kaede nervously giggled. It was as if she just met a legend 'Thank's again.' It was nice to see her smile again. It reminded me why all of this was worth it. She was able to forget that familiar voice for a brief moment before we had to round another corner towards the counter and bumped into a hyperactive girl who was covered in band-aids of varying age and a pair of goggles rested on her head. Kaede gasped with shock 'Oh, Hisui!?'

 

'How ya doin'? Hisui smirked 'You buyin' some stuff too? I'm here for the new Oppai Rider Y Nan-generation figure. It's the legendary rare Kaze figure with soft-PVC chest, over twenty missiles that actually fire and real ramen-eating action!' The way she discussed her purchase gave her an even wider and dumber grin than the one Kaede had earlier. She spotted the pile of books I struggled with and immediately snatched from the pile 'So what did you get?'

 

Hisui had taken one of the lewdest books in the pile and with mouth agape it fell to the floor and opened right on the two-page spread of a man embracing another from behind. Kaede was frozen in terror. Her secret was out and she couldn't live with herself. I had to jump in to her rescue 'Ah, those aren't for her.' I grit my teeth and faked a smile. I hoped Kaede would appreciate this.

 

'Oh' Hisui chuckled 'Well that makes sense. No way paintbrush here would go for any of that stuff.' Hisui slapped her hand down on my shoulder 'Besides our generation can't get hung up on who other people love right? And Kaede has someone else to go shopping and talk about boys with.'

 

Well Kaede did technically shop and talk about boys with me but it wasn't like that.

 

'Um, Hisui.' Kaede bashfully corrected her friend 'He doesn't actually swing that way. He's my date.'

 

Hisui was confused 'But he has girl manga and likes BL isn't that a little... you know? I just don't want you to get hurt.'

 

Kaede waved away Hisui's concern 'Oh he just embraces, um, cosmopolitan ideas and such. He's really into girls.'

 

Her friend wasn't convinced at all but dropped the topic for now and let us go free. Hisui even politely picked up the dropped book and neatened up the stack in my hands. 'I'll see you guys later.'

 

I was ghostly pale and ready to drop dead. Never in my life had I put myself out there just to get massacred like that. Kaede took my arm and led me to the counter. She nestled her cheek against my shoulder 'Thank you for doing that for me. If you need me to do something to help you feel like a super hetero man again I'll do it. Whatever it takes.' Kaede smiled at me but upon realising what she just said she turned red 'Well there may be limits! I'm not that kind of girl, really!'

 

The one thing that brought me back from the brink was her bashful smile. I wanted to see her joyful face every day. 'Well there is one thing.' I smirked 'A proper date. On your birthday. Just the two of us.'

 

Kaede held me close and nodded her head.