I don't own Kagerou Project or Mekakucity Actors or any of the characters in them. Picture link here: . ?id=145719. Happy Heat-Haze Day! :)

"This was a stupid idea," grumbled Takane, leaning her head on her knees.

Kenjirou (Oh, oops. She meant Mr. Tateyama.) was late for class, again, and Takane had made the mistake of mentioning half-heartedly to Haruka that it was her birthday.

"Aw, Takane, isn't this fun?" asked Haruka cheerfully, chewing on some rice.

They were sitting on the cold ground against the only unused section of wall in their classroom with food laid out all around them.

Haruka had proposed that they pool all their food together and have a small party for themselves. He also suggested inviting Ayano and Shintaro, but, of course, they were in class. Because their teacher was there on time. Takane scowled in annoyance, thinking of her somewhat scatterbrained teacher, and said, "This is only fun for you because you get twice as much food as normal."

"But, Takane," whined Haruka, "You can eat some, too. D'you want some negima?" He offered her some. Takane wrinkled her nose.

"My birthday sucks," she announced instead. "My parents get all cheesy and I have no friends, anyways. It's a waste of time. The only good thing is that I can get new games. For free. But Dead Bullet is still the best, so maybe there is no good thing about it."

"It's celebrating your birth," argued Haruka, his mouth full of food. "Today is important. Besides, you've got me to celebrate with!"

Takane snorted. They sat side-by-side in companionable silence, until Haruka swallowed the last bite of food and said, "Why don't we leave a note for Mr. Tateyama saying it's your birthday and leave?"

Takane blinked, surprised. She shifted on the tile floor. "I can't believe you, of all people, would suggest that," she told Haruka, reaching for her lunch containers.

"But it's your birthday. It should be special. I'll make your birthday something to look forward to!" announced Haruka, excitedly. "It'll be fun!"

"I doubt that's gonna happen." Takane shoved her boxes into her backpack and leaned back against the wall.

"I'll try. Really. I promise, every year, I'll try to make your birthday as happy as I possibly can!" Haruka vowed, his eyes shining with joy and sincerity. Takane looked away and huffed, wondering when Mr. Tateyama would arrive. She found herself hoping that he never would.

"Having Mr. Tateyama attempt to give us a lecture the next day about our 'behavior' and fail miserably would just be the icing on the cake," she sighed.

"I'll find some other way to make your birthday happy, then." Haruka leaned back in thought before jerking upwards. "I didn't get you a present!" he exclaimed, dismayed. But then his eyes lit up. "Hold on a second, Takane!"

He rummaged in his backpack for a sketchbook and a pencil before sketching something out and thrusting it in Takane's face.

It was a drawing of her, no doubt, but with strange designs on her face. She was wearing an oversized blue jacket and a short skirt, and she was smiling. He'd drawn her multiple times, from different angles, but all with huge smiles on her face.

"What?" Takane's face flushed. "That's not even a present!"

As Haruka's face fell, Takane amended, "I mean, you don't even have to get me one, really. Stop looking so depressed."

"But I want to make Takane happy on her birthday!" He frowned, upset. Takane began to feel a little bad.

"No, no, the drawing's fine. I like the face markings," she said, pointing to the rectangles on her cheeks. "It would make a pretty cool game avatar."

Haruka's eyes lit up, and he reached for his colored pencils. "Your favorite color's blue, right?" he asked, but without waiting for an answer, he began to make her hair, eyes, and jacket a vibrant, electric blue.

When it was done, Haruka wrote messily in the corner, "Happy Birthday," and ripped it out of his book to hand it to her.

As she looked over the drawings, Takane unknowingly let a small smile slide onto her face.

"Takane should smile more often," said Haruka, an award-winning smile on his face and his hair sticking up in all the wrong places. "It makes you look even prettier."

"Eh?! You can't go around saying things like that, Haruka!" scolded Takane, looking away with red cheeks.

"Have I made your birthday happier?" asked Haruka hopefully.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," grumbled Takane, blushing even more when Haruka put his arm around her shoulders. "Don't do that!" she snapped, but he didn't move.

"I'm glad I made you happy on your birthday," beamed Haruka, leaning in to her. "I'll do it every year, too. For as long as I can." There was an awkward pause, as they knew that it had to be said, what with their fragile existences. But he continued, just as upbeat, anyways. "I promise."

It was her birthday.

Takane sat by herself on her bed, her legs pulled up and her head rested on her knees. She closed her eyes and thought about a day, so long ago, and stupid broken promises and sitting on the classroom floor in the same position she was in just then. Stupid. She was just so stupid for thinking back. For giving away her heart so easily because of stupid. fucking. butterflies. that wouldn't stop fluttering in her stomach like the flu.

Anyways, his promise had been broken. There she was, miserable and alone on her birthday, and where was he?

Okay, so, fine. He was still there. But that just meant living in the same house. Probably he was sitting on the Dan's couch being a waste of space and eating all the food. He ate like Haruka.

But they're not the same person, Takane reminded herself, frustrated. Not. The. Same. Person. Why could she not get that through her head?!

Every time Konoha smiled one of his half-assed smiles that didn't even look happy at all, she'd see Haruka beaming cheerfully at her, laughing with joy as he called out a happy, "Good morning!" to her every day.

And whenever Konoha tilted his head in confusion, Takane could see Haruka right there, tilting his head in puzzlement. They did the exact same thing. Okay, yeah, other people did it, too, but it was just so Haruka, and they both had those marks on their cheeks, even if Haruka's was just a stupid circle-dot birthmark thing and…

Takane's vision blurred and her eyes felt warm. She wiped at them furiously, scolding herself for crying. Stupid. So stupid.

Maybe she should tell the Dan it was her birthday?

No, her birthdays were just full of pain anyways. They were stupid and not worth bothering with.

And maybe she didn't want to spend it with anyone besides Haruka. It was their thing.

Stupid! He's DEAD! Not coming back! Not like they even liked each other, no. They had no "thing"s, or whatever else.

Takane pressed her hands to the sides of her head, squeezing and trying to stop her trickle of tears before she began to full-on bawl her eyes out.

Someone knocked on her door.

Takane nearly jumped out of her skin. Fixing a scowl into place, she furiously wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to even her breathing. "Who is it?" she called, surprised that her voice came out even, but still angry, as she pushed herself off her bed.

The door opened without an answer and she saw herself looking at the expressionless face of Konoha.

"What do you want?" she snapped, hiding her shock at his appearance.

Konoha tilted his head. Just. like. Haruka. "I have to spend today with Takane," he explained, walking in without permission.

"What?" she asked, her heart jumping.

"Your eyes are red," observed Konoha.

"I have allergies, okay?" Takane looked away from him, pressing her lips in a line. What was he even doing there? Rubbing salt in a wound? Reminding her of everything she'd never get back again?

Konoha frowned. "You have to be happy today," he said, his tone blank.

"But I want to make Takane happy on her birthday!"

"Why? It's just another day. I don't need to be happy," scowled Takane, narrowing her eyes at him.

"You have to be happy today," repeated Konoha. "I need to make sure Takane is happy on her birthday." What?!

"I never said it was my birthday today!" said Takane, almost angrily, feeling her heart begin to speed up. How did he know that?

"Negima?" Konoha offered her some of the food, which he was holding in his hand.

"D'you want some negima?"

Takane backed up, like she'd been stung. She shook her head and her back hit the wall behind her. She winced.

Konoha reached her in four steps. He stood, towering over her, and looking down at her with that eerily blank face. Takane's palms began to feel slippery and she could feel every crashing thud of her heartbeat.

They looked at each other for a moment before Konoha moved to the side and slid down, sitting with his back to the wall. Like that day.

"Sit," he said, patting the space next to him.

Scowling, Takane sat next to him and looked away.

Suddenly, there was a paper in her face. She waved her arms around in confusion and temporary blindness before the paper fluttered down. When she picked it up and looked at it, she noticed the drawing on it.

It was actually a multitude of sketches, of her with bright smiles. Of her and Ene and her game avatar. With radiant smiles.

"You look pretty when you smile," said Konoha, blankly, as though to remind her.

Suddenly, Takane was crying and she was just. so. stupid. Letting herself cry like that, in front of someone who was practically a stranger.

He's not a stranger; he's Haruka!

No, Haruka's DEAD. It's not him! It's NOT HIM!

How else could he have known all of this?! Do you not see him?! Don't you remember Haruka's game avatar?!

They don't even act the same! He's expressionless! Konoha barely acts human!

No, don't you remember-

"Shut up!" yelled Takane suddenly, tears running down her face.

Konoha, with his negima mysteriously gone, blinked at her. Finally, he slid his arm around her shoulders. She cried until she finally got some sense of her self dignity back, and she pushed herself up.

"I didn't make you happy," said Konoha, his voice actually sounding upset.

"You don't have to make me happy," grumbled Takane, frowning at her feet.

"But I promised Takane I'd make her happy on her birthday every year, for as long as I can," whined Konoha.

Whined? Konoha? Konoha whining?!

"What did you just say?" She looked up and gasped. Instead of Konoha, it was Haruka holding her, comforting her.

"I promised, Takane. I'm sorry. But you have to wake up," said Haruka sadly.

Takane bolted upwards. She was sitting in her bed, on top of her covers with a quilt thrown over her. It had all been a dream. Her face was wet with tears, and she wiped them off impatiently, only to realize that she was still crying.

She was just too weak when it came to Haruka. In fact, as she sat there, she could almost still feel the warm weight of his arm on her shoulder, a leftover wisp of memory, or perhaps just from her dream.

Because it was her birthday, she allowed herself to cry a little longer. Her birthdays were nothing but bitter, anyways.

As she pushed herself off the side of her bed, a piece of paper fluttered off the mattress and onto the ground. It was a page full of sketches, of her and Ene and her game avatar, all with big smiles plastered across their faces.

And on the corner was scrawled a messy, "Happy Birthday."