Neji's 2025 Birthday Story ~English Fan Translation~
I really love Neji, and I haven't done any translations in a long time. I drew this on his birthday last year and felt like spiffing it up a little more to go with the translation I did back then. Disclaimer, I'm not a native speakerâjust another otome-loving netizen~ I hope you enjoy!
Hello everyone. Neji Kokuto here.
I'm currently⌠deeply dissatisfied with the world around me.
Behold! Univeil, at our feet!
And not just Univeilâthe whole town of Tamasaka is beneath me. It makes me feel downright depressed.
See this baby bird here? This sharp, clever, bespectacled one. A genius, really.
And what does a genius deserve?
That's rightâfood, also known as love.
You hear my cries, so why aren't you feeding my talent!? Give me a stage! Nurture me!
But no. What do I get instead?
"Learn the fundamentals." "Follow tradition." "Respect the classics."
Sure, sure, they have a pointâyou can't break form until you've learned it first. But isn't that just child neglect with a fancy historical label!?
"I get it already. You're pissed because the Tamasaka higher-ups chewed you out."
Fumi scolds gently, as calm as ever.
"âŚWait, did I say all that out loud?"
Feigning surprise, I tilt my head, hand on my cheek.
"You set a record with how quickly you angered the people in charge, or so the seniors are saying."
Kai tosses in that unhelpful comment like it's nothing.
"And whose fault is that!? I'm starving!"
Feed me and maybe I'll shut my beak!
Kai hands me a white box. Inside are a variety of colorful cakes.
"No mere cake can soothe my sorrow!"
And yet, I snatch one and shove it straight into my mouth.
"âŚI take it back. I'm cured!"
Wiping my hands with the paper towel Kai gave me, I exclaim, "Delicious! Absolutely incredible!"
Fumi just sighs, saying "Good for you," with a deadpan face, while Kai shrugs. "If that's not enough, there's plenty more."
"So, seriously, what's with the cakes? They don't exactly scream 'normal day'."
"âŚIt's your birthday, obviously."
Fumi drops it flatly, without a shred of sentimentality.
"Waitâwhat's this cake doing here!?"
I rephrase more dramatically. I'm fishing for a different answer here!
Fumi's glare sharpensâoh no, he's getting annoyed! My pulse quickens. And yeah, I can think of a few reasons I probably deserve it...!
"Happy birthday, Kokuto."
Kai swoops in, slicing through the tension.
I bow, deliberately being polite.
There it is! That's what I wanted to hear.
Fumi smilesâarms crossed, eyes narrowed. What a scary guy.
"C'mon, you guys eat too!"
Trying to change the mood, I offer them the cakes.
Fumi sighs, then mutters, "Yeah, happy birthday," like it's a truce.
Surely, this will go down in history as the legendary Kokuto-Sarafumi Ceasefire Agreement.
"Still though, Tamasaka Troupe really is pretentious."
I glare up at the towering building with a derisive snort.
I figured this would happen when I came here. And sure enough, I've done it allâfastest in history, just as Kai said.
I turn back to where Univeil's campus lies below us.
"What kind of stage will they create?"
Fumi and Kai naturally follow my gaze toward Univeil.
"There's so much we left behind thereâŚ" I say, half to myself. "And honestly? I want them to throw it all away."
They both turn to me, brows raised in surprise.
"Isn't that for the best? We can't become the next Tachibana Tsuki."
I can feel the breath catch in their throats. Their whole time at Univeil was a battle against Tachibana Tsuki. The crown jewel of Univeil.
But hey, if I'm being honest, we were legends too. Me? An undeniable genius, of course. Fumi, whose charisma lit up Univeil from day one like it was the center of the world. And Kai, who graduated as one of Univeil's top names.
And unlike a certain spiky-haired, glasses-wearing someone, these two are absurdly good at looking after people.
Our juniors will surely think of usâthe 76th graduating classâwhenever they hit a crossroads.
That's fine if it pushes them forward. But if it drags them down? Unacceptable.
"So yeah. I want them to throw away everything we left behind. Burn it, even. Scatter the ashes far and wideâif they bloom into cherry blossoms, even better!"
I'm so convinced of my answer that I find myself sounding more serious than I intended.
"There's nothing to worry about."
Kai's voice softens the air around us, melting the frost from my heart.
"They'll handle it. They won't burn our legacy, and we shouldn't let them if they tried."
His steady gaze locks onto mine.
Yeah⌠He's right. Of course.
Why is it that I always pick the most painful option?
Why do I pretend it's the only story there is to tell?
That's⌠my big problem, isn't it?
There's an infinite number of stages left for me to create. The possibilities go on forever.
But the time I've got? That's limited. Every minute, every secondâevery grain of sandâbrims with everything I never got to do.
So I cling to the path that makes me suffer the most and try to make it feel absolute.
Then I force that onto other people.
âŚOr maybe that was a passing thought. I'm not sure if that's really true.
Before I know it, my imagination runs wild, loses sight of the real me, and invents someone else entirely.
Chasing the shape of crashing waves, you forget to gaze at the ocean.
"âŚSo in the end, you just want them to be free to forge their own paths, huh?"
Fumi's voice flows with the rhythm of a gentle tide.
"You're scared that because they respect us so much, they'll cling to the Quartz we made, instead of building a new one."
"So if burning it all clears the way, you're ready to hand them the matches."
His words snap my thoughts into place.
"Sure, I won't say there's no chance of that. They're already familiar with that shape, after all. But, knowing them, they'll take their time and create a new one."
Fumi laughs quietly. "Remember how long it took us to make our new Quartz?"
People are forever fledglings. Our surroundings change. We change. There's no such thing as permanence.
Life's a cycle of death and rebirth. So what's there to be afraid of?
"I was scared that their love for my talent would hold them back! Because, well, I'm just too much of a genius!"
A divine revelation strikes me like lightning.
I lunge toward Fumi to share my excitementâhe dodges, every bit the scion of a dance family.
"And you two love my talent too, right!?"
I pounce on Kai this time.
A direct rejection!? How am I supposed to take that!?
"Not just your talent, Kokuto. We love youâall of you."
"Hey, that's⌠Such a 'happy birthday' thing to sayâŚ"
Flustered, I hide my true feelings awkwardly. Fumi pretends not to see it. Kai takes it all in quietly.
They're amazing, aren't they? Friends. Even a guy like me can feel their warmth.
To feel that on my birthday? That's the best gift ever.
I turn my gaze back toward Univeil.
I don't just have juniors in Quartz; some are in Amber, too. I wonder what path he'll walk.
Chui. Don't go turning into a god, alright?
Amid the crowd of students at Univeil, I spot a budding flower.
Fumi and Kai notice tooâa student with hair the color of sakura petals.
"âŚSo flowers will bloom even without ashes, huh?"
"Well, guess I'll go spark a revolution!"
I shout, fist raised. Fumi snaps, "Hey!" and Kai glances around warily.
I march forward. Tamasaka ahead, Univeil behind.
Univeil isn't something that holds me back. It pushes me forward.
I wish my entire past could be that way.
Until next time, Neji Kokuto.
Thanks for reading! Let me know your thoughts and feedback if you'd like đ
You can find all the birthday stories here!
All credit for the story goes to Towada Shin.
