“Happy birthday, Hyuuga-sensei!” Walking up to the teacher, Syo beamed and held out a rectangular dark blue box wrapped with a white ribbon. Inside and hidden under a few folds of tissue paper was a brand new pair of stylish black leather motorcycle gloves. The gloves weren’t quite the entire present, however. A folded letter was tucked inside one of the gloves, the paper peeking out so that Ryuuya was sure to notice it. The letter itself was a thank-you of sorts, because although Syo had said much the same in the past, it wasn’t always easy to say all that he wanted to at any given time.
I’ve said it before, but I doubt I’ll ever stop saying it unless you tell me to. Thank you. You were my idol for years, and then I was lucky enough to have you as my teacher. Now we’re colleagues and coworkers, and even though we’re both professionals, I still look up to you because of how much you’ve inspired me and taught me over the years.
I know I wouldn’t be where I am today without you, and I mean that. It started off with loving your character in the Prince of Fighting series, but you’ve been an inspiration to me as your character and as yourself. It might sound silly or stupid, but as a little kid, having your show to watch every day and watching you act and do all those cool stunts… It was the escape and the inspiration I needed to make sure I never gave up. You helped me want to become stronger; to keep fighting. You didn’t know it at the time, but you never failed to make me smile when I needed it most, and that’s why I decided I wanted to become someone who can make other people smile when they need it too. I don’t think I can put into words how grateful I am for that, or how glad I am that I’ve had the chance to get to know you and work with you.
You’re still just as amazing as I thought you were back then, and I couldn’t be more honored and proud to keep learning from you and continue working alongside you. You deserve the best birthday possible, so I hope it’s a great one. Happy birthday, Hyuuga-sensei.
“Thank you, Syo!” With a bright smile at his former student, Ryuuya took the offered present, already working on opening it. His smile grew as he saw the gloves, taking them out of the box to feel their texture and pausing as he noticed a folded up piece of paper in one of them. Taking it out, he took the time to set the gloves to the side as he unfolded and read through the letter.
As he read through the letter, there were moments where he had to pause in his reading simply to take in the words that he just read. The amount of emotion within the words settled on his chest, giving rise to a warm feeling as he reached the end of the letter. Smile growing as he re-read the letter once more, he finally set it down in order to reach over to lay a hand on top of Syo’s head, ruffling his hair through his hat.
“The gloves are nice, so thanks for them. And the letter... that’s possibly the greatest gift I could ever ask for. Just knowing that I can make someone smile; knowing that I can inspire someone to work as hard as you do... I know birthdays are supposed to be a time to reflect on your life and feel proud of what you accomplished, and I have never felt prouder about my work than I do at this moment. You don’t have to thank me for all that, but since you did, I have to thank you for being you. You’re actually pretty inspiring yourself, just so you know. But really... thank you, Syo.”
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