Rin’s POV:
I cut the cake that had green icing and golden flowers over it; the top of the cake had handwriting that spelled, ‘Happy 17th Birthday Nat’. I held out the biggest slice to Nat, who politely declined. I smiled faintly, and patted her head.
“We have presents for you, Onee-chan. Damn. I can’t believe you’re older than me now~” I whined, and then hugged her. “But you’ll always be my little Onee-chan.” I smile, and hold her close. She blushes and smiles,before patting my head.
“Oh! Nee-chan, we can start.” I grinned, then snapped my fingers, calling ‘Yami’ over my shoulder. The black cat slowly limped over to the group, everyone gasping at the dark furred cub. Nat’s eyes widened as it sat down in front of her, sniffing her fingers that she held out for him.
“Yami. Yami, yami.” The panther cub mewed, now a little more talkative around the birthday girl.
“Yami is a very nice name for you, boy.” She stated back softly, and held him in her arms as she kissed his head. “Now up you go.” She gently nudges him up to her shoulder, in which he takes cover in her hair and curls up, falling asleep. She smiled, and set him down on the couch before hugging Hoshimi and I. “Arigatou.”
“Next is mine!” Koko yowled, and smirked as she tackled Nat in a hug. She handed her a slip of paper, then grinned as Nat only smiled faintly, looking up at her.
“Alright. I’ll do that.” She stated softly.
“Oh! Next is Izumo-chan and mine!” Shiemi yelped, and smiled sheepishly before holding out a box that was wrapped in ribbons. Nat slowly opened it, then smiled a little.
“O-oh. M-My favorite books, Percy Jackson and the Olympians…” She murmured, though I knew she was out of it. It wasn’t normal for her to receive birthday presents on the day that her family died. Of course, none of the friends she had gathered around her knew about this.
“Now is mine.” Yukio stated with a soft smile. He handed her a video tape and a pistol, and her eyes twinkled just the slightest as she held the two close to her chest.
“Y-you really-”
“Of course. They were our memories.” Yukio said simply, and smiled. She smiled back, and kissed his cheek softly. I smirked lightly, noticing how Bon’s eye twitched as she did this.
“Now’s ours!” Konkemau and Shima held out a packaged rectangular shape, and so I watched Nat take it with slightly trembling fingers. Unwrapping it, her eyes widened slightly. “Remember?” Konkemaru grinned slightly, causing Hoshimi to blush and quickly turn the other way. Nat only nodded, flipping through the papers of the scrapbook.
“We made it ourselves.” Shima announced, seeming proud of himself. Hearing Nat giggle made my lips twitch up for a few moments, then go back to an amused smirk.
“None of us could trust Shima getting a present on his own,” I smile cheekily as I laugh good-heartedly. “Anyways, let the cockhead show her his present.” I concluded with a game-show host’s voice, before smirking lightly at the boy who was glaring at me.
“Uruse!! It’s not a cockhead!!” He growled, before thrusting the package forward. When she opened it, her cheeks flushed and she smiled sweetly at Bon, tackling him in a hug and kissing his cheek softly, causing him to blush.
“It’s so kawaii~” She purrs, and smiles, sitting with her legs tucked out ward, the box set on her lap as she looked through it. “Hm, let’s see.” She murmured, and blushes as she takes out a booklet of notecards. “Coupons for the Birthday Girl; Special Edition.” She read out loud.
“R-Read the rest in your head, Baka!!” Bon exclaimed with a panicked voice, his cheeks a deep red. She only smiles sheepishly, before smiling at him.
“G-Gomene, Ryuuji.” She cooes, before starting to hum as she reads it. Her cheeks flush and she smiles goofily on one of them. I look over her shoulder, and stifle a laugh. It said ‘Free Piggyback Rides’. Kami, I was serious. It’s so obvious now. He’s got it bad. Watching her turn the page, her eyes widened as she blushed. The next card said: ‘A Free Shoulder to Cry on (Can be used more than once)’. I saw her smile, and look at him with happier eyes than I’ve ever seen them before. Seeing this made my smile widen, and so I only hug her tightly when she was done reading the cards.
“My present was better, right?” I ask, my voice muffled against her hair.
“Of course.” She assured me with a gentle smile, softly patting my hair. I smirk, and stick out my tongue at Bon.
“Ha!” I prance around the fuming boy until he starts to get up, and so I make a run for it and hide behind Nat. When everyone started to leave, Nat stood up, a sweet-but sad- smile on her face showed.
“M-Minna...I want you to know...Thank you. For everything.” She states with a soft voice, though her words hit everyone’s ears clearly. We all smiled-yes, even Izumo-, and wrapped the birthday girl in our arms as the sun set outside.
Nat’s POV:
I now lie in my bed, my side embraced by the panther cub next to me, and my other side pressed against Hoshimi. I smiled softly, and kissed her head gently as I started to sit up. “They really didn’t have to go through this much; certainly not on this day, they shouldn’t have done this.” I murmur, but smile a little, brushing my fingers through Yami’s fur. “Their friendship and love is enough.” I chuckle as Yami’s tongue gently flicks my finger, and so I pull my fingers back, shifting so I was now sitting on the edge of the bed.
Looking down at my pale yellow shorts and my Batman tank top, I started to quietly tip toe to my desk, where all of the other presents were. I picked up the first book of the second series; Heroes of Olympus. I curled up in the corner of my dorm-where I usually read my books- and started to read it.
Four books later, I wiped my eyes as I sniffled, closing the last book before more tears would be dropped onto the pages of delicate paper. Pushing the books gently into the bookshelf that was next to me, I tried to smile. “W-well...at least the war was now over.” I reason quietly, but wipe my eyes all over again, remembering the ending of the book.
I then picked up the piece of paper that was an envelope-a creative idea, really- and smiled faintly. Since the festival of the Spring Equinox-my birthday- would be going on tomorrow, Koyalee wanted to go with me to it. They really didn’t have to… I think sheepishly, then chuckle. I look at the bill of 2,000 yen, and close my eyes, leaning my head against the wall. Why did they have to do this on today? It’s normal for them to, but...should I tell them? Or should I keep it from them, waiting until their cluelessness and thoughtfulness grows and blow it to them the next year? I shake my head. I’ll tell them when I’m ready. I promised Ryuuji that I would.
“Mm...Onee-chan…” I heard Hishomi mumble, sitting up as she rubbed her eyes. “Why’re ya over there? Our bed is over here...silly…” She chided with a chuckle, and then her white head flopped back into the pillow, her faint snore being heard again.
“Alright, Onee-san. I’m coming.” I whisper, and then stand up, setting the envelope back onto the desk, tracing my finger over the package of coupons before smiling faintly, crawling back into my bed next to the younger girl and falling asleep.
