*KOTORI'S ROOM - MINAMI RESIDENCE - AKIHABARA - CHIYODA - TOKYO*
As far as relaxation tournaments go... That wasn't very relaxing. Which kind of disrupts the rest of my plans for today.
Yeah... As soon as we got back to Tokyo, I had to drag my exhausted self to Akihabara to help Kotori and You plan out tomorrow morning's party.
Seems like tomorrow is going to be a busy day too. With the party and the School Idol Club's next live show.
YOU: "I'm so looking forward to the 'Thanks for Always Being There for Me and I Hope You'll Stick Around Party'!"
KOTORI: "Me too! Whenever those two are near, I feel like everything'll be okay."
AKI: "What are we going to do at the party?"
KOTORI: "I'd like to give Honoka and Umi some kind of present that's bursting with my feelings of gratitude for them."
YOU: "Roger that! I want to give Chika and Kanan something too!"
AKI: "Then it's only right that I give a present to Ayu. I really want to give her something nice."
KOTORI: *Chuckle* "Okay, presents it is! I wonder what we should get them, though.
We know what they like, and it's not like we haven't gotten them gifts before, but...that just makes it harder, huh?"
YOU: "For sure! Stuffed animals and stationery are nice, but I've gifted them stuff like that before. Nothing else is really coming to mind, though."
KOTORI: "Exactly. What's a gift that tells someone you really appreciate them?
What kind of present would you be happy to receive?
Hm...
AKI: "Well... What about...something to commemorate the occasion? It doesn't have to be a present, but eating a special cake or something could be fun."
KOTORI: "Oh, right! I guess you could think about it that way too, huh?
I want to do something that'll make them happy since it's a special occasion, but... Hmmm, this is tough."
AKI: "Yeah..."
Guess when you've been giving your best friend gifts for a lifetime, you soon run out of options.
YOU: "Oooh! Hey, Kotori?"
KOTORI: "Hm?"
YOU: "I love that picture over there of you, Honoka and Umi when you were kids. It's suuuper cute!"
KOTORI: "Thanks! Don't Honoka and Umi look adorable? I've got a whole bunch of photos, so I swap them out sometimes!"
AKI: "Whoa! All three of you look so precious! Can I see some other ones?"
KOTORI: "Of course! Um, I've got a few albums from when we were little. Like this one, and this one, and..."
YOU: "Whoa! You've got so many of them!"
Yikes, me and Ayu don't have too many albums together...
AKI: "Albums, huh... Wait, that's it!"
KOTORI: "Huh? What's it?"
AKI: "Kotori, You... Let's use some memorable photos to make them something special!"
KOTORI: "You mean turn pictures into a present?"
YOU: "Making a photo album for a gift is so much fun! I'm planning on putting a bunch of pictures of Chika, Kanan, and myself in it!"
KOTORI: "Yeah! I wanna add stickers to the pictures of Honoka, Umi, and me. And...stick!"
AKI: "Whoa, this picture's adorable. Is it from your elementary school graduation?"
KOTORI: "Yeah. I was so nervous that I was shaking... But those two made me laugh and helped me relax.
This one is from our school camp. Honoka was our group leader! See, she's the only one with a flag!
This picture is of Umi when she won the archery competition. Doesn't she look devastatingly cool?"
YOU: "Kotori, you've already put so many heart stickers on the album! I can tell your feelings are overflowing from the pages. It's nice."
KOTORI: *Giggle* "I know right? As soon as I envisioned giving this to them, there was no holding my feelings back!"
AKI: "Hm? Isn't this a picture from the Main Stage Trial Event?
It's of μ's, Aqours, and Nijigasaki all together."
KOTORI: "Yeah. We may not all be childhood friends, but I couldn't leave this picture out.
After all, it's because I became a school idol with Honoka and Umi that we were able to meet everyone."
YOU: "I totally get you! It was thanks to Chika that I became a school idol!"
AKI: "And it was a day out in Akiba with Ayu that dragged me into all of this!"
...
*ONE SCRAPBOOK SESSION LATER*
AKI: "Phew, the three of us have finished our albums! Let's give just as much effort to the preparations for tomorrow's day of the party."
KOTORI, YOU: "Okay!"