The Lounge at the Dorm near Iwatodai Station was filled with people as it always was in the evenings. Everyone was there – with the exception of Akihiko and Mitsuru. Junpei was playing his handheld game, his eyes practically glued to the small, bright, flashing screen. Next to him, Yukari was text messaging her friend, her thumb pressing the buttons of her cell phone quickly. Opposite Yukari, Fuuka had her laptop open on her lap and she was typing something out, her fingers quick and nimble over the keyboard. Aigis and Ken were watching Koromaru eat his dinner, and Minato was listening to music with his ever-present headphones. No one was talking much, everyone was doing their own work.
Yukari glanced at her cell phone calendar. Her eyes widened when she saw the date.
"Hey, you guys, did you know that Mitsuru-senpai's birthday is next Friday?" she said, looking up from her cell phone.
"Really? I didn't know her birthday is next week," Fuuka said, surprised.
"I don't think any of us knew that, Fuuka-san," Junpei pointed out, still playing his game. "Mitsuru-senpai hardly tells us anything about herself at all. Speaking of which…" he paused the game and turned to look at Yukari. "How did you know when her birthday is anyway?"
"Well, she told me so herself," Yukari told him. "I asked her."
"Wait, since when did you two start being all buddy-buddy?" Junpei questioned. "I remember sensing some hostility the first few months but ever since Mitsuru-senpai's dad died the two of you have been acting different. You're not trying to suck up to her or anything, are ya, Yuka-tan?"
Yukari glared at him and gave him a little push. "Of course not, Stupei! Whatever gave you that idea? I don't suck up to people. I find it disgusting. Now that Mitsuru-senpai's dad is gone, we've both got something in common. So, I don't know, I guess we just started being friendlier towards each other. Anyway, her birthday is next week, and we should do something about it. She's one of our Senpai, we can't just ignore her birthday."
"Just buy her some presents," Junpei said lazily, turning his attention back to his handheld game. "I'll give you the money and you pick it out, Yuka-tan."
"Um, I don't think so, Stupei," Yukari said, biting her lip in thought. "That's too ordinary. Mitsuru-senpai's done a lot for us, after all. Oh, I know – how about a surprise birthday party?"
"That sounds like a lot of work to me," Junpei argued. "Just get her a gift, Yuka-tan. No need to go all-out."
"Actually, I agree with Yukari-chan," said Fuuka. She shifted in her seat and spoke to Yukari. "What's your plan?"
"I need time to think about it all," shess admitted. "I haven't got a full plan yet but I have some ideas. What about the rest of you guys? Any ideas for the party?"
"Leave me out of this," Junpei said, eyes on the small screen of his handheld game.
"We don't need your help for this, anyway," Yukari rolled her eyes. "Fuuka, what about you?"
Fuuka was silent for a moment before she replied, "Well, if it's going to be a surprise, we'd have to find a way to keep her out of the Dorm while we do the preparations, right? Maybe one of us could distract her and take her away from the Dorm for a while…?"
"Yeah, that would be necessary," Yukari agreed. "I think Akihiko-senpai should do that. I'll explain everything to him tomorrow." She glanced at her cell phone watch. "It's getting kinda late, I think I'll go back to my room. Let's meet up in the Command Room tomorrow night and discuss everything properly, okay? Good night, everyone."
**********
"Where are you all going?" Mitsuru asked, looking up from her book when all the Junior SEES members got up to leave the Lounge the following night.
"Um, we have a class assignment to discuss," Yukari lied quickly. "We don't want to disturb you so we're going to discuss it upstairs instead. I-is that okay with you?"
"Yes, it is," Mitsuru replied, returning to her book. "Whatever it is that you're working on, I wish you luck."
"Thanks, Senpai," Yukari said before following the others upstairs. They decided to discuss things in the fourth floor Command Room to make sure Mitsuru was out of earshot and won't get wind of their plans. They found Akihiko sitting on an armchair in the room when they entered.
"Akihiko-senpai? Why are you here?" Junpei asked, sitting down on a nearby stool.
"I heard you guys were planning something for Mitsuru's birthday next week," Akihiko answered.
"But Senpai, how'd you know?" Yukari enquired, her eyes wide. "I thought we were really quiet about this."
"I just decided to check the surveillance camera in here," Akihiko explained, "and I stumbled on a recording of you guys discussing it."
"That sneaky surveillance camera," Yukari sighed. "It records stuff that we'd rather keep private, ya know what I mean? Maybe we should disable it or something."
"No way!" Junpei exclaimed. "It's way too fun to come up here and see all the videos it recorded. It's a great way of knowing the stuff that goes on in this Dorm."
"W-wait, you come up here and watch the videos that the surveillance camera recorded?!" Yukari asked. "What exactly did you see, Stupei?! And how long have you been doing this?"
"Ever since after the night of our first mission, about a week after Mitsuru-senpai mentioned that something's wrong with the stuff in the Command Room," Junpei admitted. "As for what I saw…some things are best left unknown, Yuka-tan."
Yukari's cheeks flushed as her eyes narrowed at him. "You're not gonna get away with that, Stupei."
"Enough with the squabbles, we've got a party to plan, don't we?" Akihiko reasoned.
"Right you are, Senpai," Junpei agreed. "Did you hear that, Yuka-tan? Stop arguing and sit down."
Yukari sighed and sat down opposite Junpei. Everyone else occupied the remaining seats.
"Right, next Friday is Mitsuru-senpai's seventeenth birthday," Yukari said, opening the notebook that she had taken with her. "She's done a lot for us, so we're gonna throw a surprise party for her. First things first, the guest list. Do you think we should invite Mitsuru-senpai's school friends to the party too?"
"Nah, let's make it just us," Junpei said.
"I agree with Junpei-kun," Fuuka nodded.
"I agree as well," Aigis told her.
"What about the rest of you?" Yukari questioned.
"Well, I don't really mind, whichever it is," Minato shrugged.
"I say it should be just us," said Akihiko.
"Okay then, it'll be just the SEES members," Yukari scribbled a quick note in her notebook. "Now for the food…"
They spent the next hour discussing plans for the party. Once they had confirmed all the details, Yukari shut her notebook, satisfied.
"Oh, I almost forgot." She turned to speak to Akihiko. "We need you to take Mitsuru-senpai away from the Dorm while we get everything ready. Don't take her to dinner though, since we'll be having sushi at the party. Just take her for coffee, or for a walk. We'll call you when everything's ready, so keep your cell phone on."
"Right," Akihiko nodded. "Well, I guess that settles everything. I'm going back to my room. There's some school work that needs doing."
**********
"Oh, good, the cake's here," Yukari sighed with relief when the doorbell rang next Friday evening. The plans were going rather smoothly so far. An hour ago, Akihiko had taken Mitsuru out for a walk and the Junior SEES members started the preparations.
"I'll get it for you, Yukari-chan," Fuuka volunteered, and went over to open the door and get Mitsuru's birthday cake.
"Put it in the fridge, Fuuka," Yukari instructed. She observed the Lounge, which had been decorated with colourful streamers and balloons. "Good job with the decorations, guys. Aigis, is the table set?"
"Yes, the table has been set," Aigis replied. "Now all that is left is the sushi."
"Oh God, the sushi, when is it gonna be delivered?" Yukari said worriedly. "I ordered it ages ago."
The doorbell rang again at that moment.
"Perfect timing." She opened the door, paid the delivery boy and brought in the sushi. "Here Aigis, take this sushi to the table. Be careful not to drop it."
"I think everything's ready, Yukari-chan," Fuuka said, looking around the Lounge. "Should I call Akihiko-senpai now?"
"Yeah, call him and tell him he can bring Mitsuru-senpai back now," Yukari agreed. "Everyone, find a hiding spot. I'm gonna turn all the lights out. When Akihiko-senpai comes in with Mitsuru-senpai, he'll turn the lights on, and that's our cue. Got it?"
**********
While the Juniors had been busy with the preparations at the Dorm, Akihiko had asked Mitsuru to go on a walk with him.
"I don't quite understand why you suddenly wanted to go out for a walk with me tonight, but I'm glad you did," Mitsuru said, looking up at the night sky. She and Akihiko were sitting on one of the benches at Naganaki Shrine. There was no one else around, and the night was warm with a slight breeze.
"This wasn't a random urge, Mitsuru," Akihiko smiled at her. "I remembered that today's your birthday. I just wanted to spend time alone with you for a while." He reached into the pocket of his coat and brought out a small, neatly-wrapped box. "I got you a present."
"Thank you, Akihiko," Mitsuru said, sounding a bit surprised. "I admit, I half-thought that you had forgotten about my birthday. It's very nice of you to get me a present." She gave him a warm smile and accepted the small box.
"Go on," he urged. "Open it."
Mitsuru chuckled. "You're such an impatient person. Alright, it must be a good present if you're so eager for me to see it."
She unwrapped the box quickly, barely tearing the wrapping paper, lifted the lid off the box and looked at the two objects inside.
"Akihiko…this is beautiful…"
Inside the box was a silver bracelet and a small, oval locket with her name engraved on the back, hanging from a thin gold chain. It was not too fancy, simple and yet sophisticated, the way Mitsuru always dressed.
"Thank you," Mitsuru whispered, taking out the locket and examining it. "It must have cost you quite a lot. You shouldn't have gone to such extremes just for my birthday present…"
"The cost doesn't matter," Akihiko said quietly. "It was worth it. Here, let me help you put it on."
Mitsuru let him take the locket. He unfastened the locket and, a little awkwardly, fastened it around her neck.
"It's the kind of locket that you can put pictures in," Akihiko said to her. "I wasn't sure whose photos you wanted in that locket, so I left it empty for you to decide."
"I think we both know whose pictures I'm going to put in this locket," Mitsuru said softly, her eyes on Akihiko's face.
Just at that moment, a cell phone rang. Cursing inwardly, Akihiko realized it was his cell phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it quickly.
"Hello? Fuuka? Oh, okay. I'll be back soon. See you then."
"Why did Yamagishi call you?" Mitsuru asked, fastening the bracelet around her right wrist.
"Um, you'll see when we get back to the Dorm," Akihiko said hastily. "Come on then, let's go back."
**********
"Quick! Everyone, hide! And don't forget the cue!" Yukari hissed when she heard the sound of familiar footsteps approaching the Dorm's front door. After making sure everyone was hidden, she scurried behind the sofa where Aigis was hiding. The lights had been turned out and the Lounge was in darkness. Crossing her fingers that everything would go as planned, Yukari waited anxiously for the moment the door would open.
The door was unlocked and a moment later it was open. From behind the sofa, Yukari could see Akihiko and Mitsuru.
"Akihiko, is something wrong? Why are the lights off?"
Akihiko snapped on the lights. As the Lounge filled with light again, everyone jumped out of their hiding spots and yelled "Surprise! Happy Birthday!"
Mitsuru stood in the doorway, wide eyed and pleasantly surprised. Akihiko took hold of her hand and led her inside.
"Y-you all planned a surprise party for me?" she said, looking around. "How thoughtful – I didn't know you even knew when my birthday was."
"It was really Yuka-tan's idea," Junpei stated. "She's the only one besides Akihiko-senpai who knew when your birthday was."
"Happy Birthday, Senpai," Yukari said, smiling. "I thought it would be mean to just ignore your birthday so I had the others help out and throw a party for you. I hope you're okay with all this."
Mitsuru laughed. It was such a rare thing to see Mitsuru laughing the way she was now that the others stared at her.
"Why would I ever find anything wrong with you all throwing me a birthday party?" said Mitsuru, shaking her head.
"Okay, we're all in a good mood," Junpei grinned, rubbing his hands together. "There's sushi waiting to be eaten, so let's eat!"
"Junpei, don't be rude," Yukari sighed, exasperated. She nodded to Mitsuru. "Senpai, can we start the party now?"
"I think the party has already started," Mitsuru smiled.
Everyone immediately went over to the dining table – though the first one to reach it was, expectedly, Junpei. Mitsuru sat down with Fuuka and Yukari, while Akihiko joined Ken, Minato and Junpei.
"Senpai, I've never seen you wear that locket before," Yukari said, noticing the gold locket around her neck. "I never saw that bracelet, either."
"Very observant of you, Yukari," Mitsuru said, fingering the locket. "They are birthday gifts, from Akihiko."
Fuuka's eyes widened. "But they must have cost him a lot."
"Yeah, Fuuka's right," Yukari said, leaning over to take a closer look. She sat back down in her chair and smiled at Mitsuru. "That's really nice of him to fork out so much for you, Mitsuru-senpai."
"Yes, I agree," Mitsuru admitted. She cast another glance around the Lounge and noticed a small pile of presents in one corner of the room. "Are those presents for me?"
"Yeah, they are," Yukari nodded. "But you'll have to wait – the cake comes before the presents, remember?" she said teasingly.
At that moment, Akihiko came over and sat down in the empty chair next to Mitsuru.
"Oh, hey Senpai," Yukari grinned. "I thought you were with the other guys."
Akihiko shook his head. "I can't stand seeing Junpei shove so much sushi into his mouth. He talks with his mouth crammed full, so he's spraying bits of sushi everywhere." He reached up to his face and flicked off a speck of rice that had landed on his cheek.
"That is typical Stupei behaviour," said Yukari with a roll of her eyes. "If he's not careful he might choke."
A few minutes later they heard loud coughing and hacking sounds from the other side of the table. Yukari, Fuuka, Mitsuru and Akihiko looked over. Sure enough, as Yukari had predicted, Junpei had choked on his sushi.
Yukari sighed. "I thought that would happen, and it has. Well I guess this might teach Stupei not to cram his mouth full with food."
*********
"Alright, is everyone done with the sushi?" Yukari asked, observing the dinner table. Everyone nodded.
"Okay then. Aigis, could you bring out the cake…?"
"Hey, Yuka-tan, can I ask a question?" said Junpei, raising his hand.
"What is it?"
"Which version of Happy Birthday are we gonna sing? Can we sing the Arrogant Worms version?"
Yukari glared at him. "No, we're singing the ordinary version."
"You guys are so boring," Junpei sighed.