"I'm back!"
Fuu slid open the door to the clubroom. She'd only been gone for a few minutes, but the girls inside still gave her a hearty return greeting. It warmed her heart so to know the Hero Club would be in such good hands as all of them.
"What did you need to go do?" Yuuna asked her, unaware of the box Fuu held in her hands as she continued organizing the items on the shelf.
"We're celebrating!" Fuu answered the followup question instead and placed the box on the table, next to where Itsuki sat with her Tarot cards. Her dear sister flipped her next card absentmindedly, her focus instead shifted entirely to Fuu's unveiling of the contents of the box.
"A cake!" Itsuki's eyes lit up. Fuu chuckled at the sight and glanced down at the card she had flipped: The Fool. Upright. She didn't know a whole lot about Tarot card meanings, but spending so long around her little sister had given her a rough idea of the many meanings each had. The Fool, if she remembered correctly, related to one's inexperience and having a new beginning. Appropriate, if she did say so herself.
"Everyone gather 'round!" Fuu's arms spread wide, and she ushered each of her friends to the table. Yuuna looked at the cake, decorated in yellows and greens, with clear intent, while Karin glanced down at it and then to Fuu, grinning slightly.
"I should've expected this much from you."
"Fuu-senpai does love Itsuki-chan." Tougou responded to Karin's remark, coming up behind them.
"Oooh~, so this is why you were making a cake." Sonoko hopped over to Fuu's side, eying the cake.
"Ah, you saw me in the Home Ec room, eh?" She couldn't hide her actions from everyone, it seemed.
"I came in to deliver some papers for the teacher after you stepped out in the middle of making it. It smelled good so I took a peek! Sorry~!" Sonoko was all smiles, as usual.
"It's fine, it's fine! It's not like I was really trying hard to keep a secret here!" She shook her head. Everyone was now gathered at the table, eyes on her. "Anyway, we're here to celebrate Itsuki's ascension to leadership!"
"Ah, yeah, that's right," Karin started, "After last night's 'leadership training'—" Itsuki flinched, "—she's now officially the new leader, isn't she?"
"That's right! So I made this cake for the occasion!" Fuu smiled at her sister. "A new start for a new leader. The Hero Club will be in good hands under her watch."
"Onee-chan…"
"Congratulations, Itsuki-chan!" Yuuna said.
"We'll be counting on you." Tougou smiled and nodded.
Karin crossed her arms, saying, "You dodged well at the end last night."
"We're going to have so much fun, right, Ittsun~?" Sonoko finished off the round of encouragements.
"Now then, let's dig in!" Fuu grabbed the knife and cut the cake, first handing a slice to Itsuki and then to the rest of the Hero Club before taking a slice for herself.
"Hm?" Fuu looked down at her slice. Something was off. There was a pattern in the cake itself. Colors she hadn't included. It looked like—
"You came out just right, Sancho~!" Sonoko exclaimed. She, too, was staring intently at the inside of her cake slice.
"AH!" Fuu yelped. "Sancho! It looks like a Sancho face in here!" She turned to Sonoko, eyes wide. "Why is there a Sancho face in here?!"
Sonoko smiled back at her. "I saw you step out and I got the idea. I thought it would be fun to do~."
"I was only gone five minutes!"
Sonoko smiled.
"And the batter wasn't even set in the pan yet!"
The smile didn't falter.
Sonoko turned away from Fuu's agape expression and took a bite of the cake. Next to her, Tougou was holding out her fork in front of Yuuna's mouth.
"Yuuna-chan, aa~n."
"Aa~n!" Yuuna happily obliged and took the fork into her mouth, along with the piece of cake it held. She squealed softly, murmuring something about the taste. Fuu took it as a compliment. On the other side of Yuuna, Karin was blushing slightly, looking down at her fork, then at Yuuna, and then back at her fork. She hesitated, but finally she held up her fork for Yuuna as well, looking away and blushing even more intensely. All the while, Sonoko was watching the trio, eyes sparkling with typical Sonoko intensity.
In those brief moments, Fuu was reminded of other interpretations of The Fool tarot card, ones concerning carefree life and impulsiveness, and laughed with some slight nervousness.
"You're certainly going to have your hands full, Itsuki…"