"Hey, Tamako..." Mochizou crept into the mochi shop, his hands behind his back. "C-Can I stay in here for a moment?" Tamako looked up, a few strands of her hair slipping out of the ponytail.
"Ah, sure!" She tilted her head and smiled, and Mochizou clenched his hands. "Can you help me make something?" He nodded, his teeth a bit clenched. It would be so easy to give something away and ruin the weeks of planning...
"Oy, Mochizou. Are you going to let Tamako's birthday slip by again?" Kanna poked his arm with a pocket ruler.
"Of course not!"
"Then we should have a plan!" Midori chimed in. "You never remember, and you're always beating yourself up about it after." Mochizou sighed.
"Alright. But you should let me get out of my doorway first." The two girls shuffled back and he took a few steps. "Any ideas-" Midori jumped to fill in the gap before anyone else could seize the chance.
"A surprise party! She deserves nothing less." Kanna nodded her head in agreement.
"It can't be on New Year's, though," the boy added, his fist below his chin. "There won't be time. We'll have to do it early." Kanna gave her usual affirmative noises, and Mochizou smiled. "Alright. Let's make this plan good." His stomach growled, and he gave the two girls a sheepish smile. "...could we go to the shopping district first?"
"Hey, Tamako, I need to go somewhere."
"You just got here!"
"Still! And I think you should come!" He curled his fingers around her wrist and guided her out of the store. They walked for a few seconds in silence (confused silence on Tamako's part) until she had to interrupt.
"Mochizou, doesn't this seem weird to you? Shouldn't we be preparing for New Year's?"
"A-Ah, just forget about that for a little while!" He tugged on her arm and led her past his house. MIdori and Kanna winked at him, and he gave them a small snap of his fingers.
"Mochizou, is everything OK?"
"Yes! Yes, everything-" he let his hand slip from Tamako's wrist to her fingers. "Everything is good." He led her around the shopping district then stopped in the middle of it.
Should be enough time...
"Um...where are you taking me, again?"
"Home!" He snapped to attention. "Let's go home, Tamako."
"But we haven't...bought anything."
"Ah, I just...remembered something! That's it. Let's go!" The boy squeezed his eyes together. Get it together, Mochizou...
They arrived without a mishap. "Alright, Tamako, you have to close your eyes now."
"Isn't this my house?"
"...yes." They heard a crash.
"The garage! But," she stopped, confusion etched onto her face. "We just cleaned that out." Mochizou shot a few frantic glances around the house. "Sorry, Tamako, but I have to do this!" He put his hands over her eyes. "Now just...walk forward." They picked their way across the lawn until they made it to the back.
"Surpriiiiise!" Mochizou took his hands off the birthday girl's eyes in a dramatic flourish. Kanna and Midori sat on wire chairs in front of a table, and Anko and Shiori's bundles of black hair peeked from behind boxes. A huge cake stood in the middle of the table, barely leaving room for plates.
"Ahh!" Tamako ran to the empty seat and Anko jumped from behind the box.
"Happy birthday, big sister!"
"Thank you, everyone!" Tamako took the knife by the handle and started slicing the cake into manageable pieces. Shiori skipped across the floor and joined the rest. Mochizou started to join them, then stopped in shock.
"Oh no!" Mochizou covered his mouth.
"What's wrong?" Tamako tilted her head.
"I forgot to bring your present!"