Yuno hurried down the road, a block from Yuki's house, with two boxes in her arms. She hoped she could surprise him, which was hard to do, but last time she checked, he should still be eating lunch.
She could have knocked, but it would be more fun to just let herself in. It had taken her a while to learn that there was a key under the mat, because of course Yuki never used it. She opened the door, and closed it behind her very quietly after putting the key back. She flipped open the phone that dangled from her wrist and selected the "Notes" section, her hands moving before she even had to think about it. The diary had been second nature to her long before the game had begun. She scanned through her future self's entries, then stopped, glancing at the clock in the entryway.
What? She thought, staring at the 12:20 prediction. She looked back at the clock. Twelve twenty-four. So they're already here? Why didn't I hear about this earlier?!
Yuno started to run down the hall, frowning. It seemed too quiet. She rounded the corner and flew into the kitchen.
"Yuki!"
"Wha- Yuno?" Yuki blinked up at her from his half-finished lunch. "What are you doing here?"
For her part, Yuno was just as confused. "Where is everyone?"
"What?"
"Aren't all your friends here? The diary just said – ," she flipped open the phone to make sure, but…
"Gasai, a 'surprise party' means you aren't supposed to tell him," interrupted Akise Aru from the other doorway.
"Aww, did Gasai-san ruin it?" Mao-chan peeked around Hinata, who had just appeared from behind the couch.
"Eh? But the diary said that you guys started the party at twelve-twenty," Yuno was still thoroughly confused.
"Yep," Akise showed her his watch. "That's what time it is now."
"But the clock said…" Yuno trailed off.
"Ah!" Yuno and Akise jumped and turned to face Yuki.
"I remember now," Yuki explained. "Mom set the clock in the hall five minutes ahead. She claims she can never get out of the house on time otherwise. She's so disorganized."
"Oh," Yuno started to turn red.
"But – you didn't spoil anything!" Yuki quickly assured her. "Because I could see Kousaka's shoes underneath the armchair." He gestured behind him at Kousaka, who was trying to get out from behind the armchair with some difficulty.
"Eh?! You mean you knew I was here the whole time?! Why didn't you tell us then, there's barely any room back here!" Kousaka said, annoyed.
"That's what you get for picking a stupid hiding place!" Hinata told him, clapping him on the back of the head.
"Anyway, looks like you did bring the cake, Gasai?" Akise grinned, taking the larger box from her and setting it on the table. It did, in fact, contain a cake from a nice bakery downtown.
"How did you know I was going to bring a cake?" Yuno asked suspiciously. She had never trusted Akise when they first met, and only distrusted him more the longer she knew him.
"I saw you walk into a cake-shop a day before Yukiteru-kun's birthday. And on of these boxes is the same style they use for cakes and baked goods," he pointed out, grinning even wider.
She just scowled at him, but a moment later a smile was on her face as she turned back to Yuki. She handed him the other box to him, blushing just a little.
"Happy Birthday, Yukki!"
