Chapter 3

Nine

Big Bro set the cake, teal and shaped like a castle, in the center of the table at the food court. Nanako's smile was huge! It was the perfect cake! "Ooh, it's so pretty!" she exclaimed. Souji smiled back at her. Dad was taking her to the movies with a few friends later, but this was the part she always looked forward to. She saw her own friends at school every day. But Big Bro coming to Inaba and getting to spend time with all of his friends at once was more rare these days. Even the younger kids in the group had graduated from high school, so it was getting harder to get everyone in the same place at the same time. Today, they had decided to meet after school at Junes, because both Yosuke and Teddie had to work. Luckily, Nanako loved Junes.

Everyone sang "Happy Birthday" and cheered! "Happy Birthday, Nanako-chan!" Chie exclaimed.

"Make a wish before you blow out the candles!" Rise chimed in. She touched Souji's arm and smiled softly. Rise had recently moved back to Tokyo, so she and Big Bro lived near each other again.

"Huh," Yosuke commented quietly. "That's interesting."

"Indeed," agreed Yukiko.

Nanako had been trying to wait until Teddie could take a break for the cake, but they finally had to start without him. Just as she was about to blow out the candles, she saw Teddie walking towards the table. Her eyes met his and he gave her a smile that could light up the whole world. She closed her eyes and blew out the candles while everyone clapped. Teddie sat down beside her, and she turned to him excitedly.

"My wish already came true!" she said happily.

"It did?!" Teddie asked.

"Yes!" she exclaimed.

"What was it? You can tell us now that it came true," said Yosuke.

Nanako turned back to Teddie again. "I wished that you were here!" she said. "Now that you are, everything is perfect!" Teddie smiled again and hugged Nanako tightly.

"Don't worry, Nana-chan! I would never miss your birthday!" he said.

The party continued. The cake was delicious, and Nanako opened her gifts. They were all very nice, but she was mostly just happy to be with everyone. Nanako caught Kanji giving Naoto a kiss on the cheek. "Oh, I heard that you two are going to get married!" she exclaimed.

Naoto smiled softly. "That's right," she said, looking at Kanji and then back to Nanako.

"Can I see your ring?" Nanako asked. Naoto held her hand out towards her. "Ooh, it's blue! That's so pretty!"

"T-Thank you," Naoto said shyly.

"When you guys are married, will you still come over and play with me?" Nanako asked thoughtfully.

"Wha- Of course we will!" Kanji assured her.

Nanako smiled. "Oh, good. I can't wait for you to get married, then!" The others all giggled. Nanako didn't get why but she was glad everyone was so happy. She snuggled closer to Teddie who had his arm wrapped around her shoulders.

Rise sat down next to Naoto and started pressing her for details. "So? Tell us more about when you guys got engaged. Was it super romantic? Oh my gosh we have to start shopping for your wedding dress!"

Naoto narrowed her eyes at Rise. "Why don't we talk about something else for now."

"Ok, we could talk about the flowers first if you want - "

Naoto cut her off. "Why don't you tell us about all the time you and senpai have been spending together in Tokyo," she suggested.

"W-What?" Rise's smile faltered before she snapped it back in place. "Oh! Well we have gotten to see each other some, when I'm not working." She galanced at Souji who was trying not to look at her.

"Oh, please!" said Yosuke. "You two are totally dating, aren't you?"

"What? Why would you think that?" Rise asked. Souji just shrugged. Everyone laughed again.

After a while, dad came to pick up Nanako so they could head to the movies with her friends. She hugged everyone goodbye, making sure to hug Teddie twice. Dad looked kind of unhappy, but he got grumpy a lot so she ignored it. Souji walked her over to dad, and he put his arm around her. "Did you have a nice birthday, Nanako?"

"Of course I did, Big Bro! It was the best party ever!"

Dad had already rounded up Maiko-chan and Miwa-chan. "Hey, guys!" Nanako greeted them.

"Who is that boy you kept hugging?" asked Maiko.

"What? Oh, that's my friend Teddie!" Nanako replied. Teddie was jumping up and down waving at her.

"Bye, Nana-chan!" he shouted. Nanako giggled and waved back.

"He's really weird," said Miwa. Nanako frowned. Souji nodded, and crouched down in front of the girls, one hand on Nanako's shoulder.

"He's different," Souji said. "But he has a big heart. You get used to him after awhile," he added. Nanako kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, Big Bro," she said quietly.

"Are you girls ready to go see a movie?" Dojima asked.

"Yes!" the girls replied excitedly. They started walking away. Nanako turned back, and raised her hand in a slight wave, looking awfully sad for a birthday girl.