Chapter 10

A Party To Remember

"Will you get a grip already!?" Himawari shouts. "I said I was going to do the banner! Not you!"

"I wanted to do it first!" Sakurako argues.

"No, Akaza-san said I could do it!"

"No, she said I could!"

Akari sweat drops and waves her hands back and forth. "Sakurako-chan, Himawari-chan, please! Both of you can do it. That's fine."

"Alright," the blonde glares at the blue haired girl. "But she better not mess up just because her breasts are too heavy for her to stand!"

"What does that have to do with anything!?"

"Nothing~!" Sakurako teases as she tries to stifle her giggles.

Akari sighs as she looks at everyone else, who are helping out decorating the Amusement Club room. She's been planning this for a week since she had encouraged Rise to gain more confidence in interacting with everyone else, starting with people she knew. Then, soon after, Nana had informed Akari that the quiet student council president has been smiling a lot more since that happened. But she still misses spending time with the teacher sometimes. That aside, what matters more is that Akari is happy that her new friend is being well liked by everyone and decided to celebrate it.

"I'm sure…Rise-chan will be very happy that we're throwing this party for her," she says to herself.

**Meanwhile**

Rise stares at the invitation while sitting on the stairs that afternoon. She found it inside her locker for some reason and read that it's from Akari. She blushes from reading the red-head's note, telling her to come to the Amusement Club at 5:00 for a special surprise. Since becoming friends with her, Rise had been more confident in herself that she had been earlier. She was able to interact with the rest of the Amusement Club and Student council, thanks to Akari's encouragement. Every day, Akari would talk with Rise about her friends and the student council and encourage her to interact with them for a little bit. Even though it might have been a little visit, Rise still interacted with them. Although, there was one exception where Kyouko had been the one who took Rise and suggested to interact with Yui. All in all, Rise is happy. Happy that she can finally explore society without being afraid.

She looks up at the clock and it's about a half-hour before 5 and decides to leave at that time. She picks up her school bag and walks toward the Amusement Club Room.

**Back at the Amusement Club**

"Are we almost ready?" Akari asks.

"Yes!" Kyouko replies as she salutes. "Got the cake done and all the balloons decorated!"

"Got the banner up, too!" Sakurako and Himawari say in unison.

Akari smiles as she turns toward the rest of the girls. "And how are we doing on food and music and everything?"

"Got it!" Ayano says as she puts down the last plate of food on the table.

"Got the music!" Chitose says as she waves.

"I got the games," Yui adds.

Akari smiles and gives a thumbs up. "Perfect! Thanks so much, you guys for helping out!"

"No, thank you~!" Kyouko says as she gives the red-head a pat on the back. "You're the one who planned this!"

Akari laughs as she puts her hand on the back of her head. "Yeah, that's true."

Nana comes over and smiles. "Well, what are we waiting for? All of us will hide while you go find Matsumoto. Okay?"

The red-head nods. "Alright!" As quick as a flash, Akari exits the club room.

**Meanwhile**

Rise walks along the path that leads to the club room when she hears footsteps coming her way. She looks up to see a familiar red-haired girl running towards her until she stops to catch her breath.

"H-hey, Rise-chan!" Akari pants. "I guess you're on your way to the Amusement Club, huh?"

Rise nods as she whispers.

"No worries!" the red-head says. "I wanted to come and find you. The others are waiting for you. Come on, let's go~!"

The quiet girl gives a small, cute smile as she takes Akari's hand and the two happily walk together toward the club room within a few minutes. Akari stops by the door, puts a finger on her mouth to signal Rise to keep quiet for a sec and slowly opens the door. Just then, as if on cue, everyone pops out from their hiding spots.

"SURPRISE!" they shout in unison as loud as the could.

Rise gasps and looks around her. There were balloons and streamers hanging, a music box on a little table next to a large amount of food formed as a buffet, and ahead of her is a large banner that says, "THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING, RISE MATSUMOTO!" The raven-haired girl gapes at the words and looks over at Akari as she whispers, asking her for an explanation.

"This party is for you, Rise-chan~!" The red-head says. "It's for all the good things you had done for us in the past!"

"That's right~!" Kyouko says. "Rise deserves it from all of us!"

"We wanted to express how we feel about you," Ayano explains, giving the quiet girl a gentle smile. "So, Akaza-san decided to throw a party as a huge thank you from all of us."

Rise's eyes brim with tears. She had never been this happy in her life other than her friends throwing a big party just for her, showing their gratitude towards her. She turns towards Akari, whispers a "Thank You" and dives into Akari's arms, crying.

"Aw, it's alright, Rise-chan," she says as she gently strokes the quiet girl's hair. "There's no need to cry."

Rise whispers.

"You couldn't help it?" Akari says. "You were so happy that all of us did this for you?"

The raven-haired girl nods as she continues crying.

"Rise-chan, you are such a sweet girl," the red-head says, softly. "No one would've ever thought that a girl who lacks presence would do something good for most girls like us, handing out the gifts that were very useful to them in difficult situations. You deserve to be loved, Rise-chan. From all of us, that is."

Rise nods as she sniffles a bit. Akari kisses her forehead and pulls away to wipe her tears.

"We love you, Rise-chan," she says. "And we mean it."

Rise whispers again and hugs Akari once more, making everyone go, "AWWWWW~!"

"Hey!" Kyouko cheers as she raises her hand up. "Let's all give Rise a BIG hug~!"

Everyone obliges to run up to the student council president and do a group hug altogether. Rise couldn't have been any more happier that she had been in her life. Being hugged by all her friends is the best moment in her life. And she'll never forget it, ever.

Once everyone pulls away, Kyouko raises her fist.

"Alright! Let's get this party started!" she cheers.

"Wait!" Akari says as she grabs a glass of juice. "I want to do something for a second! Everyone grab a glass!"

They do as they are told and everyone gathers around the table. The red-head nods and raises her glass.

"I would like to have a toast!" she says. "To Rise Matsumoto, for dong such good deeds for everyone around her! And we all thank you for your wonderful kindness and being our dearest friend! Cheers!"

"CHEERS!" Glasses clink in unison and all of the girls drink the juice.

Rise drinks hers and looks at everyone around her, who are talking and laughing amongst themselves. Her life that had once been a lonely one, is now turned into a happy one with all her friends supporting her. She no longer feels that she lacks presence anymore.

A/N: Rise deserves to be loved, in my opinion. She really does~! I always feel bad for her because she has it worse than Akari, so that's why I'm making fanfics about her. I'm so glad I'm here to do this! However, this is NOT the end of the story. Remember, this is a one-shot collection story, so you all get to see more stuff with Rise pairings. However, this time…let's mix it up, shall we~? That's always fun, right? Hehe~! Thanks for sticking with me so far! I really appreciate it! ;)

Next pairing: Rise x Ayano