I do not own the Persona series or RWBY. Everything belongs to their respective owners.
It was closing in to be the seventh month Minato had met Yang and as Yang watched Minato fiddle around with his locker a thought suddenly occurred to her. After all of this time, she never really had an idea since it never peaked her interest before. "Yo, Minato." The blue-haired male shut his locket after grabbing his bad and faced the blonde. "When's your birthday?" She asked when his attention was on her.
Minato blinked before tilting his head slightly to the side. Yang swore that was something Ruby did to persuade them to buy her something and she taught him that exact thing. But for Minato, it was because of him thinking or being a bit curious. "Birthday? What's that?"
Yang brushed her blonde hair back. "You know the day you were born? When you first came into this world?" She was honestly surprised that Minato did not know his birthday but then it occurred to her. Maybe the orphanage didn't have birthday parties for their children, so Minato was unable to experience something like that. She almost forgot about her friend's living conditions since he acted so maturely about it. Sadly, that left her to do the explaining and she just didn't know how to describe it. "Crud. Okay, so-"Suddenly in the corner of her eyes she caught the sight of a familiar figure passing the halls. "YO, DAD! OVER HERE! WE NEED YOUR HELP WITH SOMETHING!"
Minato winced at the sheer volume of his friend's voice. She was easily the loudest person he knew so far and someone beating her at that would be amazing. Maybe it was a contest between her and Ruby.
Tai easily heard this and turned his head. His stride was fast, especially since his favourite blonde and favourite guy were both standing together. "Hey, Yang. Hey, Minato. So, what can I help you both with?" He asked, clapping his hands together while rubbing them eagerly.
"Minato here doesn't know what a birthday is." Yang stated.
Tai raised an eyebrow while turning his attention towards the boy. "Is that true, Minato?"
The boy nodded his head without hesitation. Apparently, this was a well-known concept and he never really encountered the idea before. Well, he supposed there were passing words in books but that was beside the point.
"Well…" Tai trailed off, scratching his head. He had to think about what to say. "A birthday is when you're born. Because of that, usually there is a celebration, gifts and a cake with candles that add up to the same number as whatever age you are."
"…Interesting…" Minato trailed off. "Well, I'm going to go study in the library for the next couple of weeks, so I won't be able to come to your house during those days."
Before Tai could even say anything, he looked like he was about to burst out in horror, Yang elbowed the man. As Minato began to walk away, Tai caught his breath and looked over to his daughter. "What brings this topic up anyways, Yang?" He asked.
"I don't know." Yang shrugged her shoulders. "It just kind of occurred to me that we should celebrate his birthday so I asked when it was."
"Hmm…" Tai hummed while putting a hand to his chin. "I think I know a place we can find out about this."
Gesturing Yang to follow him, the two of them started to walk. After their little trip, they soon found themselves in front of the principle's office. Knocking politely, they entered once given the soft grunt of approval. In the middle of the room was the man they were looking for sitting at a desk while writing things down on paper. The principle then peeked upwards befre looking back down. "Tai, Miss Xiao Long, what brings you two to my humble abode?" He greeted without looking up soon after.
Clearing his throat, Tai was the first to speak. "Yes, well, we're here on an urgent matter concerning Minato."
That got the principle's attention. "Minato Arisato?"
"Yeah," Yang drawled out. "We want to know his birthday."
The principle frowned but pushed off the floor on his rolling chair to pull open a filing cabinet, muttering things about using the word urgent in improper context. After a few more minutes of document hunting the man finally pulled out a plain white bundle of paper. "Minato Arisato. Male. Birthday: April 13. At least, that's the date put down. His guardians don't know his actual birthday so… Are you two even listening?"
The blonde duo were not listening at all. It took less than two seconds to calculate how many days that was, then it took a good minute and a half for the blonde duo to process how close it was approaching. "Dad." The blonde-adult looked towards his daughter, both seeming to hold the same thought. "Gather Ruby and Uncle Qrow. We have work to do."
Running out of the office, the two of them left the principle sitting all alone.
Y13
Minato had left the duo, he couldn't help but think about the question Yang had asked him. But that was soon pushed back when he first met her. He didn't know why, but then she would always be the one to initiate something. The blonde pretty much knew him like nobody else and… he found himself being pleased with that.
Since living at the orphanage, he thought that being alone was not so bad. It was nice, his surroundings being quiet with the scheduled nuisance coming his way. But now… he almost found a perfect balance between his quiet life and one with Yang and her family. If it was too quiet, he would miss the noise. If it was too noisy, he would long for the quiet. He needed that perfect balance now, as if he needed it to survive.
Tapping his head with his pencil, he pushed the thoughts away to focus on studying.
Still, he wondered what Yang asked that question for anyways.
Y13
"Alright guys, I have gathered you all for an important meeting."
Qrow and Ruby grumbled, mainly because they both had plans that they really wanted to go through but couldn't because of this sudden family meeting. Whenever something like this happened, it was not good. "It concerns one Minato Arisato."
All noise ceased and was replaced by the silence of ever family member at attention. Yang couldn't help but smirk at how everyone would act when her friend was concerned. "In two weeks…" Both black-haired family members held their breath. "Will be Minato's 14th birthday, April 13th, and he's never had a birthday party before."
A pregnant pause settled in the air as the implications of the statement settled in. Minato's birthday was coming up. His first birthday party with them, His first birthday party ever. All of them immediately expressed their growing excitement, murmurs breaking out in anticipation. They were already just imagining Minato's reaction at the sight of what they could do.
"WE WILL SHOW MINATO A GREAT BIRTHDAY PARTY THROWN IN TRUE BRANWEN! ROSE! AND XIAO LONG STYLE! WHO'S WITH ME?!"
A roar of defining cheers could be heard so loud it forced many birds around the forest they lived in to scatter. This family was filled with people who once got their spirits up, there was no stopping them.
They were going to make this the greatest party for Minato. Ever.
Y13
In the middle of his work, Minato looked up and began to look around. Seeing nothing, he shrugged his shoulders before beginning to read again.
He didn't know why, but he had a feeling that he was going to be involved in something eventually.
Y13
Yang's family had experienced many things. Living through a life where they lost loved ones. Check. Growing up without a mother. Check. Loving one another. Double check.
However, there was one grand problem that would take all of their effort to pull off. Trying to find good presents for Minato's birthday.
All of them have experienced gift-giving over the years. They celebrated may occasions and with such came the presents. However, Minato was a hard person to give a present to. Unlike many people, Minato was uninterested in many things, unselfish, and easily self satisfied. Yes, Minato was going to be a challenge they all eagerly faced.
Ruby squealed, just thinking about possible gift ideas. Yang and her sister discussed the many things that Minato could possibly like as they definitely wanted a visible reaction since the boy was blank-faced most of the time. Apparently Qrow already had something in mind as he headed straight out of the house while giving Tai a small smirk before slamming the door in his face, much to the adult blonde's annoyance.
Opening the door, Tai glared at Qrow before slamming it behind the black-haired male.
The competitive rivalry was infectious and soon all of them were determined to gift their favourite person the best birthday present ever.
Y13
As Minato walked down the streets after about a couple of days, he adjusted the strap on his bag to make it rest much more comfortably on his shoulders. While continuing his journey, he noticed a woman's good mood as she whistled a merry tune as she continued with hands behind her back towards a child.
"Mama! Why are you so happy?" The kid asked while bouncing up and down.
"Hm? Didn't you know, honey?"
"Nope, mama!"
"Well, it's your birthday today! I've got you a nice gift and all of your friends are coming over later to play!"
Minato watched as the child hugged his mother, happy squeals and laughter filling the air. Finding himself starting, he turned around and began to walk again. It… was odd to watch. So, birthdays were supposed to be a moment of happiness. Interesting. Was that why Yang asked about his birthday? Shame though, he didn't know his own birthday since he had been left at the orphanage at a young age.
…Speaking of young age, what was Ruby doing in town at the moment? Looking over, he saw the young girl walk into a weapons shop. Oh well, that probably meant Yang, Qrow, or Tai was around. He was attempting to study so he should probably avoid that 66% chance of running into one of the adults.
Y13
Ruby had what she thought was going to be an extremely good idea as a present. She might have been the smartest person, she could proudly boast she was definitely one of the closest to Minato an was confident in her gift idea. She just needed the skills of a certain weapon-smith that sometimes went too far with his creations.
"Hey, Hagane."
The man sitting behind the counter who had his legs propped up looked up from the magazine he was reading when Ruby entered the store. He recognized the girl immediately fondly as she was a frequent customer, even if it was just window shopping. "Oh, Ruby, how are you going? Didn't expect you to come in so soon."
"Yeah, I'm just thinking about having a weapon made for a friend of mine."
Hagane blinked. From what the girl had said before, she didn't have any friends that were interested in weapons. So, she didn't bother showing anyone this place. But now there was the words weapon and friend in the same sentence with a positive meaning. This meant what she had in mind was meant to be special. "Sure thing." He smiled. "So, what do you have in mind?"
Ruby had a fiery grin on her face.
Y13
"And what's in it for me?" Qrow demanded, folding his arms while narrowing his eyes towards Tai who had stopped the black-male from running away in spite.
Tai sighed. "Look, we both really like Minato. So, instead of fighting, I thought we should work together for our gifts." He explained. "I… just really need your help."
Unfazed, Qrow continued to stare. "Help?" He watched as Tai leaned in towards his ear and began to whisper. Qrow's expression was unimpressed at first. Soon, it became one of interest and curiosity. Finally, it was surprise. Turning his face, he stared at Tai. "You're kidding." He stated, earning a shake of the head. "Because…"
Tai watched as Qrow began to lean over and whisper into his ear. After hushed words, the two of them stared at each other. A rustling was heard as Tai pulled out a notepad from his pants. As the two of them looked over the etchings scrawled in the paper, each of them looked at each other once more.
"You got yourself a deal, Tai!" Qrow exclaimed, raising his hand up for a shake. "I was actually going to ask the same thing! What a coincidence!"
"Seriously?!" Tai laughed, slapping his hand against Qrow's before the two of them shook with great energy and enthusiasm. "That's awesome! Now, come on, we got a present to get ready!"
Y13
Minato sighed to himself, closing the book he had just finished reading as the school bell rang. Finally, he had finished studying up on what he needed after the past couple of weeks. He would admit, he started to feel uncomfortable with how much quiet time he had. It felt… unnatural. It was… something he didn't want and didn't like.
"Yo, Minato, you finally done with what you want?"
Minato blinked when a pair of hands playfully slammed themselves down onto his desk. Looking up, he saw Yang wearing a huge grin on her face. What was going on in that mind of hers? But to answer her question, he nodded his head.
"Sweet!" Yang pumped her fist while Minato began to gather his things. "Dad and Uncle Qrow were getting restless without you around the house! Plus… it was kind of boring as well." That last sentence was full of lies but then he didn't need to know that. "Come on, let's get going to my place."
Their journey was pretty short. He watched the greenery of the grass and trees due to spring having already begun. Such a sight of nature was emphasized even more when they walked out of the town and traveled through the forest. Looking to his side, he saw Yang staring at him with a grin on her face. "What is it?" He asked.
"Nothing." She sang out, continuing to have her lips turned upwards.
Raising an eyebrow, Minato stepped up onto the porch as they had arrived faster than he had remembered. Keeping an eye on Yang, he grabbed the knob of the door before opening it and facing the interior of the hou-
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MINATO!"
For perhaps the only time in his life, Minato's eyebrows shot off his face. In the moment of shocking surprise, he saw a gigantic banner hanging from the ceiling that had the words congratulations written on. Qrow, Ruby, and Tai were each wearing shiny pointed hats. The living room was filled with balloons and streamers of various colors decorating the usual, homey look that was the signature of the house. In the middle of the room was a large table, which he assumed was from the kitchen, filled to the edge with beautifully assorted food and various desserts that he thought came out of a fantasy.
Minato had to blink a few times to make sure he wasn't dreaming.
When he made sure that he was awake, Minato clinked for a final time before a familiar blonde was seen in the corner of his eye. "Hey, dude…" Yang trailed off, slightly looking worried. "You okay?"
Minato tilted his head, confused at what she meant. But then he soon felt something running down his cheek. Slowly lifting his hand, he tapped his finger against his face. It felt… wet… That was odd. He was pretty sure no water had been splashed against him.
Slowly bringing his hand back, he stared at his finger. He then began to marvel in fascination.
A tear.
A single tear.
His mouth slightly dropped open at the sight of the single bit of liquid. He couldn't help it. He stared at the drop, mesmerized at the transparent liquid. Rubbing his finger together, he let the emotion he was feeling sink in. What was it though? What was he feeling?
…Happiness? Was that it?
Looking up from his fingers, he saw that everyone was staring at him with worried expressions of their own. But then he felt his lips twitch. Slowly, it felt like an eternity. But then it was an eternity he wanted to live through again and again. He wished he could see his own reflection, but the feeling was more than satisfying… it was… amazing.
He felt himself smile. Even with his jaw still open, he found himself speechless at his emotions.
Everyone in the room felt a huge sense of accomplishment at the image. Just the sight of them and the set-up for this party was enough to make Minato happy. They knew that their hard work paid off more than they had anticipated. However, it was only going to get better. Slowly looking over to his side, he stared at the blonde in fascination.
"Well, what are you waiting form Minato?" Yang grinned lopsidedly, her brightness being the perfect balance against the darkness the boy once experienced. "Let's get this party started!"
Yes, this was fast. But I've been taking it slow for about 10 chapters so I think I deserve to be a bit selfish right now.
And like that, we have something going on! Technically, this is a Part 1 out of 2. The next chapter will have them actually celebrating this party. And you know guys… Social Links take 10 Ranks before fully developing… I've already given too much away.
No flames please.