It's now the 12th of September and it's almost 3:30 pm, meaning that Kei will be leaving school soon.
The strangest thing happened this week. Anastasia and Akane both joined my school too.
Anastasia is in Kuro's class and Akane is in another.
Right now, we're inviting guests into the house.
Of course, there aren't that many.
"Here, Shoya, the guest list."
"There are only seven people."
Anastasia
Akane
Arisu
Ken
Tatsuya
Mrs Kura
Mr Kura
Those are the right amount of attendants.
"Wait, Maki wasn't invited?"
Miya-san frowned.
"That girl? Ever since you went to Altheria, she's been acting up. No one like her deserves to be at the party."
Really?
So it wasn't just me that she was being an idiot too. Glad that Ken can come over though. One thing that doesn't seem natural is...
"Why is Tatsuya on the list?"
"Hm? He was here for her last party when Kei was in her 2nd year of middle school."
I'm just asking because he hasn't visited since last New Year's. Well, I'm glad he and I went to Altheria.
Someone began knocking on the door.
I opened it; two adults were at the door.
"Oh, Mr and Mrs Kura! It's been a while!"
"So it has, Shoya! Look how you've grown!"
The woman exclaimed.
Mr and Mrs Kura are our other neighbours. I've known them for a long time. Ever since we moved here.
They're both so kind, that's why I like them. Well, everyone in this neighbourhood likes them.
"Oh, how comes you haven't gone to school, Shoya, my boy?"
Mr Kura asked.
"Oh, I'm kind of like the co-founder, I guess, for the party. I pretended to go to school early in the morning so that she wouldn't suspect a thing."
Yeah, Kei has no idea this is happening.
Last year, she didn't have a party and she never wished for one. I have no idea why but Kei doesn't think we're doing anything right now.
"Come in."
They passed me and took off their shoes.
"Oh, where should we put our presents?"
"Go to Miya-san and she'll tell you where to put it."
They went through.
A while ago, I went to a supermarket in Tokyo, I spent a whole day there and brought her three things.
First was a poster of Sacred Fantasy, her favourite MMO game. The second was the latest edition of Sacred Fantasy that she's apparently been wanting since May.
I brought her Sacred Fantasy: Tempest Union, which is a remake. Kei better like it.
I mean, I spent ¥27,000 in total.
The poster was ¥10,000 by itself!
God, how prices are rising...
"Oh, Shoya, hey,"
I turned to look at the boy in front of me.
My heart dropped when I saw Ken.
"No way... You didn't..."
"Hm?"
He looked at what was in his arms.
"Oh, this? Yeah, it was ¥15,000. It's the game that Kei's been wanting, Sacred Fantasy: Tempest Union."
The worst-case scenario just happened. It just did!
"Uhh..."
Ken and I got her the same gift, what's more, he got it for cheaper!
"What's wrong, Shoya?"
I facepalmed.
"You and I got her the same gift..."
The boy didn't get what I was saying at first. Then, his eyes widened.
"Wait? You also got her Sacred Fantasy: Tempest Union?!"
Ken began asking in disbelief.
"But yours looks slightly different..."
It had a different cover and was outlined in gold. The title was the same though.
"Hah! You don't have the Ultimate Edition, do you?!"
"They never sold that where I went! Where'd you buy it?"
Ken wiped his index finger on the top of his lip with a cheeky smile.
"I brought it online from overseas. It was a bid."
I made a 'tch' sound out of annoyance and welcomed him inside.
Well, at least I have that third gift. I'm lucky I had it made or I would've been the worst brother on his sister's birthday.
---
Around 7 minutes later, at 3:49 pm, there was more knocking on the door.
I went to go open it.
To my surprise, three people were standing there. Two of them were out of breath.
"Hey, Shoya!"
Tatsuya greeted me.
I looked from him to the two girls in front of him, who carried on breathing heavily.
Anastasia had her hands on her knees and Akane had her hands on her head.
"We... ran from school to here..."
Anastasia said, swallowing her spit to relieve the dry feeling in her throat.
She began coughing.
"Water! Water!"
The girl made her way through to the kitchen.
"The bus would've been faster."
"There was a bus delay. The next bus we could've gotten would've been at 3:50 pm."
Well, isn't that convenient?
Still. They ran far. From the looks of it, they didn't stop once and kept on going. Even for a Streia, I guess that's tough work.
"Am I being ignored here?"
Tatsuya asked with a stupid look on his face.
I narrowed my eyes.
"Hey... What are those flowers for?"
The white-haired boy had a bag in one hand and a bouquet in the other.
"They're for Kei, of course! I haven't seen her in a while, so I thought I'd buy them."
"Don't push your luck, Tatsuya."
Here it is.
Tatsuya doing unnecessary stuff once again.
"Don't get the wrong idea, Shoya, I like someone else."
The boy said with his chest puffed out.
"Oh really? Who?"
I asked, out of curiosity.
He always acts like he's playing around no matter what girl he's with. I'm not the type of brother who wouldn't allow his sister to date someone, it's just that Tatsuya is the last person I'd want my sister to date.
"That's a secret."
"Shut up and get inside."
I knew he'd give that answer, that's why I shut him up instantly. Tatsuya's the type of person who can't take almost everything seriously.
"What? Aren't you curious?"
"As they say, curiosity killed the cat."