{Kei Sasaki's POV:}
Arisu wasn't in today...
It felt slightly awkward not having anyone to talk to at all. It didn't feel embarrassing at all since no one had the guts to approach me after they heard about my fight with Emi.
Well, of course, Aihara-nee dealt with it and made it slightly more believable for normal people.
I opened the gate and went through.
Wonder what was up with Shoya-nii. He wasn't at home when I woke up. I woke up at 7:50 am too.
Well, with those friends of his, it's not impossible imagining that he's hanging out with them.
I used my key to open the door.
"I'm ho--"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"
I stepped backwards as I was bombarded by voices. There was a soft pop and confetti fell from the ceiling and into my hair.
My mouth was hanging wide in disbelief.
"What..."
---
"You all threw this surprise party for me?!"
Wow.
I'm honestly surprised. When they shouted, I honestly thought my heart was going to jump out of my body.
Last year, I didn't have a birthday party. Well, mostly because I already promised my friends for an all-nighter that day despite it being a school day. I would've been too tired to be excited about anything.
"Yup, it was Mom's idea."
Yuki-nee said.
I looked at everyone sitting on the sofa. I stared directly at Arisu.
"W-w-what is it?"
She asked with a nervous smile.
"No, I was just wondering why you didn't come to school today. If you had, I would've read your emotions easily."
The blue-haired girl scratched her head gently with a precious smile.
"You got me."
Then there was a clap.
Mom stood up.
"Alright, alright! We'll be doing the presents... presentation now! I'll go in the order of the guest list!"
There was an awkward silence that Mom couldn't detect.
I can't believe she thought of that joke now and decided to put it into her sentence. Once again, she's acting like she's from the last century.
"So, in order of given names, Anastasia is going first!"
Everyone clapped and the purple-haired girl stood up. She had a neatly wrapped red box in her hand.
It's kind of big.
With a nervous look on her face, she handed it over to me.
"Here."
The girl's face was red.
I guess I make her feel uncomfortable or...
I opened the present to be presented with--oh, crap, I did it too.
Ahem, I opened the present.
"Woah! No way! This is a whole PC!"
Yes.
Having rich friends is useful when it comes to birthdays.
I got a PC that's better than my current one. Holy...
This is... I'm so happy that they held a party for me. The only problem is that it'll take a long time to set up.
I took a glance at my brother.
It's my birthday. He'll willing slave for me.
"Thanks, Anastasia!"
"No problem."
She sat back down.
I put the present to the side.
"Next is Akane."
Mom said.
Then, the black-haired girl stood up. Her box was also slightly large. She set the box down.
"So, I did my research and apparently, you need a couple of things to play."
Hm?
"I brought you a new set of headphones, for gaming, a Switch for more games. I brought a couple of games with the Switch, according to Shoya, you like more violent games despite being a girl."
I began glaring at my brother and he diverted his eyes as soon as I looked at him.
What's this stupid older brother of mine saying about me behind my back?
"I also bought you more two monitors but that's already in your room. Seeing as Anastasia brought you a new PC, you'll need to switch it out--huh, am I talking too much?"
She turned red when she realised everyone was staring at her.
"Sorry, I'll sit back down."
"Back to being a chatterbox, I see."
The purple-haired girl smiled at her.
"Well, we should probably put those upstairs."
Mom said.
"Ah, it's kind of heavy, so I'll take it."
Akane said.
"I'll come too."
"So will I."
Shoya and Anastasia joined in.
All three of them grabbed the box, travelling with ease, and began climbing up the stairs slowly.
"Ah, how young they are..."
"Mom."
I called out to her, she snapped out of her trance of fantasy.
"Ahem. Right. Next is Arisu."
Arisu stood up.
"Uh... I didn't want to be buying the same type of thing others brought. So, I brought something different."
Arisu took a small box out of her hand and opened it.
"I hope it's to your style. It's a bracelet with an amethyst gemstone embedded in it."
Everyone gasped.
It was a silver bracelet with a purple gem.
"Where did you buy this? This type of thing is not ¥10,000 or anything!"
"It's not. It was mine but I don't wear it in school or anything since I'm afraid of getting robbed. I wanted to give it to you."
She said with a smile.
I took the box and inspected the bracelet.
"It's beautiful."
"Sorry if it's slightly used up..."
She scratched her head nervously.
I took it out and put it on.
It seemed to fit me perfectly. There was just something about it. Something... special.
"Thanks, Arisu."
She smiled and sat down.
---
After that was Ken.
He gave me the ultimate edition of Sacred Fantasy: Tempest Union. The game I've always been wanting.
Mr Kura gave me a new watch with the initials 'KS' on it. I liked it.
It was silver.
Mrs Kura had knitted me a sweater which said 'FAMILY,' on it. I loved it. I mean, Mrs Kura did make it.
It was Shoya-nii, then Tatsuya.
"Uh, so, I brought you a poster and..."
I took the poster out of his hands.
A Sacred Fantasy poster.
There was something else in his other hand. I snatched that as well.
It was the same game Ken got me but Ken's one was better with the perks it came with.
"So, you have anything else?"
There was a confident smile that perked up his face.
"Yes. I'm so happy I got that last gift."
That last part he muttered under his breath.
Shoya-nii reached into his pocket and dangled something out in front of him. It wasn't a necklace but--
"A locket."
He handed it over to me.
The outside looked slightly plain but had a red wing engraved on the surface. I then opened it.
A picture was inside it.
A picture of Mom, Dad, Shoya-nii, Aihara-nee and Yuki-nee.
"Do you like it?"
He asked.
I smiled.
"Yup. It's amazing."