The fated day had finally arrived. It was now December 25^th and the time for Ryugi’s and Ishi’s birthday party was to begin.

“Sorry Chinae couldn’t make it.” Said Rinse as she walked to the destination with the birthday boy. “I heard you wanted to invite her.”

“Yeah, but according to Ryugi, that girl had to decline the offer.” He was unsure of why she wouldn’t want to come. Despite her attitude, it seemed that she was cool with him now.

“Oh well, at least her sister’s coming.” Rinse’s casual comment meant little to her, but explained everything to him. As it would turn out, Rinse had already asked Chiana to come since she believed they could have some fun with it being a Christmas party too. She had been asked as that first, and accepted before knowing that the others would want Chinae. So things were a little awkward for her now that she was going in her disguise.

“I guess we’ll take that.” He replied, not tipping Rinse off to anything weird about that circumstance.

“True, but it’s too bad that Chinae still doesn’t want to come to these things. I know she would deny it, but she seems to be getting closer to all of us.”

“You have no idea.” He responded as they entered through the automatic doors of the mall. There was quite a crowd here thanks to the holidays. The numbers were bolstered by their class who they spotted walked towards their reserved room.

Today was going to be a day of fun, that much was expected out of someone like Ryugi planning things out. Obviously there was plenty of food, drink, and especially sweets to go around for the students as they got inside the room. The party had already started given the loud volume of noise he heard coming into his ears. This was not welcomed, but he wasn’t surprised given that he knew what he signed up for.

The boy scanned his eyes across the room, where they fell onto Youna sitting alone on one of the benches, sipping on some drinks. “So, are you enjoying this party as much as I am?” He asked in a sarcastic manner.

“Probably.” Though they had different reasons for feelings so, she wasn’t having the time of her life. Even though she had friends like him, Rinse, and even Ryugi, she still wasn’t the time to go out and chat people up. “Oh, since it’s your birthday, have you seen all the presents?”

Of course, being both their birthdays and Christmas, it was expected their classmates give them gifts. Though judging by the two separate piles, the birthday gal was a lot more popular than the birthday boy. Youna was nervous about her present for him, as it was a key chain with his favorite Palmon on it. As cool as it might have sounded, she was now wondering if he even needed something like that.

“And I’ll…” Rinse was going to say that she wanted to enjoy some food with him, but their classmates had a different idea. They soon swarmed around her and she had little choice but to provide the others with company. It was too bad for the idol that she had yet to stand up for what her non-idol self truly wanted.

“I’ll see you later.” He simply waved goodbye to her, now left alone with Youna. Ishi was about to sit with her and provide company when someone else came between the middle of them. It was Chiana, the so-called idol sister of Chinae. Unlike her more popular co-worker, there weren’t really all that many people who wanted to hang out with her.

“Happy birthday Ishi!” She gave him a small cheer signaling her arrival. “I’m really glad for you and Ryugi that you’re both adults now.”

“Thanks.” He responded unenthusiastically. It was still unfortunate that she couldn’t come clean to anyone but him about her secret. Preferable to him would be that she gave up the act and gave the idol spotlight to the real Chinae.

“Actually, I’d like you to come with me.” Said Chiana as she grabbed his arm. “Since it’s your birthday, I’d like to give you your present early.”

“I mean.” He turned back to look at Youna. If he left, then she would be left alone again.

“It’s okay.” Surprisingly, she allowed it. Though her tone made it clear that she wasn’t happy about it. “I’ll be fine, so just get your present now.” Youna didn’t want him to spoil his own birthday for her sake. So despite personally not liking this, she wanted to let him be free for today.

“Well, if everything fine…” Ishi relented and followed Chiana to wherever she wanted him to be. As they walked, there was something in his mind that he couldn’t let go. “Have you seen Ryugu?” It was odd not to have already seen the girl most people were here for.

“She seems to be hanging out with her friends.” Chiana pointed them out as they exited out into the hallway. They were spotted as well with him receiving glares from the gyaru’s friends.

“Ishi, I’ve been looking all over for you.” He got a much more warm welcome from the birthday girl herself, thankfully. “If you’ve been having lots of fun without, imagine what things are going to be like now that I’m in the picture.”

“Sure, but Chiana wanted to give me my present right now.” He replied. “So, I guess I’ll see you later.” It seemed that the girl wanted to take him away from the private room for now. Ishi assumed that the location was going to be at the large Christmas tree, which appeared to be a good location.

“She is?” Ryugi’s instincts went into overdrive upon hearing that. She knew what this was going to lead to, now she had to stop it. “That’s unfair, if it’s both our birthdays, then we should be getting our gifts at the same time.” The girl threw her tongue out for good measure to show off her immature nature. It was a good mask to hide her true feelings towards him.

“Well, I think that Ishi would like his present more if I give it to him in private.” He felt Chiana’s grip on his arm tighten. “So I’d like to take you downstairs for a little bit. I promise it won’t take long.”

“Just forget about them.” Unfortunately for Ryugi, her friends were not too interested in helping her out in this situation. “She’s just an idol, so it’s not like she’s going to be wasting too much time on him.” In Ritsuko’s mind, this was probably just going to be fake out to make fun of the boy.

“Is it really that big of a deal if he gets an early gift anyway?” Nayaka asked. “So what, it looks like you’ve got a ton more than him.”

“…” It was a major deal to her, but how could she just say it out loud to them? The first being that he was standing right there and a confession wasn’t in the cards for her. The second was that they clearly disliked him, and it would cause a rift in their friendship if she told them she was in love with him. “You’re right.” She responded, turning to make her way back to the private room. “I’ll see you later, Ishi.” Her friend’s followed, leaving him and Chiana alone once more.

“Well, I hope this present is worth the effort.” He commented as they approached the tree.

“I’m sure you’ll love your gift.” Chiana still had on her cheerful attitude. It was strange for him since she would normally revert when they were alone. To be fair, this was still a public area, so it was possible she wanted to play it safe so that no one would catch her. “I think this place is good.”

There was a good view of the tree from where they were located. However, it was also safe from being interrupted by any potential eavesdroppers.

“So where is it?” He asked. It didn’t seem like she had anything on her person, and there wasn’t anything that he could see around them at this spot. Whatever her present was, it must’ve been absurdly tiny.

“Just be a little patient.” She put up a hand to slow him down. “If you want your gift, then you have to close your eyes.”

“Fine.” He accepted her conditions as the boy shut his eyes. This was getting to be a little silly for his birthday. All he was looking for was to get some things that he may or may not care for. Other than that, the party itself wasn’t anything that he had been anticipating. “So, what’s this pre-”

Impatiently, Ishi asked what he was going to be getting on this joyous day. However, he was interrupted by something pushing itself up onto his lips. No, it wasn’t just some regular thing. Chiana had placed her lips onto his, as the pair engaged in a kiss.