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Episode 61: Clubroom Party
âHappy-â
âHAPPY BIRTHDAY!!â
It was after school the Monday following our little yuri group date trip out to find a present. As soon as we got to the clubroom, we pushed Saki into the seat of honor and gathered around her. Honoka raised her hands up to give the signal, and we congratulated her all together. Although Honokaâs voice was so loud that my and Yuzurihaâs voices got drowned outâŠâŠ Ranko didnât join in the cheer, but she did clap her hands a bit.
âWawawaâŠâŠEh~!? Thank you~!â
âKay kay~! Now, time for cake and tea~!â
While Saki was still taken aback by the developing situation, Honoka grabbed the pre-sliced cake and plastic bottles of tea we had hidden ahead of time in the fridge. Yuzuriha set out some paper plates and paper cups so Honoka could set out the food. Their movements were weirdly in tune with each other.Â
âWe donât have any candles, but letâs commence with the birthday celebrations!â
âEveryone singâŠâŠthe most sung song in the worldâŠâŠâ
âH-HuhâŠâŠâ
Swept away by Honoka and Yuzurihaâs momentum, Saki dumbly nodded her head half out of joy and half out of pure confusion. Honoka was soon loudly singing,\nâHap~py~birth~day~to~you~!â\nwith the expectation that the rest of us would join in.
âAlrighty then! Time to blow out the fire!â
Still a bit puzzled by what was going on, Saki made the motion to blow on her cake even though there was no fire as we had no candles. Honoka then pulled out a little cracker popper from out of nowhere and set if off at the same timeâŠ..weirdly prepared in the strangest waysâŠ..
âStrange thoughâŠ..I donât remember telling anyone today was my birthday.â
âThere it is! Super hacker Yuriha was able to sniff that one outââ
âPlease donât make me out as some criminal.â
Saki couldnât hide her smirk after Honokaâs salacious misrepresentation of my actions. Honoka was chuckling herself until I karate chopped the top of her head.Â
âI saw it in your profile when we exchanged contacts. I didnât do anything weird.â
âS-So this was Yuri-chanâs ideaâŠ..?â
âSure was! Sheâs also the one who thought we should get all the supplies!â
âDonât go raising the bar all of the sudden.â
I grabbed the bag we hid in the roomâs locker while chiding Honoka for more of her tomfoolery and handed it over to Saki. I taped off the top, so you couldnât see what was inside just from looking at it.Â
âI-Is it okay for me to open it?â
âOf course. It took a lot of arguing, but we eventually all agreed on what to get you.â
Saki carefully undid the ribbon and tore through the decorative tape.
Throwing open the top of the bagâŠâŠall you could see was the top of a white clothâŠâŠ.?
âW-Wow~!â
Saki raised her gift out of the bag and showed it off to us. It was a shaggy white dog character. It had blue eyes, and it resembled an angel with its feathered wings ears. It has been a popular mascot character for a couple years now, so I was worried she might already have gotten tired of it. Her happy smile is a huge load off my shoulders.
âThis is what you got me~!? Itâs so nostalgic~! I used to love this character when I was a kid~ And itâs so fluffy too~ I absolutely love it!â
âReally? Thank goodness. We all guessed it would be something youâd like when we saw it.â
âItâs a hit! Knocked it right out of the park!â
âYou really did! Just what I would expect from you Yuriha! You proposed a terrific party and came up with a wonderful gift!â
âIt was all just chance. Pure luck.â
That said, Iâm relieved to see Saki rejoice so. Although my whole body cringed a bit when Honoka slapped her hand against Sakiâs back. What is she going to say now?
âIf we were going to have this surprise party, we also needed a club room right away. Thatâs why she immediately talked with the teacher and gathered members for the club.â
âR-ReallyâŠ.! SoâŠ..from the beginning youâveâŠ..!â
Of course. From the very beginning Iâve been working this whole plan for Sakiâs sake. I know I made her feel lonely when I had to ignore her feelings and walk home alone with Ranko, but it was all for her sakeâŠâŠis obviously not true. But I certainly wonât ruin such a happy misunderstanding if they think Iâm smart enough to think that far ahead. Plus it makes Saki happy. So happy in fact that sheâs having trouble expressing any kind of comprehensible emotion on her faceâŠâŠ
âGeezâŠ..thank you Yuri-chan!â
âW-Woah!â
She almost pushed me over. What a happy scene, hugging me in front of everyone and planting a peck on my cheek. Wasnât she upset with me until just recently? I spared a second to consider what I could get away with since we are both girls before hugging her tightly back and hiding my small giggle.
ââŠâŠOh! Prince Yuriha and Princess Saki are getting married!â
ââŠâŠ.Congratulationsâ
âAhaha. Obviously not.â
Following along with Honokaâs high energy, Yuzuriha joined in with the joke and fired off another cracker popper. You can think of this as a somewhat common joke in an all-girls school, but in her specific case, I think sheâs just delighted by the thought of a real life official yuri couple.
Iâve been missing spending time with Saki, especially on the way home. Itâs nice being able to show this kind of friendship in a way easy enough for even me to understand. Does this mean Iâve regained favor here?
Although, in stark contrast to Saki-chanâs high excitement, I couldnât not notice that Rankoâs face was a bit stiff.