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[Mimi excitedly waited after knocking on her door, and when she answered, there she was, singing.]

Someone told it me it's your birthday
So it's all about you!
Have fun and celebrate
Whichever way you choose!
But I'm here to tell you
the best way that I can
That I wish you Happy Birthday!
To you Futaba-chan!

[Just roll with it. Also have a giant hug.]

[That was definitely something she didn't expect to hear, much less anyone knowing about her birthday.

... Wait... It was her birthday already?

Well, She could think about that later, since now Mimi is serenading her and she doesn't know how to take this.]

Oh, uhm.. T-Thank you..?

[And now she's being hugged. Wow this is strange for her, but she won't push her away or anything. She's mostly just surprised more than anything else.]

You know it's my birthday?

The network doesn't lie! I kind of looked it up, sorry. [She's not sorry.]

But I got you something! It's not much, but I thought it was cute!

[She hands her a wrapped box that had a cute phone charm inside.]

I hope you like it, but since we're just starting to get to know each other better, I didn't know what else to get you.

[She was practically beaming. You would think it was her RECEIVING the gift, not giving it.]

So-! Open it!

Oh! You didn't have to.

[But she's obviously touched by her gesture. She glanced to the box for a moment before returning the smile.]

Okay!

[So once it's opened, she noticed the cute phone charm inside. It probably wouldn't be something she'd pick normally, but she does like it regardless.]

Oh! Thank you, Mimi. I love it. [She's just not used to getting gifts. She'll take it out to put it in her headphone jack.]

I'm so glad you like it!

Well, I'm on my way to the Professor's to do a job I promised, but I knew I wanted to stop and wish you an amazing birthday! Also, I think maybe we could go shopping and I can get you something better! Just tell me when you want to go!

Thanks, Mimi. I didn't really think about when my birthday was, so I appreciate it. I'm okay with this phone charm though, but I wouldn't mind I guess.

[ There wasn't an impersonal social media page to stick it to. ]

Happy Birthday. I once heard that receiving birthday wishes grants one good luck. I thought I would contribute just in case.

[This was close enough.]

Oh, thank you. I appreciate it. I.. actually forgot it was my birthday.

You're welcome. Supposedly, forgetting your birthday is also good luck. Perhaps it stacks and you'll have twice as much.

I don't know about that, but I suppose I haven't really celebrated it much the past few years.

I haven't celebrated much myself either so don't feel so bad. I forgot my birthday several years in a row. Ha ha. I'm sure everyone will throw you a party if Yusuke's birthday was any indication.

Well, obviously we need to throw you a birthday party then. When is it?

You don't know that already? I was under the impression you hacked your way into all of my personal information.

I mean, I could if you wanted me to. I'd rather just ask as a person rather than a hacker if it's at all possible.

I see. What kind of trap is this? I suppose it can't hurt for you to know. I'm sure it'll be forgotten later. June 2nd.

Only the most devilish of traps! B]

[She'll remember that so she can surprise him when it's his turn.]

[Seth has experiences all over the world and is rather antiquated with White Day. He hasn't celebrated it but he quickly picks up the general idea. Unlike his cute admirer, he manages to place the gift in front of her door and vanish before she is able to catch him.

On her doorstep is a small white box with a single white ribbon tied around it. Inside is a small box of rainbow macaroons and a Woodissimo Hungarian Music Box that plays a lovely song when it's wound up.]

[For someone who hasn't particularly participated in Valentine's Day, she had no idea to think about White Day. Sure it was a day she was aware of, but since it's never affected her personally, she didn't think much of it. So it was pretty easy for Seth to slip the box in front of her doorstep without being caught. Give it about an hour or so later and she finally noticed up upon leaving to go get a few things from the store.

Looking at it, she was a little confused, but grabbed it and set it on her desk in her room to see what was inside. She didn't particularly expect to get something and the macaroons looked both cute and delicious. For now her focus was on the music box. It looked pretty old, but it had a nice song.

Why would someone leave this for her? For what reason? Her birthday was here a while ago, but it seemed too late for that and even that was a surprise for her. And then her mind drifted to what day it was.]

The 14th.... Isn't there.... some sort of special occasion today...? [Thinking out loud until...] Oh! White Day!

[And then realizing what day it was, she had to think about it... It was White Day so...]

Oh. [Seth. That's right. She did give him chocolate for Valentine's day... Thinking about that and the fact he'd returned the gift (she's assuming anyways) made her cheeks flush warm. Setting the music box down, she reached for her phone to call him.]

[Seth looks down at his phone and smiles when he sees who's calling.]

I take it you got my gift?

Y-Yeah... [She's silent for a moment while trying to think of what to say.] Thank you. I.. completely spaced on what day it was....

I've never actually celebrated Valentine's Day before so uhm...

[Seth is thankful that this is audio.]

Neither have I but I thought it appropriate that I get you something in return. I hope you like the music box.

[He had made parts of it so he hopes it doesn't look too bad.]

I love it. I've never had something like this before so It's really nice.

[She doesn't mind at all.]

I'm glad.

[It had been a shot in the dark, he isn't sure what girls like nowadays.]

[Honestly, the fact she got anything was a nice surprise on it's own.]

Thank you. It... means a lot to me to even get anything. [From him, but details that are pretty obvious.]

Yeah.

[Awkward pause.]

I should probably get going but um... I'll see you around, right?

Uhm.. yeah. I understand, I just... wanted to tell you thanks. Have a good night.

[So she'll let him go.]

You too.

[Awkward hanging up.

What the fuck is wrong with him? Seth decides he needs a cold shower and then a few hours in the sleeping world to sort through whatever just happened.]

Hey, Futaba. If you're busy it's fine but...if you need a distraction right now, let me know?

[She's not quite as concerned as she is about Ryuji but she does also know that this is probably tough for Futaba even if she doesn't know the full story behind why.]

[Finding out that Mimi left has been hard on her, of course. It was honestly because of how Mimi pushed her out of her comfort zone so many times that she's actually gone out to do more things than she was used to. And considering how important friendships were to her, it hurt to see someone she cared about leave.

She could only imagine how much worse Ryuji was going to take it, but she'd be there for him as much as she could too; didn't help when she was pretty awkward about this kind of stuff as it was.]

... Actually.... yeah, I think it would be good to do something else... Do you... want to hang out or something...?

[It's her way of saying, 'yes, please distract me'.]

Of course. Did you wanna go check out that arcade up near you or something?

[She'd suggest the other one but, well. She's not sure they'd find Ryuji there right now anyway. But she really wants to make this something Futaba wants to do rather than what her first thoughts would be.]

Yeah. That sounds good. Did you want to meet there or..?

[Either way is fine, but it may take her a bit longer than usual. Social anxiety was a bitch, even when you were getting better over time.]

Whichever works better for you. I can come meet you at your place, if that's easier.

[Because she knows Futaba well enough to know sometimes she needs that extra little push and while Ann's not about to sledgehammer her point across, she's willing to offer gentle encouragement.]

Uhm... I... should be okay.

[As much as she wants to say yes, she knows she needs to get over this as well.]

I'll start heading over.

Edited 2018-05-10 09:02 (UTC)

All right. I'll see you there.

[At least that gives her time to detour to get something sweet for them. Maybe the little gesture will help.]

[By the time that she gets there, Ann will have probably gotten the sweets and got there about the same time she did, if not sooner. She's getting better, but it is what it is.]

Hey, sorry it took a longer than intended. [Those crowds though...]

No problem. I had to stop off somewhere first.

[And here she gestures with the small bag of pastries she's picked up because she figures they're the safest option.]

So, did you wanna head in? I wouldn't even know where to start in here or what games are good or anything like that.

[Which isn't untrue, but she's maybe playing up to it a little more to give Futaba chance to lead.]

Oh! What did you get? [Nodding.] Yeah, I guess they wouldn't have Guns About here, huh. Well, let's see what there is and go from there. What kind fo games would you be interested in playing the most?

I found a bakery nearby that does mixed bags of pastries. I thought that was better than me trying to decide for us.

[Otherwise she would have been late.]

I'm okay with anything that's not too complicated. Though I suppose the point of arcade games is to not be too complicated, right?

[Easy to learn, difficult to master and that's how people's money disappears.]

Oh! That sounds pretty good though. Thanks!

Okay... Let's see...

[Scanning over the games... Finally she spotted a co-op two player game where you banded together to take down some small fry and then a boss; wash, rinse, repeat.]

How about that one?

Oh! That one looks like fun, sure!

[Co-op takes the pressure off a little, though that doesn't mean Ann isn't going to try her best.

She heads over to the game, finding somewhere safe nearby to leave her stuff so it doesn't go missing while they play.]

Red or blue? I'm not sure it makes a difference outside of appearance.

[At least, that's what she's getting from attract mode.]

[She picked the co-op game so that they could both play and maybe get Ann more into it.]

Hm... I don't think it matters. You can pick which one you want; I'll take the other one.

Hmm, then I'll take red. Might as well stick with what I know.

[This isn't the Metaverse but red's a good colour either way so Ann's happy to take up position there.

And with that decision made, she can focus on trying to figure out what the buttons do, as if there's going to be any strategy when they get started.]

[She'll take the other one then.]

Oh, watch out for the ninja! [She'll shoot at them to protect Ann while she figures out the buttons.]

Wow, they like to throw it all at you right from the start, huh?

[Her words come with a subtle glance at what Futaba's doing as though that will teach her anything beyond it's not a good idea to ignore the screen.

Which is why she almost gets hit. And that sparks her more competitive side.]

That's it, they're going down.

[ooc: end of this.]

[Seth slips off his jacket as they exit the grand ball and drapes it over Futaba's shoulders. She doesn't look cold but it's a preemptive strike against the chill that might work its way into her limbs.]

Thank you for letting me walk you home. I hope I didn't embarrass you in front of your friends too much. [His voice is light, warm and teasing as he slips her hand in his and interlock their fingers.]

It was nice. Meeting everyone.

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