it's a party as long as there's still cake!... right? action; video;

[positivelynormal]

And... there.

[ There is a white-frosted cake on the table. Haruka just finishes putting the last candle on it (seventeen of them, if one is counting) and looks pleased. ] I guess I really made it, after all. Mmm hmm, looks good.

[ Again, like last time, it appears she is unaware that she is being recorded. She beams a quiet happiness, which seems very muted compared to her normal bubbling enthusiasm and strong gusto. ] I wonder what she will think?

[ She chuckles to herself, taking a kitchen lighter and starts lighting the candles. ]

Happy Birthday, Chihaya-chan--ahh.

[ Haruka finally makes eye contact to the camera, stopping in her tracks. Instead, she smiles and shakes her head, reaching behind the gear. Haruka sets it upright on the table to face her, and pulls her arms back to her body now with a Spinda in tow. ]

Hi there. Umm... this cake is for a friend. It's her birthday today, and it's like all of a sudden, my body just went into auto-pilot. I woke up this morning and thought "It's her birthday today," and then I'm frosting a cake. [ She forces a laugh and looks embarrassed. ] I guess... it's really silly for me to do all of this, right? I mean, she's back home now, so she couldn't blow out the candles here even if she wanted.

[ She smiles, though it doesn't hide the sadness from her eyes. ]

Oh, Starter Appreciation Day was a few days ago. My starter is this guy here, and I pampered him up for the whole day. I gave him a bath, brushed his teeth, a haircut, brushed his fur, trimmed his claws... I know some pokemon probably would hate that, but he looked real happy. Look, I even wore this too. [ Haruka reaches behind her back and reveals a headband with bear ears on them. She puts them on, giggling as she coddles her Spinda. ] Aren't they super cute?

So, how did you spend your day appreciating your starter pokemon?

[ Spinda nudges Haruka, then points to the lit candles halfway through the wax already. ]

Oh, right. If you're in Goldenrod City and would like a slice of cake, please stop by the Breeding House.

[ Haruka is about to turn off the gear, but looks at the cake for a long moment. Spinda gently smacks Haruka's forehead and leaves his paw there. Haruka flinches and recoils, but understands the gesture. There there, he seemed to say. ]

Nnn. Thank you, Spinda.

...

Happy Birthday, Chihaya-chan. I hope everything's going okay.

[ She blows out the candles. ]



[[ OOC: If you're in Goldenrod, come get some cake. ]]

Comments

action;

[ex_cashcow493]

[ Where did this wild Saber come from? Has she been here this entire time? ]

Cake. [ And what's with that greeting. ]

action;

[positivelynormal]

[ There's... a disturbance in the force.

Or rather a slightly chilly tingling sensation arching down her spine a moment before the voice calls out to Haruka. She spins around having just blown out the candles and spots her! ]

Oh! Have you been watching for a bit? Yeah, there's some cake here, Saber! Would you like some?

action;

[ex_cashcow493]

Please.

[ With the bow of her head. ] In honor of your friend, that is.

[ Immediately after a loud rumbling noise can be heard from Saber's general direction. O O P S. ]

action;

[positivelynormal]

[ Haruka giggles. ]

What's with you today, Saber? You're so polite!

[ She definitely picks up on this 'vibe' as she would call it, noting how much more handsome Saber was being today, wearing more reserved clothing and minding her manners. And she doesn't think it's weird anyway, calling girls handsome or stuff like that. Makoto is super dashing after all, and that's her big selling point!

Also it should be known that she is confusing Blue Saber with Red Saber... ]

Of course, in honor of my friend.

[ She cuts a slice for Saber. Make no mistake; the cake is large. It can easily serve over 30 rather large slices, but the one Saber got seems to be but a sliver compared to a normal cut! ]

[ She turns around and opens the pantry. ] Would you like for me to make some tea to go with the cake?

[text]

[pianosongs]

The ears are a nice touch. It looks like you've been busy as of late.

[video]

[positivelynormal]

Thank you! My friend was really surprised when I put them on. [ Haruka teases her Spinda, rubbing his head. ]

Mmm, a little busy! My work as an idol is picking up, and I recently acquired a lot of new friends!... But they're still in their eggs, so it will be awhile before we can play together...

[text]

[pianosongs]

Why was she surprised?

Ah... So once they hatch, you'll have a handful of little ones. That must be tiring. On top of being an idol? [Sheesh, how many singers were there in this world?!]

[video]

[positivelynormal]

Mmm, maybe because I don't wear ears very often. It's kind of like, a special events kind of thing, you know?--Or when I'm working, I guess...

[ Haruka continues her nodding. ] Yeah, they're going to book my schedule full! --On top of being an idol!

[ She repeats the text with strong enthusiasm. ]

At least, I'm working on becoming a widely recognized one. For the time being, I have a few promos here and there, and only recently did we perform in our first mini live.

[Action] p-placeholding

[10yen_idol]

[ ... OH BOY does Yayoi ever know that feeling. And this is why there is one pigtailed idol sneaking through the kitchen to ambush Haruka with the most potent weapon of all: ]

[ A silent hug from behind. ]

[action]

[positivelynormal]

Ah...

[ Haruka smiles with the younger idol's secret weapon, detecting her affection quite easily. She places a hand over Yayoi's and holds her there for a few moments. Haruka misses Chihaya, of course, but she also really misses everyone. Her parents. Friends. Everyone. And how must Yayoi feel, not being there for her friends and family for so long? ]

Thank you, Yayoi-chan.

[action]

[10yen_idol]

[ Yayoi tightens her hug for a moment. ]

Eheheh~... it's okay. You won't ever be alone here! There'll always be someone here for you, Haruka-san. [ And that's the thought that's been keeping Yayoi's spirits up for all her time in this world. That, and one other thing: ]

And... I'm sure your feelings have reached Chihaya-san! Because of the time balls!

[ ... well, okay, so the explanation that was given to her regarding how time moves differently in this world and back home seems to have gotten increasingly confused over the months. ]

[action]

[positivelynormal]

[ Haruka thinks she may have heard this term or something similar when she first got here, but she understands the intent of the message, and the real possibility that her celebration antics may have reached Chihaya. ]

Mmm, I hear you, Yayoi-chan.

[ She claps her hands onto Yayoi's and slips free, turning around to face the younger idol.

Of course, Yayoi isn't that young anymore. She's definitely a little bit taller and she looks a little bit more mature. How long has Yayoi been here before Haruka, anyway? Like a year or so? Something like that. She didn't really dig too much into it since apparently it has been a flux of her friends before, deciding to leave it to "live in the moment" and just that. ]

... Do you want some cake?

video;

[thewhite_symphony]

I see. You must really miss her ... your friend ...

[ Small smile. ]

And I'll tell you a little secret. I wrote letters ... every month to Kira the sixteen months that we were apart.

I also felt silly ... but at the same time it made me feel better.

video;

[positivelynormal]

[ She returns her own small smile. She didn't anticipate the strong show of support from friends and strangers in this place, so it's tenderly heart warming to hear things like this. After all, everyone here arrived regardless of their will. ]

Mmm, that's a wonderful idea. I think I would do video messages, though.

video;

[thewhite_symphony]

That might work too. And when your friend ever comes, I am sure she would be very pleased to hear about your adventures. They would also be very pleased to know ... that all this time you've been thinking of them.

[ Small blush here. ]

video;

[positivelynormal]

Ah! That might... be a little embarrassing, you know?! If they saw my video messages?!

video;

[cakelover]

It looks so good, but I'm in Kanto...

video;

[positivelynormal]

[ Oh no.. This ridiculously cute kid is going to start crying... ]

It... may be a little hard to get this to you, since you're in Kanto...

video;

[cakelover]

[ If only she knew his actual age. ]

I wish I'd stayed in Johto...!

But I didn't know anyone was making cake...

video

[lovechronicle]

[She's still in Goldenrod, MAYBE, I don't even know, and you're at her big brother's place - well, of course it belongs to Saber-san now, but anyway. Let's start this with a video first.]

It's not silly at all! Back home I would have made cakes for my deceased loved ones if I hadn't been the only one eating the whole cake.

[Pause. Thinking before a giving a little laugh.]

I don't think I would have been very good at making them there either... But that's a very pretty cake!

video

[positivelynormal]

Oh, well, thank you. It really means a lot to me to hear that! I'm pretty confident with my sweets, you know?

[ Wow hello emotional shocker one-two combo punch. Suddenly Haruka's insecurities seemed so abysmally small. ]

I think it's great that you keep your loved ones in your thoughts like that... and really, I just got lucky with the frosting, that's all...

video

[lovechronicle]

Good, because you have all the reasons to be confident with them. I think I'm good at them nowadays too, at least my friends seem to think so.

[But insecurities are always a big thing, kind of. At least they were a big thing for her.]

Mmm, in the end I ended up singing songs to them... [Sorry for emotional punches, but you know, it's been years for her.] Lucky or not, that's still a very pretty frosting too. Practice makes perfect, right? I think that's a great way to keep friends back home in your thoughts too.

[action]

[idlewanderlust]

*Suddenly appearing Azusa will just be standing nearby, smiling fondly at the younger idol.*

I'm sure Chihaya-chan would be touched that you thought of her today, Haruka-chan.

*Azusa let her own birthday slip by without saying anything last time it rolled around since GETTING OLD WHY but she knows how close the two are, so this is to be expected!*

[action]

[positivelynormal]

[ Azusa must have teleported... Somehow... But her company is certainly appreciated as she flashes her senior idol a winning smile. ]

Mmm, right! [ Haruka's chest puffs with a little pride. ] It's pretty cute watching Chihaya get flustered with something like this, too.

[ Ack! Haruka realizes she just admitted to teasing! ]

Umm, well, I just hope she's doing well...

[action]

[idlewanderlust]

Chihaya-chan is quite cute when she gets flustered, isn't she?

*It ain't no big to Azusa. She thinks all her younger idol buddies are cute!!*

I'm sure we're all somehow celebrating with her right now... Due to those magic time space bubbles~!