Chapter Text
Day 7: A special birthday
Early in the morning, Tenko always did the same thing- jog in place for a few minutes to get her muscles warmed up, then take a quick shower before getting dressed. In the midst of this, Tenko happened a glance on the calendar, and had to do a double take.
"January ninth… it's my birthday!" Tenko exclaimed. "Already? Geez, time passes fast!"
She was happy that it was her birthday, of course. But Tenko decided not to make needlessly big deal about it. If her friends wished her a happy birthday, she would accept their well wishes. They didn't need to go out of their way if they didn't want to.
Once Tenko left the room, she headed to the dining hall to grab breakfast. At the dining hall, there were several of her friends from her class: Maki, Kaito, and Shuichi.
"Good morning, Tenko. And happy birthday," Shuichi said with his usual quietness.
"Is that today? Well, congratulations on making it another year," Maki added with her usual sarcasm.
"Thank you, Maki! And to you too, Shuichi," Tenko said, sitting down with her meal. "I appreciate your kind words!"
"Oh, but of course we have more than just words-" Kaito's words were interrupted by Maki elbowing him. "These birthday greetings are from the Luminary of the Stars, and his sidekicks! So they're extra special!"
"I'll take your word for it," Tenko said dryly, which is how she usually talked with Kaito. The four of them focused on their food from there, but the aikido master was privately happy they remembered.
Though Tenko wondered where Himiko was- she was nowhere in the dining hall.
After breakfast she attended morning classes, though Tenko wasn't the smartest, so she didn't retain everything that happened. Once it was time for lunch break, she had a quick bite, then headed to the gym to train.
In the gym was Peko, which was an expected sight. With her was a less expected sight: Ibuki and Mikan, neither exactly athletic girls.
Tenko greeted all three of them with her usual cheerfulness, catching their attention.
"Greetings, Tenko," Peko said quietly. "I believe it's your birthday?"
"It sure is! The day that this loud, strong martial arts master came into this world!" Ibuki declared. "And the world hasn't been the same since!"
"I think that's a little much, Ibuki," Tenko said, even as a smile spread across her face.
"H-happy birthday, Tenko. I hope you've had a n-nice day so far," Mikan said with her usual nervousness. "And I hope that I don't r-ruin it for you."
"Of course you won't, Mikan! In fact, having you here makes my birthday better!" Tenko exclaimed.
"I assume you came here to train. I would be glad to spar with you, since today is special," Peko said. She placed her hand on her sword handle. "Even then, however, I will not go easy on you."
"I wouldn't have it any other way, Peko!" Tenko said, grinning as she got into a defensive pose. A spirited sparring session followed, with the aikido master focused on matching her friend's pace.
In fact, Tenko was so focused that she didn't notice that Ibuki and Mikan left the gym entirely.
As the day transitioned into the evening, Tenko felt like she was on cloud nine. Throughout the day, her various friends greeted her, spent time with her, making this birthday one of the best that Tenko could remember.
Yet all good things had to come to an end, even this day. So as the sun began to set, she decided to head to her dorm room.
"Hey Tenko!" A familiar voice called to her, and Tenko turned around to spot Aoi and Sayaka approaching her.
"Are you already heading to your room? That's not a good way to end your birthday!" Aoi declared, pumping her fists.
"Hey, Hina! Hey, Sayaka!" Tenko called out. "Did you want something from me?"
"For now, all we need is for you to follow us," Sayaka said. "Like Hina said, your room wouldn't be a good place to end your birthday."
Curious, Tenko followed the two girls. They headed towards the auditorium, which even more curiously seemed to have all the lights off. Aoi and Sayaka stopped at the double doors, and opened them together. As Tenko went through the doors, they closed behind her and plunged her into darkness. In the next instant, the lights turned on, followed by-
"SURPRISE!" A collection of different voices rang through the air. As Tenko's eyes adjusted to the lights, she saw what exactly was in the auditorium:
Inside were none other than Maki, Shuichi, Kaito, Kaede, Himiko, and Gonta from her class. Peko, Mikan, Ibuki, and Mahiru were there as well, with Aoi and Sayaka joining Sakura already inside.
At the left of the area was a table covered in presents, while the right had a table covered in Tenko's favorite foods. The very back had a large stage.
"We did a surprise for you, Tenko!" Gonta said, smiling cheerfully. "Did you like it?"
Tenko couldn't answer, because she was on the verge of tears. In fact, it didn't take long for her to start crying her eyes out.
"Oh no! Maybe we went a little overboard," Kaede said, rushing over to Tenko. "Are you okay?"
Even as she kept crying, Tenko met Kaede's face with a smile. "I'm more than okay! I'm happy in a way I don't think I can describe! Everyone really planned this… for me?"
"Yup yup! You've given everything you have for all of our birthdays," Ibuki said, jumping on her feet. "So we put our heads together for you!"
"Nyeh… I hope you ready yourself soon, Tenko," Himiko said. "Because I'm putting on a special magic show just for you."
"And after that, I think I can sing a song for you," Sayaka said, winking at Tenko. "So this night isn't going to end any time soon!"
Tenko personally went to everyone that was here and thanked them, one by one. When she reached Shuichi, he said, "Not everyone from our class showed up, but they still helped. Angie, Tsumugi, and Kirumi all pitched in for the stage, with Gonta doing the heavy lifting."
"I have a feeling that you helped put it together," Tenko said. Despite her usual misgivings about touching males, she patted Shuichi on the shoulder. "I am grateful!"
The birthday party went into full swing from there, with Tenko continuing to mingle with everyone. She joined up with Aoi, Peko, and Sakura.
"We're quite the group of girls, aren't we," Tenko said playfully. "I'm honored to be in the presence of such powerful fighters!"
"Don't talk like you aren't included!" Aoi exclaimed. "You're a great fighter too! If we had time, I'd see who'd win between the four of us!"
"Getting into a four way brawl doesn't seem like a good use of time," Peko said dryly.
"But I do see what Aoi is saying. Helping each other, we can become stronger than we would have alone," Sakura said. She patted Tenko on the head. "On another day, I'd be glad to test my strength against you."
"It doesn't have to be another day! If nothing else, we can do a short workout together," Tenko said excitedly. "But first I gotta talk with others!"
"Do what you want. Today is your day, after all," Peko said, a rare smile on her face.
Next, Tenko approached Ibuki, Mikan, and Mahiru. The photographer was snapping pictures of what seemed to be about everything.
"There are a lot of happy people in this party! I want to preserve all that I can," Mahiru said. She turned towards Tenko. "But most of all, I want to take a good picture of you!"
"Since they're here, I'd like to take a picture with Ibuki and Mikan," Tenko said, gesturing for them to get closer.
"Yahoo! This is going to be a picture that gives off the best vibes!" Ibuki declared. She rushed to Tenko's side, while Mikan followed nervously.
For once, Mikan didn't even trip on her feet, arriving safely at Tenko's side. The three of them posed, smiling, and Mikan snapped a photo with her camera.
"Th-thank you for letting me be part of the picture, Tenko," Mikan said, unusually happy.
"Today, I want to see all the girls smiling!" Tenko said, before turning to Mahiru. "Thank you for the photo! You can keep taking more if you want."
"I'd be glad to," Mahiru said, raising her camera. "You go enjoy yourself!"
From there, Tenko headed to where Sayaka, Kaede, and Himiko where bustling on the stage.
"I hope I'm not interrupting anything," Tenko said, looking up at them. "I wanted to know what you were up to!"
"I am collecting mana for my magic spells. The performance will be ready shortly," Himiko said, tugging on her hat. "Please be patient a little longer."
"Me and Kaede also agreed to hold a concert together after Himiko," Sayaka added, pointing to the piano on the stage. "It will be more casual than I'm used to doing."
"Oh? If you're doing a musical concert, why not invite Ibuki?" Tenko asked curiously.
Kaede and Sayaka shuddered, and briefly shared a look. "The stage is too small for the three of us at once," Kaede said quickly.
Before Tenko could ask more, Himiko said. "The preparations are complete! Please get off the stage so I can begin."
Once everyone vacated the stage, everyone grouped in the center to view the stage. Himiko cleared her throat, before raising her voice and saying, "Today, I am going to cast magic spells for a special person. My best friend, who makes every day a little brighter."
"That's Tenko!" Gonta shouted, with everyone else around him wincing from the volume.
As Tenko looked up at Himiko on stage, her entire body filled with a kind of warmth she couldn't describe. Tenko never thought herself as anyone special.
If there was anything special in Tenko's life, it was all her precious friends. Her friends that came together to celebrate her today, on her birthday.