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“Huh? No party?” -Futaba”
“It appears so. Are you sure about this Haru?” - Yusuke
“Let her be Yusuke. If she doesn’t want one, she doesn’t need to.” - Hifumi
“Still, wish there was a birthday party for you.” - Ryuji
“We still can! Let us make one for you Haru!” - Ann
“If we were to have one, count me and Mako out. Seiji is being pretty annoying lately.” - Ren
“What?! Oh man,” - Ryuji
“Thank you guys,” Haru texted with a smile on her face as she walked towards her front doorsteps, keys jangling by her brown flora pattern purse. She had her usual work ponytail on, the one that told her that she was the boss and manager running the infamous Cafe Noir in Shibuya. Her smile was radiant than ever, for it was her birthday. The nice winter weather was calling her name and declaring this pretty young and elegant lady that she was now twenty-four years old. “ But I would like to have this one birthday all to myself.” she finished texting.
“ Oh...oh...OH! Don’t tell me, he’s back in town right? Right?!” -Ann
Haru sent a winking face and that got their group chats in a mood that made Haru giggle like the girl she was back when the Phantom Thieves were alive and kicking. How she missed those days, and yet she didn’t given the events that transpired two years ago. She hated being reminded of that as she looked at Ren’s scarred face and Makoto’s scar on the back of her neck and the ones that made her lose her vision, resulting in her having to wear glasses from time to time to keep the fluid in check. Still, there was one thing she will cherish as she looked at the engagement ring on her left hand, glistening in the snow and the light that welcomed her home.
That light hugged her warmly, the red-brownish tint in his eyes happy to see his fiance coming home for her birthday. His medium hair now shorter, the brown appearing to look spiky at the back and flowing through the front, slightly covering his scarred left eye. “Happy birthday Noir,” he whispered in her ear and Haru blushed before kissing him her welcome greeting. “Thank you Akechi,” Haru smiled her eyes and then asked if she could help with the bags outside. He nodded and left the house. “ Grim, though you made us suffer, you at least brought me this one blessing: forgiveness.” Haru walked towards the couch and placed the bags on the table top that was in the middle. She saw Akechi in the front with the other load of bags along with some security, struggling to bring something outside. A thud was then heard and Haru laughed as Akechi and the guard were on the floor, along with a large amount of bags. “Why..” they muttered.
“Sorry,” Haru apologized as she went to help them up and grab the remaining bags that were in the rather small car. Akechi brushed it off and thanked the guard. “So, what are all these bags for?” Akechi asked her as they returned back inside the house. “You’ll see,” Haru said. “Now let’s set up the house for my birthday.”
Akechi grabbed the wine bottle and the wine cups. “You got it, Empress,” he said with what appeared to be a tone Haru never heard from him. It was one of genuine love and devotion. That night was very special from there on out, as the two laughed together, cuddled together under the fire and sang a nice and humble birthday song before Akechi cut the cake to give to Haru. “Happy birthday,” Akechi said as Haru kindly took the slice...
Haru then woke up from that precious dream of hers as her eyes opened in the middle of the winter night, now as a full-fledged adult and mother to Kazuya Okumura. Her hair was longer and wrapped it in a bun as she climbed out of the bed. She yawned and checked the time. “Only 1:45? So I only slept for an hour,” Haru closed her mouth and went to the kitchen area of her house to get a cup of water. She didn’t notice that it was her birthday, somewhere within the forty-range.
Haru reached for the refrigerator handle, the silver shine subtly glistening in the snowy winter night. Her flowers in the backyard were well preserved under the snow, the hues of velvet and crimson flashing back at Haru thanks to the moonlight. She drank her cup of water as she admired the sight of the backyard. “For once, it looks pretty,” Haru smiled briefly and grabbed her phone from the counter, checking on emails about Cafe Noir, Okumura Foods, and her usual workload of messages sent to her. She even had to grab her glasses since she was walking a bit blind. “Let’s see...hm?” Haru stopped scrolling when she checked the date on her calendar. It was officially December 5th, and as she stared at the screen, she simply sighed and sat down on the couch to rub her eyes back to slumber. She failed as she noticed the dark brown tailcoat lying on the end of the couch along with Kazuya’s Shujin bag and the uniform he would normally get when he woke up at his usual time, yet there was a small card of sorts by the Shujin messenger bag.
“What’s this?” she grabbed the card and went to turn on the lights, only to see that she was holding an exuberant purple birthday card. It appeared to be homemade, and the logo of Cafe Noir was graciously drawn in the middle. “To Mom,” She read, now placing her glasses a bit closer to her eyes and sat by the dining table, yawning louder than ever. “By the time you get this card, then that means two things: 1) you’re awake in the middle of the night as usual or 2) you’re wondering how Marika and are doing after leaving so soon. I’m sorry all of us had to leave so abruptly ever since we learned the truth of the Metaverse. I can’t imagine how lonely the house would be. It needs to be done.
“I hope the East side of Japan becomes an interesting place to explore. I know that Marika would peg me to stop at a shop or a cafe, whichever she feels at that moment. We hope you expanded Noir around these parts. I mean, you have on in America after all,” Haru laughed when she saw that there was a drawing of the world and small pins to indicate where Cafe Noirs would be located. The small circle was filled to the brim. “In any case, as you read this birthday card that I made with Shun, I hope your birthday becomes just as exciting as it when I’m home celebrating with you, or when Old Man decided to stop by and visit you back then. I love you Mom and everything you’ve done for everyone, both the Saviors and the Phantom Thieves,”
“Love, Kazuya.” Haru closed the birthday card and shuddered a little, not because she was freezing that night, but because she was happy. Tears began to roll down her eyes as she was removing her glasses, still leaning on the table. “Kazuya,” Haru cried some more before she finally wiped away all her tears and looked back at the card. “Thank you. Be safe too,” she looked back at the moonlight that hit her fabulous garden, the very same moonlight that was hitting on Kazuya’s window porch as he too was awake, looking at the clock on his phone before he smiled and fixed his rather long hair into a small ponytail in the back end. “Happy birthday Mom,” he muttered and walked towards the bed, where Marika was busy grabbing the sheets all to herself, and the second bed, the one he was sleeping on, the sheets still haven’t been removed. “You’re finally getting some sleep Master?” Ifrit asked.
“Yeah,” Kazuya stretched his muscles and then removed the sheets, falling under a spell of sleep. The very same spell fell on Haru as she headed back to bed and fell asleep with Kazuya’s special birthday card.