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To Millennium Science School first-year Konuri Maki, keeping hair looking good wasn't a high priority. Generally, it was just done up into twin buns in order to keep it out of her way, leaving her free to tag as she pleased without worrying about getting paint in her hair. She only just began to realize what a fuss it was to attempt to get it to stay in place when it was a special day like April 26th, the birthday of Veritas' current acting president, third-year Kagami Chihiro. No matter how hard Maki tried, she could not get her fluffy red hair to stay in the buns neatly. There were stray pieces flying out every which way, and at some point she just shrugged and said to hell with it. Chihiro would probably be put off by a Maki who didn't look unkempt, after all.
Deciding that casual was best for their outing, Maki put on a comfy t-shirt, casual skirt, some tights and sneakers, and grabbed her usual shoulder bag before heading out to meet up with Chihiro. She couldn't wait for her senpai to see what she'd done for her birthday. She'd been planning the huge surprise for weeks, and it had taken so much restraint not to go blabbing about it to the other Veritas members or Sensei. Her hair buns bounced with her as she happily skipped to the rendezvous point.
Chihiro was already there, which made Maki jolt up in surprise when she saw. Though it was normal for someone lax like her to show up later than whoever she was meeting up with, she hated that she had Chihiro waiting on her birthday. She wasn't even late, though; in fact, her watch showed she was two minutes early. It just meant that Chihiro was even earlier than she was.
But of course she'd be more punctual than Maki. She just had to be the reliable one of the two, and her birthday was no different. She couldn't give her troublesome kouhai even one thing to tease her about, not even something as small as this.
"Prez! Happy birthday! Were you waiting long?" Maki greeted cheerfully, waving over her head as she jogged towards her bespectacled senpai, who gave a smile when she noticed her peppy presence.
"Nah, I just got here," came Chihiro's casual-yet-polite response.
She stifled a yawn. But that didn't stop Maki from noticing the bags beneath her senpai's gray-green eyes. The bright-eyed first year leaned in close, tippy-toeing slightly to get a better angle of the taller girl's face as she squinted.
"You pulled an all-nighter again, didn't you?" Maki interrogated with a teasing pout scribbled across her face.
"Well, yeah. Kinda comes with the territory," Chihiro remarked.
"But it's your birthday, President," Maki frowned. "I think Kivotos will do just fine without you for one night, you know. Ooh, I know! How about I fill in for you sometime?"
"Oh, god, just the idea is giving me a headache," the older girl scoffed.
"Aw, c'mon, Prez. I can be good! Promise!"
Chihiro let out a laugh through her nose. "Funny. So, what do you have planned, Maki?"
Maki switched gears and cleared her throat. "Only the best birthday you've ever had, of course!"
She grabbed Chihiro's arm playfully and pulled her along as she took her around downtown, weaving her through several streets and leading her to the big surprise. As the two headed further and further towards the dilapidated outskirts of the city, Chihiro became more and more apprehensive, but bit her tongue and refrained from chewing Maki out before she had more details.
Chihiro could see the spring in her junior's step, and the sparkle in her eyes, and she knew that no matter what trouble Maki stirred up, it was something she was proud of, and something she'd done to make her happy. She wanted to respect that, just for today.
The pep in Maki's step suddenly disappeared when she got to the alleyway and turned to stone upon seeing the wall. She dropped Chihiro's arms as her own flopped back down to her sides. Her eyes widened as she gaped at the sight that greeted her on the wall.
Maki had spent weeks on the mural she'd painted here. She'd spent a painstaking number of hours creating a mural in honor of her beloved club president, depicting the both of them together, smiling and surrounded by lots of little details that represented their bond and all they shared together.
But when she looked at it just then, it had been defaced. Some tar-like substance had been smeared all over it, ruining the work she'd hunched over perfecting for weeks. All of it was completely ruined. Maki was used to her graffiti being removed. It happened all the time. She knew it wasn't going to stay there untouched forever. But this wasn't just another tag to her. This was a work of art, and Chihiro didn't even get to see the finished product before it was gone.
Tears pooled up in her eyes as she reached out to touch the old brick wall that was once painted with her masterpiece. Chihiro could see bits and pieces of what was once underneath, and she almost immediately knew what was going on. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Maki's shoulder.
"They ruined it...my artwork...I made it for you, President..." Maki's voice quivered as she muttered.
"I bet it was...beautiful. I know you must have put a lot of work into it, and really, I just appreciate that you put so much effort in for me," Chihiro consoled the girl.
While she usually would have lectured her and told her this is why she should just get a big canvas for her works of art, in that moment, she knew that wasn't what needed to be said.
Footsteps echoed through the alleyway, immediately putting Chihiro on the alert. Delinquents.
"Oh no, the little artist getting upset? Well, personally, I think it looks better now, don'tcha think?" one of them sneered.
"Don't insult art like that!" Maki yelled.
"Well, this isn't public property, kid. You're on our turf. And I don't think I ruined anything. We just added to it. You wouldn't insult our art, would you?"
Usually, Chihiro would agree with them– a graffiti artist like Maki who defaces property like she does should get used to having her own work defaced, too. But today was different. No one was going to be taunting her juniors that way. Not on her watch. And no one was going to compare her creative brilliance to malicious black smears slopped across a surface. Not today, and not ever.
She pulled the M27 off her back and turned the safety off, pointing it at the delinquents' leader.
"You want a fight? I thought uppity Millennium students like you were too good for something like that," she retorted.
Chihiro smirked. "So, you know we're Millennium students, meaning you must know who we are. You do know exactly who you're dealing with, then. Which means I'm not gonna feel bad for what happens next."
Chihiro began blasting at the assailants, moving more adeptly than Maki had ever seen her move before. She stood shaking against the wall for a moment before wiping her eyes, taking a breath and regaining the fire in her eyes. She hadn't brought her usual machine gun along with her today– she didn't think she'd be getting into trouble that would require firepower, after all. But she did have a small handgun holstered against her back beneath her shirt, as she always did in case of emergency, and she whipped it out to join her senior in combat.
Together, the two of them had the squad of delinquents scurrying off, flinging curses their direction. Once it died down, Chihiro put her gun back in its case on her back, and Maki re-holstered her handgun, with the former taking a deep sigh as she did. Once the adrenaline had worn off, it was just occurring to her how much trouble she'd be in if Seminar ever found out, and how much paperwork and detention it'd probably entail. Combined with the exhaustion from her all-nighter, she felt like face-planting into the dirt and letting the ground consume her.
Maki looked at her with wide, concerned eyes, which led Chihiro to soften her expression a bit and give a little smile as she brushed some gunpowder from the girl's hair and clothing.
"I'm sorry, Prez. I wanted your birthday to be special, but it ended up like this..." Maki said with rare sincerity and remorse.
Chihiro sighed. "Well, you've certainly made it more lively than it would have been otherwise."
"Hmm...well, since it's your birthday, I'll treat you to something sweet!" Maki suggested.
"Not a fan of sweets. Thanks for the offer, though." Chihiro responded, beginning to journey out from the alleyway.
Maki pouted and trudged just behind her, head hung low. She looked up at Chihiro tentatively, noting her lethargic posture, and shot right up. "I know! I'll take you out for coffee! That'll wake you right up! And you love coffee, right?"
Chihiro smiled. "That I do. Why don't you lead the way?"
Maki grinned, her usual infectious energy returned to her. Chihiro couldn't help but feel endeared to her. The two went into the coffee shop and ordered two drinks to go, a black coffee for Chihiro and something fruity and syrupy for Maki, and they sipped them as they walked around town, eventually seating themselves on a bench, where they chatted.
"Do you wanna try mine?" Maki offered, grinning and holding her drink out towards Chihiro.
The older girl flushed pink as she gazed upon the straw that had only just been removed from Maki's lips.
"No, I couldn't, I'm not a fan of anything too sweet."
"Well, alright. It's really yummy though. I think you'd like it."
After clearing her throat slightly, Chihiro piped up, "If you really think I'll like it, then sure, I'll have a small taste." After a careful pause, she added, "But only if you have a taste of mine."
"B-But...black coffee?! That's way too bitter!"
"Yeah, I guess a child like you couldn't handle it," Chihiro said smugly.
"Is that a challenge?" Maki grinned. "Give it here!"
Maki took Chihiro's cup from her hand and took a small sip, lips pursing and face contorting as she swallowed the bitter drink down, sticking her tongue out with a gag as she expressed her discomfort before washing it down with some of her own foamy, fruity drink.
"Welp, fair's fair." Chihiro pushed her hair behind her ear and leaned her head in closer to take a sip from Maki's straw, face still flushed. She nodded as she savored the syrupy taste. "Yeah, not bad. Pretty good, actually."
"See? Toldja you'd like it!"
"Yeah, it's good, but I still prefer my own. Besides, if I get hopped up on all that sugar, I won't be able to get through a shift without burning out," Chihiro pointed out. "So I'll stick to my guns."
"Yeah, good point," Maki replied. "Hey, I'm gonna go use the bathroom real quick, would you mind staying here?" she asked, a glint in her eyes.
Chihiro paid it no mind, nodding and taking her drink from her. But as the minutes ticked by, she began to get worried. It had been nearly twenty minutes by the time Maki had returned. Any longer and Chihiro would have been running after her.
"You okay? You took a while," she asked with concern.
"Huh?" Maki tilted her head. "Oh. Yeah. I'm fine. Hmm, we have lots of time left. Let's go window shopping!"
Chihiro agreed, and the two set off for downtown once again, taking in all the sights.
Which was precisely when everything started blaring. All the billboards and buildings were suddenly projecting an animated message reading "HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO VERITAS' PRESIDENT!" and playing a recording of Maki's voice enthusiastically wishing her well. Everyone could see and hear it. A pit formed in Chihiro's stomach. She wanted a pit to form in the ground so she could fall into it.
The frustration that had been strangely absent that day came bubbling back to the surface as she realized just how much paperwork she'd be doing over Maki pulling a stunt like this.
"Maki...!!!" Chihiro growled through gritted teeth.
Maki's eyes widened as she realized she'd just which dragon she'd poked. "Y-You don't like it?" she giggled nervously, giving a half-hearted peace sign.
"Oh, you are so in for it now."
"Oops, gotta go! Uh, happy birthday! Later!"
With that panicked last greeting, Maki booked it back to the safety of her dorm room, knowing Chihiro wouldn't have the energy to catch up with her. Of course, she wasn't protected from the impending doom of the wrath she knew was sure to follow.
Nevertheless, she was happy she got to do something so special for Chihiro's special day, and she had a lot of fun hacking every screen she could to make it wish her well. Maybe she'd even do it again next year, but make it even better. She was never the type to learn her lesson, after all.