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There was something about today that put Clover on edge. Yet they couldn’t put their finger on it. All they knew was that it felt like their family had been… avoiding them. For a few days, too.
Yeah, that’s sure gonna be good for their mental health. Not like they have issues with being avoided by their family. But if even Kuroba’s doing it, then there’s bound to be some sort of good reason. Clover just couldn’t figure out what.
What’s so special about June 23rd? Sure, the actual season of summer had just begun, but that was a few days ago.
Clover sighed.
(Might as well head out for the day. Maybe go find a bookstore. You could use some more things to read.)
—
“You sure this is a good idea, Clo?” Kanako asked.
“Yeah, of course,” Kuroba answered. “Clove’s gonna love it.”
“Being avoided by their family? You’re sure they won’t have any issues with that?”
“Hm? Oh, that.” Kuroba turned to Kanako. “Clove’s smart, they won’t assume the worst. Mainly since I’m also doing it, too. Of course I wouldn’t want them to feel similar to back then, so if I’m also avoiding them, they’ll know that it’s not ‘cause we hate them or something. Toss me a streamer, would you?”
“I’m busy putting up one of my own. Just give yourself longer arms or something.”
“I could tell you to do the same, dolt. Or have one of the Slithers’ do it.”
A streamer came into Kuroba’s peripheral view.
“Here you go,” Ceroba said.
“Ah, thanks Ka-san.”
“You’re welcome, now please focus. We don’t know how long Clover will be out for, and we need this to be ready to surprise them.”
“Yeeeaaaahhh,” both kids said in unison.
“The Five should be here soon,” Ceroba thought aloud, “and thankfully Dalv was in town, although I feel he would’ve swung by for today no matter what.”
“Hey, is something burning?” Kuroba asked.
Ceroba sniffed.
“Oh, shoot. Can you two take these?” She dropped a box of decorations.
“‘Course, Ka-san.”
“Thank you.” Ceroba bowed before running off towards the kitchenette. “Martlet!”
—
(You seriously can’t think of why they would avoid you,) Clover thought to themself. (Of course it has to be for some form of celebration, but what? The only thing you can think of that would make sense for a celebration is for Kuro, since apparently their Appearance Anniversary was the other day. But then why would they all avoid you?)
Clover had spent a good few hours looking around bookstores and found a lot of good stuff. Particularly detective novels. They loved to read any sorts of mysteries to see if they could figure them out, but detective novels just had a special place in their heart. Particularly because of the escapism from trauma. That’s a major influence.
And yet, despite all that, they couldn’t figure out the mystery of why their family was avoiding them.
(It’s absolutely a celebration, and it’s absolutely related to you. But how? And why? The only thing that you can think of would be a birthday. But your birthday is in March.)
…
(Wait, is it? Now that you think about it, it could be a different day. Kuro did say something along the lines of “our old birthday” back when you got adopted. You suppose that means you’ve got a different birthday now. So when would that be…)
—
“Seems like everything’s going fine over here,” Starlo said.
“Definitely wasn’t earlier,” Kuroba remarked. “Cake almost burned, decorations were being put up slowly, it was a mess.”
Starlo shook his head, slightly smirking. “Well, now you got more help.”
“Yes, thank you,” Ceroba said. “Ed and Moray would be best with setting up the decorations with Kanako and Kuroba, Ace can help with games, and Mooch can help be on the lookout for Clover.”
“And what about me?”
Ceroba handed Starlo a pink apron. “Cooking duty.”
“In… In that?”
“Yes.”
“You want me… to make food for all of us…”
“Yes.”
“Wh… Why do you think I can do it?”
“You did most of the cooking in your house in the East. I thought it was quite good.”
“I… Alright. But, uh, can I have some other apron to wear? I don’t think that pink suits me too well.”
“Unfortunately, this is all we have.”
“Oh… Well, if I ain’t got a choice.”
Starlo sauntered off to the kitchenette, leaving Ceroba and Kuroba alone for a little bit.
“We have other aprons, but you just wanted him in something embarrassing for when Clover arrives, huh?” Kuroba whispered.
“Of course,” Ceroba replied. “To make up for us avoiding them recently.”
“Oh, they’re gonna get such a kick outta this.”
—
(Jeez, how long have you been out for? Like 6 hours? You really need to get home soon.)
Clover’s shopping trip had gone very well. In addition to some books for themself, they had also decided to go and get a few groceries since they thought some would be needed. Mostly some meat to put into the freezer, since they were running low on that. Ceroba would probably chastise them for doing this later. They were 12 after all.
At last they had made it home, bags in arms, ready to put things away. (Maybe then your family won’t avoid you.) (Nope, stop that. You know they don’t hate you. They had a valid reason. You’ll just ask them soon.) (But what if they—) (SHUT UP!) Internal arguments can suck sometimes.
Clover shook their head to try and clear their thoughts like their brain was an Etch-N’-Sketch when they noticed some movement on top of their house. It looked a little bit like Mooch… Probably got loose again. It wasn’t uncommon to just randomly find her on the roof, surprisingly. She really would make a good thief.
Clover walked across the yard to the front door, preparing to see something, but what they weren’t entirely sure.
“Tadaimaaaa,” they called out, stepping inside. The lights were off and the blinds for the large window in the back were drawn. “I got some groceries, mostly some meat, but there’s a carton of eggs in here. Saw we were low.”
Clover went over to the kitchenette, being careful not to stumble in the dark. (It’s totally some sort of surprise party for you. But you still don’t know what for… Could be for having been back for three months? Would that be something they’d want to celebrate? Using the eggs to buy time to figure it out might not actually provide the info you want.)
When Clover finished putting the groceries away, the lights turned on. They turned around rapidly.
“Surprise!”
“AGH!” Despite knowing that it would be a surprise party, Clover still got got. They looked like a deer in headlights with how wide their eyes were. “WHA— G-GUYS! P-Please, don’t do that! I nearly summoned a gun on reflex! Oh, I would have felt awful if I shot someone...”
“Kheh! Oh, this feels familiar,” Kuroba said to themself.
“Sorry, sorry,” Martlet said. “It was Kuroba’s idea to hold a surprise party for you.”
“A-Ah. Um… so what’s the reason?”
“Kuroba said that today’s your birthday,” Starlo said, still in the pink apron from earlier.
“O-Oh, it, it is? Um, Un-Uncle Star what are you wearing?”
“Ceroba forced me into this when making snacks for everyone. She said that there weren’t any other clean ones.”
Clover opened their mouth to tell Starlo where the aprons were held when Kuroba interrupted. “Yup, today’s your birthday. Or at least, the day you would actually become 13. It’s some complicated math stuff.”
“Oooohhh. Is that why you’ve all been avoiding me for the last few days?”
“That was Kuroba’s idea as well,” Ceroba said. “They wanted to really catch you off guard, so they had us all get ready in the background. I’m sorry if you had thought it was because of you.”
“No, you’re fine,” Clover reassured. “I thought it might’ve been some form of party. Even if there was a small part in the back of my head trying to say you guys hated me.”
Kanako nudged Kuroba. “Told you.”
“Anyways, since it’s my birthday, what happens next? Cake? Uncle Star mentioned some snacks…”
It was a nice little party for Clover, with a few remarks being thrown Kuroba’s way from them. (“Ok, ok, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t’ve even suggested that.”) Dalv had played a nice piece on the piano that had seemed to incorporate everyone’s unique “auditory ambiance”s, as Martlet’s old Royal Guard handbook had put it. Even Axis was there, which is what surprised Clover the most, since they hadn’t seen him since they had died.
“IT IS NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN, HATTED HUMAN.”
“Y-Yeah. Uh, we’re gonna have to change that entry for me.”
“OF COURSE. WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO CHANGE IT TO?”
“Um… what’s everyone else’s?”
“THEIR ENTRIES ARE: KANAKO, DALV, TALL LADY, ROUND MAN, DUMB COWBOY, HATTED MONSTER, FEATHERED LADY, SUIT MAN, THIEF GIRL, AND TALL FISH.”
“A-Ah. Um… Well first I think Kuro’s should change… maybe ‘Blonde Monster’? And then for mine, um… I think just ‘Long-Eared Monster’ should be fine.”
“REGISTERED. IT IS NICE TO SEE YOU, LONG-EARED MONSTER.”
“Hey, Ax,” Kanako approached. “You can just call ‘em Clover. Not everyone besides me and Dalv needs some descriptor.”
“Actually, can you keep Kuro and Uncle Star's?” Clover asked. “I think leaving them alone would be funny.”
“I DON'T HAVE TO LISTEN TO YOU. I'LL JUST CHANGE ‘LONG-EARED MONSTER’ TO ‘CLOVER’ AND THAT WILL BE THAT.”
“Fiiiiiiiine,” Kanako groaned, walking away.
“THERE. RE-REGISTERED ONCE MORE. THERE WILL NOT BE A THIRD.”
“Oh, uh, thanks Axis.” Clover said, a bit awkwardly. “Sorry about trying to make you do all that.”
“IT IS FINE. HONESTLY I JUST WANTED KANAKO OUT OF THE WAY. IS THAT NOT WHAT SIBLINGS DO?”
“Yeah.” Clover paused. “Wait… are we siblings?”
“IN A SENSE. I CONSIDER KANAKO TO BE MY SIBLING, AS WE WERE BOTH CREATED BY CHUJIN. IF YOU AND BLONDE MONSTER ARE KANAKO’S SIBLINGS, THEN WE ARE SIBLINGS AS WELL.”
“Oh, cool. Got a robot brother, heck yeah.” (Best birthday gift ever. Your old friends would be sooooooo jealous. You should tell Kuro to brag about that later.)
More celebration later, and it was finally time for gifts. Everyone gave their gifts at the same time, but Clover had to open them one at a time in order to truly appreciate them all.
Starlo had given some cowboy movies, freshly bought instead of wetly scavenged; Ed had baked homemade cookies, sprinkles and frosting included; Moray gave a rapier (“Oh, so Moray can give them a sword, but I can’t give them another gun, Ceroba?” “It’s not a gun.”); Ace produced a deck of cards, perfect for practicing human magic tricks; Mooch deposited some totally not swiped money (Hey, this is just from your own wallet.); Dalv had gotten a guitar like Kuroba’s, with free lessons for learning how to play the piano/organ as well; Axis procured some hydrochloric acid, perfect for consumption; Ceroba had made a kimono stitched to their specifications, including space for their tail and wings; Martlet crafted a new bookshelf, which certainly helped considering the amount Clover had just bought; and Kanako had gifted… some toilet paper?
“Come meet me in my room later tonight, I’ll tell you your real gift then,” they said with a wink.
“Ok…” Clover said wearily. “Well, thanks for the gifts, everyone. I’ll cherish them forever.”
“Oi,” Kuroba interjected, annoyed. “What about mine?”
“Agh, right, sorry.” (This is payback for making you think your family hated you.)
Clover reached for Kuroba’s gift, which was small and rectangular. They thought it was a new book for Martlet’s bookshelf.
They started unwrapping. They were right, it was a new book. And a detective novel, too! However…
“Wha–Hey! Why are you laughing?!” Kuroba asked.
“Because, haha… Hah…” Clover took a moment to calm down. “Sorry, Kuro. But it was because I literally just bought this for myself today.”