"A Night to Remember" - Yukina's Birthday 2021

A Night to Remember

Part One: The Morning at Haneoka

Yukina’s POV

It’s a pretty cool day today, and I noticed some of the leaves were falling off the trees on my walk to school. That’s a sign of autumn, and even cooler weather to come. 
I’m not particularly bothered by cool weather, so I brought my usual attire to school, but I did wear a scarf that Lisa made me a while back.

“Yukina?” a voice next to me rang out. “Hello, are you there?”

I turned to my side. Lisa suddenly showed up, and was walking next to me.
“Are you okay, Yukina? You were walking slowly, looking at the ground.”

“I’m quite alright,” I replied. “I was just thinking about how nice autumn is, and the noise of the leaves crunching under your shoes fills me with a strange, happy feeling.”

“You should be happy!” Lisa exclaimed. “After all, today’s your birthday!”

My eyes lit up. I nearly forgot it was my birthday. I was laying in bed all night, looking at music videos of Roselia’s past performances.
It’s quite a joy to see how far we’ve come, from our loss at SMS all the way to us smashing expectations at Future World Fes… and we even got a manager. I still think it’s a dream sometimes. These years have been going by so quickly, and yet we’ve achieved so, so much.

I couldn’t do it without my friends… Roselia, Poppin’ Party, Afterglow… all of them.

“What are your plans for tonight, Yukina?” Lisa asked me.

I pulled out my phone. “I have no plans for today. Maybe I’ll lay in bed and dream about cats.”

“Cats? Is that it? In that case, we’re going out together to the city!”

“We are?! I mean, I have to ask my dad if it’s okay...”

Lisa laughed. “Go and ask after school! We’re headed to a special and expensive part of town. What about the others, though?”

 I smiled at Lisa. “We’ll all get some time together, no worries. I’ll be able to see that no one is left alone this year.”

“Thank you so much, Yukina!” Lisa ran up, and hugged me.

“Okay, okay, let’s head to class,” I said, walking toward Haneoka.

After Classes, at the Cafeteria

Lisa and I headed to the cafeteria, and began to eat our lunch. But only a few bites of Lisa’s cookies, and I got a message on my phone.
“Yukina! I couldn’t wait until after school, so I’m messaging you in class! Happy birthday!”

I smiled to myself. “Oh, Ako. What would your sister think if you were texting during class…”

Suddenly, I got another message. This time, from Sayo.
“I want to wish you a happy birthday, Yukina. I hope you get to pet all the cats you want all day! (Hina told me to say that)”

“Sayo, always with a serious message. She couldn’t wait, either? I could tell her and Hina were discussing it at home in the morning.”

I waited near my phone, as I’m expecting Rinko to message me now. It would only make sense.
Almost on cue, my phone vibrated.
Oddly, it was a voice message. Let’s see who it is…

“Umm, hello? It’s Rinko. I d-didn’t know what to text you, so… I’m sending you a voice message. Happy birthday… I hope you get to eat lots of cake, and spend time with the ones you love… okay bye! Oh, I was s-so nervous… I’m gonna message Ak--”