2026-08-06: Happy Birthday, Fuuka
- Cutscene: Happy Birthday, Fuuka
- Cast: Fuuka Yamagishi
- Where: Iwatodai Dorm
- OOC Date: 2026-08-06
- IC Date: 2012-12-21
- Summary: Fuuka ponders the significance of birthdays, and wonders if she's deserving of it - and receives an answer, in a way.
Tomorrow, December 22nd, is Fuuka Yamagishi's birthday, and she is currently lying awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. She really should be getting some sleep, tomorrow is also the last day of the semester and she'll want to be well-rested... but the fact that the days line up happen to prove a significant distraction for her.
How long has it been since her birthday was something to be celebrated? There was a time when it was still something to be happy about, but over time... It started to feel like an obligation her parents were annoyed to have to put up with until eventually they stopped acknowledging it at all.
Is it selfish, to want to be acknowledged and celebrated, even for only a day? It's something she couldn't help but start thinking about, and the conclusion she came to at the time was...
Yes, it was.
It was clearly just a bother. Maybe once upon a time there was time for that, but they got busier and she got older. It's fine and natural for that to happen. She doesn't need to cling to that scrap of attention. But... Lately, things have been changing for her. She has friends now, people who care about her. And being surrounded by people who want to be around her, or at least appreciate that she's here... It's made her think about that all over again.
And now that she's thought about that, she starts to wonder. Will her parents even say anything, tomorrow? A phone call, or even a simple text... She's torn. It's complicated. On one hand, she's afraid of what they might say... but in the other, the thought that they might forget - or, even worse, not care - is... stressful. Even if she's gotten used to... the way things are between them now, she can't help but still want that acknowledgement. To want something. She feels kind of pathetic for that.
Fuuka rolls over in bed, looking into the round, black eyes of the plush sika deer she picked up during SEES' trip to Yakushima. She reaches over to it, running a hand over its soft head. That trip may have been... tense in a lot of ways, for all the difficult, troubling things they learned, but they had a good time there, too, and even made a new friend.
Sometimes it helps to have a physical reminder of that time, to remind her that it was all real.
Fuuka rolls back over, staring at the ceiling again. She sighs, and closes her eyes for a moment... and then she hears a buzz as a notification on her phone - currently silenced - goes off. Fuuka freezes for a moment.
...Is it her parents? They wouldn't be texting her at this time of night, would they. She wrestles with herself for a moment - and then when it goes off again, she reaches out to take it with some trepidation.
> hey fuuka-chan!!!
> fuuka bazuuka
> ...wow its rly getting late huh
The messages, perhaps the exact opposite of the tone Fuuka was expecting, get a surprised snort of a laugh out of her and she covers her mouth immediately. Natsuki... Something must be keeping her up late, too.
> ANYWAY
> finals are DONE. (confetti)
> grades tomorrow tho... (stressed emoji)
> wanna do something fun after to get out minds off them?
A smile crosses Fuuka's face. ...That's a nice thought. And it's not like she has any plans already, so...
> Of course! I'd like that.
She wrestles with herself for a moment, typing out another message before erasing it and staring at the blank text. She taps the buttons idly, before eventually... working up the courage to just go for it.
> My birthday's tomorrow, too, actually...
Fuuka smiles - nervous, but at the same time, glad she decided to reach out. Maybe this one won't be as bad as she thought...