2026-08-29: A Very Arisato Anniversary

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<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

The twins' birthday party has arrived. And being on the New Year -- well, there are limitations on what they can and cannot do. But there are things that are easier, and this includes reservations at a sushi restaurant.

Minako won this year's contest. And, thus, it is on the 1st -- her birthday, thanks to the minutes separating the twins' birth. The sushi restaurant has a large table where invited friends have gathered.

It is one of the nicest restaurants in Iwatodai, Wakatsu. There is a sushi spread; it is on a large wooden boat, and decorated neatly.

Minako and Minato are seated next to each other in the middle of the table.

She is wearing casual clothes and a big grin -- and she looks around the table at everyone with it -- and then she claps her hands together. "Okay, everyone!" she says. "Let's eat!"

She also, as it happens, is wearing a tiara.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Birthdays are weird for Yukari, in part because she hasn't had one celebrated since she was six. Her birthday came and went this year and she didn't even realize it was her birthday until late the night of.
 
'Guess I'm seventeen now.'
 
Was all that came and went from her lips, and that was that.
 
But- that doesn't mean she doesn't see the point in other people celebrating birthdays. When it comes to Minako and Minato being siblings that care enough to celebrate each other's birthday- well, she's honestly pretty jealous?
 
Fortunately, it's a low key thing.
 
So she's here tonight on Winter Break in a shoulderless pink dress that's fur trimmed, a mini-skirt, and leggings, having come early.
 
But Minako may have noticed she's been staring at her for some few minutes rather than the food, as she says 'Let's eat!'
 
And keeps staring, until, she sighs, and asks with a subdued smile, "Okay- I can't hold it in any longer- why the tiara?"
 
Her tone is affectionate, but also a little 'whyyyyy' at the same time.

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Minako is wearing a tiara, because moments ago, Minato lost the latest round of rock-paper-scissors.

    "I don't believe it," he said, stonefaced. "Rock failed me again..."

    That's why you keep losing, Minato.

    He's dressed in casual clothes, just like everyone else. And Yukari is staring...

    Minato explains, simply: "She won jan-ken-pon."

    Well, that explains everything.

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

While certain friends of SEES can't make it today, Lisa sent Minako a happy birthday!! ...But Reiya is the one who is here for sushi.

He's dressed in his usual, a little nicer than most boys' casual with a button-down and slacks, and he is generally pleased with the situation as it stands. His own birthday passed without major incident back in August. He understands the way that siblings can care in this way; he's celebrated his sisters' birthdays. And now...

Yukari asks a question. Reiya looks to her, and to Minako.

"She is the birthday Queen," he answers, entirely without irony. 

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

'She won jan-ken-pon.'
'She is the birthday Queen,'
 
She goggles at Minato, "Wait- so if you'd won, you'd be-"
 
She puts a hand to her forehead, "I'm not finishing that sentence."

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "I'll be the birthday queen next year," Minato promises Yukari, gravely, and without missing a single beat.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

And just like that, Yukari Takeba groans quite audibly.
 
GOT HER.

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Minato lifts a hand to high-five Reiya, silently.

    Through his headphones, a song can be heard, tinnily...

    OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e99ZdNLO5aE Persona 3 Reload - After The Battle

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Though Minako and Ren aren't still dating, they are still friends. Thus, when Ren got an invitation to join the Arisatos' birthday celebration on New Year's Day, they were happy to accept. They arrive separately from the others, due to coming in from another city, but they nod amiably to Minako, Minato, and everyone else before they all get seated together.
    
    Morgana is not in their shoulder bag today. No matter how much he begged to get to have sushi. (He has demanded they bring back lots of leftovers. Tuna was but one of his many, many requests. ...Ren will do their best.)
    
    Ren is in their own casual clothes: a long-sleeved black jacket, white V-neck shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. They've already hung up their coat, a long black affair with a blue scarf to go with it, and in their bag are the presents they brought for each of the twins. They crook a smile when Yukari asks about the tiara and Reiya states she's the birthday Queen.
    
    "It's cute," they remark to Minako--and then glance at Minato when he states rock lost again. "...Did you want to wear the tiara?"
    
    Not criticizing if so. After all, it's cute. When Minato essentially confirms it, they chuckle. "Fair's fair." 

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume's birthday hasn't come along since she joined SEES. She is the youngest second year in SEES; she has pretty good odds of being the youngest second year in Gekkoukan, though she never bothered to check. So she's rarely had many friends willing to celebrate it. Jiro, Daiki, and Hidemi all used to, but... that hasn't been true for a couple years either.

So she's not entirely sure what to expect. She came, though! She likes Minato and Minako both, though she has spent more time with Minato generally. And hey, sushi. Can anyone object to sushi?

Suzume is dressed casually: jeans, the sports shirts that she tends to wear (it's another Tigers shirt today, cute mascot and all, but this one is blue so it's a new one for the new year). It doesn't look quite so... swimming on her, either, though it's still loose-fit. It looks intentional now though and not that she grabbed a shirt for someone who was not five foot zero.

"Hey, if they want tiaras, I'm not going to object." Suzume does not want a tiara. She had enough trouble with the cat-ear headband she got from Tartarus! Fortunately, she doesn't really wear that these days...

She muffles a sound at Minato claiming *he'll* be the birthday queen next year. It is impossible to tell if it's laughter or resignation. 

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Hitomi floats into the sushi palace. *Someone* had a good New Year's break because she's all but strutting. Maybe she's just on the high of having (just barely, but it counts) cracked the top ten scorers of Gekkoukan, a pretty high realm to be in. She is wearing her hair down completely, cascading heavily down her back.

Her outfit is pretty casual: a warm-looking coat from some fashion brand or other. Observant Hitomiwatchers might notice it's apparently reversable, because it's now green on the outside with red on the inside! Beneath that, blouse, skirt, leggings, shoes.

"I have absolute faith in you," Hitomi says, as she appears *directly behind Yukari* and to the left. She is addressing Minato, because she finishes with "O-jo-u-sa-ma."

She smiles afterwards then. "Happy birthday," Hitomi says with a bow. "Thank you very much for your hospitality. Here," she says, reaching into an interior pocket of the coat and taking out two approximately cube-shaped boxes, both wrapped with black-and-gilt package wrapping. She holds them out, one in each hand. "I didn't label them, but... you'll have to see which one calls to which of you, more. Or perhaps the regent should have first choice?"

Both boxes are the same weight and volume. Mysterious.

After handing over the goods, Hitomi smiles at Suzume, and her eyes track over towards Ren, eyebrows lifting. Someone who *isn't* in SEES?? Is that legal?? 

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

A birthday party for the Arisatos... When Fuuka heard about it, she was more than happy to attend. New Years is important for family, but...

...She's much happier being here with everyone instead.

And so, Fuuka is seated with everyone at Wakatsu. She's in her favorite winter casual outfit - a black turtleneck with a winter green capelet with gold-colored thread trim and a flower decoration, alongside a matching long skirt in three layers.

"Thank you for the food!" Fuuka says, as Minako declares that it's time to eat. But before she can dig into her sushi...

Yukari asks a very important question.

Why the tiara?

Fuuka looks toward it.

"It's very cute, Minako-chan." Fuuka compliments - and so does Ren. Fuuka nods her agreement for support.

Reiya declares, matter-of-factly, that Minako is the Birthday Queen.

"Your Majesty...!" Fuuka gasps theatrically. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

The New Year is here, and, among many other things, that means a certain (pair of) birthdays. (Ririka spent her last birthday fighting the Joker Killer and Niko and watching Tsubasa almost die, but let's not think about that too much right now.)

Instead, Ririka is focused on sushi! and her fellow teammates. She's wearing a jacket, purple dress, and leggings, going for 'nice' but not 'formal.'

"Happy birthday, Arisato-chan, Arisato-kun!"

She was curious about the tiara, too, but Yukari beat her to the punch. She laughs, happily, as Minato explains about losing to Minako, twice. "Well, there's always next year, right?" But to Minako she says, "It looks good on you."

If her left hand is tapping along to Minato's music, don't worry about it. 

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

"It's funny how that happens," Minako says with a knowing nod to her brother.

Minako replied cheerfully to Lisa's message. And then, she looks at Yukari. She considers her question for a moment. "We~ell... I think we're all entitled to wear a crown one day out of the year. So why not on your birthday?"

She looks to Reiya, then nods. That is her answer. "He gets it!"

She looks at Ren -- and she grins at them, lifting a hand into a wave. "Ren-kun!" she says. "It is a great tiara, isn't it?"

She beams at Hitomi, then, and does a little bow -- while seated. Then, she looks at Fuuka. She beams. "Thank you, my loyal subject~" She giggles, then, before she looks at Ririka. "Thanks for coming, Kawase-chan."

She pauses. "This is the first birthday that Minato-kun and me have gotten to celebrate together in... a long time," she admits. "So... I'm really happy everyone could come to the party!"

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

Reiya silently high-fives Minato. The victory is achieved.

He looks curiously at Ren for a moment, which looks exactly the same as his non-curious look. He just looks at them. "Yes," Reiya agrees to... .something.

But to Suzume he actually smiles. "May his reign be long."

He notices how pleased Hitomi seems to be. And that is excellent. He also made it into the high marks category...

Is that new Tigers merch?? "Yes... that is new. I hope the Tigers do well this year." He's showing interest in her interests! He's sure this is a positive thing. Reiya is attentive!

But he regards Minako and Minato both as she mentions it being the first... "It's important that siblings should be together for things like this," Reiya opines. "...I'm glad, too."

Pause. "..And yes, thank you for the food." He will acquire some mackerel. 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "Of course," Minato nods, gravely, to Ren. "The tiara is worn by the highest commander on the field. I should always aspire to be so worthy."

    Wow, he's really taking this seriously, huh?

    (He would have liked to pet the cat. He likes cats. But then again, cats probably aren't allowed in restaurants... well, unless they're owned by the cook.)

    Junpei Iori, meanwhile, gives a big thumbs-up to Suzume as he realises -- "Hey, is that the new Tigers merch?" He's noticed, alongside Reiya. "Lookin' good, Suzume-chan!" He says this dangerously within reach of Yukari, though...

    "Thank you for your constant support," is what Minato has to say to Suzume, meanwhile, still grave as a tombstone. He nods, in turn, to Hitomi, as he takes one of those boxes from her. "I won't betray your faith."

    "Wha...?" Junpei asks, looking over to him, as he even embraces ojousama. "C'mon, man, this is a joke, right?"

    "I would never joke about being the Birthday Queen," Minato replies, as dispassionate as ever. "It's a much more accurate description of our role, if you look at chess. Taking the king takes the game, but the queen is the most versatile piece."

    He scrutinises Minako for a moment, though, as Fuuka also underlines Minako's cuteness.

    "Hmm... you're both right," he decides, looking from Fuuka to Ren. "Right now, Minako-chan is exactly 8.6 points cuter than I would be in a tiara. She does look good," he adds, nodding to Ririka.

    Pause.

    "But don't worry. I have a year to make up the difference."

    Minato's foot is tapping, too, so Ririka's hand isn't alone.

    Minako explains just why he's getting so into it, helpfully, and he nods to her. "We had to stay with different families for a long time," he adds, illustrating it a little more. "Though as I recall, I lost jan-ken-pon last time, too..."

    Is it because Minato always picks rock?

    It's because Minato always picks rock, yes.

    He, too, takes up a piece of sushi... some delicious tuna.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

'Your Majesty...!'
 
With a glance towards Fuuka, she blinks at her taking this so earnestly? Or maybe she's just playing along and she can't tell!? Which is it?
 
Fuuka-chan still holds multitudes.
 
'So why not on your birthday?'
 
Resting her chin against a hand, "Well simple really- if your head swells any bigger, you might not be able to take it off." She says, giving in to the absurdity of the moment.
 
'... And yes, thank you for the food.'
 
"They're really going all out." She says with a smile, "Didn't expect anything this fancy for dinner on the New Year."
 
Junpei though- even though Reiya doesn't say anything, she reaches over, and literally just pinches his thigh with a twist enough to cause him discomfort, before whispering right by his ear, "Hey, don't get any bright ideas- her boyfriend is sitting right here at this table you know..."
 
Minato though- keeps up the- well she hopes it's a joke, but now she's not even sure!?
 
"Eight point... six?!" Pause. "You have a scale for that?"
 
'But don't worry. I have a year to make up the difference.'
 
"What kind of resolution are you making this year?" She asks suspiciously. Not knowing that it probably involves grinding charm by drinking Pheromone coffee.
 
Somehow, Minato might break the maximum rank!
 
In the meanwhile, she takes a bite of a piece of fatty tuna. Which is her favorite Sushi...
 
"Mmmm. So good."

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "Extra reason to celebrate, then," Ren remarks to Minako. The first time the three of them met, they explained to them how they only reunited after a long time apart as of this school year. It must be extra special to them then.
    
    They glance at Minato, though, then wonder, "Quite a thing to have your birthdays on the last and first days of the year, though. How do you two feel about holiday birthdays?"
    
    Their own birthday is on a holiday, if not quite as big of one as New Year's Eve and Day, so... they're curious.
    
    For now, Minato describes how his and Minako's roles are more like the queens in chess anyway. Ren, already understanding what he's referring to, lets this comment slide. They are maybe the only non-SEES person here, after all, and they're not supposed to understand.
    
    "I believe in your quest for greater cuteness," they instead say solemnly, if with a certain twinkle in their dark eyes. "You'll beat her by this time next year, I'm sure."
    
    ...Victory in jan-ken-pon is more questionable, though. At least there's good music to listen to.
    
    "Thank you for the food," they finally echo, quirking a smile at Fuuka as they both echo each other, and pick up their chopsticks. That smile grows both at Fuuka's dramatic 'Your Majesty!' and Yukari's snark, though they don't join in on the joking around. They'll get a piece of fatty tuna nigiri (before Yukari gets them all) and a piece of salmon roe gunkan sushi, though they only eat the gunkan and keep the tuna to the side. As they eat, they glance around the table. There's lots of faces here they recognize and some they don't, and some they only recognize as Joker.
    
    Well, today is a day for celebrations, so it's fine. Probably. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

"You better not," Suzume says to Minato, fake-serious as she wiggles a finger. "Seriously, though. Happy birthday. Both of you."

She can't imagine celebrating it with her sister. That's one thing she never did, not since she was old enough to get to make that kind of decision; the two of them were so different that they never found any point to spend more time in each other's presence than they had to. And now, of course, it's never going to come up again... But Minato and Minako seem happy. It's harder to tell with Minato, but she's gotten surprisingly good at it for someone who is so bad about reading the room otherwise.

Suzume has stolen a piece of sushi! It's fine, she's allowed. She has gone hunting for her personal favourite: unagi. Though it's an expensive one, so she doesn't expect to have more than one. Fortunately she also likes other fish just fine. (Though... is unagi a fish? She's never been clear on whether eels are technically snakes or something.) (They are fish.)

"Huh? Oh, yeah," Suzume says, when she's asked about Tigers merch. She grabs the lower hem of her shirt and tugs it outward, away from her stomach, so that the image on the shirt becomes flat and it's easier to see, a stripe of stomach skin showing because her shirt is no longer way too long for her. "New year, new shirts! Plus, I could use some new ones. There's a hole in one of my old ones." Suzume is kind of hard on her clothes. Her jeans are threatening to get a hole in the knee, too, though right now they just look well-used.

She lets go and it springs back to normal fit just as Junpei says she's looking good. Her face and ears redden, but she plants her hands on the table and rises up to her full height (still 5'0, she hasn't gotten any taller this year): "Don't even start," she says, warningly, as she drops back down and kicks Junpei under the table.

Well, tries. She misses. His legs are too far away. Instead she bonks the table leg, and the table shifts slightly, but not enough to spill anything. It does make it clear what she tried to do, though, and the red stays put. She puts the piece of sushi she swiped in her mouth to cover for it. 

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Regarding jankenpon, Hitomi opines unto Minato: "It's a tricky game. Lot more than you'd think going on under the surface." She takes in a deep breath and looks towards the sushi boat...!!! +_+

Other people are getting a crack on it. That's cool. Hitomi sidles forwards to grab a piece of chutoro tuna and just straight up pops it in her mouth as she sits down. "mmmhhh~."

(As for the gifts, both of them contain a N*ntendo game... *but not like you think.* It's a set of hanafuda cards. One of them got Red, and the other got Black... collect them all. They have pictures of adorable mascot figures from that certain company's in-house games.)

"I feel like the best way to set a New Year's resolution is to make it as compact as possible," Hitomi says to Yukari. "Like, really squeeze it down. Cut out the qualifiers and modifiers. They have an English term for it, <Kill your darling.>" After this she reaches forwards to pick up a slice of -- giant clam??

Nevertheless Hitomi raises it up, and this time she does a bit of a pass on the dip sauce. There's a little jump from the table nearby, which makes Hitomi glance at Suzume - and her representing that team spirit - and then momentarily at Junpei before popping the clam into her mouth.

Once that's done, she looks towards Ren. "I don't think we ran into each other before," she says. Hitomi puts a hand over her heart. "Hitomi Mandai." After this she starts shrugging out of her coat, and as she does, she asks, "What's your favorite game?"

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Wearing a crown... Maybe that's good life advice. She'll have to remember that one.

Yukari looks toward her with a blink, and Fuuka smiles back at her. She doesn't seem to be about to explain herself one way or the other, though... Ren gets a smile, too, in response. Minako plays along, and when she laughs, Fuuka laughs, too.

She looks toward Minato, then. Exactly 8.6 points? He quantified it and everything... She's impressed. He sounds serious about it, though, so she nods.

"You can do it, Arisato-san." Fuuka replies encouragingly.

She looks toward Minako, then, and her expression softens. Their first birthday together in a long time... that's significant.

"I'm glad you both could share it together... and I'm happy to be invited, too." Fuuka offers to both of them.

She's partial to the salmon roe, so she makes sure to snag some of it for herself. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

"Of course! I wouldn't pass something like this up," Ririka says with a smile. But she listens--the first time in a while. "That's too bad... but I'm glad you two have the chance to celebrate it together again. Thanks for having us!"

She listens Minato's explanation... the most versatile piece... Oh, right, that makes sense to Ririka. Though she's not going to comment further in front of Ren.

At least Minato gets it about the music thing, even if neither of them are about to mention it out loud. "You can do it, Arisato-kun!" Ririka encourages, of making up the difference. She's just playing along, right?

She goes to grab a couple of pieces of sushi for herself, though her chopsticks pause a moment as the table shifts. She glances between Junpei and Suzume, thinking about the conversation she had with Yukari recently.

She shoots Suzume a questioning look as she finishes grabbing sushi. She doesn't want to say anything yet to prolong things if it ends there, but... she's concerned for her friend.

When Ririka introduces herself to Ren, Ririka remembers she hasn't done the same yet. "Ririka Kawase. I saw you at the 8.32 concert, right?" They didn't really talk, though. 

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

"Mm-hm," Minako murmurs in agreement with Reiya.

She glances sideways at Minato -- and she smiles, but she doesn't say anyone. No one better ruin this for her, she decides. She nods her head, though, and adds: "A lot of our relatives were elderly and couldn't take both of us."

She looks at Ren, when they ask about their birthdays being on a holiday. "It kind of sucks competing with a holiday," she admits. "But... it can be fun knowing you'll have your birthday off, you know?"

Then, she looks at her brother. She considers for a moment.

"I'll just have to keep working at my cuteness," she decides.

Minako reaches over to grab a piece of eel sushi, and has a bite. She sighs, happily, after; then she melts into her seat a little. "Aaah, that's the stuff~"

Then, the table rattles. She blinks -- her head turning to look at Suzume. "Careful, Suzume-chan! The table might fight back." She gives her a quick grin. Then, she glances at Ririka, then at Ren.

"I think I missed that one," she says. "How was it?"

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Minato must be very secure in his masculinity, as he nods to Ren, in turn. Or not very attached to it at all, by another definition of security. Or... maybe he's just thinking of things in an entirely different way, judging by his chess comments.

    Luckily, he doesn't know that Ren knows why he'd be talking about chess. Instead, he says, on the heels of Minako's explanation about their birthday feelings: "That's why we wanted to get sushi, since it isn't really a New Years' thing." By now, they'll have already done their New Years' celebrations. The details of which we will learn... at a later date! That's the magic of backscening!!

    (Yes, he's just implying that they have the same feelings on their birthday. Why not? They're used to sharing. That's why they have such developed competition standards!)

    "Don't worry," Minato assures Yukari. "No matter how large her head becomes, Minako-chan has always remained agile." He must be making fun of her there, but his face STILL HASN'T CHANGED!

    Junpei yipes! when Yukari pinches him, his own foot jerking, making it a little less clear just who jostled the table. "Aww, c'mon! I was just bein' friendly!" He whines, adjusting his baseball cap. "You know Suzume-chan's just one of the guys, Yuka-rin!"

    "But you don't tell me when I'm looking good," Minato points out. "That doesn't seem fair. Let's make a resolution to notice our efforts with our appearances for the new year," he says, gravely, looking from Junpei to Reiya to Ren.

    That decree issued, he looks to Yukari, and asks: "Does that count? Did I kill the darling?" That's probably what Hitomi said about it.

    He unwraps his gift, and holds up his Black cards. "Hey, Hidden Creatures," he notes, as he recognises the characters from the Nintenshi properties. "Nice. I'm a fan." Suzume's assessment of his :| may, in fact, be correct: he is happy! He just said so!! "Maybe jan-ken-pon is complex, just like it..."

    He also seems happy -- though his face still doesn't change -- as he looks to Fuuka and says, "I'm glad you're here. Let's be here next year, too," he says, as his attention shifts to Ririka.

    Beat. "I have a scale for everything with Minako-chan," he adds, to Yukari. "How else do we keep score?"

    He snaps his fingers, as Minako says she'll keep improving, too. "Then I'll have to work twice as hard... this is serious."

    IS IT, MINATO?!

    OR IS EVERYTHING SERIOUS TO YOU????

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

New year, new shirts...

Junpei's comment makes Suzume redden and clearly show discomfort. "..."

"Junpei-kun..." Reiya frowns. Her boyfriend is indeed right here. "Is that so?" he asks of Suzume only being one of the guys. Then he tilts his head,, thoughtful. "Your style level is moderate today, Junpei-kun. I suggest buttoning your shirt for maximum points."

But Minato's explanation... "I see," Reiya says. "That is unfortunate." To the matter of spending time. However...

Of course everything is serious to Minato.

"I'm glad, too. ...It is a good group. I am glad you could also attend, Amamiya-san. It is important to make friends outside one's immediate environment."

He is pleased. 

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    The drama between Junpei and Suzume gets Ren to shoot a look their way. If Yukari's speaking up and Reiya and Suzume are upset... They glance at Minato and Minako with the intent to follow their lead, and Minako just jokes about it, so they keep eating their sushi. (It's a piece of regular tuna next, like Minato's. They'll take their time with this one.)
    
    Minato meanwhile deals with it by encouraging everyone to resolve to pay more attention to their appearances. Ren, whose slightly long nails are painted black with a starry coat, and whose face is smoother and cleaner than ever with the skin care regime they started with Ann's help, smiles. "I'm already working on it," they reply. "But I'll make sure to keep it up."
    
    Ren nods once when Minako explains her own relationship with her holiday birthday, then nods thoughtfully when Minato explains that's why they're doing sushi. "Yeah. There's upsides and downsides to it, huh? Everyone's celebrating with you, and that's fun, but... at the back of your mind, you know they're not really celebrating you." They smile slightly. "But you've put on a great party, so I'm happy for you."
    
    Presents start to get gifted, so Ren pauses in eating to unzip their bag and retrieve two presents, one in blue wrapping, one in pink. The pink one goes to............ Minato, while blue goes to Minako. Role reversal! "Happy birthday," Ren says. Inside Minato's present is a glossy, high-quality monthly cat calendar for 2013, while Minako gets a CD of Queen's Greatest Hits.
    
    Hitomi and Ririka formally introduce themselves. "I'm Ren Amamiya, a friend of Minako-chan's from Tokyo," they reply, nodding to each in turn. "Nice meeting you both." (Because this is definitely the first time any of them have met.) They smile when Ririka brings up the 8.32 concert. "Yeah, I remember seeing you there too. Long time no see, I guess." Minako asks about said concert, and they grin. "It was fantastic. Lots of theatrics and excellent music." They give her a sympathetic look. "Maybe there's some videos online you can check out." Knowing how much the Arisatos love music, it's a shame that either had to miss the event.
    
    As for their favorite game... "It's hard to pick a favorite. There's a lot I like. I've been really into shogi and chess lately, though," Ren tells Hitomi. A pause, and they glance to Fuuka. "Oh, speaking of games--Yamagishi-san, I finally started up on Drake Adventure this past week. It's pretty fun. I can see why the series is so popular." 

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

"Pfft." Yukari has to contain her laughter as Minato joins in, "Who's the more agile twin supposed to be in your sibling rivalry anyway? You just slipped that right in-!" As if it were a singular, perfect shot, a feat of great marksmanship or something

Yukari gives Junpei an incredulous look as he insists that Suzume is just one of the guys, and Reiya- Reiya snaps back so hard that Junpei's grandkids are rendered non-existent.
 
Not that Junpei needed any help for that to be the case.
 
Even after Reiya does that, she hisses in a low whisper at Junpei as he insists Suzume is just 'one of the guys', "'Just one of the guys'!? You literally hit on her during that stupid- whatever it was you were doing at Yakoshima, idiot!"
 
Right as she thwaps him on the right side of his ribs with the back of her hand as if to add another physical element to this punishment. "And he's right- button up."

At that moment- Minato makes a shared resolution, as a result of Hitomi's advice.
 
"Huh?" She gives two big blinks, as this new level of absurdity hits her right takes her off-guard. Then, she chuckles, "Hahaha-really? That is your resolution for the new year?" Before smirking in good humor. "I think she's very dead."
 
Dead from suppressed laughter. What a way to go...
 
"A scale for everything, huh?" Now the facade is at least fully cracked, and she's just allowing herself to get carried away by the madness, "You're gonna have to tell me about more of them- if I'm going to be a neutral arbiter in this competition the two of you have going on."
 
Look Yukari is used to this side of him after seeing him say MISSION START and CLIMBING A TREE just in case a pen was up there.
 

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume is more embarrassed about screwing up and bonking the table now than anything else. She wasn't seriously mad at Junpei, particularly; her kick was really more of a foot-shove, which explains it jostling the table like that. (It's easy to tell when Suzume is actually angry: she gets very loud, and she's not.)

It's fine. They just have a physical relationship (not like that) - and not the same as the one he's got with Yukari. As long as Junpei doesn't ruffle her hair, anyway; she *really* hates that one. That's the kind of thing you can only get away with once...

"I mean," she says to Reiya when he objects to her being one of the guys. "...kind of?" It's a bit more than 'kind of'; Junpei has it right, that *is* how Suzume has liked to be treated a lot of the time. But it's hard to say in front of Reiya, right now. She feels a little guilty. She'll have to make it up to Junpei later.

"Hey, Ririka-chan, Yamagishi-chan, Hitomi-chan," Suzume says, once she's recovered a bit. "Glad you could make it. Wasn't sure if any of you were goin' home." Ririka more than Fuuka; she gets the idea that, like her, Fuuka's relationship with her parents is strained at best, but she knows Ririka's still close to hers. And Hitomi, of course, is all the way from Sumaru, plus there's some more that Suzume knows about *her* family.

She grins at Yukari. "Right? Fancy for New Years'. Though if this is what you get for a party around here I'm not complaining." She's certainly not quite as strained around Yukari as she used to be... did she catch what she just whispered to Junpei? Maybe. Maybe not.

But she certainly catches the *rest* of it, hissed whisper or not. "Hey, you can ease off," Suzume says, after Yukari thwaps him again. "It's cool." A beat. "I can't talk about the buttoned shirt, though. You might be right about that." Would it help? Hell if Suzume knows!

Sorry, Junpei. She won't bail you out from everything...

And then, kind of mentally flailing about, Suzume tries to change the topic - and she sees an opening from Ren of all people. "Yeah? It's a good series," she says. "Which one? One of the older ones, or the new online one? I don't have time for another online game but I've played most of the others."

Of course she has. She keeps her old consoles running! It's cheaper than getting the new ones... 

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Hitomi considers Minato's attempt, and gives him a thumbs up because it's his birthday. She then lets her hand unfold to reach over and score a piece of salmon, and in fact gets *greedy enough* to go for another piece of clam.

While she's doing this, Reiya and Minako provide her with their new guest's name. Heh heh! She feels, perhaps, a certain kind of victory. But Ren is handing over their loot, and Hitomi takes the opportunity to dip and eat the salmon, taking the time to do it in two bites rather than just going full fish-pogger-face and stuffing the entire thing into her mouth.

Her eyebrows lift for a moment as Ririka and Ren share a moment. It's a concert. Now for the clam, though Ren speaks up before Hitomi can put the glistening piece of flesh in her mouth. Her thumb tip strokes along the side of the meat, as she says, "Oho. So you're a fan of the classics... if you had to choose, which is better, shogi or chess?"

"Personally, I'd go with shogi," Hitomi says, before eating.

"Mmhh~ Oh this is next level," Hitomi says, with delight, after the clam has disappeared. "It's got this sweet crispness to it... Mr. Clam was probably taken by surprise last night, haha. Mmm!" But then her head turns slightly towards Suzume. "Oh," she says, neutrally. "I didn't, nah. Maybe when I graduate."

Munch. Suzume speaks on the question of exactly which Drake Adventure. After the specifics are getting put on the table, Hitomi adds with extremely deliberate casualness, "Do you like 'em? Like the setting and the story and everything." She watches Ren intently, awaiting their answer.

A substory may be about to unveil (by force)

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Fuuka nods in understanding as Minako comments on how it sucks when your birthday competes with a holiday. But it's not all bad, it seems.

"It does seem like it'd be nice to know you have a day all for yourself waiting... I'm a little jealous." Fuuka comments thoughtfully. Her birthday is close enough to Christmas to compete, but far enough away that school is usually still on. Any joy she could've gotten out of the last day of school was dulled by the apprehension of waiting to see the exam scores...

Minato points out that that's why they wanted to get sushi - it isn't a New Years thing.

"Oh, that makes sense..." Fuuka comments thoughtfully. "So it's something just for you."

She smiles as Minato says he's glad she's here, and then nods.

"Yes. Let's." She agrees. It's important for everyone to be here, together...

She listens to Minato and Yukari's back and forth and has to suppress a laugh. Suzume greets her, then, and Fuuka looks her way.

"Hello, Fukura-san." She greets back, then shakes her head. "No, I decided to stay at the dorm... Looks like most of us did."

She won't ask why. She can assume most of them have similar reasons, and this is a day of celebration. Fortunately, Ren provides a cheerier topic!

"Oh, you did?" Fuuka replies curiously, as they tell her they started up Drake Adventure - and smiles as they say it's fun. "I'm glad you're liking it! It's a little like working out a puzzle, isn't it? There's a lot of strategy involved... I like the character designs, too."

She looks toward Suzume, then.

"Oh, there's an online one now?" She asks curiously. "I'm still playing through the older ones, so I haven't been keeping up with the news..."

She'll have to keep that in mind... She looks toward Hitomi, then, as she addresses Ren with questions about their enjoyment of Drake Adventure. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Minako has done, perhaps, the most dangerous thing of all: given Ririka a chance to discuss a concert. "Oh, it was great! I was preeeetty busy that day, though, eh heh." She performed piano with the Philharmonic and her band performed a couple of songs on top. "But I got to meet a lot of new musicians, which is always fun."

But she's keeping an eye on Junpei now, and Suzume, and she groans as Junpei calls Suzume just 'one of the guys.' "Really, Iori?"

'Style level moderate.' "Ouch." She considers Reiya's comment."Fair, though."

"It's nice to meet you, Amamiya-san," Ririka says, as the definitely-first-time introduction is completed. "Yeah, if I'd known you were a friend of Arisato-chan's I would've tried to say hi. But we can at least say hi now." But she perks up and nods, as Ren mentions video. "Yeah, I should still have the video links. I can send them to you later."

And Yukari handles dispensing justice. Ririka will let her handle that, she seems to be practiced at it. But Suzume is thankful. "Of course, Suzume-chan. I wouldn't miss it. And, well, 'home' is still in Iwatodai, so..."

Ririka knows others may not have the best relationships with their families, so she won't bring that up. "Besides, I wouldn't miss a chance to celebrate something like this."

But she hears a mention of Drake Adventure. "I haven't playd the older ones but the music in them is really cool." 

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

"Mm-hm. It's easy to get a reservation~" Minako says after Minato says. She pauses, though, and then she looks sideways at her brother. Her face certainly changes! She looks suitably outraged, folds her arms, and lets out a 'hmph.' "Minato-kun!"

Minako looks at Ren -- and there is a blink. They seem to know how it feels. That makes her wonder. "Yeah, that's it exactly... you know how it feels, huh, Ren-kun?"

She smiles. Maybe she picked up on something. Then, she looks at Fuuka -- and she nods. "Yeah. Though... it's a double edged sword. Sometimes, it means you can't get into where you really want to go."

She does look at Yukari -- then she tilts her head to the side. "The scale, for the record, is a thing he made so I don't beat him as badly."

Minako, that isn't how competitions work.

She looks at Suzume, then gives her a quick nod. "It's not my thing, but I heard good stuff." (She may be trying to help.)

Gifts come out!

Her eyes widen as she looks at the blue-wrapped one. That gets a warm laugh out of her -- role reversal indeed. And when she unwraps it, she makes a delighted noise. "Hey!" she laughs. "You remembered! Aah, I can't wait to listen!"

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    "The first one. I've only got a retro console right now," Ren tells Suzume. So no online Drake Adventure for them.
    
    Shogi or chess... Ren has to dedicate some serious thought to this. They enjoy learning shogi from Hifumi, and they started that first, but... "Chess," they decide.
    
    It's hard not to be biased when it's what you play, and one of the ways you compete, with your ~*boyfriend*~.
    
    Hitomi really makes that clam sound good though. Ren eyeballs a piece of it, but... nah, they'll let her enjoy it. They take a piece of salmon instead.
    
    Before they eat, though, they reply, "It's my first Drake Adventure, so I can't say much. I like what I've seen so far, though." They grin to Fuuka. "Yeah. That's exactly what I like about it."
    
    Solving puzzles is fun! It's how Umie got them to finally enjoy math.
    
    A nod to Ririka. "The themes are pretty catchy, yeah. And don't worry about it. It's just as you say." A glance to Minako. "You should definitely take her up on those video links. You'll love it, I'm sure."
    
    It does seem like Suzume's not as bothered by Junpei as she acted before though, so Ren continues to let the others handle it. They know their own dynamic.
    
    Minako observes that they understand the feelings of a holiday birthday. Ren smiles slightly, eyes softening. "Yeah. My birthday's on Halloween."
    
    Minako's description of Minato's scale gets a low 'pffft' though. Their amusement develops into a broad grin at her delight at her present. "Of course," they reply. It's still a fond memory. "Glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you had it already or not and I didn't know who would be, so I had to take a gamble." 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "That's me," Minato says, when Minako splutters.

    "M--moderate?!" Junpei splutters, as he looks between Yukari and Reiya and Ririka. "C'mon, man--! A-and I learned my lesson after Yakoshima, Yuka-rin! You gotta believe me!!" But not even Suzume can defend his style, even if she comes to his defence otherwise. "Awww, man..." He sighs, hanging his head, as he grimly buttons his shirt. "I thought it was cool..."

    "Try again when you increase your coolness threshold," Minato advises him, gravely.

    "You're talkin' like I can just do laps like Sanada-senpai!" Junpei says, aghast.

    "Let's both train hard," Minato does not deny it. "We'll need to work harder to reach Amamiya-kun's level. He's even painted his nails... they look good," he adds, to Ren, and so engages his resolution. How can he not, with Yukari signing off on it? She's so dead.

    (Minato don't know Ren ain't a boy, but he'd call their nails good even if he did.)

    "You do get overshadowed," Minato agrees, with Ren, in turn. "And it's easy for people to forget it's your birthday, too." He's had his own experiences of having relatives celebrate the new year and forget it's also a new year of Minato, huh... "... so you're a Halloween child?" He asks, when Ren confirms it for Minako. "I see... you did speak like you knew what it was like."

    And so -- pink present!! Minato accepts it with the same flat expression he always wears, though when he carefully unwraps it, he gazes at the cats as he flips from month to month intently. A few moments of silence pass, before he says: "Nyaank you, Amamiiya-kun." HE MADE THEIR NAME INTO A CAT PUN TOO!?

    "Unfortunately," Minato sighs, to Yukari, "right now, Minako-chan is more agile... but I'm more capable of sustaining a straight sprint." He is part of Track and Field club, after all. He's even rivals with the star runner of Seven Sisters, Mamoru Hayase...!

    "The broadest scales cover Academics, Charm, and Courage," Minato explains, to Yukari, serious as ever. "All of our measures fall into one of those three categories. And by the scales," he adds, his mild tone growing a little pointed as he looks to Yukari, "I beat her in all categories."

    Of course he beats her if he's the one who made them up...

    "I've been playing the older ones, too," Minato says, of Drake Adventure, looking to Fuuka. "I got to explain it all to Aigis-san one day when she came to visit. It's one of those games you can lose a whole day to." Is THAT what he's doing when he comes down from the staircase on a Sunday at the end of the day like he never left the dorm?!

    -- WAIT DOES THAT MEAN AIGIS WENT INTO THE BOYS' DORM?!

    "As they got better with the system, they managed to do a lot with the chiptune set... you can get programs which run the music like it would have played on the old consoles, it's really good." This, he adds on the heels of Ririka complimenting the music.

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

But Ren brings up Drake Adventure, and Reiya brightens slightly. "I enjoy Drake Adventure," he says then to Ren. "The classics have their charm, but it is generally easier to onboard players with the new. If you have enjoyed the original, then I applaud your patience and taste."

Don't worry too much about Junpei and Reiya; they're obligated to give each other shit. ...Reiya does more of the giving because he's more stoic, but he also actually laughs at some of Junpei's jokes, so it balances out.

She considers Hitomi then. "I prefer shogi," he admits, surprising no one that the ninja likes the Japanese game more.

"Hmmm," Reiya remarks to Suzume. "Fair enough." He remembers she has complex feelings on the matter; certainly, things are a little complex these days.

"A neutral arbiter... Takeba-san has chosen a powerful role."

As to Fuuka's wondering--Reiya, of course, stayed in the dorms most days... because his mother was still away for work. There were a couple of days where she was back, and he spent time with her and the rest of the family.

But Kirijo's work is far from over.

Fuuka is also playing the games, though! "i like the unique spell and ability names and concepts..." The music, as Ririka says, is also good.

But as it happens it is the first one; Reiya can indeed appreciate Ren's taste. And Minato's, too. Reiya simply nods, pleased, like a cat with his eyes closed. 

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

"Oh is it now?" She grins, "And here I thought a sister could take it for granted that she wins on 'cuteness' at least, against her brother..."
 
Apparently it's how this competition works at least- nonsensical though it may be, she's just letting the madness take her now.
 
"I'll believe that when I see it." She tells Junpei, unimpressed as Suzume gives her permission to ease off, and she's just shrugging with both shoulders, "If you say so? I think sometimes he should get ridden harder for the good of everyone's sanity..."
 
Minato assures her that Minako is the more agile twin, "Well, shame your New Year's Resolution wasn't to limber up then... but sounds like you're committed to your appearance." There's a fond smile, and a shake of her head.
 
The breakdown though! Academics? Charm? Courage!? "Academics I get... but how do you even measure the other two!?" She says, suddenly astounded at the idea of the two having their own private CHARM scale. Reiya insists that it's a powerful role she's picked but- "I might just have my work cut out for me... judging that..."
 
Before she then sits up suddenly, "Wait is Aigis still going over to your side of the dorm? Geez... we talked about this..."
 
No she's not jealous of a ROBOT- wait, is she?
 
She watches others give the gifts, hearing Fuuka praise the game Ren gave. Hearing Minako gush over it the CD. It is kinda nice watching them both be happy over something so simple. Something she herself took so for granted.

"Well, since everyone else is giving them..." She reaches beneath the table to grab gifts out of her bag. Minako's in cute orange tiger cub paper, and Minato's with music notes all over it in blue. Which she hands over.
 
Minako's gift is a high quality shopping bag with a grumpy looking tiger cub emblazoned on it, saying a common Kansai dialect phrase of 'Nanbo?' (How much?) With a private note that says 'Now you can show it off and pretend it's just a ouvenir if anyone asks.' Whereas inside the bag is a book of 'A Thorough Dissection of Manzai Comedy' Subtitled: 'Why can't Kanto comedians win the M-1?'
 
Whereas Minato's is a case of various pens, with a note, 'Just in case you need to find one again' and a Ganesha Bank!? Yes, it's in the shape of Ganesha, the elephant headed Hindu god of good fortune, with a slot for money. It's been featured at the Crane Games these holidays at Paulownia so she must have actually spent time learning how to play a crane game just to get it.

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Minato admires Ren's style. Ren, in turn, shows off their painted nails to him and Junpei, splaying them on either side of their face with just the slightest smirk.
    
    That smirk fades into a more wistful look as Minato weighs in on birthday woes. "Yeah," they confirm to him too. "I love Halloween, so it could sure be worse, but... You two already said it."
    
    Minato cat-puns their name. Ren grins in approval and waves one hand at him with the fingers curled in like a cat's paw. "You're welcomeow."
    
    Academics, Charm, and Courage, and Minato apparently beats her at all three. Ren raises their eyebrows at Minako and Yukari. If they're using a scale of their own, they have five traits they track... They grab a piece of shrimp nigiri and nurse that for a while rather than go into that, though.
    
    "I like the challenge," they remark to Reiya, smiling lopsidedly. And there's programs for playing the chiptunes music like they are... That's interesting. Too bad Ren doesn't have a computer... They can always just let the game run for a while if they want to listen, but there's not much option for changing tracks save playing more.
    
    Ren doesn't weigh in on Aigis going to Minato's dorm, even if Yukari does. She is a robot, after all. What exactly is she going to get up to? "I've met Aigis-san," they remark thoughtfully instead. "Funnily enough, while I was playing chess in a park around here."
    
    Then they go back to slowly enjoying their sushi while the Arisatos open Yukari's presents. Ren doesn't get them, but they do get that she's given them both something very personal. They could do that for Minako; less so for Minato, whom they know less well. They certainly remembered how enamored he was with Morgana, though. 

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

"It's true, he did learn his lesson," Suzume confirms to Yukari. "He hasn't ever tried since." Mostly true! He tried one other time but Suzume didn't notice, so does that really count?

"Yeah, it's one of the MMORPGs," Suzume says, warming to the subject, "though it's supposed to be a bit more casual than some of them. I haven't played it myself. My favourite's the third one... or the fourth." Like most of the people here who've played it, she knows the older ones better; those two are old enough to be on the same system as the original.

"I didn't know that many of you had played 'em," Suzume says, including Ren in this. "I figured they'd be kind of old-fashioned for a lot of people..." She volunteers one of those things that most of the people here already know but she doesn't bring up much otherwise: "I have some retro consoles, is all." That's understating it; she fixes them, too. Fuuka is more mechanically inclined overall, but Suzume isn't bad at it.

Suzume leans over to pick up a lonely, lost piece of fatty tuna, having to reach past both Ririka and Reiya to get to it. She drops back flat into her seat afterwards. "Academics, Charm, and Courage?" she repeats, having only half been paying attention to that side of the chat. "...heh. Well, I bet you can pick them so you look good at them. Anyway, I bet I can still beat you in a sprint," she adds to Minato. She used to be into track and field.

...but she's not on the team anymore, so maybe not? Is she writing cheques her legs can't cash?

She looks from Yukari to Minato for a moment. "Aigis-chan kind of goes where she wants, I think," she says. "She got me into one of the rooms once." Was in the the boys' side or the girls'? She'll never tell. It doesn't matter anyway; it was an empty room. "Anyway, girls are allowed in the boys' side, it's the other way that's ~Execution~." Suzume makes her voice go lower and dramatic for that word. 

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
"Chess is a little more fair," Hitomi concurs with a smile.

Other people say qualia regarding Drake Adventure. Hitomi nods along but doesn't seem to be engaging with the raised high points - character, game concepts, theme - it's a general package, but maybe that's not what *Hitomi* is looking for.

Though when Minato speaks, Hitomi's eyes swwwwiiing over there even if her face doesn't move. In fact, Hitomi, who had been about to reach for another piece of sushi, stops moving, hand tentatively uplifted. But it seems more information on this scandalous prospect - that Aigis *went to the boys' dorm* - is not forthcoming.

(And it doesn't seem that weird to Hitomi tbf, they might want to borrow or lend books or something else you do with all your clothes on.)

But back to Ren. "I was asking because I've been running Blade World for folks, and I guess it'd be a *trip* to go down from Tokyo, I *am* always looking for players~!" And now she selects that additional piece of sushi (akami, the lean slice of tuna, a good filler around the edges) to munch on.

"You did seem like a Scorpio," Hitomi concludes to Ren before actually putting the sushi in her mouth. Her eyebrows lift at the additional Aigis information. Because there *is* a lack of Aigis in here, isn't there? Hitomi cranes her head around as if to scan for her. Maybe she'd be standing in a corner, since sushi is high class and she wouldn't want to just claim all of it.

Right? Hitomi is actually unsure here. For mysterious reasons she does not go into the kitchen very much.

"You know," she says after Suzume lays things out, "isn't that kind of cruel to boys? Like obviously that's not the historical trend for the balance between men and women but like, it's definitely a double standard." Hitomi folds her hands in her lap after saying this, seemingly slightly smug about nothing in particular. 

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Fuuka nods thoughtfully as Minako points out that it can be a double-edged sword.

"I see... That makes sense." She considers. "That does make it difficult... You'd probably have to plan ahead for something big."

It does seem like it'd be rough to get overshadowed, too, as Minato and Ren point out... much less being forgotten. That is difficult.

Ren agrees with her on what they like about Drake Adventure, and Fuuka nods.

"It's a lot of fun." She says. She looks toward Minato, then, as he says that he's been playing the old Drake Adventures, too. "Oh, you have too, Arisato-san?"

Minato says that he explained it to Aigis - and she does double-take a bit at the thought that she visited his dorm, but then she recalls something else.

"Oh, I was wondering where she learned about it..." She comments thoughtfully. It came up during repairs one day.

And Reiya, too, enjoys Drake Adventure!

"I'm looking forward to getting into the new ones, but I think it's interesting seeing the way the series has progressed." She nods. "Yes, they're very creative."

Ririka likes the music, and Fuuka nods her agreement.

"Mm-hm. I'm really impressed at the kind of compositions they can get out of those sound chips..." She remarks.

She nods along as Suzume explains it's one of the MMORPGS.

"Oh, I see... I've never tried one of those." She comments thoughtfully. As for no tknowing that many of them had played them...

"Since I wasn't really allowed to play video games, I have a lot of years to catch up on. So, I wanted to experience some of what I missed out on." Fuuka explains. Not that that means she never did play any - but she was limited to what she could sneak onto her laptop.

She's heard from Suzume before about her repairwork - she still finds it impressive. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

"Aren't they though?" Ririka says about the older themes. "They had to do a lot with fewer instruments..." Has her finger drumming switched to one of the Drake Adventure tunes? Yes, yes it has. And he smiles as Ren endorses the concert. "Yeah, it was really cool. Park-sensei brought together a bunch of online musicians who got to perform together for the first time."

"Why can't you just do laps like Sanada-senpai, Iori?" Ririka teases Junpei playfully. "I bet he'd help you train if you asked." Ririka's done a few kendo sessions with him, even.

But Minato calls out Ren's nails, and Ririka looks. "Oh, hey, you're right, Arisato-kun. They look really cool, Amamiya-san." She's totally sincere in that,, but she's just happy to see people doing their thing.

And back to Minako, as she looks surprised--and then delighted. "They made programs for that, huh...? Oh, cool, I've mostly listened to recordings people posted, but I'll have to look into that! But yeah, I've been transcribing some of the older music to study it. I love how they can work within the limitations of the older hardware."

"Your retro consoles are really cool, Suzume-chan," Ririka says, and this may only add to the speculation of who's gone where. But as Suzume says a moment later, that's not a combination that's forbidden. "And it's cool seeing how good a shape you keep them in." She knows Suzume fixes them, but she's not getting that granular with her praise.

"I used to play games with my brother, but... the console we had was a newer one than what the first Drake Adventure games are on," Ririka adds into the discussion. There's a pause, as thinking about her brother always tugs at her heart a little, but she shakes her head and tries to focus on the here and now. "The MMOs can be fun, but I think it's definitely easier if you have someone to play with." 

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

"Really?" Minako says, with a glance at Ren. She considers, before she looks back at Ririka -- then she grins. "Sure. Send them my way, Kawase-chan?"

But then... Then, she winces.

"Oh, jeez--yeah, that would do it," she says. "Hopefully, uh, you at least like costumes and all?"

There are more gifts!

Minako opens Yukari's -- her eyes widen at the orange tiger cub paper. "Aw," she says, before she opens it -- and then holds up the bag. "Yukari-chan!" she says. "It's great! I love it, and--"

She pulls out the book. Then she gets the giggles. "Eheh--p-perfect!"

Then, she looks at Fuuka. She blinks at what she says. Not allowed...?

"No such rules here, Fuuka-chan!" she says. "You can play to your heart's content. Or, uh, Kirijo-senpai's patience, anyways."

She gets quiet as Minato explains some sort of absurd statistical abstraction of high school life. Then, she closes her eyes. Then, she puts a finger between her eyes. Then, finally, she exhales between her teeth.

"Y-You can't reduce our lives to some kinda numbers game!" she groans at her brother. "A-And you don't beat me in all of those! I'm, like--I'm unmeasurable. Scientists look at me and you know what they say?"

Her Osakan accent has slipped in, as it does when she's frustrated. She clenches one fist. "'Minako-han shatters our instruments!'" 

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Minato appreciates cats, Reiya has cat-nature... perhaps that's why they look so alike?

    "I have to keep her on her toes," he says, of Minako not being able to win cuteness by default.

    "Why me...?" Junpei mourns, meanwhile, as he's buried by one Yukari Takeba. Ririka helpfully suggests getting help, and so: "Last time I went running with Sanada-senpai, I thought I was gonna die, man..."

    "Maybe being limber is part of looking good," Minato supposes, before he looks to Suzume. Mysteriously, he doesn't deny that he picked those categories deliberately, even though his own academic performance is only moderately above average. "Would you like to race?" He asks a stupid question, knowing full well she probably does.

    "But that's right," he adds. "Aigis-san shouldn't be executed. She's still obeying the rules. I have never disobeyed the rules to go play games with Fukura-san," he adds, in a very specific denial.

    "Nyaa," Minato curls his hand in a cat's paw, to salute Ren's own gracious cat-nature.

    Yukari, though -- has a gift! With music notes...! And... a half-dozen...

    Minato sees the pens.

    and slowly, his face quirks.

    "Heh. Heh heh. Heh."

    he can actually smile what the fuck

    "... wow, you won one of these? Nice work, Yukari-chan," he gets over this overflow of emotion (we're grading him on a curve) to look up to her. (He's even... on a first name basis with her!) "I'm bound to be fortunate now."

    And where is Aigis???? If she's on a super-secret quest for the twins, Minato will not betray her confidence. He stays suspiciously mum on the topic of their most robotic friends' location. Instead: "Drake Adventure being retro is part of the charm. Some of the older games are hard," he adds, looking to Fuuka, "... but you can save wherever you want on an emulator, so it isn't so much of a problem. Anyway, Mandai-san's Blade World adventures are very good. We should play again sometime."

    But then --

    Minako rubs between her eyes, and --

    Minato stares at her, nonplussed. "They're only shattered by their disappointment," he says, deadpan. "It's just like they say in that stealth game, Solid Steel Wheel... you got all the recessive genes, Minako-chan. That's why I'm the one they'd get to sneak in and save the world."

    HOW DARE HE

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Ren raises their eyebrows at Suzume. "'Execution'?" they echo. They turn curious when she mentions how she only has retro consoles, plural, though. "Which ones d'you have?"
    
    Those eyebrows stay raised at Hitomi when she remarks on them seeming like a Scorpio. "Oh?" they prompt. Whether she elaborates or not is up to her, though. "Blade World, huh? What kind of game is that? I haven't heard of it."
    
    Ririka's compliment on their nails gets a sparkle. Nonetheless, their vocal response is an understated, "Thanks."
    
    They don't remark on the cruelty to boys. They could, but pointing out the reasonable fear that any boys who go into the girls' dorm are out to perv on the girls or worse would be a downer for this birthday party.
    
    "Sanada-san does seem pretty intense about his training," they remark mildly to Junpei and the others.
    
    Damn, though. Ren could tell Yukari's gifts were laser-targeted, even if they didn't get the references, but they still silently marvel when Minato actually smiles all the same. She's really close with both of them, huh?
    
    They glance at Fuuka. So she's trying to catch up on things she wasn't allowed to do when she was younger... "Relatable," they quip.
    
    Ririka mentions playing games with her brother. Knowing about said brother thanks to Ichika, Ren only says, "..."
    
    That would also be a downer to bring up, though. So they don't.
    
    They can at least half-smile at Minako. "Yeah. The costumes are great." They grin devilishly. "Halloween's the one holiday where you're allowed to be a deviant. If I had to have a holiday birthday, I'm glad it's that one."
    
    They 'pfft' again when Minako argues with her brother--which they have to suppress when Minato claps back. It's a little wistful this time, though. They're an only child, so that's something about the Arisato experience they can't understand. (Maybe once they get closer to Futaba...)
    
    They sneak and set aside another fatty tuna while they still can, meanwhile. Morgana demands tribute. 

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

A cry echoes throughout the restaurant.

"MINATO-KUUUUUUN!!"

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Which consoles does she have, Ren asks. Suzume answers: "I've got a regular Nintenshi and the super," Suzume says. "And the first generation Fony." All of those consoles are older than Suzume is. "And I recently got the second generation one, used." That one's younger than she is! Slightly! "I know they're not exactly the new models, but... yeah." Fuuka and Ririka (and Minato; ssh) have seen all of these.

When her attention is drawn, Suzume glances over toward Ren's nails, too. Huh, she thinks. "Not many guys do their nails," she says, without really meaning to say it out loud, which means she reddens *again* when she realizes she has let her mouth say things without benefit of brain. "Uh, not that that's a problem or anything," she adds, hastily, holding up her hands as if she was going to back away.

Honestly it mostly makes her feel, as Gender often does, a little confused herself. She can't imagine spending the effort to paint her nails nicely. She's pretty sure they're just going to chip anyway, especially the way she acts and what she gets up to. It's not something that fits her self-image, really. But it's something she's supposed to know how to do, isn't it? She has a vague idea, but...

Quick, another topic!

"Hey, don't look at me," Suzume says, defensively, to Hitomi. "It's Kijiro-san's punishment, not mine. I've never seen her actually, you know, follow through, anyway." Apparently the threat is enough.

Or is it, with Minato's suspiciously specific denial...? Suzume will never tell.

"You're on," Suzume says, immediately, giving Minato a finger-gun. "Just not tonight. I'm not gonna go running right after I eat sushi." On that note, she rises up a little to look to see what's left, considering for a bit before making her selection (she has swiped one of the clam ones Hitomi seemed enthused about earlier). It lets her watch Minato and Minako for a few moments. They seem to enjoy their gifts. (Suzume's were given before they left the dorm. Don't worry about it.) And each other's presence.

She feels... she's not sure. Suzume's feelings about siblings are *also* Complicated. She never liked Kiyomi, but... yeah. Now THAT'S a downer if she brings it up - not for her, as much, but the way people will react. And then she'll feel guilty about *not* feeling worse about it. So she doesn't! This is the magic of shoving your feelings into a box, though the danger with that is that eventually they explode...

So instead: "...I never did the costume thing," Suzume says. That would be fun, she thinks, though she has no idea what she'd pick. "Maybe next year."

Probably not, though. 

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Minako's effusive gratitude gets a giggle from her, "Ehehe- I'm glad you do. I wanted to find something that felt just right for you." Whereas Minato, actually smiles, and she smiles back, "Uh, yeah- I saw you doing it once so I figured, why not try?"
 
But she's actually grinning some at that, she can't help it.
 
That final reference though- that Minato stated, "Eh?" Then Minako's shouted reply of his name. The gears start turning in her head, as can she work out the context of that one?
 
...
...
...
...
...
...
 
"... Hey..."
 
A pregnant pause.
 
"... I didn't think we needed to make a 'No Eugenics Talk' rule at the table... but here we are."
 
Nope, she didn't quite get there.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Minako speaks about her truly incalculable and non-instrument-sensitive self. Hitomi raises her eyebrows as the first stake is made. SHATTER INSTRUMENTS WITH MINAKOTUDE

Minato is speaking in favor of Aigis's continued non-executedness. Eyes to him even as he opens up the gifts and finds that coin bank. "We should," Hitomi says. "Now that I'm not being a super study squirrel about exams, I'll have more room to breathe. I've actually read a lot of the adventures online," Hitomi continues, "so I have a totally different idea together from Two Forks.."

Ren wants to know more. Hitomi would never let the Federal Service down, and so she reports to them: "Table-talk RPG. The game master prepares a scenario and operates it while the players have freedom of action bound by the logical conceptions of a subsidiary created world, in this case one kind of like Drake Adventure. Kind of," Hitomi adds. "So, no cell phones, but there are elves."

Are elves and cell phones mutually exclusive? More research required.

"As for Scorpio," Hitomi adds, "I'll tell you later." She does snort with half-stifled laughter at Halloween being the one time you're allowed to be a deviant.

"They do look good," Hitomi echoes after Suzume speaks about the nails. While Suzume struggles with gender, Hitomi claims another piece of fish: this one yellowfin, and thus perhaps less exalted than that ultra-preem fatty tuna.

Yukari speaks. Hitomi eats a bite of the sushi while contemplating Yukari. Hitomi seems about to say something - and then pauses, smiling at nothing and shaking her head once. The rest of the sushi is tossed back shortly after.

"The executions are real," Hitomi adds, afterwards. Perhaps just as a kind of apertif for the table in case people were having doubts. 

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

Reiya chimes in of the executions, "A man must take propriety very seriously."

That is all. 

<Pose Tracker> Ren Amamiya has posed.

    Ren nods as Suzume lists her consoles. "Same on the regular Nintenshi," they say. When she puts her foot in her mouth, they just shrug. "It's fine. You're right."
    
    It's not like they'd care if she did have a problem with it.
    
    Mitsuru Kirijo's punishment... Suzume has her doubts, but Hitomi claims they're real, and Reiya seems to be on the same wavelength as Ren. Ren is starting to understand certain things Yusuke's said about her. What exactly is 'execution'...?
    
    Hitomi explains tabletop (table-talk?) games to them. Ren's vaguely heard of those before, and they nod thoughtfully. "Sounds interesting. Maybe we can talk about it later, yeah." Along with Scorpio things.
    
    They can no longer repress a snort of amusement when Minako wails at her brother. At least Yukari is... on her side...?
    
    They round out their dinner with a few more pieces of maki sushi, including a couple more nigiri for Morgana. Plenty of maki left to go, at least. 

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Minako assures her there aren't any rules here - at least, as long as she doesn't strain Mitsuru's patience.

"I get good grades and I'm not very loud, so I don't think I have to worry about that much, at least..." Fuuka replies. "But, thank you. I know I'm safe here."

She nods to Ren as they say it's relatable.

She is aware of emulators... but she has yet to really dig into them.

"Oh, really? That sounds convenient..." She considers thoughtfully. At the very least, for being able to pick it up and put it down whenever she wants...

She looks between Minako and Minato, then. Unfortunately, she hasn't played Solid Steel Wheel - she'd definitely enjoy it if she did, so she might - so she doesn't have the necessary skill levels to succeed at the check. So instead...

"Don't worry, Minako-chan! I know your, um... 'power level' is very high!" Fuuka encourages, pumping her fists.

...She earnestly tried her best. 

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Minako takes her up on the offer of links, and Ririka flashes Minko a thumbs up and a grin. "You got it, Arisato-chan!" Ririka doesn't like to brag, but she will be in some of the videos, too. Performing, of course.

Ririka... takes a little bit of pity on Junpei. Just a little. "That bad, huh..." she offers sympathetically. "Maybe you just need to work up to it? Practice makes perfect and all that..."

The mention of Blade World gets Ririka's interest, though. "Oh yeah! We talked about that, right, Mandai-chan? Things have been so busy... I wanna try that sometime." For the first time. She has instruments!

But Minako refutes Minato's scales wth assertions of shattering instruments. Minato has a retort, to which a cry goes out. Ririka laughs, but she tries to co cover her mouth. "Guys, guys, it's not a contest..." she said, despite apparently there being a scale. "I'm sure you're both great at different things."

"Welcome!" she says cheerfully to Ren. She's had thoughts about gender as it relates to herself, of course, and she is solidly on 'girl', just... she also happens to like some things girls aren't usually 'meant' to.

Ririka has seen the consoles! And, she's offered to help Suzume out with fashion stuff. (This would include nails! Hers are painted purple right now.) "Doing costumes can be fun..." Of course, her stage look is also kind of a costume, isn't it?

She'll reach out and snag some more sushi for herself. She might be self-conscious about her height, but a longer reach is at least an advantage here.

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