#im sorry amane didnt make it in officially... i really wanted to see her happy but none of the interactions felt right rn

[good-beanswrites]

Some LCSYS thoughts to make me feel better after the new update ;-; More Mahiru-centric, but Haruka and Shidou are definitely here chillin. At some point I'll need to rewrite that last chapter, too, ough...

“Alright, is everybody ready for Curtain Ca–”

“Stop!” Mahiru pressed a finger to Jackalope’s lips, despite the look of exasperation he gave her. “No work talk at a party.” She breezed away from him to the table where the others were gathered.

At the very beginning of planning, as she was pitching the idea of recognizing everyone’s birthday along with hers, Mahiru had placed an order for ten whole cakes. She insisted that the others would miss out on getting a proper one during the trials. Jackalope insisted that ten was a ridiculous number of cakes to have. They ended up comprising on three – a personalized one for each of the prisoners that would be staying behind. (Jackalope would have pointed out that it defeated the purpose, since they were the ones that could now ask for a cake any day they wanted, but he was just glad she had agreed to the terms.)

He followed her to the spread of treats. “I know you’re disappointed, but eventually you’ll have to face that the others are leaving. We have a few last timelines to write up, and then you’ll have to deal with a very short break from–”

“Please!” She pouted her bottom lip. “It’s Mahiru’s birthday, for goodness sake!”

Jackalope crossed his arms. “I thought you said today was everybody’s birthday…”

She looked pointedly away. “I said we’re celebrating everybody’s birthday, but we’re holding it on my birthday.”

“Interesting.”

He reluctantly left her as Yuno called him over to the games corner. Mahiru fluttered a goodbye wave. Shidou and Mikoto joined them at cake table, both sipping from color-coded cups Mahiru had organized.

“Oi Mappi,” Mikoto held his drink out to her. “You should try one of these! Kazu-san’s been making them, I forget what he calls them, but they’re great. You want a sip?”

Mahiru turned him down. A hand tugged gently on Mikoto’s sleeve.

“U-um! Can I try a sip?”

He stayed firmly facing away, feigning confusion. “Huh, what was that?”

“Just a-a little sip.”

“Ahhh… you know, I really miss Haru-kun.”

“Mikoto-saaaan.”

He wiped a nonexistent tear from his eye. “You know, sometimes I can still hear his voice…”

“Pleeease? Y-you said you were gonna see how many you could get Fuuta-san to-to drink tonight!”

Mikoto choked back a sip as Shidou’s eyebrows raised. “Fuuta’s over twenty! I wouldn’t give alcohol to a kid, that’s a crime, y’know?”

Before any of them could poke fun about his choice of words, Muu marched over to them. She held out a slice of purple-frosted cake on her plate and wrinkled her nose. “Shidou-san, something’s wrong with your cake. It’s horrible.”

“Oh no, there’s nothing wrong with it.” Shidou smiled. “It’s vegan.”

“Oh.” Her scrunched face didn’t change. “Muu’s going to get a different piece…” She grabbed Haruka by the hand, leading him away to his own cake. Mahiru noticed she was wearing the gift that Haruka had given her. Birthday presents hadn’t been part of the big party plan, but a few sentimental gifts had been exchanged. Jackalope was still mentally weighing what could be taken into the prison without raising suspicion, while the prisoners were mentally weighing what could be snuck into their cell whether he agreed to it or not.

Shidou frowned. “You better have been joking about Kajiyama-kun.”

“Eh, that’s not a crime.”

“Please.” He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I’m already losing sleep about the toll this all will take on Es-kun. Don’t do anything next trial to make me worry about the rest of you, too.”

“Es-kun…” Mahiru’s expression darkened.

Across the room came a laugh. “Come on doc, don’t you trust us?” Kotoko asked the question with a crooked smirk, heading over from where the game was breaking up. By the way Yuno lead Amane in a gloating walk, it was clear who had won. “I can assure you, everything is under control.”

“Why don’t we talk about something else?” Mahiru offered, her wide smile bordering on frantic. “Everyone keeps talking about Milgram, Milgram, Milgram! Let’s talk about something nice, mm? Kazui-san, tell me that funny story you were just telling Shidou-san!”

Kotoko gave her a look. “Have you already forgot your big conversation…?”

“Not at all! I remember every word he said to me.” Mahiru clasped her hands together. She relaxed her face, her eyes closed in perfect peacefulness. “I’m learning to live in the moment. That’s what I’m doing right now.”

“No. You still need to deal with your negative emotions head-on. So, do you have something you want to get off your chest before we head back in there?”

Mahiru was met with pleasant gazes from all sides. A few nodded in encouragement. “I… I actually do.”

She inhaled for a moment. She exhaled just as long. She looked around at the faces around her. She saw the half-eaten cakes. The board games scattered around. The gift wrapping and the cards. She studied the smiles all turned her way.

Lunging at Kotoko, she wrapped her in a tight embrace. Her voice trembled with tears. “Happy birthday.”

She was met with a loud sigh, and Kotoko returned the hug.

“Ah… you’re nuts.”

From the back of the group, Jackalope frantically typed something up on his phone. “Damn, that’s good,” he muttered.