Kaede will suddenly hear soft knocks at her door, followed by: “Akamatsu-san, it’s me, Shuichi: are you there... ?” When she opens the door, he’ll greet her with a smile. “Good afternoon, and Happy Birthday! I hope you’ve been having a great day so far. Is it okay if I come in? I have some gifts for you... !”
And if she lets him, Shuichi will mutter a ‘thank you’ as he enters the room. In one hand, he was carrying a gift bag, and in the other: a cake container. “That, and I thought it would be nice if we could spend together... a private little birthday party celebration, you could say. I even brought cake, too! Hehe.. “ He giggles, as he places the things on whatever table was okay to use. She’ll be able to get a much better look at the cake, which is a fancily made pink velvet cake with buttercream frosting, turned purple with food coloring. It also had a design of a music bar that curls around the cake, with different types of music notes.
And then in the gift bag, were hairclips shaped like teddy bears, along with a brown notebook. If she opens it, it will comprise of many different music sheets, most notably of songs Shuichi had noted to himself overtime that are especially favorites of hers. Some even included different versions of said songs she might be curious to play, along with newer songs that she might not have played before, either. “I hope you love your cake and gifts... ! As for this, I made this music notebook, myself. I thought you’d love to have so many of your favorite songs in one place, along with some I included, that I thought you might like to try playing sometime. And if you do.... I’d love to be there and listen! Because like with every song you play, I know I will be moved... but for now, I promise to help make today nothing but wonderful and fun, for my most precious friend.” He smiles warmly at her. He hopes he was already able to make today very special for her. (HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAEDE... 🍰🧸🎼)
{ ♫ } ❝ aw, thanks, saihara-kun! honestly, i'm still surprised anyone even remembers my birthday. i don't really make a big deal of it, after all! ❞
of course, kaede doesn't hesitate to let her friend in, and she's admittedly caught off-guard by all the stuff he's carrying. a gift is one thing, but bringing a whole cake too? she was starting to feel spoiled, and the day had just started!
❝ wow, you really went all out, huh? i'll have to remember this when your birthday comes around next! ❞
she playfully pokes her elbow into his side, letting him set down the cake and the gift bag before continuing on.
she doesn't want to eat the cake just yet, mostly because it's so beautiful she wants to take a moment to simply let it be before she cuts into it. so, she decides to open up the gift bag first.
the hairclips were a very sweet gift, of course, but as shuichi likely expected, kaede immediately begins to hyperfixate on the notebook as soon as she realizes there's sheet music inside.
❝ wow... look at all the songs in here! you really went to all the trouble of putting all this sheet music into a notebook just for me? i'll never run out of things to play now! ❞
not that that was ever a concern for her before, considering how often she played her favorite songs already.
she continues to flip through the book for a few more minutes, before suddenly getting up and giving shuichi a big hug. she was so grateful to have a friend like him, who knew her so well and always got her only the best presents.
after she broke off the hug, she knew exactly what she had to do.
❝ all right then, mister. you wanna hear me play these songs? then you're gonna get to hear them, right here, right now! this private birthday party just turned into a private piano recital! ❞