[On Naegi's birthday he can expect a mysterious box! It's given anonymously, but don't worry, all that's inside is...a cake. A pretty nice one too. No doubt he's already going to have some sort of birthday cake, but since when is more cake ever a bad thing?
But back to how nice it is. It's got some fairly elegant red and blue icing that somebody's taken the care to intertwine carefully around the edges, creating a really nice look (and certainly not reminiscent of anyone's hair back home. No, not at all). There's a different shade of blue for the frosting on top (Similar to a certain tracksuit that was a key piece of evidence, maybe. You know, if someone stops to think about these things.), along with some gold mixed in (like the designs on the back of somebody else's jacket). And while we're describing said cake, the frosting is of course buttercream.
As far as the inside goes, it's surprisingly...coffee flavored? That's weird. Why would someone make a coffee flavored cake with all the other stuff? Was there anyone he knows that likes coffee? Maybe a certain someone back home who favored the kind with protein in it?
But that person's not here, so maybe our baker's just weird. That has to be it. That would also explain why it's perfectly uniform and looks like if there were some sort of exact specifications for making the cake, it would follow them to the letter. Like say, if there was an Ultimate Moral Compass for cake making, this is the kind of thing he'd allow.
And as far as the presentation goes, it's on a lovely lace doily. Made from the real thing, not paper. The sort of thing that a certain gambler would've probably loved if she'd seen it. Or at least told people she did to maintain her image.
Though you know, that's all very subtle, and sure, there's a lot of emotions put into the cake. Love, friendship, but also bitterness and of course, despair. Then again, that requires eating it and not checking the card. Because there is a card!
It's not signed, but it features lovingly drawn, if not very good, caricatures of everybody who our cake sender thought about while making it. Sure, she's not exactly on part with Yamada, but it's the thought that counts. And what do you know, it's all his dead friends minus...whatsherface. You know the one. The disappointment.
And while it's not signed, there is a message enclosed:
”Happy birthday, Naegi-kun. We might not be here, but we're all thinking about you on your special day!”]
[Naegi should probably be expecting boxes on his doorstep - it is his birthday after all - but it still catches him off guard to see one innocently sitting there.
But that's nothing compared to the immediate feeling of pain when he opens the box.
He takes in all the details with a hollow stare, eyes roaming over every decoration that digs the knife in deeper. Naegi instantly knows who this is from. There's only one person besides Kirigiri, Asahina and Hagakure that would know enough about their classmates to do this - and none of those three would ever hurt him this way.
Wet. He doesn't realize there's a tear rolling down the side of his face until it's already halfway down. Naegi takes a shaky breath, and wipes it away with the back of his hand.
Maybe it's some broken, sentimental part of his heart that makes him do it, but he takes the message in careful hands and places it on the small table by his bed. And that's where it will stay.
The cake, however, requires something a little more.
That he carefully places back into the box, exactly as he'd found it, and carries it back outside. Naegi makes sure that he finds a quiet, empty spot near the office. Makes sure that there aren't any plants nearby.
Once he's finished with his check, Naegi places the box on the ground and does the most cathartic thing he could possibly do - with a deep breath and closed eyes, recounting a dozen times he'd practiced controlling his reactions as Komaeda had taught him, Naegi holds his hand over the box and sets it on fire.
Much later, long after he's watched the fire as it dies down and shed all the tears that he needs to, Naegi will settle down in his room and prepare a simple text message to give to the sender. The link will be brief and quick, and Naegi guards his heart closely so no inch of positive or negative emotion will be able to be read. The words are simple and short, and he doesn't plan to ever expand on them. He sends it, and something in him feels oddly content.]
[It's funny, really. All that work guarding his emotions when she's someone who's been able to figure out people's feelings long long before she came to this world. But good job Naegi, you did well. She can't read anything off that other than the comment.
And yet she's still going to spend the rest of the day with a smile on her face because she knows, she absolutely knows that her present had a despairingly wonderful effect.]
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2/5, birthday delivery
But back to how nice it is. It's got some fairly elegant red and blue icing that somebody's taken the care to intertwine carefully around the edges, creating a really nice look (and certainly not reminiscent of anyone's hair back home. No, not at all). There's a different shade of blue for the frosting on top (Similar to a certain tracksuit that was a key piece of evidence, maybe. You know, if someone stops to think about these things.), along with some gold mixed in (like the designs on the back of somebody else's jacket). And while we're describing said cake, the frosting is of course buttercream.
As far as the inside goes, it's surprisingly...coffee flavored? That's weird. Why would someone make a coffee flavored cake with all the other stuff? Was there anyone he knows that likes coffee? Maybe a certain someone back home who favored the kind with protein in it?
But that person's not here, so maybe our baker's just weird. That has to be it. That would also explain why it's perfectly uniform and looks like if there were some sort of exact specifications for making the cake, it would follow them to the letter. Like say, if there was an Ultimate Moral Compass for cake making, this is the kind of thing he'd allow.
And as far as the presentation goes, it's on a lovely lace doily. Made from the real thing, not paper. The sort of thing that a certain gambler would've probably loved if she'd seen it. Or at least told people she did to maintain her image.
Though you know, that's all very subtle, and sure, there's a lot of emotions put into the cake. Love, friendship, but also bitterness and of course, despair. Then again, that requires eating it and not checking the card. Because there is a card!
It's not signed, but it features lovingly drawn, if not very good, caricatures of everybody who our cake sender thought about while making it. Sure, she's not exactly on part with Yamada, but it's the thought that counts. And what do you know, it's all his dead friends minus...whatsherface. You know the one. The disappointment.
And while it's not signed, there is a message enclosed:
”Happy birthday, Naegi-kun. We might not be here, but we're all thinking about you on your special day!”]
2/5, birthday delivery received
But that's nothing compared to the immediate feeling of pain when he opens the box.
He takes in all the details with a hollow stare, eyes roaming over every decoration that digs the knife in deeper. Naegi instantly knows who this is from. There's only one person besides Kirigiri, Asahina and Hagakure that would know enough about their classmates to do this - and none of those three would ever hurt him this way.
Wet. He doesn't realize there's a tear rolling down the side of his face until it's already halfway down. Naegi takes a shaky breath, and wipes it away with the back of his hand.
Maybe it's some broken, sentimental part of his heart that makes him do it, but he takes the message in careful hands and places it on the small table by his bed. And that's where it will stay.
The cake, however, requires something a little more.
That he carefully places back into the box, exactly as he'd found it, and carries it back outside. Naegi makes sure that he finds a quiet, empty spot near the office. Makes sure that there aren't any plants nearby.
Once he's finished with his check, Naegi places the box on the ground and does the most cathartic thing he could possibly do - with a deep breath and closed eyes, recounting a dozen times he'd practiced controlling his reactions as Komaeda had taught him, Naegi holds his hand over the box and sets it on fire.
Much later, long after he's watched the fire as it dies down and shed all the tears that he needs to, Naegi will settle down in his room and prepare a simple text message to give to the sender. The link will be brief and quick, and Naegi guards his heart closely so no inch of positive or negative emotion will be able to be read. The words are simple and short, and he doesn't plan to ever expand on them. He sends it, and something in him feels oddly content.]
Thank you, Enoshima-san.
no subject
And yet she's still going to spend the rest of the day with a smile on her face because she knows, she absolutely knows that her present had a despairingly wonderful effect.]