The Ijichi household was in a block not far from the convenience store.
Before long, the group had all arrived at the Ijichi home.
It was an apartment building that was neither too new nor too old.
Once inside, the place looked to be about sixty or seventy square meters.
For a mother and her two daughters, it was reasonably spacious.
They came into the living room and took out the cake, setting it on the table.
The birthday cake was a strawberry cake, with a layer of bright red strawberries spread over the white cream, and a candle shaped like the number "6" stuck in the center.
Beside it sat three sets of plates and forks, along with a small paper bag holding the souvenirs they'd bought back from the zoo.
"Nijika, make a wish."
Ijichi Seika lit the candle, then spoke to Nijika.
Nijika closed her eyes, pressed her palms together, and her little mouth moved silently for a long while.
The candlelight flickered across her face, light and dark by turns.
"Done!"
She opened her eyes and blew out the candle in one breath.
"What did you wish for?"
Seika asked.
"I'm not telling you. If I say it out loud, it won't come true."
Ijichi Seika smiled and reached over to ruffle her hair.
Nijika dodged away and ran to her mother's side, clinging to her arm and acting spoiled.
Next came cutting the cake, and every slice had a whole strawberry on top.
Nijika ate her own strawberry first, then sat staring at the one on Tsushima Kagami's plate.
"Here you go."
Tsushima Kagami picked up the strawberry and moved it onto her plate.
"Thank you, Kagami-nii-chan!"
She smiled so wide her eyes curved into little crescent moons.
As they ate, Little Nijika suddenly spoke up.
"It would be nice if Daddy were here too."
The room, lively just a moment ago, fell silent in an instant.
"I told you not to bring up that lousy guy!"
Ijichi Seika had clearly grown a little irritable.
She lowered her head and stabbed the cake into crumbs with her fork.
Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku felt as though they'd overheard something private that wasn't meant for their ears.
For a moment they didn't know what to say, and exchanged glances.
"Sorry, you must forgive the spectacle."
Mrs. Ijichi smiled apologetically at the two of them.
Then she set down the cake in her hand and placed her palms on Little Nijika's and Seika's heads, stroking them gently.
At this, Mrs. Ijichi slowly began to speak about the family's affairs.
"After Nijika was born, he started going abroad more and more often."
Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku listened earnestly.
The "he" here had to be Nijika and Seika's father.
Mrs. Ijichi continued.
"At first he'd still take leave and come home often. Later he only came back for New Year's, and after that he basically rarely came back at all."
"Well, that's not so bad."
"At least he still remembers to send the child support."
Ijichi Seika folded her arms, her voice cold as she spoke.
Once she'd finished, Mrs. Ijichi also wore a helpless expression.
Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku looked at each other after hearing it.
Wasn't this just the same as being separated?
"Seika."
Mrs. Ijichi shot Ijichi Seika a reproachful look.
Only then did she turn her face away.
At some point Nijika had run off to the other side of the living room, crouching in front of a cabinet and rummaging through things.
She dug out a photo album, hugged it to her chest, and ran back, plopping it down on the coffee table with a slap.
"This is Daddy!"
She flipped to a page and pointed at a photo of a man.
The photo had already yellowed a little, its corners curling up.
The man wore a suit and stood in front of some foreign building, smiling stiffly.
Beside him stood a woman holding a small child.
It was Mrs. Ijichi in her younger days, cradling a newborn Seika in her arms.
"This is Big Sister!"
Nijika flipped another page.
This time it was Seika's elementary school graduation photo—wearing her uniform, standing ramrod straight, her expression a little fierce.
"This is Mommy when she was young!"
Another page turned.
Mrs. Ijichi wore a white shirt and jeans, her long hair down, standing by the sea, smiling brilliantly.
Nijika said earnestly.
Seika glanced at that photo once and said nothing.
She set down her fork, stood up, and said she'd go boil water for tea.
As she walked into the kitchen, her steps were quicker than usual.
Mrs. Ijichi looked at that photo, smiled faintly, and gently closed the album.
"Time really does fly, doesn't it."
By now Nijika's birthday party had turned into a nostalgic photo-album viewing.
Since it was all the family's private matters, Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku didn't dare ask or say anything out of line, and just kept Nijika company as they slowly looked through the whole album.
At that point Little Nijika closed the album.
She walked straight over to Tsushima Kagami's side and threw her arms around his thigh.
She tilted her head up, her big watery eyes gazing at Tsushima Kagami.
"Hey, hey."
"Won't Kagami-nii-chan come be Nijika's daddy?"
The moment Little Nijika's words came out, even Yukinoshita Shizuku beside her froze for a second.
And Ijichi Seika, brewing tea off to the side, accidentally spilled some.
Mrs. Ijichi, with all the poise of a fine lady, propped her cheek in her hand and laughed.
"Oh my, if I were twenty years younger, Mommy wouldn't refuse, you know."
"But Mommy is already an obaa-san now, so Kagami-nii-chan can't be Little Nijika's daddy, you see."
Mrs. Ijichi said, joking.
"?"
No good?
Little Nijika looked at her mommy, then looked at Tsushima Kagami.
Then she said again.
"Then when Nijika grows up, Nijika will be Kagami-nii-chan's bride!"
"That won't work either—by the time Nijika grows up, Kagami-nii-chan will already have a bride, you see."
Before Tsushima Kagami could even open his mouth, Yukinoshita Shizuku beside him said it with a smile.
Only then did Little Nijika look curiously at Yukinoshita Shizuku.
Then she shrank back her neck, let go of Tsushima Kagami's thigh, and retreated a few steps.
So scary—what kind of look is that?!
Nijika stared at Yukinoshita Shizuku's face, kindly yet terribly gloomy.
It reminded her exactly of the way a teacher at school, when angry, would smile without warmth, getting ready to punish a kid.
At this age, children are the best at reading expressions.
Looking at this expression on Yukinoshita Shizuku's face, Nijika couldn't help but swallow.
Then she laughed.
"Ni... Nijika still thinks it's better for Kagami-nii-chan to be a big brother!"
After saying that, Little Nijika looked toward Yukinoshita Shizuku again.
She found that this time Yukinoshita Shizuku's expression had softened quite a bit.
The simple-minded Nijika suddenly had a flash of inspiration.
"Then Kagami-nii-chan should just marry Big Sister!"
"That way Kagami-nii-chan can stay with Nijika forever!"
Tsushima Kagami took it as nothing more than Nijika's innocent childish prattle, a little kid playing around without knowing better.
But the result was that Ijichi Seika, who had just brewed the tea and was handing herself a cup, gave another jolt of her hand.
She accidentally spilled the tea right onto Tsushima Kagami.
"S... sorry!"
Ijichi Seika hurriedly grabbed a towel and was about to wipe Tsushima Kagami's clothes.
At that moment Yukinoshita Shizuku also reached out her hand.
"Let me do it."
"Ah, haha, h... here you go."
After taking the towel, Yukinoshita Shizuku glanced at Ijichi Seika.
Ijichi Seika quickly turned her face away.
But Yukinoshita Shizuku saw that the edges of Ijichi Seika's ears, turned to the side, had gone red.
Only then did she begin wiping Tsushima Kagami down.
Still, he was already soaked through.
At this point Mrs. Ijichi hurriedly told Tsushima Kagami to change out of his clothes.
She'd wash them and then dry them in the family's dryer.
Once they were dry, he could head back.
And so, after this little episode, Tsushima Kagami and Yukinoshita Shizuku stayed at Mrs. Ijichi's home and ate dinner there as well.
After everyone played some games together, once the clothes were dry, they finally said their goodbyes and headed home.
Just after Mrs. Ijichi had seen the two of them out the door.
Little Nijika finally muttered under her breath.
"Oh my, doesn't this mean not a single one of my birthday wishes came true?"
____
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