The next day...it was April 19 - Maki's birthday...

6:05 AM

Maki was waking up, when she was greeted by her mother inside her room.

"Happy birthday, Maki."

"Ah, thank you mom."

"I have a present for you, my daughter. But I'll give it to you later."

"Sure, mom. That can wait."

Maki went to school as usual. It was pretty much just a normal day for her, particularly because she had not told anyone, not even u's, that her birthday was today.

Sometime during the break, before 12:00 PM

At her classroom, Maki thought: "Should I tell them? I guess not. Honoka said that u's will have practice later after school. I don't think I should bother them much. It's not like my birthday mattered anyway."

"Hey Maki-chan, what's with the long face, nyahh?"

A girl with short orange hair tapped Maki in the shoulder trying to get her attention.

"Ah! Rin-chan, it's nothing."

"I don't think so, nyahh! You're in trouble, aren't you?"

"Trouble? No, it's not like that. I just...I'm just thinking of our practice, that's all."

"Huh? Is there something wrong, Maki-chan?"

"I just...I'm just wondering if I can do better in our practice. I feel like I have not done anything much for u's..."

"Don't say that, Maki-chan. Everyone was happy enough that you're now one of u's members. You're beautiful, charming, talented, friendly - you don't need to change anything!"

(When Rin said that she was "friendly", Maki thought: "Friendly? Rin-chan...you're wrong about me...I'm not...")

Rin was still talking when...

"RIN-CHAN!!"

Soon after, someone called Rin with a familiar voice. She was a girl with glasses, she looked like she's panicking or something. Her name was Hanayo, though Rin calls her by a different name.

"Kayo-chin? W-what's wrong?"

"Rin-chan, we have a problem! It's about...uh...Maki-chan?"

Hanayo stopped talking when she noticed Maki was there. It seemed like she doesn't want Maki to know what she was about to say.

"Hanayo, what's wrong?", replied Maki with a curious look. Hanayo started thinking of something to say.

"Ah! Well...it's...it's about...it's about RAMEN!"

"Eh?"

"Y-yes, Maki-chan! I wanted Rin to know that there's a new kind of ramen at the cafeteria!"

"REALLY?! Is that why you called me!?", Rin said in excitement.

"Yep! That's why I..."

Rin grabbed Hanayo by her arm and dragged Hanayo along.

"LET'S GO!!!"

"AH! RIN-CHANN! You're running too fast! Someone help me!"

Maki had this confused look while looking at the two run off. She thought: "Hmm...I don't remember anything about the cafeteria having ramen on the menu...hmm...*sigh*...Nevermind..."

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Meanwhile, outside the school...

"WHAT?! KAYO-CHIN, WHY DID YOU LIE TO ME!?"

"I'm sorry, Rin-chan! I didn't want Maki to know what I'm about to tell you."

"Wait, so it has nothing to do with ramen?"

"Yes, and it doesn't involve rice either!"

"... ... Kayo-chin, you're the one who loves rice so much."

"Ahh! Umm...s-sorry! I got carried away!"

"Anyway Kayo-chin, what's wrong?

"Well...it's about Nico-chan."

After hearing about Nico, Rin suddenly had a very nervous look on her face. It's been two days since Nico had called or made any contact with them.

"EH!? Nico-chan won't be coming to school?!"

"Yes, she said she's really sick right now. She couldn't get out of bed."

Hanayo was waiting for Nico to come to school but an hour ago, Nico texted her saying she won't be coming due to her illness.

"Why now? It's a special day today, we can't have it end without Nico-chan coming here!"

"I'm sad she won't be coming too. We have to tell the others to cancel the practice."

"Practice?...you mean...we have to cancel the celebration for Maki-chan's birthday?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

 "Do we have too? The preparations have already been made at the rooftop."

"We have to, Rin-chan. Nico planned this, we can't do this without her."

"... ... Fine...Kayo-chin..."

"We need to tell the others then! We can't let Maki-chan see the decorations!"

"Right!"

Soon, Hanayo texted Honoka and the others that Maki's birthday celebration has to be cancelled. Afterwards, the girls hurried to make sure that the decorations - balloons, cake, party hats, everything - were hidden. Maki had no idea what was going on.

---------------

Afternoon. At about 2:00

"Strange...is there really gonna be practice today? Why do I get the feeling something doesn't feel right.", said Maki to herself.

Maki noticed that unusually, Honoka and the others seem to be running back and forth repeatedly. She noticed even though she's in class by looking at the class' door and at the window beside her.

She also noticed Nico wasn't around. But she didn't mind, thinking Nico was in class or in the club doing something.

After the current class period ended, Maki decided to go upstairs at the rooftop. She saw that the place was empty and no one was there. Disturbing. There weren't any water bottles, mats, gadgets or radio there. It doesn't look like there was gonna be any practice.

Maki now knew something wasn't right, so she investigated. She looked all over the place when she saw a balloon near the roof's balcony. She picked it up before the wind blew it away.

"What's a balloon, doing here?"

Maki looked at the balloon which had something written on it. It read:

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAKI-CHAN!"

Immediately, Maki's eyes grew larger and she looked surprised. She couldn't believe what she just saw. Someone knew it was her birthday.

"N-no way. I did not tell anyone! Who knew it was my birthday today?"

She recalled her memories and remembered the unusual behavior Honoka, Hanayo, Rin and the others had a while ago. They all looked like they were hiding something from her.

"C-could it be that...?"

Moments later, Maki heard footsteps. Someone was coming upstairs...

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A/N: Phew! Thank you guys for reading! Sorry if it took so long. I am really busy working on some major project and I plan to announce it later once I've finished this story. Also, I put so much thought on what will happen next.

Stay tuned for the coming pages! :3