KOF Extras

Hotaru's Bday!

Gato woke up and turned over in bed to reach over his phone on the nightstand. He turned it on and waited for the smartphone to boot before entering the password. He sat up in shock when he looked at the date.
It was Hotaru's birthday!
And he didn't even know. How sad...
He scrambled out of bed and rushed out of his room. A waft of frying bacon suddenly hit his nose. He groaned and made his way to the kitchen to see Hotaru making breakfast.
"You're up early," Gato said, watching her crack an egg onto the pan.
"Well, I ended up waking up first, so I decided to make breakfast," Hotaru said, giving her brother a glance. "Bacon and eggs are okay, right?"
"Yeah, should be good," Gato sighed and sank down on the chair. "Thanks, Hotaru."
"What's in this, Niisama?" Hotaru chuckled and continued making breakfast. "By the way, aren't you getting ready for work?"
"Nah, it's my day off," Gato said, planning to call in sick that day.
"Oh?" Hotaru turned around, holding a metal spatula. "What's the occasion?"
"I... need to run some errands today," Gato said, running a hand down his face. "Busy day."
"Okay, Niisama," Hotaru said, putting a plate in front of him. She suddenly pulled it away again. "Did you brush your teeth?"
"Not yet..." Gato said, getting up. "Be back in a bit."
He left the kitchen and saw the silhouette of his father staggering towards him in the dark. Gato instantly pulled him aside, and brought him to his room.
"What's going on?" Mr. Futaba asked sleepily. He let out a yawn and scratched his eyes, looking at Gato with sleepy eyes. "Gato, what's up?"
"It's Hotaru's birthday," Gato said. "And we didn't do anything about it."
"Well, I already ordered a cake for her," Mr. Futaba grinned. "Good, huh?"
Gato smacked him. "Could've told me too, right?"
"I thought you knew," Mr. Futaba shrugged. "She's going to school, right? Do something then."
Gato grimly nodded and opened the door. "Go brush your teeth, Hotaru made us breakfast."
For some reason, Mr. Futaba chuckled as he made his way to the bathroom. Gato rolled his eyes and followed him. They brushed their teeth and had breakfast together at the kitchen table. No one breathed a word about it to Hotaru.

Right after leaving Hotaru at school, Gato sped off to the mall. He dragged his father out of the car and around the mall, looking for something to buy for Hotaru.
He bought her a nice blue dress, a perfume set, and forced his father to pay for the makeup set he chose.
"Gato, I bought the cake," Mr. Futaba retorted. "And you're the only one who didn't buy her anything."
Gato just grunted and paid for it anyway. "Can you pay for lunch instead?"
"Sure," Mr. Futaba agreed.
Then Gato dragged him to the party store and bought some blue and white balloons, together with some confetti and a cone birthday hat. Mr. Futaba tried really hard to not laugh.

Gato ripped open a pack of balloons and started blowing them one by one. Mr. Futaba sat next to him and helped too.
"How many do you need?" Mr. Futaba asked, tying the end of a blue balloon.
"Five white and five blue," Gato said, tying two blue and one white balloons together. "I'm gonna stick this up, together with her name."
"Sure," his father nodded, grabbing another balloon. "I'll help you."
"No thanks," Gato said, much to his surprise. "All you have to do is pick Hotaru up from school."
"Fine by me," Mr. Futaba said with a shrug. His phone suddenly dinged, and the steady hum of a car could be heard outside. "I think the cake is here."
He retied his hair and went outside. The delivery woman, Fiolina, stood near the gate, holding a plastic bag.
"Tell Hotaru I wished her Happy Birthday, Mr. Futaba," Fiolina said when he collected the cake. "There's free chocolate chip cookies and cupcakes in there."
"Thanks, Miss Germi," Mr. Futaba said, tying the two flaps of the bag. "Would you like to come in for a drink?"
"Oh, no thanks, Mr. Futaba," Fiolina politely refused. "I have more to deliver."
She bid her farewell and left. Mr. Futaba put the cake in the fridge and continued to watch Gato, since he refused his help. He secretly filmed Gato's efforts to decorate the living room. He meant to show it to Hotaru later. Gato eventually shooed him off, since it was nearly time for Hotaru's school to end.
So Mr. Futaba took the car and drove off to Hotaru's school. He saw her waiting at the bus stop, a blond boy sat on a bike next to her.
"Who is this boy..." Mr. Futaba wondered aloud, though said blond boy had actually came to his house for Shogatsu, invited them over for Christmas, even for Thanksgiving.
Rock rode off when Hotaru waved at him and ran to her family car. She got in in the backseat and sighed. She realised that Gato wasn't in the car.
"Where's Niisama?" Hotaru asked, leaning towards her father.
"He's doing something at home," Mr. Futaba decided in saying. "Anyway, who was that boy on the bike?"
"Rock," Hotaru said. "Dad, you met him before, right? He even came for Shogatsu. We went to his house for Christmas, remember?"
"Oh, that boy," Mr. Futaba nodded. "He's your boyfriend, right?"
"Yeah," Hotaru smiled sheepishly. "He's a good guy."
'Forgot to invite this guy to the party,' Mr. Futaba thought.
Well, Gato already did. And he played the part in not telling Hotaru a word about her birthday. He was riding straight to her house, actually.

Rock let himself in and to his surprise, Gato was still decorating the living room, looking like the definition of mess. Strands of hair had long escaped his plait and were now all over is face. His clothes were soaked with sweat at many places.
"Whoa Niisama, are you okay?" Rock asked, much to his surprise.
"Since when did I become your brother?" Gato asked, shoving a lock of hair away from his face. "Also where's Hotaru?"
"On her way, I think," Rock said, picking up a fallen balloon and handing it to Gato. "I saw her get in the car."
Just then, the sound of a car engine could be heard.
"I think they're here," Gato said, jumping off the sofa. "Rock, can you go get the cake? It's in the fridge."
Rock nodded and rushed off to the kitchen to get it. Gato took the time to try and re-plait his hair. As he was nearing the end, Hotaru walked in, and stared at the decorated room in surprise. He quickly stood up and grinned, holding onto the end of his plait, not wanting it to unravel.
Well, his grin looked a little strange, considering it looked more sinister than he wanted it to. Hotaru just stared, her mouth agape.
Then Rock made his grand entrance, holding a large chocolate cake with seventeen lit candles. He grinned when he caught sight of Hotaru.
"Happy Birthday, Hotaru!" Rock greeted. Hotaru still stood, rooted to the ground.
"Niisama, what's going on?" Hotaru asked, shocked. For starters, he was still a mess, and his hair was half-tied. Then Rock appeared out of nowhere, and the room was decorated with balloons. And then as a cherry on top, her father suddenly put a tiara on her head. "Did you guys plan all of this?"
"Yep!" Gato said, securing his plait. "It's your birthday! We didn't forget."
"Yeah, and I came too!" Rock said, putting the cake on the coffee table before rushing out to his bike in the porch. He opened the seat, and took out a box wrapped in blue paper, with a red bow on top. He came back and handed it to her. "I got you this."
"And we got you this," Gato said, producing the dress he got for her. "Go change."
Hotaru scratched her head and took the two things before going to her room. She opened Rock's gift, and turns out, it was a pair of black platform shoes. She wore them both, untied her pigtails and tied her hair in a low ponytail before leaving the room. The three men sang her Happy Birthday before giving her more gifts.
"I can't believe you guys actually planned this behind my back," Hotaru said in surprise. "Niisama, when did you prepare all of this?"
"While you were at school," Gato said, still wearing his home t-shirt. "Yeah, I did this by myself."
"And you didn't bother to even change?" Hotaru smirked, pointing at his attire. It was only now that he noticed it. He excused himself and went to his room to change. "Seriously, this is one of the funniest birthdays ever."
Hotaru really enjoyed the birthday. The lunch that Mr. Futaba ordered had arrived too, and Rock joined them for lunch.
And then Hotaru received a mass of text messages from her friends. Turns out, Rock told everyone to not wish Hotaru a Happy Birthday, in order to not ruin the surprise. Not even by text. They only did that night, since Rock told them that the party was directly after school. They wished her the next day instead.

Phew another birthday down! But there's still, a few more birthdays in May, like May Lee, Li Xiang Fei, and Gato. Yep, both siblings are May babies lol. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed!