This is Just a Game...Right?

Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Birthday and Accident

I wake up the next day, August 20th, and rub my eyes sleepily, glancing at the time. It's already nine, and I yawn. I look over to see the sleeping bag already put away. So Rei's up. I head to the bathroom to get ready for the day. Afterwards, I tie my hair up in a loose ponytail and go to the living room, where I see no one there. I finally snap awake, and glance around worriedly.

"Keiji? Rei? Where are you guys?" I shout, frantically looking. After a brief moment, they both jump out from behind the couch, huge smiles on their faces.

"Happy sixteenth birthday, Lyrica!" They shout in unison, and I press my hands to my mouth in shock and happiness. They...remembered? Even I forgot!

"Guys..." I start, tearing up, moved beyond words. "Thank you...I can't believe you remembered..."

"Of course we did, Rica. And...here. My present to you, for your birthday." Rei smiles warmly, holding out a box wrapped in a silky blue paper. I take it gently from him, and unwrap it carefully, wanting not to rip open the beautiful wrapping. After I take off all of the paper, I open the box, gasping in surprise as I see what's inside. The first thing I see is a beautiful necklace, the pendant being a small crystalline fox, along with a small heart on the side. I start tearing up again, giving Rei a hug.

"It's...beautiful. I...don't even have any words to say...thank you." I say, and he smiles, gesturing towards the box.

"There's still more. Go ahead." He says, and I pull away, and look back at the box, where I see a sheet of paper. I pick it up curiously, and flip it over. It's...a drawing...an amazing one, too. It's a collage of different pictures, ranging from animals, to anime, to...scenes with Rei and I in it. I couldn't form any coherent words, just opening my mouth and closing it again. Rei laughs when he sees, and I blush and turn away.

"Hey, now. You still haven't gotten my gift. Don't go swooning over Rei's, mine's ten times better." Keiji puffs out his chest proudly, and gives Rei a glance, smirking. Rei groans and turns away, but he's still smiling. I can tell Kei's just teasing. I take the fairly large box from Kei, shake it gently, then set off to unwrap it. After all the wrapping is off, I open the box, and see a volleyball inside, and I gasp. It's the type of ball they use in tournaments, as well as the balls they use for practice in Haikyuu!! I give my brother a hug, thanking him over and over again. A little while after, I take the volleyball out of the box, and I see a smaller box inside. I open that one, and see a lot of pins inside. I dump them out gently, and flip them over, gasping when I see what they are. On the pins are pictures of characters from anime series I've enjoyed, as well as characters from Mystic Messenger. There are a lot of them, and I smile widely at my brother as I place them back into the box.

"Thank you...you guys are the best." I thank them once again, and after gathering all of the gifts, I head to my room to put them down. I walk outside, and see Keiji taking out a cake from the fridge.

"You shouldn't have! I don't need cake! The gifts you gave me were enough already!" I say, but they just shake their heads.

"What's a birthday without a cake? Come on, sit down. It's your birthday! Eat some cake!" They chorus, and I laugh and sit down, giving in. They move to stand behind me, and dim the lights as they light the candles. They sing happy birthday, and then I cut the cake into three equal slices, placing them on small plates and handing one each to Keiji and Rei. After I've given everyone their cakes, we start eating. The cake is a strawberry cake, my favorite, and I eat it happily. It's so sweet and it's a perfect food for my birthday. The tart and sweet taste of strawberries lingers on my tongue for a while, complimented by the sweetness of the frosting. After we're finished, I take the plate and wash them quickly in the sink. Afterwards, I thank the two once again, and head to my room, pulling out my phone. I click on the Mystic Messenger app, and start playing. Since today's the last day, I play the party end, and burst into tears of happiness as my phone flashes to a cutscene of Yoosung kissing my MC. A perfect way to end the party, both for the RFA and for my birthday. Rei pokes his head curiously into my room, and then his face turns to one of horror as he sees me crying.

"RICA! What happened?! Who made you cry?!" He asks me frantically, and I wipe my tears away, smiling brightly.

"I'm not sad, Rei. I just got the best ending for Yoosung, and I'm overjoyed." I say, and he shakes his head.

"You are way too obsessed with that game. Oh! By the way, Keiji went out to meet some friends. He's coming back in an hour." Rei informs me, and I nod absently, focused on starting a new route. I spit out eighty hourglasses, and the stupid game finally allows me to do both 707 and Jumin's route. Then I see a notification from my best female friend, Misaki, and it's a video. I open the chat, and click on the link, which takes me to Youtube. The video is an animatic for my favorite ship, and the song is called "Satisfied". I turn up my volume and click play. The song starts, and Rei sits down next to me to listen.

"A toast to the groom! To the groom, to the groom! To the bride!" The person sings with a beautiful voice, and I find myself envying the silky tones of the song. The people harmonize perfectly, the music pleasing to the ears of any of those who listen.

"From your sister...who was always by your side. To your union...in the hopes that you provide. May you always...be satisfied!" My heart is melting at the words. I already know this is going to be one of my favorite songs. I keep listening, eyes glued to the screen.

"Then I turn and see my sister's face and she is...helpless. And I know...she is helpless. And her eyes...are just helpless. And I realize...three fundamental truths at the exact same time!" I can't help but cry at this part. Oh, the pains of having someone close to you love the same person as you. Towards the end of the video, I glance at Rei through my tear-stained vision, and through the blurs, I can barely make out his face. I wipe my eyes quickly, and see tears sliding down his face as well. After the song ends, I quickly download it. I glance at the time, noticing that forty-five minutes have passed already, and that Kei should be back soon. I hum to myself as I tape Rei's drawing to my wall, staring at it in admiration. I take the necklace, and put it on, smiling even wider, if that's possible. Rei notices me giving attention to his gifts, and he smiles.

"So. You like them, don't you?" He questions, and I nod.

"Of course! It was from you, after all." I reply, and set off to pin each of the pins that Kei gave me onto my purse. I stop as I take out the last one, which is a picture of the three of us, Keiji, Rei, and I. I smile softly, then proceed to pin it onto my bag. The volleyball I place on my bedside table. After all of this is done, I notice that it's ten minutes past six, which is ten minutes past the time Kei should've been back. I get a strange feeling that something bad happened, but I brush it off, deciding that I was just paranoid. Until I receive a phone call. I pick up, nervous.

"Hello?" An unfamiliar voice speaks, and I clear my throat.

"Yes, Lyrica Aoki speaking. Who is this?" I ask politely, and I hear mutters from the other end. Rei gives me a confused look.

"Ms. Aoki...I'm sorry. But I have some bad news." The voice continues mournfully.

"W-what is it?" I ask, voice cracking.

"Your brother got caught in an accident." The voice says. No...Keiji can't be...he's not...it's not possible...

"Keiji Aoki is dead."

Author's Note: A bit of angst in this chapter, so woohoo! More depressing events coming up! XD Have fun!