[Third Person Pov]
After all the presents had been opened, the birthday celebration lingered for a little while longer, the warmth of laughter and conversation still hanging in the air. Eventually, however, the group had no choice but to call it an evening as the hour grew late and everyone began to wind down from the excitement of the day.
The first among the guests to leave were Lois and Lucy.
"Looks like our dad is already here to pick us up," Lois sighed as she stared down at her phone. There was a hint of reluctance in her voice, as she hadn't expected to enjoy herself nearly as much as she did. She also hadn't expected to actually become friends with the girls at the party, but somehow she had, even going as far as exchanging numbers and adding them to her contacts.
Clark walked them out, accompanying them to the shrine entrance. When they arrived, Lois turned toward him and gave him an affectionate hug.
"Thank you for the invitation, it was a really fun experience," she said sincerely.
Clark stiffened for a brief moment, caught off guard by the gesture, before letting out a small sigh and awkwardly returning the hug. He wasn't usually the type to engage in that sort of thing.
"I wasn't the one to invite you, though," he replied dryly. "You seem to forget I was completely clueless about all of this."
Lois laughed lightly. "Haha, I guess you have a point. Well, thank your grandmother and sister for me then."
"It was nice meeting you, brother-in-law—" Lucy added with a mischievous grin, clearly unable to resist.
"Who are you calling your brother-in-law?!" Clark and Lois exclaimed at the exact same time.
Lucy broke into giggles at their synchronized reaction. "What a cute response."
Clark rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed, and after exchanging a few more farewells, the two sisters finally made their way out.
Not long after, the next to leave were the Nakano sisters.
"Our dad unfortunately doesn't like us staying out late, so we have to head back before it gets too dark," Ichika said with a small sigh, though there was a subtle disappointment in her tone as she glanced at Clark. She had clearly wanted to stay longer.
"Here," Clark said, handing them a couple of covered plates, prompting all three to look at him in confusion.
"What's this?" Nino asked, eyeing the plates suspiciously.
"For Itsuki and Yotsuba," Clark answered casually.
"Seriously?" Nino questioned, clearly surprised, as Clark didn't exactly strike her as the generous type.
Clark let out a quiet, almost sinister chuckle. "I want to make them feel bad for missing out, so I'm sending them this to rub it in a little."
The three sisters exchanged wary smiles at that.
As Ichika and Miku each took a plate, Nino suddenly spoke up again. "Actually, speaking of Itsuki… can I talk to you privately for a moment?"
"Why privately? We already know what you're going to ask him," Ichika said, giving Nino a curious look.
Miku remained silent, her gaze lowered as she held onto her plate.
"Ugh, whatever, fine," Nino muttered, rolling her eyes before turning back to Clark, her expression turning serious. "Since you're in Itsuki's class, do you know what's been bothering her?"
The shift in tone didn't go unnoticed. Clark's expression hardened slightly, a hint of apprehension flickering across his face.
Nino stepped forward, her voice firm. "If you know something, tell me."
"It's… not really my place to say," Clark replied, rubbing his eye in exasperation.
A flash of irritation crossed Nino's face. When it came to her sisters, she was easily the most protective.
"If someone is bothering or bullying my sister, I have the right to know, Clark," she said, her tone sharpening. "So don't try to keep this from me. She's barely come out of her room since Friday."
"No one's bullying her—" Clark paused mid-sentence, his thoughts briefly drifting to his own actions. "She's not being bullied or bothered. It's… something else."
"Why the pause?" Ichika asked, raising a brow.
"Ignore it."
"So you do know what's been bothering her, then," Nino pressed, narrowing her eyes.
"I… have my suspicions, yeah," Clark admitted honestly. Even if it irritated him, he respected Nino's persistence and concern when it came to her sister's well-being.
"So then—"
Clark raised a hand to stop her before she could continue, his expression firm but not unkind. "But like I said, it's not my place to say. If Itsuki hasn't told you, it's because she doesn't want you to know, and she wouldn't have appreciated me opening my mouth about it."
Nino scoffed with obvious disdain, crossing her arms as she shot him an irritated look. "Since when have you ever cared about the consideration of others?"
Clark rolled his eyes at that, clearly not in the mood to argue further. He turned around and reached for the door. "Walk home safely, you three. I would ask if you want me to walk you home, but I feel like I would be wasting my time since I can already guess the answer."
clank
The three of them blinked at the sound of the door closing in front of them, momentarily caught off guard. Miku and Ichika slowly turned their attention toward Nino, who stood in the middle with a tense posture.
Nino huffed in frustration before spinning on her heel and storming off without another word, her steps quick and sharp. Miku and Ichika exchanged a brief glance before hurrying after her.
"Well, that was a bit excessive, don't you think?" Ichika asked as she caught up, shaking her head lightly, as that was far from how she imagined the day ending.
"Shut it, you know I'm right. He knows what's wrong with Itsuki and yet he's not saying anything despite knowing how worried we are for her," Nino grumbled, her irritation still very much apparent.
"I can understand being upset, but basically calling him inconsiderate to his face, and on his birthday no less, is a bit too far, no? You agree with me on this, Miku, right?" Ichika glanced over at Miku for support, who in her opinion was the biggest Clark supporter out of the three of them.
Miku, however, didn't reply. Instead, she kept her gaze lowered to her feet as they walked, her silence unusually heavy.
"Urghh, I see what this is about now," Ichika groaned as she rolled her eyes, a look of realization crossing her face. "This isn't about Itsuki at all, you're just using her as an excuse."
"What the heck are you talking about? Of course this is about Itsuki. You think I'm not worried about her?" Nino shot back, narrowing her eyes at her.
"I'm not saying you're not, but you're still using her as an excuse. You're using the situation with Itsuki to vent your anger on him over the fact that he was intimate with another girl," Ichika said bluntly. She noticed Nino was about to snap back, but continued before she could, gesturing toward Miku. "Don't tell me I'm wrong. This one hasn't said a word since that whole fiasco came out."
Ichika then shifted her gaze back to Nino, her expression turning more serious. "And you, we all know about your fascination with Clark since we were little girls. He was basically your dream guy. So of course you're more than a little upset after finding out he might be hooking up with someone else."
Neither Nino nor Miku responded, but the looks on their faces told Ichika everything she needed to know.
Ichika let out a quiet breath before walking a few steps ahead of them, continuing without looking back. "If you ask me, the two of you are the ones being truly inconsiderate."
Both Nino and Miku looked ready to interject, but Ichika cut them off before they could get a word in. "For starters, it's the guy's birthday and you go and insult him to his face. Not to mention, and correct me if I'm wrong here, Clark doesn't owe either of you anything in terms of a relationship. You're not dating him and nothing has been made official, so him being with someone else quite literally has nothing to do with either of you."
She paused briefly before continuing, her tone firm but not harsh. "He was also right about Itsuki. If she hasn't told us, it's because she doesn't want us to know. I understand that you're hurt, but taking it out on him when he's been nothing but nice to us and hasn't done anything wrong? Who really is the inconsiderate one here?"
"Ichika…"
Ichika glanced over her shoulder when she heard Miku call her name, only to freeze when she saw the tears streaming down her face. Beside her, Nino wore a conflicted expression, guilt clearly settling in.
"Please stop talking."
Ichika sighed softly, her expression easing. "Hai, hai," she said as she complied without further argument, and the three of them continued the rest of the walk home in silence.
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