11/12 東雲彰人 🎉 Happy Birthday✨ Project Sekai

11/12 Shinonome Akito（東雲 彰人）Birthday Concert:https://youtu.be/AG0F2mLARsE?si=lgu7w0BqvfL1t4MH 💜💗💜💗💜 Story 💗💜💗💜💗 The Cake "Akito, close your eyes." Gakupo's voice was soft, yet it made Akito's shoulders relax without his noticing. "...I knew something was up." He grumbled, but obediently shut his eyes. In the darkness, the sound of rolling wheels drew closer, accompanied by soft footsteps. The audience had shifted from confusion to hushed laughter, and someone quietly let out a whistle. "Akito," Kohane said beside him, holding back a giggle, "no peeking, okay?" "I'm not peeking! I haven't even moved my eyelids!" "His eyelashes are trembling," An said, ruthlessly exposing him. "That's just a natural reaction!" The wheels stopped. Then came the faint sound of something being set down carefully. At center stage, a small round table draped in a black tablecloth had been rolled into place. Toya's footsteps approached from the side, steady and unhurried, just like his usual rhythm. "It's in place," Toya said quietly. "Lights," Gakupo said softly. A moment later, the stage lights rose slowly, not the dazzling neon from before, but a gentle orange, like the flicker of candlelight inside a jack-o'-lantern. "You can open them now, Akito." Akito opened his eyes. And then he froze. In the very center of the table sat a cake. It was a Halloween-themed cake, two tiers, its outer layer coated in deep purple mirror glaze that shimmered under the lights like a night sky. On the top tier, a plump jack-o'-lantern was piped in orange cream, its slightly crooked grin warmed by the candlelight. Spiderwebs were drawn in black chocolate along the sides, and a tiny icing bat "hung" from the corner of one web. The bottom tier was wrapped in a ring of black-and-white checkerboard fondant, just like the stage floor. Around the cake, a few mini marshmallow ghosts stood as if floating, and a small chocolate skull plaque was tucked in beside them. At the front, on a white chocolate plate, written in orange lettering, were the words: **Happy Birthday Akito** Seventeen candles circled the top, their flames swaying gently. "..." Akito's mouth hung open, his eyes wide, completely speechless. "...Hey." He finally managed a single word, his voice trembling. "Is this... is this for me?" "What else?" An said, grinning smugly. "Did you think we wheeled out a cake just to show it off?" "The pumpkin!" Akito suddenly shouted, lunging forward and slamming on the brakes at the last second, bending down until his face was nearly pressed against the cake. "This pumpkin has an expression! Spiderwebs... and a bat! Look, the bat's wings even have texture!" "Your eyes are shining like they're about to glow," Luka said with a soft laugh. "That's because this cake is just that awesome!" Akito pointed at it with one hand and waved the other in excitement. "And look at this checkerboard! It's exactly like our stage! Who made it? Who designed it? These ghost marshmallows are even three-dimensional!" The audience burst into laughter, and many raised their phones, the screens flickering like points of light in the dark. "It was Toya," Kohane said, raising her hand. Akito spun around. Toya stood by the table, hands folded in front of him, his expression as calm as ever. "The design was something we all discussed together. I handled finding the shop, confirming the details, and..." He paused. "...taste-testing." "Taste-testing?" "To ensure the flavor," Toya said with a straight face. "I tried three kinds in total." "Three times again?!" "This time it really was three." Akito stared for two seconds, then burst into a roar of laughter, his shoulders shaking. "You... do you have some kind of obsession with the word 'try'?!" "Quality confirmation is necessary." Gakupo stood to the side, hands folded, a faint smile on his lips. "To settle on this cake, Toya went to the dessert shop four times." "Gakupo, you didn't need to say that out loud." Toya turned his gaze slightly away. "Oh?" An immediately leaned in. "So you went four times?" "...It was to confirm the details." "Confirming details takes four trips?" Kohane blinked. "It does." "His ears are red," Luka said lazily. "They are not." Akito looked at Toya, the smile on his face slowly softening. He was silent for a moment, then reached up and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "...Hey, Aoyagi." "What is it?" "Thanks," he said quietly, his voice almost drowned out by the audience's cheers. "Really. I'm really happy." Toya looked at him, the corner of his mouth curving up, not the barely visible curve he usually wore, but a real, gentle smile. "You're welcome," he said. "If you're happy, it was worth it." "Hey, don't suddenly be so honest!" The tips of Akito's ears turned red again, and he turned to glare elsewhere. "You thanked me first." "That was an exception!" A warm wave of laughter drifted from the audience. Kohane cleared her throat and raised her hand. "Okay, okay, everyone! The candles are going to melt!" "Oh, right!" Akito snapped back to attention, crouched down, planted his hands on the edge of the table, and stared with sparkling eyes at the ring of flickering flames. "Time to make a wish, right? I get to make a wish, right?" "Yes," Luka said with a smile. "Make it a good one." "Can I say it out loud?" "No," Toya and An said in unison. "If you say it, it won't come true," Gakupo added gently. "Fine, fine..." Akito closed his eyes and pressed his hands together in front of his chest. The orange glow of the jack-o'-lantern lit his face, his eyelashes trembling softly in the light. The stage fell quiet, the entire venue holding its breath, leaving only the faint crackle of the candle flames. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes. "Done!" "What did you wish for?" Kohane asked curiously. "Not telling you!" "Stingy," An said, rolling her eyes. "That's the rule!" Akito took a deep breath, puffed out his cheeks, and amid the whole venue's countdown... "Three!" "Two!" "One!" ...he blew out the candles. The lights flared back on, and streamers and confetti burst from above the stage, specks of orange and purple light drifting down. The cheers nearly lifted the roof off the venue. "Akito! Happy birthday!" The six voices layered together, and this time, no one slacked off, and no one was off-key. Akito stood amid the falling confetti, looking at the cake before him, the friends beside him, and the glittering sea of light in the audience, smiling until the corners of his eyes grew wet. "...Thank you, everyone." He picked up the knife and turned back with a smile. "So, who wants to eat first?" "The birthday boy goes first," Toya said. "Nope," Akito said, cutting the first slice and placing it on a small plate, but instead of eating it himself, he held it out to the person beside him. "The first slice is yours." Toya froze. "...Mine?" "Because this cake is the one you made four trips for," Akito said with a grin. "And you tried three flavors, so you definitely know best which part is the tastiest. So, you go first." Toya looked at the plate, silent for a moment, then gently accepted it. "...Then I won't hold back." He scooped up a small bite with a fork and put it in his mouth. The whole audience was watching, and Akito stared nervously at his expression. "...Well?" Toya slowly swallowed and looked up, a faint smile at the corner of his mouth. "It's sweet," he said. "The sweetness is just right." "Great!" Akito beamed like a kid and turned to shout at the audience. "Everyone! This cake has Toya's guarantee!" "Akito," Toya said flatly, "that's my line." "I don't care!" Kohane laughed so hard she crouched down, An clapped Toya on the shoulder, Luka covered her mouth with a soft giggle, and Gakupo stood at the very back, quietly watching it all, his gaze full of warm contentment. The jack-o'-lanterns glowed steadily on either side of the stage, ribbons littered the black-and-white checkerboard floor, and orange-purple neon flowed slowly between the drifting confetti. It was Akito's seventeenth birthday, and the sweetest night of his life.