Back on the Catastrophe, Senzo had put Andy down on a bench, and Yugiri sat on his lap with a happy expression on her face.
Between them, Momiji sat; all four of them were relaxing and waiting for everyone else to finish their preparations.
"Did you find something good, Yugiri?" Momiji inquired; she knew how important this day was for her.
And even though she had run away with Senzo and Andy, there should have been no issues with her procuring a gift.
"Yes!" she blurted out.
Senzo and Andy could only chuckle when they saw how energetic she was.
While all kinds of people were running around preparing for a grand occasion, Andy was absentmindedly staring at them as the words of Fujiko kept echoing through his head.
"Family, huh," he muttered, leaning his face on his hand, carefully observing everything that was going on around him.
Senzo had clearly heard what he said but decided to not bring it up; this was his own decision, and he would respect whichever one he took, even if that meant becoming enemies.
"What?" Momiji interrupted his thought process with a satisfied expression on her face.
"Well, you guys use that word a lot. Hyoubu used it too." Andy explained.
Momiji took a closer look at the newcomer as memories of how Hyoubu had saved her suddenly resurfaced.
"Everyone here, including myself, are all people the major saved. The major is trying to create a world where people like us can live in peace."
Andy was now staring at Momiji instead of observing everything going on around them, intently listening to another side compared to the story Babel had told him.
"We couldn't possibly express our gratitude enough."
Suddenly Yo appeared out of nowhere and interrupted their conversation.
"The ones who should be thanked are us. We're the ones who are sticking with him," he stated, casually leaning against the wall.
"..."
Andy just kept his mouth shut; no matter what he would have said, Yo would have found something wrong with it.
Momiji sighed and rolled her eyes.
"When are you going to give that a rest?" Before Yo could respond, someone with a large tray walked past them, and what they saw on it made them totally forget about their banter.
A massive cake with Hyoubu's face on it and the words "Happy Birthday"—a young girl was transporting the cake toward the deck of the ship where the party would be held.
"As expected of you, Patty! It came out amazing!" Momiji exclaimed.
"What the hell is this?" Andy mumbled, staring at the massive cake in front of him.
"Are you a little slow, newbie? It's a birthday cake, duh." Yo countered a blank expression on his face.
"I can see that much, but why is Hyoubu's face on it?"
"Because it's the old man's birthday!" Yo answered matter-of-factly."
"Huh!?" was the only thing that came out of Andy's mouth as his mouth hung wide open in shock.
But Yo didn't care and just continued his explanation.
"We're going to surprise him with a birthday party, you know?"
"It would have been pretty nice if anybody had notified me, you know!" Andy countered, glaring at everyone around him.
"Whoa, no one told you about it? That's sad!"
Then Andy turned toward Senzo, who was still sitting there without a care in the world; his eyes were closed, and he was leisurely patting Yugiri's head.
"Oi, Senzo! Did you know about this?" Andy demanded, glaring at Yo with eyes full of hatred.
"Of course I know; wasn't it quite obvious?" he casually replied without opening his eyes.
"..."
"Pffft!" Yo burst out laughing.
Momiji tried to hide her amusement, but she failed miserably.
Hyoubu, on the other hand, was quietly observing all this from the air with a smile on his face.
***
"Happy Birthday, Major!"
Hyoubu sat at a specially decorated table in the middle of the deck, surrounded by all the members of Pandra.
"Fufufu, I'm surprised. To throw a party like this for me... Thank you, everyone!" he stated, a massive smile on his face.
Then Magi walked up holding a small gift; it was beautifully wrapped, and Magi had a proud look on his face.
"Major, here."
Hyoubu opened it without standing on ceremony, and the moment he saw the book that was inside, he glanced at Magi with a raised eyebrow.
"Please learn how to become a proper leader by reading that book."
"Thank you, Magi. I understand your dissatisfaction well."
And while saying that With a smug look, he casually dropped the book on the ground.
"Then I'm next!" Momiji exclaimed. "You should try to change your image every now and then with these, Major."
She handed Hyoubu a bag full of flashy and sparkly clothes; from pants to T-shirts and even some underwear, they were all included.
"Thank you, Momiji. I'll put them away with care."
And just like that, he dropped all the clothes on the ground on top of the book.
Momiji could only glare hatefully at the major, pouting heavily.
"Here you go, old man. It's my turn now," Yo suddenly said, handing Hyoubu a bamboo sword handle.
This time, however, Hyoubu didn't even give him a reply as he just dropped it onto the other things he had dropped on the ground.
"I'm the only one who gets ignored!?" Yo shouted, glaring at the major.
Momiji and Magi just stood next to him with blank expressions on their faces.
Then Yugiri shyly approached the major while holding Senzo's sleeve, half hiding behind his leg with the small pocket in her hand.
But with everyone's encouragement, she took a deep breath and stepped forward, holding the small bag with both her hands and offering it to Hyoubu.
"Major... here," she barely managed to squeeze it out while her face turned bright red.
Hyoubu carefully accepted the package and slowly opened it, making sure he wouldn't damage its contents, and the moment he saw what was inside—a beautiful sakura-themed lucky charm—he looked back at Yugiri with a smile.
"Thank you, Yugiri. I'm really happy. I'll always treasure it!" he said while crouching down in front of her and gently patting her head.
After hearing that, Yugiri's earlier shyness disappeared as she had a massive smile on her face.
Andy and Senzo also couldn't help but smile at the beautiful moment.
"Okay, newbies, you're both up next!" Yo, suddenly said, grabbing Senzo and Andy's shoulders and hugging them close with a grin on his face.
"Eh, me? But I... you know... I didn't know today was his birthday..." Andy barely managed to say while stuttering.
He glanced at Senzo a couple times for help, but he was also holding a small bag.
"Huh?" was the only thing he could utter before Hyoubu interrupted him.
"Heh, you didn't know... then you can get down on your knees and apologize!" he said gleefully while pointing at the ground.
"..."
Andy was speechless, and everyone else seemed to be agreeing with this outrageous demand?!
"Oi, don't agree with him, you bastards!" he exclaimed, glaring at all of them.
But while he was actually contemplating getting on his knees, Momiji came to his rescue.
"Well, it can't be helped. We'll just wait for next year!"
"That's right, we'll let you off the hook for now," Yo added.
When Hyoubu heard those words, his earlier joy vanished instantly, and the scans he had taken resurfaced.
Next year's birthday, huh? he thought with a grim look on his face.
But Andy wasn't any different. As all kinds of scenarios played out in his head, he was fairly certain by that time he would have long since left this family.
Then Babel's explanation played once again in his mind.
A mass murderer, or the savior of espers. Just which one of these is the real Hyoubu?
He didn't have an answer right now, but he needed to figure out the answer as soon as possible.