Orin chuckled softly. It had become a tradition by now—his big sister never showed up for his birthday parties, though she always made sure to meet him for a private family dinner on the actual day. And somehow, Brina had ended up inheriting her piece of cake every single year.
"Mmm, sooo gooood!!" Brina moaned in delight as she gobbled down the piece the moment Orin brought it to her lips. "Now my cake!" she demanded, eyeing the other piece in his hand impatiently.
"Yes, yes, no one's going to steal your cake," he said with a helpless smile, handing it over. The second piece vanished from his fingers in an instant.
"Waaahhh! It's melting in my mouth!" Brina said, rubbing her puffed up cheeks in delight like a satisfied Munchlax.
"You could have eaten it a bit slower, you know," Orin sighed, reaching for a tissue to gently wipe the crumbs off her face.
"Hehe, now I will give you your cake, Niichan!" Brina declared proudly, grabbing the knife. She proceeded to cut a slice—though it was easily twice the size of a normal piece.
"You can just cut that in half…" Orin said with a wry smile as she ignored him, picking up the oversized slice with both hands.
"Get down please, Oniichan," she ordered, motioning for him to kneel.
Chuckling, Orin got down on one knee and opened his mouth—only for Brina to lodge a fistful of cake into it. He quickly took the piece from her hand to avoid choking and started chewing carefully.
He finally swallowed and took a deep breath. "It's delicious," he said with a smile, giving Kyle a thumbs up.
Kyle returned the gesture proudly—it really was a great cake, even if Orin would have preferred to enjoy it at a more reasonable pace.
"Happy Birthday in Advance, Onii-chan!" Brina beamed, her face glowing with joy.
"Thank you," Orin replied with a wide smile. She looked absolutely adorable right now, and he was grateful Mimi's camera was still floating in place, recording everything. He would definitely be pulling screenshots from the video later.
"Now it's Mimi's turn," Orin said with a smile as he cut another piece of cake. Both Kaddi and Mimi had been with him since he was a child—they had practically raised him. So naturally, they came first in the order, even ahead of his close friends.
He turned to offer the piece to Mimi, who stood perfectly still with a sweet, serene smile. But just as he was about to feed her, he paused, then reached out and tapped a finger toward her face—only for it to halt mid-air against an invisible barrier.
"Really, Mimi? You do this every time," Orin said with a shake of his head, feeling the familiar shimmer of her playful trick.
"Mime Mime~" Mimi giggled innocently, dispelling the barrier with a wink.
Orin chuckled and fed her the cake. She happily took the bite, gave him a big thumbs-up, and patted her belly in satisfaction. Then, with a mischievous grin, she mimed slicing a nonexistent piece from the already eaten part of the cake and held out an imaginary slice for him.
He rolled his eyes but played along, opening his mouth to receive it.
Right before it reached his lips, a real piece of cake suddenly materialized in her hand—cut and floated over by a psychic knife—and she stuffed it into his mouth with surprising speed.
"Mime Mime Mime!" she laughed loudly at his stunned expression.
"Good one, Mimi! She really got you!" Duplica burst out laughing, nearly doubling over. "This one is definitely going on the PokéNet!" she said, wiping away tears of laughter.
Even Brina, Terri, and Kyle were laughing heartily. Orin even caught a rare, amused twitch of a smile on Kaddi's face.
"Very funny," Orin said, chuckling despite himself.
Mimi bowed deeply to everyone, clearly proud of her performance.
Shaking his head, Orin cut another slice and turned to Kaddi, who accepted the offering with his usual stoic grace.
"Kadabra," Kaddi nodded, his voice calm but pleased. With a wave of his silver spoon, another piece floated gently to Orin.
"Thank you, Kaddi," Orin said warmly, taking the piece and eating it.
"Now who will be next, Orin? Terri or Me?" Duplica asked with a wide smile.
"Don't you start again," Terri muttered, glancing at her with a narrowed look.
As Orin cut into the cake, he could feel both girls staring at his back with intensity. It happened every year—like clockwork—both of them wanted to see who he would give the cake first and it had become something of a headache for him.
So, just like always, he preemptively cut two pieces and brought them over. "Thank you both for the amazing surprise party," he said with a bright smile, doing his best to ignore their synchronized stares. "My arms are going to cramp if you don't take these soon," he added with a wry smile, holding the slices out in front of their faces.
"You always do this," Duplica pouted, but she took the cake and ate it anyway.
Terri accepted her piece silently, eating it with a sigh.
"Now it's our turn," Duplica said, shooting Terri a playful wink. Terri nodded back as they both walked towards the cake and cut themselves a slice.
"By the way," Terri said, walking back toward him with her piece, "this isn't just a birthday party."
"It's also a congratulations party," Duplica chimed in cheerfully, "for getting into Nexus Academy."
"And a going-away party," Terri added as they came to stand in front of him.
"An all-in-one celebration," Duplica finished with a grin.
"So open your mouth," they both said in unison. Duplica even mimicked Terri's voice, which earned her a side-eye and an eye-roll from the real Terri.
"Alright, alright," Orin said with a resigned smile, already suspecting what was coming.
Sure enough, they both leaned in and shoved their cake slices into his mouth at the same time.
Thankfully, it wasn't as overwhelming as Brina's earlier "fistful" slice, so he managed to chew it down with some trouble.
"Th-aank you, girlsss," he mumbled through full cheeks of cake, looking like a Skwovet with its ever-stuffed face.
As he looked up, he noticed the two girls still eyeing each other with unreadable expressions. Duplica gave another sly wink, and Terri, after a brief pause, nodded subtly.
The next second, Orin found himself being hugged from both sides. On his right, he felt Terri's fit body, her sizable breasts pressing firmly against him. On his left, Duplica's softer, curvier form leaned into him, her assets also snug against his chest.
"Wow!" he blurted out, his hands instinctively resting on both of their slim waists. Terri's waist was tight and toned, while Duplica's was soft yet still trim and fit.
Suddenly, he felt kisses land on both his cheeks—one from each girl, perfectly timed.
"Ahh, this is so embarrassing. I shouldn't have agreed to Duplica's plan!"
"Hehe, now he will definitely remember us—even if he doesn't see us for months."
He heard both Terri and Duplica's thoughts, the brief skin contact allowing him to catch their surface emotions. A warm smile spread across his face, as his heart pounded with joy. It felt like he had just won the lottery.
"Woah!" Kyle gasped, wide-eyed at the sight. Brina, however, was still focused on the cake, entirely unfazed. Mimi was miming little hearts and exaggerated swoons, while Kaddi stood with eyes closed, ever serene.
"That was definitely a great birthday present," Orin said with a huge grin, still holding both girls close even after the kisses ended.
"T-this was just the going-away present," Terri stammered, wriggling slightly in his arms. "Don't make a big deal out of it," she added, cheeks flushed and eyes averted.
"Yes, just a little extra dessert after the cake," Duplica said with a wink—though her own face was blushing too.
"Okay, okay, it's over now. But don't you dare bring it up again," Terri muttered, trying to pull out of his hold.
"Well... too late for that," Duplica said with a wry smile, pointing at a floating mobile phone nearby, its camera clearly recording.
"WHAT?!" Terri shouted, immediately jumping away from him, her face now a deeper shade of red.
Meanwhile, you subtly gave Mimi a hidden thumbs-up. She grinned mischievously and returned it just as slyly.
Orin let go of Duplica's waist with some reluctance—no need to stoke any more jealousy in Terri.
"Happy birthday, Orin," Duplica said, looking up at him with a bright smile, holding some baloons in her hand. She looked radiant in her red tank top with a star emblem in the center, her adorable green twin-tails bouncing lightly as she moved.
"Thank you, Duplica," he replied with a warm smile—she looked especially pleased that he hadn't used her usual nickname.
"Ah—yes! Happy birthday, Orin," Terri quickly added, also smiling brightly. She looked beautiful as well, her pink tank top highlighting her toned abs and fair shoulders. Her reddish-brown hair had also been styled into twin-tails, matching Duplica's.
"Thank you, Terri," Orin said, grinning as both girls beamed at him.
"Ah, Kyle's still left," Orin said suddenly, seizing the chance to shift the focus and escape the slightly awkward tension.
"Uh, right," Kyle replied, clearing his throat awkwardly.
"Here, man," Orin said, handing him a piece of cake.
"Well, it's definitely tasty," Kyle remarked after taking a bite. Then, cutting another piece, he added with a smirk, "You're not expecting a kiss from me too, are you?"
Orin rolled his eyes and took a bite of the cake.
"Happy birthday, bro," Kyle said with a grin. "If you weren't in such a hurry, I was planning to bring an extra cake just to smash it in your face."
"Thanks for not bringing that," Orin said with a chuckle, remembering Kyle's last birthday where he had cracked eggs on the birthday boy's face. Luckily, thanks to his early flight, he had been spared from Kyle's usual brand of revenge.
"Okay, you guys can eat the cake now—you don't have to wait for me to cut it for you," Orin said with a smile.
"Ah! Me, me! I want it!" Brina shouted, raising her hand eagerly.
"Alright, but let the others have some too," he said, rolling his eyes. He had noticed how intensely she had been eyeing the cake every time someone sliced it. And it's not like he didn't bring her cake regularly—yet she got like this every single time.
Mimi took charge and neatly cut the rest of the cake into equal portions. In the end, though, Orin's friends just let Brina have all the remaining slices. She ate with such relish that she didn't even try to hide how little she cared about sharing.
Meanwhile, Orin was finally getting to eat his breakfast. With Brina distracted by the cake, she couldn't stop him from enjoying the strawberry jam sandwich.
"So, how are you getting to the airport?" Terri asked, joining him at the table along with the others for breakfast under his insistence.
"I was thinking of booking a taxi through PokeCab. It's probably the fastest option, though I still haven't made an account yet," Orin said, pulling out his phone. He had expected to be running a bit late thanks to his friends, but now it was already 4:50 and he needed to reach the airport by 5:30.
"Oh, let me book it for you—I already have an account," Kyle offered quickly, taking his own phone out.
"Cool, thanks," Orin said with a grateful nod.
"So, tell us—how did you manage to pass the interview of the Terrifying Sabrina yesterday?" Duplica asked curiously.
"Yeah, you weren't even picking up our calls, what happened?" Terri added, her tone more serious.
Orin gave them a wry smile and shared a brief summary of the events, carefully leaving out most of the details involving his big sister. He especially didn't feel comfortable talking about their deal yet.
"It's surprising that the scary lady let you go that easily," Duplica said suspiciously.
"Even I am shocked," Terri agreed with a nod.
"I told you girls, his sister was always going to pass him," Kyle said confidently, smirking while the girls stared at him in disbelief.
"Ah—did you guys know the one who crushed that Joey fellow yesterday was Kaddi here all along?" Orin interjected, changing the subject swiftly.
The surprise reveal worked. His friends instantly turned to Kaddi, bombarding him with questions while he stoically accepted their praise with closed eyes and a small nod.