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Urie woke up one day to an empty bed. It had been a few months since he and Ritsuka affirmed their love for each other and he chose to stay with her out of loyalty and love, but for the first time in ages, he found himself alone. Fearing that Ritsuka left him and he’d end up like his parents, he looked around frantically, until he saw a white paper butterfly. picking it up, he read the message written on it:
~
Urie,
I’ve prepared something special for you today. But I can’t have you looking now – in the meantime, I need you to find a set of paint and give it to Shiki – the paint should be in the green shopping bag on the drawer and I’ve asked him to meet you in the art room in school.
(P.S: there’s a sandwich inside as well. It’s for you, since there wouldn’t be enough time to have breakfast.)
Love,
Ritsuka
~
Noticing a green shopping bag on the drawer next to him, Urie peeked inside to check the contents. True enough, there was a set of paint in the bag – Ritsuka must have bought it the day before when they went to the mall on a date. And he had eavesdropped on her conversation with Shiki regarding colour mixing. Determined to find her and the surprise, he got himself dressed and brought the bag over to the school’s art room.
As though he was psychic, Shiki immediately slid up to Urie when the latter arrived in the art room. Removing the contents from the bag, Shiki walked up to his workstation, placed the bag on the floor, and passed Urie another paper butterfly, this time in purple:
~
Congratulations on your first task! Well, it was easy since it was placed next to you, but I won’t be that generous this time! Next, I’ll need you to head to the Third Library and find Mage. He’ll tell you what to do next.
-Ritsuka
~
“I’d hurry if I were you,” Shiki drawled. “She prepared this especially for you today, and you wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would you?” “Oh, right,” Urie replied. Turning his heels, Urie set of for the Library. Seeing him off, Shiki returned to his painting, wondering what to do next before he’d destroy it anyway.
Mage was lying idly on the couch when Urie arrived a few minutes later. “Your girl wants you to find a book. Something about a mermaid…?” Mage said without looking up. Urie froze. He knew that book – at one point in time, he and Ritsuka were sucked into the book and were made to act out its story. Eventually they both made it out, with Urie swearing never to touch it ever again.
((Somewhere, a sorrowful mermaid gave a small sneeze, scaring her companion – a clown who constantly went round in circles, and gave two certain creepy puppets some amusement.))
It was then when Mage looked up. Arching his eyebrows, he jabbed at the air and said, “Well, what are ya waitin’ for? We don’t really have much time. Besides, your next task is squashed in there somewhere.” Hearing this, Urie ran up to the shelves. He knew all too well where it was kept – with certain other ‘cursed’ storybooks that sucked him, Ritsuka, and the other boys in to extract their magic. They never really found out who did it – but when they do, the culprit would have hell to pay. Literally.
Locating the book, Urie nervously opened it, hoping that the magic within would have gone away. Fortunately, every trace of magic was gone, and the only thing that came out was a small, yellow paper butterfly. Urie picked it up, and read what was written on it:
~
You did it! While that experience was honestly quite scary, I truly enjoyed spending time with you in there. You made a really handsome mermaid ;)
Joking aside, I’ll need you to find Roen. If I remember, he’s usually in the park somewhere at this time of day. Either form, he likes the flowers there.
Your Special Butterfly,
Ritsuka
~
As soon as Urie dashed out of the Third Library, Mage snickered and got up. He had something to attend to, and he had done his part here. Time to head over to where Ritsuka was and give her a hand if she needed it.
“Roen, where are you? Ro-oen~?” Urie called out. The sun was really unforgiving today, even though it was currently still winter. While Urie looked around for the Pomeranian (or a blue-haired boy?), he saw an outdoor rink that was still going strong. Making a mental note to take Ritsuka there next time, he finally spotted a fluffy tail sticking out from the bushes. Gingerly, he pulled Roen in Pomeranian form out.
As if on cue, Roen turned into his human form, briefly scaring Urie. “Geez, you stupid dog! Stop doing that!” Urie snapped. Unfortunately for Urie, Roen was busy laughing at Urie’s surprised expression. That trick never grew old, no matter who he did it to. Taking some time to compose himself, Roen handed a grey paper butterfly to Urie.
~
Hooray! I knew you’d find him, well done! I need you to run an errand for me this time – help me get some strawberries and cream from the supermarket and bring them over to Lindo. Don’t worry – I’ve already told him not to spray Holy Water on you when you arrive. If he does anyway, I’ll deal with him later, no worries!
From,
Ritsuka
~
Roen bent over in front of Urie’s face and handed him some coupons. “I do believe there’s a sale today. I’d be quick if I were you.” Roen informed the Incubus. “Thanks, but seriously, don’t scare me like that ever again,” Urie replied, accepting the coupons. Chuckling to himself, Roen sent Urie off and teleported away in a puff of black smoke.
True enough, the supermarket was packed. Urie barely managed to get what Ritsuka needed and get out before he was squashed by several elderly ladies who were fighting amongst each other for cartons of milk at a discounted price. Urie solemnly swore under his breath to never go there again on his own. What was with humans and discounted pricing?
“Oh, it’s you,” Lindo commented as he answered the doorbell. He and Azuna were busy preparing some food when Urie arrived. Forcing himself not to get out the crucifix and Holy Water, he invited Urie in for a short lunch. When they were done, Urie handed the groceries over to Lindo, who gave him a red paper butterfly in return:
~
I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother. Lindo and Azuna genuinely forgot about those yesterday, so I am truly sorry to get you to get them. If you hurry now, you’ll be able to find Rem at his place. He’ll give you your next task. (It’s the last one, I swear!)
Your dearest,
Ritsuka
~
Thanking Lindo for the food (he had to admit, Lindo’s cooking was the best, even though his behaviour around Ritsuka was questionable at best), Urie went off, wondering what Rem needed from him. Lindo and Azuna could only shrug as they got back to work.
“Rem! My childhood best buddy! I heard from my special butterfly that you needed my help with something?” Urie squealed as he pounced on Rem. “Get off me,” Rem grumbled as he tried to convince Urie not to glomp him. Even if he was glad to see his closest friend, he wasn’t the type for sudden hugs. “Anyway, Mage and Shiki hid my shogi board again – I’ll need your help in finding it.” Hearing that, the two hunted around for Rem’s prized possession.
After a long while, the two devils eventually found the misplaced shogi board on top of Rem’s wardrobe. HOW it got there was a mystery, but alongside the shogi board was another paper butterfly in blue:
~
Congratulations! For the final part, I’ll need you to come over to the greenhouse. There’s no need to find anything this time, just bring yourself (and Rem). See you there!
With love,
Ritsuka
~
“Let’s go,” Rem chided. “She’s waiting for you.” Urie agreed, and they both set off for the greenhouse where Urie held his parties.
When they reached the greenhouse, the place was oddly dark. Urie felt hesitant on swinging the doors open, even though this was his usual hangout. At the encouragement of Rem, he opened the doors. As soon as Rem and Urie set foot into the greenhouse, the place suddenly lit up.
“HAPPY BIRTHDAY, URIE!”
Urie found himself welcomed with party poppers and a chorus of well-wishers. Standing in the middle was Ritsuka, dressed in a cute pink dress and holding a cake. Beside her was Shiki, Mage, Lindo, Azuna, Roen and every one of his butterflies, all bearing gifts for him. Turning to Rem, he found the future Arlond heir holding a gift of his own.
“I’m sorry to leave you so early and have you running all over town, but I hope you enjoyed the surprise!” Ritsuka chimed. Of course. It was his birthday. Because his family was so large and broken, no one in the Fuser family had time to celebrate his birthday. The only few times he acknowledged it was when he was with Rem, before he had to go for training. For the first time, he got to celebrate it with many people, and especially his beloved.
“Thank you, Ritsuka. You truly are my very special butterfly.”
And with that, Urie began to truly celebrate his birthday.