A Strange Ring of Comrades

A nervous sweat trickled down Ina's face as she realized the predicament she was in. She had overslept, and her final project for her art class was due tomorrow. And the worst part? Today was her birthday. She wished her assignment wasn't due right after her birthday, but she had to accept that time didn't stop just because you were born on a certain day a few years back. She forced all these nervous thoughts out of her mind and forced herself to concentrate on one thing: the project and its deadline. She glanced at her clock. 5:00 P.M. It was later than she had hoped but earlier than she had expected. She had really hoped to spend some time with her friends before her birthday came to a close, but this was far more important to her. Sticking her earbuds into her ears and flicking away at her phone, she turned on some lo-fi music. She then put on her glasses and beret, took a pencil, and began scribbling away at her canvas, creating a rough draft of her work.

Several beeps came from both her computer and her phone. She merely ignored them in favor of her work. 'Probably just something with Hololive ,' she shook her head.

...

After what felt like an eternity, Ina had finally finished her rough sketch.

'How's it look, AO-chan?' Ina sighed, stretching and slumping in her seat.

'I told you you should have done it earlier,' AO-chan groaned, 'But yeah. It's nice.'

Ina smiled and immediately took her set of brushes. She put a selection of paints on a palette and got ready for work.

...

Her brush strokes were calm and calculated. She didn't do very much abstract painting, but that didn't stop her from being lost in the creation of her painting. Although a lot of people brushed off the style for being confusing or effortless, she was always a believer that the style took quite a bit of artistic skill. Swishing her brush around in a light blue, she sighed as another beep came from her computer.

'You know, I've got a feeling those are important, Ina'nis,' AO-chan tried to get the attention of their vessel. Ina didn't so much as flinch at their words, however, choosing instead to continue painting. AO-chan let out a long-winded sigh.

'Alright, ignore me then. I'm just saying…'

The piece had finally been finished, and Ina groaned tiredly. She glanced at the clock. 1:00 A.M. She stretched and looked up towards the ceiling with slight disappointment. She really wanted to celebrate her birthday with her friends. Hungry and craving something sweet, she decided to go out to the store. Maybe she could find a leftover birthday cake. She put on a jacket and turned the knob to the door of her house. Funny enough, though, the door seemed to resist opening. Confused, she forced it open and saw that she had pushed five individually wrapped gifts with the door. Intrigued, she took them to her room and looked at them intently. In time though, she smiled and reached for one.

The first was a hastily-wrapped present with blue wrapping paper and a note saying "From: Gura!" with messy handwriting. She smiled and unwrapped the present. She found a large box filled with paints, blank canvases, and various brushes. Sifting through all the art supplies, she came across a small piece of paper, presumably a note. She took her glasses and gave it a read.

'a.'

Simply beautiful. Ina laughed and set the box aside. She then found herself looking at another hastily-wrapped gift, with a tag reading "Love - Kiara!". She opened the box and grinned. A beautiful purple beret with an almost velvet texture greeted her. She tried it on and it was a perfect fit. She grinned as she looked at herself in the mirror next to her bed, but she felt a small sheet of paper on her head. She took off her beret and found that the piece of paper was a letter from the phoenix.

'Stay beautiful, Ina!'

Ina blushed slightly at the comment but shook her head and then looked towards a smaller box neatly wrapped in black paper with "-M.C." written on with silver Sharpie. She unwrapped the gift and found a brand new recorder. She laughed and opened the box. Beholding the instrument, she, much to the dismay of her neighbors, began playing a few notes of Unravel. She laughed once again and found a small letter in the box.

'Let's do a rematch some time, yeah?'

She looked at the note with determination and put the recorder aside. She looked toward yet another neatly-wrapped, smaller gift, this one wrapped in yellow paper with a small tag reading "To: Ina, From: Watson". She unwrapped the gift and found a book. On its cover read the words "Detective Chronicles: Subject Cirrus". Confused, she took a look at the back of the book, which read "This book is a copy of detective extraordinaire Amelia Watson's second journal. It chronicles her adventures and interactions with Ninomae Ina'nis, priestess to the Ancient Ones, across multiple timelines.". This very much intrigued Ina, and she began to flip through the pages. She noticed a sticky note sticking out of the book, so she took it and began reading.

'This gift is a bit unconventional, but I think this is the best way to convey how much you mean to me. Love you, Ina ♡'

Ina's face flushed a deep red and she set the book down next to her nightstand. She also stuck the note to her mirror. Finally, she reached for a gift wrapped in complete white, with "-Enma" written on it in blue pen ink. She unwrapped it and found a box containing a delicious-looking strawberry cake with the words "Happy Birthday Ina" written on it with purple frosting. She noticed a message on the top of the box.

'Thanks for not being a pain in the ass.'

Ina chuckled. Just Enma being Enma. She put the cake in her fridge and she exhaled. Except this time she had the widest grin on her face. She went over to the computer and found that she had exactly 51 DMs. Skimming through them, her jaw dropped. Every member of both Hololive had sent her a message, from those she knew well, such as her genmates, and those she didn't know very well, such as the Holostars. She relished every message and let the moment seep into her brain, her happiness boundless.

There were those that cared about her, despite difficulties.

'You've got a strange ring of comrades, Ina'nis,' Ao-chan pointed out.

"Yeah," Ina nodded contently, "But they're the best ring of comrades I could ever ask for."