Chapter 5: — "Cupcakes, Cameras and Chaos!" — (Season 1 Episode 3)

“WHAAATTT?!” Riku yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice filling the entire house.

“You heard me right,” Mika said with a huge grin. “Sakura and Miyuki are coming over today. EEEPPP!” she squealed like a squirrel.

“How could you invite them WITHOUT EVEN TALKING TO ME FIRST?” he yelled again, this time a bit quieter.

“I figured you’d be okay with it,” Mika said calmly. “I didn’t expect you to be so grumpy and mad.”

“WHAT DO YOU EXPECT? YOU INVITE PEOPLE TO MY HOUSE WITHOUT ASKING ME!” Riku yelled, even louder.

“Sorry...” Mika muttered.

Riku took a deep breath and tried to calm down, resisting the urge to snap.

“Yeah. Sorry, like always. You already told them. There’s no going back,” he said, clearly annoyed by the whole situation.

Mika didn’t say anything. She sat there, staring into the distance.

After a few seconds of silence, Riku decided to speak up.

“So how long will they be staying here?” he asked, finally calm.

Mika grinned happily. “Well, we planned for them to spend the night here, hehe...”

Riku instantly froze and glared. “W-What?”

Mika’s grin widened, too excited to hide it.

“You heard me!” she chirped. “Isn’t it just excit—”

“NO, IT’S NOT!!” he yelled, unable to control his anger.

“SPENDING THE NIGHT?! MIKA, WHAT THE ACTUAL F*CK IS WRONG WITH YOU? IS YOUR BRAIN FRIED? IS YOUR— AHHHHHHHHH!”

He managed to settle down again, but the frustration still boiled beneath the surface. Mika glanced at him with a guilty expression. That only made him angrier, but he didn’t yell.

“Where are they gonna sleep, huh?” he asked, annoyed. “Where?”

“We’ll, uhh... uhm...”

“Exactly!” he snapped, cutting her off.

“We can just share my bed. We’ll all fit,” Mika said nervously but calmly.

“Not my problem,” Riku said coldly.
“If any of you girls touch my collection shelf, I swear to God I’ll—”

The doorbell rang, cutting him off.

“EEEPP! IT MUST BE THEM! YAY!” Mika squealed and rushed to the door.

She swung it open. As soon as she did, Miyuki struck a dramatic pose.

“Mika! The Nakayoshi Trio is BACK!” she declared.

Mika burst into laughter. “Did you seriously just come up with a name for us now?”

“Oh, you have no idea,” Sakura added. “She’s been struggling to name our group for weeks.”

“The Naka-chaaannnnn Trio is back!” Miyuki shouted with a grin.

They all burst out laughing.

“I CAN’T WAIT FOR THIS SLEEPOVER, NAKA-CHAAANNNN! EEEPP!” Mika squealed.

Meanwhile, Riku sat on the couch, watching them with a weird mix of annoyance and... jealousy?

“It’s not that deep, Mika. Stop squealing like a little girl,” he muttered, both annoyed and low-key bitter.

“I have a whole to-do list for today!” Mika announced proudly.

“Oh really? What’s the first activity?” Sakura asked.

Little did they know, barely a minute later they’d all be in the kitchen—wearing aprons.

“Mika... what are we doing?” Miyuki asked, eyeing the bowl on the counter.

“Yeah... what is this?” Sakura added, confused.

“We’re baking CUPCAKES!” Mika said with a huge grin.

The girls looked at each other, then burst out laughing.

“Cupcakes? Really?” Sakura asked, smiling.

“Yes! I thought it’d be fun!” Mika said, practically bouncing.

She pulled out a big mixing bowl and started handing out utensils. Riku, still on the couch, watched silently.

Miyuki grabbed the flour bag and shook it like a pro. “I haven’t baked in forever. This’ll be fun!”

“Same!” Sakura said. “Let’s make the best cupcakes ever.”

“Okay! First, we mix the flour, sugar, and eggs,” Mika instructed, passing out ingredients.

As they started mixing, flour puffed into the air, coating everything in a white mist.

“Hey! Watch it with the flour!” Mika laughed as Sakura sneezed.

“Sorry!” Sakura giggled.

“Now for the fun part!” Mika said, pulling out sprinkles and icing tubes.

They took turns decorating the cupcakes, aiming for “cute” but ending up somewhere between “chaotic” and “creative.”

“Look at mine!” Miyuki said proudly, showing off a cupcake topped with a tiny pink heart.

“Not bad,” Sakura said. “But check out this swirl.”

“I call this one the ‘Naka-Chan Special!’” Mika laughed, holding hers up.

They took photos, giggling at the mess on their aprons and faces.

Mika smiled. “This is going to be our best weekend ever.”

The room buzzed with chatter, laughter, and the smell of sugar and vanilla.

As the cupcakes baked, Sakura grabbed her phone.

“Okay, selfie time!”

“Oh yes, we need to document this moment,” Miyuki added.

Mika slid between them. “Let me fix my bangs—okay, go!”

Click.
Click.
Click.

Silly faces. Peace signs. Giant grins.

“Now do a crazy one!” Sakura said.

Miyuki stuck out her tongue. “This one’s going on my story!”

“You better tag me!” Mika laughed.

Then — ding!

The oven timer went off.

Mika rushed to take the tray out. “They’re perfect!”

Steam curled off golden cupcakes.

“Take a pic before we eat them!” Miyuki said.

Sakura snapped photos. “These are going straight to my feed. Hashtag Naka-Chan Bakery.”

“I love that,” Mika said. “We should open one someday.”

“Totally. Cupcake queens forever,” Miyuki grinned.

They high-fived and kept snapping photos of their sugary masterpieces.

Eventually, the girls sat around the low table, each with two cupcakes.

“These smell soooo good,” Miyuki said, holding hers like treasure.

“I call this one!” Sakura snatched the one with extra sprinkles.

Mika glanced at the couch. Riku sat there with his arms crossed, pretending not to watch.

“Hey, Riku! Come eat with us!” she called, grinning.

He raised an eyebrow. “Nah. I’m good.”

“Oh, come on. You helped buy the ingredients, remember?” she said, holding a plate toward him.

“You act like that was on purpose.”

Miyuki giggled. “Come on, Rikuuu. One cupcake won’t kill you.”

Sakura waved him over. “Don’t make us drag you.”

Riku sighed and stood up.

“I’m only sitting for a bit. Don’t make it weird,” he grumbled, grabbing the plate and sitting at the table’s edge.

“Sure, sure. Not weird at all,” Mika teased.

Riku took a bite, then tried very hard not to smile.

“…Not bad,” he mumbled.

“He likes it,” Miyuki whispered to Sakura.

“Totally,” she whispered back.

“So, Riku,” Miyuki said, leaning in with a playful smile. “You always this quiet? Or are we just that intimidating?”

“I just don’t talk for no reason,” he muttered.

“Oooh, mysterious,” Sakura grinned.

“He’s always like this,” Mika said. “Cold and moody, but not that bad once you get used to him.”

“Thanks, I guess,” Riku muttered.

“I bet he’s secretly sweet,” Miyuki said. “Just hides it under a big grumpy hoodie.”

“I heard that,” Riku replied, reaching for another cupcake.

“What do you like to do?” Sakura asked. “Any hobbies?”

He hesitated. “…Stuff.”

Mika groaned. “You’re so bad at this.”

“What? You want a PowerPoint or something?”

“Come on,” Miyuki said. “Favorite game? Movie? Something?”

“I like classic video games, fixing stuff, and... I dunno. Being left alone.”

“You fix stuff?” Sakura asked.

“Yeah. Broken electronics, old gadgets. Kinda a hobby.”

“Cool,” Miyuki said. “Maybe you can fix my old camera?”

“No promises,” he said, tone softening just a bit.

The girls exchanged amused looks. Riku was trying hard not to sound nice, and failing.

Mika smiled. Even if he was awkward, he stayed. He talked. That was enough.

“So... do you have a crush on anyone?” Sakura asked suddenly.

Riku nearly choked on his cupcake.

“W-What?!”

“Ooooh, that’s a yes!” Miyuki squealed.

“I didn’t say anything!” he barked, eyes darting away from Mika.

Mika raised an eyebrow but said nothing—though her cheeks turned a bit pink.

Sakura and Miyuki exchanged knowing looks but let it drop.

“For now,” Sakura said with a wink.

“Yeah. We’re not done with you yet, mystery boy,” Miyuki added.

Riku groaned. “Why did I even sit here…”

“Because you secretly like hanging out with us,” Mika grinned.

He didn’t reply.

After a while, Riku stood and brushed cupcake crumbs off his hoodie.

“I’m done. Gonna go wash my hands,” he mumbled, heading to the bathroom.

As soon as he was gone, Sakura leaned in.

“Oh my gooood~ Look at those red cheeks.”

Miyuki giggled. “She’s blushing again.”

“I’m not!” Mika whispered, turning away.

“You totally are. You told us last week at the restaurant,” Sakura smirked.

“Mika’s got a cruuuush~” Miyuki sang.

“Can you not?” Mika hissed, face now fully red.

“We’re just being supportive besties,” Sakura teased.

“More like annoying,” Mika muttered, puffing her cheeks.

They giggled just as Riku’s footsteps returned.

Mika sat up straight, playing it cool, but her face said it all.

Riku reentered, drying his hands. “Alright, girls. It’s getting late. Time to wrap up and head to bed.”

Mika slumped dramatically. “Whaaat? Already? But I had a whole list! Karaoke, card games, silly challenges—!”

“You did cupcakes. That’s already enough,” Riku cut in.

“But I wrote it in glitter pen!” Mika said, waving her tiny notebook.

“You can finish it tomorrow. It’s almost midnight.”

“Ughhh... fine,” she muttered.

The girls laughed and started packing up.

Later that night, they were in Mika’s room in their pajamas. Sakura wore a bunny hoodie, Miyuki had fluffy pink shorts, and Mika curled up in her oversized cat-print shirt.

The nightlight cast a soft glow as they lay side by side, whispering.

“Today was so fun,” Miyuki whispered.

“I’m still full from those cupcakes,” Sakura added, patting her stomach.

“Same. I’m glad you both came,” Mika said softly.

“Goodnight, girls,” she whispered.

“Goodnight,” Sakura and Miyuki replied.

A beat of silence.

“…I should probably warn you guys… I sometimes fart in my sleep,” Mika mumbled.

“…Ew.” Sakura’s voice broke the silence.

“Seriously?” Miyuki said, half-laughing, half-grossed out.

“Just a heads up…” Mika giggled.