Tifa & Yuffie

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Sai promptly shoved his brother sideways in a scolding manner. "I keep telling you to be more polite, Lan!" he remarked, poking his tongue out at the boy, who just rolled his eyes in response. Saito then turned back to the screen. "not that you WOULD do that, either way, Laika...after all that would start a war, and we really don't need another one after the world's FINALLY settled." he remarked with a slight smirk, before his expression turned question. "but could you really, anyway? I didn't think any countries kept that sort of weaponary on standby BECAUSE there isn't a war going on..." he remarked, seeming a bit confused or perhaps even concerned.

[Tifa Lockhart]

There was the flash of something that might have been a half-formed smirk, before he grabbed the camera and angled it downwards. Laika was sitting at a console covered in all sorts of buttons. He pointed to one in particular... a large red lever.
"Right here," he explained as he lifted the camera back to his face. "That's all it would take."
He was amused by Saito's assumption that no country had weapons on standby during a peaceful time. "Sharo is a military Nation, Saito," he explained. "The likelihood of it ever being completely unarmed is very low."
Craftily, he didn't actually mention whether they were armed or not... he'd carefully evaded giving away any classified information.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan's expression turned somewhat wary, then, giving Laika an apologetic look. "you wouldn't REALLY bomb us though! right?" he grinned nervously, rubbing the back of his neck in an awkward manner. Sai mostly looked surprised, but also seemed thoughtful.
'now was that really the right button or is he bluffing...?' he mused to himself, contemplating the man's words. He seemed to decide it was either a bluff or he didn't have the authority to do that and let the subject go, then, turning to look at his twin. "regardless, Lan has no manners and I'll be sure to thump him later for being rude" he said, the twin in question saying something along the lines of "you wouldn't dare!" or something to that effect.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Laika just smirked and shook his head, glancing away from the camera - presumably at another screen.
"Well I had best be going, I have work to do," he said. "Enjoy the rest of your day."
With that he tipped his beret and then the feed went dead.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Sai had quickly waved farewell before Laika had hung up, he then turned back to everyone else, his twin following suit. "So, what now everyone?" The boy asked, seeming excited though he clearly had no idea what the large group had planned. Lan had paused briefly as his brother spoke before he had hop-skipped over to the table with the food on it. Of course he was more interested in the food...he was ALWAYS more interested in the food! Sai on the other hand was far more interested in socialising than easting.

Yai spoke up then, her loud voice over-powering anyone else who may have wanted to speak easily. "well the gifts of course! Silly! This room's getting cluttered with all these things so why not open them now so we can enjoy the party with plenty of room to walk in, right Glide?" she reasoned, flicking at a long golden plait in a manner that was so close to arrogant Sai wasn't sure he could simply call it a tidying action.
"I have to agree, miss Yai, it is looking rather crowded out there"[/i] The ever-polite voice of Glide sounded from the television, followed quickly by Roll's cheerful voice, a sing-song tone in her voice.
"you guys have no idea of how birthdays work! CAKE FIRST! Cake always comes before presents!"[/i] she argued, hopping excitedly on the spot with a bright smile on her face. "and then we all sing Happy Birthday!"[/i]
"I think that Lan and Sai should decide...it is their birthday after all, whatever they want to do" a soft, shy voice piped up from behind Higsby, the owner none other than Shuko, spoutman's operator. "What do you say, you two?" she asked, her soft smile brightening as she turned to the twins in question.
"I don't know, I've never done this before anyway! Lan, you pick" Sai reply, shrugging in a confused manner. He already knew Lan's response, though.
"CAKE! WE'RE DOING THE CAKE!" was the immediate reply, the younger twin bounding over to tackle his brother into an awkward, neck-bound hug. "Caaaaaake!"
"yes, okay, we get it Lan!" Sai replied, trying to tug Lan's arms away from his throat so he could breath. "you are choking me! I have to breathe too, you know!!" At that the orange-clad twin finally let his brother go, laughing excitedly. "geez Lan, you're going to kill me before we're 18 if you keep treating me like a ragdoll!" Saito coughed, giving his brother a somewhat affectionate shove, his smile suggesting he wasn't actually being serious.
"sorry! Maybe you need to learn how to breathe another way just in case!" Lan joked, laughing loudly. "like a frog! Breathe through your skin or something!" Saito pulled a somewhat awkward expression at that, clearly not too fond of the idea of being frog-like.
"Ewww! but frogs are all slimy!" he complained, grimacing. "as cool as they are I would never want to be one!" he argued, looking somewhat creeped out that Lan would even suggest such a thing. "you just need to learn not to strangle me every time you get excited over something!" Lan's only reply was a shrug and an amused grin.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Everyone gave an amused chuckle at the twin's antics. In the meantime Haruka vanished into the kitchen to fetch the cake she had baked earlier, arranging the candles on it before she lit them and brought it back out to where everyone was gathered.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan was grinning excitedly, whilst everyone began to chant the traditional song, of course poor Zero seemed rather lost, likely not knowing the song since he was from a time well before. When everyone was done singing and cheering, the twins worked together to blow out the 17 candles. It was hard to believe that the pair were 17, only one of them looked it and it wasn't the elder twin, surprisingly. Poor Sai still looked 14 thanks to his somewhat more child-like features. It was weird how the two could be identical twins and yet because of their personalities they could look so different at the same time.
Sai and Lan then had worked together to make the first cut, the former seeming a little disturbed at his brother's method of using a knife and attempting t get him to NOT flail his arms about excitedly when he was holding a large knife. Once the cake was cut the first time, Haruka took over and divided up the huge cake so that everyone got an equal piece. As to be expected it was a delicious cake and everyone seemed to enjoy it, Sai even convinced Zero to have some, charming the reploid into it with that sweet smile that almost nobody could resist. Both Lan and Sai had apologised to their navi friends that they couldn't have some too, but the group had responded saying they were happy just to see everyone enjoying themselves.
"NOW can we do the presents? I want to see Lan and Sai's faces when they unwrap their gifts already! I brought my camera and everything!" Yai had promptly spoken up, waggling her camera in front of everyone as if to prove she really did bring it, not that anyone hadn't noticed it as she'd been taking pictures the whole time, including a somewhat amusing one of Lan trying to steal his brother's cake caught at the perfect moment to capture an amusingly possessive and defiant look on the elder twin's face and the look of surprise and amusement on the younger just before he hit the floor attempting to climb over his brother's shoulders. Even Zero had snickered slightly at the moment, it was so amusing.

Everyone agreed with Yai at that moment and so the twins were now seated on the carpet in the living room, whilst Haruka handed them their first gift.

((you control Haruka ))

[Tifa Lockhart]

Haruka's eyes were filled with tears as she handed Saito his first gift. The woman he spent 15 long birthdays giving presents to one child when she knew in her heart there should have been two. Now she finally got her chance to give presents to her long lost son, and she intended to make it one to remember.
"I hope you like them," she said through her sniffles. "I worked hard on them and sewed them all myself."

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Sai thanked his mother cheerfully and insisted that she didn't need to cry over it all or she'd make him all teary, too, before he moved to carefully unwrap the gift. Inside he found a blue band with the Hikari family symbol (which was also his navi emblem) on the front, very similar to Lan's headband, and a pair of winter gloves, meticulously sewed and padded to perfection with his navi crest on the back. He smiled brightly and gave his mother a loving hug, thanking her again for the gifts and saying he'd make sure to wear the gloves during winter so he didn't get a cold.
"they're really well-made, I'm sure they'll last a long time!" he added, trying on one to see how it fit, rather liking the material they were made from, since it was quite soft and comfortable. Once he'd taken the glove back off and laid the pair down beside him, he began carefully tying the knot in his sash, which he tied around his upper left arm as an armband. It suited him far better that way than it would as a bandana. "yay! Now I have one of the family crests too!" he beamed, looking delighted to finally have one of his own, since everyone in the Hikari family wore something with the crest on it, even his mother, though hers was rarely seen. His father's was on his shirt and Lan's was his headband, it had been a tradition for several generations now.

[Tifa Lockhart]

((if you've made that list, please post it here for my reference))

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

((got it

Sai:
-Pendant: Yuichiro -gloves+armband: Haruka -Overboard+goggles: Chaud -Puppy!: Blues -Little bracelet (for good luck): Shuuko (how typical) -Armor program upgrade: Valeska -A book (probs history related): Maylu -Some video game: Dex -a fishing reel (also many laughs): Maysa (why wouldn't he? XD) -Various Dog-care items: Sal (after Blues obviously) -An antique of some kind from her store: Miyu -Some CD of one of Sai's fav bands: Luke -various kinds of netopian sweets and chocolates: Raoul (because we all know Sai is a sweet-tooth )

Lan:
An upgraded infa-red for his PET (Connects better to Mega's signal from further away): Yuichiro -(I don't know, what would she give him other than more food? XD): Haruka -A rare sword battle-chip: Chaud (well of course, he had a million of those things ) -a hand-made scarf: Shuuko -A custom-programed battlechip: Valeska -The newest issue of a comic he reads: Maylu -A bunch of battlechips that make a program advance (probably because he couldn't get it to work XD): Dex -a wood-tower battlechip: Sal (Lan never used many wood-element chips, he needs more XD) -a pair of nice cufflinks for when he graduates (he'd never get off his bum to get some anyway XD): Miyu -more comics: Luke -boxes and boxes of fish-crackers (Lan loved those things XD and I had no other ideas): Maysa -(something I have no idea): Raoul

Both:
A Goldfist battlechip: Higsby -An invitation to use her family's cruise liner: Yai -The latest PET OS: Jan and Helen (they saved up together) -A free flight in his chopper wherever they like: Charlie (he wasn't sure what to get them otherwise) -invitations and pre-paid transport tickets to his next fireworks display: Fyrefox -Recovery battlechips and various health-related items (and a letter of course): Jasmine -A pair of carved wooden statuettes and a letter demanding they visit soon for their rematch: Tamako -Matching hooded coats for winter: Miss Mari

Don't think I missed anyone...lemme know if you think I have))

[Tifa Lockhart]

After Haruka had finished informing Lan that his present was a coupon for a dinner at an all-you-can-eat buffet, Ryuichiro stepped forward. In one hand he held Lan's PET and in the other a small box.
"For you, Lan, I upgraded your PET with the latest infrared I've been developing. It allows communication at much longer distances."
He then turned to Saito and handed him the little box.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan seemed quite thrilled with his first two gifts, discussing with himself what he'd eat at the buffet before he inspected his PET infa-red, noting that it connected directly to Megaman's signal rather than through the port itself, so it would work as long as the wireless connection was in range.

When his father passed him a small box, Saito thanked him politely before he moved to open the little container. Cradled in protective padding was a large pendant of a crescent moon and a star, in silver and gold colouring. "Hey! That's like my one!" Lan suddenly exclaimed, fishing his pendant from under the collar of his vest, for his brother to see.
"yeah, but the colours are reversed" The other twin pointed out, carefully pulling the pendant from the box to look at it a bit closer. "a matching pair, just like the two of us, right?" he remarked, with a smile as he slipped the cord around his neck and clipped the necklace on.
"yeah! I guess that's why you got them, right Dad?" Lan agreed, turning to his father and putting an arm around his twin's shoulders, the other boy smiling and returning the gesture.

[Tifa Lockhart]

Ryuichiro smiled and nodded softly, before he took a step back.

"My turn," Chaud mused from the corner, wheeling his chair forward with a few short motions of his arms. "Could you grab it for me please, Luke?"

The blond boy nodded and moved to the table to grab a rather large present from the table, bringing it over to Chaud.

"Firstly..." he began, reaching into his pocket to produce a battle chip. "For you Lan... don't mess it up," he held it out for the boy to take.

[Yuffie Kisaragi]

Lan took the battlechip with a grin, the expression widening when he saw what it was: a Giga class, super rare battle chip, Delta Ray. Of course it was sword-type, that was just the way Chaud worked. "OH MY GOD! these are so rare! Awesome!" He showed it off to his brother first, who seemed quite excited too (probably since HE was the one who technically got to have all the fun with the chip, then to his father, bantering about how rare it was to find these and how it would make an awesome addition to his selection of battlechips. "THANKYOU! I would hug you, but you might kill me, so I won't do that" he laughed, carefully putting the battlechip in with the others in his chip-holder at his belt with his PET holster.
"be nice, Lan, Chaud wouldn't kill you, he'd have no-one to net battle if he did that!" Sai remarked, gently shoving his twin in a playful manner. "we all know he'd be bored to death without you around to pester him, right Chaud?" he laughed lightly, looking to the slightly older boy for his response.