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[Komaeda does at least have the decency to hand this over in person, however awkward that might be. It's given at or around midnight baring interrupting any other activities that might be going on. What he hands over is a simple item warped in a cloth neatly. Sadly where Komaeda had the decency to hand it over in person, he does not have the decency to actually say Happy Birthday.

Whenever Hinata opens it he will find it is a book.

The book is heavily annotated with commentary and probing questions. Lines are underlined and theories voiced. Several of the comments are purposefully misleading, aimed to reach a different conclusion. It would be easy to assume he was just trying to make the story harder to solve, especially when it was obvious he was trying to get the story solved before the end pages. However, in those comments that mislead are the keys to the code he has embedded in the book. The code is a combination of underlined passages and his own commentary, generally what is needed is an unwritten answer.

Once uncovered, the encrypted message is a simple “Happy Birthday Hinata Hajime”

But it does not stop there. The encrypted message serves as a key to find another message. “I hope you enjoy this gift. Originally there was something I had wanted to tell you, but that doesn't matter anymore. I Hope that this New Year will bring a bright and fortunate future, and that you also have a bright and fortunate year.

“I'm not sure how old you will be, do you think we missed our coming of age ceremonies?”

But! That isn't all! Using the new message, and the book along with the previous message a new message is revealed!

“I worked really hard to make this interesting, so I hope you appreciate it. Though, if you find it annoying you can give it back. Just don't throw it away, that's a crime to do to a book. I suppose at this point I could reveal some sort of dark hidden secret, but, I don't have anymore. I am however sorry to have caused trouble. Please enjoy this story, I found it rather gripping myself.”

There are no further messages, however there are a lot of red herrings.]

[Hinata will accept the gift without opening it, because opening it immediately seems like it would be greedy and rude? He genuinely does seem surprised to receive a gift, though; hopefully the wide, honest smile is enough to sate Komaeda's worries to start?

He finishes the book in a matter of hours, solving the clues, circling the red herrings and drawing a little face next to them as if to say "really, you thought that would fool me?" But not just that, he responds to every comment as well, giving his own thought process as he works his way through the book and the other assorted codes.

Eventually, once finished, he comes to find Komaeda again with a smile.]

I've finished. This was really interesting, Komaeda... thanks.

[That's the highest praise he can offer, and he holds the book out for the other boy to take.]

I made some notes myself. I thought you might want to take a look.

[No hidden codes, though. Just his own commentary squeezed into the margins along with Komaeda's.]

[He's surprised to see Hinata relatively soon, though part of him knows he shouldn't be that surprised. Still, it's something that still takes some getting used to. He can't help but smile and feel happy though, and he takes the book back with two hands.]

Really? Was it fun?

[He had taken Dirks suggestion to heart, and had considered Hinata's knew talents as well. He hadn't been sure someone like him could really do much for that though. He had almost been certain that no matter what he tried it would just be too simple and easy and... boring. So he really is glad that Hinata seemed to like it. And though he hadn't been able to do what he originally had planned, it had been fun to make.]

I can't wait to see what you said.

It was a lot of fun. It was almost like reading it together. How long did it take you to put something like this together...?

[He shoves his own hands in his pockets after Komaeda takes the book back, still smiling. It had been a lot of fun, in the end. Even though he's still not crazy about reading murder mysteries of any kind... the idea had been solid.]

I got the idea a couple months ago. I had to look up different encryption methods as well, but I suppose it didn't take too long. I read the book four times to prepare though.

[But he read pretty fast, so maybe after learning the things he needed, a week or so?]

But, I had a lot of fun doing it. It was the first time I tried to make something for someone.

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