Hello once again, readers! It's been such a long while since I last updated. Horo's birthday is today so I've decided to write a birthday fic for him. This is also a birthday fic for my dearly beloved RoseblossomWarrior, since her birthday falls in November as well! 83 It's based before the Shaman Fight, back when Horo was still a kid and Damuko was still alive. Oh, and before you start on the fic, please allow me to explain; White Day is a holiday celebrated in both Japan and South Korea, if any of you are wondering. It's a day where males (who have received chocolates for Valentine's Day) are expected to return the favour by presenting even more expensive gifts to the girls (that gave them chocolates). Or they could just give them to any girl they like if they want. Also, I don't know about other countries, but in mine, we can literally see the kitchen in almost every candy store. xD Anyway, I hope all of you like it! (please excuse the horrible title xD), and I apologize for any mistakes!

P.S., some lyrics from Megumi's Northern Lights is in this fic. Try and find them if you can. xD

xx Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies xx

It was a Tuesday.

On regular Tuesdays, the sun would be high up in the sky, accompanied by huge, white fluffy clouds, and completing the skies would be the harlequin ducks, soaring the skies and showing off the magnificent vibrant colours of their feathers. It was near winter, and several water birds were already beginning to migrate to a much warmer environment, until the winter season was over. There would not be too many people on the streets; mostly students and working adults could be seen buzzing around as if there was no tomorrow. One could say it was like a daily routine.

However, this Tuesday was no ordinary Tuesday; the sun was brighter than usual, and the sky was a clear blue. Not a single cloud was in the sky; even the birds were nowhere to be seen. There were also more people out in the streets; all kinds of people from different age groups. Almost every store was open, and the streets were decorated with several banners the colours of white and brown. People were running around town, with giant cute hampers in their hands and their cheeks flushed. It was a day that could only be celebrated once a year, and so the citizens of Hokkaido tried as best as they could to make that Tuesday a very memorable day.

One person who was attempting that was none other than Usui Horokeu. He had been looking forward to this day for so many months. That day was very important to him, for it was the day when he would finally present some chocolates to a girl from his class.

With his arms crossed and cheeks puffed up, Horo had been eyeing the display window of the candy store for over twenty minutes. With barely any money left in his wallet, he was left to stand there and watch as more and more people began to purchase the jumbo candy pack. It was as if he was waiting for a miracle to happen, and somehow he would get the candy pack for free. Of course, that was impossible, and thus watching the happy customers leave the candy store with smiles on their faces and the candy packs in their hands was like torture to him. How unfair it was for other people to be happy when he was not.

Whether it was coincidence or not, Horo didn't care, but at that very moment, two males who seemed slightly older than him walked past, discussing about how they were going to spend their White Day;

"Why don't you just bake some cookies for her?"

"Are you kidding? My mother would kill me if I use her kitchen.."

"Then use the restaurants' or the cafés' kitchens! Since it's White Day, they're expecting people to come and borrow their kitchens - for free! You can bake some cookies using one of their kitchens."

While the two boys walked away and continued to discuss about kitchens and baking, a plan was already beginning to form in Horo's mind. All he needed was a kitchen, didn't he? And since he didn't have any money on him, it was best that he borrowed the kitchen of a bakery or a café, since they would already have the ingredients ready. Right! He was going to put in all of his effort into making some homemade peanut butter cookies!

Horo made his way to the nearest bakery, only to find that it was full of customers. When he requested for the permission to use their kitchen, he was turned down, for the kitchen was already booked by several other people who had come earlier. It was no big deal; there were still plenty of other bakeries and cafés in town, and one of them was bound to let him use their kitchen. It was still too early to give up!

So Horo made his way to the next nearest bakery, and then a café, and then another, and another bakery. Several hours passed and Horo found himself standing in front of the candy store again, empty-handed. Perhaps trying to find a kitchen where all the utensils and ingredients were provided was not a very easy task, and Horo had only himself to blame. If only he had been independent for the past several months, he would have the right amount of money to purchase even the jumbo candy pack. It was already getting dark, and the day was close to an end; no one would still be running around giving chocolates to their peers at this time. It was all too late now, and Horo still have not achieved his goal of presenting some cookies or candies to his friend. Not that Horo didn't try.

Horo noticed the lights going off in the candy store, and sighed; the owner was already closing the store, and he was probably going to leave the poor kid alone in the streets, like everyone else did. Horo would then end up with no candy to give; he would have to wait a whole year if he wanted the gift to be special.

A middle-aged man was beginning to leave the candy store, and opened the door, only to find a young boy standing all alone in front of the store, his lips pouted and his cheeks puffed up. The man laughed; it was not an uncommon thing to see little children sulking outside his store during closing time. Most of these kids were spoiled and usually possessed no money to purchase some candy from the store. Perhaps this little boy before him was the same.

The man squatted down to look the boy in the eye; although Horo's eyes showed sadness and frustration, the man took it to be normal, and proceeded to ask in a kind and gentle manner, "Do you want a candy?"

Horo shook his head, which surprised the man. Usually his question was followed by an enthusiastic nod by a child, and then they would point to him which candy they wanted. But here, on a weekday evening, a little boy denied to wanting candy? Now that was rare. Instead, he pointed to the store and said coldly, "I want to borrow your kitchen."

The man tilted his head, "What for?"

"I want to make cookies. You'll let me make cookies, right?"

The man was confused at first, and continued to stare at the boy as if he was speaking in a language he didn't understand. Then, slowly, but surely, the edges of his lips curled to form a grin, and the man couldn't help but chuckle. He didn't need to ask why Horo wanted to borrow his kitchen, of course. The man finally nodded, and he did not fail to notice Horo's raven eyes glistening with hope and relief.

The man stood up, and proceeded to the kitchen, with the boy following close behind.

"Here you are; this is the kitchen," the man said, introducing the boy to the large, sparkless room. It was mainly the colours of white and silver. The utensils were neatly lined up on the silver metallic cabinets, and a huge, white refrigerator could be found in the corner, accompanied by some wooden shelves, where the ingredients were placed; ingredients that Horo could use to make his cookies. Horo looked around the kitchen in awe; this was even more magnificent than his mother's kitchen at home!

The man squatted down once more and smiled, "Do you know how to bake cookies?"

Horo nodded, "My mother taught me how to make some simple peanut butter cookies. I'll be able to do it."

The man beamed, "Very well, then. I'll just watch you. If you need any help, come and call me."

Horo nodded once more, and proceeded to push a stool to the nearest cabinet. It was then that he began his mission to make the best peanut butter cookies the world would ever come across..

x-X-x

It was already very late when Horo successfully produced a bunch of decent cookies. His last batches of cookies were a failure; they either tasted overcooked, or had too little peanut butter in them. Thankfully, the man was kind enough to stay back and help Horo with his cookies. Now that he finally had his hands on some cookies, all Horo needed to do left was to pay a visit to his friend's house and present the cookies to her.

Giving the man his final thanks, Horo quickly ran to the eastern district, where huge houses were found and natural vegetation was rare. It was far from Horo's own home, but the trip was going to be worth it if that meant he could see her again. His friend's house was at the very end of the alley, and from where Horo stood, he could see that the lights in the house were still lit. Elated at the fact that his friend could still be awake, Horo ran as fast as he could to the house, tightening his grip on the bag of cookies.

It took him less than a minute to reach the doorstep, and with much anticipation and enthusiasm, Horo got on his tiptoes and reached for the doorbell. He could hear the loud lullaby-like melody playing in the house, and waited. And waited, and waited. After receiving no response, Horo got on his tiptoes and reached for the doorbell again, when suddenly the door opened, and a young lady greeted him.

She had long dark hair that went past her waist, and she was clad in only a night gown. She was definitely a working adult, but she looked far too young to. She looked tired, with her gown ragged and her hair everywhere, but her big eyes and warm smile lit up her whole appearance.

Horo bowed, "Good evening, ma'am. Sorry for, uhh... disturbing you..." Horo couldn't bring himself to look the lady in the eyes; she was, of course, the mother of his fellow friend.

The lady bowed back, "It is fine, dear. I assume you're here to see dear Tamiko?"

Horo twitched; he had never called his friend by her real name for such a long time, and it sounded foreign to him. Nevertheless, he still nodded, "Yes, I've come to give her these peanut butter cookies. I made them myself." Horo outstretched both his arms, showing the lady a small blue bag full of even smaller cookies.

The lady giggled, and took the cookies from him. "That's very nice of you," she said, smiling. "But unfortunately, Tamiko has already gone to bed. I'll give these to her first thing tomorrow morning, okay?"

Horo nodded sheepishly; it was better than not giving her at all.

The both of them stood there in silence, not knowing what else to say. Especially Horo; if he said anything wrong, he was screwed. His father was already close to forbidding him from seeing his friend again, and it would be way unfortunate if he did or said something to make his friend's parents hate him as well. Horo stared down at his feet, fiddling his thumbs, as he tried to think of something decent to say to the lady before him.

"Oh, did you say peanut butter cookies?" the lady queried suddenly, and Horo nodded once more. The smile slowly faded on the lady's face, and she stared at the bag for a while more, before turning to the boy and saying,

"You didn't know? Tamiko's allergic to nuts."