Author's Note: Yay, it's Chocolat's birthday! This is a oneshot that I wrote to celebrate the event! I hope you enjoy it!
I don't own Sugar Sugar Rune or any of the characters!
"Houx! Saule!"
Houx and Saule looked up to see Vanilla running towards them. She halted to a stop in front of them, panting.
"Whoa, easy, Vanilla!" Saule laughed. Vanilla shook her head. "I can't. I told Chocolat-chan I had to go see a teacher for just a bit. If I'm not fast, she'll come looking for me!" she replied.
"OK..." Saule scratched his head. "So why did you come to see us instead?" Houx asked her.
"Chocolat-chan's 11th birthday is in a few days," she explained to them. "So I wanted to talk to you about the surprise party,"
"Party? Alright!" Saule cheered, pumping his fist into the air. "So what theme did you have in mind?" Houx smiled. "Well, that's the thing," Vanilla bit her lip. "I'm not sure..."
Just then, Blanca appeared in a cloud of pink smoke on Vanilla's shoulder. "Vanilla-chama, Chocolat has begun to look for you!" she reported. "Oh, no!" Vanilla said worriedly.
"Hey, didn't Chocolat say something about going out with Pierre this afternoon?" Houx wondered out loud. "Oh, I forgot! Then can we discuss this later?" Vanilla asked and they nodded. She bowed. "Domo arigatou, Houx, Saule! I'll see you later!" she said and ran off.
Meanwhile, Chocolat was on her way to the teacher's lounge to see what was taking Vanilla so long when Vanilla herself rushed up to her.
"Vanilla, what happened? Why are you panting?" Chocolat said curiously. "Oh, um…I was running," Vanilla said. "Why? Isn't the teacher's lounge not too far from here? And why were you taking so long?" Chocolat asked.
"Oh, uh…I, um…had to go to the restroom for a bit!" Vanilla replied nervously and climbed onto her broom. Without letting Chocolat answer, she urged her broom to hurry back home. Chocolat shrugged and got on her broom too.
Later, at home, Chocolat got ready to go out. "See you, Vanilla! I'm going out now! I'll be back in the evening, alright?" she called. Vanilla came to the door. "Sure, Chocolat-chan! Have fun!" she replied cheerily as Chocolat closed the door behind her.
Right after Chocolat left, Houx and Saule entered. Vanilla looked up. "Konnichiwa, Houx, Saule," she told them.
"Hey, Vanilla," Houx smiled. "Yo!" Saule grinned. They walked over and sat on the couch. "So, thought of anything yet?" Saule said. Vanilla nodded.
"I thought we could do something that Chocolat really loves," she said, her eyes twinkling. Houx and Saule grinned in understanding. "Good idea, Vanilla," Houx nodded in approval.
"Arigatou, Houx. I think I'll bake the cakes and desserts myself," Vanilla said thoughtfully. "We'll handle the decorations, Vanilla," Saule offered. "Really? Arigatou! I'll help out too," she smiled.
"OK, now that we got it planned…Vanilla, want to go out for some ice-cream?" Houx said, looking directly at Vanilla. "Oh, sure…" Vanilla replied, smiling. "Yeah, you two lovebirds go out. I'll just stay at home and watch some TV or something," Saule yawned.
Vanilla blushed. She blushed even deeper when Houx put an arm around her shoulder. "Come on, Vanilla," he smiled at her and they left.
The next day, Vanilla woke up earlier than normal. After she was ready, she dropped by Chocolat's bedroom and peeked inside. Chocolat was, as usual, still asleep. Vanilla wrote a quick note and left it on Chocolat's messy bedside table. Then she slipped out of the house.
At school, Vanilla was relieved to see that most of her classmates were already there. Akane, Natsume, Akiko and Hanako spotted her and waved to her. "Ohayou, Vanilla-chan," they called.
"Ohayou, minna-san," Vanilla replied and walked over to them. She opened her bag and took out a stack of invitations that she'd made the night before. She handed a few of them to the four girls.
"Ne, what's this?" Akiko said, taking the invitation. They opened the envelope and read it. "A surprise birthday party for Chocolat-chan?" Akane said delightedly. A few of their other friends heard and began to crowd around them.
As Vanilla handed out more invitations, she told them, "Next Tuesday is Chocolat-chan's birthday. So I'm holding a surprise party for her," "Eh? A party for Kato-san? Well, I guess I could come," Taiji shrugged. "Oh, and please keep it a secret, of course!" Vanilla smiled.
Suddenly, Chocolat entered the classroom. "Ohayou, minna-san!" she called loudly. Then she noticed many people crowding around Vanilla. "Vanilla, what's happening?" she asked. A majority of the students laughed nervously.
"Oh, nothing much. Ice-san was just telling us this story…About you. What's this I hear about making out with Pierre just the other day behind the school?" Mimura said and the rest of the class laughed. Chocolat flushed red, embarrassed. "I-I'll whup your butt!" she said to Mimura.
Vanilla glanced at Mimura. The story was true, but she definitely did not tell him. "How did you know?" she whispered. "I have my sources," Mimura winked. She stared at him. "I was spying on them," he admitted.
Mochizuchi-sensei walked into the classroom. "OK, class, get back to your seats," she ordered and everyone immediately scurried back to their places. "Ohayou gozaimasu, class," she greeted. "Ohayou gozaimasu, Mochizuchi-sensei," everyone else chorused. "Now turn to page 47, where we left off yesterday," she instructed, beginning another school day.
After school, Vanilla hurried to the middle school to hand out more invitations. She had, again, used the excuse of having to see a teacher. But this time, she'd told Chocolat to go on ahead.
"I hope the middle school students finish class early today…" she said worriedly to herself. As if responding to her thoughts, Pierre and the Members walked out to the courtyard. Seeing them, she ran over to them.
"Ohayou," she said, bowing. "Ohayou, Vanilla," Pierre smiled. "Ohayou, Vanilla," Yurika said, bowing back. She glanced at the Members. "Ohayou, Ice-san," they said reluctantly.
"Why are you here, Vanilla? Isn't Chocolat with you?" Pierre questioned. "No…I'm here because I wanted to invite all of you to a surprise party for Chocolat-chan," Vanilla explained, handing the invitations to them. They read through it and looked up.
"Well, I'll be there, Vanilla. Maybe I could keep her busy before the party?" Pierre said. Vanilla nodded. "That would be great. Arigatou," she answered. "I'll be there too, Vanilla," Yurika smiled. "We'll be there with the Prince, too," Kaori, the Member with blonde hair, told Vanilla.
"Domo arigatou, minna-san! Ja ne!" she said and ran off. As they watched her go, Kaori spoke up. "Prince, why do you date Kato-san instead of Ice-san? Ice-san is so much more polite and mature than Kato-san?" she asked curiously and the other Members, excluding Yurika, nodded in agreement. Pierre merely smiled at that.
Before anyone knew it, it was Monday and Vanilla received not-so-good news.
"Houx, you're going back to the Magical World?" she said, surprised. Houx nodded. "Yeah, gomen, Vanilla. Queen Candy requested that I immediately get back. I'm not sure why, though. But I won't be around to help with the party," he told her apologetically.
"Oh…Well, never mind, it's alright," she replied, although inside she was quite worried. "Arigatou, Vanilla. Well, I have to go now. Ja ne, gambatte and have fun at the party, alright?" he said and kissed her on the cheek. "O-oh! Uh…Ja ne!" she said, waving goodbye as he flew back to the Magical World.
"Oh, no…" Vanilla said out loud. "I won't be able to prepare for Chocolat-chan's party in time without Houx's help!" Just then, a girl in a middle school uniform passed by and overheard her. The girl walked over to her.
"Excuse me, when you mentioned 'Chocolat-chan', were you talking about Kato-san?" the girl asked. Vanilla looked at her in surprise. "Yes, why?"
"You said something about Kato-san's party?
"Yes. It's Chocolat-chan's birthday tomorrow and I'm holding a surprise party for her," Vanilla explained. "And unless I'm mistaken, you're in trouble because Houx-kun has somewhere else to be and you cannot do the preparations by yourself?" the girl said. Vanilla nodded.
"Well, in that case, I might be able to help you out!" the girl grinned. Vanilla tilted her head. "Eh, really? But why? And who are you, anyway?"
"Ah, gomen! I forgot to introduce myself, how rude of me. I'm Mint Rose. Nice to meet you, Ice-san!" the girl said, bowing. "You can call me Vanilla. Nice to meet you, Rose-san," Vanilla replied, bowing back. "Please, call me Mint. Anyway, I want to help because I kind of admire Kato-san. I've never met her in person, but I've heard of her before. Apparently, she's very confident and headstrong. Quite fun and good in sports, right?" Mint said.
"Yes, Chocolat-chan is an amazing person," Vanilla nodded in agreement. "So can I help with the party?" Mint asked. "Sure! That would be a great help! Can you come to my house after school later?" Vanilla smiled. "No problem," Mint answered.
Suddenly, the school bell rang. "Oh, sumimasen, I have to get to class now," Vanilla bowed. "See you later!" she said and ran away to class. "See you later!" Mint called back, waving.
After school, Vanilla rushed home and prepared some cookies and tea. Chocolat was playing soccer with a few of the boys, so she was alone again. Right after the cookies and tea were done, the door swung open. Mint was there, along with Saule.
"Ah! Saule! Oh, konnichiwa, Saule, Mint-chan!" Vanilla said. "Come on in, Mint-chan!" she said, leading Mint to a seat. Saule walked in on his own and sat on a couch opposite Mint. "Did you both come back together?" Vanilla asked them curiously.
"No, we met at the door. Rose-san told me you invited her to help me with the party," Saule told Vanilla. "Oh, OK. Mint-chan, have some cookies and tea!" Vanilla smiled. "Arigatou!" Mint said happily as she took a sip of the tea. "Wow, peppermint tea! It's my favourite!" she exclaimed and took a bite of a cookie. "Amazing cookies, Vanilla-chan. You made this yourself, right? I heard you're an awesome cook," she praised.
"Yes, arigatou," Vanilla said. Mint finished off the cookie and leaned back in the couch. "OK, so what's the theme for this party?" she asked. Vanilla filled her in on everything and she listened intently.
"That sounds fantastic! I know a few stores where we can get supplies, and I can help you with the cake and decorations," Mint said. "Hold on, let me make a few phone calls…" she said, taking out her cell phone. After she was done, she gave Vanilla a thumbs-up. "All set. The decorations and food will arrive some time after you get home from school tomorrow. Since the party is in the evening, you'll have plenty of time to prepare. I'll help out too. Saule-kun, you're helping out too, right?" she smiled at Saule. Her smile said, If you don't help out, you'll be sorry you ever existed.
"Ah…sure," Saule replied. "Great!" she clapped her hands lightly. "Well, I got to go! That's everything, right?" she said, picking up her bag and turning to leave. "Yes, domo arigatou. You've been a great help," Vanilla said. "No problem!" Mint said. "Well, see you tomorrow, Vanilla-chan!" she said and left.
Finally, the long-awaited Tuesday arrived. When Vanilla reached home, Mint and Saule were already there. "How did you get here ahead of me?" she said in surprise. "Our teacher let us out early today. Something about a teachers' meeting," Saule shrugged.
The trio quickly got down to preparing things. While they prepared, Pierre was keeping Chocolat busy…
"Pierre!" Chocolat waved to Pierre, who was just exiting the middle school. Pierre looked up and smiled when he saw her. "Excuse me," he said to the Members and walked over to her. "Konnichiwa, Chocolat. Happy birthday," "You remembered!" Chocolat said delightedly. "Of course I'd remember my princess's birthday. So…Ready to go?"
"Yeah! C'mon, I wanna get some ice-cream!" Chocolat said enthusiastically. Pierre chuckled. "Lunch first," he reminded her. "Right," Chocolat said, smiling up at him.
They headed to a fast food restaurant. "You go get a place," Pierre told her. "I'll order. What do you want to eat?" "I want…a cheeseburger!" Chocolat pointed to the picture of a cheeseburger.
"OK," Pierre said and she went to get a table.
A few minutes later, Pierre sat opposite her, setting down a tray. He'd ordered a cheeseburger. "Itadakimasu," they said together. As Pierre unwrapped his burger and took a bite out of it, Chocolat stared at him. "What?" he said, confused. Chocolat giggled.
"Nothing. It's just that this is the first time I've seen you eating a burger," she explained, causing Pierre to chuckle.
"Finally, done!" Vanilla sighed, slumping onto a couch with Saule and Mint following suit. "I'm tired!" Saule complained. "But it all looks amazing!" Mint exclaimed, looking around. Vanilla nodded in agreement.
Then, Vanilla's phone rang. She picked it up. "Hello?"
"Hello, Vanilla. It's me, Pierre."
"Oh, hello, Pierre! How's it going with Chocolat-chan?"
"Alright, but we're coming back soon. Are you done with the preparations?"
"Yes, we just finished. The guests should be here anytime now."
"Good. Bye, Vanilla.
"Bye, Pierre."
Right after she hung up, there was a knock on the door. She hurried to open it. As expected, her and Chocolat's friends were there, along with the Members. "Konbanwa," they greeted. "Konbanwa, minna-san!" Vanilla smiled at them. "Come in!"
"Arigatou!" they said, entering. "Sugoi, Vanilla!" Akane commented on the decorations. There were murmurs of agreement from the other guests. The Members approached Mint and Saule, who were sitting together on a couch. After everyone exchanged greetings, Hikari, the Member with blue hair spoke.
"We didn't expect you to here, Mint-san," she said. "I was helping Vanilla-chan and Saule-kun with the preparations," Mint explained. "Ah, I see. Well, you've done a great job," Yurika smiled at her. Then, Kaori remarked, "My, the two of you look like a lovely couple!"
Saule and Mint turned red and sat further apart from each other. "D-don't say things like that, Kaori!" Mint stammered. "Yeah, I'm not her boyfriend!" Saule protested. Kaori opened her mouth to say more, but Yurika held up a hand to stop her.
"Well, we're going to get some food. See you later, Mint-san, Saule-kun," Yurika said and they went off.
Vanilla, on the other hand, was mingling with the guests when she received a text from Pierre saying he and Chocolat were in front of the apartment already. "Everyone, hide! Chocolat and Pierre are coming!" she quickly told everyone, switching off the lights, thus concealing the decorations in darkness.
Everyone found places to hide in the nick of time, for just as Vanilla ducked under a table, the door slowly creaked open. "Eh? I guess Vanilla's out…" she heard Chocolat's voice say. She gave everyone the signal and at her cue, everyone jumped out from their hiding places, shouting, "Surprise! Happy birthday!" Humourously, Mimura hit a table and fell over.
The expression on Chocolat's face was extremely surprised. Vanilla walked over to her. "Happy birthday, Chocolat-chan!" she said, hugging her best friend. "V-Vanilla! You planned this?" Chocolat said, shocked. "Yes! I did it for you, Chocolat-chan!" Vanilla replied.
Chocolat hugged her tighter. "You are the best friend ever, Vanilla!" she cried. Slowly, their friends began to crowd around them, wishing Chocolat happy birthday.
"Arigatou, minna-san!" Chocolat said, letting go. "Now let's party!"
Later, Chocolat and Vanilla ate some food as Chocolat examined the decorations. "This is all fantastic, Vanilla!" she exclaimed.
The room was decked out in sweet pink and purple streamers and balloons. Long tables ran along a few walls, laden with food. Fresh flowers of red, white and pink had been placed in decorative vases around the room. There was a whole table only for desserts such as chocolate truffles, chocolate mousse, chocolate cake, chocolate cookies, chocolate ice-cream, chocolate fudge, chocolate pudding, chocolate brownies and basically every chocolate treat Chocolat had ever heard of. The best part was, there was a huge chocolate fountain in the center of the room with lots of fruits to dip in it. The party in two words? Chocolate heaven.
"It's just like a chocolate paradise!" Chocolat said, gesturing to the chocolate fountain. "That's what I was aiming for," Vanilla smiled. After Chocolat finished off her chocolate-coated strawberries, she pulled Vanilla out to the dance floor, where the furniture had been pushed to the side. "Let's dance!"
It was a fast song, and the two friends had fun dancing with their friends. After a few songs, a slow song began and Pierre approached them. "May I borrow her for a while?" he said, winking at Vanilla. "Oh, of course! See you later, Chocolat-chan!" she replied and went to dance with the other girls.
Pierre bowed, offering his hand. "May I have this dance?" he asked. Chocolat blushed. "S-sure,"
He put two hands on her waist while she wrapped her arms around his neck. Slowly, they rocked gently to the song, spinning gracefully around the room.
"Are you enjoying yourself, my princess?" Pierre inquired. Chocolat nodded. "This is all so amazing. I never expected it." she answered. She eyed him for a while. "I bet you have some part in it too. Taking me out on a date before the party," she smirked. Pierre nodded. "Well, arigatou, Pierre," she smiled at him.
When the song finished, Vanilla called out, "Everyone, it's time for cake!" Everyone cheered, especially the boys and rushed to the cake, which was placed on a round table that had just been set up. "Sugoi, Vanilla!" Natsume said in awe. The cake was exquisite, a rich chocolate cake with pretty brown and white roses on the side.
"Mint-chan and I made it," Vanilla smiled at Mint, who winked at her.
Pierre led Chocolat to the cake. "OK, let's sing the birthday song for Chocolat-chan!" Vanilla said to everyone and everyone began to sing.
"Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to you,
Happy birthday to Chocolat,
Happy birthday to you!"
Everyone clapped and cheered as Chocolat blew the fire on the candles out. After all the commotion died down, Vanilla got a knife from the kitchen and began to cut the cake into slices. She handed the first slice to Chocolat. "Here you go, Chocolat-chan!" "Arigatou, Vanilla!" Chocolat smiled at her.
Pierre got his slice of cake and sat down on the garden swing in the backyard with Chocolat. "This has been the best day ever," Chocolat said. She leaned back, looking at the crescent moon in the sky. Pierre smiled at her. "Better than in the Magical World?" he teased.
"Well…" she said, her eyes twinkling. Pierre knew what she wanted. He snapped his fingers and a box of bone candy dropped in her lap. She squealed and they began to share the bone candy. As they ate in silence, Chocolat spoke again. "I am really lucky to have Vanilla and you," she said.
"I'm lucky too, Chocolat, to have a beautiful princess as my girlfriend," Pierre replied. They gazed into each other's eyes for a while. "Chocolat," Pierre said after a while.
"What?"
"You…have chocolate frosting on your lips,"
Without warning, Pierre leaned it and kissed her. As their lips met, Chocolat's eyes widened in delighted surprise.
Yup. Best. Day. Ever.
Author's Note: So I hope you liked it! Happy birthday, Chocolat! Lots of free chocolate for everyone! That's all for now! Bye and please review!