Disclaimer: I don't own Hamtaro or any of the characters in the Anime. If I did, do you honestly think I'd be writing a fanfic? I'd be making episodes about this stuff! I do own Jim and David though, since I made them up and stuff, but that doesn't matter since they aren't in the story yet.

Hamtaro's Greatest Adventure! Chapter 1: Ham-y Birthday!

Hamtaro is walking down the path to the clubhouse. He is especially excited today because the hamsters are planning on going on a late fall hike to the park. The ham-hams have planned a scavenger hunt, and then a picnic lunch. They were all supposed to dress warmly, whatever that meant.

Hamtaro reaches the hidden door near the base of the old tree. Bijou is waiting for him. She stops him near the door and grabs his arm. "Do not go in there yet," she whispers. "Why not?" asks Hamtaro. Bijou lets go of Hamtaro's arm and motions for him to follow her.

She leads him to a pile of rocks. Inside the pile of rocks is a secret entrance to the club. Hamtaro knew that it was there, because Panda had built it to be a fire escape. Bijou and Hamtaro climbed down the ladder and entered the trap door. They walked together down the tunnel back towards the clubhouse. This tunnel was much longer than the main entrance, but he didn't mind. Hamtaro was still just as confused as he was since he arrived. Bijou and Hamtaro reached for the door to the clubhouse and enter.

"SURPRISE!" shouted all of the hamsters. On the table was a cake. The cake read 'Happy Birthday Hamtaro!' Hamtaro looked at them, still confused. "You guys, it's not my birthday. It was three months ago!" Boss stepped forward. "But if we had the party on your birthday, you wouldn't have been as surprised. It's a good thing Bijou held you back. When we heard you coming, we were almost ready, but not quite. That long walk you took down the emergency tunnel was all the time we needed. Now let's all chow down!"

Oxnard was the first one in the buffet line. He took quite a few seeds before moving on. Pashmina was constantly shadowed by Howdy and Dexter, but managed to shake them by slipping into line behind Panda. Maxwell and Sandy were splitting seeds together. Penelope was using Snoozer as a bench while chewing on an acorn. Cappy was sitting on his saucepan hat and nibbling on a pumpkin seed. Stan was providing the music by singing Happy Birthday while playing the maracas. Hamtaro was just getting out of the line when Bijou walked up to him.

"You are happy, no?" asked Bijou in her French accent. "I'm very happy Bijou. But the ham-hams didn't have to do this. I would have been just as happy without the party as long as I could spend time with you." Hamtaro suddenly realized that what he said came out wrong and covered his mouth. Bijou giggled and patted him on the back. "Don't worry, I know what you mean," Bijou assured him. "Of course, that little slip up will cost you," she teased. "Heke?" "I'm only fooling you, Hamtaro!" Bijou laughed. Hamtaro blushed slightly, but tried to hide it.

Boss was gnawing on a seed in the corner watching over the party. He noticed Bijou and Hamtaro together, but figured that Hamtaro deserved some "feminine attention" since it was his party. He took off his hat and scratched his head. He couldn't figure out why he couldn't tell Bijou how he felt. It troubled him that he could be so defenseless around another ham. Boss had always considered himself too macho to be weakened by a girl hamster, but then he met Bijou. Boss shook his head. What was he going to do about Bijou?

Bijou and Hamtaro were the first ones to get a slice of cake. Maxwell made it and it was pretty good. "This cake is magnifique, is it not Hamtaro?" said Bijou. Hamtaro turned and looked into Bijou's eyes. He blushed again, and he noticed that Bijou was too. Hamtaro suddenly regained his train of thought and answered Bijou's question. "Yes, you're very good...oh, I mean it's very good. Bijou laughed and Hamtaro blushed furiously. Hamtaro looked around the room nervously. "Bijou, would you like the icing flower on my piece of cake?" Hamtaro asked nervously while staring at the ceiling. Bijou giggled and reached over with her fork, but Hamtaro grabs the fork out of her hand. Hamtaro takes the fork and uses it to scoop up the icing flower. He slowly puts the fork with the flower into her mouth. Bijou is blushing, but then she begins to giggle.

Boss's jaw dropped to the floor. Oxnard, who had been watching the whole thing, ran over to Boss to try to calm him down. Boss was struggling with Oxnard, who had grabbed Boss's arms to keep him from going over and killing Hamtaro. Boss stomped on Oxnard's paws, and Oxnard yelped and fell over. "Ouchichi! Boss, why'd ya have to go and do that?" Oxnard said from the floor. Boss turned around and said, "Because you're trying to stop me form going over and getting my girl back." "As I recall," Panda said as he walked up to Boss, "Bijou has never made any long term commitments to anyone. She's just as much yours at the moment as she is Hamtaro's, or mine for that matter."

Hamtaro and Bijou were laughing and talking about all kinds of things. Hamtaro was so happy that he didn't notice out of the corner of his eye that Boss was coming. And behind him, Boss was dragging Oxnard, Cappy, Panda, and Stan. Boss had a vein bulging on his forehead and an angry twinkle in his eyes. Hamtaro turned around to grab another seed for him and Bijou when he noticed Boss walking across the room dragging four others. "Boss? What're you doing?" asked Hamtaro. Boss grabbed Hamtaro by the arm and dragged him into the study. Bijou looked confused. "What was all that about?" "Umm, nothing.... nothing at all...." The four ham-hams that Boss dragged said in unison.

Boss and Hamtaro were alone in the study and Boss sat behind the desk. He looked at Hamtaro seriously and said, "Hamtaro, I demand to know what you think you were doing with Bijou out there." "Well Boss," Hamtaro began, "we were talking about the day we met and how she liked that song we sang. Then we talked about..." Boss interrupted, "I don't care what you talked about! I wanna know why you were feeding her cake like you two were another Maxwell and Sandy!" "Well, I thought that maybe she wanted my flower. The icing flowers are always too sweet for me." "Yea, right," Boss said as he rolled his eyes. "If that's true, I'm the king of Ham-sterdam."

Bijou was waiting for Hamtaro to return. She was concerned with the way Boss had taken him, but decided that maybe he was just being playful. Still, she decided she had better go and check. She got up and walked across the room to the door and listened through the keyhole. She could hear Boss shouting and Hamtaro trying to calm him down. She grabbed a cup from the table and put it up to her ear and stood near the door.

"Hamtaro, I'm beginning to wonder whether your ignorance in matters romantic isn't just acting," Boss said as he walked back and forth behind the desk. Hamtaro sighed and began his defense again. "Boss, you know I'd never try to steal Bijou from you. We were just having an innocent conversation." "Still," Boss sighed, "it might be a good idea if you stayed away from the club for a few weeks." Suddenly, the door opened.

"Shame on you, Boss! I can't believe you are badgering poor Hamtaro about this!" Bijou scolded as she walked into the room. "I have not made the commitment to you or to any other ham. I am a free girl, and you can't stop me from seeing who I want when I want!" "Bijou?! But... but... I...was just telling him...." Boss tried to explain. "Boss, I am not your ham-girl, and if you don't like it, too bad! See what you do about this!" Bijou said as she stomped over to Hamtaro. She grabbed Hamtaro's head and schmubby-wubbied him. Hamtaro slid off of his chair. Boss's jaw dropped again. "And if Hamtaro isn't allowed to come visit us at the clubhouse, maybe I will stay away as well," Bijou said as she grabbed Hamtaro's hand and pulled him out of the study.

When the door opened, every hamster was clustered around it trying to hear. When Bijou opened the door, all of the hamsters tried to run away, but they tripped over each other. "Sorry Bijou," Dexter said. "We were kinda eavesdropping on you." "I am not mad at you guys. I'm only mad at that Boss for acting like he owns me," Bijou said as she began to weep.

Boss sat alone in the study. His head dropped onto the desk and he began to cry. "Oh Bijou," he sobbed, "what have I done? I tried to impress you, but then I go and screw up royally like this. What am I going to do?" Boss suddenly heard something. Something like.... snoring! He turned his head to see Snoozer sleeping on the bookshelf. "Zuzuzu.....Just because you've had a fight with someone you care about doesn't mean you can't forgive and forget.....zuzuzu" "He's right. I've got to make it up to Bijou and Hamtaro"

TO BE CONTINUED........