Hello, and welcome to a fanfiction special from Absoltheharbinger! I've noticed that many, many fics are posted for their respective Vocaloids' 'birthdays'. Sadly one Vocaloid that doesn't get enough love, let alone on their birthday, is my personal favourite, Yowane Haku. So ... happy birthday Haku! Yaaay! *party popper*

So, to business. This one-shot is my birthday present to Haku, set in my Vocaloid: Broken Dolls universe, which shall be shoehorned into the full story as and when it is appropriate. If you haven't read my Broken Series, I beg you do; I've put a lot of sweat, blood and tears into the stories therein :3

This fic is rated for minor uses of language and some references to adult themes. The main pairing is Yowane Haku x Self Insert OC, as in the story it was based on. Enjoy! (By the way, this was started on Haku's birthday 21/11/2012, but I was working past midnight to finish it)

Haku woke up feeling … strange. Like today was important for some reason. But how could it? At the facility, every day was the same. She didn't know the date; they refused to tell the Vocaloids the date or year.

Haku pondered it for a while, before giving up and heading downstairs for breakfast. Maybe there'd be another Vocaloid she could ask.

/

Henry was there, chatting to that tall hermaphrodite while they ate breakfast. Haku tried to recall their name … Ruko, wasn't it? She grabbed herself a small bowl of some cheap but foul algae-based cereal and sat down with them.

"Hey, Ba-" began Ruko, before noticing a pointed glare from Henry. "Hey, Haku! 'Sup?"

Haku sighed. "Something's bothering me. I keep feeling like today's special or important somehow. But I can't think what."

"Well, it can't be the concert," said Ruko, scratching her head. "That's not 'til next week. I still can't believe the newbie's performing," she added, grumbling into her porridge.

Henry shrugged. "Does this happen very regularly?"

"Not really. Yearly, maybe, at most."

Henry raised an eyebrow. "Yearly?"

"I think so. It's hard to tell sometimes."

"Could it be your birthday?" suggested Ruko pensively.

"My … birthday?" asked Haku quietly, gulping down another mouthful of the disgusting food. "Yes … yes, I think it might be my birthday."

Henry smiled. "Well, if that's the case, we'll have to do something for your birthday. Like a party."

Haku blushed. "You don't have to. There isn't a lot to do here as it is. I don't want to cause you any trouble."

"Are you sure?" he asked, looking slightly crestfallen.

"I will be fine. Thank you for offering."

Haku got up, threw away the rest of her cereal and left at a trot that made it look as though she was trying to run away discreetly. Ruko raised a delicate eyebrow, turning to face Henry.

"You're not going to listen to her, are you?"

Henry shrugged, his cloak shifting over his shoulder and momentarily revealing his fleshless arm. "I want to do this for her. She's gone too long without a proper friend."

Ruko let out a deep, booming laugh that sounded more like a man's than her husky, feminine voice. "You're pretty hard-headed, you know that?"

"Shut up; you're helping me."

"Whaaat?" groaned Ruko in indignation. "I can't. Some poor asshole has to babysit Teto and Miko and make sure Tei doesn't murder Miku again. Ritsu'll just put a cap in their asses if I don't keep them all in check."

Henry sighed. "Well, can you at least tell me what she likes?"

"Err … no … sorry, Henry. I don't hang around with the other Vocaloids enough to know. Try Miku; she'll probably know."

"Second question; where will I find Miku?"

"Probably in the studios. She's a terrible perfectionist when it comes to her singing."

/

It wasn't hard to find Miku; just follow the sound of someone trying to nail the chorus to 'Senbonzakura'. Henry knocked on the open door of Miku's studio as loudly as he dared. Miku turned around, still singing, and waved him in. She turned off the music and smiled.

"Henry-nii-san! You've been avoiding me!" she said, attempting to look angry and cute at the same time. She didn't manage.

"I believe it's because I'm friends with Haku. Who, if you recall, you warned me to have nothing to do with."

"Yes, and I stand by what I said. She's a Voyakiloid, and that means she's trouble."

"Funnily enough, that's exactly what Dell said to her about me. But that isn't the point. You know the most about the Vocaloids; what sort of things does Haku like?"

Miku raised her eyebrows. "Can't you just ask her?"

"It's sort of a surprise."

Miku giggled slightly menacingly. "Oh really?"

"Your teasing won't work."

Miku pouted. "Fine. I don't know."

Henry face-palmed.

"Seriously; I don't like Haku, and I don't associate myself with those ruffians. Maybe asking someone close to her?"

"Well … thanks anyway."

"Hey, Henry?"

"What?"

Miku glowered. "You're a good kid; don't throw yourself away for some Voyaki-trash."

"Haku isn't trash."

"Well, when you get your ass handed to you by the Voyakiloids, don't come crying to me. It's a pity to see one of us so disillusioned."

Henry turned for the door, and Miku didn't even wait until he had left before starting the music again.

"Hey, Dell."

The grey-haired smoker turned around, plucking the cigarette from his lips and tapping the ash out. His expression soured when he saw Henry.

"What do you want? If you want a fag, no. If you want to ask Deruko out, ask her, not me."

"You don't even know what I want. And I don't know who Deruko is."

"Those are the two things people come to me about most. So what d'you want?" He still sounded pissed off.

Henry leant on the table. "We need to talk about Haku."

"Why do we need to interrupt my day to talk about Baku? You're screwing her, aren't you?"

"Err … no."

"Oh God – you're being a fucking gentleman."

"Since when was that a bad thing? Besides, I need to know what sort of things she likes."

"And why should I tell you that?"

"Because it's her birthday … we think."

Dell laughed like a crow. "And?"

"Don't you care?"

"I don't give a flying shit. Since when has she ever done anything for her birthday?"

Henry sighed, getting up. "Well, I can see I'm not getting anything useful out of you."

"Medal for the genius," said Dell in a tone dripping as much sarcasm as tar. "Now stop bothering me."

"Well, if you won't tell me, who might?"

"Well, I won't tell you, 'cos you're a fucking Crypton. If you really want to know that badly, though, best ask someone who doesn't care for allegiances."

/

He found her in the rec room. Rin was roaring expletives every twenty seconds or so, and Gakupo and Kaito were silently grinding their teeth in frustration. Gumi whooped in delight and yelled 'Boom, headshot!' and Rin exploded in a hailstorm of every cuss word she could think of, including quite a few English ones and what sounded like some Spanish ones too.

"Hey, FL-chan!" called Henry to a familiar orange outline spectating.

The girl spun around on her heel, turning away from the game of Call of Duty that Gumi was quite soundly destroying.

"Hey, Henry-san!"

"Can we talk in private?"

FL-chan blushed a bright red, looking more like a habañero by the second.

"Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm asking about Haku."

Fl-chan clearly got the hint that Haku wasn't too popular with the room's crowd. "Oh. Okay, sure!"

They went outside. "Listen; do you know what Haku likes?" Henry asked.

FL-chan thought for a moment. "I can only think of sake, and I'm guessing you're asking because you've already dismissed that idea. Sorry, Henry, but Haku-san avoids others like the plague. You'd be better off asking Miki. She knows everything."

"Okay."

"By the way, what's it for?"

"It's Haku's birthday."

FL-chan beamed. "Really? Wow! I'll have to say happy birthday, then!"

Henry smiled. "That'd be nice. Well, I'm off to find that hermit."

/

Henry was starting to get frustrated. Did no-one know anything about Haku? He hammered on the door to Miki's den, hoping to finally get some answers. It was nearly lunchtime already.

"Who is it?"

"It's Henry."

"Oh … hang on a sec …"

There was a loud buzz, and Miki's door shot open. The doll-like Vocaloid was crouched in a nest of cables and cushions as always, hammering away at the keys of her laptop. Henry thought for a moment that she was hacking something, but it looked more like some kind of RPG. He guessed that must be what Miki did in her spare time.

"So what is it today? Anything important?"

"Not really …"

"That's good; I know lots of things that aren't important. Whatcha want?"

"Do you have any idea what Haku likes?"

As he expected, Miki froze up completely and didn't speak for a while. Henry noticed that she had plugged herself into the huge server stack that filled the whole wall while he was coming in. She must have been downloading as much as she could, but the process was soon complete.

"Why can't you ask yourself?"

"Because it's her birthday. I want to plan a surprise. So she can't know."

"Well, I'm afraid …"

"You can't help me?"

Miki frowned suspiciously. "How did you know?"

"Because everyone I've asked has said that."

Miki shrugged. "Well, I can tell you all kinds of stuff, but I can't get into her head for you. Even I have standards, and reading my minds is below the belt for me. All I could find was that her favourite flavour is elderflower."

Henry raised his eyebrow. "That's all?"

"Sorry. Now will that be all?"

He sighed. "Yeah. Sorry for taking up so much of your time."

Miki looked genuinely apologetic. "I tell you what; go to the Inspiration Room. The one up the tower? See if you get any flashes of inspiration."

/

Henry trudged to the elevator to the Inspiration Room. Interestingly, there was a notice taped to the door:

'Maintenance work in progress: Do not enter'

Henry frowned. Maintenance? They would have announced it in advance if there was a safety hazard. Then he remembered something Ca said.

"…Or wait until the Inspiration Room is closed for maintenance."

"Why?"

"'Cos that's when they let me out to see daylight. I'll probably go crazy if I don't every now and then. How considerate of them."

"She'll know!" said Henry to himself, making for the stairwell. Who better than Calne Ca? She knows everything and everyone, even more than Miki. He pounded up the stairs as fast as he could. Finally he might get some answers …

"Ca!" he shouted, bursting through the door.

"Hey, Henry!" shouted Ca equally enthusiastically, hugging him tight. Henry sometimes felt bad for keeping Ca's existence a secret from everyone else, but it was the only way to keep her safe. However, it also meant she was very, very lonely. This was the first time he had seen her face-to-face in several weeks, after all. "What brings you here?"

"I have … a question."

Ca's eye glowed like a hot coal with excitement. She liked being asked questions. "Fire away."

"Do you know what sort of things Haku likes?"

If Ca could smile, she would have smiled. "It's her birthday today, isn't it? And you want to give her a surprise, right?"

"Pretty much, but …"

"Why else would you ask that so desperately?"

"Can you help me?"

Ca sat down on one of the plush sofas. "Haku's favourite foods are chocolate and elderflower stuff, she used to enjoy fireworks displays, and her favourite kind of music is classical ballroom stuff. That answer your question?"

Henry breathed a sigh of relief. The fireworks would be impossible in this place, but the rest was doable. He had a plan ready, too. "Yeah, thanks. By the way, you know the theatre?"

"What about it?"

"It has sort of VR capabilities, doesn't it?"

"That's right."

"Good; in that case I'm gonna need your help …"

/

"… Did you get all of that?" Henry asked the cook.

The cook frowned in concentration. "It's gonna be expensive."

"Take it out of my tab. And don't forget the elderflower flavouring!" said Henry, running for the door. Dinner would begin in little more than an hour, and time was short …

Haku crawled out of bed, wiping her eyes. Another birthday had come and gone, and no-one had stopped by to greet her apart from Henry and Ruko that morning. Haku just resorted to her standard fall-back; go to bed for the day, cry for a bit maybe, and grab some dinner before hitting the bar and getting as wasted as she could afford to.

Henry had offered to prepare something for her, but she had refused. She wasn't even sure why now.

/

"… and when it arrives, leave it and the note on Haku's usual table, please."

The barman scratched his chin. "Ya sure this'll work?"

"I know Haku; she'll hit the bar. Give her something light for her first drink, 'cos she hasn't been drinking that much for a while, and she'll try to binge. I've got to get the final piece ready, so I've gotta go."

"Well, I wish ya good luck in this thing fer Baku; she ain't had summat like this before, ya know."

"That's why it'll work. See ya!"

Haku trudged into the cafeteria, bored and sad. Everything seemed so … ordinary. As it always did. She knew that Miku always held a party for her birthdays, but Haku was never invited. She knew that Miku didn't like her, but it still made her sad to think about it.

"Haku-san!" chimed the cheerful voice of FL-chan, who immediately ran up and hugged Haku. "Happy birthday!"

"Y-you didn't have to, FL-chan," said Haku. "It wasn't that important."

"It's your birthday, Haku-san! You should be happy! Stop being miserable!" FL-chan looked up and beamed.

It was so heart-warming that Haku didn't want to let the younger Vocaloid down. She put on a wan smile in response. "Thank you, FL-chan."

"You're welcome!" said FL-chan, bouncing off to continue talking to Iroha. Haku felt a little happier. At least someone else noticed.

She grabbed a bento, not hungry enough for anything else. It was eaten soon enough. Haku wondered why that was. Time seemed to be going faster. It was as though she was expecting something big and amazing to happen. She shook her head. Nothing was going to happen. She'd go to the bar, grab a stiff drink, and go back to bed. Maybe more than one stiff drink. It made no difference, really.

It was just another day. Nothing special at all.

That was what she thought until she set foot in the bar. There was a small firelight in the corner, at her table. No-one sat at that table. Some new idiot with his cigarettes, probably.

She stormed over to the table, her irritation suddenly turning into excited surprise. It wasn't a person. There was, in fact, a little chocolate cake with cream icing and a candle sitting on a plate there. Haku would have thought it was left by someone else if it weren't for the little 'Happy Birthday Haku' in purple icing on the top. Haku blew out the candle.

I wish that, this year, I will be happy.

It was the same wish she made every year, but, this year, she felt like it might come true. She scooped a little icing off with the tip of a finger. Elderflower flavour. Who could have known it was her favourite? Somebody, somewhere in this place, had put a lot of effort into this cake.

That was when she noticed the note hidden under the plate. A cake and a note? She quickly opened it.

Haku,

How do you like your cake? Sorry it's a little rushed. Come down to the theatre as soon as you can; I want to give you your present.

Henry

Haku's eyes widened even more. Henry did this? She told him not to … Maybe he was more stubborn than she gave him credit for. However, it was also pretty sweet of him to do that. Maybe she'd skip the drinking and just go straight there. After all, Henry didn't approve of her binges.

"Bartender?" she asked, walking up to the bar with the cake in her hands.

"Yeah?" he asked, before he saw her. "Happy birthday, Haku ma girl! What can I get ya?"

"Err … nothing tonight. But can you keep this safe? I'll come back for it later," she said, handing him the cake.

"No worries, I can do that fer ya. Ya goin' ter meet ya friend?"

"Th-that's right. See you later."

/

The theatre was empty, the stage dark and bare. Haku hung around behind the edge of the curtains, desperately hoping that she was mistaken. He must be here; he said he would. Haku knew Henry would never forget a promise.

Would he?

Her unspoken question was answered by a soft green glow standing about ten feet away that slowly grew stronger. A pattern of abstract circuitboard, a pair of headphones …

A spotlight flickered on, and Henry was standing there, head cocked and smiling benignly. He extended a hand towards her wordlessly. Soft orchestral music began to play. Comet Observatory from Super Mario Galaxy. Its soft waltz beat reached her ears.

"Henry … I-"

"Would my princess honour me with a dance?" Henry asked as the intro began to fade and the song began to start proper.

Haku stumbled out of the cover of the stage curtain, and a twinkling silver nebula enveloped her body, spinning and pulsing, before dissipating as though nothing had happened. Haku, however, looked very different; a flowing, resplendent gown in fine mist-grey satin, violet flowers embroidered all over. A delicate white gold tiara sat in her hair, ornamental violet butterfly wings on her headphones like the ones Miku and Luka wore and Haku had always envied. She looked, in fact, like a princess in a fairytale ball.

Henry, having instructed Ca on the theme, was decked out in a black tailcoat with a green silk lining, a shiny top hat and highly buffed shoes. He took her by the hand the moment she came close enough to, instantly whisking her into a dance.

"Err … Henry … I …" stammered Haku, blushing as the pair whirled around the stage in time. "I d-don't know how to dance …"

Henry laughed. "Guess what, princess?"

"W-what?"

"Neither do I!"

Haku giggled nervously. "I guess we're just making this up as we go along, then."

"Suits me fine. We are the avatars of music; let music guide us, I say!"

"You say the strangest things, don't you?"

"My princess, you flatter me."

Haku gasped as the music changed track, picking a much faster pace than the slow, stately waltz they had been dancing. "By the way, why do you keep calling me 'princess'?"

Henry leaned close and whispered in her ear. "Because, at least for tonight, you are." He pulled back. "Do you not like it?"

"Well … it's not that I don't like it, but … you've done so much for me today, at your own inconvenience, and …"

"Haku, please. It was no trouble at all. Remember; tonight is all about you."

The sound of music drifted up through the facility, attracting the attention of the other Vocaloids. As Vocaloids are drawn to music like moths to flame, it was not long before there was a general consensus to find out what was going on. The reactions to Henry and Haku, dancing the night away and blissfully oblivious to the crowd in the wings, were mixed. Dell let out a disgusted snort and went back upstairs, but many of the Vocaloids decided to pair up and join in (Miku was making a great effort not to look at Haku, however).

Somewhere up in the control box, Ca tapped one of her metal feet to the rhythm, managing the VR projectors and keeping the music going. She was sad that she couldn't join the fun, but that was her semblance of a life, she guessed. She felt a minor jealousy towards to Yowane Haku.

…

Maybe one day she would ask Henry to dance with her, too.

-Don't feel so bad, Ca. You'll find your Romeo one day.-

"I would rather have a Prince Charming. But it seems like mine is already taken."

-So it seems.-

"But that's okay, I guess. It's Haku's birthday. She deserves to be happy."

So what do you think? Who is the mystery voice Ca is talking to at the end? Who knows? All will be revealed later ... :3

Haku: You could have just me some sake ...

But where's the effort in that?

Haku: ... Thank you anyway ...

Do you have anything to say to ?

Haku: Please read Absoltheharbinger's other stuff, review, leave comments or criticism, and all of that other stuff!

Thank you, and I hope you, the reader, enjoyed this as much as Haku!