14AmyChan: I don't own anything~! *^_^*
Kashino: Remind me why I'm here…
14AmyChan: Just for one question. *^_^*
Kashino: What is it? I'm a busy person…
14AmyChan: When did you first fall in love with Ichigo? *^_^*
Kashino: WHAT! *fierce blush*
14AmyChan: lol. *^_^*
Kashino: *still blushing* ARE YOU MESSING WITH ME?
14AmyChan: Are you writing all this down, Chocolat?
Chocolat: Yes… :D
Kashino: *still blushing* WHEN'D SHE GET HERE?
Chocolat: I was here the entire time…
14AmyChan: Enjoy the story… *^_^*
Kashino: *still blushing* THIS IS THE DISCLAIMER?
Chocolat: well, now it's kind of a let's-pick-on-characters-14AmyChan-doesn't-own corner.
Kashino: I see… -.-'
Kashino walked through the Sweets village with everybody. It was kind of Chocolat to take him away from the real world today. She knew the circumstances, having seen it last year. But something seemed off…
Why would Chocolat threaten me with telling Amano and then we're partnered up for a mountain climbing expedition… his mind went on. Then, struck by a thought, he said "Do we have the equipment for mountain climbing?" Everyone turned and looked at him. Chocolat said "We can use Sweets Magic to change, so it's no problem."
Hanabusa and Andoh shook their heads with sad smiles on their faces. If Amano wasn't here, I would knock them both off their feet! he thought, seething with embarrassed rage. Why he was embarrassed, he had no idea, yet here he was, raging silently.
"Kashino, is something wrong?" Amano asked him. Kashino could see on her face that she had a lot of things on her mind. She wasn't that hard to read.
Kashino instantly shook his head. He didn't want to worry her, but it was her choice to be worried or not…
"Okay, listen up!" Chocolat said, clapping her hands. Everyone looked at her. She was floating in the air, yet strangely enough, so were they. "We learned that when humans are small, we can lift them like baking utensils, so you get to fly a little today, since that's the only way to Brown Sugar Peak." Kashino listened, in case there was important information, yet he could hear Amano in the background: "Vanilla, this is so cool! I can fly with you, now!" What a kid…Kashino thought to himself, repressing a smile.
"We can't fly on the mountain, because that's prohibited" Chocolat continued, holding her fork out. Kashino hovered behind her. Flying is pretty cool… he thought absently. Andoh was soon beside him. "Maa-kun" he whispered. Kashino looked over to see him holding a small box. "Happy Birthday, Maa-kun" Andoh said as he handed him the small box. Kashino looked over in question: Do I open it now? Andoh nodded and Kashino opened the simple box.
Inside was a confection. It was a swirl of chocolate and anko beans in a cake. Kashino pulled it out and took a bite. As always, it was good. Kashino smiled at his best friend and said "Thanks".
"No problem" Andoh said as he pointed to the bottom of the box. "But you might want to read this…" Kashino could hear him restraining laughter. Kashino looked at the bottom of the box and read: HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAA-KUN, BUT YOU MIGHT WANT TO GET A MOVE-ON…
A move-on…? Kashino wondered what he meant. He couldn't ask because Andoh had floated over to Caramel and was talking with her. Caramel was smiling, like she did most of the time. Oh well…Kashino thought, putting the lid back on the box. He was going to put it somewhere when he realized he wasn't holding it anymore. Did I drop it? He worried in his head. He didn't know what the fine in the Sweets Kingdom was for littering.
"I sent it back home" Chocolat said looking behind her to see Kashino looking around for his 'birthday box'. "It would be a bit of a bother to hold while you're climbing" she finished, looking ahead.
"We're here-desu!" Caramel said delightfully as they all came to a land. Chocolat and Vanilla, who had (by this time) established themselves as the leaders of this expedition, started talking to the group. Kashino started to listen, but mirror king decided to stand next to him and was poking him.
"What?" Kashino whispered so Chocolat wouldn't hear him.
"Here, Happy Birthday" Hanabusa said, smirking a little bit while handing him a tiny box. "You got something from everyone who knows what today is" he added as if he knew the unasked question in Kashino's mind. The Sweets Spirits had put together a trip away from the real world for him, Andoh had given him a homemade sweet, and the mirror king got him…
… a chocolate bar? Kashino looked up quizzically. Hanabusa scoffed as if it were obvious. "If you can't find food up there, eat it," he explained. "Surely you've heard of bringing chocolate on climbing expeditions, being the chocolate king and all. Later!" Hanabusa then turned tail and walked over to his climbing partner, Andoh.
"You got it?" Chocolat seemed like she was wrapping up whatever she was saying. Kashino hadn't heard any of it, but thankfully, she went over it, mainly looking at Amano. "Don't eat the brown sugar, stick with your buddy at all times, and watch out for hazardous road conditions. Brown sugar can be packed solid, but it can also have air pockets so you can start an avalanche if you're not careful."
Vanilla soon came around handing out maps. It was her turn to talk now. "We're in four groups, but there are eight paths to choose from" Vanilla passed out the last of the maps and headed up to where Chocolat was. "You should get with your climbing buddy now and decide which path you take. They all get to the same place, but conditions are different, so you'll need different equipment."
Chocolat picked up. "When you know which path you're going to take, use Sweets magic to get the right gear."
Amano walked over to Kashino with a map in her hands when Vanilla and Chocolat were done talking. "All the paths look tricky, but I think I like this one" she said as soon as she laid out the map. She was pointing to a path that led past a few caves and a lake. Kashino noticed that her hand was quivering and glanced up at her face. She was staring at a different portion of the map. The trail she was staring at was by far the easiest, with a short climb and plenty of rests. She knows she can't make that climb, so why…? Kashino looked around to see if anyone was forcing her to choose any specific path. No one was staring, so Kashino sighed. She was only bringing this upon herself.
"Are you sure?" Kashino asked finally. He added, so as to be in character, "You look like you would die if you tried that climb, why don't you go for something more in your league?"
"Then you don't have a problem with it?" Amano asked after the invisible arrows dissolved. Kashino sighed again. She can be really dense sometimes. "Not really" he said.
Kashino went to Chocolat to get his outfit while Amano went to Vanilla to get hers. As soon as he came out with an explorers outfit, complete with hat and jacket, he asked Chocolat "Did anyone tell Amano what path to take?" He watched carefully for any signs of lying.
"Not that I know of" she said, passing the lie detector. "Don't keep her waiting, shoo!" she said as she turned around and looked the map with Carmel. Kashino decided to just ignore the date and get to the path where Amano was waiting. He could pretend that it was some other day. Any other day. A normal day…
14AmyChan: hope you liked it… *^_^*
Kashino: What was that? IT WAS HORRIBLE!
14AmyChan: Well,
Kashino: And it looks like you didn't even have a plan when you started writing the chapter, how despicable!
14AmyChan: I never have a plan when I start typing on the computer.
Kashino: What, are there competitions for making things up on the spot or something?
14AmyChan: Yeah.
Kashino: Were you ever in one?
14AmyChan: Yeah.
Kashino: Are you going to keep saying 'yeah'?
14AmyChan: …
Kashino: You know you're really annoying… -.-'
14AmyChan: I know, please R&R! *^_^*