Note: The story companion to a comic I made for Lang's birthday this year. A sequel to Sparkle 14: Appreciate Kei Day.

The theme for this little story is HypochondriacPiano's piano arrangement of Dearly Beloved and Hikari from Kingdom Hearts, all rolled into one cover to listen to.

A Sea and Stars future event, maybe. :)

Sparkle 32: Cooking for Someone Important

"What's Tomoko-chan doing, Judai?"

The reply wasn't even said in the span of a heartbeat. It only took a few seconds for the retired Jounin to glance in his daughter's direction before shrugging with a fond smile. "Contemplating, Sakumo. Contemplating."

"Contemplating?" Wataru echoed suspiciously, nearly knocking over his cup of tea with his hands close to flailing in the air. "Contemplating what?"

Judai only pointed behind him. Wataru and Sakumo immediately turned around to look, and their eyes landed on the girl in question. Even with her long hair tied back into a low ponytail, the likeness to Hikari was uncanny as Tomoko peered over a yellow book, hunched enough to look troubled. She didn't even notice the stares trained into her back as she paced back and forth in the Hoshino family kitchen, thumbing through bookmarked pages all the while. The green apron on her person said enough.

"Ah, she's trying to cook." Sakumo said finally. "For Kei?"

Wataru let out a small laugh. "That reminds me. 'Appreciate Kei Day' is coming up soon, isn't it? Even when they're almost 20, she's still doing that."

"I don't see you complaining about it." Judai smiled proudly while looking up towards the sky. "Even when I'm an old man, I'm not going to forget this." Judai chuckled to himself, and it was hard to miss the pure love shining in his brown eyes. It was obvious that Tomoko was the apple of his eye from the silly look on his face. "Out of everything from the war, Tomoko-chan kept her heart. And that heart just helps keep all of us going now, doesn't it?"

Wataru and Sakumo shared a look before nodding sagely in unison.

Before anything else could be said, the sound of pacing grew louder as Tomoko-chan apparently started to wrack her head against the cookbook in her hands. "Aaaaah, what's good? Mochi is too obvious, muffins is out of the question because then I'd be predictable, tiramisu might take too much time, I've already done a Black Forest Cake, what about dango…? Or maybe sea-salt ice cream?"

The adults all turned and watched in varying degrees of amusement as Tomoko proceeded to shake her head furiously, cheeks puffed in an obvious pout all the while. "Muuuuuuu, no, no, no, dango might risk Haya-kun eating it all, not to mention Anko-chan, and we can't have that. Obito might get tempted too, so I have to make something to appease them both at one point… and sea-salt ice cream could melt mid-surprise delivery… Fwaaaaaaaaaah!" Tomoko's long black ponytail weaved out in a very tangled fan behind her neck as she continued to pace, trying not to sigh. "What's something good, sweet, and easy to bake so that Kei-chan can enjoy it as a surprise~?! Heck, how am I going to surprise Kei~?! She reads my mind every single time I see her—!"

Judai's shoulders were already shaking from his barely-hidden chuckles as Wataru, whether out of sympathy or pity, spoke up with a loud and booming, "Tomoko-chan, try strawberry shortcake!"

As expected, Tomoko jumped with the shout. She definitely wasn't expecting an audience. "E-Eh?" was the high-pitched squeak, and then she slowly turned her head to meet the combined stares of all three men, cheeks already a dark pink with the gesture. "You…You heard that?"

Her voice cracked. Aww.

"We—pffft—We heard all of that, sweetheart!" Judai put in finally around his laughter, waving a hand in Tomoko's direction. "Even at 19, you are still adorable!"

The pink on Tomoko's cheeks started spreading to the rest of her face. "Nooooooooo, Papa, that's not trueeeeeee…!"

Wataru covered his mouth with his hands. Sakumo turned away to hide a large grin of his own as Judai smiled proudly. "Hime, you're fine and you're beautiful."

"Papaaaaaa, stoooooop."

"Stunning."

The pink started turning into a cherry red as Tomoko looked like she was one centimeter away from undoing her entire ponytail to instead hide away in the cover of her long hair. "Pleaseeeeeeeee doooooon't."

"Dazzling!"

"Papaaaaaaaaaaaa, noooooooooo."

"Absolutely mesmerizing!"

That was the last straw. "P-PAPAAAAAAAAAAAA!" was the new high-pitched, undignified squeal.

It didn't take long for Sakumo to burst into laughter himself. Wataru was already long-down for the count from choking on his tea mid-laugh.

Judai didn't even care that he felt his back crack from his daughter's tackle-hug moments later. Or that the whole thing was from petty embarrassment revenge. He just took it with a laugh too.

Strawberries were set, frosting was all piped out into the shapes they needed to be, and the white-chocolate heart decoration, colored yellow from food coloring and a little bit of lemon extract in the name of friendship, was already placed on top of the cake. Right in the center, so that the receiver couldn't miss it.

It was perfect.

At least, I could only hope so.

Mama had given her approval with a happy smile and a warm hug my way, and don't get me started on the three men in the house. Papa couldn't stop giving compliments, and Sakumo-jichan was just like his son in giving silent approval. Wataru-jichan? He cheered. Loudly too. He had made Nagareboshi Cafe his second home almost as much as the rest of the Gekkō family, and that meant Kei would come around sooner or later.

I was hoping for later. Like, seriously later.

If I was lucky, Miyako-bachan would be keeping her occupied for a majority of the time I needed to bake. But since the clock was already reading 1 in the afternoon, even if Miyako-bachan was, well, Miyako-bachan, that meant Kei would be visiting at any moment now, knowing her.

The cake was thankfully already sitting in its designated gift box in the fridge, so all that mattered was delivering it.

Without meaning to, I found myself exhaling shakily.

Today was Kei's — well, Lang's birthday. I had to make it a good one.

She did so many things for me, even when she didn't have to. Even when the ninja-civilian divide made it harder for us to really spend time together as reincarnation buddies. I had to return the favor. Because we were best friends.

Because I loved her as family. Even now, I still do.

For good luck, I found myself grabbing my white hair ribbon instead of the usual, casual blue one. Even if it was autumn, white seemed to fit the occasion better. It definitely matched the pink blouse Mama recently found for me in one of her clothes shopping sessions.

Kei's going to like this whole thing…right? Right?

No answer. It was just me.

Hisako was always going to be in my heart, but sometimes, I still found myself wishing to hear her voice. One more time.

Kei at least had Isobu-san as company. I…

I didn't.

The library still felt empty.

Instinctively, I shook my head and brushed my long hair out of its ponytail, doing my best to ignore the slight twinge of pain from the occasional tangle. It wasn't the time to get back in memory lane. Especially the bad memory lane. Ty was bad enough that one time.

Hisako would probably scold me if she was still here.

Who knew that a Somebody could miss their Nobody so much? I could understand Sora's feelings on Roxas, at least now.

Another breath left my lips, a bit shakier than before, as my right hand instinctively reached up to clasp my Wayfinder necklace. Even if I was nervous, it wasn't the time to stand around and think. I had to move. The cake couldn't stay in the fridge forever.

I needed to find Kei. Appreciate Kei Day wouldn't be a day if I couldn't find her first, in my humble opinion.

But, where to start first—

"Tomo?"

I couldn't help it. I kinda shrieked bloody murder, because holy shit, I could hear Kei's voice and I could've sworn I was alone in my room a few seconds ago. Swiveling around quickly gave me my answer, because, sure enough, there was a ninja sitting on the window sill of my now open window. What happened to houses having screens to cover the windows and prevent intruders from coming in?

Kei only snickered at the aghast expression I was making. Apparently today's choice of clothing included a rumpled and oversized red hoodie jacket on her person, the rubber bands holding down the sleeves being the only things that made it fit. Aside from that rather interesting choice, the light yellow-green tinted T-shirt underneath complemented the jacket, and with the usual choice of blue shinobi pants, it worked.

It was still Kei.

Even then, I found myself glowering at her. In my plans, she wasn't supposed to show up yet. I was supposed to find her first! Not the other way around! "H-How long have you been there?"

"I'm a ninja, Tomo," was the first statement out of her mouth, emphasized with a waggle of her pointer finger. Uh. "And for the past minute or so," Kei continued airily with an extra wave of her hand, not even minding my exasperated stare in her direction. "You leave yourself too open."

"Muuuu," I mumbled, already finding myself pouting. There was no need to rub it in. Even if it was Kei and I loved her dorkiness enough already. Like, really? "I know that already. Now, is there a reason you're hunched on my window sill like a carrier owl?"

Kei shrugged, not even minding her bad posture all the while. I guess being a ninja meant getting used to awkward sitting positions like it was nothing? "Just because," she continued with the same airy tone, and now I couldn't help but feel suspicious once she leveled a calmer smile in my direction. "Last I checked, we had training scheduled with Mom, and yet you didn't exactly show up, so."

And now she was staring holes into my head, even when I was facing her proper. Aw, darn it. "Any ideas?" she said, her voice apparently caught between flat seriousness and some kind of teasing note I couldn't parse.

Um.

I found myself squeaking while trying to ignore the urge to throw my hands in the air. Nope, nope, I can't panic now, I can't panic now. "W-Well, today's a holiday, and I needed to do something, so Miyako-bachan already knew!"

Now Kei was looking at me like I had grown a second head. "Holiday? What holiday?"

Ohmigod.

Oh my freaking god. She didn't forget, right? Right?

The confusion in her black eyes was a good enough answer.

Not really.

Even with the heat flooding my face, I found myself closing my eyes with a sigh before walking forward and meeting her stare head-on. I was really hoping she didn't forget, but then again, ninja could be clueless. And this specific ninja was guilty of it on occasions too. "Oh, Kei, just come down from the window, let me hug you, and then I'll show you. Is that alright?"

And yes, a slight bit of irritation spilled into my voice.

I loved my reincarnation buddy very much, but there were only so many missions that could make her forget things. And she had to apparently forget today.

Arrrgh.

Kei inclined her head at me before nodding slowly, jumping down from the sill in time to catch me once I leapt at her.

Yes, yes. I tackled her. It felt like a long time since the last tackle-hug, and well, considering today was "Appreciate Kei Day," it was more than necessary. Kei didn't even seem to mind, thankfully, only grunting once and taking a step back before squeezing hard enough to nearly make me want to squeak and beg her to let go if not for the fact that I missed this.

Missions were far too long in my opinion, anyways. Time with my ninja friends was short and far too low on the contrary, and it led to some very lonely nights.

An amused chuckle sounded above my head. "What brought this on, Tomo?"

"I missed you," I said flatly and honestly, only pulling away as soon as Kei let go too. "And there's something you need to see."

Kei was frowning at me curiously now, a spark of interest in her black eyes. "Oh?"

With a more resolute smile, I reached over and gently grabbed her right hand to lead her out of the room. "C'mon, it's in the kitchen. Mama and Papa wouldn't mind you walking around here, anyways."

There was a small snicker. "Don't tell me…"

NO. No, no, NO. "I'm not giving spoilers, Kei!"

Even without looking behind me, I could tell she was rolling her eyes. "I wasn't even asking." Still, I could hear the smile in her voice and it was hard to hold back my own as soon as the kitchen started coming into view. All the men were out somewhere, and Mama had probably gone to see Miyako-bachan. It explained the quiet of the house, but with my best friend here, I found myself smiling wider.

"Tomo…?" Kei trailed off as soon as I let go of her hand to nearly skip over to the fridge, pulling the door open to take out the box. Blue ribbon and all on the lavender covers.

The cake had plenty of time to settle, so it was about time to present it to the wonderful person here.

I put on my best smile, tucked a bit of my hair behind my ear, and offered the box in her direction. "For you!"

Kei's eyes had gone as wide as saucers, just like they did five years ago when I first presented that photo album on that very first day. "Huh?" she said slowly before gingerly taking the box from my hands, staring at it for a long minute. Then she raised her head to stare at me, a light pink on her face. "Tomo…"

"Hey, I didn't make it for you to just stare, Kei." A giggle was already leaving my lips because goodness, no one could really claim that they had thrown the mighty Tidal Blade off guard. Well, aside from friends, and I'm glad that I got to see it. The cake couldn't stay hidden forever, though. "Open it!"

Kei only nodded stiffly, the same shock still shining in her black eyes as she reached over to open the covers.

The cake itself, even from my vantage of it, was perfect. Strawberries were standing tall, the frosting peaks were holding just fine, and the yellow-chocolate heart was obvious and hard to miss.

Once Kei was meeting my eyes again, I just took a part of my skirt to curtsy playfully. Past Me had nothing on this. "Happy Birthday, Lang."

Kei inhaled once, sharply too, as she glanced between me and the cake. Her eyebrows furrowed on what I could see of her forehead, wrinkling her scar in the process. "Tomo… no, Vy, you—"

"I said it before, Lang, today's a holiday. A holiday just for you." I couldn't even help the giggles leaving my throat now as I turned around to sway back and forth, hands behind my back because the happy juice was in full effect now. "And, well, for my best friend in this whole wide shinobi world, birthdays have to be celebrated with homemade sweets now, don't they?"

I only had the time to swivel my head back and give the beginnings of a smile before Kei was gently placing the cake on a nearby counter and sweeping me up into a sudden rib-creaking hug. A squeak didn't even get to leave my lips this time, because Kei was squeezing really hard again. Hell, there was only so much space for me to hug back, leaving me to instead hang onto the back of her loose hoodie for what could be dear life.

The breath had stalled in my throat, but the whisper left me anyway. "K-Kei?"

"You dork," was the murmur in my ear, and another second was all it took for Kei to put me back down onto the ground, and, wait, were her eyes shining? Or was she actually close to crying? "You didn't have to."

"But I wanted to," I found myself insisting honestly with a shaky smile, because oh god, I didn't want to see her cry, this was supposed to be a happy thing! "And, well." The nerves were coming back, but at this point, I was lost in the ramble-thought that was my load of cheese. Too late to back out now. "You've done a lot for me, Kei. You've changed so much, and the world seems safer, even if it's just a little bit. So, for the kunoichi badass who inspired me and continues to save me, this civilian can only give back her heart in the form of chocolate, no?"

Kei was staring at me incredulously now, if only for a single second before snickering softly into her open palm. "Pft. You could've put a better number than 26 on the label, Tomo."

A pout was already forming on my face, but I tried to hold it back, instead crossing my arms. "Hey, at this point, it was a nice number and I kinda didn't want to think about mental ages. And it was easier to write in chocolate."

Kei was still chuckling, but there was something soft in her stare now once she was returning my gaze. "Dork," she said again, but the warmth was real. I didn't even have time to say anything else before I was getting pulled into another hug. Thankfully, I could finally reciprocate without worrying about my ribs creaking. "Thank you, Vy."

I just reached up to gently pat the back of her shoulders, smiling. "No problem. Happy Birthday again, Lang."

The last words didn't need to be said, but I said them anyway. Because my reincarnation buddy needed to hear this, at least. "And thank you, y'know."

There was a confused breath above my hair as a hand landed on the back of my head to pull me closer. "For what?"

"For being born today, for saving Team Minato, for being you, and for staying."

Kei only laughed softly, but I could've sworn I heard a small quiver in her voice. "Who's the one doing the saving with words like that?" The hand on my head started brushing through my hair. "Your heart saved the world, Tomo. It still does, every day."

My heart skipped a beat. Outwardly, I closed my eyes and tightened the hug. The humble dork. My humble reincarnation buddy. "I try. Now, are we going to cut that cake for you or not?"

The only reply I got was another, happier laugh and a tighter hug. It was enough.