AN: Hi, guys! The lyrics in the beginning might be familiar to some of you. This song inspired me to have Japan performing in a samurai play. Enjoy and please R&R! Thank you! :D

"It's finally finished," Kiku sighed.

He gulped down his green tea, ate some mochi, and began to read.

The faraway dream that is shining madder red

is writing down the moments and is shining tonight.

The full moon and my heart begin to rise gracefully.

On the vaguely wavering bridge that is ephemeral

like bubbles, the pink-colored heat haze snuggles and

follows the wind. With my eyes staring fixedly, although

it's an endless way, without stopping my walking, I certainly

will convey the feeling kept in my heart. The starry sky that

is clear and blue is reflected on the waves. The thousands of the

scattering sparkles guide me and flick my heart. Just then, glows

of fireflies come into my view, and festival music resounds through.

Now my lovely home is gradually dyed by them. What strong prayers

they are! The branch-dropping cherry blossoms have bloomed steadily.

Cherishing these enchantingly beautiful flowers in full bloom,

I picture my dream journey and look up the heavens.

"Whew, that's a lot. Now I need to come up with a catchy melody."

XxXxX

"Good morning, Yao-kun!" Kiku greeted when he arrived in Hungry Panda.

"Good morning, Kiku-chan!" Yao called out in the kitchen. "Are you going to eat breakfast here, aru?"

"Yes, I am!" he replied and seated himself.

"Good timing! My mom's finished with cooking breakfast, aru!"

"What did she cook?"

"Lots of stuff for the three of us, aru! Let's see, we will eat egg pancakes, fried dumplings, beef noodle soup, pig noses, and even barbecued bats!"

Kiku had the most horrified and disgusted face ever.

"Pig noses and BATS!?" his voice raised and emphasized at the word "bats" much more.

"Yeah... does it disturb you that much?"

"Yes, it does! Do you eat those disgusting things everyday!?"

"HEY! They taste way better than they look, aru! You'll see!"

"Stop arguing, you two!" Yao's mom demanded as she came out of the kitchen with large plates of food. "It's still early in the morning. We don't want to wake up everyone in the neighborhood."

"Sorry..." both of them muttered.

"Then, let's start digging in!" she clapped her hands together after putting the food in front of them.

Yao gobbled his way through the endless amount of food while the refined Japanese kid took a lot of time chewing his food properly. Just like a true gentleman would. The best had been saved for last... Yao waved a bat, smothered in sweet barbecue sauce, on a stick directly in front of Kiku.

"Kiku, you have to try this..." he taunted in a singsong voice.

The traumatized kid shook his head. "No!"

"Come on, it's not that bad..."

"Never!"

"Just one bite please?"

"You can't make me!"

As quick as lightning, Yao tried aiming for his mouth but the bat was caught.

"NOOOOOOOO!" Kiku screeched so loud that Shinatty instantly appeared from next door.

"What in the world?" he said at the doorframe.

Kiku rose from his chair and scurried to the farthest corner of the restaurant. "GET THAT AWAY FROM ME!"

Yao followed suite. "I'll stop chasing you when you finally have your first bite, aru!"

Yao pursued the poor boy all over the small place.

"Ah, kids these days..." Shinatty commented.

"Kiku sweetie, the bats are delicious!" Yao's mom persuaded.

"No, they're not! I'm scared of bats so I hate them!" Kiku shouted.

XxXxX

"Yao-kun, another reason why I came to your place is because I thought of an amazing idea for my school's play! I want your help on it so it can be improved!"

"What's the idea, aru?"

"My class will be performing a play about samurais so everyone randomly picked their role. I got the lead role as the samurai protagonist so I wrote an original song that relates to his ideal future. It's called Dream Journey. Would you like to read it?"

"Yes, I will, aru! I'd love to be a big help!"

Yao read it over several times, saying, "This is really good, aru! Was this your first time writing your own song?"

"Yes."

"Great! It certainly does need some tweaking, aru."

"What should I fix?"

"Some of the lyrics should be repeated several times so the song sounds more flowing and smooth, aru."

"You mean a refrain?"

"So that's the word for it, aru! Thanks a lot!"

"Which verse should be the refrain?"

"The one that starts with The faraway dream..."

"Good idea! It's fit to be a refrain."

"Alright. Anything else you need help with, aru?"

"The tune of this song. I'm having trouble on how it should go."

There was a brief pause in their conversation.

"Hmmm... I GOT IT, ARU!"

It's the perfect song, right? Also, if you want to know, I have these ideas that will become future chapters: Halloween, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Yao's birthday, and more to be announced in the future! See you next chapter! :D