Okay, here's the second part. Sorry it took me a few days, but I wanted to make sure someone had actually read the first one-shot before I uploaded the second one. While there were some hits to the story, I was waiting for a review, mostly to make sure that after everyone had clicked on it that they hadn't run away screaming. I got this idea from other authors, and I liked it, so I'd like to take a quick moment to reply to the dear people who reviewed last chapter:

karen1011:Thanks! Aren't Shu and Kluke just adorable when they're kids? :) This one-shot (Birthday) doesn't have the same atmosphere as the other one, but I hope you still like it. And I'm still looking forward to seeing the rest of your Blue Dragon story.

Prince of Tennis' Shaman: Thank you. I felt bad for Kluke, too. It seemed like a fitting role reversal for Shu and Kluke; she's not always that confident, but who's to say she's always been as confident as we've seen her? Besides, in the scene from Episode 3 in Season 1, the young Kluke seemed much more docile than the older one. I'm glad you liked Blue Dragon Beyond so much; I'll have to update extra soon just for you. ;) Isn't it amazing how I still had a long reply even though your review was shorter than the other ones you wrote for my stories? I'm giving up on making them shorter; if people don't want to read 'em, they'll have to skip over them. :P Thanks for your review, though; always nice to hear from you (and I'm looking forward to the translations of Season 2).

This one is more "angst-y" than the other one, but I like the way that it turned out. It's the only first-person story I've written that I liked. And I hope that you (the reader) likes it too.

Disclaimer: I don't have any rights to the Blue Dragon series, nor do I claim to. You honestly think I could make something this good?

Note: This one takes place between season one and two, a few months before the second season. The first half is Shu's POV, and the second half is Kluke's, but that disregards the flashbacks which are in italics. The kind-of-OC character, Lena, is part of the Resistance; I'll explain more about her in another story, since this collection is about Kluke and Shu. And "taii" (pronounce tie-ee) means captain.

2. Birthday

Do you remember, Kluke? Do you remember our birthday?

An over-joyed, seven-year-old Shu jumped from toe to toe. It was his birthday, which meant that his friends (though most were younger than him) had gotten him presents, and his grandfather had made a delicious cake. But, best of all, he got to share his birth date with his best friend.

Everyone had just sung "Happy Birthday" for the two, and were now waiting for them to blow out the candles.

"We'll do it on three, 'kay?" she smiled at him.

Shu looked over it at her. The lights in the room were off, so the candles gave her face and hair a yellowish glow. He nodded his agreement.

"Alright. One... two... three!"

The two of them blew as hard as they could, extinguishing the small flames.

Everyone clapped, the lights going back on. "Happy birthday, Kluke! Happy birthday, Shu!" Kluke's name was always said first, since she was born about two minutes before Shu.

The two children hugged, saying "happy birthday" to each other, separating with a smile.

Fushira came over to the table with a knife, cutting a gracious amount of cake.

As they did every year, the two broke off mouthfuls of cake with their forks, then fed it to each other.

Kluke giggled at some of the frosting on Shu's mouth, making him laugh as well.

Like every year, it was one of happiest days of his life.

I pushed the cake on my plate around with a fork. Yellow cake with purple frosting, decorated with frosting flowers. I remember when Kluke saw a cake like this while we were traveling; she said she wanted to have one like that for our eleventh birthday. I often wonder if she did. Yellow cake was always Kluke's favorite.

"Taii, you've barely touched your cake, let alone eat it." Lena looked over my shoulder with concern.

"Oh... I didn't realize." A lie. The truth is that it's the only thing I can think about. How can I eat cake when she isn't here to share it with? I wonder, is she as miserable as I am? Or does she just sit and enjoy some half burned, half uncooked cake she made, sharing the first bite with Andropov instead of me?

"Well, try to eat some of it, at least. It is your birthday, after all." she releases the top of the chair, walking away.

My birthday. My twelfth birthday. My second birthday without Kluke, and just as sad as the one before.

"Happy birthday, Kurukku-sensei!" The kids just finished singing "Happy Birthday".

"Happy birthday, Kluke!" Andropov and some of the villagers clap.

I wait for it expectantly, even though I know it won't come. No one else knows what comes next but me. When it doesn't happen, the hole in my heart feels even emptier than it did before.

"Go ahead and blow out the candles, Sensei!" Marie hops up and down.

"We'll do it on three, 'kay?" I whisper to myself, trying to hold back the tears that burn my eyes. I take in a deep breath and blow, blowing harder than the year before last to make up for the missing pair of lungs. Everyone claps again.

Andropov cuts the cake, not as generous as the ones that Fushira used to cut. Jiichan used to cut for two, though.

The cake is a yellow cake with purple frosting and frosting flowers, just like the cake I saw while we were traveling. I was supposed to have it with Shu for my eleventh birthday. Since he wasn't there, I couldn't bear to have it. I decided to have it this year, since I didn't know if I'd get another chance where I'd be brave enough to have it without him. Now I wish I hadn't.

The cake I had for my eleventh birthday was yellow, too. Yellow cake has always been my favorite.

I break off some cake with my fork. It hovers in the air for a moment, waiting for him to take it. He isn't there, though. I push it into my mouth. It's delicious, but it's the worst birthday cake I've ever had.

The slices are passed around, and everyone is enjoying them. They're all happy, really happy. Everyone except me.

I fiddle with my slice, pushing it around on my plate. Andropov asks me if I'm alright; I tell him I am, even though I'm not.

Next year... My thirteenth birthday. Our thirteenth birthday. I want to have my birthday with you again.

I want to talk with you again, laugh with you again. I want to spend time with you again.

I want you to be mine again. My friend, my brother, my crush. I don't know what I want you to be, but I want to have you back. I want to take you back from Bouquet, from Zola, from Blue Dragon, from fighting.

Do you remember, Shu? Do you remember our birthday?

Well, that's the second installment. I think I already mentioned this, but I wrote this before the other one. I just had to copy it from my notebook...

Anyway, this melancholy little thing was sort of a response to Tenkai. I like season two, probably more than the first one, but I miss Kluke. I know for a fact that I share this sentiment with many who have seen the new season. I like the game version Kluke the most (she's great, it's little wonder why Jiro's in love with her), but in the anime, I like her more in season one than two. I still like her all-around, though. :D

Also, the line below needed all the words to be capital for accent, but is not supposed to be a flame:

THIS FIC IS NOT BASHING ANY CHARACTERS.

I thought I should put that, since some of the things said seemed a little anti-Andropov. I always liked Andropov; I thought we could trust him the moment I saw him fight Shu. Not that fighting Shu is a good thing, but it seemed obvious how he was more of a kid than the other members of Rogi's squad, so it was likely he could sympathize more with the Shu-tachi. And this story wasn't meant to bash Bouquet, Zola, or Blue Dragon. Bouquet's my favorite female character, Zola is (I think) awesome and not evil. And why watch a show called Blue Dragon if you don't like the title character? Even if he should be nicer to Shu sometimes (I'm looking at you, Blue Dragon).

So, let me know what you think. I'm really unsure of where to go with this collection from here, so advice would be much appreciated.