Hello hello my friends! :3 I'm really excited for this Saturday because I'm going to my friend's Quinceanera! It's my first time to a party like this! Gonna party all night! Hahaha! Anyway, I had so much fun writing chapter 3 and I hope you enjoy chapter 4! All rights go to Matsumoto Natsumi-sensei

~Challenge Day~

Normal POV

"Ichigo wake up! Today's the big day!"

The brunette blinked and let out a sigh. She turned to her side table and read the clock, 5:00AM. She forgot that they were supposed to leave really early to set everything up.

"Come on Ichigo, I've already laid out your clothes." Ichigo's Sweets Spirit Vanilla gestured towards the edge of the bed to the light pink tight shirt and white capris.

With a grunt, Ichigo sat up. She turned towards the window and noticed that it was still dark. She felt like it was 1:00 in the morning. With all her strength, she swung her legs across her bed and walked out towards the bathroom. Just as she reached for the handle, it twisted and the door flew open, a cloud of steam blowing in her face followed my Kashino with damp hair and a towel around his waist.

"Morning," he said as if they were strangers who met on the streets.

Ichigo tried her best not to stare at his half naked self for too long. "G- good morning..." she stuttered.

Kashino chuckled and patted her head before heading to his room. "Don't take too long!"

She sighed and walked in. As she locked the bathroom door, she felt dizzy. Probably just fatigue, she thought. With that, she stripped off her pjs and stepped in the shower.

~xXx~

When she got out, Ichigo still felt the same. She leaned against the bathroom sink and steadied her breathing. If I just take aspirin, I'll be fine... I'll be fine... She took a deep breath, let it out and walked to her room. As she closed the door, Vanilla came up to her.

"Ichigo, are you okay? You don't look good..." She said with worry in her voice.

Ichigo gave a confident smile. "Yeah, just tired that's all. If I take medicine, I'll be fine alright?"

Vanilla nodded but wasn't too sure. "Okay then..."

She unwrapped her towel and quickly changed into her clothes. Since it was gonna be busy, Ichigo didn't really put anything fancy on. As for her ring, she got a chain out of her jewelry box and threaded it through the ring and hooked it around her neck. There, hopefully it'll be safe.

She took her time going down the stairs, gripping the hand rail tightly. When she got to the kitchen, Kashino, Vanilla and Chocolat were already eating breakfast.

"Bout time you got down here," Chocolat said looking up from her small plate.

"Chocolat!" Vanilla hissed.

"We were about to leave without you," Kashino bluntly said, not looking up from his newspaper.

Ichigo ignored him and walked towards the cabinet. "Where'd you put the aspirin?" She asked fumbling around the different kind of bottles.

That caught his attention. The word aspirin and the fact that Ichigo said it made Kashino's head jerk up. "You okay?"

"I'm just feeling a little headed, that's all. If I just take medicine, I'll be fine." She finally found the small bottle of pills and made her way to the table, slumping herself on the chair. Before she opened up the bottle, her head fell on her hands and rubbed her temples gently. Kashino put a hand to her shoulder.

"You want coffee?" He asked gently.

She shook her head. "Small glass of juice will do fine."

The pressure of his hand left her shoulder and his foot steps made it's way towards the fridge. Vanilla and Chocolat came up to her.

"Ichigo, you should eat something," said Vanilla.

She shook her head in response. "I'm not hungry right now..."

"But you have to eat something, it's not healthy for you!" Chocolat exclaimed. "At least a piece of toast or something."

Kashino set the glass down and kneeled beside her and cupped her cheek. "Am- Ichigo," He said, suddenly using her first name. Ever since they started dating, they weren't really sure if they should call each other by their first name. Though the years, Ichigo noticed that Kashino would call her by her first name at serious times. After a while, she started to do the same thing. "I know it's a big day for us, but if you're not feeling well, I don't want you to push yourself. Meaning, stay home for today and rest."

"I said I'm fine Makoto. I'm just tired from yesterday. I'll wake up eventually alright? There's no way I'm staying home today."

Kashino didn't flinch, he just gave out a stubborn sigh. "Fine. But if you collapse at the shop, its not my fault."

Even though her head hurts, Ichigo smiled. "I missed that sadistic side of you," she said. "It's good to hear it again."

Kashino smiled and kissed her forehead. "Good, because honestly, I was getting tired of that goodie-goodie personality.

Ichigo's POV

The pills helped a little, long enough for me to be able to make it to our shop. Thankfully, we have everything planned out. We decided that we wanted the shop like the one in Japan, le reve colour. The exterior and interior are the same, but the shop itself is bigger in size.

I tightened my grip on Kashino's arm to steady myself for a second.

"You alright?" He asked.

I nodded. "Let's just go in."

As soon as we walked in, the first thing that hit me was... coconut milk? I sniffed. Yeah, that's coconut milk alright. The sent of it was all over the shop.

"What is... "

Before Kashino could finish, a familiar face popped her head out from the kitchen. "Oh hey guys, good morning!" Asuka-chan said with a pot and whisk in her hand. "You're just in time, the cake is fresh out of the oven. Come on in!"

I looked at Kashino and he just shrugged. I was surprised that Asuka-chan was here before us. And she made a cake? This early in the morning? When we got to the kitchen, Asuka-chan finished pouring what I guessed was the coconut milk from the pot on to a sheet of cake.

"How are you feeling Ichigo-chan?" She asked me as she placed the pot in the sink.

"H-how did you..?"

She smiled. "I saw how you acted last night, you seemed a little off. And Vanilla sent Yuca a message earlier this morning. So I woke up really early in order to make this!"

Asuka gestured toward the cake sheet and started cutting. It was plain looking, honestly but... As she pulled out the first slice, the "cake" actually look like some sort of rice cake instead of sponge cake. The coconut milk topping she put on spilled on the sides of the slice, coating the whole thing.

"Eat this Ichigo-chan, it'll make you better, trust me. You too Makoto-kun, I mean seriously, you cant be that wide awake after your trip here."

I sat down and took the plate and Kashino took his. As we were doing so, Asuka-chan went to the fridge to get drinks.

"So," Kashino started as he cut into the cake slice. "What is this exactly?"

"Cassava Bibingka or cassava cake! A Philippine delicacy! Bibingka is, you can say, a type of rice cake that is usually eaten in the Philippines during Christmas but it is usually made year round. I used to make it a lot with my mom."

"And what's cassava?" I asked.

This time, Yuca spoke. "Cassava, or the yuca root, is a type of shrub from the spurge family. When you use it in bibingka, its grated and mixed with rice flour, coconut milk and evaporated milk. The topping is also coconut milk but its mixed with condensed milk."

Asuka-chan poured us milk in small glasses. I looked at her. "Trust me, when it comes this cake, you cant drink anything else with it besides milk."

I took a bite and was amazed. It the cake itself was very chewy and it was easy to eat, the cassava tasted pasty I guess you can say, I don't know it's hard to explain. With the coconut milk topping, it made it very creamy tasting and it spread through out my mouth. And it was really sweet but not too sweet that it'll make you wanna spit it back out. But other than that, another strong sweet flavor hit my taste buds and it tasted like... licorice?

"Asuka-chan?"

"Hmn?"

"Did you put something in the cassava cake?"

"Huh? Oh, that licorice type of taste you ate is anise!"

"Isn't anise an herb?"

"Uh-huh! That's why I put it there!"

"Why?"

"Anise," Kashino said. "Is used for many uses. In cooking, it's mostly used as a flavoring but in terms of medical use, it's used for many things, one of them being insomnia or- "

"Sleepiness." Askuka-chan finished. "I thought that it would help you guys, especially considering how important today is."

As I finished the first slice, it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. "You know, I do feel better, better than after I took medicine."

Asuka-chan smiled and placed the pot in the dish washer. "Glad to hear it! Oh and if you want to take some home you can. If you're ever gonna eat some, just heat it in the microwave for at least 10 seconds. Tastes better when it's warm!"

"Thanks so much Asuka-chan," I said thoughtfully.

~xXx~

For the rest of the morning, from 6AM to 11:30AM, we've been cooking as many sweets as we could. I remember Henri-sensei e-mailing me about how he had some people who wanted to try our shop in Japan but never had the chance to because of the great distance. But I also remember what Johnny told us way back when, about disposal loss. I already explained to Asuka-chan to limit on the extra sweets she makes in order to not have a great amount of left overs.

In the 30 minutes before the Garden's grand opening, we did the final touch. I poked my head outside the shop door. Surprisingly, there was no one outside. Good!

"Okay girls!" I announced. "When ever you are!"

The three Sweets Sprits looked at each other, nodded and grabbed their utensils. "Prettyennu Change! Deco-deco-decoration!"

Their magic surrounded the shop and it became the exact same as our shop in Japan. I put my hands to my sides and grined. "Good work!" When I went back inside, I stopped. The inside is different. Well not exactly different- I guess you can say it's mirror imaged, the stair case to the second level is on the right and the entrance to the the kitchen is on the left and the tables were arranged differently.

"What's going on? Why is it different?"

"If we're gonna expand our shop like this, we cant always have it like the previous one," Kashino explained. "It has to be unique in it's own way, that's what will attract customers. Plus, it's not that different. It's just flipped."

I shrugged. "I guess it's okay."

"Okay, we're all ready in the back here!" Asuka-chan shouted from the kitchen. "Is the display outside good?"

"Yeah!" I shouted back.

Now one more thing, "Vanilla, what do you have in mind for uniforms?"

"I still liked the ones from Japan," she said.

"Ugh, please, not those again..." Kashino grunted.

"But if you want something else..." Vanilla tried her best to not look offended from Kashino's comment and grabbed her spoon. "Prettyennu Change! Fantastic Card! Dress up!"

Vanilla's magic formed into a human sized card with an outfit printed on it. Knowing what to do, I stepped through the card as it came towards me. When I came out, I ended up in what looked kinda like a butler suit. I was wearing a long sleeved white blouse and a cream colored suit vest. I was also wearing long comfortable slacks in the same cream color and my hair was pulled back into a ponytail.

"Not bad! Not as good as the ones in Japan but these are nice!" I said checking myself out.

"No, these are way better than the ones back home."

I turned to Kashino and saw that instead of white and cream colored clothing, his long sleeved dress shirt was red and pinstriped and his vest and slacks were black.

"Maybe because you're in clothes that finally go with you're personality?" I said walking up to him.

He looked away with his cheeks having a little dab of red. "Shut up..."

I giggled and put my hands on his shirt, "You can at least adjust your collar..."

It's kinda weird. Kashino was always the shortest out of the three princes, he was almost my height back then, but now, I just had to stretch my arms just a little bit to reach his neck. He looked down at me as I finished and reached his hand to my neck. I shivered at his touch but that's when I noticed that he was reaching for the chain.

"You're wearing it around your neck?" He asked.

I nodded. "I thought it would be safer that way. At least I'm still wearing it, you know?"

He smiled and dropped the chain back on my chest, "Yeah."

"I actually like these outfits," Asuka-chan said as she came out of the kitchen. "Plus you stand out Ichigo-chan."

I looked over and saw that she was wearing the same thing as Kashino but her dress shirt is blue and not red. Her lavender hair was up in a loose bun, leaving a few strands of hair to fall in her face.

"Why am I the only one like this?" I asked Vanilla.

"In all honestly," she laughed. "I can't picture you in dark clothes. And it's like Asuka said, you stand out!"

"Thanks! I guess!"

Then we heard a the clock tower ring then the cheering of people. This is it. I looked at everyone in the room and nodded.

"Ready?"

"Yeah!"

~xXx~

As soon as the Garden opened, the streets and shops quickly started filling up. Asuka-chan took care of the display outside while Kashino and I handled the shop inside. Vanilla, Chocolat and Yuca were managing the sweets in the kitchen. We've dealt with a lot of customers before, but because we're short staffed, it's a little hard.

"I need two more Sourire de l'Ange!" I said, walking in the kitchen.

Kashino popped his head in the kitchen. "Make that four! And a mont blanc!

"Excuse me, can I get a check?" I heard someone say.

"I got it," Kashino said to me and went back out.

"Your tarts are really popular Ichigo! We've already sold 20 and it hasn't even been a full hour!" Vanilla said bringing the tarts to me.

"Thanks! Maybe because it's because of the Grand Pix!" Still, other than my tart, there's other cake and sweets too, Kashino's Rainbow Kingdom, Tennouji-san's Foret Linda, Asuka-chan made her signature millie feuille, Reve d'Automne and the New Blue Moon Andou-kun made, along with many others.

"Ichigo!" Asuka-chan shouted. "Can I get another round of Sourire de l'Ange, Rainbow Kingdom and Reve d'Automne?"

"Alright, just give me a minute!" I quickly took out the tarts and gave them to the table who ordered them. When I came back in the kitchen, the trays were already out.

"I heard her from here," Yuca said. "Go!"

I nodded her a thank you. As I made my way outside, the line for the display was getting longer.

"Thank you! Please come again!" Asuka-chan said as the women walked away. You couldn't even hear an accent when she spoke English.

"Here you go!" I said handing her the trays. "How you making out?"

"Thanks hon! And I'm doing okay. But it seems that because it's the first day, people are just grabbing and going." She gestured her head to a couple leaving our shop. "Even the ones who are sitting and eating seem to be moving on to other shops."

I nodded. "Similar situations would happen in Japan too. But eventually, both inside and outside would be even so there wasn't that many- "

"Hi, welcome! What can I get you?" She turned back to me. "Sorry, busy you know?"

"No, it's okay!" I said, shaking my head. "I'll check up on you later! Good luck!"

"You too!"

~xXx~

By the end of the day though, we were able to sell everything. Our customers seemed satisfied and we had some positive feedback. It was around 9:30 when we cleaned everything up and sat in one of the tables in the dining area.

"Ugh! Thank God that's over!" Asuka-chan moaned as she flopped herself down on a chair and laid the black headphones on her head around her neck. I laughed.

I turned to Kashino. "How were our sales?"

He looked at his notepad. "Around $485 which equals about ¥49,072."

Asuka-chan shrugged and grabbed her can of soda. "Not bad, right?"

"For now yes," said Kashino. "But as the days go by, we're gonna have to do way better the future."

I craned my neck until it cracked. "You okay?" Vanilla asked me.

"Just a little sore," I told her then I turned to Asuka-chan. "You think I can have another slice of cassava cake?"

She smiled and got up. "Sure! How bout you Makoto-kun?"

Kashino waved his hand. "I'm good."

Asuka-chan shrugged and put back on her headphones, "Alright, be back in a sec!"

As she went off into the kitchen, I stood and walked up to Kashino and put my arms around him. "You alright?"

He leaned back, holding onto my arms. "Not really. It may be the first day, but that's not nearly as much as we make normally in Japan. We need to do better advertising to get more customers."

"How about the prices?"

"I think it's best to keep it the same way back home for now. Depending on how our sales work it, we'll go on from there."

"Alright..." I inclined my head down towards him. He looked up at me and got the message. I closed my eyes and waited for the touch of his lips when a sudden burst came from the door.

"It looks the same from the one in Japan! Surely you can do better than that!"

Our eyes widened and turned towards the door. "Koshiro-san? What are you...?"

"Ohohohoho! I'm sorry, did I interrupt something?"

I don't understand, why is she even here? I felt Kashino stiffen and he swore under his breath. Before he could say anything, another familiar voice came up behind her.

"Miya! I said not to do this!"

I gasped. "Johnny?"

"I-Ichigo," He started. "I can explain- "

I suddenly heard a sharp intake of breath and a plate clattering to the floor. I turned around. Asuka-chan looked so pale all of a sudden. Her headphones were around her neck again, making the music blast so loud it can be heard from here. Her big brown eyes were wide with shock and her hands that were holding the cake, that is now splattered on the floor, were trembling.

"Hindi ko naniniwala ito," She said in a language that I guessed was Tagalog. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

The tone in her voice was indescribable, I've never heard her so scared. What's even more weird, she was talking to the ones who came in the shop. I followed her gaze. Koshiro-san looked confused but Johnny... he looked just as shocked as Asuka-chan. His light blue eyes were wide and his mouth hung open.

"Celeste?" He muttered.

Celeste? Does he mean Asuka-chan?

He took a step forward. "Asuka- Celeste is that you?"

Asuka-chan was shaking now and didn't say anything. Yuca floated up to Johnny, trying her best to look strong. "Not a step closer Johnny," she said in a steady voice.

Johnny held his arm out, as if he was trying to go around her. "Wait Yuca, hold on- "

"W-why are you here?" Asuka-chan stammered, cutting him off. "Y-you can't be! I thought... "

I walked up to her, holding my arms out in comfort. "Asuka-chan, calm down. What's- "

She didn't let me touch her. With a choked sound and tears, she pushed pass me and Johnny and ran out the shop.

"What was that about?" Koshiro-san said after a long silence.

Uh, I guess you can say that's a cliff hanger? Hahaha, I don't know, I think! But yeah, apparently, seeing Johnny gave Asuka quite a shock. But why?

Thanks for reading guys! Review your thoughts! (I'm not getting many reviews though... lol but its okay, as long as you guys are still reading, that's all that matters to me!)

Hugs and Kisses,

Aoi