A Birthday Party For Ami

Amu glared down the mess of the kitchen angrily. Her parents had left her in charge of preparing the cake and decorations for Ami's surprise party, while they distracted Ami at the park.

"I can help desu!" Su said as Amu began beating the cake batter again. Amu shook her head furiously.

"I can do it!" She said, pouring the batter into the pan. She gently put it into the oven and stared at the oven, wondering how high the cake should be cooked at. She began to turn the knob to 350 degrees.

"Did a bakery throw up in here?" Amu whipped around, surprised to see Ikuto smirking at her. Amu's hand slipped and she turned the knob to 450 degrees.

"Shut up!" Amu exclaimed, cleaning up the kitchen. "I'm making a birthday cake for my sister." Before Amu could grab the mixing spoon Ikuto licked it and winced.

"How much sugar did you put in there?" He asked when Amu snatched it away. "It's too sweet."

"That's your opinion!" She exclaimed, throwing the spoon into the dishwasher. As she cleaned up Ikuto noticed Amu had been using tablespoons instead of teaspoons.

"Amu, you did this wrong," Ikuto told her, sighing. She glared at him angrily.

"Get out!" She yelled annoyed. "I have enough to do!" Ikuto ignored her and picked up the happy birthday banner from the table. He hung it up and smirked at Amu.

"I'll help you," He said. "I won't let you completely ruin your sister's birthday." Amu turned a dark red.

"I don't need your help!" She exclaimed embarrassed.

"It's an awful lot of work for one person," Ikuto said, picking up some streamers. Amu nodded slightly, in agreement. It won't hurt if Ikuto helps. She thought. They began hanging decorations everywhere. Streamers encircled the whole house and balloons floated around the living room. After about a half an hour Amu smelt smoke, while Ikuto helped her hang decorations up outside.

"On no!" She raced down the ladder and into the house. The fire alarm was beeping wildly and when Amu opened the oven she saw the cake was on fire. In attempt to grab it the fire burnt Amu's hands. She pulled back, trying to not cry. Fire spread out of the oven and caught onto the curtains.

"Move!" Ikuto quickly extinguished the fire using the fire extinguisher and then opened all the windows and doors. The charas turned on the fans and after a few minutes the smoke cleared out. The kitchen was covered in white foam, however, and Amu didn't think she could make another cake before her parents got home.

"Everything's ruined," Amu murmured, falling on the couch. Tears fell down and hit her hands making her flinch.

"We can use Remake Honey and fix the cake desu," Su suggested and Amu shook her head.

"That's not the point," She cried, unhappily. "Mama and Papa left me in charge and expected me to do it. I failed!" Ikuto walked over and hugged her.

"It's alright," He murmured quietly. "We'll fix everything; it's not your fault. Everyone makes mistakes." Then Ikuto noticed Amu's hands. "Did you try to grab the cake?" Amu nodded and Ikuto stood up again.

"We need to soak your hands in cold water desu," Su told Amu as Ikuto brought over the mixing bowl filled with water. She winced as she stuck her hands in it.

"It hurts!" She cried, about to pull her hands out. Miki and Ran pushed her hands further into the water.

"You have to soak them for a while desu," Su told Amu. "Then we need to put antibiotic cream on them desu." She nodded and stared down sadly.

"I've ruined everything," She murmured. Ikuto kissed her cheek and then walked back into the kitchen. Yoru and Ran helped him clean out the oven and get rid of the foam all over the kitchen. Miki helped pull out the ingredients again, while Ran and Yoru poured them into the mixing bowls. Within about fifteen minutes another cake was baking in the oven.

"We'll have to wash them every day desu," Su said as she wrapped Amu's hands in gauze. Then she gave Amu some medicine. "Rest for now. We'll take care of everything desu." Amu glanced up surprised to see Ikuto and the charas working hard in the kitchen. She couldn't help, but smile.

The smell of the smoke still lingered around the house, so Ran and Miki sprayed air fresher around. Then Ikuto went back to hanging up decorations.

"The cake's done desu!" Su called and when Ikuto came back in Amu was fast asleep on the couch.

"She's worked really hard," Ikuto murmured, pulling the cake out and setting it on the counter.

"We'll finish the rest," Ran said happily. "Ami-chan's friends will be arriving soon!" Ikuto nodded and sat down on the floor next to Amu. He gently stroked her hair.

"I'll make sure everything turns out okay," He promised quietly. The charas frosted the cake and Miki painted "Happy Birthday Ami!" across it. After covering it they looked around the house, satisfied.

"Everything looks great!" Miki said happily. Then she glanced at the curtains. "Most everything…" Yoru and Ran snatched up some extra streamers and threw them over the curtain rod covering the burned curtains.

"Perfect nyan!" Yoru declared, nodding happily. Then the doorbell rang and Ikuto answered it. He explained the parents what happened, while Ami's friends ran around, chasing the charas. All of the parents agreed that Ikuto was a very nice young man. At about noon the lights were switched off and everyone hid.

"Amu, wake up," Ikuto murmured, shaking her shoulder. She glanced sleepily at him and sat up.

"I can't believe you did this," She sighed happily. After a few minutes the door opened. When Ami turned on the lights everyone jumped out and yelled, "Surprise!" Her eyes widened happily.

"A party!" She exclaimed happily, racing around. "Yay! Yay!" Her parents smiled and her father began directing all the activities.

"Great job Amu-chan," Amu's mother told her. Amu looked down in embarrassment.

"I wasn't able to do all of this," She told her mother sadly. "When I baked the cake I messed up and it caught on fire. Then the curtains caught on fire and I got burned." She held out her hands in shame. "Ikuto finished everything and cleaned up my mess." Her mother glanced at Ikuto, puzzled and then smiled.

"It's alright Amu-chan," She told her daughter. "You tried your best and we shouldn't have expected you to take care of everything by yourself." Amu nodded, happy that her mother wasn't angry at her. "Thank you for helping Amu-chan, Ikuto-kun."

"You're welcome," He replied, smiling. In the end Ami's birthday party went perfectly. Everyone loved the cake and the decorations. At the end of the day all of the little children were exhausted. Ami went to bed early and Amu's father decided to stay home when her mother took her to the doctor's office.

"Thank you Ikuto," Amu murmured smiling happily at him. "I couldn't have done anything today without you." She blushed and before Ikuto could say anything she quickly kissed him. Ikuto stood on the porch, staring at her shocked. "I-I'll see you later." He watched as she raced away and got into the car. Her mother said something, causing her to turn even redder. As they drove away Amu glanced back and waved at him. He smirked and waved back, slightly. Even if it was for a second, it was a nice kiss Amu. He thought happily.