Aki-Con Fanfic Entry 2009

The sun was shining, the birds were chirping and overall it was a beautiful day. Well, that would be the case if you ignore the fact that it was currently 15 degrees out, the birds that you could hear chirping were really from an annoying commercial for some exotic island in the tropics, and the sun hadn't shown itself for weeks. So I guess in reality you could say that the weather outside was just plain horrible. And that's just what Hibaki did. "You know, I like the snow as much as the next person, but I think two feet is a little much. This weather is ridiculous."

"Oh come on, it's not that bad." Fuyoko said as she smiled at the beautiful white wonderland outside the window. "Everything is so pretty when it snows. I mean just look at that view, it's breathtaking."

Rolling his eyes, Hibaki shook his head. "Only a girl would say that a view is 'breathtaking'." He muttered quietly. "It's just frozen water for crying out loud. What's so great about that."

"Did you say something?" Fuyoko asked as she turned away from the window. When Hibaki shook his head, Fuyoko shrugged and headed towards the front door, grabbing Happa on the way.

Hibaki watched curiously as Fuyoko put on her boots and began to put on several coats. "Where are you going?" He asked as she wrapped a scarf around her neck. "Don't tell me you've decided that this would be the perfect time to go take a stroll."

Snorting, Fuyoko pulled Happa to her chest. "Of course not silly, we're going out to buy Happa some warm clothes. I want to take him outside to play in the snow, but he'll freeze if he doesn't have anything to wear."

Hibaki blinked. "…I have no idea what to say to that." He mumbled as he pulled out his boots as well. "I'm not sure which is stranger, the fact that she wants Happa to have warm clothes to wear outside, or that she's making me go with her to buy them."

Fuyoko, who had been ignoring Hibaki in favor of telling Happa about all the fabulous clothes he was going to try on, stood up when she noticed he was putting on his coat. "Here, you need to put Happa inside your coat." She said, holding out the stuffed panda.

"And why would I need to do that?" Hibaki asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because he'll get cold otherwise." Fuyoko stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, and really, it should have been. "He can't go outside without being bundled up so you need to put him under your coat to keep him warm."

Hibaki opened his mouth, and then closed it slowly, then opened it again. "…ok, but why do I have to carry him under my jacket? Why don't you put him under yours?"

"My coats are fitted, Happa wouldn't be able to breathe under them." She replied. "Your coat is several sizes to big though, so there's plenty of room for Happa under it." Fuyoko began to tap her foot in impatience when Hibaki simply stood there staring at her. "Would you hurry up and take him, we don't have all day."

Deciding that it would be easier to just go along with her, Hibaki complied. Taking the panda from Fuyoko, he wrapped his coat around the both of them and zipped it up. "There, happy?" He grumbled.

Smiling brightly, Fuyoko pulled open the front door. "Yep, now let's go and get you some new clothes Happa!" She cried happily as she walked out into the snow.

Looking down at the bulge in his coat, Hibaki groaned. "The things I do for her." He muttered as he followed after a very hyper Fuyoko.

They walked in comfortable silence for several blocks, Fuyoko admiring the scenery and Hibaki glancing about nervously to make sure no one was around. 'This would be so embarrassing if someone were to see me.' He thought as he whipped his head towards a tree he caught movement by. 'Good, it was just a squirrel.'

The silence continued for three more blocks until they found themselves outside of their towns' small clothing store. Peering in the window, Fuyoko knocked twice and then pushed the door open. Pulling off her coats, she proceeded to head over to a rack of child-sized parkas and began to sift through them. "No, no, absolutely not, never in a million years, oh this is cute. What do you think Hibaki?" Fuyoko asked as she held the pink jacket up. When she got no response, Fuyoko turned back towards the door and placed her hands on her hips. "What are you doing standing there, get over here and help me find some clothes for Happa!" She called out.

Hibaki glanced around the dimly lit store and stood rooted to his spot. "You do know it's classified breaking and entering if no one's here right?" He asked in a whisper. "We could go to jail for this."

"Don't be silly." Fuyoko said as she walked over and grabbed Hibaki's hand. "I already cleared it with the owners, they said to leave the money on the counter before we left. Now come on and help me look." Dragging him back to the rack she had been looking through, Fuyoko held back up the pick jacket. "So what do you think?" She asked again.

Dropping his coat on the floor and placing Happa on top of it, Hibaki nearly choked on his tongue. "You've got to be kidding me!" He practically shouted. "It's pink! Why would you ever get him something pink?!"

"Because it's cute, that's why!" Fuyoko replied with a huff. "If you don't like it why don't you try and find something better." Sticking her tongue out quickly, Fuyoko went back to looking through the jackets.

"Maybe I will." Hibaki said as he began to pull out random jackets to look at. Suddenly, he pulled out a bright red coat with a fur lined hood. "How about this one?" He asked, holding it up for Fuyoko to see.

"No way." Fuyoko said, pulling out a yellow parka and holding it up. "This one is great."

Tossing the red jacket over his shoulder, Hibaki snorted. "Yeah, if you want Happa to be mistaken for a baby chick."

Fuyoko tossed the parka over her shoulder and huffed. "Whatever." She said as she went back to the coats.

This went on for quite awhile, Hibaki and Fuyoko pulling out coats and tossing them aside just as quickly. They just couldn't seem to find the perfect coat, or at least one that they both agreed on. "This is getting us nowhere." Fuyoko said as she dropped to the ground exhausted. "We've been through all of the rack and we can't find anything. Maybe we should come back another time and try again."

"Yeah, sure, I just want to go home." Hibaki grumbled from his position on the floor. "Shopping for clothes is way too much work."

"You're such a baby." Fuyoko said as she stood up and grabbed her coat. "Let's go Happa, we'll find you something later." Pausing, she turned around and quickly looked around the store. "Happa, where are you? Happa?" Eyes widening, Fuyoko dropped to her knees. "Oh no, Happa's lost! What'll we do?!" Fuyoko cried, pulling on her hair nervously. "Should we call the police? I know you have to wait 48 hours before reporting a missing child, but Happa's a panda, I'm sure the rules are different for pandas!" Pacing back and forth, she suddenly paused. "Maybe he was kidnapped! What kind of person would kidnap a defenseless panda?! What is wrong with this world?!"

Hibaki rolled his eyes as he watched Fuyoko's overly dramatic speech. Waiting for her to pause, Hibaki quickly interrupted her. "I'm sure Happa's fine." He said calmly. "All we have to do is find him. He has to be here somewhere, it's not like he walked off on his own." Seeing Fuyoko open her mouth, Hibaki raised his hand to shush her. "And no he wasn't kidnapped. Look around, no one is here but us. There is no way he could have been taken; we would have noticed someone walk in. That means he must be here somewhere so we just have to look for him. Don't worry, we'll find Happa." Hibaki finished, placing an arm around Fuyoko in comfort.

Sniffling, Fuyoko nodded. "You're right." She said, wiping her tears. "Don't worry Happa, I'm coming for you! Just hang on!" With that, Fuyoko dropped to her knees and began to dig through a pile of clothes.

Clothing flew through the air in all directions and Hibaki sighed. "This is going to take forever if you make even more piles. You should slow down." Wincing at the fierce glare he received, Hibaki shook his head. "Never mind, we'll do it your way."

Once again the two teens began to throw clothing all around the store, only this time they weren't looking for a jacket. Time dragged on in silence and Fuyoko was getting more and more worried by the second. "This isn't good, what if we never find him? I can't live without Happa!" She wailed. "Happa, where are you?!"

Just then Hibaki spotted a red arm peeking out from under an orange jacket. Reaching over, he lifted the hideous orange monstrosity up and tossed it to the side. "There you are." He said as he went to pick Happa up.

He didn't get very far before he was shoved out of the way by Fuyoko. "Happa! I found you!" She cried happily, picking up the panda and spinning him around.

"Actually I found him." Hibaki muttered.

Fuyoko ignored the boy at her feet and smiled lovingly down at the panda in her arms. "Hey, what are you wearing?" She asked as she realized her panda was covered in a dark gray jacket. Eyeing the coat up and down, Fuyoko grinned. "I love it, it's perfect for you." Turning back to face Hibaki, she tucked Happa under her arm. "Well what are you waiting for? Happa found his jacket so go and put the money on the counter." Whistling to herself, Fuyoko picked up her coats and headed towards the door.

Dropping his head, Hibaki groaned in frustration. "First I get drug along on this crazy shopping trip, then we lose Happa and now she expects me to pay. I knew I should have stayed in bed today." He grumbled as he stood up and headed towards the counter. Dropping some bills down, he turned around and grabbed his coat.

"Hurry up Hibaki. I can't wait to let Happa show off his new winter coat!" Fuyoko said excitedly as she waited by the door.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Hibaki said as he pulled his coat on and walked to the door. As soon as he was within reach, Fuyoko grabbed his hand and proceeded to drag him outside and down the road.

Fuyoko danced around, happily swinging Happa to and fro while singing softly. Suddenly she stopped and turned around. "Uh oh, we forgot to get him some gloves and a scarf. We need to go back." She said, fully intending to go back to the store right then.

Hibaki's eyes widened and he backed away slowly. "Someone please save me." He cried helplessly as Fuyoko grabbed his arm and dragged him back down the street.