#ch: charlotte samore

[star-doll-universe]

Michelle Goes to Yakigashi Island

FINALLY FINISHED THIS! Oh my gosh, this took so long to complete, and I’m so glad it’s finally done. I hope you enjoy the final part of this little mini series I started for @one-piece-dumpster-fire​

Have a lovely holiday everyone! Merry Christmas <3

Part 1   Part 2  Part 3

“Cracker, why are you putting explosives in the picnic basket?” Michelle cocked her head to the side, a worried expression knitting her brow.

“They’re not explosives!” her fiancé exclaimed, holding up the offending rocket-shaped objects. “They’re fireworks! You can’t have a Founding Day celebration without them.”

“Oh.” Michelle bit her lip. “Is that really safe to bring to a party that kids are going to be at?”

“Are you kidding?! Oven’s sons will be furious if I don’t bring them.”

“Ok fine,” Michelle finally relented with a somewhat heavy sigh, “Just make sure they don’t crush the cookies. Giuseppe and I spent hours on those.”

Honestly, the young woman would like to admit that she was more than a little exhausted from this week. The planning process for her and Cracker’s wedding had been temporarily put aside somewhat when they received an impromptu invitation to Cracker’s older brother Oven’s home for a “Founding Day Party”.

Not long after moving to Tottoland, Michelle had learned that the citizens of each island in Big Mom’s territory celebrated the day they were assimilated into the empire as an annual holiday.

Apparently, today was the anniversary of that event for Yakigashi Island where Oven was Minister of Browned Food.

So, Michelle had to put her wedding planning on hold so that she could quickly prepare for the celebration. Initially, she had somewhat hesitated accepting her future brother-in-law and his wife’s invitation, but she knew that it would be rude to not do so, and Cracker seemed really excited about the party.

Plus, she remembered meeting Oven’s wife Samore at Winter’s tea party on Candy Island, and the woman had extended an invitation for a future visit. She supposed now was as good as time as any to take her up on that offer, even in the midst of her currently hectic life.

You are going to be the wife of a Minister of Tottoland, Michelle, the young woman had reminded herself. Not to mention he’s one of the sons of Big Mom, a Sweet Commander at that. Your life is probably only going to get crazier after you’re married.

Michelle mulled these thoughts over again as she finished the last of the packing for the trip, careful to navigate around Cracker’s fireworks. She’d prepared several batches of different flavored cookies with Giuseppe, and the couple was also bringing a bottle of spiced cider as a gift for their hosts.

Although, she supposed Spice might drink most of it. Michelle smiled to herself, remembering her feelings towards this party improving drastically when she learned Spice would be attending as a fellow Sweet Commander.

Sakura and Katakuri were also going to be there as well, along with Perospero and his family and even Smoothie was joining them.

Even if times were crazy, this party was still going to be fun.

“Ready to go, my dear?” Cracker asked, jerking Michelle from her thoughts. She looked up to see him holding his hand out to her, his trademark grin bright on his face.

“Yep. Let’s go,” Michelle picked up their basket and took his hand with her free one. The folds of her blue dress swished around her legs as she let Cracker lead her out of their lavish home and down to the docks of Cookie Town where his ship was waiting for them.

It would take a few hours to arrive at Yakigashi Island. Cracker predicted they should reach it by sundown, just in time for the party to begin.

                                                          ~~~

 “Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Cracker snarled through gritted teeth.

Michelle, meanwhile, was too absorbed in the startling sight before them to really offer up much of a response. Her eyes were wide in her face as she gawked up at the monstrous wall of fluffy white pastry that stretched out before them.

It rose out of the sea like the back of some bulbous sea creature, snaking across the line of sight of Cracker’s ship, dwarfed in comparison. It obscured the entire island from view as it drifted almost lazily in the scalding sea, which foamed and bubbled all around them like a living thing breathing.

“What is this?!” Michelle exclaimed.

“It’s some of the Popover rocks that line the coast of Yakigashi Island,” Cracker explained after shouting some orders to the Biscuit Soldiers they had manning their ship. “Sometimes they break off the mainland and drift out into the Boiling Sea. The heat causes them to expand and form something like a wall around the island’s borders.”

Michelle glanced back at the massive mound of fluffy pastry. “It looks like things got a little out of control.”

“You think?”

“What are we going to do?”

“It’ll take too long to sail around it,” Cracker proclaimed as he produced a Transponder Snail from his pocket. “I’ll call Oven.”

However, before Cracker could put the call through, Michelle saw a massive, gloved hand reach over the top of the Popover wall. She couldn’t help but scream as a huge face followed suit, falling onto her butt on the deck.

Cracker glanced at her. “What?” He then followed his fiancée’s terrified gaze to see the huge pair of red eyes peering down at them. However, he did not react in nearly the same way, he didn’t even reach for Pretzel resting at his hip.

“Oh. Hey there, Samore!” He called up to the massive person, who slowly straightened up to their full height, dwarfing the pastry iceberg floating in the sea. Michelle could now make out the familiar figure of a woman with warm brown skin and crimped dark brown hair that reached her waist. Her eyes were a deep red, and she was wearing marshmallows as earrings. The fluffy pastry mound now only reached her waist as the giant woman peered down at Michelle and Cracker’s tiny ship.

“Cracker, how lovely to see you again!”

Meanwhile, Michelle was still huddled on the deck of the ship, staring up at the massive woman before them with her mouth hanging open. “S-Samore?!”

“Hello, Michelle!” Samore’s voice echoed across the Boiling Sea as she smiled down at them, her teeth large and white, each the size of a house. “How have you been?!”

The other woman blinked rapidly, trying to make sense of what she was looking at. “I’m not crazy right?! She was not this big when I first met her,” she said to Cracker.

Cracker chuckled at that.  “I guess no one told you about Samore’s Devil Fruit power. She has the Human-Human Fruit, Model: Giant. That’s the whole reason why Mama wanted her to marry Oven, so that she could finally have a Giant in Tottoland.”

“Oh?!” Michelle’s eyes were still huge. “I see.”

“Do you want me to give you two a hand?” Samore called down to the couple, easily stepping over the wall of puff pastry and trudging through the Boiling Sea seemingly unfazed by the searing heat. Michelle soon noticed that she was wearing a pair of thigh high boots that looked a bit like the lower half of a hazmat suit, which was most likely protecting her skin.

Cracker grinned up at his sister-in-law. “If you don’t mind.”

“No problem at all.” Samore then knelt down and grasped either side of their boat as gently as she was able.

It still jostled them quite a bit and Michelle would have toppled over again along with several of the Biscuit Soldiers if Cracker hadn’t caught her.

“Easy does it, Sugar Cube,” he grinned down at her as he held Michelle against his chest.

The young woman felt her face grow hot in spite of herself.

Meanwhile, Samore had successfully lifted Cracker’s ship out of the Boiling Sea and now held the entire thing in both hands as gingerly as an egg.

The giant woman then turned and slowly clambered over the wall of puff pastry, trudging through the bubbling water in her protective boots.

Michelle clung to Cracker the entire time, trying to keep her knees from knocking as the Biscuit Soldiers scrambled about all around them, struggling to remain upright.

Cracker laughed as he took out Pretzel and stabbed it into the deck, giving him more of a solid footing as Samore trudge through the steaming water and towards Yakigashi.

The island in question soon came into view not long after they crossed the Popover barrier, slowly coming into focus amongst heavy clouds of steam, like it was gently floating closer to them out of the boiling water.

Gingerly, Michelle broke away from Cracker and slowly made her way to the edge of the ship, gripping the railing so she could remain steady while she peered down through the steam at the island before them while Samore slowly waded closer to it.

Yakigashi was another one of Tottoland’s larger islands. It seemed like everything on the island was made of some kind of bread or type of pastry. The city that spread out from the island’s center and stretched down its coast of fluffy rocks was comprised almost entirely of warm brown buildings with a heavenly baked aroma wafting from them.

Michelle inhaled deeply, a small smile forming on her face as Samore approached the dock at the edge of Yakigashi and then gently set their ship down beside it. As Michelle looked on, she noticed the pier was made of breadsticks.

“Let’s go, Michelle!” Cracker called to her, holding out his hand. His fiancée quickly accepted it, still a little wobbly on her feet as the Sweet Commander lead her off the ship, shouting commands to his Biscuit Soldiers to watch over things while they were gone.

As Michelle and Cracker exited the ship, they heard the thunderous footsteps of Samore stepping out of the Boiling Sea and up onto the shore.

The young woman glanced up, open-mouthed as Samore stepped over their heads and, as she watched, started to shrink down. The other woman had barely blinked before she was standing in front of her, far closer to her size.

“Michelle!” Samore’s grin was still large as she leaned closer and grasped her hands. “It’s so good to see you again!”

“It’s good to see you too,” Michelle replied, still a little flustered.

“I love your dress!”

“Oh? Thank you…” the young woman’s face went a little pink at the compliment.

Her outfit for the Founding Day party was brand new, another gift from Cracker, and consisted of a purple tea-length dress with a vest made of biscuits and laced in the back with white icing stays as well as large white bow tied around the waist. Over this, she had draped a magenta cape in case it got cold. Her outfit actually somewhat coincided with Cracker’s: he was wearing a shirt for once and more armor which matched the shoulder guard and leg pieces that he normally wore along with his billowing cape and sparking hair.

“Let’s go. Our ride is waiting for us,” Samore continued, grabbing Michelle’s hand and pulling her along with Cracker following after the two women, smirking at his fiancée’s slightly flustered state.

Michelle quickly found walking on the island a bit difficult. The ground beneath their feet was very soft and fluffy, like walking on a marshmallow. She stumbled a little, but Samore gripped her arm tighter to steady her.

“Sorry, the terrain does take some getting used to, but my daughter enjoys making the ground soft and fluffy like this with her Devil Fruit. She says it’s more fun this way.”

“It feels like a cloud or something,” Michelle mused, bouncing experimentally on the fluffy ground.

Samore lead them over to two large porcupine Homies with saddles on their backs and smoking marshmallows stuck to the ends of their quills. “They’re quite harmless,” she said as Michelle looked at them wearily.

One of the porcupine’s snorted, blowing smoke out of its nostrils. Cracker walked over and pet the closest one’s nose before helping Michelle climb into the saddle as it was a bit of a long way up. Samore then clambered on in front of her and grabbed the reigns while Cracker mounted the other marshmallow porcupine.

“Let’s go!” Samore called out, cracking the reigns and the two spiked creatures took off into the city ahead of them.

The capitol of Yakigashi Island was called Fukkura Town, and it soon became apparent that the Founding Day celebrations were already well underway.

Color and light had exploded across the streets of the city in the forms of streamers and balloons, torches and sparklers. Crowds of people and Homies weaved throughout the buildings while thunderous music reverberated between them like a storm.

Michelle didn’t know where to look. There was dancing and singing, performers doing backflips and juggling flaming torches, people selling and eating delicious foods and bands blasting loud and rambunctious music.

“Oven really outdid himself this year,” Cracker mused from on top his porcupine mount, waving halfheartedly to some of the passerby that had recognized one of the Sweet Commanders.

“He can be pretty competitive,” Samore replied with a fond smile, leaning down to accept a flower from a young female Fukkura Town resident, who was smiling sweetly up at her and Michelle.

“Is it a competition between Charlotte siblings for who has the best Founding Day celebration?” Michelle inquired.

“It certainly is between some of the older ones,” Samore agreed with a nod, pausing to smell the flower she’d been gifted.

Soon after, the group arrived at the gates of Oven’s massive estate, which was built out of pure white bread that looked almost like polished marble. There were torches made of giant marshmallows mounted at the entrance, spouting crimson fire into the growing night.

A pair of Biscuit Soldiers were patrolling at the gate, both of which quickly bowed to Cracker and Michelle as the former disembarked from his mount and then turned to help his fiancée off her own porcupine.

“At ease,” Cracker said to the soldiers, who jumped aside as Samore breezed past them, the gate swinging open with a bombastic shout.

“The lady of the house is home!”

“The party is happening in the back yard. We’ve got a pavilion set up,” Samore called back to the other two as she lead them around the side of the massive white house and through a garden gate.

In the backyard, more of the roasted marshmallow torches were set up around a dancefloor made of polished saltine crackers. Multicolored streamers looped through the autumnal trees above their heads, making a canopy around the floor and the white covered tables that create a semi-circle around them.

The rest of the guests were already there, and Michelle spotted Spice immediately. Her hair was as bright as the flames and her smile just as brighter as she leapt over to the other young woman in two levitated bounds.

“Michelle! It’s so good to see you!” Spice exclaimed, grasping the other woman’s hands and squeezing them tightly. “How have you been?!”

“It’s good to see you too,” Michelle replied, beaming. “I love your dress.”

“Oh, this old thing?” Spice giggled as she smoothed down the folds of her orange and yellow dress with red accents that looked like it was made of fall leaves. Her choker and bracelet looked like dripping maple syrup.

Michelle was about to compliment her outfit again when a pair of gloved hands suddenly covered her eyes, making her gasp. “Guess who, Aunt Michelle!

“Peppermint?” the young woman whirled around as the hands were removed from her vision to see Peppermint and Candy Cane, the twin oldest children of Winter and Perospero. They were wearing matching red and white striped suits with top hats. CC in particular really resembled his father in the outfit, especially since he was wearing his blue hair loose from its ponytail.

“How have you been, Auntie?” He asked Michelle.

“Very good, thank you.” She replied with a warm smile.

“Hey, you two! It’s been a while” Cracker exclaimed, clapping each of the twins on the back. “I hope you two have been practicing the sword techniques I taught you.”

“Of course, Uncle Cracker,” Peppermint insisted.

“We can show ya if you want,” her twin added, a mischievous glint in his red eyes.

Spice’s face lit up. “That sounds fun!”

“Not now, it’ll be dinner soon,” Samore replied insistently.

“You’re no fun, Samore,” Spice grumbled.

“Oh, there you are, Cracker. I was starting to think you wouldn’t show up.” Michelle turned at the sound of an unfamiliar voice as Oven strolled over to them. He was wearing long white robes that were trimmed in brilliant embroidered flames.

“I wouldn’t miss one of your parties, Oven,” Cracker replied with a grin. As he spoke, his arm wrapped around Michelle’s waist, pulling her closer to him. “You remember my fiancée, Michell, right?”

Oven smirked down at the young woman, giving his brother a knowing look. “Of course, how could I forget? She’s very memorable.”

Michelle felt her face go rather warm, and she doubted it was from the marshmallow torchlight.

“Don’t tease her, darling,” Samore lightly chastised him, crossing her arms disapprovingly.

“It’s just a bit of fun, dear,” Oven exclaimed with a booming laugh before he scooped his wife up and placed her on his shoulder, despite Samore’s protests.

“Oven! I need to get changed.”

“Come on, you’re fine as you are!”

“Oven, please put me down!”

A loud bang from across the yard interrupted the couples’ friendly argument.

Samore froze for a moment, fingers tangling in her husband’s reddish orange hair to steady herself. “Burn! How many times have I told you not to turn your brother into a bomb!”

The boy she was referring to whirled around immediately, a guilty expression on his wide brown face. He looked to be in his early teens and was dressed like a traditional magician with a black waistcoat and top hat. He had bright white gloves which offset his warm brown skin and red eyes like Samore. From under his tall hat, reddish curls peeked out to frame his face.

“Aw come on, Mom! I can just make another one!” called a slightly younger boy with orange dreadlocks that danced around his lithe form. He was wearing a cheetah print button down and black ballet slippers and was expertly twirling around the boy in the top hat, jumping around with acrobatic expertise.

As Michelle looked on in confusion, the boy with the orange dreadlocks and cheetah print top suddenly split into two identical beings like some kind of single celled organism. As she looked on, mouth falling open, the boy divided again and then again and suddenly there were six identical copies.

Almost as soon as he did so, the older boy with the top hat and red curls pressed his gloved hand to one of the moving bodies and it suddenly light up bright red. With another loud bang it exploded like a lead balloon, sending the other copies scrambling to get out the way.

“Again! Again!” Laughter and clapping could be heard from Perospero and Winter’s other set of twins, nearly identical boys named Truffle and Fudge, whom Michelle remembered from the tea party on Candy Island.

“Burn! What did I just tell you?” Samore loudly chastised the red-haired boy, “Stop using your Devil Fruit before someone gets hurt!”

“But Mom! Bake is fine!” Burn insisted.

“Yeah, he’s only blowing up the fake mes!” the orange haired boy insisted.

Samore sighed in exasperation, pinch the bridge of her nose. “I’m going to get changed. You talk to them,” she added to Oven before jumping from his shoulder and landing on the ground with surprising ease. She then made her way to the house, flanked by some of the dough boy Homies that were wandering around the pavilion serving drinks.

“We brought spiced cider, by the way,” Michelle exclaimed, remembering the drink and producing it from the basket, giving it to Oven.

“Oh thanks for that,” he took the bottle from her. “Now excuse me, I’ve gotta go deal with my kids.”

“I’ll take that!” Spice exclaimed, snatching it from her older brother and flying off.

“Hey boys!” Cracker reached into the basket he and Michelle had brought as well, pulling out the brightly colored rocket-shaped explosives. “I brought fireworks!”

Burn and Bake both clapped and cheered at this as did Truffle and Fudge.

“Wait until after dinner,” Oven called over their reverie, giving Cracker a murderous glare.

Meanwhile, Michelle felt someone tap her on the shoulder and turned to see Perospero standing over her, holding his youngest child Chestnut close to his chest.

The baby babbled and waved his chubby fingers.

“Good evening, Michelle,” the eldest Charlotte sibling said to her, smiling through his long tongue.

“Hello, Perospero. Hello, Chestnut,” Michelle couldn’t help but brighten up immediately at the sight of the baby.

She reached up towards him only to immediately draw her hands back when the baby suddenly took a snap at her fingers.

“Chestnut!” Perospero quickly adjusted him in his arms. “Terribly sorry, he’s teething.” His father quickly explained, waving his hand to produce a piece of candy using his Devil Fruit. “Here you are, my boy. Suck on this instead.”

Chestnut eagerly slurped at the candy piece as Michelle looked on fondly.

She then spied Winter sitting a short distance away at one of the covered tables beside her sister North, both of whom were wearing heavy fur coats. It soon became obvious why as a heavy cloud of snow was hovering over the two women and frantic flurries danced over their heads thanks to Winter’s own powers.

Michelle’s eyes soon met with the older woman’s steady gaze, and she waved halfheartedly, still a little intimidated. Winter smiled at her in response. Her demeanor was cold, but her eyes were warm.

She then slowly rose to her feet and walked over to Michelle and Perospero, holding out her hands to the latter so she could take their son from him.

At that moment, a large arm suddenly wrapped around Michelle’s shoulders, pulling them against a firm body. The young woman glanced up to see the sharp yellow eyes and flowing green hair of Sakura. “Hi, Michelle! How are you?!” the taller woman exclaimed in her thick Wanonese accent.

“S-Sakura!” Michelle struggled slightly against the other woman’s strength. “It’s nice to see you again.”

Sakura was wearing a magnificent pink yukata with her hair all swept into an elegant updo. She had cherry blossoms and other ornate clips twisted into her hair as well as many necklaces and rings on her fingers. She was even wearing a pair of gold earrings shaped like tiny samurai swords.

“Same to you.” Sakura held a pastry out to the smaller woman. “Want a maple bacon donut.”

“Thank you,” Michelle accepted the treat before glancing around. “Where’s Katakuri.”

“Over there,” Sakura pointed to where her husband was lounging at another table, arms and legs crossed and face mostly buried in his white fur scarf. “He doesn’t want to be here,” she added in a hushed voice with a knowing smile.

Perospero clicked his tongue, “He works too hard.”

“Tell me about it,” Sakura rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Spice swooped down between them. “Drinks girls?!” she handed them each a champagne glass of the spiced cider Michelle and Cracker had brought. “Smoothie’s bartending, so this party is going to be awesome!”

The other young woman could indeed spy Spice’s fellow Sweet Commander behind the bar further back from the pavilion floor. She was wearing a magenta suit that accented her long silvery hair perfectly. She was speaking in hushed voices with Crystal, Winter and North’s middle sister.

Even from this distance, Michelle could see the yearning in their eyes, and her heart felt sad.

“Oh wow!” Spice’s exclamation drew the other young woman’s attention towards Samore, who was making her way back from the house.

She had changed into a beautiful evening gown that was made of melted chocolate that dripped down her entire body like a waterfall, perfectly molded to her form. Her jewelry was tiny marshmallows that glittered like crystals and the decorative clutch she clasped in her gloved hand was made of graham crackers.

“You look beautiful, Samore,” Sakura said to her. “Does it stretch to accommodate your other sizes?”

Samore smirked at her. “Nope!” She seemed almost happy about this, and Michelle felt her brow crinkle in confusion.

“Mama always makes her stay in her Giant form for Tea Parties and such,” Spice whispered to her, “So she can show her off to all of her socialite friends. I think it’s frustrating for her, so it’s probably nice to stay in her normal form.”

Michelle didn’t really know how to respond to that, especially since as Samore walked back over to where she, Spice and Sakura were standing, she noticed the rather prominent scars against her neck indicating there had once been a very heavy collar fastened against her throat.

“So, is this a party or what?!” Sakura suddenly exclaimed, throwing up her hands, “Let’s dance or something! It’s a celebration.”

“Figures you wouldn’t be impressed,” Spice replied, rolling her eyes as she floated after Sakura towards the dance floor, “Your dad throws wild parties every night of the week!”

Michelle almost jumped when someone tapped her on the shoulder, but the tight knot in her chest instantly softened when she turned to meet Cracker’s familiar grin. “How about a dance, my dear?’

His fiancée quickly accepted his hand, “I’d love to.”

As Cracker lead her onto the dancefloor, Oven and Samore followed suit, and Michelle caught a glimpse of the branded mark burned onto the small of the other woman’s back.

The Hoof of the Celestial Dragon: scarred over but still there.

                                                         ~~~

The rest of the party was a blur of eating, drinking, talking and dancing. There was so much food available, Michelle thought she might burst; although she supposed it should be expected for an event involving the Charlotte family.

She danced with Cracker and drank cider with Spice and Sakura (as well as a bit of sake courtesy of the former). She talked with Winter and her sisters and even took Truffle and Fudge up on their offer to dance with her.

As the night carried on, and the stars moved across the sky to the rhythm of the city’s fervor around them, Cracker eventually got out the fireworks for Oven and Samore’s sons Burn and Bake to enjoy.

They set up the rockets in the field, down the grassy slope from the pavilion. Everyone else pulled their chairs to the edge and lined them up, so they could watch the show.

Michelle was sitting beside an empty seat for Cracker on her right while Charlotte Souffle, Oven and Samore’s third child and only daughter, sat on her left.

“Isn’t this exciting, Auntie Michelle?!” she was saying. “I always love the fireworks.”

Michelle turned to give her a warm smile. She was a small girl with medium skin and red eyes like her mother. Her hair was yellow and very curly, mostly hidden behind a blue bonnet which matched her dress that had a balloon like skirt that seemed to puff out like a great white and blue balloon. Her face was painted white like a clown’s with additional eye makeup and a small blue dot on her nose. Her mouth was wide and full of an innocent grin.

Michelle had to put hers on somewhat. She was personally a little anxious about fireworks.

She nearly jumped when the sudden popping bang could be heard. Facing forward once more, she watched another of the fireworks shoot up into the sky and explode amongst the stars with a loud bang and eruption of color. All of the party guests clapped and exclaimed their appreciation.

Souffle’s eyes were filled with nearly as many stars as the sky above them as she took in the fireworks, raining down around them like shimmering jewels.

Michelle then noticed Chestnut was sitting up in his mother’s lap, his hands reaching up towards the remnants of the fireworks as they fell back down to earth, almost as if he wanted to catch them in his chubby hands.

She felt a familiar warmth in her chest that reminded her of how much she wanted to have children of her own one day. She couldn’t wait for her and Cracker to get married.

Meanwhile, Katakuri was sitting off to the side with Sakura on his lap; his arms were wrapped around her waist, keeping her in place as she leaned back against his chest, a content smile on her face.

The fireworks show seemed to take forever and seemingly no time at all; it held a spell over the crowd, transfixing everyone and practically lifting them out of time and space and temporarily transporting them to a pocket dimension where only this moment existed, only this land of noise and light reminded, independent of everything else.

Michelle sat, surrounded by her family, and she was happy.

Once the last rocket had been set off, Burn and Bake ran back up the hill, out of the darkness of the field towards them, with Cracker trudging not far behind.

Michelle leapt up from her seat and ran to meet him, leaping into his arms as he caught her by the waist.

“Here’s my girl!” he exclaimed, “Something on your mind, sweetheart?” he added.

Michelle blushed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, nuzzling her cheek. “I’m just having a very good time,” she replied simply.

The party started to wind down after that. Winter, North, Crystal gathered around the bar to talk with Smoothie while she cleaned the used glasses.

Perospero and Oven were having a heated discussion about some Tottoland politics while Samore and Souffle played with baby Chestnut.

Spice was entertaining Truffle and Fudge along with Burn and Bake, who were soon having another round of fireworks with Spice’s soul clones.

Peppermint and Candy Cane soon challenged Cracker to a duel, which carried out into the field. It was a friendly spar, but still intense as all things tended to be with the Charlotte family.

Michelle watched from a distance, starting to feel a little chill coming from the night air.

After parrying Peppermint and her sword Uzumaki and then blocking CC and his sword Kasane, Cracker looked her way. “Michelle! You look like you’re getting tired, sweetheart.”

“Oh! No, I’m fine,” she barely got the words out before the young woman had to stifle a yawn.

“Perhaps you should get going,” Perospero mused from nearby, “We’ll probably leave soon as well. The younger children shouldn’t be up too late.”

“You do have a bit of a journey back as well,” Samore agreed. “I’ll have one of the dough Homies fetch yours and Cracker’s coats.” Their hostess paused, glancing around, but there were no Homies in sight.

Oven chuckled. “I think our kids may have destroyed them all.”

“Those little pyromaniacs!” Samore huffed.

“It’s alright, I can get them myself,” Michelle insisted.

“Are you sure, my dear. I can always-” Samore started to offer, but Michelle shook her head.

“I don’t want to keep you from seeing off your guests.”

“Well, alright. The coatroom is the fourth door on your right when you go in the back entrance.”

“Thanks!” With that, Michelle ran across the garden towards the large white manor.

It didn’t take her long to locate the back entrance, but the hall beyond was dimly light and difficult to navigate. Remembering Samore’s instructions, she fumbled through the shadowed corridor until she found the door to the coatroom.

As she was gathering hers and Cracker’s cloaks up, she heard muffled noises and what sounded like voices coming from another room nearby.

Somewhat disoriented, Michelle stumbled out of the coatroom only to notice that the room across the hall’s door was slightly ajar. She could still hear the hushed sounds coming from inside.

Curiosity burning inside her, the young woman tiptoed across the hall and peered through the gap between the door and the wall.

It took a moment to come into focus, but she could soon make out Katakuri’s large form braced against the wall with one hand, holding Sakura’s leg against his hip with the other. His scarf was loose, but his face wasn’t visible as it was buried in the crook of Sakura’s neck. His wife’s arms were gripping his shoulders tightly, her long nails digging into the fabric of his suit jacket. She threw her head, gasping her husband’s name.

“K-Katakuri! Ah!” she yelped as he seemingly sank his teeth into her neck, her hands scrambling up into his hair, pulling the short strands tightly.

Michelle scrambled back from the door, struggling to force down a surprised squeak. She probably made far too much noise in her frantic dash towards the exit thanks to her bad leg, but she didn’t linger long enough to see if she had been discovered.

She dashed back outside, her face burning in the cool night air only to run straight into Cracker’s broad chest. “There you are, Sugar Cookie. I was wondering where you went.”

Despite the short distance she had run, Michelle was panting, “I-I got the coats.”

Cracker smirked down at his fiancée, reaching out to clasp her face between his large hands. “Is everything alright, my dear. You look a little flushed.”

“I’m alright,” Michelle insisted, forcing back the urge to pout.

“Very well, I suppose we should be going then.” Without another word, Cracker scooped his fiancée up along with the coats and carried her towards the gate despite her feeble protests.

The other party guests were making their way out as well, sharing final farewells with their hosts.

Michelle managed to regain her composure enough to thank Oven and Samore for inviting them and to say goodbye to Spice and the others.

As Cracker carried her back to their ship, she felt her eyes beginning to grow heavy. It was indeed very late; the edges of the horizon were starting to fade indicating they were not long for a sunrise.

The party that had been carrying on in full swing had died down, with only some drunken revelers lingering sporadically in the messy streets.

Cracker’s long strides covered the distance almost as quickly as the porcupines they road into Fukkura Town on, and the rhythm of his movements practically rocked Michelle to sleep.

As they approached the coast, she could barely make out their waiting ship through her sleepy haze. Cracker leaned down and whispered, “We’ll be home soon, my love. Sleep well.”

Michelle smiled to herself, resting her head against her husband’s broad chest as her hand lazily reached up to stroke the side of his face before going limp as she drifted off to sleep.

                                                           The End.