❝ ＵＮＢＯＸＩＮＧ ＴＨＥ ＵＮＩＣＯＲＮ ＳＵＲＰＲＩＳＥ ❞

A new day had just begun. Morning rays of light filled the sky and shone through the small room attached to the roof of a colourful apartment block.

Inside Kala's dojo, Gummy was trying to perform some ninja tricks that Kala herself was practicing on the other side of the room. He flung his arms around in front of him, sending his leg into a kick to finish his routine, attempting to mirror his friend's moves.

"There's nothing quite as fun as a good ninja workout!" Gummy cried after his performance, panting slightly.

"Right, Kala?"

"You bet..." Kala panted out of exhaustion. "It's fun fun fun!" She took some nunchucks and aggressively swung them, perfectly, and somehow not hitting herself.

However, the nunchucks slipped from Kala's grasp and flew into the air at the end of her performance, landing with a thud against Harry's head, who was watching the ninja routines from behind Gummy. (Y/n), who was stood against the wall and underneath the window, with bright rays of sunlight shining through the glass beside him, let out a small giggle.

"Oops... sorry Harry..." Kala said, nervously apologising.

Harry groaned, gently rubbing his head in pain. "Yeah, a real barrel of fun fun fun..."

Gummy took a large, dark red, bouncy ball from the corner of the room, tossing it towards (Y/n). She noticed at just the right moment, her reflexes talking over as she ran towards the ball as it came shooting towards her. She jumped up to kick it back towards Gummy.

Gummy smirked as he watched her in awe, grabbing the ball as it bounced into his grip. He tossed it back towards (Y/n) as she came closer with great force, sending it bouncing across the room and aggressively whacking the ceiling.

A chunk of the ceiling cracked and crashed from the roof, landing directly onto Harry's head as the maroon ball boinged beside him. He patted his head and groaned in pain.

"Sorry!" Gummy and (Y/n) called across the room in unison, although they were still snickering slightly.

Kala noticed the events of the last few seconds and groaned. "You know, you're really making a mess over there, Harry!"

"My horoscope said this was gonna be a great day..." Harry grumbled.

Meanwhile, Gummy found a dummy of himself pushed onto a stick propped up in the corner of the dojo. Originally, he felt confused about why Kala would enjoy kicking a plushie of one of her best friends, but then a smirk crossed his face as a brilliant idea did so through his mind.

He stood in a prepared position, lifting his leg to basically kick himself in the face. He sent his foot banging against his plushie counterpart. However, it bounced back, pinging in his face and sending him boinging between the walls.

Kala and (Y/n) watched with hands covering their gasps. Gummy's butt flew towards the wall beside the door, alerting Harry of his fate as he quivered by said wall. He thought he'd finally found a spot in the dojo where he thought he was safe...

Gummy's butt squashed Harry against the wall. His fun-loving green pal quickly bounced back onto his feet as Harry slid against the wall down onto the ground in more pain.

Gummy turned to his squished friend. "Hey, thanks for cushioning my fall, Harry, you're a real pal!"

"No problemo..." Harry groaned, rubbing his head and grasping his stomach in pain.

Gummy turned to Kala and (Y/n). "So, what's next?"

Kala stood by a small table propped up in the corner of the dojo beside Gummy and Harry. She grabbed a small box that stood against the surface.

"Dried fruits!" She replied, opening what looked like a cereal box filled with dried fruits, and pouring them into the small bowl that stood next to them.

"When you follow the way of the ninja, energy and nutrition are very, very serious..." She continued, her voice overlapping the sound of raisins and banana chips hitting the bottom of the bowl.

Suddenly, something not very fruity plopped out into the bowl. (Y/n) noticed as she wandered over to her sister as she gave her advice.

"Oh boy oh boy oh boy!" Kala cried as she noticed what had plopped into the bowl amongst the crispy pieces of fruit. (Y/n) positioned her head over her sister's shoulder, looking down into the bowl and gasping when she saw what it was.

Harry and Gummy glanced towards each other, confusion painted across their faces.

(Y/n) excitedly snatched the object from the mixture of dried fruits, squealing.

"Free toy!" Kala cried.

"AND IT'S A UNICORN!!" (Y/n) shrieked, dancing around her sister's dojo in pure joy.

Gummy watched from a little further down the room, warm smile crossing his face as he admired her cuteness. She jumped around with the little plastic unicorn in her grasp.

"Wow, did you see how happy that little surprise toy in the box made (Y/n), Harry?" Gummy asked rhetorically, shifting his attention to his friend beside him, who was still traumatised by the multiple sources of pain.

"I wanna be part of that!" Gummy said, his voice filled with determination.

~

The sound of rustling filled the kitchen as Harry shook a box of dried fruits to try and find a surprise toy inside. His hand dug through the dates and dried apricots, while Gummy watched from one of his tall stools surrounding the table.

Harry glanced into the cardboard box, until his eyes landed onto the object he'd been searching for. He stuck his hand right towards the bottom of the box, pulling out a little plastic butterfly toy, with purple wings and flakes of crispy fruits stuck between them.

"Here you go, buddy!" Harry handed the toy to Gummy across the table.

Gummy reached across, taking the plastic butterfly into his grasp, although he was slightly confused. "What's that for?"

"I thought you said you wanted a surprise toy, like the one in Kala's box." Harry stated as if the answer was obvious.

Gummy chuckled. "I don't want a surprise toy from the box, Harry. I want to BE the surprise toy in the box!" He cried, earning a confused and concerned look from his chameleon friend.

"Oh man, my tail doesn't like where this is going..." Harry muttered to himself.

"Imagine; me as a musical Gummy toy! Bursting out of the box, and bringing (Y/n) so much joy and happiness!" Gummy's thoughts wandered off into pure imagination.

He snapped back into reality, turning his attention back to Harry. "Either way, pal, I'm going to be the greatest surprise toy to ever come out of one of these boxes!"

"Look, no offense Gummy, but how will you ever fit inside!?" Harry asked.

Gummy laughed, as if the question had no need to be asked.

"Just watch me!"

~

For a while, Gummy attempted many ways of fitting his chubby green body into a tiny cereal box.

He tried squashing his foot inside, hoping that any success would mean he could squeeze his whole body inside.

No such luck.

He tried jumping into the box from a high distance, only to result in landing on his head and crushing the box.

He then decided to try and crush the box onto his head, hoping it would cause it to squish inside. He wandered towards Harry, with the cereal box balanced on his head, passing him a wooden hammer and squatting down beside him.

Harry sighed, lifting the hammer to perform this interesting plan. However, the wooden cylinder used for hitting and pressing things down flew off of the stick and sailed into the air, eventually landing against Harry's head with a thud.

He groaned in frustration and pain, then frowned. "This really isn't my day..."

Gummy sighed, running across his living room to test his final idea, hoping with all his might that it would allow him to become a cereal surprise toy.

He took a pot of 'grease', scooping out a handful of the slimy red solution and rubbing it effortlessly across his body.

Harry held the box with the open side facing out, with Gummy's sticky, greasy butt sliding into it, hoping it would make it easier to squeeze inside.

Unfortunately, Gummy simply popped back out of the small box, sliding and slipping across his living room, leaving a trail of grease behind.

After a few seconds, Gummy began to slow down, eventually stopping.

He raised his head to view Harry with disappointment in his eyes. "OK, I need a new plan..."

"I think we ran out of plans a while ago, Gummy..." Harry replied. "Face it, pal, this isn't gonna work in a gazillion years!" He continued, hitting his disappointed friend with reality.

Gummy smiled. "You're just saying that, to encourage me to try harder! Right, Harry!"

Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. "Actually, no. I'm saying it because this isn't gonna work in a gazillion years..."

Gummy leapt up from his disappointed crouched position, a final spark of hope in his eyes. "Then come on!" He cried.

"Where?'

"Where else? To the supermarket!"

Gummy dashed out of his apartment in pure excitement, still covered head to toe in grease. Harry sighed, slowly following him out of the door and into town.

~

After a long shopping trip consisting of Gummy trying to fit into every box he found in the store, Gummy and Harry were painfully trying to squeeze a whole trolley load of cardboard into the doorway, as carrying them one by one would be way too time consuming.

"They've made this door a little on the small side, wouldn't you say?" Gummy panted after putting all his might into pushing and pressing for the last few minutes.

"Come on, Harry! You pull and I'll push!" Gummy suggested.

Harry sighed, sliding below the trolley crushed between the doorway in pure embarrassment. He crawled back out inside Gummy's apartment, tugging on the front edge of the trolley.

Gummy pushed from the other side, his grasp against the trolley's handle becoming tighter.

Soon enough, the container on wheels full of cardboard boxes squeezed through the doorway with a pop, and knocking Harry to the ground with a thud. Some of the smaller boxes bounced from the overloaded trolley, landing beside, in front, and on top of Harry as he groaned in discomfort.

"Hey, thanks for protecting the boxes, Harry, you're a real pal!" Gummy praised his friend as he finally managed to come through the now clear doorway.

Harry sighed, surrounded and covered by boxes. "This being a real pal is more dangerous than I thought...

~

Gummy paced up and down his living room, cardboard boxes of many sizes scattered here, there and everywhere.

His expression signalled to Harry that he was in deep thought. "OK, since I don't seem to be fitting into any of these ridiculously small boxes, I'll have to figure out some way of fitting the boxes around me!" Gummy suggested, pointing to himself with pride.

Harry sighed, then smiled. "Well, since I can't seem to talk you out of it, good luck at somehow becoming a surprise toy in one of these boxes... GIVE IT YOUR BEST SHOT, PAL!" He cried enthusiastically.

"You bet I will!" Gummy smirked, confidence and enthusiasm flowing through his big, blue eyes.

"It's Gummy time!"

~

Harry stood with a cardboard box between his hands and a concerned look on his face.

Gummy stood in front of him, pieces of cardboard taped all across his body, from his shoulders to his ankles - a big, proud smile across his face.

Harry sighed, totally giving up on trying to convince Gummy this wasn't going to work. "Are you sure about this, Gummy?"

"Couldn't be sure-er, pal!" He replied with confidence.

"But (Y/n) especially loves unicorn toys!" Harry reminded his overconfident friend.

"Hey, no problem!" Gummy struggled to pull out a plastic unicorn headband, pushing it firmly against his head. "Presto! A Gummy-corn!" He cried, a plushie unicorn horn strapped to his forehead.

"So, tape the last box in place, then get me up to Kala's for the big surprise!" Gummy demanded, his voice filled with excitement. "Deal?"

Harry sighed, pressing one last piece of cardboard across Gummy's arm as he stood in a T-pose.

"Deal..."

~

Harry supervised Gummy as he waddled up the multiple but short staircases, being careful not to trip as his restricted feet quickly paced up the stairs.

Gummy wobbled slightly as his foot failed to hit against the next step ahead. Harry held out his hands, preparing to catch Gummy if he toppled backwards. He sighed in relief, pulling them back as Gummy managed to place his foot against the next step, continuing his journey.

"You alright?"

"Couldn't be better? Are we there yet?"

Harry sighed as it merged into a laugh - they had only just started their treck up towards Kala's dojo.

"We will be as soon as we get up these two flights of stairs..."

~

Meanwhile, in Kala's dojo, Kala was teaching her sister some new karate moves, and was impressed with how well she was picking up these techniques.

Gummy peeked his head into the doorway, smiling warmly as he watched (Y/n) performing these ninja moves, although he was getting a little distracted.

"Gummy..." Harry whispered, earning his friend's attention.

"Are we ready!?"

"Finally, yes, we just need to get her attention..."

Harry slowly walked up to the open door, gently knocking to send the sound echoing through the dojo and getting the girls' attention. The kitty sisters both turned their heads towards the noise, ears listening and eyes watching.

"Um... hello?'

"Ta-da!!!"

Gummy leapt through the doorway, pieces of cardboard boxes taped across his body, a unicorn horn strapped to his head, and a beaming smile across his face.

(Y/n) covered her mouth in a happy gasp, a smile beginning to appear across her (f/c) fur. Meanwhile, her sister didn't seem too impressed.

"What ta-da?" She asked sternly, crossing her arms.

"This ta-da!" Gummy replied, his smile dropping slightly.

"What ta-da is this ta-da!?"

Harry slowly appeared from behind his over excited green buddy.

"That's exactly what I've been trying to tell him..."

"This ta-da is I'm your free toy!" Gummy explained, specifically directing his gaze and speech towards (Y/n). She stood with one of the happiest expressions Gummy had ever seen painted across her face.

"A giant musical unicorn - or at least Gummy-corn - toy just for you!"

Kala smiled as Gummy aimed his excited exclamations at her sister, turning to her and smirking teasily.

(Y/n) blushed, slowly walking up towards her new Gummy-corn, speechless and washed over by surprise and excitement.

"A giant musical unicorn toy!? Just for me!?" (Y/n) blurted out, her heart filling with joy.

"You bet it is, (Y/n)." Gummy replied sweetly, making (Y/n) giggle and blush a little.

"But why?" (Y/n) asked, holding her fists against her chest, her heart pumping with joy from Gummy's sweet thoughts.

"Well, I saw how happy that little tiny one had made you, so I figured a friendly, singing and dancing one would make you even happier!" Gummy said proudly, wiggling his arms around, although they were restricted slightly by the cardboard strapped to his arms.

(Y/n) thought as though she was about to cry with pure joy, the fact that Gummy had spent so much time making himself into something he thought would make her happy - it was just so sweet and filled her with so happiness, even more than Gummy thought it would.

"Thanks, Gummy! You're a real, true blue-" (Y/n) started, but was soon interrupted by Gummy's adorable laughter.

"Green - are you colour blind?" He asked, chuckling.

(Y/n) giggled back, running towards Gummy as she couldn't resist giving him a hug. She wrapped her arms around his cardboard coated body, cuddling her forehead against his. They both closed their eyes, beaming smiles across their faces.

"True green pal!" She giggled, cuddling Gummy's shoulders. He brought his arms taped in cardboard up towards (Y/n), only just managing to wrap his arms back around her shoulders.

"Thank you..." She whispered into Gummy's ears, earning a warm smile from her crush. She felt him smiling against her shoulder, making her sigh out of pure joy.

Maybe more than a pal soon...