Disclaimer; I do not own Naruto, no matter how much I would love to. Brief summary; it's the day before Sasuke's birthday and everything seems so expensive. This is good for the sellers, but bad new for Kazuko, the girl who has been living with Sasuke for a month, and is now his 'girlfriend' so to speak. She goes to ridiculous lengths just to find the perfect gift. Hope you like it.
-flip
And since this is my first piece on this website, keep that in mind if you review it ^^;;
You were Kazuko Takana was usually very determined. And was even more determined today, on this scorching hot day in July.
Ugh, why does his birthday have to be in July? It's so freaking hot!
I looked at the weapon shop owner, if he was serious, was he truly serious that the kantana that Sasuke told me that he wanted was 1,300 yen!
'Really?' I asked for the 6th time that day. I felt the only half full wallet I had, I was 900 yen short for the kantana. And pretty much everything else I knew Sasuke would want, this was wayyy too tiring for me. Sasuke's birthday was tomorrow, and I still haven't coughed up enough money for this damn town to buy ANYTHING. Even a magazine was 90 yen! What the hell?! Since when did they make these things so expensive? It's as if the prices went up this past week JUST because of Sasuke, because they knew there would be fangirls buying their merchandise, and wait.... MAYBE THEY DID!!! Those scoundrels! Trying to get money of out me, when I don't even have that much! How dare they!
Sighing after another unsuccessful trip to another store that once again rejected the little money I had. I put the light wallet back into my pocket, hoping the next store I wold have some luck. Then I saw them. I saw Sakura and Ino strolling through the town, Sakura was carrying a bag, with the kantana in it! Since when the hell did she have so much money? Ino was carrying a bag as well, but I couldn't exactly see what she bought inside.
I was just about the turn the other way, and head home to see if I could fish out some money in the couch when Sakura and Ino stopped me.
Good lord, how embarrassing could this day get? As if going to the cashier to purchase a very expense kantana then being told it was REALLY way too expensive, that I would have to put it back and be the only person to leave the store empty handed wasn't enough. Then seeing a girl that doesn't even know Sasuke that well, GET what he really wants!?
This was really, just too much for one birthday present.
'Hey Kazuko!' Sakura called out after me, just when I was trying to stomp my way out of the town. I turned, put on a fake smile and waved, only to see Ino sneering at me. Such a bitch!
'Heyyy-yy you guys....'
'Hey, Kazuko! Could you look at my gift for Sasuke? I don't know if he will like it, and since you live with him,' she glared at me 'I figured you knew what he would want for his birthday!' she finished by smiling.
'Um, sure...' Ino started to do the prissy pigeon-toed run towards me, her gift bouncing in the over sized bag. She finally got to where I was standing, and in the shade I looked inside. There it was, another perfect gift. It was a master set of weapons, it had 3 small knives with a very elegant design printed on the handle, each was customized I assumed. And it also came with shurikens that seemed much sharper than any other I ever saw. And to top it all off, yes I couldn't believe there was more myself either, there was razor sharp, giant kunai. Sasuke loved kunais, and I knew he would so very much love this gift. Pangs of envy shot through me while I eyed the to-be marvelous gift of Sasuke's. That lucky bastard.
'Yes, it's perfect.' I muttered, I recalled seeing this package in the store, and there was only one left. It probably cost a lot.
'What about my gift?' Sakura asked, finally being able to catch up to where we were. I glanced in her moderately sized bag, and stared at the kantana. Yep. It was defiantly one of those elite special ones, it was customized too. Mush have cost a fortune.
'He'll love it.' I assured Sakura, while smiling to her. I knew Sakura really did love Sasuke, and I personally thought, if Sakura wasn't so obsessed, that they looked good together. But apparently it ain't working out for them. I quickly told them I had to leave and stalked off to home. Surprised that there was already a pile of gifts being built outside the front door, when I actually got to the house, I saw that there was not one pile, but mounds of gifts! I even saw a few on the roof, god knows why anyone would want to put their gift up there. Sasuke would probably make me fetch it from the top. Ugh. I opened the door, and quietly tiptoed my way inside. If Sasuke caught me, I knew I would be dead, because I left the house early in the morning just to find the gift. The stupid bloody gift. I was thankful that he wasn't inside the house, and was outside, but to my disadvantage the shades were taken down since it was summer, and the couch was right in front of the outside window, wide in the open, where he could see me.
Holy Shit.
I crouched over and crawled to the couch. I flipped one of the cushions, I think Sasuke stared at the window, but I picked the farthest couch to start with. I briskly looked under. Dust and dirt? Yes. Money? No. I put the cushion back, and made my way to the cushion next to it. I found 90 yen. YOSH! I grabbed the money, and stuffed it in my pocket. I also found a ninja guide book, oh Sasuke. You and your training. I rolled my eyes, and continued onto the next couch. I found 130 yen in that one, damn. Sasuke you drop your money like there's no tomorrow. So I fixed the second couch, and rummaged my way to the last couch, it was a love seat actually. Anyhow, I flipped the giant cushion and looked under. And HOLY SHIET, did I find something!
I saw a small stash of ninja books, taijustsu and all that fun stuff. Then I found something else that was a little weird...
Sasuke... he read this stuff?
I found a stash of Itcha Itcha books, and one porno mag. WHAT THE FREAK!??!?
But then again, he's turning what? 14?
I mean I sorta figured, but still, was Sasuke really the type? I shuddered at the thought, and flipped the cushion down. 14 year olds reading porno mags, it's perfectly normal. I said to myself, trying to erase what I saw. Apparently that doesn't work, but to hell with it, raging hormones, what could I expect? But I still got goosebumps when I think about it, Sasuke? Reading one? And then, (I started spazing, because my imagination went loose for a second)
OMFG.
It's totally normal,
TOTALLY NORMAL
it's so totally normal...
It's like the most normal thing
for a 14 year old guy ninja morph thing....
SO, NORMAL.
Good god.
I am never setting my ass on the love seat ever again.
I closed the front door, and jogged to town, telling myself I would get over it.
So, how much money did I have now? I got 220 yen from looking in the couch, which I must say is a lot. And when you add it to 480 yen, you get 700 yen.
Zomg, I'm so good at math.
But what the hell should I buy with that money? I bet all the perfect gifts were already bought, and remembering all those mounds of gifts, every sort of possible gift was probably taken. So what wasn't taken? What did I really want to give him? I wanted to give him something he really wanted, something he didn't already have. I wanted it to be thoughtful, not necessarily expensive or costly, and I wanted it to show him I cared and loved him.
Now, what gift would fit those requirements? I started to brainstorm, maybe there was something... but I couldn't really think of anything, so back to the weapon shop I was.
'Hey, didn't you come here already?' one of the cashiers retorted.
'Yeah, you got a problem with that?' I threatened.
'If you no buy anything,' he said with a heavy accent 'you get out of store!'
'You don't tell me, a paying customer, to get out.'
'You, no money, no store.'
'Where the hell is your manager!? Your a horrible cashier!' I demanded, not exactly thinking what mess I was intertwining myself into.
'I am manager! I no like you, get out of store!'
'No! I have money!'
'Get out!'
He jumped over the counter, and started chasing me with a broom. Dear lord, o' mighty, WHY ME? What did I ever do to deserve such embarrassment? All I wanted was a nice birthday gift for Sasuke, and I can't even do that?
'YOU KNOW WHAT!?' I shouted on the sidewalk while the bald cashier guy was walking back into the store. 'SCREW YOU AND YOUR STORE, I WAS GOING TO BUY THAT KANTANA,' I said pointing to the kantana hoisted to the wall. 'BUT YOUR A HORRIBLE MANAGER!' and with that, I stalked off to another store furiously. Many people stared at me, and I felt like such a jerk. What was I doing? Had I lost it? Oh, Sasuke, the things you make me do just to receive your approval and care. Ugh. This damn town, what was this? A nation for rich people? I mean come on! Unlike most fangirls, I don't have that much money, and I don't know where I can get more money! Is there such a store in this god-damn town that had something nice, classy, and elegant that was under 1,000 freaking yen? I wanted to scream, I wanted to hit something so hard, I wanted to bash that old bald man for making my life difficult! I sat on the sidewalk, so fed up. I glared ahead, and I realized that I walked so far into the town that I was right in front of the bath-house and spa. I squinted my eyes in the sun that was beaming over them to see a sign clearer. In big giant letters, it said 'WE NEED A NEW EMPLOYEE! 13+ YEARS OLD! COME INSIDE FOR MORE DETAILS!'.
'Speak of the devil,' I muttered under my breath 'maybe there is some hope in this town.' I went inside the bath-house, it had a very big lobby, and unlike how you would think it would be muggy, it wasn't. Not one bit. It was air-conditioned and it felt great from the heat outside.
'Hi, excuse me. I saw the sign for the job, and I'm interested.'
'You?' The lady asked, eying me up and down. 'Make a left down the hall.' she said after a few minutes.
'Thank you!' I said, yosh! I can make myself some actual money instead of feeling like a hobo digging the ground for coins! Feeling very satisfied with myself I started to hum a tune on the way to my new job.
'Doo-doot-doo-doooooo- ba!' I swung the door open 'ba-doot- ohhhh-OHHHH MY GOD.'
I saw that the room was a massaging room, oils, candles, and remedies were scattered all over the room. I saw that there was a long line of people waiting to be massaged, there were 10 tables. 5 of them had ladies that looked older than 30, and the other 3 had girls around my age. I took my place at the last table next to a nice girl.
'Our job is to give each of the customers a 5 minute massage.'
'Ohh I see.' I nodded in thanks.
The second I took my place next to the table, a fat man came over. A VERY OBESE MAN CAN OVER. He paid me, not for a 5 minute massage, but for a 45 minute massage! My eyes boggled out of my head when I realized I would be massaging this obese man who had very, VERY bad B.O. for the next 45 minutes of my life! But I somehow managed to start.
I dripped the massage oil, and that is how I began. After 3 minutes, my hands felt very weird, they were coated with oil while massaging the fat of an obese man, think for a second how that feels. GROSS! I was bored after 10 minutes, so I asked the girl why did she got the job.
'Oh, because I'm saving money up for this guy...'
'Sasuke?' I asked, since he was the first person that came to my mind.
'Yes! How did you know?!'
'Well, pretty much every girl is saving up for him....'
'Haha, that is so true!'
Glad I made a new friend, we talked though the massages. It turns out, I'm not the only poor girl whose trying to get a gift for him! *cheers* For the next few hours, we talked about our lives and our hobbies, our likes and dislikes. She thought I was so lucky to live with Sasuke, and I also found out her favorite color is yellow, and that she's best friends with Shikamaru. I told her, that I though she was lucky to have Shika as a bestie. I mean I like having Sasuke as a bestie, but Shika, he was awesome. His aroma just made you feel, well, better, and smarter too since he's a genius! But hey, Shika and I were confidants* so it's all good. (*person who gives you advice, person who you tell your darkest secrets to)
After 5 hours, of brutal, hand cramping, hand blistering, muscle acing massaging, the shift was over for the day. Can you say 'yay'? It turns out the boss knows the job is tiring and very hard, so we actually do get paid very well.
423 yen to be exact. Now I had 1,123 yen! YOSH!!!
I happily skipped out into the summer heat, glad that the hard work paid off. My new friend, Miku joined me. We were both looking for gifts, she wanted to stop at the weapon shop to see if there was anything good there, while I waited outside. I saw a store just across the street, I don't know why I never noticed it before, but now I did and it was taking every bit of willpower I had not to storm inside that shop, and leave Miku wondering where I went. After the willpower drained out, I couldn't stand it and went inside the other store. Thankfully Miku came out and saw me go in, and followed me with her newly purchased, probably expensive, gift. The store was very well air-conditioned and the whole store was white, except for the items inside the glass display cases. They were selling zodiac rings, they looked really pretty. I looked at the Leo ring, it was platinum with a lion carved on the top, underneath it, it said 'leo' and it was really nice. And, it was the cheapest, yet most defined item the store had. So heck, I wanted to buy it. I asked the kind gentleman how much it cost, he replied with a '1,000 but if you want it customized, it's 1,100.' I told him I wanted it customized with my name inside the ring, the way when people get married, they carve their spouse's name inside the ring to symbolize loyalty. But then of course I told him to carve Sasuke's name on the outside. I felt so jittery, since I never gave anyone a gift so grand. I prayed that he would love it, and that I would not be wasting the whole day for nothing.
After 30 minutes, I got my ring, in a nice dark blue velvet box. I put it in my pocket, and I asked Miku what she got for Sasuke. It turns out she got him the newest type of kunai, 5 of them to be exact. They unlike the normal kunais you would see, had more edges, was sharper, and more precise and it was lighter too. So you could throw it farther distances as well. I told her, I knew he would love it and that I would also give him the recommendation of opening hers before the other mounds of gifts. I looked at the sky, the sun was setting, meaning it was probably 8 o' clock or so. I told Miku that I would stop by at the spa every now and then since it seems that she works there daily.
And with that, I walked home, very pleased with the day I just had. I got Sasuke what I thought was a perfect gift, and I made a new friend, Miku.
I came home, for the second time that day. I saw that the mounds got exceptionally bigger and more noticeable from farther away. I could barely make my way through to the front door, but I didn't have to. Sasuke opened it for me. Once I got in, he furiously asked me where I was the whole day.
'I was doing stuff with my friend Miku.'
'Why didn't you tell me?'
'Cause' I didn't think I would be out that long! I'm sorry!' I pleaded, the last thing I would want would be Sasuke mad at me the day right before his birthday. After what seemed like an hour, he eyed Miku's bag, and asked what it was.
'Oh, my friend, she this for you.' I said happily giving the bag to him 'I recommend that you keep her gift, she's really nice and she wanted to get something you would like.'
'That's what they all say...'
'What do you mean?'
'Take a look.' he took my arm and bought me outside, every single card and note said I hope you like it, I put a lot of thought into it and was hoping you would appreciate it. In one form or another.
'Oh... well I still say Miku's gift is special.' I said gleaming happily. He did his signature smirk, and I figured that this would be a good time to give my gift, my well thought out gift... 'Oh, I also got you something too.' I saw his eyebrows lift either in shock, or curiosity. I handed him the small velvet box, hoping he wouldn't think it was stupid or something along those lines.
To my surprise and utter shock, he pulled out the same exact velvet box, popped it open and what-do-ya-know? It was the EXACT same ring!
I don't know why, but I was so mad. I just wasted the whole day getting something he already got!
GAHHHHH!
'What the hell?' I took both rings from his hands and compared them. No joke. They were exactly the same. I squat my butt down on the third to the last stair on the staircase in utter disbelief. Did I really just waste my whole day for nothing? I held my knees to my chest, and I did the thing I never thought I would ever do over a stupid birthday present.
I cried.
Sasuke went all the way to the back of the house to find me, on that third stair, weeping.
'What? Your crying? Why?'
'GAHHH because-be-cau-se I-h-had to give-ma-masag-ges to old f-fat peop-le f-for th-e st-stupid r-ring because I h-had no MONEY! And I-I wa-wasted my ti-me f-for nothing!' I retorted, trying to breathe evenly.
'What are you talking about? I love your gift.' he said comforting he sat next to me on the stair, and slung his arm around my shoulder. 'Look.' he opened the other gift that wasn't mines. 'This ring right here, it means nothing to me. I could throw it out if I wanted to.'
'B-but,' I stammered 'that per-person spent a lot of m-money on it!'
'Yes, that is true. But they showed no thought. Now let's look at your ring.' he opened the velvet box that I dropped only minutes before. 'It says my name on it,' he said while showing me, I nodded my head. 'and, it also has yours.' he said while showing me on the inside that my name was engraved. 'This is why, I love your gift, and not hers.' he said while closing the box. Now that I had stopped crying, he used his fingers to wipe off the tears that were starting to make stains on me cheeks. 'See? Your so much more beautiful when you smile.' he said trying to make me feel better. I laughed, Sasuke think me, beautiful? 'What, you don't think I'm serious?' Sasuke asked.
'I dunno.' I said, finally starting to really smile.
Before I knew it, he was leaning in closer, and closer.
Sasuke... he's kissing me? He IS kissing me?
I closed my eyes unsure of what to do. To my surprise, it wasn't just a peck on the mouth, it was a real kiss. I curled my fingers in his hair, thoroughly satisfied with the way today turned out. After the kiss, he leaned into my ear, which made me giggle since I was ticklish, and his hot breath just made it feel so funny, he whispered 'Your the best birthday present I could ever have.'
I learned three things that day.
One, never look for money underneath the couch ever again.
Two, you'll find friends when you least expect it.
And three, Sasuke, is one hell of a kisser.
