Birthday Surprise:
Plot: Sasame gets more than she bargained for on her birthday. SakuraxSasame pairing. Thanks to Snitwick for his masterpiece, An alliance of warm hands, which really gave me the idea for this pairing.
Rating: T (for SakuraxSasame pairing)
Hello readers! Before you read this, I have a few things to say:
1. This story took me about a month to write, and I think it's pretty good. If you think it sucks, please tell me.
2. I apologize for the delay in posting this story, and the subsequent delay on One day to live. Don't worry, as soon as this is posted, I will resume on the other story.
3. I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. This really is one of my favorite Naruto pairings.
4. The disclaimer:
I do not own Naruto (Masashi Kishimoto does). I do own the bands Indy Oasis, The X-Boxes and Incitrus.
Ok, now that that's out of the way, read on!
Sasame Fuma awoke at the sound of her alarm. Despite now living in the Leaf Village, and not having to get up as early, she still set her alarm for 7:00 A.M. as a habit.
"Another good night of sleep." She said to herself, stretching.
"Wait a minute."
Sasame glanced over at the calendar on her wall.
"Oh, it's my birthday! How could I have forgotten?" She asked herself as she got out of bed. "It's only the most important day of my life."
Sasame put on her slippers and stepped into the bathroom. She lived alone in a two-story house, so she didn't even bother to close the door behind her.
"I wonder what today will bring me." Sasame asked herself as she combed her long red hair.
"Let's just hope it's a good one."
Sasame left her bathroom and headed downstairs. She decided she would go out somewhere for breakfast. The Konoha Diner was already open, so she decided she would go there. As she stepped outside, one of the townspeople greeted her.
"Good morning, Sasame." The elderly woman said to her. "Are you heading out?"
"Yeah, I'm going to get some breakfast. Does the village's diner give birthday discounts?"
"Today's your birthday? Well, happy birthday to you, Sasame!"
"Thank you." Sasame said, smiling. She had figured that not many people would know when her birthday was, but she was glad that this person she didn't know (or barely knew, anyway) wished her a happy day.
As she headed to the diner, two or three other people wished her a happy birthday. When she entered the diner, she saw a bunch of her friends sitting in a few of the booths: Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were in one; Shino, Hinata and Kiba (and Akamaru, of course) were in another and Shikamaru was in another. Ino and Choji were strangely absent.
"So then, Akamaru did the cutest thing." Kiba had apparently been telling a story to Shino and Hinata, and the others were listening intently when they (or Naruto, at least) noticed Sasame walking in.
"Hey Sasame!" He exclaimed. "Happy birthday!"
"Thank you, Naruto!" Sasame smiled.
"Arf!" Akamaru barked.
"Yeah, Akamaru, today is her birthday." Kiba said to his dog.
"Come sit with us." Sakura said, motioning toward the open spot next to Naruto. Sasame did so.
"So what are all you guys doing at the diner?" Sasame asked.
"We're here for breakfast, and I was telling a story before Naruto interrupted me." Kiba explained, shooting a glare at Naruto.
"What are you glaring at me for?"
"I just said why, you doofus!" Kiba yelled.
"Who you callin' doofus, dog breath!" Naruto yelled back. Sasame was a bit disturbed, seeing as how she had come to the diner for breakfast and now was forced to listen to Naruto and Kiba partake in a shouting match.
"Alright, that's enough!" Sakura bellowed, bashing Naruto over the head as she did so. "I think Sasame is feeling bad because of you guys."
"Sorry, Sasame." Naruto said, rubbing his head.
"Yeah, sorry." Kiba said, noticing Hinata's confused look.
"What?"
"Nothing." Hinata said quietly.
"Anyway," Sakura began. "Happy birthday. Do you, ya know, want us to get you anything for breakfast?"
"No thanks. I'll get something myself." Sasame said.
"Alright. Suit yourself."
Suddenly, a waiter came walking up to their booths.
"Hey, welcome to the Ko-no-ha diner." He said in a very laid-back tone. "My name is Akira, and I'll be happy to take all your guys orders."
Sakura, Sasame and Hinata all looked at him angrily.
"And girls, of course." He smiled, pulling out an order sheet. After everyone gave their orders, Akira walked away slowly.
"How's your day been so far, Sasame?" Naruto asked as they waited for their food.
"Oh, it's been alright. I mean, as far as birthdays go." Sasame responded. Naruto looked confused.
"Huh? Could you be a little more specific?"
Sakura looked angrily at Naruto as Sasame started to respond.
"What do you mean?" Sasame asked Naruto, but Sakura cut him off before he said anything.
"Naruto, you're being quite annoying. What she means is…Sasame, what do you mean?"
"Basically, not much worth talking about has happened. I mean, come on, it's not even 8 in the morning. Usually all the action on any given day happens later."
"Action?" Kiba asked.
"What she's talking about is all the stuff that's a drag to deal with." Shikamaru jumped into the conversation. "You know, missions, chores and the like."
"I wouldn't call chores 'action'." Shino also jumped into the conversation. "More like 'minor distractions from everyday life'."
Nobody had a response, but they all just blinked confusedly.
"Um, I don't know how the conversation got onto that." Sakura began. "And I also just noticed that Sasuke hasn't said a word since Sasame got here."
At this, Sasuke just responded with his usual 'hn.'
"But let's get back to what we were talking about. What are you gonna do on your birthday?"
"I don't know, really." Sasame said, looking down at her feet. "I might stop by the music shop a little later. There are a couple new bands I'm hearing are pretty good."
"Like who?" Naruto asked.
"Well, some of my friends say Indy Oasis and The X-Boxes are pretty good. And one of them says this band Incitrus is amazing."
"…Never heard of any of them." Naruto blinked. "But have fun with that."
Moments later, Akira came back with two huge platters, each with four dishes on them.
"Orders up!" He exclaimed.
"So, who exactly is going to pay for all this?" Sasame asked.
"Good question. This will probably be a drag." Shikamaru complained.
"Oh geez." Akira said, although he said it in a tone as if to imply he wasn't upset. "Another dispute over who's gonna pay."
Sasame looked like she was about to say something, but Sakura grabbed her arm to stop her.
"I'll pay for this." Sakura said. "After all, I wouldn't want the birthday girl to pay for her breakfast."
"Sakura, are you sure?" Sasame asked.
"Of course."
Sakura glanced over to see what Akira was doing. You would think he was getting inpatient, but he wasn't. Instead, he was smiling.
"That's great!" He laughed. "Alrighty, who ordered the pancake stacker?"
Sasame put her hand up, and Akira handed the plate over to her. In a few moments, everyone had their breakfast.
"Man, I didn't know they could make pancakes this good!" Sasame said, taking a bite of the aforementioned pancakes. "Mm, we have gotta come here more often."
"These eggs are heavenly!" Sasuke suddenly exclaimed, catching everybody (and by everybody, I mean every single person in the immediate area) off guard. Shino even lowered his glasses and arched an eyebrow.
"Sorry." Sasuke sunk down and continued eating his 'heavenly' eggs.
"…Wow." Was all Hinata could say about that.
"Ha ha, what a doofus. Everybody in the diner is staring." Kiba chuckled. I think even Akamaru was laughing (or barking in a tone to suggest laughter).
"Wow, my birthday is off to quite a start." Sasame laughed, looking around at all her friends. "Good times with my friends, great food, an entertaining waiter, and even Sasuke's little outburst there."
Sasuke glared at her, and she smiled back at him.
"I sure hope the rest of my birthday goes as well as this morning has."
Little did Sasame know, something would happen later that would make her day a lot better.
"Seriously, whoever made these pancakes should win an award." Sasame said between bites. "They are to die for."
"Yeah, and I'm sure Sasuke's eggs are to die for too." Shikamaru said, drawing laughter from the other two booths, as well as some other people in the area.
"Shut up already!" Sasuke yelled.
"Don't push him, guys." Sakura warned. "He does have chidori, you know."
The rest of the meal went on silently, with Sasuke occasionally shooting glares at everyone else. When they were finished, Akira walked back up to them.
"Well, is everybody here finished?" He asked, still seeming very laid-back.
"Uh-huh." Naruto said, patting his stomach.
"Alright. The total for your meal comes to…"
Akira handed the check to Sakura. She had expected it to be quite large, but in theory, it wasn't.
"…Are you sure this is our check?" She asked. "Meals for 8 of us should cost more than this."
"Well, you know. You guys were fun to serve, so I kinda tweaked the price a little bit. Just don't tell the boss, or I'll be in deep trouble."
Akira gave a smile as Sakura handed him the money.
"Thank you. Please stop by again!" Akira happily said.
"Well, if you're our waiter, that's a sure thing!" Sasame smiled as she, and the rest of the group, headed out of the diner.
"Well, that sure was a lot of fun." Naruto said. "But, we must all be off, I'm sure. Happy birthday Sasame! Birthday hug!"
Naruto hugged, and in the process, nearly tackled Sasame.
"Hey, don't I get a birthday hug too?" Sakura asked, giving the 'puppy dog' look.
"Of course you do." Sasame said, releasing herself from Naruto long enough to give Sakura a hug. Sakura seemed to intentionally hug Sasame for as long as possible, and gave a sinister look in the process. God only knows what was going through her head.
"What was that all about?" Sasuke asked as Sakura released Sasame.
"What do you mean?" Sakura asked him.
"That really long hug, coupled with that look you were giving. What are you up to?"
"I'm not up to anything." Sakura said defensively.
"Whatever. Girls confuse me anyway." Sasuke muttered as he walked off. Naruto scratched his head.
"What's up with him?" He asked.
"Who knows?" Sasame asked. "He's probably just sour because he thinks Sakura got a better hug."
"…Anyway, we'll see you later Sasame. Happy birthday!" Sakura exclaimed.
"Thanks. I'll be off too, I guess." Sasame said. "Bye!"
The others all headed in different directions, leaving Sasame standing alone in the middle of the street. A light breeze was blowing in the area she stood.
"Well, I couldn't have asked for nicer weather on my birthday." She said, closing her eyes and letting the breeze caress her face. A moment later, she headed off in the direction Naruto's team had headed, although she wasn't following them.
"Wait, why am I going this way?" Sasame asked herself. She kept walking anyway, and eventually found and wandered into a hobby shop.
"Good afternoon. Welcome to Hobbies-R-Us, Konoha's best hobby shop." The man behind the counter greeted her.
"Hello there." Sasame said.
"Anything you're interested in?"
"I'm just looking, thanks."
Sasame looked through the store for a while, but couldn't find anything that interested her.
"Hmm, I can't find anything I want."
"Need help with something?" The man asked her.
"No thank you." Sasame said.
Sasame wanted to buy something for herself as a birthday present, seeing as how she figured nobody would give her anything.
"Aw man. I can't find anything." Sasame said. "Oh well, maybe I'll get something somewhere else."
"Are ya leaving?" The man asked her.
"Yeah. Sorry I didn't buy anything." Sasame apologized.
"It's alright. We don't get as much business as we used to."
"Oh. Well, I'm off then."
"Have a good day. Thanks for stopping by."
"You're welcome." Sasame said as she left. When she got outside, she checked her watch.
"Hmm, it's still early. What should I do for the rest of today?"
As she pondered what to do, Sakura walked up to her.
"Oh, hey Sakura." Sasame said, noticing the pink haired girl standing next to her.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Sakura asked.
"Me? I'm trying to decide how to pass the time. How about you?"
"Um, well, I was heading toward Naruto's place. I need to ask him something."
"Ok. See ya later." Sasame said.
"Oh you will." Sakura whispered when she was out of earshot. Sasame headed in the other direction.
Many hours later…
(A/N: Sorry, I couldn't decide what to write here, and I want this story to get done soon, so I just decided to cut ahead to nighttime).
It was now about 6 o'clock in the evening. Sasame was at home, and she was completely oblivious that her friends were planning something.
Knock, knock
Sasame was lost in thought, and didn't hear the knocking at the door.
Bang, bang
"Coming!" Sasame yelled, hurrying down the stairs. When she reached the door, she didn't open it right away.
"Who is it?" She asked.
"It's Naruto!"
Sasame opened the door as quickly as she could.
"Hey, what's up Naruto?"
"Have you had dinner yet?" Naruto asked, confusing Sasame greatly.
"Um, no." Sasame said.
"Wanna go get some ramen with me?" Naruto asked.
Sasame stood there for a second, thinking about Naruto's offer.
"Well?"
"O…ok, I guess."
"Great! Are you ready to go right now?"
"Sure." Sasame said, looking down at her clothes.
"Relax, you look fine." Naruto said, reassuring her.
"You think so?"
"Yeah. Now, let's go!"
Naruto and Sasame exited her house. As soon as they were out of sight, Sasame's friends (Sakura, Sasuke, Kiba, Hinata, Shino, basically everyone Naruto was friends with) came out from behind her house.
"Alright." Kiba said. "They're going to Ichiraku's, which means they'll probably be a long time. That means we have ample time to set her house up for her party."
"Wait, how are we going to get into her house?" Hinata asked. "We don't have keys, do we?"
Kiba's face dropped.
"I knew I overlooked something."
Suddenly, Sakura pulled some keys out of her pocket.
"Wait, what the…?"
"It kinda helps to be friends with someone if you're gonna throw a surprise birthday party for them." She said, waving the keys in front of Kiba.
"Um." Shino began. "She trusts you enough to give you keys to her house?"
"Well, after what I did for her back in the Land of Rice Patties…"
"Ok, I think that's enough info for one conversation." Sasuke said, giving Sakura an angry look as usual.
"…Anyway, if we're throwing Sasame a surprise birthday party, we better get to it!"
The entire group, led by Sakura, headed into the house to set it up. Of course, up until now, Sakura had been keeping something inside her. A feeling, to be more exact. It was kind of like the feeling she had when she first met Sasuke, except for this was a secret. Nobody but her knew about it, this feeling of unbridled passion and love (and perhaps even more so lust) for the person who had just left with Naruto to get some ramen.
She had done well in keeping it secret up to now, even restraining herself from basically going insane when Sasame joined her and the others for breakfast this morning, or when she gave her a hug afterwards (although she did give an evil look).
Anyways, that feeling was becoming harder and harder to keep inside, and Sakura knew (or at least figured) that when Sasame returned with Naruto, her feelings for the redhead would be unleashed in all their fury!
"Sakura, is there any reason that you're sweating so much?" Shikamaru asked. "Is this too much of a drag?"
"No. I just have something on my mind right now. That's all." Sakura reassured him.
Meanwhile, at Ichiraku's…
"So Naruto, what's up with you taking me out like this?" Sasame asked.
"Huh? Oh, I'm just treating you to dinner on your birthday." Naruto said, stuffing his face with more ramen.
"Yeah, but…"
"What? Are you worried about something?"
"No." Sasame said, looking at her ramen.
"More ramen, Naruto?" Teuchi asked.
"You bet, old man!" Naruto grinned.
"How about you?" Ayame asked Sasame.
"No thanks, I'm good." Sasame said.
"Are you worried about being away from home for so long at this time of night?" Naruto asked.
Sasame pondered his question for a moment, and then responded.
"No, not really."
"Oh, ok."
Two hours later…
"Naruto, did you eat too much?"
Naruto had his head bowed, and hadn't moved in many seconds.
"Oh, don't worry about him." Teuchi said. "He's just letting his ramen digest. He sits like that for a while, and then suddenly sits straight up and yells something like…"
"…Man, that ramen is good!" Naruto shot up on cue. Sasame was soon doubled over laughing.
"Oh Naruto, you are so silly!" She said while still laughing. "You had me worried for a second, and then you start acting goofy. Man, you're one of a kind!"
Naruto grinned and put his hand behind his head.
"You guys finished?" Teuchi asked.
"Yep, old man."
"Alright. Ayame, add up their total, will ya?"
"Yes father." Ayame responded and went to calculate how much they owed. Moments later, Naruto was handed the bill, and he swiftly paid it.
"Thank you. Come again."
"You know it old man. Thanks a lot!"
"Let's head home now." Sasame said.
"Of course." Naruto responded. "We have to get back to your house so we can…"
Naruto stopped in the middle of a sentence.
"So we can what?" Sasame asked, now a little suspicious.
"Nothing. I just wanna get you home safely, as all."
"Oh, ok then."
"Let's go!" Naruto exclaimed, bolting off ahead of Sasame. She began walking in the direction of her home, and soon caught up to a very worn-out Naruto.
"Are you in a hurry?" She asked.
"Well that, and I'm outta shape." Naruto laughed. The two of them greatly enjoyed the walk back. It was a very pleasant night, and soon Sasame would arrive home to quite a surprise. Yes, finally, Sasame would get her surprise birthday party!
"Well, I'm home." Sasame said.
"Um, can I go in first?" Naruto asked.
"Why?" Sasame blinked in confusion.
"Oh, you know, so I can make sure it's safe."
Sasame gave a confused look, but then nodded. Naruto reached for the doorknob, assuming it was open because of the party.
"Wait." Sasame said. "You forgot the keys."
Too late. Naruto grabbed the doorknob and turned it. The door immediately opened.
"What the…? Sasame, did you leave the door unlocked?" Naruto asked, obviously knowing why it was unlocked.
"I thought I locked it." Sasame said. Naruto headed in.
"Naruto, wait! There might be someone in there if it's unlocked."
Again, too late. Naruto was already inside.
"I sure hope he's careful." Sasame said. She waited a few seconds, and then headed in as well. All the lights were off.
"Naruto, where are you?" Sasame asked, searching for a light switch as she did.
Click
"What the…?"
"Surprise!!" Everyone yelled, jumping out from behind Sasame's couch.
"…Crap, you guys scared me." Sasame said, putting a hand on her chest.
"Whoops, did we overdo it?" Sasuke asked.
"No, you just scared me a little. I'm not used to surprise parties."
Sasame stepped in a little further.
"So, since this is my surprise birthday party, what exactly did you guys plan to do first?"
"Well, dancing sounds good!" Kiba exclaimed.
"But I can't dance." Sasame complained.
"Yes, but you'll learn." Naruto said, putting his hand up.
Meanwhile, Sakura was "dancing" with Sasuke, but of course we all know she wanted to be dancing with someone else.
"Sakura, I know you're a good dancer, but I've just gotta ask. What the hell are you doing?" Sasuke asked.
"I've got something on my mind." Sakura said, looking lovingly at Sasame.
"What are you giving that look for?"
"Like it's any of your business!"
"Fine, if you're gonna be miserable about it…"
Sasuke walked away from Sakura and went looking for another dancing partner.
"Where's he going?" Shino asked.
"I got a little mad at him, so he left." Sakura said, faking tears.
"Hmm, he's probably just in a bad mood as usual."
Shino smartly walked away before Sakura hit him. A few minutes later, someone yelled…
"Alright, time to change partners!"
"Finally!" Sakura said in her mind. "My chance has come!"
Sakura began heading toward Sasame. Sasame wanted to dance with Naruto so he could teach her how, but he had sat out on the first dance and now was looking to find Hinata.
"Where did he go?" Sasame asked. "I wanna dance with him."
Sasame felt an arm grab her.
"Naruto?"
She turned to see who grabbed her, and it was Sakura.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Can I dance with you?" Sakura asked.
"Um, ok." Sasame said nervously.
"Great. I have some things to tell you."
Sakura grabbed Sasame's right hand, and they (or Sakura, at least) began dancing.
"I…can't dance, Sakura." Sasame said, expecting Sakura to make fun of her.
"That's quite alright. Now then, to important matters."
Sakura and Sasame began dancing to the soft music coming from the large speakers set up by the others.
"I love this song." Sasame said, now getting into the rhythm.
"Me too." Sakura said in a soft tone. "And there's something else I love."
"What do you mean?"
Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for!
"Oh Lord, I hope I can actually say this."
Sakura took a breath.
"Sasame, for a very long time now, well, let's just say I…hmm, this is hard."
"What is it, Sakura? Try talking it out."
"Alright. I l…l…crap, I can't bring myself to say it." Sakura looked away from Sasame.
Sasame put her hands on Sakura's face and turned her head back.
"Please tell me, Sakura." Sasame pleaded. "If it's important, I need to know what it is."
"Ok."
Sakura grabbed Sasame's other hand.
"I, um, well…Sasame I love you!"
There was a feeling of relief within Sakura. There was stunned silence from Sasame. Love? Nobody had ever told her that, and hearing that coming from another girl was quite a shock.
"You what, exactly?" Sasame asked, taken quite aback from what she was just told.
"You want me to say it again?" Sakura asked.
"No, I'm just having trouble comprehending it."
Apparently, Sasame wasn't the only person to hear this confession of love. In fact, I think everyone did.
"Arr?" Akamaru asked.
"I don't know, buddy." Kiba said.
"S…S…Sakura…" Was all Naruto could get out. He and Sasuke felt the same at this moment. Their favorite girl, Sakura, in love with another girl? What was she thinking?
"Sakura…" Sasame cried. She hugged Sakura, who was quite happy now.
"Sasame, I've got something for you." Sakura said, looking down at her prize.
"Huh?"
Sakura leaned down and kissed Sasame lightly, drawing a few gasps from the crowd.
"Sakura, I…"
"Shh." Sakura said, putting a finger on Sasame's lips to shush her.
"Aww, that's cute." Hinata said, grabbing Naruto's arm. She then realized what she was doing, and starting blushing like she always does. She tried releasing his arm, but he firmly grasped it.
"N…Naruto?"
"What?"
"N…nothing."
Sakura and Sasame kissed again. Sasame was crying, but they were tears of joy.
"Happy birthday, Sasame." Sakura said lovingly.
"Thank you." Sasame said through tears. She hugged her now-girlfriend tightly, not wanting to ever let go.
"This is your party. Let's not have me spoil it." Sakura said, releasing Sasame.
"How could you spoil it?" Sasame cried. "You told me you're in love with me. How could that be bad?"
Sasame buried herself in Sakura's shoulder as the crowd of people burst into applause. They apparently had agreed that this was right. After a few more minutes of dancing, the grand finale had come: Sasame's birthday cake. She had no idea what to expect.
"I wonder what it will look like." Sasame said to herself.
"And now, the big finish to what I'm sure has been the greatest birthday Sasame has ever had." Naruto said. "May I present: Her birthday cake!"
Sasame waited anxiously. What kind of cake had they gotten for her? She was almost afraid to ask, but she did anyway.
"Sakura, dear, what exactly will my cake look like?"
"Oh, you'll like it I'm sure." Sakura responded, reassuringly grabbing Sasame's hand. The birthday cake was finally rolled out, and Sasame gasped in surprise. It was quite large, had about 20 candles on it (random number picked by Kiba), and said in big red letters: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SASAME!
"Well, what do you think?" Naruto asked.
Sasame was speechless. All her friends had done for her totally blew her away. When she got up this morning, she didn't expect her birthday to be this, well, amazing. She had spent time with her dear friends, had one of her dearest friends, Sakura, reveal her love for her, and, to top it off, had this amazing birthday cake.
"I…I…"
"Sasame, what's wrong?" Sakura asked, noticing tears in her lover's eyes.
"I'm sorry, Sakura. This day has just been so good. I can hardly believe it."
Sasame cried more tears of joy as Sakura hugged her.
"Happy birthday." Sakura said, tightly holding her love. Everyone else gathered around the two.
"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, Happy birthday Sasame! Happy birthday to you!"
"Whee!" Shino randomly yelled.
Sasame looked around. This was likely the happiest day of her life, and her days would surely get happier, now that she had someone she was in love with.
"I love you guys." Sasame said through tears. Everyone around her formed a huge group hug, with her and Sakura kissing in the middle.
THE END!
Aww, how cute! Please read and review!