Disclaimer: Naruto is the intellectual property of Masashi Kishimoto. Anything else you might recognise from other shows/manga/books/etc do not belong to me. I own nothing but the plot to this story. Please support the official release!
~A Very Special Birthday~
October the Tenth. A day like any other, for the majority of those native to the Elemental Nations. For those of Konohagakure no Sato, in Hi no Kuni, it was remembered as the Day of the Kyūbi. For an eight-year-old boy, huddled in a rundown apartment, it was his birthday. Not that it was cause for celebration. For as long as the boy could remember, the day of his birth was synonymous with stares of disdain and harsh treatment from the villagers. That wasn't to say that they were outright cruel, but to a child in his formative years, apathy and neglect was just as bad.
So, here he was, another birthday going by without any form a celebration. In years gone by, the boy would sometimes save what little money he gained from a monthly stipend to buy a small cupcake and a candle. Not that he always could. On his birthday, specifically, shopkeepers were known to deliberately either sell him out-of-date products or even deny him service altogether. It didn't happen all that often, though. Agents of the Hokage, the leader of the village, would report back whenever incidents like that were to happen. It was just that with the festival celebrating the defeat of the Kyūbi, sometimes things slipped the net.
A loud knock on the door echoed through the apartment.
"Naruto?" a slightly muffled voice called from outside.
"Huh?" the blond boy's head rose from his arms, as he blinked in surprise. He rose from his bed, shuffled towards the door, and pinned the security chain in place before opening the door.
At the entrance way was a member of the ANBU. Wearing a black uniform, grey flak jacket, metal arm guards, the ANBU wore a distinctive dog shaped porcelain mask.
"Inu-san?" Naruto tilted his head confusion, "What's up, 'ttebayo? I didn't do any pranks, today."
ANBU Inu was someone Naruto was rather familiar with, having been the ANBU agent who would always end up catching Naruto, following one of his infamous pranks. However, these days, that duty was passed on to ANBU agents Neko and Tora, so Naruto rarely saw him. Inu was more recognisable, not for his mask, but for his gravity defying grey hair. Which, more or less, made the concept of anonymity amongst ANBU redundant, as all it would to identify the identity of Inu was for a long-term enemy spy to observe a well-known Jōnin with the same gravity defying hair.
That was beside the point, as the ANBU replied, "Hokage-sama wishes to speak with you."
"What?!" Naruto yelled, "But I just told ya, I didn't prank today! Why would I? Dattebayo!"
"Calm down, Naruto," Inu chided, "You're not in trouble."
"I swear, I'm innocent! I'm…Oh, I'm not…? I mean, of course I'm not!"
Inside his mask, Inu had to withhold a sweat drop, before sighing exasperation.
"Shall we go now?"
"Yeah, just gimme a minute to get dressed," Naruto said, running back into his bedroom.
He then swiftly changed into his trademark orange jumpsuit, before reappearing at the doorway. However, instead of bringing the blond boy along in a Shunshin no Jutsu, Naruto was escorted by foot.
"Um. Why are we walking, Inu-san?" Naruto asked curiously.
"It's been a while since I last saw you. I thought we might talk," Inu nonchalantly replied.
"Oh, okay," Naruto's expression then brightened, "Hey, didya go on anything cool missions?"
"Hmm…" Inu brought a gloved hand up to his mask, and rubbed his chin, "Well, I did rescue a princess."
"Sugoi! What else? What else?"
"You know I can't tell you much about my missions, Naruto," Inu said, the tone of his voice fond.
"Aw…" Naruto pouted.
As they walked, Inu did his best to distract Naruto from the odd stares that the pair gained from their walk down the streets of Konoha. Even without Naruto's rather ill-earned reputation, it was still a strange sight to see anyone being escorted on foot by an ANBU agent.
"Hey, we aren't goin' in the direction of the Jiji's office!" Naruto said, realising that they were going the opposite way to the Hokage Tower.
"So we aren't," Inu agreed.
"Then where are we going?" Naruto asked, starting to get annoyed.
"You'll see."
The blond ninja-in-training huffed, before turning his head away from the masked shinobi. Inu chuckled, and decided to ease off on the teasing.
"Hokage-sama wishes to meet with you at Ichiraku's," Inu explained.
"Ramen?! YATTA!" Naruto shouted in joy, before becoming confused once more, "Why though, 'ttebayo?"
Inu had to stifle a growl. Getting angry would solve nothing, but he couldn't help be rage at the thought that the son of his sensei had no clue what a simple birthday celebration was.
"It doesn't matter," Inu said, carefully masking his anger, "Let's go."
"Alright," Naruto nodded, nonplussed.
The pair walked, and chatted. Well, Naruto chatted while Inu simply nodded and listened. Soon enough, the pair arrived at the ramen stand. Oddly, there was no sound coming from inside the small building. Odd, because for a village-wide holiday there should be a full house of patrons. That being said, Naruto noticed that a sign had been put up outside. One that said 'Close for a private event'. He then turned to look at the ANBU in confusion.
"Go on," Inu encouraged.
Naruto shrugged, before pushing the flap at the entrance to the side.
"SURPRISE!"
The sudden cry startled Naruto, who yelped and tripped over. But before he could fall flat on his face, he was held up by the arms of another ANBU agent, this time with long flowing purple hair, and a cat shaped mask.
"Neko-san!"
"Hello, Naruto-kun," the ANBU greeted, with a hug, "Happy Birthday."
"Thanks!" Naruto cheerfully replied, "But what's all this?"
"This, my child, is a birthday party," a voice belonging to a wizened old man revealed.
Naruto turned around, and leaped to hug the venerable leader of Konoha, "Jiji!"
"Oof, easy there, dear child," Sarutobi Hiruzen grumbled, good-naturedly, "I'm not as young as I used to be."
"Then maybe you should retire and give me the hat, dattebayo!" Naruto cheekily remarked.
"Not for a while yet, Naruto," the Hokage chuckled, "Now, come. We have a party to get one with. Iruka-kun is here, and the Ichiraku's have cooked up a special bowl of Miso Ramen."
"Really! A party, for me?" Naruto tilted his head in wonder.
"Yes, my boy," the Hokage's smiled became a tiny bit forced, but Naruto didn't notice, too engrossed in saying hello to Umino Iruka, and the waitress of the bar, Ayame.
Inu and Neko came to stand by their leader.
"What does it say about the villagers, if Naruto can't even comprehend the notion of a birthday party," Neko sadly mumbled.
"I can make laws to protect Naruto-kun, but I can't force the villagers to be kind to him," Hiruzen wearily said, "I can only prostrate myself before Minato-kun and Kushina-chan in the afterlife and beg for forgiveness for letting them down."
"You won't be the only one, Hokage-sama," Inu sighed.
"Come, we can at least offer one night of happiness for him," the Sandaime then said, before pulling out a small package from his pocket, "Naruto-kun, this is for you."
"Wow! Thanks, Jiji!" Naruto exclaimed, tearing open the present. Revealed was a green coloured toad shaped wallet, "Wow, cool! I'll call it Gama-chan, 'ttebayo!"
Hiruzen stifled a snort.
'Jiraiya will be pleased that his present is well received,' he thought, fondly.
It was the Inu's turn.
"Here you go, Naruto," he said, handing an orange wrapped box.
Opening it and taking out what was inside, Naruto held a sleeping cap that was black in colour, with a white rim and a pair of eyes and nose stitched on it.
"Hey this is great! I need a new one, anyway!" Naruto happily said.
'I guess it isn't so much the item, but the fact that he's getting a present that makes him happy,' Inu remarked, smiling under his mask.
Naruto then received presents from Iruka, Ayame and her father. The Academy sensei gave Naruto a set of new kunai and shuriken, while the Ayame gave the blond boy a copy of The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi. Her father, Teuchi, handed a set of coupons for Naruto to have at the ramen stand, the next time he was there.
All the while, the Sandaime Hokage looked on with a small smile, happy for the child that was forced to bear a burden that he did not even know of.
Later, once the surprise party finished up, Inu and Neko escorted Naruto back to his apartment. He quickly got changed before laying down on his bed, thinking on the party he had. It was fun, and something he had never experienced before.
'So this is what a birthday party is?' Naruto thought, as he snuggled into his duvet, 'I think I like it.'
A smile of content graced his lips, as sleep slowly took him. However, before his eyes finally closed, he saw two slightly translucent people. One could have passed as an older version of himself minus the whisker marks, wearing a standard Konoha Jōnin uniform. The other was a redhaired woman with striking violet coloured eyes. She wore a white, short-sleeved shirt under a long green dress. Both wore tender smiles on their faces, as he finally closed his eyes and drifted into slumber.
Author's Notes: Hey all! This is just a small chapter to commemorate Naruto's birthday. And to say that I'm still alive and publishing. While The Prince that was Promised is currently undergoing some revisions, Umikage is coming along nicely, but I don't know when I can publish it.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy, and leave a review if you see anything that ought to be improved on, changed, or just your general opinions. Flamers are kindly asked to go elsewhere.
Just an aside, I want to thank my friend, Silencia20, who deliberately held back on updating her story, Chasing Shadows, for my birthday, which I happen to share with Naruto! So, thank you, from me! You should all check out her work, while you're at it. You won't be disappointed, I can assure you.