My Invisible Birthday
(takes deep breath) HAPPY BIRTHDAY NARUTO!!!!! Sorry I'm late!
Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, he would fall in love with every boy he met… Or Hinata… .
Warning: Warnings? Unbeta-ed work?
Pairings:…. What pairings?
Setting: Hm… Sort of timeless. Pretend Naruto had his birthday before the Haku arc.
Dream: I suppose my dream is to be reviewed by my favorite authors. I guess this was fulfilled in part when Assassin of Shadows reviewed, but every time I see all these people getting reviews from all the great Naruto authors, I get so jealous! goes to sob in a corner I guess this could be a ploy to get you to review, but it's truuuuueeeee…..It makes me feel inadequate….
Um… I'll probably write another chapter of "Cutie Kyuubi" soon… probably…
Image Song:
"Carve
Your Heart Out Yourself"
Carve your heart out yourself
Hopelessness is your cell
Since you've drawn out these lines
Are you protected from trying times?
Man it takes a silly girl to lie about the dreams she has
Lord it takes a lonely one to wish that she had never dreamt at all
Oh look now, there you go with hope again
Oh, you're so sure I'll be leaving in the end
Dig a ditch deep enough
To keep you clear of the sun
You've been burned more than once
You don't think much of trust
Man it takes a silly girl to lie about the dreams she has
Lord it takes a lonely one to wish that she had never dreamt at all
Oh look now, there you go with hope again
But I'll be sure your secret is safe with me
Oh, you're so sure I'll be leaving in the end
Treating me like I'm already gone
But I'm not, I will stay where you are always
I will stay, I will stay, I will stay (all of now)
repeat to fade out
-Dashboard Confessional
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On this particular day, our favorite blond wonder woke up in the same zombie fashion that had characterized all of his thirteen years… That's right: thirteen. Today sky eyes awoke to a whole added number on his age: yesterday he had been twelve, now he was thirteen. As he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he looked blearily at his calendar.
Today… It's that day…
He sighed and slowly swung his legs out of his covers, bare feet finally making contact with the cold, cold wooden floor. He lethargically walked over to the open window, taking a moment to breath in the damp smell of moist earth; it had rained during the night, cleansing Konoha with a steady pitter patter. But it was now so cold! There was even frost outside. He shivered and reached up, using all his strength to close the stubborn window, which refused to give in without a screech. He paused, startled for a moment when a crow loudly protested the window's downward movement. He shook his head, and fancied that the black bird wished him a happy birthday.
"Thank you," he exaggeratedly bowed to the crow, his tone dramatic and slightly mocking. He finished closing the window and exited his bedroom, moving into the kitchen to make himself a nice cup of ramen (a/n: I know it's "bowl" but the thought of Naruto drinking ramen like coffee wouldn't leave my mind).
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Naruto sashayed through the village, carefully displaying a carefree grin. He didn't look around him, or in fact even in front of him. He focused only on the five feet in front of him. This measure was enough to ensure he could get to bridge without bumping into anyone or anything without actually looking at the people around him. He got to the bridge just fine and greeted his teammates in his usual boisterous manner. They never suspected a thing.
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"Ohayo!" Everyone on team 7 twitched an eyebrow as their sensei spoke "good morning" when it was now clearly past noon. The usual "pleasantries" were exchanged before the team got down to business. Grass cutting business, that is. Everything was completely normal: Kakashi read his graphic novel (a/n: pun! Graphic novel as in manga, and graphic novel as in… ok… I'll stop now), Sakura worked efficiently and quickly, Sasuke pushed the mower with a determined, although bored, look, and Naruto, amid loud curses, ran after the run away mower. The other ninjas could almost sense the mower screaming, "Freedom!" as it accelerated down a rather steep hill. Gravity pulled the orange clothed boy so that he face planted into a nice patch of uncut grass which had somehow escaped the mad cutter. The deranged hardware continued, chugging out of sight as it rounded another, smaller hill.
Unseen by his comrades, Naruto smirked slightly, knowing that his stupid act would continue working for yet another year. A small teardrop fell onto an ant, which was miraculously uncrushed from the boy's descent, the only outward sign he would allow himself this year of his inner pain.
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He crept silently toward the academy and peeked inside the window of Iruka's classroom. The window was open for the classrooms were always too hot as the thermostat was broken and constantly giving off too much heat. Naruto's favorite Chuunin was busily grading papers. Another teacher passed by the classroom, did a double check, and stepped inside.
"Iruka, what are you doing here so late? You should be at home by now." Iruka laughed and scratched his nose.
"I'm afraid I have too much work today; I'll be up all night!"
"Well, good night!"
Naruto crept away.
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He unlocked the door to his apartment and dragged his exhausted body into the shower. He kept his clothes on, allowing the stream to rinse off his dusty clothes. After his "fall" he had allowed himself to be nearly scratched to death by Tora-chan, and dramatically "fell" during his spar with Sasuke. He finally turned off the tap and peeled off his clothes. He pulled himself into his pajamas and walrus cap and fell onto the bed, his overworked body making the short passage into sleep.
And that was Naruto's invisible birthday.