A/N: Happy October 10, 2010 aka 10/10/10! It's Naruto's special birthday today which is actually really funny because I have been waiting to celebrate this day for so long and yet I am not in any type of Naruto mood. I love him to death but Kuroshitsuji is on my mind and so I haven't really...done anything for Naruto. *ashamed* Oh, Naruto! Still, I did this for his birthday so I hope you guys like it.

Happy Birthday, Naruto!

Disclaimer: Two words: Kishimoto-sensei.

Warning: Somewhat SasuNaru. Squint.

O c t o b e r M o r n i n g s
By Lilith Eve

Naruto could feel the sunlight hit his face, the heat slowly bringing him to consciousness from another dreamless sleep. He tried to open his eyes but upon seeing the bright rays he tightly closed them and turned away from the light.

'It's too sunny out for October.'

He didn't feel like getting up from his bed. He was comfortable but felt very sleepy still. If fact, he didn't get much sleep the night before mostly because of his nerves and sadness. Yesterday had been hard; Naruto had received many death glares and angry stares from the villagers so he was not looking forward to seeing them again today.

'I might as well stay inside. I don't have anything better to do and it'll be a lot safer. Unlike last year.'

No one ever seemed to like October tenth. He doubted anyone ever would.

Still, it would have been nice to get a gift or something from at least one of his friends.

'I don't care anymore. It doesn't even matter.'

What difference does it make if he cared anyway? It wasn't like anyone was going to go out of their way just to make him happy for his birthday. He was only turning thirteen. Still, the heart ache was there and he felt he deserved at least a small smile or a quiet whisper of "Happy Birthday".

'Is that too much to ask for?'

He turned around to lie on his back, his arm draped over his eyes so as not to let the sun hit his face. A light breeze flew through the window and caressed his silky, bright hair. He breathed in gently and relaxed his muscles as he sniffed the fresh air of October.

'Wait…did I leave my window open last night?'

Suddenly he bolted up and stared at the window next to his bed. The top had been lifted and the curtains thrown to the side as the wind gently blew in, the fabric dancing along the walls. Naruto began to search around his room, muscles tense again and senses on high alert in case of an intruder. Upon feeling nothing out of the ordinary and seeing everything in place he began to feel ridiculous for getting so scared. He was about to turn around and fall asleep when something caught his attention on the corner of his eye. He turned around to see a small orange box resting on his kitchen table, silent and nonthreatening.

'What the…'

Naruto slowly rose to his feet and walked to the box, cautious of what was inside. There, the orange box sat in silence waiting for him to open it and see what treasures were in store. He felt slightly scared but mostly curious as to how the box entered his home and to whom had it come from.

'The window…someone must have gotten in while I was sleeping.'

Now he felt like an idiot. What if that person had a reason to kill him? Well, he hasn't opened the box yet so he doesn't exactly know if this person has a death wish against him or not. Still, the box seemed alright, just a simple gift.

A gift? Was it a gift?

Upon becoming bored with just staring at the box, Naruto took it in his hands and began to unwrap the bow on top. Once he was done, he lifted the top up and peeked inside to find a small book lying gently face up. He took the book from inside the box, a confused look on his face. He opened it up and flipped through the pages only to be slightly turned down that there weren't any pictures. Naruto then turned the book upside up again to gasp in surprise at the cover title.

'The Wise Man's Tale? I've wanted to read this book since it came out. But I could never afford it…who bought this? And why did they give it to me?'

Naruto opened the book again and saw something written inside in long and delicate cursive.

Dear Naruto,

I noticed you looking at this book whenever we walked by the book store and decided that it might do you some good to read something once in a while. I feel like your brain deserves a little bit of knowledge. Put the words in this book to good use.

Sincerely,

Sasuke

P.S. Happy Birthday, dobe.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly until a small smile and a whisper of a chuckle ghosted over his lips.

"Thanks, Sasuke. Wait! What do you mean about my brain needing more knowledge? You bastard, I'm smart!"

Naruto fumed slightly to himself as he threw himself onto his bed and opened the book, his book, to the first page.

"I remember a day where I felt I was alone in the world, yet that changed when I met my best friend…"