Birthday

Team Kakashi have organised the perfect celebration in honour of their captain's birthday. The only problem is that they are still waiting for Kakashi to show up...

This is a prize/gift story for Seibaha no Tada, who left the 100th review on my story 'Endurance'. She gave me the idea, and I thought I'd give it a try. This will have 3 chapters, which are already written, so I'll post them at intervals of my choosing, hahaha!

Disclaimer: I don't lay claim to Naruto

1. Party

Sakura set a plate of freshly-baked cakes on the table with a sigh. That was the last last of it. Now that all the food was laid out ready for the party to begin there was time enough for her to have a sit down and a cup of tea before people started to arrive.

"Naruto" she called as she slumped onto the sofa. "Are you finished yet? Do you want some tea?"

"Just a sec, Sakura-chan, I'm nearly done". Naruto's voice floated in from outside where he was putting up the all-important Birthday Balloons on the front gate.

Sakura jumped up again and put the kettle on. It was nice to have a few minutes to relax after all the preparations, but she was so excited she couldn't seem to sit still. She was itching for the first guests to arrive so the party could get going. Although, of course, she thought with a scowl, it would be a miracle if the 'birthday boy' arrived on time.

"So, who do you think will get here first, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he bounced into the kitchen.

That was a tricky question as both Yamato and Sai were a bit anal when it cam to timekeeping. "Hmm, I think Yamato Taicho".

Naruto shook his head. "I think it will be Sai. No question!"

He was just as excited as she was, Sakura thought, and it made her smile. In all the years they had worked together as Team 7 and then as Team Kakashi, no one had ever known when Kakashi's birthday was. He had always seemed to know theirs, and had made a point of marking the occasion in some small way, but he had kept his own birthday securely under wraps. Sakura hadn't even been able to get it out of Tsunade-shishou. But just this year, about four months ago, Sakura had been working in the hospital while Kakashi happened to be in for an overnight stay following a mission. Normally, a patient's full medical record wasn't kept in the room they were staying in, but for some reason, there it was, lying on the table under the window. Tsunade or Shizune must have needed it for some reason, and had forgotten to file it away again.

Kakashi had been sound asleep, so, after performing her duties like a good little medic, and glancing around to make sure she was alone, Sakura had snooped. And sure enough there it was. That golden date, 15th September.

Today.

Sakura grinned and turned to Naruto. "How about we make this interesting and bet on it then, hmm?"

As she spoke, Sakura emptied her purse onto the kitchen counter and quickly counted the coins that fell out. She didn't have much in there, dammit. This party had practically cleaned her out, but it would be worth it.

"I'll bet you, er, 73 ryo that Yamato-taicho gets here first".

She stuck her hand out, and Naruto shook on the bet without hesitation, a huge grin on his face.

"Well, you'll soon be giving me that money, Sakura-chan, as I know Yamato-taicho is on a mission, haha!"

"Naruto!" Sakura readied her fist, but stopped herself. There was no need to punch Naruto over this, and besides, a mission wasn't something to laugh over. "What sort of mission, Naruto?"

"Oh, just giving the Water Daimyo's niece a guided tour of the local area." Naruto's grin was evil, and Sakura guessed that he had somehow managed to wriggle out of that task and palm it off to Yamato-taicho. And Naruto soon confirmed this for her. "Tsunade no ba-chan tried to get me to do it, but I told her you would kill me if I didn't help arrange Kakashi-sensei's party, so she let me off".

Naruto looked justifiably pleased with himself, and Sakura snorted out a laugh. "Poor old Yamato-taicho! He always gets stuck with the bum jobs."

Sakura poured the tea and she and Naruto made their way back to the living room to sit down.

"You don't think Kakashi-sensei will mind that we've technically broken in to his flat, do you? I mean, it was your idea..."

Sakura sighed. "We've had this discussion, Naruto. He won't mind. He gave me his key so I could water his plants when he's away, so it's not like I'm not allowed in here or something. And do you really think he would come if we had it somewhere else?"

Naruto grinned. "No, he'd find some lame excuse, like 'my invitation got stuck up a tree and a cat attacked me while I was trying to get it down, and my clothes got ripped so I had to go home and change, and by that time the party was over' ".

Naruto' caricature of Kakashi-sensei was so uncanny that Sakura fell about laughing.

"Haha! That's just like something he would say!"

A knock at the door interrupted their laughter, and the two old friends sat up straight and looked at each other, deadly serious, ready to settle their bet.

As one they got up from the sofa and headed for the door, fingers crossed and laughter barely-suppressed.

"Ok" said Sakura, her hand on the doorknob. "On three, are you ready?"

Naruto nodded as seriously as he could.

"One, two, three..."

Sakura wrenched open the door to reveal Sai. Her face fell while Naruto's lit up, but the next moment they were both smiling, as right behind Sai was Yamato-taicho.

"What's the matter, Sakura-san?" Sai asked. "Why are you not pleased to see me, but you are pleased to see Yamato-taicho? We were both invited to this event by you, and I have read that it is polite to make all guests at a party feel welcome".

Sakura smiled at him. Sai was miles better than he used to be, but he still pretty much sucked at social interactions.

"Don't worry Sai, you're very welcome. Me and Naruto had a bet on who would arrive first, and my money was on Yamato-taicho so I thought I'd lost my money when I saw you there!" She smiled and gave Sai and Yamato welcoming hugs.

"Please come in, you can put your shoes here. What's in the bowl, Yamato-taicho?"

Yamato was holding a large glass bowl covered with cling-film and it caught Sakura's attention. Or rather, it caught the attention of her stomach, which rumbled. She hadn't eaten lunch so she could leave more space for party food, so she was ravenous, and that bowl looked like it had a pudding in it...

"It's a trifle. My grandmothers recipe". Yamato held the bowl out so Sakura could see what was inside, then stepped out of his shoes and went to put his contribution on the table with everything else.

"What's a trifle?" Naruto asked, peering at it suspiciously. "It looks amazing!"

Sai decided to speak up as he placed a plate of sushi next to the trifle. "A trifle is a pudding usually made from fruit, sponges, cream, jelly, blancmange or other sweet foods, layered up in a dish".

"Ok..." said Naruto, looking at Yamato for an explanation that made more sense to him.

"It's a European dish, Naruto. And it's made from all those things, as Sai said. Basically, it's fantastic! You have to try it to fully understand". Yamato smiled at Naruto, and for once it wasn't his creepy 'I want to kill you' smile. "It's Kakashi-sempai's favourite, although he normally hates sweet things".

"When do you think Kakashi-sensei will get here then?" Sakura asked Yamato. If anyone knew these things it would be him, she surmised.

"I'm damned if I know" was the disappointing answer. "I saw Gai this morning on my way to my mission, and he said he was due to be training all day with Kakashi-sempai just outside the village, so Gai should be bringing him along any time now".

"That's good" Sakura found Gai a bit strange, but she was glad Kakashi wasn't 'unsupervised', as he probably wouldn't show up until about midnight if he was. For all his flaws, Gai was generally punctual, so Sakura guessed they should arrive soon.

As though called for, there came the sound of a key being turned in the front door.

"It's them!" whispered Naruto, and everyone ran and hid behind anything they could. Why they bothered no one really knew, as being a ninja Kakashi would sense their presence anyway, so the element of surprise would be lost somewhat. But hide they did, and by the time Gai walked into the living room there was no visible sign of anyone.

"Aha! This is a most Youthful Party!" Gai shouted. "I will join you all in this great game of Hide and Seek so that my Rival does not think me less Youthful than his Precious Students and Team Members!"

Sakura poked her head out from her hiding place behind the curtains to confirm what her ninja sense were telling her. No, Gai wasn't being totally dense and giving the game away. Kakashi wasn't with him.

She stepped out and Gai dropped out of his classic Nice Guy Pose as she approached him.

"Gai Sensei!" Sakura took the bowl of iced gems from Gai's outstretched hand and backed away to put it on the table before he could hug her. "We thought Kakashi-sensei was training with you today?"

Gai looked solemn for a moment. "We had indeed arranged to train together on this fine day, but alas, my Rival's skills were called for in defending our Beloved Village, and he was summoned away before I was able to issue a Most Youthful Challenge".

Sakura sighed. Even when he was being partially serious, Gai didn't seem to be able to speak normally, and she found it exhausting trying to translate his flowery language into regular speech.

"So he got called away on a mission?" she asked.

"Yes. Indeed he did, Sakura-san.".

"Is he due back today, Gai-sensei?" Naruto asked, popping out from his hiding spot in one of the kitchen cupboards.

Gai approached Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Naruto-kun, do not fear, this is a simple mission for my Rival, and he is due to return at any time".

"Well, we could be waiting a while then" said Yamato rather huffily. "When he gets back he'll probably go and hand in his report first, and then go to the Memorial Stone for an hour, and then go and get something to eat and maybe sit in a bar and find some poor sod to pick up his bill..." Yamato's rant trailed off as he continued mumbling to himself and Naruto laughed.

"We could always go and watch for him by the gate, then we can bug him and make him come here".

"That's actually not a bad idea, Naruto". Sakura was keen to get the party started, and they couldn't do that without Kakashi.

"Hold it!" Gai grabbed Naruto's shoulder as he headed for the door. "Why don't we move the party to the gates? That way, the moment he walks through we'll be able to grab him, and he won't be able to make excuses!"

Everyone agreed, so they all grabbed something and headed for the gates. Sakura was glad of Gai's suggestion as they could be in for a long wait, and she was really hungry. This way they could eat while they waited. Perfect!

And she was even more thankful for Gai's suggestion two hours later, when the party spirit had died somewhat, and they were still waiting. The area by the gates had been transformed into an outdoor replica of Kakashi's living room and the five of them were lounging around, having eaten half the food – in spite of their best efforts to leave the table looking nice and full for Kakashi's arrival.

There was a bit of uneasy tension in the air as a the conversation came to a natural pause, and no one seemed to have anything else to say.

Sakura started to wonder whether Kakashi would be coming at all that night. She had no idea what Kakashi's mission was, but she knew from experience that things rarely went precisely to plan on missions. Team Seven's first real assignment together was testament to that.

Looking around her, Sakura could tell that Naruto was thinking along the same lines, and Yamato-taicho also looked thoughtful. Sai looked as impassive-slash-clueless as ever, and Gai was still standing on one hand as some sort of challenge to himself.

"I'm going to go and ask Tsunade no ba-chan what Kakashi-sensei's mission is", Naruto said suddenly, then stood up and flew off before anyone could stop him.

Well, it wasn't such a bad thing to do, Sakura thought.

About ten minutes later, Naruto returned with Tsunade-shishou and Shizune in tow. It turned out Kakashi's mission was a C-rank escort assignment. He was supposed to protect some dignitary from Earth Country as he travelled from Konoha to the southern port. It should have taken about 6 hours to get there at a slow pace, and just over an hour for Kakashi to make it back to Konoha on his own. Tsunade had known about the party, but it turned out that this dignitary was skittish about the journey to the coast, and had specifically requested Kakashi as a bodyguard.

It seemed a little fishy to Sakura, although she couldn't put her finger on exactly why she felt that way. A glance at Naruto told her that he felt the same; they were very often on the same wavelength these days. The two of them and Kakashi-sensei tended to think as one half of the time.

She looked towards the gate and unconsciously started chewing her fingernails, wondering how long this wait could be.

The mission sounded too simple, and although she told herself not to be silly, Inner Sakura shouted back at her to listen to her gut. After all, it was usually right.