Characters:
Mitarashi Anko (age 18, height 5'2, Tokubetsu Jonin)
Yuhi Kurenai (age 21, height 5'4, Jonin)
Inuzuka Hana (age 16, height 5'8, Chunin)
Uzuki Yugao (age 20, height 5'5, Jonin)
+ In case you don't remember who Yugao is, she is the purple-haired ANBU member who was Hayate's lover.
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~•~•~•~
"Rise and shine birthday girl! Come on, we'll be waiting for you in the kitchen with breakfast!"
Anko groans and yanks her blanket over her head to block out the sunlight that is now flooding into her room. What an awesome way to start off my birthday. I get rudely awakened at goodness knows what time, my favourite way of spending my day… NOT!
"Kurenai, I didn't give you the key to my apartment just so you could barge in here and wake me up at… What time is it anyway? And wait, who's 'we'?"
"It's 8am, and Hana and Yugao are here too! Hurry, we want to get there before everyone else does!"
"Get where what… huh? Oi Kurenai!" But the only reply Anko receives is the ticking of her bedside clock in the empty room. Great, I am SO going to kill you, Yuhi Kurenai, best friend or not. Grumbling, the purple-haired teen swings her feet off the bed and stretches. She stumbles off to the bathroom yawning widely after having grabbed some cleans clothes out of her dresser.
~•~•~•~
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANKO!" A chorus of voices rings out as Anko finally emerges in the kitchen.
"Thanks guys, though I have absolutely no idea how you can manage to find this kind of energy so early in the morning."
"Well bud, I figured if I came early I would be allowed to leave early and won't have suffer through spending the whole day with you. I'm kidding, you know we all love you! I guess I'm just excited to go! " Hana laughs as she jokes with Anko, being careful not to give up the surprise.
"Yeah, and we're all used to morning training. You're probably one of the only ninjas in Konoha who trains into crazy hours of the night." Yugao adds.
"I'd rather stay up late than wake up early. It just feels so dreary having to drag myself out of bed when my body still wants more sleep. And wait, where exactly are we going? Yuhi Kurenai, don't you dare try to get out of answering again!"
"My my Anko, you really don't get the concept of a surprise do you? Come on, let's all have some breakfast. I bought that top-quality bacon that you love, now stop whining or I'll feed it to Hana's dogs."
Kurenai's threat works instantly. The teen immediately clamps her mouth shut and plants herself on a chair faster than you can say 'bacon'. Her eyes light up at the platter of bacon, sausages and eggs that Yugao deposits in the middle of the table.
Hana laughs as she places the plate of pancakes and toast right next to the platter. "Anko, I know it's your special day and all that, but if you get any drool on the food I will beat you up."
Kurenai just smiles and shakes her head at her younger friends' antics. She takes her seat next to her best friend and all four begin making their way through the scrumptious feast set before them.
~•~•~•~
Before long, all the food has been consumed and the four women quickly share the task of cleaning up the kitchen.
"Ok, now where are we going? Come on guys, you know that I'm the anxious sort!" Now that the bacon was finished, Anko immediately starts pestering her friends for more information.
"That's a euphemism for impatient," Hana mock-whispers to a giggling Yugao, earning herself a deadly glare from the feisty Tokubetsu Jonin.
"You'll see when we get there Anko, now stop fussing and pack these items." Kurenai thrusts a short list into Anko's hands and steers her towards her bedroom.
"But Kurenai! Can't you give me the teensiest clue? Please, at least tell me what we'll be doing or something?" Anko's voice fades away as Kurenai pushes her into her room and closes the door. She re-emerges in five minutes, her excitement hastening her packing. "Ok, so who's going to tell me where-"
"ANKO SHUT UP!" All three women groan in exasperation. Yugao grabs the bag from Anko, "Just get into the car, Kurenai will lock up for you."
~•~•~•~
After an hour's drive, Anko finally spots the road sign 'Welcome to Fire Country's Wonder Worldı!' "Wonder World! Oh man, I LOVE that place!"
"Oh darn, because we were hoping to bring you somewhere you absolutely hated on your birthday… Of course you love this place silly! You're such an adrenaline junkie." Hana laughs.
"Yeah, like the time the third caught you attempting to bungee off the top of the Hokage monument." Kurenai adds from the driver's seat while Yugao turns in the passenger seat to stare at Anko incredulously. The feisty kunoichi just folds her arms and sticks her tongue out.
~•~•~•~
"Hurry up guys! I want to go on as many rides as possible, pick up your pace!"
The purple haired ninja draws many amused glances from the other park-goers as she wildly races Hana from one ride to another, her other two companions trying to maintain some semblances of dignity.
At 2pm, Kurenai finally calls a halt to the foursome's ride madness and goes to the car to grab their lunch. It isn't until Anko sees the picnic basket that she realizes how hungry she is. Her mouth waters at the sight of feast Kurenai had packed.
"Potato salad, crabmeat sandwiches, fruit cocktail, cheese platter! And your special coffee sponge cake! I love you Kurenai!" Anko crows happily, already shoveling a forkful of potato salad into her mouth.
"Just don't say that in front of Asuma, I don't think he'll be too pleased to know that he has competition," Kurenai jokes, mentioning her fellow Jonin. The foursome dig into the picnic spread, not slowing down until most of the food has disappeared.
"You know, Kurenai, it's been two months since Asuma's started courting you. When are you going to give him an answer?" Yugao asks, having been there the first time Asuma had brought the raven-haired beauty lunch, claiming to have 'bought too much and thought she might have been hungry, thus deciding to give the food to her instead of wasting it'.
"I don't know Yugao… And you two!" She turns to face the two smirking teens, "stop looking at me like that. I still haven't made up my mind about him alright? I mean, he always looks so… scruffy, and he smokes all the time, but he's got a really big heart. Why are we talking about me anyway? It's Anko's special day."
"And Anko says she wants to hear more juicy stories about Kurenai and Asuma!" The grinning birthday girl sings out merrily.
"NOT happening."
"Aw come on Kurenai! You're such a killjoy, I hate you."
"Well, at least you know that Asuma will make a better life partner than Anko. She can't even make up her mind about whether she loves you or hates you." Hana laughs as Anko punches her playfully on the arm. The two scuffle playfully, their energy levels restored after the scrumptious lunch. Kurenai winks at Yugao as she reveals a small container she had left hidden in the picnic basket.
"DANGO!" Anko's joyful shout causes the group sitting 30 feet away to shoot startled looks at her. She practically launches herself off Hana's back and lands in front of Kurenai, almost choking her best friend with her overly enthusiastic hug. "NOW this picnic can really get no better!"
~•~•~•~
"Ooh, I'm stuffed!" Anko licks her lips and pats her belly contentedly. She had eaten 5 out of the 8 sticks of dango Kurenai had brought.
"Come on, we can play some carnival games while we digest that delicious meal." Yugao suggests, while cleaning up the area and packing the reusable items back into the picnic basket. By the time she returns from putting away the picnic basket, everyone is ready to return to more fun.
~•~•~•~
Ping!
The sound of steel rings bouncing off the tops of the bottles ring out as the ninjas draw near the first game booth.
"Hello ladies! Please, step right up and try your luck. You only need to throw one ring around the neck of the bottle to win, three rings and you win a big prize! Three dollars for ten rings or five dollars for twenty!"ıı
Hana shoots Anko a grin and immediately slaps down $3, splitting the rings between herself and the purple-haired ninja. Before they can begin tossing the rings, Kurenai shoots both of them a look, reminding them that they were 'civillians' for the day and warning them not to get too carried away. The first two rings are tossed with the intention to miss completely and the booth attendant smirks. People rarely even managed to get one ring around a bottleneck, it was the park's way of making a big profit. Anko tosses the third ring and this time, she makes it bounce right off the lip of the bottle. The fourth ring is tossed by Hana and she makes it even more of a close call. The two friends glance at the tense expression on the attendant's face and hold back their amused grins. After a few more daring near-misses, Anko finally aims properly and the rings slips right over the neck of the bottle with a clink. Hana tosses the last ring, and for the sake of showing off and to be amused one last time at the attendant's expression, she causes the ring to balance itself perfectly on the mouth of the bottle. The poor man's mouth is hanging open while the two teens act surprised at what had just happened. They leave the booth howling with laughter, Anko clutching an adorable stuffed animal to her chest.
The four friends play a few more games and by the end of two hours, are carrying two full clear garbage bags full of their various prizes. Hana volunteers to run the bags to the car while the others get into line for some ice cream.
"You'd better hurry or I'll eat yours too!" Anko yells at her retreating form.
~•~•~•~
At 9pm, the four friends are making their way to the car.
"I'm definitely rided-outııı," Kurenai declares, her friends agreeing wholeheartedly, all except Anko who is still jumping about excitedly. "I've no idea how you're still to full of energy Anko."
"I think it might've been that tub of caramel popcorn, or the extra-large ice cream, or that jumbo bag of cotton candy, or the 3 foot-and-a-half pixie stix that she had…"
Anko just grins happily, ignoring Yugao's remark. All in all, it had been an amazing day, one which she would remember forever.
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ıMy inspiration for "Wonder World" came from Canada's Wonderland (you can look it up on google easily). I'd just came back from a trip when I decided to write this vignette.
ııI'm using dollars instead of Ryos or Yen because I'm too lazy to figure out the currency conversion. I wrote it with the Canadian currency in mind (which is similar enough to the US dollar).
ıııRided-out: (I don't know how many people actually use this term, but it's definitely not in the dictionary) To be tired out from having ridden in amusement park rides [all day].