I do not own Naruto or the Naruto characters. All the rights remain to Masashi Kishimoto and Shonen Jump.

The only things I own are my OC and my story idea. This is a fanfiction after all.

Hello, there readers! First of all, happy birthday, Naruto-kun! I honestly don't know what the world of anime would be like without you! You've

inspired many people, including myself. Kishimoto-san certainly is a genius to have created someone like you. Anyway, I figured I'd write this story

because of Naruto's birthday and such. I think that's a legit reason. :D Ha ha. Anyway, I did include my OC in this story, so for those of you who don't

know about my OC, she is Naruto's childhood friend. I will eventually turn that whole situation into a fanfic, but now is not the time for that.

Anyways, enjoy the story!

- ChibiNinja45 XD

Happy Birthday, Naru-kun!

10/10/12

Naruto's Birthday

It was once a year – just one day of the harmless year. Why is it that everyone forgot?

Naruto walked aimlessly through the crowded streets of Konoha. He was simply bored, and his impatience was getting to him, but why wouldn't it? His birthday was tomorrow. What kind of person isn't anxious for their birthday? Of course, he was a little sad that his parents weren't there to celebrate it with him, but, in a sense, that was okay with him because he had his friends to celebrate with.

The crowd seemed to thin out a bit as Naruto headed toward a small park that was close to the Academy. Sitting on the soft grass against a large tree was Sai. His emotionless eyes were glued to a sketchbook, and his hand moved with such ease. It was as if he was drawing without even having to think. Naruto decided to take advantage of this. He ran over to Sai and looked over his shoulder, catching a glimpse of what he was drawing. It appeared to be a landscape of what was in front of him. There was a bench in-between two trees, and buildings in the background. There was also a girl on the bench.

Naruto gulped. "You're not giving me another drawing, are you?" He asked nervously, remembering the last time Sai had given him a drawing. The instant he hung it up on the wall, the tigers in the painting came to life and destroyed nearly everything. Note to self: Never accept drawings from Sai.

Sai looked up from his sketchbook, not even flinching at Naruto's sudden presence. He looked up Naruto with that emotionless smile of his. "I'm afraid I don't know what you are talking about," He replied bluntly.

"Tomorrow's my birthday," Naruto reminded him. "I've only been talking about it for the past month and a half."

Sai thought for a moment. "Oh yeah," He said, pulling off the fake smile once again. "I forgot. Happy birthday." With that, he went back to drawing.

"I said it's tomorrow, not today," Naruto pointed out.

Sai made no reply.

Naruto puffed a breath of disappointment and walked away, but he wasn't going to stop because one person forgot about his birthday. That was bound to happen. He would just pester someone else about it. It was then he saw Hinata walking down the street from a convenience store. Another opportunity right on the spot! He ran up to her. "Hinata!" He called.

Stunned, Hinata was frozen in her tracks. N-Naruto-kun? Wh-what does he want that he n-needs to come to m-me for? Her cheeks were flushed red, and she started to play with her fingers.

"Hey, Hinata!" Naruto began with a hopeful smile. He leaned toward her slightly and cupped his hand by his mouth and whispered, "What'd you get me for my birthday?"

Hinata's eyes widened and her entire face was blood red from embarrassment. Oh no! I forgot about his birthday! What do I do?! What do I do?! "I…um…" The heat gathered within her face was so great, she started sweating. "Um…"

[Ten minutes later]

"Um…"

Naruto was growing tired of waiting for Hinata to answer. This wasn't uncommon when it came to talking to Hinata, but whenever she talked to someone else she seemed to be fine. Naruto didn't understand why she was always so hesitant around him.

Hinata abruptly turned around started running in the opposite direction. I'm sorry! Her mind screamed loudly.

Naruto watched her with a blank expression. He wasn't entirely sure what had just happened. Obviously, Hinata wasn't the person to bother about birthday presents. Still, after only talking to two people, giving up wasn't an option. However, the rest of the day didn't necessarily go as well as he had hoped. Sakura simply brushed him off after telling him that he "shouldn't be asking around" like that. Rock Lee was too busy training to even notice Naruto's presence. Ino was working at the flower shop, and they seemed to be really busy. She looked as if she was going to answer his question too. "Can you stop by again later?" Those words were starting to get on Naruto's nerves. Akamaru nearly peed on him. That surely wasn't a pleasant experience.

The entire day, everyone refused to answer Naruto's question. Thus, leading to the conclusion that everyone had forgotten about his birthday. However, there was one person he hadn't asked yet. That was his childhood friend, Natarii. She was usually really good at remembering important dates. Naruto pulled out a flip phone and typed in a message that said:

Hey. I've got a question. He extended his arms out toward the sky and pushed the send button, ensuring he had a signal.

Beep! An instant reply. Typical Natarii.

What is it? She asked.

Naruto typed as fast as he could, which wasn't extremely fast, but a decent pace. What'd you get me for my birthday? ^_^

Beep! Once again, the reply was instant. Oh, shoot! The message began. Is it October already? I've been so focused on my studies... :(

Naruto sighed. Natarii was probably joking, or so he hoped. He wasn't going to let it get him down. Most likely, everyone was going to pull something off last-minute. However, there was also the possibility they wouldn't do anything at all. It was no use worrying.

The next day, Naruto awoke to a knock on his door. Reluctantly, he stumbled out of bed and walked toward the door. He looked through the small hole to see who it was, but saw no one. Was it his imagination? Slowly, he opened the door and peeped outside. "Hello?" He said rather quietly. There wasn't even a second wasted. Next thing he knew, he was jumping backward, startled by a sudden popping sound and streamers flying into his face.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" A loud, female voice boomed.

Naruto removed the streamers from his face, and to his surprise, he saw Natarii standing there with that childish smile of hers. She had a party hat with a pom pom at the tip on the top of her head. Naruto couldn't help but laugh.

"Surprise!" She yelled once more. She was wearing an orange vest with a navy blue t-shirt underneath and jeans. Her blonde hair was somewhat messy, as if she slept in late and didn't have time to brush it out. Her bright blue eyes sparkled in the morning sunlight. "Hurry up and get dressed!" She exclaimed, full with energy. "We're going somewhere!"

"Alright, alright," Naruto replied, wondering how Natarii had so much energy early in the morning. "Wait here." He disappeared back inside, leaving Natarii outside. After a few short minutes, Naruto came back out in his usual clothes. He opened his mouth to speak, but Natarii dashed behind him and covered his eyes with her hands before he could say anything.

"Okay, let's go!"

"Wh-what?! But you're covering my eyes!" Naruto tried to move Natarii's hands from his face, but they didn't budge.

"Do you trust me, or not? I'll be your eyes for you," Natarii insisted.

Naruto hesitated, but finally nodded in agreement. "O-okay. Just don't kill me or anything."

"Got it!"

The two went walking through the streets, quite awkwardly since Natarii was considerably shorter than Naruto and was having a hard time keeping her hands over his eyes, but somehow she seemed to manage. They were walking around for what seemed like ages, and Natarii was growing tired of telling Naruto which direction to turn, whether to step over something or onto something, and so on. Finally, they reached their destination, which was in a large, open room in the back of one of the many restaurants in the village.

"Stop right here!" Natarii exclaimed as she stopped Naruto right in front of a table.

"It's about time. That seemed like forever." He reached up toward Natarii's hands. "Are you gonna let me see yet?"

"Hang on! Hang on!" Natarii laughed. "Okay."

Slowly, Natarii moved her hands away from Naruto's eyes. Shock and surprise overwhelmed him as streamers went flying everywhere. Everyone was there: Sakura, Sai, Rock Lee, TenTen, Neiji, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, and even all the sensei as well. In front of him sat a cake with seventeen (according to his age in the anime) lit candles in it. He didn't know what to think.

"Happy birthday, Naruto!" Everyone shouted in unison as they fired more streamers into the air. They started clapping. Naruto smiled, overflowing with happiness. The day he was actually beginning to dread slightly was instantly turned around into one of the best days ever.