April - 03rd
Udon X Moegi
A Birthday Recipe
"Hanabi, I need your help" Moegi said one fateful day at the Hyuuga Manor.
"What you need help with?"
"I want to set up a special surprise for Udon's birthday but I don't know what do to" Moegi sighed, hands on her face while Hanabi patted her on the back, saying she had an idea.
"How about you make him a special birthday gift?" Hanabi suggested while Moegi asked what kind, the younger Hyuuga shrugging and saying she didn't know and asked what he like.
"I don't know, he doesn't really say much" Moegi sighed while Hanabi made a thinking sound before she said they needed professional help. "What do you mean?" Moegi asked looking at the grinning Hyuuga before her hand was grabbed and she was soon dragged out the Manor and down the street. "Where are we going?" Moegi asked, catching her balance and running alongside Hanabi who seemed to be looking for somebody.
"There he is, Neji, have you seen Hinata or Naruto?" Hanabi shouted out as she found her cousin coming back from Tenten's house, a grin on his face.
"It's about lunch time so I suggest you check the ramen shop" Neji offered in which Hanabi said thanks and rushed off to the fame ramen shop where Hanabi and Moegi found the duo eating, Naruto's bowls stacking up.
"There you are, we need your help" Hanabi said as Naruto finished his bowl of ramen and was about to order another one while Hinata asked what was wrong. "We need an idea on what kind of gift to give to Udon for his birthday today" Hanabi explained while Naruto put his chopsticks down, thinking for a minute about the dazed looking shinobi part of the Konohamaru Corps.
"Doesn't he like math?" Naruto asked, remembering Konohamaru telling him how his Udon's spare time he was doing math problems.
"Yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?" Moegi asked confused at the large grin on Naruto's face as he finished his ramen, paying for it, before he returned to look at them.
"I go the perfect gift for him then, you can make him a cake"
"What good will a cake do, I can easily buy him one" Moegi asked while Naruto grin grew and he said it would be more challenging.
"Make it like a mathematical scavenger hunt. You leave hints on the ingredients for the cake while you, Hina-tenshi, and Hanabi create the cake and he won't know it's for him all along."
"It sounds complicated" Hanabi said with a frown while Moegi giggled and said it sounded like fun before she turned to look at Hinata, asking is she would help with the cake in which she said she would. "So who all is going to help us with this?" Hanabi asked while Naruto thought before he smirked looking at Hinata with a wink.
"I know just the people" he said before he ran off, saying he needed to go send a couple of letters.
*time skip*
"A job takes 30 days to complete by 8 people. How long will the job take when it is done by 20 people, hmm" Udon thought as he started to work the problem on paper, focusing on finding the answer when he heard someone knocking at his door.
"Enter" Udon said, already knowing who it was as Konohamaru burst in, greeting his glasses-wearing team-mate with a 'hey'. "What you need Konohamaru?" he asked in his lazy voice as Konohamaru clapped him on the shoulder, making his glasses slip down his nose.
"It's your birthday, why are you all cooped up in your room, come on out with me" Konohamaru said, looking down at the paper in front of Udon.
"I'm doing math"
Konohamaru frowned and said that was too bad, heading toward the door.
"Moegi really needed help getting some supplies and I thought you could help…"
This of course caught Udon's attention as he turned around, asking what kind of help.
"She gave me a list of items but I can't make heads or tails of it though, maybe you can" Konohamaru said as he handed over the list to Udon who examined it, a curious look on his face.
"It looks like a math problem"
"Well can you decipher it then?"
"Yea, all you have to do is break it down for example" Udon said as he looked at the first clue on the list.
"4 mighty chickens dived by 2 legs will give you this many eggs"
"Oh, okay so the answer is two, right?" Konohamaru asked while Udon shook his head no.
"Chickens usually lay an egg a day so if we have four chickens that mean 4 eggs"
Konohamaru scratched his head looking at the clue than at him, saying he would have never guessed that.
"I guess that means we need four large chicken eggs" Konohamaru muttered as he held up sara-chan, his monkey wallet he got from Naruto on his birthday. "She paid already so we might as well get going" Konohamaru said as he took the list and headed out the door, Udon having no choice but to follow as to decipher the rest of the clues.
*time skip*
"Okay, so we got the eggs, what's next on the list" Konohamaru asked as he placed the eggs in the basket and handed the list back to Udon for the next clue.
"Sugar on the table, sugar in a bowl, add 4.2 ounces for my ultimate goal
"Huh, what's it talking about now?"
"Granulated sugar which is also called table sugar" Udon explained as Konohamaru nodded and said got it as he went to the aisle with sugar before putting it in the basket before looking Udon.
"Next"
"Alright, the next clue holds several items:"
3 spoons of tea from a cat's favorite drink
½ of that -1 = a spoon of flavor in a pod
= ounces of cake flour to make it sweet
Plus 1 period 2 ounces of butter thawed
Konohamaru was rubbing his head at the confusing riddles as he thought about Naruto and the group's plans for Udon.
'You, sure made it confusing' Konohamaru thought until he heard Udon chuckle, saying this was fun which made Konohamaru sweat drop.
"If you think so" Konohamaru muttered before asking what the ingredients to the riddles this time.
"3 teaspoons of milk... ½ vanilla, 4.2 ounces cake flour, and 1.2 ounces of melted butter"
"Alright let's get the items and head out of here"
Udon and Konohamaru split to get the four items before they met up at the front and paid for it before leaving the store.
"I wonder what they're making, maybe it's a cake for me" Udon thought looking up, missing the way Konohamaru tensed before he relaxed thinking of an excuse.
"Why would they make a cake for you, it seemed like you didn't even want to celebrate your birthday the way you were cooped up in your room" Konohamaru said calmly, hoping his voice didn't give him away. Udon coughed, saying he only wanted to celebrated it with a certain someone which made Konohamaru grin at him, asking who.
"Aw, that's sweet" a voice said from behind them, making them turn and look up to see a blued haired kunoichi with a white flower in her hair.
"Who are you?" Udon asked while the kunoichi said that wasn't important and what important was the ingredients in the bag.
"What's you mean?"
"I came to pick up some of the ingredients for Moegi, that's only the first part of the things Moegi needs, hears list number two, when you get the rest look for a redhead with long hair and shades."
"Alright" Konohamaru said as he handed the kunoichi the ingredients while she handed Udon the letter before she smiled and disappeared with a poof with the ingredients. "Cool, reverse summoning" Konohamaru said while Udon looked at the new list with a smile.
"Let's get cracking, the clues that is" Udon said as they looked down at their new challenge.
*elsewhere*
"Let's get cracking, the eggs that is" Moegi said with a giggle as she, Hinata, and Hanabi were in the kitchen preparing to fix the cake, the rest of the Manor elsewhere as to give them space. Naruto was sitting next to a giant scroll where he had just summoned for the kunoichi who handed Hinata the ingredients.
"Here are the ingredients for the sponge cake"
"Thank you Konan" Hinata said as she placed the ingredients on the table, checking to make sure all the ingredients were right. "Everything's perfect" Hinata said while Moegi giggled, saying this was exciting as she asked Hinata the recipe for fixing Japanese strawberry shortcake in which she handed it over.
"Alright first step is done, let's get the cake done before Udon gathers the rest of the ingredients" Hanabi said as he looked at the recipe before pulling out measuring tools and what needed to go in the bowl while Hinata monitored, making sure they put it where it needed to go, hoping the bowls wouldn't figure out the rest of the clues to quickly.
*back to the duo*
"Well we just left that store, let's go to another one" Konohamaru said as he walked to a store near the flower shop while Udon looked at the list.
"This one seems to be harder" Udon said as he adjusted his glasses before reading the clues.
Take a spoon of tea with the collagen in bones
Along with a clear calm liquid that is freezing cold
Plus some cold cream of strong attack
Along with some sugar powder and some more extract
Konohamaru groaned, saying the paper was making his head hurt which Udon ignored as he continued to read.
With these things minus your spot
Head to the place of beds
Some that are fresh, some are not
And there you will find the person of red
Udon grinned at the challenge as he said to get started, going into the store with Konohamaru following him.
*time skip*
"Alright we got the unflavored gelatin, cold water, heavy whipping cream, powder sugar, and vanilla extract"
"How do you know those are the things we need?"
"I just figured out the clues on the paper" Udon responded while Konohamaru looked at the bottom.
"Okay genius, what does head to place with beds mean?"
"…I haven't figured that out yet" Udon admitted while Konohamaru groaned, saying it was going to be a long day as they started to walk around, looking for a long redhead with shades.
*elsewhere*
"Hmm, the cake smelling good, now all we need to do is the frosting and decorate to finish it…where is Udon?" Hanabi frowned as she looked at Naruto who was thinking.
"Maybe they got lost or couldn't figure out the last clue" Konan suggested which made Moegi sigh and asked what they were going to do.
"…I got a plan" Naruto said with a grin as they watched him henge before asking Konan to create something for him, which had them all looking at him in curiosity.
"Naruto-kun, what are you planning?" Hinata asked as they watched Hinata placed the thing on Naruto's back before tying it with ninja wire.
"You'll see" he said as he ran out the door, the girls looking at each other as they wondered what Naruto was doing.
*at the gates*
"That's it, I give up" Udon sighed while Konohamaru said he couldn't, knowing they needed to get the ingredients to Moegi for Udon's surprise. "I just can't figure it out" Udon sighed as he looked around, still trying to figure out the riddle.
"What kind of place has beds that are fresh and some that are not?"
"You would think this would be easy, seeing as there aren't many redheads in Konoha" Konohamaru grumbled, wondering what to do when he and Udon heard squealing and the sound of running.
"Stop those two" they heard Shizune say before they watched as Tonton ran passed them, chased by a yellow fox that had a origami flower pot on it back, some of the flowers looking wilted before it continued to chase Tonton, Shizune right behind them as she picked up Tonton, the fox disappearing down an alley.
Tonton squealed in protest at being chase as Shizune walked back to the Hokage office, wondering about the strange encounter.
"That was strange" Konohamaru said as he looked at Udon who was quiet before he snapped his fingers, saying he got it before he took off down the street.
"Hey wait for me"
Konohamaru looked into the alley where the fox had gone to see a pair of blue eyes wink at him before running back in the direction it came from, which he noticed was the same direction of the Hyuuga Manor.
'Thanks Naruto nii' Konohamaru thought before he paid attention to where Udon had went and saw they had reached the flower shop
"Why are we at the flower shop?"
"The fox was another clue, the flowerpot on its back, the clue meant flowerbeds. The redhead is at the flower shop."
"You are correct" a voice said as they looked to see a redhead with shades over his eyes and a note in his hand. Konohamaru handed over the ingredients while Udon took the list, already trying to decipher the clues.
"That last list is simple, figuring out the ingredients is easy, finding them is not, good luck"
"Wait, what you mean?" Konohamaru asked while the redhead nin smiled and said later before he too was reversed summoned back to the Hyuuga Manor.
"Alright the final clues"
½ of a ½ of crystals on the table
Add the mist around the village of Kiri
Increase by ounces of 8s or 10s of the smallest seeds of fruit
Udon took a minute to decipher before he nodded, looking at Konohamaru.
"More table sugar, water, and strawberries"
"That's easy to get, the list was what was hard, guess he got it mixed up" Konohamaru said as they headed to the store for the final time where they found sugar and water but couldn't find strawberries.
"Where are all the strawberries at?"
"It's the beginning of April, strawberry season isn't until late May or June" Udon said, understanding what the red-haired nin meant when he said getting the ingredients wouldn't be easy.
'Great, so how are we supposed to get them now?' Konohamaru thought until a strong breeze blew by and knocked the list out of their hands.
"Ah, grab that paper"
Konohamaru and Udon chased after the paper where Konohamaru pounced on it, holding it in the air in triumph while Udon asked to see it, noticing something written on the back.
"Maybe this will answer how to get the final ingredient" Udon said as he and Konohamaru crowded around the paper to see the final message for them.
*Hyuuga Manor*
"Thanks Nagato" Naruto said as he handed the ingredients to Hinata while the redhead nodded, walking over to Konan who was watching them mix the ingredients together for the icing and putting the cake together.
"Perfect, all we need is the strawberries and we're done" Hinata said happily while Nagato nodded and said Yahiko should be there soon, the rest cleaning up the kitchen as they waited.
*back to the duo*
"At least it's the last riddle" Konohamaru sighed as Udon read the last clue on the back.
Strawberries you can't find, strawberries run and hide, find the person with orange hair, and come to my house for a surprise
Udon and Konohamaru looked at each other with frowns on their faces.
"I don't know anybody with orange-hair, just orange clothed and that's Naruto niisan"
Konohamaru stood there thinking along with Udon before he was thinking if it was a clue within a clue.
'Maybe Naruto niisan really wants us to go the Hyuuga Manor' Konohamaru thought as he looked at Udon.
"Hey I remember seeing a flash of orange near the Hyuuga Manor, maybe he's over that way" Konohamaru said, thinking he was right as Udon nodded and said let's go, a pair of blue eyes below orange hair watching them run.
"Uh oh, that's not right, better warn the others" Yahiko mutter as he motioned to Naruto's clone that dispersed, telling Naruto to summon him.
*back at the Manor*
"Where is Yahiko with the strawberries?" Konan sighed as she played cards with Nagato when they heard a poof and looked up to see Yahiko, a confused look on Naruto's face.
"About time" Hanabi grumbled until they noticed the frown on Yahiko's face.
"What's wrong?"
"They're headed hear right now"
"What? Why?" Naruto asked, jumping up while Yahiko explained how Konohamaru said he remembered seeing something orange around here.
"But I said orange hair, what did he see…oh no, Yipsu" Naruto groaned as he face-palmed, all hearing a yip below down, making them look to see an orange fox staring at them.
"Konohamaru must've thought we were done and is bringing him here" Moegi groaned before asking what they were going to do now.
"I got another plan" Naruto said with a grin while the group looked at him and asked what he was going to do this time.
*time skip*
"We're here but no sight of orange" Udon said as he and Konohamaru looked around, the later realizing he got it wrong.
'Great, now how am I going to get Udon out of here without looking suspicious' Konohamaru thought before he heard a yip and looked down see a fox staring up at him. The fox gave a slight head shake which Konohamaru translated to mean that they weren't ready yet.
"Hey, uh, Udon, maybe it's an orange haired nin we need to find" Konohamaru said, trying not to sound nervous which made Udon look at him. The fox used this as a distraction as he grabbed the bag with his teeth, ripping it from Konohamaru's hand before running off, away from the Manor.
"Hey bring that back, we need it for-"
Konohamaru didn't get to finish his sentence as the fox had rounded the corner and stopped, waving his rear at them as if taunting which succeeded in making them chase it to get the ingredients back. The group poked their heads out as they watched give chase, curious as to what was going to happen.
"I hope Naruto-kun's plan works we really need to finish this cake"
"If not than that should keep them busy long enough for us to do something else" Hanabi said as the group nodded before they heard a loud yip in the distance.
"Looks like it worked" Moegi said as Hinata made hand seals and summoned Yipsu who had the ingredients in his mouth, given to him by Naruto at the meeting point. "Thanks Yipsu, now let's go finish that cake" Moegi said before they heard shouting coming from the Manor along with barking and screeching.
"Nikko, come back here, calm down Hane, no don't head toward the kitchen" they heard Neji say before they all paled.
"Oh no, THE CAKE" they screamed as they rushed back into the house where there was a loud commotion inside following by yells of no and a flopping sound.
*elsewhere*
Konohamaru and Udon were out of breath from chasing the fox all the way across the village before losing it in the crowd.
"Well we lost the fox and the last ingredients on Moegi's list" Udon sighed as he stated he was heading back to tell her what happen.
"Maybe we should go to the Hyuuga house, I think that fox belonged to Naruto" Konohamaru suggested, hoping the others would have enough time to finish the cake, as Udon nodded sadly before heading back.
"That should do it" Naruto muttered as he ran back to the Manor to tell the others the plan was a go, reaching it quickly.
"Alright they all the way across town, how is the cake coming al-what happened in here?" Naruto asked as he took in the kitchen that looked like a disaster zone, cake ingredients everywhere before the group sighed.
"The animals got loose they were tired of being stuck in the rooms" Neji said apologetic while Naruto growled, saying all that work went down the drain.
"Where are the animals?" Naruto asked tiredly while the group pointed to the corner where the animals were eating the cake off the floor, clearly liking their sweet treat. "Well at least someone is enjoying the cake" Naruto said with a chuckle before he looked around at the group.
"I guess we better start cleaning up" Moegi sighed as Hinata and Hanabi grabbed cleaning supplies while Naruto made clones and they all helped clean up. A short time later, the kitchen was clean again just as Neji went to answer the door, stating that Udon and Konohamaru were there.
"Tell them to come on in" Naruto sighed as they heard quick footsteps to see Konohamaru look around, a frown on his face.
"Where's the cake?"
"What cake?" Udon asked as he walked in the kitchen behind him, Konohamaru gulping at his slip before he looked at the others who shook their heads and pointed to the corner to see the animals finishing the remains of the cake, Yipsu and Konona curling up to sleep.
"Why did you give them cake?"
"The animals escaped, ran into the kitchen, and knocked the cave over at least they get to enjoy it."
"So the ingredients and list was to make me a birthday cake?" Udon asked, looking at Moegi who nodded before she sighed and said it ended in failure.
"How did it end in failure, it was a sweet thing to try and do for me" Udon said with a smile while Moegi sighed, looking at Udon.
"Well look at it like a math problem, add one almost finished cake minus no supervision times number of animals loose divided by us trying to capture them without success and what do you get?"
"Well-" Udon started to say when they heard knocking at the door, making them wonder who it could it be now as they made their way to the door and opened it up to see Hyou, a large box in her hands.
"Hey Hyou, what's with the visit?"
"Well I was coming to drop off Moegi's order" Hyou said while the kunoichi looked at her in confusion as she asked what she ordered. After Hinata invited Hyou in, they returned to the kitchen to see the animals sleeping around an empty plate that had held the cake while Hyou placed a large box on the table.
"What's in the box?"
"Your order" Hyou said as she opened up the box where they all saw, shocked, a large strawberry shortcake with happy birthday Udon on it.
"I didn't order this" Moegi said surprised while Hyou chuckled and said she did in which she asked when.
"You caught me one day when I was taking Kama, Bo, and Kasuri back to the weapons village. You asked me about a special cake for Udon's birthday coming up because you heard about me from Hinata-"
"That's right I remember now" Moegi said smacking her forehead while the rest of the group fall anime-style before getting up.
"So you mean to tell us we went through all that trouble and you had a spare cake all along" Yahiko said looking at Moegi who chuckled and said sorry, making the three rain nin sigh before smiling.
"Well since we're all here and got cake, let's celebrate" Konan said as Hinata pulled out plates and spoons while Neji took the tub of ice cream from the freezer before the group wished Udon a happy birthday.
"Thanks everybody, especially you Moegi" Udon said giving Moegi a kiss on the cheek making her giggle before she was handed a piece of cake from Hanabi.
"For what"
"For the best birthday present ever" he said as he was handed a piece of cake with ice cream on the side.
"You know what" Naruto said getting everybody attention.
"What?"
"Add one almost finished cake minus no supervision times the number of animals loose divided by us trying to capture them without success all raised to the Hyou power and what do you get?"
"What do we get Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked curiously as Naruto took a bite of cake, a smirk on his face.
"A strange but wonderful birthday recipe."
This made them all laugh as they said right before they continued to enjoy the cake and ice cream, Udon thinking this was the best math problem/birthday recipe scavenger hunt ever.