Happy Birthday to Naruto! May all your wishes come true, dattebayo! ;]
Mayuri hums softly to herself as she wanders into town. Thursday is the big day: Naruto's birthday, and she wants to make sure she picks out the perfect present. A huge grin crosses her face as she passes several stalls in the farmer's market; she sees all sorts of potential gifts, everything from new specialty kunai [available with personalized engravings!] to little froggy wallets [now in a variety of colors!]. She smiles to herself, knowing these are all things he could use, things he needs…
But the point of a gift isn't to be something you need. Mayuri thinks to herself as her gaze flits around at all the brightly-colored and decorated stalls. A gift should be something you don't necessarily need, but an expression of the giver's feelings for the receiver, to show you were thinking about him. So, it has to be perfect!
… though a certain blonde stalker doesn't go unnoticed.
Naruto squints and pushes out his lower lip, watching the snowy-haired girl meander through the market. He gets a little excited every time she stops to look at something then pouts every time she doesn't buy anything. He knows his birthday is in a few days, and she'd mentioned presents a few days ago….
Flashback
"Naruto, what do you want for your birthday?" Mayuri had asked him while they were eating dinner at Ichiraku.
"Hm?" He had looked up from his bowl with a waterfall of noodles still hanging from his lips, making his best friend giggle.
"I asked what you want for your birthday!" She had grinned, daffodil-colored eyes shining with joy.
"What are you talking about, Mayuri-chan?" He had asked after slurping and swallowing his mouthful, leaving the girl shocked.
"I mean for a present, silly! You're supposed to get presents on your birthday from the people who care about you!"
"Oh… is that why you and Ari-chan give me things on my birthday every year?"
"Yes!" Mayuri had huffed in exasperation, blowing up on her fringe to get it out of her eyes. "So what would you like? Is there anything you've wanted to buy?"
Naruto had crossed his arms and thought [for all of ten seconds] before shaking his head and returning to his ramen. "Why would I want anything when I've got everything I need right here?"
He had smiled at her around another mouthful as she flushed faintly and smiled in return. "Good answer… but I'm still getting you a present."
End flashback
Naruto sighs as he watches her pass almost every stall, whether she stops to look at an item that catches her eye or not. He sneaky-ninjas his way through the market, hiding in a variety of ways: behind an alley wall, under a table, inside a barrel… the usual. His following [stalking] continues until Mayuri disappears around a corner, and he races to catch up, only to run straight into her around the corner.
"GAH!" He exclaims as he falls back onto his ass. "That hurt, dattebayo."
"Naru-chan, why are you following me?" As he looks up, he sees the daffodil depths flashing with irritation and her hands on her hips. He grins sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck.
"Oh, um… hi, Mayuri-chan. Nice day, huh…?" He tugs at his collar.
"You weren't trying to spy on your present, were you?" She crosses her arms, eyes narrowed at the blonde.
"I, well… um, you see… actually, uh… hehe…?" He stumbles over his words and entirely confirms her suspicions.
"Naruto! I can't believe you would try to ruin my surprise for you!" Mayuri exclaims in frustration. "It's supposed to be a secret so you're really happy when you open it! And you've been following me ever since I mentioned it!"
"I-I'm sorry, Mayuri-chan… I just… I got so excited that I wanted to know, 'ttebayo…" Naruto looks up at her with a guilty expression and slightly chibi-ed blue eyes, leaving her to sigh and shake her head as she kneels by him.
"Silly Naruto…" She flings her arms around him and squeezes, giving him a firm hug. "I just want to get you a surprise for your birthday, okay? And the rest of the day, you can pick what we do. Okay? And the whole day is my treat!"
She pulls back and smiles, leaving his eyes to widen. "Y-you really mean that, Mayuri-chan?"
"Of course I do!" Her face shines with joy. "But only if you promise to stop following me to see what your present it!"
"Hai, Mayuri-chan!" The girl giggles and hugs him again.
"Silly Naruto."
A couple of days pass. Naruto's birthday creeps ever closer, and true to his word, he hasn't been following Mayuri to see what present she's picking out. Nope…
… instead, it's been to see what she likes.
"What are you doing, Mayuri-chan?" He muses to himself as he watches her enter the flower shop and look at all the flowers. He sneaks inside and hides behind a huge pumpkin display covered in festive fall flowers; he observes the girl trailing back to the springtime flowers grown in the greenhouse. Her fingers close around the stem of a pretty yellow one, soft as sunshine, and then he remembers.
That one's a daffy-dil! He grins to himself as he sneaks back out of the shop so he doesn't get caught [again], knowing now just what to get.
Mayuri heads to Naruto's house, a little miffed. It's the night before his birthday, and he never did stop following her. Now she doesn't have a present ready and doesn't know what to do about it… except go and whine at him over it. She raises her fist and pounds on the door to the familiar apartment. Naruto pulls it open after a moment, blinking at her then grinning.
"Mayuri-chan! I-" He doesn't get to finish as she lightly pushes past him into the small apartment.
"Naruto, you did it again!" She whirls around, visibly upset, causing the smile to disappear from the blonde's face. "You kept following me, and I didn't get to get your present! And tomorrow's your birthday!"
The whiskered boy flushes and rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "I'm sorry, Mayuri-chan… but I really wasn't trying to spy on my present, dattebayo."
"Then what were you doing, Naruto?!"
"I was thinking really hard about what I wanted for my birthday, so that I could tell you if I thought of something to help you," he smiles as he goes toward the little kitchenette and retrieves something. "And I figured out exactly what I want for my birthday."
"W-what's that…?" She looks at him, still a little upset but also confused and curious. The blonde produces a daffodil from behind his back with a faint flush and shy smile.
"… You."
Extended ending
Mayuri's eyes widen as he says that and holds out the pretty sunshine-colored flower. "W-what's this for?"
"I decided to give you a present on my birthday, but you got here early." He grins at her, still holding out the flower.
"Silly Naruto! That's not how birthdays work!" Mayuri can't help but smile and giggle a little.
"They're not?" Naruto scratches his head in confusion.
"No! You receive presents on your birthday and give them on other people's birthdays."
"Oh… well, there's a reason for this."
"Oh really?" She quirks a brow… but takes the flower with a smile and sniffs it.
"Yeah…" Naruto grins and hugs her. "I just used the flower to get myself the best birthday present ever… dattebayo."