*Note: If you have not read the last chapter, now you can! Sorry there was technical difficulties :/ otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chapter! :)*

*Chapter 5: My Happy Birthday Surprise*

My alarm clock went off at nine o'clock in the morning. I laid there in my bed for several minutes before shutting the device off, silencing the annoying beeps that echoed in my ears.

When I finally rose up, my frown turned upside down.

"Today's my birthday!," I announced to myself happily like a child on Christmas morning.

Using that as my motivation for the day, I got up completely, went to the bathroom to freshen up and then I slipped out of my pajamas to put on my normal clothes, which was a pink V-neck shirt with black skinny jeans.

I straightened my wildly curly hair and applied my make-up as I usually did. Just for that occasion, I decided to add an accessory to my hair, so I twisted my bangs, put it to the side and slipped a couple of bobby pins to hold it in place. Then I clipped a pink bow the size of the palm of my hand. People complimented me when I wore bows, stating that I looked pretty in them. Deidara even agreed to it back then, from what I remembered.

"That's right. That bastard came over last night," I recalled glowering at the window, remembering that he entered through the front door and left through my bedroom window. I wondered how he managed to get into the village without being detected by the shinobi at the border. There was no avoiding them if you tried to infiltrate the place. But I assumed he was as sly as a fox.

"I wonder if he'll really come back tonight. Hopefully not…," I said thoughtlessly. I wasn't sure if I meant what I said. I did ask him if he would return, which must have meant an approval for him, although I sort of doubtful.

But I didn't want to drag myself down, because today was my birthday, I was eighteen now and I planned on enjoying it as much as I can with all of my friends!

So after I sprayed some perfume on my neck and rubbed it all over, I checked to see if I looked alright, put on my sandals and walked out the front door, locking it back up as soon as I closed it.

I wandered the village with a bright smile on my face throughout the whole stroll. I said hello to some of the villagers, talked to the children and was humming songs all around the place. I don't know why, but my mood was colorful like fireworks at a festival. It was definitely beginning to be a swell day for me.

It was, until I couldn't find anyone I wanted to see.

I caught a glimpse of Hana when I passed by one of the shops near Ichiraku Ramen. She was talking to someone and was holding an object in her hand, it looked pink from afar.

To take a better look, I decided to run up to her and see what was going on.

"Hana!," I called to her as she finished speaking with the villager. She turned her head first to see who called her name, then once she saw it was me, she twisted her whole body around on her heels. She held a present wrapped in pink paper and a red bow on top.

"Oh hey Kat. Just the person I wanted to see. Happy Birthday by the way!," she said giving a small smile and raised the gift in front of me, gesturing me to grab it.

"Oh thank you Hana! I can't wait to see what's inside," I said excitedly, lightly shaking it to feel it move back and forth inside the box. She laughed as I shook it by my ear.

"So are you coming to celebrate my birthday with me?," I asked her so hopeful that she'd say yes.

"Actually, that's what I wanted to talk to you about Kat. I won't be able to join you today…"

Hearing those last several words made me frown and my eyes widen.

"What?! Why not?," I wanted to know.

"My mother is sick at home, so I came out here to get some medicine and to drop off your present to you. I'm so sorry Kat," she explained with her eyes frowning herself.

This was sucking more that another friend of mine was unable to participate in my birthday festivities with me. I felt upset that the color of my mood went down from sunny yellow to gloomy blue in a matter of seconds. But I had to get over it, because I didn't want to sound selfish to her.

"It's okay. I understand. Thanks for the present again Hana," I fake smiled.

She must have seen through my disguise as her eyes softened, but then she smiled at me to lighten the mood up a bit.

"You're welcome," she said as she threw her arms out and wrapped them around me, trying to give the best bear hug she could. I was sure I could top her strength wise, but I didn't want to crush her bones or anything.

So after we let go of each other and said our good byes, we went our separate ways, leaving me to figure out if the others will do the same as I held the present against my chest and looked down at my feet the majority of the walk. I was afraid to approach anyone else, worried that I would get turned down once again, but I had to give them a shot no matter what.

Unfortunately, Hana was not the only one who left me in disappointment.

All of my other friends, Luka, Riko, Shikamaru, Ino, everybody else were occupied with either missions, business related work or family issues. This was a disaster that waited to happen without any warnings.

How could everybody be busy in one single day? And on an occasion like my birthday? I couldn't understand it. All this frustration made my head ache in confusion, I pinched the bridge of my nose until I heard someone shout to me from far away.

"Hey Kat! Over here!"

I turned around to catch Sakura standing on the roof of one of the buildings waving for my full attention.

"Sakura!," I shouted to assure her I saw her. She jumped down on her feet and faced me with a smirk across her face.

"I've been looking all over for you. I wanted to wish you a Happy Birthday," she said as she wrapped her arms around me and gave a warm hug. I returned the hug and patted her back a few times before she let go.

"Thanks Sakura," I gratefully said with a glad expression.

"No problem. Also, Lady Tsunade sent me to find you. She said she wanted you to report to her office when you got the chance," she told me as she met her light green eyes with mine.

"Oh really? Do you know why?," I asked in case she knew.

"She didn't specify with me," Sakura claimed, looking suspicious as she fought back her grin.

I narrowed my eyes toward her, tilted my head to the side and then sighed.

"I suppose I should head over there right now," I said, turning my head towards the direction of the Hokage Tower.

"Alright then. See you later," she said before disappearing.

Somehow, I wasn't looking forward to visiting the Hokage after being rejected by all my friends today. I knew they never meant to hurt me, but it got me deep inside anyways.

Arriving outside the Hokage's Office, I sighed to clear my mind and calm myself a bit, hoping there was no sign of sadness on my face. I knocked a few times, waited for someone to allow me entrance and then I entered the room, closing the door behind me.

Tsunade was behind her desk as usual, with her elbows on top and her fingers intertwined with each other. Shizune wasn't in there with her that time, most likely on the other side working on paperwork.

"Ah Katana, you're showed up at a good time," she said smirking.

"You wanted to see me, my lady?"

"Yes. I called you so you can pick these up and take them with you," she told me.

Curious about what she was talking about, she lifted a short stack of presents from under her desk and placed them on top for me to see. I was astonished to see I had that many waiting for me.

"Whoa! Where did you get those from?," I asked blinking as my eyes grew wide.

She chuckled when she saw my reaction, noticing that my eyes must've sparkled as I kept my focus on them.

"Some of your friends came by and decided to drop them off here since they were busy and couldn't bring it to you personally. There are even a couple of presents from those who are out of town."

I was overwhelmed with pure joy that I rushed up to the desk and checked out the stack much closer.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so happy right now! They do love me!," I exclaimed joyfully. I placed the gift Hana gave me on top of the stack, put my hands on both sides of the pile and lifted it up gently so it wouldn't tip over as I carried it towards the exit.

"Thanks again Lady Tsunade!," I thanked with a bright smile.

"You're welcome!," she shouted as I went out the door and closed it, carefully heading back home so I could see what I got from everyone.

Many hours had passed once I came back to my apartment with my stack of unwrapped gifts in my hands. I even stopped by the grocery store to get a carton of milk and pocky on the way home. When I unlocked and opened the front door, I put my key up, grabbed the presents and the grocery bag and put them down on the kitchen table first before closing the door.

I faced the door for a minute, messing with the locks and securing them properly. I sighed before I turned around and saw a figure hanging upside down from my ceiling in my face, causing me to jolt and let out a sharp squeal.

"Hey. Hmm," Deidara greeted. I could tell he was smirking, even from upside down.

Frightened, I leaned against the door as much as possible and felt my heart racing.

"What the hell Deidara?! My heart almost popped out of my chest! How the hell did you get into my apartment?!," I exclaimed, both angry and terrified.

"Easy," he paused as he got down and stood up, "You left your window unlocked, idiot. Hmm."

"How dare you call me an idiot! It's not okay to be breaking and entering into other people's homes!," I pouted, poking at his chest and remembering that I never flipped the lock after I had shut it closed last night. How foolish I really was, now he broke into my home because it wasn't secured well enough.

"Actually I only entered, there was no breaking involved. Hmm," he joked around.

That pissed me off a bit when people were smart asses to me, especially when it came from Zephyrus.

"But it's alright, I mean, I assumed you left it that way because you really wanted to see me again. I bet you missed me huh? Hmm," he teased, grinning and looking into my eyes.

What kind of assumptions was that? I would rather have banged my head against the wall until I passed out than leave my window open for him and be conscious by then. Of course, I don't want to knock myself out to avoid a stupid guy like him, so I'd leave that as aside for a different purpose instead.

"What are you talking about?! I… I…," I wasn't sure how to respond to that comment. Sure I had deep old feelings from the past but it's coated with hatred against him, so it's overpowering and difficult.

"That's okay. You don't have to admit it if you want. Hmm," he chuckled.

Man, I desperately wanted to punch this guy in the face again.

"So I see you received a lot of presents for your birthday on the table. Interesting. Hmm. Do you plan on opening them tonight? Hmm."

"Of course I do, what kind of stupid question is that? It's my birthday after all," I told him snottily as I walked over to the table to put up the milk and pocky, then sat in one of the chairs where the gifts were to my left. Deidara sat to my right and close to me. My comfort zone was low, but I didn't care.

"Well let's see what you got. Hmm," he said looking at me and smirking. I sneered at him and took the first present from the top of the stack, which was from Hana. I ripped through the wrapping paper and peeled open the box to reveal a set of three colorful hair bows.

"Aw these are cute. What do you think?," I asked for his opinion. He nodded and pointed at the bow I had in my hair.

"I like this one. Pink suits you. Hmm."

I blushed shyly at his compliment. I couldn't control it and I waited for him to say something about it.

"You're blushing again Kat. How adorable. Hmm," he said pinching my cheeks.

"Quit it!," I smacked his hand away and gave him a death glare, but it didn't affect him at all. Instead it made him laugh at my reaction. "Okay moving on to the next gift before I decide to fight you here in my apartment!," I announced.

"If you can beat me. Hmm," he said in an undertone, grinning as I glanced at him before I grabbed the next gift.

We spent quite a while opening all the presents from the stack. I got bows, earrings, weird smelling perfumes and some souvenirs from Naruto, my cousin Sabia and my uncle Albeo. I liked them all, even though some were too strange.

"It looks likes that's all my presents," I said pushing the items aside. I accidentally dropped one of them on the floor and bent over to pick it up. Once I sat back up, Deidara had a gift in his hand, beckoning me to grab it

"Happy Birthday Kat. Hmm," he said, actually smiling normally. I glanced at him, then to the present and grabbed it. I stared at it for several seconds before gently tearing through it. I was worried what he could've gotten me. It could've been a clay bird or a gag toy or even a kunai knife for all I knew.

When I opened the beige box, I was stunned.

It was a set of two necklaces, one had the symbol of Yin and the other had Yang. I remembered seeing them back at the Hidden Stone Village when we were kids.

Thirteen year old Deidara and I were strolling through his village when the necklaces caught my attention and stopped me in my tracks. I gazed through the jewelry store window, amazed by how beautiful they looked.

"Look Deidara! Aren't these necklaces cool?," I asked him poking at the glass.

"Yeah they are. Hmm," he agreed taking a look at them himself.

"It would be awesome if we had those. You could have the Yin one and I'd have Yang. And do you know what else is cool about them?," I said excitedly.

"What? Hmm," he wondered.

"They're magnetic so when we connect them, they would come together as one, just like our friendship," I beamed at him.

He couldn't help but smile at what I said. He knew it was true.

"That's right. We are pretty close. Hmm," he agreed. He frowned when he noticed how sad I became so quickly. "What's wrong Katana? Hmm."

"I just wish we had enough money for them though…," I said feeling my eyes become a little moist.

His frown deepened when he heard how down I was in my voice. He never liked seeing me unhappy this way and always tried to find methods of cheering me up. He knew I saw something special in those necklaces. He wrapped one arm around me and pulled me in for a hug.

"Don't worry Kat. One day, I will get us those necklaces. You just wait and see, okay? Hmm," he said as he met his pale blue eye with my chocolate brown eyes and smiled.

"Really? You would do that for me? I mean us?," I was surprised he said he would do it.

"I promise. Hmm," he sincerely said.

I smiled excitedly to him and from then on was looking forward to that promise as well.

"You… You remembered…," I hesitated. I was speechless. I was blown away by how he actually kept his promise after all we went through. "I'm afraid to ask, but how did you get this?"

He grinned as he placed his face in the palm of his hand as a head rest.

"I have my ways. Hmm," he only said.

With a look like that, I regretted asking the question, because I thought I knew the answer as I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Again, I was afraid to ask," I repeated as I stared into the box again. They were just as beautiful several years later.

"I'm glad you like it. Well, I better get going before the leader gets pissed at me for being too late. Hmm."

I looked back at him puzzled.

"Why would he get mad at you for being too late?," I had to ask. Getting involved with his Akatsuki business could be the death of me, but it didn't kill to wonder sometimes.

"It's because I have a mission tomorrow and if I'm not back at the lair at a certain time the day before the mission, then I will be severely punished for tardiness," his said shivering at the thought of it.

I knew his pain, except it was with Tsunade, so I patted him on the back to comfort him.

"Oh I see. Then you should go."

When I rose from my seat, I again accidentally knocked over some gifts from the table, so I put down the necklaces and bent over to pick up the items and torn gift wrap that I dropped. When I got back up, I turned to find Deidara flushed with pink on his face. He also looked embarrassed at me.

"What's wrong?," I asked.

He didn't respond until after a minute.

"Nothing. It's nothing. Hmm."

"Okay?," I arched an eyebrow.

He stood up and headed for my bedroom door before I stopped him.

"Wait wait. You're going through the window again?"

"Yeah, why not? I did it last time. Hmm," he said.

Then I realized I wanted him outta here sooner, so why did I tell him to halt?

"Never mind," I sighed as I followed him into my room and stood by the window where he slid it up and was halfway through it.

"Are you going to be coming here more often now? Just wondering," I questioned him.

"Most likely, although I can't say I'll be visiting all the time since I have things to do with Akatsuki. Hmm," Deidara smirked as he peered up at the night sky.

I sighed as I looked out as well.

"Well that's fantastic," I said sarcastically.

"I'm glad you think so. Hmm," he joked, grinning at me. He really read me like a book for being gone for so long. Or maybe he's been creeping up on me all this time, spying on me. How eerie.

"Hmm. Well, good luck on your mission," I wished him out of the blue. What was happening to me?

"I don't need luck when I have my art to assist me. Hmm. Because art is an explosion!," he exclaimed before I smacked him in the back of the head for being too loud.

"Will you shut up?! Your loud mouth is gonna stir up the neighbors and get us both caught!," I whispered loudly to him as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Sorry… Hmm," he apologized.

I sighed of disappointment. "Just be careful out there, alright?"

"Alright. Good night Kat. I hope you enjoyed your birthday. Hmm," he said as he took off into the night. I closed the window and made sure to lock it nice and tight this time.

After that, I went back to cleaning up my wads of wrapping paper and placing my new things in the right spots. Lastly, I picked up the box with the Yin Yang necklaces were supposed to be in, but when I checked inside, only the Yang necklace was lying in there.

"Huh?! W-What? Where did the other one go?!," I began to slightly panic. I scanned the kitchen for it, but couldn't find it anywhere.

Suddenly, it hit me like having a dodge ball to the face. I knew where the Yin necklace went.

"Deidara!," I cried angrily.