When I woke up before dawn, I quickly got ready for my little shopping adventure. With my wallet tucked firmly into a pocket of my sleeve, I turned into the kitchen. Blah. I don't feel like making breakfast. I'll just grab something while I am out. Besides, I need to get some groceries too.

Feeling a little mischievous, I wrote out a quick note for Shika and left it write inside his window. I made a few hand signs, did a summoning, and gave it the orders. Then I headed for the market. Whistling along the way, I looked through every stall. Most of the things around were more for girls like bracelets, necklaces, mirrors, and other little trinkets. I finally spotted a shop that looked interesting, "Fabio's Famous Antiquities."

Walking into the old building, I inhaled a thick layer of dust. An ancient geezer sat behind the counter but could barely see over it. "Hello. I would like to look at your wares, if you don't mind." I said politely.

"Sure, go ahead deary. A lovely girl like you can always come to my shop." He responded, but I highly doubt his eyesight was good enough to see me at all.

I wove in and out of the aisles, each jam-packed with awesome things that I hadn't seen in ages. Like one of those ring games that you had to get apart. Nah. Shika is so smart he would probably think that it was child's play to do it. Each item I saw, I thought of how Shika would like it. No, to big. No, to small. No, to hot. No, to cold. Feeling a little like Goldilocks from the three bears, I entered the back room of the shop.

The thing that caught my eye was spectacular. It was a creamy, light blue and white with swirls in it. The pieces were each made individually and by hand. I knew this just by the way they differed from the other. It looked so fragile, like it would break the moment a sound wave touched it. But I knew I had to get it. He had better like this. I thought as I saw the price tag. Damn. Who knew antiques were so expensive? Wait a second… no! The little punk has already got one. What if he doesn't want it? Forget it. I'll find something else.

But then I gazed at it again and couldn't resist touching its glassy surface. I'm getting it. If he doesn't like it, then I'll keep it. I pulled out the money, and walked up to the old man, who I guessed was Fabio. "Did you find something that you liked, Miss?" he asked, and when I told him what I wanted, he whistled.

"Darn, Miss, you must really like that sort of thing to buy it. You could just go and get a normal one."

I shook my head. "This isn't for me."

The old man grabbed my arm and we walked to the back room. "For that special someone, I presume."

I blushed, and shook my head again. "Just a friend. Could you have everything wrapped up individually? I don't want anything to break." He nodded and shooed me off, saying to come back later.

I did as I was told and set off to do some grocery shopping. Stopping by the same market stall I'd first been to, I got all of the fruits I would need for a special dessert. Then I came across a candy shop and bought some chocolate too. Of course, in the end, I had to get some of the other essential food groups. Whistling, I trotted back to my apartment and dropped off the groceries I had bought and munched on one of the chocolate bars as I made my way back to the antique shop.

When I got back, the old man had finished wrapping up the gift. "I hope your friend enjoys this." Fabio said as I passed him the money.

"I'm sure he will. Thank you very much." I replied and snuck back to my apartment. This time, I made sure to go the back way so if Shikamaru was looking out the window, he wouldn't be able to guess what his present was.

And guess who I bumped into while walking up the many flights of stairs. "Damn it Naruto," I screamed, diving to catch the box, "What the hell are you doing running down the stairs like that!"

"Sorry Lori!" He murmured, rubbing the back of his head.

"You had better be freaking sorry. If this is broken, I swear on my sword that I will make you pay." Naruto's face was priceless as he tried to bow and run away at the same time.

I finally made it back to my room and hid the present where no one would ever find it: under my bed. I was going to laze around for a while, but remembered the note I had left on Shika's windowsill. Let's see if he actually believed it.

Jumping down from my window onto his, I saw him walking around the room, staring at the walls and checking the door frame. It seems like he did. Poor sucker. Then he saw me peeking through his window. "Lori! Undo whatever trap you set and let me out!" Shika squealed, for once looking close to the edge of a mental breakdown. I just opened the window and walked in.

He just stood there and gawked at me. "You…you…"

"I what?" I asked innocently.

"I can't believe you would trick me like this!" He screamed, flailing the letter in my face.

Dear Shika,

I set up some wires around your door and window so you couldn't follow me while I went shopping for your present. You'll get a pleasant surprise if you try to touch them if you can actually see them. Oh, and don't expect your parents to come and get you; they are out for the day too. So you'll just have to wait until I get back and undo it.

Have Fun,

Lorraine Arashi

Laughter roared through me as his face turned a very plum-like purple. Shikamaru continued to complain until I finished with my bouts of the giggles. "Did you really think that I would actually do something to hurt you? Come out Shriek." I said, and a tiny blue dragon the size of my pinky flew into my palm. "The shock you felt came from Shriek. She is an electricity based dragon. Another good thing about her is that she can move so fast that the human eye cannot perceive her. Isn't that right dear?" As was her name, Shriek shrieked and Shikamaru covered his ears. "She is too young to speak English, but she does speak Dragon. I believe she said that you look funny when your hair goes frizzy. Did I get that right?" She nodded and I dismissed her with a wave of my hand.

"I still can't believe you would set me up like that, Lori." Shika mumbled as he kicked some dirty laundry under his bed.

"Aw, don't ruin my fun. It was payback for not telling me your birthday was so close. And I couldn't trust you not to follow me and try and ruin the surprise." Then I passed him a chocolate bar, which he gladly took since he hadn't eaten because of being 'trapped' in his own room.

"You'll be happy to know that I got you a present. And I also decided that we are going to go to the Konoha Fair." I announced as he munched on the chocolate.

"But that will be such a drag. Going around the fair with you of all people, psh. Why can't I just stay home?"

I gave him a good shove before flopping down onto his bed. "Don't talk with your mouth full. I heard that there is going to be a big shogi tournament. It will be for the first time this year and people from all across the country are coming to take part. I'm not much of a challenge at all." Shikamaru's eyes filled with suppressed delight at the thought of a worthy opponent. But he saw how disheartened I was and came to my pride's rescue.

The boy sat down beside me. "That isn't true; you are so strange and unpredictable that I have no idea what you are going to do."

"Sure," I said, "So why haven't I beaten you?"

"I have been playing shogi for years. You just started a few weeks ago. Why don't you join the competition?"

I mulled it over for a minute and came up with a wonderful idea. "I'll join in if you come to the fair and look at some stuff with me. You can't just sit around and do something that you do everyday when a fair that only comes around once a year is in town. Do we have a deal?" Shikamaru nodded, and I squealed. "Let's get going. It might be too late to sign up!"

We raced off into town, making our way to the arena where all special events were held. Since this would be a huge event with over a hundred participants it was the logical place for the sign up to be. Luckily, we were fast enough to get one of the final places in the tournament. Then we went back home.

"Shika, do you like fruit cobbler?" I asked as we sat down for another game before I headed home.

"Yeah. Why do you want to know?"

"No reason," I tried to act as if it were nothing. Before he could say anything, a presence entered the room. I wasn't fast enough to open the Wing before someone had grabbed me, pulling me up against their body. Shikamaru looked like he was about to throw some kunais but I was in the way.

The person, no, the man behind me was familiar. I knew he was strong because I struggled against him but he held me tight against his muscled chest. The smell of burning wood met my nose as he leaned down by my ear. "Rain, I missed you so much."

The moment I heard the velvety voice speak the nickname only one person on this Earth ever said, I knew who it was. Collapsing in his arms, all I could do was whisper his name. "Ryu…"