With Naruto in school I went out to find Guy, hearing that he'd just returned from his own mission. "Guy! You're back!" I lifted my hand and waved to him, catching his attention and immediately he brightened.
"Yume! Seeing you stirs the passion inside me, we must do battle immediately!" He declared with a roar and came rushing towards me so I dropped into a defensive stance, smirking patiently as he brought his hand up and sliced downwards, yelling in determination as my own hand shot forwards. "Yaaaaaargh!" Both of us made a sign, me taking paper whilst Guy took rock meaning that he lost. "Argh! Not again! You're streaking out ahead of me Yume!"
"Yeah!" Cheering in celebration of my win both of us grinned at one another before embracing. "So how was your mission? I heard you ran into trouble on the way back with some rogue shinobi, you weren't hurt were you?"
"Not at all, nothing can stand up to the vigour of youth, not even a great multitude of enemies." Guy proclaimed comically before he softened, calming down a little as he smiled to me. "How about you? Are things getting any easier for you now that the boy is grown?"
"Yes, much easier." I informed him as we walked together to go somewhere quiet and relaxing. We ended up in the park as I told Guy all about Naruto. "He's a good boy really, he helps me with the chores and brings me blankets whenever I fall asleep on the couch, he just really wants other people to notice him and that's why he acts out the way he does. The moment I'm home he stops but I worry about him every time I leave, he gets so lonely." Exhaling I leaned back on the bench, looking to the clear blue sky. "He doesn't have any friends at school and I get so frustrated that I can't do anything to help him."
"If I might say so, Yume, you have done an incredible job raising him so far but you can't do everything for him." Guy told me rather wisely and I blinked as he continued. "Establishing bonds and making friends is something he'll have to learn to do on his own, all you can do is give him a nudge in the right direction." Relaxing at Guy's reassurance I nodded my head in agreement.
"You're right, I can't remain so overprotective of him forever, ya know." Feeling peaceful I leaned against Guy and suddenly went lax, falling asleep against him so he let me rest for a while. I was happy that Guy and I were able to spend more time together and when Naruto was in school, we picked up our training against one another and when we clashed, everyone else in the training yard quickly evacuated for fear of being caught in the crossfire. Guy's style was so unique that it would be difficult for most other ninja but my own style was vaguely similar, a combination of his technique with the Hyuga Gentle Fist technique. I used my agile body and graceful movements to seemingly spiral out of the way of any oncoming attacks, moving with the wind before then countering with equal ferocity. Guy made me build up a sweat, something that very few others could do and I smirked in satisfaction as we both ended with our fingers pressed to the jugular vein at the other's throats. "A draw." I called and Guy nodded, breathing heavily as I stepped back and untied my hair.
"It certainly feels good to use all of this boundless energy that I had accumulated, I can feel my youth surging through me from the thrill of our fight!" He beamed before giving me a wink and a sparkly smirk, thumb lifting towards me. "I feel like I'm getting closer to you Yume, one day I will beat you fair and square."
"I look forward to it Guy." I said before checking the time. "I have to go collect Naruto now, I'll call again tomorrow and we can have another sparring match, does that sound alright?"
"Any time. Take care of yourself now." Guy waved me off as I drifted away to go collect my nephew from school. Today was the last day of the school week, meaning tomorrow he would have the day off and I wanted to take him out to dinner. It was my birthday after all, so a minor celebration wouldn't go amiss and Naruto always enjoys eating out. Waiting outside the school I smiled as Naruto came running towards me, jumping and hugging my legs with his bright grin before we walked home together.
It was a normal enough day however the next morning, Naruto suddenly jumped on me at a time peculiarly early for it to be usual for him. "Wake up aunty! Wake up you need to get out!" He yelled at me and instantly I had a kunai knife in hand, arm wrapped around him in ready to fight as my natural instincts to assume danger took over. "Agh! Aunty you're squishing me! I'm telling you that you need to get out of the house so I can make your surprise!" He mumbled into my chest and I blinked, letting him go.
"Huh?"
"Come on already! You're not allowed to come back until three, ya got it? So hurry up and get moving! Also I need money. Hurry up!" Still only half asleep Naruto pestered me until I had got dressed and he'd kicked me out of the house with my purse in his hand. I don't know what he was up to and I was slightly suspicious but I allowed him to do what he wanted as he was rather insistent and refused to tell me what he was up to.
"But I wanted to sleep in." I complained to myself before going for a wander, lost in my own sleepy thoughts until I realised I had walked all the way out of town and I was lost in the woods. "It's been a while since I got lost like this." Chuckling to myself I looked around to see if there was an obvious path, however I suddenly caught sight of an old white marker on a tree. I blinked before walking over to it, placing my hand against the white paint that pointed me back to the village. "Kakashi, still looking after me all these years later." I murmured softly before turning around and following the markers back to the path so that I at least knew where I was.
Since it was so warm I took a nap in the sun, snoozing happily away with my back against a rock for support and I did not wake until a few hours later. Yawning and stretching I rubbed my eyes sleepily, feeling a little better for such a restorative nap however when I opened my eyes, I found myself surrounded by flowers. They were all beautiful and sweet smelling, covering the entire ground of the glade I sat in and they spilled into my lap also, freshly picked. "What the…? Where did they come from?" I picked one up in wonder, the silky petals soft against my skin as I smiled before I rose up on my feet and looked around.
The flowers made a path which I followed, framing the way to lead me into the woods and I looked up into the trees to see bells and wind chimes had also been hung up, ringing softly with each gentle breeze until I stood in a quiet grove of cherry blossom trees. They were incredibly beautiful and I had never seen them before, not having known where to find them. "Kakashi." I realised, sensing him nearby and sure enough he appeared behind me as I turned, smiling warmly as I saw him again. "Kakashi, did you do all this?"
"Happy birthday, Yume." He answered before reaching out and placing a fully blossomed flower in my hair, tucking it in neatly before then brushing my cheek with a gentle touch of his fingers. "I'm glad you were able to rest."
"Naruto kicked me out of the house for some reason so I ended up getting lost out here." I admitted sheepishly, touching the flower carefully with a slight blush. "But thank you Kakashi, this is wonderful. I never knew you had such a soft side to you." I teased him and he blushed slightly, tucking a book further behind him out of my sight but in a flash I had it in my hands, looking at the cover with a blink of surprise. "Isn't this Jiraiya's book?" I questioned, seeing the cover and vaguely recognising it. I had only met Jiraiya a few times and I found him to be a little bit of a creepy old geezer, and this book was a testament to that.
"Oh it's nothing! Nothing really I was just curious." Kakashi tried to tell me, waving his hands frantically and trying to get the book back, Make-Out Paradise. I teased him for a little while, calling him a closet pervert and danced around him whilst waving the book in his face before opening the book and starting to read just out of curiosity. Immediately my face went bright red and I snapped it shut, squeaking indignantly as I threw it back at him.
"It's fine you can have it!" I hope Naruto never gets into that sort of stuff, it's far too mature! The book hit Kakashi on the head and I flinched, biting on my lip guiltily. "Sorry, are you alright Kakashi?"
"I'm fine." He assured me though he wavered, blood leaking down from underneath his headband and I quickly caught him as he dropped, concussed from the book hitting him.
"Kakashi! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you like that. Here, I can help you." I told him and quickly used healing jutsu to take care of the concussion and the gash, using a handkerchief to wipe away the blood as I held him in my lap. Kakashi took to watching me, observing me quietly with his one exposed eye so I gave him a smile. "All done. That was hardly a way to thank you for such a nice surprise, I'm sorry."
"It was worth it." He answered a little cryptically, making himself comfortable with his head resting on my lap and closed his eyes. "I'm taking a nap."
"Right now?" I blinked but he was already asleep, or at least pretending to be. Rolling my eyes slightly I shifted a little to get comfortable before gazing up at the sky, watching the clouds pass overhead as I daydreamed about flying. It would be nice to have wings like a bird and explore the skies, imagine flying with the stars. I felt so at peace sitting there with Kakashi that I hardly noticed the time passing by until my friend stirred so I looked down to him as he slowly opened his eye. "Hey there sleepyhead, you were out for a while." He blinked at me before his attention strayed to the flower that was still in my hair and he naturally reached up to adjust it, keeping it from falling out.
"I haven't been able to relax like this in a long time."
"I know the feeling." I said to him knowingly as he sat up and rubbed his head, his hair sticking up in all directions. "I should really get back and check on Naruto, I'm worried about what this surprise could be and I should make sure he hasn't blown up the house or anything." Smiling softly as I pondered about the kind of things Naruto could be up to I turned my eyes back to Kakashi, both of us sitting rather close to one another so I leaned in and snuggled against his shoulder, tentatively placing my hand over his in the grass. "I wish we could be like this more often." I felt Kakashi shift slightly, probably uncomfortable with my show of affection but I ignored it, giving a smile as I pulled back. "I'm meeting Guy later for some sparring practice. You should join us, it would be great for all three of us to be together again."
"I'll be there." Kakashi answered, making me glow inwardly as I then got to my feet and ruffled his hair, laughing playfully before I disappeared from sight. In a flash I was back home, looking around quickly to make sure nothing was outwardly wrong before I opened the door and walked inside.
"Naruto I'm home." I called out, taking a breath however when I caught a strong smell of something burning my eyes darted to the kitchen where he stood with his lower lip trembling, sniffing tearfully as the explosion of mess sat upon every work surface and climbed up the walls. Ingredients such as eggs and flour were everywhere and the sink was full with used mixing bowls and tins. I was alarmed but not angry.
"I'm sorry." Naruto said with upset as he rubbed his eyes. "I tried to make you a birthday cake but it all went wrong!" I looked to the several charred remains of cake as well as the gloopy mess and I couldn't help but laugh inwardly. Looks like he got my talent for baking cakes, at least we had that in common. "I wanted to surprise you and tell you happy birthday like you do for me every year but I couldn't manage it, I was trying so hard but it never went right!" Gesturing to the melting mess of a cake he had on a plate I leaned down and stuck my finger into the frosting which was sliding off the uneven sponge which wasn't completely cooked through.
Sticking it into my mouth it was a little strange to the taste but the frosting was sweet enough to mask it so I grinned. "It tastes great. Thank you Naruto, this is the best birthday cake ever because it was made by you with love. That's more than enough for you to feel proud, right?" I questioned him as I knelt down and rubbed his head. "So please don't cry anymore, I don't want to see you upset on my birthday otherwise I'll be sad too. Why don't we stick in some candles, I'll make a wish then we can eat this all up with spoons?" I suggested and Naruto instantly brightened.
"Yeah okay!" Once more back to his usual self I blew out my candles after making a wish then together Naruto and I ate as much of the frosting cake as we could. "Wow, this is so sickly sweet! I can already feel my teeth decaying!"
"In that case we'll have to brush extra carefully tonight to make sure they don't fall out." Together we grinned and after we'd eaten a little over half, we set about cleaning up everything. Naruto had gone a little overboard with buying ingredients, meaning all the money I had intended to put aside had been used up but I figured we would be okay for this week. Once the kitchen was cleaned spotless Naruto complained of his stomach hurting so I used a little healing jutsu then tucked him up in bed with a bucket just to be sure, kissing him goodnight then went out to meet with Guy and Kakashi.
All in all it was a wonderful birthday and Guy gifted me with a pretty bouquet of flowers which I put into water when I got home, though next to it was the flower Kakashi had placed in my hair. It stood alone in a slim vase, a little overpowered by the bouquet but it was important all the same and the next day I pressed it between two books to preserve it, though I didn't really understand why I did so. It was just a flower, but knowing that it had come from Kakashi made me feel warm and fluttery inside. It was a strange feeling but it comforted me, so I treasured it from that day thereafter.