With Fujino
Friday (5/20)
Agares Mansion
Dining Room
"Seekvaira, thanks for breakfast," said a grateful Fujino, Seekvaira telling her she went all out for her while picking up the empty plate and glass. "What sort of person would I be to not do something for your birthday?" Picking up her school bag, Fujino says bye to the Agares King and leaves the dining room.
With Naruto
Kuoh Academy
"Good morning Naruto, Akame, Kotomi!" Turning around, the bespectacled blond said good morning to her as the other two did the same.
"You're looking very happy today, Fujino, something going on?" Naruto asked. Fujino told him it was a special day today. "Special? Hmmm...Ah, it's your birthday!" Naruto responds. Fujino looked happy when the blond figured it out right away, Akame telling her "Happy Birthday," as well. Passing through the school gate, Naruto asked his Bishop if she had any ideas on what she wanted to do on her birthday.
"Hmmm...Usually, I'd be with my mother in Misaki Town. One of our birthday traditions would be having Sakura Dumplings with her at a teahouse we frequented. Sadly, the teahouse makes only 20 of them early in the morning of the 20th of every month. By now they should be out."
"That's very sad to hear. I'm sorry you have to miss out on that tradition, Fujino," Kotomi said to her. The Bishop assured her she was okay with it. Once they reached the front door, Naruto received a call from an unknown person.
"I have to take this. You three can go on ahead." Understanding, Akame, Kotomi, and Fujino continued on. "Hello?"
"Is this Naruto Namikaze?"
"Yes, I am Naruto. Who is this?"
"Good morning. I am Miyuki Asagami, Fujino's Mother." Naruto's eyes widened when Fujino's Mother introduced herself to him. "I asked your King to give me your phone number."
"She did, huh...Is there a reason why you're calling?" he asked.
"Yes, you see, today is Fujino's Birthday. As a tradition, there's this teahouse we go to that sells these sakura dumplings early in the morning of the 20th of every month. I managed to buy three of them before they sold out. Due to circumstances regarding my husband and his views on our daughter, she can't come home. Therefore, I plan to come to Kuoh Town to have them with you and her, as a surprise."
"Me too? That's very nice of you, Asagami-sama," said Naruto.
"I plan to arrive at Kuoh Town by train. If you can, I'd like you to stay with my daughter until I arrive. Is there a place we can meet when that time comes?" Naruto takes some time to think about the best place to meet before deciding on making Kuoh Town Park's fountain their meeting spot.
"I'll text you the address after this call."
"Thank you for this, Namikaze-kun."
Classroom
"Naruto, are we going to continue our training at Seekvaira's Mansion after school?" Joichi asked his friend. Naruto apologizes to him, telling him they have to reschedule it for tomorrow, informing him of his Bishop's Birthday. "It's her birthday today!?"
"Yes, it's her birthday today. I plan to hang out with her after school and meet up with her mother, who is visiting. Seekvaira is planning to have the party at my place, which you're invited to." Joichi thanks Naruto for the invitation before allowing him to continue. "Seekvaira, Shizune, and Moka are going to make the birthday cake. I told Shino and Shirabi about her birthday so they're going birthday shopping after school and meeting us at my house as well."
"I should also go shop for a present for her after school. Where do you plan on taking her?"
"...Good question. I'll figure things out as I go."
"We could take her to a night club. I heard Fridays have special-"
"Fuck off Infernus." Seeing Naruto frowning, Joichi knew Naruto was having a private conversation with the demon in his body.
Student Council Room
"A birthday party at your house?"
"Yes. Seekvaira, Moka, and Shizune are making the birthday cake. Think you can make it?" Sona tells Naruto she couldn't since she had made plans with her peerage today. "Please tell her I said, "Happy Birthday," okay?"
"I'll let her know." When asked what he was going to give her, he told her he was planning to give her a fan with written calligraphy on it. "There's this small shop in Kuoh Town that specializes in custom-made fans. "The only problem is I don't know what I should put on it."
"...Quiet Diligence and Loyal Soul." Naruto looked at Sona weird when she said that. "It's for the fan."
"...Sona-kaichou, I'm glad I know you." The Student Council President blushed when he said that to her. "Th-Thank you, Naruto...You think you can put both our names on the gift for her?" Naruto lightly chuckled at this before agreeing to do it.
After School
Classroom
Naruto approached Fujino as the latter picks up her schoolbag. Noticing Naruto, she asked him if he needed something.
"I was just wondering if you'd like to hang out before we head back to my house. Just the two of us." Fujino looked surprised at first until she smiled and told him she'd like to hang out with him. "Great."
"Where are we going first?"
Kosoan
Meguro City
"Two bowls of shaved ice and a pot of tea..." The server left the two alone once they thanked her.
"This is a nice place, Naruto." The Agares Rook admits he didn't know if it'd be the ideal place to start and that he picked it based on what he assumed she'd enjoy. "You're pretty spot on. I like places that are both quiet and cozy." Scooping up some of the shaved ice with her spoon, she pops it in her mouth and hummed in delight. "This is delicious." Trying his, Naruto had to agree with his Bishop. Once they finished, Fujino asked the Rook how he felt about Joichi knowing about the supernatural.
"It's fairly liberating to know he can be trusted with our secrets. On one hand, he has a very impressive ability. On the other hand, he's very eager to take on more supernatural threats." When asked why he doesn't let him, Naruto told her he wanted him to start small for a while before tackling the bigger fish as he puts it. "I'm surprised he's been very patient about it so far despite the many times I told him no."
"Shows just how understanding he is, despite how he looks," Fujino adds.
"...Are you doing okay at Seekvaira's so far?" Naruto asked her. Fujino gives him an assuring smile and tells him she was doing okay, but wished her place was as small as the Namikaze Residence, despite having gotten used to it since her first night there. "You're welcome to sleep at my place after the party."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean it'll be in Chelsea's Room but yeah." The Bishop tells Naruto she'll take up his offer. "...A month ago I never thought I'd live to have my seventeenth birthday...I have you to thank you for finding me that day and for saving my life."
"Couldn't really ignore you, could I, Fujino?" This response caught the girl off guard as her cheeks turned red. "You okay?"
"Yes, I'm okay...I'm just...Our server is really taking her time with the bill." Naruto tells her he didn't mind since they had some time to keep chatting for a while more.
Kuoh Town Park
Fountain
"Naruto, this isn't the way home," Fujino informed the bespectacled blond.
"I know, but there's someone we're meeting here." When asked who, the two stop near the fountain as they find Fujino's Mother walking towards them, a smile on her face.
"Mother!?"
"Happy 17th Birthday, Fujino." Turning to face the Agares Rook, Fujino could tell by the look on his face he knew she was coming and wanted to surprise her. "I had Namikaze-kun hang around you for a while as I made my way here. Putting her hand in her pause, Miyuki happily pulls out three sakura dumplings. "I managed to buy these before they were sold out. How about we find a bench to sit on while we eat them together before we head to Namikazes?"
Three minutes later
"Mmmm, these are pretty tasty, Asagami-sama."
"I'm glad you enjoy them as well, Namikaze-kun. Perhaps you'd like to partake in them again on her eighteenth birthday?" Naruto says he'd be happy to as he takes another bite out of his dumpling.
"How is Father?" Fujino asked her mom. "Is he doing okay?"
"Your Father is fine. Busy, but fine...He wanted to give you this." Rummaging through her purse again, Miyuki takes out an envelope with cash in it and hands it to her daughter. "He was never good at giving presents to people. Hanefune is a very strict and stubborn man, but somewhere inside of him, he does care for you."
"He didn't really sound like it when I had a talk with him," Naruto said to Miyuki. "Even if he did give her an envelope, it doesn't change the fact that he disowned her and did nothing to help her when-"
"Naruto..." Turning to face Fujino, Naruto wondered what she was going to say. "I understand your anger towards him...I too get angry at him at times, even when I was little. Even after all that, I can't bring myself to hate him. If he didn't care for me, he wouldn't have tried for ten years to help me with my powers. A bad father wouldn't spend ten years trying to care for me. He's not a perfect or nice person, that I can agree with you, but he's still my father, the one who gave me life alongside my mother."
"...He still pisses me off, but I guess if I or anyone else were in your shoes, we'd feel the same way about him." Following this, Naruto quickly scarfed down his dumpling before getting up. "I'll give you two some time to finish your dumplings. Once you're done, find me near the fountain." Naruto walked away after. Once he was out of their line of sight, Naruto went behind a tree and teleported to an alley close to the shop he was supposed to pick up his present for Fujino from.
"...He's very good at keeping his anger under control if he can accept your thoughts on your father," Miyuki told her daughter.
"Yes...he is..."
"...Is he your type?" Fujino turned red when her mother asked that question. "Oh, so he is..."
"Yes."
"...I didn't want Naruto to hear this, but your father, Hanefune felt he failed you and couldn't do more for you. Seeing how much Namikaze-kun cared for you despite the murders, he felt you were better off with him."
"He really thought that?" Fujino's Mother said he didn't verbally say that, but as his wife, she could read what he's thinking. "He said those things to Namikaze-kun as a way to test him and as a means to steel himself. When I entered the room after your...King left, his body was shaking when I went to check on him."
"Father..."
"At times he wondered if you were doing okay as a Devil. I would put my ear against his office door sometimes and hear him talk to your portrait on his desk before I entered to serve him his tea or coffee." Fujino lightly smiled to herself, knowing despite being disowned by him and getting kicked out of her home, her father still cared for her in his own way. "I'm not sure how long it'll take, but once he's ready, he'll visit you himself." Finished, the two quickly down their sakura dumplings before getting up to meet with Naruto, who had finished purchasing the fan he was planning to give to her four minutes ago.
Namikaze Residence
Living Room
(Naruto, Fujino, Miyuki, Moka, Kotomi, Maki, Akame, Shizune, Seekvaira, Shino, Shirabi, and Joichi)
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY FUJINO!" Moka, Kotomi, Maki, Akame, Shizune, Seekvaira, Shino, Shirabi, and Joichi yelled as they popped the confetti. After thanking her friends and Shizune for taking the time to celebrate her birthday, Fujino followed them to the dining room, where they partook in a feast cooked up by Shizune, Moka, and Shino. After that, Maki wheeled in the birthday cake the Shizune, Moka, and Shino made together, Fujino looking amazed by how large it was, being three times their size. After blowing her candles and eating a slice of her cake, Fujino and the others gathered around the living room as each and every person handed her their presents. Picking up Joichi's, Fujino opens it up to find he bought her a small purple dumbbell.
"It's to help work on your wrist muscles. Thought a light workout was up your alley." Fujino looked underwhelmed by the gift, especially since she wasn't a fan of fitness. Nonetheless, she thanked Joichi for the gift.
"I'll be sure to use it," said Fujino.
"Great, because it has a feature that lets me know if you're using it or not." Fujino looked shocked when Joichi told her the dumbbell had a special feature to it. "Be sure to do five-minute wrist curls for both arms every day okay?"
"S-Sure..." Next up was Naruto, who hands her his present, though not before telling her Sona also pitched for the present. "She did?"
"Yeah. She also told me to tell you, "Happy Birthday." Opening it, Fujino formed a happy expression on her face as she took out the folding fan in the small rectangular wooden case and opened it up to view the calligraphy on it. "This is a wonderful gift. I love it."
"I'll let Sona-kaichou know you loved it before I go to bed."
After putting the fan back in its case, Fujino resumed her opening of the others' presents. From Shino she received a white sundress, Akame a wooden hairbrush she made by hand, Shizune a digital watch that could sync with her phone, Moka a make-up set, Kotomi a red double-breasted coat, Shirabi a chef's knife she forged that had her name engraved on it, and Seekvaira presented a portrait of the Namikaze Bishop she anonymously had Todd McFarlane paint for her. Though weirded out by the fact that she was portrayed as an all-powerful sorceress commanding a flock of ravens that were accompanying the foreground and background, she thanked the Agares King. Once it was 9:00 pm, Shino went back to her place across the street, with Shirabi deciding to crash at her place, sounding excited about having a sleepover at her friend's. Maki left to head back to her apartment, not wanting to leave Eu by herself. Joichi was the last to leave, Seekvaira deciding to sleep at the Namikaze's.
Naruto's Room
[Fate/stay night [Heaven's Feel] I. presage flower Original Soundtrack - song of a tiny flower]
"Thank you for allowing me and my Mother to stay for the night," a grateful Fujino said to Naruto, who was laying on a futon he prepared for himself. Since Seekvaira was staying for the night, she took Chelsea's Room, with the Bishop's Mother occupying the guest room.
"No problem Fujino," Naruto said to his Bishop. "...Before we go to bed, I'd like to apologize."
"For what?"
"For voicing my anger towards your father, especially when today was your birthday. I just...You have been through a lot ever since your Mystic Eyes and telekinesis first awakened. Fathers are supposed to be with you every step of the way, but sometimes, it becomes too much."
"Yeah...Even after all of that, he's still my fath-...My dad. It doesn't change that I came from him. I've suffered, yes, but it led me to you so...despite my suffering, I found my hope, through you." Hearing Fujino's response, Naruto said, "Wow, that's...Being someone's hope is, that's a first for me. It makes me wonder what would have happened if I hadn't met you that night."
"I'd probably get my eyes gouged out by fallen angels in an alleyway and die." While he was taken aback by Fujino's response, Naruto managed to say he wished he didn't hear that.
"Sorry..." Immediately, Naruto said he accepted her sorry.
"...Okay, make some space Fujino." When she asked why it came as a surprise when the blond told her he was getting in bed with her as he got up. "It's your fault. You put it in my head," Naruto joked. "If I sleep in the same bed as you, I can make sure you're safe, even with my eyes closed."
"I don't think there's going to be any stray devil or fallen angel who'll simply crash into the room and attack me," Fujino told the Rook in a shy manner while scooting over so the blond can get in bed with her, the two sharing the blanket.
"I can't take that chance Fujino, even if you can bend things with your eyes. Guess I really can't ignore you." Turning away from the blond so he couldn't see her face heating up, she said, "Guess so," before saying good night to him.
"Night, Fujino." Once he was sure Fujino was asleep, Naruto whispered, "Todd freakin' McFarlane, wow..." to himself. After Naruto fell asleep, Fujino turned her body so he was facing the sleeping Rook. Recalling how he held her hand before she fell asleep and became a Reincarnated Devil, Fujino took her right hand and held Naruto's right hand in it. After kissing it, she once again thanked him for saving her, finally falling asleep after.
[Music End]
