Chapter 17: A birthday worth remembering

A/N: Hey everyone! This chapter is dedicated to my dear Friend, Yumi Tenshi, since it's her Birthday!

I hope you like this Yumi-san and Happy Birthday!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I own My oc's while Yumi owns hers.

Enjoy!

/

Itachi was never fond of his birthday. He always thought it was another day. And after everything that he did to his clan, he didn't think he deserved to celebrate.

Why celebrate your life when you ruined and destroyed so many others?

He knew that he had no choice when he killed his clan. If he didn't, another war would break out. But that didn't stop him from thinking of himself as a monster.

If only he could go back into the past and live like he used to. One that was void of war and conflict.

He figured he would spend his birthday by staying in bed, but someone else had something in mind.

He smirked when he felt Yumi lean over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Happy Birthday, Itachi" she said.

Itachi smiled softly at his girlfriend.

Even though he felt like a monster for what he had done, it was nice to know that there was someone out there who thought otherwise.

Yumi was his reason for sanity.

Itachi cupped her face in his hand and ran his thumb over her cheek.

"Thanks, Yumi" he said.

Yumi smiled softly.

Only when she was alone with him, would she show her true self. Nobody knew her like Itachi did.

She sat and looked at her boyfriend who was still laying down. She knew that he was planning on spending his birthday sleeping in, but she was going to have none of that.

He gave her a wonderful birthday last year, so now it was her turn.

She got up from bed and started pulling him up.

"Come on you. Get out of bed"

Itachi groaned as Yumi pulled them towards their closet and started pulling out clothes.

"I really don't feel like doing anything, Yumi" he said.

Yumi rolled her eyes and just threw some clothes at him.

Since Pein gave Itachi a day off for his birthday, that meant he could spend it however he liked.

"Sleeping in and doing nothing is not a good way to celebrate your birthday" she said.

"Besides, I already made plans for us"

Itachi raised an eyebrow and he put on his fishnet shirt.

"Plans? What plans?"

Yumi shrugged.

"Just some things to do for your birthday" she said.

"I wasn't going to let the rest of the guys ruin it by giving you a party and getting drunk. I know how much you hate parties"

Itachi resisted the urge to shiver. He was grateful that Yumi avoided having a party. He could still remember when Deidara and Hidan got drunk and decided that they should take their clothes off.

Yumi put on normal civilian clothes and looked at Itachi.

"Hurry up. We have a lot do to today and it won't get done until you get dressed"

Itachi sighed and put on the rest of his clothing.

Sometimes Yumi's true personality gave him whiplash.

/

"Why exactly are we here?" Itachi asked.

They were walking through the streets of a local village. Both of them were wise enough to wear a disguise since they didn't want to risk the chance of anyone noticing them.

Yumi smiled a little as she led him to a small restaurant.

"Because this is where we're going to start of celebrating your birthday" she said.

Itachi sighed as they went inside and sat in a booth. His mind seemed to be somewhere else as Yumi ordered their breakfast for them.

It had been such a long time since he celebrated his birthday. And even when he did celebrate it, it wasn't really fun. Being in the Uchiha clan meant you didn't have a lot of time having fun. It was always do your missions properly and grow stronger. His parents would always throw him a small dinner, but that was it. There were no parties, no friends coming over, no joy. It was always a formal thing.

It made him wish that he wasn't born into the Uchiha clan and just had a normal family. He always had Yumi to fill the void in his heart, but he wished that he had parents and siblings that could do that as well.

Yumi waved her hand in front of his face to gain his attention.

"Hey, your food is here" she said.

"You should eat it before it gets cold"

Itachi blinked a bit to pull himself out of his thoughts.

"Oh, right" he said.

He looked down at his plate and saw that he was given miso soup with cabbage in it and rice balls that were stuffed with seaweed.

His favorite foods.

He looked up at Yumi to see her smirk slightly as she sipped her fruit drink.

"It's your birthday, so you should eat your favorite foods" she said.

Itachi smiled softly.

Or course Yumi would remember the little things about him. Like his favorite foods.

He picked up a rice ball and ate it.

"Thanks, Yumi" he said.

Yumi smiled and placed her hand over his free one.

"Any time" she said.

The two of them ate a nice breakfast before they went out.

/

For the rest of the day, the two of them simply walked around town and went to a couple of shops.

Yumi let him pick out scrolls that he thought would be helpful for him and bought them. Itachi always said that she didn't need to get him anything, so she settled with just buying his things. He always did it for her, so she could do it for him.

Itachi enjoyed the peace that this village provided. He could tell that no one had suffered pain and hardship like Konoha did. It seemed that not all villages relied on ninjas.

Yumi saw him lost in thought and knew what he was feeling. There were times when he told her that he wished that he was never born as a ninja or lived in a village dedicated to fighting. He would always talk about what it would be like if he wasn't born in an era that was dedicated to war and bloodshed. An era where he didn't have to see his loved ones die.

An era where he could be normal for once.

She gently grasped his hand with hers and gave it a squeeze.

"Come on" she said.

"It's time for your next birthday gift"

Itachi just nodded and let her take him to who knows where. He would let Yumi take him anywhere really if it meant it would get him out of this mood he put himself in.

/

Yumi brought him to a forest that stood near the outskirts of the village.

Itachi raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend's choice of location, but decided it was best to not ask her motives.

Yumi pulled out a sash from her pocket and held it out to him.

"Alright you, put this on" she said.

Itachi looked surprised, yet confused at the same time.

Why would Yumi want him to put on a blindfold?

"May I ask why?" he asked.

Yumi smirked a little.

"Because your next present is a surprise and I don't want you to see it yet" she explained.

Itachi was about to say something about blindfolding a ninja, but Yumi just wrapped the blindfold across his eyes and pushed him forward.

"You know, you really have a lot of nerves to be doing this to me" he said.

"I could kill you very easily"

Yumi just snorted.

"You keep telling yourself that" she said.

Itachi sighed as Yumi led him further into the forest. He didn't know what to expect from this, but he just went along with it.

Anything to make Yumi happy.

When they got further into the forest, Yumi stopped.

"Are you ready for your present?" she asked.

Itachi nodded.

Yumi went up next to him and pulled the blindfold away.

"Happy Birthday Itachi"

What Itachi saw made him gasp.

There, sitting in the clearing of the forest was a small picnic set for two. It had all of Itachi's favorite foods and desserts set up. There was even a small cake that said 'Happy Birthday' on it.

This reminded him of a time from before he killed his clan.

/

Flash back.

"Come on, Itachi! Move it!"

Itachi resisted a groan as Mikomi shoved him somewhere. He really didn't know where since Mikomi had the balls to blindfold him and place a chakra seal on it so he wouldn't rip it off.

Mikomi had been acting really strange this week. She had been a little too secretive and always avoided him whenever he tried to talk to her.

He asked Yumi if she knew what was up, but she kept her lips sealed.

Women were so troublesome.

Mikomi giggled when Itachi tripped over a root that was sticking out and had to help so he wouldn't fall.

"Where the hell are you taking me?" he asked.

"You're not going to kill me or anything, are you?"

Mikomi just laughed.

"As if" she said.

"If I tried to kill you, you would just beat me up then kill me for even trying to attempt something so stupid"

Itachi rolled his eyes from behind the blindfold.

"Well, at least you're not that stupid" he said.

Mikomi sweat dropped.

"Gee, thanks" she said sarcastically.

When they got further into the forest, Mikomi stopped.

"Ok Itachi, are you ready for your birthday surprise?" she asked.

Itachi cringed.

"Since it's coming from you, not really" he joked.

"But I guess I have no choice"

"You damn right, you don't" she said.

"I've been working on this all week, so you're going to like it"

Itachi sighed. Sometimes he hated Mikomi's no nonsense attitude. It always gave him a headache.

Mikomi undid the seal on his blindfold.

"Ok Itachi, here's your big Birthday surprise" she said.

She ripped the blindfold off and presented her present.

"Happy Birthday!"

Itachi gasped when he saw the Mikomi prepared a huge picnic with his favorite foods and sweets.

Yumi laughed a little at her spot when she saw her boyfriend's reaction.

"Wow, Mikomi. I think you did the impossible" she said.

"You made the great Itachi Uchiha surprised"

Mikomi pumped her fist into the air.

"Yes!" she cheered.

"I won the bet with Yuri!"

Itachi sweat dropped at his friend's enthusiasm. Was it really that big of a deal that he was surprised?

Mikomi laughed and pushed him towards the picnic.

"So, what do you think?" she asked.

"I tried to figure out what you would like for your birthday, but since you hate talking about yourself, I thought a picnic would work. I spent this whole week trying to find your favorite foods since I can't cook to save my own life. But I did make the cake though. It's kind of funny that I can make sweets, but not actual food. It's like a ninja knowing how to fight, but he sucks at it"

Itachi smirked slightly when Mikomi kept talking non-stop. She always did this when she was really excited or upset about something.

Yumi laughed a little as she handed Itachi a plate of rice balls.

"You should have seen her when she asked me what you liked to eat" she said.

"She was like a kid on Christmas"

Mikomi stuck her tongue out at her and ate some dumplings.

"Hey! You're the only who he talks to, so you were my only hope! Hell, it was even hard to figure out what kind of flavor I should make for his cake!"

Yumi sighed waved her off in a joking matter and sipped on her fruit drink.

"I'm only teasing" she said.

"I thought it was really sweet that you wanted to do this for him"

Mikomi smiled as she shrugged.

"Hey, you two are my closet friends and still hang out with me, even though I'm a Jinchuriki" she said.

"And since you still celebrate my birthday, I wanted to do the same for you"

Itachi smiled as he ate a piece of shushi.

"This was really sweet of you, Mikomi" he said.

"Thank you"

Mikomi nodded.

"I thought it was better than having a formal, crappy dinner with your family" she said.

"Plus, you get cake!"

Itachi laughed a little.

"Yes, I can see that"

They talked about random things as they ate. All of them enjoyed each other's company and loving the fact that they could actually be normal teenagers and not have to worry about being ninjas or doing missions.

Itachi had to admit that Mikomi made a nice cake. She wouldn't be considered a five star chef, but it was still good considering it was her.

"I hope you had a good birthday, Itachi" Mikomi said.

Itachi nodded as he smiled softly.

"I did" he said.

"And I think this was one of the greatest gifts that I've ever gotten"

Mikomi smiled at that.

"Well, that's my job and I'm sticking to it!" she said.

"Anything to make my friends happy"

/

Yumi gave Itachi a gentle look when she saw his expression.

"I wanted to give you something that reminded you of the good old days" she said.

"Back when none of this madness was happening and when the clan wasn't killed"

Itachi took a step forward and looked at the picnic. It looked just like it did on that day. All the food and was set the same way. Even the cake looked the same. Yumi must have worked really hard to make it look perfect and exactly right.

He looked at her softly. He would never show this side of him to anyone but her. She knew what he was really like and why he had to act the way that he did. She was his sanity in this world of war and bloodshed.

Yumi went up to him and cupped his face within her hands.

"I hope you like your present" she said.

"I just wanted to show how much you mean to me and how grateful that you were born"

Itachi closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Thank you, Yumi" he said.

"Even though I don't feel I deserve to celebrate my birthday, at least I know that there's someone out there who finds my life important"

Yumi smirked and pecked him on the lips.

"How about we eat some cake?" she suggested.

"It may not be like Mikomi's, but I'm sure it's just as good"

Itachi chuckled a little.

"Sounds like a plan"

With that, they sat down by the picnic blanket and ate the small cake.

It was a nice reminder for Itachi. Even though he really didn't enjoy his birthday, he was glad that he had someone who was happy that he was alive.

And even though he may have lost a few friends because of his actions, he could still hold onto the memories that they made.

Because that was the greatest gift he could ever ask for.

/

A/N: I know that I did Itachi's birthday for Yumi's birthday gift, but I promised her that I would do this chapter. And since I didn't have time to post it on Itachi's actual birthday, I thought I would make it as Yumi's gift.

I hoped that you all enjoyed it.

Please review and tell me what you think.

Happy Birthday Yumi!

Ja ne!