Enoyyyyyyyyy~ XD NEXT UPDATE: 12.12.08

-Junko

Naruto clumsily unlocked the door, excited about his 'date.' He rushed inside and was so stunned when his friends jumped out and yelled "Surprise!!" it took him a minute to gather what was happening. The small group of people surrounded Naruto, pushing presents into his arms. He smiled widely, finally grasping what was going on. The door opened behind him as the group he was previously with walked in. He turned to Koretto. "Did you-?"

"I can't take all the credit," she smiled. She leaned over and gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek. He blushed, and started examining the decorated room. They had broken into his apartment, covering it in streamers and confetti. There was an entire table dedicated to large pots of ramen, still hot, another table was meant for his presents, and the third table held a cake. It had white frosting, brimmed with a light blue border. It said 'NARUTO' in big, orange letters, with a chibi drawing of him under it. Under that was the number 13.

Naruto was so excited; he didn't know what to do. He turned to the crowd, nearly crying, and yelled "Thank You!!" before grabbing a bowl and filling it with ramen. Everyone laughed, and the party began.

Naruto sat on the wooden chair and ripped open the presents, giving a genuine 'thank-you!' or 'Awesome!' to everyone. So far he had received several ramen coupons, exploding kunai, Konoha symbol gloves, a dog tag with his name engraved in it and a fair sum of money.

Koretto approached him, handing over a small box. It held two separately wrapped items. Naruto unwrapped them carefully, not knowing what to expect. He unwrapped the smaller of the two, and at first glance didn't think there was anything inside. Puzzled, he held the wrapping paper vertically, examining it. Something fell out and onto the floor with a small clink. He bent down and carefully picked up the gold chain, and brought it up to his face. It was a little golden locket, and when he opened it, there was a picture of him, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi, different from the one he owned. On the other side was a picture of what he could only guess to be his father, and his mother, her hand resting gently over her big, pregnant stomach. Naruto could feel tears starting to swell up in his eyes. He put the locket down gently and unwrapped the second present.

The second present was also a picture. However, It was much bigger than the one in the locket, and it was in a hospital room. Naruto could see Koretto, kneeling on the right side of the bed, giving the camera a peace sign, her mouth in an 'O' shape. As if she was saying 'dattebayo'. Naruto smiled. She had long black hair, but he knew it was her. Who couldn't tell Koretto from a picture with those eyes of hers? He could tell she was about to cry, but there was this love, this, almost protective nature in her eyes that told him how much she cared. On the left side of the hospital bed was his father, blonde and delighted, tears running down his face. There was a slight quiver in his bottom lip, as if he would start sobbing at any moment. He kneeled there, smiling widely and pointing to the bed. Naruto followed the finger to where it was pointing. The little blonde baby was resting calmly, unaware of the events that were soon to happen. His eyes were closed; the Kyuubi's marks on his face were nonexistent. He had one hand wrapped firmly around his father's finger that wasn't pointing at him. Naruto looked at the tiny hand, and instinctively looked down at his hand. A tear rolled down his cheek, but no one saw. He looked back at the picture. The final person in the shot sat above the others on the hospital bed, cradling the little baby. The woman had reddish hair, and looked terrible, like she had just endured excruciating pain. Her head was sweaty, her hair tied back in a sloppy ponytail. Never the less, she sat there, looking as proud as a queen who had just delivered the savior of the world. She sat, smiling as widely as she could, a genuine, lovely smile. You could hardly notice that she was in pain, and dying. Despite her pain, despite the fact that death was knocking on her door, she smiled.

Naruto couldn't take it. He sobbed shamelessly, and no one blamed him. Living in a world that had virtually hated you since a little while after your death, you rarely saw such love directed to you. Who could possibly criticize the fox boy, who had been lonely his entire life? To know at one point, you had a family who cared so much about, who would do anything for you. The kind of family whose intentions you could, from a loving smile, tell right away. These people loved him. He knew it. And one of them was still here. She had given him the picture. She had almost killed him. But he knew-he knew she loved him, too. And how could he do anything but love her back, despite the problem this morning. She had hurt herself, to try and save him. Not because she would get in trouble. Because she loved him. He bent over, his eyes stinging from salty tears. Koretto could feel that locking feeling like this morning, but she ignored it completely. She wanted to comfort him. She needed to comfort him. She wrapped her arms tightly around him, holding him there for several moments. "You know, they loved you so much." she said. And he did. "It was right before Mom died. But it felt like, in that very moment, everything was perfect; complete," She pointed to herself I the picture. "As they were taking the picture, I couldn't help myself. Everyone had to know. So I yelled 'I have a real family now, dattebayo!'"