I don't own Naruto, nor Watchmen.
Twenty-three chapters written and counting...
"Eddie. Here." Sakumo holds it out. It's round and yellow and has a dopey grin. Eddie stares. Several hundred yards away a dozen Leaf-nin die in a screaming blaze of chakra-enhanced fire. "Happy Sixteenth Birthday."
It's just like the silver-haired bastard to be flippant in the midst of the Second fucking Secret Ninja War. Sakumo Hatake had turned out to be a decent guy after all, at least after the first year of being a genin. Yeah he was a genius, and smug about it, and maybe he had a kind of questionable sense of humor (for instance, he did not get Eddie's jokes), but he worked seamlessly with Eddie, Sally and Shido-sensei as well as with his pack of summon-hounds, and that little trick with the tanto and visibly white chakra was sweet as all get out.
Eddie takes the object and promptly stabs the needle of the pin into the fleshy bit of his thumb. He's been fighting in this war long enough to hone a battle hardened danger-sense. Problem is, once you get used to dodging mines and kunai and ninjutsu-of-widespread-death-and-destruction, you don't notice the little dangers.
He curses, and instinctively sticks the injured digit in his mouth. Pulls it out to inspect the damage, and drips a drop of blood on the smiling surface. It runs down the surface and stops, forming a hand that points at five minutes to midnight. Eddie wipes the thumb off on his pants and pins the badge right over his heart on his black chuunin vest.
"Where'd you get that thing anyway?" He wonders aloud, as earth explodes to the right of them. They cough a little in the ensuing dust cloud before Sakumo answers.
"Off a body. I was restocking." Sakumo's mouth quirks into a little grin.
"God damn." Eddie snickers. "What would you call that? Regifting?"
"Always the comedian, huh."
There's a crunch of rubble to their left. Not the sandals usually favored by ninja, but a high-heeled boot. Eddie knows those boots.
"What did you boys find to giggle about in a place like this?" Sally queries, wearing the battle dust and blood like some geisha wear a fine silk kimono. Eddie grins.
"Sakumo here just gave me my birthday present, Sal." She looks surprised.
"It's your birthday?"
"Yep. The big one-six." Sally's lips purse.
"Oh Eddie. Sorry - I don't have anything for you." He grabs her hand and plants a big, smacking kiss on the back of her glove.
"One date after this is all over, and we're square."
"You know I'm dating Rolf, Eddie." She says with a frown, pulling her hand away.
"Muller?" He snorts, "That boy is gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide."
"Stop it Eddie." She gives him a push, but her eyes are sparkling. "All right. One date."
Fifty yards away a band of enemy-nin are closing in silently. It's a quick transition they make, from playful teenagers to hardened warriors, one they're used to making. They don't know if they'll live to see the next dawn, but they'll die trying to.
Happy Birthday to him.
I know you guys are reading this, please review?
It's not that hard...