-Mikoto-

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It was a very nice night. Mikoto had made one of her favorite meals for dinner, and was delighted when Sasuke brought Naruto home. This was becoming a common occurrence, and Naruto always livened up the dinner table. He had quite the talent for bringing both of Mikoto's boys out of their shells, and he always enjoyed the food Mikoto prepared. He was a little lacking in manners and tact, but that was nothing that they couldn't fix. Shisui was actually doing a good job of teaching Naruto why manners could be useful, so he was paying attention to how Mikoto and Itachi acted. It was a little slow, but he was learning, and that was the important thing.

Naruto always brought interesting conversation with him. He had a very unique perspective on life; chakra in particular. Mikoto certainly had her suspicions as to who "Fuzzy" was, but it seemed like he wasn't doing any harm. And far be it from her to take the opportunity to hear the perspective of a millennia-old being. Fugaku seemed to share the sentiment, even if he was a bit more wary.

As conversation naturally drifted toward the newly started Academy school year, Mikoto marveled at the way the children had grown. Only seven years ago, Sasuke had been a newborn bundle in her arms! And now look at him. Mikoto's adorable son is growing so fast.

Come to think of it, isn't Naruto around the same age as Sasuke? He was born on the day the Kyuubi attacked, and it's nearing the end of September…

"Naruto, isn't your birthday coming up?"

Naruto paused and blinked at the sudden change in topic.

"I guess?"

"Well, do you have any plans?'

"Um, not really. Maybe I'll go get ramen? Old Man Teuchi's always cool to hang around."

Mikoto probably shouldn't be surprised, but she couldn't help but be horrified. Such a sweet, optimistic child, and he didn't even consider a birthday party? So what if he's a Jinchuuriki, clearly he and the Kyuubi are not the same thing, and he should have the same childhood experiences as any other normal child. Mikoto quickly made up her mind. Her husband wouldn't mind; he was trying to build an alliance with Naruto anyway.

"How about we give you a birthday party, then?"

Naruto immediately went wide-eyed. He spluttered a bit, clearly surprised and a bit overwhelmed at the idea. Odd. Mikoto was under the impression that he liked to be the center of attention, although it did make sense that a party dedicated to him would be a bit overwhelming. No matter. A small party is acceptable.

"It can be a small party, if you want. Just a few people. But it would be nice to have people to celebrate with, wouldn't it?"

Naruto ducked his head shyly, and Mikoto knew she had him.

She spent the rest of dinner teasing out Naruto's preferences for things like food and decorations, and wasted no time in going shopping for supplies the next day.

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-Naruto-

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This was even more scary than Sasuke's party! Naruto probably shouldn't be nervous, but he's never had a party before! Is he supposed to dress up? He was fine going in normal clothes at Sasuke's party, but this is his party. Is the birthday boy supposed to do something special? Does he need to be worried about manners? Those are so annoying though! Naruto gets that they're good to know, but they're such a pain! But he doesn't want to make Sasuke's mom mad! She's being so nice, and Naruto doesn't want to mess it up.

A little nudge from an annoyed fox that he summoned as emotional support drew Naruto out of his head back into reality. He hadn't left his apartment yet, and he was already freaking out! Naruto groaned. He went to Sasuke's house all the time. Why did it have to be so hard today?

Naruto jumped as someone knocked on the door. He scrambled to get something other than his pajamas on, and ran to get it. Shisui didn't bother waiting for an invitation (Naruto wouldn't care if he opened the door) and marched right.

"Hey birthday boy! Figured you wouldn't mind going to your party in style, so I came to pick you up!"

"In style?"

And that was how Naruto found himself whooping with joy as Shisui carried him piggyback all the way to the Uchiha compound. Sure, Naruto could escape from ninja easy, but he wasn't near as fast as Shisui. Naruto quickly decided he wanted to be a very fast ninja, so he could feel like he was flying all the time.

Shisui dumped him unceremoniously in the family garden. Naruto spluttered at the rough treatment, but was more than eager to forget it in favor of enjoying all the ramen (so much ramen!) that Sasuke promptly shoved in his face.

The presents were awesome. Fugaku gave Naruto his first set of really nice kunai, with a maintenance kit and instructions on how to keep them nice! And Hinata gave him some touch-me-not flowers (they explode seeds when you touch them!). And Sasuke gave him a sketchbook! (It'll help with your lame handwriting, loser.)

No one seemed to understand why Shisui gave Naruto a bunch of syrup, but Naruto was more than happy to recreate his first prank for Shisui's viewing pleasure. Later, of course. Naruto didn't want to pay Sasuke's family back by pranking them, after all!

And by the time Shisui had brought Naruto home, a little book was laying innocently on Naruto's pillow.

Naruto opened it curiously to see the names Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki on the inside cover, and happily settled down to read Tales of a Gutsy Ninja for the first time.

Maybe that pervert wasn't so worthless after all.

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A/N - as much as I like to torture Jiraiya, the joke's kind of getting old. And I do happen to like him, I just think he needs to be knocked down a few pegs every once in a while. Plus, I can make a lot of fluff if I give Naruto his sort-of grandpa/father figure earlier than in canon. Jiraiya's still not getting anywhere near Naruto's belly, though.