Surprise Birthday Date || Mainly CR || Aphro MIGHT come later.

[ninjainviolet]

Put on something nice and meet me on the roof.

That's all the note she found slipped under her door had on it--along with the time to meet. When she looked out into the hall, she didn't see anyone, or hear anyone moving away. She closed the door and leaned against it, debating what she should do. She didn't think someone who would want to do her

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[ninjainviolet]

Naruto had been hiding behind the door when she opened it, and she had been so taken with the scene before her that she hadn't even sensed his presence before he made it known to her. She felt her jaw drop when she saw who was responsible for this, and she was momentarily left speechless. Although the shuriken on top of the cake should have been a good clue.

Her eyes wide with wonder, she walked slowly past him, taking everything in. She had made a promise to him on his birthday that when she figured out when hers was according to whatever calendar the hotel used, she'd share it with him. Before she had a chance to do so, he had gone ahead and done this.

They barely knew each other, and he had done this for her.

She was literally choked with emotion as she turned slowly back to him. Birthday or not, this was a date she would remember and would love to share with him again. Their own special shared birthday. No one had ever done anything like this for her before, and she truly didn't know what to say. Except for the obvious.

"Thank you, Naruto," she said softly.

Nice clone intro. :D

[ninjainviolet]

They should compare notes one day to see who was the more overprotective. More than likely, it would end in a tie. She was as fiercely loyal to her friends as he was--to the point that her own problems (and life) weren't as important as theirs. She hated to see anyone suffer and would go to great lengths to prevent that from happening.

Right now, however, no one was suffering, and no one was going to bother them. That's right--"them". Even without knowing just what he went through to make all this happen, there was no way she was going to kick him out. It wouldn't have been right--or fair. This was his night, too. "You've done more than you know, Naruto." She took his hand and led him over to the roof's edge to look at the lit garden below. "I want you to stay and enjoy it with me. Please." She was growing fond of the blond ninja, and her grip tightened reflexively around his hand, encouraging him to say yes.

And that grip grew from encouragement to shock when she saw a platoon of Narutos enter. She had been here for a long time and knew about the doubles here, but she never knew anyone to go out and gather their look-alikes before. She watched in stunned silence as they busied themselves with the finishing touches. Inspired by a cheesy romance novel or not, it was perfect for their date. Sheena glanced from "her" Naruto to the other as he came closer, wonder in her eyes. Her mouth opened briefly in surprise at the compliment from the stranger--given as though he knew her--before a nervous smile touched her lips. Naruto must have told him to say that.

"Th-Thanks," she stuttered. She looked at the Naruto whose hand she still held. "How did you get the other residents in on this?" she asked, curious.

[ninjainviolet]

He should feel good about it, and he deserved to feel proud. He was kind to her, just to be kind. He wasn't doing it for any type of reward in mind, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to give him one. He had earned it.

Her confusion deepened, and she blinked in surprise when the Naruto in front of her vanished. "Shadow Clone?" She looked at the remaining Narutos still standing in line and shook her head. "We have nothing like that on my world." Her voice was quiet with awe as she realized just what he had accomplished at such a young age. Exact copies of him--with the same abilities and powers he had. Another thought started to rear its head, but she pushed it aside. She'd ask him that question later.

But she did blush harder when she realized just who the compliment really came from. "I guess I should thank you for what he said," she said shyly, feeling as though she thanked the wrong person.

"Wait a second." She did have another question to ask him. "You can copy yourself and have each of them learn something different in training?" She was a little jealous if that was true. Although, she wasn't sure if she'd want to experience the exhaustion from multiple training sessions all at once. Not to mention the bruising and stiffness. Although, it was a technique perfect for her village of information-gatherers.

She shook her head in wonder. Even though he didn't explain it all to her, she had a pretty good idea what making exact copies of himself required. "No, Naruto, that's not cool. That's pretty amazing." And she leaned over and quickly kissed a whiskered cheek.

[ninjainviolet]

Now, she really blushed. Sheena wasn't very good at taking compliments--true or not. She had always felt she wasn't worth them, but she always tried to give them in return, and although they were always sincere, she always managed to sound silly when she gave them. "Yes, I do. It's only polite." She stopped suddenly, already sounding stupid, then continued in a rush. "You look good, too, Naruto." I like the suit...

She tilted her head. "Your chakra's element's wind? I would think with how warm it was it would be fire." He was mentioning elements--she was in hers (so to speak), and she felt confident about this part of their discussion. Since her world was full of elves and half-elves, finding users of elemental magic wasn't exactly rare, although she was the only person who could summon the Elemental Spirits. Which reminded her. "You said you could summon a Toad? Is that the Spirit of Wind on your world?" Although, as a toad, she would think it would be more like a water Spirit--unless it had something to do with jumping.

"That's something I can use at home. My people gather information for the King and more can be done if we had that technique." And not just for learning about their enemies, but to keep up with the effects the new world was having on people and find new sources of knowledge about the old world.

She lifted a hand to cover the one he had one his cheek. "And I wanted to celebrate with you, remember?" she asked softly. "So, I'm glad you stayed."

She turned and looked at the table, a large grin spreading across her face. She recognized it as a return gesture for her gift on his birthday. She looked at him. "Did you make it?"

[ninjainviolet]

Sheena could relate to being insulted. After all, she was responsible for the deaths of a quarter of her people. It didn't matter that she was only seven, or that no one knew Volt's language. She was the only one with the right to make the pact and should have known instinctively what to do. Twelve years later, she had someone who could understand the Spirit, but that didn't help prevent the tragedy....

She tore her thoughts away from those depressing ones and focused on Naruto. This was a celebration, wasn't it? There was no room for depression. She looked at the tie and reached up, pretending to straighten it. "I think it looks very good on you," she said sincerely. On her world, she was used to more elaborate formal clothing than what she has seen around the hotel, and she discovered that elegance didn't always have to mean more.

She dropped her hand as she thought about his explanation and nodded. "That makes sense. The different Spirits reside where the majority of there element is, so why not people, too?" She wouldn't classify Celsius as having dark intentions, even though she was the Spirit of Ice. She wouldn't even say Shadow did, either--and he was darkness personified. She tilted her head. "There aren't too many who aren't ninjas in my village. How about yours?" She wasn't the only woman who had been trained to fight, but she was the only one who was sent out of the village.

"How are you going to stop a war by yourself?" Lloyd couldn't have done what he did without the help of the others. She looked over at the Narutos still standing there. Oh. If he could make a lot of copies of himself, and all of them could summon--or even a part of them summoned while the others fought.... But wait, he experienced everything they did, so if something happened to them.... She had to think about that some more since she had a feeling the real way was a way she didn't want to hear.

She looked out across the roof when a small breeze blew by. "I can summon mine anywhere. They can adjust their size depending on where they appear--although their normal size can be quite big." She sat across from him and nodded. "I'll summon one sometime and show you. Just name an element."

She tried not to chuckle at his description of what happened, but she did give him an understanding smile. "Yeah, same thing with me when I first made curry." She leaned forward eagerly. "So, did you taste it?"

[ninjainviolet]

"Sounds a little like mine," Sheena said. "Actually, a lot like mine. I guess it has to be that way if we want to remain a hidden village. And if we need something from another city, we go get it since nor traveling merchants come our way." Her smile dampened a little. "Ours is the only ninja village in the world." Even after recombining the two worlds. She sometimes wondered if that would still be true if she hadn't failed at the age of seven.

"Yeah, that's what happened on my world 4000 years ago. That's when Mithos split the world in two--to stop the fighting." She paused a moment, thinking how much Naruto sounded like Mithos in his intentions, but there was just something that told her things were different where this particular blond was concerned. Call it women's intuition or her ninja instincts, but she knew he wasn't being completely honest with her. It had to do with those jinchuuriki--whatever that was--since he stopped talking abruptly after mentioning them.

She was nosy, she was curious, she was dying to know what it was, but she backed away from it for now. Tonight wasn't the time and where they were wasn't the place. If he wanted to tell her, he would. Of that, she was confident. And if he didn't, she'd just smack him in the head until he did. He defied logic with determination, and she could just sometimes be defiant and pushy determined.

"You sound like me," she said softly, finally giving voice to thoughts she had had about him for a long time. "Willing to do whatever it takes to protect the people you care about. And even those you don't know." She lifted her eyes to the stars for a long moment before returning to lock with his. "That's the pact I made with the Spirits--to protect others--so expect me to worry about you. Even when you tell me not to." She leaned closer and whispered, "Which only makes me worry more..." Simply because she was the same way.

She leaned back into her seat and shot him both a look and a napkin at his underhanded compliment about the curry. Chuckling, she retrieved the napkin, acting as though she was going to knock over his ramen. After a moment, she calmly sat back with her napkin on her lap and gazed at him with that gleam growing in her eyes for a few seconds.

Right before she stuck her tongue out at him.

[ninjainviolet]

For the longest time after the original events with Volt, Sheena felt she shouldn't even be alive--that her grandfather should have just left her where he found her, leaving her in the forest to die. If he had done so, then none of the villagers--including Kuchinawa and Orochi's parents--wouldn't have died, her grandpa wouldn't have been in a coma all those years, and Corrine... Well, Corrine probably would never have been created without a summoner existing in the first place. And if he hadn't been created, he never would have died. (Although, if she had died, they never would have discovered the truth about the planets, or have the means to unite the worlds since no one but her had the right to make the pacts with the Spirits.)

So, with the feeling that she didn't think her life was worth anything, she had no problems in offering it up while protecting others. Thanks to Lloyd, however, she knew that all life was precious--including hers--but that didn't stop her from protecting others. She just did it in a less reckless manner. Sort of.

So, like him, she had finally come to terms with who she was, thanks to a friend, but she did still have some rough spots when it came to asking others for help. She had to actually be on the verge of death at times to ask for it, but she was getting better. She smiled as he squeezed her hand. "You realize we're probably going to be butting heads about this whole protecting thing, right?" she chuckled.

Her chuckle turned into a full laugh as he poked her, and she returned it with a few pokes of her own. "You're right," she agreed, grabbing his ramen and pulling it slowly towards her.

[ninjainviolet]

He didn't have to make the joke--it was already floating around Sheena's head. And to prevent herself from blurting it out anyway, she diverted her attention to her attempt to take his dinner, chuckling lightly as he began to panic. "You can have my curry," she teased, making no effort to stop what she was doing. Until he mentioned the word "date".

He didn't realize he had said the word, but Sheena did. Her attempt to steal his ramen halted and she stared at him. He had said he liked her a lot, and she liked him a lot, too, but she was afraid to use the word "date", thinking it might change things between them.

But now, here it was, out in the open, spoken in error, but revealing the truth.

"Do you want to call this a date?" she asked, a soft note of hope in her voice that yes, he did want it to be like that. "Because I like you a lot, too, Naruto."