Xiao Lu: Here's another one of my birthday stories! I unfortunately missed Shino's, and then I had a soccer tournament during TenTen's, so I couldn't do theirs, but here's Sakura's! I sort've like the way this turned out, and although I'm horrible at romance (I don't like putting it in my stories), it leaned towards the SasuSaku side. Don't worry - this isn't all romantic lovey-dovey stuff. Well, before I go on with rambling, I'll leave ya'll to do as you please. Peace, Mahalo, and Zai Jian! Please review!

…:Falling:…

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Naruto had awoken to the unfamiliar sound of his alarm clock, startling him to the point that he fell off of his bed, tangled in his midnight blankets. He rubbed his face groggily, mumbling obscenities beneath his breath. He was still trying to remember why he had turned on his alarm clock – he never did that! Getting up, he made his way to the calendar that was posted on his bland wall.

Pictures of ramen, ramen meeting dates, and training session rendezvous had filled up the little squares. However, one square stood out quite lavishly, decorated with hearts, stars, and big red letters that said: 'SAKURA'S BIRTHDAY!'

"Yeah!" exclaimed Naruto, shooting his fist into the air. "Sakura-chan's birthday!"

Losing his balance quickly, however, he fell to the floor.

--

Sasuke, on the other side of Konoha, awoke to nothing. His mind was his own alarm clock – everyday, he would wake up at the same time, with the same routine, and the same mutual facial expression. Today was different, however. He was confused. The Uchiha was confused.

"Something's . . . not . . . right," he said cautiously to himself. His charcoal eyes scanned the room for a chakra presence, or something out of place, or even a walking bowl of ramen that signified Naruto's insanity to the maximum. They rested on a small, rectangular calendar besides his vanity mirror. Wondering what could possibly have him this alerted in the morning, he walked stiffly to it.

His eyes grew wide. There, besides all of the squares with 'Train to kill brother for vengeance' scrawled into them . . . in small, plain, black, barely noticeable letters, were the words: 'Sakura's Birthday.' Giving a loud sigh of exasperation and running a hand through his unruly morning hair, he turned to walk away.

Stumbling over an unnoticeable splinter of wood, however, he fell to the floor.

--

Sakura was skipping around the house, singing her own home-made song. She hummed a few verses, unable to come up with lyrics as she made her way to the kitchen. Her mother had left early in the morning unexpectedly, but Sakura thought she had a pretty good idea of why.

Today was her birthday.

Skipping into the sun-filled kitchen, she immediately jumped onto the middle counter and grabbed a packet of sugar, downing it completely. Since 4:30 in the morning, she had been getting high off of sugar, cherry blossom incense, and cookies, completely forgetting her idea of a diet. She was as hyper as a four-year-old going through a Hershey's chocolate factory.

She sighed, wiping the sugar off of her face, and looked around. Since she had awoken, she was thinking about everything . . . about how many socks, sweaters, and other articles of clothing she would receive from various family members, about what different kinds of cake she would eat . . . about Sasuke and Naruto. Deciding that they would come when they were ready, she sat down to watch television, enjoying another packet of sugar.

Tripping over a discarded shoe, however, she fell to the floor.

--

"Dobe! Dobe, open up!" said Sasuke impatiently, rasping on Naruto's apartment door. He was fully dressed and scowling, thinking about how sugar high Sakura would be when he and Naruto met her. Naruto showed up, giddy, bouncing, and full of laughter. He smiled, inviting Sasuke in.

"Do you know what day it is?!" he exclaimed, rushing to the kitchen.

Sasuke walked in cautiously, closing the door behind him. He had to step around clothes, discarded ramen boxes, and growing things that seemed to bubble like acid.

"No, I just come here on a daily basis for the hell of it," said Sasuke sarcastically.

"Sakura-chan! It's Sakura-chan's birthday!" he called from the kitchen.

Sasuke resisted the urge to whack him over the head.

He entered the kitchen, finding Naruto cracking eggs over a bowl. The dobe was doing it all wrong . . . he was putting the shells in with the egg! The kitchen was a mess with flour, dough, and egg yolk.

"Dobe, what are you doing?!" Sasuke demanded, stopping him from going any further with a whisk.

"I'm making a cake! We're going to plan a surprise party, remember?"

"Dobe, that is not how you make a cake . . . Put the knife down!"

Naruto pouted, letting himself get pushed from the counter by Sasuke.

"You sit down, I'll make the cake, got it? The presents we made are in my backpack – get them out and wrap them."

"Like you can do any better with baking . . ." mumbled Naruto, exiting the kitchen. Turning back to Sasuke, he said, "We're still going to have the picnic, right?"

Sasuke nodded.

"And we're still going to have the special entrance, right?"

"You mean, you're going to have the special entrance."

"Right?"

"Right."

Sasuke rolled up his sleeves, preparing all of the ingredients, and got to work. All he needed was the whisk.

Slipping on excess yolk, however, he fell to the floor.

--

Sakura looked up at the clock, sighing. No one had come yet. It was four o'clock and no one had called, no one had knocked, no one had even given any notice that it was her birthday! Were they mad?! There was still no word from Sasuke or Naruto, which worried her a bit. She didn't think that they were that careless!

Deciding that it was now or never, she put on her shoes and strode over to the door.

Knock, knock, knock.

Curious at who was first to acknowledge her today, she opened the door. Naruto's bright smile greeted her, flashing from the bright sunlight in the distance.

"Sakura-chan!" he greeted, enveloping her in a hug. She let him do so, knowing that this was the only time she would probably allow her. Today was her day to let loose.

"Naruto," she said when he pulled away, "there's flour all over your hair!"

"Don't ask," he said as he took her hand and pulled her away. Sakura closed the door behind her just in time before she was practically dragged from her house. "I want you to see something!"

"Where's Sasuke?" she asked.

"Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke, is that all you ever ask for?" he said, but Sakura noticed his grin. She decided to say nothing of it.

Naruto continued to lead her towards a rarely-used garden, furthest north in Konoha. He and Sasuke had discovered it one day after one of their heated quarrels had led them to race against each other, leading them to the garden. They had been amazed by it ever since.

Sasuke was standing beneath a large tree when Naruto had come in with Sakura. His hands were behind his back, solider-like, and he gave a nod of recognition towards Naruto. "Sakura," he said, "you can take off your blindfold."

Sakura smiled sincerely at the sound of Sasuke's many voice and brought her hands up to undo the blindfold. When she raised her head and opened her peridot eyes, she gasped in awe.

The lush vegetation of the small-sized garden was covered in dew, glistening from the sun's rays overhead. The garden itself was barricaded by pearl-white walls on all sides – Naruto had led her through the only opening. In the middle, where Sasuke stood, was a large cherry blossom tree. Its branches reached so low to the ground that if there was anything behind it, it was hidden. Sasuke was smirking while Naruto was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Do you like it?" he kept repeating, clapping his hands together.

Sakura was at lost for words.

"There's more," said Sasuke. He moved forward and grabbed Sakura's hand in his own, leading her to the cherry blossom tree.

"Oh my gosh!" thought Sakura. "Sasuke-kun is holding my hand! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! This isn't a dream!"

Inner Sakura immediately appeared, giving a sly smirk and a thumbs-up. "Shannaro!" she exclaimed.

Naruto moved ahead of them and lifted up the branches of the tree. Lone, pink petals fell to the ground, but Sakura gasped once more in awe at the sight in front of her.

It was another part of the garden, hidden behind the tree. Except this side was decorated lavishly. In the middle of the greenery was a large blanket laid out, checkered with red, pink, and white. Atop it lay a single woven basket in the middle of finely-baked and delicate-looking desserts. From frosted cupcakes to double-chocolate chip cookies, it was all there. The highlight of the entire blanket was the cake. It was frosted with pink (compliments of Naruto) and shaped like a sakura itself. Candy sakura blossoms gave it a border to surround the words: Happy Birthday, Sakura!

Sakura felt tears brim her eyes. It was beautiful! She couldn't believe they had cared this much!

"Wait, wait, wait!" exclaimed Naruto, running to the blanket. Sasuke let go of her hand (to her depression) to walk over to where Naruto was running. He and Naruto picked up three presents – one was poorly wrapped in orange, with the blue bow hanging awkwardly to the side. It was Naruto's. The other two (Sasuke had salvaged and fixed them) were tightly wrapped in blue, the red bows neatly on top of them.

"Happy Birthday, Sakura," they said in unison, handing her the presents.

"I – I don't know what to say!" she stuttered in excitement.

"Just unwrap the presents! Unwrap them!" demanded Naruto in a light, joking tone. She nodded with a smile, tears gone, and took the presents. They sat down on the checkered blanket and Sasuke and Naruto waited patiently as Sakura unwrapped the present (more like the present unwrapped itself).

She smiled.

Inside, whatever the present was, it was protected by a mass amount of ramen coupons that acted as the foam peanuts in large boxes. Beneath it, she pulled out the present delicately. It was a traditional Asian fan. But it wasn't ordinary, either. This one was perfectly hand-crafted, care in every stitch and glue. The sticks that held up the fan were a deep, majestic-like purple. Pink words and decorative nature designs were etched into them in the classic calligraphically way. An ornament of a cherry blossom held the sticks together so that they would open and close with ease. The cloth that was the main point of the fan was a color blend of lavender and salmon. A cliché to her name, Sakura noticed a cherry blossom tree similar to the one in the garden. It was stitched in – possibly taking a minimum of a week and a half to make. She hugged it close to her.

"It's beautiful," she said. "Don't tell me you made it yourself!"

"Okay," said Naruto with a grin, falling silent.

She gasped. "You didn't!"

"I did!"

"He did."

There was complete silence. Sakura had wide eyes. "Let me get this straight . . . you made this?!"

"I only had help from Sasuke a little, but yeah, I made it. It took me a month!" he said, grabbing his toes.

"Open the next one before you get all sentimental," said Sasuke with a smirk.

Sakura gave him a playful swat on the arm and turned to the identical-looking presents. She chose the one on the right first, picking it up and untying it.

Instead of finding ramen coupons, she found a mix of cherry blossom petals and confetti.

"Does everything have to be based on cherry blossoms?" she said, grinning.

"Well, your name does mean cherry blossoms," said Sasuke.

"And it is your birthday," continued Naruto.

"Fine," she said, continuing to take the present. It was longer that Naruto's, but it still made her stare in awe when she picked it up. It was another traditional Asian piece of art – a parasol. The cover for it was wrapped in a pink string so that it was confined, but Sakura undid it. She fingered the varnished wood, knowing immediately that it was mahogany. The handle of it was a deep purple similar to Naruto's fan, and rose-colored designs were also engraved into it. The end of it had yet another cherry blossom, ornamenting it lavishly. But what she loved the most was the top. It complimented Naruto's fan – just like a purse and shoes. She opened it up to reveal a majestic purple on the inside and a salmon overtop. The design on the parasol was a cherry blossom tree (no matter how many times she saw one, she didn't get aggravated at its repetition) swirling in a wind that carried fallen petals. She twirled it around once before closing it and setting it down besides the fan.

"Did Naruto make this for you?" she said jokingly.

"No, I made it. It's supposed to go with the fan," he said. ". . . And something else."

"What? What?! Tell me!" said Sakura excitedly, looking between them.

"Do we have to tell you everything? Open the present, Sakura-chan!" exclaimed Naruto, thrusting it into his hands. Sakura quickly undid this one, her eyes turning wide at the sight when she had practically torn away the layers of lavender felt. She gasped and squealed, clapping her hands together in excitement. She lifted a gown from the box – more specifically, a satin kimono.

"Oh my gosh, it's beautiful!" she squealed, taking it in entirely. The box lay folded in the box, bright pink with a golden rope to match. The kimono was a light magenta, glinting with the light and complimented with designs of rose-colored flowers (looking like cherry blossoms, but a different colors) connected with thin vines of green. Golden flecks were randomly placed upon it, further illuminating the dress with light. White outlined the collar, placing a comfortable plush.

"You bought this, right?!" she said, once again squealing in excitement before hugging it dearly in a death-embrace.

"No," Sasuke flat-out said. "It took us months to make. After training, Naruto and I would get together and design something separately."

"You guys can sow?!" she said, giving them a weird look.

"So what of it?"

"We had help from Temari-chan sometimes," said Naruto, pushing Sasuke with his elbow. "She came over whenever she visited Konoha."

Tears sprang to her eyes immediately. She let them flow freely. If Sasuke wanted to ruin the moment, he would've given a sarcastic comment on how she was going to ruin the dress with her tears, but he stayed silent, watching Sakura cry for a reason he had yet to discover himself.

"Sakura-chan, don't cry!" said Naruto, poking her on the shoulder.

"This – this is wonderful!" she said, her voice slightly muffled from the dress. "I didn't know you guys would – would do this for me!"

"You're our friend! We can't forget you!"

Sakura took Naruto into a strong embracement. "Th-thank you, Naruto!" she cried, sobbing into his shoulder. "Y-you're the b-best friend I could ever have!"

Sasuke frowned and turned away, his arms crossed over his chest. He stared at the pearl walls blankly, ignoring the scene in front of him. It wasn't until he felt something envelope him did he turn. His eyes met a rug on pink hair, then trailed over to Naruto, who was staring dreamily at the cherry blossom tree.

He felts his shirt begin to drench. Sakura was hugging him and crying into his shoulder! It was definitely and awkward moment for him. His hands were hovering above her back, unsure of what to do.

"Thank you, Sasuke!" she said, her sobs slightly ceasing. "I'm never going to forget this!"

She quickly realized what she had done and pulled away.

"Gomen-nasai! I am so sorry, I didn't mean to! I'm so sorry, I'll never do it again, I'll –"

But Sasuke had pulled her back into the embrace, ceasing her ramblings. He rested his chin on the top of her head, holding her close. "Just this once," he said, getting a waft of the apple shampoo she used.

Getting tackled by a laughing Naruto, however, they fell to the floor.