Chapter 15 Attack! Shikamaru's Birthday
"Shikamaru! Shikamaru!"
Haruko stood at the Nara family's door and knocked. She wouldn't normally be so flamboyant, but today was a special day, and she wanted to be the first person to say those words to Nara Shikamaru.
"It's Haruko! Come in, come in!" Nara's mother opened the door and her expression softened considerably when she saw Haruko.
She really loved Meiling's child; he was cute and had a sweet tongue. How come she gave birth to a brat herself?
"Auntie, is Shikamaru still not up?"
"Yeah, he's still in bed so early in the morning, I can't stand him," Nara's mother complained, rubbing her face.
"Thank you, Auntie! I'm going to find Shikamaru now!"
Having received a positive answer, he didn't have time to think about anything else. After thanking her, he hurriedly went inside and rushed towards Nara Shikamaru's room as fast as he could, avoiding Nara's mother's gaze.
"Shikamaru! Shikamaru!"
“…Huh?” Nara Shikamaru’s faint voice came from the room, clearly still asleep in bed.
"Shikamaru! Open the door! It's extremely urgent!"
Haruko heard tinkling sounds coming from inside the room, which eventually subsided and were replaced by increasingly clear footsteps.
Kara—
The door opened.
"What are you doing..." Nara Shikamaru's still dazed voice was interrupted by Hayama Haruko's actions.
"Happy birthday, Shikamaru!" Haruko Hayama exclaimed excitedly as she rushed over and gave him a big hug.
"!!!"
Nara Shikamaru was so shocked that his sleepy eyes widened instantly. He was a little confused and just stood there, stunned.
He could clearly feel the warmth and softness of being enveloped by Haruko Hayama's body, and could even smell the faint fragrance wafting from her hair. His hands and waist were also held by Haruko Hayama, which made him feel fortunate, otherwise he wouldn't know where to put his hands.
Haruko hugged him and rubbed against him a few times before raising her head and looking at him with bright, sparkling eyes.
"Shikamaru, I rushed over first thing this morning! Am I the first person to wish you a happy birthday?"
Nara Shikamaru understood what she meant and resumed his usual carefree demeanor, but his eyes were filled with tenderness.
"What a nuisance! I can't think of anyone else who would bother me so early in the morning but you."
"That's good. I even made up an excuse to have Naruto come back in five minutes, just in case I wasn't the first person to wish you a happy birthday!"
Haruko silently apologized in her heart to the clear-headed yet foolish golden retriever.
"Huh? That idiot Naruto actually got fooled by a moron?" Nara Shikamaru said in surprise.
"Huh?!" Haruko felt that her good intentions had been subtly insulted, and gave him a death stare. "I'll let it go since it's your birthday today."
Feeling a bit guilty, Nara Shikamaru chimed in, "Okay, okay, it's my fault. You can go out now."
"Why?" Haruko asked, her grip on his arm tightening.
"Do you want to see me change clothes?" Nara Shikamaru teased mischievously, "If it were Haruko, it wouldn't be out of the question..."
"I won't look!" Upon hearing this, Haruko immediately let go of him, quickly backed out, and thoughtfully closed the door behind her.
Nara Shikamaru, who was turned away in the opposite direction: Why do I feel like I'm being disliked?
Nara Shikamaru went to the wardrobe to change into his usual clothes, but paused for a moment in mid-air when he picked them up.
That idiot... It seems he even changed into a new outfit today. He always says things like, "Although the dress is pretty, it's not convenient for moving around," but I didn't expect him to actually wear a dress today.
"How about... I change into a new outfit today?"
Nara Shikamaru's mutterings echoed in the quiet room. After standing there for a few seconds, his face flushed red, and he slammed the closet shut as if trying to cover up his mistake, then put on his usual clothes.
The room returned to silence, with only someone silently churning within.
When Nara Shikamaru finally emerged from the room, he was still wearing new clothes. Although he had calmed down before peeking out, his ears were still bright red.
"Shikamaru, happy birthday!" Naruto Uzumaki ran up to him as soon as he saw him in the living room, put his arm around his neck, and jokingly gave him his birthday wishes.
"Let go! Let go! I'm suffocating!" Nara Shikamaru kept slapping the Death Hand that was pressed against his neck.
Naruto quickly let go, scratching his head and grinning foolishly, "I'm just so happy, hahaha!"
"Naruto prepared a gift for you!" Haruko Hayama couldn't contain her excitement and even wanted to tell him directly what it was.
Nara Shikamaru guessed, "Could it be that he went to get it five minutes later?"
"Huh? How did you know?" Naruto Uzumaki asked in shock.
Could it be that Shikamaru has mastered some kind of precognitive ninjutsu?
Nara Shikamaru glanced silently at Hayama Haruko, whose face was filled with guilt, and chose to change the subject for her, "So what is it?"
"Surprise!" Naruto Uzumaki took out a hidden cake box from behind Haruko Hayama and handed it to Shikamaru Nara.
The cake box is packaged in a light green forest with a crayon-like feel, decorated with a few small flowers, exuding a tranquil yet lively atmosphere.
"We looked at different designs for ages without finding one we liked. Then one day Naruto complimented my drawing, and I thought I could use my drawing to commission a cake!" Haruko excitedly told him. "This one really captures Shikamaru's personality, right? I drew so many before finally choosing this one!"
"This lively little flower doesn't match my temperament at all..." Nara Shikamaru complained on the surface, but his hand eagerly took the cake box.
In the past, when it was his birthday, his parents and Choji would usually just offer verbal blessings, give him some gifts, and then have a big dinner in the evening, and that would be it.
Although it's not much different from now, and even seems quite troublesome, but...
This was the first time he had looked forward to his birthday so much since morning.
Naruto was racking his brains trying to figure out what gift to give, when his strategist Haruko Hayama kindly suggested: "You can always give a cake that won't go wrong."
Naruto was initially energized by her suggestion, but then he started racking his brains again about what cake to send.
Haruko Hayama: ...Do you really want to give him a gift?
But when faced with the innocent blue glass eyes of the golden retriever, Haruko Hayama deeply reflected on her actions and contributed her own design to him. Naruto Uzumaki handled all the other tasks, including selection, purchasing, supervision, and errands.
"Fresh cake tastes best, so Naruto should go get it in the morning!"
Haruko Hayama's Sincere Motion.JPG
Naruto Uzumaki, unable to process what was happening, chose to unconditionally trust his best friend. As a result, he not only accepted Haruko Hayama's advice but was also tricked into going to pick up the cake early in the morning, causing him to arrive five minutes later than her.
The cunning child, Haruko Hayama: Yay!
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