Posted: Sept. 23rd, 2008

Every Year

A/N: This is a one-shot for one amazing Desert(dot)Moon. She is a great writer, and my personal favorite is her story, The Obsession,if you like Gaara-fics, check that out. You won't be sorry. :D Anyway, this is for Abura's Birthday, September 29th. Some of the things mentioned here are my own, because they have not technically taken place in her story. I hope that they don't contradict with Abura-kun's actual past Enjoy :)

Summary: Every year, the same thing happened for his birthday. Maybe there would be a different gift, or a different place, or time, or day, but it was always the same routine.

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the OC's that are in this story, they are all Desert(dot)Moon's. If I owned Naruto there would be a Takara-chan, Eiri-kun, and Abura-kun--with her permission :)

It was his first birthday without his dad, his fifth. Abura's dad had left recently, and Abura missed him dearly. His daddy had sent him a little kunai, nothing much, but since his dad knew that he wanted to be a ninja, it was very special to know that his daddy cared. Even more special than normally. Abura wanted so much to tell his dad all that had happened over the few, long months that he had been gone. He had grown three whole inches! Daddy would be so proud, and Abura could finally say that he was taller than the girls in Suna. Daddy would also be proud that Abura had made his first friend in the village, a small boy named Eiri. Abura would tell his father how Eiri talked really slowly, but was his "bestest" friend ever.

Eiri and Abura got along really well, and Abura figured that they'd be best friends forever. Abura would tell Eiri everything about everything. No matter what happened, Abura knew that they'd be best friends.

On Abura's seventh birthday, he had finally learned how to write clearly, so he wrote to his daddy. His mother knew where Daddy was, so she could send it to him. Abura wrote about how he was almost as tall as the nine-year-old boys, and how he was starting to practice really hard for the ninja Academy. Abura wanted to be able to pass easily when he got in, when he turned eight. Besides, it was fun breaking things. His new ninja bag made it even easier to imagine himself as a ninja. Abura's dad loved him so much.

Daddy was really nice to Abura, sending letters back to him, saying how much he missed his son, and how much he wished he could be there. Abura wanted to tell his daddy about the big cake that Mommy had made for him with yummy icing, and two whole layers! Eiri got to have two pieces, and said that it was the yummiest thing that he had ever, never tasted before. They truly were the best of friends.

Abura's ninth birthday was different. He was long past realizing that his daddy wasn't coming home, and quite frankly, he was tired of the stress. Training was hard enough as it was. Wondering if his dad was coming home just added to the pressure. Soon, he was going to go on a mission with his future team, and he didn't need to be thinking about his dad the entire time. He had to keep his head in the game. All his father sent him this year was a set of shuriken. His second set, of course, the ones his father sent him were of a bit better quality than the ones that the Academy supplied, because these ninja stars were new, unlike the ones the Academy had. Abura just hoped he did a good job on the mission.

It was nice to know that his future team would be with Eiri. What were the chances of that? Next to none, yet it had happened. Abura was ecstatic about his team. The other teammate, Takara-chan, was a bit introverted and seemed to only want to be with Gaara-sama. Whether watching, following, or just day-dreaming about the child-monster. Abura truly wondered what drew her to him. It was very strange.

Today was Abura's tenth birthday, and he was excited. His dad was supposed to come home for the double digits, and Abura couldn't wait. Five years without seeing one's father can be rough. Especially when that one happens to be a growing boy. A growing boy studying to be a ninja. Already he had made sure his room was perfectly clean, and that his bed was made even better than Mom could do. He helped do the dishes and straighten up the living room. Eiri was invited to come over for Abura's celebrations, but Eiri couldn't make it, because he had to go somewhere with his mother.

After many hours of waiting, Abura realized that his father wasn't coming home anytime soon, and when he went to his room, he cried himself to sleep. His mother tried to comfort him. All he did in return was push her away and tell her to leave him alone. She did, but she wasn't very happy about it. The very next day, when he came out of his room, he said one word, "Cheh." This was how his 'bad' habit started.

Whenever anyone asked him a question, he'd either say "Cheh" or put 'his' word at the beginning or end of a sentence. Eiri got somewhat annoyed with it after a while, as did Abura's mother, but they got used to it over the course of the week. "Cheh" was quickly becoming the swooshy-haired boy's catchphrase.

On his eleventh birthday, Abura didn't want to talk to his father, hear from his father, see his father, or take gifts from his father. He didn't want to say how he had a crush on his future teammate, Takara,crazy though that sounded,or how he was really good with fire, and would probably become a specialist with it. Nor did he want to say how he was getting the best grades in class, and was all-around excelling. In Abura's book, his father didn't deserve to know those things. If he did, his father wouldn't have left on a stormy night because of a stupid fight. His father didn't deserve him, and honestly, he truly believed those words. If his father were to walk into his room right then, he would've said his catchphrase, "Cheh." and turned around. He wouldn't have ran and hugged him. Well, maybe he would've, but that was beside the point. It wasn't going to happen anyway, so why hope, when he could just think?

His twelfth birthday came and went; his father didn't come home, and his mother transferred a present from him to Abura. Abura wanted to char it. Badly. Very badly. It was a card with some money inside of it, but he didn't care to spend it. The card apologized for the years that his father hadn't been there, but Abura didn't care. For his mother's sake, he kept the card, and spent the money on a "haircut". She knew that he didn't cut it, but she didn't say anything. She understood his inner conflict over his father, and she was fine with leaving him be. As long as he didn't cut himself. If that started to happen, she would definitely interfere. Abura still liked Takara, but it was fading as he got to know the extent of her obsession with Gaara. She was in denial of the fact that she was practically in love with him, so who was Abura to stand in the way?

Besides, Abura had a slight crush on one of the other Suna girls, and she was a lot less creepy with obsessions and stalking, of all things. Takara may have been his friend, and he supported her (in most ways), but sometimes she just freaked him out. He'd never say that to her face, or anyone else's, though.

Abura didn't even want to be alive for his thirteenth birthday. His best friend was dead, Abura himself doing the burning of the body, and his father sent him shoes. What kind of a father does that? Forgets exactly which month his son's birthday is in, and then he sends shoes, and at such a horrible time in Abura's life, too!

His father was just a-a-a bad person. How could he be so callous? Maybe his father had his own problems, but for God's sake! His son had problems, too, and isn't it the duty of a father to help his children out of bad situations? Cheh, he didn't care anymore. If his father actually wanted him, his father would've at least visited some time over the last...oh, eight years! Apparently his father was too good for him, and who was Abura to argue? Just his son.

Sure, Abura wasn't the best person to judge; he wasn't perfect either, and for all Abura knew, his father didn't know about the...passing...of Eiri. Maybe Abura secretly blamed his father for Eiri's death, as though if his father had been there, then maybe Eiri wouldn't have died. There wasn't a moment that passed that Abura didn't blame himself for the death, but underneath it, there was a certain hatred and mistrust of his father that seemed to make him blame "Daddy" for everything. Even if it was subconsciously.

On Abura's fourteenth birthday, he had finally gotten over his anger at his father. Sure, he was still upset, but it was his belief that if you let anger brew too long, you became no better than the Uchiha kid. It may have been a bad idea to compare himself to the Uchiha boy, but one could never be too sure. Anyway, his father hadn't even bothered to send anything this year, but Abura didn't care. He had gotten even more introverted over time.

Sure, he still talked to Takara, and Chie, but he never talked about Eiri. If the conversation came to that, he would change subjects faster than one could guess. Abura was touchy about subjects containing his past. A year ago, and he had been at least somewhat happy. How does one's life change so much over little more than a year?

On another note, he had finally gotten over Takara, though she was now his best friend, which scared him a bit, because they hadn't been the best of friends over the years. Being on a team together had forced him to be friends with her, but Eiri's...passing...had brought them even closer together. Abura's love for Takara went deeper than husband and wife, or even brother and sister. It was an unspoken, understood bond between two people had lost someone, or people, very close to their hearts. Abura needed a friend as he had gotten over Eiri's death, and the only other person who understood how he felt was Isane, and Isane was a little bit...ummm...outspoken, was that the right word? Abura wasn't sure. He just knew that Isane would be even more depressing to be with, because she had really cared for Eiri. Possibly even more than his teammates had. That truly scared Abura, because he had a hard time getting over the loss after a year, and he was only Eiri's best friend. Who knew what his possible girlfriend must have been going through?

Abura's fifteenth birthday went the same as always: get a cake, have happy birthday sung, get a present from Takara, Isane, his mother, and his father. Go on with his life. He was actually starting to get depressed at the monotony in his life. It was slightly disturbing, how he went day to day, unfeeling, and somewhat uncaring, went home, went to sleep, woke up, and began again. There was never a break in the monotony, and he was very tired of it. So for his fifteenth birthday, he decided to do something special. He went to Konoha to visit his old friends, of course bringing Takara and Isane with him, because they had been his best friends over the last two years, and they had all helped each other get over the...passings...of that dreadful day.

He was surprised to find that some Naruto kid had left for training and the Uchiha kid had...oh wait...he knew that part already. Still, he was amazed at how well people were getting along without two of the most prominent genin of the last few years. Of course, none of them had died, so it was a bit more understandable.

When certain villagers were told who it was, they were pitiful towards the three, because of their loss. Which had happened years ago. And they were all trying to get over. Of course, the ninja in Konoha knew that, but they also knew that one should not show emotion, yet here the Konoha nin were, going on about their business, with a lot more emotion than just about any Suna nin would have the guts to use.

The Konoha residents also wished Takara a happy belated birthday (those who knew of it, which weren't many) and wished Abura a happy birthday (again, those who knew of it.), but they thanked them quietly, and went on, looking at past memories, or as some would say, walking down memory lane.

There were the remnants of the building that Abura had burned that one time! Was that the finished product of the house they were all working on? Were those genin really that short? All of these thoughts and more, went through each of their minds, and over their faces. Unspoken, but entirely understood.

FIN

To Be Continued....