"Good morning, hime~"

That smile. And the plums cut neatly on the plate, served just for her. Mako narrowed her eyes. That redhead in his apron sitting on the other end of the dining table must have had something under his sleeves. Nevertheless, she would worry about that later and sat down, taking a bite from the handmade treat.

"Say, did you know what happened when you were out on a mission?"

Mako shook her head in response and continued her breakfast. The other android pouted in disappointment, but quickly replaced it with another smile.

"Okay, I'll give you a clue. What was the date, a week ago?"

"Err…"

She stole a quick glance at the calendar.

"Twelve?"

"Yep! And what day was it, hm?"

Another stealing glance at the calendar.

"Wednesday."

She finished the first slice of the fruit and took another. Mako realized the mischievous smile that was plastered on the male android's face and shivered a bit from it. He really was up to something. And when Namine Ritsu was up to something, it was never good. Well, at least in her opinion. She swallowed her current meal and sighed, pausing to meet the redhead on his one eye. It was as cool as ever. She noticed the blush started to creep up her face and pushed the momentarily thought off. Instead, she scowled.

"Ritsu, what are you getting at?"

"Nothing at all. I was just asking."

"…"

"…"

The awkward silence stretched for a whole minute until Ritsu finally raised his hands in defeat.

"Okay, okay. You got me."

"So?"

"What?"

"Well, what day was it on the 12th of October?"

"It was Wednesday—"

"Ritsu."

"And it was my birthday."

Mako paused and stared at him, dumbfounded. Oh, so that was it? His birthday? She mentally noted the date. Then again, she usually forgot even her own birthday. Maybe she would write it down on the calendar. That mere action would boost his ego, though. So she would do it later without him knowing.

She resumed her breakfast, ignoring the whine from the redhead. What now? Did he want a present too? She thought to herself between munches. Why of course! He was still a six-years old. Mako gave him another glance and saw his eyes lightened in hope. Such a childish behavior… To think that she fell for—no, that was not the problem! Let's return to the matter at hand!

"Happy belated birthday."

She said it as if stating the obvious and snatched another slice of plum from the plate. Ritsu nodded and kept his cheerful grin, still staring at her with puppy eyes. She groaned.

"What do you want for your birthday present?"

"Nothing much actually, but only you can give it."

Mako kept her calm expression. This was it; she would be ready for any ridiculous wish he said. She would reject the idea calmly—

"Y'know, I was just thinking—"

—and gave him a proper excuse—

"—would you kiss me?"

—and she choked, practically just like that. Ritsu had anticipated this though; he had known her quite well to know when her calm facade would fade off to reveal her bashful nature. He handed her a glass of water which she drank in one gulp. Mako stared wide-eyed at him; her face didn't look any different than a ripe tomato. Unlucky for her, the act only added more joy to the redhead's mischievous self, and he chuckled.

"What's wrong, hime? Are you—"

"F-fine, fine! I'm perfectly fine—"

It was too late when she realized the chair had toppled over due to her sudden retreat, and she hit the ground head first. Ritsu blinked as she whimpered on the floor, clutching her throbbing head. He approached the kunoichi, who quickly scampered away until the wall decided to block her from running further. In last attempt, she held out her sword with trembling hands, her back against the wall, glaring at the male android in a threatening yet adorable way. Ritsu had to hold another fit of laughter.

"I can corner the strongest kunoichi in the block now? Am I great or what?"

"B-back off, idiot! Move any further and I'll cut you—"

Step.

"A-and I'll—"

Step. Step. Step.

"I'll cut—"

"Me?"

"AAAH—!"

Mako screamed at the top of her lung and crawled out of his towering figure, accidentally activating one of the many traps in the house in her aimless escape.

"Hime, look out—"

BAM!

And everything went black.

XXXXX

The wooden ceiling greeted her as she opened her eyes. A second passed by until she recognized her current surrounding, another for her to recall the event that had just occurred. She mentally cursed herself for her recklessness; it was such a shame for a trained kunoichi like her, to fall into her own trap. She needed to train herself harder next time.

Mako groaned and rubbed the source of her headache; the wound had been bandage by then, and she let her gaze wondered to find the male android who must have responsible for the whole treatment. She couldn't find him.

"Have you awaken, my princess?"

Her breath caught on her throat from his sudden appearance within her field of vision, and that she realized that the comfortable pillow she was leaning on was actually his lap. If it wasn't for her throbbing pain she would have screamed again. The male android seemed to catch the uneasiness in her eyes and decided to keep his mouth shut, at least until she calmed down and recovered from what looked like a hundred degree sunburn. He chuckled to himself and she whined, covering her face with an arm.

"Stop laughing…"

"As you wish, my princess."

"…"

"…"

"Hey, Ritsu."

"Hm?"

She swallowed. The heat on her face seemed to increase with time.

"About your birthday present—"

"Oh, that? I was only joking."

What? She uncovered her face and stared incredulously at his grinning face. He scratched his head and gave her a nervous laugh.

"I know we've been going out and all, but that's fine. I won't force you into doing something you're not ready for."

Mako was dumbstruck; she was torn between the options of killing him or torturing him before killing him. Her killing intent died down though, right before his calm green orb. She narrowed her eyes a bit, raising both hands to caress his face. Ritsu seemed to be taken aback by her action even more than herself, but still didn't make any move.

She made a ghostly trail over his left eye that was covered with eye-patch and bit her lip. The scar was incurable, and it was her fault. And yet, until now, she was still pushing him around. She turned her attention to look at his other eye, gazing deep into the emerald orb. She softly laughed.

Ritsu would always be Ritsu; he would always be the six-years old bully with his never ending teasing. But there was a difference from the previous Ritsu she knew. He was her Ritsu now, and her little Ritsu asked for his present. Why wouldn't she give it already? Mako returned her hands to his cheek and pulled him down slightly.

"Hime, are you okay? You don't seem to—"

His words were muffled by her lips put over his own, and now it was his turn to widen his eye. The soft fleeting kiss left a sweet taste of plum on his mouth, the taste that would definitely be kept in the back of his mind for as long as he lived.

"Happy belated birthday, Ritsu."

My turn.

HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY, RITSU! XDD