A pencil tapped quietly as she stared blankly at the book in front of her. Ayame Hashimoto traced the inner spine of the empty book as she sat, her eyes involuntarily flitting around the room. She had to finish this; it just had to be done. The light-haired girl jotted down a few words, only to become frustrated and erase them after a few seconds.
She ran her hand through her white hair, picking at the bottom of the curls and wrapping them around her fingers as she sat. That's it, Aya. You can't think of anything. Finish it tomorrow, she thought as she began cleaning up the supplies littered around her; mostly pencils and eraser shavings, although there were a few pieces of crumpled paper and an apple core.
It took her almost twenty minutes to set up her desk the way she liked it, something was always out of place in Ayame's eyes. When she was finally satisfied, but not by much, Ayame set her attention towards making her bed, which she had neglected to make since earlier that morning. That, too, took longer than it was supposed to; there was always a loose wrinkle that she had smooth down. Finally satisfied with her work, Ayame decided it was time to track down her sister.
She stepped lightly out of her room and trotted down a slender corridor lined with doors on either side. Ayame appreciated the grandness of it all, but her home was something she wasn't quite accustomed to. She'd always wanted to live in the quiet apartment in the center of town where her mother currently resided, but the woman never had time for her kids. Ayame let out a sigh but quickly forced it into a smile as she approached her sister's quarters.
Asami Hashimoto was the polar opposite of her younger sister. She was a stout girl; her short hair a deep crimson red, the ends spiking out in different directions; and she was, err, larger than Ayame: attitude-wise, chest-wise, and popularity-wise. Since Asami was also a mere ten months older than her sister, they were in the same grade.
Ayame had instantly realized it was a mistake to barge into her sister's room. Sitting half naked on the bed, with his arms curled around her sister, was none other than Sasuke Uchiha. Ayame scowled at the scene on the bed, she was never one for relationships, let alone romance. She rolled her eyes at her older sister and said, "Ami, you little whore. What'll you do if daddy finds out?" She tried her best to sound innocent, pleased at how her remark came out.
A soft chuckle escaped Sasuke's lips. "Now, why would we let that happen?"
Ayame stared the ravenette down for a moment before letting out a shrug. "Suit yourselves," she said and took in a big gulp of air. "DADDY! AMI'S GOT A FR-" Before she could finish her sentence, Sasuke had already jumped into a pile of clothes on the floor and Asami clamped her hands around Ayame's mouth from behind.
"Great God of Holiness, help us all," mumbled Asami, her fingers still closed around her sister's mouth.
A man in his early fifties bounded down the hall and stopped abruptly in front of the girls. He was breathing heavily and his dark, gray streaked hair shone with drops of sweat. "Is there something wrong?"
Asami shook her head. "Nope, nothing daddy! Why don't you just go back downstairs?"
The older man sighed and listened to his daughter, trekking down the stairs loudly. After a few minutes, a loud slam emanated from below.
"That, was a close one. Hey babe, nice underwear, by the way." Sasuke laughed at his final remark as he pushed out of a towering pile of clothes.
"That's Aya's," Asami replied matter-of-factly. Ayame snatched the panty before hurrying out of her sister's room, unable to hide the redness of her face.
Once she arrived at her room, Ayame flipped onto her bed and threw a book at the door, succeeding in pushing it closed. She buried her head into a pillow, but sat back up when she heard a soft vibrating noise coming from the nightstand beside her.
She reached out a slender arm and clasped her fingers around her cell phone, the little Hello Kitty phone charm jingling as she picked it up. She slid up the top of the device, and read her newest text. It was form Naruto.
RAMENFTW: HEYYY
She hesitated before answering the blond, unsure of what to say. Naruto was a good friend of hers, and he was always there for her when she needed him. Ayame pressed a couple of buttons, hit send, and anticipated his answer.
IRISKITTY: HEY NARUTO! WHASSUP?
RAMENFTW: DUDE, THE SKYYY! JK :) WANNA SEE A MOVIE?
IRISKITTY: YOU BET YOUR BLOND-HAIRED BUNS I DO!
RAMENFTW: CREEP...
IRISKITTY: LOL. DUUUUUUDE, IT WAS A JOKE :P
RAMENFTW: WHATEVER, PERV... MEET UP AT THE RAMEN SHOP! THAT'S AN ORDER!
Ayame smiled at the last text and went over to the closet. She pulled on a pair of shorts - it was still hot in early August - but decided to wear a sweatshirt on top of the tank top she was wearing. Lastly, she slipped her feet into her faded, grey Converse and set out, jumping from her second story window to the yard down below and sneaking through the gate.
Yup, that's about as close as living the thrill Ayame would ever encounter. Besides, he father had a security system installed for just the thing she was doing. Ayame didn't care. She'd just pull the I'll go live with Mom card. That always worked.
She half-walked, half-ran the two miles to the center of Konoha. As she casually strolled into the ramen shop, Ayame was greeted by the pungent aroma of the savory noodles. Her mouth started to water; it was well past noon and she'd forgotten to eat breakfast.
"Hey Aya! Over here!" Ayame turned to spot the blond at a booth, accompanied by Kiba, Rock Lee, Gaara and Neji.
She walked up to the large booth and plopped herself next to Kiba. "Well, thanks for the heads up, Naruto. Loving the girl power you got going on here."
The blond chuckled at her statement. "Dude, you'd think we'd invite you so you could be all girly and awkward?"
Ayame nodded. "Sure looks like it."
"H-hi N-Naruto."
Ayame looked to the left to see who was calling the blond-haired boy's name.
"Oh, hey Hinata! Why don't you take a seat next to Ayame so she'll stop being such a sexist?" Naruto directed the question at Hinata, and she obliged, taking a seat next to the slightly irritated Ayame.
Hinata looked kindly at Ayame. "D-don't worry, Aya, T-Tenten s-said she'd come."
As if on cue, the brunette walked into the shop, the bell on the door jingling upon her arrival. She walked over to where the group was seated and took a seat across from Ayame, somehow managing to squeeze herself between Naruto and Neji.
"Oh my god, Ten! You're so fat!" Naruto shouted loud enough for the whole store to hear, and everyone at the table burst into laughter, everyone but Hinata and Tenten.
"Just you wait, Naruto Uzumaki! There will be a day where I'm there, ready to make fun of your weight with a witty comeback!" At Tenten's remark, the teenagers laughed louder than before. Even Hinata giggled.
"Hey, Naruto, who else is coming, anyways?" Ayame asked the blond.
"Don't ask me," Naruto said while shrugging his shoulders. "It was Kiba's idea!"
Ayame turned her attention to the boy sitting next to her.
"Let me see... there's you, me, Naruto, Hinata, Ten, Lee, Neji, Gaara, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sakura, and Shino."
Ayame shuddered at the last name. Shino? The creepy loner guy who liked to collect bugs?
"But you know what, Sakura's not gonna come. She's all bummed that Sasuke's got a girlfriend," Naruto butted in. "Hey Aya, how's Asami doing, anyways?"
Ayame laughed at Naruto's remark about Sakura. She could be a drama queen at times. "She's good."
"Sweet! Hey, you guys hungry?"
Everyone shook their heads. "Nah man, let's wait for the others," Kiba told him.
Naruto grumbled in protest, but didn't say anything.
They all sat around for a few more minutes, cracking jokes and just talking until the rest of the group arrived. Naruto was the most excited that everyone else was there, and hastily suggested that they start placing orders.
"Dude, wait a minute. We're still missing Shino," Ayame stopped him before he could get his order of an extra large ramen with hot curry sauce and a side of pickled cabbage in.
"Sorry I am late."
Everyone fell silent and simultaneously turned to face whoever had spoken. Ayame jumped a little when she saw it was Shino.
"Alright then, now can we place orders?" Everyone laughed at Naruto's comment and started ordering.
Well, almost everyone. Out of the corner of her eye, Ayame could see that Shino was as sullen as a mouse.