They were inseparable in everything they did. Absolutely everything. You never saw one without the other; that was just unthinkable. They were infamous too. Yumiko and Shizuka Nara; the little identical girls that were constantly up to no good. Well, Yumiko was never up to any good; Shizuka just tagged along because she was attached to her sister by the hip. So naturally, they got into trouble together; even if Shizuka was afraid of getting in trouble.
Running through the grass, both had huge smiles spread across their faces. They ran side by side, always keeping pace with the other, to make sure they could still swing their arms as they held hands. They were completely identical; the same waist-length gray hair with the brown bangs, the same dark blue eyes that they were constantly complemented on, the same facial structure, and the same body. They were identical to what the eye could see.
It took beyond the naked eye to see that they were only identical in one way; looks. As people themselves, they were night and day. They were each others yin and yang.
Yumi - as everyone called her - was named Yumiko, meaning 'happy child'. She lived up to her name fairly well. She almost always had a smile on her face, the only exceptions being when punishment was dished out on her. She was the rebellious and disrespectful one, not wanting to listen to what she was told. She wanted to be herself, and didn't want anybody to tell her otherwise. Headstrong, she was the brawn of the two.
Shizuka was another story. She lived up to her name as well; 'quiet'. Shy and timid, she left the talking to Yumi with anybody she didn't know. Yumi had no problem talking to people. Shizuka did on the other hand. She would rather be left alone and invisible. It was easier for her. However, those that knew her well enough knew she had a voice and knew she could talk, and talk, and talk. They would tease her, saying she needed to stop bundling it all inside and dumping it on them. However, what she lacked in courage she made up in intelligence. She was the problem-solver, quick-thinker and smart one; both street smart and book smart. She was definitely the brain.
"Let's go down to the playground!" Yumi exclaimed as she ran along side her twin.
"Okay." Shizuka said with a smile.
They ran to the park. When they got there, Yumi plunged straight into the group of kids, dragging along a slightly reluctant Shizuka. They forced their way through the mass and grabbed the last two swings available. Shizuka sat down and rocked lightly, keeping her feet planted solidly. Yumi however looked around eagerly.
"Kazumi!" She called, waving her friend over. "Come push me!"
Kazumi ran over with a smile. She waved at Shizuka, who smiled back shyly, before pulling back on Yumi's swing, then pushing as much force into it as she could.
"Higher!" Yumi laughed as she kicked her feet out and soared.
"Only if you take me on with you." Kazumi laughed.
"Okay!" Yumi said as she reached higher and higher. The next time the swing came around Kazumi grabbed a hold of the chains and jumped onto the back behind Yumi. The two laughed as they swung back and forth.
"Careful!" Shizuka shrieked, watching her sister and friend timidly.
"We'll be fine!" They chimed in together.
"Dare you to jump." Kazumi teased as she smiled down at her adventurous friend. Looking upwards, Yumi grinned, accepting the challenge.
When the swing reached its highest point, Yumi pushed herself off and fell to the ground, rolling a few times before she sat up with a wide grin. At the sudden shift of weight, the swing tipped and threw Kazumi off backwards. She just sat up and laughed as if nothing happened.
Shizuka sat on her swing and stared wide eyed at the two girls, before getting up and running over to Yumi. "Are you alright?" She asked over and over, helping her sister up. Yumi replied with an, I'm fine, before skipping off to Kazumi.
Sadly, Shizuka looked away and stared at the other kids in the playground. She saw her cousins, Shikamaru and Scott, lounging around and staring at the sky like the lazy bums they were - none-the-less, she still loved them. With them was Shikamaru's best friend Chouji. Not too far away, she saw another famous duo, Sakura and Ino - she never paid much attention to them, but she knew they were fairly similar to her and her own sister. She watched the kids run by, looking for a familiar face until she find found three very familiar faces. Raidon, Sasuke and Neji were sitting in a circle, all smiling about something. Glancing back at her sister with Kazumi, she decided she could go say hi to the trio.
As she walked over, the three all looked up, hearing her approach. Raidon smiled and pulled her over the second she was close enough. She pretended to ignore Neji leaning over to ask Sasuke which one she was.
"That's Shizuka smart one." Sasuke hissed. Neji frowned, but smiled to Shizuka.
"So... what are you doing?" She asked, trying to change the subject away from her.
"Looks what Sasuke found!" Raidon said, holding up a little ball of fur. Curiously, Shizuka stared at it, then jumped as it moved. "It's a baby raccoon! Isn't it cute!" Raidon said, seeing her friend jump.
"It won't bite." Sasuke laughed, steadying a jumpy Shizuka. She blushed and looked away, and he did so as well. Neji smirked, not letting this chance pass by.
"Sasuke and Shizuka sitting in a tree--" He started, but was cut off when Sasuke punched him in the arm. Shizuka brushed even brighter.
"Hey!" Raidon cried, holding the fuzz ball in her arms. Sheepishly Shizuka, Sasuke and Neji went back to her and her new little pet.
"He's so cute." Shizuka said as she stroked his head. "Where'd you find him?" She asked, turning to look at Sasuke.
"Just on the playground over there." He said, pointing to an area opposite them.
"So, what do we do with him?" Neji asked, voicing the question they all had in their minds. They stared at each other blankly and shrugged. All of them knew they couldn't take it home; none of their parents would let them.
"We can't just leave it here." Shizuka said, picking up the raccoon from Raidon's arms and stroking it's head.
"Then what do we do with it?" Raidon asked, cocking her head to the side.
"It's a wild animal. It'll survive." The young Hyuuga said with a sheepish shrug, not entirely sure it was true.
"No, because it doesn't have a mommy to take care of it." The Nara girl retorted, clutching the raccoon closer to her. It just stared up at her with curious dark eyes.
"Then what do we do?" Raidon asked, staring at the animal with wide aquamarine eyes.
"Whatcha guys doing?"
The four little kids looked up to see Kazumi and Yumi walking over with curious looks on their faces.
"Look sis!" Shizuka said, holding the raccoon out to her twin. Yumi looked the raccoon over then frowned.
"Mommy and Daddy would never let us keep it..." She said. "They won't even let us have a dog." Both girls frowned, knowing it was true. Their little brother, Reizo was in the terrible-two's stage, and their mother was pregnant, again. They just couldn't have any pets.
They turned and asked if any of the other kids could keep the little animal, but all of them shook their heads.
"Just go put it in one of the trees." Neji said, shrugging. "It'll be alright."
Reluctantly, Shizuka handed the raccoon to Sasuke, who then walked over to one of the trees and set the animal down.
"Yumi! Shizuka! Shikamaru! Scott! Time to go home!"
All four Nara kids looked up to see Shikaku calling and waving them over. Shikamaru and his brother groaned, not wanting to get up from their lazy business, but they did anyways. Waving good-bye to their friends, the twins ran off after their cousins and over to their uncle.
"Hi Uncle!" They said at the same time, both smiling.
"Your father asked me to bring you two home." He said, patting them both on the head.
"Okay." They said in unison, again, then ran off to their cousins, giggling as they went. Yumi tackled Scott and Shizuka hugged Shikamaru.
"Hey, let go." Shikamaru hissed.
"Who's on me? Get off!" Scott complained, trying to figure out which twin had attacked him.
"Me silly!" Yumi laughed, clinging onto her cousin.
"Which one is 'me'?" He snapped.
"Well, I'm Yumi of course, so that's Shizuka." Shizuka said, rolling her eyes like her sister would.
"Duhhh." Yumi laughed. "Can't believe you didn't know it was me... I thought you knew me apart from my sister." She pretended to start crying, trying to imitate her sister.
"Oh, stop crying Shizuka." The real Shizuka said as she shook her head.
"Wait, wait, wait!" Shikamaru hissed. "No, you're Shizuka, and you're Yumi!" He said, pointing to the real Shizuka and then to the real Yumi.
"What?!" Both cried out. "No! I'm Shizuka!" Yumi said, pointing to herself. "And I'm Yumi." Shizuka snapped.
"This is confusing!" Scott said, tearing away from Yumi.
"Hey, be nice kids." Shikaku finally said, laughing at the twins. "You two are so troublesome. Be nice to my boys."
"Yes Uncle... Sorry..." The girls said, both pouting.
"Okay, so which one is Yumi, and which one is Shizuka?" Shikamaru asked.
The twins looked at each other, giggled, then ran off without even answering the question.
Shikamaru sighed. "They're so troublesome..."