Chapter 1: The carefree days are over.
Ayko's POV.
Konoha, a peaceful village located in the Fire country inhabited by both ninja as civilians. Amongst the Konoha crowd a young kunoichi walked by potential herb-shops, but none quiet fit her teammate Doitei's description. The black haired teen turned to her right side eyeing the snow haired boy that dragged her in to all this.
"Well? I don't see it anywhere around here, do you?" the girl sneered at her teammate, letting out an annoyed sigh. "Ay-chan, I'm sure it's a little further." Doitei, her teammate stated with a sweat drop. Continuing in a hushed voice: "If I remember correctly..."
The girl's name was Ayko Myoka, Heiress of the Myoka-clan. Her family descended from a long line of powerful Konoha shinobi. It's not her name that made her so confident, though; Ayko had always been full of pride and determination. Her friend Doitei Wasuki, while not from a clan, was too timid for his own good. Which often ended with Ayko standing up for him in most matters or at the least help him out. Today had been one of those matters.
"Hmm… Why don't we check out that shop on the far end of the street, it seems popular." Ayko noted her friend, grabbing his collar to make him tag along. Doitei motioned her to slow down.
"Geesh Ay-chan, what's with the hurry? Are you meeting up with someone later today?" he asked her with a raised eyebrow. Ayko's cheeks flushed at that, exactly what Doitei had hoped for. She couldn't keep secrets from her own team, so it was obvious that he had an idea of what was going on.
"And so what if I am? It's not like you're joining, right?" the Myoka Heiress glared at her timid teammate, making him regret his former action. She straightened her face out and focused on the job at hand; the herb store. Only Doitei saw through her changing of subjects and left one word drifting in the air as he suddenly spoke.
"Hey, isn't that Naruto's team?" his innocent voice squeaked observing her every body language. A chill ran down the kunoichi's spine as she took in every word Doitei said. She turned around completely, only to figure out she was being fooled. She ignored Doitei's stifled laughter while she headed for the store's direction. "I'll remember this, Doitei!" Ayko hissed from clenched teeth.
"Sure, you will!" Doitei cheerfully grinned behind her. "And you were always saying that I should be less shy, weren't you?" That earned him a growl this time; the Naruto-subject was a delicate matter for the black haired teen and he more than once had teased her with it. Ayko and the blond jinchuuriki had a very weird and complicated relation; they hardly talked, but for some reason they had an invisible understanding. Not everyone knew about this, only Ayko's best friends; Doitei, Kyo Ryotso and Hinata Hyuuga.
"Let's just get this over with so I can get back home!" she complained as she pushed the door from the shop open.
What they find inside was overwhelming; it's like they walked right into a paradise of herbs and other groceries. Doitei's eyes were brimming with joyful tears at the sight of the generously filled store. Ayko on the other hand, ran through all the shopping racks with the most bored look on her face ever; shopping wasn't her thing to begin with, but groceries took it to another level of boredom. Why Doitei was so fascinated by herbs was an absolute mystery to her. Except maybe, because he's a medical nin and he makes his own ointments, but even his interests for herbs were more than just curiosity. She was so busy with nagging in her mind that she almost bumped into the girl right in front of her. "Hi there, may I be of any help?" her voice sounded cheerful and light. It wasn't until then that Ayko looked up into her grey eyes and noticed her light tinted green hair. Almost like she stared into the eyes of a child of nature; she became intrigued with her.
"Uhm... eto... He's the one you should talk to; I'm just here for mental support." the Myoka Heiress pointed to a white haired blob between the shopping racks. "All right, I will." the girl from the shop winked. "But don't I know you from somewhere?" Ayko gave her a quick scan realizing this girl before her was quiet familiar, but why? "I'm not sure, what's your name? I'm Ayko Myoka, by the way." Ayko flashed the girl a small smile. "I'm Ayane Morinaka." was all she said, a wide grin present.
Ayane's POV.
"Sis!" someone yelled. Ayane turned around and saw two little guys coming up to her. Her 8-year-old twin brothers, Wakaki and Wakaba. "Yes?" she asked them, while putting some shuriken back into her holster. "Mom needs help at the store. She asked if you can help her out." one of them replied. "We'll take your place here." the other one said with a wide grin on his face. "No one is taking my place and especially not you two." Ayane told them resolutely and looked at her team mates and sensei. "Is it okay if I go?" she asked. "No! Don't go. I need you to help me with this technique." the guy with light brown hair whined. "Ah, come on Isamu. I'll help you. It's not that hard." the black haired guy replied while patting the Isamu's shoulder.
"Is it really okay, sensei?" Ayane asked when looking at the tall man sighing while seeing how the two guys started arguing. "Of course it is. We'll handle it without you. Seems like Arashi still has enough energy left to help out Isamu." Naoto said before telling Arashi to calm down a bit. "Okay then. Bye guys. Good luck and I'll see you tomorrow." she said while trying not to laugh, witnessing a whining Isamu and a hyped Arashi. As they said goodbye, Ayane and her brothers took off towards the store.
When she arrived at the store, she realized immediately why her mom asked for her. The store was full with costumers. It always has, since it was the main grocery store in the village, but today it was exceptionally crowded. Her mom returned from the Benisu Islands yesterday with a load of medical herbs, which were requested by many medical nin in the past weeks. Of course the news spread quickly and here they were.
Before she could even search for her mom, she heard a voice behind her. "Ayane. Thankfully you got her. The place is crowded. I hope Naoto didn't mind?" her mom asked as she turned around. "No, it's no problem at all. And seems like you need my help a lot more than they do." Ayane assured her when looking around in the store. "I'll go grab an apron, seems like some of them need some help."
Ayane walked into the store's back room to grab an apron and walked into the store. As she looked around the store to see if someone needed help, a girl almost bumped into her. "Hi there. May I be of any help?" she asked the girl. "Uhm... eto... He's the one you should talk to, I'm just here for mental support." the girl replied, pointing at a guy who was searching for something in the racks. "All right, I will." Ayane winked. Looks like he really needed help. He was searching the racks like crazy.
As she wanted to walk up to the guy, she looked at the girl once more. "But don't I know you from somewhere?" she asked. She was certain they had met before, but she couldn't remember a name or an occasion. "I'm not sure, what's your name? I'm Ayko Myoka, by the way." the girl replied with a small smile. She obviously recognized Ayane too, which was made clear by the confused look on her face. "I'm Ayane Morinaka" Ayane said, hoping this would help them figure out where and how they've met before.
When no reaction was given by neither of them, Ayane walked up to the guy. "Hi there, can I help you?" she asked while tapping his shoulder. The guy immediately turned around and looked at her with quite a scared look. "You scared me. But yes you can." he replied. "I'm looking for some red newts? I heard one of the grocery stores got a huge load of them shipped in yesterday, but I can't find them." he continued. "You're at the right address. Just follow me." Ayane said while walking towards the counter. As Ayko and her friend got to her, she took a small terrarium out of the pantry and placed it on the counter. The guy nearly squeaked out of excitement as he saw the red salamanders. "How many do you need?" Ayane asked while trying not to laugh. Ayko looked at her friend being quite annoyed by his behavior and rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Doitei? We searched every grocery store in town for these… things?! Can't you just catch them yourself?" she asked him. "These newts are one of the most important components for medication. And no, I can't." Doitei replied to Ayko without losing sight of the newts. "And can I have four please?" he said when looking up to Ayane.
As Ayko and Doitei walked out of the store, Ayane watched them leave and noticed the lotus flower on the back of Ayko's shirt. And then it hit her. She and Ayko fought each other during the chuunin exams a few years ago.