"Butterfly Kisses"
A/N: Dedicated to Kura-ban. She requested this a looong time ago. And I've been taking forever on it. It was originally going to be a oneshot, but I decided to split it into two parts. She knows who the mystery man is, but I chose not to put his name in the first part. :] Just because I can.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The series belongs to its respective owners. I don't own Naomi, either. She belongs to Kura-ban. I do own Aka, though. 8D
Aka © Syllva Temporae. I've claimed her.
Naomi was scared. It was disconcerting and . . . well, scary. She wasn't even sure why she was feeling this way. If she thought about it, really thought about it, all the little signals were obvious. Of course, thinking about it didn't really change anything. It only made things more complex and made her stomach flutter even more than usual.
She stared at the ground, watching her feet move forward one step at a time to a destination that wasn't yet determined by their owner. Just keep walking, she thought, maybe if you move enough everything will settle down.
Naomi sighed, still staring at her feet. She tried not to think, to fill her head with silly nonsense, anything but the thought of him. These boots have to be cleaned soon. She needed to get more kunai soon; she had to stop losing them. The flowers will bloom soon. Naomi was sure that they'd be beautiful. They were every year. And then the forest would be pretty and colorful. The clearing would look like something out of a fairy tale.
The clearing . . .
Her heart stuttered. Naomi wondered if he was still there, waiting for her and her answer. She let out a shaky breath.
"Why does life have to suck so much?" she asked herself. She wasn't expecting an answer and when it came she swore she felt her heart jump out her chest and run five miles away.
"Ha, now you're getting the gist of it, Nao-chan!"
Turning, Naomi blinked and clutched her chest. She could feel heat in her cheeks and sweat run down the back of her neck. This was so unlike her. She could sense when anyone was near her. The shadows told her so, so why didn't she know?
Naomi blamed him.
Up in the branches of a nearby tree sat a familiar figure. Naomi had only known the girl for a few weeks, but she could easily recognize the contours of her shadow. No wonder she had difficulty knowing she was there. Her shadow blended in nearly perfectly with the shadows of the leaves and her chakra was expertly hidden from Naomi's radar.
Aka. Her dark hair contrasted with the paleness of her skin that, despite nearly constant exposure to the sun, never tanned. Her aura was drenched in a deadly confidence and she held herself with the proud grace of an extremely dangerous warrior. It wasn't her presence that unnerved Naomi; it wasn't even Aka's inability to tan that freaked her out.
What really set her skin crawling were Aka's eyes. The irises were a bright green that would be beautiful if it weren't disrupted by the odd swirl of her pupils. At times, and from certain angles, they looked almost like Sasuke's Sharingan, but since Naomi had previously encountered them, she knew they weren't the same.
Aka grinned and leapt off the tree, landing on the balls of her feet in a wide stance that kept her center of balance in perfect alignment. She walked over to Naomi and patted her shoulder playfully.
"Life sucks and then you die, right? That's the truth to everything. It's a little depressing though, don't you think?" Aka tapped her temple and winked. "Really messes things up in here."
Naomi blinked, unable to get her mouth to form a response. She was still stunned by Aka's unexpected appearance. Her mouth would open and close while her mind grappled with what to say. She was absolutely sure she looked a fish.
Completely unfazed, Aka grabbed Naomi's wrist and began tugging her towards the center of the village. "I'm hungry. Let's go get some grub."
Fifteen minutes later, Naomi sat at Ichiraku's, staring deeply into her bowl of ramen and wondering what chain of events had led her here. Aka sat next to her, content to sit together in silence and slurp her noodles greedily.
A few moments went by and finally Naomi couldn't stand it.
"Why are we here?" Naomi stared at Aka, at anything except for her eyes and waited for her to respond.
"Because I was hungry, Nao-chan. That's why we're here. And you'd best eat your ramen, or I won't pay for it." Aka pointed at the untouched bowl in front of Naomi with her chopsticks and raised an eyebrow. "And I'm serious about that, so eat."
Undaunted, Naomi pursed her lips before sighing angrily. "All right, but why did you bring me along? If you were hungry, you could've just eaten by yourself."
Aka blinked, frowning slightly. She placed her chopsticks over the empty bowl in front of her, leaning her chin against her palm and keeping her gaze steady with Naomi's. "So, what you're saying is that I should have a reason for trying to be nice to someone. You're the one who's extremely observant, Nao-chan, why don't you tell me the reason?"
Naomi swallowed, her eyes narrowing at the girl in front of her. Frustration welled up inside her. All she wanted was a place to be alone so she could think. She didn't ask Aka to bring her here; she didn't want to be comforted or pitied. All she wanted was to be alone and no amount of ramen was going to change that. It was also extremely hard to get a read on Aka, but there was no way Naomi was going to admit that to anyone, least of all Aka.
"I want to hear the reason from you." Naomi looked down into her bowl, watching the noodles spin lazily in the broth. It reminded her of Aka. You think you know just how and in what direction it's going to spin in, but for some reason, the noodles will unwind and change course. She sighed. Wow, she was so out of it. It's not every day you start comparing people to noodles.
There was a long pause of silence before Aka finally spoke.
"You were upset. I've only known you for a short while, so I'm not even sure why I'm putting forth an effort to make you feel better, but I do know you well enough to be sure that you love food, and I thought that this would make you feel even a little better. If you want me to leave, though, I'll honor your request and do so." Aka watched Naomi as if she were gauging her reaction to what she'd just said.
Naomi sat still, dumbfounded. That was unexpected. She never thought that Aka would want to comfort anyone, least of all her. All the rumors she'd heard about Aka implied her strength and resilience, her lack of mercy in the battlefield. She had no compassion; she was a warrior to be reckoned with. And she certainly never wasted her time creating relationships.
Tears threatened to fall from Naomi's eyes. Warmth bubbled in her chest and she smiled, reaching for her chopsticks and slurping up the ramen. She glanced at Aka from the corner of her eye and held back a giggle at the sight of Aka's slightly pink cheeks. It was a cute blush. A blush that Naomi swore she saw before. . .
She almost choked as the memory came back, slammed her chopsticks down on the counter and proceeded to cough and hack in a way that was definitely unattractive. Something slammed into her back, she assumed it was Aka's hand, and a small hunk of noodle flew from her mouth and splashed into her ramen.
Silence filled the air. The two of them stared at the tiny noodle floating in the broth. It twirled as if to say, "Ha!" before sinking down into the depths of the ramen bowl.
Naomi was sure her face would never return to its original color. She probably looked like a cherry tomato. The only thing she wanted to do was crawl under the counter and curl into a fetal position after digging herself a hole. She glared with all her might at the bowl, cursing it in her mind.
Rot in the acid of my belly, noodle!
A noise brought Naomi back from her tirade. The noise was a giggle. She turned towards Aka, shocked to see her cheeks flushed. She had a hand pressed against her mouth to hide her laugh, but it didn't work. Her eyes sparkled and, for a moment, Naomi could've sworn that her pupils swirled to give the illusion of a normal eye. Still, Aka laughed. Her free hand slammed against the counter as she attempted to regain her breath.
"You-!" Aka broke off into another fit of giggles before she regained enough composure to talk. "You should see the look on your face, Nao-chan! I swear I've seen paler cherries! Do you think you'd glow in the dark?" She burst into laughter, both hands clutching at her sides.
Naomi knew it was childish. It was so immature. Still, she reached out with her chakra, commanding the shadows beneath them and nudged Aka. It was a gentle nudge, but it still caused her to topple over the side of her stool. Aka plopped on her bottom, a small puff of dust rising at the impact just as Shikamaru rounded the corner.
He froze, hands shoved deep in his pockets as he eyeballed one girl, then the next, back to the other before coming to a rest on the still giggling girl flat on her bum in the dirt.
"I don't even want to know," he said simply. "Not now, not ever."
"Trust me, Shikamaru-kun, you just made a good decision there," Naomi said, sighing as she picked up her bowl and continued to eat her ramen. She watched the two out of the corner of her eye, smiling as Shikamaru reached out to help Aka to her feet.
The memory replayed in Naomi's mind. It was right before the second trial of the Chuunin exams. Everyone was beginning to gather in the tower after completing the first trial in the forest. She remembered standing next to Sakura, asking where Hinata and the others were when Shikamaru walked up. He was covered in dirt and sweat, just like the rest of them. His eyes drifted lazily around the room, never resting in one place too long, like he was looking for someone.
"Um, are you looking for someone, Shikamaru-kun?" Naomi asked. She expected him to be looking for Ino or Chouji, but instead he glanced at her before answering, "Yeah, I'm looking for Aka. Have you-?"
"Shin-chan!" Shikamaru turned towards the voice, craning his neck up toward the second floor. Naomi sensed Aka preparing for the leap and was about to warn Shikamaru to move, but the moment she opened her mouth a dark blur fell from above and landed with a thud atop Shikamaru's body.
"Ha, you lazy bum, you actually made it here! I thought you'd have found a place to sleep for the first day or two. Or for a week." Aka paused. "You know what? I'm just surprised you crawled out of bed for this."
"Aka, will you be quiet for a second and get off me?" Shikamaru glared at her as she stood. She grinned at him and he grumbled under his breath as he pushed himself up, rubbing at a sore spot on his lower back.
Naomi placed a hand on his shoulder worriedly. "Are you all right, Shikamaru-kun? I could ask-"
"Naomi-chan! I found him!" Sakura suddenly yelled, pointing wildly in one direction. "Come on, hurry!"
Naomi nodded, bowing slightly towards Aka and Shikamaru. "I'm sorry, I have to go." She straightened before she turned and began jogging after the bobbing head of pink hair. She glanced back and nearly tripped at what she saw.
Shikamaru reached a hand out and patted Aka lightly on the head, a smile adorning his face as he leaned forward and whispered quietly in her ear. He pulled away and started walking back to his team. He lifted a hand in farewell. Aka stood as if dumbfounded, her hands frozen at her sides. Her cheeks were a slight pink, and her lips were slightly parted in surprise. She looked so adorable and lost at the same time, like a little kid getting their first kunai.
Aka placed a hand over her chest and clenched it, looking down as the blush faded from her cheeks. Her brows furrowed and Naomi could see so much pain in her eyes. There was so much suffering in her gaze that Naomi could feel a tug at her heart. All she wanted to do was go back and comfort Aka, tell her that everything was going to be okay. That would be rude, she thought, since she didn't even know why Aka felt so sad in the first place.
It'd be meddling and just plain nosy.
So Naomi buried the thought and turned forward, letting Sakura lead the way.
"Hey, Nao-chan, are you okay?"
Naomi blinked, thrust out of her thoughts at the sound of Aka's voice. Shikamaru had taken Aka's stool and the girl leaned against him, staring at Naomi with a brow raised. "You were looking at me like I was a puppy who got kicked. And I was kicked. You know, by you. And your darn shadow magic. And I'm not a puppy. So stop looking at me like that."
Naomi laughed, downing the rest of her ramen in a single gulp. "You so deserved it, Aka-san." She set her bowl down. "And it's not magic."
Aka waved her hand in a dismissing gesture. "I never said I didn't deserve it. I know I did. And it is magic. Don't even deny it." She dug into her pouch and took out a handful of bills, slapping them down on the counter before tugging on Shikamaru's arm. "Come on, Shin-chan. I need to find Choujin. He owes me a bag of chips."
Shikamaru groaned, leaning against the counter. "I just got here. I don't want to get back up, Aka. I just. Sat. Down," he said, punctuating each word with a small tug of his arm out of Aka's grip.
"You're. Such. A. Lazy. Bum!" Aka tugged his arm even harder, literally dragging him out of the seat. He grunted as his feet touched the ground. "Really, Shin-chan. I desperately want those chips."
They started to walk away, but Aka paused and turned back to Naomi. "By the way, I think you should tell him." Naomi blinked. "He's waiting, you know. And this involves the both of you. You should talk it out, and tell him what you feel."
"How did you-?" Naomi started.
"Do your best, Nao-chan. I'm rooting for you!" Aka winked and gave her a thumb up before turning around and proceeding to drag Shikamaru down the street.
Naomi stared, dumbfounded. When she finally found her voice, she yelled, "You should tell him, too!"
Aka froze, and even Shikamaru looked slightly taken aback. Slowly, Aka looked back at Naomi, her eyes wide with surprise.
"If you don't tell him, you'll regret it. I'm rooting for you, too, Aka-chan!" Naomi grinned and waved wildly.
Aka blinked. And blinked again. She smiled slightly before shaking her head, raising two fingers in a mock salute. "I'll take that into consideration, Nao-chan! Now go get your man!"
Naomi watched as the two walked away. She stood there staring long after they had turned the corner and left her sight. She had a choice to make now. She could continue wandering around, chasing away thought after thought of her friend, or she could confront him and talk to him. Ask him why he decided to say such confusing things and why he had to say them now before the Chuunin exams had come to a complete close.
She had a lot to talk about with him. There was a lot to get off her chest.
Gathering as much courage as she could, she turned and wound her way towards the forest outside the village. The clearing there was her place of safety, of peace and comfort. He would be waiting there for her, as he did every day. Today it was like a challenge. Would she show up or not?
And Naomi never backed down from a challenge.