Me: I do not own Naruto! Ah, and please don't count on regular updates. They generally don't happen.
Iris: your friendship means so much to me
Life
Two twins were born on September 29th to the Yamanaka Clan.
"Here you go," The nurse said with a smile, giving the small bundle to her father.
Inoichi glanced down at his daughter and felt his heart soften. A tiny, defenseless face with curly light blonde hair and innocent blue eyes looked back at him trustingly.
"Dear?" His wife called and he grinned, looking back up. Yamanaka Hanako looked exhausted, but satisfied, holding the older girl in her arms. She smiled happily at him. "What shall we name them?"
"Hmm..." He thought for a moment before glancing down at his younger daughter, grin widening.
"I think this one," Inoichi lightly taped his daughter's nose, "will be Yamanaka Inori, or Ria for short. And that one," He glanced at the older baby, "will be Yamanaka Ino, in going with family tradition."
Hanako laughed softly and beamed at her babies. "Well then, Ino and Ria, welcome to this world."
Order
The twins were vastly different, that was easy to tell even though the girls were but toddlers.
Ino was loud and demanding, outspoken and brash. She cried loudly when she didn't get what she wanted, imperiously ordered her parents around to their amusement.
Ria was quiet and gentle, soft-spoken and shy. She accepted disagreements without arguing in the slightest, did what her parents requested obediently.
It was also plainly obvious that the two girls adored each other. Ino stood up for her younger sister when she could, and Ria comforted her older sister when she was upset. Ino never tried to order her sister around, and Ria followed after her sister like a little chick.
Their parents were quite amused.
"What do you think, dear?" Hanako asked her husband curiously, watching the girls gather flowers from the backyard with a soft, fond smile.
"Ria definitely has a passive personality." The former Head of the T&I Division said. "Ino's far more aggressive."
"That's not bad though, is it?" She fretted.
"No, no." Inoichi reassured her. "It's not bad, that's simply their inherent personalities." He paused for a moment, trying to put it into terms his wife would understand. "If Ino's a blunt, candid love like a bush clover, then Ria's a gentle and sweet love like a jasmine flower."
"Mama!" Ino ran up to them, a bundle of flowers in her hands and Ria following in her footsteps. "Look, look!"
Hanako laughed and bent down to smell the flowers. "That's very good, sweetie."
Ria toddled up to her Papa and looked at him with wide blue eyes, holding up her hands in the universal pick-me-up gesture.
Inoichi chuckled and obliged her, setting her down on his knee. "Hello, little jasmine." He said, brushing a blonde ringlet off his daughter's face.
She giggled, face bright with an innocence that he wished she could keep forever.
Bully
"Come on, come on, Ria!" Ino called, pulling enthusiastically on her twin's hand, her light purple dress fluttering around her.
Ria laughed softly and went along indulgently. "I'm coming, I'm coming."
The girls had turned four a month ago and had only just been allowed to go outside without parental supervision. Most parents didn't worry about things like that - it was a ninja village, after all - but Inoichi was protective. It had taken both his wife's persuasion and his daughter's puppy-dog eyes that had made him cave.
If she was honest with herself, Ria didn't really want to go out in the Village by herself. There were so many unfamiliar people and everything was always so loud. But Ino loved it and so Ria had gone along with it.
Ria loved her sister. She knew her sister loved her, too.
That morning, Mama had led them through their morning stretches, - for flexibility, she had told them - gave them their daily lesson on flowers and let them off with a smile and a gentle warning.
"This way, this way!" Ino chanted, weaving effortlessly through the crowds.
She smiled, doing her best to keep up with her twin. A few minutes later, Ria found herself in front of a tall building where there was a large gathering of kids that was dividing themselves into two different groups.
Ria bit her lip, automatically shrinking behind Ino. She didn't like large crowds and she liked unfamiliar kids even less.
Ino patted her on the shoulder comfortingly and proceeded to walk up to the other kids confidently, Ria following her like her shadow. "Hey, guys!" She said boldly.
One of the girls looked up and recognized her. "Ino-chan!" She smiled happily at the blonde girl. Ino went out with Mama in the village far more than Ria did.
"Ino!"
"Ino-chan!"
"Hey!"
Various greetings were called out from the crowd and Ria grimaced, wishing she could sink into the floor. She knew her twin was popular, but she didn't know she was this popular. She wasn't like Ino, wasn't as pretty and brave and confident. She was just quiet Ria who liked to play with flowers.
Taking no notice of her twin's anxiety, Ino forcibly pulled Ria beside her, saying, "Guys, this is my twin sister, Ria. Say hi!"
"Hey, Ria-chan!"
"Hello!"
"Hi!"
To her relief, it seemed like the kids liked Ino enough that they accepted her without too much fanfare. Someone else wasn't that fortunate.
"We're going to be playing ninja!" The lead kid with the hat said. "But not you!" He pointed at a kid with swirls on his cheeks.
"I'm not going to let you play ninja!" He declared.
The kid looked hurt. "Why?" He asked plaintively.
Ria cringed. She didn't like this; she didn't want to watch this! This was painful...
"Because if you play, we're going to lose!" The lead kid said.
"You're too slow." Another kid added.
The outcast lowered his head sadly, and Ria felt like giving him a hug. She glanced at Ino to see her watching the scene apathetically. What would she do? She didn't want the other boy to feel sad...but she didn't want the other kids to hate her either...
"But then, the teams will not be even." A kid with his hair tied up reminded them and Ria felt a flash of hope. Maybe she wouldn't have to do anything after all. "In Shogi, the game isn't interesting unless you have the same number of pieces."
The outcast looked up, eyes hopeful. She felt like cheering, but abruptly had her good mood dashed by the kid with that hat.
"Having useless pieces is the same as not having any pieces at all." He said bluntly.
"That's right, that's right!" His sidekick agreed.
Ria winced as the kid with the swirls' face fell again. This wasn't right, but she was terrified of speaking up and having everyone look at her.
"We have less people, so no complaints, okay? Let's start." The kid with the hat put his hands on his hips.
"If you guys are happy with it, that's fine." One of the boys from the other team said.
"Alright, it's decided!" He held up a fist.
"We're going to win!" His friend chimed in.
Ria felt her heart drop to her feet as she watched the boy with the swirls walk away desolately. How could the other kids be so cruel? As she watched, he gently freed a butterfly from a spider web. He was so nice...and the others were so mean! Why did those boys have to be such bullies?
She wanted to run after the boy and tell him that he shouldn't listen to the others, but that would make her an outcast too, right? Was it worth it? She wouldn't have any friends and the other kids would shun her...but that was the right thing to do, wasn't it?
Before Ria could decide, Ino had already taken her hand and pulled them into a group. "Come on, Ria!" She said brightly. "We're going to win this!"
"Y-Yeah." She tried to smile back at her twin. "We are."
But the boy with the swirls still bothered her.
Rooftop
Two games later and Ria quietly slipped away from the group, telling Ino she wanted to rest for a bit. She had seen the boy with the tied up hair head towards the building and she was fairly certain the boy with the swirls had walked towards there too.
She wanted to check if he was okay, if he was still hurting. Ria didn't like it when other people were hurting.
She didn't find the boys in the building, but she did find some stairs. Shrugging to herself, Ria walked up the steps and found herself on a rooftop. Glancing around, she found the two boys and a man that looked like the boy with the swirls' father sitting on a bench, staring at her.
Ria smiled timidly and walked closer, looking closer at the boys. They sat side by side and the one with the swirls was eating and sharing his potato chips, from the look of things.
"I saw what happened outside." She said hesitantly. "Are you alright?"
He blinked at her, looking surprised. "Y-Yes. I'm fine."
"Oh. Good." Ria breathed a sigh of relief. "Please forgive me." She bowed quickly, her blonde curls flying everywhere for a long moment.
Both boys looked stumped. The one with his dark hair tied up asked, "Why? You didn't do anything."
"I know." She bit her lip, feeling really guilty. "And I'm sorry! I wanted to say something, but I'm new so..."
"It's okay." The boy with the swirls smiled kindly at her. "I wouldn't have done anything either."
Ria beamed. "Thank you so much! You are alright, though?" She didn't want the boy to lie.
"I'm okay now." He said. "I'm Choji, Akimichi Choji."
"Nara Shikamaru." The boy with dark hair introduced himself lazily.
"I'm Yamanaka Ria." She said, feeling a tad shy. "It's nice to meet you."
"Ria, is it?" Choji's father spoke up, getting to his feet. She blinked at him, surprised. "You're Inoichi's daughter, right?"
"Um... yes?" It came out sounding more like a question than an answer. Choji's father was a little intimidating even though she knew he was Papa's friend.
He smiled at her, making her feel more at ease. "How about you sit here then?" He gestured to his seat. "I should go talk to my wife."
"Um... er..." Ria shifted her weight awkwardly. "I don't want to intrude." Especially since it looked like Choji and Shikamaru were already friends.
"Oh, it's okay!" Choji said immediately. She glanced at Shikamaru who blinked at her and jerked his head towards the seat.
Ria took the seat, still not sure whether it was okay. Maybe they were just being polite; they probably didn't really want her here-
"Chip?" Choji offered.
Ria smiled and took the potato chip. It was delicious.
And that was how she made her first friends.
When Choza told his teammates about the incident later, Shikaku and Inoichi were equally delighted.
Friends
Ria liked Shikamaru and Choji. They were both really nice.
Shikamaru was smart. Like really, really smart. She figured that out when he taught her the rules of Shogi and beat her 100 times out of 100. It was a good thing she wasn't a sore loser. But he was also really, really lazy. He spent most of his time watching the clouds and most of the time, got her to join him, too.
Choji was a caring boy. He always shared his food with her and he always had food with him. Ino told her in private that he was fat and that she should probably get him to diet, but Ria honestly didn't mind his appearance. Choji was Choji. Besides, hadn't Choji's papa been the same?
She spent the majority of her time with Shikamaru and Choji at the rooftop where they had first talked. Shikamaru would watch the clouds, Choji would eat his chips, and she would gently chat with both of them. If they noticed how shy she could be, they didn't say a word.
She had been worried that Ino would feel left out, but her twin was okay. She had met a girl named Sakura and they were fast friends, now. She liked Sakura well enough, but Ria considered Shikamaru and Choji her best friends. They shared the sentiment.
A year passed quickly and Ria turned five with her friends. Then, they were sent to the Academy.
School
"Ne, Shika-kun." Ria whispered, nudging the boy discreetly with her elbow. They had already spent a year in the Academy and he knew what the consequences for this were!
Her lazy friend slept on, ignoring the fact that they were supposed to be paying attention to Sensei's lecture.
"Shika-kun!" She whispered louder, jabbing him a bit harder.
He snorted and shifted slightly to her exasperation. She was preparing for another attempt when it became too late.
"NARA SHIKAMARU!" Sensei roared, throwing an eraser across the room with deadly accuracy. The soft material hit Shikamaru hard on the head and he grunted, eyes snapping open and instinctively sitting upright.
"I'm up, I'm up." He grumbled. From where she was sandwiched between him and Choji, Ria sighed and shook her head.
A vein pulsed in Sensei's forehead. "DETENTION!"
Choji chuckled and ate another potato chip.
"AND DON'T THINK I DON'T SEE YOU, AKIMICHI CHOJI! DETENTION FOR YOU, TOO!"
Ria sighed once more as Choji's face fell.
Abduction
One day, her Papa came back home with a grim face, dressed in his shinobi attire. Ria was instantly worried; normally Papa didn't do ninja stuff. Much.
"Papa?" She questioned, walking up to him and tilting her head all the way back to see his face. Her Papa was really tall. "Are you okay?"
Inoichi gave a strained smile, but picked up his youngest daughter, holding her at his hip. "Come along, little jasmine." He said fondly, walking over to the kitchen. "I have to talk to your sister, too.
"Oh." Ria frowned, small hands patting at his broad shoulders. "Did something happen?"
"How about you call your sister?" He sat down in his chair, placing her on the ground. "I'll tell you both."
She bit her lip, but ran off obligingly. Ria knew where her sister was. She always knew where her sister was. Well, usually. Zooming into their room, she skidded to a halt.
Ino looked up from where she was brushing her still wet hair, blue eyes wide. "Ria?"
"Come on." Ria tugged lightly at her sister's sleeve. "Papa wants to talk to us."
Ino frowned, but jumped off her chair and followed her sister in running all the way back to the kitchen. By the time they fought to come to a stop in front of Inoichi, pin-wheeling their arms for balance, the twins were both out of breath.
Papa chuckled, face relaxing at last. Picking them up, he settled them on the table in front of him so that their legs dangled off the edge.
"Mama's going to be angry with us later." Ino pointed out, starting to swing her legs freely.
"Oh..." Ria shifted uneasily, keeping herself still and away from all the pretty plates.
Inoichi smiled faintly. "I think she'll forgive us this one time." He reassured them. "Now, girls, I need you to listen to me closely, okay?" His face turned serious again, and the twins exchanged a worried look. They had never seen their Papa act like this.
"We're listening." They chorused.
"Good. Yesterday night, the Hyuga Heiress was almost abducted." He told them solemnly.
Ino scrunched up her forehead. "Ab-duc-t-ed...?"
"Like... like kidnapped...?" Ria, who read far more books than her sister ever bothered with, was horrified.
Inoichi nodded grimly, a deep frown causing wrinkles on his face that Ria wanted to wipe away. "That's right, she was almost kidnapped."
Ino gasped, "That's horrible! They didn't get away with it, did they?!"
"No, no." Papa shook his head. "But that doesn't make it any worse. I know you girls think that I'm overprotective - and maybe I am - but I want you both to be careful, alright? Konoha is safe, but there's still some danger lurking out there."
"You... you don't think that we might..." Ria trailed off, starting to shiver. Ino instinctively scooted closer, wrapping her sister in a hug.
Inoichi hesitated. "You're both my daughters." He said at last. "And while the Yamanaka Clan isn't as wide-known as the Hyuga Clan, there might, might be bad guys who want to use the power of our Mind jutsu."
"But they can't take away Ria-chan!" Ino declared shrilly at once, tears starting to appear in her blue eyes.
"Of course not." Papa said soothingly. "Which is why I want you girls to be careful and look out for each other, okay?"
Ino and Ria glanced at each other, an unspoken promise flying between them. 'I won't ever let anyone hurt you.' They promised to each other silently.
"Okay!"
Memorable
"Why do you guys go on doing this?" Ria asked later, sounding mildly exasperated.
Shikamaru glanced at her, covering a yawn. As always, they were on their rooftop and the boys were doing what they did best: cloud-watching and eating. She was rearranging a few flowers that he knew she had grown herself into different arrangements in a crystal bowl.
Were it any other girl with that tone in her voice, he would have been a tad disturbed and readying himself for a temper tantrum, but he had known her for two years and in that time, she had yet to lose her temper. Once.
"Doing what?" He asked. Choji crunched another potato chip.
She gifted him with a reproachful look, placing the bright red poppy next to the small daises. "You know full well what I'm talking about, Shika-kun."
He smiled, amused by the little nickname that only she called him by. "The sleeping and eating in class?"
"Yes." She frowned a bit at her bowl and shifted the bamboo. "Why?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "Why not? Sleeping is much nicer than hearing our Sensei babble on and on."
"Shika-kun!" Ria gasped at the disrespect, throwing a blade of grass at him half-heatedly.
He dodged it easily. "What? It's true. Choji, back me up here!"
"He is a little boring..." Choji ventured hesitantly.
"See?"
She shook her head at them, evidently giving up that topic as a lost cause. "If you say so..."
Shikamaru smirked and redirected his attention to the clouds. Ria simply didn't have the heart to debate heavily; it was one of the two reasons why she rarely won arguments. The other was that she just didn't like conflict, no matter that she was training to be a kunoichi.
Next time:
Somehow, Ria had the feeling Ino's crush wouldn't turn out well. But she said nothing and let things be.
Me: And... I've finally managed to get this story up in the air! Hmm... review and check out my blog? Link's on my profile. Please? Thanks to my betas, of course!
Ri: jasmine