"Time is the longest distance
between two places."
Ayano.
A sweet and precocious girl with white locks that merely passed her shoulders. She was average at best, although seemed to be quick-witted that died out due to time. The time that hindered her sharp personality, but her charisma still remained. A toddler couldn't be melancholic, of course. It was time that altered her persona into nothing more than an average villager with a sad story of her own. Average. Everybody had a story, the world was at war, always was. Not always a war with burning arrows that left trees scorched or skills that could steal lives, maybe something everybody had internalized, so they could claim their own fights alone.
With sad stories for her to tell, they couldn't possibly stand out. People had lost just as much, if not more. The world was beautiful, but destructions kept it interesting and not let things slip off course.
Destructions differentiated world and heaven. In order to travel to the magical land of paradise, people needed to die. With the world sadly losing its inhabitants, heaven couldn't possibly be happier to welcome one.
She waited. She had waited for her time to arrive. It was not a thought that a twelve-year-old usually kept in mind, but she had matured not too long ago. She was precocious.
"Ayano," a distorted voice failed to get her out of the trance that she had entered minutes ago. He sighed heavily, slightly annoyed by her short attention span. "you're spacing out again."
She sharply heard the groves of trees humming the almost melodic tone of their own, getting assisted by the gentle winds of noon. Like an orchestra amidst a battlefield, she couldn't possibly not hear the minor details of it. "I'm all ears. You keep boasting about your little brother, can't help but imagine how great he is. Sasuke is going to be a protegee, I know it."
"I stopped talking about him two minutes ago," the raven-haired heaved a sigh once more, quickly deciphering her code of lies and imitation that she had displayed. For a twelve-year-old, Ayano was too mature. "I was talking about you. How are you doing? You seemed quiet at the academy. I thought it had something to do with the graduation anxiety."
"I'm... I'm not someone who has a fright. I'm more than excited to graduate, maybe I'll think of becoming a medical-nin someday. I think it's great to see families not losing anyone, and I'd like to see that every time," she oddly stated. It was noble but odd at the same time, most children too ponder on their futures, but without similar reasons as hers. "I'll think. Not that I'm actually considering. I just want to tell everybody that the world is still beautiful. Do you think it still is, Itachi?"
Itachi tugged a genuine smile on his face after noticing she had just changed the topic drastically. He rested his fingertips on the grass, gazing at the firmament like she did. "I'd like to think that. But as you grow older, you'll learn that you can't easily change this gigantic place we're living in."
"We're roughly the same age."
"Well, my comprehension skills are not lacking like yours," Itachi poked fun at her more colorful mindset, still filled with curiosity and false hopes. But he shrugged it off, she deserved to think that way like any other child did. Maybe the attachment would soon deteriorate when she realized the world was not more than a planet whose inhabitants tried to dethrone each other. "you barely even passed the test, I think the title of medical-nin suits you best. Especially, you won't have to put up with a physical combat."
Ayano was aghast hearing his insults that stabbed through her chest figuratively, shattering her heart. "Well.. you're smart and more capable of everything than me. You're basically right. But I'm going to be better, I'm going to prosper, in fact, I'm going home and I'm going to train!"
Itachi smiled again, cheering for her sweet-natured disposition. Not even a perilous war zone could tear her apart, she was mentally the strongest person he had ever met. Time would snatch that title from her eventually. "Don't take insults seriously, they're there to let you know your value. Ignore the compliments, they're there to make you stop trying harder."
The white-haired stared in awe of his daily wisdom. She was precocious, but Itachi was something else, he behaved like a wise elder, albeit being only twelve. She didn't want to show her wrath because of his hurtful insults, she wanted to show him that she was more than he'd thought she was. "I know my values, your opinion doesn't really matter."
"It's nice to hear your counter remarks," he complimented the sudden change of her tone. It used to be monotone, but it became warmer gradually. Like a framed photo that looked sweet as the paper foxed, giving it a special vignette effect of its own.
"I'm ignoring your compliment."
Itachi sweatdropped watching her using his words against himself, she behaved like her age, but her comprehension (that Itachi said to be lacking) exuded the maturity like no children her age. Maybe it had to do with her charismatic speech, but he caught himself smitten. A certain feeling arose, the feeling that he tried to erase not too long ago.
Everybody hated the clan Ayano was born in, including none other than his own father. The villagers despised the crest they proudly wore in their clothes, they were too battle-hungry and not even tactical. As a result, only women and few men had survived by managing to leave war unscathed. Even though her clan was near extinction, she took pride on the moon symbol decorated from the back of her attire.
Of course, Ayano was always positive.
"You're spacing out again, Ayano," Itachi flourished his hand around her sight, desperately wanted to earn her attention. He was as patient as a saint would be, being one of those people who could stand the attention span of a goldfish. "are you ill or something? You didn't even show up in the academy for days. I graduated years ago, but I'm watching you, you know."
He didn't expect her to respond, he just stared at her moon-like eyes and the locks that undulated to the blowing breeze. His childhood friend had become more distant, something that he expected due to time. It was natural, her jovial moods were getting swept off, being replaced by gloomy ones.
Itachi let her wander around her own trance by leaving the scene because of somebody calling his name from behind. Ayano still sat atop, watching the blue skies from the steep hill. A spot that they spotted and reserved since they were kids, it was a hideaway. Not near heavenly, but they admired the tranquility they earned and received.
He smiled at his friend's timely arrival. He gazed at the fearful pair of red eyes but didn't budge. "What brought you here, Shisui? Another mission?"
"No, I'm just checking up on you. You're not in the compound, so I was worried," Shisui answered expectantly. He cast his gaze at the white-haired woman who probably eavesdropped their conversation. Probably, because she was in a trance of her own. "who is that? She seems familiar. A girlfriend?"
Red tinge dusted Itachi's cheeks as he shook his head immediately. He repeatedly stole glances at her to see if she heard Shisui's question. "N... no! She's not my girlfriend, she's Ayano. Don't tell father about this."
Ayano turned her face when she heard her name was being mentioned. As a coping mechanism of her own, she widened her eyes as their eyes met. It was a silent introduction, with the towering trees and grasses as their silent witnesses. Her long voluminous hair partially hid her visage, but Shisui could see her daunting lavender eyes. Before speculating her possible heritage, he noticed her white hair.
"A Ōtsutsuki?" he rechecked her appearance, eyeing her from her waist. She looked like a legitimate part of the Ōtsutsuki clan, but her normal complexion (that didn't look like a melanin-deprived person's) and voluminous hair made him have second thoughts. Especially an Uchiha wouldn't want to be seen with a member of the ostracized clan in the first place. "I've seen her around."
"Stop talking like she's not there, Shisui."
He approached the girl who dressed a la gamine, she looked a few years younger than him. Shisui was merely sixteen, but he looked much mature. While Ayano looked somewhere between vulnerable and breathtaking, he had never talked to a Ōtsutsuki before due to their war schedules and filthy image amongst the villagers. He was prepared to face an arrogant girl with such nobility because those were one of many things the clan was known for.
Shisui offered a hand for Ayano to shake in all nervousness as his breath hitched. He was known as a laid-back person, but all the days he spent on the Uchiha Police Force had made him rusty. "I'm Shisui, it's nice to meet you personally. As I haven't got the chance yet."
Ayano got up from her sitting position, gladly shaking his hand although her cheeks were slightly blushing due to her being socially awkward. "I'm Ayano Ōtsutsuki, i- it's nice to meet you as well."
When their eyes met, mother nature blew her timely winds, enhancing and showcasing Ayano's beauty by blowing her white hair perfectly. The locks fell back into place as some strand slid behind her ears once the breeze stopped, her pair of lavender eyes reminded Shisui of a whole land of botanical gardens full of the flowers only. The sunlight even gleamed on her locks, greatly resembling them like reflective diamonds, thus captivating him even more.
Shisui had never seen a twelve-year-old female so mature.
"So.. do you have Byakūgan?" the question just slipped out of his mouth, he desperately wanted to know something so trivial. Especially information about the lavender eyes, Shisui hadn't got the chance to learn about them. "because I don't hang around Ōtsutsukis often. If you don't want to answer, that- that's fine."
Ayano shook her head serenely, the red tinge never left her skin. "No, I'm a halfling. Sorry to disappoint you. Mother says I have it but hasn't yet to awaken it, but I'm quite doubtful. Our clansmen fight a lot, so I don't have the chance to be properly taught about our Kekkei Genkai."
"That won't make you any less special," Shisui reassured as he tried not to bring the girl down. Even though he was conscientious, but he never thought Ayano wouldn't possess the formidable eyes. "I'm sure you'll have it someday."
Itachi was taken aback by their sudden close proximity. "Stop talking like I'm not here either!"
"Tell me, Itachi, why does Fugaku-sama despise her clan so much? I think she - as a clanswoman - is great and trustworthy," Shisui asked, not to earn a definitive answer, but to reassure Ayano that he didn't degrade and disdain her. His smile radiated the loving warmth, making the white-haired feel welcomed.
Itachi shrugged his shoulders, reluctant to answer. "I think you - as my friend - shouldn't steal her away from me. We were having a great time, you know."
"It's your fault that you've been befriending someone behind my back!" he retorted jokingly. Ayano shook her head, feeling overwhelmed by their sudden childishness. People thought those Uchiha prodigies would be fearful and bloodlusted, but here they were, spewing slurs and making herself choose whose at fault.
The noon still stood sternly as the sun refused to swim under the horizon, Ayano gazed up again to remind herself that the world was still beautiful.
To be continued.