Chapter 2- Tears Fall
Leena Kasuna sat on the stool and stared at her untouched miso ramen. Neji had left hours ago and Leena refused to go home until Ichiraku's closing time. She felt his presence before he even opened his mouth. The orange clad blonde sat beside her and ordered his food. Not noticing the blonde at first, the hyperactive Jinchuriki chattered away with his sensei from the academy Iruka. Several minutes transgressed before Naruto turned his head toward Kasuna and when he did, she looked like a ghost of herself. Her beige skin paled and blue eyes transfixed on her cold food, glittering with sadness.
"Leena I didn't see you there, why haven't you touched your ramen?" he asked seemingly in one breath. The girl let out a sigh, but didn't answer him. He got closer to her face.
"Shouldn't you be with Neji… why do you look sad?" he asked. Leena lifted her eyes to him. Looking at the naïve boy made her eyes tear up.
"Naruto-san… Neji-kun and I broke up" Leena said, her voice soft and cracking with sadness. Naruto looked at her with sympathy. It was almost like he expected it to happen. She looked at him questioningly.
"What do you know Naruto Uzumaki?" He held his hands up in defense.
"Nothing at all Leena, but it is Neji. I'm really not surprised this happened" he said, his voice growing soft. It was true Neji wasn't the easiest to get along with, but his quirks are what originally drew Leena to him. She sighed and collapsed back onto her stool. Pushing the ramen out of the way she looked towards the door. Night had fallen a while ago as did her heart.
"I think I'll be going now" she spoke loud enough so the shopkeeper could hear her. Then she left with no more words to be spoken to anyone. She ran into no one on her walk home; not even her mother who was already asleep when she came through the door. Soon enough, her mother would be leaving to Sunagakure on business. She wondered if maybe her mother had a secret lover in the village. At least one of them did.
She collapsed on her bed in a fit of tears and screamed into her pillow. It was the only comfort she had to go on for now. She screamed until her throat was sore and her voice hoarse. Softly she got out of bed and trounced to the kitchen. Pouring herself a glass of water, she downed it in seconds. Then she made her way back to her room for more sessions of screaming. Leena would not immense herself with chocolate, ice-cream, or sappy movies, she wouldn't want to be a burden on her friends, and she sure as hell didn't want to cry on their shoulders. Curling up into a ball she threw a picture across the room, it was one of Neji she had taken without his awareness, she thought it was funny, getting one up on someone who could use his Byakugan and know everything that was around him.
Leena opened her eyes and squinted in the sunlight coming through her window blinds. She didn't know when she went to sleep but it was bliss as she forgot all the feelings of yesterday for the short while she was unconscious. She sat up and stretched, another ordinary day at the herb shop would be in store for her. Making her way over to the adjoining bathroom she stepped inside the small space and ran through her morning routine. Shower, dress, brush teeth, mess with hair, check appearance, and done. Running downstairs she entered the kitchen just as her mother was leaving.
"Oh Leena, I'm going to remind you that I'm leaving for Sunagakure tomorrow, I'll be gone for a little bit, but I know you can take care of yourself" she said with a smile. Leena picked up an apple and bit into it.
"Do you have a secret lover over there or something?" she asked bluntly. Her mother froze and gave her an agitated look.
"What ever gave you that idea young lady!" she said causing Leena to shrug at her.
"Come on mom really?" Leena said taking another bite of her apple.
"They need new shipments of herbs" her mother said, without any other word, left. Leena sighed and threw the unfinished apple away. After her mother left for Sunagakure, Leena lay around the house to mope. She found this to be an attribute she was actually good in. Sighing for the millionth time Leena rolled over in bed and closed her eyes. If she could go back to sleep, if she could become numb, then she'd be happy. If only she were able to brush this off like it was nothing. The thing is, she couldn't. She wasn't tired and she couldn't achieve numbness. Leena couldn't shake this off. It plagued her mind like an annoying fly that wouldn't leave you alone.
Late morning came sooner than expected. Leena found herself walking the short distance to her mother's herb shop. She had to force herself to sit up and leave her bedroom. Why did this break up bother her so much? Never had she been this upset over anything. Her normal task of running the shop and smiling at the customers seemed daunting. She wished closing time would start even though it wasn't opening time yet.
Unlocking the front door, Leena looked outside into the sunny morning. Genin would be training with their sensei again this morning. Neji would be training with Lee and Tenten while their sensei Gai would watch over the preceding. At the thought of Neji, Leena felt herself tear up. It was amazing how many tears she had. She thought she would have dried out her tear glands. Leena folded her arms on the counter and lay her head in them, closing her eyes. Day one of a breakup equals totally sucks.
The front door of the shop opening caused Leena to look up. In front of her stood Iruka, a chunin and schoolteacher for the little pre-genins. She straightened up and smiled at him.
"Good morning Iruka-san, what ails you?" she asked politely. He walked forward and smiled.
"Good morning Leena, I need some Costus" he said. She nodded and turned towards the shelves. Turning back towards Iruka she handed him his order. In return she got his payment.
"Thanks, come again" she said and waved as he walked out the door. Once he was gone, her smile melted off her face and her eyes saddened. People suck, she finally decided. Not just people either, men. Men sucked the most. Leena attended to the few customers that came into the store and chased out the smaller genin students who intruded to cause her shop trouble. She again plastered a smile on her face when Shikamaru Nara walked into her shop.
"Shikamaru-san, hello how's your mother doing?" Leena asked. Shikamaru grunted at her, his way of speaking. It didn't sit well with Leena though, all men talked like that like they were cavemen, not capable of an actual conversation. The Nara family was the main competitors with the Kasuna family. They made medicine from deer horns that rivaled the herbs Leena collected. Sometimes the medicine worked better than the herbs. But it was a friendly competition between the two and Leena and Shikamaru were good friends.
"Why are you here Shikamaru, cant you just use your family's medicine. It's better than our herbs sometimes" she said.
"Leena, I heard what happened are you okay about it all?" he asked. She could tell he dragged it out by the tone of his voice. His mother probably forced him over here to say something. She was usually like that and could be scary if she didn't get her way.
"I know your mother probably sent you here so you don't have to act nice Shikamaru-san" Leena said. "I'm fine with it all" Shikamaru sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Women they were all impossible to understand. Leena kept that smile on her face the whole time they stood there. Shikamaru knew she wasn't fine but her answer was enough to suffice his mothers worry. He nodded to her then turned and left her alone in the shop. Leena rested her head on the counter. Great, just great now all the genin and their parents in the village will know what happened with Leena and Neji. Her friends might start to worry about Leena becoming depressed. They would try to console her and convince her she can do better. They would not leave her alone no matter how hard she told them she was fine. She couldn't be convincing all the time there would be a time she would fall apart. Her friends would rub her back and say I know I know. It took every fiber in her being not to roll her eyes and scream. She did, however start banging her head on the counter.
"Tough day" She looked up to face Kiba.
"Oh Kiba-san….good afternoon, how are you?" she asked completely ignoring his statement. He inclined his head and stared at her.
"That's a yes then" he said and gave her a smile. He leaned on the counter across from her with Akamaru barking at his heels. Leena groaned and slammed her head back on the counter.
"Sheesh don't hurt yourself Leena, He's not worth it" Kiba said narrowing his eyes. He pulled her head up and away from the counter. She groaned again.
"So you heard" she said. He shrugged at her like it wasn't news.
"Everyone has, you can't keep something like that on the down low you know" Kiba answered.
"Please don't pat my back and tell me its okay, I can't do that right now" Leena pleaded with him. He gave her an incredulous look.
"I'm not one of your girl friends you know, I don't do things like that" he said rather arrogantly. Leena sighed.
"I'm sorry I forgot momentarily. Are you here for herbs?" she asked switching the subject. He shook his head no.
"Just came to hide from mom, she's in a foul mood" Akamaru seemed to whine and laid down at Kiba's feet. Leena leaned over the counter and peered down at him.
"I'm sorry Kiba-san….you know she'll follow your scent here and find you anyway" Leena pointed out. It was Kiba's turn to groan.
"Don't remind me, you can be so cruel Leena Kasuna" he said. "And would you for once drop the formalities, it gets annoying sometimes" Kiba gave her a smile showing off his canines. Leena smiled at him and nodded.
"I would do that…if I remember, sorry Kiba but it's time to close the shop. I'm going home early. Sorry for shutting you out of your safe haven" Leena apologized.
"What if someone needs herbs?" Kiba asked.
"They can get treatment from the Nara family" Leena responded not missing a beat. She led Kiba out of the shop and locked it up. He accompanied her to her home and then headed off towards his own. Leena waved until he and Akamaru were out of sight, then the smile peeled off her face. She sighed before walking into her home and locking the door behind her.