That morning, 16 year old Inita Hashi awoke in her dimly lit apartment in downtown Konoha, only to realize that she was late for school.
"No. Not again." She jumped out of bed and hurriedly prepared for the day. Running out of her apartment, she was greeted by Deidara, a prefect at her school and the son of her land lord.
"Late again? Honestly, you lose track of time easily." He laughed casually, strolling next to her.
"I had a weird dream. It was about that legend where that girl jumped off of the cliff near our school. It was so real it was scary…" she murmured, tying her hair ribbon carefully as they reached the sidewalk.
"I wouldn't worry about it…Hey; my parents want to know if you're lonely in there." He stared at her, a little worried.
"Isn't it you who wants to know?" she asked.
"Beat me in a race to school and I'll tell you." He smiled, "Ok?"
"No fair. I can't run that fast with this skirt on and you know it."
"Get a shorter one then." He said tugging at the already above knee skirt.
"No way." She hit him with her bag, "You're such a pervert."
"But you like me that way don't you? Admit it."
"…" she paused to watch a beautiful white horse go by. "It's so pretty."
"Hey, hurry up. If you beat me to the school gate, I'll buy you lunch." He barely saw her outline as she flashed past him, arriving at the school in record time.
She pushed her loose fringe out of her eyes, only to connect stares with Sasuke, who was glaring disapprovingly at her.
"Geez, what's his problem?" she wondered, spotting Jenei next to him.
He waved to her.
"Good morning!"She waved back.
"No way." Deidara laughed strolling in just then. "I thought you said you couldn't run in that skirt."
"Whatever. Where's my money?"
"I said I'd buy lunch for you. I never said I'd give you money for lunch." He smiled, "just let me know what you want when lunchtime comes…There is one condition though."
"What? It's not something weird is it?"
"Nah. Just hang out with me at lunch, that's all."
"Ok…See you then, I guess." She raced away to her classroom.
During Lunch~
Inita sat next to her friend and yawned. "I'm so tired. What can I get for lunch?"
"Anything you want."
"Well, how much money do you have? I don't want you to spend it all on me."
"…Fine. What do you want within a $90 limit?"
"Ninety?" she sputtered. "That much?"
"Is that a lot? …Well, whatever. The next time I do something for you, promise me you'll get a shorter skirt; one that barely withstands the breeze." He could hardly picture her wearing one. It just wasn't her personality.
"Are you insane? I won't promise you anything like that!" She frowned.
He laughed, "You'd look strange in it anyway. I just wanted to see your face when you reacted to it." He handed her the money. "Go buy what you want."
"Thanks." She smiled, running towards the café across the street which was owed by the Katsunes.
The bell above the door rang as she entered alerting Jenei Katsune's 19 year old brother, who was managing the café for the morning, to her presence.
"Morning, Inita. Why aren't you at school? That's where all the good little girls belong…Unless you're not so good." Kiyo shot her a flirtatious grin.
She only stared back blankly, unsure of what he meant. "I just want lunch."
He sighed. How could she be so immune to his charms? "What do you want? Sushi? Ramen?"
"Um…. Shrimp Okonomiyaki."
"Coming right up." He didn't wait for his employees to respond, and personally returned with her order, fully seasoned and decorated.
"Yeay!" she squealed, excitedly hungry.
"You know, Inita, the Summer Solstice Festival is coming up….Are you going?" he asked.
"I guess. I haven't had anyone ask me yet."
"Oh… Wanna go with m…?"
"Inita!" Deidara burst in, "It's crazy. Jenei and Sasuke are fighting."
"Seriously? I thought they were best buds."
"Even weirder, their fight is over you."
"No way!"
She rushed out, only to return second later and yell, "Keep my food warm, ok?"
"No worries." Kiyo smiled.
"Whatev…" And she was gone.
Deidara glared at his companion. "Kiyo…Long time no see."
"Yeah. Still quite the playboy I've noticed." His bright smile turned to and icy frown.
"How long ago was that? The last ice age?"
"Before you got used to having to take care of that poor orphan who just ran outside."
"That's a lie. I've always treated her like a sister."
"And then some."
"…What do you want with her anyway, huh?" He tilted his head to the side.
"Don't you know? My brother came home talking about her and I got curious. I became interested in her because she was cute and funny…But damn she's dense."
"Take that back!" Deidara growled.
"So has she realised that any of us like her? No. Not you, not me, not Jenei…and if that Uchiha kid likes her, she'll never notice it since he's so anti-social." Kiyo pointed out.
"It doesn't matter if she realizes or not. I don't want to give her more worries that she already has."
"Then give up on her already. That's half her worries gone." His rival smirked.
"You're so…"
Inita ran back in.
"Did you see them?" Deidara asked.
"No…I was across the street on the sidewalk arguing in my head about whether or not to come back for the food…"
"I'll buy you something else later, k?" Deidara murmured, patting her head.
"Awesome." She beamed. "Let's go watch the fight now…Bye Kiyo."
"Later."
In the school yard~
"Sasuke, she is not!" Jenei raged, held back by some previous bystanders, "I can't believe you could say that about Inita." A trail of blood flowed from a gash on his forehead.
"She's a b***h. Accept it." His ex-friend growled, restrained by his brother and another prefect. "Ever since she showed up, our friendship has taken a death spiral." He snarled, making the bruise on his cheek more obvious.
"It's not fair to judge her like that. If anything, it's my fault."
"Fine. It's your fault then. Just give her up."
"What's going on?" She asked, her innocent eyes gazing from one to the other.
"So unfair." One girl sighed.
"She's too popular."
"We can never win."
"Fighting over me? How ridiculous."
"Inita-chan…" Jenei seemed at a loss. Was she telling him to give up?
"Everyone knows the position of brother is already filled." She indicated to Deidara.
Everyone shot her blank stares.
"Is she crazy?"
"I think she's just oblivious to what's going on."
Inita stared at them. "What?"
"You're insane right?" Sasuke asked.
"No…" she admitted, weakly. "I…I just didn't want anyone to get hurt because of me, so I acted as though I didn't notice your feelings. It was wrong, I know and you ended up getting hurt anyway."
She pulled a bandage from her pocket and gave it to the Katsune heir.
"Thanks…" He smiled a little, hesitating as to whether or not he should kiss her.
"You're welcome." She replied, waving goodbye and returning to her 'brother.' "Onii-san…What do I eat now?"
He laughed as they walked away. "I don't know. You're the one who's hungry."
"I'm starving." She emphasized her need for food.
"Stop complaining." He shot her a steely gaze, warning her.
"Or what?" Inita pouted, defiant.
Everyone stopped to stare at them. Would the 'siblings' have their first ever fight today?
He held her face in his palm, staring sternly at her.
She shivered under his serious gaze. This look was new…He was usually so carefree and kind that she had never seen his solemn side.
His eyes narrowed, sending shivers down her spine. A growl escaped his throat with somewhat indescribable qualities.
"Don't hurt me." She begged inwardly.
He growled again, in a possessive way. In an instant his lips connected with hers, stealing her first kiss.
"Deidara?" She gazed at him in disbelief, a blush lingering on her face.
He leaned closer, trapping her against a wall. "Hey nee-chan…" he whispered quietly into her ear, "Is it ok if you become my toy?" His tongue trailed over her earlobe.
"Stop it…Everyone's watching." Her face grew redder by the second.
"Let them. I don't care." He gravitated towards her neck.
"You're a prefect. You shouldn't be doing this."
He exhaled gently over the reddish-pink mark on her skin. "I am no longer your brother, ok?"
"I-if you want to talk about it, how about on the way home this evening?" She was practically feverish from his kisses and was so close to melting in his arms that he could feel it.
"I don't want to talk about it." He murmured, annoyed. "I want you…So; I'm not going to play the part of the older sibling anymore, ok?"
"…ok…" she murmured meekly.
"Great." He turned to the others who were watching, but singled out the guys he knew liked her, "Good luck." And he walked to his class, an arrogant smirk lingering.
She sighed. He had really changed in those few minutes. And what did he mean by that; 'I want you?'
"Inita…" Jenei strolled over to her. "Are you ok?"
"Yea…" she shook off the blush, "I'm fine. Sorry if I worried you."
"It…It's ok. I'm just glad you're alright." He took her hand, "Inita…"
"Oh…Your cut. Let's go to the nurse's office."
"It's ok. I'm fine…I just have one request…"
"Ok…"
"Come with me…" he hid the blush, "to the Solstice Festival."
"Sure!"
"You seem really happy." Deidara commented as they walked home.
"Yeah. I'm going to the Solstice festival with Jenei."
"Can I come with you?" He smirked, knowing she still thought of him as a brother.
"Why not. It'll be fun." She smiled.
As Inita ran towards the fountain in the middle of the festival the guys trailed behind her. Besides Jenei and Deidara, Sasuke and Kiyo happened to invite themselves along.
"It's so pretty!" she whirled around, her lavender kimono faintly glowing in the sunlight.
Gazing into the water, an image that definitely wasn't her reflection flashed before her eyes. It paused and stared at her, vanishing moments later.
"Innocent…" the word rang out in her ears.
"Did you say something?" she asked Deidara.
"No…What did you hear?"
"I thought…Never mind, I'm sure it's nothing…"
Jenei, annoyed by the presence of the other guys, at last turned to them, "Ok. Deidara came along to mess up our date, Kiyo came because he was curious…Sasuke, why the hell are you here?"
"I need to have a reason now?"
Inita wandered off amid their argument. Suddenly, she realized she was lost.
"Guys? Deidara? Jenei?" No answer.
The crowd seemed to be thick enough to crush her. Breaking free, she discovered some steps in a hillside. Curious, she descended them.
Suddenly, the figure from the fountain flashed past her, whispering, "Stay away…"
She shivered as she reached the bottom step. The air had suddenly become cold. She looked around; a Sakura blossom tree at the edge of a cliff…Why was that so familiar?
Automatically, a scene played over in her mind. The girl…The cliff….The tree… Inita cautiously crept closer, staring over the edge. This was where the girl in the legend died…
As if that wasn't creepy enough, it was beginning to get dark and misty. And was it her imagination, or was the water starting to ripple unusually?
Crack! A sudden noise. She looked around. It was just the branch on the tree…
"Inita? Inita! Where are you?"
"Jenei! I'm down he…"
CRACK!
A low rumbling echoed through the air. It felt as though an earthquake had hit….At least to Inita. Her eyes focused at last downwards to the area where the cliff was quickly breaking apart.
Reaching out feebly, she only had time to cry, "Help meeee!"
"Inita!"
"KYA!"
Her frantic scream was useless. The only plummeted ever faster towards the sea.
"No!" Jenei was petrified. Was she going to die?
The surface exploded into tiny beads of liquid, suspended for mere seconds before they covered her body and surrounded her. Her kimono only tangled around her and weighed her down as she fought to reach the surface for air. Water flooded her ears and drifted into her nose. Her mind numbed, only able to process one sentence; "I don't want to die."
As she began to lose consciousness, the figure appeared to her once more. Her eyes couldn't focus for to long…The water in her lungs was far too distracting. They closed slowly.
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…" The same voice that had murmured 'innocent'. "It's too late…"
Her companions stared in disbelief at the ocean below. Why her? What had she ever done?
"Somebody, call the police or something…"
"Wait…" Sasuke noticed something unusual…A glow emitting from below the surface…
An faint ripple here and there became concentrated to one point. Traversing the last barrier layer of water, they noted the silhouette of a girl floating higher and higher….floating on air.
As it came to rest at their feet and the blinding glow faded, they realized it was Inita's lifeless body. But how…?
A faint aura took the form of a girl in a tattered, bloody kimono. She touched Inita's forehead and turned away. Her skin was pale and her eyes were dim. Her bare feet left watery tracks back to the edge of the cliff.
"You… You're that girl from the legend."
She smiled a little, "Please take good care of her."
At this the water shot up and twirled around her, entangling her in its ribbons and dragging her back to her undersea tomb.
A cough. Water spurted from Inita's mouth. She rolled over and hacked up the rest, clearing her lungs. She took deep, gasping breaths of air; sweet, sweet air. The salt stung her eyes as she tried to focus on her surroundings.
"Is this…Heaven?"
"Inita!" Jenei, Deidara and the other two now surrounded her.
"I'm…Alive?" she looked at her hands and then pinched herself. "I am…"
Deidara lifted her, cradling her in his arms. "Let's go home." He smiled.
"Yes…"
"I'm coming too." Jenei declared.
"I'll get dinner ready." Kiyo offered.
"…Dibs on taking of her kimono." Sasuke at last said.
"…You little pervert."
Their argument escalated as they made their way through the crowd. One thing was for sure though. Everyone was glad Inita was still alive.
