The main house grew tension like mold after a flood. Yukiji seemed far more busy nowadays, running errands in and out of town. Behind Maori followed whispers of horrible things Asami couldn't imagine people would say about her. Even some of the house keepers were less inclined to empathize with the heiress. More and more, Asami felt the grip on her older sister slipping. It was hard for the young kunoichi to sit by passively.

With a bit of convincing, and a white lie or two, Asami left the main house and went on her way to the other side of the village in search for her friends. Normally, the young maidens were monitored by fellow subordinates of the Chinatsu clan, but somehow she convinced her parents that she would be taking an innocent stroll through the park with a fellow kunoichi for the day.

Well, the story wasn't entirely false.

"GOT 'EM!" Shouted the ever vigilant Shisui. Having a free day to himself, he decided it was best spent with the others, Asami, Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha. Though Sasuke struggled to keep up, each of them had taken the task of delivering several stow away pets for the village locals.

Now racing through the park, the four tykes had caught their third kitten for the day, by lead of Shisui. They cleverly creation a four man formation, surrounding the kitten at the ground while Shisui scoured above. Asami had set trap wire cleverly ahead of the animal, and once it rushed against the strings, it was nothing to capture it. Each of them cheered for their hard efforts, and with the animal set in his cage, together they sat to enjoy the peaceful forest. Asami, being the thoughtful, homely girl she was, packed four bento boxes specially arranged for each person.

"This is the fourth time her cat's escaped, you know," Itachi remarked about the renowned Miss Kurani, who seemed to love animals more than they loved her. He bit into another flesh of his dumpling as his brother sniggered.

Shisui couldn't help to laugh himself. "I can't complain. It gives me something to do every spring."

Asami shook her head, quietly smiling as she ate away at her shrimp rolls. Itachi subtly eyed her while they prattled on, and waited to finish the mush of food in his mouth.

"That was a nice trick you did back there, using trap wire at the forest floor," He commented. It threw her off.

Shisui looked at her and smiled. "Yes, that was smart thinking. Very clean. Without that I don't think it would have been that easy to catch the cat."

Asami averted her stare. "No big deal, right?"

"The little things make a difference."

She was quiet even in flattery, and concentrated on eating her lunch.

It wasn't long before the other village kids filled the park to play, and the group had been swept into their array of games, the first being a game of kickball. Asami idly sat on the sidelines, fearing to further scuff her yukata and ruin her chance of a clean get away at home. Though prompted by her friends, Uo Furiko and Itsuki Minamoto, everyone knew that she had no business getting her hands dirty.

Still, it didn't hurt to try once in a while.

A hide and seek game followed, and as it was more friendly for Asami, she opted to be the receiver and counted down as everyone scrambled to hide. Her eyes opened. The fields were clear of noise. She took a moment to focus then sped off.

This game, Asami had practically mastered. Even without depending on her high sensory, her intuition was a force to be reckoned with, even at this age. She prided herself by every find, and even after scuffing her silk fabric she was bouncing through trees, unbothered by whatever trouble she'd face later. As she went further, a rustling sound alerted her. Another one. She grinned and stopped at a branch, looking down.

It was obvious that someone had been hiding in the brush below. She felt their energy. But as she listened in, she could tell that two voices were going back and forth with each other. A curiosity took over her. She lithely made it down the tree to tip-toe closer.

"I don't understand why you do this," It was a girl. She sounded distressed. Almost angry. "You say all of these great things, but act like I'm the worst person in the world."

"I'm sorry for that –" Shisui? " – I don't mean to make you feel that way. Understand why I keep my distance."

A tremor began at her hands. Asami urged herself further. I need to do it, she coaxed herself, reaching for the brush, I need to see the faces.

"Shisui, please…" It fell quiet. Asami had carefully leered over and saw Usami and Shisui facing each other. She had her hand on his face, and Asami remembered the glimmer in both of their eyes as they looked at another so intimately. At that age, she could hardly understand such internal emotions, but the jealousy that burned her insides made perfect sense.

From their end, Asami's looming figure was nothing but a mere shadow, and instinctively, Shisui fingered one of his stars and sent it cutting through the air. Of course it wasn't direct, he mostly wanted to give a warning to whoever was lurking. Asami let out a gasp and stumbled back. The two popped from out of the bushes. "What was that? – Asami?" Usami was utterly confused.

Her heartbeat was rampant. She was fighting to catch her breath but it was hard. Her emotions were swelling in her throat and it felt like someone threw dust in her eyes. The girl could hardly control her shaking fists. She looked at the two, and stupidity was all she could think of herself.

Asami began backing away, holding her cheek in her hand as it began to burn. Shisui opened his mouth. She disappeared.

She didn't focus on anything. Her mind was plagued with a thousand different things and there was no way she could connect with just one alone. Usami used to be no one in particular to Asami, just a girl people constantly compared her to, because they shared a similar name. Who would have guessed that they fell for the same stupid boy?

She ran clear through the village, and just as she was passing the bridge she knocked herself into someone's torso, stumbling backwards. A hand grabbed her by her wrist before she could fall. It was Jin, her guardian.

"Lady Asami where have you been?" He gave her a once over. "Look at your face! Don't tell me you've been playing with those kids again."

She was holding on so tightly to her strength. She didn't want to hear a lecture right now. "I - -"

He had already been pulling her behind him. "This is exactly why we forbid such play. Come! Yukiji won't be happy about this. . ."

They trudged back home quietly. Jin tried to pry more answers out of her, wanting to know if she had been playing with the Uchiha boys, a regular offense of hers. But he shortly gave up once he realized that she wouldn't say much. It took a lot of her to keep herself together. She didn't have the energy to talk about anything.

Once reaching the estate, they met Maori and her guard at the front entrance. She and Jin exchanged a few words, and out of it Asami only heard her sister say, "I'll talk to her." He left shortly after.

Maori waved her hand, dismissing her guard, and stood on the veranda facing her sister. Asami kept her eyes low.

"What happened?" She inquired.

"Nothing." Asami answered.

"You expect me to believe that nothing happened? Nothing at all?"

Asami didn't answer. She trudged up the steps, keeping her head down.

"You can't see them anymore." Maori said, and she paused.

"Good." She disappeared inside the house.