"Hey, Hota-chan! I know that you probably won't do well and all that, but you seem lonely now that Neji isn't eating in here, so.. would you like to come outside and eat with me? You can even be on my team when we play ninja.." I inquired, in her little sickly sweet tone of hers. Although it was strange.
She was inviting me to do something. With her. Lee was my friend, I would say my only friend. Perhaps this was a method of kindness. She was testing my emotional strength? To see if I would break down at all from her harassment.
Then playing ninja would be another sort of rite of passage? Although Lee didn't do this sort of thing upon first meeting him. Perhaps he was just strange? I could ask Shino when he came over next.
Shino, sort of my lifeline to the outside world. He didn't talk that much. Although he was honest. He would be allowed over to play and train with me when Uncle Shibi came to visit and check in on me. As I was his niece. Shino would be joining the academy in 2 years.
"I think I would like to join, although I've never played," I explained.
"Alright, well I can explain it to you," she explained. I followed after her, "so it's like tag-"
"What's tag?" I interrupted.
I heard her laugh out in a snort, "you don't know what tag is?"
I suddenly felt very self conscious.
"Foot out!" Came the warning call of the bugs, to which I had swerved around as we walked. I heard Aki let out a choked sound of surprise.
"Either way like I was saying, each person is on a team and if someone from the other team touches you, then you're out." She explained. "There are harder versions that we play sometimes, where someone has to be touched in the chest, neck, head, or back to be out. Right now we're just playing the regular version," she explained.
"How will we know who's on each team?" I asked.
"Well normally you remember who's on your team," she explained with a laugh.
When we made it outside I heard someone yell, "hey! Aki!" A bunch of footsteps walked towards us.
"Heyyyyy! I brought Hota-chan to play with us!" She chirped. I felt eyes on me.
"Today we're doing boys versus girls!" Aki explained to me.
Another girl then called out, "can I be on the boy's team with Lee?"
"Sure, be on the same team as your boyfriend...!" Aki teased. What was so wrong with being friends with a boy?
I heard Tenten huff out. "He's not my boyfriend! Lee's just my friend!" I heard Lee attempt to stutter something out. What was so wrong with being friends with a boy?
"Oh yeah? Then why are you always hanging out with him then?" Aki inquired.
"Because he's nicer than you!" Tenten stated I heard her blowing a raspberry.
Aki stayed quiet for a long second. "Whatever you say as an excuse, he's still your bushy browned boyfriend in my eyes." She huffed out.
"Can we play now?" I asked. Aki turned back to me.
"Yeah, like Hota said, let's just get started..!" She huffed out. I heard footsteps and stood next to Aki.
"We will start on the count of 3," Aki stated.
"3..."
"2..."
"1... GO!"
And we were off,
To the right!
I jerked out of the way at the sound of the warning. And I felt a hand on my back. "Hota's out!" I heard Aki yell out. I huffed out, sitting on the ground.
After a few moments of playing, I heard Aki yell out in victory. "We win! Only Hota went out!"
"That's not fair! Neji hadn't joined yet!" Lee complained. "Neji are you almost done!" I heard him ask.
I heard Neji get up from his spot. "Yeh, I'm done eating now."
"Alright then! Let's start!" Aki yelled out.
"3, 2, 1, go!"
I decided in order to prevent myself from being caught in the crowd, to run. I ran through the crowd of children dodging around the strikes aimed towards me as the kidaichu guided.
Once I heard the sound quiet down a bit more, indicating I was further away from the fray, the kidaichu called "front!". I jumped to the side. Unsure of where to attempt to strike, and not wanting to get hit as consequence.
"Right!"
"Left!"
"Front!"
"Left!"
A flurry of attacks came at me, one after the other I dodged out of the way as I've been trained.
I then felt a quick jab into my elbow. I clutched my arm, grinding my teeth together. As that actually hurt.
I sat down in my spot as I heard Rock Lee, Tenten, and the other boys cheering. "We won!"
With that, the bell rang, and we made our way back inside. I didn't even know who had gotten me out.
Once we were inside and took our seats I heard Lee talking to me, "how were you dodging Neji like that? It's like you have a sixth sense or something!" He asked excitedly.
"I guess I just know how and where he's attacking," I explained with a shrug.
"It would be awesome if you joined our team.. to be honest, the boys versus girl thing is really dumb.." Lee huffed out. I was about to respond when Yamanaka sensei spoke up.
"Alright girls, listen up, today we will be beginning kunoichi classes. These are remedial classes that will be taking place every Tuesday and Thursday. They will be teaching you how to be a proper kunoichi," she explained.
With that, there was a knock at the door. "That should be your sensei now..!" She chirped, and a woman walked in.
She had a soft voice, and graceful footsteps, "hello everyone! My name is Reena Shoyo! You may call me Shoyo-sensei. I will be taking the girls with me now to kunoichi classes," she explained. "Now, if you will, girls, you can follow me," she said softly.
I had gotten up from my spot. Following the near-silent footsteps of Shoyo-sensei. I wonder how she walked so quietly? I wondered to myself. I would have to ask her about it.
So we followed her into a different room, we all took our seats, I sat in my regular spot right next to the door. She spoke with a strong, yet gentle voice.
"Hello everyone! Welcome to your first day of kunoichi lessons. We will be taking these lessons every Tuesday and Thursday, after lunch, so after lunch report directly to this room," she explained with a small clap.
"You may ask what we will be learning, but we will be learning many things that are possibly important for espionage, balance, grace, and being a kunoichi. Our first lessons will surround around flowers and learning their meanings, and medical uses," she explained.
I heard muttering around the classroom. I became rather excited at the prospect. I could learn about flowers here too?
"Yes? What is your name?" Shoyo-sensei inquired.
"My name is Aki, and what is the point of learning the meanings of flowers, that seems kind of useless as a shinobi.." Aki stated.
I heard Shoyo-sensei let out a devious little giggle. "You see, many flowers can be deadly. Knowing flower arrangements, their meanings, these things are simply for show.. Depending on the flower, it can kill you in a heartbeat. Especially certain types that only bloom when exposed to chakra," she explained.
I felt a small swelling of chakra within the room, and the class gasped out. I suppose something happened?
"Others that release gas should you poke and prod them correctly," a noxious odor filled the room and I coughed out. It just smelled horrible.
"And others, that perk up a bit with a bit of chakra," there was a quiet whizzing then a thump in the back of the room. Indicating the delicate little flower was thrown into the wall like a dart.
"We will be learning other things as well, but we will be beginning with flowers," she explained.
.
.
.
I sat at the table, as a servant read out a book of flowers to me. I explained that it was a part of Kunoichi classes. Shino sat beside me, listening quietly.
Flowers, they were tender, soft, and gentle. Then, with a little bit of research, they could become deadly, prickly, and venomous.
I rolled a flower through my fingers, a peony to be exact. It had a strong, sweet scent that I adored. That was why it was my favorite. The kidaichu also loved the nectar of it. I was currently listening to each meaning of each flower (listed within the book).
After a few moments, she had finished. "That's the first chapter, Hota-chan."
"Thank you, you may stop for today," I responded.
I sighed out as I heard her step out of the room, slumping over.
"You didn't mind listening to all of that?" I asked Shino, stretching my arms out.
"I didn't mind," came his curt response. He was younger than me, and already so quick and curt with his responses.
"So.. umm... this is a weird question, and I don't want to sound rude, but.. do you have friends..?" I asked quietly.
Shino paused for a moment, "well, dad brings me to the park sometimes to play with the other kids and when I'm there I'm usually around an Inuzuka boy, Kiba, that drags me around with him collecting beetles." I nodded in response.
"That sounds like a friend.. what do you guys do? I think a girl in my class is trying to be my friend because she invited me to play ninja with her, but I'm just confused.." I sighed out.
"Well.. do you like being around her?" He asked.
"Not really," I responded almost immediately.
"Then I wouldn't consider her one."
I nodded. "Thank you, Shino. Even though you're my cousin, I think you're my friend.." I sighed out, crossing my arms on the table and pushing my face into my sleeves. "Everything in this house, and at school.. it just feels so suffocating.. I never know what's happening, and everyone at school thinks that I am weak, because I'm blind, but here at home.. Himoka just has me constantly working... I just want to do what I want to do.." I huffed out.
"Then what do you want to do?" He asked.
"Take care of flowers and grow them.." I responded, muffled by my sleeves. "Although Himoka has me under her thumb.. she basically owns me because.. because papa.."
I felt him place a hand on my back, "you don't have to talk about it.. I'll talk to dad and see if he can do anything, alright?"
I nodded and sat up a bit, his hand drifting from my back, I gave him a little smile, my brave face. I knew that uncle Shibi couldn't do anything. "Thank you, Shino.. wanna go help me get slugs out of the garden?" I asked.
I stood up as I heard his hum in agreement.