Just as quickly as the Yamanaka girl had appeared to save the civilian children she also disappeared. Daiki was left alone with one of the boys he had been previously tormenting as well as the unconscious bodies of his former friends. As soon as the threats had been temporarily neutralised she turned to Daiki, turned to the civilian boy, than ran off into the forest. She was almost as strange as the rumours speculated, but in a completely different way.
Daiki slowly approached the only other conscious person in the clearing, gauging his reactions to the advancement. Once reaching a close but respectful distance from the frightened boy, Daiki began a plan.
"I'm Daiki,"
The civilian born boy's back foot inched backwards buy Daiki didn't approach any further.
"Do you know that Yamanaka girl?"
The boy relaxed almost unnoticeably but clearly became confused and thoughtful.
"…no…not really…you?"
"Same. I just know she is a girl from our class that moved from the class below a couple of weeks ago. Quiet. Loner. Nothing else really,"
"…clan kid,"
"What?"
"She's a clan kid…like you…but Yamanaka,"
In this brief conversation Daiki realised that the little bit that he knew about the girl was still more than his non-existent knowledge of the boy standing in front of him. Things might be worth another shot.
"Daiki Inuzuka,"
"…I know…"
The silence drew on and set Daiki's instincts on edge but he held his impulses together.
"Well…What about you?"
"…Civilian,"
This was getting exhausting.
"Yeah, okay…How about just a first name then?"
"… … …Tatsuya…"
It was a start.
The dullest conversation ever was interrupted by a collective groan from the bullies currently face-first on the ground. A shared glance was all that was required before Daiki and Tatsuya ran off in the same direction as their strange saviour.
Kasumi hardly thought back to that clearing during the break. She only did what was right but was afraid that beating up clan born children could result in clan troubles. For the moment Kasumi just wanted to enjoy the inevitably short time in which her family, mainly parents, would accept her before something occurred to drive them apart again.
Just as Inoichi and Airi had promised their youngest daughter they both rewarded her promotion within the Academy in their own way. During the brief break from the Academy that the students received at the end of the year Kasumi continuously visited the family flower shop as well as catch-ups with the Akimichis and Naras. Even Ino's tricks and troublemaking didn't get her twin into as much trouble as usual. However, it was all just an illusion. The warm sun before the eternal storm.
The initial clue that things had truly changed for the better was the first time Airi took Kasumi to the Yamanaka flower shop, without Ino even! Kasumi had been there on a couple of occasions but it had been a couple of years since she had done more than walk through the front door and said hello, today she would get to work there and actually have a bit of fun. Something extremely rare nowadays.
The day started off with a family breakfast, something else that was considered rare as well with either Kasumi in her room or Inoichi at work, and during the period of silence that signalled everyone enjoying and devouring their food Airi decided to break it in order to avoid breaking her promise.
"Kasumi dear,"
This got the sudden attention of the rest of the family present at the table with food halfway to mouths and said mouths hanging open. It wasn't until Airi cleared her throat that everyone returned from their temporary frozen state. It also earnt a quick almost frightened response from said child.
"Yes!"
This got gentle smiles from the parents and an uncertain frown from the sister beside her.
"Would you like to come with me to the shop today?"
"YES!"
Both girls ended up out of their seats at this, one from excitement the other from fright. It was extremely unusual for Kasumi to be this loud and at this realisation Inoichi erupted in joyous and jubilant laughter. Airi herself smiled as well before accepting the decision with a nod. Afterwards it only took seconds for Kasumi to finish off her breakfast meal before racing down the hallway to her room to begin preparing for the hopefully fun and enjoyable day ahead.
Airi and Kasumi made their way through the streets of Konoha that bustled with life. Multiple people stopped to talk to the Yamanaka pair but they were still able to make it to the store before opening time. Kasumi loved the sight and smell that assaulted her senses when she entered that shop. Even though the flowers hadn't been arranged for display they still provided a sea of colour and the smell was an indescribably delightful mix of all the different aromas of the variety of flora species present in the confined space. The small brunette Yamanaka stood in the middle of the room with her eyes closed and allowed the calming scent of the flowers to surround her and take over her mind. Kasumi remained a statue for several minutes as her mother went to the back of the store to retrieve a couple more flowers that had been ordered the day before.
"Kasumi,"
Broken out of her reverie, Kasumi turned to her mother with a small smile on her face. The full attention of Kasumi allowed Airi to continue.
"Would you like to organise the displays at the front of the store or by the windows?"
"Can I work with the orchids and tulips?"
Airi did a short, soft and sad laugh at this before approaching Kasumi, closing the rest of the distance between them and placing her hands gently on her youngest daughter's shoulders.
"I forgot those are your favourite…"
Airi could no longer look her daughter in the eye and found the floor momentarily of great and sad interest. It took a few more seconds for Airi to continue after spending the brief time in deep contemplation about the young girl before her.
"I think they would look really beautiful by the window!"
This smile was a lot more genuine and sweet and replicated in kind by Kasumi. Once Airi removed her hands from Kasumi's shoulders the two brunette Yamanakas got to work setting up the floral displays for when customers arrived. Kasumi was given free range to work with whatever flowers she wanted for her floral arrangements and Airi would come over periodically to praise Kasumi on her work. It unnerved Kasumi at first but after a while she came to appreciate this affectionate attention that she could only ever remember being directed at Ino. After a while Airi went out to the back to work on different orders, specifically those placed by the shinobi of the village concerning herbal poisons and remedies, and in her absence Kasumi was placed in charge of the counter. There was a steady stream of customers who all made comments and conversation regarding Kasumi's role and age. Everyone was extremely pleasant and it gave Kasumi an opportunity to test her floral knowledge. She even memorised all of the orders, shinobi and floral, so that when the customers came in she knew exactly where the order was which earnt her even more praise and compliments.
Besides the occasional journey to the back of the shop to see her mother and get certain orders this carried on for most of the day with a brief break for lunch. During this time Airi came out and brought the home made lunches with her. Between the few customers trickling in the two female Yamanakas enjoyed their lunch with a bit of light conversation based around this new situation experienced by both of them.
"You've been doing a very good job with the shop,"
"Thanks mum!"
"Maybe next year you might be able to work out back on the poisons and remedies. Since you have advanced in the Academy I don't think anyone in the clan will mind especially with you impressing that clan elder at you and Ino's birthday party a while back,"
"Yes please! That would be so much fun!"
"It's so good to see you this happy again…it has been too long…"
"Now is a gift, that's why it's called the present. I'm just happy because of what is happening now, I don't want to worry about the past,"
"I've always admired your maturity. It complements Ino very well,"
This final mention of Ino is what ended the lunchtime conversation which had taken a turn for the worse towards the end. The rest of the lunch was eaten quickly and quietly before Airi returned to the room at the back of the store and Kasumi checked the displays.
It was a couple of hours and Airi hadn't emerged from the back room while Kasumi continued serving the customers who wandered in to inspect the floral displays or pick up orders. Kasumi was able to recognise certain features of some of the people that came in that distinguished what clan they were from and this is what happened at the end of those couple of people entered the flower shop, a man, a woman holding a small child and a young girl around the same age as Kasumi. All four members of this family had the same features that distinguished them as members of the prestigious Hyuga clan with their light, pupil-less, lavender eyes. The man seemed very stern, the woman gentle and the young girl was hiding behind both her parents.
"Hello! Welcome to the Yamanaka Flower Shop!"
"Hello dear,"
The woman smiled kindly at Kasumi while her partner diverted his attention to some of the displays.
"We came for an order,"
The man made Kasumi jump at his sudden statement but she masked her surprise quickly with a smile because she had already memorised all of the orders.
"Is it the order for the water hemlock and white snakeroot poisons?"
This question earnt a head turn from the Hyuga male who was surprised by the knowledge, or at least the memory, of this young girl who also appeared to be running the store by herself. After a little bit of thought on his part the tall, dark haired Hyuga answered.
"Yes and I would also like to place an order for some remedies,"
Kasumi didn't have to take time to contemplate the information and form her answer like the Hyuga did.
"Okay. I will just quickly get your vials and then I can take down your next order,"
With that Kasumi jumped off her step that she had behind the counter and went to one of the bookshelves along the back wall of the shop. Some of the bookshelves had books and scrolls on numerous flora descriptions along with boxes containing orders and other concoctions. It was one of these boxes that Kasumi went to that was located on one of the lower shelves, after being moved by Kasumi earlier during the day, and she took out two small jars.
Hiashi Hyuga was the head of the Hyuga clan and he watched the young girl in front of him with curiosity. This girl was surprisingly professional for a child of her age. It started him wondering about how he could get his own shy and quiet daughter to grow and have this much potential. Hiashi didn't have very long to contemplate this either as the Yamanaka girl placed his order on the countertop and retrieved a notepad and pen to write down the order he requested earlier.
"The vial with the green line around the rim is the snakeroot and the blue line is the water hemlock. What would be your next order?"
"I would like some remedies this time. A calendula salve and a thuja leaf salve,"
"Of course. It is a very common combination being a wound healer and an infection fighter. This order should get done quite quickly so I would expect it to be done by the end of the week. If you would like me to, I will go out the back and ask my mum when she thinks it will be finished,"
"No. That's alright,"
Instead of taking the vials off the counter, Hiashi spoke to his eldest daughter who was sheltering behind the legs of her mother.
"Hinata,"
The small dark blue haired girl became startled at her father's sudden attention and made a hasty reply.
"Yes,"
Still not facing his child Hiashi continued at the acknowledgement to proceed, however unnecessary.
"What flowers would you like?"
"U-u-u-um…"
"Stop stammering Hinata,"
"Yes…um… …,"
Hinata mumbled something at the end but it was inaudible to everyone else in the shop.
"Hinata,"
"I don't know what flowers…"
In order to save the girl who was about to get another scolding from her father Kasumi jumped off her step and moved to the front of the counter to be in front of the girl. Even though they were the same age Kasumi couldn't help but thinking how different they were. Kasumi recognised the young Hyuga from her class from the year before. They hadn't spoken at all but that doesn't mean that Kasumi was about to let her be told off by her stern father.
"What is your favourite colour?"
Hinata seemed surprise by the question but after a little bit of stammering she was finally able to answer.
"Blue…"
"Well, I know there are some blue irises and orchids and I think we have some morning glories but they are more of a purple-blue. Would you like to have a look at them and then decide?"
Hinata emerged slightly from behind her mother to get a better look at the girl who was being so nice to her. Then upon remembering the rumours she heard about the brunette Yamanaka who was in her class last year Hinata returned to her pervious cowering position. Kasumi noticed the frightened look as she still experienced it now so instead of taking offense she decided to turn Hinata's opinion of her. So the young Yamanaka walked over to one of the pots on a bench in the middle of the shelf that contained individual flowers of all types. With one of each of the blue flowers in hand, Kasumi approached Hinata again and offered her the flowers.
"Which one do you like?"
Hinata looked like she was about to pass out from the mix of being shy, scared and surprised all at once. If it wasn't for the death clutch the young Hyuga had on her mother she probably would have fallen over but with a throat clearing from the Hyuga clan head Hinata finally forced herself to respond.
"I-I-I like th-the th-the … th-th-that one,"
Kasumi handed Hinata the iris with a gentle and genuine smile on her face which grew when the blue haired girl accepted the offering and emerged completely from behind her mother. This gesture from both young girls caused the Hyuga woman to smile fondly and her husband to look on approvingly with less steel in his eyes.
The encounter ended with the Hyugas taking their vials and a bouquet of blue irises. Hinata left the shop next to her parents instead of behind them and even gave Kasumi a brief wave upon leaving. Kasumi gained a friend and the rare approval of the Hyuga clan head.
A couple of days after the success of the flower shop Inoichi gave Kasumi her present from him for her schooling success in the form of a meeting, or 'play date', with Shikamaru and Choji. This time the three families were meeting at the Yamanaka residence with both Shikaku and Chouza bringing their wives along as well. Yoshino Nara, Amaya Akimichi and Airi Yamanaka had all become close friends over the years due to the closeness of their husbands.
Mid-morning was the designated arrival time and surprisingly all were on time, including the Naras probably thanks to Yoshino. What was even more shocking was the fact that Shikamaru actually seemed excited to be there and wasn't directly rude to Ino upon encounter. This took place outside on the back patio of the Yamanaka clan head household where the fathers and children gathered together while the mothers stayed inside to discuss their own topics. The three men sat around a small table with refreshments and shogi. The four children sat and laid on the grass a few metres away. Obviously Shikamaru was the only one laying down but at least he had the decency to keep his eyes open. Choji and Kasumi sat on either side of Shikamaru in silence while Ino was directly across from the lazy Nara. While her twin was silent Ino never really understood the concept, instead she did her usual nonsense rants but his time got no sarcastic remarks from either boy present just simple responses of agreeance when it seemed appropriate.
"…and then Rika and Sumiko got into a fight and pulled each other's hair and Rika said Sumiko had bad taste in clothes and then Sumiko said Rika was ugly and now they're not friends and now Rika is friends with Chika and now Sumiko is friends with Yuka but Chika and Yuka were friends but now they're fighting now and now they're not talking so I had to sit next to them in class but now they sit somewhere else and now I sit next to Akira and Momoe and … guess what!"
By the point that Ino finally stopped her rant about what happened during the last week of the Academy the other three children in her presence had begun their own conversation which stopped abruptly at the sudden turn of Ino's attention. There was a brief pause where Shikamaru and Kasumi had a staring contest to determine who had to entertain Ino's one-sided conversation and Choji opened up a packet of chips to watch the entertaining scene. Kasumi finally gave in when she realised that if she let Shikamaru answer then it would probably lead to a sarcasm fuelled fight with Ino.
"What is it Ino? You sound excited,"
"Yes! In my new seat I'm sitting right behind Sasuke! I got to stare at him for the whole last week of the Academy! He is sooooo handsome!"
Ino finished her Sasuke rant with a high pitched squeal which caused Shikamaru to bolt upright into a sitting position and almost ended up sitting on top of Choji as well. In order to quickly stop Shikamaru's anger Kasumi moved to sit between him and her twin and continued the conversation with Ino hoping Shikamaru would stay quiet for now.
"Maybe if you're lucky you might get the same seat for the next Academy year,"
"YES! That would be amazing!"
It ended with Ino giving Kasumi a bone-crushing hug before running off with an over the shoulder exclamation about returning with some lemonade. At this Kasumi turned around to notice that both boys had gotten to their feet and with a packet of chips in one hand Choji offered the other one to Kasumi so that all three of them were standing and making their way over to where three clan heads were gathered.
It turned out that Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza had stopped their game of shogi, where both Inoichi and Chouza were getting beaten by Shikaku , to watch the children interact and as usual found it very entertaining. Each child sat with their respective father and the game continued with Kasumi, Shikamaru and Choji having their own conversation without being interrupted by Ino. Surprisingly
Choji started the talking because it meant that he had to stop eating his packet of chips and it was still half full.
"How has the new class been?"
"It isn't that much different from the class with you guys,"
"Do you have any friends in that class?"
"No… if anything I made a few enemies on the last day of the Academy,"
This received stares from everyone present and prompted the lone female to continue.
"We did a little survival exercise and I don't know if the people I got out will be mad at me or not. I hope that by the time the Academy starts again they would have forgotten about it,"
It wasn't a lie. It just didn't mention anything about the other kids being clan kids and the fact that Kasumi sort of actually started the fight. So long as everyone present was smart enough to not take it any further it could continue as a vague half-truth. Inoichi was at least able to keep the conversation going without poking holes in his daughter's previous statement.
"What was the survival exercise like? Did you make it to the end?"
Kasumi was currently sitting on her father's lap and tilted her head backwards to look at his face when she replied with a cheeky grin.
"I made it to the end…aaaand…I was the first one to make it there…aaaand…I did it all by myself!"
"Why?"
Shikamaru's question surprised Kasumi and the confident grin aimed at her father turned into a rare shocked expression.
"Why what?"
"Why did you do it by yourself?"
The underling question was then realised by the young girl and not greatly appreciated. The sudden concern directed at her caused the young Yamanaka to become closed up and slightly hostile. However given the circumstance she tried to not outwardly display this too much.
"I wanted to challenge myself! It paid off too!"
The smile returned and fooled only the other children present. Inoichi felt his daughter's entire body tense up minutely and the other clan heads noticed her discreetly forced expression of happiness. Shikamaru and Choji thankfully remained ignorant. The only thing that Shikamaru knew in that moment was how she dodged his real question but decided to respect her wishes of continuing the interrogation of a conversation later.
Time continued to pass gradually with idle discussion until Ino returned with the promised drinks. What came next surprised everyone else because Ino invited Kasumi to come back with her and join the mothers and their conversation inside. What was more unusual than Ino asking Kasumi to join her was the fact that the blonde actually thought that her twin would enjoy talking about topics such as her future as eventual wife and mother in what would be forever which was apparently a favourite topic of the mothers at the moment. It proved to the others that the distance between the two Yamanaka girls had truly grown to a devastating length but the pair in question were still able to outwardly display some degree of affection towards each other. Kasumi graciously declined the offer and so the group went back to its satisfactory six and so casual conversation concerning shogi, work and the children. Two topics were very interesting to the brunette the other was considered extremely tedious. It was after such an unpleasant part of the conversation that Shikamaru decided to step in and save Kasumi from further discomfort. After prying themselves reluctantly away from the comfortable position each one had on their respective father's lap, Kasumi, Shikamaru and Choji headed towards one of the many clearings that are dotted within the Yamanaka clan compound.
"No Shikamaru,"
Said boy seemed unsurprised by this sudden calm outburst while the accompanying Akimichi turned his head between the boy and the girl that walked on either side of him. Choji was trying to figure out what was going on before settling on staring at the Nara and waiting patiently for an eventual answer from his best friend. Shikamaru had decided to be as stubborn as both Yamanaka girls he knew and refused to say anything, instead he positioned himself snugly at the base of a tree at the edge of a clearing that the small group now found themselves residing in. His hope of getting Kasumi to become irritated was dashed when she too sat silently at the base of the same tree close enough to him to rest her head on his shoulder while she patiently continued to wait. Her only other motion was towards Choji and was an invitation for the Akimichi to come join Nara-Yamanaka duo instead of standing in the clearing with his continued lost expression on his face. With Choji now on her other side, Kasumi changed whose shoulder she rested on and was now able to look at Shikamaru. This new position enabled Kasumi and Shikamaru to have a staring competition where they tried to break each other into submission. It was all going well with the silence stretching on and on until Kasumi's concentration was destroyed good naturedly by Choji when he offered her a chip from his 100th new mysteriously appearing chip packet. The smirk of victory on Shikamaru's face swiftly vanished as it earnt him a solid kick to the leg by the now chip eating girl. This violent action prompted Shikamaru to continue the currently one sentence conversation his female attacker seemed to be declining.
"Kasumi?"
After a few breaths of silence Kasumi gave in and entertained the discussion, knowing it was one of inevitability.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Better me then the dads, right?"
"You didn't answer my question,"
"Neither did you,"
"Your question didn't need answering,"
"You think we won't like the answer?"
"There is no answer,"
"The answer is important to us,"
"Us?"
"Maybe not Ino but definitely myself, Choji and the dads,"
"I don't want my dad to know,"
Shikamaru took a few seconds to respond, knowing that the truth would hurt even if it is already obvious and known.
"…He probably already knows…"
"I know…There's nothing he can or will do about it and I don't need or want anyone's sympathy or pity,"
That last bit was aimed not very subtly at Shikamaru but failed to get him to drop the exchange, merely created a brief silence as he thought of how to form a response. Luckily he didn't have to.
"Hey, guys. What is this question?"
Choji eventually invaded the endless questions to ask one of his own and ultimately persuaded Kasumi to answer the mysterious question.
"He wants to know if there is another reason I did the survival exercise by myself,"
"There is another reason,"
Shikamaru seemed extremely confident with this statement and he finally achieved his previous goal of gaining irritation from his Yamanaka companion. She would have expressed this with great anger if it wasn't for another one of Choji's interruptions.
"And?"
This caused Kasumi to close her already open mouth and swallow her sour comment aimed at the Nara. Kasumi stayed quiet for a really long time. She still couldn't bring herself to answer. She felt that if it was said out loud then it would make it all real. She could at least pretend or forget it now but not once it was vocalised. She still wasn't ready for the truth that would follow this reality. She had received some help from Shikamaru throughout the morning but now it seemed it was him and his piercing gaze that she needed saving from. When she still refused to speak after the minutes stretched further Shikamaru took things into his own hands. His best friend was still in the dark and deserved answers and his other friend needed to hear the truth one way or another.
"She doesn't have any friends in her new class,"
This comment from Shikamaru silenced anything that Kasumi might have said to avoid this exact situation. Kasumi couldn't bring herself to look at either boy as she stood and left briskly. She could feel the attention burning a hole in her back and knew that her absence now left an empty space between the boys still sitting at the tree. Kasumi didn't regret this as she had to leave before that last comment could cause her to say some very nasty things to some of the only people who cared about her in some form or another.
The brown eyed Yamanaka girl found her way back to where the three fathers had started another Nara inevitable victory game of shogi after her head cleared a little. All the young girl did as she sat down again in her father's lap was hope that the three men now in her presence wouldn't start interrogating her as well. Luckily, being knowledgeable in intelligence gathering and reading body language, Inoichi, Shikaku and Chouza didn't pressure the youngest Yamanaka and instead started teaching her about the game after they had promised to do so about a year beforehand.
When Shikamaru and Choji returned after having their own conversation, Kasumi was skilled enough at the strategy game to be able to occasionally win against her father and Chouza. A few light comments regarding this and the 'pleasant' time in the clearing were exchanged to not create too much suspicion, unsuccessfully, about the sudden tension existing now between the children.
It was around lunch time an hour or so later that the catch-up came to an end and the two trios of the Naras and Akimichis left to get their own meal and complete any work required that afternoon for the men inparticular. But Shikamaru and Choji left wondering what they had said to upset Kasumi and Kasumi watched them go thinking of how she could possibly phrase what she thought on that moment and at the clearing.
She never had any friends in her old class either.
