Butterflies

"Me? I'm nobody. I'm not skilled like Uchiha-san. I am not passionate like Haruno-san. I am not smart like Nara-san. I'm not as strong as Chouji-san. I'm not as collected as Aburame-san. Or as pretty as Yamanaka-san. I'm not as confident as Inuzuka-san. If anything, I'm like Hyuuga-san, socially awkward. Oh wait, no, she's just shy. The socially awkward one is me." OC! Team 7 remix!

Chapter 2 – Introvert blues

8-8

Aya, really. You spent the afternoon with her and her friends. That's it! It's not like you're suddenly friends, or anything! She was curious, you answered her questions, and you got your promised chocolate. Case closed!

I sigh, deflating considerably. It isn't that I don't want to be friends with her. It's just that I'm completely exhausted, socially speaking. I don't even feel like telling myself good morning. And I always tell myself good morning! And to make matters worse, I went to talk to the medics at the hospital about my new glasses. More tests, more questions, more talking. I can pick up my new glasses next week, which is awesome... but I'm all talked out. Today's going to be a nightmare!

Resigning myself to my fate, I exit my bathroom and grab my book. I slip into my slippers and just leave. I sigh one last time though. Today's going to end up being a long day.

8-8

I groan. Actually groan! I've never groaned in public before! Sure, I moan if I get some really yummy chocolate, but that's something expectable! It's chocolate! No, I groan. Why? "How like you, to need a socially handicapped friend to make yourself seem bigger!" Haruno-san and Yamanaka-san are at it again, that's why. And guess what, yours truly is their current source or irkment... irony... annoyance! I'm their current source of annoyance! I groan, sigh and bury my face in my beloved book.

"Okay, WHOA! First of all, I can be friends with whomever I please!" Point. "Second of all, your view of her is not only wrong, it's stupid!" Another point. Hmm, interesting. "And third of all, just because you're jealous that I dare make a friend when you're too busy fawning over Sasuke-kun to even remember we used to be close, doesn't mean I have to!" I sigh. I'm going to get dragged into this, aren't I. I know I am. And just when I'm too socially drained to care too. I sigh again.

Here comes trouble. Haruno-san is stomping in my direction. She usually sits on the other side of the class – as far away from Yamanaka-san as possible. It's when she grabs for my book that I decide to nap this in the buns... nip it in the buns! Wow, Aya, really?

Anyway. I glare at her, warning her that I'm not in the mood. She ignores the warning. Suit yourself. Still reaching for my precious book are we? I grab my book and slam it on her hand. Hard. She cries out, of course, but I kick out her legs from under her and smack her upside the noggin –I said that right, didn't I(?)– pleased that she's now counting goats... sheep! She's counting sheep!

After checking my book to make sure nothing bad happened, and looking around to confirm none of my doodles flew out by accident, I place my book back on my desk and lay down on top of it. With my chin, of course! I'm not trusting that this will be the last annoyance sent my way!

Of course! I have to be proven right! The one time I wouldn't mind being wrong, Fate just has to go out of her way and prove me right. I sigh. Uzumaki Naruto comes to check on Haruno-san. That, in and of itself isn't too big a deal –I have nothing for or against the brash blond– it's his loudly asking her if she's alright, and asking her what happened that's annoying me.

"She picked a fight with the wrong girl, that's what!" Inuzuka barks with laughter. I'll just assume he's referring to me, and that he's indirectly complimenting me. He and I have had a...altercation?

"Oi! You know what happened!?" Uzumaki demands of me. I just glare at him, warning him that I'm not in the mood. "And since when have you even been in our class!?" I groan, rubbing my forehead in frustration.

Shouldn't class start or something? I mean, it's eight-thirty! But of course, now that I WANT class to start, it won't. Umino-sensei will end up being late, and he'll have some stupid excuse. And I'm paying for it all the while! I groan again, glaring daggers at Uzumaki-san.

I feel someone nudge my side. Without meaning to, my head snaps in their direction, my irritation already boiling up to the point that I'm unsure what I'll do to whoever's there. "Here." Chouji-san offers me something. I look down, my eyes narrowing at what is in his hand. My heart melts when I notice a chocolate bar – one of the smaller ones, but it is pure chocolate!

I make an appreciative noise, grabbing the chocolate and tearing into it like it owes me many... money! Like it owes me money! Once I feel the chocolate in my mouth, melting slowly on my tongue... mmm. Yeah, Uzumaki-san isn't nearly as annoying anymore. I don't fight the goofy smile now firmly on my features.

"Naruto, just walk away. Chouji probably just saved your life." Nara-san offers, but I don't care enough to figure out if he's teasing or not. I had chocolate for breakfast, so it's not withdrawal. All he'd do is annoy me, which might make me smock him... smack him around a bit. I'm sure Haruno-san will be up and about soon...er or later.

I take another bite of my chocolate. Do I even want to know how they know to keep me in check? Do I care? No, not really. I have chocolate! "Chouji-san, than' you!" I offer, covering my mouth with my hand and still happily munching on my number one vice.

"Hey! How come he gets called by his first name!?" Yamanaka-san asks. I have no idea if she's put... out(?) or not, and I really just don't care right now. I look at my chocolate bar, the one he just offered me, then I look back at her and raise an eyebrow. It's a no-brainer, Yamanaka-san. Really, it is. "I bought you lunch yesterday! Including a chocolate parfait!" I take another bite, ignoring her. Really, I don't know what she expects. That was yesterday's chocolate. This is today's chocolate. World of difference!

"Hey, Shikamaru, what do you mean about that? How'd Chouji just save my life, huh? Huh!? Come on, tell me!" Uzumaki-san has his hands on my desk, leaning well over into my personal bubble. I glare at him again; he's lucky I have chocolate right now!

"Troublesome... you see the brunette next to you? The one eating chocolate? She's not a people person. And whatever patience she has for people she probably spent yesterday when she hung out with us. I'd take a few steps back if I were you." Nara-san always has been a bright one. I'd never have guessed he could figure out so much about me, but I can't really say I'm surprised either. I take another bite of my chocolate, enjoying it for all it's worth. Chocolate peace offerings just taste better, for some reason.

"Huh, you mean her?" He gazes at me curiously. If he doesn't even remember me, then I doubt he knows just what is going on here. I try hard to keep away from people, after all. Not that I want Uzumaki-san to know that, seeing as he'd try to get close to me just because he'd find it a challenge. I take another bite, hoping to soothe my social awkwardness –or is annoyance at being socially drained better– enough to remember that he's really just as socially awkward (or is he more socially unaware?) as I am, if for different reasons. "Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage, 'ttebayo!"

"Nn." I noise, nod, and take another bite of chocolate.

"She's Namiki Aya. She doesn't like to talk much." Yamanaka-san informs her fellow blond. Hmm, interesting. Both blue-eyed blondes, but are totally different too. Yamanaka's more of a pale blonde, almost white, with lighter eyes and a black ring around her irises. Uzumaki's a more sun-kissed blonde, and his eyes are more like the sky on a clear day. Interesting. Very interesting. Not terribly interesting, or interesting enough to mention it. But interesting enough to note. I suppose.

"Namiki... Aya-chan?" He frowns, thinking about that... still thinking about that... I take another bite, hating that I'm already halfway through my chocolate bar and his still being in my personal bubble.

"Uzumaki-san..." I motion for him to back off a bit when he looks to me.

"Now I remember! Aya the nose-breaker! You're the only one that got into more trouble than I did!" I groan, hating that he brought that up, but hating even more that he doesn't take the hint to get out of my personal bubble. "Hmm, no wonder Sakura-chan went down like that. Hey, Aya-chan, it's been a while!"

I groan. Taking another bite of my chocolate. "I take it you two know each other?" Yamanaka, of course, smells an interesting story. So she's going to be pestering Naruto until she hears every detail. And when she's gotten all she can from him, she'll probably try to bribe me for more.

"We got kicked out of the orphanage about the same time, right Aya-chan?" He asks. If he remembers me, why is he still asking me things? Oh, right, he didn't figure it out back then either. I wonder if I should mention that we're also neighbours. Nah, he probably wouldn't ever figure it out, and I like it like that. The last thing I need is for him to come over and ask for a cup of sugar...

8-8

Now this I can handle! Umino-sensei was apparently late because he needed to set up the 'range' for us to practice with our kunai and shuriken for graduation. No one to bug me, no one to ask stupid questions, and Haruno-san isn't stupid enough to bother me twice in one day! Twice a week, maybe, but it's Friday, so I'll be free from people for a WHOLE TWO DAYS!

So I do what I do best. I ignore everyone around me and play with sharp and dangerous things! I love being a kunoichi! But I really need to see if I can go get that dagger today! It'd be such an awesome graduation gift to myself!

I toss another kunai. It hits the target, if not the bullseye. Not that I care. I'm mostly doing this to shut Umino-sensei up. He tends to go on and on about how your aim is 'never good enough' and 'it can always get better'. I mutely sigh. The one thing he and papa have in common. Still, I shrug and toss another kunai.

There was a time when I would have gladly showed off, but that was before I figured out that it attracted too much attention. From Umino-sensei, from the more competitive of our classmates. Nope, not making that mistake again!

So instead, I just make sure I'm somewhere in the middle of class expectations. Not too good – or Uchiha-san will need to outdo me, drawing his fanclub's attention to me. Not too bad – or I'll get lumped with Nara-san and Uzumaki-san, who are marked as the class slackers in pretty much everything. I sigh again. Being in the middle just brings less attention to me, and that's what I like. Who needs all those idiots fawning over me?

I mean, really? They're cool, I suppose, but I have absolutely NO desire to... I sigh again. Aya, stop lying. You wish you were less introverted, you wish you could just hang out with them, it's just that you trip up over your words when you're not focused, and any conversation longer than two minutes is enough to drain you and make you lose your focus.

I wish I had Hyuuga-san's problem. I mean, low self-confidence and terminal shyness? Psh, easy! Being so introverted that one 'social day' means a three days to recharge enough to go without sucking on chocolate every thirty seconds... that's bothersome. Very, very bothersome. And tiring. And annoying. And... I sooo wish I wasn't like this. But it isn't like I have a whole lot of choice in the matter.

You're either introvert, or extrovert, or some odd mix of the two; you can either work with it, or against it. But something so intricately true about a person doesn't change. Aya, stop. Just stop. Throw the kunai, and stop thinking.

8-8

"Hey, Aya-chan. We're going to hang out in Shikamaru's back yard, want to tag along?" Yamanaka-san offers. I gaze at her, unconvinced. What is her sudden fascination with me? I mean, we've been classmates for six years. We've been seated together for our senior year. We've taken all kunoichi required classes together. And now, a week before we graduate, she suddenly notices I'm alive? Yeah right. She's trying to play little Miss matchmaker.

"Ino, she's had to deal with Sakura and Naruto all day. She's not in the mood." Nara-san points out for me. I nod, agreeing with his analysis.

"Not in the mood to lie on the grass and watch the clouds? Really?" She points out. Hmm, that actually doesn't sound all that bad. "Look, you two are cool and all, but I'm tired of being the only girl! I need someone that can understand where I'm coming from!" That's a lie. Nara-san understands; he just doesn't care. Would that make it more of an inaccurate truth?

"Troublesome blondes." Nara-san mutters. I'm tempted to, really I am. But I'm tired, and I'm frustrated, and I'm just not in the mood for people right now. Nara-san grumbles some more, walking ahead, with Chouji-san following closely behind him.

I blush, looking away. I would like nothing more than to spend time with him. Really I would. But...

"It's settled then!" Yamanaka-san links her arm with mine and drags me –literally drags me– along. I can't tell if I groan, sigh, or grumble. My response seems to be a mix of all three.

8-8

This isn't all that bad, actually. The grass here is nice and springy. There are some interesting clouds to watch. And no one is bugging me to talk! I think I like that last part best. Only Nara-san and I are actually watching the clouds, Chouji-san is munching on some chips again and Yamanaka-san is chatting away as she pleases – mostly about some cute clothes she saw the other day.

I can get used to this. Just laying here. I like it. This is the perfect place for someone like me. Absolutely perfect. "So Aya-chan, how long does it usually take you to get over a 'social day' like yesterday?" I mutely sigh. Of course. This is why Nara-san keeps calling her troublesome.

I make a noise, hoping she understands I mean to say I heard her but won't answer. Chouji-san finishes his bag of chips, so he folds it up and puts the empty bag back (wherever) he got the full bag from. I'll have to ask him about that one day; just not today.

"Aw, come on, Aya-chan! I've got another bar of chocolate?" She waves said bar around to prove her point. I move to grab the bar, but she keeps it just out of my reach. "Ah ah! First you have to promise to talk to me." I sigh. Chocolate-danna, the things I do for you!

"Fine." I answer, holding out my hand and actually waiting for her to offer it. She looks at me expectantly. I sigh. Crap, she means I have to actually SAY 'I promise'. I groan this time, annoyed with how easy I am to manipulate. "I promise, Yamanaka-san."

She's not finished. "I'll make it two if you promise to call me 'Ino-chan' from now on." I glare at her. That's a bit much! That request weighs far more than even chocolate can counter!

"Don't push it." I intone, motioning with my hand that I'm still waiting on my chocolate. She's lucky this is a much bigger bar than Chouji-san offered me earlier. She probably saved it just so she can see how long of a conversation she can get out of me.

She gives in, gently placing the bar in my hand. I rip it partway open and take a bite. I sigh contently. This one has nuts. And it's quicker to melt on my tongue than the bar Chouji-san gave me before. "What's the deal with calling everyone by their family name?" The inquisition has begun. I sigh, grateful she at least knows to give me chocolate before she starts.

"... reasons." I answer vaguely. Not even giving me chocolate will loosen my tongue that much.

"Ino, is this really needed?" Chouji-san comes to my rescue. He seems really uncomfortable that the girl would do this to me when she knows I'm not in the mood.

"Yes, Chouji, it is. Not that you'd even know why." She glares at him, shutting him down... up! Shutting him up!

"So there are things you won't talk about even for the sake of more chocolate." She doesn't ask, but she is hoping for confirmation.

"Nn." I take another bite looking up at the clouds. Though not my favourite pastime, clouds just... calm me. I'd still go for doodling if given the choice.

"Alright, how about what Naruto was talking about earlier? 'Aya the nosebreaker'?" She asks. I shrug, it's not really something I'm proud of, but I'm not ashamed of it either.

"I hate bullies. Orphanages always have a few." I offer. Uzumaki-san didn't tell much on our shared history, luckily, but that just means she'll want to know more. That means me talking more; so I guess 'unluckily' is the better word?

"So anyone that picked on you got pummelled?" She wonders. I can tell she isn't buying it, and yes there's more to it than just that... but do I really want to talk about it? Meh, it isn't exactly a secret or anything. I take another bite, mauling... mulling over what I want to say.

"No. It's mostly people that picked a fight at the wrong time. If you catch me on a good day, I don't care. Catch me when I'm not in the mood..." I offer. I take another bite... thinking about that a bit. "And I guess it matters what gets said or done too."

"Meaning?" I sigh, taking another bite.

"If they say something hurtful about me, I don't care. It's when they pick on others..." I take another bite, thinking about that some more. "Like when they called Uzumaki-san names." I know it hurts him when they do that. Even these days, I can see it in his eyes. He hides it better than he used to, but...

"So what do you think about Naruto? I mean, you obviously have nothing against him, but you seem to treat him no different than anyone else?" I wonder about that. Well, the question and the cloud that kind of looks like an ice cream cone.

"Ice cream cone." I point at the cloud, taking another bite. Nara-san makes a noise, amused. "I dunno. He's not a bad person, but his motifs annoy me." I say, mostly to show I'm not avoiding the question.

"How so?" She asks. Hmm, she'd be a foot-in... shoe-in! She'd be a shoe-in for Interrogation.

"Everything he does is for attention." I say, taking another bite. He's not the type of person an introvert could ever really look up on... to! Look up to! I sigh, hating that I still trip up on phrases and lingo and stupid crap that you can only ever really learn by chatting someone's ear off! Hey! I said that right! Well, 'thought', but still!

"True. I can imagine that would clash with your M.O." She sounds amused. "So why don't you ever try to make friends?" I snort, amused with her. She's rewording her earlier request, whether she knows it or not.

"Why do you ask questions you won't get an answer to." I intone, warning her that she's treading into dangerous territory. Chocolate or no, there's just some things I'm not talking about.

"Why won't you answer a simple question?" She presses. I growl, taking another bite, a much larger bite this time. Seriously, if she keeps this up all the chocolate in the world won't keep me here.

"Ino, drop it. She doesn't want to talk about it." Nara-san orders.

"If she thinks I'm going to let her-"

"Yamanaka-san. Thank you for the chocolate. I'm leaving." I carefully offer her the bar of chocolate, barely a fourth of which is eaten. I really want to throw it in her face and storm off, but... no. I'm not going to act like that kind of brat. Not that I don't want to, though.

I don't bother notice her reaction; I don't care. She's slow to take the item from me, so I simply drop it at her feet. I walk off, not looking back. Not even being fifty centimetres from Chouji-san for the last hour is enough to keep me there.

8-8

KNOCK KNOCK!

I hear you. I've heard you every time you've knocked for the last hour. I'm still not opening my door. No one comes to visit me, so the only logical conclusion is that Yamanaka-san is here, for whatever reason. I'm already not in the mood for people, but for her? I snort. No. Just no.

"Aya-chan, I know you're home!" Yup, Yamanaka-san. "Come on, please open the door!"

"Ino!?" Crap. Uzumaki-san. Now he's going to find out I live here. Thanks, Yamanaka-san. Really. Thanks. I owe you for this. Not in a good way, but definitely something I'll repay yourkindness for.

"Oh, hey Naruto. I didn't know you lived here too." They go back and forth for a bit.

"I dunno who told you Aya-chan lives here, but that apartment's been empty for years." I smile. Leave it to that idiot to actually believe that in the first place.

"Naruto, I followed her. I know she lives here." I sigh. Well, that explains that. "AYA-CHAN! Come on!" She bangs on my door harder. Luckily for me, I have enough food to last until Monday. So she can make all the noise she pleases; it's not bothering me.

"And people call me an idiot? You've been banging on her door for over an hour and she still hasn't opened up. That means she's either not home, sleeping or doesn't want to talk to you." I snort, liking how he words that.

"Oh! That you'll respond to!?" She obviously heard me this time. I shrug anyway, knowing she can't see me. I head over to my fridge, deciding this deserves a snack. So I grab a muffin and two peaches, and a carton of milk to wash it down – muffins make you thirsty.

I hear a loud, annoyed, drawn-out sigh. "Aya-chan, please. I want to apologize for earlier." Oh, you mean for ignoring the warning signs and ignoring that you purposely made me uncomfortable on a day that you already knew I wasn't in the mood for people, before almost announcing my crush on Chouji-san right in front of him – which would only embarrass me even more. Is that what you're here to apologize about?

"You're wasting your time. You know that, right?" Hmm, Uzumaki-san seems insightful.

"How would you know!? She's been in our class for six years and you noticed her today!" Yamanaka-san is getting frustrated with the situation. Yeah, the same situation she created. I wipe my peach in my shirt, eyeing it to make sure it's good, then take my first bite. It's kind of a thing for me; first a peach, then the muffin, then the milk to wash it down, and finish with the second peach. I shrug. I seem to have a thing for most things, but not everything.

"Because you're screaming right in front of my door?" He points out. I snort again, amused. "You know what. Whatever, I'll go train or something. Do whatever you want."

I hear Uzumaki's annoyed footsteps as he stomps down the hall. He never did have much patience.

"Aya-chan, I'm sorry." I hear Yamanaka's words, I identify the sadness. Still don't care. I take another bite of my peach. "I was being stubborn, and pigheaded, and hurtful. And I'm sorry." I take another bite, thinking about her words. She sounds sincere, but should that matter? Tricking me, dragging me along when she knows I don't want to, bribing me, demanding things I clearly point out are unacceptable. I sigh. Not any worse than has been done in the past. Still, I'm just not in the mood to deal with her.

"You need to understand, though... Chouji is like a brother to me. I need to know the person who's interested in him." She tries. A convenient excuse. "How would you feel if I was interested in your brother? Wouldn't you want to protect him if you could?" How should I know what that's like? An only child and an orphan. Yeah. I have a lot to draw out... on! To draw on!

"Aya-chan, please... how can I make it up to you?" Easy, you can't. I take the final bite of my peach, sucking the juices off of my hand – it's a really small peach. She's quiet for a while, but I hear her breathing so I know she's still there. Yeah, low-income housing. I can hear everything that goes on around here.

"Come on, I already feel bad enough. You're just making me feel worse." Aww, poor thing. I switch to my muffin, taking the first bite and enjoying the chunks of chocolate along with the fluffy chocolate flavoured muffin itself.

"You know they won't even talk to me. Shikamaru and Chouji. They're pissed that I pushed you like that." She seems to just enjoy chatting away, which really is just like her. "Chouji especially. He's so grateful that you stood up for him yesterday, and he's kind of... well not kind of, he's really annoyed with me. He respects you, you know. Not just for that thing yesterday, but because you love food just as much as he does. I mean, watching you eat chocolate is like food porn, you know?"

I take another bite, wondering when she'll run out of steam. "That's part of the reason I feel so bad. I mean, when you gave me back that chocolate... I knew I went too far. But it's when I wouldn't take it... when you dropped it in the grass and walked off like that." I take another bite, tears welling up in my eyes. I can hear that she's close to tears as well, but it's what she's making me think about that's affecting me. There's a reason I don't want to talk about those things.

"Aya, don't make me go through this again... you know how I feel about how things turned out between Sakura and me." She tries. I take another bite... glad I already grabbed something with chocolate. Comfort food... and a vice. Two birds, one stone.

"Come on. Talking to a door is not helping." Leaving is still an option. I mean, two days is nothing compared to the years you and Haruno-san were friends before Uchiha came in the picture. I hear her lean against my door –part of the reason there are six locks on it– and slowly slide to the floor. "You grabbed chocolate from your fridge, didn't you. So this is affecting you, but you still haven't taken so much as one step towards your door. So I guess that means I'm wasting my time."

I can almost imagine her, sitting there, hugging her knees or something. I take another bite. "You don't want to let people in. Not because you don't know how to, but because you're scared. You don't want to let people hu-"

"Go away, Ino!" I leave my half eaten muffin on the table, heading into my bathroom and turning on the water. I make sure to flush the toilet and slam the door as well, so she'll know I'm not going to be able to hear anything she says.

8-8

End Chapter 2

8-8

A/N: A bit more to the drama side of things, but this is needed to round Aya out a bit. As well, I want to offer Ino some more depth as well. I mean, how often is she portrayed as actually seeing the consequences of her actions? I haven't read a lot of fics where her character is given the depth of someone that was raised by an top-notch interrogator and Mind specialist.

It's going to be a few days before I update again.