Yeah, okay, I had to do it. I'm sorry. The meanings of the animals relate to their user's personality as I found them on this one website. Oddly enough, most of the ones I'd already picked fit. I threw the alligator in for kicks and giggles and yet, it fit pretty well too. So, just real quick:
Alligators: self-serving, can lie and wait and then attack viciously with destructive speech. Kiyomi, when she wants too, can have a pretty vicious mouth on her.
Bear: strength and an overbearing personality, can crush another with a look or word. Kiyomi's trying very hard to be as strong as possible and yeah, she's kind of got an overbearing personality.
Lizard (komodo dragon): lack of scruples, safety, welfare. Sayuri will do what it takes to protect the people she cares about, even if it isn't good.
Cougar: quiet strength and wisdom. Yeah, Miyako's smart and she doesn't flaunt her strength, but when it comes down to it, she can seriously kick butt and take names.
Crane: wisdom, longevity, inquisitiveness. Miyako likes learning things.
Eagle: this was the symbol of Zeus, who's also in charge of lightning. Ayano deals with lightning… yeah, I pulled that out of my head.
Tiger: energy, maternal instinct, severe and aggressive. Yeah, so Sayuri's not a push-over, and like before she's protective and caring… towards people she likes.
Truth: She didn't trust Kiyomi right now.
"Alright ladies, today we're having a bit of fun," Ayano grinned. She held up a scroll.
"That's the one we took from Aya!" Kiyomi recalled. Three days after the exam and she was out of the hospital and angry that she was out of the running, but she was still there for training, like always, and with a determined, if slightly subdued, glint in her eyes.
"Now I'm normally not one for this, but in this case, it's totally deserved," Ayano said, opening the scroll and spreading it on the ground. "The the victors go the spoils," she said smugly.
"You mean… We're going to sign a Summoning contract?" Miyako asked, eyes wide as she beheld all of the scrolls.
"Bears, cougars, eagles, tigers, komodo dragons, and I think there's an alligator in there too, but don't quote me on that," Ayano recited. "Everybody pick two."
"Why not just sign contracts with all of them?" Kiyomi asked, eyes glimmering curiously.
"By having different animals up your sleeves you'll function better as a team," Ayano explained.
Sayuri knew that was a weak explanation covering for the fact that Ayano didn't want them to rely on Summonings, which were costly in chakra, like Aya had. But Ayano was giving off 'don't question me vibes,' so they each moved forwards.
"Do you have a Summoning contract with anything?" Miyako asked Ayano, who nodded.
"Eagles," she grinned. "Flying. It's awesome, kids."
"I want the bears," Kiyomi said, recalling how strong and ferocious they were in the fight. "And… and the alligators!"
"First come, first serve," Ayano said, scooping the requested scrolls up under her arms and passing them to Kiyomi, who took them eagerly.
"I'd like to take the crane," Miyako said softly. "I'd like to fly sometimes. It would be good for transport if one of us was down."
"Logical," Ayano approved as Miyako leaned down and gathered up the scroll, grabbing the cougar as well.
"Komodo dragon and tiger for me then, I suppose," Sayuri smiled.
"Is that okay?" Miyako asked worriedly. "I didn't take one you wanted, did I?"
"First come first serve, like Ayano said," Kiyomi shrugged carelessly.
"No, Miyako, it's fine," Sayuri assured her, but her smile was a bit weak as she contemplated Kiyomi's words. They were a bit harsh, and unexpected. Kiyomi had seemed a bit off since she lost the competition, and Sayuri hoped it was just determination and not something worse. She prayed Kiyomi wasn't catching hell from her father when she already felt bad enough. But the truth was, she didn't trust Kiyomi right now.
"So how does this work?" Kiyomi asked. She was sitting on the grass with her two scrolls unfurled on the ground in front of her. She wrinkled her nose at the reddish writing on it. "Is that… blood?"
"Yep," Ayano said, nodding cheerfully, undaunted. "Here's how it works. First, you take your scroll, like so." Sayuri and Miyako hastily unrolled their scrolls and knelt in front of them. "Then, the contractor uses their own blood to sign their name and place their fingerprints."
"That's a bit gross," Sayuri said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.
"That's how it works," Ayano shrugged. "I don't make the rules. So, go ahead, sign your name on the dotted line. I'd recommend pricking a finger for blood. A bit easier to write that way."
"It's kind of creepy you've got a technique for writing in your own blood," Kiyomi pointed out. "You get that, right?"
"Shut up and write your name," Ayano grumbled. The girls did as they were told, pricking their index fingers and scrawling their names out on the scrolls and smearing blood onto their other fingers for the prints.
"So how do we actually do the Summoning?" Sayuri asked, popping her finger into her mouth and sucking the blood away.
Ayano outlined the hand signs necessary. "Just a small donation of blood and then that's it," she explained. "It has to be from the same hand as the fingerprints on the scroll though. Most people just bite their thumbs. Example." Ayano brought her thumb to her mouth and bit her thumb. A drop of blood dripped down as she made the hand signs. There was a burst of smoke and from it appeared an eagle easily taller than Ayano. "This is Washibi, my personal Summon," Ayano grinned, stroking the eagle's wing fondly.
"A pleasure to meet you," the eagle said, jerking its head up and down in an approximation of a nod. The beak distorted the words slightly, but they were still intelligible, the sentence ending in a sharp click.
"It talks!" Miyako exclaimed in surprise.
"Yes, and I fly too," the bird said tartly, giving her as much of an unamused expression as it was capable of.
"And he does darling floral arrangements in his spare time!" Ayano added brightly.
"Why do I put up with your antics?" the eagle sighed.
"Come on, you know you like me," Ayano grinned, elbowing it lightly.
"Yes, that's why I've scheduled an appointment with my therapist."
"Oh, go on you big buzzard," Ayano huffed, looking put out. Washibi ruffled his feathers in offense.
"Buzzard?" he repeated indignantly. "I come from a long line of proud eagles, you impertinent little kunoichi!"
"I know, I know," Ayano sighed. "We've had this conversation before."
"Buzzard," Washibi grumbled one last time before vanishing in another puff of smoke.
"As you can see, some of them are more agreeable than others," Ayano explained. "The summons have distinct personalities within their species. You'll probably soon find one who you like more than others, that you can use as your personal summons. In other words, your go-to summon. You may use weaker or stronger summons for different situations. Like for instance, if I was just carrying groceries and had a lot of shopping, I might break out Washibi's nephew, Washito."
"So there's more than one of each?" Miyako asked.
"Oh yeah," Ayano snorted. "There's tons. They've each got their own little safe zone around the world where they live when they're not being summoned. Take Jiraiya's famous toads. They hang out on Mount Myoboku."
"Who's Jiraiya?" Kiyomi asked blankly.
"He's one of the sannin, three legendary shinobi from Konoha," Sayuri explained. "The Toad Sage."
"Right-o. Now hop to it. Try and summon something," Ayano encouraged. "Don't be mad if you can't do it right away."
Ayano wasn't kidding. It was surprising how hard it was to summon something. It required staggering amounts of chakra and was very rigorous. They struggled not to give it too little, and summon something wimpy, while not giving it too much, and summoning something that could squash them.
Miyako got it first, squawking in surprise as a small crane appeared perched on her shoulder. It nibbled her ear fondly and fluttered its wings.
"Hi!" it chirped.
"That's barely a hatchling," Ayano complained. The crane gave an indignant cry and lunged off of Miyako's shoulders, battering Ayano around the head with its wings.
"Ah! Miyako, get rid of it!" Ayano shrieked as she ran in circles, trying to bat the crane away. Sayuri and Kiyomi hid their smiles as their teacher fled from the bird.
"Uh, go away please?" Miyako said weakly. The crane vanished in a puff of smoke and Ayano straightened, tugging her shirt back into place, her turquoise hair looking rather the worse for wear.
"Well, that was exciting," she grunted. "Let's keep an eye on those cranes, eh? Touchy buggers-"
"I got it!" Kiyomi cried in delight as there was a puff of smoke in front of her. It cleared, revealing a full-grown, if somewhat small, bear in front of her.
"What do you wish, mistress?" the bear asked, lowering its front half to the ground in a sort of bow.
"Uh…?" Kiyomi replied blankly.
"Uh?" the bear questioned, looking up at her hopefully.
"Uh… You can go?" Kiyomi tried. The bear looked disappointed.
"Yes, mistress."
"I think you hurt its feelings," Miyako pointed out.
"That was a pretty wimpy bear," Kiyomi complained. "It wasn't threatening like Aya's."
"Aya was an exception, not the rule," Ayano scolded. "Now keep trying. Put more chakra into it, come on!"
After a few minutes later, Sayuri finally got it, crying out in delight when a komodo dragon about ten feet in length appeared, tail swishing across the ground behind it.
"Ah, a new master," it rumbled, looking vaguely pleased. He seemed to stumble over its words a bit, slurring and hissing them as his tongue darted in and out casually, independent of what he was saying. "Good, it was time for new management. The last one was a bitch. You're a lot hotter, you know, for a human." He gave her a sly wink and Ayano and Kiyomi burst out laughing as Miyako flushed. Sayuri's eyebrows went up in surprise.
"Thanks… I think?"
"No, thank you," the komodo dragon said, twisting his head to the side and blatantly checking out her rear. Sayuri hastily turned so he couldn't see. He shrugged as well as a komodo dragon could. "There's stuff to admire up front too."
"Looks like you finally found a boyfriend, Sayuri," Kiyomi snorted as Sayuri blushed a color reminiscent of her markings.
"Name's Dokumo," he said. "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too," Sayuri said tensely. "I'm Sayuri."
"How come you got a good one right off the bat?" Kiyomi complained. Sayuri shrugged.
"I'm good at chakra control?" she tried. "I just hit the sweet spot, I guess."
"Not the only sweet thing here."
"Okay, you need to go," Sayuri said tartly.
"Aw," Dokumo complained as he vanished in a puff of smoke. Just before he was gone, he whirled around, his tail smacking her butt sharply. Sayuri jumped with a yelp, hands flying to cover herself.
"Pervert!" she screamed, but he was already gone.
"Well, I think Sayuri wins in terms of most interesting summon today," Ayano chuckled.
"Pervy lizard," Sayuri grunted under her breath.
"We can pick this back up tomorrow," Ayano continued. "You don't have to break out the boss summons the first time, girls. No one's gonna expect that out of you at this level. You flat-out don't have the chakra needed for heavy-duty stuff like that."
"How long until we do?" Kiyomi asked interestedly.
Ayano shrugged. "Depends on how hard you work. Maybe in a year, maybe never. See you guys tomorrow."
"You got any plans after here?" Kiyomi asked Sayuri as they began to disperse.
"I was going to go to the hospital," Sayuri admitted. Kiyomi looked at her blankly.
"Why?" she asked slowly.
"The Konoha people there. I wanted to check in and see how they were doing."
"What, Neji and Lee?" Kiyomi said in surprise. "Come on Sayuri, they're the enemy!"
"That doesn't mean I don't still feel bad," Sayuri countered. "I really put the smack down on Neji and he lost a lot of blood. I feel bad. I mean, we're on the same side, and Lee's… well, you know," she finished softly. They all paused for a minute, recalling the news that Lee would no longer be able to be a shinobi. It was startling to see someone so powerful go from the top of his game to completely out of the running in the course of one fight.
"Well, I don't get it, but whatever," Kiyomi shrugged. She made a face. "Dad wants me home to help clean the kiln, or it'll be another long night of him screaming at me."
"See you tomorrow."
"See you."
"Can I come with you?" Miyako asked hopefully as she trailed after Sayuri. "I feel bad about Choji. Did you know he's still in the hospital?"
"Really?" Sayuri blinked in surprise. "I didn't think you did anything that rough to him."
"I didn't either," Miyako said worriedly. "I guess I don't know my own strength as well as I thought. Should we take them something?" she asked.
"Ino's parents shop is right there. We could take them flowers?" Sayuri suggested, pointing.
"How did you know that?" Miyako asked in surprise.
"I've pretty much memorized the layout of Konoha in my three years here," Sayuri explained. "Plus, it smells like a bouquet threw up or something all down this street."
"I see," Miyako said, giggling a bit at her phrasing. "I like it, let's get some."
They entered the shop and were immediately enveloped in the smell of flowers.
"Hey guys!" Ino greeted from behind the counter.
"Hey Ino," Miyako smiled. "How are you?"
"Good," Ino said. "I wish I was prepping for the chunin exams with the rest of you guys. But I'm kind of enjoying the break too. So, what can I help you with?" she asked.
"We were going to go to the hospital," Sayuri began. Ino held up a hand to stop her.
"Say no more! Sakura's been coming in every now and then," Ino explained. "So, who are you going to see?"
"I heard Choji was still in the hospital. I felt kind of bad about it," Miyako admitted. "I didn't mean to do that much damage."
Ino scoffed. "You didn't. He got out the day after the exam. He just got sent right back with some kind of stomach problems."
Mitako's eyes widened in understanding and relief. "Oh! Oh, that's good to hear. Not that he's in the hospital!" she added hastily. "But that… I didn't… put him there," she trailed off awkwardly.
"We figured we'd stop in and see Lee and Hinata too, and I was going to give Neji an olive branch," Sayuri shrugged.
"Hinata's being treated privately by the Hyugas," Ino replied. "From what I hear they don't let a lot of outsiders into the Hyuga compound. You should probably just talk to her at the third part of the exam.
"Okay," Sayuri agreed.
"That was a pretty impressive fight," Ino recalled. "You were really tough on Neji."
"He was tough on Hinata," Sayuri said grimly.
"Yeah…."
They all fell silent, remembering the many less-than-stellar moments that had happened at the preliminaries. Lee, Neji, Hinata, Tenten…
"I know Sakura's been taking Lee daffodils," Ino said, changing the topic to something less depressing.
"Great, we'll take some of those, I guess," Sayuri said.
"No, no!" Ino said, waving her hands frantically. "You don't understand! You can't all give him the same thing, that totally defeats the purpose."
Sayuri blinked slowly, for effect. "Don't follow…"
"If he gets different flowers then he can see how many people are supporting him by the different kinds. It's totally a psychological thing," Ino explained matter-of-factly. Sayuri and Miyako both blinked at her. "Yeah, that's right, not just a pretty face," she said smugly, then giggled, "Although I am that. Here, let me find some appropriate ones for you. Sayuri, you're giving one to Neji and Lee, and Miyako, you're doing one for Choji?"
"Yes," Miyako agreed, and Sayuri nodded.
Ino drifted off into the shop, plucking out a few single flowers, contemplating them, occasionally pairing them with another flower, and then shaking her head. When she returned to the counter, Ino handed Sayuri two flowers. "The nasturtium for Lee means victory."
"But he didn't win," Sayuri said in confusion.
"It's metaphoric," Miyako guessed. "Like a victory over his injury, get back on his feet. Basically, encouragement."
"Exactly," Ino nodded approvingly. "I seriously considered giving you a camellia for Neji, but I figured that would be in poor taste."
Miyako frowned worriedly, recalling Sayuri's technique. "Probably not."
"Yeah, so I went with the purple hyacinth. It's perfect, literally a request for forgiveness."
"What about the dandelion?" Sayuri asked, gesturing to the flower she'd handed Miyako.
"I'm getting there! They mean happiness. I figured that was probably a good one for Choji."
Pleased with Ino's work – she hadn't crossed any lines that shouldn't be crossed – the two girls paid for their flowers and walked off towards the hospital, holding them in hand.
"These are pretty," Sayuri said, her face surprisingly soft as she buried her nose in the flowers.
"I didn't know you liked flowers that much," Miyako said in surprise.
"Love them," Sayuri said sorrowfully. Miyako's brows rose.
"You… don't sound that way."
"They just remind me of…"
"Kimimaro," Miyako guessed when Sayuri trailed off. Miyako was familiar with the basics of Sayuri's relationship with Kimimaro. She knew how they'd met, she knew they were close friends, and she knew he'd died, but that was it.
"I used to carve him flowers and bring the carvings and the real ones to his cell to ask how they compared," Sayuri recalled wistfully. "I gave every last one to him. When I left, I took them."
"Are those the ones in your room?" Miayko asked in surprise. On Sayuri's windowsill were arrayed a series of carved wooden flowers on a pricey piece of crimson silk. She'd tried to touch them once, thinking they were just pretty trinkets, only for Sayuri to snap at her to never touch them. She'd asked Satoru later on if she'd done something wrong, and he'd just said that Sayuri didn't let anyone touch them, not even him.
Sayuri nodded and fell silent, slightly melancholy. She heaved a sigh and pushed up her hitai-ate onto her brow, running a hand across her eyes wearily.
They entered the hospital and got the room numbers for each of the people they wanted to see. Choji was closest and probably had the least potential for dramatic or depressing events, so they stopped there first.
"Whoa, I've got a lot of visitors today!" Choji said in surprise when he saw them come in. "Shikamaru just left. Hey Miyako," he greeted with a grin. "Sayuri."
"Hi Choji," Miyako said, shuffling forwards. She shyly handed him the dandelion, cheeks adorably pink. She'd never given flowers to a guy before, and now here she was, giving three in one day. "Ino said they represent cheerfulness. I wanted to apologize to you about the fight."
"I told you, it's no big deal," Choji assured her. "Just the luck of the draw, you know?"
"I know," Miyako nodded, smiling in relief that he wasn't angry. "Just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Apparently it's just indigestion," Choji said carelessly. His face went grim. "Nothing like what Lee's got."
Miyako mused, "We're heading there after Neji."
"You're gonna go see Neji?"Choji asked, looking at Sayuri in surprise, who shrugged in response.
"Sayuri feels guilty," Miyako whispered in explanation.
"I see," Choji nodded. "Well, I won't keep you guys. Go ahead and make your rounds. Thanks for the flower, Miyako, it's nice."
"You're welcome," Miyako smiled in reply as she opened the door.
"Feel better," Sayuri wished, speaking for the first and only time as they left. This was Miyako's visit, not hers.
"Neji should be right down the hall," Miyako said thoughtfully, peering around the corner. "Yeah, I see it. I wonder why he's here and Hinata's at the Hyuga compound getting special treatment?"
"Maybe because she'd the next head?" Sayuri guessed. "Or because she was injured by the Hyuga's technique? They probably know more about how to treat it."
"That's true," Miyako agreed, opening the door.
"What do you want?" Neji snapped when he saw them. He was shirtless, his torso and arms wrapped in bandages, a blanket over his lap.
"We come in peace," Sayuri said. This time she moved forwards and Miyako remained by the door, blushing slightly at Neji's state of undress. Sayuri offered him a flower. "Here. Purple hyacinth. According to Ino, they're a request for forgiveness. I figured it was appropriate."
"That's not purple hyacinth," Neji snorted, staring at the nasturtium she was offering him.
"It's not?" Sayuri cursed softly and lifted the flowers to her nose, smiling in satisfaction as she plucked out the right one and offered it to him. "Sorry about that."
"What makes you think you deserve forgiveness?" Neji demanded. Sayuri raised an eyebrow.
"The fact that I feel really bad about the fact that I put you in here and I'm sorry for it?" she tried.
"And you think a flower will get my forgiveness?"
Sayuri sighed. "You know, you're a pushy little thing. If you want, you can come over to my place for dinner sometime?"
"Sayuri's a really good cook," Miyako put in from the doorway. "Her food's really delicious." She immediately regretted her actions as Neji turned his pupilless lavender eyes on her, letting out a nervous squeak.
"It's inappropriate for a man and a woman to dine alone," Neji said stiffly, looking back at Sayuri.
She scoffed. "As if. Don't flatter yourself. I've heard you're pretty, but I have no idea myself, and I doubt you'd let me find out. Besides, I'm not really interested. You're kind of arrogant."
"You're making me want to forgive you less and less." Neji narrowed his eyes. "And what do you mean, find out?"
"I mean, find out what you look like," Sayuri said. Miyako moved forwards and Sayuri's hands moved across her face, lightly trailing across her cheeks and eyelids. "Like this. I can map out a person's face."
"If you're worried about it looking bad, I could come to dinner too?" Miyako offered.
"And Satoru too, my guardian," Sayuri added, dropping her hands. "Look, I got out of hand back there and I feel really bad about it. Just let me make it up to you, please?" she asked politely and earnestly. She honestly felt bad, and hey, if the price of forgiveness was a dinner, she was perfectly willing to pay. Slowly, Neji nodded.
"Alright, fine," he allowed. "But I hate spicy foods," he warned.
"I'll take it easy on the hot sauce," Sayuri said drily. "Anything in particular you do like?"
"Herring soba," Neji answered immediately.
"I'll find a recipe," Sayuri promised. She smiled slightly and stuck out a hand. "So, no hard feelings?"
"You're not forgiven yet," Neji said pointedly. Sayuri's hand dropped and she scowled.
"Pushy," she muttered under her breath again, turning on her heel, and stalking to the door. "Come on Miyako, let's leave his royal highness to heal."
"Feel better soon, Neji," Miyako said with a slight bow before ducking out the door after Sayuri, leaving a blinking Neji behind.
In all honesty, he was completely shocked. Apologizing for hurting someone in the chunin exams? How soft was that? Still though, he was getting a good dinner out of the deal if Miyako could be trusted, and he was pretty sure the girl might faint if she tried to lie. She was as nervous as Hinata, but in a whole different way, not so much stuttering and with low self-confidence as simply quiet and shy. He was honestly surprised she'd had the nerve to speak up and wish him well.
A little short, but this was a good place to stop. I have most of this story planned out in my head. If I continued I would have had to either stop in a weird place or have a chapter like twice as long as any other.
ALSO! I have a new poll up on my profile for what pairing you'd like me to write for my next story. I've got ideas going everywhere plot wise but I'm not sure what pairing I like best for the story. Either one works. Just let me know!