Vanilla and Mango (Open)

His training over for the day, Haruto Uzumaki walked down the streets of Kumogakure no Sato, hands clasped behind his head and a lazy expression about his face. Ever since he had graduated two days ago, the Redheaded Uzumaki was rather bored. He had never been so free for years, considering that he had not been assigned a sensei yet and therefore, had no team nor any missions to undertake like normal Genin would.

"Taka-jiji was right. The bureaucracy of this village sucks, dattebare," the Redhead muttered to himself in his characteristic low voice.

Those clerks had been rather painstakingly slow about assigning him to a Genin Squad, after all. Not to mention how everyone seemed to claim about how ducking stupid their missions were.

With no team-mates, no sensei, and nothing to do, Haruto Uzumaki was one bored ninja.

Yawning, the Uzumaki boy passed an ice cream stand. A slight rumble in his stomach, upon the registration of the sweet, cold smell by his nose, alerted him to the frozen dessert.

Haruto turned around and looked at the ice cream stand. He was short on ryo, considering he hadn't undertaken any paid assignments yet. The Uzumaki did have some spare change his Mum had lended him, but he was saving it for other stuff. Still...

He had nothing better to do. Might as well try and get fat.

"Two scoops, one vanilla and one mango," the Redhead said to the stand owner, as he walked up to it and placed the appropriate amount on said stand. He really wished someone would join him, though. Haruto did not like eating alone. It was lonely, and boring...

封

Total WC: 276

It had been an extremely eventful and hectic and overall draining past few weeks. After finally arriving back home in Kumogakure, Saya had been assailed by meeting new genin and getting to know them as well as the passing of her sensei. The ache thrumming beneath her chest had not gone away since her teammate, Max, had dropped the bomb on them. It was a hard pill to swallow, and the poor girl wasn’t sure if she was still in denial or had quietly accepted it.

Many times Saya threw herself into training if only to get her mind off of certain topics. Though such activities were normal to her, moving and exercising her body also helped with her restlessness as sleep had become a fleeting friend that would always evade her calling. Which was why there were slight bags under her purple-blue eyes as she made her way to the ice cream stand. There didn’t seem to be many people in line, practically no one actually. Only the presence of one redhead receiving his order was there.

”The usual, Ojii-san,” she said to the vendor manning the stall as she placed the money on the counter. The man was middle aged, about mid-40s if she were to guess correctly, and grinned at her order before effortlessly scooping out the cold treats into a cone. Her own confection had vanilla and green tea matcha flavors piled on top of each other. Saya gave him a quick “thanks” before glancing at the boy nearby.

He didn’t look particularly familiar to her so he must either be some part of Kumo that she didn’t frequent or something else. ”You’re new,” Saya’s eyes flickered to his forehead protector. Though it looked somewhat used, she could still tell how “new” it was by the shine on the silver plate and the lack of worn material.

WORD COUNT: 316

Haruto spared a glance at the newcomer girl as she came and ordered her 'usual'. The Uzumaki himself had only been to this particular ice cream stand once before, hence he did not have a usual. The boy considered approaching the girl and talking to her, but Haruto was never the kind of guy who could initiate small talk with anyone. He was an introvert, after all. Besides, she was a girl, and for certain reasons explained below, Haruto was hesitant on approaching girls. He felt it was kind of awkward talking to her out of the blue like that... he didn't want her to think he was some kind of a pervert or something.

”You’re new,” she said, suddenly out of the blue, and the Son of the Eddies became aware that he was being stared at (he did not, in fact, realise that the staring part was directed at his headband).

Oh no.

Haruto suddenly had a terrified expression on his face. Was she going to become... one of those... creatures?!

You see, Uzumaki Haruto had been preyed upon by that apex predator known only as 'the fangirl'. It was a wild and lethal thing, and Haruto had spent a considerable portion of his time at the Academy staying away from the female population as a whole because of a small but dangerous portion of them belonging to that lethal species. The one that had tried to hunt him down wherever they could find him for the past four years. It had made Haruto rather shy around girls in general, but he could talk to them if need arose. It was just the fan girl subspecies that he was really, truly, deeply phobic of.

For if Haruto knew anything, it was that he never wanted another fan girl in his life.

Never.

"Uh... I... uh..." the boy, ice-cream in hand, began to back away from Saya, now comically drenched in his own sweat.

封

Total WC: 276 + 326 = 602

The boy’s expression phased into something she was not used to. It was the slow dawning of fear etching on his visage that Saya’s own features changed in reaction to his. Her brows pulled together into a scrunched, purple-blue orbs narrowed at his actions, and a frown etched at her lips. What had made him so frightened, the girl wondered. Taking a quick moment to check her surroundings, Saya glanced through her peripherals and noted that the only people milling about were mothers and their children and the hard working men. Even her instincts didn’t tingle.

There was no imminent danger in their area. So, again, why?

”Is there something wrong?” She asked in her usual blunt manner. The boy even took a step back from her, which only added to her confusion. Saya tried to rack her brain for any other possible reason for his fear, but she came up with nothing. Perhaps she should assure him in some way? Treat him like a patient. Nodding to herself, Saya took on a soft tone in her voice. ”If you think there’s danger lurking about then you can calm down. I didn’t sense any hostilities around the area.”

She raised up both her hands, one gripping onto the ice cream cone gently, in an “easy now” gesture. It might have looked weird to both the boy and any bystanders passing through, but Saya didn’t know that nor would she have cared about how she was portrayed.

Saya’s eyes then flickered to his bought treat in his hand. It was still obviously solid, however the sheen on its surface and the barest of a bump told her that it had started melting. ”Ah, and you might want to start working on that ice cream.” She told him, nodding her chin at its direction. Lucky on her part that her keen sight reminded her of her own cone. Her own was quite fresh but like the redhead’s confection it had started to soften.

WORD COUNT: 335
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 316 + 335 = 651

”Is there something wrong?”

Haruto's thoughts were currently running along the lines of 'fan girls are a monstrosity worse than the Ten Tails itself', as he continued to back away from the young Kunoichi in front him. 'Fan girls can, with a glance, generate fires that burn far stronger than Amaterasu, and they can find you wherever you are, even in the toilet...' a particularly bad, horrifically bad memory came to Haruto's mind at that thought. 'And the worse part is, they never, ever let you go. They will always find you, they will somehow always manage to kidnap you even right out of your very own home, and then they will try to kiss you, and make you play 'Prince Charming with them'...' Haruto was now literally shuddering, skin as pale as a day-old corpse, his skin cold and clammy while his heart continued to thunderously strike against his chest.

”If you think there’s danger lurking about then you can calm down. I didn’t sense any hostilities around the area.”

At the sound of her voice this time around, Haruto's shocked and dilated eyes regained some semblance of life, cerulean blue orbs glistening as they darted about, taking in his surroundings yet again. He noticed the girl first, and then, the melting ice cream cone in his hand, before he took in the nearby stand and the street, until he reoriented himself in time and place.

”Ah, and you might want to start working on that ice cream.” the girl's voice brought his attention back to her again, and he looked at her again, this time void of the post-traumatic phobic episode he had just undergone.

"Uh... I'm sorry," he murmured, finally, scratching the back of his head. "I... I thought you were a...," he shuddered, involuntarily, again, at the thought. Fan girl - there was nothing he feared more. But if this girl had been one, he would've probably been dragged into a corner by now and his face enveloped in smooches. Considering it was still fair, and not red, that meant that he could assume that he was quite safe.

For now.

He shuddered again, before coughing and bringing his attention back to the ice cream cone, before taking a large chunk off of it into his mouth - a second later, and, molten, it would've slid straight off the cone. "I... hi, my name is Haruto Uzumaki," the young boy spoke, softly but with confidence this time, feeling that he owed the girl-who-was-not-a-fan-girl some kind of apology for having come across as he had just now: absent-minded and freaked out. Haruto's observing eyes fell to her again, and in a second he deduced that she was kunoichi.

"I'm a Genin!" Haruto suddenly, more brightly this time. "But I just graduated two days ago, so I don't have a team yet. How about you?"

封

WC: 481
Total WC: 1083

Saya’s gaze narrowed as she took in all the signs of his body’s health. It didn’t seem good to her. His hands looked a bit sweaty and his eyes seemed to be elsewhere, considering how dilated it was. Her frown deepened as she went through the possible illnesses that the boy might be exhibiting. Hypoglycemia seemed to be culprit and her best guess was because of his choice of snack - the ice cream. But hadn’t he taken a lick of it earlier? Saya couldn’t quite remember if he did; she hadn’t really been paying much attention aside from noticing his presence.

But all of her worrying and planning ahead if the situation became worse was for nothing. The boy snapped out of whatever funk he was in and apologized. The little indications of his sickness seemingly vanished as the redhead seemed more alert. Saya absently licked at her treat as she watched the boy collect and explain himself to her. The boy was awkward, stuttering and never quite finishing his sentences. He began to say something then drifted off, and moved on to another subject.

She raised a brow at it all but remained silent until he finish speaking to her. ”I was right then.” Saya nodded to herself as she wiped a smudge of ice cream from her bottom lip. ”My name is Saya Kirihara. Pleased to meet you, Uzumaki-san.” At this point she switched her cone to her left hand and stuck out her right hand towards Haruto. ”I’m a genin too, though I have been for a while.”

His name, or rather, his surname immediately had her thinking back to the Suna ninja. Lady Kira, she idly thought, should be resting right now. Come to think of it though… She’s also a Uzumaki. The clan certainly was scattered everywhere, and was almost abundant in Kumogakure. The Uzumaki’s signature red hair was prominent in ones she had met so far.

”So, what happened earlier? You were looking a little peaky there for a bit.” Saya casually commented. His behavior was not something she encountered much or at all, and she wanted to know all about it. ”And you said you thought I was something…?”

WORD COUNT: 372
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 651 + 372 = 1023

”My name is Saya Kirihara. Pleased to meet you, Uzumaki-san.”

The red-haired Son of Whirlpool smiled warmly at her, pushing his own ice cream cone from his right to his left appendage after another lick, and forwarding his right hand before grasping Saya's outstretched one in a decent grip. A grip that neither betrayed weakness nor exposed strength. He shook his head in acknowledgement at her revelation about her rank, as their hands moved up and down in typical handshake before parting.

”So, what happened earlier? You were looking a little peaky there for a bit.”

At that, the Son of the Eddies laughed nervously, while blushing, with a sweat-drop adorning the back of his head, "Oh, that, I... uh... hehe, uh..."

”And you said you thought I was something…?”

He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, before swallowing in the entirely of his phobia in a large gulp. He was being asked about it directly, so it wouldn't do good to lie, especially not to a senior (they were both technically Genin but she had been at that longer so that made her a relative senior).

"It was, I... this is really embarrassing, so please don't take this personally or anything, but..." he heaved in a huge sigh, chest rising and falling as he did. Another lick of his cone, before he closed his eyes and finally his lips parted in explanation, "I thought you were a f-f-fa... a fan... girl..."

Upon saying that, he immediately lowered his head to her in an apologetic bow. "Sumimasen! It's just, during all of my four years in the Academy, not once has a random girl suddenly come up and talked to me without... any... ulterior... motives..." he blushed again in embarassment, as he stood up straight, before proceeding to lick his cone dry and then beginning to chew on the cone.

Then, thinking he had not explained himself properly again, he added, timidly, "There were three groups of girls in my Academy. One never talked to me, because they thought my red hair were weird and so they just stayed away. The second group never talked to me either because they didn't care at all about me. And the third one stalked me constantly, screamed to the world that they were all going to marry me, had cat-fights with each other after arguing about who would finally marry me, chased me from one end of Kumo to another nearly every day after the Academy ended, and, on more than one occasion, actually... caught... me," his face was now as redder than even his bright Uzumaki hair, "... because I was Rookie of the Year... I guess they liked me because of my performance in the Academy, but I can't really say why they did what they did..."

There, now Haruto had explained everything, but as he had drawled on and on in his explanation, the whole scenario had actually gotten more embarrassing with every word escaping his mouth. Now, the Uzumaki just wanted to get out of here before Saya declared publicly how weird and strange he was... if only this stupid cone would get eaten already!


WC: 527
Total WC: 1610

His grip was respectable as they shook hands. Saya almost nodded in approval. It showed, at least to her, that he had some semblance of confidence. Nothing like the slight mess he was in just moments prior. She had returned his grip with her own firm grasp. It wasn’t hard or overpowering as if trying to gain an upper hand in some kind of play for power. Nothing like that at all. And once they separated Saya’s opinion of him was somewhat positive; better than the ones compared to certain peers of hers.

It was then that his persona dimmed again. His laugh wasn’t actually a laugh and it sounded more nervous than something happy. Saya continued to methodically eat her ice cream as he worked through his words again. But it was those first few words that made her pause midway from biting the corner of her cone. Her eyes narrowed and her hand tightened over the fragile treat. What did he just call her? Half of her brain was telling her something, reminding her that he told her not to take it personally, but the other half was raging at the insinuation.

”A,” Saya started, voice strong even when she uttered a single letter. His entire explanation about his experiences with fangirls went in through one ear and out the other. ”Fangirl.” She outta throttle him! Rookie of his year be damned. Her fist clenched at her side as she forced her face to remain neutral, though the redheaded Uzumaki could probably tell by glare coming from her eyes that she was not amused by his assumption.

Luckily for the recently promoted genin Saya found herself noticing the amount of whispers increasing around them. She blinked and glanced at their previously sparse surroundings, and found that the amount of bystanders had increased exponentially. A few more blinks ensured the girl that, yes, there was that amount of people standing around. Saya let out a groan as she knew exactly who had such a following. He was upon the two genin before she could suggest vacating the area.

”Komori,” Saya greeted him, her right brow twitching in annoyance as he threw a wink in her direction. A group of three girls in the background sighed and squealed, thinking it was for them. Saya thought so too as she shook her head. Time for more fangirl antics. ”I highly doubt I was the one babysitting the civilians.” If anything, it was Saya’s opinion that Komori had to deal with walking all of the girls home while she had managed to delegate the youn men into looking out for each other on their way back to the festival.

Then she tilted her head in curiousity. ”You two know each other?”

WORD COUNT: 464
TOTAL WORD COUNT: 1023 + 464 = 1487

Everyone stood still so Komori decided to leave unless somehow, some way, people returned.

--Exit since Saya is busy IRL and Haruto disappeared--

Claiming 385 to S/T spec (1412/4k) and 2 AP cuz Im cheap