Skipping Stones [P]

This time Natsumi’s laugh came as a result of Saku themself, not their attempt at skipping the stone. There was something uniquely amusing about the mismatch between her diminutive companion‘s flat tone and their words. Admittedly, the contradiction made it difficult to distinguish whether Saku was genuinely excited, but the Nara girl chose to believe their words rather than their tone.

“Nice—it gets more fun the better you get,” she decided not to comment on the stone’s unnatural speed, such things were barely noteworthy in the shinobi world. “Keep practicing, and you’ll get there.”

Returning to her seat by the river, the teen let her feet dip into the water where the weak current pulled away the mud from her previous foray into the creek’s shallows. Despite her shortcomings as a teacher, she could see the appeal in imparting some new bit of knowledge to someone else. Indeed, the sweet swell of pride made her sit a little straighter. Was this what the academy instructors felt when their students succeeded?

“Saku,” her tone shifted, and her gaze drifted to the opposite shore hoping to dispel the impertinence of her words by avoiding her companion's eyes. “If you don’t mind me asking, why do you wear those bandages?”

Allowing the question to hang in the air for a moment, she stole a glance at the shorter figure only to quickly return her attention to the water as if her gaze alone might transform a relatively innocuous inquiry into a slight. Curiosity had, once more, gotten the better of Natsumi, and she silently hoped she had not inadvertently tread into deeper waters than she had initially expected. However, she couldn’t very well be presented with a riddle in bandage form and not pick at it—leaving well enough alone was not in the genin's nature, after all.
- - -
WC: 304
TWC: 2270

One, two, three, four, five…

Natsumi counted each heartbeat to distract from the increasingly long silence that followed her question. The one backward glance she’d thrown Saku’s way revealed next to nothing. The shorter figure was hard to read owing to their neutral stance and, ironically enough, the bandages wrapping their face. Perhaps, the Nara girl rationalized, it would have been easier to not ask in the first place.

Alas, she could only wait and hope she hadn't insulted her companion.

When the answer finally came, however, Natsumi found herself more confused than relieved. How did one simply wake up wearing such strange attire and not question it? In the shinobi world, standing out did not typically pay dividends, and Saku’s short stature could only do so much for warding off attention, unwanted or otherwise. When going unseen and unnoticed were in the job description, all white coupled with memorable bandages did not exactly fit the bill. Then again neither did black and yellow, so who was Natsumi to judge?

“Hmm, I guess because I like how the colors look together,” she flourished her sweatshirt so that the contrast between black and yellow was more apparent. “Though it didn’t hurt that they were on sale either. Do you ever do much shopping?”

The Nara teen’s newest question was likely rhetorical given Saku's appearance. However, Natsumi had a certain weakness for shopping, especially for clothes. If she could further steer the conversation in that direction, then all the better. More than a few shops came to mind for Saku’s particular…style—Konoha had quite the market for eccentrics. One of the benefits of living in a major village was the wealth of culture and fashion that flowed in and out of the market stalls on a daily basis such that even one clad in all-white might find a specialty merchant to support their questionable fashion sense.

Whatever nervousness existed before had long since evaporated, and Natsumi began picking at the contents of her bento box once more. Despite his peculiarities, Saku made for easy conversation—something hard to come by in a village of self-serious shinobi and kunoichi.
- - -
WC: 354
TWC: 2624

Finishing the last of her lunch, Nastumi placed the bento to the side. Despite the unexpected company, it was still nice to be away from the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life. And, the more she considered it, Saku’s presence added to the novelty of nature all around her—the diminutive figure was far from normal and a pleasant change of pace, even if they weren’t exactly the best conversationalist.

“Only equipment and ice cream?” Natsumi’s gaze flicked back to Saku; it was a strange combination and would explain their waif-like stature. “Two important things, I suppose.”

This time silence had little time to creep in as Natsumi continued.

“Have you ever been to Granny Tsao’s?” She gestured vaguely back toward the more developed part of Konohagakure. “It’s on the far side of the village, just past the Uchiha District.  It’s a smaller shop specializing in sweets but also has some of the best matcha ice cream in the village. If you’re out that way you should give it a shot, it’s worth the walk.”

She shrugged as if to discount the weight of her own perspective.

“In my opinion, anyway.”

It was in simple moments like this that Natsumi reflected on her life. Perhaps in a different life, she could have worked at Granny Tsao’s and lived out her life as a citizen, safe behind the walls of Konoha. Instead, as a kunoichi, she was one of the people securing the walls against whatever the world might try to dash against them.  Though, in the back of her mind, the genin hoped she would never have to face such evils—far better to while away her days by the creek.
- - -
WC: 279
TWC: 2903