Chapter Text
There was something instantaneous about falling in love. It all started when once upon a time, the fairytale princess met her prince who would later become her savior, a man with a heart of gold and the appearance as though carved by the hand of Kami. Following their adventure, the two of them would fall in love with one another, either of them crushing first before they would live happily ever after by each other’s side, not parting until death.
Or that was at least Ume’s understanding of how it was falling in love. The influence from the fairytale books read to her every night by her mother was undoubtedly strong, it crafting her entire perspective on how love worked, and what it was like to find the one. It didn’t help either that she viewed the marriage of her parents as her ideal too, aspects of it sprinkled into her perception of how her happy ever after would play out as soon as she had fallen in love with her own prince.
Ume knew that it would take a while until her very own fairytale would start, and until then, she was totally ready to wait. There was no hurrying love along, after all.
***
Everything began on a day like any other, or at least somewhat like any other. The last week of summer holidays brought along a lack of sleep Ume was desperate to catch-up on, which led her to sleep through until the sun had long surpassed the horizon, the clock striking past ten already the moment her eyes peeled open. Before she could even rub the sleep out of her eyes, however, her stomach grumbled loudly, forcing her to get up from her bed.
Much faster than she should for someone half-asleep, Ume first got dressed and then neatly braided her hair into two pigtails to keep it out of her face. As soon as even the most difficult of strands was tucked into one of the braids, she bolted out of her room and right down the stairs of her home into the main hallway of the house and then scrambled around the corner and right into the kitchen.
Immediately after entering the kitchen, Ume made her way over to where the leftovers her mother left out for her were sitting on the counter, her name scribbled onto a paper placed on top of the bowl. With her right hand, out of one of the drawers she got out some eating utensils and took the bowl into her left hand, making her way over to the dining table to eat her breakfast in peace and quiet. There was no rushing during the holidays after all.
One spoonful after the other she ate in silence, occasionally rubbing her eyes in the hope of rubbing the sleep away. Ume’s attempts were not fruitful, but rather left her more sleepily than before, or that was at least until an incoming pair of loud footsteps startled her awake.
Around the corner, Ume’s older sister Momo craned her head, her short black hair moving along the motion, some strands hanging in her face as she moved further into the kitchen. “Can you join dad outside today, Ume? I’m out today with my friends, training and all.”
While she held a deep respect for her older sister’s ambitions when it came to being a Shinobi, it was something Ume was not able to entirely understand. Momo had always said that it was because she was still too young and not part of a team of her own and that once she graduated from the academy and became part of a team, she would understand her passion, but Ume highly doubted that.
“It’s still summer, why are you training?” Ume asked, scrunching up her nose. The mere thought of training already had her sweating. She watched as her sister walked into the kitchen, most likely to grab something for her training. “but okay, I will join dad today, but only because it is so much fun you are missing out on.”
“Sure it is,” Momo said sarcastically, stopping to tap Ume’s forehead teasingly as she walked by. “A good Shinobi never rests and I want to be a good Shinobi.” She explained, taking her bottle of water out of one of the many cupboards in the kitchen.
“So you spend all summer training?”
Momo hummed, continuing to fill up her bottle with water. “It helps me and my teammates improve. And if I keep going, that means that soon, I will be a Chūnin.”
“That’s nice,” Ume saw no point in rushing when it came to becoming a Shinobi, unlike a majority of her classmates and her sister. Regardless of that, she admired her sister’s untireable ambition. “I’m sure you will make it soon.”
“Thanks!” Momo smiled at her sister widely. With a loud snap, she shut her water bottle, stuffing it into her backpack. “So do I. Don’t want all this training to be for nothing,” As she was about to round the corner into the hallway, she turned around again. “See you later, Ume!”
“Good luck, Momo!”
“Thank you!” echoed back from the hallway mere moments before the front door of their home slammed shut, loudly announcing Momo’s departure and leaving Ume to resume her breakfast in silence again, which didn’t take much longer to eat up. Afterward, Ume put her bowl and eating utensils in the dishwasher and closed it shut, washing her hands before sprinting up the stairs and into her room again to grab some drawing supplies.
While Ume did enjoy spending some time with her father outside, there was something more fascinating about sitting with him in the booth, her sketchbook and pencil in hand as she was allowed to live out her creative freedom for the day. Sketching customers was something Ume did with a passion, something that had her face liting up once she revised her sketches at the end of a long and busy day.
With excitement already gleaming on her features and a smile tugging on her lips, Ume closed the front door to their home behind herself and skipped over to the wooden booth on the edge of the property. Many years before Momo or Ume had been born, their parents had already set up the booth outside of the home together, the place where they would spend the next decades selling their honey products. The Hiramatsu family was known for the honey they produced and how it was the best in all of Konoha, bringing in many customers day by day, something both girls were proud of their parents for achieving.
Carefully, Ume pushed open the door to the wooden booth, one that creaked annoyingly up until her father oiled it a few days ago. The man in question stood by the makeshift till, finishing up a customer who stood opposite him, buying several jars of their honey. As soon as the customer said goodbye, her father, Hotaru, turned around to greet his daughter.
“If that isn’t little Ume,” Hotaru said, jokingly placing his hands on his hips. “What are you doing here today?”
“Momo is out training with her friends, so I’m helping you out today instead!” Ume explained with a smile.
Hotaru pretended to be surprised by the news. “Oh, you are? Well, sit right down, then.” The man gestured to the stool he had placed in the booth for his daughters, the one they always took a seat on.
Ume took one look at the chair before she faced her father again. “Pick me up, please!” She said, grinning up at her father.
With a smile of his own, Hotaru was quick to heave her up into his arms, settling her down on a stool near the counter where she kept her things from the previous day. While some of her pencils were oddly misplaced, and not as Ume remembered to have left them, she simply began to rearrange them to her liking again. With her other hand, she held onto her little sketchbook and the pencil she brought tightly, not wanting to drop them by accident. Careful to not accidentally knock over some of the jars of honey or other products, Ume scooched around on her stool, making the seat comfortable for herself as she watched her father work.
From where she was now seated on the wooden stool, little Ume had an almost unobstructed view of all of the customers coming in to buy honey from her family. Seeing so many new and different people was a strange experience for the young girl, especially since their home was located quite a good distance away from the center of the village. Because she enjoyed seeing so many new faces, day by day she began sketching the people that came by in the notebook in her hand, their features barely recognizable but the general idea and intention still discernable.
During a moment of serenity, Hotaru turned around to look over at his daughter. “What’s my little one doing over there?” The man asked playfully before he walked over to take a peek at her sketches. His smile widened as his gaze traveled over the open pages, his hand reaching out to pat her on the head. “You’ve been sketching our customers? That’s amazing, Ume!”
She looked up at her father, the gap between her teeth visible as she smiled. “Thanks!” In between the small sketches of the customers, she had also drawn bees similar to those belonging to her family. In an excited tone, she pointed those out to Hotaru.
Hotaru let out an over-exaggerated gasp, “Bees? They look just like ours, Ume. You’re doing great,” Once the man heard a noise coming from behind him, he looked over his shoulder before facing his daughter again, playfully hanging his head. “More customers… Work never ends, huh?”
Ume let out a giggle as she watched her father return to serving customers, using his joyful demeanor to charm the people coming by. She had always found it rather fascinating to watch the man work, his passion for honey becoming more than obvious with each word he spoke. It reminded her of watching her uncle and elder sister have conversations about the various bugs part of the Aburame clan, arguing about which type of bug was the best amongst them all. Her father was similar to his brother in that way, marketing his honey to be the best among the best, incomparable to any other.
Once, her father Hotaru had shared with her the secret to the sweet honey her family sold, honey he described to be induced with love. The sentence had confused Ume greatly, as she did not understand how food could be induced with love or any other emotions, it wasn’t like honey had any feelings. The man had let out a laugh at her question, shaking his head in amusement. The secret was something else, a fact that lay out in the open: his heritage.
As a member of the infamous Aburame clan, Hotaru had been one of the few family members to bond with bees instead of other insects, the bees becoming something akin to new members of his family, his friends even. In the most literal sentence of the word, they were a part of him, and could vividly feel the love and affection he held for them. The honey his bees went on to produce was what they nowadays sold, a tasty experience unlike any other, all created under the cooperation with the bees. They were family, after all, and not mere farm animals. That also meant that they were worthy of love, the same love making the honey they produced so unique.
It was one of the reasons why she loved watching her father sell the honey, knowing that other people too, could indulge in the taste stemming from her family’s love, as she liked to put it. Drawing the little honey bees besides the sketches of the customers always put a smile on her face, reminding her of the friendly companions of her father.
Several of the bees she had sketched over the time she had spent in the booth while helping out either of her parents, decorated the tip jar placed on the counter, already filled with many tips they received from generous customers. Each of the bees she had drawn onto the jar was not one and the same as the others were, but rather, a completely different bee. The one toward the opening of the jar was one she had lovingly nicknamed Momoka, after her older sister Momo, and drawn with a little hat sitting atop its small hat, a blatant copy of the hat her sister adored wearing ever since she bought it from her birthday money. The one beside that specific bee was a recreation of her uncle, topped off with a similar pair of the glasses the man always wore on his face. Ume even added lovingly stubbles onto the face of the bee named Shikiru after her uncle Shiki. With each one of the bees came a hidden detail connecting with one of the members of her family, one only they would recognize.
All of the tips were placed into the tip jar and a vast amount of their income was dedicated to expanding the home of their bees to provide them with the best life possible. Hotaru always said that he asked the bees for their wishes and did as he was told by them in order to respect their respects, but Ume wasn’t entirely sure whether he told her that because the statement was truthful, or because he was attempting to entertain his child. Either way, she liked the thought of it.
While the day continued to pass on, hour by hour going by faster than the previous did, Ume’s sketchbook continued to fill with each customer coming by. Over time, she did not forget to sketch even one of their customers, no matter how quick their visit to their booth had been. Ume thought of the time challenge to be fun as she attempted to sketch down their most notable features, such as the stubbles on their chins, or the glasses sitting on their noses. Little bees would always accompany the customers who were gracious enough to leave a tip, one of the details Ume enjoyed adding.
At some point, her mother, Akane, brought some food by, the delicious lunch the woman had prepared in the meantime. “I’m assuming my two hard workers must be hungry,” The woman said as she entered the booth with two plates in hand, placing them down in front of her husband and daughter. “so I brought you some food which you two better eat up.” Behind her word was the slightest hint of a threat, one Hotaru and Ume chose to acknowledge immediately.
The two of them ate their food in peace, the occasional customer coming by to buy something. Those were the moments when Ume would grab her sketchbook to complete a small sketch before she resumed eating her delicious warm meal, enjoying her mother’s cooking as she had always loved to do. After beginning to eat, she was practically wolving down the food, too eager to eat. That was at least until Hotaru told her to slow down, a chuckle following his words.
A majority of the time, Ume ate in silence, watching as her father flipped through her sketchbook to take a look at the sketches which have accumulated during the day. Occasionally, he would point at a sketch of a customer he recognized and tell Ume a little detail about the customer, such as how long they had been buying honey from them, or even something Hotaru had come to learn about the person over the years. Ume adored seeing her father’s eyes light up in recognition, a compliment pushing past his lips as soon as they did.
After both of them ate up their food, Ume picked up their eating utensils and plates to bring them back into the house, so they wouldn’t remain in the wooden booth all day, not only would that be unclean, but also a bad look for their products. Hurrying in order not to miss any incoming customers, Ume ventured into the kitchen of their home, only to be met by their mother, Akane, who took the plates out of her daughter’s hands, shooting her a grateful smile as she placed them into the sink.
“Do you want me to help you wash them, Mama?” Ume asked, looking up at her mother with her head cocked to the side.
Akane shook her head softly, already picking up the dish soap and sponge with her hands. “No need, I can do it myself. Why don’t you spend some time with your father again? I’m sure that’s more fun for you.”
“I can help you, it’s fine. Papa can wait.” Ume argued, feeling bad that her mother would have to do it by herself.
Again, the woman shook her head, this time with a laugh. “It’s fine. Enjoy your day with your father. I’m sure he’s happy that you are spending your time with him. So, go on.”
It didn’t take a lot more convincing for Ume to join her father’s side outside again, the young girl hurrying over to the booth as fast as she could after pressing a kiss to her mother’s cheek.
For the next hour, Ume resumed sketching the incoming customers again, which had become noticeably less as the day was beginning to near its end. Admittedly, she found herself a bit bored sitting in the booth as her father rearranged their products, noting down what he needed to restock the following day before opening the booth again.
By where she had placed down her pencil previously now sat a bug which took up Ume’s entire attention. Carefully, she repositioned her neatly braided pigtails so they wouldn't obscure her field of vision. Her vivid green eyes focused on the bug and the bug only so that she could sketch it in her sketchbook. Somewhere by the countless bees she had drawn, she found a place for a bug she could not identify, but one that appeared similar to those of a distant cousin of hers. She made sure to remember where she was drawing it so that once another family gathering came by, she could ask her cousins all about the enigmatic bug she had seen.
Sketching it was no different to sketching a bee. While it took her much longer to finish a drawing of an insect, Ume liked to sketch and note down the basic details of the animal so that she would have a reference for later. After sketching out the basic shapes of the bug, she chose to pay more attention to finer details, all the while attempting to get a good look at the nameless bug. Her eyes darted away from the paper and toward the bug, only to look at the sketchbook again, taking a look at her reference time and time again.
At one point, however, it seemed as though even the bug was bored enough of simply wandering around on the wood, and flew away long before she was done sketching the basics of said bug. Ume’s head hung low for a moment in disappointment, the unfinished sketch almost a thorn in her eye. At least that was until she heard foreign voices along with that of her father. speaking.
As soon as Ume lifted her head and looked up from her sketchbook again, that was when she saw him. It was as though he was straight out of one of the fairytale books her mother would read to her every night, his appearance akin to that of the prince always coming to rescue the princess from impending danger. The boy peeking over the counter, literally was, the personification of the prince starring in her dreams.
The first conclusion the young girl came to was that it was fate bringing them together. Albeit it was no logical confusion, in the eyes of a young girl obsessed with everything magical, it was the only conclusion there was.
The prince in her storybook was described to be one of beauty, with sleek raven hair sitting atop his head, falling down all the way past his ears. The same could be said for the boy, with a hairstyle akin to that of the prince, one that complimented the large smile he wore while he looked at all the goods behind the counter. His eyes were big and dark, like a vast sea of color to get lost in, and yet, in spite of their dark color, they burned bright and were full of life. Just as bright as the green outfit he wore, a ruby red scarf was sitting around his neck.
It was no wonder that as soon as their eyes met from across the wooden booth, Ume ducked her head down, a blush beginning to coat her cheeks. There was something almost electrifying in the way he looked at her, interest and curiosity in his gaze. From what she could see, the boy tugged at his father’s almost identical outfit after he spotted her, almost energetically pointing to her. And when the man, of whom the boy almost was a carbon copy, was too busy talking to her father about his order, the boy dared to yet again take a peek at her, this time also sending her a small wave as a greeting, a large smile of his accompanying it.
Ume’s eyes widened dramatically to resemble those of a doe as she stared at the young boy, her brain circuiting for a moment. Slowly but surely, she too, raised her hand to send him a wave back, the intensity of the red on her face increasing with every movement she made. Her face was practically burning by now as her lips tugged into a smile of her own, the boy grinning back at her.
Dear Kami, he is so cute, she thought as she stared at him. She was so much so entranced by his sudden appearance, that she barely heard her father calling out to her, asking for help.
“Ume?” The man repeated again, waving his hand in front of her face. As soon as she snapped out of her trance, the girl almost fell back on her stool, her drawing utensils falling to the ground. Hotaru was quick to stabilize his daughter, but not without asking quietly, “Are you alright?”
“Just fine!” The girl confirmed. Then she hopped off of her stool to pick up her sketchbook and pencil again, placing them on one of the tables so they wouldn’t fall out of her hand again.
Hotaru crouched down to his daughter’s level to look her in the eyes. “Could you bring me two jars of wax from the shed, please? Maito-san wants to purchase two, but we no longer have any here.”
Ume stole one last glance at the boy before she agreed to her father’s request. She knew right where he and her mother had placed the jars of wax, so retrieving them would not be a problem. First, she had to leave the wooden booth her parents had set up years in front of their home many years before she had been born, and venture into their backyard to get to the shed. Normally, it would be locked, but during the hours they were selling their products, her parents usually left it unlocked to make retrieving products much easier.
As she pushed open the door, it creaked loudly, a sound the young girl always found to be shiver-inducing. When she had been even younger than she was now, her vivid imagination often filled in the shadows in the room and replaced them with the monsters of her stories, vile creatures lurking in the obsidian corners. They were one of the reasons why she was quick to turn on the lights in the shed, so she could hurry over to where the jars of wax were stored. For easier access, a ladder was placed near the higher shelf, onto which Ume was able to climb up and grab a jar of the way into each one of her hands, holding it close to her body.
Careful not to let either of the jars fall onto the floor, Ume stepped down from the ladder and walked over to the door of the shed, turning off the light by knocking her head against the switch. When she exited the shed, she closed the door with her foot, pushing it closed until the creaking noise stopped. With the jars in hand, Ume waddled all the way back to the shed, ready to deliver them to their customers. A small smile was painted on her features, barely seen by how she held the jars close to her body, limiting her vision as she walked. Ironically enough, the jars were also the reason why she couldn’t see the rock laying right in front of her, one that would make her trip right as she was about to reach their clients.
As soon as she began to fall, Ume knew that as soon as she lay on the grass, she would sink right into the ground from how mortified she was already feeling. It was best if she just never got up with her clothes all dirty, evidence of her clumsiness, and instead played dead preferably until her father was done apologizing to her poor customers and the boy whom she considered to be her fairytale prince and waited until they left, so she would never have to see the boy laughing at her, or worse, even making a comment to whom she assumed to be his father.
Luckily for Ume and her easily-wounded pride, that scenario never did take place. While she did almost face-plant right onto the grass with her eyes closed shut, a pair of hands landing on her shoulder and her arms stopped her from doing so. Under no circumstances, she would let go of the jars of wax, so she held onto them tightly as a figure barely taller than her stabilized her.
“Are you alright?” It was like the voice speaking to her was crafted by angels, a little high-pitched with concern practically dripping from it as the person spoke.
As soon as Ume dared to open her eyes, regret flooded her body as she stared into the eyes of her savior. From closer up, the boy’s eyes were even more vivid than they were when she sat a good distance away from him, his eyes searching for confirmation that she was truly alright. His smile was almost contagious from so close, the brightest one she had ever seen someone wear. His hands on her arm and shoulder were warm and comforting, holding her stable as she took a moment to catch her breath from the scare.
It took Ume a good moment to calm herself down and nod. “I’m fine, thank you.” Looking him in the eyes was difficult, her cheeks burning red as she did so. Her grip on the jars only tightened, a reaction the boy quickly took note of.
“I’ll help you!” He offered in a joyful tone, his hands moving to take one of the jars out of her hands. While the girl was hesitant to hand him one of the jars, she eventually did, the boy taking it into his arms without any complaint.
Together, the two of them walked the remaining way toward the wooden booth, where their fathers were standing, still talking to one another. It made Ume wonder why the boy had been wandering around near the booth anyway, instead of waiting around with his father. Maybe he got bored? She thought, and decided to venture around a little. For whatever reason he chose to do so, she was both thankful and mortified at the mere thought of his presence.
“I’m Gai!” The boy introduced himself, his head turned toward her as he smiled. “What’s your name?”
Ume kept her head down, refusing to meet his gaze, and instead focused on the ground she was treading on. She swallowed her embarrassment down and introduced herself to him, “I’m Ume. Thank you for your help.”
Gai’s grin only seemed to widen. “Nice to meet you Ume!”
He said her name, Ume was sure she could die at any moment and be happy while doing so. It was like her very own fairytale was beginning just now, one she could live to the fullest with all of her dreams hopefully coming true. However, as soon as it did start, it also ended once they reached their fathers, each of them with a jar in hand.
“There you are, Gai!” His father spoke, his voice just as enthusiastic as his son’s, and his eyes shone just as bright. They flickered over from his son to the girl beside him, to then look at the jars they were carrying. “Don’t wander off to Kami knows where again, alright?” While his words were somewhat stern, the man let out a warm laugh shortly after.
Gai hurried over to his father’s side, still holding the jar in his hands. Ume followed the boy in hesitant steps and held out the jar she was holding to his father, her hands shaking a little from how nervous she still was.
With a grateful smile, the man took it, but not without thanking her first. “Thank you for getting the wax for me.” He said in a warm and kind tone, one that reminded Ume of her own father.
Politely, Ume bowed before the man before she removed herself from his presence, without stumbling even once, and found refuge in the wooden booth again, standing right behind her father who patted her head affectionately. With her small hands, she hugged his leg and held onto the man tightly, all while keeping a careful eye on Gai as his father paid. Her cheeks were still burning as she watched the boy inspect the contents of the glass carefully, his facial features appearing funny as he looked through the glass and right at her.
The giggle Ume let out was muffled as she mushed her face against her father’s leg, showing off part of her toothy smile. Gai was really funny, or so she decided as he continued on with the antics, making her giggle even more at the sight of the funny faces he was pulling.
Their interactions came to a quick stop once the business interactions between their fathers came to a stop, Maito Dai graciously leaving his change as a tip, and Hotaru thanking the man profusely. All jars except for one were packaged carefully in a bag, so that the man could carry his purchase home safely, his son carrying the other jar.
“Come back soon!” Hotaru told the man as they shook hands. The man was practically gleaming, joy written all over his features. The same could be said for Maito-san, whose face lit up with the smile he wore as he agreed, promising to return soon.
While Ume was upset to see the boy leaving already, she couldn’t help but smile at seeing him wave at her from a distance, shooting her a smile as he walked away with his father. Enthusiastically, she waved back, smiling just as wide as he did as he skipped away, the jar of wax held tightly in his other hand. Almost dreamily, she leaned her chin on her hand and let out a sigh as she watched his figure disappear down to the road, her eyes unable to track them anymore.
The spell the raven-haired boy had cast upon her was broken just a mere moment later when the realization dawned upon her, she had forgotten to sketch Gai. Out of all the customers to whom she had dedicated a place in her sketchbook, she just had to forget the fairytale prince, that was just her luck, of course. Drawing him from memory would not be the same as if she had an in-person reference to look at.
So, she did the only logical thing left for her to do, she let out a groan and let her head fall against the desk, squeezing her eyes shut as she began to accept her misery.
Hotaru shot a confused look toward his daughter, not understanding what had caused her mood to change within the blink of an eye. Gently, he tapped her shoulder and asked, “You good there?” To which he only got a grunt in response, followed by a miserable cry stemming from his daughter. The man took a step back and ran his hand through his dark hair in confusion, his brows furrowing as he tried to figure out what exactly had happened. “If you want to talk, let me know.”
Ume only let out a groan in response, further basking in her despair.
***
Even weeks after meeting the kind boy, Ume found it difficult to forget Gai, he remained stuck in her mind, as though the mere thought of him was a must for her. Several times already she had made an attempt of sketching his most defining features, his thick brows, and beautifully shaped nose, topped off with his pretty eyes, but not one of her attempts did do the real-life muse any justice, or so she thought. And despite being so young and barely spending ten minutes around him, Ume knew that Gai was the first boy whom she found to be cute and lovely to be around.
Attending the academy was a well-fit distraction for Ume, one that got her mind off of the energetic boy. Instead, she had to focus on the studies she was partaking in, striving to not be the best, but at least not to be the worst in her class either. The middle ground was the safest option anyway, so Ume decided, she would much rather be among the best in a subject she enjoyed instead of in a subject she harbored a great dislike for, such as kenjutsu.
As much as she did attempt to focus on her academic career, for some reason it seemed as though she could not escape the mere mention of Gai, whose presence suddenly seemed to surround her. How she had not known about the barely older boy before, Ume could not tell, but ever since briefly meeting him, his name popped up practically everywhere, as though it became unavoidable for her.
Merely through the gossiping of her classmates, Ume found out many things about the boy which she did not know before, such as that the energetic boy was in the grade above her and the classmate of the famed Hatake Kakashi, a child prodigy whom everyone in her grade had heard of at least once before. Not only did Ume overhear that, but also that according to what her classmate, Mayumi, said, the boy had trouble getting into the academy due to him not passing the necessary entrance exam at first due to his lack of abilities when it came to anything but taijutsu. The fact was something that the gossip girl found funny for some reason.
“How can you not pass the entrance exam?” Mayumi asked her friend, letting out a scoff. “It’s like the easiest thing. Everyone who doesn’t pass the exam shouldn’t be a Shinobi even.”
Ume couldn’t help but frown as she heard them talk, her grip on her pencil tightening. She found it increasingly difficult to focus on her sketch the more words Mayumi dared to speak, her attention totally dedicated to the mean-spirited conversation of the girls.
“No idea,” Her friend responded with a sneer. “Some people shouldn’t be Shinobi anyway, that’s why the exam exists in the first place.”
Mayumi nodded in agreement.“And some people still get to attend. It’s ridiculous, they’ll never be good enough to protect the village anyway. Like him, he could never protect anyone with just taijutsu. Everyone should know how to use ninjutsu and genjutsu. You can’t be a Shinobi with either.”
“Why is he trying anyway? He won’t get far with taijutsu. Without ninjutsu or genjutsu, a Shinobi is basically useless.”
Ume almost snapped one of her favorite pencils in half because of how drastically her grip tightened around it. Hearing her classmates speak ill about someone else not only infuriated her because she now knew Gai to not only be very kind but also considerate but also because she never understood why exactly they found it so important to talk others down as they apparently enjoyed doing. She knew very well that she too, was the topic of their mocking conversations, someone who they talked down among themselves once they actually noticed her sitting in the classroom. Whether it was her luck or misfortune, members of her family were easily overlooked and forgotten about, a fact that ironically enough, they never allowed her to forget.
She took a deep breath to calm herself down, not really wanting to involve herself in their conversation. And yet, her anger was inevitable. Besides herself, the gossiping girls, and a few other classmates standing by the chalkboard talking amongst themselves about the previous lesson, there was no one else in the classroom who could stand up for those who weren’t there. A majority of the others had already left for recess and were playing outside or eating their lunch, a time Ume chose to rather spend inside today. She really shouldn’t involve herself in a conversation she wasn’t a part of in the first place, but the words the girls dared to speak out loud infuriated her more with each minute passing.
“You’re right, a Shinobi like him will easily be forgotten. He’s unremarkable and useless just like the rest of them. It’s best if he gives up before that happens,” Mayumi stated with a slight eye roll. “No village needs people who specialize just in taijutsu or nasty summons.”
It was rather clear whom Mayumi was referring to.
Without even dedicating one thought to her actions, Ume let go of her pencil and slammed both of her hands loudly on her desk, demanding the attention of those who were still in the classroom. Her green eyes narrowed and her fingers twitched in anger, her emotions overriding any logical thought process. “Can you just shut up?! Not everyone here has the same interests or talent. Have you ever thought that some people are from clans with other talents, talents both of you don’t possess? Just because we aren’t like you, doesn’t mean we are not as good as you! Not everyone needs stupid ninjutsu or genjutsu to get be a good Shinobi! Taijutsu and special techniques are just as important!” Ume’s cheeks took on a shade of red as soon as the realization of what she had done hit her, but by then it was already too late to take her words back.
Even from how far she was sitting away from Mayumi, Ume could see her brow twitching in annoyance. The other girl stood up from where she was seated on the opposite side of the classroom, her hands balled into fists. “How dare you?!” She screeched out, evidently angered. “Don’t listen in on my conversations, bug freak. Mind your own business or you’ll get it!”
There was barely anything that Ume was able to deal less with than confrontation. Why she had chosen to stand up against the gossip in such an open fashion and involved herself in the discourse in the process, she could not understand mere moments later. What she did know, however, was that the repercussions she would face scared her so much so, that her arms began shaking. The evidently shocked and gaping faces of her classmates did not help her growing fear either, their gazes focused on her and carefully watching her next movements.
She opened her mouth and gaped for a moment, her brain circuiting as she attempted to find a way out of the mess she got herself into. Mayumi’s threats were ones to take seriously, Ume knew that very well. There was no way she could argue herself out of the mess, meaning there was only one more or less logical solution left: to run.
And that is exactly what Ume did. The girl did not even hesitate for one second and tucked her sketchbook under her arm, taking her pen into her hand before she hurried around her desk and bolted straight for the door of the classroom, not daring to look behind herself. Footsteps echoed behind Ume as did angry shouts, but she tried to pay them no mind as she ran through the academy, attempting to find a place to hide away from the impending argument.
It was indeed cowardly of her, but Ume could care less about any morals with her entire body running on adrenaline. As she rounded another corner, she placed her hand on the wall and pushed herself away from it to gain more momentum as she moved through the halls of the academy building. Finding a place to safely hide away was becoming more difficult than anticipated, or so Ume thought, but she still had the advantage of a head start on her side.
That had been the case at least until she dared to look behind herself and ran right into someone as soon as she rounded another corner. Immediately Ume lost balance and fell onto her backside, letting out a groan as soon as she did so. The pain shooting through her back was horrible, and as soon as she peeled open her eyes, she regretted it again.
Of course, she just had to run into Gai. Be her rotten luck damned.
The boy, too, had toppled over from where he had been walking but was able to get up much faster than she was able to. It was as though in no time he was standing on his feet again, concern washing over his features as he walked over to her, extending his arm to help Ume up.
For a moment as Ume reached out for his arm and allowed herself to be pulled up, the panic she was feeling increased tenfold, coming to a high as soon as her body bumped lightly against his.
“Did you get hurt?” Gai asked with his thick brows knitted together in worry. Gentle, he lowered her hand, his dark eyes raking over her body to check for noticeable bruises. Save for her red face, he could see nothing wrong with her.
Ume shook her head, looking anywhere but Gai. Her eyes were frantically searching for a place to hide, her impending doom ringing in her ears.
“Are you sure, you look a little red?” Gai’s hand went to feel her forehead, but Ume leaned a little backward in panic, successfully avoiding his touch.
As soon as Ume moved, her eyes settled on a hiding spot, the closet of the academy’s janitor, a place where Ume knew Mayumi wouldn’t check for her presence. Rather, the other girl hopefully would run past it and look for her outside or in another classroom, meaning Ume could hide away until the next class would start. Her discovery was right on time too, the obnoxious voice of Mayumi echoing down the hallway.
There was barely any time left before Mayumi would spot both of them, a feast for her endless complaining and mockery.
“Come on.” Ume said, reaching out for Gai’s hand to envelop it with her own. Without giving him a moment to consider what was happening or warning him, she pulled him along with her and toward the closet, begging for the door to be unlocked.
Just to her luck, it was indeed open, so Ume pulled it open as fast as she could before pulling Gai inside the closet, and closing the door behind them quietly so Mayumi wouldn’t hear. With her back, she leaned against the door of the janitor’s closet and breathed in deeply to calm down her racing heart, her impending mortification of what was happening beginning to catch up with her.
She had pulled Gai… into a closet… with her… dear heavens. There was no better time than now to die of mortification. Her hands met her face with a loud slap, one that had her entire body freezing up immediately the moment she heard footsteps echo from the outsider of the door.
Ume had thought she would live longer than past the age of six, but judging from the hushed voices coming from outside the door, she had been completely wrong with her assumption. From the words she was able to make out, it was clear that Mayumi was searching for her, but just as fast as the girl appeared on the other side of the door, she disappeared again with a loud huff and just as loud footsteps echoing through the hall.
The dark-haired girl let out a sigh of relief, her muscles feeling tense from the pressure she was under. What she forgot to account for was the growing confusion Gai was feeling, his thick brows having dropped into a furrow as he stood in the closet with her, an unanswered question laying on his tongue.
“What’s going on?” Gai was beyond puzzled at what was happening, his situation having changed from one moment to the other. No longer was he walking the halls of the academy, but rather standing in the dark janitor’s closet without knowing the reason as to why.
“Gai, I-” Ume cut herself off, a wave of panic washing over her. That had to be bad for her heart. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to drag you into this.” Even though he couldn’t see her, she still gestured around with her hands dramatically.
Her explanation did not aid his understanding, not at all. “Into what?”
“There’s this girl in my class, Mayumi, and I stood up to her and now she hates me!” Ume explained with a small whine, her lips tugging into a frown. “And then she chased me down the halls and-”
“Wait, you stood up against Mayumi?” interrupted a voice from the darkness. “You really want to sign a death sentence, huh?”
In the dark, Ume’s hand searched for the light switch, her fingers moving across the wall. Once her fingers managed to find it, she turned on the light in the closet to find her classmate Fuyumi to be the mysterious person. The girl sat on the floor with a judgemental and amusement expression on her face, her eyebrow raised as she looked over at Ume.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to intrude into your conversation. But you two are kind of in my space here.” Fuyumi explained, gesturing around the closet space. In her lap sat a half-eaten bento box, crumbs sitting in the corners of her mouth.
Ume wasn’t even going to ask what her classmate was doing eating her lunch in the closet, but apparently, Gai was eager to mention it. “Why are you sitting here in the darkness when outside the sun is shining so brightly?”
Fuyumi took a bite from one of her onigiris. “Anko is sick today. That’s why I am here. It’s kinda boring without her here, you know?”
There was barely any separating the two, so Ume knew. Her classmates were almost attached at the hip, metaphorically glued together. Without one, the other usually wasn’t found around, and the same could be said the other way around. But Ume would have anticipated that the white-haired would stay at home when Anko was sick instead of attending alone.
Gai looked between the two girls, evidently still confused by what was happening and what situation he had just been dragged into. “Who is this Mayumi and why are you hiding from her?”
“Mayumi is a bitch,” Fuyumi answered before a flustered Ume could even get a word in. “To put it short. She gossips and is mean, insults others regularly…she is the worst.” Her gaze focused on the other girl in the room. “What did you say to her anyway to make her that angry?”
Ume swallowed harshly, the attention focused on her making her nervous. Her gaze wandered from Fuyumi’s curious features over to Gai’s equally interested expression, before settling on her shoes so she wouldn’t have to look at either. She swallowed the anxiety-riddled lump in her throat harshly. “S-she said something about someone I know and my family. And that made me so angry,” Her hands balled into fists. “And she wouldn’t stop talking…”
“She never does. It’s so annoying. It wouldn’t hurt her to shut up for once,” Fuyumi added, her gaze trained on her classmate. “So you told her to shut up?”
“Yes.”
Fuyumi let out a loud laugh, one that resembled more of a howl than anything else. She bent over and let her onigiri fall back into her bento box, clutching her stomach as she continued to laugh unabashed, letting out an occasional snort. “That’s so funny. I can’t.”
Ume’s face turned beet red, increasing in the extremity of the shade of red she already wore. Her arms wrapped around her shoulders as she somewhat hugged herself, seeking comfort while her embarrassment was growing by the second “S-stop l-laughing!” Tears began to prickle at her eyes as she whined, “I’m too young to die!”
At the sight of the hysteric girl, Gai knew exactly what to say, “I won’t let her harm you in any way!” His hand reached out to settle on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze to somewhat help her calm down. Unbeknownst to him, more panic settled within her as she looked up at him. “I promise you, Mayumi won’t lay a finger on you. I’ll protect you with all my youth!” His other hand formed a thumbs-up which he held out to her, making her crack a small smile.
Unsure of how to react exactly, Ume hesitantly bumped her fist against his thumbs-up, an action which made the boy laugh warmly. “You’re going to be okay.” He promised again with a wide smile, one that made her feel safe and warm inside.
“Thank you, Gai.” She breathed out, her gaze fixated on the sight that was him. And yet, before she could get another word out, the bell announcing the end of lunch rang distantly, startling all three of them.
“I have to go now, I must return to my studies!” Even as he was announcing his leaving, Gai spoke with much enthusiasm. His hand left her shoulder and instead wrapped around the door’s handle, pulling it open carefully. Before leaving, the boy shot Ume another smile. “Until then!” And left the door partially open.
Ume swallowed harshly, what just happened taking more than a moment to sink in. The sound of the bell announcing the next class still rang in her mind, but she could not be bothered to move, completely frozen in her position. That was so mortifying, and yet, Gai had promised to protect her. Her entire face was burning at the thought of that.
“Are you coming?” Fuyumi asked from by the door, shooting Ume a teasing look. “You know what Kiyoko-sensei thinks of late-comers, especially of those who daydream during her class.”
With a small sigh, Ume followed. She couldn’t await the end of the tumultuous day.