Chapter Text
Walking out of the doors to the Leaf Village Civilian School, I take a deep breath of the fresh air. I sigh in contentment.
My peace doesn’t last for long. I let out a startled yelp at the sudden contact of an arm being thrown around my shoulders.
“Yuna, really?” I roll my eyes.
“What?”
“You know I don’t like it when you do that.” She thinks for a second, then shrugs.
“Sorry. I think it’s funny.” I can’t help but smile. “Where’s everyone else?” I look around, shrugging.
“Kino and Hanae were talking about ditching at lunch. I guess they actually did it.” I put my arm around her shoulders as I walk. “They always talk about ditching their last class. It’s 50/50 for if they actually do it or not.” Yuna groans, moving out from under me and shaking my arm.
“Ugh, I wanted to skip my last class. I hate that I have a different lunch period than you guys. I’m always out of the loop on plans.” I chuckle, pulling her back in and patting her on the shoulder comfortingly. “Hey, why didn’t you ditch too?” I give her a sideways look.
“You’re joking, right? When have I ever agreed to ditch school?” She rolls her eyes.
“Whatever. You need to have more excitement in your life.”
“I get my excitement when we hang out in the hours outside of class.” We walk for a bit, before the question dawns on me. “Where are you headed?” Yuna shrugs.
“Home.”
“You mean your home? The one that required you to turn in a different direction than me like ten minutes ago?” She sighs dreamily.
“I was blessing you with my company. Beats silence, right?” I raise my eyebrows at her and she huffs. “Fine. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I laugh, and wave her off.
—
Despite my banter with Yuna, I wasn’t headed home either. Groceries are running low, and I’d rather grab food before I officially run out.
Eventually finding myself at some market stalls, I inspect some fruit at a produce stand. I look up briefly to smile at the stall owner, a woman in her late sixties.
“Hey, Ms. Suzuki.”
“Good afternoon, Nozomi. Here for your usual?”
“Yes ma’am, just checking out the options.”
“You took longer to come back this time.” I shrug.
“I guess I got more food last time.”
“No, it was the same. Are you eating like you should? You’re still growing, your brain needs food.” I wave her off.
“My friends are on some restaurant kick, so I’ve been eating at some weird places.” She looks dissatisfied with that answer. “But none of them have potatoes as good as yours, Ms. Suzuki.” She smiles, pleased. I buy my usual selection and head to the butcher. I duck under into the stall cover, and make eye contact with someone.
Sakura Haruno, looking just as surprised and conflicted to see me as I am to see her.
I turn around immediately, leaving the stall. I’ll come back tomorrow.
The walk home was peaceful enough, though my shoulders felt tense the entire time. My footsteps echo against the floor as I beeline for my bedroom, shutting the door and sitting at my desk, where I will spend my evening studying until I can’t keep my eyes open.