Rabbit Princess [Gaara] [2]

☾ Interlude: Suzuran ☽

Suzuran felt something hit the water and her senses zeroed it down to being a small stone. She could almost feel it sink into the river even from here. She sighed as she made her way down the waterway, heading to the direction where she had felt it come from. When she looked up from her reflection in the water, Suzuran was met with the sight of two boys.

The two boys both had dark hair and eyes, telling her that they were certainly not from her clan, though even the Kambayashi had started to adopt darker hair shades. One of them had rather messy and long hair while the other had his cut in a strangely neat bowl cut.

It appeared the boys did not know each other from before, and Suzuran realised from their conversation that it was the long-haired boy who was sinking the stones.

"This time, I'll reach the other side for sure," said the boy with the bowl-cut, Hashirama. "Just aim it a little higher than you'd expect. That's the trick,"

"I don't need you to tell me that," retorted the other boy with the spiky long hair, Madara. "It will reach the other side if I put my all into it! Who the hell are you anyway?"

"Right now, I'm just your rival at stone skipping," Hashirama replied, undeterred. "Though mine has already reached the other side,"

"Oh, so you are the boys
who have been disturbing the river,"

Hashirama and Madara turned around to find a girl standing nearby, her small fisted hands set on her waist as she looked at them like an upset mother. However, no matter how much she tried to appear tough, her features were far too soft to really have it set in.

The girl had very long white hair that whipped in the breeze like the sway of the moonlight and her blue eyes were brighter than the clear river. She was as tall as the two boys and appeared to be the same age, clothed in a light blue knee-length kimono that was decorated with lily-of-the-valleys.

"Who are you now?" asked Madara in suspicion, raising his eyebrows, having never seen the girl before, and he had certainly never seen a person with hair as white as hers.

"Are you a water deity or are you from another world?" asked Hashirama in excitement. "Wow! Your hair is pure white! I have never seen such hair before! You must be an angel!"

"I am a human being," responded Suzuran, huffing and crossing her arms over her chest. "You both are so strange!" Hashirama and Madara stared. "Why are you throwing stones in the river?"

"Hey, my stones always reach the other side," Hashirama protested. "It's this guy's stones that don't – he is the one always sinking those stones,"

"Who are you two?" Madara asked, looking at them with even more apprehension. "And I'm not asking what you are – what are your names?"

"It's Hashirama," said Hashirama. "I can't tell you my last name due to reasons..."

"My name is Suzuran," answered Suzuran without mentioning her last name, although it did not matter much because her clan was not at war with anyone.

"Your name really suits you," Hashirama told her with a grin and Suzuran tilted her head at him, having not expected him to know that it referred to a flower.

"Suzuran and Hashirama, eh?" Madara asked as he picked up a stone from the ground. Suzuran pursed her lips. "Well, just watch. I'm gonna make it this time,"

"And if you do not?" Suzuran asked, raising her eyebrow. "Will you take responsibility for it?"

"I will, okay?" Madara replied, his cheeks slightly coloured at her interrogative look.