Solar Eclipse *Rewrite*

Chapter 8

Now, Koinu would never consider herself a noisy kid. Curious? Yes. But noisy? Never. So when she heard her name in another person's conversation, she thought nothing about it. It wasn't the first time something like that happened. It happened all the time back home, so how was this any different from that. She wasn't clueless after all. Yeah, she didn't quite grasp how different Konoha is from the Lost Isles, but she wasn't stupid!

It was before class started when they finally approached her. A group of girls. The same group she had always smelled around Sasuke. His fan club they called themselves. Sakura and Ino seemed to be their leader. Leader, not alpha. Alphas don't share authority.

They stood there, their arms crossed over their chest. She was there, listening to Shikamaru as he helped her go over her homework. There were a lot of spelling mistakes. "What do you want?"

It was Ino who responded. "Your hair."

"Huh?" She looked up from her homework. "My hair? What about it?"

"We all know why you really wear your hair long."

To say she was confused was an understatement. What did her hair have to do with anything? Sakura continued their reasoning. "You've been hanging out with Sasuke! And everyone knows he likes girls with long hair!"

Okay. Now, she's confused. "Do you even know Sasuke? He's too worried about other things to notice anything about anyone. Besides, my hair was long before I came to the academy. It's a cultural thing. Everyone back home has long hair."

"Lies!"

Koinu rolled her eyes, turning back to Shikamaru. The brunette seemed unfazed by them. Was this a normal occurrence? She ignored them, even when they continuously harassed her while she was going over her homework. Eventually, her patience ran dry, and she growled. A loud, animalistic rumble vibrated deep from her throat. It caught everyone by surprise, not even Kiba could growl like that. "Excuse me. But some of us have better things to do than to gawk at a boy who doesn't know or care that you exist." They didn't try to bother her again after that. No one really did. Shikamaru smirked, he was glad to be on her good side.

Choza took in the girl standing at the front gate. She was small, smaller than Choji at least. Her hair fell in thick inky black curls, held back with the occasional braid. Her eyes were a deep blue, speckled with spots of white and silver, like a stormy moonlit sea tempest. She was dressed casually in a blue tee and black shorts. "Koinu?"

"Yes. That's me." Her form was straight and firm, her tone loud and clear. She had the makings of a fine leader.

He smiles, stepping inside. "Well, come on in then." She stepped inside. "Shikaku told me that you went over some scenarios that didn't happen in your land. So I thought I would show you around our family business instead. Did you have a family business?"

She considered it. "Yes. We harvest pearls, and we sell silks. Oh! My siblings and I were considering opening the islands up for tourism. I've heard that people love staying on islands."

"Islands are very pretty. Well, our business is a little different from tourism."

"Your clan owns a restaurant chain. Right?"

"Yes, we do. Did Choji tell you?"

"No. I just put the two together." And that's how he found himself teaching the basics of business to a seven-year-old. She was really good at it. Attentive and eager to try. She mixed in perfectly with the restaurant atmosphere. The customers found her adorable as she attended to their orders and asked questions. Choza wouldn't say he was the best teacher but he was proud of her accomplishments. Maybe he should start showing Choji about the family business too.