мοrι ηo κο 『森の子』

Eight | | New Friends

》Dιsсlαιмεя: I own no Canon characters that shall be used within this story。Only the OCs, as well as the setting in which the beginning of this tale has taken place。 All other things within the Narutoverse belong to none other than the marvelous, Masashi Kishimoto! READ ONWARD, LOVELIES!! ( ' ▽ ' )ﾉ《

『NOTE: Soooooo, I know it's been awhile since I last updated (like 2 months?) and I'm completely sorry and poopy for making you guys wait so long. Anyways, I hope this chapter update will prove that I'm getting back into the groove of writing and whatnot. So ... yeah, I hope you guys like it!』

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A month had passed since that dark, morbid nightmare that took place in the Village Hidden in the Meadows. Midori and her mother, Ayama, were gradually slipping into the routine of their daily lives within their new home: The Village Hidden in the Leaves. The two were also slowly becoming more and more numb to the pain from the loss of their old lives and the people within them.

Within that time, Ayama had been granted the position of a nurse's assistant at the local hospital, Konoha Infirmary, while Midori was a mere kunoichi in learning at the Leaf Village's Academy. With not a single friend made at the Academy yet, due to her partially withdrawn demeanor, Midori had sat alone during her breaks away from class . . . until today.

As she quietly ate her box filled with various fish and rice-oriented foods, a young girl with long black hair was approaching her with a subtle smile itching at the corners of her peachy lips.

"Hey! I'm Aoi," she stated with sheer confidence, her bright blue eyes blazing and round cheeks adorned with a rosy red that hinted at the girl's inner nervousness. "I believe it's about time I finally introduced you to how awesome I am."

Midori paused mid-bite and stared in confusion at the girl's excessively lengthy dark blue scarf that hugged her neck, then fell loosely over her shoulder---completely ignoring the girl's words. "Um . . ." Midori shifted her eyes upward, "that's a . . . nice scarf."

There was a brief moment of awkward silence before Aoi glanced down at her neck and chuckled. "It is, isn't it?" she said as she caressed the smooth fabric with her small porcelain-colored hands.

"Y-Yeah . . ." Midori paused, a slight laugh catching in her throat, only for it to come out in a low cackle.

"Gonna introduce yourself too . . . or don't you wanna be friends with me?"

The flustered blonde blushed as she fumbled with her chopsticks, quickly dropping them on the table. Attempting to snatch the wooden utensils, only for them to fall to the dirt and grassy ground. Her eye twitched in annoyance as she gawked at the horror of losing her last pair of chopsticks. Exhaling a clearly disappointed sigh, she slumped her shoulders and looked over at Aoi. "I . . . I'm Midori."

Aoi smirked ever-so-slightly as she knelt down, picking up her new acquaintance's chopsticks and giving them back to her. "Ya know, it's never a bad thing to make new friends, Mido-chiin." The ravenette winked and turned her back to Midori, only taking a few steps towards the Academy doors before glancing back at her with a satisfied gleam in her blue eyes. "Oh and . . . one thing's for sure: they'll never let you sit alone again!"

Midori's heart suddenly fluttered with an overwhelming sense of joy caused by the girl's reassuring words. Incapable of any negative reaction, the young blonde just laughed along with Aoi. For the remainder of that lunch, a broad grin was left plastered Midori's face.

〜〜〜＊〜〜〜

After their brief encounter during the lunch, Aoi had introduced Midori to her friend, Tenten, back in the classroom. Tenten welcomed the blonde's friendship and warned her first thing that if she did anything to upset Aoi or herself that Midori would be answering to her wooden nunchaku. Even though she'd been threatened by that, the girl didn't care because now she had made two friends that seemed genuine and that . . . made her feel less empty inside.

On her way back to her apartment, she spotted that same young, goofy-looking boy sitting alone on the swing set of the small local park. For a moment, Midori stared at him, curious as to why he was always alone because that was how she had seen him. As if he could sense her gaze, the spiky blond haired kid looked over his shoulder and furrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

Quickly averting her emerald eyes, the girl looked up at the setting sky and whistled---attempting to seem like she hadn't been paying the boy any mind. As she was about to walk further, he removed himself from the swing and walked to the edge of the short green gate that surrounded the park.

"Hey!" he shouted, his hands clutching the railings.

Slightly flinching at his shrill yell, Midori ignored him and continued on her way. All the while, the blond haired boy stared at her escaping figure with his hurt bright blue eyes. Sighing, he released his grip on the metal bar and turned towards the exit of the park, making his way back to his home before nightfall.

〜〜〜＊〜〜〜

"I'm home," Midori mumbled as she entered her dark home and removed her blue shinobi sandals, then stepped into the living room area. Flipping on the light, the young girl walked into the tiny kitchen and grabbed the small carton of milk and chugged from it. Wiping away any excess product from her lips, she placed it back into the near-barren fridge and trudged towards her bedroom.

Sliding open the door, she walked over to her bed and sat down on it, propping her legs atop it. Grabbing at the loose bandage hanging free at her ankle, she slowly unraveled it from her leg and blankly stared at the evident ripples of burn scars marring her ivory skin.

Gently, she traced the tips of her fingers along the red areas and sighed. "How did I get so unlucky?" she asked herself as she removed her white t-shirt and gawked at the bandage around her lower abdomen and arms.

As she unwrapped them, the painful memory of Etsuko lying on the ground, her long, straight chocolate locks filled with debris and body covered in blood after she had attempted to protect Masahiko and Midori from the strange man exploding. "Would we . . . I . . . still be here if she wasn't there?" whispered Midori as she slipped back on her shirt and pondered the question.

Deciding it was best not to dwell on it, she laid down on her bed and wriggled underneath the thin, beige cover. With a yawn, she tossed over on her side and stared at the wilted camellia lying on the windowsill. Reaching over to it, she took the flower into her hands, and closed her eyes. Remembering how her father had taught her to do, she strained and focused a tiny amount of chakra into it.

As she opened her hands, she slightly smiled at the camellia as it had taken on a fuller appearance and a natural, beautiful red color in its petals. Placing it back onto the sill, she admired it as the moon's light shined upon it. "Life comes in all forms," she quoted in a hushed, shaky tone, "you just have to use your heart to feel where it hides, Midori." Closing her eyes as the tears slowly fell from them and down her cheeks, she succumbed to sleep less than an hour.