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Short Scenelet Prompt Challenge (1:8)

Promise

The day Haru 'steps into womanhood', as her father put it, Shikamaru is exceptionally rude to her. Or perhaps she's simply exceptionally sensitive to his apathetic jabs.

Either way, it leaves her in uncontrollable tears that do little to make her feel better. He throws his arms in the air and storms up to his room, muttering things that she can't understand for the noise she's making stopping up her own ears. She just knows it's about her, though, and knowing that she's irritated her cousin brings forth a new round of sobs.

Nearly blind for the tears singing her eyes--there's an ocean of them, and no matter how much she wipes and rubs at her eyes, more pour forth, leaving her vision impaired despite her efforts to clear it--she slams the door of his home open and steps down the stairs she knows so well to go cry in the comfort of her own room. She plans on pulling her kunoichi wear off and burrowing into one of her father's jackets and making a nest out of her bed, a pillow over her face, minimizing the noise.

But she doesn't get that far because she runs into someone.

Her head is bowed as she steps out of the house, and she headbutts Sarutobi Kaida in the chest.

"Oh! Ka-Kaida-senpai, I'm so sorry," she says, stepping back. She looks down and to the side as she tries to, yet again, clear her eyes. She sniffles so hard she almost chokes on her snot. "I should have looked where I was going."

"Haru-chan! Don't apologize, it's fine. What's wrong?"

Frustrated and embarrassed, Haru feels her cheeks grow even warmer. "Uh, um, I just--Shikamaru-nii-san was just--being himself and I'm just... particularly sensitive right now."

"I'll slap him into next Tuesday! What did he say? Must have been something awful to upset you like this," the older girl says, concern in her voice.

Haru shakes her head. "He just said something about me being naggy. It's nothing I don't hear often from him. I just... well... you know, sometimes my feelings get... hurt more easily than normal," she hints, making significant eye contact with the other girl.

Kaida nods knowingly. "Ah, yes, I see. Well, Haru-chan, dry up those tears! Shikamaru isn't worth any of them. If he upsets you again, just let me know, you hear? I'll give him a beating for you," she says with a grin.

"Really, Kaida-senpai?" Haru asks, unable to keep a touch of awe out of her voice. She thought that Kaida would be unwavering in her faith in Shikamaru, no matter what came out of his mouth to his cousin.

"Of course, Haru-chan! Here, I'll make a promise with you," she says, and she bends down a bit so that she's eye-level with the younger girl. She holds out her pinky to her. "You're like a little sister to me. You can stop calling me '-senpai'! I've known you long enough, Haru-chan," she adds, grinning at her a little bit.

Haru feels that she might just be putting on a show to calm her down, but it's working. "Uh, um, thank you, Kaida-nee-chan," she says, wrapping her pinky around Kaida's. She tests out the new honorific and decides she quite likes having someone to call an older sister.

"Atta girl. I'm going to go have a word with your cousin. I'll see you around, okay?" Kaida squeezes her pinky and pulls away, standing up all the way, and gives Haru another little grin before walking into Shikamaru's house.

Haru walks into her own home wearing a smile.

[oldharu]

Short Scenelet Prompt Challenge (6:10)

Blood

They're still Genin when Mamoru pulls them further into the forest after Shibi dismisses them from training for the day. Haru protests noisily, trying to pull her hand from his grasp and Yasuhiro huffs with irritation. Mamoru just tightens his grip around their wrists and hushes them, saying they're almost there.

'There' is a little clearing full of light and dark patches from where the late afternoon sunlight trickles to the forest floor between the leaves in the canopy above them. "We've been through a lot," he says, dropping their wrists and reaching into the pouch strapped to his thigh. "The academy, missions, the attack on Konoha, the Chuunin Exams. We're teammates for life, right?"

Haru stares at him reproachfully, eyeing the kunai in his hand warily, her arms crossed over her chest. Yasuhiro's scratching the back of his head, raising an eyebrow, waiting for the redhead to continue.

"Guys, give me your hands," he says, and he holds his palm out to them before sliding the sharp edge of his knife against the delicate, pale skin. A thin line of crimson appears.

"What are you doing, Mamoru?" Haru nags. her arms are a bit looser around her, but she's eyeing the blood as if he's going to attack her with it.

"Just--here," he says, exasperated. he grabs her hand and pulls it so that her palm is facing him and Yasuhiro. He pulls Yasuhiro's hand into the circle as well. Before they can tell him 'no', he gives them cuts identical to his and smashes his cut hand to theirs and rubs their cuts together. "Now we're blood. You two have become my family over the past year and a half. i wanted to make it official," he explains, fighting down the blush threatening to rise in his cheeks.

"Mamoru..." Haru begins, staring down at her blood-smeared hand. She looks back up at him and for a moment he thinks she's going to attack him, but she wraps her arms around his neck instead. He grins and wraps an arm around her waist before holding out his other arm for Yasuhiro, who rolls his eyes and joins in on the hug with a sigh.

"Blood is thicker than water, guys. I'll protect you, yeah? It's my promise to you," he says. they stand there and whole each other for a long time, not saying anything to each other. Not needing to.

[oldharu]

July 15, 2013

"Did I hold you too tight? Did I not let enough light in?"

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Scenelet

Haru always knew when Akamaru and Kiba got into a fight because she'd turn around to find the large, white nin-dog curled up near where she was, no matter what she was doing. If she was training, Akamaru would lay under a tree, waiting for her to finish up. If she was doing chores, he'd sit by and watch. If she was in bed, he'd climb in through the window and curl up with his large head resting on her legs.

She wasn't really sure why it was her that he came to after all the years of Kiba working alongside Hinata. She couldn't stand Kiba's cat antics almost as much as Akamaru, and Haru was certain that Akamaru would get more sympathy from her cousin.

She supposed it all started when Akamaru knocked her down one day after he ran away from Kiba.

Haru was about fourteen and Akamaru had already grown so large that he could easily carry two people on his back.  He wasn't watching where he was going and neither was she--and they collided in the middle of the street. The bags of groceries she was carrying went everywhere and he knocked her onto her back.

She could tell he was upset and just talked to him about it, as odd as it sounds.  Akamaru maybe have been a dog, but he was quite emotive.

She'd spent so much time with Kiba and Hinata and Akamaru that she could almost understand Akamaru as well as Kiba could.

Akamaru walked Haru home and stayed with her while she put her groceries up and she sat outside of the Hyuuga Compound and rubbed behind his ears while she told him that he should get back to Kiba before he got in trouble with Tsume. 

After that day, Akamaru always managed to find her.

It got to the point where Akamaru would stay with Haru for more than a day at a time and she'd feel guilty for keeping her friend's dog away from him for so long, even if it was Akamaru that kept coming to her.

One day, Akamaru found her just before she was supposed to go meet the wannabe cat shaman in question for dinner.

"Akamaru, I don't know if you want to be with me tonight..." she began, but he sneezed and pressed his head against her hip, looking up at her expectantly.

"Fine," she sighed, scratching him behind the ears. He panted at her just then, smiling and showing off all of his teeth with his tongue lolling out the side of his mouth. "Oh, you're adorable," she said, putting her hairbrush down to stoop and rub on the big nin-dog.

After a few minutes of rubbing on the large dog, she stood back up, stretched for a moment, and walked over to her closet as she tried to find civilian clothes to wear that weren't as boring as a glass of water or had the Hyuuga seal on them.

Then her door slid open.

"Hey--hey, Haru," Neji said, leaning against the door frame.  He had a bottle of sake in his hand.

"Dear god," she mumbled, staring at her brother in all his drunken glory.

"I know, I've been working out," he mumbled, gesturing towards his bare chest. She rolled her eyes, but he wasn't paying attention.

"Why is Kiba's dog in here? Is Kiba here? Hey, Kiba!" he said, looking into Haru's empty room.

"No, nii-san. Want to make yourself useful?" she asked. Before Neji could open his mouth to talk about all of the things he's useful for, she continued. "I need an outfit for dinner tonight."

"Ohoho! Baby sister's finally going on a date? It's about time, you're far too frigid," he said, walking in and pushing her out of the way in front of her closet. Akamaru whined a little bit and she put her hand on top of his head.

"It's not a date, technically, but it's dinner," she said.

"Who's the unfortunate guy?" came the reply from deep in her closet.

Haru didn't respond and avoided looking down at Akamaru.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Get that. I'm too busy trying to imagine how this shirt looks with your nonexistent chest," Neji said without looking away from the hanger he was holding.

Haru frowned. "I'm just in a towel."

"Well you should have thought about that before you decided to have sex tonight," he mumbled incoherently, sipping from his sake bottle.

"Spill that on any of my clothes and I will immolate you starting with your hair."

"Touchy."

This is unfinished but I don't know where I was going with this.

[oldharu]

[oldharu]

[oldharu]