Konoha Sun (Haruka)

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

Kyokki was walking down the sun-bathed streets of Konoha, still slightly amazed by the brillliant blue of the sky. It was warm for March, at least by her standards. She had been raised in a village where it always rained.

Even after traveling, it still seemed a little strange to her that one place could see so much sun, and so little rain. Her name, of course, meant "rays of the rising sun". Her mother, after all was from here. But it was Ame with its storms that Kyokki was really used to.

She stopped to sit down for a minute, resting on a bench underneath the wide branches of a magnolia tree. It hadn't started to bloom yet, but she knew it would be beautiful when it did.

[Haruka Kunimitsu]

Haruka sprinted down the street, screaming, "Run! Run! Run!" as she did so. She was making herself quite conspicuous, which was not usually to her liking. But this kid just would not leave her alone.

"Haru-chan!" the young boy yelled after her, the orange front of his hair blowing into his face, his teeth bared in a wide grin. "Wait for me!"

"Kiro! What the hell!" she yelled back. Finally, she managed to turn a corner and momentarily get out of his sights. She spotted a large magnolia tree, one she reconized well. Jumping up, she grabbed a limp and pulled herself up and out of side hidden in it's leaves.

Kiro came bolting around the corner again, spotting a girl on a bench. She seemed to be his best sorce of imformation in his pursuit at the moment. "Hey, did a girl with short black hair and a teal shirt just pass by?" he asked, breathlessly.

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

Kyokki bit her lip, unsure what to say. On one hand, the girl in question was currently sitting above her in the branches of the magnolia tree. She was definitely there, no denying it. To say other wise would be lying for no good reason.

Then again, if the girl was hiding from this guy, she probably had good reason. Kyokki looked at the orange-haired stranger, wondering. Finally she decided evasion was the best tactic.

"Why do you want to know?" she questioned, hoping she didn't sound rude. Depending on his answer, she might or might not tell him. She wondered why the girl was hiding...

[Haruka Kunimitsu]

Kiro huffed. "It's a long story." he said as she blew his hair carelessly out of his face. "Short version, I'm trying to get a hold of her diary..." he snickered. "She caught me with it and swipped it away. Down on my luck."

Haruka's arms shook as she tried to keep herself propped up in the branches. 'Oh, please don't tell...' she begged inside her mind. 'Please please please...' she was starting to sweat with nerves.

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

Kyokki didn't particuarly like the sound of that. She had memories of one of her relatives doing the exact same thing to her once. Never mind that she hadn't written anything particuarly important in it. She had still been angry. Although, it WAS amusing to watch the resulting lecture the relative had gotten from her mother, she had never written in the journal again.

"I think she might have headed to the park with the tire swings and all the ginkgo trees..." she lied and shrugged, hoping the girl in the magnolia wouldn't mind if she threw in a red herring or two, "but she might have been heading for the library..."

[Haruka Kunimitsu]

Kiro shrugged, finding this girl's words to be truthful. But then again, he had always been very trusting. Sometimes even too trusting. He gave her a sloppy salute with two fingers as he bolted off. "Thanks!" he yelled back.

As soon as she was sure that Kiro was out of ear shot, she jumped down from the tree limbs, brushing herself off slightly. She flashed a wide smile at the girl. "Thanks for the cover up." she said happily. I thought i'd never get him of my trail." she sighed.

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

Kyokki gave a slight, shy smile.

"No trouble," she assured the stranger, letting her gold eyes trail downwards towards the cement, "I was just hoping I did the right thing. My name's Tenkiame Kyokki, by the way."

She looked back up again.

"I don't think- okay, I know we haven't met before. So, what's your name... if you don't mind me asking that is?"

Kyokki hoped she didn't sound too wishy-washy or idiotic. She knew she could come across that way sometimes, at least, at first glance.

"Who was he, anyway? And why on earth did he steal your diary?"

[Haruka Kunimitsu]

Haruka waved her hands as she tried to take all the information and requests at once. "Whoa... slow down now..." she said, more to herself as she review in her head.

"Ok. Well, it's very nice to meet you, Kyokki. And thanks again." she said holding out her hand for a friendly meeting shake. She quickly added, as a friendly smile formed on her lips, "My name is Kunimitsu Haruka."

She stared down the street quickly. "As for him..." she gave a heavy mournful sigh of relief. "his names Mushi Kiro... the idiotic kid..." Shaking her head she took a seat on the bench. "He's kind of like my little brother. So, he has to treat me like an older sister, which includes stealing my journal." The book in questions she had recently stuck in her bag, during her moment of hiding in the Mognolia tree.

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

"Sorry," Kyokki apologized, shaking Haruka's hand, "I tend to talk a little to fast and a little too much when I'm nervous. It's nice to meet you too, Haruka-san."

She let go, and then looked at the ground again, like she often did when she wasn't quite sure what to say to someone.

"Won't he come back when he figures out your not at the park or the library, though? I mean, even Konoha only has so many libraries. Although you guys have plenty of sun here, to be sure."

She shifted so she was sitting more in the shade.

[Haruka Kunimitsu]

"Oh, it's perfectly alright." she assured Kyokki. "I'm used to it; so many of my friends are the same way." she chuckled slightly.

Haruka looked down the street again warily, then up to the sky. She had never given much notice to how sunny Konaha really was. After ten years there, it was just customary and a normal to have the heat pounding down on your head.

"Well, i suppose Kiro will just give up after that... and then head home... hopefully." she sighed. "He doesn't really know how to set his mind on anything for too long a period or time." again she laughed.

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

"You can always hope," Kyokki agreed, still smiling, "actually I have my days like that sometimes, too. Thankfuly, I don't think today's one of them."

She laughed slightly, and then wondered for a moment if she should keep talking to Haruka, or make an excuse to slip away. She wasn't excatly the best conversation partner, and she had no idea what to say next.

She leaned against the back of the bench, and ran her fingers over the weathered, grainy wood. Tracing the fading sharpie outline of a heart with two seperate pairs of initials, she searched for something to say.

[Haruka Kunimitsu]

Haruka sighed as she rested her hands behind her head, still regaining breath from her long winded run through town. That boy just did not tire out. "So..." she said, desperately trying to get some conversation flowing. It was not often you got new sources of company.

"Feel like doing anythig? You know... together?" she asked out of the blue. "I need some time away from my other friends. It can get boring after a time. Especially Yuo..." she sighed. Even though she loved him to death, she could not help but get annoyed with him after a time.

"I'd really love to get to know you!" she grinned brightly.

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

Kyokki turned slightly red, but nodded.

"Sure. You have anything particular in mind?" she asked, standing up and shoving her hands in her pockets, "I was actually kind of hoping you ask. The only friends I have around here are the three Chikara siblings, Aishiteru, Naito, and Hikari, and maybe Ukito Amaya-san. I have no clue where any of them are. Who's Yuo by the way?"

She kind of kicked at the ground with the toe of her shoe, and ran her mind over the different places they could go. Her many trips as a tourist didn't really give her many ideas, though. It would be different now that she lived here.

[Haruka Kunimitsu]

Haruka stood up swiftly, her short black hair bouncing on her shoulders as she did so. She folded her arms behind her back, just glad that she would get to try and get to know someone, maybe even make a new friend.

"I'll think of something." she said looking up again at the clear sky. "And i think i know the Chikara trio. Santomoro's mentioned them once or twice." she sighed as she looked down the street again, a nervous tick in the back of her head telling her to make sure Kiro didn't bolt down the street again.

Her face flushed when she mentioned Yuo. "Oh... no one in particular." she said embarassedly. Quickly coming up with a way to get off of the subject of her love life, an activity popped into her head. "How about we go down to the market? There's tons of street vendors. We don't have to buy anything of course, but it's fun to look."

[Kyokki Tenkiame]

"Sure," Kyokki agreed, letting the topic of Yuo slide. Although it had been kind of funny to see Haruka-san's expression and red face...

She decided not to ask about Santomoro, although she had never heard about him from the Chikara family.

"The market sounds nice. Maybe I can send something to my Aunt Amane, reassure her that I'm still alive. I think she'd like that. So, why don't you lead the way? I have no earthly idea where it is."

She started brainstorming what Amane-bachan might like. It would have to be something simple, but nice, not cheap. She wondered how many yen she had on her, but resisted taking it out to count, thinking it would be rude.