A story once told...[open]

Suzuka was up too late again.

She knew full well she had to be up early the next morning, had things to do and people to see, but here she was, strolling around aimlessly. It was hard to up and switch tasks these days, once she was doing something. Even something that would save her time and energy just felt like a huge endeavor once she nestled into a comfort zone, and tonight felt nice—not too hot, not too cold, just the temperature to melt into and not totally exist. She couldn’t entirely feel herself, and that was okay.

Life lately had been feeling particularly monotonous—wake up too early, eat, work, eat, sit, sleep. It would be one thing if she were just sort of floating through it without a care, but she was acutely aware of the crushing lack of variety. She’d begun to withdraw more lately, despite trying hard not to—she regretted that, and was starting to grow angry at herself. Stuck between feeling hopeless and feeling shameful, these last couple weeks had not been easy ones. Knowing she had reasons—trauma, stress, depression—did not make her feel any more worthy of the colorlessness blotting her life. But tonight was okay—okay was about where she peaked as of late, so okay tonight was as much as she could have hoped for.

Her eyes took in the scenery around her, coolly surveying the silhouettes of busy shinobi against the starlit sky. Keeping the village going, protecting their fellow ninja, responding to booty calls—truly, each and every one of these people moved with great purpose. Every now and then, one of them would blot out a small group of stars from her vision, making it seem like it was blinking in and out of existence. If there was one thing she was thankful for, one thing left in this village, it was the natural beauty it had. Sure, it’d gotten some serious nicks and scratches in the wake of war running its course, but this sky felt immortal to her—vibrant, shimmering—her own little light show. Well, as much of a light show as she needed, at least.

As she continued walking, however, she noticed a shinobi with skin maybe just a bit less bronzed than her own, her face framed with striking blond hair. In her hands were a box, and though Suzuka couldn’t quite see the decal on it, a familiar feeling welled inside her gut—the day she became a real ninja. Her mother had held her back for several years—the sheer excitement she felt was enough to tattoo that box into her mind, right next to the memory of ripping it open after a few stunned seconds and putting it on her forehead. That didn’t last long though—between the band and her hair, her forehead felt sweaty and generally unpleasant, and when she looked at herself later that night, her hair had scrunched up under it oddly and made her look weird. From then, it was usually a neck protector instead of a forehead protector for her, sometimes tied a bit more tightly in the style of a choker, sometime resting a bit more loosely like a large necklace, like it was tonight.

Of course, when she was asked, she explained that she could more easily move her forehead out of harm’s way than her neck, and that it was much easier to conceal something around her neck if she needed to on the fly for some reason. Bullshit, surely—but good bullshit.

Soon, though, Suzuka found herself lightly jolted out of her thoughts when the younger shinobi jumped off of her rooftop spot and landed not far from where Suzuka was. The glazed look in her eyes was replaced by focus on the girl falling from above, and though there was only one quick movement involved, Suzuka could tell the girl was quick on her feet. She began walking in the same direction Suzuka had, and the Chuunin couldn’t help wondering how the girl had managed to have the patience (and why she had the patience) to not put her protector on yet. That wasn’t any of Suzuka’s business, though. Not sure if the girl had heard her walking quietly a couple meters away (she, too, seemed to be in her thoughts), Suzuka spoke up and warmly voiced the only appropriate thing that came to mind: “Congratulations.” She smiled, reserved but genuine.

Suzuka kept smiling. It seemed the girl had indeed been thinking about something. Lost in your thoughts with the whole world passing around you—that was something Suzuka could understand. The girl turned around, looking a bit confused, and looked this way and that trying to pinpoint the source of the voice. Suzu almost felt bad for interrupting her now—maybe she had somewhere important to be. Suzuka just looked straight at her, though, continuing to smile to signal that she had indeed been the one to say something. Suzu felt a bit awkward herself—some rando congratulating you wasn’t necessarily something the normal person was prepared for, she supposed—but decided that one awkward interaction wouldn’t kill her.

“What was that for?” The girl finally spoke up, and this confused Suzuka for a moment, but then she realized that the girl probably hadn’t been thinking about her graduation right at that moment, even though Suzuka’s thoughts were filled with memories of her own. Silly of her to assume the girl would know just because she was holding the box.

“You graduated recently, right?” Suzuka said, nodding down at the box. “Congratulations!” This time she said it with more enthusiasm. “Though, I don’t know how you have to patience to keep it in that box. I remember when I got mine… I put it on straight away. My hair looked ridiculous, but I was so excited! I’d waited so long for it. I didn’t graduate until I was 14—long story—so I was raring to go. But here you are, with all the patience in the world, just holding the box.” Suzuka realized here that she was babbling a little. She cleared her throat. “Um, yeah, but… Congrats.” Third time’s a charm. Suzuka smiled again, tilting her head so that her earrings swung just slightly. She hoped she wasn’t overdoing it. She probably was.

Suzuka was pleasantly surprised. Though her own case wasn’t, of course, unprecedented, she hadn’t expected to run into someone who happened to graduate at the same as that she had. Then again, the girl did seem a little older—maybe even a little older than fourteen, but it was probably best to keep that to herself. Suzuka’s own body had only just managed to eek out some curvature, though she wore it pretty well, she thought. Regardless, she couldn’t help wondering what some of these younger girls were eating—while she liked her body, she wouldn’t mind having the odds more “stacked” in her favor like some other girls.

“Walks are nice,” Suzuka said vacantly, eyes back up to the sky. “Especially on nights like this. The bustle is nice, and everyone’s sort of doing their own thing…” Here, she decided against adding “instead of bothering you” for the sake of not seeming antisocial. “…which is nice.” She took in a breath of the night air, feeling refreshed and somewhat more calm. “Naiya… That’s a nice name.” She decided against responding in any way to the girl’s surname—given how people could be sometimes, she figured it might be a sore spot, and that it would come up further if it needed to. “So, if you don’t mind me asking…” And about this she was earnest—she wouldn’t be offended at all if the girl didn’t want to talk about it—“what caused you to graduate at fourteen? I mean, it’s no small secret that it’s a bit late.” Suzuka hoped, and sort of assumed, that the girl wouldn’t be offended—after all, Suzu had just mentioned being in the same boat. Still, she maintained a friendly expression, hoping to seem more curious than judgmental. "That is, only if you don't mind me asking."