Theme 7 - Flower {Shikamaru x You}

It had been two months since you’d first arrived in Konoha and now - after finally unpacking the last box - you had time to relax.

On the far side of Konoha stood the hills that helped to conceal the village. It was here that you'd learnt to visit when you wanted to be alone. It was a ten minute walk from your house so you went there regularly.

Today was another of those days. It was a warm spring day and the sky was a mix of blues and whites. You were lying on your stomach, about three-quarters of the way up the hill, holding a small purple flower between your fingers. Dotted around you were small groups of these flowers, but only a few. The flower you held in your hand was a rarity that only grew in the correct conditions here in Konoha. Anywhere else and it would be too cold or too hot, too light or too dark. The smell of the flower was almost overpowering- though not in a bad way. It was gently sweet and if you were not careful after being around it for a while, it made you lull and fall to sleep.

You rolled over suddenly, hearing a loud thud next to you. A boy – who’s name you couldn’t quite remember – was lying down next to you, looking up at the sky. Although he looked very peaceful you couldn’t help but notice that he’d crushed almost three patches of the flowers in one go.

“E-excuse me?”

He never took his gaze from the sky.

“What?”

“You’re uhh… squashing the flowers.”

He glanced sideways at you for a second then back at the sky. You went to speak again but then he slowly pulled himself up to a sitting position. Never looking from the sky he said,

“You’re ____, aren’t you? You just moved here.”

You nodded, a little surprised that he remembered your name after only having met once. You sat up and span round so that you were sitting next to him.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

He nodded slightly, as if confirming himself.

“I’m Shikamaru.”

You smiled, turning to look up at the sky with him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Shikamaru.” You looked at him, “So why are you here anyway?”

“Same reason as you. To relax.” He pointed into the sky with a lazy hand, “This is the best place to watch the clouds from.”

You gave him a smile, sitting back on your hands a little, then stared up at the sky.

A moment later you felt something on the side of your face. You looked at Shikamaru to see him retracting his hand. He was looking at your properly for the first time.

“Sorry for crushing the flowers.”

“Oh…” You gave him a small smile, “That’s okay.”

You held your hand up to the side of your head, feeling your fingertips brush against the purple flower now resting in your hair.