[ eighteen ] strawberry girl.

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            KIYOKO'S FIRST day off was uneventful. She spent the time holed up in her house – although, that's still up for debate according to Gai that her house is a treehouse and not a 'proper' house – sleeping. Sure, she was only able to get a max of three hours thanks to her stupid Anbu training, but it was still restful.

On the second day, Kiyoko decided to check her mail and walk around Konoha and soak up the rays. Carefully avoiding the Konoha-issued compound housing, Kiyoko reached her mailbox and pulled out an entire stack – a lot of it was for voting for political parties (them trying to earn her vote?) and more of it was from Gai. He invited her to the bar for his birthday and claimed that he would teach her the drunken fist if she joined in this time. His timing, as always, was impeccable. The 'party' was the next day, starting at dusk – he said he would pick her up because he's a 'youthful gentleman' and would be waiting outside her compound even if she didn't RSVP, which was unyouthful. Chuckling to herself, she tossed the other mail into the nearest bin and tucked the invitation into her pocket.

Today, she was wearing her civilian clothes. She was wearing a form-fitting black skirt that had slits on either thigh, tanned stockings and a dark red, sleeveless high-neck shirt that had her clan symbol on the back. For her shoes, she had on her black boots that had a slight heel on the back, giving her an extra boost of height. Of course, she still had weapons stashed on her body in various places, but we won't talk about that.

Her walk today was about two things: firstly, she had to pick up a gift for Gai's birthday (how old was he again?) and to get some fruit because she was craving strawberries like no tomorrow. Kiyoko used to have a garden but given her dubious Anbu duties she had to forsake it – giving up her spot as one of Konoha's most beloved farmers market stalls (although, she did always disguise herself so that no one would know it was her).

Kiyoko had sort of an idea on what to get Gai. The last time they had spoken, he complained about his nunchakus being old and how he kept running through them because they had kept breaking. Afterwards, Kiyoko put in a special request at her usual weapons spot for three titanium nunchakus and two pairs of knuckledusters – the dusters engraved with "ythfl lotus" on Kiyoko's and "ythfl gang" for Gai's, and the nunchakus engraved with "youthful lotus" and "youthful fountain". At the time, she hadn't considered getting them as birthday gifts, wanting to get them for him 'just because' but it had really come in clutch now. Given this was her first day off in... well, months, she hoped they were still holding her order like she requested.

The bell chimed as she entered the shop, a fond smile on her face as she glanced at the barrage of weapons that littered the wall. It wasn't the most famous shop for Konoha's nin, but that was good because Kiyoko didn't want to share. It was a gem and she wanted to keep it a secret.

"Strawberry girl! Yamada-san, welcome welcome!" the shop keeper grinned, his old eyes twinkling as he recognised her. Kiyoko's face went red at the nickname. He always called her 'strawberry girl' because every other time she had entered the shop she would ne snacking on strawberries – plus, her red hair wasn't helping.

"Shimada-ojisan, it's been a while," she smiled, her cheeks a light pink, "do you still have that special order I requested?"

Shimada-ojisan tutted, "of course I do, girl," His tone was less than pleased, "your shinobi go on month long missions and seem to expect me to get rid of your orders! When you all go out and risk your lives to protect Konoha, you should know better by now, girl!" The older man turned, ruffling around in his draw before pulling out a large paper bag, walking around the counter and shoving it into her chest.

Kiyoko let out an awkward laugh, not knowing if she was getting scolded or praised, "Sorry, Shimado-ojisan, I'll be better from now on!" she said, bowing lightly as she apologised.

You've reached the end of published parts.

⏰ Last updated: May 01 ⏰

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