Mareika lay in her bed, wide awake, though she should’ve been sleeping. She stared dryly at the ceiling, draped in its regal purple silk. Sitting up, she glanced around the large expanse of what she called her room. The paneled hardwood floor, well-designed couch, artisanal furniture strategically placed around the room, all of it so enthralling. To everyone but her that is. She was tired of life in the mansion, tired of being stifled in this extravagant life.
Crossly, she got out of bed, fatigued of the giant restricting walls that seemed to be enclosing her each day. She wanted freedom, the type that no amount of money could by her, and the type she could only wish for. She walked barefooted across the floor, to one of the large windows, through which the moons eerie light streamed. Looking out into the distance, she could see the lights of the village. She heaved a sigh. If only she could just experience it, if only for a few hours. That’s when it hit her. She could.
In a hurry, she threw off her confining night gown and drew on a pair of knickers and a blouse along with a skirt. Trying her best not to attract any of the women who served her. Next, after putting on her shoes, she swung the large louvered windows open and hoisted her tiny frame out and unto the first floor balcony. She sprinted off, out of the yard, running as fast as she could. Before a guard could stop her, she was up and over the high walls that encircled the Senju compound.
Excited now, she walked leisurely along the brickwork road leading into the heart of Konoha, as if it were a normal thing for a girl of her social standing to be strolling into the village, minutes to ten in the night. Her light-bleach blonde hair wafted in the chilly night’s air. A vast smile dominated her features as she wondered what Konoha was like. She’d rarely ever left the mansion, and when she did, it was to the kimono boutique and occasionally the fragrance store.
She longed to be a ninja, to enroll in the academy, to hear the clanging of kunai, to feel the satisfaction of destroying an enemy, but most of all, she wanted friends. She rarely ever spoke to anyone outside of the mansion. Her mother rarely ever let her associate with people her own age, let alone young ninjas from Konoha. She said they were “unbecoming”. Frankly, she wanted to tell her mother that she wasn’t a starchy, stiff, stuck-up bitch who did what she was told, but she was rebellious. Having everything but lacking friends was useless, she wanted to experience life, life as a real kid. And now, freshly twelve, when most kids were finishing ninja academy, she hadn’t even started.
Mareika was lost in thought and didn’t even realize she was in downtown Konoha until the glint of a fire breather’s blaze cast an auburn light on her. There appeared to be a festival of some sort going on, with kids running about, shouting and laughing. The smell of Konohan delicacies played with her nostrils, and the sound of lively music tickled her ears. Occasionally a passerby would give her a weird look, as if to say ‘who is she?’ She paid them no mind however.
Shikamaru walked through the town with his friends, enjoying the Sakura festival. Well they were enjoying it. It was all just a drag to him. Another way to waste time, and what a troublesome way, too loud and too much movement for his taste. Somberly, he bit into the stick of dango he was holding, vaguely envisioning a long, peaceful rest.
“Huh Sasuke? Isn’t that blossom pretty?” Ino’s voice shattered his dream. He looked over at her, walking beside the Uchiha kid, Sakura on the other. Damn, it was like a competition between them, how did he manage? It was only the first week of academy and he already had 99.9% of the girls head-over-heels for him. Shikamaru couldn’t be bothered with females. Too loud, always wanting you to buy them things. What a drag. He spun round briefly, and that’s when he saw her.
A girl standing to one side of the road, her attention taken by a group of dancers. Her eyes gleamed with a peculiar excitement that was foreign to him. She had light bleach blonde hair that was swept into a high ponytail. Vaguely, her hair resembled Ino’s, but that’s where the comparison ended. This girl was short, and a tad on the skinny side, but visibly not the type one gained from malnutrition, probably this was genetic in her case. She looked delicate and reserved, shy. Abruptly, she turned around and captured him with a viridian gaze, and then she continued looking at the dancers. He stood there for a few more moments, observing her refined manner.
