Oneshots and Drabbles from LDL

Asami Himura Makes A Friend

There were many things that little 5 year old Asami deemed important.

The most important was, of course, her family. Her parents made the best food, second only to her brother, who seemed to be a prodigy in the kitchen. Cooking with them was one of her favorite things in the world. And game nights came as a close contender.

She loved the Academy and all of its teachings. Learning was fun for her, and she appreciated the fact that her family cared enough to use their meager pay to contribute to her learning to become a ninja. She may be young, but she was observant enough to know that it was quite the sacrifice. Her parents didn't beat around the bush or lie to her. She was well aware of the happenings of her home. She would be forever grateful to her family who loved her.

Being a ninja was her one dream. That and to have a cat that she would call Storm. They had helped her begin to make one of those dreams a reality.

Asami Himura adored the rain. She loved to watch the raindrops race down the window and to feel it pelt against her face with an attitude that was forever changing. Sometimes soft and gentle, sometimes forceful and unrelenting.

But she loved Peace more than anything else.

And nothing was quite as peaceful as going to the hill in the woods in the early dawn morning. She had found it during her walk home from Academy, deciding to take the scenic route and not hurry home to do chores. She loathed chores. And there it was.

The most perfect hill. Accented in a halo of light from the sun, the only spot the tree's shade didn't cover completely. It gave full access to the beautiful sky.

It was beautiful.

So. There she lay, book in hand.

In complete harmony with nature.

...

She wasn't aware of the boy watching her in utter confusion.

...

She went to that hill everyday, alone with the sky and her book and the critters that sang in their homes.

But she wouldn't be alone for too long.

At the end of her third week spent on the hill, a boy joined her.

He simply laid down beside her, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

Asami blinked over at him in confused amusement, but then shrugged, deciding to roll with it.

She scooched over so he wasn't in danger of rolling down the hill and went back to reading her book about trees.

...

It wasn't like Asami to be completely quiet in the face of a new person. She loved to meet people, to hear their stories.

But she felt that the comfortable silence she and her companion shared was important to him.

And she wouldn't take that away, if she could help it.

So she kept her questions, her comments, to herself. She would follow his lead. When he was ready to talk, they would talk.

And if it was never, she'd accept that.

...

It took quite a long while.

But eventually, the boy talked.

"Did you know that fawns don't have a detectable smell?" he asked, glancing over. Asami jolted in surprise, unable to stop her mouth from dropping open. He speaks!

Oh right. She is supposed to answer.

"Really?!" She exclaimed. He smiled a small smile at her.

"Mmhmm. Predators are not able to pick up on the smell of fawns which makes it easier to hide them." He explained, picking at a blade of grass distractedly. She grinned.

"That is SO cool!" she said, sitting up. "What else can you tell me?"

He sat up too, turning to face her, "Well-"

...

"I'm Asami." She said, later that evening before they parted ways. "Asami Himura. It was wonderful talking to you today."

The boy blushed lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, um. It was fun. My name is Shikamaru Nara."

"Nice to meet you, Shikamaru-kun. I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, walking backwards down the gravel path.

He nodded. "See you then."

They parted ways.

...

Shikamaru Nara became her best friend in a very short amount of time.

And with him coming into her life, another thing she deemed important was added to her list.