Chouchou laid on her bed, belly pressed against the mattress, all covered by soft pink blankets but her head which stuck out together with the magazine that she held in her hands. She wasn't reading something bad or obscene that needed her to be cautious. Just a silly teen's magazine with fashion and celebrity gossip. Completely inoffensive stack of paper if it wasn't because her mother blamed her lack of interest in the Akimichi's clan techniques on them. Karui had been throwing into the trash said magazines and sometimes even electrocuting or slicing them in a menacing way. Chouchou sighed burying her face against the last issue she could infiltrate inside the house. "Give me a break, mama," she tiredly thought. Between missions and training, she didn't have time for shopping or watching dramas, then how the heck would she know what was trending at the moment?
"..."
She quietly flipped the pages after reading the so-called scandal with Kagemasa and the interview with the ex-actress Asahina after her 2 years imprisonment.
"Huh? Two years, huh?"
Chouchou quietly said, recalling that one mission like it was yesterday... She was soon to be 16 years old next month
She flipped some pages more landing in the middle of the magazine, in the horoscope segment. Surprisingly enough, Chouchou didn't care about it at all(She was more fan of blood type foretelling)but the lack of mundane things in her daily life was scary so she began to read it anyway.
"A love segment? Super interesting."
A whole chart organized by signs and compatibility between each other displayed on both pages. Her eyes quickly roamed to the Leo segment where a tiny orange lion drawing laid asleep. Chouchou felt identified with the lazy feline immediately that she even started yawning.
"Let's see... I'm supposed to be compatible the most with Aries..."
"... Who was Aries again?"
She only could think about Sarada, well that explained many things about Sarada being her bestie. Chouchou continued reading, seems together with Aries, Gemini, Libra, and Saggitarius were the most adequate for her. Shikadai was a Libra... And Inojin a Saggitarius... Those sole thoughts gave her chills in her spine at first but then, she could guess despite all their fights and differences, the three of them could make it work in their own strange way.
"Hahh... I don't know much about other guy's signs to begin with..."
She dug half of her face on the fluffy pillow, her eyes dropped slowly out of tiredness. Her view roamed in the magazine until she noticed there were some testimonies about Leo girls and their couples. One of them said
"I never really trust the horoscope, so when people told me I wouldn't be that compatible with another Leo I didn't listen to them. Truth to be told, the moment I went out with this Leo guy, I had this bad feeling all over my body. He was loud, annoying, and always demanded attention from me. Worst experience of my life!"
Chouchou giggled quietly, then she read another one
"We Leo girls want to be treated like royalty, so when another guy wants to compete with us in that sense, it's so annoying. I wouldn't date another Leo guy ever again."
One last yawn was heard in the room."These Leo guys sounded fun from the spectator point of view," Chouchou thought. Despite the arrogant and self-centered traits, someone who was charming, passionate, and loyal hit all the good marks on a good boyfriend which was a shame because none of the guys she knew from Konoha were like that.
"Waah- Too sleepy. Better hide this before I sleep."
She hid the magazine below the mattress of her bed before she slept soundly.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++The next day
"Happy birthday to you~"
"Happy birthday to you~"
Chouchou sang and clapped along with her friends from team 10 and 7 while she displayed a slightly confused face.
"Happy Birthday, Mitsuki!"
Everyone clapped and congratulated their now 16 years old friend(who wore both a tiny blue party hat and a wide smile) with laughs and good wishes in front of a spontaneous birthday cake. Chouchou approached Sarada and whispered carefully
"Hey Sarada, was Mitsuki's birthday really today?"
Sarada crookedly smiled
"We actually just found out yesterday..."
Chouchou watched from afar the birthday guy. Mitsuki has grown a bit taller than her, but he looked the same. She long ago stopped to call him an average looking guy, but it wasn't that she changed her mind, she was trying to be more polite with him. It was hard for her to admit it openly, but Mitsuki was a good guy... She could even dare to say he was cool. Not hot cool, of course. Perhaps chill was the right word here.
Mitsuki smiled back at Chouchou and she realized she had been looking at him for too long. "Better not give him ideas, he probably is still into me," she turned away crossing her arms in an effort to look uninterested.
"Here, your present!"
Well, fuck. Now everyone had probably a present but her. She had a half-eaten bag of chips in her pocket, something not that worthy for the celebration. While everyone gathered closer to the birthday guy, Chouchou sneaked out in a hasted motion to the nearby grocery store. Said action was noticed by someone else...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Chouchou grabbed one by one each potato chip bag between her hands not knowing for sure what to pick for Mitsuki. "What does this guy even eat?" She had never seen him put anything in his mouth before... Not even the chips she gave to him on that one mission. Chouchou grabbed the console flavored chips(The yellow/orange baggy) between her hands as memories of that day flooded her mind.
"I give chips to the people I like, huh?"
Chouchou chanted with some fondness what she said back then. If it wasn't for Mitsuki's speech she wasn't sure what could have happened-
"Yeah, I remember that."
Chouchou's skin jumped out of her body when she heard a familiar deep, robotic voice. Mitsuki stood next to her with his usual gentle smile.
"W-what are you doing here?! You scared me!"
Mitsuki took one hand to his chin
"You looked troubled before leaving."
"I thought it was suspicious."
Chouchou looked away while she fixed her long auburn hair.
"Sorry, I didn't buy you a present like the others..."
"It's fine. I don't need presents."
Humans were really into strange rituals, Mitsuki pondered. He sometimes would follow them just not to alienate himself more from the group. People being upset for not receiving a present was still a mystery to him.
"I want to give you something too, OK?"
"..."
"Then, can I have those?"
Mitsuki pointed out a bag of lightly salted chips. That one flavor that Chouchou liked the least.
"Do you even like that?"
With a smile he said
"Not at all, but you give them to the ones you like, right?"
"Like. A. Friend. Mind you!"
Chouchou was poking her finger on his chest with a preachy expression and Mitsuki's smile just grew bigger. He liked her as a friend(why she needed to stress that was another mystery) too, but it was harder lately to hang together with team 10. A nostalgic feeling arose and Mitsuki chanted old preachings tailored just for his chubby friend
"The tragic heroine syndrome has evolved into something bigger."
"Dreadful and dangerous."
Chouchou felt like a jolt when she heard him say that, and before she knew it, she was already speaking
"Uh-huh... Tell me more, Mr. Know it all. What new condition do you diagnose to this maiden's heart of mine?"
She now had a smug smile while her finger still pressed against his chest. Mitsuki started back, having a brief passing thought on...
"Your eyelashes are long."
"...What?!"
He covered his mouth with his sleeve not knowing why he let that slip out loud while Chouchou showcased a confused expression.
"Well, of course, they are long and pretty, right?"
She whipped her hair in a dignified way before her eyes met his, waiting for a reply. He sometimes said bold things like this. It was a Mitsuki thing to flirt but never commit. "He won't have the guts to," Chouchou thought, feeling something strange on her chest.
"Chouchou, you..."
But Mitsuki didn't even finish the sentence, without any warning, his expression turned cold and harsh, grabbing quickly Chouchou by her waist, holding her closer to his own body so he could pull her behind the snacks rack.
"Mi-"
Two pale fingers pressed against Chouchou's lips in a silencing manner. An action that was probably not needed since she was already speechless. Their chests were pressed hard enough with each other that Chouchou could feel his slow-paced heartbeats through hers. The colors rose to her cheeks when she tried to collect her crumbling thoughts on what the heck had possessed him at the moment.
"He is showing up at last."
She blinked confusedly but then followed Mitsuki's glare. On the other side of the snack rack, a tall figure appeared walking cautiously. It didn't take long for Chouchou to realize who it was. She released from Mitsuki's held to greet
"Oh! It's Magire! Long time no see!"
Yes, it was Magire. That one guy who was haunted by some evil shit or something. He approached both of them with an awkward indecisive smile on his face. When he got closer, Chouchou noticed he had grown a lot since the last time she saw him, literally towering both Mitsuki and her. His hair was also shorter and less gloomy. He was on the right path to becoming a real hottie.
"H-Hi Chouchou, what a coincidence to see you here, haha..."
Mitsuki with a small smile said
"You could have greeted her earlier instead of watching her from the corners of the store."
Both Chouchou and Magire looked at him with a square-like mouth. Chouchou, not that amused questioned.
"...Is that true?"
"Chou-Chouchou! I've been meaning to talk to you and..."
"And maybe..."
He stopped speaking when Chouchou raised her hand in a stoic manner.
"Magire, I can tell you are not ready to court me."
Mitsuki and Magire exchanged looks, oh boy here she goes...
"Your looks are catching quickly I can tell, but just peeling the potato won't do."
She crossed her arms and shook her head.
"The inside of the potato must be full of flavor too! FLAVOR!"
Then she grabbed a green bag of potato chips and handed them to the awkward brown-haired boy. Mitsuki followed this action with the corner of his eye
"I'm positive you are closer to achieve that. Just keep working on it!"
Magire understood half of what Chouchou said but he was on the verge of fainting just to be that close to her. He grabbed the chips with happiness and bowed his head in gratitude.
"Yes, I will!"
He turned over with the means to leave but not after he looked Mitsuki with the corner of his eye in a distressed manner. "I won't lose to you!" he declared in his mind. The snake boy just followed Magire with his eyes
"What a weirdo."
Chouchou clicked her tongue by hearing his mean commentary and added
"Better to be a weirdo rather than an ordinary and boring person."
Mitsuki looked back at her, being dumbfounded at first, thinking perhaps he was assuming things, but he chose to ask
"...Ordinary? Who?"
"You!"
There was silence. Too much silence between them actually. Chouchou frowned looking at him confusedly just to see how Mitsuki's stoic expression deformed into something she never saw before
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
His laugh came robotic at first, laughing without moving an inch of the rest of his body, then his hands held his stomach, slowly bending his body, opening more and more his mouth to laugh out loud, eyes well shut with small tears rolling his cheeks. He was lost in the hilarious possibility that Chouchou thought he was anything remotely normal.
"You are really something, Chouchou."
"Me, ordinary...?" His laugher calmed, his wide smile replaced by a forced one. Perhaps he...
"It's not cool, you know?"
Chouchou grabbed a bag of lightly salted chips and approached him
"It's not cool to talk behind the back of others while not being aware of your own condition."
Then she pressed the bag of chips on his chest with the means to gift them to him. Mitsuki on the other hand wasn't looking to the bag or chips or either Chouchou. His thoughts were becoming more and more conflicting... And irritating.
"I don't want them."
He slowly pushed back the bag of chips and this sole action angered Chouchou.
"What the heck?! But you said-"
Mitsuki then looked at Chouchou directly into her eyes and she could tell this is how Mitsuki looked when he was more than angry. A cold stare and not a single speck of gentleness the boy usually had. She gasped in surprise before he turned over and left in a hasted motion.
"H-hey! Mitsuki!"
Chouchou followed him quickly but when she reached the entrance of the grocery store he was nowhere to be seen. Frustrated and somewhat sad, she clenched the lightly salted chip bag she held in her hands.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++That night
Mitsuki laid on the bed of his apartment while Mikazuki(Which now was bigger and significantly chubbier)rested on his chest. The presents he received from his friends were all scattered on his bed and the little dresser he had on the right. On the regular, he would have organized them neatly, but after the events of the morning, he felt completely drained. His eyes were lost in the grayish ceiling of the room, then they roamed in the light blue walls that had absolutely nothing on them. Mitsuki was becoming aware that his emptiness exteriorized in some way in his small space. And to him it was amazing, he never ever pass by his mind that in reality, he was never out of the ordinary or someone special. He was just another experiment that could be replaced at any moment. How can he be unique then?
"..."
His hand clenched over his chest when he felt even more distressed. What was he really feeling at the moment? It wasn't just regular sadness, it was something more revolting and exasperating. He heard then Mikazuki's lazy "meow" and he could tell it was time to eat.
When Mitsuki grabbed the bag of cat food he had stored in one of the big racks of his room, someone knocked the door and he grew wary since visits never came unannounced. The person who came by was the one he wanted to see the least.
"Hey... I asked Sarada's where you lived and..."
Chouchou's expression turned from concerned to upset. She came to apologize JUST because she didn't want Mitsuki to have an awful end of the day when it was his birthday, but she didn't understand why he reacted that way when this was not the first time she implied he was ordinary. A complicated task for the butterfly to see right through the snake's heart.
"..."
Mitsuki turned around leaving the door open and she followed him inside the dark apartment until he turned on the lights, revealing a solitary room that contained just racks, a dresser and a bed. Chouchou looked around in a curious way, ultimately finding courage when she looked at his dresser full of photos of his friends. A small smile appeared on her face before she said
"I didn't want to offend you back then, I'm sorry."
She approached Mitsuki who was filling Mikazuki's plate with cat food, and gifted once more that lightly salted chips bag from before. Mitsuki though didn't even look at her.
"Mitsuki..."
Chouchou sighed, he was way angrier than she anticipated. Gently she left the bag on the floor, next to him and said
"Alright, I understand. We will talk later then."
When she walked around to leave, she heard him take the bag, so she turned thinking that he accepted them
He stood with the bag in both hands, clenching it while anger and disappointment pooled in his chest." Why would you even give this to me...?!" more and more negative thoughts invaded his head to the point he was having a headache, so he sat on the edge of his bed looking sick and tired, holding the chips with one hand, and the other his forehead. Chouchou found all of this really strange, getting closer to his side
"A-are you OK? You don't look so good..."
Mitsuki's voice trembled at first when he asked
"What is there to like about me, Chouchou?"
"I am ordinary, boring... Empty...! I cannot see why you would give this to me."
"Err... Mitsuki calm down-"
"ANSWER ME!"
His voice resounded within the space, taking once again Chouchou by surprise, who instinctively took her hands in front of her chest. He looked at her with his pupils completely dilatated, making his glare even more dark and intimidating. His feelings were all over the place and Chouchou could tell.
Even so, she had to...
"Hey... Can you tell me which is your favorite food?"
"Your favorite color?"
"What do you like about Konoha the best? And what do you dislike the most?"
"Is there someone you really want to meet? Or any music group you enjoy?"
"Do you dream a lot? ...Any life goals?"
Mitsuki looked at her confusedly
"If you have an answer for all of those-"
"I don't."
He dropped his view on the floor
"I don't have an answer... For any of those."
"It's true then. I am..." this was possibly one of the worst days of his whole life. He closed his eyes tightly when he felt something was coming out of them.
"....!"
An unfamiliar warmth approached his hand that held the chips and took him closer to his chest. Surprised he opened his eyes to meet Chouchou's which looked at him directly with a serious face.
"Tomorrow, at 3 PM, do you have something to do?"
He just stared blankly, not having his mind on the right place, he just answered
"I don't think so."
"Then let's meet up."
Chouchou breathe in.
"I cannot take back the "you are ordinary and boring," if I don't know you better."
"And I can't know you better if you don't know yourself to begin with!"
"Let's find out the answers for all those questions for once, shall we?"
"Chouchou..."
Mitsuki was looking gloomy and Chouchou did not like that
"What's up? Don't you wanna say it's part of my condition that I'm assuming things about you?"
"Don't you want to prove me wrong?"
Her words were slowly giving hope and confidence to Mitsuki.
"Alright. Let's meet up tomorrow."
Chouchou smiled brightly.
"You better be there! Ditching fine ladies like myself won't give you a good reputation!"
Mitsuki thinly smiled.
"You have my word."
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Hahhhh-"
Chouchou dropped over the soft mattress of her room feeling way more tired than usual. She wasn't sure if she really fixed things with Mitsuki, or she knew that the date from tomorrow was a good idea.
"Date..."
She buried her head on one of her several pillows questioning her life choices. She could have lied just to make Mitsuki feel better but she wouldn't allow herself to be dishonest with a close friend. Truth to be told, she never realized it was hard to reason with him because on the regular he was quiet and reserved. Those thoughts were leading to questions that Chouchou wanted answers of
"...It's here!"
Her hand looked for that one horoscope magazine from yesterday and quickly searched for the sign designated dates. When she found her answer she covered her mouth which made a big O
"Leo..."
She smacked the magazine with her palm shouting out loud
"He was a fricking Leo!"
Then the door opened wide violently, it was Karui
"Chouchou! What did I tell you about those things?!"
"Mamaaa, what the heck? Did you put cameras on my room?!"
A tear rolled Chouchou's cheek when Karui sliced her magazine without a pinch of mercy.
********************************
Author's notes:
Forgive me if there are a bunch of mistakes, I keep correcting them with Grammarly but I always fail at grammar orz.