nine, Rumour Has It
THE YAMANAKA SHOP WAS BUSY DURING THE TIME OF DAY, with customers entering and leaving the shop by the minute. Constantly the front door opened only to then close again. The glass became increasingly dirtier by the day, new fingerprints added with every incoming and outgoing individual. They all left their mark.
Among the customers, Izumi saw a familiar man walk through the doors of the shop, though he appeared to be dejected, not wearing that comforting smile of his.
She remembered the rumors which had been flying around the village for weeks now, the things people had said about the man. Hatake Sakumo is a disgrace to the Hidden Village. He chose his comrades over the mission, and now we have to deal with the mess he created. He completely disregarded the Shinobi rules, he has spit on our philosophy. Because of him, Konoha is now in trouble we can barely get out of. There already is a war on our doorstep, and he brings more trouble along with him? 'Outrageous' is what people called it. Izumi had not formed an opinion on the matter yet, but couldn't agree with the vilification of the man through the village. He had saved his comrades' lives, and she wasn't so sure if she had acted much differently in his situation. He was no evil, no villain, he was a man who made a mistake, a grave mistake with great consequences.
"Hello, Hatake-san." She addressed him, trying to gain his attention.
Sakumo tilted his head to look at the girl and gave her a smile that did not quite reach his eyes. "Izumi, I told you enough times to drop the honorifics already."
"Okay, Sakumo-oji."
"Much better." He reached out to her and ruffled her hair affectionately, letting out a chuckle.
"What can I do for you today, the usual?" The usual was now the bouquet Izumi had made over a year ago.
His lips tugged upwards a little, though it did not look genuine. "Please."
"Follow me then."
Izumi looked around the shop, searching for a familiar mop of silver, gravity-defying hair lurking around somewhere. Her search was unsuccessful. "Is Kakashi not with you?"
Sakumo shook his head. "He's on duty today."
With Sakumo following her, Izumi moved towards where she knew she could find the flowers she needed. Their first destination was the dark pink roses, thankfulness. With her gloved right hand, she reached out to grab a few of the flowers before she secured them in her left hand.
"I still can't believe that he's a Genin already, Sakumo-oji." Izumi turned to face the man, offering him a smile.
She then reached out to the red roses, now placed by the dark pink ones instead of further away as they used to be. Respect. A handful of red roses now mingled with the overwhelming amount of dark pink ones.
"Me neither, Izumi. I still remember the day I got to hold him first. You kids grow up fast." Sakumo wore a nostalgic expression, eyes a little unfocused. "Can you make the bouquet fuller than usual?"
The request was odd to Izumi, but nevertheless, she accepted. "Of course." She told him softly, brows furrowing once she had turned away from the man.
Another handful of dark pink roses joined those she had already grasped. More thankfulness. Izumi had always been thankful for the man, for his kindness. Something was wrong, he felt off. It was obvious that the man was not entirely himself, more of a ghost of himself. There was no doubt that the sudden change was an effect of the mission and the resulting backlash. More red roses joined the bouquet. Respect. She respected him deeply, she wanted him to be okay,
"Full enough ... or?" Without his usual self, Izumi felt a little awkward.
For a moment his charcoal eyes wandered over the flowers, inspecting. "Just fine."
The next stop was the white roses, innocence. The villages of Konoha spoke ill of a man who had chosen to save lives above completing the mission. They spoke of him as they did with a devilish creature. They made him out to be anything but innocent. More roses joined the ones she already clutched, her grip tightening subconsciously.
"When will you be graduating?"
White lilies, for peace, were next. The man by her side was not at peace at all, he was like a whirlwind of emotions, the storm after the calm. Once he had lived in peace, but now it felt as though peace was the furthest thing from his mindset. He deserved better. The way he was being treated upset her.
"Soon, at least I hope."
The last flowers to complete the piece: dark crimson roses, mourning. The silver-haired man was in a state similar to mourning. He had his reputation to mourn, easier times where he was not ridiculed for having made one decision. Izumi's right hand reached out to grasp a handful of flowers, which would then join the others she had already collected. By now it was rather difficult to hold them properly.
"We're almost done." They moved towards the table at the counter, where the shop kept the various ribbons, the piece that tied everything together or ruined it. "And the matching pink ribbon." By now she had so much practice in tying bouquets together that the motion came naturally to her, "Done."
Sakumo gazed wistfully at the bouquet Izumi held out towards him, the smile she wore slowly slipping off at his unmoving state. His eyes were filled to the brim with despair, as though he had begun to drown in the emotion. As she had already noticed before, he was a mere shell of himself, not the man she had known for over a year. His lips too were tugged downwards, a real expression, not a mask.
"Sakumo-oji ... Are you okay?"
His charcoal eyes wandered around the shop, looking at anything but Izumi. "You must have heard already, huh?"
"The rumours?" She whispered the words, as if afraid to speak them louder.
He nodded dejectedly. "And, what do you say?"
Izumi paused for a moment, biting her inner cheek subconsciously in thought. "I think I would have done something similar to you. Despite the rules."
"You would have?" His charcoal eyes seemed just a bit brighter.
"I think so, I don't know. I have never been on a mission. I'm sorry."
"Nothing to apologize for, thank you for answering honestly." Sakumo let out a sigh. "You have a good heart, Izumi."
"You too, Sakumo-oji." Izumi looked up at him, meeting his eyes. "Don't ever forget that."
"Do me the favour, make sure Kakashi never forgets his good heart either." The brunette noticed how he had ignored her previous statement.
Izumi gave him a smile. "I would never allow him to. He's my friend, I won't let you or him down."
"Thank you."
If she had only known what the request would mean in the long run. She was not meant to know, yet not knowing would be haunting. Similar to the first day Izumi had met him, he walked out of the shop with the first bouquet of that design she had constructed. Today he walked out of the shop in the same manner with the last bouquet of that design Izumi would bring herself to create.
Lilies and roses, popular funeral flowers.