Aki sighed, sitting down on the ground by her water bottle. She had finished her spar with Sakura, having got in a quick jab to the girls cheek and tripping her to her back. She surrendered when she tried to get out of the hold and had failed, Aki walked away after that.
She was frustrated to say the least. Naruto had finally started to make some-what friends with Sakura. She still bashed him on the head whenever he ticked her off, but she was more willing to listen to him after a few d-ranks they all shared. Sometimes. She didn't listen very well regardless.
Sasuke was still… Sasuke. He was moody and broody and hated them. But he struck up a competitive rivalry with Naruto, it helped both of them, and he didn't outright sneer at Sakura anymore.
Aki felt left out, as stupid as it was, she couldn't help but be sad. Naruto hung around her sometimes, chatting her ear off. And Sakura had approached her a few times, nothing of importance.
And Sasuke had yet to waste his time trying to talk to her. She wouldn't-couldn't- answer him back, and he doesn't talk much anyway.
Kakashi-sensei walked up and sat down beside her, putting his book away. His heart steady as it always was, his breathing calm and his posture relaxed. He didn't sit too close to her, just close enough he got her attention, her head snapping to watch him, eyes searching.
"You don't get along with most of your teammates." He started, keeping his voice level, quiet and light. She appreciated the thought, his voice was much smoother than anyone she had met. It was nice and he didn't talk much like most of her teammates, Sasuke not included.
"Do they scare you?" He asked, glancing at her. Aki shook her head quickly. Paused and then really thought about it.
They didn't really… scare her, per say, they bothered her sometimes, their chatting and occasional voice cracks because everyone's voice was developing. Especially Naruto's. Had grated on her ears, more so when they became more shrill whenever upset or outraged.
Sasuke creeped her out, he had a certain vibe sometimes that she didn't want to associate with herself, but that was it. Besides his obvious dislike of her, they didn't interact much, even on missions.
He also smelled weird, like tomatoes, cooked eggs and the scent of burnt wood. It was a pleasant smell, but what freaked her out was the undertones. Of the iron of blood, of steel, the ingrained scent of grief and mourning that permeated his very clothes, of death and the overpowering scent of hatred that was engraved in his bones. His scent scared her, but that was all that scared her.
Sakura was just plain loud and a little too focused on Sasuke for Aki to be comfortable talking with. Too bubbly, too angry, too focused on her appearance for Aki to really try and connect with her.
She smelled sweet, too, like bubblegum and apples, vanilla, all wrapped up in a thick layer of the cherry blossoms of which she got her name. Of the sickening strong laundry detergent Aki could get from her clothes. Her scent was overpowering, her quick annoyance making her smell sour sometimes.
And then Naruto.
Naruto was Naruto, he wasn't her type of person, is how she would describe him, that was all she could really do. He was too loud, too rambunctious, a little too bright. Like the sun, he smelled like summer too. The sweet scent of green grass and rushing rivers and calm breezes. And then that was covered up with the overpowering scents of herbs and spices, of noodles and old cardboard and Styrofoam. Of a musty, old apartment.
All three weren't her type of person, but she had to admit, they had the potential to smell nice.
She made a so-so gesture with her hand and tapped at her ear, covering both of them briefly for show, seeing if he would understand.
He nodded, thankfully, "they can be quite loud." He agreed, watching Naruto and Sasukes spar start.
They started hurling insults at each other that ruffled the other before springing.
"How sensitive is your hearing?" He tilted his head in her direction, fully looking at her now. Aki put a hand to her heart, when he didn't seem to get what she meant, she hesitantly reached out.
Her fingers lightly settling on the back of his hand, anxiety curled in her gut and made her nerves freeze. But when he didn't do anything but watch, she continued.
She focused on his heartbeat specifically, pushing away the sounds of the training, the trees, the winds, the rapid heart rates, of the blood bumping, and harsh breaths. Of muscles sliding against each other in fast movements. Some more on the choppy side, some more fluid, all a little sloppy, less practised, a lack of experience. Of bird trills and feathers flapping. And of the busy street miles away from them, focusing on his was easier than she expected.
She began to tap the back of his hand in time with his heart and put her other hand over her own. He seemed to get it, his eye blinking rapidly and something like surprise making his heart rate pick up a small millisecond, she tapped that on his hand too.
"Interesting," he muttered, tilting his head like a dog finding something interesting before taking his hand back.
Aki quickly put her hand in front of herself, sweeping broadly.
He seemed to understand alright, now that he had the context of her hearing. "Alright, I want to teach you something. See if you'll be able to pick it up quickly."
He turned his body to her, sitting cross legged as Aki tilted her head 'what is it?' her eyes said, amethyst shining with curiosity.
"It's a form of sign, Shinobi usually use it for missions, but some use it outside when talking to others," Aki immediately perked up at the idea of finally being able to talk, even if it was with her hands.
She held them up in loose fists, clapping once to physically shake off her nerves.
They spent the rest of their allotted training time practising the signs back and forth.
Normal Shinobi signs were more expansive, at least from what Aki could tell. Slightly more structured from what Kakashi-sensei had told her, she stumbled through them most of the time, forgetting certain signs and others sticking, like her finger spelling.
Eventually the three other genins had gathered around, looking on in confused curiosity. Sakura, after a few moments of furrowed brows and confused breaths, deep in thought, lit up and immediately sat down, leaning in and attempting to replicate some of the signs.
Sasuke had his eyes narrowed and Naruto was scratching his head, puzzled, but they both sat down.
Watching as Kakashi had spoken the words out loud before signing them, offering small sentences for Aki to try and repeat, and then do them over and over again, until she could flow through them easily enough.
She was elated, happiness making her sway in place, a small smile curving her lips and her hands shaking in excitement. She could talk! Limited, but she could! She was learning! She was understanding!
'THIS IS AWESOME!' She squealed internally, above the moon.
That same chiming laugh echoed through her chest and spread to her fingers, amused and pleased and proud.
Kakashi-sensei looked amused, if slightly awkward, his eye softening the smallest bit when Aki had started to sign him her name.
Thinking for a while before stating "I like the rain" and that was all she had the knowledge to sign, but it was a start, and she could finally talk!