Of Red Tulips and Pork-buns
The chimes at the door dinged as a pair of sandals stepped into the flower shop. Misumi raised her head, the smell of freshly-cooked pork buns from the next shop invaded her senses as the door opened slightly and a shinobi stepped into her view.
"Konichiwa! Welcome to Nakamura flower shop. What can I get for you?" Misumi asked as she assessed the ninja in front of her.
'Looks well built, must be a jounin', she thought.
"Well..." she jounin blushed furiously, rubbing his neck.
"Yes?" Misumi urged, a small smile playing on her lips as she saw the high-level shinobi being turned into a pile of stuttering mess over a girl.
"Well...I was wondering if you could give me a bouquet of flowers which represent one's undying love for another."
"Ahh.....who are you gonna propose today mister?" Misumi teased as she led him towards an array of red tulips.
The jounin's cheeks turned scarlet again as he placed a cigarette between his lips and lit it using his lighter, not answering her question.
"So you want a whole bouquet or a small bunch or a single one?" Misumi asked.
"Um...I don't you. You tell me which one would be best."
"First time?" Misumi stated, knowing the answer already.
'"Yeah."
"So mister," Misumi started only to be interrupted.
"Asuma, call me Asuma." the jounin said.
Asuma, the name did feel familiar, Misumi mused.
"So, Asuma-san it depends upon how your girl is."
Immediately the cigarette fell from Asuma's lips as his whole face erupted in a furious blush.
"What happened Asum-san?" Misumi said as she hurried over towards him, worried over his sudden action.
"Oh...its just that she isn't really my girl you know....i haven't asked her out yet," Asuma said embarrassed and proceeded to pick up his fallen cigarette.
Misumi erupted into a fit of laughter at that.
"Oh my god...."
"What's so funny" Asuma deadpanned at Misumi's laughter.
"You're so nervous while just buying flowers. I am imagining what it would be like while you're actually proposing to her."
"Ohh..... I don't plan to," Asuma said in response to that.
"What?!!!" Misumi said loudly, jarred.
"Why the flowers then?"
"Well....." Asuma started as yet another blush rose.
"I planned on just leaving it at her doorstep.," he said.
"Ohhh...I can understand why Asuma-san. A jounin level ninja, too afraid to ask out his girl. " Misumi replied, particularly stressing on 'his girl' while taking a bunch of tulips in her hand.
"Well, then if you are going to leave it at her doorstep. We can be a little extravagant. A bouquet it is." Misumi declared and then moved to wrap the red pupils along with some other fancy stuff to form a bouquet.
"It would be 2000 yen," Misumi told and Asuma handed her the notes.
"Thank you for shopping at Nakamura's," Misumi exclaimed as she waved him in a gesture of saying bye.
Asuma gave her a curt nod and then walked out.
The smell of pork buns floated in again as Misuimi felt her stomach reverberate.
'Must go and buy pork buns.' she mused and then proceeded to lock her shop to dine at Konoha's most famous bread shop.
As Misumi strolled her way through to the next store, a mop of blonde hair passed through her in a jiffy followed by someone screaming. Misumi's skirt flowed due to the wind as she desperately tried to brush it down. But then another mop of brown hair along with a long scarf crossed her again, this time with a much higher force as her skirt upturned to reveal her cycling shorts underneath.
"Ahh......" Misumi exclaimed rather loudly, her cheeks tinted a deep shade of red.
"Ma, ma...Naruto, Konohamaru, slow down." a deep voice yelled and Misume suddenly turned immobile.
'I so hope he did not see it.' Misumi chanted inside her mind as if a mantra and a certain jounin passed her, walking towards the two boys who had long spanned her.
'His back is so broad' Misumi thought as she saw him step ahead of her in a leisurely pace with a book in his hand.
A dreamy look settled upon her face as a mop of pink hair and a boy with bangs passed her, the girl shouting "Kakashi-sensei" while the boy just tsked.
"Ahh....so he has actually passed someone now," Misumi realised and regained that whimsical look on her face, pork-buns long forgotten.
Meanwhile, Kakashi was grateful he had his mask on otherwise there is no way in hell he would've hidden his oncoming nosebleed on seeing the girl-he-had-bumped-into-yesterday again. And then Naruto and Sakura would have teased and irritated him endlessly, not letting him read his book. And Kakashi had to absolutely finish the newest instalment of his favourite series as soon as possible. The curiousness at how it would end was almost too much for the copy ninja to handle.
She had been in a ponytail like yesterday. Her cheeks were flushed red and he would be lying to himself if he came upon the conclusion that she did not strongly remind him of someone who had made his heart thump erratically.
Only once had he sensed that sensation of his heart exploding inside, and butterflies in his stomach, all that the main male lead of his book felt, and seeing her today again, that perception resurfaced and Kakashi, being the genius he knew that he was in deep trouble.
'Oh, boy' he thought to himself.
'Better if I keep myself at bay.'
And with that thought, Hatake Kakashi resumed reading Icha Icha at the expense of following Naruto and Konohamaru.