Chilly Boulder, Saturday Midday

[flowering_mind]

Ice cream. Small children. It was pretty much a siren call they couldn’t ignore. Two kids stood at the counter-one small and blonde, the other small and orange haired. Ino, of course, because she was a whole year older was doing the ordering

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[first_guardian]

"I want them on two!" Ichigo protested as he stood on his tiptoes, glancing just over the counter. "And my bowls should be bigger, cause I need to grow more!"

[flowering_mind]

"No!" she said, doing her best to sound more mature. "No, 'cause they're smaller 'cause you're getting two. You only get a big one if you're getting one."

[first_guardian]

"You said we were getting lots!" he protested.

[flowering_mind]

"We are!" she protested back. "But we got to be able to bring it to the table! So we get some, and then get more after!"

[first_guardian]

"Oh," he considered it and if they were getting lots, the size didn't matter. "Okay," he said solemnly to the clerk who was wearing a do-I-really-have-to-do-this-again expression. "What she said."

[flowering_mind]

She beamed.

"I'm always right," she said to the clerk, who was hurriedly getting their order done. "So please hurry up."

[first_guardian]

Ichigo watched with interest, impatient to get his ice cream. "Mum thinks it's funny that I like strawberries, because sometimes people think that my name means strawberry. It doesn't, cause dad said that it means to protect and I like that better."

[flowering_mind]

"Strawberries taste good though," she said, bouncing up as the clerk eyed them, and the bowls before ordering them to go sit down.

The clerk did not trust a six and seven year-olds ability to carry things without spilling. Smart man. "Let's go sit! My name means boar, 'cause daddy's name is almost like mine and I want to be like daddy."

[first_guardian]

Ichigo crawled onto the chair and sitting on his knees, he looked eagerly at the clerk for his ice cream. "I don't know what I want to be, but mum says that's okay cause there's looots of time. Dad's a doctor, he gets to see a lot of icky things."

[flowering_mind]

She bounced up into the chair, flopping down in it, with ease. "I'm going to be a ninja! Like Daddy! I'm already in school for it."

And had been for several years already.

That was, of course, when their ice cream was delivered and Ino snatched up a spoon. "Thank you!"

[first_guardian]

The ice cream was a distraction for a moment and Ichigo pulled the bowl closer to him. "Thank you!" he parroted Ino and he waited until the clerk was gone again before leaning forward. "Do we have to pay him?"

[flowering_mind]

"We pay later!" she decided, after a moment's pause. She glanced over at the clerks, one of whom was trying not to laugh while another sighed. "See! They're okay with it!"

Mostly, this meant Ino would be slinking down to the ice cream store come Monday and being very contrite while she paid up.

[first_guardian]

"Okay," Ichigo seemed satisfied and he rearranged himself on the chair before he picked up his spoon to start eating. "Can I be a ninja too?"

[flowering_mind]

"Noooo," she said, poking at her ice cream and then licking the spoon. "You gotta go to school for it."

[first_guardian]

"Is school a ninja school?" Ichigo wondered curiously.

[flowering_mind]

"Yes!" she said, nodding. "And we learn to fight and stuff."

A lot of stuff.