The healer coaxed Keiko into a wheelchair with the promise of a shower. Tenzou followed behind and stood guard at the door. She already decided he wasn't worth being concerned about at the moment. She sensed a considerable spirit pressure from him, or chakra as some worlds called it, but he seemed to be a man of duty. Other than the threat of a needle, no one had tried anything so far to harm her.
Keiko turned on the water and stepped into the steam after a few minutes. She examined her side and the wound appeared completely gone save for pinkened new skin that covered the area. She spent extra time to rinse the grime from her hair and tail before drying herself off. She shut off the water and stepped out in front of the mirror. She looked at her complexion thoughtfully as she stood there in the nude. Just like others of her clan, her tail transformed into a boa when she was in humanoid form. It was easy to explain when she was wearing the formal Kimono of her station, but it was going to be harder to do so if they had her dress in other garb. She screwed up her face in concentration and her tail disappeared. After another appraising look in the mirror, she grabbed a folded yukata from the bench and put it on. It was too late to do anything about her markings. They had already seen her face.
The healer wheeled her back to the room with Tenzou in their wake. Kakashi joined them after Keiko was back sitting on the bed. She was gazing out the window, assessing the portions of town she could see from her view. Her hair was even more beautiful now that it was free of the mud.
"A few more days and I can take you to your new home," he grinned easily.
Keiko turned to look at him and tilted her head slightly.
"You have an apartment here while you're our guest. But I think that if I took you out of here now, Ayame-san here might check me into the next room after she hits me," he said as he patted the healer on the shoulder. The healer blushed and scurried out of the room. "You can go home Tenzou, we'll be ok," Kakashi said as an aside to his masked colleague.
Tenzou nodded wordlessly and left after casting one last glance to Keiko.
"So, Keiko from the town of nowhere and everywhere, do you have a clan or title there?" Kakashi asked.
"I suppose that my clan is considered nobility where I'm from, though I never much cared for titles," she replied.
"And does Keiko-sama have family?"
"Really, the title isn't necessary. I did have family once. Those that remain would like me dead. I've been kind of roaming since looking for a new place to live and people to help," she responded.
"Help with healing?" he asked.
"Not exactly. I try to learn new fighting and defense styles and try to teach others to defend themselves," she replied.
"So you're old enough to have been through the Third Shinobi World War," Kakashi said.
Keiko said nothing to the contrary. She didn't know what the Third Shinobi World War was, but any more talk about the wars she had been involved in would divulge too much information she was not ready to give. "I'm old enough."
"Did you ever fight the Leaf in the past?" Kakashi asked.
"No."
He considered her for a moment. She definitely wasn't going to give answers freely until she trusted him. He wasn't given any kind of time constraint, so he decided to leave it at that for now.
"Well, we're stuck here for a couple days. What do you like to do in your spare time?" he asked.
"I suppose if I'm stuck inside, I like to read…and draw."
Kakashi's mind wandered to the cover of the Makeout series and he blushed. She didn't seem like that kind of woman. She was looking at him with a puzzled expression. "What about games?" he asked as he recovered.
He pulled out a deck of cards and tried to teach her Rummy. After she grew bored of that, she taught him Egyptian Ratscrew and they were both laughing by the end. It was amazing how calm he felt with her when she relaxed.
He brought her a sketchbook the next day after relieving another ANBU member covering the shift. Kakashi sat back in the chair and pulled out the Makeout series book he was on so he could read while she sketched. She wouldn't let him see what she was drawing and he wouldn't let her see what he was reading, so they decided to call it even.
