"Breakfast with Hotaru-chan"
Hotaru rolled over in the bed, her eyes fluttering open slowly before easing around the room she was in. No one was there with her. She was alone in a strange room, tidy and clean, but with a mussed bed across from the one she lay in. She rolled onto her back, putting her hand over her eyes and wondering if Naruto or the others had discovered she was missing yet. Kakashi would know before anyone, then Naruto, then Lola, then everyone else. Kakashi was smart, he knew her schedules, he knew how long it generally took her to do even complicated missions; he would know soon. Then they would all come looking for her and attempt to rescue her and Nikoru. No, scratch that, they wouldn't attempt, they would.
She sat up, feeling something rough brush her bare thigh as she dropped her hand against it. Frowning she turned her hand over, looking at her stitched wrist and closing her eyes again. Now she remembered. And she had a vague idea of whose bed she was in too. Opening her eyes and looking around once more she spotted a black tank top lying on the floor. She slid out of bed, reaching out and sniffing the shirt as she grabbed it. It smelt fine…a little like sushi…but, fine enough. Not seeing her own clothes she slid the tank top on, its hem falling right above her knees. The sleeve holes were fairly large, and exposed most of her breasts, but she didn't really see anything else she could put on. She fluffed a hand through her hair, groaning as she walked out of the room on unsteady feet, figuring if she had to be here she would make the best of it, like Nikoru had apparently done.
Turning a corner and finding herself in a kitchen, she spotted Nikoru sitting at the big table, cradling her chin in her hand and dozing off against it. Kisame was standing over the stove, wearing a pink and frilly half apron and some blue fish looking ovenmits. Itachi was sitting at the table too, quietly sipping at something out of a small handleless cup, his eyes studying the table. She glanced to her right and saw the living room with Deidara stretched out on the couch, a hand behind his head as he leaned against the arm of the sofa. Sasori was sitting at the other end of the couch, looking down at a scroll in his hands, reading over it. The masked boy called Tobi was sitting on the floor in front of the coffee table, near Deidara's head, prattling on about something to the uncaring blonde. Kakuzu was walking into the kitchen, muttering about something to himself as he sat heavily in a chair. No one seemed to notice her yet; no one at all.
She turned back to Kisame, able to smell the food he was making on the stove, identifying it as scrambled eggs. He wasn't making them right. As she walked over to him she could still smell the water in the yolks…they were going to be gross and rubbery if he wasn't careful. She stopped by his side, looking down at the big wok he had on the stove's eye, waiting to be noticed. Absently he reached for the salt, but she pulled it away from him, staring at the wok along with him. His thick brow furrowed, fingers grasping for the salt shaker blindly, her own hand keeping it calmly out of the way. Finally he looked over, jumping in his skin when he saw her. "Oh…little Kunoichi…I didn't notice you there." He laughed softly and she slowly looked up at him.
He pulled back slightly, smiling nervously at her as he held a hand out to keep her at bay. He didn't understand how Itachi could think she wasn't part of his bloodline; she had those same dead pool eyes that he did. "No one did. You don't need to add the salt yet." She pushed the shaker back a little farther and he blinked, coming back into reality.
"I do, little kunoichi, they're almost done and everyone likes a little tang to their food here." He offered gently, trying to be as kind as he could.
She shook her head, "They're not almost done. Plus you made them too early, now they'll be cold by the time you get the rest of the food done or everyone will be filled on eggs by the time you get the rest done." She looked back to his wok and he shook it a little, to keep the eggs from burning. He felt his eye twitch as she tried to coach him on his cooking, but he grinned a toothy grin at her.
"I know what I'm doing, little kunoichi, I've been cooking food for everyone for a long time." He offered, but she shook her head again.
"Doesn't mean they've liked it for a long time. Now move, I'm taking over." She went to shove him, but he didn't budge. The giant man glowered down at the five foot girl, sharp teeth bared at her as they fought for dominance over the stove. Hotaru glared right back up at him.
"You're making the food wrong. I'm staying here now, so I'm cooking. Move." She growled, grabbing the wok from him.
He snatched it back, "My food has sustained this household for gods know how many years and it's staying that way! I'm not going to let a little brat take over my stove!" He snapped at her, slamming his free hand on the counter loudly. She kept her ground, the others now beginning to look over.
"Well your food sucks! I can already smell it! So MOVE!" She shoved Kisame one more time, causing him to grunt and a single foot to slide backwards. That was impressive enough. But, he refused to release the handle of the wok over to her, instead leaning over and shutting off the eye.
"I suggest YOU move, little kunoichi, or no one's eating for the morning." He huffed at her, but she gave him a cold glare he was use to from another person.
"When you MAKE me move, I will." She snarled, glaring up at him, almost having to tilt her head all the way back to do it. Kisame closed his eyes, pinching the skin between his brows in effort not to tear all of the chakra out of the girl's body and leave her to lie on the floor for the next few days. Instead he side stepped and took a deep, calming breath.
"Fine. If you're so good at cooking, YOU do it. We'll see whose they like better." He muttered and she gave a forced grin.
"Good job, fish dude." With that she waited for him to turn. When he did she jerked the knot to his apron, pulling it lose and snatching the cloth from around his waist. As he turned around in shock she was already finishing knotting it behind her own waist and turning back to the stove. He stared hard as she picked up the wok, walking it over to the trashcan and dumping all the eggs into it, then walking back to the stove.
"You can't do that! What a waste! That's tons of my money going into the garbage there!" Kakuzu barked, still pointing and staring at the trashcan.
"Ah you're fine. Now all of you sit down, shut up, and leave me alone to cook or I'll make sure you STARVE." She cut her eyes over her shoulder at all of them, basically hissing before turning and walking calmly to the refrigerator. Itachi watched her pull out butter and the whole other half of the carton of eggs. She pulled out fresh bacon and other things then put them on the counter by the stove. As she walked by she glanced out the window over the sink, eying the garden in the backyard, then turning and looking to him. "You, what's out in the garden?" She pointed to him and he arched a fine brow, smirking.
"Fresh vegetables." He offered up calmly and she nodded slowly, biting at her lower lip in a cute way that made him feel funny on the inside.
"Do you have herbs too?" Her voice was softening and becoming more feminine, gentler. He nodded calmly, sipping at his drink again.
"Why don't you go out there and gather some?" He suggested and she smiled.
"Good idea, Nikoru, wake your ass up!" She barked loudly at the still sleeping girl. Nikoru's head simply fell out of her hand and onto the table where she proceeded to drool.
"Get-OFF-the-table." Kakuzu reached out and hit the top of her head with a hand curled into a fist, snarling at her. She snapped awake.
"Hmm? Huh?" Her half lidded eyes gazed around the room slowly, before she spotting Hotaru and glimmering with a smile. "Oh, Hotaru-chan, I'm glad you're awake and functioning. What's up?" She rubbed a fist in her eye as Hotaru walked over, grabbing her by the upper arm.
"We need basics from the garden, come on." She started to drag the still sleepy girl over to the backdoor, reaching out to slide it open.
"Mmmm-hmmm…garden's in the backyard…No backyardie for Nikkie…bad backyard…" She murred sleepily, smiling as Hotaru drug her onto the porch, shaking her head and muttering something about 'dobe' to the girl. A breath of fresh morning air hit Nikoru and suddenly she snapped awake, feeling herself being drug off of the walkway and into the yard. She looked around frantically, then looked to Hotaru, digging her heels into the dirt and stopping progress. "No! No backyard! We can't be out here, Hotaru-chan! No backyard, no backyard, NO BACKYARD!" She screeched, beginning to squirm in Hotaru's tight grasp.
Hotaru turned around and looked at her like she was bleeding from the ears. "What the hell is your problem, girl?" She wondered, releasing Nikoru and letting her fall to the ground; it was too early for her to care. Nikoru shook her head, getting up and trying to drag Hotaru back into the house.
"I don't know, but we can't be out here! Dei-chan says that some things out here! A Zetsu! And it EATS people and lives out here and can be anywhere!" She leaned in close, "Anywhere…!" She hissed loudly, looking around with big eyes. Hotaru shook her head, closing her eyes and sighing heavily.
"Nikoru, there's nothing to be scared of. Zetsu sounds like a name; it's probably a dog or something. I think Deidara was just trying to scare you." She patted her friend's shoulder gently, happening to glance over it to see everyone looking out of windows and peering out of the now opened sliding door at them. She frowned then looked back to Nikoru, who was shaking her head wildly.
"No! He said he would feed me to Zetsu in the backyard if I didn't get quiet! We're gonna get eaten!" She cried out, shaking Hotaru determinedly. But, Hotaru had finally had had enough of this. She slapped a hand over her friend's mouth, hardening her eyes like a mother with a crying child.
"Nikoru! Get ahold of yourself! Seriously? There is NO MAN EATING CREATURE!" She snapped, feeling Nikoru panting heavily against her tightly pressed hand. "Now, I've got breakfast to make. I'm hungry, dammit. I can't remember the last time I ate. So, you're gonna help me get what I need from that garden over there and then we're going to go inside and punch out Deidara for making you into an idiot, do you understand?" She growled in the blonde's face, making her nod quickly. "I'm going to let go of your mouth and you're going to stop making so much noise that I want to punch YOU, got it?" Nikoru nodded quickly again and Hotaru released her. She was silent like she was supposed to be. Hotaru smiled at her now.
"Kay, let's go get this done with so I can feed you." She turned around and began to lead Nikoru over to the garden. Though quiet, Nikoru still was looking around in a slightly panicked state, nervous about the still looming threat of the Zetsu, whoever or whatever it was. They got to the garden and Hotaru skimmed over the slim pickings. "Wow, we're going to have to spruce the garden up too…this place sucks so hard!" She shook her head, bending over and beginning to collect chives and green onions.
"Nikoru, get a green bell pepper for me, would you?" She didn't look up from examining the tomatoes, but pointed in the general direction of the bell peppers she had briefly skimmed.
"Kay…Do you want a red one too? I grabbed some of the garlic and potatoes already..." She murmured and Hotaru nodded her head slowly, still picking through the tomatoes for the best ones. "Get a few of each, hun." She muttered, reaching for a tomato, but deciding it wasn't ripe enough.
"Ugh…I can't find another one that I like and I need one more…" Someone held one out to her over her shoulder and she smiled, "That's perfect, Nikoru, thanks!" She put it in her apron with the rest of the things she had picked, getting up and holding the cloth by its edges.
"What's perfect?" Nikoru looked up at her from the ground, holding an armful of potatoes and green peppers, trying to stuff garlic cloves into it. Hotaru looked over, raising a brow in mild confusion.
"The tomato you just handed to me…" She muttered, but Nikoru shook her head, looking over at her completely now.
"I didn't hand you anyth-" The girl stopped, her eyes widening with horror. "Hotaru! The THING!" She screeched, dropping her vegetables to the ground and scrambling up, and backwards in another panic. Hotaru frowned and spun around, still gripping onto her apron as she came face to face with a black chest. Slowly she looked up, seeing green sprouting from the collar of the black and red cloak. It branched out on either side, forming a Venus fly trap. In the middle sat a man, his head tilted, half painted black and half painted white; tousled green hair spilling strands across his forehead. His eyes glowed bright yellow at her, one vividly watching her, the other only studying her with a dull interest. A slow grin pulled over either side of his face, revealing fanged pearls in pink gums.
"We gave you the tomato…We saw how picky you were." He hissed at her in a low, venomous voice, causing her to quiver with a small step back.
"Lemme guess, you're Zetsu." She tried to keep her calm, so far not seeing any reason to freak out; but she kept her guard up as she listened to Nikoru whimper in the background.
"Hotaru-chan, move! He's gonna eat you! Just like Dei-chan said!" Nikoru whined, reaching for her friend and trying to pull her out of the way.
"Would you stop CALLING me that? I'm not a GIRL, dammit! I'm a BOY, un!" They heard Deidara's angry voice call out from the doorway to the house, all of them turning to look at him pitching his little fit.
"Oh shutup! I'll deal with you your crossing dress ass when I get back inside!" Hotaru barked, watching him stomp a foot in rage.
"You stupid, bitch! See if you EVER get inside again, un! I'm locking your asses out with Zetsu-san!" He snapped, slamming the door shut. Nikoru screeched as if she had been struck.
"No! Don't leave us out here! We don't want to get eaten!" She cried out, running for the door. Hotaru shook her head as she watched the girl, turning around to find Zetsu bent over and sniffing at her apron.
"Excuse me, personal space, please." She stepped back and he rose to stand straight again, grinning at her still.
"Your skin smells like spices…I wonder if your fingers taste of the earth you just dug through to retrieve them…" The white side smiled gently at her, its eye remaining vibrant yellow.
"Or of the spicy flesh of the vegetables you're now holding." The black side finished with a long hiss. She was reminded of Orochimaru when he spoke and it made her want to strike him. She gripped the apron's edges instead.
"I suppose it's a pity you'll never find out." She smiled teasingly, tilting her head to the side before turning to walk back inside. The black hand suddenly lashed out, grabbing her by the arm and jerking her towards him again. She glared; it was now officially okay for her to hit him. Releasing the apron with both hands she spun as he guided her, going to strike him in the face with her free hand. He caught it with his white hand though, grinning as he now crossed her arms in front of her and held her still. He turned her wrists over, making her wince and double forward with the movement.
"We heard screams in the house…We heard what happened…" The white side mentioned, staring at her stitches. She opened her eyes only to narrow them in another glare.
"Good for you. Wanna fuckin cookie for it?" She snapped making him look back to her.
"She has spirit…very black on the inside…very negative…We should devour her…She would taste delicious…" The black side coaxed to its gentler half, but the white side tilted the head his way, studying her angry face.
"You're NOT eating me! I'm not a fucking idiot, I won't let you!" She snarled, connecting her foot with his stomach. She hit something hard, the vibrations from her kick resonating through him, causing the fly trap around him to shiver. She looked in surprise as he laughed under his breath at her attempt to jostle him.
"We are safe and protected. You can do nothing to us." The white side murmured gently to her, but she rolled her eyes to the heavens and huffed anyways.
"I'll figure something out, I promise." She needed her hands to use her fire jutsus and to use her scrolls…well, she needed the scrolls too in that case. Actually, she was screwed unless Nikoru decided to get her ass over here and help. She turned and looked over her shoulder, seeing Nikoru glancing at her off and on as she continued to bang on the sliding door, threatening to break the paper that created it. "Nikoru! Get yer sorry ass over here and help me!" She shouted, but Nikoru shook her head.
"Every man for himself!" She cried out and Hotaru closed her eyes. Gods, she had the best of friends. She felt something moist run over her skin and looked down, seeing Zetsu licking her stitches on her left arm.
"Hey! You! Stop that!" She kicked him again, though she knew it would do nothing. He looked back up at her, running the tip of his tongue over his lips with a smirk.
"You DO taste good…We thought you would…" The white side smiled calmly, as though this was a compliment.
"I said you can't taste shit! Now le'go!" She jerked against him, but to no avail. He pulled her in, slamming her chest against his own, holding her arms out to either side of him. She looked up at him with big eyes, her lips parted in shock as his face rested near to her own.
"You haven't brushed your teeth yet…" He smirked and she let her eyes harden again.
"No, I haven't. You wouldn't know that if you would get out of my damned PERSONAL SPACE!" She shouted in his face, making him close his eyes, but fail to move. After a moment the eyes opened and studied her face again.
"We want to TASTE you…" The black side hissed again, but she frowned sarcastically.
"You've already DONE that, my wrist is still covered in the drool to prove it." She huffed, "Now, you've had your taste, I don't taste good, obviously. So let go. I'm hungry and so is everyone else." She motioned to the house over her shoulder.
"Not good enough." Suddenly his lips pressed hard against her own.
Hotaru stood in shock, unsure of what to do. She was kissing a cute guy, but he was half plant, half insane, and 100% cannibal. His tongue slid over the roof of her mouth, easing along her teeth and twirling around her own.
"Alright, Zetsu, that's enough. Let the girl go." The voice made her snap back to reality and get rid of the undulating waves of heat beginning to run through her. She opened her eyes to see Zetsu smirking around her lips, looking over her shoulder and locking eyes with Itachi as he stood on the edge of the walkway. Hotaru bit down on the tongue that was writhing against her own, biting hard to send blood spilling into their locked mouths. He winced and jerked back, crying out and spitting the blood on the ground. Some of it trickled out of the corner of her own mouth, but she failed to gather it up, having not liked HIS taste too much. He glowered at her eyes matching in their livid rage.
"You bit us!" He snarled, both sides working in unison this time. She shrugged casually in his grasp.
"You kissed us." Her tone mocked him as he narrowed his eyes, refusing to let go of her wrists, calculating her words.
"Zetsu…I said let her go." Itachi's voice rang out over the yard once more, still that deadly calm. Hotaru didn't break the staring contest she was suddenly having with the boy.
"We don't like to be mocked…" The black side informed her and she tilted her head, smiling cutely.
"We don't like to be kissed against our will." She offered sweetly, watching him dissect this answer too. After a long moment he slowly let her go.
"We want to try…getting along…" The white side suggested and she smiled, wiping his blood off her mouth with the back of her hand.
"I would like that actually. You seem like a nice person, just a little mixed up on the inside." She giggled quietly, kneeling down to gather her vegetables again, like she had simply bumped into him and spilt her groceries; her demeanor softened again, becoming girlish and gentle once more.
He knelt down too, beginning to place the vegetables in her apron also, still watching her face. "You…don't hate us…for trying to eat you…?" He seemed to be having trouble getting his mind around this fact. Hotaru shook her head, putting a final potato in her apron, knowing everyone was watching in some kind of registered surprise. She looked back to him with another calm smile.
"I've had much worse happen to me, I promise. I don't hate you. I didn't enjoy it, by any means, and would prefer you didn't do it agan. But, I understand you were merely acting on what you were told to act on." At this she glanced at the black side's eye, as though she were talking to him specifically. Both eyes blinked before he placed the last tomato in her apron and they both rose from the ground, Hotaru still smiling. "Promise not to try and EAT me again and I'll come back out here later on; we can get to know each other better that way." She offered and slowly he nodded, still looking a little confused.
"We would…like that…" He murmured and she nodded too, beaming now.
"Alright then, it's a date." She turned and started back towards the house her eyes hardening as she zeroed in on everyone else in the house. Zetsu watched her stomp up onto the walkway, storming past Itachi and glaring into the house, beginning to shout as soon as she went inside. "Fucking feed me to the man eating plant outside, eh? Fucking leave me behind to die, eh? If I weren't the cool ass bitch I am I would be dead! DEAD! I should make you all fucking STARVE! Nikoru! Get your ass back here and take your beating like a bitch-like everyone else!" The shouts echoed out in the yard and Zetsu smiled to himself.
"We tasted Uchiha…She's like Itachi…" The white side murmured casually.
"Yes…such a lovely taste, Uchiha." The black side reminisced and they giggled together. "We now have TWO Uchihas to devour slowly…We should stash them for better eating later…" He smiled turning and going back into the garden where he belonged.
Hotaru chopped and diced and shredded things for a good little while, her knife making loud snapping noises on the cutting board. Everyone sat quietly at the table, muttering to themselves and each other, afraid to move. Sasori leaned his head down close to the table, looking between everyone and whimpering quietly. "I have to pee…" He whined softly, but everyone shook their heads.
"Don't do it, man…I've lived with her, I KNOW what she'll do to you." Nikoru waved her hands frantically, hissing at him and shaking her head wildly.
"But, I have to go so bad!" He whined like the child he appeared to be, Deidara reaching out to pat the top of his hand comfortingly.
"I say go for it, Danna…you can take whatever she throws at you…and its better than pissing your pants." He smiled softly and Sasori nodded in agreement.
"Don't do it, man! She'll eat you up and spit you back out, like Dei-chan's hands!" Nikoru begged, making Deidara glare over at her.
"I'd listen to her. This little kunoichi is from Itachi's bloodline and we all know how HE gets." Kisame suggested, remembering the look in Hotaru's eyes this morning as she hovered by him without him even knowing. Sasori got up quietly, face determind.
"I'll take my chances. The bitch can't do anything to me." He suddenly seemed a bit more confident as he tip-toed into the living room. His foot tapped the carpet when a knife flew at him, landing in the frame of the doorway, just barely missing his ear. He froze and slowly turned with, seeing Hotaru standing at the other end of the kitchen, glowering at him. He glanced between her and the rest of the group, wondering who he feared more. The ridicule for being weak, or the possibility of death. Hotaru reached out and pointed to his empty seat at the table silently. He glanced at it, then at Deidara, then at Hotaru. "I have to pee…and it's not fair for you to keep us cooped up in here while waiting on you to finish cooking. Kisame doesn't do that to us." He muttered, looking to the floor as if he wasn't very confident in his words. Nikoru slapped her hand over her face and Kisame dropped his head into his big hands.
Hotaru put a hand on her hip, reaching behind her for another one of the knives on the counter, never taking her eyes off of him. "Well, I'M not Kisame. So, sit the FUCK down, or I'll MAKE you sit down, chakra boy." She snarled, but he huffed, not liking the fact that she thought she was better than him.
"You can't MAKE me do anything. Besides, who died and made YOU Leader?" He growled, watching a malicious smirk pull across her face.
"No one did. But, considering Y'ALL tried to feed me to a fucking man eating…THING-out there! And considering I'M the one making your food, and considering I'M the one holding the knife, you had better SIT THE FUCK DOWN!" She slammed the knife into the counter, driving it hilt deep into the wood, causing them to look over in some surprise.
Itachi calmly snorted, "If you can get it back OUT, I'll personally make him sit down." He told the table boredly, Hotaru arching a brow at him. Her smile fell as she glanced over at the knife again.
"Damn…I don't think I can." She grumbled, turning and reaching for the knife with one hand. Deidara and Sasori both gave cruel smirks as she wrapped her fingers around the knife and tugged lightly, failing to make it move at all. It was always easier to MAKE the mess rather than clean it. She turned and look at them over her shoulder. "It's in there pretty good…Guess I was really angry, huh?" She giggled nervously, Tobi nodding quickly in ignorant agreement. "Imagine if that had been one of your faces!" She giggled lightly again and Kisame closed his eyes, imagining the knife sinking into one of them as he did.
"Well…I guess you may get to go to the bathroom after all, Sasori." This pushed it a little too far. Itachi looked over and lifed his own brow, watching her facial features and watching how hard she was actually tugging at the knife. She was barely pulling at all. No one else seemed to notice, too wrapped up in what they thought was a victory over the raging bitch. She huffed before wrapping her hand around the knife a final time. "Lemme give it one last try…" She whimpered and they all nodded in agreement, motioning for her to continue.
Her fingers drummed the handle steadily before she gave a swift tug, pulling it out easily. She turned to face them with an evily smug smirk. "Oh my, look at that…" Sasori sighed heavily and sat at the table again, shaking his head slowly before dropping his cheek into his hand. She watched them all for a moment, almost like a warden trying to see if one of her inmates was going to make a break for it, then she turned and went back to cooking quietly; taking her rage out on vegetables.
Hotaru finally got done and carried over two huge serving plates of food. One plate had rolls and rolls of Tamagoyaki of all different sorts and colors and decoration, sweet on one side, salty on the other, the two separated by a line of soy sauce. The other plate had bacon on one side and cutely decorated pancakes on the other. She turned and went back to the counter, returning with a large serving bowl of white rice that had steam rising off of it.
Going back another time, she began to set two bowls in front of each person, then give them a plate, then a pair of chopsticks. She placed a cup in front of each person, then placed a thick syrup near the shaped and decorated pancakes. She came back with a large pot, ladling fresh miso soup into one of everyone's bowls, then put the pot on the stove and covered it. She came back again with a tray with orange juice, a tea pot, milk, and apple juice on it. Even a bottle of chocolate syrup.
Everyone studied her in shock, wondering what the hell had happened to the girl that had just been screaming and bitching at them a moment ago. Hotaru smiled at Nikoru, asking her what she wanted to drink and pouring her a glass of apple juice. Tobi cried out next to Nikoru, holding up his glass and asking for chocolate milk, which Hotaru giggled and obligingly made. She proceeded around the table like this, being kinder than any waitress they had ever come across, and smiling the prettiest little smile.
When everyone was served she put the tray down on the counter, coming over and sitting at the extra seat at the table, across from Itachi and between Nikoru and Tobi. "I hope y'all enjoy it! Thank you for being so patient!" She giggled and picked up her chopsticks. "Itadakimasu!" She giggled and Tobi and Nikoru cried out with her, then began to dig in. The others were still too stunned to really say anything.
"I-I don't get it…what the hell happened, un?" Deidara pointed at Hotaru like she was bleeding from the ears. Nikoru giggled, piling bacon and pancakes onto her plate.
"Hotaru-chan always gets like this after she cooks! Just take the blessing and eat!" She beamed and Hotaru blushed, looking down at her plate with a soft smile.
"I'm sorry I was such a bitch when I was cooking…I just don't like to be interrupted or anything. Forgive me, Deidara-kun." She murmured and he blinked at her, then shrugged.
"I'm not complaining, un. I just wanted to know what was up…You're one weird fucking kid." He grumbled, reaching for the tamagoyaki and putting some onto his plate.
"Hotaru-chan, this is wonderful! Where did you learn to cook like this?" Kisame wondered, eating some of the little omelets too. She shrugged and blushed again, lowering her eyes to her plate demurely.
"I had to cook as a child…My father would do nothing on his own due to his loss of will…And I wanted to make people happy through my food. If there's a way to put happiness onto someone's face, it's generally by putting food in their stomach." She smiled and Kisame nodded like he understood.
"Well, you can cook as often as you want." He laughed and she beamed.
"Thank you Kisame-san!" She giggled, suddenly catching Nikoru out of the corner of her eye. The thin little blonde was looking around sneakily, starting to drag the serving plate of bacon towards herself, attempting to hoard it. Hotaru's hand shot for the girl's before anyone could really register what had happened. Nikoru pulled back with a screech, jerking her hand into her chest and nursing the smarting wound on it, looking at Hotaru like a struck dog. Hotaru's eyes narrowed and she glowered at the blonde. "You KNOW we don't eat like that!" She barked, Nikoru whining as she was scolded.
"But, Kisame-san use to let me eat the whole plate of bacon!" She argued loudly and Kisame shook his head with a quiet chuckle. Hotaru only frowned.
"I'm not Kisame! Do you eat like that at home?" She snapped and Nikoru looked down, shaking her head and muttering something. "Then you do NOT eat like that here! You take food off the plate and to your own, the serving plate is NOT yours!" Hotaru shouted and Nikoru nodded, reaching out and putting a piece of bacon on her plate to show she had learned the lesson.
Hotaru suddenly smiled and reached out, patting her head and running her fingers through the girl's thin hair. "I'm so glad you like the food that much though, Nikoru-chan! It's a great compliment!" She giggled, then turned back to her own food and began eating quietly. The boys blinked, realizing that in taking these girls hostage, their lives had just become so much more different than they could ever have imagined.