Second Sight
Chapter Twenty-five
Christmas Eve arrived quickly enough, though there was still no sign of Kumo as the morning passed by. He had really meant it when he said he would be back Christmas morning and no sooner, it seemed. Christmas Eve, instead, brought them two unexpected wayward souls to their door. The first of which was Shimenawa's new secretary, who came knocking at her favorite time of day--just after noon. She had been baking all morning because she really didn't have enough to occupy herself with now that Professor Tsunade was gone. (She still hadn't called and Shizune was beginning to go a little beyond worrying, possibly treading into the delicate realm of psychosis.) It was actually only when she ran out of floor space to lay out all the cakes and cookies and brownies and cupcakes and pies she was making that she decided that maybe it was time to give some of her baked goods away. Purely to make room to bake more, but still.
She was carrying a bag of two cakes, three pies, a platter of cookies, and half a dozen brownies when she knocked on Shimenawa's back door, something wriggling tucked under her other arm. She really hoped she wasn't bothering them, but she was running out of people to give baked goods to, and, well, who better to give excessive amounts of sweets to than growing boys? She hadn't seen a lot of them since she started working as she was mostly slaving in Shimenawa's office, trying to make it presentable, but Obito was very vocal about his passion for food and she'd overheard that Kakashi at least liked sweets.
"Just a second!" called the doctor's voice from inside, and then not too long later Shimenawa was opening the door, offering his favorite and only employee a pleased grin. "Shizune! Merry Christmas! You're early! And you..." He blinked, frowning slightly as he registered just exactly what he was looking at. "...Brought a pig?"
"Merry Christmas! And, ah, sorry," Shizune smiled sheepishly, but she looked happy despite the fact that her hair was rather wind-and-stress ravaged and her shirt seemed to be inside-out. Something about Shimenawa's... everything had an elevating effect on her. She shifted the pig's weight under her arm. "Tonton, stop squirming or I'm going to drop you! And I'm not going to save you again if the neighbor's dog gets any ideas.
"She wouldn't stop squealing when I tried to leave her in the house," Shizune explained, sounding a little embarassed, "I just came to bring over some cakes and cookies and things for the boys since I made too much. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Of course not! I said I'd be happy to have you over, didn't I?" Shimenawa beamed as he ushered her into the house, taking the bag of baked goods off her hands -- it was rather ridiculously heavy. "There's a place set for you at dinner if you want to stay. If you don't have anywhere else to be, of course," he added with a slightly sheepish turn to the ever-present grin.
"Oh, and your pig is quite welcome too." The doctor seemed very amused at having the opportunity to say those words in that particular combination, walking into the kitchen to set the bag of goodies down on the counter next to the sink. "Thanks for these," he said with another smile. "Smells wonderful in there. I'm sure the boys will love them."
"You're welcome," Shizune glowed back, liking Shimenawa just that much more because, hey, he was accepting of her pig. Not many people took things in stride quite as well as her boss, and she was constantly in awe at him for it. "Thanks for having us." She set Tonton down then, firmly telling the pig to behave before letting her go.
"Is it just you and the boys tonight, Shimenawa-sensei?" she asked, glancing around as Tonton dashed off in a seemingly random direction.
"Yeah. Kumo's disappeared off somewhere," he said with a laugh, going back to the baked potatoes he'd been preparing. "I have a feeling he's planning something spectacular for Christmas Day..." He was still wearing the ring; hadn't taken it off once since that night, in fact, not even to shower. He hoped Kumo was planning on making it up to him for missing out on a romantic Christmas Eve together.
"Oh, that sounds lovely," Shizune commented mostly happily. Some small part of her was irritated at Tsunade for the thought that while Kumo was off planning something that would sweep Shimenawa off his feet, Tsunade was out there somewhere most probably earning herself more gambling debts. Sigh. That was life. It was then that she noticed the small band on Shimenawa's finger. How recent was that? Had she been looking straight over it these past few days?
"Shimenawa-sensei?" she asked a little bit shyly, pointing to his hand, "Is that...?"
"Um..."
Shimenawa looked down at his hand for a second, and then grinned a very goofy grin.
"Yeah?" He scratched at the back of his head embarrassedly a little. "I know we haven't been dating very long, but we've known each other since high school and stuff and well... one thing just sort of led to another..."
"Oh!" Shizune clapped her hands together in delight, "Congratulations, Shimenawa-sensei! I'm so happy for you! I'll have to get you two a present! Can I see the ring? Oh! Are you two going anywhere special?" She had the feeling she was sounding like an a nosy neighbor or maybe even a slightly jealous old maid, but she couldn't help it. She was a romantic, through and through, despite where her life insisted on taking her.
"Thank you...! Ah-- of course you can see." Shimenawa still looked happily embarrassed, and also rather gratified that she was even interested; he tugged the platinum band off with care, reaching over to place it down gingerly in the palm of Shizune's outstretched hand. "I'm pretty sure we're going somewhere later, sometime after Christmas... I'm not sure what he's got in mind, though. Kumo's the one making the travel plans, it's sort of his specialty," the doctor noted with a grin. They'd barely needed to discuss skipping the proper wedding part, which had come as something of a relief to both parties, Shimenawa thought; he'd always found such elaborate ceremonies to be nothing but exhausting.
"Oh, it's beautiful..." Shizune admired before she carefully gave the ring back, "It suits you very well. He must have put a lot of thought into it. I'm sure your trip will be wonderful too! Make sure to take lots of pictures for Tonton and me, okay?" She smiled wistfully then, briefly casting her gaze to the ceiling. "Having someone like that must be nice." Then she shook her head and looked around, wondering why she had said that aloud as she searched for a decent subject change.
"...where are the boys?"
Shimenawa smiled again, perhaps a little apologetically. "Still sitting around watching TV in the living room, I imagine. Feel free to go say hi -- I've still got some things to finish up here, so..." He nodded toward the half-finished dinner preparations.
"Is there anything I can help with?" Shizune asked, peering over at Shimenawa's progress, "After I say hi to the boys, of course. I'd hate to be impolite."
"Hmm..." Shimenawa glanced thoughtfully around at the food laid out on the counter and then shook his head. "I'm good, I think, I'm pretty close to done here. Thanks, though."
"Alright, then," Shizune smiled, "I'll be just in the living room if you do end up needing anything."
Meanwhile, a certain hoofed creature had beaten Shizune to greeting the boys and was rooting around under the couch for dust mites and boy-feet, snuffling slightly all the while. Shizune had been baking all morning and had forgotten to feed poor Tonton, leaving the piglet hungry and considering whether or not the hem of Obito's pants was dinner. She nibbled.
"Kakashi, did you just kick me?" Obito blinked, looking down at their feet.
"Nah. Was probably the pig." Kakashi had noticed the animal's scent as she waddled in, but he'd been too comfy curled up around Obito to bother investigating. Now that she'd come close, though, his curiosity was pinged a little, and he sat up with a stretch to swing his head upside-down over the edge of the couch.
"Hi, pig," he greeted the creature with a dreamy smile, kicking his legs up across the couch back, tail swishing around aimlessly.
Tonton pawed the floor with her hoof in greeting right back, then made hungry colors at Kakashi when she noticed him, nibbling a little more on Obito's pant leg. Meanwhile, the former Uchiha was still trying to catch up.
"Was probably the-- the what? Pig? What pig? AUGH! That pig! Kakashi the pig is trying to eat me get it off get it off get it off!"
"She's hungry," Kakashi stated rather unnecessarily, still smiling as he stuck a hand under the couch to wiggle in the pig's general direction. "Wanna cookie? We have cookies." He could taste her hungry yellows but he couldn't send back any soothing blues while he was in human shape; hopefully at least his voice would be convincing. (It was probably just as well, though -- pigs didn't like foxes because foxes knew pigs were very tasty.)
Cookies probably weren't terribly good for pigs, but Tonton wasn't in any mood to complain. She offered Kakashi a happy sort of pink haze and gently nudged his leg with her snout, hoping food would eventually fall out of this not-quite human. He was human-shaped, at least. Human-shaped things generally fed her.
"Where did the pig come from?" Obito was bobbing this way and that, as though viewing the pig from different angles would tell him something about how the pig came into their house. "How do you know she's hungry? How do you know she's a she?"
"Umm... she smells like girl and... she said so?" Kakashi seemed slightly confused by the question, turning his head to give Obito an upside-down frown. After a second he turned his attention back to the pig, trying to coax her out from under the couch. This would probably work better if he'd gotten the cookie first..."Kakashi? Obito?" Shizune called as she knocked on the door frame before stepping into the living room, "Shimenawa-sensei's finishing up dinner, and-- oh, have you met Tonton?" She stepped into the living room and looked at where Kakashi was trying to get the pig to come out.
"Tonton! Stop being shy and come say hi to the boys. They're very nice and won't pull your tail," Shizune paused to cast Obito a warning glare, "I promise!"
"...why did she look at me?" Obito mumbled to Kakashi, tucking his legs under himself so that Tonton couldn't eat any more of his pants. At Shizune's coaxing, Tonton slowly squirmed back out from under the couch, scampering over to nuzzle Shizune's leg.
"Huh?--" Kakashi attempted to roll over onto his back to see who had come in, and only succeeded in falling off the side of the couch.
"Cleaning-stuff lady!"
He blinked at Shizune surprisedly as he sat right-side-up again, rubbing a little at the bump on his head. What was cleaning-stuff lady doing here? Not cleaning stuff? Whenever he'd caught a glimpse of her she'd either been sitting in the front office cleaning stuff, or walking around the exam room cleaning stuff, or sitting at Sensei's desk cleaning stuff... did she do other stuff that wasn't cleaning stuff?
"...Your pig's hungry. Oh, Merry Christmas," he added as an afterthought, smiling.
"Is she? Oh, no! I forgot to feed her today! I'm sorry, sweetie!" Shizune grimaced, bending down to scoop up the poor, starving piglet. "I'll have to ask Shimenawa-sensei if he has any fruits or vegetables to spare or I'll have to run to the store... Aa... Hang in there, okay, Tonton?" Shaking her head, she turned back up to Kakashi and Obito with an apologetic sort of smile.
"Oh, yes, Merry Christmas to you boys too." Huh. There was something odd about...
"What's on your lap, Kakashi?"
Obito bristled at the question, gaze snapping over to the fluffy fox-tail in question.
'Oh, crap.'
Kakashi frowned down at himself for a second, not quite sure what cleaning-stuff lady was talking about. There was nothing in his lap except his...
...oh. Right. Kitsune.When he'd been around cleaning-stuff lady before, they'd had him hide it, but -- technically you weren't really supposed to go around telling everyone about -- well, see, if the humans knew everything they thought they didn't know it would just be so bothersome and so well--
"...A figment of your imagination?" he offered after a second, smiling benignly. His tail flopped against his lap a little without his really thinking about it.
"That happens to me sometimes," the kitsune continued thoughtfully, mostly to himself. "There's something that's there but it's not really there, but it completely is there because I thought it was but it's not, but it's there but according to the empirical laws of timespace it's not really except it is. Not." He stopped and blinked down at his lap for a moment, looking like he'd confused himself slightly. "...I think."
If Obito's mind wasn't too busy spinning, he might've smacked himself, or Kakashi, on the forehead. Could Kakashi have possibly answered that any worse? Obito didn't really want to know, because he had the feeling that the answer would be yes. Shizune, meanwhile, had given up following Kakashi's runaway carriage of a thought after about the first two 'it's there but not really's, instead taking a step toward the silver-haired boy to get a better look at the tail in question.
"Is that... is that a tail?" she blinked, reaching out to touch it. Tonton squirmed out of her arms and landed in Kakashi's lap. Was the tail food? It kind of looked like food, maybe. It didn't smell very yummy, but hungry was hungry. She nibbled at the fur.
"That's not... that's not a real tail, is it? I mean. It's... it moved." Shizune was having a bit of a hard time accepting that the tail was very obviously connected to Kakashi, because little boys weren't supposed to have fox tails and you'd think she would've noticed this on one of her previous visits, though she had been really busy ever since she started working.
"--Um..."
Kakashi glanced up, a little guiltily.
"...Yes." He paused and held up a finger over his mouth, giving her a serious look. "Shh."
"It's, uh, it's... uh..." Obito looked around helplessly, wondering how he was going to begin to fix this situation. Shizune was staring at Kakashi kind of funny, pulling Tonton off the other's tail which only made the tail look even more real, which it was, but still. And Kakashi wasn't being very stealthy at all and-- and--
"I think I should go help Sensei with dinner. I'll be right back. Don't, uh. Don't do anything while I'm going, okay? Anything," he repeated with a meaningful look at Kakashi, "I, uh, wouldn't want to miss any fun. Yeah. Stay still." Then he was gone, having vaulted off the couch, retreating into the kitchen.
"Sensei!" he called, "Sensei, you didn't warn us she was coming! And Kakashi! The thing! That, y'know! That thing!" Obito was doing his best to mime having a tail, but he'd always been the worst at charades.
Shimenawa watched Obito wave his hand around behind his rear end for a second or two, blinked bemusedly... and then gave a start.
"Oh--" Shit, he hadn't even thought about--
"Erm, Shizune, I can explain," the doctor said hurriedly, expression awkward as he rushed into the living room. "...um... kind of..."
Kakashi glanced between cleaning-stuff lady and Sensei, and scratched his head, smoothed out his chewed-on tail, and felt slightly silly.
"Er... that is to say." Shimenawa stopped, giving Shizune an uncomfortable sort of smile. "This is probably going to sound really crazy, but... do you believe in the old stories at all? About the gods and kappa and tanuki and kitsune and the like...?"
"Huh?" Shizune blinked, wondering why Shimenawa was talking about mythological creatures. "Believe in-- you're not trying to tell me-- he's not--..." Shizune gave the tail a poke and watched it wiggle slightly in response.
"...is he?"
"Well..."
Shimenawa ran a hand through his hair and concluded there was really no way to make it sound not-crazy. "Yeah."
Kakashi was looking very sheepish now, and he glanced back and forth between Shimenawa and Obito apologetically. "Um. Sorry."
His tail bounced up out of his lap to thrash around behind him as he glanced back toward Shizune, frowning slightly.
"Um... I'm not really supposed to tell," he murmured in the way of explanation, presenting the very picture of a young child caught with their hand in the cookie jar.
"But..." Shizune hugged Tonton to her chest, her brain completely shut down. "You guys... aren't joking?" Feeling a little faint, Shizune sat down where she was standing, stubbornly clutching on to Tonton even as the piglet snuffed and tried to get away. "Why on earth do you have a... why's he... I need a moment." She turned her gaze down at her pig.
"...you're not going to turn into a person, are you?"
Tonton only nudged Shizune's hand with her snout and made more pitiful, starving-to-death colors.
"Sensei," Obito whispered into Shimenawa's ear, "Why didn't you lie to her or something? I think you just broke your new secretary."
"Erm... here, Shizune, why don't you have a seat on the couch..." Shimenawa, looking rather mortified, stooped to take her hand and tug her over to a seat, pig in tow. He set her down with an abashed smile.
"Don't worry, I think Tonton is just what she appears to be," he said with a quiet laugh. "Kakashi's just a little different. I know it's completely crazy, but, well..."
Kakashi frowned slightly at the pet pig in Shizune's arms, and glanced up toward its owner's face again.
"She's really hungry... can I bring her a cookie?" he requested, looking concerned. "I told her I'd give her a cookie."
"A... cookie?" Shizune responded dazedly, staring at Kakashi as though she didn't quite understand the words coming out of his mouth. Then she blinked again and her brain briefly worked again. "Oh. A cookie. Cookies are bad for pigs. Well. They're bad for people too, but you just shouldn't give cookies to pigs. You can bring her an apple or something if you want?" Then the poor girl went back to staring at Kakashi's tail with a mixture of disbelief, fascinated horror, and 'oh god, I think all of my little girl, shoujo-manga fantasies just came true'. This could be a little while yet.
"Oh. Okay." Kakashi blinked a little and rose from his place, tail curling around one leg a little as naturally as if it did so all the time. Which it did. "Do we have apples...?" he muttered to himself as he padded off into the kitchen, the fuzzy white fox tail swinging behind him in graceful, undulating sweeps.
"Er... Here, Shizune..." Shimenawa had disappeared from her side for a moment, only to return with a cup of tea which he sat down next to her, expression terribly apologetic. She'd looked so shocked there for a moment he'd been a little afraid she was going to faint. "I'm sorry to take you by surprise like that..."
"Oh, no, don't worry," she reassured, sounding a little strained and distant but altogether collected, "I'm used to surprises. I came home one day and Tsunade-sensei had dressed Tonton up in doll clothes. It's okay, really. I just need a moment." She reached for the tea and brought it to her lips, trying not to spill any as she took a sip.
"Thank you," she added as she set the tea back down again.
"We did have apples," came the announcement from the kitchen door a moment later as Kakashi walked in, carrying one fruit in each hand. He plopped down unceremoniously on the carpet in front of where Shizune was sitting, curled up his legs and his tail, and wordlessly held an apple out for Tonton to sniff. He wished he could actually say something to her; being in human shape was such a bother sometimes.
Wiggling her general back end, tail and all, Tonton scrambled away from Shizune and ran in circles around Kakashi before finally coming to a stop in front of the apple, sniffing it up and down before nibbling at the skin, making bursts of happy colors all the while. She crawled into Kakashi's lap and sat down, nudging the apple until it was close enough for her to reach before she resumed eating, munching happily.
"Oh," Shizune blinked down at Tonton as though something was only just occurring to her. She looked back up at Kakashi. "Don't try to eat my pig, okay? She almost killed the neighbor's dog when he tried to snack on her." That said, she took another slightly shaky sip of tea. Seeing that Shizune seemed to be taking this rather well, or that at least she wouldn't snap terribly soon if she was going to, Obito began to become concerned about things other than their extremely important secret leaking to yet another party. Things such as...
"Uh, Sensei?" he asked quietly, "...dinner's not burning while you're here, is it?"
"Oh, crap--" Shimenawa looked frantically between Shizune and the kitchen doorway for a second before rushing off to check on their food.
"Don't worry, I won't eat her," Kakashi reassured the woman. He smiled and petted Tonton a little, scratching her behind the ears as she ate, and he set the second apple on the coffee table for when she was finished.
"I'm polite," he insisted at Shizune after a second, with the slightest pout.
"That's good," Shizune smiled faintly back, "Young men should be polite. You should try teaching Obito sometime."
"...hey," Obito protested, but not as loudly or adamantly as he normally would have. He was still deciding whether or not he would actually eat Tonton if presented with a desperate situation or something like that. He was currently leaning toward a 'maybe, depending on the circumstances', which probably didn't say much about his politeness.
Tonton, meanwhile, looked as though she were smiling, nuzzling Kakashi's hand between bites of apple, wiggling the entirety of her little body with sheer joy at being fed and paid attention to. She even munched away the core of the apple before looking up expectantly at Kakashi, licking his slightly sticky fingers.
Kakashi smiled back, looking very pleased to have pleased her. He let the little pig continue to lick at his hand, twisting around slightly to grab the second apple with his opposite and offer it to her. "That's better, right?"
The second apple was energetically devoured as well before Tonton tried to scramble up Kakashi's chest. She didn't quite manage it, instead ending up standing on her hind legs, her front hooves pressing against Kakashi's chest. She nudged his chin with her snout and nuzzled him and licked his jaw and generally tried to let him know he was currently the best person in the world. Obito was beginning to look a little jealous, arms folded firmly over his chest as he watched them. At least dinner would be ready soon, he comforted himself.
Shizune, meanwhile, was now thinking about how nice it would be to be a pig. Tonton didn't care if Kakashi had a tail, wouldn't care if Kakashi had three heads or no legs as long as Kakashi gave her food and attention. It would be so nice to be a pig.
Kakashi absently hugged the pig against his chest like a stuffed animal, all smiles and feeling like he'd managed to do something nice. Being hungry sucked, after all, even if you were a tasty pig. Perhaps especially if you were a tasty pig. Could you be tasty if you didn't have tasty things in you to make you tasty? It was a mystery.
After a moment he looked up again, though, and noticed Shizune staring in their direction with the oddest look on her face. It seemed like she really didn't like his tail, or maybe... well, it was just weird... he frowned and sighed a little. It was his own fault. Humans weren't supposed to know about kitsune. Maybe he broke her on accident.
"Sorry... am I scary?" he apologized rather quietly, still hugging Tonton against him and looking rather sad and guilty.
"Scary?" Shizune blinked, shaking her head quickly, "Oh, no, honey. Tsunade-sensei's gambling debts are scary. The mess in Shimenawa-sensei's office is scary. You are definitely not scary. Just... just..." She peered at him again, trying to decide what to say next.
"...can you do anything kitsune-y?"
"Um..." Kakashi blinked for a second. "Sure..." He glanced down at Tonton for a second, frowning slightly.
...I'm gonna stay in human shape though, 'cos pigs don't like foxes, came the little red thoughts creeping into her mind after a moment, slowly and cautiously so as not to startle.
Look behind the couch. 'Human
shape?'
"Oh. Thank you, Kakashi," she smiled, peering down. All of her favorite fragrances. Her favorite fragrances weren't perfumes or candles or lotions. They were cleaning supplies. The thought almost made her want to cry. But it was so sweet of Kakashi to... uh... how did those get there, anyway? "I'll have to buy you boys presents before tomorrow. For now, though, I brought pies and cakes and stuff?"
"Really?" Kakashi's eyes got very big.
"And on that, note, uh, how about some dinner?" piped up Shimenawa, who seemed to have been standing awkwardly in the kitchen doorway for several minutes. "Everything's ready," he said, smiling apologetically at Shizune.
"Dinner!" Shizune nodded, glad to get out of the living room, "It smells very good, Shimenawa-sensei! Shall we go? Yes, let's go have dinner." The poor secretary seemed a little rattled still, but overall she seemed to be doing exceptionally well, considering. She hugged her bucket of cleaning supplies and roses to her chest and carried them off with her.
Obito stayed behind to glare at Kakashi, thinking thoughts involving 'put the pig down or I won't kiss you ever again'. Sure, it was a little silly to be jealous of someone else's pet, but... but... the pig had been licking Kakashi and Kakashi had been hand-feeding the pig and... and... Kakashi hadn't even fed him recently. Obito folded his arms over his chest and waited.
As Shimenawa ushered Shizune off into the kitchen, Kakashi rose carefully, still hugging Tonton against his chest. He walked over to lay her down on the couch with a last scratch behind her ears, still smiling, and then turned back toward Obito; his tail swished around his legs as he walked over to tug at the other boy's arms until Obito unfolded them, and then the kitsune took hold of Obito's hand, leaning against him in a random hug. For some reason he was in a really good mood all of a sudden.
It took Obito a moment, but eventually the want to cuddle Kakashi close overwhelmed his instinctive need to be stubborn and he wrapped his arms firmly around the kitsune.
"...I'm still your favorite, right?" he asked with a hint of a pout, nuzzling Kakashi's neck.
"You're my Obito," Kakashi said happily, holding the other boy tighter for a moment. He curled his tail around one of Obito's legs until they let go.
In the kitchen, Shimenawa had laid out a dinner worthy of Christmas Eve; Shizune's cakes and pies and cookies joined a spread of roast turkey, stuffing, salad and casserole, mashed potatoes with gravy, steamed vegetables, and fresh bread straight from the oven. It probably hadn't been the best idea to put the cakes and pies and such out with the rest of the food, because it took Shizune physically swatting the boys' hands away from the desserts every five minutes (with truly impressive accuracy even by ninja standards) until they ate all of their vegetables. Certain hands were sneaking Tonton bites of vegetables, which didn't escape the fearsomely attentive secretary and she responded by simply piling on more healthy goodness onto the boys' plates. Other than that, dinner was like a page out of a cheesy family movie, with pleasant conversation and good food and good company and a pig. Shizune almost managed to forget that Kakashi had a tail swishing around behind him.
Once everyone had eaten their fill, Shizune made Kakashi clear the table and Obito wash the dishes because, honestly, they were grown boys and Shimenawa-sensei needed a break.
"Shimenawa-sensei?" she asked lightly as she went ahead and began to brew some tea for them, "Would you mind telling me more about the lucky man and, ah, your special circumstances over tea in the living room?"
Tonton was following Kakashi around, now and again stepping on his feet as she tried to get him to hold her. The kitsune crouched to pick her up before too long with a pleased expression, cuddling the little pig as he carried her off into the back of the house.
"Sure," Shimenawa replied, smiling as he filled up a vase with water at the kitchen sink. He'd taken it upon himself to look after the bouquet of roses.
Obito almost broke the remaining plates trying to wash them quickly enough to follow Kakashi to make sure his boyfriend wasn't going to cheat on him with Shizune's pet pig or something like that, resolutely deciding he would get Tonton away from Kakashi and then ravish the kitsune silly or something like that. Maybe on Sensei's exam table. Hm. He scampered off, the last few dishes not quite completely rinsed.
"Huh," Shizune smiled faintly after them, "I wonder if we're the ones who need the privacy or them."
Shimenawa grinned, going just a little flushed as he adjusted the roses in their vase and walked over to place them on the kitchen table (but not in the center; they were Shizune's, not his, after all). "A little of both, perhaps?" he speculated slightly abashedly.
"Seems like Kakashi and your pig are getting along," the doctor observed after a moment, expression turning amused.
"It's surprising," Shizune nodded, looking thoughtful, "Tonton doesn't usually like strangers. Most of the time she won't even let me put her down in public." She shrugged and poured both of them crysthanthemum tea, lightly sweetened, then offered Shimenawa a mug.
"Maybe it's a kitsune thing?" ...had she really just said that? She almost wanted to repeat herself, just to see if she would sound any less stupid the second time.
"Could be." Shimenawa sounded embarrassed again as he accepted the proffered tea, turning so the pair of them could head back into the living room.
"Er... again, I'm sorry about the shock," he said as they sat down. "You're all right... right?" He gave a single embarrassed laugh. "I guess it's not something we give much thought to anymore, we're just used to it."
"It's just... hard to believe, I guess," Shizune laughed back with a small smile, shrugging, "Right in front of my eyes and yet... I don't know. I've always thought of myself as a little strange, running around after Tsunade-sensei, having a pet pig... But really. I haven't believed in magic or kitsune or any of those stories since I was just a little girl." She paused to sip her tea, looking a little nostalgic.
"How did he come to live with you, Shimenawa-sensei? Don't the legends say they're forest creatures?"
"Well..." Shimenawa looked thoughtfully down into his mug, trying to decide how much to say about the whole incredibly awkward series of events. "It's a long story... Basically he's just very attached to Obito; he goes where Obito goes, and Obito came around here." The doctor smiled a little embarrassedly. "It's just as well though, I think... Given that he's a magical creature and all and he managed to grow up all the way to adulthood without getting himself killed, but it's a little worrisome thinking of him running around on his own without supervision, all the same." He felt a brief pang as he said it, a memory of a time when Kakashi had been a very different person; but there was no going back anymore. He'd mostly gotten over it by now.
Still, sometimes he missed the days when his hugs and hair-ruffling were returned only with an adorable scowl.
"I understand the feeling," Shizune nodded, having noticed that Kakashi was not entirely all there in the head the first time she met him. It was one of those things that was hard to miss. She couldn't begin to guess what had happened to Kakashi to make him the way he was, but it was really none of her business. The boy had been right, after all. All she was really here to do was clean and help out where she could.
"How is the, ah..." she began instead, pausing to make a vague gesture as she tried to remember Kumo's name, "Ah... Sakumo-san, was it?"
"Kumo," Shimenawa confirmed with a nod. He smiled again, still looking a little abashed as he glanced away.
"Um, he's doing... pretty good, I think. Like I said, I'm not sure exactly what he's up to right now..." The doctor gave a short laugh. "It's not unusual for him to disappear on me, though. He's sort of the restless type. He's traveled all over."
"...disappear on you?" Shizune suddenly frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. A mildly alarming expression of contemplating the pros and cons of throttling Kumo the next time she saw him crossed the normally happy and well adjusted secretary's face. Very little upset Shizune more than someone who would go off without notice, especially when they had someone as sweet and wonderful as Shimenawa waiting at home, wondering where he was.
"He should at least tell you where he's going," she continued darkly, a sort of gloom settling itself over her as she spoke. Something in the back of her head was mumbling Tsunade's name over and over again. "It's rude and inconsiderate not to tell people who care about you where you're going. Otherwise they sit home and worry about you and then you never call and before they know it they've re-carpeted your apartment with cookies--"
She stopped abruptly, nearly jumping, as Shimenawa lightly laid a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't worry about Kumo. I trust him." The doctor smiled, soft and serene. "He always comes back."
He paused for a moment, expression sobering.
"But... are you all right?"
"M-me?" Shizune stammered, looking a little embarrassed at her little outburst, "Ah, well... I... I'm fine, I suppose. It's nothing, really. Nothing to bother your boss about, I mean..." She looked a little pink in the cheeks as she shrugged, toying absently with her short hair.
"I guess... well, I have someone who disappears on me too," Shizune explained in a roundabout way, feeling it wasn't fair to not say anything after worrying Shimenawa like that but not really wanting to get into the awkward arrangement she had with Tsunade with her new employer. "She's a little less reliable than Kumo-san."
"I see." Shimenawa smiled again, looking sympathetic and a little awkward. He wanted to ask her more, but she looked a little uncomfortable, and it wasn't as if it was really his business to pry into...
"Probably a stupid question, but..." He grinned abashedly and scratched at his head for a moment. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"Giving me a regular job is help enough," Shizune smiled with a small shake of her head, "It's been this way a long time. I'll be okay." She paused a moment, looking thoughtful, before she reached over and placed her hand on Shimenawa's.
"You're a good man, Shimenawa-sensei. I'm sure things will work themselves out for you," she offered encouragingly before she collected her things into her lap. "I should let you three enjoy the rest of your Christmas Eve. I'll see you when the clinic is open again?"
"I--" Shimenawa blinked, a little surprised at the sudden change in tone; he took a deep breath and nodded a little, trying not to look worried. "...Um... sure. Thanks for coming by... It's been nice having you."
He set his tea down on the coffee table and slid his hands into his pants pockets as he rose from the couch. "Shall I see you out?"
"Thank you for having me," she nodded politely as she stood as well, "Especially since I haven't been working for you very long." She paused briefly to turn to the side and call out Tonton's name. It took a third try before the soft clatter of little hoofbeats filled the kitchen and the piglet found its way back to Shizune, looking rather depressed at having to leave. She let Shimenawa escort her to the door, Tonton sadly following at her heels.
"Have a wonderful Christmas, Shimenawa-sensei," she added as she stepped out the door, turning to give him another bright smile. Then she waved goodbye and was off, on her way down the street again, looking awfully lonely and small clutching her bucket of cleaning supplies to her chest, a morose little piglet following in her shadow.
"Merry Christmas!" Shimenawa called after her, and then a moment later--
"Wait--you forgot your roses!"
But she was already too far away.