Iruka wakes me at a quarter past 6. I'm slightly groggy but no where near as exhausted as I was earlier. After neatly organizing my newly purchased attire, I don a pair of navy pants and a plum colored t-shirt. I want to make a decent impression at dinner without seeming like I'm trying too hard.
Working my fingers through the knots in my hair, I pass Iruka in the hall on my way to the bathroom.
"Ah, you look nice." Pink tinges his cheeks.
"You look comfortable." He's exchanged his regular uniform sans jacket from today with a light grey pair of pants and a black t-shirt. He doesn't look like a bum, but definitely relaxed. The tension from our earlier interaction has faded from his shoulders.
"Haha, yeah. Dinner with Yukiko isn't anything fancy, but I still like to be presentable. She's practically family by now."
Tap, tap, tap. "Must be Kakashi." He shoots me an apologetic smile before moving to answer the door. Figuring I can wait him out a little longer, I shut myself in the bathroom and attempt to sort out my hair. I really should just chop it all off, but the upkeep is tiresome. As fast as it grows, I'd have to cut my hair once a week to keep it short enough to stay out of my way or just leave it long enough to pull back out of my face.
Ten minutes later, I'm finally satisfied with the girl in the mirror. My hair is pulled into a tidy braid—no stray curls escape. Well, not yet. I can hear Iruka laughing with Hatake. Note to self: figure out what sort of relationship those two have. I don't necessarily have a problem with this, but it'd be good to have some idea of how likely it is for me to find myself around Kakashi Hatake and how often. Double checking the placement of my mask, I make my way into the living room. I haven't quite figured out how this is going to go tonight so that I don't expose my face to anyone else yet.
"—believe you sucked Genma into this." The low rumblings of Hatake's voice make my skin prickle. Wracking my brain for any information of a "Genma," I find myself coming up short.
"He owes me a favor, I just felt it was time to cash it in." Must be someone Iruka works with. Or a friend I've yet to meet. No doubt a fellow shinibi considering the connection to these two. The boys are seated at the bar top again.
"Ah, so you're not skipping dinner then?" Hatake raises his visible eyebrow at me. Barely two steps into the room and he's already starting in on me.
"Can't have you scaring me off from a good meal now, can I?" I shoot back. He hasn't changed his attire since leaving this afternoon. Mission ready even for dinner. Probably some intimidation tactic.
Iruka tries to dispel any tension before it can begin. "We should probably head down now that you're finished getting ready. It's close enough to 7 and I usually show up a few minutes early."
Dropping onto the couch to pull on my boots, I'm surprised to find the shadow of Kakashi Hatake looming over me in an instant. He smells of citrus and rainwater. "Mei?" I throw my eyes up to meet his cautiously. What's he want now? Iruka is waiting anxiously by the door. "I really do think we got off on the wrong foot earlier. I'd like to start again if that's alright." There's a sincerity in his voice. Maybe I had him pegged wrong. He offers his hand to me, never breaking eye contact. "Kakashi Hatake. Nice to meet you." If I couldn't hear the smile in his voice, I can see it in the crinkle of his eye.
"Mei, last name unknown. Nice to meet you," I say as I take his hand. His skin is soft, far softer than I expected of a shinobi of his caliber. My own hands are slightly callused and I've never seen much of a real battle before. We follow Iruka down to Yukiko's door.
"Ru!" The older woman has the door open and Iruka engulfed in her arms before I've made it off the stairs. THWACK. Did she just hit him? "That's for scaring me earlier." Iruka rubs his shoulder with a wince.
"Scaring you? I've barely seen you today!"
"Exactly!" She huffs and gestures to me. "I saw this lovely young woman come down the stairs and thought you had up and gone without saying a word to me. How could you not tell me you were getting a roommate?" Hatake—no, Kakashi, chuckles beside me.
He nudges me with his shoulder. "You'd best go introduce yourself. She can lecture for hours."
It's the least I can do for Iruka. "It's nice to see you again, ma'am." Sure enough, she stops mid-lecture and suddenly I'm being dragged toward her for a bone-crushing embrace of my own. How is she so fast?
"I'm so glad to see you again, child." She pulls back and a soft smile spreads across her face. "My name is Yukiko, but you may call me Yūki," she says with a wink. "Forgive me, I don't believe I caught your name this morning."
"It's Mei." I smile, hoping my eyes will convey the genuine happiness I feel. I can't remember the last time I received a hug.
"What am I, chopped liver?" Kakashi dips in with his arms raised expectantly. Yukiko gives him a scornful side-eye before crossing her arms.
"The day you put down that smut you call literature for good is the day you'll get a hug from me." I can't help the snort that escapes. Just because I'm playing nice with Kakashi, doesn't mean I can't enjoy him being reprimanded.
"Come in, children. I've got curry on the stove." She lets Iruka pass into her apartment, but stops Kakashi and me before we can enter. "You," she pokes Kakashi, "can explain the rules of the household to her," she finishes, pointing at me. The door shuts behind her, leaving me alone with Kakashi.
"Rules of the household?" I ask.
"Yeah," he drags. "She has a couple of basic rules like anyone does for their homes." Why didn't Iruka say something about this earlier? "I just so happen to have broken several of those rules in the past." Ah, there it is.
"Well?"
"Oh you know, the usual stuff. No shoes in the house. No fighting inside. No masks."
"What do you mean no masks?" My nerves just skyrocketed. I may not have had a plan for eating, but I wanted removing my mask to be on my terms.
"There's a reason for it, but it isn't my place to tell." My eyes dart back to the stairs. For just a moment, I consider bailing on this. I had honestly only planned on having to remove my mask to eat. As if sensing my internal struggle, he places a hand on my elbow and pulls me out of my thoughts.
"I understand better than anyone how difficult it may be for you to show your face to anyone, let alone strangers. No one will judge you if you decide to leave." He cracks the door open. "Take a few moments and decide." Kakashi vanishes from sight and the door clicks shut.
If the rules are real, that means Kakashi has already removed his mask. I won't have to make the first move. Then again, I'll be revealing myself to an elite shinobi and a total stranger. Iruka has seen my face, but that was only out of necessity. My hand rests on the doorknob. I only started wearing this mask to conceal my identity when I travelled. When ninja started picking up on my training at the hidden villages, I started being followed. If this is going to be my home, I need to let go of that safety net and the fears it protects me from.
Here goes nothin. I take a deep breath and push the door open. Yukiko's apartment looks just like ours, but her walls are a dusty shade of pink. The paint compliments the rich earth tones of her furniture. I lean against the door and slowly start unlacing my boots, buying myself some time and working up the nerve to remove my mask. With my boots placed neatly next to the others' shoes, I slowly lift my gaze to the kitchen.
Yukiko is watching me carefully while she stirs a large pot, the curry, I assume. A small square table sits on the other side of the counter where there is empty space in our own apartment. Iruka sits with his back to me, but turns to give me an encouraging smile.
As I lift a finger to the edge of my mask, my eyes lock with Kakahi's. He's removed both his headband and his mask, revealing a narrow scar running from the top of his left eyebrow across a closed eye to the middle of his cheek. His skin is otherwise unmarred, save for a small mole on the same side near his jawline. Timidly, I begin to pull of my mask. I watch the corner of his lips turn up in to soft smile as inch by inch of my skin is exposed.
Tucking my mask into my pocket, I cross the room and drop into the open seat placing Iruka on my left and Kakashi on my right.
"You can all stop staring at me as if I'm a spooked rabbit." My voice cracks. Clearing my throat, "if I were going to run, I'd have done it by now."
"Well, I'm glad you didn't." Yukiko passes plates of curry and rice to each of us before taking her seat opposite of me. Iruka sets a comfortable tone by telling us of his day—apparently, Naruto has been conspiring with some of his students and rigging pranks in his classroom. The first hurdle of removing my mask seems so far away now. Settling into the warmth of Yuriko's home, I savor the warm, spiced curry, and listen to the conversation as it passes around the table, chiming in when I can. Yeah, I could get used to this.