Hanare smiled a big grin that Kakashi wasn't sure he'd seen before - it rounded her cheeks and made her eyes narrow at the corners.
"Excellent," she said brightly. "Where should I put my things?" She reached over and put graceful fingertips on the handle of her suitcase. The kimono sleeve revealed her forearm. Kakashi remembered that - her small wrists, the build that looked delicate yet felt strong enough when he fell on top of her…
"Kakashi?" Hanare was looking at him expectantly. He blinked, trying to recall her question, and scratched his head. "Ah - do you have a preference where I keep my things?" she repeated, smiling.
"No," Kakashi said, shrugging. "Anywhere's fine."
Hanare hesitated, then picked up her suitcase from the table and turned to survey the house. She took it all in quickly, then headed toward the bedroom.
"Hey…" Kakashi said, realizing where she was going. He followed her. Peeking around the corner of his bedroom door, he saw Hanare with her suitcase already open on his bed. She was putting her clothes into one of his drawers. Damn, she's fast. Her movements were brisk and businesslike.
"So, what's on our afternoon agenda?" she said without looking up from what she was doing.
Kakashi blinked. "... Our agenda?"
"Yes. What are we doing?" Hanare looked up and smiled.
Kakashi leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed. "Well, I was going to go for a walk in the park, with my ninken, and it's mah jong night so… "
"Oh, I love dogs!" Hanare exclaimed. "And it's the perfect time of year for light walking." She pulled out something suspicious looking - light blue and silky - from the suitcase and put it in the drawer. Kakashi wondered what it was. Hanare snapped the empty suitcase shut and knelt so she could slide it under his bed.
"I'm not used to having company," Kakashi said. Hanare stood up and faced him.
"Are you the old-fashioned type, Kakashi? Would you rather me stay here and fix dinner and clean while you go out? I'd be happy to. I don't want to intrude."
Cooking and cleaning? That didn't sound bad either, honestly. But it didn't seem quite right. Kakashi put a hand on his chin and considered. Who knew that living with someone included such difficult decisions… and Hanare had only been there for ten minutes! She was smiling patiently at him.
Kakashi cleared his throat. "Why don't you come with me, and we can figure out cooking and cleaning while we walk. I'm used to doing all that for myself," Kakashi said, with a touch of pride.
"You keep it very nice here," Hanare acknowledged. "And that sounds like a lovely plan. Do you mind waiting a moment?" She blushed a little and looked down.
"Huh?" Kakashi said.
"I'd like to change clothes and use the restroom. I was in a hurry on my way here and it would be nice to freshen up…"
"Oh, right." Kakashi scratched the back of his head. "Excuse me, I'll just wait out here." He pointed toward the living room and disappeared around the corner.
Hanare opened the drawer and took out a clean skirt and top. She undid her kimono, and found an empty hanger in Kakashi's closet to put it on. Luckily she hadn't sweated on it too much during her travels, and her undergarments were still fine so she just left them on and slipped into the fresh outfit. Then she headed down the short hall to the bathroom.
Out in the living room Kakashi was reading the paper… except he wasn't reading so much as just staring blankly at the page. The characters all seemed to blur together. He couldn't focus because everything felt different: the house, the air, his chair, his body - everything. How could simply having another person around provoke such a sudden and palpable change? It was mystifying…
"Thank you for waiting." Kakashi startled slightly at the sound of Hanare's voice, unused to being roused from his inner thoughts. He glanced up from the newspaper… and stared.
Hanare had changed into a plain dark blue skirt that went down past her knees, and a pale pink shirt-sweater-blouse… thing… that had a big turtleneck collar. That was all nice and fine but what really caught Kakashi's eye was her hair. It had been braided when she arrived, but now she'd put it down and it fell around her face and shoulders in waves.
"I… I'm ready to go," Hanare said, her cheeks pink. She glanced at him and pushed a stray piece of hair out of her face. Kakashi realized he'd been looking at her in silence. That was rude…
Kakashi stood up quickly and went to the door. Hanare followed quietly. He held the door open and as she stepped out onto the porch, Kakashi noticed she wore ninja sandals. He closed up the house and stuffed his hands in his pockets as he turned toward the road. Hanare fell into step beside him.