Chapter 9
Not long passed until Anomie's short rest ended and she ended up showing up to Anbu headcounters and went straight for her locker, making no hesitation to begin getting dressed in as little of the uniform as possible. Her arms were fitted with long, plated gloves that stopped just below the Anbu tattoo. She thought about wrapping a bandage around her upper arms but slowly decided on just one.
She wasted no time to put on a skintight black suit with a grey flack jacket over it. By the time someone actually walked in, she had already slipped on her strapped boots that went past her knees. Her eyes slightly widened for a split second as she stared at Kakashi who came in, basket in hand with the Anbu uniform and mask on top.
She thought back to the moment where he saw her cry, and she glanced down, strapping her boots as she tried to ignore the surge of humiliation that rushed through small form. She was not one to cry in front of herself, let alone anyone else.
For the first time, she began to hate the coed locker room.
She glanced back up towards his basket, seeing a mask that was of a dog and she found herself slightly smiling, finding that it oddly enough fit him. She wasn't sure why it fit him, but something about him began to remind her of a puppy. He was a slightly stupid puppy, but a puppy nonetheless.
"What are you smirking at?" Kakashi asked as he glanced at the girl from the corner of his eyes. She shrugged, her expression dying out.
Kakashi was also slightly humiliated to have been caught in a weak position just two days prior, and was glad that the girl had just as much pride so as to not bring it up. He was slightly surprised to see she had been in Anbu, as his mind flashed back to the broken and injured girl of two years ago, who had no training and no fighting ability.
Now, he could practically feel her Chakra like that of a beacon, echoing all around her. He supposed he couldn't be too surprised, considering he never actually knew much about her other than she lived with Rin and bought him porn and was a bit of a bitch.
"Are you the one on team Ro?" She asked, breaking him out of his curious thoughts about porn.
"Hm," he agreed simply, and he read in between the lines that she would be on said team, but he didn't say anything about it.
"I'm Koneko." She introduced, putting on her mask that was, of course, a cat. Her codename might have once made him laugh, but his lips didn't so much as twitch.
"Koinu," he stated with a frown and he saw her hold onto her mask as she tilted her head to the side.
"Saru give you the name?" She asked, her voice calm with just a hint of amusement. He nodded, watching as she shook her head and strapped the porcelain mask onto her face. "I think it's because we're so young."
He knew he was only a year younger than her, but it shouldn't have meant everything in Anbu society in the long run. He, however, was the son of the White Fang and a prodigy since he was a toddler. Anomie had nothing to back up her name. She appeared out of nowhere with a map of sensitive coordinates and attack plans before rising up the ranks without even being a Genin or having a Hitai-ate.
Kakashi had to admit, in her own way, she was probably a prodigy as well.
"Well, luckily Saru is not on team Ro," she stated simply, just as a half naked man entered the locker room with nothing but the bottom half of his uniform and an Anbu mask in the shape of a bear, which oddly fit as even the man's abs had abs.
"Neko-chan!" Came the bear's greeting as he threw his half naked arms around Anomie's smaller form. Her mask blocked any expression, but Kakashi could only guess that she didn't care by the way her posture remained so loose and without a single hesitation.
"But I suppose luck is in the eye of the beholder," came Anomie's murmur that echoed in her porcelain mask.
"You must be Koinu-chan," the bear masked man made a motion to hug him too, but Kakashi flash stepped out of his way without a single expression just as the bear hugged nothing.
Anomie shook her head, standing up with a hop as she turned towards Kakashi. She gave an almost mocking salute before she walked out of the room just as Kakashi began to change into his Anbu uniform.
"I'm Tadashi, and I'll be the captain for our missions for a while," the bear stated, and Kakashi noticed that the previous good natured humor was gone the moment Anomie left. "I want no mistakes while I am in charge." Tadashi put on the rest of his uniform by the time Kakashi already finished his. "But I've heard about you, Kakashi the friend killer." Kakashi's body stiffened and he felt his fists clench at his side as Tadashi came next to him. "The village and the mission should come first. I am glad someone else realizes that." The large man made motion to tap Kakashi's shoulder, but a hand shot out and stopped it in midair.
"Tadashi, we should go and prepare to leave before it gets too late," Anomie's voice was calm, and there was no hesitation or wavering as she tilted her head. A bit of white hair, wrapped tightly in a braid, fell over her shoulder.
"Yes, yes, kitty cat," Tadashi laughed, patting both their heads before walking out with a good-natured hum.
Anomie let out a surprisingly cat like hiss. "He's an idiot, but he's a good fighter."
Kakashi didn't say anything and just watched as Anomie unlocked her locker and took out a rather familiar looking medallion and placed it on her pocket. She glanced his way when she felt his stare, knowing he saw it.
"Rin made a good luck charm for all of us," she stated and watched as Kakashi's gaze hardened before he covered his face with his Anbu mask and stood straighter. She shrugged and followed him out.
Anomie sighed, playing with the hem of her jacket as she followed closely behind Kakashi. She was a little apprehensive about going on a mission with him and she adamantly believed that it would be a bad idea as she didn't condone missions with people who once knew prior to Anbu or outside Anbu. It builds bias and can compromise the mission, but it wasn't like she could tell that to the Hokage.
It also didn't help that she had no doubt or confidence on a mission to the standards of Kakashi. She wasn't accepted in the ranks of Anbu because she was strong, but rather because she was dangerous. She had no illusion of the truth and she knew that she could end up accidentally killing someone so she couldn't be around civilians who didn't know how to protect themselves.
She trained everyday to make up for what she lacked because half of her still rejected the idea of being a fighter, but the bigger portion of her mind could still remember the feeling of killing someone who deserved it. She could remember the feeling of killing someone who could hurt another. She wanted to kill Konoha's enemies, and if she had to become the thing that she hated and if she had to give up her life to do it, she would become stronger...
...so there were no more people, good people, kind people, who were subjugated to death that they didn't deserve.
Anomie tilted her head to the side, watching as Kakashi's tense back straightened as they entered the Hokage's room. Minato was piled over documents, his brows furrowed with dark bags beneath them as his eyes trailed along one of the many papers. Obviously the duties of a Hokage's life were not as glamorous as one could imagine when they ran about the village screaming about their dream to become Hokage.
The moment team Ro walked in, Minato perked up, casting his eyes away from the workload as he met eyes with all three of them, lingering the longest on Kakashi. His lips formed into a gentle smile, but his eyes were still hard and professional.
"I'm glad you've all had your introductions," Minato said, leaning back in his chair. "Your mission is one of importance for the effort of ending this war. The peace treaty is signed and, legally, agreed on, but there are still ninja who can't let go of the seeds of war. The distrust is spread on Konoha's side, as well as Kumo, Kiri, and Iwa. As the fourth Hokage, I can't let this go any further before it escalates into something I can't control. We've worked hard for this peace to happen, your job is to make it stay."
The three Anbu members nodded their heads, waiting for the leader to finish.
"During the war, many children, men, and women lost their lives fighting against the other nations, and, as expected, many Konoha Shinobi weren't happy to hear of the peace. The terms were necessary, but they couldn't see that and in turn, some defected Konoha and announced their service of continuing the war without the support of the Leaf village. They call themselves Jiyū no Senshi (自由の戦士). Freedom fighters.
"The peace between the nations is delicate and a small spark will undoubtedly start a fire. I need you three to get rid of any trace of this band of rebels, using any means necessary." Minato's eyes were serious, free of any trace of kindness and the three Anbu bow in acceptance. "I need this matter to be a swift one and a quiet matter. The people will not take kindly if knowledge gets out that I am having Konoha Shinobi fight other Konoha Shinobi. The war has made the people agitated and distrustful, and right now, the idea of war is all they know. We need to make them accept peace."
Minato almost looked reluctant to make the order.
"Completely wipe away any drop of this Jiyū no Senshi. I need it to look like they never so much as existed."
Anomie had no problem in doing this since she wanted this senseless war to end as much as anyone.
If all her abilities were good for was killing, then she was happy to dedicate them for that purpose.
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It took three days and two nights to find the Konoha defectors. In that time, little talking took place except for Tadashi's mindless chatter. Said chatter was of things of little importance, but Anomie was impressed that absolutely nothing that Tadashi spoke about gave way to a single thing about Tadashi's character.
She thought that after the second day, he would realize that neither Anomie or Kakashi had any desire to speak, but nothing of the sort came to pass and by the third day, the man kept talking. Sometimes he said things of importance, such as strategies and tactics, so the other two couldn't completely tone him out.
By the end of the third day, Kakashi's hounds ran the rebels down just as the sun began to set far below the trees. In a way, Kakashi managed to give the feel of a leader far more than Tadashi causing the other two to unofficially follow Kakashi's instincts and suggestions.
Like usual, Anomie was the infiltrator and the silent death. Stationed outside the rebel camp, was thirteen guards, standing tall and surrounding the fairly large camp.
She jumped down from the trees, her body turning to smoke, as her Chakra turned undetectable.
One guard stood next to the trees, closest to where she had been and she let her immaterial body slowly enter his before he could fight her off.
Entering bodies was a skill she had been working on and perfecting, but she knew that she could keep it up for only so long until she was rejected from it. She forced the legs to move, and it felt odd to walk, like a trying to slug through quicksand.
In the next moment, when she was next to the other stationed guard, she let her Chakra flare out and connect with them until they were all controlled as well. She could only control 4 at a time, but the number would rise overtime.
She made a motion to grab for the man's kunai while all the others control mirrored her motions. She dug the blade into her own artery, feeling the pain for a mere instant until she exited the body and did the same for the next nine guards. It took roughly 3 minutes and once they were all dead, Kakashi and Tadashi had more than enough leeway to enter the camp while she let her immaterial form follow in quick speed, making sure to kill everyone before they could so much as use a Jutsu.
By the time everyone was dead and she returned to her original form and put on her Anbu uniform, Kakashi was already waiting for her next to the meet up point. He was uninjured and his mask, looking no different than it had three days ago, covered his face.
The two didn't speak and merely leaned against adjacent trees with mirrored crossed arms. Anomie wasn't one for idle chitchat, and she had a feeling that Kakashi was bothered with the idea of speaking after aiding in killing 92 ex-Konoha Shinobi. She didn't particularly care about the deaths of people who couldn't let go of war, so she wasn't actually as bothered as she probably should have been.
It wasn't until she saw Kakashi stiffen that she tensed. "What?" She asked, and he glanced around, his body in attack formation, darting out of the way just as a barrage of kunai hit the space his feet once occupied. Anomie back flipped, her feet hitting the tree as she righted her body.
She wasn't a sensor and the Anbu were still working on her Chakra detecting abilities, so she looked to Kakashi to know where the enemies had taken placement. He made a couple hand motions, causing her to nod as she leapt out of the trees and back flipped out of the way of another barrage of kunai.
She felt Kakashi flicker next to her, and place a hand on her shoulder. She glanced his way, seeing his Anbu mask and uniform look stiff under his tense form. "How many?" She asked as he shoved her out of the way of a sudden rush of fire.
Her lips twitched in amusement as her body flickered across the forest, just in time to get swept up in another barrage of flames.
Her body erupted in smoke, in mixed with the fire long enough to posses the unsuspecting enemy who had blown the flames. She of course couldn't have known that fire was the biggest mistake of Jutsu against Anomie.
Said smoke girl still had some issues about possessing bodies, as half the time it killed the host and this ended up the unlucky half as her host immediately fell to her knees just in time to for Anomie to exit the body and watch the girl's last breath before she fell to the forest ground.
Naked in the midst of flames was rather annoying, so Anomie henged into her Anbu uniform just as she watched Kakashi finish off the other ninja.
"All dead?" She asked, and watched as Kakashi stiffly nodded. "I think we should get back." Because the fact remained that Anomie was naked, henge or not, and her clothes were currently burned to a crisp.
She swiftly decided that she had to figure out a way around this obvious design flaw in her Jutsu.
"Tadashi is in the vicinity," Kakashi muttered, and just in time, the bear jumped next to them without a single waver in breath or scratch or drop of blood on his clothes.
"Hey, Neko-chan...are you naked?" Tadashi immediately asked, recognizing the Chakra shrouding the henge as he wrapped a nonchalant arm around her shoulders. The action reminded her distantly of Genma, and the thought filled her with similar disdain.
She decided not to answer for lack of a decent or witty reply.
She did like how he decided to focus on a naked woman instead of the dead body by their feet. Priorities for him were obviously set.
"I should inspect you for injuries," Tadashi said, oddly serious. "Remove the henge."
"You're funny," she deadpanned, escaping his grasp as she jumped onto a thick branch. Kakashi jumped next to her, handing her a scroll which she accepted easily as it was one of the many she had him hold in case this happened.
She unsealed it and out popped an extra pair of clothes, which she slipped on over the henge. Once they were on, she released the Jutsu with a scowl from underneath her mask.
"Lets get back," she murmured simply, happy that at least Kakashi didn't say anything despite her loss of dignity.
She had a lot of thinking to do.
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It wasn't until she was bathing in the bathhouse when she met Jiraiya again.
"I'd tell you to leave, but I have a feeling you'll be back inside before I even have enough time to dress." Anomie's voice was wry and revealed even less than her face as she stood with arms crossed while she watched Jiraiya suddenly tense in a stiff and straight posture as he looked up from his peephole.
"An-chan," he greeted, trying to appear nonchalant as they found themselves in the same position as it had been a year prior. "This isn't what it looks like."
Obviously he remembered the horrid displeasure of their last meeting, where Anomie nonchalantly informed the head mistress of his peeping. Ironically, she hadn't seen Jiraiya since.
"I'm sure," she stated dryly, taking a step closer before tilting her head to the side. "I'm actually glad I ran into you-"
He looked much too proud as he straightened and placed his pointer and thumb in an arrogant 'V' shape underneath his chin. "I am the great Jiraiya: The Toad Sa-"
"I don't care." She interrupted, flatly placing her palm up in the air.
"You never let me finish."
"Anyway, I need your help."
"My services to you were a one time thing. I don't teach kids anymore. I've retired to dedicate my mind to the creative workings of art and literature."
"Do you ever get tired of all the bullshit you sprout?"
"It's not all bullshit," Jiraiya defended, although his doubt was clear in his voice.
"I bet half the things you watch unfold in your peeping doesn't even make it in your books," she continued, lazily leaning her shoulder against the walls of the onsen.
"About 60%..." Jiraiya admitted, and Anomie was slightly impressed at his blunt honesty.
"Anyway. I need your help. I heard and seen that your Fūinjutsu isn't so bad, and I have a problem," she said, and saw him slightly frown, obviously remembering that her last problem with a seal had roped him into training her for two weeks. "It's a minor annoyance that can cost me my life in the long run if it goes unchecked."
He sighed, slumping against a rock with his chin in his palms while his elbows rested on his thighs. "What?" His voice sounded so dejected that her lips almost twitched in a wry smile.
"My smoke Kekkei Genkai is activating a bit less than usual thanks to your tutelage, but it is rather difficult to work around in battle because everything I have attached on me becomes useless in the long run. There will be times when I run out of Chakra and will have to resort to weapons, but I can't carry weapons."
"Try a sealing scroll," he suggested unhelpfully.
"I tried that, but getting to it in time is a hassle, so I was thinking about a sealing scroll on a more accessible level."
"Accessible how?
"On my body, sealed into my skin or bones."
"That's an interesting concept and in theory, it would work. There are many seals that can be placed on the body, but I have never heard of sealing scrolls being transferred over to skin."
"I was going to test out a bunch of different designs this afternoon. I figured it was fate to run into you now."
Jiraiya sighed, "I suppose that having someone so untrained in sealing arts test their own body would be very dangerous."
"I knew you'd understand. I was thinking getting a couple of sealing tattoos on my body. I already know where I want them, as a place accessible would be nice. I want at least six for clothes and six for weapons."
"Sealing weapons in your body can go very wrong."
"You can see why I'd want your help then."
"This is going to suck..."
"If you'd rather I go tell the mistress you're here," Anomie made a motion to turn around, but Jiraiya was in front of her in an instant with a panic filled face.
"Come on...An-chan," Jiraiya almost looked worried, which was a rather nice look for him. Anomie for once didn't care if he peeped or who he peeped on, but blackmail was blackmail and beggars can't be choosers.
"We're friends, aren't we, Jiraiya-san?" She asked, getting close enough to place her hand on his shoulder. She was much shorter, so it felt slightly odd, but the point got across when he realized he was being manipulated.
"You have absolutely no honor."
The world isn't kind to people who play nice. Instead of saying that she shrugged. "I don't think you're in the position to question my honor, Jiraiya-san."
He sighed, looking as if he lost a battle.
"Honor aside, you're growing into quite the voluptuous woman, Anomie-chan," Jiraiya grinned, placing his hand on her head and ruffling her hair as if she were a child, which really contradicted his words.
"You realize I'm 16...right?" Her voice didn't sound particularly bothered.
He laughed like a maniac, his chest rumbling as he did. "Well, two years is not so long a wait."
She didn't know what to say to that, so she decided to merely shrug.
"Is the seal I gave you helping you control your Kekkei Genkai?" Jiraiya's sudden changes of tone always managed to catch her off guard as she met his serious gaze. She fingered the imprint of the seal on her stomach with an absentminded touch.
The seal that had been on her arm had been a complex Chakra suppresser that narrowed her coils to the point where using Chakra was impossible, but the side effect was that Chakra had been built up and growing inside with no release for the greater part of her life. She had been told she was lucky to be alive and if she left the seal on any longer, her Chakra coils would have burst.
When she had removed the seal and Jiraiya had undone the remaining Chakra inside it, her Chakra coils were massive and she had stores of Chakra that replenished in minimal time.
She could only guess that her mother must of put the Jutsu on her body in attempts to stop her from being able to have the necessary Chakra to use her Kekkei Genkai. Her mother obviously died before more explanation on the matter and that left Anomie with no idea why or how she had her abilities. She didn't know who her family even was, especially since she never had a surname and she made 'Kougin' up on the spot so as to avoid unnecessary conversation.
Jiraiya's new seal was much less dangerous, and it was made purely of his elemental Chakra to bind her body and Chakra so as to control it better and keep her from randomly combusting in smoke. Or even worse, randomly killing someone. It could only do so much, and there were still the occasional accidents because of her large Chakra reserves, but for the most part she was safe in that respect.
"It's working as well as you said it would," she finally answered and he nodded, his gaze looking smug for a moment.
"Well, I suppose I should help you with your body," he stated, and immediately looked like he regretted it when Anomie raised a single thin eyebrow. "Body seals! Storage...oh forget it."
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By the time Anomie finally lugged her body back to her apartment, she found her heart slightly tug as she stood alone in the empty, darkly lit room. She didn't usually stay long, and her routine had fell into a cycle of missions and training until she hardly remembered to eat most days. Sleeping was something she had always managed to squeeze into her schedule, but she always got the bare minimum before she trained.
That being said, personal possessions were non-existent in every nook of the room. She had all the necessities, but no personal touch. It wasn't something she normally took notice to, but for some unknown reason, her eyes gazed upon the dark room with slight nostalgia as she walked to the kitchen portion of the room to poor a glass of water.
The only sound she focused on was the drip of water in a cup before she slowly raised it to her lips and let the silence deafen her as she closed her eyes and slumped on the ground, realizing that she lacked any chairs or place to sit that wasn't the bed.
She had never been one for personal possessions or special items that meant something to her, not in the Yūkaku house and not now, but with Rin she was surrounded in memories at every corner. Anomie had none now, and she slowly realized that it made the silence stretch through every corner.
The last mission she had was more than a week ago, and it was odd being off so long. She figured the Hokage thought to give his subordinates a break, but as she leaned with her back slumped against the cabinets under the sink it began to feel like a punishment.
Her hands were still sore from all the seals Jiraiya had her practice, and the seals took more Chakra than she expected so by the time the sun had begun to set she barely had the Chakra left to body flicker.
Her Chakra was depleted and her eyes sagged in exhaustion, but the silence was deafening in a way she hadn't felt before. Her stomach was rumbling for food, but she couldn't be bothered with the needs as she used the last of her Chakra to body flicker to her bed. Without another thought, her eyes closed and she felt consciousness and the colors of her grey apartment slowly fade to black.
»»⎯⎯⎯¤⎯⎯⎯««
It was only the feeling of someone shoving her shoulder that made her slumber, albeit it wasn't a deep one, come to an end. She didn't stiffen or jolt awake or slip into attack mode like many ninja who were faced with a random presence next to their bed in a locked apartment. She merely opened her eyes in a calm motion and allowed them to quickly adjust to the slightly brighter hue of darkness before she turned her head and saw the stoic and stiff form of Kakashi Hatake.
"You didn't answer your summons," he pointed out with crossed arms, glancing her way as she sat up from her bed. She had no blanket and her neatly made bed was practically unchanged, even after she slept in it for a couple hours. She still wore the outfit from before, which wasn't a bother since she was used to sleeping in the same outfit for missions.
"Summons?" She murmured, her voice so low that if not for Kakashi's impeccable hearing and the lack of any noise in the entire building, he doubted he would have heard her at all. "Hm." She stood up, her movements silent and swift, slightly reminding him that her skills were getting better.
"We have a mission," Kakashi replied, and she glanced his way as she made her way to the bathroom. She didn't get far, and his body tensed when he saw her form collapse to the ground, managing to still look poise even as her body gave out.
He was by her side fast enough to even startle him. "Are you injured?" He asked, as if that were the only reasonable explanation for her loss of footing.
She glanced up at him, and through the dim light of the window and her rare lack of a mask, he noticed she had bags under her eyes. Her cheeks had also grown a shadow from the loss of weight that he hadn't noticed in any of their missions. Now that he was looking at her in an outfit that wasn't her usual uniform, he noticed that her figure had loss much of its shape.
"It's nothing," her murmur was weak, and he immediately noticed that her Chakra was reduced by more than half. "What's the mission?"
His one visible eye narrowed, as she met his gaze straight on and unflinching. "Are you up for knowing?" With his growing experience and position, they both knew the meaning of his words. He could easily drop her from the team with paid leave, but looking at her now, he began to wonder if this was what he looked like on most days.
"Nothing a shower won't cure," she said, managing to keep her tone calm as she grabbed his hand, allowing him to help her up. The sound of her stomach rumbling made all her previous attempts to stay graceful, almost immediately fail.
Kakashi always had a difficult time understand what the girl was thinking, but the moment the sound practically bounced off the silent walls he saw a tiny frown begin to form on her lips. It was hard not to be slightly amused since he noticed she took a conscious effort to never show negative emotions.
He sighed, walking over to her fridge and opening it. He found nothing but a bottle of sake and, oddly enough, a straw. When he glanced back up at her with a raised brow, she looked oddly rueful, as if lamenting that her bad habits had been discovered.
"Seriously?" He asked, the amusement felt slightly foreign, but it escaped in his voice.
"I have food pills," she said, trying to regain her dignity as she straightened her posture and nonchalantly leaned up against the wall next to the bathroom door.
Kakashi placed his face into his palm, leaning against the refrigerator as he forced the words from his lips with obvious discomfort. "You need to eat." He never liked questioning other people's routines or getting involved with another person's problems, so forcing out the words ended up sounding more strained and annoyed than he expected.
She didn't look remotely offended, especially since he had suspicions that the girl didn't get angry at anything. This was rather refreshing since he was used to overly emotional people in his life and occasionally welcomed her dry humor that was occasionally childish.
"I suppose you're right," she mumbled, as walked to one of the cabinets next to his head. It was; of course, empty of anything but a bottle of food pills. When he saw them he almost groaned, forcing himself to grab them from her hands with a speed that made her slightly jump.
"I mean real food, Anomie. Living off food pills is dangerous," he said slowly, as if she were a child.
"I adjusted the dosage. It doesn't leave me too exhausted after three days," she stated, but sighed when she saw he didn't budge. "I suppose we should go to your place then and get cozy with a nice onigiri."
Obviously either not understanding the joke or not caring, he grabbed her wrist and body flickered. His apartment was ironically in the same building, one floor higher; which he suspected Minato had assigned purposefully in attempts to add familiarity in his life. He didn't believe the coincidence that her apartment's balcony could be directly below his.
"Honestly unnecessary," came her soft voice as they appeared in his kitchen. His apartment was bigger than hers and was remarkably less depressing.
"Shut up," he muttered, going into his fridge and pulling out an onigiri. She glanced at it for a moment before grabbing it and nibbling the tip as she wandered around his apartment. He sighed, watching her fingers trail against the small table next to the couch. He found himself watching as she flicked off a tiny bit of dust. It wasn't often that he saw actual emotions cross her face, so he found himself slightly annoyed when he saw obvious judgment flicker over her once complacent expression.
He shook his head, walking past her and laying against the couch in all his laziness with his arm over his face.
"What's this?" He heard her murmur before the tiniest sound of a book opening, filling his ears with the rattling of paper as she made no effort in concealing the sound of pages turning. His eyes immediately widened as he sat up and saw her using one hand to hold the small, blue book that had the tiniest signs of wear. "I thought you threw this away?" Her voice held the smallest traces of amusement that he was sure most people would have missed as she held the erotic novel in her hands.
"..."
"And look at that, the binding is creased. I thought you didn't read filth."
"I didn't read it."
He knew the excuse was flimsy, but his tone was clipped, if not embarrassed.
"It's okay. You are a growing boy," now her tone was riddled with wry amusement that anyone could have picked up on, and it only succeeded in pissing him off.
"Shut up."
"I understand you have your urges."
"Shut up." His voice was slightly stronger, but he couldn't fully block out his embarrassment as he walked over to her and attempted to nonchalantly grab his book.
"This is why I bought this for you," she continued, with no plans to stop as she took a step back and mockingly held the book out of his reach.
"Anomie."
"Now, now, this is natural behavior for boys your age. It's nothing to be embarrassed about," she was officially struggling not to smile, which, under any other circumstances he would have welcomed.
"Anomie," he reached for it again, sacrificing his dignity for the book he was nearly finished re-reading.
"Don't worry, Kakashi," she said, jumping back and taking a small bite of her onigiri as she flipped open the book to his page. "I won't tell anyone. It's your secret."
"Anomie," he was in front of her before she could blink, the book in hand until he realized just how close he had flickered towards her.
"I do believe there's a scene in there like this," she mused, her face unaffected by the closer proximity as she curled her fingers around the material of his flak jacket, just over his chest. Obviously, this was so he couldn't get away, but the very mentioning of the scene from the book made his head begin swarming with images.
"Anomie," he once more repeated.
She let out an uncharacteristic giggle as she took a tiny bit from her onigiri before stepping away.
"I'm very happy you actually found use for my gift," she murmured as she walked past him to the couch, sitting on the ground with her back to the rough cushions. He noticed she sounded almost genuine and he slipped the book into his pocket when she wasn't looking.
"I...skimmed it," his wounded pride made the sentence fall out in hesitance as he slumped against the spot near to her on the couch cushions. She didn't call out his lie and instead continued eating until the onigiri was gone. The quiet silence was peaceful and when he glanced over, he saw her head resting against the back of the couch as her breathing began to slow into a calm and soothing rhythm.
Her face was clear of amusement and emotion, and he found that it didn't look much different from her default expression. Even when she was sleeping, her posture never relaxed and her face never managed to give the impression of peace.
It was hard not to make the comparison to the girl and him, and for once he saw a glimpse of what Minato had been talking about. If this was what he looked like too, then it was no wonder people kept trying to ask him what was wrong. When the cat mask covered her, it was difficult to see that she was a human underneath.
Her body didn't move or so much as twitch when she slept, but he found his fingers lightly brushing against the pale skin of her cheek and down a couple strands of her white hair. It was out of its braids, which was a rare sight that his eye rested on as the morning sun began to finally brighten out his window.
The moment he tore his hand away and dropped it to his side he leaned his head back and closed his eyes in a mirror position to hers. Slowly he turned his head back towards her so his masked cheek was resting flat against the cushion and opened his eye before it widened when he saw her cheek against the very same cushion and staring at him.
Any other time he might of made an excuse, but he didn't bother as their gaze pierced through each other.
It was okay for now.
The silence wasn't as deafening as it once was and they both didn't dare to move.
Her gaze wasn't cold. It wasn't happy. It wasn't embarrassed. Although, it wasn't blank either. There was something there that he couldn't quite place, but he finally admitted that she wasn't as stoic as he had once assumed.
Ah. He found himself thinking and, as if she came to the same realization, her lips slightly parted.
It was loneliness.
Author's Note
Well, Kakashi and Anomie's relationship is developing now to the point of sort of understanding each other. Although, I doubt Kakashi will ever fully understand Anomie's future actions, so I hope to bring them as close as I can so as to knock them down. Right now, I think his attraction to her is purely physical, because he's never really been around a girl as...uh...sexual as Anomie. It's kind of hard not to sexualize her sometimes because she sometimes unintentionally leading boys on with her body language. Years of prostitute training, ya know?
Anyway, this chapter is names after the flower Shiro no Hyashinsu (白のヒヤシンス). It is a Hyacinth, more particularly, a white one.
The symbolic meaning of the blue hyacinth is: games, sports, rashness, and playful joy; constancy
While a purple one is: I'm sorry, please forgive me, sorrow
And a white one (the one I'm using) is: unobtrusive loneliness, I'll pray for you
And finally yellow: jealousy
Now, someone PM'ed me about Anomie's zodiac, and I think I mentioned she's an Aquarius, but maybe not. She's an Aquarius, born on February 6th. I think it's kind of fun assigning zodiacs to my characters cause it gives a bit more depth. Aquarius in particular fits her, and if you know a little something about Zodiac signs, I think you'd agree.
In their personal lives Aquarians tend to settle for a somewhat peaceful life. However, they often don't get emotionally attached to their relationships. They can settle for a relationship even it lacks in sensitivity and ardor. Aquarians are intelligent and quick witted, which attract others towards them. They can pick up things really fast.
Characteristics are Witty, Clever, Creative, Unique, Obstinate, Mocking, Rebellious, Indifferent.
They can become uncaring to others and are often deemed as unemotional. They can get into a relationship without really getting involved in it. Aquarian women are sensual and feminine. They are gifted with beautiful appearance. They might not be afraid of taking the leading role in a relationship and can be provoking.
They also have a tendency to isolate themselves and close everyone out, and then turn around and wonder why they feel alone or that nobody is in their corner.
See, zodiacs are pretty fun and you'd be surprised how well your zodiac reveals about yourself. .
