Chapter 19: Hello, I'm...
PAST
It wasn't sadness that caused tears to prick at her eyes that morning. According to the adults, today was either her 7th or 8th birthday.
No one really knew.
But for the first time in their life, a young boy, somewhere Kintsugi had never been, was definitely taking his first breath of air that very moment.
The unfamiliar feeling had started small a little less than a year ago, but today, she knew something, someone had entered this world and that feeling was stronger than ever.
She knew what he would be called and the mere thought of what that meant, brought tears to her eyes.
"Kintsugi!"
She had been staring into space as Rashaan placed his calloused hand on her shoulder from where she sat.
"You're not paying attention again. Wha- are you crying?"
"Hmmm?" she sniffled as she brushed her arm across her nose and lifted her wrists to wipe at her tired eyes.
"What's gotten into you? I've been calling your name for the last minute."
Kintsugi grinned as she dusted herself off and stretched her back before walking up the flight of stairs that led towards the earth temple training grounds.
"Do you have a brother?" she questioned stopping for a moment as she turned to him before sensing his steps as he followed her up the stairs.
"What brought that up?"
"Oh, I don't know, I just wondered what it felt like."
"Look, I can tell you five things better than worrying about what it's like to have a brother. Ten things. Twenty. Thirty."
"Are you going to keep increasing that number?"
"Yes."
She had laughed it off, but the unsettling feeling within her hadn't gone away. If anything it only grew worse.
12 YEARS LATER
"Did you hear!"
Though the previously rushed voices that had crowded around the empty fireplace in the commons room grew hushed, they could still be heard from across the room.
It was there on the other side that Kintsugi ate a moon peach, her shoeless feet propped up against a small table while the other arm rested against the back of her head.
"What?" Spoke a voice from the crowd.
"The air temple's discovered another air bender with the Avatar's abilities!"
"No way, that's absurd."
The voices of a few men and women spoke in agreement while the rest looked on for more information.
"It is, it is. You guys know my cousin Halo. He just came back from a shipment there and word is, they plan to announce it at the next council meeting."
"Are you sure?"
"Of course, come on. This is Halo I'm talking about. You know what he's like."
"Imagine that, right under their noses all this time."
"And...guess what?"
The bearer of the news rubbed his hands together before presenting them to the audience as if asking them to question him.
"Spit it out, Xing."
"He's a 12-year-old boy..."
"So?"
"...and he can see."
A collective gasp could be heard as the emotion in the room seemed to electrify.
"Hey, what about Sugi?" Gah recalled. He was a lanky earth bender keen on gaining muscle he could not keep and who had taken to calling Kintsugi by a shorter nickname.
There was a collective 'Oh' as they all simultaneously seemed to turn towards where she had been sitting. But she wasn't there anymore. Only a pit of the fruit she had been eating lay in the seat she had previously occupied.
PRESENT
It was difficult for her to breathe. She sensed nothing despite being so close to what felt like solid ground.
"Kintsugi."
It was his low yet urging voice that woke her up completely as she sat up with a gasp, vague images of her surroundings flooding into her mind at once.
She couldn't take it. The pain of it all was overwhelming.
Her weakened hands reached out to grip his shoulders as she tried to settle her trembling body against the still figure that crouched in front of her.
"It's okay, your okay."
"No, no, no..." she seemed to chant as the grip on his shoulders tightened.
"Hey," Kakashi snapped his fingers in front of her face with the one hand that wasn't holding her own wrists. "Calm down, you're okay, you're fine."
Her breathing settled into a steady rhythm till it finally matched Kakashi's own.
"Do you...do you want to talk about what just happened?"
"If I talk about it, I'll cry," she joked, "...so it's a secret," she sniffed quietly as she freed him from her grip and ran a hand across her hair.
"Just...just give me a minute."
She didn't go back to work like she had promised Cho and though the walk back to the apartments was a mutually quiet one, she knew Kakashi's own mind would be loud with questions of what had just happened.
She had no idea how she had managed to reach Aang or how Kakashi had been able to witness any of it, but before she questioned what she was going to do tomorrow, she opted for scratching the itch that had sprung on her arm.
"My door's fixed," she voiced matter-of-factly as she felt the new metal door stand where the previous wooden one had been.
"Ah, yes. Courtesy of your neighbor downstairs."
"She didn't have to."
"You'd be surprised what asking politely does around here."
She paused for a moment as her hand fell limp against her side. Her head slumping forward as it rested against the frame.
"Why are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Treating me like a person. You don't even know me."
It was his turn to pause before the small, closed-eye smile that had become his typical trademark covered his face.
"Hmm...well I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate? I don't feel like telling you that...", he noted before clearing his throat to continue, "...my dreams for the future? Never really thought about that, as for my hobbies...I have lots of hobbies."
"That's not-," she tried to say as she lifted her head in the direction she sensed his.
"Your turn."
"You-" she stuttered out sighing in defeat as she realized he wouldn't let her leave until she responded.
"Hello, Hatake-shi. My name is Kintsugi, just Kintsugi."
"Hello, Just Kintsugi."
She scoffed at his response before looking up as she thought about what to say next.
"People used to call me Sugi. But those people are dead now. As for things I like and things I hate, I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. My dreams for the future don't exist because I live in the reality I make."
"That wasn't so hard, now was it?"
"I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong. Either way... I think I said a little more than you bothered to say for yourself," she responded as he handed her the new keys to the door.
He couldn't help but think how similar her response had been to one of his own students, but he would be lying if he said he couldn't also see how different they really were, that despite the cold gazes she would constantly give him, he also saw the way her eyes would spark with the tiniest glint of relief at his presence each morning.
There were so many people hurting around him, and he was one of them.
Maybe, maybe if helped just one, he would be okay.
A/N: I know this chapter is shorter, but that's on purpose. I tried to cover enough words to fit the beginning and end of the song I've posted on Wattpad. For the vibes. ;)
