CHAPTER 25: MORNINGS AND NIGHTS
It didn't feel right, or better yet, it didn't smell right, the smell of fresh food being cooked in the morning by someone other than herself.
And though her new house was by no means small, she hadn't expected to be woken up to the smell of bacon, baked bread, or some other form of whatever people in Konoha considered breakfast every single morning for the past few weeks since she first moved in.
She did, however, come to expect the massive hunk of fur that was Yami to invade her with a sloppy morning kiss just like he had done for the past few weeks.
It didn't matter how many times she would hide beneath the cover of her bedsheets, or how many times she would try to push him off to prevent his hair from falling all over the place, it was now a morning ritual and Yami was its faithful follower.
"What's on the menu today, hmm?" she whispered nervously to the energetic dog as she carefully lifted him up and off her bed.
Yami barked as his tail hit the side of her leg in excitement, circling her, and then taking hold of her pajamas as he dragged her from her room and into the kitchen area.
"Slow down, you're pulling my shirt down!"
Yes, it was the cooking that left a feeling of unease within her, but what turned that unease into a strange sensation of unrest in her stomach, a feeling more than just a pang of hunger, was the young man who had woken up to cook without fail for the house's three tenants (dog included), every morning.
Kintsugi wasn't used to this much affection from anything, much less anyone, that is if she could even call it affection. She didn't know what else to call it.
There was a part of her that wanted to know what was running through his mind as he stirred the batter together, as he rolled up his sleeves whenever they slid back down over his arms. There was a part of her that wanted to know if he also called his actions a form of affection, or deny it as much as she did whenever he would gaze at her with hidden interest from his spot near the stove.
Or perhaps it was just to make sure she didn't run away from them and think Konoha was any better than the Akatsuki.
Perhaps to prove the point that it didn't matter which side she was on, the end result would be the same and the refuge she had created was just an illusion, just like her loyalty, just like her kindness, and just like their tolerance.
Yet here she was being half-dragged to the kitchen table by a dog who seemed to be a little too friendly with the Akatsuki member cooking Dorayaki pancakes.
"Someone's happy today," Kisame hummed from his spot at the table, a spoonful of cold soup in one hand.
"Yeah, super happy. I'm basically covered in dog hair again."
"Black suits you," Kisame shrugged as he glanced from the grinning dog to the scowling Kintsugi, "You're already so familiar with it, why complain?"
"Is that supposed to be a blind joke?"
"I don't know, is it?"
Kisame was giving her his full shark grin as he continued to eat and with a small kick, he pushed a chair out for her to sit, the wooden chair smoothly sliding over her polished floor and into her waiting grip.
"Thanks," she muttered as Itachi placed a warm plate of food in front of her.
The Akatsuki were still getting their money with the help of her tunnels, infrastructure was still underway for the mine workers, and Kintsugi was still learning taijutsu from Kisame and Itachi.
Among all these things, being roommates with them was the biggest reminder that being a citizen of Konoha meant nothing outside of a means to an end. It didn't seem to matter much to them either as they had quickly claimed the hidden cave behind a large bookcase in the living room the first time she had told them about it.
"Are you sure you're okay with sleeping in there?" Kintsugi had asked them as she gestured to what she knew was dim lighting loosely hung up on the roughly earth-bended cavern ceiling.
"We're not here on vacation, it'll be just fine girly," Kisame smirked.
"There's no beds in there, though, just supplies."
"And what do you think we sleep on while we're traveling? King-sized beds and feather sheets? This...is enough," Kisame had said as he'd rested a firm hand on her shoulder.
Kintsugi hadn't listened though. She'd earth-bended the walls into a more agreeable shape with access tunnels leading to and from the Village the moment they had left to go on another "mission".
Kisame had been more than pleased and Itachi...well, she didn't really know what he thought. Just that he was sleeping comfortably.
They never really did bother to update her on how their progress with finding more information on the Rinnegan went or maybe they didn't have anything to show for it.
Though Tsuanade was pleased enough when Itachi had gotten Kintsugi what she'd needed, and from what she'd heard, a village kid had made a marvelous comeback because of it.
"My offer still stands Kintsugi," Lady Tsunade had added as Kintsugi had handed her the books and supplies.
"Lord Hokage, respectfully...I don't think you can help me."
"Not if we don't even try, which I don't understand-."
"-If you haven't already noticed, though I'm sure you have, unlike the Lee kid, I have zero chakra for you to work with. Your hopes of restorative chakra enhancement aren't going to help me."
"Still, this village you mentioned you're from-"
"I'm okay. Really, I don't mind being the way I am. I'm used to it. If I change that now...I don't know, years of training without seeing like anybody else would feel out of place. It wouldn't be me."
Tsunade had sighed and with a final grunt, she'd handed Kintsugi her citizenship.
Apparently, it had been that easy to get, though it had helped that Itachi had gotten Kintsugi a fake birth certificate.
And it had been while walking out of the Hokage's building that she had bumped into Kakashi.
She hadn't seen him in a while. She'd heard he'd had trouble with his own students, going off on missions and whatnot, beating each other up, the usual.
Not that she minded not seeing him.
For all she knew, he was still working with Danzo just like she was still working with the Akatsuki.
"Hatake," she had bowed slightly as she had started to walk away.
"Kintsugi," he'd seemed to smile before following in her step.
"What do you need Hatake?"
"Word is that you've become quite the expert on finding people, yet you're pretty hard to find yourself ever since you moved out."
"And?" She'd sensed him momentarily pause as he observed her.
"I'm looking for a student of mine."
"Kakashi Hatake needs help?" she'd feigned surprise.
"I wouldn't call it 'help', more like...investigative research."
"Mhmm, and how much?"
"You want money?"
"Payment obviously, I'm not running a charity."
Kakashi had sighed as he handed over his own lunch, a small bag of crispy teriyaki, which Kintsugi had gladly taken.
"It'll do," she hummed before speaking. "Sasuke's hiding in a tree at the moment, near the school's playground of all places, but it's the one by the front gates."
"How?...you know what, I'm not going to ask."
"What do you expect him to do? All his life he's been told he's a genius, and now that the class clown shows off power like he's going through puberty, Sasuke's no longer in the limelight and he thinks he's weak. He's only seeing his own struggles.
"It's superiority"
"It's inadequacy."
"Immaturity. "
"So...basically, he's an insecure teenage boy. I don't blame him, I'm sure you have your own insecurities you can bond over...something will stick and he'll figure it out on his own."
"Right..."
"But really, trying to find Sasuke's not why you stopped to talk to me...is it?"
"No."
"I thought as much."
They had stopped at a concrete bench and as Kintsugi had sat down, Kakashi had rested his back against the side of a tree, hand running through his hair.
"We never really got a chance to talk about what happened that night..."
"Which one? You have to be a bit more specific, Hatake."
"The night we saw that kid stuck in the water. He knew you, and for some odd reason, I knew we weren't in this...world anymore. You knew him."
"Know. I know him." Kintsugi corrected as she tried to appear disinterested.
"I should have asked you the next day what had happened, who he was, or something, but I'm asking you now...where are you from, Kintsugi?"
But Kintsugi had been silent.
She thought she could just recite what was written on the fake birth certificate and play it off. But she also knew Kakashi was smart. He probably already knew it was fake and didn't say anything as he waited for her to make some sort of wrong move.
And as she wondered, the familiar steps of who would soon become her roommate had come into her senses, the smell of sweet and savory Dango hinting at its lover, the lover who was coming towards her, towards them in an unexpected genjutsu.
She supposed it had been then that she had begun to feel that strange feeling within herself. She just hoped it wouldn't grow into something else.
A/N: I thought I'd send another one your way...Hope this chapter makes sense.
