Day 16
Itachi leaned against the entryway to the kitchen. He watched Hinata work, moving back and forth between the far counter and the stove and the stone cutting board. She diced vegetables and chopped herbs, one at a time, then cradled them between knife and hand before dropping them in a large pot. A sour scent wafted through the room - the tang of miso.
Most likely, Hinata didn't know he was there. The glimpses of her expression he caught weren't content, precisely. But there was stillness, calm. Things that evaporated when she knew he was there.
He didn't want to step over the threshold and break the bubble yet. The corner of the wall dug into his shoulder. He pushed off the wall with extra force. Hinata jumped. She did not turn, though he saw the brief chaka-pulse of Byakugan with Sharingan.
"Hi," she mumbled. "Did...did you need anything?"
"Ah." His reason for even being in the room at all escaped him for a few seconds longer than he was comfortable with. "I was going to make some tea. Will I be in the way?"
She didn't move. "N-no."
The process of gathering his kettle, the metal infuser, and the loose tea box took not even half a minute. He turned the burner on and poured in the water. Hinata's pot was holding a rich vegetable stew. And she was looking at the cutting board.
He swallowed, held the inside of his cheek between his teeth for a moment.
"It...looks good," he offered.
She blinked up at him. Her lips parted in hesitation. "...Th-thank you."
