"Japanese"

*Google Translate*

Chapter 3

It was awkward.

So, very, very awkward.

Every move she made. From the opening of the coffee pot to the pouring of the water. That singular brooding eye watched everything she did.

Alysha stood at the counter, leaning against it as she looked down at her hands. She could feel him staring at her. Instead of meeting his intense gaze, she took interest in her fingers and the hem of her sleeves. The coffee would be done in a minute, then it would be time for a bit more conversation.

From his seat at the dining room table Kakashi could see her standing there. Wherever he was, he was shocked at the striking similarities and differences in technology. There were things he was familiar with, like the shower and the fridge for example. Yet, that small speaking rectangle was something he had never encountered before. Neither was that machine she had poured water and dark powder into.

It's why he had been watching her so closely. He still didn't trust this woman, not completely. After all, he was in a place he did not now, and she had certainly been the one to strip him of all his gear. Now he was sitting in clothes he didn't know how to feel about.

The black pants fit fine, they were easy enough to maneuver in, and the material was soft. The shirt was covered with crisscrossing lines in all different shades of blue and green. They were pleasing to the eye, he had to admit. But, the style was different. The collar was more rigid and he had to leave a few of the buttons open or it felt like the shirt tried to restrain him. It was a little tight across the shoulders, but at least it was dry.

Finally, he watched as Alysha poured a dark liquid into two mugs and brought them both over. He assumed that heavenly smell was coming from that machine and by extension, that liquid. She placed the mug down on the table in front of him, and took a seat across from him. Kakashi watched her bring her own cup to her lips to take a sip. Hers was a lighter shade than his since she had added something.

His eyes finally looked down at the mug. The beverage was dark, nearly black in color. Since he had been watching her, he knew nothing had been added to it. After some thought, he deemed it safe to drink since she had taken to drinking it as well.

Alysha watched him curiously, unsure if he would like it since she hadn't added any cream or sugar. Was he really suspicious of a cup of black coffee? Could he not know what coffee was? This man certainly didn't get out much, did he?

When the drink hit his tongue, Kakashi nearly gasped at the flavor. His eye widened. He had never tasted anything like it. It was rich and bitter and aromatic.

When she saw his eye widen, Alysha couldn't help but smile. "Good?" She asked with a laugh. His eye darted to hers and she repeated herself, using a thumbs up to indicate what she meant.

Kakashi could only nod, returning the gesture as he took another sip of what could possibly be his new favorite drink. Also, taking note of what he assumed the word 'good' meant.

Her smile didn't fade. She only watched him, continuing to sip at his coffee. It wasn't until he gave her a quizzical glance that she realized she was staring. She blushed, averting her gaze to reach for her phone in her pocket.

*So, I assume you have questions?*

Kakashi placed the cup down, nodding in response.

She nodded, pressing the button and motioning for him to speak.

He thought of what to ask first before deciding to settle on the thing that peaked his curiosity most. "What is this slab that allows us to communicate so efficiently?"

Alysha paled slightly. So, he really didn't know what a phone was. "It's called a phone. It makes phone calls and can do a lot of stuff. Like translating our speech or looking up things online."

Kakashi's eye narrowed down at the phone. Interesting indeed. It was now laying on the table between them waiting for one of them to interact with it. He had seen her use it multiple times now. He wondered, did it only answer her, or could he use it as well? While her chakra signature was weak it was possible it only responded to her chakra. Kakashi reached out his hand slowly before taping the small circle on the screen. He was surprised when it beeped, prompting him to speak, "You say it can do a lot. Can it show us a map of this Minnesota place?"

She blinked. Nodding and reaching out to pick up the phone.

He couldn't help but notice how much smaller her hands seemed to be. As she tapped with her thumbs her fingers interlocked behind it, a round protrusion popping out of the back to help her keep it in place. After a minute, she turned the phone toward him to show him a map. It was unlike any map he had ever seen.

A large piece of land, split up into multiple sections and one of them was highlighted in red. This was where she pointed, repeating the name again for him. Minnesota.

His eye narrowed. This… couldn't be right. Kakashi brought his hand to his face in thought. Covering his scarred eye that he had chosen to keep closed.

Alysha set her coffee cup on the table, immediately growing worried at the movement. He acted like his eye was fine, but could it be bothering him? She reached out, placing a hand over his in a comforting manner before allowing the phone to translate. "If your eye is bothering you we can have it looked at. I can take you to the clinic."

The man nearly jumped at the sudden contact. He wasn't prepared for the sheer innocence of the gesture. His head shot up, one dark eye blinking owlishly back at her as he listened to the translation.

Kakashi sighed, slowly pulling his hand from hers and opening both of his eyes. Showing his Sharingan for the second time that morning. "There is nothing wrong with my eye. You act as though you've never seen a Sharingan before."

Alysha's eyes widened at the sight of his eye. There were several moments of tense silence after the phone had finished talking. Finally, Alysha nodded her head sheepishly and tapped the translate button, "Sorry, I didn't think it was a contact. I take it Sharingan is a good brand for them then?" She felt foolish. Thinking that his eye was infected when it was just a contact lens the entire time. Based on the scar, his eye was probably mangled and he must have wanted something to cover the damage? He already dyed his hair white so a contact lense wasn't a stretch. At least it was pretty.

Kakashi blinked.

A contact.

She thought the Sharingan was a contact.

He had no idea how to process this. All bodily functions seemed to cease as his brain tried desperately to grasp at straws. Putting everything together. He was somewhere where they spoke a completely different language. Had a completely different geography. And, not to mention, seemed to have zero clue about anything regarding shinobi.

Alysha sat awkwardly, unsure of what to do since he had gone as still as a statue. "Um… you okay?" She offered quietly.

She didn't get a response, but what she did see was him jumping nearly six inches in his seat when Jasper made his way over and booped his nose against the man's thigh. Alysha couldn't help it, she laughed. From the expression on his face to the undoubtedly foreign curse, it was hilarious. Jasper wasn't helping with the scene either since the poor dog leaned back on his haunches, obviously freaked out by the response.

Kakashi cursed, not expecting something to suddenly touch him. Not when all his attention had been on his current predicament. He was caught off guard by Alysha's sudden laugh but quickly ignored it, turning his attention to the dog.

Now that Kakashi was looking at the dog, he realized that it could rival Bull in size. He reached his hand out, silently pleased that the pooch moved eagerly to inspect his hand. Almost demanding scratches, and Kakashi was more than willing to oblige.

Seeing Jasper fully accepting Kakashi and showing no fear put her own heart at ease. He had been in her home long enough for the initial fear to have subsided, but now she felt confident that Kakashi really wouldn't do anything. It was quiet, other than the thumping of Jasper's tail on the floor.

"Jasper."

Both her dog and guest looked up at her.

She pointed at the dog and said his name again with a smile. Kakashi nodded, turning back to the dog and saying some nonsense mumbo jumbo directed at Jasper.

Alysha grinned, not wanting to interrupt so she typed out her next question into the app. *Do you like dogs? Have any of your own?*

Kakashi paused and then nodded. He technically did. They were summons, and more colleges than pets but he considered them to be his. They were his summons, after all.

He stopped.

Of course.

Alysha watched him suspiciously, seeing him freeze up yet again. An idea sparking in his eyes. Just what was he thinking? She continued to watch in silence as Kakashi proceeded to weave his hands together strangely and bite his own thumb before smacking his hand down on the table, making her jump.

The sheer silence that followed was deafening.

Her eye twitched.

What the fuck was that?

Then she saw the blood. He had actually bitten his thumb hard enough to draw blood?! She shot up from the table, rushing to grab a bandaid from the other room. That was an antique table he was bleeding on! She could question his sanity later after she had bandaged his self-inflicted wound.

…

It didn't work.

It always worked.

He had the chakra, so why didn't it work?

Kakashi lifted his hands to look at them. Not paying attention to Alysha's scurrying to the kitchen or the blood that trickled down his thumb. No, he just sat there dumbfounded by this new revelation. This wasn't right. Nothing about this was right.

Alysha came back and undid the bandage. Offering it to him as she took a wet cloth to the blood smeared on the table. It took her a moment to realize that he hadn't taken it. He just continued to look blankly at his hands. So, she did it for him. Wrapping the bandage around his thumb and smiling when it was on.

"You need to be more careful," she spoke to her phone, allowing it to translate.

His head shot up to look at her once he had finished listening. She expected him to say something in return but was caught off guard. She gasped and stumbled back a few steps.

Did… did the contact just spin?!

He stood then, making her take another step back. With plenty of distance between them he brought both his hands up again. Making a single hand sign.

Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw next. A cloud of smoke appeared from nowhere. Making her fall back further until her back was against the wall. When the smoke finally cleared her scream caught in her throat. Standing on either side of him was another Kakashi. There were three of them.

Three.

There should only be one.

She felt hot, her chest constricting, the world spinning. That couldn't be real. There was just no way. She was just seeing double. She left the stove on and was suffering from smoke inhalation. It was just her imagination. There couldn't really be three of the same exact person.

Alysha didn't need to think about it for too long.

Kakashi watched as her eyes rolled back and she fell to one side. He dispelled the clones and moved to catch her. Checking her vitals, he knew she had just passed out. So, people from this world didn't know anything about chakra.

This world.

It felt wrong even thinking about it but he couldn't make sense of it any other way. Everything added up to this being another world entirely. His summoning Jutsu wasn't limited by distance. The contract would work over any amount of distance, so when he couldn't summon Pakkun he knew something was wrong.

At first he thought that he had lost the ability to use his own chakra, but that couldn't be it either. Since he had been able to perform the summoning in every capacity regardless, there just wasn't anything to summon. To prove it to himself, he used a very basic jutsu. And, sure enough, it worked like a charm. Even further proof was the bewilderment of Alysha. He had suspected that she wasn't familiar with ninja, but to pass out from witnessing such a basic jutsu…

Jasper made his way over to where he was knelt down holding her against his chest. The dog whined, worried for his master and Kakashi found himself appreciating the dog's loyalty. He scratched Jasper behind the ear, "Don't worry. She'll be up soon."

Kakashi was hit by a sudden and strong feeling of disappointment. Not only was he missing his own dog but for a moment he thought that he would have someone to talk to. While he could communicate with Alysha, he found himself already growing tired of the lack of humanity the phone presented. If Pakkun were there, it wouldn't bother him so much but as things were he wasn't sure how much longer he could handle not actually speaking to someone.

He sighed, looking down at the unconscious girl in his arms. "I guess you'll have to teach me."

Hope you enjoyed this! I never thought personally that coffee was a well known or popular drink in Naruto. It always seemed to be tea they were drinking. So, Kakashi likes coffee. Black coffee. Alysha is right to question his sanity, lol!

Until next time! Don't forget to favorite, follow and review!

Posted - 1/10/22