"If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude." ~Maya Angelou
Chapter 14: An Unexpected Guest
Kabuto slept fitfully for the first few hours of the night. First he couldn't seem to find a comfortable position. Then his mind kept racing in circles. He couldn't help wondering when would Ibiki take him next, what was going to happen to him, and how he was supposed to keep everyone convinced of his sanity when he no longer had a drug to maintain absolute control over his conscious thought. Additionally, memories Kabuto would have preferred remained buried kept returning to the forefront of his consciousness.
It was, in a word, miserable.
The strain of acting like a nice, normal, cooperative prisoner just waiting for someone to decide to drag him off and torture him before executing him was enough to drive him mad, and he'd already gone insane… or at least Konoha seemed to be under that impression.
Groaning, Kabuto rolled over for the fifty-seventh time, dragging the heavy blankets and one of the two pillows with him; the other pillow had jumped ship at least forty-five minutes earlier. Staring blankly at the back of the couch, Kabuto wondered if Shikamaru would become suspicious if he looked tired the next morning.
Groaning again, Kabuto flopped onto his back and glared at the ceiling.
The night did not improve with time.
"Kabuto…Kabuto…" Shikamaru scowled, yanking up the window blinds. The guy was out like a light. And since Shikamaru was up, he'd been convinced that Kabuto would be up too. The guy was a morning person, unlike Shikamaru. And yet…
"Ka! Bu! To!" Shikamaru hissed, emphasizing every syllable and jabbing the former Konoha ninja in the shoulder with his index finger.
Groaning, Kabuto rolled over, arm flopping around, searching for his second pillow to cover his head. After a moment of unsuccessful flailing, Kabuto tugged on the blanket, covering his head and curling into the fetal position.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes and grabbed the edge of the blanket, yanking it off of Kabuto. "Get up already!"
Kabuto growled unintelligibly and took a swipe at Shikamaru, who leaped back in surprise.
"Whoa! What's your problem? Get up!"
Kabuto rolled over, charcoal eyes snapping open, clear and focused. "For your information, I had a rotten night's sleep, I barely managed to fall asleep an hour ago, and you're trying to wake me up. So pardon me if I'm a bit testy."
"Oh, sorry, I didn't realize," Shikamaru said, quickly releasing the blankets. "I just thought you were trying to annoy me or something. Is something bothering you?"
"Yes, the fact that I didn't sleep," Kabuto replied shortly, tugging the blankets back up and over his torso. "Good night. Morning. Whatever." Pulling the blankets back over his head, Kabuto sighed gustily and rolled over, facing the back of the couch. Within five minutes, Kabuto's body had relaxed, and his breaths had become slow and even.
Shaking his head, Shikamaru quietly moved across the room, closing the blinds before carefully creeping into the kitchen and retrieving some instant ramen for himself. After eating his breakfast as silently as possible, Shikamaru poked around the kitchen, eyeing the ingredients in his spice cupboard. Kabuto had returned all of the ingredients to their proper places, and had even washed the dishes. Shikamaru shook his head, disposing of his instant ramen package. For an enemy ninja and Orichimaru's right hand man, the guy was pretty considerate.
Shikamaru scowled. Instead of making Kabuto cook again, maybe he should try his hand at cooking and fix the former missing-nin something for breakfast. Thinking back to all the times he'd destroyed Chouji's kitchen, Shikamaru sighed. If he was going to cook, he would need some help…
A knock sounded at the front door. Kabuto muttered unintelligibly and rolled over, decidedly ignoring the unwelcome interruption. Shikamaru tiptoed past the sound ninja, opening the door and making a "shh" motion with his hand before beconing Hyuuga Hinata into the house.
Hinata glanced questioningly at the lump on the couch, but said nothing until the two of them had reached the kitchen. Shikamaru closed the door quietly, glancing at Hinata.
"Is he not feeling well?" HInata asked, referring to Kabuto.
"Eh…" Shikamaru shrugged one shoulder. "I was going to make him breakfast. But, uh…"
Hinata glanced at the clock. "It's nearly noon…"
"All right, how about lunch, then?" Shikamaru retorted irritably.
Hinata stood for a moment, tapping the tips of her index fingers together. "Would you like some help?"
"That would be nice, since I have no clue how to make anything except instant ramen and onigiri," Shikamaru explained, "And Kabuto… well, he's a bit more picky than I am."
Hinata nodded absently. "Does he like seafood?"
"I don't really have any food in the house," Shikamaru explained. "And, well, I'm a bit short of cash… Isn't there a way to make a cheap breakfast?"
Hinata smiled. "Well, I have an idea…"
Shikamaru nodded. "What is it?"
"I can buy the ingredients you need," Hinata suggested. "What do you want to make?"
"Um…" Shikamaru shrugged. "What do you think he would like?"
Hinata considered this for a moment. "Well, I like sukiyaki, or hotpot, or…"
"Those all sound like a lot of work…" Shikamaru frowned slightly.
"But I'll be here to help," Hinata reminded him. "How about sukiyaki?"
Shikamaru shrugged. "If you can make it, I'm okay with it."
Hinata nodded. "So let's see, we'll need…"
Kabuto awoke to the scent of something that was most definitely not instant ramen or onigiri. He blinked slowly, uncurling himself and pulling the blankets away from his head.
"Good afternoon," Shikamaru said cheerily, poking his head in the room.
Kabuto resisted an urge to bury his head under the blankets once more. For someone who claimed to not be a morning person, he seemed awfully cheerful. Then Kabuto recalled that Shikamaru had said "good afternoon"… had he really slept that long? Shikamaru must have been really quiet… Gratefully, Kabuto squirmed into an upright position, rearranging his blankets to rest on his legs. He really didn't feel like getting up yet, but he wasn't willing to lie on his back with the covers pulled up to his chin like an invalid, either.
A moment later, Shikamaru poked his head in the room a second time. "You're up, now?"
Kabuto blinked once as if to say, "What do you think?"
Shikamaru returned to the kitchen without a sound. "I think he's grumpy," he whispered to Hinata.
"I heard that," Kabuto called from the front room.
Shikamaru made a "see what I mean?" face at Hinata, who giggled.
Kabuto frowned. That giggle did not sound like Shikamaru. Was someone else in the house? He vaguely recalled hearing a knock on the door, and someone may have entered the house, but he hadn't realized they would stick around.
"Are you hungry?" Shikamaru's voice called from within the kitchen, bringing Kabuto's thoughts back to the appetizing aroma wafting from the direction of the kitchen.
He blinked a few times, wondering what Shikamaru had been concocting in the kitchen, and whether he felt brave enough to chance a bout of food poisoning. But it did smell good… "I guess so," he called back.
Instead of Shikamaru, Hinata poked her head out of the kitchen next. "Um, Kabuto-senpai, do you want a big serving or a little serving?"
Kabuto considered this for a moment. "A little, I guess…"
Hinata nodded slightly, retreating to the kitchen.
Shikamaru poked his head out of the kitchen. "Come on Kabuto, Hinata worked really hard to prepare this, and she made a lot, so just eat it already!"
Oh. So Shikamaru hadn't made it. Well then. Kabuto figured that food poisoning was no longer an imminent danger. "I guess I'll have a big serving, then…"
Inside the kitchen, Hinata blushed. "You didn't have to tell him that I made it, Shikamaru. You helped."
"Yeah, I opened the shoyu and helped you slice the beef. Big whoop. Besides, he's bound to eat more if you made it. He's seen my cooking skills at work and is probably scarred for life…"
"You bet I am," Kabuto called from the front room.
Shikamaru gestured in the direction of the door. "See?"
Hinata just laughed, serving up some of the sukiyaki. "You two are adorable."
"Hinata-chan," came the warning tone from the front room, "Are you implying that Shikamaru and I are gay… again?"
Hinata blushed profusely. "N-n-n-no, Kabuto-senpai, I, I was just saying that…"
"Oh stuff it, Hinata, we get the point." Shikamaru scowled. "And Kabuto, what is it with you and just assuming that everyone thinks you're gay, anyway? I mean, it's not like you're a cross dresser."
Kabuto sighed loudly. "I'll have you know that half of Konoha seems taken with the notion that I was gay for Orochimaru."
Shikamaru cringed.
Hinata frowned slightly, puzzled. "Really? Why?"
"Eh… never mind," Kabuto said after a moment of awkward silence.
Shikamaru sighed. "Here Hinata, you can take him the food," he said, handing her a tray. "Careful of the tea. Don't let it spill…"
Hinata blinked once. "I don't usually let tea spil when I carry trays. Is there something particular about this cup that makes it easier to spill?"
"Maybe I'm just a clutz," Shikamaru mused.
"Ding, ding, ding, you win the prize," Kabuto snorted from the other room.
Hinata beamed. "You see? You two are adorable!"
Kabuto sighed. "Great. Just what I always wanted to be: adorable."
Hinata frowned slightly, coming through the doorway. "What's wrong with being adorable? People say I'm adorable… is that a bad thing?"
Kabuto sighed, face palming. "It's not bad for a girl to be adorable…"
"Oh, but since you're a boy and you don't want to be seen as homosexual, you don't want to be called adorable," Hinata mused, handing him the tray. "I hope you like sukiyaki," she added as an afterthought.
"I do. Thank you," he said, accepting the food with a slight smile.
"Finally, something he likes," Shikamaru crabbed, exiting the kitchen and lugging a card table into the middle of the room. "Why don't you and I eat out here with Kabuto, Hinata?" he suggested, popping out the legs and righting the table.
"Do you mind, Kabuto-senpai?" Hinata asked, once more tapping her index fingers.
"Wait, what the-? Hinata, this is my house! Not his!" Shikamaru protested.
"Well, you suggested it, so I didn't think you would mind," Hinata explained pensively. "Do you mind?"
Shikamaru scowled. "Oh, never mind," he grumbled, heading back into the kitchen to fetch the sukiyaki and tea. "Does his highness need anything else? A napkin, maybe a foot massage?"
Kabuto frowned, about to speak when Hinata interrupted.
"Shikamaru, that's rude," Hinata chided him. "Kabuto-senpai didn't do anything. I think you owe him an apology."
There was a large clatter from the kitchen. "WHAT?" and then, "Crap! The food's all on the floor…"
Hinata was back to tapping her index fingers. "Shikamaru? Maybe you should get out of the kitchen…"
A/N: I have multiple points to make, so I shall list them to keep myself organized.
1. Sorry about the long wait, FF apparently felt like it was high time for me to suffer from an error. For about a week and a half or more. I kind of stopped checking because it was making me irritable.
2. Bromance is not romance. I've had a few reviewers express concern because they think this fic is going to end up with a pairing between Shikamaru and Kabuto. I am here to allay your fears. I don't do slash. I don't touch it, ever. I don't read it, write it, or even enjoy it. So there you have it. No slash. ^_^ 'kay?
3. I'm starting to run low on chapters, so if I suddenly disappear within the next five chapters, it's because I've finally run out of pre-written stuff, okay? Okay. I hope to get together with Midnight Anime Angel soon and get something underway, but don't quote me.
That's all for the list. THANK YOU SO MUCH FAITHFUL REVIEWERS, and don't ever feel bad about asking me questions about pairings, what I'm planning on doing with the fic, etc. If you are confused, it is my duty as an author to ensure that you do not remain in a state of confusion. Of course, if the answer happens to be coming within the next few chapters, I might just tell you to be patient.
Anyway, thanks for your support! ^_^