Hello readers! This next bunch of chapters will be a bit of a filler arc before we return to the main plot- look forward to more KakashixMichiko (finally)!
As they climb down the tree, Michiko eyes the dark green backdoor. It is inlaid with net, and there is a second, more solid door behind it. Eyeing it as she returns to the way to the front of the house, she spots a line of old, weed-filled pots. Wondering which of her parents was the gardener, she fishes the keys from her pocket and bravely approaches the front door.
She looks back over her shoulder to make sure Kakashi is with her before she inserts the key into the door.
With a grating click as she struggles with the old lock, the door is opened and as she tries the knob, it creaks open almost deafeningly.
"Right, you're definitely going to need to oil those hinges." Kakashi says, from behind her, "Let's find the lights."
Stumbling around inside in the dark, Kakashi eventually locates the switches and flicks them. Unceremoniously, the bulbs flicker and fade, and only a single bulb illuminates the entrance to the house.
There is an empty shoe rack on the wall opposite, and a dusty, cobwebbed green chandelier hangs above them. A dust-caked, round rug is directly below it, boasting faded shades of blue. Michiko stares at it, recalling sitting on it as she would pull on her sandals as a child.
"This place is a little creepy." She says in a small voice. "I think we should come back when we have flashlights." She says again, inching towards the door as Kakashi nods and switches the lights off. Again, Michiko feels the sensation of being watched from within the darkness.
She hurries out the door, Kakashi following at a calmer pace. He pulls the door shut and locks it, handing the keys back to Michiko.
The Next Day….
At the crack of dawn, Michiko returns to the house alone, armed with a flashlight and some cleaning supplies.
Passing the creaky front gate that she finds rather charming she bravely walks up to the front door and places the bag of supplies and mop and bucket she has carried all the way here by the door on the small bricked-up portion in front of it. Sunlight is breaking through the crystals of dew, leaving the grass glimmering. She hears a frog croak somewhere and glances over her shoulder at the garden.
In the morning light, something winks at her in the grass. Curious that it might not just be the dew, she retraces her steps and crouches to peer at a small bell ornament. She picks it up gingerly, it is damp and covered in dirt. She is sure she hasn't seen it before.
The ornament is a large, wide hanging bell strung up to a knitted rectangle that is a fiery red, orange and yellow. There is little swirl embroidered in the centre of the rectangle that Michiko recognises instantly from the abundant history lessons she has attended: the Uzumaki.
Certain that it wasn't in the grass when she visited yesterday, she glances suspiciously back at the house.
"What the hell…" Murmuring conspirationally to herself, she takes the bell with her as she unlocks the door and enters the house. She immediately flicks on the lights and her torch and moves to un-shutter the windows. Torch held between her teeth, she struggles to pull the window open and then proceeds to the sitting room, finding the large window that overlooks the garden.
Shakily, she uses her torch to locate the switch and tries it, only to find that none of them work.
"Fuck."
Moving bravely with her torch in hand, she clambers to the window and pulls the shutters open, grateful for the morning light that cuts immediately into the room. As she turns around, she observes the bare sitting room, surprised to find nothing in it.
"Wonder where all my parent's furniture went." She says to herself loudly, proceeding to the next room which is a fancy dining area. As she tries the light, she is pleased to find that the low-hanging bamboo chandelier, too modern to have been Tobirama's, is fully lit and bright.
She eyes the large dining table, and then surveys the framed prints on the wall; depictions of woodlands and ocean waves, and islands.
Fascinated, she wonders why she has no memory of these. There is a cupboard on the far end that is filled with crockery. Michiko stays away from it, for fear of the dust it will release if she opens it.
As she turns around to go back to the foyer, she thinks she has imagined it, but another object glimmers at the door to the dining room. Creeping up to it, she picks it up and examines it.
It's a tiny piece of metal, carved into a rudimentary looking animal- an elephant, she thinks.
Immediately scanning the house for any chakra signatures, with a hand on her katana, she feels nothing, but hears the creek of a door.
Realising she has left the front door open, she rushes outside to see if she can spot anyone. But there is only a lone squirrel that runs away the second she appears in the doorway.
"What the fuck." Little metal elephant in hand, she glances back inside and swallows thickly, unsure of why she feels so creeped out.
"Hello?" She calls back into the house, uncertainly. Michiko believes in ghosts and spirits- she has seen them in her visit to the Kaguya Temple, and the memory still makes her shiver.
"Is anyone there?" She calls again, gathering the courage to go back into the dining room. As she retraces her steps through the carpeted entrance, from the corner of her eye she senses a figure on the staircase leading upstairs. When she looks, there is only darkness and some light streaming through the shuttered windows lining the stairs.
"Someone is definitely here." She says loudly to herself. She is a jounin, she has survived Kirigakure and faced a band of torturers. She has nothing to fear from a ghost.
Shinobi legend has it that if someone spends enough time in a place, expends enough chakra and leaves behind enough traces of it, a fragment of their soul is likely to linger. Michiko wonders if this place has such an occupant- she can't remember anything too insidious from her childhood.
'Legend also says that if you see a ghost once, you can see them for the rest of your life.'
The sound in her mind is a whisper that Michiko almost doesn't register.
"Huh?" Confused as to where she stumbled across this fact, she frowns. Peering her head into the dining room, she looks across to the door that connects it to the kitchen. She strides to it and tries the silver knob, annoyed to find that the door is locked. She glares at it- the door in question is a deep dark mahogany and carved with flowers. It is the only such door in the house. She moves to the third door that emerges back out into the hall between the entrance and the empty living room.
Grumbling, she walks back to the main entrance and paces to the staircase to peer up. She doesn't have the courage to upstairs yet. She fishes out her keys and attempts to figure out which one is the key to the dining room. As she absentmindedly strides back towards the dining room, she hears a whisper, 'It is the big round key.'
Michiko jumps and whips around, "Who's there?" She whispers, panicking. She hears silence and, embarrassed, fishes the big round coppery key and tries it on the fancy door. The lock clicks smoothly and the door opens with a soft creak.
"What the fuck…" She whispers to herself, looking over her shoulder again to check for any other sign of life.
Slightly creeped, she enters the dim kitchen, surprised to find that it is full of pots and pans, jars of sugar, one of the cabinets is filled with old snacks that are too many years out of date. There is no fridge, but there is a very fancy marble kitchen island that looks like a modern addition to the rest of the old-style kitchen.
In the corner, there is a three-chaired, round wooden table; a simple breakfast table where Michiko and her parents ate their meals.
Michiko eyes it tenderly, running her hand over the dusty surface. She walks to the second kitchen door that opens into the hall and unlocks it from the inside, emerging back into the hall and striding to the door to fetch the cleaning supplies.
As she passes the dining area, she feels a surge of cold air that she chooses to ignore. Fetching the cleaning supplies, she carries them into the kitchen and leaves them by the old stove.
"I wonder if the gas supply is still running."
'Probably not.' She hears the whisper again, this time nearly lunging across the kitchen as she feels the cold brush her shoulders.
"Who are you?!" She hisses, clearly intimidated and frightened by the voice.
'I live here. This is my home.'
Shivering from the sudden wave of cold air, Michiko backs into the little dining table.
"I'm really losing my shit. I am going insane." She recites, repeating herself a few times to convince herself that she is only imagining things. She glances towards the door that leads to the backyard, hoping to Kami that nothing creepy happens.
'I wouldn't know anything about that. Please don't move into my house if you're unstable.'
"Excuse me?" Whipping her head left and right, she stumbles against a chair.
'Sit down and let me explain myself.'
Almost as if by force, she is pushed into the chair by a heavy, formidable chakra that she has never felt before. Its presence is almost suffocating, and it frightens her so much she clenches her eyes shut.
'I won't hurt you child. Open your eyes.'
"No. Please. Just leave me alone. I just want to live here in peace."
'I am a part of this place. Living here means living with me.'
Curious that this mysterious presence might be one of her parents, Michiko opens her eyes a little and squints around the dining room.
'Your mother could sense me too.' It whispers again. The encouragement gives Michiko the little push she needs to accept the presence. Once her fear is gone, the mysterious presence relaxes its chakra. Right before her eyes, an outline appears, faint and silvery. The longer she looks at it, the more it solidifies into a pale form.
Soon, she can make out the limbs, the dark trousers, a fishnet shirt and shaggy, silvery hair.
For a moment, she thinks it is her father and her heart begins to hammer ecstatically. Then she notices the differences- the face is too pale and the eyes are not quiet right- they are dark where the whites should be, and in the centre of each eye is an almost pink orb.
"…Who are you?" She whispers, fearfully.
'My name is Senju Tobirama. Welcome to my home.'
Dumbfounded to the core, Michiko balks stupidly at the ghost.
"I've lost my marbles."
'No. I am here. I am real.'
"I'm imagining things. I'm really imagining things. Wow."
'Will you shut up for a moment, Sarutobi?' Wincing at the reprimand, she clamps her mouth shut.
'Good. This is my home. There is enough of me in every single piece of this house. You will have to accept that. I am only a fragment of what my soul once was. I cannot harm you.'
"Can other people see you?" She asks uncertainly, feeling increasingly mad for accepting what could potentially be a hallucination.
'In my experience, only your mother was able to see me just as you can. It may be because of her abilities as a Kaguya.'
"You knew my mother?" Perturbed by this new information, she recalls her vision from the Kaguya temple, where she seemingly had a vision of the past- but her mother saw her there.
'We became acquaintances…Although I disliked many of the things she did with this house.'
Michiko frowns, remembering that her mother did have a difficult time bringing new decoration bits into the house- most of them would break or fall apart.
"You're not going to give me a hard time, are you?" She asks carefully, remembering that her mother lost her temper at these occurrences quiet frequently.
'Not if we can come to some agreements.'
"Okay. Shoot."
The ghost blinks at her, looking confused. Michiko realises he is probably unfamiliar with slang, "I mean, state your terms." She clears her throat, slightly embarrassed at the informality of her spoken language. She feels like she is really losing her mind.
'One. The front room will be reconverted into the study it was meant to be. In the storage, there are boxes of my journals and scrolls. I wish them to be placed back in the study, so that I can access them. Two. While you are free to redecorate the house, there will be no tacky ornaments that take up unnecessary space. Art is acceptable, as long as it is not cheap.'
Michiko nods silently, curious to see the journals and scrolls.
'Three. The hours of the early morning and late night are mine to reign, you will not disturb me at these hours, wherever I wish to locate myself in the house.'
She nods again, worried that his timings will clash with her own. She holds up a hand, "But wait. I sometimes like to study till late in the night, is that…acceptable?"
'It is. I will not disturb you if you are absorbed in your education.' The ghost seems to flicker, his expression becoming softer and more curious, 'What is your topic of interest?'
"Currently, it is the history of the clans. There are some puzzles that need solving."
'Then perhaps I can assist you.' He nods and crosses his arms, reverting back to his terms almost immediately 'Four. You will not bring any controversial guests in this house; such as Madara Uchiha, or the like.'
"Madara has been dead for some time." She says quietly, watching the confusion settle on the apparitions face.
'You must pardon me. I don't have an established sense of time. Five. I will only permit dogs as pets in this house.'
"I don't have any pets, currently." Michiko nods to herself, feeling that his terms are fairly agreeable.
'Six. You must light a candle on the vigils of Hashirama, Itama, Myself, and two others on the given days. I will inform you of them in advance. It is only because I cannot observe them on my own since I cannot touch things.'
Tobirama appears to flicker again, looking as blank as he did earlier. Michiko wonders who the two others are, quickly recalling the Uchiha name on the tree.
"Can I ask you a question?"
'Speak.'
"Why is Uchiha Kagami's name on your tree?"
The ghost flickers several times, 'It is a secret.'
"What? How can we live in the same house when you'll be keeping secrets from me?"
The ghost says nothing for a while, letting Michiko stare at it in confusion and annoyance.
'Seven. I will respect your personal space, do not fear that I will invade on your privacy; but should you bring a lover into this house I expect a fair warning beforehand.'
Flushing slightly, Michiko shakes her head, "Currently I have none so you have nothing to worry about."
'How unfortunate.' It tsks, and shakes it's silvery ghost head, leaving wisps of silvery stuff in the air. It is almost like moonlight. Michiko is fascinated.
"Have you been leaving things around for me to find?"
Guiltily, Tobirama uncrosses his arms and resembles a child caught out in mischief, 'Yes.'
"Why?"
'I wanted you to notice my presence. I did not know if you could sense me. Your father could not, neither could Hiruzen.'
"Oh…" Michiko picks the top of the table with her fingertip as she ponders, "So, why are you in this house again?"
'There are many scrolls in which I had expended my chakra. There is some chakra-linked art and some other familial artifacts that I used frequently. All these traces create me. I am merely a reflection of the soul of the real Tobirama. Think of me as a fragment of memory trapped here. I have no sense of time, for example, save for the rising and setting of the sun. For me, each day could be the same one repeatedly when I am alone. When your family was here, I knew each day was different because of their activities. I was sorry to see you go, but I could not take care of you so I looked after this house.'
Michiko nods, moved by the apparitions monologue. She is about to speak- curious about the apparitions memory of her, when she hears a knock on the front door and a familiar voice calling for her, "Michiko? Are you here?"
The ghost narrows his eyes at her and disappears as she retreats to the door, "Shisui?" Surprised to see him here, standing at her door with his hands in his pockets, his hair in disarray, Michiko is secretly annoyed.
"Kakashi told me you'd be here." He says guiltily, "Could have told me you were planning on moving out."
Cold, and a little harshly, Michiko reprimands him, "It really is none of your business where I go or move. I haven't even started to move yet."
She makes a mental note to reprimand Kakashi for giving Shisui this address.
"I know." Gently, he gives her a half-smile, "I just wanted to apologise for being so harsh with you that day. I crossed a line."
"It doesn't matter. It really opened my eyes."
"No, I think it just gave you the wrong impression."
Both stare at each other pointedly, challenging one another to disagree. Michiko doesn't take that bate, she doesn't want to argue, not when she is in a better mood finally.
"Wrong impression?" She tilts her head, curious as to what he means.
"I promised your uncle I would make sure you stayed out of all this business. It is politics. It is nasty."
"You did what?!I"
"I had to. You're becoming the clan head for the Sarutobi. If you get involved openly with my clan's politics, people will notice. That won't look good for you."
Shisui feels an odd, perturbing air and glances into the house behind her, "Are you alone?"
"Of course, I am alone. It's just me and this damn house." Michiko hisses, clearly irritated with this new piece of information, "So everything you said about me minding my own business? That was all because of my uncle?"
"Look." He reaches out and takes hold of Michiko's shoulders gently, "The situation is complicated right now. But imagine, you openly become involved with Itachi and I. My clan notices. Your family notices. People like Danzo notice."
Michiko visibly stiffens at the mention of his name.
"That will put your reputation into disrepute in front of all the elders who will challenge your position. You cannot risk that right now. Hiruzen-sama needs you to take the mantel so that you can make the right decisions for everyone influenced by the power of your clan."
"What do you mean?" Michiko hates that she sounds so dumb- the truth is that she was never prepared for the role.
"As a clan head, you can challenge the decisions of the Hokage's advisors."
"You mean, like Danzo?"
"Yes. And you can challenge the giving or taking away of authority to organizations being run under the shinobi pretext."
"Like Root." Michiko says finally. Shisui nods and adds, "And the Konoha Police Force. No one can veto our power if we have enough clan leaders on our side. You are one of them, but you have to pretend to be neutral before you hold the mantel officially."
"oh…Fuck." Michiko shoves Shisui angrily, "Why didn't you explain this to me instead of losing your shit at me!"
"You broke my plate and stained my wall." Shisui says defensively, "Plus I was a little annoyed that you were sticking your nose in my family business."
That hurts Michiko, who has always let herself feel as if she is Shisui's family. She nods slowly, sobered up by the statement.
"Ok. If that's all you can leave now."
Shisui blinks at her, surprised that she is dismissing him. "Wait." He says, stopping her from backtracking and shutting the door, "Michiko, wait."
"What?" She asks pointedly.
"I'm sorry that I had to break up with you. Things are really rough right now." He scratches the back of his neck guiltily, "You still hold a special place for me. I love you, Michiko."
She stares at him, contemplating whether to slam the door in his face or be respectful. Annoyed that he has the balls to come here without her inviting him, Michiko decides to go with the former, and slams the door without another word, leaving a bewildered Shisui staring at the faded paint of the old door. Behind him, a frog croaks obnoxiously in the overgrown garden, and as he turns around he feels like the plants are leering at him.
'Who was that?'
Before Michiko can even go back to the kitchen, Tobirama has appeared in the entrance peering curiously between her and the door. Not in the mood for introductions (as she can still sense Shisui standing outside), she walks through him. Pausing in alarm, she glances back to see that his image flickers before he forms a whole again, now glaring at her for her behaviour.
"He's Uchiha Kagami's grandson."
Now Michiko feels like shit. It's enough that she is worried she is hallucinating a ghost, now Shisui's added irritation succeeds in usurping the good mood she built with Kakashi the day before.
Soured, she spends a few hours cleaning up the kitchen and sorting out all the expired food items. She finds many empty jars, and a bottle of expired ketchup that is nauseating to look at. Collecting the bags of trash, she drags them outside to leave by the gate for the garbage collectors to pick up in the early morning.
'When do you plan to return?'
The ghost reappears after some hours of silence, possibly a reaction to the information Michiko gives him. She has a strange inkling that Tobirama has a connection to Kagami beyond being teammates, but she remains silent about it.
"I might drop by over the next few days to make sure the house is in order. Will have to get all the bulbs sorted, and the gas too. Plus, water." She sighs, "It'll probably take a month for me to get the house in order so I can move in."
'I will be seeing you often then?'
"Yeah." She says finally, getting her keys from the dining room. "I feel sorry to leave you here, but I'll be around to annoy you plenty soon enough."
The ghost reprimands her with a steely look that is sufficiently intimidating. Wondering how the real Tobirama must have been, she makes sure all the switches are off before retreating to the door.
'You will leave your cleaning supplies here?'
"Yessir." She nods and waves as the ghost nods her a simple 'farewell' and vanishes. Closing the door and locking it, she checks the knob once to make sure it is properly locked. Walking around the garden, she goes into the backyard to stare at the giant tree. She spends a few minutes cooling her gaze with its massive height and thick covering of leaves that expands over the whole back garden. The ground is covered in a layer of dead leaves that crunch under foot, giving the yard a layer of orange brown foliage where the grass should be. Michiko wonders what she could do with it when she moves in.
She glances up at the massive extension of foliage overhead, guessing that it blocks all the sunlight and discourages grass from growing.
As she turns around to go back towards the front of the house, she is startled to find Shisui resting on a bench in the backyard. Having not seen him earlier, she flinches visibly, alarmed that he had been sitting there so silently that she did not have even an inkling of his presence.
"What are you still doing here?" She asks, narrowing her eyes dangerously at him.
"You didn't think I'd let you just kick me out like that?" There is a sad tone to his voice, "I meant what I said Michiko. I don't like that you're so angry with me although I deserve it."
"Look. I just need my space from you. You really hurt me."
Braving the discussion of feelings, Michiko opens up enough for Shisui to wither further at her words, "I don't know how I feel about some of the things you said about me. I would really like some time away from you to think about it all. I just came back to Konoha and one of the first things you threw at me was that I was gone for so long! As if I had a fucking choice! I was in prison for fuck's sake!"
Suddenly shrill, Michiko takes a sharp breath to calm herself. Shisui has gone very still and silent, just as still as he was before when Michiko failed to notice him.
"I'm sorry." He says, "I was a real prick."
"Yeah! And I don't need that right now!" Stomping one foot on the ground, she hears the crunch of leaves under her and gestures with her hand, "Please leave. Before I lose my temper and say something worse. Please." She is half-begging, mostly because she has very little control over the more hostile spectrum of emotions she experiences.
"Okay." Sounding defeated, he gets up from the bench, hesitating for a moment as he tries to say goodbye. Deciding against it, he disappears in a flash.
Tense from the sudden confrontation, Michiko feels the need to swear build up in her chest for a few minutes before she angrily yells "Fuck you!" at the empty space where Shisui had stood, hoping Shisui is no longer within earshot to hear it.
As soon as the words escape her lips, she begins to feel calm again.
Unfortunately (and perhaps, luckily for Shisui), her words only fall on the ears of a silent audience who has wandered boldly into her front yard without considering that his actions may be a trespass of privacy.
"Yare yare…I seem to have come at a bad time." Kakashi says gently, peering from around the corner of the house. Michiko gives him an exasperated and defeated look, "Sorry taichou. That wasn't aimed at you."
"Was it aimed at your guest who just left?"
"...Maybe."
Chucking, Kakashi shakes his head.
"How did you know I was here?" She asks, peering at him with a slight scowl as she trudges past him to go to the gate. He follows, "You crossed me when you were on your way here. I thought I'd stop by."
"You told Shisui the address." Halting to turn around and cross her arms as she eyes him unhappily, Michiko demands an explanation. "Why?"
"He seemed like he was worried about you." Kakashi shrugs, guiltily, "I thought he meant well so…"
"You shouldn't have. It isn't your place."
"Sorry." Kakashi raises his palms in a placating gesture, surprised at her harsh choice of words. Never before has Michiko ever attempted to tell Kakashi to 'stay in his place'. A little defeated, he attempts to change the topic to one that might distract her mind from his overstepping, "Don't get angry. I'm only here because your cousin wanted me to invite you for drinks tonight."
"Asuma sent you here?" She is miffed that her cousin could not stop by himself.
"He was caught up in some of his father's work." Michiko nods understandingly, knowing Asuma is busy pushing for the clan-head mantel to be passed from him to her- it involves a plethora of legal work and forms- as he is still his father's heir for everything else.
"We'll be going to the Akimichi Grill. It will be fun- you should try to come. Might be a good break."
"I hardly ever drink, you know that." She says quietly as she continues her way to the gate. Kakashi follows her, with his hands in his pockets, watching her fondly.
"I know. You might enjoy our company. It's up to you; we're meeting at 7 30 there." He pauses and adds as an afterthought, "Genma will be there too."
He knows fully well that Michiko has always had a crush on the Hokage's bodyguard. Since their Academy days, in fact. Perhaps a distraction from Shisui is what Michiko needs. With a side-eye, she gives Kakashi an appraising look.
"Okay, I'll see if I want to come by." She waits for him to follow her out of the gate before dropping the latch to lock it. With one last look at the house, she begins to walk down the street, letting her taichou fall into step with her. She thinks about Shiranui Genma; they are well-acquainted, and with his role as her uncle's bodyguard, she does see him around often enough to find that he is cooling to her eyes.
She tries not to think about it too much.
They walk in an amiable silence, the slow steady trilling of a songbird singing somewhere above them. The sound grates on Michiko's nerves, but Kakashi enjoys the rare leisure of a long walk and doesn't seem keen on leaving the girl's company.
"Last time you guys invited me to Akimichi's is the day before I left with Jiraiya-sama actually." She says thoughtfully. Kakashi peers at her, remembering that night hazily; he had slept with a teacher from the Academy that night- he can't recall her name anymore. It took some effort for him to blow her off after that, and he was now worried that Nina would be Kurenai's next effort to set up with him.
"Yes, I remember that night."
Michiko laughs suddenly, "How? Aren't you infamous for getting absolutely wasted?"
Kakashi eyes her humorously from the corner of his eye, amused that she is well-acquainted with his drunken stories- without a doubt, Asuma has been the one to fill her in each time. He wonders how funny she finds them- he wonders how she feels about his more promiscuous reputation. He doesn't doubt that Michiko gets to hear about his adventures with women from Asuma; the cousins are close enough to talk about such things.
"I suppose I am. For several other things as well." He teases, good-naturedly. Michiko gives him the side-eye and wriggles her eyebrows.
"Oh, I know everything you're famous for." She doesn't sound put-off, instead giggling. Her cheeks are suddenly dusted with a shade of pink that interests Kakashi; he wonders if she finds his promiscuity arousing.
"Good to know you're well up to date." He chuckles.
"Does Genma join you guys often?" Probing curiously, she notes that Kakashi gives her a look.
"Yes, he and Guy always join us. They're fun company, although they drink as much as I do nearly."
Nodding silently, they continue their walk until they reach the outskirts of Sector 2, just towards the high street. Here, they part ways as Kakashi continues onwards into the village and Michiko turns to return to the Sarutobi manor.
He pauses for a moment to look over his shoulder at the girl, a hint of tenderness in his gaze as he watches her disappear down a small lane that heads into Sector 3, towards her uncle's ancient home.
'I hope she comes.'