47 While You Were Out

The Latest News and Rumors from Konohagakure

"Ugh, my head hurts," muttered Kotori as she opened her eyes, knuckling sleep-grit from them and blearily glancing around to take stock of her surroundings. The throbbing of her skull hummed in tempo with the ebb and flow of fragmented memories, the content of which caused Kotori to sit up suddenly with a twinge of nausea in her stomach. "No, please tell me that didn't happen…"

I will neither confirm nor deny such a statement, the demon murmured sleepily, turning a few times to make itself comfortable for a nap. You've upheld your end of the deal quite admirably, and I'll take my leave now. Enjoy.

Kotori's eyes darted from one corner of the room to another, searching for any evidence that would substantiate the imperfect images and sensations in her mind. She was relieved to note that she was still clothed and that her bedroom bore no sign of a second occupant and, massaging her aching temples, she peeled back the bedsheets and rose to check the rest of the house. "God, cat, you'd better not have been fooling around with that mullet-topped drama queen. I'd never forgive you."

The Nekomata was notably silent on this matter, and this only deepened Kotori's sense of worry as she went from room to room to verify that everything was the same as she had left it. Nothing was out of the ordinary beyond the usual functions of the house's owner, and with a relieved smile Kotori wandered into the kitchen to get a glass of water. The cold, crisp bite of the liquid brought her to complete alertness as she swallowed down the aspirin that she'd retrieved from the bathroom medicine cabinet, and with new clarity she glanced around the kitchen for signs of unusual events. Her gaze finally fell on the unemptied trash – full to the top with empty bottles that gave off an intoxicating reek – and flicked to the two recently-washed glasses sitting in the dish rack by the sink. "What the hell, cat! I'm not even old enough to buy alcohol legally, much less drink it!"

Aided by medication and a week's worth of deep rest, Kotori's brain began to fit the pieces of subconscious recall together into a picture that she found altogether distasteful. "Why me? And why him?" howled Kotori as she sprinted for the bathroom, stripping off articles of clothing as she went and wasting no time in starting up the shower. "There are a million others that you could have chosen," she continued, heating up the water as hot as she dared and reaching for soap and a washcloth, "but you just had to go after the one with just about as many issues as me! He even told me that he had no intention of trying to get into my pants, and you ruined it!"

But that's what made it so fun, the Nekomata murmured, enjoying her host's agitation with a half-awake grin. As your dear friend Taiki learned, there's nothing that a few well-placed pheromones can't help. He called it perfume, but no matter what you call it, it's hard for someone in the grip of a developing body to ignore.

"You're sick, you know that? Sick!" Even after scrubbing her skin raw, Kotori still felt it necessary to go over it again to make sure that she had removed every potential particle of perceived filth.

It would make our lives a lot easier if you learned to just sit back and enjoy these opportunities that I give you, the cat-demon complained, sitting up with a pout at her host's displeasure. Come on, admit it – some part of you enjoys this. Even though they may have their issues, neither of the two I've picked have been losers. They're both good looking, intelligent, and talented, and you wouldn't have a shot at them otherwise. What's your problem with this arrangement?

"You can be so smug because you don't have to deal with the consequences," Kotori grumbled as she shut off the water and slid the shower door open. "You run around stealing prime pieces of real estate that I really don't want – this last one especially – and then you wonder why people have problems with me? Ninety percent of Konoha's female population will be out for my scalp once word gets out that you had your way with that one, and I get to run damage control while you sleep it off. Nice work." After wrapping herself in a towel, Kotori then left the bathroom to plan her next course of action.

-------

"Since it's been so long since we've been here together as a group, this one's on me," announced Takeshi, patting Naeko and Taiki on the back. "And I'll bet you could use the break, Naeko, considering that black hole on two legs that you seem to have taken up with. How is that going, anyway?"

"Just great," replied Naeko, grinning. "He really is something else, and I like that."

"To each their own, I guess," the jounin mused with an idle shrug and then turned his attention to his other former student. "And you are the talk of the town, what with your adventures in the domain of the Hyuuga. I still can't believe you managed to carry that off!"

"Me neither," Taiki echoed around one last mouthful of noodles. "My dad just about had a cow when he got the letter…"

"Well, whatever it is so long as it keeps you away from my niece. You really had me going for a bit." Takeshi massaged his still-bare chin in remembrance of recent events and sighed wistfully. "I still wish you hadn't gone after the soul patch, though."

Leaning in to refill Takeshi's empty cup with fresh tea, Ayame shook her head and said to him, "Don't tell me you miss that thing. I think you look better without it."

This brought a sly eyebrow lift from Takeshi. "Well, if you really think so, I guess I can learn to live as is. Not like I have much choice though."

A fourth figure appeared at the counter, sliding up onto the last empty seat with a tired sigh. "Hey everyone."

"It lives!" crowed Takeshi, reaching around Naeko to mockingly muss Kotori's hair. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"Very funny, Uncle," Kotori muttered, nodding her head in silent thanks as Ayame poured her a cup of tea. "Good god, I feel awful."

"So sorry, but I think I have to leave now," Taiki stammered and made good his escape from the ramen stand, disappearing once he'd reached the street.

Kotori shot a puzzled look in his wake, which she then turned on the knowingly-smiling Naeko and Takeshi. "All right, what did I miss?"

"Well, in case you haven't figured it out, some of us actually have lives outside of our homes," her uncle began, taking a sip of his tea.

"And what lives they are!" added Naeko, giggling.

"Anyway, while you were off not playing well with others, your former boy-toy somehow managed to not only survive a run-in with Hiashi and Neji Hyuuga but also got a fiancée out of the deal! Half the village thinks the old guy's finally lost it…" A flash of inspiration lit Takeshi's face for a moment and he muttered, "You know what, I've heard it said that the Sharingan is a distant descendant of the Byakugan. I've also heard that excessive use of the Sharingan leads to blindness or insanity, so if the two are related, Hiashi could very well have gone crazy! I mean, he'd have to be a bit loose in the brainpan to let his daughter marry a guy from the country that tried to steal their clan's secret."

It took sheer force of will to keep Kotori from spitting her tea all over the counter as she heard this news from her uncle. Taiki's actually engaged? I can't believe it! All of that from an ill-timed run-in in the marketplace… and where does that leave me?

"Aw c'mon, Tori-chan, don't look so depressed," ventured Naeko, giving Kotori what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "It's not like he's the only one out there. I'm sure you'll find someone wonderful if you just keep looking."

"Hush, Naeko," Takeshi retorted. "Not all of us are so lucky to have someone fall out of the sky that's right for them. It took me years of searching and research to find one that I liked." Pushing his emptied ramen bowl aside, Takeshi then stretched with a satisfied grin. "But man, after all that's happened during this past week, I don't think I'll be able to stop laughing for the next three months. You wouldn't have anything to add, would you, Kotori?"

Kotori blanched for a moment, then forced herself to be calm. "Er, no. Sorry to disappoint, Uncle."

"You have to have something interesting to talk about," Naeko insisted. "I mean, you've been away for a week! What's kept you?"

"Let me guess," Takeshi interjected, giving Kotori a steady look. "Stamina training."

This time Kotori was less successful in self-restraint and managed to dribble tea down the front of her shirt before she could compose herself. "No, Uncle! At least, not what I think you're implying."

"If you say so," responded Takeshi in a reasonable tone that Kotori knew not to trust.

All was quiet for the next few minutes, leaving Kotori in peace to place her order and pray that no one in the immediate surroundings had a sudden flash of insight. She had just taken her first mouthful of soba when a new presence gave her fresh cause for unease. Damnitall, why did he have to show up? "I thought I could find you here."

Ignoring the murmured "oooo" of intrigue from Naeko and the sudden interested look shot her way by Takeshi, Kotori hissed, "What do you want, Uchiha?"

"I came by to tell you not to expect anything else from me. One night was interesting, but that's as far as I'll go." It seemed that even the passersby on the street outside had gone silent as Sasuke spoke, and for a fleeting moment Kotori wished that she were anywhere else but in her current location. "And just because I slept with you once doesn't mean I like you. That's all. Now if you'll excuse me, some of us actually have to work around here."

His message delivered, Sasuke left as suddenly as he'd appeared, but it was some time before any of the four witnesses to this pronouncement felt moved to speak. Whichever god is listening, smite me now, Kotori silently prayed and resumed eating her soba.

"So you do have something to talk about," Takeshi managed around the beginnings of a painfully suppressed chuckle. "And damn, that's one I don't even think I could top. Stamina training indeed!"

Rubbing her hands together fiendishly, Naeko let an evil giggle slip loose. "And when I'm not appalled by the situation, part of me is perversely fascinated as to how you got this one to work."

Hey, don't even think about complaining to me, the Nekomata retorted before Kotori could even think to scold it. I'm stuck in your body until I'm removed or you die, so I might as well make the best of things.

"That still doesn't make things any better for me, you selfish whore," Kotori muttered to the amusement of all within earshot, feeling her headache of earlier return with a vengeance. "Hey, Ayame-san, can you put this in a takeout box for me? I think I need to go and lie down somewhere…"

-------

Let's just face it, I'm going to have to tell her sometime, Taiki mused as he relaxed on his bed with a book later that evening. She isn't going to be happy, but I still need to tell her – she is still my friend, and she has a right to know. Why am I so afraid of this?

Something small, round, and hard came whistling in through the open window, impacting on the side of Taiki's head with a dull thwock and making him jump in startlement. "What the…" Looking around for the projectile, he soon came across a shiny red apple that someone had thrown and he impulsively looked up to the open window. A familiar figure balanced on the ledge, the long tails of her headband fluttering in the evening breeze behind her as she waited to see if she'd gotten his attention. "That wasn't very nice, Tori-chan."

"Have you ever known me to be nice?" the redhead grumbled, lowering herself to a comfortable seat on the windowsill and setting the paper sack she carried down next to her. "Congratulations, idiot. Some of my uncle's luck seems to have rubbed off on you." She reached into the sack and pulled out another apple, then rubbed it on her tunic to shine it further before biting into it. "Why did you run off earlier instead of telling me? I had to get the details from the rumor mill, and that wasn't pleasant."

Taiki rubbed his head where the first apple had hit and picked up the guilty fruit, looking at it for a moment as he tried to form his thoughts. "I… I just didn't know how you'd take it, that's all. You looked like you'd had a rough enough week and I didn't want to make it any worse."

"You couldn't have," Kotori retorted, taking another bite of the apple. "The demon has a way of ruining things that's kind of hard to beat."

An eye roll, then, "Tell me about it." He paused, trying to decide if he should continue and decided that he could lose nothing and to go ahead. "So, um, have you figured out why it is we can hear each other – you know, in our heads?"

A third bite and slow, ruminative chewing as Kotori thought over this question. She then swallowed, shrugged, and said, "I have no clue, but I'll guess it's because of the demon… like the other ninety percent of things that I don't like and can't explain in my life. Why?"

"It's just that, uh… well…" a nervous fidget "when your personal life gets interesting, I see it and feel it like I was there myself. It's made things kind of awkward a few times this past week, so could you ask her to tone it down a little bit?"

"I'm sure that'll be the first thing on her list." Kotori then shot Taiki a dark look and snapped, "Why does it matter to you? You're engaged to the girl anyway, should it really matter what you guys do in your personal time?"

Taiki's face mirrored Kotori's in its dark emotion as the implication of her statement hit him. "Unlike you, some of us actually have appearances to keep up! It comes with the position, so I'm sure you wouldn't understand."

"And you think I choose to be like this?" hissed Kotori, hands clenching dangerously. "If I had my way, I'd never have been with you in the first place!"

"Then why are you so worried about my private affairs? My god, Kotori, does this mean that you love me after all?"

The anger that had appeared so suddenly in Kotori's face and body language now disappeared, sliding away to reveal something else entirely. "Drop the sarcasm, Tai, it doesn't look good on you."

Taiki wasn't sure to make of the raw pain that now slashed across Kotori's face like a physical wound and, if he were to be completely honest, it could not be said that he cared. "Don't think you'll make me feel sorry for you this time, because it's not working. I'm tired of trying to keep track of the rules for all of your sick little games - "

Before he could say another word, Kotori closed her eyes with a quiet sigh and rose from her seat, leaping back out through the window and disappearing into the gathering darkness. Taiki jumped up and ran to the window ledge, yelling out into the emptiness, "Don't run off yet. I'm not finished with you!" But it was too late to catch her, and Taiki stood for a moment with his hands gripping the ledge in pale-knuckled frustration. It was when he finally moved to shut the window that he realized that she'd left the sack full of apples on the windowsill, and with a heavy sigh he put them on the floor at the base of the window before dragging the shutter closed and latching it.