Had I been a more outgoing person, like either Adam or Pam, perhaps I would have handled this whole situation better, I thought as I emptied the contents of my laundry basket into the washer. I was a shy person by nature. It usually took me a while to warm up to normal people. Getting used to abnormal people in a situation that has been forced on me was going to be a challenge. You could have said no I silently thought. It was true. I could have said no to them staying right from the beginning. Unfortunately I had the drawback of being a soft-hearted individual. Realistically I couldn't have turned away a stray cat, so the chances of me turning them away had been pretty slim.

After all, forcing my fellow humans out into the cold would have been monstrously cruel. Pushing the start button on the washer I paused, they were human right? At this point though, they could tell me they were aliens from Mars and it would have made about as much sense as anything they told me last night, ironically probably more so.

Leaving the washer to do its thing I headed towards the kitchen. To my complete surprise I found it cleaned. The dishes had been done and the counters and stove had been wiped down. I was certainly grateful, but it made me wonder how much time I had spent brooding/contemplating in my room.

Minato and Jiraiya were presently seated at my small kitchen table drinking tea. It abruptly became clear just how poor of a host I had been. I had not bothered to ask if they were familiar with the appliances in order to cook, nor had I offered them so much as a beverage. I had simply assumed that they had known how to use a stove or microwave and left them to fend for themselves. Thankfully it appeared as though they did know how, but I still felt guilty.

Pouring myself a cup of tea I joined them at the table. Despite my early session of shouting and launching projectiles, Jiraiya did not seem the least bit put out. In fact he seemed almost smug as he offered me a large grin and a suggestive wink when I sat down, which I found slightly irritating. I took a deep breath and a sip of tea to calm myself. Allowing myself to become angry again would do no good.

"As long as you are staying here I think it's fair that we set up some ground rules." I kept my voice as calm and rational as I could and was proud of myself for only having the barest hint of nervousness.

"That seems reasonable," Minato replied taking a sip of his own tea.

"Agreed"

"Alright, rule number 1: my room is off-limits." I turned a pointed glare on Jiraiya. "Rule number 2: it's probably best if you don't answer the phone. If you hear it ringing just let it go to voicemail." I had two reasons for this rule. First of all I didn't need one of them answering the phone when someone like Pam called. Pam was blabby and couldn't keep a secret. If she called Monday and one of them happened to answer it was a sure bet that by Tuesday the whole lab would know that I was "shacked up with some guy". Lastly, and this was probably more selfish, I wanted to keep my normal life and the part of my life that now involved them separate.

"Rule number 3: no unnecessary use of powers." It seemed ridiculous to say it, but they clearly had some type of abilities that regular humans didn't have. I had momentarily entertained the idea of having them list their powers for me, but the more I thought about it the more I was probably better off not knowing. What they had already shown me, such as some form of teleportation and glowing orbs had been terrifying enough. "That means no blinking in front of me without warning. Honestly I don't think my heart could handle the stress."

I paused to take another sip of my tea. It appeared as though Minato was blushing slightly, although it could have just been warm in the apartment. "There will probably be additional rules added depending on how long you stay here, but we can deal with that later."

Though there may have been more I could have added I felt that the rules I had lined out where both simple and fair. It wouldn't have been reasonable to present them with a long list of complicated demands to follow, nor would it have been logical to expect them to memorize an overly long list of rules. Keeping things straight forward and simple would make cohabitation easier. Apparently they also agreed because I received no complaints.

"Alright, that takes care of the rules, on to the next order of business." I took another sip of my tea and pondered how I was going to broach the next subject. Although their clothing was, for lack of a better way of putting it, strange I couldn't just blurt out and say that what they were wearing was ridiculous. They would certainly take offense to that. "Since it appears that you may be here for an undetermined amount of time we'll need to pick up some supplies, mainly toiletries and a change of clothes."

I couldn't believe that I was actually suggesting taking these two shopping, but it had to be done. Being in a confined space with two people wearing the same clothes every day would quickly become unpleasant for everybody. I didn't need my apartment smelling like a Magic the Gathering tournament.

"So get your things and we'll head out when you're ready." I stood from the table and went to place my mug on the counter. The time on the stove read 3:26pm so we still had time to get some shopping done. Returning to my bedroom I retrieved my jacket and pulled on my boots. I was the type of person that got chilled easily so I went to the hall closet and grabbed a pair of mittens and a hat. Stuffing them into my purse I stood waiting for Minato and Jiraiya.

Minato arrived wearing a green, heavily padded flak vest over a long-sleeved navy shirt, matching navy pants and toeless shoes. For reasons I couldn't figure out, he had wrapped bandages around his legs which started from mid-calf and disappeared into his shoes. Across his forehead was rectangular, metallic strip etched with some type of geometric design held in place by a strip of cloth.

"Alright, couple things…first loose the head thing," I said pointing at his forehead.

He seemed a bit put out by my suggestion but reluctantly complied.

"It would probably be best if you took off the vest too." I did feel bad for suggesting this since I didn't have a jacket to offer him. Unfortunately, what he was wearing looked suspiciously like a bullet proof vest or worse something a member of the bomb disposal unit might wear. Either way it was likely to draw unnecessary attention from store owners.

To compensate for the vest I grabbed a scarf out of the closet and handed it to him. It wasn't an ideal solution but it was all I could offer. Stepping back I took in Minato's appearance and decided it was passable.

Unfortunately there was little I could do to make Jiraiya's outfit, from the oriental pajama-like shirt to the rectangular wooden sandals, less noticeable. Like I had with Minato I suggested he leave his head-piece behind. Unable to think of any other suggestions I retrieved another scarf out of my closet for him and hoped for the best. His attire was unusual and was likely to draw some stares but hopefully little else.

Leaving my apartment I decided we'd start with the easiest thing, picking up the necessary toiletries. Shopping for suitable clothing was likely going to take some time so might as well get hygiene supplies out-of-the-way first. Walking down the relatively quiet Homer Street we arrived at a Shoppers Drug Mart. Grabbing a basket from stack at the entryway I proceeded directly to the oral care aisle , Minato and Jiraiya following closely behind.

Glancing at the wall of toothbrushes I quickly selected two and tossed them into the basket. I wasn't made of money so I was trying to be as cheap as possible. Jiraiya on the other hand seemed fascinated by the electric toothbrushes for kids. There was no way I was buying him an electric Barbie toothbrush.

"This one is cute," he commented, holding Barbie's immovable plastic smiling face to his eye for inspection.

"And it's staying here," I answered back. Even if I wasn't trying to be cheap there was just something immensely wrong about buying a grown man a toothbrush clearly targeted to little girls. Ignoring his attempt at puppy dog eyes I continued to the next aisle . There I picked up a pack of disposable razors and shave gel and tossed them in the basket with the toothbrushes. Down the next aisle I added a bottle of shampoo and conditioner.

I had been so focused on gathering supplies that I hadn't noticed that I had lost Minato. Feeling the first licks of panic race along my nerves I quickly backtracked through the aisles to find him. I didn't hear any sound of a commotion so it seemed unlikely that he was in trouble. I just hoped he had the sense to stay in the store and not wander off on his own.

I found him down the candy aisle calmly inspecting a bag of sour gummy worms. Perhaps he had a sweet-tooth? Finally something I could relate too. "They're not very healthy for you but they do taste good," I commented pointing to the bag.

"I've never heard of candied worms. Are they made from actual earthworms?" he questioned continuing his investigation of the candy.

He was being completely serious. A fit of laughter escaped from my throat before I could suppress it. I put a hand over my mouth in an effort to muffle the sound but couldn't stop the tears now flowing from my eyes. Never in my life had someone asked me such an absurd question while being completely serious. "No…no they're just made to look like worms," I managed through bouts of laughter.

"I don't see what's so funny," replied Jiraiya having followed me, "it was a perfectly legitimate question."

Both men appeared perplexed by my mirth, making me question what kind of food they considered normal if candy-coated worms were a realistic possibility. Eating bugs could be considered normal in some countries though so perhaps it made perfect sense depending on your cultural reference. "Sorry," I answered wiping the tears from my eyes. "I just wasn't expecting to be asked something like that."

There were a few raised eyebrows and more than a couple stares from fellow shoppers and cashiers a like but the rest of the shopping at the drug store passed without incident. There was a moment when the teenaged check-out cashier's eyes widened in surprise before turning to glare at me but I chose to ignore it. Whatever her issue was it wasn't my problem.

One chore taken care of it was time for the next, finding some clothes. Although they could sometimes be surprisingly expensive, my first thought was to try the thrift stores. It wouldn't be the ideal place for shoes but it would be a good place to start for pants and shirts. Finding a thrift store along Granville Street I showed them to the men's section and left them to pick out a few items.

While they were busy doing that I went to go check out what they had for women. There wasn't anything that I needed but there wasn't any harm in looking. Shifting through a rack containing vintage printed t-shirts I was soon approached by Minato carrying what appeared to be a velour tracksuit. There was a reason some things ended up at a thrift store. "Unless you're part of the Sopranos I'm going to recommend putting it back."

Returning the hideous tracksuit to its home on the rack I proceeded to help Minato pick out some more appropriate clothing choices. By the time we were done he had a pair of jeans, a plain long-sleeved, green shirt and a black hoodie. I left him to try them on and went to see how well Jiraiya was faring.

I found him talking to a young man, who looked to be no more than 18, about something called Make-Out Paradise. It was apparently some type of novel he had written and he was suggesting that the young man read it.

"….it's all about the exciting, passionate love between a man and a woman…"

"Hi, could you excuse us for a minute." Not bothering to wait for a reply I quickly ushered Jiraiya away from the adolecent. "Hock your porno in your own time okay," I whispered once I was sure we were out of earshot.

"I am not Hocking pornography," he responded defensively.

"Please, Make-Out Paradise sounds like something that's going to involve lotion and vigorous wrist exercise the way you were going on about it." I was by no means a prude. I had read my fair share of books that described intimate acts between characters; however I did not suggest books to random strangers based solely on the fact that it had sex in it.

After promising that I would read the book, assuming a copy of it existed, I was finally able to get Jiraiya to pick out some clothes. A plain yellow t-shirt, some dark-wash jeans and a fire engine red hoodie.

I cringed a bit when I saw the bill total but quickly shook it off. This was a necessity and could not be helped. Besides, this is what my savings account was for. Well, not this specifically but I did have some funds for unexpected expenses.

With another tasked checked off my list I lead us to the Winners on the corner of Robson and Granville. As we entered the store Jiraiya whispered something about Orochimaru at the sight of the escalators. I had no idea who or what a Orochimaru was. Maybe it was the word for escalator where they were from. Oddly enough the two both seemed uneasy about getting on to the moving staircase. "It doesn't bite," I reassured, "but if you're scared you can wait here. I just need you to tell me what size shoes you need."

Jiraiya bristled at the very suggestion. Apparently one did not accuse a "ninja" of being scared. As if to prove a point he moved past me and stepped onto the escalator. I was going to have to be more careful with how I chose my words. I hadn't meant to insult the man.

Eventually we were all able to get through the trip up the escalator. Now that they saw that it was completely harmless they appeared less anxious about it. Reading the signs I headed towards the one that read "Men's Footwear". Had the weather been warmer their shoes probably would have been fine. Unfortunately, they were clearly not designed for the cold.

"Thank you for all this," commented Minato.

"It's not a problem," I smiled, "if the roles were reversed I'm sure you'd both do the same for me."

"Hmm I don't know," Jiraiya pondered stroking his chin in thought, a playful smirk tugging at one corner of his mouth. "I think I'd be more interested in helping you out of your…."

"Finish that sentence and I swear to god I will castrate you in your sleep." Though I had tried to sound angry I couldn't quiet keep the teasing tone out of my voice. I didn't know him well but I thought that maybe he was merely trying to get a reaction from me. Then again perhaps telling myself that he was only pretending to be a pervert was just wishful thinking.

When we finally left the store they each had a suitable pair of shoes, some socks and underwear and a set of pajamas. It wasn't anything lavish but at least they were now set up with the basics. Pulling my cellphone from my jacket pocket I checked the time. It was 7:05pm. I was going to have to start thinking about what to do for dinner. After all the walking we had done I was tired and in no mood to cook. I did feel a little guilty about spending more money when there was stuff I could make in my fridge, but laziness won out over thriftiness. I would just have to make sure to cook something tomorrow.

"How do you guys feel about pizza?" I asked as we made our way back to the apartment.

The response I received was a twin set of baffled expressions.

"Elemental towns don't have pizza?" I found myself growing increasingly amazed at just how different our cultures must be. Throughout the day things that were normal to me had seemed confusing and bewildering to them. Where ever they were from they apparently didn't have cellphones, cars, or pizza. Not to mention a whole host of other random things. In a way I found myself growing more sympathetic towards them. Adapting to an environment that didn't have your own cultural norms couldn't be easy.

"I'd try it," stated Jiraiya confidently, after I had explained what a pizza was.

Minato seemed a little unsure, but agreed to try it as well.

Once we arrived back at the apartment after pulling off my boots and hanging up my jacket I went to the kitchen to retrieve a menu. I was sort of forcing them to try something they were unfamiliar with the least I could do is give them a say it what toppings were put on it. Handing the menu to Minato for him and Jiraiya to look at I took the Shoppers Drug Mart bag to the bathroom.

I placed the items that were likely to be used right away in their appropriate homes and placed the rest under the sink. It was a little odd to see three brushes in my toothbrush holder instead of one, but I suppose I was just going to have to get used to that for now.

Before returning to Minato and Jiraiya I quickly slipped into my bedroom and changed into a pair of pajama pants. I found them more comfortable for sitting around the apartment than jeans. "Any thoughts?" I asked returning to the kitchen.

Shortly after coming back to the kitchen I was placing an order for a pepperoni pizza with onions and green pepper.

Migrating to the living room I flopped unceremoniously onto the couch. I had been on my feet for hours so it felt really good to be sitting down. Minato and Jiraiya followed me and took up their usual positions on the couch and armchair. I paused in thought. When had that become usual? I shook my head to clear the thought. Overthinking things was just going to make me feel uneasy again. I still wasn't completely comfortable with having them around, but having accepted my responsibilities as host I was starting to warm up to them a little.

Thanks for reading