In which rules are set and onions are rolled instead of heads.

Wherever she was, it was comfortable.

Insanely so.

She felt safe.

Through the haze of sleep, she registered it smelled like pine and dog, for some reason. And that was cool. Except for the dog part.

She didn't have a dog.

She must have left the windows open again in order to smell the pine trees in the backyard.

Swallowing, she let her mind drift like a lazy cumulonimbus cloud. At some point in her dreamlike state, it had turned into a dog with a weird laugh and she smiled wanly from wherever she was watching, and her mind became blissfully blank. A steady beat was surrounding her, like at a softcore night club, just as dark too. It was warm-but not too warm and she was cradled by the blanket.

But by god, for some reason there was a nagging feeling in her chest. Like something big had happened, or she needed to do something but she forgot.

Probably just the window.

Snorting slightly she turned and buried her face into the weird smelling fabric, trying to sink into it and a blissful sleep again. It was winter break and she was sure whatever was so pressing could wait. Her mind became as blank as the landscape she had seen earlier in the day. She was musing how it was strangely warm for a tundra, until a rabbit with spiky gray hair appeared. At first she didn't see it because the spiky silver blended perfectly with the icicle clad trees, buts its black face was hard to miss. She frowned from her position from the boulder, before shrugging. Something told her weirder things had happened to her.

She continued to sit and listen to the wind whistle through the ice until something rocked her world.

Literally. Not just because she was splayed on top of a boulder.

Eyes snapped open, greeted to a almost completely dark space. Walls that looked like they were lined with felt wallpaper surrounded her like a hammock. She froze, searching the dimness for the rocking.

Then it happened again.

The walls moved tentatively, like a musician plunking notes for an unfamiliar song. She was moved back and forth as a wind chime would, one of the wall things squashing against something hard and flat. The beating got briefly louder before fading as she swung away.

Squawking, she shouted "Hey! What gives!"

Really though, what was going on!?

The movements abruptly stopped and her heart beat loudly in her ears as she tried to gather her thoughts. The feeling from before was back as she desperately tried to remember how she got here. A cloud resided where her brain used to be and she couldn't seem to gather her thoughts. She hissed as a sliver of light appeared at the top of her hammock cave. It was a slow calculated move as if something was deliberately moving whatever was restricting the light slowly, as not to startle her.

Blinking as her pupils dilated, she took it as the invitation it was and shakily stood up, grasping to the walls in a baby like action. She now realized the space was a lot smaller than she had originally thought, as her head lifted the piece of fabric up and exposing her to the rest of the light.

The first thing she thought was she definitely didn't fall sleep with her contacts in, because everything was blurrier than an abstract watercolor painting. Normally though, she could make out shapes and shadows, thus she could easily navigate without her contacts or glasses, so by the insane blurriness, she must be elevated at a huge height.

That really didn't make her feel better.

Haruhi did not like heights, ever since she fell one day when helping her father with the roof, breaking her wrist.

Panicking slightly, she recalled how she dipped at the very bottom of the Venus fly trap thing, like there was no solid surface of something, and the pull of gravity was stronger. Jerking her head around she stared and sighed slightly in relief when she could make out the fine details of the fabric. Then she was thrown for a second, as even if she was wearing her newly prescribed glasses the details should never be this good. Hell, it was an arms length away from her, but she could still make out the individual weaves! At this distance that shouldn't be possible. And it stretched on and on, way past her ability to see where it stopped. Indeed the green fabric seemed to curve and arch up into something vaguely black.

Her breathing became heavier and more panicked as something shifted uncomfortably around her. She was now micro aware of a faint rise and fall-almost like the ocean tides.

"Eureka!" She shouted, and patted herself down. Pulling her glasses out of her hoodie pocket and stuffing them on her face, she blinked as her vision adjusted to the new perspective.

And then promptly gasped as the memories came river rushing back with the sudden flow of clear images. She owl twisted her head and shoulders around and found Kakashi looking at her with the most awkward expression she had ever seen on someone.

Seriously, he looked like a preteen discovering how babies were made.

She normally would have laughed hysterically with no qualms at that thought, but seeing his one hand hovering like a silent helicopter to her left, with the index finger extended to poke, she flushed in embarrassment. And titanic sunk back down in what she now knew was a pocket. He had obviously witnessed her mini freak out and now that her mind-cloud was gone, she was starting to freak even more. What she had just done was out-of-character for what she supposedly was. And no, the irony didn't escape her that he was a character himself.

Poke.

"Be right there!" She responded.

This was all supposed to be a dream! But if she woke up from a dream...then this must be real! She grabbed her hair and her breath came out in short, quick, gasps. She started rocking back and forth, trying to calm herself. Her hands fluttered around her hair, trying to get it to lay down flat and brushing against her chapped lips. Taking a deep breath and steeling herself, She grasped the inside of the pocket, and lifted herself up carefully, angling her body towards Kakashi's face.

She internally cringed as she saw him staring down at her, probably judging. Not saying anything, he moved his hand like a flying saucer and laid it flat less than an arms length away. Getting the memo, she blushed minutely, maneuvering herself onto his hand with relative ease. The hand curled loosely around her, palm up, lifting her up to face level.

For a second she considered he maybe had the Sharingan in both eyes, because his gaze was intense and she couldn't seem to look away.

She could tell he was grappling with emotions -she just couldn't tell what ones.

Damn ANBU training and mask!

He was giving her an appraising look, while slowly lowering her on what she now realized was a marble counter. Hopping of his hand, she stumbled a bit, grabbing the edge of her hoodie to nervously fiddle with it. She shivered slightly when the pads of her feet ghosted over the cold marble top, and slid around to face Kakashi.

"...Since you are going to live with me, there will be some rules you need to follow." His eye narrowed with his serious tone, and she gulped, nodding hastily.

"Rule one: don't make a mess."

Like she could.

"Rule two: don't get in the way."

As long as he didn't get in her way.

"And rule three," he said with a creepy eye smile, possibly because he noticed her disgruntlement.

"Do not touch my Icha Icha."

Wasn't that the orange book with the scantily clad women on the cover?

"What's Icha Icha?" she spoke slowly, tossing the foreign title around in her mouth.

At this, he froze up, and looked at her before narrowing his eye and sighing.

"All for the better I suppose."

She narrowed her brown eyes. Or course she would be stuck with a pervert. Kakashi was hopeless and his looks were truly wasted on him.

An awkward silence descended upon them both. Him staring at her, and her staring at him. Shifting from one foot to the other, part to keep up her image(because she was nervous and this was how she defended herself), she wondered if this whole fake personality thing was worth it. She could still stick to her story, but faking an entire personality wouldn't be a hard thing for him to see through.

Ah, who was she kidding! She really was nervous! Pretending she wasn't would only make it worse!

And he was still staring at her.

With a tiny gasp, she realized he was waiting for her to make the first move. It figures someone as socially awkward as him would wait for someone else to go first.

Looking up and away from the fascinating blown up marble, she full on looked him in the eye.

"I'm hungry."

As if on cue, her stomach rumbled. Blushing, she thought it wasn't her fault but whatever. Tea for breakfast and an apple probably wasn't enough. Neither was toast and jelly.

He continued to stare his one visible eye widening comically, taking up an amused glint. He glanced at the counter behind her, and if she didn't have her glasses on and if everything wasn't bigger and amplified, she wouldn't have noticed his minute flinch and weariness in his eye.

Following his gaze and turned to see the most beautiful ceramic fruit bowl she had ever seen.

It was a solid head (in relation to her) size bigger, and was decorated with glowing green vines that wrapped around the base and top lip like lace. Flowers of all shapes and sizes started from the bottom and moved upwards as if a stray gust was blowing them along the wind. It was glazed to perfection-she could see a faint outline of herself next to a white jasmine.

It was a fine work of art. Something Haruhi could appreciate.

The only thing, she thought as she leaned over the side she had shimmied up, that could make it perfect, would be if it wasn't as dry and empty as the Sahara desert.

"U-uh." He stuttered before clearing his throat. He was at the fridge in an instant and she felt a slight draft in the room from the motion. She skittered to the side of the counter trying to see if there was any food in the fridge. Stretching on her tippy-toes, she pouted as her efforts were foiled when he glanced over his shoulder and shifted himself in her line-of-sight, blocking the fridge's contents. One second of silence later and she realized something.

She had the sudden epiphany that he didn't have people over too often-although that wasn't much of a revelation.

She had an empty fruit bowl on her counter too.

Her face softened with compassion. He probably didn't have any food in his fridge, for all his wealth from missions, he probably had no one else to spend it on.

Or maybe he was cheap. Probably both.

Sure enough, when he hastily closed the fridge, she peaked under his arm. Pristine white shelves empty, and just plain depressing.

She quickly cleared the expression off her face and replaced it with one of curiosity. He was now looking at her with a slightly lost expression, and if she hadn't watched the anime, she wouldn't be able to tell either way. Again, she had to fight to keep her bleeding heart from showing, as he looked like a lost puppy. He didn't know how to take care of her, and judging from the lack of fresh food, he didn't know how to really care for himself either.

"It's okay." She said." I'm not really hungry."

Her stomach growled and he dragged a disbelieving eye from her face to her tummy and then back.

Great. Now he probably thought she was a liar.

Which she was, but still.

"Maa, It's time to go shopping anyway." He said, reaching behind to rub his head. Smoothly, he then removed the hand and laid it flat on the marble to the right of her. She jumped, before flushing. She was excited because it was pretty exhilarating to be going out. She knew with how skilled Kakashi was that he wouldn't drop her.

Probably.

Slowly he lifted her to shoulder height and stared, not knowing where to put her.

She smiled lopsidedly like his hair, and pointed to the pocket she had just been sleeping in.

A flicker of understanding passed over his face, and he flicked open the top of the vest pocket with one finger and slid her in. Snorting in amusement, she wondered if this was how baby kangaroos felt.

He opened the door and walked out, her hanging on the corner of the pocket, pulling herself up to peer over the edge.

She blinked. Then promptly gasped.

Konoha at dusk was beautiful.

The shop lights glowed in the dark like fireflies, crisscrossing over the main path and across the street to connect with brick, wood and stone. Ally ways were swept and sprinkled with green leaves from trees of every shape and size that seemed to fit themselves in every nook and cranny they could find. The sky was half filled with clouds shaded with pink, orange, purple, and gray, which tinged the shop windows and everything else a light pink.

Finally the mountain with the four faces carved in it took her breath away. The details and general shape was intense. It was awe inspiring.

"It's beautiful." She whispered breathlessly.

A peaceful mood settled over them, much like the pink tinge from the clouds over the village. The sun was already hidden by the trees. But still, there was an undertone of tenseness; Kakashi's chest was like an iron board under her feet.

Eyes were wide and taking in every shop and person that walked past. It must have been a holiday (judging by the hanging decorations), as a lot of shops were closed. Even more for the night.

In the distance she thought she could make out Ichiraku's Ramen.

As they walked, she could make out a store that still seemed to be open. As they approached, she could tell it was a grocery store, with fresh fruit(some unfamiliar) lined up in the front.

He walked silently and ghost like into the store, grabbing a basket and heading over to one of the aisles with the fascinatingly wrapped food.

So involved with taking everything in, she didn't notice Kakashi had stopped and was speaking. She was in the middle of a staring contest with a dead fish (spiritually connected) when she felt a tap on her head.

"Buh!?" She said articulately. Why did people keep doing that!?

"What would you like, exactly?" He responded with a bemused undertone. She defensively tensed. Was he laughing at her?

"U-uh, it doesn't really matter. I don't think I'll eat a lot in comparison." It was nice of him to ask, though, though that should have been obvious.

He hummed in response, and continued to browse the shelves, picking up foreign food items and putting them in the basket. Her tummy jumped with excitement (or was it hunger?) at the thought of eating the new food. When it seemed he had all the ingredients, they walked over to check out and Kakashi placed the items onto the counter. She watched, completely absorbed.

The cashier drowsily added up the price before stating the final cost.

"That'll be 4- Oh! Hatake-san! I haven't seen you in awhile!" they exclaimed, snapping out of their funk really quickly.

She felt him shift awkwardly. The man simply did not do social interaction.

"Ahh, been busy." He sweat dropped.

"Preparing an home-cooked meal I see. Better than those nutrient bars for sure!"

N-nutrient bars?

Haruhi grimaced.

The cashier continued to chatter happily in their bluebird way, putting their future dinner into a brown paper bag. When they were finally done, Kakashi picked up the bag, positioning it on the right side of his chest-away from her, and waved goodbye.

"Bye! Hope to see you again soon!" With a jolt, she realized she hadn't bothered to read for their name, so into the bagging process that she was. With a small smile, she thought she could just find out next time.

They started the journey back, the sun having long since set. While still alive, the village was silent and mostly still. Stars were twinkling between the tree leaves, and the leaves themselves hushed in the wind, almost as if telling them to be quiet.

She ignored them.

"What are we making for dinner?" She asked inquisitively.

He didn't respond at first, probably pulling himself out of whatever funk he was in. By this point, they had made it back and he swiftly shifted balance and closed the door behind them. He reached over and deposited the bag on the counter. She took the initiative to pull herself up and out of his pocket, running down his carefully still arm and onto the table. She had pretty solid balance, actually. She used to be that neighborhood kid who stood up on the bike seat with no hands.

"...I was thinking something simple." He finally responded, unpacking vegetables and rice on the stove adjacent to the countertop. She started at this, before nodding, standing unsure next to the tomatoes. He pulled out a pan that looked like it hadn't been used in ages, and set it on the stove top. He poured some oil into it and turned on the heat.

"Can I do anything?"

He turned to look at her with an appraising eye, almost asking 'what could she do'? And while she was still small, she wasn't weak, with an innately muscular build. She was sure she could muscle something over. So with that, she flushed slightly but determinedly held his gaze.

She wasn't helpless.

"Can you get out the onion?"

Taken aback, she blinked, before nodding and making her way over to the bag. If memory served her correctly, he didn't get anything glass or something that could be spilled if tipped over. If she lifted from the bottom and shifted over to the side, she could lay the bag on it side and could walk in like she owned the joint.

Not that that in itself posed a problem. The smooth counter was almost friction-less, and coupled with the paper bottom she wouldn't be able to tilt it over. Only move it.

She smirked.

That's all she needed.

First running over to the corner that connected with the wall she got a stack of napkins. Hidden behind them was an almost empty glass salt shaker. While she could pick it up and carry both things over individually, she needed to conserve energy-especially now that the shaker was a lot heavier. So she rolled it over and on top of the stack and proceeded to drag the napkins over the counter and to the bowl with little effort.

Going back and arriving at the bag, she grasped the side in her fists, and pulled it over until half of it was propped up against the beautiful fruit bowl. She walked around to the front of the bowl, dragging the napkins and salt. She lifted the salt shaker onto the edge before she climbed onto the rim herself. In reaching distance of the top of the bag, She jumped up and grasped the corner, landing on the head of the shaker. The top of the bag bended slightly in her direction.

Making sure the corner wouldn't rip in her grasp, She wrapped her legs around the shaker and swung herself over the side, tilting the bag with her momentum so it wouldn't fall into the bowl. She heard the bag's contents bump together as they went down.

"Timber!" She whisper-giggled.

The bag tipped over-and on top of her. She and the saltshaker landed safely on the pile of napkins she had place there previously. She wriggled free and rolled from under the bag, huffing all the while.

Standing up, she dusted herself off and walked around and into the gaping bag. Imaging herself to be Indiana Jones, she picked her way through veggies in the hooded bag and gave a squeal of victory when she finally spotted the onion. Using the other, heavier, objects as leverage, she pushed off them and pushed the onion out of the bag.

Breathing heavily, she blinked as she emerged from the bag. As she looked around she was presented with a new problem. She had no way to get the onion over to Kakashi. She briefly thought about using the napkins again, but with them being under the bag, it would be hard to get them out.

Maybe she could...roll it?

Getting behind the onion, she experimentally gave it a push and let out a delighted laugh when it actually moved. Sometimes the answer was more simple than the question.

She fell into a pattern, pushing one side and then another so it would stay balanced and wouldn't roll over the bump where it was cut.

Huffing and puffing big bad wolf style, she stopped it inches away from where Kakashi was cooking, sinking down on the cool marble and sighing as it made contact with her cheek.

Her eyes fluttered open when she felt the onion being lifted away from her.

She bleary watched as he took a chopping knife and shaved the loose skin off. He started out slowly, like a musician who hadn't played in awhile, before falling into a rhythm faster than she could see.

It really smelled nice now; the frying onion filled the air and the sizzling veggies was pure torture to her hungry belly-especially after that workout.

Still she was delighted. She considered it a huge triumph getting the onion over here. Most people wouldn't think twice about something so trivial, but then again, she wasn't in the most normal of situations.

So caught up in her thoughts, she didn't notice he was done cooking until he cleared his throat-inches away from her.

Shrieking, she jumped up again, before turning and scowling at him.

"Do you enjoy scaring me or something?" She asked angrily.

His eye curved into a smile.

"No need for that. Dinners ready."

Ha! He thought that could calm her down! Satiate her fury!

He was absolutely right.

Throwing him one last annoyed look, she ran back over a foot away from the brown paper bag, which was now mostly empty. There was a chair there he intended to sit on, and a glass plate that contained the stir fry.

A giddy feeling filled her like the meal soon would. Kakashi didn't have to cook an entire meal, he could have just gotten take out so she was touched, really.

Even if it was just for his mission.

The both settled down to eat, her grabbing a fried tomato and climbing the bowl and him sitting on his chair.

She painstakingly made sure to not look at Kakashi while he ate.

He made this meal, so he should enjoy it.

She paused to swallow thickly, and abruptly realized she was the only one eating.

"Hey..." She spoke hesitantly, giving him a warning. Slowly lifting her head she looked him full on with a serious sincere expression.

"Thank You."

Hey may have been a socially lacking manchild, and only doing this for a mission, but at least he was nice.

His eye widened in shock, which looked comical with his stuffed squirrel cheeks under the mask. A tension she had noticed before left his shoulders, body relaxing.

"Maa, no problem." He waved dismissively at her, resuming his chewing.

She still couldn't help but feel a little guilty. Her being here was very intrusive, and as a shinobi it had to have put him on edge.

Despite that, a content atmosphere settled in the kitchen and along their shoulders.

Haruhi smiled as she bit into the crispy tomato. Whatever happened next, she knew they could work it out.

If she had chosen that exact moment to look up, she would have seen a small smile on his lips as he enjoyed the food, and a considering look on his face as he thought about her.

There we go! I want to create a solid foundation for their relationship I can build off of for the rest of the story, so it'll be awhile before the plot takes off. Ja Ne!