ap; amore

          kakashi’s startled for a moment by how … different she seems. her polite greeting is met with a curious head-tilt and an eye-smile.     ‘ just kakashi is fine, fuyuko-chan. ’     he sets his backpack to the side and looks her over.     ‘ would you … like a hug? ’

♡ 

♡ ♡ ?! ♡ ♡ !!! ♡ ♡ !!!!!!!!!!!   

        ‘ kashi-nii~~~ ’ the rosette trilled, tossing her hands up to wave at the masked nin. normally she would have bounded over by now and leaped into his arms, but the year apart had matured her. tsunade’s medical prowess and iruka’s gentle instruction had helped fuyuko develop more than she ever had in her home village. now, the girl stood firm and a polite distance away, periwinkle eyes sparkling with the same childish adoration as usual. 

    “Puh-lant? Nup nup. Fuyu-koko-chan live here! Sometime. Not all time. Was sad Kashi-ni go away for mission but he say Fuyu-koko can stay here while gone!! Now Fuyu-koko won’t forget Kashi-ni smell and have happy time with puppies.” 

She says this as she lifts up the large blanket she’d had over her lap, revealing several of Kakashi’s dogs napping soundly at her feet. There are a few doodles, here and there, but nothing really seems out of the ordinary. In fact, she’s surprised she has visitors. Kakashi hadn’t mentioned that anyone would be coming up to see her, so maybe it was more so a surprise visit. Should she offer him something to drink?

      What the fuck.

      They’ve reached the end of the alley by now, with the odd girl still slithering across asphalt. Isn’t it painful? Shouldn’t her back be shredded by now?? Shi has so many questions, but he has a feeling that if he asks, he’d be left with even less answers. 

     “My name’s Shi — and I think what you’re doing is fascinating, but I’d suggest walking.” He gestures at the main street opening just ahead of them. “No one’s gonna let you in if you enter like that, y’know?”

   Well, he is right. The street is busy. She straightens and sits, dusting off her skirt and shirt, then hops up, curls bouncing. She seems to have a never ending bout of energy, a flash of hot pink lightning, here one moment, gone the next. Fuyuko puts both hands on her hips and sticks her chest out, puffing a long sigh. 

HE CONSIDERS HER FOR A MOMENT, NEARLY  cringing at what kumo would do if they found out that the leaf was harboring a murderer or something – not that he really figures her for the murderous type, he just automatically jumps to the worst conclusion. he tells himself to calm down and try to be something resembling rational for once. 

‘ I WON’T MAKE YOU DO ANYTHING YOU  don’t want to do, alright ?? we can talk about all that once we get somewhere less crowded, but if it comes down to it, you can always give a fake name. ’      kakashi was pretty sure suggesting a foreigner lie on their refugee papers was nine kinds of treason, but it would only matter if they got caught. and, well. if it came down to it, he could always find her some fake papers. people did that all the time, and it really didn’t seem like she was any sort of danger. she was … remarkably sweet. 

‘ WOULD YOU LIKE TO SIT IN THE PARK FOR A  while, to make your decision ?? or would you like to tell me about the, ah … bad thing that you did ?? ’      he was almost unwilling to ask, seeing how it upset her. but it was best to make sure there wouldn’t be any, erm, unpleasant surprises. 

THE PARK SOUNDS LIKE A NICE PLACE. SHE vaguely remembered going to one with Papa when she’d been younger, before Mother had said she was too big to go any more, and takes another bite before answering him. ‘ Park good. Maybe tell there? Don’t know. Makes Fuyu-koko very sad. ’

SHE TRAILED AFTER HIM, DRAGGING HER feet every so often as she finished off the meat and veggies, eating the dango much more slowly. Shinobi were meant to keep secrets, but she wasn’t a ninja anymore, was she? No. And she never wanted to be one again. Not that she had any secrets from Kumo to share, not even her own family had trusted her enough for things like that. He was asking about hers, and she’d buried them so well she wasn’t sure she could bring them up again. Fuyuko wandered to a bench and plopped down, nibbling on the sweet the nice man had bought for her. 

‘ Is not nice story. Mask-man does not have to listen. Maybe best if Fuyu-koko leave. Does not want anyone to get in trouble... ’ 

  The coyote followed– or, to be more technical, he was being dragged along by the other nin, sure, he wasn’t too sure where he was being taken, but he felt like he could trust her until she does something unforgiving. The smaller shinobi had dragged him to what seemed to be a well-kept garden, ferns grown high, grass lush & many other plants blending with one another to create a scent  that was both overpowering & calming, especially with the lavender that was growing nearby. It wasn’t until he noticed the belongings that lay in the grass, next to them an imprint perhaps small enough to fit the petit nin.

“ No offense, Fuyu– “ He still wasn’t sure if that was her name or just a title she was giving herself. “ But it seems that someone’s already been here. “

“ Yes yes. Fuyu-koko-chan has been here. No one else. Is okay with sparky-sparky-boom-man? Can take things and find someplace else?”

HE’S NOT MUCH OF A FAN OF SWEET THINGS,  and that includes fruity teas, but it’s good enough,  and fuyuko made it so he will sit here and drink it.  he henges his face when he pulls down his mask to drink out of habit, turning it into a featureless expanse of skin starting under his eye. 

IT TAKES HIM A MOMENT TO REALIZE THAT  she just called him ‘a nice thing’, and it makes him huff out a breath of awkwardly-pleased laughter,  filling the air between them for only the briefest of moments.    ‘ you’re very welcome, you know. any time. ’

SHE REALLY CAN’T HELP HERSELF BUT SHE at least has the sense to remember to let him know what she would do before doing it, so as not to startle him all that much Fuyuko sets her tea down and scoots on the floor to his closest arm, reaching for it and mumbling. ‘ fuyu-koko is going to hug now, okay? ’

fuyuko is his favorite genin