Categories > Anime/Manga > Naruto > Pink and Blue Blues
Chapter 5: Bad Feng Shui
Ayame trudged up the stairs that led to Kakashi's apartment. Over her shoulder she balanced a broom and a mop. In her other hand was the handle of a bucket that held a variety of rags and cleaning supplies, as well as a container of soup.
Isumo, whose duty it was to park himself at the door that day, watched her progress with mild interest. Generally, no one came up those stairs except to relieve whoever was on guard. This was something different to break up the mind-numbing boredom of sitting there for hours.
"Can I help you?" he asked, standing up as Ayame finally made it up to the landing.
"Sure. Knock on the door for me, will you?"
Isumo looked slightly alarmed. "Are you sure you're in the right place?"
Ayame jerked her chin at the door. "Hatake Kakashi? Jonin? Silver hair? Mask? Forehead thingy over one eye? Killer good looks?"
"Huh?"
"Or so I assume," Ayame added with a wink. "That guy?"
"Uh, yeah, but you can't go in there." Isumo pointed vaguely at the door.
"Says who?"
"Says the Hokage."
Ayame unshouldered her mop and broom, and thrusting them into Isumo's hands, she pulled out a small scroll. "Well, whaddya know? Look at that!" She tossed the scroll to Isumo, grabbing her mop and broom as the chunin tried to juggle them and the scroll. "I have permission to go in and do some cleaning."
"Why?" Isumo asked, genuinely puzzled. "I mean, why bother?"
"Because he's been in there for over two months and the place is probably a pig sty by now."
Isumo unrolled the scroll and glanced at it. He shrugged. "Whatever. I sure wouldn't want to go in there. He's kind of grouchy." He sat back in his chair.
"You think?" Ayame propped the broom and mop handles against her shoulder and rapped smartly at the door. After a few moments of silence, she heard an angry voice bellow, "/Piss off/!"
"Told you," Isumo muttered.
Ayame ignored him and sighed. "Kakashi-san, it's Ayame. I made you some eggplant miso soup." She waited through a few more moments of silence. "I made it especially for you and I carried it all the way up the stairs." She leaned closer to the door, listening carefully. After a pause, she could hear some faint stirring sounds from within, then suddenly the door opened. She gave a startled little hop back and found herself facing Kakashi.
He wore only pants, slung low on his hips, and his forehead protector tilted at its usual angle. Even the mask was gone. He leaned his arm against the doorframe, his old ANBU tattoo gracing his bare shoulder. He stared at her coldly with his dark eye, his gaze traveling over her and her collection of cleaning supplies.
Ayame swallowed and smiled disarmingly. After a moment, Kakashi turned and walked away back into his apartment, leaving the door open.
"I guess that means come in," she said to herself. Turning to Isumo, she said, "Don't wait up," and went inside.
Kicking the door closed with her foot, she set down her bucket, mop, and broom, and surveyed the room. Calling it a pig sty had been a seriously gross understatement and an insult to pigs. Ayame gave a low whistle. It was a fairly good sized single room with a bathroom off somewhere, she supposed, and a small alcove with a sink and a small electric burner. There was a table with a couple of chairs, and a bed in one corner, on which Kakashi had resprawled himself with one of his orange bound books over his face.
Except for the bed, which was littered with Kakashi himself, and a clear space near the bed where there was a collection of large hand weights, the whole place was simply piled with trash, a few dirty plates and utensils, a few articles of clothing, and more trash.
In the beginning of his incarceration, Ayame gave him the benefit of the doubt as far as having kept the place tidy. But as time went by, he must have stopped bothering. With a sigh, Ayame went over to the bed and stood next to it for a few moments, looking down with a fair amount of admiration at the chiseled muscles of the jonin's chest and abdomen.
"What do you want?" came a curt voice from under the book.
"Like I said, I brought you some soup. And I'm going to clean your place."
"What for?"
"Because I thought it was time someone started treating you like a normal person instead of a criminal."
Kakashi slid his book further down his face to reveal his eye. He regarded Ayame thoughtfully for a moment. "You don't have to do that," he said, a bit more kindly.
"If I had any doubts before, I'm absolutely convinced now," Ayame replied. "I now feel compelled to clean this place." She leaned a little closer to him and sniffed. "Oh, man, that is you!"
"What?"
Ayame stepped back and pointed imperiously to a door across the room that she assumed was the bathroom. "Please go take a bath or a shower or something."
Kakashi glared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine." He swung his legs to the floor and stood up, starting for the bathroom.
"And put on clean clothes," Ayame added.
Kakashi shot her a dark look before going to a dresser and pulling out a few articles of clothing. "Yes, Mother," he muttered sarcastically as he disappeared into the bathroom.
After making sure she could hear running water, Ayame turned her attention to the mess around her. She gave a deep sigh. /Well, big stuff first/. Taking some large garbage bags from her bucket, she began filling them with old ramen cups, take-out containers, cans, bottles, and all manner of crap.
Having filled up about five bags and setting them near the door, she started on the small area near the sink. There was quite a load of dirty dishes in and around the sink. She dealt with these quickly and efficiently, then took a small metal pot, dumped her homemade soup into it, and set it on the little electric burner to heat up.
She walked around the room, determining what to do next. She went over to the bed and smoothed the covers on it. On a shelf above the head of the bed were some pictures that she paused to look at. One was of a younger Kakashi, judging by the hair and the mask, posing with two other young people and a man who was unmistakably the Fourth Hokage. Another was of Kakashi, standing behind Naruto, Sakura and that Uchiha boy who left some years ago. Ayame smiled. Those kids looked so young then. There was another picture, somewhat smaller, of Sakura by herself. It looked fairly recent. The girl smiled sweetly out of the picture, and Ayame felt a pang of sadness as she set the picture down.
She had not realized that the sound of running water had stopped a while ago, and when she turned around, she was startled to find that Kakashi had been standing directly behind her. He was dressed the same as when he went in, but in clean clothes this time. His stubble was gone and his hair hung damply over his forehead.
"There, now doesn't that feel better?" Ayame said after collecting herself.
"I suppose," Kakashi replied. He looked around the room. "You've been busy."
"Yes, well, there was a lot to do. I'm heating your soup up, if you'd like it."
"Thanks," Kakashi said, somewhat apathetically. He walked over to the little burner and looked in the pot. He started to show a spark of interest. "That smells good. Better than the crap I've been eating." He turned back to her. "Sorry if I'm not being a very good host," he said dryly.
Ayame waved her hand. "Don't worry about it." She went over to get her broom.
"So how did you manage to get in?" Kakashi asked her.
"Iruka talked to the Hokage and got me a pass."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Iruka did, huh?"
"Well, she trusts him."
"I'll bet." Ayame passed near Kakashi and he stepped in front of her, leaning his hand against the wall, blocking her way. "But does he trust me?"
Ayame glanced up at him, slightly startled. She gave him a little smile. "Don't be silly, Kakashi-san. You wouldn't try anything," she scoffed, ducking under his arm.
"Probably not. Except maybe for this." As she passed by him, he quickly reached down and grabbed her butt. She gave an indignant squeal and spun around, her hand raised to slap him.
He swiftly caught her wrist in an iron grip. Bringing his face closer to hers, his dark eye blazing with cold fury, his voice nearly shaking with rage, he slowly hissed, "Don't.../ever/...slap me!"
Ayame stared up at him, truly frightened. An instant later, he released her wrist quickly and turned away. He pushed his hands through his silver hair, silently holding his head for a few moments.
"I am so sorry!" he said finally. "Ayame-san, I'm really sorry. I'm just-" He sighed and dropped his hands. "I'm going out of my mind in here! Stir crazy doesn't even come close." He turned back to face her, sincere remorse in his expression. "I'm really sorry."
Ayame shook her head and waited for her heart to stop beating so hard. "It's okay. I understand."
"No, I don't think you do." Kakashi slouched into one of the chairs by the table and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
Ayame watched him for a moment, tears starting to sting her eyes. Finally she stirred and said, "Let me get you that soup." She went over to the sink and looked for a bowl, but her eyes misted over so much she had to stand still for a moment with her eyes shut tight. She tried to stifle a sob, but she couldn't.
"Ayame-san, please don't," Kakashi said wearily. "I can't tell you how sorry I am-"
"I know you are. That's not it!" Ayame replied, trying to control her voice. "It's just..." She shook her head and wiped her cheeks with one of the rags she had left by the sink.
"Not fair?" Kakashi had to smile ruefully. "Yeah, I've been through that stage already." He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. After a few moments of hesitation, he asked quietly, "How is Sakura?"
Ayame had found a bowl and poured the soup into it. Bringing it over to the table with a pair of chopsticks, she set it in front of him. "Well, she's not happy, obviously, but she's healthy. I haven't seen her much lately. She's not going out much."
"Why?"
Ayame shrugged. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. "Well, sometimes people say things about her, you know, just within her hearing."
Kakashi looked up at her. "What things?" he asked, an angry edge to his voice.
"I'm not really sure," Ayame replied quickly. She grabbed her broom and started briskly sweeping dust into little piles. "Actually, ever since Naruto lit into some of the people a while back, there hasn't been much open talk."
"Good for him." Kakashi snagged a chunk of tofu from the bowl. "I'm assuming people are talking about me as well. Not that I care."
"Oh, sure. There's the anti-you people along with the anti-Sakura people." Ayame swept some dust bunnies up into a pan and dumped them in one of the garbage bags. She straightened up and looked over at him. "I'm not in either of those groups, by the way."
Kakashi gave her a slight smile. "I appreciate that. How about your boyfriend?"
"Iruka?" Ayame was thoughtful for a moment. "He's sort of reserving judgment, I think. He's basically sympathetic, and he's been really kind to Sakura, but it still goes against...I don't know...his belief system. He's kind of a stickler for rules."
"Yeah, well, I was like that once, and I lived to regret it. He might someday, too," Kakashi said somberly. He lifted his bowl and drank some of the broth. "This is really great, by the way."
Ayame lifted a shoulder modestly. "My pleasure. I'll send some more." She started tossing her cleaning things back into the bucket. "As far as Iruka's concerned, he didn't hesitate to go the Hokage when I asked him. Although I think he did it because I wasn't real happy with him. I was getting a little tired of his pessimism."
"Well, tell him I appreciate what he did. Just don't tell him about our little exchange before, if you don't mind," Kakashi added ruefully. He contemplated the remnants of his soup for a moment. "Are you two pretty serious?"
Ayame nodded. "Yeah, we are."
"Then don't waste time with little fights. As a matter of fact, as soon as you get the chance, take him someplace quiet and do him senseless."
Ayame smiled at him. Cute dimples, Kakashi thought. "I'll do that," she replied. She picked up her bucket, mop, and brooms, then paused. "Is there anything you'd like me to tell Sakura if I see her?"
Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. The desperate, aching longing to just feel her body against his was threatening to make him snap faster than just being stuck in this apartment. "I'd need a lifetime to say everything I want to say to her." He looked back at Ayame. "Just tell her...tell her I love her. And to not give up hope."
Ayame nodded. "I'll do that, too." She turned to the door and Kakashi got out of his chair.
"Let me get that," he said, opening the door.
"Thanks." Before she stepped through the doorway, she reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Don't you give up hope, either."
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Ayame trudged up the stairs that led to Kakashi's apartment. Over her shoulder she balanced a broom and a mop. In her other hand was the handle of a bucket that held a variety of rags and cleaning supplies, as well as a container of soup.
Isumo, whose duty it was to park himself at the door that day, watched her progress with mild interest. Generally, no one came up those stairs except to relieve whoever was on guard. This was something different to break up the mind-numbing boredom of sitting there for hours.
"Can I help you?" he asked, standing up as Ayame finally made it up to the landing.
"Sure. Knock on the door for me, will you?"
Isumo looked slightly alarmed. "Are you sure you're in the right place?"
Ayame jerked her chin at the door. "Hatake Kakashi? Jonin? Silver hair? Mask? Forehead thingy over one eye? Killer good looks?"
"Huh?"
"Or so I assume," Ayame added with a wink. "That guy?"
"Uh, yeah, but you can't go in there." Isumo pointed vaguely at the door.
"Says who?"
"Says the Hokage."
Ayame unshouldered her mop and broom, and thrusting them into Isumo's hands, she pulled out a small scroll. "Well, whaddya know? Look at that!" She tossed the scroll to Isumo, grabbing her mop and broom as the chunin tried to juggle them and the scroll. "I have permission to go in and do some cleaning."
"Why?" Isumo asked, genuinely puzzled. "I mean, why bother?"
"Because he's been in there for over two months and the place is probably a pig sty by now."
Isumo unrolled the scroll and glanced at it. He shrugged. "Whatever. I sure wouldn't want to go in there. He's kind of grouchy." He sat back in his chair.
"You think?" Ayame propped the broom and mop handles against her shoulder and rapped smartly at the door. After a few moments of silence, she heard an angry voice bellow, "/Piss off/!"
"Told you," Isumo muttered.
Ayame ignored him and sighed. "Kakashi-san, it's Ayame. I made you some eggplant miso soup." She waited through a few more moments of silence. "I made it especially for you and I carried it all the way up the stairs." She leaned closer to the door, listening carefully. After a pause, she could hear some faint stirring sounds from within, then suddenly the door opened. She gave a startled little hop back and found herself facing Kakashi.
He wore only pants, slung low on his hips, and his forehead protector tilted at its usual angle. Even the mask was gone. He leaned his arm against the doorframe, his old ANBU tattoo gracing his bare shoulder. He stared at her coldly with his dark eye, his gaze traveling over her and her collection of cleaning supplies.
Ayame swallowed and smiled disarmingly. After a moment, Kakashi turned and walked away back into his apartment, leaving the door open.
"I guess that means come in," she said to herself. Turning to Isumo, she said, "Don't wait up," and went inside.
Kicking the door closed with her foot, she set down her bucket, mop, and broom, and surveyed the room. Calling it a pig sty had been a seriously gross understatement and an insult to pigs. Ayame gave a low whistle. It was a fairly good sized single room with a bathroom off somewhere, she supposed, and a small alcove with a sink and a small electric burner. There was a table with a couple of chairs, and a bed in one corner, on which Kakashi had resprawled himself with one of his orange bound books over his face.
Except for the bed, which was littered with Kakashi himself, and a clear space near the bed where there was a collection of large hand weights, the whole place was simply piled with trash, a few dirty plates and utensils, a few articles of clothing, and more trash.
In the beginning of his incarceration, Ayame gave him the benefit of the doubt as far as having kept the place tidy. But as time went by, he must have stopped bothering. With a sigh, Ayame went over to the bed and stood next to it for a few moments, looking down with a fair amount of admiration at the chiseled muscles of the jonin's chest and abdomen.
"What do you want?" came a curt voice from under the book.
"Like I said, I brought you some soup. And I'm going to clean your place."
"What for?"
"Because I thought it was time someone started treating you like a normal person instead of a criminal."
Kakashi slid his book further down his face to reveal his eye. He regarded Ayame thoughtfully for a moment. "You don't have to do that," he said, a bit more kindly.
"If I had any doubts before, I'm absolutely convinced now," Ayame replied. "I now feel compelled to clean this place." She leaned a little closer to him and sniffed. "Oh, man, that is you!"
"What?"
Ayame stepped back and pointed imperiously to a door across the room that she assumed was the bathroom. "Please go take a bath or a shower or something."
Kakashi glared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine." He swung his legs to the floor and stood up, starting for the bathroom.
"And put on clean clothes," Ayame added.
Kakashi shot her a dark look before going to a dresser and pulling out a few articles of clothing. "Yes, Mother," he muttered sarcastically as he disappeared into the bathroom.
After making sure she could hear running water, Ayame turned her attention to the mess around her. She gave a deep sigh. /Well, big stuff first/. Taking some large garbage bags from her bucket, she began filling them with old ramen cups, take-out containers, cans, bottles, and all manner of crap.
Having filled up about five bags and setting them near the door, she started on the small area near the sink. There was quite a load of dirty dishes in and around the sink. She dealt with these quickly and efficiently, then took a small metal pot, dumped her homemade soup into it, and set it on the little electric burner to heat up.
She walked around the room, determining what to do next. She went over to the bed and smoothed the covers on it. On a shelf above the head of the bed were some pictures that she paused to look at. One was of a younger Kakashi, judging by the hair and the mask, posing with two other young people and a man who was unmistakably the Fourth Hokage. Another was of Kakashi, standing behind Naruto, Sakura and that Uchiha boy who left some years ago. Ayame smiled. Those kids looked so young then. There was another picture, somewhat smaller, of Sakura by herself. It looked fairly recent. The girl smiled sweetly out of the picture, and Ayame felt a pang of sadness as she set the picture down.
She had not realized that the sound of running water had stopped a while ago, and when she turned around, she was startled to find that Kakashi had been standing directly behind her. He was dressed the same as when he went in, but in clean clothes this time. His stubble was gone and his hair hung damply over his forehead.
"There, now doesn't that feel better?" Ayame said after collecting herself.
"I suppose," Kakashi replied. He looked around the room. "You've been busy."
"Yes, well, there was a lot to do. I'm heating your soup up, if you'd like it."
"Thanks," Kakashi said, somewhat apathetically. He walked over to the little burner and looked in the pot. He started to show a spark of interest. "That smells good. Better than the crap I've been eating." He turned back to her. "Sorry if I'm not being a very good host," he said dryly.
Ayame waved her hand. "Don't worry about it." She went over to get her broom.
"So how did you manage to get in?" Kakashi asked her.
"Iruka talked to the Hokage and got me a pass."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Iruka did, huh?"
"Well, she trusts him."
"I'll bet." Ayame passed near Kakashi and he stepped in front of her, leaning his hand against the wall, blocking her way. "But does he trust me?"
Ayame glanced up at him, slightly startled. She gave him a little smile. "Don't be silly, Kakashi-san. You wouldn't try anything," she scoffed, ducking under his arm.
"Probably not. Except maybe for this." As she passed by him, he quickly reached down and grabbed her butt. She gave an indignant squeal and spun around, her hand raised to slap him.
He swiftly caught her wrist in an iron grip. Bringing his face closer to hers, his dark eye blazing with cold fury, his voice nearly shaking with rage, he slowly hissed, "Don't.../ever/...slap me!"
Ayame stared up at him, truly frightened. An instant later, he released her wrist quickly and turned away. He pushed his hands through his silver hair, silently holding his head for a few moments.
"I am so sorry!" he said finally. "Ayame-san, I'm really sorry. I'm just-" He sighed and dropped his hands. "I'm going out of my mind in here! Stir crazy doesn't even come close." He turned back to face her, sincere remorse in his expression. "I'm really sorry."
Ayame shook her head and waited for her heart to stop beating so hard. "It's okay. I understand."
"No, I don't think you do." Kakashi slouched into one of the chairs by the table and leaned forward, his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands.
Ayame watched him for a moment, tears starting to sting her eyes. Finally she stirred and said, "Let me get you that soup." She went over to the sink and looked for a bowl, but her eyes misted over so much she had to stand still for a moment with her eyes shut tight. She tried to stifle a sob, but she couldn't.
"Ayame-san, please don't," Kakashi said wearily. "I can't tell you how sorry I am-"
"I know you are. That's not it!" Ayame replied, trying to control her voice. "It's just..." She shook her head and wiped her cheeks with one of the rags she had left by the sink.
"Not fair?" Kakashi had to smile ruefully. "Yeah, I've been through that stage already." He drew in a deep breath and blew it out. After a few moments of hesitation, he asked quietly, "How is Sakura?"
Ayame had found a bowl and poured the soup into it. Bringing it over to the table with a pair of chopsticks, she set it in front of him. "Well, she's not happy, obviously, but she's healthy. I haven't seen her much lately. She's not going out much."
"Why?"
Ayame shrugged. Maybe this wasn't a good idea. "Well, sometimes people say things about her, you know, just within her hearing."
Kakashi looked up at her. "What things?" he asked, an angry edge to his voice.
"I'm not really sure," Ayame replied quickly. She grabbed her broom and started briskly sweeping dust into little piles. "Actually, ever since Naruto lit into some of the people a while back, there hasn't been much open talk."
"Good for him." Kakashi snagged a chunk of tofu from the bowl. "I'm assuming people are talking about me as well. Not that I care."
"Oh, sure. There's the anti-you people along with the anti-Sakura people." Ayame swept some dust bunnies up into a pan and dumped them in one of the garbage bags. She straightened up and looked over at him. "I'm not in either of those groups, by the way."
Kakashi gave her a slight smile. "I appreciate that. How about your boyfriend?"
"Iruka?" Ayame was thoughtful for a moment. "He's sort of reserving judgment, I think. He's basically sympathetic, and he's been really kind to Sakura, but it still goes against...I don't know...his belief system. He's kind of a stickler for rules."
"Yeah, well, I was like that once, and I lived to regret it. He might someday, too," Kakashi said somberly. He lifted his bowl and drank some of the broth. "This is really great, by the way."
Ayame lifted a shoulder modestly. "My pleasure. I'll send some more." She started tossing her cleaning things back into the bucket. "As far as Iruka's concerned, he didn't hesitate to go the Hokage when I asked him. Although I think he did it because I wasn't real happy with him. I was getting a little tired of his pessimism."
"Well, tell him I appreciate what he did. Just don't tell him about our little exchange before, if you don't mind," Kakashi added ruefully. He contemplated the remnants of his soup for a moment. "Are you two pretty serious?"
Ayame nodded. "Yeah, we are."
"Then don't waste time with little fights. As a matter of fact, as soon as you get the chance, take him someplace quiet and do him senseless."
Ayame smiled at him. Cute dimples, Kakashi thought. "I'll do that," she replied. She picked up her bucket, mop, and brooms, then paused. "Is there anything you'd like me to tell Sakura if I see her?"
Kakashi closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. The desperate, aching longing to just feel her body against his was threatening to make him snap faster than just being stuck in this apartment. "I'd need a lifetime to say everything I want to say to her." He looked back at Ayame. "Just tell her...tell her I love her. And to not give up hope."
Ayame nodded. "I'll do that, too." She turned to the door and Kakashi got out of his chair.
"Let me get that," he said, opening the door.
"Thanks." Before she stepped through the doorway, she reached up and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Don't you give up hope, either."
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