Flower in the Mirror [Hatake Kakashi] [1]

❄️ Chapter 4 ❄️

The front door slid open and Yumetsuki found herself face-to-face with Kakashi, who stared at her with wide eyes and then quickly averted them away from her face.

"Um..." Yumetsuki said, slightly hurt by his actions but deciding to just leave. "You dropped this?"

Holding out her hand between them, Yumetsuki showed him the hook that was sitting on her palm and Kakashi stared at it in surprise. He hadn't even realised that he had lost it.

"You..." Kakashi began but couldn't find his words as he felt his cheeks heat up beneath his mask. He reached out for the hook her hand and he felt his fingers brush against the girl's skin as he took it from her. She wasn't looking at him either. "Thank ..."

"Is there something burning?" Yumetsuki asked suddenly, her nose scrunched up like a cat's nose, and Kakashi stared at her in confusion. "Do you have something on the stove?"

Yet again, those dark grey eyes widened at Yumetsuki and she watched as he turned around, running into his home. Yumetsuki stood stunned, and she sighed softly when she saw that he had dropped the hook when he had run off. She picked it up again.

"Kakashi-Kun...?" Yumetsuki asked, looking around nervously. "Where did you go...?" She didn't want to go in after him like this. "I am... coming inside..."

Yumetsuki slipped her feet out of her shoes in the Genkan and stepped into the house. She looked around, unable to see anyone. She walked deeper into the house, following the scent of the burning food and she found her way to the kitchen, where Kakashi was.

It appeared that Kakashi was alone at home, and from the little that Yumetsuki had noticed, it didn't seem like there were a lot of people who even lived there.

There were no pictures and very little personal items. It reminded her faintly of the home that she had left behind in Kirigakure. But Yumetsuki did not inquire or mention about such things, figuring that this was how homes looked to outsiders. Only inhabitants found them 'normal'.

"You dropped the hook again," Yumetsuki spoke up awkwardly. "I am sorry... I followed you inside..." She set the hook down on the counter so she could leave. "... um...?"

"I burned the entire fish!" Kakashi said and Yumetsuki blinked at him, surprised. "I burned it all... how did I burn it when it was a fresh fish? I just caught it,"

"... freshness does not really matter with burning, does it?" Yumetsuki asked. Kakashi looked at her and she flushed pink. "There must be something else wrong..."

Yumetsuki nervously walked inside the kitchen, coming to a stop next to the tall boy, peering at the burnt fish and then at the stovetop where the frying pan had been set. She frowned when she realised that he hadn't even tried to cook the fish properly.

"Um, you made a mistake," Yumetsuki said as she looked up at Kakashi. She blushed at his eyes trained on her close proximity. She looked away quickly. "... many mistakes,"

"What did I do wrong?" Kakashi asked, looking away from her as well. "I put the oil in,"

"You did not put enough," Yumetsuki replied knowledgeably as she had grown up eating plenty of fish in Kirigakure. "And you also did not clean your fish properly,"

"Do you know how to cook fish?" Kakashi said, glancing at her from the corner of his eyes. Yumetsuki nodded lightly. "... can you show me?"

Under normal circumstances, Kakashi did not like to admit that he needed help with something from someone else, especially if that someone was younger than him. But it wasn't the case with the girl standing next to him. Yumetsuki, strangely, had a comforting air to her.