Book 1: The Three of Us

Chapter 19: Culture Shocks are a Strange Thing

The sound spooks Sakura, making her turn around quickly to face the sword, "Please tell me I'm going crazy and that sword didn't just make a sound."

Kisame let's out a laugh, a grin lights up his face, showing off his shark like teeth, "It's name is Samihada. A sentient sword, so sorry to say but you're not crazy. It really did make a sound."

Sakura places her hand over her heart, "Dear Kami, that's gonna take some getting used to."

Turning towards the kitchen, I hide the smile that I can't stop from making its way across my face. I open the fridge and pull out leftovers to heat up for dinner. Joining me in the kitchen, the two observe what I'm doing, "I'm heating up some dinner. You two hungry?"

Kisame looks at the food, "Absolutely starving. It's been forever since I've had a real meal."

"Today has been exhausting and I completely forgot to eat lunch, my stomach feels like it's eating itself."

I give them both a look of worry and mild disappointment, "You two need to eat better." I make up two plates over flowing with rice, fish, green beans, and pickled beets. And make up one for myself that's smaller. I heat them all up in the microwave quickly and by the time they're done, the whole kitchen smells amazing.

We each grab our plates and make our way to the table. The three of us sit in silence, enjoying the food. I try my best to eat all the food, but I become nauseous and quickly loose my appetite. Half way through my plate I'm unable to eat any more. Kisame and Sakura are having no problem eating there food, shoveling it down so fast it makes me wonder if they're chewing at all. Seeing them enjoy the meal makes me smile.

Sakura looks at my plate, and frowns, "Are you getting nauseous again?" She stops eating to talk to me.

"Just the usual. Nothing to worry about."

"I'll go make you some tea," she says, and moves to get up.

I stand up before she can, holding onto the edge of the table when I get light headed, "It's fine, I can make it myself. Do any of you want some?"

Kisame watches the conversation between Sakura and myself, and I can tell he's unsure how to go about my illness. With the mention of tea, his attention is set solely on me, "I'd love some tea."

Sakura shrugs, "I guess I'll have some too."

It doesn't take long for me to steep the tea in the pot and bring it and three cups to the table. I set a cup in front of each of us, filling Kisame and Sakura's before my own. Once I'm done pouring the tea, I take a seat. I take in a deep breath, smelling the tea before taking a small sip. Looking back up, Sakura is sipping on her tea but Kisame is staring at the cup, a whole storm of emotions making its way across his face.

His face finally lands on something close to embarrassment, and what I'm assuming is a blush makes its way across his face, his blue skin making it challenging to tell. I stare at him, utterly confused at his reaction, "Uh, is something wrong?"

Kisame snaps out of whatever trance he was in and looks up at me, "Ah sorry, just a cultural difference that surprised me."

Sakura looks to Kisame, curious, "What sort of cultural difference?"

"Where I come from, the only time tea is poured at the table is during courtship. It's kind of like a marriage proposal," Kisame says, making it apparent that he very much so is embarrassed. 

Sakura lets out a laugh, and quickly slaps her hand over her mouth to get herself to stop, "I'm so sorry, that was an incredibly inappropriate reaction. I wasn't laughing at your culture. It just must of been such a shock to be bombarded with a marriage proposal out of the blue and I couldn't help but find that comical in a way."

A blush makes its way onto my face, and I hide my face with my hands, "Oh my gosh, I'm so embarrassed."

A grin crawls across Kisame's face, "There might be some culture shocks for both of us in the days to come. I was raised in a small village, in an incredibly traditional clan. A lot different than probably anything you've experienced."

I try my best to push aside the embarrassment, removing my head from its hiding place behind my hands, "I'd really enjoy learning more about your culture."

Sakura gives a sound of agreement, "Same here, I love learning about other cultures."

Kisame takes a moment to take in our responses, "I've never shared much about my culture with others, even after I moved to the mist village from my small village. And since I defected I never really had anyone to share it with. It'd be nice to share it with others."

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Disclaimer: The tea courtship is something I completely made up for plot.