twelve, At Home
EVER SINCE HATAKE SAKUMO HAD LEFT THE WORLD TWO MONTHS AGO, the son he had left behind had grown used to leaning on the shoulder of his dark-brown-haired friend and her family. They had become his safe place, the blanket of comfort on his shoulders. He couldn't help but snuggle into the blanket, pulling it closer.
Over time, he had not only grown closer to Izumi, but also to her parents Miho and Fuji. They treated him like he was family. It made his heart beat rapidly in his chest and his body feel warm at the love they provided him.
A few times Kakashi had made dinner for the family, the people who took him in, just so he could show his appreciation. Miho had waved him off several times, telling him how she could cook on her own, how he shouldn't worry about that. The silver-haired had insisted on helping, pushing the woman to allow him to help her until she finally relented, making space for him by her side.
"Okay, hun, today we'll make some miso again. I'll teach you the most efficient way to make it, what do you say?" With her cerulean eyes crinkling, she smiled down at him affectionately, resisting the urge to ruffle his hair.
"Show me." He demanded, focusing on the cutting board she laid out in front of him.
Miho showed the silver-haired all she knew, giving him tips here and there, so he not only would be safe while cooking, but could also do it efficiently. As she learned during the numerous times she showed him various recipes, Kakashi was a fast learner, picking up steps and reflecting on them later to use them for other recipes. The blond had always been aware of the fact that the boy was a prodigy, but even at home, the fact presented itself.
"Be mindful to not cut your fingers. We wouldn't want you to be hurt, hun, m'kay?" Miho gave him a pointed look. "If you tuck your fingers in like this, you can't accidentally chop them off." She showed him how too, cutting up vegetables without hurting herself once. Then, she scooted the board over to him, giving Kakashi some vegetables to cut up. "Now, you try."
Carefully, he repeated what the woman had just shown him. A few times, he allowed his gaze to flicker over to hers, taking in the expression on her face. She looked proudly at him, a sentimental smile playing on her lips. Once he had finished, without hurting himself once, the woman clapped her hands in delight.
"Great job, Kakashi! You're a talent, that's for sure." She praised him, reaching out to ruffle his hair affectionately. He made no move to escape the affection, and instead stood still, allowing the warm feeling to engulf him. She acted like a mother. Not that he minded.
Fuji too had taken the silver-haired boy under his wing, showering him with just as much love as his wife did. From the man he had not learned to cook, instead, he was introduced to the great wonders of literature. As it turned out, within the Yamanaka home hid a library filled to the brim with books of all kinds: from thrillers, to works of fiction or philosophy and even scrolls about jutsus Kakashi never even heard of.
"You can take whatever book you want, whenever you want, okay, chef?"
Carefully, Fuji had introduced Kakashi to all of his favorite books and also explained why they were his favorite, going over most books in detail. Intently, Kakashi listened and clung to every word the man spoke. As a result, he also noticed how Fuji limped as he walked, sometimes dragging one leg behind the other.
"This might be interesting for you, Kakashi," Fuji had walked off to another corner of the room, limp prominent with every step. He halted in front of a shelf and reached out with his left hand to grab a scroll. Once he had grabbed the scroll, he turned towards the boy again, holding it out to him. "In this scroll, information about lightning release is written down. If you want to create a jutsu with your affinity one day, this could help you."
Kakashi carefully took the scroll out of the man's outstretched hand, turning it in his hand a few times to inspect it. "Thank you."
The man smiled gently at him. "No problem, kid."
When Kakashi took the recommended books and scroll up into his room, he immediately deposited by his bed, careful not to crush the dog pillow Pakkun always used when summoned. After Kakashi had revealed to the two older Yamanakas that he had several summons, they had insisted on providing him with a dog bed, so that 'his dog friends could always come on by and make themselves comfortable'.
Kakashi felt at home with the Yamanakas, and if he was honest with himself, that scared him a little.
DURING BREAKFAST, Miho had recommended the two children to go to the carnival that would be in Konoha, to have some fun there and to enjoy themselves. 'My co-worker told me about this' she had said, smiling brightly at both Izumi and Kakashi.
Fuji had nodded in agreement, mouth full of food as he stared at the children.
Neither of them rejected the idea and instead went with it.
That was how the two of them found themselves at the carnival, squeezed in a crowd of people. Izumi made her way to a booth where the crowd only thickened, curious about what had caught so much attention. Kakashi followed her.
The booth was of a ninjutsu competition that would be held that day. It was specifically targeted at children to participate.
On the table by the booth lay a kunai that practically glittered in the sunlight, its smooth silver surface reflecting the sunbeams. It sparkled in Izumi's opinion.
"It's pretty." She gushed, cerulean eyes were blown wide as she focused intently on the prize.
Kakashi nodded in agreement, charcoal eyes fixating on the expression his friend wore instead of the kunai. Her mouth was opened into the shape of the letter o, her fingers sprawled on her cheeks while she stared at the object in wonder.
"I want to participate," said Kakashi suddenly.
He moved towards where the applications could be handed in and filled out one himself, his friend beside him as he did so. A ninjutsu competition, he could totally do this.
KAKASHI AND IZUMI HAD SETTLED THEMSELVES INTO A TREE, one by the podium, just after Kakashi had signed up to participate in the competition. From their place on a shared branch, both had a good view of the happenings and could observe everything.
"I wonder what kind of ninjutsu we'll see next." spoke the host, firing up the crowd of people watching.
Izumi saw Obito step up to try, a confident smile playing on his lips. He made his way to the wooden podium in quick strides, walking past the tree on which the brunette and silver-haired sat.
"Up next, Uchiha Obito."
"That's me." He hurried to the side of the host, applause following his every step.
"You can do it, Obito!" yelled Rin from the crowd, cupping her hands around her mouth to make herself louder.
"What is it that you are going to be showing us today, Obito?"
On the podium, the raven-haired boy stood proudly, his hands placed on his hip as he looked into the crowd, smiling confidently. "I'll be doing the Fire Style: Fire Ball jutsu."
"Wow, impressive! Let's get right to it then." The host moved off of the podium to give Obito all the space necessary.
Quickly, the Uchiha weaved the hand signs necessary for the jutsu he wanted to perform. Loudly, he proclaimed the name of the jutsu yet again and took a deep breath. Then, he released the breath and also a small flame out of his mouth.
Kakashi snorted. Izumi elbowed him in the ribs for that, scolding him playfully.
The silver-haired boy raised a brow. "Well, I can do it better."
"I know." acknowledged Izumi.
For his performance, he earned two times 7 and once 6 points, meaning 30 points in total. The reaction of the crowd was dry, with only his best friend Rin clapping while she grinned.
The host stood beside Obito again. "It looks like Uchiha Obito is in the lead right now."
Obito wore a proud expression at that, one that remained as he made his way down from the podium and back to Rin in the crowd.
"Now here is our final competitor, Hatake Kakashi."
"Good luck!" called Izumi after him, giving her best friend a huge grin.
Before Kakashi leaped off of the branch, he returned a smile of his own. In a smooth somersault, he gracefully landed on the podium, right beside the host.
"What are you going to demonstrate for us today, Kakashi?"
Kakashi was turned towards the crowd of curious spectators. "Earth Style: Mud Wave."
Izumi recognized the jutsu to be one of the jutsus she had shown him a few weeks ago as they trained. Barely before her mother had taught her the jutsu and while it wasn't of their kekkei genkai, users of Mud Release still had an advantage over others. When she had shown him, he picked up quickly, replicating what she had learned within barely half an hour.
"Woah," said the host, surprised. "That jutsu requires a lot of chakra. Will you be alright?"
Kakashi did not answer and instead began to weave the hand signs necessary. As soon as his outstretched hand made contact with the surface of the podium, it began to move. In wave-like motions, the wood bend and so did the ground beside the podium, moving the crow along with it. The motion was fluid, leaving the people to struggle for balance as it continued.
For his display, he received three tens from the judges, a perfect score.
"A perfect ten. The winner is Hatake Kakashi!"
The crowd cheered for the silver-haired boy while he stood on the podium, his hand raised up by the host towards the sky. Though the loudest cheered Izumi. She had cupped her hands around her mouth similar to what Rin had done for Obito and cheered as loud as she could. She also clapped for him until the inside of her hands turned red, alternating between the two ways of cheering him on. His head turned in her direction where she sat on the tree, his face softening slightly.
To emphasize her point, she began to clap faster, grinning brightly at him.
The host pressed the box with the kunai into Kakashi's hands. He lost eye contact with Izumi and instead turned towards the crow again, schooling his expression into one of nonchalance.
"He did it." mumbled Izumi under her breath as she stared at the boy. She couldn't be prouder of him if she tried.
WHEN THEY MADE THEIR WAY HOME, the sun had already begun to set. The sky was a mix of red, orange and yellow hues, all mingling together
The walk was filled with chatter about various ninjutsu and their effectiveness. The silver-haired boy was able to speak from experience and told his friend all about it. Izumi meanwhile listened intently, making sure to not miss a single word rushing past his lips.
When the front door of the house came into view, Izumi rushed towards it, removing the house key she had wrapped around a hair tie in order to open it. Once the key was inside, she twisted a few times until a quiet click confirmed the opening of the door. Inside the house it was dark, all lights turned off. With her left hand, she searched for the light switch blindly and once she found it, the entrance hall lit up in a warm light.
Her parents weren't home, or so she noticed. On the board beside the door, she hung up her set of keys, quickly taking notice of the note pinned onto it.
We left to eat with some friends. Will be back tomorrow. Have fun you two.
- Love, Mom, and Dad
"Looks like we'll be alone for tonight." Izumi turned towards Kakashi, softly closing the door behind him as soon as he had entered.
His charcoal eyes quickly took in the note, skimming it. "Seems like it." He took off his sandals at the doormat to neatly place them in the shoe rack.
Izumi meanwhile had disappeared from his line of sight. The only hint that she had ever been there at all were her shoes, neatly placed by his. Footsteps thundered up the stairs and he followed, the box with the kunai still in hand.
Just before Izumi was able to enter her room, a hand reached out to tug at her wrist. Fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back from the door. A squeak rushed past her lips.
"Here, for you." Kakashi held out the box with the silver kunai to her, an expectant look etched into his usually nonchalant features. From the edge of his mask a blush peeked out.
Izumi shook her head, pushing against the box. "I can't take it."
"Why not?"
"Because you won it, not me. It's your prize."
"I won it for you, so take it."
"For me?" She could feel the blush crawling up her neck while she gaped at him. A grin blossomed on her features. "Thank you so much, Kashi!"
The brunette took the gift into her hands delicately, careful not to accidentally drop it. Then, to his surprise, she set it down beside her door, keeping her arms empty. Another surprise followed right along.
Izumi practically flung herself onto her friend, arms outstretched to take the boy into her arms. Swiftly, she wrapped them around his figure, interconnecting them near the small of his back. Her chin settled softly on his shoulder, slightly nuzzling into it. When he didn't push back against her or tell her off, she pulled him closer, squeezing him in appreciation. For a moment, they remained in their position, unmoving. Kakashi's arms hesitantly began to wrap around her, engulfing Izumi in a hug of his own. They hung loosely near where the ends of her long hair were careful to not pull on them, holding her delicately.
"Thank you so much." She mumbled, giving him another squeeze.
Kakashi let out a small laugh.
He felt as though he could truly rely on Izumi, that she wouldn't leave him behind, that she would be there for him. She was his friend. He liked the thought. He had been given the opportunity to bring delight to her face, and he didn't regret using his chance. Friend, friend, friend. Best friend. The words lingered in his mind like an aftertaste. Kakashi just hoped it would stay a little while longer.