I walk slowly in between Guy and Kakashi, Kit ahead of us as his tail sways from side to side.
"So... Can I ask you something Aimi?"
Guy looks down at me as he speaks, my eyebrow raising as I look up at him.
"Uh, sure? I guess so."
I mutter in response, the masked ninja quiet beside me as he walks with his hands in his pockets.
"Have you really been alone this entire time?"
Huh, that wasn't what I was expecting but alright, let's go with it anyway.
"Well not completely alone, I've had Kit with me..."
"But nobody... Human?"
I see Kakashi looking down at me now as I look ahead to Kit, his ears back as he listens to us.
"Oh... Well no. Kit taught me a lot but there's only so much that a fox spirit can teach a child, especially in the ways of being human."
Guy looks between my fox and I as I limp beside him.
"So there are things you don't know? What do you struggle with the most? Hey! Maybe I could even help you!"
I tilt my head as I stop walking, standing outside the stairs leading to Jiraiya's apartment as I gaze up and the overly enthusiastic Jonin.
"Emotions are certainly tricky. I understand a few but I guess there are some that I felt recently... That I'm not entirely sure of."
Kit sits beside me as he looks over to Kakashi, saying something to me as I kick him with my foot.
"No, not that one."
I growl at my fox and he growls back.
"Well tomorrow morning, expect me to be at your door bright and early to teach you some things! I'll even bring my student Rock Lee along! You'll love him!"
I blink at him, the words bright and early ringing around in my head before a question takes precedence in my mind.
"Is this kid like you?"
I hear Kakashi chuckle from beside me before he speaks.
"Oh, you have no idea."
I look slightly nervous as I force a smile toward Guy as he sticks up his thumb before bounding away like an excited puppy. Once he was out of sight I sigh, bowing my head as the masked ninja chuckles again.
"You'll get used to him, he's a good ninja and teacher. Just don't tell him I said that."
I nod before I turn to walk up the stairs, as soon as I put all my weight on my injured leg to step up, I crumble a little - hands immediately sliding around my waist as I'm held steady.
"Maybe I should just carry you up the stairs?"
Kakashi asks, his head close to my ear as I feel my face burning again, I'm glad I was facing the other way.
"That's... Thats not necessarily needed..."
I mutter and he sighs, one of his hands moving to behind my knees as he scoops me up as if I weighed nothing, walking up the steps toward the apartment.
"You're incredibly stubborn, you know that?"
I just look up at him as I press my fingers to hide my cheeks, his gaze drifting down to me before I look away.
"I... I can walk from here."
I mutter and he ignores me, walking down the hallway to the apartment door, placing me down gently as Kit looks up at me, making sounds that mimic laugher.
"Shut it..."
I growl at him as I open the door, limping inside as Kakashi follows.
"You're actually going to stay?"
I asked, my hand pressing the door shut as I look at him.
"I have orders from the Hokage to guard you at all times. That means, at all times."
My expression drops as I roll my eyes, watching him look around Jiraiya's apartment.
"It's a lot cleaner than I thought it'd be. Did you tidy it up?"
The masked ninja looks over to me and I shake my head.
"I had the exact same thought when I got here but this was how it was when I arrived. Shocking, I know."
I chuckle as I move toward the kitchen, my eyes seeing a bunch of bags on the counter top, Kit being the nosy fox he is had already jumped up there as he sniffed at them.
"What is it?"
I ask him as I take a peak inside, seeing a bunch of fresh clothes folded neatly within the bag as I take out a note.
"What's that?"
I flinch, my eyes glaring at the ninja as I growl at him.
"Can you stop doing that... You'll give me a damn heart attack one of these days."
Kakashi chuckles as he rubs the back of his neck.
"Sorry..."
I sigh, opening the note as I read it.
'Some more clothes for you. I had a friend pick them out. I hope you like them.
Jiraiya.'
"Why am I so nervous to see what he got me..."
"I don't think I need to answer that question."
The ninja responds and I nod, my eyes seeing Kit pull out some more jumpers and undershirts with his teeth.
"Not bad so far..."
My fox continues, his head rustling in the paper bag as he pulls out some black pants and shorts, along with a pair of pajama shorts and t-shirt.
"Alright..."
Kit moves to the last bag and looks inside, his ears going back as he looks at the two of us.
"What? Why are you looking at us like that..."
Kit barks and my jaw tightens.
"What's in there?"
Kakashi asks as he moves to look in the bag before I can stop him and I'm not being over dramatic when I say he froze. I think I could even see the guys cheeks turn red as he looks away, rubbing the back of his neck.
"I uh... I'll leave that to you..."
I sigh as I drag the bag over, looking at the rather exuberant underwear inside as my jaw tightens again.
"I may actually let you kill him next time Kit..."
My fox barks as Kakashi moves back to the living area, his cheeks still pink from what I could see.
"I think I'll be buying some different ones tomorrow..."
I place my foot on the plate of the trash can, opening up the lid before throwing the bag of underwear away inside. That damn pervert, what was he expecting to happen if I wore this? I've seen the women who wear this stuff and it's usually in certain establishments.
"I will never understand men."
I growl as I limp past Kakashi, pushing open the bathroom door before slamming it shut. My hands moving over to press against the vanity as I look at my reflection. God I looked tired, I had a pretty nice set of bruises on my arms and when I lifted my shirt, a deep purple bruise is forming on my stomach from where the serpent man hit me.
Knock knock
"Aimi... Are you alright?"
I hear the ninjas voice through the door, my eyes lifting to look as I sigh.
"I'll... I'll be right out. Help yourself to whatever is in the kitchen."
I yell back as I watch his shadow from underneath the door hesitantly move away. Not only am I struggling with the injuries I've managed to acquire over the past few days but my head is pounding, so much has changed in such a short time. I'm trying to figure out how to be around people who seemingly accept who we are but not only that, I'm experiencing emotions and feelings I've never felt before. It's messing with my head.
"One... Two... Three..."
I breathe deeply, trying to calm myself before I switch on the taps, my hands cupping the cold water before I splash my face a few times. Water was always so calming for me, if I could find a river or a lake to swim in right now I know I'd instantly feel more at peace.
Scratch, scratch
I hear Kit whining at the door and I walk over, opening it as he jumps up into my arms, almost knocking me over as I steady myself on the door frame. My fox nuzzling into my neck as I scratch his ears.
"I'm okay..."
I whisper to him as he licks my cheek, my feet moving forward as I slide over the back of the sofa to lay down.
"That was certainly graceful."
I hear Kakashi say from behind me, my eyes lifting to see him holding a bottle of water out to me.
"That's me, the definition of grace."
I give him a small smile as I sit up, the ninja moving to sit beside me.
"I can imagine this is all incredibly overwhelming for you, I won't go on to say I understand because I don't."
He pauses, my eyes lifting to look at him as he gazes down at me.
"But we can help you if you let us in, Aimi. I'm not asking you to trust me because that is something that's earned but, if you could just help me understand what you're struggling with, maybe I can help you."
I just look at the masked ninja, my fox padding my legs as he walks over to me to sniff at Kakashi.
"I don't know how to say it... You'll think it's dumb..."
He tilts his head as he turns to face me a little more, one of his legs tucked in front of him as he places his hand on my shoulder.
"I promise I won't. What's bothering you?"
I sigh before I look down at the bottle in my hands, my fingers denting the plastic before I build up the courage to speak.
"I'm feeling things... I don't know how to describe them and they're things I've never felt and they're confusing to me."
Kakashi lifts the hand on my shoulder to his face, rubbing his chin as he thinks to himself. Kit now deciding that he liked the ninja enough to use him as a pillow, curling up on his lap. The ninja didn't even blink at the fox, he just moved his hand down to gently stroke him.
"Can you describe the feelings to me? How do they make you feel?"
He looks down at me as I cross my legs beneath me, facing him completely now as I think.
"Well, I get this weird feeling in my tummy and my cheeks go all pink and and hot..."
I see him stiffen before he rubs the back of his neck.
"Oh... uh..."
I blink at him as I shrug, opening the water bottle as I take a sip, unsure why he's acting strange.
"When do you get this feeling?"
He asked, his tone different than before as I look up at him again. His gaze more intense than before, my cheeks starting to burn again.
"Now...?"
I see him nod slowly, his hand rubbing the back of his neck again as he clears his throat.
"What does it mean?"
I ask and I see him shift in his seat.
"Well... If it's what I think it is..."
I gaze at him as I wait for an answer, his eyes looking down at me as I tilt my head. My eyes dropping to see Kit yawn and stretch out his paws before going back to sleep - his yawn making me realize how tired I am.
"You see... When someone, uh..."
I curl up on the couch as I listen to him, my eyes closing as I hear Kakashi stumble with his words. His voice calming to me.
"Likes another person..."
I yawn as I slowly drift off. The masked ninjas gaze returning to see me fast asleep in front of him, a sigh of relief escaping him as he leans forward and scoops me up, Kit moving with him as he carries me to the bedroom, gently placing me down on the bed, pulling up the duvet as Kit snuggles up beside me.