The corners of her mouth quirked up at the assembly before her. It was all she could muster to show some semblance of geniality before the council, her mask covering the upper portion of her face.
She really wanted to punch someone and leave.
"Kakashi, I must admit, your reputation is quite impressive..."
"Thank you Dimyō-sama..."
"...but I must say, I have my doubts about...this woman."
It had been in Kintsugi's favor that the Fire Dimyō had already been called to discuss the annual Leaf's budget and when Kakashi had presented Kintsugi's generous contribution before the counselors, things could line up no better.
Yet all she wished for as she scratched her itching arm, was to be done with it and leave.
The Dimyō sniffed his nose in her direction, eyeing her mask but turning to look elsewhere as he caught his own reflection on its surface.
"You seem rather sure of what she can do."
"As sure as I can be Daimyō-sama."
"Council, what say you?"
With a plastered smile on his face, Danzō turned to speak.
"Dimyō-sama, I believe what these two have presented before you may be beneficial to the village. There are several...programs, that would benefit from the added funding."
"I suppose..."
"...and if it means the money stays in Konoha..."
"True, I suppose it wouldn't be against us," the Daimyō said as his small, dark eyes shone at the thought.
"...but, Daimyō-sama, there is one thing that I suggest before agreeing to this plan."
Kintsugi didn't even have to sense it, she knew he was looking at her in that moment.
"I suggest my division be in charge of her supervision for the time being. If she can prove what she claims to be able to do for the village, then there should be no problem with agreeing to the rest of her terms..."
Kakashi's brows drew together.
"She's presented quite the business plan, so I'm sure we can go back and review it at any time if there's any issue there, but as for her standing...that is another question."
"As long as she shows evidence...," the Daimyō hummed.
"Correct."
"Shouldn't we still have Kakashi as her guardian?" said the woman Kintsugi knew only as Utatane.
"I agree, I think it would be best we still have someone physically by her side," Danzo added.
"Then the council concurs," Mitokado lifted his glasses.
The familiar feeling of being questioned before examiners, not as a person, but as an investment, was not lost on her. The people before her weren't any different from those back in her own world.
Human error.
Her error to even begin to think they might react any differently when presented with the offer of something like money in their pockets.
"Oh, and one more thing. Though you have carried a certain amount of anonymity, there is the matter of filling out your file..."
"My file?"
"Yes, think of it as a sort of register the village needs to create for any new visitors."
"An identification," Kakashi whispered to her.
"If we haven't been clear enough, we don't trust you. And if Konoha is to become a stockholder in your venture, then it is only reasonable that we ask who and what kind of person we will be working with."
Human Error.
----
"You don't look like a Kintsugi."
"Was that your first impression?"
"Hmmm...how do I put this? My first impression...you're just insane."
"You think I'm crazy."
"I think your story is crazy."
She sneered.
"I don't think I like this conversation Hatake-sensei."
He crinkled his nose at the name, but he could tell she was smiling, even though she had covered most of her face again.
"Unfortunately for me, we'll be seeing more of each other, I guess I owe you a proper welcome. Especially now with the clans being informed of Konoha's newest member."
"Probationary, mind you."
She stretched out her backbones, her joints popping from the uncomfortable position she had been in moments before.
"To be honest, that could have gone smoother and easier than you made it out to be."
Kakashi kicked a small rock in her direction as they walked towards what would become her temporary residence.
"It's not my fault they kept asking so many questions."
"That's their job."
"Yeah, well it doesn't help when they treat you like you're an experiment."
"They were being cautious...in the village's interest, and your answers were very vague."
"Hate to break it to ya, but we're both someone else's experiment."
"That-"
"Anyway's how're your students?"
He knew she'd done that on purpose and he had a feeling it wouldn't be the last time. And yet her question was a tough one, whether she knew it or not. 'Not okay' didn't even begin to cover any of his students.
"They're alive."
"Is your sanity?"
"If I'm still sane by the time I finish their training, it'll be a miracle." Kakashi sighed.
"You know, in society, those who don't have many abilities, tend to complain more."
He rolled his eyes.
"You're the one that asked."
----
They had finally arrived.
It was a fairly clean apartment complex with red shutters by each window and a flight of stairs on either side.
"What is this?"
They were standing in the middle of the small, wooden covered room. A faint coat of dust decorated the furniture and almost every crook and cranny in the apartment, a sharp contrast to the exterior.
"Your apartment. Mine's a few doors down. You're not welcome there."
"Is that a challenge?"
Hand reaching into his side pocket, he pulled out a kunai holding it in front of her.
For a moment he thought she would back off, that was until she pulled out her own blade in front of her.
Setting his own blade on the nearby kitchen counter, he studied her.
"I was going to offer you this, but it seems you've got security covered."
"Aren't you forgetting who put you in the hospital?"
"Right, well, I'll be coming by tomorrow morning to take you to the mines up near the mountains. Make sure you're awake by then."
She took her mask off so she could see her raising her brow.
"How about you just knock. And if I'm awake, I'll open the door for you."
She knew his reputation for being late.
"Get up early, or else," he said as he walked out.
"Promises, promises."
----
She was alone again.
The only sounds to be heard were those of the rustling dust she bended into a glass jar and the incessant dripping of the kitchen faucet.
"One thousand three hundred and four...tw-two thousand six hundred and six..."
She counted the amount of dust she could collect by every drip of the water.
It was an old habit Rashaan had instilled in her.
She had sat down on the floor, working her way section by section of the room's layout.
Each drop seemed to grate against her skull as rippling images of the surrounding area echoed in her mind and the dust swirled around her.
She tasted the dry air.
She heard the solitary fly buzzing around a curtain.
She sensed the sighing lips of a child outside and she sensed her other neighbor's presence as she cooked behind the wooden beams and stucco walls.
A reminder that she needed groceries, among other things.
And as she almost finished getting rid of all the dust in the apartment, she heard a sound from the windowpane.
Tap, tap, tap.
A crow.
-----
Picture Credit in order of appearance:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/296393219234616801/
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/296393219232690917/
A/N: Hi! Another chapter. Thank you to all of those that have commented and voted thus far and even added Ikigai to their reading lists. I always appreciate any questions as they help my plot building. Much appreciated. Let me know what you think may or may not happen.