The Night Bird's Plea

Chapter 10: Choices

Kotori smoothed the end of the red scarf flat on the counter, meticulously arranging the tassels in straight lines. Chin in hand. Staring at the tray of cookies with glossed over eyes. Luckily, the memory of crying herself to sleep took mercy on her. It stopped before jumping in time to several weeks later, when she was scanning the entry papers at Konoha's gates, anticipating his name and only seeing Kakashi's and Rin's. Waiting for him to come home so she could confess her own feelings before she got cold feet. Stopping before she heard the whispers of condolences behind her back through Hogo's ears.

"Is something wrong?" Tobi's gentle voice and kind gesture called her from beyond the grave, caressing a knuckle along the side of her arm.

She rearranged her jilted face to one of the tempered affection she felt for him. Lifting the corners of her lips into a precarious smile. Protecting the true cataclysm within shattering her into pieces of uncertainty, unable to guess which path was the right one to take with him. Useless at determining if she was willing to sacrifice her heart once again.

"I'm fine." She grabbed the tray. "We should serve these before everyone's passed out."

His hand hung in the air as she hurried around the corner, insisting on putting distance between them when he worked so hard to eliminate it. "If you're sure.." Shaking his head, he rapped his knuckles on the counter and followed, mulling over the capriciousness of women.

"What happened?" she asked in disbelief. Jaw hanging agape and eyes scandalized with bafflement.

"Guess we made a few too many cookies.."

Like before, the lights were off except for the Christmas tree in the corner; however, it was currently taking a nap on the ground. Knocked over like a drunk. Flickering string lights strangled the branches. Metal ornaments beamed vague shapes on the ceiling. Baubles sparkled like disco balls as they rolled across the uneven floorboards.

The dining table was cleared of dust and alcohol, on account of it being tipped over. Bottles, splintered chair legs, and wicked curves of broken glass littered the area like the remnants of a natural disaster.

A downy feather drifted in front of Tobi's face, catching his eye as it landed on a shredded pillow atop a hill of broken ceramics.

Appropriately, not a single member was to be caught at the scene of the crime.

"So.." Tobi surveyed the blanket of white confetti sprinkled on every surface like the aftermath of a shaken snow globe. "More cookies for me?"

"Yeah.. Yeah, I think so."

Kotori stepped over unidentifiable objects. Squeezed through crooked couches. Nearly dropped the cookies as a body lost in the cushions startled her. "Geez," she exhaled at Hidan's exceptionally loud snore and forged ahead to the fallen Christmas tree without tripping in her high heels. A feat in itself considering she crunched shattered ornaments along the way.

Kicking torn gift wrapping out the way, she cleared a spot for them to sit next to the sweeping branches of the tree–once spritely with holiday joy, now snapped and bowed under the stress of being chosen to decorate the home of criminals who had no manners.

She plopped to the floor with the tray and looked up at Tobi's towering height expectantly. "What's wrong?" she inquired when he stagnated, hesitating to sit down with her. "I mean, it's not dango, but I thought you wanted the cookies?"

He scratched at his unfeeling cheek. "It's my mask. I don't want to remove-"

"We can sit back to back," she offered, having already thought it through. His eye flicked to the few shiny baubles still hanging from the tree, reflecting the back of her head. "I won't look. I promise."