Book One- Chiisai is a simple librarian who spends her days trying to move on from her fickle past and its haunting side effects. Her life, however, quickly spirals after she's attacked in an alley. She's saved by the elite ninja known as Hatake Kak...
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Kakashi rummaged through Chiisai's small purse until he found her address. After studying her one last time, he flickered out of the hospital and to her apartment. The balcony window was unlocked, and Kakashi stepped inside her kitchenette with ease. No, she couldn't be a spy with such lack of security. Or was that what she wanted people to think?
That she was small, cute, and not at all a threat to the Hidden Leaf.
Now he was just playing mind games with himself.
Kakashi always thought you could tell a lot from a person by the orderliness of their home, and Chiisai's apartment was the exact opposite of his. There seemed to be no organization whatsoever. Her kitchen table was littered with papers and books, and her counters were filled with empty coffee cups. That was likely due to the fact her kitchen sink was crammed with dirty bowls and plates. She even had a stack of paper plates, as if she were too lazy to wash the real ones.
"Meow."
Kakashi looked down. A short-haired black and white cat sat beside his leg. It's long scraggly whiskers twitched as it blinked up at him. When had he gotten there?
Kakashi crouched and scratched between the cat's ears. "I think your owner is crazy."
The cat purred under his touch, and Kakashi smiled. He himself was a dog person, but cats weren't so bad either.
Kakashi glanced at the cat's collar. His thumb traced over the metal tag as he said, "Tori, eh? Your owner named you bird?" He pulled his hand away and stood. "She really is odd."
The cat meowed in response as Kakashi stepped over him. He bypassed the kitchen and stepped into the narrow hallway. To the right was an opening into a compact living room, and once again, it was covered in books and more coffee cups. Scolding her messiness, he strolled on into her bedroom. Though just as disorderly, nothing of relevance stood out. There were no weapons or scrolls in sight. No special hiding places or special floorboards underneath her worn yoga mat. There were no hidden letters or notes in her desk, either.
He opened her desk drawer and pulled out her checkbook. It was mostly records of takeout and bookstore visits, and he tsked, placing the book back. She was just as bad as Naruto, constantly eating out.
He walked back into the living room and whistled at her bookshelf. Books by local authors covered the top three shelves. She had all of Master Jaraiya's novels, including "The Tale of the Gutsy Ninja." He pulled it out and paused.
A signed first edition? He placed the book back and pulled out the first volume of Icha Icha. It was another signed first edition, and it was in perfect condition. She certainly was a book connoisseur. There were books of every genre, including military tactics and collective history volumes of the Leaf.
Kakashi carefully tucked the book back in and turned around. The apartment itself was nice and spacious for a single person. He was surprised a librarian with a single income could afford the rent, especially living in such a central part of the city. Of course, it looked like the only thing she spent money on was novels and food.
Tori followed behind him and rubbed up against his ankle. Kakashi looked down as the cat sat in front of his empty food bowl expectantly.
He followed his nose to the bottom cabinets and pulled out a bag of cat food. He went ahead and filled the cat bowl before getting started on the dishes. Sometimes it was a curse to have such a great sense of smell, and his nose told him there was definitely mold at the bottom of the pile.
Kakashi turned the hot water on and plucked off his gloves. He leaned his head to Tori and said, "Your owner isn't very domestic, is she?"
Tori meowed in response, and the corner of Kakashi's lip turned up.
After ten minutes, Kakashi dried his hands and looked at his work. Shiny cups and bowls filled the entire counter space, and he sighed. "I might as well put these up, or else she'll probably leave them on the counter."
Tori rubbed against him once more, and Kakashi had to dodge around him so he wouldn't trip. Now it was obvious that he was procrastinating. It was nice having something to do, especially something so simple as a household chore.
Kakashi rummaged through the cabinets, trying to find the proper place for the now clean bowls. He paused as he opened the top cabinet. Old worn books, about as thick as his pinky finger, lined the shelf. Judging from her checkbook, it was odd that she'd have so many cookbooks.
Curious, Kakashi took one of them out. "Dreams" was written clumsily in marker, like a child who had tried their hardest to write neatly. It seemed old, its spine worn and cracked.
Tori made a chirrup noise and hopped up on the counter beside him. Kakashi absentmindedly scratched the back of the cat's head.
He brought his hand back and flipped the journal over. He said, "This is peculiar. What's your owner hiding?"
Tori pawed at his shoulder, and Kakashi scratched under his neck. "It wouldn't hurt to take a peek." Perhaps this was the information he sought.
He opened it up and began to read.
'Dad wanted me to write my dreams, so I gess Ill start. He beleevs me but mom does not. I trie teling her how reel they are, but she just says Im just over imajnativ. But these aren't my dreems.
'Last night I dreemed I was somone else. He was a boy around my age, and evrything I saw was oranj. I found out later he or me was waring gogles. He was dansing with a brown hared gurl with purpel on her face. He was so hapy, he liked her a lot. He thought he was finaly awsum. Than this other boy came walking by with silver hare and a meen look The girl stoped dancing with me and went to the boy. They both walked away togothar leeving me sad. Not mater how hard I tryed, I couldn't cacth up to them. I thouhgt she had finaly notised me, finaly saw that I was beter than that boy.
'Then the Uchihah' symbol apearred above me, coming to life. It startd yeling, "Wake up gogle face! Your a Uchiha, born to be awsum! You an awsum ninja! Wake up that Sharringun! Wake that awsum up! WAKE UP!"
'Then I awaked with anothar hedacke. That wasn't my dreem. I dont no theez peeples. Why am I dreeming somone elses dreems? My head wont stop hurting.'
Kakashi's eyebrows furrowed as he stared at the page. He only knew of one ninja who had worn orange goggles.
