Ikigai

Chapter 25: Mornings and Nights

It didn't feel right, or better yet, it didn't smell right, the smell of fresh food being cooked in the morning by someone other than herself. 

And though her new house was by no means small, she hadn't expected to be woken up to the smell of bacon, baked bread, or some other form of whatever people in Konoha considered breakfast every single morning for the past few weeks since she first moved in.  

She did, however, come to expect the massive hunk of fur that was Yami to invade her with a sloppy morning kiss just like he had done for the past few weeks.

It didn't matter how many times she would hide beneath the cover of her bedsheets, or how many times she would try to push him off to prevent his hair from falling all over the place, it was now a morning ritual and Yami was its faithful follower. 

"What's on the menu today, hmm?" she whispered nervously to the energetic dog as she carefully lifted him up and off her bed. 

Yami barked as his tail hit the side of her leg in excitement, circling her, and then taking hold of her pajamas as he dragged her from her room and into the kitchen area.

"Slow down, you're pulling my shirt down!"

Yes, it was the cooking that left a feeling of unease within her, but what turned that unease into a strange sensation of unrest in her stomach, a feeling more than just a pang of hunger, was the young man who had woken up to cook without fail for the house's three tenants (dog included), every morning. 

Kintsugi wasn't used to this much affection from anything, much less anyone, that is if she could even call it affection. She didn't know what else to call it. 

There was a part of her that wanted to know what was running through his mind as he stirred the batter together, as he rolled up his sleeves whenever they slid back down over his arms. There was a part of her that wanted to know if he also called his actions a form of affection, or deny it as much as she did whenever he would gaze at her with hidden interest from his spot near the stove.

Or perhaps it was just to make sure she didn't run away from them and think Konoha was any better than the Akatsuki.

Perhaps to prove the point that it didn't matter which side she was on, the end result would be the same and the refuge she had created was just an illusion, just like her loyalty, just like her kindness, and just like their tolerance. 

Yet here she was being half-dragged to the kitchen table by a dog who seemed to be a little too friendly with the Akatsuki member cooking Dorayaki pancakes.

"Someone's happy today," Kisame hummed from his spot at the table, a spoonful of cold soup in one hand.  

"Yeah, super happy. I'm basically covered in dog hair again."

"Black suits you," Kisame shrugged as he glanced from the grinning dog to the scowling Kintsugi, "You're already so familiar with it, why complain?"

"Is that supposed to be a blind joke?"

"I don't know, is it?"

Kisame was giving her his full shark grin as he continued to eat and with a small kick, he pushed a chair out for her to sit, the wooden chair smoothly sliding over her polished floor and into her waiting grip. 

"Thanks," she muttered as Itachi placed a warm plate of food in front of her.

The Akatsuki were still getting their money with the help of her tunnels, infrastructure was still underway for the mine workers, and Kintsugi was still learning taijutsu from Kisame and Itachi. 

Among all these things, being roommates with them was the biggest reminder that being a citizen of Konoha meant nothing outside of a means to an end. It didn't seem to matter much to them either as they had quickly claimed the hidden cave behind a large bookcase in the living room the first time she had told them about it.