The Wolf Within| The Possesions of the Wild series| Volume 2

2| Roommates and neighbours

The walk back to her apartment felt nostalgic, but then again, everything about Konoha now that she was back felt nostalgic. She was in no particular hurry to her apartment- her team and she had agreed to meet that evening at 8 PM at a certain restaurant in order to catch up, but that was hours away. She did need those hours in between, though, she thought. As she walked slowly to her apartment, she sometimes passed by people, especially the elderly, who made a click of recognition in her brain. She could swear that back in the days when she was just a fourteen-year-old starting out on her first missions, she saw these people walk around as she headed to meet her team. Her team.

No matter where she looked, her mind seemed to return consistently to her team. They were probably the first friends she made here, not that she ended with many before she left Konoha. Her lips curled unto a smile when Lee and his reaction when he saw her came to mind. Kaiya was sure that Tenten would love to talk about it, once they'd get the chance to, in private.

Soon enough, she reached her apartment. As she dug in her left pocket for her key, she felt another presence in the hallway with her. She looked up and then around her, to find an elderly man just a few meters away from her. He looked at her with a gentle gaze and a soft, relieved smile.

"Takahata-san!" Kaiya exclaimed, happiness flowing through her voice. "It's so good to see you again."

"Hello, Kaiya. It's good to see you too. How are you?"

Mr. Takahata had been the elderly man that passed long before Kaiya even set on going to Konoha, but who was blessed enough to be seen by her as he lingered around in the building he once lived in.

"I'm great," Kaiya smiled, "I just came back to Konoha. I'll hopefully stay here for good now."

"Of course. Your father came to check on your apartment very often. I've seen him quite often around here, despite his busy schedule."

For a moment, Kaiya frowned as her mind flew all the way back to her clan hidden in the forests of the Wind Nation, to the man who married her mother, raised her and her two little brothers. The same man who was now probably out with other men as strong as him, providing the clan with food and other necessary goods for the upcoming winter. Then, the reminder of how they weren't truly related by blood came to mind, and how this was all about the talk that Konoha had enjoyed so much for the past two years; her biological father. The rumours of her biological parents and the circumstances under which she was conceived seemed to be more appealing to the tongues of people than the ones who stepped in to raise a child when others were too much of a coward to do so.

"Ah," she simply said, "Kakashi-san?"

Mr. Takahata nodded along with a hum of confirmation.

"Well, that's very nice of him to do." For a moment, Kaiya wondered if it was the guilt eating him up once again.

"You came a long way, Kaiya, so I'll let you rest. But before I do, I must ask you one last question. I've been holding it in for two years now and I believe it'd be a pity to post pone it any longer, now that my chance is here."

"What is it?" Kaiya asked, with a mild frown.

"I died more than twenty years ago during the Second Shinobi War. Nobody has noticed me, well, my spirit, and even less have spoken to me. How is it that you can do both so easily, so... effortlessly?"

Kaiya sighed, letting go of her key and allowing it to rest in the lock as she turned her focus on the man. There was a lot of explaining to do and Kaiya wasn't sure if she had enough energy to explain it to the man in that moment. Still, she knew just as well as him that he deserved the explanation more than anyone.