The tale of Mayumi

Chapter 10: Packing Up and Moving On

I wanted to pack everything—every little trinket, every scrap of paper, every random item I had collected over the past two years. I had always been like that, sentimental to a fault, holding onto things as if they held the missing pieces of my past. Since I had lost sixteen years of my life, anything could be a clue. Anything could be important.

But there was only so much I could fit in my backpack, and that realization hit me hard. I sat there, staring at the mountain of stuff I couldn't bring, feeling a little defeated.

Hikaru, noticing my sour mood, tried to lift my spirits. "Mayumi, I'll try using a transportation jutsu."

I shot him a skeptical look. "Last time you tried that, you ruined all of my stuff."

"But it's still worth trying if—"

"I bet Kakashi can do it." My eyes lit up at the idea.

Hikaru narrowed his eyes. "Wow. Not even gonna let me finish, huh? Maybe I can do it too."

"I'm not risking it," I laughed.

"So, what—you think he's better than me?" Hikaru raised an eyebrow.

"Duh. Better at that? Definitely. You do realize he's actually a shinobi, right?"

"So what?" he mumbled, crossing his arms.

I smirked, leaning closer. "Aww, are you jealous?"

He scoffed. "No. I just don't know the guy, and you've been talking about him nonstop."

"I have not."

"Yeah, you definitely have." He chuckled.

"Shut up," I huffed, turning back to packing.

Hikaru leaned against the doorframe, watching me with an amused expression. "Trying to avoid the truth, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "You should be packing instead of getting on my nerves."

"I already did."

I turned to him, baffled. "What? How?"

He shrugged. "I just don't hoard a bunch of junk I don't need." He pointed at the piles surrounding me.

"I might need all of this someday," I muttered, my mood dropping again.

Hikaru's playful expression faded. He sighed, walking over to me. "You really think... you could lose your memory again?" His voice was quiet now, serious.

I hesitated. "I don't know why I lost it before. And back then, I had nothing to hold onto. So yeah... if any of this can help me remember something one day, I'm keeping it."

He was silent for a moment before he pulled me into a tight hug. "I won't let you forget," he murmured. "And if you do, I'll make you remember. I'll do whatever it takes, okay?"

I nodded into his shoulder, grateful for him.

The Morning of Change

It took us hours, but we finally finished packing a little after midnight. Too exhausted to move to our actual beds, we crashed on the couch, barely conscious as we drifted off.

The peace didn't last long.

A loud knock jolted me awake. I startled so hard that I fell off the couch with a thud, groaning in pain. Hikaru, however, was still fast asleep, snoring softly like nothing had happened.

I debated kicking him awake but decided to be merciful—he had helped me a lot.

Dragging myself to the door, I yanked it open to find Kakashi standing there, bright-eyed and well-rested, while I probably looked like I had been run over by a cart.

"Dude, what the hell?" I grumbled, rubbing my eyes.

He tilted his head innocently. "I did say I'd come over."

"Yeah, but it's sunrise." I yawned, stepping aside to let him in. He followed me to the living room, where I promptly kicked Hikaru in the side. "Hey, wake up. The creepy man from the bar is here."

Kakashi sweatdropped. "Somebody's not a morning person."

"Morning starts after nine," I grumbled. "This—" I gestured vaguely to the window, where the sun was barely peeking over the horizon, "—is five-thirty." I turned toward Kakashi, ready to throttle him for this ungodly wake-up call, but Hikaru grabbed my shoulders and steered me toward the kitchen.

"She'll have coffee and turn into a human again," he told Kakashi loud enough for me to hear.

I rolled my eyes, but I did hear Kakashi chuckle under his breath.

Meanwhile, Hikaru stretched and turned to our guest. "We haven't properly met. I'm Hikaru."

"Kakashi Hatake," he introduced himself. "And... sorry for waking you up." He scratched the back of his head.

From the kitchen, I called, "Hey creep, you want some coffee?"

Kakashi sighed. "No thanks, I'm good. But can you stop calling me that?"

"Nope," I replied cheerfully, walking back in with two cups of coffee.

Hikaru grinned as he took his. "I love you," he said dramatically, kissing my forehead in gratitude.

I rolled my eyes, but Kakashi shifted uncomfortably and looked away.

Sipping my coffee, I turned to him. "So, I need you to do me a favor, and you can't say no since you woke me up."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "What kind of favor?"

I smirked, grabbing his wrist and dragging him toward my bedroom. He stiffened slightly, his face coloring just a bit.

"You can use a transportation jutsu, right?" I asked.

"Yeah... why?"

I gestured to my pile of belongings. "All of this."

Kakashi stared. "...That might take a while. I need to mark everything first."

"Then get started." I grinned.

He sighed, shaking his head. "I have some conditions."

I crossed my arms. "I'm listening."

"One—you make breakfast, because I'm starving. And two—you stop calling me 'creep.'"

"Deal," I said immediately. "But Hikaru's making breakfast. Unless you want food poisoning."

"Okay, fair trade." Kakashi chuckled before getting to work.

Hikaru, grumbling about being turned into a personal chef, made breakfast and eventually dragged us to the kitchen. I was dying to see what Kakashi looked like under his mask, but just as we sat down, he grabbed his plate and retreated to my room.

"Lame!" I called after him. "You just don't want us to see your face!"

"I need to finish marking," he called back, but I knew he was just avoiding us.

As we got ready to leave, I paused at the doorway, taking one last look around our home. We had lived here for two years, and every inch of this place held memories—our memories. It was the longest I had stayed anywhere. But as long as I had Hikaru, I knew I'd be okay.

Taking a deep breath, I stepped outside.

And just like that, we started the next chapter of our lives.