Ghosts of Konohagakure (Sequel to Shadows of the Village)

Chapter 3: Cloud Gang

To say Imori was surprised to be walking into the creepy tower was an understatement.

Let's back track a little...

Konan had left shortly after he had stopped crying, promising to be back soon and that there were clothes in the wardrobe and food in the fridge for him. He sniffled as he locked the door behind her, kicking off his shoes and placing them on the shoe rack, dropping his new set of keys in the fancy blue bowl.

His fancy blue bowl. The thought alone made his heart flutter.

After Imori had wiped his tears, he went about mulling through the fully stocked fridge. Never in his life had seen a fridge as full as this one. And not one where all the food had more than a week before their expiry. It made him emotional all over again.

Faced with so many options and never having cooked actual meals before, Imori's feet took him to the bookshelf. His finger brushed along the spine of books before settling on a cook book he had sighted earlier. He placed it on the counter before grabbing a little notepad from the draw, and took an inventory of all the food items in the fridge and pantry. He categorised them and noted their expiration dates prior to looking for a recipe that he could actually make.

He settled on Yaki Udon, having remembered seeing that he had those noodles in his freezer. Udon noodles were apparently thick and chewy, which he assumed would be an interesting texture. He set a pot on the stove and waited for the water to boil before adding the noodles to the pot for a minute and setting the little white timer. While that happened, he searched the kitchen for knives and chopping boards.

Eventually Imori found them, though it was after the timer had went off but he wasn't too concerned. He wasn't even sure he had the right knives for the recipe—knives used on missions he could distinguish between easily, but cooking knives? He was a lost cause.

He sliced onion and cut cabbage and carrot (after looking up the definitions of slice and cut to check he was doing it right). He then discarded the stems of the mushrooms and sliced the tops thinly. He cut then sliced the green part of a weird long onion before he threw out the trash and pushed the vegetable filled cutting board to the side.

Knives used for vegetables were placed in the warm soapy water in the sink, unsure whether or not he could use them for the raw pork belly meat he was preparing. He judged how thinly to slice the pieces based on the little picture on the page. A pan was pulled out and placed on the stove where he heated the oil and placed in the pork. Slowly but surely he had added ingredients until it looked like the final picture did, albeit a tad messier presentation wise.

Soy sauce and other seasonings were added and the dishes were washed before Imori plated up his lunch. His mouth watered but he and Kuma had a tradition that he intended to follow through with. Never eat before the dishes are washed and the mess is cleared.

He found a set of tongs in a draw, which he used to scoop out a small portion of the dish into a bowl. He grabbed a pair of chopstick and the bowl before debating on whether or not he wanted to eat on the couch or sit on the rug in front of the coffee table. He'd never owned a couch before and the temptation to sit on it won him over.

He sank into the soft couch and immediately wondered if his new bed would be even comfier. The thought alone made Imori feel guilty for all he was given. He pushed it to the back of his mind, focusing on his lunch before it became cold. He placed the yaki udon bowl in his lap and used the chopsticks to take his first bite of the first meal in his new apartment. Flavour exploded across his tongue and Imori was thoroughly surprised that the chewy texture of the noodles lived up to what the book explained. He'd never made something with a deliberately chewy texture.