chapter 2: Who's the Girl?
username: MiyakeMasumi
"Excuse me," the person in front of me said again. It was a soft, lower voice, neither distinctly male nor female, with a slightly anxious edge to it; my expression must have worried them. It was oddly familiar, and with good reason.
There stood Haku, human weapon of Momochi Zabuza, dressed in a pale green yukata that had floral design accents. I cracked a smile. "Yes?" I asked expectantly.
"Well," he said hesitantly. "What exactly are you doing?"
"Good question. Well, what exactly are you doing?" I answered back.
"I was collecting some herbs for dinner," Haku explained.
"Hmm," I mused, feigning suspicion. "But it seems a bit late to only just now be cooking dinner, don't you think?"
"It can't be helped," he said. He didn't seem fazed by my question. "It was quite a busy day, and there wasn't the time until now."
"A smooth answer," I said, unable to resist playing with the kid just a bit. "What's your name?"
"Haku," he told me. "And yours?"
I smiled gently. "Audriana."
Haku returned the smile. "Your lean-to appears to be leaning a bit too much," he said. "I don't suppose Zabuza-san would mind if you stayed with us for just one night, if you'd like a place to sleep."
I grinned once again. "That sounds like fun."
After Haku had collected his herbs, he took me back to Zabuza's base. The walk there was peacfully quiet and quite short. Apparently I had been under a kilometer away, yet I had somehow managed to not run into it. Wow, I'm pathetic.
When we got there, Haku stepped through the door first, and I heard Zabuza say, "Oi, Haku. What took you so long?" Then I walked in, and he saw me.
"Ah, I see," Zabuza said with a knowing smirk glittering in his eyes. He was sprawled in a very familiar couch that sat in the middle of a vast, crudely built room. This was where he had met Gato, I thouhgt with a grin. Or will, most likely, seeing as he's here, able to recieve guests, and not dead. His short, black hair appeared to have been hacked at by a monkey--or perhaps by Zabuza with no mirror and a dagger--and his hitai-ate was crookedly tied around his head. His long fingers lightly played along the handle of his enourmous cleaver of a sword, the Kubikiribocho. I supposed he should have seemed opposing, but I couldn't be frightened. Still grinning, he casually gestured at me with his free arm, asking, "Who's the girl?"
"This is Au--" Haku began, but I cut him off; it had suddenly occured to me that I perhaps should have used a Japanese alias.
"Masumi," I said, fingering the pendant around my neck. "My name is Adachi Masumi."
"Hmm," Zabuza simply said. "So why are you here?"
"Actually, I thought she could perhaps spend the night here," Haku explained. "I could take her into town in the morning."
"Hmm," Zabuza said once again, seeming to consider the idea. "Okay."
Haku disappeared through a door. Zabuza quickly stood up, strode across the room, and grabbed my arm, stopping me from following. He wasn't even wearing a shirt today, and this close I could easily see each and every one of his muscles. He was buff almost to the extent of being gross, but then again I had always had a strange taste in men. At six foot he seemed massive; I barely reached his shoulders. His grip on my arm was strong, and I supposed that on any other person it would have been painful, but I only felt a welcoming, slight sting.
"So, Masumi-san, what brings you to Wave Country?" he asked, stressing what I was sure he assumed to be a fake name. That was only partially true, but he had no way of knowing that.
I stared up into his dark eyes defiantly, daring him to break his gaze from mine. Then I gave him what I knew was an eerie smile and said with a shrug, "I don't know. I didn't mean to come to Wave Country. It was an accident." With a quick twist of my arm, I pulled free from his grip and quickly skipped off after Haku before he could stop me again.
Once through the door I found myself in a long hallway. There was a bit of light coming from a room near the end, so I wandered over. It was a kitchen. I surveyed the area, taking in the wooden countertops and steel appliances. It wasn't the best kitchen ever, but there was plenty of cooking space at least. It would suffice.
One of the counters had a large window in front of it, and a doorway stood off to the side. Through it I could see a large wooden table in an otherwise bare room. Very plain. They needed an interior decorator.
Haku was at one of the counters cutting some meat, but I paused before stepping into the light. I inspected my arm and saw a large red handprint; it would bruise. I quickly pulled my long sleeve back down, thankful for something to cover it up. There was no need to alarm Haku.
When I did come in, he stopped cutting the meat and looked up with a smile. There was a bubbling sauce on the gas stove, and a covered pot I assumed to hold rice steamed. He must have already started preparing dinner before he had gone out.
"What are you cooking?" I asked.
Haku began slicing the meat once again. "Nothing much. It's so late that I thought I would stick to a simple stirfry."
I walked over to the stove and stuck my finger in the sauce. I pulled it out and licked the sticky stuff off. I mixed the flavors around my mouth, thinking. "Cinnamin and sweet sesame seed oil," I noted. "Good combination. There's also some clove and a bit of our signature ginger, too. Pork?"
Haku smiled. "You cook."
I shrugged. "A little," I admitted. "But I won't bother you any longer. I'll content myself with a book.
"Oh! But put these into the stirfry," I added, handing him some of the berries I'd collected earlier. "They'll really bring out the other flavors."
AFTER DINNER HAKU LED me to a bedroom and left, asking me not to wander under the claims that the base was large and easy to get lost in. I wasn't stupid; I knew he just didn't want me snooping around. He didn't have to go about it in such a round about manner.
I quickly surveyed the room. It was only four and a half tatami mats, but it was nice and neat. There was a futon in the corner and a large, two-door cabinet to one wall. Against the opposite wall was a window with a ledge wide enough to sit on, and there was even a small bathroom off to the side. I definitely couldn't complain. My old bedroom had been quite small as well.
I crossed the room and opened one of the cabinet doors. Inside I found three simple yukatas neatly folded, a small stack of towels, three spare blankets, and an extra pillow. The next door revealed five spare rolls of toilet paper, a few bars of unused soap, and a couple unopened bottles of shampoo and conditioner.
I went into the bathroom next. I brushed my hair out and undressed down to my bra and underwear. I studied myself in the mirror, making note of the differences. I was so skinny--unhealthily so, and nearly as bad as Riley. The dimension jump must have taken a lot of energy.
I was fascinated by the anime style's ability to accentuate all of my features. My delicate yet strong hands seemed tinier than ever, yet my larger wrists seemed even stronger than before. I balled my hand into a fist, and my now taut tendons stood out more than ever before. With all of the excess fat gone, my once hidden strength was now obvious in the toned build of my arms and legs. And, damn, I knew I'd had good legs before, but I could definitely get used to the way they were now. I flexed them in as many ways as possible, absorbed in all of the differences.
After a while I turned my attention to my face, leaning in closer to the glass. The strong arches of my eyebrows were now even more defined, and my already slightly above average lips were fuller than they had once been. I found that interesting since in Naruto not many people had lips you could actually see. I'd always had long lashes, but now they were darker and easier to see. Anime had made the green in my hazel eyes stand out more, and the red rings around my pupils were more vibrant. I nearly had Christmas eyes!
I pulled some of my long brown hair back and laughed at what I saw. I made a striking--if not beautiful--girl, but I could just as well be an almost cute boy. On that entertaining thought I took a nice and long, hot shower.
When I came out dressed only in a loosely tied yukata, Zabuza was leaning against the wall next to the window. "I guess you've never heard of knocking, nee?" I asked teasingly, and he grinned. That grin, I knew, belied his suspicion and ruthless and deadly capabilities. I was treading on dangerous ground here, and it made it all the more thrilling.
"Oh, I did knock," he explained. "But when there was no answer, I became worried."
Che. Yea right. But go on anyway. Play your game, and I will play mine.
"Turns out you were just showering. How boring."
I went over and jumped up onto the window ledge next to him, assured of my cuteness in the action. "Nice facilities you have here," I commented. "I'm surprised."
Zabuza shrugged. "Glad to see they are to your liking, Audriana."
I eyed him out of the corner of my eyes; he was testing me. "And where did you hear that name?" I chirped.
Zabuza chuckled. "You slipped up in telling Haku your true identity. It is a little different, but it's not too far out there. What kanji is it written with?"
I shrugged myself. "I don't know. I should look it up."
Zabuza raised an eyebrow at me but said nothing. So unfair, I thought and wondered if perhaps anime had granted me with the ability to raise just one eyebrow without the other. I attempted it. It didn't work. I contorted my face in an effort to make it work but to no avail.
Zabuza raised his other eyebrow, and I silently cursed him. "What are you doing?"
I quickly wiped my face free of all expression. "Nothing."
I hopped down from my perch; Zabuza was once more towering over me. I briefly wondered why I wasn't afraid of this formidable man but could come up with no answer. I had only ever been afraid of one man, and this was not him. Shoving the thought away, I turned to push Zabuza toward the door, saying, "Now, out, out, Demon of the Hidden Mist. I can think of only bad reasons for a man to earn such a name, so out."
He seemed to be caught a little off guard by my ability to move him but grinned over his shoulder none the less. "Would you like to find out?"
"No," I told him sternly and shut the door on him.
THE NEXT MORNING I woke before dawn. I pulled my hair into three ponytails and put my own clothes back on. Then I cleaned up the room, starting with the bathroom. I was just putting the finishing touches on the futon when I heard a knock on the door. I looked out the window and saw light streaming in. I checked my watches and saw that it was already nearly eight 'o-clock, 7:56 A.M. to be exact.
"Adachi-san?" Haku called through the door. "Are you awake?"
I opened the door with a smile. Haku's hair was still down, and he looked really cute in his dark blue yukata. I was glad to see that he did not have his combat clothes on; I knew how much he actually hated killing.
"Have you made breakfast yet?" I asked the boy in front of me. Haku shook his head silently, so I said, "May I help then?"
"But you are a guest," he protested.
I nodded my agreement. "Exactly, and I don't want to impose on you. Actually, I'd been planning on becoming a chef and am quite good at cooking. I think it's fun!"
Haku sighed. "I suppose you could help."
AN HOUR LATER ZABUZA came into the dining room and folded himself down into a chair. There were no medical wraps covering the lower half of his face, as had been the case the night before at dinner. Haku brought over three bowls of steaming rice, and I brought over three small bowls of miso soup. We sat down, and Haku handed me a pair of chopsticks.
"Arigato gozaimasu!" I cheerfully said, and Zabuza gave me a funny look.
"You sure seem to be making yourself at home," he said as he grabbed a pair of chopsticks.
I smiled up at him, and for once it was actually almost genuine. Somehow I just couldn't bring myself to despize Zabuza like everyone else, despite his horrible personality. "I was just helping out as thanks," I said, "and it's nice out, too. Try smiling."
Haku nodded in agreement. "It's a perfect day to go into town. Is there anything you'd like me to get when I take Adachi-san in, Zabuza?"
Zabuza just ignored him, which I personally thought was kind of rude. "I've decided to let you stay," he told me, and this time it was my turn to give him a funny look.
"I don't remember asking to be allowed to stay."
Zabuza chose to ignore my statement, instead saying, "I'll even train you, seeing as you're so unnaturally strong."
Haku and I continued to stare at him, completely dumbfounded. Zabuza just continued talking.
"You can sleep in the room you used last night, and you can have some of Haku's old clothes. I didn't see you bring any of your own, and they should fit you."
I grinned. "But your stuff is much more to my style, Zabuza."
Zabuza blinked, as if suddenly realizing that he wasn't talking to an inanimate object, such as a plant, or maybe a puppy dog. "My stuff is too big," he said without faltering. "You'd fit into just one pant leg of mine."
"I could turn some of your shirts into dresses," I suggested.
"No. If it's really a problem, Haku can take you into town to buy some clothes," he answered, the seriousness never leaving his voice.
I leaned over to whisper conspiratorily into Haku's ear. "You don't suppose some of those berries I gave you last night were poisonous, do you?" Haku looked absolutely appalled so I grinned and pulled away. "Relax. I was just kidding."
I turned back to Zabuza; he was eating now. I smiled a small smile. I would have to adjust my personality a bit if I was going to be staying here for a longer amount of time.
Chaper End
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