A Dash of...Is That Chili Powder?

[YukiTen]

[Yes. >3 lol. And that's actually a pretty cool nickname. And Ami-sama's weaknesses are confections and spicy foods. >D]

How odd. He hadn't shaken her hand but he seemed to be offering her a cookie, if she read him correctly. And what was this cookie? Ah, yes. A ginger cookie. Amaya gave him a look crossed between exasperation and embarrassment.

Ginger cookies were her favorite cookies.

She didn't want to say anything in fear that the cookie wouldn't be for her, so she only ogled him with hidden childish awe. A ginger cookie. Oh, how the round but ridged edges of that beautiful little confection taunted her. The sweet but spicy taste of the ginger mixing with the smooth taste of the batter... 

Her whole world was falling apart over this tiny cookie.

Unbeknownst to her, her porcelain cheeks were tinted the softest of pinks and she continued to stare up at him. His pale eyes, she swore, were that of a godly peach now. He held the most amazing creation in his fingers and she wanted it desperately. 

She opened her mouth slightly, letting out a small sigh. She really wanted that friggin' cookie. "May... May I have that?" Her voice was very small and soft, nothing like her flat toned voice from earlier. This was an odd phenomena. 

Were her knees going weak for a cookie? She scoffed inwardly and berated herself.



Yuki chuckled softly at Vell's and Kakashi's little conversation before starting a round of furious coughs, each one ravaging her poor lungs. Small wheezes came afterwards she leaned forward, uncomfortable in the position she was in. Her lungs were sore and they grew even more so with the coughing.

"Nurse....please..." she wheezed, slamming a hand down on the short railing of the hospital bed. Damn her affliction. Damn asthma. Damn it all. She was the only ninja in the world with asthma that didn't have an inhaler, she thought viciously, her breathing raspy and hard.

Her clawed fingers dug into the bed and tore at the mattress and fabrics, creating five distinct tears. She needed a nurse. Badly. Pronto.

 Not only were her lungs in absolute agony, but her side was in even worse shape.

"Get me a fucking nurse!" she practically screamed, the very action making everything worse.



Amaya's small ears twitches, noticing but disregarding her best friend's scream. The cookie was far more important, yes. The cookie. This holy confection that was ginger flavored and practically dancing around in front of her, taunting her.

If she didn't have any self control, she'd be drooling and eating the cookie right out of Rage's hand. 

But it's a good thing she had self control.

She gulped and bit her cheek, the action almost invisible to others, her fingers knitting together in front of her. That damned cookie. Amaya really wanted it.

[Gracie-kun]

[...I could hug Ami-chan right now. Her whole world's falling apart over that tiny little cookie. >v< That's too cute! Oh, and...Yun-chan...oh dear. D: MOVE IT, VELL!!]

Rage could almost smile. Almost.

Amaya looked as if she were going to explode from the presence of the cookie. Her violet eyes were filled with such want and desperation - and Rage had it. A little piece of her character. Insignificant as the confection he held in his fingers, but, again just like the cookie, infinitely important to Amaya.

Content, Rage inclined his head in agreement, extending his arm a little further for her to take the treat from him. He knew that those childish eyes had contained sweetness.


Vell was out the door before she could finish her scream. Just around the corner, he found a nurse talking to a doctor. He bristled. "Do your fucking job, space cadet! Hatake's kid's hurt, remember?" he snapped wrathfully.

The nurse looked like a deer caught in headlights for a second, then she scurried past him and towards the designated room.

He scoffed. "Little idiot." Vell noticed the doctor giving him an unsatisfactory look and scowled deeper. "You could help too, y'know! Scram!" he hollered, gesturing in the direction of Yuki's room. The doctor shook his head in disapproval at Vell's tantrum and hurried off.

Cursing, Vell headed back that way as well. His mind was a jumble. I'm staying there? Beautiful. That's not going to be awkward AT ALL. Another thought occurred to him: She probably took my room. He groaned involuntarily. It looked like he'd be stuck with a couch for a while.

[YukiTen]

[xD She LOVES her some sweets, especially ginger and melon ones. :3 She also REALLY likes apple-pear flavored fizzy water. Cuz I absolutely love it too. >D And Yuki has asthma. :x]

Amaya bowed as far as she could manage, just THAT thankful for Rage's amazing godliness for allowing her the pleasure of he favorite cookie, before swiping it from him. Staring at the confection in her small fingers, she brought it up to her mouth and took the tiniest bite as a means of savoring this holy treat. If she knew how to smile, she would smiling as wide as she could, but she settled for a slight frown. 

She didn't exactly know how to do anything else. 

Still, she made her gratitude known, bowing several times in an awkward but sweet manner. She took little bite after little bite and absolutely relished the sweet spiciness of the cookie, the taste making her world go round. Before she knew it, her cookie was gone and she desperately wanted to cry. 

'I want another one...' Amaya thought to herself, almost saddened by the loss of the delicious cookie. She lifted her head up to look up at Rage and she saw a smile in his eyes, however small it was. Her heart thumped.

Straightening herself, feeling quite embarrassed, she recomposed herself and dug into her pocket. His kindness must be repaid, she decided. Whipping out a peach flavored hard candy, she set it in his hand which used to be the home of that holy confection. 



Wires and a mask, a nebulizer and albuterol, were very quickly hooked up to Yuki's face, providing the necessary remedy for her asthma. She breathed the medication in and out, her lungs very slowly beginning to feel better. Which was more than she could say for her side.

A nurse had stayed behind, bandages and wraps ready to be used in her arms, and she noticed where Yuki's hand was situated: at the big gash in her abdomen. Shoving Kakashi out of the way, which earned her a growl and an easily dodged swipe of claws, she removed Yuki's hand and whipped out a pair of tiny scissors. From there, she cut up the bloodstained bandages pulled them away, tossing them to the end of the hospital bed. She studied the gash.

It went diagonally from Yuki's belly button to just under the farthest point of her breast (which is COVERED, mind you). The long cut was maybe a half inch wide and very red, pale yellow lining it. The nurse side, taking note of the bleeding.

"What the hell are you just standing there for?" Yuki grumbled, giving a soft groan.

The nurse rolled her eyes and laid out for medicated strips of netted material and lifted Yuki just enough to be able to wrap the bandages around her. She tied off the gauz and set any extra bandages on a small table by the only chair in the room, which was all the way against the opposite wall.

A grunt and the nurse left.

Yuki sighed through her mask, continuing to breathe in her needed meds. "Thanks, lady," she muttered thinly.

[Gracie-kun]

[OwO Momo and Yoru are too adorable together. I can't stand it. :'D Oddly enough, I planned on Rage liking peaches. Just because it matches his eyes (and I could eat them for days 9.9'').]

Rage had forgotten that his hand had stayed extended from when Amaya had taken the cookie from him - he'd been too busy watching her take tiny bite after tiny bite from the treat, as if hoping this would make the cookie last forever. So he was fairly surprised when he found a little, pale orange piece of candy in his palm.

He blinked down at Amaya, who returned his look from under her long, dark lashes. The smallest of blushes dusted her cheeks and a slight frown floated around her mouth. Rage felt his ears tingle with heat.

He bowed his tall frame deeply out of manners, but he truly meant it. It wasn't often that he was treated by someone who wasn't himself - he did most of the shopping and whatnot for their team, after all. Straightening, Rage made eye contact with Amaya as he put the peach candy in his mouth.

Scythe clapped Rage on the shoulder, smiling. "C'mon, Rage-kun, we've gotta find someplace to crash before dark. And I don't think Kakashi-san wants us over at his place - he's already got Vell-kun to deal with," he joked.

Rage nodded and turned back to Amaya with a bow. Scythe ruffled his dark hair with a chuckle. "Bow any more and you'll throw your back out." He waved at Amaya. "See ya around, Amaya-san. ^^"

"Bye, Lady!" Awaji piped before following his taller friends, pestering Rage if he had another bento the tan boy could demolish.


Vell waited, leaning against the wall by the door, until the last nurse came skittering out. Then he slid back inside only to poke his head in.

"Na, old man. Maybe I should head back to the house. The kid doesn't look well enough for visitors... ... ... And I'm not the best company, anyway," he added in a mutter, ears flattening with a moody frown.

[YukiTen]

[Tis very true. >D I kind of don't wanna write in Amaya's...'love' for Gaara anymore. -_- ]

"Wait," the tiny purple-haired girl mumbled, unsure of what to do when she got their attention. She didn't technically have anywhere to go either, but she didn't think that they'd let her stay with them either. She didn't want to have to pay an innkeeper a thousand ryo per day.

Hey, she lived paycheck to paycheck. If you lived paycheck to paycheck, wouldn't you try to weasel your way out of it? Damn straight.

She frowned, realizing that she was beginning to think like Yuki. This was an irritating prospect. May as well take it am run with it though.

"May I come along?" she asked solemnly.



"No...stay," Yuki replied in place of Kakashi. She was very grateful for his help and hive Kakashi wasn't going to offer anything, then she was. Besides, where else would he stay? 

"Let him do what he wants, Yuki," said the tall jounin, sighing lightly.

"But...you're a dick, pops," she stated bluntly.

"Is that so?"

"Yes. It is so. Let him stay. I may be in bad condition, but he's someone I want to get to know. He is...related to you, right?" 

"...."

"Right, so that would make him my cousin or brother or uncle or something. I wanna know him."

Kakashi, again, said nothing.

[Gracie-kun]

[D: Gaara-sama gets no love? Oh noes! Momo-kun has ruined his chances with a ginger cookie! (hahaha XD) Well, whichever you choose, I suppose. :) And Rage is almost like a daycare mom - food onhand at all times. XD]

Rage looked at Amaya's solemn face with slightly-widened peach eyes while Awaji was taken aback. "You really wanna come with?" he asked, surprised.

Scythe grinned. "Another nomad, huh? Sure you can come. Not like we can stop you or anything."

"But all we're doing is looking at apartments. It's kinda boring," Awaji mumbled. Rage reached into his satchel and offered another bento to the boy, again with both hands. His politeness knew no bounds. Awaji snatched it up. "Well, it might not be so bad," he decided.

"You sure you don't want something to eat? Awaji-kun'll eat all four of those in one sitting," Scythe warned with a fond laugh. He shook his head at Rage's questioning stare. "Nah, I'm not hungry."

As Scythe and Awaji walked ahead, the tall man waving Amaya to join them, Rage stayed back and waited. He only started walking again when Amaya had caught up.


"... ... ..." Vell looked at Kakashi with exasperation. "You had to get a smart kid, didn't you?"

Kakashi rolled his dark eye up to the ceiling in an attempt to look innocent. "I had no say in her intelligence," he said.

The silver haired teen folded his arms and narrowed his eye at Kakashi. He spoke to Yuki, though. "This geriatric, dick-headed old man is my brother. Unfortunately."

"You say it as if it's a bad thing."

"IT IS."

Kakashi chuckled and Vell looked to Yuki, face sagging with exasperation again. "Six years of this crap. That's what I grew up with. He hasn't changed one bit," he sighed as if it were a tragic thing.

[YukiTen]

[Yes. The ginger cookie ruined Gaara's chances xD]

Once she received the okay, Amaya quickly joined Rage and the others, taking up a spot right next to the tall, dark-haired older boy. She reached into her satchel and into her stash of sweet candies, pulling out a heavenly piece of lychee flavored hard candy. She twiste it's wrappings and popped the small candy into her mouth, enjoying the sweet taste.

She loved candy~



"So, in other words, you're my uncle," Yuki concluded, her hopes of a brother now ruined. "I was kinda hoping you were a player at age ten and somehow got-" She stopped herself and pulled her mask off once the medication was all out. And so began the awkward 'what the fuck' silence, she was great for those.

Silence.

More silence.

"So I think about having a brother. Sue me," she finally said, glaring at nothing in particular. "Bite me, actually. I can sue YOU for that." She muttered on and on, not bothering to listen to Kakashi and Vell's renewed bickering. She didn't really know what she was saying either.

Maybe it was the amount of stress her body was previously under? Maybe, maybe. Who knows? But she sounds like a complete idiot.

[Gracie-kun]

[Poor Gaara-sama. XD And Scythe's adeptness to decipher a specific number from Rage is just admirable. O__o'']

Outside of the hospital Scythe stopped the little group to discuss plans. Awaji was picking the last of his rice out of the second box while Rage sucked on his candy, focused on the wily man before him.

"So, when it comes down to it, our choices of housing'll be narrowed down to how much money we've got. Since we don't have Vell here we'll have less than usual. So before we go falling in love with any apartments, let's pool in our dough and see what we can aim for." He turned to the tan boy. "How much do you have on you, Awaji-kun?"

"Uh...about fifty dollars," Awaji mused as he licked sauce from his fingers.

"I have around three-fifty on hand, but I can scrounge up about four hundred. And what about you?" Rage slowly blinked his eyes, and Scythe's brown ones grew round. "What? How'd you get that much?"

"..."

Awaji marveled up at the mute teen. "Lucky! You get all the high-paying jobs."

"He IS technically jonin..." Scythe shrugged it off and folded his arms. "That brings us to about thirteen hundred-fifty, give or take. We can get a really nice apartment to rent for a few months with money left over for food and other stuff. Cool!" he grinned.

"...," Rage didn't say.

"Now? Don't you wanna come with us to look for apartments?"

Rage shook his head and handed the remaining two bentos from to Awaji, who gratefully accepted them. Then he bowed to the three of them and started walking off.

Scythe saw Amaya's confused frown and smiled a little. "Rage-kun wants to go shopping - apparently he saw some sales while he was out buying our lunch. He's got a good eye for bargains." He paused, then smiled wider. "We're just gonna check some places out. If you feel like helping out you could probably carry some grocery bags with Rage-kun."


Vell wondered why Yuki had wanted a brother so bad until he remembered: she'd just killed her real one earlier today. He scratched the back of his head and looked at the wall.

"Meh, 'uncle' makes me sound old. Besides, Onii-san was technically my dad since I never knew the lecherous bastard in the first place," he mused, shrugging it off. "As it stands I'm more like a brother, I guess."

"Just don't make him your role model," Kakashi whispered, only to tease his younger brother. It worked.

"You should talk, dickhead!" Vell snapped.

"Oh, dear. Now I've got two kids calling me profane things," the jonin sighed forlornly.

Vell glared at him. "Don't be all wishy-washy, ya shameless cyclops," he muttered.

[YukiTen]

[Indeed, indeed. Poor Gaara-kun. He gets with some Matsuri bitch anyhow -.-']


Reaching back into her pouch again, she produced a small black purse containing five thousand ryo. The remainder of the money she received from the mission before this last one. She sighed inwardly. Her money. 

The only thing keeping her in a room with central heating... She didn't really expect to be payed attention to so she placed her purse back in her pouch.

She noticed an emptiness beside her and looked up, not too confused but still wondering where Rage had gone off to. For a half second, she wondered if she was getting comfortable with him because of the similarity and that damned cookie. 

"Rage-kun wants to go shopping - apparently he saw some sales while he was out buying our lunch. He's got a good eye for bargains." She looked at him, his smile widening. "We're just gonna check some places out. If you feel like helping out you could probably carry some grocery bags with Rage-kun."

Saying nothing, Amaya merely dipped her head and turned around in the direction Rage was walking off in, following at her usual quick pace. She felt like a little duckling following its mother. Maybe he had another cookie? Or maybe he saw a sale on them? Hopefully both.

She stared up at him in childish wonder, praying he would produce another cookie for her. Ooooh, or some extra spicy curry. That ALWAYS works.



Then it hit her. Not even a single day goes by and she's already forgotten the trauma of losing her brother. Yuki frowned deeply, her eyes downcast, paying Vell and Kakashi no mind. How could she forget her own brother like this? It hadn't even been a full twent-four hours. No. Not even close.

And how desperately she wanted a brother wasn't exactly helpful either. 

She sighed, too choked up to cry. Her brother, the great Kusanagi Yasuo, had been murdered. Dead. And the hands that were stained with his blood were hers. 

She closed her bandaged hands and stared down at them. He was dead...

Now that she had started to think about it again, she felt weak and stupid, and she blamed herself for everything. He may have been dying already but...he was still her brother. He was still her family.

How could she let something so small as a genjutsu control her? How could she let herself fall prey to something so simple?

"Kakashi, Vell," she started, her heart lurching. "Could you both...please be quiet for a little while?"

[Gracie-kun]

Rage looked down when he heard scuffling to stare into wide, hopeful purple eyes. His own peachy ones blinked in surprise. Looking behind him, Scythe and Awaji were headed in another direction. So Amaya had decided to go with him? Rage returned to looking down at the girl, and he shrugged at her a little: This isn't going to be any more fun, you know; he seemed to be saying.

A couple blocks later and they were in the store culmination of Konoha. Rage walked into a grocer's, holding the door for his little follower, not really used to having someone accompany him when he looked for food.

"Welcome! Is there anything in particular I can get you?" a middle aged man with a round belly said cheerfully from behind the counter. There were only two other people in the shop, and it was a mother and child.

Rage reached into his satchel - only to retrieve a marker and paper pad. His usual tools for shopping. He had not the time nor the patience to teach the salespeople he did business with his unspoken language, so he'd decided to compromise a long time ago. Unfortunately that hadn't made his writing any better.

"sine say beef 4 sayel" was quickly scrawled and then portrayed for the clerk to see by Rage's big, childish hand.

"That'd be over in that corner," the man confirmed with a point of his finger. Rage bowed low to him and headed over to the refrigerated little section of the store.


Vell glued his eye to the floor and shut his mouth. A few seconds later and he sat on the floor against the wall near the door, settling in for a wait.