Too much Fullmetal Alchemist inspired this one.

"You never know what you have until it's gone". I suppose that saying rings true, but in a way, I'm disappointed that it took me this long to figure it out. I seem to have taken things for granted and in return, fate stole them away from me. I've hardly noticed how important everyday things were to me and it's only now that I've lost them, that I realize how important they truly were. I was only ten when I lost the biggest person in my life, and it's thanks to that, that I am where I am now.

I sneezed as a bit of sand tickled my nose, sitting cross-legged on a blanket with various wooden figurines laid out before me in an attempt to make some extra cash. The tan traveling cloak I had was laid lazily over my shoulders and my startling white hair was mostly tucked away under a red cloth that had been wrapped around my head to hide it. The people around here did not take to kindly to it, as I had quickly learned when I was younger. Living in Sunagakure had been hard even when my brother was around trying to protect me from it. Now, selling my puppets and carvings was all I could do to get by.

My stomach growled as I swallowed thickly, feeling just how scratchy and dry my throat was after a day without water. And almost a week without food. I sighed, reaching in the pocket of my dirty black pants to pull out what change I had left over from buying water the previous day. It wasn't even enough to buy a piece of bread or a cube of salt. My stomach roared again, but I couldn't satisfy it for a while longer. Just then, some children rushed past, running over my blanket and kicking my products into the sand with laughter.

"Ahaha! Whoops! Sucks for you, mister!" A child laughed, running off as I picked up my things.

I decided that I wasn't going to get anything sold today and instead began packing up my carvings in a small sack, only pausing when I sensed a presence standing before me. It was a small one, so I sighed and opened my mouth to tell the brat to buzz off, only to be surprised by the child standing there. The dark patches around his eyes, the red hair, and kanji on his forehead told me immediately who it was, but I was not fearful of him like everyone else was. To me, he was just another child. One that was probably growing up in a similar way as I had when I was younger. Isolated and feared.

I blinked a few times, wondering what the small child was doing here, when I noticed he hadn't raised his eyes. Following his gaze, I saw the one wooden carving that I hadn't picked up yet. A small one that could fit in the palm of your hand that I had made one afternoon as I watched the sun set from a roof near the boarders of Sunagakure. It wasn't much, but I could see why the boy might like it. It reminded me of him, actually. The small panda with a bamboo hat stared silently up at him and I reached for it with a small hint of a smile hidden under the dark cloth mask covering half of my face. I then held it out to him, nodding my head at him.

"You may have it, if you wish, Gaara-sama." I said softly, not used to using my voice very often.

His dark eyes shifted to meet mine and he hesitantly reached out for it, just as someone smacked my hand away, tossing the figurine to the ground before kicking me roughly in the chest. I coughed and wearily looked up at the man, who's bandaged head gave him away and I scowled at him as he lectured Gaara.

"Stay away from him, Gaara-sama. He is nothing but a filthy, cursed beggar."

He then led Gaara away as a few of his underlings proceeded to beat me. I simply protected my head as best I could until they were finished, before picking up my scattered belongings once more. I was used to it at this point. The beatings were every day and if they weren't by ninja, they were by the other people wandering the street.

"W-W-Why do they pick o-on me, nii-san?" A little boy sobbed, as his older brother did his best to wash the blood out of his knotted hair. "I-I didn't do anything wrong!"

The brother gave the boy a sad smile, green eyes staring down at him softly. "They just don't understand, Hisoka. You're special and they don't know how to react to that."

"I-I'm special?" Hisoka looked up at him, his crimson eyes still glimmering with tears.

"That's right." The brother nodded, ruffling the boy's hair. "You're my special little brother and I won't let anything happen to you anymore. Okay?"

"Un!" Hisoka smiled brightly, one of the last smiles he would ever make.

I sighed quietly at the memory, ignoring the ache in my jaw at the small movement, when I spotted the small wooden panda sitting in the sand not far away. I picked it up and dusted it off, glad it hadn't been damaged in the scuffle, and put it in the smaller pouch I carried at my side. Looks like I have something to do tonight. It's about time I leave this village though. I lifted my sack of things over my shoulder and easily hopped up onto the roofs and made my way back to my hideout near the border in preparation for what was to come.

Later that night, one could find me running across the rooftops as I neared the main building in the center of the village. I had finished gathering water from a nearby house for my journey, and even managed to gather up enough money for a loaf of bread. The owner had thrown it in the dirt, but it was still edible and I should be able to last off of it for a few days. When I reached the main building, I watched wearily for any guards before climbing up the wall and discovering little Gaara's window. He hadn't returned for the night, which I was slightly grateful for (He was a ninja after all). Reaching into my small pouch, I placed the panda on the windowsill and smiled slightly as it shimmered in the moonlight due to the gold dust that had stuck to it while in my pouch. Enjoy the gift, Gaara-sama. I thought, before disappearing into the night, leaving the village that hated me, for a chance to start a new life.

I found myself with my blanket laid out before me once more, in a small village near the border of the Land of Fire. A few children would stop and point out my little figurines to their parents, tugging on their sleeves to get their attention, and I sold a few as long as I kept my head down. My eyes unnerved people and often resulted in loss of profit, so I knew better than to actually look at people when I was selling. Unfortunately, I still didn't have much to live off of and my bread had been finished off ages ago.

As the sun set, I quietly packed away my things and heaved my pack over my shoulder as I set off into the forest once more. A few days passed and I could physically feel myself growing weaker as days turned to nights and my body moved by sheer willpower. Reaching into my pouch, I pulled out a small flask, only to be disappointed as nothing came out of it. Putting it away, I stopped walking and sat on the ground in silent meditation in the hopes of hearing a source of water nearby. My sense of hearing has always been excellent, so I wasn't surprised when I heard the distant roaring of a river that could be miles off to my left.

Getting up, I was forced to shake the fog out of my head from lack of nutrition and managed to start walking in the direction of where I heard the river. As I approached said body of water, I heard something curious. Shouting coming from someone just upstream. I calmly finished filling my flask with water and sipped some myself before splashing water on my face, when I saw someone splashing frantically in the river. Blinking in confusion a few times, I noticed two children maybe half my age hurrying along the banks shouting at the other child in the river, who couldn't swim very well due to the churning water.

Now, I don't normally involve myself in other people's affairs (children or otherwise), but I was not one to stand back and watch as someone potentially drowned in the rushing water. Heaving a sigh, I stood and began removing my extra clothes and weapons, piling them up on the bank before I jumped into the raging water. Having lived in a desert most of my life, one would assume I have no swimming experience and that person would be right. However, I learned how to swim very quickly when I accidentally slipped into the deep end of a small lake not months ago. You'd be surprised how a life or death situation can teach you something in split seconds.

Huffing and puffing at the exertion, I grabbed a hold of the blonde boy and frantically began swimming as best I could towards the side of the river. Once we were out, I laid down and draped a hand over my eyes as I gasped for air. Already, I could hear the other two kids talking loudly to the one boy I had saved. Or at least one of them. The other was pretty quiet.

"Naruto! You moron! You could've died! What were you thinking?!"

"S-Sakura…"

"Che, idiot."

"Hey!"

Calming my rapidly beating heart, I got up from the ground and tried to silently leave before the children spotted me. I wasn't that lucky though and one of them called out after me.

"Ah! Wait! I-I have your things!"

I froze and reluctantly turned, seeing the small pink haired girl freeze upon meeting eyes with me as she held out my clothes and weapons. Shifting my gaze away from her, I took my things with a nod and walked a bit away from them to dry myself off with a cloth I had in my pack. I noticed that the trio hadn't left yet and were whispering to one another, but I ignored them as best I could as I rewrapped my head and hid my hair. I continued getting my things back in order and soon finished, rising and throwing my pack over my shoulder when the blonde boy I had saved hurried up to me.

"Neh! Thanks a lot, mister! I could've drowned, heheh." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, eyes closed with a large grin.

I gave him a short glance, wondering what possessed him to approach me even after he'd seen my eyes and hair, and the pink haired girl hurried over, grabbing his sleeve and wearily watching me.

"N-Naruto. Let's go. You shouldn't talk to this guy."

"Huh? Why not?" Naruto said in confusion, looking between the two of us.

I glanced at the girl and winced when she flinched back, tugging on Naruto's sleeve to get him to leave. I mentally sighed and turned to head off, ignoring Naruto's shouts about me coming back and the girl (Sakura, he said) letting him go. She's right. It's best he doesn't get involved with me. The swimming really exerted me though and the longer I walked, the heavier my limbs felt. As night approached too, I could feel the cold breeze cut through my clothing easily, freezing me since I was still wet from the river. Sneezing, I decided to set up a small camp and made a small fire that I huddled around for warmth. I even removed my wet clothes and hung them up on a branch to dry off, leaving me in only my traveling cloak and boxers, sniffling in the cold. Makes me miss the desert. The heat was bad, but I'd rather deal with that than this cold weather.

I hissed quietly as my left arm brushed my stomach, sending tendrils of cold across my skin. Grumbling about the cold metal, I reached across my chest and undid the leather straps as I pulled my chakra out of the limb and set the offending object aside. I rolled my shoulders, releasing any tension that had built up in carrying the metal appendage around, and curled up around my legs to try and keep warm. I had lost my left arm a while ago, back in Sunagakure. There wasn't much I could do about it at the time.

"Y-You monster!" A man shouted, hands shaking in fury as he held Hisoka down and slashed repeatedly at the boy's arm as he screamed in agony. "You killed him! You killed my father!"

"I-I didn't mean too! I-I'm sorry!" Hisoka cried.

"Demon!" The man continued to rage until the boy managed enough strength to shove the man off him and run. At that point, it was too late. The limb could not be salvaged.

I had been lucky though. My brother saved me and cared for me since no hospital would, but I lost my arm. Being so good with wood, I made a wooden appendage and used that for a while, learning how to use chakra strings to make it move the joints as though it was my old arm. My brother though, made friends with the son of a blacksmith and had something made up for me for my eighth birthday. As I grew and my brother was no longer around, I needed to get it replaced and soon learned metalwork in order to upkeep it myself. Of course, it only made things worse because now I felt like even more of a monster.

Sighing to myself, I let loose another sneeze and rubbed my nose, closing my eyes and listening to the sounds of the forest. I soon lost track of time, having stayed in this silent meditating state most of the night, and woke up the next morning around dawn with tired eyes and an even more tired body. With slow aching limbs, I put my arm back on and took a moment to place chakra in the metal limb before I put on my clothing. It was still a bit soggy, but I had no time to deal with that. I needed to find a village and food soon. I could already tell that the previous dip in the river made me sick and I wouldn't last if I didn't get somewhere with shelter soon.

As I found the road and began heading down it, I stumbled carelessly with my vision fading in and out through a feverish haze. Minutes turned to hours, but I still felt no closer to a village than when I had first started and suddenly, I couldn't feel my legs. I fell into the dirt and let out a slow huff of breath, stirring up the dirt in front of me as I slowly closed my eyes. Just for a bit…I need to rest, just for a bit. I couldn't tell how much time passed before I voices around me. But I was too exhausted and gladly feel back into the dark abyss.

I awoke, still dreary from my fever and nearly had a heart attack when I saw two bright blue eyes staring back at me. They blinked at me and I blinked back, before the person launched themselves up with a shout.

"Kaka-sensei! He's awake, Kaka-sensei!"

I recognized him at this point as the blonde boy I had saved from the river, but that didn't lessen the fear that had settled itself in my stomach at not knowing where I was or what had happened. Last thing I remember was collapsing on the road… Did he find me? I forced myself to sit up, holding a hand to my head as my vision swum dangerously and Naruto returned holding a bowl with a big grin on his face.

"I brought you some soup!" He shouted, making me cringe as his voice rattled around in my skull.

A man came up behind him and punched him on the head. "Hey, not so loud."

"Heh, sorry, Kaka-sensei." The boy chuckled, hurrying over to me and handing me the bowl.

Reluctantly, I took it and stared into the bowl cautiously. It wouldn't be the first time someone tried to poison me by pretending to be nice. It smelled really good though, and I could already feel my mouth watering at the prospect of food, but I didn't move.

"Something wrong?" Naruto asked, tilting his head.

He seemed to notice my hesitation in eating and took the spoon and drank some of the soup. "It's good, see?"

I watched him for a moment, before turning back to my bowl and heartily drinking the soup before the boy saw what was under my mask. I set the bowl down on my lap and jumped a little as the boy chuckled.

"Wow! You must've been really hungry, huh?" He smiled and took my bowl, hopping up excitedly. "I'll get you some more!"

As he ran off, I blinked at his back in confusion. Why was he being so nice to me? He didn't look afraid of my eyes like his friend… I-I'm… confused. I visibly flinched back when something cool touched my forehead and turned to see the man from before holding a wet cloth; his visible eye closed in a smile.

"Seems you've caught Naruto's attention. Don't mind him. He's always that excited."

The man reached over again to wipe the sweat off my forehead, but I leaned back once more. I didn't know this man and, while he seemed friendly enough, I knew a false smile anywhere.

"Ah, sorry. Here." He handed me the wet cloth and I slowly took it, wiping my own forehead and the back of my neck as well before handing it back.

Just then, Naruto came back with more soup and, once he tested it again, I finished that bowl as well. It was the best thing I had ever eaten, but I suppose that was only because I was half-starved. I continued to sit there though as Naruto shot question after question at me, without me ever answering. The only thing I told him was my name and the moment I did, he was surprised at me even speaking before that big grin appeared again on his face.

"Hisoka, huh? I'm Naruto Uzumaki! And that's Kakashi-sensei!" He said loudly, pointing at the silver haired man who was helping the other two kids by the fire. "Then the girl over there is Sakura! And the grumpy guy is Sasuke." Naruto frowned, obviously not liking Sasuke very much. "Neh, what are you doing out here by yourself, Hisoka?"

I looked up at him, only to turn my eyes away and spot my things lying not too far away. I pointed at my bag and Naruto looked over before smiling and grabbing them. As he came back, I reached in my bag and pulled out a wooden figurine, showing it to him. It was a simple one of a fox curled around its tail as it slept, but Naruto seemed to really like it and stared at it with wide eyes.

"Whoa! Did you make that, Hisoka?"

I nodded as he practically vibrated in his spot with excitement. I slowly handed it over to him and he looked at me as though I was giving him the best thing in the world.

"I… can have it?"

I pushed it towards him again and he took it, eyes lighting up before he hurried off to the rest of the group to show him what I had given him. My lips twitched up in a small smirk and I quietly laid back down, my mind getting hazy. My fever wasn't too bad, but I could still do with some rest and I fell asleep clutching the smooth red stone around my neck, dreaming about my brother and the times we used to have.

I woke up with a start, breathing hard and scanning my surroundings in a panic after a rather intense nightmare. It was just before dawn and, while I was still slightly panicked about the nightmare, I felt significantly better from my cold. I looked over at the three sleeping kids and quietly began packing up my things to leave. I had just gotten up and hefted the bag over my shoulders when a voice startled me.

"Leaving already?"

I placed a hand on the hilt of one of my short swords and turned, but relaxed slightly upon seeing Kakashi standing there. I nodded and Kakashi sighed, rubbing the back of his head and closing his eye. He never seemed to have his eye open around me for some reason.

"Mah, Naruto won't be happy to know you ran off before saying goodbye."

I glanced at the sleeping blonde who was drooling on his sleeping bag, muttering about ramen. I lowered my head, feeling slightly ashamed for leaving like this, but I didn't need them getting hurt because of me. Kakashi seemed to understand my silent decision and nodded.

"Well, I suppose I can pacify him for now."

I started to walk off, but he stopped me.

"There's one thing I want to know… Do you have the sharingan?"

Sharing—What? I looked at him, very confused and he just gave me another closed eye smile before waving me off.

"Never mind. Have a safe trip."

I hesitantly nodded and went off, silently questioning what the man could've been talking about. My trip was better now that I had food in my stomach and I eventually came upon the large village gates of Konohagakure. I took a deep breath and walked through the gates, heading over to the two men who took care of paperwork and quietly asked where I could get a temporary citizenship while I was here selling things. The moment they stopped talking to one another and looked up at me though, I cringed back as they eyed me cautiously and nervously looked away.

"Just, uh, head over to the Hokage building and let them know what you're there for. Here's a, uh, map."

I took the map, bobbing my head as I left and swallowed nervously as I made my way through the busy village streets. Things were crowded as people quickly went to get things done and I struggled to get through the crowd and find my way. Getting fed up with the pushing and shoving, I jumped up onto the roofs and made my way to the Hokage building that way. I saw others jumping from roof to roof, but ignored the ninja and jumped down to the ground outside the Hokage building. I walked in the building and bowed politely to the person behind the desk, inquiring as to where I could get a temporary citizenship.

"Just fill out this paperwork and we'll look it over within the next few days. Come back in about two days and it should be finished then. For now, take this."

I was given a piece of paper, confirming that my paperwork was in the system and giving me permission to sell goods, and I nodded my thanks to the man before leaving. Once I was back out on the street again, I sighed and adjusted my pack that was over my shoulder before making my way into the crowded shopping district. I soon found a place to set up and spread out my blanket before setting out my figurines as usual. After a while, I found that I was actually earning more here than I ever had at other areas. It brought a small smile to my lips for a while, until I accidentally looked at one of my customers.

The woman took one look at me and screamed, shouting at me before throwing the figurine she was looking to buy at my head. It hit me just across my eyebrow and I cringed, placing a hand to my head to find blood. As the woman ran off, I calmly set the figurine back where it had been and wasn't surprised when no one bought anything more from me that day. I managed to stop the flow of blood from my eyebrow though, and sighed quietly as I packed my things up once more, planning to find some water to clean up the dried blood on my face.

With my pack back over my shoulder, I kept my head down and walked in search of some water and someplace that would sell cheap food. I was shoved from behind though, cringing as I fell forward onto the dirt path. Glancing up, I got an unsettling feeling in my stomach at the group of drunk men and quickly lowered my head and stood to leave. They didn't give me a chance though before shoving me into the alleyway, one man grabbing the front of my shirt.

"Hey, you the guy who tried to sell my wife some cursed shit?"

I stayed silent with my head down, but the man shoved me against the wall.

"Oi! Look at me!"

I slowly did as he asked and his eyes widened, grip slacking from the front of my clothes before he began laughing.

"Ahaha! Look at this, boys! Another fuckin' demon! What do ya say we rough him up a bit?"

I swallowed and my hand twitched towards my sword hilts, but I froze. If I attack these men, my citizenship could be revoked… The next town is ages from here. I wouldn't make it with what I have. My hand lowered and as the group of men attacked, I did my best to defend myself and protect my belongings. I thought it was never going to end, but then I heard some groans and grunts and the barrage stopped. I heard curses being muttered and feet running off, but stayed where I was for a moment longer. Footsteps approached and I cringed, expecting to feel more blows from the angry men, but a hand placed itself on my shoulder.

"Hey, you okay?"

Panicking, I swung at the hand and smacked it off me, looking up at the man fearfully in the dark. Surprisingly, I knew him.

"Ah, Hisoka, right? Well, I never would've expected to find you here. Are you, uh, okay?"

I shook slightly, still trying to get over what had just happened as I looked up at the one-eyed, silver-haired man who, for the first time since I met him, was actually looking at me.

"You okay?" He repeated, snapping me out of whatever trance I was in.

I nodded, frantically trying to pick up all of my things and tried to hurry off, but Kakashi grabbed my arm, making me cringe as pain radiated up to my shoulder.

"Look, I might not know you very well, but it's obvious you're not okay. Let me help."

I stared at him, frightened, and he sighed muttering a quiet 'I'm not very good at this' under his breath that I probably wasn't supposed to hear.

"Just let me at least take you to the hospital."

At the word hospital, I paled and shook my head violently. Getting the hint, he nodded.

"All right. Calm down. No hospital. I got it. But you still should get cleaned up a bit, don't you think? Where are you staying? I can take you there."

I turned away, the hint of a blush forming across my cheeks in embarrassment as I felt his eyes boring a hole in the side of my head.

"You… don't have a place to stay, do you…"

I slowly shook my head and he sighed once more.

"Well, come on. I'm not mean enough to leave you out here bleeding. You can get cleaned up at my place."

He pulled me along and I followed, something telling me that he was a good person and that I should trust him. I wasn't sure he felt the same, but he must've seen some good in me since he was taking me to his home. Either that, or I wasn't even considered a threat. As long as he doesn't try anything, I'll be willing to trust him… for now.

The place we reached wasn't too bad. It was an apartment not far from the forest, near the outskirts of Konoha, and the inside wasn't messy or anything. To me though, anything was better than on the streets. As he shut the door behind me, he picked up a few things from off the floor and pointed to a door off to the side.

"You're welcome to use the shower. There should be towels in there and I'll see what I can get you as far as clothes go. You look about my size."

I watched him for a moment and suddenly spoke. "Why?"

He turned, a bit surprised, but the look soon left in exchange for a confused one. "Why what?"

Hesitating for a second, I opened my mouth to speak again. "Why are you helping me?"

He blinked and gave me a closed-eye smile. "Because you helped one of my students. I should return the favor, no?"

I accepted that answer and allowed him to leave as I went into the bathroom. I took off my clothes piece by piece and undid the straps holding my metal limb, setting it aside as well, before turning on the water and stepping in. You wouldn't believe how good the hot water felt. I hadn't had a hot shower since I was little and having one now, after traveling from the sands of the desert to the forests and valleys, felt really nice. My muscles relaxed and that tenseness I felt from constantly being fearful edged away under the spray.

After using Kakashi's soap and really good smelling pomegranate shampoo, I stepped out and dried myself off before wrapping a towel around my thin waist, another around the lower half of my face, and replacing my arm. Flexing it as I got the chakra working again, I frowned at the somewhat stiff movement and vowed to see if I had any oil left over from when I last fixed it, as I stepped out of the bathroom. Seems I did something wrong though, because as I approached Kakashi to see if he found any extra clothes, the man's eye widened and he very nearly dropped the cup of hot tea he had been drinking.

I stammered away, flustered as I took a step back. "S-Sorry. I was just checking if you found any clothes for me to wear. I-I'll just—"

"No. No. Sorry. I just didn't expect… Never mind. Here's some of my old clothes. And there's a first aid kit under the sink." Kakashi put a hand to his mouth and handed me the clothes, avoiding eye contact. I took them, but felt as though I had crossed some line that I didn't know about. I then just placed my clothes down on his coffee table and went back into the bathroom to change, keeping my weapons with me as a precaution. Did I do something wrong? Is it because of my arm? I glanced down at said appendage and clenched my fist tightly. It is, isn't it… He's going to kick me out and call me a monster too, just like everyone else… I shouldn't even be here…

I reluctantly put on the offered clothes; a dark blue, sleeveless masked shirt and some dark blue pants, the latter of which was a little big on me but nothing I couldn't deal with. I then took care of what injuries I had with his first aid kit, placing a small bandage over the cut on my eyebrow and cleaning my scrapes. I wasn't too bad off though. Just bruises and scrapes from what I could see. I could do with a bit more weight though. My ribs are showing, from what I see. Shaking the thought out of my mind, I left the bathroom once more, attaching my small pouch of gold dust to my hip along with my dual short swords, and re-entered the main room with full intent of staying quiet until I got my clothes back so I could leave, but Kakashi had other ideas. The moment I walked in, he turned around over the couch and held out a cup of hot tea with a smile.

"Made you tea. It's not poisoned. I promise."

I slowly nodded, taking the tea and turning away to hesitantly pull down my mask and take a sip as I sat cross-legged on the ground across from him on the couch. He raised a brow.

"You can sit on the couch you know. I won't bite."

I shook my head, setting my tea down and not saying a word as I went to ruffle through my bag for some oil like I had planned. Kakashi then sighed rather loudly, setting his own cup down and placing an elbow across his knees.

"Look, sorry about before. Didn't mean to scare you. I just, heh, didn't expect you to come out with… that."

He gestured to my metal appendage and I looked up at him before nodding and finally finding the oil I was looking for. He watched me as I oiled the joints and flexed my hand, elbow, and shoulder before suddenly questioning me out of nowhere.

"How's it work?"

I jumped and turned to him in slight surprise, but he just smiled and pointed at his hand as he wiggled his fingers.

"Your hand. I don't see any string, but it looks easy to move despite how complex it looks."

I looked at my own palm and flexed my hand once more. He's not afraid of it? I would assume not since he hasn't run me out of his apartment yet, but why? Why are he and Naruto different from the others?

"Chakra strings." I muttered. "They act like tendons and I just pull to bend and release to relax."

I demonstrated by bending my elbow and stretching it out again a few times.

"Hm. You must have perfect chakra control for something like that. Especially to do it unconsciously like you do. How much chakra does it take?"

"None."

His eye widened. "Really?"

I nodded. "It's the same as chakra traveling through your body. It's not wasting it. It's just flowing like it normally would if there was an arm there. The reason I can move the arm is because I tell the chakra to stick in some places for a moment so I can contract and release."

"And you came up with this?"

I nodded, my hand touching the metal lightly. "I-I had a wooden one before and just made some adjustments. I didn't make the first one."

Kakashi tilted his head. "First one?"

"Yes… This is the fifth one. I made the previous three with minor adjustments to find what works. The first one was made by someone else. It was… a gift."

Kakashi nodded and picked up his empty cup and mine, that I hardly drank out of, and took them to the kitchen.

"You're welcome to stay the night if you want, Hisoka." He told me. "Your clothes aren't going to be finished drying for a while, and I might be able to help you work something out with the Hokage tomorrow about a place to stay, if you want."

He came back in and I nodded. "T-Thank you, Kakashi."

He smiled and headed off before tossing me some blankets and retreating to his room, a final warning coming from over his shoulder.

"Don't try anything sneaky! I'll bite if I have to."

Swallowing at the threat that he hid under a teasing tone, I sat curled up on the center of his couch with my knees to my chest and swords tucked tightly against my legs, draping his blankets around me to keep warm as I slipped myself into that meditative state half between sleep and consciousness. Maybe this won't be so bad. Konoha seems like a nice place to stay…