I spent a lot of time searching for affection in shallow spaces. I gave people bits of me they didn't deserve and let myself be hurt. But once I let go of trying to shove puzzle pieces in places that they did not belong, once I let go of all the hatred I had secretly stored in the gashes that decorate my heart,

I met her.

I had only known her for little while but I could grasp every little detail about her. If I were to condense it into words to make it simpler to decipher,

She was the sound of glass shattering, the sharp ringing in your ears. The perpetual motion of spinning ballerina trapped in a music box. The sad, tinny tune of La Vie en rose.

She was an old fashioned heart that held timeless love. She was the poetry on a three paged love letter, a rose in a world full of bottled perfumes.

She was the thrill of zigzag in your parallel lines. She was every turn you took when racing through a hedge maze against the setting sun. She was rising tides and sinking moons. She was the crimson blood that surged between heart and head.

She was the strong cup of tea in a world drunk on cheap wine and dark, shallow romance.

All I'm trying to say is that she was broken too, but she was brutally remaking herself, collapsing to reborn like a rioting star, hunting the dark sky.

And she talked a lot. She told me stories of mountains and hills and oceans and stars. And I got lost in the depth of our conversations, her notions and the way she spoke of things she held dear. When she spoke, in different notes; high and low, depending on how serious or tragic the part was. And when she talked about the things she loved, everyone stopped to see where the light came from.

Everything about her had a teaspoon of nicotine mingled in it. The way her smile reached her eyes, the way her expressions changed with the topic, the way her hands reached to tuck a stray lock behind her ear, the way pink dusted her cheeks every time she made a failed effort to cover her shoulder.

I had to forcefully shut my eyes during the meal to prevent them from trailing over to her bare shoulder. Icha Icha paradise had corrupted my mind, which was pulsing with desire, ricocheting from dark corners of stained romance. But I wasn't entirely to blame, her smooth skin and defined collarbone appeared vaguely tempting, obviously a pure contrast to her appearance when wrapped in that old blue yukata and tied up hair.

It was taking everything in my might to not to pin --

"The food is so delicious. I can't believe you're such a great cook. I mean, you're a skilled jonin but you can do household chores just as efficiently, that's quite remarkable." She thoughtfully complimented, gently placing her chopsticks down.

I harrumphed, not knowing what to say next, "Hm, agreed."

"Well thanks for the meal." She smiled before energetically standing up.

How was she so hyperactive even after such an exhausting day?

Setting her dishes in the sink, she turned to face me, caught amidst of yawning wearily.

"Kakashi, you know you're so -- lazy. And you probably procrastinate things too. It's almost like, you lack youthfulness." [y/n] said thoughtfully, "You should not let your grey hair determine your age. You're still young and you must not waste your youth!"

"Not another Guy please." I grumbled under my breath.

"What do you mean? I'm not a guy, I'm a girl." She pouted, which was oddly adorable "Even though I dress like one."

I chuckled, she was naive, "What are you trying to imply?"

"Well, you see the reason I'm here in Leaf is to see around, ya know. But apparently, my whole day one was ruined because of your village's security concerns. Therefore I believe, adventure is calling and we must go!"

"Hm? We?" I hummed, slightly amused.

She sure was delusional.

"Yes. You can show me around, ya know." She laughed nervously, scratching the back of her neck.

Loud mouthed, hyperactive, naive, Ya know. This girl reminded me so much of Naruto.

"I don't know. To be honest, I'd prefer staying home and doing nothing." I hummed, busying myself with the dishes.

Albeit, a part of me did want to go, but annoying her seemed to be my priority for now.

"Aw come on, stop lazing around, will ya?You're so boring, honestly, you're so boring if you were a spice you'd be flour." She crossed her arms.

"Offence taken." I chuckled.

"Well, offence intended." She grumbled.

She was stubborn.

"You're saying you want to go out wearing that?" I pointed at my perfectly loose shirt veiling her petite small frame, "I'm sorry not everyone has an exceptional self control as me."

I immediately covered my mouth, surprised by my own dangerous slip of tongue.

"Whaaaa?" She asked, slightly confused by my statement, "Oh and don't worry about me, the yukata I was wearing is fit for travelling and dries up super quickly. It must be dry by now."

"Do does that mean you won't be wearing that anymore?" I asked, still pointing at her attire in rather disappointment.

Sure, she managed to steal breaths even in that exceptionally ugly yukata, but the shirt had its own charm. Partly because it was mine, and I selfishly contended myself with the thought that it marked her as my property.

"Can we please go?" she pleaded, her [e/c} eyes wide and hopeful. And within one look, I stood defeated.

"Alright." I sighed in defeat, "Where do you want to go?"

She looked out of the window, barely containing her excitement. Her index finger pointed at the hills where the Hokage monuments were constructed, "There, on the very top. It'd be a lovely view."

I only sighed as she swiftly went inside her room and hastily changed into her now dry yukata. Lazily, I opened the window, ready to jump out. That is, until her voice caused me to halt,

"I'm not a Ninja, remember? isn't it better if we go together like normal people, ya know -- rather than jumping from roof to roof?"

So she couldn't wield her powers?

"Oh right." I muttered.

The two of us then left through the door, onto the pebbled streets that were still wet from the downpour this afternoon. It was pleasant outside, a cool breeze was blowing and the market was occupied by crowds of busy people dissolved in their everyday activities.

[y/n] looked at the place in glee, as if contemplating each person she passed by, trying to have a glimpse at their story, how their day went and what worried them. Her eyes lit up when she saw group of little kids pass by, giggling and playing. She was trying to sip in everything about this moment. Guess that's what vagabonds did.

She was so lively and it made me feel alive too.

After a considerable while of walking together in peace, passing random comments on random things, we reached the base of the hills where a series of stairs were present for the use of people trying to get to the top of the hills.

"Well, guess we'll have to take the stairs." I shrugged nonchalantly as I went ahead.

"Wait." She called out, stepping on the hill and climbing up vertically, leaving me baffled.

And she said she wasn't a ninja...

"I know a little bit about chakra control. An old lady in Mist taught me the basics when I helped her with fishing."

Shaking my head, I followed her and began walking against the gravity with ease. [y/n] however, was having trouble maintaining her stability and was rather slow. And for the sake of keeping down to her pace, I pulled out a little booklet from my pocket and began to enjoy the fine literature.

We were only a halfway up the hill when this caught her attention, making her pout, "You know that's showing off, right? Here, I'm having trouble maintaining my balance and there you're reading a book?!"

With that said, she lost her focus on the rock beneath and abruptly her feet lost stability. She gave in to the gravity, dangerously close to falling down.

She squinted her eyes shut and a scream escaped her lips as she prepared herself for the impending doom while I watched everything happen in a much slower pace through my activated Sharingan.

The look on her face was priceless when she found something blocked her from falling and she saw herself landing on a strong chest, yelping she quickly wrapped her arms around it and kept her eyes shut.

I shifted in her embrace, she had wrapped her arms around me so firmly and her eyes were bolted shut. She was a normal person all right, scared of little things like falling. But this touch, it was far from normal, it radiated warmth and calmness.

Her heartbeat was fast and the pattern of her breaths wavered. It made sense, she had just escaped death. But I didn't know why my heart was pounding, little things like this never got to me.

Perhaps it was because of her callous touch. Her embrace, her warmth, her intoxicating scent. In all these years, I had never held someone so close and contemplated every little detail about them. This unreasonable cautiousness was driving me to the point of insanity.

With a flutter, she opened her eyes and noticed the one who saved her, the one she was so firmly holding onto.

She peeked at the base of the cliff down below and her hair obeyed gravity, hanging downwards right past my shoulder, gently blowing with the soft breeze.

"Need a little help, hm?" I playfully teased her before picking her up in a single motion and swiftly carrying her to the top of the hill.

I cautiously helped her on her feet and she heartily thanked me, slightly flustered over the little mishap.

The two of us settled on the edge of the Hokage monuments in complete silence and the watched the starry night sky glimmering in full glory, which was of course complimented by the city lights of the busy town below. It was quiet, the only sound being the whistling wind.

She looked at the view, spellbound. And I looked at her.

She enjoyed the little things about life, the little thrills that I seemed to ignore everyday.

The sky itself, instilled thoughts and imagination.

Some nights you will feel like there are a thousand galaxies exploding in every inch of you and you are burning too bright to be ever looked at directly, and some nights you will feel impossibly small, like your whole body can slip through the spaces between atoms and never reappear in this world again. And some nights you will feel like a paper doll, carefully crafted and easily blown away with wind, fragile, too delicate to be touched.

And some nights you will feel like each cell in your body is made of the strength that holds the whole planet together. That is okay, because you are made of stardust and miniscule atoms and breakable bones and building blocks of everything in universe, you are too alive to feel anything more than human.

And this instance, that's exactly what we felt. Human. Just sitting there carefree, our feet dangling below, she admired the view and I admired her.

Her eyes reflected the stars, her face glowed in the dark, her evergreen smile was visually contagious and my heart was beating unrealistically fast.

I could not reiterate this feeling at the bottom of my chest? I hadn't felt something like this ever before.

I believe the essence of me lives on in these nuances, these moments. Yet never have I been bolder and brighter than I was with her. Whatever vessels we pour our selves into, mine was now overflowing, brimming with life, transcending into something new.

"It's so beautiful." She whispered, clearly referring to the view before her eyes.

"Yes." I agreed, not blinking once as I peered at her, and her only, "Yes, it is."

And I knew I'd have trouble sleeping tonight.