Sehnsucht [Naruto Fanfiction]

Chapter 12 - Stress

Chapter 12 - Stress

Itachi was finally heading home after being stuck at ANBU HQ for over 16 hours three days running. With all the fuss regarding the last cell being killed in action, he just hadn't been able to get out of there. Once the second run of scouts had returned, he had only slept about an hour and had gone back to assign the new team. He had barely eaten or drank any water and knew that he would have to stay awake for a little while longer to make sure that he rehydrated and ate a decent meal before he could sleep. He had found that since his job was mostly a mental strain now, his body wasn't anywhere near as tired as he would like. Barely having time to train or spar with anyone didn't help that. Even Kakashi had been too busy lately, and they had only been able to meet and train once in the last two weeks. The Copy Nin wouldn't return from his current mission until next week. He wasn't comfortable asking many other people, but he could grab Sakura or one of the other Jonin. Naruto would be happy to oblige, but he had been in Kumo for a while and wasn't returning for a few more weeks.

Once he had entered his apartment, he kicked off his shoes lazily and groaned when one of them flew across the room. He would deal with it later. Heading straight for the fridge, he realised he had absolutely nothing ready to eat; he would have to make some effort to cook something. Resigning himself, he decided that he would have some tea first. That would at least help him to relax a little before he made something to eat. He filled up the kettle, put it on the burner, and grabbed out the tin. He lifted out his mug, and the handle snapped clean off, causing the rest of it to smash all over the counter. Staring blankly as he held the intact handle, he sighed and cleaned up the mess. He probably would have caught the other half of it if he wasn't so tired. His eyes were sore from using his Sharingan to complete all the paperwork as well, which didn't help.

After that was over, he carefully lifted down another mug, ensuring to hold the whole thing instead of just the handle, and poured himself a cup of tea once the kettle boiled. As it infused, he grabbed out ingredients from the fridge to make a quick stir fry. It was the fastest thing he could make with the least amount of effort, and although he didn't have any fresh cuts of meat to have with it, he didn't really care right now. He would get his protein later after he had a decent sleep.

When he opened his cupboard to get out the noodles, he saw that he didn't actually have any. Nor did he have any rice. Closing his eyes tightly, he rubbed the bridge of his nose as he recalled that he used them only a few days ago in a similarly tired state. He had obviously forgotten and groaned louder at his idiocy. He could sense Hitori was in her apartment just across the hall and decided to go out on a limb and ask her if she had anything he could use.

After turning down the burner to a low heat, he left his apartment door open as he walked over and knocked on hers, waiting for her to open it. It was only a second later when she did, and she gave him a polite smile. She was still in her pyjamas, which were a pair of cropped muted grey track pants and a faded black baggy t-shirt.

"Uchiha. To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" She was cheery as always, making him feel slightly better about how horribly his day had gone so far.

"Would you happen to have any uncooked noodles or rice I could use? I am slightly..." he trailed off as she disappeared into her kitchen momentarily, leaving the door open for him to enter.

Awkwardly, he stepped in and peered around the corner as she opened her fridge and grabbed a small bowl full of steamed rice. She handed it to him with a bright smile, and if he wasn't so composed, his jaw would have dropped.

"I accidentally cooked too much rice yesterday." She grimaced and shrugged. "I wasn't paying attention. All yours." Her tone was friendly but still respectful.