She didn’t need to check the clock to see that it was quite past noon; the blinding rays of the hot Konohagakure sun were enough to drive her out of bed. Still quite sensitive to the light, Suzu hastily pulled her curtains together, as her eyes adjusted back to her dimly lit room. Although it had been about ten months since she had arrived at the Leaf Village, Suzu’s eyes had never fully become accustomed to the “morning.” Kiri was a dark place where the sun hid behind the eternal clouds and she couldn’t help but to miss the damp feeling of the open streets. Konoha seemed like a desert; always so humid, always so hot, and always so bright.

It was thirty two degrees Celsius and people were outside.

She never really understood them. They smiled at strangers, danced in the streets and worked on their garden with no hint of guilt, remorse or sorrow. As far as she could see, Konoha was a haven for the eternally-happy, and Suzu was Alice in Wonderland. They could see it too; her across-the-street neighbours always smiled a little less and the kids had a tighter grasp on their baseballs when Suzu exited her apartment. They could see that she was something foreign; the piece that didn’t fit.

She didn’t blame anyone. Suzu didn’t bother making an effort to socialize with the citizens, and she’d only exit the comfort of her own home when it really mattered. Work was the only exception to this rule; she had to make conversation with complete strangers. The hospital was blessed to have such colourful patients come in and out of the revolving doors, and Suzu was particularly blessed to have a job that let her speak to every single person who stepped through the threshold. Suzu’s favourites were the elderly who’d come in “just to talk to somebody.” They were delightful.

Within minutes, the morning ritual was complete. Her bed was made, fresh clothes were on her back and breakfast was consumed. A small smile crept on her face; she took pleasure in her quick speed and efficiency. Taking her usual seat on the window ledge, she slowly reopened the curtains, just enough for two beady eyes to peek through. As she opened the window, she felt the warm, inviting breeze from Konoha’s marketplace travel through her lone apartment. It smelled of dango, ramen and green tea; everything she’d yet to taste.

Two kids caught onto the peeping neighbour from the 4th floor. Dropping their soccerball, they shifted their one-on-one game over a little to the left, where they hoped Suzu’s eyes wouldn’t reach. ‘Challenge accepted,’ she thought, as she slowly pushed the curtain open until they were both in view. She let them be however; a different figure was now approaching the main entrance of her apartment. Suzu strained her neck as the person entered the building.

Why did she take such interest? Perhaps it was because the only people who stepped in and out of this stone building were the residents and the neighbours from across the road. The man who she saw did not fit into those categories. His attire was a little too formal to be of a citizen’s, and the way he walked would suggest he was on some type of business here. Whatever it was, Suzu quickly lost interest and resumed her post at her window.

Then, she heard a knock.

No one ever knocked on her door.

Okay, so that was a lie. Every Saturday, she’d get drunken visits from her landlord (Saturdays were poker nights) and often times, her boss would drop by to her inform her of her new work schedules. There were also the odd days when the lady from the 5th floor would need to borrow mass amounts of eggs. But something about this visitor triggered an uncomfortable feeling. Why did she get the feeling that she was about to be interrogated? Suzu hesitated, but lifted herself up from the window ledge and started to make her way towards the door.

Slowly, but surely, her face drew an emotion; somewhere in between curiosity and uncomfort. And as she neared her bed – a whole three steps later – the business man crept in her mind. Stopping, Suzu took a seat atop her bed, analyzing the situation. A man, with no relationship to this building, or even this side of town suddenly shows up. At the same time, Suzu gets a visit and it’s not even poker Saturday. It didn’t take a genius to deduce the rest.

The puzzle would be to piece together the information and come to a reasonable conclusion as to why he would be knocking on her door. From what she was able to see, he didn’t look that old; perhaps one or two years her superior, but definitely not old enough to dish out commands. Careful to remain silent, Suzu quietly stood up and tip-toed over to the door.

There wasn’t anything special about her door. No fancy lock system and unfortunately, no peep hole. Having convinced herself that she wasn’t in any danger, she thought she’d play around a little. She hadn’t decided how far she would go; hopefully not to the point of needing a new door. However, in which case, it would be on his hands, not hers.

“State your name, your superior, and your purpose here.”

‘Everyone works for the Hokage, you doorknob…’

Quietly she stood, letting only the wind from her window enter her room. She felt slightly insulted; what was she doing that was so wrong, for it to be taken care of? From the sound of his voice, he was indeed around her age, perhaps even younger. Picturing a little boy outside her door, demanding for entrance was quite comical. However, he presented himself as an Uchiha; a rather powerful family in the Fire Country. This just added more confusion; Suzu had no relationship with any Uchiha, let alone, had ever spoken to one.

Glaring at the door, the kunoichi contemplated on ignoring the unfriendly guest. For all she knew, this could be a childish prank, or even one of those, “Welcome to Konoha” greetings from the village’s welcoming committee (rather late, but nevertheless possible). Though she couldn’t think of anything she had done that posed as a risk to civilians, she was still unsure of opening the door. It not only meant granting him entrance, but it also meant she would be trapped.

But who was to say the little Uchiha was any stronger than her? She had a few water techniques that could douse his fires (literally, assuming he was the typical fire-type Uchiha), as well as some damaging medical jutsu, which would most likely put her at an advantage. On the other hand, the little Uchiha may be more of a threat to her than she realized. The real question would be whether he’d pick a fight or not.

Her gaze crossed the room and landed on the doorknob. Without making a noise, she twisted it and pulled it towards her. The interruptive creak of the door was enough to startle her, and hopefully the person on the other side. With the door fully open, Suzu stood with a hand on her hip as she began analyzing her guest.

Although he stood looming over her, they probably shared the same age. She didn’t feel any intimidation wafting off of him, though she did sense the maturity he was trying to portray. Raising an eyebrow, she continued her mini-investigation. It seemed he had never heard of a barber; it was almost as long as hers. He dressed rather casually, which she assumed was the proper Uchiha attire. There wasn’t anything special about his appearance, and nothing too memorable about it. It seemed that she had already forgotten his name.

“So, what seems to be the problem?”

She stood, waiting for a reply.

He was hesitating and nothing seemed to be coming out of the young man’s mouth. As the little Uchiha stood there dumbfounded, Suzu began to grow weary, and a bit impatient. Perhaps he was taken aback by her appearance; she was wearing a casual shirt with unnecessarily revealing shorts. She didn’t fall into the category of village disrupters, and it was clear that the Uchiha realized that as well. “Well, this is quite uncomfortable,” She began, making sure to ignore eye contact. “I suggest you leave now, seeing as yo–“

As she extended her arm to shut the door, a four-legged figure had landed on the threshold of her apartment. His quick hands had managed to grab hold onto hers, and before Suzu could protest, the newcomer began his taste-test. She felt him sniffing – her face screwed up in anger and embarrassment. However, as she began to retract her arm, another magically appeared and delivered retributive justice on his doppelganger’s face.

Standing in the doorway of her small apartment were two identical twin boys and the little Uchiha, who, now, Suzu considered to be of no importance. Differentiating the twins was an impossible task; they looked and sounded the same. However, despite their similarities in voice and appearance, each twin had different ways of approaching a female. The first twin – the boy with the curious tongue – wasted no time and freely let his testosterone take over. His actions were quick and precise; something Suzu could see as a threat not only in battle, but in situations like this. The other boy seemed to be the more reserved one. Although he presented himself as the gentleman of the two, she could still see his quick infatuation towards her.

By now, Suzu had stepped outside into the hallway of her lonely building. Shutting the door of her apartment behind her, she carefully approached the twins on the other side of the hall. She would play around some more; they seemed quite amusing and worth her time. Usually, she wasn’t very keen on socializing with the other gender, but there was a different aura that lingered around this duo that instantly got her hooked.

“What a nice surprise, Zetsu and Kishoku.” She began, taking another step towards the two. There wasn’t much separating her from them; another step forward would lead her right onto the twins’ feet. “You sure do know how to greet a female…” Her eyes landed on Zetsu, who hopefully would be able to note her sarcasm. “As for you,” She continued, looking back at Kishoku, “Thank you for uh, rescuing me,” Yeah, that made sense. “I really do appreciate it.”

At this point, Midara Uchiha was the least of her worries. She cared not of this Gurentai organization, and whoever this Ayame character was. She couldn’t care less if he stayed or went; the twins were here to entertain her now. “I’m Suzu. Suzu Makeshi.” She extended her hand towards the duo.

Hopefully Zetsu wouldn’t lick it this time.

‘Well that’s quite rude…’ Suzu thought upon hearing Zetsu’s cold reply. Despite their identical appearance, she couldn’t believe how their personalities differed. It seemed Kishoku was the one with all the manners – obviously the more amiable of the two – and assigned to keep his brother in line. She opened her mouth to reply to Zetsu’s remark, but as she glanced their way, what she saw next was something short of extraordinary. Zetsu, in mere seconds, was somehow able to put himself into his brother’s body. Soon enough, his own body disappeared, and Kishoku stood casually before her with Zetsu’s head protruding from his neck.

This ability was foreign to Suzu; in no medical book had she read about this type of fusion between two people. She could only guess it was a special trait that the brothers shared. Perhaps it was a bloodline trait that allowed the coming together and separation of two bodies. It was quite odd to her; she couldn’t see anything beneficial about being able to store your sibling inside of your own body. Hopefully they would note the sheer confusion on her face as a reminder to explain to her how this works and how they function.

Upon introducing herself, Kishoku, the notably gentlemanly one, had taken her hand and kissed it. Either he was raised well or wanted in her pants; it was too soon to decide at this point. However, Suzu didn’t complain; Kishoku was easy on the eyes (if she ignored Zetsu’s head) and knew how to please a woman. “There’s no need to apologize for your brother,” she began, looking at Kishoku. “I’m sure Zetsu will be able to give me a proper apology soon. It would be the gentlemanly thing to do.” Suzu highly doubted she’d be able to pull an apology out of Zetsu’s mouth, and knew Kishoku did as well.

By now, the little Uchiha was off to attend his emergency meeting. Suzu couldn’t help but to question the authenticity of conference, but she didn’t complain; the pest was gone. Suddenly, she felt a muscular arm come around her body. It seemed that Kishoku was keen on extending this encounter, as he was ready to take her out into the streets of Konoha. As a small smile crept across her face, she answered, “There isn’t much that I would like to do. Konoha is the same every day; there isn’t anything new to go see or explore. Perhaps we could go for a walk and get to know each other a little better.” It was unexplainable as to why she was so taken with this man. Something about him was luring her in, like a helpless sea bass.

“And do you know that guy?” Suzu asked Kishoku, as she led him out the door of the building. “The little Uchiha boy. You guys seem close in a way.” Exiting the threshold of the apartment building, Suzu stopped to decide which way they would go. After choosing to head towards the marketplace, she spoke again. “And what’s the deal with this Gurentai thing? Seems pretty professional.”