The shimmer of the sunlight, reflected from the distant waves of the cool Hivan ocean, could be seen even from the porches of the houses of Suna, would one step before their residence's home, and gaze at the beautiful sea. They might even find themselves blinded by it... Taking into account that they were awake by now, that is. For one thing was sure: Yukio was up on her feet, but hardly awake.
She dragged herself from the upper levels of the house, stumbling down the stairs as she rubbed sleep out of her eyes, clothes tightened even more lousily than on most occasions (quite an achievement, considering the sort of woman she was). As she often did, she attempted to place her right hand on the wall, lining the staircase from one side, only to remember that she had no right hand. Curses. With a deep sigh, her brow furrowed, and she finally set her bare feet onto the surface of the lower floor.
Hira has left the entire shop to her. He was off somewhere again, to shop for more goods, and all of the house was just hers to abuse for lounging around and training. And that was the exact reason why it was already advanced morning, and Yukio was still freshly-woken. Well, today the shop opens late!
Yawning, she retrieved her long, thin pipe, sticking it between her teeth, and after a while of struggling lit it on fire, a cloud of smoke dispersing from her parted lips. It relaxed her immensely, eyelids dropping down as she slowly walked over to the door, leaving the smoke behind like a thread, following her. Finally, she allowed light to enter the premises; as the panels of the door parted, she stepped out into the warmth of the air, ever an inferno in sunlight at this time of year. At this particular moment, she cared little, simply savoring the taste of the burning herbs and inhaling the smoke into her lungs. Just for a moment, she stuck the pipe between her teeth again, fastening the thread, tied around her loose black robe. What a pain in the ass it was to make a knot with one hand only...
In the middle of the motion, a different sensation caught her attention. Something was brushing against her legs, something rather soft... Looking down, her eyebrows gradually raised in surprise. A cat was brushing against her legs, and rather lovingly at that.
Its fur was pure white, except for two flakes of hazelnut brown at its ears, and its tail was unusually fluffy for a cat, found on the streets... Maybe it belonged to someone and just ran away. It looked like it was still young, anyway.
"Whatcha want?" Yukio raised one foot off the ground for a moment, to set herself free of the furry slipper she has momentarily gained, skilfully balancing on the other one.
"Meow?" the cat raised its head up, giving her a glance at its uneven eyes, before pressing it against her shin once more.
Shaking her head with a short chuckle, she stuck the pipe between her teeth, bending over to pick the cat up. Her hand slid underneath the animal's ribcage, sinking into the silky fur, and gripped it just tight enough to make sure it doesn't slip from her fingers. The cat meowed once more as Yukio hefted it up, holding it before her face in her outstretched arm. One of its eyes was a bright blue, while the other one had the color of copper... How odd.
And the small bell that hung from its neck, tied on a thin thread, hinted on it being a house cat, too.
"Well, aint'cha pretty." she exlaimed.
"Meow!" the cat replied.
"I 'on't speak cat." Yukio remarked plainly, staring at the cat through the pipe smoke.
Whose cat could it be? It gave her a very strange feeling. As if its mismatched eyes were more than glass-like beads in the white fur, they watched her and Yukio thought the cat may even know what she's thinking.
But that was ridiculous!