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When Naruto was seven he began to understand shougi a bit more, and was beginning to see why Shikamaru liked it so much. It was probably the only thing he did not call troublesome.
The lady, he had now known for a year or so, had not spoken a word after that day. Naruto did not seem to mind her silence, she held something peaceful around her, maybe, it was her scent of rainwater.
He did know how to play shougi then, and he's still not very good at it, but the lady never said anything. She had not taught him how to play the game, but instead had simply taken out the board, set-up the pieces and made the first move and then waited, until it was her turn.
They always played in her back porch, where you could see the waterfall more clearly. At first the water noises made it hard for him to concentrate on playing, though back then he was still trying to figure out what to do. After a while the waterfall noise made it easier for him to concentrate, maybe that why the lady liked it too.
Iruka, his teacher, sometimes offered to take him for some ramen at a place called Ichiraku. On those days, he did not visit the shougi lady, that's what he called her since he not figured out her name.
Though, every time he came to her home, he always found the front door open, and you could see from the from that the lady was at the back porch. She would be sitting there, the shougi board ready, and had already made the first move.
He did not know why he kept coming here to play a silly game. He would never call it that in front of Shikamaru.
The lady had never told him, why she let him inside her house, unlike most. Despite his questions, she never said anything to answer them, or to least acknowledge them. Naruto, who does not like it when people ignore him, never seemed to mind, despite how much he wanted answers.
It looked liked, that the lady just wanted a partner to play shougi with. Naruto was fine with that. So when Naruto turned eight, he stopped asking questions.
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