"Man oh man, they weren't kidding when they said you food was the best. I don't think I can eat again for a week!" Choji muttered getting himself a second bowl.
"Thank you, Choji!" I had to admit, with being on a timeline, it did end up really good. The rolls were really good top of the soup, kind of like a big dumpling. "Thank you for bringing the bread, Ino. It really tied the whole soup together.
"The soup was really delicious! It barely needed the bread." Ino said in reply. "What do you think, Shikamaru?"
"It was good." He responded dully. Shikamaru hadn't said much before now and hearing his voice my heart stop. He sounded just as enthused as he looked.
"Shikamaru, that's not how you respond to someone's hospitality." Ino scolded.
"Actually, I could taste too much oregano."
"I see. So next time, I'll reduce how much oregano I put in it. Anything else?"
"Not really. It was filling, however I think the bread was too much. I think simple crackers would've sufficed."
"So you know your spices?"
"Not really. I just know what I can taste. My mom likes to use me as a taste-tester when she can." Shikamaru groaned out.
Naruto and Choji ate two more big bowls of soup after everyone else finished their first. I thought they weren't going to stop until the pot was empty.
"Hey, you pigs!" Ino shouted at them. "Are you going to eat yourselves sick?"
"No." They said in unison, still stuffing their faces.
"Then come up for air once in a while!" Ino shouted, clearly getting agitated.
"It's fine." I told her. "Besides, I won't be able to eat all of this soup by myself. Feel free to eat as much as you want."
"You don't have to tell me twice." Choji said through mouths of food.
I smiled at the two ninja still stuffing their faces. I looked over to Sakura who sat quiet in her seat as if she were thinking about something.
"She's thinking about Sasuke again." Ino said solemnly. Sakura's head moved slightly but she still didn't look up much.
"The rogue ninja that left the village a couple years ago?"
"So you've heard about it. All the way out here, huh?" Shikamaru piped up.
"Of course I've heard about it out here. I have to go into the village from time to time. I also heard that the retrieval of Sasuke failed as well. However, I don't know who went on the mission though. And I also didn't ask." Everyone noticeably shrank in their seats. "So, you must be in-love with him." I stated.
"Whaaa! How could you come to that conclusion?!" Sakura said, her face turning red.
"I mean, there's nothing wrong with it. You must've known him at least in your academy days."
"We all knew him in the academy. All the girls thought he was so cool" Ino explained, getting teary-eyed.
"I've heard about him when I was little and about the Uchiha massacre from when I lived inside the village. But I never heard much afterwards. I heard his older brother did it."
"Is this all because I let my mind wander again?" Sakura asked innocently. "Let's get back on a happier topic. Did you grow all of the vegetables in this soup?" She asked trying to avoid talking about Sasuke.
"Uh, yeah I did. Even the herbs I grew. The oregano is a bit on the potent side, which is why you probably tasted it so well, Shikamaru. I don't know why it's so strong this year. Must be in the soil." I said thinking to myself. "Anyways, everything but the gnocchis and the chicken are from my little farm. I dry out all of the herbs myself too." I said feeling slightly proud of myself.
"What made you want to start farming?" Asked Naruto.
"Well, when I was younger, my mother wanted to enroll me into the ninja academy. However, I don't like fighting or confrontation with intent to kill. So I was completely against it. They said they weren't going to pay for me to go to a civilian school, so as soon as I could, I moved out and got started out here on a small farm. When I started, it wasn't nearly this big. It was probably a quarter of this size. Not even an acre. And the house was only a small shed. I renovated it a bit and added a bathroom and bedroom from the profits I made off of my first few harvests." I said feeling even prouder of my accomplishments.
"So how is it that you know the clone jutsu?" Shikamaru asked.
"Well, that one's a little trickier. I was trying to teach myself the clone jutsu long before I left and a random jonin helped me get it down right. But I don't know much else besides the clone jutsu." I told him, slightly embarrassed.
"How old are you?" Naruto asked bluntly, slurping down the last of his fourth bowl of soup.
"Naruto, that's not polite!" Sakura scorned.
"It's all right. I'll be turning nineteen within the next few months."
"So you're our age?!" Choji asked astonished, finally finished with his fourth bowl of soup.
"Probably." I said with a goofy grin on my face. "All right, enough with the twenty questions! How about I start the dish clean up." I grabbed the dishes and stacked them neatly so I could carry them all to the sink in one trip.
"Here I'll help." Sakura said, gathering all of the eating utensils. She followed me into my house and followed suit putting the dishes in the sink to wash.
I ran some hot water into the large metal basin I use as a sink and put a few drops of soap in the water to make it bubble. I grabbed my wash rag out of my linen drawer and washed the bowls. Sakura grabbed a drying towel out of the same drawer and started drying whatever I handed to her.
"So, what's your specialty?" I asked, trying to stir up some sort of conversation.
"Oh, I'm a medical ninja. I work at the hospital most days." She replied, somewhat embarrassed.
"Who taught you?"
"Lady Tsunade took me under her wing after Sasuke left and Naruto left for two years of training with Master Jiraiya."
"I see. Were you close to this Sasuke guy?"
"Oh, um… Not really. We were on the same team… but not much else."
"But you had a big crush on him?"
"Uhhh."
"Well you don't have to tell a stranger like me. I'm just prying now." I told her. "Anyways, thanks for helping me with dishes." I smiled.
"No problem." I could hear Naruto shouting about something outside. "What's that knucklehead shouting about now?"
Sakura and I walked outside to see what all the commotion was. Choji looked very mad for some reason and Shikamaru was holding him back, Ino was doing the same for Naruto.
"What happened here?" I asked.
"Naruto called Choji the f-word."
"F-word?" I was curious now. Sakura leaned over and whispered "fatso" softly, I almost couldn't hear it, in my ear.
"Oh." I said dumbly.
"Naruto, you better take that back or else we're gonna fight!" Choji shouted.
"What? Are we going to have an eating compitetion?" Naruto asked mockingly.
"All right, you two. That's enough. Or else I won't ever invite you over for food ever again."
That seemed to shut them both up, real quick.
"Sorry, Sayuri." They said simultaneously.
All of a sudden an ANBU flashed in front of the gates to my home. He was dressed in their normal black ANBU attire with their metal chest plate and mask.
"Pardon the interruption, but Sakura and Naruto have been summoned to the Hokage mansion for their next assignment." He said, his voice gruff.
"Well, guess the fun is done." Naruto sighed.
"The fun was done when you started picking fights." Ino scolded.
"Let's get going then, Naruto." Sakura said. They both got up, said their goodbyes, and headed back towards the village.
"We better get going too. It'll be late soon and I'm sure you'll be heading to bed before the moon comes up." Ino said reluctantly.
"Well, a farmer's work is never done" I said with a large smile on my face.