When he entered the house in late evening he was surprised by the fragrance of ginger that greeted him. That was the signal that she had arrived home before him. He smiled while calling out, "I'm home."
"In the kitchen," came her reply. He took his sandals off and headed deeper into the house, arriving at the kitchen. He took in the vinyl counter tops, the ash wood cupboards, the tiled floors. Without looking to him she asked, "How'd the exam go?"
"I passed. So onto the next part of the graduation exam soon," he answered as he went to the sink and washed his hands.
He looked over the other items she had out and began slicing up some more vegetables for dinner. As he worked he thought on how to bring up something he wanted to discuss. He didn't have to as it turns out, she had a similar idea and voiced it, "when you pass the practical exam, we'll get you some new clothes. It's only fitting after all, you won't be an academy student anymore."
Iwabee blinked at her before giving a small laugh and asking, "how did you know what I was going to ask?"
"I just did," she quipped, making the teenage boy a little perplexed by how nonchalant she was being about the entire thing.
"Can we even afford that? I mean, new clothes aren't exactly cheap," he objected. She smiled and nodded as she conceded, "True. But I had a few good paying commissions come through and delivered the paintings a little earlier. We can afford to spend a little extra this month."
She plated the ginger pork next to a bed of rice, with Iwabee adding the tomatoes, cucumber and spinach to the plates. She smiled as she carried the plates to the table with Iwabee bringing the cups of tea behind her. He set his down at his spot and hers in front of her.
Quietly they began to eat the food in front of them, after a while he asked her, "why'd you take care of me?"
She shrugged as she chewed the food currently in her mouth. Once she'd swallowed she answered, "I remember that day perfectly. I was upset. I guess you saw that and asked your mom's permission to give me a flower you'd found. Then your mom and I got to talking. Your grandfather had recently passed and your father had been killed during the fourth great shinobi war. It was just you and your mother. She'd had other relatives before the war but she hadn't had any luck in reaching them. When the first of the exploding humans came towards us, I acted to shield you both. Your mother had a similar idea, given her shinobi training and the fact that I was teenager in her eyes. She gave her life for a complete stranger and her child."
She looked to Iwabee and concluded, "I know what it feels like to have no one. But I was much older than you before I had to feel that sting. I figured if nothing else, I could keep you from ending up in some group home or orphanage. I'd seen the two of you around Konoha before, and I had an idea of where your house was. When people asked I began saying I was your mom's younger cousin. That we'd met up at a resort and she was met with an unfortunate fate, thus I took you on as my dependent. I told them I was an artist, and that's when I started making art for commission."
At this Iwabee blinked repeatedly and asked her, "You weren't an artist before?"
"Well I was more of an amateur artist, really. I've always enjoyed painting and calligraphy, but the main source of my income before was the produce from the farming land I inherited from my mother," Sakiya admitted.
Iwabee was once again shocked at this revelation. Before this conversation the most he knew about her was that she liked honey and spicy foods. Her favourite colour was pink, she liked many various flowers with her favourites being cherry blossoms and camellias. He obviously knew she was an artist, and a talented one at that. He also knew that she liked late night walks when the moon was full and the sound of waves crashing upon the beach shore. He knew she could fight as well, she had taught him everything that he knew before even entering the academy. She was also gifted with ninjutsu, having taught him a few of the techniques he used. One other thing he knew was that she always concealed a necklace under her clothes. He could see the chain clearly.
"So, what's with your necklace? You've never shown it to me," he asked, changing the subject.
It was her turn to look like a deer caught in the headlights. Instead of answering, she tried to play it off, "what necklace? I don't know what you're talking about," she objected.
"The silver or white gold chain around your neck," he pressed.
"Oh, that. It was my mother's," She replied, waving it off as she gathered her dishes and headed back into the kitchen. Iwabee knew full well that he'd somehow crossed a line and shouldn't bring it up again, but he'd be lying if he said that her dismissive behaviour made him less curious about the necklace she hid from him.
In the kitchen, she began washing up after dinner with her mind in a frenzy. He could actually see that necklace? The necklace was made in soul society. No one without high spiritual awareness should be able to see even a hint of it. Had something happened to him that she didn't know of? To his parents maybe and he inherited the heightened awareness from them? A million different things ran through her mind but one resurfaced more than the others: she'd have to keep a closer eye on him from now on. If he could see her necklace, then he could be a target for hollows or worse. The next question was how to do that while looking for the scrolls and completing the healing process on her mother, Minori and Kiyoshi?
She ran her hands over her face and confessed something to herself had once vowed she'd never do: she'd have to ask the Shinobi for help. Maybe offer compensation for a mission. She knew that in the past Hashirama, Tobirama, Hiruzen or even Tsunade would've entertained her company and spoken with her directly. She was unsure of the current Hokage would grant her an audience, but she was willing to wager he wouldn't. Then again, Naruto Uzumaki was a man full of surprises, maybe he'd surprise her yet.
