That night there was a house guest at their table, and true to her word Sakiya had made one of her spiciest dishes, shrimp chili. She used the usual spices for chili shrimps but then sautéed them in chili paste, added some chili peppers, a homemade tomato sauce along with onion, some kimchi and mushrooms. So far the blond haired, blue eyed shinobi was holding his own, but eating a bit slower than Iwabee was used to seeing him eat. Although he wasn't showing signs of distress, he had sweat gathering on his brow and his face was a little on the reddish side.

"Iwabee told me you like spicy food, so I figured I'd make one of my spicier dishes for you, Boruto," Sakiya stated. Observing the guest for a bit she asked, "would you like some milk?"

"Yes please," Boruto replied.

Sakiya smiled as she got up from the table and got a cup down from the cupboard, then opening the fridge got the milk container, pouring a glass for him and taking it back over. She set the carton of milk down next to Boruto as she retook her seat and resumed eating.

An hour later the milk was back in the fridge and Sakiya was washing the dishes while the boys went to Iwabee's room. Boruto's movements were slow and slightly awkward as if he were uncomfortable. After observing him for several minutes Iwabee broke the silence asking, "something troubling you?"

"Yeah, sorta. My stomach's jumping all over the place," Boruto admitted as he sat down. Iwabee eyed him he shook his head and admitted, "I never thought a girl would be able to get the best of me with spicy food like that. She didn't have a slight hint of it affecting her."

'If you only knew how old she really is,' Iwabee mused to himself. He kept his composure and offered, "yeah. She's been big on spicy food as long as I've known her."

"She's like sixteen, right? A few years older than us," Boruto inquired.

Iwabee shook his head 'no' and lied, "she's twenty-six. I know she looks sixteen. Good genetics, I guess. Her mom looked young for her age as well."

Boruto's jaw dropped as soon as he heard 'twenty-six'. There was no way. That girl looked like a teenager in every sense of the word. There was no way she was just seven years younger than his Dad. Absolutely no way she was a year younger than big brother Konohamaru. No way!

"No way! She's only a year younger than big bro Konohamaru? I can't believe that," Boruto exclaimed.

Iwabee didn't need to see her to know she was smiling at his reaction and quietly giggling. Iwabee, however, didn't flinch or give any reaction other than a small shrug of his shoulder as he replied, "like I said, she's got good genes. Her mom was the same way."

This grabbed the blond's attention as he gently pushed, "was?"

"Hmm. Something happened to her before I ever met Sakiya. She never said what exactly but she doesn't like talking about it either. Anytime she mentions her mom she always talks about the things she taught her—which Sakiya in turn taught me," Iwabee answered.

"How long have you known her anyway? It must've been a while," Boruto asked.

"My Dad passed about a year after the last war. My mom was pregnant with me, and for a time she raised me on her own. Then when I was a toddler we were vacationing outside of Konoha and someone did something to some of the villagers there, made them explode. My mom tried to help but she was injured and died in the attack. Sakiya saved me, brought me back here, and she's raised me ever since. All I remember about my mom is her smell, and her smile," Iwabee replied.

'Oh man! That sucks. It feels like Dad ignores us in favour of being Hokage, but he's still alive. I guess that means he has a chance still of being with us more,' Boruto thought to himself. He watched Iwabee for a while before apologizing, "I'm sorry. I can't imagine what that's like."

"It's turned out alright so far—my mom had written letters to me when she was pregnant, and when I was newborn. I learned about my family from them. Including what happened to my grandfather," Iwabee pointed out. In truth he was affected by what had happened, but he didn't like being pitied at all. Yes, he was an orphan. Yes his grandfather died when he was very young, but he had the good fortune of meeting Sakiya. Through her, he'd learned about Shinigami. Learning about Shinigami had made him aware that even when you think you're alone there could well be someone strong nearby, fighting a fight you know nothing about, to protect you.

He knew about the evil spirits called 'hollows'. Souls who had lost their heart either by remaining earth bound too long, or by something horrific happening when they were alive. Some even became hollows because of heinous acts they'd committed against humans while human. He also knew he'd been attacked by one four years ago. It was the first time he'd seen her fighting a hollow. The first time he'd seen her use kido. A single spell cast from a solitary extended finger, and the hollow was too injured to continue its attack on him. He could still remember the wide beam of white lightning that had sprung forth from the tip of her index finger, a spell called 'Byakurai'.

She then had stood in front of him, he saw her hand on the hilt of her sword, but didn't recall seeing her slice the hollow although he figured she must have because the next thing he knew, the hollow was fading away. But as far as he could tell she had never drawn her sword, let alone swung it. She had healed him using a form of kido that she called 'kaido', and then he'd woken up inside of his body again. He looked to Boruto and added, "she's taught me a lot of things. Not just about being a ninja but just—how to be a good person."

He chuckled adding, "She wasn't too pleased when she found out about our scuffle at the academy."

Boruto grinned before laughing and wondering what she'd be like when she was angry. He didn't have to wonder long as Iwabee concluded, "But that didn't compare to how disappointed she was that I engaged the Byakuya Gang without a Jonin. She was pretty angry that Metal was injured. The scariest thing about her is that her type of anger isn't the kind that'll cause her to blow up at you, but you can tell she's enraged just by looking at her. There's this almost – lethal look that she gains. Like if she could kill with a glance you'd cease to exist on the spot. That's what makes her terrifying."

"You're afraid of her? She's barely five foot two," Boruto teased.

Iwabee eyed the younger teen as he insisted, "I'm telling you, if you ever see that look on her, run. It's almost like fire and ice at once. I can't explain it any other way, but the mixture of those two extremes creates an intense storm… and that storm is not one I'd imagine many could withstand."