Sown

five

It had been seventeen days since Hanae had last seen Kakashi. She didn't know why she had counted but the number had grown in her mind every day she hadn't seen him. The Tuesday after he had visited her farm Hanae watched the door excitedly but he never walked through. Neither did he the next day, the day after that, or the day after that. It was probably around that time she had started counting.

She would scan the ground while riding on Hikoboshi's back or whip to the door every time it chimed so quickly it nearly gave her whiplash. They had only talked a handful of times but Hanae had really come to enjoy their conversations ; it probably had something to do with his sharp jawline or the mystery of why he insisted on hiding his face everyday.

The farmer stared at the still too dark ceiling above where she lay. Her alarm clock would be going off soon signalling half past five in the morning. This was one of the rare mornings where she found herself awake early, but she had a feeling it had to do with the rain drumming against the her home.

Rainy days admittedly made her life easier. She didn't have to waste chakra summoning Hikoboshi since she didn't want him to get wet, there was no need to tire herself out tilling packed soil, and the watering was practically done for her. But there was a solemness to it that Hanae didn't like.

It reminded her of the steady snowfall atop the Three Wolves where the Land of Iron was located. There were handful of days where the skies would be clear, but the snow never seemed to melt just as it never seemed to pile deeper. As a girl she would watch the snow with her mother, both sitting in the courtyard of their home.

Natsuo, a soft-spoken woman with long brown hair as wavy as her daughter's would hum as she watched the dancing snowflakes. "Isn't it beautiful, Hanae?"

"I guess," a young Hanae would mumble, holding her legs tight to her body. Her mother knew she didn't really like the cold weather as the child would volunteer to attend the fire just to be able to stand closer to it. The woman wanted to tell her that it was alright to voice her dislike of the cold, or to stand in front of the fireplace for as long as she wanted, but there was something about the fact that Hanae never wanted to disappoint anyone that Natsuo found endearing.

With eyes like her father, Hanae would chose a single snowflake to watch its descent to the ground, picking a new one when it disappeared into the mounds below. She knew her mother liked the snow which is why she would sit out here together with her to watch the same scene everyday. It was always the same, no winds reaching above the peak where their country lay.

Later in the day is when the family matriarch would appear. He would leave his horned helmet and chilled boots in the snowroom before entering the home, announcing his arrival with a boisterous call.

"Papa!" Hanae would come racing out of the kitchen where her mother stayed.

The tall man would smile widely before scooping his daughter up. "My little Hanae! How did your day go?" He pushed a lock of hair out of her face, the same deep burgundy as his own.

She wiggled her way out of his grasp, hopping when she finally reached the ground. "Look, look!" The child exclaimed, running off past her mother who came to greet her husband with a warm hug and tender kiss.

"I'm home, Natsuo," the samurai would amire the woman he held in his arms.

"Welcome home, Tadou," she would muse back everyday and look over his face for the chance a new injury would appear.

In the midst of them falling in love all over again, their daughter would skid into the room, looking to her parents in childlike wonder at the warm feeling they gave when together. Hanae knew she had a good home ; she would be smothered with kisses everyday, asked millions of questions about whatever she was excited about for that day, and presented with gifts from far off lands when her family traveled far from their home for business.

She would announce her presence with a small cough, though both parents knew she was there, and hold up whatever had taken her fancy that day. Today it was a packet of paperwork from the country's doctor.

Tadou reached out for the paperwork with a muddled expression as Natsuo joined her daughter's side and pulled her close with a hand on her shoulder. He read a bit before his eyes widened, flipping through the next couple of pages before looking up at his girls and beginning to tear up. Hanae giggled at the grown man beginning to cry.

"Momma's pregnant!"

-

Hanae looked through the full length windows dominating the wall before her patio. There was enough moonlight to illuminate the streams of raindrops falling past the gutter. Herbs and flowers planted in large square pots bounced with each wet strike. Weather like this reminded her of her country and family, of the love that filled their large home. She looked away to the lone bookcase pressed into the wall at the foot of her bed.

There were few books, all about agriculture and farming. Binders full of business reports, growth conditions and growth techniques took up an entire shelf. Most of it was empty save for a few small plants that require indirect sunlight.

The rest of the room was much the same. Bare in contrast to the store below, housing only the bed, bookcase, and wardrobe. Nothing but the wakizashi and scabbard displayed on the wall at the head of her bed said anything about her past or personality. If anything, the desolate room itself screamed Hanae.

She looked to the window again, wondering if the patter of raindrops was the same sound in her heart right now, if it echoed the emptiness she felt.

The alarm clock began to beep and Hanae swung her legs out of bed to begin her day.