Sown

thirty-one

Pakkun met the woman outside. Even clad in full armor he could smell her from a mile away, earthy scent permeating the chilly air of the Land of Iron.

"Ya' look like a real warrior in that," the pug grouched sarcastically.

Hanae just smirked from beneath her newly horned helmet. She replaced her glove after summoning Hikoboshi ; the owl stared down at the dog. Pakkun recoiled slightly at the predatory gaze in Hikoboshi's eyes. "Come on, I'll take you home with me."

"I ain't gettin on that thing."

She scoffed from the summon's back, "are you always this mean? You'll freeze your paws off."

His precious, soft, bouncy paw pads. Pakkun sighed, sounding like an old man as he bounded onto the owl's back. He sat in front of where she straddled the bird, keeping his back to her. The henohenomoheji watched her the entire flight back to Konoha. The two made small talk mainly consisting of her soft prodding and his snide remarks. Pakkun lightened up slightly throughout the conversation ; no doubt an accomplished and highly intelligent ninken, he was still a dog. And like any dog, he had the uncanny ability to sense people's intentions. To him Hanae was an open book - albeit a chatty and affable open book. Just like her scent, her trustworthiness was detectable from a mile away.

They arrived in the village just before nightfall. It was already looking much better than before, countless buildings erected in the crater and lights lining the construction. Only a handful of days had passed and yet the citizens had already made such an impact. So this was the strength of the Will of Fire, Hanae mused internally. She disembarked in front of the building acting as the Hokage's office. Pakkun disappeared with a short 'later' as she made her way inside.

Expecting Kakashi, she was both excited and disappointed to meet Tsunade in the office. Hanae dropped to one knee in front of the politician, "Lady Hokage."

Tsunade, munching on a large bowl of almonds, scoffed, "I get it, you're a samurai, but don't do that. It's weird."

Hanae stood and removed her helmet. She was flush with embarrassment, rubbing the back of her head with a short laugh, "I'm sorry, going back home made me really nostalgic. You know, old dog new tricks and all that."

The blonde allowed herself to chuckle. "I hear you." She straightened in her chair and clasped her hands atop the desk in front of her. "As per your request, your shop hasn't been rebuilt yet. We have an apartment set up near the office for shinobi, and as our liaison between the Land of Iron we have a room for you there. It's not the prettiest, but it'll have to do for now. Go rest for the night, I'll see you again tomorrow. Shikaku'll show you the way."

As if summoned by name alone, the scar faced man opened the door and greeted both women shortly. Hanae excused herself before following after him. He looked much like his son, the erect ponytail a dead ringer for their relation.

"Your son is very nice," she mentioned while he unlocked the door to her room.

He handed her the key with a smirk, "good to hear. He's normally afraid of women, especially the strong ones," Shikaku moved to leave but Hanae called out to him before he could.

"Uh, would you happen to know if Kakashi is staying here too? I need to talk to him."

The patriarch knitted his brows in curiosity, "yeah, he's on the other side of the building with the guys. Want me to show you the way?"

Hanae shook her head, "no, just directions would be enough. Thank you, though." Information in hand, she removed her piece by piece. She didn't have a proper stand for it yet so she laid in on the floor and placed the helmet on the corner of the room's desk. Like Tsunade had mentioned the room wasn't lavish by any means ; bed, desk, dresser, window, all the basic necessities a growing shinobi needed when facing war. Her clothes (multiple pairs of the same uniform she had been supplied with back home) only took up one drawer and left the other two bare. It was a subtle reminder that she would need to shop when she got the chance. But there were more important things to attend to at the moment.