Sown

eleven

Now, Hanae wasn't stupid. Sure, she sometimes had a hard time reading the room. The queen of optimism, she assumed everyone was happy until proven otherwise, and even then she had a hard time accepting they were actually a bad person rather than a person going through a tough time. Most of the time her solution to a problem was the most outlandish but that was just because she had faith that it would work as long as she put herself towards it. She was a big believer in speaking something into existence while not giving voice or thought to the worst possible outcomes in case it carried the same consequence. Hanae Umu was simple in every sense of the word.

The simplest things in life brought the most joy ; quality time spent between people, the enveloping warmth of a bright sun, the gentle tickle of a summer breeze, the first refreshing breath after a long nap, nature itself. She knew her time was short, so she spent every breathing second making the best of it, opening her heart to every glimmer of positivity that came her way.

If her house collapsed, it would give her the opportunity to finally make those renovations. If she grew violently ill, she knew she would be in better health with a stronger body than before. If she burnt her dinner, the perfect cooking time window would be narrowed down. You either win or you learn, simple as that. Hanae wasn't stupid because she knew the things that really mattered. One of those things being Kakashi Hatake.

Since their unplanned dinner, she noticed the slate haired shinobi acting much more relaxed. Formal hello's devolved into friendly yo's and he no longer needed an excuse to come visit her at work for iddle conversation. Some days she would find him with her at the farm, announcing his presence with a drawn out call of her name from down the road ; he had even begun to pat Hikoboshi's chest feathers whenever the owl was present. Those days were spent mostly in silence, him reading while she tended to the petite field, both acknowledging each other's presence with quick glances. The days they did talk were filled with teacherly tones.

"Your little farming trick is actually a form of nature transformation. By combining your wind release with what's most likely yang release, you speed up the growth process through the roots."

"So you're saying I breathe life into my crops."

One morning she found him standing on her balcony, announcing he was leaving for a mission after calming the frightened farmer's hammering heart. "Don't miss me too much," he teased before hopping to the road below. He appeared in the shop just before close the following day to announce his return.

This too became a new part of their routine. She was the first to know when he went to and from the village. If not face to face, he would leave a note on the shop's door affectionately signed with a heno-heno-moheji. She learned this face very quickly after meeting Kakashi's ninken.

Hanae stared into Pakkun's disgruntled expression as he sat on the shop's counter. The dog leaned into her face, sniffing her loudly and ungracefully before pulling back.

"You really need to let up on the smokes, lady." He gruffed.

Kakashi could only flash an apologetic smile at her tear rimmed eyes and embarrassed blush.

The woman found herself making accommodations after noticing the trends. She added a second chair to the patio for those days that he stayed a while after close and kept bandages around to patch up the occasional wound he returned from missions with. He accepted the tea blends she made him, dismissive on the outside but warm on the inside. Gishi was now closed on Tuesdays so they could spend time together outside of the shop ; she saw him flustered for the first time after filling him in on the change.

"Tuesday is my slowest day and all of the customers are supporting me giving myself a day off. I'll have more time to harvest everything," she explained whilst sawing stalks of sugarcane. "Or you can show me around, or teach me some ninja stuff, Sensei." Hanae had started addressing the man this way as retaliation for him calling her out for reading Icha Icha Violence during a slow day at work (not letting onto the fact that he was a fan of the series himself) ; unfortunately for him the name had stuck.

So that's what they did. On the Tuesdays Kakashi was in the village he would show her around to different shops, eateries, and monuments, or lead walks through natural areas he knew she would enjoy. He watched her kneel in prayer before the Memorial Stone, silently working out the changes in their rapport while tracing Obito's name etched into the stone, wondering what his friend would think about the situation.

On the Tuesdays he was gone, Hanae would work her field from dawn to dusk. Though her pace was leisurely, her mind was abuzz with thoughts of the missing man, pulse racing every time his lazed expression popped into her mind. They were both careful not to overstep the boundaries still remaining between them. She could feel something weighing the man down no matter how comfortably he acted around her, something deep rooted and kept off limits to everyone but the introvert. And if he decided to tell her, she would listen wholeheartedly.

She wanted to be there for him, yearned to help the shinobi heal. She realized how little she really knew about Kakashi ; what was his dream, his home life, his past? What was his family like? His friends? What had driven him to become a ninja? What did he do on these frequent missions? How did he feel about her?

The farmer knew very well how she felt about him. She knew why she had been so open with him. She knew why she looked forward to his frequent visits, why she grew so animated during their conversations. She knew why she had made such big changes in her life, closing her beloved store for one day a week and paying extra attention to her appearance. She knew why she turned into a messy bundle of nerves and emotion every time her eyes met his one, why her heart fluttered with each eye creasing smile, why she flushed with each tease or hint of sarcasm, why his laughs made her lightheaded.

Hanae was a simple woman. She knew what was important, and what made her happy. She cherished everything that passed through her hands and honored every emotion that filled her. She was a simple woman. Lived a simple life. Enjoyed simple pleasures.

The redhead looked to the cloudy sky as the first snowflakes of December began to fall, dancing around where she knelt on the cold soil. Holding her hand out, she watched with a soft smile as a two of the frozen crystals melted into her work glove. The feeling of loneliness that normally plagued her at the sight of snow was overpowered by the warmth swelling in her being.

Hanae Umu was a simple woman who was simply in love with Kakashi Hatake.