Just Another Day

[Kabu]

It was mid-afternoon, the birds singing and the sky clear and sunny. It was a perfect day for relaxing and that was exactly what Hitomi was doing, sitting outside at a little cafe and watching the people go by, smile on her face as she sipped at her tea. She loved her solitude at points but she truly felt most at ease during times like this, surrounded by people, the hustle and bustle of children playing and adults going about their busy schedules. It was these moments that kept her going, reminded her of the peaceful world she was fighting so hard for.

After a time, her eye wandered over towards a nearby shop that seemed to work with glass, or so she had picked up on from passerby. She had been watching people go in and come out of the shop for a bit now and she was admittedly curious about what kind of place it really was. She even remembered Katashi having told her something of an apprenticeship, though he hadn't told her where exactly he was working.

Her curiosity eventually growing too great she paid for her tea and got up, heading over towards the shop and after just a moment's hesitation walked inside, her eyes already at work scanning her surroundings as she entered.

Who knew what it was that she would find?

[Willoria]

Katashi had gotten up very early that morning in order to train, or at least that was what he had told his mother before leaving. But instead it was his first day working his apprenticeship. He wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but this hadn't been it. When he had first shown up, he had been laughed at for the hoodie he wore and quickly learned why. By mid afternoon his jacket was hanging on a hook on the wall and he was still dripping sweat from his messy hair. Of course as a new apprentice he wasn't actually making anything yet, just preparing things for his Master.

The shop was large and full of beautiful pieces, in the middle was a smaller booth where one of the Masters would work on smaller pieces in full view of anyone who wanted to watch. But the area that Katashi was in was towards the back. He was scooping shards of glass scraps into an oven until the desired amount was filled into the tray within, which he could barely see through the wavering heat. His clothes were already soaked from the day even as he picked up an iron rod to put into the tray, rolling it into the tray the way he had been shown to start gathering the glass on the end as it melted. He had gloves on his hands of course to protect against the heat. Once a ball of molten glass was gathered on the end he would withdraw the iron rod and turn to hand it off to his Master. From there he could either watch and learn, or have to prepare a second rod.

Was thrilled when he got to watch this time, a chance to take a breather from the heat of the oven for a moment as his Master blew through one end of the rod to start the process of expanding the glass. Katashi was watching so closely he never even saw his mother enter the shop at the other end.

ReferencesShow

[Kabu]

Hitomi was fascinated and quite honestly impressed by the quality of the work as she wandered the store, hands laced together as she gazed around at the pieces on display. Clearly the craftsman had a lot of talent and a deep appreciation for their art. She did find that the store was a tad hot as she got farther in but it didn't particularly bother her, if anything it was a nice change of pace from the slight chill going on outside.

For a while she explored the store, though suddenly stopped walking, head tilted to the side as she caught sight of a very familiar grey mop. There's no mistaking that hair. That's my own flesh and blood." she thought to herself, wrinkling her nose as she stared at it. She hadn't put up much fuss about it as she didn't particularly mind the boy having long hair but she really did hate that he wouldn't at least pull it back or something.

Letting out a quiet sigh, she pushed that thought aside and attempted to go back to browsing, though she found herself distracted, instead taking period glances towards Katashi excitedly watching his master. She couldn't help a smile and a thoughtful giggle at the sight. It was so rare to find the boy so excited about anything. It was honestly a wonderful sight. She did wonder why he had lied to her, well... sort of lied. But seeing him like this, she couldn't be mad, a bit annoyed maybe but absolutely not mad. It was good he seemed to have found something to be passionate about.

She couldn't help though but feel as if maybe she was intruding, witnessing something she shouldn't be.

"Just a bit longer and then I'll leave." she quietly spoke to herself, in that moment realizing she couldn't bring herself to leave, not just yet at least.

[Willoria]

Katashi watched his Master for some time, a man named Masao, before the man suddenly gave him instructions that almost sounded like a series of grunts. It had taken Katashi the first couple hours to be able to understand but he had already adjusted to the way the man talked. Masao was a retired shinobi who had been badly wounded during the war to the point that his vocal cords had suffered irreparable damage making him difficult, though not impossible, to understand. Katashi paled slightly at the instructions but quickly went back to the forge and grabbed a metal rod and thrust it into the oven where molten glass awaited him. He was taking a few deep and shakey breaths as he rolled it around to get a ball of glass on the end as he'd practiced. But then came the part he wasn't so practiced at.

He set the rod on a stand that he could position himself at the end and began to blow. It took considerable effort for him compared to the man he worked for, but eventually he was able to get enough air into the molten glass that it looked like a larger ball. With a smile on his face he put it back into the heat for a bit before taking it over to a trough where colored glass pieces sat. He rolled it through, and another trip to the oven to heat those into it as well. The instructions Masao had given him were simple but also challenging. He was to experiment with making his own sculpture. It didn't matter how it turned out, he only needed to create something that he might learn more about how the glass behaves.

When he was satisfied the colored glass pieces had melded into the rest he pulled it from the heat and took it back to another stand so that he could rest it there to give his weak arms a break before pulling out another tool that looked like long metal tongs. He used them to pull at the molten glass and twist at it, a smile slowly forming on his face as he watched the glass start to take on a twisting shape from his manipulations.

He had yet to notice his mother in the store.

[Kabu]

Hitomi only grew more and more curious as she watched her son at work, not even realizing that she had stopped her browsing and had eventually reached the back of the story, now fully attentive to Katashi and his master doing their work. She did wonder how Katashi understood the man so well but she wasn't about to question it. There were any number of things that could have happened, likely an injury of some sort. She could sympathize in a way, having ran into difficulties and troubles of her own in the past, whether being captured on mission or running into a battle only to find she had no chance of winning. Though through all of it she hadn't sustained any massive life altering injuries, she couldn't begin to understand what that was like.

Her head tilted as she silently watched the pair, the woman honestly marveling at the sight in front of her. In a way she was glad she seemed to be invisible for the time being, else she surely wouldn't get to witness such a magnificent sight, a work of art forming before her very eyes, by her own son's hand no less. It was all quite fascinating really. Through all of this she said nothing, knowing full well that speaking even a word would be nothing but a distraction, and in these circumstances a distraction could likely be disastrous.

For now she was content to wait and watch, a small smile on her face as she lightly clapped, wondering what Maki would think of this if she were to see her nephew hard at work.

I have got to tell sis about this later. She always has been the one encouraging Katashi to go out and try new things.

[Willoria]

Katashi kept working on his new piece. He wasn't sure what he had started out planning to make but it wasn't going quite as planned. He managed to make the bottom, a twisted stand so it would stand on a table properly. The rest of it was supposed to be a vase of some kind but the shape he was twisting it into didn't look quite right. By time he was done it was more of an abstract shape with a stand. Katashi frowned at it slightly, holding it with the tongs as he watched it cool. He didn't notice Masao come over and take a look at it at first, until the man started chuckling. Katashi blushed with embarrassment but Masao shook his head quickly and patted him on the shoulder, giving him words of grunted encouragement before telling him to take a break.

When it was cool, Katashi set it on a table and set the tools aside. He set his gloves down and ran a hand through his hair with a heavy sigh before looking up and noticing who was watching him in the store. His eyes went wide. "Mom?!"

[Kabu]

As she watched on, Hitomi wasn't entirely sure what was going on, though found herself continuously fascinated nonetheless. It did however become clear to her that her presence was about to finally be recognized as Katashi stopped working and turned, directly towards her. And his reaction was oh so marvelous.

"Hello son, I see you've finally noticed me." Hitomi replied with a wave and a teasing tone, an amused smile on her face as she held back from giggling at the surprised look on Katashi's face. She was sure he had so many questions to ask and she did as well. Though... there was no reason she couldn't have some fun while doing so. "So, this is where that 'training' was taking place, hmm? Didn't want your mama to know what you were doing?" she softly asked, still very clearly amused by the situation. if there was one thing that had never left the woman from her younger years it was a propensity for teasing and mischief and she never could resist one of the few opportunities she got to poke fun at her own child. In some ways despite the mature aura she oftentimes gave off she was still immature herself, and this was just one of those ways.

All in all, it was a clear indicator that she wasn't really mad or upset at the situation and she only hoped the boy would pick up on that.

[Willoria]

Katashi blushed deeply as his mother started teasing him. She mentioned the training he had clearly lied about and the boy slowly nodded. He folded his hands in front of him and his eyes went straight to the ground. His left hand awkwardly rubbed his right forearm as he blushed deeper. "I just... I didn't want to tell you until I got good at it." he admitted quietly, motioning to the piece he had just finished making and was cooling on the table. "Right now it's just a mess, I was... I was gonna make a gift for you when I got better at this and surprise you with it."

Somewhere behind him Masao was watching quietly, a small smirk on his face as he clearly listened to the entire interaction. Though of course he didn't say anything. A customer tried to get Masao's attention but Masao just grunted grumpily.

It was Katashi who suddenly spoke up as he saw the customer. "I can help you." he said sweetly. Blushing briefly again he glanced at his mother. "One second." he told her before rushing over to where the customer stood. "I'm sorry, Master Masao isn't available to help, but I can help you."

The woman almost seemed to sneer in response. "I'm here to pick up an order. For Miss Miyaki? I don't see why I have to deal with an Apprentice when the owner is right there-"

"It's the rules of the shop, Ma'am." Katashi interrupted, pointing to a sign by a table that specifically stated Master Masao was not to be addressed by customers. "Let me get your order." He wandered away to another corner of the store and soon came back with a small ornate wooden box and offered it to the woman. "It's already paid for, so you're all set."

[Kabu]

Hitomi couldn't help an embarrassed blush at her son's admittance, suddenly feeling a bit bad for teasing him. The entire time he had been thinking about her, a fact that did nonetheless bring a smile to her face. "You really are the greatest kid." she quietly spoke, some part of her wanting to hug the boy. She decided against it however, not wanting to embarrass him further. She could save any affection for later at home.

She was about to speak up once more when Katashi suddenly ran off to greet a customer, turning to watch the interaction. She couldn't help but furrow her brow and frown at the woman's rudeness. She absolutely hated people like that but still she stayed put, opting to wait and watch if Katashi could handle this on his own. He was growing up and she couldn't fight his battles for him, even as much as she really wanted to.

She smiled proudly as he skillfully handled the situation. Atta boy!" she spoke, the pride she felt evident in her tone. Though as proud as she was, she also couldn't help but feel a bit lonely. He really was growing up fast... At this rate would he really need her for much longer?

"What am I even thinking? Every kid grows up. That's only natural. My job is to prepare him to go out into the world. I know that and yet..." she let out a quiet sigh as she turned away, looking towards Masao with a smile. "He really is a great kid."

[Willoria]

As Katashi handed off the box, the woman tried to argue with him again but Katashi's expression shifted to something far more cold. "I said you can go." he repeated firmly. He simply stared at her as the woman opened her mouth and closed it a couple of times, almost looking like a fish out of water before she turned on her heel and left with her product in a slight huff. Once she was out of the store Katashi let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding and almost seemed to be shaking.

"Fuck."

The boy almost immediately turned red as the swear left his lips and he covered his mouth with both hands and he looked around wildly, his eyes settling on his mother, somewhere behind him Masao suddenly burst out laughing, a low guttural sound that was almost hilarious in and of itself.

[Kabu]

Hitomi's proud smile turned to a disappointed frown, her gaze turning cold and steely as she stared at her son. Had she just heard that right? She had made a deliberate effort to never talk like that in front of him so where would he have picked that up? "Katashi dear. Where did you learn that language?" she spoke, her tone flat and emotionless as she walked over towards the boy. For most it may be difficult to read her emotions at this point but for anyone who knew her, they would know very well it meant she was either upset or angry.

"It was your aunt, wasn't it? Maki never has known how to watch her mouth." she asked, leaning down to look the boy right in the eye. Whether he answered or not she let out a sigh, her gaze turning a bit softer. She knew deep down she shouldn't be so upset, especially as she remembered her rebellious phase. She had done so much worse than swear once or twice in front of her parents. "Well, whatever. What's done is done. Just promise me you won't do it again, alright?" she reached out to pat the boy on her head, smiling once more.

"Regardless, I'm proud of you for how you handled that situation."

[Willoria]

Katashi was still red in the face when he lowered his hands, shoving them in his pockets as his mother asked where he learned the word. He shrugged, hesitant to be honest. He'd learned it from Masao. Though the man had trouble talking, some words were easy to discern when he burnt himself while working. So instead he just stayed quiet, silently wondering if he was going to have to apologize to his aunt later if his mother had words with her. '...or maybe just say nothing at all.' he thought to himself. He nodded as she asked him not to say it again. "I promise, Mom." he said, still blushing a bit as a hand came up to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

She mentioned she was proud of him and his blush deepened for a moment as he nodded. "Thanks... I'm still getting used to that part." he said, sighing heavily. "People... customers... get weirdly entitled here sometimes."

Masao grunted from behind Katashi to get the boy's attention, taking an extra moment to form the words. "Break?" He grunted, nodding towards Hitomi.

Katashi looked at his mother and back at Masao. "Okay, thank you, Sir." he said before looking at his mom. "Looks like I'm on break for lunch or something now."

[Kabu]

"Good! I know of the perfect place." Hitomi couldn't help the big, happy smile that came to her face at the notion of the two spending some time together. It wasn't very often that they got to go out these days, together at least. Sure they had a good deal of time together at home but there was something special about going out on the town with her son. She turned her gaze towards Masao, giving the man a nod and a smile as if silently thanking him.

"Well, we're off! I'll bring him back soon." she exclaimed as she happily turned around and happily walked off, hopefully with Katashi following not too far behind.

"You know son, that glasswork you're doing is quite fascinating." she suddenly spoke up after several moments of walking along in silence, slowing her pace to allow for her son to catch up. "I'm proud of you for finding a hobby and your aunt is going to be really happy that you're finally showing some initiative." she continued, head tilting as a sudden question came to mind. "How did you even get into doing something like that?" she asked as their destination came into view. It was the same little cafe that Hitomi had been at earlier before she had caught sight of the shop. She had only recently discovered it but... she had grown to quite like it. It provided a nice view of the village, which was evidently proving to be quite useful...

[Willoria]

Katashi blushed slightly at the idea of spending more time with his mom, but he wouldn't deny her that. It wasn't that he didn't like spending time with his mom, she really was the most important person in the world to him. But she was his mother, like most thirteen year olds he was simply just going to feel slight embarrassment at spending time with her regardless of whether he wanted to or not. Yet he buried the embarrassment as quickly as possible and thrust his hands in his pockets as he followed her out of the glass shop and started down the path with her. He looked up as she started talking about his work and his blush deepened, albeit for different reasons now. He scratched the back of his head almost sheepishly, especially as his mother asked how he came to get into the hobby. "Well... I was out running errands the other day and ran into Master Masao." he admitted, shrugging. "He was just trying to get groceries but whenever he tried to ask the clerk a question the girl kept ignoring him, or treating him like a creep or something because of how much trouble he has talking."

He paused in his words as he followed his mother into the cafe, taking a seat at a table with her as he glanced around. It was a quaint little place, and he had to admit, the smells were making the growing boy's stomach growl with anticipation of food. "Anyway..." he had to force himself to remember what he was talking about already. "It just... it wasn't right. I mean, he's obviously a shinobi you know? So I did what I could to help him and he gave me this as a thank you." He reached into his shirt and pulled out a necklace. It was a simple arrowhead but it was made of glass and colored something of a see-through grey with a shimmer to it. "I saw him go in the shop after, he lives above it you see... I couldn't stop thinking about the necklace..."

Katashi slowly quieted down as he realized he had rambled on for a good while and turned a shade of red again, glancing at his mother as he knew she would put the rest of the dots together. Clearly he had visited the store several times after that and ended up asking to learn about the craft eventually.

[Kabu]

Hitomi couldn't help but swell with pride as they walked along and Katashi told her about how he and Masao had met and he had got his internship. Seeing her boy being so responsible and watchful of others really did make her feel joyful but at the same time... She could feel that pit of loneliness growing ever deeper, a sad look very briefly flashing across her face. However she just as quickly shook it off. She needed to stay strong... I think it's time I have a talk with mom, ask her how she dealt with this kind of thing. she silently thought to herself.

She just as quickly turned her attention back towards the source of her troubles, smiling at the sight of the necklace he pulled out. She really was proud of the kind of man he was growing into, kind and proactive in helping others. "It seems to me like you did the right thing in helping someone you didn't even know. Your dear old mum never would have gone out of her way to help someone like that at your age." she finally responded with a giggle as they reached the cafe. She had never really talked indepth about her own rebellious phase but she had dropped some hints here and there that she had been a bit of a hell raiser in her youth, or at least had attempted to be... Deep down she had always been a good girl, even as much as she tried otherwise.

She led the way to a small booth sat near a window with a perfect view of the street outside. It was then that she noticed just how red Katashi had gotten, the woman smiling as she reached over to ruffle the boy's hair. "You know, there's no need to be embarrassed. I really am very happy and proud that you've found something to be passionate about, something to catch your interest in such a way. You even should be proud of yourself for everything that you've worked to accomplish so far. I bet that Masao is happy too to have you around, to have had such a frequent visitor. There's no deeper pain than being alone... at least that's what I think." she spoke almost sadly, thoughts of her own fears beginning to bubble to the surface.

[Willoria]

Katashi frowned as his mother ruffled his hair, trying to push her hand off. Though as he looked at his mother and she spoke of the pain of loneliness he noticed the look on her face and he tilted his head. "Mom, I'm not going anywhere." he said suddenly. His blush was still present, and he wasn't sure how to expound on it without embarrassing himself further but he found himself saved as the server came to their table to ask what they'd like to order. The boy quickly picked up the small menu in front of himself and gave it a quick glance before ordering a quick and simple set of rice balls that looked good and something sweet to drink before falling quiet to allow his mother a chance to order.

Once the server left the boy simply tilted his head and looked at her. He knew that she feared being alone one day, that he might leave her behind. And though he put up a good front like most children his age, he had no intention of ever letting that happen. His mother was everything to him, not that he said that out loud that often. He suddenly took the arrowhead necklace that he'd been given by Masao and reached across the table to put it in his mother's hands with a grin firmly planted on his face. He wasn't much for saying what he was thinking, but he knew she'd likely understand what he meant by the gesture.