She wasn’t dimwhitted as she seemed, she may not be the smartest Nara in the clan, however she is a great expression reader, she takes a good amount of time on reading people’s expressions, their movements in a way, she observe their eyes, if not the eyes then it would any subtle hints like ears being red or sometimes she can tell by the breathe, Sometimes even the most nuanced of breath can tell alot about the person, even if the person was calm, she can tell when something is up. She was one of the few who could see directly through Inoka’s true thoughts, process and his true feelings. She would give him credit; the man can disguise his true motives behind his famous smile that bore to those who aren’t as close to him.
Kageko’s eyes followed his arm movement, the one that was scratching his neck, in a way. She knew it was him, somewhat testing her observation skills. She didn’t mind, of course; it was a good thing for him to do, as it kept her wit sharp. Her sharpness is a known factor of the Nara clan. She noticed the first thing when he stopped his nervous tick. She gazed upon the arm, noticing he stopped for a good amount of time.
Without taking her gaze off him, she tilted her head when he tilted his head. She knew by his expression that he was touched by her words, as his blue eyes turned from softness to more of a thoughtful look, thinking rather. She observed more, noticing his jaw clenching a bit, the way her words affected him. She meant in a flattering way, even though it’s truly how she felt, that he would be a great husband and dad to someone, even if he didn’t think so. However, to him? It could be that finding a wife was more or less another burden he had to bear. Her expression bore a face of guilt over what she had said. Once again, she croaked.
“Hey..I’m sorry, this thing I said could’ve offended you in a way. There is no rush at all on being a husband, being a dad.”
She entangled her cold fingers into his warm ones. She had a faint blush at the feel of a surprisingly soft hand. She thought with all the paper, with all the training he had done to get to the top, she expected his hands to be rough, Rough like sandpaper being rubbed on the hands. Hiding her pain once again, this was a recurring theme; she always masked her pain, her grief, through a smile. She never allowed anyone to see how she truly felt, how she wanted to cry. However, that came crashing down; she unravelled in front of Inoka, not just him, but with an unfamiliar presence. Both comforted her.
She felt protected in that vulnerable moment for her. Hearing his words of reconfirmation that she was never too much made her feel relieved. She looked down, bashful, not sure what to do, and she noticed him stepping beside her. She continued to hold his hand. She needed the support, even if it looked wrong; she didn’t care at the time or space. She wanted someone there for her. She needed that support, even if it was from her teammates, her old sensei, or even her current teacher, mentor, or friend —someone who always looked after her. She didn’t care. She wanted, she needed him, and Inoka knew that he was the one who was able to share the same emotions as she did, even if he also hid his true emotions.
Her body started to move towards the direction of her home. She had a horrible feeling bubbling up in her stomach. She couldn’t shift that uncomfortable feeling that something didn’t feel right about Kana’s death. As if someone had killed her Mom, it wasn’t a mere coincidence but rather... perhaps an assistance? There was no way that she had died in such an abrupt manner; it was just a span of 10. In 20 minutes, she had left the house, and suddenly, Mom passed away. Nonetheless, Kageko began to quicken the pace as she felt the breeze running through her hair, her hand still tangled up in Inoka’s. There was no more playful manner for Kageko.
Her one mission right now is to honour her mom and bury her next to an unmarked grave at the back of the cemetery. She never could understand Kana for wanting to be buried next to the Unmarked grave in the back of the cemetery underneath a large Oak tree. Perhaps Inoka could explain the unmarked grave? Could it be her grandparents? Her father? Only Inoka and Kana would know, or so Kageko could hope. In a way that thought was nagging at her mind, the mystery of the unmarked grave was that her mom was too poor to buy a headstone. Or perhaps the mystery was that they had done something forbidden, who knows? Only Kageko could always try to get the truth from the man she was dragging beside her.
Once they got to Kageko’s front door to her apartment, Kageko’s free hand lifted to the handle, and her trembling fingers grasped the colder metal door handle. The young female trembled; butterflies of nerves crept up even more. She felt paralysed and couldn’t open the door. She felt like there were chains bound to the door handle as if to prevent her from opening it to see the gruesome sight that was behind the door. Kageko's face was once full of colour, but now turned pale, lost its radiance. Her eyes quaked in shock, her lips ran dry. She felt like she wanted to scream for help to get out of the trance she was in. This was the first time she had ever felt anxiety. She had never felt anxiety like this before. She didn’t know what to do. However, the only thing she could do was to take a breath and bear with the results that beheld the pair.
She gripped Inoka’s hand as she opened the door wide enough for them to step in. An immediate smell of death wafted in their nose. A foul odour; however, she held in her breath as her trembling legs moved slowly. The entrance was neat. She knew it was disrespectful for her to tread her shoes in the room; however, she didn’t want to step on anything that might have spilt from the body of her dead mother. Her Kitchen and living room were all neat. Nothing had been touched not even the tea she had made for her mom had been touched at. Then she drifted towards her mom’s bedroom, the bedroom her mom had hermited herself from people, even her daughter at times. She peeked into her mother's room to find her body, looking pale, no sign of life at all. The reason her mother's door was open was that there were other shinobi preparing her for her burial. She looked around the room and observed as her eyes began to flood with tears once again. There was a bottle of suspicious purple substance on the floor, alongside a few droplets of blood.
Location: Konoha: Third Training Ground => Kageko's home
Posting order: Inoka - Kageko
PTL: 1-3days
Skips: 3