A Brush With Art.(Private)

[Mayumi Ito]

"See you guys tomorrow~"

Kei said cheerily to her friends, waving her hand towards them. They had just spent their time together at the ramen shop and now it was time for them to part. With her house being on the opposite side of the town compared to others, she usually had to walk back by herself. Once they were out of sight, she stretched her arm slightly above her head before she hit the street as well. Her fuschia colored ponytail wagged behind her, tied up by a brand new black hair ribbon she recently received for her birthday. As much as she wanted to head straight back home after a full belly, she still had an errand to take care of.

"Well then, let's see..." she muttered to herself as she made her way down the streets, her eyes scanning her surrounding. It was her first time using this route thus she finds herself in an unfamiliar part of town rather quickly. Her errand consisted of buying a certain calligraphy ink brush but as luck would have it, the calligraphy shop which she frequent to had closed for some reason. As such, she would have to resort to art store hoping that they offered the ink brush she needed.

Kei slowed down her upon arriving in front of her destination, her eyes recognizing the title of the shop. It was the one she overheard her parents talked about though she was busy with her training back then she didn't quite catch the details, only that it had gone through some modifications.

"Guess I should just head in to find out."

Slipping her hands into the pockets of her jeans, she slowly walked up towards the entrance of the shop. Her eyes drifted from the artwork to the supplies, silently gauging the likelihood of finding the calligraphy brush in this art store.

 

[Uchiha Masami]

The humble art supply store, aptly named Kawaakari, saw less customers in the recent weeks. While Masami appreciated the peace, quiet and lessened responsibility that entailed, she did not want to see her uncle’s shop fade away into obscurity. Practical reasons like not having anywhere else to go were a factor, but she also wanted to see the individual who raised her succeed. On that day, he was running a small errand. She failed to recall the minute details, but the most she gleaned from it was it sounded important. Therefore, she was tasked with maintaining the shop while he was absent. It seemed like a lot for someone her age to handle, but her endeavours around the store were menial.

With no customers to cater to, she spent the better part of the day sitting on a wooden stool placed in front of a large painting. Each stroke of her brush and its subsequent retreat to her colorful palette provided more detail and colour to the piece she worked on. Though her high level of artistic ability could not be doubted, it was incomplete. The most one could ascertain from the art was a pair of hands reaching towards a narrow source of light, within a tunnel of amorphous, ghostly faces. Masami had yet to add shading and other techniques to it. She was en route to do so until she heard the jingle of a door being opened.

Directing her attention to the source of the disturbance, she found a girl around her age in her wake. After blinking away her confusion about the uncanny circumstance, she fostered a smile on her lips and pushed herself up from her seat. Setting her materials aside on a table next to her, she gradually closed the space between them with soft footfalls. Her own attire was plain; white sweater with the Uchiha symbol plastered on the back, dark blue skirt, black leggings and footwear. Eyes of dark purple fixed on the girl.

“Hi, are you looking for something in particular? I can help,” she insisted, well-mannered and well-spoken. Masami remembered the bits of customer service her uncle taught her, and it served her well.

The store itself wasn’t grand by any stretch of the imagination, but it wasn’t in shambles, either. They cleaned up since the incident, and it was identical to any arts and crafts store, with the addition of a variety of different majestic paintings—including the one she was working on.

 

[Mayumi Ito]

Various paintings with vibrant colors greeted her eyes and though she simply skimmed through most of them, it was clear from a single glance that they don't usually cater to calligraphy artist. It made sense, after all, there was already a store in town that catered to such needs. Just as she turned to look at their supplies, a female voice distracted her from her search.

Turning around to face the speaker, Kei paused slightly as her eyes took in her appearance. While she did realize there was another presence within the shop beside her she didn't expect her to be as young as her. And yet she was already helping out the owner of the shop at her age. She blinked once before flashing a warm smile towards her and nodded in response towards her question.

"Oh hello. I'm actually looking for a brush." Kei replied as she removed her hands out of her jeans pockets. Of course, with a wide variety of brushes displayed within the store, she decided that further elaboration in order.

"Calligraphy ink brushes to be exact. The calligraphy store that sold those was closed and I was hoping that you would sell some here." She continued before her eyes stopped on an unfinished painting. Though she possessed little artistic ability herself, she can appreciate the beauty though that was the extent of her ability as she didn't quite figure out the meaning behind them.

"Is this your painting? You're quite good." Her expression turned into one of inquisitive as she moved towards it to take a closer look. "Are the rest of the painting in this store yours too?" At this point, Kei realized that she was just making small talk with the girl. Masami appeared to be of similar age and she believed that one can't have too many friends.

 

[Uchiha Masami]

Customers who sought to purchase brushes were not rare. Given the nature of the shop, Masami was accustomed to hearing people ask for everything from brushes, to certain paints and even specific knives depending on the piece they worked on. With an enduring smile on her lips the Uchiha continued to watch the similarly aged girl with curious eyes, hoping to hear what she anticipated to be further elaboration on the type of brush she wanted to purchase. After all, there were a tremendous amount of brushes one could use for different purposes, though an outsider to the profession may be ignorant to that fact. She did not mind explaining if she needed to.

Hearing the girl’s desire to buy a calligraphy brush, the dark-haired youth nodded to affirm the redhead’s suspicions. “We have them in stock, they’re just right over there,” she explained, preparing herself to lead the way towards the aisle sporting a variety of calligraphy brushes after gesturing to it with a tilt of her head. Before she could wonder about the calligraphy hobbyist’s prowess with the art, observant eyes picked up on the girl heeding the unfinished painting she left partially in the open. Though incomplete, she was glad to have eyes upon her piece, expressing her artistic inclinations to the world.

“Thank you,” she answered, her expression passive and her voice soft. Attention wandering towards her painting for a moment, it retreated to the unnamed customer as she hung her arms and clasped her hands together. “It is. Most of the paintings in the store aren’t mine, many of them are my uncle’s. He owns the store. There are also other pieces from artists across the land.” While the redhead’s question wasn’t unheard of, she always felt a sense of pride when talking about the accomplishments of her wonderful uncle. “I hope to one day be as good as him.”

A momentary pause, before she placed a finger against her lip, eyeballing the girl curiously. “You must do a lot of calligraphy, I take it? Or are you a new aspirant?”

 

[Mayumi Ito]

Kei brightened up slightly upon hearing that the store does have calligraphy brushes in stock. Well, that takes care of her errand. But she didn't pick the brush right away, instead, she paused and listened as the raven-haired girl explained towards her about the art store. Her assumption was proven correct, though she had thought the girl was helping her parents rather than her uncle. Upon hearing how she spoke fondly of him, the redhead looked towards the painting once more.

"I'm sure you will. As long as you keep practicing you will definitely be as good as him someday. Maybe even better." she replied with a slight nod.

A goal to strive for, that's definitely something Kei can appreciate. She also held her father in similarly high esteem and though she wouldn't admit it out loud, even more so than the tales of legendary swordsmen he shared with her. The girl's inquiry about calligraphy reminded her of the change of profession his father took upon moving into this village.

"Ayep, though I'm still in training. Pop is the real artist though, he's recently retired and switched his blade for a brush." She was half tempted to tell her about his pen name to see if she can recognize it but then she remembered that she had yet to even introduce herself. Picking a calligraphy brush, Kei made a motion as if to write kanji in midair.

"Nanjirou Kei. The former is written like how you would write the Kanji Southern Samurai. Kei as in how you would write the kanji of a katsura tree. That's my name. What about yours?" The redhead asked as she turned slightly to face the girl. People mentioned once that it's a rather strange way of introducing herself and frankly she agreed, though her father emphasized it's important if she planned to learn calligraphy properly.

 

[Uchiha Masami]

A blade for a brush. The phrasing sounded like, given the area they lived in, the girl may have been one of the many individuals in the village born to militant guardians. It did not surprise her because it was a common occurrence, and she could admire a person who decided to retire from service to pursue a subsidiary of art. When she no longer could hold a blade, it was an occupation she predicted she would change to in the later years of her life; or at the very least aspired to. Once she served as an aegis to protect beauty, she wanted to create it.

“Oh? I can say the same of you. With enough time and practice, I’m sure you will be just as good one day, or better,” she said, echoing the praise she incurred moments before with a soft smile. Interest bloomed within her mind about the girl’s father. She wondered if he owned any accolades to his name based on his artistic achievements, and even if he didn’t, she would have loved to witness the calligraphy. Had she infinite time and the world was thoroughly peaceful, then she would have practiced and reviewed art every day of the week.

Thankful that the girl seemed to found her way to the calligraphy brushes following her guidance, she watched her make motions with the brush in the air as though inscribing the characters into nothingness. Eyes brimming with curiosity, she tilted her head to the side while she heard her elaborate on the kanji comprising her name. Following the revelation, Masami picked up one of the fine calligraphy brushes.

"That is a beautiful name,” she praised, before starting to draw characters in the air in front of her as well. Delicate and sophisticated motions followed, especially considering she had a ton of time to warm up through working on her painting earlier. “Uchiha Masami. I doubt I must go into much detail about the former, but it is jarringly like the pronunciation of paper fan. The kanji Masa is written like ‘become’, while the kanji for mi is written as ‘beautiful’.”

 

[Mayumi Ito]

Kei blinked slightly upon hearing Masami's words, unused to hear one encourage her in calligraphy. Very few of her friends encouraged her in that practice, at most she would receive a blank smile followed by a quick change of topic. Had she not been dazzled by the stroke of her father's blade as compared to his brush, would she stand here as a professional apprentice rather than academy art students?

"Yeah, let's do our best together in our respective field." the girl replied with a nod.

Once Kei finished with her introduction, she looked at Masami's brush movement next. Each movement was delicate yet decisived in their stroke. Subconsciously she tilted her head slightly, now noticing the familiar symbol of Uchiha fan on her back. One of the strongest clan in the village, it was hard not to recognize the name. Her first name was also quite fitting, considering her choice of hobby. With a name like that, there was really no need for pen name of any sort in her personal opinion.

"Your parents named you well. If you have your own art gallery someday, don't forget to invite me okay?" Kei grinned as she put down the current brush she had to inspect another, using the tip of her hand to feel the tip of the brush. That the girl was an Uchiha and an artist however, piqued her curiosity. One would naturally assumed she would join a shinobi school due to her lineage but the passion for art was also quite as genuine as well.

"So, which school are you attending? The shinobi academy or an art school?"

Though the latter was not as famous as the former, it had also been the birthplace of many local artistic talents. Yet, she knew the weight one's surname bear and would not be completely surprised if she was pressured to do the former.

 

[Uchiha Masami]

”Of course,” she affirmed, innocent expression momentarily marred by a smirk creeping along her lips. The compliment found its mark, and she received it with enthusiasm. ”I don’t know how many years it will be in the future, but I will be sure to send you an invitation to its grand opening.”

Speaking nothing but the truth, the girl did not know how long it would take before she would be able to open her own gallery. Deciding to take a different path in life, destroying her aspirations to work as an artist in the process and becoming a hobbyist in the field, she was uncertain if Kei would ever witness such a grand dream be realized. There was the chance of perishing in battle long before she received the opportunity to settle down. But the amethyst-eyed Uchiha did not let it get her down; the act of sacrifice in itself was beautiful.

When asked whether she was enrolled in the academy or an art school, no surprise surfaced on her face in regards to the other female’s meticulous guessing accuracy. Bearing a surname belonging to one of the village’s most powerful houses, most people were bound to come to that conclusion. In this case she was not wrong. For a moment, the playful expression on her face disappeared, but the relapse was ephemeral. Just as fast as it faded, her playful smile made its return, and she directed her full attention towards Kei.

“The academy. As much as I wanted to avoid that, I could not escape tradition. Due to some personal…matters, I didn’t want to escape tradition in the end, either, even though I wanted to pursue the latter,” she elaborated, emphasis on brevity. Though she provided her with a smile, there was a hollow aspect to it just barely able to be observed. “So, Kei-san, what about you? With a surname describing a samurai, might you be attending the shinobi academy as well?”

 

[Mayumi Ito]

"Personal matters huh? Hopefully, you'll get that sorted out."

Kei replied, looking a little surprised. She had expected that the reason behind Masami was purely pressured from her clan but it sounds like there's something else that affected her decision too. As Masami chose not to elaborate on this personal matter, Kei nodded and decided not to pry either as she pondered over the question Masami asked her in return.

"Yeah, I am attending the academy too. Though pops was not too supportive of it in the first place." the redhead replied, fiddling with the brush in her hand. It was only recently that her father had given her the blessing to attend the academy after they had their talk.

"He said some of the villagers here have a bad history with people of my ancestry. That might affect my career in the long run...but I'll figure out something when we cross that bridge." Kei nodded, her facial expression did not reflect any worry at all.

So far Kei had gotten along well with the other kids so she had presumed her father's fear was just that, an irrationally unfounded fear. Sure, she noticed that some of the shinobi she had met had their smile faded slightly upon hearing her surname but she had yet to experience anything that may suggest it would be problematic to pursue her career. Now moving towards the cashier's desk, she put the paintbrush on it before digging out her wallet from her jean pocket to pay for it.

"Anyway, now that we know each other name... do you want to be my friend?" the girl asked as she flashed her trademark bright smile. The girl would have offered her hand as well but she felt as if that would have made this too formal.

 

[Uchiha Masami]

”Thanks,” she said in response to Kei’s hopes. Masami appreciated the sentiment. In truth, the problems that arose were already resolved. There was nothing she could do about what happened, nor did she have any intention to retract her decision. Thinking about it would be pointless; it did not benefit her and there was nothing she could do about it. Hopefully she didn’t needlessly worry her acquaintance.

When she learned about Kei’s father’s reluctance regarding her enrollment in the academy, her eyes widened. It was the opposite of what she expected to her. From her own experience, her parents wanted her to join the academy. They were part of the village’s militant force. One of them was a member of the Uchiha clan and the other an esteemed shinobi in his own right. Masami was expected to follow in their footsteps. Despite that, she wanted to become an artist.

Subsequently, she learned the reason for the elder Nanjirou’s aversion. Poor reception within the village was another point of contrast. The Uchiha lacked knowledge about the clan, barring her from competently commenting on the matter. However, she at least tried. At the very least, she should say something.

“I’d trade you if I could. My parents were adamant about me joining, even though my interests lay in more delicate crafts,” she explained. While she spoke, her expression was sober. “I won’t judge you differently, though.” Maybe her words would be of comfort – there was little else she could do to help. She felt a little useless. In any case, Masami believed the misdeeds of the father shouldn’t be shouldered by the child. Curiosity filled her about the history of Kei’s lineage. Did they come into conflict with the village before? Interested as she was, she wasn’t sure if she should pry.

As her thoughts swirled in her mind, she sauntered behind the counter. Kei placing the brush in front of them and fetching her wallet concluded her reverie.

Posed with a question she did not expect, the brunette blinked. Often voluntarily secluded from others, the request caught her off-guard. She couldn’t devise grounds to decline; it sounded nice to have a person she could call a friend.

“Sure, if you’re fine with having someone like me as a friend,” she said, giggling. “I’ll throw you a discount for the brush, too. Just don’t tell my uncle.” With those words, she would reveal the discounted price. It took a good chunk out of how much Kei needed to purchase the brush.

 

[Mayumi Ito]

Kei smiled slightly upon hearing Masami wish to trade place with her. While it was true that her father was not supportive of her joining the village militants here, it was only because their family decided to live in this particular village. Had they live in the land occupied by the Samurai, Kei wondered if their position would be reversed. Then again they may not even meet each other in first place.

Her last few words of not going to treat her differently despite her lineage cause Kei's smile to widen even more. That someone she had started to think of as a friend accepts her readily without judging her forefathers was something she deeply appreciated. She only wished that such thoughts would be shared with the others in the village, though she supposed she needed to prove herself first.

"Thanks, Masami-san. Those words mean a lot to me."

Masami appeared surprised on her offer of friendship but then smile upon hearing her accepting her offer of friendship and even give her a discount for her brush. She was about to refuse at first but a glance at the inside of her wallet denied her of that. Kei opened her mouth to protest before she decided to take the offer and paid the girl before putting away the brush. It was not like this would be the last time the Nanjirou would meet her, she would just need to repay her in some manner.

"That's more than fine. And I won't tell your uncle but in return, you'll let me treat you to one of the restaurants nearby when you're free." Kei replied. Normally she would have repaid her directly with the discount money but the last thing she needed was Masami to get into trouble with her uncle if he find out.

"Well then, I best get going. It's been a pleasure talking with you. I hope to see you soon Masami-san." With that the girl raised her hand and waved slightly before she turned around to leave.

 

[Uchiha Masami]

Masami smiled when the girl made a counter-offer. In exchange for not snitching on her she needed to accept being treated to one of the local restaurants. It was impossible for the Uchiha to see free food as a bad thing; there were a lot of less fortunate people in the world. There were a lot of places she wanted to eat at when her schedule allowed it. The ramen spots were amongst her favourites. To call it a popular choice was a no-brainer, but she did not mind being considered basic. Since she hated burdening people too much, she decided she would not go crazy with her order when the time came.

”It’s a deal,” she said. ”Surprise me with whatever place you choose to take me to.”

A warm meal sounded good then, but she needed to continue her watch over her uncle’s shop. Maybe she could sneak out when he got back. She was sure that he would celebrate her making a new friend when she was usually so reclusive. Masami would have liked to tell her parents about her accomplishment, but they were never around. It did not bother her, she understood why they were busy. Within her mind she made a mental note to tell them in a letter.

Departure tasted bittersweet when it was time for the other girl to leave. She hoped she would see her again soon and fulfill her end of the bargain. Masami wanted to spend more time with her new friend; the concept was new to her. Many things about her were still a mystery, and she hoped to learn more about her as time passed. After accepting the money and giving her the brush, the brunette nodded.

”You too, Kei-san. Until we meet again.” With those conclusive words, she waved at her while watching Kei take her leave from the Kawaakari.

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