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XI

Leaving the Nest

"Siri, darling," Aria said stiffly while staring at her son, aghast.

"Yes, mother?" Sirius responded with a passive expression.

"What are you wearing?" she asked with a tight smile.

"I'm covering my face," Sirius replied simply, head tilted to one side as though he could not understand what his mother was trying to say.

"You can't even see!" she exclaimed, finally snapping as her patience wore thin.

The eight-year-old was not bothered by his mother's words of protest. He was wearing simple and comfortable clothes no different from those that he wore at home. A white button-up with a black hooded jacket and pants paired with a pair of black sneakers. His clothes were all tailored but they seemed so commonplace that no one would give them a second glance. This, however, was not what had so concerned his mother.

It was the fact that the top half of his face was covered by a black silken sash.

Sirius had blindfolded himself.

"That is of little consequence," Sirius answered without hesitation.

Aria sighed, massaging her temples.

This was the first time Sirius had been so stubborn about anything besides not using a pen and, to be honest, she had no idea how to deal with it.

"At least cover the lower half of your mouth instead?" Aria suggested persuasively.

However, Sirius only shook his head in response. His mind was not swayed in the least. It was as though he had not even listened to his mother's words.

"Well," Aria finally spoke after a moment of consideration, "I will permit it if you manage to get to Oxford while blindfolded without any trouble. Your father will be following you."

Sirius rolled his eyes beneath his blindfold but did not protest.

Although he did not have any trouble walking around with the loss of one of his senses, his eyes allowed him to see through any reflective surface and the smooth surface of his necklace would suffice. When his Kagami no Me were activated, he would be able to link his vision to any mirror. He used to just look out of his mirror dimension, having had no reason to watch from outside his personal space anyway. It was only after coming to this world that Sirius had found the need for the ability to connect two mirrors.

"Let's go, then," Sirius grumbled, head turned in the direction of where Vince was hiding behind a corner.

The man in question raised an eyebrow, wondering how his son could have noticed him there. It was not like the boy could have seen him, what with him hiding out of the boy's line of sight and the blindfold that covered Sirius' eyes. Moreover, he was a trained agent and an investigator that was incredibly skilled at stake-outs and stealth missions. There was no reason for a child to have the ability to notice him when other trained agents had difficulty doing so.

Little did he know, Sirius' senses were just that sharp.

The boy was incredibly perceptive, taking notice of every little detail. It was a habit from his days of training to become an expert shinobi. In a way, Sirius could be said to have greater expertise in the area of Vince's speciality than his father. After all, even if he had not stayed long enough to receive his result, there was no doubt that he would have graduated as a superb shinobi. Passing the next Chūnin Exam and being promoted to the next tier would not have been difficult and his potential assured that he would either find a place in ANBU or return to his home in Iwagakure. A man who was not equipped with the skills of assassination that all shinobi had to master had no way of comparing with a young genius in this area.