Chapter 3
Reioki got up early and got ready to go to work. She ate breakfast, got dressed, brushed her long black hair with silver bangs and walked out the door to go to the Yamada teashop for her first day of work. She was excited to start a new job and to meet new people.
As she got to the shop, she greeted Kashu as she walked in.
"Hello Kashu-sama. How are you this morning?" she asked as she took off her dark green cloak and hung it on the wall next to the door.
"Hello there, Reioki. Glad to see you. Let's get started. Would you mind if you started making the tea? I have a few things to do myself." He answered. Kashu went into the back with Reioki and showed her where to start. A few minutes later, people started coming in. It was consistent all day long, with a half hour break around 10am. During their break time, Kashu and Reioki discussed what he would pay her plus other things and that he would talk to her at the end of the day to see if she wanted to stay. Reioki was happy that everyone seemed so nice and that she enjoyed what she was doing.
Noontime came and the shop was busy again. A lot of people came in and out, most of them with happy faces. Time flew, and the next thing she knew, it was almost time to go. 15 minutes to go. Wow. The time zipped by. I really like this job. She thought.
As she was cleaning up a table, a tall girl, she thought to be her age, with short purple hair and green eye's came in for some tea and dango. She seemed quiet and a bit shy. She sat down in the corner of the shop and ate dango and drank her tea. Reioki went to the back to put the cups and dishes away. She cleaned up the mess that was on a counter as well as folding and put away some clean towels that came from the cleaners that Kashu had picked up earlier. When she came back out, the girl was gone. Reioki cleaned up the table she was sitting at and brought the dish and cup back to the kitchen. She looked at the clock and saw it a little after 3. She picked up her backpack and approached Kashu to let him know it was time for her to go.
"I thought things went well today. How about working the same hours Monday thru Friday. Would that be good for you?" Kashu asked. Reioki smiled.
"Yeah. That would be great. I will see you at 7am tomorrow." She replied with a smile. He gave her a nod and a smile back.
"Great! I will see you tomorrow." He said with a wave. She grabbed her dark green cloak and left.
When Reioki got home, she grabbed her only book she brought with her and went out to her balcony and read for a bit. About 10 minutes later, she put the book down. She looked up to the sky and thought for a while. Hmm. I wonder what I should have for dinner. I am getting hungry. What do I have here? Hmm. I have apples and, I do have sweet potato and egg plant. But I am out of rice for dinner, so I better go to the mart and get some. She thought. Reioki got up and went inside with her book. She placed the book on an empty shelf that was between the washroom and the closet. She went into the closet and grabbed her pouch from her backpack, walked over to the door, put on her shoes and walked out to go to the market.
When Reioki got to the market, she bought tofu, rice, seaweed, and rice paper wraps. She paid for her stuff and started to walk back to her place when she bumped into Might, Guy.
"Oh. Ahh, Hi. How are you?" she asked. Guy looked at her and gave his charming smile.
"Well, hello there. I'm fine. How are you doing this fine evening?" He asked her. Reioki smiled.
"I am doing fine. I just bought my self dinner and, I am on my way home to make it." she replied with a smile. He kept looking at her.
"That's great. Everyone should eat a home cooked meal. So, how is Konoha living for you?" he asked. Reioki gave a little laugh.
"So far so good. I got a job at Yamada's teashop and I like the place you found for me. I have visited the library and the academy. I even got to talk to your Hokage. He is a very nice man." She told him. He gave her the thumbs up and smiled.
"That's great. I'm glad you are getting to know Konoha. If you ever want to explore Konoha, or just go and hang out somewhere, call on me. I can help you with that." He told her with another smile and thumbs up. Reioki just looked at him funny.
"Okaay. Anyway, it was great talking to you." She told him as she waved and walked away. Guy waved back as he walked in the other direction. Reioki laughed to her self. He is so weird, but he really is nice. Though, I really do not know him. I suppose I could take him up on his offer one of these days... Oh, I do not know. She thought.
Reioki walked back home, put her groceries away that she wasn't going to use right away and then made dinner. She ate and then decided to go for a walk before the sun went down. She went down to the street and started walking towards the memorial. When she got there, the sun had already started to set. Reioki walked to the memorial and sat near it. As she looked towards the mountains, she noticed the girl with the purple hair she saw earlier in the teashop, sitting next to one of the three stumps in the ground. She too was watching the sun set. Reioki got up and walked over to where the girl was. She stood next to her and watched the sun setting. The girl with the purple hair looked up at Reioki to see who was standing next to her and then looked back to the sunset. Reioki looked at her.
"Hi. Pretty is it not?" she said to her. The girl with the purple hair just nodded her head still looking at the sunset. Rioki looked towards the sunset.
"So, do you hang out here often?" she asked the girl. The girl with the purple hair looked up at her.
"No. I just got here." She answered. Reioki looked at her with a confused look on her face.
"You mean that you just arrived in Konoha?" she asked. The girl looked away from her and back to watching the sunset.
"Yes. I am new here." She answered. Reioki smiled.
"Heh. Me too. I saw you earlier at the teashop I work at. I just got here almost a week ago myself. I like it here." Reioki told her. The sun was almost behind the mountains by now. You could just see the top of the sun between the mountaintops. The colors were so beautiful.
"It seems to be a peaceful place. What I've seen of it so far is nice." The purple haired girl answered.
"Yeah. The people are nice too. By the way, my name is Rikudo, Reioki. What is yours?" she asked. The purple haired girl became a little red in the face as she looked at her.
"Umm, well, my name is Yoshida, Takara." she answered as she looked away. Reioki smiled at her.
"Nice to meet you, Takara. So, do you plan on staying for a while?" she asked. Takara continued to look towards the setting sun, which had almost disappeared.
"Well, that depends on if I like it here." she said with a small smile. Reioki watched the sun disappear behind the mountains. Takara got up from where she was sitting. She looked at Reioki and then back to the ground.
"Well, I guess I'm going to go." Said Takara as she started to walk away. Reioki started to walk with her.
"Yeah, me too. I will walk with you, if that is ok with you?" she asked. Takara looked at her with a small smile.
"Uhh, yeah. Sure." she replied. The walked away from the memorial site and headed for town.
"I think the village looks pretty at night all lit up like this. It feels safe to walk around here." she said. Takara looked at her.
"It's like any other village. Just different scenery." she said. Reioki looked at her with one eyebrow up and shook her head.
"Do not go to the Rain village. You cannot do this there. Not with out being attacked or harassed for something. Or at least, that is what I hear. I was not allowed to go out at night. Come to think of it, I really was not allowed to go out too much in the day time either, for the same reason." Reioki told her. Takara gave a small smile.
"Well, That doesn't sound like too much fun. But, I can take care of myself." she replied. Reioki gave her a smirk.
"Oh, I am sure you can. I was not trying to say that you could not. I was only trying to say that you cannot walk in the rain village with out someone trying to hurt you at some point in your life. It is just not safe. Even if I could take on someone, I still would not want to put myself in situations to get hurt." She told her as they walked down the street. Takara nodded her head. Though, I seemed to have done that a lot for a while. Reoki thought but didn't share that thought.
"I see what you mean. But, I'm not afraid of that. I know I can take care of myself." She said. Reioki nodded her head.
"I am glad to hear that. Well, this is where I turn to go home. It was nice talking to you. Umm, if you feel like talking again, feel free to come into the teashop. I will be there. Ok?" she told her with a big smile on her face. Takara smiled back.
"Sure. See ya around." She answered. Reioki waved to her as she turned the corner and found herself down the street from her home. She walked up to her home and entered. She seems really nice. Reioki thought to herself as she walked into her home. She turned on a light, walked over to the shelves and grabbed her book and sat down on her bed. Tomorrow, I meet with Kakashi-sama. I wonder what I am going to learn. Hmmm. She thought to herself. She laid down and thought of what he could possibly teach her and of what she didn't know. She remembered how good Itachi was at fighting and how he protected her. She remembered the first time he had to save her.
Itachi and Reioki were walking down the street of the rain village towards the tea and dango shop. This had been their fourth outing and Itachi wasn't so upset this time. He actually walked next to her, but he really didn't talk to her that much. Just short answers to her questions. As they got there, Inoshu, a tall blond girl with brown eyes, came up to her.
"Oh my gosh! Are you really out and about? Wow! I can't believe it! And who's the hottie with you?" she asked. Reioki looked at her and smiled.
"Ohh, Umm, that is my guard. His name is Itachi. And yeah, I am actually able to go out. Thanks to him. He does not talk much though." She answered. Inoshu grabbed Reioki's hand and dragged her to the table she and her friends were sitting at.
"Hey everyone, this is my friend, Rikudo, Reioki. She is an old friend of mine. Reioki, this is Sunairo, Sango and Yatsu, Iki." She introduced as she walked up to them. Itachi stood outside of the dango shop while Reioki sat inside with Inoshu and her friends. After being there for 5 minutes, Reioki excused herself and walked over to Itachi.
"Would you like to join us? You do not have to stand out her by yourself." she asked. Itachi gave a small smile.
"No. I am fine." He answered. She shrugged her shoulders as she walked away.
"Ok. If that's what you want to do." She said. She sat back down at the table and listened to Inoshu and her friend's talk. Inoshu looked at Reioki.
"What's with him? He looks to be our age. How did he end up being your guard?" Reioki shrugged her shoulders.
"I do not know. My father introduced me to him and told me to listen to him. Like I said he does not talk much, so I do not know much about him." she said. Inoshu smirked.
"Well, at least he's cute." she said to her. Reioki rolled her eyes and smiled.
They socialized for about an hour before Reioki decided to go. She told everyone good-bye and got up from the table. She walked over to Itachi and they left. On their way home, they heard screaming and yelling from up ahead. She became concerned and walked a little faster. Then up ahead, she saw two men kicking a little boy and his father on the side of the road. Reioki froze and then became angry. She ran up to them. As soon as she got there, Itachi grabbed her arm.
"Stop it! Please! Stop hurting them!" Reioki yelled. The two shinobi that were kicking the man and little boy turned to look at who was yelling at them. They saw Reioki and Itachi standing there and smirked at them.
"You want us to stop? Mind your own business! This doesn't concern you!" said one of the shinobi. The other shinobi looked at Reioki and hit the other one.
"Hey. Isn't that...?" asked the other shinobi as he pointed to Reioki. The other shinobi looked and smiled.
"Maybe. She looks like the description Lord Hanzou gave us. Long black hair with silver bangs." He said. Reioki just shook her head.
"Please leave them alone. They are really hurt. You should just leave." she said to them as she tried to walk towards the man and his boy. Itachi pulled her back. She looked at him with a disappointed look.
"Let go! I need to help them." She said to Itachi trying to pry his hand off her arm. He continued to hang on to her but looked at the two shinobi.
"Yeah! Why don't you let her go! Then we can take care of you and take the girl back to Hanzou." One shinobi said. Itachi gave a smirk and let go of Reioki. As soon as Itachi let go, Reioki started to walk over to the man and his boy. One Shinobi went after Reioki while the other went after Itachi. Reioki bent down, scanned him with her doujutsu and started to apply healing chakra to the boy, for he needed it first. When she was done with the boy she looked back and both shinobi were lying on the ground. She saw one getting back up as she turned around to heal the man. With-in minutes, he was healed. They thanked her and she told them to go. When she turned around to see what was happening, she found Itachi just watching her. She looked around to see the other shinobi laying on the ground unconscious. Reioki looked with shocked eyes as she started to walk over to the shinobi. She bent down and started to heal one of them. Itachi just looked on with widened eyes then shook his head.
"What are you doing? Let's go! They will be fine." He told her. Reioki finished healing the first shinobi as he came to.
"Why.. Why did you heal me?" he asked. Reioki just looked at him with concern.
"Because your a precious life. Everyone deserves a chance to live." She told him as she walked over to his partner. She bent down and started to heal him. The first shinobi just sat there with a shocked look on his face. Itachi just watched as she did her healing. She healed the other shinobi and stood up.
"Now. Please leave. Stop bothering the villagers and, hurting them. They do not deserve to be treated that way." she demanded. They looked at her and then to Itachi. They nodded their heads and walked away slowly. Reioki watched them as they walked away, one helping the other walk. She sighed. Itachi walked up to her.
"Let's go." He told her. She looked up at him and then started to walk as she looked forward.
"Thank you for what you did back there." she told him.
"That's my job." He told her. She stopped and looked at him.
"No. I meant about letting me heal the others." She said. He stopped walking and turned to look at her.
"Well, that did surprise me. They attacked those people and tried to attack us. Why did you heal them?" he asked. She continued to look at him.
"Like I said before. Every life is precious. I do not believe in hurting people. I believe that through kindness and caring, that everyone deserves a chance. I do not know... maybe if a kind deed is done to them, then maybe they will return it someday. That there is kindness in the world." She answered. Itachi started to walk again. Reioki walked next to him.
"You are definitely not what I expected you to be like." He told her. She looked at him with a puzzled look on her face while they walked.
"Is that a bad thing?" she asked. He gave a smirk.
"No." he answered. She looked forward as they walked.
"But, you need to watch what you are doing. You put your life in danger by not looking at the situation. You let emotions run you and didn't care if you got hurt or not. You're no good to anyone if you're taken out." he told her. She cocked her head to the side and, thought about what he said.
"Your right. I am sorry. I did not see it that way. I just needed to help them and was not thinking of the situation." She told him as she looked to the ground. He looked towards her.
"I am saying this, so you don't make the same mistake the next time something like this should happen, especially if I'm not around. I don't want to see anything happen to you. You're a good person." He told her. Reioki looked up at him as he spoke. She gave him a smile.
"Thank you for the advice. I appreciate it." She told him. He smiled as he looked forward.
Reioki smiled at remembering this. Then she felt a sadness come over her. Itachi, why did you leave me? She thought to herself. Reioki got up and walked to the kitchenette and, got her self a cup of water. She grabbed an apple and began to eat it. She shook her head a little as she thought.
Stop it Reioki! You are starting new. It does not matter anymore. It was not meant to be. I cannot be thinking like that. She thought to herself. She walked over to the window and looked out. Mom, I wish you were here. I miss you. She thought as she took her finger and pressed it against the window. Reioki looked to the sky and saw the stars as a tear fell from her eye. She wiped it away and walked back to her bed. She grabbed her book and started to read until she fell asleep.