~Sasori's P.O.V.~
It took three days, but we finally made it to a random village. From the fact that no one was running and screaming in terror, I was safe to assume nobody knew who I was. While glancing around, I noticed a stand that sold fruits and looked down at Umeko.
"You hungry?" I asked her and she looked up at me with a grin.
"A little bit," Umeko answered.
"Which fruit would you like?" I asked gesturing to the stand.
"An apple please," she said kindly.
I walked over to the stand and got the attention of the old woman sitting behind the stand.
"How can I help you dear?" the old lady asked with a bright smile. She looked down, noticing Umeko and smiled brighter.
Oh, and is this little one yours?" she asked gesturing to Umeko.
"Yes, she's my daughter," I lied giving Umeko a look that said 'just go with it'.
"Yep, he's my papa," Umeko said reaching up for my hand. I grabbed it to keep the lie looking convincing.
"Oh, how sweet. What can I get you two?" she asked.
"Two apples please," I said trying to seam like a good father.
"No problem," she said grabbing two large, ripe, red apples.
"Thank you," Umeko said cutely as i handed her her apple.
"How much do I owe you?" I asked reaching into my pocket for money.
"Nothing at all. You two have a nice day now," the old lady said.
"As you like. Come along Umeko," I said grabbing her hand again and pulling her along.
"How come you tell nice lady I your daughter?" Umeko asked quietly as she munched away on her apple.
"Because your mother's dead, we don't know who your father is, you don't have any other family that you know of, and we don't want someone to take you away from me because they think I kidnapped you or something so just play along," I said back just as quietly while munching on my own apple too.
"We just passing through?" Umeko asked looking up at me.
"Nope. we'll stay put for a few days, besides, you look tiered. I'm pretty sure you could do with a hot bath and a nice warm bed," I said looking around for a hotel that looked at least somewhat kid appropriate.
"Hey, what about that one papa?" Umeko asked pointing at a humble looking hotel.
"Perfect," I said as we started walking towards it.
When we got inside I noticed a man in his late 40's sitting behind the reception desk. He glanced up when we came closer.
"How can I help you?" he asked and I took a step forward.
"I'd like one room with two beds," I said pulling out some money.
"How long are you staying?" the man asked.
About 5 days," I said. The man gave me a key and a price. I paid him and grabbed Umeko's hand to lead her to our room.
Once we were in our room and the door was locked, I let go of Umeko's hand.
"Go take a bath and get cleaned up alright," I said and she nodded.
"Are we still playing pretend?" Umeko asked and I simply nodded. Best to keep the charade going in case anyone gets suspicious.
I still can't figure out why I care about this girl's well-being. This is totally out of my character for me but for some reason, I just can't help it. I wonder if it's guilt for leaving my grandmother all alone without a word. Nevertheless, I probably should get more info out of this girl.
After about 15 minutes, Umeko came out the bathroom with a large, over-sized towel wrapped around her, making it look like a dress.
"Tell me about your clan, if you know anything about it," I told her as I summoned some clothes to let her wear.
"Thank you papa. Well, mama says that our clan revolves around nature. We are supposed to be more in-tune with nature tan any other clan. She also said that each person in the clan has the ability to fully control one element fully though I don't know which element I'll be able to control," she said while getting dressed. I rose an eyebrow. I wonder why I've never heard of this clan before now.
"What was your mother's element?" I questioned turning around to look at her. This ought to give me a basic idea on what Umeko's should be.
"My mama's element was water," Umeko said with a smile.
"Shouldn't that mean that your element should also be water?" I asked slightly confused. It should be obvious.
"No, because I don't know what element my papa was and mama never told me," she said and I nodded letting it sink in.
"So basically, your element could be anything depending on what your father was?" I asked and she nodded.
"Interesting," I muttered to myself.