Lee's POV

After we took Moriko-san's things to her apartment and put everything away, neatly, we had to practically drag her away from the building to lunch. Tenten-san told us what kinds of food Moriko-san liked because she was ignoring us, and we ended up going to a barbeque restaurant, where we ran into Asuma-sensei's team.
Tenten-san introduced Moriko-san to Asuma-sensei, Ino-san, Shikamaru-kun and Chouji-kun. They did not seem to care much. Asuma-sensei was too busy watching Chouji-kun who was scarfing down a plate of BBQ Ribs and trying to ensure his student did not choke. Ino-san and Shikamaru-kun sat on either side of Chouji-kun looking bored, having already finished their own food.
We sat down and ordered our lunch. Tenten-san and Moriko-san on one side, Me and Gai-sensei on the other. Moriko-san requested the cheapest meal available and seemed to pick at it most of the time. Whenever she noticed anyone watching, she would eat normally and ended up clearing her plate. I realized that she was thankful for our help, but did not like people to spend money on her. At first I had assumed she did not like me or Gai-sensei. After that, I thought she resented our charity. But after seeing her smile when I gave her the book I had bought her, and the warm look in her green eyes when she looked at the rat (Which she had named Sachi, according to the paper she placed on the tank.)... I learned the truth.
Suddenly while we were finishing our lunch, Tenten-san stood up, her eyes on the wall clock. We stared at her for a moment, before she edged out of the booth, leaving Moriko-san alone on the side opposite me and Sensei.
"Oh... I'm so sorry, Mori-chan... I completely forgot. Gai-sensei there's a new shipment." She said turning her apologetic gaze from Moriko-san up to Gai-sensei.
"Ah! You are right, Tenten-kun, it should be in any time now. I suppose you'll need me with you, then?" He asked. She nodded but all Moriko-san could do was stare at her friend. Tenten-san leaned back down and hugged her friend.
"I'm sorry. I should have remembered, but I hadn't counted on all the extra help or lunch." She explained. Moriko-san pat her back to show that she was not angry and waved her hand in a gesture that clearly said 'Go on, don't worry.' Tenten-san turned to me as Gai-sensei stood as well. "Lee, you'll take Mori-chan home, right?" She asked. I nodded with a smile.
"Of course, do not worry, Tenten-san." I assured her and they left, leaving me their share of the money to pay for lunch. As soon as the two had left Moriko-san began writing on the paper Tenten-san had given her this morning and handed it to me. She had written a note in mildly sloppy print.

You don't need to worry about taking me home. I'm sure you have things to do today, and I don't want to trouble you.

I stared at her for a moment after reading her message, puzzled. More things clicked into place, Just from reading the message I knew more about her. This was why she was so against accepting money, she thought she was a burden on everyone. Like we saw her as someone we HAD to take care of. I smiled again and handed the paper back to her.
"It is no trouble Moriko-san. I would like to be your friend, as well. Why would I not walk you home?" I asked rhetorically. She froze for a second before dropping her gaze downward. She may have tried to hide it but I saw some semblance of a smile. When she brought her head back up, she bowed her thanks to me.
After that, I paid and we began our walk back to Moriko-san's apartment. She kept quiet the entire time... I mean... Of course she did, but she made no attempt to communicate with me the way she did with Tenten-san. She walked along slightly behind me, still not knowing the way around the village. She kept her hands clasped in front of her and she watched her feet as she walked. I am not exactly a shy person, but I realized I had been quiet most of the day. I guessed the reason for this was because I was unsure how to talk to her, she could not talk back. I had noticed Tenten-san speaking to her as she would speak to me but when Moriko-san would reply, she just made gestures and pointed at things. I did not understand her yet. But, I decided that if I was ever going to, I would have to try.
"Do you like Konoha, Moriko-san?" I asked her. She glanced up at me and nodded. I should have seen that coming, it was too simple to answer. I should not ask a yes or no question. "I am curious, why did you need to move to Konoha?" I asked. Her head snapped up and her eyes met mine again. I was shocked to see that her expression was filled with fear. By this time we had reached her apartment and she walked to the door before turning around to face me. "Maybe I should have not asked." I said quickly, afraid I had offended her. She withdrew her writing utensils from her pocket and began writing.

I guess it's fine, but even if I answered, you couldn't understand what I mean without me writing everything down.

I handed the paper back to her again with a smile, glad she was not offended as she appeared to have been. I did not want to witness Tenten-san's wrath, either
"Well, if we can be friends I better put some effort into understanding you the way Tenten-san does... Do you mind if I ask a personal question?" I asked with a smile. She eyed me with slight skepticism, but agreed to hear it. I took a deep breath, hoping she would not be upset by my question but the curiosity and my theories were getting to be too much. "Did you move to Konoha... Because something really bad happened at the home you lived at before?" I asked as my grin faded to a small frown.
She looked in my eyes with the same fear as before for a moment and did not move. I almost thought she stopped breathing until her head dropped and her face contorted. I was caught off guard and stood watching her for a second. She was crying! Quickly, I reached past her, opened her door and gently led her inside with my hand on her back. I did this for a few reasons...
1. So she could be more comfortable and hopefully calm down soon.
2. So she would not have to worry about others seeing her cry and...
3. ...I was a little ashamed of this reason, because it was for myself. My last reason for leading her inside was so that no one would see her- and think I had hurt her... Although in a way, I had.
"Moriko-san I am so sorry! I should not have asked, please do not cry. You do not have to tell me, I am sorry!" I gushed as I led her to an old love seat I recognized it as the piece of furniture Tenten-san had planned to give away. Tears were rolling down her face and her shoulders were shaking. She wrote me a message with shaking hands.

It's okay, don't worry about it... Something DID happen.

I pat her back in an attempt to make her feel better. I was feeling sick, how could I have asked her something like that? To make up for it, I promised myself to run 3,000 laps around the village before I went home. To make the sick knot in my stomach worst, she was comforting ME, telling ME it was okay.
"I am sorry, Moriko-san. I will not ask anything like that again!" I continued in apologizing, before I saw the next line she had written.

How could I have left my little sister in that bad situation. She must hate me by now...

I had no idea how to respond to this, but the first thought in my mind was to make it up to her... How about rescuing her sister?