SIX

When consciousness first came to her, instinct told her to open her eyes, when she realized she was no longer in the forest, the first thought that came was that someone must've found her. Then goes the question: Where is she? Because judging by the concrete ceiling, she probably was brought inside a building. And judging by her sense of touch, she was probably in bed. If she was in some kind of room, what kind of person would place a curtain beside the bed when the window's on the other side?

Slowly she got up to a sitting position, realizing that she had bondages wrapped around her torso. When she felt for her face, she found that she had a small scar from under the left side of her lips. It would probably heal on its own and in time, she'd probably forget where the scar was located.

Suddenly the curtains on her left side flew open, revealing a woman dressed in white, who looked like she was a nurse.

"Oh! You're awake. That's good," said the nurse.

So, she was in a hospital.

"You were badly wounded and lost a lot of blood, but Bee-sama managed to get you here just in time, lucky for you we had plenty of reserves that are of your blood-type," the nurse further explained. "How are you feeling?"

She blinked. "Uh, I…I'm fine." She must be in a one of those hidden villages, a ninja village. "Where am I?" she finally asked.

"In the hospital, of course," answered the nurse with a smile.

There was a slight irritancy in her voice when she spoke again. "Yes, but, where?"

The nurse gave her a look. "Don't you know which country you're in?"

A frown appeared on her brows. "The Land of Lightning?" she said tentatively. The nurse nodded.

"And I suppose you know what hidden village is located in the Land of Lightning, yes?"

Again she blinked. "I am…in Kumogakure village?" And again the nurse nodded, still having that smile on her face.

Turning away from the nurse, she looked out towards the window, only to be welcomed by a blue structure seemingly built onto the side of a hill.

Hidden in the clouds, she thought to herself.

A was staring blankly down his desk after Bee was finished with his report about the intruder who managed to infiltrate into the village.

"And my wife said that the target was her?" asked A for confirmation from his brother.

"I've had Omoi confirmed it, he said it did look that way," replied Bee. "I've asked the others too and it's all the same what they say."

A frowned even more, to him this was something done out of being reckless rather than being restless. But what troubled him was the fact that missing-nins were being involved. It could be possible that the smaller villages were resorting to hiring missing-nins. On the other hand, it could be that even these rogues find this peace between the shinobi a bit of a problem for them. Then again most missing-nins just wanted to be left alone and live their lives without any allegiances to any hidden village, they who had, at some point, got tired of the old ninja system.

But that was something to think about for some other time, what A had to worry about was the fact that there was an attempt on the life of his young wife. Also, there was that woman Bee and Arashi found in the forest. The woman surely has a lot of questions needed answering to.

The Raikage looked up to his younger brother. "What about the woman you found in the forest?"

"In the hospital," Bee jerked his head while pointing his thumb to the same direction, as though the hospital was just nearby. "She's being treated there right now."

The woman was definitely a stranger in Kumogakure, but it wasn't a question of what a stranger was doing within the borders of the village, but a question of what is a wounded stranger doing there in the first place? She didn't seem like a rogue ninja, or isn't she? All these questions, all at once, but what A wanted to ensure for now was the safety of his young bride. If this stranger ever so much as gives him a reason to think that she would be a danger to Arashi's life, then she's got another thing coming to her.

"Where's Arashi now?"

"She's where she always is: at home, waiting for you."

A's eyes shifted towards the only clock in the office. It was 5:30 already. He figured that it was about time to go home but he decided to finish up his paperwork and told Bee to go rest for the day.

By the time A left the Raikage tower, the sun had already set and the first few night stars were already starting to appear, as he wondered what his young bride was up to. By the time he reached his house, he figured it was probably at least a quarter to six. He knocked three times on the door to make his presence known before turning the knob and entering the house, he made sure to remove and leave his standard shinobi sandals.

"I'm home!" he announced as he went through the living room, hearing movement coming from the kitchen. Within seconds he heard footfalls which ended the moment Arashi appeared in view.

"Oh, welcome home, A-sama!" she greeted cheerfully. "I was in the kitchen preparing dinner. It won't take too long, and I've already set the table. Are you hungry?"

After Arashi had finished talking only then had she noticed the look on her husband's face. "Uh… A-sama? Is something the matter?"

Slowly, the Raikage's lips curled into a soft smile. It was a small one, kind and unexpected, but it was enough to catch Arashi off guard, and perhaps even make her heart skip a bit.

"No, nothing," he said. "It's just that, this is the first time I heard you call me by my name."

It was a simple thing to say, but it managed to cause Arashi blush with a pinkish-red on her cheeks. "I-It's just a small thing, A-sama, besides you insisted that I should start calling you by your name."

"Yes, I remember. Well then, what's for dinner?"

He might get use to this.

That thought came out of nowhere, but A didn't feel as if he'd like to take it back.

Eating dinner which a young wife cooked for you wasn't a bad thing, now that the night of the consummation was long over, but he tried not ever thinking back to that particular memory. So far their life together has been going fine, except perhaps when night comes, when they would have to go to sleep.

It would be hours later before they find themselves alone in their bedroom. They were at their usual arrangement – Arashi has the bed all to herself while A sleeps on the futon at the foot of the bed. Both of them knew that, eventually, they would have to share the bed, though they don't actually talk about it. But they weren't in a hurry, they knew, at least in a mutual level, that they could take it one step at a time. For now, as a husband, A knows that his first duty at a time like this was to keep Arashi safe.

One at a time, tomorrow…

For some reason, Bee didn't find spending some time with his new sister-in-law boring. In fact he'd call it, a bit interesting. But no one ever told him that spending time with her meant carrying all the bags for her.

Arashi said she needed to buy some food to put in the fridge that would last for at least the next four to five days. Bee was doing the border patrol, as per usual, when his brother called for him and asked to accompany the Raikage's young wife around the village. Bee knew his sister-in-law intended to do some groceries, but he never would have expected it to be this much. The groceries consisted mostly of some fruits and vegetables, along with pork and chicken, along with two boxes of milk and butter. They ended up buying pastry at a bakeshop before eventually heading home with Arashi eating away on a cupcake. She offered him one but he refused, all he wanted for now was to get home and set aside all the groceries he was carrying. The two of them had been walking in silence by then.

"Ara-chan," he murmured her name all of a sudden, breaking the silence. "You still ain't familiar with the village streets?"

Bee can't remember a time that Arashi wasn't escorted by someone when walking the streets of Kumo since she arrived. But since she had been here for quite a time, he thought that she could at least be just fine to be left alone on her own when she's out and about. He was also sure that his older brother had thought the same at some point.

"Well, there's still a lot of places here in the village that I haven't been to yet, but I'm quite familiar with the streets where the stores we went to are found," she replied quickly. "Omoi-san took me there."

She looked up to him. "Why do you ask, Bee-san?"

"Sooner or later, Ara-chan, you would have to walk the streets on your own. You know that, right?"

When she looked away, there was no mistaking the touch of sadness in her smile.

"I know, but I just can't help but want to have someone around when I'm outside the house and walking the streets." Though her smile widened by the corners the sadness was still there, and Bee doesn't need to make a fist bump with her to know that he wasn't just imagining things.

"I guess you could say that I don't want to feel like the woman we found in the forest."

"Hmm..?" Bee cocked his head slightly to one side. "What do you mean, like the woman?"

Her grip on the plastic bags carrying the assorted pastry she bought tightened a little, before it relaxed again. "She will feel that she doesn't belong here because she's not from here at all. I've been living here for quite some time now, but I know that the feeling is still there and that it would grow stronger when I walk out of the house. That's why I'd like to have someone walk with me when I'm outside. So that I won't feel like I don't belong."

He watched her carefully, thankful for a moment that his eyes were hidden behind his shades, which prevents people from reading the emotions, and possible meaning behind his eyes.

With her free hand she reached out for his wrist, held on to it softly with a sweating palm. He welcomed it, the touch and the emotion accompanied with it.

"Bee-san, I still feel like a stranger in the village."

Gyūki, the Eight Tails, was saying some things that Bee wasn't exactly listening to when he had decided on something – he is going to have a talk with his brother.

Kumogakure Village Hospital…

The room grew quiet, and had stay that way since the interrogating shinobi's left. Chitose was left sitting on her bed, staring at the only window in the room. She was still that way even as the nurse entered the room and asked her if she wanted anything.

"Perhaps a glass of water would do," she said.

The nurse nodded. "Is there anything else you'd like?"

She looked straight into the eyes of the nurse. "I am being detained here, am I not?"

The nurse's smile faded, sighed then replied. "Raikage-sama doesn't want you out of the village anytime soon, I'm afraid."

Again, Chitose looked out to the window. "I see."

She had just had her breakfast when three Kumo-nins came in and started questioning her. Chitose had no reason to lie to them so she answered their questions without much hesitation, and answered them truthfully. She has no future plans as of yet, nor does she know where to go if she does get out of the country, but neither does she care. So whether the Raikage lets her leave in peace or keep her in the village as a prisoner, or whether she would be executed for some reason, she doesn't feel like running. She had lost a lot of reason in life, and whether she would be given a chance to start over again or not, as of now, it didn't seem to matter anymore.

The nurse left the room as quiet as she could, that she even tried shutting the door in the same manner. Chitose couldn't care much if the nurse did the opposite.

Later that day the Raikage ordered two groups of chunin level shinobi to Kirigakure and to the Land of Iron.