1"Uncle Hirtu!" Reyah wandered into the kitchen, holding her belly gingerly. "I'm going home soon. This baby is about ready to come out and my husband is going to want to see it when it does."

He smiled and put a wrinkled hand over the bulge in her tunic. "Yes, this is true. Listen, I know you better than anyone, and frankly a pregnant woman shouldn't be traveling alone. I don't care whether you want me or not, but I'm coming with you back to Sunagakure."

Reyah laughed, throwing her arms as far around his neck as her stomach would let them go. "Haha! Believe it! I wouldn't have it any other way."

He hefted his bad of medical tools onto the table, unpacking his favorite instruments and tools. "We can be ready to go by lunch time, I think. You go and get us some food to take with and I'll start the packing while you're out. If you think you'll be back later, then get us some ramen too."

Reyah nodded, putting a tight-fitting hat onto her head and heading out into the wind.

The people looked at her strangely, not recognizing her after all of the past years and the change of her actual appearance. For the first time Reyah was thankful that the ring had changed her. She stopped and ordered some dried fruit and vegetables, looking up at the looming mountains and floating clouds. She sighed, wondering if that mopey Shikamaru was right. Maybe it would be better to be a cloud just floating along in the sky. Never a care, just going where the wind blows you.

"Here you are miss."

Reyah turned with a start to see the older man holding out her bad of supplies. "Oh, uh . . . thank you!" She smiled and took the bad, blushing white a little bit. "Do you know where I could get some good traveling supplies? I haven't been here in a while and I'm a little bit lost."

He grinned and pointed down the street to his left. "Back that way is a whole array of some of the best food. If you look hard enough you'll find some good bread that won't crumble on a long journey, flasks that won't leak whatever's in them and other such like that."

Reyah grinned, recognizing the strange ways of talking and words that usually wouldn't belong in his speech. "Thanks. I'll make sure and remember that when I'm through there."

He laughed. "How long have you been away? You're dialect is as bad as any of ours."

"I--" she looked away. "A rather long time. Maybe seven or eight years. But I was alone for most of that time and I only really talked to myself. It's hard to explain to someone I don't know."

"Maybe I knew you once! What's your name?"

Her eyes flashed a wicked red for a split second, then dulled to black. "Reyah the Outcast." She hefted the bag and walked away from the shocked old man. Nobody would be able to hurt her anymore, and if they tried she would kill them.

"R--Reyah the Outcast? Wait! Come back here!"

She turned, eyes flashing an orange-purple color. "Shut up! I'm leaving, okay? So just leave me alone! I'll be out of this stupid village soon enough."

He watched her go, his mouth open slackly as Reyah went to finish the rest of the shopping.

"Did you get everything we needed, my little Reyah-shune?" Uncle Hirtu grinned and flipped Reyahs braid playfully.

She giggled and pulled it over her shoulder as she set her bunch of bags on the table. "Sure did! You all done with packing the things?"

He nodded, brushing his hands off on his pants. "Yeah, sure am! Let's get some lunch quickly and then we can head out. I know an old friend who serves some of the best ramen ever!"

Reyah nodded enthusiastically, hooking her arm in his. "Let's go! I want mountain goat and blue cheese!" She put her free hand over her stomach, wondering why the heck she was craving that combination of food so badly. Stupid pregnancy . . .

Her uncle merely laughed and picked up a change purse on the way out of the door.