Over the next few months, Rem started to become stronger. Her life became one of routine. Every morning, Rem woke up and stretched, and ate breakfast. She graduated from eating fruit and moved on to eating scrambled eggs in the morning. After breakfast, she came down stairs and opened her shop at nine a.m. sharp. At the shop, she sewed kimonos all morning and chatted with clients in the afternoon. Kakashi stopped by about twice a week in the afternoons. He was becoming some sort of a permanent fixture in the shop.

In the evenings, Guy always stopped by to train her, provided that he did not have a mission that took him out of town. Some days Lee would come and join them.

Rem was starting to tolerate the three ninja—they weren't as bad as other ninja and they were far better than the ninja who ruined her life. Most days were ok for her.

Most days were ok, but not all days. Wednesdays were always harrowing for Rem. That is when one of them showed showed up at her shop. The group sent a different ninja every week. Fortunately, the man in the white mask has not returned to her shop since the day he assaulted her two months ago. Sometimes she would get a letter from him, other times, she wouldn't.

Every Wednesday, Rem spent her morning filled with dread. What if Kakashi or Guy stopped in when one of the masked man's gang members were there? What if one of the gang members killed the children? What if they killed her? Anything could happen on Wednesdays.

Rem calculated the amount of drugs in her basement. If the masked man's gang members took a bag every week, in five years the drugs would be completely gone from her shop. In five years Rem would be free and the children would be out of danger and things could go back to the way they were.

That is still five years for things to go awry. Wednesdays were the days where she felt like the ground below her was going to cave in and swallow her whole. This is where Rem's strength training came in. Rem planned on giving the drugs to the masked man's gang for the whole five years, but if if the masked man or the gang members tried to harm the children or tried to harm her, she needed a backup plan.

When Guy arrived at Rem's shop, he never noticed how distraught she was. He always seemed so happy and energetic, prattling on about the power of youth. Sometimes he would tell Rem vague details about what happened on his missions or he'd talk about his students, Lee, Tenten, and Neji.

Eventually, Rem started to appreciate Guy—Lee and Kakashi as well, but mostly Guy. Guy was always patient with her; he never criticized her slow progress. Most importantly, he didn't ask any questions as to why she needed help. In an odd sort of way, these ninja were becoming her friends. She still was skeptical of other ninja, but she felt that she could somewhat trust these three.

As stressful as Rem's life was, she started to find some peace. She could do this for five years. She could do this. It would be all right.