Ino dabbed the wet rag on Kumo's face trying to wash the caked dirt and blood off of his face. They had stopped to rest a short while in a clearing to rest and try to nurse some of Kumo's wounds. Nenshō stood in a tree and tried to roll a cigarette. Ino finished cleaning the cuts on his face and rested her back against a tree staying close to Kumo laying his head on her lap. She looked at the warped golden ring Kumo had given her in that cold cell. She had slipped the band around a small string around her neck. "I guess this is what he meant by having more time." She said looking at the many facets of the purple stone; she imagined it had cost him a hefty sum to acquire.
Nenshō hopped down from his perch pressing his finger into the cigarette lighting it. "You don't seem very happy to be engaged." He commented kneeling down next to her.
She gave a little smile. "I haven't had much time to think about it considering the situation; it's somewhat difficult to think past what's already happening. We're not even sure if we can return to Konoha at this point." Nenshō held his hand out to Ino, silently asking to see the ring. She slipped the string over her head and handed the small piece of gold to him.
"I'll get you two back to Konoha" he promised closing his fist over the ring, "alive and well." He opened his palm and produced the ring no longer bent beyond wear. He had poured a small amount of his chakra into the gold and shifted it all back into place. Ino smiled and took the ring back and slipped it onto her left ring finger. "Thanks give me one thing to look forward too when I get home."
"And how are things at home?" he asked flicking the ash off his smoke. "Difficult" she answered, "things didn't exactly go back to normal when you left."
"What happened?" he asked curious how the lives of his left behind life went on.
"Hinata took control of her clan of course but it hardly solved all the problems for Kumo, everyone knows why you killed Hiashi Hyūga and not all the members of the Hyūga clan think Hinata should be leading them. Some think she made some sort of deal with you to kill her farther and take control. She's been targeted twelve times since you left and Kumo has been attacked a few times as well."
"Has Kumo been spoiling you like I told him too?" he asked.
"He's been trying" she answered running her fingers through Kumo's hair. He hadn't woken since they had left that dreadful prison she had given him a little sedative to help him sleep and it seemed to be taking great effect whatever kind of drugs they had in him seemed to make him even drowsier. "Kumo's been working a lot since you left it's one of the reasons he went on this mission in the first place, he needed the money."
Nenshō raised a red eyebrow. "You mentioned that before, when has money ever been an issue for Kumo?"
Ino looked away, "like I said things became complicated."
"You're not telling me something." He said not wanting her to avoid the question; something seemed to be lingering in the air since he had found Ino. "I don't think I'm the best person to explain this to you." She reasoned.
"Do you best." He said putting his cigarette out and pulling his pouch of tobacco and rolling papers out to roll another. Ino sighed knowing she couldn't avoid this particular topic any longer. "When you left" she began slowly, "Tenten became pregnant… the child was yours, her names Eri and Kumo's been helping to take care of her ever since. That's why money and time has been a problem since you left."
Nenshō dropped the tobacco and rolling paper at her words.
Nenshō walked through the forest in silence Ino following him close behind carrying Kumo on her back. The forest was no longer covered in snow as they moved into the Land of Earth only appearing as the occasional small patch as the elevation descended. "How far are we now?" she asked him trying her best to keep up with him and make good time. "Not much farther now" he answered her hand resting on his swords hilt. The current area was notorious for bandits and with Kumo in his current condition he wasn't taking chances. If his old friend was awake and active he could just scan miles around with his Byakugan every hour and have no worries. Even after all this time of being alone Nenshō still missed the luxury of having his friends keen eyes around to keep the area clear. Since he had left the Leaf village he had tried to pick up the only other life he had, he tried seeing about picking up where Zabuza had left off and entertained the idea of making a home in a newly controlled Mist Village like Zabuza had promised him and Kumo. It seemed to be as far away from him as the moon but he didn't let that stop him in the least. He had found a few of Zabuza's safe houses and gathered whatever gear and information he could. Most of what he found was outdated information pertaining to rouge shinobi that were either dedicated to his cause and dead by his hand or the hand of the mist village. The rest were dead or simply too unstable for him to trust let alone partner up with, his results so far were almost completely fruitless. He was thinking of trying to start mostly from scratch, but that was before he knew he had a daughter back in the home he had left behind. Ino had explained how Kumo and her had been helping Tenten watch over the kid and had been financing the two with everything from a new apartment to toys for Eri. It was now no mystery why Kumo was short on both time and money he had been paying for almost three whole people and working as both a farther and a shinobi simultaneously. Apparently Tenten's relationship with him didn't help much either since her loyalty was put under question soon after he had killed Hiashi Hyūga. Being romantically involved with a rouge shinobi and murderer didn't make things easy on her. She wasn't trusted on serious missions anymore and the ones she was managing to be given thanks to Tsunade didn't pay anything close to what she needed to stay afloat. As far as Ino made things sound Kumo and her were the ones keeping her from sinking Hinata and her other friends helped out how they could but the finances almost all fell upon Kumo, and he didn't seem to be sparing any expense when it came to Eri. He looked back at his unconscious friend and his broken body, everything that had happened to Kumo had been because of him. He took this mission because of the mounting debts his kid was costing him, and according to Itami he had been captured and tortured because these men were trying to locate him for some reason, whatever favor he had done Kumo by leaving Konoha behind it had only left more problems for him to pick up and look after. He clenched his fist and cursed himself.
"There" he pointed to a small little cottage down the road, "the woman who lives there her name's Kenkō she's the skilled herbalist I mentioned." Ino nodded to him and picked up her pace as they headed down the road just outside the village. She looked at the small garden just outside the house; already she was impressed eyeing the diverse collection of plants growing strong and healthy in spite of the elevation. To the causal eye most of these plants would seem only ornamental in nature but she knew better, each one of these plants although beautiful could serve a variety of medicinal uses, others were extremely poisonous.
Nenshō rapped his knuckles on the door, seconds later the latch turned and it cracked open. A tall elderly woman with long gray hair looked at them for a second before opening the door wide open spotting Nenshō before turning her gaze to Ino and the wounded Kumo on her back. She assumed it looked strange with her carrying a man larger than her on her back. Kenkō was a slim old woman though it was difficult for Ino to pinpoint just how young or old she was, despite her wrinkled skin and grey hair she didn't seem to be very worn by the passage of time. She looked Ino and Kumo up and down with her blue eyes and Ino felt something familiar about the old woman. "What can I do to help the young man?" she asked not even bothering to greet Nenshō.
"He's been badly hurt and some drug in his system is preventing my friend here from using her medical Jutsu on him."
Kenkō didn't say anything and stepped outside circling looking at Kumo up and down. "Is he in any immediate danger?" she asked sounding concerned when she saw the bruised body close up. Ino shook her head, "he's stable right now but he's too injured to stand and whatever's in his system it not going away it'll take months for him to heal at any normal rate."
The woman pulled a scalpel from her belt and took one of Kumo's hand cutting open and catching a half dozen drops of blood in a glass vial before bandaging the cut. "It'll take some time for me to analyze his blood. There's an inn in town let's get him in a bed where he can rest peacefully while I work." They nodded as Kenkō led them into the tiny village, the stares of recognition Nenshō received as they walked the streets. "Someone's popular." Commented Ino low enough so Kenkō wouldn't over here them. "They've seen me handle the bandits that pass through here, when you're on the road constantly like I am you don't last very long without any friends so I make them where I can."
Ino nodded in understanding as Kenkō opened the door of the towns inn holding it open for her and Kumo to pass through before closing it behind her and stepping up to the inn keeper. "We need one of your rooms for this wounded young man and his companions they'll need the best treatment, so anything these three need I'll pay for understood?"
The innkeeper nodded, "that can be a bit pricy considering we don't get many visitors on the road here." He explained, "You sure you want to pay all that?" Kenkō nodded "If I can't pay the bill I'll forget about that medicine you bought for me last winter, I'm sure that will cover any cost considering I've yet to see a single coin for saving your sisters life."
The innkeeper turned red and nodded his consent. "I'll show them to their rooms and have my wife cook something immediately."
"Good," said Kenkō in an almost threatening tone and turning to Ino, "take him to his room, I'll work on analyzing his blood and seeing about some kind of antidote so don't you worry."
"Um, Kenkō?" said Ino, "I'd like it if I could help you in your herbarie Kumo's my responsibility and I'd feel wrong if I didn't do everything I could to bring him to health faster."
Kenkō eyed her up and down and then smiled, "I think that might be best dear help him into a bed and take an hour to relax before coming to see me we'll get to work then."