AN: Apologies for the delay, I got caught up with real life matters, and couldn't find the time to write much. Hope you enjoy, this is a chapter under Haruka's POV.

It has been a little more than a month now since we started living under the same roof as that guy. The five of us, Hikage, Homura, Yomi, Mirai and I, were rogue shinobis on the run. After killing our old master, we have been traveling, taking part time jobs here and there to earn some living expenses, while running away from eventual pursuers. We had to change locations for our headquarters quite a few times, and our latest had been discovered not too long ago.

But just a little later, our leader Homura came to us, saying she had found someone who can procure us a safe spot for us to stay for free, without even a rent. It was very suspicious, but when she said she coerced them by force, we got along with it. After reaching the so called location, it was merely a boarding house. The place was not luxurious by any means, and could be called decent at best. For a bit, it made more sense, but when she rang the bell, a man opened the door. At first glance, he was plain looking, a mister average, but with malnutrition problems.

He was apparently an author named Kureno, and quite the heavy shut-in. However, because we were on edge at all times, we couldn't trust such a person so easily. Despite his less than average looks and reserved attitude, he could be a shinobi in disguise who could share our information with other shinobis and sell us out. But that proved to be mere paranoia from us. After checking the entire building during our first night, there was no such thing as a hidden camera, microphone or anything. The only suspicious thing that needed to be checked was that guy, Kureno's laptop.

During the first night, Mirai went through all the data within that guy's laptop to see if there was any spyware or any compromising data, but this also proved to be fruitless. We were almost certain by now that this guy was an ordinary civilian who just allowed us to stay after being coerced to do so, but Mirai, who was the most paranoid of us all, shot the laptop of that guy, rendering it useless for good. That's when we realized our mistake.

We just basically ruined an innocent civilian's life indirectly, which was wrong in both moral code and the shinobi code. With his laptop as his sole way of making money now gone, he won't be able to make a living, and not only would he be kicked out of his home because of rent problems, he would lose his job (well partially) and we'll be kicked out as well. So we offered him some of our help, and he asked us suddenly to be his models, after a small bad phrasing that invites misunderstandings. He asked to base his story on his current daily life with us, but he also proposed for us to examine his documents too after Mirai insisted on our problems. We came to an agreement, and Kureno apparently managed to save his lifestyle, and even made it better thanks to this.

Living with him wasn't all too bad. We have modern furniture at our disposal, warm water, a shelter, and our daily life which had only the 5 of us became more lively. Moreover, I could see a small interesting development in our relationship with Kureno. It was noticeable that he was starting to get attracted towards Homura, and the feeling wasn't just one sided. Our leader was also starting to act more girlish, more like a girl of her age. It was very cute and interesting to watch them.

However, Kureno was a wimp. He couldn't even muster the courage to ask Homura for a date, so I tried to push him around a bit, trying to make some interesting situations, but it wasn't until we pushed him directly that he finally managed to ask Homura out for a date. But even this was a bit ruined…

"Homura, please go on a date with me!" (Kureno)

Homura just got out of the shower, and under our watch, we spectated how this would unfold. Homura started blushing, which was a good sign.

"Tha-that's a bit sudden, isn't it? After what happened also…" (Homura)

"Ah, maybe. But I just thought it would be good material for my novel, so I kinda thought…" (Kureno)

"Ah, so it's for the novel, isn't it? But I don't mind. Should we go this afternoon?" (Homura)

Internally, I wanted to make Kureno drink some of my products to make him more manly than he was right now, but what was done was done.

At the mall, I helped Homura choose a dress for her date. She was very energetic, and like a girl in love, she radiated happiness to a point where it made me want to pamper her even more. That's why we took quite a bit of time choosing clothes for her, and we got half an hour behind schedule. Kureno was waiting, in an outfit that was a bit more outstanding than his ordinary clothes. His hairstyle wasn't however top notch, and his clothes were still not very fit for a date in my eyes, but I could see that he did his best.

"Sorry, did we make you wait?" (Haruka)

"No, not really. Did something happen?" (Kureno)

"No, nothing at all. No worries. Then, I'll be going then. You two should enjoy your date." (Haruka)

Waving them goodbye, I take some distance, but quickly hide in order to spy on them. Moreover, it wasn't just me. Hikage tagged along, with Yumi and Mirai too. Well all wanted to see how this date would go, and we tailed them on with a safe distance. Previously, I even briefed Homura about the best route in a mall for a date. They went to various shops, including shopping for Kureno. He had a new hairstyle too, which made him look cooler, and to some cafés too. The date went perfectly well. They even managed to hold each other's hand without minding the surroundings.

That's when something happened.

"Hey, if it isn't Kureno." (?)

Turning around, some random guy called out to him, accompanied by a girl too. With an outfit made of various expensive marks, the lightly tanned and built guy with brown hair approached Homura and Kureno like they knew each other, also coming with the a black haired girl with a lightly provocative outfit. For some reason however, the girl avoided eye contact with them.

"…Yuuji-san, and Mayumi-san…" (Kureno)

And Kureno didn't seem very happy to see them too.