Notes: Before we start, I would like to thank those who left a review to Written, you made my day guys! I am even more motivated to write. :)

Here is another chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 14

Kaoru patiently watched the other three leaving the small apartment before turning her attention back to Fuu who was still sitting next to her with a pensive air on her eyes. That morning, she had been the last to start her day, awaken by the noises of people going in and out of the small two-room. The door of the bedroom had been left ajar, and she had caught some curious visitors trying to glance over the gap; but soon enough Kaoru had entered the room and greeted her guest good-morning as she quickly closed the door behind her. She had helped Fuu putting away the futon and the blanket, asked her if she slept well, she had commented on how annoying Ari could be when he slept, then when the noises disappeared, Kaoru stopped in her movements, as if trying to assess the situation behind the wall. After a couple of seconds, she turned to Fuu with a smile, then left the room with the door wide open. Fuu carefully looked around, wondering what had been going on as the apartment was suddenly emptied from any human presence. She had settled on not giving it importance and headed to the bathroom. She was still a little dazzled from her almost sleepless night, but she had a feeling that something was off. When Fuu had come out of the bathroom, a small table was set in the middle of the room, and Takeshi was going back and forth, bringing food and cutlery. As he saw her, Takeshi had invited her to sit down and he told her lunch was almost ready. Ari, who was in the kitchen with his aunt, had run to her and circled her waist in the best way he could with his short arms. It was his own way to say he was happy to her finally awake. Then Sen came in and everyone sat around the table. Fuu couldn't shake off the shame of her sleeping in. She wasn't completely at her ease around them yet, although the events of the previous night could suggest all the opposite. Her whole life she had struggled to get attention and being appreciated and loved by those around her, then out of no-where, complete strangers welcomed her as if she had always been part of the family and this in less than a day. For as much as it made her happy, her subconsciousness found it very odd and was dreading that it was all a lie. Her hosts were chatting and eating as if nothing was the matter, so in order not to bring up any suspicion, she had decided on pushing the thought aside for later; but that was until she was left alone with Kaoru.

"Uh, girls need some privacy, don't you think?" Kaoru sighed, laying her back on the wall behind her. Fuu just smiled back. She was about to clear the table but Kaoru suddenly stood up and walked to the front-door that she started locking, making a loud noise with the turning set of keys. "You can take off the wig. You need to let your scalp breath a little. It's not good for the hair..." Fuu froze. These three sentences triggered something in her mid and string of questions surged. Did she know who she was? Did THEY know? Was a mandate against her already released in the Land of Earth? Was it even possible? Perhaps they worked as informants of Iwagakure, or other countries, or even some other organizations including the one that had been purchasing her just after the Chuunin Exam. But the woman didn't have any chakra, only vital energy; and the same was for the others. Could it be that even civilians were involved in this kind of activities? Or... They did put something in her meal so that she could be easily handle by a single person. If it really was the case, then the poison had yet to make effect because she didn't feel any strange reaction or feeling. Fuu decided to take some precautions and sneaked her hand on the knife next to the plate set in front of her and made it slip on her laps, never leaving her gaze from the other woman's back. Kaoru put the keys back on the cupboard next to the entrance, then walked to the kitchen, and kept talking. "Oh, leave everything on the table. The guys just didn't have time for the dessert. That's for the best! The cakes are all for... Miyu, are you alright? You look so pale." Kaoru went back to the kitchen set the plate of round shaped cakes and hurried towards the young girl. As she approached, Fuu found her fingers crisping around the knife. She was either in presence of the friend or a foe, but everything in her mind was still so confusing and contradictory, she felt drowning in a sea of utter doubt. "Oh my God, you're bleeding! What were you doing with that knife? Let me check your hands..."

"Don't move."

"What?..."

Kaoru stopped in her track, eyes wide open. Fuu was staring in front of her to avoid to cross eyes with the only other person present in the room. A part of her was begging for being right. She wouldn't be able to face her if it turned out they genuinely wanted to help her. The thought sent a shiver down the spine. She tightened the grip on the knife. The blade was penetrating the palm of her hand, but the burning sensation caused by the cut was the very thing that helped her focus and keep calm.

"For who do you work?" she snapped.

Kaoru knelt down as slowly as she could. "Listen, I think there has been some misunderstanding."

"Then explain", she made her best to use a distant tone, but her trembling voice betrayed the anger that tainted her words. She clenched her jaws at the thought. They were nothing for one another, but somehow the betrayal felt horribly painful.

"Takeshi... told me everything this morning. He told me how you saved them, and that you... that you are... a kunoichi." Koaru seemed to ponder each word coming out of her mouth. Her eyes were wet and Fuu didn't know if she could trust her words or if she was just playing a part. She chose to believe they were traitors, but deep down this dilemma was driving her crazy, and before she could interrupt her Kaoru continued: " He said that... Well, you were probably a rogue-nin... It is common knowledge that shinobis are not allowed to leave without the village permission, and even in that case, one should harbor the symbol of the village, but you don't so... that's why he assumed that... And we... we just want to make sure your identity stays a secret. He only told me and Sen so we could come up with some ideas about a fake background, so you won't look suspicious if anyone asks... I... I wanted to tell you everything around a cup of tea and t-the cakes, you know... I-I didn't think... Oh for God's sake, drop that knife!" Kaoru grabbed Fuu's bleeding hand and forced her rigid fingers to open and unleash the knife. Fuu didn't flinch, she stayed perfectly immobile while Kaoru hurried to stop the bleeding and medicate her hand. She was too focused on what she had just heard. It made sense. She had no reason to no trust her. then why, why had she done that? Why had she acted so stupidly once again? Her self-esteem crumbled in that instant – her miserable being was not even half as good as a piece of rubbish.

"I'm sorry..." these words came out in a low murmur. She wished she had the strength to say something more but she couldn't. If she could dig her own grave then bury herself, she wouldn't have hesitated.

"Shut up silly. Look, you're covered in blood" Kaoru had finished bandage the wound. Fuu could hear she was on verge of crying, and when she looked up she could see that Kaoru's hazelnut eyes only confirmed what her ears perceived. Fuu quickly lowered her gaze. It must have been a shock for her, she didn't want to see how much had she hurt her. Shame was already killing her from inside, digging in her flesh. Her head was going to explode if she didn't do something soon, and she longed to be beaten up and pay for her mistakes. When did she become so paranoid? Instead, she found herself pulled into a hug, just like the night before, but this time Kaoru hold her tighter in her arms and her head was resting on the crook of her neck. "You scared me," she mumbled in a suffocated sob. "Please promise me you'll never do that again..." she could feel Kaoru's body was shaking at each weep. She could feel the tears wetting her shirt, the perfume of her hair, her heat... It felt familiar. The feeling brought up a piece of a memory that had been erased by time and the early years of childhood, but she couldn't name it.

In that very instant, all the muscles of her body relaxed, and Fuu let her chin rest on Kaoru's shoulder and closed her eyes. She desperately wanted to return the hug, to tell her how sorry she was, that if she could go back in time and fix everything, she would have had; but her arms didn't move and a knot in her throat was choking all the words she wanted to speak, the only ones that merely escaped were "I'm so sorry" in the same low voice she had managed to pronounce them a couple of minutes ago. Kaoru didn't say anything in return, instead, she stroked gently her head and the two of them stayed like this for a moment.

Kaoru was the first to part. She looked at Fuu with upset look on her face. "This thing was a horrible idea, let's take it off already!" In a quick gesture, the young woman snatched the wig from Fuu head and threw it on the floor, she then tidied the light green hair roughly with her, then backed off and cupped Fuu's face in her hand to appreciate the result. "Yeah, much better. I'm going to heat the tea, because in the meantime it got cold. Because of you, of course. So you're going to clear the table as a punishment. Failure to comply will result in a another horrible punishment of my own choice, is that clear?" Fuu couldn't stay still in front of the fake serious face, and finally chuckled when Kaoru squinted her eyes. Seeing that she had been successful in her attempt to break the tension, Kaoru thumbed the teenager's cheek and playfully squeezed it, then stood up to go back to the kitchen. How could she blame her for acting this way? She had only heard rumors about the trainings and the kind of life shinobis would go through, but she was starting to think they weren't completely made up. Before entering, she took a look back at the dark-skinned girl. She was piling up the plates, her dark mood was replaced by a newly acquired determination and energy.

For Kaoru, she was a full member of her family, no matter what others would think of her.

"It's 150 ryos, please. Thank you!" A week passed since she had arrived in Arane. Both Takeshi and Kaoru opposed her idea to look for a job, and instead insisted on her working with Kaoru, "Here, workforce is always needed" they had told her. The Kamo tribe to which belonged Kaoru and Takeshi was specialized in fabrics. Their homeland was located between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, at the borders between the shinobi world and the non-shnobi world, and their fabrics had always been considered to be of the finest quality. The two last Great Shinobi Wars destroyed the country and impoverished the people. Whole generations fled the country and wandered around the rest of the shinobi world, looking for places were they could settle and start their life anew. The Land of Silk wasn't the only country concerned by the migration phenomenon, but because of their merchant culture and their precious traditional fabric, their diaspora weighed on some countries economy, so although they couldn't enjoy the same rights given to the rest of the citizens, their were treated with some respect.

Kaoru was in charge of the Monday and Friday markets in Arane. She had taught Fuu the composition of all the fabric they sold and their prices,as well as to what they could be used to. The rest of the time, she worked in a pop-up bar with one of her friend where they sold the typical Rojiamo, a spicy meat sandwich typical of the Land of Silk that became one of Arane favorite snacks. Kaoru had told her she had just arrived in time because her friend was in the last month of pregnancy and they would have needed to hire someone anyway – Kaoru would be on the furnace and Fuu would serve the customers.

It was Saturday afternoon. The streets were buzzing with people enjoying the last days of festivities before life would go back to normal. It hadn't been easy for her at first. Both the market and the pop-up bar were dived in chaos during peak hours, but the hardest part was to manage grumpy customers - "Tsk, that's ridiculous. It's too expensive!"; "The meat is cold!"; "I've been waiting for hours. Keep it, I don't buy!"; "Women should stay at home, not being on business." Fuu was on verge of breaking some bones if it wasn't for Kaoru. She had that sixth sense when those things happened and she would immediately intervene to calm things down. Fuu was in admiration at how hard they worked. The days would start at dawn and finish at around four in the afternoon in market days, and the pop-up bar would open in the evening, but they would work from 10:30 to late night. Lunch break was mandatory. In these two hours, all the neighboring workers would gather to eat together at Sasha's where table were sprawled around the square, and noodles or other delicacies were served at a cheap price. Every time, a different person would sit at their table, and they would talk about their day or talk about some gossip. There she also spotted Haru twice. She told her she found a organization that provided healthcare to the poorer. At the moment they couldn't pay her that much but she was really happy to be able to practice her profession. But the best part was when work was done. Takeshi and Ari would pass by around 11:00 and help them pack the tent, then they would all go back home together, where sometimes Sen would join them for a mid-night chat over a tea.

Her days were so charged that she happened to forget she couldn't stay there forever. She knew that those who were chasing her down sooner or later would know about her whereabouts, if it wasn't Takigakure or Iwa, it would be that strange organization. Nights were the only moment she would go over these issues. She hadn't been able to re-establish the communication with Chomei, but from time to time, she would feel a prickling sensation on the tip of her fingers, then a stream of chakra would flow around her arm. It was his own way to say he was there. This was all she needed to regain confidence in herself. She wouldn't run away all her life, that was out of question. She would find a way to fix her mess and that twisted world she was living in. Even if that meant to overturn the established order that was ruling the world.

A hooded man walked to the southern gates of Arane. A group of three other hooded figures and two policemen who were standing in the shadow of a tree looked in his direction. We the man arrived, he took a folded piece of paper from his right pocket and handed it to the tallest of the three masked men standing before him. "The Daimyo of the Land of Earth and the city of Arane will make sure to return you the favor." The man snorted in response. he was selling information about his kin, he wouldn't do it if he wasn't certain that he would get what he wanted in return. "The name and location are written on the paper. When are you planning to raid?"

"Tomorrow at 2:00 pm. Be ready to leave at that moment."

Other Notes:

Roujiamo is an actual dish. It's THE TRADITIONAL HAMBURGER of the city of Xi'an, in China. It's entirely home-made and you can't pass by Xi'an without having a bite of Roujiamo (mandatory).

This chapter was meant to be longer, but I preferred making a second chapter instead as it is going to be a turning point in the story. The next weeks are going to be busy, but I will try my best to upload it as soon as possible.

I wish you a wonderful day. Love you!