Serena- Hey ya'll! 101 reviews? YAY! Anyways, I'm not going to make anymore excuses as to why I'm not reviewing as often as I used to, but just know that I'm one page into the second to last chapter of this story! YAY!

Disclaimer- I own nothing except my Original Characters, but even then- they have a mind of their own.

A/N- This chapter is especially long because of all the spaces, so yeah, just didn't want you to get your hopes too high…. :-)

Boundless

By: Serena

Chapter 20 (somewhere along the line, I messed up with the chapter numbering…. Oops…)

Memories That Plague The Mind

October 28th

"It's Sasuke." I felt my breath catch in my lungs and I took a step back out of pure shock. At first my mind raged with anger for all the hurt he had caused me through out those two and half years- and then it was gone. Instead, it was replaced my the overwhelming need to see him again- to ask him the things that had haunted my mind for so long.

With the next step I took back, I was out of reach of Tenten. I turned to run- run anywhere as long as I was closer to Sasuke- but she grabbed my arm. "You can't leave now! Naruto went to intercept the ANBU and Sakura has gone to plead with Tsunade-sama! You have to stay and play things by ear!"

I yanked my arm from her iron grip. Sasuke was back and she was telling me to "stay and play things by ear"? Without hesitation I twisted around and sprinted through the gate, into the various alleyways of Konoha. Tenten's shouts reached my ears, but I ignored them, too intent on my goal.

"Grandpa,"

"Yes, Rui-darlings?"

"What's death? - I mean, I know what it is, but what happens?"

"Darling, nothing is as unknown to us mere mortals as death."

"Grandpa."

"Yes Rui-darling?"

"I never want you to die…"

"Darling, that isn't going to happen for a very long time…"

He was my inspiration through the years, he was my best friend, he was the father I never had and he died five years later when a brutal raider gutted him like a fish.

"Rui!"

"Yes, Momma?"

"Go pick some leeks from the garden, Grandpa needs them for whatever he's cooking…"

"Yes Momma."

"Oh- and Rui?"

"Yes, Momma?"

"Try to be a bit more social. That shell you're always wearing is gonna get you no where in life."

"Yes Momma."

She was always bothering me about my timidness, but I still loved her. She died three years later when a raider chopped her head clear off her shoulders.

"Oh, Rui! You're so silly! Plants can't be your friends! Silly!"

"Please stop, Kiri…"

"Please stop what?"

"Making fun of me."

"I'm not making fun of you…"

"I don't like it when you call me 'silly'."

"Silly Rui, it's my nickname for you!"

"I have a name…and I like that name… please call me that."

"Who would be want to be called weak?"

"Um…"

"That's why papa left, ya know?"

"No he didn't…"

"Yes he did! Momma told me so!"

Momma and her were always close. Grandpa said it was because they were so much alike… She called me 'silly' until the day she went missing.

"Grandpa?"

"Yes, Rui-darling?"

"Why did daddy leave?"

"Because you were too good for him, darling."

"Kiri said it was because I was weak…"

"That girl is so spoiled and disrespectful…Don't listen to a word she says."

"So he didn't leave because I was weak?"

"Of course not, darling, of course not…"

He lied straight to my face, but I didn't care. His heart was in the right place.

"You can't be serious…"

"Of course I'm serious, silly! No sister of mine is going to be anti-social! Besides… momma said I had to…"

"She did?"

"Nevermind! Heehee… C'mon! We need to get there before all the cute boys leave!"

That was the day she took me to the town square- the day I embarrassed her by passing out. That was her first and last attempt to bond with me.

"Kiri? Are you… crying?"

"Go away, you stupid tree-hugger!"

I had no idea why she was upset at that point in time… and then-

"Grandpa, why is Kiri crying?"

"The boy she likes doesn't like her back."

"Oh… well that's stupid."

"What's stupid about it?"

"Boy's are stupid. So caring about them is stupid."

"Oh, darling, one day you're gonna find a young man that you'll love more than anything and there won't be anything stupid about it."

I didn't know for a long time the full depth of what he said. And by the time I did, he was gone- so I never got the chance to tell him that he was right.

"Kiri…are you…bleeding?"

"No, it's not my blood…"

"Then whose is it?"

"Oh my gosh, Rui! You really are stupid aren't you? It's momma's and grandpa's! They're dead, Rui! Dead

She and I had been at our neighboring villages market, buying momma presents for her birthday. When we had returned, everything was blazing. I had done the only thing I knew how to do- going into Shatto Umou. Kiri left my unconscious body to search the village.

"Rui?"

"Yes, Kiri?"

"What are we going to do now?"

"I don't know, Kiri… I just- don't know…"

We ended up going back to the neighboring village in hopes of building a new life.

"Where is she?"

"I'm really not in the mood to tell you…"

"Please, I beseech you- where is my sister?"

"Only I know… and the only way I will tell you is if you do a small favor for me-"

"What is it? I'll do anything!"

"Come work for me and eventually I'll tell you where your beloved sister is."

"Why? Why are you doing this?"

"I needed Ureshii, but seeing as he's dead, I'll just have to settle for you."

He never told me. And yet… I knew in my heart that he never would.

So much had happened, so much had changed. It was like I was a different person from a different time and a different place. So many people had come and gone, yet each made a lasting impression on my heart.

A warmth spread from hollowed heart, reaching my limbs and yet going further. A new, strange buzzing sound echoed through my temples, and my swiftness only increased. For the first time since birth, I felt calm and excited, fearless and anxious all at the same marvelous time. And then, I finally realized what this feeling was.

I am Meisatsu Rui, and I am strong.