Lee's POV

We finally reached our destination but Moriko-san did not lift her head from Gai-sensei's back. I wondered momentarily if she had fallen asleep. Tenten-san may have looked happier than I had ever seen her. I was extremely happy for her to have someone so close to her. For Tenten-san to care so much for someone, Moriko-san must be an amazing person. I did not know why she was so much against us buying her some things she would need. It was not her fault.

Tenten-san had told our team about Moriko-san having so little of what she would need but refused to answer when we asked if she had family, where she moved from, why she needed to move to Konoha or why she had so little with her. I could not help but to feel terrible for Moriko-san, but I had made a few theories about her situation.

Outside the shop, Gai-sensei stopped walking. Tenten-san and I stopped as well but Moriko-san remained limp.

"Gai-sensei, I think Moriko-san fell asleep, but her hair is hanging over her face, so-" I began but I stopped talking as she lifted her head and looked straight at me. She may not have been full on glaring at me, but her eyes were piercing and she certainly was not happy. I must have made her angry when I told her we were buying her lunch as well. In response to her deadly gaze, I could not help but to give her a little smile. "Nevermind, Sensei, she is awake."

"Ah! That's good!" He said and carefully stood Moriko-san on her feet. The moment her shoes met the ground, the green eyed girl looked around as if searching for an escape route. Tenten-san must have seen this too, because she was at Moriko-san's side and quickly took her friend's arm.

"Mori-chan... Please cheer up. Think of it this way. If our positions were switched, I know you would do the same for me at the very least, right?" She asked rhetorically. For a moment, Moriko-san refused to look at Tenten-san, but then her eyes softened and she gave a weak smile to my team mate. "See? So, you'll just have to deal with it." She said happily, releasing Moriko-san and walking jovially toward the shop.

"Okay! Come on, first we're getting Moriko-san's food, then we'll get her some clothes. After that, Tenten-kun will take Moriko-san to get a few other necessities while Lee and I will get her welcoming gifts!" Gai-sensei announced to the both of us enthusiastically. I gave Moriko-san a thumbs up, when she glanced at me but she looked horrified. Sensei interpreted the reason to her reaction differently than I did. "Don't worry, Moriko-san. Ten-chan told us a few of your interests to consider." He assured, she hung her head with the defeated look again and we entered the store.

Moriko's POV

I was mortified to say the least. Even in normal circumstances I couldn't stand people buying me so much. I was grateful of course, but I knew nothing about these people excluding Ten-chan and she had already given me far too much. Plus I had no idea how I could ever pay them back. We had already gotten all the food I could possibly want for over a month. It was embarrassing, I had to convey to Ten-chan that I needed something write with, so I could write out that there was too much food and I couldn't eat it before it goes bad. There was no job opening there and now, we were at the clothing store. And I wanted nothing more than to crawl under a rock and hide there.

"Mori-chan! This is cute, look at this jacket."

"Moriko-san! This dress would look adorable on you!"

"Moriko-san! Would you like this kind of shirt?"

They kept bringing me more and more articles of clothing, I couldn't check the price tags fast enough, I refused to agree unless they were very cheap. But soon, they caught on and I found a couple outfits in our cart that I hadn't agreed to and were well over the limit I had set myself.

Ten-chan knew my style best, picking out clothes that were like mine, ore seemed a little tom boyish. She brought many things I liked, but I had to turn them down. Sensei was by far the most energetic person I had ever met. He was practically leaping around the shop, pushing frilly dresses in my face. If I had accepted most of what he picked out, I would have looked like a giant blue haired doll. Lee-kun kept picking out outfits that were somewhere between Ten-chan and Sensei's styles. Some were laced shirts and skirts, some were t-shirts and jeans.

Part of my issue with doing this was that Sensei and Lee-kun apparently had no idea how odd it was to me. For men to pick out my clothes, at one point I felt like a mother who was shopping with 3 children who wanted everything in the store, so I had to refuse them.

Lee POV

Most of us had a lot of fun at the clothing store. We could not contain ourselves. Moriko-san looked a little stressed but a few times she also looked rather amused. The first time Gai-sensei brought Moriko-san a short green dress, which looked a little like the outfit she was wearing, I noticed her blush. Her emerald eyes dropped to the ground and she fidgeted with her sleeve as her cheeks flushed red while she nodded her approval. I could not help but to smile slightly at the sight.

Soon, Moriko-san had had enough, she motioned she was done to Tenten-san, but she would not agree. Finally, Moriko-san tried the childish tactic. I could not blame her, she had not gotten much of a say in anything all day. Plopping herself down against the wall, she crossed her arms and closed her eyes so she could not see any of our suggestions again. Eventually, Tenten-san promised not to buy anymore clothes. Moriko-san stood up again and quickly rushed us out of the store after paying. Tenten-san, then led Moriko-san away to another shop, still pouting.

"Ready, Lee?" Gai-sensei asked. I nodded enthusiastically. "Good, let's split up and we'll meet back here 10 minutes before we meet Tenten-kun with our gifts." He instructed.

"Yessir!" I agreed with a salute. He smiled warmly down at me, and I smiled back.

Moriko's POV

Finally, we were finished shopping. I didn't have to accept any more of their money. I sighed with relief before I remembered Lee-kun mentioning lunch. I was glad that Ten-chan had the compassion to have the guys do something else while she took me out for toiletries and other... feminine things. These people were so full of life, though... Somehow it made me exhausted. As if their enthusiasm was being sucked from me and poured into them. Even Ten-chan seemed excited about everything. I figured it was because most of the time I had spent with her had been outside the village, where she was most comfortable.

"Okay, Mori-chan. First your gifts and then we'll go to lunch." Ten-chan said and pointed ahead of us to where Sensei and Lee-kun stood. Sensei looked almost restless like a dog wagging his tail, unable to sit still. Lee-kun had his hands behind his back and a huge smile on his face. Such a pure smile was infectious and I dropped my gaze to the ground to hide my small smile. Ten-chan's team mate always seemed to be so happy and was even unphased by the cold stare I had given him when I was abducted by them. I had to admit it was... Kinda, cute.

Scared at this thought, I shook my head, quickly in a physical attempt to shake those thoughts out of my head. I couldn't think of Ten-chan's friend as 'cute' what if she had feelings for him? I couldn't risk angering Ten-chan if I ended up liking her team mate. Even if she didn't have feelings for him, what if she thought of him as a brother? I know how protective I was over my sister, I could never-

This was getting ridiculous. My thoughts had drifted to unsafe grounds. I couldn't think about my past life, and anyway, I was blowing this out of proportion. So what if I thought of Lee-kun's smile as cute? That was it, I still didn't know him, so I couldn't have feelings for him. I was reading into an insignificant thought far too much because of the busy day I had had. When I looked up again, Ten-chan and I were standing in front of the 2 males.

"You first, Lee!" Sensei called with a wide smile. Lee-kun's arms came from behind his back and held out a rectangular object. I realized it was a book. Not just a book but the newest installment of my favorite book series. My eyes got wide for a moment and I carefully took the book. Lee-kun's smile grew at my reaction. I bowed deeply a few times to show my thanks and hugged the book to my chest. Ten-chan laughed beside me.

"Tenten-san mentioned that your favorite hobby was reading, so I asked her what your favorite book was." Lee-kun explained. I bowed again and gave them a smile. I didn't realize that it was the first genuine smile I had shown them since I came to Konoha. They were all smiling back at me and I couldn't help but note a faint pink tinge on Lee-kun's cheeks.

"Good work, Lee!" Sensei said loudly, thumping his student on the back. "Next is my gift. Come with me." He said and we all carried the bags a short distance, trailing Sensei to another shop. My heart sank when he walked inside and motioned for us to follow. When I entered, though, I realized it was a pet shop. "Tenten-kun told us that you would be living on your own for the first time. I figured having to do something like that would be lonely at first and decided you should have a companion." Sensei announced with a sense of pride for himself. I looked around at the pets and back to my comrades. I wanted to say 'no' but I didn't want to seem ungrateful. And I DID really love animals.

With a sigh of resignation, I walked around the store. Fish... No. Too much trouble to keep them alive when all they do is look nice. Puppy... No. I was going to be looking for a job, I didn't have time to take care of and train a dog. Kitten... No. Still too much to take care of and prone to running away when they get the chance. Hamster... No. Not intelligent enough to be considered a real 'companion' at least in my eyes. Rat... Yes! A rat would be perfect. They did more than fish, frogs and turtles, were easy to take care of, basically potty trained themselves, could learn tricks but did not depend on learned behaviors. It was perfect.

As I made up my mind, I pointed to the albino rat in the glass tank. As Ten-chan and Lee-kun went to gather rodent food, bedding, water bottle and a cage to keep my new pet in, I was incredibly thankful that rodents were cheap. Sensei had an employee assist us in getting the rat and buying the supplies. Dumping the bags and supplies into the fish tank Lee-kun had picked to be my rat's new home, I tugged on Ten-chan's shirt and pointed to the employee. She stared at me for a moment before she understood what I wanted.

"Excuse us... Again. Are there any job openings here?" Ten-chan asked for me. The man nodded and tried to speak but Ten-chan cut him off. "My friend is mute, that won't be a problem will it?" She asked. The guy thought for a moment before responding.

"I'd have to ask the manager and he would have to meet with her... I'm not sure how that would work, what with customer service and all, but its a possibility. He finished. We nodded, thanked him and headed out.

"First, we'll take Moriko-san's things to her apartment and then to lunch!" Sensei yelled thrusting his fist into the air. Ten-chan chuckled beside me.