Heh heh, I almost forgot the disclaimer again...sigh, the joys of old age. Hello people, I hope your week went well, if not, the weekend is here to take some of your troubles away. I want to thank all those who reviewed and favourited. Special shout out to Random.d0.0b, Tough chick, AkatsukiMemberShadow, NarutardKerry, Kakashi Forever, EmilyMichele01 and PepperMist. Thank you, all of you, who have reviewed and favourited. I appreciate every single one of them.

I do not own Naruto, I only own the characters I create.

After brushing my teeth and a quick shower, I made my way to the kitchen in search of breakfast. As I set foot in the room, I froze. The mess, made by a very irresponsible Uchiha, lay like an accusation on the floor. It was disgusting. Trying to ignore it I went to the fridge but the more I looked, the more I realised that the living room was a mess. All the dust and dirt that I had missed in the forgiving yellow lighting and darkened windows were almost painfully grotesque in the bright light of morning. I took a deep breath and turned deliberately away from the dusty tables and furniture. The fridge was a mess. The cupboards were a mess. The floor had been swept at some point but there were stains and messes that had dried unto the floor.

I found a box of sugary cereal in one of the cupboards and climbed up unto the counter to enjoy it. Since I couldn't find any glasses of cups, I filled a rinsed bowl with some delicious water to wash it down. By the time Konan joined me I was a little pissed.

'How can you guys live here and eat in a kitchen like this? Doesn't this,'I gestured to the room 'disgust you?'

To my surprise she smiled at me. 'You get used to it. We used to have a maid but someone murdered her. We decided not to replace her.'

My eyes widened 'Are you serious?'

She reached up into one of the higher cupboards and began rooting around 'Have you taken your pills as yet?'

'Uh...yeah. You're ignoring me, right?'

Pulling out a canister, she began hunting around in the lower cabinets.

'Ok, then. Do you guys even own a broom, or a mop? I can't eat in a place like this. I keep expecting to touch something sticky.'

Instead of answering, she opened the cabinet under the sink and pulled out a cobweb covered broom which she propped up against my leg.

Looking me in the eye she said 'I've done as much as I can to keep this place tidy but frankly I'm not good with domestic things even if I am a woman. I'm a ninja and have always been a ninja. You want to clean? Go right ahead but I can tell you this, no one will thank you for it and it'll be dirty again before the sun rises.' She turned and began filling a pot with water.

'I didn't mean any criticism, Konan-san. I know that you're busy and I would never expect you to clean just because you're a woman...what do I look like, a man?'

To my surprise, she actually smiled. It lit up her face.

I smiled back. 'I'll clean the living room today. It will give me something to do and keep me out of trouble. Hell, I could even cook, if you'll give me money for ingredients. I swear, I will not deliberately poison anyone.'

Her back was to me as she poured what could be oatmeal into the pot.

'I suppose you could and it's been ages since anyone actually cooked in this kitchen, so why not?' She turned to me wooden spoon held like a weapon. 'You're a smart girl, even if you don't act it, so some things should be obvious. If you try to escape, draw attention to yourself or contact anyone outside the village you will be killed. Don't even touch the tracker and I don't eat anything with tomatoes. Got it?'

'Right, got it.'

I'm not going to bore you with the details, I mean really, who wants to hear about cleaning and dusting for two and a half hours? No one, that's who. Sad thing was, it did take two and a half hours and while I would have liked to skip that part myself, my disgust and my words to Konan kept me at it. When the living room was spotless, surfaces as well as floor, I took a long hot shower and headed out. The village was oddly sunny this morning and the bright light on metal made my eyes water. It was hot too. I wished I had my sunglasses but they were probably on lab floor back in the old world.

I had decided to make a pilaf with chicken and peas but found that half of the ingredients I needed were not in the grocery store. After checking the third store, I finally got up the courage to ask the shop keeper for what I wanted. He literally laughed at me.

After visiting the butchers and the spice shop, I bought myself some sweets and sat outside watching the clouds gather over the village.

'Oh for the love of God, why does it always rain here?' I complained loudly.

'Well, it is the Village Hidden in the Rain, you know.'

Startled, I glanced over at the only other customer sitting outside. He had a mug of tea and looked exhausted. He also looked familiar.

'Hi, do I know you from somewhere?' I asked

He smiled, 'Well I should certainly hope so. You stole my jacket a few nights ago, didn't you?'

I smirked, so it was him. 'Yeah. Sorry about that. You can have it back if you want. I may even wash it.' I replied smoothly. My god, I was flirting, I could feel the blood heating my face.

'No need.' He said indicating another, newer jacket draped over the chair next to him. 'Can I join you?'

'Sure but we won't have much time, this rain looks like it may be down any minute.' I glanced up at the darkening sky.

'Nah, we're fine for at least another hour or so. The rain works as the God wills.'

I tried not to look sceptical. 'I see.'

He gazed up at the sky for a moment and I took the time to study him.

He was younger than I would have first estimated, twenty five at most. His eyes and expression were that of someone who had seen a lot and done things he wasn't necessarily proud of. He was about average height with light brown hair and hazel eyes. His clothes were drab and probably for camouflage. The only thing that made him different was the way he seemed to vibrate sincerity and good will. He was a walking complexity. It didn't hurt that he was completely gorgeous either. I liked him. Smiling my best smile, I held out my hand.

'Hi, my name is Erica, it's nice to meet you.'

'My name is Ikataka Sojiro, but you can call me Soji.' He replied. He made a point of noticing my shopping bags, though of course he must have seen them already, 'Grocery shopping?'

I explained about my errands and how I'd been up and down looking for the right spices.

'So you're not from around here, then?'

'Nope, I mean, no. I was...well, you know as well as I do, how I got here.'

'Hn.' He said frowning. He seemed at a loss for words before seeming to rally his thoughts. 'You're okay, then? I mean with Him.' He glanced toward Pein's tower.

Looking towards the tower myself, I contemplated my answer. 'Yeah, I am. I've worked something out with them. It's fine.' I smiled reassuringly at him. He looked sceptical at first and I laughed and he followed.

'They're not so bad as they seem, then? The others?' he asked

I smiled. 'I wouldn't go that far but I'm alive aren't I... Let's talk about something else, okay?'

He agreed and we spent the next forty five minutes talking about all manner of things from Ame's history to the unfortunate man who had tried to ask Konan out. Afterwards, he walked me back to the tower. It was on that walk that I learned a little about him.

He had been a ninja since he was nine years old and not because he was a prodigy or anything but because the constant wars had killed out much of the adult male population. Many women had been drafted into the academy as numbers had dwindled and it had left many, many children without either parent. When things had begun to get truly desperate for the village forces, their leader decided to make use of all of the orphans he had previously ignored. The brave ones fled, finding hidden ways out of the city. The others, like Soji, stayed and became unwilling members of the ninja academy. He had two sisters, both younger than he was and had been determined to earn some money and keep them out of the fighting if he could. His father had been killed fairly early in the fighting and his civilian mother had become a medic to support the family. She too had been killed not long before his eight birthday.

'So, what happened to your sisters?' I asked stopping in the middle of the street. It was dark now and the wind was hard and cold. 'If you don't mind my asking that is.'

'No, I don't mind.' His lips smiled but his eyes were cold. 'I came back from a mission to find that they had both been sent to the Academy. They were six at the time and they didn't adjust well. They died not long after.' His smile flickered and was gone. He turned to look at me very seriously. 'I left after that. I ran away. I was a missing nin, a mercenary, for six years till Pein sama took back the village. He offered immunity and a place to belong for many outcasts and renegades, especially in those early days. It's why so many of us wear these.' He gestured to his headband with the rain village symbol and slash across it. 'Many of us are traitors and runaways from Amegakure who've finally come home.' He looked up at the sky.

'I'm sorry, about your sisters, about everything.' He turned to look at me sharply.

'I didn't tell you for you to feel sorry for me. I wanted you to know that sometimes the meanest bastards have very good reasons for being that way and that those in power aren't always good people.'

'And why did you want me to know that?'

He smiled suddenly. 'Obviously, because you're currently staying with a group of very bad people. I can safely say that no one I know, and I know some tough people, would sleep within a mile of that lot.' He gestured to the tower. 'Even if Pein sama is their leader, they can give a guy the creeps you know, especially the one with the funny eyes.'

I laughed and patted him on the arm. 'There there.'

We parted ways not long after. I hate to say it but even though it was one of the strangest, most depressing conversations of my life, I was sad that it was over. It made me aware of just how lonely I was. At home, I had close friends and acquaintances, family by the truckload (including a very protective mother), I'd had a boyfriend and I'd had Sam. Added in there, somewhere, were the millions of friendly people in the world who never had and never threatened or tried to kill me.

As I put the bags on the kitchen counter, I felt homesickness like I had never experienced. Outside, the rain was drizzling and my sense of ease and contentment vanished.

I want to go home. I need to go home. I miss Sam. I thought

Rather than cry like the big baby that I was, I made lunch, ate and went into my room to think about all the things I had learned from Soji. I knew that there was no way I was ever leaving the Akatsuki alive. If I wanted to get home or at least find Sam, I needed to get the hell out of here. To get the hell out of here, what I needed was a plan.

Phew, another chapter out and done. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review, if you can.