Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does.
A/N: Thanks a lot to you guys who have read, reviewed, or tried to follow up since my last update. It's been three years. Crazy enough, I've written a bit since then, but never posted because I wanted to have more to show you guys. I think I'll go with the flow now, and see how many are still interested. Sorry, if any of you guys have been wanting an update for so long! Here it is! Questions, comments, and critiques welcomed!

Come afternoon the next day, Sasuke and Emiko made it back to the village they had traversed through before going to Kirigakure.

They went back to the tofu shop where they had met the two children. Aoi and Kuro greeted them at the door with cheer. "The ninja neesan is back, and the niisan!" Aoi squealed. "You guys must not see ninja a lot, hm?" Emiko asked, kneeling down and ruffling their hair.

"Sometimes." The boy answered. "But, we always think they're the best. We wish we were born in a ninja village."

Emiko laughed and looked back at Sasuke who had made no comment. Emiko nodded over at Sasuke and said, "Don't mind him. He thinks he's a cool ninja so he's not gonna have much fun with you guys."

The kids laughed. Emiko got to her point. "Do you mind if we eat breakfast here? We're tired and starving from the trip we had." She said.

The kids nodded their heads, and the little girl took off into the shop. Kuro pulled them inside and sat them at a table where he served them some Miso soup, with bowls stacked up on a tray. There was enough for five people. "Itadakimasu." They chimed, in a broken unison before digging in. Emiko ate like it was her last day eating. Sasuke and Kuro stared at her intently, but not without casually finishing their food as well.

"You must starve your girlfriend nii-san." Kuro remarked. "Hardly. She's the type that will throw food on the ground when you offer it to her. By the way, will you cut it with the girlfriend talk? I never called her that."

Emiko sighed, knowing she would be held accountable for her actions. Sasuke was doing well holding in his pain, and not letting it show, except for the occasional grunt if he had to twist too much. He rarely grimaced through, and Emiko was impressed. She wasn't doing as good of a job, sighing and complaining that she was tired and ready to relax.

"Are you turning into Karin?" Sasuke questioned. Emiko scoffed at his snide question. "No, should I?" She asked. "That's your choice. You have been around her a bit more lately." He said.

The little girl came bounding down the flight of stairs. "Obaasan said you guys can sleep downstairs in the basement." She said.

Emiko stood. "That's a relief. We thank you guys a lot." She placed her hands on Sasuke. Her hands glowed as she attempted to use medical ninjutsu to heal the unseen wounds that she was sure were there."

Sasuke gave her a hard gaze. She was sure her touch was uncomfortable to his healing wounds.

"Neesan, you should go see Obaasan!" Aoi exclaimed. "Alright. I will." Emiko stated, giving another minute or so to finish up healing Sasuke's wounds in a few other places. The children ushered Sasuke downstairs. "We hardly ever use the basement. We stay upstairs with Obaasan." The little girl said. Emiko followed both children upstairs until they made it to a long foyer. They walked all the way to the back until they came upon two rooms side by side.

There on a futon lay a small, elderly woman who turned towards them after hearing the commotion coming down the hall. "Hello." Emiko greeted, giving her a deep bow. "I just wanted to say thank you very much for your hospitality. It's very much appreciated." She thanked while still in her bow. Emiko slowly raised up and was given a small nod from the elderly woman. She noticed the woman was somewhat frail, and had her right arm tied by a sheet that was wrapped around her neck.

"Can you help her neesan?" Questioned the little girl, pointing at her grandmother's arm.

"These two really wanted me to help you both out. This isn't much, but I've been having trouble with this arm for a couple months now." The elderly woman spoke.

"She fell and broke her arm. But, it happened when our shop sales weren't that good so she didn't have enough money to call the doctor in or get medicine for pain." Kuro explained.

"I see." Emiko spoke sympathetically. "Which is why we have had to run the tofu shop for the past month now ourselves. Obaasan tried doing everything with one arm, but it was just really hard." Kuro said.

Aoi had brought the Miso soup on a tray to serve her grandmother. She sat it down next to her bedside. "I had to do my best to help these children out, but they're right, I just became so exhausted because it was twice as hard. It was also very painful. I hardly ever get sleep nowadays thanks to the pain, so I'm restricted to bedrest the majority of the days. These kids are great, though. They run the tofu shop early in the morning until right after lunch. Then, they go out into the village and sell on the streets. This is a good place so they usually come back with nothing left and a huge profit, including tips." The grandmother revealed this information with some regret, but near the end of her speech, she sounded proud of the children.

"Can I take a look at your arm?" Emiko questioned, wanting to give any efforts to help this woman. The woman nodded and Emiko untied the makeshift sling. "Aoi, Kuro, it's time for you both to get to work. You must not be late." The grandmother spoke sternly. The kids had almost become fixated with the elderly woman's injury. Her arm looking slightly shortened and bent slightly away from its normal anatomical position.

The kids nodded and scrambled to their feet. " See you later Oneesan." Kuro whispered before the two hurriedly parted from the room. Emiko gently took hold of the grandmother's arm and began to use her medical ninjutsu to heal it. Emiko told the story about how Aoi and Kuro helped her out a few days ago, and that she was more than grateful. "I hope that you will be back on your feet soon." Emiko commented. "Soon, it will happen." The grandmother reassured. Several minutes passed before there was some improvement. Emiko let out a sigh and smiled. She continued to heal the grandmother and after a bit of time passed, her mission was accomplished.

The elderly woman looked astonished and flexed her fingers open and closed and moved her arm up to her chest. "My goodness. I've never had a ninja use their skills of healing on me. I'm amazed." She remarked.

"It's not much really. I'm just glad I could help." Emiko said, smiling. The elderly woman placed her hands on top of Emiko's. "I'm just happy this old woman doesn't have to sit here forever while her grandchildren take care of her. I can finally get some sleep and heal myself more." The grandmother spoke with a voice full of relief. Emiko nodded. "You have a good heart. I can see it in your eyes." The grandmother complimented.

She removed her hands away from Emiko's and turned over away from Emiko. "I must rest now. Enjoy your stay."

Emiko went down to the basement. She walked through a large area until she got to the room. She saw Sasuke sitting on a futon and their gaze met. Thoughts were about to flood through her mind but instead, she plopped down next to him and fell into a slumber.

It wasn't long into that slumber, however, that she began having nightmares about having to submit to Sasuke in the same manner that she does Orochimaru, and with the same roughness.

She woke up, sweating. 'These nightmares are too much sometimes. I feel like I' being pulled in both directions, but there's a chance I could fall off a cliff if I stray too far.'