Hello people! Hope you guys like this chapter. Thanks to MissDramalicious, Joushou-Sensei, Bakagirl101, BlondeTwig1990, Lyris88, zakuro93, lovingo0Kawaii0oGirl, Tateno Atsukino, Mrs.MonkeyD.Hitachiinx3, Mizu Hime, MercuryCrush, Valinor's Twilight, The Memories of Old, Lighting Wings, Mayan, ruler of dragons and uchiha black for reading and reviewing. Please review if you have the chance. Now on to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the lovely Rei.

Chapter Fifty-Seven

It was late in the day and Rei sighed as she felt another pang of hunger. She hadn't had anything to eat that day and she wondered how much longer it would take her to reach the next village. It was her seventh day of traveling and she had spent three days in a small village. She had trained for a while and stayed at one of the many inns they had. Apparently it had been a popular town for travelers. Of course, she had left with food, but she had also decided to take the long way to her home village. Now that she no longer had food left she was starting to regret her choice.

She knew she could just look for food since she was in a forest, but she was lazy. Apart from that she could smell food cooking in the distance. She had a very good sense of smell when it came to food. She grinned as she saw a small inn by the road. As she made her way towards it she wondered if she could somehow weasel her way out of paying.

Rei had enough money to travel for a while, but she didn't want to spend more than was necessary and if it was possible she would like to spend less than that. One of the things she had learned during her time traveling on her own was that money tended to run out at very inconvenient times. She stepped into the inn and saw an old woman with a kindly face behind a counter. There were a few wooden tables spread around the room and she could smell the food cooking over a large fire.

"Hello." Rei said to the woman.

"Welcome dear, what do you need?"

"Well, is there a village nearby?"

"Yes, there is one about half a days walk from here. Are you alone?"

Rei smiled and nodded.

"Yep, I'm traveling for a while to train." She said fixing her headband.

"Oh, you're a ninja. But aren't you too young to be on your own?"

"Don't worry I'm stronger than I look. I guess I should leave though, I want to see if I can get to the next town."

Rei allowed her stomach to grumble even though she had been holding her hunger in for a while. She laughed sheepishly at the old woman.

"I guess all that training made me a bit hungry."

"Oh, you were training?"

Rei nodded.

"Yep, all morning." She lied.

"Then why don't you eat something first? You shouldn't travel on an empty stomach."

"No, it's alright, but thank you."

"No, no, it's on the house. Take it as a reward for training so hard."

The old woman motioned for her to sit on a stood at the counter while she served her some food. Rei smirked inwardly at getting a free meal. So far so good.

"Here you go."

Rei smiled at the bowl of soup set before her.

"Thank you, it's really kind of you to give me some food."

"Think nothing of it." The woman said.

As Rei ate she sensed someone approaching. She frowned at the hostile aura she sensed from them. A moment later three large men walked in. They looked around and sat at a table behind Rei.

"Hey, old woman, bring some food." One of them said.

Rei tried to remain calm as the woman who had served her filled three bowls for the men. She went to their table and the men looked at the soup in disgust.

"What the hell is this? Bring some real food!"

He pushed the plates to the side, making them fall to the floor. The old woman hurried back to her place behind the counter while the men laughed. Rei sighed knowing she would have to do something. Luckily they were nothing but thugs from what she could see.

"Hey, stay right here and don't bother making any food for those guys." She told the old woman.

"No, it's alright you shouldn't trouble yourself with them you could get hurt."

Rei smirked at the woman.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine."

"Hey, hurry up you old hag!"

Rei turned to the men and scowled.

"We're talking here you jerks. Mind your damn manners." She snapped at them.

She watched as the men went from amused to enraged. They stood up and walked towards her.

"What did you say you brat?"

"You heard me you moron." Rei said as she stood up.

The man noticed her headband and smirked.

"A ninja huh? Let's see how strong you are."

He swung at her, but she just dodged and grabbed his arm. She pulled him towards her and kneed him in the stomach. She let him fall to the ground as the other two watched in surprise. They scowled at her before trying to hit her. She dodged easily and beat them in a moment. She smirked as the men lay on the floor groaning.

"Now, I think you owe her some money for the food and things you broke." She said.

"We're not giving you anything!" One of the men said as they stood up.

Rei glared at them and cracked her knuckles. The man flinched at the sound and reached for their wallets.

"Here!" They said as they threw some money at her.

Rei grinned as she watched the men flee. She turned to the old woman who was looking at her with surprise.

"Here you go, this should cover their bill. I'll clean up their mess for you." Rei said with a smile.

"Thank you." The woman said as she took the money.

Rei finished her meal and then cleaned up like she had promised the old woman.

"It's getting late, maybe you should stay here for tonight." The woman said.

Rei smiled.

"Thanks, I would really appreciate that."

The woman led her to a room upstairs. It was small, but it looked comfortable with a small bed, a desk, a chair, a window and a bathroom. Rei thanked the woman and sighed as she closed the door. She dropped her bag by the door and let herself fall onto the bed. Saying that she was tired was an understatement. She had been traveling for a while, but it was more than that. It was as if all the trouble she had run into lately was wearing out her body. Perhaps the main thing that was affecting her was Sasuke's departure.

She frowned as she stared at the ceiling and thought of the day he had left. It still pained her to think of it and it surprised her. She had always taken pride in knowing that she could forget about her past, at least to the point where she wouldn't think about it too often, but it was different this time. No matter how much she tried she couldn't forget about him.

Maybe it was because he had left so suddenly, but she just couldn't believe that he had changed so much so suddenly. She couldn't believe that after spending so much time with him and caring so much about him she was now training to kill him. It was as if she was caught in an illusion that she just couldn't escape. No matter what she did or where she went she always ended up alone. She was beginning to think that it was useless to try to find some happiness. It was as if she had been cursed from the day she was born.

It was strange to think that so many things had happened to her in such a short amount of time considering that she was still so young. She had already lost many people she loved and she had taken many lives. Killing was one of the things that she was not looking forward to on this journey, but she knew that as much as she tried to avoid it she would have to do so to live. She was a shinobi and even if it was hard, even if she hated it she would have to keep killing for as long as she lived.

At least now she had a choice. When she was with Orochimaru she never had a choice, or so she liked to think. When she was with him it was usually kill or be killed. Knowing that her friends were waiting for her had been the only thing that kept her alive and even when she left Orochimaru she was only driven to go on by the thought of her friends. Now there was nothing but the desire for revenge driving her and she had to wonder how she had changed so much.

A long time ago, before she even left Orochimaru she had always thought of revenge. She had hated her own teacher and worked only to be able to kill him one day. Back then she was very much like Sasuke, but after learning of the pain she caused her friends she changed into the person that she was. She learned to accept people and to appreciate life, but most importantly, she had learned that true strength came from the desire to protect the people you care about.

Now that she sat there on her own, living for nothing more than vengeance she had to admit that she had strayed greatly from her past ideals to which she had been so committed. She also had to wonder how her friends would react to her new source of motivation. The one person she worried about the most was Naruto. She really cared about him, but she knew it would hurt him to learn that she was after his best friend.

She sighed and turned on her side. It was getting dark fast and she was glad that she had been able to stay in there for the night. She would leave early the next day and head to Kirigakure. She knew that if she hurried she would be able to reach the village by dusk, but then again she had never liked traveling in a hurry. She guessed she would just have to push her laziness aside this once. In truth, she was anxious to see her friends again. Even if she just watched them from a distance, even if she was in disguise, she wanted to see them. She wouldn't ask them for help though, she just hoped that they didn't find out she was there.

Rei sighed as she stepped out of the inn the next morning. The sun was shining brightly despite it being so early. Her bag was slightly heavier as the woman from the inn had given her some food for her trip. Now that she thought about it she felt kind of bad for taking advantage of her, but reminded herself that she had helped her with the thugs the previous day.

The day seemed to last too long as the anticipation of returning to her old village build up inside her. She couldn't help but frown when she saw the village in the distance. Before she got too close she made sure to remove her Konoha headband and replace it with her Kirigakure headband. She sighed and made her way to the village.

Getting in proved to be easy enough although she did receive some strange looks. Once she was in the market she sighed in relief knowing that she could relax a bit more. Still, she walked quickly and headed to her old home trying to ignore the fact that she hated the place. To her, that house wasn't a home, it hadn't been one since her father died. It held many painful memories that she would much rather forget and after their last mission there it also held memories of Sasuke back when he was just starting to show he cared for her.

As she walked she failed to notice someone looking at her. She was startled when someone called her name. She winced at the familiar voice and turned slowly to find herself facing a very familiar pair of forest green eyes beneath a mess of bright red hair. Rei didn't have time to respond as she was trapped in a tight embrace. After a moment her friend let her go and she smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?" Okoru asked.

She couldn't help but notice the hints of concern lacing his voice.

"I'm just passing through."

He gave her a look of disbelief, but said nothing.

"Are you on a mission? Where are the others?" He asked suspiciously.

She frowned a bit, but then regained her composure.

"No, I'm here on my own."

Okoru frowned and looked around.

"Come on, let's talk at my house."

He pulled her away and they walked in silence. Rei could tell that he knew that something was wrong. He had always been good at telling when something was off. They arrive at his home which was a house of fair size next to the water. She could hear the soft sound of the waves hitting the shore and smiled. Okoru led her inside and sighed as he turned to Rei.

"So, why did you come back?" He said seriously.

"I told you, I'm on a little trip."

He looked at her carefully as if her face would give anything away. He sighed and shook his head.

"You really haven't changed, even now you don't want to tell me the truth. You still don't trust me do you?"

"I trust you, I just don't want to get you involved."

"Whether I get involved or not is my choice. All you can do is provide me with enough knowledge to make that choice."

Rei smirked.

"You got smarter."

Okoru's eye twitched in annoyance.

"Don't change the subject."

Rei sighed.

"Fine, I just decided to leave Konoha for a while to train. I thought I would come and visit since I was nearby."

"What about your friends? What about Sasuke?" He asked suspiciously.

Rei frowned and looked away.

"He's gone." She said in a dull voice she had not used in years.

Okoru seemed to notice. He gave her a surprised look and then frowned.

"What happened?"

"He left the village to go to Orochimaru."

Okoru looked at his friend with sympathy. He knew what it was like to lose someone you cared about in that way. After all, he had lost her in the same way a long time ago.

"I see, so you're training to get him back."

"No."

The boy looked up in surprise when he heard her response. He was startled by the cold and distant look on her face. He could also see a look of anger flash across her face.

"I want to kill him."

It took a while for him to realize that he had heard her correctly.

"So you came for the scroll."

She nodded and he sighed as he ran his hand through his hair.

"Well, it should be back in your house, but you shouldn't go on your own."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." She sighed.

"For the time being you can stay here."

Rei smiled at her friend.

"Thanks, you sure your dad won't mind?"

Okoru froze and frowned a bit.

"Dad died shortly after we returned from Konoha."

Rei was taken aback by this. She frowned and laid a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, he was a great man you know."

Okoru smiled at his friend.

"Yeah, thanks, but don't worry about it. I'm alright."

Rei nodded knowing that it was true. He was strong and he knew how to handle the loss of a loved one no matter how hard it was.

"Where's Zakyo?" She said looking around.

"Well, she should be on her way back right now. She just went out for a walk."

"Great, I can't wait until she gets here and attacks me." Rei said with a grin.

"Don't complain, I have to put up with her every day."

Rei laughed at her friend as he led her to her room.

"You should rest. Tomorrow I'll go with you to get what you need."

"Thanks, goodnight then."

"Yeah, goodnight."

Okoru left and she lay down on the bed and stretched out her muscles. It was strange to be back in her old village. The last thing she wanted was to go back so soon, but she knew she had to. She had to make sure her friends were alright and she had to get something that would help her on her journey. Still, she would try to leave as soon as she could and she knew Okoru knew that. He probably wanted her to stay for a while longer, but he also knew that it was dangerous for her to stay for too long. She knew he would understand her reasons for leaving so soon.

The following morning, Rei left the house early and headed for her old home. She was careful not to wake Okoru as he would want to accompany her. She knew he would be a bit more than annoyed, but she didn't want him to worry too much about her. It was important for her to go alone even if the memories in that house were too painful.

She walked calmly down the streets and ignored the people around her. More than once she thought she sensed a few rather hostile looks, but she had expected that from the moment she decided to return. People had never liked her in that place and she didn't really blame them. It seemed that she never did anything but hurt people whenever she was around. Apart from that there was the deep dislike for people with bloodline limits that the villagers held.

This was especially true in her case as she had had very little control over her abilities when she was younger. But it wasn't just her abilities that caused the people to look down upon her. She had always been different and she supposed in part it had been due to her father. He had always spoken of Konoha and she had often found herself wishing that she could go there. She had never really embraced her home village and this had become even more evident when she left.

She sighed as she stopped in front of her old home and couldn't help but frown at the place. Just standing there and looking at the old house brought memories that she had been all too happy to forget. She walked in and walked quickly to the training room that she used to love so much when her father was alive. It was a large room with different weapons lining the back wall. Time had covered the place with dust and darkened the room along with the rest of the house. The air in there seemed to choke her as she walked to the back wall and she stifled a cough as she stopped before the wall.

On the wall there was a small seal that wouldn't be noticed among the numerous weapons unless you looked for it. She made a series of hand signs and placed her hand over the seal. A moment later a large space was opened on the wall and she grinned a bit to herself as she pulled out a large scroll. The scroll was one of the few reasons why she would ever return to Kirigakure. It was one of the few things that her father had entrusted her with and in it were his most powerful skills. She just hoped that they would be enough to help her in her journey.

End Chapter Fifty-Seven

Hope you guys liked this chapter and please review if you have the chance. I love readers who review and to all who do have a cookie! (hands cookies) XD