Traveling was rough and harsh on the young woman and her charge. Using the map she had swiped as few weeks back Jessica was able to estimate where they were at, but with the toddler needing to be carried for the longer or more difficult parts of their journey it was slow going to say the least.
Heading towards the Land of Tea, Jessica knew that the ninja populace was almost non-existent there and she would not have to worry about the backlash from taking a child from a village.
Jessica was not stupid, she had heard about blood-line theft from some ninjas at a tea-house, apparently some families were born with magic powers and the children were treated like prize toys, not something Jessica ever wanted her little Leo exposed to. She had just prayed that Leo was an orphan, or from a civilian family so no one would come after her for saving him from his situation.
It took close to five weeks of almost non-stop moving to make it to a large city in Tea Country, and once there Jessica was practically dead on her feet. On her way out of Fire Country she had seen a wanted sign, describing the child in her arms with frightening accuracy. This had spurred her on like the devil's dogs were biting at her heels, and she reached Tea Country's major city two weeks earlier than she expected.
For the moment Jessica was content to stay at a cheap hotel and teach Leo what she could. Working the odd job as a hostess at a tea house, or as a pack mule for a market stall, Jessica was able to save-up quite a stash, even if a large portion went to filling the endless gut that Leo had.
"Now Leo, what color is this?" Jessica asked as she held up a colored block
"Pu'pa" Exclaimed the happy boy as he laughed and giggled at the game.
"Good Job, here is your treat." Jessica handed the smiling toddler a rice cracker as he clapped and held his hand out expectantly.
This was the routine for the pair, Jessica going to work in the morning for a few hours after Leo went down for nap, come back at lunch, feed Leo and Teach him for about two hours, Go do another odd job, then come back for the night, Have dinner and play with Leo until he fell asleep, and repeat the next morning.
Whenever Jessica felt herself stagnating she would go up to the Hotel's roof with Leo and practice her Katas and knife skills, in the crazy world she fell in it would not do for her skills to deteriorate. On occasions Leo would try to join the dark skinned woman in her morning exercise, with the small blonde child stumbling through kicks and falling more times than Jessica could count.
On the sixth of July Jessica decided it was Leo's birthday, holding a small celebration of her, Leo, and the small puppy she had picked-up for him. The cake had been a small white cake with cream frosting and fresh peaches in between the layers. Leo had squealed in excitement at the cake, with four small candles and a lion made of peaches on the top, and then proceeded to make a mess of himself and Jessica as he tore into the cake with great gusto.
The puppy was promptly named 'Miso' as Leo happened to smell his next present as Jessica asked him to name the unfortunate pup. Something Jessica would never let the poor boy live down for many years. At the end of the day Leo was a happy little boy, full of cake and ramen soup, and sleeping soundly on his bed with the newly christened Miso snuggling by his side.
"You sleep well little guy, cause tomorrow we will be heading out again."
Jessica knew that moving around this much would not be good for a child's psyche, but she had seen ninjas sniffing around the other day, and she knew under no circumstances was her little Leo to return to the hell-hole she liberated him from.
Looking down at the map spread out before her Jessica began to plan.
"Bear Country looks promising, lots of forests and wide open spaces, but it is close enough to the mainland for any ninja from Konaha to get there in a heartbeat. The Land of Water seems promising, lots of islands, some with ninja villages, and some without and plenty of choices on climate as well. Smaller villages on the mainland can provide anonymity, but little protection, and larger villages mean more contact with the ninja villages."
Just as Jessica was preparing to give up for the night she saw it. Nadeshiko Village was located on a small island close to the Land of Water. The village seemed to be in a mild climate, and was small enough to not draw attention to itself. There was a warning written about the village but Jessica was too tired to notice it, all she cared about was that she had found a safe place for her and Leo.
Marking the village on the map and then storing it away, Jessica began to drag herself to bed, snuggling up to Leo and the puppy, she planned for tomorrow as she drifted to sleep.
Puppies are adorable and I could not help myself. If Naruto seems a little slow for a three and a half year old toddler it is because he was neglected early on, so he had to learn on his own.