"We've arrived."

In front of them, it was a teahouse. Compared to the small ones in their secluded village, this was considered to be fairly large. There were lots of trees surrounding the teahouse. The nature was top-notch, definitely a beautiful scenery for travellers to look at.

"Heihachi Teahouse. It's just been built recently. A lot of the travellers tend to stop by here to take a break from their journey."

"Oh..."

Enju glanced up at the signboard with curiosity and gasped in awe. She noticed it was a two-story house.

A teahouse with two floors. Such a large teahouse! I'm really excited to go inside!

Her gaze then moved downwards slightly from the signboard to meet Chōjirō's eyes, just to see him looking down at her again, emotionlessly.

"But... why did you take me here?"

"I thought you might want to leave the village sometimes to broaden your horizons and expand your range of knowledge."

Sometimes, I wonder why niisama always knows what I want. I'm happy about that.

"I do want to...! Thank you!"

"..."

A large palm landed on the top of her head immediately.

Pon. Pon.

As a man of few words, this simple gesture had replaced what he wanted to express, you're welcome.

Of course Enju gladly accepted his pats with smiley eyes.

"Irrashai~! Table for two? Come this way!"

Chōjirō started to walk inside the teahouse. Enju quickly followed behind him and walked at the same pace with him by holding his shirtsleeves tightly.

"Yukkuri~! Yukkuri~!" (Enjoy!)

They sat down face to face. Two cups of tea were placed in front of them right away.

"This is popular among travellers! Mugimeshi-Tororo-Zen. The cheapest option! Of course there're also heaps of other delicious dishes as well! Take a look at the menu, I'll be here to take your order shortly!"

"N-niisama, is this place expensive...?"

"Well, I guess so. Seems there's also an option for lodging and bathing."

"...?!"

Enju dropped her jaw.

"Really?! I-Is it really fine for me to be here?! I... don't have anything for niisama in return! I－!"

"Don't worry. You're still too young to work."

"Well, niisama is also very young!"

"..."

"...You want to attend to missions one day, right? This might be a good start for you. I've gained permission from Kandō-sama for bringing you out today."

"Niisama..."

He even asked father for letting me out. Why would he go this far?

"Enju, do you have anything you want to eat in particular?"

"There're so many different kinds of cuisines... I can't decide, they all look very delicious!"

"I'll choose for you then."

"Okay!"

Enju smiled at him and decided to observe his expression for a short moment. His face was blank, just like what she thought, but Enju didn't mind his lack of emotions, nor his lack of words, of course.

Niisama really gives off such a serene aura, even when he's looking at the menu, he... looks...

Cool...

As she patiently waited, her eyes averted from him somehow, she began to look aimlessly at the table.

She felt shy for some reason. She didn't realise it herself though.

I wonder what niisama is going to choose for me.

"I've decided."

"Oh, what are you going to order?"

"I'll have the basic Tororo-Zen, you'll have the Kawauo-Kaiseki."

"Kawauo... K-...! B-but isn't that one expensive?!"

"You like eating fish, so I think that's the best option for you."

"That's not the problem! It's about... the money."

"Don't worry. I've attended enough missions to treat you to a delicious meal."

"You're going to use your own money...? Not father's?"

"As this is merely a schedule I proposed to Kandō-sama, he simply agreed, but didn't give me money for that, I'll use the money that I got from my missions."

"Oh..."

Kandō Ueno, Enju's father, couldn't care less about this matter. He didn't even once think about the things his daughter wanted to pursue. He didn't care. Never cared. All he cared about was his money and status- that he was the leader of the Kōga.

"I'll order then."

"Niisama, what should I do for you in return...?"

Enju frowned at him as she asked, she felt bad that not only she was useless to him, but she made him spend his own money for her.

"You don't need to do anything. I just wanted to take you to a great place, that's all to it."

"...Thank you."

...

"Oya~! Have you two decided what to order?"

The waiter arrived and observed the two children, his eyes sparkled when he saw Enju.

"Ah~ Such a lovely sibling!"

He grinned at them and asked while looking at Chōjirō, "...Oniisan?"

"Aa, I'm her cousin."

"Little ojyouchan looks so young and cute! Aa... um, may I ask, whether oniisan is interested in doing a trade...?"

The waiter asked weirdly as his eyes wandered between Chōjirō and Enju.

Something was fishy, and Chōjirō could sense that.

"What, do you want?"

Chōjirō asked slowly with his sharp green eyes, his cold gaze was piercing inside the waiter's soul.

Enju could tell Chōjirō's aura had changed in the blink of an eye, and she could sense something was wrong too.

"Nii..sama?"

"O..oh! Easy oniisan! No need to be scary! Well... you see, our family is looking for young girls for... adoption! I'm just wondering... whether oniisan is in a need of money. Our family can afford that much! You see, some merchants sell their daughters to me immediately. If you're currently in a difficult financial situation, we would gladly treat your little sister with care!"

Chōjirō continued to glare at him with dangerous eyes and felt rage as he listened to more of his ridiculous offer.

"Adoption? 'Sell... their daughters?' Don't you already have enough... "adopted" children in your house then?"

Enju hung her head as she listened, she was fiddling with her fingers on her lap silently. Her bangs hiding her eyes. No one could see the kind of expression she was making.

Niisama is going to... sell me.

She fiddled with her fingers in a carefree way, like she didn't care about it. She wasn't upset.

"Y-yea, we have quite a lot of adopted children at the moment! Haha, we just want... even more children in our house! And little ojyouchan there can fetch you a great price!"

...

Chōjirō knew what he was saying wasn't merely an "adoption". He figured that the waiter was actually proposing an offer about child slavery.

Of course Chōjirō rejected.

"That's absurd. Totally out of the question. Aren't you supposed to take our orders?"

"A...haha! I'm just asking whether you're interested! I think it's a nice offer! Don't you think so? You'll get lots...! Lots of money by selling your little sister!"

Seeing that the waiter was still insisting on his idea, Chōjirō said quietly in a dark tone while glaring at him fiercely, "you see, maybe I'm not an adult yet, but I've trained enough to cut you into pieces if you continue to insist that proposal."

Chōjirō reached his hand inside his clothes and revealed a certain dangerous object to him.

"...!"

The waiter obviously didn't expect to see a shuriken hidden inside a young boy's traveler clothes.

"Ha...haha. A..apologies. Please forget about what I just said. Em... so what would you two like to order...?"

"One Mugimeshi-Tororo-Zen and one Kawauo-Kaiseki."

The waiter left on the spot as he muttered to himself, "children are scary nowadays..."

"Niisama, thank you."

Enju said quietly, still lowering her head, playing with her fingers.

"What?"

"Thank you for not selling me to other people."

...

Why would she think like that? Sell... Enju? ...She's as pessimistic as always.

"Enju, you know I'd never do that."

"No... I know... I'm useless to you."

Chōjirō looked slightly furious after hearing what Enju thought of herself.

"I know I'm not helpful to the village, I'm a burden to you. I haven't trained enough to carry out a mission, nor I am useful in any way to bring profit to our small village, like Kyara, like Ennosuke, Gekkamaru... and niisama. Instead, I'm always being treated with special care by all the others. I just thought... it wouldn't be surprising if niisama didn't want me too. Now that I think about it, maybe mother also didn't want me... maybe I was the reason that caused her death... Aren't I pathetic, niisama? Actually, I don't mind if you sell me. I'd gladly a-"

"Enju, stop it."

Chōjirō tried to stop her pessimistic thoughts.

Tear droplets dropped into the cup of tea quietly, Enju looked at herself over the reflection and smiled sadly.

"Niisama, why are you so kind to me? There isn't a reason for you to be like this, I'm not helpful to any of your important missions."

"Enju..."

Chōjirō stood up and left his seat. He walked towards her and sat next to her instead. Closely.

"Nii...sama?"

"..."

Enju heard something shifted next to her while she was still looking aimlessly at herself over the reflection of warm tea. She then followed the direction of the sound and looked, just to see Chōjirō holding out a small handkerchief in front of her.

Niisama isn't saying anything, but I guess... he wants me to use it for wiping off my tears...?

Enju reached out her hand and grabbed his handkerchief, it was a very simple greyish colour, with no patterns on it.

Just like something niisama would use.

She smiled faintly again and wiped off her tears in silence.

"I'm sorry for bringing you here to hear such an absurd conversation. Ignore what he said, Enju. You're not useless, you still have so much to learn and so much time to grow. Please don't think of yourself in such a way."

"Fufu, why are you apologising niisama? I'm very happy!"

Enju said in a bright tone because she wanted to reassure him, though, her tears hadn't stopped flowing down yet.

"I'm very happy niisama took me out today. It's true. I'm really... happy. Thank you."

Seeing that she kept wiping off her tears as she said all those things with a cheery tone, Chōjirō showed a troubled expression. He never knew how to comfort a person. Giving her the handkerchief was the best option he could think of to stop her tears.

"Food... has arrived."

Chōjirō said quietly.

Before the waiter left them, Chōjirō grabbed his arm with his powerful strength.

"You made her cry. Won't you apologise to her?"

"...! E-eh! I'm sorry ojyouchan!!! I was just asking! I won't force you to live in our family if your big brother doesn't want it...! Rest assured! You can continue staying with him!"

He fled.

"Enju, let's eat. Don't mind those people. You like fish, right?"

Why does niisama know I like eating fish? I never told him about that.

"Yes I do. Can I have a taste of niisama's Tororo-Zen too?"

"Of course."

He scooped his bowl of tororo with a spoon and moved it near to Enju's mouth. Enju had already stopped sobbing, because she truly felt happy that he didn't think of her as useless.

"Fufu."

Her tears went dry. She giggled when the spoon reached to her mouth. All the sadness she felt had blown away by the small actions of her admired shinobi. She was happy that he took her here; that he didn't sell her to the merchants; that he treated her good food.

They were on their way home.

"Ah!"

Enju tripped over a rock and fell onto the ground, her arms and knees hit the concrete hardly, it scratched her skin, causing her to bleed. Despite all of that, she tried to get up by herself quickly while ignoring the pain.

"Enju!"

Chōjirō showed a fairly concerned expression. He quickly landed a hand for her to get up, but the moment she got up, she let out a hiss of pain and fell down again.

To prevent any further injuries caused, Chōjirō picked her up without a second thought. He carried her with his strong reliable arms, one of them wrapped around her waist, the other under her butt, like how a parent would carry his child.

Enju's legs then naturally wrapped around his body for support, her arms around his shoulders.

"Hold tight, we'll arrive very soon. You can sleep along the way."

"Okay..."

...I was careless, again.

From afar, Enju saw two familiar silhouettes.

"Oh niisama, it's Kyara and Ennosuke."

"Ara~! Enju and Chounii!"

Kyara walked over to their side and looked up at Enju, who was being carried by Chōjirō.

"Chounii, is Enju hurt?"

Ennosuke asked after he caught up with them.

"Yes, she tripped on the way home. Let's head back together quickly, you two must have just finished your investigation on your new mission, right?"

"Yes."

Ennosuke replied.

It hurts so much. My knees and elbows.

"..."

"Enju... seems they're not small wounds, I'll tend to your injuries immediately after we've returned. Try to sleep along the way."

"I will..."

While Enju was playing with his strands of purple bob hair, drowsiness crept over her gradually. Shortly, she drifted into a comfy sleep...

...

It must have been quite a while since Kyara and Ennosuke joined them, she could feel the soft vibration under her buttocks as her cousin carried her through the sloppy hills. Eventually, she woke up. Although her eyes were barely opened, she could tell it was dusk, and that she could still feel his tight arms carrying her, which made her feel very assured.

Enju didn't know what came over her, but she felt the urge to get closer to him at that very moment, to Chōjirō... who she admired very much as a shinobi. She felt it was a privilege to be this near to him. With her small hands wrapping around his shoulders, she opened her eyes quietly and looked sideways, towards his side view.

He looked as serene and stoic as always, both of his eyes looking at the front coldly while walking at a steady pace.

A thought came to her mind.

While she was pretending to change her sleeping position, she reached to his cheek.

She pecked his side cheek with her lips.

Softly, swiftly.

She smiled shyly with mischief, her head moved back to his clothes quickly, hiding her face near his shoulder. Like what she had thought, he didn't react at all.

Though... someone else saw her little act.

"H-hey! Ennosuke! Did Enju just... kiss..."

"Haha, I guess so."

They whispered and giggled to themselves.

Chōjirō didn't even change his expression once, or taken aback or anything. He kept walking, and walking, and walking... he didn't feel anything.

"Enju really likes Chounii huh?"

Ennosuke whispered back and poked at Kyara's arm.

"But see, Chounii didn't even seem to notice that! Haha!"

Enju continued to enjoy her comfy position with tint embarrassment. Her body clung onto him even more, not wanting to leave his gentle embrace. This kind of company was something she had missed since childhood and she couldn't help but wanting more of it. She wanted his company.

Eventually, the four of them had headed back to their village. Chōjirō softly spoke, "Enju, wake up."

"..."

Enju pretended she was asleep again.

"I'll land you on your bed now."

"..."

"Chounii... do you know? Enju just gave you a peck on the cheek!"

Kyara giggled.

"...Really? I thought she just accidentally brushed her lips over my face while she was sleeping."

"...I don't think so...!"

Kyara exclaimed while looking at Enju's pouty face, who was still sleeping.

There's no way Chounii thinks Enju is still asleep.

"But Chounii! That was obviously not an accident! We saw Enju smiled after that!"

Ennosuke said.

Chōjirō looked down at Enju on the bed quietly, she was still sleeping, pouting with her cheeks flushed, refused to say anything about it.

"Well..."

"Anyway! See you two tomorrow then! I need to get some sleep too!"

Ennosuke said and headed back to his room, Kyara followed him.

...

"Enju, I'm going to treat your injuries now."

Chōjirō took out his medical kit and started to search for the appropriate medical ointment for her scraped knees and elbows.

I don't know what to say to him... It was just something I did out of a sudden. I simply wanted to get closer to him. That was why I did that. Kyara shouldn't have said it out loud...

"Aah...!"

Enju let out a painful moan as she felt a strong force brushed against her fresh wounds.

"Sorry... I must have used too much force to rub the ointment against it."

"M..m... it's... okay."

"I'm sure Gekkamaru would have done this better than me..."

He sighed.

"Don't worry, if your wounds still haven't been recovered within a few days, Gekkamaru could help. He'll be back from his mission two days later. I'm sure he would be more than happy to tend to your injuries instead. He would rub the ointment gentler than me too."

"...no."

"...?"

"I want niisama to be here with me and tend to my injuries instead. I don't mind even if I feel more pain."

She pouted as she said stubbornly, shaking her head sideways.

"...I see."

He continued to focus on tending to her wounds without saying anything afterwards.