Sumire's POV

I prepared myself for the snakeman's attack, but it never came.

He was rooted to his spot as he looked at my direction, but I noticed his gaze was fixed somewhere behind me. Before I was able to turn my head and find out what caught the man's attention, the ground shook violently, like a high-magnitude earthquake just struck.

I realized that the sudden tremor was caused by the woman who's now standing between my limp body on the ground and the terrifying snake man, as the surface where she stood was full of cracks.

"Nice to see you here, hime." The man had a smirk on his face, but his eyes showed that he was irritated since he had been interrupted with whatever he was supposed to do with me.

"I can't say I am glad to see you, " the newcomer replied. "I was busy playing cards over at the tavern when my opponents ran out to see what the commotion was about."

"I am not to blame for that. I came just before you did to save my pitiful comrade from dying at the hands of that girl," the creepy man answered. They were talking like they knew each other really well so I'm not sure if they were enemies or not.

"I know." She put her hands on her waist as she said, "I heard you having your boring monologue in front of her. How dare you attack my family with your filthy snakes? You'll pay for that, you bastard!"

My heart raced upon hearing her say that.

I am her family?

I don't know if I'll believe her or not. I mean I am thankful that this duo suddenly appeared out of nowhere, saving me from either being killed or captured from the hands of the snake man, but who knows if they'll have another motive for doing that.

Is she really my family or was she just bluffing? My identity had just been revealed, not just to me but to the onlookers who heard the whole thing as well, so what if this blonde woman was just saying that to trick me or something.

Even with my suspicion towards them, the arrival of these two women calmed me down. My panic and anxiousness from facing the snakeman eased a little and I somehow managed to get my composure back.

"Shizune! Take her away from here and heal her, she's been poisoned with the snake's venom." A woman rushed to where I was and pulled me on the side. She started unsealing a basin from her storage scroll and filled it up with a liquid substance. I am not sure if it's water or something else, but she used it while hovering her glowing hand over my body. The toxins were getting extracted slowly out of my system when she did that.

I am not familiar with how medical ninjutsu works as I have no training in that field, but it left me in awe when I saw her performing it on me. Whatever she was doing was probably an advanced medic technique since I know how troublesome dealing with poison can be, curing it or finding an antidote is not an easy feat, but what she was doing was even more complex as she was instantaneously removing the lethal substance on the body. Even though I am not a medic, I know only someone very skillful can do that.

My attention was shifted to the fight that was unfolding in front of me.

The blonde woman and the snake man started charging at each other, brute strength against an array of ninjutsu attacks. I guess they are on par with each other when it comes to skill in their respective fields of expertise so it's hard to tell who would win between the two of them. I could tell from the way they fight that they aren't going for the kill, like something's still holding them back from doing so, perhaps they were old acquaintances or something like that.

However, no matter how interesting their battle appeared to be, I don't want to stay around to see the outcome of this match.

"Thank you for helping me out, but that's enough." I told the woman named Shizune when I felt that most of the poison was already removed out of me.

I don't want to be too indebted to them, who knows what they'll ask in return for healing me and saving me a while ago.

"But I haven't fully healed you yet, there's still a bit of poison left on you. I could tell you have a muscle tear on your right arm and you got plenty of cuts all over your body. Let me-" I cut her off mid-sentence to stop her from further convincing me to use her medical ninjutsu on me.

"No need for that. I could take care of myself from here." I stood up with my legs still trembling a bit and my head still kind of fuzzy, but I knew I could endure it. "Please pass on my thanks to your companion for saving me."

I mustered my remaining energy to leave the place while the two powerful nins were still busy fighting each other. The woman named Shizune wasn't able to stop me since I body flickered away from the place as far as I could manage to go.

It might seem impolite to just leave after they aided me, but I have no intention to stay there any longer.

In normal circumstances, I would've personally thanked the blonde woman for interfering and getting me out of that situation with the creepy cloaked man. However, I just found out I was being hunted because of the bounty on my head. What if the two women were after the money as well? I mean we're talking about several millions of ryo here in exchange for my capture or death.

I could sense that they don't give off the same bad aura as the snake man or the rogue Kiri ninja. They also got me out of danger and partially healed me, but it didn't mean that I am trusting them blindly.

I know I have no one to rely on out here but myself, so it's better to be safe than sorry.

In my opinion, the smart decision for me to make at the moment was to get the hell away from that place and avoid interacting with everyone since I don't know who I could really trust anymore.

The sudden revelation about my identity and the bingo book entry made me more cautious of people.

The woman referred to herself as my family, but how convenient is it that she was nearby when that situation happened?

She appeared just after the snakeman called my Senju name out loud in front of everyone in that area. Who could blame me if I became suspicious of her now that I know I was listed in some book with a reward for my capture or death?

I am not saying outright that she is lying because what she claims might be true. To be honest, her chakra didn't falter when she revealed that we are related, but what if she was just doing it for the money?

Just how fucked up my life was turning out now that I couldn't even place my trust on people who might really be family?

Is my existence destined for solitude? I hope not.

I was already halfway on my way back to Hanaoka, but I felt very weak and my energy was drained at the moment. Perhaps it's the poison's aftereffects. I am close to the foot of the hilltop village now, a good distance away from the clearing where the fight happened, so I was kind of relieved.

Resting for a while seemed like a good idea. I don't have the energy to continue since the rest of the way leading to Hanaoka is an uphill climb. Aside from that, my head was still slightly dizzy and my vision a bit cloudy, my legs were still kind of shaky too. It's probably from the leftover toxins that the medic wasn't able to take out from my system since I abruptly left without letting her finish healing me.

If I push through while I am in this state, I might collapse in the middle of the road and it'd be more dangerous since everyone would see me out in the open, unprotected and alone.

That won't be good because I know a lot of bounty hunters are probably on the lookout for me now. Given that the incident had gathered a crowd, I won't be surprised if Sumire Senju's whereabouts is now being passed around. People would do heinous things for wealth and I happen to be valued a lot on those bingo books. The money-hungry fools probably think I am an easy target since I am not an official shinobi nor am I affiliated to any village at the moment even though I belong to a clan.

The venom's effect on me became even more troublesome. My eyelids felt very heavy as I mumbled to myself, "I fucking hate snakes."

I better regain as much energy as I could first because the heavy pull of drowsiness is quickly taking my consciousness away and my legs weren't steady yet so it felt like they're about to give out at any moment now.

I groggily walked to an area not too far from the road and found a spot where I could rest. It's not really a safe place, but it's hidden from anyone passing by. With the last of my energy, I set-up some simple traps that would trigger explosive tags if anyone crossed the area. It wasn't much, but given my current state, it's the only precaution I could do at the moment.

I know my poor condition will get better once I get a bit of rest. After leaning back against a tree trunk for support, I let the exhaustion take over me as I closed my eyes for a while.

Kakashi's POV

The morning I found out that Sumire had been staying at Hanaoka was the same day I felt my "danger senses" triggering again. I can't exactly describe how it works, but I just know her safety is at risk again. It's exactly the same as what I felt twelve years ago when she was ambushed, her chakra essence within me felt unsettled so I knew she was in some sort of trouble.

I sprinted out of my lodging and began searching the whole town. I'm not certain that she's still in Hanaoka at that moment, but there's little I could do other than hope I'd be able to find her here.

I spent the whole day combing through every street and alleyway in this town, extending my sensing ability in the area, hoping I'd get to feel her chakra somewhere nearby.

Then, I remembered what I saw in the visions I shared with her- she was painting on a balcony that had a view of the local park.

I sprinted towards that place and scouted the whole area that surrounded it until something caught my eye. It was an easel left on a corner of a balcony at an inn.

Frantically, I headed in that direction to see if she's there. However, I couldn't sense her chakra signature in the room. I thought having an easel outside the balcony was just a coincidence and the room might not belong to her, but when I peeked at the window panel, the very same artworks I saw her working on in my head were all there.

No one was inside yet so I kept returning at multiple hours of the day, excited to finally see her after years of yearning for her. I even resorted to going inside the inn and waited in the hallway outside of her rented unit.

"You know Sumi-chan?" A woman who had just come out of the room across from hers asked.

"Yes, do you know where Sumire is right now?" I replied, before I turned to face her.

She looked surprised to see me and seemed to recognize me. I'm sure I saw her before but I just couldn't place where I did. "Hatake-san? I didn't know you and Sumi-chan were acquainted with each other."

"I've been going back here multiple times but she isn't around." I told the woman.

"Maybe she's passed out asleep. She's been working too hard the last few days so she's probably resting. " I know she's not in there but I didn't say anything as the woman reached for a key from her pocket and began unlocking Sumire's door. The woman was also carrying a bag of takeout food and a cup that looked like iced coffee. "Sumi-chan gave me a spare key since I bring her meals all the time. She's too busy with her art to actually leave the room so I need to drop by and give her food before I go out."

Just as I had expected, there was no purple-eyed girl inside when the door opened. Her stuff was all over the place- the paintings, art materials, a couple of scrolls, clothes and books.

"She was actually able to finish all the commissions already?" The woman sounded impressed as she checked the canvases lined up against the wall, "She never fails to leave me in awe of her art and I'm sure we're gonna make loads of money from these masterpieces."

Now I remember where I met her. She was the art agent at the exhibit.

I realized something as I looked at all the artworks in her room and processed what her friend had just said.

I managed to connect the dots and figure something out.

"The Nightshade," I uttered the alias out loud. It was the pseudonym of the artist that managed to catch my attention at the exhibit.

This woman's the one who represents her at art events and Sumire is the Nightshade. I knew there had to be a reason why I felt the urge to really buy those portraits when I saw them on display.

It was because she created them.

"She doesn't want people to know about that. I'm surprised she told you so I guess you're close," commented the woman as she led me out of Sumire's room and locked the door again. The Nightshade didn't actually tell me that, but I didn't have to explain to her friend how I discovered it on my own.

Her friend had to leave for some errand and even advised me to just come back later on, but I stood my ground and waited patiently for the purple-eyed girl.

I spent the whole day right outside her room, hoping she'd show up at any moment. Eventually, I ended up falling asleep leaning against her door as the night passed until morning light woke me up again.

A brand new day arrived at Hanaoka. Sadly, my Sumire never did.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the very slow burn. I know it's taking soooo long for them to meet again, hang in there for a couple more chapters. It's my first time writing so my storytelling might be all over the place but I'm trying my best for y'all.

Anyway, thank you everyone for continuously reading my fanfic.