Hope you are doing well! Sorry for the wait on this update. It took a me few nights to figure out how to write this. I'm trying to get in the swing of trying to write every day, so hopefully you can get more consistent updates!

I'll be responding to the reviews down below, and again, thank you so so so much for taking the time to read this. I know it's sus writing off of someone else's intellectual property but I hope I can do it justice.

ty!

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The days he spent walking on foot became long and the nights became cold. He didn't realize just how far the nearest city would have been. Of course, he considered making himself an Ink Bird but decided against it, worried that he could have passed over something important if traveling through the air.

If it was one thing he was going to do, it was going to be thorough.

He wanted to find the next important detail that could help aid the village. But as he walked through the never-ending twisted pathway through the trees, everything blended together. At this rate, he could have begged for something—anything—to call out for his attention.

He would pass a few lone houses in the forest until he stepped into an empty grass field with a single house tucked away on the horizon. He stopped at the sudden change in environment. As if he stepped into one of the world's secret gardens. He traced the details of the newly shining sun reflecting off the grass.

Was this real?

The field called out to him. Mysteriously, subliminally, he felt as if it was a voice. So faint, so far off in the distance, it may have just been his imagination.

He hesitated. Anything this out of place had to be a trap.

Stepping cautiously towards the sound, in the direction where the small cottage was, it repeated itself, this time just barely clear enough to make it out.

"Help."

Sai considered the possibilities and continued towards the cottage.

He stood in front of the welcoming house. But of course, he always knew that looks could be deceiving.

"Hello, is anyone there," Sai called out.

"Yes, help, I'm in back." Called out a weak elderly voice.

He walked along the house's perimeter to find a large unfinished garden lined with tulips and daisies. Hit with the familiar scent of flowers and fresh dirt, he redirected his attention to a wheelbarrow toppled over. He moved closer quickly realizing that the contents of the wheelbarrow, heavy bricks, crushed a small elderly woman.

Without a moment to waste, he stood the wheelbarrow up and carefully removed the bricks. The woman's eyes narrowed on him. "Ginji?" she asked weakly.

She must be in shock.

"Do you require medical attention?" He asked as he looked for any signs of serious note.

The woman stared at him taking in his features. Her face quickly turned from shock to sullen. She removed her eyes from him and lowered them to the ground.

He held out a hand to help her up. "Would you like assistance back into your home?" He asked.

She lifted a small and gentle hand. He helped her up and walked her to the front door. "May I enter?" He asked.

The woman nodded.

The two came through the door. Sai quickly took in his surroundings. It was just exactly what he expected it to be. A welcoming home, with wood floors, a warm kitchen, and dusty furniture.

He sat her down in a plush chair. Looking at the living room, a framed photo sitting atop the side table next to the chair showed a young man, with pale skin and dark hair much like his. Even their eyes bore a similarity that Sai and this man could have easily been mistaken for brothers. But he quickly clocked the differences. This man had a toothy smile and a face that seemed to wear his emotions. This was very unlike his own face, which he knew to be very flat.

Perhaps this young man is Ginji. The man she mistook me for.

He turned his attention back to her. He eyed the scrapes on her arms.

He wasn't a medical Ninja, but he knew the basics. "Would you like me to bandage your arms?"

She looked to her arms taking note of the condition they were in. She nodded.

As he took out his medical materials and applied the bandages, he figured that now would be a good time to introduce himself.

"My name is Sai. I am a traveling ninja from the village hidden in the leaves, and I am tasked to help any villages or individuals in need." He said, leaving out the 'gathering relevant Intel' detail of his mission. "It looks as though I found you at just the right time," he said. "None of your injuries look too serious."

The elderly woman, seemingly shrinking into herself, began to tear up. "Thank you... Sai." She said, her voice hoarse.

After he finished applying the bandages, she slowly stood up. "My name is Erina... I'm sorry, I must have been in shock earlier... I live alone, and there aren't any villages for miles, I really didn't think anyone would have come..."

"A happy coincidence then."

"A very lucky coincidence." She spoke. "I was trying to reline my garden. But I suppose I got too ambitious with the bricks."

"It's a beautiful garden," Sai said remembering the freshly bloomed tulips and daisies.

"Thank you." She said beginning to regain the warmth in her face. "The only unfortunate thing is that I don't think I'll ever get it lined with those bricks."

"They were quite heavy. Perhaps you may want to hire that job out to someone else who can move them safely." Sai stated.

"My grandson. He was supposed to help me with them. But I don't think he'll be coming by anytime soon—suppose I just got impatient. I hated looking at the stack of them just sitting there."

"I can place them for you."

"Oh no. Please, you've been so helpful already. I owe you."

"Don't worry. I'd like to help. I'm sure I can manage a few bricks for a garden." He said before looking at the elderly woman and her wounds. "No offense."
She laughed, raspy, but lively. "You're a funny one."

She stood up and walked to her kitchen. "Fine. I'll accept your help, but on the condition that I feed you."

Before he could say anything, his own stomach growled. The thought of a home-cooked meal reminded him just how hungry he was. He smiled accepting the stranger's kindness. "That sounds lovely. Thank you."

Sai could see his reflection on the empty plate. Part of him wished he did a better job at savoring his dinner. Though he wasn't the type to rush when he ate, he must have gone days out in the forest without eating. Sure, he could have caught and cooked something, but Root starvation training normalized going days without food.

"Would you like seconds?" The elder asked, offering more curry to him.

He looked at her plate which she was still working on. He must have inhaled all his food. He scratched the back of his head. "If you don't mind..."

"Take as much as you need." She said, handing the pot to him.

As he spooned himself another serving, she looked out the window. The sky had gone dark.

"Why don't you set up here for the night? I don't want you working in the dark."

"Oh, I don't want to overstay my welcome."

"You can stay as long as you'd like. As a thanks for saving me." He hesitated, not knowing how to accept her generosity. "I know that couch isn't much, but I'm sure you're tired from all that traveling you're doing for your village."

"I suppose-"

"Great! Then it's settled. I'll go get you some blankets."

Sai patted his hands together as he laid the last brick. The elder handed him a cup of ice water. He chugged it down. "Thank you Miss Erina."

"No. Thank you. It looks great."

She walked along the garden, admiring his neat work. At the end, she came to a section of flowers that were wilting. They both stared down at the crumpled puffs. "I don't suppose a Shinobi like you would know what I'm doing wrong right here... I think it's because-

"Hydrangeas wilt in direct sunlight." He said finishing her sentence.

"Yeah." He said half surprised and half impressed. "That's what I was thinking."

"Perhaps we can move them to the area behind your house where they will get shade." He said, pointing to the other empty spot in the garden.

"That isn't a half-bad idea... How do you know that? Do you garden too?"

Sai cracked a slight smile. He wouldn't have known any of this, had it not been for her.

"I do not. A friend of mine- she happens to be a very talented botanist." He then points to a few of the half-live Hydrangeas. "I think these few are salvageable. Would you like me to move them for you?" He offered.

At his proposal, she declined the offer, but he insisted. He'd hate to see her injured again with no one around to help. The two worked together in the garden until it became dark. By then, she forced him to accept another meal and stay in exchange for his help.

This time she made stir-fried rice with fresh vegetables from her garden. As the two ate in silence, she stared at him.

"So. Tell me about your botanist lady-friend."

Mid-sip, The Root Anbu choked. He set down his glass. "-I'm sorry?" Then swallowed, clearing his throat.

Her face, a resting glum, folded into a slight smirk. "I couldn't help but ask. You seemed to light up when you brought her up."

"Oh." Yeah. That.

Quickly regaining his cool, he remembered. "She knows all kinds of plants and flowers. And not just what they are, but what they mean, and what they can do. We used to play a game where she used to quiz me on them. So, I suppose that's how I picked up the information."

"I see... You keep in touch with this friend with all this traveling?"

"Not really."

"Why not? It wouldn't kill you to send a letter."

"I'm not really friends anymore with this friend."

The woman laughed and started to clear off the table.

It was the truth. What was so funny?

He stood up and helped her clear off the table. He inwardly pouted at being laughed at for no reason. It didn't matter where he went. He would never seem to understand anything.

He begrudgingly carried the stack of plates across the kitchen, until the small handcrafted ceramic plate sitting atop the pile shifted too far to the side and into the air.

It fell in slow motion. Sai found his reflexes lacking to catch it before it was too late.

The ring of the plate shattering in two felt loud enough to make him go deaf.

Immediately, Sai picked up the two pieces. He didn't know how to feel. Angry, upset, disappointed? It had to be disappointed. He felt shameful for being so reckless. He was a Root Anbu and yet he seemingly wasn't fast enough to catch a plate.

He shyly met her eyes as he knelt up to bring the broken plate to her. "I am so sorry."

She took in the words of his apology and stared at the plate.

Would she kick him out? Demand him to replace it?

Just then—she started to laugh. Again.

She took the two pieces and wordlessly turned around to riffle through one of her kitchen drawers.

"Please. Allow me to replace it for you. I can run into the nearest town-"

"-It's nothing, kid." She said turning to face him with a ceramic glue in hand. She wryly smiled. "You know. It wouldn't kill you to laugh a little."

She sat down at the table and began to glue the two pieces together as he stood and watched. "Just because something is broken, doesn't mean it can't be fixed." She thought out loud. After lying the adhesive on the sides and holding the plate together for a minute or two, she let go and held it up to him. It was so closely glued together that he couldn't even make out the original crack. "See? Not so broken anymore."

Sai scratched the back of his head. "I suppose."

She set it down. "I'm sure whatever's wrong with you and that friend can be fixed. And you'll probably even look back at it and laugh."

Laugh? How could I possibly laugh at the current circumstances?

She caught onto his subtle pout. "Life's too short to sulk around. If you enjoy someone's company, you should try to savor it for as long as you can before it really is too late."

Sai opened his mouth to formulate a reply, but nothing worthwhile came to mind. He decided it would be best to leave it at that. He didn't need every elder he ran into lecturing him about love and fate.

A few light sounds in the kitchen triggered his fight or flight response to snap his eyes open from slumber. Quickly examining his surroundings, he realized that it was Miss Erina moving about the kitchen in what seemed to be the crack of dawn.

She sat alone at the table rolling dough into balls, flattening them, filling them with red bean paste, and finishing each mochi with a pinch before placing them onto a plate.

Behind the plate, was the photo he saw earlier of his look alike, and a stick of Incense burning fragrant smoke beside it.

He put two and two together. He remembered her reaction when she saw him for the first time and how it had brought her to tears. She had to be mourning the loss of this person who looked just like him.

Sai felt intrusive for waking up during such a private and sacred moment in her space. Every part of logic told him to lie back down and go to bed, but for some reason, he couldn't tear his eyes away.

She got up and filled a tea kettle. Coming back to the table, she turned around to face him. The two met eyes. He didn't know what he could do or say to fix the situation. He didn't want to impede knowing it was none of his business. All he could muster was a weak "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Sorry about all the noise. Didn't mean to wake you up."

The kettle began to whistle. She took it off the heat, poured two glasses of tea, and brought them to the table. "I have some tea for you at the table." She said, inviting him into the kitchen.

He sat down cautiously and sipped. The tea was hot, and thereafter, earthy, clear, and refreshing. He tried to catch glances of her through his periphery to try and gauge her mood. She wasn't in tears. Nor was she overtly content. She continued quietly rolling out mochi. Sai wasn't an expert in grieving the dead, but he wanted to try his best to be respectful. Not sure what to do, he silently sat there and watched as she worked.

"You know, you look a lot like him," she said, breaking the silence.

"Sorry?"

She pointed towards the picture. "My Grandson. Feels like I'm talking to a ghost- It's why I mistook him for you initially." She finished the last mochi and placed it on the plate with a sense of accomplishment. "Today is or would have been his birthday."

"How old would he have turned today?" Sai spoke staring at the photo.

"Twenty-Five."

He somehow felt even worse for asking now that he knew. How terrible. A Grandma living beyond her Grandson who bit the dust too soon felt too depressing for him to comprehend. But he did feel bad. At least for her.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He said knowing it was the proper phrase to say to someone grieving the death of a loved one.

But afterward, the two sat in silence staring at the depressing display of Birthday mochi, her dead Grandson, and incense burning in his memory.

"What if I told you there's a chance he's not dead?"

Sai froze. He narrowed his eyes. "How so?"

"He's been missing for years. Mist Shinobi were tasked to look for him but came back with no leads. He was proclaimed dead."

"A disappearance does not mean death."

"I don't want to get my hopes up. Just because they didn't turn up with a body, doesn't mean he's still out there. The world is huge. His body could be buried anywhere. But a small—small part of me wants to think he's still alive."

"When did you see him last?"

She hesitated for a moment but then spoke. "Three years ago. He visited me before he moved from a nearby village to a bigger city—The Village hidden in the Steam... It's unfortunate, all I remember was badgering him with worries about the move. I didn't think those moments together were my last... I thought every unreplied letter I wrote to him was just a part of our disagreement, but I found out from the village's law enforcement that he had gone missing before he could even reply... The truth of the matter is that he's gone. No one knows where he went. Why he went. If he was murdered or kidnapped. All I know is that the longer someone goes missing unfound, the likelihood of them being alive becomes slim."

"But not zero. Until they find a body, they cannot proclaim him dead."

Sai felt as if he had to do something. He was a Root Anbu. He was thorough in all his work. Thus, he couldn't wrap his head around the Mist Shinobi allowing the case to go cold and with no leads, proclaiming him dead. Did they really search as hard as they could? Were they unable to uncover the important details to finding her grandson?

Of course, he knew looking into this could get dicey. He could find him dead and become the bearer of bad news to someone he had given hope. Or worse, he could find her grandson alive. Meaning that he intentionally disappeared due to something more sinister.

But then he thought about another possibility. Maybe he was being held hostage. Held against his will. Experimented on, much like the many people Orochimaru kidnapped. Perhaps he was someone who still needed saving even after all these years.

It was just a possibility among many others. But because it was possible, it was more reason to keep looking.

Sai stood up and tidied his things, getting ready to leave. "I will help you look for him."

"You will? Are you sure? Aren't you here on behalf of the leaf?"

"And the Leaf is allied with the Mist. I'd be happy to be the Shinobi to close the case and get you the closure you deserve." And who knows? Maybe the perpetrator may have something to do with the safety and well-being of the Leaf.

"I can't accept your help. I don't have nearly enough to compensate you fairly."

"Your statements are enough. As I said, I am here to help any civilians in need and if the person who caused this is still out in the open, they must be brought to justice before more people become victimized. Please tell me everything you know so I can do my best to find him." He said pulling out his notebook.

They talked for two hours, gathering as much evidence as he could. Afterwards, they said their goodbyes and then he was off. With two pages on the case, the photograph of her Grandson, and a freshly cooked meal to hold him through the first night he headed towards the Village hidden in the Steam.

Zoracci: I'm glad it is getting interesting! I really do worry that some of the plot that I try to set up may come across as dry (especially in this chapter) but most of it is there for a reason. Or at least it should be. Don't worry about Sai finding his answer about love though. He will and I have the perfect Idea for it. I am so excited to get there.

Fanofthisfiction: Unfortunately, I don't have Freakykitty13's permission. I have reached out Via PM but I have yet to receive a response. I know this does put me in a moral grey area about IP and credit and potentially ruining someone else's story. I originally wasn't sure if was going to post it, because I was planning on writing it for my own sake. So when I did post it, I figured that if someone else wanted an ending of a sort, that it was there. In terms of Ino and her character growth, I was glad that you were able to appreciate a new perspective on her! I was worried she was getting too edgy for the Iconic Ino we all know and love. I think the fact that she can't do anything about it is what hurts most. Ino's the type of character that likes the take things into her own hands, and when she can't, learning to accept that is a hard pill to swallow. That but also just growing up and seeing everyone around you move on. It's a feeling I'm sure we can all relate to.

Thank you so much for your comments. It seriously made my night. I didn't think anyone would read this. But I suppose now the pressure's on considering I have to live up to the original.

Have a lovely day. Or night.

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