A/N: I am so happy to be back since it is summer break! I am so happy to be able to upload a lot more

To Change Fate

Chapter 12: The Journey Begins

The rest of the day was the usual backbreaking work at the shop. Humiya and Karashi would wait tables while Sanchō diligently worked in the kitchen with Sasuke as her little helper. Humiya never thought she would ever become a waitress. In her past life, being a waitress was at the bottom of the list of jobs because of the lack of pay and tipping culture. Not that those concerns mattered now. Humiya was neither paid for her work nor was tipping a thing in River Country. She was a penniless girl.

Humiya shook her head as she wiped down the wooden tables and fluffed the seat cushions. Having a place to stay and having a loving grandma like Sanchō was enough. At least, that's what Humiya reminded herself whenever the work felt a bit too daunting. Child labor was the only fault of living in this place, but she would take complaining customers over running into rogue ninjas deep in the woods any day.

Her stomach began to growl, and she looked toward the screen front door.

The evening rush recently ended, and she hoped that no one was going to come in. It was dinner time and Humiya didn't want to wait for her evening curry. It was the best meal of the day or that was her hunger pangs talking.

Sadly, the door burst open.

"Is my darling Sanchō around?!"

She knew that white turban from anywhere. It was the old spice merchant from the market. He grinned at her before he sat himself at the table she had just cleaned. Humiya did her best to hide her grimace, covering it with a placid smile. She was going to have to clean that table again.

"Welcome, Mr. Rakkyo. She's in the kitchen," Humiya said.

"Oh, Rakkyo! What a surprise!" Sanchō cried, rushing out of the kitchen. "Do you have the spices I ordered?"

Rakkyo chuckled, stroking his white beard.

"Darling, I would give you the world if I could. Of course I have the spices! Coriander seeds, turmeric, cumin, chili peppers. All spices you ever need to run this fantastic shop,"

Humiya sighed to herself as she finished cleaning the tables. Rakkyo would come once in a blue moon and stay in their spare room. Other customers sometimes use the spare room as well, but they paid for it.

"Karashi, can you please get the room ready?" Sanchō called.

Karashi was focused on sweeping the floor when Sanchō's voice made him jump.

"Y-yes Grandma!"

Sanchō sat across from Rakkyo and placed her hand under her chin, a gleam in her eyes.

"How long will you be staying?" she asked.

Rakkyo held her hand and sighed.

"Just for tonight, I'm afraid. Konoha finally opened its gates to Suna again. Was wondering when conflicts would settle,"

Konoha?! Humiya thought as she perked up.

"That ninja village?! You know how dangerous Fire Country has been since the earthquake. There are two things more dangerous than ninjas and that's rogue ninja and bandits. And they both increased in numbers," Sanchō said, fanning herself.

Rakkyo nodded, patting her hand in an attempt to calm her.

"Yes, yes, but Konoha has recovered a lot since then and I have been meaning to resume trade there,"

Before Humiya could listen anymore, Sanchō turned to her.

"Humiya, you don't need to be so curious about Konoha. It is a dangerous place," Sanchō said, "Now, go help Sasuke wash the dishes before serving yourself some dinner,"

Humiya nodded before doing just that, grumbling to herself.

Sasuke was washing dishes when Humiya entered. He stood on a stool on his tippy-toes, one pile of clean dishes to his left and an even higher pile of dirty plates to his right. The rest of the kitchen looked clean, so the dishes must have been the only thing that needed to be done before dinner. His eyes brightened as she walked to him.

"Finally, some help! Can you dry and put away the dishes?" Sasuke pleaded with his puppy dog eyes. "You know how much Grandma hates dishes on the drying rack,"

"That's the plan," Humiya said, rolling up her sleeves. She grabbed a cloth and began to dry and put away the clean dishes and utensils.

She tried to listen in on what Sanchō and Rakkyo were talking about, but the sound of the sink drowned out their whispers.

"What got you so curious?" Sasuke asked as he scrubbed another plate.

Humiya sighed as she put away another dish.

"They were talking about Konoha," Humiya whispered.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Like in the stories you tell me at bedtime?"

"They aren't just stories," Humiya grumbled, "Our family is out there in Konoha,"

Sasuke handed Humiya another clean dish.

"Grandma and Karashi are our family,"

"Our other family then,"

Sasuke stopped washing the dishes.

"If we have a whole other family in Konoha, why haven't they come looking for us? And why doesn't Grandma know,"

There were many times that Humiya wanted to tell Sanchō about her family and Konoha, but she saw the fear in her eyes whenever Konoha was mentioned. Not only that, Sanchō was sadly much too old and weak to make the long journey over there even if she did want to go there. She did tell Karashi about her family in Konoha and he told her that it was best to go visit there when they were older and equipped for the journey. It was sensible, but the Uchiha clan did not have that long before the massacre.

"It's complicated," Humiya said.

And they left it at that.

That night, Humiya thought about nothing but Konoha, Itachi and their parents. How many more years would she let pass by without seeing them?

She was so close to a solution. Just in the spare bedroom was her ticket back to Konoha sleeping like a baby. She could not let this opportunity slip past her.

Sasuke slept soundly next to her in his cotton futon. Humiya slowly got out of bed and started to pack her patched satchel for the long journey. When Humiya was done, she went and kissed Sasuke on the forehead.

"I promise to come back for you," she whispered before tiptoeing into the hallway.

She could hear Sanchō's loud snores as she walked down the stairs and into the dining hall. She stopped at a painting that was on the wall.

Humiya was so surprised and happy that Sanchō gave her painting supplies for her birthday. This was her first art piece since she was reincarnated. Humiya was quite rusty, and she could nitpick all of her imperfections, but when she showed it to Sanchō, all she saw was perfection.

Humiya smiled at the memory. It was one of the many happy memories she had made with her family. A part of her so desperately wanted to stay and forget about everything. Live happily as Sanchō's granddaughter and grow up here. But that can never be.

"A-are you going somewhere?" Karashi asked from behind her.

Humiya jumped at Karashi's quiet entrance and turned to him.

"You scared me,"

"Well?"

Humiya straightened her back in an attempt to make herself seem threatening.

"I am going to Konoha, and you can't stop me,"'

Karashi sighed.

"I knew this day will come,"

He handed her a pouch. Humiya caught it and opened it. It was full of Ryo.

"Thank you," Humiya said as she held the pouch close.

"N-no need to thank me. Just, just come back safe," Karashi said.

Humiya ran over and hugged him. Then she left and slipped into the spice merchant's wagon. She found an empty barrel to hide in.