Yugure's body was hot. Sweat poured down her forehead as she struggled through the dunes, supported by us. Although Kaito's herbs took away much of the pain, she was still very weak. The cold of the night made matters worse. Despite the extra coat, she was freezing miserably. Even though she wasn't complaining. Not a sound escaped her lips. Yugure was too proud for that. When we were not far from the gate, Kaito asked us to wait for a moment. Exhausted, we sank to our knees. Unlike this afternoon, the sand was now freezing cold.

The inflamed wound on Yugure's arm stank terribly. Nevertheless, I continued to hold her tight. Her eyes fluttered tiredly. A tremor ran through her body. I felt my heart stop when she lifted her healthy arm and put her hand on mine.

„Stay away from the garbage cans in future, Asna," she said in a trembling voice. I paused, as she confirmed exactly what I had been thinking.

„Rats," I muttered. Yugure nodded weakly.

„I've been thinking a lot today to keep myself awake. Sometimes I regretted going to your place instead of the garbage cans. But now, I think differently. Stick to Yun."

„Who?" I began, but was interrupted by approaching footsteps.

Two figures came in our direction. The man next to Kaito was wearing the uniform of the city guard. I immediately jumped up, pulled out the kunai and stood protectively over Yugure. Surprise flashed in the eyes of my counterpart. Kaito shook his head slightly and I hesitantly took a step back as Yugure began to smile at the sight of the stranger.

„Yun," she said softly.

The stranger knelt down next to her and carefully took her hand. I had seen him on patrol a few times before. But why did he know Yugure? She spoke to him so familiarly that I didn't know what hit me. Hadn't she always railed against the government and the shinobi? Against the rules and the way we were treated? Had that been a lie?

„Yun, this is Asna," Yugure said quietly and I felt the man's gaze on me. Something tensed inside me. I suspected what she wanted. But I wouldn't commit, I wouldn't trust, I wouldn't make friends.

Yun looked at me for a moment. I returned his gaze. Tried to read his eyes. But all I could see was his concern for Yugure. Worry and sadness. Kaito stepped next to me and put his hand on my shoulder. That actually made me feel a little more at ease.

„It looks like this is the end of my journey, Yun," Yugure said quietly. He didn't say anything back, but gripped her hand a little tighter. His lips quivered slightly. I looked questioningly at Kaito, but he just shook his head. He probably didn't know anything more, except that they knew each other.

Yugure's breathing became more and more irregular when Yun suddenly pointed to the sky. It had darkened unusually. Clouds were piling up and the wind was getting stronger. It wouldn't be long before it started to rain. A rarity in the desert.

„This is a good time to leave. Please burn my body and spread my ashes to the wind. I would like to allow myself a little freedom now," Yugure managed to say. Her eyes flitted back and forth between Yun and me. She had always thought of the walls around Sunagakure as a prison. Now she was free, really free.

Looking at her as she lay there in the sand. Yun had closed her eyes and crouched quietly beside her. Deprived of any words. I felt numb. So this was what it was like when someone died. Yugure and I hadn't been too close, but her death still left me feeling a certain emptiness.

We burned Yugure's body, just as she had wished. The clouds were almost black by now. But Yun didn't seem to care. He even smiled sadly, looking up at the sky. Then he took a breath to blow away the ashes with a simple jutsu.

„Yugure was never particularly fond of children, but she seems to have taken a liking to you. I would like to offer you a place to stay with me. Then you would have a roof over your head and always enough to eat," he winked at me kindly.

I was silent for a moment, thinking about what to say.

„That's a really nice offer, but I'll stay on the street. This is my home. The shinobi have no place for me."

„Yeah...it's hard to fit into the system. Or you get pushed into it, take your pick," Yun finally replied. „Anyway, my door is always open to you."

I smiled cautiously, but kept a certain distance. Yun was and remained a stranger to me. I didn't know him. All I knew was that he seemed to have liked Yugure a lot. But I didn't have much of a connection with her and I knew very little about her. And I hardly knew him either.

„Take care of yourself Asna," Yun said and patted me on the shoulder. My hand shot out and took hold of his. I didn't like touches like this. Not with people I didn't know. Maybe I would have allowed it with Kairi. But then there was no one else but her.

Yun tensed under my grip. The first raindrops fell on my skin. Laughter reached my ears. I turned around and saw a child, a child dancing on a green hill in the rain. But we were in the desert. How was it possible that...?

„Come on Asna...let's go back," I blinked. Kaito had his arm around my shoulders and was leading me towards the city. I looked back at Yun, who kept looking after us.

It had happened again. This unexplainable thing. I had seen things I had never seen before. Things I didn't recognize. But who should I talk to about it? Kairi? I didn't see her often and when I did, we hardly had time because we weren't allowed to be seen together. I had no one. Even if I could trust her. I could feel that. Still, it was too risky.

„Yes... let's go," I heard myself say.

And then, as we scurried through the gates of the city under the protection of the walls, it started to pour. Within a few heartbeats, Kaito and I were soaked to the bone.

No one was to be seen on the streets, they all retreated into their houses, but the people from the Quarter of Ashes stood on the street and looked up at the sky as if they couldn't quite believe it. Some even danced in the rain. Others tried to catch the water with countless containers and bowls.

But I knew that there was an area in Yugure's former home where the rainwater collected. It was very hidden and I had only discovered it by chance. I had never told her about it myself. She seemed to have known about it too.

When Kaito and I stepped through the entrance of the collapsed house, I recognized two children sitting in the middle, warming their hands by a small fire. They flinched as we entered.

Kaito didn't lift a finger as I moved in the direction of the other two. They were probably only as old as me.

„Get out, this is our hiding place. We discovered it first," the girl shouted and came at me. I dodged her punch and hit her in the stomach with my fist. She gasped for air and staggered. The boy who had been holding back before now seized the opportunity and rammed his shoulder into my side. Something flashed in his hand, a knife. I barely managed to dodge the blade, but still felt it graze my cheek. Blood oozed from the wound. That seemed to make him bolder.

I reached out with my head and bumped my forehead against his. He groaned and I rolled us over. Pressing my knee into his back, I pinned him to the ground. The knife close to his neck. We were both panting hard. But the girl didn't attack. Her eyes widened in fear as she stared at me. As if she expected me to finish him off.

„I think you know who owns this place now? Don't you?" I asked emphatically. The boy nodded hastily. I pressed the blade to his neck once more and then let him go. He stood up hastily. And I was about to do the same when he swung out with his foot and hit me on the side of the head. Pain exploded in my temple and I staggered. He had taken advantage of my blind side. I hadn't seen the blow coming.

„And what are you going to do now, freak?" he hissed as he pressed his knife to my throat. I shrugged my shoulders.

„That depends."

„On what?" he asked suspiciously.

„How sensitive you are," I said and pulled up my own knife. It left a deep cut in his upper arm. He let go of me almost immediately. Tears came to his eyes as he gritted his teeth and tried to resist the pain.

„Akuma, Akuma," the girl cried, rushing to his side. Only now did I realize the resemblance between the two of them. They were siblings. Maybe even twins. They only had each other. I lowered the knife, which I had raised high before, and finally put it back on my belt.

„It's just a scratch, Yui," Akuma replied, but I could see how much it hurt him. And at that moment, I made a decision.

„Kaito," I said quietly and looked at him. He seemed to understand. I let him give me bandages while he knelt down in front of the twins to clean their wounds. Then I bandaged Akuma's injury.

„I have a suggestion," I said. Akuma looked up. He didn't trust me. I could see it in his eyes. I sighed softly.

„You can stay here until your arm is okay and then find something to do yourselves. We'd live independently, but whenever one of us needs help, we'll support each other."

Akuma chewed on his lower lip and looked hesitantly at Yui, who had scooted closer to him. She wrapped both arms around her body. But I couldn't trust them yet. I had stretched out my hand. It was a peace offering. It had nothing to do with trust. They just had to accept it. Then all three of us could feel at least a little safer.

„Okay," he said then. Yui looked relieved and Kaito finished the treatment. Then I showed the two of them where they could sleep. They fell asleep almost immediately.

For a moment, I just stood there and looked down at the sleeping children. I wondered if it had been the right decision. But the thought vanished as soon as my gaze fell on Yugure's old sleeping place. In my mind's eye, I could almost see her sitting there, with her pale skin and slightly sunken face. Yet she had been strong. And now she was free.

Kaito stood at the entrance to the sky, staring out into the rain. His dark hair was sticking out on all sides. He looked exhausted.

„I'll leave when the children are gone," he said quietly to me.

„Why did you stay at all? I thought wanderers didn't take sides."

Kaito shrugged his shoulders.

„I didn't. It was your fight and you had to win it. I'm just someone who wanders between worlds. I help where I can and gather more knowledge. That's my goal and nothing else."

I nodded understandingly.

„Thank you."

„Gladly," he replied quietly and looked at me. „I think we'll still be seeing a lot of each other. Maybe I'll stop by in a few months to see if you're still alive."

I snorted.

„Thanks for the motivation, I'll take it to heart."

„It would be nice if," he added.

„Sounds better already," I grumbled and he laughed.

„I have no doubt you'll make it. You've got guts and you're not the stupidest."

I looked at him silently, but he didn't return my gaze. He just kept looking into the rain. Seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

„At some point, this world will get a storm. A storm that could either destroy it completely or from which we could build something entirely new. Maybe you'll be one of those builders, Asna," he said more to himself than to me. At first I didn't say anything back to his words. Sometimes he really did speak in riddles.

„I live in the day," I said. „Let's see what comes next."