***Mashimoto Kishimoto owns Naruto. I own Kumiko and Natsumi.***
Recap:
She glanced at the clock. It was 11pm. Then she went to bed, and pretended to be sleeping. She did all this without making a sound.
Someone knocked on the door and then opened it. "Kumiko?" asked Natsumi. She smiled at the girl "sleeping". "Kumiko, you couldn't sleep, huh?" asked Natsumi. Kumiko was startled, but didn't show it. "Don't forget that I am a ninja, and since I'm a ninja, I could sense that you are still awake," stated Natsumi ."Good night, Kumiko." "Good night." croaked Kumiko. The entire night, Kumiko had trouble sleeping. She kept thinking about her family, and had a sleepless night.
Chapter Three- Settling In Konoha
***Next morning***
Kumiko woke to the smell of eggs and bacon cooking, it was just like her mom. "Mom?" asked Kumiko hopefully.
"No, it's just me," laughed Natsumi. Kumiko face fell slightly, and was glad that she had her mask on so Natsumi couldn't see her face. "Breakfast is served!" said Natsumi cheerfully.
Kumiko cleared her throat softly, "Umm, Natsumi?"
"Yeah?" asked Natsumi absently.
"I want-I want to thank you for helping me. You're so kind. I mean, you didn't have to, and you did, and-" Kumiko spoke in a rush, but was stopped by Natsumi covering Kumiko's mouth (well, where her mouth would be if she didn't wear a mask).
"Yeah, I get it. You're welcome. Don't worry. Besides, my ninja way is to help people in danger. That's why I became one, you know," she said smiling sadly. "If-" she bit her lip and restarted. "If you wouldn't mind, could you tell me about you?"
Kumiko nodded. "Alright."Kumiko began, "Well, I can't remember anything from when I was five and younger, but I can remember everything after that." So Kumiko started her story, and what happened to her. The only thing she didn't tell was about the magic items, as her sister told her to keep quiet. In turn, Natsumi began to talk about Kohona, as she would be living there soon. Kumiko ate with one hand on her mask slightly pulled up so her face wasn't shown.
***Twelve days later***
"Hey, Kumiko-chan! Pack up now! We're going to leave in three hours, so if you need to do anything, just meet me back here.....". Natsumi trailed off.
"Thanks, Natsumi-san," smiled Kumiko.
"Eh. No prob. And stop calling me that! Just 'chan' would be all right." replied Natsumi. "Say... would you like to go back to your house? To get some of your stuff?"
Kumiko nodded slowly.
Natsumi picked up everything. "Let's go, Kumiko-chan!"
As they got to the Sand village, Natsumi seemed to realize something.
"Oops, what if the corpses are still there?" she muttered under her breath. Then she froze and looked at Kumiko, who was looking at Natsumi.
"Err.... You didn't hear anything! Nothing at all!" She frantically covered Kumiko's ears.
Kumiko decided to pretend she didn't hear anything. "Eh? Did you say something, Natsumi-chan?"
"Er...no."
(A/N: Natsumi can tell if Kumiko is sleeping or not, but can't tell if she was lying... XD)
"Er, Kumiko-chan, please stay here first, and I'll come back in a few minutes."
"Can I...visit my friend?"
"Fine. I'll go with you so I'll know where you are."
"Okay." Kumiko began to search for Gaara, ignoring all the hateful glares. Natsumi followed, glaring back at the villagers.
Kumiko ran to the back of the Kazekage's sand mansion.
There was Gaara, sitting sullenly on the ground.
"Everyone always dies..... always..."
"Gaara-kun! Kumiko panted, out of breath.
He turned with a surprised look.
"K-Kumi-chan?"
Kumiko nodded, as Natsumi left.
"I thought you died. Or left me."
"W-well, Natsumi said that I wasn't safe anymore in the Sand village, so she brought me with her." Kumiko explained. "I can't stay...."
Gaara turned away. "Whatever." he muttered angrily.
"Gaara-kun?"
"......"
Kumiko frowned. "I'm going to the Leaf village..... we can still visit each other..."
Gaara frowned. "Promise?"
"Uh-huh!" She smiled sweetly. "Pinky promise!" Kumiko stuck out her pinky.
Gaara hesitated. "Okay."
They hooked their pinkies together, and Kumiko hugged Gaara just as Natsumi appeared.
"You can go to your house now, Kumi-chan."
Kumiko smiled at Gaara. "Bye Gaara-kun! Visit me, m'kay?"
"Yeah." Gaara smiled.
***********
Kumiko already packed everything. She went to her house, and said goodbye to her family's headstones. She put fresh flowers around the graves. As she was leaving, she felt something like a hand touch her. When she whirled around, there was nothing but a falling leaf. "Strange..." she murmured as she picked up the leaf and put it into her pouch. "Why would there be a tree leaf in Suna?" she questioned the air. She shrugged. Then, she started to run back.
"Ready?" shouted Natsumi.
"Ready!" replied Kumiko to Natsumi who had been so kind to her for the past two weeks since her family died. They set off to Kohona.
***End of Kumiko's (long) flashback***
Kumiko's P.O.V.
What the- the village is so large! I have never expected so large a village, even with Mom and Natsumi telling me about its size! I looked in surprise at my surroundings.
"Heh., said Natsumi "You still surprised, even after I told you about the size and such?"
I nodded at her.
"Well, here the third Hokage. Let's talk to him about where you're going to live and such, shall we?"
I was getting anxious, but I managed to squeak out a "yes" to her. I saw a old man walking towards us. "How did he know about us so fast?" I wondered.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you, I sent a letter to him telling him about you, so don't worry." laughed Natsumi.
The old man -excuse me -third Hokage said "Hello young lady." to me and smiled. Then he and Natsumi started to talk, and I let my mind drift a bit. Then I heard:
"Kumiko-chan? Kumiko-chan?" asked Natsumi. "The third Hokage has been trying to talk to you!"
I snapped out of my thoughts and quickly apologized " Sorry, Hokage, I was lost in my thoughts." I said, embarrassed.
"Don't worry, it's okay." he chuckled.
"Thank you, Hokage." I told him. I was relieved that he wasn't too mad!
"Hmm, let's see. Please follow me to your apartment." he told me. I waved good bye enthusiastically at Natsumi, "Goodbye! See you later!" I yelled.
She was grinning at me and said, "Yeah, later!".
The Hokage was telling me as we were walking, "You should know this. There are two other ninja orphans living here too."
I was in shock. To hear being called a orphan... I quickly pulled myself together. Come on Kumiko! He's not going to like a ninja in his village with such a terrible impression!
"Okay. Maybe I'll see them later." I replied to him. "No worries." I looked up to see him looking with concern at me, as if he was looking for any feeling of sadness in me, which I had masked. He was actually worried! Well, maybe because my mother used to live here.
"Well, here we are." He finally said. I looked up, and saw a three floor building. The outside was made out of bricks, and had a small balcony on the second floor and a small backyard. There were also withered plants in the garden in front of the place. This is going to be my home? Well, it's different then my house in Suna, but I'll get used to it.
"The first two floors are already taken, so you have the third floor." He spoke as we walked up the stairs.
"Okay." I told him.
When we got up to the third floor, he opened the door. "Someone cleaned up this place yesterday. What do you think of it? He asked me.
I looked around. Everything was beige, except for a spot of color, coming from some roses in water on the kitchen table. There was a fridge, a small kitchen, a few chairs, tables, etc. To tell the truth, even though everything was plain, I liked it because of its small size, and that's what I told him. "It's lovely. It feels...homely."
He nodded as he smiled. "Well, I'll leave you to get unpacked and relax. You can walk around the village, if you like. Just don't go outside of the village, it may be dangerous." Then he left, and I started to unpack.
Then I strolled around the village, and saw Natsumi. "Hey Natsumi-san! Uh, chan!" I yelled to her.
She came over and hugged me. "So, how was it?"
"It was a nice apartment. The Hokage here is very friendly." I told her.
"I have to tell you something. I wanted to see how you were settling in first, but.... I am going to train to become a jounin, so I would have to leave here tomorrow and will come back in two years. Okay?"
"Okay." I said sadly. Why couldn't she stay longer? But she wanted to become a jounin, and I wasn't going to stop her. I yawned while thinking this.
"Hmm..., you seem tired. Why don't you go back to sleep, and meet me at the village gates at 8 am tomorrow?"
"Okay." I said. Then, I went home, waving goodbye, and fell asleep. I was so tired......
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-Kuro Neko (Bloody_Moon)