Back in the Village

Aimi was back inside her bedroom within the clan's compound. No one except a few guards knew she was inside or back in the village for that matter but that wouldn't be for long. These guards were the chosen few that did not infuriate her and actually agreed with her modernist view of things on the clan besides her sisters. She couldn't let anyone know she was back especially her father. Things were icy between them as it was. It got to the point where she barely spent time at home and more at the bar with Mure or at the cabin in the forest alone. It sadden her sisters but they understood. It wasn't easy living with a family like theirs; more so if anyone acted like Aimi did. There were so many rules and restrictions it was no wonder why she stayed away when she did. And for this Aimi was grateful to have sisters like them. As Aimi tossed in her white shorts inside her blue book bag , a picture on her dresser caught her eye.


A pang of guilt stabbed her heart as she remembered when the picture was taken at last years New Years festival, only a year since Aimi graduated from the Ninja Academy. Cho and Eiko were delighted to go out as they weren't allowed to do so often with their father watching their every move in fear that their sister influenced them. Luckily this time gave them permission to do so as long as they brought a few guards along with them and unknown to their father their sister Aimi...

Flashback

Cho and Eiko had finally arrived at the festival much to their father's dismay. He was quite reluctant to let them go out even if he ordered more than a few guards to accompany them. They assured them that their sister was out with her friends with no plans of going to the festival as it wasn't her scene. However it didn't put him to rest. Surprising them, their mother helped them out, telling him that they were fine and it wasn't going to happen again. The two twins were very confused, having no clue to what incident their mother was referring to. But they shrugged it off since they believed it wasn't important. With an exasperated sigh, Hisoka pinched the bridge of his nose  and reluctantly allowed them to go out to the festival without them. It was now night fall and the girls grinned deviously as they both took out a small smoke bomb with a light sleeping gas and threw them at the ground. With a loud chorus of surprised cries, the guards flew into a panic but quickly fell asleep however one of them made it out the cloud and grabbed the girls' arm, fearing an attack. He felt a bit dazed but the gas hadn't really gotten to him since he wore a mask that covered his nose and mouth. The girls looked panicked but not for the reason the guard believed. However their frowns turned to grins as they saw a figure appear behind him and hit the back of his neck to knock it out. The figure removed her straw hat to reveal it was Aimi.

"Onee-chan!" they chorused "You're here!" Cho and Eiko happily threw themselves at their sister. Their eyes widen in glee when they saw how she was dressed. "You're even wearing a kimono"

Aimi caught the pair in her arms, stumbling a bit as she wasn't used to wearing wooden sandals. She gave them a toothy grin as she hugged them gently "Of course I would be here. I promised cha didn't I? And I must say you guys followed the plan perfectly" When her siblings commented on her choice of attire she blushed slightly and nervously avoided eye contact "W-well i-it um is a festival. Plus it's not too bad"

Cho and Eiko grinned at their sister's embarrassment, pleased because they knew only they could cause such a reaction from her. "Or maybe" Cho started "You wore it" Eiko continued. "For a boy!" the girls exclaimed together. Aimi just sighed and shook her head as she lead the girls inside the festival grounds, not caring for the guards since they would be asleep for awhile.

End of Flashback

Aimi stared at the photo and frowned before she slapped her cheeks. It wouldn't do to worry about it. Her sisters would understand why she left again. She zipped up her bag and pulled it over her shoulders as she opened the window. But as she was about to leave she glanced back at the photo and bit her lip. Perhaps...it would be best if she left a note for them. Feeling no harm in it she quickly wrote down a small note and handed it to a guard who stood outside her doorway to keep an eye out. "Make sure only Cho and Eiko get this and no one else" The guard nodded as he pocketed the letter and with that she left.

Presently at the border

Aimi huffed, slightly winded, as she sat atop a large rock. She looked around her, scanning the area. She was waiting for Mure as she waited her at the meeting place. They were quite lucky to be aloud to go to Suna since normally genin had to travel with two others of the same rank to travel but they hope with Mure's status as a chuunin that it would place it out which it did. Speaking of Mure, she was perplexed as to why he suddenly wanted to go to Suna. He didn't really explain why just saying that they could get some training and more experience as shinobi if she did. She had no problem with it, in fact she was overjoyed to have an opportunity to get out of Konoha more even if it was Suna of all places. She only visited it once when she was younger and she can't remember much of the trip. Her family assures her nothing happen, only she got sick with a fever not long after arriving and they had to leave early but she can't help but feel there was more to it. Perhaps this trip would allow her to gain some clarity.

1079~
Travel complete! (600/600)

Mure was excited to be heading to Suna. It was a new place. Somewhere he could train and not be feared. Finding a sensei for the cursed Aburame had been near impossible. Each of them afraid of disappearing like his previous instructors. He didn't like the cursed Aburame thing even slightly. It had done something to him, He always felt angry when someone came after him now for no reason other then being who he was. He had blacked out a couple of times only to see he had wrecked someone pretty badly when he came too. It was something in him that scared him and so he was going to run from it. He didn't want to be an angry person and he also kind of wanted to play in the sand. Do things like drink cactus milk and see a puppeteer. He was incredibly excited to be going somewhere that didn't hate him. Even if he was dragging his big sister along. She was better with people anyways and he liked keeping her around. Though to be honest he didn't have a great plan. A rather childish one actually. He figured they would just do missions for Suna that didn't do anything against Konoha's interests and use the ryo for that to pay for an apartment. Why not right?

Mure himself was rather packed for it all. He was wearing the grey long sleeve shirt she had bought for him and a pair of blue jeans with a pair of brown boots. And of course that weird gas mask that didn't work that he always was wearing. His Konoha headband was tied around his waist like a belt, while his unkempt and incredibly messy grey hair bounced with every step he took. Though his gas mask hid everything below the eyes his dull yellow eyes were almost beaming with happiness and curiosity. But that was hardly what drew attention. Somehow Mure had found a fairly large pull cart. One of those carts with two wheels. Inside of the pull cart was three things. The two dressers from their room filled with their things...not taken apart or anything but the full dressers. He had once again proved his odd strength by hauling the full dressers downstairs on his own...and who was going to stop him? The bartender actually got a good laugh out of it. Hence the lunch being squished by them of chicken strips tucked into the corner of the cart. Mure had also dumped his savings worth of ryo at the convenience store and purchased the entire laydown fridge filled with water. Which he had also put the fridge filled with water bottles into the cart. Forgetting that once unplugged it didn't really keep the water cold anymore. And with the cart stuffed full he had taken off down the road. A small fourteen year old joy filled kid hauling a cart full of three things twice his size.

Mure had hauled the cart all the way to the border before catching up to Aimi. He waved as the cart jolted and nearly lost it before catching up to her remaining on the road for the carts convenience. With a grin behind his mask he simply smiled at her with those happy little eyes Suna was just across the border and soon it would be a whole new adventure with suna people and their fun new things and maybe he would finally evade this curse. Maybe he wouldn't be hated in this new land. And he would be allowed to grow without prejudice. That was his hope.

611/600 travel complete!