She stumbled out of the forest, approaching Konoha's gates hesitantly. This was all new to her. She had never been in the Hidden Leaf Village before and she didn't know what to expect. The air was colder, but the rays of sunlight warmed her.
With a grim expression as to stay strong, the young girl entered the village, finding out that there weren't many people out at that time of day. With trembling fingers, she took out her map of Konoha, on which her father had marked his mother's place.
A few minutes passed by as she walked through town, careful not to draw any attention. She quickly found herself in the market district, judging from the several shops located there. Since it was still early morning, they were all closed, to her relief. She couldn't stand a mass of people right now... she couldn't even stand herself. Guilt had grown inside her yet again - it was her fault if her father got hurt by the clan.
After the clan had planned to marry her off to another man in order to receive money, her father had told Misoka to leave Suna.
So there she was, in Konoha, safe from the clan's dirty hands. At least for now.

As exhaustion overcame her, Misoka decided to rest on one of the benches in the street. She had travelled for three days with hardly any breaks so she felt tired and worn out. Why did her life have to change so abruptly? With a deep sigh, she rested her head in her hands.
She wanted to empty her mind and find some peace in doing so. But the memories came back again and again. All the time.

"...to you a thousand times."

She didn't know for how long she had been sitting on this bench, holding her head, simply waiting for the earth to swallow her up. The silence was more of a pain than a peace of mind. It was certainly best to just stand up and keep on moving.
Before she could do so, though, a female voice reached her ears.
"Mi-Misoka? Is that you?"
Surprised, the young girl lifted her head, looking up at an old woman with kind, blue eyes. Misoka blinked.
"Grandma?"
She had last seen her grandmother when she had been twelve years old. During that time, the old woman had lived in Suna before moving to Konoha a few months later.
"Yes, yes it's me," came the happy reply as the small, white-haired woman pulled Misoka in a tight embrace. "I've been searching for you." She moved back a bit, looking her grand-child over. "You've grown so much and into such a beautiful young lady. How can they even think of doing something that horrible to you?"
Misoka swallowed hard, but she could read in her grandmother's eyes that she didn't expect a reply.
Together, they made their way to her new home. They passed the shops and a small park. There were still only few people around.

"Thank you." It was not much, not enough, but Misoka was glad that she could at least breathe out these two simple words.

A week later

Time didn't pass quickly. It never did whenever you wanted it to. The days were long and tedious and Misoka figured that her grandmother was a lot like her father. She wouldn't let Misoka go out often, always worrying that someone of the clan might be out to catch her. As a result, the young girl didn't get to know any people. She wished that her friends from Suna would be here and at the same time, she was very grateful that her grandmother looked after her so well. To express her gratitude, Misoka helped doing the household, cleaned up and cooked although she felt her cooking skills needed a lot of practise.

On a sunny, warm day in Konoha, she went out to the market district to go grocery shopping.

Synn moved through the town at a brisk walking pace. He managed to walk around with out knocking people over but for now he was certainly distracted. Rumors of a blonde girl as beautiful as the sun had reached him and had instantly caused his suspicions to grow. It was the trade mark of his clan to draw the eye to them and he worked very hard to tone himself down. But now there was another. Could they be of the same clan?

He moved into the market district and hopped up on top of on of the sheds to sit there and chew on an apple he had stolen before any one could notice. His green eye scanning the crowd. He had faked being a Konoha nin for some time now with out being caught. But this he had to investigate.

His red hair had grown out and now was held back into a pony tail. His dark coat had white outlines and the head band stitched into the shoulder. Normal pants and boots where his lower half. Around his neck hung a necklace that dipped into his black Tshirt. But his eye was a startling green color and his other eye hidden behind bangs and an eye patch.

He watched for the better part of the day but what had alerted him that she had arrived was how the dull roar of the crowd turned into a murmur like a wave. As if every conversation had turned to blushing whispers as a blonde entered the market. Target acquired. He frowns as he didn't recognize her but unless she was supremely gifted in looks she was likely from his clan. For now he sits there chewing on his stolen apple and watching.

"So... what do we need?" She muttered to herself, tracing her finger over the groceries her grandmother had written on the shopping list. The market district was full of people that day who were weaving in and out of the stores, chatting away happily. She felt it was best to go out on days like these when there were so many people around that they would not take notice of her.
As she made her way through the crowd, however, people started murmuring and staring at her, some of them even pointed. She stopped dead in her tracks and gulped. This was bad. This was certainly not what she'd had in mind. A wave of anxiousness washed over her as she couldn't tune out the whispers anymore.
"There she is again." "Yes, I told you there's that girl." "She must be new to this town."
Her heart stumbled a bit, then picked up, louder and faster than before. All she had tried to do this week was to stay undiscovered by anyone, to blend in with the crowd, an ordinary person visiting her grandmother.
Hot and cold chills crept down her spine one after another as she pictured the worst in her mind. Rumour spread fast and which way would be the easiest to get an escaped clan member back? Listen to people talk.
She had been so naive not to conceal herself by wearing a mask or something similar. Her grandmother was certainly not at fault - She didn't really know much about her clan issue other than the fact that she would be taking care of her for a while.

After taking a deep breath, Misoka walked on and changed her direction towards one of the smaller sheds. She leaned her back against the wooden wall, being careful to keep a weak smile on her lips. How could you act the most inconspiciuously? She still had to find an answer to this.
Anyway, her grocery shopping had to be put on hold for a while. Her mind was occupied with how she could draw people's gazes away from her, how she could try and kill the rumours floating around.
With a dazed glance, she kept her eyes on her shopping list as though she would go through the needed things mentally.

Synn sighed as he watched the girls reaction. How she froze for a moment. How her hands seem to shake as she tried so hard to act normal. She made it obvious to him that she was not here on visitation rights from Suna. He chuckled as he watched her. Some one else of his clan trying to pull off what he had. But He could only assume. She might just be trying to lure him out. But he could think of a number of reasons to run from the clan.

The clan was in his mind a bunch of whores and pimps. Gaining what they wanted through pure vanity. Sleeping with the enemy for intel or arranged marriages. The cost of the flesh for one of his own was high. He wondered how she would of been allowed to escape. Either way he shrugs and observes as she moves over to the shed he was on. Leaning against the wood. He could hear the quiver in her breath. She was either incredibly skilled as some one to lure him out or was honestly in trouble.

So he sighs and tosses the apple core to the side and swallows. Before sliding down the slanted roof by moving his feet from where they where planted. Upon reaching the edge his powerful fingers grip the edge and he lets the upper half of his body hand over the edge. His long hair dangling below his head and his cross shaped necklace slipping out of his shirt and swaying to the left side of his face.

"Yo." He said nonchalantly.

"Yo."

To say she jumped a bit was an understatement. Her breath caught in her throat as she hastily tried to stagger back, meeting only the wooden wall behind her, though. She must come off as extremely fearful or cautious and she hated how her emotions were written all over her face.

"Wh-Who are you?" She managed to choke out, clearing her throat shortly after in an attempt to regain her confidence. How much more suspicious did she want to become?
As she looked at the boy's face in front of her more closely, her heart stopped for a split second.
His face was incredibly handsome and his eyes of a deep rich green. She swallowed hard. Could this be a coincidence? Or was he really a member of her clan, a relative of hers?
She couldn't speak anymore, but she couldn't move, either. How come the clan had found her so quickly? Had all her effort been for nothing?

With obvious fear in her eyes, she gazed at the red-haired boy, expecting him to lash out at any second.

Synn frowned at the reaction he got with a quizzical look. It seemed odd that a shinobi would be so shocked by his appearance. He was almost sure now that she was a run away like him. Her features where almost like they where carved to perfection and her eyes seemed to delve into the deep blue of a clear sky over the endless ocean. He quirked an eye brow before switching his weight slowly lowering to the ground with his feet touching first. His very movements a trained gracefulness that drew the eye to his toned features.

He stood now at his full impressive height as he folded one arm over his chest the opposite arm resting the elbow on the forearm and the hand stroking his chin as if in thought as he studied her. Upon closer inspection of himself he had put darker hair dye in his hair to kill the sheen of his natural red hair and some light make up had been applied to tone down the perfection of his skin. His clothes where kind of basic and covered most of him. He had disguised most of his born beauty well. But alas he decided she didn't know much about him anyway.

"Name's Synn. Random Konoha shinobi at your service." He said tugging on the badge stitched into his shoulder.

"Random Konoha Shinobi..." She repeated slowly, her expression still that of surprise and suspicion. He hadn't given his surname, she noted, and then called herself stupid for even thinking about this. Of course, you would not tell a stranger your full name. This didn't prove anything.
She exhaled once more, trying her best to be normal from now on. At least, the guy hadn't attacked her so far and perhaps she was wrong about his ancestry anyway. The bad feeling in her stomach when she observed his facial features and found a few similarities wouldn't go away, though.
She didn't trust him, but at the same time she had to find out more about who he was. A spy, maybe? If this was the case, she had to keep him from reporting to the clan leader.

With a nod as to acknowledge his words again, she straightened and pointed at the shopping list in her right hand.

"Misoka. My name," she said awkwardly, followed by a short pause. She met his gaze with hesitation. "I could need some help finding a few stores. I... I'm new to this town. Visiting my grandmother. Nothing more and nothing less. She's really happy to see me. That's all."
The way she put emphasis on her pretended reason for staying in Konoha made it all the more implausible. Too bad she noticed that only after speaking.

In an attempt to not raise even more suspicion on her opponent's side, she quickly changed the subject.
"So you're a shinobi," she stated matter-of-factly, glancing at his badge. "A Konoha Shinobi..." And then it hit her. All Karisuma clan members were supposed to be inhabitants of Sunagakure as their pride and admiration for their ancestors wouldn't allow them moving places.
Which meant the boy in front of her couldn't be a Karisuma after all! ...Despite the fact that his appearance seemed somewhat familiar. Then again, she mused, his dark red hair was unusual for the clan since they always preferred bright colours. If not so by nature, they would dye them. But still...

Slightly shaking her head, she pushed her thoughts away and then nodded to the various stores around them.
"Can you please tell me where I can buy pork? My grandmother needs it for lunch."
She gave it her best to ask him in a casual tone, especially after she had acted so strangely before.

Synn smiles and nods before turning to guide her through the crowd. He was almost sure upon studying her that she was either incredibly gifted in looks or it was bred into her. Of course He only knew of his clan breeding for the distinct purpose of beauty. Vanity from birth led to despicable people more often then not.

Still he listened to her words wishing he had memorized the name of every one in his clan but He had chosen to be lazy instead. He directed her to the pork stand and frowned contemplating on how to handle the situation. How long could he bluff with her and test to see if she was a counter agent bent on collecting him? He sighs in slight frustration as he runs a hand through his silky hair. Some times in a card game a power player would show some of his or her hand to check the other.

However it was a bit more of a chance taker then he might of liked. If he revealed his hand she might be designed to take him down. He was an A ranked ninja now but directing eyes towards him was a bad plan. Still he smiled and helped her carry some of her groceries. Before he decided to take a chance and reveal the Joker card in his deck with a simple phrase.

"Whats next Ms. Karisuma?" He said calmly with the smile still on his face holding her groceries there. The question was exploratory to see if he got a reaction that might answer his questions.

They were finishing her grocery shopping silently for most of the time, everyone seeming to be lost in their own thoughts.
Just when they went out of the last store, Synn carrying the small bag of things, a single question caught her off guard. He had called her by the surname 'Karisuma'.
She froze, her right hand instinctively reaching for one of the kunais fixated on her leg.

"So you know," she whispered, a mix of determination and unsureness audible in her voice. "I'm not coming with you. I won't... I won't obey the clan."
There was no doubt to her anymore that Synn must be one of the clan members who had to retrieve her.
Her whole body tensed as she prepared herself for a battle, if necessary.

"Tell the clan leader that I will not give in to his wishes or... or his great future plans he has for me!" She swallowed, keeping a tough look on her face nonetheless. There was no way she could falter right now. She mustn't show any signs of weakness.

Synn blinked at her reaction and reached past her quickly his hand like a flash of color as he snatches up a bag of cheeto's behind her and then stood there the bag of groceries tucked into his elbow and popped open the top of the bag. The purpose was to show the difference of skill between them and hint at the idea that it might be a bad plan to engage him in combat. Placing the bag in his left hand he reaches into it and begins to eat cheeto's waiting as long as it took for her to remove her hand from her weapon. Just muchin on cheeto's.

Even if and when she settled down he would finish the bag and wipe his finger clean before tossing the trash over his shoulder and holding up his hands. Palms up around his head as if surrendering. His green eye watching her as he seemed to slump. He looked entirely harmless at that moment. Still he spoke softly so as not to attract any more attention.

"Now as eager as I am to fight some one armed with some sort of weapon or another with nothing more then a bag of pork and vegetables. Your being a little to extravagant. Lets just say I am not entirely on the best of terms with the clan either. But with you not even trying to mask the features that mark you as part of the clan your putting me at risk. Sooooo how about we go buy some hair dye and make up? hmm?"

At first, she simply raised an eyebrow as he started eating some snacks behind her, then her jaw dropped upon realizing how quickly he had moved past her.
She whirled around, a perplexed expression on her face as she watched him munching on cheetos. In spite of the ridiculous look of it, she got the message. This was neither a Genin nor a Chunin; he moved way too fast for any of them. A higher rank, it seemed, higher than she was.
Slowly, Misoka withdrew her hand from the kunai, listening to his words.

'Not on best terms with the clan, either'. She chewed her lower lip nervously. Was that a trap? Or could it be that he was, just like her, running from the clan? Why would he, though?

"I..," she started, keeping her voice down as he did. "I first need to know more about you. Let's go somewhere more private."
Her eyes searched for the way she had come from, but all she could see were tons of people roaming around the area.
She looked back at Synn, somewhat embarrassed. "Well, we need to get out of this market district, I suppose. Do you happen to know a quiet place where we aren't being watched?"

Synn smiled a little to himself. The smile seemed genuine but he felt like the puppeteer attaching it's strings to yet another puppet. What kind of show would it provide? Tragedy? Betrayal? passion? Well it didn't matter for now any way. He did not imagine this one portraying his dark desires any time soon. Still His green eye watched the nervous mouse. A new environment with her life torn from under her. He could easily become the rock that she could lean and depend on if she remained like this.

Still he would have to be careful. He needed to keep her attached to him but not attached enough to look deep enough to see the madness within. To find him in his hidden laboratory and the things he did in the name of science. He was not prepared to be revealed just yet. So instead he grins and lifts the groceries.

"Well you said your Grandma has a place. And I would love a home cooked meal. My microwave only does so much. We can buy hair dye on the way."

"Okay." She nodded, returning his smile hesitantly. "Hair dye sounds good," she added then and followed Synn through the crowd. "I think I'll buy black colour."
Her chest tightened with anxiousness at that thought. It was just that she had never changed her hair in any way except for cutting it every once in a while. How would black hair look on her? Would her father even recognize her if she got to see him again, that is?
Angrily, she brushed her thoughts aside, feeling ashamed for that small hint of vainness getting to her. This was the point, after all: Changing her appearance so she wouldn't be as easily identified as a Karisuma anymore! How could she even give it any thought whether she would like her new look or not?
She had to become more mature and face the facts.
After the mental preachment to herself, she focused on Synn again, having almost missed that he had stopped by a store.
They went in only to buy the hair dye and then go out as quickly as they had come.

The rest of the walk to her grandmother's house went by silently. Misoka was careful not to reveal too much of herself yet, worrying that there might be people on the street who could pick up on her words. Synn seemed to understand.

When they arrived, the young girl opened the door. "Grandma?" She called out, but there was no reply. Soon enough, Misoka's eyes widened in realization. "Right! She must be out for her yoga lesson. It's already past twelve."
That left only the two of them, then. Perhaps it was better this way. Misoka wasn't sure how her grandmother would react to a new person in her house.

"Okay." She bit her lip, hating to say this one useless word. Her gaze went to the shopping bag in Synn's hands. "How about we eat first? Um, or cook."
True, she wasn't the best cooker - far from it! - , but making spaghetti shouldn't be that hard.
While she put a pot of cold water on the store to boil, her curiousness got the better of her.
"Tell me... so you are running from the clan, too?"

Synn followed her around and watched as she got the black hair dye. He had figured she would just go for a sandy blonde color to just tone down the golden glisten of her hair but the dedication had caught him off guard. He paid for the hair dye before following her to this mysterious Grams house. Odd that she had some one to shelter her here and he did not. Still when she pointed out that the Old bat was doing some Yoga he squinted his face desperately trying not to picture it. Still he might as well occupy himself until it was time.

He could tell from the ingredients that it was probably stir fry so he clears his throat as she fills a pot with water."If I might." He said with a smile before wrapping an apron around himself. He takes the pork and begins to cut it before boiling the pot of water and stirring in the rice with some butter. Letting that moisten he dices the pork down and drops it into the pan wiggling the pan occasionally as the pork sizzles. He chops up the vegetables into a fine dice and mixes that in as well before adding the rice and the sweet and sour sauce mixing it all together before the old lady could get home. Then He set three plates and garnished them with a hint of Basil.

"Huh, what are you..." She trailed off upon realizing that he was taking over the cooking. On top of that, he seemed to be very good at it - definitely better than her - and his movements were fluid and quick. She stepped aside so she wouldn't be in the way of his work. Perhaps she could learn something from watching, too.

It didn't take long for Synn to finish the meal and soon, he had set three full plates on the kitchen table. One would be for her grandmother when she came home from the yoga lesson. Misoka hoped that the old woman would not have several bruises again afterwards. It was a mystery to Misoka, anyway, how her grandma could manage to keep up with the young girls in her yoga class. 'All about determination,' she would tell her grand-daughter with clear pride in her eyes.

"So.. Itadakimasu!" Misoka bowed her head down politely before she started eating. "This is delicious!" She soon called out, a hint of envy apart from admiration rising inside her. 'Just face it,' she told herself. 'You're a miserable cook.'
A few minutes later after eating in silence, Misoka looked up at Synn, tilting her head slightly. Had he missed her question on purpose before? Either way, she would not let him get away so easily.

"I take it you are a run-away from the clan, too." It was now rather a statement than a question. "But why? What did they do to you?"
Her voice was calm and serious.

Synn smiles as she dug into the food his own sitting before him as he watches her for a time. Some one else was willing to run from the clan and the village. It was suddenly as if he was no longer alone. Perhaps that was why he hadn't pulled her into an alley way and slit her throat to prevent the eyes from being directed towards him. He needed to remember to pack his emergency escape pack when he got home in case some one did come for her.

For now he could just share some basics in stealth and counter intelligence. Still even as he at the food in silence he contemplated his options. If this was a trap then The house would be the ideal place to trap him. But unless she came with a team he was confident he could dispatch her quickly enough. He smiled to himself and finished about half his plate feeling fairly full. It was then that her question rang out. She was intelligent enough it seemed to single him out as a run away but he had left plenty of hints. Still he pokes at a piece of pork idly as if it had offended him in some strange way as he speaks.

"Our clan cares nothing for Shinobi ways. Vanity and being the prettiest thing around is how they get what they want. And yet our eyes can effect the mind like only the mighty Uchiha can. Our potential is massive. I could not idly sit by in that waste land and Learn of etiquette and fine dining when I know I can expand on our natural ability even further. So I left with out a word and have continued developing a branch off of our eye technique. I am confident I will soon have a break through in project nightmare."

She listened to his words, nodding every now and then to show how closely she was paying attention. There was a clear tone of disapprovement in his voice. When did he detach from the clan? She wondered. Plus, the badget stitched on his jacket was evidence that he was a Konoha shinobi. But... her face became pensive. But all Karisumas were born in Suna - at least that was what her mother used to tell her. Which left the only explanation that...

She gave him a bewildered look. "You... you betrayed Suna?" As she noticed how judgmental that sounded, she quickly cleared her throat. "I.. I'm not a rogue ninja. I came here only a week ago and I have no intentions to settle here for good."
She shook her head in denial. At the same time, she wondered why she stressed so much on the fact that she would come back to Suna. Eventually. After they had settled the matter with her clan.
It was then that her heart sank. Was she being too optimistic? What if the clan would never leave her alone as long as she lived in Suna?

She swallowed, but tried not to let her doubts show. Not that it worked, anyway. Somehow, she had to work on her disguise skills.
"I understand." One corner of her lips curved up into a weak smile. "The clan lets all our potential go to waste. Up until now, I have never really noticed it. That's probably because I have lived with my father and didn't get to know any other relatives. My mother was a Karisuma."
The way she referred to her mother in past tense surely left no doubts about her disease. Misoka's eyes cast down. "I only recently learned about the clan's negative sides. They sell girls! Their own relatives! Um.. for example."

The frustration in her voice was audible. She quickly took a bite of her food, giving her something else to do other than frown.

'You betrayed Suna?' The phrase rang in his mind as his eye snapped up to watch her and his hand clenched on the chop sticks as if prepared to enter combat with them as a weapon. The image of the Grandmother coming home to find A chop stick embedded into her Grandchild's throat. Where it would inevitably lead with an investigation. He had been seen shopping with her by some people so Killing needed to be moved off the table.

He relaxes as she clears her throat and listens as she tells some perfect tale of how one day she would return home and all would be well and the clan would magically see the Error of they're ways. He frowned in disgust at the very idea of such innocent hope. His appetite gone entirely now. He had envisioned them as like individuals but apparently he had jumped to conclusions.

He watched her eat as she spun her tale of the Horrible things the clan did but none of it was truly beyond what he had seen or suspected. He sat in silence a moment before speaking. After all the blind needed to be given the gift of sight even if the world was nothing but horrors.

"And your one of these girls? Let me enlighten you a little to how the world really works. Any one who helped you escape has likely been tortured to death for any hint of your location. If anything was waiting your return its the cold truth that nothing of your life there is left. The clan will not change on they're own and Suna is too blind to see it. I however intend to bring the clan and anyone on they're side to they're knee's and end it."

His almost hostile tone of voice made her look up in surprise. What stirred a feeling of infuriation inside her, however, were the words he spoke. Every fiber of her being resisted against the dark pictures he meant to plant in her mind.
Her father and her friends would be tortured. The clan would never have a change of mind. It was impossible to return home.
It wasn't! It wasn't, it wasn't, it wasn't... She repeated these two words over and over in her head, trying to tune out the boy's negative point of view, trying to make it all pass by her with no effect.
His last words still made her listen up, though.

"What are you implying?" Misoka questioned him, unable to conceal the offended tone in her voice. It didn't matter. "Do you mean to assassinate the clan leaders?" For how much she felt repelled by some of the clan's methods, it certainly rubbed her the wrong way that someone would plan to end this in a bloodbath.
There had to be something else one could do about it. She didn't even know the clan well; perhaps this was all a misunderstanding...

Now having other things to worry about than eating, anyway, she put the chop sticks down, breathing in and out to calm herself down.
True, Synn and she had two different points of views in that matter, but it was still wrong to overlook their similarities. Both of them disapproved of one of the clan's methods and had therefore left Suna.

Apart from that, Misoka should know better than to anger the guy opposite her. After all, he was certainly a rank higher than her, as much as it bugged her.

Before he could answer, she added another question which might help her understand his way of thinking better. "Have you grown up in the clan's estate?"
This time, she was careful to keep her voice neutral. As she had already figured out in her mind it was not too smart to put up a fight.

His mind flashed back to those memories. His father was a proud ninja who had encouraged his son to be one of the best while his mother had only sought after his safety. However the two had never really been in love. They lived in separate rooms Within his fathers house hold. It had been obvious all along but as a child Synn had not understood. He frowned at the memory. Before his bright green eye looked back to her and he watched her studying her. How much would she get him to reveal? Had he already implied to much? So much so that she might help them to stop him.

He sighed and shook his head. He did not wish to kill a victim. He would have plenty of blood on his hands in the future. He stood and took his plate to the kitchen where he began to wash up leaving her question unanswered at first. The hot water pouring over his thin fingers Washing away the dull make up to show even his hands had the pale beauty of the clan. He watched the transformation as he washed the dishes clean lost within his thoughts over her question.

Finally he was done and he dried his hands only to stare at his palms. Walking back into the dining room before he returned to his chair. His voice was calm instead of angry as he spoke.

"I did grow up in the Estate. It's only natural when your father is one of the clan leaders. My mother was gifted to him as a prize for his position. I was just the spawn of rape. Of course my mother never told me this as she did not want me to have to live with that fact. If I am to punish the clan for it's crimes then those involved with the crimes and all of them must be brought to they're knee's so it can never happen again. My hands will be stained with the blood of my father first."

He didn't reply straightaway, but instead stood up in silence and went to take his plate to the kitchen.
For a split-second, Misoka was playing with the thought of doing the same since she strongly doubted for her appetite to return. The subject they talked about was way too itchy.
She kept staring at the white table-cloth until Synn came back.
Just when she didn't expect he would answer anymore, he did exactly that.

Her eyes widened slightly at his story as more and more unpleasant pictures settled in her mind. So it was true: Synn had grown up in the clan's estate, unlike her. They had never been a happy family... The fact Synn's mother had been forced to marry his father was terrible. To the clan, this was probably nothing special.
A wave of empathy washed over the young girl as she slowly began to understand Synn's deep grudge against the Karisuma Clan. She wondered what he had been supposed to do - After all, every Karisuma in the estate had some kind of work; at least she hoped the tiny bit of true knowledge about the clan proved to be correct.
It was then that she remembered another far more important thing Synn had mentioned.

His father was one of the clan leaders! Her heart picked up. The clan leaders... What were they called again... She and her father had looked it up the day before she left...
Akihiko! And his wife Yimei. Misoka shook her head ever so slightly. No, but rumour had it that Yimei wasn't one of the submissive kind of women, she was known for giving advice to her husband more than once. This didn't sound like Synn's mother at all.
However, Akihiko could have just got rid of her and instead married Yimei. Who knows, cruel men in his position easily got bored with what they had, always looking for a new, more interesting thing.

"I'm sorry, Synn," Misoka said aloud, a hint of sheepishness in her voice. In a way, she meant to apologize for her naivity, her poor to almost non-existing knowledge about the Karisuma Clan. Secondly, she wanted to express that she felt sorry for his childhood.
"Isn't the current clan leader Akihiko? And.. um.. do you know what happened to your mother?" She asked, prepared for the worst.

The minutes crept by ever so slowly until Misoka was certain that Synn would not be saying anything for a while. She shouldn't have brought up such an inconvenient subject - no wonder the boy didn't want to talk about his mother's death. At least, that's what Misoka assumed that had happened to his Mom.
Taking a few more moments to think, she was about to say something else when she suddenly heard the door open.

"Misoka! I'm home!"

Her grandma. Misoka gasped as she started to panick a bit. "Synn," she said to him under her breath, "Get out. Somehow. My grandma must not see you! I'll distract her in the meantime."
Quickly, she stood up, running into the hallway where her grand-mother was just putting down her bag.

"Grandma!" Faking a happy laughter, Misoka went to giving the old woman a hug. It worked. Her grand-mother returned the gesture of affection with a big smile on her lips before she started talking about her yoga lesson.
"Oh dear, I have the feeling it keeps getting more and more difficult. But one day, I will make the young girls stare in awe at my yoga skills! That's my goal!"
Misoka pretended to smile although she hardly doubted that her grand-mother would ever come to keep up with "the young girls".
"Oh, Misoka, I almost forgot. There's a festival on the streets today. How about we go see it? Wouldn't that be wonderful?"
"Oh, yeah, sure." Misoka thought of Synn's lectures of how she should try harder to stay undiscovered. Not that her grand-mother would understand... Maybe she could buy some time to dye her hair at least.
But she soon found out there was no time.

"Come on, Misoka! No need to get dressed up, you always look beautiful! Now go!"
Laughing, her grand-mother shoved her out of the door and Misoka was once again surprised how much strength the old woman could muster up for being a non-shinobi.
Misoka felt a bit sorry that she couldn't properly say goodbye to her cousin, but the most important thing was that he hadn't been seen by her grandma.

[Exit thread]