DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO

Kida's POV

I really hate old people, like, more than I hate mushrooms. They're shifty and very misleading. An elderly person can look at you with a kind smile and warm eyes, but underneath, they're scheming and conniving and can make you agree to things before you even realise what the hell happened. I really wasn't ready for this...

3rd Person POV

The 12 year old girl lightly kicked up dirt as she skimmed her feet over the gravel road in frustration as she walked. Her silver/white hair fell loosely around her shoulders at the front and continued reaching half way down her back. Her side fringe was swept to the left of her fair skinned face, covering her left eye. Her visible right eye was black and framed with thick dark lashes. Her thin silver/white eyebrows rested delicately over her eyes and were furrowed slightly in frustration as she glared at the ground ahead of her.

[This next part pretty much describes the picture] A black mask rested over the bridge of her nose and covered the lower half of her face, continuing down her neck and upper body as a shirt. She wore a dark blue shirt with black hemming around the sleeves that matched her skirt which reached till just above her knees. Over the crop top she wore a deep red, V-neck tank top that reached just above her belly button revealing her mid-drift. Under the skirt were black, above the knee shorts and underneath those were leggings that were the same length as the shorts on her right leg, but continued down covering the rest of her left leg. Thin white bandages were wrapped over the leggings on her left leg from her ankle till half way up her calf, as well as on her upper right arm and lower left fore arm. Her dark blue shoes covered from her ankles down and revealed her toes.

Kida's POV

My navy back pack bumped comfortably between my shoulder blades as I walked down the long gravel road that led to the cause of my recent frustration and aggravation. The amount of times that I have sighed since I left on this journey is ridiculous, not that I'm so bored that I've actually been counting the number of times I've sighed... but if I were, it would be 87.

I really thought that my life was going good for once, since about 2 years ago when I first me Ms Takashima. It's weird, remembering the 10 year old me, creeping around some strangers property to steal eggs from their chicken coop and hoping I don't get impaled with a pick fork. But hey, those were desperate times, no one wants to seriously hire an 10 year old child and no money equals no food. I got paid to do odd jobs in some of the towns I passed through, but that particular one was very snotty towards the underage/ drifter/ homeless minority of the community.

The sun was just rising over the hills as I reached under the still nesting chicken for her eggs, a small cough from the doorway of the coop made me jolt out of my calm, well-practiced method of egg collecting with a spasm of my hand which was still searching under the chicken. With a threatening squawk, the chicken puffed up its feathers and began flapping its wings wildly whilst pecking at my slightly to slow retreating hand. I backed away from the now calming chicken, clutching my right hand as blood started coming out from where the chickens beak had hit. I spun around quickly and bolted for the door only to stop dead in my tracks as I caught sight of an elderly woman, who was the source of the cough, standing in the doorway, holding a bucket and staring at me with an amused look on her face.

That was the first time that someone else had taken care of my wounds since my mother. It was unsettling how unused to human contact I was. When Ms Takashima was trying to persuade me into entering her house, it was like she was luring in a stray dog. That pissed me off. I thought she was in some way degrading me my offering help, she continued walking into her house and left the door open for me. I stood there for a few minutes before the smell of cooking meat wafted through the door and I finally caved, I guess in some ways I was like a stray dog.

While the food cooked, the old woman dressed and bandaged my hand. She smiled as she did it and lectured me about how I shouldn't startle chickens. "Well you shouldn't have startled me" was my response, and quicker than I would have though an old woman could make a come back "Then maybe you shouldn't have tried to steal" she said looking me with an amused glint in her eyes. I pouted underneath my mask, yes, I wore a mask back then too. I've worn it ever since I've been travelling since mum died, I don't know why, it just felt right and it makes me feel more comfortable wandering through lands of strangers.

"You know, you're never going to get far in life if you can't look after yourself" she said to me with a sigh.

"I can look after myself, and I have been" I glared at her, hoping to show her how much of a bad-ass I was. But I was just an idiot, too big for my boots. But at least now I have something to back it up with, and it's all thanks to what Ms Takashima had to say next.

"Well, if you did want to be able to take care of yourself more, I could probably help you" She rose from her chair opposite me to check on the food. I sat in silence for a moment before shifting my one visible eye over to her "I might be interested in that" I mumbled. At first I wasn't sure if she heard me, her back was facing away from me, her hand holding the wooden spoon stirring in the pot. I shifted my gaze away from her just as she pegged an empty can of soy beans at me over her shoulder, I shot backwards in my chair, the edge of the can whizzed passed my face almost clipping the tip of my nose. I looked at the old woman wide eyed as her shoulders shook from chuckling, she turned towards me holding two bowls of the freshly brewed stew and placed them on the table. "Good, we'll start after lunch" She said, sitting opposite me, her lips curving upwards slightly at the edges in a small but very visible smile.