To be a ninja (Naruto) {The tale of a shinobi: Book 1}

Ch. 23 - Playing cards with Hidan and Kakuzu

I was slowly walking through the forest, dragging my feet behind me and gasping for air. It was late in the evening but it was still hot and I didn't have any water to drink anymore. And I was also stuck walking the whole day because Kasai refused to carry me. And I already thought that our relationship was getting better. It looked like I was going to have to work on it a little more.  

I thoughtfully looked at the sky. The moon was just rising on the sky, and the stars were starting to appear next to it. I was tired but I still had another 2 kilomters of walking to the tavern where I wanted to spend the night. My legs hurt so much that I didn't even want to think of the other 2 days that I'll need to reach the desert and other 3 of walking through the desert, where I was probably going to die under the sun. Yeah, I wasn't very good in this kind of situations.  

When I finally noticed the small tavern, built on the side of a crossroad a smile appeared on my face, remembering all the times I've been here with Shiro.  

The tavern wasn't built next to a village or something like that. It was here in the forest and more reserved for criminals that were travelling and wanted a place to stay.  

I still remembered all the times Shiro and I been there in the years from my 7th to 9th birthday. She was just trying to teach me a new way of getting money then, so I could do it besides my singing on the street. And when we arrived in that tavern for the first time we noticed that in the bar they liked to play games with cards and bet a lot money on them. So she felt the need to teach me how to play with and without cheating.  

I walked inside the bar of the tavern and waved to the owner, an older woman named Onii. She instantly recognized me and smiled back at me when I sat down on a chair that was next to the bar. She seemed pretty excited to see me. She always treated me as her granddaughter, just like Shiro that actually was it. Onii was her mother's mother. The only one from Shiro's family that I ever met. I was guessing that she didn't want me to meet the others because they all hater her because she killed her parents. But Onii for some kind of reason didn't.  

'' Well, well, well... If it isn't my favourite little girl Misaki, '' she said and grinned. If you looked at her you wouldn't believe that she was capable of managing a tavern for criminals. But somehow she was.

I rolled my eyes and grabbed the glass of orange juice that she put down in front of me. '' Come in, I'm fourteen now, not 9 like the last time you saw me, '' I replied.  

Onii started poking my cheek with her hand, something that I always hated and she loved. '' If you ask me it's been to long. You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you for the last time, but if you ask me you're still too young to be a criminal. '' She slowly shook her head. '' You can choose another path. ''  

I frowned. Why did everyone think that I was a criminal?! '' I'm actually a ninja from the Leaf village now. ''  

Her eyes widened with surprise. '' Really? ''  

I nodded. '' Yeah. ''  

Then she showed me a sad smile. '' I'm sure that Shiro would be so proud of you. ''  

I shrugged. '' I hope. ''  

'' Anyway, what are you doing here? '' she asked, raising her eyebrows.  

I grinned and looked around. '' I'm just looking for a place to stay for the night. '' My eyes flashed through the tables. It looked like this place didn't change much from the last time I've been here. There were still playing card games at every table and drinking.  

Onii nodded, smiling. '' Don't worry. I always have a room for my granddaugher. '' Then she noticed the expression on my face and frowned. '' I can already see that you wanna earn some money but please, no cheating. ''