Chapter 30: Old lady

I woke up and sat up, but as soon as I did, I heard a voice, "So you're finally awake huh, kid?"

I turned to see a woman with brown hair and green eyes. Without thinking, I attacked her.

I tried to punch her, but she blocked my attack. As I continued attacking her, I noticed she was only blocking my attacks and wasn't attacking me.

I used my left leg to kick her, but she suddenly disappeared.

"Is that how you thank people for saving you?"

I turned around to see the woman behind me, as I jumped back, she sighed and said, "I'm not trying to hurt you, so calm down."

She then sat down and said, "So what's a kid like you doing walking around in the middle of nowhere, and why in the world were you poisoned?"

"…"

"You could be nicer. I did help you."

I sighed as I said, "Thanks," before walking away.

After a while, I got hungry and didn't exactly know where I was, so I headed back in the direction of the woman.

I soon found her, and she was sleeping. As I took a step closer to her, she opened her eyes and had a smirk on her face as she said, "So you decided to come back, huh, kid?"

"Yeah, I felt bad leaving a defenseless old lady alone."

"Who in the world are you calling old? I'm only 25!"

"Seriously?!"

Just then my stomach growled, and I turned red from embarrassment.

The old lady laughed as she said, "Seems like you're hungry. Follow me."

I didn't fully trust her, but I was too hungry.

Not too long after, we arrived at a house. It wasn't big but also wasn't small.

The old lady invited me in and started cooking. After a while, she gave me a plate of food. It smelled and looked good.

As I sat opposite her, I mumbled, "Thank you for the meal," and took a spoonful. But as soon as I tasted it, I spat it out then turned to the old lady as I said, "How can something that looks and smells good taste so bad?!"

"It's not that bad! Plus, you have nothing else to eat!"

I forced myself to eat the food, and when I finished, the old lady looked at me and said, "So, why is a kid walking around alone in the middle of nowhere?"

"I got on the bad side of someone who has a lot of power in my village, so he poisoned me and my little sister. It was my fault she was poisoned, so I left in order to not endanger anyone else you care about. So what's an old lady doing alone in the middle of nowhere?"

"I'm not that old! And why do you care."

"I don't."

"Do you have a plan, or are you going to continue walking around aimlessly?"

"Well, um… no, I don't."

The old lady burst out laughing as she said, "You left without a plan in mind?! Well, you can stay with me till you figure it out."

"Huh, why are you letting me stay with you?"

"I can't just let a kid with no plans walk around. I won't be able to sleep at night."

She raised her hand and pointed at a door as she said, "You can stay there while you're deciding what you're going to do."

After that, she entered another room.

I was sitting in the room the old lady pointed at. As I grabbed a scroll from my pocket and unsealed it, but when I saw what was inside, I was in complete shock.

'I grabbed the wrong scroll!'

I thought I had grabbed a scroll with weapons and a bunch of my money. But instead, I grabbed a scroll with a bunch of gifts I had gotten over the years, including stuffed toys from Hanabi when she was younger and the mask I bought when I was 6.

Just then the old lady entered to ask me something but saw all the stuffed toys, and I could see her trying to hold her laugh as she said, "You really are still a kid."

I blushed a little as I asked, "What do you want?!"

The old lady started laughing as she said, "I forgot."

I threw a toy at her as I said, "then get out!"

She continued laughing as she said, "You do know this is my house." before leaving.

I laid in bed as I thought of the old lady. I was normally the one that got on people's nerves, but for some reason, she seemed to annoy me.

I soon drifted off to sleep.

When I woke up, I left my room, and the old lady was already awake. When she saw me, she smiled and said, "So you're finally awake, huh. I'll make breakfast."

"No! I'll make it!"

The old lady gave me a weird look but just showed me where everything was.

After a while, I had finished, and we sat down and ate. As soon as she took a bite, she looked at me and asked, "How in the world do you know how to cook?! This is amazing!"

I grinned as I said, "Of course it does I made it."

When we finished, the old lady said she was heading out and would be back later.

I decided to follow her since I didn't fully trust her.

I've been tailing the old lady for a while, and she hadn't done anything interesting except go into a town wearing a mask, but now she was running somewhere. After about an hour, we arrived at a rundown building.

The old lady entered the building, and I watched from afar.

She took out a bunch of ninjas while barely making any noise. After a while, she tried to attack a man from behind, but he caught her hand and threw her.

As the old lady landed, she did a bunch of hand signs then said, "Water style water bullets!"

The man jumped back, but before he could land, the old lady was already in front of him.

She punched him in the stomach, sending him flying back. She then tried to kick him, but he blocked the attack. As they continued fighting, the man tried to punch the old lady, but she avoided the blow by ducking. She then said, "Mizushō," and hit the man in the stomach, sending him flying back and knocking him out.

I looked at her in amazement as I thought, "The old lady's pretty strong. And so was that jutsu she used."

After that, she sealed him in a scroll. As she exited the building, a kunai grazed my cheek. I turned to the old lady who was looking at me with a grinning on her face as she asked, "So why have you been following me?"

I jumped out of my hiding spot and asked, "How long have you known I've been following you?"

"Since we entered that village."

"So why did you fight that guy? Are you a ninja? And why are you wearing a mask?"

"No, but I'm a bounty hunter. I don't exactly want people coming after me. So, I hide my face when I want to take on jobs."

"So that man you sealed in a scroll was a rouge ninja?"

"Yep, I only needed him, and the others weren't part of the job so I killed them."

We walked back to the village I previously saw the old lady leave. She told me to wait outside, and after a few minutes, she returned with a bag of money.

As we arrived back at her house, I made food, and while we were eating, I decided to ask the old lady about the jutsu she used.

"Oh that, my dad created it. And taught it to me. It's called Mizushō. So, have you decided what you're going to do now?"

"I'll get stronger. Strong enough to protect the people I care about."

"That's not a bad idea. How are you going to do it?"

"Um well. Will you become my sensei?!"

"Your sensei? Sure."

"Wait you're just agreeing?" She smiled as she said, "I mean if I train you that means you'll leave here for the time being, meaning I get to eat your cooking. We'll start tomorrow."