My Way To You

Everyone was shocked to learn that Rin was the one who made the puff pastries and that she had done so on her first try. Against everyones protests Rin became the new pastry chef of the business, with the permission of her new master. "She has the necessary precision, stamina and strength needed to be an outstanding pastry chef and we would be fools not to utilize her." was all Ariana said to silence anyone"s doubts.

Rin smiled to herself, she was happy that she didn"t have to sell her body to pay off her debt as she was only 16 and would have been forced to do so. Suddenly the door started to open and the dark room was flooded with the hall light. "Oh Rin you are already here!" Ariana said joyously.

Rin hopped off the bed and knelt before Ariana. "I humbly thank you for vouching for me back there. I Rinera Bloom pledge my undying allegiance to you, my new master." she said loudly as she placed a fist over her heart.

Ariana walked up to Rin and wrapped her arms around her head. "All I wanted was for you to become my family." she whispered. Rin felt something wet on her head and quickly understood that this child embracing her my seem mature, head strong and courageous but in reality she was still just a 12 year old girl.

Rin wrapped her arms around Ariana"s tiny body and waited until the girl was ready to show her face. After a moment Ariana pulled herself back together and let go of Rin"s head. She turned on the switch to her room and realized she had no light to turn on. "You haven"t purchased a lamp... so we are in the dark until you can furnish your room." Rin stated as she sat on the bed.

The moon was only half full and did not provide a lot of light for the room. Ariana sighed as she made her way to sit beside Rin on the bed. "Will you talk to me?" Rin asked softly. Ariana turned her head and looked out the window. "What do you want to know first." she replied half heartedly.

"The lights." Rin said hastily but stopped abruptly. She didn"t know who would be listening and the door to the room was wide open. Ariana got off the bed and held out her hand. "I want to take a walk, I don"t think I can fall asleep after such an exciting day. Will you join me?" Ariana asked sweetly.

Rin got up and held Ariana"s hand. As they walked out of the room, at the corner of Rin"s eye she caught a glimpse of a someone running into their room two doors down. They quietly descended the stairs and ran into Lady Zula who was sipping tea in a corner. "Where do you think you are going?" she asked dryly.

"Need a walk, I feel all stiff from today." Ariana answered pitifully as she hugged Rin"s arm. Lady Zula nodded and took another sip of her tea. "Well as long as you return before curfew I don"t care."

Ariana looked at Rin curiously. "Don"t worry we have about an hour and we are just walking around the block we will be back way before then." she said as she smiled gently. Ariana felt rea.s.sured and they both left the brothel.

After they walked half the block, Rin tugged on Ariana"s arm and became somewhat serious. Ariana was caught off guard as she was pushed into a tight gap between houses. "Try to squeeze your way through to the other side. I will meet you there after I take care of whoever is following us." she said before she stepped into the shadows of the night.

Ariana felt alarmed and did her best to suck in her gut and side walk through the small pa.s.sage. Her blood ran cold when she heard deathly screams coming from the entrance way. She urged her body to move faster and sc.r.a.ped bits and pieces of her skin as she moved forward.

Finally she could see the exit ao1nd pushed forward. She stumbled as she took her first steps into an empty backyard. Under the moon light the unkept gra.s.s looked whimsical, fireflies started to wonder into the air and there was an old stump for her to sit on. The scene reminded her of home, so she walked over to the stump, sat down are started to sing a melody.

"Dancing to and fro, watching the stars shine bright. Hush my little one, you"ll be fine under their light. Hush my baby do not take fright for tonight you are in my arms snuggled in so tight. Hush my love as I rock you to sleep, you are my treasure so do not weep. The stars, the moon and the very night sky will watch over you my darling as I sing to you my final good-bye."

Ariana finished her song and allowed one single tear to slid down her cheek. Suddenly she heard some rustling and looked over towards the house. It was Rin, she looked like she was in pain and needed some medical attention. Ariana rushed over to her and reached out to touch the slash wound on her arm.

The moment she touched it a flood of memories came pouring into her mind. This time she was more aware of her surroundings and could see beyond the the memories. She watched Rin step backwards as she she pressed herself against the house as sweat started to pour down her face.

Once everything settled Ariana started to giggle. "I see... you are traumatized from the last time you interacted with my memories." Rin looked at her dumbfounded. Her mouth was wide open and she could only spit out some ums and hms.

Ariana walked all over the backyard carefully as she kept her eyes glued to the ground. "Found it!" she exclaimed as she dropped to the ground and started to dig. Rin eyed the girl as she held onto her arm. "What are you doing?" she asked when she say Ariana stand up with what looked like a weed.

"Grabbing a plant to extract the inflammation from your wound. I know you heal quickly and all but what I don"t know is if it takes care of infection. I would a.s.sume as a ninja you are ammune to poisons. Then again you are at a brothel so I"m guessing your village no longer needs you or you got caught and were sold to the highest bidder."

Rin looked away and started to scowl. Ariana sighed and walked up to Rin. "No matter, you will tell me in your own time but for now we should wash that wound. Let"s go inside the house, can you kick the door down right?" Rin nodded her head and kicked the door open. "You weren"t going to question me?" Ariana said as she c.o.c.ked her head.

Rin looked at the girl coolly and walked inside first. "I guess not." Ariana said with a shrug and walked in after her. The house was dark and dusty, Ariana cautiously stepped around until she saw the kitchen. She quickly tip toed and turned on the faucet. Water started to gently pour out. "When are you going to tell me about yourself." Rin said bluntly as she sat on a crate.

"Is that why you are so upset?" Ariana laughed as she rinsed the weed and washed her hands. Rin narrowed her gaze as the girl started pulling open drawers. "Honestly, I"m the child not you." she said in a teasing tone as she pulled out two white cloths, she soaked one under running water and then walked over to Rin.

Ariana looked at her p.i.s.sed off face and started to rub her temples. "I"ll talk while I work is that alright with you?" she said with defeat. Rin nodded her and extended her arm. She started to wipe the blood up first, keeping an eye on the wound. "You know this would be a lot easier with some light." Ariana mumbled out loud.

"Not when people are after you." Rin said coldly. Ariana stopped moving her hand for a second then continued to clean what she could see in the darkness. "I see... I"m not an important enough person to have someone after me though. I"m just a simple girl who lived out by the forest where my parents farmed a modest crop, hunted and foraged. I"m not sure what I could give to others that would be so valuable." she said solemnly and then moved to chew on the weed.

Ariana made a bitter face but continued to chew. Run watched her silently and carefully. Once Ariana was done chewing she spit the contents into her hand and started to apply it to the wound. "So you want me to believe your are actually a n.o.body? That what happens to you is what? A... a... as natural as someone walking?! I call your bullsh*t" Rin said bitterly.

Ariana scratched her cheek. "Well in a sense no I am not normal... and that is thanks to you." she said shyly and proceeded to wrap the dry white cloths around her arm. "How am I responsible for what is happening to you! I am innocent in all this!" she said in a high pitched voice.

Ariana tied off the cloth and looked proud. She brought her hands up and started to gently rub her arm. "Pain, pain go away!" Rin took her arm away and grabbed Ariana"s shoulders and gave her a little shake. "Stop it! You are confusing enough! My heart can"t take any more cuteness! Who are you?! What are you?! Why are people after you?!"

Ariana blinked and her lips started to tremble. "I don"t know what I am, human maybe, I guess but I"m naturally cute so I can"t really help you there." Rin face palmed herself and leaned back. "Fine, let me ask you this, have you died before?" Rin asked quietly as she crossed her legs on to the crate, making herself more comfortable.

"Maybe..." Ariana said indifferently and walked over to the kitchen window. "Maybe?" Rin replied as she grabbed the outer edges of the crate. "I dream of someone begging me not leave. That"s all I know, but I know that I am different. After you hit me that day I seem to have unlocked something special. As far as I can tell I have a very old soul inside my body. I"m still me and I know I"m 12 but I feel like I have lived longer, I"m smarter and anything I actually knew about or skill I had in the past can be obtaine once I touch something related to it."

"Rin... I"m starting to become more conscious when my memories flow back into me... I saw how scared you were of me... I"m sorry." Ariana said pitifully. Rin got off the crate and started to walk to Ariana. "So you dreamt that you died, at least you think you died and now anything you touch becomes your skill as long as that skill is dormant inside you." Rin summarized under her breath. Ariana started nodded her head with vigour. "I think that"s right."

"Then tell me this have you ever lived anywhere outside of your home?" Rin asked as she grabbed Ariana"s hand. "No, why?" she said and she squeezed Rin"s hand back. Rin sighed and scratched the back of her head. "I wasn"t scared and I know your telling me the truth. I touched one of your lights and suddenly I know how to bake. I have never known how to bake nor did I feel like I have an old soul inside of me. I just didn"t want to experience the rush of knowledge again... it was excruciatingly painful." She said as she looked out the window.

The girls were silent for what seemed like a lifetime before Rin finally asked Ariana a question. "That song you were singing back there who taught it to you." she said as she kept looking outside. Ariana was not expecting the question and it caught her off gaurd. "I don"t know, I sing it when I feel lonely... why?" she asked while she tried to peek at Rin"s face.

"It"s nothing." she replied. "It looks like the coast is clear, let"s get out of here." she said as she pulled Ariana out of the semi abandoned house and onto the street. "Ariana, I"m not sure who is after you but one thing is for certain you are not normal. We need to get you to touch as many things as soon as possible to avoid future risk of you being exposed.". Rin said seriously as they started to walk back.

Ariana looked straight ahead, her eyes were focused and her guard was up. " So your saying someone knows about me and what I can do." Rin stopped walking and looked Ariana in the face. "Yes and that would mean your pare-um-guardians from before may have been holding you prisoner, waiting for whoever needed to get you to come. When that woman sold you to Lady Zula I think they figured it was the right time to hunt you down."

Ariana sighed a breath of relief. "Thank goodness that means my parents were not my blood relatives so my father wanting to steal my virginity by r*pe was just a dirty old man."