The next day, Megumi pushed me around the hideout in my wheelchair, trying to act casual. We headed to the entrance until we were stopped by Tobi. "Where do you think you're going with her, Megumi?" He demanded in his dark tone.

Megumi and I glanced back at him until I looked at Megumi. "Just like we planned." I whispered to her. Megumi gulped down her fear, then gave a nod. "I'm just taking Nue-kun out for a stroll. She's been cooped up in this hideout all the time. It's not really healthy for her." Megumi explained.

"Nue's not going anywhere outside the hideout." Tobi said as he walked over to us. "Oh, come on. Nue-kun's not gonna go anywhere. Her legs are broken, remember? Besides, thanks to that Kiragani stuff, her powers are gone for a while." Megumi said as Tobi stood in front of her.

Tobi looked at me as I kept my emotionless gaze, then at Megumi. "Make sure you don't let her out of your sight, Megumi. Have her back here in an hour." He ordered. "Hai." Megumi replied before taking me away.

"Nice job, Megumi." I praised. She grinned at me and continued our way into the woods. When we were far away from the hideout, we found a perfect spot to do the training.

"All right, it took us fifteen minutes to find this place. That means it will take us fifteen minutes to get back." Megumi said. "That doesn't leave us with much time." I stated. "Yeah, I know. So, what are we gonna do?" She asked.

I closed my eyes and thought for a second. "Okay, I've got it. I'll do what I need to do for the remaining time we have. But it shouldn't be a problem as I'm recovering." I explained. "What about Tobi? Isn't he gonna keep hurting you?" Megumi asked.

"Most likely. But he knows the healing process is slow due to the Kiragani, so there's a possibility and some hope he won't bother me." I said. "And what if he does? It could take you even longer to heal." She pointed out.

"Let me worry about that. For now, let's just do what we need to do." I said. "Roger that." Megumi replied before jumping into the trees to explore. While she was doing that, I began doing sit-ups.

After I did about two hundred of them, I lied down on the grass, staring up at the starry night sky. "What are you doing, Nue-kun?" Megumi asked as she stood over me. "Taking a little break. Did you find anything?" I asked.

"Not yet. I didn't search the whole area. Do you need help with anything?" She asked. "No, I'm fine. Thanks." I said. I glanced down at my bruised and bandaged legs. "Actually, I could use your help on one thing." I mentioned.

"Sure. Name it." Megumi said. "How good are you with physical therapy?" I asked. Megumi blinked before grinning at me.

I grunted slightly as Megumi gently lifted my knee back. "It's bound to hurt from time to time, Nue-kun. Physical therapy is never easy." She reminded me. "Is it ever?" I joked. Megumi smiled at me and worked on my other leg for a while.

"We should start heading back before Tobi gets suspicious." I suggested. "Right." Megumi agreed. She helped me back into my wheelchair and we headed back to the hideout. 

"Right on time." Tobi said as we approached the hideout. I kept my emotionless gaze as we went past him.

"Ne, Tobi. Would it be okay if I took Nue-kun outside ever once and a while? You know, so she could get some fresh air. Better yet, how about I be her caretaker? I'm sure you're a busy person and all. Why not let me handle Nue-kun for a bit? At least until she's better and able to take of herself." Megumi said.

"Hmm..." Tobi looked at me as I emotionlessly stared at the wall. "Come on, Tobi. Nue-kun's basically a messy ever since you broke her. She's lost her mobility to talk or do anything. She looks like a puppet with strings." Megumi explained.

I glanced at Tobi, waiting for his answer. It all happened so fast when Tobi punched me, sending me to the floor as I fell out of my wheelchair. It fell on its side as one of the wheels rolled forward. "Be sure to have your eyes on her at all times, Megumi." Tobi ordered.

"Y... Yeah. Okay." Megumi agreed. She helped me back in my wheelchair before taking me down to my room. "Are you okay, Nue-kun?" Megumi asked me. "Yeah, I'm fine." I said, rubbing my cheek. "I'm sorry. I had no idea he was going to do something like that to you." She apologized.

"It's fine. It's not your fault. At least you were able to convince him." I said. "Did you like my acting?" She asked. "Yeah, it was good. Nice job." I praised. Megumi stopped pushing the wheelchair all of a sudden.

"Megumi?" I looked back at her and sweat dropped when I saw her moving her body like a worm. "Nue-kun praised me! Nue-kun praised me! She's so proud of me! Oh, if this is a dream, I hope I never wake up!" She squealed, happily as she held the sides of her face while her eyes were closed. 

"Oh, boy." I mumbled as I saw tiny hearts escape from her body and into the air.

The next few days was like a regular routine. Megumi would do her job as a caretaker whenever Tobi was around. She'd take me into the woods every few hours so she could help get back into 100% health. 

I was getting stronger by the day now that, that Kiragani stuff has worn off. My wounds were healing quickly, but I kept the bandages on so I wouldn't tip Tobi off. And to be on the safe side, I made sure I looked immobilized. I'd also pretend to be a little stubborn so Tobi would think I'm still broken.

For example, whenever Megumi was feeding me and she'd tell me to open my mouth, I'd keep my mouth closed. Megumi would try feeding me again, putting the spoon of food to my teeth as she tried to get me to open my mouth.

Our acting was pretty convincing. And whenever Megumi and I were alone in my room, she'd help my legs get stronger and I'd concentrate on my chakra so my powers would return.

Megumi and I were in the woods as she was exploring and while I was jogging around the woods. I was basically running back and forth from two trees that were far away from each other. I started off slow, then got faster each time I ran.

"Nue-kun! Come look at this!" Megumi called. I followed the sound of her voice until I found her. "What is it, Megumi? What did you find?" I asked. "Look!" She moved out of the way, allowing me to see what she found.

"Whoa..." I gazed in awe as there was a beautiful waterfall. "Do you think this might help with your training?" Megumi asked. "This will work perfectly. Nice find, Megumi." I praised.

"Ah~... Nue-kun praised me again. This is the most wonderful feeling in my entire life." Megumi said as she held the sides of her with a blush while her eyes were closed.

I sat under the waterfall as I focused on my chakra while my eyes were closed. As I was concentrating, I tried figuring out Tobi's true identity. "Who could he be?" I mumbled to myself. I opened my eyes and looked down at my hand before taking a deep breath.

Concentrating hard, I tried creating a gun in my hand. "Come on, come on..." I said as I tried again. As I put all my effort into it, a black gun created in my hand. "Yes." I smiled. I made my gun turn into a machine gun, then back into a regular gun.

"Perfect." I said. "Are you back to your full strength yet?" Megumi asked. "Not quite. But I'm getting there." I replied. I stayed under the waterfall for a little while longer, concentrating on my powers. "Just keep concentrating." I mumbled to myself.

I closed my eyes and focused, levitating at least six feet into the air as my legs were crisscrossed. "Father..." I whispered.

(Flashback)

"Father?"

"What's wrong, Nue?"

"Do you really think the Jinchuriki are going to train me?"

My father didn't reply as he played his flute while a fire was lit in between us. I frowned as I laid there on my side with my elbow propped up while my hand held the side of my head. Crickets chirped around us while the night sky twinkled with stars.

"The Jinchuriki will train you." He said as he stopped playing his flute, abruptly. "But what if-!"

"We sent a letter to the Kages of the villages two days ago, explaining how you wanted to become strong. They wrote back, agreeing they would train you. That's why we're traveling to the Sand Village first. So, you can stop worrying your little head about it." Father interrupted me.

I frowned, puffing out my cheeks. "Fine." I said, turning around so my back was facing him. "Nue." Father said. "What?" I asked as my eyes were closed with a frown. "Why do you want to get strong?" He asked. "You already know why." I replied.

"No, you never told me. Tell me why you want to get strong." He commanded. "Tch." I mumbled. "Fine, don't tell me." Father said before playing his flute again. "Because of Mother." I said, quickly. "Hotaru?" He asked.

"She's the reason why I want to get strong. After what those filthy humans did to her, I want to be able to get strong so I can get even with them." I said. "Revenge won't get you anywhere, Nue. If you let it consume, you could end up doing something you'll regret later." Father explained.

"But they deserve it!" I snapped while facing him. Father played his flute with his eyes closed as I frowned at him. "Nue, do you know why the humans attacked your mother?" He asked. "Because they think of us as monsters, and that's all we'll ever be to them!" I said.

"Wrong." He said, calmly. "Wrong?" I repeated, the frown not leaving my face. "That's not why the humans attacked her, Nue. The reason why they attacked is because they're scared. If you were scared of something of the unknown, how would you react?" He asked as he kept his eyes closed.

"I... uh..." I trailed off as I thought about it. "Exactly. You can't blame the humans for attacking your mother, Nue. We all act in our own ways when we're afraid." Father explained. 

"Why are you defending them?! They hurt my mother! Your wife! They nearly killed her! You should be angry! Enraged! Pissed off that you wanna kill every single one of them!" I snapped while standing to my feet.

"You think I'm not angry after what they did to Hotaru?" Father asked as he opened his eyes, looking at me. "But... You're so calm." I pointed out.

"I am upset, Nue. I feel terrible for what happened to her."

"So, then why don't you do something about it?"

"Because your mother told me not to take my revenge on them. Instead, she wants me to be happy, and I am. If hadn't been for our elder, your mother wouldn't be alive today." 

I slowly sat back down on the ground as Father began playing his flute again, his eyes closed again. "Don't let revenge consume you, Nue. Find a different purpose into getting stronger." He advised. "A different... purpose?" I repeated.

"Hai. Find a new purpose." He repeated. He started playing his flute again as I stared at the fire, thinking about my new purpose. "Nue," I looked at him as he stopped playing his floor momentarily, his eyes closed again.

"When you do find your new purpose, here's something to keep in mind." He said. "Okay." I said. "Remember, Nue. You must never give in to submission. That shows signs of weakness. No matter how hard they may try to break you, no matter how hard they try to hurt you, you must never give in. Always stay strong. Endure. The more you endure, the stronger you become. Remember this, Nue. Never forget that." He said.

"Yes, sir." I replied. Father smiled a small smile and went back to playing his flute.

(End of Flashback)

"My new purpose... is to protect the ones I care about. Human or not, I will protect them. I promise." I said to myself. "Nue, we have a few more minutes until we have to go back to the hideout." Megumi informed. "Right." I said, floating down to the ground.

 "Now to put my strength to the test." I said. "Pardon?" She asked. "Spar with me." I said.

"Are you sure? Are you even back to your full strength yet?"

"Only one way to find out. Well? Are you gonna spar with me or what?"

"Okay, then."

Megumi and I took a few steps back and got in position. "Don't go easy on me." I said, seriously. "Wasn't going to." She replied. I smirked at her confidence and the two of us clashed.