Somehow getting up from the hard mattress lying on the floor, Kenshin followed the girl, enjoying her elegant gait and the seductive sway of her hips. Aya was very beautiful for a village girl. In addition to long, graceful legs, she had a remarkably toned backside and breasts of the second size. Kenshin could not help but be enchanted by the young Japanese woman's beauty.
Following the beautiful brunette, Kenshin quickly surveyed the house's interior and realised that Aya lived very poorly. In the main room where he had been lying, two metres from his hard mattress, another one was laid—slightly cleaner and neater. Besides the two mattresses, in the corner by the window stood a table and something resembling a sewing machine. The window itself was cloudy and opaque. A village girl had no money for clear glass without impurities. Apparently only the rich or shinobi could afford such luxury.
Aya's little house was very small and consisted of a tiny kitchen, one central room that served as both bedroom and workspace, and a small storage room piled with junk. The toilet and shower were outside.
In ten steps Kenshin reached the kitchen and thoughtfully sat in the place indicated by the girl. She went to the wood-burning stove and began ladling fragrant-smelling soup into bowls.
"Thank you," Kenshin said, receiving a bowl of hot soup from the girl, and began eating hurriedly, only now realising how hungry he was—and immediately burned himself.
Aya just laughed merrily at his carelessness and began eating as well.
"Thank you for taking care of me," Kenshin thanked the girl, looking into her eyes.
"It's nothing. I'm sure you would have done the same for me," Aya answered, blushing and looking away.
"I don't remember much. Could you explain some details?" the young man asked gently. He would gladly have asked what year it was, but unfortunately that information meant nothing to him. Kenshin only understood the Christian calendar, not the one counting from Konoha's founding.
"Of course. What are you interested in?" Aya asked with complete devotion.
"Mmm, you said the Hokage is Sarutobi Hiruzen… Has the Third Shinobi World War already happened?" the young man asked and immediately mentally slapped himself on the lips, realising how ambiguous the question sounded.
"Of course it happened! How could it not, when you know it ended? Even though you lost your memory, you didn't travel to the past," Aya declared with a laugh, surprised by the strange question.
"Damn! Out of the frying pan into the fire! Even if the Third World War is over, the Fourth is still ahead!" Kenshin thought and rubbed his temples.
"Um, how long ago did the Third World War end?" the young man asked again, wanting to know how much time he had.
"Well… I was six when it ended. I'm eighteen now," Aya explained with a smile.
"Eleven years ago?! Damn, damn, damn! The canon must be in full swing right now!" Kenshin thought with an even worse mood.
"And how long ago did the Nine-Tails attack Konoha?" He decided to pinpoint exactly which timeline he was in.
Hearing about the Nine-Tails, Aya almost jumped in fright and put a finger to her lips: "Shhh, don't say its name! It's the most terrifying monster in the world, and no one knows where it went! People say that if you carelessly say its name aloud, it will come and destroy our village!" the girl whispered with visible fear.
"Hm, interesting. So the villagers don't know that tailed beasts are sealed into jinchūriki. That's why they made up all sorts of scary stories…" Kenshin noted and hurried to calm the girl.
"All right, I won't. So how many years ago did 'he' attack Konoha?"
"Nine years ago. Almost ten. My grandfather was in Konoha that day and heard all the horror…" Aya said sadly.
"Your grandfather? Where is he now?"
"He died six months ago from pneumonia… Tsukishima-sama, our village healer, refused to help him…" Aya said, sobbing, and two streams of tears flowed from her beautiful blue eyes.
"I'm sorry…" Kenshin said, and then, without understanding why himself, suddenly moved toward the girl and hugged her, pulling her into his strong embrace, belatedly realising he was still shirtless.
Aya pressed herself against the young man's strong chest and cried even harder. The young girl had been completely alone for the past six months and had no one to pour out her sorrow to. Kenshin hugged her tighter and gently stroked her soft back, comforting her.
But the tenderness was interrupted by a sudden knock at the door and a shout: "Aya, let me in, I know you're home!"
Aya's already unhappy face twisted into a grimace of anger. "Get lost, Kaito, I'm busy!" she snapped toward the door.
"Fine, I'll go, but you won't be able to run from me forever! Whether you want it or not, you will become my wife!" Kaito shouted, and the sound of retreating footsteps was heard.
"Who was that?" Kenshin asked, barely restraining his anger at the fact that before he even had a harem someone was trying to steal his girl!
"Just some idiot… He's the elder's son and has been trying to force me to marry him for several months. When my grandfather was alive, those bastards were afraid to show their faces! I'm sure the elder persuaded Tsukishima-sama not to treat my grandfather!" Aya spat angrily, pressing herself even closer to the young man's chest. For some reason, being pressed against Kenshin's muscular chest felt so good that she didn't want to let him go.
"I see… Don't worry, I won't let them hurt you!" Kenshin declared resolutely and placed both hands just below Aya's back, almost touching her firm backside hidden behind black trousers. The girl noticed the gesture but only blushed slightly and said nothing.