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Ai moves quickly, unaware of Kori's proximity to her. When they reach the building, she drops to a knee add listens to the busy kitchen underneath. The pleasant smell of fire-grilled meat and vegetables hits her nostrils but she doesn't lose focus.
"Don't get distracted," she tells the girl. "Remember the mission and strike at the right moment." Ai chuckles in her mind as she realizes that she sounds so much like her own sensei when she was younger.

Everything seemed to be going well at first. Kori's hook snagged a piece of meat, and she pulled it up quickly. After waving it around the air to cool it, she gobbled up the morsel before dropping the hook back down. She was hungry, and this was absolutely delicious. She snatched up a second piece of beef and scarfed it down even faster that the first. Little did she notice that the cook started to realize that something was going on around him.

Kori lowered the hook into the chimney again, and after a thick plume of steam blocked her vision into the building, she felt resistance. Her eyes opened wide.

"S-someone has the hook!" she peeped. "He has the hook! What do I do?"

Ai keeps watch, overseeing Kori's food retrieval. She was quite impressed with the girl's skills: her hand was steady, her aim was spot on. Ai guessed that this wasn't Kori's first time stealing food. When Kori started to panic, Ai thought of a plan quickly. She visualized the kitchen and concentrated on a barrel of salt that was close enough to her in weight. She channeled some of her strength and, in a small flash of light, was replaced by the barrel on the roof.

After putting herself in the kitchen with the substitution spell, she saw the large man in an apron investigating the hook over the chimney. Ai springs into action and advancing on the cook quickly yet silently and drawing her ninjatō, holding it to his throat. "Not a word," she says as the man's eyes widen. "Let the hook go and give us whatever is on the grill."

The cook, despite having a major height and weight advantage, complies with the kunoichi's orders. Ai takes the meat rolled up in cloth and removes the blade from his neck, stepping away and bowing. "Forgive me sir, I had no intention of doing you any harm." Before the man has any time to react, she casts the substitution spell and reappears back on the roof, her figure replaced by the barrel of salt. The barrel now had enough money to cover the cost of the meat as well as a note being for forgiveness pinned to the wood by a kunai.

The kunoichi looks back at Kori and smiles, presenting her with the food. "I talked to him and he let me buy the food from him. He also agreed to ignore the little hook incident."

Kori blinked when she looked at the meat wrapped in cloth, then at the kunoichi.

"You could pay for it?" she whispered. "Well, then, w-what was the point of any of this?! We could have just gone down and eaten!" She blinked again. "Was—was that a real substitution technique?"

Ai chuckles and kneels down to be at eye level with the girl. "I just wanted to know what you would do. If you don't need to steal from the people, don't. The one thing that makes a ninja so effective against the samurai is not any blade or technique. It is that we have the support of the common people. The samurai are elitists, they do not connect with the people that they have sworn to protect. But we ninja, we were ordinary citizens and still are. These people are our friends, they will help us. Ask them for a spare room for the night or a small meal and most of them will be happy to because we defend them from the injustices of a physically and emotionally distant ruler. There is no need to steal from our own. And yes, that was a real substitution technique. I will teach you as your training continues." She keeps the meat handed out to her, smiling in his amused.

Kori hesitated before reaching out to take the meat. She carefully unwrapped it and stuffed more of it into her mouth. Once she finished her last piece, she returned the rest to her new sensei.

"The people are our allies?" she asked. "My old masters told me that only the shadows were our allies, and that all others needed to be removed." She looked down at the increasingly lively streets. "You mean... they are our allies? Then who is our enemy?"

Ai's smile fades as she sits down on the roof. She take a bite of meat, then sighs. "For now, the emperor and his army of samurai. Twenty-five years ago, our neighbors to the north. Fifty years ago, our neighbors to the west. Sixty-five years ago, foreign armies coming to seize and colonize the lands. The ninja are an ancient institution, older than this empire or the others of the land. The enemies change very often, but the mission stays the same: protect our people and fight injustice. It seems like we have finally lost sight of that mission, however. The people who have supported us for hundreds of years suddenly are becoming less and less willing to help the ninja." She continues eating from the cloth, miraculously keeping her bright white kimono clean.

"This is nothing like what I was taught," said Kori. "All that mattered was the mission. No one's lives mean a thing. There is success and there is failure. One is life, and one is death." She looked down at the passersby.

"They all look so poor," she observed. "If we are to protect them, then who pays us for that protection? Surely it's not them. Some of them seem hardly able to feed themselves, much less hire ninja."

Ai watches the passersby also before turning back to Kori. "Do you remember back in the village when I told you that I was a medicine woman? I was not lying. I actually am a healer in addition to a kunoichi. Many ninja like me have regular jobs by day. It provides us with enough money to live by, as well as give us great camouflage from samurai."

She pauses before going on, using a quote that her own master said to her. "The empire has a joke that says that the only difference between a ninja and an assassin is a handful of bills. We ninja have our own version: the only difference between a ninja and a hitman is charity. Ninjutsu is a passion, not a career. Ninja may serve as mercenaries for those who are being harassed by the empire and can afford to hire us, but that is not our primary directive.

"That doesn't make any sense," said Kori. "Was I never a kunoichi then? Was I always, well, something else? I don't have any trade. I don't know how to do anything. I don't even fully know the art of stealth and death, like I'm supposed to. How can I learn some ordinary day job if I can't even do what I was born to do in the first place? I--"

She looked at the people working in their different shops, some cooking food, others carving wood, all manner of crafts and trades. Her breathing grew quicker. "I don't know how to do anything? Can't I just hide during the day? I don't ever need to be seen until it's time for a mission. I promise I won't eat unless I complete a mission!"

Ai sighs and rests a hand on her forehead. "I understand that you are very dedicated, but you do not have to starve yourself to be a kunoichi. A kunoichi uses any and all advantages at their disposal to fight, especially when most warriors are men. There isn't a definite way to become a skilled kunoichi, each one has their own methods and tools to ensure success. Here is what I propose: you can be my apprentice, and I can teach you about herbal medicines. It will help you find cover in the day, and it will help you during your missions at night. How does that sound?"

"Hai, sensei," said Kori. "I will work hard for you, but I—" she averted her eyes and swallowed. "I am still not very confident. I have never been good at telling one leaf from another. It'll be like teaching an infant."

Ai smiles and nods, turning Kori's face to look her in the eyes. "Kori-san, I understand. Remember that every expert was once a beginner, I was in the exact same position that you are. With practice and good instruction, you will be a skilled handler of medicines. But first, we should go home and rest. Today may have been easy traveling, but the next leg of our journey will not be that way."

"H-hai, sensei," Kori peeped. She stood up straight and forced herself to sound bold and determined. "Lead on, and I will follow you!" She took a deep bow. "Please forgive my whining! It won't happen again!"

When she stood back up, there was no way she could still be fooling anyone. She was terrified. Strangely, she seemed terrified of the prospect of medicine itself, for what else could it possibly be?

(I know it's been a while since I replied and I'm sorry, Now that I'm out of school for a while I can continue roleplaying if you're still there)

Ai nods and runs on the rooftops back to the barn, already planning the route for the next part of their trip. She admired Kori's conviction and once again saw a younger version of herself in the girl. Once they reached the barn, the kunoichi spread out the hay into makeshift beds and lit a small fire. She then turns to Kori and says, "The next part of our journey will be very dangerous and tiring, you should go to sleep as soon as you can. We will leave early tomorrow morning, we will find breakfast on the trail. A kunoichi on the move always uses her resources to her advantage; however, she is also mindful of the delicate environment around her and never takes more than is needed. Balance is the essence of harmony, and harmony is the essence of happiness." She quoted a Taoist saying from one of her master's friends, a monk and pioneer martial artist. Although the monk died a few years ago, her master is still alive and lives in the same house where the two met so many years ago.

Kori nodded. "Right. Balance is harmony, and harmony is happiness."

To say she understood these words would be a complete lie. Kori did not go to sleep just yet, though. She instead stood up on one of her hands, spread her legs, balanced herself on two of her knuckles.

"I'm balancing," she said, only a mild grunt in her voice. "I don't feel any happier, though. Am I doing something wrong?"

Ai watches her and laughs a playful and melodic laugh that doesn't match her wise tone of voice. "That isn't the balance I speak of, though that is impressive. I mean balance of life choices, moderation rather than obsession or abstinence. Not drinking too much sake, giving money to those in need but keeping enough to sustain yourself, training hard every day but leaving time for relaxation. All of these things are crucial to a satisfying life."

Kori flipped back to a sitting position. "That sound really confusing," said Kori. "It sounds like you want me to do one thing but also do the opposite. How can I do both? If this is some kind of riddle or something, I don't get it. Can you just tell me the answer?"

Her eyelids hung heavy on her face. There was no telling how long she'd stay awake for a lengthy explaination.

Ai smiles as she sees Kori becoming sleepy, but she presses on in an attempt to bore her to sleep. "Well, the truth is I cannot tell you the answer because everyone's answers are different from each other's. The right answer is about balance. Light and dark, male and female, up and down, good and evil. All opposites must be equal for there to be harmony in the universe. Perhaps you will understand this example. If you eat too little for supper, then you will not be satisfied. But if you eat too much, you become sick. However, 'too much' and 'too little' is not the same for everyone what is too little for some may not be enough for others. Does this make sense?"

Kori's head flopped forward. "So basically, it's going to take a lifetime just to figure out exactly what I need to do." She rolled onto her back. "My head hurts just thinking about it. Do you think this'll be any clearer if I sleep this off?"

She closed her eyes, already feeling her energy slipping from her. With everything that was going on lately, she would welcome sleep again. There were too many things to think about.