She walks to school with the lunch she packed.
Nobody knows what she's holding back.
"That was an excellent morning practice, my pupils! I nearly cried at the sight of so much power of youth!"
Gai wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye as he beamed his blinding smile at his 'pupils.' Two of said students lay on the ground at their sensei's feet, exhaused from both the unusually warm spring weather and the intense training they had just undergone. One student, however, had just as much energy as his sensei.
"Yes, sir!" he nearly shouted. Gai nodded at the bowl-cutted teen, and Lee raced over to his belongings, eager to eat.
"How does he always have so much energy?" Tenten complained, struggling to her feet. Her other teammate shrugged as they brushed themselves off and went to join Lee. Sitting under the shade of a tree, the two boys began eating almost immediately, knowing that they only had so much time before Gai made them run off all the calories that they had consumed. Tenten, however, simply stared at her tiny lunch, the memories of last night that she had tried so hard to erase flooding back into her mind. She couldn't really recall any details, just a blinding pain that refused to die off. Tenten shuddered, then quickly regained her composure and dug into her meager meal. The last thing she wanted was for her teammates to find out.
Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday,
She hides the bruises with linen and lace.
"It keeps getting hotter and hotter," Neji observed disgustedly as he finished the last bites of his meal. He closed his pearly eyes and leaned against the bark of the tree behind him, letting the slight breeze wash over him. Lee nodded vigorously as he desperately tried to fan himself off with his bandaged hands.
"I know what you mean, Neji," Tenten agreed, wiping the sweat off her forehead. In an attempt to cool off, she flapped the bottom of her shirt, exposing her abdomen. Abruptly, Lee stopped trying to fan himself and stared at Tenten's stomach concernedly.
"What happened to your stomach, Tenten?" he asked, letting his hands fall to his side. Tenten quickly smoothed her shirt down as Neji opened his eyes curiously.
"I-I fell down the stairs," Tenten lied abruptly, avoiding the worried gaze of Lee. She gently placed a hand on her abdomen, trying to keep her teammates from looking. "It's just a small bruise. I'll be fine."
Lee nodded as if he understood, but Tenten knew that he didn't believe her. It wasn't a small bruise, she knew- she had spent long minutes gazing at herself in the mirror this morning, watching the giant splotch across her stomach turn a grotesque blue and purple, as opposed to the mangled red and black it had been the night before. She had barely slept; trying to find a comfortable position that didn't cause her pain took practically the entire night. Tenten winced at the memory of her reflection, and was glad she had worn her baggy capris instead of shorts, despite the hot temperature. If Lee was concerned about her stomach, he would have a heart attack at the sight of her legs.
"Alright, you kids have added enough fuel to your youthful bodies! Now go put that fuel to use and run 200 laps around the training area!"
The three students jumped at the booming voice of their sensei. Lee shouted in understanding and immediately set off to complete the task. Neji opened a cold eye and glared at both Lee and his idol before slowly getting up and setting off in a run. In a struggle to rise to her feet, Tenten placed her hand upon her thigh and immediately yelped in pain.
The teacher wonders, but he doesn't ask.
It's hard to see the pain behind the mask.
"Tenten!" Gai sensei exclaimed, rushing to her side in a green blur. "Are you alright? What is the problem?"
Tenten waved him off, doing the best she could to hide the grimace of pain. She stood up, gingerly putting weight on her right leg. "I'm fine, sensei," Tenten said in what she hoped was a confident voice. "I think I may have pulled a muscle during morning training, that's all."
Gai-sensei shook his head and clucked his tongue at her. "That is why we STRETCH before we do any form of exercise, Tenten!" he said authoritatively, placing a hand upon her shoulder. "But if your leg is truly injured, then you may do only 150 laps."
"Thanks, Gai-sensei." Tenten began her first lap around the track, being careful not to put too much weight on her leg. Lee lapped her and joyfully exclaimed how fun it was to be starting his 50th lap. Neji followed close behind, the scowl on his face hinting that he would like to throw something very large and very pointy at his teammate.
Amusing as his team was, however, Gai watched Tenten carefully, noticing how she was practically hopping with each step, as if to keep her legs from staying on the ground too long. It was common for one member of his team to pull a muscle during morning practice, but increasingly, the one getting injured had been Tenten. He had to wonder if it really was because she was poor at stretching, or if something else was the matter.
There was also the bruise. She had been quick to cover it up, but Gai-sensei, his curiosity getting the better of him when Lee asked her about it, had caught a glimpse of it before it was covered by her shirt. It was a large, ugly bruise, something that would have been hard to get by simply falling down the steps. But Tenten was the most uncoordinated of the group, and she did have a tendency to fall a lot.
Gai shook his head to clear his thoughts. He was just reading too far into things, he told himself. Much as an older man would do. What unyouthful behavior!
Bearing the burden of a secret storm,
Sometimes she wishes she was never born.
As the sun began to set on the horizon, Tenten finally finished her last lap and collapsed to the ground, dripping with sweat and being careful not to fall on her legs or stomach.
"Well done, my students!" Gai-sensei bellowed, grinning proudly. "You have put in a hard day's practice! I am so proud I could cry!" Indeed, tears began falling from the shinobi's eyes as Lee scrambled to find a tissue.
"Fascinating," Neji sneered. "Can we leave now?"
"Yes you may," Gai-sensei said in between sobs. "Unfortunately, though, I will not be here tomorrow, for I am completing a mission for Lady Tsunade. I reward your hard efforts today with a rare day off!"
Neji sighed in relief, but Lee and Tenten looked horrified.
"No training tomorrow?!" Lee cried. "But I must work hard every day! This is an outrage!"
"But we have to have practice tomorrow," Tenten nearly begged desperately. "How am I going to avoid- er, find something to do tomorrow?"
"I am sure you will be able to enjoy the beautiful spring day," Gai-sensei said, his eyes finally drying up. "I know! How about you two do something together! Wouldn't that be positively youthful?"
Neji snickered and walked away, not wanting to here the end of this conversation-turning-disaster. Tenten, however, was ready to seize any opportunity it took to avoid spending a whole day at her house with...
"Actually, that sounds pretty good, Gai-sensei," Tenten said quickly. She turned to look at Lee. "You don't mind, do you, Lee-san?"
"O-of course not!" Lee's expression changed from shocked to embarrassed to happy to satisfied faster than Tenten could blink. "It will be a most wonderful day!"
"Then it's settled!" Gai practically exploded with joy before bidding them a good-bye and running off after Neji to tell him the good news. A slightly awkward moment of silence passed before Lee turned to look at Tenten.
"I apologize that you have to spend an entire day with me, Tenten-san," Lee said meekly to his teammate. But Tenten hugged Lee gently, careful to avoid having her bruises touched. Lee started, surprised.
"No, Lee, this is perfect." Tenten pulled away, fighting back tears. "Now I can spend the whole day out."
"What's wrong with your house, Tenten-san?" Lee asked curiously. Tenten winced slightly, praying that Lee wouldn't notice.
"Nothing," she replied quickly, taking a step back. "It just... gets boring at my house sometimes. You know, being an only child at all."
Lee nodded in understanding. "I must get going home, though," he said apologetically. "Will you be okay returning to your house by yourself?"
"Uh, sure." Tenten deflated and stared at the ground, dread building up in her stomach at the thought of getting home so early. Oh, well. With any luck, he won't be back just yet. "Thanks anyway, Lee."
"No problem!" he cried as he dashed in the opposite direction. "I will see you tomorrow, bright and early, okay?"
"Right," she whispered after him. Then she fell on the ground, clutching her knees and staring up at the setting sun. Hopefully, she could go home and hide before he gets home. And then she can sleep- escape into the only world where she's safe.
Kami. I really don't want to go back. Please let me be free tonight.
Through the wind and the rain,
She stands hard as a stone
In a world that she can't rise above.
But her dreams give her wings,
And she flies to a place where she's loved.
Concrete angel.