Title: Not a Word
Summary: "For all intents and purposes, they were alone."
Not a word of magic passed from their lips, not a hint of another world. They spoke of nothing, never used other names, foreign, English ones, never used that tongue. They didn't know, either, if anyone had come with them. For all intents and purposes, they were alone.
Tenten always took much delight in her weaponry, abandoning most ninjutsu altogether in favor of throwing pointy objects. She always took great pleasure in needling a boy from the class below her, Kiba, about her great talent in it, something which always irritated him.
Especially when she was able to become a shinobi first.
But her best friend Ino was always supportive, and Shino never felt any jealousy, and one of her friends, Lee, was on her team, so what more could a girl want?
Even for shinobi, Lee was not normal. Of course, seeing as he had decided to follow in the footsteps of his mentor, Gai, it was to be expected, but even then…
For such a nice boy, and a genuinely 'nice guy', the shinobi took an almost vindicative pleasure in killing snakes. If he managed to spot one, he'd dart over and kill it immediately, a self-satisfied look playing on his lips while Tenten burst into a fit of giggles, and Neji and Gai watched, stunned.
And somehow, despite the spandex, the bowl cut, the eyebrows, and the YOUTH, he attracted the attention of one Hinate Hyuuga. The ninja populace was stunned, and father was not pleased.
Ino was two very different people, to those that knew her, and those that did not. To the latter, she was an intelligent girl, yes, but one that was more concerned with make-up than being a ninja, and was obsessed with Sasuke Uchiha. To the former, she was a supremely intelligent girl, whose lack of physical prowess was definitely made up for in her vast collection of ninjutsu. As for the Sasuke thing?
When she was young, shortly after she had befriended a young Sakura, the other girl had declared a like for Sasuke. Ino, wanting the girl to feel that she was part of a group, had declared that she did, as well, but the pink-haired girl had broken off their friendship on account of it.
So today, she pretended, simply to spite Sakura, and besides, it was kind of fun! …And it was amusing, watching Kiba get jealous.
Kiba was not a book-learner. He learned by doing, by acting, no matter how many times that Ino tried to hammer information into his mind. So he had a bit of a reputation of being kind of a stubborn, idiotic slacker. It had been amazing, though, the first time that he beat Shikamaru in shogi. The look on his face…
He also enjoyed racing through the treetops, feeling the wind rustle through his hair, with Shino on one side, and Ino on the other. It was an enjoyable feeling, on that he wanted to embrace, and…
It sort of felt like flying.
Hinata was another odd one, with almost two personas, it seemed like. To those she didn't know, she was nervous, stuttering, and… a wonderful actress. To those that she knew, and that she loved, her violet eyes were forever distant, staring at something none of them could see, and her theories were always good for a laugh, however serious she meant them to be.
She was a good fighter, though. Maybe not proficient in her family's arts, but a scrappy fighter, one that pulled different moves out of nowhere, and stood like she weighed nothing, like a breeze could just blow her away.
And, of course, no one wanted to talk about her apparent attraction to Lee.
Shino was quiet, overlooked. He was a good fighter, a proficient one, and despite his ability to disappear or blend into a wall at a moment's notice, he had emassed quite the group of friends, and surprisingly enough, they all turned to him. Headstrong Tenten, intelligent Ino, exuberant Lee, brash Kiba, and odd Hinata, turning to the disappearing Shino.
They were perhaps the only ones who noticed him, perhaps the only ones that recognized his leadership skills and turned to him, letting him instruct them.
That was okay. Someone else could take the spotlight this time around.
Ino Yamanka died first. Of course it was that way, chakra couldn't last forever, and she didn't have much physical skills. Lee Rock was next. Kiba was furious, horrified, went beast and attacked. He and Ino had always had a special bond. But he didn't watch, wasn't ready, didn't see the shinobi behind him. Lee did. Kiba Inuzuka followed. All seven gates ripped open, and Lee fought, ferociously, killing and destroying, until he fell. Enraged, Akamaru and Kiba attacked at once, blinded by anger, and died. Tenten was the fourth. She attacked, killing, ending lives, and hitting the mark every single time. But weapons don't last forever. Then it was just Hinata and Shino. Hinata Hyuuga was next. They fought, back to back, killing, ending, protecting the bodies of their fallen comrades as Konoha fell around them, the final force. But when she went to jab, went to close another point, her spine was broken, and she fell, dying. She murmured something in another language, paralyzed and likely in shock, and the last survivor took a moment to slit her throat, to end it so she would not die slowly in pain. Shino Aburame was the final death. A mountain of corpses were all that remained of his friends, and so he let them all out, his bugs, his kikai, and fought like a whirlwind. Not a single shinobi survived, and he fell. Chakra exhaustion.
They had killed over two dozen shinobi.
The room was reminiscent of the Burrow, homely and cozy and small, looking as if Fred and George would race down the stairs any moment, explosion going off behind them, or that scents would drift from the kitchen while Molly and Arthur chatted. Bill and Fleur might stop by for a moment, with their baby, and perhaps Percy would stop by with reports from the Ministry, or Charlie would regale them with tales about his newest dragon. But there were only six there, in this imaginary room that looked like the Burrow, and they were all that would ever be.
Hermione was reading a book, contentedly leaning on Ron, who was absentmindedly stroking the small white dog that lay in his lap, as he watched her with a smile. She was a bit less bookish, and he was a bit more rough and tumble, but they were still the same.
Neville was regaling a tale to Luna, perhaps a bit louder than he ever would have before, and perhaps with more emphasis and different word phrases entering his speech, but it was still Neville, still his story, and still involved snakes, and she laughed, eyes distant and a hint of a familiar blush in her cheeks.
Ginny was explaining something to Harry, a piece of parchment stretched out before them, on the table, as they made notations with quills, concentration on their faces. Her eyes had a glint to them, a ferocious one that had not been there before, and he was more quiet, not as interrupting, more likely for his figure to waver slightly and blend in.
They didn't need to say it. They had always known.
Word Count: 1235 Words
A/N: I don't know where this one came from, it just… did. Enjoy?