All is Not Lost
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. But Cyndra and the twins are mine.
"What the hell is her problem?" Kiba fumed. "Alright! I get it! She hates people, especially ninjas, but seriously, she even glared at Akamaru!" He stomped to a chair and sat down in a huff. "Obnoxious two tone woman." He grumbled angrily.
"I think she's hiding something." Sakura supplied as she rummaged through her medic pouch.
"Of course she's hiding something. Why else would she live out in the middle of nowhere?" Kiba sulked moodily.
Sakura sent him a mild glare, getting fed up with his whining.
Shikamaru sighed from his spot leaning against the wall.
"That doesn't matter right now. We need to focus on Hinata." The lazy jonin asserted.
Neji looked to Sakura. "Are you sure her memory is returning."
She nodded. "It appears so…but as I said before it is hard to tell when it comes to memory. We will know more when I can exam her again."
There was a knock on the door.
Hinata entered hesitantly with an arm full of blankets.
Akamaru immediately rushed to her side.
"Hinata!" Kiba greeted, eagerly jumping out of his chair, his mood suddenly 100 times brighter.
Hinata giggled and held out the blankets to the shinobi.
"Thank you Hinata-sama." Neji smiled as he took the pre-offered blankets form his cousin.
"Um…I hope the rooms are to your liking."
"Of course! Their great!" Kiba quickly reassured her.
"Um...ano…" Hinata bowed her head a slight blush adorning her cheeks.
The ninja were dumbstruck by the nostalgic sight.
"…Could I…um…train…with you?" She asked shyly as she began to fidget with her fingers.
"Of course, Hinata-sama," Neji response still slightly dazed. "May I ask why?"
"I want to remember." She stated determinedly.
"The twins are my life, but I've always felt something was missing. That there was a hole in my heart. Meeting you has been like regaining a part of myself. But even still, something is missing. I want to find out what. I want to be whole. I believe training with you, relearning my family fighting style, will help me achieve that goal. Will you help me?"
"No problem, Hinata!" Kiba jumped in happily. "We will get you up to snuff in no time!"
"I believe she was talking to Neji." Sakura shoved the over eager Inuzaka away.
"Hey! I was her teammate for years! I know just as much about her personal style as Neji, maybe even more!" He argued back, Akamaru barked in agreement.
Neji's eye twitched but ignored the arguing ninja.
"How do your protectors feel about this?" Shikamaru spoke up.
Hinata gave him a knowing smile. "The boys will probably be angry at first, but all will be forgiven all if they are allowed to join in."
She gave her cousin a soft smile. "They called you Neji-san."
He smiled back. "They did."
"It's a big deal. They must really like you."
"And your other guardian?" Shikamura voiced again watching her carefully.
"Cyndra…" She trailed off looking to the side and sighed. "Cyndra is in the forge." She looked at the others with a weak smile. "She won't be out for a while."
"The forge?" Neji asked.
Hinata nodded. "Cyndra's a blacksmith. She can make anything, from jewelry to weapons to toys." She sighed again. "She knows that once my memories return, the twins and I will leave. She always knew we would."
Akamaru whined and nudged Hinata's leg in a attempt to comfort. She patted his head and gave him a reassuring smile.
"She's not happy about it but she accepts it." Hinata spoke softly, mostly to herself.
"Well, let's get started!" Sakura chirped happily to lighten the suddenly gloomy mood.
The Kohona jonin were happy with the success they were having with the training session.
Slow but sure progress was being made as Hinata, once again, became familiar with the different formations and patterns of her family's style. A few times she even fell in step with Kiba in some tag team moves.
Her body remembers even if her head does not. It was a good sign.
The twins were another thing to be pleased about.
After they awoke from their nap they were rather angry (as their mother predicted) but their moods quickly changed for the better when they were told they could train too.
Sakura had shown them the basics of charka control and they were now able to activate their Bakugan for short intervals.
They trained until dinner, Hinata stopped early to cook, while Kiba entrained the twins with tales of past missions.
Originally he had hoped the stories would help jog Hinata's memory, but that quickly backfired as the strain of trying to recall caused she to almost faint.
If that wasn't all, the glares the twins directed at him were enough for Kiba to keep the remainder of his stories as vague as possible and eventually to only include missions that Hinata had no involvement in whatsoever.
Cyndra was a not seen for the rest of the night, she didn't even show for dinner. Hinata wasn't surprised, neither were the twins once their mother told them where the two tone woman was.
The twins were very excited.
Not only did they get to train with the ninjas yesterday, but they were going to get to train with them all day today as well.
And their day couldn't of started off better.
Neji-san had joined them and their Okaa-san for their morning warm-ups.
They liked Neji-san.
He was strong and fast, a capable fighter with considerable skills. And willing to teach them everything he knows.
He was helping them to get stronger, to better protect their Okaa-san.
They had observed him closely, as taught by Cyndra, and saw how protective he was of their Okaa-san. He cared very deeply for her, yet didn't continuously cling to her like the other ninja did.
He also didn't coddle her. He didn't hold back while sparring with her like the others did, though he admitted that he wasn't using his family techniques since they would easily cause permanent damage.
He didn't see her as weak and helpless. He respected her and her dormant skills.
They were also impressed by the way he handled Cyndra. He wasn't intimidated by her personality at all. That had quickly earned their respect.
Yes, they really liked Neji-san.
They reflected on the other ninja currently staying in their home.
They definitely liked Akamaru. Watching the hound and his master fight together in perfect harmony made their eyes wide in childish wonder.
It kind of made them envious.
Maybe they could ask Cydra if they could train one of the grizzly cubs to fight with them.
Pinky they neither liked nor disliked. They were interested in her medic techniques, impressed by her charka control and knowledge, and enjoyed how easy it was to annoy her.
So frankly she fell into the same category most people they met were in, insignificant and soon forgotten.
It might sound cruel to others, but with how much they moved around it was a pointless waste of energy to try and remember everyone they came in contact with. They would just file that information away for later in case they ran into that person again, weather as a friend or foe.
Inu-san (they called him that mostly 'cause it irked him) they leaned more towards liking.
He was always showing them useful tag team combos and tactics that only those with years of experience fighting along side another could master.
Other plus point for the Inuzuka was how much his training with their Okaa-san was helping her.
They wanted her to be able to defend herself (not that she wasn't already capable of doing so) if they weren't around to protect her.
Not that they were planning on leaving her side anytime soon, but Cyndra has always taught them to expect the unexpected. That things happen.
What they didn't like about the dog-like shinobi was his constant show of affection towards their Okaa-san.
Patting her on the head. Draping his arm over her shoulders. Giving her hugs, that lasted far too long in their opinion. Basically hanging all over her.
At first she would tense up and fidget uncomfortably at the contact, but she quickly grew accustomed to the casual touching, like it was completely natural. She was comfortable around him.
So, even though they didn't like it, the twins tolerated the mutt's close proximity to their Okaa-san.
For despite the obvious displays of affection, the boys could tell from his eyes that it was not the affection of a lover, but of a big brother.
Which was fine by them. They had no desire to be related to the dog man.
Nara Shikamaru made they wary.
Their first impression for him screamed slacker. He seemed to have more interest in cloud gazing than with what was going on around him. They saw him as no threat and were about to write him off as harmless when they caught themselves.
Cyndra taught them better than that. Appearances are deceiving, they knew better than most.
Reevaluating, they realized Neji-san wouldn't have ever brought someone useless here, to where their Okaa-san was.
Pinky was here as a medic, obviously. Inu-san, to help jog Okaa-san's memories. But what about the Nara?
He was hard to read. They couldn't tell if his lazy demeanor was natural or just extremely well practiced.
Upon closer inspection they discovered he wasn't zoning out in disinterest.
He was observing them. Them. Their Okaa-san. Cyndra.
He was laid-back but guarded. Silent, intelligent, and perceptive.
Dangerous.
He was the kind of person Cyndra would credit as the best ally or worst enemy.
Their instincts told them he was the former, but they would be cautious and watch him none the less.
They will keep their Okaa-san safe.
Sorry for the wait, this chapter just didn't want to be written.
I was trying to give a little insight to the twins personality, hope it was ok.
Please do tell me if I make spelling or grammar mistakes. I don't have a proof reader and after reading the same chapter ten times over my brain just starts auto correcting what I'm trying to say.
I hope you enjoyed. Please review. It makes me try to update faster.